I am returning much later than I had expected to finish writing this entry. So much later in fact, that I have lost my thoughts and feel it important to simply start it as a new entry. Let me begin by removing any worry that there was an actual emergency at Springfield's farm: I was led to believe that the scenario was much more dire than it actually was, however, that does not mean that it was not an interesting venture.

Especially since I have been gone for almost thirteen hours before I was able to return to continue writing. A lot can happen in that amount of time.

It started when Dawnstar came into my office with a statement that Springfield had specifically requested my presence at the farm to see about a problem that had come up. I asked her what exactly should I expect, but she could only shrug at me as she took to tidying up my desk, as well as reach up to try to smooth out the wrinkles from the front of my suit and straighten my collar for me. Springfield had not told her what exactly was amiss, only that I was needed there immediately. Seeing as Springfield had rarely ever called for my help, it certainly had me worried. I took her suggestion and headed out to have a look at what had happened.

A very strange realization hit me when I first made my way past the small gate that had been set up in the tall fence that walled our precious farm away from the beasts of the Honoring Mire. That realization was that in the past four years, I had not set foot on the soil of Springfield's Farm once. I had always sent Dawnstar to go handle any inquiries here, and as Springfield is a very independent stallion and handles most issues of his own accord, I had not yet been requested here for my attention. I took a moment to survey the location (walled into the valley between two short ridges of the Fatal Horns) and take a good look at how the large plot of land had developed without my noticing. A small farmhouse already stood erected on the land with an open tool shed attached to its side for the farmhands to step over and grab what they needed as they headed to the fields. Stalks of wheat, vines of watermelon and pumpkin, strawberries suspended by small wooden stakes in the dirt, greens of carrots poking out of the ground, and rows of hops were being grown. Many other plants that I could not recognize were also sprouting up out of the fertile field, getting ready to be harvested to sustain Songring's whole population throughout the year to come.

In the fields, two ponies I had not yet personally met were working. One, a rather portly earth pony stallion with a pair of horn rimmed glasses and a buff-colored coat, raised his head and waved a hoof amiably in my direction before realizing that he had slung the seeds in the bag he was holding all about on accident and had to go collect them. The other was a shapely mare with the same coat color, but an eye-catching dark scarlet mane that was tied back and wrapped loosely around her neck like a scarf to keep it out of the way of her work. When she spotted me, a warm smile spread on her face and she came sauntering out of the watermelon fields to get closer to me.

"Howdy there, Mister Prodder. You happen to be lookin' a little lost. Got anything in particular you're tryin' to find?"

"Perhaps," I admitted as I looked her over once again to try to put my finger on exactly what about her perplexed me so much. I noticed it was that she maintained a slender neck and abdomen much like Teardrop's, but her haunches and the top of her legs were wide and curvy, as that is where her body seemed to place its weight. She is simply the first pony I could refer to as shapely instead of just generalizing as muscular, chubby, or lean. "Have we met?"

"No sir, you ain't come out this far before 'cause of how fond you are of your little mountain house out there. I'm Belle. It's a pleasure." As she raised her hoof to me, I took it gently and awkwardly shook it, receiving back a chuckle as I must have misinterpreted her gesture. "Your little sweetie-pie Dawnstar was here earlier, but I'm sorry to say she's already left if that's who you're out after."

"No, actually she came to tell me that Springfield needed my attention. She's also not my... pie, she's my assistant. I'd appreciate it if you and everyone else would refer to her by her proper title."

With a titter, she nodded and turned to point a hoof off towards yet another building on the property that had a small pipe blowing out some black smoke, the windows dark enough that I could not see what was inside it. "Whatever you say then. Springfield's been over near the brewin' house today. He's probably got an issue with the still again. Darn thing keeps wanting to burn up, y'know. Mind given' the fella a hoof with it for us?"

I had not considered it before, but it makes sense that there happens to be a small brewery setup on the premises somewhere. Absinthe has to get her wares from someplace, and it seems that place would be Springfield's farm. I could not remember putting Blueprint or Machina to work setting up a distillery of any kind out here. More and more it began to seem like I might have stepped into a whole new settlement that was appended to the side of Songring without my knowledge.

Stepping up to the wooden structure, I heard a collection of voices murmur quietly from around the back. Investigation revealed seven ponies who were already there waiting around. As they all turned to view me, a couple of them smiled, others simply observed, and at least one smoldered at the sight of me. The original seven settlers of Songring had all turned their gazes to me as we stood behind the brewing house and waited.

"Glad y'could make it," Springfield said first, nodding to me cordially. I returned the gesture before falling in closer to the group, standing next to Salmon who idly rocked back and forth with a clueless grin on his face.

"Okay then. What's up? What did you drag us all out here for, Springfield?" Maple piped up indignantly as she looked up at the small pillar of smoke coming out of the pipe. "Trust me, I'd be the first to want to spend my time in a brewery, but I was busy with... stuff. You made it sound like there was an emergency, and so far all I've seen is us sitting around out here waiting for Ben to show up."

"It can still be important, Maple... just let him get around to whatever it is before you start jumping to conclusions." Overcast swung his head back and forth in a shake, sitting next to Teardrop. "You're being really impatient."

"Can it, Drizzle," Maple shot back quickly.

"Yeah! She can be whatever she wants, Mopey! Where do you get off on giving advice anyways?" Willow harassed as well, before receiving a jab in the side from the cardinal pegasus.

"You too," she informed him.

"I hope it's something special," Teardrop added in enthusiastically, with ears perked up and a meek smile as she hoped to change the direction of their conversation. "Is it something you made? Is that what you're going to show us?"

"I was led to believe there was a problem here," I mentioned, folding my arms irritably as we were still all standing there watching Springfield while he simply watched us in return. He was scanning over each of us, just nodding to himself after each of us spoke, until my own inquiry.

"There is, Mr. Prodder. Happens that it’s in the brew house here. Need you all to take a look at somethin' special 'fore it gets out of hoof. Think y'all can do that for me?"

"Of course!" Salmon exclaimed first among us, stepping forward and bringing me with him by pressing an outstretched wing into my back as he stepped forward. "Happy to help as always! Just give us a look-see at what's the trouble and we'll all have it right a'fore the day's out."

One nod of agreement from the rest of the group later, Springfield turned to open the door to the brewery and motioned us all to go in. Filing through carefully, we each eased past him into the small building lit only by the narrow windows positioned high up on the walls. Every one of us glanced around, searching and trying to find what must be amiss that he needed our help with, but it was not immediately apparent. All that seemed to be there were a few barrels of hops and water, some tools hanging from the wall, a few benches for seating, and the tall still with lit coals burning away beneath it.

