Chapter 1

Twilight hummed to herself as she trotted down the steps of the castle. Today had been a good day so far. She’d re-categorized her library, got some work done a couple new spells, and all before lunch time. A short break to eat, and she could get to the paperwork the princesses had sent her to take care of earlier this morning. She might just even have enough time to make Pinkie’s party tonight!

A small giggle escaped her as she thought of the last time she’d been so thoroughly productive. Usually she had some sort of crisis or freak out to worry about, but not today. Today she got to just take care of her wo-

Ding, ding.

Twilight blinked at the noise. She’d heard it before, but not too often, so she couldn’t quite place it. The soft ringing came again, and this time she felt a warmth come up from her flank. Glancing back, her eyes shone.

“Yay!” Twilight galloped down the stairs now like a giddy school girl for her first day of class. While sure, a regular, boring day could be nice, she always hoped the map would send her to new places where she could put her true set of skills to work, and earn her title of princess. Well, that, and it was almost always more interesting than requisitions paperwork.

Her eyes fell on the map as she got to the foyer of her castle, and saw, as always, it was shining for two ponies this time. Her own cutie mark shown a bright purple, bathing half the map in its light, while Rainbow Dash’s was on the other side, sending more of a clashing cascade against the other half. She could see a good dozen reasons why she might need Rainbow Dash, so she nodded, giddy to just go on a trip.

She tapped the side of the map, letting it know that she was there, before standing on the edge of it. “Alright, where am I going today? Saddle Arabia? Back to Griffonstone? Maybe even a place nopony else knows about?”

The cutie marks moved slowly, going from her castle to…

Twilight blinked for a few moments, before batting at the mountain the marks had landed on. It wasn’t possible for them to be sent there, so maybe they just needed to be lifted off, or encouraged to keep going.

There was to be no such luck, as the marks stayed where they were, maybe two miles away from Ponyville central.

Twilight blinked a few times, before throwing her head back and screaming, “Pinkie Pie! Rainbow Dash!”

======+++++======

Rainbow groaned as her hooves began to leave the dirt of the road, and instead hit the stone of the stone path that led up the mountain near Ponyville. It was way too early for her, but Twilight said that they had to leave this early. Why anypony would want to be up this early was beyond her though.

She glanced to the chipper unicorn beside her, and was able to find a smile from thinking about how Twilight had been yesterday. ’How is there a friendship problem in Ponyville? I’m the princess of friendship, so how did I not notice this? Maybe the map is wrong? Rainbow Dash, do you think that’s even possible? The image of her freaking out for what had to be all of yesterday afternoon did brighten her mood a touch. But only a touch.

Rainbow Dash yawned as they rounded the first bend on the path. It was a pretty nice day, though the fall air meant that it was also a bit nippy. Not that she showed any sort of discomfort. This was nothing compared to some storms she’d been in. “So, anything you wanna tell me about this colt?”

Twilight glanced at Rainbow Dash. While she was smiling at the moment, she could feel her skin crawling from uncertainty. When she had finally figured out who this pony was, it had made her only feel worse about her duties because she’d never even heard of him. “Well, from what Pinkie tells me, Coalstone is fairly quiet, kind of like the rocks that he works with. However, you’ll find nopony better at stonecraft in Equestria. Not even Maud.”

Rainbow Dash’s eyes widened at the comparison. While Maud was best at identifying rocks, she’d been able to kick things like Tom and make beautiful pieces of all sorts. To think this stallion was better… “Do you think he could make a statue of me?”

Twilight tripped in her gait for a moment, before turning to her friend. “What?”

Rainbow Dash glanced back, an eyebrow raised. “What? It’s pretty self explanatory.”

Twilight opened her mouth to respond, before simply shaking her head. There was no point in trying to question Rainbow about her silly, random thoughts. It did reinforce for her that she would need to lead on this mission.

