Silver strolled through the roads of Ponyville with his bags strapped around his waist. Inside it's pockets was a hefty amount of bits and another smaller pouch. Thankfully the town had already adjusted to him, so he could walk through town without being stared at, though he still did receive a glance or two every once in while. He just supposed that would never change.
“Where is she?” Silver murmured to himself as his eyes scoured the town, “Hmm. Maybe if I look from the sky.”
The wolf spread his wings and soared. The mare he was looking for had a very distinctive appearance, so picking her out on the streets shouldn't have been difficult. After all, who else had bright, electric blue mane and pearly whi--
“Silver!!” he heard someone call from down below. Silver looked down in the direction of the voice, finding his lavender marefriend waving a hoof up at him.
He dived down and landed in front of the mare, “Oh, hey Twilight. What are you doing out here?” he asked, “I thought you had interviews and things to do.”
Twilight nodded, “I do, but I didn't eat breakfast and got pretty hungry, so I stopped by a diner for some brunch,” she explained, “What about you though? I thought you had to train the girls.”
“I did, but when I got done with Beats, I had an idea so I'm out looking for a certain mare,” he said as he turned his head around looking, “Actually, can you help me? I can't remember her name.”
Twilight raised a brow and sported a smirk, “Really? You're asking your marefriend to help you find another mare?”
Silver waved a dismissive paw, “Oh, it's not like that. I fully intend on paying her for her services,” he said with a grin.
Twilight sputtered, “Th—wha-I-tha-ha,” a small blush crept into her cheeks before she finally stopped her stuttering, “Just shut up and tell who you're looking for.”
The wolf laughed, “I said I don't know her name, but she is a DJ. She's got a white coat with an electric blue mane and purple shades.”
The mares head perked up, “Oh, you mean DJ-PON3,” she concluded, “Well, her real name is Vinyl Scratch. I'm not sure where she lives, but I know the club she works at,” Twilight turned and began leading the wolf in the direction of the building.
As he followed behind her, it was Silvers turn to raise a brow, “And just how would you know that?”
Twilight shook her head, and although he couldn't see her eyes, he knew she rolled them, “I don't go clubbing regularly, if that's what you're thinking,” she denied, “but Pinkie Pie and Rainbow have taken me there once or twice, though only to dance. I try to avoid drinking.”
The name caused Silvers steps to hesitate for a moment, “Have you...have you seen her yet?”
Twilight shook her head and sighed, “No. I've been meaning to ask Fluttershy to go check up on her. I don't think that seeing me or you would really help her feel better.”
“Yeah,” Silver agreed dismally, “I might still go see her anyway. Maybe we can get her to out to go do something. It might do her some good.”
Twilight rounded a corner, leading them to a vibrant building. It was bright red with large neon lights that said “The Drop,” though the letters were shut off. Silver assumed it was because it was the middle of the day, and no one party's until the suns down. There wasn't a bouncer at the door to greet them either, so they strolled into the building.
The inside was quite spacious, containing not only a large stage, dance floor and bar, but also a second floor that looked out over the first.
The pair wandered into the empty building, just as another pony walked in as well from a back room. She had a gray coat and jet black mane, and was sporting a bow tie around her neck. She certainly didn't have the appearance of a club owner.
“I'm sorry but we're--” she began, only to pause at the sight of Twilight, “Oh! Your highness! I didn't realize it was you. I'm terribly sorry, but I'm afraid we're not open at the moment. If you come back later after sunset, we'll be glad to welcome you though.”
Twilight shook her head, “Octavia please, I've asked you not to call me that. And besides, we're not here to party. The wolf here wants to speak with Vinyl.”
“The wolf?” the gray mare question, turning her head to look behind Twilight. Her eyes went wide with surprise as her sights fell upon the canine, “Oh yes. I've heard rumors about a wolf moving to Ponyville, but I've never actually seen you before.”
Octavia walked a closer, stopping just a few feet away from Silver, “Who are you and what is that you want with Vinyl?” she asked, eyeing him suspiciously. Her tone wasn't rude, but the sudden lack of finesse made her appear more distrusting than she really was. In truth, she was mostly curious. There was a hint of caution in the back of her mind though. It was only natural seeing as how a wolf just wandered into the establishment and asked for her best friend.
“My name is Silver Wind,” the canine introduced, “As for what I'm here for, it's kind of complicated,” he explained, rubbing a paw behind his head and choosing to ignore the mares glare, “I have an idea I want to test out, and if Vinyl is as good as they say, then I think she may be able to help me.”
