A Mourning Heart

by Professor Tacitus

Six Strikes

Pinkie walked through Luna’s beautiful night back towards Sugar Cube Corner. She had gone to the home of Ponyville’s newest citizen Tacitus to invite him to the “Welcome” party she had planned for him. Unfortunately, Tacitus had refused her invitation.
Pinkie’s face was crestfallen as she walked into her home, which was filled with ponies all chatting and sipping punch from paper cups. They were all waiting for Pinkie to return with the guest of honor, but some of them looked concerned. Five of them to be precise. Pinkie’s closest friends Twilight, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Fluttershy all shifted uncomfortably when they saw Pinkie walk in by herself.
Pinkie addressed the room. “I’m sorry everpony, but he’s not coming.”
The ponies began to mumble among themselves, confused as to why someone wouldn’t show up to one of Pinkie’s parties. “We’re just going to have to party another time. Feel free to grab some cake on your way out though.”
Pinkie motioned to the door, and the ponies all began to exit, moans of disappointment and complaints of time wasted following them out the door. Soon, the only ones left in the bakery were Pinkie, the girls, and Spike, who had fallen asleep after only a few minutes of partying.
Her friends approached her with sympathetic glances. Twilight was the first to speak.
“What happened Pinkie?” Twilight thought she knew the answer, but wanted to hear it from Pinkie’s mouth.
“When I invited him to the party, he said no and then he said it was because he’s not interested in friends. Then he said he wanted to be left alone.”
Rainbow chimed in. “Sounds like another Cranky Doodle Donkey incident. Maybe we should just leave him alone.”
“No, this is different,” Pinkie responded. “He wasn’t angry or yelling, he was actually very polite.”
Now Fluttershy joined the conversation. “He walked me and my animal friends home earlier today. He even kept us dry when it was raining. I-I just thought that that was really nice.”
Rainbow recalled the act of unrequested kindness he’d shown her as she bragged to him. “Yeah, he did the same thing for me.”
Pinkie continued. “He just seemed so sad about something.”
The other five ponies all nodded as they recalled the pained look in his eyes.
“There was an…incident…when he was in my shop.” It was Rarity who spoke and the other mares listened intently. “I tried to take his hat, and the poor dear went positively crazy. He said they belonged to someponies that were very special to him. That might have something to do with it.”
Twilight spoke next. “When he came to talk to me, he also said that he didn’t want friends. It was after I found out who he was. He’s the famous historian, Professor Tacitus.”
The girls just gave her a blank stare, having no idea what he was famous for.
“Nevermind. Anyway, when I asked him why, he said that friendship only brings hurt. Girls, this pony clearly needs our help. We can’t just stand by and let him suffer like he obviously is.” The five ponies all nodded, determination to help in their eyes.
“Alright then, we’ll each talk with him individually tomorrow to see if we can cheer him up and find out what’s wrong. If we try hard enough, I know we can help him.”
All six mares put their hooves together in a pile as they made this commitment. Pinkie then raised he hoof excitedly.
“Can I go first, pleeeeease?” she begged.
“Uh, sure Pinkie,” Twilight answered. “Just try not to overdo it.”
“Okie dokie lokie!” Pinkie then grabbed an armful of large and heavy instruments out of nowhere and began preparing for the next day.

