Lost Soul

I left the bakery in an attempt to find Twilight. Normally, I would have just bolted straight back to the library, but she locked the door and had the key to it. The only way I could have gotten in would be breaking in through one of the windows, and I’m fairly certain I didn’t want to be charged for breaking and entering while I was here. It’s already bad enough I was technically an illegal alien, I didn’t want anything more on my plate than that. Which meant that I had to find her first if I wanted to get back.

My search took me across most of the town, seeing the landmarks this small, rustic little village had to offer. There really wasn’t much outside of the fountain in the Square and the farmlands to the southeast. The houses and businesses were spread across town haphazardly with no real rhyme or reason to their locations. I imagine this made it really hard to start a shop here. It seemed like Sugarcube Corner was the only appropriately placed shop in the entire town as it was located on a main road that I saw most ponies use. Everything else was pretty out of the way, and that was just out of the ones that I found. Who knows how many more are scattered around this town?

I happened to stumble across Applejack running a stand of apple-related produce and baked goods. I wanted to pretend I didn’t see her and move on so I could finally find Twilight, but she noticed me walking by and waved me over. I figured I’d never hear the end of it if I ignored her, so I grudgingly walked over.

“Hiya, Franco!” Applejack greeted me with an enthusiasm I certainly didn’t share.

“Applejack.” I curtly replied. It took all my effort to not call her “breakfast cereal”.

She gives me what I can only assume is a sly grin as she looks up at me. “Betcha ya’ never had these delicious apple treats back home!”

In an act of defiance, I proceeded to name every single one of the treats I saw as I pointed to them. “Red delicious, granny apple smith, apple tart, apple pie, apple turnover, apple crumble, apple sauce, and I assume this is apple cider. I know what the other ones are, but you probably have different names for them. Fuji apples and pink ladies.”

The look on her face was priceless. Her jaw hung open as she stared at me. “Landsakes! You really know yer apples!”

I shrugged. “Used to bake with them a lot.”

“Yer a baker? I never woulda guessed!”

“Why does everyone keep saying that to me today?”

“You an’ Pinkie might get along real well! She’s runnin’ Sugarcube Corner all by herself this week. Maybe if ya’ want, you can-”

“I think I’ve had my fill of that for today, thanks.” I can’t even believe I’m getting told the exact same thing by Applejack. What are these six, a fucking hivemind?

“Yer sayin’ you’ve already helped Pinkie out?”

“Mmmm.” I nodded. “To say that she was struggling to bake a custard cheesecake would have been an understatement.”

Applejack gave me a suspicious sideways glance. “Yer not pullin’ my leg, are ya’?”

I rolled my eyes. “If it means that much to you then you can ask her yourself. Have you seen Twilight around?”

“Yeah, and I don’t know what’s got her so worked up, but she was running like a bat outta Dodge Junction back over to the library. I tried to see what was goin’ on, but she had some sorta letter in front of her. Prob’ly some urgent business with the Princess, I reckon.”

Oh sure, so it’s okay for her to spend ridiculous amounts of time in the library but not- wait, what? “...the Princess? What does that mean?”

She gave me a weird look. “Y’know, the ruler of our country?”

I placed my face in one of my hands in an act of exasperation. God fucking damn it, breakfast cereal. “...I meant why is she getting a letter from the Princess?”

“She didn’t tell ya’? Twilight is Princess Celestia’s Number 1 student!”

“Is she…?” She neglected to mention that. I wonder why?

“Yeah, we’re so proud a’ her! Anywho, ya’ll maybe wanna stop by the farm sometime and help some? Applebuckin’ season’s ‘bout ta’ start soon, and ya’ look like you could be mighty helpful.”

I have no idea why she was so open about asking me that. I’ve barely had one conversation with her at this point and she’s already asking me to go work- for free, presumably- on her family’s farm? I wanted to outright refuse, but thought that working on a farm might actually be a good way to stay in shape. I was going to need to get some form of physical exercise while I was here, and working on a farm is cheaper than a gym membership, I guess. I halfheartedly gave her the same response I gave Pinkie, “I’ll think about it,” and trudged my way back to the library.

