Dax stood there for a moment, shellshocked. He watched Rave walk off into the distance, wanting to call after him, but afraid of what would be said.
That... that's it? That's IT!? All that trotting to get here, the nonsense with my dream, the hope that I'd... find a...
Dax slowly turned to Chaotic, calm on his face, but anger in his eyes.
"Okay. All right. I get it. All for nothing, right? The dream was nothing but a sham, just to get me here to... well, to feel useless. Fine." Dax turned and began to walk away slowly.
"I'm used to it, anyway." He trotted off, his heart aching, but his face showed nothing.
Dax walked a bit, and began to think about things. He began to ruminate about what all had happened, about Chaotic, about the things he had seen on the trip, about Rave...
Did he say he was going to let the dark magic fully consume him?
Dax stopped. He glanced into the distance, toward the direction Rave had headed off into.
I'll get yelled at for sure. It's crazy; don't even think about it. There's nothing you'd be able to do, anyway. You'd be in the way... again...
Dax began to slowly change his course, his path becoming parallel with Rave's tracks.
Stop this foolishness. Go back to your tent & forget this stupid idea. Don't waste your time.
Dax kept going.
WHAT THE HECK!? WHY DON'T YOU JUST GO BACK WHERE YOU BELONG? WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING A PONY WHO MIGHT END UP BEING ONE OF THE MOST DANGEROUS THREATS TO EQUESTRIA THAT EVER EXISTED!?
"... because. Just because."
Besides, Rave didn't seem to have many ponies on his side. He was brash, arrogant, egotistical, jaded and somewhat psychotic... but Dax thought he wasn't bad company. Of course, Dax's only comparison was his own family, and compared to them, Rave was a sugary-sweet pony. Well, maybe not when he got all... scary... but, just the same, Dax kept going.
He pulled a green apple from his pack & munched it absent-mindedly as he followed the hoofprints of a pony he barely knew over the horizon.