Chapter 02: A Late Start
ACT I: FRAGMENTED BEGINNINGS
"Are you sure that this will work, Pinkie?" Fluttershy asked.
"Of course it will!" Pinkie Pie said as she began decorating the cake, writing the letters, We're Sorry, Twilight on the top. "It has to work!" Since the whole fight yesterday, Pinkie Pie has been hard at work. She really felt sorry for leaving Twilight all alone instead of being by her side. So, she thought that maybe a party would work. It always cheers up a pony when they're in a fowl mood.
"But... I thought Twilight said that a party won't fix thi-" Fluttershy said.
"Don't care!" Pinkie Pie said, her eyes showing bags under them, showing that she had been busy planning all day in a stressful manner. "Must... make... Twilight... happy again!" She then took a large inhale, and began to blow tons of air into the balloon in front of her, making it as big as she could. But then suddenly, she unintentionally inhaled, causing all the air in the balloon to go into the party pony, making her blow up like a beach ball. The shy pegasus before her almost gasped.
"Oh my..." Fluttershy said, and then she approached the Pinkie's round shaped body. Poking her hoof into the pink pony's side, she opened her mouth, letting all the excess air out, and making her deflate and fly across the room, slamming into the wall, getting the attention of Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Rarity, who came into the room.
"What the hay is going on in here?" Applejack asked.
"We're trying to throw an apology party for Twilight." Fluttershy said.
"Yep!" Pinkie Pie said. "And it will work!" The farmpony, however, felt otherwise.
"Pinkie, maybe we should respect Twilight's wishes for right now." Applejack said. "Trying to win her trust back now is probably gonna make things worse."
"But Applejack, we can't just leave our friendship broken!" Pinkie Pie said. "We have to make things right with Twilight, even if it kills us!"
"Why should we even try?" Rainbow Dash asked, flying in front of Pinkie Pie. "Twilight said our friendship is over, so what's the point of trying?"
"Because, it's our job to cheer a friend up!" Pinkie Pie said.
"She's not our friend anymore!" Rainbow Dash said. "You heard her yourself, she's doesn't wanna be our friend anymore. And besides, she had no right to mouth off about us like that."
"Now Rainbow, don't be yippin' like that." Applejack said. "If anything, Twilight is right. We let ourselves get caught up in our wedding planning that we forgot to take her worries seriously."
"How can you be defending her?!" Rainbow Dash asked. "Didn't you hear how she said that you cared more about your own pride than your family?"
"Yes, I did." Applejack said. "But it's true. I let me pride get the best of me, and I admit, I still have to work on my stubborness. And that doesn't make it her fault. And in case if you've forgotten Rainbow, we promised that we'd take her worries seriously, even if they weren't such a big deal. Don't you remember Lesson Zero?"
"So what, we forgot a friendship lesson." Rainbow Dash said. "It's no big deal."
"No Big Deal?" Applejack asked. "Why of all the... Aren't you listening to yourself Rainbow? Don't you care that we let our friend down? You know what, Twilight was right. You don't seem to care about anything but the Wonderbolts!"
"Hey, it's not my fault that I'm such a big fan!" Rainbow Dash said.
"But it is if you care about impressin' them over the safety of your own friend!" Applejack shouted.
"How was I suppose to know that Twilight was gonna be sent below the castle?!" Rainbow Dash asked. "That's not on me!"
"Yes It Is!" Applejack shouted. "It's on all of us! Twilight could've gotten hurt by that shapeshifting queen, or worse! We weren't there for her, so her tragedy would be on all of us!"
"Well maybe she shouldn't have acted like a jealous little sister!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"Nopony was listening to her!" Applejack shouted. "She had no other option!"
"She had plenty of options!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"And all of them weren't working!" Applejack shouted back.
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" A voice shouted, and a blue aura surrounded both Applejack and Rainbow Dash, lifting them up into the air. All eyes turned to Rarity, who was not in a very happy mood herself. The two's arguing was the last straw for her to get them to stop.
