Ponies are colourful creatures. In this very bus there were so many shades that the impressionist artists were put to shame, and yet paled in comparison to the varied and disparate reactions.
Fluttershy ‘eeped’ particularly adorably and cowered uncertainly on her seat, and was completely hidden by Rarity’s excited exclamation. “<-Oh, how wonderful! We get to visit a landmark? I do so hope they have a section on historical fashion...->”
“<-Oh, rattlesnakes, cain’t we jus’ go somewhere else? The countryside, maybe?->” Applejack grumbled, pulling her hat down over her eyes. “<-I seen enuff o’ this ‘ere city t’last a lifetime! There’s jus’ so dang much of it...->” Pinkie Pie bounced up on her seat, shouting over Applejack’s head, <-Or let’s go to the beach! There’s a party on the beach right now! Pleasepleaseplease...->” Et cetera. She simply repeated the two words over and over again in a way that managed to be extremely persuasive.
“<-Pinkie, how you figure?->” I couldn't help but be curious. “<-is this your Pinkie Sense thing?->” I turned to Twilight to ask if this was even possible, but Pinkie forestalled me.
“<-No, silly, look there! And there, and there, and there...->” Et cetera. Again. She was pointing out the dozens of flyers strapped to street lights and walls that zoomed past our moving bus. I was about to growl at myself for not noticing signs for a beach party, when an equally confusing tidbit came to mind. “<-But those posters are written in Engli...->”
“<-Stop->” A purple limb reached up and redirected my head until I found my attention fully occupied by Twilight’s insistent gaze, “<-If you value your sanity, you will not finish that question.->” She stared at me until I gulped and nodded. She was right: I had bigger things to worry about right now. Like Twilight’s desire to go into a museum that would most definitely be full of humans rather not expecting to see a winged lavender alien-pony perusing the displays.
Right, that: “Twilight, about the museum...I don’t think you’ll be able to go into the place without causing a bit of a problem...->”
She raised an eyebrow at me and smirked. “<-Oh, I’m not going into the museum.->”
I didn't like the feeling that I was seriously out of all the loops I had been quite firmly in up until a few minutes ago. “<-Okay, usually I’d just wait for you to make sense after a few minutes, but I’m gonna humour you: How do you plan on getting into the museum if you’re not going into the museum?->”
Twilight took a breath, either to sigh or to actually explain something for once, but of course the universe decided to invene. And by the universe, I of course mean Rainbow Dash. “<-Okay. Museum. Twilight want. I get that, but,->” Rainbow leaned into the windshield, looking in at Twi and me as we stood just behind her in the middle of the bus, “<-I think we should at least get some breakfast before you drag us all into some dusty old museum->”
Twilight’s eyes widened, not expecting the others to assume they would be accompanying her, but quite frankly me just knowing that those were her thoughts right off the bat was reason enough for me to interrupt her. “<-Good point Rainbow, Twi can explain her plan to all of us over breakfast.->” I looked out the window looking for a nearby restaurant. Instead, I saw an oldish Malaysian man standing in the street and looking at the bus. Staring intently through the windshield.
At Rainbow Dash.
“<-Okay, Rainbow, Backing up from the glass, now->” I hurriedly said, pulling her away from the glass and into the shadowy interior of the vehicle. Who was I kidding, thinking a Gatsby cap would be enough to hide her for long? Didn’t mean I was taking it back, though. I bumped Rainbow Dash a few feet further into the bus and ignored her initial glare. Instead, I smiled and shrugged at the man outside, who, after a moment’s hesitation, merely waved back and continued on this way. Huh. I expected a bit more trouble than that...
Anyway, back to business. I scanned the street, searching for a suitable eatery to serve our needs. Andrew slowed the buss to literal crawling speeds to give me enough time to search, and I quickly found a likely spot. I turned to Andrew and grinned maniacally. “Boy, I sure do hope Ponies like Indian food.”
Food. The universal equalizer. In less than a split second, I was surrounded by ponies clamouring for food in a way I found oddly similar to baby birds. Their grating questions hit me like a like freight train, leaving the only thought in my head to wonder why this was being inflicted solely upon me.
