David startled himself awake, hearing his phone vibrate somewhere on the floor. With a sudden panic, he tried to rush out of bed- falling head-first onto the floor with a thud instead.

He groaned, clutching his face roughly, digging his fingers in as he tried to feel anything other than the pain. He'd gotten completely worn out today, being forced to fix the library after the chaos """he""" wrought.

'Stupid unicorns and their dumb explosive magic...'

... At least his nose wasn't bleeding?

Christ, he must be 90% bruise by now, though... Much less his aching muscles, Spike was not a kind taskmaster.

Bzzzzt! >:(

Oh shit right, his phone!

His flipped and flopped on the floor, searching for it, finding it under his bed after a few failed, guideless slaps of his arm in it's general direction. It had been thrown earlier when he fled, and honestly, he'd forgotten about it...

Might have had something to do with the trauma. Wait, didn't it run for it's life too?

He squinted, pressing on the home button. It was alive, again!

In fact, it was fully charged... and that message. 'Unknown sender' on the notification pane.

He squinted, failing to type in the password he'd almost forgotten several times, awkwardly having to wait for it to boot him out for 5 seconds, and then finally nailing it. Totally not having a fist-pump in the process.

It was the same 'unknown sender' from before... And there were several messages.

"Oh no..." The chaos hadn't ended yet... She did promise it wasn't over.

Cringing slightly to himself, he pressed a finger to the screen, and...

-"By the way, Twilight's scans were pretty thorough of this thing, along with the notes you left on the pages. Honestly, replicating it with magic wasn't that hard (thanks Twilight for sending me the copies when I asked, by the way) providing energy to all these different gizmos through logic is pretty neat. But something semi-sentient works a lot better. Whoever came up with all those ones and zeroes is a psychopath, but copying that little... silicon library thing seemed to be half the battle done! I uh, did that 'factory reset' thing I found in the 'settings', to be sure I wasn't snooping on anything though."

-"If you're wondering how yours is working, basically I just have to fill the 'battery' in it with energy. Not that hard. Just need to respect the limits and chemicals stored inside. By the way, are your people resistant to poison? Or fire? Keeping something like this close to your bed seems suuuper sketchy."

-"I'll uhm, try not to fill this too much. (Is it normal to sound yourself out in these quick letters?) But hopefully having this thing working could be a taste of home!"

-"Also, if Twilight asks... Yeah, I am pretty awesome at replicating things. No, she can't have one. That's for yelling at me earlier. Hah!"

-"These really are a lot more convenient than typewriters or quills. Like so much more convenient. And your people don't have magic, right? How did you manage this?! And the 'pictures' made sending all those charts super easy earlier, like seriously it's amazing what this thing can do! No film, no complicated stuff, just all in energy! Like yeah I need to connect the two little 'antenna' things so they can talk, but like... it's amazing!"

... He actually chuckled to himself. "Guess she found her new fixation, huh?"

He casually pressed his fingers to the screen, typing something out in a tempo that came back like an old friend.

"Trial and error, and hundreds of years of progress. Thanks for cheating and stealing all of that, by the way. I want a cut if you sell it. My gizmo. Curious how you cut corners with magic, though, I thought the electricity was kind of the entire reason it worked. Even substituting it out for an infinite energy source doesn't seem like a solution to that. Also not sure how you're replicating a data network with magic but, some questions are better without answers."

He sighed, rolling over onto his back, letting his hand fall to the floor with a thump, phone in hand.

Bzzzt!

... That was quick. Made sense though, the earlier buzzing woke him up.

-"Hahaha, well I wasn't going to do anything with this unless I'd talked to you about it first. And as for replicating it, honestly again, it was easy. Twilight's scans were down to each metal used, alloys, all the crazy stuff. The 'battery' could go (no danger-chemicals in my bed, thank you!) and a few other things, but aside from that it was 1:1. The 'battery percentage' angrily keeps going up and down though. I think I should uh, get rid of the contacts in there to check how full it is. Or it might have a meltdown. Actually it's getting really hot and the screen is getting bright I'll send you a letter later kinks in the design ow my hooves"

He squinted at his phone, concern washing over him.

