//------------------------------// // Testimony // Story: Vanishing Act // by redandready45 //------------------------------// "Why aren't we bringing Princess Twilight?" Juniper idly asked Sunset. The two, along with Cadence and Shining Armor, were in the parking lot. "Because we don't want Spike to see her," Shining said bitterly. "We don't want to...get his hopes up about our Twilight..." Juniper frowned, having sympathy for the poor man. The blue-haired girl tried to change the subject. "So you really have a talking dog?" Juniper asked Cadence excitedly as the two, along with Shining and Sunset, reached Shining's blue sedan. "Yes," Cadence said quietly. "Can he speak in complete sentences?" Juniper continued to ask. "Can he engage in problem-solving? Can he-," "Juniper," Sunset said firmly. Sunset's severe tone stopped Juniper's questions cold. "I know a talking dog sounds cool. But you can't treat Spike like he's pet you see at one of those animal shows. Think of him...as like a boy who saw his sister die in front of him." Juniper's mood went down in flames. "He's not in a good place right now," Sunset said, "so please...be careful what you ask him." "I will", Juniper said solemnly as she opened the right rear door to the sedan. Sunset got into the left rear seat. Cadence, who only barely maintained her composure, took the driver's seat. Shining Armor, who looked like he swallowed a lemon, sat down in the passenger's seat as if he was in a daze. It seemed like he was trying to tune out the world, lest he explode. Juniper looked at the two with no small amount of sadness. She wanted to do something to make them feel better. But their mood went well beyond what one small condolence could actually fix. Juniper's own thoughts were also melancholic. Today, she had learned some not so nice details about Sunny and the rest of her friends. While she was well aware of the fact that they weren't saints, the depths of cruelty they sunk to were deeper than she imagined. "We're they really like that? What else did they do to that other Twilight?" Juniper thought frustratingly as she was driven to the Sparkle household. "Why?" Lemon asked sadly. "Why what?" Sugarcoat said. "Why didn't we ever give Twilight a chance?" The other Shadowbolts frowned in frustration. The group were waiting at the bus stop that would take them home. "I don't know," Sour said sarcastically. She then let out an annoyed frown. "Because she was an annoying nerd who was always showing off how 'smart' she was. Because she was always kissing up to the teachers. Because she was a wimp. Because her only best friend was a dog. Because she was always hiding in her lab-," "Was she always like that?" Lemon Zest asked sadly. "Or did we," Lemon Zest clenched her fist, "make her...that way?" The question hit the other Shadowbolts like a fist to the face. "Cadence told us about all the cool things she did when she was kid. Was she hiding in her lab to...avoid everyone else?" The Shadowbolts looked down at the pavement in shame, as the implications of the question went through their minds. They barely noticed that they missed their bus. "She's not here," Rainbow Dash said, entering the school's bakery. Rainbow, followed by her friends and Princess Twilight, "Normally when Pinkie's upset, she just sits around baking a cake." Rainbow Dash was a bit anxious. She wondered what Pinkie might do when she was really upset, which made it imperative to find her fast. "I haven't gotten any texts from her," Applejack said, looking at her phone. "Let's keep looking." "We'll go down this hallway," Rainbow said, gesturing to herself and Applejack. "You three," Rainbow said, gesturing to Fluttershy, Rarity and Twilight, "go down the other hallway." "We'll text you if we see her," Rarity said, walking with Twilight and Fluttershy down the other hallway. "What do you usually do when your Pinkie's this...furious?" Princess Twilight asked Rarity as they walked down the hall. "Usually buy her a cake," Rarity said. "But this is something different." "How?" "Pinkie wanting to be alone," Rarity said. Princess Twilight's jaw dropped in shock. The two Pinkies were the most extroverted beings she had ever encountered. Pinkie wanting to be away from others was too much to bear. "What do you think we should do Fluttershy?" Rarity asked her butter-yellow friend. Fluttershy ignored her, frowning and lost in thought. "Fluttershy? Fluttershy?" The shy girl kept looking down. "Fluttershy!" Twilight