//------------------------------//
// A Painful Reunion 
// Story: My Twilight Facade 
// by axelsempai 
//------------------------------//

We were finally back in Ponyville.  Pinkie stood close by me as we walked sedately on the approach to the library, where no doubt Spike was waiting for us with his belly distended from having too many gems.  I was just glad that I could put the past couple of days behind me soon.  After the couple of days I had, I could go for some R&R.  Maybe take a day to go for a walk around town, or shop for something nice.  Perhaps a sleepy day where Spike and I played some games.  It would've been nice.

Until then, however, it was still mid-afternoon and the two of us fresh off the train still hadn't gotten to our respective places of residence.  The library was on the way to Sugarcube Corner, so it was likely we would part ways there.  Indeed, we found ourselves at the doorstep to the building and prepared to do exactly that.

"Home sweet home."  I said to nopony in particular.

"Yeah, I have to get back to the Cakes.  They're not too happy with how often I've been goofing off!"  Pinkie rolled her eyes.

"You should probably work extra hard for their sake."  I suggested.

Pinkie giggled at the thought.  "You're silly, Star.  I always work super duper extra hard!"

"Just not very often?"

She giggled some more.  "I'm too busy trying to cheer up sad ponies.  I can't help that it takes up a lot of time!"

Pinkie drew me into a hug, smiling and whispering gently.  "You know you can talk to us.  You don't have to bottle up your problems."

"I'll take that into account."  I wouldn't, but I didn't tell her that when I gave her a good little squeeze.

We parted, and she eventually left to see to her employers.  Pinkie was just so understanding and nice, even though she didn't know what my problems were (and they were legion, believe me).  I smiled and opened the door, shooting one last look in her parting direction before turning back to the here and now of that day.

It was there I saw Shining Armor staring up at me from a conversation he was having with Spike.  Crap, I forgot about that guy.  Looks like my troubles weren't over just yet.

"I'm back."  I announced calmly.

Spike broke off from the conversation to check on me.  "Welcome back!  So what was that all about?"

I shrugged.  "I guess she just wanted me to meet the family.  They were pretty nice, though."

This satisfied Spike.  A quick look around the room couldn't reveal Cadence.  "So, where's Cadence?"

"In the restroom, probably."

"Ah."  Then I saw Shining, and I knew my day was going south.  He had a look of unknown intent, but it was certainly less than friendly.  If I had to guess, he was about to...

"Hey, Twilight,"  He began.  "I'm glad you're back, but could I have a word with you?"

Yup, there it is.  Everypony wants to talk to me.  Something told me that this conversation would be the least pleasant of them all.  "Fine, because everyone else had a chance.  Why not?"

Spike made a face at me, as if to silently tell me to be careful.  My head tilted in affirmation, and I left the room to have that most important of talks that I never wanted in the first place.

Shining locked the door behind us, so I sighed at the drama of it all.  "So what'd I do this time?"

Shining didn't look at me, only turning his head slightly in my direction.  "I thought you were acting different."

"I believe you meant to say 'differently'.  It's a common mistake."

He glared at me for my ill-timed correction.  It couldn't help it, sarcasm was how I dealt with my anxiety!

"You think you're so smart, don't you?"

"Well, I live in a library..."

He growled a bit.  I wasn't helping my case.  "We've noticed your errors.  You've done well so far, but your act ends here."

I elected to play dumb, though I knew well enough where this was going.  "What act?  I wasn't aware I joined a troupe."

"Don't play dumb, impostor!  I know what you are."

"A wandering minstrel, then?"

He grabbed my shoulders and slammed me against the fridge.  A decanter we had up there for some reason rattled in place.  "Where's my sister?"

The body slamming didn't do all that much to me, oddly.  It barely even hurt, so I was still in top-form cluelessness.  "Uh, hello, Shining.  I'm Twilight Sparkle, the pony everypony says is your sister."

He pulled me back and slammed me even harder.  It hurt just as little, only now the decanter fell down and shattered against the floor.  "I know you aren't!  You're just some spy trying to take over Equestria!"

"Spies don't lead revolutions, Shining.  That's just retarded."

