//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 // Story: Perihelion // by InTheStands //------------------------------// WARNING: Get comfortable. This is a LONG chapter. "I told you," Twilight growled as she backed Pinkie Pie into a bookcase, all the while the other ponies (and Comet Tail) watched in fear, "Not to invite him. I made you promise. I made you PINKIE PIE PROMISE." "Yeah," Pinkie began, her flat mane starting to gradually inflate to it's original style. "But we promised that I wouldn't be the pony to invite him. You never said that anypony else couldn't!" Twilight balked at this realization. "What." "So the promise was never broken!" Pinkie regained her cheery attitude. Twilight didn't pay attention, however. She looked into the crowd. "Who invited him?! Who let him in?!" "Me." She stopped. She recognized the voice. She turned to face nopony else but her brother, Shining Armor. "You what? But...why? WHY?!" "Twilight," Shining sighed. "I know he's the last pony you want to talk to right now. But at least let him speak to you to apologize. He means it." Twilight stammered, looking at her brother, then at a hopeful Comet Tail. Cadance walked up beside Shining. Cadance stared intently at the filly she sat for all those years. "Please, Twilight. There has to be a way you can believe him." The purple unicorn looked at the former bully until something clicked within her mind. "Wait here," She firmly called out before going through the door that led to her room and closing it. A moment later, she returned to the party, only this time she used her magic to carry one particular item with her. An item that Shining, Cadance, Spike AND Comet instantly recognized (along with Applejack, though the image of her brother with a doll was one she preferred not to dwell on). Ms. Smarty Pants. "I'm not the only one you need to apologize to...Comet Tail," Twilight hesitated to use the stallion's name. "If you REALLY mean what you say...you'll apologize to Ms. Smarty Pants, too." Shining shook his head. "Twilight, really? This isn't an apology, this is humiliation. He can't just-" "No," Comet Tail finally spoke up. "If it means making her believe me, I'll do it." Twilight reluctantly floated the doll over to the sulfur-yellow unicorn before allowing it to drop. He caught the old toy in his front hooves, and sat down. He looked over to the stares of the ponies. He looked to Twilight glaring down at him. He sighed, swallowed, then looked down at Smarty Pants. "I'm sorry," He said. "I'm sorry for the times I made your owner upset. I'm sorry for taking her books, calling her names...and taking you. And I'm real sorry for making fun of the way you look, especially in front of her." He sighed. "Above all...I'm sorry for making a small filly as afraid of being different...as I was." He let the doll down, allowing Twilight to take it back. She set it down near her and watched Comet stand back up. Now he was looking at her. "If I can...I want to tell you a couple of things. Things before and after I knew you. And what made me believe you forgave me." Twilight stared at him, her expression softened by his apology to her doll. She slowly nodded. Comet Tail cleared his throat, and began his story. "I grew up near a lot of natural born farm ponies. Me talking to them is how I got my accent. Thing is...accents like that don't fly in a high-society town like Canterlot. "My mom and dad love astronomy. They still do. They earned a living observing stars, drawing charts and predicting the next comet passes and meteor showers. That was when we got an invitation to move to Canterlot so they could see the stars better. Of course, foals don't look too deeply into things that are different from them." "Why don't you go back to whatever barnyard you ran out of?" "What's wrong with your voice?" "Canterlot's no place for farm ponies!" Comet Tail sat alone at lunch, as usual. It was always the same, ever since he moved. Nopony wanted to be friends with him. They were either put off by his accent or his lack of a cutie mark, sometimes both. Whenever any foal spoke to him, it was either to mock him or insult him. He stared at his apple, wondering what he had to do to convince his parents to move back home. His REAL home. "Hey." He shot his head up. There he saw a gray pegasus colt, along with a pink unicorn filly. He sighed, waiting for the inevitable put-downs. To his surprise, they sat down at the table with him, food in tow. "It seemed like a dream come true at the time. Making two friends in one day. I thought it meant things were gonna get better." Comet sighed. "I was wrong." "Did you see the look on his face?!" The pegasus and the unicorn laughed. "He's gonna be drying out his book bag for a week!" Comet Tail tried to