Despite the air of livelihood all around, brought in by the camp refugees conversing with one another and performing other tasks, there was a small bubble encasing you and the other three ponies that cut you all off from the outside world with a grave mute button. While the indigo pegasus stallion had a more disciplined composure with only a simple frown to give, you and the two teenage ponies were still stuck in a stalemate of flabbergasted expressions.
"Alright now, kids," said the stallion, breaking the silence. "Is there some type of joke I'm not getting, or---"
Being able to finally pick her jaw up from the ground, the pink earth pony filly was able to speak, in which your name was said.
Upon hearing your name, the stallion looked back at you with a shocked face at first, before the it eventually turned into a sober yet judgemental scowl.
"Oh... I thought you looked familiar," the stallion said in a displeased tone. "It's been a while since I've last seen you."
The stone-cold glare and harsh voice from the pegasus made you cringe backward. His sudden change in demeanor made you try to shrink yourself down as small as you could, hoping that your existence would not be seen as offensive to him any longer. But instead of going in on the offensive, as you feared he would, the stallion turned around and walked away from the tent.
"Maple Bug. Valor. I'll be talking to Mrs. Treehope about some supply issues. I won't be far from the tent for long, but tell the others to behave themselves while I'm gone."
Whether it was because of a hurry he was in, or because he was eager to get away from you, the stallion did not even bother to get a straight answer from the two teenagers as he went on his way. With him gone, though, you summoned enough strength in all four legs to stand up straight while next to the cart, all while keeping your eyes on your former friends. You slightly opened your mouth, unsure of what words would proceed from your lips, but the decision to initiate a conversation was done by the chubby, short yellow colt.
"[Y/N]? What are you doing here?" he asked with a low, skittish voice. "I thought you left Canterlot months ago. You're not supposed to be here like the rest of us."
You hesitated for a bit before answering. "I... I... I was sent to the School of Friendship before summer ended by my folks. I'm a student there, not a refugee, Valor."
The pink filly gasped. "Woah. I didn't think your family would send you to such a fancy school."
You felt like chuckling a bit, but you suppressed that. "I wouldn't really call it fancy, Maple. There's no tuition involved. Maybe prestigious is better."
"Oh. I just mean that I'm surprised they even let you in at all considering..." A look of embarrassment overcame the pink filly before she lightly slapped her hoof against her forehead. "Man! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have even brought that up!"
You knew exactly what she was referring to: the reason for you even being in Ponyville in the first place. One relief you had gotten from being away from Canterlot was that only a few creatures around you knew what you had done, as the event was mainly local news back home. So to be reminded about it verbally, even slightly, by somecreature else managed to elevate at least one vein from beneath your skin.
But this was Maple. You knew she would never intend to make you uncomfortable. Still, you wanted to change the issue as quickly as possible.
"That stallion that I met," you said, "who is he?"
"That's Mr. Night Soaring," Valor answered. "He's a philosophy teacher at the high school."
It clicked with you why you were a bit bothered with meeting him. "I had a feeling I saw him before."
"Yeah. He only teaches seniors. That's probably why it took a while for the both of you to recognize each other."
"Yeah, but... why are you two with him?" you asked.
Both Maple and Valor avoided looking at you for a bit as if they were in search of an excuse to place their attentions elsewhere, but with no alternate routes to take their faces came back to your sight rather quickly.
"You see," Maple started off with, "a lot of students lost contact with their parents and guardians when the explosions and monsters happened. So the princess ordered that schools take in their students who were by themselves before evacuating."
Your eyes grew in horror, so much so that you were certain that your pupils were surrounded by white seas.
"H-hold on now. A-are you, a-are y-you saying-g that your---"
"Not me, [Y/N]!" a worried Maple exclaimed with reassurance while frantically waving her hooves. "Not me! My parents and my little brother are alive. But they were tranced by a monster, so they're with a few others at a mental hospital in Baltimare. But..."
Maple looked down again, uncertain of what to say next. It took you a while to realize what she was hinting at, but you met Valor's depressing gaze when you noticed he had not said anything yet.