Tacitus’s eyes shot open, his emerald orbs staring at the ceiling after another restless night. The sound of birds chirping and the small rays of light entering through the blinds of his window told him it was morning.
“Another nightmare,” he thought as he forced himself out of bed. They came every night now, and they were always the same. He just kept reliving the moment he found them, unable to move and unable to scream. Just silently staring at them.
He had no time to dwell on that now. He had to get ready for his interview with Cheerilee. He put on the outfit Rarity had made for him, along with his hat and scarf, and grabbed his saddlebag before heading out the door.
He quickly bought some breakfast from one of the many food stands and walked towards the direction of the school house.
He was only about half way there before a pink blur rushed past him, causing him to spin uncontrollably. He was on the brink of seeing his breakfast again before a pair of hooves stopped his tornado-like movement. His eyes rolled in his skull for a moment before steadying, finally allowing him to see a very familiar –looking pink mare staring at him with a goofy smile.
“Hey Tacitus!”
*Sigh* “Good morning Pinkie.”
Did he not make himself clear last night? “Just relax, she’s only saying hello…I hope.”
“It is a good morning, because this morning, I’m gonna take away that sad face and make you smile.” Her grin grew wider.
Tacitus put on the “mask” and looked at her with the artificial smile. “W-What are you talking about? I am smiling.”
“You can’t fool me Tacitus. I know smiles, and that is a phony pony smile. But don’t worry; I know just how to fix that.”
All of a sudden, music began to play out of nowhere. As Tacitus looked around for the source of the music, Pinkie began singing.

Pinkie threw herself, and Tacitus with her, into a cart that began to roll quickly downhill. Tacitus was terrified, but she just kept singing.

The cart finished its descent by slamming into a stone that was sticking out of the ground, causing the two ponies to be launched forward and landing in the middle of a group of foals who were playing jump rope. Pinkie picked up Tacitus and practically threw him into the oscillating rope, forcing him to either jump or fall on his face.

At this, she stuck her hooves in the corners of his mouth and forced a ridiculous “smile” to appear on his face.

Tacitus tried to sneak away, but Pinkie prevented this by leaping to his side and placing her arm around his shoulder.

With that, Tacitus had reached his limit.
“ENOUGH!!!”
The music came to a screeching halt and Pinkie withdrew her hold on Tacitus, who looked at her with something he didn’t think he was capable of feeling: contempt.
“’It isn’t that bad’? How would you know?! How could you possibly understand what sadness is?! You don’t know sadness like I do! Nopony does! I’m sick and tired of ponies saying ‘I understand’ or ‘it’s going to be ok.’ Why can’t you get it through that thick head of yours that I don’t want your ‘help’ or your bogus sympathy?!”
Tacitus was breathing heavily through his nose. He’d never in his life exploded like that. He instantly regretted it the moment he saw Pinkie’s face.
Her eyes welled up with tears and her lip quivered, and her curly mane had lost some of its bounce. Words couldn’t describe how horrible Tacitus felt in that moment. Most of the things he’d said were directed at others, not Pinkie, but she had the misfortune of being the one to set him off on the tirade of anger that had been bottled up inside him for months.
“Oh my gosh, Pinkie, I’m so sorry. Please, forgive me, I didn’t mean any of that. I just…I appreciate what you’re trying to do but, it’s a lost cause. Please, for my sake and for your own, just give up on me. Everypony else has.” He said the last part quietly to himself, but Pinkie caught it.
“Again, I’m really sorry. You seem like a nice pony and for what it’s worth, you have a beautiful singing voice. But I ask again: please just let me be alone.”
Pinkie perked up slightly at the compliment. The tears were gone, but her mane was still hanging weakely and her smile was gone.
“I was just trying to make you happy.”
He sighed. “Pinkie, I can’t be happy. Not anymore. I can only strive to be content.” He turned and walked away, leaving Pinkie even more concerned about how badly he’d been hurt.
Although her feelings were hurt, she was more determined than ever to help him, and if she couldn’t do this herself, she’d help him through others. With this in mind, she sped off to report to Twilight and the others.
As he walked away,Tacitus slapped his face and mentally berated himself for being so mean to somepony who might have really been trying to help. But maybe now she would finally leave him alone. Maybe he should do that more often…No. It wasn’t worth hurting somepony’s feelings like that. He was ashamed of himself, and he knew they would be disappointed in him too. That only served to make him feel even worse.
With a heart full of guilt and a mind trying to figure out a way to make it up to her, Tacitus continued his journey to the schoolhouse.

