The vortex Alistair awoke to was a darker gray mist than before, this time swirling at a much more aggressive speed that whipped the stray ends of his clothing in all sorts of directions. The chattering buzz from last time was no longer present, but replaced with a rumble that vibrated the ground below him.
Peering down, he saw the bits of gray earth beneath him slowly shatter along the edges, until they completely collapsed under and sent him hurtling back down into an abyss. He knew what would follow next, but the fear at the pit of his chest was not strong enough to break the pull the nightmare had on his mind. He would have to endure once more.
--------------------
“I just don’t know what I’m going to do,” said Alistair hopelessly as he rubbed the end of his forehead. “It’s just so difficult living there, just being there. It hurts emotionally, you know?”
Jam Roly-Poly and Commodore Blip sat awkwardly across from him, his two best friends unsure on how to approach what he’d just said.
Jam was the smaller of the two, with a thinner frame and skinny legs that extended him above most other ponies he met. His fur was a bright crimson with a matching mane of maroon, all topped off with a circular set of glasses placed tightly at the bridge of his snout.
Commodore on the other hoof was a bit heavier set than his counterpart, with his height as well being a tad lower to the ground. His fur was a vibrant electric blue shaded by a spiky navy mane that swooped close down to the edges of his eyes.
The two milkshakes in front of them had been sucked clean in mere minutes from their delivery, while Alistair’s sat practically full, warming in the mostly vacant Ponyville diner.
“Well, have you tried talking with her?” suggested Jam. “Maybe if you just explained yourself she might change.”
Alistair grimaced at the thought. “Like that would ever happen. She’s changed alright, personality wise and not in a way that would be seen as harmful to most ponies. Just the way she talks, the way she acts, it’s different and I don’t like it.”
Commodore rapped his hoof along the table’s edge. “Are you sure it’s even that big of a deal? So she has a new title, so what? She’s still your friend.”
“You don’t get it,” he said with a hostile glare. “She carries this intelligence with her, this omnipotence that sets her apart from what she once was. She doesn’t make mistakes, she corrects them. Her emotions never get the best of her; she gets the best of them. And now with a position of authority under her domain it seems that her importance just keeps going up.”
He sighed dejectedly. “How can I continue to be friends with somepony after that? Somepony’s who’s changed so much over the time that you’ve known them. I understand that things never stay the same, but I swear she’s like a different person. More like Celestia than her old self. Perfect in all regards.”
“How’s that bad then?” remarked Commodore with positively. “She sounds wiser now, more of a role model than anything. Isn’t that good in friend?”
“I want a friend, not a role model!” he shouted with a slam of his palm against the table. “And when you’re too uncomfortable to even talk with somepony you’ve known for two years, maybe you’ll understand how I feel. I don’t like thinking about this, I’d prefer to ignore the problem all together, but putting up with it and telling myself that nothing was wrong and ‘everything will be fine’ for three months hasn’t changed a damn thing.”
“That what are you going to do?” demanded Jam, a bit off put at Alistair’s current attitude toward them.
He brushed a hand through his well combed hair, mussing it up slightly along the front. “I need a change, something different in my life, because I really can’t continue doing this. It’s worse living with her, which is probably why I’m bothered by this so frequently.”
He paused and looked out a nearby window, staring across the streets of Ponyville at something the two couldn’t see. “I need to leave,” he said quietly. “There’s no way around it.”
The two colts’ eyes flickered in confusion and were suddenly replaced with utter shock. Commodore stammered but was finally able to utter a dismayed response. “B-But you can’t do that, you’re just a kid!”
“Hasn’t stopped me before,” he said solemnly. “They’ve never made me go to school, or take standardized tests, or even register in a census if I don’t want to. I’m a ghost in several respects, and because I don’t look like the either of you I’m granted liberties. And then again, I’m condemned to other things. No pony would bat an eye if I ever decided to head off to parts unknown, get a job or something like that.”
“Is that what you’re going to do?” Jam asked, not as shaken as Commodore but otherwise still bothered by the news.
Alistair nodded. “I haven’t planned that far ahead, but that would be a must if I don’t want to be a professional pauper.”
Commodore, growing more anxious as he spoke, reached his blue hoof towards Alistair, desperation deep in his voice. “Alistair, please, you can’t do this. You’re our friend. We can all face this together. Time can change things, who’s to say this won’t apply to Twilight?”
Alistair wistfully shook his head. “It’s too late for that. I’d love to be hopeful, but nothing’s changed at all. I can’t stand seeing her like this; it tears me up on the inside, everyday.”
His stone faced expression broke suddenly, his composition snapping as tears began to roll down his face. Still, he forced his weakened voice onwards. “I love you guys. You alone have given me some of the greatest moments of my entire life. We’ll still be friends, I’m not ending this. I’ll visit every chance I get and that’s a promise.” He pointed towards them strongly, his eyes boring steel into both of them. “I’ll never abandon you guys, never.”
Jam and Commodore were quiet for a moment, not quite sure what to say.
“This is your choice to make,” Jam said slowly. “We just hope your making the right one.”
Alistair rose from his seat and wiped the ends of his eyes with his palm. “It’s the only one I’ve got.”
With a friendly wave to both of them, Alistair walked out of the diner, tears beginning to roll back down his face.