They came to the last bend in the trail, and could now see the ‘cave’ that the stallion lived in. Now that they could see it though, Twilight knew that Pinkie was underselling his abode. A high rise arch, carved out of what looked like white marble made up the entryway into the place, with symbols and pictures, probably depicting some sort of story, imprinted into the stone. To contrast, at the bottom of both arches were twin dragons, sculpted from pitch black stone. If Twilight was guessing right, they could be made of shale, which she thought would be impossible to work with. “Well, I’m starting to think that Pinkie might have been right with her assessment of his skills.”

Rainbow Dash nodded, trotting towards the dragons and beginning to inspect the wings. Looking at them this closely, she could even see veins within the. Or, that’s how it looked. “Wow.”

“Are you here to buy something?”

Both mares jumped at the sudden sound, before turning to the stallion that had walked up. He was a dark gray, tall stallion, with a mane that was almost white.. His eyes left a chill in the two of them, with his cold, gray eyes staring almost through them.

Twilight didn’t let his sudden appearance hold her off though, and she stepped forward with a hoof extended. “Hello. My name is Twilight Sparkle. I assume you’re Coalstone?”

The stallion glanced at her hoof for a moment, before nodding, and putting his own into hers and slowly shaking it. “Here for work?”

Twilight beamed at him as she got back to all fours. “Well, I suppose you could say that. You see, we were recently informed that you may unfortunately be having trouble with friends. My friend and myself believe that nopony should have to deal with such issues, and were hoping… Is something wrong?”

Coalstone let his eyes come back to their default position now that they were done rolling and frowned a bit. He then turned around and began to walk back to the cave. “I don’t need it.”

Rainbow smirked at the terse response, before patting Twilight on the back. “Don’t worry, let me start.” She then flew into the cave, ready to rocket in, but screeching to a halt as she saw the interior. Decorated from top to bottom were intricate carvings, ranging from stone roots, animals in holes, and even the odd pony, all in different expressions. “Awesome…”

Coalstone glanced at her as he got back to the slab of stone he’d been working on, and grabbed his chisel and hammer. “You want some work done?”

“Well, I was talking to Twilight about-”

“Rainbow Dash!” Twilight huffed as she stomped in herself, fighting her reaction at his skill so she could focus on what was truly important: helping Coalstone. “Mr. Stone, please, one with your talent shouldn’t need to be alone, and from what Pinkie tells me, you are. We simply want to make sure you don’t have to be.”

Coalstone resisted rolling his eyes again, instead pausing, and looking at the two of them. For a moment, there was simply silence, before he placed his tools back down and gestured to a couch that looked like it was made of cooled magma. Only reason it failed was because it was made of marble. “Please, sit. I may as well at least listen to your offer.”

Twilight nodded, though Rainbow was less enthusiastic. She could see how he looked at them. He’d already made up his mind. Though, knowing Twilight, she would promise the sun if it meant doing her job, and then she would be roped into the scheme too, and Twilight’s schemes usually weren’t exactly fun.

Once they were all seated, and Twilight had set a kettle on to boil some morning tea for them all, she settled her thoughts, and looked right at Coalstone. She kept her eyes dead on his, making sure he knew she was focused on him, before extending a hoof. “Now, Mr. Stone, can you tell us if you’ve ever had an issue with friends and such in the past?”

Coal shut his eyes and took a deep breath. He wasn’t an idiot. He’d heard about the new princess, her friends, and how they looked at friendship. Now he simply had to explain that Equestria wasn’t quite as perfect as they thought. “Well, I’ve never had any issues with friends. I wouldn’t even say no to them.”

“Well that’s grea-”

“It’s that no friends have decided to ever stay around me.”

Rainbow resisted her want to roll her eyes while thinking about how she couldn’t possibly see why. Twilight, on the other hoof, furrowed her brow. “What do you mean? Friends usually try to stick together once they’ve become ones, so why wouldn’t they stay around?”

