//------------------------------// // (2/2) - The Things We've Done // Story: To Know The End // by Timefly //------------------------------// The whole town was gathered at what was to be the party of the century. The town square was filled to the brim with ponies, tents, tables and party hats. Anticipation ran through the atmosphere with such intensity it was almost tangible. Chattering voices and foalish giggles concocted a deafening roar. At the center of all the hubbub was a makeshift stage. The stage was primitive, consisting of little more than a series of wooden struts supporting a wooden platform. Not much occupied the stage, save a microphone, a subwoofer and a pair of DJ decks. Over the top of the stage hung a banner reading ‘120 years of Ponyville’. The roar of the crowd began to tail off as Mayor Mare took the stage. She bobbed on her knees, a large smile playing across her lips as she began, ”Hello, my little ponies.” “HELLO,” the crowd replied with an enthusiastic vigour. The air was electric and everypony could feel it. “I’m proud to be here today to commemorate the one-hundred and twentieth year of Ponyville’s existence. We’re going to have quite the celebration tonight, but first, our guest of honour, Granny Smith.” A refrained round of applause could be heard as the noise of the crowd reduced to a buzz. As the mayor took a step to the side, a considerably frail Granny Smith shuffled to the microphone. “Gud evenin’ y’all.” “Good evening, Mrs Smith,” the crowd echoed like a group of schoolroom fillies. “It’s nice ta be here on the birthday of this great town, and I’m happy ya invited a coot like me ta come and share something with ya. I’ll be quick, as I’m pretty keen on partyin’ myself.” Granny Smith took a moment to pause and chuckle before continuing, “Ta me y’all are whippersnappers, even ya grey haired ones. I don’t imagine I’ll be with ya much longer, so listen up ta what I have ta say.” Granny Smith went silent much to the confusion of the crowd. A few ponies threw each sideways glances but before anypony could say anything Granny Smith was off again. “Now family is the most important thing. I’m guessin’ ya ain’t surprised about what I’m sayin’ but ya still need ta listen. Ponyville is more than just a town or village, it’s a family. ‘t works best when everypony looks out for one another, cares for one another and loves one another. When ya think about it, friends ain’t much more than adopted family. Ya can trust them and they can trust you, but sometimes they’re gonna be needin’ a hoof. They may not always want helpin’ and sometimes they may not even want ta be ya friend, but you gotta keep tryin’ or else you broke a promise; a promise that began when ya first called each other friend.” At this Granny Smith finished and shuffled off. The crowd was silent, unmoving. The first pony to break the meditative state was Mayor Mare. Walking back up to the microphone she announced, “And now for a word from Ponyville’s Premier Party Pony, Pinkie Pie.” Pinkie burst on to the stage bouncing wildly. She landed next to Mayor Mare, swooping up the microphone and began to shout. “PONYVILLE. ARE YOU READY TO PARTY?” The crowd came to life as the music started and the dancing began. All except for one orange mare in the corner, who only watched and brooded. It was going to be a long night. -------------------------------------------------------- “Is Twi ‘lright, Spike?” “Yeah, sorry she couldn’t come tonight,” Spike murmured as he twisted his face in bewilderment, trying to figure out how to operate the ladle to the punch bowl. His draconic claws twisted helplessly around the metal utensil, letting it slide through his fingers. “What’s she doing, Spike? Is it something we shouldn’t know about?” Spike cowered back slightly from Pinkie as she leaned over him, fixing his gaze with a the prying look of a child, her eyes bulging. The party was going well. The atmosphere had relaxed somewhat as the night had progressed, bringing with it a sense of contented joy among the inhabitants of Ponyville. Everypony was socialising and most outside of their usual friendship groups. The foals were playing, the couples were dancing, and the stallions were having a contest of strength. Almost everything was as it should have been. Spike had been deeply immersed in a serious bout of eating when he had been cornered by Applejack and Pinkie. Both ponies seemed antsy, waiting for something to happen. “Twilight’s just spending a night with Pine. They wanted some time alone so I gave them it.” “Ooh, so it is something we shouldn’t know about...” Pinkie leaned back slowly, tilting her head upward and giving Spike a wink. Spike noticed Applejack blush slightly, but her face quickly set itself back into a look of concern. Spike chuckled coyly before continuing, “I know Twilight has kind of been a shut in recently but I just want to say thanks for not giving up on her.” “Shucks, Spike. It’s nothin’. We’re always willin’ to