They all stared at the statue for awhile. Rainbow gave a short glance to Sunset, then retracted it.
" Yup. " She put a hand on her hip, blowing some rainbow hair out of her face.
" That IS your only exit. "

Ponder looked to Sunset " And seeing how SciTwi is 0 for 2 with this stuff, and I'm not much better... We can't safely study this thing until we figure out how to get through safely. "
Sunset turned to him, uneasy.
" Or can we? " He asked.

" Um... " She was getting lost in thought.

Twilight sighed a sigh of tiredness.
" I - don't think It's that dangerous. There probably would have been another incident if it was." Sunset nodded to that.

Twilight, after all that has happened, wasn't looking great. She looked spent; bags were starting to form under her eyes.
She wasn't putting off her usual air of composure. She was starting to slip.

" Just make sure you get a running start. " Rainbow pointed to their group.
" And don't trip. " She pointed to Ponder's shoes, laces weaved in and out of the top of his shoe in a chaotic manner.

As Ponder bent over to correct his mess of a shoe, Sunset was putting a hand up to her chin.
" Maybe... "
" I could ask Celestia or Luna to put up caution tape around it? Maybe? " She looked to Twilight, who was the magical expert here.

" Nuh-uh. " Ponder interjected, still working on untangling his shoe.

" That thing gave chase beyond 4 meters. Better to have everyone just enter from the gym or the back. " Ponder added with a course voice.
" Well - " Twilight looked to him, conjuring up a response. Ever with the collected tone she continued :

" That's not really how magic works. "
" You could be miles away, and even a small amount would still find it's way to a suitable host. "

Ponder look embarrassed.
" Right. "
" Magics, uh, your thing. "
He quickly went back to tying his other shoe.

" But - That might be a good idea Sunset. " Twilight was taking a bit of extra time to formulate her response.
" I don't know how magic is defusing here. And adding a little bit of distance couldn't hurt. "

" Right! " Sunset patted a fist into her other open hand. " If the membrane's strong enough, the magic will likely just find another target somewhere else in Equestria! It might not pass through at all! "

Twilight nodded. " Yes. It's not a permanent solution, and I'll be back here soon to see what I can do. " Twilight made a meek gesture at Sunset, but she wasn't sure what it was about.
' Is this what she was like when she was tired? ' Sunset was left to wounder.

" Alright. " Rainbow looked like she was about to get a smirk, but resisted the urge.
" All this science mumbo-jumbo; this is usually the part where I have to take my leave. "
" But I'm gunna stay. "
" And help - in case any of you need it. "

" Thanks. " Sunset calmly offered.
" Thanks Rainbow. " Twilight said genuinely.
Ponder only stared at her. He looked like he was about to say something, then caught himself and returned to silence.

Twilight, even in half-asleep stupor, recognized this as weird. Even for him.
' Is - Is he hesitant to offer thanks? Or - maybe - scared? '
' Surely - he doesn't consider himself that - ' Her mind was then pulled back to the start of their visit here.
She answered her own question.

Rainbow marched over to give her instruction.

" First foot flat, second bent. "
" Yup, like that. " Rainbow was checking their stances - before they made a break for it.
She had seen worse. That nerd from math, for example. She was about to crack a smile, but -
She caught herself. She knew who she was in the company of.

" WAIT. " Ponder got up from his stance, walked over to a loose trash can lid, and picked it up.
" If they're pointing their spears at the portal I'd probably want something in between me and that point. "
As he got back into Rainbow's sprinting stance he grabbed the lid so it would be the first thing through the portal.

Rainbowdash rolled her eyes in response, while Twilight only had a look of pity.

Twilight was first anyway. She gave Ponder one last cursory glance, just to make sure he was ok. As paranoid as always, he was. Holding his improvised shield. But- if today was anything to go by -

Twilight got up and ran, and made it through the portal. As per her instructions, Ponder was not too far behind.

The run was without incident. As Ponder made it through the portal, his view was completely obscured by his shield.
It was larger. Much larger.
It was even taller then him, but not by much.

" Huh. " Ponder was taken off guard. Even twilight raised a eyebrow at it.
It fell to the floor, making a loud clang. As metal against marble does.

" Uh, Princess? " A guard in the room walked over.
" Oh! " She answered.
" We're alright. "

" Right. I will go and get the Captain. " The guard then looked to the other guard in the room. She instantly stiffened up, saluted him, and went back to her standing.

Twilight sat down. Tired.

After the first guard left, Twilight turned to the other one.
" You can go too. " A purple hue encased a switch on the wall and pulled it down. The machine surrounding it ground to halt, and the mirror stopped vibrating.
Ponder raised an eyebrow at that.

" Yes, Princess. " She responded without emotion.
' They really were all like that huh? Like the old British royal guard? ' Ponder was thinking as she was taking her leave.
' If they really are all stuck up like that maybe they need- '
" Ponder. " His thought was interrupted by Twilight, who was now standing up.

" About what happened back there - " She seemed like she didn't want to do this. Like she was forcing herself. But there was an unusual lack of pain in her words and the way she carried herself. Almost like she had ripped off a bandied.
" Oh. Sorry about that. " Ponder kicked the oversized trash can lid.
" It might have bonked someone - "
" No. " Twilight politely interrupted him.

" That's not it. " She turned her head to the side, but only for a moment.
" I know you probably don't want to think about it but- " Ponder's expression turned solemn.
He sighed. She continued :

" I'm sorry I didn't take you seriously when you were voicing your concerns about... Well. " She motioned to the portal.