Tacitus sat in the Ponyville Schoolhouse, his chair situated directly in front of the desk where Cheerilee, an earth pony with a pinkish-purple coat and a pink striped mane, scanned his resume.
He waited patiently as she read, taking glances around the small schoolhouse. He was so used to the enormous campus of Equestria University and its arena-like lecture halls that the schoolhouse seemed positively microscopic to him.
Cheerliee set down the papers and looked at Tacitus with a friendly smile. “Well Mr. Tacitus, I have to say that your records are very impressive. But I have to ask, why would a professor at such an esteemed college want to teach here?”
He was ready for this question. “I’ve always loved teaching and sharing the knowledge that I’ve discovered with others. It doesn’t matter to me who they are or what age they are. Besides, I felt I really needed a change of scenery.” No lies there, although not exactly the whole truth.
“Well said,” responded Cheerilee. “But I think it’s only fair to warn you: foals can be even more difficult to handle than college students.”
“I understand, but I believe myself to be fully capable of handling such a challenge.”
Cheerliee’s smile widened. “Well, we’d be honored to have you teach here, the students and I. With your expertise in the study of history, I’ll place you in charge of that particular subject.” Cheerilee handed him a thick folder. “This is the curriculum, showing what the students have already learned and what will be taught for the rest of the year. You’ll start next Monday. I’m sure the students will love you.”
Tacitus and Cheerlilee shook hooves before he took the folder she gave him and left. Tacitus was making his way towards his home when a rainbow streak suddenly appeared at his side.
“Wassup Tacitus?” Rainbow Dash asked as she began to hover next to him.
“Hello,” he responded flatly as he resumed his trek.
Rainbow flew slowly next to him. “So, watcha up to? I saw you walk out of the schoolhouse in that fancy get-up and wondered what was going on.”
Although he wished she’d go away, he thought it rude to leave an innocent question unanswered. “It was a job interview. Ms. Cheerilee hired me as an assistant teacher.”
“Oh, so you’re an egghead huh? That’s cool I guess. You read a lot of books?”
“Quite a few actually.” That was an understatement if there ever was one.
“You ever read a series called Daring Do?” Rainbow seemed to get excited at the mere mention of the title.
“No, I don’t believe I’ve heard of that series.” He kept hoping something would come up that would cause her to leave, but no such miracle came.
“You have to read it! It’s the most awesome book series ever! Daring Do is almost as awesome as I am. I meet her, you know, and she put me in one of her books.” She beamed with even more pride than usual as she recalled the events of meeting her hero and going on an adventure with her.
“That’s nice.” He was actually very impressed and intrigued by her statement, but he hoped that if he feigned disinterest she would get bored and leave.
“Soooo, that offer I made yesterday about us hanging out is still on the table if you want it. You don’t have to just watch me. We can race and I won’t even use my wings. Wouldn't want to beat you too bad!” She gave him a wink and a gentle nudge in the side.
“Thank you Rainbow Dash, but I’m still not interested.” He picked up his pace in an attempt to escape the pegasus.
“Well, if you don’t want to race, do you just want to talk?”
“No thank you.” He quickened his pace further.
“Time for Plan B.” Rainbow Dash rocketed off past Tacitus, who sighed in relief after seeing her leave. He didn’t suspect that she had an accomplice.
Rainbow raced ahead and met up with Applejack, who was waiting around the corner just a few blocks ahead of Tacitus. She brought Applejack up to speed on their conversation.
“Alright Applejack, see if you can get through to him. I’m going to go update Twilight on our progress.” She sped off once again, leaving Applejack alone and waiting.
When Tacitus was close enough, Applejack stepped out and waved to him. “Good mornin’ Tacitus!”
“Are you kidding me? Are these ponies working together?” Tacitus waved back, but kept right on walking.
Applejack fell in step with him. “I heard you got a job at the schoolhouse.”
“They are working together,” he thought as he recalled Rainbow’s hasty advance to a spot suspiciously close to where Applejack appeared. “That’s correct. I start Monday.”
“Well congratulations. My little sister goes there. Speakin’ of which, she’s spendin’ the day with her friends, so we’re a little short-staffed back at the farm. Would you mind lending a hoof? I’ll pay you for yer troubles.”
“Can’t one of your friends help you?”
“They’re all busy today. Please Tacitus? Yer the only pony I can turn to.” She looked at him with hopeful eyes.
He couldn’t say no. He sighed loudly. “Alright. I’ll help. Lead the way.” He hated himself for being so nice.
“Right this way.” Applejack walked with some pep in her step towards Sweet Apple Acres, Tacitus following closely behind.
They arrived at the farm after a few minutes of walking. Tacitus couldn’t help but marvel at the massive apple orchard that took up the majority of the farm. He stared at the seemingly endless number of trees, all of which bore delicious-looking apples.
The two ponies walked toward the farmhouse, where a very large red stallion with an orange mane stood waiting for them.