"... Don't die." He tapped away.

Again, he let his phone drop. His fingers tapping away passively, and anxiously.

It seemed less than a minute later, that...

Bzzzt!

He raised it again.

-"Okay yeah there's some kinks to iron out. Good news is, I fixed it!"

"That was quick."

-"You see, that's my secret..."

He waited a few seconds, before raising an eyebrow and tapping away again as her little 'typing' message didn't show up.

"Which is...?"

-"That's a secret, dummy!"

He snorted. Walked right into that one...

"Well, I'll give you one thing, you're amazing if you can figure out technology like that so quickly. Just casually skipped by the entire latter half of the industrial era."

-"Yeah, I am pretty amazing"

He snorted again, shaking his head as he rested his phone against his forehead. He must've had a good reason to be able to talk to her the other night, right?

David pauses for a long moment, thinking best of how to communicate what he was thinking. Strumming his fingers back and forth between the space and the backspace, before he finally figured out what he wanted to say.

"Honestly, you remind me of a mostly more functional Twilight."

-"Is that supposed to be a compliment or an insult?"

"A compliment. I see why you two got along. Definitely more outgoing than her, for all the ways she's trying to be nipped and tugged into being that way."

-"Well, I probably would be a bit more 'outgoing' if Celestia didn't keep me cooped up in this castle. I swear, she thinks anytime I leave I just cause trouble!"

"With respect..."

-"Hey, don't start."

He smiles.

"A bit late for that, love princess without a lover."

-"Not you too! Why does everypony think that's a big problem, hay I blame it on Celestia keeping me cooped up! I'm plenty desirable! And normal!"

"I dunno, it seems like a self-fulfilling prophecy there. Cause trouble like a kid desperate for a crush, get locked away."

There was a long pause. He stopped, a bit nervous he'd pushed a button.

-"You've made an enemy this day, David, one that won't forget."

"Bring it. In case you didn't notice, you lose the physical fight. At least when you don't play cheap."

-"That's not the fight I'm going to win."

"What fight are you going to win, then?"

-"The long game. You'll see."

An image flashed before him. A picture of Cadance, roughly pointing it towards her horn, a spell woven around it that was shining extremely brightly, and at the tip was a small, red heart.

-"Since you've already lost the war."

He raised an eyebrow. Tapping back away.

"Ponies and your magic. You haven't won any wars, not yet. In fact, you've underestimated your enemy."

-"Oh do tell, mister 'doesn't know magic,' how I haven't won this war, in which you don't know the field?"

"Because, I can kill you now. It'd be easy."

-"Prove it."

"You're cute."

He smiled, as the 'typing' notification came, then went, and then nothing else appeared for a solid minute.

Hah! Victory!

"... If a little weird."

Then she started typing again, instantly.

-"Hey, that's a dirty trick!"

"All's fair in love and war, as they say back home. You choose war, I choose to win."

-"You have no clue how much you're going to regret this. Really cool saying aside."

"Try me."

-"Oh I will."

There was a pause. He stared at the screen, his eyes slowly narrowing.

-"I'm sorry that was a bad joke they just slip out!"

He laughed, loudly.

"Desperate much?"

-"Cooped up. In. A. Castle. I'm going insane. Desperation is a word present in the dictionary, yes."

"Iunno, sounds like the start to some cheesy rendezvous."

-"Don't start. I'm already dying from embarrassment."

"Says miss war."

-"Fuck you."

He choked, laughing.

-"Fuck."

-"Buck."

-"Ew, that's annoying."

He smirked, rolling over onto his side on the floor, getting a bit comfortable.

"Thanks for this."

-"For what? Making a fool of myself?"