Displaying impressive strength, he lifted me over his head, suplexing me through the kitchen table.  This actually hurt a little.  I arched my back to alleviate the pain, but Shining was upon me a moment later.  He pinned me down with one hoof and slammed the other by my head.  "Tell me what I want to know."

I said the first thing that came to mind, though it wasn't a good idea, in hindsight.  "I'm not telling you how to plow your girlfriend."

His nostrils flared at the insult.  As he pulled back a hoof, no doubt to punch me right in the face, I braced myself for the weak-ass pain that only Shining Armor, captain of the garden patch brigade, could hope to inflict.

The door rattled.  We both froze solid at the small sound.  Our gazes slowly shifted to the door, awaiting whatever came next.  Instead of untold horror, it was the lovely voice of Cadence sounding very worried.  "Shiny?  Twiley?  We heard glass shattering, are you okay in there?  Why's the door locked?"

Shining visibly attempted to say something, but his mouth couldn't form any words.  I'm going to guess that he didn't tell his wife-to-be about what he was planning, and now he was stuck having to either explain what he was doing, or try fruitlessly to hide what appeared to be him beating his sister.

He would have been in a no-win scenario if it weren't for my much faster mind.  "Yeah, you don't wanna open that door!  We got a gremlin!"

"A gremlin?"  She asked through the muffling door.

"Yeah, you know, the fuzzy things you aren't supposed to feed after midnight?"

"I don't know what those are."

"Yeah, well, it got to one of my stashes in here and it went feral.  We're trying to catch it."  I lit my horn, levitating a plate off the far counter.  "Hey, brother, watch out for the..."  I dropped the plate on the floor, shattering it while I held a hoof over my mouth to make a screeching noise.  "Fuck!  There goes the good china.  Sorry Cadence, we have to focus on this thing.  It's immune to magic, you know how it is."

"It's immune to magic?"

"Listen, we don't have time for you to question every little detail about what we're doing in here.  If you could have less curiosity and more blind faith, that'd be appreciated."

There was a short pause, and Shining thought for sure she wouldn't buy it.  He perspired greatly, dripping sweat on my chest.  As much as that disgusted me, I couldn't summon the courage to voice my concern.

"Okay, be careful!"

We each let out a relieved breath.  She bought it.

"Why'd you do that?"  He asked.

I shrugged against the floor.  "You looked like you were in a bad position.  I figured I'd help you out."

"Maybe you just wanted to keep Cadence from coming in and learning about you."

"Or I could have let her in and cried about big brother being mean to me and throw you to the curb."

He knew I was right.  There was no easy way to convince her that hitting me a whole lot was a good thing.  I essentially saved his ass.  Not bad for a monster, huh?  So he stepped off me and helped me up, seeing as how I'm not such a bad girl.

"Well, thanks for keeping this between us."

"It's fine.  You're not the only one to have an extreme reaction to my change in behavior."

"Oh yeah, I asked Spike about all that.  He tattled on you, didn't he?"

"Heh, he certainly did.  The princess made a personal visit.  That was fun."

"How'd you convince the princess, anyway?"

I smiled slyly.  "What do you mean?  I'm just being true to myself."

"Was that a hint?"

"No, that's it."

Shining shook his head at that.  Perhaps he thought something more should have happened.  "Okay, so on that note, could you at least tell me where the real Twilight is?"

"I am the real Twilight."  I insisted.  I had this funny feeling that telling him outright about myself would be a disaster.  My thinking was that as long as I didn't admit it to my detractors, my secret wouldn't find it's way to Celestia in the worst way possible, so I had to play dumb.  This would bite me in the ass pretty hard in about a month's time, but we'll get to that.

As for Shining's reaction, he was both disappointed and upset.  Not surprising, really.  "Cut the act, already.  We both know you're not really Twilight."  That much was true.

"I'm not even going to ask what makes you think that."  I said in an exasperated manner.  Probably something to do with that conversation with Bon Bon, not that I'd ever learn.

"Come on, you're way too different to be her.  Just come right out with it!"

My next trick was fake sarcasm.  "You're right, Shiney.  I'm actually a frog.  Better stop me before I reach the nearest pond!"