“You still haven't told me much,” Octavia replied, her eyes never easing, “How am I to trust a stranger around one of my best friends?”
“It's fine Tavi,” a voice called from above. All three looked up to see a set of white hooves descending the steps that lead to the second floor, “If Twilight is willing to bring him here, then he's harmless.”
The mare Silver had been looking for was now standing in front of him. Even inside, she still wore her shades.
“Hey Twi,” she greeted once she reached the bottom floor, then turned to Silver, “So what's this idea you got?” she asked.
“Well, have you heard of enhancing the body through means of music?” Silver asked. Twilight had about leaving since the matter didn't concern her, but at the mention of the strange subject, she decided to stay.
“What? You mean like getting ponies hyped or something?” Vinyl asked with a tilt of her head.
Silver nodded, “Yeah something like that. You see, I figured that if I could find a way to weave a spell into something like a song, then maybe I could enhance the physical performance of a pony while it plays.”
“Hmm,” Vinyl hummed as she paced, “Well, I've never heard of some pony doing it, but I don't think it would really be all that difficult. I mean, a lot of high level spells have things like incantations or phrases that you have to say in order to activate it, so if you could re-write an incantation as a song, then it might work.”
“But re-writing the incantation would alter the spell,” Twilight interjected, taking a very sudden interest in the matter, “You might wind up with something different, or nothing at all. Not to mention the incantations have to be spoken by the caster, not heard. Otherwise they won't take effect.”
Silver turned the alicorn with a grin before reaching into his bag, “That's what these are for,” he said then pulled out the small pouch he grabbed before leaving the house. He pulled the little strings keeping it shut and revealed the contents inside.
Small stones, about two and a half dozen, filled the bag. Each one was black that reflected a rainbow shine from the lights hitting it.
“Are those...” Vinyl began.
“Resonance stones...” Twilight finished in awe.
Octavia simply looked with mild curiosity. So what? They were black stones with a pretty shine. Big deal.
“Yep,” Silver said with a nod, “Since these can record a magic sequence and use it at any time, I figured that maybe they could be used to weave a spell into music.”
Twilight pulled her attention away from the stones, “Well, yeah they might. But that still doesn't solve the issue that in order for a spell to be cast, it has to be spoken, not just heard.”
“But that's where Vinyl comes in,” Silver retorted, pointing a paw to the white unicorn, “If the spell can only be cast when spoken, then all we'd have to do is write the spell in the form of a song, then play it back. The magic I intended on having Beats use will be Enhancement Magic. So long as he hears it, it will take effect.”
It was Vinyls turn to look up, “Um...dude, maybe you didn't know but I don't right lyrics,” the mare clarified, “I make dubstep. No words, just beats.”
Silver shook his head, “Funny thing about incantations, you don't have to use words. So long as there is some form of catalyst or medium for the magic, the spell will still take effect.”
The white unicorn began to pace, humming to herself while she walked in a circle. It was doable, at least in theory. But there was still something bothering her. She suddenly stopped and looked at Silver, “Why me?” she asked suspiciously.
Even Twilight had to admit she found it a little odd that Silver would seek out Vinyl for this situation. There are a number of other ponies with greater magic and intelligence that would be able to give him results. Not that Vinyl isn't intelligent or powerful.
In fact, she was quite the opposite. While she didn't go to college like her earth pony friend, Vinyl Scratch was still very adept in magic studies, particularly the ones surrounding applications to music and sound.
“Well...,” Silver replied, rubbing the back of his head with a paw, “You're kinda the only local DJ, and the stallion who I'm doing this for needs beats and rhythm.”
“So you picked me out of convenience?” Vinyl retorted.
Silver chuckled nervously, “Hehe...yeah. And I also heard you're a pretty awesome DJ.”
The unicorn continued to eye the wolf, though it was hard for every pony else to tell due to her shades. After a moment though, she eventually just laughed and smirked, “Alright, I'll see what I can do.”
Silver pumped a paw into the air, “Yes!” then trotted over and pulled out a schematics paper, “I figured we could just use headphones. We could inlay the stones into it, which would allow for the spells and music to mix.”
“Sounds like it might work, but we still need to write the spells, right?” she asked as she looked over the paper.
Silver nodded, “Yeah. I'll run and grab some scrolls for Enhancement spells for you to look over. It should help get the desired effect.”
