Melancholy Days

by Zurock

Chapter 7: Distant

Not even the chill from the heavy morning cold could numb out the impressive sight of the train. Connected cars with ornate roofs, the gleaming windows catching the low sun's light, and the simple yet colorful engine sitting at the front, humming ready and hissing steam; it was a sight as crisp as an oil painting, beckoning passengers with aplomb welcome. And since it was the earliest departure of the day there was only a single small crowd gathered to board: Twilight and her friends.

The brisk cold served to push a lot of the tiredness from them and most of their greetings, calls of "good morning", and idle chatter had a friendly presence and pep. It was all cordial and warm, except for James and Twilight. The unicorn was pleasant to most of her friends, with a strong and happy face, but she said no words to the man. She had barely said anything to him since the prior evening. James kept his general courtesy towards the others when prompted by them but otherwise had been mirroring Twilight's silence.

It had been something of a rough night for him. Eating and then settling down to bed, he had failed to find any comfort or relaxation upon his cushy mattress. Whatever spell of ready repose the spa had left him with had long since gone and he had no recourse but to try and force himself to sleep. He had still been awake when Twilight had returned from delivering the news of the trip to all her other friends and, tired and wanting to be prepared for the needed early awakening, she had retired swiftly and without any attempt to speak with him. After struggling for hours in the darkness to shut his mind off, he had finally managed to sleep, but he still hadn't rested. The world of dreams had teased him once more. Visions of the lost old, so pure and perfect and loved, had become faded and unreachable, or corrupted and replaced again by the unwanted, unknown new. Arising with the pre-dawn light hadn't made things any less difficult, and he felt no better rested than he had been for days.

Standing amongst the ponies and the dragon, he tried to keep his mind away from the night, from Twilight, and from most everything else. He admired the train, with its oddly beautiful design and the power it radiated; the way its braced wheels seemed ready to take off at any moment. He gave succinct replies to anything said to him, returning greetings and answering questions in whatever way would politely get the other speaker to move on the swiftest. He looked at the bag he and Spike had been trading off carrying all morning on their way to the train station. They had mutually packed their things together. Only a pile of gems and jewels for the dragon ("a light snack" he had called it), and a few simple things for James: his books, the Princess Celestia-made tablecloth clothes as emergency wear, and the recently gifted shampoos from Rarity. If there was one thing losing everything had been good for, it was helping him pack light.

Just as some of the waiting passengers were beginning to complain about the biting cold, they were at last invited to board. The genial conductor, an older stallion with kindly eyes and a bushy mustache, quickly and gainly checked their tickets before he welcomed them aboard, his absolute love for his job audible in his vibrant voice. For him, no morning was too cold to run this train. His personality left a cheery impression on the boarding ponies, like being thoughtfully ushered into another pony's very home.

All their bags were secured promptly before they went to take their seats. It wasn't any surprise to James to find that the seats were low set; perfect for a pony to set their rump down upon but a little less so for the more upright form of a man. It didn't appear like it would be trouble though and fortunately, since they would be the only passengers in the car, he would have plenty of space to stretch his legs out and sit comfortably. Without regard for much else, he selected a seat next to a window, sat, and looked out at the train station.

Twilight saw him sit and for a moment she leaned forward, considering approaching him. But all she saw in her head was his reclusion, his overbearing desire to be left alone anytime he was approached with anything about himself, and the shaking anger and frustration that had boiled just under the surface of his skin when they had last seriously talked. When her pendulum swung to the side of caring about him, of trying to address whatever it was that infected him somewhere deep inside, she felt the heavy weight swinging back with a trepidatious caution and a selfish apathy. A fear of not wanting to accidentally guide things further into dark territory but also an uncomfortable feeling that it just wasn't worth dealing with the foul side of his attitude. Wearied by even only the emotions running through her, she shrank back, looked away with a bit of a low moan, and sat in a seat further back from his on the opposite side.

