“Okaaaay,” Purple Heart drawled, blinking at the screaming people surrounding him on all sides, “can’t say I was expecting this.” The purple teen’s words were drowned out by the roar of the crowd, stamping their feet on the stadium bleachers. At the bottom of the sports amphitheater was an occupied soccer field with players running towards one of the goals. Squinting, Purple Heart scrutinized the players. However, the distance was too great for him to make out any defining features. His view was suddenly blocked when the crowd surged to their feet, cheering madly as a voice echoed around the stadium.
“GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAL! Rainbow Dash scores once more, hiking the score up to three-nil in favor of the Wondercolts! With 35 minutes left on the clock, the Paladins have only five minutes left to make up a three goal difference or it’s bye-bye to their chance at Nationals!”
Purple Heart arched an eyebrow at the screens hanging from the roof of the stadium, stroking his chin thoughtfully as he watched Rainbow Dash standing in the center of the field. The rainbow haired girl was mopping at her forehead with the hem of her shirt, cleary antsy to continue the game.
“Hmm.” Heaving himself to his feet, Purple Heart excused himself past his neighbors to reach the steps. He slowly descended, eyes not leaving Rainbow Dash. What kind of vision was this? All it showed was Rainbow doing something she enjoyed. And she clearly was, if the crowd’s approval was anything to go by.
A whistle blew and the game resumed, the Paladins charging forward. Several players bunched up on Rainbow Dash, screening the girl from the ball as a forward dribbled it past her and most of her fellow defenders. Within seconds, the desperate player was at scoring range. Then Rainbow Dash broke free.
“Idiots!” she snapped. The crowd’s noise level dipped briefly as Rainbow’s curse echoed faintly throughout the stadium. The girl flew across the field in hot pursuit of the ball. The player in possession took a moment to glance over his shoulder and promptly blanched. He wasted no time in snapping off a kick that sent the ball towards the goal. Purple Heart couldn’t stop his jaw from dropping as Rainbow Dash blocked the ball with her forehead and sent it out of bounds. It truly was an example of stellar athletics for the rainbow haired girl to outpace the opposing player and block his shot before it got to the goalie.
“Incredible athletics from Rainbow Dash to block the ball!” the announcer applauded as the crowd roared its approval. “But, it’s still in the Paladins possession!” Purple Heart ignored the commentary and focused on Rainbow Dash. The girl was yelling heatedly at her coach and the poor man looked baffled at whatever she was saying. He was shaking his head and hands, trying to placate the girl when she turned around, grabbed a fellow player from the bench, and stormed over to the referees’ table.
“Now subbing number 20 for number 7. Now subbing number 7 for number 13,” a referee called.
“Oh, it looks like Rainbow Dash has been pulled from forward only to be placed at goalie. Interesting choice by the Wonderbolts coach,” the announcer mused. Purple Heart’s eyes narrowed, flicking his gaze to the big screen. Rainbow Dash stormed over to the goalie and held out a hand for their gloves. The goalie scowled and tore the gloves off, slamming them into Rainbow’s chest. The girl turned, presenting her face to the camera. Her lips moved.
‘Fine. I’ll do it myself.’
Purple Heart groaned. “Seriously?” he sighed. “Seriously?! You’re not enough shades of purple to pull that line off!” He ignored the confused looks he got from the crowd near him.
Play resumed and the ball was promptly thrown in. Rainbow’s teammates put up a valiant effort to keep the ball away from the goal, but to be perfectly honest, they did a terrible job of it. Within seconds, the ball was careening towards the goal, only to be saved by Rainbow Dash. She drop-kicked the ball, sending it across the field in a lazy arc. It didn’t take long for the ball to return to the Wondercolts’ side of the field. Once more the ball flew towards the goal and once more Rainbow Dash prevented the Paladins from scoring.
