Inner Demon

Twilight's POV

I held the door open for Rion after we got to Sugarcube Corner. It wasn't a very long walk from the library. Sometimes I wish he'd be more open, though. The entire time we were walking, he didn't say a word. I think the only times he spoke to me up till now were the two times in the library.

Now, he seemed hesitant. A couple of minutes ago, he looked ready-to-go. Now? Probably not so much. It looked like he was about to take off, when suddenly, pink hooves reached out and dragged him inside. Definitely Pinkie. I laughed lightly before trotting in myself. Sugarcube Corner was very crowded. I located Pinkie and Rion and made my way toward them.

"...Hi," Rion said. He was talking to Pinkie of course. I could sense his nervousness. Not that he was hiding it particularly well, though. That was one of his traits I noticed immediately. Rion was terrible at hiding nervousness. Consequently, I wondered if he had similar issues with his other emotions and feelings. I shook my head, trying to focus on their conversation. I wasn't eavesdropping or anything, I was just making sure the apology Rion said he wanted to give went well. Then I could also probably write a letter to Celestia about it, as well.

"Well hi! I'm glad to see you're okay, and boy your jacket is really dirty! You better hope Rarity doesn't see you like that, she'll have a fit! And oh, now we can have your super duper Welcome to Ponyville Party!" Pinkie practically screamed. She began to bounce around Rion in a small circle. Pinkie was getting even more excited, if that was even actually possible. Then again, it was Pinkie Pie after all. The mere thought of being able to throw a party for anything would be enough to make her skip around like a madpony.

Rion briefly had an expression which gave the impression he'd rather be anywhere but at Sugarcube Corner. He recovered soon, though. He cleared his throat slightly, then hesitated for a second.

"Look, Pinkie," he said. "I'm sorry about running off earlier. It was pretty rude of me, even if my head felt like it was about to explode."

Okay, I don't think the last part was really necessary. I nudged him in the ribs with my hoof. When he looked at me, I made sure to give him my traditional "Do not approve" look. He just shrugged it off, though. I sighed silently to myself. With Sugarcube Corner being as crowded as it was, I couldn't tell if Rion was actually talking to me or not. If he was, he was being very quiet, or everypony else was very loud. After about five or so minutes, I looked at him to see if he was saying anything. On the contrary, he was completely zoned out. The look on his face was quite troubling for me. I couldn't tell if it was fear, nervousness, or both. I suspected it to be the latter rather than the former. I took it upon myself to snap him out of his daze.

"Uhm, hello? Rion, you okay?" I asked, nudging him slightly.

That definitely seemed to get his attention. He blinked a couple times, probably trying to regain his focus after his dozing was disturbed.

"Oh, uh, hey Twilight," he replied.

"You were spacing out. Is something wrong?"

I was pretty worried about him. I don't think it's very healthy for anypony to just keep spacing out like that. Especially since it seemed like something was bothering him. I know personally you shouldn't keep emotions bottled up inside. I was definitely going to get him to talk about it, one way or another.

"I'm fine," Rion stated simply. Wow, he was worse than Spike at lying. No, worse than Applejack. I frowned. From the look on his face after I did so, he probably realized I saw right through it. I decided to state the obvious.

"You're not a very good liar," I said.

Now it was his turn to frown.

"Why don't you tell me what's wrong?" I asked, pressing on the attack, so to speak.

Rion seemed to contemplate my question for a second, before replying.

"I don't have anything to tell," he began. "Because there's nothing to tell."

He tried to put on a poker face, but failed miserably. I barely stopped myself from slapping my own face with my hoof. I rolled my eyes, sighing inwardly. This was going to take a while. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw him move. I caught a glance at his face; he was looking right at the door. Oh no you don't, Rion. I quickly closed the door using my magic so he couldn't escape. I could see the irritation on his face.

"Don't even think about it," I said. "You're not going anywhere until you tell me what's bothering you!"

