//------------------------------// // Singled out // Story: Two Weeks // by Starlitomega //------------------------------// "Are y'all sure she's home?” Applejack asked as she knocked on the door. “You heard what Spike said. She hasn’t left the library in a week. I doubt she chose this particular moment to venture outside.” “Yeah, I get’cha, Rarity.” The library door cracked open. “Who is it?” replied a small voice from inside. “Howdy Twi!” Applejack answered. “It’s just me, Rarity and Fluttershy here. We were hoping we could talk to you for a few minutes.” The door slowly opened, revealing a purple unicorn with a messy mane and tired eyes. It was easy to see that she had neglected some basic maintenance. “C-can we come in?” Fluttershy stuttered. Twilight bit her lip nervously. “Sure, I guess.” The three mares stepped into the library and nearly gasped in shock. They had never seen it in such disgrace. Scattered piles of books and crumpled paper littered the floor. “Twilight dear, is everything alright?” Rarity asked, placing her hoof on the purple mare's back. “Everything’s fine. I’ve just been a bit busy with my studies.” “Well, we’re not here about yer studies. We came ta fetch ya for a party. Go get yerself cleaned up and we'll all go together,” Applejack said. Twilight let out a heavy sigh. "Sorry girls, I’m not up for a party. I think I’ll sit this one out." Rarity grabbed the unicorn by the shoulder knowingly. “It’s obvious you aren’t in a party mood, but this is a bit different. You should make the time.” “Different how?” Rarity and Applejack exchanged nervous glances. Fluttershy pawed the floor. “Uhhh well.... it’s about Rainbow Da-” “What about Rainbow Dash?” Twilight asked. Fluttershy locked up at the unicorn's insistence. “Well, darling, that’s why we’re here. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash have decided they are... how to put this.... “They’re gettin’ hitched!” Applejack blurted out. “What?” Twilight exclaimed. Rarity glared at the cowpony momentarily. “Well, yes. They’re movin to Manehattan... apparently. Tonight is their farewell party,” Rarity finished. Twilight’s rear hit the floor in disbelief. “Marriage? Them? But its only been-” “We know, Twi. We’re just as stunned as y’all.” Applejack sighed. “Did anypony tell them this is crazy? I mean come on!” “We only just heard about it ourselves,” Rarity explained. Twilight sat in shock, not even daring to fully absorb the news and its potential ramifications. Rarity walked over to Twilight and gently helped the unicorn to her hooves. “Come now, dear. I’ll help you get ready in no time.” Twilight numbly nodded and allowed Rarity to lead her to the bathroom to get cleaned up. A good party is more than the right music, the right decorations, and the right food. A proper party begins, first and foremost, with the right ponies. Though the music was appropriately loud, the decorations appropriately cheerful, and the food appropriately tasty, there was quite clearly an air of dread over the party. The only ponies who escaped the foreboding atmosphere were the targets for said party. Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were content to dance like madmares while everypony else busied themselves in other ways. “A farewell party,” Twilight began while dipping up yet another glass of punch. “And a wedding. All in about a week. Just what has gotten into them?” Applejack nodded in reply. “I hear ya, Twi. They seem deaf to tha whole affair, though.” Many ponies were in attendance, such as Cheerilee, Roseluck, and also Raindrops from the weather team, among many others, yet no one seemed very happy about the occasion. At one point, Mrs. Cake left the party on the verge of tears, barely earning a quick glance from Pinkie Pie. “I don’t suppose you snuck in any hard cider, AJ?” The farmpony smiled and produced a flask. Twilight gulped down the remaining punch in her glass and held it out for Applejack to fill. A rich, dark stream of cider filled the bottom of her glass before she pulled the flask away. “That’s it?” Twilight asked, swishing the small amount of liquid in her glass. “That’s more than enough,” Applejack said with a wink. Twilight threw her head back and downed the cider in one gulp. She immediately dropped her glass and clutched her throat. “Ack!” she exclaimed. “It burns!” Applejack winked at the pony in pain. “I told you it was more than you needed.” After a few moments of searing pain in her throat, Twilight felt the cider go down, leaving only a strong aftertaste in its wake. “Wow, AJ. I think you could clean train parts with that stuff.” The farmpony didn’t reply and simply took a swig from the flask, her expression never changing. “Seriously though, what’s so good about Manehattan that they have to up and leave Ponyville?” Twilight asked. “Beats me, Sugarcube.” Both ponies sat in silence as the record finally came to an end. “Thank you! Thank you Ponyvillians!” Pinkie announced with a bullhorn. “I just want to thank you all for coming to see us before we leave! It means so much to me and Dashie.” Rainbow Dash nuzzled Pinkie in an affectionate manner. Twilight did her level best to keep the cider from coming back up. She gripped the glass tighter in her hooves. “I especially want to thank you all for being so supportive of us in our decision to move to Manehattan. It really means a lot to know you all are behind us.” Twilight’s glass finally shattered between her hooves. “About that, actually.” Twilight left her seat at the punch bowl. “Why are you moving to Manehattan, anyway? And what’s all this nonsense about getting married?” she asked, while marching toward Pinkie. The pink mare’s eyebrows narrowed momentarily. “It isn’t nonsense. Rainbow Dash and I just know what we want, and we decided we want to be together forever,” she said, her smile staying high. “Together forever, huh?” Twilight sneered. “That’s an awfully big thing to decide after just a week of dating, don’t you think? You sure this isn’t one of your Pinkie things where you lose interest after somepony rolls a shiny object your way?” Rainbow Dash leapt between Pinkie and Twilight aggressively. “Hey! Don’t talk about Pinkie like that!” Murmurs went through the crowd. Pinkie jumped beside Rainbow, also in an aggressive stance. “Yeah! You’re just upset ‘cause you threw Dashie away and now she’s with me!” Pinkie snarled. “Now wait one moment.” Rarity stepped in. “You have to admit it’s a little unusual to just move away and get engaged in such a short span of time.” “Just whose side are you on, traitor! I thought you were our friend! Here you are defending Miss Dumps-a-lot here!