“Thanks,” Vinyl, floating the paper out of Silvers grasp, “I already know how to infuse magic into music, so this actually shouldn't be all that hard. But there is one thing I've been meaning to bring up,” It was here where she stuck out a hoof, “I'll be expecting payment for this.”
Silver chuckled, “Of course! I never intended on asking you to do this for free,” he reached into his bag and pulled out the sack of bits, “I'll pay you half now, and half when you're done. Sound fair?”
The unicorn nodded, “Sounds great!” she exclaimed, looking at the hefty sack with a hidden glint of greed as it dropped into her grip.
“I'll be back soon,” Silver said, turning to the door, “Feel free to start without me.”
“Roger,” she said back with a mock salute.
Twilight followed the wolf out of the door, chatting as they made their way back to the library. It wasn't a long walk, but it still took some time. Time that was greatly enjoyed by Twilight of course.
While the talk was simple conversation, the mare couldn't help but feel a certain degree of contentedness as they spoke. The playful banter, the foalish jokes, and even the occasional complaints about their busy schedules offered a sense of normality to conversation. It made Silver seem...well, less like Silver.
While it was true she liked most of the sides she seen of him, she couldn't help but feel he was still, in some way, intimidating. At first, she thought it was because he was wolf, but she'd already moved past that long ago. Her next thought was that it had to do with his past, and while his actions during the Territory Wars of Houndland still bothered her somewhat, she felt that she'd moved past it as well.
She didn't understand why, despite all that's happened between herself and he, she was still intimidated until she finally saw Silver and Black Wing spar. Then it finally hit her.
The wolf was incredibly powerful.
It was true that she'd already realized that a while ago, but knowing something and seeing it first hoof were two different things. She'd never seen Silver in combat before, and that demonstration showed her the real power the wolf wielded.
But in this moment, in spite of that great strength and borderline insanity that he displayed before, she couldn't help but see him as...normal.
He was walking through the town, having a regular conversation with his marefriend. And it was surprisingly relieving.
She no longer saw him as Silver, the terrifying solider with the power to flatten cities, but now just as Silver. The wolf she loved. Nice and normal.
Alas, the walk came to an end though. Twilight and Silver strolled into the library, finding a mare sitting on the couch waiting while Spike served her some tea.
“You're late,” he scolded, causing Twilight to sheepishly smile.
“I'm terribly sorry for my tardiness,” the alicorn excused, “I'm afraid I had another matter to attend to and it took up a bit more of my time than I expected.”
The mare on the couch simply waved a hoof, “It's not a problem at all, Princess. I wasn't waiting long,” her eyes then turned to Silver standing next to the lavender mare, “And if you mind my asking, who is this?”
Silver bowed his head, “I'm Silver Wind. I have a unique relationship with Princess Twilight, and also the reason why she was late. I apologize for inconveniencing you. I'm afraid that's all I'll be able to say, I need to get going.” He quickly turned and headed to the hall, then used the door to go to his home.
Twilight moved to the couch, floating over the clip board and papers, shuffling through them until she found the one for the mare sitting next to her, looking at the photo on the paper and back at the mare to make sure she had the right one.
Upon closer inspection, Twilight had finally taken notice of the mares appearance. She had a cream colored coat with a near white wavy mane. Freckles dotted her cheeks and ran across her muzzle, which the bridge of it was a lighter shade than her coat.
Unfortunately, that was all Twilight was able to see since the rest of her body was cloaked by a long black robe. Twilight couldn't see any other part of her, not even her tail showed. She'd also noticed a straw rice hat, dyed black just like her outfit.
Twilight would be lying to herself if she thought she didn't find this mare to be a little suspicious. But then again, she knew nothing about the mare...literally.
She didn't even know her name yet. Turning her attention back to the board, Twilight began the interview, a small amount of trepidation in the back of her mind, “Alright Miss Sicarius, let's begin.”
The morning went by rather simply for Silver. He'd gotten his scrolls for Vinyl to look at, and spent the next few hours going over them with her. He explained to her the purpose of each spell, and the origins from where it came, figuring that a unicorn might have some difficulty applying magic from a different land.
It wasn't until around three o'clock that Vinyl had reached a point where Silver's presence was no longer necessary, and so he decided to head back. Before he left, he told Octavia he could be reached if they left a message for him at the library.