“This here’s by brother Big Macintosh. Big Mac, this is Tacitus. He’s gonna be helpin’ us harvest the apples.”
Tacitus tipped his hat at the pony known as Big Mac. “Good to meet you.”
“Eeeyup,” he responded simply.
“Hey Big Mac, where’s Granny?” Big Mac answered her question by pointing to an open window, where a heavenly aroma emanated.
An elderly voice spoke through the window. “I’m in here youngin’. Y’all go on and get ta harvestin’ while I finish up. Now where’d I put my gosh darn teeth.”
Applejack rolled her eyes lovingly. “That’s Granny Smith. She’s a little on out there, but she’s smarter than she lets on. Now, all you gotta do is get the apples off the trees, put ‘em in the buckets, and store ‘em in the barn over yonder.” She pointed to each of the objectives in turn before demonstrating the process of bucking apples.
Tacitus set down his saddlebag, where he carefully stored the clothes he’d worn earlier, and approached one of the trees. His horn glowed and every apple on the tree, and every apple on several of the surrounding trees, floated down from the trees and landed in several of the buckets. Tacitus then levitated the buckets and walked them over to the barn. He did all this with little effort.
Applejack whistled loudly. “That’s mighty impressive.”
“Eeeyup.” Big Mac agreed.
“Only other pony I’ve seen do magic like that is Twilight. We only need to get through the east orchard today, and at this rate we’ll be done in no time.”
Some time passed as the three ponies continued to harvest apples. Applejack tried on several occasions to strike up a conversation with Tacitus, but he kept avoiding her, attributing his refusal to talk with having to concentrate on his magic. But she still had an ace up her sleeve.
Tacitus wiped the sweat from his brow after putting away the last of the apples. Big Mac and Applejack did similar motions before Applejack put her arm around Tacitus.
“Wooo! That’s gotta be a new record time. Before I pay you, how about you join us for some lunch?”
Tacitus was about to say he wasn’t hungry, but his growling stomach gave him away. Applejack practically dragged him to the kitchen before he could refuse the offer.
At the table, an elderly lime-green mare with an apple pie for a cutie mark was placing a large pot in the center of the table. Steam escaped from the gaps between the lid, and the intoxicating smell that Tacitus had smelled earlier once more graced his nostrils.
Applejack addressed the pony that Tacitus guessed was Granny Smith. “Granny, I’d like you ta meet Tacitus. He’s the one that helped us with the harvest today.”
“Well it’s nice to meet ya youngin’. That was mighty kind of you to help out on such short notice.”
Tacitus tipped his hat. “Nice to meet you ma’am. And it was really no trouble.” He sniffed the air once again. “Do you mind if I ask what smells so delicious?”
Granny Smith gave a proud smile. “That there is my homemade Apple Family apple stew. Now y’all sit yer tired selves down and have a bowl.”
The four ponies took a seat at the table, Applejack opting to sit just opposite of Tacitus. Granny Smith ladled some stew into a bowl and gave it to Tacitus, who accepted it gratefully. After tasting the first bite, it took all of his self-control not to just dive in like a pig. This was one of the most delicious things he’d ever tasted.
Applejack looked up from her bowl. “So Tacitus, why don’t ya tell us a little about yerself. Where are you from?”
Tacitus clenched his hoof tightly. He was hoping they could just eat in silence and then leave. He berated himself on such foolish thinking.
“I’m originally from Canterlot, but I’ve traveled a lot for my studies and my career.”
Applejack seemed intriqued. “What kind of work causes you to travel so much?”
Lured in with food and trapped into polite conversation. Clever ponies. “I’m a historian, and as such, I travel to many locations to excavate and study historical artifacts and ruins.”
Granny Smith and Big Mac were also listening intently. Applejack continued. “And how’d you learn to get so good at magic, bein’ a historian and all?”
“Well, I love studying all types of history, which includes the history of magic. I studied a lot of the great sorcerers like Star Swirl the Bearded, Clover the Clever, and Manedalf the Gray. By studying their lives and their achievements in magic, I was able to imitate them to a degree and develop a talent for magic beyond simple levitation spells like most unicorns.”
Applejack kept pushing. “What about family? You’ve met some of mine already. What’s your family like?”
She’d pushed too far. Tacitus dropped his spoon in his bowl and took a deep breath. Applejack saw his hoof clench tighter, and saw a pained look on his face. He wasn’t going to allow himself to snap like he’d done earlier. He pushed the bowl away and rose from his seat.
“Thank you for lunch. I’d better be going now.” He turned and began to walk away.
Applejack thought quickly on how she could salvage the situation. “Wait, I haven’t paid you for yer help yet.”
“The food was payment enough, thank you.” Tacitus exited as quickly as he could without seeming rude, leaving the bewildered Apple family staring after him.
As he left, Tacitus failed to notice the blue pegasus that sat outside the window, listening to everything that had happened. She took to the sky to report her observations.