“She doesn’t trust her teammates,” Purple Heart mused, watching as the ball continued to fly across the field only to come back into Wondercolt territory where it was blocked and sent back across the field in an endless cycle. Despite this rote method of play, the clock reached 40 minutes and the game ended. Purple Heart scowled and left the stands for the concessions ring, leaving the cheering crowd behind him. He descended to the ground level to stand by the locker rooms. He couldn’t waste time waiting for her to come out on her own. It took mere moments for him to come up with a scheme that would most certainly earn him a bruise or two, but it would work.
He rapped his knuckles on the locker room door for the Wondercolts and stepped back. Footsteps sounded and the door opened to reveal a girl in a Wondercolts uniform.
“Can I help you?” she asked, eyeing the large teen before her skeptically. Purple Heart gave a mechanical grin.
“My name is Purple Heart,” he introduced himself. “I’m a scout with Daring Do’s School for Physically Gifted Youngsters. I have a proposition for one Rainbow Dash?” Immediately, the girl’s expression soured and she nodded curtly.
“She’ll be right out,” she snarled, slamming the door. Purple Heart winced as the girl’s cleats clacked painfully on the floor as she strode away.
“Oh yeh,” he sighed, “Rainbow really isn’t a teamplayer...” He didn’t have to wait long. Seems his plan worked. Cleats sounded up the hall and the door flew open to reveal a panting Rainbow Dash.
“You’re the scout wi-” she balked. “Purple Heart? What are you doing here? How did you get here? Why-” The blue girl squawked in surprise when Purple Heart grabbed her by her uniform and dragged her out of the doorway.
“I’m the one asking the questions,” he growled, pinning her to the wall. “What in the ever-loving biscuit was that performance I just watched?” Rainbow blinked at him in confusion.
“What?” she asked. “Subbing in and out? I didn’t want us to lose.” Purple Heart’s left eye twitched. His hand dropped from her uniform and he stepped back.
“Us?” he echoed. “‘I didn’t want us to lose’? Really? Cuz from where I was standing, what happened out there-” he jabbed a finger at the stadium, “-looked a bit more like you didn’t want you to lose.”
Rainbow Dash scoffed. “Well, yeah, obviously,” she retorted. “That was my last chance to go to Nationals.”
Purple Heart arched an eyebrow. “Really?” he queried. “You’re a senior?”
“No.”
“Then what’s stopping you from going to Nationals next year?”
“I can’t play with teammates that don’t pull their own weight.”
Purple Heart couldn’t help it. He laughed. Loudly. He staggered over to the wall and leaned against it as great, wracking snorts shook his body. Scowling, Rainbow Dash folded her arms and settled for waiting out Purple Heart’s fit of explosive laughter. It didn’t take long once he started gasping for breath.
“You don’t think,” he panted, “your own teammates...can pull their weight? That is… by far… one of the stupidest things… I’ve ever heard. And I’ve played… World of Tanking Ships.”
Rainbow shrugged. “It’s the truth,” she stated. “Every game this season I’ve had to carry hard. I can only trust myself.”
“So, selfish desire,” Purple Heart hummed. “No loyalty whatsoever to your teammates or your coach for that matter. I saw you browbeat him into subbing the goalie out only to have yourself placed there after another substitution.”
“Like I said, I can only trust myself,” Rainbow reiterated.
“Hmm...”
Rainbow sighed, looking at Purple Heart irritably as he just stood there, head resting on the wall as he gazed upwards.
“Well, this has been most enlightening,” Rainbow said sarcastically. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to get showered and changed before the bus leaves,” Rainbow turned and opened the locker room door.
“What happens when your trust in yourself fails?” Purple Heart asked as she stepped into the hall. She hesitated, frowning at the concrete before her.
“Excuse me?” she questioned, stepping back outside to look at the large purple teenager..
“What happens,” Purple Heart repeated, “when you lose your trust in yourself and the only thing saving you from defeat is your teammates that aren’t loyal to you? Just as you aren’t loyal to them?”
Rainbow Dash was silent, standing with a foot inside the door while a pensive expression crossed her face. A moment passed and she scoffed. “You’re not making any sense,” she said. She moved to enter the locker room again, but was stopped by Purple Heart’s hand. “Let go.” She turned and wrenched her arm in an attempt to get out of his grip.
