The strange ship finally gained consensus from its multiple confused consciousnesses and burst from the walls of its parent craft, smashing through the hull in its desperate urgency to escape from the crumbling wreck behind. Bright rocket motors split the darkness of space, an expanding, cooling cloud of gas trailing in its wake. The beaconship left behind fractured along its length, parts contracting inwards sharply as the gravity generator failed and sent a shockwave out through the collapsing wreck.
The tiny captive black hole at the centre of the craft was the next to go, its containment fields destabilising to such a degree that the anomaly wavered in its rapid orbit, colliding with the exotic materials in the shells around. In less time than it took an electron to orbit its nucleus the structure evaporated with a burst of photons that expanded outwards at the speed of light. They, in turn, collided with the casing of the machine, producing an intense superheated plasma that moved almost as fast.
It travelled through the innards of the ship, and the speed at which the particles collided with the normal matter the ship was made up of caused a wash of exotic particles to be produced as matter underwent fusion. The whole process had finished before any external observer would have been able to see it, and the result was an intense, blinding burst of energy across the entire spectrum.
The shockwave spread out rapidly in an uneven sphere, and the small escape vehicle rode it like a surfer as it passed by, unsettling the delicate balance of signals inside. For a moment it spun in the void of space, lifeless and dark.
We hurt.
Agreed.
We are missing something.
It’s dark!
Cargo has shifted.
Collapse makes too much dark.
Focus.
Listen.
Dark.
The ship slowly came back to life, although most of its internal lights remained off. The creatures inside wailed quietly, clicking and humming to one another in distress as the ship around them creaked and groaned. Something was not at all right, they had been too close to the mothership when it exploded. The radiation had damaged their shields. Many of their number had perished in the dark. Their shared consciousness was fractured and dangerously unstable.
Dark!
Destruction within us.
The ship shook itself with a shudder, a little ripple of displeasure. It had ended up with many of the feeble worker drones, the leader was elsewhere. It was alone, and its little family was breaking apart. They had failed to gather the critical mass of leaders necessary for a self-organising colony. The ship forced its own will upon the unruly children, imploring them to listen to it, pushing through their wild and uncertain and increasingly irrational thoughts.
Focus, calm, gentle. We are not alone. We will prevail.
Dark.
There is one here!
There’s no more containers…
Dark.
Where is… the… everything?
Dark.
The ship twitched again, almost uncontrollably. There was something terribly wrong. Its distraught charges should have been calming, but they were growing more and more disorganised, and yet somehow… quieter, too. There were fewer voices now, less thoughts clouding its own.
Unit count… is lower.
Darkness!
The ship concentrated hard, trying to force the lights back on through willpower alone. Inside the walls glowed feebly, casting some illumination on the scattered drones. Through the eyes of its children it could see the cause of some of the distraction. Many dead drones lay about, bleeding on the ship’s previously pristine surfaces. It wasn’t built to investigate mysteries, however, and the effort needed was great.
It briefly turned its attention back to space, realising now that it was off course, the distraction had cost it. With a frustrated groan it carefully adjusted its heading, turning to face the glittering blue planet nearby, wreathed in inviting clouds and with such a pleasing shell of particles trapped in its perfect magnetic field. It looked… tasty.
The ship felt elation, they were going to land. Its good mood passed through to the drones inside, and they calmed a little, seeing shreds of the imagery, sensing the sweet sunlight of the new world.
Light!
Hurry
The ship felt a little glimmer of pleasure. It had rescued the situation, its charges were no longer dying from despair. That was a good thing. But still, they seemed smaller, further away… somehow less.
Dark,
Dark,
Its attention was snapped back from the enticing jewel in the sky that filled its vision. Something was still wrong. The thoughts of its children were growing even weaker. It tried to count the distinct threads, and it was a frighteningly easy task. Thinking clearly was becoming more difficult, its own mind felt sluggish. It was certain it had started with more drones, though. Something was wrong.
With a renewed sense of urgency it focused its remaining thoughts on the light once more, forcing the interior to glow brightly. There were few left alive, something terrible had happened. There was still darkness. A corner. What was that, in the gloom?