"Stop this arguing at once!" Rarity shouted as she placed both of them down to the ground. "Now look, we are all under a lot of tension here, and the last thing we need is to be fighting amongst ourselves! We have to get ahold of ourselves! I mean, seriously, you both are acting like little fillies."
"I wasn't acting like one." Applejack said. "She is."
"Only because you started it!" Rainbow Dash said.
"No, you started it!" Applejack shouted back.
"You both started it!" Rarity said. "I know that you both are not happy with how Twilight went all sour at us, but we can't lose more friends just because of it."
"You know, I'm starting to wonder why we even are friends." Rainbow Dash said, giving a glare to the fashionista. "We both don't have anything in common. And last thing I remember, you looked more concerned over the dresses that we threw off over everypony else's safety!"
"I said that is enough!" Rarity shouted. "Do not make me hit you, Rainbow Dash. I am not afraid to do so!"
"Oh yeah?!" Rainbow Dash asked, getting ready to rustle down with her hooves up. "I like to see you try... C'mon, give it your best shot! Come on, bring it!"
-SMACK-
A hard punch from Rarity's hoof smacked Rainbow Dash right in the mouth, sending her across the floor.
"Rainbow!" Fluttershy shouted as she flew over to her friend. The fashionista pony gasped at what she had done. She had punched her friend!
"Oh my goodness, Rainbow Dash!" She said as she galloped to the high-flyer, who lifted her head up.
"Owww.... ptooey!" The rainbow maned pegasus spat out a tooth, showing a little gap between her teeth. "Hey, that was my last fillytooth!"
"Rainbow... you still have fillyteeth?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"I did... but that was my last one." Rainbow Dash said, giving a glare at Rarity.
"Oh, Rainbow Dash, I am so sorry." Rarity said. "I didn't mean for things to get so... so... violent."
"No... it's fine..." Rainbow Dash said, rubbing her sore mouth. "I shouldn't have went overboard with what I was saying... I'm sorry too." The fashionista extended her hoof out, offering her help. The rainbow maned pegasus took her hoof and the fashion pony helped her up. Then, the two gave each other a hug, accepting each other's apology.
"Look, maybe we should just head home." Applejack said. "Let's give Twilight some space, and then we can try talking to her after a while."
"Ok, but we should probably check up on her to make sure she's ok." Rarity said. "Might as well check up on Spike too. I hope he's not too angry with us..."
"Wait, where's Spike?" Fluttershy asked. The four other mares noticed the same thing. Spike wasn't around! In fact, they haven't seen him since this morning!
"Oh, that poor little draik must be alone." Rarity said.
"He's probably with Twilight." Applejack said. "We better check up on him."
"You think that's a good idea?" Rainbow Dash asked. "I mean, Twilight doesn't want to talk to us."
"Well, it shouldn't hurt to go look." Applejack said. "C'mon y'all." With that said, the five mares went to go look for Twilight and Spike.
The five began to wander Canterlot, searching for Twilight's house. They've only been to Canterlot a couple times, the first time was during the Grand Galloping Gala, when Twilight and her friends were invited to the most biggest event that would ever happen here in the city. The only recent time they've been here before the wedding was on Twilight's birthday. And those couple times, they never had the chance to see Twilight's house, nor her parents. But thanks to some of the ponies Twilight knew back then, they were able to find the home of the ponies who raised her. The house was nice, all white with purple and blue windows and roof. Not as noble as the other houses in Canterlot, but it stood well among them.
"This must be her folks' place." Applejack said.
"Such a lovely home." Rarity said as they approached the steps. "I wonder if she writes to them since she moved to Ponyville."
"Well, I hope Twilight didn't tell them about what happened." Rainbow Dash said, with all of them right at the front door.
"Well, here goes." Applejack said, knocking on the door. After a moment, the door opened, showing a light gray unicorn, but her skin was darker than Rarity's. Her mane and tail was striped with moderate purple and white. She had arctic blue eyes and her cutie mark was of three purple stars. This was Twilight Velvet, the mother of Twilight Sparkle and Shining Armor. She is also a writer, with most of her work about adventures.
