“Canterlot?” I asked. I’ve heard of Celestia multiple times, most notably when Fluttershy explained to me that Celestia and her sister were powerful enough to control the moon and sun: a powerful and terror inducing feat, if true. Canterlot, while I’d heard of it a handful of times, was a place I didn’t know anything other than what I read in some of the books it was mentioned in and that it's where Dark was from.
Of course, I wanted to go there at some point along with seeing the rest of Equestria. So much of it sounded amazing. Preferably with Fluttershy and maybe a few others. I really did not like the idea of going there like a prisoner.
“Twilight, you don’t have to do this. I wo-”
“Yes, I do.” The sternness in her statement spoke strongly of her resolve. “Someone who breaks a promise to a friend I’d simply never trust again, but a murderer? Chara, I can’t in good conscience let you just wander around Ponyville like nothing's wrong. Not to mention you’re a conjurer! You walk around with your weapon on you at all times, you could attack someone at any moment!”
“You,” I took a step back, a pain sprouting in my chest like a vine covered in thorns had wrapped itself around my heart. “Think I would do that?”
“Yes! No, I-” she shut her eyes, magic flickering as she clenched her jaw. “I don’t know. I just know you can’t stay here. Not anymore. Celestia will take care of you for a while. Then, when she thinks you’re not dangerous, and we’re ok with it, you can come back.”
My breathing picked up with each word: it took me nearly two weeks to get used to Ponyville, even then I couldn’t walk around for more than a handful of hours; that’s with knowing I can go back to Fluttershy’s and cuddle one of the animals there. Canterlot was new, and I wouldn’t be going with Fluttershy; I couldn’t ask her to do that even if I thought I could convince her. I’m also pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to convince her to let me bring Angel with me.
I’d be alone, with a mysterious person who would be deciding my freedom, surrounded by new ponies in a new place and constant judgment.
“...How long?” I whispered.
“A while. A few days, maybe a few weeks, it could be longer though; It’s up to Celestia. I’m almost surprised she didn’t decide to just banish you or keep you in Canterlot permanently, but I sent her all the notes I’ve been keeping on you and-”
“You’ve been keeping notes on me?”
“Something must have caught her eye.” she finished. “You’re a previously unknown species; Of course I’ve been keeping notes on you. Fluttershy also’s been asking me to,” she bit her lip, glancing away from me. “She’s going to worry about you. Even after what happened, Fluttershy still cares about you a lot. I still haven’t been able to bring myself to tell her about this.”
“Maybe, but not having me around as a constant reminder might be better for her.” I added.
Twilight was completely right; Fluttershy wouldn’t know if or when I’d be coming back, or even hear from me at all. Despite how I hurt her, she still cared. Sometimes too much. Being around would just keep her, and the others, from trying to move on.
“And I have until tomorrow morning?”
She begrudgingly nodded. “An hour or so before noon. It should be a gold chariot pulled by two members of the royal guard, waiting in the center of Ponyville.”
“Ok.” I muttered as I turned around, ignoring the shrieking protest of my body that followed every movement.
I wanted to look at her one more time as I opened the door, to see if there was even the smallest hint of guilt or hesitation, but that was pointless. This is what needed to happen, what she was going to tell me she’d have to do if I killed any of the diamond dogs.
Still, I would have liked a wave. A nod. Some kind of goodbye. Anything other than the piercing silence as she watched me leave.
In the void, a lack of noise had its own kind of comfort. Being alive again made it unbearable.
____________
I’d seen the Town Hall on many occasions, but I’d never been inside or met the Mayor. It was easily the largest building in Ponyville, sticking out amongst all the others. It was tempting to enter just to see what was inside such an enormous structure; but I decided against it. I didn’t even need to go there in the first place.
I just didn’t want to go back to Fluttershy’s cottage. Not yet, not until I have to.
It was hard for me to even start on what to say to her. At this point, another apology would just be insulting. I could tell her I made things right with the others, but that would just be a lie. That could be the case with Rarity, which would be a shaky assumption at best. The others… I think I might have actually made worse.
