The God Particle

Chapter 13: Diverging Paths

James awoke early the next morning and got ready for his normal workout routine with Rainbow Dash and Applejack. He didn't see Twilight anywhere and assumed she was still in bed. About an hour later he returned from his workout and opened the door of the library, blinking and shaking his head a bit at what he saw.

Open books were scattered all over the floor in a circle. In the air, several books were floating, surrounded by a glowing purple aura. Twilight was standing in the middle of them scribbling notes as she paged through the different magical texts. This wasn't the first time he had seen her like this when she became really engrossed in some problem she was working on.

"Good morning," he finally said, since it appeared she had not even noticed his entrance.

"Oh, James! Uh ... Good morning," she said with more than a hint of nervousness in her voice—or was it a hint of guilt? as she stopped taking down notes for a moment. "How uh ... was your workout?"

"It went well ... Are you alright? You seem rather stressed out about something," he said with a concerned look.

"Oh, yes. I'm fine," she lied. "Just a little engrossed in something I have been studying. That's all."

"Is there anything I can help with?"

"No ... Thank you. I've got this one handled. Uh ... Why don't you read that book on the history of the Pre-Classical Era that we talked about before."

James raised an eyebrow, trying to figure out why she seemed nervous and somewhat distant. He knew there was something she wasn't telling him, and that something was bothering her. He decided not to press the issue for now though and simply nodded his head. "Alright. I'll do that."

For her part, Twilight still felt guilty about what she had done to James the previous night. However, she continued to reason that it was justified and for the best. After all, she had very little hope any of this was going to work. Telling him she was working on a spell to send him home would only get his hopes up—hopes she would have to destroy and tear away from him later on when she failed and was not able to come up with the spell. It was simply better if he was none the wiser ... right? And besides, she had been as ethical as possible about it. She didn't look at any of his memories or knowledge in detail. The only thing she had probed deeply was the energy thread that she was now sure was the key to any spell that might be able to send him home. And then there was the fact that Twilight hated failure, and having to admit she had failed at something. This way, when failure did come, and she was sure it would, she could simply act as if she had never even tried and would not have to admit she failed. Nopony would be any wiser. She felt particularly guilty about that part. It seemed like such a selfish motivation to hide things from him. But still, not getting his hopes up seemed like a good enough reason. And she did what she did to help him. So that justified it ... Didn't it?

She shook her head a bit to clear her mind. Dwelling on the ethics of what she had done would serve no purpose right now. If she came up with a spell that would work, she would have to tell him then. But he wouldn't be mad at her then would he? He would just be so happy she had found the way and would overlook that little mind probing incident. Anyway, she would cross that bridge when she came to it. For now, she had work to do. And with that, she went back to scribbling notes, and paging through books.

Within a few days Twilight was mostly back to normal, but James could still sense something was bothering her and that there was a sense of urgency around her. She spent more time engrossed in work that she did not want him to help with. Whenever he asked if he could help with it, she would find something else for him to work on instead. Despite this, the two of them still managed to find time to jointly publish two articles in one of Equestria's most prestigious science journals regarding their star observations and conclusions.

o.O.o

The weather continued to turn colder and all the leaves had fallen off the trees now. James figured just the opposite was happening at home right about now. It would be late March in Chicago, and most of the snow would have melted by now. Equestria's seasons seemed to be approximately opposite of the seasons back where he was from.

James went out for his normal workout—the summer clothes Rarity had made him a few months back replaced with much warmer winter ones she had made for him. The workout time he spent with Applejack and Rainbow Dash was even more cathartic for him now. He found himself confiding in the two of them much more often now that Twilight seemed to be so engrossed in her work. It's not that he and Twilight were not close anymore, or did not talk anymore. They still did. But whatever she was engrossed in was taking up more of her time and she continued to refuse to talk to him about what was bothering her.

Applejack in particular, seemed to have a way with him with her southern charm and common sense down to earth advice. He would often take a jog out of town to her farm when he needed to unwind and clear his mind.

"She just seems distant, and really engrossed in whatever it is she is working on," he said while sitting on an overturned five gallon bucket, helping Applejack peel and slice apples for all the seasonal baked apple goods she would soon be making, as well as ones she would store for winter.

"Well, ah' wouldn't worry about it too much, sugercube. She gets in bookworm mode sometimes and then she gets like that. Nothin' personal I reckon. We haven't seen much of her either."

"I'm just concerned because it's been going on for a couple of weeks now."