Heading back to the library, my mind was filled with doubt. Why would Twilight not reveal that she had direct contact with her ruler? Wouldn’t that have been pertinent information to disclose to me? There’s no way she hasn’t spoken about me to this Celestia yet, right? So what have they been talking about? Have they finally decided what to do with me and that’s why she bailed back to the library?

Finally, I made it back and through the door. The small triumph of being able to go through the doorframe much easier than last time was completely overshadowed by this lingering doubt in the back of my head. I looked around the library only to see Twilight was nowhere on the ground floor. I struggled to make it upstairs, worried that I’d have to slide my way back down with how much I was leaning over, to find Twilight in her room, toiling away at something on her desk.

“So, the ‘both of us’ are gonna help, huh?”

“Gah!” Her head whirled around to her room’s entrance. She nearly tumbled off her seat in the process. “Oh, Franco, it’s you. How did the rest of the cheesecake go?”

I narrowed my eyes at her. “Don’t give me that. What was so important that you bailed on us and came back here?”

“Oh…” Twilight tilted her head at me. “Well I got this weird letter from my mentor that Spike rushed over to bring me while we were at Sugarcube Corner. She said it was urgent.”

“What does it say?” I wanted to try to play it off like I didn’t know who it was from, thought it might give me an edge of sorts. Or at the very least if she told me of her own accord, I probably wouldn’t have anything to worry about.

She looked back over at the page on her desk and scrunched her face. “I’m not sure. She sent me something written in Highland, a language I’m regrettably not familiar with, and asked to see if I could find a way to translate it.” Twilight levitated the page and brought it up to me. “Maybe you’ve seen it?”

I took the page and read it. It was an old Japanese proverb I was pretty familiar with. My dojo that I learned kendo from during my stay in Japan was quite big on the saying. “Where does this language come from?” My growing anxiety was preventing my curiosity from manifesting fully. I was really interested, but just couldn’t seem to focus on anything other than this secret Twilight was trying to keep.

“It’s ancient. It and other texts like it were found in northern Equestria some couple hundred years ago and nopony’s been able to translate them since, hence the off-hoof term ‘Highland.’ We think it originated from dragons when their kingdom used to extend to that land, but we’re not sure exactly. If dragons did use it once, they don’t anymore.”

Oh, so it’s a dead language. I spend all that time becoming bilingual in a language I like only to find that it’s basically Sumaritan here. Lovely.

“「弱肉強食 」(jaku niku kyou shoku) It’s an old proverb. Why would this be urgent?”

“You… you can read this?” Twilight’s eyes seemed to light up the same way they did when I mentioned FTL travel barely a few days before. “You know what it means?!”

“Mmm. I guess there are things neither of us know about each other.” I don’t think I could have dropped a bigger hint if I tried. My patience was wearing thin.

She frowned. “What’s wrong?”

Alright, I’ve had more than enough of this facade. “I’m well aware you’re Celestia’s pupil, Twilight.”

She got really quiet. “Yes… I am.”

I think I’ve figured it out, but I’d really rather be wrong. “And she’s asked you to keep an eye on me, I’m sure.”

“Yes.” It was the least talkative I’ve ever seen Twilight get.

“Which is why you offered to house me, so that you could keep a better eye on me.”

“...Yes.”

“So that sappy speech from when we went to the bakery was all a lie, then? Something your ruler asked you to do to keep me in check?”

“Wha- No! Princess Celestia did want me to keep an eye on you, but I meant every word I said earlier!” The defiance came back in her eyes, a complete reversal from before. “I want you to be able to make friends! I don’t-”

“I don’t believe you.”