"An... explosion happened near my house," Valor said quietly. "My parents and grandma... they didn't make it."
You gasped at the news, your mind racing through the memories of your encounters with those family members just mentioned to you. You barely interacted with any of those individuals whenever you visited either Maple's or Valor's homes, but your moments with them were at least amiable enough for you to take the blows from hearing of their fates. Half of you was at least grateful to know that Maple's family might make it out of this situation if a cure is found for them, but the second half pondered on the last moments of Valor's loved ones.
In the end, you managed to speak out a few mere words. "I'm... sorry about that. For both of you."
It took some time for words to be spoken again.
"Look, [Y/N]," said Valor with his usual nervousness. "I'm really glad for your condolences and all, and I'm happy to know that you weren't in Canterlot when everything was blowing up, but I think you should just give us what we requested and go on your way."
You tilted your head. There was no malice in Valor's voice, so you knew that he was not irritated by your presence and wanted you gone for his sanity.
"What's the rush for?" you asked.
"It's just that some of the tents in this row are filled with teachers and kids from our school. If anycreature comes out and sees you, well... I don't want to be around that type of trouble. I'm just glad that Mr. Soaring didn't do anything at."
Valor's precautions and worries were enough to make you snort through your nose, which was bit a usual for you during your times with him.
"I like to think that anyone from school would have more important things to worry about than what happened during spring," you stated bluntly, unable to hide the annoyance in your words. "You know --- like being homeless."
The yellow unicorn scratched the back of his head. "That is true, but I like to think it's better to be safer, you know? What happened is still fresh to everycreature."
With a light scowl, you turned your attention to Maple, who addressed you with a nervous smile.
"Valor's right, [Y/N]. I'm glad you're safe and all, but maybe you should---"
A male voice suddenly yelled out from within the tent. "Mape! Valor! What's taking so long?"
Popping out of the tent came two teenage colts. The first to come out was a cyan pegasus with a long creamy-yellow mane that covered half of his face, and the last was a tall, lanky unicorn with an orange coat, a mane with lime-green, white, and orange stripes, and a pair of thin glasses. At the sight of them, your legs jerked --- nearly pleading with your brain to get ready to make a break for it despite remaining still.
When the duo first came out of the tent, their attention was mainly on Maple and Valor right beside them. But after a few quick glances in your direction, the orange unicorn nudged over at the cyan peagsus and pointed straight at you with an agape mouth similar to what Maple and Valor had on earlier. That opened mouth belonging to the unicorn turned into a scowl once he had gotten the attention of his friend.
And as for the cyan pegasus, he held nothing back. As soon as his orange eyes laid sight on you, he bared his pure white teeth at you like a guard dog being tested. It was a very unsettling image that your brain would be forced to replay to you occasionally in the future. It was an event that you feared encountering once you realized that Maple and Valor were here.
But then again, you should have known that those two would not have been as volatile to seeing you as the other two were. It was them who were the most adamant about never seeing you again.
"What the hell are you doing here?" the cyan pegasus asked, the venom nearly dripping from his hissing tone.
You sighed, knowing that this was the last thing you wanted to deal with.
"Hello, Olly," you said dryly, before looking at the orange unicorn. "Hey, Circuit."
"I didn't say hello to you, you prick," the cyan pegasus asserted. "I said, 'what the hell are you doing here?'"
Moving away from the entrance flaps of the tent, Olly approached you with an unpleasant grimace on his face. Involuntarily, you gulped, not knowing where to go nor what would happen once it was too late to go anywhere. Just as the gap was getting closer between the two of you, Valor stepped in front of the pegasus' warpath, looking up at his friend with a terrified, appeasing smile.
"Hey, Olly!" the unicorn squeaked. "Guess what? [Y/N] is at the School of Friendship! That's where their folks sent them after summer! Isn't it cool that they're attending a place founded by the princess?"
With little effort against Valor's distraction, Olly stepped to the side and finally came face to face with you --- close enough that you could spot your own guilty reflection in his burning eyes.
"I don't care about that," he retorted. "What are you doing here?"