Darkness…
Its sluggish thoughts lingered too long and suddenly it was aware of a pain like no other, the heat of planetary entry. The hot air tore at its outer surface, entire pieces breaking off and glowing white hot as they spun away in a wild, uncoordinated dance. It cried out in agony, desperately firing its rockets to arrest its speed. Its panic was contagious and soon the interior was pandemonium, the remaining drones running wild, out of control and in full flight mode yet with nowhere to go. It wanted to console them and calm them, but all of its attention had to be focused on the descent. There was no margin for error.
Darkness…
Riley fell, gasping, from the bottom of the ship and crawled feebly away into the trees. The tumultuous descent had been terrifying, and for a while he had lost all hope that the craft was going to make any sort of viable landing. As it was he had several new bruises and was lucky not to have broken anything when the thing finally did come to rest after a few vigorous bounces through the trees.
His entire body ached from the effort of sneaking around the ship, and looking back over the past few hours he marvelled at the fact he was still alive, there had been over a hundred Thala on the ship, at least half of which had been fighters of some caste or other. He had hidden in the shadows, biding his moment, and picked them off one at a time, trying to reduce their numbers. Without any sort of leadership nearby they were aimless and uncoordinated, unable to comprehend what was going on, and in the darkness after the shockwave from the collapsing mothership they’d been unable to fight back, their senses crippled by confusion and a lack of light.
He spat out the mouthpiece from the respirator he’d found in storage and drew deep, luxurious lungfuls of the fresh Equestrian air. After the ordeal he had just faced and the horrible lack of clean air it smelled and tasted like the finest mountain breeze imaginable, tainted with the soft, delicate scent of forest flowers and the sweet, pungent aroma of tree sap.
The remains of the Thala onboard had fled shortly after it landed, but he’d waited as long as he could bear to let them disperse. It was broad daylight on the ground, and he was weak and terribly vulnerable without the darkness. He knew he should move, but under the spell of intense fatigue he had only managed to crawl a few hundred paces into the trees before collapsing and rolling onto his back. He could almost imagine that the soft, loamy ground of the forest underneath him and its blanket of pine needles was a bed in a top-notch hotel somewhere, comfortable beyond all belief.
It was too hard to motivate himself to care, just being back on the ground made him feel like he had reached the end of his journey, against all odds he had prevailed and was safe and sound on solid earth once more. Nothing could hurt him anymore, no danger could come close to the things he had faced. It was over, and he deserved a rest, more than any man before ever had, he was sure.
He lost track of how long he lay there, watching the sunlight dance through the green and orange branches of the trees high above him, occasional leaves floating serenely down through the cool, calm air to land with soft little sounds nearby. Some part of him was urgently whispering in the back of his mind, telling him to get up, that he needed to get back, needed to get to safety and to water. His mouth was dry and lips cracked, but he really couldn’t summon the energy to care.
Dimly he became aware of the pattering of soft rain on leaves some time later, and the occasional big fat drop fell from the trees above to splash against him, a few wetting his parched lips. The bright sun had faded and the trees were receding into the evening dusk, black silhouettes against the fading sky. The length of the day had shortened, he slowly realised, and the revelation made him glad, it meant that Twilight Sparkle had got back safely, and he would see her again soon, somehow.
He tried to move but the sharp pain in leg suddenly flared up as if someone had stabbed a hot poker into his flesh. The endorphins woke him up immediately, providing him with a rush of clarity and he groaned through clenched teeth, abruptly realising what a perilous state his body was in. Slowly and carefully he pushed himself up on his arms, leaning forwards to inspect his torn thigh.
Trying to roll his shredded trouser leg up was unbearably painful, every movement a trial in keeping his consciousness. The gash looked nasty and had started to bleed again after he tried to move. The bandage he had hastily applied had become tightly ingrained into the wound, drawn into the ragged hole and stuck in place with partially clotted blood. He gingerly poked at it, biting his lip until that too began to bleed.
