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Prologue3,770 words
Chapter 15,256 words
Chapter 24,305 words
Chapter 34,381 words
Chapter 47,930 words
Chapter 57,575 words
Chapter 64,843 words
Chapter 75,135 words
Chapter 85,018 words
Chapter 94,468 words
Chapter 104,046 words
Chapter 113,286 words
Act 1 Interlude2,579 words
Chapter 126,289 words
Chapter 135,766 words
Chapter 144,641 words
Chapter 155,178 words
Chapter 163,900 words
Chapter 174,925 words
Chapter 185,901 words
Chapter 196,188 words
Chapter 205,642 words
Act 2 Interlude3,015 words
Chapter 217,269 words
Chapter 226,376 words
Chapter 236,634 words
Chapter 245,904 words

Chapter 23

The following morning, Meteorite purposefully stepped into the dining room where Flo and Silverfire were already sitting, quietly having breakfast. The two of them looked up at the sound of hoofsteps and quickly noted that Meteorite was looking refreshed and decked out in her saddlebags. They both gave her a curious look each.

"You… going somewhere?" Flo asked tentatively. Meteorite nodded back, perhaps a little too eagerly.

"Yup! Decided I'm going to that coronation after all. Once in a lifetime thing and all that."

"I thought you said you didn't want to get involved?" Flo pointed out, feeling wary of this sudden announcement. She was beginning to feel a little hurt that Meteorite hadn't discussed her plans at all, not to mention springing all this on them in the middle of the week.

"I mean, how involved can I get, really?" Meteorite said flippantly. "Stand around in a crowd, Twilight makes a speech or something, probably a crown or two thrown her way, then we all go home. Oh! That reminds me, actually…" she started, turning to face Silverfire. "Just confirming, do ya think Steel'll be at this coronation?"

Silverfire blinked in surprise at the mention of his brother, but paused with a frown as he gave it some thought. "...probably not. He was never much for events, no matter how big."

Meteorite nodded in agreement. "Okay, good, that's what I figured too. Just making sure I don't accidentally bump into him or anything. Speaking of which…" she spoke deliberately, "just so I know where to avoid going, where exactly would your Mum's store be?"

"Oh!" Silverfire exclaimed, his face lighting up. "You don't have to worry about that. It's like…" he gestured wildly with a forehoof. "Way in the other direction of the castle. About five or six blocks on the-" Silverfire furrowed his brow. "Right? As you leave the train station? Or is it left? …no, right." He struggled internally further for a bit before glancing at Meteorite sheepishly. "Wherever the castle isn't."

"So… straight to the castle then," Meteorite clarified with a small pitying smile.

"...yeah."

An awkward pause hung in the air before Meteorite straightened her posture, jostling her saddlebags into place. "Welp! Guess I'll be going then. I'll see if I can bring back… something nice."

She had barely made it past her seat when Flo spoke up, a hint of suspicion in her voice. "Meteorite, it's not even sunrise yet."

Meteorite glanced out the window at the darkened landscape that lay beyond it. "Oh, well uh," she began to sweat slightly, "y'know, gotta get there early, find a good spot and all that…" she trailed off, thoroughly aware that she wasn't selling it. She looked back and forth from the window to the kitchen, her hoof hesitating mid-step. "Actually no, no you're right, absolutely right, probably should wait a bit. And breakfast. Should have that now, now that I think of it."

Flo carefully watched her friend head back into the kitchen, awkwardly fumbling her way out of her saddlebags mid-stride. Unsure of what was going on, Flo turned to face Silverfire, who just apathetically shrugged in response and resumed eating his oatmeal.

As the two earth ponies exited the cottage, Flo hung back around the front door, an unsettling feeling resting in her gut. Silverfire glanced back at her questioningly, Flo gestured for him to keep going.

"You go on ahead, Silverfire. I… wanna talk to Meteorite for a bit before she leaves."

Silverfire nodded, a half-empty smile on his face as he turned to leave. Flo released a faint sigh, right before hearing the approaching sounds of Meteorite grunting as she fought with her saddlebags. Finally leaving the cottage, Meteorite was mildly surprised to see Flo waiting for her just outside.

"Ah, h-hey Flo. What's… up?"

Flo furrowed her brow as she stared at Meteorite, trying to discern her true intentions. When that didn't work, she shook her head clear and spoke up.

