//------------------------------// // Chapter XXXI: Don't Say Goodbye // Story: The Ranger's Journey // by Silentpegasus //------------------------------// Chapter XXXI Don’t Say Goodbye The next day, most of the student body were hungover, tired or both. The five girls all managed to find their way back to their rooms and get out of their gowns and back into their normal clothes before heading off towards breakfast. Applejack and Rainbow Dash were both hungover more than a bar filled with drunkards. Cobalt, Ivy and Rouge had woken up and already helped clean up the mess of the ballroom. The girls had packed their things and made their way towards the dragon hybrid’s room. Pinkie knocked on the door. “Hey Spike, Twilight, get up. We gotta get ready to get back to Ponyville.” Pinkie chimed. “Pinkie, not so loud.” AJ said as she clutched her head. “Serves you right for getting into that drinking contest.” Rarity said with a snort. The door opened to reveal the dragon hybrid. “I’m all packed. I haven’t seen Twilight since last night.” The girls looked at one another in confusion. The two hungover girls groaned in pain. “C’mon, I have just the thing for a hangover.” Ivy said as she started to lead the two back down the steps. “Spike why don’t you get Twilight’s stuff-” Pinkie stopped talking as the hybrid pointed to the already packed lavender colored suitcase. “Oh, never mind.” She said as they all followed the green flyer up towards her room. As they climbed the stairs Rouge sniffed the air. “Smell something girl?” Cobalt asked in a tone he’d use for a dog. Rouge frowned and lightly slapped him. “Yeah, love is definitely in the air.” “How do you-” Rouge raised an eyebrow at the cyan winged flyer. “Oh right.” Ivy arrived outside her door and pulled out her key. “Oh I hope we find Twilight soon.” Fluttershy said in a worried tone. “Relax silly, I’m sure she’s fine.” The pink haired girl said with a smile. As the green flyer opened the door, everyone’s jaws hit the floor. There in Crimson’s bed were the two mages asleep in each other’s arms. “Oh..my.” Fluttershy said a she froze on the spot. Rarity’s face turned bright red and fainted in a very dramatic fashion. Crimson yawned and sat up to see the group staring at them. The red mage looked down at the stirring Twilight and back up at the crowd. “Let’s face it this is not the worst thing you’ve caught me doing.” A long silence fell over the group as Twilight looked up. Her face went from bright red to pale white in a matter of seconds before passing out on the bed. Ivy and Cobalt were on the floor holding their sides in laughter as Dash and AJ were caught between laughing and grabbing their heads in pain over their hangovers. “I told you that you were gonna get laid if you wore-” The flyer stopped talking as Rouge shot a spider web over his mouth. “Thank you Rouge.” He said as he lightly shook Twilight’s shoulder. The scholar opened her eyes and yawned. Twilight looked over and her face went pale. “Oh no, it wasn’t a dream!” She said as she hid under the covers. The Changeling face palmed as Cobalt ripped the webbing off his mouth. Twilight’s form glowed a bright purple under the blanket and her form vanished from under the covers. Crimson heard the scholar teleport inside the bathroom and lock the door. Fluttershy was helping Rarity to her feet and the girls quickly went over towards the bathroom, while the Rangers stood across from Crimson. The group heard a magical discharge and the door opened to show that Twilight was out of her dress and in a pair of dark purple pants and a light purple short sleeve blouse. “Lets just say that that never happened.” Rouge said. “What never happened?” Crimson said in a flat tone. “Exactly.” Twilight said with a gulp. “So...what exactly did we almost walk in on?” Ivy asked stifling a laugh. “Nothing! We were sleeping!” Crimson said as his face went bright red. “Sure I totally believe you.” Cobalt said in a sarcastic tone. Rouge let out a low pitched growl as she dead legged her boyfriend. “So are you two a couple now?” Pinkie asked with excitement. Crimson looked at Twilight who was blushing profusely. “Yeah. Guess we are.” Pinkie jumped up and down with a wide smile on her face. The group of girls rushed over to Twilight and started congratulating her. Crimson walked over to the bathroom and quickly changed back into his normal clothes. He exited the bathroom and Cobalt gave him a fist bump. “Oh my gosh! I gotta throw you two the biggest couple party when we go back to Ponyville.” Pinkie chimed. Crimson and Twilight both bit their bottom lip. “There’ll be drinks, cake, balloons-” “I’m not going back.” The group of friends all turned to look at the man. His red eyes were like two deep pools of wine. “What do