(Residence of Vincentia Dalia Scarlet and Octavia Harmonía Filarmónica Von Clef)
Vinyl Scratch was about to open the door, when she caught her flatmate pointing at her own eyes.
"Oh! Right!" With a pale blue flash, her red eyes turned into a more common magenta pair.
Now ready, she opened the door to find a morose Twilight Sparkle.
"Hey Twilight, you look terrible." Vinyl observed, stepping aside. "Come on in."
"T-thank you, Vinyl; I was hoping to find you, Octavia." Twilight said as she entered, getting a confused look out of the mare. "I just wanted to say that- well, I love your music, and I think that what you do with your magic is nothing short of amazing; I'm glad I met you, and it makes me really happy that you consider me your friend."
Twilight then threw her forelegs around the speechless pony in a hug, which took her a few seconds to reciprocate.
Vinyl saw that, whatever had happened to Twilight, this was important for her. She shrugged, and joined in.
"Yeah, Tavi's pretty good with those strings of hers." Vinyl stepped back and nodded, grinning as Twilight recovered her smile.
Twilight was about to say more, but was interrupted by a knock on the door.
"Twilight? Are you there?" The worried voice of Princess Celestia startled the other ponies, making Vinyl fumble the doorknob twice before her hooves found enough purchase to turn it.
On the other side of the door stood Celestia, devoid of her regalia, and holding a scroll in front of her.
Celestia herself didn't notice the pair of ponies reflexively bowing to her, nor did she remember that her disguise had shattered - she did not remember leaving behind her crown! No, all of her attention was taken by the same little filly she had taken under her wing, looking up at her with teary eyes before throwing herself at her neck and crying her tender little heart out.
The first time she had done so, it had been in the gardens, after the princess had explained to her that there was nothing either of them could have done - the bird was dead, and Twilight was heartbroken, thinking it had been her fault. It wasn't; she had just made the bird be shaken off the branch it had died on, but she still held a funeral and even gave an eulogy.
Twilight's heart was just so full of love and compassion, Celestia couldn't help but feel the need to comfort her, reassure her, and tell her that everything would turn out alright in the end.
She held her gently within her wings, softly nuzzling away her tears as Twilight held her tightly.
"Shh... I'm here." She cooed. "My dear Twilight; I'm here."
She held her little student until her choked sobs became sniffles, patting her back to let her know she was there, and she would work tirelessly until she recovered her peace.
"Twilight, my dear student, what happened?"
"I learned something... shocking." She sniffled, feeling safer now that her mentor was present. Safer? It was more like... her sense of reality was reaffirmed.
"Remember that you can talk to me about anything that weights on your mind." Celestia smiled as Twilight's grip on her turned more affective and less desperate.
Octavia wordlessly guided them to the couch, which Celestia let Twilight take, as Vinyl served some juice to drink.
"I... I talked to Typhon." Twilight sniffled, then took a sip of juice to soothe her throat. "He told me... that there are alternates of Equestria that... that are more ignorant of magic than I could stomach."
"Must have been one heck of an understatement." Vinyl pursed her lips. "You look like your puppy just died."
"Well, he also told me that there are worlds where they think only unicorns can use magic... or are the only ones that should be able to." Twilight shuddered, and Celestia simply nuzzled the side of her face. "That non-unicorn casters are... well, Prosperity said that they were thought of as 'deluded', or 'unicorn-wannabes', and earth-shapers hide their abilities out of fear - if they even exist."
A look of understanding, then of sympathy, crossed the faces of the other ponies.
"That's what that was about... huh, yeah, I can see how that would be upsetting." Vinyl commented. "I had a few pegasus teachers back in Mareachusetts; just thinking they wouldn't be there makes me feel icky."
"And Professors Sprout and Heartwood wouldn't be on my school, and they are merely the youngest ones." Celestia frowned at the thought. "Clover The Clever always said that you had to keep your mind open, that preconceived notions are the locks on the door to wisdom. The purpose of education is to turn mirrors into windows, and I simply cannot complete the thought of a world were I turn a blind eye to the developments and achievements of ponies simply because their tribe does not align to 'tradition'..."
"Prosperity said that that reminded her of a quote: 'Begin challenging your assumptions. They are the windows on the world; scrub them off every once in a while or else the light won't come in'. Or something like that." Twilight sighed. "But there's worse, too..."
"Sadly, you cannot concern yourself too deeply with the affairs of others - all you can do is offer your own insights and your hoof in friendship." Celestia felt herself deflate slightly, and the other ponies in the room followed.
She got a small idea.
"You could also provide evidence." She pipped in. "Miss Filarmónica could give us a demonstration of her magical prowess."
The mare brightened up, and, with a bow, quickly left to retrieve her instruments.
"We should get Carrot Top and BonBon in on this." Vinyl added, starting to grin. "Nopony better than an Earth pony to get those who point their noses at the air to put their hooves on the ground."
Twilight smiled. When ponies worked together, they could do amazing things. It was like magic, or friendship.
She giggled at the silly thought.
*****
(Canterlot)
Blueblood stepped into the train with confidence and dignity, which was good, as he had managed to hide the incredible anxiety that he was currently feeling.
He had chocolates, though.
Aunt Celestia loved chocolate. It was a good gift.
And how could it not? Chocolate was... it was like velvet and fine silks for the palate. Chocolate slid smoothly through the senses and comforted them; a warm chocolate during a cold winter night brought comfort to the core of one's being, punctuating the peace felt radiating from the hearth...
Aunt Celestia also loved hot sauce, however, and had the strange habit of combining them.
He... he could think of reasons. The spicy bite ignited something more... primal. A burning in one's will that pushed and excited the mind and sent the body into a frenzy.
He could not let himself fly away too far from reality, though. Twilight Sparkle had named her terms, and he would not dare think he had a chance with her if he left that disastrous impression on one of her close friends.
The world did not work like that.
Twilight Sparkle was too grounded to let herself be carried away by his title, some gifts and pick-up lines.
Which was exactly part of what made her so enticing. She could see him for - well, for him. He would show her the best him he could be, and win her affection through his own actions.
Prince Blueblood simply sat himself inside a regular car, not willing to break the little charade he was putting on for the other nobles... they wouldn't be caught dead in anything less than a private cart of the Canterlot Express. The Friendship Express was much less expensive, even though quality didn't suffer - bah, he would let them waste money. No skin off his nose.
Not too long after he boarded, North Star did so as well. She wore her dress... the same one she had worn that night of the gala.
That pink pony, with that cute little hat reminiscent of the ones from ponies working in ice cream parlors and soda shops...
Why couldn't she stop thinking of her? She had been very rude, nudging her... her rump... nopony else had made her feel like that.
She breathed slowly to disguise her growing anxiety and fight off her blush.
She would have waited for the Canterlot Express, but the Friendship Express would make the wait shorter, and there was no use in delaying it. The train itself - and its cars, of course - were relatively new, having been made in honor of the Bearers, after their triumph against Discord. There was need of a new train, and it was as good a reason as any.
She didn't feel like taking a private car - what Cloud Bank had said stuck with her, and now she was just uncomfortable separating herself from ponies, even if they were outside of her usual social circles.
She needed this.
Whatever 'this' was, but she needed it regardless.
Nopony else had dared touch her like that, and nopony had shown so much honest feeling in front of her until that moment.
Cloud Bank and Silver Lining notwithstanding. They had changed a lot recently... so had others, but they were the most marked.
She wouldn't worry herself about appearances.
(Too much)
If she could get a ride towards Ponyville, cheaper and without a noticeable drop in quality, then why waste money? No skin off her nose.