“Hey, Omnius?” Twilight asked as they reached a small hill that was just on the outskirts of town. She glanced at The Traveler, and her heart skipped a beat, as she met his warm brown eyes. Catching herself staring at him, she turned her face back to the path, trying to suppress a blush that was threatening to reveal her feelings.

“Yeah, Twi?” He replied, looking at her. Mistaking her blush for exhaustion, he said, “Well, that’s not right. You’ve been carrying the heavier stuff this whole time! Here, let me get that for you.”

With that, he reached over, and gently grasped the saddlebag of apples in his teeth, and tossed it over himself with a practiced ease. Twilight suppressed a shiver as his lips gently brushed over her back, and she gave him a small smile. “You don’t have to do that, I’m fine, really.”

Omnius shook his head, and adjusted the two bags he was holding on his back, saying, “No, it’s not fine. Sorry if it seems old-fashioned, but my Dad raised me to do stuff like this.”

Twilight swallowed, but didn’t raise any more protests. Now that she wasn’t distracted by the weight of the heavy apple bags, she wondered if Applejack hadn’t done that on purpose. AJ knew that Omnius had a certain air of chivalry to him that he would always deny…no, she wouldn’t do that.

Would she?

She shook her head, and settled for trying to think of a way to tell Omnius how she really felt about him. Going over multiple books that she had read on the subject in her head, she attempted to come up with a good way to start it off.

“We’re here,” Omnius said suddenly, stopping at the top of the hill. He gently set the bags down on the ground, and pulled out a large red-and-white checkered blanket that he unfolded.

As he did that, Twilight’s horn glowed softly, as she levitated all of the food out of the bags and set them down in organized piles on the blanket. Omnius smiled appreciatively, and set himself down next to a bowl of chocolate covered cherries.

“Want some?” He offered, holding out the bowl to Twilight.

“No, uh, not right now…” She refused politely. Truthfully, she wasn’t very hungry to begin with, but…

He frowned, but then shrugged and popped a couple of the tiny candies into his mouth, deciding to let the matter drop. For a few moments, they simply ate in silence, Twilight nibbling on an apple tart, and Omnius devouring both a slice of apple and cherry pie.

Finally, Omnius wiped some crumbs off of his face, and said, “So…nice weather we’re having?” He gestured at the slowly setting sun, and the lazily drifting clouds in the sky with a free hoof.

“Oh, yes, it does look nice,” She replied, nodding in agreement.

“You look nicer though…wait…” Omnius’ eyes widened, and he hit himself with a hoof, muttering, “That was supposed to be in a thought bubble!”

Twilight blushed, and averted her gaze. Struggling to get the words past a hard lump in her throat, she managed to stutter out, “Uh, um, thank you…”

Omnius grinned nervously, before he asked, “Yeah, uh…how’ve things been?”

Thankful for the sudden change of topic, she sighed, and said, “Things have been good. A little boring lately…that’s actually what I wanted to ask you about earlier.”

“Hm?”

“Well, it’s just…you told me that you always go to a world when you’re needed,” Twilight pointed out. “I really am glad you’re here though, but why ARE you here?”

The Traveler scratched his beard absently, his face furrowed in deep thought. Twilight could practically see the gears turning in his head, as he silently considered her question. Finally, after what felt like hours, he simply shrugged, and said, “I don’t know. I guess I’m needed here though.”

“Are you sure you’re not here to…never mind,” She said, gaining a sudden intense interest in an apple slice that was right in front of her.

“What’s wrong?” Omnius asked, immediately picking up on her discomfort.

Before she could stop herself, she blurted out, “Do you ever think you could be more than friends with anypony?”

Once again, silence had entered the area, and the pure force of his swag and badassery immediately meant that he reigned supreme.

“What, you mean like best friends?” Omnius finally said after a moment.

Realizing that she had already gone this far, she said, “No, more than that.”

“Double-best friends? Triple?” His eyes widened, and in an awed voice, he said, “Dare I say…”

Twilight held her breath, hanging onto his every word in anticipation.

“…Quadruple-best friends?”

…Silence facepalmed, and decided to leave before things got even more awkward.

Twilight tried to get the words out of her mouth, but her courage finally failed her, leaving her unable to say what she really wanted to say. Instead, she nodded. “Yes, that.”