I wrung my wrist as I tried to ignore the growing soreness in every inch of my body, legs and back worst of all. It was getting harder to ignore, I would be lucky to make it back to Fluttershy’s without collapsing. It shouldn’t have shocked me, considering I hadn’t given myself a moment to rest since I left, despite how much I still needed it.
Perhaps if I just sat down for a little bit, I ca-
“Char?”
I jumped at the sudden sound of someone calling my name. Dark was waving at me, uncaring of the attention he was directing to himself. He casually walked over to me, not looking any different from when I last saw him.
“Where’ve you been? It’s been a few days since I saw you and I was starting to think you were avoiding me after our date.” He started with an awkward chuckle, his smile fading into a slight frown. “I didn’t mess up or anything, right? I know things were a bit awkward, but I didn’t think it was that bad.”
“Our date? Oh,” I drawled, having nearly forgotten about it entirely. “Our date. No, it was fine. I just had to go with Fluttershy somewhere, and I just didn’t have the time to tell you. Sorry about that.”
Everything with Dark had completely slipped my mind, buried under the mound of recent events. I should have left a letter or something, instead of just leaving without telling him at all.
“Yeah, I heard about that. Though I kind of assumed Fluttershy would have made you stay to watch over the animals while she’s gone, not bring you along. When they go to places together, it’s usually pretty crazy stuff, like kicking a dragon out of a mountain or something.”
“What?” I blurted out, waiting for him to laugh or somehow show that he was joking. “Are you serious? They just kicked a dragon out of a mountain, no problem?”
“If what I’ve heard is true, yeah. It was also apparently Fluttershy who came in clutch, lecturing it until it cried and left. If it was anyone other than those six I wouldn’t believe it, but the longer I live here, the less surprised I get at the stuff that happens.”
I couldn’t help but picture Fluttershy flying up to a colossal dragon, hovering in front of its gigantic maw that could swallow her in one bite if it wanted. Even as it sat on top of its horde of gold and jewels, head pressing against the top of the cave it barely fit in, it cowered beneath her unshaking leer.
The image was so absurd, yet so fitting, that I couldn’t help but smile a bit. I held a hand against my mouth as I tried to stifle a chuckle, a tingle in my chest that spread to the back of my throat.
“That’s just like her.” I chortled, trying to keep from actually laughing since I was sure that would be painful.
“I haven’t talked to her myself, so I’ll just take your word for it.” his eyes lowered for a moment, fixating only my shoulder. “So, what happened wherever you went? You look like you’re struggling just to stand up.”
“It,” that flicker of joy burned out. I tried to resist the urge to press down on my shoulder again, settling for just painfully clenching my hands instead. “Went ok. Everyone survived. That’s what’s important.”
I glanced up at the sun, which shined brightly above the horizon. It was a beautiful day outside; lots of the animals were around and the ponies walking around had smiles on their faces. If I had to guess, it was sometime in the midday. While warm, it was colder than previous days as Winter came closer.
For just a little while, I wanted to lie down somewhere and enjoy it. Just a moment of solace to relax, and Fluttershy’s Cottage wasn’t it anymore; as much as I wanted it to be. All that was there for me was an awkward tension that would build up into another argument; I couldn’t handle another one of those.
“Hey, Dark?” I knew it was selfish to ask, but I needed to give myself a break. If I tried going now, I’d collapse halfway there, and with no clue what to actually say to her. “Do you mind if I come over to the observatory for a while? I don’t mind talking; I’ve just been moving around a lot and I’m starting to get tired. Plus,” I hung my head, biting the corner of my lip. “I don’t want to go back to Fluttershy’s yet.”
“Um,” his eyebrows drew together, staring at me for a moment as his horn lit up with cerulean magic. Opening the top of a saddlebag attached to his side and pulling out a piece of paper that he scanned over. “Well, I got everything I needed on my shopping trip today, so sure. It’s not nighttime though, I can’t show you any stars this time around. Unless you want to stare at the sun all day.”
“Just give me a moment.” I walked over to a nearby bird, one that I recognized from Fluttershy’s Cottage and that she’d have watching me when I’d go out. I extended my hands, half expecting it to just fly away. Luckily, it hopped right into my palms, chirping something as it looked up at me and tilted its head. “Can you tell Fluttershy that I’ll be a bit longer? I want to talk to Dark, then I’ll be back.”