lend a friend a helpin’ hoof,” as she spoke a genuine smile grew upon Applejack’s lips, bringing out the sparkle of her eyes. “Now, I don’t know what’s gott’n in t’, Twilight, but I’m just glad she’s found herself somepony special.” Spike cast his eyes downwards, playing with a rock between his toes. “Yeah, it is nice. It’s really nice...” -------------------------------------------------------- “C’mon, Twilight. The party will be good for you. Fresh air, games, food and, of course, my world class dancing.” Twilight giggled and blushed. “Is your dancing supposed to make me want to go?” “Hey, I’m a good dancer,” Pine feigned offense, holding his hoof over his heart. “Believe what you want.” “Come on. You’re friends will be there.” “They will be there, won’t they?” Twilight’s voice took on a despondent tone as she spoke, her body visibly sagged and she let her head sink. “What’s wrong?” Pine took a step forward, bringing his head down to Twilight’s level and making eye contact. Twilight’s eyes looked distant, vacant. “Do you ever think that sometimes it might be right to let people slip out of your life?” “What do you mean?” Pine took a step back and fell onto his haunches, his face taking on a serious tone. “Well, I think that it might be the time to let certain people not be part of my life anymore...” Twilight’s voice trailed off, leaving the unfinished thought hanging in the air. “Why would you want to do that, Twi?” Twilight exhaled and shut her eyes. She was silent for a while before continuing, “My friends are starting to grate at me. The small things, that used to not bother me, are now bothering me.” “Like what?” Pine challenged, flicking his dark green mane back over his head and fixing his azure eyes on Twilight’s face. “Well, for example, the problems my friends just aren’t dealing with. Applejack’s proud; she’s almost worked herself into the ground before but she’s hardly learnt her lesson. Since Pinkie’s breakdown, Pinkie seems to be hiding her real feelings behind a facade of playing the clown. Rainbow Dash seems to learn lessons and then she just forgets them the next day. Rarity, well, there’s not much I can say about Rarity. All I can say is that I just feel we’ve been growing apart. As for Fluttershy, there isn’t anything. She obviously has lots of issues, but she never really talks about herself or her feelings. Everything with Fluttershy just seems so superficial. Out of all my friends, she’s the one I know the least.” Pine and Twilight both just sat there, unmoving; the quiet embracing them. -------------------------------------------------------- “So, Spike, I hear Twilight has a special somepony.” Cherilee’s eyebrows wiggled up and down furiously as she spoke. “Who, Pine?” Spike said absentmindedly, desperately trying to use the chop sticks that somepony had decided would make a good replacement for cutlery. “Ooh, his name’s Pine? What’s he like?” Spike sighed, staring longingly at the plate of food in front of him. Spike had found a table at the edge of the town square where he could enjoy his food in peace, when Cherilee had sat down beside him and started asking questions. Spike knew from the start she had been bringing it to this. “He’s alright, I guess. “ An awkward pause followed. Spike looked up at Cherilee who simply nodded her head for him to continue. “Well, he’s green.” “You’re not very good at this, are you, Spike?” Spike looked up again at Cherilee who stared down at him with big sympathetic eyes. No, I’m not; now please leave me in peace. “Well, what do you want to know?” “So, what’s he do for a living?” “He’s surveyor of the Everfree forest.” “Ooh, that sounds interesting.” Cherilee’s eyes opened wide and she leaned in a little further, making Spike feel even more uncomfortable. “Not really. He explained it to me once and it just sounds like he makes maps.” “So, what’s his cutie-mark?” “Well, it’s kind of like a tree with compass next to it.” “What does it mean?” Spike shrugged. “Oh,” Cherilee momentarily paused before continuing, “How did they meet then?” Looking down at his bowl, Spike tried to think of an excuse to leave. Not finding one, he looked up and began surveying the scene before him. The party was in full swing with music blaring and ponies dancing. Playful parents tried to teach their foals how to dance, while stallions wooed their admirers. The line to the buffet was long and snaked right around the edge of the town square. Yet, with all these ponies, Spike couldn’t see a friendly face in sight. All he could see was a sea of acquaintances. Spike bit his lip before continuing, “There was a meeting in Canterlot the other week about the expansion of the Everfree forest and Twilight was sent as the Ponyville representative. They met there and hit it off.” “A whirlwind romance, how exciting. So do you like Pine?” Cherilee leaned back a bit, though it didn’t make the situation any less awkward. Spike’s mind raced like a rocket, trying to figure out what to