laugh along, sheepish as it may have sounded. "So, uh, what are we gonna do now?" "I know," the unicorn filly smiled slyly. "Let's go see how Twi-Lame is doing." "Who?" Comet asked. "Just some friendless filly," The pegasus scoffed. "Spends half the day with her foalsitter and the other half reading books. Hear that? She still has a foalsitter!" The other two laughed, while Comet started growing nervous. Up until now, most of their targets were colts. But a filly? "Uh...what about someone else? There's that one colt in math class. Maybe we-" "There's no 'maybes' Comet," The pegasus narrowed his eyes at him. "We're just gonna go see Sparkle. As friends. You ARE a friend, right?" Comet bit his lower lip before bowing his head and sighing. The pegasus and unicorn smiled. "Good. Now follow us - we know where she is." Comet paused, blinking his eyes and pursing his lips. "I didn't want to. But they made me. They might not have been sorry for what they did...but I was." He looked back to Smarty Pants. "And then we took that doll. The doll was what did it." Twilight looked down at her foalhood toy. "I remember. How could I forget?" "A-and they to-took her awaaaay!" Twilight practically screamed as she sobbed into Cadance's chest. The pink alicorn could only wince and pat the filly's back. She had never seen Twilight so heartbroken, despite knowing how much Smarty Pants meant to her. "Twilight...please don't cry," Cadance brought Twilight's head up, disregarding the river of tears flowing down the younger one's face. "I promise, I'll do what I can. But right now, we need to go home." Twilight followed Cadence away from the tree and towards the Sparkle residence. All the while Comet Tail looked on from a distance. He turned to his 'friends' both laughing as they tossed the doll back and forth at each other. That was the first time he started to truly hate the two of them. Night had fallen a few hours later. Twilight was asleep in her bedroom, despite crying herself to sleep knowing she wouldn't be able to cuddle with Smarty Pants. Cadance looked at the heart-wrenching sight before closing the door and walking to the living room. "Hey." "Hi," Cadance gave a sad smile as she looked upon Shining Armor, the aspiring Royal Guard (and her secret crush). "...I heard about Smarty Pants." Cadance could feel herself crying at this point. "I just don't understand why they could be so mean. She never did anything to them!" Shining stood up, walked to Cadance, and (taking her completely by surprise) hugged her. "Trust me. After tomorrow, they're not gonna do a thing to her anymore." Just around the corner, Twilight listened in on the conversation. Her mind began to flood with thoughts as to what Shining was planning. Then it hit her. Could he be able to get her doll back? §§§ "Are you sure?" "Yes, Twilight, I'm sure." "B-but what if they come back?" Cadance merely pulled the filly closer to her. "That's just what we're waiting for." With that, Cadance opened the book, leading her and Twilight to take turns reading passages to each other. This went on for almost an hour until... "Well well welll..." Twilight gasped and looked up. It was them. "What's the matter, BABY?" The unicorn filly laughed out. "Need your foalsitter to read for you now?" "I don't know what you have against Twilight," Cadance scowled at the three, "But I'd leave now if I were you." "Ooh," the pegasus shivered. "You hear that? We have to leave! OR ELSE!" Twilight closed her eyes and buried her face into Cadance's coat, waiting for it to end. But even through her closed eyes, she noticed the brilliant flash of light and lightning that shot down from the skay and landed between her and the bullies. Once they came over the disorientation, they realized another pony materialized in between them. And Twilight and Cadance instantly recongized him. "Shining!" Twilight's face brightened. Unfortunately, her brother didn't seem so happy. He gritted his teeth, narrowed his eyes and began to advance toward the trio. "You listen and you listen good. You leave my sister alone. You'll leave now, and you NEVER bother her again." The three foals were frozen in fear at the sight of the large white stallion. They refused to budge. "NOW!!" Shining screamed out, starting to gallop towards them. Finally, they screamed and ran (or flew, in the pegasus' case) as fast as they could. They were a speck on the horizon in a matter of seconds. "LOOK!" Twilight yelled, pointing feverishly before standing up and running. Shining and Cadance watched as she ran near Shining's hooves... And picked up her doll. "Smarty Pants!" Twilight giggled out. "Oh, I'm never bringing you outside again!" "Now just a minute," Cadance smirked. "Why should we punish her like that?" "It's not punishment!" Twilight