"That's uncalled for!  I just want to know where my sister is!"

"Right here, dingus!"

"I'm not that stupid!"

"Then why are we still having this conversation?"

"To find the real Twilight!"

"Why's this so hard for you to understand!?"

"AARRGGGHH!"

Shining blew a gasket.  And by "blew a gasket", I mean he bucked me in a fit of rage.  The force of his kick blasted me into the kitchen door, which slammed open upon impact.  I tumbled for a little bit, at least until I rolled up to Cadence's hooves.  I stared at the ceiling, generally trying to remain calm and not do something I'd regret, while the love-ly princess shifted her attention between me and the now busted door.

She was understandably shocked at the sudden change, but did an admirable job at remaining calm.  "I'm starting to think there's no gremlin."

I groaned softly at the remark.  "Glad to see you're catching on, princess."

I sat up in time for Shining to step out of the kitchen looking like he was caught with his hooves in the cookie jar.  Spike was about ready to hop in and stop things if they went too far, though they likely already had.  All in all, a good bit a chaos to welcome me home.

"Excuse me, Cadence."  I just had to stir the pot a bit more, because I just love making things worse for myself.  I addressed Shining Armor.  "You hit like a girl."

As expected, the jab bruised his sensibilities.  I felt a little bit better.

"Don't tell me; he thinks the thing, right?"  Spike asked almost rhetorically.  I mean, it was kinda obvious at this point.

"Yeah, he thinks the thing."

"What thing?"  Cadence asked.

"The thing where I'm not really Twilight Sparkle because I lost interest in books and being quiet and not being a raucous dick.  So, you know, ignoring the last couple of years he wasn't watching me."

Cadence actually seemed shocked at the answer.  I had no idea why, considering she must have noticed something weird about me as well.

Shining was startled by this development, and felt the need to defend himself.  "W-wait!  Let me explain!  Twilight's behavior is totally different!"

The love-y dovey princess, to her credit, wasn't as broken up about all this as I expected.  "What do you mean?  We haven't seen her in years!"

He visibly gathered his thoughts.  "A-alright, look, this is something I learned from a trusted source."

At Cadance's confused reaction, I answered for him.  "He's talking about some deep-cover secret agent that lives in Ponyville.  She's been spying on me for the past couple of weeks and she somehow thinks I'm an alien, or something."

"Yeah, and she found evidence."

That took me aback.  "What kind of evidence?"

"There was a list of tasks with the topmost goal being to find Twilight."

My mind wracked itself searching for a reminder of that list.  It hit me:  Crap!  That list I wrote when I first got here!  It detailed my plans for finding the real Twilight Sparkle and how to accomplish each step!  I forgot about that thing, seeing how little I needed it these days.

"So you have this list, then?"  I asked reservedly.

Oddly, he got a little nervous.  "Uh, actually, it was destroyed in a fire."

I deadpanned.  "Seriously?"

Shining turned to the side, avoiding our gaze with embarrassment.  "There was an accident when procuring the evidence, the details of which she left vague.  But, assuming that note was true, it explains everything that changed."

What I was going to say next was a bit of a low blow, but I figured it was my best bet.  "So you're just assuming this mysterious note you've never seen that was conveniently destroyed is completely correct about me being a space alien?  And you trust this baseless claim enough to kick your sister's ass for answers to a question you can't even verify?"

He seemingly shrunk at the accusation, but was hardly deterred.  "Hey, I'll have you know that Sweetie Drops is completely reliable!  Her info saved Equestria numerous times!"

"Well, thanks for leaking your agent's real name to me, dipshit.  And here I always thought her name was Bon Bon."  Even though Shining grit his teeth at his slip, I pressed on harder.  "Disregarding that, she doesn't even have the proof of her claim!  For all you know, she could have it out for me because I banged her boyfriend and decided to use her position to hurt me."

"Her claim isn't without merit!"  He declared, futilely sticking to his guns.  "That explains everything about your change in behavior!  Your anger, the lies, the violence, and even your own willingness to abandon Spike to go on some ill-conceived adventure with your marefriend!  And when was Twilight ever gay?  She's only ever been interested in colts!  The only explanation is that you aren't Twilight at all!"