Luckily, Twilight came to my aid. She pushed her way in front of her friends and flared her wings to hold them at bay. She gave me and insistent glance that said, in the most clichéd way imaginable, ‘Go. Now!’
Needless, to say, I still obeyed. I wasn't sure how this morning was going to pan out, but I was sure it was not going to get easier. Getting breakfast should be easy enough. Andrew slowed the bus to a halt, I cracked the door just enough for me to jump out, and sprinted across the street to the apparently Indian diner. With my complete lack of knowledge of Indian food, I simply pointed at seven of their finest strictly vegetarian meals. ‘Strictly’meaning, as I had to explain multiple times to the teller, no meat AT ALL. Not less beef. Not alongside lamb shanks. Certainly not an extra side of chicken. NO MEAT.
Yeah, so not so easy after all. This was going to be a long day.
After twenty minutes haggling over the price, I finally made it out of the eatery with my soul intact. I looked around the street for a minute, unable to find the bus. Just as I began to get a little nervous: “Just tell ‘im to stay put for a minute, we’ll drive around and come and pick ‘im up.”
This was creepy, because that was Andrew’s voice, not Twilight’s. Twilight I could live with; I trusted her to be responsible – for some reason – but Andrew? I knew him, but...not enough for this. As such, my thought returned as somewhat of a jumble of questions and expletives I’d rather not have to share. However, I did get an agreeable answer. “<-Calm down, Marc, it’s just me, Twilight. I felt you searching for us, so I shared what Andrew was saying with you, nothing to get scared about->”
I audibly gasped, pulling in a new breath to replace the now very outdated one I’d been holding in.
“<-Oh thank God, I thought Andrew was mind-jacking me, too...hang on, now, I wasn’t scared!->”
I could feel her giggle as easily as though she were right next to me. “<-You realize that you’re sharing your emotions as if they’re on sale, right?->”
I actually didn’t know that, but now that Twilight noted it, I could feel myself clamming up, and could sense her surprise, and just maybe, a little bit a hurt. Though I couldn’t figure out why, because she closed up, too. Weird. “<-Well, we’re right in front of you, so wake up and get in.->”
I shook my head rapidly, looking up at the unmistakably ugly vehicle before me. The door was cracked open just enough to expose one magenta iris below the edge of a cap.
I sighed, and pushed myself up into the door, jamming it wide enough for the packages I was carrying to fit through. I put all the bags down and turned to close the door, but in the moment I did so, I saw an old leathery-skinned grandmother staring past me into the bus. I shut the door as quickly as I could after giving her a polite smile (Always pays to be nice, right?) and turned to see what she had been looking at. And of course Rainbow Dash had her nose buried in the bags, her bright-as-bunting tail waving around just enough to catch the lady’s attention. Damn.
“<-Rainbow, I’m gonna ask you to step away from the food, okay?->” I said calmly, as if talking to a dangerous bear. But, considering how much more energized they’d all been, lately, she very well deserved it. Rainbow Dash raised her head to growl at me, but noticed the bemused looks of her friends, all staring at her in a very accusatory manner.
“<-Eheh..Maybe I’ll just...wait over there.->” She mumbled and dragged herself to the first bench seat behind Andrew, where she sat looking at me expectantly. I figured that it was high time to start handing out the meals. Hungry ponies were not a problem to delay.
First, I grabbed an oddly long-ish wrapped roll thing, which I assumed was that seasonal salad wrap I had seen. I tossed it to Twilight, assuming she’d hand it to whoever wanted it. I was surprised when she opened the package and began cautiously nibbling at it herself.
Huh...well, there goes my breakfast...