While I glanced around, I shrugged and turned to finally ask, "So what exactly are we supposed to be seeing? Everything looks like I might expect it to." I noticed that the door had already been shut when I looked behind me. "Springfield?" The bolt clicked as the key turned in it, leaving the door locked in front of me. "... What the hell?"

"Uhm, what's going on here exactly?" Salmon questioned as well, as he rubbed his head with his hoof. He was unable to locate this special concern of Springfield's either.

"There's nothing here!" Willow shouted in frustration.

"Hey, at least there's these," Maple commented as she took a fresh bottle off a shelf, knocked the cork out of it with her hoof, and raised it with a shrug. "Maybe it's a new flavor he wants us to try or something." Taking a swig of it, she shook her head and coughed. "Nah, still tastes like crap. Personally more of a whiskey gal... beer's just too watery."

"It smells a little... rank in here. Is that the problem?" Teardrop asked us then with a quirk of her head.

"I'm sorry... I guess I should have bathed before coming out here," Overcast apologized.

"No, lad, it's hops. Smell that kind of citrusy bite to it? Western region hops'll have that scent about 'em. Been to enough breweries to know." Salmon shook his head after his explanation, turning back to see that the door was closed. "... What's this now? Where's Springfield?"

"Leavin'," we heard from the other side of the door. The implication caused us all to pause before announcing a single, "What?" in unison. "I would stick with you all, but I've got fields to tend and, let's be honest, you all probably ain't real fond of me right now anyways. I'll be back in a while to check and see how things are goin'."

"Springfield," I began incredulously, "You can't just lock us in this still room."

"Beg to differ, Mr. Prodder. Just did."

Touché, I thought. Allons-y. Cafe au le. Admittedly, I'm not even sure what any of those words mean. They just sound neat when Julienne spouts them off at me.

"Seriously, this isn't funny," Willow agreed, as he shoved me against Salmon to pound the door with his hoof. "What are you trying to pull? Open the door!" When there was no response, Willow looked back at us before returning his attention to the door, beating on it hysterically. "You can't leave me in here with them! C'mon!"

"I can," we finally heard back, as something large was being wheeled towards the door. "An' nice try, but ah know that's you doing that Silence. Stop it." We all stopped to look at the quiet unicorn, just now realizing that she was in there with us. She seemed to sigh in resignation, as it appeared that whatever she was attempting had failed. At that time, the large object was rested in front of the door, and the sounds of Springfield dusting himself off could be heard.

"What's going on?" Teardrop asked us as she came closer and put her hoof around the knob to try and turn it to no avail.

"Springfield's gone crazy and trapped us in the brewery," Overcast told her bluntly, as he idly rubbed his face with a front leg. "Guess we're stuck here until he comes to his senses then. I wish I had brought a deck of cards. Guess everypony's going to be too busy panicking or fighting to play games anyways..."

"Trapped? I don't think so. Move out of the way; let me take care of this." The group in front of the door parted ways for the woodspony, letting her have her space as she approached it and turned around to plant her hooves firmly into the cobbled stone floor beneath us. Maple drew in a deep breath after a moment, and all of us watched as she whipped her body up behind her and lashed out viciously with her back legs to strike the door. As the thud rang out through the brewery, everyone took a moment to let their ears stop ringing before looking back to see Maple frozen with her back legs propped up firmly against the still-closed door. She was biting her lower lip as she closed her eyes and exhaled sharply, admitting to us, "Okay, that hurt a little bit. ... Really, come on, somepony help me out here."

With a roll of my eyes, I stepped forward and put my arm beneath her abdomen, letting her rest her back legs as I slowly lowered her back down to stand. She limped for a moment with a deep, groaning exhale as she went to walk off whatever damage she had done.

"Ain't gonna work," we heard once again from outside, "Y'all just gonna have to sit in there for a while. Maybe soon 'nuff, you'll find that something special I needed you all ta have a look at." It was then that I heard Springfield softly tell himself, "Or at least I can hope," before he gave a sigh. "Now I'm off. Don't hurt nopony in there."

"Springfield? Springfield! ... How long are you going to leave us in here?" I called back worriedly, but heard no response. "What are we supposed to do in here?" Once again, there was no answer, just a bit of wind blowing in through the very small windows at the top of the brewery walls.

Then we all fell quiet in shock.

Six ponies and I were now locked within the still room, just glancing around with the same stupefied expression on our faces. The mystery of what exactly was going on still evaded us all. Salmon chewed on the inner part of his cheek in concern as he continued to glance between the windows, before finally seating himself on one of the free benches with a huff as he told us he just needed a moment to think. Teardrop pushed herself against Overcast's side with an air of uncertainty about her. Maple and Silence let their eyes meet for a moment. The pegasus scowled and turned away hurriedly to pace about towards the other side of the small brewery, keeping to herself near another bench on the far wall. Overcast put one of his front legs over Teardrop and told her that it was okay, that as long as we didn't tear each other apart because of all the bad vibes between us, everything was going to be fine. Last was Willow, who glowered at me broodingly, shaking his head when I looked back at him before he turned to go meet with Maple and follow her pacing.

I was left there with my hand on my chin, just looking at the other six as I wondered to myself what exactly I was supposed to be looking for. All I could see were six ponies and a human locked in a brewery who wanted very little to do with each other right now. It certainly did not help that the room was uncomfortably small. As much as I struggled to think of a witty way out of this situation, the only thing I kept coming back to was thinking it was best to just wait for Springfield to come back and unlock the door. What should we be looking for? What if we did not find it? Would he even let us out of here if we never located it? It was then that I started to fear Springfield's motives. Seeking comfort, I took my seat next to Salmon on his bench and looked to him with a shake of my head. He could only shrug in response. We were both stumped.

After about half an hour, Maple calmed down from her frustrated pacing in the corner of the brewery and started looking to take her seat as well. Willow pulled her aside to one of the other benches and rested with her beside him. She looked up to the ceiling with her lips pulled tight and a scowl on her brow as she quietly complained about how boring it was going to be in here while we waited for somepony to figure out that Springfield had lost his marbles. Teardrop and Overcast had taken their own seat elsewhere, passing the time with a few shared smiles while they spoke of simple things together: Colors, the nice breeze coming in through the window, what they had dreamed about the night before, and what they hoped Julienne might be making for dinner in the dining hall right now for whenever we got out of the brewing house. Then there was Silence, who was left resting alone against the still. She kept her head down as she simply watched the burning coals beneath it, eyes moving with the few licks of flame that sprang up from the embers.

