//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: The Collector // by gallagsp the corgi //------------------------------// The next morning, Twilight and Colgate awoke early. Colgate immediatly trotted to the bathroom with her bag. Twilight heard the telltale sound of her brushing her teeth. She decided to pack a bag of her own. Who knew how long they would be in Canterlot? Twilight thought back to last night. Colgate was really upset, which was completely understandable, but what she didn't get was why she would be perfectly fine one moment, and then be a sad slump of depression and anger the next. It didn't really make much sense, but then again, Twilight wasn't the one who lost the very thing that made her who she is. "Wow. She is taking a really long time in there." Twilight whispered to herself. It had been ten minutes already, how long does it take to brush your teeth? She approached the bathroom and knocked on the door.  "Colgate, are you alright in there?" "Mmm ffnn twwllhhht." "What was that? I'm coming in!" Twilight opened the door slowly. She looked at Colgate with curiosity. "What in the name of Celestia is that thing, Colgate?" "Ith a, way a mihet." *Ptoo!* "Sorry. It's a device I invented so I can see my mouth easier when I brush. It's a bunch of mirrors on a metal frame, I just put it on and presto! I can get every nook and cranny of my mouth." "Impressive. When did you make this?" "About a year ago. It works great, but sometimes the metal pinches my cheeks and gums." "Heh. I guess you could say it's a bit... Cheeky?" Twilight laughed at her own terrible joke. "That wasn't funny." "I thought it was." "Shouldn't we be going? We have a long trip ahead of us." "Er, Right. Let's go." And there goes another mood swing. Twilight picked up her bags and walked out the door. Colgate followed, her head hung low. She's acting like Pinkie Pie when Discord controlled us. She thought.   The train depot wasn't that far from the library, Twilight kind of wished it was, the trains would sometimes interupt her while studying or sleeping, but she was also thankful it wasn't that far. She didn't know how long Colgate would go along for the ride in the mood she's in. Maybe this was how Colgate dealt with grief? It was strange. But not as strange as her own solution to stress. She still hadn't gotten Smartypants back from Big Macintosh yet. She pushed that thought to the back of her mind and turned to face Colgate. "We're here. Are you ready for this?" "Heh. Sure. I'm absolutly completely ready for the inevitable failure that will follow." Colgate rolled her eyes and walked up to the platform. The train was running late. That worried Twilight. She wanted to help Colgate out, but she couldn't if she didn't want to help herself. Then the worst possible scenario happened. On the crowded station platform, Colgate's bad attitude and blank flank stuck out like a sore hoof. "Mommy, why doesn't that pony have a cutie mark?" A filly said to her mother. "What happened to her?" A stallion said to a mare. "Stop it." Colgate whispered. "Wow, a adult mare without a cutie mark." "What in the world?" "I said stop." Colgate said, a little louder this time. She gritted her teeth, her brow furrowed in anger. The talk continued. Colgate felt eyes on her. No matter where she turned. The crowd began to close in, their questions hitting her hard. Colgate was trapped. Her anger built up. Her jaw hurt from clenching and her head was pounding. "I SAID STOP IT!" She yelled. Twilight stood in front of her. "Colgate, what's wrong? Colgate!" "Not my fault. That bloody crook." "Colgate! Snap out of it!" Twilight yelled. The blue mare looked up in suprise. The crowd vanished, fading away with her anger. "Huh? What? Where's the crowd? What's going on?" "What are you talking about? We're the only ponies here!" "What? No, there was a crowd, t-they were making fun of me." "Colgate, focus. Look around. There is nopony here but you and I." "They s-seemed so real. I don't know what happened." "Probably stress related hallucinations. How well did you sleep last night?" "Ugh. Not well at all. I kept having nightmares about being attacked." Twilight was going to say something, but the loud sound of a train whistle interupted her. "That's our ride. You can sleep on the train if you like. It'll take us a few hours to get to Canterlot." "Y-yeah. Okay." She followed Twilight slowly. They showed their tickets and entered the passenger car. They took their seats and waited to leave. "Twilight?" Colgate said after a minute, "I'm sorry for the way I've been acting. I'm just really scared." "It's alright. We'll get through this. Try to get some rest, I'm going to do a bit of research while we travel." "Research?" Colgate questioned. "Yup. I brought a few books that I think might help us out." Twilight opened her bags and pulled out several large books. They looked old. "Are those spellbooks?" "Yes, yes they are. These are some of the ones I keep in my private collection at the library. A few are from my days at the University." "Neat. I've really wanted to try to improve my magic a bit, but I never had the time. Maybe I could borrow them sometime?" "Sure. After we get this situation sorted out. Try to get some sleep." "Yeah. Goodnight." Colgate yawned and layed down on the seat. She closed her eyes and was asleep in minutes. "Okay. Let's see..." Twilight whispered, flipping To a book's table of contents, "I don't know what we'll be getting into, so I don't know what spells I'll need. I guess I should start from the beginning." Chapter One: Utility Spells Utility type spells are low level spells that most unicorns can learn easily and use efficiently. They are very useful in daily life and can be very handy in an infinate amount of situations. The most basic utility spells are levitation and illumination...