The others divided and chose seats at their leisure, almost arbitrarily by whomever their current conversation partner was. Rarity related to Applejack how relieved she was to have had serviced her hair immediately before such an important trip as seeing the Princess, and the two plunked down together. Pinkie Pie rambled about every little thought that came to her head, the blazing words being absorbed by a politely rapt Fluttershy as they sat upon their seat. Spike, still sluggish with some morning fatigue but quickly getting better in the company of the others, popped himself up onto the seat next to Twilight.

The dallying Rainbow Dash, beating back her drowsiness with only her inexhaustible gumption, floated in the central aisle and weighed her options. As the car was relatively barren there were plenty of choices available. She could slip into one of the seats opposite some of the others and join their dialogue. Or it would also be easy to claim a whole seat for her own and crash down on it for a fast return to slumber. Despite the enticing allure of the felt cushions, calling with their soft lullaby, some particular lark in her, some errant whimsy, guided her over to James' seat where she dropped out of the air and landed next to him with a hushed plop.

Stretching legs and wings while arching her back, the pegasus gave an extended yawn as the man pried his eyes away from the window to look upon her, suspicious of the reasons she could possibly have for her choice of location. When her limbering up finished, she rested herself against the back of the seat and stared right back at him, ever confident and self-assured, if still sleepy. At last, with cadence as if she was diving into the middle of a conversation, she said, "So it's like I only ever see you in the library, reading."

He stared back, still trying to decipher her. "... Yeah?"

"You must get along pretty well with Twilight if all you do is dig your face into her dumb books," Rainbow Dash laughed.

James' eyes ran back to the window. "Oh. Not really... I mean, we talk and stuff...," he droned. He looked for escape beyond the glass. The station; its platform; anything to draw his thoughts and attention away, but it wasn't a traveler's morning for the rest of Ponyville. Nothing was there to observe but dry, stiff wood. He brought his voice low, "Let's not talk about her."

The pegasus squinted one eye at his turned backside, but then with a shrug and some bright sarcasm she accused, "You haven't been stirring up any trouble, have you?"

James snorted a laugh, the warmth condensing against the icy glass. He recalled how seriously Rainbow Dash had been guarded against him. How she had sworn in her suspicion to watch him like a hawk, least he prove to be dangerous. Twilight had largely gotten her to ease up on her mistrust (and it was surprising how acquainted you could get with someone through a simple, honest round of darts,) but he hadn't forgotten that comforting normality of a pony he could get some decent, everyday traction against.

Turning back to her, the man replied with a feigned, oozing smugness, "I'm still piecing together the final bits of my diabolical master plan."

"Well, remember, I've always got my eye on you," Rainbow Dash answered back, grinning. "Can't sneak anything by me! I'm vigilant like a Wonderbolt!" She puffed herself up, sitting with her chest out and her chin raised, proud and heroic.

"So it must have been you who rained out my foul schemes yesterday," he retorted.

"And I've got plenty more storms where that came from! You'll never get away with anything!" the playfully bold pony declared.

Suddenly the train's whistle blared, loud and triumphant. It's call was glorious, like an inspiring rallying cry which heralded the start of a valiant charge. There were blasts of steam from the engine accompanied by hastening chugs as the train went from crawling to walking, and then to running. Its swelling speed rocked the passenger carriage at first, diminishing towards a steady rattle. The grand parade of transportation was underway.

Whirling about, James put his hands up against the window and gazed out with interest as the train began its departure. This time, his goal wasn't evasion; something about the experience stirred him. Pressed close against the window, he kept adjusting his head as the view changed from the station to passing flashes of Ponyville and then beyond, absorbing everything he could.

"Geez, excited much?" Rainbow Dash quipped, finding the man's sudden change into a wide-eyed child to be almost embarrassingly hilarious.

