//------------------------------// // Chapter 19 // Story: When Friends are Said and Dun // by xenos29 //------------------------------// "Are we there yet?" groaned Rainbow. "For the fifth time, no," Applejack groaned back. Though they had only been traveling for twenty minutes, everypony was restless, fidgety, and those two had gotten the worst of it. Nopony could blame them; since the escape from Ponyville three nights ago, the ponies had easily spent a full day cooped up on a train. The guards in the car were still sitting like statues, and despite occasionally muttering to one another, they were the picture of stoicism. On their side of the train, Cadance and Alpenglow were talking, with Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Rarity sitting quietly as they listened. As for Spike, he was sitting next to Twilight, trying his best to pay attention too. He yawned frequently as boredom and drowsiness gained the upper hoof. "So what happened at the dance?" Alpenglow asked Cadance. "Well, I did go with Buck, but once we got there, I quickly told him that we should just be friends and went to find Shining Armor." The stallion grinned somewhat. "Very efficient, Your Highness." Cadance rolled her eyes playfully. "I try. To make a long story short, Buck got what he deserved, and Shining Armor and I finally had our dance. You wouldn't believe it, but the two of them are actually good friends now." "Two young ponies in love, a bully, and a dance. That’s quite the story, Princess." "Cadance is fine, really." "Well then, Cadance, I think one you should definitely save that one for the history books...or the romance novels." She chuckled. "I’ll keep that in mind. What about you, Alpenglow? You told us a little that night in the library, but you must have some stories of your own." "Yes, tell us about the princesses when you were their student. What were they like?" asked Rarity. Spike groggily woke up as everypony turned their attention towards Alpenglow, who took off his helmet. "They really weren’t that different back then. Honestly, it's surprising how they’ve barely changed, even Princess Luna." "What do you mean?" asked Applejack. Alpenglow's mouth curved up just noticeably. "You must've heard her talk in public by now. Her voice tends to leave an impression on ponies...and on the wall behind them." Twilight smiled. "Oh, right. She’s gotten much better about that now. You should see her when she comes to Ponyville. She’s kind, outgoing..." "And loves having fun!" Pinkie finished. "She truly is another pony when royal duties aren’t on her mind," Rarity confirmed. Alpenglow shook his head in disbelief. "That’d be something to see. It was rare when the Princess and I could get a smile out of her. A laugh...I’d sooner try to teach a rock to sing. She was always about as festive as one." "Remind you of anypony?" teased Rainbow as she slugged Alpenglow’s shoulder. For a moment, he stared where Rainbow had hit him, one eyebrow raised. Then, to Twilight's silent delight, his mouth curved into another smile, microscopic though it was. "You might get a chance to see her like that at the Remembering our Roots festival," said Applejack. "What's that?" "It’s a festival where everypony learns about the ponies that lived in Equestria before us and what their lives were like," Twilight explained. "It’s a chance for everypony to share their family history and traditions. We were helping Princess Celestia prepare for it before everything happened. It’s a week from tomorrow." Alpenglow looked away for a moment, then said sincerely, "Don’t worry, we’ll get this done before then." "Maybe you could help us out, Alpenglow," Applejack suggested. "I bet you could tell us all sortsa things about what Equestria was like back in the day. Like what’d y’all usually eat?" "Yes, perhaps you could help me visualize what kind of fashions were in style?" added Rarity. "Descriptions in books simply do not do them justice." "Sorry, I couldn’t tell you much about either of those things. I was pretty busy as the princesses' student. I didn’t really think about much outside of my studies." Alpenglow shrugged. "Looking back, I probably should've tried to. It kind of made me a one-trick pony." "If studying was what you enjoyed, then you're in good company," Cadance said with a wink at Twilight. "Still," pressed Rarity, "you must have done something with your time when you weren’t 'venturing into the unknown' and 'saving the day.'" "I suppose I must've. Nothing out of the ordinary, really: reading, relaxing, training." Rainbow was looking out the window, ever so slightly bored, when suddenly her eyes lit up with opportunity. She turned away from the window and asked suspiciously, "Did you guys ever race?" Alpenglow cocked his head. "On occasion." "Aw yeah!" Rainbow whooped. "First chance we get: you, me, Twilight, and Fluttershy." "Please no," Fluttershy whimpered. "...Though I guess I'd better wait 'til we can get some of the Wonderbolts to watch. I’d rather have some star witnesses when I win." Alpenglow raised an eyebrow. "You haven’t won anything yet, Rainbow Dash." She leaned forward, jabbing her hoof at Alpenglow. "Eh, I may as well've. You didn't know, so you're off the hook, but you’re talking to the winner of the Best Young Flyers' competition and official Wonderbolt candidate." "Don't rest on your laurels. I paid attention during the flight over the mountains yesterday. You started off fine, but your posture was sloppy by the time we crossed the peak." Applejack laughed, "Whew, he’s calling you out, Rainbow!" Rainbow’s face turned red, though Twilight couldn’t tell if it was from embarrassment or indignant anger. "Come on!" she shouted, "Let’s race right now! Then we'll see who’s got the sloppy posture!" The stallion stood up. "I’ll be back in a minute," he said serenely. "Need to ask the conductor how much longer we'll be." He walked off, and Twilight caught a glimpse of his effort to keep a straight face. He was gone for the brief remainder of the trip, but everypony made the most of their time, namely by teasing Rainbow, and her bruised ego, until the glowing dome of Ponyville loomed into view.