There was some talking going on, I remember. Salmon had begun to recount a story of the time he and two other stallions had to board themselves up in an outhouse during a rainstorm to avoid the lightning, describing a few of the rather uncomfortable happenings. Perhaps that was his way of trying to ease the tension in the room, as boredom crept up on some of us and strife seeped off of others. Willow kept trying to get Maple to speak with him. She humored him a bit before defaulting to pulling dark bottles off the wall and starting to take swigs pointlessly to pass time: Leaned back lazily on the bench, she simply responded to his small thoughts and questions with "Uh huh"s. Overcast had stopped talking now, as he just lowered his head to stare at the cobblestone below us. Teardrop was idly rolling on her back – back-and-forth, back-and-forth – to waste away moments.

That is when something touched my shoulder. I glanced to see if Salmon had perhaps asked me a question and wanted to get my attention, but he was still in the middle of his story about trying to figure out a good way to lay three ponies in a single outhouse so they could get some sleep without getting too "close" to one another. There was nothing swinging behind me from the wall, or anything drifting through the room that could have brushed me, so I tried to ignore it until I felt it again. Then I saw her looking at me. Silence watched me from her lone corner of the room and gently kicked a bit of dust at the embers. Agitated by my time being spent sitting on a bench in here instead of back writing in my journal, I did not wish to strike up a conversation amongst everyone in the room, so I tried thinking the words, "What do you want?"

Silence hid her sight away from me and tried to detach again, as I must have upset her with my snappish response. When I continued to watch her, she let out a sigh, and I heard back the words, "I'm scared." When I questioned back about what, she would not clarify for me and just shook her head. It was when I asked what exactly she wanted me to do about it that I saw her tense up and bite her lip with her eyes turned down once more. "Nothing. I just wanted some of your attention... maybe then I wouldn't feel so alone over here."

"You're free to sit over here with us. Nobody told you to go sit in the corner."

Looking at the others, concern struck her features, and Silence shook her head to me. "I can't..." Her dread was most noticeable when she viewed the pegasus who got back up to go find another bottle on the wall that might interest her. "I don't really feel welcome right now for reasons that are probably quite obvious. I just felt a little lonely and scared, and even if you're still upset with me, the attention is comforting. The music is lovely too."

"It's just a compiled track called Romantic Pieces. No specific composer. Silence, I'm not upset with you. I'm upset that I'm stuck here instead of being back at my office and doing something productive."

"The last thing you said to me was that you weren't happy with me. I thought perhaps that meant you wanted to have nothing to do with me."

"I don't think anyone would have been happy with you after what happened that night, but I'm over it. It shocked me more than anything. I just didn't know you were capable of something so... well, spiteful. I had taken you for a docile, peaceful creature to be honest."

Apologetically bowing her head to me, Silence did her best to stifle a small sniffle. "I'm sorry," is all she was able to respond with at first, as we both stopped for a moment to glance around. Nothing had changed, except Salmon's story was now about him getting into an argument with one of the other stallion's wife who thought he had made a move on her husband during the whole outhouse shenanigan, and Maple had begun telling Willow about how Rag and Tag were doing back home. (Specifically how worried she was when she received news that they had been sent home from school multiple times now for picking fights.) "How is your journal?" I heard when I looked back to the unicorn by the still who watched me with marked interest.

"Fine, though I have begun to question the point of it sometimes. It’s not like anyone is ever going to read it anyways. I figure it’s more of a habit now than anything. You know, the same way most people shave, shower and brush their teeth. I just end up writing in my journal every few weeks."

"Shave?" The phrase held some marked interest for her then as she glanced me over. "Are humans not all as hairless as you? Do you specifically shave your pelt off to look that way?"

Shrugging at her, I made a motion of stroking the hair that had grown on my cheeks and on the front of my neck. "Most are about this hairless, except this hair on my face. It's a beard, and alot of men shave it off for a better appearance."

"I thought perhaps you were growing a mane, like a lion. I had hoped maybe it would connect with the other hair growing and become a majestic crown around your face."

"No, afraid it never gets that grand. I actually wouldn't have it at all if I had any real idea of how to shave it off. I get the feeling I have looked really messy and stupid recently because of it." She questioned what I meant. "Guess it’s something most dads teach their sons. My stepfather never got around to showing me how and, well, I've not been home in a long time to ask."

Then I saw her look to the wall and find a small, clean knife from among the tools hanging there that she grasped with her magic. Looking to me with tenderness in her eyes, she smiled and started to close the long gap between us in the room. I heard her voice sweetly coo to me. "You don't know how? Well, sometimes ponies have to have their pelt shaved for surgeries or because something gets stuck in it, so I've done it once or twice before. I'd be happy to show you how, if you'd like." Intrigued, as she made her way past the benches and eased by Salmon, I slowly nodded my head to her. "Okay then, just sit still and I'll show you. All you have to do is set the flat side of the blade against the skin, turn the edge into it a little, and apply pressure as you stroke it across the skin. It'll then-" The thought was quickly interrupted, as I felt the cold metal of the blade that moments ago had stroked slowly against my cheek pulled away with a loud protest. Silence gave a small yelp as she was thrust away from me. I finally snapped out of our conversation to see that the others in the room had flown into an uproar while I was listening. Teardrop was holding her breath in angst, Salmon had wrenched the knife out of midair and now held it carefully in his teeth, and Silence was slowly picking herself up off of the ground after Maple had bashed her across the side and sent her tumbling away.

Before I could even make a comment, I felt the hooves of the pegasus mare grasp the sides of my face as she looked me in the eyes worriedly. "Benjy? Are you okay? She didn't hurt you, did she?"

"What?" I asked back, confused as to what was happening before it dawned on me what the scene must have looked like. "No, it's fine. She was just going to help me shave my face."

"Shave your face? She was going to cut off the cute little lion's mane you're growing?" Maple growled at Silence as she picked herself up. "You're asking for it now, Mouse. I've let you off the hook for a lot of stuff, but you will not play with his head like this!"

"... Shaving?" Salmon uttered as he spat the knife out and handed it to me at my request. "Lad, I thought she was going to cut you up like ribbons!"

"No, it's fine. I just forgot that not everyone could hear our conversation. Maple! Stop it and get away from her!" I had to call out, as Silence whimpered quietly. One of Maple's hooves was already wrenched in the unicorn's mane and another was reared back to deliver a strike. "Cut it out! I told her it was okay, now leave her alone."