"Reminding me of home, even for a bit. Stupid text chains like this are kind of nostalgic honestly. You being the same kind of crazy as me helped. I haven't been having a good time since I ended up here. Sorry for things getting uh, physical though. Sure you can understand why."

There was another pause, for about a minute.

-"Thanks for putting up with me. I've been feeling a bit low recently, to be honest. While I love my aunty, she's been... impatient with me. Almost like I've done something wrong. Like I'm not 'ready' for something I'm supposed to do, and it's been a lot. She's very particular about her plans and how things are 'supposed' to be, but she never tells you anything. I just miss going out and talking to ponies, spreading love like I used to. Her... teasing doesn't help."

She kept typing... he leaned back for a moment, just watching with a softening expression.

-"Honestly I think she's upset I haven't been successful in finding my own path. But I've been okay. Alicorns serve others, right? That's what she taught me."

-"Even I can recognize in myself I have gotten pushy and a bit desperate too. But I don't know how much is the stress, how much is my aunty, and how much is my cutie mark trying to push me towards it. But it feels like everypony is the target of it, and I'm trying to keep myself in line. It's like a bubble of feelings that keep growing until they want to burst. And I just want anypony to pop it, to just, get it out!"

-"But I'm causing enough trouble. Maybe I should stay here for a bit. I'm really sorry for just like, obsessively sending you all that stuff earlier- I should've read the room that you were just like... being cordial. Hahaha, I guess I can see what you meant by me and Twilight being alike."

There was a small pause, where Cadance seemed to be 'typing' for a while, before she stopped, started again, and repeated that about 3 more times... He was tempted to try and write something in the meantime, but stopped just shy of the keyboard, content to let her write on as he re-read her paragraphs a few times.

-"This has been nice too. These things are super convenient. Magic used to keep them connected aside, once you get them going they're amazing. Like I opened that calculator thing and I'm pretty sure Twilight would have a religious experience with it. And don't worry. I uh, kind of threw the first hoof back then too..."

Gently, subconsciously squeezing the phone between his palms, he finally tapped away at the screen himself. Although he did shelve that Twilight idea for now.

"You honestly don't need to worry about all of that. My head hasn't been in the best place anyways. Kind of been expected to adapt with all this chaos, I think I'm about as insane as they come at this point. It's been nice to see something 'real' though. I feel like all I've been dealing with in my day-to-day has been like..." His mind wandered to Lyra, and he shivered. "The worst kinds of things. It's been nice. It's rare that I've felt something like this."

Her typing lingered for another long moment, before her response came...

-"Yeah... I can understand that. My head's been in all sorts of places recently, but I'm sure you figured that out too. I can kinda see why Aunty says I'm acting like a teenager. I am. Sorry for earlier. Ponies dance around me and avoid me, or they want something from me and... I guess I'm happy for any kind of good interaction, even if I have to force it. Sounds pathetic, huh?"

"Not really. The same can be said about me, but maybe in the opposite direction. Nothing seems real here, so I don't want anything to do with it, honestly. Hence the uh... running. Usually there's a trick to it- if I get Twilight involved it becomes some sort of 'lesson' and I get off the universal hook. Ish."

His mind lingered in a few dark places, as his fingers strummed back and forth on the screen for another minute. He sighed, moving back to clear what he'd added. He didn't need to trauma-dump in pony-land of all places. She didn't need it either, it seemed. She was being patient enough to wait for him to type out whatever was coming to his mind, and he figured giving her paragraphs of madness on how this perfect land felt like a personal purgatory might come off weird...

His mouth curled into a small smile as an idea came to him.

"How about a distraction?"

-"A distraction?"

"Tell me how you go about 'spreading love' when you're out and about in Canterlot. Without the alcohol to empty my mind, this time."

There was a long pause. David was about 90% sure he'd sealed his fate with that one action.

-"That's not a simple topic. I'm going to need to make some visuals. Ponies think it's just magic but that doesn't work unless there's already a connection. It's complicated, and messy, and really hard to do without damaging the ponies involved and their future relationship once the spell's 'nudge' fades. Like, it's an art."