“Hm…yeah, I think it’s already happened,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. “I mean, aren’t we quadruple-best friends?”

“Yeah, of course we are…after all, I do trust you with my life,” Twilight answered, hoping he would pick up on the hint.

“Really?”

“Yes. You’ve really done a lot for m-,” She coughed slightly, trying to cover her little slip-up, and said, “A lot for all of us, and you’ve told us that you trust us with yours!”

“That’s true,” he grinned. He then nodded at the sunset, and chuckled. “Hey, check it out. It’s your time of day again.”

“What?” Twilight asked, confused.

“It’s twilight,” he explained. “You know, that time just between day and night?”

“Oh!” She looked over at the horizon, and smiled. “Yes, I guess it is.”

Omnius smiled, and scooted close to her, gently brushing against her side. Wrapping his forehoof around her in a hug, he softly said, “Happy Hearts and Hooves Day, Twilight.”

“You too…” She whispered. Then, in a quiet breath, she added, “Nathan.”

And together, the two of them sat on a hilltop, surrounded by half-eaten food, watching the sunset and enjoying one another’s company.

STUPID. STUPID. STUPID!

I had just returned to my house after walking Twilight home. Even though the day had gone by smoothly, I was still berating myself for saying that whole, “You look nicer” line. DAMN IT! That’s just…GAH!

“Ye Gods,” I muttered, slumping on my couch, still in pony form. “Why did I say that? Sure, she looks really nice, but I didn’t have to say that to her!”

A sudden knocking at my door pulled me out of my thoughts, and I hauled myself over to it to answer. As soon as it was open, I felt myself get hugged by a rush of grey feathers and blond hair.

“Derpy!” I said happily, returning the hug.

“Nathan!” she said back, letting me go. Derpy Hooves, the only mare in Ponyville who needs no description or introduction, smiled at me, her post-mare cap sitting at a jaunty angle on her head. “It’s great to see you!”

“You too! How’s Dinky doin’ these days?” I asked, remembering her little foal. Damn, but that kid was just adorable!

“She’s fine! Oh, before I forget, I have some mail for you!” Derpy reached into a small, worn brown satchel at her side, and pulled out few letters. On in particular an envelope covered in elegant writing, caught my eye.

“Huh. Didn’t expect this little surprise,” I muttered, looking over the letters. The light was too dim to make out anything, but I gave Derpy another smile, and said, “Thanks, Ditzy.”

“Yep! Now if you’ll excuse me, these letters won’t deliver themselves! I’ll see you around, Nate!” She called out, unfurling her wings and flying back towards the town.

Closing my door, I made my way back to my couch, and glanced at the dark, dusty fireplace.

Let’s see…transform back into a human or unicorn, and light fire, or stay in Pegasus form and settle for a blanket. Ugh, it’s a battle of laziness versus how much I like lighting things on fire. Debating over it with myself for a while, I ended up just clicking on a lamp to read the letters, and wrapped myself in a thin blanket.

Laziness: 17

Fire: 15

Bieber: -9

Ponies: Had me beaten from the start.

I chuckled to myself, as I recalled some of the good times that I now owed to the ponies. Thoughts of a certain mare kept creeping into my mind, and I shifted uneasily. “Why can’t I stop thinking about her?” I asked, staring at my floor in worry.

In an effort to distract myself, I grabbed the letters and started going through them. One was another pay check for “Treble Cliff”, giving me my usual modest amount of bits. Sweet, that’ll pay for some groceries and such. Maybe I had enough to buy a couple tickets to that astronomy showing and take Twi-

Next letter! Hey, it’s from Fancypants! Ye Gods, but you just gotta love that guy. Seriously, he’s the rich dude that everyone wishes they knew, and he’s just an all around cool pony. The way he stood up for everypony at Twilight’s birthday party-

GODS DAMNIT BRAIN! I tossed aside the letters I had gone through, and shook my head. “No! Don’t think about her!” I scolded myself. “You can’t, I repeat, CAN’T do this…not again, and not with her…” A tear leaked out of my eye, and I added, “Besides, she deserves somepony who won’t get her into trouble time and time again. Not someone who has a tendency to be a walking disaster zone.”