That stopped her dead in her tracks. “I-I’m telling you the truth…”

“Then why not tell me the truth about keeping an eye on me?” My temper was flaring up, and I was far too worked up to keep it under control. “It’s insulting to know that you think I wouldn’t understand her decision. I’m an illegal alien, Twilight. I’m not stupid. Obviously, she wants someone she trusts to keep an eye on me. I just think it’s real funny how you moral grandstand to me about how making friends is so important, yet you turn right back around and lie to me.”

“...I-I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have...” As I saw her crestfallen face slowly sink further down as she allowed herself to slump into the chair, I immediately regretted losing my temper.

I huffed and made my way back downstairs, setting Celestia’s note on Twilight’s vanity before borderline sliding back down to the ground floor. I needed something to take my mind off of things, so I scanned through some of her books, looking for anything in particular that sounded interesting. I settled on a novel that I can’t quite remember the name of and meandered my way through it. It’s unfortunate I don’t remember the name, because the book was actually quite interesting. From what I remember, it was about a book that makes some sort of contract with a pony, and all the leyline systems of equine kind get ripped out of their bodies and they become these ghost creatures. It was vaguely familiar, like I’d seen or heard of something similar back home, but I couldn’t quite place it. At the time, I was far too distraught over my recent outburst to really put my focus into anything else. I felt horrible about it. She may have been ordered to do so, but Twilight took me in. She even looked out for me even when she didn’t have to, and I yell at her over something stupid.

My self-deprecating train of thought was suddenly interrupted by none other than Twilight, walking up to me with what looked like a cheesecake being levitated behind her.

“...Franco?”

I tried to pretend I didn’t notice her and buried my head back into the novel. Not even I think it was very convincing.

“Look, I know you probably don’t wanna talk to me right now, but I remembered how you taught Pinkie before, so I made this.” She levitated the cheesecake in front of her.

She made that? Wait… I turned my head to the nearest window to find that it was basically pitch-black outside. When the hell did it become night? How long have I been reading this book?

“I wanted to apologize properly. I should have told you that I was asked to watch over you. I just thought it would’ve been more comfortable for you here if I didn’t. I’m sorry.”

I sighed, finally closing the book I held as I massaged my brow. “You’re so pure and you don’t even realize it…” I muttered.

“What?” She tilted her head.

“Don’t apologize, Twilight. I think I should be doing that instead. I shouldn’t have yelled at you over something so stupid. Sorry.”

She smiled at me again. Christ, that smile. It’s the sort of smile you’d lay your life on the line for. “Friends?”

“Don’t push your luck.”

To my surprise, Twilight giggled over that. “That better have been a joke, Franco!”

It wasn’t, but for your sake, just this once, I’ll let you think that. I shrugged. “I’m a comedic god. Worship me and all shall know my name.”

She snorted into laughter. “So you can crack jokes!”

“...Twilight.” Upon my word her laughter slowly wound down as she looked back up at me. I spoke my next words carefully, trying not to reveal too much about my personal life. “My life has been rather… difficult, which in turn has made me someone that I’m sure is difficult to get along with. So, thank you. For putting up with me. You shouldn’t have to.”

Her gaze, filled with concern, pierced my eyes. “...Do you wanna talk about it? You might feel better if you do.”

I could no longer bear looking at her. “No. I don’t.”

She placed a comforting hoof upon my leg. “If you ever change your mind, I’ll always listen.”

I simply nodded. I didn’t know what to say. In all my life, there've been two people that have treated me with this sort of kindness and compassion. Seeing it here, especially from someone I barely knew at the time, felt strange.

I saw some plates fly into the room as the cake was put on the nearby table. She sliced the cake with a thin sheet of mana and put a slice on each of the plates. She levitated one of the plates up to me. “Here, let’s try it! I’ve been dying to have some since we were at Sugarcube Corner.”

I took the plate and noticed a distinct lack of silverware. I would have settled on a spoon if not a fork. I looked around to see if there had been one lying about I could maybe wipe off with my shirt but no such luck.

Twilight cocked her head at me. “Whaffs wraung?” Her mouth was full of cheesecake.

“Uh… You wouldn’t happen to have any silverware, would you? Like a fork or a spoon?”

