I woke up as the sun shone through the window and onto my closed eyes. I shielded them but it didn't do much to protect my sensitive eyes. "Damnit Celestia. It's 8 in the morning." I said as I rubbed my eyes. "It's too early to be awake." I mumbled.
I got dressed in a ratty old shirt and some random shorts that I didn't even know or care if they were dirty or not, and walked out into the kitchen and found Twilight had already made breakfast. "Good morning!" she said cheerfully. "Did you sleep well?" she asked.
"Sort of. The sun blinded me permanently this morning." I said rubbing my eyes again as they refused to fully open.
"It's only 8 A.M." she said.
"And? It's too early to be awake." I replied, taking a seat at the table.
"Well here you go. Pancakes and muffins to make your day better." she said, rubbing my head.
I smiled as she moved the plate towards me. I picked up my fork and took a bite into the fluffy pancake. Twilight was right. It did make my day better. Or at least my morning. "So, what are your plans for the day?" I asked.
"Well, nothing right now. Spike has a bunch of chores to do, you're off today since the library is closed, and I have only a few things to look over for the Princess. And Phil is working all day with corporate so he can't do anything." she said.
"Well, then it's settled." I said, finishing off my pancake a little faster than I meant to. "We're going to go to the Starswirl the Bearded gallery." I said. He was her favorite historical pony due to his advances in magic and, I'm not going to lie, intrigued me.
"But that's all the way in Canterlot. It would take two hours by train." she said.
"Yeah and? It's 8 A.M, we're both completely free today, and we haven't really hung out outside of the library for awhile." I said.
"Are you sure?" she said. "It's a long ways away and, well, not cheap." she said.
"Most of my money is used for recreation anyway since I work with you and you're letting me live here free of charge. So I have enough for it." I said. I already knew it was going to cost me an arm and a leg, but it gave me a chance to hang out with Twilight, which is something that we haven't done in a long time.
"Well...okay." she said smiling. "I'll have Spike clean up the kitchen and we can get going."
I notice her walk away with an extra bounce in her step. I smiled as I moved my plate to the sink and began to clean it myself. I didn't like that she always had Spike clean things for her, but he didn't seem to mind. So I didn't voice it. He's very helpful, especially when the library is busy. He knows where every book is and is able to help me more than anyone other than Twilight could.
I put on more appropriate clothes than a ratty t-shirt and some shorts. I grabbed my bag with all my bits and walked out my door. Twilight was talking to Spike as he handed her a camera. "Where'd you get that Spike?" I asked.
"Pinkie Pie gave it to me so I could take pictures to remember whenever she throws a party." he said.
"Well, that's Pinkie Pie. She hasn't held a party in awhile. What does that usually mean?" I asked. It was strange that she hadn't held one. When I first arrived here, there were about 4 different parties in just two days, all that were planned and complex with Pinkie Pie as head of them. And three of them were on the spot!
"Normally it's because she has a really big huge party planned and needs to gather materials." Spike said.
"Oh great. And it's probably going to be a night when I have to work the next day." I said rolling my eyes. I never was a fan of parties. There were too many people, or ponies now, for me to feel comfortable. But the few that I went to were a lot of fun. But, again, old habits die hard.
"You ready, Brendan?" she asked as she placed the camera in her own bag.
"Yep. I've got everything we need." I said, shrugging my bag.
"Well let's go then. We don't want to miss the train." she said walking to the door.
We walked to the train station and saw most of the ponies having a picnic or other outdoor activities. It was a really nice day, so the gallery was probably going to be jam packed with ponies. But I wanted to spend some time with her.
"So, since when did you have an interest in Starswirl?" she asked as we boarded the train at the station. She was able to get free train fare since she was Celestia's student, which saved me from paying the high train fare to Canterlot.
"You know I've always found how Unicorns used magic interesting. I just never got around to reading any books about him. I got bored one day and it just happened to be the book I chose. It was really interesting. Especially about his mysterious disappearance." I said, taking a seat next to the window. I liked the window seats. It gave me a great view of all the mountains and other sights Equestria had to offer. And since I didn't ride the train too often, I always liked seeing them.