"What's really going on, Meteorite?"

The fur on Meteorite's back straightened as a chill ran across her spine. "I uh, don't know what you're getting at, Flo," Meteorite replied with her best attempt at a poker face. "I'm going to Canterlot, like I said."

"Now, though?" Flo intoned. "And during the work week? Meteorite, you never do this!"

Meteorite glanced past the trees and into the distance, Canterlot peeking above the foliage in an attempt to taunt her.

"Well, there's never been a coronation before!" Meteorite grinned goofily. However, Flo was determined to stand her ground.

"Does Applejack even know you won't be here?"

Meteorite's breath hitched, freezing in place alongside the rest of her body as she fought with every fibre of her being to not react. She swallowed.

"Why wouldn't she?"

Scrutinizing Meteorite's expression, Flo firmly sat herself down on the path and regarded her friend with a disheartened glance.

"Meteorite," she said softly, "please don't lie to me."

Meteorite's face fell ever so slightly as she stared back into those eyes, feeling stuck for a response. Shame welling up within her, she forced herself to break away, unable to pursue her bluff any further.

"Dammit Flo," she muttered under her breath. "You couldn't just let me go on about my way, could ya?"

"Why-" Flo managed to get out, before being briefly at a loss on which question to follow up with. "What's going on, Meteorite? You're not really going to the coronation, are you?"

"No…" Meteorite admitted in defeat, still refusing to make eye contact. "Not even happening today anyway."

"So… why did you lie?"

Meteorite flinched. A stab through the heart will do that.

"Because…" she started, licking her lips as she allowed herself time to choose her response carefully. "I'm going to… go and find Steel."

Flo's eyes widened with surprise, and she slowly sat up straight. "You're going after Steel?" She put a hoof to her mouth, mulling the news over. "Why? What are you going to do?"

There was no immediate response as Meteorite pawed at the ground with her hoof, staring thoughtfully at the worn away area. "I'm just gonna talk to him," she eventually said.

"About what?"

"Dunno," Meteorite murmured as she lifted her head up to stare off into the shadowy horizon, her mind churning over the possible dialogue openers she thought up lying in bed last night. "Haven't thought that far ahead yet. Probably gonna ask him why he left though."

"Okay…" Flo murmured unsurely, getting back to her hooves. "And you have to do this now, because…?"

"Because," Meteorite replied methodically as she continued staring off into the distance, "if I put it off for later, I'm just gonna lose steam, and then just not do it. It's what I do." Her face twisted into a pained expression as she glanced downwards. "I… don't wanna do that here."

"Also-" Meteorite continued suddenly, turning sharply towards Flo with a look of determination. "The longer I wait, the more he's gonna slide into dejection." She punctuated by tilting her head in the direction Silverfire was last seen. Flo followed the gesture, and felt a lump in her throat at the realization. Meteorite went on.

"He's not in a good place right now; trust me, I've been there." Meteorite grew quiet, displeased with her current thoughts. "Or maybe I'm still there. Again, dunno. But what I do know is, things are rough around here, and Steel owes us an explanation. And I'm gonna drag it out of him. Who knows, maybe drag him himself back if I can."

"...I've never seen this side of you before," Flo said quietly.

"I'm a little unfamiliar with it myself, to be honest," Meteorite smiled hollowly. "I've… My gameplan has always been 'stay out of the way, don't get involved in things that don't concern you, let the world do its own thing and don't do anything stupid'."

Flo felt obligated to ask. "So… why are you doing this then?"

Meteorite sucked in her cheek, thinking. "I was asking myself the same thing last night. I tried talking myself out of it; I'm very good at doing that." She paused, mostly for effect rather than any real reason. "But… there was just this tiny part of me that just went 'Are you okay with doing nothing?' And… y'know what? No, I'm not. Not this time. So, I'm gonna do something about it."

Flo slowly nodded, starting to understand where Meteorite was coming from. However, she still had questions. "But what about Applejack?"

Meteorite bit her lip. "I'm… not happy about skipping out on her, and if she feels it necessary to fire me… well, I've got a decent amount of bits saved up. I'll find somewhere else to stay, and a new job, hopefully. It's not like this is my calling, anyway."

"Do you really think she'd fire you?" Flo asked, her voice small and afraid.