pouted. "I wanna keep her safe!" Shining pulled his sister into a hug. "Just like I want to keep you safe." Cadance smiled as she watched the scene before her. But then she noticed the flash of light on Shining's flanks. "Shining..." She pointed. The three watched as an unmistakable glow encompassed the stallion's lower half before disappearing. There, on his flanks, was a blue shield bearing a multi-pronged pink star. Over the shield were three smaller blue stars. "Your cutie mark..." Twilight whispered in awe. "Aw, that's not fair! Now I'm the only one without one!" Shining stopped staring to look at his sister. "Hey, look on the bright side. Maybe you won't have to wait as long as me." "Hey, wait," Twilight then realized something. "They're supposed to show your talent. So if yours is a shield..." "Then it means I get my talent in protecting you," Shining hugged her. "Or anyone else who may need it." They then looked to Cadance, who was still looking on. Shining couldn't help himself. "If we're done looking at my flank, how about you show me what you two were up to?" Cadance stammered slightly, her face growing more red than pink. "Uh...right here's where we left off." The three of them laid down in the shade of the tree, Twilight tucked between her foalsitter and brother. Clutching Smarty Pants and feeling safer than ever, she began to read aloud. "You never forget something like watching your brother get his cutie mark," Twilight smiled as she remembered. "Also the first time I was ever jealous of him." Shining and Cadance smiled at this memory. Comet Tail nodded. "But I don't suppose you know why we brought your doll with us that day?" Twilight frowned. "To rub it in my face some more?" "Let me rephrase that. You know why I brought it? And why I dropped it so easily?" Twilight's eyes widened. "You...you brought her back for me?" Comet sighed, growing slightly angry with his memory. "They sure as Tartarus weren't going to do it." "Is he following us?!" The unicorn filly looked back at the tree that looked more like brocolli now from the distance they were at. "No." The pegasus sighed. "Aw, geez. That was close." He then laughed. "Hey, look at it this way. She might never see us again...but we still have her doll." He looked to Comet Tail. "Isn't that right?" Comet gave no answer, watching the three ponies. Watching Twilight especially. How happy she looked. "Hey!" The pegasus' smile faded. "You still have that stupid doll, right?" Comet frowned, turned, and glared at the two of them. "No, I don't." "What?!" The pegasus marched up to Comet until his face touched his. "What do you mean you don't have it?!?" "I don't have it," Comet growled out, "Because I dropped it. Because I left it with her where it belonged. Because I was sick and tired of how you treated her and anypony else you kicked around!" The pegasus stammered until sneering. "You got some nerve. We went out of our way to let you hang out with us. And this is how you thank us?!" "I'm not thanking you," Comet Tail responded. "I'm getting away from you. I don't get my kicks bullying other foals. Especially fillies who don't do an applebucking thing to you!" He then pushed the pegasus away from him, knocking him onto the ground. "Friends like you are no friends at all." The colt quickly got up, scowling at Comet. After a few seconds of staring, he turned back to the filly. "Let's get out of here. Looks like the Lame is getting contagious. He just got it from his fillyfriend." Comet Tail watched as the pegasus and unicorn left. Good riddance, he thought to himself. But now he was all alone again. It was a Friday, and his parents still expected him out with his 'friends' until later in the evening. Sighing, he wandered out of the park and into the inner part of Canterlot. He knew his route home by heart, so it was no problem getting there, day or night. The sun had long set, and the streets were lit up by its not-too-bright lamps. Comet Tail walked down the paths, focusing on what his former friend said: "He just got it from his fillyfriend." Fillyfriend? Him? And her? As he thought, he couldn't help but notice how many times his thoughts direted back to her. How content she was with her books and her toys. How happy she was not trying to be like everypony else. How much he liked seeing her smile. How it hurt him everytime he had to go along with tormenting her. He suddenly felt it. A weird feeling in his head that wasn't quite a headache, but was no more pleasant. Groaning, he noticed his horn glowing green. Ever since he reached a certain age, it had started doing this on certain nights. It only happened once in a while, and it was harmless, but that didn't mean it wasn't annoying from time to time. He looked up into the night