you mean you’re not going back?” Dash asked. “I have a job to do Dash. I can’t abandon that.” He said as he folded his arms. “Look Twilight and I spent hours talking about this and she understands.” The girls all looked at Twilight who gave a slow nod. “I don’t like it either, but I can’t not go.” “Why not? Your uncle is the boss of this joint right?” Dash asked as Ivy threw her a small vial filled with green liquid. The flyer took a gulp and stuck her tongue out at the flavor. “Yes, Crow is the headmaster, but even he has to play by the rules. If he can’t do that then how can we expect people to obey the laws of magic. It’d be like a cop robbing a store.” He said with a sigh. “Still ain’t fair.” AJ said as she drank the liquid. “It usually never is.” He commented. Crimson looked at Twilight who had a small smile on her face. “I promised that I’d write letters and I’d visit during my off time.” The man then saw his red gem glowing and he took it in his hand. “All Zealots report to the Headmaster for debriefing.” Crimson gave a sigh and cracked his back. “Could you at least walk us to the train station?” Twilight asked. Crimson gave a nod and helped her up off his bed. The group of girls left the man’s room and went to retrieve their things. Crimson sat down on his bed and buried his head in his hands. Ivy sat down next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “You okay?” “No, but thanks for asking though.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Twilight was walking with her friends who each had their own bags. Rarity gave the four girls a nervous look. The group slowly made their way towards the edge of the castle’s hallways. The six girls saw the four warriors waiting for them. Crimson and Twilight walked hand in hand towards the train depot behind everyone else. The whistle on the train snapped the two mages out of their discussion. Ivy parted ways with Mac and the other two mages waved goodbye. Crimson looked over Twilight’s shoulder and saw the pretty seamstress dragging the cyan flyer inside the train as AJ pushed Pinkie inside. The scholar shook her head. “Sorry. They’re just curious.” She chuckled. “Relax they’re not the only ones.” Crimson looked behind him to see that the Changeling had strung up the two flyers in web cocoons. An awkward silence fell between the two. “I guess this is-” Twilight stopped talking as she felt a finger press on her lips. “Just do me one thing okay?” Twilight gave a nod. “Don’t say goodbye. I hate goodbyes.” Crimson said as the girl put a hand on his cheek and drew him closer. “Since I’ll see you again, it won’t be.” Twilight pressed her lips against his and wrapped her arms around him. Crimson did the same and didn’t want to let go. Another whistle from the train broke the embrace. Twilight snapped her fingers and a small green gem appeared in her hands. “What’s this?” “It’ll allow you to send me messages through Spike.” Crimson pulled out a small bit of paper and scribbled something on it. He rolled it up and set it over the gem. The letter was sucked inside and the two heard a familiar burp from inside the train car. “Guess it works.” He grinned as he put the gem inside his coat. “Last call! All aboard.” The conductor yelled. Crimson sighed at the words. He gave Twilight one last peck on the cheek before she got on the train. Twilight slid the train door closed and sat down next to her friends. Crimson watched as the train pulled away with the scholar and her friends. The changeling walked up next to him and put a hand on his shoulder. “C’mon Crimson, its time.” She said as she led him back towards the school. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ The train ride was silent for the most part. The group took the caboose and had the car to themselves. Rarity sat next to Twilight who refused to say anything. Dash rubbed her eyes and let out a groan. “So did you two bang or what?” Several heads looked at the flyer and gasped. “What?” “Show some decency Rainbow Dash!” Rarity growled. “Oh come on! We saw them in bed.” “Should we remember how we found you this fine morning?” Dash’s face went bright red as she remembered her waking up in bed with both Spitfire and Soarin. She still had no memory of the night before. “That’s what I thought.” “Fine, fine. I still wanna know what happened though?” Dash said as she looked at Twilight. The scholar took a deep breath and gathered her thoughts. She then gave them the rundown of what she and the red haired mage talked about. “So even though he admits that he’s got feeling for you he still wouldn’t come back with us.” Twilight gave a nod to the cyan flier. “Jack ass!” “Rainbow Dash!” Pinkie said. “What? Twilight spilt her guts out for him and then he goes and says that he’s not going