Coal shrugged. He honestly never knew why. After dozens of tries to make friends before them either scorning him, leaving for other prospects with only maybe a goodbye, and the ones that simply never came around again, he figured out where he stood in harmony and friendship.

Not that he could expect Twilight to understand this. Celestia knows Pinkie never did, no matter how many times she wouldn’t leave his workshop. So, instead, he thought of another way to put it. “None have kept. I try to be nice, let them be a part of my life, and they just stop wanting to see me. Happened enough that I’m done with it. Wouldn’t you do the same?”

Rainbow Dash grinned at Twilight, who blushed slightly. Both knew that Twilight was exactly the sort of mare that used to abandon her friends, no matter how hard you tried to get her to participate. However, they also believed Twilight to be a rarity, so for a case like this to happen was rather surprising. Then again, the map never sent them to do mundane things.

Twilight slipped off of the couch, before coming closer to Coal. She placed a hoof on his foreleg, causing the stallion to fidget for a moment, before meeting her eyes again. They were pretty, which made all of this more of a shame. Twilight was completely oblivious to the thought as she smiled. “Well, first, may I start with an apology? While I may not have been one of the ponies from your past, I know I used to be one of those sorts of ponies, but I’ve learned that that’s just not a good way to live.”

And suddenly, how pretty those eyes were didn’t really matter as he lowered his eyes. “Thanks.”

Twilight nodded while Rainbow smacked herself at her not noticing the complete dismissal in the stallion’s voice. She instead powered on, her smile only growing as she squeezed his hoof. “Well then, might I suggest another chance then? I know you gave friendship a shot long ago, but years have passed, and you live in one of the friendliest towns I have ever seen. Rainbow and I can even start as your first ones!”

Rainbow put her head against her forehoof. Yep, promising the sun, just like she expected. Unbeknownst to her, for different reasons, Coalstone was pretty much thinking the same thing. But again, he’d heard about Twilight, including the more… enthusiastic side of her. He expected that if she was determined to ‘fix’ him, she wouldn’t give up if he just said no.

So, with a slight, forced smile, and a resignation to however long she might do it, he shrugged. “I guess. Not that we really know each other though.”

Twilight’s eyes shone now, as she could think of maybe a half a dozen different things she could do with him to try to strengthen their bond. “Well, I wouldn’t worry about that! We’ll have plenty of time to do that with Rainbow Dash and I coming every day to keep you company, at least for a little bit.”

Coal groaned internally at the idea, especially as he looked at his rocks and projects that were only half finished. On the other hoof, there was a part, albeit small, that was a touch warmer to the idea. At least Twilight seemed to actually be interested in him, and he could always just tack this on as more proof once it failed. Until then, he could at least enjoy some of the company. “Mind only one a day? I still have work to do after all.”

Twilight nodded as the kettle began to scream that it was ready. “Sounds like a wonderful plan. Though, if you don’t mind, we’d love to have some tea with you today. Right, Rainbow Dash?”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her face with her hoof, not quite being able to believe Twilight at the moment. Then again, she did suppose this was the most direct plan to tackle the problem. “Sure, why not?” She then looked at Coalstone, gestured at the direction Twilight went, and mimicked hanging herself.

Coalstone could actually smile at that when Rainbow Dash did. Maybe he could enjoy both of theirs company before this all went poof after all.

Twilight Day 1

Coalstone perked his head up as the sound of saddlebags hit the floor of his cave. He glanced behind him, before biting into his cheek. So she came. He turned back to the stone he was working with, a simple bust for a client in Canterlot, deciding that Twilight can actually introduce herself, instead of him actually going away from his work.

She didn’t immediately say hi or anything like that. Instead, the sound of rustling within the bags filled the cave, only broken by Coal’s precise strikes. As she moved, he fidgeted, wondering why she was staying quiet. He was simply a stallion with work. She had come specifically to talk.

Another glance back showed him why. Or, at least, part of why. “Is that Monopoly?”