"Prolly isn't any worse than the walls and walls of images and texts from before."

-"I'm giving you one last chance to back out before you're not allowed to sleep tonight."

He chuckled again.

"Try me."

-"At this rate, you'll be trying me."

He paused, choking again.

-"I'm so sorry, they keep slipping out!"

He let out a loud guffaw, curling onto his side on the floor.

"Sounds like fun." He shot back.

Right as he was typing that, her response came, fighting in place against his.

-"You're being too nice too, why haven't you told me to shut up?!"

He kept typing, as her typing notification fought back again.

"I mean, shit, that didn't slip out."

-"Don't tease me like that, please! I'm embarrassed enough!"

He laughed to himself, shaking his head a little.

-"Mortified now, thank you."

His chuckles still continued for a moment, as his gaze softened a little more. He was feeling a bit tired... but he figured he could survive for now.

"Then start charting, and stop being a clingy little filly."

-"Buck you. (Hah, defeated the word corrector this time!)"

"Yeah, yeah, you'd like that. Put the damn phone down."

-"I hate that that made me blush."

"You're fighting a seasoned text warrior, so back off and go do your nerdy things. I'll wait. Not like I have much to do tomorrow, anyways."

After a few minutes of dropping his phone, checking it again, seeing nothing, and then continuing the cycle, he eventually crawled his way off the floor, giving himself a shake. Seemed like as good a time as any to go take a shower... he'd kind of forgotten earlier. Mostly because he'd passed out the minute he got home. He feared stretching, lest his muscles decide he's better off a pretzel.

Unbeknownst to him, the minute he left to take one, a long string of images and texts would await him...

Ones he was all the happy to respond to, through the night.

Cadance leaned back into her pile of pillows, sighing to herself. Gently flicking her nose against the screen, she went up, and up, and up... wanting to just, reread everything between them.

She paused for a moment, seeing one image, her breath hitching for a moment. The one she'd taken of herself, with that spell glowing on her horn. Brightly. A heart at the top. Her face went rosy.

She flipped around, shoving the 'phone' under her pillow as she buried her nose into it, groaning loudly. "I'm such a buckin' teenager sometimes..."

First, that image, then those paragraphs...

At this point, she might as well wear a sign that says 'hey, I'm desperate!'

She mumbled slightly into her pillow, content to hide forever. Especially so from the sun starting to filter through her window...

An incredibly muffled and tortured, Bzzzzt!

And forever was apparently 5 seconds, before she desperately fished the little black glass and metal thingie from under the pillow and 'unlocked' it in a torrent of flailing hooves and scattering feathers.

-"I'm passing out, but goodnight Cadie. Today was fun."

Her breath hitched again as she sat up. Not the butterflies!

-"Err, sorry for the nickname. Half asleep. Cadance. Good morning technically? Iunno, I'm gonna pass out."

She shoved her nose against that little keyboard, on top of that funny symbol with the circle in the brazier. Speaking out-loud to the little box, before shoving her nose against it again to fix all the things it wrote completely wrong.

"Goodnight, David. I'd give you a lovely nickname too but your name is harder to do that with. Without making a nautical joke, at least."

She blinked a few times, pulling back to stare at the screen, anxiety bubbling in her chest. These things were atrocious, she never realized how much was missing when you couldn't read their expressions! Not hearing their voice was bad enough...
Gah, why did the butterflies have to make it worse!

... And then a little heart appeared under the corner of her message, followed by a face that seemed to be laughing. And she made an incredibly adult noise that wasn't a squeal of joy, before she fumbled with the box and accidentally sent it off the side of her bed with another panicked squeak. More feathers going flying as she failed to catch it, but rather went with it into the floor, as did her sheets.

Author's Note

If you've ever written something out and gone 'this feels a bit too real,' it was this for me. Small, joking text chains that break into long personal tangents, then winding back to someone's interests... yeah.