• Published 28th Feb 2014
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Tales of the Oppressed - Terran34



Follow the journey of a young cynical man as his world is turned upside down. Without anywhere to turn, can he learn to set aside his preconceptions and learn to accept friendship for what it truly is?

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16. A Night Out (rw)

Returning to Vinyl’s house, I nap for a few hours to catch up on lost sleep. At the desk in my room, I make my first attempt at composing. The paper is rougher than I remember and the pencils are an odd thickness, but it’s enough to suit my purposes.

I score the paper with as many horizontal lines as I can using a straightedge, grouping them in sets of six. Then, I spend the rest of the night transcribing as many chords and notes that I can remember from various songs, treating each group of six as the strings on a guitar. As exceptional I’d like to think my memory is, having a hard copy of the music on hand is just good practice.

After dinner, I retire for the night, dreading the onset of Monday.


I wake the following morning to see overcast skies hanging above the town. I make sure to dress warmly and grab my rifle as always before making my way towards the farm.

Work is more or less the same as always, though I notice Applejack makes a point of avoiding the side of the farm closest to the Everfree, postponing any chores that threaten to take us there or handling them so fast that I can’t be of any help.

When I ask her, she brings up the same story in yesterday’s newspaper.

“Are you really that worried?” I ask, my voice straining as I help her move the apple baskets from the cart into the cellar. “You don’t think it’ll come out this far from the forest, do you?”

“I ain’t taking no chances. Too many ponies go missing whenever that thing’s around,” Applejack states, glancing worriedly at the dark fringe of the forest.

“If it’s a problem, why haven’t the guard done anything about it?” I’ve seen magic used as a part of everyday life, and once I've even been immobilized. Being unable to move a single muscle is a terrifying sensation. If ponies can do things like that so easily, I’m curious why they'd be afraid of anything. “Don’t they have magic they can use to stop it?”

“Listen, sugarcube. I’ve seen one of them constellation monsters before; a big ol’ bear larger than a house that can knock over trees like matchsticks...and that was just an Ursa Minor! I don’t even wanna know how terrifying a Scorpio would be!” Applejack insists. “Ain’t nopony I’d want to send in there, magic or not.”

I cringe, recalling the image in the papers. The pony world is a much more terrifying place than I thought if monsters like those are free to roam unchecked. A moment later, I shoot her a disgruntled look, realizing what she just called me.

Applejack either doesn’t notice my expression or doesn’t care. She dusts off her hooves and returns back to the cart. “Enough about that. We ain’t going near that forest until the guard gives the all clear, and that’s final. Now let’s get back to it. Much more to be done!”

“Don’t I know it.”


With ten more bits in tow, I attempt to make a quick exit from the farm, turning down Applejack’s dinner offer as always. Yet fate conspires against me as I end up running right into the three young fillies along the dirt path leading back to town, the three of them no doubt on their way back from school. As they call out cheerful greetings to me and rush to meet up with me, I raise my hand to my forehead and rub my furrowed brow.

“Miss Cheerilee’s been asking about you!” Apple Bloom says.

“Really now?” Meeting me must’ve left quite the impression, seeing how we’ve only spoken once. “What does she want?”

“She really wants you to come in and help with her history lesson!” Sweetie Belle answers.

“I think that would be really cool!” Apple Bloom chimes in, causing me to sigh.

“History is so boring though…” Scootaloo says disinterestedly. I give her an askance glance; I agree with that sentiment to an extent, but it’s not worth discussing. More importantly, this might be the fair trade I need to get those language lessons from Cheerilee.

“I think she’ll find human history to be a bit more...exciting...than she’s accustomed to.” Essays about the Crusades, the World Wars, and the Manhattan Project come to mind. Perhaps I could describe what I remember of the Sengoku period in a kid-friendly way. “I’m no public speaker, but it’s worth negotiating.”

“Worth what now?” Scootaloo asks confused.

“Negotiation, Scootaloo. Like trading?” Sweetie Belle explains.

“Well sorry, I don’t know all these fancy words!” Scootaloo’s indignantly says, as Sweetie Belle sticks her tongue out at her friend.

“Why not come with us to school? You could talk to miss Cheerilee then!” Apple Bloom brightens up as an idea strikes her. “What if you pick us up from school tomorrow? Then you play with us afterward!”

Not this again. I just can’t seem to win with these three. I don’t know how to tell them I’m not interested in playing with them.

“I can promise at least one of those things.” Unfortunately, they take my dubious response as a confirmation, and the three of them cheer and immediately start to brainstorm what sorts of activities the four of us would do together. “Did you hear me? I’m not playing!”

“Scootering down the hills! Air trick cutie mark!”

“We should build boats and go sailing down the river! Humans are good at building things, right?”

“What if we build snow forts?”

“The snows aren’t even here yet, dummy!” While Scootaloo berates Sweetie Belle, I stealthily edge away from them, wanting nothing to do with this whole situation.

“You come up with a better idea!”

“What if we went racing?” I quicken my pace to a power walk, putting as much distance between myself and them as I possibly can.

“That’s the same as what you said bef… wait, where did Seth go?”


“You alright there, bro?” Vinyl raises an eyebrow when I come rushing in through the front door in undignified haste, slamming the door behind me and sliding against it. She lifts her head up from behind the couch to peer down the hallway. “What’s up? I’ve literally never seen you run ever.”

“Children!” I manage to get out in between my heavy panting. Vinyl blinks and attempts to rise, utterly perplexed at my answer.“They’re a menace!”

“Pffftt…” Vinyl’s confusion quickly dissolves into mirth, her hoof rushing to her mouth in an attempt to stifle her laughter. She eventually can’t hold it back any longer, the mare collapsing onto the couch and bursting out laughing. “Oh Celestia, I can’t…!”

“Would you stop that? It’s not funny!” I flush with embarrassment, realizing how stupid I must look. To Vinyl’s credit, she makes a genuine attempt to stop laughing...for a few seconds. “Vinyl!”

“I’m sorry! It’s just that you’re always so serious, and then this…” Vinyl pauses to take a breath, and she grins at me evilly. “So children are your weakness, huh?”