You said nothing. Whether it was out of annoyance or fear, you could not tell the two emotions apart. All you did was stare into Olly's eyes, waiting for something to transpire on its own accord. You simply remained as still as a cold marble statue.
"Olly, please!" begged Maple, lifting a hoof up. "They were just helping refugees. They didn't know that we were here until they came to the tent."
Circuit, the tall orange unicorn, snorted. "Well, if that's the case, then they should have just dropped off the stuff and left the moment they saw you and Valor."
"I'm sure they're not here for trouble, Circ," Valor said meekly.
"Well, like I said, if that's true," Circuit said before turning back to you, "you should drop off what Mape and Valor asked and buzz off."
"Guys, come on," Maple requested with annoyance. "We're living in tents while Canterlot is half of a ruin! We got bigger issues to deal with than being angry at someone who's doing volunteer work."
"I doubt that [Y/N] is here for the sake of charity," Olly argued, his sight still present all over your body. "I'm sure they're gonna get some extra credit back at that school for just hauling stuff around. It's easy work and it benefits them in the long run. Looking out for themself is in their nature, so I don't blame them one bit for taking advantage of a situation like this."
A slight twitch of your mouth broke through your stoic facade, making you let out a brief scowl. But as quick as it was, the pegasus' eagle vision seemed to be able to spot it down, as evident by a smirk followed by a head tilt.
"Something I said bother you?" Olly taunted quietly. "Well guess what? If me calling you out on what's true bothers you so much, then do your job, unpack the crap you're meant to deliver, and give it to us. Then you can go and worry only about yourself."
"I'll... I'll go get it real quick," Valor muttered. The unicorn turned over to the cart, but before he could move, Olly unfurled a wing and blocked his path.
"No, Valor. Let them do it. If they're here to help others, then they can lug this stuff back and forth to the tent until it's all done. We're not in a hurry today."
Maple inched herself closer to the pegasus.
"Olly, come on. This is too much. Valor can just bring the stuff in with his magic."
Olly shrugged and actually broke eye contact with you to address the pink earth pony. "It should take like two or three minutes to bring this all in. You can even guide them to where to put it. It's not like I'm torturing them, Maple."
"But you don't even want them around you."
Olly took a deep sigh. "That's true," he admitted with underlying anger. "But, I think this is a chance for them to prove to us that they can actually do right by others, instead of just putting on an act." He turned back to you, albeit backing up a bit. "So go ahead. The notebooks and brush should be easy, though I know that the typewriter might make you put a little work into that back of yours."
Your glare returned to you in full as you kept looking at the pegasus. A thousand responses piled up in your mind initially, all of them involving telling Olly to shove it one way or another. But as your eyes looked over at a nervous Maple and Valor, and you thought of the ways that Olly would try to shoot down any attempts of assertiveness, the idea of resistance just became as tiring as trying to do extra house chores after a long work day. There were more important things to do.
With little effort, you turned around and went to the back of the cart. Leaning your upper body inside a bit, you grabbed the mane book with your mouth while you grabbed a thick notebook with your forehoof. Exiting the cart, you walked with three moving legs to the entrance of the tent, which Valor opened with the use of his magic.
"I'll show you where you can put everything," the unicorn said with a frown.
Following Valor, with the others behind you, you entered into the tent. Like the previous orange one you were in with the griffons, the green colors of the tent glowed on everycreature inside. The tent included several items, such as five bunk beds spread out, a sleeping bag in the middle, a few storage totes near the beds, a few rugs on the ground, and other miscellaneous devices you supposed made camp life easier.
Aside from you and your former friends, there were six other creatures inside --- all teenagers. One was a dragon, another was a hippogriff, and the other four were ponies. You paid little attention to them, though, focusing only on going to the right corner of the tent that Valor led you to. Eventually, he stopped in front of a storage tote in the tent's corner, just between a bunk bed on the east wall and a bunk bed on the north wall.
"Well, here we are," Valor said after turning to you. "The bunk bed on the right is mine and Maple's. You can just leave the book and brush on the box behind me."
Doing what he suggested, you moved forward to the tote and dropped the brush from your mouth, followed by the notebook. You then turned around and walked through the tent to reach the cart, while Olly, Circuit, Maple, and Valor stayed behind. At the cart, you took a notebook in your mouth and another with your forehoof before heading back to the tent.