It gave me an adorable nod as it flew off, presumably in the direction of Fluttershy’s.
“You can talk to animals now, too?”
“Kinda?” I muttered. “Not any more than anyone else can. All animals can understand ponies pretty well, and you can understand them if you just learn their body language. Fluttershy just doesn’t have to do that.”
“Still, that’s coolio.” he responded, then whispered something to himself. “Never saying that out loud again.”
We walked back to the observatory in silence, and more distance between us than most of the ponies walking around. If it bothered him, he didn’t say anything. I tried to think of something to say, only to come blank. Despite best efforts, my mind kept drifting back to Twilight, or Pinkie; often Fluttershy.
Was it ok for me to try to escape my problems like this? I crossed my arms, pressing my hands against my sides like I was trying to pretend they didn’t exist. Every step was like walking on a bed of dull needles, each patch just a tad sharper. For once, I wished my hair was a little longer so I could hide behind it like Fluttershy did. It was starting to grow back, but still not enough to mask how clenched my face was.
“Hey, Chara.”
“I’m fine.”
I hissed through gritted teeth, regretting it instantly as I saw him visibly recoil. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to snap at you like that.”
“It’s,” he hesitated, slowly relaxing his arms. “Alright. You’ve had a long day, I get it. I was just going to say we’re here.”
“...oh.”
He walked forward and opened the door, gesturing for me to enter. “Cute girls first.”
“I’m,” I started, shaking my head as I stopped myself. “Thank you.”
He’d clearly put in a lot of work since I’d been here last. All the pictures of stars and comets had been cleaned and dusted so well I could read the plaques from the entrance, some of which I recognized from the books Dark gave me. The boxes that were strung around before weren’t present, neither was the cabinet full of clothes nor the mini-fridge. Even the wall lamps were in better condition, though none were turned on as the dome was mostly open to let the sunlight in.
Although I now knew better, it no longer looked like someone was living here.
“I’m a bit surprised; it’s only been three days and you already made the place look much better. I didn’t take you for the ‘neat and organized’ type.”
He placed his hand over his chest like he’d be hurt. “Ouch. I can’t blame you for making that assumption, but I promise I’m not a total slob. It’s just I figured if you’re going to be coming over every now and again, this place should actually look like an observatory and not a frat house.”
“Yeah,” I trailed off, contemplating whether I should tell him about Canterlot or not. “You did a pretty good job. Where’s all your stuff now?”
“Well, I didn’t do it all by myself: My friend Bulk helped me out. It’s all on the second floor where I live. I should have done it earlier, honestly. Now I don’t have to go downstairs every time I want to cook something.”
“You,” I pursed my lips, voice cracking as I tried not to meet his eyes. “Have a bed, right?”
He blinked rapidly, visibly tensing up as he turned to me. “Yeah, I don’t sleep on the floor. Why?”
“Mm,” I rubbed my shoulder and glanced away. “Can I lay on it for a bit? I swear it’s just for a few minutes. My legs are about to give out, and this concrete floor isn’t exactly inviting.”
“Oh,” he commented, shrugging his shoulders. “Sure, I guess. Beats standing around; follow me.”
It was a bigger strain on my knees to walk up the stairs than I would have liked, but there were luckily not a lot of them. It wasn’t really different from the first floor, just more rails around the edges and pictures of stars. I expected a few small telescopes, but they would likely just take up space since people rarely come that often anymore.
The semi-spacious corner Dark had decided to make home had more than I expected. Of course, the wardrobe was there and open; showing the array of different colored t-shirts and pants with a mirror on the inside of the doorway. The mini-fridge sat beside it with a hotplate on top, and a cabinet stood a few feet away that I assume had all the eating utensils.
Finally, was the bed. I thought it was going to be smaller since he would want to make the most of whatever space he had; this was much bigger than I expected. I could lie in the center with my arms and legs spread and still not be over the edge. Each of the three pillows was perfectly head sized, and the blankets were fitted exactly to the edge. I couldn’t help but press my hands into the mattress right after slipping off my backpack, which sunk straight in like trying to touch a cloud.