“No, they’re not! Quit looking at me like that and let’s just get moving already!” No matter how much I glare at her, she won’t stop snickering. I groan and resolve to ignore her; Once she’s set up at wherever it is we’re going, she’ll be out of my hair for the rest of the evening. “So where’s the gig supposed to be this time?”

“It’s at a bar down by the river, called the Kindred Kelpie. It’s nothing special; they just give a call when things get too quiet.” Vinyl hops off of the couch and indicates the cart tucked against the back corner of the living room, where all of her equipment is packed up. Together, the two of us push it through the hallway and onto the street. “Tamer than a Pinkie Party, that’s for sure.”

“Thank heavens for that,” I grunt. The place should hopefully be obscure enough that I’ll be left to my own devices…but then I recall that Rainbow will be there, so I suppose there’s no chance of that.

“Awright, let’s get there quick before the pegasi start moving the rainclouds.” With Vinyl’s direction, it doesn’t take us very long to reach the bar in question. After exchanging a few pleasantries with whom I assume is the bar owner, Vinyl shows me to the area where she intends to set up. “Let’s get started! Same deal as before; though imma let you get a little more involved this time around.”

I take a glance around the bar. It’s nothing different than I had expected; the bar itself is easy to find, with various bottles both on and behind the counter. Some ponies are already sitting at the bar, drinking frothy liquid from wooden mugs. I wrinkle my nose in disgust.

“There you are!” My vision is filled with every single color of the Rainbow as she zips in front of me from wherever she was hiding. I sigh, my hopes for a solitary evening thoroughly dashed, no pun intended. I suddenly remember that she’d told me she’d be here...as did Lyra. “I knew if I found Vinyl, you wouldn’t be far behind! You ready to jam?!”

“For lack of a better word…” I reply, resignation falling over me. I have a feeling that there’s no hope of escaping her company for the entirety of the night.

“Sup, Dash?” Vinyl greets Rainbow enthusiastically. She glances around at the ponies steadily trickling into the establishment. “Pretty awesome turnout we have tonight! You got anything to do with that?”

“You know it! I did the rounds…might have mentioned you’d be playing tonight,” Rainbow responds coyly.

“Awesome! You know how much I love an audience!” She and Rainbow clop their front hooves together in what I assume is a high five. “I’ll meet up with you later. Seth and I gotta set this all up.”

“You do that. Seth, come hang out with me and the girls in the back when you’re done!” Rainbow offers, jabbing a hoof back towards a table near the back of the establishment, where I spy Lyra, Bon Bon, Flitter, and Cloud all sitting together. Not counting Rainbow’s seat, there’s one empty chair left beside her.

“Whatever.” I dismissively say, turning away from her. My eyes search the bar for any place to hide, but there are no dark corners or hidden tables in sight. There are the restrooms, but they can only buy me a few minutes at most. Rainbow flashes me a grin and flies back to her seat, leaving Vinyl and me to prepare for the upcoming performance.

Unlike the past couple of gigs, Vinyl has me assist her in uncoiling and arranging the multitude of wires that connect her extensive array of equipment to her turntables.

“You know why I roll out the rug last? Check out all these wires I’ve got all over the place. I gotta have all these ponies dancing till they drop, and this is all just one big tripping hazard waiting to happen otherwise,” Vinyl explains while using her magic to tidy up the wiring arrangement.

Next, Vinyl and I arrange her speakers in such a way that the sound spreads more evenly across the room. Some of the speakers have holes in the top, in which metal poles are fitted so either other speakers or arrays of LED lights can be supported and hung from the ceiling.

“I get needing wires to get the lights and speakers running, but how do they get powered? Are you constantly channeling magic through them?” I question, eyeing Vinyl while she lifts up one of the light arrays.

“All night long!” Vinyl proudly answers. I frown; my knowledge of magic isn’t the best—or average for that matter—but I can only assume much like any physical activity; it gets tiring maintaining that after a while.

“Put that down, then. I’ll take care of it.” I step in front of her and attempt to take the light array from her, facing some resistance from her telekinetic grip. “You should be conserving your magic.”

“Whoa, is this sympathy I’m hearing?” Vinyl releases the array, allowing its weight to fall into my waiting arms. She nudges me with a grin. “You coming down with something, buddy?”

“Oh, shove it. I’m just being practical,” I grumble.

“Sure, sure,” Vinyl says as she nods her head. She lets me handle the lifting regardless, and instructs me how to fasten the arrays to the poles in the correct position and height.

Once we’re finished, Vinyl runs through her set up, checking each piece of equipment and wire for malfunctions. When she’s certain that everything is in place, we roll the rug over the floor.

“Alright, it’s showtime!” Vinyl declares, dusting off her hooves. I nod and wipe the sweat off my brow. Working for ten hours straight is tiring enough; adding a gig on top of that is exhausting. That said, I’m starting to get used to the constant exertion during the day and the resulting soreness in the morning. “Imma get started! Feel free to mingle with the crowd!”

Mingle, huh? I think as I watch her step on the stage. I glance over at the table where the others are. It’s obvious there’s no getting out of this, so I reluctantly make my way over and take a seat.

“There you are! About time you finished,” Rainbow greets me as I sit.

“Oh hey, Seth!” Lyra beams after seeing me. “I didn’t get to say yesterday, but I absolutely love what you’ve done with your mane.”

“Thanks, I guess.” The compliment on my hair is nice to hear, but I wish it had come from literally anyone else.

“You do look really nice,” Flitter shyly agrees with Lyra, glancing at my new ensemble.

“So Seth, right?” Cloud addresses me next, the mare running a hoof through her unruly mane. When I nod, she offers me a smile. “I’m Cloud Chaser, Flitter’s older sis. Thanks for helping her the other day.”

“As I said, I just happened to find it.” I become uncomfortably aware of Rainbow’s smirk from beside me. I wave a hand dismissively. “Don’t let me interrupt. I’m only here because Rainbow dragged me.”

“Only because you’d sit in a corner if I let you!” Rainbow says. “Everyone can always use a few more friends, right?”