Within the tent, you walked over to Valor's bunk bed where he and the others remained. As you went about your way, you heard some whispering to the side and turned your head in the direction it came from. The dragon, the hippogriff, and two ponies were conversing near a bunk bed with quiet voices while taking occasional glances at you. And when you turned to the other side, you were met with silent scowls from the other two ponies.
Having looked at each teenager in the tent, their faces and/or names began to come back to you from deep within your memories' closet. You knew you shared a few classes in high school with at least some of them, while the rest were just students you may have run across every so often back then. But though they were not as confrontational as Olly about what you did months ago, you still preferred to not be a subject of conversation while here.
You dropped the notebook off at the same spot and then headed back out to the cart to get the remaining two notebooks. You used your mouth and hoof again, but you stopped for a while to look at the typewriter --- the very last thing you needed to get. It would be difficult to carry on your back, and you knew for certain that Olly would try to bulldoze Valor from helping you out, but you figured that you would come up with a solution when you were done with the notebooks.
Entering back into the tent, you could tell that the other students were still conversing about you based on their sly looks and barely audible voices. You quickly ignored it, though, wanting all of this to be over as soon as possible.
Moving past your former friends once more, you placed the notebooks with the others and turned around to get the typewriter. Before you could get any further, Olly stepped in front of your way, probably ready to say what you imagined he would demand earlier on.
"I'm sure you can handle the last thing without anyone helping you," he said with a calm scowl. "Right guys?"
While Circuit nodded, Maple and Valor timidly looked away from you and the pegasus --- their eyes searching for anything else to examine. Without a rebuttal from you nor any fuss from Olly, you moved right past him and exited the tent.
Reaching the back of the cart, you stared at the black box-like device, thinking of how to get it inside. You knew that balancing it on your back without it being tied to your torso would not work, as even one clumsy step would make it slide off and get damaged. Luckily for you, the decision to simply walk on your hindlegs while carrying the typewriter with your forelegs came to your mind rather quickly.
Having found a solution, you leaned into the cart and pulled the typewriter forward until it reached your chest. Wrapping your forelegs around the black box, you raised yourself on your hindlegs and lifted up the object. As you expected, the weight of the typewriter gave your wobbly forelegs some trouble with carrying it, and soon even your hindlegs began to quiver with the mere awkward steps you took to the tent.
Moving past the flaps, your eyes remained on the storage tote where the notebooks and brushes were, and you were set on reaching that spot. Even with the typewriter desiring to meet the ground rather than stay in your grasp, you pushed through with gritted teeth and possibly a popped vein or two. You were completely adamant about not having anycreature here gloat after seeing you fail at your task, especially Olly and Circuit.
You were nearly halfway through the tent, and yet you could already feel your body aching. To you, your fatigue was pathetic in a way --- given that you were an earth pony still in their youth. The idea even came to you to simply take a quick break, perhaps maybe thirty seconds at most. But that thought was quickly pushed away. Whether it was because of an eagerness to just it get over with, a desire to avoid being told to not quit by Olly, or perhaps to prove Olly wrong about how you were not capable of such a task, you continued on.
As you wobbled on, you looked on at the faces of your former friends once you were close enough. Valor and Maple bestowed you with uncomfortable frowns as if they sympathized with your struggle, while Circuit and Olly themselves continued on with their judgemental glares as if you insisted on being an eyesore to them.
But in time, you were able to reach the tent's corner once you passed by all four of them. You lifted the typewriter a little higher up before gently lowering it down on the tote with the rest of the books. With your forelegs tender and sore, you felt much-needed relief once you lowered them on the ground. You remained stationary for a while --- allowing your body to cool down from the exhaustion while you caught your breath.
"Well, the work's done. You can go off now."
You recognized Olly's voice. You were not quick to respond, but you eventually turned around to look at the cyan pegasus. The colt stood in front of you with such a confident air of disdainfulness towards you that you nearly mistook him for a pouty seven-year-old instead of a teen one year away from adulthood.