"I dunno," James mumbled back in an enthusiastic flurry, still looking out, "I haven't ridden on a train for a long, long time. Since I was a kid; eight or nine maybe." It was strange. He hadn't realized how excited he would be at all until the moment had fallen upon him, and it felt like a ball of stifling discomfort wrapped tightly by unbounded elation bouncing about inside of him. The whistle of the train was like the crack of a whip, and the rolling out of the wheels was like a jolt of electricity. He was almost gasping between long held breaths as he watched everything go by. "Just... something inside... it's interesting..."

"It's just a little train ride," said Rainbow Dash.

"Well... planes, trains, automobiles... all different ways of getting around... all different experiences," he babbled with distraction, his voice falling off and coming back in at random intervals. "Did you hear that whistle?" he suddenly asked. "It just..." He gestured like he was pulling something out of himself, but couldn't put it to words.

Without warning he snapped the latches holding the window shut and brought the glass down, letting a rush of air in and eliciting some mild complaints from Applejack and Rarity two seats behind him. Bringing his face partially out the open port, he indulged in the nips and bites of the frigid wind as it beat past him. The frost that filled his lungs when he breathed in provided a burst of exhilaration, pouring more life and refreshment into him than his entire failed night of sleep had. And somehow the removal of the glass between him and the outside caused that world which was rolling by to became all the more vibrant and real. He soaked it all in. He needed it. He tried to shut out whichever piece of him was disturbed and surprised by himself, and he rationalized over the wind, "Maybe it's just cause I only have these childhood memories of it... like, some kind of nostalgic echo, but... but it's... it's enchanting."

"It's BORING," Rainbow Dash contended with a large nod of her head. "It's nothing like cutting your way through the sky being all awesome and like 'AW YEAH.'" Her wings reacted to her exuberance, bending and flapping and rolling, picking her up off the seat briefly.

Taking a last breath of the chilly air, James shut the window and sat back down. With more focused attention, he turned to face the pegasus and lightly needled her, "Well, if it's so boring why don't you fly your way to Canterlot?"

She instantly countered, "Oh, I totally would, but this early in the morning?" She stretched again with another mighty, if somewhat false, yawn and stated, "Great time to get some shut-eye instead."

"Oh, sure," James mockingly agreed, "let the gentle rhythm of the tracks rock the baby to sleep. Makes sense."

Rainbow Dash snickered and then pointed a hoof at him. "Why don't YOU fly there? Oh wait! You don't have THESE babies!" She flexed her wings and kissed one of them.

"Hehe, well, I've flown plenty of places," he responded, slightly more straight in demeanor, "but yeah, without wings people do it in planes with these massive, powerful, roaring jet engines."

"Engines? Lame!" She threw a hoof out. "Grow a pair."

"Of wings?" he chuckled. "Like you apparently decided to do one day?"

"Darn straight!"

In her seat a few rows back, Twilight watched as James and Rainbow Dash continued to rib and tease each other, interspersed with occasional, more general chatter. She followed the pegasus' bluffs and bluster, and she watched as the man turned it back with a smile or a laugh before offering some of his own. He was up, and bright, and forward. Twilight's form drooped.

That wasn't the way she got along with him at all. When she interacted with him, what did they talk about? She would always analyze him. Always ask him questions or pick him apart. He was a fascinating specimen in a way; the only gateway to knowledge from another world. There was so much to learn. And since she had been assigned to take care of him she would have to learn from him and about him in order to understand how to properly look out for him. But it wasn't like he hadn't enjoyed their debates and exchanges, was it? After all, he had often had questions of his own. There was a philosophical side to him that had come out in those moments.

As her surveillance of the hearty exchanges continued, a tension built up in Twilight, which she released with a shiver of forlorn lament and a wispy sigh.

"What's the matter, Twilight?" asked Spike, concerned.

"Oh. It's nothing, Spike," she answered quietly.

The dragon hummed for a moment, twiddling his thumbs, before simply turning his attention elsewhere. He had no reason not to trust her.

"Hey... Spike...," Twilight called loosely to him after a silence.

