“Well… that wasn’t so bad,” I idly commented, walking in tandem with Twilight. She looked straight down the road with a thoughtful look.
“It could have gone better, but could’ve been worse too.” She disinterestedly replied.
Since leaving the restaurant, she had gotten pretty quiet. After Rarity left along with the others, Twilight seemed lost in her thoughts and not very inclined to talk. After a couple minutes of walking in the early-afternoon sun, I finally said something to the purple mare.
“Everything alright?” I asked. She blinked and looked over to me, as if just remembering I was there.
“What? Oh yeah, I’m fine,” Twilight halfheartedly smiled back. I didn’t buy it and decided to push some more.
“You don’t seem fine.” I replied. “If you’re worried about me around your friends, I think it all got out of the way when Rainbow Dash jumped me.” I finished with a decent attempt at lightening the mood with a laugh.
“Heh, no, it’s not that,” Twilight replied with a light chuckle. “I guess I’m just surprised how well-received you were by the rest of the girls.” She smiled, relieved.
“I try. Though to be honest…” I paused to catch up to her. I was still walking in slow motion compared to most ponies, trying to get the hang of things. “I try to make a good impression, but I was pretty nervous the whole time.”
“Oh? Why’s that?”
“You six seemed like a tight bunch,” I shrugged. “As close as you all seem, I didn’t wanna disrupt that. A new person in a close-knit group might… feel a little left out.” I looked down to the road for a moment, chewing on my lip.
“That’s it?” Twilight stopped and covered her mouth with a foreleg to stifle a laugh. I could only give her a confused look and wait for the giggling to die down. “Don’t worry about that, Edward. The other girls are used to weird things going on around me,” Twilight resumed walking. “At this point they probably expect these sorts of things.”
“You mean like dragging alien beings inside a pony body around with you?” I asked, trying to keep the humor going.
“Well, I guess there is a first time for everything.”
<><><><><><><><><><>
“Home sweet home~.” Twilight chimed, shutting the front door as we entered the library. I gave a quick look around the main room, taking it all in again.
“Might be a while before I think of it like that.” I mused, walking around, peering at the bookcases. I spied a large green tome sitting on a table, a golden symbol etched into the cover. Pulling it closer, I started flipping through it, looking at the strange language within.
’All these books, and I can’t read a single one. So much knowledge here...’
“Everything alright?” Twilight asked form across the room, eyeing me curiously as I flipped through random pages.
“Yeah…” I sighed a bit, closing the book and putting it back where I found it. “I’ve just never lived anywhere else before. I’ve never moved once since I was born.”
“I can relate actually,” Twilight said, packing her saddlebag in a nearby closet. “When I moved here a couple years ago, that was my first time living outside of Canterlot.” She looked up and out a window, staring longingly into the distance.
I walked over to the same window. Looking up, I was surprised to actually see the Equestrian capital poking out the side of the distant mountain.
“Huh. I didn’t know you could see the city from way out here.”
“It’s a big place, you can see it from quite a ways.” Twilight peeled herself from the window and trotted over to a desk, taking a seat and grabbing a quill.
“Do you miss it there?” I asked, resuming my walk around the tree’s interior.
“Hmm…” She hummed thoughtfully for a few moments. “I miss my family, and seeing Celestia, more often more than I miss the city.”
“Too loud there for your tastes?”
“It’s funny actually,” Twilight smiled. “I didn’t realize how much city noise there was until I moved to Ponyville. The quiet was really odd at first. It took some getting used to, but in the end… I like it here, most days.”
“What do you mean, ‘most days’?” I looked over to see her writing something, the scratch of her quill being the only sound for a few long moments. I couldn’t see her face completely, but she looked slightly troubled.
“It’s…” She trailed off with a sigh, pausing her writing. “For such a small town, it seems to have an awful lot of problems that—only I apparently only I—can solve.” Twilight huffed slightly. “Being an Element bearer has its perks, but everypony expects you to have all the answers, to be able to do solve everypony’s problems for them.”
“I didn’t mean to upset you,” I apologized, feeling awkward for making her rant.
“It’s alright, really.” Her all-too-big smile said otherwise, but there was no point arguing with her. Twilight inhaled and exhaled slowly to regain her composure, resuming her writings. “Any idea what you’re going to do for the rest of the day?”
“Good question actually.” I stopped walking around a while ago, opting for my bad habit of just standing awkwardly. It’s something I never grew out of, being unable to find a comfortable place in somebody else’s house. “Uh, wasn’t Spike supposed to come by?” I quickly asked out of thin air to break the silence.
“Rarity said she’d send him on his way, but he usually takes some convincing, so expect him to take an extra hour or two.” Twilight smiled and rolled her eyes. “If you want, we can sit down and I can teach you something.” She gasped suddenly. “Maybe some Equestrian history?!” The excitement in her voice was pretty clear.
’It is a wonder she isn’t already a teacher...’
“Sorry, not really in a mood to sit down. I’m feeling sort of energetic, which is ironic considering the only thing I’ve eaten in over a day was a bite of a sandwich.” I took a few steps in place, glancing out a window at some passing ponies.
“I see. Any ideas what you’re going to do then?” She asked.
“Think I’m going to take a walk around town actually, get some of this energy out and familiarize myself with the area.” Twilight nodded in response.
“Makes sense to me. Just don’t get lost.”
“I’ll, uh, do my best not to,” I said, wondering how anyone could lose their way in such a small place. Twilight was probably just looking after me. Telling the princesses I disappeared would not be a fun activity. “If I can't find my way back I’ll just ask somebod—”
“Somepony,” Twilight corrected. “Sorry, but you need to get used to saying it that way. Some ponies would think it’s weird, and a lot of questions about you isn’t a good idea.”
“Right,” I nodded, repeating the correct vocabulary in my head a few times. I went over to the front door and reached for the handle. “Well I guess I’ll be on my way then—”
“Wait!” Twilight jumped up and teleported in a bright flash right next to me. She quickly opened the small nearby closet and pulled out a rather generic brown saddlebag. “Here, take this with you, and have some bits, too.” She levitated the bag onto my back and deposited a pouch inside. “Just incase you want to buy something while you’re out.”
I shifted the weight of the saddlebag around, its weight was somewhat annoying at first, but after a moment it was almost comfortable. It also conveniently obscured the spot my Cutie Mark would’ve been.
“Try to be back before it gets dark, and I’ll see what I can make for dinner you might like.” Twilight smiled warmly. I returned the smile as best I could, still a little thrown off by her teleportation over to me.
“Thanks, Twilight. You don’t need to do all this you know. I mean, you already took me in and I took over your basement.” It wasn’t me not being used to another’s kindness, it was just so much I felt a little stonewalled at that moment. Twilight however, merely rolled her eyes with a smile.
“That money was from the princesses for you anyways.” She nodded to the bag. “Besides, what kind of host would I be?” Twilight used her magic to open the door for me. “Now get going, explore and have some fun in Ponyville.” She chimed, quickly closing the door behind me with a subtle click.
I looked around, feeling the pleasant afternoon breeze through my coat for a few moments. I wasn't sure which way to venture at first, but eventually I decided to just walk the direction Twilight’s front door faced.
’Ready or not Ponyville, here I come…’