"I've found that interesting as well. Some say that it was during his transfiguration test, others say it was when a mysterious being from another land came and befriended him. Others say aliens and some say he died of natural causes. Personally, I think he just died but it was never properly documented. Back then, things weren't very organized and they could have easily been lost." she said.
I didn't really look at the scenary on this train ride though. I was too preoccupied talking with Twilight. She was such a huge fan of Starswirl that she could talk about him for I don't know how long. The time past by quickly as we discussed theories about Starswirl and we were in Canterlot before we even realized it.
"Let's go! I don't want to miss a thing!" she said, tugging at my shirt with her magic.
"H-hey!" I exclaimed with a smile as she pulled me along with her through the large capitol. "No need to pull! I'm coming." We ran to the building that had his entire exhibit. It took about 30 minutes to get the tickets, due to so many trying to get in.
"Oh my gosh! This is so exciting! Phil would never have done this! He hates these kinds of things. He doesn't understand the whole concept behind this pony's brilliance." she said as we walked past the rows of ponies who were admiring his work and to the main gallery at the center of the building.
"Why are you with him again?" I asked.
"Originally we were just talking about the differences in pony and and human biology. We started talking about stuff over dinners and then we just, well you know, hit it off." she said.
"Right. So nothing you have in common?" I asked as I looked at one of his documents that described his findings on Pegasus magic. According to his early theories, each pony had some form of magic that helped them with their roles in their lives and how they earned their cutie marks. Pegasi had magic to control the weather, Earth Ponies had magic to know when natural disasters occurred, and Unicorns had the maximum ability to use magic as they could mend it into many different forms. I found it interesting how he was able to figure that out just by observation. I would've just called it intuition.
"We do. We're both firm in our beliefs. You know, how I'm very firm in my science and medical beliefs, much like he is." she said. "And we both have no problem with Human/Pony interspecies dating." she said.
"That's still not a lot of things to go on when you date somebody." I said. "Then again, usually dating is simply based on looks and not what the other views of life. At least not until later." I said. "Does he even talk to you about magic?"
"All the time. Usually it's about what we can do to help in the medical field such as mend bones and increase metabolisms in patients." she said.
"But nothing like Starswirl?"
"No. He doesn't care about his findings. Which is okay, I mean I don't care about some of the big medical doctor's findings." she said.
"Does he listen to you about your own interests in magic?"
"Yes, Brendan. Why are you trying so hard to find something bad about him?" she asked me.
"No reason. Just making sure you have someone you can talk to about it. Even if it is just about medicine." I said with a chuckle.
"Well at least I have someone to talk to about it. Not many ponies in Ponyville have the same knowledge as I do in magic. You're the only who I can really debate about the history of it. While I'm okay with others not being as interested in it as me, it feels nice to be able to talk about it with someone." she said, looking to me.
I looked to her as well and we made eye contact. My heart jumped a little, and I saw her smile grow larger before she quickly took her glance away from me and starting looking the other way. "So, umm, let's take a look at his experiments from his early years." she said and walked towards the East Wing.
I followed her behind closely. I shook my head as to what happened earlier. She was my friend, and that's all there was. "So, what do you and Phil normally do?" I asked out of curiosity.
"Usually we go to a restaurant or visit some medical museums. The museums are pretty interesting, but I do get tired of the restaurant dates." she explained.
"Why not tell him?" I asked.
"I don't want to seem like I'm not appreciative of him." she replied.
"Well he doesn't seem to appreciate you. He doesn't seem to care about what you want to do, only what he wants to do." I pointed out, annoyed. "I'm not saying it's intentional, but it's possible."
"Maybe. Hey! Let's get a picture with his portrait!" she said as we came across a younger him. We poised ourselves in front of him and took a normal picture. She takes quite a few pictures so she can remember her adventures with her friends.
"Whats the next area? I asked as she put the camera back in her bag.
"Well, there's a timeline over here about what he did throughout his life. Let's check it out and see if there's something here we don't know about." she said pointing to her left.
We walked over and squeezed our way in between a group of ponies who were staring at the same thing. "You know there are times I wish that he wasn't so popular in Canterlot." I said, trying not to suffocate from the amount of ponies around us.