Twilight nodded as she slipped it out of the pile of board games she had brought with her. “I thought you might be interested in playing. It’s fairly slow paced, doesn’t need too much thought, and you can take your turns whenever you step away from your projects.”

Coal blinked a few times, before letting a slight smile come to his face. “Thank you. That’s awfully considerate of you.”

Twilight stepped forward, her eyes scanning his work bench. She saw multiple tools, pieces of fine rock, and even a few finished pieces. No matter how small they got though, they never lost any of their details. For a moment she wondered what his rates were, before waving it away. “I know I came somewhat out of the blue, and I want to show that I can be a good friend by more than just saying it. Now, have you had lunch? I was thinking we could begin a game with something to eat.”

Coal frowned for a moment, before a small rumble echoed against the chamber’s walls. A small blush came across his cheeks as he looked down and muttered, “I haven’t had breakfast yet.”

Now it was Twilight’s turn to frown before she batted him on the head. “Hey! Breakfast has been statistically shown to help one start their day, higher brain functions, and increase focus. A focused professional like yourself shouldn’t skip it.”

Coal glanced away, unable to avoid the fact that most mornings he just went on to work on his different projects, rather than be held up on something that he felt he didn’t need. Still, he did need to eat something, and so turned with Twilight towards the kitchen.

Aren’t friends just like breakfast though? An obstacle that might sound good, but can be seen as just an obstacle towards your work. An obstacle that can be quite painful, unlike breakfast.

Twilight glanced around the kitchen. It was fairly spartan, which made sense for the stallion who used them. Even with that in mind, she could appreciate the probably self cut, well made tiles, cabinets, and tables, all made of stone. It could use a bit more color though. “So, what were you thinking of today?”

She glanced around again, waiting for his answer, or for him to simply pass her and pull out whatever it was he wanted, but no such things occurred. Instead, her silence was only meant with the sound of steel on rock as Coal got back to work.

She sighed at the sight of it, before shrugging. He didn’t seem like the sort who would just immediately accept her. She had time, and he wasn’t outright rejecting her yet, so she could put up with his stubbornness, at least for now.

Besides, she thought as she saw that the carriage had moved four spaces, it was her turn anyways.

Rainbow Dash Day 1

“Hey, what are you up to?”

Coal glanced towards the cave entrance, and waved towards Rainbow Dash with a chisel in hoof. “I’m working on a replacement gargoyle for one of Trottingham’s gargoyles.”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow as she trotted over. Coal had already completed the head of it, showing off the vicious snarl, the long fangs, and blank eyes. For other ponies, it might be seen as terrifying. For Rainbow, it was a challenge to make a goofy face, before tapping it on the forehead. “Cheer up, ugly.”

Coal frowned at the movement, and let out a sharp, “Don’t,” as he looked at the forehead.

Rainbow frowned as she stepped back. “What? It’s not like I’m going to harm it or anything.”

He shook his head, satisfied that the stone wasn’t marked. “You might not think that, but it’s just too easy to cause unknown damage. Besides, with an athlete like yourself, I have to always be worried you’re going to lose control of your strength. I once knew someone who ‘accidentally’ kicked the head off of one of my pieces.”

Rainbow let her eyelids close halfway as she looked at him over the creature’s head. Something was beginning to form in her head, but she pushed it out of the way for the moment. Twilight wanted her to be friends with him, even if he was a giant prick. “I bet it was.”

Coal glanced at her again, before turning to his work again. He somewhat hoped she’d do something even comparable to Twilight soon, or he might need to ask her to leave, just so he could work in piece.

Rainbow Dash leapt over the gargoyle and its master, slowly trotting towards the couch against one of the walls. “So, do you want to do anything? Got any games? Maybe play Never Have I Ever?”

Coalstone leaned in closer to the spine he was crafting, frowning as he realized it wasn’t quite right. Probably from the annoyance. “I would like to focus on my work to be honest.”