to stay? What is that all about?” “He has an important job Rainbow. What kind of person would I be if I told him to forget about all that?” Dash crossed her arms and grunted. “Imagine if someone you love asked you to give up being a Wonderbolt.” AJ stated. Dash felt her throat go dry and gulped at the question. “If they really cared about me then they wouldn’t.” Then it clicked. The flyer finally understood why Twilight had to let him go. Asking someone to forget about their dream is like asking them to tear out their heart and keep on living. “Oh,” Dash hung her head low and looked at the scholar who was shaking. “sorry Twi. I wasn’t thinking.” Twilight was easily on the verge of tears and Dash sighed. “Do you want me to stop talking?” Twilight gave a nod. “Do you want us to leave you alone for a bit dear?” Rarity asked. Twilight shook her head as the seamstress wrapped her in a warm hug. Spike did the same and Twilight felt her tears run down her face. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Crimson sat in Crow’s office with the raven haired man sitting across from him along with Celestia. Crimson was bitting his lip hard enough to draw blood. Crow looked down at the pages and back at his godson. “Before you get your assignment,” The younger man said as he folded his hands. “is there anywhere special you’d like us to send you? I can pull a few strings and-” Crimson raised a hand. “No, I know what I signed up for. Send me where I’d be most useful.” Crow raised an eyebrow and gave a heavy sigh as he held up a red folder. “I’ve done some research and I’ve got a good area.” He said as he adjusted his glasses. “Difficulty?” “S class.” Crimson blinked as the words left the man’s lips. S class areas are about as comforting as a cave filled with goblins. Only places where the worst of the worst happens ever get placed in that category and very few people ever return from them. Crimson gulped as he thought of the indigo haired scholar and the friends he’d made in the small town. He clenched his fist and let out a sigh. “I’ll take it.” He said as he looked at the man. Crow looked at Clay who gave him a nod. “Your funeral.” He said with a sigh. He handed Crimson the folder and the red mage knew that there was no going back now. He opened the folder and his eyes shrank. An audible gulp could be heard from the man. Crimson felt goosebumps on his skin and the hair on his neck rise. “You depart immediately.” Crimson nodded and got to his feet. As he reached for the door he froze. Crimson looked back at the man who had a blank look on his face. “Have something to say?” “Yeah, I do.” ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Eventually the train ride went into the night and into the next day. It was around noon and they had just passed Trottingham coming up on Ponyville. Spike felt a familiar knot form in his gut and let loose a green fire filled belch. A scroll appeared in front of the scholar who quickly swiped it up and read it. "What?" Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion as the other girls walked over to her and read the letter themselves. It only contained three words. Hold onto something. "What in the hay is that supposed to-" Was all the farmer got out before the train suddenly stopped and the girls all felt themselves fly from their seats and onto the floor. The girls all grunted in pain as they got off one another. One of the servers opened the door and looked at the group. “What happened?” Rarity asked in an annoyed tone. “Emergency stop! There’s a...a...” The woman’s face lacked any color and she was visibly shaking. “Simmer down there Sally.” AJ said. “Deep breath.” The woman took in several long hard breaths. “Now tell us what’s stopping us.” “A monster!” The girls stuck their head out the window and looked towards the front of the train. They all felt their throats go dry and felt their blood run cold. Standing just ahead of the front of the train was a Colossus. It stood on two feet, was made of what looked like stone, magic and metal and stood easily sixty meters tall. A loud grunt could be heard from the creature. “What is that thing?” Rainbow screamed. “It’s a Colossus!” Twilight yelled. I’ve read about them, they’re supposed to be extinct.” Twilight gulped. “Can’t you do something Twi?” “Are you kidding me? That thing is massive!” The girls then heard footsteps on the roof. The girls all huddled together and heard something break the roof’s emergency exit. The girls all looked in surprise as they saw a familiar purple Changeling hop down into the car. “Oh there you guys are.” She smiled as she dusted herself off. “Rouge? What are you doing here?” Twilight yelled. “Hang on a second.” The Changeling pulled out what looked like a small pistol and