Oxidized

by Online account

Rating: teen
Tags: Slice of Life, Drama, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Princess Cadance, Spike, Adventure, Shining Armor, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 103600

What does Sunstone have in common with Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor? Not much, aside from being their forgotten sibling. This is the story of Sunstone's social alienation, familial exile, and attempts at rising above mediocrity.

If you ever met Sunstone when he was but a young colt, you would’ve seen a large grin, two purple eyes full of determination, and an earth pony who could take on the world.

But something happened over the years. As Sunstone grew older, more and more did his cheerful smile morph into an ugly scowl. His enthusiastic attitude gradually capsized, leaving in its stead a disgruntled husk of his former self.

Shining Armor and Twilight Sparkle: Two gifted unicorns that would quickly undermine everything Sunstone has been hoping to achieve, unintentionally turning him into the underdog he never wished to be. Resentment overtaking his better judgement, feeling doomed to be living forever in the shadow of his immensely successful brother and sister, Sunstone has had a lifetime of feeling thoroughly unremarkable.

Unable to bear his inability to stand out amongst his younger siblings, Sunstone vowed to never see his family again. It’s been five years since he departed on a journey to finally understand his true place in Equestria.

Not once has he looked back at the life he left behind.

Published 2023-10-13 23:50:00 UTC
Last updated 2024-08-23 22:24:33 UTC

Sunstone: An Ore Digger

Around a walking rope were ten little foals.

Five colts to the right and five fillies to the left, symmetrically separated by the plush of an elongated snake, each of its soft handles being tightly held between underdeveloped yet powerful sets of molars. In front of the orderly camel train was, as one would expect, the primary school teacher: A rather young unicorn with azure fur, a lush turquoise mane, and a large toothy smile. With the oldest foal under her care being slightly over six years of age, she knew she had to keep a cautious eye on them, though her precautionary measures didn’t make a dent in her overall enthusiastic attitude.

As she marched ahead, cheerfully chaperoning her class through the busy streets of Canterlot, one particular colt was bouncing with all of the excitement in Equestria. He was grinning from ear to ear; how he managed to keep his jaw firmly gripped onto Mr. Sneckington was a riddle for the ages.

The overexcited ankle-biter could’ve easily been singled out for his cheery demeanor alone, sure, but that wasn’t the only unusual aspect about him, oh no no no. It didn’t take a meticulous detective to figure that one out: A quick look at the group alone would’ve made anypony pick up on that not-so-subtle detail.

That little ray of sunshine? That little bouncing ball of pure dopamine? Was the only earth pony in a class populated by unicorns and pegasi. Indeed, under his spikey lavender hairdo was a strong yet flat forehead with a horn nowhere to be found. On both of his deep-toned silver sides were no featherily protuberances. He was as earthy as an earth pony could get, even benefiting from an especially bulky frame despite his young age.

His name was Sunstone. And today?

Sunstone was happy. So, so happy!

“Hehehe, alright there Sunstone! You can let go of Mr. Sneckington; we’re here!” sing-sung the mare in charge.

He didn’t need to be asked twice. Spitting out the cushiony bar, little Sunstone started skipping in circles, simply unable to keep his overflowing adrenaline in check.

A few steps in front of both his classmates and himself was a decently-sized house – just like any other house in this district. Canterlot had a huge knack for golden buttresses and sharply angled roofs of purple shingles, and Sunstone’s home was no different in that regard. It screamed upper class, without erring into the exclusive territory of nobility. In sum, he was living well – far better than the grand majority of Equestria, in fact – but not so much that he used pallets of gold bars as hoofstools.

Before he could wave his comrades goodbye and bolt toward his dwelling, his caring teacher decided to interject.

“Now remember, Sunstone! Today was an important day, isn’t that right?” she candidly smiled.

“Oh yes, Mrs. Clarity! Yes it was! Yes it was!” jumped the only earth pony around as though he was on an invisible trampoline.

“Aaaaand why is that?”

She knew full well what she tried to extract out of him, and Sunstone was more than ready to play her game. She was merely teasing her student with no ill intents, and boy did it strike true.

For Sunstone detonated like a firework.

“Because today, I got my CUTIE MARK!” he bellowed.

That sudden shout made the other young ponies block their poor disrespected ears. Other passersby craned their neck at the commotion, snobbishly disturbed. One particularly neurotic bourgeois even ducked and covered. Mrs. Clarity, meanwhile, couldn’t help but giggle at the sight.

“That’s right! And at such a young age, too! You’re a wonderful overachiever, Sunstone!” she encouraged him, making him raise his chin all proud. “You make sure to tell Mr. Light and Mrs. Velvet all about it, okay? Will you do that for me?”

He fervently shook his head in response. “I will!”

Finally dismissed, Sunstone began to gallop, right until he crossed the doorway of his humble house. He nearly tripped on his way there, he nearly collided with the fragile furniture, he nearly carved a new hole in the wall with his face, but by Celestia, he sure made it to his parents in record time. The two of them were calmly waiting in the living room; a huge contrast with Sunstone’s infinite peppiness.

“Mom! Dad!” uttered a joyous (and loud) Sunstone.

Twilight Velvet, a beautiful pale gray mare of purple and white mane and mother of one, jolted at the sudden ruckus. Night Light, bluer than a berry and devoted husband, hardly managed to stay on his haunches on the low-profile lounge. Suffice to say, the two unicorn parents got slightly discombobulated by their son’s grand entrance.

“Sunny!” yelped the mother. “You scared me! I-I didn’t hear you come in!”

“Oh... Sorry mom! But mom! Dad! I’ve got it! I-I-I’ve just... I’ve just got it! M-my... my...”

“Whoa there son, take a breather! You’ll swallow your tongue whole!” intervened Night Light.

“M-my... m-m-my...!”

“Yeessss?” said both parents in unison, bending over the little colt about to explode.

And explode he did. Launching in the air just like a rocket, eyes shut in pure elation, all four limbs unbent as far as he could. Both grownups jerked away from the sudden reaction, eyes sized like diner plates.

“MY CUTIE MARK! I’VE GOT MY CUTIE MARK!” Sunstone barked louder than a dragon.

It took but a moment for both Mr. Light and Mrs. Velvet to truly digest those words. They went through a plethora of emotions in a fraction of a second. First, bewilderment. Did they hear that right? Then, doubt. Was it a prank? They even detoured through confusion. W-w-what’s a cutie mark, again? Finally, they settled on acceptance, then pride, and THEN full-blown happiness.

Their son! His cutie mark! The most important moment in a pony’s life!

They sure weren’t expecting anything of the sorts anytime soon. Oh, not because little Sunstone wasn’t accomplished or anything, no. It’s just, it was extremely rare for a colt of his age to earn his special talent that early in his life. Not that this was a bad thing! Really impressive, in fact! It meant that he knew exactly what he was made for, and did not hesitate for a second to show the world.

Because of this beyond unusual phenomenon, Night Light and Twilight Velvet were momentarily at a loss for words; they couldn’t and did NOT brace for such unexpected news!

But when the reality of the whole affair finally sunk in, with tears in the corner of their eyes, they did not hesitate for a second to lock their only child in a tight embrace, almost squeezing the air out of his lungs.

“Sunny! T-this... this is wonderful news!” sniffled Twilight Velvet.

“I am so proud of you, son!” congratulated Night Light whilst swallowing a lump down his throat. “May we see what it looks like? Oh, I am so curious!”

They both backed away from the little pony. Sunstone took this opportunity to gasp for air. It was one vice-grip of a hug.

“Yeah! Check it out!” he excitedly said.

Turning his flank to the side, his mother and father took a good look at the newest addition on their son’s hindquarters.

“Oh!” exclaimed Twilight Velvet. “It’s a six-pointed purple star! How lovely! I too have stars on me, as you know, and... But, oh? What’s this, Sunny?”

“What’s what?” a genuinely confused Sunstone asked.

“Next to the star there’s... some kind of tool? What is it?” said his father in lieu of his mother.

“Oh, that! That’s a rock pick! Or a ‘geologist’s hammer’ if you wanna be all scientific like Mrs. Clarity, bleh! But isn’t it awesome!?”

Night Light and Twilight Velvet, for a brief moment, exchanged a troubled look with large smiles pinched up by proverbial clothespins and bulged eyes widened by invisible speculums. As if they were trying their best to keep their reaction entirely natural. Though they really wish their son hadn’t, Sunstone took full notice of that bizarre, off-putting response. His grin lowered just a tad, worry slowly nesting in his guts.

“Well... I-isn’t it?” he tentatively asked again, his voice having lost a couple of decibels.

Mr. Light was the first to shake his head. “B-but of course! S-sorry, son, we were just ah, we didn’t uh...”

“... We just didn’t know what it was, that’s all,” continued Mrs. Velvet, saving her husband’s bacon. “We’re simply not too versed with, um, earth pony intricacies and all of that. You know how we are,” she added, further playing the diplomat. “But we like it, Sunny. We really really do! As long as it makes you happy, then so are we!”

Sunstone juggled his look between both of his parents. From mom to dad, then dad to mom. Two times. Three times. After a small moment of silence,

“O-okay!” he said, after shaking his head a bit. “T-thanks mom! Thanks dad! I am really happy...!”

His mother offered another gentle smile, and so too did his dad. After another round of hugs, Mr. Light awkwardly coughed in his fetlock. This prompted his significant other to return back to reality, having suddenly been reminded of something very important.

“Oh! Sunny, before you run to your room to play, we too have an announcement to make,” she softly said.

Sunstone remained silent, biting his lips in anticipation. What could this announcement be about? How much more excitement could be wedged into a day like today? Ooooh his tummy was full of butterflies!

“Well, son, it’s been a couple of years since your mother and I have been thinking about it and, well...”

...

“... you’re going to have a little brother.”

Ponies all over Canterlot could’ve recalled hearing a violent volley of coughs that evening.

Sunstone, so surprised by this unexpected news, accidentally swallowed wrongly. Maybe his dad was right: One of these days, his tongue will find its way to the bottom of his throat.

“A-are you okay, Sunny?” asked his mother.

“... A BROTHER? I’ll have a BROTHER!? When!? Where is he!?” Sunstone replied, after reaching for a hoof full of air.

Night Light chuckled and simply nodded toward the barrel of his loving wife. Sunstone didn’t immediately comprehend what it meant, being too young to be well acquainted with the rules of biology. That didn’t stop the two adults to precise that his younger brother would only come to be in a couple of months from there.

Of course, for a youngster like Sunstone, the notion of time had a much more different scale. He couldn’t hide his excitement, wanting nothing more than to hold in his own hooves the newest addition to his family, like, yesterday! If he was in a sugar rush mood earlier thanks to his newly earned cutie mark, now, he was in full tornado mode, bouncing all around the walls of the house.

“I’ll have a brother! A YOUNGER brother! And I’ll protect him with all my life! And he’ll... he’ll look up to me, and we’ll love each other, and I’ll teach him everything I know, and I’ll be his big hero, and, and...”

A small tear flowed out of his purple iris.

“... This is the best day of my life!” he managed to murmur between sobs.

I was totally out of breath. But I was nearly done! Me, Gray Calx, giving up when the job was this close to being completed? Not on my watch, buddy! That, you could take to the bank.

And so, I went at it again.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Come on now, just a bit more...

CLANG!

... Ah, there we go! Finally! To think that this particular chunk held as tightly as it did, the contrarian! But I sure showed it, ha! With a mining tool between my teeth, no surface could resist Gray Calx’s special touch for mineral destruction, no Sire!

Suffice to say, after two weeks at it, I think I’ve extracted as much out of this particular copper vein as I possibly could. In fact, I wouldn’t be too far off saying that I completely bled it dry, heh. Today was pretty fruitful and, wiping the grime out of my brow, I think it’d behoof me to consider punching out. My cart was filled to the brim with rusty maroon ores anyway; not much else I could’ve fit in there.

And so, I spat out my trusty pickaxe, content to have accomplished another prolific day in the mine. It was a modest way of earning my bits and, I mean, who could possibly desire more in life than this? Not everypony could afford the luxury of being a bigshot hero, y’know. In fact, I quite despised those who thought they could just cruise through life by being all adventurous and courageous and what not. Blergh. Way to live with your head in the clouds. That there was definitely not my definition of productivity, something us “lil’ guys” understood. Not to mention, Equestria was built on the back of hard laborers such as myself; did we forget about that? So yeah, you could call me quite content in my quest for doing actual honest and meaningful work!

I’ve been down there for, what, nine hours now? A relatively short day, by my standards. Still, nine hours without seeing so much as a single sunbeam. Nine hours without uttering a single word. That’s right: This here pony worked alone. I’ve always loved tending to myself, playing it solo. Not that I was too antisocial, no no. In fact, I quite enjoyed bonding with my friends. It’s just, when I was at work, I was in the zone, y’see. Chit chatting with coworkers while chipping away at the stony walls wasn’t my definition of good times. Concentrating on the work at hoof, now that, that tickled me kindly.

Which is exactly why I’ve been at it for five years now. Give or take a few months.

And I was beyond satisfied with this routine of a lifestyle. Nopony could take it away from me. I wanted to live like this forever. That was my muse; my calling. I neither needed nor desired anything else: I was already at the top. I peaked. And you know what?

I was happy. So, so happy.

Putting the pickaxe back in its rightful slot in my specialized saddlebags, I began pulling the chain-link rope in front of the cart with my strong jaw, bringing it up the slope on its rails. Sure, it was backbreakingly heavy, I wasn’t too much of a narcissist to deny it. But I was sturdy and tough, and, above all, pretty darned stubborn.

With a waterfall of sweat drenching my poor muzzle, my resilience paid off. Finally exiting the pitch-black cavern, I took a moment to turn off the crystal light on my protective helmet. I wasn’t one to waste enchantments for no other reason than being forgetful and/or inconsiderate. These things were pretty greasy bits-wise! We haven't all been blessed at birth with a horn and fancy light spells, thank you very much.

I ended up emerging out of the cliffside of the tall and slanted mountain ridge. That mountain, among the many others in the surrounding area: So rich with minerals, so rich with untapped potential! I found it astonishing after all these years of digging in it how ripe to be ransacked it still was. Well, it was up for grabs, and I was there. It was a living.

The cart came to a rest, bumping into the wooden lattice by the end of the rails. I took a look at the many little Swiss cheese holes I’ve dug over the years, all of them scattered across the multiple plateaus overhanging from these stunning blue mountains. I was such a tunnel rat. With them being no larger than a few meters in diameter, it sure took a non claustrophobic pony to carry out this kind of job and luckily, this big ol' Gray Calx fellow, well, he didn’t have a fear of tight spaces.

Getting my breathing under control (yeah, the cart was really heavy, admittedly), in my nostrils came the afternoon scent of pine and fresh air.

Outer Grove.

It’s crazy how much wilderness surrounded this little town. Evergreens were a-plenty and the wildlife was bursting with activity. This little corner of Equestria was so natural, so unmodified by us overzealous ponies. There was something beautiful about seeing those impressive tall Douglas-firs grow unrestrained, reaching heights never seen before in the rest of the country. As though the lush forest had an iron grip on the environment and we weren’t all too welcomed to tamper with it. But where the temperate rainforest held an irrevocable claim on the land, Outer Grove still managed to nestle in a tight little spot by the base of this mountain. A beautiful coexistence. You truly couldn’t find another place like this within the confines of our borders.

As I took it all in, my dreamlike mind always caressing me with poetic thoughts, especially on beautiful days like these, the silhouette of another pony emerged from the excavated path up ahead.

Not an unexpected presence. This right there was none other than Mr. Gold, the town’s respected prospector, and the earth pony whom I was currently employed under. In a few words like many: He was my boss.

And what a benevolent boss he was. They made #1 Boss mugs after him.

Green coated like the endless forest surrounding us, ginger haired like the bark of the trees, with his horseshoe mustache and his baggy orange eyes, his mug sure was recognizable around the place. Not to mention his iconic barcolt cotton vest with his little shovel and pick brooch pegged on it and, of course, his comically oversized white ten-gallon hat. Where I’m getting at is, he sure was a character. One easily identifiable, even as a dot by the horizon, heh.

“And how is my favorite Gray Calx doing today?” he said in a voice that, to the uneducated, could almost pass as grouchy, but that was, in truth, serene and posed.

“Heh. Being your favorite doesn’t mean much when there’s only one of me around,” I playfully responded.

“Ah, alas...! That reality hurts me every day; we sure could use the two or three of you, eh!”

We both snickered at this pointless chatter. But darned me if I didn’t love pointless chatter – outside of my work time, of course.

Mr. Prospector (I preferred calling him by his title; Gold didn’t do much for me (he wasn’t even gold, tsk)) whistled at the sight of my overflowing cart. I think a pebble of copper even fell from it and rolled by his hooves, almost as if to prove that it was that full.

“Another prosperous day in the pit?” he rhetorically asked.

“You know you can always count on me!” I proudly smiled. But not without a modest footnote. “But ah, day ain’t ‘xactly over yet. I still have to wheel this bad boy down the path, properly store it in the warehouse, weigh it, document it in our archives, bla bla bla,” I rotated a hoof around. “You know the drill.”

He nodded at that. Then, something seemed to have put his brain cogs into full gear.

“Calx, I was maybe thinking... Well, I'll be blunt: I might drop by the Two Arches later tonight.”

That twisted a knot in my heart in an instant. “Y-you!? Really now!”

“Yup, really now!”

“But we haven’t seen you at the pub in eons! Truth be told, we all sorta thought you went cold turkey on alcohol. What gives? What’s the occasion?”

He awkwardly backed away a bit, his look fleeing mine. I think his cheeks even turned pink; an unusual sight when it came to my prideful boss.

“Oh, n-no occasion, really! I just, I figured I’d see my crew in the midst of their happy hours for a change- I mean, should I expect to see you there tonight too?”

“At the Two Arches? Uh, duh! Sh'yeah!” I nervously giggled. “Wouldn’t want to miss for the world an opportunity to see my own superior all boozed up and tipsy, hahaha!”

“Excellent!” he replied perhaps a little too fast. “Well then, I’ll see you there later, eh?”

I silently gestured positively. Satisfied, Mr. Prospector started to make his descent. Right before his form disappeared from my view, he craned his neck backward, a smug expression painting his face.

“Oh, and Calx? Do take a nice shower before you join us. You’re giving a wet timberwolf a run for its bits!” he teased, before vanishing proper.

Pfah! Me, reeking? I’m sure he was exaggerating.

...

Sniff sniff...

…

Sweet mother of Celestia!

Pepped up and refreshed. Cleaned and washed. Dressed and ready to take on the world.

That was me, ever since I left my habitation. I even tried to brush my scruffy mane for a change. The two darker stripes of mauve in it have never been this parallel to each other in, erf, years, maybe? Bah! It’s not like other ponies didn’t enjoy my normal scraggly appearance. But since Mr. Prospector made extra sure to let me know of his presence at the bar, well, I wasn’t going to deceive him with my usual detached and uncaring outlooks. I could look semi professional when I tried. At least, that’s what I kept telling myself. Prestigiousness was in the eye of the beholder.

I was on my way to the Two Arches. Princess Luna was pretty close to raising the moon, judging by that inflated fireball hovering right by the tip of the horizon. Thankfully, my house and the pub were merely 15 minutes apart and that’s if you trotted slowly on purpose. In fact, that was kind of true for most of the landmarks around the place; Outer Grove wasn’t exactly known for being a bustling megapolis. At least, it meant that I never got lost around town.

And my house WAS pretty recognizable: Wooden and cylindrical in shape, it certainly was gaudy. Some ponies even said that it bore some resemblance with princess Twilight Sparkle’s old departed library in Ponyville. Unsurprisingly, I ah, really hated that comparison and kindly made them aware of it.

There’s no denying that it was in pretty rough shape, especially when compared to the rest of the neighborhood, but that was by no fault of my own. It was practically fit to be demolished when I first acquired it. And ever since then? I’ve reconstructed it slowly, but surely. A nice side project I distracted myself with when I wasn’t busy in the mine. I took pride in that. Give it a couple of years and my little plot of land will host one heck of a castle! The one I finally deserved!

Oh, I oughta say. On my way to my house, I bumped into Seesaw Log and Leafy Humus, our favorite inseparable duo of dutiful lumberponies. I think they were on their way to the bar as well. Must’ve heard about tonight’s extra presence too, wink wink. Oddly enough, they made damned sure to tell me to “wear something nice,” which, on a whim, I agreed to. Didn’t really think about it back then.

And this is why I was now enveloped in this quaint little jacket I seldom wore. I think it was none other than Skybrush who gifted it to me a couple o’ years ago. It was for my birthday, if I recall correctly? She was always happy to see me wear it. Hey, maybe she was going to be at the Two Arches tonight as well? My unusual appearance would surely make her swoon, har har!

Lost in thoughts, it took me a few seconds to register the loud distant howls that echoed in the valley. Two of them. Three of them now! ... And then, nothing. Silence once more. Deadly silent. W-what the heck was that? Did I just suffer from an auditory hallucination? Five years since I’ve settled here, and I’ve never heard anything of the sorts! What kind of unholy abomination even trailblazed these woods this late in the day, let alone produce such blood curdling screams?

He... hahaha! Y-yeah right! Monsters roaming about! Here, of all places; could you even imagine such tomfoolery? Boy was that complete balderdash. To even think about such things bedeviled me.

Nothing ever happens in Outer Grove.

...

And yet.

I’ll be honest with you. I was starting to feel a teensy bit estranged by the whole situation. Walking alone will do that to anypony who thinks too much. And to anypony who may or may not have heard a demon escaping from Tartarus itself, sure, why not.

But seriously though. Why was Mr. Prospector finally coming back to drink with us seemingly out of nowhere – and this, after months of being a no show? Why did Log and Humus tell me to look presentable when they were in fact the ponies who cared the least about fashion in all of Equus? Why did I just hear (or haven’t heard) the faraway sounds of something large, angry, and dangerous?

Come to think of it, the village was unusually quiet for what should’ve been a busy Friday evening. The Outer Grove I knew was way more festive than this borderline ghost town. Why was it so deserted? Brrrr. I’ll definitely feel more at ease seated in front of a nice pint filled to the rim. H-ha... hahaha...

Nothing ever happens in Outer Grove.

Thankfully, after nonchalantly turning a corner, the establishment in question drew itself before me.

There was no mistaking the Two Arches. It and its... well, its two arches. Right in front of the façade, covering a little front terrace. The building was one of the larger ones in town, but that’s because it also had an inn bundled in. I slept there for a good chunk of my first year when I first immigrated. The place was cutesy and well furbished. One of the three columns making the iconic arches, the middle one to be precise, was extravagantly decorated. Unlike its left brother and its right sister who had a flat surface, this one has been masterfully carved to have three nondescript earth ponies on their back legs, holding each other. Around the trim where the ceiling was, the topmost pony held a sphere.

It was me.

I was the one who crafted that little piece of art. I sculpted that. I had proficiency in the domain, oh yes I did.

Didn’t think I could subtly boast, eh? S'not because I pickaxed rocks that I couldn't have a softer side as well. Indeed, to me, sculpting was just like mining, except, using your creative bone instead of raw muscles.

...

The Two Arches was usually such a lively place.

But now, not unlike the rest of Outer Grove, it stood in complete silence. A worrying contrast with the bombastic tunes one could usually hear from the outside.

I was probably being silly. Paranoid, even.

Nothing ever happens in Outer Grove.

So, mustering a bit of courage, I chased these intrusive thoughts out of my mind and politely made my way in. Engulfing myself into the darkness emanating from within...

“Hello? A-anypony in here?” was my first, yet not totally unreasonable question.

A few stifled whispers were the only responses I was allowed to have.

“Anypony at all?” I tempted fate again.

Lights on!

Confetti!

Balloons!

Party horns!

A huge banderole unrolling with “HAPPY 5 YEARS GRAY CALX” written in bold gold letters!

Half a hundred ponies huddled in every corner of the pub, jumping out of hiding spots all at once!

“SURPRIIIIIISEEEEEEE!!!” shouted the mob in unison.

... I was stone cold frozen. Even my pupils refused to make any movement. I was more immobile than a pony after an encounter with a cockatrice. Finally, after an awkward cough or two, Mr. Prospector himself emerged from the crowd and approached me.

“Well, waddaya think, eh Calx? We might not have Mrs. Pinkie Pie’s magic touch for legendary parties, but ‘think we cobbled up something pretty decent, eh?”

...

He waved a hoof in front of the statue that was myself. “... Calx?”

“I... I need to go empty my bowels, pronto!” I whimpered.

The whole town was here. And I mean, the whole town was here. Even Mayor De La Tour partook in the preparations. At his age, too! Dedication galore.

The bar was simply unrecognizable. Usually basking in warm colors, brown and orange being the predominant palette, it was now a pastel hellscape. Every single table had a multicolor tablecloth on it. Each beam in the ceiling was defiled with colorful arrays of balloons taped on them. Party streamers zigzagged all across the place without reason. I had never seen this many paper plates gathered in one building in my life before!

And... and it was all for me. Me! Gray Calx the miner! The whole town pulled this little number together just for this random nopony! I knew we were a small tightly knit community, but wow!

That was unbelievable. That was inconceivable. All of this, in the name of celebrating the exact day of my fifth year in Outer Grove. I never thought I was important enough to warrant such attention. How do you even properly respond to this many sets of eyes locked onto you? I wasn’t a hero, and thank Celestia for that. I simply extracted shiny rocks, days after days. Was I that impactful? Hardly believable.

But... not totally unwanted either. Feeling appreciated was... I dunno. Good? Maybe?

Well, I tell you what. I dove my nose into the nearest tankard I could find so fast like you have no idea. I've never been in the limelight before; I was totally out of practice. What's the proper decorum when a pony as unexceptional as me is put on a pedestal? Didn't have a clue.

And now? I was seated at the bar counter, sandwiched between Mr. Prospector and a yellow earth pony that went by the name of Doctor Stethorsecope. Always in his lab coat, this one. And in the middle of a... rather peculiar story, to say the least.

“... And that’s how I earned my cutie mark, hehehahaha!”

“Whoa,” I said, strangely nonplussed and impressed at the same time. “Never thought accidentally stabbing yourself with a needle could earn a pony their cutie mark.”

“What about you, eh, Calx?” prompted my slightly inebriated boss. “Ever told him how you got yours? It’s a pretty good story!”

“Ah, psshhhh,” I said, feeling a burn in my cheeks.

But the good doctor insisted and wasn’t about to let me weasel out of this one. Always high on adrenaline, that medicine pony! Anyway, caught in a corner, I complied. I recited my tale. But not before chugging the rest of this delicious fermented malt.

Sluuuurrrppp…

Ahhh, that hits the spot. Alright, here we go.

It involved me going on a school trip a little less than thirty years ago. The classroom and I, we all travelled by train from Canterlot to the Badlands under the supervision of Mrs. Clarity and a special guest whose name I totally forgot. But he was an expert in geology, I remembered this much. Now, you might think that the Badlands were a preeeetty rough spot to bring a class full of five and six years old, and you’d be absolutely correct, but our expedition was to remain close to the heavily defended train station. Plus, we had the protection of a hoof full of royal guards, so we were pretty safe, all things considered.

There, we were to learn about crystal formations and all that jazz. Something that particularly catered to my interests, being the sole little earth pony underdog in a class full of fancy pegasi and unicorns. I was so excited and reckless that I had asked one of my pegasus friends to carry me further into the territory when the teachers had their backs turned. We even managed to elude the guards! We were small and sneaky, hehehe.

In retrospect, that was a terrible plan. So much wrong could’ve happened.

But when I climbed that perilous mesa with my buddy? I felt something building inside of me. A sense of purpose. A tingle in my tummy. In a complete fit of determination, I began digging, and digging, and digging. In a spot I just knew all of my answers lied buried. Once deep enough, after a low rumbling, the unexpected happened: A huge jet stream pushed me out of my crevasse. I tumbled and rolled down the hill. But when my dizziness subsided? When I looked up? A magnificent waterfall of rainbow was gushing out of the cavity. I had found an extremely rare source of liquid rainbow, ready to be pumped and exploited. The whole class did not miss the spectacle from afar. I think the geologist unicorn even fainted at the sight.

When I finally looked back down? A star and a pick adorned both of my flanks.

Doctor Stethorsecope whistled. “Whoa wee, you sure don’t play little league, Gray Calx!”

“It’s true, he’s always had a knack for getting in trouble,” softly chuckled the voice of a mare behind me I immediately recognized.

I didn’t even need to turn around to know my best friend had made it to the party.

“Skybrush!” I exclaimed, abandoning my spot and my empty drink, making my two bantering partners shrug.

“Hello, goofball,” she smiled like an angel.

Didn’t have to be asked twice to hug the crap out of her. A hug she happily returned without hesitation.

Skybrush. Now, she was a mare. A wonderful one, might I add. She’s been my beacon of sanity ever since I first stepped out of that train. We’ve built a solid friendship over the past five years, the two of us. You could always catch us chatting, cracking jokes together, helping one another, planning all sorts of crazy activities. The list went on. They say that friendship is magic, and thanks to her, I was inclined to believe it.

She, not unlike the majority of the hamlet, myself included, was an earth pony. A peach colored one, with a beautiful and healthy pale brown mane covering one of her eyes. She had the cutest freckles, the greenest of eyes, and a smile that could cure any disease.

I'll admit, I'm beating a bit around the bush here. Because in truth, she was ah, well, let’s just say, she was a bit rotund. A smidge above her target BMI? Trust me, I was putting it lightly here. The euphemism to end them all. But once a gentlecolt, always a gentlecolt, and...

... Oh dear. Please, do not tell her what I just said about her weight. That was a sensitive topic for her; a can of worms I had no interest in opening. F-forget I said anything!

Different topic, Calx, different topic! Uuhhh. Yes! Her primary occupation was to tend to the general store with her husband. Well, that was a couple of years back. At some point, her better half simply vanished and Skybrush never really elaborated as to why. She simply insisted that they “weren’t seeing eye to eye anymore” and that they became incompatible. I always felt like there was more than this to this story, but I never pried. Who the hay was I to do so.

So, alone she handled the general store. A very important duty in Outer Grove nonetheless. Outside of her business hours, she was an incredibly talented painter. Her cutie mark proved it: It was a paintbrush surrounded by a blue swirly ribbon. She always enjoyed the breathtaking scenery of Outer Grove. There’ve been times where I just sat by her, watching her masterfully recreate the landscape in front of us onto her canvas. Seeing her at work was mesmerizing. Ah, to be so talented...

Skybrush sometimes lamented how she’d like to travel across Equestria one of these days to paint all sorts of different locations, but she never could commit to the idea. At least, not until her daughter, of which she’s the sole guardian, was mature enough to take care of her own. Being just a little over seven years-old, she was still attending Outer Grove's only primary school and Skybrush often told me that she couldn't in good conscience pry her away from the friends she's made there. Always being on the road and playing roulette with different schools would be the best way for her to feel alienated and lost.

And speaking of the little filly! There she was, emerging from behind Skybrush’s bushy tail. You could hardly miss her; she was the centerpiece of any room she found herself in.

The orange earth pony, that adorable little rubber ball of pure energy, pounced directly onto my back when she recognized me. She tried in vain to light-heartedly trample me. She had always loved doing that. Her brash way of playing hit right at home with me. I too used to roughhouse a bit too harshly at her age, heh!

Heh...

“Hiiii uncle Calxie!” she thrillingly said, her front hooves messing up my mane.

Yes, I wasn't really her uncle. No, that did not stop her from calling me as such. No, no one corrected her. Yes, I loved that title.

“Hehehe, and a big hello to you too, Honey Dream! How are you doin’, sweetheart?”

“Gooood!” she cheered. “But what about you? It’s your pa-a-a-arty!”

“A-yup! It sure is! And I’m super duper peachy about it!” I said, closing an eye for it to not be poached by her twitchy hooves.

“Yay!”

That was her cue for disembarking me. Not that I minded her extra weight. I hauled mining carts on a daily basis, after all. Honey Dream skipped back to her mother’s side, her curious face gazing at everything and nothing all around the lavishly decorated bar.

She really reminded me of my younger years. When I was still lively and hyperactive. When I still believed to be Equestria's solution to an inexistent problem. Naïve and blissfully ignorant: There was something nostalgic about this. Like that day I first bore my cutie mark; boy was I ecstatic about it. But alas, the rest of everything I had to endure came along like an unstoppable cannonball, and history wrote itself.

Sigh. Anyway...

Skybrush etched a serene smile. “She really loves you, you know.”

“Heh, how could she not? I am pretty charming, don’tcha think?”

She quietly giggled at the thought. “I see you’re wearing the vest. Don’t you just look stunning in it!” she winked, knowing a thing or two about flustering me.

“Ah, naaah! You’re just saying that,” I said, waving a dismissive hoof.

“Mmmmh. Maybe I am. Because you’d look even better if it was properly buttoned. Hang on, lemme just...”

My best friend approached me, a determined look on her cheery face.

Oof, she was awfully close. She never really got that close to me in this manner. How, uh, peculiar. I could smell her delicious perfume, taking a good whiff in my nostrils. She might’ve been overweight, but that didn’t mean she didn’t take good care of her appearance. These things were mutually exclusive.

Skybrush was looking down at the task at hoof, concentrating on putting the little buttons of my vest in their rightful place, but me, I couldn’t help but peer into the two limes that were her eyes.

Yikes, was it just me, or it was unbearably hot in here? I mean, the Two Arches was pretty overcrowded. Filled to the brim with ponies. Must’ve been that. Body heat and all the science behind it. Yeah.

Wait, don’t stare, you impolite oaf!

To the left my pupils wandered. Only to find the image of Mr. Prospector lifting his mug with a knowing look, right before drowning his face in it. Oh come on, now!

Thankfully for my strangely fast-beating heart, she was just about done with her close quarters job.

“And there ya go! Now you’re not a fashion trainwreck anymore, hehehe!” she backed away.

“I uh... ah...”

An escape plan, quick!

Crud crud crud, leeet’s see now... Wait! Didja hear that? What was that high pitched, annoying noise? This one, I definitely did not imagine. That seemed worthy of being investigated, oh yes it was!

I frantically looked around to find the source of my distraction. And eureka! There it was: Seesaw Log and Leafy Humus, pulling wooden barrels filled up with some sort of viscous brown liquid. With a rope in their mouth, they were most surely bringing this vile substance out of the pub, and this, under the cautious supervision of the barmare, Mrs. Sweet Pint. Intriguing. Captivating, even. I sure could busy myself with this little enigma.

Time to drift away!

Swallowing drily, I returned my attention back to the big mare in front of me. “What uh, what do you suppose these two are up to now?”

She lazily turned to look. “Oh? When it comes to Log and Leafy, who knows. What I do know, though, is that their carelessness will doom us all one day, mark my words!” she laughed.

“... I better go check on ‘em, just to make sure, yep yep!” I said, having found my excuse.

“Alright, goofball. But promise me to take it easy too. Like a certain filly once said, ‘It’s your pa-a-a-arty!’”

“Mo-ooom!” moaned Honey Dream.

I nodded to let the mother know her words didn’t fall on deaf ears. Then, moving past the two of them, I approached the busy lumberponies. They seemed to be struggling a bit with their cargo.

“You fellows need any help? Sorta know a thing or two about pulling stuff.”

Also, not wanting to brag or anything, but I was pretty much the beefiest pony around. It had its perks.

“Oh heyo Gray Calx!” said Log. “Nup, w-we’re good! Don’tcha worry about us.”

“Uh... hehehe, yeah! Don’tcha worry about us,” repeated his sidekick, as he always does.

I raised an eyebrow, taking a peek at the thick, putrid material inside of the containers.

“... What do we have here?” I asked, curious.

“Oh, that? That’s like, two months of discarded cooking oil.”

“Yup, discarded oil!”

“And Mrs. Sweet Pint over there? Enrolled us to bring it at the train station.”

“Yup, at the train station!”

Ah. I suppose it made sense. Outer Grove was so secluded from the rest of Equestria that many services often took weeks, if not months, to reach us. It was difficult to keep in touch with the rest of the world. For instance, a hostile takeover could happen in Canterlot and we’d be none the wiser until at least five or six days after the coup!

It was no different with our supplies, naturally. Out of Outer Grove went minerals and timber, and in came food, medicine, furniture, etc. All sorts of things that made a town function like a town, in sum. That’s why Mr. Prospector was so insistent on properly storing the precious stones I got for him inside of the company’s warehouse. Because sometimes? We could wait for as long as half a year before a merchandise train would come to empty our shelves.

I suppose the same was true for these drums of used oil. Very nefarious for the environment, these had to be carefully and properly disposed to not clog the Two Arches’ plumbing system and, more importantly, to not contaminate the very soil underneath. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Outer Grove didn’t exactly have a specialized facility offering such treatments. Thus, out of the town these barrels went. And just like with the rest of our exports, it could take a really long time before anypony in charge would come to take them away.

“Aaaanyway. How are you enjoying the party so far?” resumed Seesaw Log.

“Yeah, how are you enjoying the party, uh... so far?” pointlessly added Leafy Humus.

“Well, let’s see now. Mr. Prospector over there? Totally getting smashed. That alone makes it ten outta ten!” I jested.

That made the two lollygaggers laugh in unison. They too were subordinates of his, handling, as one would expect, the deforestation part of our industry.

“But enough about me now, heh.” Had to play it cool there, tonight was enough of an ego trip. “How you two doin’? Word on the wind says that you’ve cleared a good chunk of site 2B, is that right?”

“Yep/Yuppers!” they said in synch.

“Should’ve seen it, Calx! Me and Leafy Humus? We plowed through the woodlands-”

“-like kapow!”

“We’ve never fallen so many trees in one day, but today? Ohoho, we chopped and cleared many acres of land-”

“-like kapow!”

“Now, we definitely have more than enough building space to erect Outer Grove’s first college!”

“-like... kapow? Hang on, that one don’t work...”

I just had to smile at their goofiness. Silly stallions, these two.

I didn’t sustain that smile for very long; it left to make place for a subtle scowl. Something tickled my brain, telling me to press a particular issue. Mmmmh. Yeah, even though I didn’t want to nourish my paranoia, maybe it was wise to ask. One could only ignore non-trivial aspects of their evening for so long.

“Heh, good work, you two!” I said to butter things out. Then: “But ah... tell me something. Have you, uh, heard uh...” I looked left and right, to make sure nopony else was in mocking range, “... strange screams out in the woods lately?”

...

I bit the inside of my cheek at the nonresponse. “Uh, you know! The kind of screams that’d come out of a big mean forest creature and what not... Right? Anything unusual at all out there deep in the woods? N-nothing to report?”

This whole time, they just blankly stared at me, until they both exchanged a confused look. Uh oh, time to bury that faux pas! I bit more than I could chew here with my little foray into “what the hay” territory. I didn’t want them to spread bad rumors about me, nope nope nope! In a small town like Outer Grove, my reputation could be tarnished relatively quickly.

“Haaaa! Gotcha both, hehehahaha!” I laughed like a maniac, a bead of sweat running down from my forehead. “Pranked!”

They both oooh’d like they finally understood the punchline of a joke they didn’t fully comprehend. Good, good. Roll with it, you two.

“Ha! Nothing to worry about,” assured Seesaw Log. “Even if there was a monster roaming about, the Element bearers, under princess Twilight Sparkle's leadership, would surely take care of it.”

“She’d come all in like ‘whoaaaa,’ and we’d be like ‘nooo waay,’ and the monster would growl, ‘grooooaah,’ and princess Twilight would beam it like ‘peeeeww pew pew peeeeww!’”

That was Leafy Humus turning into a sound effects machine. Right before two stallions joined our private talk, seemingly having eavesdropped on our not-so-subtle discussion.

“That’s right, eh? If there was anything bad out there, we can always count on the princess of friendship to pull us out of trouble... hic!” said a drunk Mr. Prospector to my left.

“Heheheahaha! Ooooh wouldn’t that be quite the sight! Heeeeeee heeheehee, princess Twilight in little Outer Grove, hahaha!” guffawed a fidgety Doctor Stethorsecope to my right.

“Oooooh! Could you imagine if there was a dragon nearby?” chimed in a bouncy Honey Dream.

Right before her mom approached the six of us. “Nothing the princess and her friends couldn't handle, sweetie,” a smile between her puffy cheeks.

“Yeah! Princess Twilight is soooo awesome!” beamed the filly.

“True that!” acquiesced pretty much everypony in our chit chat circle.

“She's the best!”
“She's a champ!”
“Equestria's best protector!”
“Anyone seen my glasses?”
“A true princess!”
“One hay of a go-getter!”

And then they all turned toward me. Expectant grins up their muzzles. As if I was supposed to add anything to their blatant fanboyism.

Hum, when did the conversation turn for the worst, again? To think it was so pleasant mere seconds ago.

“I... I uh...” I mumbled, unable to muster any coherent words. “S-sure. She... she truly is apt at performing her duties, uh...”

“Something the matter, son?” my boss bashfully asked.

“Y-you don’t like the princess, uncle Calxie?” said the pleading face of Honey Dream with big puppy eyes.

I was weirding out the crowd with my bizarre reaction, that much was apparent. They closed in, more than ready to fish for answers.

Okay, that was a bit too much, here. Time out. Was this, or was this not a party in my honor? Whose name was on the banderole: Mine, or the alicorn who already had so much? Can we not turn this minuscule moment, this inconsequential little party within Equestria’s long timeline, into another fawning session, please? That possible at all, or was it so inconceivable not to yap her name at any given time? Why did she have to hog the spotlight all for herself even in moments that had NOTHING to do with her almighty accomplishments? My party was merely a footnote in the grand scheme of everything the oh-so-important Element of Magic had done; just let me have it, for Celestia’s sake! Stop poking your snout in my business – try that for a change!

Frustrating, really.

Dare I say I was seething. Slightly. Maybe more than I thought.

Made me want just to... Ugh!

“Look, can we just talk about something else!?” I snapped.

Couldn’t manage to tread on eggshells with that one, damn it. The group recoiled at my sudden outburst, what with me being totally out of character. I was usually so detached and carefree, but here? My lingering ire was not only uncalled for, but it was also beyond unusual, especially coming out of the mouth of a stallion such as myself. One that was usually so posed, so stoic. I ran on a strict jokes and pleasantries diet. Guess today, I strayed away a bit, though I really wish I hadn’t.

In any case, the awkwardness was palpable.

Thanks, princess Twilight Sparkle, destroyer of friendships! Still finding a way to drop a deuce in my cereals even when kilometers apart. Once again, another point in your favor, you joy-sucking scum basket!

...

…

I needed to take it down a notch.

Beer. More beer. Infinitely more beer. That was a solution. A solution? THE solution. Mr. Prospector had the right idea. To the bar counter! Somepony deserved to have his meddling thoughts numbed a bit.

Smiling sheepishly in a futile attempt to return the party to what it once was, I excused myself, and made my way to Sweet Pint for my next order.

What was I so worked up about anyway? Twilight Sparkle, tche. She wasn't about to make an appearance in these streets anytime soon, that was a given. This place was MY turf; she could have the rest of her Equestria. In five years, nothing ever prompted a visit from Her Royal Highness in this quiet little town of ours. That wasn’t about to change. Not today, not tomorrow, not ever. I could gain solace in knowing this.

Besides,

Nothing ever happens in Outer Grove.

Author's Note

Ayyy shoutout to Tailsopony for helping me trim the fat in the short & long description, for making me find the strength to hack away a bunch of superfluous flowery text in the story, and for all the other pointers they’ve given me. And here’s one for FireTails too, helping me fix the cover art I drew. Buncha tails helpin’ me, apparently.

‘Kay so I’m gonna intercept an upcoming question, here: “How can two unicorns shit out an earth pony? Huh? Explain that, you failure of a geneticist!” To that, I say: Relax, my friends! Shit’ll be explained down the line. No, I’m not just saying that because I’m fishing for time, h-hahaha, w-who do you think I am, a phony or somethin’? ... Please don’t answer that. In any case, it made for a better story, so there’s my half-assed justification for the time being.

Anyway, ain't a native English speaker, oops. So if you see weird idioms and all that beautiful stuff, take it with a grain of salt the size of your choice.

Twilight: Solver of Friendship Problems

Sunstone was lost in his books. Three volumes opened on his small inclined wooden lectern, ready to be devoured by the young scholar. Sat on his haunches on a silky pillow, quill in his mouth, he furrowed his brow in an attempt to put his meninges back into third gear. He even rubbed his temples to give himself all the extra brain juice he needed. There sure were a lot of big words in this “Minerals and Other Geological Formations” almanac! He had to concentrate reeeaaal hard on the meaning behind this ocean of terms, definitions, and abbreviations to properly give them a little corner in his gray matter. In truth, he was still a bit too young to delve into such intensive lectures, but Sunstone was a big preacher for getting an early start.

For him, there were no better ways to spend his Saturday mornings. He was who he was; there was no use in going against the grain. Curious to a fault: That was his true nature. His overworked brain sadly had to pay the toll. Other 12-year-old ponies preferred playing outside, and while he didn’t dislike the idea, Sunstone found all the friendship he could possibly yearn for inside the pages of his many tomes. Besides, most ponies at his school were unicorns, and even though the divide between his classmates and himself wasn’t impossible to work with, he still didn’t relate to them all that much. Rocks: He wanted to carve them; they wanted to transmogrify them. Compatibility was a tough sell there. Ah well! Their loss!

Sunstone scribbled a couple of notes. His penmanship was starting to look professional for his age. Early to get a cutie mark and early to be a model student. That which he did not understand, he would simply write down in a list and look up in the dictionary later, the one haphazardly thrown onto the mess that was his bedsheets. Ponies of his age would normally shout “moooom, what does X mean?” yet Sunstone preferred to crack the case himself. A trait that ran in the family, so claimed his dad. Besides, both of his folks were currently out of the house, doing shopping or something boring like that. He had no business twiddling his hooves, waiting impatiently to pester them, ha!

His lil’ silvery ears flicked at the sound of something playful and exciting emanating from the lower floor. His eyes even twitched to the side a bit, daring to be distracted for just a moment. He perished the thought and dedicated his attention back to his academic lecture once again.

As if to provoke him some more, the thrilling noises doubled. The ruckus wasn’t too loud, no no. But my oh my, did it sound enticing! Like something fun was happening directly under Sunstone’s bedroom. Laughs interlaced with playful shouts.

Still a foal at heart, this time, he was hooked. Young ponies loved to play; it was only natural. And Sunstone was 100% bona fide playmate material. There was no use fighting instinctive urges any longer: Sunstone simply HAD to investigate what the commotion was all about. The ultimate temptation had its way.

A big smile on his face, the keystone of his default expression, Sunstone clasped his book shut in one brash motion, raising the dust off his desk. His eyes were aimed at the large window pane in front of him, but were in fact peering into a beautiful world of make-believe. He quivered with envy, unable to keep his untapped energy all for himself any longer.

Bouncing off the cushion, sliding onto the bed like an action hero, swinging open his bedroom door in a blink: He was off! His parents told him countless times before not to run in the house; what a preposterous idea to entertain with a pony of Sunstone’s caliber. Case and point: He practically galloped down the stairs two steps at a time, narrowly avoiding a nasty tumble to the first floor.

Somewhat out of breath, it’s when he turned the corner that he saw them.

In the middle of the living room, she was bouncing on the couch, and he had the higher ground on the wooden antique cabinet. Little sister Twilight Sparkle trying to catapult pillows at little brother Shining Armor, the latter defending his territory of spiderwebs and lint clusters. It was an epic skirmish between two unicorns. Two siblings. Two young foals that shared a roof. Two frontlines that would give no quarter.

The living room was completely turned over. It was scarred by the leftovers of a battle of legendary proportions. The carpet had bundled up into a baggy mess, picture frames found themselves on the floor, various chairs and furniture were tilted over, an armchair was somehow tipped on its back, the floor was laden with rubber toys... It was chaotic. It was beautiful.

Sunstone observed his siblings for a moment. He hadn’t been spotted yet. He was just there, seizing what the scenario was all about. Shining Armor, stopping the volley of pillows with telekinetic magic whilst Twilight, still being a bit too young to have some horn control of her own, was flinging them with a swift motion of the jaw.

“Hahaha! Give up, sis! We both know you won’t be able to take my castle!” proudly declared a hammy Shining Armor.

“Nu-huh! Imma getcha, Shining! Imma getcha!” cockily replied the youngest one in the family.

“Oh you try that, you... you lil’ pony!”

Both fighters were attacking/defending relatively well. Both were laughing despite the physical assault. Both of them were having a lot of fun. Both of them... both of...

It became too much to bear. Sunstone wanted in on the wargames. Oh, how he wanted that so so much! He pictured this traditional conflict quickly devolving into a three-sided free-for-all. A cacophonic odyssey that shan’t ever be forgotten. A trio of siblings: One victor. Ties were unacceptable.

It was time to begin the onslaught! Until one brother or sister was left standing!

“CHAAAAARRRGGEEEEE!” roared Sunstone like an unleashed berserker.

He bolted from his vantage point at marathon speeds. While dashing like a mighty war horse, he swiftly grabbed a pillow on the floor with his teeth. Armed and ready, in one acrobatic pounce, Sunstone made his way atop the coffee table in the middle of the war zone. Both of his siblings stopped what they were doing in an instant, their attention now fully dedicated to the impromptu warrior.

“Eep!” squealed little Twilight, being directly in his line of sight.

“B-big bro!?” exclaimed Shining, still perched on the cabinet. “What... whatcha doin’ here?”

“Taking down the prince!” he smirked menacingly.

It was clear that both of them did not expect his intrusion in their two-player game. This little moment of confusion would give Sunstone ample time to take the upper hoof.

So that’s what he did. Seizing the opportunity that was presented to him on such a beautiful silver platter, with one quick movement of the head, Sunstone launched his pillow faster than an arrow. Who was the target of his sudden vicious attack? Why, the closest unicorn was the smartest choice.

Twilight Sparkle’s eyes expanded with horror. Had she not ducked at the last moment, she would’ve merged with the pillow that was supremely close to pull a Sonic Rainboom and found herself pegged on the back wall. Luckily, the only thing the flying object managed to do was to knock over a potted plant with a loud crash. She looked back at the destruction with her ears splayed onto her neck, then turned to Sunstone with a heart beating way too fast for a foal of her age. She knew that if she didn’t counterattack right there and then, she’d be toast.

She grabbed the nearest pillows in her vicinity and began flinging them at the aggressive newcomer. Shining Armor did the same, having found a stronger common enemy. The male unicorn was soon out of fluffy ammunition however, and so he had to resort to slinging other miscellaneous objects. Books, ornaments, random toys, random baubles: Anything would do. With the help of his magic, everything was tossed with double the power.

Meanwhile, Sunstone was masterfully dodging most projectiles. Sure, he got bonked on the noggin a couple of times, but he had a robust hide. He could take the hits. It was all about toughing it out. It’d be a cold day in Tartarus before he gave up!

Still, the strategy was lacking. Two unicorns against one earth pony was hardly fair, their age notwithstanding. They had a good range game, but Sunstone was big and well-built. He needed to get into melee territory. That’s where he would thrive. That would be his key to secure his victory.

Catching a pillow thrown by his little brother with both hooves, he was ready to execute his devilish plan. His pupils locked with those of Twilight Sparkle. She drooped in fear, feeling something sinister forthcoming. She knew her time was up. She could sense it. There was nothing her big brother Shining could do to protect her against the Sunstone menace anymore.

Sunstone backed away a bit, preparing to go all in. Energy sufficiently accumulated, he jumped in the air like a hungry manticore and...

SMACK!

... Abrasively whacked his little sister with the pillow. That left her dazed, her eyeballs rotating in all sorts of directions. Sunstone could’ve sworn he even saw stars orbiting around her head. A perfect opening to finish her off! With a brash tackle of his hips, Sunstone effortlessly knocked Twilight Sparkle off the sofa, making her faceplant on the parquetry.

“Hahaha! My foray in Twilight-Land has been a success! I now reign over her people, bwahaha!” victoriously chanted Sunstone. “Now’s the time to take over the castle!” he then added, gloomily gazing at the other pony still standing.

Shining seemed to be getting a little bit nervous. “W-wait! Sunstone, wait! I think you really-”

“I don’t negotiate with tyrants, hmmmph!”

“No! It’s Twily, s-she’s... you hur-”

“Talk to the pillows!”

And so began round two of the game. Shining Armor might’ve had the higher ground, but that didn’t discourage Sunstone one bit. His regime WAS going to be toppled; he couldn’t envisage anything but. Shining Armor tried to halt his brother’s progress, but it was futile: Sunstone was older and tougher. He was unstoppable.

Sunstone elbowed the base of the cabinet with all the strength he could muster, making his younger brother fumble unsteadily. Shining knew he couldn’t hold onto his advantageous position any longer, so, in a fit of panic, he jumped onto a nearby wall-mounted oak shelf. This feline tactic bought him a few more seconds, but Sunstone soon found more random stuff to relentlessly fling at him. Yelping in surprise, Shining booked it, crossing the shelf ungraciously. Everything that was proudly displayed up there soon found its way to the floor, crashing in a maelstrom of noise.

“You’re done for, ‘prince’ Shining Armor! I’ll take over your empire, muhahahaha!” cackled Sunstone.

“S-Sunstone, this is too much, stop!”

“Never!”

Unfortunately for the poor unicorn in distress, the shelf soon ran out of length. His brother was in the middle of gathering more pillows into a small pile. He obviously wasn’t going to give up anytime soon. There was no talking him out of it. Shining understood that he had to resort to desperate tactics to put this bloody massacre to an end. The only plan that he managed to concoct on a whim was a terrible one, but that was still a far cry from not having a plan at all.

Taking a huge breath in, the courageous young unicorn gathered all of his determination…

... And jumped off the shelf! A parabola in midair, directly on a collision course with the earth pony below. As gravity accelerated him closer and closer to his target, he uttered an ear-piercing war cry.

“FOR EQUESTRIAAAAAAA!”

“Buh?” Sunstone mumbled, surprised by his brother’s unexpected bravado.

Shining brusquely impacted Sunstone. The two of them rolled together, the momentum carrying them all the way to the side of the sofa. They both got their heads knocked as the tumble came to a sudden halt. Their whole world was spinning, though Sunstone was the first to break out of it.

Now having his brother close by, he could pull a Twilight on him as well. He groggily grabbed the heaviest pillow around in his mouth, dragging it on the floor by his side like a serial killer. He slowly approached his still dazed bro, taking his sweet time, and gazed at him with the look only a villain could give. How he was enjoying his position of superiority! Shining finally snapped out of it and looked at the earth pony towering him, a shadow darkening his face from the low angle shot.

“Y’know, brother... I’ve always hated royalty,” quietly said Sunstone, etching a deranged smile.

Shining could only stare at him with quaking eyeballs.

“... Bummer,” is all he managed to say in the view of his impending doom.

The pillow was raised. Two eyes closed themselves. Resignation was palpable. And then, what was meant to happen, happened.

SMACK!

The sound of a second pummeling. Shining fell on his side, his cheek impacting the floor. His teeth even clacked together with an unpleasant sound.

And just like that, the war was over.

“WOOO! Two unicorns down! Bow down to me, peasants! Hahaha! Earth ponies wiiiinnnn! See? We don’t need spells and all that overpowered stuff to pull our weight! We da best, we da best!” danced Sunstone.

Among the deafening quietness, he heard some sniffles.

“... w-we da best?”

The sniffles turned into sobs, then the sobs into full blown crying.

Twilight Sparkle’s face was all wet with her tears. She was hiccupping, choking on her own breath. She was rubbing her head with her hoof, trying to make the pain subside. A nasty bump had swelled just above her right eye.

When Sunstone took notice of that, his heart sank into his chest, culpability fully taking over his senses. His adrenaline drained in an instant. No longer did he feel triumphant. He ran by his little sister’s side, fueled by big brother instincts alone, unable to bear seeing her hurt like this. Guilty. Stupid, stupid, and guilty! Triple guilty! Sunstone simply couldn’t digest that he might’ve really hurt his sis. He couldn’t have done it, no! S-something else... something else must’ve been at play, here! Right!? Something must’ve conspired against him. Hurting his siblings, him!? Baloney! Preposterous! Impossible!

“S-sis! Are... are you okay?” he desperately asked, fully knowing the answer. “A-are you hurt?”

He tried to put his hoof over her tiny shoulders to bring her comfort, but she rebelled and pulled away.

“Yes! Y-yes, you hurt me, you... you b-big bully!” she cried between two sobs.

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean... I’m so sorry! I...”

He tried to approach her again in a poor attempt to bring her comfort, but she widened the distance once more, crawling on her bum. Sunstone was in a pickle and he had absolutely no idea how to make amends here. The slight was still very fresh, but he wanted it to be mended right there and then. For a young teen, there was no time factor at play when it came to burying the war axe. It was now or never.

“L-look! Y-you can hit me, okay? You can hit me! I’ll let you punch me in the face, and then, and then... and then we’ll be equal, right? P-please stop crying...” was Sunstone’s last gambit.

Unfortunately,

“SUNSTONE!”

He recoiled and blanched like he’s never blanched before. There were only two unicorns in the world who could shout his name like this with this much displeasure. He dared not to turn around to confirm his greatest fear. Frozen in absolute panic, hunched over his distraught sister, even at his age, he knew a “It’s not what it looks like” wouldn’t cut it.

Twilight Velvet and Night Light, both equally ticked off, made their way into the field of view that was Sunstone’s pinpricked pupils. B-back so soon? His mouth was hung agape and his throat clamped itself shut. Because this morning? You would’ve been hard pressed to find two parents that were more disappointed in all of Canterlot. It was difficult to make Mrs. Velvet and Mr. Light frown, but somehow, Sunstone managed.

Twilight Velvet huddled over her wounded daughter and gently put her on her withers, craning her neck back and nuzzling her to calm her down. The small unicorn buried her face in her mother’s white fur like it was one oversized teddy bear. Meanwhile, Shining Armor managed to get back to his four hooves, and limped next to his dad. He looked as unamused as him.

And just like that, it was the whole family on one front versus a mortified Sunstone standing all alone.

But this new war was impossible to win.

“Care to explain, young colt?” coldly demanded the patriarch.

Night Light then lifted his head, pointing at the total carnage that was the living room. Sunstone finally took notice of the absolute disaster it had become. Somehow, it didn’t look THAT bad mere minutes ago. But... Now it was messier than a landfill. W-weren’t those rare Prance plates broken from the start? ... Uh oh.

“It... It wasn’t me...! They, they, they were playing! I w-was reading, I didn’t... I didn’t start this!”

Every word he uttered felt like a buck in the guts. His dad remained absolutely unimpressed, and so too did his stoic mom. Sunstone couldn’t feel any more intimidated if he tried.

“Sunstone,” resumed Night Light, rubbing his hoof on his forehead, “that is no excuse. You know that this is no excuse! You’re the big brother, you’re supposed to be more mature than this!”

Twilight Velvet nodded. “Mmmh hmmm! At your age, you should watch over your brother and sister and show them the example. You know, instead of joining in their destructive games. You need to be a good role model for them! They need to learn from you!”

Sunstone’s tail was between his hind legs. He was almost prone to the floor in supplication, trembling at his scolding. He could barely manage to find what to say, his esophagus drier than a chimney.

“But I... but I...” he yammered, a lump forming in his throat.

His dad cut him off. “And frankly, Sunstone, you’re twice your brother’s age! And Twilight’s only four years old! You play way too rough with them. Not to mention, you’re an earth pony, so you’ve got some natural strength you really oughta be careful with.”

“That’s right, Sunny,” added his mom, giving a small smooch on Twilight’s forehead. “If you really want to play, why don’t you go outside and do it with some of your friends your age?”

Sunstone remained silent for a moment, but his pounding heart was audible to anyone in the room. He started to hyperventilate a bit, clenching his teeth.

He felt so rejected at that moment. And maybe even a little angry. A lot more than a little, actually! Couldn’t they see? Couldn’t they understand!? It was so... so unfair! His intentions were noble and he... it’s not his fault if he was that much older than Twilight and Shining! When he was their age, he didn’t have any siblings he could share playing sessions with. But them? They had each other. Not only did they have the right to play together, but they also had a lot of fun doing so – so why couldn’t he? What made him so different, so unusual? Why was he the bad guy right now? He wasn’t a bad pony, wasn’t he?

Wasn’t he?

Tears started to swell up in the corner of his eyes. His face felt hot. His emotions were all over the place.

“M-my friends?” he repeated, tears escaping his defiant eyes. “My friends!?”

Before both of his parents could reply to him, he stomped a disobedient hoof.

“I don’t HAVE any friends! I don’t! I don’t have friends!” he cried, tears dropping on the floor. He pointed a trembling hoof at Shining Armor, and then at Twilight Sparkle. “They’re all I’ve got! They’re my... they’re my only friends! And now, y-y-y-you’re telling me t-that I can’t...”

He couldn’t bear his rage any longer. Sunstone ran past his family and aimed for the stairs.

“I hate you all!”

“Sunstone!” shouted Night Light. “You do NOT talk like this in this house! Now come back here and apologize to your brother and sister!”

A door slamming shut, and Sunstone secluded himself. Only his moans and sobs were audible.

His parents sighed, unsure what to do with all this. Sunstone was well on his way to become a teenager, the toughest years in a pony’s development. Night Light and Twilight Velvet expected to encounter some resistance along the line, sure, but that all came too suddenly. Way, way too suddenly. Where did this attitude come from? He never bit back quite like this before.

They needed to adjust and be thorough with their oldest son, lest he started being out of control. Parenting was not an easy game to play, but they’ll forever remain fair and impartial to their offspring. Sunstone wasn’t exempted from making mistakes, but he had to own up to them, learn from them, and fix them.