sky, waiting for the apparent magic surge to end. His eyes opened wide at the sight above him. White streaks of all sizes slicing across the dark sky like knives, coming and going in a blink-and-you'll-miss speed. His parents talked of meteor showers, but he never really saw one until tonight. And it was amazing. This was what his parents watched? He could see why. Now his thoughts focused on the phenomenon whizzing by. He found himself wanting to learn more about not only meteor showers, but stars, constellations, meteors... He gasped as he felt it. He looked down at his flank. There, standing out against his coat, was a dark blue star with a light blue curved comet tail. His cutie mark! Grinning, he was torn between racing home and staying to watch the shower. But it was obvious which one won the colt over. "MOM! DAD! LOOK WHAT HAPPENED!" "Your cutie mark?" Twilight was amazed. Her brother and Comet got their marks in the same day? At this point, several ponies in the crowd let the two talk it out, while Twilight's friends and family continued to look on. Comet Tail smiled and nodded before walking closer up to Twilight. "I knew why my parents became astronomers. Why they had cutie marks that had to do with stars. So I asked them questions about what they saw or did every night. They were more than happy to answer. They loved the attention I was giving to their work. And then one day..." "Dad?" Comet finally asked. His father turned around from the bookcase he was sorting. The colt spoke up. "You know that one book we have? The one that has the picture of Princess Luna?" His father smiled. "Yes. In fact, that's the one that was passed down to me from your grandfather. I'm actually convinced it's the only one of it's kind - pre-Night Mare Moon literature usually is rare." He redirected his attention to his son. "What of it?" Comet grew nervous. "I was kind of thinking...maybe...could I bring it into class tomorrow for show and tell?" His father's smile faded slightly. "You know, things get brittle with age. Even if it's a copy, it's still very old. You have to be careful with it. You hear?" "I hear!" Comet nodded. The patriarch smiled again. "Follow me." §§§ Comet Tail couldn't pry his eyes away from the book, even as he sat out in the daylight of recess. Show and tell was a success, with everypony loving what he brought in. But now he had a chance to look at the contents himself. Now he knew how Twilight Sparkle felt whenever she read something. "Well well well..." Comet Tail gasped as he looked up. Then he narrowed his eyes. Standing above him was his former friends: The pegasus and the unicorn. The pegasus was hovering in the air with his wings flapping, his forelegs folded across his chest. "Looks like the Lame's gotten worse. You look just like Twilight Loser, reading that book." He smiled evilly. "Maybe it's time to see if you cry like her, too." "What? No!" Comet Tail used his magic to quickly close the book and swipe it away from them. "This is my family's book! You can't just take it!" "Watch us!" The unicorn filly retorted. She used her own magic to try and snatch the book, but Comet's abilities proved a bit stronger. Growling, the pegasus managed to grip onto the book with his hooves, starting a two-to-one game of tug of war. Comet gritted his teeth, worrying of what the damage may be to the book and of what his father would do to him if he lost it. Suddenly, the two bullies let go of the book, making it hit Comet square in the chest and knocking him onto his back. He quickly inspected it. No damage. But it was then he realized someone screamed a set of two names just before they let go. Sure enough, a middle-aged stallion marched up to the three of them. One of the school's teachers, at the moment acting as a recess monitor. And he did NOT look happy. He glared daggers down at the pegasus and the filly. "What is the meaning of this?!" Comet quickly sat up. "They tried to take away my book!" "Huh?!?" The pegasus grew nervous. "N-no we weren't! He was getting ready to-" "I know what I saw, young stallion," The teacher was having none of it. "And what I saw was appalling. You two are coming with me. We'll be contacting your parents." The unicorn filly's eyes widened. "No, you can't! Please!" "I SAID FOLLOW ME!" The teacher shouted again. Realizing defeat, the two thugs followed the stallion with their heads hung low, walking as if they were being paraded to their executions. The teacher opened a door to the school, pushed the two foals in, and closed it. He then approached Comet Tail. "Did they hurt you at all, boy?" Comet shook his head, clutching his book. "Dad wasn't too happy when I got home," Comet admitted. "He made me promise never to take the book out of the house again until I was