“Nice, right?” Dark asked as he walked up beside me. “I got it for exactly zero bits. Bulk said this one was too small for him, so he just gave it to me. Carried it up here himself and everything.”
“Wait,” I shifted around to face him, not wanting to take my hands off the bed. “This was too small for him? How big is he?”
“Huge! Bulk is the beefiest pegasus I know; his arms would probably still be dangling off the side. If you saw him, you’d probably think his wings are small; I swear his muscles are just so big they make his wings tiny in comparison.” he stated with a grin, sitting down on the corner of the bed. “What’s even better is this bed is made out of Echo Stratus, or imitation cloud. Usually, only pegasi can nap on clouds. This is as close as it can get without using magic or stuff.”
“I think I read something about that, but I haven’t seen any of them sleeping on one.” I added as I lowered myself into the bed, wincing as a wave of fresh, searing pain washed across my back. However, as I let my body sink into the welcoming fabric, the feeling of relaxation it’d been begging for was borderline euphoric.
I let out a light moan as the pain faded, all the stress fading and being replaced with almost nauseating fatigue. The bed swallowed me in its gentle hold; if I tried to get up I don’t think I’d have the strength.
It was peaceful.
“Really?” Dark rested his arm over one of the bedposts, briefly running his hand through his spiked mane and raising an eyebrow. “Not even Rainbow Dash? I’ve never talked to the mare, but I've even seen her sleeping on a cloud or two.”
My heart sank as Rainbow’s face came to mind: expression contorted into a scowl as she tried to comfort Pinkie. I closed my eyes, feeling how heavy they were when I struggled to open them again.
“I haven’t seen a lot of Rainbow recently.”
“Yeah, me neither.” he whispered, moving a bit closer to me. “So, do you mind if I ask what happened? I haven’t seen Fluttershy or Pinkie since you got back, and the others look pretty perturbed. And you,” Dark trailed off.
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
He dropped his head, shifting his weight on the bed. “No problem. Sorry for asking.”
“It’s fine.” I muttered. I peered around the room, trying to think of something to talk about and fill the gnawing silence. “What’s Canterlot like?”
“Canterlot?” There was a meek undertone to his response. He pulled his arms close, pressing his legs tightly against the edge of the bed. “It’s nice, I guess. When I was there, everything was so pretty all the time. Every building dressed up, every pony looking their best; you could go anywhere whenever and get pretty much anything. Even at night it was super active with dances and raves if you knew the right ponies. Practically no crime, and you get to live right under Celestia.”
There was a small, cheerless smile on his face as he stared off into the distance. I recognized the expression as the same ones the monsters wore when I asked them what things were like before the war, and they’d reminisce on times that couldn’t have possibly been as good as they claimed they were.
“Do you miss it?” I asked, though his face practically shouted the answer.
“Sometimes, when I’ve got nothing else to think about,” he admitted, taking a deep breath. “Why do you ask? Planning on visiting soon?”
“...” I gripped the bed, the soft fabric almost being enough to overwhelm the stickiness. “Yeah, actually. There’s going to be a chariot tomorrow to take me there and meet Celestia. I don’t know how long I’ll be there or what it's like, so I figured I’d ask.”
“Woah, woah, woah!” he blurted out, moving to face me as his eyes widened. “You’re going to meet Celestia? In the castle?”
“Uh,” the sudden increase in his voice shook off some of the exhaustion. I couldn’t quite tell if it was excitement or nervousness. Nervouscitement? “Yeah?”
“I don’t think you understand how special this is; the majority of ponies in Canterlot don’t even get to see the inside of the castle, and only the snootiest of Canterlot nobles meet her whenever they want outside of special occasions. What in Tartarus did you do to get a chariot come to pick you up and take you straight there? Save The Elements of Harmony by yourself?”
I held my tongue, trying not to physically react to how spot on that was. I reached over to one of the pillows, finding it comfortably cold as I set it under my head. “I can’t say, really.”
His face dropped. “Right, sorry.” he remarks, rubbing the back of his neck. “Are you going to be walking around Canterlot? I,” he paused, licking his lips. “Might have a favor.”