"Two weeks is all? She's been known to go for a lot longer than that really engrossed in something. She'll come around ah'm sure. I wouldn't worry about it none."

"I'll try not too ... Thanks, AJ," he smiled, finished peeling and slicing another apple, picking up another one and starting on it.

"Ah reckon we will get the first snowfall of winter soon. Ah can feel it in the air," she remarked. "What's the weather like back where ya'all are from anyway?"

"Well, very similar actually. We tend to have short hot summers, and somewhat long cold winters. Although the seasons are reversed from what they are here. When I arrived here, it was winter where I came from. Spring would be starting right about now, and most of the snow would have melted by now. How long does winter last here anyway?"

"Usually about three months. That's why we have to get all these apples sliced, sealed, and stored. All of Equestria relies on the surplus food grown in the summer to sustain everypony through the winter. Ah' sure do appreciate your help gettin' all these here apples peeled and sliced, James. Looks like we are almost done."

"It's no problem at all, AJ. I'm glad I was able to help," he smiled.

The two of them continued peeling and slicing apples for a little while longer until the last apple in the pile had been finished.

"Thanks again for all your help, James. Would have taken a lot longer without your help."

"You are welcome AJ. It was no problem at all, really. Well, I suppose I should be heading back. I'll see you along with Rainbow Dash in the morning I guess?"

"Yep. Sounds good to me. I'll see ya in the morning," she waved as he started heading back to the library.

"Welcome back James. How'd things go at the farm?" Twilight looked up from what she was working on.

"Hi Twi. They went well. We got all the apples sliced and peeled, so she's ahead of schedule at getting started on the baked goods and getting the rest of them stored for winter."

"That's good. Thanks for helping her, James," she smiled. "I got a letter from Princess Celestia today. She wants to see you in Canterlot tomorrow. She's sending an aerial chariot to get us and we will be leaving very early in the morning—probably even before the sun comes up."

"That's short notice ... Did she say what she wanted? Or how long we'd be staying there?"

"Unfortunately, no. Just that she wanted to see you."

"Me? Just me?" he blinked.

"She only mentioned wanting to see you. But she did want me to accompany you there."

"Well ... I can't say no to The Princess I guess ... Alright, I'll pack a small bag just in case she wants us to stay overnight," he said as he headed off to his room and started to pack some of his clothes. Despite the fact he no longer had any reason to believe Princess Celestia would ever harm him without good reason, he still couldn't help but feel a little nervous any time she wanted to see him. After he had finished packing, he went back out to the main room. Twilight was slumped over with her head resting on one of her open books.

"Twilight? Are you ok?" he said quietly. He quickly walked over to her with a look of concern. Once he got close to her, it became obvious she had simply fallen asleep while working. He frowned and sighed a bit. "Poor girl ... She's working herself to exhaustion," he said to himself as he carefully and gently picked her up, cradling her across both of his arms. He carried her upstairs to the loft and gently laid her down in her bed before tucking the covers over her and giving her a light hug. "Good night, Twilight..." he said quietly before turning and going back downstairs. As he walked through the main room of the library, he turned his head and looked at the area where she had been working, the notes she had been scribbling, and book she had open. He started to walk over to them, but stopped once he was half way there. No ... he would not look at them. He respected her privacy too much and he knew whatever she had been working on was what it appeared she did not want him to know about. That and he had already seen one thing here in Equestria he was not supposed to see, which ended with him having to swear secrecy to the two princesses about it. He wasn't going to go out of his way to try to see another thing that he apparently was not supposed to see. He started walking again, resisting the urge to look, as he went into his own room and climbed into bed.

He awoke early the next morning and took a quick bath before shaving with the straight razor Rarity had given him. He had managed to get good enough with the straight razor that he could shave without nicking himself anymore. One of the winter outfits Rarity had made for him was very formal, and that is the one he chose to wear, of course. As much as he hated dressing up, he wanted to look his best for Princess Celestia out of respect for her position. Once he had finished dressing, he went into the kitchen, where Twilight had already started fixing them a simple breakfast of oatmeal and toast with peanut butter on it.

"Morning James," she said turning to look at him. "Wow, looking sharp there," she remarked at the clothes he was wearing. "How'd you sleep?"

"Morning Twi. I figured I should probably try to look my best for The Princess. I slept well ... ok I guess. Yourself?"

"I slept well ... Although I don't quite remember how I got into bed."

"Actually ... I carried you up there. You fell asleep while working. I'm worried about you, Twi. You are working too hard. You are exhausting yourself," he frowned.