I was getting angrier with these accusations.  How dare he say that I abandoned Spike!  "I am Twilight, you moron!  Just because I trust Spike and let my inhibitions loose doesn't make me a monster!"

"You have to be a monster to replace my little sister!  How much do you think you took from her, huh?  Surely she must be scared, wherever she is!  How can I stand by and let you sabotage her entire life!  She could be with her friends and family right now, but she can't because you did something to her!"

I was more than on my back foot at this point.  My teeth ground together in a way that should have made sparks.  What could I have said at that?  He knew what I was doing was wrong, and so did I.

He stepped closer to me, towering over my lowered form.  His challenging refused to cease, boring into me further.  "I want my sister back.  She deserves better that what you did to her.  So give her back, monster, or I'll send you to Tartarus right now!"

This was exactly what I feared would happen if someone caught me.  This ultimatum promised my death either way.  If I relented, my soul would be torn from this body and shunted God knows where.  I'd likely end up in Hell, with no hope of salvation.  On the other hand, I could resist and disappear, becoming an enemy of the state.  I didn't like my chances against the princesses, much less the army at their backs.  I wasn't prepared to survive on my own out there, no matter how powerful I was.  I'd risk getting caught and imprisoned before they tore out my soul like option one!

I only had one option left:  convince somepony here that I was really Twilight.  "I am Twilight."  I argued weakly.

"No you're not.  The way you've handled this interrogation alone is proof enough."

"How can I possibly defend myself against you?  You've been attacking me this whole time whenever I gave you an answer you didn't like."

"Because you're lying."

"How do you know I'm lying?"

"Because I know Twilight."

"You know me well enough to doubt I'd ever change from my days as a filly?"

Shining paused, but was undeterred.  "You don't know about Twilight's past, do you?"

Crap, I knew where he was going with this.  He must have remembered that he could look into his own past with his sister and catch me in a lie.  I needed a way out, and fast.  There had to be some way for me to dodge the question.

Shining smirked at his imminent victory.  "Alright, impostor, if you really are Twilight, then what were the nicknames we had for each other?"

That's it?  Nicknames?  Kind of a lame test, if you ask me.  Then again, it was doing its job at stumping me.  I had no logical way of countering this.  I was never told about this nickname business, so I was stuck.  What could I do?

Logic was useless, in this instance.  If logic failed, then maybe emotion would save the day.  So I did what any criminal would do to get away:  play the victim.

I put on the face of an emotionally distraught mare and let the emotions I was building this whole conversation rise to the surface.  "You attack me in my own home, destroy my furniture and break the kitchen door, calling me out in front of my family just so you can demand to know our nicknames?"  My throat seized up a little and my voice cracked.  I was doing too good a job.  "How can you be so cruel to your own sister?  How can I ever trust you again?  Even if I answer this question, how can I know you won't come up with some excuse for why I'm wrong, like you've done so many times already?"

I took a deep breath and shut my eyes tightly for my final blow, yelling with as much hurt in my voice as I could muster.  "If you were just too ashamed of me as your sister, you should have ignored me like you have for the last five years!"

My horn flared to life and flashed me through space.  I opened my blurry eyes to find myself in my room, facing the door.  Magic filled me once again, transforming me into my preferred human form, and again to cover myself with a black cloak.

I kept my eyes locked on the door, awaiting the possibility that my ploy failed.  My magic flowed through my hands, summoning three balls of light, ready for me to throw one after another at whoever opened the door.  At any moment, Shining could bust down the door to fight me.  I had to be ready, just in case.





Shining Armor heard the flashes of magic upstairs betraying the location of the impostor.  "What a load of horsefeathers!"  He exclaimed.

It was so obvious, now.  Twilight was way too volatile to be genuine, and she ducked the last question.  She could have just answered the question to throw off suspicion if she knew the answer.  He conclusively showed this impostor's true colors!

Victoriously, Shining turned to his fiancée to maybe say something about finding Twilight or how everything would be alright, now.  His sense of victory escaped him adeptly the moment he saw Cadence's stern frown.  He couldn't shake the feeling that he just did something wrong.