"Hope not," Meteorite half-shrugged with an uneasy smile. "But that's just gonna be a risk I'm gonna hafta accept."

"You're… really serious about this, aren't you?"

"I think I am, yeah." Meteorite offered a slightly silly smile. "Hey, first time for everything, amirite?"

Flo didn't respond, only staying quiet as she stared thoughtfully off to the side. In that moment, the tip of the sun began rising above the horizon, spilling its majestic light across the land. With the two ponies feeling the accompanying warmth of the encompassing glow, Flo turned back to Meteorite with a curious smile.

"You should go."

Meteorite blinked, though it might've been in response to the sun. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," Flo replied, her smile becoming a tiny grin. "If you feel that strongly about it, I think it's only right you should follow your heart. I'll talk to Applejack and try to cover for you."

Meteorite nodded slowly, considering the proposition. "Actually, yeah, probably a good call. Though, don't drag yourself into this if you don't have to."

She received a vehement shake of the head in response. "No, I'm not going to let you take the fall all by yourself. You're my friend Meteorite, and I've never seen you more determined to do anything, so I don't see why I should stop you, or if I even could." There was a twinkle in her eye as she stepped aside, freeing up the path. "I'll stand by your decision, even if it means standing up to our boss."

Meteorite's mouth twitched into a heartfelt smile. "She's… more than that, but thank you." She stepped forward, pausing as she came level with her friend. "You… really mean that?"

"Absolutely," Flo replied, failing to hide an excitable little grin. "What are friends for? It's why you're going to see Steel, right? Because you're his friend."

"Well, I'm… kinda ticked at him right now," Meteorite said carefully, losing herself in her thoughts. "But I mean… I thought we were friends…"

"Maybe you still are, but he just needs reminding."

"...huh," Meteorite mused, smiling thoughtfully. "Guess I shouldn't be surprised there's a life lesson in here somewhere." Straightening her posture, Meteorite held her head up high as she stared off towards Ponyville. "Well, guess I'm off to Canterlot, then. I'll try to bring the big idiot back, but no promises."

Flo held her tongue on the name-calling, deciding there were better times to pick that particular fight. "Good luck," she instead wished warmly.

"Heh, thanks. Hope I need it."

Flo giggled slightly. "You mean, 'hope you don't need it'."

Meteorite glanced back at her, a cryptic smile on her lips.

"Sure."

Early morning Ponyville was a bit of a new experience for Meteorite, with the sun still not reaching certain corners of buildings, and many ponies still snugly tucked away in their beds, and the few assorted ponies that were up and about, they all were groggily going about their own business, looking like they wished they weren't.

Meteorite couldn't help but sympathise.

In any case, she had to press on, towards the train station. She admittedly didn't know exactly when the train would be there to take her to Canterlot, but she figured being early would ensure she wouldn't miss it.

If the train was going to Canterlot at all today.

Oh god, what if it wasn't? What if there were set days for certain locations? She'd been so used to the hourly trains to every which way back home she didn't even consider that Equestrian timetables might be much more sparse. Goddammit, this was what she got for being recklessly spontaneous in her planning.

Meteorite stood still, frozen to the spot, as she tried to mentally calculate the best course of action, now armed with this new tidbit of uncertainty. She shook her head, and carried onwards. No, even if there was no train to Canterlot today, she should still go and find out for sure when.

The Ponyville train station wasn't exactly a locale Meteorite was familiar with, but she expected something a little more than what looked like a stout one-room hut. Once again, her real life expectations led her to disappointment.

Walking up the wooden ramp to the platform by the train tracks, she peered intently into the window of the station, both hoping to see someone, and just inherently curious about places she hadn't seen before.

It wasn't long until a pale blue stallion shuffled into view, a steaming cup of presumably coffee in his hoof. Perhaps the most striking feature about him was his stylish mustache and chops, jogging vague memories within Meteorite of having seen him before.

Glancing up at the distant window while taking a sip, the stallion paused as he took in the fact that somepony was on the other side, and spluttered slightly as he hastily set his cup down, fishing a pair of spectacles out of his uniform pocket while grabbing and awkwardly putting his conductor cap on.

"Terribly sorry," he apologized as he approached the window, his voice coming through the little curved gap at the bottom. "I'm not used to customers at this hour. How can I help?"

