'Already my nerves are getting the better of me, and we're not even there yet.

I swear, with every passing second–each clack of the tracks–I can feel my heart pounding more and more, begging that I do something–anything–to at least stall the inevitable.

Ask that the train be turned around, hop off at the next stop, all of these came to me as good ideas, but never quite held enough ground for me to actually do so. After all, I wouldn't be able to even approach the conductor, let alone ask him to break his and everyone else's schedule because I'm nervous, and as for leaving the train; that idea just makes out to be even worse for me. I was barely able to get through the crowd back in Ponyville, heaven forbid if I attempted to do the same at some random place.

Familiarity is comfort, albeit small. A comfort that I hold tightly to myself, along with a few other insignificant such things.

Honestly, my only solace so far is that, one way or another, this will all be over soo-'

"Heya, Rick! Whatcha writing there?" My heart practically froze, and all breath was forcefully expelled from my lungs in a weak yelp as I shut the journal at an almost ludicrous speed; the breeze it brought up was nowhere near as cold as the temperature my blood had dropped to.

I barely had to look even a millimeter upwards to see that same, hyperactive and frightening pink pony looking at me, our distance between one another inexistent, and her right side up being my upside down.

As to how she had managed to get behind me, lean herself over my head, and watch me with that gleaming, inverted smile of hers, I could never tell. Had I really been so distracted in my writing?

Even so, that issue was dashed to a quick secondary as I withdrew myself as far back into my seat as I could, silent all the while. To my unsaid chagrin, however, the pony only followed me along the way, keeping the exact same distance, and the exact same smile as she did so.

Already my heart was beating at a hundred miles an hour, and my resistance to keep my breath from quickening was beginning to fall short.

Thankfully, it was then that a voice ended the issue. One that may as well have been a godsend, were it not for the fact that this world inherently had different thoughts on that subject.

"Pinkie..." She had simply said, a stern tone to her as she did so. I practically gave out a sigh of relief as the pony within incredibly close proximity of me moved out of my sight with a giggle, returning to her own seat at Twilight's request.

Nonetheless, I retained my withdrawn and small position, watching as all of the ponies I shared the train car with have a collection of different looks: amusement, disapproval, and a few combinations of the two.

Twilight, however, was firmly on the disapproval side, looking to PinkiePie with a continued look of annoyance for another moment or so before just as quickly shifting it to one of a friendly and kind nature; This look she aimed towards me.

"Hehe. Sorry about that, Rick." She apologized gently. "Pinkie can get a bit... Excitable whenever we're on trains... Or carts... Or, well, anywhere." She rolled her eyes and gave out her own giggle at the thought, but I didn't particularly find any such similar feeling. If anything, the fact that PinkiePie was always like this only furthered my worry and paranoia.

"Either way, I'm glad to see you're putting that notebook I gave you to use. Has it helped in any way?" Involuntarily, I gripped onto the journal with an even stronger grip, with just the fact that I had to reply to her making me nervous, as I gave a short glance to all the other mares in the car, before then once more moving my gaze away.

"... A-a little..."

That was all I could manage.

Still, this seemed to be enough for the purple unicorn, as she gave a seemingly glad and satisfied grin, followed by a nod of her head.

"Geez Twi, you trying to make him another egghead like you?" This tomboyish voice, brash and clear, could easily be tracked back to its rainbow-maned owner, whom had attracted another short look of annoyance from Twilight.

"Now Rainbow Dash, there is no need for you to be so rude to the poor dear."

"She ain't wrong there, Dash. Pardner already looks more nervous than a cow 'fore its milking."

"Aw, c'mon! I was only joking!"

"Hehehehe. I thought it was funny, Dashie!"

"See? Pinkie got it!"

This cacophony of voices, tones, accents and pitch furthered my withdrawal even more, only serving to illustrate what would be to come. The crowds of ponies, the ways they might react to me-

"Nonetheless, if he is to meet the princesses, don't you think you should show at least some restraint."

And of course, that. As Twilight had set it up, I would likely see the princesses sooner or later throughout this event. This was the worse part of the situation.

Embarrassing myself in front of some random stranger; that's not exactly optimal, but I can at least try to forget it, pushing it down as just some incident between people–or ponies, in this case–I would easily be able to do without meeting again.

To embarrass myself in front of a princess; that may as well be some sort of death wish for someone like me. I wouldn't be able to pry that memory from my mind and just suppress it like any other. Instead, it would be stuck with me, continually coming back at seemingly random times to remind me of my mistake.

Let alone the fact that, from then on, that would be how the princesses remembered me; some timid, strange, clumsy, two-legge-

"Don't worry, I'm sure it'll be fine." Drawn out of my negative thoughts by the low and careful voice of another timid being in the car–the butter-colored pegasus that, up until now, had not yet spoken–I turned my head ever so slightly to face her.

Once I did, I noticed that, rather than retreat into the metaphorical shell that I tended to favor, she offered a small, reassuring smile.

It seemed that, even compared to her, I was a shy wreck. At least she had been able to speak up on her own, with no stuttering or withdrawal whatsoever. As for me though, I just did the same as I always did, returning my blank gaze to nothing in particular as I further tried to disappear into my seat.

Doing my best to tune out the voices around me, I looked out the I sat next to, watching as the landscape practically flew by, with the only image that would remain long enough being the sky, the sun and clouds holding a near-perfect positioning over the horizon...

I'd have to meet the pony that controls that large and radiant star soon...

"Oh, hey, check it out, there's Canterlot!"

I'll be honest, I think I'm going to be sick.

Author's Note

Here's another update to keep the story moving along its track.

This was, mostly, to help show that I plan this story to be a combination of journal entry chapters and writer experience chapters.

Also, I'm glad that you guys enjoy the story so much. :D

Don't forget to give a good pat on the back for the concept creator, PapaBear.