“Where are your friends, hm?” he asked, blue eyes freezing her in place. “Where are Twilight, Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy? You’d think your friends would be here to watch you play for a spot at Nationals, wouldn’t you? You’d think they’d be here to support you.” Rainbow Dash stopped struggling as Purple Heart’s words washed over her. “You broke your friendship with them, didn’t you.” His words were a statement, not a question. The rainbow haired girl could hear the accusation in his voice. “You decided that all you needed was yourself to accomplish your dreams. You betrayed their trust in you for your own selfish desires. Some friend you are.” He let go of her arm and stepped back, eyes still transfixing her in place.
Rainbow found her voice then. “I don’t need their support,” she snarled. “I don’t need my teammates either. I’ll win. I’ll show you. I’ll win it all, all of it! By myself if I have to!”
Purple Heart barked a laugh. “You will!” he cried, eyes tearing up as he looked at the ceiling. “You most certainly will have to do it yourself!” Rainbow couldn’t help but balk at Purple Heart’s tears. She made to speak, but was stopped before she could take a breath.
“You think doing it on your own will be so easy!” Purple Heart glared at her. “Doing everything by yourself! No one to rely on, but also no one to blame but yourself if you fail! Being the best at something is great and all, but being alone? That’s a special brand of hell, one that’s self-inflicted! You go there along with child molesters and people who talk at the theater! When you’re alone, it hurts! So bad!” He stood there for a moment, panting as he just looked at nothing. Then he spoke again, softer.
“You ever have a joke you made up,” he asked, his powerful voice now weak with emotion, “that gets you laughing so hard you think you’ll pass out? If you haven’t got any friends to share it with, what can you do? Keep telling yourself that same joke until you cry instead of laugh? Bottle it up inside, wishing you could tell it to someone other than yourself? It’s awful.” Cobalt eyes focused on Rainbow Dash and hardened. “What do you think it’ll feel like if you actually win at Nationals? What’ll it feel like when there’s no one to share it with? All you’ll feel is an empty feeling right here.” He held a clenched fist to his diaphragm. “Just… nothing.” There was silence between the two for a few minutes as she digested what he said while he regained his breath.
“What you’ve just said,” Rainbow Dash finally spoke, “makes… a great deal of sense… like you’ve had time to think about it. This feeling of nothing… now that you mention it… I can feel it… right now… and I don’t want it. I don’t like this feeling. Not at all!” She folded her arms protectively over her chest and hunched her shoulders. “Now that I think about it… this doesn’t feel right. I shouldn’t be selfish! I shouldn’t be like this! I love sports and winning, but not at the cost of my friends and teammates! I don’t want to be selfish! I don’t want to feel like this ever again!” Any further words were muffled due to Purple Heart embracing Rainbow Dash tightly and holding her to his chest.
“There are times,” he said gently, “when making the selfish choice is the best choice for you. The trick though is to know when those choices are.” He squeezed her gently, rubbing her back as he rocked gently from side to side.
“How will I know those choices?” she asked, her voice still muffled by his chest. The large teen laughed, his frame shaking.
“Trial and error,” he said. “Making selfish choices isn’t always bad.” He pulled away and rested his hands on her shoulders so he could look her in the eyes. “But you shouldn’t make them at the cost of your friends.” The girl nodded and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand. She sniffed and smiled. Then her brow furrowed. She shook her head and blinked several times.
“What happened?” she asked. “I felt… not like myself...”
“Welcome back, Rainbow,” Purple Heart grinned. “How do you feel?”
“Like I just played a game of soccer by myself,” she groaned, palming her face as a wave of exhaustion hit her. “What happened? We were walking down the tunnel and you three were yapping away to piss off Sunset when I blacked out.” She looked around, eyes widening in surprise. “Where are we?”
“Your mind,” Purple Heart replied. “From what us guys and Sunset could discover, you, Rarity, Twi, AJ, Fluttershy, and Pinkie all got hit with something from the Hydra. Whatever you just experienced was caused by an illusion the Hydra made.”