"Oh, I thought I was early," Meteorite replied, trying to sound clueless, "I'm so sorry, but uh, I was hoping to get a ticket to Canterlot?"

"It's no trouble, ma'am," he replied, "I'll have that ready for you in just a moment!"

"Wonderful," Meteorite beamed, before remembering she should probably get her bits ready, and turned to fish her coin purse out of her saddlebags. Moments later she was putting away her ticket alongside her purse.

"I don't suppose you could tell me exactly when the train to Canterlot will be coming?" Meteorite asked hopefully. The stallion pulled out a pocket watch, inspecting it.

"It'll be here in roughly an hour and forty-five minutes, ma'am."

Meteorite discovered that she could feel both relieved and annoyed at the same time.

"I see," she replied, trying to maintain a level of decorum. "Thank you very much."

The next couple hours dragged on.

Meteorite had settled herself on the lone bench on the platform by the ticket window, resigned to having to wait it out. More than a few times she found herself spacing out and nearly nodding off in the process, jolting herself back awake when she realised her eyes were closed.

As the hour grew near, the station began populating with a few assorted ponies, buying tickets and talking amongst themselves. The activity helped keep Meteorite alert, and she recognised a few of them, like Minuette.

…at least, she thought her name was Minuette. In all honesty, Meteorite had been here for so long she was having trouble separating what was canon from the fanon parts vaguely strewn about her memory. She shook her head, trying to focus.

As the station platform grew more crowded, Meteorite's ears twitched as they picked up the sound of rails screeching faintly in the distance. Lifting her head, she could see white smoke in the sky, as the train underneath steadily chugged towards the station. Perking up, Meteorite hastily got off the bench, reattaching her saddlebags in the process, and eagerly awaited the train's arrival.

As it grew near, the first thing to strike Meteorite's attention was the heart shape stamped on the headlight of the locomotive, followed by the heart pattern below on its… bumper? Plough? Whatever it was, Meteorite didn't have time to consider the names of parts of trains as it pulled past her and the growing crowd around her, revealing its deep pink metallic finish. Blinking at the sight, Meteorite gave a cursory glance towards the train carriages being pulled, and their colourful roofs atop brownish exteriors, giving the overall appearance of cupcakes, lined up one after the other.

Yeah, this was definitely a playset model of some kind. And she was going to be using it as a serious mode of transport.

As she began silently lining up behind ponies boarding the now stationary train, she mused on the fact that Steel most likely had to use the same means, and that brought a slight smile to her face. Even if Steel probably thought nothing of it, because this is probably just the norm in Equestria, but still. It amused her nonetheless.

Awkwardly following the pony in front, Meteorite boarded the train until she could find a place she could break away from the crowd and settle in for the trip. One of the first carriages she encountered seemed to be the passenger car, and Meteorite was surprised by how easy on the eyes the interior looked compared to the exterior. It sported a motif of green carpeting and yellow walls adorned with lamps, with the seating themselves separated by the most stylish, if somewhat impractical, dividers she'd seen, swooping down towards the centre aisle like waves of green glass.

A directed clearing of the throat behind her made Meteorite aware that she was holding everypony up, and quickly scrambled to a nearby seat in the middle of the car, continuing to be surprised by its soft cushioning form. The dividers offered no back support, but these seats were immediately noticeably comfortable to sit on. Glancing at the rest of the ponies drifting by, she noted a couple other ponies purposefully stretching themselves out longways on their respective seats, making themselves very much at home in the process. Turning her attention back to the seat, she had assumed it was a double seater, but it could pass as a single lounging seat if she wanted to be selfish about it. She decided to be selfish in a different way, and unloaded her saddlebags onto the spot next to her.

For all the childish appearance of the outside, Meteorite had to admit the inside of the train was very elegant. She almost felt like she had stumbled onto the wrong train. So much so that in a quiet fit of panic, she hurriedly flagged down the conductor when she next saw him. She gave a quick smile when he approached.

"Hi, yeah, just confirming; this train is going to Canterlot, right?"

"Yes ma'am," he nodded.

"Okay good, thanks," Meteorite replied, her shoulders already relaxing from the tension of her internal panic. The last thing she needed was some shenanigans that sent her to whatever the pony version of New York would be.