I handed the meal I’d previously planned for myself to Pinkie Pie, figuring she wouldn’t mind the spicy greens and sauce. I guess it served me right for automatically assuming Twilight wouldn’t eat when I’d spent the last few days convincing her to get on with it. I overhand-tossed an apple-cinnamon pie to Applejack, and picked out Rarity’s almost ornate looking mild salad. Fluttershy received a beautiful little savoury pancake that I quite admired, but couldn’t think of eating: too sweet. The last thing I checked was the meal for Rainbow Dash, the Spicy Mushrooms. I was pretty sure I said Mushrooms, not chicken wings. I quickly clammed the box and slid it over to Andrew, who took one sniff of the box and stuffed it under his chair before gearing the bus up and driving us away. At least he had the good grace not to eat it in front of the ponies. After the near calamity with AJ and the bacon, well...we’d been careful. I pulled out the meal I’d intended for Andrew and shuffled it into Rainbow’s waiting hooves. The box of rice and tangy sauce with cubes of goats cheese looked like it had just come out of the microwave, but it was good enough for the hungry Pegasus, and that was good enough for me.
I pushed all of the plastic wrappings into a hole in the Bus’s panelling before reoccupying my standing position in the front of the bus, looking over my touring guests as if I actually knew what I was doing as a tour guide. Andrew drove slowly, though, having learned about sensitive passengers. I smiled as I noted each pony thoroughly enjoying their meal – Pinkie was already finished – until I found Twilight right before me, holding the wrap I’d given her questioningly. “<-Um...Marc, did you plan to eat this one?->”
I didn’t know what to say, but my stomach sure did. One loud growl later and we both stood awkwardly, rather embarrassed. Twilight started to telekinetically fold the paper back up over the only slightly nibbled wrap. “<Oh, I’m so sorry! I thought you’d gotten something for all of us, and I...->”
I grabbed the wrap out of mid air, re-opened it at dropped it back into Twilight’s aura. “<-Nope! It was my mistake; you enjoy that bad boy, it’s got all sorts of yummy stuff just for you.->” God damnit, I sounded like Pinkie...
We stood in silence for a while, neither sure what the other was thinking, until Twilight glanced at the wrap, then at me, before holding it out again. “<-Wanna share?->”
What could I do? I grinned, “<-Yeah, sure thing.->”
If I’d taken a moment to consider the fact that I was sharing a salad wrap, bite for bite, with a pony Princess of untold magical power from a magical realm of rainbows (or something, I wasn’t sure anymore), then I probably would have been weirded out. The same would have come to pass if I focussed on the fact that I could once again feel Twilight’s relief on the edge of my perception.
As it stood, though, I was just sharing breakfast with a friend. Not that the joys of it could last long. Fully aware that it would have to come up eventually, I broke the contented silence and asked the question on everyone’s minds: “<-So, Twi, how do you plan on getting all of us into the museum, eh?->”
All eyes (except Andrew’s – he was pretty preoccupied) were drawn to Twilight as she tried to quickly suck up the lettuce escaping her last mouthful before awkwardly relying,”<-Uh...Girls, I never really...planned on any of us going into the museum...->”
I blinked. Brain, please process...”<-But you said you wanted to see the museum. How do you plan on getting into the museum if you aren’t going into the museum?->”
I wasn’t the only one confused: Although the rest of the ponies didn’t seem disappointed much – Applejack and Rainbow were vocally relieved – they were just as curious as I was. Twilight looked at me and carefully picked her words. This could not go well... “<-I don’t have to actually be there...If you let me be there with you.->”
Brain implosion.
Seeing my blank look, Twilight sighed and explained further, in English, this time, “It’s a simple signal spell, one that unicorns use quite often to learn spells from one another: When a unicorn wants to teach another unicorn a spell, they share the sensory data they go through to manipulate the leylines involved. In short, they let the other unicorn experience their senses. We’d be doing that, just on a deeper level. If you want to, you could...let me see through your eyes. Literally. And experience your other senses, too. Make sense?”
My first response of ‘HELL NO’ was cut off as the bus suddenly baked to a halt and Andrew spun to look at us. “Dude, that sounds so bloody cool! So, Twi, you’d be, like really in Marc’s head? Seeing everything, hearing everything, basically being Marc for a bit?”