With that matter settled, Silver once again headed back home. Upon reaching the library, he was careful not to interrupt Twilight's current interview and dissipated into the air before reassembling in the hall. He strode in, quietly shutting the door behind him.
With nothing else to do that day, Silver opted to do some light reading in the library. He headed down the stairs and to the grand room of literature, strolling among the shelves and picking out some books. However, it wasn't until he sat down that someone had come bounding into his home calling his name.
“Silver!” the ever familiar voice of Star Shine rang through the halls, “Silver! Where are you!? I need to talk to you about the book!”
Silver sighed to himself and rolled his eyes, “Library!” he shouted back up. A moment later, the door to the room opened, and the black and violet wolf stood in front of him.
“Okay so,” she began, digging into her bag and pulling out the Zodiac Tome, along with another parchment of paper, “First things first. I went over your data, and determined your schedule to get you back in shape,” she gave the paper over to Silver, who simply looked over it for a moment and set it to the side, “ Second, in the short time I've had this, I've made some...interesting discoveries. The first being that this book is in some way or another related to the stars and constellations. I'm still not sure what it does, but I can at least tell that much based off of the title and spells in it, which brings me to my next point. In all, there are thirteen spells within this tome, one for each of the Zodiac signs.”
“Thirteen?” Silver questioned, “I thought there were only twelve.”
Star Shine shook her head, “Most don't know that there are thirteen. The last one, Ophiuchus, is often lost and not included. Anyway, that's not the problem.”
“Problem?” Silver responded with worry, “You never mentioned a problem. You only said discoveries.”
“Well why do you think I'm telling you now?” she snarked back. She flipped the book onto its back, reveling the inside of the back cover. On it was a mark both of them recognized, “Look familiar?”
It was a pale crescent moon, resting on a black splotch.
“Lunas cutiemark?” Silver questioned, “Why is Lunas cutiemark on the back of the grimiore?”
Star Shine shrugged, “I don't know. It does make sense though, she is the princess of the night. If anypony could create a magic like this, it would be her.”
“Just because Lunas cutiemark is on the book doesn't make it hers,” the male wolf pointed out, still studying the oddity, “The original author could have just been an admirer, or maybe it's just a coincidence. It's not a very unique symbol after all.”
“But that's not the problem Silver.”
The wolf groaned, “Then would you please stop being cryptic and just tell me already?”
Star Shine rolled her eyes, “The problem is that when I was analyzing this thing, I realized it was created from alicorn magic.”
That made Silver pause for a moment, “...You're sure?”
“I can run more test, but so far it's all saying that this book was created by an alicorn. And that's not the only thing,” she continued pointing a paw at the bottom right side of the inside cover. There, written in black ink was a date, “This book was from 400 hundred years ago, at least.”
“That can't be right,” Silver said, taking the book into his own paws and squinting at the faded ink, “Luna was locked in the moon back then.”
“That's true,” Star Shine agreed, “The only thing I can think of is that either this date is fake, or that the book was created before she was imprisoned and then signed afterwards. I suppose there's also the chance that there could be another alicorn somewhere, but it's a bit doubtful.”
“I wouldn't say that,” Silver countered, his eyes never leaving the page, “Twilight and Cadence both ascended into alicornhood. It's possible that another pony could have done it as well, and not have been noticed. But like you said, it is unlikely. Can you determine how old the book is?”
“Yeah. It might take a while, but I can get an accurate read on just how old it is with carbon dating.”
Silver nodded, then gave the book back, “Don't mention this to anyone else. I'll see if I can bring it up to Celestia or Luna later.”
“You're not going to tell Twilight?” Star asked as she tucked the book away.
“I probably will eventually,” he admitted, “There's no point in hiding it. But I'd rather have Luna know before Twilight. I don't want her having to keep a secret from her marefriend.”
“You're doing the same,” she pointed out, “Doesn't that bother you?”
Silver shook his head, “I won't be keeping this secret for long. I'll ask her the first chance I get.”
“Alright then,” she said with a shrug before turning around, “Oh, and Silver?” The mentioned wolf lifted his head, “I'm glad you're feeling better.”
Her words brought a smile to Silver, “Thanks.”
The day continued on for Twilight as normal. Go through some interviews, look at papers, blah blah. The mundane routine had begun to annoy the alicorn to some degree, although things were beginning to look up.
The mare that was waiting for her when she'd first came back was quite promising. True, she seemed a bit odd, but then again, all of her guard so far had been weird...and criminals. Hopefully, this one would turn out different.