"You carried me to bed? That was really sweet of you James," she smiled. "But you really don't have to worry about me. I'll be fine. It's not the first time I have fallen asleep studying after all."

"I know. I've done that plenty of times myself. It's just ... well, the habits you worked so hard to break me of ... all study, research, and work, and no fun ... I'm worried you are falling into them yourself now."

She winced at that internally. What he said was true. She was reverting back to her old ways somewhat—perhaps even neglecting her friends some because of it. But it was important, and time was of the essence she reasoned before finally responding. "I do appreciate your concern, James. I really do. But I just have some important research to finish. Once I am finished with it, I will be able to take a break and stop working so hard."

"I still wish you would let me help you with it so you don't have to work so hard," he frowned again.

"We've already talked about this, James. I can't share this with you or let you help me with it. I'm sorry, but I just can't."

"Alright, Twi. I won't push the issue. Just make sure you get enough sleep and that you take some time out for yourself."

Their conversation was interrupted by the sound of the chariot landing in front of the library. James looked out the window and was happy to see that this one was covered—a welcome site given how cold it had been lately. The two of them quickly grabbed their packed bags and went outside, not wanting to keep the pegasus ponies pulling it waiting. James opened the door on the chariot for Twilight and the two of them climbed in. Once the door was secure, the chariot took off for Canterlot.

About an hour into the flight, the sun started to rise and James could finally see the ground. He took in the geography of the route between Ponyville and Canterlot from the air. This was the first time he had been able to pay attention to it. The first time he had flown to Canterlot, he had been out cold thanks to Twilight's sleeping spell. The second time it had been pitch dark out. The third time, on the way back from Canterlot, he was still to overwhelmed from seeing Princess Celestia raise the sun to pay any attention. Even though the chariot was covered and enclosed, it was still rather chilly inside of it. James still seemed somewhat nervous and didn't speak much. Finally, Twilight broke the ice.

"You alright there, James? You seem a little worked up."

"It's nothing really. I still just get nervous whenever Princess Celestia wants to see me. That's all."

"If she meant you any harm, she would have done it by now, James. By now I would think you'd know that you can trust her. Why be nervous?"

"Well, I can't lie to you Twilight. The whole system of government here still makes me nervous. You have two monarchs who are sisters and have absolute unlimited power to do whatever they want, whenever they want, to whoever they want. And there's no system of checks and balances in place to prevent abuse of power."

"But overall, James, the system has worked for well over a thousand years. That's longer than any nation or government where you are from has survived and prospered from what you told me about when I taught you about Equestrian law. And the princesses do have a council."

"Yes, but the council is completely loyal to the princesses. And only to the princesses. And they serve a purely advisory function. At the end of the day, the princesses still wield absolute power and the council carries out their will."

"What about the president's staff where you're from? Aren't they also just in an advisory role?" Twilight asked.

"Effectively, yes. But here the Royal Council is absolutely unquestioningly loyal to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. The president's advisors are not like that. Also we have three branches of government where I am from. The president can't pass laws on a whim. They have to go through congress first. And the judicial courts can rule laws unconstitutional. As we talked about before, this ensures no one person can become too powerful. Here in Equestria, there's only one branch of government. And two individuals have absolute power."

"Well, you've only been here a little more than three months, James. I hope that with time you'll become more comfortable with our system of government and law. After all, to be blunt, you have to live under it, whether you like it or not. And I'd like to think the fact that Equestria has survived for as long as it has, and that most of that time has been spent in peace and prosperity, means we're doing something right."

"I can't really argue with you on either point there. Yes, I have to live under it whether I like it or not. And yeah, the system has worked for longer than any government I am aware of on my planet ... I'm sorry, I didn't mean to bring this up again."

"It's alright. I did ask what was bothering you. And I'm glad you were honest with me about it," she smiled.

"So you got any spells that will warm it up in here a little bit? It's kind of cold," he said changing the subject. A layer of frost had begun to form on the inside of the window in the door of the chariot.

"Maybe," she grinned. "Or I could just do this instead," she suddenly lunged at him, tackling him to the floor of the chariot and trying to cover him with her warm fur as she giggled, her grin getting wider.

"Twilight! What the!" he said as he was pounced onto the floor. "Oh, you're gonna get it now!" he laughed playfully as he rolled her off of him and then reached out to tickle her.

"Eep!" she giggled and batted at his hands with her hooves to stop the tickling, giggling more as she tried to pounce on him again. He rolled out of the way this time though.