“Illusion?” she questioned. “You mean we didn’t stand here while you yelled at me about selfishness and betrayal of friendship and trust?”
The purple teen snorted. “Mhm, that happened,” he confirmed. “And you were a right bitch about it.” Rainbow Dash opened her mouth to refute his words but stopped as her memory kicked in. She shuddered.
“Eugh, yeah, I was,” she agreed. “Sorry.”
He shrugged. “No harm, no foul,” he waved away. “Now, we gotta kick Twilight out of whatever hell she’s gotten in to.” He stepped away from the stadium towards the street. He waved down a taxi and one screeched to a stop at the curb.
“Wait, I’m coming with you?” Rainbow asked. “Why?”
“See any exits?” Purple asked.
She gave a swift glance around. “No, and I don’t see any taxis or bus stops for inter-brain travel.”
“Cheeky git,” Purple muttered. “I’m sure Sunset knows we need to move on. So get in.” The two clambered into the backseat. Before a word could be said, the taxi pulled away from the curb, drove a few yards and then warped away.
* * *
The taxi warped back into existence and screeched onto the curb, sending Rainbow Dash and Purple Heart tumbling out when the door flapped open. The taxi promptly left, leaving the pair groaning on the sidewalk.
“That,” Rainbow Dash gasped, “sucked.”
“No disagreement here,” Purple Heart groaned, rolling onto his back. “That indeed was decidedly unpleasant.”
Rainbow stood, dusting off her uniform and looking around. “Um, did we get out?” she asked.
Purple Heart blinked and peered around. They were on the grass outside the perimeter walls of Crystal Prep. “I dun think so,” he mused. “This is must be what Twilight is experiencing.”
“Huh,” the athlete hummed. “...I don’t get it.”
“Get what?” Purple asked as he rolled to his feet.
“What has Crystal Prep got to do with this?”
Purple Heart shrugged, stepping over the gate and onto Crystal Prep grounds. “Maybe it has something to do with the Hydra’s inverted perception of the Element of Friendship.”
Rainbow stopped walking and just looked confusedly at the purple teen. “Wha?” she asked eloquently.
With a sigh, Purple Heart walked back to where the girl had stopped and gently dragged her along. “Think about it,” he prompted. “I find you playing soccer basically by yourself. What is Pony Rainbow’s Element of Harmony? I’m sure Princess Twilight has informed you all of this at some point.”
“Loyalty,” Rainbow answered.
“And the inverse of loyalty is?” he prompted.
“...Betrayal?”
“Correct.” He held open the door to the school. “You were playing soccer alone. You weren’t letting your teammates help or support you. You had left your friends because you perceived them as betrayers.”
Rainbow couldn’t help wincing as he spoke. “Okay, I get it,” she interrupted tersely. “What’s this got to do with Elements of Harmony?”
“Princess Twilight’s Elements is Friendship,” Purple Heart continued, ignoring the interruption. “What do you think is the inverse of Friendship?”
Rainbow frowned, thinking. “Being alone? Isolation?”
“I think so,” Purple Heart agreed. “Which leads into why we’re here. This is a mindscape. They can be, quite literally, anything you want. So, what is a place where Sci Twi can be alone? Without friendship?”
The rainbow haired girl was silent as she ruminated on her companion’s words. “In her lab? Before she met us?”
Purple Heart shrugged. “Makes sense to me,” he said. Rainbow’s eyes narrowed.
“Do you not believe me? You started this theorizing,” she snapped.
“Didn’t want to come off as too smart,” the purple teen replied.
“So you made me do all the work?” Rainbow’s temper was flaring. And Purple Heart could see it was about to bust.
“More like I wanted to know what you thought,” he defended lightly, hoping to take the edge off her fury. “I already had an inkling of an idea, but I also wanted a second opinion.”
“Then why didn’t you just start off with what you thought?”
“And run the risk of being as smart as Wits?” He shivered. “Too many puns to know what to do with await that fate.”