say that wouldn’t be suicide. “He’s alright. Seems kind enough, gets on with Twilight’s friends, brought me a sapphire the other day. Just doesn’t speak much...” Out of the corner of his eye, Spike noticed Rarity standing alone next to the dance floor. Before Cherilee could say another word, Spike was off. “Gotta go, there are three diamonds with my name written on them.” Cherilee’s mouth hung wide open as what had been Spike, was now just a bowl of uneaten food. It’s not like Spike to not eat food, Cherilee thought before promptly dismissing the thought and finding someone else’s business to pry in. “Ahh, Applebloom. Nice to see you well again after your mysterious bout of the plague. I believe you have some overdue homework?” -------------------------------------------------------- Spike manhandled the door to the library, desperately trying to open it through the tired haze his mind had sunk into. It was four in the morning and the party had only just wrapped up; it had certain lived up to expectations. Finding the doorknob, Spike grabbed it and twisted, leaning all his weight against the door. It opened with gusto, sending Spike sprawling onto his face. He moaned and lay there a while, before pulling himself back to his feet and beginning his trek upstairs to bed. As Spike began up the stairs to the bedroom, he noticed how quiet the library was, not a single sound could be heard. Spike had expected to hear Twilight’s heavy snoring, but instead there was only the pitter patter of Spike’s feet. Something about the silence put Spike on edge, but he was too tired to give it any extra thought. The wooden steps beneath his feet were becoming wet. Spike realised, that in his semi-comatose like state he had stepped in something and was taking it through the library. Uhh, I only cleaned this morning. Spike turned around and made his way downstairs again, turning at the foot of the stairs, into the kitchen. Instinctively, he flicked the light switch and made his way over to the sink. Fumbling round for a minute, he managed to find a cloth and wet it, before bringing it down and wiping his feet clean. Once he was done, he threw the cloth back in the sink and turned the tap on. He stood there for a while, letting the cloth soak and playing with the water from the tap, thinking over the conversation that had taken place between himself, Applejack, and Pinkie. What have I done now? Spike noticed the cloth was stained with blood. Lifting his leg up, he inspected himself for anywhere that he may have been wounded. Finding none, he wondered back out into the main room of the library and turned the light on. Oh, crap. Spike backed slowly into the kitchen, holding a paw over his mouth, trying to come to terms with what he saw. About three feet to the left of the door lay a sizeable pile of books from which ran a small pool of blood. Out of the pile sprawled three light green legs, blackened by bruises and covered in cuts and wounds. Each of the legs was lifeless and stiff. Twilight! A chill ran down Spike’s spine. He bolted towards the stairs and started climbing them furiously. His eyes were wide and his face was creased with concern. “Twilight! TWILIGHT!” His voice carried through the library and echoed without response. Upon reaching the top of the stairs, he barreled his way into Twilight’s bedroom and began looking around to no avail. Then he stopped. He stood still. A sniveling sound danced through the air, breaking the isolation. Spike slowly knelt down and, taking hold of the cover of the bed, lifted it up gently and slowly. Underneath the bed lay Twilight, curled up and crying, her mane wild. She had her eyelids drawn tightly over her eyes and tears rolled down her cheeks, staining her fur. At that moment, Spike saw a foal; the same foal that he grew up with. A knot formed in his stomach. “Twilight, are you okay? What happened?” “Spike,” Twilight’s voice was shaky; slow and interrupted by intermittent sobs. “What happened, Twilight? You need to tell me. What happened?” “It was horrible, Spike...” Tears began to well up in Spike’s eyes. His mind began to race at a thousand miles an hour, desperately trying to prepare itself for what might follow. “He said such horrible things, Spike.” Spike’s mind froze. He began to shuffle backwards, his concern turning to unease. Something wasn’t right. “Who did, Twilight?” “Pine.” Time froze. Spike stepped back from his world and looked up at it. His world was vast and intricate; a web made of ice. Spike looked over it and saw reflections of himself and his friends. Images of sad times and happy times played over and over again, but there, in the center of it all, was her, Twilight Sparkle. With a jarring shudder, Spike’s world began to shake, and one by one, the strands of the web began to shatter. “He said how he didn’t love me anymore. He said he never loved me. He said he was playing me to get close to the Princesses. He was going to do bad things, such bad