"Yeah?"

"Have you noticed anything... odd... about James?" She seemed to stumble over her words, having one set in mind but another in her mouth.

"Odd?" Spike turned to get a look at the man, who for some bizarre reason was pantomiming flapping wings with his arms to his pegasus partner. "I dunno," the dragon shrugged. "What's 'odd' for him?"

Rubbing the back of her neck, Twilight maundered, "Well... I mean... do you... ever get the feeling that maybe, uh... something's, you know... wrong?"

"I dunno. Not really, I guess," he said, stealing another glance at James. "He seems alright when I talk to him, but I mostly leave him to read though. I mean, he seems to like being alone most of the time and I don't really know him that well yet to say otherwise." He brought a claw up to his chin in consideration but even with the extra brainpower that provided the dragon still couldn't follow Twilight's worry, so he suggested to her, "Why don't you talk to James about it?"

"Oh, hehe," the unicorn laughed nervously. Her voice wobbled. "Yeah... I guess... I guess I should do that. Sometime. Yeah. Hehe."

"You're... sure nothing's the matter, Twilight?" Spike repeated.

She seized herself. With a bit of a stern edge, she solidly relayed, "I'm fine, Spike!"

"Okay," he accepted with mild hesitation. He turned his thoughts back to wherever they had laid before.

Twilight took a look out the window next to her, but she saw nothing. Her final words merely looped back in her ears hauntingly: "I'm fine," "I'm fine!" "I'M FINE!" But the words mutated away from her own voice. She realized at that moment whom she had sounded like.

---

One of the biggest benefits to an early morning departure was that they could arrive at their destination on the same day with a healthy amount of daylight left. The climbing spires of Canterlot were first visible while the sun was still high in the sky. By the time the mighty towers were close enough to block the brilliant solar rays, there was still a thick expanse of sky between the lowering sun and the infinite horizon.

James couldn't keep himself from taking extended stares at the splendid city for as long as its royal towers and terraces fell within the view of his window. He had gotten airborne glimpses of Canterlot before, riding high in a pegasus-driven chariot not long after he had first arrived in Equestria, and he had taken idle looks out at the city from the castle windows and gardens during his brief stay, but he hadn't been in an observing state of mind then. Now, especially as the train crawled into the Canterlot station, he got the view an ant would have looking up at a surrounding canyon.

There was something so contrary yet harmonized about the city. The many structures that it was composed of seemed to grow out of it, organic and free, though there was so much organization and balance in it. The great walls of simple stone supported the flashy rooftops, luxurious peaks, and elaborately designed canopies. Banners were flown from numerous poles, their windward weaving revealing designs both intricately complicated and plainly direct. The aged castle had an oldness that refused to conflict with the young newness exhibited by the vigorous, ordinary ponies who lived their day-to-day lives there.

Upon arrival, the group disembarked. Guards gathered their bags and other things while Twilight lead her friends through the busy streets towards the castle. James was still caught up in taking everything in as they went, much of the location's grand majesty reminding him of a city's old quarter mixed with the fantasy illustrations of a storybook. He regretted not keeping his eyes up the last time.

Eventually they ascended a tremendous stairway that lead to an equally large set of double doors, opened for them by the Royal Guard. Inside was the main hall, where a red carpet formed the center aisle down rows of stalwart marble columns. Rainbows of light rode in through giant stained glass depictions of Equestrian history on either side, flanked by many tapestries and murals depicting past or present. And at the far end of the hall, making a slow approach to meet the group in the middle, was the most regal pony of them all.

With hair streaming, and crown shining, and wise eyes glistening with warmth, Princess Celestia received the arrivals with a motherly hospitality, proclaiming, "Greetings, Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student, and welcomed friends! I'm delighted to have you in Canterlot once more!"