Rainbow Dash, enjoying the luxury of not being able to be seen, glared at the mule. One more chance, for Twilight. “Well, then maybe I can model for you, and you can make a new pegasus example.”

Coal frowned at that, before shaking his head. “I have plenty, and this is a paid for piece. It’s best I work on it instead of some free gift, even for a ‘friend’,”

Rainbow was gone before he even got to the sarcasm.

Twilight Day 2

Coal glanced over to the sound of hooves striking stone, and smiled slightly as he saw the princess at his doorstep. She waved back, her horn almost immediately lighting up to bring out a new board game. This time, Life, another fairly easy one if you’re trying to work as well.

However, instead of simply letting her set it up, Coal decided to put down his tools. “Morning, Twilight. How are you?”

Twilight beamed at him as she came closer and extended a hoof his way. He gladly took it, enjoying the touch for a moment. It was at least a grand contrast to how yesterday had gone. Twilight though, had her eyes elsewhere, and frowned as she didn’t see the evidence she desired. “Good, especially with my belly full of breakfast.”

Coal paused for a moment, before turning away. It wasn’t really her business as to whether or not he ate breakfast, but the thought was… nice. He took a deep breath in, before glancing back at Twilight. “I already cleaned mine up. Besides, I had something more important that I wanted to show you.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow, but kept her mouth shut. Breakfast could be worked on later. A show of interest like this was indeed more important, as it showed a better connection than what was there before. “I would love to see what you have.”

Coalstone nodded, before beginning to trot towards the back of the cave. I’d thought about making my workstation closer to this, as it’s one of my prouder works, but the sound can get pretty loud, and that wouldn’t have been good for business. Besides, I like it being a touch more private anyways.”

Twilight hummed, a bit of understanding, but mostly of curiosity. Her ears twitched, listening closely for whatever the sound might be that he was talking about. There was something there, just at the edge of her hearing. As they trotted, it became clearer and clearer, until it was almost roaring, and she could see light coming in from another entrance that must have been at the side of the mountain.

When they walked out, her suspicions were half confirmed. Indeed, the roaring was from the waterfall that fell down the mountain, as she had expected, but there was more. Coalstone had carved out a small balcony away from the cave that let a pony look through the cascading water on its way down. Beyond the water, able to be seen through the gap in the water, was Ponyville.

Twilight gasped as she looked up and saw what made the part. A dragon’s head was carved from stone, with the water being parted by the harsh wedge made into its nose. Or, at least, Twilight guessed from the angle she was at. “How did you install that?”

Coal shook his head, a slight smile on his lips at her amazement. It felt good to be truly appreciated like this. So few in the past had been properly awestruck by this accomplishment. “I didn’t. There’s a path leading up there, and I carved into it to create the dragon, and control the part.”

Twilight merely sat down, her eyes widening as she imagined the logistical nightmare it must have been to make it. Not only that, but to make sure the water didn’t just destroy your work. “Wow…”

Coalstone nodded, satisfied with her reaction, before walking back towards the cave. He then turned back and yelled, “You can stay there as long as you want.”

Twilight nodded, and stayed there for most of the rest of her visit, much to Coalstone’s pleasure. Each minute was another reminder of why Twilight might, just might, be worthy of a real chance at being his friend, and changing his mind.

If only he could be so excited for tomorrow.

Rainbow Dash Day 2

Coalstone frowned as he watched the last few rays of light from the fading sun go under the horizon. It wasn’t surprising. Sure, Twilight was good, but Rainbow Dash seemed like nothing more than a simple layabout who couldn’t actually care about him. On the other hoof, he didn’t really care about her. He wasn’t supposed to supposedly be doing something for a grander purpose though.

He let a small sigh escape his lips as he turned back towards the cave. It was a firm reminder as to why he didn’t do this sort of thing. Anypony could say what you wanted to hear, but when they eventually abandoned you, it felt the same every time. Even for an experienced pony like himself.