“Riiight…” A surge of irritation rushes to the surface, and I have to stop myself from snapping at her. What I could use is peace and quiet. “Pardon me if I’m not particularly grateful.”

“Aw, don’t be a stick in the mud,” Lyra teases me with a smile. “Why don’t you tell us a little about yourself, Seth? We don’t really know anything about you.”

“That’s because I haven’t been telling.” It’s downright insulting that she thinks I’d open up just because she asked. “I’m not interested in talking about myself, so try another topic.”

Rainbow and Flitter wince beside me. Lyra tries to laugh it off, but then Bon Bon speaks up.

“You know, these four keep telling me you’re not so bad, but I really don’t see it.” Bon Bon’s words are the most honest I’ve heard out of these ponies in days. Now, this I know how to handle. “I don’t know how you fooled them, but you’ve been nothing but a jerk to everypony you met.”

“You’re not wrong.” I accept her words readily enough, much to her surprise. “If there’s anything I’ve learned about you ponies, it’s that you don’t know how to leave others well enough alone. Given a choice in the matter, I wouldn’t be here. Sitting here and deflecting questions about things that aren’t your business really isn’t my idea of a good time.”

“Seth, can you stop?” Rainbow says forcefully. I shrug, having said my piece.

“This is the guy you’ve been pining over for the past few days, Lyra!?” Bon Bon thrusts a hoof at me while staring at Lyra with an incredulous expression.

“Shhh, Bon Bon!” Lyra visibly colors as Rainbow, Flitter, and Cloud Chaser look between Lyra and me in shock. No doubt neither of them heard about the spat between Lyra and me, as I’d only ever told Rarity about it. “Please, it’s okay.”

“No, it’s not! I just don’t understand how you all see anything other than a rude and selfish jerk who thinks having basic manners is some kind of insult!” Bon Bon snaps. I raise a brow; she’s getting rather fired up about this. She and Lyra are always together, so I guess it makes sense that she would have been on the receiving end of Lyra’s woes. “If you don’t want friends so bad, fine, but don’t take it out on L...the rest of us!”

“Bon Bon…” Lyra whines.

“Okay, seriously, can we not!?” Rainbow finally raises her voice loud enough to cut across the rest of us. “We came here to have fun, everypony, so quit yelling at each other!”

“Fine. I’m done wasting my time on him anyway,” Bon Bon grumbles, returning to her drink in sullen silence. I shrug and lean back in my chair, my arms crossed across my belly; I’m used to people like her, so I’m not upset. I pointedly ignore the disapproving stare Rainbow is giving me.

An awkward silence falls across the table. Cloud Chaser coughs and clops her hooves together lightly, while Flitter suddenly finds the handle of her mug to be the most interesting thing in the world. Thankfully, Vinyl comes to the rescue, her speakers screeching to life.

“Sup, Everypony! That's right, the one and only Vinyl Scratch is here to provide you with the best beats this side of Equestria!” Vinyl announces enthusiastically. The ponies in the building, including the ones sitting with me, cheer loudly back. “That's what I like to hear! Now with this song, I wanna see everypony lookin' alive!”

Vinyl slaps a record on her turntables, and the air shakes with the thrumming of the bass. Before long, I find myself bobbing my head ever so slightly to the beat, the rest of the world falling into the background.

“You good over there, Seth?” Rainbow nudges me below the table, her voice only barely audible above the music. I raise an eyebrow at her question. “Bon Bon did just go off on you.”

“I’m more tired than anything; I’d hoped to relax tonight. Instead, I have to play at socializing with ponies that I’d really rather not deal with at the moment. I can barely handle your presence, and I feel like I’ve just been thrown into the deep end,” I reply, choosing to be honest with her. Rainbow wrinkles her nose at that, but she doesn’t say anything. I suddenly realize something. “Hold on, it sounds like you just acknowledged me as the victim rather than the instigator.”

“Well...yeah. I already know you hate talking about yourself,” Rainbow points out. “You said so, and that should have been fine, right? I feel like Bon Bon may have been overreacting a little. Did you two get off on the wrong hoof or something?”

“The first thing she asked me is why I wasn’t dead. You tell me.” Come to think of it, that was also when I first met Lyra. I glance over at them, noting the way Bon Bon was looking at her.

“Ouch…” Rainbow winces. She drains the rest of what’s in her mug and slams it on the table. “Still, you could loosen up a bit too. Tell you what, I’ll buy you a drink and we can talk about something else. Sound good?”

“No thanks. I don’t need you buying me anything,” is my immediate response.

“I insist! It’s impossible to stay grumpy after a good cup of apple cider!” Rainbow presses on, pressing a hoof to my shoulder. I hear that and scoff in disgust. The implication was there from the moment Vinyl called this place a bar but hearing her say cider cements my assumption. Rainbow looks offended by my reaction. “Hey, what’s wrong with cider!?”

“I don’t drink, and I’m not going to start now,” I tell her firmly, expecting a look of disappointment back.

Instead, Rainbow Dash looks surprisingly puzzled, her head tilted to one side. “Huh? You don’t drink? Don’t all things have to drink? What gives?”

“Quit messing with me. I’m talking about alcohol. I have something against poisoning myself into depravity.” I snap back at her, causing her ears to fold back from my tone. I couldn’t have been any clearer, but Rainbow is still staring at me with genuine confusion. Hold on now...she can’t possibly be this ignorant. “Do you...not know what alcohol is?” I ask, my words losing their bite.

“No...should I?” Rainbow admits honestly after dithering a little.

“You just said apple cider. Doesn’t that have chemicals in it that lower your inhibitions and make it harder to think?” With every word I say, she just looks more and more confused.

“What are you even talking about? Apple cider is just apples! Who in the hay would put something like that in my precious cider!?” Rainbow retorts, appalled by the very concept of someone contaminating her drink. I blink, taken aback. Ponies don’t have alcohol? They’ve been so similar to humans in their culture so far that such a thought didn’t even occur to me. A sense of relief flows through me; the idea of a drunk Rainbow is something I hope I never have to deal with.

“Humans did, and I never understood why,” I answer, my mood lifting slightly. “In that case, I will try a mug. How much are we talking?”

