//------------------------------// // Realization // Story: Backfire // by Zoom zoom //------------------------------// Hours had passed since the incident that caused Wishful to break one of his wings and the arrest of a certain purple unicorn who had caused a chain reaction that got him into the fix. True she wasn’t the one who did break his wing, but a night in jail was still the penalty for such actions in Ponyville. The other purple unicorn, the younger brother of the incident causer, was only taken in for minor disturbance of the peace and trespassing. Being a still legally a minor by about a year he would have been let go to his guardian soon after arriving…if she wasn’t sharing his cell. Spike and Twilight sat with their faces in their hooves. The night had turned into one of the worst they had ever had. Twilight had a few bruises and a left eye to remind her never to talk to Wishful like that again. The only good thing about it was that they were together, but even then they couldn’t look at each other. Spike finally broke this with his notice of the bell tower tolling midnight. “Why did you end up here?” Twilight still didn’t look Spike in the eye. “I sorta… bucked Wishful Thinking in the face and that spiraled into a giant brawl with every mare in the restaurant after his magic bubble popped.” Spike’s eye alighted, “Really? Good. The guy deserves it for what he did to the two of us.” Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “What are you talking about?” “Wishful is such a back stabber. Guy goes and said he’d help me get back with Rarity, but then uses that night to make his own moves on her and I get arrested for listening to him. He told me to come in through the kitchen entrance and surprise her. I was the one surprised though. I bet he’s still laughing at making me learn some stupid dance moves in one night.” “Uh Spike,” his sister attempted to correct. “Wishful was actually telling the truth. If memory serves you didn’t go to the kitchen and I noticed you looming over the grounds after seeing him talking to Rarity. Then you were arrested because you were looming around and creeping everypony out. Least that’s what the officers were laughing about.” “Wait really? Bah, you’re just trying to cover for him. What was the point of having him grant my wish anyway? When I get my hands on him I’m gonna-“ “Wait Spike what are you talking about?” Spike told his sister everything then. About all he knew about the wish backfire and everything he and Wishful had discussed to that point. At many points Twilight wanted to argue how that didn’t make any sense, but as the narration went on she remembered the little things that were bothering her and everything she was thinking about. All of it would add up if Spike was correct. “But that means you were never my little brother,” Twilight said trying to find some way this couldn’t be the case. “We’ve known one another too long for that not to be the case.” “Well you sort of were before I wished myself like this,” Spike replied. “But honestly it’s hard enough to think how Shining Armor didn’t notice you not hanging out because he was so focused on his own goals at the time. But if I was really your little brother instead of your assistant you would never have had the issues with making friends you did before you met everyone in Ponyville.” “Hey,” said Twilight offended, “I don’t have issues making friends.” “Yeah now you don’t,” he said simply, “but trust me if this wish didn’t change that aspect too much you avoided social interaction like it was the plague. Heck, I think the only guy beside me and Shining you even talked to more than once a year was Wishful when he came to hang out with me. And that includes your own father.” Twilight grimaced as she made a mental note to send a letter to her father and catch up with him. “Still I can’t believe he’d do anything with Rarity. I mean they were friendly sure but-“ Spike blinked, “Wait you said you bucked him in the face. But you’re not mad at him? Does that mean you…?” “Suddenly switched to being mad instead of that embarrassing love struck act when I looked at him? Yeah. Though I don’t understand how that happened. Logically something had to change in him or me but nothing I noticed.” “Guess we’ll have to ask him in the morning,” Spike commented as he lay back on his cell bed. “We can both go by then at least.” “You’re right,” she replied. She didn’t want to mention what Wishful had said to cause the entire incident in the first place. She relaxed herself as well though. The swelling in the black eye stopped by the magic she put into it. The sooner she was asleep the sooner she’d be out of this cell and could get Wishful to explain. Elsewhere, Wishful was packing his things. The time had finally come to do as he was told. And as he left he was again visited by his aunt. “I’m sorry I cannot accompany you my nephew,” the dark alicorn said with a bow. “But I am needed to assist my sister now. Trails were backing up horribly when she was the only ruler. I do wish you had a friend or two to take with you however. Could you not get some male ponies to assist?” “Unfortunately,” Wishful said with his head low as he used the claws on his wings to grab his bag, “In light of recent developments that would be more a detriment to me. The more that come with the worse it will be. And my only male friend now is so mad at me and kinda ignorant he wouldn’t be of any help anyway. I’ll be fine on my own if I just keep to not being noticed by others and only revealing myself to males I need information from.” “Very well nephew,” said Luna as she flapped her wings to begin her journey home. “Be careful, and if ever you need me or my sister simply use your magic again. We can sense when you do after all.” “I’ll keep that in mind,” he said bowing and starting to flap his own wings. He took one last look at Ponyville and remembered some of his favorite times both real and fake that he had with Spike. He turned, only to see a white unicorn cut him off at the pass. “Forgive me if I’m wrong here,” she said looking at him. “But I seem to recall I’m a friend of yours who isn’t affected at all by this curse of yours. I may not have known you long, but I can hardly allow somepony I know who is a friend of my boyfriend and my own friend as well go off on some quest with no assistance.” Wishful shook his head, “No. You’re better off just staying here with your own friends and Spike. I can handle this, I sort of have to.” He began walking but she cut him off again. “Why can you not at least wait till morning so that Spike can go with you then?” “Because,” he answered. “If he does come I’ll be too tempted to take the easy way out of this mess I’m in. Spike may be my best friend but unlike you and your friends, that for me has it’s limits.” “What are you talking about?” “Simply put,” he said with a sideways glance. “If I succeed or not Spike is better off. See I’m sure by now while I can’t go into detail you know what my magic is and why it must have done for Spike. You are not affected by my magic. Meaning instead of Twilight YOU would have all your memories of the time before this wish. Seeing me should have started returning them.” Rarity just stared at the colt. Not saying a word so he continued. “The only other way to get this wish undone with no issue and faster is with the death of the caster or the castey.” “I still don’t understand,” said Rarity. “Why even bother then. You seem able to live out your life alright. And Twilight could one day-“ “She won’t,” he said simply. “There is more to it than that. But as for why I have to do this, it is because you and Spike seemed to have forgotten a little something I noticed from the start but couldn’t get Spike to just throw away his wish. A little birdie told me.” Realization loomed into Rarity’s face. Wishful had expected this since Rarity didn’t show any signs of remembering till now. He trotted past her for a bit, checking his injured wing. Then he felt a pull on his tail. “Will I remember any of this when the wish is undone?” “Don’t know,” he replied. “Never had a half tag along before on one of these. If you’re not near me or Spike when it is done I’m guessing not.” “Then you can count me in,” claimed Rarity. “Spike will be heartbroken when he finds out. I can’t allow such a thing to happen without doing all I can to help. It solves so many issues with this one action of helping you I would be daft not to.” Wishful wanted to yell at her to stay. But he did need the help. With no way to fly and no magic it would be difficult for his none earth pony body to get this task done. “Very well,” he agreed. “But we leave now.” “In light of what you just told me I couldn’t possibly agree more,” she said. “But could we at least delay it a tad so I can pack my own things too and leave a note to Twilight?” “Hurry it up then,” he said trying not to sound too agitated. With that the unicorn bolted off to her home to prepare for the needed journey.