Consequences

by shallow15


Twilight Sparkle: Magic and Misdirection

Twilight Sparkle sat down and Tempest sized her up. The girl looked nervous, possibly even more so than Fluttershy had. She kept playing with the end of her ponytail, fiddling with the bow tie around her neck, or plucking pills off her sweater vest. Tempest kept her expression neutral, but inside, she was grinning

She's a rules nerd, she thought. Probably worries about what rules she's breaking even when she isn't in trouble.

The agent folded her hands in front of her and fixed Twilight with a serious expression. “You transferred here from Crystal Prep last April. Is that correct, Miss Sparkle?”

“Yes, that's correct,” Twilight replied. Her fingers continued to fidget with her vest. “Just after the Friendship Games.”

“May I ask why you transferred? From what I understand, Crystal Prep is one of the city's most prestigious schools.”

“I was already planning to leave.” Twilight's fingers left the vest. “I had applied to the Everton Independent Study program. I was outpacing the curriculum at Crystal Prep. When the Games happened, I realized that while my academics were excellent, I was severely lacking in social development. I talked it over with my parents, and we agreed that it would be better if I finished out my schooling at a public school.”

Tempest looked puzzled. “I'm sorry, I don't understand. Why would you give up your place with Everton to go to a public school with...” Tempest shot a cruel glance at Luna. “... less prestige?”

“Crystal Prep is – or was – very competitive,” Twilight explained. “The atmosphere there was focused on victory at all costs. When the prank with the fireworks that destroyed the statue out front happened, I realized that it was no way to be a productive member of society. Also, I had always felt out of place at CPA, and my grades were just making me even more of an outcast.”

“One incident was all it took?” Disbelief was clear in the agent's voice.

“No, that was the straw that broke the camel's back, as it were,” Twilight explained. “The atmosphere of Crystal Prep pretty much meant that no one was really friends there. Every other student was either an asset to be used or an obstacle to overcome. Even during the games, anything a member of the CPA team achieved was met with disinterest from the rest of the students.

“But here? Even when they lost, the Canterlot High kids cheered and supported them. People were happy. They got excited when other students achieved something. There wasn't this constant pressure to succeed, or the feeling that anything less than total domination was unacceptable.”

“I see.” Tempest looked down at the papers in front of her. “So, until the Friendship Games, you had never set foot on the Canterlot High campus before. Is that correct?”

“Y...yes,” Twilight answered. “I mean, I'd passed by the school several times on my way somewhere, but never really paid much attention to it until then.”

Tempest looked at Twilight. Her gaze was piercing and Twilight, despite her best efforts, found herself squirming in her seat.

She knows I'm lying about the statue! She knows I'm lying about not being on the campus before the games! Calm down! Get a grip! DO NOT START HYPERVENTILATING!

“If that's the case, Miss Sparkle, why is there a picture of you out there stating that you were crowned princess of last year's Fall Formal?”

Twilight blinked, and the words were out of her mouth before she knew what she was saying.

“I have no idea, Agent Shadow.”

Tempest blinked, surprise clearly evident on her face. “I'm sorry?”

“I commented on that too on my first day here,” Twilight was surprised by how convincing she sounded. “While the Games were going on, there were several students who knew who I was, despite me never being here before. When I transferred, I saw the picture, and asked about it. I was told she was a foreign exchange student who was visiting for a few days and she apparently managed to resolve some long standing tensions between the student body during her brief time here. The students apparently elected her princess in thanks. She left shortly afterward.”

“That doesn't explain why she has your name and looks like you,” Tempest stated.

Twilight smiled brightly. “Actually, it's more common than you think. For example, recent census data indicates that there's an extraordinarily high percentage of people with the last name 'Dazzle' in the country. And of course, a quick Oodle search for any given name – One second.”

Twilight pulled out her phone before the agent could object, filled out the search bar field on her home screen and held up the phone with the results. “See, I put in your name and there's over 2500 hits for the name 'Tempest Shadow.' Some of these may be you, and there may be some duplicate results, but here, for example, is an 81-year-old grandmother with your name who is the lead singer of the thrash metal band Bleeding Gums!”