In a way, maybe you were right to see him like that.
Other than the typewriter, what did he really get out of making you go back and forth to bring the notebooks and brush in by yourself? You had already gotten chewed out by him and Circuit months ago, and you were expelled from the school before summer even began. Was Olly really that spiteful that he still believed that he hadn't had his fill yet? Did he need to prioritize seeing you suffer, even when he and the others should worry about when they could get back home?
But in the end... why did it matter what his reasons for this petty victory were?
Whatever you had with him was gone.
Circuit felt the same way about you, too, and even Valor and Maple could not defend what you did despite how tame the two of them were. Not that ever wanted that much of a defense for your error. But...
Tired of being here, of being around them, you moved forward and headed for the tent flaps. You just wanted to continue on with your duties and get some fresh air to clear your head. You could even feel the weight of the past few months began to creep up on your mind as you left behind the four ponies who reminded you of what you had done. But while you were halfway to the exit, you stopped, as the thoughts of a few more creatures who were bothered by what you had done crossed your mind.
"My family," you said, speaking for the first time since you met Olly and Circuit just minutes ago. You turned back around and approached the group again, staring at all four ponies. "Have... Have any of you seen them?"
"What?" Olly asked angerily, taking a few steps forward. "What did you say?"
You repeated yourself. "My family. I don't know if any of them are here in camp, and they haven't come to the school yet to see me. I'm hoping that they were out of the city when the explosions and monsters came, or maybe they're one of the victims in a mental hospital. But... could you tell me if you----"
"Seriously?!?" the pegasus interrupted. "That's the first thing you want to say to me? That you want to know how your family is doing? I knew it! You're just here to help yourself! Why the hell would I help you find the losers who raised you?"
Valor's mouth dropped, and even Circuit seemed a bit taken aback.
"Geez, dude," the taller unicorn said in shock.
Maple, however, did not hold back in giving Olly a scowl when she went over to his side.
"Why in the world would even say that, Olympus?!?" she asked angrily. "That was completely uncalled for!"
Olly did not even budge. "Well, it's not fault that they didn't do a good enough job at raising them. I would actually care about them if they taught them to---"
"CELESTIA'S SAKE! I'M TALKING ABOUT MY FAMILY! JUST HELP ME, PLEASE!"
The air of the tent became stiff and silent. Olly, Maple, Circuit, and Valor were wide-eyed, none of them able to say a single word about the outburst you had. You had even gotten the attention of the other six creatures far away, as they stopped whatever you were doing to look at you with confused and stunned faces.
And to be honest, even you were shaken up yourself by what had just came out of your mouth. You never saw it coming, nor did you even plan to say those words, but you could only assume that your body had been ready to burst with the emotions that had been plaguing you for some time --- from days ago, to months ago.
Even now, with you having let it all out, you could feel the foundations of your body shaking, and your breathing as well was ragged. Though self-discipline might have taken some time, you tried to compose yourself as you addressed Olly and the other three.
"I...I get it, man," you started off with. "I really do. What I did..., it ruined the school. Even if I didn't mean to do it, I made life difficult for every student and teacher back home. I get that you don't want me to be around you. I get that. But..." You tried so hard to not let any cracks show through your fortitude that was already hanging by a thread. "But this my family I'm asking for. They were just as angry with me about what I did. That's why they sent me away. I just... need to know if they're safe. And if that's not the case, I need to know what happened to them. What I did was not their fault."
Silence fell over the tent again. Maple and Valor resumed the pitying frowns they had when you were carrying stuff in. Circuit himself let go of the grudge he had to look down at the ground in melancholy. Olly's face, though as not furious as before, softened into a simple, bothered glare, but he did not meet your eyes, looking to the side instead.
One crack was able to push through your facade.
"Please," you begged instinctively.
Olly closed his eyes tightly, before finally opening them again with a deep sigh.
"I... don't know anything. When the evacuation began, there were a lot of creatures from different parts of the city around me. It was chaos, and I wasn't able to meet anyone I recognized until I was assigned to be looked over by the teachers of the school. And that's only because..." He stopped for a moment until he looked back at you. "Because I don't know what happened to my folks either. They never came around the evac zone, so eventually I was set up with Maple and the others. I don't know what happened to your family."