said, tapping the animal lover on the shoulder. "Yes," Fluttershy said, having been broken out of her trance. "What do you think we should do for Pinkie?" "I don't know," Fluttershy said. "Fluttershy, are you OK?" Rarity said. "You seem to be...lost?" "Just thinking," Fluttershy said. "About what?" Twilight said. "Stuff," Fluttershy said, looking down and scratching the back of her head. "What kind of-," Rarity began, before seeing something pink in the cafeteria. "Girls, I see her." The princess and the animal girl saw Pinkie in the cafeteria, sitting alone. The girls walk in, and took in a somewhat unnatural sight. Pinkie, sitting alone, hugging her knees, and looking utterly lost. It was sad, pathetic, and unnatural. Like a fish out of water flopping around on land looking for a lake. "I'll go talk to her," Rarity said, walking toward the party loving friend. "Pinkie, darling," Rarity said gently. "Are you alright." Pinkie Pie saw Rarity talk to her and turned around to face away from her. Rarity's concern for Pinkie went up. "Pinkie Pie, I understand your upset, but surely you can tell us." "Why?" Pinkie Pie asked. "Why what?" "Why were those girls so mean to the other Twilight?" Pinkie asked, turning back toward Rarity with sad and furious eyes. "Well, Sunset Shimmer was quite mean-," "That's different," Pinkie Pie argued. "Sunset Shimmer was a supervillain trying to take over a world. They're supposed to be mean." Pinkie's eyes watered. "Those girls weren't supervillains. Why wouldn't they let her come to her...parties?" Pinkie Pie's face fell into her hand, and she let small tears flow. Rarity let out a sigh. Pinkie Pie, they said, seemed to have the mindset of a kindergartner. Like all kindergartners, they lived in a world of naptimes and cookies. They never imagined a world of petty cruelty and were others were excluded from having fun for pointless reasons. Whereas the majority of people either accepted that or became cruel themselves, Pinkie Pie never could comprehend a world where some people never got to have friends. "I don't know Pinkie," Rarity said in a sad voice, putting her hand on the weeping girl's shoulder. "I don't know. The other Twilight was...different," Rarity said as a euphemism for people who were antisocial. "And people can sometimes...not like different things." "But Human Twilight wasn't evil," Pinkie Pie complained. "She never ever tried to hurt anyone." "Sometimes Pinkie," Princess Twilight said approaching her along with a still silent Fluttershy. "Good beings suffer things they don't deserve." "But it's not supposed to be that way," Pinkie Pie said, still crying. "You're right," Princess Twilight said sadly, bending down to hug the crying girl. Rarity and Fluttershy also bent down to hug the girl as well. "I wish it wasn't Pinkie. I really wish it wasn't." Spike sat near his doghouse on the lawn, looking at the tennis ball longingly. He pushed it around, but his heart wasn't in it. "It just isn't the same without her," Spike said miserably. Spike noticed several shadows surrounding him. He craned his neck up and saw Cadence. "Hey Spike," Cadence said. Spike looked down. Cadence and Shining Armor tried to fill the hole in Spike's heart, but even though she appreciated her efforts, it wasn't enough. "There are two people here who want to... ask you a few questions about Twilight." Spike noticed two girls walking into the yard. When he recognized the fire-skinned girl, his heckles raised. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Spike roared. Sunset and Juniper jumped at the rage. "GET OUT OF HERE, YOU MONSTER!" Sunset's mood crashed. "Spike," Sunset said. "I'm sorry about what I said to Twilight-," "NO YOUR NOT!" Spike roared as he got into an aggressive stance. Sunset's eyes watered at the sight of the angry and upset puppy. Juniper too looked stunned and saddened by the angry dog. "YOU YELLED AT HER AND MADE HER CRY! SHE SAID SHE WAS SORRY AND YOU-" "Spike," Cadence said in a scolding voice. "Sunset didn't mean to yell at her. I wasn't happy about it, but Twilight did something really dangerous. Something that nearly got Sunset's friends hurt. Sunset yelled because she was scared for them." Cadence bet down to pet the upset dog. "If someone hurt Twilight, wouldn't you get upset too?" Spike's angered died down. "I...I guess," Spike said . "Spike," Sunset said regretfully, approaching the still-mourning dog. "I wanted to say sorry. Believe me. After the tournament, I was gonna