At least Twilight would make the pain in his chest go away. Or, so he hoped.

Twilight Day 3

Coalstone grumbled as he slipped into the air balloon service that Ponyville offered to reach the clouds, for a fee. He hadn’t wanted to come into town today. He had plenty of groceries, didn’t need new tools, and by no means did he actually want to see anypony.

No, he was in town to make sure a certain pony got the congratulations she obviously had been seeking. To be let know that she and Twilight didn’t need to come by anymore. Their contract was null and void.

Besides, if neither were going to show up already, why should they keep up the pretense?

He glanced forward, refocusing on what he was doing as the balloon approached Rainbow Dash’s house. He reached a hoof out, swifty striking at her door. Like any cloud for an earth pony though, his hoof just went through, only making his temper worse. So, instead, he tried a foolproof trick, and yelled, “Rainbow Dash!”

“Well, that’s one way to say hi.”

Coalstone whipped around to find the blue pegasus lazily flapping her wings. She looked bored, if not a touch annoyed, even though she had no reason to be. She was the one at fault after all. “So, are you happy?”

Rainbow Dash raised an eyebrow as she let herself fall into the basket. She knew what was going on, and could see a small, yellow pegasus flash in her mind as she shook her head. “No, I’m not. I hate being reminded of how stupid I can get.”

Coal’s eye twitched. He knew she had been reluctant to do the task that Twilight and Rainbow had set out to do, but to call it all stupid… “Oh, and I bet you and Twilight had a long discussion about how I was hopeless, didn’t you?”

Rainbow Dash sat down, her face showing almost nothing except slight annoyance as she shut her eyes. Again, she could see half a dozen times when she had been this passionate, and very few ponies had ever learned how to face it and make real progress. Matching their passion didn’t work. All that would happen would be a bunch of yelling, and both parties still thinking they’re right.

That wouldn’t help anypony, so she flatly said, “Twilight scolded me last night for a good hour for not seeing you when she found out I didn’t go see you.”

Coal flinched for a moment at the news, as it didn’t make sense, but he then hardened his resolve and put his hoof down upon the thatch basket. “Well, whatever you said must have made her decide to not come. Convinced her like anypony else not to care about me.”

Rainbow Dash took a deep breath in again, her own rage and emotions almost boiling over at this point. She had to vent, at least some of it, but doing it wrong would be as good as screaming.

So, instead, she looked Coal straight in the eyes, and kept her voice as cold as ice. “She is with the other princesses right now for a diplomatic meeting that was last minute, and being done in Ponyville. This was to get a threat declared by the Diamond Dogs of Equestria soothed over.”

Coal opened his mouth, but Dash didn’t let him speak. Not when he still looked angry. “Yeah, it could be a lie, couldn’t it be? Just something I can tell you so she feels better. So she has a ‘reason’ to abandon you. Look, I don’t claim to have the same baggage as you, or even to really like you. The best thing I even can say about you is that you seem tolerable, and like you wouldn’t actually do something to try to harm another pony.”

She stepped closer, now, forcing Coal to back up into the side of the balloon. “I can also say that you remind me a lot of myself. Just work gets replaced with races. And you’re so good that you just want to focus on those things, because they make you feel good, makes all the pain from the names go away, and makes it up for the fact that you’re all by yourself.”

Coal blinked, and finally, is scowl went away. “What… what are you talking about?”

Rainbow Dash sighed as she shook her head. “One of my best friends once told me she couldn’t cheer me on for a race, and at that point, she was my only one. My griffon friend had gone home, the bullies had convinced everypony else to leave me alone, and flying felt good. Well, I still won the race, and then went to tell my friend I won, hoping it would make up for what had happened. All that sound familiar?”

Coal slowly nodded, biting into his lip as he looked away. “All but that last part. I… I just made statues that I could vent to when my friends told me they no longer cared.”