Twilight snorted and raised an eyebrow at Andrew. “Shouldn’t you stick to driving? And no, I’d still be here to give you trouble. Marc, you’d basically be a really fancy camera. It would be like a really cool movie, just playing in my head.” She looked at me again, a small note of hope playing through her eyes, “<-So, Marc..uh...you game?->”
Okay, so I’d only this morning learned that Twilight and I shared this weird emotional link, backlash from her forcing her language into my head a few days ago. And now she was asking me if she could use senses to visit a museum. Of course there was only one logical response.
*****
“How the hell did this happen again?”
I looked up the front steps of the Cape Town Museum building and planetarium dome wondering how I had been convinced to do this. I looked back at the scruffy bus behind me in the street, already pulling away to park in a side street. I steadied myself as a strange feeling of detachment washed over me.
I heard Twilight’s thoughts as she experienced the same odd tremble. “I think there may be one or two small feedback problems, nothing major. You’re just feeling a little of what I’m doing, too, nothing to worry about. You’ll be fine”
“I feel drunk. And I can feel my ear twitching. I’m pretty sure humans don’t have muscles like that to twitch.”
“This will be fine. This will be great! Oh, I can’t wait to see how your people have set up! And that planetarium, do you think we’ll be allowed in? I would love to get a better understanding of how your planetary systems work!”
Right, that’s what convinced me to do this. I hadn’t seen that bubbly curiosity in Twilight save for the odd questions, but her excitement when I’d finally agreed...that made any discomfort worth bearing. That very thought strengthened my will, and started up the Victorian entryway of the old museum building.
I walked up to the admissions desk and smiled confidently at the secretary. “Hello, I’d like two admissions tickets, please.”
The lady glanced pointedly behind me before returning her gaze to my now much less confident grin. “Uh, I mean...one ticket, please.”
She nodded and stamped me out one admission ticket and accepted my money in return.
I pushed myself through the swinging doors and into the wonderfully quiet and dark museum. Just as I finally felt I’d escaped the embarrassment of my slip: “Did you just ask for two tickets? Really?”
Twilights amusement brought a fresh flush to my face. The most annoying thing was that it was really hard to hide how I felt when Twilight was basically in my head, feeling what I felt anyway. It also made everything we shared somehow far more potent.
For a second, I lost my control, and a small flash of annoyance escaped me. Suddenly, I knew precisely where Twi was, how she stood, what she felt. Twilight replied with confusion and remorse, then I with guilt and concern, then her with empathy...It took awhile for both of us to get the stream of emotion under control. When we did, and got it safely locked back in our own heads, I found myself standing tensely in the middle of the hall.
“Twilight?”
“...Yes?”
“What just happened?”
“I’m...not sure.”
“Have I been standing here for ten minutes?”
“Nearly fifteen.”
“Uh...so let’s not do that again. It was...weird. So where would you like to start?” I asked, moving forward, away from the strange emotional conversation we’d just had.
Twilight immediately replied, also more than willing to ignore the disconcerting experience, at least for now. “How about we start in the history section, and then move around to the biology section. Then we could go see the planetarium.”
I stepped up to the directory board and got a quick idea of where to go. I also read the times and shows available. I felt Twilight’s disappointment even as I explained, “Aw, sorry Twi, the Planetarium isn’t open today. But there’s a new exhibit in the African History section; we could start there?”
Twilight assented, though mostly because she was going to see everything eventually. She had made that much clear earlier.
It was pleasant actually. We...I spent ages meandering through the historical displays, reading the history of the various waves of immigrants, cultures and conflicts, all displayed in slightly moth-eaten old wax models in glass cases. The artefacts protected beneath their glass called me to learn their meaning, even though there was just so much to see. I always did enjoy history, and this place, though certainly in need of a good dusting, was full of it. And even as much as I was enjoying it, there was somepony enjoying it even more than me.
At every case, Twilight had questions. At every corner, she asked me stop and review. In every hall, she exclaimed in silent joy about the sheer strangeness of humanity.