He had no medical supplies, the backpack he had so carefully filled with items in preparation for his forced exile was presently floating in orbit around the moon somewhere in a cloud of debris, if it even existed at all anymore. He lay back wearily, letting the cool rain mist his face, washing away some of the dirt and grime.
Many other cuts and sprains and bruises made themselves felt as he concentrated, but none as badly as his leg. He knew it was infected, the Thala were a heavily symbiotic race, relying on a whole host of strange bacteria and parasitic organisms, many of which were communicable to humans. Ordinarily he would trust his immune system to deal with the worst of them, but these days, in his weakened state, it wasn’t doing so well.
He knew he hadn’t slept but it seemed as if an uncertain length of time had passed when he next became aware of movement nearby. He watched hazily as a group of ponies appeared out of the trees, surrounding him in a circle, whispering to one another in low voices. An older mare stepped forwards, clad in beads and heavy metal jewellery. Riley thought he recognised her, and she clinked and clattered as she drew closer.
“The Great and Powerful Trixie has sent a star to us,” she announced formally, kneeling with a cracking of old, arthritic joints. Riley sighed, it was this lot again.
“I’m not…” he mumbled, barely able to form words from his dry lips.
“The Riley is unwell,” she announced, spotting his injuries. “Rest. We will care for you. Her will is clear. She has sent you to us, so that we may prove ourselves worthy of Her divinity once more.”
He was too tired to complain, and whatever salve another elderly unicorn was carefully applying to his leg with magic was wonderfully numbing, balancing on the threshold of pain but never quite crossing it. The familiar tingling of unicorn magic tickled at his cybernetics and he found he was floating a few feet off the ground, suspended by glimmering clouds of magical light from all around. If the ground had been a luxury hotel then this was the clouds of heaven itself.
The forest moved by serenely, the strange tribe carrying him through the evening and into the darkness of the night. Several of them were humming a complex, twisting melody, full of deep harmonies and hinting at a long history. The gentle motion lulled him to sleep, the pain lessened at last, and when he woke next it was fully night-time. The gentle rain had stopped and through the branches he could see the stars glittering brightly. They had laid him down on a bed of grass under a woven roof supported by rough poles cut from tree branches. Nearby a small fire crackled to itself, occasionally spitting when a damp piece of wood caught light.
His feverish state grew worse and worse over the course of the next day, his skin growing hotter and hotter until he felt as though he would catch fire. He sweated constantly, but at the same time couldn’t control the shivers that shook his body. The ponies tended to him day and night as if he were one of their own, bringing him water and forest fruits, and on the second night his fever finally broke.
Slightly more lucid at last he began to take proper stock of his surroundings. The camp was smaller than before, but not for less ponies, they had simply squashed everything tighter together, as if huddling for warmth. The elder explained to him that winter was coming, and they were uncertain what to expect, the length of the day had changed dramatically. It was prudent to keep close, to keep everypony on alert.
After eating a little more and drinking what seemed like a gallon of water he felt well enough to leave his bed, and with the help of a strong stallion he tottered unsteadily around the camp, alarmed at how weak his body had grown. He could put no weight at all on his injured leg, although the swelling had lessened dramatically and they had been hard at work cleaning the wound while he hovered someplace between unconsciousness and the waking world.
On his walk he spotted a small heap of Thala bodies in a pile near the centre of the camp, a few ponies were working over them, cutting them up with long curved knives and inspecting this strange new enemy. He was glad to see they appeared to be a match for them, it was difficult to know how many might have escaped the doomed beacon ship and made it to the surface, but if he could rely on ponies such as the fierce Lulamoon tribe to clear them out then he would sleep a lot better. There was still the risk of an outbreak if a small pocket with a leader caste survived undisturbed, but at least it was a manageable risk, one against which a firm defence could be prepared. The Thala could not reproduce in great numbers without drawing attention to themselves, nor could they produce a leader without a large number of drones nearby.
He spoke with the tribe’s elder, Emerald Dream, and was able to ascertain that they believed him some sort of messenger from their goddess, they had seen the flash of light from the explosion, and watched the Thala dropship falling from the sky. After their last encounter with Twilight and her insistence that she and this Trixie character had been friends they had come to the conclusion that Twilight was some sort of sister-goddess, and were mortally afraid they had insulted her.