Looking back at me for a moment unhappily, Maple let her go with a grumble. "You keep saving her at the last minute," she told me, before coming over and falling back on the bench next to me. "You know what happened last time you made me let her go. She's playing you like a card, little bossman. I don't like it."

"She's not playing anyone," I responded, as Silence quickly retreated to her corner of the brewing room and curled up on the floor as far out of sight as she could get. "Give it a rest. You can go back to your seat now and just forget about it."

"No," Maple immediately told me, as she glowered spitefully toward the other side of the room at Silence, who had rolled over to turn her back towards us and try to remove herself as much as possible. "I'm going to sit right here in case she tries to pull anymore tricks. I don't trust her, and I don't see why you do."

"What about me?" Willow asked with indignance, as he was left alone on his bench.

"You're not the pony in here that has a maniac trying to cut you up. Just play with yourself or something; I'm going to sit over here. Deal with it," Maple responded.

I could not take my eyes off of Silence in the corner of the room, or stop myself from feeling sympathetic towards her. With frustration building in the pegasus next to me though, now was not the time to dwell on it, and certainly not to act on it. "Whatever," I finally told her to try to defuse the situation, leaning forward to experimentally press the flat side of the knife against my cheek. I resolved to just listen to my CCMI continue to roll through a playlist of a few of my more sentimental tracks (a rare treat) and practice the technique Silence had tried to show me while we continued to wait. I’m proud to say that despite a few nicks left on me after the attempt, I got most of the stupid beard off! Everything except the chin, but my hands were shaking too much by the time I got to that part to do a clean scraping without hurting myself. Shaping it up would just have to do.

Salmon had finally gotten quiet, realizing that nobody wished to hear his stories at this time, and dozed off to sleep. I felt his head eventually slump over and land on my shoulder. Nudging him in the side and shaking my arm to try to wake him did nothing, so I figured I'd let the fellow take his nap as it would at least help him pass the time. When I felt another head rest on my other shoulder, I sighed.

Maple nuzzled her nose against my neck after a while and went to wrap her legs around me. Looking over, I saw that her eyes were closed as she smiled and pushed herself closer to rest more of her body against me. As much as I could appreciate it, looking past her gave me a glimpse of the terrible glare being thrown back from Willow, who watched her huddle up to me on the bench.

Clearing my throat, I shook my shoulder to try to dislodge her from it. "Is now really the best time?" I asked her quickly.

Opening her eyes with a grumble of discontent as I was trying to shake her off of me, she pulled her head away to view me while leaving her legs wrapped around my shoulders. "Is now really the worst time? Nothing for us to do, so might as well enjoy our stay in here."

"We're not exactly alone here, you know. Did you ever think that maybe this won't seem appropriate to someone else present?"

"No. Who gives a damn what anypony else thinks of it? If they've got a problem with it, they can say it to me, and I'll tell them it’s none of their business. Now just relax, Benjy. You wanna lean over here on me instead?"

"I actually want you to stop it."

Grinding her teeth unhappily, she looked at Salmon who continued to slump against me and gave a small snore as he shifted his face down, nose turned against my arm to try to block the light from his eyes. "Then why does he get to cuddle up to you? Make him stop if you're not going to let me do it."

"Because he's old and doesn't know any better, that's why," I responded with my teeth clenched. My patience was wearing thin. "Now be a big girl and accept it when I tell you no."

There was a moment when Maple looked between Silence in the corner and me, causing her to get even more upset. Pulling away from me, she moved back towards the bench with Willow on it as he feigned as though he was never looking in my direction. "Fine, whatever. I was just trying to be nice and help you sleep off some of this wait. So sue me. Sorry that I tried to do something nice for you."

"We'll talk about it later," I sighed, as I leaned my head back and tried closing my eyes again. While I rested, I listened faintly to the sounds in the room. It was mostly just long, slow breaths from Salmon as he snored occasionally, Maple telling Willow that she didn't want to be touched right now and to stop putting his hoof on her, and Overcast and Teardrop muttering something amongst themselves. Silence made no noises that I could tell. Even as I called her name in my head, I got no response. Perhaps she was not reading me. Whatever Springfield wanted me to see, I certainly wasn't finding it.

As the hours started to pass and the light coming in through the windows shifted colors, a bit of urgency crept up on a few of us present. One problem started when the quiet of the room we all sat in was pierced by a peculiar groan and rumble. Each of us glanced to one another with brows raised, questioning wordlessly who it was that was making such an odd sound. All our eyes found a single subject when the noise rose once again: It was Overcast, lying on his stomach, that seemed to be making it. His large golden eyes glanced back at us leisurely before his ears folded back and his head rested against the cobblestoned floor once more.

"Is that you?" Salmon asked him incredulously as the groan from the pony on the floor gurgled out again.

"It is, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bother everypony with my stomach. I'll try to be hungry more quietly from here on." This was beyond his capability as we heard the groan once more from beneath him. "Sorry."

We realized that Springfield might not be back before the night was over, and Overcast's stomach continuing to announce the hunger he was feeling made the rest of us contemplate exactly what each of us would be doing about food. Skipping a meal entirely did not settle well with the rest of the captives there when I suggested that a night without food would not kill anyone. Maple was the only one who agreed with me, but only because she said that having a full stomach sobering her up would only make this little treat of a sleepover last longer.

Instead of joining them in their search for something edible within the brewery, I returned to the door that was both locked and blocked to try contemplating a way past it. The hinges, peculiarly, were on the outside of the door, so I could not just dismantle it that easily. Maple had already tried bucking it open, and that had failed. The lock on it was a deadbolt, so I seriously doubted that I would be able to slip paper or something else in front of the latch to try to slip it out of the lock. When I took the doorknob in hand and tried slamming my shoulder against the door to test if it would budge, it refused to move even an inch, confirming that something heavy was pressed against it on the outside. During this time, the group had been searching through the barrels and found fresh hops and fermented strawberries, neither of which sounded too appetizing to them. That did not stop Overcast from putting his nose into the barrel of hops and beginning to munch on them complacently, as he figured there were worse tastes in the world.

Rubbing my forehead when I saw that there were no large, sharp tools to use in hopes of chopping away the door, I was left with only the option to look to my cellmates for assistance. "Willow, didn't you help make this door? Got any ideas on how to break it, or dismantle it?"

"No," he shot back to me quickly and bluntly, reaching in and pushing Overcast's head a bit deeper into the barrel of hops to see if he was really eating them before he dared to try one himself.

"You have to know a weakness in it. Anything, Willow. I just need something to work off of. You're the craftsman here."

"Why should I help you? You're the "Development Coordinator" here. Go and figure it out yourself, Bigwig."