"Missed!" he laughed.

Both of them failed to notice that their rough housing had set the flying chariot to rolling back and forth.

"Would you two knock it off back there?" came the annoyed voice of a pegasus from up front. "We are trying to keep this thing going in a straight line!"

"Sorry!" both Twilight and James called out in unison as they stood back up and took their seats again, James straightening out and readjusting his clothes while Twilight fixed her mane, which was hanging down all sides of her face now from the rough housing.

"I think we made him mad," James remarked motioning with his head to one of the pegasi pulling the chariot.

"You think?" Twilight responded as they both grinned stupidly and started giggling about the whole thing again.

James had to admit, the brief period of rough housing had warmed him up quite a bit. But he was still glad when they finally arrived in Canterlot and started their decent to slightly warmer air. The entire flight had taken roughly three to four hours he guessed. Once the chariot had landed, a castle servant opened the door for them and they were met by two royal guards.

"Welcome to Canterlot, Ms. Sparkle, Dr. Peterson. Her Majesty is awaiting your presence, Dr. Peterson," one of the guards said as he motioned with a forehoof for them to step down from the chariot.

Twilight and James both stepped down, nodding respectfully to the royal guards. As they were led around to the front of the chariot, the same pegasus that had yelled at them earlier gave them an annoyed look, as if he wanted to pummel both of them right about now. It was all the two of them could do not to burst out laughing again.

"I will take you to see Princess Celestia, Dr. Peterson," one of the guards said. "And Ms. Sparkle, Princess Luna would be grateful to catch up on things with you while Dr. Peterson speaks with Princess Celestia."

The two of them were separated and led off in different directions—James being taken by one guard for an apparently formal meeting with Princess Celestia, and Twilight being taken by the other guard to an apparently informal chat with Princess Luna. Of course, this only made him even more nervous. All the other times he had met Princess Celestia in a formal setting, Twilight had been there as well. This would be the first time he had ever had to face her in a formal setting by himself. His mind raced as he walked, trying to figure out if he might have done something wrong that would have caused her to order him to back to Canterlot.

Eventually, James and the guard assigned to him arrived at the large set of double doors which he recognized as the entrance to the throne room. James took a deep breath as he tried to calm his nerves. This was the place he had met her the first time when he was still worried she might do something heinous like condemn him to spend the rest of his life in the dungeon. The guard escorting him knocked on one of the doors. There was a loud clang as the latch holding them shut opened and two unicorn guards on the other side of the doors began to open them. He looked inside and noticed Princess Celestia was already present, seated at the other end of the room. Once the unicorn guards had motioned him inside he started walking down the red carpet that led to the throne—the doors closing behind him again.

James continued walking towards the throne until he was a short distance away from the steps leading up to it. There he stopped, getting down to one knee and bowing before the alicorn Princess, lowering his head respectfully.

"It is good to see you again, James. Please stand. I trust you had a good flight here?"

"Thank you, Your Majesty," James said as he rose from his kneeling position. "I am honored to be here again. The flight was fine, yes," he said, deciding it was probably best not to mention that the chariot was a little chilly, or the fact that they had been chastised by one of the pegasus ponies pulling the chariot.

"How have you been enjoying life in Ponyville?" she asked.

"Well, Your Majesty, I've become good friends with a lot of ponies there. So that part has been great. Of course, Ponyville itself is ... well, a little ..." he paused trying to think of the best words to say what he wanted to say. Celestia finished for him, however.

"A little slow and quiet compared to what you are used to in Chicago," the alicorn stated.

"You could put it that way, yes, Your Majesty," James nodded slightly.

The Princess nodded her head understandingly before continuing. "Twilight's letters tell me you have learned a lot in the three months since I have seen you. And I see in the ones that you wrote, that you have even become rather proficient in writing in Equestrian script."

"I've been trying my best, Your Majesty."

"You have been doing well. I also received a letter from Cheerilee about the work you have been doing at the school. She is very impressed with you as well. And I was impressed with the journal articles you jointly published with Twilight."

"Thank you ... Your Majesty?" he said as both a statement and a question. He wasn't really sure where The Princess was going with this.

She stood up from her throne and stepped down the stairs, each hoof making tapping sound as she did so. She stopped directly in front of him at which point he bowed his head slightly in reverence to her again. She paused for a few moments longer before continuing.

"James, I want you to stay here in Canterlot," she said flatly.

He nodded slightly in response. "For how long, Your Majesty?"