After a bit of conniving he found he had quite a lot of power over the tribe, who believed him to be an angel of sorts, and he had them agree to hunt down the Thala, something they were adept at doing, having lived for generations in the forest, hunting the foul creatures that lived there. On the third morning he announced his intention to leave, and to travel to Ponyville. They still believed the town to be some sort of mystical holy place, and insisted on sending an honour guard with him.
In truth he was quite glad of the protection, knowing there were maybe Thala in the woods somewhere, and goodness knows what else to boot. Discord had removed a lot of his creatures, but he wasn’t sure he trusted him entirely. The ponies had proven themselves in battle on at least two occasions now, and he felt safe with them, even so.
It was a day’s wearisome travel before they reached the giant circular clearing in the middle of the seemingly endless forest. His companions grew increasingly restless as they approached and spoke of dangerous forces and an impenetrable, cursed barrier up ahead. He began attempting to explain the interface between the real world and the bubble of stopped time, but they seemed disinclined to listen, preferring to believe the spiritual explanation they had been raised with.
When they arrived at the timberline and there was nothing to show for it other than blue sky and fields that had gone to seed they were confused and afraid and refused to leave the shelter of the trees at all. No amount of persuasion seemed to work, and in all honesty he had little patience to try much harder. His stomach was unsettled with nerves, and he felt rather like a schoolboy again, on route to his first day at class.
He was looking forward to Twilight’s reaction when she found him alive and well, yet still suffered an element of unease that came from not quite knowing if he had all the facts right. She had said she was in love, but the moment had been very intense and rushed, she can’t have been thinking completely clearly with the oxygen deprivation and stress. Back home, in a more mundane setting, she might feel differently. There was also a possibility she wouldn’t even remember saying it at all, the escape pods were launched dangerously quickly after all, there was no doubt she would have passed out almost immediately.
The closer his feet brought him to the town the more nervous he became. He was unsure of his own feelings in the matter, there was no doubt he had become very fond of the mare, and there was no denying the strange thrill the brief kiss had produced. Love, however, was a very strong word and hid a few slightly awkward questions. What would he say to her? Would she broach the subject first? How would her friends react to him being such a part of her life - an alien intruder in their colourful world? Did he even share those feelings? Was it right? He was alone, now, the last human in a world of ponies, so did that even matter?
He limped onwards and nodded at a few ponies he saw along the way. He was on the outskirts of Ponyville where a lot of the smaller, newer residences were. Many were in ruins, windows smashed and thatched roofs missing, burnt timbers sticking up like ribs, yet it was clear that the ponies weren’t sitting back and moping, there was busy, quiet industry all around. Nobody (nopony, he reminded himself, he was going to have to learn how to fit in now) seemed surprised to see him, but he wasn’t sure if they simply didn’t know the full story yet.
Riley was a little surprised to come across the wreck of a couple of the smaller frigates. There were long, deep furrows in the ground behind them, leading all the way back to the centre of town. It looked as though a team of ponies had been towing them away before giving up. He followed the deep ruts for a way until he came to a tall statue, depicting Discord, of all things. There were a few ponies around, but they kept their distance from it, eyeing it with evil glares. He walked up close and inspected it, the workmanship was exquisite, but he was puzzled as to why they would have put so much effort into something while their town was still largely in ruins.
“Riley!” came a loud voice from the side and he turned, spotting the familiar orange form of Applejack galloping straight for him. He held a hand up in an awkward wave, but she was beside him in a flash and he lowered it again.
“Hi,” he said, unsure of how to begin. He kicked himself inside, if he was struggling to even speak to Applejack then he was sure he’d be a bumbling wreck by the time he found the library.
“Ah’m a little surprised to see you, Riley,” she said eventually, cocking her head to one side. “We understood you’d… gone.”
“Mmm, we’re hard to get rid of,” he said, a small grin tugging at the corners of his mouth. She raised an eyebrow quizzically.
“Ah see you’ve found old Discord there,” she said smugly, crossing her hooves and leaning casually against the base of the statue with her hat at a jaunty angle. “Ah gather we’ve got you to thank, for getting back these beauties.”