Rainbow just scrutinized the purple teen skeptically as they made their way up stairs and through hallways towards the Science Bloc. It didn’t take them long to find the room that Twilight was operating in. Countless cords and wires were strung along the floor and ceiling through the open door. Even from several doors away, the pair could see light flickering from within, the clicking and whirring of machines drowning out all noise as they drew closer. They peered around the door frame, blinking as light flooded their vision. In the center of the room was a table covered with papers, pencils, open and closed books, rulers, a microscope or three, and a slumped form.
“...Is she asleep?” Rainbow deadpanned.
“Looks to be,” Purple Heart replied, stepping over cords and crumpled papers to reach the snoozing girl. He gently prodded Twilight and received no reaction. He made a second attempt. Nothing again. A grumble rose from his chest to escape his throat in a low growl.
“Twilight.”
Snore.
“Twilight, wake up.”
Snooore.
“Twi-”
SNOOORE.
“...Okay then. How about this.” He reached over the girl’s back towards the composition book she must have been writing in before losing her battle with remaining awake. He barely placed a finger on the book when she tugged it towards herself and out of his reach. Rainbow didn’t try to stifle her snicker of amusement. Her laughter intensified under Purple Heart’s deadpan stare.
With an explosive sigh, the purple teen cast around the space, looking for a book or something similar to the composition book. It wasn’t long till he had a suitable replacement in hand. He shifted around to stand in front of Twilight. Giving his fingers a quick blow of breath, he wiggled them once, gently grasped Twilight’s trapped book, pulled it away, and swiftly replaced it with the false book in his other hand. Only when he’d taken a step or two away from Twilight did he actually breathe again.
“Damn,” he muttered, “Harrison Ford makes that look so much easier in the movie...”
“Daring Do does it better,” Rainbow quipped.
“...Huh?”
“What, you thought that Daring Do just adventures in the wilderness and has a school named after her?”
“...Yes?”
“Plebeian.”
“...I don’t even right now,” Purple muttered, shaking his head as he thumbed open the comp book. Rainbow huffed at her ignored barb, stepping over some cords to stand beside the purple teen as he skimmed Twilight’s recent notes.
Progress has been raised by an astonishing 133% in the last week. I’ve managed to line up several more thesis’ and projects I want to complete alongside my current workload. I estimate an additional two and a quarter hours will allow enough time to keep up this rate of production.
“Hmm,” Purple Heart mused, backtracking through the notebook. “Interesting.”
“You understand this jargon?” Rainbow asked, surprise evident in her voice. “Looks like one of those reports you get from a factory or something.”
“Or something,” Purple muttered, eyes scanning an earlier entry.
I’m having second thoughts about my decision. Trading relationships for time seems a callous thing to do, but sacrifices must be made. For science.
“So it was isolation,” Rainbow realized. “She did the same thing I did, but for a different reason.”
“I think that there may be another reason.” Purple frowned. “Maaaybe.”
“Oh?” the rainbow haired girl prompted. “What might that be?”
Twilight chose that moment to wake up and interrupt.
“Computer! Open up a new project titled ‘Analytic and Algebraic Topology of Locally Euclidean Metrization of Infinitely Differentiable Riemannian Manifold’!” the frazzled girl cried. Immediately, Purple Heart gave the book back and stepped away.
“Bozhe moi,” he muttered, eyes wide with surprise. “Where’d that come from?” Rainbow didn’t answer, rubbing her hands along her arms as cold adrenaline pumped through her veins. They stood there, watching Twilight shake the last remnants of sleep from her body. The scientist looked up, squinting her eyes at the pair of visitors and frowned.
“What the… Rainbow Dash? Purple Heart?” Her face cleared, taking on an expression of surprise. “How did you get in here?!”
“Through the door,” Rainbow answered simply.
Twilight’s eyes narrowed and she brushed a lock of hair away from her face. “Well, obviously,” she scoffed, “but I close my door every time I enter my lab.”