All the ponies bowed to her, and Spike as well. James, taking his cue from them, brought a fist to his chest and bent forward before rising with the others. He then placed his hands behind his back and stood at attention, as felt proper to him. He could feel that something was different though. It was true that he had still been reeling in a state of shock the last time he had met the Princess so maybe his memory of the event wasn't as clear as it would otherwise be, but the nature of her authority had changed in his eyes. Something was... softer, and more gentle.

Applejack straightened the hat on her head after doffing it with her bow, and she pleasantly returned, "Aw shucks, Princess. We're always happier than a mouse in a cheese factory to come on over."

"What our quaint friend means to say is," Rarity hastily inserted, "the pleasure is all ours, really. Thank you for your most gracious invitation."

The Princess smiled, always pleased by the friends' interplay. Not that their ever dependable nature and always devoted will wasn't also worthy of a smile.

"Princess Celestia, we came as rapidly as we could," Twilight reported with an official seriousness, standing firm with a loyal grace. "What has happened that you have called us here so urgently for?"

A gravity descended upon Princess Celestia. It didn't come bearing darkness but still something hidden weighed her down from within. From James' perspective, he saw the leaderly authority which he remembered, heavy with a grave decorum, return. "I've summoned you here," the Princess responded, "because there is a situation that has been developing that I believe would benefit from your specific attention."

The sense of enormous significance which she reflected spread throughout the room. All those gathered paid unblinking attention to the Princess as she strode to one side of the chamber, halting in front of a fairly recent mural which depicted a rough-and-tumble group of ponies working together on a patchwork town in front of a hungry forest.

Staring up at the narrative scene, Princess Celestia spoke at length to her audience, laying out history and story with solemn words: "In the west, beyond the mountains of the Pearl Peaks, is the settlement of Hamestown, began some decades ago by a group of brave and enterprising frontiersponies. The village lies against Unicorn Spring Forest; a wild and untamed woods similar in some ways to the Everfree Forest. As part of the long, tireless effort to build their settlement, the ponies of Hamestown have maintained a careful harmony with the forest; a special balance with all the wild plants and creatures that are their neighbors. Anything that they must take from the forest they are sure to return or compensate for. What the forest can provide, they share with every living creature that makes it a home, taking great care to respect it and not to intrude dangerously upon the natural cycle of life within it. Their skill in harmony has been so remarkable that they have gone on for years without a problem.

"But recently there has been trouble. The settlement has needed to expand and so the ponies have labored hard to carefully and deliberately grow their town. As ever, their plans have included the forest. If a tree is in the way then it is meticulously relocated. Every animal which could be affected is safely migrated. Every stream rerouted. Every resource is spent to ensure that there is no disturbance in their balance with the forest. It is a long, hard effort that has been calculated far in advance. But something is still wrong.

"The ponies there tell of supplies going missing, things of theirs being destroyed, and more troubles. They have tried their best to discover their failing; to determine what they have missed that has angered the forest so. But they do not know. And, unsure of what else to do, they have written to me requesting help."

For all who gazed upon the mural, the Princess's words seemed to bring it to life. The little, stylized ponies stood before the deepened forest, bowing respectfully before they set to work. With unfailing effort they laid down home and hearth, farm and fair, road and rail, working for long years with a sense of duty that passed from mother and father to son and daughter. And always, always, they had their eyes regarding the forest with consummate reverence.

Facing everypony again, Princess Celestia said with her head high, "That is where you come in, my little ponies. I am sending you on my behalf to investigate these troubles at Hamestown, and solve them." Her voice had all the authority of an order but all the love of a personal request. For a brief moment however, her eyes turned away with something silent, something distant yet close, hidden behind them.

A dull quiet echoed in the hall. The empty moment let all of the Princess's words sink in. It was at last Twilight who broke the silence, who asked, unknowingly incredulous, "Is that it?"

With no more than a doting smile the Princess replied simply, "Yes."