"If he wasn't we wouldn't have these kinds of exhibits." Twilight said, studying the timeline. "Oh look here! It says after his completion of mastering Pegasi magic, the hardest of all, Starswirl attempted transfiguration, a test that ultimately led to his disappearance." she said as she read the plaque.
"Well I guess that solves that mystery." I said. We continued along the East Wing before we moved on the North Wing. This one had paintings of him throughout the years. "Oh man!" I exclaimed as I came across a portrait of him in his 40s. "He looks like a grumpy old, 'I don't care what you say' type of pony. That look on his face!" I said with a laugh.
"I bet I can make one better than you." Twilight challenged me.
"Ha! Id like to see you try." I said. She pulled out the camera and pointed it at us.
"Ok then. Loser has to buy dinner." she said.
"But I'm already paying for it!" I exclaimed.
"Then you have nothing to lose." she said with a grin.
"Fine!" I exclaimed. We set the camera up and we both made the best face we could. She took the picture and nudged me as she turned it. My mouth was formed in an extended frown as I narrowed my eyes. Twilight just looked angry more than anything else.
"I think I won Twi." I said with a smile.
"No biased opinions!" she exclaimed. "Excuse me?" she asked another pony and human combo. The girl was pretty cute, brown hair, tan skin, and a little shorter than me. The mare next to her had a light purple coat with a matching darker purple mane.
"Yes?" the mare asked.
"Can you tell us which one of us made the better face in comparison to Starswirl's over here?" she asked.
"Sure thing." the girl replied, taking the camera. "Let's see..." Both her and the pony took turns looking back and forth at the pictures.
"Well?" I asked, nervous for some reason. "Who do you think?"
"I'd have to say you." the mare said pointing to me.
"I agree. You just look...angry." the girl said to Twilight.
"Ha! That means you get to pay for dinner!" I exclaimed.
"Fine." she said frowning.
"You know it isn't polite making your date paying for dinner." the mare said.
"What? Oh! We're not together." I said quickly.
"Yeah, we-we're just friends." Twilight said, stammering.
"Really? You know it's okay if you guys are. Neither of us care. And those who do care don't have a clear brain cell in their body." the women said.
"No, it's not that." Twilight said.
"Yeah. Besides, she has another boyfriend anyway." I said, a little quieter than before.
"Oh. Well then, I'm sorry for insinuating that. It's just that you two stand really close together and, well, she always has her head slightly tilted toward you." she explained as she pointed to Twilight.
Twilight quickly changed the way she was tilting her head and cleared her throat. We took a few steps away from each other, not realizing that we were almost touching. "I'm sorry. We didn't mean to be nosy. Here you two go." the woman said handing me the camera.
"Thanks. And don't worry, it's okay." I said taking the camera and placing it in my own bag. "You two enjoy the museum."
"You both as well." the mare said smiling at us.
We walked back to the center of the exhibit. "Well...that was...awkward..." I said.
"Yeah. I mean...us...together? I mean...you're not my type anyways..." she said.
"I know what you mean...Neither are you."
"I mean, it's not bad! I just...couldn't see myself with you. You snore....loudly...umm...you-you always daydream, and are very uh clumsy. Uh... you like meat, which is weird. I know it's a species different thing but I still don't care for it..." she rambled on.
"Uh, yeah! You refuse to eat meat or even the vegetarian meat and it's always the same green food that tastes the same every day. You always read, you always study, and you're obsessed with those Daring Doo books it's uncanny..." I replied back. I don't know why, but I was slightly hurt by her saying she couldn't see herself with me. What's wrong with me? I thought. I shook it out of my head. It didn't matter, we weren't together and never would be. She's with Phil, and we're just friends. It would be awkward.
"So! Where to next?" Twilight said as an awkward silence spread between us.
"Well...I think they have an interactive game in the North Wing. Maybe we should try that." I suggested.
"That's a great idea!" she said, excitedly. We walked to the North Wing where we found a simulation. There wasn't a very long line, but it had just opened, so we took our spot in line. It didn't take long, maybe 10 minutes, and when it was our time, we stepped into a large cube on opposite sides of each other that had a screen.
