I really did it. I finally did it.

The sound of the yelling was still ringing in his ears, but that didn’t make it any less of a success. Hokey Smokes had been able to show off his ability to lift two things. It was true that, to him, the success had happened previously. There was still something to be said about the fact that he was able to do it again. He was able to show Twilight Sparkle, and Spike, exactly what it was that he had figured out on his own. The other important fact was that he was really tired, winded from the effort. That was a problem that he would have to figure out, fix, and then come up with a way to be able to lift more and more weight.

Eventually, it might be nice to be able to lift ponies again.

That’s something that won’t come for a while. I doubt that I’ll even be in Ponyville when I am. Maybe I should send Twilight Sparkle a letter of thanks when I do, it was her help that got me this far. Okay, so it was mostly me... but her books helped. Yep, she was helpful. He continued to glance at her for a few moments, not realizing he was staring, and then quickly looked over at the bowl. Smooth move. She’s probably going to think you’re some sort of creepy pony. No words were spoken as he walked over, say down, and started to take some bites of food.

Yummy food, always a good way to make sure that words didn’t have to be used.

It seemed as if she didn’t have much to say to him, either. The shocked expression had faded within a couple of minutes, and she had went back to eating. Maybe she just didn’t know what to say, since this would likely be one of the last times they sat down for breakfast. Even though Hokey Smokes had been wrong about her wanting to help him, or more accurately why, there wasn’t anything that was keeping him there. It wasn’t even as if there was anything that would make it to where she would likely want him to be there.

Even kindness had its limits.

By the time that the meal with finished, Hokey Smokes had figured out that he needed to go. Where did he need to go? That was something that he couldn’t come up with. He had gone to a lot of towns, cities, and other assorted places. There were still plenty more, but he could spend the rest of his days walking around trying to figure it out. A direction, that was what he needed. Once he got a direction, and left, he would be one small step closer to being able to hug his mom and dad again.

That would be a great moment for him, since everything he did was really all his mom’s fault.

Is it really fault if it’s something good?

“So, where do you go from here?” The purple dragon caught his attention, though the question wasn’t one he was sure he could answer if he wanted.

“Spike!” Twilight gave him a stare, as if to say that it was a bad thing to ask.

“Don’t worry, I have no problem saying I have no real clue. I have to figure out which town to head to next. I’m sure I’ll find ‘em eventually. It’ll take some time, but you can’t just forget your parents.”

“Why don’t you stay h-”

“Spike! This library is just big enough for us. Besides, I don’t know if it’d be right. He has to go find his...” Twilight glanced at him, almost asking for his help in remembering.

Did I not tell them?

“Parents. I was with them before the thing happened with my horn. It would be rude of me to not make sure they know I’m alright.”

Twilight simply nodded, then turned to Spike. That seemed to be enough to quiet the dragon’s protest, even if he looked as though he wanted to say something. There was no way that Hokey Smokes was going to stay here, even if both of them had invited him. He had to go out into the world, had to find them to make sure that everything was alright. Even though he told them that it was about letting them know he was alright, there was a small fear that they might be at some hospital somewhere.

“If you don’t know where you’re heading, though, I’m sure you can work something out with one of the places around here. If you’re not going to stay long, that is.” Twilight had turned to face him, a smile on her face. It seemed as if she was genuinely wanting to help, just as before.

I really shouldn’t take that for granted like before. “Thanks. It’s nice out there, sometimes, but sometimes a bed is really comfortable. Heck, even a floor is pretty comfortable in comparison sometimes.” There was no time for Twilight to say anything, and Hokey Smokes started to walk for the door. “Thank you for everything, Twilight Sparkle. Good luck with... whatever it is that you do around here.” Once again, no time for her to say anything. This time, it was because he walked out the door.

Tonight would be a night of rest, at a hotel, and then tomorrow he might do something about finding some temporary work. All he needed was a few bits, enough to get the supplies to go somewhere else. I also need to know where I’m going. I’m sure I could figure out a way to come up with a direction. All I need to do is talk to one of the ponies around here, they’ll be able to do something. Of course, that’s if they plan on helping me at all. Oh well, I’ll figure that one out when the time comes.

For the first time in a while, Hokey Smokes fell asleep in a comfortable bed. There was a lot that he needed to do, but that would come tomorrow.