"Shining Armor,"  She began, much to his chagrin.  Nothing good came from her using his full name.  "We have a lot to talk about when we get home.  We're leaving right now."

"What?  But what about Twilight?"

"I'm going up there to calm her down.  You are going outside to wait for me."

"But that's just an impostor!"

Shining's defiance died the moment Cadence's glare hardened.  "Don't remind me that it's your mess I'm cleaning.  We'll talk about this later."

He wanted to say something in his defense, but he couldn't bring himself to do so.  There was little he could do but hang his head in defeat and slip outside.

Cadence could only sigh.  "Well, this all could have gone better."  She promptly went upstairs to speak with Twilight.

Her hoof knocked on the wood.  She silently counted to three, and spoke.  "Twilight, are you okay in there?"

Twilight's voice emerged moments later, as if she took a deep breath first.  "Uh, yeah!  I'm fine!"

"Are you sure?  I'm really sorry about Shining Armor..."

"Aw, it's not your fault!  I mean, I'm not going to spend too much time around him now that he's gone mental, but you know how it is."

Cadence shrunk down in sorrow.  "I just don't know what got into him.  I thought he would be happy to see his sister again."

Twilight chuckled uneasily.  "Yeah, I'm sure he would be."

The pink princess regained herself, showing determination to the still closed door.  "But don't you worry!  I'll make sure he apologizes to you next time we visit!"

"Oh, you're leaving?"

Cadence smiled sadly in response.  "Yes, we're leaving for Canterlot tonight.  I'm going to keep Shining away from you until he's sorry."

"Thank God."

"What was that?"

"I said 'thank you, Cadence'.  You're a great friend, and I'm happy to call you a sister."

Cadence's heart swelled at the praise, and a truly happy smile spread on her lips.  "Thank you, Twiley.  I'll be sure to send you some letters.  I can't say much about your brother, but I promise I won't forget you."

"That means a lot to me.  Thanks."

Well, nothing for it, then.  It was time to go.  She first stopped in the guest room to retrieve their possessions and returned to the living room.  She spared another look to the stairs, which led to Twilight's room.  The poor dear wouldn't even leave her room to wave farewell.  She must have been truly devastated.

"So you're leaving?"

Cadance jumped at the voice behind her.  She relaxed, however, when she realized it was just Spike.  Strange how she just forgot about him.  "Yes, we're leaving.  I can't keep the two of them in the same house considering that fight they just had."

Spike shook his head ruefully.  "Tell me about it.  They made a huge mess in the kitchen."

"Oh, were you cleaning in there?"

"Nah, just the glass.  I know that ponies can't step on glass like a dragon can."

Cadence chuckled lightly at the dragon's remark.  "I sometimes wonder how much easier it is to live with tough scales instead of soft fur."

Spike returned the smile, though a little crooked.  "Try having an itch you can't scratch through them."

They stood in silence for a few seconds, as if a little quiet would help them through their muddied thoughts.  Cadence broke the silence to offer her assistance.  "Do you think Twilight will be alright?  I could stay for a while longer if she needs it."

"Nah, I'm sure she'll appreciate the space."  He declined thoughtfully.  "Twilight's gotten pretty tough lately, so I think she'll hop right up pretty soon.  Then again, she's just gonna go back to her books for the rest of the night."

That sure sounds like my Twiley.  Cadence thought.  Perhaps Twilight didn't change that much after all.  "Then I hope you can cheer her up, Spike.  If anyone can, it's you."

Spike laughed uncertainly.  "Sure, I guess I can do that.  Do you need any help carrying your bags?"

Cadence smiled deviously.  "That's what Shiney is for."

The two shared a farewell hug, parting on a bittersweet note that soured an otherwise pleasant reunion.  Cadence left shortly afterwards, and Spike watched from a window as she led a downcast Shining Armor down the road for their train.  It would seem that he was alone with Dusk once more.

Well, that was a close one.  Spike was certain that things would have broken down into a brawl near the end, but Dusk found a way to turn things around.  If he was honest, Spike was a little scared at how easily Dusk could manipulate others when he really tried.  It wasn't the first time it scared him, either.  He was just glad that Dusk wasn't one of the bad guys.