“I’ll go talk to him,” said a discouraged Night Light.

As soon as he started trotting toward the staircase, a small tug on his back leg halted him. He turned around, confused, and saw a pleading Shining Armor.

“W-wait dad,” hesitantly said the young unicorn. “I um... can I go talk to him instead? Please?”

Shining’s dad tilted his head. “Mmmh? Uh, I suppose? But I mean- aren’t you mad at him for hurting you?”

“Well, yeah, but... he’s still my big brother. And I just wanna make sure he’s okay...”

Night Light smiled and ruffled Shining’s blue mane. Forever wanting to play the protector, this young colt.

“Alright son. But you make sure to tell him to come back down to clean up the mess he’s made.”

“Okay dad, I will!”

Princess Twilight Sparkle paced around the cutie map for the nth time, her eyes locked onto the pictogram of her own mark. It was hovering all alone right by the circumference of the table. A sigh escaped Spike’s mouth. He was tapping his little claws onto the armrest of his undersized throne, following her movements in a semi catatonic state. His other arm ended on a knuckle to his cheek. Has it been half an hour already? Truly, there have been more exciting moments in the castle of friendship. With only the two of them populating the room, he couldn’t even make idle chatter with anyone else. It was that boring.

Five more minutes. Five more minutes and he was going to interrupt the princess’ musings. That was his cut-off time.

Much to his relief, Twilight stopped for a bit, squinting intensively at the holographic six-pointed star. She rubbed her hoof under her chin, concentrating on putting her million thoughts into their rightful place. Was this it? Was she finally going to break her mutism? Was she going to challenge the sound of silence? Was she-

Nope. She started circling the table again. Spike couldn’t take this time of inaction anymore. Enough was enough. He lifted a claw, about to protest-

“This is all so intriguing!” suddenly exclaimed Twilight. “Usually, we’re sent as a duo to tag team a friendship problem, but here, there’s only just me involved, all alone? Oooh I wonder what’s so different this time!”

...

“... That’s it?” complained Spike, throwing his arms.

“Huh? W-what do you mean?”

“That’s all you’ve come up with after all this time? Gee Twilight, I could’ve told you that from the start and saved you the effort.”

She rolled her eyes and tsk’d. “No, of course there’s more to it than just that, don’t be ridiculous.”

Intending on continuing to relay her discoveries, she approached her floating cutie mark one more time and gently tapped under it.

“Do you know what this place is?”

Spike gave it another quick look. “Far.”

“Ha ha ha, Spike. I meant, this particular location’s name?”

“Beats me,” he shrugged, still a bit disinterested.

“Well, according to the map, there’s a minuscule settlement riiiiight over there.”

Indeed. If you closed an eye and focused under Twilight’s hoof, you would see a couple of houses and buildings bundled together right by the base of a decently-sized rocky hill. A detail so cryptic, so hidden, that it put the entire Where’s Waldhorse? franchise to shame. The immense forest surrounding the secretive landmark didn’t help either. Who would ever think about veering their attention to the middle of nowhere like this? Twilight and her friends never did, and for good reasons.

“So?” indifferent Spike asked.

“So? So?”

She approached her assistant with a bit too much enthusiasm for his tastes. On guard for upcoming Twilight shenanigans, the little drake firmly clenched his clawed hands onto the throne.

“Spike, I thought I knew all there was to know about the geography of Equus – let alone that of Equestria! But not once have I heard of a small village established so far into the Undiscovered West! And I tried with all my might to remember what this place could’ve been, but nothing rang a bell! In all of my years studying history books, never have I come across anything that could give me the slightest of hints about whatever that place might be.”

Invading Spike’s personal space, she rested her forehead on his, squeezing his cheeks with her hooves with perhaps just a tad too much passion.

“Do you know what this means!?”

“Muh-oh,” he struggled to say through the bulged lips of his clamped mouth.

“This means, there’s still some knowledge to be harvested! I need to know all there is to be known about that place! I cannot believe I’ve been in the dark about a whole countryside town this entire time!”

She finally allowed him to regain his freedom and bounced like an excited foal.

“Oooh what a wonderful day to tackle a friendship problem!” she squealed, clapping her hooves. “Spike, to the library!”

Quicker than Spike could elbow out the saliva drooling from his fangs, the princess teleported out of sight. Spike could take a hint as to where. He half-heartedly left his crystal chair, unable to hold a sigh.

“Haven’t had one of those ‘wonderful’ days in a while, I s’pose,” he cynically mumbled to himself.

Twilight was already surrounded by a mound of books when Spike finally made it to the library. It’s not like he didn’t take his sweet time, but.

The princess was hunched over a circular workstation, skimming through her lecture at Mach 5 speed. She barely registered any of the words from all those paragraphs before a new page covered them. Her eyes were ping-ponging from left to right, intending to cram as much information under her horn as she possibly could. As though data gathering was some kind of competition – an egghead competition, as Rainbow Dash would so eloquently put.

True to herself, she failed to suppress her bad habit of floating random helpful – but sometimes sharp – tools all around her with magic she didn’t even realize she was using. Be they rulers, magnifying glasses, custom-woven bookmarks, quills, ink pots, or simply other books she was more than eager to read, the result was always the same: A big fat hazardous cloud that could crash down at a bad news’ notice.

A bit fatigued and strained by all this crazy activity, Spike rubbed an eye. Not even a step into the library and a ladder on wheels surrounded by a purple aura slid right next to the midget dragon.

“Spike, find me everything you can about Outer Grove!” ordered the busy bookworm, not even turning to acknowledge his presence.

“Outer what, now?”

“Outer Grove, Spike!”

“Run that by me one more time?”

She audibly moaned, her eyes looking to the crystalline ceiling. This time, she turned to glare at her somewhat confused assistant.

“Outer. Grove,” she said with palpable impatience. “That’s a town. I mean, THE town. I mean... ugh! The town on the map, Spike! Five minutes ago? Remember?”

Spike was already four bars up into the ladder when he snickered. “Uh, sh’yeah. I was just pulling your leg. I’m not a dum dum, Twilight,” he quipped. “Why am I not surprised you found the name of that ‘mysterious’ place already?”

In the corner of the room proudly stood an old yet charming sepia globe of Equus; an obscure antique wedged on four spindled wooden supports. Twilight Sparkle floated it toward her, adding it to her nebula of swirling objects – the one that would give any safety inspector worth their name the motherload of all heart attacks.

“Interesting you should mention that! Because that town, Outer Grove, is rather young in the grand scope of Equestria’s many urban centers. It’s only half a century old, as I’ve just read. My outdated globe right there didn’t even have it properly mapped, so I had to-”

“Imma stop you right there, Twi,” cut Spike, already two books under his armpit. “How can your globe be outdated when I’m preeetty sure this castle has only been in Ponyville for a coupla years at best? Less than 50 years, I can guarantee you this much.”

“The globe didn’t come with the castle; it’s a vintage set piece I bought from a broker when- you know what? That’s besides the point!”

She yanked a book Spike had scrounged with the aid of, yet again, her powerful magic. That threw off his balance just enough to give him tummy jitters, and he had to rapidly flail his free arm like a rotor blade to avoid an unpleasant rendezvous with the floor. He growled a bit at that, not too keen on having his safety put at risk only to entertain the princess’ dopiness. She really had a tendency of becoming somewhat careless and cloistered during her nerdgasms.

“The point I’m trying to make is, I had to do some research in our most recent census records to find a lead as to what- ah! There we go. Thanks, Spike!” she interrupted herself, her newest book now opened to page one.

“Yeah, don’t sweat it,” Spike replied begrudgingly, clutching the ladder with his dear life.

Much to his relief, she started petering out her magical cloud. The torrent was reduced to acceptable levels. She quickly skimmed through the tome Spike had found – not without jumping over the table of contents, of course. The title was simply: “The Last Stop West,” which was completed by a cursive “An Explorer’s First Outlook at the Principality of Outer Grove” underneath. A promising little piece of tuition for those who knew what to look for. And recently published too, which wasn’t a surprise, given the town’s rather brief age. At least, this ensured that the information within would be more or less up to date.

Spike continued adding anything he deemed relevant to his collection. He couldn’t help but give quick looks at his mentor; how she always looked so delighted when sponging up new knowledge into that curious brain of hers! There was something commendable about that. Something about mastering your craft, perhaps? Or was it about nourishing a hobby? Either way, she looked happy.

He browsed for an additional fifteen minutes before he rolled with the “good enough” doctrine. Spike regained the floor and went by Twilight’s side. Neither of them had spoken since. Spike piled up the books he had found on the table and let out a polite cough in his fist. Y’know, just to prove he didn’t phase out of reality since she embarked on her intensive reading session.

She didn’t respond to that, and so, he upped his game.

“Sooo... found anything interesting so far?”

It took her a couple of seconds to answer. “Mmmmh? Oh! Yes yes, this is all so fascinating! Did you know that Outer Grove is actually the most westward established city in all of known Equus? It stands all on its own without any other municipalities for kilometers around! This in itself is already incredible- and listen to this!”

She magically flipped a couple pages back and cleared her throat, ready to dictate the words before her.

“‘One must’ve prepared to pilgrimage their way through the Undiscovered West to reach the principality of Outer Grove. A perilous trip that would usually last a minimum of three days if leaving from the nearest known populated outpost. Venturing in and out of Outer Grove certainly has proved to be a test of will and endurance. Unprepared caravans would most surely tempt a terrible fate – as it so happened many times in the past. Ponies accidentally veering off course, highwayponies stealing precious merchandise and goods, wild beasts attacking those without a proper armed escort; all this, a slim part of a long list of recorded incidents. Outer Grove is indeed built on the efforts, selflessness, and sacrifices of those who were willing to make these risky trips simply to keep the principality well-rationed.

“‘Fortunately, travels to Outer Grove have become significantly less dangerous ever since a brand-new railroad was commissioned by the Crown to link it with the rest of civilized Equestria. The construction was completed a little over three years ago, this, in an effort to ensure the safety of those who dared to brave the Undiscovered West. One must now charter – if travelling from Canterlot, for instance – two different trains at the two respective crossroads where the rail splits. One right by the exit of Ponyville, and the other, built on the fresh tracks that used to solely bring passengers to the vibrant city of Las Pegasus.’”

Twilight quickly flipped the book to look at the little numbers scribbled on the back.

“Mmmh. According to the date this encyclopedia was released, this would mean that the ‘new’ train tracks are now a bit under six years old. I had no idea about any of this!”

Spike sat on a stool, brought his feet onto the table, and linked his arms behind his head. A typical detached pose he would usually adopt whenever he expected the spur-of-the-moment lessons to go above the hour mark.

“Y’know Twilight, I’m wondering why they even bothered making a town all the way over there if it was so complicated for ponies to reach it...” noncommittally posited Spike. “Seems like a lot of effort for a whole lot of nothing, but hey, what do I know.”

“Ha-HA!” Twilight said, an accusatory hoof a few centimeters off Spike’s snout. “I’m glad you asked, my faithful and oddly astute assistant! Because the book also has a response for that!” she added, her excitement never leaving for a second.

More pages flipped. This time, to the section about the town’s history.

“Hang on, lemme just find... ah, there! It says, and I quote: ‘52 years ago marked the first battalion’s foray into the territory. They operated under the name of what was referred to as the ‘West Campaign.’ The campaign’s primary objective, funded and endorsed by the Crown, was to cartography more thoroughly the rough guesstimates elite unicorn mapmakers had sketched about the Undiscovered West. Disappointingly, the first battalion merely scouted the place and came back to the princess with minimal oral reports.

“‘Over the next few years however, further and further these corps went, until the fourth battalion, aided by the expertise of military engineers, finally had the means to establish a semi permanent installation. At first, simply composed of tented barracks, the daring mares and stallions stationed there managed to erect a sturdy and tall watchtower. A strategic building that would give the troops an advantageous outlook over their surroundings. They fought tooth and nail to claim that territory as their own, but managed to prevail in the end – partially due to their investment in their defensive watchtower.’”

Spike was intrigued by this latest piece of trivia. “Fighting? What the hay were they even fighting all the way in the middle of nowhere?”

Twilight Sparkle giggled. “Another pertinent question!”

Flip, flip, flip. To the Fauna and Flora subchapter of the hefty part dedicated to Outer Grove’s geography.

“‘The Undiscovered West obeys esoteric rules when it comes to the nature flourishing in it – not unlike those of the Everfree Forest. For starters, the weather system is complex, works on its own accord, and doesn’t accept any inputs from weather pegasi. Moreover, random cells of many different critters roam well-defined sections of these large forested lands.

“‘Reports from the earlier years of the West Campaign made it clear that the site (where the principality of Outer Grove would eventually end up residing) was unusually rich in Ursa Minors. It was found that these Ursa Minors used to hibernate around the base of the mountain where the watchtower was built. Over the years, thanks to the valiant efforts of the pony infantries, these Ursa Minors were discouraged to approach the territory claimed by the West Campaign and wound up migrating elsewhere – though it was always suspected that they’ve remained close-by.’”

Spike scratched his head. “They fought flippin’ Ursa Minors!?”

“That they did, Spike. That they did.” She tapped her hoof under her chin, pensive. “Hmmm, I do hope the ponies living there today aren’t stripping down the land or overextending their town too much, otherwise, they might provoke an ugly conflict…”

A few seconds went by as Twilight thought more and more about the nasty consequences that could befall upon the poor ponies living there. Surely, they knew they had to tread carefully with the dangerous ecosystem surrounding their living space, right?

Spike smacked his head. “But... why!? That still doesn’t answer my question from earlier: Why go through all the trouble of making a village over there if it’s been nothing but trouble from the start? A-and... and especially if there are still risks even to this day?”

He didn’t know why he was so invested in this. Somehow, he wanted to make sense out of this crazy town. He was desperate for the big cathartic twist.

Twilight returned her muzzle down into the book. “I’m getting there, Spike! Hear this one out: ‘During a particular nefarious battle against a ferocious Ursa Minor, a magical spell misfired and ended up striking the side of the nearest mountain. A section of the hill got chipped away after the resulting landslide. Explorers later went on the site of the impact to properly evaluate the destruction. What they found, they couldn’t have expected: Amongst the debris, a non-negligible source of precious materials had surfaced. This prompted the Crown to send a convoy of miners and other specialists to collect the ores and potentially extract some more.

“‘Over time, as more and more settlers flocked to the encampment covered by the watchtower, a small hamlet, shared by military personnel and civilians alike, was slowly put in place. Workers and soldiers needed to feed; grocery stores were built. Workers and soldiers needed a place to rest; hostels were built. It’s around that time that princess Celestia had officially called off the West Campaign. The last battalion departed and left behind what is now the principality of Outer Grove as we know it today.’”

This concluding line got Twilight all giddy again. She couldn’t help but squeak out an excited laugh. Spike didn’t really share her joy however. He was more flabbergasted than anything.

“So wait wait wait,” he said, a hand massaging his forehead. “If I’m getting this right... the whole reason these ponies were so eager to go there was to... mine a bunch of rocks?”

“Seems like it!”

“And get a coupla bits doing so?”

“Mmmh hmm!”

“And that’s why there’s now a community living there?”

“Yup, yup! Though, the book does precise that the gold rush period has diminished significantly since then. Turns out, ponies aren’t too eager to live all on their own for years in a place so deserted.”

Spike couldn’t find anything to reply to that. For him, to isolate himself so far away... the prospect was insane. He’d go mad from loneliness over there. All of the delicious gems in the bordering mountains weren’t worth any of this.

Twilight took her assistant’s silence as her cue to keep reading. “Ah! But that’s not all! There’s more: ‘To not leave the town completely defenseless, even to this day, a duo of pegasi sentries from the royal guards is dispatched to the principality of Outer Grove to protect the secluded citizens. These pegasi are stationed there and typically rotated every six months by the Crown.

“‘The watchtower remains as the earliest installment in the village and still stands today. However, ten years or so after the end of the West Campaign, it was converted into a clocktower by the local population. The bell was to be rang by an employed lookout to alarm the sentries of potential upcoming dangers. To this day, it has only been recorded to have rung five times – the last of which being approximately twenty years ago. As the years rolled by, the clocktower became more and more obsolete, and today, it is more or less seen as a novel monument, a testament to Outer Grove’s rich history.’”

Spike was phasing out a bit, his eyes listless from Twilight’s endless parroting. Perhaps that is why it took him a bit longer than expected to realize that she had stopped her narration. When he finally looked up to see what the deal was, he immediately noticed that something was off with the princess.

Her book was lowered, for starters. But her head, her expression... She was looking to the side, her gaze fleeing the words displayed in front of her. She was biting her lower lips, her hooves nervously rubbing on each other. Her eyes, they used to be so full of enthusiasm just a moment ago. Now? They were trying their hardest to mask a deep sadness. It’s as if she suddenly received a letter full of bad news from Celestia herself.

“Uh... Twi? You’re doing okay there?” Spike queried.

She didn’t answer. She was too busy focusing on what was eating at her. Spike decided to intervene. He got up from his seat and tugged at her a bit.

“Twi?” he tried again.

“H-huh? Oh uh... hum...” she mumbled, snapping out of it somewhat.

“What’s going on? You look rather, uh... down?”

Indeed. Her mane had lost a few levels in vibrance, and even her coat was paler. Spike could practically feel the anvil wedged in her guts.

“Oh. It’s ah, it’s nothing. It’s nothing, Spike.”

Spike cocked his head, thoroughly unconvinced. Twilight knew she couldn’t lie her way out of this. She sighed.

“It’s just, I was reading a bit further, and stumbled upon Outer Grove’s motto. ‘A Miner’s Paradise,’ it said. Then, it... it added: ‘Anypony with a pickaxe, a good attitude, and a knack for fortune can call this place home. A welcoming town with plenty of opportunities to build a new life.’”

She deflated after saying that. Her neck sagged and her ears flattened themselves on her skull. She looked so morose, so defeated.

“Uh, oookay?” Spike said, a bit confused.

“I don’t know Spike, it just... It just reminded me of somepony, that’s it...”

“Somepony? Do I know them?”

She silently gestured positively. Then, as if struck by lightning, Spike’s eyes expanded.

Oh.

“Wait. Waaaait. You don’t mean...?”

“Yes. Him,” she whispered with great pain, on the verge of turning into an emotional sinkhole.

Spike was suddenly attacked by the same heartache that had claimed the princess. He truly loathed seeing her miserable like this. Her anxiety was his to share too. So he did the best thing anyone in his position could’ve done: He embraced her as hard as he could, rubbing his cheek onto her warm lavender fur.

“Oh, Twilight...” he said in a sorrowful tone.

“I-it’s alright Spike. H-heh. I’m just being a big silly pony. I’ve come to terms with his... with what happened a long time ago. I... I shouldn’t think about stuff like this. N-not now. Not when there’s a friendship problem in dire need of my help!”

She tried to chase these bad memories out of her troubled mind. Focusing on the mission was the best way to reclaim the ambition she once had. She returned Spike’s hug, and tried to smile a little.

“I better go make some preparations for the voyage.”

Fortunately for the princess, that distraction would prove fruitful.

A new day rose on the castle of friendship. Twilight Sparkle was already up and about, filling up her luggage and saddlebags with all her necessary equipment. Cosmetic products, blankets, a myriad of books, neatly packed lunches with days and times written on them, half a dozen quills... you name it; she had it. She was overpacking to the point of giving Rarity some serious competition.

That’s what Spike and Starlight Glimmer initially thought when they joined her in the lobby of the castle. They both exchanged a perplexed look, unsure what to make of the scene before them.

Spike awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck and coughed. “Um, aren’t you overdoing it a little bit, Twi?”

“Mmmh?” she turned around. “Oh, good morning Spike, good morning Starlight! No no, I’m packing just the bare minimum for a one week stay.”

Starlight tilted her head. “A... week? You really think it’s going to take this long? The um, friendship problem, I mean?”

Twilight Sparkle let out a small chuckle. “Oh! No no, I don’t think so. I mean, I hope it won’t!” She shook her head. “Regardless, I’d like to prolong my stay in Outer Grove to learn more about this place. I mean... What kind of princess just ignores a whole city like this for that long? I owe the ponies living there at least the courtesy of a proper visit. See if they have any problems, any issues that need to be dealt with...” She lowered her head, her ears drooping. “I just feel a little bad that they’ve tended on their own for so long without any of their rulers even checking on them… they all must think we’re snubbing them.”

Starlight gave a hopeful smile to Twilight. She approached her friend and put a comforting hoof on her shoulder.

“I don’t believe they’re thinking this at all. And I’m sure they will appreciate it, Twilight. You’re a good princess,” she encouraged her. “But...”

She bit her lips, unsure if she should keep going. Finding the courage to do so, she went on.

“... a whole week? A-are you sure it’s wise to go over there all by yourself? It’s kind of far. Shouldn’t uh, maybe... I guess it’s not my place to say, but maybe one of us should come and keep you company? Maybe? I wouldn’t mind.”

“Yeah Twilight!” agreed Spike. “It could be dangerous for all we know. I mean... Ursa Minors, Twi! At least enroll a couple of royal guards to come with you, please?”

The princess remained impenetrable. She shook her head with authority.

“No and no. The map has picked me and only me to go all the way over there. There must be a perfectly good reason for that. I’m not going to rock the boat on a system that’s proven to work before. It’s a tried-and-true formula. Besides...”

She interlaced Starlight and Spike in a group hug.

“... I’m only going over there to solve a friendship problem. Not to engage in epic battles and fight big monsters or what not, hehehe!”

They all laughed together. Yeah, now that she put it like that, their concerns really did seem a bit far fetched. What could go wrong? A simple small vacation in a remote town, what’s so bad about that? Not everything had to spiral down into misadventures.

Once they simmered down, Twilight nodded at Spike.

“Want to help me carry all of my suitcases to the train station, Spike?”

He saluted like a little soldier. “On it, Twilight!”

Lifting with his legs (and not his back), Spike started carrying her baggage one by one toward the huge double doors by the entry of the castle. Twilight Sparkle used that time to take a private moment with Starlight.

“Listen, Starlight. Since I might be gone for a while, could I ask you to handle all of the castle logistics during my absence? I’d really appreciate it. I need a strong and organized pony to do so, and I know I can count on you.”

“I uh... I’ll...” She wanted to say ‘I’ll try,’ but a quick look at Twilight’s expectant eyes made her reconsider. “Yeah, I’ll do that. Don’t you worry about a thing,” she winked.

Twilight was seated on a cushiony red velvety banquette with a small cherry wood table in front of her. On the table, a tome Spike had fetched opened midway through. On her right, her luggage placed in an orderly fashion. On her left, a window giving view to a wall of trees zooming past at high speeds. A horn echoed. The train was well on its way toward the distant town. The ride wasn’t bumpy at all; in fact, it was surprisingly smooth. Everything was hunky dory.

Since today was a Saturday, she expected the trains to be full of commuters. Ponies sure loved to travel when the week-end rolled around! And lo and behold, her hypothesis was proved right almost immediately.

On the first train, she was crammed between a metric ton of ponies. It was bustling with activity. Families, tourists, workers, envoys, couriers, group of friends... they all wanted to travel to the four corners of Equestria. When other nearby passengers recognized the benched alicorn, gasps and bows were inevitably exchanged. Other ponies were baffled that she allowed herself to be wedged between all of them, sharing seats with mere commoners, but she had to certify that she did not mind at all. Certain overly polite ponies even went as far as to yell at strangers to give her some room. She had to practically beg to these passionate ponies that all was well. In fact, she loved being all close and personal with her fellow ponies, sharing stories and anecdotes. A good way to keep in touch with Equestria’s denizens!

On the second train, the number of ponies boarding was halved. This time, most of the passengers were clothed with colorful attires. Glamorous business suits were a-plenty, and so too were faux-leather jackets, extravagant dresses, and synthetic pompadours. All of these ridiculous ponies, it was obvious that they were on their way to lose a couple of bits in slot machines in Las Pegasus. The celebratory ambiance certainly had enjoyable qualities, to be fair. Twilight Sparkle even had to deny the many martinis offered to her by the party-go-round ponies of her wagon. She had to keep her head clear for the mission at hoof. Besides, she wasn’t really keen on alcohol to begin with.

On the third train, she stood alone. In fact, that train wasn’t even scheduled to depart today. The princess had to send a communiqué the day before to the mare in charge of the station to let her know of her intent to board a train toward Outer Grove. Strings had to be pulled to make the staff deviate from their timetable, of which she was a bit ashamed. Of course, they did not mind making this work – she was a princess after all. They were always so happy to oblige. Twilight didn’t like to be on the receiving end of special treatments like these, though in her defense, there was an urgent friendship problem lingering about. This had to be tackled as soon as possible before it could potentially devolve into an unsolvable mess.

This last ride was by far the longest of them all. Whilst the two others took an hour at best before reaching the next junction, this one was well on its way to cross the six-hour threshold. It was now around five in the afternoon, which was on time with her carefully put together schedule. She even correctly accounted for the down time at the stations. The skyline was turning into a beautiful orange glaze, and soon enough, Luna would allow her magnificent canvas full of stars to take over.

As the natural light dwindled, Twilight had to strain more and more her eyes to keep reading the lecture she entertained herself with. She took this prolonged ride as a good opportunity to know even more about Outer Grove. The more she knew, the better prepared she would be.

This lone wagon of this train only harbored four other ponies: A conductor, a mechanical engineer, an all-purpose butler, and a chef. For once, she wasn’t stuck in conversations, meaning she had all the time in the world to spend some with her books.

She had learned that Outer Grove was predominantly populated by earth ponies. Pegasi were more-or-less constrained by the two royal guards, and unicorns were straight up an oddity. That didn’t surprise her much. From what she had gathered, this town was mostly made to accommodate blue collared laborers, jobs usually preferred and best carried out by earth ponies. Not to mention, the natural state of the town was attractive to those who controlled it the best. What good was a unicorn’s magic in a place that offered neither scholarship nor grants for those who mastered it? What good was a pegasus’ role in a place where weather acted on its own volition?

Another interesting aspect of Outer Grove’s demographics was its male-to-female ratio. In all of documented Equestria, this might’ve been one of the only places with a larger population of stallions. And not just by a little either; two thirds of the village was male. This was beyond unusual. Twilight might’ve finally found the exception that made the rule.

“Your tea, princess,” suddenly said the butler.

Twilight looked up, her neck cracking with painful kinks. The unicorn mare before her gently deposited a small cup onto a saucer. In the cup was the delicious-smelling green tea she had ordered.

“Oh, thank you very much! I haven’t had a nice warm tea in two days. I really needed that,” she candidly said.

The servant bowed with a smile. She trotted back to the front of the carriage, where a tiny makeshift kitchenette had been installed. In front of the few passenger seats, travelers could easily see what the chef was preparing. It’s crazy how much they managed to fit in that small area. Twilight spotted a fridge, an oven, a chromium preparation counter, and countless pots and pans hanging from hooks on the ceiling.

Everything in its right place, she smiled, about to see if her tea was scalding or drinkable.

She never had the chance to find out.

Her lips by the porcelain cup, she couldn’t hold onto it with her magic when the train suddenly came to an abrupt halt. The braking process was so loud, so abrasive, that all the objects in the room, her luggage included, were projected to the front wall of the wagon. The same was true for the princess herself. With no seatbelt in charge of upholding her security, she rolled on the slanted floor until her back impacted the door leading to the next car. Her rear legs were over her head, and dizziness became her middle name.

When the train was finally out of motion, she gathered her thoughts and weakly got up. The collision gave her some wincing pain, but at least, it was no piano on her head (that one hurt badly). She gave a helping hoof to the chef and the butler who too were in a pitiful state.

“Are you two alright? Nothing broken?” she drunkenly asked.

When they nodded, a small wave of relief washed over her.

Her second reflex was to knock on the door that led to the front of the train. When no answers came, worry started to nestle in her guts once again. Intending to find out what the hay this was all about, she unlocked the sliding door to the exterior and pulled it open despite the poor oil job that offered some resistance.

Alongside the two other staff members, she disembarked the vehicle to assess the damage.

Who would appear but the engineer and the conductor, two stallions that looked utterly incredulous. They were peering at the railroad, something nasty having caught their attention.

“What happened?” asked the princess. “Why did we come to a sudden stop? Why are you two outside?” she rapid fired.

“Oh! P-princess!” said the engineer, bowing despite his best efforts not to. “Sorry ‘bout that. I hadta pull the ‘mergency brake. Tried not to be rough, but had no choice! ‘Cuz lookit this mess! I ain't never seen anythin’ like this in ten years o’ drivin’!” he complained.

She walked past the group and gasped when she saw what had occurred. The metallic tracks in front of the train... were completely disconnected from the other ones further ahead. The chef covered her eyes with her hooves. The butler nearly fainted.

“The tracks are... broken?” she rhetorically asked.

Now was the conductor's turn to speak. “Yup. Severed. A clean cut. Something sharp must’ve done it. Can’t go any further without derailing.”

There was more than could meet the eyes, that was a given. Twilight channeled energy in her horn, and lit up the crime scene with a potent spell. The extra brightness highlighted a new ominous variable: Deep and elongated claw marks near the destruction. The purple alicorn’s eyes grew in horror. It took her a very short time to recognize what could’ve caused something like this.

Immediately proving her right, a prolonged and terrifying bestial scream drowned the otherwise calm ambience of crickets and toads. It sounded close. WAY too close. Twilight has had the displeasure of having heard that same scream directly in her face a couple of years ago. She could identify those monstrous noises in a heartbeat. This could get ugly. Very, very ugly.

The four other ponies grouped together. They held themselves tightly with quaking front legs, looking left and right to spot the source of what they’ve just heard.

Twilight has had enough. It was time to act, and not a moment too soon!

“Okay. Listen to me and listen well!” she commanded. “You and the others, go back into the locomotive and start revving it to go backward. You cannot stay here!”

“B-b-b-but... w-w-what ‘bout you, princess?” replied the train engineer, deeply afraid.

“I need to find out what’s going on here. Outer Grove is only a few minutes away, is it not?”

“Y... yes, b-but...”

“Then it’s a wise assumption to say that they may be in danger! There might be a crisis, and I need to fly there myself to see if it truly is so! I’m not going to let them be the target of a vicious attack if I can help it!” She pointed at the train once more. “So all four of you, go back to the Las Pegasus junction where you can be safe. Do not be alarmed and wait for my return. If I do not make it back in two days, send an urgent letter to princess Celestia, do you hear me?”

They remained silent, blinking their eyes.

“Hello? Anypony!?” said Twilight, trying to break them out of their stupor.

“O-o-okay!” finally said the engineer while the rest of his crew quickly jumped back into the train. “But please, princess, for the love of all that is right, please! Be careful...”

She nodded. “I will. Do not worry about me. It’ll be fine!”

Another ear-piercing growl prompted her to take off to the skies. It’ll be fine, she mentally repeated to herself. I sure hope you know what you’re doing, Twilight! Not only that, but she also hoped her concerns – nay, her FEARS were worth abandoning her personal possessions for.

Despite the urgency of the situation, the airflow still felt warm and nice. The sun was dancing by the firmament and in a few minutes, night would replace the evening.

When she saw the first few lights of the town appearing by the horizon, a bell reverberated.

Author's Note

Welp, gotta applaud reliczexide and Kyuubi325 for figuring out Twilight's intrigue and the structure of the story respectively. Why must you speculate so accurately?

Now, I know there was a buttload of exposition dumped into this chapter. Sorry 'bout that! Won't be so for the rest of the story, I solemnly swear! Just ah, if you create a town, you should probably give it some lore. Or something. Maybe. Idk man; I just like to pretend that I know what I'm doing at times, yippee-ki-yay.

Sunstone: Not a Hero?

A record was spinning on the turntable of Sunstone’s personal gramophone. Out of the horn of the apparatus came the microtonal, atmospheric, and rich sound of that new style of electronic music all the youngsters worshiped almost religiously. Sunstone had bought that EP in a music boutique by combining his allowance and a modest part-timer paycheck. Ever since then, he has played it almost every day. All of those intricate bleeps and bloops did their job at helping him concentrate during his intensive study sessions. Since these tended to last a couple of hours, background music was a welcomed addition to help him out. Maybe a little bit to his family’s dismay.

He was in his bedroom, posted by his desk with a singular candle lit and the curtains drawn. As the number of books required to obtain his diploma increased over the years, so too did his workspace to accommodate them all. No longer did he need to sit at the undersized toddler lectern he cherished oh so much during his younger years. On the verge of being a young adult, he needed something a little more serious to reflect his 17 years in Canterlot.

Sunstone closed his “Advanced Magical Applications of Stoichiometry” manual. He exhaled to give himself the moral boost he desperately needed. But with his music, his self control, and his strive to succeed, odds were stacked in his favor.

He was ready.

“Alright Sunstone, you can do this.”

He inhaled. And then, on top of his head...

“‘Various specific stones, ores, and minerals, when sufficiently heated, after a while, will become oxidized. A powdery substance known as calx will be the result of that chemical reaction.’”

He flipped a couple of pages to make sure he didn’t get that wrong. And huzzah! His memory was on par with his textbooks. Things were starting to make sense now!

Confident with his streak, Sunstone kept on going.

“Let’s see now, mmmhhh...” He looked away from the book, eyes closed. “‘Calxes have many interesting magical applications, especially within the dogma of potion brewing. They act as important adjuvants that fulfill certain roles when mixed in. Their properties are codified by their natural (or artificial, in rarer cases) color.’”

Sunstone tried to remember the most important colors. For sure this was going to be asked in the upcoming end-of-semester exam. These tended to be pretty brutal, and Sunstone didn’t want to take any chances.

“Okay, so... Red calx is used as an enhancer: It multiplies the effects of the potion. Blue calx, however, is an inhibitor. Pretty much has the opposite attributes of red calx. Then we have purple calx, which is an accelerator. With it, the reactions of a potion occur much quicker. Orange calx makes a potion’s effects last longer. Gray calx is... is uh, ah...”

He tapped his chin, pupils lost to the corner of his eyes.

“Darn, I actually don’t remember that one. Must be pretty useless.”

He quickly searched in his comprehensive manual once again.

“Ah, there we go: ‘Gray calx serves no specific purpose whatsoever. It’s an inactive filler that merely helps increasing the volume of a given potion.’” He chuckled a bit. “See? I knew it was nothing special.”

Three knocks on the other side of his closed door attempted to interrupt his time of learning. Sunstone decided to ignore them, hoping his visitor would quickly get the message. In fact, contemptuous, he raised the volume slider of his gramophone. That sure would show them, ha!

“Okay. So where was I? Ah! Identifying from which ore, metal, or mineral a type of calx stems from simply by the study of its physical properties. You can measure its density, its texture, and its color to figure it out. There are even advanced experiments, such as the hydrochloric acid test, more commonly known as the ‘bubble test,’ which you can perform to-”

Three more door knocks.

Clearly, the intruder was either stubborn or dense. Maybe a little bit column A, little bit column B. Whatever their major malfunction was, they sure couldn’t take a hint. Sunstone rolled his eyes and let out a prolonged sigh. He closed his book in annoyance. He obviously couldn’t be left alone, noooo. Somepony had to bother him.

“Yeah, alright, damn! You can come in,” he grouched.

The door timidly opened and in came a horn atop a pink head.

“Sunstone?” said the mare. “You’re in there, right?”

“No, I’m somewhere else,” he immediately replied, a bit irked.

When he spun on his chair to see who had dared to inconvenience him, he was left a bit surprised. That was definitely not somepony he expected.

“P-princess Mi Amore Cadenza?”

“Hehe, it’s okay Sunstone. You know you can just call me Cadance, right?”

Wasn’t the first time she said that.

“If it’s all the same with you, princess, I’d like to stay formal.”

Wasn’t the first time he replied that either.

And as always, even though she tried her best to hide it, Sunstone still caught the micro expression of uneasiness that washed over her face. Regardless, she managed to keep her large smile and the majority of her composure. Oh, she was good.

“May I come in?” she politely asked.

Ha! Why even bother asking? She was royalty. Didn’t matter that she was a couple of years younger than he was. She pretty much had the birthright to tread wherever the heck she wanted. What, was Sunstone even allowed to say: “Nah, get lost?” What a preposterous idea. If she wanted to come visit his humble room, then of course he’d oblige. That’s just how it worked in Equestria. He was dirt, she was grand: Same as it ever was.

“By all means, princess, make yourself at home!” Sunstone bowed with a borderline sycophantic voice.

She offered another smile despite the negative undertones her host was giving.

Cadance was a smidge smaller than Sunstone. Her long stripes of colorful and curly hair had been tied up in a ponytail behind her head. How adorable, mentally mocked Sunstone. She approached him shyly and peered at the loud object on his worktable.

“What’s this?” she asked, genuinely curious.

“Ah, you see princess, foals these days, they call it a ‘gramophone.’”

She chuckled at the obvious wisecrack. “No no, I mean, the music? I’ve never heard anything quite like this before.”

“Ah. Well, if you must know, it’s from a young emerging musician called DJ Pon-3. No idea if that’s her real name or just a pseudonym. Anyhow, that’s her first musical piece, and that there’s some pretty good acid techno. Any more questions about this music?”

“Um, yes. Just one. Could you please turn it down?”

Okay, Sunstone actually laughed at that. He was still pretty disgruntled, mind you, but he wasn’t one to resist a good quip at his expense. Anyway, since it was royally decreed, Sunstone figured he had no choice but to comply. He reluctantly removed the needle from the disc and the music was immediately cut with an unpleasant scratch.

Cadance used the newfound silence to pace around the room. It was, um... well, calling it “messy” would be a gross understatement. She could forget the bed that was completely turned over, but it was hard to ignore the sea of papers littering the floor, the random sculpting tools scattered about, the dirty plates that somehow hadn’t found their way to the kitchen sink yet... Yeah, it was a late teenager’s crib alright.

She didn’t want to make it look like she was judging his living quarters too harshly, so she tried to scrounge for something nice to say. She approached a cork board on the wall that piqued her curiosity. It was filled with sketches and works-in-progress. But in the center of it was a chef-d’oeuvre. A drawing much larger than its surrounding companions.

On it were three earth ponies on their back hooves holding a sphere.

“Sunstone, did you draw this?” she asked, impressed by the quality of the sketch.

“Mmmmh?” Sunstone lifted his head from his study book, which he had quietly returned to. “Oh. Yeah. I scribbled that silly thing a couple of weeks ago.”

“That’s a very nice draft! You really have a talent for such things. But...”

Sunstone frowned. “... But?”

“Well, wouldn’t it be more harmonious if there also was a pegasus and a unicorn holding the globe instead of three earth ponies?”

...

“No.”

With that cold and blunt answer, Sunstone returned to his favorite activity of ignoring the princess.

She blinked a bit, unsure how to further smooth things out. Sunstone could sometimes be a bit difficult to puzzle out. Talking with him often resulted in conversation judo. He was always so reclusive, so distant. What common grounds could anyone have with the pony who never left his room? With the pony who barely smiled? With the pony whose favorite catchphrase was a condescending sigh? With the pony who was, for all intent and purposes, allergic to anything remotely fun?

He hardly partook in family diners, let alone gatherings. He was never present during celebrations, activities, or events of any kind. Twilight Sparkle being enrolled in the School for Gifted Unicorns? Sunstone was absent. Shining Armor applying for the tryouts of the academy’s youth program? Sunstone was absent. Night Light making it to the semifinals of his bingo league? Sunstone was absent- well that one was understandable, to be honest.

Still. It’s as if he practiced solitary confinement on a daily basis. Every time the princess came to visit, he was always ready to disappear without saying a word. She didn’t even know Twilight had a second brother until the fourth or fifth time she came to foal-sit!

But Cadance wasn’t going to give up without trying. As the princess of love, it was her duty to be there for a pony in need. And behind Sunstone’s elaborate masquerade of sarcasms and surly zingers, she perceived a hidden cry for help.

“Sunstone, I was wondering... well, may I ask you a question?” she treaded carefully, going to his left and taking a peek at his studies.

“You’re a princess. You don’t need my permission for anything,” he replied, tongue-in-cheek.

Another wince she tried to stiffen. “Well... You know how your parents hired me to watch over Twilight, right?”

“Mmmh.”

“Don’t you think it’s a job you could be doing yourself? Watching over your little sister and all? I mean, don’t get me wrong, I love foal-sitting her, and I’m not trying to tell you what to do, but-”

“I’m busy.”

Cadance lowered her head, a bit defeated at the bleak, no-nonsense response. “Yes, of course...”

That’s the answer Sunstone always gave when it came to family affairs. “I’m busy.” Two little words that would always shut off any kind of discussion, any attempt at reaching out.

Meanwhile, Sunstone continued writing homework notes. After a few quiet seconds, he tried a quick look to his side. Was she still here? Ugh. Here we go again.

“Look,” he said, giving in. “I’m sorry, and I truly do not mean to be rude, but that’s just how it is. Okay? I straight up do not have the time or patience to look over my sister. I’m already juggling a job at Joe’s donut shop, a bucketload of homework – as you can clearly see, and a tough session at a college that’s an hour out of town; because apparently, Canterlot is too sophisticated to have proper tuition for the likes of me. The last thing I need is to get involved in my siblings’ shenanigans. I tried that a couple of years back, and that didn’t end well.”

“What do you mean by your ‘siblings’ shenanigans?’” she asked, genuinely curious.

Sunstone chuckled sourly. “Oh, you know. This and that. They call it ‘Sibling Supreme.’ Twilight never told you about it? It’s a bunch of silly competitions they do against each other to see who can pee the furthest.”

“Sunstone...” mildly scolded Cadance, unhappy to hear such foul language.

Getting reprimanded by a pony younger than he was. How rich. Sunstone just had to relish the deliciousness of the situation.

“It’s true though!” he doubled down. “Who can have the best grades at school. Who can be the best stand-up comedian. Who can toot their own damn horn the hardest!”

Sunstone started to raise his voice by the end of his enumeration. He took a big breath to reduce his temper.

“That’s what they do, princess. And mom and dad think it’s the cutest thing ever.”

Cadance tilted her head. “And you don’t want to participate?”

“Ha! Even if I wanted to lower myself to their stupidity, it’s not like they’d want me there. I’m way too old compared to them, after all. I’d have an ‘unfair advantage.’ Can’t let lil’ Twilight and Shining think they don’t stand a chance now, can I?” He waved a hoof. “Besides, I’ve seen what happens when I get involved. I once made Twilight cry before. That was a good dose of reality. I’d rather stay out of trouble and not deal with the fallback of that horsecrap anymore.”

Yikes. It was worse than she thought. The offhoofed comments about his siblings was a bit alarming. It wasn’t natural for a pony of his age to hold grudges like these. She had to help him realize that the way he evaluated his family bonds were probably a bit biased for the worse, otherwise, he might cultivate and foster these negative feelings to the point of no return. It was a good thing that Cadance was particularly articulate for her age. She knew how to apprehend and talk to a given audience. Time to use those skills to win Twilight's brother over!

“I... don’t think that’s completely accurate, Sunstone. I’m sure they’d love to have you with them. I mean, take Twilight for instance. I talk with her a lot during foal-sitting and... you know she really looks up to you, right?”

“Uh huh.”

“I’m serious! You remember that time at the Summer Sun Celebration when she saw for the first time princess Celestia raise the sun?”

“No. I wasn’t there.”

He wasn’t. He was working double at Joe’s at the time. During an event as big as Summer Sun Celebration, Canterlot always expected a huge influx of tourists. Naturally, greedy businesses and shop owners took that as a good opportunity to jack up their prices. Employees were tough to come by during the holidays, so those who were willing to put in extra hours would benefit from a higher pay to compensate. For Sunstone, enjoying a healthier salary, even if it was just temporarily, was a boon. Train rides to school were expensive: He needed the bits. So, every festival, while his folks enjoyed themselves, Sunstone busied himself making donuts and cleaning shop. It’s not like he drooled over the idea of meeting the princess of the sun anyway.

“Well, point is,” continued Cadance, “ever since then, she became super invested in magic readings. Yes, part of that is due to how impressive she found the princess to be. But you know what really got her going?”

She paused a bit. Sunstone raised his shoulders.

“Growing up with you, Sunstone. That’s the best motivation she’s ever gotten. She saw how passionate and how invested you were with books. She told me more times than I can remember that she wanted to be just like you. She finds you inspiring, Sunstone. All she wants is to follow in your hoofsteps.”

Sunstone considered that for a moment. Him? She found him inspiring? He was her role model?

... Nice try, princess. That was just an elaborate ruse to keep his guard down. Cadance and Twilight were in cahoots, obviously. They wouldn’t spend so much time together if they weren’t. It would take more than a bunch of thinly-veiled lies to convince him. For the time being, he was going to hold onto his convictions.

“No she doesn’t. She just wants to one-up me and prove that I can be easily beaten. Books and academic achievements were my shtick, and now she's trying to take that away from me!”

Satisfied with his dismissive comeback, he reached forward and opened the curtains. The new sudden flood of light that invaded the otherwise dark room made the princess squint and protect her vision with a hoof.

The window gave view to the house’s well-tended backyard. In the middle of it, they both could see Shining Armor, young, healthy, and determined, rushing toward a wooden pony mannequin with pillows strapped to it. His head impacted the decoy, and with his strong build, he managed to push it back almost effortlessly.

“And look at my brother. He’s just like her! Just because I’m physically stronger than him, he’s been training non-stop to rectify that. I’m an earth pony, princess! Strength is the only advantage I have over unicorns. Ever since he got his cutie mark and his growth spurt, I swear he’s done nothing but try to surpass me.”

...

“Princess?”

Cadance was frozen, staring intensely at the young unicorn. Her cheeks reddened and her breathing deepened. Shining looked so professional, so coordinated during his training. His blue mane, his white fur, his strong hooves...

“Seeing something you like?” Sunstone teased.

“H-huh?” she shook her head, forgetting for a moment that Sunstone was still right next to her.

“Instead of window licking, why don’t you just go down there and marry him, mmh?” he teased some more.

Cadance’s face became redder than a tomato.

“W-what!?” she blurted out. “N-no! I mean... no! I would never...!”

Sunstone quietly snickered at his flustered guest. “For a princess of love, you sure have mixed feelings about it.”

“I... It’s not... Oooh, what’s this?” nervously asked the princess out of the blue.

In a desperate attempt to change the subject, she picked up a random small sculpture on the windowsill portraying an earth pony pumping one hoof out.

“Heh, nice segue, princess,” smirked Sunstone. “And to answer your question: That there in your hoof is the first thing I’ve ever chiseled. It ain’t too shabby, but I still need more practice. I’ve only taken to sculpting a couple of months ago after all. Every asset and extra curriculum credits I can get will help me elevate myself above the mass. That’s why I draw too, by the way. I have no other choice, otherwise, I’ll just risk staying a nopony forever.”

She was quite content with the long-winded answer, because it involved not talking about Shining Armor anymore. That wonderful, good-looking, gorgeous...

Sunstone saw that she was getting lost in thoughts again and coughed impatiently. Daylight was burning, and he was getting a bit peeved that he still couldn’t study proper. Seemed as good a moment as any to let her know that this was seriously dragging on.

“Pardon to be so blunt, but was there a reason why you came to my humble hideout in the first place?”

She blinked a bit. Ah, right! Her impromptu visit. She craned her neck back and looked at her cutie mark.

“Oh. Um. Well, I'm here to foal-sit your sister, but on my way up to her bedroom, well... I had to stop myself. Because I suddenly detected a good pang of heartache nearby.”

Oh.

Sunstone knew where this was going. He was not in the mood to play her game. He had school work to go back to. A backseat psychiatrist was the last thing he needed. He had no spare time to pour into this nonsense.

“Well, princess, better go ahead and calm my sister down, then.”

“No, Sunstone, the heartache, it ah, it came from your room. So I thought maybe I could come in and help?”

He squinted. He didn’t enjoy his feelings being meddled with like this. Especially from a pony who couldn’t read between the lines and outright refused to take a hike.

“I... appreciate it, but your love detector is in need of some fine-tuning. Because I’m fine, I’m totally fine.”

“Really? Are you sure? Because if you have anything on your heart, just know that I’m a great listener.”

She kept inadvertently pushing his buttons. He was getting increasingly annoyed at her resilience and started feeling tense on the inside. That little ball of frustration in his chest was slowly inflating.

“I am fine, princess,” he insisted between grinding teeth. “Really! The only thing that’s stressing me out is missing some precious minutes that could be better spent studying. I’ve got a lot of school work to do and very little free time. Plus, I’ve got to go to punch-in in less than an hour. So if you could please...?”

He pointed with his face toward the door, really inviting her to get out of here already. Cadance looked back, then sighed. This time, she couldn’t ignore Sunstone’s not-so-subtle “please leave” cues. She wasn’t going to win that battle today, unfortunately. If only she could find the right words to breach that stubborn wall of his. Her cutie mark was pretty much pulsating with the insecurities emanating from that poor earth pony. But she couldn’t do all the work herself. He had to do his part too.

One final attempt.

She was going to try to say one last thing, in a desperate gamble to get him to open up.

“Alright, I'll leave you alone then... But if I may? I think you work and strain yourself too much... Sunstone, this isn’t healthy. It’s not good to constantly hide yourself away from your family like this. You know they love you, and I’m sure they would be happier if you took some time for yourself as well.”

Sadly, the risk didn't pay off. Because, much to her chagrin, her speech didn't fly high with Sunstone. At all. He tried to hold it in, but in the end, that was the line that broke the camel’s back. Was she seriously patronizing him right now? Her, of all ponies?

The silver pony banged a hoof on his desk. That drew a quiet “eep” out of her.

“I ‘work too much?’ S-says who? A princess who’s already on top of the world? Spare me the horsepucky! Must be reeeal tough to be exceptional at such a young age, doesn’t it? J-just like my brother and my sister! Already well on their way to become champs and leaving me in the dirt! Need I remind you in which city we live, princess? Freaking Canterlot! I’m already at a MAJOR disadvantage what with not being a unicorn, but Shining and Twilight? Oh, they sure can thrive in this little paradise! You know what this means? It means, I have to work twice- no, THRICE as hard as they do so I can make a name for myself. Otherwise, how else are they ever supposed to see me as their big successful bro and not this loser pony who’s tainting their family name, huh? Huh!?”

“W-wait! Sunstone, I... I didn't mean-”

“Oh no no no please, oh please, I beg you princess: Keep telling me how I should dictate my life! You obviously know better than I do! ‘Take some time for myself?’ Are you seriously that naïve? You’re still practically a kid; I don’t have any lessons to take from a know-nothing know-it-all!”

Sunstone breathed in and out, his eyes widening. He put his hooves over his mouth, shushing himself. Even he knew that spitting at her like this was uncalled for. If he was spiteful before, now he was completely out of line.

Cadance received all those words like someone threw stones at her. Despite Sunstone’s insults, she kept her tact and stayed level-headed. She waited for a good minute before she could formulate a reply.

“I... I’m sorry you see me this way. But... you make a lot of assumptions, and I don’t think that’s fair. It’s not always a breeze for me either, you know. We all have our struggles, alicorn or not.”

Sunstone lowered his head, still in shock that he dared badmouth a princess this harshly. He didn’t want to show any cracks in his resolve. But here? He failed miserably. Why couldn’t he have stayed impenetrable like he always did? Why did he suddenly feel the urge to have an emotional outburst like this? It hadn’t happened in years, and now...

“I’m... I’m sorry princess, I shouldn’t have...”

“That’s okay Sunstone, I forgive you. It happens to the best of us,” she said, offering a sincere smile despite everything. “I just hope you understand that Shining and Twilight love you because of who you are, not because of who you are trying to be.”

She rubbed a hoof on the carpeted floor, knowing her time with him was up.

“I suppose that I should um, I should probably leave you to it, then?”

Sunstone didn’t lift his head to look at her, but he still nodded in shame.

The princess of love excused herself and quietly left the room, the door gently closing behind her. She waited for a few seconds in the corridor. Her heart-shaped cutie mark was practically burning with his unhappiness.

Sunstone’s music started blaring throughout the house once more. She shook her head, eyes closed, and let out a sigh of disappointment while trotting away.

I was on my way up the mountain, ready to put in another day of work. Today was a Saturday. And I was working. Yes, I worked on the week-ends. That wasn’t imposed on me, yet I did it anyway.

Look, I loved to work, okay? I think I made that abundantly clear already. It was a fulfilling duty, and I was a capable pony, etc etc. Working six days a week didn’t make me a martyr or whatever. If anything, it helped fatten my coffers. Which was good. Money was good. Money money money~. And hey, my house needed the repair work, remember? That kind of stuff sort of operated on having a big ol’ pile of bits. So yeah, I wasn’t going to refuse Mr. Prospector’s generous offer to let me work overtime.

Besides, I had a perfectly good excuse to clock in more hours. When I took inventory yesterday, after I brought in our new batch of copper that is, I noticed that our reserves of grounded rubies were worryingly low. I was more than willing to rectify that. Our lackluster supplies gnawed at me all night; even maybe a little during the party as well.

The party...

You know, on the one hoof, it was an amazing event. I really enjoyed having my 15 minutes of glory. I mean, who wouldn’t? The townsfolk, they all busted their flanks to make it happen. They must’ve prepared and pepped up the bar all day while I was on my shift. What kind of ingrate milquetoast pony would I be if I was a grump about it? No, really, it was a good time all around. Spending precious moments with friends and acquaintances? I’ll take any excuse to do that!

On the other hoof, however. It ah, it didn’t end as well as I expected it to. And it was entirely my fault. A small part of me wanted to blame the alcohol, but that wouldn’t be exactly honest now, would it? No, it’s my attitude that done did it. Such a pleasant evening, tainted by my suboptimal – not to mention unprovoked – social move.

I still cannot believe I lashed out at them the way I did. That must’ve come out of the blue from their perspective. What a jerk I’ve been. And then, to continue making a total foal out of myself, I isolated my sorry ass with a beer, only exchanging a few words with Sweet Pint. As if to make things worse, Skybrush even came back to see me to make sure everything was alright. Naturally, I assured her it was so, but somehow, I think she knew that I was just trying to diffuse my little oopsie. I nursed a few more drinks for the rest of the night, and the party was called off a couple of hours later.

Look, you have to believe me! It was an overall fun night. Let’s forget about the last part. It didn’t count. That was just me being stupid. Let’s call it a mulligan, heh.

... A mulligan that still made me feel out of it even today. Ungh. Work should appease my mind, aye? That seemed like a good way to turn the page and to never speak of this incident ever again.

With a newfound boost of confidence, I ascended some more. I even felt my ears popping due to the increased altitude. That’s okay, I was used to this phenomenon by now.

I took a different path than yesterday. Ruby deposits were located elsewhere after all. I was walking next to the minecart rails on the narrow path when I peered over the rocky cornice. I stopped in my tracks a bit, appalled by the scenery below.

“Oh wow!”

What I saw! Or rather, what I didn’t see. A huge chunk of forest, that’s what! Completely missing right by the bottom of the escarpment from this mountainside. A gigantic square of land filled up with chopped up trees, piled up timber, and other various debris; all of them, resting on a bed of chipped wood and nubby stumps.

That was site 2B, was it not?

Well, congrats Seesaw Log and Leafy Humus! You successfully cleansed an entire chunk of the surrounding preserve. Sheesh. They really weren’t kidding about their exploit yesterday. In fact, they might have undersold it, ha.

I get that Mayor De La Tour wanted Outer Grove to have enough space for that fancy college of his, but boy, how big did he want it to be? We were barely a hundred in here. That seemed like overkill. The clearing could’ve easily fit five hoofball fields, and that was a modest estimate!

Look, obviously, I wasn’t an expert; far for me to entertain the idea of telling Log and Leafy how to do their job. If they judged that basically nullifying a corner of the Undiscovered West was the way to go, then hey, more power to them. Besides, they were probably just carrying out the blueprints carefully laid out by Mr. Prospector. Surely, they knew better than to deviate from them. All was well.

I sardonically chuckled to myself and marched on. Today was ruby day, and I had a good feeling about it. My sixth sense all but ensured that I would strike a fortune!

Well, my sixth sense certainly had a strange sense of humor. Or maybe it was defective?

Whatever the case was, today was going poorly. Poorly with a capital P. Poorly to the max. In fact, I don’t think I recall the last time I was that subpar, that inefficient at my job. My cart was barely a quarter full when my stomach told me it was soon time for dinner. My instincts were all off, and rubies made a mockery out of my expertise.

I guess somehow, I still felt under the weather.

What’s wrong with me? Did yesterday evening jumble me up that much? Like, come on now! Yes yes, we get it, princess Twilight Sparkle. You tripped me up, okay? You win!!! That being said, could you kindly leave my mind now, if it’s not so much trouble? I had work to be done, you see. Gray Calx was pragmatic and down-to-earth; not emotional and mopey. So, begone now! Shoo! Out of my brain! You’ve done enough damage already.

...

Sigh.

Might as well call it a day. I’ll have some serious explanations to give to Mr. Prospector. Not to mention, I think he was still recovering from his night of debauchery, so bad news was the last thing he’d want out of me. How I hated to disappoint.

I was bringing the cart up the steep slope of my tunnel as I always do. It wasn’t as heavy as it usually was; another grim reminder of my terrible performance today.

I was halfway through the return path when a sudden earthquake shook the whole cave system. Everything vibrated with fervor. So much so that I had no other choice but to trip to the floor. The tremors might’ve only lasted two or three seconds at best, but that was enough for me to let go of the minecart.

I flipped to my back, just in time to see the cart speeding down the rails, gravity giving it all the acceleration it desired. It soon disappeared into the deep darkness below, the crystal light of my helmet failing to illuminate this far down. And then, a few seconds later...

CRAAAAASHHH!!!

Followed by the distant sounds of gems spilling everywhere.

“Are you KIDDING me?” my infuriated voice echoed.

Wonderful! High score! Let’s pop out the champagne everypony!

Today was a day, wasn’t it!? One of the most days ever. The hay did I do to Marephy’s Law to end up on its crappy side so badly? I dared not to think of the damage my cart received. For all I knew, it was a mashed-up wreck of metal. It would take me hours, literal hours, to get it out of here, bring a new one in its stead, and fill it back up. I’d be here all night. Cool Saturday, right? Hey, maybe the tremors could dislodge a boulder from the ceiling and smother me while we’re at it?

Speaking of the tremors, what in Faust’s name caused them in the first place? My geological knowledge knew that this sector was NOT prone to random earthquakes. You see, we were in the middle of a tectonic plate, which meant that-

!!!

S-something roared! Aggressively so. Same as yesterday night! I heard it loud and clear! Came straight from the outside, a-and... and there it went again! More bestial snarls! Oooh that sounded unhappy.

Okay, you know what? We’ll handle the clean-up job later. I have had just enough of these mind games. I’m going to check what the deal was once and for all. I wasn’t crazy! I wasn’t hearing voices- or screams, rather! I’ll prove to the world that my delusions were grounded. I. Wasn’t. Losing. My mind!

I got back up on my hooves and took no time to gallop toward the exit.

When I appeared out of my rounded chasm, I had to put on the brakes. Violently. I slid forward, raising a cloud of dust behind me. I even had to flail my front hooves in a backpedaling motion to help me come to a full stop. When I finally did, I flattened my body to the floor, making myself as minuscule and innocuous as I could. I held my mouth shut with my two front hooves to avoid uttering a reflex scream.

What. THE HECK! This can’t... w-w-were t-t-these...? I c-c-couldn’t be dreaming this stuff, r-right?

Could somepony, ANYPONY, please, explain to me why there were TWO FREAKING URSA MINORS DOWN THERE!?

Right by the base of the mountain! Wandering in the middle of site 2B! I knew Ursa Minors weren’t the friendliest creatures of the bunch, but these ones looked unquestionably ANGRY. Aggressive to incomprehensible levels, especially for us unassuming little ponies. But it was indisputable: They were rage incarnate. The purest manifestation of fury.

One of them was larger than the other. Maybe the smaller one (“smaller” being used loosely here) was a cub, or something? I dunno, I wasn’t an expert on the topic of destructive creatures!

What I did know, though, is that they looked oh so peeved. The mother (or father?) smacked away a pile of logs, whilst the younger one busied him or herself with pounding the barren muddy floor – and now I know where the “earthquakes” came from. They paced around the site, destroying everything that they could. Geez, if I wasn’t so dumb, I’d tentatively guess that something about that place had attracted their wrath.

The fact that they didn’t spot my frail frame all the way up there was nothing short of miraculous. My cover hadn’t been blown – at least not yet. I was just there, spying on them, my body trembling in ways I’ve never felt before. There was fear, and then there was me right now. It took a lot of mental fortitude to not faint at the sight.

Both of these giant bears were radiating with a blue cosmic backdrop. The crepuscule made them stand out like sore hooves. Everything around was getting darker, but these two Ursas, they were getting more and more vibrant.

Finally deciding that they loitered about for long enough, they took the wise decision to leave the stripped area and headed West. Right until they turned around the mountain I was standing on, where I could see them no longer.

...

Wheew!

I think I held my breath for a solid minute there. I started panting audibly, giving some much-needed oxygen to my lungs. A cold sweat ran down my temple, and my heart was drumming with painful palpitations. What a thrill! What an experience! But hey, the danger has passed, right? H-hurray?

Then it hit me.

These two gigantic monsters? Were on a direct course toward Outer Grove.

Oh, buck.

That wasn’t ideal now, was it? Oh crud, oh crud, oh CRUD!