“Or that you thought they stopped caring?”

Coal frowned slightly at that, but stayed silent, the exact reaction that Rainbow Dash needed. “Well, you never got to see what your friends were doing then. The fact that they had their own lives, just like my friend had her birthday party that she had been trying to tell me about. However, because I always focused on me, had my friends only do the things I wanted, and never even tried showing an interest in them personally, I had shut her down, and almost lost her.”

Coal fidgeted, knowing that she had gotten to the lesson of her story, and wanted some sort of response. He thought it over, and then raised an eyebrow. “So, uh, am I supposed to ask when you want to hang out? Or when your next race is?”

Rainbow Dash let out a small snort, before shaking her head violently. “Are you kidding me? We aren’t exactly what most would call compatible. You don’t like me, and I don’t really like you. From how a certain somepony I know talks though, there is one you should probably try to give a bit more effort with. Stop working when she comes over, hang out at her place, or, I dunno, make sure she knows it’s okay that she had more important things to do. Wouldn’t you agree?”

Coal glanced at Rainbow Dash, before slowly nodding.

======+++++======

Coalstone swallowed hard as he stood outside the beautiful castle. He had never really worked with crystal before, and began to look closely at the door. He knew it was a more brittle substance, more prone to shattering from a chisel than rock, but the door could use some work on it, just try to make it look a little nicer.

And then he sighed, realizing that he was just stalling. There was no reason to focus on that, not when he had something else to take care. He just hoped he didn’t screw it up. Coal brought up a hoof, and lightly knocked against the door.

For about a minute, he just sat there, wondering if he should just go. She was supposedly busy, and he would be more comfortable in his cave anyways. Besides, he could start work on something for her, and then get told how pretty and thoughtful it… More praise, just for him, even with good intentions. And just his own comfort zone, instead of trying to accept her comfort zone.

As he hung his head down, the door opened up, and Twilight let out a small yelp, before she placed a hoof onto his shoulder. “Oh, Coalstone, I’m so sorry! I’ve just been so busy with some business that came up for me. I wanted to get a message out to you, but things have been so busy-”

“Stop, Twilight.” Coalstone rubbed the back of his head, before taking in a sharp breath, and looking her in the eyes. “Already know from Rainbow Dash, and… I get it. You’re a good mare, and you wouldn’t just drop me like that unless you had a real reason. So, um, when might be a good time for you? Since you’re a princess and all, I bet you’re pretty busy.”

Twilight blinked a few times, before smiling, tears stinging at her eyes. She hadn’t thought that her two visits had been that powerful, but it was good to see him becoming this accepting. She had been afraid, especially with Rainbow Dash being her annoying, lazy self yesterday, that he was going to write them off forever. This was a great step forward. “Well, I won’t be able to come over for a while because of the paperwork-”

“I can come over. Maybe even bring some of my stone, so we can work in each other’s company.”

Twilight blinked again, wondering what in Equestria had happened. This was… odd. “Coal, are you feeling well? I mean, I don’t want to sound rude, as I would love the company, but you don’t seem like the type to do something like this.”

Coalstone kicked at the ground for a few moments as he bit into his cheek. He didn’t really want to say he was in the wrong. One friend wasn’t going to prove his past as incorrect after all. However, to say he was only in the right… “I got a different perspective. Somepony let me know their own experience in these sorts of things, and gave me a piece of advice that helped her out. So, I guess I’m just trying to be like my stone, and letting the chisel she put to me at least try to help me be better. At least, so I can have one friend.”

Twilight’s cheeks lit up with a slight blush, as she could only think of one pony that he might have talked to. On the other hoof, she would need to talk to Rainbow Dash after this was all done so she might be filled in as to what in Equestria she had said.