“It’s pretty cheap here; just two bits!” Rainbow says. She huffs as I pass her the required amount of money, but thankfully doesn’t try to give it back. “Agh, I said I’d pay for it, you stubborn human!”

“And I ignored you, you conniving pony.” I shoot back without missing a beat. For some reason, Rainbow pauses, giving me a rather mischievous expression.

“Look who’s talking, you pasty-faced giant.” I look to her with surprise to see her watching me with a grin. What’s she trying to pull here?

“I don’t want to hear it from a technicolor adrenaline junkie.”

“Yeah, well you’re a whiny jerkface!” The playfulness in her voice becomes more noticeable.

“Better than being a deformed worm thing.” I find myself shooting insults back at her despite understanding how utterly juvenile this is.

“Says the weak-limbed wonder!”

“Shove it, you hoofed blabbermouth.”

“Smelly ape with the stupid hair!”

“You did not just…” I glare at her. “That’s rich, coming from evolution’s acid trip.”

“Rich, coming from a cocky smush-faced mummy!”

“What are you two doing?” Lyra, who appears to be walking towards the dance floor with Bon Bon, asks with a raised eyebrow.

“Nothing!” Rainbow and I say simultaneously. I freeze, my heart pounding at the thought of being caught in such a compromising situation. I point my thumb over to Rainbow. “She started it.”

“Did not!” Rainbow shoots back instantly.

“Let’s just go already,” Bon Bon said, dragging Lyra away while the latter jabbed a hoof at us in the universal “I’m watching you” gesture. The moment they’re gone, Rainbow and I glare at one another.

“Snrk.” Her expression is so comical that a chuckle forces its way out of my throat before I can stop it. Rainbow starts to snicker as well, her mirth growing in intensity until she’s laughing out loud. I hide my amusement behind my hand. “Can we call a truce? I’d like to try some of that cider now.”

“Truce? Nah, it was obvious who had the better insults.” Rainbow sticks her tongue out and blows a raspberry, causing me to roll my eyes. She snickers again, but her amusement soon dissolves into a warm smile. “I’ll be back! Two ciders, coming right up!”

I watch her as she turns tail and zips towards the counter. I suddenly realize with some shock that this is the first time I’ve laughed since coming to Equestria. I sigh, shaking my head. It felt good in the moment, but I shouldn’t have let myself get sucked into something so juvenile.

I pause. A distant memory of a forgotten beach, where Amaryllis and I occasionally went to spend time together where no one else would find us, bubbles to the surface. I recall the way we would engage in conversations just like that. Maybe I should just take it for what it is, and stop thinking so hard about it.

“Here!” Rainbow returns in the blink of an eye, slamming a filled mug onto the table in front of me, flecks of foam splattering on the wood. I flinch somewhat from her sudden reappearance. “Go on, you’ll love it!”

I lift the mug, finding the handle much smaller than what I’m used to. Rainbow watches me intently as I take a tentative sip, finding the beverage to possess an earthy apple taste with a light hint of carbonation present. It’s similar to regular apple juice, but not quite as sweet and with a much bolder aftertaste.

“Not bad. I can’t see myself drinking it regularly, but it’s not as unpleasant as I expected.”

“Right!?” Rainbow has her own mug as well, and if the flecks of amber on her muzzle are anything to go by, she’s already sampled plenty of it. “If you think this is good, you should try some when Applejack’s family makes it! It’s like you’re drinking pure happiness.”

Upon speaking those last two works, Rainbow’s voice shakes and her tongue lolls out of her mouth. I eye her awkwardly; that’s a funny—if not creepy—way of showing your appreciation for a drink.

“I’ll take your word for it,” I say as I casually sip from the mug. Two of us sip our cider and listen to the music in a comfortable silence. Eventually, it’s just Rainbow and me at the table, as Flitter and Cloud Chaser hit the dance floor as well. “You know, you don’t need to stay here for my sake. All your friends are out there dancing, and I know you like to dance.”

“How do you know I’m not tired and just want to chill here?” Rainbow asks with a raised brow.

“You don’t strike me as the type to stand on the sidelines in the middle of a party.” I point out. “Besides, you’re clearly just sitting here because you feel obligated to keep me company.”

“Huh?” Rainbow looks perplexed by my answer; a perplexion that’s quickly replaced by annoyance. “You’re putting words in my mouth again. How do you know I’m not here because I want to be?”

“Rainbow, we’ve been sitting quiet for the past 5 minutes. And if there’s anything I know about you, it’s that you’re not quiet. At all.” I remark as I empty my mug.

“Hey, that’s mean!” My jab at her personality earns me an indignant stare. “I just have a lot to say!”

“Except when you’re sitting with me, apparently.”

“Because you get all bent out of shape if I just say whatever!” Rainbow retorts. “You should try relaxing sometime! Do you know how to relax?”

“Of course I do,” I stubbornly reply. “So are you going to leave or what?”

“No!” Rainbow stubbornly decides, crossing her hooves. She sees me glaring at her, so she decides to change tack. “Why don’t you tell me how that guitar’s working out for you?”

“That’s…” I recall that she was there when I bought it. “It’s a good instrument. The strings have seen better days, but it didn’t require much maintenance to get working. I’ll have to restring them soon, which means getting a set of tools to help me do that, such as a tuner, peg winder, some wire cutters…and judging by your face, you have no idea what goes into maintaining a guitar.”

“Hey, it’s not like Applejack ever plays the one she’s got,” Rainbow replies defensively. “Why don’t you tell me about it, then?”

I open my mouth to explain, before deciding against it. “It’ll bore the hell out of you.”

“You don’t know that,” Rainbow points out with a huff. She ponders for a few seconds, tapping her chin with a hoof. “Hey, if it bores me, I’ll turn it right around and bore you by talking about aerodynamics! Fair, right?”

“Talking about flying doesn’t bore me. I just don’t want to listen to you throwing your ego around,” I say, causing Rainbow to make an unamused face at me. Yet her reasoning makes enough sense for me to concede to her view. “But if you really want to know, guitar strings are basically thin wires. To work with them, you need wire cutters and pliers so you can reshape them to whatever you need at that moment. The strings themselves are tethered to the pins at the top of the neck and anchored down below the bridge. Once you have them anchored, you fasten them to the neck and tighten them to get what we call the string’s natural frequency...”