“Well, this time you didn’t,” Rainbow pointed out, jerking a thumb at the open door. “Guess you were too tired to remember to close it.” Twilight’s frown deepened.
“I always close my door,” she emphasized.
“Maybe you just wanted to let friends into your life,” Purple Heart offered. “Theoretically.”
Twilight eyed the purple teen skeptically. “Really?” she drawled, leaning back in her chair.
“Really really,” the purple teen confirmed. “At least, that’s what I want to believe. Could be something else entirely.”
“Ahuh...” Twilight stood, pushing her chair away as she stepped around her desk and shuffled over to a wall monitor. She tapped the interface with rapid precision and turned back to the pair of teens, arms folded under her chest. Several seconds passed, during which nothing was said. Twilight just stared at Rainbow and Purple blankly, as if waiting for something. The silence got to the athlete first.
“What’d you do?” she asked. “That tapping on the screen.”
“I called campus security,” Twilight answered blandly. “You two have invaded my workspace and I will not tolerate distractions or trespassers.”
Purple Heart laughed. “We’re distractions before trespassers,” he chuckled. “Funny.”
“I wasn’t attempting to be funny,” Twilight retorted, scowling at the chuckling teen.
He grinned. “Right,” he said, stepping over to the door. “The face you’re making right now is hilarious though.” Twilight puffed out her cheeks and opened her mouth to riposte again, but stopped.
“What are you doing?” she demanded.
“Sitting,” Purple replied, grinning up at the science nerd. Twilight groaned, adjusting her glasses.
“I can see that,” she ground out. “I mean, what are you doing sitting in front of my door?”
“I thought that was obvious,” the purple teen said. “You’re a smart girl, you figure it out. Put that extra 133 percent production value to use.”
Twilight’s face grew thunderous. “You read my notebook!” she screeched, pointing accusingly at Purple Heart.
“Well of course,” he snorted, rolling his eyes. “You weren’t waking up. I had to do something.”
“Could’ve put more effort into waking her up,” Rainbow commented.
Purple Heart shrugged. “Coulda, woulda, shoulda.” His cobalt eyes settled on Twilight, gaze sharpening. “Now, why would I be sitting in front of your door? Other than the fact that this is a very comfortable rug.” He pointed at the rug beneath him. One of Twi’s eyes twitched.
“My lab was constructed with very specific parameters,” she said hotly, “the primary one being the absence of windows and having a singular door so that I could prevent others from interrupting me.”
Purple Heart shrugged. “Seems reasonable enough,” he agreed. “Anything else?”
The girl scientist squinted at the seated boy for a moment. Then her eyes widened in realization. “You’re preventing campus security from getting in,” she breathed.
“And you from getting out,” he added. “So, time for talking.”
“What do you mean?” Twilight asked.
“He means he’s gonna shout at you,” Rainbow piped up.
“I won’t shout at her!” Purple Heart denied, scandalized.
“Aha,” Rainbow scoffed. “Riiiiight...”
“What could you possibly have to talk about with me?” Twilight asked.
“The fact that you’re making a terrible mistake by cutting off all your friends and relationships,” the purple teen said. Twilight frowned, eyes flicking to the door.
“You aren’t going anywhere until I’m satisfied with what your answer is,” Purple Heart continued. “It’s not like you’re losing anything.”
“Except for time,” the student scientist grumbled. She shuffled back to her desk and sat down. Leaning forward, she laced her fingers together, and peered over them at Purple Heart expectantly, waiting for the teen to begin.
He opened his mouth to speak. “What-”
“Happens when your trust in yourself fails?” Rainbow Dash interrupted.
“...Huh?” Twilight asked eloquently.
“That’s what he asked me first when he talked to me,” the athlete explained. “I thought it would work for y- OWCH!” Rainbow glared at the sitting boy, rubbing her backside. Purple Heart met her gaze with an arched eyebrow. He spun the cord around lazily, the end whipping past his head.
“I wasn’t going to ask her that,” he said. His gaze shifted from Rainbow to Twilight. “I have a feeling there’s something more to your bid for isolation beyond freedom from distraction.”
