Well, everything was set. I’d showered, dressed (well, put on my signature headband; hey, it’s not like ponies wear clothes most of the time anyway), packed everything I’d need (food, water, games for the ride there, deodorant, breath mints, spare headbands, etc.), relieved myself (I didn’t know if trains had bathrooms, and I didn’t want to find out the hard way), and was on my way to meet Abstract at the train station. Abstract, being the smarty-pants he is, had already taken care of that stuff for himself before telling me it was time to get ready. The train station was in sight when I heard a voice call out, “Hey, hold up!”
I turned my head toward the voice and saw none other than Rainbow Dash, the second coolest creature alive (no offense, Dash), flying up to me. “Yo, Dash!” I greeted her brightly. “I’d love to stay and hang with you, but I’ve got a certain griffon to meet!”
“Yeah, I heard,” Dash replied with a scowl. Sheesh, why does she seem so grumpy all the time? She then sighed and said, “Look, I just wanted to tell you to be careful. I know Gilda better than anypony, and trust me when I say that just cause you love her doesn’t mean she’s gonna love you back.”
“Ooh, speaking from experience, are we?” I asked slyly.
“Ugh, what is it with you and your crazy idea about me crushing on her?!” she snapped.
“Okay, okay!” I said quickly, my hooves raised in surrender. “Geez, I was just teasing; no need to get so worked up about it. Unless it’s true,” I couldn’t help but add. I could just imagine Abstract facehoofing from my smartassery (though not as well as he could, of course).
Dash sighed again and said with forced calm, “Listen, even though you annoy the hay outta me, I don’t want to see you get hurt. I just want you to keep in mind the possibility of crashing and burning. What if you blow it with Gilda and she wants nothing to do with you? What then?”
“Well…” my voice caught in my throat. I didn’t think much about the chance of failing to win Gilda’s heart, mostly cause it made my heart ache to even consider it, but I couldn’t deny that the possibility was there. “I…I don’t know,” I admitted softly. “If things…didn’t work out with Gilda…I suppose I could learn to be happy anyway as long as Abstract was there to support me and stuff.”
“Now that’s what I want to hear,” Dash said with a smile. “It’s the same attitude I have; no matter how badly I might mess up, I can always count on my friends.”
I smiled back. “Thanks, Dash.”
“Don’t sweat it, kid,” she replied, giving me a hoofbump. I stood there in silence for a few seconds, taking in what just happened. Rainbow Dash gave me a hoofbump! I was now officially cool!
My daze was broken by the sound of a train whistle. “Oh, gotta go!” I yelped, flying quickly to the station (but making sure to remember my luggage).
“Good luck with your crazy love journey!” Dash called out to me. I spotted Abstract standing in front of a train, fidgeting frantically, and flew toward the train, shouting, “Hey Abstract sorry for the hold up I’m ready let’s go!” I dashed inside, threw my ticket at the conductor, and set my bags down at a nearby table. Abstract quickly followed suit just before the doors closed.
“Well, you certainly cut it close,” he noted as we sat down.
“Yeah, sorry about that,” I said with an apologetic grimace. “I would have been here sooner, but Rainbow Dash herself came up to me to wish me good luck! I couldn’t just ignore her!”
“It’s okay, Kyo,” Abstract assured me with a smile. “I’ve been held up by distractions a few times myself. Besides, even if you did miss the train, you still could have caught up thanks to your wings.”
“Oh yeah!” I realized. “Wings are the best, aren’t they?” I flapped my feathery appendages a few times out of appreciation. Sometimes, I couldn’t help but feel bad for all the non-winged ponies out there; I couldn’t imagine how it’d feel to be grounded all the time (not that I haven’t been grounded a few times myself).
“I dunno, horns are pretty sweet as well,” he rebutted, tapping his own glowing horn with a hoof. Come to think of it, it would be awesome if I could use magic, especially if I knew some unique magic like Abstract did. I wonder: would my gaming skills be even better with magic? Probably; magic can do anything, after all.
“Heh, good point,” I conceded. “I wonder how Earth ponies get by without wings or horns.
“It’s hard for me to imagine doing so myself,” he responded, “but of course, the Earth ponies have a lot more experience living without horns or wings than we do, and they seem to do just fine without them. Heck, they probably have trouble imagining what it’s like having something extra. It’s all about perspective, I guess.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” I looked at my hooves and said, “I wonder what it’d be like to have claws like griffons do. Could you imagine having fingers?”
“I could try.” Using his thought magic, Abstract created an image of himself holding his arms in front of them, except they had fingers at the ends of them instead of hooves. Frankly, the image he conjured freaked me out a bit. He seemed to feel the same way, as he quickly shut off the image and said, “Eh, I’ll just stick with hooves. They’ve worked out pretty well for me so far.”