From there, it turns into a surprisingly refreshing conversation that didn’t involve any personal questions or arguments; it’s just a simple discussion of guitars. Although I can tell Rainbow doesn’t understand a lot of the technical aspects of it, she remains engaged in the conversation—sometimes relating my descriptions of guitar maintenance to the physical maintenance she performs on her own body. She frustratingly still manages to slip in a boast about her own skill, but it proves no more than a simple annoyance.

The conversation makes me somewhat wistful. The only times I can remember having talks like this when the other party actually seemed to show genuine interest in what I had to say, was with Amaryllis or my brother.

When Rainbow excuses herself to the restroom during our conversation, it suddenly strikes me just how similar the mare seems to be to Amaryllis. She’s tomboyish, rough, and has an unhealthy interest in physical activities. She even shares the same flippant attitude, albeit with none of the cynicism. I just wish there was some way to know what she’s thinking; some way to know just what kind of person she is on the inside.

“Hey, Seth?” Yet, even as Rainbow is returning from her brief sojourn, it seems my conversation with her is at an end. A lavender hoof taps on my shoulder, gaining my attention. I turn my head to see a nervous Twilight. I don’t recall seeing her at the bar yet, so she must have recently arrived. “Can I talk to you for a few minutes?”

“Sure, pull up a seat! We’ve got plenty of room,” Rainbow answers cheerfully before I have a chance.

“I’d love to, but...I meant in private. If that’s alright with you both.” Twilight looks even more nervous, the mare unable to even meet my gaze. My spirits sink even further; considering my track record with Twilight as well as her general demeanor, there’s a high chance the following conversation will be more personal than I’d like. “Please?”

“Tch, whatever. Let’s just get it over with.” I finish my cider and get up from my seat. Getting away from her would be an exercise in futility; even if I refused, past experience suggests that if a unicorn really wants to talk, they have ways of forcing you to listen. “Lead the way.”

“Alright, I’ll be here. Don't take too long!” Rainbow says, the mare rising from the table and eyeing the dance floor with an eager glint in her eye.

“I’ll try not to,” Twilight assures her. She gives me a forced smile and beckons towards the door leading outside. Without a word, I follow her out into the street. I shiver and button up my coat to protect myself from the rapidly chilling air. Hopefully, I’m not out here for too long. “So...I’m sorry for pulling you out of there, but I haven’t had a chance to talk since Friday…”

“If all you wanted was to talk, you could have done that inside.” I have a bad feeling that I know precisely about what she wishes to talk. “If you have something to say, say it. Don’t waste my time beating around the bush.”

“Okay.” Twilight takes a breath and looks at me with renewed determination. “I wanted to talk about what you said on Thursday.”

My eyes harden at that. “Twilight, that wouldn’t be pleasant for either of us. How about we forget that you ever brought it up?”

“We can’t just pretend it never happened!” Twilight insists despite my tone. She opens her mouth as if to argue the point further, but then she sighs. This is the most defeated I’ve seen her. “Seth, I never wanted to get to this point with you.”

“What point?”

“The point where we will end up fighting every time we talk. The point where you look at me like my presence is an unwelcome disturbance.” Twilight looks back up at me. “I know you’ve been through a lot I can’t understand, but I want to be a friend to you. Hearing you blame all of us for where you are right now, it hurts.”

I stare back at her, no words coming to mind. Once again, a pony refuses to cut me off, in spite of how intentionally easy I’ve made it for her. I don’t believe I’ve ever said anything as brutal as I did to Twilight that day, yet here she is standing before me. I search my memories for similar encounters with humans but I come up empty.

“I don’t know what you want me to say,” I admit after a long silence. “It is what it is. If it weren’t for ponies, I wouldn’t be here. Did you call me out here to hear me say that again?”

“I called you out here to tell you that you’re wrong. It isn’t our fault that you’re here.” Twilight furrows her brow and gazes back at me with determination. “It was King Sombra’s, and his alone. Words can’t express how sorry I am that this has happened to you, but I can’t watch you make yourself miserable and push everypony away for such a fallacious reason.”

“That’s…!” Fury fills me up from within, a hundred different rebuttals for that statement coming to mind. “I wouldn’t be here if you all had just stopped him in the first place! It’s just as much your fault as his! I’m here because your kind failed to do the job!”

“That’s not fair either! I have absolute faith that the princesses did everything they could. They’re not omniscient; they couldn’t have possibly known what he was planning to do to you.” Twilight leaped to the defense of the diarchy in an instant. “In the end, they made sure he got what was coming to him.”

“Not soon enough…” I grumble.

“Seth. You can’t blame any of the ponies around here for Sombra’s actions.” Twilight repeated. “He existed generations ago, long before any of us were born. There is nothing any of us could have done. Please understand that.”

“It doesn’t really matter what I think of you anyway,” I say, unable to care about pushing this point further. “So what, you called me out here so you can clear your conscience?”

“No, I called you out here because I’m worried about you. I don’t want to see you alone and in pain, because you’ve been holding that inside all this time.” Twilight expresses, a hoof pressed against her chest.

Another wave of bitterness passes through me. Twilight always jumps to conclusions without having all the information. “That’s hardly the only reason,” I scoff.

“It’s not? Then what is the other reason?” Twilight appears confused. Despite the question hanging in the air, I can’t bring myself to answer it. Those five years of my life hold too many painful memories...and I’m not about to share them. I regret bringing it up in the first place. “You won’t answer? I don’t understand. Why don’t you want friends? Don’t you want someone to whom you can relate? Someone with whom you can laugh and smile? Don’t you get lonely?”

“Stop. Just stop.” I tell her, pressing my hands against my face. There was one person I knew that could do any of that, and she was one in a million. “I don’t want to hear it. Why do you ponies try so hard? It’s so much easier just to ignore me and do your own thing, isn’t it? Go prance off with your ‘friends’ into the sunset, for all I care. Just leave me be.”