Welp. Time to put an X on Outer Grove. They were done for. Totally out of lifespan. They were going to get absolutely leveled. Let’s pour one out for the poor souls down there. One Ursa was already trouble, but two of them? There was no way out of this one. It was going to be a bloody massacre.

I was just lucky to have been out of town during its time of destruction, phew! All I needed was to wait this one out and sulk in my pit like a big crybaby. Better safe than sorry! Inaction saved the day – my day! Hehehahaha, good job, Gray Calx!

...

Wait, what the hay was I even saying right now?

I had friends living there! Good ponies! Ponies who pooled their efforts to commemorate my name not even a full day ago. None of them deserved such a fate!

And Skybrush... Honey Dream... I couldn’t possibly...

I stood up in a heartbeat. I had to do something about this! Warn them proper, or something. I wasn’t going to let them perish, unaware of what even hit them! I was the only one aware of the problem, and it was up to me to use that knowledge to save the day.

... But I wasn’t a hero. I DIDN’T want to be a hero. Oh sweet Celestia, why was I put in such situations? Why meeee! Couldn’t anypony else have taken my role here? I just wanted to mine for a living; how dare I, right!?

Okay. Okay Calx. You can feel sorry for yourself later. Now was the time to act like an adult.

A plan.

A plan, a plan, a plan. A plaaaaaan-

Right!

Here’s what I was going to do. I was going to beat these two uglies to the town. That would leave me some time to shout “THE END IS NIGH” in the streets like an absolute madpony. Problem was, I couldn’t possibly outpace them. Except! I just witnessed ten minutes ago a pretty efficient method to go downhill at Wonderbolt speeds. Yeah... that could work! You sly devil, Calx!

I hastened myself and jumped into an empty minecart that stood all on its own outside. Feeling confident, I yanked the braking mechanism with all of my earth pony strength. Rocking my body back and forth, surely, the cart started to go forward on its rails. The gentle slope, becoming more and more diagonal, made the cart and I gain a lot of speed, until eventually, it was moving faster than I could’ve galloped all on my own.

The wind was blowing in my purple mane. I had to squint with watery eyes. Holy moly, that thing was speedier than a rollercoaster! Seriously, why was I going so effin’ fast!? I was merely trying to tell my fellow villagers of the upcoming danger, not to break the sound barrier!

I attempted to put the brake back on, but that was futile. The lever just became red with the friction and emitted a firework of sparks. It even smelled like burnt metal. There was no stopping the Gray Calx ride. Hey, at least I had a helmet to protect me, right? Good lord, I totally was going to get myself killed before the Ursas could do it for me. Hilarious.

Fortunately, the cart held during the many twists and turns, and neither derailed nor toppled over. Yay.

Unfortunately, my comet of a ride soon ran out of tracks. Nuts.

Barreling down at alarming speeds, I saw the end of the line. A simple little contraption on which carts could come to a rest. Although in my case, it probably won’t achieve anything.

To the left, resting on the cliff of the mountain, was an old-fashioned bungalow: Mr. Prospector’s office. As for the stallion himself, he was seated not too far where the collision would occur. Napping on a rocking chair, head hung low under his big hat, he was most surely sleeping off his hangover.

“WAAAAAAAATCH OUUUUUUT!” I tried in vain to warn.

But it was too late. A few centimeters now, and-

KA-BANG!

Goodbye, cruel ground!

Upward I went. Like I was shot out of a canon. My helmet got projected away from the sheer force of the impact – so much for that! Everything was upside down. Guess I was in the middle of a majestic front flip? I was a few meters up in the air, on my way to a back breaking injury.

Even though it all happened so quickly, I swore I saw the green form of Mr. Prospector passing under me. In the microsecond he appeared in my view, I even managed to see him snorkel awake with a gasp.

Couldn’t float forever, unfortunately. I eventually started descending. Faster and faster now.

SMAAAASH!!

Back first directly into a pile of crates. I totally wrecked them – and myself.

“Unghh...” I moaned in pain.

Followed up by a bunch of coughs. Ouch... my everything. What was in those crates, effin’ bricks or something!? Oh wait, no. Spare parts for the rails, as it turns out. If only I worked in a mattress factory, guh...

I heard a pony gallop toward my corpse of a body. “Sweet jumpin’ Celestia, what do you think you’re doin’, son?” yelled Mr. Prospector. “Have you completely lost your marbles, eh!?”

I somehow succeeded at bringing my sore self up. I cannot recall the last time I maimed myself this badly. Thankfully, adrenaline was on my side for the time being. Tomorrow would suck, though.

“I... I’m sorry Mr. Prospector, I didn’t mean... But it’s, t-there’s-”

“What’s gotten into you? You’ve never been this... this reckless! Here I thought I could just snore my killer headache away, and this is what I wake up to!? A crazy acrobat of a pony who’s...” He stopped himself, peering at my forehead. “... who’s bleeding! Calx, your head, you’re… you’re hurt!”

Huh? I mean, I did feel something warm and wet up there, but I passed it off as some oil or something that splashed on me during the collision. Surely, it couldn’t be...?

I probed the damaged area under my mane, and looked at my hoof. It was stamped by redness.

See, normally, this is where I would appropriately flip my lid. But we had more important things to deal with! I had to get back on track (no puns intended). Time was of the essence!

“There’s no time for that!” I harshly grabbed him by his vest and brought him snout-to-snout with me. “Mr. Prospector! The town’s in grave danger! U-Ursa Minors! Two of them! Coming to wreck everything in their path!”

Despite my psycho babble and my intense breathing, there was a moment of silence. Soon to be broken by Mr. Prospector, nervously chortling.

“Surely you jest, eh? That’s why you injured yourself, isn’t it? To make this unsavory joke more genuine?”

I just stared intensively at him. His mustachioed grin faded out. His eyes, which were oh so full of comedy just then, were now terror-stricken. I don’t think he fooled himself with the improbability of his assessment.

“... You’re not kidding, are you?”

“Have I EVER joked about stuff like this!?”

Okay, now he was in full blown panic mode too. Guess my neurotic mood finally got to him. To think that he was always so mellow and collected. Now though? It’s like he was a completely different pony.

“Oh this is bad. And I mean, this is BAD!” he rambled, losing his nerves. Which was new to me. Never seen him freak out before. “I knew this was bound to happen one day...” He shook his head, trying to get a grip. “We need to warn the whole town!”

“I’m already there, boss! My shouting voice is all prepped up – let’s go!”

I was about to bolt away to fulfil my destiny as the harbinger of bad news, but he halted me before I could do so.

“Hol’ up!” He lifted a commanding hoof, despite his alarmed state. “Think I’ve got a better idea, eh? Follow me, Calx!”

Considering we were competing against a bomb with a very short fuse, I wasn’t about to second guess my superior. I followed him without arguing.

I might’ve been a pretty muscular pony, but that didn’t mean I came without my share of shortcomings. As it so happens, my cardio was ah, a bit lackluster, to say the least.

Okay. Alright. It was terrible. You’ve got me. I was panting and wheezing. I could’ve easily been mistaken for a pony in the middle of an asthmatic attack. My tongue was out of my maw, trying to lower my inner temperature. Sweat dampened the entirety of my fur. So much so that my mane was sticking on my neck, yuck. I must’ve looked miserable to the common observer.

Guess that’s what happens when you cross half of a town in a fraction of a second. With a busted forehead too, ha.

So. Tired and wounded. A throbbing migraine and lungs close to a total meltdown. Legs burning with pins and needles. Spots peppering my darkened vision. That was my current status when Mr. Prospector and I finally reached our destination.

The clocktower. That’s where I’ve been dragged, apparently.

“W-why... why...” I huffed and puffed. “Why d-did... why t-t-the clocktower?” I struggled to ask.

“Because, Calx, my boy, it is our duty to ring the bell to alert the royal guards!”

Ring the what to alert who now?

Mr. Prospector exhaled in annoyance at my blatant incredulity. “Young ponies these days, they always skip their history classes, eh! I can either take twenty minutes to give you a quick lesson, OR, we could save the town. What says you?”

“O-option... option B, please,” I mumbled, my regular breathing pattern slowly returning to me.

“Wise choice, son. All we hafta do is- Darn nabbit! It’s locked!”

It sure was. He was forcing the little metallic half circle handle on the wooden door, but it remained defiantly static. Nothing was moving, nothing was budging.

When he started banging on it and shouting for anypony on the other side to come greet us unwelcome guests, I approached the door-shaped barrier as well. Pegged to it, I noticed a little note with some text hastily inked on it.

“On lunch break. Be back in a week.”

That’s what it said. That’s what the note said. Are you literally yanking my tail right now? What sort of buffoon just bails on their job like this?

“That lazy sonufagun!” raged my boss. “We need to go find that good-for-nothing, irresponsible screwup of a custodian! But he lives across town, that oaf! And I’m not even sure he-”

“There’s no time for that!” I cut his rant. “Any moment now, the Ursas are going to pop in unannounced. We need to go in there, now.”

He scratched his hat at that. “... What are ya sayin’, eh?”

“I’m saying, let’s bust this door open and barge in!”

He gave me a look of incomprehension. But then, he nodded, fully aware of what needed to be done. We were always so law-abiding, so by the book. Deviating from our goody two horseshoes attitude was a tough pill to swallow. Still, drastic circumstances called for drastic solutions. It was for the greater good.

We both got into position, our backs facing away from the obstacle.

Me: “On three! One!”

Him: “Two!”

Together now: “THREE!”

In a coordinated effort, we bucked the door at the same time. Two strong earth ponies, applying all of their might toward an unmovable object. It wasn’t unreasonable to imagine that it stood no chance. Yet, against all expectations, that sucker held on. Sure, it bent inward a bit. Sure, a few nails popped out of the planks. Sure, wood shrapnel flew in all directions. But the door was still functionally locked.

However, my boss and I, we didn’t take no for an answer. That’s why we went at it again. Same song and dance.

Two more synchronized kicks. This time, the door waved the white flag and swung open in a satisfying thud. The decades old locking mechanism effectively shattered in a million pieces. We took that as an invitation to make our way inside.

The building was tall, but slender. A few meters both in length and in width. The walls inside were a drab beige, though the years haven’t been kind to the paint job. It started peeling, giving way to the mortar and bricks it tried to conceal. A spiral staircase a couple of stories tall went all the way to the top, where a large (and rusted) brass bell waited patiently to be rung. I wasn’t scared of heights, but you’d have to pay me a lot of bits to escalate all the way up there. Not only were the stairs barely larger than my barrel, but a couple of planks had fallen off over the years, replaced by a colony of spiderwebs. Not to mention, the guardrail had all but collapsed at various spots. I don’t think this clocktower passed any kind of building regulations.

On the bottom floor, dust had gathered into little triangular deposits on the four corners of the only room. Interlaced with the defunct planks, moldy newspapers, and other various trash of your choice, were random equipment, tools, and pieces of machinery. Like those big printing rollers in the back, what the hay were they even doing there? And those bags of cement powder too. There was no rhyme or reason for any of those knick-knacks. If I knew any better, I’d say that this place was mostly used as a storage room for whatever and everything else too.

There was a small wooden stool smack down in the middle. Probably where the alleged key master would sit and uh... do something? Get paid to keep the spiders out of trouble, mayhaps? Who knows.

Most importantly, though, were the two large ropes dangling right in front of the aforementioned stool. Really thick, these ropes. Almost larger than my hooves, I’d say. In any case, this is where Mr. Prospector bull rushed as soon as he entered this vertical room.

“Take yer rope, Calx! We’re going to ring that bad boy!”

“Aye captain!” I agreed like the devoted worker I’ve always been.

I pulled on my designated rope. He pulled on his. We gave it our best effort. And you know what happened after that?

Sweet nothing, that’s what.

“Hum...” I hesitated, suddenly unsure of his masterplan.

“It’s... the bell’s all out of whack! Hasn’t been properly maintained in 20 years, Calx! Must’ve rusted to Tartarus and back. We hafta pull harder, eh?”

“Gotcha. Let’s go all in, boss!”

I wasn’t done giving him the benefit of the doubt. Call it sunk cost fallacy, but we put all of our eggs into the clocktower basket. So we were going to ring that stubborn bastard if it was the last thing we did!

I pulled so hard that I actually came close to pop a blood vessel. My head had already suffered enough in one day, thank you very much. But hey, our extra elbow grease paid off, because at some point, I started feeling a tug in the rope. The tension loosened, and as we pulled in an async pattern, more and more did it start going up and down. Ladies and gentlecolts, we had movement in the ropes! The first few chimes of the bell started to be audible. We were going somewhere with this, hahaha!

That was wicked and all, but um, the up-and-down motion started to be a little too intense. I had to be on the tip of my back hooves just to keep my grip. Now the bell was fully crying its message to the locals. Yeah uh, that was loud. Like, really, REALLY loud. Felt like my head was on the verge of exploding.

“That’s it Calx! Let’s keep it going!” shouted Mr. Prospector, his voice almost entirely drowned by the thunderous bell. “Hear that? That’s the sound of a proper warning! Just a little more, and-”

“H-hey! Y-your hoof, it’s...!”

What I wanted to say here was: “It’s stuck in the rope.” Because it absolutely was. His left rear hoof, to be precise. Two or three loops had accidentally bundled around it, holding him hostage in a firm noose. But I never got the chance to tell him.

Mr. Prospector, that old pony who had seen it all, that stallion I had the utmost respect for, practically disappeared when he got swooped by the rope and lifted in the air. The last thing I saw before he hung upside down in midair was two big eyes that realized just a little too late what was about to happen.

He was bouncing up and down, flailing like a mosquito caught in a flytrap. The bell’s ringing started to lessen (but was still positively loud), leaving him stuck a couple of meters up from the floor, as though he was a pony-sized mistletoe leaf – how fitting that he was green.

I think that he was shouting for help. He must’ve been, right? I saw his mouth move, but I couldn’t hear the many swears I’m more than certain he was patenting on the spot.

For sure I had to get him out of here! My instincts at play, I grabbed in my mouth a sharp chisel I still carried in my work saddlebags and... gulp... started to go up these monoliths of safety hazards I liked to call stairs. Guess I jinxed myself by wishing not to climb them five minutes ago. One step at the time, I was treading cautiously. If they cracked under my hooves, I thankfully couldn’t hear it.

Close to my dangling supervisor, I could see that blood started to rush to his head, given his woozy expression. I ah... I extended myself over the void with shaky back legs. Tool prudently placed in my mouth, I began to gently saw off the rope. That stupid rope! Why did it have to be so rich with fibbers!

It eventually gave in at some point. And so too did the brittle platform I was standing on.

Yup. A chunk of stairs totally collapsed under my weight.

The result? Two idiotic ponies falling onto the concreted floor. In a neat little pile of limbs, dizziness, and coughs. My ribcage tanked the hit and I think his did too. That’s what I got from the both of us wheezing straight after the impact.

When the thick cloud of dust finally dissipated, a helping hoof I gladly accepted got me back into the game.

“Oof... urk...” I groaned.

“T-thanks Calx... for... cough COUGH... not l-leaving me all on my lonesome u-up there...”

“W-what a day, h-huh?” I tried to quip.

“Heh... I’m quittin’ drinkin’ for good now!” he quipped right back.

...

...

“THE URSAS!” we both screamed.

Total panic.

That was the best way I could describe the apocalyptic scene before the two of us. The moment we stepped outside, our jaws came close to dislocating themselves. Long gone was the once peaceful Outer Grove we all came to love. It left in its stead streets full of ponies running for their lives. Mares and stallions, foals and grownups, all of them, shouting in terror. Mothers clutching babies, street vendors desperately trying to protect their stalls, shutters from home owners closing themselves with loud bangs... It was disastrous.

I saw ponies tripping to the floor. I saw ponies adopting the fetal position and rocking themselves in a fit of pure dread. I even saw ponies holding each other like it was the end.

I heard cries, screams, pleads for help, prayers... But above all? Even surpassing the sound of the bell we worked so hard to activate?

The angry roars of those two Ursas I spotted earlier.

They were here. They were here, and they didn’t want to play nice.

I could see them by the end of this larger main boulevard. Since the clocktower marked the center of Outer Grove, this effectively meant that they had breached the outer perimeters of the town. They wanted sweet revenge, and they were going to hit where it hurts.

And hitting they did. The adult Ursa, that unreasonably big freak of nature, swatted with vigor what I believed to be the storeroom for our edible rations. Where the bakers and grocery store owners went to refurbish their shelves and- look, did it really matter? They were destroying stuff! I couldn’t care less WHAT they were destroying! I only cared that they WERE destroyed stuff, period!

Catching me by surprise, to my right, a pegasus mare in full golden armor came rushing. She hastily put her helmet on, as though she just woke up from a peaceful nap. She had her teeth clenched and her nostrils were flaring with determination. When she saw the same Ursa Mr. Prospector and I were gazing at, she recoiled with disbelief – and maybe even with a dash of scepticism.

“N-no way! It wasn’t a prank! T-the bell... it wasn’t...”

She mumbled a couple of four-letter words I’m not at liberty to disclose. She then stretched those trained wings of hers and flew straight in the direction of public enemy number one. Soon after, her co-worker did the same – minus the curses this time. Both of them, armed with pointy halberds, were gleaming in the early night, like twinkling stars in the infiniteness of the violet sky.

As we stared at the two soldiers circling the bigger Ursa, we heard someone whistle.

“Hey! Mr. G! Gray dude! You numbskulls gonna stay frozen in the open like this forever!? Over here!” the whistler urged us.

That voice, I pegged it as Sweet Pint’s, which was impressive given the uproar all around us. She was poking her head out of an alleyway crammed between two tall dwellings. She was also hysterically waving her hoof, more than intent on getting our attention.

Between taking cover and getting pulped by an Ursa Minor, the choice was simple: We made our way to her hiding spot.

“What the HAY were you two dingleberries lollygagging about!? Are you that eager to kick the bucket or what!?” she berated us.

Sweet Pint might’ve been smaller than your average pony, but she sure had a character to make up for it! Bossy and rough around the edges, trust me, you didn’t want to end up on her bad side. “Naponyleon complex,” Doctor Stethorsecope once said (before getting bucked in the guts).

But make no mistake, that coarse persona of hers was just an elaborate charade, because in truth, I knew she bore the “sweet” part of her name for a good reason. Took me a while to figure her out. She just cared too much, that was her issue.

All’s that to say, we knew better than to reply to her accusations. When she shouted at you, it was in your best interests to keep your mouth zipped and nod like a good pony.

Seeing as we learned our lesson, she sassily harrumphed and instructed us to follow her. So we did just that. Trotting behind that pink earth pony of braided white mane.

A little further down the thin back alley, we ended up in a small alcove with benches and trash cans. A sanctuary where we could be safe for the time being. This is where the rest of Sweet Pint’s group was waiting. A lab coat and two construction helmets: Doctor Stethorsecope, Leafy Humus, and Seesaw Log. With Mr. Prospector and myself, the whole gang was here! It was a relief to know that all six of us were safe and sound despite the ongoing disaster. What I wouldn’t give to end the night with a death toll of zero...

“Calx!” hailed Log.

“Mr. Gold!” followed up Humus.

“You two made it, heheheeee! Oh how glorious it is to see you’re okay!” continued the jumpy doctor for them. “We heard the bell loud and clear, so the four of us quickly met up in this lil’ spot. And then... and then, ah...”

He trailed off, gazing at me. He cocked his head sideways and his left eyeball twitched. Uh oh. I’ve seen that crazed look before. I didn’t even have time to brace for cover when, in one unexpected leap, he invaded my personal space and forcefully tilted my head backward. He attacked my vision with a small crystallight held in his teeth, making me see spots.

“H-hey!” I complained.

“Fresh horizontal laceration on the encephalon about oh, one decimeter in length. No basal layer or scabs formed yet. Blood coagulated on the cranium with a mix of sweat. The wound has neither been properly cleaned nor disinfected with iodine, making it prone to bacterial infection, and-”

“Stop it! Back off!” I pushed him away a bit.

“But ah- what? Come on now, you can’t just go ahead and amuse yourself with blunt traumas and expect me to not bandage them, heheheheee!” pouted the doctor with another one of his typical uncanny laughs.

“Calx, you’re hurt!?” worried Seesaw Log.

“You’re hurt, Calx!?” echoed his broken record of a colleague.

“I’m fine, I’m fine!” I insisted with a tinge of hurry. “We can get that checked later, alright? But for now, we have bigger issues, guys! Two Ursa Minors are currently wreaking havoc and-”

“Whoa what!?” shouted Seesaw Log. “Ursas? Like uh, those giant blue bears thingamajig? That’s what’s happening? Why!?”

Yes, why indeed?

“I dunno Log... they seemed pretty pissed off at site 2B when I first spotted them,” I replied.

“Ya don’t say, eh?” lowly said Mr. Prospector, giving a stern and apprehensive look to his two employees.

“Okay but look- does any of this matter for now? W-we gotta... we need to do something about it!” I urged the whole gang.

Maybe I wasn’t assertive enough, because everyone remained silent. Mr. Prospector awkwardly rubbed his hoof on the dirt. Both lumberponies exchanged a worried look, biting their lower lip. Doctor Stethorscope anxiously toyed with his glasses. Okay then! They might not have said a word, but the resultant message was loud and clear.

“Preeeetty sure we can’t butt heads with Ursas, Gray dude,” sarcastically said the barmare. “Must be pretty lonely in Delusion Land if you think we stand a chance.”

“What?” I puffed out. “N-no! I’m not saying we should fight them! Do you think I’m nuts?”

“Coulda fooled me,” she shrugged.

“No! What I’m suggesting is, we need to save as many lives as we can! Ponies out there, Mr. Prospector and I, we saw them: They’re completely lost and terrorized! We need to bring them someplace safe; someplace where they won’t be at risk of having their home crumble down on them or... or get clawed to death!”

I at least got her to consider my pleas. Good. Sweet Pint thought about it for a second or two. All eyes were on her; except those of Mr. Prospector. Somehow, he was still glaring at Leafy and Log. Suspicious.

Eventually, after a short moment of deliberation,

“Yeah... yeah, we could do that,” said Sweet Pint, having found compassion and courage. “And I know just the place. The Two Arches, it has a cellar underneath. A very large one at that too. It’s built directly in the bedrock of the mountain. Ain’t no way these big pea brained bears can reach their grubby paws in there.”

Good enough for me. If my party proved anything yesterday evening, it’s that her workplace sure could harbor a lot of ponies.

And just like that, we were slowly devising an efficient plan to get us out of that catastrophe. See what happens when six heads work together? When six friends pool their might to work as a team? On our own, we had our quirks and were overall pretty inefficient. But as a group, we had the will, the means, and the wits to work this bad situation out. Friendship truly could trump anything.

After a very short debate (we were still under attack, after all), it was decided that Sweet Pint and Doctor Stethorscope were to usher as many ponies as possible to the designated safe room. The doctor would stay stationed down in the cellar, ready to treat as many patients as he could. Because – and let’s be real, here – it was more than possible that some of our dear villagers sustained some injuries already. Having his healing skills down there was the best use of his talents.

Phase two of the plan involved the rest of us – aka Mr. Prospector, our duet of lumberponies, and yours truly – to lure an Ursa out of town. Why’s that, you might ask? Well, as Sweet Pint delicately put, we had no means to combat these overgrown monsters. But it wasn’t about winning the battle. It was about moving the battle someplace else. Someplace that wasn’t prone to be reduced to rubble. With the four of us, surely, we could pull it off. If, for instance, one of us suddenly became incapacitated from a cramp or whatever, well, there were still three other able ponies to help the victim out.

We picked the smaller Ursa as our target. That seemed self-evident. Not only would their smaller size increase our chances at survival should we fail, but it was also entirely possible that endangering the parent’s “baby” would attract them out of town as well. Double whammy, so the saying goes.

“Plus,” I added, “I think the bigger Ursa is already busy dealing with the two royal guards. Look!”

Like clockwork, right above our little unsuspecting eyes, in the middle of the night sky, a pegasus was passing overhead. She even fired a powerful burst of concentrated magic from her horn in a display of pure force.

“See? We’re in good hooves. They’ve got this covered,” I concluded.

...

Aheh.

H-hang on for a minute.

I feel like I’ve missed something here. Something wasn’t adding up. Since, uh... since when did pegasi learn to fire spells like unicorns? They couldn’t do that, couldn’t they? Unless I’ve lived under a rock for most of my life? Because... Because there were only a couple of ponies who could pull that off. And one of them was-

“PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” exclaimed Seesaw Log, pointing up.

My stomach churned all that it held and purged it directly to my bowels. I came this close to puking my own heart.

“W-w-what... what d-did you just say...?” I pathetically whimpered.

“It’s the princess! Hohoho heeee! She’s here to save us all! It’s a miracle, everypony!” answered the yellow quack.

And then, they all collectively cheered. Jumping and hugging, as if the struggle was already over. W-what the buck is going on!?

I dared another peek at the sky. No matter how much I tried to deny it, the winged figure gliding above us was unquestionably alicorn-shaped. And despite the darkness of the night, I still detected specs of purple. Good lord, it was purple! SHE was purple!

...

No.

Hahaha, no.

No no no NO!!! Are you kidding me!? This wasn’t happening. Tell me this wasn’t happening? This couldn’t POSSIBLY be happening, couldn’t it? Two Ursas tearing our town apart, somehow, I could wrap my head around that. But THIS? HER? We had to have been collectively sniffing glue and hallucinating or something. That was the only plausible explanation. Because the alternative was impossible. Straight up impossible.

“What the HAY is SHE doing HERE!?” I bellowed.

Mr. Prospector slapped a stern hoof behind my back. “Being a hero, that’s what, eh Calx? We’ll pull through thanks to her!”

And there they went again. Another round of ovations for... for...

I started dry heaving. My face became cold, yet I was boiling on the inside. It was as if I caught a cold in an instant. I felt so powerless, so lightheaded. And dizzy too! So, so dizzy. Everything around me wobbled uncontrollably, amplifying my queasiness. W-why were the walls closing in on me?

Couldn’t keep my breathing in check anymore. I felt like I was struggling for air, yet at the same time, I was drowning my lungs with exaggerated gasps. Is this what a mental breakdown felt like? Because if so, I didn’t like it one bit!

I…

I had to get the HECK out of here! I couldn’t stay here! I wasn’t here; I was NEVER here! The only thing worse than the complete obliteration of Outer Grove was me being spotted by that stupid, nosy, meddling, tactless-

“Are... are you alright, Calx?” Log tilted his head at me.

My friends. They all stared at me with concern. Again. Again! Déjà freaking vu! Memories from my gaffe at the bar yesterday flooding right back in! History was repeating itself!

“GAH!” I screamed.

Right before bolting in the opposite direction. Away from my pals, without so much as owing them an explanation. I didn’t know where my legs were instinctively taking me, but anywhere else but here would do the trick.

“Hey!” a now distant Sweet Pint complained. “Where are you going, you nutcase? What about our plan!?”

Forget the plan! The plan was dead to me! I had to bail. I had to make it to the outskirts. I had to run in a straight line and never look back. I had to un-exist, to be low profile, to be a safe distance away from that purple mongrel!

She was ruining everything, as she always did! Sucking all the glory for herself: How typical! Being idolized by my friends, hypnotizing them with her charm and her alicorn superpowers! Stealing them away from me... More, more, MORE! She always wanted more! Nothing left for me! She had to come all the way here to vacuum the crumbs of joy I had left for myself!

I cannot believe this. And to think that I hadn’t seen her in so long.

How I wished it had stayed that way!

Left, right, left, right...

Didn’t matter where I was going. So long as it wasn’t straight into an Ursa, or worse, into the princess of friendship herself, then I was golden. But boy, was I in a total state of panic. A perfect fit with the surrounding rabble galloping all over the place.

Nothing could calm me down. It’s as if I had Equestria’s next big bad villain right on my heels. I panted, my friends. I panted hard and ungracefully. My cardio still hadn’t improved in the last half hour. The only silver lining was that my crew didn’t give me chase.

I had no idea what was going to happen to Outer Grove. A victory for the Ursas, or for the defenders? Didn’t matter. Wasn’t my battle anymore. MY battle was to bring my messed-up and shaken self out of the equation and lay low. With a little bit of luck, maybe the princess was going to fail and get smashed to bits. That was the best outcome that could possibly come out of this whole mess.

I turned a corner. Since I wasn’t really looking where I was going, it was only natural that I ended up bumping into something. Thankfully, it was soft and cushiony.

“Unf!” I grunted.

When I shook my head to clear up my mind, it occurred to me that I was laying on top of another mare. A rather portly mare.

“S-Skybrush?”

She didn’t answer when I helped her back on her hooves. When I saw her face, my heart broke in two.

Huge streams of tears leaking out of her pale green eyes. She was crying like I’ve never seen anypony else cry before. Seeing her this broken was wrong. So very wrong!

“G-goofball?” she sobbed.

“Are you okay? Are you hurt? Skybrush, are you hurt!?” I insisted perhaps a little too hard.

You have to understand. She couldn’t be hurt. Ever. Okay? That clear? She was the last pony in the entirety of Equus who deserved anything bad to happen to her. I swear I was going to declare a personal vendetta against the universe itself if ANYTHING harmed my friend. She was such an incredible pony – much better than the rest of us combined – and she was to be protected no matter the cost.

“I’m... I’m fine, b-but... y-you?” she fearfully looked at the red line right above my eyes.

“Don’t worry, it’s just a superficial wound.” I shook my head. “Why are you crying? Did something happen to you? Where’s Honey Dream?”

She lowered her head and let out a few plaintive moans. But no clear answer came.

“Skybrush...” I tried again, even more serious. “Where’s Honey Dream?”

“I don’t knoooowww!” she bawled.

She melted into my hooves, resting her head on my back just a little bit above my saddlebags. I could feel my fur getting wet with her tears. She hiccupped, wailed, and completely broke down. That poor mother...

For a moment, the world stopped. I swallowed those words with great pain. That completely brought me out of my psychotic Twilight episode. I'm not sure if this was a good thing.

“You... you don’t know?” I repeated, still in shock. “She’s not with you?”

“Noooo! She... She... Oh Caaalxx!” she cried again.

“Concentrate, Skybrush! Do you know where she might’ve gone?”

She sniffled a bit. “S-s-she was g-going... going to meet w-with some of her friends b-by the fountain... I... And then, the Ursas...”

The fountain... not good. Not good at all. It wasn’t too far off the clocktower, where the Ursas were currently wandering. She was right in the middle of the battlefield and, consequently, was in grave danger.

As I embraced my friend to give her hope and courage, I couldn’t help but look ahead with glassy eyes. As if something took a bite out of my very soul.

A few dozen meters away, I could see the bordering forest where I could lose myself and never be found by that dumb alicorn. My way out of Outer Grove, right there. An escape route ripe to be used, teasing me in an almost in a seducing way. All I needed to do was to let go of my friend and bolt forward. I mean, it was right there.

However, that would mean leaving Skybrush’s daughter to an unknown – and potential fatal – fate. Could this be a burden I’d be willing to carry for the rest of my pitiful life?

Heh. You know what’s hilarious?

The fact that I even pretended that this was a dilemma. A choice involves a set of answers. Here, there was only one correct answer, and it was a no-brainer. Anything else was absurd.

I had to find Honey Dream. I just had to. No matter what.

“Skybrush...” I lifted her sadden face with my hoof. “I promise I will bring your daughter back to you safely. You hear me? She’s going to be alright.”

“Oh, Calx...”

“But you can’t stay here either. With two rampaging Ursas, it’s too dangerous! Me and the gang, we decided to shepherd the residents in the cellar of the Two Arches. You need to go there so you can be safe. Do you understand?”

She silently nodded.

“Good, good. But please, listen to me, this is important: Be EXTREMELY careful. I would never, EVER forgive you if you put yourself in danger.”

Again, she simply gestured positively.

Alright. That put my mind at ease. Off to find the little filly and bring her back in one piece to her mom!

I was ready to turn and run straight back into the fray, but Skybrush put a gentle hoof to my back.

“Goofball?”

I gave her a look of assurance. She wiped a tear.

“... T-thank you.”

Author's Note

Holy long chapter, Batman!

Seriously, oops. I didn't mean for it to drag on this long. But there were things that needed to be said, and ideas that needed to be conceptualized. So I bundled it all into one chapter, because I'm evil and I like twirling my mustache, muhahaha! On a more serious note, I promise the next chapters will be less long (please don't hold a grudge if I fail). While the previous chapter was mostly riddled with exposition, this one dealt with a bunch of action, and I guess the word count reflected that. All part of the plan, babyyyy!

Gotta ask y'all a question though. It's on the matter of the rating. I think it's been evoked before in the comments, but should I make the switch to a T rating? I'm still not quite sure myself. This chapter made me hesitant, especially after Gray Calx got wounded. There was also alcohol involved in chapter 1. Is it worth making the jump? I dunno man.

I don't know where else to say this, so I'm going to plug that sucker here: If you see anything lore-wise that makes no sense, or stuff I've written that directly goes against the timeline established in the show, please, do tell. I'd like to keep my dumbassery to a minimum if at all possible.

And finally, obligatory music for the part where Calx jumps in the minecart.

Twilight: A Town Savior

An aspect often overlooked in the mining industry is proper tool maintenance. This is true not only for the bigger pieces of machinery, such as large-scale excavators and thaumaturgical blasters, but also for a worker’s personal equipment. Continuous usage of such equipment will inevitably erode their efficiency, or, in other terms, force a team to work much harder to obtain the same payload. This is even more relevant than in other fields, since mining activities are highly straining on the tools, and their usage typically extends over a long period of time. Two factors that make equipment decay a predominant issue.

Tool maintenance isn’t just a means to prevent sizable losses of productivity, but it also is the best way to avoid work-related accidents. An improper pickaxe, for instance, can yield disastrous results. A single chip in a cutter mattock can divert the angle of penetration when chopping roots, which could potentially end up injuring its user. This is why a regular whetstone sharpening session is recommended every month, not only to ensure the proper functioning of the tool, but to help the worker stay out of harm’s way (more on that in subchapter 4.3).

Maintained tools also have a longer lifespan, cutting down replacement costs. A study made by renowned economist and professor Capital Bond showed that a non-negligible part of the budget from the biggest companies under the Equestrian Geological Association (henceforth referred to as the EGA) is directly allocated towards resupplying spare parts for their branches, as demonstrated by the projection of graph 3.2 below. Various financial quarterly reports even proved that an egregious sum-

“I’m telling you, Sunny, I totally saw a ginormous dragon head pop out over the buildings!”

It was too good to be true. The peace and quiet. Sunstone almost made the mistake of thinking it could last, but alas. He grunted in annoyance.

“You’re doing it again, Shiny.”

“Huh?”

“You’re doing it again. I’m trying to study and you’re distracting me.”

Both siblings were in the living room of their upper middle-class home. The older brother was slouched on the opulent sofa, back to the cushions and hooves holding above his head a large brown manual about tool upkeep. Shining, meanwhile, was sitting on his haunches on the carpet, lining up many little wax toys depicting pony infantries. He was putting them in various formations and debated internally which ones he thought had the best chance at pushing back against an unknown threat.

Finding Sunstone out of his bedroom was not a common occurrence. But today, he had been coerced into making a rare apparition. Both of his parents were out, accompanying little Twilight Sparkle to her school for an evaluation of some kind – Sunstone didn’t really know what it entailed; he hardly paid attention. Since no adult was present in the house, 17-year-old Sunstone was tasked to keep an eye on 12-year-old Shining. That got a couple of grumbles out of the ambitious scholar, but so long as it didn’t impede on his studies, he would tolerate it.

It was nearly noon and the hot early summer sun was incubating the whole dwelling in a cozy greenhouse warmth. Though they might’ve been in the same room, the two brothers didn’t exactly share the same mood. Quite the contrary, in fact. While Sunstone was detached, concentrated, and perhaps even a little bit blasé, Shining Armor, on the other hoof, was primed, restless, and ready to go kick some flanks.

“Pfff! Who cares about studying rusty-old books when Canterlot might be under attack?” Shining countered. “Look, for the tenth time, I swear I’m not lying! There WAS a dragon, okay? A big, purple dragon! I saw him from the window and he... he was in the direction of Twily’s school!”

“No he wasn’t, because you’re making stuff up. With that crazy imagination of yours.”

Sunstone placed his book on his tummy and gave a disinterested stare at his brother.

“I mean, seriously now? First, a big wave of rainbow washing over the sky, and now, la crème de la crème, a dragon who abracadabra’d out of nowhere, roaming in Canterlot? I spend five minutes on the porcelain throne and that’s the stuff you come up with? Puh-lease. I know you’re trying to bait me, Shiny. I’m not a gullible moron.”

“H-hey! The rainbow, the dragon… it’s all true! You HAVE to believe me! Why would I be lying? We... we have to do something about this, okay? We need to go save the ponies out there! I mean... Twily might be in danger! How can you just sit there and think about doing nothing?”

“Because even if you were telling the truth, which you are clearly not, there are already more than a few qualified ponies out there who can take care of the situation. We don’t have to get involved; we’d just interfere with their protocols. And- wait! Shhhh! Do you hear that?”

Sunstone’s ears perked up, and rotated like small antenna dishes. His brother held his breath, becoming attentive as well. He rapidly turned his head in all directions, concentrating on tracking the source of what Sunstone had just heard.

“N-no? I don’t hear anything?” said an alarmed Shining.

Sunstone slumped back into the lounge. “Neither do I. And that, my friend, is the sound of the cavalry not being alerted. Guess there really isn’t a problem, uh?”

Shining Armor untensed, a bit slighted at being mocked like this. His brother’s uncaring behavior and doubtful attitude was really starting to test the limits of his patience. He felt so restrained, so strangled. He wanted nothing more than to be taken seriously.

“Ughhh!” he complained. “That’s because the royal guards are too busy doing nothing in the castle. If I was in charge, things would run much smoother!”

Sunstone couldn’t help but let out a condescending chuckle at his wishful thinking. Sure Shining. Sure. Keep dreaming, young colt, he thought.

“And look- we don’t need the guards! I don’t need the guards! I’m practically a soldier myself. Look, my cutie mark proves it,” he boasted, turning to his side, showing his shielded purple star to his brother. “I can take care of the big meanie on my own!”

“Exemplary display of humility right there, dearest Shining,” sarcastically chortled Sunstone. “I don’t want to pop your bubble, but I think you maaaaay be a little bit of a narcissist.”

“And you, a... a total bore!” retorted Shining while stomping a hoof. “Every time there’s a cool adventure waiting for us, you always stay put and twiddle your hooves!”

Oh, fighting back, are we? Feisty!

Sunstone lifted his head, a grin now covering his face. It’s almost as if he was waiting for Shining to poke the hornet’s nest. Getting an excuse to put oil on the fire. Enjoying a good brotherly argument, in sum.

“Yes, Shiny, I stay put. As opposed to what? Running frantically in the streets of Canterlot like a headless chicken? I might not have your marefriend Cadance’s special foal-sitting talents, but I know a thing or two about staying out of trouble. And when you get in trouble, mister, who do you think gets punished? The reckless unicorn, or the responsible earth pony?”

He didn’t leave Shining a gap to answer his rhetorical question.

“That’s right, pal, it’s me! I get punished, Shining. Me. And tell you what, I grow bored of being ‘the bad guy.’ So please sit down, be a good pony, and kindly stay out of trouble while your big brother studies.”

Shining harrumphed, not quite happy with having his dynamism caged in like this. He knew what he saw. If Twilight’s safety was ever compromised because of his brother’s infinite lethargy, well... Being mad would undercut it.

These bickering sessions weren't anything new. As the years went by, the two brothers’ disagreements seemed to have multiplied tenfold. They didn’t see the world the same way, and that often resulted in them confronting one another. At least, under the scrutinizing eyes of their parents, these quarrels were done in a respectful environment. Mostly.

Sunstone didn’t like Shining’s grand ideas and his rose-tinted glasses. He would take any opportunity to wane down his enthusiasm with a good dose of pessimism, which he claimed was “how the real world functioned.” That forever remained a no-sell with Shining, whose grievances with Sunstone stemmed from his aggravating mood and being constantly put down by him. He tried many times to get his unenthusiastic brother involved in activities of all sorts, to get him to poke his snout outside for a change, but Sunstone was an immovable object. A black hole sucking any good vibes Shining had the misfortune to display in his presence.

All in all? Sunstone was comfortable on the beaten path, while Shining Armor wanted nothing more than to break the mold. They were just incompatible.

Even though they lived under one roof, it became obvious that the list of things they had in common diminished every day. They drifted apart so much that they eventually reduced their kinship from “siblings” to “acquaintances.” And with these past few months, it was on the verge of being demoted to “strangers.”

So once again, Shining had to stay away from all the action, as ordered by the oldest sibling.

Well. Be that as it may, this wouldn’t do for him. He was old enough. He could take care of himself. He wasn’t a foal anymore. And to Tartarus with Sunstone clipping his proverbial wings! He was going to go out there and make that dragon rue the day it dared to show its face in Equestria’s capital!

He got up on his hooves, and darted toward the entry door, not without blowing a raspberry to his brother.

Sunstone flung his book on the floor. “Hey! Come back, you little rascal!”

“Make me!”

“Make you!? You gotta be... ugh! How many times have I told you to stop trying to be a hero? We’re not heroes and never will be, so stop pretending to be someone else already!”

Shining shook his head. “Speak for yourself. I’ll show you that I have it in me!”

“Oh sure you big wannabe! You and your awesome superpower of getting me scolded by mom and dad!”

“Hrmmph!”

Further ignoring Sunstone’s countless warnings, Shining pushed on the handle and swung the door open. At the apex of his cockiness, he turned to face the outside world, knowing with absolute certainty that he could succeed at anything if he really put his heart into it.

He would’ve beelined straight for Twilight’s school, if it weren’t for the fact that she was standing right in front of him on the other side of the doorway, a hoof hanging in midair. Almost as if she was just about to turn the handle herself. She looked a bit staggered, not unlike Twilight Velvet and Night Light on either side of her. The four unicorns were face-to-face, a little confused by the sudden encounter.

“O-oh, u-uh... H-hi mom! Hi dad! Hi Twily!” sheepishly said Shining, a few shades redder.

Sunstone heard that. “Wow, you did it! Good job saving them all, bro. And so quickly, too!” he ridiculed him from afar.

The parents questioned what Sunstone had meant by that, but the embarrassed unicorn colt quickly brushed it off. In any case, the group made their way into the foyer, preferring to discuss inside rather than catching sunburns on the porch.

And boy, did they have some things to discuss.

For starters, Twilight Sparkle was bouncing everywhere, practically climbing to the ceiling. She was thrilled beyond what was once thought possible. Foals were excitable little things, of course, but her? Created an entire new meaning to the definition of “happiness.” It’s as if she downed three jars of sugar in a row.

In fact, she was in such high spirits that Sunstone – yes, Sunstone, of all ponies – actually got up from his seat and joined the rest of his family in the entry hall. With all of them in the house now, it’s not like he could sink more hours into his books anymore. Before sneaking into his room and becoming a shadow as per tradition, he had to admit, he was kind of curious to find out why his little sister was squeaking as though she stumbled upon the world’s biggest diamond. Investigating seemed worth his time; a rare development indeed.

When he saw his parents and his sister completely over the moon, Sunstone just had to raise an eyebrow. What uh, what was going on, exactly? Why did an indoor parade suddenly invade his residence?

“Shiny, Sunny, I’m glad to see you both here!” said their peppy mother. “A lot has happened and- well, Twilight, why don’t you tell them yourself?”

“I GOT MY CUTIE MARK! I GOT MY CUTIE MARK!” she bellowed, hopping like a slinky on steroids.

She joined her brothers and exposed her new cutie mark with great satisfaction. Sunstone and Shining both carefully examined it. Yup. It was real, alright. Right there on her flank. An honest-to-Faust cutie mark. You couldn’t fake stuff like this.

“Oh wow!” exclaimed an impressed Shining. “Congrats, sis! I KNEW it was your turn soon enough! Welcome to the club, hahaha!”

He embraced her in a tight hug, twirling around whilst compromising the structural integrity of her ribcage. He also gave her a noogie, just because he could.

“S-Shiny... s-stop!” said Twilight with a grin, a bit embarrassed.

Meanwhile, Sunstone awkwardly cleared his throat. “Uh... yeah. What he said. That’s uh, that’s a pretty... interesting design you’ve got there.”

He looked backward to evaluate his own mark. Then back to hers. Then his again. Hers, his, hers.

Huh.

Well, Shining sharing part of his cutie mark wasn’t a crazy coincidence after all. Because all three of them had that purple star in common. How peculiar. What did that even mean? A novel attempt at sapping away the remnants of his uniqueness, perhaps? They clearly have shown no qualms about stealing some of his thunder, so why wouldn’t their cutie mark give him the same treatment? An unintentional (but convenient) ploy orchestrated by mischievous deities, maybe?

Or perhaps it was even worse. That blasted star could very well be stamped on him to be a constant reminder that he was forever linked with Shining and Twilight. Doomed to recognize his subpar advancements every time he stared at his doppelganger in the mirror. That no matter what, these two hooligans still existed, and they still remained better than he was. What a cruel twist.

Sunstone shook his head, just in time to realize that Twilight wanted to give him a hug as well.

Yeah, how about no. He backed off a bit. He had been crystal clear on his “no hugging” policy throughout their shared years. Still, to not make a scene (his parents were right there), he offered a couple of gentle pats on top of her mane with a generic “there there.” It did its job at quenching her thirst for appreciation.

Night Light nudged his daughter a bit. “Hehe, don’t you want to tell your brothers how you got your cutie mark, eh sport?”

She nodded and nodded and then nodded some more. “Yes! I got it after I passed my test! I did a bunch of craaaaazy magic, it was insane! And I- and then... Then I got my cutie mark!” she squealed in pure jubilation.

“She had a magical spur of monumental proportions in the middle of her assignment!” clarified Twilight Velvet. “We don’t know how this happened, but it was um... It was an experience,” she added, her and her husband looking nervously at each other.

“I’d rather not talk about it,” dismissed Night Light, rubbing a hoof behind his head.

Sunstone was a bit intrigued by the cryptic explanations. What could’ve happened in that classroom?

In any case, that left him a bit dejected. Of course she would finish her school year on a high note, sure, why not. She was Twilight freaking Sparkle. She never encountered any resistance in her pedagogical journey, why start at the very end? It was in the bag for her, it has always been in the bag!

And that got him to think. If she could skim through her final exam with such ease, then what about him?

That one last written test for his Field Work class was still dangling by his snout. Twilight’s personal success just made him hope to pass it even more. Not only for his sake, but to show her that he too could prosper when it actually counted. Maybe then she’d see him as something more than a genetic malformation who’s struggling to be worth something.

Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor. These two were top of their class, and aced pretty much any challenge they encountered. That didn’t leave them much else to be envious of. And that included him, the subpar brother. They tolerated his insipid presence, sure. But he wanted a little more than that. A lot more than that.

He wanted respect. He wanted to leave them awestruck. He wanted to be coveted, to be desired, to be doted over, to be the pony any brother and sister would’ve wished to have. He wanted to lift his chin all proud, and have them tell him: “Sunstone, pray tell, what’s your big secret?” He didn’t just want to exist: He wanted to thrive. To be an asset, and, above all, an important heirloom in the family. Between being a protagonist for something epic and being left in the dust by his siblings, Sunstone chose the former.

That all rested on the shoulders of the upcoming test. If he could finally jump over that last hurdle, just as Twilight did, well, maybe he’d be ahead for once? To be special and unique in a positive way: Wouldn’t that be nice for a change? Climbing the ladders in a world that seemed to constantly have a dent against him, now that, that was some daydreaming he could get behind.

A weird juvenile growling noise broke him out of his illusions of grandeur.

“Buh? What was that?” he queried.

“You heard it too, right?” Shining wondered as well.

To answer their inquiries, out of complete nowhere, a small creature jumped off Twilight Velvet’s back. Taking a good look at the unexpected newcomer, they quickly found that the purple critter was none other than a baby dragon. Close to having just crawled out of his egg, if his small size was any indication. He just sat there, on the floor. He looked up at them with a big innocent grin, blinking small green eyes of silted pupils.

Sunstone couldn’t help but chuckle and elbow his younger brother. “Hey. That the big menace taking over Canterlot, by any chance?”

Shining looked completely lost. “I... I mean... I don’t... I don’t understand, he was...”

Yup, stunned into silence. The poor colt.

“Oh um. Yeah. The baby dragon,” said Night Light, not too sure himself what to make of this. “That was a reward generously donated to your sister for hatching him during her exam.”

“He’s going to be living with us from there onward,” continued the mother. “We just need to find him a proper name!”

Well, that was out of the left field, but so long as the little guy didn’t eat his homework, Sunstone didn’t particularly care.

Anyhow, he got his answers about the Twilight case, and that was enough excitement for one day. A baby dragon was where he drew the line when it came to absurd social interactions. Something he’d sink more hours into down the line. Maybe. Probably not.

He was about to turn around and finally reclaim his bedroom, his fortress of solitude, however...

“That’s not the only gift princess Celestia gave to your sister,” resumed Night Light.

Uh, wait a minute. Princess Celestia was part of her peanut gallery?

… No, seriously, what happened in that classroom!?

“Sunstone, Shining Armor,” began their mother with a serious yet positive tone, “you’ll never believe this! Starting next week, Twilight, your little sister, is going to be studying directly under princess Celestia! She decided to take her under her wing. Oh, isn’t that just wonderful~?” she sang-sung.

Bam. Straight onto the table. No sugar coating it.

Night Light nodded. “That’s right! Twilight impressed her so much with that incredible display of magic she performed during the exam that she decided on the spot to take her as her personal protégé!”

...

...

“... E-excuse me?”

“For real!? My own sister, working with the princess!? No kidding! That’s super duper mega ultra awesome! Aw, c’m’here, you!”

Two brothers. Two completely different reactions. One of them ran to give yet another boisterous hug to princess Celestia’s new pupil, while the other remained stone cold frozen. It wasn’t hard to guess who was who.

Twilight was on the floor, Shining embracing her as hard as he could. The small dragon even joined in the pile – because hey, why not – and they all laughed together. Twilight Velvet, meanwhile, fought really hard to hold tears of joy. She even levitated a handkerchief to her misty eyes. Her husband was rubbing a reassuring hoof on her back with a smile of pride only a father could give.

But Sunstone? Sunstone was drawing a blank. A million thoughts thundered in his mind, and he had a hard time compiling any of them. Disbelief, defeat, disarray: So many emotions fighting for a spot in the hodgepodge that brewed under his skull. One thing did stick out, though.

It was over.

He lost. He played a good game, he gave it his best shot, but in the end, it had been so pointless. Not only were the cards stacked against him from the start, but now, Twilight skyrocketed so far ahead, so impossibly far, that trying to catch up became a fool’s errand. And this changed everything.

Controlled by a brain running strictly on autopilot, Sunstone walked forward with soulless eyes. His legs were moving on their own in an unnatural and robotic way. And this time, it wasn’t in the direction of his room.

Fresh air. He needed fresh air.

When he brushed past Twilight on his way to the front door, he took a good gander at her. He felt so disconnected, so depersonalized. None of this felt real. His identity and self-worth had no idea how to handle this new crowning achievement in his sister's life. Yet still, with a complete lack of emotion, he drew all that he had to drone out a few comments.

“Well sister, it looks like you’re well on your way to become someone very important.”

He took a few more steps, but Twilight got up from the floor, now noticeably worried. She approached him with pleading eyes, desperately seeking his approval.

“W-wait! Aren’t you... aren’t you proud of me, Sunny?”

He looked at her with all the neutrality in the world. “Proud? Sis, I’m ecstatic. Overjoyed, even.”

With this meaningless response, he kept going. When the trim of the door passed over his head, Twilight Velvet got a bit concerned by his unnatural and lackadaisical reaction. It was a bit out of the ordinary, even for her son's standards.

“Sunny? Is everything okay? Where are you going?”

“Work.”

“Really now?” said his suspicious dad. “But you told us this morning that you had the day off today. That’s why we entrusted you with Shining’s supervision, remember?”

“Well, I forgot. Guess I really do have the brain of an earth pony.”

If they protested at his passive aggressiveness, Sunstone either didn’t hear it, or ignored it. He turned right and walked downhill, which wasn’t at all in the direction of Joe’s shop, until he disappeared behind a corner.

Twilight Sparkle knew something was amiss and lowered her neck. Her emotional state did a complete one-eighty. Heavy. It felt heavy. Wasn’t the first time it felt heavy around a certain pony. But the circumstances of today made it that much more obvious.

And that got her to think. Something that’s been boggling her mind for a while now. She just had to know for sure.

“M-mom? Dad?”

“Yes dear?”

She felt gutted on the inside. “Does… does Sunstone hate me?”

That was the last thing any parent wanted to hear. Their hearts skipped a beat, and they couldn’t help but gasp out loud at the ludicrous accusation.

“Of course not! Honey, don’t you ever think such things!” Immediately replied an appalled Twilight Velvet. “Sunstone is just… he just has a difficult way of expressing his love, is all.”

She nuzzled her. The rest of the family followed suit. The dragon, once again, saw what all the grownups were doing and partook in the collective hug. Twilight nervously laughed, partially reassured. S-silly her! For sure Sunstone loved her, right? How could he not? He was her brother. Brothers and sisters love each other; that’s just how it works.

That's just how it works...

A good distance away from the household, Sunstone kept advancing on Canterlot’s polished pavement, unsure where he was going at all. He felt like a ghost in a city full of busy ponies. An interloper without a goal. Everyone around him had a purpose, but him? A mere watcher who had been led astray throughout nearly two decades of fighting in quicksand. All he had was his insecurities; that was the only thing that kept him grounded in a reality that felt so fake, so impure.

Twilight Sparkle, princess Celestia’s personal student. Now with a thousand times the prestige. As if she wasn’t enough of a prodigy already. As if he didn't feel minuscule enough already.

Taunted by his own sister...

How could he ever compete now? Even if he passed his test with the highest grade, that still would be meaningless compared to having an apprenticeship with the most powerful pony in existence. What’s an A+ on knowing where to dig dirt when you can just start every sentence with: “Yesterday, princess Celestia and I did this and that.” When uncles, aunts and family friends would come and visit, they’d be all over Twilight, impressed and eager to know what she and her mentor had been up to. Maybe a sympathetic relative would carry the burden of turning to him every now and then and begrudgingly ask: “Oh, and uh, what about you... Sunstone was it?”

It didn’t matter. None of this mattered. Twilight pretty much cemented his descent into obscurity. Because no matter what he would try from there onward, it would always come bundled with a word. One particular, simple, yet very real word.

Underwhelming.

It was worse than she feared.

Two of them. Two Ursa Minors! Double trouble.

Twilight Sparkle has had some experience wrestling with an out-of-control Ursa in Ponyville a few years back, but to have a second one in its vicinity was seriously going to complicate things. Among other things, she wouldn’t be able to stay put and make one of them fall asleep as she had done before, lest she gets interrupted by the second giant troublemaker. The many potent spells she employed to pull that off had some serious casting lag, and she’d be vulnerable for far too long. Horseccam’s razor was a bust: The simplest solution was definitely off the board. This time, just as with her first encounter, she’d have to improvise, and quickly.

Thankfully, the ringing of the bell directed her exactly where she needed to be. No time was wasted on finding where the monsters were attacking, all thanks to the valiant efforts of the sentinel who alerted the populace. She made a mental note to give them her regards after this cataclysm was over.

Being a couple of meters up in the fresh air of the night, one thing she didn’t miss during her approach were the two gold spots orbiting the larger Ursa like pestering fleas. On closer inspection, she realized that these were in fact two heavily armored ponies, which she immediately identified as the royal guards she read about. Once again, books prevailed and saved her precious seconds!

But, oh! They appeared to be in trouble. This wasn’t entirely unexpected. Two Ursas was no small feat.

A pegasus tried to slice the overgrown bear with her weapon, but no dice. Wouldn’t have worked anyway; Twilight knew this. These creatures had a near impenetrable hide, reducing their spears to little more than toothpicks.

Regardless, the monster took offense and roared in retaliation. They stood on their hind legs and tried to viciously swat away the little buzzer, but thankfully, she saved her own skin and dodged in a swift motion. The cart-sized paw missed, but not by much. A claw was only a few centimeters off from scratching the hair out her snout.

Her fearless partner saw that after the bear’s offensive comeback, they left themselves open. Feeling opportunistic, she flew directly towards what she perceived as a weak point: Their head.

Unfortunately, Ursas aren’t as simpleminded as they look. From the corner of their yellow eyes, they saw the brave pony speeding toward them – and most importantly, the pointy tip of her halberd.

Which is why they tried to intercept her by opening a drooling maw full of razor-sharp fangs. Twilight Sparkle saw where this was going and knew that if she didn’t intervene right there and then, a pony would meet its end.

Not a moment too soon, she concentrated and allocated a good part of her energy reserves into the tip of her horn. Teeth exposed, eyes closed, brow furrowed, a bead of sweat rolling down her neck: She gave it her all. Her fur raised up, overcharged as if she was saturated with static electricity. When she judged her spell was sufficiently built-up, she released a majestic swirl of magical plasma: A funnel of magenta and indigo that would leave anypony wishing for their mommy should they be hit by it.

And yet, when it struck the chin of the Ursa, it barely bruised them and only left the tiniest, mildest scratch. Fortunately, the sheer recoil of the beam still succeeded at making them fall backward, their galactic body impacting the cliff of the nearest mountain in a shower of debris. That triggered a small rocky avalanche, but nothing that would seriously threaten the principality.

Since the beast became momentarily immobilized and that the other one was busy dealing with something Twilight couldn’t really make up from this far away, she called out for the two flying mares to regroup with her. If there was ever a time to come up with a plan, now was a pretty good contender.

“P-princess Twilight Sparkle!?” said the first royal guard that arrived, completely bewildered by her presence.

As expected, she offered a bow, and so too did her less punctual co-worker when she finally joined them. This gesture was a little awkward to execute, considering they were hovering in the air.

“W-we don't have time for formalities!” halted the princess, who didn’t even like bowing rites to begin with. “Quick, what are your names?”

“Private Sterling Plume,” said the soldier who couldn’t help but offer a traditional salute. “And this is Hasty Flail, a recruit in training. She ah, she doesn’t speak much- but never mind all that! Princess, what in Celestia’s beard are you doing here!?”

“Important friendship business. But I'm afraid I’ll have to table that, since it appears we have more pressing issues...”

Right on cue, the Ursa she valiantly knocked out was attempting to get back on all fours, albeit hazily. That didn’t go unnoticed by the two guards, who dreaded to think how their opponent would fare in the second round of the battle.

“Princess, what’s going on exactly?” queried Sterling Plume. “Why are there TWO Ursas trying to reduce Outer Grove into a pile of rubble? We’ve been stationed here for four months now, and we’ve never had to deal with anything more than like, a squirrel with rabies! We’ve been tasked to protect the town, but nothing in our training prepared us for something of this magnitude!”

“Y-yeah! I mean... A mama Ursa a-and her baby...?” finally spoke the quiet pegasus.

“Not that I'm unhappy to see you here,” Plume kept on going, “but did you know anything about this? Were you sent to provide aid? Your timing is ah, it’s kind of tough to beat!”

Twilight became somewhat defensive. “H-hey! I’m here strictly on friendship grounds, like I said! I had no idea I was going to arrive in the middle of a catastrophe like this! It’s just a crazy coincidence! A very, very crazy coincidence!”

She switched her look to the timid soldier.

“And sorry to correct you... private Hasty Flail, was it? But that Ursa right there is neither an adult nor a female. That’s actually a common misconception a lot of folks make. Adults of this species are called Ursa Major, and have an entirely unique morphology. Not only are they colored differently, but trust me, they are also a whole lot bigger! No, what we have right here are, in fact, what I highly suspect to be two siblings: A big brother and a little sister. You can easily tell their gender all thanks to the disposition of the stars near their tail. You see, males have a brighter-”

“P-princess! Please! I don’t think we can afford a lesson in biology at a time like this!”

“Oh! Um. Yes... yes, you are quite correct. S-sorry about that!”

Much to their dismay, the time allocated for their “strategic” meeting ran its course. Because not too far away, with a menacing battle cry, the astral bear had fully shaken off the counterattack and was back up on his feet, ready to crack some skulls.

“Gang? Hate to be that mare, but I don’t think it- he enjoyed being shoved like a ragdoll. Looks like he wants to exchange a few physical notes with us!” private Plume warned.

She wasn’t incorrect in her assessment: Their nemesis was gazing straight at them with knives in his antagonistic eyes. Without wasting any time, he tried to close the distance between him and them, now completely ignoring the town as though it didn’t even exist anymore. Naturally, the three mares started flying away; being idle was an obvious death sentence.

As they withdrew in an arbitrarily chosen direction – which so happened to lead them above a parcel of the boundless forest wrapped around Outer Grove – Twilight came to a sudden realization.

“W-wait. This is good. This is good!” she declared with great exuberance.

“How can you possibly be saying that!?” a hectic Plume demanded.

“Because- look! Don’t you see? He’s aiming at us, and not at the buildings anymore. So long as he’s not dishing out his anger on the innocent citizens of Outer Grove, then I say we’re in the clear!”

“You won't see me disagree, but what about our safety!? Princess, he’s right on our tails!”

“Then let’s exploit his tunnel vision and use it to our advantage. I may have… an idea. Follow me you two, we have one very large Ursidae to bait out of town!”

They flew a good distance away from the village in a Vic formation, with Twilight Sparkle spearheading the movement. The male Ursa Minor hadn’t given up his pursuit; if anything, he looked even more determined to teach those annoying fluttering critters a lesson. A very painful lesson. He was stampeding in the dense woodlands below, breaking trees like frail twigs as he parted a pathway through trunks and leaves.