I was downright determined to fix whatever problems this pony had. I remembered what happened the last time I got a bit...carried away with the whole friendship report thing. But this time it was different. This pony had a serious issue, he was hiding something; I could tell. I was distracted with all those thoughts, so I didn't notice Rion gathering energy to use magic. I realized it all too late.

"Well, I'd love to stick around and chat, Twilight Sparkle, but I have uh...stuff to do. Yeah." Rion said, immediately teleporting. I groaned in annoyance. You've got to be kidding me!

"Ah, ponyfeathers..." I muttered. Then I noticed something. Aha, perfect! When Rion teleported, the spell left a magical residue which I could use to trace his destination point! I smiled inwardly, proud of realizing it so quickly.

Pinkie had come out of the kitchen to ask if I needed any help. I explained to her that Rion took off using magic to teleport. Almost immediately, she went on about hide-and-seek. I really hated to burst her bubble, but hide-and-seek was definitely not what we were doing. After a few more seconds of dealing with Pinkie Pie being...well, Pinkie, I was able to leave the store and focus. Looks like he ended up at Sweet Apple Acres. I was curious as to why he chose to teleport there, when I realized he probably just teleported randomly. He didn't know the town very well, so he probably just teleported a fair distance away in a random direction. That was easy enough to trace. I focused, using my own magic to teleport. I decided not to transport myself directly in front of him. I decided to place myself a few feet back. When my spell had finished, I didn't realize I ended up directly in front of Applejack. Until she bumped into me of course. I turned, and hushed Applejack before she could say anything. I motioned for her to follow me with my hoof. She raised an eyebrow at me, but complied. When I turned around again, I nearly started laughing. Rion had somehow managed to trip over one of the fences surrounding the Acres. That definitely took some skill. He looked very, very annoyed. I can't blame him though; falling face-first in the dirt is never really fun. Applejack and I approached him quietly, but quickly.

"Having fun?" I asked with a smirk.

He looked up at me, that irritation still plastered on his face.

"This the pony you been tellin' me 'bout, Twi?" Applejack inquired, glancing down at Rion. I think I noticed just a hint of suspicion in her eyes.

I nodded.

"Yes, Applejack, his name is Rion and..."

For some reason, I stopped at that last part. How could I bring up anything about his past, or at least what I knew of it, without alarming Applejack? She already seemed suspicious of him. It didn't help that I was, too. Finally, I just decided to tell the truth. There wasn't a whole lot I could really make up. I already told Applejack a little bit about him, so I might as well tell her the rest, right?

"He's...He's a survivor from Peaksedan," I said, finally.

I noticed Applejack's expression turn to surprise. Obviously, she wasn't expecting that. Actually, I didn't think she'd know about what happened in Esker at all.

"From Peaksedan? Ya sure about that Twilight?" Applejack asked.

I nodded again. I was about to continue when Rion interrupted me.

"Actually, I think I'm the only survivor. I remember waking up once, I didn't see a single pony around. I don't know how long I was awake after that, but I passed out on the street and woke up again laying on grass. I then proceeded to pass out once more, and that's when I woke up in your library, Twilight," he said, looking up at Applejack and I.

The only survivor? How is that even possible...I mean, surely at least one other pony could have survived, right? Applejack gave me a concerned look, which I returned.

The only survivor...Most of my fears were confirmed in that instant. Somehow, this unicorn, Rion, had to be involved in what happened in Peaksedan, I just knew it!

"Why don't you tell us what you remember?" I asked, sitting down calmly. I figured it would be best to talk a calm approach, rather than jumping at him. He might not tell the truth otherwise. Then again, he might not even tell the truth now, or anything at all. He could try all he wanted to get away though, we'd just find him again unless he skipped town. However, I don't think he had anywhere else to go, so unless he wanted to live out on the streets, he would comply like a sensible pony.

Rion sighed, gettin my attention. He opened his mouth to speak, and I immediately leaned in to listen. I was finally about to get some answers.