"Oh! Uh..." Twilight nervously wobbled and darted her eyes about. "I j-just thought... I mean, the urgency in the l-letter you sent... I t-thought it would be something more..." She tried to rein herself in, finally getting a solid hold of her wits when she slowed down to take a deep breath. "I mean, of course we'll investigate for you, Princess Celestia!" With a hoof across her chest, she closed her eyes and lowered her head in promise, hiding the uncertain doubt in her heart.

All of her friends simultaneously affirmed their dedication to the cause as well, giving different bows of their own. Slightly lost, James lagged behind the others, catching up quickly with a reckless and unpoised bow. But he kept silent because he did not know what his role in all this was.

"I am delighted to hear it!" Princess Celestia said. "I am confident that you will do your best and heal the rift in harmony that long ago found its way there." Again, the Princess's eyes wandered for just a moment, caught on something old and painful, before she looked back at Twilight with a proud faith.

Slowly the Princess stepped forward and wound her way around her pupil, looking over her other subjects. She spoke out to all of the gathered, "I've already arranged for a train to carry you out to Hamestown tomorrow morning. For tonight, please rest from your trip here. The Royal Guard can show you to your rooms whenever you are ready." Her short, wandering speech brought her right in front of James, and she cast her strong eyes down upon him, the only pony in the room with an element of height over him. "And in the meantime," she continued, directly at him, burying her words with sincerity, "I would be very grateful if you would walk and talk with me, if you please."

Again James could feel that she wasn't the same as his last encounter with her. That power and authority that she had squeezed into an interrogation of him before could not be found now. Her concerns of little more than two weeks ago weren't her concerns of today and it seemed quite earnestly that she sought not to question him but to, more simply, ask him questions. This wasn't the queen who ruled for the safety of her subjects, or the judge who was deliberating his fate. He found himself locked with a tight indecision because, between his past experience of her and the more recently uncovered knowledge about her from Twilight's books, he still hadn't been prepared for this: she was only, perhaps, a curious pony. Assuming that is all the Princess was being.

Actually it was kind of bothersome. He was more prepared to be examined by someone stationed above him than... whatever this was going to be. Now subtly perturbed, he had to concentrate to maintain what he thought was the proper amount of polite respect in replying, "If that is your wish. Lead the way."

With a happy nod, Princess Celestia moved past him and went towards a side corridor that lead away from the chamber, beckoning him to follow.

As they were leaving, Rainbow Dash lifted herself off the ground, rolled onto her back, and gently drifted through the air with her hooves behind her head. "Another train ride, huh?" she complained, kicking out with one of her legs. "I dunno if I want to hit the hay so soon just so I can get up for another boring train ride. Anypony want to see if the Wonderbolts are doing a show tonight?"

"Rainbow Dash, please," Rarity chided the flippant pony, "could you focus for just a minute before wandering off? This is a task assigned to us by Princess Celestia herself and I think it behooves us to discuss it seriously before we entertain thoughts of such frivolities."

"Pfft," the pegasus casually rejected. She rolled a hoof in front of her face, explaining away her nonchalance, "It doesn't sound like a big deal. A few crazy animals? We've dealt with worse."

Applejack rigidly offered her opinion, saying, "As mighty pleasurable as a night on the town sounds, I think Miss Prissy Pants here has a point. Maybe we have tussled with some right nasty things before but we still don't know nothing 'bout what we're looking at right now." She racked her brain but the farthest out that she could place any relative of hers was in the foothills of the Pearl Peaks. Hamestown must've been one of the few corners of Equestria without an Apple. "Anypony ever been out that way before?" she asked.

Meekly, Fluttershy opined, "Well... it sounds to me like some poor little critter is just upset and lashing out." She was drenched with sympathy for the theoretical troublemaker. But suddenly she shrank with fear and worried with a shaky voice, "At least, I hope it's a poor little critter and not a... big... mean... hungry..." A whine and a shiver were all she could punctuate her sentence with.