Ponder had to do a double take. He looked back, then forward, lost in thought.
He eventually gave up and had to ask : " What? "

" I wasn't taking you seriously when we were talking with Shinning. " She responded. He looked down in realization.
" I didn't want to think about it either. " Her tone turned soft as she brushed off one hoof with another. He could barely hear her.

" And - unfortunately - you were right. You weren't safe. " Sadness now audible her her voice, Ponder felt he had to sit down, so he did.
" You were worried about your safety. And I brushed that to the side. " She raised a hoof slightly.
" As I said back on Earth, I'll see what I can do to stop future events like that from happening. "

" Um. " Ponder managed to say as he looked to the side. Awkwardness written all over his posture; he only managed to hide it on his face.
He didn't say anything more.

Twilight smiled.
" You don't have to reply. "
" I'm just glad were all safe and sound. "

Twilight Sparkle and PonderBright both tired, they were walking to Cadence's throneroom. They had completely forgot about waiting for Shinning, but managed to catch them both on their way.
Shinning only needed a quick glance before saying : " What did he do this time? "
Twilight only let out a short lived grunt as protest. Leave it Twilight to make anything sound regal.

While Ponder was gaining his disappointed face, Cadence put a hoof in front of Shinning and shook her head at him.
" It's nothing serious; Nothing that can't be talked about later." Twilight assured them both; a look of worry starting to form on Cadence.
" And - maybe if it's not too much trouble - we could spend the night? " She asked. Cadence eye's widened.

Shinning only took a moment. " Sure. " He offered. Cadence took much longer.
" Yes, - but. " She caught herself.
" Not near the babies room. "
" Or floor. " She added.

As Shinning looked over to his wife with much surprise, Twilight looked like she saw this coming.
Ponder was just as confused about the reversal of roles as Shinning was. He nodded to the request, more so an order, and followed an entire squadron of guards to where he'd be staying the night.
He managed to overhear some snippets of dialog as he was being escorted :
" And - maybe - some food? " said a meek Twilight. She wasn't asking for that much, was she?
" Sure. " Cadence was back to her regular self. " You and your food. " Shinning exclaimed over Cadence.
" I swear recently it's been all you think about. " A barely heard Twilight shout : " stop! " In a playful manner.

He definitely could use some food. Even though he had eaten earlier on the train. By all means he should be getting fat, but he was as thin as ever. Even loosing some weight. And for the most part, he hadn't been stressed.
It was probably too late to ask the guards for some anyway.

As he entered his room, he admired the architecture. The Crystal Empire really did have their own style, huh?
And then he heard the click coming from the door. He slowly approached, not wanting to set anyone, or anything off.

" Everything alright out there? " He asked. " Yes. " He got his stone-cold reply. He tried the door. Confirmed locked.
" You locked me in here? " He didn't have to wait long for his answer. " Yes. "

Ponder inhaled. He could feel his heart rate increasing. " Why? " He half-demanded in monotone.
" Um. Because we can't have guests wandering the castle halls at night? When the Princess is asleep. " A very minor shift in tone from the guard. Ponder immediately responded with his next question : " How am I supposed to get water? " minor hostility in his voice.
It took awhile for the guard to respond. " We will fetch that for you, if that is what you desire. You are a royal guest, after all. "

" And, if possible, please keep communication with us to a minimum. Were, uh, not supposed to be talking to you right now. " Is all Ponder got.
' Are- are they serious? ' He wasn't believing this. Something else was going on. He heard minor bickering from behind the door about who was ' free ' to go get him a glass of water!

Eventually. Inevitability. After 20 FREAKING MINUTES. The guards opened the door. One was front and center with his water. Two others looked at him nervously.
His reputation really did precede him, huh? This wasn't Ponyville anymore, and Twilight obviously hadn't 'gotten' to these ponies yet. Or maybe they were just built different. Angular pupils and all.
They closed the door, and he was left with his 'water'. Yes. ' water ' in quotes, was correct.
No way he was trusting this.

He dabbed a bit of water on his skin. He then started moving furniture.
" Uh - everything ok in there? " One guard asked from behind the door. " Yup. Everything's fine. " Ponder responded.
" Just moving the end table somewhere out of the way. I tend to roll over in my sleep. " That, of course, was a lie.
But they seem to have bought it. No further interruptions.

He, in fact, had moved the entire dresser in front of the only door. The doors opened inward, and now he made sure they didn't open at all. He searched the end table for anything useful. And old fire poker. Perfect. He put that under his pillow just in case he needed to defend himself or brake that big window for an escape. He did have wings, after all.

By the time he was done, the water on his skin had dried. ' Well, I'm not on the ground foaming from the mouth ' He thought while looking at the dry water spot in a mirror. He put a bit on his tongue next. He, of course, spit it out. As you do when your testing for poison without a second pony.

What PonderBright underestimated, however, is that a full test done this way lasts for 3 straight hours. So he sat. In his bed. Tired, hungry, and most of all, thirsty, for 3 hours. Unable to sleep.

At the end of it, he finally drunk his water, and went to bed.
' I hope your right Twilight. ' He thought as he dozed off.
' That I can trust these ponies. '

Author's Note

I post on my FIMfiction blog!
https://www.fimfiction.net/blog/1037520/own-story-or-adaptations
Be involved!
Make friends!!
Influence (ever so slightly)
The direction of the story!

I am open to PM. No discord or email. Do not use email. Please.
I am open to work, even collaborations. I can't draw. Muscle condition.

Want to test my writing with this one. Will try to write more and more challenging subjects as time goes on.
All criticism minus something that can only be seen as a nitpick will be appreciated.

How cautious is too cautious?