"Now's not the time for this. We're all stuck in here, and if you will just help me, maybe we can get out of here and on with our lives. I want to be stuck in here just as little as you do."

"Help you? As if. What have you done for me? Nothing as far as I can tell, except cause me trouble."

"You've already broken my keepsake from Hyacinth and nearly had me bust my head open on my office wall! I've had it up to here with your petty bullshit, Willow! When are you going to just grow up? You've had enough unfounded revenge, now get over your stupid little misgivings and assist me in getting this damn door open!"

"Unfounded? What a laugh! If anything, you've gotten off pretty easy so far Prodder! What you did to me? What you took from me? You call me being pissed off "Unfounded?" You don't know what it's like I guess! You don't know what it's like to have somepony take something special from you!"

"She isn't yours!" I shouted back angrily, balling my fists. I was intercepted by Salmon, who kept his hoof on my shoulder to stop my march towards the carpenter and told me to just let it go. "No! He needs to be the one to let this go! You've damaged my property, tried to get me hospitalized, and now you're refusing to work with me during a crisis! Maybe unfounded isn't the right word for your revenge then, Willow: perhaps I need to call it and you handicapped!"

"She?" Maple called out curiously, stepping in the way of Willow, who put up his hooves and looked ready to step over and go toe-to-hoof with me over this. "Ben, you've got somepony else on the side!?" With a huff, she only used one hoof to restrain Willow, uncertain if she would even hold him back at all depending on my answer. "Guess that's why you're so distant with me in here. Don't want word getting back to her about me? Who is she then? Who's so much better than me that you'd steal her away from Willow?"

"We're talking about you!" I responded, as Salmon shook his head with a low swear. "I haven't stolen anyone!"

The words stopped as Maple bemusedly looked me over, unsure whether to laugh or shout about me lying to her. It was not until she turned her view around and saw Willow's nose turn dark red with anger and embarrassment that she slapped her hoof to her face and groaned. "... Not this again." With a deep and frustrated sigh, she looked at Willow with a stern set to her brow. "What the Nightmare, Willy. Really? You're pissy because you think he stole me from you?"

"He did!" Willow responded defensively. "I mean... He got in the way of us. Everything was fine before he came along! Then he flashes some of his power and... and says his big words, and next thing I know, he's tricked you into liking him!"

"There was never an us," the pegasus shot back quickly.

"Not yet there wasn't," Willow replied as he lowered his head and rubbed his front legs together. "There would have been if he never showed up!"

Shaking her head in disbelief, Maple visibly battled with herself over what to say to him. "No, there wasn't. I've already told you before that I don't like you like that. I told you that I wasn't interested."

"You're just being indecisive though! You're hard to get. That's what it is, right? I just have to prove myself is all. I just needed a little more time to make you see." As her expression did not change for him, Willow gulped and grasped for anything he could. "He's just a rich colt! A fancy-pants! He had to have tricked you somehow to make you like him! Don't you remember, Maple? Don't you remember what we used to talk about back in Lopeyette? Rich folks are nothing but trouble: Just scum and bullies. He did something to trick you into liking him, and I won't stand for it!"

"You don't even know why I don't like rich ponies, do you?" she asked him back grimly.

"'Cause they're snobs? Because they think they're better than us just because they've got some shiny bits and pretty clothes? But it's okay 'cause we didn't need them. We had each other, and that was what kept us going, right?"

Shaking her head, Maple bit her lip as she did her best not to think back to the days he spoke of, and what was happening back then that he truly had no idea about. Watching his expression change from anger to desperation as he tried to make his stand before her, she just could not give him a look that comforted him. "It's because most of them just can't see or care what it's like for somepony else: What it's like for somepony like me."

"Not like me, right? I get you; I know what it's like."

"No, you don't. I'm sorry, Willy, but you don't. That's why there was nothing between us and never will be. I don't think you'd ever truly get it. Even if I spelled it out for you, you'd just agree with me, but you'd never really get it." The pegasus reached out to touch the carpenter's shoulder, ears folded in sorrow for him as he bit his lower lip and drew in breaths as calmly as he could. "It just wouldn't work," she said in a tone as comforting as she could muster, "I just don't feel that way for you, Willy. You're a fun pal to have around, but that's it."

Willow lowered his sights from her, as he could not bear to look her in the eyes. He continued to breathe at an even pace with much effort, refusing to let himself show that this upset him. There was a moment when he looked up to speak, but seeing her jade sights still set on him made him merely close his mouth and whine through his nose unhappily. "Just tell me it’s all a joke," he asked her finally, "You can still see me that way, can't you? You're just playing hard to get. You'll come around at some point, won't you?" As Maple did not respond, Willow pinned his ears back and gravely asked her with water tugging at the edges of his eyes, "Was there ever even a little chance?"

Petting his face with one of her legs, Maple solemnly shook her head to him. "Not after all we've been through. I'm sorry, it just wasn't meant to be." Doing her best to crack a smile at him, she put her hoof beneath his chin and reassured him, "But you're still li'l Willy to me."

A sniffle escaped him, but I was surprised to see the chocolate-colored carpenter instead straighten his back and do his best to smile at Maple. It hurt. I could see that it hurt by the way that his smile was bittersweet. He hated the taste it left behind, but he would have to endure it. He would bear through it for her. "I guess I already kinda knew. I just didn't want to believe it," he stated, as he moved by her to step up to me, straightening his expression. The fading light coming in through the windows shimmered over the water in his eyes, as he did all he could to keep it there and not let it roll down his cheek. Staring me down, I felt his hoof pressed to my chest as he held it out for me to grasp. "You win. You're the better stallion. If she thinks so, then I'll accept it. I'm sorry for what I said about you."

Taking his hoof in my hand with a deep exhale, I shook it firmly and accepted his offer. "We were never competing. I don't want you to think I'm better, and in fact, I'm sorry for what I said as well. I am no more important to Songring than you are. We wouldn't have made it this far without you, Willow, even if it hasn't been the easiest time between us." With that, I patted his shoulder once and set his hoof down, respectfully nodding to him in hopes that perhaps he could crack a smile for me too. He did, but it was small and pained. It was brave, nonetheless. "Now about this door: Any ideas?"

Looking past me at it, he slowly began to shake his head. "Nah, you see, I set it up with the mindset of being able to get it open from the outside in case somepony got the door stuck, or tried to lock themselves in here. Never really thought anypony would be stuck in here by accident. It'd be easy to get it open from the other side, but we're pretty shafted on this side of it."