After the train had systematically filled throughout with its new load of passengers and preparations by the staff accounted for, Meteorite felt the train stir back into life as it began moving. She stared out the window and watched as the houses she'd come to recognise as her new home town slowly pull away from her line of sight.

I'm leaving Ponyville, she realised with a slight hitch in her breath. For the first time since being here, I'm leaving Ponyville. Oh god, I already feel horribly out of my depth…

Plagued by her thoughts as the scenery soon became grassy fields and hills lined with trees, Meteorite squeezed her eyes shut and forcibly shook her head. No, no no, get a hold of yourself! You can do this. You made the decision to do this, and you've made it this far; you can't back down now. Even if you don't succeed —and let's face it, you probably won't— the fact is you will have tried. We've been too scared of being in the limelight, well right now, fuck the limelight. This is more important than any of that meta bullshit. This is about trying to help somepony you care about.

Her head lifted slightly, eyes still on the outside scenery, mildly surprised by that last thought of encouragement. She didn't rightly know if she was referring to Silverfire, or Steel. It might've been both, to be honest.

Also, she unironically used 'somepony' in her own personal thoughts. She rolled her eyes with an unamused smirk at herself; she supposed it was bound to happen sooner or later. With a quiet sigh to herself, she propped her head up with a hoof as she leaned on the windowsill, watching the unfamiliar world pass her by.

Meteorite was getting restless.

While riding the train had been an exciting new experience, hearing its wheels underneath clack against the tracks and feeling the rumble as the train sped to its destination, Meteorite admittedly didn't know exactly when that destination would arrive. She knew Canterlot was a ways away, but it had been a while since they left Ponyville. She gave a cursory glance at the sun, now high in the sky, before returning back to the fields zipping by. She'd fallen back on a personal game she had relied on in her youth to entertain herself while in the passenger seat of her mother's car: imagining someone running across the landscape, dodging and weaving between obstacles as the scenery forced them to keep up, like an aggressively fast autoscroller level. Back then, it was Sonic. Today, she decided the game needed updating, and imagined Rainbow Dash instead. She found this mildly amusing.

She hadn't spent all her time staring out the window though. She tried alleviating her boredom in a variety of other ways, first by taking stock of the other ponies in the car (a few, Ponyvillians she recognised but not by name), then either studying the patterns on both the ceiling and carpet of the car, or inspecting the weird glass divider behind her (she summarised that it wasn't strictly glass, but she didn't exactly know what it was, and wasn't about to try anything that might damage it), or idly batting a hoof at the pullcord of the window shade by her seat.

She had stopped when somepony entered the car and sat down on the seat opposite her.

The pony wasn't someone she had seen before; faded pink ('puce' came to mind) with a purple mane far paler than Meteorite's coat. The unicorn quietly cleared her throat to herself as she settled in, using her magic to unfold a newspaper and begin reading. Her honey-coloured eyes looked aged behind her glasses.

Meteorite's gaze dropped down the newspaper, hoping to read anything interesting on the back, but unfortunately the unicorn held it at an angle that would've necessitated Meteorite to hang her head below the seating to see anything readable. She decided mild boredom was preferable to embarrassing herself in a skit that would've fitted wonderfully in the likes of Mr Bean.

Instead, she went back to staring out the window. Imaginary Rainbow Dash then scored 2500 points by acrobatically stomping five goombas consecutively that definitely weren't just bunnies minding their own business out in a field.

Meteorite suddenly felt a low rumble, not from the train but in her stomach. She ignored it and imagined a cool game mechanic as Rainbow Dash leapt and grabbed a low-hanging tree branch, and spun around it to launch herself into the sky. Puffs of cloud were now the enemy. Probably Lakitus.

The rumble growled louder, breaking her concentration. She tutted and held a hoof against her stomach, as if that would placate it. "Man, I should've brought some snacks. Didn't think it'd take this long."

A mildly inquisitive noise and a slightly rustling of paper alerted Meteorite to the pony opposite, now looking at her with a raised eyebrow. Meteorite smiled sheepishly.

"Ah, sorry, don't mind me. Just getting a bit hungry, is all."

The slightly older mare turned her head to the side a bit. "There's a diner car down that way."

Meteorite blinked. "Oh. Right, I guess… these kinda trains have those, don't they?"

The other mare politely ignored the urge to ask what other kinds of trains there could be, and went back to her newspaper.