walk up to Twilight and tell her that what happened wasn't... completely her fault." Sunset looked at the ground. "I didn't mean to make her cry." "It wasn't just that," Spike said, no longer crying but still feeling horrible. "It was what she said after that made me angry." "What did she say?" Sunset said. Spike looked down, clearly trying to avoid a bad memory. "Spike, please tell us." "Spike I know you're hurting right now," Juniper said soothingly, walking up to the sad dog. "But...we don't want what happened to Twilight happen to any other person." Spike perked up at that. "And in order to prevent it, we need to know the last thing Twilight told you." Juniper bent down to look the puppy in the eye. "Please Spike. Tell us. For her." "OK," Spike said, trying to collect his thoughts. Juniper pulled out a tape recorder and began recording Spike's words. Spike sat in front of the girl's bathroom, where he followed Twilight. All he heard was the sound of furious bathroom flushing. But knowing Twilight, he knew what that meant. Twilight was upset and she didn't want anyone to know. Eventually, the flushing stopped. Twilight stepped out, her eyes red and puffy. "Twilight," Spike said soothingly. "It's OK. It's going to be-," "No, its not OK!" Twilight yelled miserably. "It's never gonna OK!" She fell to the ground, hugging her knees. "I'm just a... screwup." "You're not a screw up," Spike protested. "You're the smartest, coolest person ever." Twilight tried to find comfort from Spike's words. But, it wasn't enough. Spike couldn't help anymore. "Yes I am," Twilight protested, tears coming back to her eyes. "No one likes me. No one listens to me. Everyone... hates me." "I don't hate you," Spike said. "I know Spike," Twilight said. "But I want...people who like me too. But no one does." "Twilight-," Spike continued. "I thought, for once, someone wanted to be my friend," Twilight said, still weeping. "I thought for once, someone was gonna like me. I thought those girls with magic were gonna be my friend. But then...I nearly got those girls killed. I can't stop being a screwup can't I?" "Your not," Spike said. "I'm sure that they'll-," "You heard what that other redhaired girl said," Twilight complained. "She hates me now. Once her friends find out what I'm really like, they'll hate me too." "Twilight please," Spike said. "Stop saying those things." "But its' true," Twilight said. "No matter what I do, no matter what I say, no one ever likes me." Twilight's tears stopped, but her mood hadn't recovered. "Maybe I'm not...meant to have friends," Twilight said with bitter acceptance. "Maybe I'm not meant to be-," she paused and looked down. "Maybe I'm better off-", she paused. "I wish I was-," Before Twilight could finish her musings, the alarm went off, signaling the final part of the games was about to begin. Twilight stood up and began walking toward the exit. "Twilight, don't go to the games," Spike warned. "Not when you're like this." "I have to ," Twilight said miserably, putting on the calm face like she always did. "Everyone's gonna kill me if they have to forfeit because I didn't show up." Spike looked down miserably. Spike tried to follow, but Twilight put up her hand. "Spike you have to stay here," Twilight commanded. "But why?" "I can't risk Cinch seeing you. I'm already on thin ice," Twilight said. "I can't leave you alone," Spike said. "Sit," Twilight commanded. Spike reluctantly obeyed Twilight's order. The lavender-skinned girl turned around and walked away clutching her amulet. The two girls and the pink-skinned woman were sullen at Spike's testimony. "Spike, I'm sorry," Sunset said tearfully. "I never meant to make Twilight think she could ever have friends." The dog looked away from her miserably. "Spike, please believe me." "Spike, there were a few sentences you didn't finish," Juniper said, interrupting Sunset tearful apology. She walked up to the dog "They were, 'Maybe I'm not meant to be-,' ,'Maybe I'm better off-', and 'I wish I was-'". Juniper looked down at Spike. "What did she mean by those words? What was she trying to say?" "I don't know," Spike said sadly. "I wish I did, but I don't." Juniper frowned. Spike was supposed to provide an answer. He did, sort of. According to Spike, Twilight had been under severe emotional distress just before the final games. Something Juniper knew all too well. But Spike's answer just created new questions. Questions she was finding herself afraid to get an answer to.