With Olly finished with his words, your frantic eyes darted back and forth between the other three ponies. They all eventually caught wind of what you were pleading for, with Maple being the first to answer.
"I didn't see your family, [Y/N]. I'm sorry."
"Sorry, dude," Valor said, also adding in his sympathies. "I can't remember seeing your folks anywhere. Either here or back at Canterlot."
In time, Circuit lifted up his head to look at you.
"You know my uncle, [Y/N]. After my parents passed, he wasn't really that upbeat about raising me. So when all this madness happened and our house got trashed, I told him that I wanted to stay with my friends rather than join him with my relatives in Bostrot. I'm glad that the old man didn't put up much of a fight, but I... guess I could have asked him if he had seen your folks before he left. I remember that he knew them a bit."
"But you haven't seen them?" you asked.
The orange unicorn shook his head. "No. Sorry."
With four answers given to you, you stared down at your hooves. The shadow of negativity came over you again, making you spiral down that pit of thoughts that plagued your mind after you left the tent with the griffons. The images and senses arrived back to you slightly, but just strong enough to make you want to heave with a sick stomach.
"Look," you heard Olly say curtly. "You got what you wanted. Alright? You can go now."
The bad thoughts still buzzed around in your head. In fact, you had a feeling that you were not going to get rid of them for some time today. But your vision was clear enough that you could lift your head up and look straight at Olly. You had one more question left.
"Turquoise," you said. "What happened to him? Is he at a different tent?"
Olly continued to display his silent annoyance, but Circuit was free enough to answer, drawing your attention.
"He's not here. After you left, he mentioned to me how his parents would be taking him out of Canterlot when the semester was over. I think he's at a fancy school in the Crystal Empire. Given how... you did what you did, I guess they wanted him to finish high school somewhere better."
Olly produced a scoffing sound. "We didn't really knew him for that long, but I guess it's a good thing his parents pulled him out of Canterlot in time. That's one saving grace behind your screw-up."
You looked back at Olly with a blank stare that hid your anger, but the pegasus simply matched you with his own glare. The image of a brick wall came to mind, and soon the idea of arguing with him quickly died down. In fact, with the mental fog you were dealing with, you just did not have the time nor desire to continue any conflict. You had been inactive in your volunteering for some time, so it was best to resume that.
"I won't waste any of you guys' time anymore," you declared. "I don't think I can control who I'm meant to help, so for your sake I won't be volunteering here anymore."
"Yeah. Our sake," Olly scoffed once more.
With a sigh, you looked over at your former friends one last time and found that nothing really changed about their composures. Maple and Valor were hunched with sadness, Circuit looked away from you with a frown, and Olly continued to bestow his judgemental eyes down upon you. It appeared that things were just as they were months ago, so much so that even the memories of when the four of them were not like this seem more like dreams by now.
You turned around and walked away, heading straight for the tent's exit. You did not bother to look behind for even a split second, nor did you look to the sides at the other creatures, who had halted their whispers about you. Your eyes were simply glued to the exit until you pushed aside a flap.
Back again in the outside world, you were stunned slightly by the sunlight above in the sky, making you raise a hoof over your face. You went over to the parked cart and leaned forward to retrieve the clipboard, crossing off the items of Tent 107 with the pencil.
You placed the clipboard back where it was, but you did not take any other movements. You simply leaned against the side of the cart with your head resting on your foreleg, looking down at the grass below. A weariness had overcome you, and you felt a desire to escape this world through a slumber as your eyelids began to slide down.
Something about being here, surrounded by just..., everything, made you just want to neglect whatever tasks life had planned for you in the future and simply rest.
"Hey, [Y/N]!"
The sound of a familiar voice pulled you out from the lake of despondency you were drowning in. You looked up in time to see Smolder flying down to land right between you and the tent you just left.
"There you are!" she continued, walking over to you with a grin. "You're needed at the castle."
You got off of the cart and landed your forehooves on the ground, doing your best to command your muscles into allowing you to be poised.