“Sounds good to me.”
We sat a few minutes in silence, watching the scenery pass by as the train chugged along. Eventually, Abstract broke the silence with, “You know, this is the first time I’ve traveled anywhere since I moved to Ponyville. I’m pretty excited.”
“Yeah, I know the feeling,” I replied, “I’ve traveled a few times to cities that were hosting video game tournaments, but nowhere quite like Appleloosa. Hey, did you know that in Neighpon, the trains often get so crowded that they need ponies to push the passengers in so they can all fit?”
“Dang, I couldn’t imagine that being worth the train ride.”
“Yet another reason why wings rock,” I bragged again with a grin.
Abstract giggled. “You got me there.”
After another short round of silence, he said, “So Kyo, I was thinking, before we get to Appleloosa, perhaps it’d be a good idea for you to practice talking to Gilda so you don’t make a fool of yourself or anything when you actually meet her. I’m not saying you’re going to, of course, I just…”
“It’s okay, I get what you’re saying,” I interrupted, a nervous feeling rising in my gut again. “I think a little practice would be a good idea too. You know, just to make sure the ol’ Kyo charm hasn’t gotten rusty or anything,” I added, trying to brush off my insecurities with a short laugh.
“Alright, that’s good to hear,” he responded with an encouraging smile. “You want to get started now?”
“Sure, why not?” I decided. “Too bad we don’t have a real Gilda to practice on or anything.”
“No, but we have the next best thing.” With that, Abstract conjured up an image of Gilda’s beautiful mug, her expression proud and indifferent and her sharp, golden eyes staring into my soul. Dear Celestia, just seeing a simulation of her face got me all worked up! How would I be able to handle the real deal? Steeling myself, I gulped and took a deep breath.
“Uh, hey there, beautiful!” I greeted in as suave a voice as I could in my nervous state.
“Ugh, what do you want?” Abstract responded in a grumpy tone while the Gilda head pantomimed his words.
“No.”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m sorry, but Gilda doesn’t sound like that!” I griped, “Her voice is higher, but not too much higher, and it’s got a too-cool-to-care punk tone, like the outlaw girl Levy in that anime I showed you last week, remember? It’s the voice of an angel, is what I’m getting at!”
“Sorry if my voice isn’t angelic enough for your tastes,” he said sarcastically, not bothering to move image Gilda’s beak this time. “Look, I’m sorry, but my magic can only generate visuals, not voices, so until you meet Gilda in person, this is the best you’ve got.”
“I know, I shouldn’t be so picky,” I said. “Sorry, Abstract.”
“It’s cool.”
“Still, could you at least try and sound more like her? For me?” I gave him what I’ve heard others call ‘puppy dog eyes’, an expression that didn’t make a lot of sense to me, as I have yet to meet a puppy whose eyes are bigger than the average pony’s. But whatever, as long as it works.
“Alright, fine,” he relented. “And while I’m at it, I’d like to suggest that you not open up with a come-on like ‘hey, beautiful’ or anything like that. No offense to you or anything, it’s just that some people tend to, well, not react well to romantic advances so early on, especially people who are rough around the edges like Gilda.”
“Ah, so you want me to ease into the romantic stuff with Gilda?”
“Exactly!” Abstract gave me an encouraging smile.
“Okay, I can do that.” I cleared my throat and suggested, “How about, ‘Hey there, sup?’”
“Playing cool and aloof, eh?” Abstract commented. “Sounds more appropriate for Gilda.”
“Awesome!” I cheered. “Uh, I mean, awesome,” I repeated in a nonchalant tone.
Abstract giggled and said, “Alright, so, from the top?”
“Sure.” I took another deep breath and greeted in my most too-cool-to-care voice, “Hey there, sup?”
“What do you want?” asked image Gilda in what Abstract clearly meant to be his best interpretation of her voice. It was a little painful, to be honest, but I decided not to bother him about it lest he get upset and refuse to help me any more.
“Just wanted the chance to talk with someone who’s actually cool for a change,” I responded coolly.
“Well, ya came to the right griffon,” image Gilda replied, a proud smile appearing on her beak.
Yes, I’m in! “So I was thinking, maybe you’d like to ditch this pop stand and make out or something?”
“Kyo!” Abstract snapped in his normal voice.
Oops. “Sorry, sorry! Got a little excited there.”
“It’s okay,” he said with a sigh. “Just try to contain yourself until you know Gilda reciprocates your interest, alright?”
“Alright, I’ll do my best,” I assured him.
“Good to hear.” Another encouraging smile from Abstract. “From the top?”
End of Part 8