“Where are we going exactly, princess? I obviously know less about their behavior than you do, but doesn’t exactly look to me like he wants to throw the towel anytime soon,” spoke out the more experienced pegasus, forcing her voice against the dashing wind.

“Just as planned! We don’t want him to give up. Not yet! Just… just trust me!”

She lowered her altitude, getting closer to the floor of treetops. The two guards followed suit, knowing better than to express doubt against a pony who’s defeated one of their aggressor’s kind all on her own before.

Twilight tossed a couple of magical flares up in the sky, horn powers at play, highlighting their position. She wanted to make sure they were still acting as pony-shaped bullseyes for the gargantuan bear. They could hear more wood creaking, more heavy stomping, all of this, accompanied by the branches of the pines rustling with increasing intensity. This was all the proof they needed to confirm that they were indeed sitting ducks, ready to be served as a three-course meal to one voracious predator.

“P-princess?” said Hasty Flail, as unsure of herself as ever.

“Lower now,” Twilight ordered.

Even though she had no experience acting as a commander in a military context (that was more Shining’s cup of tea), she knew a thing or two about being the leading force behind a squadron of ponies. With her friends, the other Element bearers, she’s been at the forefront of multiple judicious operations before, which is why she didn’t have as much trouble finding her voice now as she did a couple of years back.

And this is with that kind of confident tone that she convinced the two royal guards to follow through with the leap of faith, even though from their perspective, the whole ordeal smelled like a suicide mission.

All three of them sunk into the deciduous verdure, now hovering only a few meters above the hazardous and humid terrain.

“I sure hope you know what you’re doing,” said Plume.

“T-t-this wasn’t p-part of the contract!” added Flail.

“Any moment now...” finished Twilight.

The last few trees that acted as a feeble palisade between bear and ponies didn’t hold for much longer. Just like a giant scythe, a blue claw annihilated the evergreens before anypony had the chance to yell: “Timbeeeer!” A colossal head with two enraged eyes soon replaced the deceased pines, vision locked on three measly prey that really overstayed their welcome on this plane of existence.

“NOW!” barked Twilight. “Everypony, back up quickly, now!”

And they did. The trio flew a few meters back, scraping through a couple of bushes ungraciously.

Right until they cleared the last line of trees, only to float past a sharp ninety degrees cliffside. Which, in turn, opened up to a ravine. A rather deep ravine. Despite the darkness, they could see the reflective surface of a canal in the middle of the depression surrounded by a riverbank of boulders and gravel. Private Plume and private Flail were understandably surprised by the unexpected change of scenery.

But not as much as the Ursa when both of his front legs suddenly looked for solid ground. Suffice to say, one could make the assumption that the monster was not as well-read about the geography of the surrounding areas as bookworm Twilight was.

His center of mass couldn’t make up for his hundred of pounds that were tilting forward over the void, and that led to the nasty consequence of dragging the rest of his body along for the ride. It didn’t take long for the Ursa to start rolling down the rocky edge and pass right under Twilight and the guards, roaring louder than thunder. And for a fraction of a second? All three caught a glimpse of his expression. It screamed: “I’ll get you next time, you miserable little ponies!” This whole sequence wouldn't have been out of place in one of Spike's corny comic books.

Big brother Ursa eventually ended his crash course, ramming the floor quite a few levels lower than Twilight’s group. Just enough time for the three of them to make sure that they were all still in one piece.

“Come volunteer to Outer Grove, they said. Easy vacations for you, they said!” grumbled Sterling Plume, wiping a good layer of sweat out of her brow.

“T-that was close!” Hasty Flail breathed out. “How did you-”

“Know about this canyon? Simple: I read all about it in my Outer Grove Geography atlas on the train on my way here! It’s called the Burgundy Marquis Canyon by the way, named after the prince who gave his blessings to the principality 50 years ago. Oh, oh! Did you know that this gorge goes all the way down to half of a kilometer under the ground at its deepest? Isn’t that fascinating?” Twilight grinned like a foal on Heart Warming’s Day.

However, both soldiers just kept batting their wings in place, their mouths completely horizontal. Twilight's little tidbits of trivia weren't resonating all too well with them.

“Riiiiight. Um, not to worry though,” Twilight squinted, looking down to evaluate the damage. “Ursas are bulky and some of the toughest creatures in Equestria. He’ll be alright. Maybe have a few sore spots for the following weeks, but nothing that can’t be healed over time, h-heh! Push comes to shove, he’ll just hibernate early,” she awkwardly half-smiled.

While the combat method of sending your enemy plummeting down a pit seemed a tad barbaric, Twilight took the necessary precautions to not punish an organism part of this ecosystem too harshly. That bear was acting on pure instincts alone; he could hardly be faulted for following his primal urges. It just wasn't worth making his little sister an only child, forever wondering what could’ve happened to her missing sibling...

And that train of thought raised another problematic.

The other Ursa! She was probably still causing trouble! They weren’t out of hot water yet. Winning half the battle wasn't cause for celebration. Until the danger was eradicated in its entirety, rejoicing was going to take the backseat.

“Come on everypony,” said Twilight full of motivation, “pest control is not over yet! We have another bear to take care of!”

“Right behind you, princess!” patriotically chanted Sterling Plume.

“Lead the way!” added Hasty Flail.

Spears raised and helmets put back on: Off they went. Returning to the flying formation they adopted earlier, this time, heading in the opposite direction. Not getting lost was child's play; all they had to do was to follow the path of destruction the Ursa left behind when he plowed through the land.

Without the threat of a chase, Twilight Sparkle took her time to better analyze her surroundings. She could’ve sworn she spotted some kind of unnatural structure in her peripheral vision earlier. She rapidly chalked it off as something irrelevant, perhaps even as an adrenaline-fueled mirage. However, this time around, she could confirm that her earlier appraisal held true. It was right there, at her one o'clock, not too far from the closest mountain. She could see it, and she could see it well.

“Excuse me, but why are there acres of barren land over that way?” asked the princess to her armed escort.

A huge bald rectangle in the middle of one luxurious forest. An anomaly that could never have been shaped up by Mother Nature herself. No, it was pony-made for sure. Only they could chop down trees in such an orderly fashion – and so many of them, too!

“Beats me,” Sterling said. “We don’t mangle with civilian affairs. Looks like some kind of clearing to me?”

“Yes... a very large one, too,” she squinted.

Way too large, in fact. She’ll have to take a good look at it again with the light of the day; another task to add to her hefty schedule. But Twilight already had a couple of theories cooking under her mane. In that analytical brain of hers, the puzzle pieces were slowly starting to fall into place.

Because, until proven otherwise, she was of the firm belief that this wasteland was none other than the origin point that initiated this whole bear vs. pony feud.

When they finally made it back in town, the streets were deserted and completely devoid of ponies; a sharp contrast with the mayhem that greeted her upon her arrival. Twilight hoped with all of her might that it was due to the ill-fated bystanders down there having found shelter to wait this crisis out.

However, not everyone was so lucky.

One hapless soul was unfortunate enough to still find himself present in the middle of the cobblestoned streets. Twilight could hardly see any of their features, no thanks to the distance and time of day. From that far away, all she could see was a blotch of gray. Looked like a “he,” maybe? She was going to roll with that for now.

Well, one thing was for sure: The alleged stallion was fleeing, stuck in plain sight of sister Ursa. He was galloping at the top of his lungs, his neck craned backward, gazing at one heck of a behemoth giving him chase. All on his lonesome, he was acting as an unwitting decoy for the raging beast. Problem was, she had four times his leg span and was slowly catching up.

Very close to being in grabbing rage, the cunning guy sharply turned left and sank into a passageway between two tall houses. A decent tactical evasive maneuver. Twilight couldn't see if the escape route ended in a cul-de-sac or not. Sadly, the Ursa had more intel than she did. The monster peered at the gap where the pony disappeared. She howled a couple of times and rose up to her back legs, claws out, ready to pulverize anyone who found themselves trapped in that alleyway of doom.

Well, not if Twilight had anything to say about it! She was done playing the observer.

She dove closer to the ground and encapsulated in her telekinetic aura a wheelbarrow that had been left tilted over in the middle of the street. Keeping a sturdy grip on the heavy object wasn't an easy task, but her drive to save a life gave her all the strength she needed. Like a giant sling, she rotated the improvised weapon behind her and flung it directly toward the Ursa Minor. It struck true, crashing into her cheek in an explosion of wood chips. The diversion proved successful: The monster teetered a fair distance backward and ended up falling on her rump, seemingly confused as to what just happened.

The three town saviors took that as their cue to make their approach.

“Keep her distracted! I have to help that poor pony; he might be injured!”

Or at the very least, very shaken. Without arguing, Sterling Plume and Hasty Flail obeyed and headed toward the downed Ursa.

For the first time since she left the train, Twilight’s hooves embraced the ground. She landed gently, but not without haste either. She retracted her wings and, not used to flying for this long, recalibrated her balance. From the main road, she made a quick visual survey of the alleyway where the runner had taken refuge. Oddly, she couldn’t find anypony there. All she could see was an unhygienic mix of moldy boxes, damaged barrels, overflowing trash cans, and weeds growing through the cracks in the hardened mud. Yet, the grotty corridor didn’t lead anywhere: It ended on a tall picket fence. An obstacle that, at its height, wouldn’t have allowed any pony to climb, let alone jump over.

So where did the mysterious victim go? She was quite sure that he was an earth pony, which meant he couldn’t have escaped airborne or teleported out of sight.

“Hello? Anypony in there?” she cautiously asked.

...

...

“Uh, yeah. Yeah. There’s me,” came a masculine reply behind a tall stack of crates.

A reply that sounded unsure, a bit stressed out, but above all, obviously faked. The yet-to-be-seen stallion was forcing his vocal cords in the strangest way, almost as if he was putting on an accent on purpose. Twilight wasn’t sure why he was going through this rather peculiar pretense, especially at a time like this, but she attributed it to shock. The poor sod just narrowly escaped a meeting with the grim reaper, so who’s to judge his unusual reaction, really? It was more than possible that he was in a panicked state, and the brain, being an intricate little machine, was prone to easily go haywire after such a trauma.

Whether it was garnered from books or personal experience, Twilight knew all this. It was her duty to reassure a pony in distress. She would never consider ditching him and leaving him at the gallows. Had he not suffered enough?

“This is princess Twilight Sparkle speaking. And who might you be?”

No answer came.

“Are you okay? Can you walk up to me?” she tried to mellow him out. “We need to get you out of here, this is a dangerous place to be!”

“I’m ah... I’d rather not,” he hesitantly said, still with that faked voice.

“I understand that this is scary out here, mister, but I cannot stress this enough: You really can't stay here! Please, come with me, I promise I will do my best to keep you safe!”

“Well, I can’t! Um. Because! Uuuuhhh… my leg’s broken? Yeah that’s right, broken! The pain is too much, ouch.”

Oh no! A broken appendage on top of everything? Being chased in a brutal game of cat and mouse, and now this? This incapacitated stallion sure couldn’t catch a break. This just made Twilight’s worries increase exponentially. She felt so bad for him. No one deserved to be in that kind of situation. She needed to be there for this stranger more than ever.

The obvious hitch was, if his leg was truly broken, how was she going to get him out of here? She didn't think she had enough endurance to carry a fully grown stallion to the nearest medical center. She was a princess after all, not a stretcher. Maybe she could cobble up some kind of cast on the spot to at least keep the limb from moving? Have him lean on her after? That all seemed so risky.

She took a couple of steps toward his box fort. “Don't put any weight on it! I'm coming right over to hel-”

“N-NO! DON’T COME HERE! STAY BACK!”

Twilight stopped on a dime, intimidated by the sudden outburst. She was more confused than ever by the reluctance of this anonymous pony. What was going on, here? Did he seriously not want to be rescued? Why scoff at her altruistic assistance given his awful predicament?

“Look err... I misevaluated my injury,” he continued, quieter this time. “It’s just a sprained hoof, silly me! Nothing to it, really. I don’t need help.”

“W-what? But you just said-”

“Please, please just go away! Leave me alone! I’m fine!”

He started to lose his makeshift accent there. No matter. Twilight already made up her mind. She kept advancing toward the hidden pony, further ignoring his foolish demands of being left behind. In a second or two, she’ll be able to fully assess his physical state herself with an unbiased perspective.

“I will never abandon one of my fellow ponies! I’m going to keep you safe if it's the last thing I-”

“PRINCESS, WATCH OUT!”

Twilight heeded private Plume's warning almost instinctively and conjured a protective sphere around her whole body by reflex. And not a moment too soon. A fraction of a second later, and she would've been bludgeoned by a giant fist full of claws.

The defensive veil wasn’t without faults, however. Her translucent lavender bubble kept anything inside safe, sure, but it could still be subjected to external forces. And as it so happens, being pounded by a creature ten times her size was all that was needed to send her ball-shaped shield rolling in one sadistic game of pony-sized billiard, with the princess herself acting as the cue ball.

Twilight gyrated inside, pinned on the “wall” of her spell. It was more thrilling than any carnival ride found in Equestria. And yet, despite bouncing uncontrollably in the streets of Outer Grove, despite her sudden urge to lose her lunch, despite all of that, the princess held onto her spell. The moment she’d let go, she’d turn into a tumbling mess of gore. That alone was all the motivation Twilight needed to keep her horn active.

This, until she ended up striking a wall head-on, putting a stop to this whole fiasco. Once she was out of motion, her spell vanished, leaving behind one very dizzy princess. In her drunken stupor, she tried to refocus her vision, but that was easier said than done. All she could see were blurry blobs doing a poor job passing off as buildings. Not to mention, her head was seriously starting to hurt. That was a lot of spells in one night, some really powerful ones too, and the drain of her natural stockpile of magic was taking its toll on her.

“Hunnhhnnngg... w-w-where am I?” she said with a wobbly voice.

She didn’t expect an answer, and was proven right when no one came to give her any. The deafening silence led to one obvious conclusion: Plume and Flail were nowhere near her. They must’ve gotten separated after she got launched Faust knows where. She had absolutely no idea where she landed. It was one thing to go tourist in a town you’ve never set hooves in; it was another to ricochet mercilessly in it. Twilight was effectively lost, disoriented, and-

GrrOOOAARWWRGGG!

-still in danger.

Didn’t take a genius to deduce that the Ursa wasn’t done with her. Apparently, hurling a wheelbarrow in somecreature's face made her top of the list. That Ursa was out for blood: Specifically, HER blood! She wouldn’t be subdued until she could floss bits out of her teeth with Twilight’s bones. Could be why the royal guards’ distraction only lasted as long as it did. Unlike the princess, they just weren’t interesting enough to be dismantled bit by bit. Or perhaps the Ursa was simply saving them for later?

But for now, she was slowly approaching Twilight, savoring the moment as if the princess was nothing more than a disposable toy to chew on. Nothing like the fresh smell of an easy victory.

In her weakened state, Twilight knew she had nowhere else to run. It was the end of the line. She’d have to pour all that she could into this final encounter, otherwise, her story was going to be cut short. She needed one last push to gain the upper hoof against this restless invader. Gambling with her life was scary, but there truly were no other options. It was now or never, forever.

The princess harvested the remnants of her energy and funneled it all onto the tip of her horn. It radiated brightly with purple magic. A beacon of a thousand lumens in the middle of the night. She felt like passing out, like crumbling to dust. Her legs quaked and hardly supported her own weight anymore. Every single muscle burned and twitched with fatigue. Miraculously, she managed to power through the magical exhaustion that strangled her from within.

SWOOSH!

The Ursa, in the blink of an eye, was submerged by a force field that expanded out of Twilight. Once the brute had realized what just happened, she became as mobile as a statue, her pupils turning into pinpricks. Her irises, once yellow and hostile, were now screened with a psychedelic backdrop. Multicolor swoops and swirls dancing across her eyeballs like oil flowing in a lake. Her mouth curved downward, as a worried expression slowly replaced any evil intent she had prior to being hit by Twilight’s spell. Her ears even became flat on her head; a very rare sighting when it came to Ursa Minors.

Twilight Sparkle collapsed on the floor, totally out of juice. She winced from the efforts of staying conscious. She sluggishly lifted her head with force she didn’t even have anymore. It’s as if she wore an anvil as a necklace.

“Leave... l-leave this town now...” she said between heavy pants.

The Ursa kept staring at her, a bit dumbfounded. Or perhaps she was frozen in terror? It was tough to say. She didn’t give many visual cues as to what was going on in that cluttered head of hers.

In any case, that was all so irrelevant for Twilight.

“Go. AWAY!” she suddenly bellowed, a hoof meekly pushing her off the floor. “Leave these ponies alone! Return to the woods, vile creature, and never, EVER come back here!!”

The Ursa whimpered. She actually whimpered. An Ursa Minor. Whimpering. Just like a puppy about to be bathed. You had to be there to see it. Not only that, but she also retreated, tail between her legs. She ran back toward the forest, and got lost into the darkness of the Undiscovered West, until her cries were out of hearing range.

The silence of the aftermath reigned supreme.

No longer were buildings being ripped from their foundations. No longer were the nightmare inducing howls of two angry beasts tormenting the villagers of a defenseless town. No longer were the united screams of a horrified crowd merging into an ear-splitting tide of pure dread.

All that was left was the subtle high-pitched droning noise of the wind. With a few lights shyly turning back on from homes that hadn’t lost their roof. A few doors opening, with the inhabitants slowly coming to terms with the reality of the situation, as unbelievable as it was:

The danger had passed.

“Princess!”

“Are you alright? Nothing broken?”

That was Hasty Flail and Sterling Plume landing right in front of the downed princess. They both offered her some much-needed support which she accepted without a fuss.

“I’m... I’m okay. I’m okay,” she said, not too sure herself, leaning on private Plume.

“What the hay happened at the end!? We arrived just in time to see the monster make herself scarce! How did you pull that off?”

“O-oh! Heh. Just an illusion spell to change my shape from the Ursa’s point of view.” She let out a hollow chuckle. “Let’s just say, I have an inkling that somecreature now has a deep dragon phobia.”

Plume cocked an eyebrow. “Geez, you almost make it sound easy.”

Oh, but it wasn’t. In fact, Twilight had never casted an illusion as potent as this one before. They weren’t even her speciality to begin with. Crazy what the body and mind could accomplish when your life was on the chopping block.

“Guys, look!”

Hasty Flail pointed at a group of ponies a short distance away pouring out of the building Twilight impacted with her shield spell. Tens upon tens of ponies, exiting through the main double doors. It’s a good thing that this large establishment hadn’t suffered any significant collateral damage. It remained proudly standing, more or less intact.

Even the three sturdy columns in front of it hadn’t toppled over. They kept doing their job of holding two splendid arches as if the attack had been nothing more than a trivial footnote in their life.

But whoa, there sure were a lot of ponies crowding around the three of them! Some bowed, some gasped, some were outright astonished that any of this was really happening. First, two Ursa Minors, and now the princess of friendship herself? Here of all places? For like what, the first time ever?

And she saved them!? Now that was a Saturday to remember!

“See, what did I tell y’all, eh? I knew the princess would prevail!” a gruffy yet appreciative mustachioed stallion declared to the rest of them.

“She totally did!” / “She absolutely did!” followed a duo of ponies to the left.

“Oh hehehehe! Never doubted her monster fighting proficiency for a second, hehehe!” now added some kind of yellow doctor to the right.

“Here’s one for the princess!”
"We owe you our lives, princess!"
"You're the best!"
"Anyone seen my glasses?"
"Let's make some noise, everypony!"
"Woo!"

And just like that, what started as praise quickly turned into a gang of ponies cheering so loudly that Twilight nearly developed a bad case of tinnitus. Hooves stomping in an applauding rumble, not a single mouth depicting a frown, ponies reconciling and hugging each other in relief, hats and other accessories being tossed in the air, hip hip hoorays all across town... Twilight felt so valued, it was almost dizzying.

Or perhaps that was just another side effect of her drought in spare magic.

When the noise dwindled down, a pony got closer to her.

“Well! If they told me that my peaceful little town was going to receive the visit of two Ursa Minors AND one princess in a single day, I would’ve checked the expiration date on my medication, muhehehe- cough COUGH!”

Sounded like Outer Grove’s head cheese. Looking at him, she saw yet another earth pony; nothing too out of the ordinary. The senior was pale brown and had a white diamond decorating his muzzle. Gray tail, salt and pepper sideburns. Again, nothing too shabby.

But his clothes.

Oh lord, his clothes. What a ridiculous attire that stallion was wearing! Clearly, his wardrobe hadn’t evolved with age. She could almost forgive the antiquated maroon doublet, but was the black cape really necessary? That particular combo in itself would make Rarity faint on sight. What really took the cake, though, was his ebony and gold platted top hat. Yes, a top hat. Made Twilight appreciate Mayor Mare’s choices that much more. At least, she stopped at the dickey. But this stallion from another epoque felt like it was necessary to tie the whole ensemble with this anachronistic tube of felt. Who knows, maybe he was going to pull a rabbit out of it?

“My name is Mayor De La Tour,” he said with a respectful bow, “grandnephew of Marquis De Burgundy and elected representative of this little corner of Equestria. Princess, on behalf of every Outer Grovian, I would love to offer my most sincere thanks for your selfless role in chasing these dastardly pooches back to their den. Without your input, well... I dare not think of the grim consequences.”

Twilight eventually snapped out of her, err, “appreciation” for his daffy costume and returned a bow. However, a little voice in her head told her that now was the not the time to engage in a diplomatic exchange. Something didn’t feel right still. There were a couple of loose ends in dire need of being tied.

“Mr. Mayor De La Tour, it’s an honor to meet you, but... I’m afraid it’s not quite over yet!” she warned.

The goofy guy tilted his head, confused. “Whatever do you mean, princess?”

“W-we need to evaluate the damages! H-help anypony lost and hurt! There was a stallion! A stallion in a back alley not too far from here. H-h-he was in dire need of assistance, I must-”

Not even a step in and her trembling knees buckled. She would’ve flopped onto the stony floor like a rag if it weren’t for the guards dutifully giving her the support she needed. That physical malaise didn’t go over the mayor's head.

“Nonsense!” he protested. “You have done plenty to rescue our quaint little town already. For that, we are eternally in your debt. So please, I must insist, do not strain that overworked body of yours any longer than you already have. In the meantime, we will pool together our collective efforts and handle the fallout of this tragic calamity ourselves.”

She had to admit, her magical migraine was drumming harder than ever behind her skull. Attack beams, flares, protective spheres, legendary illusions... Saying that she was out of steam was the euphemism of the century. Because in truth, the probabilities of her falling unconscious within the next few minutes were staggeringly high. After everything she went through, that would make for one anticlimactic ending.

“Do not worry, princess. We will find that missing stallion of yours. You can count on us! But for now, you must rest.” He clapped his hooves in a commanding manner. “Miss Sweet Pint! Would you give me the satisfaction of coming forth, if you please?”

Heads turned and singled out a white and pink pony of petite stature. She gulped and took a couple shy steps forward, breaking off the crowd. Just under the white freckles of her rosy cheeks, she attempted to keep a smile trained by years of customer service.

“Ah, there you are, my dear. Would you be so kind as to accompany the princess to the grandest suit of your delightful inn?” Mayor De La Tour asked.

“Uh... yeah. Not a problem. R-right on it, dude- I mean, uh, Mr. Mayor Sir,” she tripped onto her own words.

There was no denying that she was a bit shaken not only by the recent course of events, but also by being the center of attention at the moment. And for once, against the very nature of her tough persona, she resisted all urges to mumble something sarcastic. Somehow, being unpleasant in front of a princess, one that just saved everyone’s flank – hers included – seemed a bit out of place. Instead, she silently showed her royal guest the way, moving away from the other ponies at a reduced pace. After making sure Twilight Sparkle was in a stable condition to move on her own, Plume and Flail nodded and receded into the crowd.

On the porch of the bar/inn hybrid, Sweet Pint turned to look at the esteemed princess. “This is- this is the Two Arches. I work there as a barmare. I mean, I guess I’m not a barmare, but more like, the barmare, since there’s just me behind the counter, if you catch my drift. Um, welcome, I guess?”

She facehoofed.

“Erf, not the best sales pitch I’ve given, gonna be honest. Can’t say I was ‘xactly prepared for any of this, h-heh.”

Twilight candidly smiled. She understood all too well what it was like to try and please a higher authority and making sure everything was up to code, spick-and-span, without faults, etc. She’s been there before. Many more times than she’d like to admit.

When she walked past the middle column, she couldn’t help but admire the carved art that reshaped it into three ponies and a sphere. Now just where exactly did she see that design before? Somehow, it wasn’t all too unfamiliar to her. Maybe she’ll rethink the question after being properly revitalized?

Intrigues aside, that was one stunning piece, really! Credit to the artist. She’d appreciate it even more if she wasn’t so close to sleepwalking. Right now? Snoozing was the order du jour.

The barmare made it inside first, and she couldn’t help but cringe at the state of her workplace.

“I ah, um. Sorry about the mess. We held a party here yesterday and I meant to clean before opening for the night, but y’know. Giant bears. Sort of shifted my priorities a bit. And then I had to house dozens of desperate ponies like stowaways, so that didn’t help! Look, I’m telling you, normally, I’m tidying up this place so good, it’s almost like-”

By this point, Twilight could hardly pay attention to the scenery anymore. Her head was sagging low, and her eyelids only allowed a slit of vision for two bloodshot eyes. Still, looking left and right, she could sort of see what Sweet Pint was rambling on about. A bunch of empty mugs caked with froth, crisp bowls filled with crumbs, chairs toppled over, unfinished games of cards, deflated balloons, an uncountable number of dirty paper plates...

... and of course, right above her, a huge banderole that spelled: “HAPPY 5 YEARS GRAY CALX.”

Which, once again, sort of rang a bell? Maybe? Could’ve sworn she heard a name similar to this one before. Eh whatever. Probably just some balderdash derived from sleep deprivation.

No, really, if there was one thing to get anxious about, it was something else entirely.

She had triumphed over the duo of Ursas, yes? The town had been salvaged and its citizens celebrated their well-earned victory, yes? One could almost say: “Problem solved,” correct?

Then why didn’t her cutie mark acknowledge this satisfying denouement?

It hadn’t given her any completion signalization. No hints at all. It didn’t pulsate, it didn’t illuminate. No celebratory chime and no glittery particle effects of any kind. Both of her stars remained completely motionless, placidly waiting on her flanks the same way they have for the past 24 hours.

This could only mean one thing.

The friendship problem still existed.

Author's Note

So.

I'm really sitting on that faithful Encounter™, am I? Four chapters in, and brother and sister are still not playing Scrabble together, bwap bwap. Not to worry though! It'll happen soon enough. Just, I think it has more merit if it happens from Gray Stone (Suncalx?)'s POV. In the meantime, we had two big uglies to deal with. That's now been scratched off the bucket list, so we can happily move on to the next problem in the pipeline.

Also, I pledged like an honest boi that I was going to have a shorter chapter this time, and I succeeded!... Barely. Me and my big mouth. Should've planned this better, yee-haw. Still, it's the thought that counts, etc etc.

Sunstone: Waiting for a Train

As the years rolled by, new chapters about this winding journey in self-discovery get written. Growing up, moving out, meeting new ponies, forging an identity, tripping and getting back up, enjoying new hobbies, seizing the day... This long and ubiquitous game of life has a way of bringing anypony to all sorts of places, the majority of which, their past incarnation couldn’t have possibly conceived. Routines and status quo gradually making room for something so unfathomably exhilarating, something so wonderfully grandiose, while the world gets swept by innumerable waves of change.

But for as much as things have a way of moving forward, a lot tends to remain the same, too.

For Sunstone, it was essentially back to square one. All means of progress had been erased; it’s as if the last 10 years didn’t happen at all.

The poor stallion was nearing his thirties and had to return back to living with his old folks. Not by his choice, mind you. An unfortunate series of circumstances had befallen upon him, booting him back where it all started.

Being the oldest sibling, and being the last one to leave the nest. There was something thoroughly humiliating about this. If he found his life unimpressive before, now, it was borderline pathetic. And to what end, really? Had he not busted his flank his whole life to secure himself a cozy lifestyle in the future? Studying relentlessly and applying himself at school to snatch a snazzy job like every other salaried worker?

Look at him now: Sitting on his haunches at the kitchen table, a yellow newspaper opened in front of him. Desperately scrounging the ads section to find a new and better form of employment where his expertise could shine.

His neck was curved downward and his face was completely buried in his lecture. As if he was trying to intimidate the paragraphs with his vitriolic stare alone to rearrange the letters into something more acceptable.

Unfortunately, nothing yielded. Yet another day of finding nothing but posts that either required courses his studies didn’t cover and/or field experience he didn’t have. And a minimum wage was out of the question; who could avoid having the bank foreclose on them with something that could barely cover a week’s worth of groceries? Canterlot’s cost of life could be a cruel mistress if you didn’t shove that silver spoon far down your throat.

Sunstone took another sip out of his lukewarm coffee. A true meal fit for the failure that he was. All hail the almighty loser, he mentally chanted.

His mother was doing the dishes by the sink. Hovering the plates with her horn telekinesis and washing out the goobers in midair with a brush. Well, she was sort of half paying attention to her chore. She couldn’t help but give genuine sad looks at the pitiful state her son was in. Seeing him so morose, so defeated, well, it was tugging at her heart. Twilight Velvet was still a mother, after all.

“Found anything interesting this time around, Sunny?” was her first effort to jumpstart a conversation.

“‘Fraid not,” he said after swallowing a big gulp of his bitter drink. “Looks like you and dad are going to be stuck with me a bit longer than expected, heh.”

“D-don’t say it like that! You know you’ll always be welcomed here. You know that, right?” she said, scrubbing a pan with a little too much intensity.

Sunstone dropped his paper and rubbed his temples. “Yes, mom, you’ve said it enough times for me to take the hint. The point has been sufficiently driven home, trust me.”

He peered at the leftovers of his veggie omelet he didn’t have the guts to finish. With his appetite missing, he half-heartedly pushed the plate away.

“It’s not that my current job is all that bad, but... It’s just not enough. I need something that pays more. I’ve crunched the numbers, and at the rate I’m saving up, it’ll take me another full year before I can accumulate a decent-enough cash down to afford my own house. Probably two years, realistically. And by then, who knows how much inflation will have screwed the economy.”

Sunstone segued his speech with a humoristic glance toward his mother.

“Bet the princess and her inner circle of nobles are having a reeeaaal good giggle at us crumb-eaters when they purposefully plunge us into recession after recession. ‘Austerity,’ they then proclaim. Psshhh, yeah, good one, princess Celestia. Wonder if that’s the kind of ingenious wisdom she’s passing onto her faithful student.”

“S-speaking of jobs, you ah, hehehe, y-you still work as a field researcher in the abandoned Canterlot crystal mines, right?” Twilight Velvet asked, desperate to change the subject.

“Yup. Earning peanuts by freezing my flank in that cold and desolate cave system is my vocation, apparently. I don’t know why they even bother sending me to convey on-site geological surveys. Everything that was worth something has already been picked clean by greedy unicorns a really long time ago. I don’t see anything important ever happening again down there. Sometimes, I swear, it feels like I’m being held hostage in this stripped mine. Like I’m some kind of... I dunno, some kind of prisoner, I guess.”

“Surely, you must be exaggerating just a little bit?” she tentatively asked.

“Eh, I probably am. You know how melodramatic I can get,” snarked Sunstone in return. “Still, I highly suspect that my superior only tasks me with this... pseudo busywork, because she has no idea what else to do with a flathead like me.”

“With a flat- Sunstone!! Don’t call yourself that!”

“Hey, why not? Everypony needs a nickname.”

Twilight Velvet didn’t feel the need to entertain her son with a response.

As this “pleasant” morning talk dwindled down, Sunstone began to reminisce about the events that forced him to go on the hunt for a better living wage. He had reasons to not be entirely satisfied with his current job. It was a bit disheartening for him to uphold this kind of unambitious low-end position after being so close to obtaining something a lot more prestigious.

Indeed. About five years ago, Sunstone finished his time at university with an internship that sent him straight to Manehattan. His gradebook was beyond satisfactory, and his top percentile performance caught the interest of the Equestrian Geological Association. Naturally, Sunstone gladly accepted this once in a lifetime opportunity.

This was it, this was finally it! A gateway for his name to have a place in history books. A means to be remembered. A reason to believe that maybe, just maybe, he was something more than an irrelevant detail.

It took very little time for him to pack and kiss the family house goodbye. His parents were all emotional, as were his siblings and Spike who, back then, were still all living together. The five of them felt melancholic and saddened by his departure, but for Sunstone, it was a whole different category of emotions that turmoiled inside of his stomach.

It felt exciting. It felt liberating. It felt good.

Finally, finally, a way out of this place. Finally, he would stop being told about how Twilight’s magic was becoming more and more potent each passing day. Finally, he would stop unwittingly hearing about how Shining kept being promoted along the royal guards’ ranks at record speeds. No more playing second- nay, third fiddle.

For him, this was a new start. A way to do his own thing, far away from those who overshadowed him so much. The perfect solution to focus on his own projects without them feeling so dang inferior. No longer would he be constrained by having to share a bedroom wall with those who had done nothing but bring him jealousy and unpleasant thoughts.

This couldn’t have been made more obvious when Sunstone moved in with two other alumni in an apartment not too far from the EGA headquarters. The rent was rather hefty, but splitting it three ways helped a lot. That first night he spent in a bed away from home, Sunstone had been blessed with the most pleasant dreams.

Over the next few months, Sunstone quickly climbed the corporate ladders, and what started as a modest internship quickly shaped up to be a permanent job offer. He had been relocated to the research and development branch of the renowned firm, with a keen aptitude in figuring out and creating new means to facilitate the extraction of heavier ores.

This went on for a couple of years. With Sunstone’s projects and ideas managing to find grants funded by the Crown, this couldn’t have been going any better. There was a point where he even started considering becoming a teacher in the matters of geology, what with him having lived the best moment of his less than stellar childhood at school. He could totally picture himself in front of a class full of students eager to learn, sharing his passion for everything rock related. And the best part of that was, the EGA was actually endorsing this decision. With a few appointment classes offered by his firm, Sunstone would be ready to spread the good words about the benefits of the mining industry.

At this point, it was undeniable: Sunstone was living the dream.

But you know what they say about the good times.

Good times never last.

It happened one evening, when his two faithful rent buddies announced to him that they wouldn’t renew their next lease. The two of them had fallen in love over time, something Sunstone was well aware of, but the stinker was, the lady wound up becoming pregnant. The couple decided that living in an expensive apartment in the big city was no place to raise a foal, and they agreed to move to a quieter place.

Sunstone understood why they took that decision, but at the same time, that left him in a rough spot. Now alone, the next trimester became financially unsustainable. He defaulted on multiple payments, to the point that his landlord started bullying him with threats of eviction. Sunstone’s school debt was still omnipresent, and with food and taxes, his paychecks came a little short.

With every other apartment being more or less in the same price range, he tried to find new people to cohabit with until his savings became more stable. He really did. But they were always either problematic, unreliable, drifting away after a few weeks, or all of the above. It was a frustrating game of musical chairs, rotating ponies after ponies.

In the end, Sunstone’s expenses piled up to insurmountable amounts and, with his head hung low, he returned to Canterlot. There were no other options. His parents were accommodating, of course, especially since Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor had since then moved out to live in dorms.

Unfortunately, Manehatten and Canterlot stood approximately four hours apart, and that’s if you took the express train. Being so far away from his workplace became a huge problem, because commuting for eight hours, five days a week, was absolutely mental.

Oh, Sunstone tried to make it work. But after two weeks, only two weeks, he gave up. His productivity at the EGA had tanked significantly, something that didn’t go unnoticed by the higher-ups. Rather than waiting for a pink slip, Sunstone took the honorable decision of stepping down himself.

Just like that, what started as a promising career deflated to nothingness. All that was left were the memories of a better time. Of something that could’ve been.

Sunstone downed the rest of his roasted beverage. Taking a trip down memory lane had brought him nothing but misery, something he sure could do without. There was enough to be disappointed about in the present, after all.

He brought his cup and plate to the sink counter before they could attract flies. Next to his mother who has tried really hard to keep a bright smile this whole time, Sunstone just had to cock an eyebrow.

“Mom? ... You’ve been wiping the same pan for five minutes.”

“I have? Oh! Uhhh, heheheee...!” she sheepishly smiled.

Sunstone rolled his eyes. “Alright mom. What’s on your mind?”

“Me? Oh, nothing, nothing!”

Yeah, haha, no. She was really bad at hiding her true intentions behind those pale blue eyes of hers. She couldn’t tell a lie to save her life.

“Mom.”

She turned off the water tap and dropped her kitchen equipment. She sighed, knowing that the upcoming discussion was going to be an unpleasant one.

“Look, Sunny... I-I know very well how you feel about it, but please, why don’t you let your dad and I give you just a little bit of financial aid for a change? Y-you could consider it a loan if you’d prefer! I mean, obviously, you wouldn’t even need to pay us back, we’d be super happy if-”

“No. No deal,” Sunstone predictably replied.

“But... why? You’ve always refused our help. I don’t get it, Sunny. You don’t need to do everything on your own. We’re here to support you, you know.”

“Yeah? Riddle me this then: Did Twilight cry for your help when she became the princess’ personal protégé? Did Shining ask for mommy and daddy’s bits before he was made captain of the royal guards? No! Neither of them licked your boots to achieve their goals; they did it all on their own! So you would think that, by comparison, my sorry 28-year-old ass should at the very least be capable of affording its own plot of land without resorting to begging for your cash!!”

Her heart was racing. “H-honey, it’s not a competition...”

“Oh, that’s where you’re wrong.”

It’s always been a competition, he said in his head.

Twilight Velvet wouldn’t win here, that much was a given. Who has ever won these kinds of arguments against Sunstone? He was far too deep in his beliefs. His ego would never allow her to have the final word on that particular subject. Instead, she tried a different avenue.

“Well... If that’s how you really feel, and if you truly do not want any of our money, then have you instead considered looking for a house in the suburbs? Like, say, in Ponyville instead of Canterlot? It’s not too far away from here; I’m sure the commute time to your current workplace wouldn’t be all too harsh to handle. House prices are pretty affordable over there I reckon.”

“Yeah, and you know why that is?” he rhetorically asked, chuckling. “Because there’s always a bunch of crazy shenanigans happening over there. No wonder they ask for so little upfront: It’s the insurance companies that must fill their pockets! This town is a scam, I tell you.”

He started to strut away, possibly to crash on the couch and wait for the hours to pass. Yet, something nibbled at him in the back of his mind.

“Besides,” he quietly resumed, facing away from his mom, “I know what you’re trying to pull here.”

“W-what? I’m not... um...”

“Yeah yeah mom. I can read you like a book. You just want me to go there so I can crash with a certain purple unicorn.”

“Sunny... I’m sure she’d be more than happy to-”

“I’m not moving in with Twily, mom,” Sunstone sternly replied. “For Celestia’s sake, she only left for Ponyville, what, two days ago!? I would definitely come off as a liable opportunist. Also, didn’t she take that sycophantic drake with her anyway?”

“Hey now, don’t you talk about Spike that way, young stallion!”

“Doesn’t matter. Point is, they probably don’t have enough room for a third wheel wherever it is that they live now. My presence would just spoil their fun. And, you know, it’s probably for the best, since there’s no way I could ever be convinced to go squat her house. End of discussion.”

End of discussion indeed, because, right on cue, dry knocks reverberated in the house. Somepony was at the door, patiently waiting to be answered. Twilight Velvet obliged, happy to have found an outing. This private moment with her eldest son had made her so skittish, it was almost a relief to have been given a chance to distract herself with something else.

Sunstone followed her out of the kitchen until he bifurcated to the living room, where he tossed himself on the lounge. No sense in having two ponies greet the stranger. Attentively, he heard a couple of “Hello Mrs. Velvet,” “Beautiful day ain’t it,” “Sign here please,” which was a pretty standard exchange when it came to mail calls. A moment later, Sunstone’s mother re-emerged back from the lobby, an envelope held between her teeth by the string.

But that envelope was no ordinary envelope.

“Is that a royal seal?” Sunstone asked, partially intrigued.

“Seems to be? Oh I wonder what this is all about!”

She unrolled the parchment, levitated it in front of her, and began reading the cursive words, her eyes squinting in concentration. Only a few lines in, and she gasped out loud, her face completely covered by a mask of pure shock. Sunstone had rarely seen her displaying over-the-top reactions like this before.

“What? What is it?” he asked, now definitely more intrigued.

It took her a few seconds to realize Sunstone was addressing her.

“O-oh? This? It’s nothing. Just more boring Canterlot paperwork, hehehe,” she nervously giggled

Sunstone simply crossed his front legs on his torso and cocked his head. For the second time this morning, she had been caught in her lies.

“We’re playing this game again, aren’t we? Look, mom, I'm no dupe. It’s a royal seal. I know what it implies. It’s something about Twily and her personal ties with the princess, isn’t it?”

She silently nodded, bracing for the upcoming storm that would undoubtedly erupt from her already disgruntled son. She knew how badly Twilight’s personal victories could set him off. And this one was a big one.

A very, very big one.

“Care to give more details?” Sunstone insisted.

“Weeell,” she started, biting the inside of her cheek, “r-remember how the sun was late to be risen this year during the Summer Sun Celebration? The one held in Ponyville two days ago? Something... something happened. And it involves your sister...”

Uff...

Uff...

Running.

Feels like I’ve been running for my entire life.

Ever since I barreled down that accursed mountain, it’s been nothing but run, run, run! And whereas one would expect me to do so with the clear goal of escaping danger, haha! ... They’d be sorely mistaken! Because that, my friends, would imply doing the smart thing. But me, the unusual specimen, well, I haven’t really been in touch with my rational side. S’why you could currently find me closing the gap with two bears on growth hormones – you know, the ones who could flick me to the fifth dimension molecule by molecule.

A mere nopony confronting a situation one step removed from the Armageddon: Me no likey them odds. Hey, anypony waging their bits on me? Come on, don’t be shy; you could win big, here!

Fatalism aside, what was I even supposed to do here? Like seriously, what can a simple dimwitted buffoon such as myself even accomplish in this particular scenario?

Hey, maybe I could talk them out of doing whatever it is that they’re doing? Use my silver tongue and convince them that they’re committing a big no-no? Toss in tea and biscuits to seal the deal?

... Nah, let’s be real.

It was going to get physical. Oh you better believe it! I couldn’t see myself cheating my way into an easy win here. My pragmatic flank was going to get kicked hard enough for me to regurgitate my own tail.

Look. Call me overly sensitive, but I wasn’t exactly keen on treating my pain receptors like second-class garbage. Weird, right? Let’s not forget that less than an hour ago, I came awfully close to a concussion after riding one demented cart ride, this, right before plowing down the most unsafe flight of stairs in the universe. Think I’ve sufficiently paid my ouchie toll for the day. Could feel it in my bones still; how’s that for some proof? I’ve done nothing but take my personal safety for granted, so now, the last thing I wanted was to be gutted like a piñata by two unstoppable creatures.

But my legs, these four audacious gray tubes under my torso, they couldn’t stop bringing me into danger territory. Clearly, they didn’t get the memo when I preached for self-preservation. Here they were, digging into the soil, confidently pushing me toward the place I feared most: The fountain. That archaic circular landmark plopped smack down in the center of Outer Grove’s main plaza. Thanks legs, very cool. Ugh. Weren’t they aware that patching a hemorrhage with courage alone was just fairy tales?

Meanwhile, my cardio was about to call it quits. Unlike my legs doped up on bravado, my diaphragm simply couldn’t keep up with my pace anymore. I had no other choice but to slow down and catch my breath. Oof... Boy was I out of steam. My muscles were working overtime, and they were more than ready to unionize against the poor choices that I’ve made. Luckily, my trusty eyes were still operational, and they took this short pause to analyze what was going on exactly. From left to right, then right to left, it was time to draw a portrait of the situation at large.

And it wasn’t exactly a black-or-white type of deal.

For one, I had indeed reached the aforementioned fountain. Very dull, that structure. An uninspiring ring a couple of meters in diameter made of poorly-carved stones. To add insult to injury, the pathetic basin had been filled with a murky pool of stagnant water where lily pads and lichen made their home. I mean, there wasn’t even a statue or anything to give the whole shebang a bit more oomph. You know, if Mayor De La Tour hired my services, I would’ve happily reshaped that ugly thing into something more respectable. It was rather telling that the Ursas didn’t even bother with it, probably thinking that it was already a broken pile of junk, ha.

... I trailed off big time here. Sorry.

But see, when facing off a wild animal that could swallow me whole if it so desired, my brain tends to fidget just a bit. Call it fishing for time if you will. One does not perish when one stalls.

In any case, that mountain-sized bear had been left all on their own. Their bigger comrade in destruction had nicked off somewhere else, separating the two of them in the process. As if that would alleviate my position at all. One Ursas, two Ursas... What difference did that make? Knowing it only took a single one of them to bring carnage of apocalyptic proportions, to me, that all seemed so arbitrary.

But...

But there was a problem. And not an insignificant one either.

See, my eyes weren’t lying: Everypony else had sought refuge. Whether this was by their own doing or through the efforts of my group of friends, I had no way of telling. Maybe they went ahead with the plan we cobbled up on a whim before I succumbed to my ill-timed panic attack? I sure hope they did. That’d be swell.

Still. Whatever caused the streets to become eerily deserted effectively left me as the sole taskforce to deal with that Ursa Minor. Even the royal guards and... Her... were nowhere to be seen. But that wasn’t what worried me the most, no. Because, in truth, I wasn’t the only pony who had been left behind. The reason why I hadn’t been targeted yet by that big mother Hubbard was written in the sky.

Simply put? I wasn’t the main bait. THAT was the reason. Somepony else had taken my role here. And not exactly by choice either.

And that pony...

That small, orange, ridiculously adorable yet totally terrified pony, well... she was none other than the objective of my rescue mission.

It was Honey Dream.

It was her. It was her, and she was stuck in a less than subpar position.

She was backing off slowly, two globular cyan eyes peering with unfathomable intensity at the Ursa looming over her. I could almost see my own reflection in them despite the darkness. Her quivering mouth was hung halfway opened. Even from this distance, I saw the entirety of her body shaking in ways no foal of her age should. But those eyes... sweet Celestia, those eyes. Her expression! I had front row access to witness the complete disintegration of her precious childhood innocence. Today marked the day she saw how ugly the world could truly be. And she’ll never be okay ever again.

Her trembling tail, that beautiful bundle of crimson and copper, ended up bumping into the side of a store that had met its demise. A fate she was soon going to share at the rate things were going. Caught in a trap, retreating became impossible; she was just about ready to be devoured.

All of my self-centered worries flushed away in an instant. No longer did I fear for my own life. No longer was I constrained by my insecurities. No longer was I paralyzed by indecision. Something took control of my senses. Some kind of... I dunno, parental urge to protect? Weird. Whatever the case was, my mind was set.

I had to act, now.

My legs, my tenacious legs, they went in full overdrive. I ran towards the Ursa towering over my all-time favourite filly at speeds I thought myself incapable of reaching. The monster had their claws retracted and was approximately three seconds away from doing something my imagination was outright refusing to picture.

Still on the run, I unholstered the pickaxe that somehow still kept me company after this whole time. My jaw was clutching the handle hard enough to chip a tooth or two. I rapidly escalated a broken chunk of wall that had fallen into a makeshift slope. At the tip of the conveniently placed debris, I pounced with great athleticism and soared through the air...

... the exact same way I did during those play-pretend games I used to share with... well, you know who I’m talking about. Except now, I was armed with a mining tool, not a fluffy pillow.

What a dissonant image my mind automatically rewound to. Was I experiencing that “reliving memories before you die” myth ponies propagated? I was still in midair, reconsidering my position in this world. Everything slowed down to give me just enough pause to ponder the circumstances that had brought me here. What an absolutely bizarre life I was living. Completely, completely out of this world – that’s just... wow, y’know?

What kind of clueless imbecile ever said that nothing ever happens in Outer Grove, again?

CHLUCK!

As I inserted the pointy tip of my pickaxe into the flesh of the Ursa’s back paw, time resumed back to normal. I didn’t expect anything out of my cocky power move, but who knows, maybe I had hit a literal Ponechilles’ heel? Well, whatever little damage I did, it was enough to trigger a deafening howl that sent my poor sensitive ears flat on my head. Been a lotta loud noises in one day.

I didn’t even take a breather to recover my tool or to check if the coast was clear: I rushed ahead and dove like a hoofball player on top of my “niece” to shield her from any potential retaliative comeback. After the little number I pulled, I expected revenge.

I wrapped myself as good as I could around Honey Dream as we slid together a fair distance away through pebbles and dirt. We could still hear the Ursa echoing plaintive moans, possibly dancing on one foot and going “owie owie my pinkie!”

At this point, we managed to gather our bearings (well, as much as we could). I then did what I did best and tossed Honey Dream onto my withers, that soft little spot she loved to claim as her own so much. I think she was still a bit perturbed by this whole sequence of events and didn’t even realize that she had been displaced to relative safety – at least, for the time being.

Since I apparently have not fled enough in one day, I resumed my “getting the heck outta here” routine. I chose a direction at complete random and darted forward. I was running on fumes, but now that I had someone on my back to protect, perishing was no longer an acceptable failure case.

I felt my own body tremble from Honey Dream’s hysteria. She was completely traumatized. Who could’ve blamed her? Who in their right mind could have possibly blamed her!? Like sheesh, at her age, I wouldn’t have been able to sleep with my eyes closed anymore.

“Un... uncle Calx?” I heard her slowly whisper.

“Don’t worry sweetie, you’re safe now, I gotcha! I’m going to get you out of here!” I said with a throat that felt like molten lava.

She nuzzled me even harder than she already was. “T-thank you... Thank you! Oh, thank you thank you thank you!” she repeated, sniffling all the while.

Hearing her angelic little voice encouraged me to press on. Slowly but surely, I was tricking myself into believing that I was actually going to make it!

“Going to get you out of here...” I said again, more determined than ever.

My brain was mush. My heart was busy pumping blood where it was needed most in this exhausted body of mine. I could hardly focus. Couldn’t clear my head. Didn’t have any idea what to do now. Finding shelter seemed like a good follow up, but... where could we even- I mean, there had to be a place where-

Wait. Of course, you triple idiot! The Two Arches! Duh! They’d welcome us with open hooves over there for sure.

Buuuuut I was currently running the wrong way, because of course I was. Fate was playing tricks again; who could’ve predicted that? And look, I wasn’t about to stop, pull a U-turn, and wave hello to the Ursa whose ankle I just disrespected. I wasn’t a master strategist by any means, but that to me didn’t seem like a winning move.

No, instead, I sank into a small depression between a clothing boutique and a patisserie; both of which had lost their upper floors. Bummer. A problem for later, though. For the time being, I skulked further between the two bricked walls.

Outer Grove was unusually rich with small secretive passageways, I’ll say this much. Didn’t know all of this town’s many twists and turns by heart, but I did know that in-between each building were small transversal pathways that all connected together in a thin backroad parallel to the main boulevards. This secluded snaking path wasn’t really employed so much as it was used to stash crates of merchandise and to hang fresh laundry.

Wedged between the back of the buildings and the tall cliffside of the mountain, this would make for a perfect escape route. We’ll use it to travel back to the Two Arches – maybe even elude the Ursa I’ve angered while we’re at it.

One problem though.

Fence.

Chain-linked and tall. With barbed wire on top for good measure. It did a wonderful job blocking all access to the corridor of freedom I’ve just spent five minutes praising. Wasn’t that rich! And while my pickaxe and my chisel came to the rescue in a timely fashion earlier, sadly, I didn’t come equipped with anything that could let me pry open this obstacle. Metal sheet cutters weren’t standard issue in my toolkit.

However, not all was lost.

Whoever erected that barrier fit to stop half a dozen manticores failed to secure the lower part. It floated about a quarter of a meter off the floor – at least, a damaged part of it was. It curved upward with just enough height to let a couple of stray cats through. And whatever small critters had found this failsafe improved upon it: They dug a shallow trench in the hardened soil to give even more room to crawl underneath.

A filly would have no trouble sneaking to the other side.

A grown stallion, however, wouldn’t.

... Well then. Looks like it was time to pull that idiotic move I’ve seen in way too many sappy movies already. Never thought I’d see the day where I’d be the one performing the heroic sacrifice trope. Hey, did I mention I didn’t want to be a hero before? However, for lack of a better option, our hooves were tied. Sigh...

I heard a faint gasp coming from the filly on my back. She too must’ve begun to understand the unfortunate ramifications behind our inability to progress any further.

“I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” she exclaimed.

“Huh? What for?” I queried, genuinely confused.

“Because... because I- It’s my fault! It’s all my fault!”

I twisted my neck to look at her, still puzzled.

“I, I was with Roller Wings and Comely, and, and, and I told my two friends that I was going to distract that big monster so they could run away... S-so that’s what I did. That’s why I was there, alone, when you found me! T-that’s why you’re trapped with me, uncle Calxie, it’s all my fault, and now, and now, w-w-we-”

“Waitwaitwait... You faced that Ursa Minor all on your own!?”

“I’m so sorry!” she simply insisted. “Please don’t tell my mom! Please!! I told Roller Wings and Comely to hide in our secret cave where we play, I... I know they’re safe! Y-you have to believe me!”

She... really went out of her way to save her friends’ life at her own expense? This, despite knowing fully well her chances of survival weren’t exactly stacked in her favor? How incredibly brave and selfless! And she was apologizing about it? Excuse me!? Seriously, few are the ponies of my age who would have gone out of their way to take such risks, but her, having only existed on this rock for seven meagre years, she didn’t hesitate one second to take a stance. Heck, I’m surprised she didn’t get her cutie mark for putting her life in peril like this.

I... hmmm. How peculiar. Why was it that I felt a weird kind of pride building inside of me? Kid wasn’t even my own. I had no right to- I mean, it wasn’t my place to-

...

B-but nevermind that! Tick tock, tick tock, clock was still spilling out seconds!

I invited Honey Dream to re-engage with the floor, gave her a heartfelt hug, and then, I looked at her dead in the eyes, my hooves on her shoulders.

“Don’t you ever feel sorry for doing the right thing, sweetie. What you did was incredible, and you will never be punished for that, you hear me?”

I gave her a moment or two to fully soak that in. There was so much more I wanted to say about her amazing accomplishment, but, once again, we had very little time to spare. It’s a damn shame I had to put a sock in my praise. Instead, I unlinked from her and carried on with the plan.

“It pains me to say so, but... we’re running out of time.” I pointed ahead. “You see that fence? There’s a gap right by the corner. You need to crawl through, take the service paths, and run along aaaaall the way to reunite with your mother at the Two Arches. It’s the big building where we held my party yesterday evening. Do you remember where it is?”

She nodded like a dutiful little soldier.

“Good, good! Go there and go find your mom. Then, tell her where your friends are, so that we may go fetch them after we chase the bears away. That okay with you, sweetie?”

“Y-yes! Yes, you can count on me, uncle Calx!”

“I know I can. You’re the most trustworthy pony I know. Now go! There is no time to waste.”

She immediately followed my orders. It was wonderful to know she understood the direness of our situation. She was so mature for her age. An inspiration to foals everywhere, I say.

Once she reached the other side, she started strutting forward, until she froze mid walk. Her ears lifted up and turned toward me. Then the rest of her head did the same. She looked rather perplexed.

“You’re... not coming with me, uncle Calx?” she asked with big blinking eyes.

I signaled negatively. “We both know I can’t fit through. I’ll find another way, don’t worry about me.”

“B-but...no! You have to come!” she pleaded.

“Honey Dream...”

“W-what if something happens to you? Huh? What if? It’ll all be because of me!”

Her chin quivered and a long hot tear escaped her eye. Dammit. Them feels were cooking up inside of me. I wasn’t built for this. Seeing her feel guilty about my accidental involvement squeezed my heart in all the wrong ways. Of course it wasn’t her fault. Only the dumbest of all dumbasses would believe that! But in her current state, I don’t think anyone could convince her otherwise.

“I will see you later, Honey Dream,” I simply said, not too sure how to apprehend the situation anymore. “I promise.”

She sniffled a big chunk of snot. “Y-you do?”

I silently nodded, eyes closed. “You have my word.”

She approached the fence and gently put her hoof on it. I did the same. The two of us, making contact on our respective side. So close, yet so far away. Two centimeters of rusted metal: That’s all it took to split us up. Not going to lie, it was a bit frustrating. I could still look at her in the eyes, which just made it so much worse.

“I...” she said, her head looking down. “I love you, uncle Calx.”

She really loves you, you know, repeated Skybrush in my mind.

… Ouch.

For the first time in the last 20 years, I felt like crying.

I fought really hard not to. I really, really did. I had to bite my lower lip so hard, I almost drew blood. I could feel my throat getting itchy and my cheeks warming up. The warning signs were all there.

It took a lot of effort to not lose control, but thankfully, in the end, I managed to keep my emotions in check. Now was not the time to open the floodgates. Was there ever a time for that? What was the point of giving in to waterworks? Seemed counterproductive at best and a waste of time at worst if you asked me. Besides, I was still on the wrong side of the fence; saving my own skin remained top priority. So, no crying. Not now, not ever.

A final goodbye wave in Honey Dream’s direction paired with a “right back atcha, buddy” (decisively, I was really bad at this), and off I went. With a pinch of luck, I’ll find a good hideout to duck and cover. If I could avoid sending myself straight to heaven’s gates, today could still end on a semi-decent-ish note.

When I popped out of the narrow path, the weight of everything started to grow heavy on me. My dwindling optimism had a hard time finding the right words to cheer me up. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that I was turned around, drained, and-

GrrOOOAARWWRGGG!

-still in danger!

Didn’t take a genius to deduce that the Ursa wasn’t done with me. Apparently, imbedding a pickaxe in somecreature’s foot made me top of the list. You know how the saying goes: Out of the frying pan and into the fire. I hereby coin this as my new motto. Actually, no, that wasn’t quite accurate. I had already been seared and charred, so it was more like, “out of the fire and into the magma pit.” There. Glad we got that sorted out.

Anyway. Heh. You know what I did next? Hmmm? Take a good guess.

I ran.

Yeah. I ran! Big shocker! Ten points for those who guessed correctly. Sweet Celestia, it felt like tonight would never end. As soon as I was done plugging a leak, something else broke. In this clever metaphor, it was me; I was going to be the next “something else” to break. Being chased by an Ursa Minor who would settle for nothing less than biting my head off could only end one way. To think that I actually believed I could outrun that mastodon. It was almost hilarious, in a pathetic kind of way. Eh, it wasn’t for lack of trying though.

After not even a minute of fleeing elapsed, I started to feel the bear’s hot humid breath moistening my fur. My time was up. All it took was for them to reach forward and flatten me like a pancake. It was only a matter of-

WAIT WAIT WAIT ALLEYWAY TO THE LEFT SPOTTED!

I veered so sharply, I redefined what a ninety degree angle was. Swiftly throwing myself into yet another alleyway. For what, the third time tonight? Hat trick, I guess. Made me wonder if this time, Outer Grove’s urban planning was going to be kind enough to throw a bone at me. Was being allowed to slip away too much to ask?

Apparently, it was. Because, as per tradition, I counted my chickens before they hatched.

“Oh, come on!”

No drumroll needed: I was greeted by yet another dead end. Hello there my fenced friend. Been a hot minute, hasn’t it? This time, it was made of wood and had been painted white. Cool variant, but still positively impossible to breach. Out with the old, in with the same.

Turning around didn’t yield any better results. The one and only exit was now covered by a wall of glowing blue fur with little stars scattered throughout. I wasn’t allowed to try my luck again with another alleyway. Three times was not the charm, I’m afraid.

I was uh... Yeah, I was trapped. There weren’t even any side doors from the buildings casing me in on which I could bang and beg for my life. Nor were there any fire escapes, ladders, or anything I could climb to Deus ex Machina my way out of this one. It was just me, the Ursa, and one disgusting detritus-filled corridor. A one versus one with no spoilers and no punches to hide.

Completely out of options, I took the cowardly path and hid behind a heap of trash. A couple of melon crates that had been stacked into the ugliest cardboard snowman I’ve ever had the displeasure to lay my eyes upon. A mighty tower of babel where flies and fungi reigned like kings. And the stench. Urk. Boy was it ever impossible to put into words.

Yeah, you know what was worse than basking in a bacteria-riddled petri dish full of junk? The piercing animalesque noises that stuck with me like the flu. And this weird feeling of doom that crept into my spine. Accompanied by cold shivers that by no means meant anything good.

I mean, was this it? This was it, wasn’t it?

I’ve lived my whole freaking life, only for my plug to be pulled like this? In my mid thirties of all moments? There was no way I could’ve predicted this gruesome and crude ending. When I woke up this morning, how was I supposed to know it was going to be the last day I...

...

Ha.

Hahahaha! No, surely there was a way out of this one, right? There has always been a way out. Every time I faced adversity – and there’s been a lot of adversity – I’ve always managed to find my legs and keep on going. So, given my unforgiving but consistent track record, this time had to be no different. It simply had to, because... because I refused to believe these were Gray Calx’s final moments. I still felt largely unsatisfied with this life I’ve lived. I couldn’t go; I was not ready to move on. I had... so many untapped projects I could’ve started. So much wasted potential that still hadn’t had a chance to flourish. Unaccomplished life goals practically begging to be put into motion.

I didn’t want to go.

Oh for the love of me, I did NOT want to go!