"Welp," Meteorite uttered as she hopped off her seat, grabbing her saddlebags in the process. "Guess I'll be off to… get food then." She stood in the aisle, momentarily contemplating. She turned back to the preoccupied mare. "Might as well ask, but uh, you wouldn't happen to know how long it'll be before we reach Canterlot? Soon, yeah?"

The mare looked up from her newspaper, peering over her glasses with a look of bewilderment. "'Soon'? Dear, we won't get to Canterlot until tomorrow morning."

A strangled squeak died in Meteorite's throat as her irises shrunk in fear. Her mouth hung open, hoping for words to come out on their own, but they all got stuck behind the blockage that was the now-dead squeak. The older mare regarded her with sympathy.

"You didn't know?"

Making an effort to regain control of her senses, Meteorite closed her mouth and forcibly swallowed, blinking away her paralysis. "N-No…" she croaked. "C-Can't say I did."

"Will you be alright, dear?"

Still shaken, Meteorite glanced aside in thought. "Y-Yeah, I think… maybe? I… I don't-" Her mouth hung open again, her words finding themselves behind the same blockage again. Her stomach helpfully filled the void with an audible whine.

"Go have something to eat, dearie," the older mare told her softly. "You'll think better on a full stomach."

Meteorite glanced towards the exit at the end of the car, and nodded numbly. "Y-Yeah, alright. Not much else… I can do at the moment, I guess."

Watching her stiltedly walk away, the mare hemmed to herself as she returned to her newspaper article.

The diner car wasn't much different from the passenger car, Meteorite had noticed, the main difference being the addition of tables, furnished with dark green tablecloths matching the carpet. A staffpony was in the aisle, taking orders from a couple at a table further down the car, so Meteorite slid into a nearby empty booth, and plucked the menu sandwiched between the napkin holder and sugar bowl upon the table. She stared intently at it, trying to not focus on the fact it would take her the entire day just to get to Canterlot.

Fifteen minutes later she was staring blankly at the food she ordered; a basket of hay fries alongside a daisy sandwich, with lettuce, cheese and tomato. She didn't really want the tomato, but unfortunately it remained firmly in her mental list of 'Things I Don't Really Like in My Sandwiches But I Know It's Good For Me So Suck It Up I Guess' instead of her 'I Actively Cannot Stomach This In Any Capacity' list, like onions. She feared the day she'd have to eventually pick sliced onions out of her premade sandwich, with her mouth. She'd sooner give the sandwich away to someone with a more discerning gag reflex and go hungry.

None of this was really worth thinking about currently, but it distracted her from the mental calculations in the back of her mind that was desperately trying to point out that if it takes her a day (and a bit) to reach Canterlot, then it would take another day (and a bit) to get back to Ponyville, and that's not taking into account how long she might spend in Canterlot, or train schedules, and that realistically this little outing that she had envisioned taking maybe a day at worst, was now looking to take her at least three days in total, if she was super fast about it.

Skipping a day of work she could see herself getting a warning out of it. Skipping three days plus though, she might as well start looking for a new job now. And a new home. Admittedly, she had told Flo that she knew she risked getting fired, but she never really believed it, kinda always figured she'd get a slap on the non-existent wrist, and-

Oh. She had stopped being distracted by her food, hadn't she. She absent-mindedly tossed a hay fry into her mouth and chewed. For what was essentially deep-fried and salted hay, it tasted just like the potato fries she knew from before. She wasn't in the mood to mentally debate how that was possible.

A few fries and sandwich bites in, she was only passively aware of someone entering the car and walking past her table, before that same someone stopped mid-step for a few moments and turned about face. A polite clearing of the throat brought Meteorite out of her thoughts, looking up in the smiling face of the mare she had spoken to earlier.

"Do you mind if I take a seat here?" she asked, indicating the spot on the other side of the table. Meteorite glanced about at the many vacant booths in the car.

"Uh… I guess? I mean, n-no, go ahead, if you want."

Swiftly seating herself, the mare flagged down a waiter. "A cup of tea, if you would," she ordered as he trotted on over, "with a dash of milk and one cube of sugar, ta." Meteorite slowly chewed as she carefully eyed the proceedings, wondering why this pony was here at all. Almost in response, the mare turned to her.