old enough to move away." He paused. "But then I started to realize I didn't see you after the incident with the d...Smarty Pants. I wanted to apologize then and there, maybe...maybe... "Maybe?" Twilight asked. Comet Tail pursed his lips again. "Maybe become friends with you," He finished. Though internally, he slapped himself for not admitting the obvious to her. "Excuse me?" Comet got the attention of two fillies in the hallway at school. He cleared his throat. "Either of you seen a filly named Twilight Sparkle anywhere?" One of them spoke up. "Purple unicorn? Likes reading? Kinda quiet?" The second one simply glared at him. "The one you pick on every day?" He sighed. He knew that would be brought up. "I want to apologize to her. I want to know where she is." The first one laughed. "Well you're a bit too late. I heard from someone in her class that she got transferred." The second filly nodded. "Who'd have thought, huh? I always thought her magic was good - but Princess Celestia good?" Comet's eyes widened. "What about Princess Celestia?" "So you didn't hear," The first one shook her head. "Twilight Sparkle got a first-class ticket to Princess Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. She's gone. Out of here." His heart sank. "Gone?" "So unless you can boost your magic up to her level - which who knows what it is," The second unicorn shrugged, "It's a pretty good chance you'll never see her again." Comet Tail hung his head slightly. "Alright. Uh...thank you anyway." He turned and left the two unicorns, trying to piece together a way to fix what he broke. Then it hit him. Twilight? Going to Princess Celestia's school? That meant ponies will be wanting to know about the proud parents. And most likely, someone will have gotten their names. Or even better - it'll show up in the papers! All it took was a little waiting. Lucky for him, a plan had already begun forming. Twilight waited until Comet finished again. "So did you find out what you were looking for?" Comet smiled. "Sure did. Found your parent's address. I sent them something that I knew they would get to you." He then started to frown. "But that's what made me think you forgave me. I thought you got it. I guess not." "Mom and Dad sent me a lot of things," Twilight reasoned. "Most of which detailing how fast Shining was rising in his ranks." Shining Armor smiled knowingly at this comment. She turned her attention back to Comet. "Well...what was it?" Comet was silent for a moment, recalling the memory. "Two things. One was a cupcake. A cupcake with 'I'm Sorry' written on the top." Twilight's jaw began to slightly drop, though he didn't notice. "The second thing was a letter. A letter I spent almost an entire night writing." He sighed. "I still have a copy of it. A draft. I sent you the final copy. Basically...the cupcake and the letter said the same thing. It's just the letter said it more times." He laughed. "I, uh, guess the post-ponies lost it." He then stopped laughing. His brow furrowed. Twilight was staring at him, mouth agape and her eyes misty. "Twilight?" The purple unicorn's lower lip trembled as she shook her head slightly. Her voice started breaking. "Nopony lost it. I got it." "...You did?" She started to sniffle now. "B-but...I thought it was another joke. A-a letter from my parents came with it. It said...said 'a young colt' wanted it sent...I took the 'I'm Sorry' as an...an insult." She sobbed once. "'Sorry you're so special'. 'Sorry you're different'. 'Sorry'..." Twilight put her hooves over her mouth and closed her eyes. Her friends and her family grew concernced. She spoke up again, her voice almost fully cracked. "I...I..." Twilight then, finally, broke down. "I BURNT the note...And I FED the cupcake to - to Spiiiiike!!" The young dragon gasped. That was why his first cupcake had 'I'm Sorry' written on it? But he had more pressing matters to attend to. Such as his friend, Twilight Sparkle, pushing past the crowd at the stalled party and rushing out the door, all the while crying her eyes out. "TWILIGHT!" Shining, Cadance and Spike screamed out in unison. Pinkie's mane began to deflate again, the pain of watching her friend emotionally break like that proving too much. And the other four simply stood and watched, fear and worry etched on their faces. And Comet Tail, still sitting in shock after the revelation, realized he could catch up to her while he still had her in his sights. He bolted out, seeing that night was beginning to fall (the party took THAT long?). As he ran, he began to realize something. Both of them made mistakes. And tonight was the chance for both of them to fix them. Next: Will Comet find Twilight? Will she want to be found? What will happen between them if they do run into each other again?