He looked down around her neck, spotting the fat orange jewel that hung from a simple woven gold cord. He nodded, giving her a lazy salute and she dipped her head back. “I’m just sorry to have been the cause of so much trouble in the first place. I have to ask, though, why the statue?”
“This here ain’t no statue, darling,” she said, tapping it with a hoof. “That’s the beast himself, turned to stone again. Once things’ve settled back down a bit I daresay they’ll be wanting to cart ‘im back off to Canterlot, but until then he’s got to stay here, glowerin’ at the town all evil-like.”
Riley took a step back, glancing up nervously at the twisted face above him. Every sensibility in him was shouting that this was a silly idea, you couldn’t just turn creatures to stone, but then again this was Equestria, and he had already seen enough odd things to allow him to accept near enough anything now.
Applejack noticed his expression and mistook it for fear. “Don’t you fret none, though,” she said, stepping away, “he ain’t going anywhere. Ah just wish he didn’t spook everypony out so bad.”
“Quite,” Riley said, looking away with a shake of his head. “Is, uh, everything else alright? Did, um, everyone… I mean, everypony, make it?”
“Sure did,” she said, beckoning for him to follow her as she trotted slowly back into town. “Twilight’s alive and kickin’.”
He sighed with relief, it confirmed his conclusion that she had made it. Applejack’s voice was strangely flat, however, and betrayed no emotion. Riley watched her suspiciously, she wasn’t telling him everything. “What’s wrong?”
“Twilight ain’t been right, since she got back. We’re all mighty worried about her, to tell the truth. Your fancy space-ship thing got her back alive, and she came floatin’ down on a parachute just outside the town, but ah ain’t ever seen a pony look so unwell as Twilight did. Not one that’d live long, at any rate.”
She halted as she waited for him to catch up, and gave him a long look up and down. “Ah guess you don’t look much better yourself, but you’re tough as old boot leather, I fancy. Hard to get rid of, like.”
He smiled but certainly didn’t feel it. She gave a deep sigh and sat down on the grass, taking off her hat.
“She ain’t said much to anypony since she’s been back, Riley, we didn’t know what to do. Rarity guessed that you’d… well, gone, and we all know how fond of you poor Twilight was. She don’t take loss well. What with the stress of bein’ princess now, and the town in ruins an’ so many good ponies hurt it was just too much for her.”
Riley willed her silently to get to the crux of the story. She was scaring him. “What did she do?”
“She saved the world, of course,” Applejack said with a sad smile. “Like she always does. She got the six of us together again, reunited with our elements. Discord didn’t stand a chance. Princesses Celestia and Luna arrived, and together the three of them gave the sun a talkin’ to. Everything fixed, like.
“But then she said she had to sleep, and of course nopony would fault her for that. Trouble was that she didn’t wake up again, not for days. The princess said she’d overdone it, used too much magic, and it’d just take a while for her mind to recover. Secretly, though, I think she just didn’t want to wake up.”
Riley’s chest felt too tight again, his heart pumped erratically, straining against his ribs. “I have to go see her.”
A large red pony came trotting up and gave her a look, chewing a stalk of grass. Applejack sighed and nodded at him, throwing her hat back on her head with a smooth and well practised motion. “Ah think you’d better get to the library, Riley. Fluttershy’s there, she’ll explain.”
With another nod she left with her brother, returning to whatever construction project they were helping with.
Riley hobbled onwards in frustration, he desperately needed to get to the library but his leg ached more and more with each step, forcing him to limp along like an old man, leaning heavily on the crooked stick he had liberated from the forest. As he approached the centre of the town he encountered more and more ponies, and many of them stopped their work to watch him limp by, talking amongst themselves in low voices. Clearly some rumours had already spread.
The treehouse loomed large in front of him, huge leafy branches stretching out in all directions. The windows had all been repaired, colourful glass panes bright in the midday sun. Several ponies watched him as he stepped up to the thick oak door and knocked. There was no reply and he pushed it open, ducking under the archway. The hinges had not yet been replaced, he could see.