things.” “Twilight...” Twilight’s eyes opened and looked at Spike. They were wild yet full of pain. It was as if something had broken inside of her. “I couldn’t let him get away, Spike.” “Twilight!” Spike began to back away from the increasingly agitated pony in front of him. He glanced backwards towards the door. He gulped and continued backwards, slowly. “I had to do something, Spike.” Her eyes were pleading, begging him to believe her. “Twilight!” “I did it, Spike. It had to be done.” With that Spike burst out of the room, throwing himself towards the stairs. He rocketed downwards, taking them two at a time. When he reached the bottom, he looked back up briefly. Satisfied that Twilight had not followed, Spike ran to the desk in the corner of the library and pulled out a fresh quill and parchment. Hastily, he scrawled down a message. Once he was done, he threw the parchment into the air and, with a green, roaring flame, he ignited the parchment and watched the paper scatter to ashes in front of him... -------------------------------------------------------- Earlier that evening... “And that’s how I got my cutie mark,” Twilight finished with a relieved sigh, a smile playing across her lips. “That’s quite the story.” Twilight and Pine were lying on their backs next to the fireplace in the library. The fire was lit and it burnt with a roaring yellow flame. Crackles and pops could be heard every so often as the inferno mercilessly tore through the wood that fueled it, licking it up with tongues of flame. The library was cast in a thick orange glow which flickered and danced, chasing away apparitions of the night. Warmth bathed the room and flooded the senses of Twilight and Pine, who lay contentedly, just talking. “They’re a strange thing, cutie marks,” Pine pondered, scratching at his horn and idly kicking at the air. “How do you mean?” “All they are are pictures on our flanks. Why does everyone care so much?” “Because ponies do that,” Twilight stated, as a matter of fact. “Do what?” “Find things to care about which don’t really matter.” “What matters then?” “Nothing, really.” “Oh.” Twilight lay there, listening to Pine tapping on his horn. She drew in a contented breath and relaxed, soaking in the warmth of the fire. “I know what matters.” Pine’s tone caught Twilight’s attention. His speech was slow and meditative, his voice full of regret. Twilight leaned her head backward, craning her neck to see his face. Her gaze found Pine now lying on his stomach. His face was cold and purposeful. “What?” Twilight heard her voice come out a nervous whisper, but she was far away from it. She felt so far away, as if she were looking upon two ponies she had never met before in her life. “Your friends, Twilight,” a knot formed in Twilight’s stomach, “Your friends matter. You can’t just let them go, Twilight. You need them.” “No, I don’t, I have you. You’re keeping me strong, you’re keeping me sane.” “Twilight! I’m little more than your excuse, your ticket out of confronting your friends. You know you could have gone tonight and told your friends how you feel. You could have challenged them.” “But they would have just...” Twilight was cut off mid-sentence, Pine carried on, his speech building up momentum. “No they wouldn’t, Twilight. They love you and care about you. They would have listened, Twilight.” “But...” “No buts, Twilight. You wimped out. You know what though, that’s fine, no pony’s perfect, but you have a chance now, Twilight. You have a chance to change things and I’m not going to be your excuse for not doing that.” Twilight’s eyes opened wide, realization dawning upon her, the truth dropping like an anvil. “No, no, no...” “I’m going now, Twilight. I might see you again one day, and I hope I do. I hope by then you’ve sorted things out with your friends, but until then...” “No! You can’t go. I need you, you can’t do this.” Tears streamed down Twilight’s face, staining her fur and matting the edges of her mane. “Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle. I’ll never forget you.” Pine’s eyes were wet, his mouth displaying a bittersweet smile. With one smooth motion, he leant forward and kissed Twilight on the forehead. With that he got up and started making his way to the door. “I don’t know what I’ll do without you, Pine, I’ll go crazy. Stop.” Pine continued towards the door and, grabbing the knob with his telekinesis, began to twist it. In desperation, Twilight grabbed out with her magic and threw a book at Pine. It hit him lightly on the back of the head. For the briefest of moments Pine turned his head and gave Twilight a sympathetic look, tears clouding his vision. Then he turned back and continued opening the door. “NO!” Twilight lashed out with her magic once more, trying to pile things around Pine to stop his from getting out. Behind the sounds of her sobs she could hear muffled cracks and screams of pain and then silence. With that, she lay down and put her hooves over her eyes, and began to wail.