The Shadowbolts went into the library, and saw Sour Sweet waiting for them anxiously in front of the doors. The Shadowbolts had faces of stone, aware of their friend's emotional issues and her tendency to exaggerate.
"Hey guys," Sour said.
"Listen Sour," Sunny said sternly. "We were going to take Juniper out to eat today for lunch, but we are here in the library instead. You better not be wasting our time with one of your crazy conspiracies."
"It isn't, I swear," Sour said. "In fact, I reserved one of the study rooms, so we won't be heard."
The Shadowbolts all followed Sour and piled into the study room, which consisted of a table with enough chairs and a whiteboard.
Sour pulled out her laptop while the other Shadowbolts sat down.
"What is it you need to tell us," Indigo said sternly.
"Twilight is alive," Sour said crazily. Each of the Shadowbolts responded to her with a furious glare.
"OK, I'm out of here," Sugarcoat said, glaring at Sour with gritted teeth. The rest of the Shadowbolts got up to leave.
"Guys, I have proof," Sour said pleadingly.
"Uh-huh," Lemon said with some anger. "When will you get it through your messed up brain? Twilight is dead? We all saw her die!" Lemon tried to hold back tears.
"Guys, I-,"
"You really need to get some help," Sunny said with disgust. "Your mental problems aren't just hurting you know, but us. You can't just accept she's dead." Sunny said, almost crying. "Just see a doctor, Sour."
"Guys, I promise you that I have real proof," Sour said is frustration. "Just look, and if you don't believe me, I promise I'll buy you guys ice cream." The other Shadowbolts let out annoyed sighs.
"Fine," Sugarcoat said. "But if you are wrong, you will also go see a specialist." Sour nodded her head, accepting the terms. Sour pulled out her laptop, turned it on, and opened up MyStable.
"See," Sour said, pointing at the screen pridefully.
"How is a baby picture of you in a sailor suit proof of Twilight's rebirth," Sunny asked with confusion.
"What," Sour asked. She looked at the picture and blushed. "Sorry, wrong picture." She went through more pictures. "OK, here they are!"
The Shadowbolts gathered around her laptop. They looked at pictures, and their jaws dropped.
"That's Twilight being spoon-fed," Sunny said.
"By some...decent-looking guy," Lemon said.
"The same guy,", Sugarcoat said. "Who was playing that memorial song in front of CHS!"
"Look at the date," Sour said. Indigo used the cursor on screen to point on the date.
"Those pictures were posted...last night," Indigo finished, gritting her teeth. The Shadowbolts jaws dropped even further.
"See, I told you I was right," Sour said. "I knew I saw her last week when I was driving around town. This just confirms it." She gave a devious smile. "Twilight and those Canterlot goons are playing us."
"What are you talking about," Sunny asked.
"Twilight faked her death," Sour said, "as part of a plot for Cadence to takeover CPA and Canterlot High was in on it." The other Shadowbolts were confused.
"Uh, how does that work," Lemon asked.
"Think about it," Sour Sweet said, "why would those Canterlot creeps throw a whole memorial concert for a girl they just met? Not even the nicest person would do that!" She took a deep breath. "We just found out Twilight and Cadence were related. And how does this whole thing end? With Cinch getting shown the door, and Cadence getting promoted." She gave off a proud smile.
"It's all so obvious. Cadence and Twilight worked with Canterlot High to sabotage the Friendship Games. Twilight would fake her death and look like she had been killed, Cinch would be disgraced, CPA would look bad while CHS would look better, and Cadence would become principal." Sour imagined her friends congratulating her for her genius, but instead, they gave her unimpressed looks.
"Your conclusions have more holes in them then Swiss cheese," Sugarcoat commented. Sour glared.
"What are you talking about," Sour said. "This is a foolproof plan."