"I apologize if I'm being intrusive; you just seemed like you need somepony to talk to, and I-" she levitated her glasses off her face, and folded them before dispatching away in her side pouch. "-currently do not have anypony to listen to."

Meteorite swallowed, staring down the mare. "You're being kinda intrusive, yeah."

The mare's ears wilted as she glanced downwards. "Ah, I'm sorry. Shall I leave then?"

Meteorite glanced out the window at the ever-moving scenery. "No…" she eventually drawled, "No, I could use company that isn't myself."

Nodding silently, the mare waited a few moments before offering a hoof across the table. "The name's Lavandula."

Meteorite looked back at the pinkish hoof and extended her own hoof to meet it. "Meteorite."

With a brief shake they broke contact, Meteorite going back to staring at her half-eaten food, and Lavandula accepting her tea from the waiter. She took a sip before setting it back down, using her magic to take a sugarcube from the nearby sugar bowl. She unceremoniously dropped it into her tea and stirred it with her spoon.

"Feel like talking about it?" she asked.

"Not much to say really," Meteorite spoke dryly. "Instead of making a mistake I thought I could handle, it turned into one that I can't."

"Ah. I assume this has to do with arriving in Canterlot later than you expected?" A nod. "Are you going to be late for something, then?"

"Oh, no," Meteorite began, eating a few fries. "Getting to Canterlot is fine. It's getting back in time. I… may have skipped work to take this trip. I figured I could get away with missing a day, but this…"

Lavandula tutted quietly, taking a sip. "Yes, that does seem problematic. Is there anything you can do?"

"Don't think so?" Meteorite admitted, her shoulders shrugging in defeat. "I'll just have to face the consequences when I get back."

The two sat in silence, save for the constant clacking of the train tracks. Lavandula held her cup to her lips thoughtfully.

"If you don't mind me asking," she said, putting the cup back down. "Why did you skip your work to visit Canterlot?"

Meteorite gave another shrug. "Impulse? Unpredictability? Wanted to take a running jump at something I wanted to do before fate realised and had a chance to pull back on the reins." The unintentional pun made her pause, and she lightly scoffed to herself for it.

"And discovered that the reins merely had slack," Lavandula mused.

"Something like that, yeah."

Another lull. Lavandula studied the mare opposite, and sneaked a hay fry with her magic while she wasn't looking.

"Why do you want to go to Canterlot?" she asked, making sure she had finished the hay fry first.

"Looking for someone," Meteorite said simply, looking out the window. "A friend. Or at least, I thought he was. Wanna ask why he left town the other week."

"I see," Lavandula said, pursing her lips, her cup halfway to her mouth as she carefully considered this. "So, this stallion friend of yours, he means something to you?"

Meteorite snapped her attention back to her imposed companion, not entirely sure she liked the underlying tone. "I mean… yeah? He's a friend."

"Didn't you say you weren't sure just now?"

"Because he bailed on us! On his brother! On me."

Lavandula arched an eyebrow at that last statement, infuriating Meteorite further.

"Okay, look," Meteorite began, her voice gaining an uneasy edge to it. "I don't know who you are but-"

"I'm merely trying to get the full picture here," Lavandula interrupted, placing a hoof innocently on her chest. "Because it sounds an awful lot like you care for this stallion terribly."

"Well, of course I care for him, but I don't see how you're getti-"

"You've literally boarded a train straight to Canterlot without putting your affairs in order, and you've blindly done so to the point that you didn't even realise how long it would take you." Lavandula took her cup and downed the rest of her tea as Meteorite stared at her in numb shock, finishing by delicately placing the cup down on its saucer. "All just to see this stallion of yours. Forgive me if I've gotten the wrong idea from that. Anypony would've gotten the same sentiment from it."

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

"Don't you say anything."

"Moi?" Rarity gasped, hoof to her chest. "Meteorite darling, I assure you that I wouldn't have dreamt of interrupting with anything of the sort!"

Meteorite gave her a side-eye. "Despite the fact that you literally asked about me and Steel the other week."

"Absolutely, as you have given me your word, and what kind of lady would I be if I were to flagrantly disregard it for the sake of gossip, hm?"

"Hmmm…" Meteorite mused suspiciously for a moment, then her face relaxed into a smile. "Yeah alright, I trust you. I was just giving you a hard time."