"Actually, I want you to move here."

"Your Majesty ... Did ... I do something wrong?" he asked with more than a hint of concern and nervousness in his voice.

"No, not at all," she said in a comforting tone. "Quite the opposite. You've proven yourself to me, and I have decided I will no longer require you to be under Twilight's supervision. There are many more opportunities for your talents to be used here in Canterlot than in Ponyville. And Spike will be returning soon and will resume his normal duties as Twilight's assistant. If you were to remain in Ponyville, it would really be a waste of your talent and skill at this point," she paused for a moment, but James remained silent. Then she continued. "I do apologize for not giving you earlier notice of this decision. My sister and I only finalized this decision this morning."

James remained silent, appearing to be lost in thought. He really didn't want to leave Ponyville, given that the only friends he had here were in Ponyville. On the other hand, he knew The Princess was right. Ponyville was a fairly small town, and there weren't exactly a lot of opportunities there for someone with his skill set. Furthermore, Ponyville lacked extensive research facilities and only had the one library, which was very small by the standards he was used to. That wouldn't have been a problem back where he was from, of course, because most publications were now available electronically. However, here in Equestria, there was no Internet, and no electronic publication service that allowed journals, books, and articles to be accessed from anywhere. He really probably would be better off in Canterlot as it would give him greater access to research facilities and knowledge. But he would miss all of his friends in Ponyville. However, by now, he had accepted the fact that he was basically stuck in Equestria and would never be able to leave. Given that, he knew that eventually he had to become a truly productive member of this society he was now part of. Sure, he had helped out Twilight, Cheerilee, and Applejack in Ponyville, but he had to admit that was almost drifter like—working odd jobs in exchange for free room and board. It was a little demeaning in a way. Canterlot would give him the opportunity to chart his own course here, to live his own life without being dependent on Twilight for keeping him fed and sheltered.

Finally, he accepted this new development and nodded slightly. "I understand, Your Majesty. It's just that I am going to miss all the friends I made back in Ponyville ... But if this is what best serves Equestria, then I am content to remain in Canterlot."

The alicorn smiled at his willingness to make the best of it. "You will be able to go back to Ponyville and visit them sometimes. And you will make a lot of friends here in Canterlot. Of that I am sure."

"Yes, Your Majesty. I'm sure you are right." There was still a hint of depression in his voice over the new situation. But it was mixed with a feeling of optimism about the new opportunities that would be available for him here in Canterlot—opportunities that never would have been available in Ponyville.

"For now, go get some lunch with Twilight and spend some time together, and then get settled in. We have a guest room ready for you in the castle. We will discuss your future more in the morning," the alicorn smiled reassuringly at him.

"Yes, Your Majesty," he said and knelt before her, bowing again.

She placed a reassuring hoof on his shoulder. "It will be hard at first, but I think you will enjoy life in Canterlot, James," she said comfortingly before taking her hoof off his shoulder again.

He simply nodded slightly at that before rising back to his feet, backing up two steps, turning and walking towards the large double doors again which the unicorns guards opened for him. As he left, the original guard who escorted him to the throne room rejoined him and starting leading him back towards the main foyer of the castle. When they reached the main foyer, he saw Twilight turn to look at him. She smiled, but he could not find the resolve to return her smile as he walked towards her. She turned to go back out to the courtyard and he followed her outside.

"I hope your meeting with Princess Celestia went well. Are you ready to leave? It's going to be dark before we get back to Ponyville as it is. We should leave as soon as possible."

James paused for a few moments before looking at her. "Twilight ... Actually ... I won't be going back with you."

"What?" she blinked looking surprised. "Why?"

"Princess Celestia wants me to stay here."

"Ok ... For how long?"

"Well ... she wants me to move here. So I guess I will only be coming back to Ponyville for visits."

Twilight looked very disappointed. She had really been starting to enjoy his company and the conversations they had with each other. "Did she say why?" she asked after a long pause.

"She said she thought my talents could be better utilized here now that Spike will be returning to the library in a few days. But she didn't give me any specifics yet. She said I should come see you so we could have lunch together or something, then take the rest of the day to get settled in. And that we would discuss my future more in the morning."

The unicorn frowned, looking at the ground. Then her frown was replaced by a look of determination as she stomped her right forehoof on the ground. "I'm going to go talk to her," she said sternly. "I like having you around and I don't want you to leave Ponyville. I'm going to convince her to let you stay there." She turned on her hoof and started marching back towards the castle entrance.