She quickly finished chewing and swallowed what she had in her mouth. “Oh! Of course.” A fork came hovering in from the kitchen and stopped right in front of my free arm that I wasn’t using for the plate.

“Thanks,” I said, accepting the utensil.

Twilight hummed her affirmation as she levitated another piece of cake on her plate and just started assaulting it. I mean really, just outright murdering this cake. No utensils, no magic levitating portions of her cake to her mouth, nothing. Just digging her face straight into it and ripping it apart with her teeth as she munched.

I guess I must have been staring too much, because she looked over at me. “Wha?” Yet again, not stopping to finish what was in her mouth before talking.

“Nothing, it’s just… I didn’t peg you for being a messy eater, that’s all.”

Her face turned a shade of purple I hadn’t seen yet as she swallowed again. “Well, I didn’t know you could bake, so we’re even.”

I smirked. “Heh. Touche.”

She beamed at me. “I think that’s the first smile I’ve seen from you.”

“Don’t get used to it.” I finally dug into the cake and found that Twilight had baked it perfectly. “By the way, how did you know what to do for the rest of this cake? You weren’t around for my water bath explanation.”

“I went back to Sugarcube Corner earlier and talked to Pinkie about it. She told me how the rest of it went.”

“I see…” I was pretty sure where she was going to go next.

“You should hang out with her again. I think she likes you, since she couldn’t stop raving over how nice you were to her.”

I frowned. “She’s overreacting. I wasn’t nice.”

“That’s not what I saw.” Twilight levitated her plate down next to the rest of the cake. “You calmed her down, you were patient with her, you even knew when to step back and let her handle things on her own. You didn’t have to do any of that. Honestly, if you had told us you teach baking for a living, I would have believed it.”

“Seriously, why does everyone keep saying that to me today? Also, just because I was able to instruct her properly does not mean I was nice. I just didn’t want her to butcher the art of baking any more than she already had trying to make that cake.”

She gave a quizzical “Hmm?” before doing what I could only interpret as a shrug from their species. “Well, call it what you want, but it doesn’t change the fact that Pinkie’s really taken a liking to you. You should hang out with her again.”

“...I’ll think about it.” I found myself saying that far too much this day. “Oh, before I forget, ‘survival of the fittest.’”

“What?”

“The note Celestia gave you. It means ‘survival of the fittest.’”

“Oh!” Her horn immediately flared up again, and I saw some paper fly in front of her along with a quill and ink. Either she’s just really old fashioned or pens haven’t become mainstream yet. “‘Survival of the fittest’?” she echoed, scribbling it down as she said it.

“A more literal translation would be ‘the weak, meat, the strong, eat,’ but ‘survival of the fittest’ is the colloquialism directly associated with the phrase that means the same thing.”

“Fascinating…” She nodded while scribbling more stuff down, presumably taking notes. “And this language is common where you’re from?”

I shook my head. “Not really. Not as common as some others, anyway. I just liked the language and wanted to learn it. Had the opportunity while I was at University, so I took it.”

“Well, I’m certainly glad you did! With your help, our historians will be able to have a monumental breakthrough in understanding more of the Old World’s culture!”

“I’m sure. If you have anything else in that language you need me to translate, feel free to send it my way. I’m actually quite curious myself as to how and where this language originated in this world.”

“You bet! Also, uh…” She gave me a sheepish grin. “You think maybe you could teach me the language? I’d like to be able to read it, too…”

“Maybe later. For now, I’d like to get some rest. This day took far more out of me than I thought.” Friendship is apparently difficult work when you’re as out of practice as I was.

“Of course,” she said, levitating the cake and sending it back into the kitchen. “I should probably report to the Princess about this. I’ll be up in my room if you need anything.”

I nodded my understanding as she made her way to the stairs, stopping when she got to the base of them.

“Good night, Franco.” Twilight gave a soft smile.

I hummed my approval upon the wish without saying anything more. I regret not telling her the same. I really should have.