“Yes, I see. Miss Sparkle – “

“And putting in my name yields over 5000 hits,” Twilight continued, lost in research mode. “As for why that girl looks like me, they do say everyone has a twin somewhere. It could just be she found her way here first. Now, I realize the odds of someone who looks like me having the same name coming to the same school would seem to be astronomical, but if you really crunch the numbers --”

“Yes, thank you, Miss Sparkle!” Tempest snapped. Twilight let out a squeak and shut up immediately. Tempest took a breath and regained her composure.

“I apologize for my outburst, Miss Sparkle,” she said. “Since you're relatively new here, let me ask you about some of your fellow students. Do you know a girl named Firecracker Burst?”

“Not really. I mean, I heard about her disappearing and I helped put up flyers around town, but I don't think I've ever really interacted with her.”

“I see. You're currently a member of the band known as the Rainbooms, is that correct?”

“Yes. The girls asked me to join shortly after I transferred. I sing backup vocals.”

“Like you did at the Battle of the Bands?”

Twilight blinked. “I'm sorry?”

“The finals of the Battle of the Bands,” Tempest elaborated. “The Rainbooms were competing. From what your opponent, Miss Lulamoon, told me, you were with the band at the time.”

Twilight felt her throat close up. She fought the urge to glance at Luna for help. What do I do? What do I do? What do I DO?!

“Miss Sparkle?”

“I... already told you. I wasn't a student at that time. I'm afraid I have no idea what you're talking about.”

A small smile appeared on Tempest's face. “So you were not part of the Rainbooms at the time of the Battle of the Bands.”

Twilight shook her head, not trusting her voice to squeak in panic if she spoke. Her heart began thudding against her ribs. She forced her hands to keep from fidgeting with her hair or her clothes.

“Are you suggesting your lookalike exchange student came back to the school a month later?”

“I... I'm not suggesting anything, Agent Shadow,” Twilight answered. “I don't know what happened at the Battle of the Bands because I wasn't there.”

Tempest looked at her for a long moment before leaning back. She produced the photo of the incident at the mall she had shown to Rainbow Dash. “All right, let's talk about where you might have been. Is this you?”

Twilight obligingly looked at the picture. She swallowed as she recognized the winged girl as Rainbow Dash. She looked back up. “No, that's not me.”

“Are you certain?” Tempest asked. “You were wearing wings in your band's winning music video.”

“Costume pieces,” Twilight answered. “Completely non-functional. In fact, whatever this picture is, it's completely inaccurate. To provide sufficient lift for a human being, they would have to have a wingspan of 6.7 meters and taking into account the weight to strength ratio, those wings themselves would be too heavy to function. Even if they could function, they'd be too big to actually fit within the mall corridors in such a way that flight would even be possible.”

“And yet,” Tempest replied, tapping the photo.

“I have no answer for you on that, Agent Shadow.” Twilight let out a breath and sat back in her chair. Tempest watched as one of the girl's hands idly toyed with the pendant around her neck. The agent blinked as she realized all of the members of the Rainbooms she had talked to so far had similar pendants.

“That's a very pretty necklace,” she said, casually.

Twilight blinked, looked down at her hand, released the pendant and blushed. “Um... thank you.”

“I noticed your friends had similar ones. Where did you get them?”

“We... made them at Camp Everfree. Friendship pendants.”

Tempest smiled. “I see. What are they made out of?”

Twilight's mind raced and she remembered Sunset's advice. “The secret to a good lie is to couch it in the truth. Tell her as much of it as you can without talking about the magic.”

“We found some geodes in the nearby rock quarry,” Twilight answered. “A quick spin in a rock tumbler, some carving, shaping and polishing, and voila!”

Tempest's smile remained. “Well, you did a very good job. I think that's all I need for now, Miss Sparkle. Thank you very much for your time.”

Twilight blinked again and stood up. “Um, happy to help?”

She looked over at Luna who looked just as perplexed. “You... may go back to class now, Twilight,” said Luna.

Twilight nodded and left the conference room. On her way back to class, she couldn't shake the feeling that she had somehow said too much.