From the way Twilight talked about it, it sounded like I wouldn’t be allowed to leave Canterlot Castle until Celestia says I can; in essence, I was going to be a prisoner. Would I have a cell? A handful of guards to escort me wherever I go? Or would I be allowed to go wherever I want, knowing that I was one mistake away from being banished into nothingness?
There was a very real possibility that today was my last day of freedom. If that’s the case, there really was nothing I could do about it.
“I don’t know.” I rolled over, burying my head into the pillow until only half of my face was visible. “I can try. What is it?”
“My family; can you check on how they’re doing somehow? I know we’re on awful terms, but I still worry about them. Just knowing they’re fine would be a huge relief.”
“What if they aren’t fine? Or,” I pictured my own family; fractured, but fixable. Even with Asriel and I gone, they could be helped. They could be happy. “Worse; they’re happy without you.”
“I,” He opened his mouth to say something, narrowing his eyes as he realized something. Dark tightened his hand as he winced. “Still want to know.”
“No, you don’t.” I muttered under my breath. “If you’re sure.”
The subject kept bringing my mind to The Dreemurr Family; Toriel’s anguish, Asgore’s grief, Asriel’s emptiness.
All because of me, and all got better without me; likely will again when Frisk eventually decides to come back.
Except for Asriel.
“Can we talk about something else?” Dark asked meekly.
“Yeah. Uh,” I pressed a finger into the pillow, watching as the fabric caved in with the slightest amount of force. “You mentioned before that ponies lost interest in stars after Luna came back; what was it like before that?”
“Kind of awesome.” There was a brief spark in his eyes as his voice picked up, using his magic to open the drawer of the nightstand and hovering a piece of paper over to himself. “For the past millennia or so, ponies were super interested in space stuff. Solar systems, distant planets, black holes, aliens. Space exploration would have happened eventually. Until then, these were really popular.”
He showed me the paper, which was apparently a certificate saying that he owned a star called ‘Aurora’, and a bunch of other words I didn’t feel like raising my head to read properly.
“Ponies bought stars?”
“Well, technically ponies bought pieces of paper saying they owned stars, but yeah.” he explained as he rolled the paper back up. “Sometimes they’d do it as a romantic gesture, other times to leave something behind, stuff like that. Of course, officially they didn’t actually own them, so they really only bought peace of mind. And, well, Luna banned these since apparently no pony should have ownership over any part of the night sky, so this is illegal just to own.”
“Sounds like a scam.”
He chuckled. “Yeah, I guess it kind of was. When nothing big happens that long, ponies end up just having more bits than they know what to do with. It’s not like they were promised any profit, no pony was hurt.”
My eyes started to burn. I half closed them, finding every breath more relaxing than the last. “On the plus side, you got to move in here since no one comes here that often anymore.”
“That’s true. Certainly much better than where I lived last; I love Bulk, but he’s a terrible roommate.”
I closed my eyes, giving them a short rest. I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but this bed was just as comfortable as Fluttershy’s. If I plunged any deeper into the mattress, I might never come out. The pillow wasn’t getting warmer, staying perfectly cold and tempting me to shove my face in completely.
Unfortunately, I needed air.
“Hey, Char?”
Dark sounded distant, despite being just a few inches away from me. I could make out every word, but it was hard to process them. Like my brain didn’t want to do anything besides just laying here and existing.
“Hm?”
“I’m,” I felt his weight move forward, then something brush against my hand. I winced at the sudden contact, which stopped just as immediately. He stood up, hooves hitting the ground as he walked a few steps away. “Glad you came back.”
_______
I didn’t even realize I fell asleep until I sat up, physically well rested, but panicked at how much time I might have lost. There was still light from the open dome, only significantly less as the sun had started to set. Getting off the bed was less painful than before, but some parts of my body hadn’t quite woken up and were still numb.
Everything felt tough compared to the softness of the cloud bed.
“Huh. I didn’t take you for the bedhead type.”
Dark was hanging over one of the nearby rails, using his magic to clean the lens of the giant telescope in the center. I turned to the mirror of his open cabinet, finding that most of my hair had lost its usual straightness and was sticking in…well everywhere.