She did find some parts distasteful, like the endless war stories, the weapons and hunting tools, and how so much of what humans did relied on the death of creatures around us. I tried my best to explain it to her, but she shrugged it off, saying that she understood. I know she didn’t really, but she did at least accept it, and that was good enough.
It was when we entered the marine hall that she finally gave out in shock. “Okay, that’s just disgusting...”
I looked up at the three whale skeletons suspended from the ceiling, hanging in their empty glory over the vast floor. I walked under the large bones, unable to suppress my awe at the magnitude of the creatures. Twilight, though, felt the opposite.
“Marc, does so much of your world revolve around harming the world that you find representations of the dead to be so gratifying?”
Her annoyance stung me slightly, and so I tried once more to illustrate it to her. I purposefully walked up the ramps that ran around the galleries, leading me to the second level, from where I could look into the three other halls that, alongside, the whale room, made up the biology section.
I pointed at the whales from the one gallery. “You see them, Twilight? Majestic peaceful creatures of the sea in life, and reminders of humanity’s error in death. But those aren’t even real bones, just casts, and if you read this plaque, you’ll see that all these whales died of natural causes. It’s not our nature to be so violent, but the nature of our world is less harmonious than that of yours.” I walked away from the gallery to a short hall filled with jaws of various sizes, some big enough for me to stand in, all lined with countless razor teeth. “Here are the remnants of the sea’s greatest killers. Sharks are amazing and terrifying, but deserving no less remembrance than the whales.” I walked through to another gallery, this one overlooking an immensely tall glass display full of dozens of smaller creatures of the sea. “And here are dozens of creatures, all smaller, some just as violent, some peaceful. And yet, they all deserve just as much thought as the giants that war against each other, because they all play a part in the incredibly delicate balance that makes up our world.”
I continued through the galleries, quieting as I made for my one last point of reference, noting Twilight’s silence as well. At last, I came out in the small palaeontology wing, walking among the hundreds of fossils, pointing a few out as I passed, “Each one of these creatures – this fish, this lizard, this little monkey – none of their kind are alive anymore, but that doesn’t mean they deserve any less care, because,” I walked boldly into the final hall, filled with the tall frames of two dinosaurs, one a predator, in position behind its skeletal prey, “Because they are all part of the balance that is our world, and are a part of what made us. They are gone, now, but they are here, because we will them to be, and in their presence, even though they are dead, we can imagine the glory they had in life.”
I turned and looked out the window overlooking the gardens beyond the skeletons. “I’m sure that all of this would mean the same to me as it seems to you if I wasn’t so aware that each and every life and death all of these things document are as equally important as the other, because they all served a purpose in the equilibrium that is our world.”
I sighed as I turned away, muttering, “That’s how I see it, anyway.”
First there was silence as I walked into the meteorology wing, but then, “You have quite the way with words, Marc. I think I can understand where you’re coming from. Maybe one day I can show you how our world works, too.”
I smiled thinly but made a reserved answer. “However wonderful that would be, lets remember our goal, here. But look, here’s as close as I can get you to the planetarium. Wanna have a look around?”
Twilight replied slowly, thoughtfully, “No...I think I can put it off for another time. Why don’t you come back to the bus; we’ll be outside in a minute. You’re not comfortable with this anymore, and I can respect that.” I felt her withdraw from my senses, leaving me my own person once again.
I wish I could say that I didn’t sigh in relief, but I did. I emerged from the building, the bright sun glaring for a moment, my movements sluggish, but strong. The fine motor control muscles of my extremities once again firmly under my control. Also, my mood nearly instantly improved from my almost gloomy feeling I’d had inside the museum. I looked back at the building, wondering what exactly had happened in there, but rather decided not to think about it too much. Instead, I trotted down to the bus and swung up into the entryway. The door was already opening as I did, making it a supremely smooth mounting, but the violet aura around the door was a little disconcerting, since people were watching me. Oh well.