Twilight didn’t say anything. She just looked at him apprehensively. Purple Heart returned her gaze in silence. Again, Rainbow broke the muted air.
“What reason other than not being distracted could she possibly have for breaking off relationships with other people?!” she snapped.
“Fear of losing those people,” Purple Heart answered. If Twilight’s muted gasp was anything to go by, his assumption was correct. “No one to save means no one to lose.”
Twilight stared hard at the purple teen sitting between her and escape. “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she scoffed. “If you would please move out of the way, I’m sure that campus security will be only too happy to escort you off the premises.” She folded her arms under her chest and eyed Purple haughtily.
“I can see the appeal,” the male teen admitted, ignoring the student scientist. If anything, he got more comfortable in his spot in front of the door. “No one to worry about hurting you, no one to leave you, no one to distract you from your greatest ambitions and goals in life, no one to keep track of.” He gave a small half smile. “Sounds simple and easy.” Twilight opened her mouth to retort, but Purple Heart spoke faster. “I can understand that pursuing a career in science can be demanding and time-consuming. You want to push yourself to be the best you can be and make fantastic realizations about the universe. It can be amazing.” He paused, gazing at Twilight.
“But, where do you see yourself thirty years from now?”
Twilight frowned. “What? What has thirty years got to do with anything?”
Purple Heart waved her question away. “Humor me. Where do you see yourself thirty years from now?”
It took Twilight a bare second to think of her answer.
“Renowned,” she said. “Respected. Awarded. Satisfied with my contributions to society. Probably a professor at a high class university or college that travels the world giving lectures on my discoveries.”
“You think that’s what you’d be if you kept yourself isolated for the next thirty years to pursue scientific discovery?” Purple Heart prodded.
Twilight balked in her response. The boy sounded like he was giving her a chance to change her answer. She nodded hesitantly.
Purple Heart sighed.
“Try thinking a little harder. Use that extra 133 percent production value.”
Twilight restrained the urge to punch the irritating purple thing in front of her door. She sat on her desk and closed her eyes to think.
“How come you’re being more patient with her?” Rainbow whispered, sitting beside Purple.
“She’s a smart girl,” he replied. “She can think for herself.”
“And I couldn’t?” Rainbow asked heatedly. The purple teen looked aside at her.
“You,” he said, “are stubborn as hell. And very emotional.”
“So your tactic for me was guilt-tripping?!” she hissed.
“Ehm… no? To be honest, I was flying by the seat of my pants,” he elaborated. “If I were a psychologist, I’d say what broke you out of your magic-induced stupor was the heightened emotional state your subconscious was in long enough for your brain to kick the illusion in the metaphorical junk to get out of it.”
“...Okay, fair enough.”
“You didn’t understand a word I said.”
“Nope.”
“Fantastic.” Purple Heart stood, placing himself firmly in front of Twilight. “Done thinking, Twi?”
The purple haired girl opened her eyes and stared at Purple Heart. She gave a slow nod.
“What do you see?”
“Loneliness,” she choked. “Paranoia. Fear. Hate.” She looked at Rainbow Dash. “Sadness.”
“Isolation can be good once in a while,” Purple Heart said soothingly, wrapping Twilight in a gentle embrace. “But you also need relationships to keep you grounded. Whether its a spouse, a mentor, a colleague, or a friend, you need some kind of connection to other people.” Twilight nodded into his chest.
“You good now?”
Another nod.
“...You can let go.”
Twilight squeaked and jumped back, her face flushed with embarrassment.
“Feeling better?” Rainbow asked, peeking around Purple Heart. Twilight nodded.
“Much,” she said. “That was… an experience. The Hydra made all this?” She gestured at the room. “Nice setup.”
“Yes, Hydra, the one we need to deal with before your world becomes nicer Game of Thrones,” Purple Heart urged.
“Right,” Rainbow agreed. “How do we get out?”
The three balked.
“Uhm...” Purple Heart rubbed his chin. “Hail Hydra?” With a flash, the trio vanished.