Still, this was a major event, and they needed to talk about it.  Spike hopped up the stairs to get some perspective on the last half hour.  Maybe the day before, as well.





I was laying in bed with my arm over my eyes when I heard the knocking on my door.  Whoever knocked this time didn't even wait for a response before entering.  It didn't take a genius to figure that it was Spike walking up to the bed.

"Hey."

"Hey."  I replied listlessly.

"Are you feeling okay?"

"I guess."  I sat up with a groan.  "It's been hectic lately."

"Do you wanna talk about it?"

"If you're offering."  I sat on the edge of my bed and faced Spike properly.  "Where should I begin?"

"How about when Pinkie foal-napped you?  What was that about?"

"I guess she just wanted me to meet her family.  They're nice folks, but they have weird ideas about us.  Seems like they think Pinkie and I are an item."

"Uh..."  Spike looked like the gears in his head were turning.  "Well, aren't you?"

I frowned heavily.  "There are so many things wrong with that."

"Like what?"

"I'm not getting into it.  Suffice to say that Pinkie and I are never getting together.  Besides, I'm more concerned about big brother knowing my secret."

"But you did a good job throwing him off, didn't you?  Maybe he'll just let it slide?"

I snorted snidely.  "What, like you?"  Spike looked sheepish, as he realized we've already been through this before.  "Yeah, this isn't the last we've heard of Shining Armor."

"How'd you do that, anyway?  It looked like he had you cornered, and then you just  kind of won."

"Oh, that.  It's a pretty simple trick.  You'll notice as you're growing up that mares get very emotional about things, but they'll rarely cry.  When they start crying, it's because they did something wrong and they're avoiding responsibility."

Spike opened his mouth to say something, but little more than a gasp came out.  "W-wha?"

I nodded solemnly.  "Yeah, look out for that. It's also a risk when you're dealing with dudes, but only if they're pussies."

"Wait, does that mean you're a pussy?"

"You're on thin ice, fucker."

Spike jumped at the sudden insult.  "S-sorry!"

I shrugged and sighed.  "It's fine.  Look,  I'm not sure how relevant this all is in Equestria, but we have more immediate problems."

"Yeah, Shining Armor's probably gonna tell the princess about this."

"Eh."  I shrugged off the possibility.  "I already went through that with you.  I don't think Celestia's gonna go for a second round.  I'm more worried about him talking to my parents."

Spike seemed confused.  "But how would he talk to your parents?  Aren't they on another planet or something?"

My parents were actually dead, but that's not what I meant.  "...Twilight's parents."

"...Oh, yeah.  If you want, I can tell you about them.  I'm sure they're in the photo album so I can point them out."

"Thanks, you're a good friend."

Spike puffed up in pride at the praise.  "I am pretty good, aren't I?"

"Practically my brother."

We shared a good-natured laugh, and we almost certainly shared the sentiment.  I don't know what I'd do without the kid keeping me in focus like this.

While I'm sure he would have liked basking in the comforting glow brotherly affection a little longer, he figured I needed some support of my own.  "Have any problems you wanna talk about?  I can help, and I think you need it."

I appreciated the concern, but I was adamant I had to work on this alone.  "No, I'm not dealing with anything worse than what I've been through.  I'll be fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yup."  I stood from the bed and had a refreshing stretch, feeling better now that I had an unproductive chat with my little brother.  "On a more important note, I'm still pretty sure I can kick your ass at Arcane."

I took a moment for Spike to catch onto my meaning, but his emerging smile of ill-intent appeared promptly.  "Precedent says otherwise."

The challenge was on, and we could finally put the week behind us.  While my mind was on the coming battle of cards, I couldn't shake the feeling that I just unleashed something big, and I had no way of stopping it.  Well, it's not like I haven't been through this kind of thing before.  If a giant dragon wasn't enough to kill me, or a pack of timberwolves were little more than kindling to me, then I doubted Shining Armor was going to be my match.

As we settled into the living room to play a game or two, the problems of the future seemed so far away.  I wasn't worried about the good captain and his inevitable retaliation.