The first thing I saw once I’d shut the door and turned around were a pyramid of expectant eyes looking up at me from the bus’s isle, the ponies just about standing upon each other, seconds from clamouring to sate their curiosity. I had to preempt them. “<-Whoa, ponies, I’m sure Twi and I can tell you all about it in a minute, but for now, how would you like to at least drive past that beach party? And then we can drive around Chapman’s peak, show you ponies a real view, yeh?->”
Pinkie gasped and shot a foot in the air ploughed straight into the back of Andrew’s chair, and the rest acted similarly, all except Applejack. She stood still for a moment, looking at me almost piercingly, before smiling and glancing back at Twilight, standing right behind her. Then AJ trotted over to her seat, leaving me to talk to Twi somewhat awkwardly.
“Hey, I’m sorry for how I acted up in there, I guess things jus...-“
“Thank you.”
I looked at her in surprise, wondering where that came from, and luckily I didn’t have to wait as she smiled and continued, “Thank you, firstly, for allowing me try that trick out, and secondly for being honest about your views. It’s always refreshing to see a new point of view, and since I am the foreign party, I should try to understand it. I think I learned a lot, and I’m glad we went through with it. And for what it’s worth, “She added, “I’m sorry for not accepting it to begin with. So, no hard feelings?”
Well now, I’d just spent the last, what, few hours (wow, that long?)with my senses being hijacked by this girl, so: “Of course not! Actually, I think it was rather fun. Still, maybe next time we try something like brain-jacking, we should at least do something really cool with it. There’s so much more to see around here. Like the beach! Andrew, take us to that beach party, will ya? Just drive around the coast until we reach Chapman’s, then we can make for home. I’m getting hungry again.”
“You got it boss!” Andrew shouted and floored the accelerator. The bus began crawling along.
I turned and bumped Twilight over to a bench seat. “<-C’mon Twi, I’ve been standing for ages, I need to sit down for a bit.->”
She happily leapt up and make space for me to sit beside her, and I sighed contentedly as I did so. I closed my eyes as stretched, yawning as I did so, and threw my arms and neck over the back of the seat, staring up at the bus’s roof.
Only, it wasn’t the roof I was looking at.
It was a pair pink-framed baby-blue eyes. “<-So wht’cha see, Marcy?->”
“Gah!” Ileapt out from under those eyes, only to find myself surrounded by the rest of the ponies. I blinked at them all. “<-What do you lot want?->”
Rainbow Dash flared her wings and shouted out, “<-Well, tell us what happened in the museum!->”
I raised a brow at her. “<-I thought you were trying to avoid the museum like the plague, RD?->”
She sat back down with a grumble, folding her forelegs. “Well, you should’a seen Twilight’s face when you went in there! Of course I’m curious, now...->”
I glanced at Twilight, surprised, then smirked, “<-Well, Twilight? Do you wish to serenade your friends with the tale of MY excursion into the depths of history?->”
Twilight giggled and thumped me with a hoof, but assented nonetheless. Andrew sat humming a tune to himself, somehow perfectly happy with being excluded, while Twilight and I told a much edited version of our shared experience within the museum. I even managed to turn quite a lot of it into a running gag, though I never did find out why it was funny.
Our tale lasted as long as it took Andrew to manoeuvre our plodding vehicle down to the Beachfront. The second we turned out onto the beach road, five snouts were plastered against the opposite glass and my last words died in my throat. Even Rarity shrugged off her mannerisms and gasped at the display all along the shore. Tourists, vendors and artists all gathered for miles along the bright coastline. The Atlantic seemed to be in a playful mood, the choppy waves casting glittering light upon the admiring ponies pressed as close to the sights as they could get. And beside me, Twilight sat a little taller, seeing it all with equal wonder.
I cocked a brow at her questioningly. “<-What? You ponies never seen an ocean before?->”
She glanced at me before looking over her friends again, and said, “<-Not like this, Marc, this is just beautiful. And all the people...It does look like quite the party.->”
I grinned at that. “<-Oh, Twi, this isn’t the party.-> Andrew, get us to Hout Bay, pronto!”