Tacitus was almost home and his mind was racing trying to contemplate the events of the last few hours.
“What is the deal with these ponies? They’re taking advantage of my nature and forcing me to get close to them. Can’t they take a hint?”
As if to prove that they couldn’t, Tacitus saw Rarity standing right outside his door, looking right at him as he approached.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” He reluctantly approached his home and tried to open the door, but Rarity blocked his path.
“Good morning darling,” she said cheerfully. “I was wondering if we could talk for a little bit. Get to know each other better.”
He’d heard this before. And his answer was still the same. “No, thank you. I really don’t feel like talking or getting to know anypony better.” He’d had enough “getting to know you” questions for today, and for the rest of his life.
Rarity put on a much more sweet and luxurious voice. “Oh please? I’d ever so much like to know more about somepony as amazing as you.” She gave him a flutter of her eyelashes and a coy look.
With how she talked and the smooth motions and use of her beauty to try and coax him into talking, she reminded him of her. While his anger was in check, sadness once again took over his features. She was just like her. They all were. All they wanted to do was use him and discard him when they were done.
His ears turned down and he shut his eyes.
“Please leave. I don’t want to talk to you or anypony else.” He gently picked Rarity up with his magic and set her to the side, allowing him to enter his house and shut the door behind him before she could react.
She knocked on the door, but there was no answer. Disappointed, she headed back towards Twilight’s.

