Expeditis Equitibus

No one cares anymore, but...

Chapter 6.

It was morning. The sun glaring in through the windows was pretty damned indicative of that fact. Unfortunately, given the position on the library floor Ivory was sleeping in, that meant the rays shone right into his eyes, instantly snapping him awake. This had the added affect of startling a buttery yellow pegasus that had been looking at him a moment ago, and causing her to dive under a random desk. Actually, come to think of it, Ivory hadn't seen too much of this one at the party... Maybe she was just shy around ponies? Probably. Whatever the case, he decided to make first contact.

"Hey, uh... sorry for startling you, miss." He said, a reassuring tone entering his voice. The pegasus crept out a little from her hiding spot, but still didn't seem too hot on the idea of meeting a total stranger. Okay brain, shift gears, reverse, try again....

"Um.... I'm Ivory... you are?" He asked. The pegasus shrank back a bit, but crept out from under the desk and muttered something inaudible whilst blushing heavily. Something about that blush honestly made Ivory's heart want to melt from the sheer cute. He nodded, thinking.

"I didn't quite hear you, but I do think I know why. You're a shy pony, not used to meeting new ponies. If it takes a bit for you to gain your confidence, I'm not gonna push..." He said, soft and calmly.

The pegasus visibly relaxed, speaking in a soft voice herself. "That's a relief... you have no clue how annoying it is to be thrown into awkward situations like this..."

Ivory chuckled, shaking his head. "Betcha five bucks I do..." He muttered to himself, causing Fluttershy to cock her head.

“Why would you… want to bet five bucks? Wouldn’t that hurt?” She asked, Ivory quickly whipping his head back and forth. “Not that kind of buck, dangit… ”

A moment passed, then she spoke up again. "My name is… Fluttershy....Thank you for letting me work at my own pace, mister Ivory..." Ivory nodded, smiling. The conversation was cut short by the clopping of hooves on the staircase down from Twilight's room. Soon, Twilight appeared in the doorframe, her usually straight mane frazzled and splayed everywhere. Ivory couldn’t help but snark.

"Wait, I think I got this one... magic lightning went astray and you ended up zapping your mane?" he chuckled. Twilight rolled her eyes. "Hah hah. Ivory, you do realize we're going to see the princess today, right? You know, the goddess of the sun?  There's really nothing funny about this."

"You kidding me? I get to see one of the rulers of this world, there's plenty of funny to be had here." Ivory shot back, stretching a little. Twilight sighed, turning away and searching her cabinets for some sort of breakfast substance. Ivory turned toward Fluttershy and shrugged. "There's Twilight for ya." he shakes his head, chuckling. "Shall I leave you alone this morning, Twi?"

Twilight nodded, her head still stuck in the cabinets. "Sure... wait, you're not hungry?" Ivory shook his head, muttering a negative as he trotted out of the library, leaving Flutter with Twilight.

Ivory stepped outside, looking around. Ponyville was still waking up and a fog had come in, very lightly coating the ground. "God, this is how Silent Hill started..." he chuckled to himself, beginning to wish he’d asked Fluttershy to join him. “Weird… I can’t handle crowds, but I can’t stand being alone… Not to mention I had to make up a name, shouldn’t I be able to remember mine? Oh god… No, PLEASE tell me I’m not in a stupid amnesia-type plot!” He cocked his head. “Wait… no, because I can still remember some things from Earth. I thought that was just Rule of Funny though!”

A soft voice disturbed his monologue. “Um… who are you talking to, mister Ivory?” Ivory whipped around, but settled when he realized it was just Flutter.

“Um… myself, actually… trying to figure a few things out… wanna join me out here?” He asked, to which Flutter shook her head no.

“A-actually, I need to get back to my cottage soon… Twilight wants you to come back in.” Flutter stepped out, trotting past Ivory, presumably on her way to her house.

“Yay, back to the mulberry psycho…” Ivory muttered under his breath as he walked back into the house, shaking his head in wonder. Weird stuff abounded in this town, it seemed…

Twilight trotted back into the main room, shaking her mane back into its normal position just in time for Ivory to come back from outside. The pegasus smirked at her, a cocky grin beginning to form.

"So, Twilight... how ARE we getting to Canterlot?" Ivory asked, only to be interrupted by what sounded like massive wingbeats outside. Looking out the window, he rolls his eyes at the dual pony-pulled chariot that just landed outside the library. "Well... that's me answered..." He smirked, shaking his head. Twilight sighed, trotting out the door with Ivory right behind her. The two guardsponies silently watched as Twilight got on the chariot, then turn their gazes to Ivory, who decided to have a bit of fun.

"So you two pull this thing, huh? Jeez... what is this made of anyway, solid gold? How many gold ingots did this thing take? Or did you have to use gold blocks? How much Gold ore did you have to mine? WHERE'S MY CRAFTING TABLE?!" Ivory spun around, looking half-crazed as he 'freaked out', eliciting a slight chuckle from the left guardpony. "Oh good, I got one of you... actually, given the red seats, I'm imagining a base of gold blocks, one or two red wool blocks... Alright, who dyed the sheep?!" That one cracked up the right guardpony, and by extension, the left again.

Finally, Ivory hopped into the chariot, his fun had. After the two guards had managed to regain control of themselves, they took off at a steady gallop, dragging the wheeled contraption behind them. Just as they spread their wings though, a brown streak flew through the air and hit Ivory in the chest with a jingle. He cocked his head at it, recognizing it as the bag he fell to earth with. "Huh... you just keep following me..." he muttered, pulling it up on to the seat next to him. Looking over the side, Ivory saw Rarity waving up at him. Waving a hoof back, he figured she must have tossed it up to him and left it as such.

About half an hour into the flight, Ivory looked up, struck with an odd feeling/urge. Turning to Twilight, he asked, "Mind if I... try something?" Twilight cocked her head at him, but eventually nodded. At first Ivory was hesitant, but eventually... he just closed his eyes and went with it.

He opened his muzzle... and sang.

"Move slowly, beyond the colors of my eyes.

Move slowly, into the corners of my mind.

Rising like the pegasus, each and every one of us, released.

Islands in the sea of dreams, always searching harmony and peace.

All we find!

Reject our mind!

Don't you wonder why?

If the war by heaven's gate released desire!

In the line of fire someone must have known,

That a pony's heart demands to be admired!

Cause in the Center of the Universe,

We are all alone..."

His voice trailed off, and he blushed, looking over the edge of the chariot, narrowly avoiding Twilight's look. "What... was that?" She asked, only receiving a shrug in response.

"I dunno... just something that came to mind..." Ivory sighed, closing his eyes and leaning back. "It's not even the whole song, I'm sure of it..."

Twilight smiled a bit and followed Ivory’s lead. She figured that she had time for at least a small nap on the way to Canterlot. Perhaps magically her frazzled mind and even more frazzled mane would fix themselves once they were at the castle…