I had done well with getting some new clothes to wear. I was sure to be absolutely certain that what I got didn't stick out like a sore thumb.
Twilight, what are you doing to yourself? The Princess of Friendship shouldn't hide from her friends.
I held my head with both hands. The last thing I wanted was to be hassled by my Princess duties.
Being here isn't making things any better.
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"Okay, so. Someone said they saw Twilight run out out to the courtyard. If that's true, then that means she could be just about anywhere right now." I said, as I paced back and forth in front of the couches that my friends were sitting on. They looked like they were all thinking hard about figuring out where Twilight could be. All except Sunset, she looked like she was guilty. I already told her she didn't have to think about this if she didn't want to.
"I'm very much stumped, Applejack. I guess she could have gone to a book store, but then again that's too obvious." Rarity said.
"How so?"
"Well Sunset specifically said that she apologized for... whatever happened, I'm still not sure. But if she did feel bad for what happened, then that means she probably wants to hide from us to make sure she doesn't hurt anyone again! That's what I would do if I was in her shoes, anyway." Rarity said.
"So you're saying that we won't be able to find her if she's hiding herself really well?" I asked.
"Yeah, that's it."
"Okay... does anyone have a good picture of Twilight on their phone? I'm not sure if I do, but I'll check." I said.
And after that, there was silence. I looked over at Sunset. She wasn't saying anything or doing anything. But she did look really upset.
I walked over to where she was sitting, she was near the others, but she wasn't on the either of the couches. She was sitting on a tall stool with her hands on her lap.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
She looked at me. "Not much. I wish I had never been so nosy with her. I didn't have to know why she was here, and if I hadn't insisted, she would still be with us."
"Now Sunset, you know that's not the truth." I started. "Something like this could have happened to any of us. Not just you, and not just me either. I'm sure that you shouldn't blame yourself too." I said.
"I know you're saying that to make me feel better." She said.
"I am, but that ain't no crime."
"You really don't think it's my fault?"
I shook my head.
"Well, I admit that helps, but I did push her to do this. And it was none of my business."
I didn't know what to say after that. I hugged her, but that was about it.
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I had gone to great lengths just so I could protect my identity. Although it was really hard considering I was the same person who saved this world twice. And I kept getting noticed even when I got some other clothes on.
This isn't enough. I need to do more. My hair is a dead giveaway. Wait... my hair is the only thing that's keeping me from not being noticed. So... if I changed it, then I would be completely safe.
And so it was decided. I knew exactly what I had to do next.
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"Has anyone found anything yet?" I asked.
"None of us have. Twilight isn't here very much, and none of us even thought to take pictures of her!" Dash said.
"I know that! But keep looking! We have to get the word out that someone is missing!"
And they did keep looking. We all knew that the situation was critical. Twilight had ran off without word to anybody. I was worried about her. We all were. And there was no way to tell if she was back in Equestria. But if she had been stressed out like Sunset said, then there's a good chance that she didn't go back.
"Oooh!!! I found something! But it's blurry." Pinkie said.
I sighed. "I don't want blurry! I want a good picture so people can see her face to give us a hint on where she is. I know that can't be hard."
"Um... I have a good picture of Twilight on my phone if you want to--" Fluttershy tried to talk, but she got interrupted.
"Applejack, none of us have taken pictures of Twilight!" Dash said.
"It's a good picture of me and her. We took a bunch of them on my phone, and maybe we could--"
"It ain't possible that no one hasn't takin' pictures of her or group pictures with her." I said.
"Um... girls? I really think we should use one of the pictures I took of the two of us. There are some really good ones, and--"
"Hey! Fluttershy has a thousand pictures of her and Twilight on her phone!" Dash said.
"Really?"
"Yeah, and one of these has gotta work for the poster."
"Girls, that's exactly what I was trying to tell you just now."
I looked over at Fluttershy. "Speak up, girl. I can barely hear you, you're speaking so quietly."
She sighed. "I said, I was trying to tell you girls that--"
"Well now that we have a picture of Twilight, it should be easy to make the posters." Dash interrupted. "Does anyone want to help me with that?"
"I will, since I am the artist of the bunch, I'll gladly give my artistic sense to the project. I would do anything for Twilight."
"I can help too. I'm good at making cute art." I heard Fluttershy say. She was lucky that I could hear her.
"Well, I'm not quite sure what I would help out with." I said.
That was when Pinkie jumped on me out of nowhere. "You can help me print out stuff! Rarity and Fluttershy don't have to paint anything, silly billies! But they could design the posters instead! I think that would work much better!"
Rainbow stood up on the couch. "Well I'm going to manage Rarity and Fluttershy to make sure the posters aren't ugly."
"Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy never said anything about painting." Rarity said, looking confused.
"I know that already! And neither did you, Rare!" She giggled.
"Pinkie Pie, do not call me "Rare." My name is Rarity."
"I know that too!"
"Well then. Why are we wasting time? I say we get to work on getting those posters out there."
And then, one by one, all of us left the room. And right before I did, I turned around to face Sunset.
"Do you want to come with me and help out with the printing?" I asked.
She was silent for a minute. "Oh... I've got some things to catch up on, but when I'm done I'll meet up with you." I knew that she was trying to assure me that she was fine, but I was having a hard time believing that.
Relax Applejack. If she says she's fine, then she's fine.
-----------
I don't know if Applejack thought that my saying that I had something else to do was bad.
Although, truth be told, I did kinda want to be alone for a little while. I needed to think things over. But I didn't want her to worry too much about me. And I wasn't quite sure how else to avoid this situation.
Is it going to be a crime if you actually talk to them about this? They could atleast help you feel better.
I shook my head. They were stressed out enough without me adding to the list of problems they already had. I knew that it would be much better for everyone if I kept my guilt a secret.
--------------
I really wish I didn't have to do this. I always did like my mane, or in this case my hair, but all it was doing for me now was telling people: "Hey! I'm the magical princess that saved this world from evil! Notice me, why don't you?! I am a hero after all!" And that's not what I needed. If I knew my friends here, then they were probably using all the resources they could get they're hands on to find me. And if my hair didn't look the same, that would make the search that much harder.
Do you really think you're doing the right thing? Twilight, you need your friends right now. And surely Sunset doesn't care that you snapped at her accidentally. She probably understands and she might be worried about you right now. But there's no way you can know for sure because you ran out.
I wasn't very happy with my conscience's bad attitude lately. It was determined to get me back with my friends, but I knew better.
I am not going to let my conscience win by making me feel bad. And I will get my hair done different so no one will ever find me again.