"Hello?" She asked.
"Excuse me, are you Miss Velvet?" Applejack asked. "Twilight's mother?"
"Yes, I am." Velvet said. "Can I help you?"
"Um, yes." Rarity said. "We're friends of Twilight. We're wondering if she's here." Velvet's happy expression slowly began to fade.
"I'm sorry, are you the mares Twilight told us about?" Velvet asked.
"Yeah." The fashionista said. "We're Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash. We-"
-SLAM-
The loud bang came as the door was then slammed in their faces, surprising the quintet.
"Uhhh... that didn't go well." Rainbow Dash said, as Applejack approached the door again.
"Uh... Miss Velvet?" Applejack asked. "Are you ok?"
"Go Away!" Velvet shouted, venom heard in her voice. "You are not welcome here! Now Leave!"
"Honey, who's at the door?" a male voice asked from inside, probably Twilight's father.
"It's those no good gold diggers who abandoned our little Twily!" Velvet shouted from inside.
"Gold Diggers?!" The five ponies asked.
"Yeah... she told them." Rainbow Dash said.
"Oh Velvet, please." The male voice said as the door opened once more, revealing a grayish azure unicorn with a darker phthalo blue mane and tail. His eyes were a moderate amber and his cutie mark was of a yeloow crscent moon with a smaller moon facing inside the other way. This was Night Light, Twilight and Shining's father. Unlike his wife, luckily, he displayed a welcoming smile on his face.
"Oh, hello girls." He said.
"Um... Are you Twilight's father?" Rarity asked.
"Yes, I am." The stallion said. "The name is Night Light. You must be the girls Twilight told us about."
"Yeah... we just met your wife." Rainbow Dash said. "Rude." That was met with a kick in the front leg by Applejack, making the daredevil wince a bit.
"Oh yes, you'll have to forgive Velvet." Night Light said. "Twilight told us what happened with the wedding and all that, and she's very upset." The girls looked at him with confusion. Velvet was pretty angry with them, but he isn't.
"And you're not?" Fluttershy asked.
"Well, I'm not very happy with what you girls did, leaving our daughter over some fake bride." Night Light said. "But, I'm not one to hold a grudge, especially since we were also fooled by that monster. Velvet goes mother-hawk when something happens to Twilight, and she wasn't happy when our daughter told us what happened. You should've seen Velvet when she lectured our son. She literally kicked him out of our house." The mares stood there a bit surprised... and with a bit of fear.
"I think we already have an idea about that." Applejack said, her face showing some worry.
"Well, we want to talk to Twilight." Rarity said. "We just want her to know that we're sorry, and we'll respect her wishes if she doesn't want to talk to us for a while."
"Oh, I see." Night Light said.
"Night Light, are they still here?!" Velvet asked as she moved her head from the side of the door. Looking at the girls made her show a cold glare at the group.
"Velvet, it's alright, they just want to talk to Twilight." Night Light said.
"Sorry girls, but she isn't here." Velvet said.
"She's not?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"We haven't seen her since yesterday afternoon shortly after the whole Changeling Invasion." Night Light said. "But if you want, you can stop by her tower near the castle. She's probably there." The girls' eyes widened with more surprise.
"Wait, she has her own tower?!" They asked.
"Of course she does." Night Light said. "She's lived there since she became Princess Celestia's student. She didn't tell you girls?" The five looked at each other with surprise. Twilight had never told them that she lived in a tower, let alone a royal tower. Probably since she was Princess Celestia's student, she was given a proper home to study and live in.
"Not really." Applejack said. "But we'll try there. Thank you both kindly."
"You're not welcome." Velvet said as she stood forward and stared at the girls with sterness. "And just so we're clear, you better respect our daughter's wishes and leave her be if she doesn't want to talk to you all. Oh, and if you girls do anything to our daughter, I will make sure you all wished you were never born!" With a snort, the mare walked back into the house, while Night Light gave a nervous smile.