For the moment though, she had a new friend to greet, and a hammer to act as. She extended a hoof to him, and smiled. “Well, I would love to have you over on… Thursday? Celestia and Luna plan to stay for another couple of days, just to keep an eye on things, and take care of some of the initial paperwork. Though,” she said as she leaned in closer, “I think another part of it is that Pinkie Pie offered to be our caterer, and is more than happy to make us cakes.”

Coalstone let out a small chuckle as a bit of warmth rushed through him. Looking back at Twilight as she giggled at the small joke, he found his own face cracking open with a smile. A part of him also began to pat him on the back, just like any time he had managed to finish a great masterpiece, or could take real pride in something he had done. It was nice, and if that was how it was like having a friend nowadays… Well, maybe he could take a break from work for that.

He held his hoof back out to her. “Thursday sounds great.”

Twilight nodded as she eagerly brought her hoof to his and shook it, the already familiar warmth she knew from her six best friends filling her too. “I do want to warn you though, I can get really invested in my work, even to the point where I don’t want to do anything else.”

Coalstone blushed slightly as he looked to the ground, and then back to her, realizing it was just a joke. And, in return, he tried his best at ‘playful banter’ with, “Oh, I think I can put up with that.”

And, for the first time in a long time, Coalstone got to share a real, hearty laugh with somepony, something he looked forward to doing a lot more from now on.

======+++++======

Rainbow Dash blinked herself awake as she heard a knock on her front door. For a moment, she frowned, trying to think about who it could be, before grinning at the cute, awkward voice that came up from the door. “Rainbow Dash, package.”

She swung her hind hooves over the edge of the bed, groaning as she began to move. She’d slept like a rock the night before, not having slept great ever since she’d had to go diving back into her past. Than again, that’s why she liked to leave her past there. It was usually stupid, embarrassing and only pointed out all the ways she’d screwed up.

A few flaps brought her lazily down the stairs as Derpy called for her again, and Rainbow Dash shook her head. She’d once seen how long Derpy stayed at an empty house for a package to be delivered, and felt bad for the innocent mare who stayed for all of thirty minutes. She didn’t feel like testing her patience today though, and swung open the door. “Morning.”

Derpy smiled, a brown box beside her as she extended a clipboard to Rainbow. “I need you to sign here.”

Rainbow Dash nodded while she rubbed her eyes clear. Once she had it, she scanned for the name of the sender, and her eyes widened slightly when she saw Coalstone under the name. She quickly scrawled her name down to recieve it, before abruptly shoving it into the room and slamming the door shut. It was surprisingly light for something made by the stonesmith.

She went to tear the cardboard off, when she noticed a card attached to the side. She swiped it off, opening it almost immediately as her curiosity grew. She hadn’t expected anything really for her work, and had even tried to downplay her efforts to Twilight when she had gotten interrogated.

The card made her happy to have downplayed it though, as it made her feel warmer than any sort of praise Twilight could have given her.

Dear Rainbow Dash,
I wanted to thank you for the help in about the only way I could. I know you said we probably couldn’t be friends, but I wanted us to at least be on better terms, especially since we’re both friends with Twilight. So, I hope you like the gift. Twilight said you would.
And, in case you’re afraid of having gone back to your old ways, I don’t think so. Only a friend who knows to care a lot could share that sort of story with a pony they didn’t like, and I hope I can be like that one day.
Thank you,
Coalstone

Rainbow Dash smiled as she opened the box, and shook her head. Staring back at her was herself, riding a thundercloud in her Wonderbolt’s outfit. Every single bit of it was just as detailed as she would expect from the crazy stallion, and she couldn’t imagine how hard he had to have worked to get this done so fast.

She glanced at the card and smiled, promising herself that the next time she saw him, she would let him know that he could call her anytime he needed some help.

Just like any friend of hers.

Author's Note:

Coalstone belongs to the commissioner, and you can find out more about him through Fan Without a Face's own story with him, A Heart Encased in Stone.

If you like what I do though, please consider supporting me on Patreon, where you can see my work early and vote on what stories I make, or you can take a commission out for yourself!

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