Pinkie Pie popped up next to her and brightly offered a few choice suggestions: "A big, mean, hungry... bear? Lion? Basilisk? Dragon? Dreaded venomous three-toed spike-tailed razor-winged woolly ram-moth, with the flu?"

Each increasingly ghastly entry on the grisly list caused Fluttershy to shrink more and more until, by the end, she was cowering under her own hooves and wings.

"Relax," Spike confidently said to them, "I'm sure Twilight knows something about this place. And if not, she'll be in the Canterlot library tonight to research it." Bold and assured, he effortlessly asked the unicorn, "Right, Twilight?"

"Hm?" Twilight hadn't been paying attention to a single word that had been traded between her friends. Her attention had been affixed to Princess Celestia, watching her mentor invite and then lead James out of the room. Her focus had never turned away even as they had disappeared, leaving her staring at the side corridor in silence.

Even though she had no reason to presume it, she had kind of expected that she would be present for the Princess's questioning of the man. After all, wasn't it her that had been watching James for the past two weeks? The Princess had assigned her that task specifically. She hadn't been very diligent with reports on progress, though; just a scant few here or there when the moment had felt right. It's not like she had been able to watch him aggressively all the time in order to get the material for reports, anyway... Maybe that was why the Princess was handling this in private? Was this small assignment in Hamestown a distraction to get her away so that Princess Celestia could handle him herself because... because... maybe the Princess believed she was failing?

"Uh... Twilight?" Spike addressed her again.

"Huh? Oh... yes... I'll, uh... I'll see what I can dig up later," answered the unicorn, ripping her eyes away from the corridor. She had to strike her own head once to recollect her wits. "It really doesn't sound like this will be much more than getting Fluttershy out there to settle down a few rowdy animals, though."

"Well, that sounds a mite too simple-like to send ALL of us for," Applejack wondered aloud. "You'd hope them ponies at Hamestown could handle it their own selves if it were only that."

"Whatever," Rainbow Dash stated, correcting her midair orientation. "Point is, Twilight's on study duty and there's nothing for us to do until tomorrow. So, I'm out. Anypony who wants to come along just try and keep up." And like that, she swooped away out the front doors, dusting rainbow behind her.

"Hey!" Applejack fruitlessly called after her. When there was no answer except the fading sound of beating wings, the farm pony readjusted her hat and whispered in a low growl, "Dagnabbit."

"Well, I suppose that's that, then," Rarity sighed.

"Guess so," Applejack relented. If that was truly all for today then she didn't see any reason to hold back on heading out. Gently apologetic, she said, "Sorry, Twi, but I reckon Rainbow is right... in a way. I'll hogtie any beast you point me to, no matter how ferocious, once we're actually out there. But... 'til then I think you're the best pony to figure things out. Have a good night y'all, if'n I don't see you later." She rushed off to try and catch up to the speedy pegasus, hollering as she went.

Somewhat wearied, Rarity told the remaining ponies, "I don't know about everypony else but the first thing I'd like to do is pick up a good meal."

There were immediate nods of agreement from seemingly all of them, and so they turned and began to amble towards the exit. Pinkie Pie bounced her way along, excitedly enumerating a host of eatery options more appropriate for snacktime, jumpstarting the discussion on choice of venue amongst the departing ponies.

Used to always having to account for his unconventional diet anyway, Spike didn't contribute much to the debate, but he did immediately notice an incorrect count of hoofbeats as they went. Turning around, he yelled, "Hey, Twilight! Aren't you coming?"

"Huh?" she responded, having to shake herself out of a deaf, ruminating state again. "Oh. No. You guys go on ahead."

Spike teetered back and forth between his lone friend and the other ponies before finally committing to a decision. Following the others out, he uneasily shouted to Twilight, "Come get me if you need any help at the library, okay?"

Alone except for the statuesque guards, Twilight groaned the tiniest sigh and hauled herself away. Anywhere. Or nowhere.

Comments

[JBL]

Keep your guard up, James. Never know what that sneaky Princess might try to get you to say or do.