"Something from your country, huh?" Twilight said.
"Yep. Looks like it's a touch screen." I said as I placed my finger along the screen.
"Please hold still while calibrating." a computerized voice said.
"Whoa." Twilight said surprised. "What's it doing?"
"I believe it's setting up the visuals for us." I said. Our screens lit up and I saw a page that had spells written down.
"Please select a spell." the voice said.
"Hmm... Which one are you doing Twi?" I asked.
"I guess the third one? It says it launches vines at it's target." she said.
"Wait target?" I asked as she pressed the button. Vines shot from her screen to mine and there was a flinch on my screen.
"What happened?" she asked.
"Ohhh!" I said a smile spreading on my face. "I think it's a Starswirl battle simulator." I said.
"What? But why?" she asked.
"Well he was around before Celestia and Luna rose to power and there was peace, so maybe it was so dangerous he had to make some spells to protect himself and others." I said. I looked through my spells and found one that sent a flame at the target. I hit the button and flames blew towards Twi's screen.
"AH!" she screeched.
"You gotta be quick on the counter Twi." I said, launching another flame towards her. It hit her again and she spammed random buttons.
I saw a single blue jet coming my way and hit my vine spell and saw a wall jump up and block the water jet. I retaliated by sending the vines at her, but she quickly disintegrated them with her flame spell. "I think they go by weakness and strengths." I said.
"So what? Fire beats vines and vines beats water and water beats fire?" she asked.
"Yep. But what's the fourth spell?" I asked. I pressed it and a shockwave of air exploded and sent her screen shaking.
"Air. Ah! So it's an elemental spell game! Makes sense." she said.
"Yeah. Elemental magic is fairly easy to use." I said, remembering when she was talking about Starswirl when I first arrived in Equestria.
"Then what beats air?" she asked.
"Hmmm...." I was trying to think of maybe a quick combo of moves I could use. I remember back home that they used to have these fighting games where certain combos blocked attacks that seemed unblock-able. There was a quick shot of air being thrown at me and I randomly hit the fire button. The air flew over my screen and I wasn't hurt in the simulation.
"But how!?" she asked.
"Twilight, it's simple." I said laughing at my accidental discovery. "Hot air rises. I heated the air with the fire and it flew over me." I said.
"But that's not scientifically possible." she said.
"Oh well, it's part of the game." I replied slamming her with a barrage of vines again. She was too slow to block them and her screen started flashing red.
"What's happening now?" she asked me, sending a wave of water towards me. I pressed the vine spell, but I was a little slow on the defense and still got hit by it.
"I think it means you're close to losing." I said. I hit the air and fire spells together and saw a huge fireball fly towards her. She blocked it with two water spells, but only barely.
"You won't beat me! I know all of his tricks." she said.
"But you've never played a video game before." I pointed out.
"Mind over experience will win." she said as she cast a water vine combo that I easily blocked with my fire and air spell.
"Yeah, but I know how these games work." I replied, sending a double fire and water combo before I launched a vine combo she couldn't block fast enough.
"Hey!" she exclaimed.
"Spamming always wins!" I said as I kept launching a mixture of the water/vine combos with the fire/air combos. She couldn't block fast enough and she lost in a torrent of spells.
"Player defeated. Congratulations victor." the voice said. We both walked out smiling and laughing
"So that's a video game?" she asked.
"Yep. They aren't as brain killing as a lot people think of them to be." I said. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. "Okay well some of them aren't as brain killing." I said.
"Well I'm glad we played that. It was a lot of fun." she said.
We walked around the exhibit until it closed, and when it was time to leave, we stopped by the local coffee shop. I did end up paying for the meal, but only because I was the one who offered to take us to the place, and I wanted to treat Twilight to it. We took it to go since it was late and Twilight was exhausted. When we got to the train station, we ate while we waited for the train to arrive. When it arrived we stepped on the train and took our seats, with me by the window again.
"You have fun today?" I asked her.
"Yeah. It was so nice to be able to hang out again." she said letting out a yawn. "I don't think I've ever had that much fun." she said smiling at me. I could see it in her eyes that she was barely keeping her eyes opened.
"Hey, go ahead and go to sleep. I'll wake you when we get to Ponyville." I said.