"That was... scary..." Fluttershy said as she hid behind Rainbow Dash, who was trembling a bit too.
"Uh... don't worry, we won't do anything to her." Applejack said. "We'll just talk to her."
"Ok, but go at your own risk." Night Light said. "Take care, girls." With a nod, the five mares departed as Night Light closed the door, heading off to Twilight's home.
"Man, she was rude." Rainbow Dash said as they departed.
"Well, we can't blame her." Rarity said. "But now we know where Twilight gets her stress from."
Pretty soon, the girls managed to find Twilight's tower just next to Canterlot Castle. The group of friends were still surprised that Twilight lived in such a wonderful place. Guess it comes with being the Sun Princess's student.
"Wow, I can't believe Twilight lives in such a cool place like this." Rainbow Dash said.
"I'm more surprised that she never told us that she lived in a long building like this." Applejack said.
"Well, she is studious, and she is Princess Celestia's student." Rarity said.
"Former student, actually." Fluttershy corrected.
"Oh... right." The fashionista said with a sad tone, now knowing that Twilight had resigned as Celestia's student.
"Still, I kinda wished that she'd told us." Rainbow Dash said. The friends approached the door and knocked.
"Twilight, are you in there?" Applejack asked. No response.
"Twilight, you alright?" She asked again. "I know you don't want to talk with us, but we wanted to make sure you were alright, and if Spike's ok too." There was no response... no response at all.
"It's awfully quiet in there." Fluttershy said. "It's dead silent." The other mares were silent themselves, but then Rarity's eyes widened, with a sudden sense of realization... and horror.
"Oh no... she didn't!" Rarity shouted, pushing the other mares aside and began to knock on the door.
"Twilight, Twilight, are you alive in there?!" Rarity shouted in worry, trying to get the door opened, but it wouldn't open. Perhaps it was locked.
"Rarity, what's the matter?" Applejack asked.
"Maybe Twilight's not in there." Fluttershy said.
"But what if she..." Rarity began, and then moved her hoof across her neck, signaling a death reference. The girls gasped themselves in horror. No... Twilight couldn't possibly take her own life! No, she couldn't have! Worrying taking over, Rainbow Dash flew backwards.
"Alright, stand back everypony!" She said, and then charged forward.
"Rainbow!" Applejack shouted, but the pegasus charged headfirst, only for the door to be opened on the other side, allowing Rainbow to zip right in, and crashing into a shelf of books, causing all of them to fall on top of her.
"Ooooh..." Applejack, Fluttershy, and Rarity spoke in unison.
"You're welcome!" Pinkie Pie said, revealing herself in the room, next to the door, getting everypony's attention.
"Pinkie?" Rainbow Dash asked, getting back into the air with her wings. "How'd you get in here?"
"Well, when Applejack was knocking on the door, I decided to find another way in!" Pinkie Pie said. "I tied myself to a couple of balloons and flew all the way up through the window, climbed right in, and I heard the girls banging on the door, and I opened the door for you all." She then gave a smile.
"Pinkie Pie." Rarity lectured. "You know it's rude to barge into other ponies' homes without their consent, or without knocking at least."
"Oh." Pinkie Pie said. "That could explain why Granky Doodle Donkey always got annoyed when I went into his house."
"Wait, did you see Twilight?!" Rainbow Dash asked, getting back to the important matters. "Is she ok?! Please tell me you didn't find a dead body!"
"No, I didn't see her in here." Pinkie Pie said. "But I think that ripped up dress could be a clue." Turning their heads to where Pinkie Pie was pointing at, they saw the ripped remains of Twilight's bridesmaid dress, all torn to pieces. Rarity gaspd as she saw her work destroyed. She approached the fabric and levitated the pieces, seeing that it was too good to be true. No doubt Twilight had ripped it up, and from the way it was torn up, Twilight was probably beyond hurt and angry.
"Oh my..." Fluttershy said. "Rarity, I'm so sorry..."