Even with the help of the craftspony who made the door, there was no feasible way to wrench it open from the side we were stuck on. I resigned myself back to a bench to wallow in further defeat and grudgingly let yet more time pass to wait on Springfield's return. Salmon and Willow bothered with the door a bit more, and Maple brushed by me asking if I'd like to lean on her now. I refused, for I figured there was no reason to rub salt in Willow's open wound. Even if she was looking for comfort, she would just have to endure a while more as well.

"That's awfully tragic: A romance that never fully blossomed." Teardrop was speaking with Overcast, secluded to only the two of them. The room was far too small for them to keep it to themselves, but since nobody else commented on their conversation, I imagine that I was the only one paying attention to it. "I suppose fate can be kind of cruel sometimes. Poor Willow."

"I wouldn't call it fate," Overcast responded to her, "I'd say it was Maple. I don't blame her for liking Mr. Benjamen Prodder, but he’s pretty out of her league. Willow is probably more within her range."

Teardrop rebuked him for his pessimistic view. I personally found myself more offended that they spoke as though the rest of us were not present, even if I was the only one eavesdropping on what they said. It was almost as if only they existed in the world in their eyes.

While their conversation struck up again, the corners of the room began to fill up as everyone gave up on the door. I sat in one, Maple respected my wishes and rested in another, Willow wished to sit alone for a while to reflect on his situation, and Salmon took his seat next to me. The gap between all of us swirled with an uncomfortable hush, as if it were a no man's land that none of us dared cross while the minutes ticked by.

"I finally see what Springfield wanted us to look at." I looked up when Salmon put his hoof on my shoulder to tell me this, and I saw the worry tug at his expression. He was looking out into the room at everyone in it. To Maple, resting her chin on the bench as she lie down and tapped her hoof lazily. To Willow, as he stared into the void between he and the cobbled floor. To Overcast and Teardrop, as they whispered sweet nothings to each other, reclused entirely from the problems of our situation. To Silence, as she had not moved from her corner and remained curled into a ball, seeking the comfort of solitude in our presence. His eyes turned to me with a grim knowledge in them as he asked me, "Do you see it too?"

"I just see a mess," I responded as I folded my arms. "He's locked seven individuals in a brewing room as a test of patience, like putting beta fish in a tank together. At least I don't have Willow on my back anymore... that takes a load off of my shoulders at least."

"You talk about him like he's just a problem," Salmon mentioned, as he shook my shoulder gently to get me to look back at him. "What has happened to us all? When did it all change? What defining moment did it all end?"

"When what ended, Salmon?"

"Us." A few moments passed as he gulped back sadness at the thought. "When did our friendship end? Now we can't even spend a few hours in a room together without fights breaking out and everypony itching to get away from each other. Now we can hardly even band together when there's a problem. Now... well, you're the only one who even thinks an old pony is worthwhile enough that his stories and thoughts aren't just a waste of your time. When did it change?"

Salmon's contemplations soon made things very clear to me, like a fog lifted from in front of me, and I was truly seeing what was going on around me when the haze dissipated. What I had been seeing all this time was exactly what Springfield wanted us to see, I was just too absorbed in it to realize that it was a problem at all. We were an absolute mess.

"I just wish things would go back to the way they were before we left Songring," Salmon told me. Even when I told him that this was still Songring, simply relocated, he shook his head to me. "It doesn't change that I feel like I must have left everything there when we moved. I left the sea. I left my friends... Dammit, lad, if you're not the only thing I seemed to keep, and I'm honestly surprised you aren't ready to just forget about me like everypony else has."

"I think we've all forgotten too much already." When I saw him still furrowing his bushy brows in worry, I took his hoof off of my shoulder and motioned with my thumb for us to stand up. "Hey, how about you and I give everyone a little reminder then? No reason to look so down: We can still fix this. We are locked in here until Springfield comes back after all, right?" It was refreshing to see him truly smile again. It was not clueless and drifty like his smiles are when he's alone on the bridge, but a warm and joyous smile as he rose up with me to head to the wall to gather some bottles, empty and full, to fill with water or share the contents of.

Maple watched us with marked curiosity as he and I grabbed one of the benches from both ends and began pushing it across the cobbled floor with a screech. We did this with two others, until the middle bench was arranged with its arms touching the arm of another, making a square pattern with the seating. As Salmon and I grinned awkwardly sitting across from her, we set the bottles down on the floor in front of us and asked if she'd like to join us for a spell. At first she was wary of the invitation. With a smirk, she pulled herself up to sit at my side, opposite Salmon, telling us, "Drinking alone is never fun anyways."

Three was not enough to make our group complete by a long shot. Suggesting that it might do the guy some good, Maple called Willow over. He was hesitant at first, as he must have still been feeling down from the blow his pride had taken a couple of hours ago. It only took Maple shoving a bottle into his stomach and making him lurch before he finally listened to her, "As you said, you already knew. Nothing changed except your lies to yourself. How about you celebrate your new clarity instead? Now stop being a shit and get over here; you're holding out on us."

With the four of us present, we looked down to see three bottles still unattended in the center of the square of benches. "Well, that just won't do," Salmon said, as he was the first to get up and slap Maple's hoof away from her drink as she was about to wrench it open. She would just have to wait until everyone was ready.

The two lovers lying together on the cobbled floor were startled to see a shadow loom over them. Salmon approached, blocking the light from the fire beneath the still. Their conversation faded as Teardrop shyly buried her face in Overcast's pelt, muttering how they must be in trouble. Peculiar that such was her first assumption when any of us approached.

"No, not in trouble. Just letting you know to come over and join us. Come on you two, up and at 'em! Ben's got a couple of unopened pints already waiting on you two." Things got complicated when their response was to look back awkwardly towards Salmon and shake their heads, stating that they were happy where they were. Salmon did his best to inform them that it was just a friendly social and that we'd be all the poorer for not having them there, but still they refused. They refused right up until Salmon's brows turned down in frustration. "That's not very polite, you know, to turn down a free drink and a good time. Not like you two have anywhere else to be."

"About as rude as somepony who doesn't accept no the first few times. We're happy where we are. Go away." Overcast responded irritably, his leg still around Teardrop as he turned his head away to dismiss Salmon.

I shared Salmon's expression of disbelief as he looked back at me. Neither one of us were sure we had heard Overcast correctly, but it seems we must have because Maple rose to her hooves. "Hold on there, Sad-Sack. Don't you talk to the old fella like that! He just wants to spend some time with his friends! Now get over here before I drag you over here myself. You don't get to say no anymore."

