In the car, Twilight huddled herself a little to keep her warm, enough for Dash to notice to turn on the AC. With some sweat on her back after her riding session, and because of that tender moment she shared with Lighthoof before Dash arrived, she her back and sides were already getting cold. Dash rummaged around in the back seat of the Fiat, trying to find a jacket or something for Twilight, enough for Twilight to get ansty. "Ten and two! Ten and two! Steering wheel!" Twilight urged, until she felt the jacket fall right into her lap.

"Yeah, yeah... Put that on, ya dork. I dunno why you didn't go home to change or anything, I saw you wearing that same shirt at lunch. And why are you out riding in February anyway?" Dash glanced over to see Twilight was using the jacket more like a blanket, in her usual fashion of safety first, she'd rather not undo her seatbelt in the car, epsecially with Dash at the wheel.

"You can't really ask me then when it was you and Pinkie who were insisting I go 'out' and do something. Plus, the horses are nice. It's not like they don't get lonely just because it's February." she replied, pushing her glasses up her nose and laying her head back on the headrest to close her eyes and spend a few more precious moments thinking about Light. Out of all the stress of being in this world, with her friends being apparently far more amorous with boys than their equivalents back home, and the constant terror of failing a class (something she hadn't felt since her early days before Ponyville), her horse offered her a peace of mind that even Fluttershy's cocoa couldn't beat.

The pair arrived at the diner about ten minutes later, as they drove up they saw Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack in the window sitting at a booth talking amongst themselves as a waiter poured coffee. Twilight figured Pinkie was either in the bathroom or at the afterschool comedy club. She'd rather Pinkie be there, even if just so she could feel a little cheer after having to leave her stallion.

"Yeah, she was at the horse stables, horsin' around. Like, really horsin' around." was all Twilight heard in Dash's chipper voice, starting quiet and becoming louder until she perked her head up out of the trance using the wooden stirrer in her latte.
"Huh?" the student quickly replied, looking rather shifty too, as the other four glanced at her, with Rarity looking rather bemused.
"We were wonderin' how much we could talk without cha' snappin' outta yer coffee." Applejack said, folding her arms on the small table and leaning in.
"Oh, no, right, I was just practicing. Horsin' around, hah..." Twilight trailed off, though there was clearly something up with her, and Rarity could see it too by the way she reached out an arm to trail a thumb on Dash's jacket that Twilight was wearing.
"I didn't know you were keeping up with that Twilight, it's nice that you found something you like. But it was getting dark. What if you fell off, or, or, or...!" Fluttershy interjected with some panic.
"That wouldn't happen, Lighthoof is a gentle stallion. I'd only fall off if I wasn't paying attention." Twilight said, taking the first sip off her coffee and holding it in her mouth.

"How much have you been going there? I sorta thought you'd be at home reading or whatever you do after class. But you were riding fast, like, a pro." Dash said, though her mouth was stuffed with about half of her burger.

"About every other day. I have it all in a calendar so I make sure I can buy hay and carrots and top up his salt lick, not to mention he needs to be kept clean."

Twilight replied nonchalantly, but she'd already pulled out the last page of her diary with a timetable showing small hearts and smiley faces drawn in pink gel pen for the days when she was going.
The four girls were shocked, not really sure what to say. Is this why they were seeing so little of her? Even Rarity withdrew her hand.

"You've been going... so much. I didn't know." Rarity said cooly. Twilight, in her temporary enthusiasm, had clearly gotten a little carried away. The girl withdrew her calendar and stuffed it back into her pocket, looking back down.
"Not because I don't like you girls! It's just nice to take a break." Twilight replied in a low voice. At some point in the past two months she'd brushed all of them off at least twice, making up some excuse, even pretending to stay in the lab or at the library at college as they left, before darting off to continue her lessons and then her solo training.

"We understand darlin', but we'd appreciate it if ya hadn't lied about it or kept it a secret. If yer just needin' a break from things, why not hang out with us?" Applejack replied, which only resulted in a small shrug from Twilight.
"You were galloping about with that clumsy horse, when we just wanted to make you feel at home! Is it really so bad to spend time with us? You could've been hurt!" Rarity asked, expressing the discontent of the group against her. Even Fluttershy looked a little offended that Twilight had lied about what she'd been doing for so long, in an apparently silly obsession with a hobby none of them could really understand to an extent more than to poke fun at.

"You're all being unreasonable!" Twilight said, standing up in a swift motion and slamming her palms down on the table, breathing heavily as she looked between each of them. "Light may not be the fastest stallion, or the fittest, but he knows how to listen, and he knows when I'm just... homesick." she explained, her voice was already starting to waver at the end, slumping right back down into her booth and taking her glasses off to rub her eyes some.

Author's Note

A bit of an abrupt ending to this chapter! More to come soon - I've been a bit disappointed with the ratings so far, but thanks those who like it! Please comment if you want to see more or have any suggestions. Feedback and discussion is welcome.