Rarity recoiled in shock. "Meteorite, you scoundrel!" She turned up her snout and sniffed. "Well, now I don't know what to say…"

Meteorite wryly watched the drawn-out suffering as Rarity cracked open an eye towards her, the tiniest hint of a smirk on her lips.

"...except that she's absolutely right it absolutely does look that way."

"I knew you couldn't resist."

"Ah, the terrible shame!" Rarity threw back her hoof against her forehead. "To think, me, the mistress of a scandalous affair with the Seductress of Sweet Apple Acres!"

"I'm not a seductress!"

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

"No…" Meteorite muttered, staring wide-eyed at the implication. "No, that's not it. I don't l-" she grimaced and tried again, slower, as if she needed convincing herself. "I don't love him."

"If you say so."

"I. Don't. Love. Him," Meteorite growled. She lifted her head to glare directly into Lavandula's eyes. "What business is it of yours anyway? Why are you so damn interested in what I do or who I like?"

Lavandula leaned forward on the table, hooves clasped under her chin. Her horn lit up, and the sugar bowl opened up to allow a sugarcube to float out, levitating in front of the unicorn's face.

"I was like you once. Young, reckless, fought against the world. Didn't care what happened as long as I got what I wanted in the end. I'm trying to get you to think about your actions, because one day-" her magic flared, and the sugarcube compressed in on itself, crumbling to the table into a messy pile, "-you're just going to make a whole mess you can't clean up afterwards, or hurt someone you won't be able to heal. Who knows, maybe you already have."

Meteorite stared at the pile, the pile that used to be a sugarcube, feeling guilt piling up within her in a similar manner. She… really should've told Applejack her intentions. Sure, she might've said it'd be a bad idea, or told her to wait until she had time off… but she should've told Applejack. In her haste to outsmart herself, she ultimately only let down somepony that had respected her.

"Chase after your stallion if you must," Lavandula went on, using a napkin to clean up the pile. "But make sure it's for the right reason."

"...it's already too late," Meteorite muttered, "what would the point be of bringing him back if I'm-"

Meteorite stopped, lifting her head up in quiet realisation. Lavandula watched her curiously.

"Silverfire," Meteorite uttered. "It's too late for me, but at the very least I can make Silverfire happy by bringing his brother back."

Lavandula smiled, pulling the folded napkin taut in her magic, allowing the grains of sugar within to pour into her empty cup. "A mess is not always the end of things, if you know how to make it still work."

Meteorite stared at the cup before looking up at Lavandula, troubled and slightly ashamed. "Um… thanks. I'm… sorry I got testy with you."

"Don't concern yourself with it, dear," Lavandula beamed. "Life's not always straightforward; sometimes we need just a little push in the right direction."

"But… how did you know-"

"Well, I'm older," Lavandula winked. "Experience and wisdom comes with the territory. But I… took a guess for the most part."

"A guess," Meteorite replied flatly.

"Enough experience and wisdom to know roughly where to take that stab in the dark," Lavandula giggled, getting out of her seat.

Despite herself, Meteorite smiled. "Well, thanks again," she said earnestly. "I may not like my situation right now, but I think I know the best course of action to go from here."

"I wish you luck," Lavandula replied, smiling back. Suddenly her eyes lit up. "Oh! And check your ticket, see that symbol in the corner?" She waited until Meteorite hastily fished her ticket from her saddlebags. "That's your compartment in the sleeping car for tonight. I figured you wouldn't have known, since, well, y'know."

Meteorite looked down at the crescent moon shape printed on her ticket. Or maybe it was a croissant. "Wow, good catch, yeah I wouldn't have known where to go."

The two ponies waved goodbye to each other as Lavandula left the pegasus to the rest of her meal, smiling as she stepped into the next car. A few steps in, Lavandula stopped in the middle of the aisle, a certain spark leaving her eyes, and her face fell as she suddenly squinted. Her hoof reached out in front hoping to feel for the walls or anything to signal where she was, before coming to a rest on the side of her face, patting it a few times.

"Oh my goodness," she muttered to herself in an accent that was much more refined than she had spoken with just a few minutes ago, as she used her magic to fish about in her side pouch. "Why in Equestria would I have taken off my glasses? I can't see a thing without them."

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Fictional - Meteorite Shower

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