It was now early in the evening, the interviews had come to a close and the last of the papers had be organized and put away. While there was still sunlight left, Twilight figured she should go out and speak with Fluttershy now about seeing Rainbow Dash, in hopes of possibly cheering her up.
So she left the house with a destination of the small cottage the pegasus owned.
“I really hope that Fluttershy will be able to at least cheer her up a little. Celestia knows Silver or I would only make matters worse.”
Her thoughts continued along such a track while she walked, but while her reasoning seemed sound, Twilight couldn't help but feel that it was wrong in some way. Sure, asking Fluttershy to go talk to Rainbow sounded like a good idea, but something kept bugging her. Something that made her stomach tighten feel slightly nauseous.
“Something's wrong about this...”
“You're damn right something's wrong with this.”
“What is it though? I'm just trying to make sure that Rainbow gets better.”
“No, you're avoiding her. You're afraid that if you try to talk with her again, you'll only cause her pain, but is pushing her off onto another friend really the best idea?”
“I'm not pushing her off!”
“Then why don't you handle this yourself? You said that you were going to find a way to make things up to Rainbow, and yet, here you are trying to find a way around it.”
“I'm not! I'm just trying to find a way to make her feel better!”
“You can keep using that excuse all you want, but it's not going to change the fact that you're too afraid to sort things out yourself.”
“....”
“If you don't see her yourself, then this matter will never be settled. Rainbow will still feel the pain of seeing you and Silver every time, even if Fluttershy does manage to cheer her up. You're the ones that hurt her, and you even promised to make it up to her. I suggest you be a good friend and keep your word. This is something only you can resolve.”
“....”
“I've said my two bits. It's time for you to make up your mind. And don't let that wolf slip by either, he's a part of this too.”
“....You're right...”
With a quick change of direction, Twilight found herself standing on the door step of the Rainbow's cloud house. While she'd made up her mind to go and see Rainbow herself, she'd had no idea what she was going to say to her.
Of course, that was only realized the moment she put her hoof down from knocking. Before a thought could even cross her mind, the door opened, revealing the rainbow mare inside.
“Oh, hey Twilight” she greeted, “What's up?”
“Uh...” she fumbled, “I, uh, just wanted to check on you. You know, see how you were doing.” From what Twilight could tell, nothing seemed wrong with her friend anymore. She didn't look tired, or distraught, and even seemed happy to see her. At the moment, she seemed like the normal, cheery Rainbow Dash she'd always known.
“Oh, I'm doing fine,” Rainbow answered, stepping aside to let her friend in. Twilight walked into the home, feeling slightly uneasy, though she had a fair idea why, “That stuff Star Shine gave me really helped me sleep, and Princess Lunas been keeping the nightmares away. I've slept like a foal these past few nights.”
“Oh, well that's good,” was all Twilight said, taking a seat on the couch. Rainbow did the same, and soon an awkward silence rang out. The alicorn couldn't help but fidget with her hooves while the seemingly eternal moments dragged on.
This of course did not go unnoticed by the pegasus sitting beside her, “Twilight?” she began, “Is everything alright?”
The pair of purple hooves stopped their messing, and Twilight froze. Well what the hell was she supposed to do now?
“Twili-”
“I'msorry!” she anxious alicorn blurted out, “Ididn'tmeantohurtyou!” Her entire body tensed and her eyes were snapped shut.
“I'm and idiot, I'm an idiot, I'm an idiot”
“What are you--?”
“Me! And Silver!” Twilight blurted out again, “I didn't know how you felt and I ended up hurting you and I'm so so so sorry!”
The silence become known once more. The worst part was that Rainbows house didn't exactly have ticking clocks or anything made that a subtle noise, so there was nothing for Twilight to focus on. Instead, the home was silent, only the ringing of their ears left to fill their minds.
Twilight mustered up something akin to courage and dared to sneak a peek. The sight she found was...not one she was expecting. This was mostly because it was one she wasn't use to seeing, or at least on Rainbow.
The cyan mares eyes were directed at the floor, a woeful glint in their core. The small smile that was drawn on her muzzle seemed to be one of melancholy, and Twilight couldn't help but wonder why?
Why is it that every time she saw someone in pain, they had that smile? It was always that same damned expression, one that seemed to show the wearers pained understanding of their situation. They clearly weren't happy about it, but resigned to simply accept it. She'd seen it on Silver more than once, heavens knows how many times on Celestia; and now she'd seen it on the mare she'd least expected it from.