James put a hand on her shoulder to stop her. "No, Twilight."

She stopped. Turned to look up at him, raising an eyebrow.

He looked at the ground, frowning himself for a moment before looking back at her. "She's right. It makes more sense for me to be here. You and I both know that. I'm going to miss all of you, but I will come back for visits when I can."

"... If you are sure ... that's what you want," she said, looking at the ground again and scraping it with her forehoof a little before looking back up at him. "Well, I know a good place for lunch. Let's go I guess," she started slowly trotting off and he followed her.

As the two of them ate lunch, Twilight started giving him tips and pointers as if she were a mother just sending her child off to college for the first time.

"Now remember, best place for breakfast. Pony Joe's. This is one of the best places for lunch ... uh ... There are two trains each day that go to Ponyville. One leaves at 6:30 AM, the next one 1:00 PM. I already told you where the railway station is. But there are signs for it as well in case you get lost. When you need to go shopping, the market over on Trottingham Ave. is usually the best place to go to find fresh produce."

"I got it Twilight," he said, trying to keep up with everything she was telling him.

"Well, I just want to make sure. I grew up here so I know where most things are. Oh, and remember, separate colors when doing wash. And wash the whites separate from the colors—"

James blinked and waved a hand stopping her. "I've been doing my own laundry since I was like seventeen, Twilight. I think I got that part handled," he managed to force a bit of a chuckle.

"Oh ... Right ... Sorry," she looked a bit sheepish as they paid for their meal and walked back towards the chariot. "So I guess I guess I'll ship the rest of your things to you first thing tomorrow," she said, still sounding disappointed as they arrived at the chariot.

"Thank you, Twilight ... I'm really gonna miss you. And everypony else I met in Ponyville ... Please tell them I'm sorry for leaving without saying goodbye."

"I'm going to miss you too, James. And don't worry about the rest of the ponies. They will understand. It wasn't your fault you left without saying goodbye to them. This trip was really short notice, and neither of us knew you wouldn't be coming back to Ponyville."

He nodded slightly and opened the door on the chariot for Twilight—stumbling and nearly falling when she reared up on her hind legs and wrapped her forelegs around his shoulders in a tight hug. For a moment, he felt rather awkward about hugging a pony like this, in public, with many others watching, but he quickly got over it and returned her embrace. He knelt down to make it easier for her so she wouldn't have to stand up on her hind legs. The two of them continued hugging for several more seconds.

"I really enjoyed having you around James, and all of the conversations we had," she said.

"I enjoyed them to, Twi. I'll come visit as soon as I can. I promise."

Then the two of them finally released their embrace. Twilight climbed into the chariot and James closed the door for her. They waved at each other before the pegasi pulling the chariot started off at a gallop, taking off for the sky.

Twilight looked out the window and watched the ground disappear beneath them, sighing and lost—the buildings of Canterlot becoming smaller as the chariot climbed higher into the sky. It was true, Spike would be returning in a few days. But she was still going to miss having James around. Trying to put a positive spin on it though, she thought maybe it was for the best. It would make it much easier to continue her work on trying to come up with the spell to get him home to his own world. Furthermore, she was becoming rather attached to him she realized. If she became too attached, she feared she might stop working on the spell altogether out of an unwillingness to let go of him and send him home. After all, she had almost been unwilling to let him go as it was, and he was just moving to a different city where he would still be able to come visit her. She would have been much less willing to let him go if she knew she would never see or hear from him again. Perhaps then, it was for the best, that the two of them would not be spending very much time together anymore. She sighed again and frowned. The knowledge that it was probably for the best did not make it any easier for her.

James stood at the main entrance to the castle watching the chariot climb higher into the sky as it departed Canterlot. He pulled his heavy winter robe tighter around himself against the chill wind that had started to pick up as the chariot became smaller and smaller—climber ever higher into the sky as it flew further away from the castle. When he could no longer see the chariot, he turned and went back inside. A waiting guard escorted him to his guest room. He thanked the guard, who nodded slightly and then turned to leave, resuming his other duties. James sighed as he sat down on the bed and began to unpack the small bag he had brought with him, placing the extra clothes neatly on the bed. He had been over it several times in his head, and he knew The Princess was right. There weren't many ways for him to use his talents in Ponyville and he would likely be better off here in Canterlot. But that didn't make it any easier to leave his friends in Ponyville—especially Twilight. Here in Canterlot, other than Princess Celestia, he knew nopony at all. And so he was alone again—as alone as he was the day he had first arrived in Equestria.