I mean... At least I had been allowed just enough time to do something good. I got to save Honey Dream right before I tossed myself into the gaping maw of death. At least... At least I did something right in my life. If only once. Maybe that counted for something? I sure hope it did, because I had nothing else to show for it! I had made so many bad decisions – really, REALLY bad decisions – but perhaps reuniting a mother and her only child was my magnum opus? Maybe there was solace to be had in knowing that, even if I wasn’t going to be a part of their future, these two could carry on and live together happily. Could this have been the sole reason I had been allowed to exist in Equestria at all? Thirty years of aimlessly bumbling around, culminating in this one particular moment?

Heh. How fitting that I would perish alongside the trash in this crummy place. Right where I ultimately belonged. Almost poetic, wouldn’t you say?

As I ungraciously faced my death like a total chicken, covering my head under my hooves with my eyes wide open – the exact same way Honey Dream’s had been – it took me a moment to realize that the Ursa who wanted me gone so badly hadn’t made their move yet. In fact, I could hear them growling from much further away now. Which means, uuuh... I wasn’t... quite done yet?

Ha!

I wasn’t quite done yet! Oh lord have mercy on my soul, I still had a chance! Hahaha, take that, you stupid narrative! You can take my ticket out of here and shove it up where Celestia’s sun don’t shine! What else you got, huh? Come on, don’t be shy: I’m eagerly waiting for your next move, here! Anything you can throw at me, I can take no biggie!

“Hello? Anypony in there?”

Oh.

That... that voice.

WOW that voice. I hadn’t heard it in so long. It came from somewhere close by. WAY too close for comfort, in fact. And make no mistake: It was addressing me directly. But holy moly, did it ever feel so weird. You think you remember somepony’s voice so well until you hear it again, don’t you? My mind had distorted and vilified her timbre so much in five years, it was shocking to realize that it sounded more... I dunno, more caring? Definitely more soft-spoken than the twisted image my mind created and came to believe.

And now it was my turn to retort? With uh, words and such? Give her the satisfaction of a “hi, wassup, how do you do?”

…

As unbelievable as it sounded, preconceiving my own death hadn’t been the worst thing to come out of tonight’s episode. I hadn’t reached the bottom of the barrel yet. And with the bar constantly getting lowered, I don’t know if ever will.

Zzz... urk!

Groan...

Waking up.

Feels like I’ve been sleeping for my entire life.

I oughta tell you guys, I had the weirdest fever dream. It involved a metric ton of injuries, a duo of bears, some kind of tower bell, a whole lotta panic, and I think Mr. Prospector may or may not have had a role throughout this whole malarkey. But that wasn’t the worst part, oh nononono... Wanna know what – or rather, who the final boss of that nightmare was? Get this: It was plagued with the presence of my sis- I mean, cough, um, the princess of Friendship. Guess her name being dropped at my party two days ago really scrambled my paradoxical sleep for the worst, huh?

Yeah, by now, I think it would behoove me to stop pretending none of that happened. Oh it was real alright. Yesterday had been an absolute trainwreck of a day. A total travesty. Worst day of my life for sure. Weeeell, maybe not. It was up for debate.

But yeah. From the moment I came empty hoofed with rubies, all the way to my fateful encounter with the pony I despised most. I came dangerously close to exposing myself there, by the way. Five years of taking the most vigilant precautions, only for my efforts to almost be voided in an instant. I have no idea what I would’ve done if she and I came face-to-face. Probably fight and say a bunch of ugly things, I dunno. Maybe one of us would’ve strangled the other. At least we managed to avoid that disaster. So it’s not like yesterday was all that bad, when you really think about it. Ha. Haha...

...

Where was I right now anyway?

I was prone on the floor, for one. It felt hard and displeasing; my poor ribs were sore all over. For some reason, I hadn’t snuggled into the comfort of my bed. Or ANY bed, for that matter. A quick scan of my surroundings, and I could see I was in some sort of hovel. With poor decoration, barely any furniture, cracked walls that hadn’t been caulked yet, a faulty drippy faucet, a tapestry that was quite passé, a picture frame of me, and- aw hell, it was my house, wasn’t it?

Yup, home sweet freakin’ home. Same ol’ dump that could hardly justify my motherload of a mortgage.

I was by the entry door. In fact, my back was resting on it. Ooookay?

Luckily, I was slowly starting to half remember why I had chosen this particular spot to wait for the sandmare. See, after a bunch of circumstances totally outside of my control separated me from that witch of a princess, I had an important decision to make right there and then. With a minimal amount of musing, I concluded that I have had my fill. Enough was enough already. I was done.

I cheated death an unacceptable number of times. I was anxious, hungry, dehydrated, and drowning in emotional vomit. I still hadn’t had a proper dinner, and I still hadn’t tended to my fresh wounds. Plus, Twilight’s nearby presence got me to think a lot. Unpleasant thoughts, I assure you. Rotted my brain to its very core.

So, taking that all in, I simply walked home. Limped home, in fact. Without meeting anypony else. Without checking if Honey Dream had made it to the Two Arches proper. Without verifying if my friends or anypony else were on the lookout for me. I just couldn’t take it anymore, okay? I had reached my limit.

When I finally secluded myself indoors, I… I don’t know why, but I felt the overbearing urge to block the door with my back, as if I feared that something would try to barge in. I felt safer garrisoned over there, playing the neurotic gatekeeper. A psychotherapist would’ve probably claimed that I was subconsciously trying to barricade my problems out of my home and, by extension, out of my life. Not a totally inaccurate diagnosis, but who the hay was I to evaluate my own condition, really.

Fear of the outside world or not, it’s with my tail to the door that my consciousness went kaput. And I might’ve had an idea that could explain why my body went lights out as quickly as it did.

Yeah, remember how I said yesterday that “tomorrow would suck?” Well, we were now tomorrow, and it did indeed suck. It sucked! My joints ached, my bones felt hollow, and my skin was reduced to a fragile membrane. I mean, Saturday had been a test of endurance for sure. Physically taxing in ways even a well-built pony like me couldn’t have anticipated. Or properly deal with, for that matter.

Which is why I think today was going to be spent at home, recovering. Maybe finally quieting my hunger and enjoy a copious brekkie with the remnants of my groceries. Have a lil’ morning brew while I’m at it, hmmm. Don’t wanna pat myself on the back too hard, but I kind of deserved it. Oh! And a hot bath! That also seemed like a good-

Knock knock knock!

-or I could just go buck myself.

Now, what kind of impolite provocateur had the guts to be disrespecting my privacy this early in the morning? After all, it was only 11 AM- whoops. I overslept. Not used to oversleeping.

Still! Who could be standing at my doormat? I wasn’t expecting guests, especially on the very next day after a third of the town got torn to shreds. There were better things to be done over selling toothbrushes and vacuum cleaners. How utterly bothersome.

I hesitantly cracked the door open, letting the faintest amount of light in. Only my spying eyes could be seen from the dimmed interior.

“Howdy, neighbour!” boomed a voice on the porch.

Well, at least it wasn’t a door-to-door salespony. And that’s where the good news stopped. Trust me, those two energumens were equally as joyous and twice as annoying.

“Oh... Hello Mr. and Mrs. Blueberry,” I said with a tinge of disappointment.

Blueberry Leather and Blueberry Strudel. He and she. Colored after their name and happily married for far longer than my time in Outer Grove. They acted as block captains for this section of the neighborhood, which put them in charge of ten residences or so. “Being in charge” more-or-less meaning that they kept the ponies under their jurisdiction up-to-date with new developments, alongside making sure that their lawn was trimmed to respectable lengths. You know, pointless garbo like this. But they sure took their role seriously. With such pride too. To each their own, I guess.

Blueberry Strudel had a knack for haute cuisine and could bake a mean loaf. The kind of mare to leave a steaming hot rhubarb pie by the windowsill. Geez, I hoped her bakery hadn’t been Ursa’d to oblivion...

Blueberry Leather, meanwhile, was an interesting case. Unlike the rest of us, he was – get this – a pegasus. A dying breed in Outer Grove. His wings gave him the perfect biological advantage to be employed as a courier, delivering letters all across town. Since the mail rarely came in and out of Outer Grove (again, trains being a rare occurrence), he had to coordinate himself with the bigger cities to uphold tight schedules. Or something. I’m sure he did some “hard” bureaucratic work every now and then.

Anyway. These two were very bubbly ponies. Smiles permanently glued to their face. A typical “Double Income No Kids” couple who loved to insensitively flaunt about their many high-end personal possessions.

I didn’t like them much.

“Oh it’s so wonderful to see that you’ve made it out in one piece, deary!” said Blueberry Strudel with fake relief. Only to gasp a moment later. “But what happened to your head? Is that... is that blood!? My oh my, don’t you just look so awful!”

“My juicy lil’ berry is right! Neighbour, you look terrible! I mean, more than usual. Just... really, really terrible! Hahaha!”

Blunter than a mallet, these lovebirds.

“Yeah, thanks,” I said, rolling my eyes. “How about this then? You tell me what you want, and in exchange, I promise not to slam my door shut in the next few seconds.”

They both laughed together in an exaggerated fashion.

“Oh! Always the funny one, neighbour!” said Blueberry Leather, wiping a tear, right before elbowing me with wiggling eyebrows. “Totally makes up for your rather eeeehhh grotesque appearance, am I right?”

Sometimes, I wish I too wielded the power to banish ponies to the moon.

“But my hubby digresses. You do digress, don’t you, my schweet tender berry?”

“I indeed digress!”

Uuuuggggh...

“Anyway,” resumed the postpony, “me and the missus, as block captains, we’re going from house to house to warn everypony that there will be a public heralding in approximately 30 minutes at the plaza. You too are of course invited to partake, neighbour!”

“Oh?” I said, raising an eyebrow. “Lemme guess, it’s going to be about yesterday’s attack, am I right?”

They joined their voices in a big gasp.

“Yes, exactly!” said the wife. “Mayor De La Tour wants everypony to be aware of how we’re going to handle the repairs, among other things.”

“Neighbour, how did you know!?”

No, they weren’t being sarcastic. They genuinely believed I had psychic powers to correctly guess the answer.

“I’m just that good, I guess,” I mockingly replied.

“That you are, deary! That you are!” chuckled Mrs. Strudel, before clearing her throat. “We’d like for you to join the rest of us in half an hour, and- oh! Erm, I know you’re a little bit of a… shall we say, unsophisticated fellow, but please, if you come with, do try to be on your best behaviour, deary! And clean that ugly scab off your forehead.”

“That’s right! We need to demonstrate to the princess of Friendship that we too are capable of having a refined culture here in Outer Grove, hahaha!”

Wow wow WHAT!

Okay, pause for a sec or two! The hay did that walking annoyance just say!?

“W-what do you mean…?” I said, looking left and right in paranoia. “She’s still… She’s still here?”

“A-yup!” proudly nodded the pegasus. “She’s going to co host the assembly alongside the mayor. Oooh, aren’t we so lucky?”

“SHE’S STILL HERE!?”

“Oh tsk tsk, deary. This is exactly the kind of abrasive reaction we want to avoid today,” cringed Blueberry Strudel.

“H-how long? How long is she planning on staying?” I demanded with the worst possible expectations.

Mr. Leather tapped his chin. “Mmmmh, weeeell, if the rumors are to be believed, then she should be here for a week.”

A whole week!? Like uh, seven days kind of deal?

Uh-uh! No way! Not happening! I wasn’t going to bunker up in my house and live on canned greens like a hermit for that long.

It was too risky, all too risky. The longer she prolonged her trip in Outer Grove, the more likely she was to accidentally bump into me. Or figure me out. It only took one of my friends to spill the beans for her to debunk my ruse. As much as it pained me to admit, if there was one thing to be said about the princess, it’s that she was way too clever for her own good. Her powers of deduction were something to be feared.

Oh Faust! What if someone tells her in great detail what I look like? What my CUTIE MARK looks like? I’d be caught in an instant. Even hiding in my house wouldn’t do me any good when she can just blast the door off its hinges.

I needed to skip town. Immediately.

That was the only way. Spend a few days in a distant hostel, waiting for things to simmer down a little. Because if she ever finds out I exist around this corner of Equestria, then you bet she’ll relentlessly hunt me down. When something’s on her mind, she does NOT let go.

The neighbours, totally oblivious to my inner panic, stretched their necks a little too close to my face with big toothy smiles.

“Sooo, can we count on your presence?” they insisted together.

“NO! I mean, no- I mean… Sigh. Look, can you two keep a secret? I’m ah… working on a surprise for the princess! A big cool surprise, yup! So I won’t be able to join today’s seminar, darn. You understand, right?”

Blueberry Strudel put a hoof on her chest. “Oh my, absolutely! How generous of you, deary!”

“Our mouths are sealed, neighbour!” added her husband.

I scratched my mane. “In fact… Can you please tell anypony that you haven’t seen me at all today, should they ask? That’d do me a major solid. You know. All in the spirit of the surprise, or whatever.”

Together, they both imitated a Zipper pinching their lips shut. That’s as good as it was going to get. I simply had no choice but to count on their goodwill.

… I was so doomed.

Operation “Escape Outer Grove” began around noon. I wasn’t a sneaky pony, but I didn’t need to be. At first, I tried to keep to the smaller, quieter roads to avoid drawing suspicion. I even employed the same back-alley Honey Dream had when she managed to escape a most terrible fate. You know, the one that I just couldn’t reach no matter how hard I tried yesterday? Bit ironic, in a way.

… I hoped Honey Dream was okay. And Skybrush too, for that matter.

Skybrush… Good gravy, I had never seen her that broken before. Brrrrr. It has done nothing but haunt me ever since. Her beautiful visage was usually so radiant and warm. She and her daughter deserved nothing less than a happy ending. How I wish I could’ve personally checked on them, just to put my mind at ease. Just to verify that they were indeed alive and well. It’s a damn shame I was in such a rush...

…

No, surely, they were fine. You’re thinking too much again, Calx. Skybrush and Honey Dream were two strong ponies – way stronger than I was. They didn’t need my needless foal-sitting.

Gotta focus. Outta here, chop chop!

Chastising these intrusive thoughts out of my mind, I doubled down on my progress. As I was saying before, being all ninja-like was a bit redundant. Why? Because there was little to no one in the streets. Everypony must’ve congregated at the plaza for that meeting the Berries yammered about. That seemed a bit too convenient to me, but hey, I’ll take it.

Thus, travelling through Outer Grove has been a breeze. That even left me a bit more time to evaluate the destruction the town had been subjected to. It wasn’t pretty, but it could’ve been much worse. A majority of the establishments only suffered minor structural damage. Some were a bit worse-off, but nothing a bunch of able-bodied ponies couldn’t fix. Broken window panes could be easily replaced and streets could be swept clean in one afternoon. Heck, we had enough timber stockpiled around to rebuild a whole new town if we wanted to.

Moreover, the onslaught had been mostly contained within the surroundings of the clocktower, which turned out to be commercially zoned. This meant that the residential areas had been more or less left intact and, miraculously, not too many ponies had lost their homes. My neighborhood, for instance, was almost in pristine condition. Well, except for my house. Buuut this one was a feature, not a bug.

After a few more minutes of prancing alone, I finally made it to the train station. As expected, nopony was waiting on the elongated platform to hitch a ride. Though not nearly as expected, there wasn’t a train waiting to depart. Ugh. Guess things could only go right to a certain extent.

Gotta admit, that was a bit strange. Usually, there was a passenger train present on Sunday mornings to bring back home the few tourists who travelled here for the week-end. Maybe those in charge caught ear of what happened to Outer Grove and decided to put their trains on hold as a contingency measure? Mmmh. A bit dubious. I mean, how could they have reacted this quickly? At the risk of repeating myself, the news did not travel in and out of Outer Grove in the span of a day.

And, you know, it’s too bad, because contrary to other towns, this station didn’t come with a ticket booth. The demand for commuting via train simply wasn’t high enough to justify having one. Instead, the conductors themselves would handle the fees and manually collect the fares from pony to pony. A little bit of an archaic way to go about it, but sometimes, the traditional methods are the best.

Where I’m getting at is, there weren’t a whole lot of ponies around here I could query to ask them how soon I could choo choo my way out of here. Except for those two male railroad workers on the tracks a little further up. The scruffy mustachioed ones under their striped hats. Hard at work, and potentially affable enough to appease a few of my enquiries. Maybe they knew something? They wouldn’t be here if they didn’t. Or something. Work with me here, people.

Well, my mind was set. Manual laborers were often chatty fellows, yes? I had nothing to fear, haha.

As I approached them, my nostrils flared up. Eww, what was that foul smell? The waft came from the left and- oh!

Would you look at that. Two barrels cooking under the midday sun. Completely filled with, you guessed it, expired oil. They’re the ones that our pair of zany lumberponies brought out of the Two Arches halfway through my party. I almost forgot about their existence until, well, until two seconds ago. Heh, I wonder if those wooden drums knew what the rest of the town had to go through. I mean, look at these two rapscallions. Still standing, still filled up, still pretending nothing bad even happened. They’ve just been idly waiting, sharing a precious romantic date on the train platform, while WE were fighting for our lives a couple of steps away. They had no idea! No clue at all!

... Okay, can anypony explain to me why in the world I was personifying barrels full of bubbling waste? Didn’t I tell myself to focus less than 10 minutes ago? Oh sweet Celestia, my mind. My poor, poor mind.

Erf. Alright then. Show time.

“Howdy,” I said to the workers, “quite the day we’ve had yesterday, han?”

Welp, it’s official: I was cringe.

“Hmmm,” simply grunted the bulkier stallion.

And they weren’t as chatty as I thought them to be. Great. Let’s crank the awkwardness up a notch, why not.

I coughed in my fetlock. “Look, ummm, you two look busy, so I’ll be quick: Do you happen to know if a train is scheduled to depart today?”

“No can do Sir,” replied the politer half of the duo. “The tracks have sustained critical damage around the station and a little further up as well. Until we get that fixed, no trains can reach us.”

“Oh... How long do you think the repairs will take?”

The big grouchy guy rolled his eyes. “Tche. With da piss poor material we’s got, Imma says ‘bout twos day. Probably threes.”

Ahhhh nope. Not good enough. We had to do better than that. Anything short of today was a wrong answer.

“Well- what if I helped you guys?” I said, desperate for a way out. “I’ve assembled minecart tracks for the past five years, and I’m quite skilled when it comes to manual labor.”

Grumpy pants exhaled in annoyance. “Ye well, unless youse can pulls an entire railroad outta dat purple mane o’ yours, lad, youse ain’t gon’ do us much good.”

Well youse gotta have more faith in me than that, my cranky friend.

“Yeah? That all? I’ve got this covered! Just give me aaaahh twenty minutes or so.”

I galloped away with a clear plan in my mind. For once, I felt confident about the trick I was about to pull. The skinnier, gentler worker, however, didn’t share the sentiment all that much.

“Wait- You know we can’t pay you for this, right?” I heard him shout my way.

“I don’t care. I’ll happily do some volunteer work!”

Oh, don’t get me wrong. I still felt like a sack of dung today. Yet somehow, the prospect of getting my hooves onto something I was good at was too good to skip. Being hard at work, to me, was a balm. No quicker remedy to heal up than getting into some kind of routine headspace. Mentally and physically. That sounded a bit paradoxical, sure, but trust me, I was right on this one.

“... Gee, that pony sure wants to get the hay out of here,” I overheard Mr. Polite say to Mr. Grouchy.

Oh, you didn’t know the half of it, brother.

As the sun slowly made its way across the sky, the valley became coated with all sorts of warm orange shades. Despite everything that’s been happening to me – to all of us, I had to admit, it certainly was a pretty sight. I completely understood why Skybrush loved to paint these gorgeous shows of light so much. Her landscapes painted at dusk were always my favorites.

Once again, the passage of time left me rather famished. Felt like the daisy sandwich I hastily chomped on this morning had been digested eons ago. Knowing what I know now, I would’ve definitely packed a lunch.

Five hours. Took us five hours. Plus a thirty minute break; we were only ponies after all.

Still. That was a far shot from the initial two to three days estimate. I guess you could say that three earth ponies working hard and efficiently as a team was the right way to go about it. We hadn’t been born with a natural talent for fixing stuff up for nothing, after all. Eventually, at long last, we deemed the job more or less done, and my new nameless buddies took that as their cue to leave. Sure, we could have refined our work a little better if we really wanted to, but it’s not like we did the bare minimum either. I filed our efforts as passable, which, given my urgent desire for falling off the radar, was good enough for me.

By the way, you’ll have to excuse me if I wasn’t giving any juicier details about what went down during these five hours, because these jolly ol’ fellows I worked with? Well, small talk wasn’t their forte. That was quite alright with me. Like I said before, I vastly preferred to work alone. So in a way, we were all on the same page there.

The first thing I did to accelerate the repair work was to bring a crate of spare parts from my workplace. Remember? The one that gave me, as Mrs. Blueberry would so kindly put herself, “an ugly scab” when I accidentally used it as a landing pad? Turns out, metal beams for minecarts were compatible with the ones used for larger locomotives. Hurray for standardized parts! Even the rivets and everything would fit without complications. That got a rare smile out of me.

Before you ask, no, I still hadn’t been caught during my back-and-forth to the quarry. It wasn’t even that far, and it was located in a part of Outer Grove that didn’t attract that much traffic, so I wasn’t really worried. Plus, nopony was there today. Not only were we a Sunday – and y’know, who worked on a Sunday – but also, I’m pretty sure punching in was the last thing on everypony’s mind after surviving yesterday’s events. Well, except for the two repairponies, but they were the exception that made the rule.

And uh, yes. Technically, I did steal from Mr. Prospector.

Yeah I didn’t really feel good about being a thief. But it was a strictly necessary crime. I’ll just have to come clean, tell him that I was the culprit, and get the material deducted from my next few paychecks. Whatever. Getting screwed monetarily was worth it, it was so worth it, if it meant that I could dodge a one-on-one with a certain winged unicorn.

No idea when I could even contact Mr. Prospector next. I was going to miss a few work days, after all. Something extremely out of character for me. I owed him an explanation for my unexpected unreliability. I’ll have to write him a letter and tell him that I had to take a temporary leave for a few days to deal with... I dunno, a last-minute funeral for a deceased uncle or something. Meh, not the most convincing excuse, but I’m sure I’ll think of a proper lie on my way out.

Wow. Look at me. Stealing and lying to my boss. My boss!

What was happening to me? That wasn’t me! I didn’t do those things! I was losing it. Or myself. Or both.

All in the name of escaping our veneered royal envoy. Yeah, thanks! Thank you oh so very much!

She has done nothing but cause my grief! She turned me into this absolute mess of a pony who acted without thinking. Thanks to her, I had been reduced to a sorry excuse of my former self; that stallion who was once grounded and capable of using common sense. I was Gray Calx in name only at this point.

Thankfully, I could soon put all of my worries behind me. I was on the cusp of leaving. And the princess would be none the wiser, ha!

Mmmh? Who could be tapping on my shoulder right now?

I mean, I was just sitting on my haunches, politely waiting for a train just in case it decided to show up. I wasn’t above pulling an all-nighter if need be. What’s one night camping under the stars in the grand scheme of things, really? One thing was clear though: Returning home was off the board.

I mean... I wasn’t doing anything wrong, was I? Perhaps I looked a little bit weird being all on my own on the boarding deck? But did that seriously warrant being poked by somepony? It’s not like I was trespassing or anything! So who could possibly require my attent-

“Oh, hello Sunstone!”

Hello Sunst- Who the buck just called me by that name!? Whose skull do I have to crush!?

...

...

Oh.

Oh okay then.

Sigh...

I suppose there wasn’t any way to avoid the princess anymore when she was, y’know, standing right in front of my freaking face! With that big stupid hideous grin on her face.

So that’s it then? That’s… that’s the way we reunited after all those years lost to time and regrets? Just like that!? Well pull the freaking curtains, everypony; show’s over!

I always had a feeling that my past would catch up with me down the line, but I mean, today of all days? What was so special about today? I wasn’t prepared for this! I didn’t need to prepare because that situation never ever needed to happen!!

Maybe I tried too hard. Fleeing from the princess? What was I thinking!? Stupid me! I should’ve seen that it had been futile from the start. My whole life had felt that way, so why did I expect a different outcome today? In retrospect, it was rather obvious that she was magnetized to my exact longitude and latitude. I should’ve just given up, faced the music, and let fate have its way. Would’ve saved me a lot of time and effort.

Twilight Sparkle. The almighty princess of Friendship. Look at her. Still as dumb-looking as I remembered her. Dumb purple coat. Dumb navy mane. Dumb horn. Dumb wings- oh that’s right, she had those now. Fancy pants, you.

“Say, have you seen a pony named ‘Gray Calx’ by any chance?” she asked, tilting her head. “I’ve been looking for him all over town for the whole day, but came empty hoofed. It’s almost as if he went into hiding, hehe~.”

“Uh... yeah... I think he went that way,” I said with absolutely no emotions, shut up, I wasn’t being emotional.

“Oh, thank you so much, Sunstone! You’re a lifesaver!’” she smiled.

She strutted away, bobbing her head and humming to herself.

Three...

Two...

One...

The princess turned to ice, a hoof in midair. All I could see was her barrel inflating and deflating, faster and faster now, as hyperventilation started to nestle in her lungs. Her ears drooped and her whole body trembled in epileptic shivers. She stayed like this for a moment, until slowly, her neck turned back toward me with the puffiest and wettest of eyes.

Goodness gracious, I’ve seen some ponies ugly cry in my life, but this, this was monumental. A picture for the scrapbook for sure. With the snot dripping down her snout and everything. Choking on her own breath behind a symphony of hiccups and sobs.

“S-Sunstone...? You’re... You’re alive...”

Yes, but for how long?

And there you have it. The unforgiving hoof of reality finally slapping her in the face. Not with a bang, but with a whisper. Quite literally. Took her long enough.

I could already picture how the rest of the night would unfold. It was going to get... interesting, to say the least.

Looks like I’ve done it. The bottom of the barrel. I’ve finally reached it. How surprising to see it existed after all.

Author's Note

Ladies and gentlemen, we're entering the midgame stage of the adventure.

I suppose I should've said so earlier, but this story has 11 chapters planned plus one tiny epilogue at the end. If you can keep up all the way through, then hey, let's crack a cold one together!

Sorry I'm taking longer and longer to post these by the way. I really do not want to mess it up. I have to make sure shit's dope enough before I hit that elusive “publish” button. This story has garnered traction I did not expect, so now, I gotta be super cereal about it. It's just good business.

Twilight: Looking for a Pony

“I do believe everything is in order, Mr. Gray Calx.”

At long last, trust in the process paid off. It was done and over with. Officialised. Inked in records. Ready to be housed in a cozy little corner of the Canterlot archives. As soon as the royal scribe was done notarizing the form, the name change was now in effect and fully legal in the eyes of the Crown.

Gray Calx couldn’t help but exhale in catharsis.

It had been a rough couple of days, but seeing that stamp of approval just had to make him smile ever so slightly. He was still boiling on the inside, mind you, but being the proud owner of a new name was the first of the many small victories he would allow himself to enjoy. Leaving the pony once known as Sunstone behind was the event horizon from which there was no turning back. The past was to stay the past, and there was no point in ever looking back to it. Sunstone might’ve brooded a lot, but Gray Calx only had his eyes on the future.

He had been ruminating on what was going to be his next move. After isolating himself for two days or so, tickets were bought, appointments were taken, a notice of resignation was issued, and a lot of packing was done. After waking up early this morning, with saddlebags carrying everything that needed to be carried, it was a trip straight to the castle.

Angry.

Gray Calx was angry. He had been nothing but angry ever since his mother unrolled that forsaken scroll. He thought himself capable of taking punches, especially after the whole Manehattan debacle, but in reality, he wasn’t as resilient as he built himself to be.

His sister, his inspiring, remarkable, capable, hard-working, rousing sister, decisively not having had her fill with her impressive reputation, apparently took the liberty to go above and beyond. Bad enough that she had made an absurd number of friends not even a single day after emigrating to Ponyville, but as it turns out, she and her new ragtag gang felt the need to thwart a villain with unfathomable ease as a team bonding exercise. Saving Equestria so that everypony could live happily ever after, so said the scroll.

Had it stopped there, Gray Calx would’ve simply drowned his sorrows with a few gallons of liquor. Probably buck a couple of trees in his backyard to vent his frustration. But no. Twilight Sparkle, his little baby sister, had ALSO been crowned with one of the most honorific titles of all time.

She became what was known as an “Element bearer,” acting as the official wielder of an all-powerful artifact; some kind of golden tiara with which she could channel an ungodly amount of magic. Said magic could purify some of the most disharmonious corruption in Equestria. It was mind-blowingly overpowered, really.

According to the letter, Twilight was the bearer of the Element of Magic, which was once believed to be lost and unrecoverable and yaddi yadda. Which made her, what, a superhero, or something?

His sister was a superhero.

And now, the whole of Equestria would know her name, chanting it in unison whenever she and her heterogenous crew of philanthropists would save the day. She was going to be a superstar enjoying an inconceivable amount of fame.

Gray Calx couldn’t believe it. Of all ponies in the world to fit that role, why did it have to be her!? She was a scholar! A bookworm! A social outcast! These types of ponies stayed indoor and preferred to enjoy the quietness of a good library! She was already an academic prodigy; how in the world did a pony of her notoriety manage to pull that one off? Being brains AND brawns? Making friends? Becoming an Element bearer? Kicking the flank of the evil alter-ego of princess Celestia’s sister? An alicorn at that too!?

How was she doing it? How did she keep doing it?

She had it all, and he still had nothing. The scales couldn’t have been more tipped in her favor.

Just reminding himself of his sister’s rise to celebrity reaffirmed Gray Calx’s position. He had made the right call. He wouldn’t tolerate living in a cramped bedroom anymore, moping and cursing at the world. He no longer wanted to hear her name, only to become explosive to anyone around him. It was too much to bear. There was no making sense of a life as the brother, one that had bungled his whole career, of a pony who not only represented the very essence of harmony in Equestria, but who also had princess Celestia’s very name as a contact on her resume.

Gray Calx was fed up with this nonsense. He needed to disappear. Leave as far away as his remaining bits would allow him to travel. Put as much distance between him and his sister as he possibly could, leaving her sphere of influence for good. All in the hopes of never hearing the mere mention of her name EVER again. Hey, he wanted to find a new place to live, right? Might as well use this pivotal point in his life to claim a new spot as his own. A spot where the news of Twilight’s countless exploits would have trouble reaching.

And Gray Calx knew just the place to defect to.

A small mountainside village far and deep into the Undiscovered West. He had learned about it when he was still working at the Equestrian Geological Association in Manehattan. Near the end of his time over there, there was a lot of office gossip about a brand-new railroad being connected to this hamlet. There were prospects of contacting an independent mining company over there to form a partnership with the EGA before their private competitors could put their greedy hooves on them. Sadly, discussions fell through when the project was deemed a bit too unprofitable, mainly due to the distance.

They called that place Outer Grove.

It was far, relatively unknown, dirt cheap, and full of unextracted minerals. And best of all: Gray Calx was dead sure that his sister didn’t know about that place at all. This was perfect!

The only thing that would explain his departure to the few ponies who still somehow foolishly cared about his whereabouts was a note he hastily wrote right before leaving, the one he left on the work desk of his bedroom. Whether they understood, let alone cared about his decision, at this point, Gray Calx couldn’t care less. What was done was done.

“Mr. Calx, are you okay?” asked the scribe behind his silver desk.

...

He coughed at the nonresponse. “Ahem. Mr. Calx?”

“... Who, me? Oh!” He slapped a hoof on his forehead. “S-sorry about that! I was thinking about, uh, stuff, and I’m still not used to... well, you know…”

The chestnut unicorn scribe chuckled. “Oh, I do! We don’t have many name changes here in Equestria, but the few of them I’ve notarized, they pretty much all went the same way.”

“Heh. I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it,” Gray Calx said, rubbing his neck. “Well, I appreciate what you’ve done for me today. It was worth every bit, lemme tell you. So you have yourself a wonderful day.”

The two of them respectfully nodded at each other, and with that, Gray Calx readjusted his saddlebags and made his way to the big golden double doors of this hall.

Weird place to do some bureaucratic stuff, he thought. It was his first time ever going inside of the castle, and Gray Calx would’ve sincerely preferred for it to have stayed that way. He didn’t like being closed in by these wealthy walls. Somehow, he didn’t feel at ease being in such a grand place, like he didn’t belong or something.

Not to mention, he had been a teensy bit lost at first. Thankfully, he had been redirected to the right place, but now, the goal was to find his way back without bothering another guard. Again, strange that he had to go this far into the castle only to sign a couple of papers.

And in such a luxurious room too. Having worked with number crunchers in Manehattan, he expected a small and modest office, a typewriter, and a file cabinet. Nothing more, nothing less. But as with the rest of Canterlot, of course, everything had to be encrusted with jewels and plated with gold. Ooh la la.

Still, he could’ve almost sworn that this had the allure of a throne room. Bizarre, right? Getting a name change in a large, prestigious, and empty throne room. That’s a fever dream if he’s ever had one. The red carpeted platform elevated in the back, the large stained-glass windows, the almost mirror-like reflective floor, the columns, the murals... It was all so regal.

Bah. Ridiculous. What did he know about castles, really? The procedure was probably a standard one. He had done what he set out to do. Now was not the time to rock the boat and dwell on-

“Oh, excuse me my little pony, but do you happen to be Sunstone, by any chance?”

He wasn’t even three steps away from the desk when a soft female voice begged his pardon from behind. And it didn’t sound at all like the scribe he just chatted with.

“Yeah no, this is Gray Calx. Sunstone left; I’m afraid you’ve just missed him,” he replied dismissively, a bit annoyed at having been recognized by someone.

Wait.

Recognized by someone?

Gray Calx turned around to shed some light on this little mystery, and...

“My apologies, I wasn’t aware. I will now refer to you by your proper name, Gray Calx,” said... said…

Said princess Celestia.

Her. In the flesh.

As radiant and as beautiful as she had always been portrayed. For the first time in 28 years, Gray Calx not only found himself standing in the same room as Equestria’s ruler, but also, engaging in a conversation with her. He had never even seen her before, save for pictures in books and newspapers.

They weren’t lying when they said that the princess’ mane was mesmerizing, stunningly undulating in the ambient air in a show of pastel and glitter, like a never-ending aurora. Her horn was another impressive set piece, something that left Gray Calx completely awestruck. And her height! He was used to be the tall one, but here, he felt positively dwarfed.

He couldn’t help himself but remain silent. For some reason, his brow was furrowed, as if he was trying to puzzle out what was happening. His lack of reaction made the princess softly chuckle, like she caught him red hoofed or something. She used this quiet time to dismiss the scribe with a silent movement of the head, and the latter complied, immediately disappearing through a service archway in the back.

Gray Calx swallowed dryly. Now was not the time to make a vow of silence.

“Uh... yeah, don’t sweat it. You can call me Sunstone if you’d prefer. I’m not used to the change anyway.”

Then, he widened his eyes. What the HAY was he doing!? Addressing royalty as if they were equal? What kind of impolite etiquette was that?

“B-but where are my manners!” he backpedaled, offering a distinguished bow, his forehead a few centimeters off the ground. “I send you my most sincere and warmest salutations, princess of the sun.”

“Why thank you, my little pony. This is very much appreciated. I would also like to return greetings of my own, Sunstone,” she said, choosing his former name after all. “However, you need not be so servile. I have on good authority that a student of mine has blood ties with you, and seeing as this is nothing more than a casual meeting, we can take a more relaxed approach if it puts you more at ease,” she smiled.

Gray Calx considered the offer for a moment. Only three sentences in, and he could tell that she was practically oozing with wisdom, being well-spoken, caring, and benevolent. However,

“Um... if it’s the same with you, princess, I’d like to stay formal.”

The one and only stock phrase, making its triumphant return.

Princess Celestia nodded, understanding. “If this is how you wish to proceed, then it shall be so.”

She took a couple of shy steps forward, approaching him ever so slightly. Gray Calx, meanwhile, backed away slowly, ogling the door behind him. His only realistic way out of this place. It was good practice to spot the emergency exits, just in case things got too heated.

“You’ll have to excuse me for jumping directly into it, but do you have a few minutes or so to spare, Sunstone? There are a couple of subjects I’d like to personally address with you, and I would love to understand your perspective on them. Is now a good time?”

While she tried her best to stay as polite and as approachable as she could, Gray Calx couldn’t help but feel a bit uneasy. He didn’t understand why he felt so tense. Was it because she was an indestructible alicorn? Because she was at the top of the royalty chain and he was low level scum? Because she had the home field advantage in this castle? Because she was the one who personally picked his sister and put her on a path to success? Because she was not at all how he pictured her in his cynical mind?

Or was it because, for some reason, it felt like she had set up this encounter?

“A-actually, uh, I was just about to leave. Heh. Gotta go catch a train, so I really oughta skedaddle if I don’t wanna miss it. You know how it is. Sooooooo... yeah. Ta ta~!” Gray Calx mumbled incoherently.

He didn’t wait for a response and started walking toward the doors. Suddenly, a gold aura encompassed the handles on both sides, and the doors closed themselves shut. Not abrasively or anything, just with a muffled thud. But surprising enough to make him freeze in place, turn his head around, and blink incredulously at the princess.

“... Please?” she insisted, with a guilty smile. “Just five minutes?”

“Well, when you put it that way, your highness, how can I say no?” he said.

No, seriously, how can I say no!? sarcastically added his brain.

The princess, relieved to have won him over (albeit a bit forcefully), sat on her haunches to reduce the height discrepancy between the two of them. Talking at eye level was a good social norm, after all.

“Thank you, and I do apologize for putting your tight schedule in jeopardy; I’ll try to be as brief as I can. But knowing you had an appointment booked for today, I simply could not miss the opportunity to finally meet you for the first time. I have been looking for this moment for quite a while now, you know.”

Gray Calx cocked an eyebrow. “Wait a minute. You knew I was going to make a detour to the castle today? How?”

“Believe it or not, but a lot of paperwork tends to end up on my desk,” she said, again, without an ounce of malice.

Obliviously, she took this with a comedic approach, and yet, Gray Calx’s sense of doubt kept growing. Time to put it all on the line. Nothing like a good ‘j’accuse!’

“Did you... did you lure me to you?” he asked point blank.

The princess playfully laughed at the idea, shaking her head all the while. “I did no such thing, Sunstone. After all, it was you who took an appointment with one of my public servants. I did, however, pull a few strings to ensure that you and I could at least be allowed to have a private moment where we could calmly converse without outside interference. Oh! Speaking of which, tea?”

The princess conjured a teapot out of thin air, ready to be served. There were even two little porcelain cups on saucers floating by its side.

“Um, I appreciate the offer, but no thanks, princess.”

One of the cups vanished in a magical poof, while the other was already in the process of being filled up with a jasmine tea that, Gray Calx had to admit, permeated a delicious flowery aroma. When princess Celestia floated the cup to her lips, savouring the flavors with her eyes closed, Gray Calx decided to double down on his suspicions.

“So, n-not that I want to sound accusatory or anything, but would I be venturing a wrong guess if I claimed that you relocated my rendezvous to be held further inside of the castle? Possibly closer to where you usually operate?”

“Very perceptive, my little pony. You are as observant as your sister led me to believe. That is indeed what I have done – with no ill intents, I assure you.”

Gray Calx found that completely otherworldly. What was so interesting about him that warranted such special treatment? Wasn’t princess Celestia an incredibly busy pony? Why would she ever bother herself with a nopony like him? He needed clarifications.

“But... why? Why go through all that trouble only to talk with me? S-shouldn’t there be a day court being held here at this time of the day, or something?”

“Normally, you’d be correct. There would be a lineup of ponies where you stand. However, these are some unpreceded times, and the day court is adjourned for the next few days while we are in... a readjustment phase.”

“Readjustment phase? What do you mean by that? If uh, I’m not speaking out of line.”

“Familial affairs, mostly. The majority of which caters to princess Luna, my dearest sister, given her recent return to Equestria.”

Oh.

Yeah, that oughta do it.

“She has been reinstated as a ruler, and this new diarchy is subverting a lot of the structures we have in place in our current governance. However, and more importantly, this downtime isn’t just about parliamentary reorganization... I am also to be here for Luna on a personal level. I want nothing more than to help her adapt to her new environment, and I cannot in good faith handle the day court with her well-being clouding my judgement. I want what’s best for both my sister and for my little ponies.”

Amidst everything happening lately, Gray Calx sort of forgot about the princess’ recent reunion with her long-lost sister. The two of them had a lot of catching up to do after a thousand years of being apart. That was one heck of a reason to put her court on hiatus.

“For what it’s worth, princess, I’m sorry about all of this. I cannot imagine what this felt like.”

“Actually, this is sort of why I wanted to talk with you, Sunstone. As far as I understand, you may very well be on your way to share the pain that I’ve been through, and this isn’t something that I would wish on anypony.”

Ah. There it was. The meat of it all. Gray Calx was beginning to understand where this was going, and he didn’t relish the idea of hearing an essay explaining what he was doing was “wrong” and “immoral.” For once, he’d like to be in the pilot seat and take control of his life however he wanted to. And he was so close to achieving that too! To think that the princess herself would be the last obstacle he encountered...

“... Whatever do you mean, princess?” he asked, squinting ever so slightly.

The princess took another sip, preparing to fully lay on the table the core of her enquiries.

“To answer your question, I’d like to formulate one of my own. Ever since I took your sister under my wing, not once have I seen you present for any of her graduation ceremonies, award showcases where she performed greatly, or even as a guest for the invitations I have forwarded to you and your family. May I ask why that is?”

“I’ve been busy,” he replied without hesitation.

“Yes, your sister has said as much to justify your absences,” she said, not entirely convinced.

“Tough to get by in Canterlot,” Gray Calx shrugged with a tinge of sarcasm.

He didn’t have the courage to bring up the topic of classism directly to the princess. That would open up a whole new debate and boy did he not have the time for that. That train to Outer Grove wouldn’t wait for him if he showed up late. And he had to depart today, especially since his goodbye letter might’ve been discovered by now. Delaying the unavoidable was not to be tolerated.

“Sunstone... Do you know how I’ve come to learn of you?” resumed princess Celestia.

Gray Calx had an inkling, but he preferred to remain silent.

“Simply put, Twilight Sparkle, my faithful student, has had a lot to say about her older brother. The one I’ve never had the pleasure to meet. As far as I could tell, she truly holds you in high regard. We’ve discussed your case many times, and she’s been nothing but highly defensive of your interests, claiming that not only were you an incredibly talented pony, but also a major source of inspiration for her.”

“Funny, your niece Cadance said something similar to me a decade or so ago.”

“But,” she continued, “whenever she praised you, I’ve always perceived undertones of melancholy in her voice. She could never admit it, but I’ve lived long enough to tell that something was off with my dearest student. From what I’ve gathered over the years of teaching her, your sister has been saddened that no matter how hard she tried to bond with the pony she idolized, she constantly felt rejected by him. Which, in turn, led her to believe that she needed to try harder to earn his respect. And yet, despite everything she did to get his attention, it was never sufficient; she would never be good enough to make him proud of her.”

Gray Calx swallowed these words like someone threw a brick at him.

“I do not mean to pry, but this brings me to my main point: Sunstone, is there a feud going on between the two of you?” concluded princess Celestia. “Perhaps some kind of sibling rivalry that ignited years ago and spiraled out of control?”

...

“It’s... It’s complicated, princess,” said Gray Calx, looking down at his front hooves.

What has gotten him so fed up to begin with? He had many, many reasons to feel resentful, yet somehow, he had trouble articulating any of them. It’s as if, when it came time to finally explain his existential dread, he couldn’t do it properly, effectively blanching on the spot. Has he gotten so far deep into the rabbit hole that he forgot what had made him upset in the first place?

No, of course not! That was preposterous! He was a logical and fact-based pony; he didn’t act irrationally on the basis of strong emotions alone. He would not have simmered in a snowball of repressed feelings and bided his time for 28 long years in the failing case.

Another sip of tea defied the newfound quietness. Gray Calx had to say something to the princess. But what? He could’ve retold his whole life story from the very beginning. Or explained how sucky it was to feel lesser than nothing. Or argued that constantly being juxtaposed to two extraordinary ponies he had to coexist with for the larger part of his life had totally killed his drive.

Instead, all he managed to do was formulate one very simple question.

“... Why her?”

“I beg your pardon?”

“Why her? Why Twilight?” he said, his fragile emotive state starting to crack at the seams. “Of all ponies, why did you pick my sister specifically to be your protégé? It could’ve been anypony! What was so… fascinating about her that made her fit for that role? What did you see in her? I don’t... I don’t get it...”

He finally looked back up, but the princess didn’t feel like interrupting. If Gray Calx had something to say, now was the time, and she was fully intent on letting him steer that ship.

“It’s just, it put her on such an incredible path. Everything good in her life cascaded from that one decision, and it has made me feel miserable ever since. I mean, if it weren’t for that, she would never have become an Element bearer.”

“And never have saved my sister,” clarified a stoic Celestia.

Gray Calx bit his lip. This conversation was becoming dangerous. “Maybe somepony else would have risen to the occasion. Maybe somepony who too deserved a chance at success in life for a change.”

“Somepony like you, perhaps?”

Gray Calx simply stared at her, now taking his turn to remain voiceless.

“Sunstone, is it possible that you may be a little bit envious of your sister?” asked the princess.

Well, was he?

Was he envious of Twilight Sparkle?

“How could I not!?” he finally admitted. “I mean, I don’t want to yank the carpet from under her; her victories are not without merit, but how is that supposed to make me feel? I had to work every single day of my life to obtain something semi-decent, and I’m still living a below-average life, with a crappy job, broken dreams, and a ton of debt to tie it all in. Meanwhile, she’s Equestria’s next big thing, surrounded by friends, and has you to personally watch her back. She’s happy and I’m not, so of COURSE I’m jealous!!”

Gray Calx was riled up, which was a stark contrast with the princess who had remained calm the entire time. Perhaps he should’ve accepted some of that soothing tea after all.

“You know,” resumed the princess, as poised as ever, “my own sister felt the same way about me a long time ago. Seeing that you are echoing her bottled-up sentiments is... difficult to digest. I don’t believe I need to give you a reminder as to what happened next.”

He tche’d. “Okay, well, you don’t need to worry about that. I’m not about to go full villain mode and seek revenge or anything; that’s just plain stupid and a waste of everyone’s time. Absolutely asinine! ... N-no disrespect meant to princess Luna, of course! No, really, I just want to go someplace far away, someplace where I’ll be free to do my own thing. Someplace where Twilight and the rest of my family won’t constantly remind me how bloody useless I am!”

The two of them just stared at each other, with the built-up tension slowly deflating. Gray Calx, for a moment, forgot who he was talking to. His cautious and prudent stance from before had all but vanished. It was concerning to realize how little it took to get him going.

“Thank you, Sunstone,” the princess said, her candid expression never leaving her face. “Thank you for giving me your side of the story. I believe I have a better understanding of the situation, thanks to your input.”

“You’re... thanking me? What for? For losing my cool and raising my tone at you? You of all ponies!? How many protocols did I just infringe, by your estimate? Enough to send me to jail?”

She laughed at the amusing, if a little straightforward pleasantry. “You won’t need to worry about these sorts of things, trust me. And of course I’m thanking you! As crazy as it may sound, insightful conversations like these have become a rarity in my life. Nothing like a heated debate with clashing viewpoints to keep your mind healthy and active. And while I haven’t known you for very long, you have given me sufficient material to see you as a particularly sharp, astute, and intelligent pony.”

Wowzah, flattery much? smirked a silent Gray Calx.

“That being said, I too would like to say my piece. Will you give me the privilege?”

And now she’s asking for my permission? What kind of game is she playing? pondered his brain.

“With great pleasure, princess,” his mouth instead replied.

She nodded, dematerializing her cup after emptying it.

“I truly mean no offense, but it is my opinion that you may be a little bit misguided. Your overachieving and independent nature is commendable, my little pony. Working hard and having a strong desire for success are virtues everypony should strive for. But ultimately, this is not what makes a pony, a pony. True happiness comes from within, not with prestige.

“Your family, while certainly very proud of your goal-oriented attitude, doesn’t display unconditional love because of what’s written on your diploma or because of your desire to prove yourself to them; rather they enjoy your company through a strong sense of kinship they naturally share with you. I cannot stress how important and how powerful these ties are. These are the ponies who have your best interests at heart, upholding them without ever asking anything in return. It’s a testament to having each other’s back when the world turns sour.

“Sunstone, you are not useless. Nor are you a burden on your family. You are a unique, wonderful asset who renders everypony around you incredibly proud. Twilight loves you; she couldn’t love you more if she tried. The same applies for captain Shining Armor, Spike, and both of your parents. They always have, and always will. No matter how you choose to dictate your life.”

Gray Calx’s heart jumped when an unexpected noise from behind reverberated in the echoey throne room. A quick turn of the head, and he noticed that the exit doors were opened once more, with the golden glow surrounding them waning away.

“You have an important choice to make, Sunstone. I won’t interfere with whatever may come next. Likewise, I promise that I will keep this encounter between the two of us a secret. If only because it is not my place to force life lessons on you; only you can figure them out at your own pace. And so, whether you decide to jump in that train or to stay in Canterlot rests on your shoulders alone. I can only implore you to choose wisely, my little pony.”

Gray Calx understood where the princess’ concerns came from. After all, she just reunited with her sister, and he was about to lose his. This parallel didn’t go over anypony’s head. However, there were a lot more variables at play here. It went beyond simply being isolated far away from those he grew up with, be it in the Undiscovered West, or on the moon.

From her perspective, she saw an irate little pony who was putting himself on a Nightmare Moon-esque journey to villainy. From his perspective, he saw an opportunity to have a better chance at life and to find true happiness.

But who was right?

“I... I have only one life to live, princess. And it won’t last a thousand years,” he finally said, ashamed, backing away through the doorway. “I have... I have to make it count.”

Sunstone really would have wanted more time to think about it. Unfortunately for him, Gray Calx already bought a one-way ticket out of there.

What is the root cause of that friendship problem?

Such was the question that lived rent free in Twilight Sparkle’s head ever since she woke up to seize the day. Luckily, it hadn’t been enough of a hindrance to keep her awake all night; quite the contrary, in fact. As she quickly found out when she stretched herself out of bed early this morning, she had slept like an angel. She didn’t realize it the evening before, but that suite where she dozed off was not too shabby! The bed was plush, the walls were properly soundproofed, and the water pressure in the adjacent bathroom exceeded her expectations. Quite the revitalizing morning indeed!

Sweet Pint, her appointed hostess, wanting to make up for the unsatisfactory state of her inn/bar yesterday evening, was already in the process of sweeping the floor when the princess emerged from the second floor. But the cherry on the sundae was the bountiful breakfast the barmare had already prepared for her. A real cornucopia of fruits and pastries. She did substitute her breakfast stout with a glass of freshly pressed orange juice, though. It was, all in all, a very charitable gesture, and the princess offered Sweet Pint her compliments. Though the brassy earth pony would’ve denied it, Twilight could’ve sworn she saw a blush.

It’s between two bites of her cantaloupe that the princess began to think about how she’d approach this unresolved friendship problem. Somehow, she had the growing suspicion that this one, not unlike her cantaloupe, was going to be a juicy one. Indubitably, investigating was going to be in order.

And investigating she did. She took off to the sky around 9 AM, right after passing by that decorated column that still made something itch in the back of her mind. Those three ponies and that one sphere were practically taunting her by this point.

The first place she snooped around was the big clearing she spotted yesterday evening. More than ever did she believe that this was the inception of yesterday’s disaster. She even found the proof she needed. Everything checked out with the books she read about Outer Grove’s dangerous fauna, and how easily disturbed it could be. The fine balance between ponies and Ursas had been disrespected. Could this have been related to the friendship problem somehow? It was her best (and only) lead thus far.

A trip to the mayor’s office to relay her findings, and she found out that a gathering in the plaza an hour or two later had been organized. Mayor De La Tour even insisted for the princess to join him on stage, saying that it would be “a good PR stunt after the Ursa incident.” She agreed on the spot; these ponies deserved to know that the Crown hadn’t forgotten about them. Not only would she be in a good position to hear the townsfolk’s suggestions and/or concerns, but also, having them crowded in one place would make it easier for her to spot those who had an ongoing conflict between them. A friendship conflict, dare she say.

Which brought us to now. Here on this wide linear podium, surrounded by hundreds of ponies, stood the princess, accompanied by her two bodyguards, Sterling Plume and Hasty Flail. The mayor, still dressed as unfashionably as ever, was a little ahead, a megaphone in his hoof. He had done an excellent job upping the morale of his town. He may have been on the older side of things, and his periodic coughs were a little distracting, but the princess could totally see that this stallion displayed an immense amount of care to his citizens.

“... And furthermore, my dear Outer Grovians, it is with infinite relief that I bring you the best news of all: No casualties arose from yesterday’s events!” the mayor proudly declared.

Hooves stomping and acclaims filled up the valley from every direction. Twilight couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear; this was news to her as well. What an immense weight off her shoulders knowing that the worst had been avoided!

“Indeed,” so continued the motivating speech, “our patrolling teams combed the town clean through the entire night, and in conjunction with our devout block captains who took a thorough headcount this morning, our census of ponies is 100% accounted for, meaning, we all made it through this disaster alive and well. A true miracle, if I do say so myself!”

Face away from his voice-enhancing apparatus, the good mayor fell into another coughing tantrum. Twilight hoped that he wasn’t overworking himself. Like the captain of a vessel, his passion and strive to reassure those who looked up to him for guidance was exemplary, but he wasn’t exactly a young stallion anymore. Yet, despite her concerns, after clearing his throat, the mayor went back in full force.

“As for the town itself, the repairs have already begun and are concentrated on the areas that currently need it most.”

He took a couple of frail steps forward, a hoof panning in front of his face. He raised his chin, a glint of hope sparkling in his gray irises.

“Look around you, my little ponies. Our wonderful historical plaza has been trashed beyond recognition. The clocktower, once proudly overlooking this crossroad where flea markets and street performers proliferated, now casts a gloomy shadow over debris and demolished infrastructures.

“Luckily, we have dedicated teams on the case, and they told me with great assurance that Outer Grove would be back on its hooves within two weeks at most. You, my dearest citizens, are of course invited to pitch in with some volunteer work of your own to accelerate that deadline. For those interested, a list depicting various tasks has been pegged on what’s left of the public bulletin board.”

This went on for a while. Explanations following more explanations. Solutions for every single inquiry coming from the attentive audience. Everything on the basis of bringing some peace of mind to the local population. Mayor De La Tour wanted nothing more than to explore every nook and cranny of today’s meticulous planning. No stones were left unturned, no questions were left unanswered. A complete and refined Q and A, Twilight had to admit.

Then came the time for the special thanks part of the convocation. A yellow doctor she half recognized who went by the name of Dr. Stethorsecope was the first on the list of many. Apparently, so confirmed the mayor, he had been hard at work tending to the wounds of the many victims who required his medical assistance. The crowd turned to him and applause arose again in his honor, which, for some reason, made him giggle like a maniac. Bizarre tic, the princess thought, but oh well.

Sweet Pint was also highly praised for her role in hiding a myriad of ponies in the basement of her establishment, though she had to be excused for not being here at the moment. Twilight knew for a fact that the busy mare couldn’t delay her cleaning any longer, so she sort of understood why she took a rain check.

The two royal guards were mentioned next. They inched forward, bowing to another wave of cheers. Twilight was immensely grateful for their presence as well. Without them, she most likely would’ve failed at repelling the Ursas. It truly was a team effort.

“But perhaps most of all,” segued the mayor, “our flawless survival rate was not and could not have been achieved without external help. For those who didn’t have the pleasure of witnessing it themselves yesterday evening, a guardian has been sent to us and has played a critical role in forcing the enemy away. It arrived in the form of our majestic and fearless ruler; ladies and gentlecolts, I want you all to give your warmest welcome to our strongest line of defense, the heroic beast tamer, the one and only: Princess Twilight Sparkle!”

If the princess thought that the enticed crowd was loud before, now, they were giving their 110. Many decibels worshiping her name, the exact same way they had yesterday evening.

To think that for a moment, she had the nagging feeling that they would scoff at her presence, hurt by the fact that they have been left in the shadows for so long. But now, it was clear that her worries were for naught. These ponies weren’t angry; they were thrilled to have her here. Once again, her all-too-familiar Twilightisms made her play a bunch of scenarios in that overthinking head of hers for no good reason.

She approached the edge of the podium. The mayor hoofed over the megaphone to the princess, but she politely declined. Instead, she preferred to use a spell she taught herself shortly after Luna made her first visit to Ponyville after her return. Voice enhancing cantrips were quite handy indeed. Casting it in a jiffy, it made a little amoeba of purple throb around her neck. Her vocal cords were ready to be heard.

“Thank you everypony, thank you very much,” she said with a booming tone. “This warm reception is very much appreciated! It’s just... It’s so much to take!” she sheepishly admitted. “But I really am happy to be here. I just wish it was under happier circumstances, h-heh!”

A tide of chuckles emerged from the crowd. Twilight smiled and carried on.

“Hopefully though, today marks the first of the many visits I’ll be making here. I solemnly take the engagement of making it happen! No longer will you wonder where your princesses are, and Equestria will not turn a deaf ear to your demands anymore: The silent treatment stops today!”

And there they went again, whistling and raising hooves in the air, completely enthralled by her rousing speech. The Mayor even nodded, quite satisfied to see that the princess had their back in these trying times. Hope was in the air; she could practically smell it.

“Just like your brilliant Mayor,” the princess went on, “I too would like to forward a few appreciative notes. That’s right: It would be brutally dishonest to say that I worked alone when those Ursa Minors were sent packing. Sterling Plume and Hasty Flail have had my back the entire time, and I owe them immensely for their loyalty. Oh! And also, before I forget: Shoutout to the bellmaster who rang the clocktower. Whoever that pony was, they saved me a lot of time, and if it weren’t for them, things could’ve been much worse.”

“That would be me!”

Ponies turned their heads around. Behind them, a stallion well in his 50’s approached the scene. He was wearing a big white hat, a brown vintage vest, and sported a well-groomed orange mustache. A typical stallion of the land, immediately figured the princess.

Splicing through the crowd with a determined demeanor, he arrived at the base of the stage with his head angled up.

“Mr. Gold, your highness, that’s my name,” he said, bowing. “Town prospector and forepony in charge of the mining and logging industry. I’m the one who rang that bell and put the town on high alert.”

Twilight jolted with surprise. “Oh! Well, um, in that case let me-”

“But,” he raised a hoof, “I didn’t do it alone!”

She decided to stay silent, eager to know where this was going. Mr. Gold’s attention, meanwhile, switched to the old pony under that ridiculous top hat.

“Mayor De La Tour, I’m sorry, but ye forgot to mention someone on that congratulating list o’ yours, eh?”

“Oh? I do apologize if that truly is the case,” the mayor said in his metallic cone. “Who would I be missing, my boy?”

“Why, Gray Calx, of course! Remember? The stallion we all drank in the name of two lil’ nights ago? He did a mighty lot, and I think he deserves proper credit for his role. After all, he’s the one who spotted the two Ursas before anypony did. He even went and hurt himself helpin’ me warn the town about it.”

“Oh, oh, heheheheeee! And he also wanted to save the ponies who were totally lost during the attack,” added the town doctor. “Calx pitched the idea of helping them find shelter while the rest of us were ready to hide and do nothing about it!”

“He saved the life of my daughter,” now followed a... well-fed mare with a small pony pouting on her back. “If it weren’t for him, I... I don’t know what would’ve happened to my sweet lil’ baby,” she nuzzled her, the emotions starting to strangle her again.

The princess rubbed her jaw, pensive. There was that name again! ‘Gray Calx.’ The one etched on that banderole back at the Two Arches. The one that she just couldn’t place back no matter how hard she tried.

Who exactly was that mysterious fellow?

Well, if this round of devotion was any indication, he sure seemed revered around these parts. A local hero, perhaps? It was great to see that, even so far away from the capital, some ponies rose to the call, ready to serve and protect. Not for the glory, but because it was the right thing to do.

Ponies like this Gray Calx guy sure made her job easier. It was amazing to know she had unknown allies she could trust. Well, maybe not ‘unknown’ for much longer: She was interested in meeting the chap and letting him know that the Crown was proud to have protectors of his caliber keeping Equestria out of trouble.

As she thought about this, the mayor, meanwhile, fumbled a bit, learning of Calx’s exploits at the same time the princess did.

“W-why um, of course! I totally was going to mention him next and absolutely did not forget to jot down his name on my list.” He awkwardly cleared his throat, “Gray Calx, where are you, my friend? You too deserve a round of applause, I reckon!”

Ponies started to stomp their hooves for the nth time, but the movement faded away rapidly. They hesitantly looked around in all directions, unsure where they should even aim their praise. It soon became clear that nopony who identified as Gray Calx wanted to take the spotlight.

“You’re all wasting your time. He’s not here...” grumbled the orange filly on the big mare from earlier.

Her mom, alongside the rest of the town, twisted their neck and looked at her. “W-what? Honey Dream, sweetie, what are you-”

“He’s not here! He’s not here, okay!?” she barked, visibly angered, right after jumping off her mother’s back. “I looked for him but couldn’t find him!”

The mother, a bit embarrassed, tried to calm her down. “H-Honey, please, not now... N-not in the middle of-”

“No! Mom, he promised! He promised he’d see me again! But I haven’t seen him since we split up yesterday, after I... After I...” She shook her head, trying to flick the bad memories away. “He promised he would see me later, he said he would, but he didn’t!” She lowered her head, heartbroken. “He didn’t...”