"Let me get this straight," Sugarcoat said to Sour. "You think Cadence, a woman who has neither the temperament nor the disposition of a schemer, would sabotage the most important event in Crystal Prep, sabotage the reputation of a school she has worked hard to make a good place us, destroy the life of her own sister-in-law by having her fake her own death, and work with Canterlot High to do this." Sugarcoat then took off her glasses, and gave Sour an annoyed look. "You think she is the kind of person who would fake her own sister's death and ruin the life of her boss, all for a relatively minor promotion." Sour looked down.
"Are you also saying that Twilight manipulated us into telling her to open the amulet-thing," Sunny added, shooting Sour an annoyed look. "That she planned for Cinch to be brutally tackled and beat up by that Sunset girl? That they planned for those evil plants to try and eat us? That has got to be the most insane scheme I've ever heard!"
"Well," Sour said, trying to find a counter-argument. "How else do you explain things like CHS throwing a memorial concert for a girl they probably just met, and then later sharing a meal with that same guy who played that concert?"
"Maybe it could be another girl named Twilight," Lemon Zest suggested. "Who also happens to have purple skin and hair."
"That would be one hell of a coincidence. The odds would be worse then someone trying to buy a lottery ticket," Sugarcoat said. "No, that wouldn't work either."
"Maybe this picture was from a while ago," Sunny said. "Maybe Twilight dated this guy a long time, and now he got around to posting them."
"That doesn't make sense either," Sugarcoat said. "The Twilight we knew didn't have a social life. What makes you think she would have a date, let alone date a rock star who would spoon-fed her."
"There's a lot we didn't know about her," Indigo said simply.
"Yes," Sugarcoat admitted, "but nothing in the pictures Cadence gave us, and the stories Cadence told us, indicates any romantic background in Twilight's life". She took off her glasses and wiped them. "Nothing about this adds up at all."
"Maybe she did fake her death," Lemon Zest said somberly. "Only, her family doesn't know about it."
"What," Sugarcoat said.
"Remember how upset that Armor guy looked, and how mad that dog was at us," Lemon said, pausing to stop her tears. "And Cadence also looked completely broken. Maybe Twilight faked her death, and they think she's dead too."
"Twilight's family could be faking it you know," Sour said. "If they were in on the plan, they would act all sad and stuff."
"I don't think so," Lemon said. "People who pretend to be sad usually blubber like idiots. Cadence looks like she's been trying to control her tears, while Armor and Spike," she paused, still remembering that awful memory, "looked utterly broken. Their sadness is real." Lemon sighed. "Maybe...Twilight faked her death because she hated it here, and the CHS students are helping her build a new identity." A chill hung over them. The idea of a classmate faking their death because she wanted to escape Crystal Prep was...odd. But thinking about it, it seemed pretty plausible.
"Well, if you're going to fake your death, putting pictures of yourself on a place where everyone can see them is a pretty stupid thing to do," Sugarcoat added.
"Well as we can see, Twilight is getting a new look," Lemon Zest said, pointing to the picture. Twilight was wearing something other then a Crystal Prep uniform. A pretty awesome blouse and skirt. And her hair was being let down. But in general, Twilight demeanor in the photos, a passionate look born of romance, was very different from the quiet bookworm the Shadowbolts knew and mourned.
"Still, faking your death is pretty extreme," Sunny said.
"OK, so lets consider the two most probable answers," Sugarcoat said. "One, she could've fake her death, and is being coddled by CHS' student body. Or two, these pictures could be from a romantic past no one knew about, and they are only now are they being published."
"Should we show this to Cadence," asked Indigo.
"Absolutely not," Sunny said firmly. "She's still upset about Twilight, even if she isn't showing it. We don't want to get Cadence's hopes up about her sister being alive, only for it to turn out to be nothing. That would be like stomping on her heart."
"So what do we do," asked Sour "we've got nothing!" Then without warning, Sour's head slumped to her desk. Sunny rubbed her chin.
"I think I know someone who could help us out," Sunny said, a crafty smirk forming on her face.