Rarity would not be pleased.
“Comb and manebrush above the shirts.” He said casually, floating a rag and a spray bottle over to himself and then on the ground.
After moving a tube of Pinkie’s brand toothpaste, there was a fairly clean hairbrush, or manebrush I suppose. There were no noticeable strains of mane in it; judging from how spiked his hair was, he used the comb a lot more.
“How long was I asleep?” I asked as I tried to brush my hair into some resemblance of what it usually was. It wasn’t being flexible, and required a painful amount of force to keep down. I grit my teeth to stop myself from jerking every time I had to brush through a particularly stubborn curl.
“I don’t know, a few hours? I don’t keep track of time if I don’t have anything going on. You looked like you needed it.”
While I did, the feeling of being well rested was thoroughly overwhelmed by nausea inducing levels of terror; I told Fluttershy I’d only be gone for a little while, not most of the day! She was probably sitting on the couch, anxiously petting Angel while waiting for me to show up.
Or…she might be fine. I did send that bird to tell her I’d be gone for a while.
As I placed the hairbrush back in the cabinet and closed it, I kept my arms against the doors and lowered my head. I still had no idea what to say to Fluttershy, but I had to tell her something, anything that might make things just a little better. I didn’t know when I’d be coming back from Canterlot, if at all.
“You alright? Got pretty pale all of a sudden.”
“Yeah,” I whispered as I stepped away, slipping my backpack on. At least the pain was much more tolerable. “Just stood up too fast. Thank you for letting me sleep in your bed, really, but I wish you didn’t. I needed to be at Fluttershy’s hours ago.”
“You're welcome, sorry?”
“You don’t-nevermind.” I made my way to the staircase, freezing in place when I heard him call out to me.
“Come and see me when you’re back from Canterlot; I’d love to hear if anything has changed!”
“Mhm.” I responded, unable to bring myself to look back at him.
It got dark quickly as I trekked back to Fluttershy’s Cottage, but my legs didn’t complain nearly as much. None of the animals were around, not even the nocturnal ones. I tried to peek into the window, only to find the lights weren’t on and the inside was darker than the outside.
My hands trembled as I pushed open the door, the squeaking of its hinges grating to my ears. She was sitting on the couch, head against the armrest and completely passed out. All things considered, Fluttershy was in much better shape than when I saw her earlier. Her mane was straightened and she was now wearing a new set of clothes. Her skin was less pale as well and the bags under her eyes were less prominent.
I couldn’t bring myself to wake her up, even if she had likely fallen asleep waiting for me. However, Angel made the decision to wake her up for me. He was resting on her chest when he spotted me, quickly getting up and roughly tugging on her mane. She was awake with a jolt, her wings extending to her sides like bouncing springs.
“I’m awake!” she shouted, pupils contracting as they darted around the room and landing on me. Tensing up as she retracted her wings.“Oh, Chara. The birds told me you’d be back soon, but I must have fallen asleep at some point.”
As she spoke, I made sure to pull my sleeve over my wrist, hiding as much of the bandage as I could; she didn’t need to know about that yet, or ever if I could help it. All it would do is make her more upset and worried about me, and I don’t know how much more of that she could actually take.
“Yeah, sorry for taking so long. I got caught up with Dark and lost track of time for a bit.”
“Oh. That’s fine.” she said meekly. “What did Twilight say?”
“She,” I stared at a random spot on the ground, leaving my arms dangling at my sides like wet noodles. “Told me I’d be going to Canterlot.”
“Canterlot?” her body froze while her arms came up, tightly gripping a blanket to her chest. “I should have known. But they won’t,” Fluttershy closed her eyes. “How long?”
“Don’t know.” I responded, noticing Angel eyeing me as he stood on her lap. “Until Celestia says it's ok. I’m supposed to be going straight to the castle and kept under her care, I don’t even know if I’ll be allowed to leave the castle or not.”
“In the castle with Celestia? Oh no,” Fluttershy got to her hooves, causing Angel to jump off and land right beside me. “I can’t do anything to help. If Twilight’s already-”
“I’m going to tell you the truth.” I stated, tightly clenching my fist. “Really, I mean it. When I get back, I’ll tell you everything you want; only you. I don’t want you to be afraid of me, either.”