"No, no, it's fine darling." Rarity said. "I can always fix it... or make a new one... but seeing how much it's been ripped, I think patching things with Twilight will be much more difficult." But then, they heard a sound coming from the dark. Igniting her horn, Rarity lit up the room, seeing Spike facing away, sitting on the ground, holding something in his claw. The five mares approached him.
"Spike?" Rarity asked.
"Are you alright?" Applejack asked. The little draik didn't turn his head.
"She's gone..." Spike said.
"What?" Applejack asked.
"Who's gone?" Pinkie Pie asked.
"Twilight..." Spike said. "Twilight's gone..." The girls tilted her heads in confusion.
"What?" They asked.
"Twilight's gone..." Spike said, giving a sniff. "She left me... She promised that she wouldn't... but... now she's gone..." The girls realized what he was saying. Twilight was gone? What did he mean gone? Did she... actually take her own life? Were they too late? But then, they noticed something in Spike's claw. It was a scroll, and it looked like it had writing on it. Taking the note with her magic, Rarity lifted it out of Spike's hands and read it outloud.
To Anypony Who Would Find This,
I am sorry that I had to leave, but I must move on. I cannot cope with the pain that is in my heart. The betrayal of the ones I thought were my friends and family is just too much to bare. So I've decided to leave this place to find my own. Please don't bother trying to find me, and don't tell the others where I have went. They probably don't care about me anyway. Farewell Spike, you've been such a wonderful number one assistant. Please tell Cadance that I'm sorry. Farewell Equestria... Goodbye forever...
Twilight Sparkle
The girls gasped as they finished the letter.
"Twilight's gone!" Pinkie Pie shouted, and her mane began to deflate once more. "But... that means... she won't come to her We're Sorry, Twilight Party!" She then let out tears of sorrow from her eyes.
"She... she left me..." Spike whimpered as he continued to cry, with Fluttershy moving toward him and gave him a nuzzle, but she too began to cry softly. Rarity was surprised from the content of the letter, but she herself began to cry, making her makeup drip along with the tears. Applejack tried her best to hide her own tears, but she shielded her face with her hat as she couldn't hold them anymore. The girls have now realized that things were not gonna be so easy as it was before. Their friend was gone, and it was their fault.
Out of them all, Rainbow Dash was trying to sort this through her head. Shifting from one expression to another, from shocked, to tears, to confusion. She has now realized that they had hurted their friend far worse than they thought. No, she thought. She was not gonna let Twilight run away and get herself hurt because of what they've done. There is still a chance to make things right! Swallowing her empty mouth, she lifted her head up and was ready to bolt out the door, getting Applejack's attention.
"Rainbow, where are ya goin'?" Applejack asked.
"To find Twilight and bring her back!" Rainbow Dash said. "I'm not gonna let one of our friends run off because of our mistake! I'm gonna find her and prove to her that we're still friends!" As she left, the other girls looked at each other. They realized that Rainbow Dash was right. They caused this mess, and now they're gonna fix it.
"She's right." Rarity said. "My hooves may get dirty, but I'm willing to get dirty if it means making things right with our friend!"
"Me too!" Pinkie Pie spoke, her mane and tail shifting back to their normal poofy nature. "We're gonna find Twilight and show her that we'll never abandon her again! And we're gonna throw her that apology party too!" She then zipped on, following Rainbow Dash, as Rarity followed suit.
"Yep." Applejack said. "Ain't no way I'm gonna let that filly walk away without tryn' to fix it." Applejack said, tilting her hat forward. "C'mon Flutters, let's go tell the Princess before those girls take off without us." As the farmpony followed the others, Fluttershy gave a nod before wiping her tears. She had failed Twilight, but she was not gonna fail her again. Turning back to Spike, she cuddled him in his arms and on her back.
"Let's go, Spike." Fluttershy said. "Twilight needs us." Looking back at the pegasus, he gave a nod.
"Yeah..." Spike said. "Let's bring Twilight back."