I waited by the train station for Summer, Hannah, and Summer.

Trains came every twenty minutes, loaded and unloaded for about ten minutes, and then were on their way again. I only saw this happen twice, but the pony who walked back and forth checking tickets let me know when I asked. Ticketmaster, is that what those people were called? People boarding and leaving the trains seemed to be fifty percent tourists and fifty percent residents. coming and going for whatever reason. Did they commute to work? Did ponies here have a lot of free time for travel? It was interesting to see how many there were, and I could easily tell which were residents and which were tourists. Tourists practically announced themselves with how much they gaped, the cameras they carried, and the pamphlets they were constantly looking over. Even the ones who didn’t do these things or have these things could be picked out with only a little observation. They would look around as if trying to get their bearings on where they were, meaning they were unfamiliar with the area.

While watching the second train offload, I blinked and watched as none other than Professor Newman got off. Was she here to collect up students, namely me and my friends, who were taking an unauthorized trip away from campus? Was I about to get a lecture and another round of detention?

Professor Newman looked around, but it wasn’t the same type of looking around that the tourists were doing; she wasn’t looking around to get her bearings; she was looking at people, looking for someone in particular. That didn’t bode well at all.

Her gaze passed over me, and I was sure she had to have seen me. I was sitting on a bench and there wasn’t anyone particularly close to me to cause me to be lost in the crowd. However, her search through the crowd continued despite that, not even reacting to my presence. That should have been a relief, but I felt annoyed instead. She saw me and didn’t even care.

Professor Inkwell stepped off the train a moment later, joining Professor Newman. She smiled and seemed happy, contrasting Professor Newman’s usually stern or stone-faced demeanor. Professor Inkwell exchanged a few words with Professor Newman and then began looking at the crowd as well, again seeming familiar with the town and instead looking for someone. When her eyes passed me, she smiled wider, waved, and spoke excitedly to Professor Newman. Professor Newman gave me another glance and a passing disinterested wave before resuming her search for whoever it was that she was looking for. I guess they weren’t here for me or the others. Neither of them attempted to come over and engage me in conversation, and after initially waving at me, excited to see me, Professor Inkwell resumed her search of the crowd. I was less annoyed at this because she at least acknowledged my presence and took the time to wave.

A pale blue unicorn mare with a white mane came galloping over to them and, of all things, hugged Professor Newman—or at least Newman’s legs. To my shock, Newman bent down and gave the mare a proper hug; she even gave a warm smile. Newman smiled at times, but it was never warm, more like amusement or being smug. While they were hugging, Inkwell’s smile slipped into a frown as she watched the pair, but the smile returned as the unfamiliar unicorn and Newman finished their hug. What was that about? Inkwell never displayed any sort of prejudice about humans and seemed to go out of her way during her off time to spend time with Newman, so it seemed strange she’d be annoyed at a human and a pony hugging. Maybe she didn’t like the mare for some reason and didn’t want Newman to know.

Newman seemed to make introductions between the two mares, and the pair gave each other hoof bumps and what looked like polite greetings. There was no sign of the previous displeasure on Inkwell’s face. I still had no idea what that had been about, but it did let me know one thing about Inkwell, she knew how to perfectly hide what she was feeling, and sometimes the mask slipped.

Seeing the two professors away from a school setting was interesting. Was this just getting together with a friend, or was this making contact with one of Newman’s many sources? The way Newman hugged the mare and smiled suggested this was a close friend, but it was hard to imagine Newman having close friends. She didn’t seem the type who was willing to open up to anyone like that. Maybe it was a ploy because she knew I was watching. I could believe that.

“Hey, Turnip!”

I looked behind me to see Summer and Hannah running up to me, with Spring Fling following behind at a more leisurely pace.

“Hey,” I replied. “I didn’t see any animal stampedes. Did everything work out okay?”

Summer nodded, smiling. “Yes! Miss Fluttershy is familiar with kirins and knows how to keep me isolated from the animals so I wouldn't upset them. I didn’t even need a dunk in her stream. She had a sandy area away from everything else I could release all my pent-up anger without burning anything.”

“She a little bit of glass. No blue flame, though,” Hannah added in.

“I think that only happens under special circumstances,” Summer said. “I haven’t figured those out yet.”

“But you will, I’m sure. My filly can figure out anything!” Spring said as she reached us. Summer gave her a weak smile.

“So, what have you been up to, oh terrorizer of Discord?” Hannah asked.

I shrugged. “I went to Princess Twilight’s castle. I figured she might have a clue why Discord got nervous around me.”

“How’d that go?” Hannah inquired.

“She saw me but wasn’t sure why Discord was nervous around me, but she was interested in seeing the earth pony student at the school. Applebloom had apparently mentioned me,” I answered. All those things were true, even if I left out more significant revelations. I felt terrible for doing so, but I would keep my promise.

“It’s great that she even saw you,” Spring said. “I heard she tried admitting anypony to come see her before, but she got overwhelmed with ponies asking her advice about every frivolous little thing. She wanted to help, but it was too much for her. Now only a few ponies get admitted into her castle. It’s quite the honor to be seen.”

“Yeah, I had to go through a sort of interview to be let in, but not any worse than the first time going to the library at the castle,” I said, slightly chuckling. “Did you three see Professor Newman and Professor Inkwell?”

“No, are they here?” Hannah asked, looking around.

I pointed in the general direction I saw them go. “They got off the train and went that way with some mare. I know they spotted me; Inkwell waved.”

“We didn’t see them. They must be visiting a friend,” Summer replied.

Spring shivered. “I don’t like that pair.”

I blinked. “Why not?”

Spring gave herself a shake. “They always come up to me together, asking why this or that isn’t done yet. I’ll sit there explaining myself while Professor Newman just stands there, looming over me like some monster. Then I get nervous and start rambling, and she keeps standing there, looking at me like the school is about to fail and it is all my fault—the school is in no danger of failing; that’s just the way she makes me feel. Anyway, I keep rambling and starting to sweat, and then Inkwell will always swoop in and tell me she understands and I’m doing an excellent job, then Newman will ask how Muss Pretty Purrface is doing—like I’d tell her!”

“Why not?” Hannah asked. “Maybe she likes cats.”

“For dinner!” Spring exclaimed. “I won’t have my precious kitty get eaten by her! You’ve seen Headmaster. Humans eat critters!”

“Um…humans don’t typically eat cats,” Hannah replied. “They keep them as pets, just like ponies do. In fact, I’ve never seen Professor Newman eat meat. She might be a vegetarian. Some humans are.”

Spring shook her head. “I still don’t trust her. She could be just waiting for the chance for fresh kitty meat.”

Equestrians had strange ideas about humans.

Author's Note

Short chapter to wrap Ponyville up.