Before tears came to her eyes, the large mare embraced her gently, rubbing a hoof on her back.

“It’s okay my sweet lil’ Honey, shhhh...” she murmured in a reassuring tone, trying to defuse her worries. “I’m sure he’s ok. Nothing bad happened to uncle Calx. He’s a tough pony.”

Mayor De La Tour, feeling nothing but empathy for this sorrowful filly, took back control of the situation. “Well, worry not, little Honey Dream. And you too, Mrs. Skybrush. If it makes you feel any better, his block captains have registered his presence at his dwelling this morning, and so, even though he doesn’t appear to be with us today, I can at least certify that he is indeed very much still breathing.”

Honey Dream lifted her quivering chin, her lower lip pursed with two sad eyeballs peering in his direction.

“W-well... Then it’s even worse! That means he lied! Why would uncle Calxie lie to me!? He would never break a promise he made to me, I know he wouldn’t...!”

It’s at this moment that Twilight Sparkle had a stroke of genius. A pony not living up to a promise they made to a friend? One of them being MIA and the other feeling cheated?

Huzzah! Now THAT, that had ‘friendship problem’ written all over! The princess finally had something to work with. She knew this public meeting would pay off, she just knew it, haha!

Sompeony subtly elbowed her.

“Pssst, princess?” quietly said Sterling Plume. “You really shouldn’t be smiling at something like this. Bad image.”

The princess didn’t even realize how hard she was grinning. Her goofy expression disappeared in a moment’s notice, with eyes terror stricken and a hoof in front of her mouth. It was just a misunderstanding! S-she wasn’t enjoying the sufferings of that filly, no! It was just- She didn’t mean to- Gah! What a stupid gaffe!

“O-Oh! Hum...! Heh, I...” she yammered, her voice still magically boosted.

She slapped her head, trying to scramble her thoughts back in place. Now was not the time to mess up her first public performance in Outer Grove. She was hungry for friendship problems and a hook was delicately dangling in front of her. She was not going to let go of it!

“Don’t worry my little pony,” she eventually said to the bummed down filly, a hoof pumping her chest. “I’ll personally go see him after this seance and try to shed some light on the situation.”

“NO!”
“You can’t!”

Today was a day of interruptions, wasn’t it? Ponies in the crowd were starting to feel rather fatigued from rubbernecking left and right, constantly on the lookout for the next attendee who gave themselves the right of speech. Twilight, on the other hoof, was a bit taken aback by how disorganized this whole thing was starting to feel. She still had important talking points she needed to bring up, and at this rate, she was going to be on this stage until tomorrow morning.

In any case, this time around, it was two blue ponies with carefully combed blond manes who decided to interject – one of which, curiously enough, had wings. An oddity in the crowd, making him and the mare next to him stand out that much more.

“Um... excuse me? I can’t?” repeated Twilight.

“That’s right, your highness, y-you can’t!” fidgeted the winged one.

The other one took a step forward with a pretence of confidence. “Because! He’s not at, um... home? Right! He’s not at home! S-so it’s a futile endeavour.” She nudged her husband. “Isn’t it so, deary?”

“Yup, exactly! Haven’t seen our neighbor at all no matter how hard we looked, s-so you shouldn’t bother yourself trying.”

“That’s right!”

“That’s right!”

They both tried to keep an honest smile, but their sweaty foreheads were telling a whole different story. The mayor, of course, could see right through them and their inconsistencies.

“Aheh. Mr. and Mrs. Blueberry. At the risk of going against your words, you both have gone on record this morning saying that you personally verified the presence of the 25 ponies in your neighbourhood – Gray Calx included. So which story holds true? Have you perhaps entered falsified information?”

They both looked at each other nervously. Their little charade had been debunked on the spot. Totally busted in front of a hundred witnesses.

“Okay, yes, yes, he was home alright!”

“But he totally wasn’t working on a surprise for you, your highness!”

“My juicy lil’ berry is, as always, correct! He was literally busy doing anything other than preparing a surprise for his beloved princess. So don’t go ahead and think that he was doing that!”

“And uh, y-you should probably not go there; you could be distracting him from his non-surprise-making activity! Whatever that activity is, deary!”

...

…

“Well, that went rather well, wouldn’t you agree, my juicy lil’ berry?”

“Oh my, yes! We played our cards magnificently.”

“Soooo... Seeing as we did everything right, let’s make like hay and bail, yes?”

“I concur, my schweet tender berry!”

Cut to them making their escape, leaving a cloud of dust matching their silhouette where they just stood. Everypony was rightfully confused, looking at each other and shrugging. Even the mayor didn’t really know what to do with… whatever that was. If the Berries tried to be cunning, not only did they put on an abysmal performance, but also, nopony truly understood what they even tried to keep under the drapes.

“Oooookay?” is all the princess could find to say after this circus show. “I suggest that we table this and move on to the next topic, yes?”

Everypony in front of the stage nodded. Good. Playing the ignorance card was the best and possibly only solution in the face of the inexplicable.

“So,” tried the princess once again, “there is something... rather concerning that I have discovered, and it wouldn’t be right to keep it for myself any longer. Because I think... I think I might’ve found the source of Saturday’s attack!”

Everypony gasped. Oooh sweet revelation! Twilight held no punches; she exposed everything about the clearing she explored this morning. How it had been sacked. Every piece of equipment over there had been squished to a thin paste, and the stored lumber had been shredded to uselessness. She saw giant paw prints and claw marks only a creature the size of an Ursa could’ve produced, surprise surprise. This particular area was in such shambles compared to the bordering forest that pegging it as the Ursas’ motivation to go on a vendetta made complete sense.

“B-but wait a minute! That place, isn’t that... isn’t that logging site 2B?” the mayor stressfully wondered. “I-it was supposed to be the construction site where my team wanted to erect a new college, b-but... Mr. Gold, didn’t you swear that the logging activities wouldn’t cause any issues?”

The pony in question, who hadn’t left the base of the stage, recoiled with offense. Was he being accused of something? What was this, a public trial with the princess as his personal prosecutor?

“I did, and I didna go back on my word!” Mr. Gold countered. “This ain’t my first rodeo with Ursa Minors – you of all ponies should know this, Mr. Mayor! I’ve been in this town far too long for my own good, being the oldest foal from one of the first family of pioneers who colonized this place. You and I have seen giant bear attacks before, we’ve been through ‘em together! So believe me when I say I’m well aware that they ain’t to be tampered with!

“Look, the forestall zoning around Outer Grove holds no secrets from me. Never has. I know where those wild beasts’ hunting grounds are by the tip of my hooves. It IS my special talent after all, eh? So I ain’t lyin’ when I said I triple checked the boundaries for the cutting area I’ve carefully marked.”

He then singled out two other earth ponies, these ones, wearing construction helmets. They jumped a bit, unsuspecting that it was going to be their turn to hog all of the attention.

“Because you have only fallen trees within the limits I gave you, isn’t that right, Seesaw Log and Leafy Humus?”

One of them waved a nonchalant hoof. “Pffff, duh?? Who do you think we are? We’re professionals, after all!”

“Yeah, we’re super-duper pro at this!” followed the other forest worker.

“We cleared the job in like, what, half a day? Easy peasy!”

“That’s why, after we finished everything, we decided to cut even more with the rest of our Friday!!”

...

“You did WHAT.”

The prospector’s eyes were just about to fall out of their sockets. Ponies around him receded a bit, forming a distant circle. The green pony was vibrating like he was on the verge of erupting, and no way did they want to be caught in the crossfire.

“Humus’ right!” reprised the lankier one of the two. “We had so much spare time and a ton of leftover energy that we decided to keep cutting to save time for Monday. Smart, huh?”

“Yeah! So now, we have even more logs, and more free space for the college! Aren’t you proud? You always tell us to take the initiative, so we did, mmh hmm!”

“No need to thank us!”

That was it. The straw that broke the camel’s back. Mr. Gold, infuriated, threw his ten-gallon hat on the floor, revealing a completely bald pony. He stomped on his poor innocent hat, coming real close to burying it in the plaza. Still marginally better than using Leafy or Log’s faces, Twilight mused.

“Gosh darnit! Ye GIBLET HEADS! What have I told you about overextending? What have I told you about deviating from my plans? What have I told you about going over my head!?”

Today, the town prospector was neither gold or green: He was completely red. Enough to render the juiciest tomato jealous. Twilight could’ve sworn she saw steam coming out of his ears.

The lumber ponies recoiled, gulping in fear. Seems like it wasn’t going as well as they thought it would.

“B-b-but we thought... Y-y-you said... It’s all Log’s fault! He’s the smart one! I never know what I’m doing!” blurted out Leafy Humus.

“W-what? No way! You’re the one who said they felt like bucking a million trees! I-I was just following your lead!” his ditzy companion countered.

Mr. Gold stomped hard enough to cause an earthquake. “I don’t give an ounce of a dung who did what, I don’t want to hear it, eh!? Yer both equally responsible for this! I told y’all a million gazillion times about NEVER bypassing security measures! What will it take, eh? A town in ruins, perhaps!?”

He kept approaching them menacingly, berating them all the while. The only proper response they found was to back away from their superior who was awfully close to chewing them up.

“Now y’all listen to me and listen well: You two ‘geniuses’ are going to get your butts over to the bulletin board, and you’re going to tend to every. Single. Task! Everything written there, that’s on you, and you alone! I don’t want to see either of you so much as taking a break before that list is fully crossed out! We’ll be at it all night if we must, ya hear me!?”

“Y-yes boss...!” they both stuttered.

They turned to wherever the board was, and yelped in surprise when Mr.Gold used his forehead to push them both, their back hooves sliding forward on their own. They exchanged a worried look, tossing the blame between them like two immature foals.

“... Your fault.”
“Not as much as yours.”
“Yes, well! It’s your fault times infinity!”
“Oh! You! It’s... It’s your fault times infinity... plus one!”
“Your fault times infinity plus two, nener nener!”
“Your fault infinity plus... um, plus... plus... uuuuhh...”
“Plus three?”
“Yeah! Plus THREE!”

Twilight couldn’t help but giggle at their childlike behavior. They reminded her so much of Snips and Snails. Well-meaning, but a bit lethal with their carelessness. Just like the two young unicorns, these lumberponies pulled something eerily similar, what with bringing an enraged Ursa Minor into an urban area. Well, two Ursas in their case, and it’s not like they did it deliberately. But still! These four probably shared the same brain cell.

In the end, this wound up being the last in a long series of disruptions, much to Twilight’s relief. The seminar concluded a few hours later, and the rest of the diminishing crowd dispersed in a blur thereafter.

Twilight vowed to find Gray Calx, and the last thing she wanted was to toss another broken promise in Honey Dream’s face. Unsurprisingly, her first stop was the most logical one: His private residence. This, despite the Blueberries’ poorly executed con. What was with those two charlatans anyway? A bad omen, or a fluke? She sincerely hoped there wasn’t something nefarious at play here.

She rapidly found the house in question, following Skybrush’s descriptions of it. What a nice mare, by the way. Helpful, approachable, and very much on top of her social game. The two of them briefly chatted after the conference, and she learned a little bit about her. General store clerk, and talented painter on the side. Single mother of one, and appreciated by pretty much everyone in town. She and “uncle Calxie” had been best buds for a long time, sharing their love of nature during their after-work hours, among other things.

Skybrush tried not to show it, but Twilight knew she too had worries of her own about her missing companion. Just like her daughter, she also expected him to be present at the public gathering, and became understandably concerned when she realized that he was a no-show. More fuel for the friendship problem, so it seemed!

So, the house.

Almost a 1:1 match with the info she had received. It was made of wood, was cylindrical, had a few rounded windows scattered throughout, had a quaint little balcony high up on the second floor, had many twirling branches extruding in all directions, and... and...

“It looks exactly like the Golden Oak library!” gasped the princess.

It was a bit smaller of course, but give it a plump hat of leaves, and this would’ve made for a perfect ‘spot the difference’ exercise.

Oh, the memories! She and Spike spent their first years in Ponyville in that cozy library, where she adapted to her new life and learned a lot about herself in the process. It was a peaceful sanctuary she loved to call ‘home.’ A sanctum of tranquility she could retreat to when things got too crazy. And in Ponyville, you better believe that it happened more often than not!

Twilight couldn’t help but feel slightly nostalgic about what she had lost. Yes, at the end of the day, it was only material, and material could be replaced. Nopony died; that’s what was important. Regardless, she held her time in her former household dearly, and it was a darned shame that it ended up as a scorched pile of charcoal. How peculiar that it took a trip all the way to the edge of Equestria to reopen old wounds like this.

Ah, but now was not the time to agonize over her own little quibbles! After all, Gray Calx wouldn’t wait to shake hooves forever.

She knocked on the door and waited a minute.

Then she waited another.

She knocked again. Two more minutes of waiting.

Another set of knocks, more desperate this time.

More minutes passing by.

“Hello? Anypony in there?” she asked to the silent house.

...

“Mr. Calx? Gray Calx? Is this your house?” she tried to ask again, this time, her face to the floor, peering at the gap under the door.

...

Well whoop-de-doo, of course it couldn’t have been a hole-in-one. Too easy, right? If Gray Calx truly lived there, he was either absent, or socially adverse. That last hypothesis seemed rather improbable, considering the many things his friends had to say about him. Saving a foal and acting heroic didn’t really go hoof-in-hoof with being shy. Um, save for Fluttershy; she could be excused.

Twilight Sparkle grumbled to herself. She should have seen this possibility coming. And now, she’ll have to aimlessly chase him around town, that is, if he was even still in this town. She had no idea what he even looked like too! So now, it was even more of a crapshoot. Why didn’t she just ask Honey Dream and Skybrush to describe him real quick in case this particular situation arose? It wasn’t like her to not account for pitfalls such as this one. She should’ve made a list! Lists are good, lists are love, lists are life savers!

No matter. Just a small hiccup in this game of hide and seek. She’ll find him one way or another.

And she knew exactly where to look next.

“What can I tell you about Gray Calx, that’s uh, that’s what you’re asking me?” Sweet Pint parroted behind the laminated counter.

“Mmmh hmm!” excitingly nodded the princess, forelegs crossed on said laminated counter.

It was incredible to see the Two Arches back on its hooves this quickly. What was a battlefield of a party’s aftermath coupled with the dirtiness of a temporary bunker space was now a respectable establishment, ready to get a bunch of clients all tipsy and happy. It was spotless and barely recognizable. Not a spec of mud desecrating the floor. Impeccable job indeed!

The first few patrons started to give life to the tavern, ever since it reopened a few minutes ago. Most of them were workers who had done their best to shape the town back into its former image. A hard day of sawing and hammering, that’ll leave you rusty and thirsty for sure. Nothing like a cold pale ale to rejuvenate a brain that demanded to be numbed just a little bit.

The princess, of course, came for a different reason altogether. She didn’t return to the pub to get her rocks off. When Sweet Pint tossed a draft her way ‘on the house,’ Twilight had to refuse once again. She contented herself with a simple glass of water. She still had tasks to attend to, and drinking on the job was far from being professional.

No, rather, she decided to go back here primarily because she recalled Calx’s name being displayed in big bold letters on the ceiling. Given that, interviewing Sweet Pint seemed like a proper follow up.

“Erf, what’s there to say about Gray dude, really?” Sweet Pint shrugged, polishing a glass with a towel. “He’s kind of a troublemaker, ain’t he? Stubborn little thing who never listens, hrmmphh! Oh! And he should get a better manecut too. I keep telling him that, but it’s like he lives with his head in the sand!”

“Soooo... I’m guessing you don’t really like him?” asked the princess, a bit disappointed.

“What!?” yelped the barmare, genuinely taken aback. “Says who? Is that what you think I...? Naw, naw, I tolerate the guy alright. Him and I wouldn’t have lived together for a while if I hated his guts.”

Living together? These two had history then? Personal history?

Oh! Was she hinting at romance? She totally was, wasn’t she? G-g-g-gossip time! Twilight didn’t come here to explore the intricate world of past dates and ex coltfriends, but really now, when was the last time she had that kind of girl talk? Rarity had been quiet on that front recently, and although Twilight would rather be tortured than to admit it, she sort of missed all the romantic rumors the fashionista loved to share with her. Hey, if anything, this would help her figure out Calx’s character, right? So there was uh, a scientific reason to probe for those spicy experiences, oh yes there was, yep yep! Don’t let anyone else convince you otherwise!

“Ooooh, I see! So what happened then? Did you kick him out? Or did he leave on his own? Was it because he did something bad? Are you two still seeing each other, or did you go your separate ways? Was it awkward when you tossed him that party?” she ran her mouth exactly like Pinkie Pie.

Sweet Pint stopped rubbing her glass and looked up from it, a blank stare covering her pink expressionless face. “I... I don’t follow?”

“Well, from what I’m getting, you two used to be lovers, right?”

The barmare remained completely immobile, her mouth as horizontal as it could be. Uh oh. Now the princess was starting to become hesitant.

“Am... Am I not reading the room right?” she asked, her voice but a whisper.

Everypony currently present in the Two Arches could’ve heard a bit drop. It was nauseatingly silent.

It stayed that way for a bit, until Sweet Pint exploded in a tirade of laughs. Her head was buried in a foreleg, and the other one was banging on the counter, effectively knocking over the glass she worked so hard to clean. She was completely in stitches, even snorting as she was trying and failing to catch her breath. That sure attracted some unwanted attention from the surrounding drinkers, and Twilight, darting her look left and right, sank her head into her neck, her cheeks reddened from embarrassment. Thankfully, the moment passed (sort of), and the barmare rose from her laughing position, eyes wet from amusement.

“Ahhh, I’m... I’m sorry about that, princess, I was just imagining-” And then she chuckled again, unable to control herself. “Sorry, sorry! It’s just, me and Gray dude, a thing? A duo? Partners in love? Smoochin’ lil’ lovebirds?”

She kissed the air a couple of times to illustrate her mockery, before promptly laughing again.

“Ummm...” simply droned Twilight, wanting this bit to stop already.

“I’m so sorry!” apologized Sweet Pint once again, before exhaling to calm herself down. “But uh, yeah, no. What I meant was, he rented a room here for about a year, so technically, we shared the same roof during that period. Sorry if I wasn’t clear, I didn’t mean to create some confusion.”

The princess facehoofed. Ugh! How many times had she scolded Spike to not jump to conclusions just the way she had? So humiliating! Shame she declined that mug of liquid courage after all.

“So, no tying the knot between the two of us,” pressed on the pink pony. “First of all, I don’t swing that way, so tough luck there. Secondly, he already had his eyes on another mare. Still does. The whole town pretty much knows it. Sometimes, I wonder if Gray dude is the only knobhead who’s blind to it. Holy smokes is that stallion oblivious at times.”

“Oh, so he does have a crush then?” brightened up the princess; maybe she’ll have that girl talk after all!

“Sh’yeah he does. Big time. He has the hots for a pony that goes by the name of Skybrush. These two scallywags are pretty much inseparable.”

“Skybrush? What a coincidence, I’ve just met her! You know, she said to me earlier that they were only friends – REALLY good friends – but I immediately suspected that there was more to it. With the way she talked about him, she made it rather obvious,” she teased, giggling in her fetlock. “Very nice gal, by the way. Been nothing but a pleasure to converse with her.”

“Neat, glad to see you know who I’m talking about. Saves me the time. And yeah, you’re right, princess. She’s a delicious piece of mare alright, mmmh~. You gotta trust me though, no matter what she said, these two are more than friends. Everypony can see it.”

She rolled her eyes and sighed, a bit desperate.

“Gray dude hasn’t made his move in, what, four years now? Mr. G and I have tried time after time to nudge him her way, but the loon can’t take a hint at all! Can you believe how dense that ignoramus is? Completely romantically illiterate. I tell you, if Skybrush wasn’t playing for the other team, I would’ve swooped in a long time ago and claimed her as my own, ha!”

The princess rubbed her neck. “Are you uh... Are you absolutely certain you like Gray Calx? You sort of keep calling him names.”

Sweet Pint seemed offended. “Huh?? Well, I- ah- Of course I’m insulting him! What better way to display your affection than taking a few jabs at each other? Showing your appreciation for another pony by telling them they stink, now THAT, that’s the pinnacle of friendship.”

In theory, Twilight would’ve loved to agree there, but in practice, she couldn’t bring herself to. She had a hard time pairing friendship and verbal abuse in the same boat. Sounded unhealthy in the long term. She should know: Was this not, after all, her main affiliation? The number one subject she taught to other ponies? The very thing that justified her crown?

Unable to find something to say, she just replied with a somewhat dishonest smile, which made Sweet Pint sag in return.

“Look, yes, okay, I like him,” she reluctantly admitted. “Gray dude may be an oaf, but he’s my oaf. And he ain’t half bad of a pony either. Responsible and always putting the needs of others above his own. He works hard, he’s a good role model for his friends, and he’s way smarter than he lets on. He’s like, uh, the intelligent link that keeps us afloat, if ya know what I mean,” she went on, before coughing dismissively. “B-but don’t tell him I said any of that! I have a reputation to uphold. Can’t have the whole town start thinking I’m all mushy and sensitive, bleh!”

Ah, now that was more like it! The princess’ theories about her target were slowly becoming more and more grounded. He truly was a good pony, and for sure she’ll be able to make him reconcile with Honey Dream. Being aware of his virtues was a big help; she’ll use that knowledge as a bargaining chip to sway him her way. This should be a ball in the park!

“I think I’d like to talk to him. Any idea where I could find him? He wasn’t home last I checked. And just like you, he wasn’t at the seminar either.”

“Doesn’t surprise me one bit. Like I said, he’s a workhorse. Perhaps a little too much for his own good. Bet ya twenty bits he’s at the quarry as we speak, digging, or doing whatever it is that he’s doing over there. If you wanna pay him a visit, then head for the train station and turn right at the last fork. Can’t really miss the place; it’s sort of next to that one big mountain towering our village.”

Ah-ha! A new lead; how exciting! She was following a trail, and at this point, it had to go somewhere. Calx’s breadcrumbs were no match for the sleuth that was princess Twilight Sparkle!

The two chatted for another ten minutes, but once Twilight’s glass became dry, she used that as an excuse to take her leave. That was good timing all things considered, since by the end of it, the Two Arches was becoming really animated, and Sweet Pint had to work double to keep everypony fully quenched.

Another miss.

There was nopony in the mining district. Dead ends after dead ends. Twilight Sparkle was about to cry uncle; Gray Calx was apparently way too skilled at being a nonexistent entity. And with the sun being threateningly close to the treetops, it was time for her to surrender. Scrounging trash cans and peeping under street benches at night whilst shouting “Gray Calx? You there?” sounded a bit mad, even by her standards. By no means did she want to deceive Honey Dream with her delays, but she had to stay realistic if she was going to solve this problem the right way.

Instead, she made a quick detour to the city hall again, seeking the mayor. She had to inform him that she was going to take a train for a quick back-and-forth to the Las Pegasus station. Her personal belongings had been stored over there after she bailed on them. A second day without a toothbrush didn’t seem very renowned for a princess like her. Moreover, yesterday, she instructed the train conductor that she’d be in touch with him at most two days after telling him to rev his train back to the Las Pegasus Station. Without a word from her yet, he was probably starting to get antsy.

But perhaps worst of all, her precious books were under nopony’s surveillance: Totally unacceptable!

Mayor De La Tour explained that, while a Sunday express was normally in town at this hour, it had been brought to his attention that the tracks had been badly damaged. Twilight confirmed this, having witnessed a sectioned portion of the rails herself. Two repairponies had been dispatched early this morning to take care of business, since being connected to Equestria was kind of a priority. Coincidentally, they told the mayor no less than fifteen minutes ago that the job had already been completed. Took them a few hours only, all thanks to some altruistic external help they received.

Regardless, it was possible that no trains had arrived yet due to that rather hefty speed bump from the day before. She was encouraged to go check the station herself nonetheless.

Before Twilight departed, she met with the two royal guards who were clustered around a desk, in the middle of writing a report. This report was to be sent straight to Canterlot, to record and describe what had occurred in Outer Grove. In it, they requested some ponytarian help. More materials, medicine, and rations to be taken directly from their disaster funds. Faust knows the ponies here needed it.

The report would also give a few insights to ensure that Ursa-related incidents would never happen ever again. To that end, they beckoned the princess for some assistance, wondering if she could write a paragraph or two about her discoveries with logging site 2B. Essentially, putting into text what she orated earlier. Twilight complied, though she really wished she had Spike with her to do the quill work.

Once their four page summary of the situation was written and double checked, Twilight Sparkle tentatively asked her two armored friends about Gray Calx. She expected nothing, and that’s exactly what she got: They had no idea who he was. Looks like a last minute clutch wouldn't save her.

And so, with nothing left keeping her there, she flew straight to the train station.

Where a lone gray and purple stallion was waiting, facing away, and dozing off on his haunches.

For some inexplicable reason, he looked mighty familiar. And even though she didn’t know where she got the feeling, she could’ve sworn he had the stature of someone incredibly resourceful.

Hey, maybe he knew a thing or two about Gray Calx?

Author's Note

Bit of a filler ain't it? Felt the need to explain how Twilight found our demoralized protag, and drive home the point that, yes, Leafy & Log forked up big time.

Mark my words, though: In the next chapter? Shit will go down. So much of it, right down the toilet. Prepare your plungers, because that u-bend will get clogged. That's how much shit I'm expecting to dump on you guys. This metaphor is not coming out as good as I wanted it to.

Juvenile jokes aside, yeah, I'm done building things up now. I'm expecting chapter 7 to be a bit on the longer side of things (does that even mean anything anymore?), since this is where the main conflict will unfold. You thought two Ursas were bad? Brace, my friends, brace. Gray “Sunstone” Calx and MLP's book horse are going to knock the living daylights out of each other (or something along these lines). The kind of chapter that will either make or break the story, I tell you what. I ah, sure hope it'll be the former. How cool would that be?

Oh, and here's a render of our favorite chonky mare, Skybrush! And one of her energetic 7-years-old daughter, Honey Dream! Just to put a face on words or w/e. I might draw the rest of the cast over time. Maybe, maybe not.

Bottom text.

Sunstone: Burning Bridges (Part 1)

Author's Note

Yes, hello, hi, I’m above the chapter this time. Pretty snazzy view from up here, I must say. Hey, I think I can see my house!

Ahem.

So, reason why I decided to even bother with a preamble was to deliver a warning to you, you cutie patooties. That’s right: I kept talking about how long this chapter was going to be. When I broke the 20k threshold, however, I decided that it was mayhaps getting a tad ridiculous. So, finally manning up, as the title of the chapter might’ve spoiled, I karate chopped it in two. Good thing is, the second part is already done. So Imma post it in two or three days, y’know, because it’s good to arbitrarily wait around.

Another thing though. Just wanted to say that, weeeell, things may take a rather weird left turn in what’s written below, and that simple fact was enough to trigger a displeasing pressure in the pit of my guts. I think they call it anxiety? Yesh, I know that I like to clown around often, but this time, the demon of self-doubt took a real good shot at me, the bastard.

Kept double checking my draft and wondering if I shouldn’t just scrap what I had planned altogether. The closer I got to hitting “publish,” the more I was all like: “Nah man, I’m about to send myself straight into a public lapidation.” Seriously, there’s a crapton of angst down there, and I don’t know if it’s misplaced or not. It gets even worse in the second part, believe it or not. In the end, I still went through with it, but man, did that take a lot of booze. Tanked my beer budget in one easy trick.

So I guess, what I’m rambling about here is, don’t give up hope yet pl0x. There are still 4 more chapters on their way (and the second part of this chapter, plus a microscopic epilogue); I can still fix this! Keep your blind faith on the Gray Calx ride, he ain’t done quite yet.

Anyway, my poorly disguised attempt at fishing for acceptance is over. Author out. Here we goooo, weeeeee!

Sunstone: Burning Bridges (Part 1)

Twilight Sparkle was making her way up the steep streets of Canterlot. On the outside, she appeared calm and collected. But behind her plastic smile, a great deal of worries surged.

Spike, meanwhile, was a bit more annoyed than he was concerned. He was on her back, his arms folded onto his tummy. He took another tentative gaze at the sky: Still as gray as it was when they woke up in Ponyville this morning. He was mentally cursing at the thick curtain of wispy clouds doing a mighty fine job blocking any and all sunrays. Bit of a depressing scenery, really. And a smidge cold as well. His clattering jaw just had to remind him of those subnormal temperatures.

The small dragon had no idea what exactly the teams of weather pegasi had in mind, but one thing was for sure: He wasn’t jiving with their questionable decisions all that much. Since when did polar vortexes become acceptable at a time where his scales should’ve been drenched in sunscreen? Every other cold-blooded creature in Equestria would’ve agreed with him there. Summertime was their time to shine; a perfect opportunity to laze on a reclining chair with a nice lemonade on the side. But nope, the warmth had decided to go AWOL.

Even though it was semi tolerable in Ponyville, now that the two of them were strolling in the bustling city of Canterlot, the higher elevation made it all the worse. Spike, for a moment, could’ve sworn he saw his own misty breath, thanks to the condensation of the cold ambient air. Oh what a summer to remember!

“Brrr! S’kind of chilly up here, don’t you think?” he complained. “And to think the summer solstice was a few days ago only, bleh.”

“I have to agree with you there, Spike. We’ve certainly had hotter days.”

She looked up, almost expecting a droplet from the heavens to damp the tip of her snout. Other unicorns in the street were more proactive: They preemptively casted magical umbrellas over their head, protecting hundred bits worth of manecuts.

“We should hurry; looks like it’s going to drizzle any moment,” rationalized Twilight.

She hastened herself, now in close range to her destination: Her parents’ house.

“I wonder what was so urgent to warrant us coming on such short notice?”

A question she could no longer keep to herself. She thought about it long and hard during their train ride, but now that she could see the first few houses of her childhood neighborhood popping into their view, it became virtually impossible to not let the cat out of the bag.

“Yeah, never seen a letter like this from Mr. and Mrs. Sparkle,” confirmed the freezing drake. “Sounded like they really needed you to move your butt, presto!”

“Language, Spike,” she scolded. “But you’re right. Not even leaving me a day to prepare? That’s not like them.”

Her pupils lost themselves to the corner of her eyes. She still had, oh, three minutes to think some more about it? Their old house was fast approaching.

“Maaaaybe they want to congratulate me about the whole Nightmare Moon affair? Throw me some kind of celebration?”

Spike sighed and snickered, strangely at the same time. “Whoa there Twi, good to see that you’re not letting all of the glory go to your head!” To which Twilight lowered her neck, her cheeks reddening in guilt. “And eeeeeh, I’m not so sure either way. Wouldn’t they have given a few hints in the letter? Congratulating you instead of telling you to come urgently?”

He wasn’t wrong. The word ‘urgently’ had even been written in all-caps, before being highlighted, underlined, and circled three times on the parchment. That erred more on the territory of bad news than anything.

“Yeah... I didn’t like the tone of what we read, I’ll be honest. It sounded super pressing, not to mention cryptic, like something bad happened and... and...”

Oh.

Wait a minute. An idea. Could it have anything to do with...?

“You don’t suppose it’s about Sunstone, do you? Oh heavens, I hope he didn’t get in trouble again,” nervously chuckled Twilight. “We haven’t, um, seen him much since he returned from Manehattan. I should’ve probably checked on him more often now that I think about it. It’s a pity I’ve been so busy with my studies,” she sighed. “Who knows what he’s been up to lately?”

“... Probably off ruining somepony’s day,” lowly grumbled Spike.

Twilight frowned. “Spike...”

“Look, I’m sorry Twi, but that pony is just... so mean and rude!” he admitted. Been a long time coming since he wanted to address that. “He’s always super negative, he’s always found the dullest excuses to dodge me, and frankly? I don’t think he appreciates either of us all that much,” he pouted. “I hate when he’s around, he makes me feel so nervous.”

“I understand where you’re coming from, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t be there for him. Yes, he’s a bit difficult to work with, but I firmly believe that with enough effort, he’ll... eventually warm up to us better,” she said, as if trying to convince herself. “Isn’t that what my friendship reports to princess Celestia are trying to teach us? That everypony can be redeemed with the right amount of care and dedication? That a supportive group of friends can bring the best out of us? If there’s anything to learn from these reports, it’s that Sunny, I’m sure of it, will wind up having a change of heart.”

“Pfff, I’m not even sure he has a heart.”

Twilight abruptly stopped, turning her neck back to gaze at her somewhat sardonic number one assistant.

“That’s quite enough, Spike! Sunstone is my brother and I love him. And I’m sure he loves us back. It’s just... Well, like my mom used to say, he just has a hard time showing it. But that doesn’t make it any less true!”

Spike preferred to keep his doubts to himself and answered with a few discontent grunts.

Twilight started walking once more. “I mean, think about it. He must feel so alone being all cooped up with mom and dad at his age... If only there was something I could-”

She brightened up, even going so far as doing a victory bounce that perturbed Spike just a little.

“That’s it! I know! I should invite him to come live with us at the Golden Oak!”

“Wuh-what!? Are you... are you sure about that?”

She nodded with confidence. “Mmmh hmm! Spike, it’s a great idea! Getting him out of Canterlot oughta make him feel better. And don’t we have a spare bed in the library for sleepovers anyway? That really shouldn’t cause any issues.”

She looked ahead, picturing an hypothetical future where the two siblings could finally connect, sharing kooky but fun adventures. Spike, meanwhile, really wasn’t looking forward to spending more time with the stallion that always treated him like he didn’t exist, let alone share a roof with him once again.

“And then I’ll present him to the rest of the girls,” Twilight continued to extrapolate. “I’m sure he’ll fit right in! Befriending new ponies did me a lot of good, and I’m sure it’ll do him a lot of good as well. Ooooh, I can just imagine Pinkie throwing him a big welcoming party, that for sure would cheer him up! She’s really good at turning frowns upside down.”

“I’m not really sure he’ll even want to-”

“Ah, here we are!”

Here they were. In front of the house. They haven’t even left Canterlot for a week, and already Twilight was basking in the warm embrace of past memories. Her childhood life had been cradled with all of the love a foal could possibly desire. From the silly Sibling Supreme competitions she held against Shiny, to the tight bonds she formed with her bestest foal-sitter Cadance, all the way to Sunstone’s, uh... Sunstone’s err... to his lonesome studies she could only gawk at? Mmmh.

“Now remember Spike,” she advised, “I want you and Sunny to get along, m’kay? Even if he’s a little sullen about his current situation, I’d like it if you didn’t give him any unnecessary attitude.”

He sighed. “Yes Twilight...”

With that being taken care of, they opened the door. Despite the serious nature of the letter that prompted her to partake in a last-minute family gathering, she was nonetheless happy to meet them again. After all, she already had a few Ponyville anecdotes to tell, and her mom’s cooking was always a welcomed addition in her world.

“Hello everypony, we’re here!”

Her joyous stance couldn’t have been more out of place with the dark ambience she immediately perceived from the four horned ponies stationed in the living room.

For starters, her mother had her front hooves wrapped tightly around her father, her back throbbing with every sob that came out of her throat. She wasn’t a loud crier, but somehow, that made it even tougher to witness. It’s like she was keeping something terrible bottled-in. Night Light was trying his best to make it better for her, rubbing a hoof on his wife’s back with his eyes closed, but she was totally inconsolable. There was nothing he could’ve done to cheer her up, and so, they just remained solidly linked with neither of them daring to speak a word.

Shining Armor, meanwhile, was looking ahead with a blank stare, as if he was shell shocked. His soulless pupils had lost any semblance of life, and his overall expressionless visage told a million different horror stories. Seeing him so detached, so apathetic, so unable to react, it just wasn’t right. It wasn’t right at all. And it’s not like he was being callous or anything. Nor was it because his robust training as a captain taught him to stay cool and level-headed during the most critical times. No, rather, Twilight somehow deduced that it’s because her brother simply had no idea how to grasp... whatever it was that had rendered her family on the precipice of depression. Shining Armor’s emotional state had been cornered in an uncharted part of his brain, and he was stuck trying to find a proper response.

On his right, a grieving yet compassionate Cadance was nuzzling the neck of the distraught captain. Twilight could tell a few tears had been shed earlier, if the thin droopy lines of her mascara were any clue. She was probably the calmest pony in the room, though that didn’t mean much.

Anxiety crept into Twilight’s barrel. She wasn’t oblivious to the overall mood of her family members, and even though she had no idea what it entitled at all, it certainly was infectious. Nopony even said “hi” to her, much less give her a warm welcome hug. It was so unusual, so unprecedented... She gave a puzzled look to Spike who had jumped onto solid ground, and he shrugged in return, being as clueless as she was.

“W-what’s going on?” she timidly asked, knowing fully well something foreboding was at play. “What has gotten everypony so down?”

Her mother’s head popped over her husband’s shoulder blade. She didn’t even realize her daughter had made it. She tried to say something, but her quaking mouth was at a loss for words.

“Where’s Sunny?” suddenly prompted Twilight.

It’s true. He wasn’t there claiming his share of the burden. Well, he was never really all too present to begin with, and strong emotions could easily repulse him, but this seemed like a rather serious thing to miss. Twilight came all the way from Ponyville just for this; surely, he could’ve made the tiniest of efforts and left his bedroom.

But Twilight’s seemingly naive question was the catalyst that finished off the Sparkles. It’s as if she ripped the world’s most painful band-aid. Shining lowered his neck, Cadance visibly cringed, her dad sagged a bit, and her mother, her poor poor sweet mother, well, after blinking out of stupor three or four times, she melted into Night Light’s back, unable to do anything else but to cry some more.

Silently, Cadance left the captain’s ranks, and levitated in a pale blue glow a folded piece of paper towards Twilight. The latter picked it up with magic of her own, and began reading. She immediately recognized the calligraphy as Sunstone’s. Constantly spying on his homework rendered his writing unmistakable to her. On her side, Spike had his arms linked, more confused than ever, but wisely deciding not to interrupt. Explanations would soon follow, right?

But the more Twilight read, the more her expression was starting to mirror that of the rest of her family. For each line of text, it became increasingly dreadful.

On paragraph one, she was invaded by a strong sense of bewilderment.
On paragraph two, the first few tears started to escape her eyes.
On paragraph three, she had trouble breathing, her stomach doing flips.

She never made it to paragraph four. Her magical grip on Sunstone’s note broke, the paper slid on the parquetry, and Twilight slumped on the floor, ducking under her hooves. She had neither the guts nor the composure to relay to Spike what her eyeballs had just been exposed to. All she could do was repeat to herself that she had been too late. That certain doors had been closed permanently, and that there was absolutely nothing she could do to go back and make it right. This was finality in its most uncontested form.

Cadance immediately hugged the devastated unicorn in an attempt to give her the confidence she herself didn’t even have. Shining soon joined in, as did the rest of the Sparkles. They held themselves solidly, wishing they could find the strength to carry on with one of the worst predicaments that could strike a family.

And as they remained grouped for what seemed like an eternity, the first thunders brought forth a heavy tide of rain, a deluge of grief and loss that would flood Canterlot for the next two days.

The princess and I just kept staring at each other in complete and utter silence. The crickets of the early evening rendered this whole scene even more uncomfortable.

I had no idea how to apprehend this. My brain ceased all activity. For the first time in my life, I was speechless, thoughtless, and motionless. The only thing that I was hoping for was that, if I kept blinking hard enough, maybe, just maybe, she’d vanish from my view. I’d rather go to bed with the immense relief that I was going completely insane over having to face her for real.

But ah no. It doesn’t quite work that way, doesn’t it? She was still there, immobile, unable to even come up with words due to how much she was sobbing.

Gee, bit of an overreaction, don’t you think?

She finally managed to exhaust the last of her tears. Her body had nothing left to give. Leak’s been plugged. She rubbed the lingering wetness out of her face, so she could take a good gander at me again.

“It... It really is you... isn’t it?” she hiccupped a bunch more.

“It really is me. You’ve caught me alright,” I said indifferently, resigned to my fate.

And that’s all she could take. She approached me. Slowly at first, but then, she picked up the pace. My first thought was that she wanted to impale me with that horn of hers (which, by the by, appeared lengthier than I last remembered), but when she opened her front hooves, I realized that she had something far more sinister in mind.

She wanted to hug me.

What in Tartarus did she think she was doing? I didn’t agree to that – I never have! Hugs were not for me to give or receive! My “no touchy” policy was still in effect; what, did she think my absence voided it? Not at all! Because the last place I wanted to be now, right now, was squeezed in between her hooves.

“Hey hey hey!” I warned, taking a few cautious steps back. “What have I told you about hugs?”

“Oh... R-right...” she said, lowering her head in shame.

Crazy how quick she switched from being in disbelief over my existence to being submissive towards my uncivil demands. Once a Twilight, always a Twilight.

She kept getting closer nonetheless. But this time, it was more akin to a newborn foal discovering colors for the first time. Her looks scanned every little detail of my body, as if I was displayed in a museum. Nothing escaped her. Not even the beautiful new addition to my forehead, which made her expose her teeth out of phantom pain.

And now she was face-to-face with me. If I craned my neck down juuuust a little, our snoots would’ve booped. But I wasn’t moving, no. I was way too good at cosplaying a mannequin. I was paralyzed by the fact that, yes, all of this was still really happening. Princess Luna didn’t appear yet to blast this nightmare away, so it was as real as it could be. I think this is why I was so... static. Because I was in it all the way to my neck. How does one even move when only their head is poking out of the manure?

The princess probed my shoulder with a hoof, just in case I wasn’t some kind of bizarre magical mirage. But no, this stallion was no hallucination, alright. I was as tangible as she was. Bummer. If either of us had been a fake, I would’ve been all the happier.

Now her investigating hoof went to my face, pushing my skin against my skull.

“Charming,” I said, a cheek squeezing one of my eyes shut.

“S-Sunny, how... How are you still alive? H-how can you BE alive? I c-can’t... h-how...”

I gingerly removed her hoof out of my personal sphere. “Why do you keep saying that? Of course I’m alive! What, did you think so little of me that you figured I wasn’t going to survive the moment I went on my own?”

“W-what? No! I mean... h-huh? Going on your own?” She shook her head, then blinked two centimeters away from my face. “How are you alive!?”

This was getting old.

“This is getting old.”

She started pacing in a circle, her eyes ping ponging everywhere, on the lookout for some kind of explanation.

“I cannot believe this. I just cannot believe this!! This can’t be possible, I- Sunstone, the note! That last note you wrote, it... it...”

“Yeah, what about it? I thought I made it abundantly clear what my intentions were. But now, it’s becoming obvious to me that I didn’t, seeing as you’ve tailed me all the way here.”

She backed away, now seemingly afraid of me? What was going on here? Why was she so neurotic? I mean, she’s always been a little bit like that, but now? She wasn’t making a modicum of sense. Yes, okay, boo-hoo, we’ve been apart for half a decade, but with the way she was acting, it’s as if I accidentally got myself killed or something. Can we tone it down a little?

“Do you even remember what you wrote in that note!?” she exclaimed, her denial now replaced by anger. Was somepony going through the five stages of grief, by any chance?

“Frankly? Not really,” I replied, disinterested. “I was blowing a fuse pretty hard when I wrote that thing. Totally at my wit’s end. Why? What’s the big deal?”

“T-the big deal? The big deal!?”

She approached me again, a purple hoof poking me on the chest.

“Sunstone, how can you say that!? We thought you... We all thought that you decided to... I... I-I can’t even bring myself to say it!” She did a couple of breathing exercises, trying to control her rising hysteria. “We thought you did something terrible to yourself!”

Okay, was she on something? Because if so, could I please have some of it too? Seriously, I had no idea what she was even hinting at...

Hinting at...

Oh.

Hang on one sixtieth of a minute. Was she implying that mom, dad, and the rest of the gang convinced themselves that I tossed myself into a ditch a couple of stories high or something? Quitting the game ahead while I was still young?

Wait, why was I even asking this? Of course that’s what they believed. Don’t attribute to malice what you can peg on idiocy. And these idiots, well, leave it to them to find new ways to assume the worst out of an already crappy situation. Wasn’t Twilight the poster child of excellence when it came to dissecting dissertations? How could she fail so badly at interpreting what I wrote? ... Whatever it was?

Look, yes, I wasn’t lying when I said I didn’t remember half of my goodbye letter’s content, but I was sure, dead sure she did a poor job analysing it out of spite; you know, just to inject a pinch of fear mongering into the family household. And now everypony thought of me as a goner- a real goner. Awesome. Simply bodacious. As if I hadn’t been sufficiently stigmatized in one lifetime.

“Well, princess, sorry to break it to you, but you misinterpreted my message. You all did. You can’t pin this one on me.”

“M-misinterpreted...?”

Why did she keep repeating everything I wa-

“We mourned you, Sunstone! We MOURNED you!!”

...

I slowly placed my mane back in place, after it had been blown backward by the sheer volume of her voice. Which, by the way, made me look left and right. It was getting a little bit too spicy, and now I had legitimate concerns about being spotted by curious passersby. This would blow my shell game in one easy trick, and my Outer Grove persona would crumble in the blink of an eye. I had to bury this, and quickly. The louder the princess got, the more cracks in the thin ice appeared under my hooves.

We were still alone at the train station, but so long as we were in public, it would only take one curious eavesdropper to ruin this new life I’ve built for myself. And that, that wouldn’t do. Call me cold-hearted, but I cared a million times more about protecting my status quo than I did about the princess’ nervous breakdown.

I held a hoof up in defense. “O-okay, okay! Mea culpa and all that. But can you please keep it down? I don’t want to attract unwanted attention.”

And you know what? Something else badgered me. Couldn’t help myself but address it.

“And please, your majesty, would you be so kind as to stop calling me ‘Sunstone?’ I go by Gray Calx now. I’d appreciate it if my old name wasn’t shouted willy nelly in front of everypony like that.”

Anger passed, now making room for some deductive efforts. Look at her, flexing the iconic Sparkle brain. It truly was her strongest muscle. She tapped her chin a few times, and finally, neuronal connections synapsed a great realization:

“Wait. You? You’re Gray Calx, you?”

“The one and only. You were looking for me, weren’t you?”

Despite everything, she still found it in herself to perk up. Hey, was that a smile?

“... Of course! It makes so much sense! A mining town, a five year anniversary, three ponies holding a sphere,” she returned to pacing, enumerating this and that, “and calxes! You were studying calxes during your curriculum! I remember that now! ... Although I can’t quite recall what the gray one did. But that’s not important! Everything matches your profile down to its last details, Sunstone!”

I cringed again, seeing as she completely bypassed my request of being referred to by my actual, legal name. I get that this was news to her, but come on now, try a little. To make matters worse, she still wasn’t piping down, endangering my position some more. I had to do something about it, pronto.

“Look, look, you’re passionate and I get that, but I’m serious! We really can’t be seen together here!”

“H-huh? What do you mean? Why does that matter?”

“Because! The ponies out there could start suspecting that we’re related, and I don’t want them to!”

“Wait, wait, are you saying that they don’t know about us? Y-you haven’t told them you’re my brother... even after all this time?” she said, almost pleading. “B-but what about our cutie marks? They’re nearly identical, how could they not know?”

I instinctively took a look at my cutie mark as she mentioned it. Yup, that blasted thing still lived on my sides after 27 long years.

“It took me a really long time to convince the ponies of Outer Grove that my cutie mark looked like yours out of pure coincidence,” I begrudgingly explained. “I have no desire to go through that again. It was enough of a pain in the ass the first time around!”

She winced. Perhaps due to my usage of a big mean word, but more realistically, because of my own admittance about the many lies and hoops I had to jump through to secure the life I had today. It wasn’t sitting all too well with her. Wasn’t she BFF with the Element of Honesty, or whatever? I could practically feel her holier than thou superiority penetrating the marrow of my bones. Sorry that not everypony could live to your standards of perfection, princess!

She shook her head like she couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “But... why? Why does that even bother you? D-did I do something to you?”

“With all due respect, princess, I... I don’t owe you a justification!” I protested.

Oh great. Now it was my turn to be inconsiderately loud.

“Listen, for the third time, I’d really prefer if we could take this conversation elsewhere – say, at my place. At least, there, we’ll be in a private environment, and I’ll be in a better position to answer every little thing I know you’re dying to ask me.”

I demonstratively unfolded one of her purple wings like a paper fan.

“So get some good mileage out of those new appendages of yours and follow me up high in the sky. I’ll bring you up to my crib, and then we’ll talk. And try to not make it apparent that we’re heading to the same place, m’kay?”

She freed her wing from my grip and lowered her head, conflicted. She wasn’t a big fan of my idea, that much was evident. I had just re-emerged in her life, and the first thing I was doing was being overtly capricious and hard to please. “No hugs, princess,” “call me Gray Calx, princess,” “lower your voice, princess,” “I don’t want us to be seen together, princess,” “come to my house, princess...” Certainly not the heartwarming reunion she was hoping for.

And yet, she wound up nodding.

“If that’s what it’ll take to make you explain to me what has happened to you, then... okay,” she conceded. “But I’ll teleport us there, that’s more efficient and less time-consuming. I’ve been to your house before, so I know where to anchor our destination vector. J-just hang on...”

Ah. Good to know I was at least half justified when I made the wise decision of leaving my fort earlier today. Made me feel a little bit smarter. A little bit.

But uh, hol’ up for a sec, I didn’t agree to telep- Ach, too late. Her horn was already glowing white and bright. She scrunched up her face like she ate something sour, and with a high-pitched poof, for a fraction of a second, our molecules left the realm of Equus.

We popped back into existence on the dirt patch that was supposed to act as a beautiful turf around Casa de la Calx. Look, outside landscaping wasn’t my number one priority; fixing the house was. Renovations start inside, okay, and then they expand over your backyard and such. If you have any motivation left, that is. ‘Sides, I didn’t even have any lawn ornaments to beautify my would-be grass, so, much to the Blueberries’ disapproval, I was quite content with my field of mud.

Got all that? Good. Now that y’all are done judging my nonexistent gardening skills, let me take this moment to confirm that no, I will not go into details about how it felt like to be teleported. Because it was my first time being teleported, after all. Let’s just say that it left some residual queasiness, which may not have had anything to do with the spell, but rather, being a side effect of the disgust I was feeling over inviting the princess to poke around in my personal living space.

Because that’s what I had to do, really. How else was I supposed to keep this clusterbuck under control?

I opened the door, and let Her Majesty in first, as any polite non-royals such as myself were expected to. I even bowed! Let it be known that I knew the rites, and that I couldn’t be fined over my non-respect of our social hierarchy. We owe it to ourselves to lick the boots of the elite, my peasant brethren.

She entered shyly, wanting to say something about my over-the-top actions, but thankfully getting over it. I echoed her silence, saying even less than the nothingness coming out of her mouth, and made my way toward the kitchen whilst she stayed next to the entry door. Suit yourself, princess! I did have a pretty bitchin’ coat hanger over there, after all. Varnished oak wood and all that sweet stuff.

So, I couldn’t help but notice that all of this was still happening. Was today still today? It was, wasn’t it? Ugh. Yeah, I wouldn’t be able to power through the next steps ill-equipped as I was. The princess was in my house. She was in my house! Let that sink in for a moment or two!

... Oh? You wanna know what I was doing to this huge keg wedged between my ice box and the moldy back wall? Simple, really. I was turning the tap, for one. On the little metallic nozzle that protruded near its base. For two, I was holding a mug under it, making sure not a drop of beer that poured out of the spigot would splash on the floor. That right there was liquid gold, and not meant to be squandered.

Yes, I needed alcohol in my system. Oh so very much. Judge me all you want. But when you’re born as weak as I am, you need some, shall we say, artificial flavouring to help you through the moments of misery. And this one was going to be merciless like you have no idea. It was either that, or bash my head against the wall until I was dizzy enough to be considered sufficiently hammered. Pick your poison.

Now that my ceramic stein was all frothy and ready for consumption, I suppose it was time to finally say something – it’s not like she was about to take the reins there.

“Well, welcome to my humble abode, princess. It ain’t much, but it sure is good enough to warrant a huge stack of city taxes, har har,” I guffawed dishonestly. “May I offer Her Highness something to drink? I’ve got a delicious tripel freshly imported straight from Griffonstone, ripe to be served!”

I waved a second mug her way, as the tempting deviant that I was. Oh, and looks like she was in the kitchen now, nice. I sincerely thought for a moment that she was going to set camp in the entryway. But nope, she was right there, shaking her head while waving a hoof.

“Uh... N-no. No, that’s... No thank you, Sunstone.”

I shrugged. “Hey, your loss; more for me!”

Well cheers! Down the hatch it went. Get in my gullet, booze! Make me forget the present!

“That’s um,” she coughed, her windpipe still phlegmy from her incessant crying from earlier, “that’s a big beer barrel you have, h-heh...”

Were my ears deceiving me, or did we have a foray into small talk territory already? Saucy, princess, saucy! I tapped my mug on the counter, now halfway emptied. With a big pant of satisfaction, I allowed my lungs to be oxygenated once more.

“Oh yeah. Big ol’ barrel indeed. I didn’t buy it though; didn’t have the bits for it. It simply came bundled with the house. Tell you what, when I found that out, ‘twas like I stumbled upon El Ponyrado!” I laughed. “I get that bad boy filled up every now and then, on the rare occasions where I actually make ends meet.”

“That’s... very nice. I like your stylized drink cup too. Artisan work?”

Another talking point brought to you by the princess! Oh she was good. That was two for two now.

Yeah, I saw where this was going. She was definitely trying to ease her way into pulling whatever she had planned to do with me. Sort of taming me by pretending to be interested with all the shiny new stuff I had in my life. Either so I would let my guard down, or so I would become more open-minded about being bombarded by all the why’s and how’s she no doubt had on the tip of her tongue. I was willing to play the game for the time being – at least, until my mug was dry.

“Why thank you, your highness. It was a gift given to me by a good friend who works at a bar.”

“... You don’t mean Sweet Pint, do you?”

Good thing I was in the middle of taking another swig, because I would’ve growled right there. What I was fearing was slowly manifesting itself. The princess using her charisma and her title to subconsciously coax my friends into befriending her. Took me a while to work my way into a circle of good ponies, but her? Boop. One evening, and everyone wanted a piece of her. She did it in Ponyville, so why not here as well?

“Oh. You’ve met her already, golly. What did you gals chat about, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Um, you, mostly.”

“Moi? Aw, stop that, I’m blushing.” I wasn’t blushing. “What’d she say about me?”

“Actually, I... It’s- I can’t really say, I promised not to tell, because-”

“-Because that would put a dent in her reputation, yep, got it. You’ve met her alright.”

A third sip. Mmmh, nice and rich flavors, yummy. Good choice of hops too; props to the brewmaster, really. Gotta give it to ‘em, those griffons really knew how to craft a mean beer!

“Y’know,” Twilight said, clopping her hooves together in a nervous tic, “it was overall positive. I mean, what she divulged. It was good. Um, same as with the prospector and the town doctor, they also had some pretty nice things to say about you. Not to mention your friend Skybrush and her daughter Honey dream, they too seemed really proud to have you in their life.”

“Oh, you’ve seen the whole gang already, haven’t you?” I muttered between clenched teeth, fighting the urge not to jump at her throat. “Pray tell, whaddya think of my pals?”

“Well, they definitely strike me as good ponies. It’s nice to see that-”

“Just makes me wonder though, and sorry for interrupting: On a scale of ten, how much were they smitten by your splendor? Rough estimate?”

“H-huh?”

I rolled my eyes. “Ach, nevermind. Forget it.”

Sip sip sip. Doooown it goes~ ♪♫. Numb it all with some delicious 10% ABV juice, and- oh? I closed an eye, and peered into my mug, as if it was a pirate spyglass. All gone already? Booo! I’ll take that as my call to speed things up. I was growing bored of her groveling anyway. Telling me how good I had it, yeah, no, I wasn’t buyin’ any of that hogwash.

I shuffled out of my seat, and went for my second serving.

“So,” I plainly said, my cup getting fuller and fuller, “I think we’ve danced around the elephant in the room for long enough, wouldn’t you agree? Let’s stop pretending that everything’s sunshine and rainbows. At the risk of sounding pushy, what is it that you want, o princess Twilight Sparkle?”

She recoiled at my sudden mood shift. She thought she was so in control, didn’t she? Heh, think again, my flabbergasted liege.

“Well, first of all, I’d like you to stop calling me princess, or highness, or what have you.” Ah, her soft shell was starting to crack. “You do know I’m your sister first and foremost, right? You don’t have to follow the procedures to a tee; a simple ‘sis’ is totally acceptable. Preferable, even. This isn’t some kind of... political summit or anything: Just a brother and a sister talking things out.”

A large gulp of beer later, “If it’s all the same with you, princess, I’d like to stay formal.”

“Sunstone...” she sighed.

“There! Right there!” I exclaimed, a hoof in her direction. “Why should I abide by your demands, when you have made zero effort at calling me Gray Calx? Seems fair to me that you get your just deserts.”

She was about to protest, but right before any counterarguments could escape her mouth, she closed it, and then exhaled deeply, most surely to help her get a grip.

“You want to jump straight into it? Fine by me.” Yup, she was done buttering things up now. “Tell me then, why did you leave us? Why did you write that loaded letter full of slander? Why did you exile yourself without even consulting us first? Was there anything to be gained from this?”

I looked at her with wary eyes, mug to my lips. I pulled it away, and stiffened a gastric reflux. “Boy, you really don’t have a clue, do you?”

“I have a few theories, but nothing that could ever justify making us think that you... harmed yourself in a permanent fashion.”

I laughed. Brashly and facetiously.

“Harmed myself. Wow, you’re still stuck on that one, aren’t you? But it doesn’t matter. Doesn’t matter at all. I know that when you’re transfixed over something, there’s no changing your mind. So by all means, keep believing what you want to believe. Whatever helps you sleep at night, champ.”

“Stop dodging my questions, Sunstone! You wanted to trim the fat? Then trim the fat! Tell me, plain and simple: Why did you do any of this?”

I tsk’d. “Don’t rip your mane out, princess. I mean, between you and me, are you even sure you’re ready to hear the truth? The harsh, stinky, and unforgiving truth?”

She sank into a chair, crossed her front legs, and gave me a serious expression. “Pretty sure I am, yes.”

“Hey, your funeral. The answer you’re looking for is quite simple, really: It’s you.”

“Me?”

“Yuppers. You. And don’t act so surprised. You keep yapping about that letter I wrote, so you should know by now that I kind of have a beef with you. Oh don’t get me wrong, there’s more to it than that. But you, my friend? Heh, you stand alone at the top.”

She bit her lips, trying not to lose control. “Y-you’re meant to tell me you silently left Canterlot... because of me? Am I hearing this right? I don’t-” A hoof rubbing her mane. “That’s just- That’s utterly ridiculous. I’m fully aware that I’m not a perfect pony by any means, but what could I possibly have done for you to go that far down the deep end? I mean, this is huge, Sunstone! We’re talking about holding a grudge for years, and never backing away! Even my friend Applejack isn’t that stubborn, and that’s saying something!”

“Yes, well, your friend Applejack, I’d be willing to bet she never grew up in the shadows of overachievers. And therein lies the problem, princess Twilight Sparkle.”

C’mon bro, another shot for some good mojo.

Sluuuuurp... Aaaahhh.

Alrighty then, let’s bring out the big guns.

“Do you have any idea, any idea at all, how soul crushing it feels to be an outcast, not only within a society that clearly wasn’t built for you, but also, within your very household? Desperately trying to crawl out of the pit of mediocrity, only to catch glimpses of two amazing ponies who never stopped making their sibling feel like an underdog? Outperforming him at every task, with it being so natural, so easy to gloss over, to the point that they didn’t even realize they were doing it? Can you even conceive what it’s like, going to bed every day, starting from a WAY too young age, and telling yourself: ‘Well dang, guess I really am going to die unremembered. But these two – oh, these two!’

“It kind of erodes your will to keep trying after a while, princess. It eats at you, it guts you from within. It’s a massive backstab to your confidence. And that there is no way to live. I’ve tried to ignore it; I’ve tried to make it work for twenty odd years. But there comes a point where I just gave up. Frankly, I’m surprised I even lasted as long as I did.”

“Right, gotcha. And so, because you weren’t living up to your own expectations, you took it as your cue to sneak out and disappear forever, correct?” arrogantly concluded Twilight with a provocative look.

I frowned. “Don’t trivialize my hardships, princess. I won’t take that – not from you. Because, to be perfectly honest? Mom, dad, as prolific as they are with their fancy unicorn magic, I could’ve let it slide. Heck, even Shining! Even him, I could’ve lived with my tail between my legs. I could’ve made it work. But you!? You’re the one who pushed me over the edge. A hundred percent.”

“That’s so unfair, I’ve never tried to hurt you, Sunstone!” she immediately protested, bouncing out of her seat. “I would never think about doing anything that would harm my older brother!”

“Princess,” I coldly said, “you’re an alicorn. An alicorn! Do you realize how freakin’ monumental this is? There are only four of you in-”

“Five.”

Five? Were they multiplying or what? Whatever.

“-Five of you in existence. Can’t get any more exclusive than that! On top of that, you’ve been princess Celestia’s number one, AND you’re the bearer of the Element of Magic itself. Do you know how second-rate I perceived myself next to that? You’re a princess! And I dig dirt! That’s all I do; that’s all I’ll ever do! You’re everything, and I’m still NOTHING!”

You’re losing your cool, buddy. Quick! Further intoxicate yourself! The only realistic way to avoid detaching from reality!