“Do you think friendship is easy?” Twilight pointed out with a hint of incredulity. “No friendship worth having is easy to forge, and it’ll never happen if I give up now.”

“You’re tenacious, I’ll give you that,” I remark in annoyance. I’m so used to people giving up after the second time they yell at me, and past that, trying to tear me down. “But you shouldn’t be so willing to run around throwing out the word 'friendship' like candy either. It’s insulting that you think you’re going to change who I am or the way I think just from a few kind words.”

“I don’t necessarily agree with that. The part about giving friendship out, I mean. If my friends hadn’t offered their hooves out to me in my moment of need, I don’t know where I’d be right now,” Twilight admits. “I’ll admit I know nothing about the life you’ve led up until this point, but it sounds like you need something more than token kindness...some way for us to prove that we’re not reaching out our hooves to you out of malice.”

“You make it sound so simple, but that’s the long and short of it. I still don’t see why you care.” I watch her reason through my words, unsure what to think about her. Yelling at them or pushing them away only seems to drive them harder. “Why the obsession with friendship anyway? You’d think as an avid reader, you’d find them to be an unwelcome distraction at best and a downright annoyance at worst.”

“It’s funny you say that.” Twilight gives a sheepish giggle. “I used to believe that, not too long ago. But ultimately, friends are nice to have, and I discovered it’s possible to have just as much fun with them as I do learning.”

“Provided they’re the genuine thing,” I grumble. I can’t deny the fun I had with Amaryllis, but I refuse to believe any of these ponies could do for me what she did.

“Yes, but that’s something you discover by talking with and learning about them,” Twilight reasons. “It never occurred to me that someone could have such a differing view of friendship than we do. If you believe our efforts are nothing more than lip service, then everything we’ve done to try to help you likely just comes off as trite and pointless.”

“Finally. One of you has managed to get that through your thick skulls. It’s only what I’ve been saying since the moment I met you.” I suppose Rainbow also gets it, but she just plain doesn’t care. “Now that you do get it, please stop trying.”

“Nope,” Twilight remarks, causing me to groan. “You may not want to tell me why you’re so skeptical of the ponies you meet, but that’s okay. I’ll prove that our gestures of kindness harbor no ill intent.”

“I really don’t get you,” I helplessly express. If I were in her place, and someone like me moved into town, I wouldn’t even bother to ask their name, much less try to befriend them. “Clearly I can’t stop you; knock yourself out, I guess. I wouldn’t expect anything to come of it though other than wasted time.”

“Thank you! Just the chance to try is more than enough.” Twilight beams at my answer. “I didn’t mean to keep you so long. I’ll let you get back to your party. I have a lot to think about, and a lot to plan!”

“Please don’t make me regret this,” I say, wincing.

“Don’t worry, I won’t!” Twilight promises me as she starts to leave. She gives me one last smile and a wave. “You have a good night, Seth. Thank you for talking to me.”

“Whatever.” When she’s gone, I stare after her for several moments, and then I walk back inside the bar, mulling over her words in my head.


When I get back inside, the music is winding down, and ponies are starting to leave for the night. I can only assume the gig is over, so I make my way to Vinyl and prepare to help her pack up her equipment.

“You have a good night, Seth!” Flitter waves to me as she and Cloud Chaser make their way out of the bar. Lyra wishes me the same, as she and Bon Bon tag along behind. I don’t acknowledge them with much other than a nod. After talking with Twilight, I just want to be alone to think.

When I reach the stage, I find Rainbow chatting with Vinyl as the latter is unplugging the cables from her turntables. “...too long. You wanna hang out some more tonight? Hope you’re not too tired!” Rainbow offers with a grin.

“You know I’m still good to go! Maybe just...without using any more magic. Whew,” Vinyl wipes her brow with a hoof, mirroring Rainbow’s grin. They see me approach, and Vinyl waves wearily. “There you are. Was just about to send Rainbow out to go find you!”

“Yeah, she’s good at that.” I retort with a wry expression, the sardonicism practically dripping from my voice.

“Everything cool?” Vinyl tilts her head. I give her an odd stare in return. I don’t know why she’d ask; I don’t think I’m presenting myself any differently than normal. I don’t miss Rainbow’s concerned look either.

“Yeah? Why wouldn’t it be?” I return uncomfortably. “Let’s just get all this packed up so we can go home.”

“Works for me. Also, I gotta pay you for the work.” Vinyl produces five bits and hands them to me, increasing my total to thirteen. “Now let’s get packing. Oh yeah, do you care if Rainbow tags along?”

“It’s your house, not mine.” I shrug, not knowing why she bothered to ask me in the first place. If they want to hang out, it’s not my business.

“Awesome! I’ll get some cider to bring back, and we’ll chillax together!” Rainbow gives me a nudge, and then she flies back to the bartender before the bar fully closes. I ignore her, having no intention to join their “chillaxing.”

“C’mere. This time, I’ll have you start with the cords…” Vinyl starts, and then the two of us get to work.


“And...we’re in. Phew. Break out that cider, Dash, cuz when I hit that couch, I’m not getting back up.” Vinyl parks the cart with all her equipment into the nearest open spot, and then she proceeds to throw herself on the couch without much decorum and close her eyes. “Aaah...this is the high life.”

“What about dinner?” I remind her, my stomach gurgling at the mention of food. Vinyl’s eyes open wide and she groans.

“Aw, shoot, I forgot. Nyaaah, I don’t wanna get up!” Vinyl rolls off of the couch with a thump and lays there on the floor for several seconds before she gets back to her hooves. Rainbow promptly steals her spot and curls up there. “Dash, you sneaky little pigeon.”

“Hah, you snooze, you lose!” Rainbow sticks her tongue out at her friend. She then does a double take. “Did you just call me a pigeon!?”

“I might’ve. What are you gonna do about it? If you get up, you gotta give up your spot. Then who knows, maybe Seth will steal it.” Vinyl teases as she walks into the kitchen.

“Agh, you’re right! Don’t you even think about stealing my spot!” Rainbow gives me an accusing stare, but it quickly turns into confusion when I don’t answer or even look at her. I’m gazing down at the floor, tuning out the world around me. “Seth? You in there somewhere?”