stuck it out the window. As she pulled the trigger a purple flare erupted from the barrel and soared into the sky before exploding. The girls then felt the entire train shake and the surrounding area. Twilight looked out to see that the Colossus had moved out of the way of the train and the engine started to pick up speed. The cabin door opened to show the other two fliers. “Told you they’d be in the back.” Ivy said. Cobalt shrugged with a grin on his face. The server got to her feet and quickly made her way back towards the other cars. The girls watched as they passed the Colossus who's eyes seemed to be fixated on them. The hulking monster looked even larger as they drew closer. The group saw something dark get launched from the monster’s hand. It sailed over the train car and over to the roof. Suddenly the massive creature vanished in a flash of light. The group heard something cutting into the roof and saw a curved blade sticking through. The sound of boots against metal filled the cabin. A dark hooded object fell from the entrance the Changeling used. Twilight’s eyes shrank and saw the red haired man standing before them with a smirk on his face. “Afternoon ladies.” He said as he cracked his back. “Crimson? What are you doing here?” Twilight asked as she ran up to the man. “Well, it went like this, Crow was gonna ship me off to some crazy ass location in the middle of nowhere. I was about to leave when I decided to buck the system. I refused the order, fought my way through a lot of Academy agents, met up with these three, hitched a ride on Tombstone, blocked the track and he threw me like a javelin. Thus here I am.” He said with a smile. “Oh that is so romantic!” Rarity sniffled as she clasped her hands together. “Did you really do all that?” AJ asked. “I’m just kidding.” He chuckled. “Well, about refusing the orders part and fighting the agents.” “So why’d you come here then?” Twilight asked. “Just following orders.” He grinned. The girls all looked at him in confusion. “What? Next train that leaves for Ponyville is in five days. I can’t wait that long.” Twilight smiled at the man. “You see, Crow and the Princess dug through the records and rated Ponyville as an S class danger zone.” “A what now?” AJ asked. “Different areas that have trouble get categorized based on their danger level.” Rouge said. “Higher the danger, higher the rank, higher the rank the more experienced Zealot they send.” “Hold up.” Dash said as she looked at the man. “Ponyville is peaceful as can be and almost never has problems.” Crimson reached inside his coat and pulled out a packet of pages. “A year ago, Princess Luna returned to the old Everfree castle as Nightmare Moon and caused significant damage to Ponyville.” The man turned the page. “Few months after, there was an Ursa Minor incident. A parisprite infestation hit the town like a freight train, devouring bits of the buildings. Lets not all forget the Discord incident.” “The list goes on.” He then rolled the piece of paper back up and put it inside his jacket. “If that ain’t trouble then I don’t know what is.” The girls gave a nod. “Since that place seems to be overrun with trouble, Crow and Celestia decided to send someone who can at least put up a fight and is familiar with the area. So here I am.” Twilight couldn’t hide the smile on her face. “So that means-” “I’ll still get missions and go out on jobs, but I’ll have to come back to Ponyville each time I complete a job. That is if you guys want me as the guild lead-” He was instantly wrapped in a warm hug by the scholar. Twilight then started shooting of the word ‘yes’ like a machine gun. Crimson’s face was bright red and saw the others grinning ear to ear. “Wait you said that you got a ride on Tombstone.” The farmer said. “Who’s that?” “That Colossus that was blocking the tracks.” The group looked at him in shock. “You own a Colossus?” “No, I’m friends with a Colossus.” “And why did you make him stop the train?” Rarity asked as she glared at the man. “Seemed like a good idea at the time.” The man said with a shrug. “Besides Rouge said it would be romantic.” “I approve!” Twilight chimed as she tightened her hug. “Wait a sec, you said guild. Ponyville doesn’t have a guild.” Dash interjected. “Yet. We’ll have to work something out with the mayor, but I’m sure that won’t be a problem.” Cobalt said with a smile. The group of friends then sat back down in their seats. Twilight nuzzled the red mage and looked out the window to see the small town in the distance. “I guess that this whole ordeal is finished then.” Twilight said with a sigh. Crimson put a hand on her head and ran his fingers through her hair. “Nope. I think we’re just getting started.” He said as he gave her forehead a small kiss. To be Continued...