"You can't tell us what to do!" Teardrop exclaimed back defiantly, before she shrank at the sight of the two irritated pegasi. Using Overcast as a barrier between her and Maple, she stood and nudged him to the front.

"Yeah," Overcast agreed, "You can't tell me what to do Maple." Even as she came face-to-face with him, the charcoal-colored pony did not budge an inch.

"Whoa, when did you get a pair?" the red pegasus asked him with some form of momentary respect, before turning her sights back seriously. "Look, we're all happy for you that you finally got somepony to bed," this was interrupted by Teardrop responding back that it wasn't like that, and that she was just being mean now, "but you can pull out for long enough to come have a drink with us. Now do you need me to get some ice to help pop your knot out of her, Fido, or do you think you can do that on your own?"

"You can't talk to me like that, Maple." Overcast still stood his ground with a determined stare, but his voice remained calm and smooth throughout the entire back-and-forth. "I'm not just somepony you can step on whenever you feel like it. I've had enough of you and your abuse." Teardrop helped bolster him by cheering quietly and telling him that he was doing great. Perhaps they had practiced something like this previously? "Teardrop says I don't have to let you push me around anymore because you're nothing but a bully. That's just because she's nice; a lot nicer than you. I'd have said that you're just a bitch." (I honestly did not know he had that in him.)

Neither did Maple. She was dumbfounded, left to stammer out her response in disbelief. "You know what I do to ponies who talk back to me like that, Drizzle?"

"Probably nothing," he retorted bluntly, "Because Mr. Benjamen Prodder is sitting right over there. You won't do anything to me while he's over there, so I can finally tell you what I really think. I think you need to leave me alone because you're just a brute and I don't want anything to do with you."

"You just going to let him tell you off like that? Even I'm not that dumb! Give him a wallop, Maple! A good old' one-two! Three hits and he'll be whistling a whole new tune!" Willow jumped in as he took to Maple's side and put his hooves on her back to push her further into the confrontation.

"She wouldn't dare! You tell her everything you've been wanting to, Overcast! Let her know what you really think of her!" Teardrop continued to prod from behind Overcast, taking his side in the scuffle.

"Wait a minute," I finally butted in as I stepped over to defuse the situation. "First off, you can't just use me as a shield, Overcast. Second, everyone just take a breath and let's take a look at this. There seems to be a problem here." I took a moment to push Maple and Overcast's heads apart from each other and stood between them. It shocked me to hear Willow tell Maple to just bowl me over and still go after the little sack anyways, and Teardrop telling Overcast that I was just siding with Maple because of our involvement. "I'm not taking anyone's side here, because neither of you are thinking this through."

"He's just strutting and acting big to show off for his mare," Maple stated with a sneer, stepping back as I stood between them despite Willow's pressure for her to go put somepony in his place. I asked her if she would just sit down for a moment to let me try to help them work this out, and she nodded compliantly. "I'll do it for you, Ben. I don't think I need to prove anything to a wet blanket like him anyways." After telling her to ease off of the slurs for a bit, I turned back to Overcast to ask him what had him so upset.

"You wouldn't know, Mr. Benjamen Prodder. You're usually just too busy to handle somepony's problems like mine."

"I had time to handle your problem on Hearts and Hooves day, didn't I? Tell me about it."

"Well, okay. Maple is a bully. She picks on me whenever we pass by one another just because she's stronger than I am. She doesn't sidestep me when I'm busy engraving the halls, she always calls me names like Mopey and Drizzle, and she takes my journal and reads it when I tell her not too. On top of that, nopony tries to stop her. They just watch her do it or laugh at me too when she does it. I'm not going to let her do it anymore, Mr. Benjamen Prodder, because I've got somepony who believes in me now. I also don't have to be friends with anypony who would just watch her be mean to me."

I turned to ask the accused if this was true. "Yeah, I do that stuff to him occasionally. Guess it sounds a lot worse when he says it than when I think about it.” I asked her what she meant by thinking about it, and she shrugged. "I feel like I have good reason for what I do." Incredulously, I had to question how she could possibly justify bullying him. She flared back with a defensive rise in her tone: "Trial by fire! There's no reason a stallion should be so helpless! I see him wallow around all day, and all I can think is that he needs to get some backbone to him, so I give him something to rise to the occasion to. He actually is impressing me right now."

"Then why are you upset with him if this is what you've been trying to get him to do?" I asked.

"I never thought that when he finally got some gumption that he'd end up hating me. I wasn't expecting a thank you card or anything, but he doesn't have to start spitting insults at me or telling me he hates me. I thought we were friends."

"If you were my friend, you wouldn't pick on me, Maple. You'd be nice to me like Teardrop is, and like Mr. Benjamen Prodder is. You're lying,” Overcast refused.

"I did it to Rag and Tag all the time! You think I've never grabbed one of the colts by the head and roughed their manes up? You think I haven't taken them down to the mat for a count out during one of their make-believe wrestling matches? Just because I don't go around patting their heads gently all the time, telling them how special they are, and feeding them cookies doesn't mean I don't care about them." Maple looked away from Overcast after saying that, muttering loud enough that we heard her about how sappy this was going to get. "I just thought maybe I was toughening you up a bit. Not everypony will go easy on you like I do. Or we, I guess, since you have Prodder and Teardrop there holding your hoof for you." She then regarded him sincerely to tell him, "I'm sorry if you feel like I was just bullying you. I just thought in some small way I was helping you out because I don't want to see anypony else pushing you around."

Overcast turned his gaze away after she said that, looking down to the cobbled floor as he thought quite hard judging from the look of the lines that appeared on his face above his brow. Moments of intense pondering passed before he looked up and admitted in his usually gloomy tone, "I guess I just made a fool of myself in front of everypony. I'm sorry; I'll try to show that I have backbone to somepony who deserves it next time."

"So why did everypony just watch her do that to him then?" Teardrop asked, as she came around and seemed to brave-up enough to stand closer to the group.

I confided that I had no idea such was going on, or I had just never seen any acts of violence or true harm. Salmon's voice boomed over me, however, when I tried to explain. "It was all just in good fun, of course! Our tough broad over here never was going to hurt him! I thought we all figured it'd do him some good, and if nothing else, it got him some attention too, didn't it?"

"Did he just call me a broad?" Maple inquired, as she went to move past me.

"Forget about it," I told her, as I pressed her back down to a seated position with one hand.

"Now that we all know what was going on, how about we bury that hatchet for now? Those bottles are still over there waiting on you two." Even as Teardrop and Overcast looked to one another sheepishly, Salmon pressed again with the statement, “Anything you'd be doing over here, you can do over there with us too."