Tacitus closed the curriculum folder that Cheerilee had given him, finished reading and fully caught up with what was being taught in the school and what he would be teaching when he started on Monday. He looked to the clock that hung on the wall and saw that it was barely past noon.
“Might as well finally get the grocery shopping done.” He gathered his saddlebag and bits and headed into town.
He was only half-way to the shopping center of the town when he let out a huge sigh. Fluttershy, looking just as nervous as she did yesterday, was walking towards him.
“Oh for Celestia’s sake. I've had enough of this.”
The two ponies stopped and faced each other. “Oh…um…H-Hello Tacitus. I-I was just wondering…if maybe you’d like to…”
Tacitus put up a hoof to silence her. “Look, I know what you and the others are doing. I know you’re going to try and convince me or trick me into talking so you can get close to me. I’m asking you politely to stop it.”
He said no more as he walked past her and continued on his way. She couldn't bring herself to try again, so she just walked away with her head hung low.

Tacitus had finished his shopping and was making his way home.
“Hopefully those ponies will finally stop bugging me now.”
Suddenly, something crashed into Tacitus’s side at unnatural speed. He was thrown several feet before landing hard on the ground.
“What in Equestria just happened?” He looked around and saw that about half his groceries were now strewn across the ground.
“Sorry mister,” somepony said in an accent very similar to Applejack’s. “We weren't payin’ attention. We’ll help you clean up.”
Tacitus looked to the source of the voice and saw three little fillies looking at him with apologetic eyes. The one that spoke was a pale yellow earth pony with a red mane that had a big pink bow in it. Her two companions were a white unicorn with a curly purple and pink mane and an orange pegasus with a dark purple mane. They all wore deep crimson capes with a blue and yellow emblem.
“No harm done,” he told them as he picked up all the fallen groceries in his magic and placed them in his bag. He couldn’t help himself from asking. “Who might you three be?”
All three of the fillies shouted in unison. “We’re the Cutie Mark Crusader!”
Tacitus had to cover his ears with his hooves and clenched his eyes shut. He felt like his eardrums just about burst.
“The what?” he asked as he began digging in his ear with his hoof.
The earth pony spoke up. “The Cutie Mark Crusaders. It’s a club we formed to help discover our hidden talents and earn out cutie marks. I’m Apple Bloom, and these are my friends Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.” She pointed to the pegasus and unicorn respectively.
“What about you? What’s your name?” It was Sweetie Belle who asked.
The cuteness of the three fillies was almost too much for him, and he couldn’t help but answer them. “I’m Tacitus.”
Scootaloo stared at his flank. “Hey Mr. Tacitus, why’s your cutie mark a weird-looking eye? Is your special talent seeing or something.”
The other two girls gave her a reproachful look, silently reprimanding her on such a comment.
Tacitus chuckled slightly. “It’s a symbol called the Eye of Horsus. It was used by the ancient Equyptions as a symbol of magic and protection against evil. For me, it represents my love of the study of history and ancient civilizations, and my aptitude with magic.”
The girls stared at him with interest as he explained this. He was being surprisingly open with these girls. But, he’d always had a weakness for foals, and the wonder and innocence these three radiated caused him to drop his defenses.
“Where were you girls off to in such a hurry anyway?”
“We’re goin’ to the Everfree Forest to catalog all the strange creatures that live in there,” Apple Bloom answered.
“Cutie Mark Crusader Creature Catalogers, YAY!” all three shouted once again.
Tacitus re-covered his ears and one of his eyes was shut while the other one was twitching. He was almost positive one of his eardrums was ruptured.
He took a moment to recover his hearing before he spoke. “Well, I wish you the best of luck. Just keep working hard, and I know you’ll have your cutie marks in no time.”
“Thanks mister! It was nice meetin’ ya,” Apple Bloom shouted over her shoulder as she ran in the direction of the forest.
“Yeah, you seem pretty cool. Hope to see you again,” Scootaloo added.
“Bye Mr. Tacitus!” Sweetie Belle finished.
Tacitus waved goodbye and watched them go. Those girls left more of an impact on him than they, or even he, knew. For as he walked back towards his home, a smile was on his face. It was small, but it was there.

The Cutie Mark Crusaders ran as one towards the Everfree Forest. Sweetie Belle was the only one among them that looked worried.
“Are you sure this is a good idea?” she asked. “Last time we went into the forest, we almost got turned into stone by a cockatrice.”
“Quit yer worryin’ Sweetie Belle,” Apple Bloom responded. “I’ve been in the forest dozens of times to see Zecora. We’ll be fine.”
Scootaloo began to pull ahead of her two friends. “Come on slow pokes! Those creatures aren't going to catalog themselves!”
The three then continued their journey into the forest.