“What?” I demand irritably, causing her to flinch. It takes me a moment for me to process what the two of them have been talking about. “No, I couldn’t care less. I’m just waiting for dinner.”

“Did something happen while you were out there with Twilight?” Rainbow asks curiously.

“Nothing worth talking about.” I dismiss her question with a shake of my head. “Don’t mind me. You’re here to chill with Vinyl, anyway.”

“With both of you, actually.” Rainbow corrects me. I raise an eyebrow at that.

“Whatever.”


After a painfully long wait, the smell of vegetables and spices fills the air as Vinyl serves me a bowl of hot stew. It’s an interesting flavor; can’t say I’ve tasted anything similar.

Rainbow and Vinyl are having fun, laughing and joking with one another over the course of the meal. Every now and then they attempt to include me into their conversation, but I either ignore their efforts or reply with simple nods or shrugs. One would think they’d give up trying after the first few times, but whatever floats their boat.

“How long are you staying?” I interrupt their conversation, my bowl resting empty on the table in front of me.

“Who, me?” Rainbow asks, clueless. I give her an incredulous look.

“No, the mouse on your shoulder,” I sarcastically reply. Rainbow Dash falls off the table with a yelp, trying to get rid of the nonexistent mouse. I blink, as Vinyl proceeds to laugh her tail off. Did she really just take that seriously?

“Hey, there's no mouse!” Rainbow realizes at last, and she gets up and looks at me accusingly.

“Of course not! I was talking to you!” I shake my head, wondering if this pony is for real.

“Then why did you say you weren't?”

“I didn't realize I was talking to an imbecile.” Rainbow throws a balled up napkin at me, not appreciating the insult. “But the question still stands. How long are you staying?”

“Oh yeah! So I’m crashing here tonight. I don’t really feel like flying up to my house.” Rainbow answers. She glances at Vinyl. “That cool?”

“Always. If you don’t mind sleeping on my couch,” Vinyl returns, before looking back at me. “That’s not an issue, is it?”

“It’s your house,” I repeat. I get up from the table, taking the chance to excuse myself. “I’m going to bed. You two have fun.”

“You sure you don’t want to stick around? You’re welcome to,” Vinyl offers. I just make for the stairs, acknowledging her offer with little more than a shake of my head.

I ascend the stairs and tread back to my room, cutting off the outside world at long last. The silence falls over me like a comforting blanket as I’m finally granted the solitude I desire. After undressing myself, I climb into bed and stretch myself out, a deep exhale escaping me.

It has been one roller coaster of a day, and I’m both physically and mentally exhausted. In college, it wasn’t unusual for days to pass without anything eventful of which to speak, the hours blending together and passing like a flash. It was so easy to shut off my mind and go through the motions; move from one class to another, complete my assignments, and study for my tests.

That line of thought gives me pause as my conversations with Rainbow come back to me. Going through a routine with barely any changes...how utterly inhuman of me. It’s obvious that it would be easier to go from day to day without having to think. Now, every new day means a slew of new encounters that I clearly can’t just wave away or ignore. I wonder if I would’ve been happy living the rest of my life like that, not worrying about what comes next.

That line of thought reminds me of the most recent encounter with Twilight outside of the bar.

“Don’t you get lonely?”

Her words run on loop in my head over and over. I turn over to the other side, staring at the plain plaster wall. My mind searches my past experiences to come up with counterpoints to her question, but I come up with scant few. Typically I was able to get through my downtime by reading or playing games, but after I met Amaryllis, I often thought ahead during my downtime to the next time I could see her.

Damn you, Twilight. I hate to admit it, but there’s a ring of truth to her words. Now that Amaryllis is gone...I can’t look forward to sitting with her at our spot outside the science building. I can’t look forward to going on trips with her during our rare breaks from classes. I can’t even look forward to one day showing her the music that I practiced. Is it even worth practicing music without someone I care about to show the fruits of my efforts? I miss her more than I can put into words; if that’s the same thing as loneliness, Twilight is right. But I can’t just make new friends like Rainbow suggested, either. It’s just not worth taking that chance.

I take a deep breath, feelings of frustration welling up from within. Why is it that everyone has to be so shallow or untrustworthy? Why can’t I just have Amaryllis back, the only one that I could trust with everything I had?

Amaryllis always told me that I had to give people a chance to screw up first, but I can’t bring myself to heed her words. Ever since that time in grade school, I knew that road led nowhere. But without Amaryllis or any guarantee that those with whom I interact are genuine, how can I possibly stave away this pain I feel?

“Hey Seth, you still up?” Rainbow suddenly makes her way into my room, nosing the door open. I’m undressed, so I immediately cover myself up the rest of the way with the blankets.

“Haven’t you ever heard of knocking?” I demand irritably.

“The door was unlocked.” Rainbow shrugs nonchalantly. “Anyway, what’s up? You seemed a little off down there.”

“That’s what you barged in here to talk about? Forget it, it’s nothing. I’m sure you were having fun downstairs, so don’t let me stop you.” I sigh with annoyance, casting my gaze towards the ceiling. Despite my words, I see Rainbow Dash sitting down and closing the door. “Rainbow, that’s the exact opposite of what I just said.”

“Maybe.” Rainbow smirks at me. “Really though. Why do you always clam up right after you have any kind of fun?”

“Is there any chance you’ll go away and not press me for answers?”

“No.”

“You are the single most annoying individual I think I’ve ever met.” Not even Amaryllis was this nosy. She would never pry… only call me out whenever I was being an idiot. “You literally stand to gain nothing from interacting with me at all.”

“And how does being alone all the time gain you anything either?” Rainbow shoots back without missing a beat. “No harm in chilling every now and then, right?”

“You have no idea.” The amount of certainty in my voice causes Rainbow to recoil. She looks like she wants to ask, but I don’t feel like telling her about how all the times letting my guard down came back to bite me in the end. “Relax. I’ve just been thinking, and I needed some time to sort my thoughts.”