"Not to mention, I put you two together. I can just as easily pull you two apart if I feel like you're neglecting us," I added playfully. This caused Teardrop distress, before Overcast informed her that I was only joking and told me that he was sorry if I felt like he was ignoring me. "No problem, just have a seat over here with us and we'll call it even, okay? We haven't had a chance to just talk in a while."

As all the ponies fell onto the benches with flops and grunts of content, I did not join them. My mind was elsewhere then, as the five of them wandered over to sort out the bottles. I found myself still captivated by the sight of one other that resided in the room along with us. Curled up in the corner with her face turned towards the wall and her tail tucked between her legs, the only unicorn among us still secluded herself to keep the peace. Even when I heard a few laughs from behind me and voices call me over, I ignored them long enough to watch Silence's abdomen raise and lower slowly with her breaths. I could not turn away, but I could not simply watch either.

I approached the unicorn lying on her side. Kneeling beside her, I reached out to pet my hand through her blonde mane. Her eyes were closed, and the fur around them only slightly damp as she slumbered in solitude with her tail hugged close to her for comfort. She shifted at my touch as I continued to stroke her hair, eventually stirring awake. Her sleepy eyes watched me, questioning if she were still merely dreaming. "Hey, I came to ask if you'd like to join us for a bit. You've been rather quiet over here." I would personally like to give myself a commendation for my absolutely terrible choice of words.

Unsure how to respond to me, she craned her head to look back over at the group of ponies on the benches watching her as well. Their eyes had followed me when I refused to join them, and now they bore into her as she rested beneath my hand. "No. I'd much rather keep my distance. You saw what happened last time I came near and what they think of me. Enjoy yourselves. I will be fine here. Don't worry about me."

"I can't force you to do anything you don't want to do," I told her, even after she had closed her eyes and huddled up once again, "But it would mean a lot to us if you would come over. It's been a long time since we've all been able to just sit with one another. It would mean a lot to Salmon if you came over to speak with us for a bit. It would mean a lot to me if we could try to just get back to the way things were."

"Things just aren't the same anymore. It's not like it was. Too much has happened, and too much has been said to just go back."

"I didn't believe you were a hypocrite." Those words caused Silence to cringe beneath my hand, though I still pet over her silky locks gently. A hurt voice sounded in my head, asking me what I meant and why I would call her that. "You aren't living up to your own advice. You once told me something very special that helped me through a tough time, and I think maybe you should hear it again. After Tick Tock died, and I was stuck dwelling on it, you told me: 'Now we have the choice of whether to dwell on what cannot be changed, or look forward to that which still has the fortune to be undecided and that we may actually be able to shape. Life as a settler is hard, and there is no reason to make it harder by focusing on regret and despair.' You don't have to let a couple of mistakes dictate your future for you."

Silence hugged me then. I was not expecting it, but after thinking on my words, she reached her hooves out to put them around my shoulders in an embrace as she pulled herself up. "I don't know what to say. I don't know what I can say. I want to go back to the way things were, but I just don't know how to take back the terrible things I said to Maple. I don't know how anypony could respect me after I abused my ability so."

I pulled her with me as I stood up and helped her onto her hooves, leaving my arm around her neck to keep her close as I led her toward the benches. Her legs quivered when she looked at the group and saw the stares once more, and her head turned to try to find solace by burying her eyes into my side. I had to grasp her by the horn to slowly pry her face out of my shirt and force her to look up once I sat her down beside me on one of the benches. Expecting to see hateful glowers and disapproving stares, it was a shock to her to see that everyone around her smiled and pushed a bottle in her direction happily. They welcomed her back to the gathering and spoke of how much they had missed her while she had been gone down into the depths of the mines so often. The only one who did not smile was Maple, who watched Silence grasp my arm with distaste and kept quiet as she distrustfully watched the unicorn. Soon enough their eyes met, and I couldn't help but watch them.

It looked like a staring match: Both bearing their sights into one another for a long time, refusing to turn their gaze away. Neither spoke, but I saw the horn upon the unicorn's head glimmer gently in the dim light.

As Willow and Salmon bonded, the former captivated with a reenactment of a glorious spar once had upon a ship Salmon served on, I watched the voiceless conversation between the mares. Their expressions changed very subtly, and I heard sighs escape each one more than once. After many minutes, the pegasus rose and stepped forward, causing a hush amongst everyone as she stood face-to-face with the unicorn once more.

"So I guess I just have one last question for you then, Mouse. Did you say that stuff about me because you really think that?"

I did not hear the response, though I saw Silence lower her head at that time and close her eyes. She shook her head to the pegasus woefully, keeping her ears folded back in apology. Her solemn demeanor was replaced with a startled reflex when the red pelt of the pegasus swept around her and brought her close in a hug.

"I don't want to be mad anymore anyways. It's good to have a friend back. We've all been through too much together to let stupid things like Ben get between us."

Yeah, sure, make it my fault that you two were at each others' throats... and I'm not a stupid thing!

“You still don't have an ass though, Mouse,” Maple jeered amiably, as she gave Silence a friendly push on the shoulder with her hoof. Her smirk died quickly from the response she got back. "The tank jokes still aren't funny. Make another one, and we'll probably have to throw down."

The best way to describe how the night proceeded after their hug can be summed up in a single line from my perspective:

I'm so glad to be able to say that I have my friends back.

The night was honestly what I can call fun: Stories, truth and dare, a few great quips out of Maple, and even better retorts from Overcast even though none of us knew he could be intentionally funny. (Careful though, his humor is dry enough that you can choke on it.) Hearing their voices speak to each other in something other than distress or anger once again has left me smiling all night, and even through to this morning. None of us realized that the entire night had passed before the brewery door swung open and Absinthe wandered past us to look into the buckets resting beneath the multiple spigots of the now-cooled still, humming to herself. It was not until Willow gave out a catcall whistle and hollered that he was on the market if she was by chance looking for a fun time that we realized she had come in after removing the hefty wagon out from in front of the door.

I will have to go thank Springfield later and let him know that we finally did find what he wanted us to see. For now, however, I came back to my office immediately after taking a quick shower at the bathhouse to write this entry. I believe now would be a good time for me to simply collapse into bed and not get back up until tomorrow, at which time all the wrapping up can be done.

My incarceration was worth every minute.

Author's Notes:

Ah, the equivalent of a Songring After-School Special. Thanks, Springfield...

Also fixed a couple of color inconsistencies. Had trouble finding them all after I had to chance a couple of character's color choices since they seemed to be too similar to one another. Silence's eye color was one here that needed to be updated.