Complying with my own advice, I emptied my mug for the second time tonight. Hey, gotta find some form of determination somewhere.

After that, I resumed my rant with a sigh. “I’m almost midway through my thirties, and I’m still nothing. I’ve got nothing to show for it. No accomplishments whatsoever,” I panned a hoof around, “e-except for this crummy rathole I can hardly call a house.”

Twilight Sparkle looked around, fully soaking in the averageness of my living quarters.

“Well... I quite like it,” she admitted after a short moment of deliberation. “Your house, I mean. It’s very rustic, very down-to-Equus. It reminds me a lot of my first house in Ponyville, the Golden Oak Library.” She craned her neck down, saddened. “You know, before it went up in flames...”

Ugh, back with the strategic delegations of flatteries? Maybe she felt bad about seeing me getting my knickers in a twist. Or maybe it was her special way of avoiding taking the blame for having scuttled the lingering morsels of my happiness.

“Yeah, not the first time I’ve heard that comparison and- wait wait, slow down a minute. What do you mean, ‘before it went up in flames?’”

“Oh,” she pouted, drawing circles on the counter with her hoof, “to make a long story short, a few years ago, the Golden Oak was totalled after being targeted by a powerful incandescent spell from the evil centaur, Lord Tirek.”

Lord Whom’st’ve now? Not a single clue who she was talking about. And I was going to keep it that way, on account that I couldn’t muster any will to care. For all I knew, she was making stuff up. Firing a bunch of positivity my way by downplaying her situation.

“Well, regardless. If you like my shaggy hut and miss yours so much, how about we trade places, mmmh? I’ll happily take your castle if it’s too much of a burden for you.”

“... You know I can’t do that. I have duties to fulfill over there, and it’s not-”

“Duties,” I cackled. “Ooooh, the life of a princess! Must be so difficult. Sign this paper, stamp this envelope, smile for the cameras. So much hard work having a crown on your head.”

She grimaced. “Actually, it is! I have many diplomatic obligations, Sunstone. Take right now, for instance. I had to travel far away for a friendship problem and-”

...

Annnnnd? Hey oh, wake up, princess! Did your brain shut down on you or something? Tsk. Happens to the best of us. I mean, look at her: She was just blankly staring at me with two big eyes and the occasional blink. I wouldn’t say it felt uncomfortable, but it was getting there.

“Oh my gosh!” she exclaimed, finally rebooting. “It’s YOU! It’s totally you! You’re the friendship problem that summoned me here!”

“Are you... Are you calling me a ‘problem’ now? Harsh, princess, harsh. Could’ve sworn you didn’t use to be so blunt.”

She whooshed her hooves to deflect. “N-no! Not at all! That’s not- That’s not what I meant! It’s the cutie map. It sent me to, um. Well, probably to patch things up between the two of us?”

“The ‘cutie map?’ What the hay are you talking about, now?” I groaned.

“Oh! It’s a wonderful magical device that can locate with pinpoint precision various places all over Equus that require friendship-related assistance from me or the rest of the Element bearers. Sometimes other ponies, or creatures too, I suppose, but it’s not the norm. In fact, I can only recount-”

“Okay, okay, I get the idea!” I cut her off, before she delved into full encyclopedia mode. “So what you’re essentially telling me is, you crafted some kind of witchcraft bauble to stalk me? Am I off the mark? Because if not, then for an alleged princess of Friendship, that’s a scandalous attack on our privacy.”

“It’s nothing like that!” she objected. “I didn’t create- And it’s not up for me to decide; it’s the table. It knows who to send and when to send them. And it recalls them once their cutie mark glows: That’s when the problem is deemed successfully resolved.”

“So, what, the table does all of this? On its own? A four-legged piece of furniture spewing prophecies left and right? ... You do realize what you’re saying doesn’t make a lick of sense, right?”

Ohhhh my poor meninges. Reduced to atoms by fallacies and make-believes. Massaging my temples did nothing to alleviate my rising migraine, but I knew what would: To the keg! What’s two drinks without a third one, I ask you.

Same routine as always. Lever pulled up, a brown waterfall into the cup, my tongue licking my lips, and-

“M-maybe you should slow down a little, Sunstone,” warned a cautious Twilight.

“Thanks, but no thanks.” A quarter of my beverage swiftly went down my tummy in an act of defiance. “I’m finally beginning to understand what’s going on, and that’s cause for celebration. Yeah, all of your little encouragements and tidbits of praise? At first, I was wondering why you were doing it. I thought it was your not-so-subtle way of earning my trust. Now? It couldn’t be more obvious: You’re just idolizing me so that you can get your stupid checkmark for your table thingamajig! You want me to abdicate so that you can win again!”

“Abdicate? Winning?” she burst out. “Now who’s the one not making sense? What even is there to abdicate about? I mean, what are you even fighting for, right now?”

Mug back onto the counter with a loud CLANG. “I’m fighting for my right to be left alone, but that clearly went over your head! You just HAD to travel all across the globe to nullify the only good thing I finally had going for myself! Infecting my pals and the rest of Outer Grove with your radiating grandeur and your infinite magnificence.”

“Will you stop vilifying me already!?” she spat, fed up with my bad attitude. “I’m just there, trying my best to stay polite and understanding, but you keep portraying me as some kind of boogeyponey. Maybe instead of using me as a hate sink, you should start looking on the inside a little more?”

I looked at the two princesses with frustration. Wait- The two princesses?

Blink blink.

Right, right, the one princess. Hahaha, boy oh boy, I was drinking myself silly, wasn’t I? Well, at least it helped me loosen up enough to continue antagonizing my unwanted guest.

“I have e-e-every right to think of you as a scapegoat when I feel this worthless, Twilight Sparkle! And how growing up next to you has done nothing but elevate my worthlessness. And I think, uuuuh, I think this is my biggest gripe I have with you, mmm’yep. You’re a smart pony, so I assume you know about the laws of average, right? Hehe, w-well, princess, you’ve exceeded them all!”

I sloppily pointed at her with my stein. Nothing could stop me now. I was going down that slippery slope at terminal velocity; might as well go all in and double down on my alcohol induced folly.

“Y-you’re an anomaly, yup, that’s what you are! A statistical fluke. It’s outright impossible to be this good at everything! I mean- I mean, when will it stop? Hmmm? When is enough, enough? D-d-do you need to be the queen of the universe or something? Do you need to become a literal God before you’ve had your fill of wealth and power?”

“Sunstone! Stop it!”

“Naw. Naw lemme- lemme continue. Cuz y-y-you know w-what my problem was?” I hiccupped, getting dizzier by the second. “I took the regular path. That’s my problem. I d-didn’t shortcut my way into being a c-child prodigy. O-or a superhero. In any other family, yes, in any other f-family, I would’ve done just fine. I would’ve been an inspiration. B-b-but you and that butthead Shining Armor, y-y-you just had to be so damn good at everything.

“J-just once! Just once I would’ve LOVED to see you fail. That’s what I kept wishing for. Because, me, I- I was the big brother, y’see, I was the big bro and you were supposed to look for MY guidance! You were supposed to look up to me!”

“I’ve done NOTHING but look up to you!!”

Whoa. She- Did she just yell at me? And approach me in a threatening way?

Uhhh… Well, that sure shut me up. She looked mega pissed now. Deep and heavy breaths, a look that could kill, and a stance ready for combat. That was... that was new. Gotta admit, I was a bit afraid of her now. L-look at my hooves! They shook so much, I could hardly keep a steady grip on my drink anymore.

It was now dawning on me that she was an alicorn. I mean, I already knew this, obviously, but I don’t think I fully understood what it meant until she was fed up with my insolent ass. Powerful as she was, she could absolutely vaporize me simply by yawning. Thankfully, it was safe to assume that she didn’t have any intention of pulverizing me. Still, it wasn’t whether or not she wanted to destroy me that was so terrifying. It was the fact that she could. To think that I used to be the strongest one in the family when we were younger. In today’s times, however, she overpowered me by orders of magnitude.

Should’ve smacked her harder with my pillow when I still had the chance.

“It’s been rough for me too, you know!” the princess pressed on. “I too faced my lows. You’re arguing in bad faith if you think I’ve never hit a wall in my life. There was a time when I plagued the entire town of Ponyville with a Want-It Need-It spell, just because I couldn’t bear to miss a deadline and disappoint princess Celestia. You think a perfect pony could’ve pulled that one, huh?”

She took a couple of abrasive steps toward me. I was hunched over my cup, trying to not cave in to her intimidation. It was tough, but so far, I managed.

“But you know what has been the toughest, Sunstone? What kept dragging me down every day? It was being raised in the same household with a pony who I’m pretty sure has had nothing but disdain for me since day one. It was attempting to catch some sleep while solving an impossible puzzle in my head. Figuring out where I went wrong, maybe even accept that I just wasn’t good enough for my brother. That’s why I’ve kept trying time after time to get you to notice me! I just wanted you to be proud, to be happy to have me as a sister.”

Now she was right next to me. I kept drinking. Keep your tough act, Calx.

“You know, I’ve always wondered. Mom has repeatedly told me that you had a difficult time showing your love, but I don’t believe she was right. I believe you never had any spare love to share with me. So let me finally put the question to rest: Sunstone, do you love me?”

What the...?

“C-come on now, kind of a loaded question, don’tcha think?”

“Don’t dance around it!” she insisted, her face practically pressing against mine. “Do you, or do you not love me?”

“You h-heh... you can’t go ahead and ask me to-”

“Sunny! Have you EVER loved me!?”

“NO! No, okay!? I don’t love you and never have!!”

...

Yup, that just sort of came out on its own.

Oh, but I wasn’t done. She wanted to poke the bear? Throw down the gauntlet? Pester me until I broke? Well, reap what you sow, Twilight, for I was going to completely obliterate you verbally. If you wanted some, then allow me to give you some!

“In fact, let me take this even further. Not only do I not love you, but, but I- I’m pretty d-dang sure I hate you. I hhhhaaate you, p-princess Twilight S-Sparkle! I used to be the sweetest little colt in my younger years, but you- oh you modified me t-t-t-to be something soooo ugly, s-so deformed! You’ve changed my very nature! And I haven’t... haven’t been myself for so long. Y-y-you turned me into an envious little ball of jealousy. A m-miserable self-hating pony who’s had a cloud over his head for uh, twenty? Yes, twenty plus years. Twilight, you’ve filled my heart with hatred... soooo much hatred.

“So, no, I don’t love you! I really, really don’t!! And I never, EVER will! I detest you, Twilight. More than any- any other pony in Equestria! I wish you nothing but trouble, nothing but the worst!! I hope- I HOPE you trip, and fall, and bleed!!”

I was panting and close to drooling by the end of that. Halfway through orating the vilest speech I’ve ever given, I wasn’t even processing what I was saying anymore. The words stopped making sense. All I knew was, I had to wound her. It was my ultimate goal. Didn’t matter if what I was saying was logically sound or not. At this point, holding a proper debate free of pesky ad hominem was beyond irrelevant. It was all about being vindictive, and making her feel vulnerable. It was extremely petty; it was extremely satisfying.

And sweet Celestia, did berating her take its toll on me. More beer! Oil my gears – they pulled some decent work here.

The princess, though, she was a few shades paler. Her mouth curved downward, dangling in astonishment. It’s like she aged an entire decade in the matter of seconds. Whether or not she expected me to react negatively, I’ll say, neither of us could’ve foreseen how hard I went about it.

For a good minute or two, she tried to make sense of what had just happened. I expected her to rebuke with violence, or at least, to push back a little. But when she slumped, when she accepted the monstrosities I flung her way, I knew it was over. I had won. For the first time, I had emerged victorious over Twilight Sparkle. Turns out, all I needed to do was to become the missing link between a vitriolic curmudgeon and a drunk asshole. Duly noted for the future.

Twilight shook her head, awestruck. “Y-you don’t love me? FINE! But I always will. I will ALWAYS love you. With all of my heart! Hundreds of years in the future, that fact will not have changed. You’re my brother! You, Shining, and Spike will always be the most important people in my life. When you disappeared I... I lost a part of myself. I was crushed beyond redemption, do you get that!? I went on for years, smiling my way across Equestria, keeping that burden all for myself. Hidden from my friends, hidden from anypony! I want you to know that, no matter how much you hate me, this is how I felt, and this is how I’ll keep feeling!!”

She blinked warm tears and darted to the front door, which she swung open with telekinetic magic.

“H-hey!” I stuttered. “You’re w-wasting... wasting y-your time with t-those feelings. T-total waste of time, I’m telling you!”

She wasn’t listening to me. I couldn’t let her have the last word. With neither balance nor grace, I sloppily gave her chase, and staggered my way to the porch. After accidentally bonking my face onto the trim of the door, I noticed that she was already up in the air, batting her wings in place. She was on the verge of departing, but right before she did, she turned her head to take a good look at me. One last time.

“No matter what happens,” she sniffled, her voice quivering, “you’ll always be my older brother, and... and you’ll always be my hero... Gray Calx.”

A synchronized flap, and she arced across the sky, leaving my propriety at impressive speeds.

“Hey! HEY! L-l-listen to me!” I shouted at her disappearing silhouette. “If you ever think about ratting me out to mom and dad and, heaven forbid, Shining, I’ll make... I’ll make sure you’ll have a proper reason to mourn me next time around! Y-you hear me!?”

No she wasn’t: She was out of hearing range. My epic zinger had been lost to the clouds.

Bah! Screw it, right? I said my piece, and I had no regrets. Why dwell on stuff I couldn’t control when I still had plenty more to drink? Now that, that was my kind of jam. I was getting all warm and fuzzy; night was still young! Let’s not spoil it with more Twilight-related poppycock. Had enough of that for one evening. And hey, she was gone, was she not? Kinda what I wanted from the start. So, yay me. I deserved a reward for driving her away.

I re-emerged in the kitchen. Barrel, tap, mug, and ka-ching: There was my reward! A fourth tripel, all for me! I sat down and lifted Sweet Pint’s cup. A toast, my friends! A toast in the name of having not only survived, but also, having outlasted Twilight with my mind more-or-less intact.

“H-here’s one for you princess! Protector of Equestria! A-an inspiration for us lil’ people! Let us drink f-for eeeeverything you stand for, bwahahaha!” I drunkenly declared to absolutely no-one.

I chugged it all in front of my invisible audience. Boy was there a lot to be proud of tonight! Outsmarting the smartest pony in Equestria, that sure will look badass on my trophy shelf! I was good, and I was feeling good. And you know what else?

I was happy. So, so HAPPY!

CRUUUNNCHH!!

I jumped in fear at the loud noise that reverberated behind me. Then I realized what I had done: After I knocked one back, I flung the cup that had been gifted to me over my shoulder. Physics didn’t take the contact between mug and floor too kindly, and what we had now were bits and pieces of glassware scattered throughout the junction between the kitchen and the living room.

Yeah, don’t ask, I too had no idea why I even did this. I think it was a poor attempt at venting some leftover ire, as well as being overly slapstick after my disingenuous tribute to Twilight Sparkle. Well, whatever half-assed justification I could find, it still was a stupid move. I was being stupid. And tired. And groggy. And perhaps a little sick, too. The walls wouldn’t stop swaying and wiggling, urk. Didn’t know my house could boogie-woogie with such dexterity.

I think... I think I had to lay down for ten minutes. Or maybe ten hours, I dunno.

Welp, nighty night then. Catch y’all on the flip side.

Sunstone: Burning Bridges (Part 2)

Something has gone wrong. We don't seem to have an archived copy of that chapter.

Twilight: With a Heavy Heart

“Sir? We’ve been at the terminus for fifteen minutes now. You have to get off the train.”

Incited by a few nudges from the conductor, Gray Calx groggily awoke from his dreamless night, not without feeling a bit grouchy. He almost accidentally mumbled a “five more minutes, mom.”

When his conscious and self-awareness properly joined hooves, he realized that he had slumped against the window of his booth, cheek squeezed against the glass with a thin line of drool dribbling down to the sill. Almost on reflex, Calx wiped his mouth, a teensy bit embarrassed at having subconsciously slobbered in public.

One of the first things he noticed was how the outside had been recolored into the beautiful palette of dusk, amber and burnt orange giving the bordering forest a comfy and scenic appeal. Clock on the wall indicated five PM. How long had he even been asleep for? He tried to recall exactly when his brain called for a timeout. Maybe it happened a little bit after switching lines at the Las Pegasus station? Tough to say. It definitely was still daytime before he fell into a snooze. The combination of being caressed by the rocking of the rails, and being pacified by the lullaby of the low-pitched engine noise probably got the best of him.

“Ahem. Sir, if you please?”

Ah yes, him. The pushy conductor impatiently tapping a hoof on the floor right in front of our sluggish commuter. Really wanted him out of the passenger wagon already. Eh, fair enough.

Visually scouting the surrounding vacant benches, Gray Calx concluded that the three or four other tourists who traveled with him had already bailed, effectively leaving him as the last pony behind. Hence the conductor’s insistence.

Calx got up from his seat, readjusted his saddle bags, and nonetheless offered a polite nod to the conductor who simply grunted something unimportant in return. On the outside docking station, Calx stretched like a feline, appeasing a few kinks that had formed all over his body. He smacked his lips a couple of times and infused his lungs with a voluminous amount of Undiscovered West air.

Whoa. It’s true what they say about the countryside atmosphere. It truly feels fresher, he immediately observed.

The thick scent of petrichor and pines felt decently pleasant, especially to a stallion who was so used to the big city life. Canterlot and Manehattan weren’t bastions of pollution by any means, but there was a tangible difference in air quality.

Surely, a first good sign for Outer Grove, and what it had to offer.

“Hey. You, with the purple mane and the dimwitted look,” echoed a brash voice to his right. “You gonna stay there daydreaming all day instead of giving a hoof to a poor lady in distress?”

Calx had no reason to suspect he was the one being asked earnestly. He was only two steps into this new town; logic dictated that this was far too early for an impromptu interaction. But, part of him had to face the facts: He did have a purple mane, and, more to the point, he did have a dimwitted look. Yup, somebody was asking for his help alright.

He turned to look at the convoy of merchandise wagons linked behind the sole passenger compartment (i.e., the one he just exited). Indeed, mixing travellers with merchandise was the best way to streamline transport to this remote town – or so the info brochure at the Las Pegasus station claimed.

Crates had been pulled out of the cargo doors and stood idly in the drop off zone at the end section of the platform. Seems like Calx’s prolonged nap had left plenty of time for everypony else to have claimed what they had to claim. Either that, or their stuff had been left there to be hauled on a subsequent day (it WAS getting pretty late).

However, one resilient contrarian, just like Gray Calx, was still present next to the train. A small earth pony, pink all over, her white braided mane bundled in messy locks, with sweat distinctly leaking down her face even from this distance. Her head was a bit redder than the rest of her natural coloration. Whether it was due to the physical effort of failing to pull a large wooden crate by a flimsy rope, or due to the frustration of being stuck alone carrying out a job she clearly wasn’t built for, Calx couldn’t really tell. Once again, she tried her hardest to put some form of motion into the crate to no avail. She scrunched her face, mumbled a few swears, only to give up and catch her breath with her tongue dangling.

“Well?” urged the pink pony with a pant. “Huff, huff... Y-you look like a pretty strong dude. How about, huff, you use these muscles for something more u-useful t-than standing around and doin’ a whole lotta nuffin’?”

“Wha- uh, me?” Gray Calx burbled, looking left and right to find another pony on the otherwise empty train station.

She rolled her eyes at that. “Nah, huff... I was talking to the fence behind you. Come on ya dork, snap out of it and bring your flank over here. My vertebrae are about to be grinded to dust.”

“Oh! R-right,” Calx said, caught off-guard.

He approached the pony in trouble. He had no idea why he complied so easily; he didn’t know that somewhat bashful lady. Nevertheless, that didn’t stop him to take a quick curious glance at her cutie mark: Three hops bundled together. Interesting. Mastery of the finer arts of cocktail-making, perhaps?

“Where do you want me to bring this, miss?” said Calx who began to pull on the rope, moving the crate with relative ease...

... Until he came to an abrupt stop, almost tripping and falling flat on his face. He turned around, and saw that his easily irritated overseer had both of her hooves onto the crate, firmly holding it in place.

“First of all, Casanova, none of that ‘miss’ business, m’kay? I go by Sweet Pint, and that’s what I expect you to call me. Capiche?” she demanded, to which Calx hesitantly nodded. “And to answer your question, I want this through the backdoor of the Two Arches. That’s the big building over there,” she explained, pointing at the angular roof protruding off in the distance. “Tell ya what, if you can make it in less than ten minutes, as the baremare, drinks are on me.”

“Um, alright then, let’s get this over with,” the discombobulated stallion said.

The two of them walked side-by-side, with Gray Calx carrying the whole weight of the heavy box. More and more he questioned why he accepted and kept accepting to be abrasively bossed around by this rude pony to whom he owed absolutely nothing. Free booze was free booze, sure, but perhaps it also had something to do with his desire to please other ponies, or to make good first impressions? Regardless, he was in it now, so backing out and throwing a ‘you know what, go suck an egg’ her way didn’t seem all too swagger of a move. He’d be done with her soon enough.

Sweet Pint observed the stallion with apparent antipathy, as he was putting his might into dragging her shipment onto the uneven cobblestone path.

“I don’t suppose you come with a name either, tourist?” she remarked after a moment. “That’s sort of how introductions work with us normal ponies. I tell you my name; you tell me yours. Basic stuff.”

“It’s Sunstone,” he grumbled, rope in mouth. “I MEAN- It’s not- it’s Gray Calx! Gray Calx’s my name! Not the other thing I’ve said. I’m Gray Calx, hehehe!”

Sweet Pint let out a degrading chortle. “Wow, you might just be the first pony I’ve met who got their name wrong on the first try. You’re something special, aren’t you?”

He sighed. “Listen, I’ve had a rough day, miss-”

“Sweet Pint,” she reaffirmed with a grumble.

“Right right, Sweet Pint, sorry. But yeah, I do feel a bit overwhelmed. Like, I just rode that train for several hours right after an agitated meeting with princess Celestia, so I think I’m entitled to not be on top of my A game-”

“Okay, no. Pause. You can’t just casually say that you’ve bantered with our ruler and leave it at that. Once we’re at the Two Arches, you will give me all the juicy details, lest I pry them outta you by force,” she chuckled perhaps a bit too sadistically.

“So long as I get my free drinks,” Calx snarked back.

“You’ve still got six minutes, big boy. Make it count.”

Less than six minutes later, the crate had been properly stored in the depository of the Two Arches. As promised, Calx received one liter of hoppy sour ale straight out of the tap. Delicately served inside of a fancy Maßkrug, with the candle-lit room making the apricot hues of the alcoholic beverage shine beautifully through the glass. The barmare had also been meticulous enough to trim the effervescent collar to a perfect beer-to-froth ratio. Our thirsty stallion couldn’t help himself but lick his lips, almost lovestruck: He had earned his prize.

Also as promised, after enjoying the delicious aromas of not having paid for a consumable good, Calx told the outlandish tale of his heated exchange with the almighty princess Celestia. Of course, he kept most of the details to himself and concealed the truth whenever he could help it. This stranger had no right to poke her head into his personal business. Thus, he only allowed himself to give her small bites to satisfy her curiosity. His name change, for instance, had remained unmentioned.

Sweet Pint, meanwhile, listened attentively from the other side of the counter. She didn’t have much else to prepare for the night, as the food and drinks only started to be served past 6 PM (save for Calx’s victory beer, of course). In fact, the two of them were currently alone in the large diner area for the time being.

“So ah, you’re also the innkeeper here, I’m getting?” Calx segued.

“You betcha. What, you lookin’ for a place to stay, Celestia-boy?”

“As it turns out, I am! Care to show me your wares?”

“S’all on the back of the menu. We pride ourselves on having prices that don’t require you to sell one of your kidneys.”

Slowly, Calx was getting accustomed to Sweet Pint’s rather... in-your-face attitude and dry sense of humor. Slowly. Still had some progress to be done, of course. He looked down at the few different rooms offered at the Two Arches. Already, the suite was off the table. He only had so many bits in his saddlebags, after all. Fortunately, after doing a couple of mental calculations, he came to a few positive conclusions.

“Well, the single-bed room seems like it wouldn’t burn too big of a hole in my purse. Without a current job, I think I can last for about a month before you’ll have to kick me out. Should give me ample time to find a way to make money.”

“Aheh, what do you mean, a month? And a job? Wait, wait- I thought you were a tourist? You’re not... you’re not seriously considering moving here?”

“That do be the plan, yes.”

Sweet Pint stayed frozen for a short moment, then scoffed.

“I don’t think you get the full picture, Gray Calx dude, this town is- okay look, I’ll let you onto a lil’ something here. Because you know what’s up with Outer Grove?”

She edged closer, as if ready to tell a secret.

“Nothing. Nothing ever happens in Outer Grove,” she whispered, before withdrawing. “You’re in for a rather uneventful life if you choose to settle in this boring dump.”

“Sort of what I’m hoping for, truth be told,” he admitted, circling a hoof on the rim of his tankard. “I’ve had enough on my plate lately, and I’m not looking for some... wacky adventures to make it even. I just want some peace and quiet. That’s all I want anymore. So uh, I hope I can last here – maybe even build something passable. That’d be pretty neat.”

Sweet Pint stared dumbfoundedly at her sole patron. She considered this bizzarro stallion who came straight out of nowhere, and fought to fish for some goodwill buried underneath her many layers of gratuitous sass.

“Alright. Listen here, Gray dude. Just because I’m so nice, and as a, uh... cough... thank you for the help and for the cool story you gave me, Imma give you the first two nights here free of charge. Can’t let you go bankrupt on the first week, now, can I? That’s Outer Grovian hospitality for you.”

Gray Calx raised an eyebrow, a bit taken aback by this sudden offer. Every fiber of his being wanted to politely decline, seeing as he’s never liked being on the receiving hoof of charity, but somehow, he had an inkling that saying ‘no’ to Sweet Pint would invoke her wrath. The goal was to make it at least one day in Outer Grove without signing his death warrant.

“Really? I didn’t expect, uh- Well I mean, that’s very generous of you,” Calx fumbled, “but... Huh. I dunno, I was under the impression that you hated my guts?”

“I sincerely have no clue where you got that idea from,” the barmare quickly replied. “Now listen here, keep them flappy lips o’ yours sealed and stop yammerin’ stupid stuff for two seconds, cuz if you’re looking for some quick and easy bits, then perhaps I could offer you a temp job here? Plenty to be done in the Two Arches!”

“Wow, the beer, the room, and now this? You’re spoiling me rotten! What kind of work did you have in mind?” he asked, getting more and more surprised by the minute.

“Well, let’s see here. How do you fare in the kitchen? Can I trust you with a spatula?”

“I once tried to boil water and ended up burning it. The water, I mean. I burned water.”

“Ah, a real cordon bleu, I see!” she mocked, doing a chef’s kiss. “Okay, let’s forget food prep. How about drinks? What do you know about them?”

“I know that I like chugging them,” Gray Calx quipped, before hydrating himself.

Sweet Pint couldn’t resist but snicker with a snort. “Heh, that’s funny. You’re funny. See? I knew I had a good reason to like you, smartass.”

“I try,” Calx smiled a little. “Anyway, I’m going to make this easy for you: My main proficiency is geology. Be it in a lab, or on the field. Oh, and sculpting too; I’m quite the artist, you know,” he added, tongue-in-cheek.

“… Not quite the set of skills that I was hoping for. Though you won’t have any difficulty snatching a job that pays well here in the Grove, I’ll say this much.”

Well, a little bit of good news for a change certainly was a pleasure to hear. Gray Calx nodded and emptied his glass. All in all, not too shabby of a start. He had already secured himself a place to stay, so going full vagrant was now a concern of the past. On top of that, he was all beered up; what’s not to love? His worries and anger that had followed him from Canterlot were slowly starting to dissipate. No more reminiscing on what he had done behind everyone’s back, and how it was too late to reopen the doors he had permanently closed. He took a decision, a supremely drastic decision, yes, but by Tartarus, he was going to stand by it, for better or worse. Outer Grove was a new start; looking behind was just grounds for regression.

Sweet Pint couldn’t have known any of this, of course. Calx was to keep his setbacks and his past mysteriously devoid of information. The less they knew, the safer he was. It was the best and only way to protect his machinations.

But eh, there wasn’t much to worry about – at least, for the time being. Sweet Pint didn’t particularly strike him as a nark. A bit unmannered at best, but definitely not a nark. Case and point: The lady hadn’t even noticed Calx’s mental respite. She was too busy being somewhat pensive.

“Hmmm, you know, thinking about it some more? I may take you up on that sculpting biz o’ yours,” she said after a moment. “This place is a bit too drab for my taste and could use a lil’ more pep. Maybe you could carve some nifty wooden gizmos and we could hang ‘em on the walls? Finally decorate this place proper, give it a bit more of an identity.”

Calx looked around. “Oh shoot, not to be even more of a party pooper, but I’m much more of a stonemason than anything. I know how to chisel a mean rock, but wood? I can only botch that sort of work.”

“Ah, tch, that’s too bad. The only stone we have here that isn’t busy supporting the whole dang structure are the three columns on the front terrasse.”

“Weeeell,” Calx pondered with a hoof rubbing on his cheek, “depending on what kind of rock we’re talking about, and how thick the support beams are, I could probably rearrange one of ‘em into something artistic?” He shrugged. “Eh, don’t mind me, I’m basically throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what sticks.”

“Actually, for a stallion so insistent on speaking outta his bum, that ain’t half bad of an idea!” Sweet Pint joked. “Putting emphasis on the set pieces the Two Arches is named after? Now that’s the kind of out-of-the-box publicity that’d make our place look sexier in travel pamphlets, ha!”

As she finished endorsing Calx’s ad-libbed suggestion, she pulled a few menus from a compartment behind the counter, eyeing the first few paying clients steadily reducing the number of free seats around the low-profile circular tables. She didn’t expect high traffic tonight, but she knew better than making thirsty ponies wait unnecessarily for their happy hour windfall.

“Just so you know, I’ll have to ask my superior before you go all Michelangelhoof on us,” she asserted, placing the menus on her back. “He’s kind of a money-grubber; you know how managers go. And the bloke rarely comes here, ain’t that a surprise. He’d rather visit his other branches, as in, the ones that aren’t hidden on the edge of the world, if you catch my drift.”

Calx nodded. He was a patient stallion, he didn’t mind delaying that kind of side job if he had to. Besides, Sweet Pint was essentially doing him a favor, so it was on her terms, not his.

This whole exchange elevated something incredibly surreal: How instinctively disconnected from his previous life the town’s newcomer was feeling at the moment. Perhaps it was due to how swiftly Calx had segregated his present self from his past self, replacing what made him who he was with something new, something untainted? He was essentially a pony in mint condition as it stood. Rebuilding a life from the ground up felt right, because, amongst many things, he could freely detach from the obstacles that kept strangling him on a daily basis. It was one gigantesque relief. A 20 something year relief. He could finally breathe.

Sweet Pint veered around a smiling Gray Calx, and with a quick nudge of the elbow, said, “Welp, gotta put a peg into this convo and go do what I’m paid to do. Ya need anything else to quench your thirst with, bucko?”

“Oh uh, no, I’m good, thanks,” he replied, not wanting to usurp more of her time. “I was actually thinking about heading out and buying myself some supplies. I err, packed very lightly when I left Canterlot and- Actually, do you know a place where I could get myself a bit of groceries, some cosmetic stuff, and perhaps a bit of scribbling material to kill the hours?”

“Hrmmm. Your best bet would be to make a detour to The Clover Mart. There’s this cute mare who works over there, heh... Anyhow, you’ll find that shop at the corner of the two big boulevards in the lower part of town. It’s the building with the forest green shingles; only an imbecile would miss it. So, y’know, try not to be that.”

“Gotcha. Thanks for the tip, I’ll head there straight away,” he said, pushing away from his stool.

“Should move that gray rump of yours then,” warned Sweet Pint, walking away from her crate-pulling aid. “They close at the same time we start dispatching drinks, so that gives you a little over thirty minutes. Once again, big boy, make it count!”

With every intention of making it so, Calx re-equipped his saddle bags and trotted with haste out of the tavern. With luck seemingly on his side, hopefully, his pit stop at The Clover Mart would go without faults.

To say that things weren’t going all too greatly in Twilight’s head would be laughably inaccurate. A quick glance at her depressed form slowly trekking through the occupied streets of Ponyville would highlight a contrast as sharp as pouring oil in water.

On one corner, you had Celestia’s sun giving warmth in a clear blue sky, ponies bouncing with bliss and boundless euphoria, a technicolor scenery where rhododendrons and daffodils bloomed, families hugging, laughing together, joining in various activities... All of that, and more. Heck, even the chickadees were chanting in a chorus of energetic chirps. It was peaceful, amicable, and above all, harmonious. Everything was right in the world. Living the good life felt right.

On the other corner, however, you had one tormented princess – an outlier stranded in a saccharine utopia of a thousand smiles. She couldn’t blend with the rest of her entourage any less if she tried. There was feeling down in the dumps, and then, there was her. Gave a whole new perspective to what having a bad day entitled.

No, truly, there weren’t many other ways to put it: Twilight was depressed.

It all started on the dawn of her final day in Outer Grove. A Monday that, in all normality, should’ve marked the start of her diplomatic mission in strengthening the relations between the forgotten principality and the rest of Equestria. Surveying the ponies, providing what they were lacking, giving them comfort and assistance, overseeing the repairs, using her magical affinity for the greater good, and much more: That’s what a princess worth her crown was expected to do.

In reality, Twilight was in no suitable condition to be the liaison she had hoped (and officially vowed) to be. Nopony could avoid the curse of succumbing under the pressure of a turbulent emotional state, doubled by a serious lack of sleep. Twilight herself was no exception. For all of her baggage and experience, for all of her drive and resilience, for all of her determination and desire for success, for all of her hard-fought battles and personal victories, at the end of the day, at her very core, she was still a sister. And despite some recent disagreements, she would never allow anypony to strip that label away from her. She was a sister, and she was forever going to be a sister.

That’s not to say that she was unbreachable. Au contraire.

Under her many defensive layers of confidence and poise, a heart once pumped with the promise of protection. It had done so for twenty years and a half, cradled comfortably in a climate of relative peace. Alas, that all changed on the infamous night of finding her missing brother, where she made the unforgivable mistake of exposing her weak point. As a result, an opportunity presented itself, and the heart she tried so hard to safeguard had been violently pierced.

Sunstone singlehoofedly accomplished what no other villain had done to this day: He actually managed to dig under her defensive veil and, without showing the faintest hint of regret, struck where it hurt the most. And hurt it did. Much more than she could’ve ever anticipated.

When Discord corrupted her friends into being negative versions of themselves, Twilight came close to giving up. When Chrysalis tricked everyone into believing she was the real Cadance, Twilight had never felt so alone. When Tirek razed her home to the ground, Twilight dealt with a surge of emotions she didn’t even know she had in her. But when Sunstone told her straight to her face that he hated her with a burning passion? When he confirmed what she always suspected but never had the guts to admit? When he spat at her with a kind of animosity ponies weren’t even supposed to be capable of harboring?

Empty. It felt so empty. She couldn’t even begin to comprehend the turn of events that had led them to this point. How strikingly astray these two have become. Try as she might, there was no logic to be extracted out of that estrangement. It was just too unbelievable, too inconceivable.

Two nights at the Two Arches; two nights following two skirmishes. One against a twosome of bears, and one against a lone pony. One where she recovered greatly, and one where her mental state took the plunge. Naturally, that clear-cut juxtaposition didn’t go over Sweet Pint’s head, who immediately perceived something off about the princess after she rose early from a sleepless night. Food had been declined, and coffee was a no-sale.

In fact, the princess whispered something about leaving preemptively, and insisted on being in the barmare’s debt if she could bring said news to the mayor’s team. When prompted about this sudden turn of events, Twilight made up something about receiving a distant message from Spike, recalling her to the Friendship castle due to some urgent and unexpected business. The princess couldn’t help but feel like she dishonored a certain apple farmer’s moral code with her made-up excuse, but when all was said and done, she departed without any ceremonial goodbyes.

And even though she wasn’t entirely sure of it, Sweet Pint could’ve sworn she caught a glimpse of the princess gazing upon the middle column in front of the tavern, really soaking in the aesthetics of the three ponies carved in, and blinking a few tears before flying away. Art was pretty, sure, but to be moved to tears? And this early in the morning? Something definitely felt amiss.

Meanwhile, Twilight headed to the train station, trying her luck once again. When she arrived from above and saw a platform completely devoid of vehicles, she considered just sort of... flying along the tracks. Fly and fly for hours, until her alicorn body would give up on her. A five hour ride translated into pure analogical flight was nonsensical, really. She knew it’d take her almost a whole day of batting her wings nonstop. She’d collapse from exhaustion long before reaching the halfway point.

Yet, her strong emotional drive was convulsing in her chest with enough fervor for her to go forth with that insane plan. Using that resolve to power through the physical pain.

What else was she supposed to do? Sitting around and waiting for the clock to spill hours of pure nothingness would give her too much time to think, too much of an opening to go back and try to parlay with her brother again. It was obvious that he didn’t want her in his life, and getting blown a second time after extending the olive branch would achieve nothing but finish her off.

And so, for a solid two hours, Twilight used all of her concentration on keeping her flight smooth and steady. That’s as long as it took before her muscles started to seriously ache, with the princess having more and more difficulty exerting motion in the bones of her wings. After banking and tilting down one too many times, before she nosedived to her doom, the princess continued her pilgrimage on hooves, as out of energy as she was allowed to be. With no sleep in her body and no food in her stomach, she was exhausted and starved.

This was a terrible idea. She wasn’t even a quarter into her hike, and she was already considering calling it quits. What was she possibly thinking when she deliberately left the only populated settlement for kilometers around? She always prided herself on being a level-headed pony who acted rationally, but this? Not her finest hour. Yes, a most terrible idea indeed.

A stroke of luck blessed her with the promise of rescue. At first, a dot by the horizon, far away onto the tracks. Soon enough, the dot turned into something more defined, and in the end, the obvious became obvious: It was a train, waiting patiently with the engine turned off. Three ponies disembarked from it when they recognized what – or rather, who the purple blotch approaching them really was. A railroad engineer, a conductor, and a chef galloped to give her assistance, flabbergasted by the princess’ lone presence at a place like this.

As it turns out, these were the same ponies part of the crew that accompanied her on her way to Outer Grove. The same folks whom she ordered to wait for her input back at the previous junction. Seeing as the allocated two days deadline was running its course, without any news, the engineer embraced a pang of courage and took the matter into his own capable hooves, stationing his locomotive just far enough from Outer Grove to intervene if need be. Being on standby just in case the citizens had to be evacuated, or if they needed to quickly borrow a means of transport. As the stallion himself said, “better be pre-emptive rather than patching up unprepared.”

It was no surprise that the gang was unable to comprehend what could’ve led their princess to trek in the middle of nowhere all on her own, fatigued and beaten down, without protection of any kind. She did as best as she could to summarize the situation, telling them that all was good, that everything had been resolved.

Well... not everything, right? After all, she didn’t look too thrilled, which raised a bit of suspicion. But this was for Twilight to keep, and not for them to know. The Ursas might’ve been dealt with, but the battle was far from over. A battle that no other agents could partake in. It was all on her. An incommensurable burden she had to carry on her withers, which she did for the remainder of the train ride – back to the Las Pegasus station, and then, back to Ponyville.

It felt like hell. The two train rides felt like hell.

Exactly as she had feared, she found herself with too much time to think, and too little actions she could take. Time became meaningless, and the outside world, irrelevant. Maybe she had been spoken to on a few occasions by concerned travellers, but she was simply unable to heed their calls. All she was left with was some alone time to figure out what had happened, and what could be done. And at some point? As she thought more and more about what had been said during yesterday’s malarkey of alcohol, shouts, and obscenities?

She gradually accepted that Sunstone might’ve been right about more than a few things.

This is primarily why the princess, on her way to her castle with that conclusion still fresh in her mind, was so morose. Not only was Sunstone’s hostilities hard to digest, but at the bottom of it all, he was right. Behind the insults and the impulsive behavior was a pony who spoke the truth, and nothing but the truth.

She could’ve done more.
She could’ve tried harder.
She should’ve seen the signs.
She should’ve been there for him.

But as usual, she had been too preoccupied with her own quibbles to make any serious attempts at reaching out. How could she have been so blind? This was the Moon Dancer incident all over again, topped with an extra layer of complications. If only she had learned about the virtues of friendship years prior to her relocation in Ponyville, perhaps she could’ve been better equipped to stop it all before it became too late.

Yes, perhaps...

With more of these thoughts bombarding Twilight Sparkle from within, she almost failed to notice that she crossed the large doorway of the Friendship castle, the coolness of the inside clashing with the hot late afternoon air of the outside world. By the end of the entry parlor, between two grand staircases, was a circular room the princess wasn’t unfamiliar with, its two doors wide open. Inside, a scene in plain view caught her undivided attention: A little ghostly orb above a protruded disc, surrounded by half a dozen chairs.

Oh, she knew what it was. She knew what it meant.

After all this time, her cutie mark was still floating above the cutie map. Almost taunting her with its presence, as if arrogantly saying: “Come on, what’s the hold up, princess? Solve me, already!” Understanding its significance, she scoffed at it with a snarl. It was insulting. It was the last thing she wanted to see. It was... well, to tell the truth? It was too much to bear.

She sagged, defeated, unable to dish out any frustration at the little star blowing a proverbial raspberry her way. That pictogram was as right as Sunstone was: She had failed him. She had failed him a day ago, and she had failed him for the entirety of her upbringing. Maybe the whole goal of this friendship trip was for her to fully soak in the repercussions of her lackluster efforts as a child? The world wanted to give her a sadistic reminder that she unwittingly left a family member behind; it wanted to rub salt in the wound.

To think that all this time, as she grew up to cultivate her many skills, all she really desired was Sunstone’s approval. When in truth, it was the opposite: He had wanted her approval all along. Sunstone had been sneaky about it, his ego doing a magnificent job at blurring the line between his true self and the rest of the Sparkles, but after meeting with him and suffering the whiplash of his explosive reactions? It became as clear as crystal. That cutie mark in front of her was the memento of a realization she should’ve had years ago. Before Sunstone had enough, before he became embittered, before he wrote about his... well, his voluntary exile, apparently.

Twilight shook her head with fervor; being ridiculed by the friendship problem on standby would advance nothing. Instead, she cantered away from the throne room, unable to withstand another second of being bullied by inanimate objects. She then headed toward the safest haven she could think of: The library. Yes, over there, she could bask in the safety of her books, clutching onto them like dolls. It was the most effective way of seeking any form of comfort after these precarious days of travelling, orating, sleuthing, fighting, realizing, enduring, and, of course, crying. A safe space that could help her reset. Hopefully...

A sneak peak inside, and in between the tall shelves garnished with colorful tomes of all kinds, onto a little stash of comic books turned into a makeshift beanbag, a lazy Spike held Supermare’s latest in one claw, the other busy foraging into a bowl chock-full of glittering sapphires. Having found his next prey, he flicked a blue gem into the air, caught it in his maw, and crunched his delicious snack with a moan of pure satisfaction.

Midway through the mastication process, he opened an eye and gazed directly at the purple pony who stared right back. He hesitantly chewed a few more times, his look panning from his bowl of gourmandise to the mess his throne of superheroes had made. His transgression now unmistakable, he gulped both of his food and his stress. Ensued a sheepish smile, plus a few beads of sweat for good measure.

“Oh, Twilight! B-b-back so soon?”

Immediately after saying that, a tilted tower of books in the unkempt room came down in a loud ruckus, sheets of papers catapulted in all directions.

“... Uuuuh, it’s not what it looks like, I promise, hehehe~!” he pleaded with a guilty smile.

Twilight took a good prolonged look at the total war zone that was the library. A small part of her wanted to scold her assistant, a bit disappointed that he had been slacking off this whole time behind her back. Instead, she simply sighed, and tried a smile.

“Um, don’t worry about it, Spike. It’s just... It’s just good to see you.”

“Y-you don’t understand, I swear I was only keeping watch over these comic books and those tasty did you just tell me not to worry about it?”

Twilight motioned ‘yes’ with her head, entering the library with shy steps. This prompted an incredulous expression from Spike as he regained the floor.

“... Really? You’re going to let me off the hook, just like that?”

Another silent ‘yes’ from Twilight.

“Okay, now I know something’s up,” he determined. “Arriving waaaaay ahead of schedule, that’s already a bit weird coming from you. But hoofwaving my mess away that easily? That’s not the Twilight I know. So, out with it, Sparkle.”

“Muh!? Um... n-n-nothing’s up! I’m perfectly fine!”

Unphased, Spike crossed his arms and gave her that look. Twilight, meanwhile, tried her best to maintain her charade by holding her breath. Sadly, it was a futile endeavour. Unable to stage her happiness any longer, she exhaled, lowered her head, and then slumped on her bottom. Her assistant, once on the attack, couldn’t have known about the inner demons she was tucking away. When he realized that he might’ve probed a bit too hard, he dropped his accusatory stance in a heartbeat. He approached the sullen alicorn and gave her a much-needed hug, which she returned gleefully.

They stayed like this for a while. It felt good not only to be back home, but also to receive a bit of support and positivity in these troubled times. The brotherly problem was far from over – the cutie map taking perhaps a bit too much joy confirming this – but everypony needed a moment of respite. This was her moment.

“Spike, I...” she whimpered in a chokehold of emotions, “I have a favour to ask of you.”

Detaching from the hug, the bite-sized dragon stood straight. “Uh, sure! Anything for you, Twi. What can I help with?”

“Can you... Can you fetch the family album? I have something to know... Something I desperately need to find out.”

“Huh? The family album, really?” he repeated, scratching his head. “Bit of a weird ask, don’tcha think?”

“Just... Please just do it. I need to see. I need to pinpoint exactly when he... when he stopped loving me.”

As she was explaining herself, Spike had already nabbed a small key from a drawer in a reclused corner of the library. He made sure to blow the spiderwebs out of the brass object before plunging it into a locked panel of a specific bookshelf.

Deciphering Twilight’s latest lament was getting more and more cryptic. But, as her number one assistant, it was his job to avoid upsetting her further. So he kept to the task at hoof, flipping the lid open and grabbing the fat dusty binder hidden behind. The extra secrecy of that family relic wasn’t without reason. These were, after all, private memories best kept away from the public eye. Twilight’s childhood wasn’t for sale.

With the thick photo album held between shaky arms, Spike looked back at Twilight. She hadn’t moved a muscle. He gave her an apologetic smile, and tried something:

“You know, uh, just because Shining teases you every now and then, doesn’t mean he stopped loving you, Twi. You’re probably overthinking stuff again.”

“I’m not talking about Shiny...” she countered in a murmur.

“Okay, well, neither does your dad. Sure, Mr. Night Light spends maybe a liiiittle bit too much time at the bingo hall, but that has nothing to do with-”

“It’s not about my dad either!” she rebutted again, this time considerably louder.

Spike was running out of candidates. Who else could be a ‘he’ and have a noticeable presence in the Sparkles’ personal gallery? Who else in this book could have soured her mood with such professionalism? Yes, who was the perpetrator indeed?

...

Well, there was someone alright. Captain negativity himself. The destroyer of joy, the harbinger of bad mood, the guru of all naysayers. Would explain why Twilight was slumped onto the floor, a figurative cloud raining down on her. But why now of all times? Twilight had all but assured him she had turned the page a long time ago, so why dig up the name that had been laid to rest in the distant past?

“Aww, Twilight,” Spike sighed, having confidently identified who the mysterious stallion was, “what has brought this on? Sunstone’s been, um, well he... He’s no longer with us. Hasn’t been for a while. I mean, I know this is sad and all, but why are you thinking about this all of the sudden?”

“Because that’s just it, Spike!” she said, bouncing up in a jiffy, now face-to-face with the small dragon. “Sunstone is not a goner!”

“... W-What do you mean?” he stuttered in return.

“Sunstone is STILL ALIVE.”

WHAM

Spike dropped the book on the floor, unable to keep a steady grip. He couldn’t believe his ears. Has he correctly processed what she just told him? Or did his brain decide to go rogue on him? Because, aheh, it sounded like he just heard that Sunstone, the one and only grumpy Sunstone, was currently NOT pushing up daisies and was in fact still prancing about somewhere in Equestria. But that was outright impossible, now, was it?

“Ha... hahaha!” Spike chuckled nervously. “G-good one Twilight! A-almost had me going there.”

“You... you think I’m pulling your leg? Spike, I’ve seen him with my own eyes! I’ve talked to him! W-we chatted and... I would NEVER joke around about such things!”

Well, she had a point: Humor wasn’t Twilight’s forte, let alone the dark kind. She was too true to herself to play pretend with her moods. A bona fide bout of hysteria was as Twilight as it could be; she couldn’t fake hissy fits if her life depended on it.

Spike brought a hand to his forehead. “How is this even possible? Haven’t you told me that he was the victim of a lethal accident a few years back?”

That was indeed what the Sparkles had told Spike, which was kind of a half truth if you squinted hard enough. Explaining in great detail the method Sunstone used to depart from the mortal realm was deemed a bit too much for a dragon of his age. Analysing the sort of mental strain and depressive thoughts that would push a pony to nullify their own life was not something Twilight wished to explore with someone who had yet to enter puberty. Spike had every right to enjoy his childhood before being exposed to a sad reality that was too often ignored and/or brushed away in modern Equestria.

“No! I mean- No, t-that’s what we thought! That’s what we all thought! But...” Twilight hovered the album in front of her and magically flipped a couple of pages, “he was there, in the flesh! He was in Outer Grove. I’ve bumped into him!”

“You’ve bumped into... Oh boy, that’s...” Spike droned out, fidgeting with his claws. “W-w-what are we gonna do about this?”

True, he wasn’t the biggest fan of Twilight’s oldest brother, but the last thing he wished for was for the poor stallion to meet a gruesome end! That perverse thought never once crossed his mind. No, in fact, Sunstone’s departure from this plane of existence had affected him as much as it did with the rest of the family. And just like them, it took him a while, but he managed to move on. Life goes on, right?

But now that this whole mourning period has been for naught? Well, where did that leave the Sparkles? What was the next move? What did this all mean? A myriad of big questions, yes, but the one that trounced them all: How was he even supposed to feel about this?

Weird. Definitely weird. Predominantly weird, actually. Spike hadn’t been trained to properly deal with a pony close to him suddenly reappearing years after being MIA. After all, resurrection wasn’t a topic covered by any of Twilight’s books.

Speaking of Twilight, since she still hadn’t answered his question, what with being too occupied rifling through the many pictures with apparent melancholy, Spike coughed politely. “W-well, I mean, uh... Sooooo, h-how was he? How’s the old guy doing?” he noncommittally asked, cringing at his awful segue.

“How was he? Oh, I’ll tell you how! He hates me, Spike! He hates my guts with a kind of hostility that would render Chrysalis proud! H-he... He has always had nothing but pure hatred for me; that’s why he left us behind, that’s why he went into hiding! He couldn’t stand my presence! The only real accident Sunstone had was being my brother!”

“Oh I uh... I’m sorry Twi, I didn’t-”

He tried to put a comforting hand on her back. It would’ve been a kind gesture, had she not shoved the binder right into his face.

“Look at him in this picture!” she demanded. “Look at his scowl! This one was taken by a photographer at the beach when I was six. Look at this! I was nuzzling him, and he was scowling!! Does that look like a pony who ever loved me!?”

Spike always thought that the “good” chemistry between the two siblings had never been reciprocal. To have figured that out years before Twilight did due to her inherent bias was as good for his self-validation as it pained him. Because if there ever was a time to put the lid on a ‘I told you so?’ Now was probably that time. Hence, he bit his tongue, not wanting to be caught giving the wrong answer to a rhetorical question.

“How in Equus have I never noticed this? How deep in denial must I have been!?” bellowed Twilight to herself.

Again, Spike kept his remarks to a minimum. When the princess noticed her assistant tapping his clawed indexes together, she saw someone who really didn’t deserve to be her emotional punching bag. A bit more lucid, she sighed.

“When I saw him again, I tried to reach out,” she resumed, noticeably calmer. “I tried to talk to him, but he wanted nothing to do with me. Nothing! In fact, he hoped... h-he hoped...” She breathed out, finding courage to articulate her next words. “He hoped that horrible things would happen to me. He told me so with such authenticity, it’s almost as if he pledged an oath. I’ve never, never seen a pony who wished for my own demise with the passion he exerted!”

“Wuh-what!? Why would he ever say something like this to you? To his own sister?” genuinely wondered Spike.

“Because he hates everything I stand for! My crown, my title, my friends, my education, my special ties with the other princesses, my adventures... my everything! I’ve always had it so easy compared to him, and he’s grown extremely indignant about it. That’s why he wanted me to have things not go my way; so he could step up, so he could experience what it’s like to be the centerpiece of our family, so he could have a chance to feel accomplished for a change!”

“W-whoa, no kidding! S’that why I’ve never seen him smile? Because he was envious of you this whole time?”

Twilight nodded. “I... I believe so.”

...

“Well... forget about this jealous meanie head, Twilight! If he only wants to bring misery in your life, and if he wants to live in secrecy, then I say, wish granted!”

“How can I!? How can I forget that I have a brother who banished himself to the other corner of the world? A brother who was right about me!? On the whole line, from A to Z! Spike, it’s my fault he became the pony that he is today. It’s my fault he wrote about his... accident. From the beginning, all I saw was an irate pony who thought of me as a bugging little sister, but what I should’ve seen was a pony who was in dire need of a helping hoof! But no! We cast him aside, we ignored his mood swings, we allowed him to develop his familial aversion, and we... we turned him into this!”

She re-exposed the family album. On it, Sunstone sitting at the dinner table, Twilight Sparkle to his right, Shining Armor to his left, a birthday hat on his head. Two smiles and a frown. A young colt about to blow 14 candles with a single wish in mind: Going back to his room and eating his chocolate cake alone.

“Who is this pony?”

Both alicorn and drake looked up from the pages to see an inquisitive Starlight Glimmer standing in the entrance of the library. Twilight had the album wide open, exposing the picture for everypony to see. When she fully processed what was happening, with a swift application of telekinesis, she clasped the binder shut, floated it away into its proper casing, turned the key, and completed her performance with the biggest grin she could fake.

“S-Starlight! Uh, that was uh... N-nopony! That was nopony, hehehehe!!”

“... You’re back awfully early,” she squinted. “Did you solve the problem in Outer Grove already?”

“Did I- Yup! Yup, that’s exactly it, you’ve hit the nail on the head! Bullseye, hehehaha!!” Twilight latched on, much to Spike’s disapproval. “Solved it like psssshhhtt it was nothing! J-just like that!”

“Uh-huh. I suppose this is why I saw your cutie mark still loitering above the map on my way here, hmmm?” she retorted with a cocky smile.

Twilight became completely white. A strand of her mane even curled up with an audible twang. Starlight had laid a trap and she foolishly sprung it. Now that her friend was done playing coy, the skittish princess was running out of options.

“Okay, you’ve got me,” she admitted, her ears drooping. “It didn’t, um, go exactly according to plan. I had to come back because uh... because ah...”

“Becaaaaause?” Starlight edged closer, as curious as ever.

“... Well that depends. How much of our conversation did you overhear? If, erm, if you don’t mind me asking?”

“Bits and pieces. Heard you talk about a pony named Sunstone? That a friend of yours?” She tapped her chin, all analytical. “Was he the one whose picture you two were ogling?”

To this, Spike inched closer, seizing his opportunity. “Actually, that wasn’t a friend. That was Twilight’s bro-”

“MY COUSIN!!” interrupted Twilight with a concerning eye twitch.

Opportunity seized, yet so swiftly taken away. Before finishing what he had to say, the little fellow got teleported by Twilight’s magic above a disorganised pile of books in the far back of the library. After falling into the mound of papery lore and preserved knowledge, he popped his head out with both of his pupils rotating out of sync.

“Yup, my cousin!” reasserted Twilight. “My very, very distant cousin! An unimportant somepony whom I barely ever met, hehehe~...!”

Starlight blinked, blinked again, and then blinked some more, bewildered by what had just unfolded in front of her. The sudden mood shift, the teleportation, Twilight smiling creepily a centimeter away from her face... Yeah, there was no denying that something wasn’t right with the unhinged princess of friendship.

“R-really?” further questioned Starlight. “For somepony so unimportant, it kinda sounded like you were shocked to learn that he was still alive.”

“Ah, n-nope! Nope nope nope! You misheard! I was merely saying, uh, that it was ‘a good day to be alive!’ Seeing as I made it back to the castle safe and sound, you know...?”

Starlight Glimmer did not, in fact, know. If anything, she was thoroughly unconvinced – the exact kind of nonplussed response that only made the neurotic princess feel even more backed into a corner. With the addition of Spike staggering back toward them, she knew her time was limited. These two were about to perform a pincer manoeuvre on her, and she’d have no choice but to abdicate. Her only saving grace was a well-placed excuse. A quick getaway from this conversation. A pretext to keep Starlight’s skepticism at bay.

Thus, the princess feigned a hoof slap on her head. “Oh! But you know what? I came back so quickly, I left all of my luggage at the train station! S-silly me, right? Would you be so kind as to retrieve them for me? I’d do it myself, but I am sooo exhausted by the trip!”

“I-”

“Lovely! Thank you so much, Starlight, my friend, my pal, my bestest of all buddies!” Twilight said, chaperoning her out of the library via the most indiscrete head push in the world. And then, after slamming the doors shut, “Take all the time you need! There’s definitely no rush!”

With her ears glued to the door, she no longer heard any resistance on the other side. Feeling the noose loosening, she wiped the sweat out of her forehead, right before dropping onto the cold tiles with some kind of half wheeze, half grunt.

“Oof, that was way too close for comfort, but I’m glad we avoided the worst!”

“Guh, s-s-speak for yourself,” Spike stammered, still a bit dazzled by the commotion. “W-what was that all about? And why didn’t you ask me to get your stuff? Hello-ooo, number one assistant over here?” he complained, a pair of thumbs poking his chest.

“Isn’t it obvious? We can’t have Starlight finding out about the mysterious brother we’ve never mentioned before!”

“Um, why not?”

“Because, it’s- Spike, haven’t you paid attention to what I’ve said before? Sunstone wants to be left alone! If we go ahead and drop his name without being cautious about it, then it’s bound to give him unnecessary attention. And that’s exactly the opposite of what he wants!” She sighed, getting back on four hooves. “For once, I’d like to respect his wishes. That’s... that’s the least I can do at this point.”

Sunstone’s voice echoed in the princess’ mind. “I’m fighting for my right to be left alone,” it berated, “but that clearly went over your head!” Well, not this time it didn’t. His message was fully heard and fully understood. If it’s privacy he sought so badly, it’s privacy he shall receive.

“Well, aren’t you going to tell your parents at least?” Spike wondered as he began to pick up a few books off the floor. “I feel like at least they should know...”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Oh, brilliant! ‘Hey mom, hey dad, did you know that your long-lost son is actually still alive and kicking? Here’s his address and his postal code. Anyway, what’s for dinner?’ Spike, that’ll send them packing immediately! Again, that’s precisely what he doesn’t want and what we’re trying to avoid!”

Her assistant kept to himself, not bothering with a reply. Either because Twilight’s justification was pure folly, or because he was too busy balancing a tall stack of twenty-something books.

“And before you say anything,” Twilight warned Spike who really wasn’t going to say anything, “Shiny is also off the table! Don’t even get me started on what he’ll do to Sunstone the moment he hears that his brother has lied to him – to all of us – for years. He’ll be like an unleashed Diamond Dog! He’ll go straight to his doorstep and buck his teeth out for what he has done. I’m not even sure Cadance will be able to restrain him!”

“Twilight, you have to tell somepony!” finally yielded Spike. “You can’t keep this all for yourself, it’s not going to do you any goo-ACK!”

As if poor Spike hadn’t been sufficiently maimed today, he just had to trip on a thick atlas left haphazardly on the floor. Needless to say, his tower of books never made it to their proper shelves. Twilight stared at him (and at the resultant mess) with big white eyes, unsure if she should be amused by his slapstick comedy, or reluctant to agree with his words of advice.

“I’m not... I’m not keeping this for myself,” she ultimately concluded. “I confessed to you, didn’t I?”

“Well yeah, but uh, what about your friends?” he tentatively asked, shaking a few books off his head.

“What about them? I mean, I love them dearly, but... It’s still not something I wanna burden them with.”

For the nth time, Twilight sighed. She approached Spike to give him a hoof up, which he gladly accepted. All the while, she mentally prepared herself to explain the main reason why she was so picky with his more... open-hearted approach vis-à-vis the Sunstone affair.

“After Nightmare Moon’s defeat, after we were recalled to Canterlot to learn about what had occurred to my brother... Do you remember the promise we made to each other? How we vowed to never mention Sunstone to anypony? How we agreed that it’d be easier if we just kept his tragic story to ourselves? Well, I’d still like to uphold that promise. I really don’t see why we should revise it now of all times. What, because I’ve learned that Sunny wasn’t as gone as I thought he was? That’s hardly an excuse!

“But let’s say that I do anyway. Let’s pretend that I meet the girls and suddenly admit, half a decade after befriending them, that surprise! I have twice as many brothers as they originally thought I did. How do you suppose they’re going to react? For me, it's beyond obvious: They’ll be fawning over the idea of meeting him ASAP! An idea that’ll pass very quickly once AJ learns how he betrayed his family, once Pinkie learns how big of a ‘grumpy meanie mean head’ he’s been, once Fluttershy learns how much grief his insults gave me... Should I go on?”