In the throne room of Twilight’s castle, Twilight and her six friends, Spike also being in attendance after being brought up to speed, each sat on their respective thrones. After Fluttershy’s attempt had failed, the six of them decided to convene and discuss their next step.
Pinkie Pie told of how he had snapped and expressed anger for the first time since they’d known him. The fact that he had almost made her cry shocked the group. But Pinkie explained that he had immediately regretted it and apologized. His outburst served to show that he had felt abandoned by others.
Rainbow Dash told of her failed attempts to get him to hang out or talk to her, and Applejack told how he left in a hurry after she mentioned family. Rarity chimed in about how he seemed to react strangely when she attempted to use her charms, and Fluttershy finished with her short tale of him simply telling her to stop before she even began.
Twilight listened to all their stories and contemplated what she should do for her attempt.
“Obviously it was a mistake to try to put him in situations where it’s hard to not answer questions. It seems like he feels we’re trying to deceive him or trap him. A direct approach might be the answer.”
“What are you going to do?” Fluttershy asked nervously.
“What I do best: lecture him!” She disappeared in a flash of light and began planning her lecture.

The clock struck 6:00, the sun was beginning its descent to make room for Luna’s night, and Tacitus sat in his living room with his muzzle buried in a book. It was a history of the Ottomane Empire, and he was almost finished before he heard a knock at the door. He closed his book with a sigh and rose from his comfortable chair to answer the door.
He wasn't entirely surprised to see that it was Twilight who stood there as he opened the door. The other five had bothered him today; he was only surprised she hadn't come sooner. That didn't mean it was a pleasant surprise.
“Good evening Tacitus” she said. “I’m here to talk to you.”
Tacitus had given up on wearing the "mask" at this point, and just looked at her with the mournful look that his face had become so used to.
“I really don’t feel like talking, so if you don’t mind I’d like to get back to my book.”
Twilight was not deterred. “Don’t make me make this a royal order.” She was only half joking.
Tacitus sighed. What could he do? He couldn't just slam the door in her face, even if she wasn't a princess. He could hear their voices in the back of his head. “Always be polite and kind to others. Always behave like a gentlecolt.” That seemed like it was becoming harder and harder to do.
He sighed again. “Go ahead. Say what you need to say.”
Twilight took a deep breath in preparation for her lecture, but before she could begin, a voice shouted out to her.
The two ponies turned in the direction of the shout to see Applejack running towards them, a terrified and worried look on her face.
Once she got to Twilight, she took a few breathes before speaking. “Have you seen Apple Bloom and her friends? They were supposed to meet me at Sweet Apple Acres an hour ago, but they haven’t showed up. I've looked everywhere for ‘em.”
“No, I haven’t seen them all day.” Twilight began to share the same worried look as Applejack.
Apple Bloom. Tacitus recognized the name. “Wait. Are you talking about the Cutie Mark Crusaders? I ran into them, or rather they ran into me, earlier today. They said they were going to someplace called the Everfree Forest.”
Both mares gasped at the news. “What!” Applejack shouted. “What the hay made them go in there alone? I told Apple Bloom not to do that anymore.”
Tacitus was confused. He’d gone through forests hundreds of times as a colt. “I don’t understand. What’s wrong with the forest?”
Twilight explained. “The Everfree Forest is unlike any other place in Equestria. Everything that happens in there is done without pony intervention, and it’s home to some of the most dangerous predators in Equestria! I know Apple Bloom has been in there a few times, but she's never been late coming home.”
Now Tacitus was worried. The thought of those fillies in danger caused his heart to drop.
Twilight looked at Appljack. “Don’t worry Applejack, we’ll get the girls together and find them.” The two mares rushed away from Tacitus to gather their friends for the search.
“I’m coming to help too.” Without a moment’s hesitation, Tacitus chased after the two ponies, determined to help find the missing fillies.