"But you won't have anyone to talk to." she said, her eyes slowly falling.
"I'll be fine. I just want you to be well rested." I said. "And with Luna doing such a good job with her nights, I'm sure I'll be able to enjoy the night sky."
"Hmm...okay, Mr. Astronomy." she said, leaning her head next to me. She was asleep almost as soon as leaned against me. I looked at her and saw how adorable she looked. I carefully moved my arm out from under her head and wrapped it around her. She shuffled, but fixed herself with her head and hoof on my chest.
I smiled as I looked down at her. She was undeniably beautiful and Phil was a lucky SOB. Any guy would be lucky to have her. I thought. I shook it from my head again and looked out to the night sky. The sky was clear and the stars twinkled brightly. I looked to the glowing moon and smiled.
"Always loved a full moon." I said. There was a twinkle from the moon and my smile grew. I continued to stare at the stars before I slowly fell asleep.
I woke up as the train came to a stop. I looked out the window and the moon was well up in the night sky. It had to be around one in the morning and I let out a loud yawn. I felt something shift along my body and looked down. Twilight had wrapped her hooves all the way around my body in some sort of tight, night hug. I felt a smile spread across my face again. My heart skipped a beat or two and I felt my face flush. "Hey...Twilight?" I asked, quietly.
She shifted and tightened her grip. Okay Brendan...breathe. It's not like your best friend in Equestria who just happens to also be the most beautiful mare here is also hanging onto you like a child gripping its teddy bear. I thought to myself. I slowly slid her hooves away from me and picked her up, laying her head against my shoulder. She gave a tired moan and wrapped her hooves around my neck. "Come on, Twilight." I said as I carried her back to the library. "Let's go home."
I walked through the quiet roads of Ponyville carrying her in my arms. She breathed softly on my neck, her warm breath leaving tingles along my back. "You know...I had a lot of fun today Twilight." I told her as she slept. "I don't think I've ever had that much fun. Even back home."
I looked down to her. "Not sure if you can hear me...hell, I don't think I want you to hear me...but..." I stammered. "I don't think you should be with Phil. He only looks for stuff that interests him and he doesn't want to do things you want to do, or at least that's what it seems like to me. You deserve someone who is willing to do stuff you want to do as well. Plus you two have barely anything in common other than his love to learn about medicine and your fascination with reading and learning everything."
I admit, I've only hung out with him a few times and it was usually when Twilight left us alone at the library for awhile. He's not a complete jerk...at least to me. But there was just something about him and how he acted around Twilight that set me off.
"You rarely seem to have fun with him when I'm around, and when you do it's always just for a few moments and then it's back to just a normal attitude for you. Almost as if there was no real impression made." I said. I knew I was nitpicking at things to complain about, but she couldn't hear me, and it felt great to just rant about him.
"But...I'm not going to stop you if you say you love him. Even if..." I trailed off as I let the thought pass. "But hey! You're my best friend here and as long as you're happy, what say do I have in the matter of who you date?" I said. We arrived at the library and I carefully and quietly opened the door.
I walked up the stairs as quietly as I could despite them squeaking like a unoiled door hinge. As I began to place her in bed, she quickly tightened her grip on my neck. "Noooo..." she said quietly. "Don't go...."
I assumed she was talking in her sleep because she quickly went limp and fell back onto the bed. I tucked her in and walked back down the stairs and into my room. I crawled into bed and stared at the ceiling as I thought about the day. What is going on with you Brendan? I thought to myself. I rubbed my face and turned towards the window. "I feel like somethings trying to tell me something." I whispered to myself.
I looked to the moon and stars. The full moon was still high in the sky, brighter than ever. I sighed. "What would you do with Phil?" I asked myself. The moon stared at me with it's ominous white glow. "Maybe I should try and stop it? Sabotage?" The moon twinkled a little bit, almost as if answering me. "You're right. Stupid idea. It would destroy our friendship." I said to the moon. "But you have to admit, it would be hilarious to watch." I quickly shook my head. "You're losing it Brendan. You're talking to a giant rock in the sky. Go to sleep." I told myself and quickly forced myself to go to sleep.