"You mean the Friendship Castle?" you asked.
Smolder stopped by your side, looking down into the cart. "Yeah. Headmare Starlight needs you there. I was in town when Counselor Trixie asked me if I saw you. When she told me to tell you the news, I let her know that I would get you from camp."
You frowned. "Does she need me now?"
She looked back at you and shook her head. "Not right now. She'll need you in about three hours. But just in case, you might want to leave right now, since the counselor did seem to be worried about finding you."
As much as you were getting sick of being in camp, the implications of seeing the headmare made you hesitant to leave.
"What about the volunteer work?" you asked under the guise of concern.
Smolder waved her claw at you. "Oh, don't worry about it. You can just explain to the desk that you're needed back at school. Besides, we don't exactly have a shortage of volunteers, and from how the cart looks I say that you've already done your part today. Albeit, not a grand one. You can always come back to help another day."
As much as you wanted to argue, like with Olly minutes ago you had no drive in you to insist that you could be doing anything. You did not like the situation you were in, but you hoped at the very least that whatever Headmare Glimmer needed to see you for was the ppposite of what you have been dreading for the past few days.
"Well..." you said. "I guess I'll be going off, then."
Smolder beamed at you. "Alright, then! I'll see you later! Don't worry about the cart, I'll take care of it."
Knowing that your duties were at an end, you turned away from the cart and your professor to find your way to the front desk of the camp. Your eagerness to leave this place had been somewhat satisfied... somewhat. But you were now worried that you were heading into something that would make your day worse.
Based on previous walks you had gone on, it takes usually an hour or so to go from the southern limits of Ponyville to its northern limits, and vice-versa. After your visit to the front desk, you went around half of the camp before heading into town to make your way to the castle. Eventually, after you made it through the cluster of cottage houses and other colorful buildings, you reached the upper space of the town where the school and castle were.
You stayed along the dirt road for your trek, fearful that wandering off from it would make you wander off from the castle in general. Despite the lack of ardor on your part to go there, you did not feel the need to be rebellious today either. There was not anywhere else for you to go other than the school, and you knew that hiding out even there would be futile, as the staff would be looking for you after some time.
Yet, as the purple and blue crystal structure in the distance got closer to you with each advancing step, a thorn continued to drill itself into your side with such irritation that you wondered if being obedient was really the right choice. If the outcome for coming would be as you expected, then maybe running away would be the best choice. Sure, perhaps it was something unrelated, like news about your family, but at this point that was just wishful thinking to you.
You almost died in the future, and you were so scared that you would be trapped there forever.
Luster, Starlight, and Sunburst may have gotten you out of there, but would a second-time work? How would they even know when you were in danger while in there? And if you did die or get hurt, would it affect your body in the present? As far as you were aware, you did all of the things in the past that a living body was capable of doing as designed by nature, and yet you were never told by those who brought you back that your unconscious body was temporarily became thin and ghastly --- just as it was with that monster you encountered.
You hated this.
You hated worrying. You hated being hurt. You hated being reminded of your struggles and mistakes --- whether it be past, present, or those yet to come. It hasn't even been a week since the monster disaster and your trip to the future, and yet you were already done with life. Everything just seemed to remind you that life was not worth it if it meant being bombarded with meteors of bad news and inconveniences.
Why me? Why do I have to be centered around all of this? It's bad enough that my home is gone and my friends hate me, but now I have something to do with the fate of Equestria? Why? What can I do? What can some kid do to save everycreature?
You were close enough to the castle now that you could see the few golden features that it had, mainly the roofs, balconies, and front stairs. And at those very stairs, you spotted a pink figure at the base that seemed to shift and move. As you transitioned into a trot, the pink object transformed in your sight with each succeeding step into a familiar unicorn mare with a luscious orange and yellow mane.
"Luster?" you called out.
The mare, sitting on the ground, turned around to face you, having been looking up at the sky.
"[Y/N]!" she said, getting off her haunches to stand up as you approached. "I wasn't expecting you to come so soon."
You stopped in your tracks, roughly six feet between you and your kindness classmate.