*****
It was all I could do to keep Pinkie in the bus. Outside, the crowds were already gearing up for a long night on the green and beach itself. Games were set up, and beer tents, as the bars would not be able to keep up with the sheer number of revellers. I was having enough trouble with one pink pony. She had found the bus’s Plexiglas skylight and was gamely trying to force her head through it to get a good look outside, but the weight of myself and Applejack was keeping her down.
Rainbow Dash stood up front again, alongside Rarity, the two of them gasping at the bright cars and people lining the road. Fluttershy gazed longingly at the wheeling gulls over the water, and Twilight was nearly spinning as she tried to take it all in. I nearly lost my grip on Pinkie from laughing at all of them.
Andrew was having an equally good time. He was gasping every few seconds and pointing out a new vehicle for everyone’s attention and regaling the uncomprehending ponies with tales they were all too happy to listen to. When I finally managed to get Pinkie down, I collapsed next to AJ, who gave me a bemused smile, saying, “<-Marc, Ah have no idea where you humans get all these crazy ideas, but Ah’ll say one thin’: THIS looks like a party!->” She whacked a hoof on my head before skidding off to join the gawking.
In mere minutes, though, we’d passed through Hout Bay and the party being held there. That didn't stop the gawking, though, as we drove on to the scenic route around the rocky spur that jutted out from the bulky mountain behind us. Chapman’s Peak Drive was one of the prettiest drives in the country, and even though the toll was, well, phenomenally high, it was worth it. As we drove up into the curve of the road, the ocean spread out before us, wide and glittering. Rainbow Dash stood against the windshield, her wings spreading reflexively at the sight of the world rushing by us, and all the rest simply looked out over the beautiful afternoon sea.
I sat next to Twilight again to enjoy the view and company, and Twilight turned to look at me with sparkly eyes. “Marc, I really can’t thank you enough for this. This is just...spectacular. And I’m sure there are so many more things to see...”
I smiled and nudged her on the shoulder. “Heck yeah there is! Andrew can phone the guy and get us the bus for a few more days, and we can show you everything! It’ll be just like the holiday I planned on having after all.”
Twilight stopped smiling. She looked at me, a strange mix of emotions in her eyes. Everything shone through those eyes. “Well, um...you see, I think I may have enough energy to...take us home, now.”
She must have seen my face fall, no matter how I tried to hide it. “Not right now!” She babbled, “But maybe tomorrow or the next day. This expedition has strengthened all of us, and if it really is the bond of friendship that fuels my magic, then I think you’ve strengthened us even more.”
Her conciliatory words met with mixed results. For half a second I wished I’d remained an ass, but I buried that and smiled anyway. “Well, it was fun, wern’ it?”
We lapsed into awkward silence, neither expressing them, but both well aware of the other’s terse emotions, and neither sure what they meant.
*****
The drive up the scenic route and back was calming after what had turned into a very stressful morning, and the drive back was full of commentary on all we had seen. I told Andrew to drive the high road back to Cape Town proper to avoid the beachfront areas and get us home quicker. I was getting hungry, and so were a few ponies. I mean, Rainbow Dash was practically chewing at the vinyl, here. And anyway, I didn’t exactly feel like extending the tour now...
Luckily, we arrived back at the apartment building just past mid-afternoon. The sight of that tall white building was oh so inviting; I couldn't wait to crack open a cold one with my mate and enjoy a little last conversation with strange alien equines.
As Andrew pulled up to the fourth floor entrance after navigating the parking lot, I walked up to the bus door and spoke out, “<-Okay, I’m just going to make sure the path is all clear and pretty, then I’ll come back for you ponies.-> Andrew, Once got the ponies inside in a minute, you can take the bus back to the guy you got it from, yeh? Good.” I didn’t wait for a response, a little wrapped in my thoughts.
So that was it. Tomorrow or the next day, the main six would be leaving our care and returning home, no harm done, one more story for the campfires. And I’d be stuck with a little collateral, but that was small fry, and then after I’d go home to my rich and comfortable life and just move along? It boggled the mind... I swiped the tag to enter the building, then again at the apartment door, running through the motions. I opened the door and stepped inside.
And saw my Uncle.