“Bit for them?” Rainbow requests. I look at her in confusion before I realize that she essentially used a pony version of that old British saying. As many questions as that raises, I guess it wouldn’t hurt too much to share my thoughts. I’ve already spoken to her about it once before. “You know, I’m just gonna crash here if you ignore me.”

“No, you’re not! There’s so much wrong with that I don’t even know where to start. Is that even proper for a pony to suggest?” I immediately push back on that idea, appalled. Rainbow starts to snicker at that for some reason. “What are you laughing at?”

“You sound so much like Rarity right now,” Rainbow points out. She straightens up and twirls a hoof in her mane, leaving a tiny loop in it. “Oh, pish posh, darling. A mare and a stallion sleeping together in the same room? What impropriety! How scandalous!” she says in an uncannily accurate imitation of Rarity.

I stare at her for a few seconds, and then just like before, a snort of amusement escapes me. I could definitely see Rarity saying something like that.

“Didn’t know you had a talent for impressions,” I say with the faintest traces of a smirk.

“Right, so you wanna share now?” Rainbow persists as she shakes her head to reset her mane back to its usual unruly appearance. “Did Twilight say something to you after all?”

“Yes, but that’s not entirely it. I’ve just been...reflecting.” I lay back on the bed, resigning myself to my fate. I’ve learned by that it’s impossible to get rid of Rainbow if she doesn’t want to go. “Like about the world I’ve left behind...and what would have come of me had I stayed.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Rainbow asks, tilting her head.

“It goes back to what we talked about at the farm. Except I was wondering if I would have made it once I was finished with school.” I start to explain. “Everyone talked about how we should figure out what we wanted, or about how we should have ambition. A dream to follow, so to speak.”

“Didn’t you say you wanted to do something with music?” Rainbow recalls.

“I may be aiming in that direction now, but only because you told me I should.” I remind her. “It’s the same as it was back then. I went to college because I was told there was no way to be competitive in the job market if I didn’t. I was pursuing a degree in computers because it’s what I was told made the most money. I didn’t derive any enjoyment from it, nor was I following some dream.”

“I don’t get it.” Rainbow just seems confused by my words. “So what are you worried about?”

“Just that I shouldn’t rely on people to figure out what I want to do,” I say with a shake of a head. It doesn’t surprise me that she doesn’t get it. I hardly get it myself. “How can I be sure this is the right path I’m on if you had to tell me to follow it?”

“Uh, in case you forgot, you came up with the music idea on your own.” Rainbow reminds me. I blink, and then I think back to that particular conversation. I brought it up then because it was something I enjoyed. “I didn’t tell you to like music. I just lent a hoof, as a friend would do!”

“Right…a friend...” I suppose it’s true she only pushed me in the right direction. I wish she would stop calling herself my friend, however. I stare at her confident face, wishing more than anything that I could read her mind. This could be another trap laced with honey, like the one I fell into so long ago.

“Do you still not believe me?” Rainbow asks indignantly.

“Of course I don’t. It takes more than a few words and sticking to me like glue to convince me.” I return instantly. “I think there’s something you’re not getting. Let me break it down for you; I don’t like other people. That includes ponies.”

“What? So you mean it’s not just us you don’t trust? It’s everyone?” Rainbow asks incredulously. When I nod, she starts to look exasperated. “How can someone not like anyone? What about that friend you mentioned?”

“An exception to the rule. Yet, the concept of a rule means that there are few exceptions, if any,” I tell her earnestly. Rainbow starts to get frustrated. “Look. I’ll admit you’ve done more than most. You saved my life, though the jury is still out on whether that was for better or worse. But from my experience, people are selfish and untrustworthy, myself included. Because I know this, it’s safer not to get involved… and the same goes for you.”

“That’s...really lame. So you’d rather hide rather than meet all these cool ponies that could be exceptions?” Rainbow challenges me.

“You wanted my thoughts, so I gave them. If sharing them just means I’m going to be insulted, I’m not going to bother anymore.” I tell her irritably.

“I...I guess that’s fair…” Rainbow backs down, despite her clear dissatisfaction with what she just heard. “So...how do I become an exception?”

“If I told you that, it wouldn’t be worth anything. I still don’t know why you’re putting in so much effort,” I say, shaking my head in disbelief. I choose not to mention that even I don’t know the answer to her question. “But enough about this. I’m tired, and I’m pretty sure Vinyl is waiting impatiently for you.”

“Yeah, probably,” Rainbow admits. She stands back up and moves towards the door. Just as I’m starting to think our conversation has ended, she looks back just as she steps into the hall. “You wanna hang out tomorrow?”

“I’m sure you’ll find me even if I said no,” I grunt, shifting on the bed so I’m staring back at the ceiling. I don’t hear her leave, causing me to sigh. “Fine. As long as I don’t get roped into anything silly.”

“Come on, you’ll be with me, so it’ll be awesome!” Rainbow boasts. At last, she shuts the door, leaving me in solitude. “Good night, Seth!”

With that, I’m left in a quiet room once again. In the end, that conversation didn’t solve anything apart from getting Rainbow off my back. Between her and Twilight, I’m quickly becoming driven into a corner. I have literally never met anyone who’s tried so hard to understand the way I think before.

As I drift off to sleep, one conclusion makes its home in my mind; at some point, I’ll either have to accept their presence around me, or I’ll have to let them know once and for all that they can’t squeeze water from a stone.

Author's Note:

*chop chop chop chop* Huh? Oh don't mind me, I'm just cutting scenes like nobody's business. This is the point where the story would be most affected by me cutting away Seth's blowup at Pinkie. Instead, his relationship with Twilight is going in a completely different direction than in the original. I'm not sure how that'll turn out just yet, but I'm enjoying the ride to get there. So instead of a bunch of pointless nonsense, I decided to write a lot of introspective dialogue and interactions with the other characters.

Anyway, it shouldn't be more than one or two chapters before I reach the climax of this particular book. From there, I have plenty of plans and scenes I intend to add to enrich the experience for whatever readers are still here since the beginning.

As always, please thank Brave Hooves and Hellslinger for their efforts in editing. Especially Hellslinger, who practically had to keep tugging on the lead to keep me from posting before he was done. And please leave me some comments to let me know what you think of my changes!

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