And it killed her. That small gesture crushed Twilight with waves of guilt and pity.
“Was it really that obvious?” Rainbow asked, a small gloomy chuckle escaping her, “I thought I did pretty well at hiding it,” a small sniffle came from the mare, but no tears followed. She laid back and allowed her body to rest on the couch.
“Rainbow, I swear I never meant to hurt you,” Twilight said, placing a hoof on the mares shoulder. She didn't push it away, so she supposed that was a good sign, “When Silver and I came by that day, I had no idea how you felt. It wasn't until after we left that I realized how much we must have hurt you.”
The pegasus shook her head, “You didn't do anything wrong. All you did was get a boyfriend. My feelings about it shouldn't matter.”
Twilight leaned over and cupped her cheeks, “Yes they do!” she said firmly, “Especially after what you just went through. And if there is anyway to make it up to you, then please just tell me.”
Rainbow actually laughed a little, “Twi', you don't have to do anything. Like I said, you didn't do anything wrong.”
The alicorns hoofs sagged and were brought back down, “Really?” her voice was heavy with self-shame. She'd come here to make things right with her friend, but now said friend was insisting that nothing was ever wrong in the first place.
Once again, a small laugh came from the pegasus, “Yeah, really. Don't worry about Twilight, I'll be good in a day or so. Besides, this whole thing actually made me realize something.”
“What that?”
“The Elements of Harmony are cursed.”
Twilight froze. The way Rainbow said it seemed...cold. Not in the unforgiving way, but just unsettling, “Rainbow, what do you mean cursed?”
“Exactly that,” she replied, “We're cursed by our best aspects. Like me. I'm loyal to all my friends and loved ones...but that doesn't mean that they're loyal back. I know I've messed up a couple of times, but I've always found my way back to my friends because they matter the most to me. But that doesn't mean I matter the most to them.
“It's the same with all the others. Fluttershy's kind to every pony, but she's always getting walked on and pushed around. No one is ever kind to her. Rarity's generosity is always taken for granted, just like back in Manehatten with Suri Polomare. She got screwed over. Applejack lies to herself all the time, insisting that she can handle things when she can't. Pinkie Pie tries to make everypony laugh and smile, and then there are times where everypony finds her to be annoying and loud. Even you too, Twilight. How many times have you tried to fix a situation with magic, only to have it backfire and make things worse?
“It's actually ironic. The greatest parts of ourselves are the greatest problems in our lives.”
“Rainbow...” Twilight was genuinely scared at the moment. She'd never heard a view of the Elements in such a way. But she couldn't actually believe this, could she?
It was then that a smile emerged from the pegasus. Not one that was sad, but actually relieved, “But you proved me wrong.” Once again, the alicorn sat too shocked to move, “You're here. You came to me because you were worried, you were afraid you'd hurt me and wanted to make it up to me,” Rainbow slowly rose up from her reclined position. She wrapped her hooves around Twilights waist, pulling herself into a gentle embrace, “Thank you...I didn't want to have to believe it, but it seemed so real. But you-you...”
“Shh...” The alicorn cooed, gently stroking Rainbows mane, “It's okay. I'm happy I managed to change your mind, even if I didn't mean to.” In truth, it was all she could say at the moment. Everything that had been said might as well have been a game of leap frog in a mine field. Twilight was still trying to catch up while she soothed her friend.
A few quiet sobs and sniffles came from the cyan mare, accompanied by shivers and shakes. It was clear that, even if it was Rainbow herself that came up with the notion that the Elements of Harmony were all, as she put it cursed, that it was something she didn't want to believe. It was something that scared the life out of her, and honestly; who wouldn't be?
To think that with all the loyalty you've shown to your friends, only to come to a false realization that the loyalty wasn't returned. That you were taken for granted.
Twilight gently pulled Rainbow away, looking into her cerise eyes, “I'll say it for you to hear yourself. You were wrong Rainbow. We're not cursed. Even if we don't get back what we give, it doesn't mean that we're damned to some life of inequality. It just means that some ponies haven't learned the same lessons we have, and that's okay. They'll learn it some day, and when they do, they'll give what they have to offer too. We are not cursed, we are blessed with knowing how to treat our friends.”
The cyan mare sniffled once more, “...Thank you Twilight.”
“You're welcome, Rainbow.”