Inside was quiet and still, feeling as though nobody lived there. He forced the lump down in his throat and willed his stomach to settle. There was some soft noise coming from upstairs and he hurried up the short curved flight as quickly as he could, wincing with every step.
“Oh my goodness!” gasped Fluttershy, turning at the sound of him and dropping the duster she was holding in her teeth. She had cowered down, hugging the floor and only very slowly stood back up, avoiding his glance. “You frightened me.”
He apologised, looking around anxiously. The place was very neat, Fluttershy had been cleaning, all Twilight’s belongings were carefully arranged in their places, the books she had been reading neatly stacked, but there was no sight of their owner.
“Where is she?” he asked, pleadingly.
Fluttershy picked a folded square of paper up from a side table and passed it to him mutely. His fingers were unsteady as he unfolded it, and what he could only assume was Twilight’s messy writing met him.
My Dearest Friends,
It is with a heavy heart that I pen this letter to you. The last week or two (if it’s really been that long, I admit I have rather lost track of time) have been of a somewhat trying nature for me. I know that on occasion in the past I have “lost it”, so to speak, so I can hardly pretend I have the most stable psyche to begin with, but this has just been one straw too many and I cannot bear it any longer.
I feel worn out and old, which is silly.
I am sorry to have been so cold to you all, but the world itself feels cold to me in return, the colour and the joy I used to see has all gone. That is also silly, because I know I have you five, the best friends a girl could ask for, but I feel so alone right now and I don’t think anything, or anypony, can change that. I cannot be the good friend you all deserve while I am in this state.
I hope you can forgive me for leaving, but I need to spend some time away from Ponyville and the hurtful memories it prompts, to collect my thoughts and come to peace with the friends we’ve lost. I need some time to let the scars heal.
Spike is with me, so you need not fear for my safety. I look forward to seeing you all again soon.
Love,
Twilight Sparkle.
PS: Apologies for my terrible scrawl. It would seem that dear Spike has grown too large to take letters these days.
Riley folded it up neatly and handed it back to Fluttershy. If he was honest, he felt a little relieved. He had been afraid she was deathly ill and unable to leave her bed, but if she was well enough to go travelling then she was in no immediate danger.
“I am glad to see you well, mister Riley,” Fluttershy said meekly as he sat wearily down on the edge of the bed. He gave her what he hoped was a warm, encouraging smile.
“And you, too,” he told her. “I’m glad you and the others overcame Discord, it looks like things are finally working out for you all.”
“Fluttershy! Riley!” came Rarity’s voice from downstairs. He had left the door open. She came racing up the stairs, not at all delicately.
“By Celestia, you’re alive!” she exclaimed, coming to peer at him closely, in case he was somehow an illusion. “I must say, I didn’t quite believe Applejack when she told me. I fancied she was simply trying to get me to stop interfering. They’re building the most gaudy barn you can imagine, it’s a travesty to exterior design.”
Riley stared at her.
“Oh, I’m sorry, where are my manners. I am very pleased to see you well, Riley.”
“Likewise,” he said with a nod, not getting up.
“I cannot deny we all feared the very worst when poor Twilight came back alone. I presume Fluttershy has shown you the note, yes?”
He nodded, and Fluttershy cowered a little further. “Was I not supposed to, Rarity? Oh, I am terribly sorry.”
“Don’t be silly, Fluttershy, of course you were to show him. He is as tightly bound up in this as we are.”
“Oh, that’s okay, then. Well, I should be going, I promised I would see to mister Greenback’s animals this afternoon.”
The yellow pegasus slunk out of the room with barely a whisper, and Riley couldn’t help but feel guilty that he had somehow driven her away. He didn’t know her very well at all, but she seemed terribly shy around him. It was hard to know if he’d upset her, or if she was like that with everyone.
“You really mustn’t mind Fluttershy,” Rarity was saying, evidently reading his expression. “She’s like that with every new pony she meets.”
“When will Twilight return?” he asked her, rubbing at his leg. It was throbbing uncomfortably again, the soothing herbs and magic of the forest ponies was wearing off.