Spike waved away the rhetorical question with a quiet headshake.

“No, truly, I need to keep my lips shut,” she recapped with a wry smile. “Anything short of that is asking for trouble. I... I can’t tell anypony. We can’t tell anypony. Anypony at all! Because the minute one of us leaks anything related to Sunstone’s existence, you can be sure that this unbelievable story is going to be picked up by the papers. What a scoop it’ll be for Equestrians everywhere to learn that one of their princesses has had an unknown brother hidden away from the public eye this whole time! I can’t see any brighter spotlight shining on him after that. Journalists and paparazzi will be dying to book exclusive interviews with him! So to avoid any of this, we need to keep quiet, as we have been for the past five years. Nothing has changed!”

There was sort of an awkward silence, and eye contact was avoided. Spike knew where this was going. It wasn’t his first time trying to keep Twilight’s sanity in check. She’s always been prone to let her critical thinking wither away when the direness of a debacle became a bit too much.

How ironic that her very own intelligence could sometimes be her undoing. Her brain has always been her strongest asset, yet sometimes, following the brain was a suboptimal play when the heart really should’ve been the organ in charge. Her current predicament sure was a prime example! However, for Twilight, when family was involved, she simply couldn’t afford to gamble on the heart; she had to remain by the book – quite literally.

Given that, what was really holding her back, here? Did she really lay out the whole of her enquiries, or was there perhaps something else that made her reluctant to find an ear to talk to? Maybe there was an underlying issue that pushed Twilight Sparkle to maintain her mutism?

An imaginary lightbulb turned on in Spike’s head when he remembered the response she gave him after prompting her to enroll a few guards for her trip to Outer Grove. She didn’t take his suggestion all too kindly. In fact, she had been pretty forward with how adverse she was at the idea of travelling with a couple of allies, and how much she preferred to take care of business all on her own.

“Oh, I see what’s going on!” Spike raved, getting the full picture. “You’re hesitant to talk it out because the cutie map only summoned you and no-one else, right? And you don’t want to botch the friendship problem by seeking out help? C’mon now Twi, don’t be silly. I’m preeeetty sure the map can make an exception for once, right?”

Compromising the cutie map’s desires?
Putting the mission in jeopardy?
Going against the instructions?
Disrespecting the friendship problem’s guidelines?

“Uh, Twi? You look-”

She stomped. “I don’t care about the friendship problem! I couldn’t care less!! I just want MY BROTHER BACK!!”

...

Twilight huffed in and out, realizing that the little dragon was taking a few steps back with his hands held up in self defense. She immediately mellowed out, feeling guilty at having been a little... too extreme with him for the second time this evening. She shouldn’t have raised her volume. There was never a good reason to become loud at your friends and making them feel vulnerable.

“I-I’m sorry Spike. I didn’t mean to lash out like this. This isn’t your fault. None of this is. I guess I’m just a bit stressed out...”

“W-well, I mean... T-that’s perfectly understandable, uh...”

“But, the good news is, there is a solution out there, I’m sure of it. There has to be! And I won’t quit until I put my hoof on it!” she declared with her chest pumped up. “I just need... I just need some time to think. I need a few days to hash out a plan...”

She lifted her chin and panned her look across the library. In complete disarray it was, but the books were very much still out there, begging to be read.

“... And maybe give myself a little bit of me time as well, so I can figure out what I can do about my brother. I already thought I had lost him once, and I don’t... I don’t wanna lose him again, Spike. I can’t let that happen. I just, I can’t afford to make any mistakes here. Because if I pull the wrong move, if I’m not delicate enough, then... Then I really do risk losing him forever...”

For Twilight, being insufficiently prepared to face a problem, no matter what form it took, was nothing short of unacceptable. You couldn’t jump headfirst into the battlefield without knowing about the enemy first. When it came to familial divides, it wasn’t all too different; the metaphor stood true.

Luckily, she had many textbooks about sociology, psychotraumatology, neuronal behaviors, ponythropology... Heck, she even had a couple of manuals about anger management. Surely, something in her nigh infinite inventory would hold the solution to settle this decades-long dispute? All she needed to do was to find the right paragraph, the right string of text that would jump start her journey into untangling this mess of a puzzle.

And to achieve that, for sure she’ll need a few days alone. Not only to cope with the gravity of the situation, but to benefit from a quiet environment where no distraction shall pull her away from her studies. She had a lot of cud to chew; being forced to partake in cwazy misadventures was a no go.

In Ponyville, it was well-known: Trouble had this weird tendency of following anypony who dared to poke their snout out of their house. The obvious countermeasure was to stay inside, lock the door, and throw away the keys. Something that sounded deliciously appealing for the princess of friendship. She couldn’t afford to get sidetracked by anything of lesser importance, for she had a brother to reconcile with, and that, that absolutely trumped anything and everything else. Ponies outside these crystalline walls will just have to learn to function with one of their princesses indisposed in the meantime.

It’ll take time that it’ll take. Be it days, weeks, or heck, even months. Until then? It was book time. A time of solitude to give her the guidance she desperately needed. The path to recovery may be a rough and long one, but it was nothing she couldn’t undertake.

She wanted to fix this?

She was going to fix this.

She was going to fix this the right way.

Author's Note

After the house burning incident of last chapter, we slow things down a little bit with this one.

Now, in the comments section of last chapter, I said that I was going to flesh out Skybrush’s backstory a bit more in the flashback portion of this one. In the end, I decided to save it for the next chapter instead. Felt more appropriate this way.

In fact, the next chapter is going to be one I didn’t plan in my original draft of this story. In it, Skybrush will play a bigger role, all in the hopes of painting her in a more sympathetic light. Heh, get it? Skybrush? Painting?

... Please, never let me do stand-up comedy.

Naw, for real though, there is indeed going to be an extra chapter slotted into this fic. At first, there was supposed to be three chapters left (minus the epilogue), but now, we’re back to four. There are two reasons why I took this decision.

The first one is to appease some of the concerns that arose with some discontent readers after the last chapter. I am immensely glad you guys pushed back, because it made me realize that I could’ve handled certain plot points with a little more tact. You also correctly pointed out that certain ideas felt rushed and too sudden. Thus, correcting course is what I am hoping to achieve with this extra, unplanned chapter.

The second reason is that it’ll allow me to tackle a few loose ends. In fact, in the final chapter of this story, there will be a few events I just know I’ll have trouble explaining properly. This new chapter will give me the soil to sow these ideas and make them appear more grounded, more believable when they’ll inevitably flourish.

So, all in all, I believe for this decision to be a good thing. It’ll totally work to the benefit of Oxidized!

Now, of course, this’ll increase the story length quite a bit. Luckily, I am not expecting this impromptu chapter to be very long. Theeeeen again, I say that every time, so, y’know, take it as you will.

Oh, and as a final note, I decided to add Spike as a character tag for this story. This lil’ dude is taking more space than I had originally planned, so it only seems fair. Welcome aboard, Spikey-boy!

Skybrush: Also With a Heavy Heart

Ding-a-ling! ♪♫

The door gently nudged the ceiling bell, indicating Gray Calx’s entrance in the Clover Mart. As the town newbie, shopping there was a first-time experience for the stallion.

Good thing he didn't have any trouble finding the old-timey general store. Not only was it a standout from the other nearby establishments, but also, architecture wise, it looked quite promising. The storefront had a recessed entry and was encompassed by display windows. The roof was indeed composed of those iridescent, dark green shingles Sweet Pint had mentioned. They made for a perfect match with the big four-leaf clover logo adorning the store banner. With its peculiar yet intriguing quarter circle shape, the whole building caressed the curves of the two crossing boulevards.

The interior had all the pizazz of the outside, with wood being the primary choice of material. Given Outer Grove’s placement in the heart of a thick forest, it made a whole lot of sense. The planks and overall woodwork had a maroon hue and still smelled of sap. The ceiling was low, but it didn’t feel claustrophobic. The merchandise, item displays, and isles of food were a-plenty, but it didn’t feel too encumbered. The whole place had a sense of disorganisation, but it didn’t feel like a ramshackle bazaar. It was the perfect balance between quaint and functional. A methodical mishmash, one might say.

A quick scan to make sense of this myriad of products, and Calx saw ice boxes in the back. Probably where frozen goods were to be found. On the right, behind the loaded shelves, was a section dedicated to small products of all kinds. There was an abundance of party supplies and crates of fireworks over there (maybe those Outer Grovians were a festive bunch?). A little further to the left was a menagerie of objects. Bags of food in bulk, gardening equipment, hardware tools, headgears, drapes of all colors, random pieces of furniture... There was even a large canoe leaning against the wall back there! No really, this bric-a-brac had no rhyme or reason to it. I guess this is why they call it a ‘general’ store, Calx couldn’t help but ponder.

He took a few steps forward and let his look wander from item to item, passively wondering how he’ll find what he needs. And quickly too. Sweet Pint made it quite clear that this store ceased all operations by 6 PM, which only left him with 10 meagre minutes to complete his shopping. Calx felt a little guilty at bothering the store owner with his less than subpar punctuality, especially since there were currently no other clients inside. He understood that kind of frustration all too well, having worked a good portion of his teenage years at Joe’s Donut shop. Nothing like preparing to close up for the night and having a last-minute buyer throw your routine out of whack.

A few seconds of scrounging later, and his idle thoughts were cut short by the jovial voice of a nearby mare.

“So sorry, didn’t see you there! I was in the back taking inventory. Nevertheless, welcome to the Clover Mart!” she chanted.

Calx was currently pacing around a shelf, trying to find toothpaste in the collection of hygiene products. Without prying his attention away from the small knick-knacks, he hailed an amiable welcome back at the shopkeeper.

“Hmmm. Can’t seem to recall having seen you before,” she mused after a short silence. “You’re a new face around here, aren’t you?”

“Oh uh, yeah. Yeah, it’s my first day in Outer Grove,” Calx admitted, a bit caught off-guard by the friendliness of the shopkeeper. “Heh, you’re not the first pony who noticed that I…”

His jaw dropped when he took a good gander at who he was talking to. The lady in question was behind the counter, leaning on a hoof, and offering a smile full of charm.

Whoa, admired his mind.

She was staring straight at him with those piercing green eyes. Two sparkly emeralds adorning a visage partially hidden behind a soft lock of hair, a brown mane that complemented her peach coloration flawlessly. She had a sea of freckles on her cheeks, and a paintbrush on both of her flanks.

If this was the mare Sweet Pint had called “cute” back at the bar, then she was spot on. It was no exaggeration: This pony must’ve had the best silhouette he’d ever laid his eyes upon. Her thin, slender curves married her sublime features to perfection. Her overall frame had the right balance between too skinny and too plump. She was astonishing; she was the very definition of eye candy. To say that she was an aspiration to standards of beauty everywhere was an understatement.

She’s pretty, thought a daydreaming Gray Calx. Super pretty, in fact.

It all happened so suddenly. But for a moment? For a microscopic amount of time in the grand scope of his life? Calx fancied doing something irrevocably stupid. His mind was overcharged on libido-fueled synapses, printing hundreds of ideas and hypotheticals a second. Most of them involved gathering his courage and temporarily doing away with his lack of confidence. A timeout in his world of self-doubts to pull an impulsive move straight out of Nowhere town.

He wanted to go talk to her. But not just talk to her. Really talk to her. Maybe even... Well, it was unbelievable that he even considered such tomfoolery, but just to be wild, just to play the devil’s advocate, what if he was to ask her out? Getting to know her first, and then popping the question down the line?

Obviously, this was all too crazy, hahaha... He had never done anything of the sort before; why would he flip flop on the matter? The love game was not his to play. Not to mention, he was in a completely different league. Stallions of his caliber, they had no business flirting with the likes of her.

And yet, trying as he might to pretend those feelings were nothing more than juvenile thoughts passing by, there was no denying that she had sparked something in him. Something that made his heart pump just a little faster, his forehead just a little sweatier, and his smile curve upward just a little more. Maybe it was due to his do-over in life? Maybe the air of Outer Grove had a flair of je-ne-sais-quoi in it? Maybe Sunstone couldn’t love, but Gray Calx could? Whatever the reason was, something was genuinely cooking inside of him. In the same second it took him to build up the dream and immediately tear it down, a great realization culminated:

He had been lovestruck.

And it was such a good feeling.

WHAM – CRRRASSSHHH!!

Distracted, what had to occur, occurred.

Calx didn’t even realize he had been instinctively moving forward the whole time he was eying her. He was too busy being head over heels, lost in a touchy-feely world full of smooches and snuggles. Consequently, without paying attention to where he was going, the collision with the tall sunglasses display was unavoidable. It tilted, falling onto a shelf of pots and pans. Like a Rube Goldberg machine gone wrong, the large stock pot at the end got catapulted in the air, ending its parabolic course on a crate of oranges, which split open and let hundreds of fruits enjoy their newfound freedom by rolling everywhere.

It was loud. It was cacophonous.

It was embarrassing.

When the dust settled, Calx could be seen hiding behind a hoof, his upper set of teeth digging into his lips. He did a few timid coughs, his ears receding onto his neck.

“Uuuuuhhh,” he droned, “so, do I get a mulligan here, or is this going to stick as far as first impressions go?”

The mare behind the counter was completely mute, stunned by the Kafkaesque series of events that took place in her store. All she could do is blink her stupor away.

That was, until she exploded in a fit of laughs. It wasn’t a laugh of mockery though: She was genuinely amused by Calx’s antics. Buuut, that didn’t make the poor stallion feel any less flustered. It took him a lot of effort to not just book away, change town, and never think of Outer Grove again. He became completely red, his front legs almost buckling under the weight of his shame.

“Heh, you’re kind of a goofball, aren’t you?” said the one who witnessed his shameful display.

“I’m surprised that didn’t turn out to be my special talent,” he improvised, humor being his best and last line of defense.

She silently chuckled a bit more. “My name is Skybrush. And who might this goofball be?”

“Name’s, uh... I’m Gray Calx, ma’am. I’m 28 years-old, I know a thing or two about rocks, and bumping into displays is my favourite pastime.”

“Oh yeah? What a coincidence! Mine is observing clumsy clients pick up their mess.”

Both of them shared a good, honest laugh. All in all, this mishap was resolved in good spirits, and Calx began atoning for his accident by putting the knocked over display back in place.

As he foraged for a few stray oranges in front of the register, his ears lifted up to the sound of a door being brashly pushed open. Even Skybrush jumped a little. The source of the nuisance came from behind the counter, exactly where she had made her entrance. Except this time, it wasn’t a mare who came from the back store: It was a pale red stallion who barged his way in. He sported a beige buzzcut mane supplemented by two cyan irises. Just like Skybrush, he too had neither horn nor wings.

If there was one thing to get from this new guy, it definitely was his patience – or rather, his lack thereof. He looked absolutely fed up, his baggy eyes telling all about the sleep he seriously lacked.

Both Calx and Skybrush turned to look at him. The lad’s barrel was inflating and deflating with intensity, and his frustrated breath could be heard from blocks away. His anger was so palpable, Calx figured he was one step away from bursting a blood vessel.

“Alright!” shouted the irate stallion. “I give up! I’m done!”

“W-what?” timidly spluttered Skybrush, her ears falling flat on her head. “W-w-what’s happening, sweetheart?”

Sweetheart? Calx repeated in his head. Hol’ up- Isn’t that a term usually reserved for couples? As in, ponies united under the bells of love and what not?

“I tried to make the baby sleep, but she just keeps crying, whaaa, whaaa! I’ve had enough!” informed grumpy reddie with the same aggressive tone.

Oh, a baby, eh? Probably what caused all those distant wailing noises. Calx could definitely hear them now that the back door had been left ajar. Seems like her cries came from somewhere upstairs, and by the sound of it, she was pretty dang upset, yikes!

All in all, the baby’s presence pretty much settled the score: Grouchy Mc. Grouch Face was indubitably Skybrush’s hubby. These two were a duo, life partners, a match made in heaven, etc... So much so that mommy and daddy got busy under the blankets, pooled their respective DNA together, and created life. There were no stronger indicators to prove that Skybrush wasn’t single and looking.

Calx chuckled to himself. His love at first sight sure came a few years too late. How naive it was of him to think he stood a chance to begin with.

Welp, that crush was pretty short lived, he silently conceded, graceful in his defeat. Ah well, what can you do. Plenty of fish in the sea, so they say.

As he submitted to his ‘it is what it is’ ways, Skybrush, on the other hoof, was far from being all too chipper. In fact, she took a few steps back, putting a bit more distance between her and the one she apparently loved oh so much.

“W-well... D-did you- did you give Honey Dream her antibiotic for her otitis, l-like Dr. Stethorsecope prescribed ?”, she said with a shaky voice. “You know that, um, that her ears hurt a lot...”

“Yes, well, so do mine!” he retaliated. “I got her to drink her syrup alright, but that little monster is still crying her heart out! Do I have to write a symphony to keep her quiet? Ugh, I don’t know what else I can do to calm her down, so I’m tapping the heck out for the night, okay!?”

This whole time, Gray Calx had remained silent and kept to his orange picking task. For a moment, he almost considered taking Skybrush’s defense – not because he wanted to be her valiant knight in shining armor, but because nopony deserved to be talked to this way. Ultimately, he decided to keep his interjections to himself. A total stranger butting into a spicy argument was not only socially uncalled for, but it was also the most effective way of making their problems his. Not to mention, he had already argued with princess Celestia this morning; one conflict per day was more than enough.

The baby – or in the dad’s own words, ‘that little monster’ – went into another fit of screams, taking her volume to a whole new level.

“There she goes again! Yeah, I’m outta here,” said the husband, brusquely brushing past his wife.

“Where... Where are you going?” Skybrush wondered, not even daring to look at him.

“Whaddaya think? At the Two Arches! I need a freakin’ drink to reduce my headache. How about you try to give that cry-o-ton her nap for a change, see how you like-”

He stopped himself from berating his wife any further, and instead drew his attention to Gray Calx. Or more likely, to the isles behind him in complete disarray. He noticed the many kitchenware shelves off their brackets, the floor laden with oranges, and the overall state of disorganization this corner of the store had been left in. He took it all in, each misplaced item making him grit his teeth more than the last.

“Hey, you!” he shouted in Calx’s direction. “Did you make that awful mess!? What’s wrong with you! You better clean that up, or else!”

“I’m on it, I’m on it!” repeated Calx, rapidly sweeping a platoon of oranges with his foreleg into a paper bag. “I’ve got this!”

“Well, make it snappy then! We close in five minutes for crying out loud! Don’t you know that!?”

“I said I’ve got this.”

Calx had replied as sternly as he could without entering conflict territory – a defiant vibe that didn’t go over Mr. Killjoy’s head. He squinted at the pony on the floor; the pony squinted right back. They kept their antagonistic visual exchange for a few seconds, silent and motionless. In the end, the impatient store owner harrumphed. He resumed his walk to the front door, saying nothing else to his dearest Skybrush. He slammed the door behind him, nearly breaking the bell in the process. The last thing they heard before he left was a mumbled ‘didn’t sign up for this crap.’

...

“Little ray of sunshine, ain’t he?” Gray Calx quirked to break the awkward silence.

Skybrush was staring into pure nothingness. Calx could’ve sworn he saw her attempting to smile at his obvious ice breaker, but it waned away as rapidly as it came.

“H-he’s not... He’s usually not that bad,” Skybrush protested, unable to look at her client. “You’ve just, um, caught him on a bad day. You gotta understand, our two-year-old daughter has an ear infection, and it’s been a bit difficult to appease her lately. S-so, heh, i-it’s not my husband’s fault if he’s a little moody, really. He’s actually a very, um... a very nice guy.”

“Uh huh.”

Skybrush looked down, a wry expression on her face. “No, no, I’m serious. He’s not- He... It’s me. I’m... I’m the problem, heh. I could be doing more. A lot more.”

Calx wasn’t having any of that. No father worth his name would label his own flesh and blood with all those degrading nicknames. Heck, even his own father never went this far when he was instilling discipline in the family household. No, really, something just wasn’t right. It was sad to see Skybrush take this kind of abuse as if her spouse was infallible, as if being mistreated in public like this was the norm, as if getting a daily dose of verbal violence was fine and dandy. Indubitably, this relationship reeked of toxicity; a realization that left Gray Calx a bit more despondent than expected.

But what could he do about it, really. He was but a mere pony, after all. A pony who already endured enough familial havoc in one lifetime. Whatever was happening between the two shopkeepers was for them to sort out, without his unneeded input to turn the tide. It’s not like he held the solution to their problems anyway.

Gray Calx was broken out of his moment of reflection by the foal’s tantrum. Still upstairs, still parentless, she let the two ponies know of her displeasure by upping the ante with her many shrieks.

Skybrush nervously stared at the ceiling. “I, um... W-would you excuse me, Sir? I really- I need to go upstairs. My little Honey Dream needs me... I-is it okay if I leave you to it for a moment?”

“Oh, don’t worry about me,” he shrugged off. “I can always come back another day if it’s more conven-”

“NO!” she immediately protested. “I mean, no, it’s okay. It’s alright. It’s your first day here, and I don’t want you to think that... Well, just, uh, just put your items on the counter, and I’ll do the check out in... Um, give me 10-15 minutes, if it’s okay?”

He nodded. She bolted.

Now alone in an empty Clover Mart, Calx figured he could at least use this downtime to finish cleaning up. With idle thoughts running wild in his head, he couldn’t help but notice that, in waiting for Skybrush, his presence would spill after their closing hours. Well, if she was alright with this, then so was he.

But boy, it sure has been a long day. Waking up early, packing his stuff, changing his name, having a one-on-one with princess Celestia, spending over six hours of commuting, meeting an abrasive barmare, renting a hotel room, being enamored with a crush, giving up on said crush, witnessing a conjugal fight... It was a bit much. It felt like a lifetime ago since he rose out of bed. He had started his day being so angry, but now? He was more mellow than molasse.

As his reserves of energy grew weary, a sardonic Calx couldn’t help but wonder what else Outer Grove had in stock for him. Because, for a town where, allegedly, “nothing ever happens,” it sure was brimming with strange encounters. Maybe this was all part of his entry tax, with the peaceful lifestyle he was yearning for waiting just around the corner?

Here’s hoping.

I have to admit, it’s been... It’s been rough.

Sigh...

If you told me a few weeks ago that we would be exactly where we’re at today, I would’ve laughed in your face. N-not to be rude or anything, mind you! Just, um, I would’ve found those kinds of predictions utterly unbelievable. I don’t see any way I could’ve been convinced.

Being convinced of what, exactly? Well, of everything, really! I mean, look around: Can’t you see how much it all spiralled down out of control? It all came so fast, so unexpectedly. And through this period of extreme adversity, I’ve lost touch with my own reality, floundering to figure out who I was supposed to be anymore. Ever since those two gargantuan monsters invited themselves into our quiet little borough, it’s been nothing but hardships after hardships. Everything has changed. Everything has been turned in over its head. Everything has gone to Tartarus.

Yesterday was the worst of it all, somehow. I couldn’t help but feel partially responsible for that.

Okay, that’s not entirely honest. The truth is, last evening, I definitely dropped it. Because I... I did something awful. The way I acted has been so reprehensible, so scandalous, that it was nigh impossible to not look back at what I had done in pure disgust. At that crucial moment where I should’ve stopped and listened to that little voice in my head, I exploded in an unprecedented fashion. I had so much to deal with, and so much came at once, and... I lost it. I lost it big time.

It took me a night of tossing and turning to even comprehend what the hay had just happened. Waking up in cold sweat between two nightmares, that’s when I fully grasped the consequences of my actions. Almost as if I had an epiphany. It all came crashing down. Everything at once, realisations after realisations.

How I broke something wonderful I had going for myself. How I soiled a beautiful friendship. How I drove a wedge between my best friend and myself. How I lost one of the ponies I cared for the most.

How I sent Gray Calx away.

I sent my goofball packing, lost, broken, and wholly unprepared. He pleaded for my forgiveness, and at his lowest, when he needed me the most, I scoffed at him and told him to go at it alone. W-what kind of support is that? What kind of so-called friend acts as ungracefully as I did?

I mean... I know it’s no justification, but at the time, I wanted nothing to do with Calxie and, overwhelmed by motherly instincts of protection, strived to put as much distance between him and my daughter. Plus, I didn’t know how to handle years and years of lies from a friend whose real name, as it turns out, I didn’t even know!

A friend, yes, but a friend who came a hair’s breadth away from... f-from quitting on me forever. I think that’s what got to me the most. Reveals like these were too shocking for a pony with my background to properly absorb. Anything on the topic of abandonment, I just, I can’t. It’s too painful of a wound to reopen. It drains my composure and sends me completely berserk. It turns me into a whole different mare. It leaves me stranded in this very dark place, consumed by thoughts I dare not speak of...

But now, with a bit more time to think behind me, I realize how big of a mistake I’ve made! Calxie was in a pitiful state when I strongly suggested for him to skip town. If only I had remained poised, if only I had tabled this inappropriate nighttime discussion, if only I had invited him to crash for the night, then... then we could’ve talked like two adults the next morning! Things wouldn’t have escalated the way they did! I wouldn’t have wrapped things up by throwing that cruel ultimatum in his face!

Oh, my poor Calxie... What have I done to you...

Sigh... I-I have to confess. In less than a day, I immediately felt it.

The void.

I hadn’t felt that void in so long. I thought the void was well in the past, but it never really left, didn’t it? It was just biding its time, waiting to pounce back at me when I was fragile and helpless. When it resurged, I knew what it was. I recognized it on the dot. The void groped me, the void hog-tied me... the void became me.

That stupid void...

I had to fight back. I wanted to, I tried to, but I couldn’t. I never could.

In my pitiful mental state, I felt so alone, so afraid. I was powerless, miserable, spineless, and every other derogatory term to describe a pony who had lost their spark. The result? I caved in and filled up the void the only way I knew. I spent the whole day filling up the void. Patching up the damage with the most abhorrent gauze a mare of my size could find. Like a bottomless pit, never to be satiated.

It felt good. Then it felt not-so-good. Then it felt bad.

And now it felt downright terrible.

Two years. I had lasted two years. Two years without binging until I cried. A streak so easily broken. I thought of myself as a capable adult, one that could uphold resolutions with undying conviction. I thought I had turned the page on my self-destructive habits. But I guess I was just pretending to be something else this whole time, wasn’t I? Under that repulsive physical envelope of mine, under that thick layer of useless cellulite, was a sad, pathetic, gross pony who was only good at eating her problems away.

That was my true self. An inflated mockery of what a pony should even look like, one that turned her back on a friend in need. A failure who could only derive temporary happiness from sugary treats.

At the rate I was driving my entourage away, I was probably going to die alone as the unlovable fat cow that I was. And I will have only myself to blame for it.

This surge of anxiety at least proved itself useful by finally separating me from my living room couch, where I’ve been busy doing absolutely nothing. Indeed, today has been a total waste. All I’ve managed to accomplish was gorging, worrying, and procrastinating.

I kept the general store closed for the day. Knowing that The Clover Mart played an important role in the lives of Outer Grovians out there, disrespecting my traditional business hours has done nothing but triple my guilt. Plus, with the high demand in supplies caused by the repairs all across town, my spur-of-the-moment decision couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Despite everything pointing in the opposite direction, I couldn’t in good faith handle any of my shopkeeping duties. Not to mention, today was a Thursday, and Thursdays had no part-timers scheduled to give me a hoof. I would’ve had to take care of everything on my own, something that I just could not realistically do at the moment. Therefore, the Clover Mart remained inoperative for the day. I, uh... S-sorry for the inconvenience, I guess. I really hope I haven’t disappointed anypony any further than I already have...

I took a disinterested glance at the wall-mounted clock in the kitchen. The hour hand had just passed 10. I put Honey Dream to bed sometime around eight, then tried to catch some sleep myself. Unfortunately, plagued with insomnia, my attempt at catching some Z’s proved unsuccessful. Plus, reminiscing about the badness of yesterday, it made me want to... double check. Just to make sure that, um...

... I silently trotted through the bedroom hallway, pried open the white door at the end of it, and peeped an eye inside. With the ambient moonlight, I could see my little angel snuggled under her blanket, a rabbit plushie clutched between her hooves. She was fast asleep and, judging by her smile, dreaming of wonderful things.

This was the third time I’ve checked on her since I sang that favorite lullaby of hers. I don’t know why I felt the need to make sure she was still where I left her. It’s like, if I stopped periodically keeping an eye on Honey Dream, she too would disappear on me forever. I knew this was a preposterous idea, but after she found herself way too close to bear and fire, I wasn’t sure of anything anymore. It never hurts to be a little excessive, right?

I mean, I don’t know. I really don’t know. Maybe I needed to talk to somepony... Maybe I needed a bit of company to vent some of my torments away. But ooooh, I so didn’t want to leave my lil’ Honey bee all alone! Call me overprotective, but what if something else happened to her, and for the third time, I wasn’t present to keep her safe? I couldn’t count on my goofball forever to keep the danger at bay, especially after the falling out we’ve had between the two of us. How could I leave my only child unattended after everything she’s been through? How irresponsible would that be? First, a bad friend, and now, a bad mother? This wasn’t a new low I could sink to!

...

I couldn’t leave things as they were. This wasn’t healthy. I couldn’t see myself relying on more junk food to keep my depressive thoughts in check. I had been there before, and at my current age and weight, I don’t think I could afford another journey into destroying my health any further. I already had a hoof in the coffin: I simply had to snap out of it and pull myself up. This was the only way forward.

Now I understood why Calx said he couldn’t tackle the crux of his problems without the helping hoof of a friend. It really takes being in his horseshoes to fully soak in what trying to climb out of the pit of despair entails. I guess on top of everything, that also made me a hypocrite.

... Well, there’s no time like tomorrow, I suppose. What needed to be done, needed to be done.

I’m sorry, my sweet little baby. Mommy will be back real soon, I promise.

It took me a lot of self-persuasion to leave the vicinity of the Clover Mart. I weighed the pros and cons for another good thirty minutes before I gave up and ran outside. “Honey Dream will be ok” is what I kept looping in my brain to censor all of those improbable what-ifs from clouding my better judgement. In fact, going uptown through the quiet streets, I hadn’t stopped repeating that phrase in my head. Now, it may sound like my sanity was hanging by a thread, but I simply had to keep my mantra going. It was the only thing that prevented me from turning around!

Oh, what a relief when the Two Arches finally greeted me with its presence after I scaled the last flight of stairs! A beacon of hope in the darkness, with its burnt orange-lit windows promising warmth and coziness. With my objective in plain view, it became obvious that it was too late to fold my cards. I had made it this far, right?

I breathed in, gathered my confidence, kept the air in my lungs like a brave mare... and then looked down, exhaling with the sorriest whimper known to ponydom.

C-come on Skybrush! Don’t be a coward! You were just there to talk, remember? You needed this! It was either that, or going back to your stupid eating disorder. Seeking help, or heart diseases? ... Well? What’s it going to be? Seemed simple enough of a choice. So take your pick already, you undeceive oaf!!

“O-okay!” I said, trying to motivate myself. “You can do this!”

Going all in, determined, I pushed the door open and went inside the tavern.

First thing I noticed was how busy it was. Only a few seats had been left unclaimed. And the noise! The many voices of the townsfolk merged into a loud, nondescript soundscape. Through the deafening background noise, mugs clanked, stools rattled on the floor, orders were barked in the back by... by Sweet Pint! Aaah, there she was, exchanging bits for filled-up tankards behind the bar counter! Calxie notwithstanding, she was one of my most trusted allies, and the one I really needed tonight.

But, um, she looked incredibly busy. Ooh, this was a bit unfortunate. Maybe I oughtn’t bother her? Y-yeah, that’d be rude. I should p-probably just try my luck another day. So, um, I guess, time to turn around and-

“Oh! Sky! Come over here!” said a brash voice above all the noise.

Recognizing the timbre, I tilted my neck back and saw Sweet Pint waving at me, inviting me to take the empty spot in front of her.

W-well, I guess that settles it. N-no way out, now!

I pulled back the vacant stool and politely sat between two male patrons I couldn’t be bothered to recognize. The majority of the drinkers here wore construction uniforms, which was more or less what I had expected. Admittedly, it was a bit hard not to feel out of place. Good thing Sweet Pint was there to make me feel like I wasn’t a complete outlier. She even offered me a friendly look, extinguishing a good chunk of my social anxiety.

“Quite a surprise to see you here, beautiful!” she welcomed me with glee. “Thought those fancy schmancy nostrils o’ yours couldn’t stand the smell o’ booze or something like that?”

I looked left and right, making sure my neighbors didn’t catch that. “Oh. Well, you’re not wrong. I still kinda do.”

“Ouch, you hurt me so,” she feigned offense. “Can’t say I blame ya, to be fair. What with that sleazebag ex o’ yours, heh.”

... Um. Yeah, I, um... I-I’d rather not get too much into the details of-

“Still though,” thankfully moved on the barmare, “what brings ya to the Two Arches all on your lonesome? S’rare to catch a glimpse of my favorite painter around these parts. Y’know, outside of special occasions like parties and such.”

I bit the inside of my cheek. “To tell the truth, I’m ah... I’m not too sure myself? I guess I was down to see other ponies for a change, b-because I had trouble sleeping, you see. So I figured, might as well go out, take a walk, refresh my mind a bit, uh...”

“Sky, you doin’ okay there?” she said, immediately discerning my poorly hidden sour mood.

The suddenness of my friend’s question made me look up from the counter. She was staring at me, a skeptical eyebrow raised. Under her investigative gaze, my ears drooped.

Yeah, I was in it now. I just thought I had more time to... Well, what was I expecting, really? Now or thirty minutes down the line, what difference did it make? It was going to sting either way. So, may as well rip off the band-aid and lay it all out. She asked, after all. Making an overworked barmare waste her valuable time by weaseling away from the truth like an inconsiderate fool? Thanks, but no thanks.

“Am I doing okay? ... No. No, I don’t think I’m doing all too good at the moment,” I eventually admitted.

I felt so ashamed at having answered an innocent ‘how do you do’ with honesty. Usually, social norms dictate that you’re not supposed to dwell too much on such banal questions. Going against the grain was just asking for trouble.

Naturally, Sweet Pint didn’t expect a negative response. Told you so! If she was bubbly mere seconds ago, now, her jovial expression had turned into a stone-cold poker face. Almost as if she swallowed the next joke she had on the tip of her tongue. Not because I killed her vibe, but because she didn’t particularly enjoy seeing me feel crestfallen.

“What’s eating you, bud?” she asked, discernibly concerned.

Oh wow. ‘Eating.’ Too fitting. I didn’t know why that specific word made me cringe, but it sure left a non-negligible impact. Or maybe it was the prospect of having to explain myself that made me somewhat hesitant? Either way, I swallowed dryly, for a reply was inbound.

More nervous than before, I looked away, and said, “It’s about... It’s about Gray Calx.”

Sweet Pint brought a hoof between her closed eyes. “Wait- Hang on. Hold the quill. Gray dude’s the one who dropped an anvil on your noggin?”

I nodded.

...

“That schmuck!” she suddenly shouted. She even slammed her hooves on the counter, which made me jump a little. “Nopony has seen that light headed buffoon in days, literal days!! Last time I was with the boy was when he ran away from us during the Ursa attack. I mean, what’s up with that, right!? Why, I oughta make him eat dirt for bailing on us and then going radio silent!”

She was riling herself up, her face becoming redder by the second. She even went as far as showing her clenched-up teeth! Even though she was smaller than your typical earth pony, she could be... a bit much when she was in the middle of a passionate rant. Feeling like she was going a bit too far, I wanted to find a way to keep her temper down. However...

“Like, am I the crazy one, here!?” she raised her tone even more. “Even Mr. G – you know, his very own boss – even him, he came here a few times to ask me where in Tartarus his best employee disappeared to. Told me he knocked on his door a few times, but was never answered. How rude is that? And who skips work without advising anypony anyway? I’ll tell you who: Gray dude! Ooh, next time he rocks up for a bev, I’ll SO knock some sense into that stupid, moronic, brainless-”

“His house burned down.”

... Well that sure made her stop talking. The redness left her face in an instant, leaving room for two appalled eyeballs. She tried to dissimulate her surprise the best she could, but I could see that this new piece of information had pierced her thick skin. Totally blindsided by a not-so-insignificant detail she most certainly did not expect.

“T-that was him?” she said, quiet, cautious, and careful. “Calx was the one who...?”

“Huh? What do you mean, Sweet Pint?”

“Sweet Celestia, I thought these were just silly rumors, but...” she trailed off a bit, then shook her head to regain her composure. “I caught some small talk today about a residential dwelling that went out in flames, but figured it was nothin’ but gossipers trying to capitalize on the fearmongering the bears brought to Outer Grove. I had no idea that... I mean... Damn. I-is that why Calx’s been absent lately? ... Is... Is he, um...”

At first, I didn’t really understand where she was getting at, but then, it hit me. It shouldn’t have taken me this long to figure it out.

“Oh!” I jolted. “No, he’s not... He’s ok! He’s alright! Well, relatively speaking.”

She exhaled cathartically. “Ah. Cough... Well alright then. That’s good. That’s really good!”

I could see a literal weight lifted off her shoulders. Rare were the times where you could catch her untensing. When she noticed that I noticed, she swiftly returned to her sassy persona, her traditional bothered expression reigning supreme once more.

“N-not that I cared, hrmmph!” she groaned. “Doesn’t cost anythin’ to make sure though, right?”

Since she wasn’t giving me any wiggle room to argue, I found myself agreeing. Trust me, it was simpler that way.

“So,” she resumed with an awkward cough, “where’s our survivor knockin’ about then? I assume he must be feeling a bit adrift, what with having lost his roof and everything. Again, not asking cuz I care. Just, y’know... How’s your goofball holdin’ up? You givin’ him a hoof, I would imagine?”

Yes Skybrush, why don’t you amuse her? Where WAS your goofball indeed? And what about his mood? Think maybe your bestie was currently feeling like prancing in a field full of daisies?

Away and surly. Sent packing and embittered by a sorry excuse of a friend.

There was your ‘where’ and ‘how.’ This is precisely what I had to tell Sweet Pint, which I would’ve done if it weren’t for that annoying roadblock in my throat. It’s not like I haven’t managed to stay honest thus far anyway, so what was the holdup now? All I needed was to expose how bad of a pony I’ve been. Piece of cake, right?

... If only things were so simple.

In reality though, instead of articulating anything remotely close to a sentence, my eyes decided to become moist with water. Yup, I was breaking down alright. I had kept my deterministic charade for far too long already, and my artificially induced courage was on its last leg. It was rather sad to see how little I’ve lasted before I couldn’t find my voice anymore...

A tear rolled down my right cheek, followed by an undignified sniffle. It was so embarrassing to be all emotive in the middle of a crowded area like this. I already had so much to cope with; being humiliated by acting like a big crybaby in front of all those macho alcohol enjoyers wasn’t the cherry I wanted on my sundae.

Not willing to expose this moment of weakness, I hid my wet visage behind my front hooves, silently hiccupping.

I felt Sweet Pint edging closer. “Sky...? Are you-”

“Oooh, Sweet Pint, I’ve been awful to him!” I bawled outwardly. “Calxie came to me, seeking my trust, but I turned my back on him! And then... A-and then it happened again! I had a terrible relapse! I fell back into another disgusting binge to feel better, but now, but now I feel so grossed out at myself, and... and I’m so nervous, I’m so lost, and I don’t know what to do anymooore!!”

Gah, oh my gosh! I can’t believe I pitched a tantrum like thiiiis!! Me! A grownup who had a foal under her care! I was supposed to be way past this kind of childish behavior!

The last thing I wanted tonight was to turn into an incoherent sobbing mess, but here we are, I guess. I knew it was no excuse, but keeping my cool has been extremely challenging. I tried, I really did! But in the end, my efforts were in vain, for the dam had burst open and all I could do was to let the tidal wave of strong emotions sweep me until there was nothing left to cry about.

When I looked up to see how Sweet Pint would respond to my blatant lack of maturity, I realized that she had moved away, her head now poking halfway through the backdoor to the kitchen.

“Oi!” she shouted. “I need one of you slackers to handle the front for a while! Something came up and I’ll be indisposed for a good chunk of the night, m’kay?”

“B-b-but Pinty,” an unseen scaredy pony protested, “t-t-the kitchen is about to close, a-and we need to-”

“Whatever it is you’re about to say, zip it, cuz I don’t care! I have an emergency to deal with! Y’all can flip hayburgers on your next shift, but ‘til then, I want somepony behind the counter, NOW. Do I make myself clear, or do I need to crack a few skulls to get my point across!?”

I heard a gulp. “O-Okay Pinty. W-we’ll take care of it.”

“S’what I thought!”

As soon as she was done, um... strongly “encouraging” her team, she trotted through the swinging service entrance of the counter and went to my right. With a head nudge, she invited me to get up.

“C’mon girl, let’s go upstairs and talk in private. This dining room is too dang noisy.”

“Okay...” I whispered, lethargic and resigned.

At this point, I couldn’t care less about how unpresentable I looked, let alone where I was being taken to. Just like an innate puppet, I allowed Sweet Pint to guide me towards the staircase. No longer was my brain in control of my actions. No longer was my consciousness aware of my surroundings. The world around me straight up became a different reality, and the only thing I could focus on was trying to jury-rig my state of depersonalization back to normal. I was stuck in a catatonic rut, with my soulless shell of a body following my friend’s instructions on pure instincts alone.

The only thing that kept me somewhat grounded was reminding myself that tomorrow would make today yesterday. Ugh, why did now have to be now? I was so envious of future me, because that Skybrush already had all of this behind her. If I could leap forward to any point ahead of the present, I’d do it in a heartbeat.

Alas, I was well aware that this wasn’t how real life worked. No, rather, powering through whatever was in the pipeline for me was the only way I’d get a sense of closure. After all, I was about to receive free advice from a loyal friend who’s always had my back. I just hoped I was sufficiently receptive to listen to any of it.

I was invited to sit on the bed of an unoccupied bedroom. With no desire to protest, I followed through and sat on my haunches onto the wool blanket. Meanwhile, Sweet Pint had gone to the small adjacent bathroom to tidy herself up a bit. It was understandable: The intensity of tonight’s shift had done a number on her mane, and left her coat pretty scrappy as well. Being at her best was the only way she could handle a heavy mare with heavy problems.

I politely waited for her to be done, tossing occasional glances toward the nearby window. I couldn’t help but look in the direction of the Clover Mart, as if I even had a chance to see it from this distance. I hadn’t stopped thinking about my daughter for one second, and my futile visual scouting did nothing but elevate my lingering discomfort.

... Honey Dream will be ok.

At some point, I heard the sink tap being turned off, and into the room re-emerged the spruced up barmare. She gently embarked on the bed as well, sitting to my right. She stayed quiet for a bit, probably testing the waters with me. All that was audible were the muffled voices of the happy-go-round ponies a floor below.

“Tell me everything,” she sternly broke the silence.

Straight into it, I see. Um… Well, she was never one to dance around the subject.

“It’s… It’s kind of a long story,” I admitted.

“Ain’t a problem. I’ve got the time.”

I heaved a helpless sigh, as if preparing to do something physically taxing, which, I don’t know, maybe it was going to be? Opening Ponydora’s box certainly was no walk in the park.

I suppose there was no reason to not spit it out anymore. So, uh, here goes nothing.

“Okay so... Earlier before, I um, mentioned that Calxie came to seek my guidance. Well, that sort of happened yesterday, right in the middle of the night. After I was awakened by my doorbell, I was greeted by a pony in pretty bad shape. I’ll spare you the details, but basically, after chatting for a bit, he started talking about... a lot of stuff. And I mean, a lot of stuff. Far too much for me to retell without omitting important details. I will say, though, that there is one thing – one specific thing – that became increasingly obvious as he went on and on with everything he had to unpack.”

I took a short pause here, not for dramatic effects, but because I was unsure if sharing secrets without asking for permission first counted as a form of betrayal toward Gray Calx. Probably a moot point, however, since the barmare had no intention of letting me back down.

“He... he has skeletons in his closet, Sweet Pint. And I’m afraid there’s a lot we don’t know about him.”

“Sh’yeah, I getcha,” she rolled her eyes. “You tried to get him to talk about his ma and pa, for instance? Or ask him what he was doin’ before ploppin’ down in the middle of nowhere? The boy always deflects with random subjects anytime he’s put on the spot. He thinks we don’t notice, but we do!”

“No but it’s- It’s even worse than that! We don’t even know half of it! Like uuuuhh- Oh! For instance, did you know that he changed his name before coming here? On the very day he moved out? He used to be known as Sunstone.”

Sweet Pint tilted her head. “Sunstone, you say? ... Hrmmm. Odd.” She scratched her chin. “Feels like I’ve heard that name before, though I can’t quite put my hoof on where and when.”

“And how about this! You remember how princess Twilight Sparkle came to visit a few days ago? Well, as it turns out, she’s Gray Calx’s sister!”

“You’re... You’re kidding, right? A unicorn, formerly, and an earth pony sharin’ the same parents. Huh. Go figure.”

“I swear I’m not making that up! And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! He’s a whole different pony than the rock miner we got to know and love! And... A-and I can’t help but wonder if this was all just a pretence, if he’s been concealing his true nature this whole time. What if this ‘Gray Calx’ alias was just a ruse to avoid attracting suspicion from something he wasn’t ready to face? What if he’s been playing the role of somepony else – somepony he’s never been? What if... W-what if my goofball only befriended me because... because he used me as an asset to make his disguise more believable?”

Sweet Pint gave me an intimidating scowl. “Whoa hey now, slow your roll! That’s poppycock and you know it! Okay, sure, our local troublemaker might’ve kept a secret life under the drapes, but I’m sure he was genuinely happy to hang around his pals.”

“Was he? Was he really?”

I have no idea how it managed to find its way there, but one of the two large pillows was now squeezed on my tummy, with my front hooves firmly wrapped around it. Almost as if I desperately needed something to hug. That, or maybe what I really wanted was a bit of padding to cushion me from an eventual crash. Either way, I was holding onto that pillow like my life depended on it.

“We’ve taken his presence for granted ever since he first showed up, and we were all collectively happy to give him the benefit of the doubt, but how much do we really know about him, deep down? I mean... You know how I’ve told you that his house has been the prey of flames? W-well... It was him! He’s the arsonist! The princess following him here drove him completely bonkers and he... He burned it all down! He burned it all down, with the full intent of disappearing forever! Pinty, he wanted to leave everything Outer Grove related behind! Without telling anypony! Without telling us!! You of all ponies should know how much of a sensitive chord it struck for me!”

“Oh.”

Yes, Sweet Pint, ‘oh!’ ‘Oh’ a thousand times over!

...

I err, became a tad too excited throughout my speech there. I even scooted closer to Sweet Pint without realizing it. What for, I didn’t know. Maybe so she could fully grasp the gravity of the situation? And if that wasn’t bad enough, looking down, what started as a modest hug was now a vile vise-grip. Seriously: I was practically strangling the pillow. Fearing that I would be overtaken by misplaced anger just the way I had the previous day, I took it upon myself to become calmer on the spot. I returned the pillow next to his fluffy brethren and breathed out gently.

“At the last possible moment,” I resumed, “before he went through with his scheme, he started expressing regrets on what he had done. That’s the reason why he came to me: To tell me everything I’m telling you in the span of what, 10 minutes? He wanted to repent, to become more honest with himself. But not without my help. He couldn’t have made it clearer how much he needed my assistance to turn his life for the better.”

“So then, what did you do?”

There it was. The big stinger. I buried my head in my hooves, eternally remorseful for the way I had treated Gray Calx.

“I told him to leave, Sweet Pint! Straight to his face! I used our friendship as a bargaining chip! I blackmailed him into rekindling his relationships with those he left behind and threatened to never speak to him again if he didn’t! And now he’s gone! He’s gone!! I totally overreacted, and I don’t even know if he’ll ever want to come back... A-and I wouldn’t blame him if he didn’t...”

Pow! Cat was out of the bag, meaning, Sweet Pint now knew how low I could really sink. If I was seen as a humble and caring pony before, now, for sure she was going to start questioning the integrity of my personality. Treacherous? Self-serving? Egocentric? You name it!

Sigh... I tried not to cry here. I already turned on the waterworks earlier; how much crying in a day is enough crying? Did I not have an ounce of adulthood left in me? C’mon Skybrush! Show a bit of resolve in front of your friend for a change! It’s alright to tank your reputation a little, but try to not outright destroy it!

A good five minutes passed with me trying to keep my sentimental temper on the inside. With those minutes came another wave of silence, everything accompanied by more deafened chants from the partygoers on the main floor.

My period of wallowing more or less done, I tried a discreet look toward Sweet Pint. She was looking ajar, a blank expression on her face. What she said next, though, was as anticlimactic as it could get. Know what it was?

“Ouch.”

“Ouch? That’s all you have to say about it?”

“I mean- Sorry. I’d be a liar if I said I was expecting any o’ this. S’a bit tough to process, know what I’m sayin’?”

I knew exactly what she was sayin’. After all, it’s through my own ineptitude to cope with Calx’s new reality that I’ve been railroaded all the way to where I was today, here in this bar, here in this bedroom, here on this bed.

“Look,” she said, semi serious again, “way I see it, there’s a coupla things we need to clear up ASAP. So before we go any further, can I ask you something rather indiscreet? Something you probably won’t like to hear?”

“Y-yeah?”

She bent forward a little. The springs of the mattress creaked.

“Do you love him?”

“What!?”

“Be real with me, gal. Gray dude. You love him, don’tcha?”

I...

Well this definitely wasn’t how I figured tonight would unfold. Here I was, sharing something super delicate I had on my consciousness, and her best response was to bring up the topic of love? How were these two subjects even remotely related? And w-what kind of question was that anyway? That was such a... such an in-your-face intrusion of something only I should have access to! What, was she actually expecting me to answer something as silly as this? ... I guess she was, wasn’t she? But I mean... eep!

Did I love my goofball?

There was a time where I thought I knew the answer to this. I was super confident about it, too. But now? Five years after neither of us had made a single attempt to take things a little further? I think it became pretty obvious where we stood.

That’s not all.

I looked over between the chifforobe and the coat hanger near the entry door. Over there was a tall standing mirror. In it, I could see my reflection. The neat part about reflections is that, well, they make you reflect. Reflecting at your reflection: Quite the efficient tool to make you reevaluate your current reality.

Well, my current reality looked rather grim. And pudgy. Yeah, what I was seeing in the looking glass was far from being pretty. Next to Sweet Pint, it looked like I got stung by a swarm of bees. I had gained so much weight over the years, I could barely recall how I used to look. Undoubtedly, that extra hundred pounds did not do my figure any favors. I mean, look at those cheeks... those legs... and good heavens, let’s not talk about those hips! Everything had ballooned to proportions rivaled only by those of the foulest of caricatures.

Whether I had romantic feelings toward Gray Calx was absolutely irrelevant. The real question Sweet Pint should’ve asked was: How could anypony in their right mind love this? And more to the point, how could I impose this awful body on somepony else? What right did I have to coerce a poor soul into settling down with the mare in the mirror when there was an ocean of thinner, and consequently, more attractive candidates out there?

Now there was an answer I could give.

“Helloo-oo~? Equus to Sky? It’s a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, lassie.”

“Then I choose... I choose ‘no.’ I am not in love with him.”

“You what-!?” she recoiled, as if she didn’t anticipate this kind of response. “Uuuugh, I told you to be real with me, Sky. How ‘bout ya take a couple more minutes to reconsider and pick a different option? Y’know, a more honest one?”

“T-that won’t be necessary. I meant what I said! About not being attracted to him, I mean. B-because I’m not! In love, that is...!”

She did three things there: A slight head shake, a disappointed sigh, and a condescending eye roll. A combination that clearly demonstrated how little she believed what I just said.

“Okay, so you don’t love him. Sure. Fine. Whatever you say, Skybrush,” she emphasized with a distrustful squint. “But you DO care for him, right?”

This one was a no-brainer.

“Absolutely.”

“And do you know where he went?”

“Uuuh, more or less,” I pondered, a bit uncertain. “He said he was going to take the first train available, though where, I’m not totally sure. I thiiink he went to Ponyville? Logically, that’s where I’d go if I were him, given his uh, recent quibble with his sister.”

She breathed in, joined the tip of her front hooves together, and crossed hind legs. Sitting this way, she kind of had a flair of Dr. Stethorsecope, especially before delivering bad news to a patient with worsening symptoms. S-surely this couldn’t bode well...

“So let me get this straight then,” so went her prognosis, “you care about Gray dude, and you have a solid guess as to where he nicked off to. If your goal is to make up with him, then sorry to be so blunt, but what the hay are you still doing here!? If ya wanna salvage that beautiful friendship, then you’ll go after him and fight for it!”

I jolted. “A-are you suggesting that I too should leave Outer Grove!? Sweet Pint I can’t... I can’t just do that, that’s nuts!”

“Psssh,” she waved a hoof, “sure you can! Didn’t ya hear? The sentinels’ report finally reached Canterlot, and since then, there’s been a steady flow of supplies pouring into the Grove like we’re on the brink of a famine! I ain’t yankin’ your tail: The Two Arches’ storage room has never been so jam-packed with goodies!

“Look, point is, there are enough trains for you to find one that’ll take ya straight to Ponyville. Probably how your ‘totally-not-love-interest’ found one, by the by.”

“I-it’s not commuting I’m worried about, it’s just... I have a business to run! I can’t just bail on my store and keep it closed two days in a row! A-a-and what about Honey Dream, huh? She has school to attend! I-I’m not going to leave her here without a legal guardian, and, and-”

“You’re panicking again, Sky. Ya oughta calm down and think things through. Right now, you’re just making up a bunch of excuses.”

“Excuses!? That’s not- I d-don’t have the time to go on a wild goose chase! I have chores and responsibilities to take care of!”

“Oh, I’m sorry, you have stuff to do. Like pigging your heart out, am I right? Think you ain’t busy enough for that!?”

I gasped, mouth hidden behind my hooves.

D-did she just...?

...

Her personal attack had felt exactly like someone poured a bucket of ice-cold water on my head. I was not... I was not prepared for her to go this far, and given her sudden surprised expression, neither was she. We both backed away from each other slightly, ashamed to have raised our tones. There was nothing that could’ve justified our petty escalation.

Sweet Pint fiddled with one of her braids, her head hanging a bit lower. “I-I’m sorry, Sky. Insulting a pal in distress, that ain’t me. I didn’t mean to say... um. You know what I mean. S-sorry.”

“No... No you’re right. I was panicking pretty hard, yet again. I need a good wake-up call every now and then, h-heh.”

She gave me an apologetic smile. “I’ve ah, I’ve seen what your lil’ ankle-biter’s father has done to you. I’ve seen how difficult it’s been for you to move on from that good-for-nothing sack of dunce. And I just, I didn’t wanna see history repeat itself. You don’t deserve to go through this kind of bullcrap again, Sky. Nopony does. I guess what I’m tryin’ to say is that I, um... care about you and stuff. So if I can help ya keep the sweets at bay, then I should probably do just that, right? This is how I can help. By nudging you toward doing the right thing.”

Huh. It just dawned on me that she was encouraging me to pursue something I had broken the same way I did with Gray Calx yesterday. What a strange world we lived in.

Perhaps... Perhaps Sweet Pint was onto something.

Perhaps the correct course of action here was to follow through with the plan and ride out of Outer Grove for the first time in... Celestia knows how long. I could hardly remember what Equestria looked like outside of the Undiscovered West. Still, this was no detriment to stop me from carrying on. I had pushed my Calxie out of here, so it only made sense if I made it even. If I could dish it, then by Faust, I should be able to take it too.

If only I had left with him when he gave me the chance.

“There are solutions for every problem,” Sweet Pint continued with a reassuring hoof on my shoulder. “Your store, for instance. Tomorrow’s a Friday, right? Don’tcha usually have one of them snotty teenagers punching in on Fridays? You could always leave them a note or somethin’, tellin’ them all about your absence. Heck, if you need more hooves in the Mart, I’ll happily enroll one of the young cooks we’ve got here to cover for you while you’re away. S’not like they’re busy busting their flanks or anything anyway.”

“W-wow... You’d do that for me?”

She flicked her free hoof. “Pbbbt, sure I would! What are friends for, right? And, oh! As for your girl: Take that lil’ tornado with you! I can go talk to her principal and sort it all out. Ain’t no thing!”

I... guess it could work? But that implied putting a lot of strain on her shoulders, and I wasn’t all too sure if I was comfortable with that. She was already doing so much for me, taking time off work just to hear me whine and whine... She was a real trooper, this pony. The amount of fidelity she had toward her friends was off the charts. First giving refuge to the families of Outer Grove during the Ursa incident, then acting as the princess’ personal hostess, and now setting work aside to help me feel better? I definitely didn’t deserve her.

“Thank you...” I whispered, for lack of better words.

“Bah,” she dismissed, “you would have done the same for me. Last I’ve heard, we’re a tightly knit community here, yes? We oughta stick together to survive. So you focus on finding that runaway o’ yours, and you let this barmare take care of the rest.”

I sheepishly moved a lock of hair out of my face. “I know you’re usually not too hot on compliments, but I do mean it, Pinty. You’re a wonderful friend for helping me through this. I just want you to know I greatly appreciate it. In fact...”

I approached her...

“What are ya-”

... and give her a nice peck on her rosy cheek.

What? She deserved it! This was a simple token of my appreciation. I’ve been miserable all day, but now, now I was a bit more optimistic, thanks to her. The least I could do was to show her how meaningful her input has been. A platonic kiss was all the rage when it came to show how grateful a pony was to another.

And Sweet Pint, she... um...

Well, I certainly didn’t expect a quick innocent smooch to make her that flustered, yikes. She hadn’t moved at all, but she sure was breathing heavily. She turned crimson on the spot and was practically melting through the blankets. She was even staring at me like she was afraid. Or maybe she was apprehensive? Regardless, for once in her life, she was completely speechless. No witty comments, no sarcastic remarks, no nothing. Only a forehead covered in beads of sweat, a fur coat erected as if she’s been struck by lightning, and a thundering heartbeat even I could hear.

I think I broke her.

“You’re ah...” she slowly swallowed, “you’re one cruel son of a bitch, Sky. Teasin’ me like this? Totally uncool!”

For the first time today, I allowed myself to giggle. I couldn’t help it! She looked like an absolute mess. It was probably the one and only time I was going to catch her in this state, so I made sure to keep a good mental image of what I was seeing.

“Maybe you should take another shower?” I quipped.

“Hardy har har, Sky,” she deadpanned whilst fanning her face with a hoof. “S’good to have you back, ya sly devil.”

Seeing as I was finally brightening up a little, we decided to keep chatting for a good portion of the night. Sweet Pint eventually promised she’d give an update about Calxie’s whereabouts to Mr. Gold and the rest of his acquaintances, just to keep their worries on the low end of things. She even assured me that she’d seek the mayor to explain what happened to Calx’s house before “those two idiot Blueberries continued spreading more dumb rumors” (her words; not mine). She even added, and I quote: “The old geezer and I are getting pretty chummy lately, so he’ll understand.” Apparently, princess Twilight Sparkle entrusted her to tell Mayor De La Tour about her departure, or something? Poor Sweet Pint sure was running a lot of errands lately.

When the clock struck one in the morning, I let out a big yawn. Seems like my need to sleep was finally making itself known. I wasn’t unhappy about that. Besides, I had been away from my lil’ bee for long enough. Likewise, Pinty had some tasks to go back to; she wasn’t exactly confident that her crew was going to complete their end-of-day upkeep the right way.

As we wished each other good night, I couldn’t help but think some more about an important point she made earlier.

We were a tightly knit community.

She hit the nail on the head with that one. Scratching each other’s backs essentially made Outer Grove the place of trust that it was today. That’s why we showed gratitude toward Gray Calx’s five years of services with his party, that’s why he saved my daughter (twice), that’s why everypony worked together to rebuild the town, and that’s why I was going to do everything in my power to reconcile with my goofball.

I didn’t know where tomorrow would take me. I didn’t know what setting hoof in Ponyville for the first time would mean for Honey Dream and I. And I certainly didn’t know if my mission would even bear fruit. But, strangely enough, this uncertainty felt a bit... I don’t know. Exciting? At the very least, it was going to make for an interesting journey.

Here’s hoping.

Author's Note

Bada bing, bada boom.

The unplanned chapter in question. Well, not unplanned per say. I mean, I did plan for it, otherwise, I wouldn't have written it. Semantics, ex dee. What I meant is, it wasn't in my initial draft. But as I said in the previous author's notes, I think this chapter was a missing link I couldn't do without. Plus, it gave us a new unexpected perspective, so that's kinda neat, maybe, probably.

Ok, ok! No more doing away with Gray Calx. Next chapter will definitely, unquestionably, 100% be from his perspective. I ain't delaying his progression any longer. I personally vow to record myself sitting on a cactus naked if I'm lying about it. Now that's how you make a promise, kids!

However, gimme some time to cook, here. There will be a lot of stuff to unfold, so the next update(s) may only come out in a while. This is no hiatus though: It's just me trying to put it all into words in a way that isn't too dissatisfying. As I said in the comments of the previous chapter, it's possible I'll also split that one into two parts. I guess I'll figure that one out when I start writing it. Oh, and not to mention, I'm also going to push the chapter of another story o' mine before I continue working on Oxidized. Again, not a hiatus! Just me micromanaging shit n' stuff.

(Small note: I renamed the previous chapter to fit more with this one. Unimportant biz, but I felt like saying anyway.)