With a heavy heart, I sighed, and looked up at the mantle above the fireplace. It was completely packed with photos of my friends and I, but one picture always stood out in particular: A picture of a woman with soft red hair, ocean-green eyes, and a smile that could make you feel as if you were walking on top of the world.

Jenna…

…What is with all the emotional stuff?! PULL IT TOGETHER TRAVELER!

Nodding, I picked up the last letter, and raised my eyebrow. Huh. Nice hoofwriting. Apparently it’s from-

WAIT. Wait, wait, wait! I tore open the envelope in excitement, and felt a smile appear on my face as I scanned through the note.

“Dear Mr. Cliff, blah, blah, blah, we met at the Gala last time you appeared, and I was deeply intrigued by your musical styling’s, blah, blah, blah, and am now wondering if you would be interested in…” I looked up from the letter, and cackled in glee.

What? Villains aren’t the only ones who can cackle! It’s a fun way to laugh, and you should try it some time!

Snatching a pen and paper from the drawer I kept to the side of my couch, I wrote a response to the fellow musician, and sealed it inside of one of my now trademark blue envelopes, sealed with my insignia on it.

“Oh, it’s good to be The Traveler!” I laughed, running outside, and taking off into the starry sky. Thank the Gods that the Post Office is open late.

“Thanks!” I said to the current on-duty mail mare.

She nodded, and I trotted back outside, relishing in the cool night air. Truly, it’s a wonderful night to have a curse.

I think I messed that line up. Meh, oh well. Deciding to give my wings a break, I trotted cheerfully through Ponyville, saying hello to some of the fellow late nighters that knew me from some of my…escapades.

“Oi, Omnius!” One called out to me. “When you gon’ pay for that bar you destroyed?”

“I didn’t destroy it, the colt that spilled my coke did.”

We both shared a laugh, and I kept going, chuckling to myself every now and then.

“Omnius, darling? Is that you?” A high, sophisticated voice asked.

“If I’m not, then he’s gonna get mad at me for wearing his underwear,” I joked, turning around to see Rarity with a sleek pair of sunglasses on. “Why are you wearing sunglasses at night?”

“I have a customer who asked me to find a way to make these work during the moon hours,” she explained, levitating the glasses off of her face. “They said, they wanted to, ‘keep track of the lines that they weave’ or some such thing like that.”

“Huh,” I responded. “Didn’t know they had access to that song.”

“I’m sorry?”

“Nothing.”

“Oh, but where are my manners? It’s ever so good to see you again,” Rarity said, matching my stride. “How have you been today?”

“Pretty good. I just got back today, and I got to take Twilight out for a picnic-” Before I could say anything, Rarity gasped, and she gave me her ‘gossip’ smile.

“I knew it, I just knew that you two were destined for each other!” She said joyfully. “I mean, I had my suspicions when you and her first wandered into my boutique that fateful Summer Sun Celebration, but I didn’t think that-”

“Rarity. What are you talking about?” I deadpanned.

“Beg pardon? You mean that you don’t…?”

“I have no clue what you’re getting at,” I lied. “But in other news, I got a letter that really makes my day.”

“Oh?” Rarity said, a little crestfallen.

“Yeah. Guess what?” I nearly squealed, hopping in place like Pinkie for a moment.

“What?”

“I’m going out with Octavia tomorrow night!”

Preview of Chapter 3:

In Her Eyes

“What do you think he and Octy are doing?”

“Ah bet Omnius is makin’ a fool outta both of them somehow!”

“Twilight, what do you think?”

“…”

*^*^*^*^

“Why do you keep avoiding the topic?”

“Look, I jus-”

“No! Answer me right now: Do you care about me, or not?”

“I do! You’re my friend!”

“No, not like that! I mean…do you…love me?”

“…”

“Well?”

“…Twilight, I can’t love you.”

...Dude, I didn't think I'd get that chapter out this early. What with having to study for ACT's, and rehearsal for my school's musical/Broadway revue. Anywho, I'm also still getting some work done on Chapter 18 of "Omnius' Travels: Equestria", so don't worry, I'm not abandoning that story. It's just that this is shorter, and easier to write, as I don't have to constantly refer back and forth between a script/actual episode.

Now, if you'll excuse me, my bed is looking awfully comfortable right now.

Esperanto!

Traveler out!

Next Chapter: 3) In Her Eyes Estimated time remaining: 2 Hours, 42 Minutes