I crouched down, reaching my hand towards Angel to pet him. He crossed his arms, but didn’t try to stop me or react other than scowling.
I’m going to miss him.
“Chara,” there was nigh tangible relief in her voice; wings fluttering as she took a few steps towards me, though I didn’t want to take my eyes off Angel. “Why can’t you tell me now?”
“I’m not ready.” I gently picked up Angel, smirking as I held him against me and tried to remember the feeling of how soft and adorably tiny he was. “And I don’t want it weighing on you while I’m gone. Please, just talk to the others. They miss you, and with me not around, you can be friends again.”
“You being around doesn-”
“Yes it does.” I didn’t raise my voice, or even move an inch. “I talked to them on my way to Twilight’s, and none of them were ok. Rarity’s burying herself in her work, Pinkie’s depressed, Rainbow and Applejack are furious, and I don’t know if Twilight’s even talked to the others since it happened. Please.”
“Chara,” she extended a wing, placing it on my shoulder. Despite her best attempts to hide it, I felt each tremble. “Everything will be fine, we’ve,” she bit her lip. “Been through worse. I promise.”
Her words lacked any semblance of confidence, but I knew she was just trying to reassure me. I slowly stood up, still holding Angel as I turned to the stairs. “Take the bed tonight. I know how hard that couch can be on your back, and I’ve already been sleeping there for two days.”
“Chara, I couldn’t do that to you; especially on your last day.”
“It’s fine. I passed out at Dark’s, so I don’t think I’ll be able to fall asleep tonight even if I wanted to.”
“Hm.” Fluttershy grunted, eyes shifting between Angel and me for an egregiously long minute. “Do you want Angel to stay with you?”
I loosened my grip on him, having temporarily forgotten I was holding him and not a stuffed toy. He grimaced at me, lightly slapping my chest as he tried to catch his breath. “If he doesn’t mind.”
Again, he scowled at me, but didn't do anything else to express his disapproval.
“Then, I should be heading to sleep.” Fluttershy began walking up the stairs, her wings rigidly hugging her sides. “Please, wake me up if you need anything.” she stopped as she got to the top, whispering something to herself. “I just wish there was more I could do.”
I collapsed on the couch the second she was gone, still holding Angel in my arms; his ears standing up and poking the bottom of my chin. It would have been so easy to just lay there, keeping my eyes closed and hoping I was just tired enough to sleep until morning.
As nice as that would have been, I was well aware I wouldn’t actually be able to sleep. I can usually tell if I’ll be able to or not; multiple nights and laying in bed motionless with my eyes closed made that an easy distinction.
“You can nap on me if you want, Angel.” I placed him on my head, which he found comfortable enough to not immediately hop off. “I have some stuff to do. Just don’t tell Fluttershy anything, ok? I will when I’m ready, I promise.”
He made some kind of movement up there, but quickly laid down and started sleeping. I laid my backpack in front of me as I sat up, opening my inventory and trying to avoid looking at my level. The necklace still sat inside, its description not having changed from the gibberish that only occasionally resembled Wing Dings.
Even so, there was an odd urge in the back of my mind to put it on. Likely due to it being identical to my own aside from the antler itself. Each breath felt heavy as I inched it close, the cold metal almost burned in my hands. The world seemed to pause as it went around my neck, overlapping with my own necklace. And…
Nothing happened.
I don’t know what I expected; it hadn’t even shown any magical properties. Why did the dogs have it? It was much easier to remove it, putting it back in my inventory and instead taking out my journal. I opened it to the tally page, adding on the one I hadn’t before.
There were still so many pages, so many details left out. So many questions, so much to do. I don’t know what Celestia has planned for me; if there will be a series of tests, or if I’ll just be left to my own devices until she decides what to do with me.
Either way, nothing would come from sitting on the couch and cuddling with a spoiled bunny; pleasant as that sounded. I couldn’t sleep anyway, so I might as well write down everything I know and I try to figure out what I can.
I’m sure there’ll be plenty of time to ruminate on everything in Canterlot.