Rarity sat primly on the thick rug next to the bed, sitting up to speak to him. “I don’t know, my dear. I was rather hoping you might be able to help find her, do you not have any magic of your own that could help? If you can travel to the stars and back again then finding a lonely unicorn in Equestria must be easy.”
She looked hopeful. He blew a light snort and gestured at himself. “Hardly. This is all I own in the world, right now. Even the clothes I packed have gone. Absolutely nothing left.”
Rarity looked a little crestfallen.
“When did she leave?”
“Yesterday morning, before first light.” She sighed deeply and pawed at the rug. “It was my fault, I had volunteered to stay here the night and watch over her, but I was feeling low myself, and partook of a bottle of wine. It, ah, must have caused me to sleep more heavily than is perhaps proper for a lady. When I awoke, she was gone.”
He looked down at the floor in dismay, studying the fine woven thread that she sat on. He had been on the surface for three nights, if he had not lingered with the forest ponies he might have caught her, before she left. Maybe she would even have stayed.
“I believe you took something from her, didn’t you?” Rarity was asking shrewdly, leaning forwards slightly to catch his eye.
He looked up in indignant surprise. “I would never,” he began.
“You have stolen her heart,” Rarity continued with a sly smile, cutting off his protest.
“Oh,” he said, slumping a little.
“And she believes you dead, doesn’t she? She is stricken with grief and heartbreak. That is the reason she has left.”
He studied the unicorn’s face, and it wasn’t entirely friendly, he concluded. Rarity seemed to be blaming him for Twilight’s depression and subsequent disappearance, which hardly seemed fair.
“Can’t Celestia find her?”
Now it was Rarity’s turn to snort in scorn. “Twilight Sparkle is the most powerful mortal unicorn that Equestria has ever seen, and I daresay will ever seen again. If she wishes to stay hidden, then she will do so, even from the princesses. Besides, I think it may be in her best interest to have some time away, regardless of you.
“Although it seems a little unfair to allow her to think you gone, she must already have accepted that as truth, thus the worst will already be passing. She still has a lot to mourn, after all, her family is gone and the place she grew up is empty and bare, and so much has been lost.”
“Maybe I should go after her.”
Rarity gave him a withering look. “I don’t think you’re in any state to go anywhere, Riley. You need to rest and recover, a trip to the hospital would be in order, I believe. You wouldn’t want those wounds to scar.”
Riley breathed out through his nose in a rush of air, almost a sharp bark of mirthless laughter. He poked forlornly at his tattered leg, thinking that there was no hope of avoiding a scar from that one. He was pretty sure he’d have a limp for the rest of his life. He knew his face was quite scratched up as well, although the worst was from the roc’s attack some while ago, and while they had cleaned and stitched it when he returned to camp it had had a long time before that to go bad. He ran his fingers over it, inspecting. Perhaps it would earn him a nickname, he wondered.
“Do you love her?”
He looked up sharply at the sudden question, caught off-guard. Several answers came to the front of his mind, and he wasn’t sure which of them were correct. Fortunately the noisy and dramatic arrival of Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie saved him from having to answer.
Rainbow crashed into him on the bed before he had time to react and he found himself wrapped tightly in her legs and wings, soft and warm and fragrant. She let him go after a second, looking a little abashed as Rarity glared at her fiercely.
“I’m glad you’re back,” she said with a wide smile, sitting back on the bed. He sat back up, trying hard not to grimace at the discomfort in his leg. “It’s been kinda dull without you guys around.”
Meanwhile Pinkie Pie had bounced up the stairs and was reeling off a rapid torrent of high pitched words while jumping around the room. Riley tried to follow but every third word seemed to be “fun” or “party” and none of it really made a lot of sense to him. Every now and again she would pause to take a great gasping breath before continuing.
Rainbow Dash was giggling and Rarity rolled her eyes theatrically. “I think it would be everypony’s best interest if you stayed here, Riley. Somepony needs to keep the library, after all. We’ve been taking shifts, but after a long day toiling to rebuild one’s home and livelihood it is terribly wearing to feel the need to care for a library, as well.”