"I decided to come a bit early. Better to get on with it, you know?"
Luster nodded. "I understand."
You suddenly raised an eyebrow. "Wait. Why were you expecting me?"
"The headmare and vice-principal called me to the castle, too. They told me that the meeting had everything to do with you. They sent Counselor Trixie to go find you while they let me in on what needed to happen. When I was done being taught, I decided to just hang out here until you came."
"So..., what do you know about the meeting?"
"It's about your trip... to the future."
Frowning, she spoke those last words with reluctance, probably by how she read either your face or understood the tone in your voice. It probably did not matter which one she caught first, but it was likely that by now you both knew of how you did not desire to go through the ordeal again.
"Did they tell you about what happened in the office after the emergency meeting? And the day after?"
Luster nodded. "They tried, [Y/N]," she pleaded. "They really did try, but the ethereal spell is so strong that it's basically a part of you. Transferring it to another creature is just impossible."
You looked down at the ground, your shadowy face hardly changing. "I guess there's no other way then."
"There are some updates that are more on the... upside," you heard Luster say. "You'll still be going to the future on your own, but you'll have some protection. But perhaps it's best if the headmare and vice-principal explain more to you. Since you're early, it's best to get as much done as possible today."
Slowly, you lifted your head up, your eyes meeting with Luster's amber ones.
"Sure," you said in defeat. "I'm right behind you."
She continued to frown at you for some time, but soon her pitying came to an end as she turned around and began to ascend the stairs. You followed suit.
"Have you been here before?" she asked.
"No."
"Well, they're both in the Hall of Friendship. It's where the Cutie Map is. I'll show you where."
She had reached the top of the stairs where the dual entrance doors were, and with little effort encased the handles on one side in an orange glow. Before she could open the door all the way, you reached a single hoof out toward her and called out.
"Wait."
Immediately, the pink unicorn halted the door's progress, leaving it a quarter open. She looked down at you with an uncertain expression.
"Is everything all right?" she asked.
"I, um, wanted to apologize for how I acted at the emergency meeting in the hallway. You were only trying to look out for me, and I ended up making you think that you were being a bother instead."
Luster's eyes quickly shifted over to the side, as if she was acknowledging another creature present.
"You're... apologizing for that?"
You nodded with an accompanying, embarrassed chuckle. "Yeah. I mean, what I said was a bit insensitive."
The mare seemed to mull over your words a bit to herself, but soon her pondering glare turned into a humored grin.
"I can see what you mean, but I wasn't really hurt by what you said. I know you, [Y/N], and you like to keep things to yourself. So when you reacted the way you did, I wasn't happy with it, but I understood that you didn't want me to intervene in your life and decisions."
"But I... could have been a bit more---"
"[Y/N]. It's alright. I promise. We're friends, right?"
You stared up at your towering classmate, her smile failing to have falter in any way. Suddenly, a weird phenomenon happened. Whether it was magic or something spiritual, it was hard to tell, but you felt it all pass through your cells. An invisible energy radiated from her that seemed to warm your cheeks and freshen your dull sight while also adding in sparkles. Youthful vigor struck your muscles and spine, making you stand up straight instead of being slumped as before.
The pink unicorn herself did not transform into a beautiful goddess or sun spirit by any means, but yet an eerie sense of worship crossed your mind as a way to show your gratitude for her bestowing her grace upon you. With how grim things have been today, both with the camp and Olly, Luster's smile seemed to wash off the grime of despair that had clung to your fur for days. Not even the cheerful looks from Smolder and some of the refugees you encountered were able to lift up your spirits.
It passed, though, as quickly as it came, and yet you could still feel its odd yet pleasant residue. It was such a strange experience, and yet you welcomed it with your own bashful smile, which you did not hide from Luster.
"Well, I wouldn't say we're..." you began to say, though you trailed off from saying anything diminishing. "Well..., thanks for not holding a grudge. I appreciate that. Especially today."
A light giggle escaped from the unicorn. "It's no problem. Let's go in."
With her magic, Luster swung the door open and the two of you entered the castle. Once you had made it inside, Luster closed the door, separating you from the outside world.