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed. “We were hoping our friends would support us...” Pinkie trailed off, her face changing to one of sorrow. “I never meant... I’m sorry. You're right. You're our friends, and we'll support you no matter what you choose, right Twilight?” Twilight looked at Rarity, and then everypony else in the room. It was clear she would be the only one to say something, the only one to have the nerve to stand up and call the pair out. And yet, by doing so she only looked more and more like a sore loser. Twilight’s eyes narrowed angrily. “You know what? I don't care anymore. Go to Manehattan. Get married. Have twenty foals if you want. I’m done caring.” Twilight turned on the spot and marched to the door as a feeling of dread filled her stomach. Though she garnered quite a few looks of disgust and disbelief, nopony dared say a word to her. All she wanted to do now was go home and try and sleep the night off. After the disastrous night at the farewell party, Twilight thought better of showing up at the train station the next morning to see the new couple off. It pained her greatly to know she let two of her best friends leave without saying a word, but what could she say after that night? ‘Sorry’ came to mind, but the truth of the matter was, she wasn’t sorry. She knew deep in her heart that they were taking things too fast. Saying that she was sorry would only be encouraging their reckless behavior. At least, that’s how she justified it to herself. She would just stand back and give them some time, and they would just get over the whole thing. Just like she thought Rainbow would get over her. As fate would have it though, they didn’t just come back. Three weeks had passed since the party, and there was still no sign of the two lovebirds that had flown the coop. Twilight busied herself with work to take her mind off recent events, even going so far as having Spike bring Owlowiscious to their weekly pony pet playdates. Her remaining friends did much to try and bring her outside, with little luck. Fluttershy and Rarity kept trying to arrange a visit to the spa, while Applejack brought over seemingly endless piles of food to make sure she was eating well. Nothing worked to pull Twilight out of her funk, though. She kept busy with work and star charts to pass the time. “So, here we are again.” The voice, though flat, still had a note of concern to it, one that was lost on the unicorn. “Can't talk now. Studying,” Twilight mumbled. “Hmmm... what exactly are you studying for?” Twilight stopped her compulsive note-taking for a moment, and looked down at her materials. “Tax code?” “And doesn’t that seem just a little too familiar?” Realization washed over the unicorn as she finally noted whose voice it was beside her. “Princess Luna! It's good to see you again!” The regal alicorn smiled at Twilight’s reaction. “Indeed, though I am a bit troubled we find ourselves in the same dream as before.” Twilight looked around for a moment to confirm that they were, indeed, in the same classroom as last time, with the same twisted visage of Princess Celestia presiding over them. “I’m... I’m sorry. I don’t know why this keeps happening,” the unicorn said remorsefully. “I suspect it’s because you still have not talked with my sister. Would that be accurate?” Luna asked. Twilight answered with a slow nod of her head. “Then you already know how to stop it.” Both ponies sat in the quiet school room, neither apparently knowing what to say. “You are not alone in having such nightmares as of late,” Luna said, finally breaking the silence. “Huh?” “Perhaps it would be better if I just showed you.” Princess Luna's horn glowed softly, and the room faded into a soft blue. The walls disappeared and the blue seemed to stretch on forever. “We shall now enter another pony's dream,” Luna announced. “Wait, isn't there some sort of rule or something against ponies seeing another pony's dreams?” Twilight asked. Princess Luna's smile curled upwards. “The only rules that exist here are the ones I make. I see and know all dreams, and can exist in each dream separately.” “All dreams?” Twilight gulped nervously. “Even the ones where I-” “Yes, yes, all dreams.” Luna rolled her eyes dismissively. “I know all about your strange predilections. Before you overreact though, you should know that my conscious self knows nothing of what happens in the dreams of others, and that seven other ponies in Ponyville alone share your unusual affinity.” “What? Really?” asked Twilight incredulously. “Please, let us focus on the matter at hoof.” Twilight nodded as Luna's horn glowed again. The blue space gave way for a whole new world. Rainbow ran through town, trying to elude her pursuer. She attempted to take off, but quickly discovered that she somehow was missing her wings! So she ran. She ran down the street to the edges of Ponyville. She could hear the steady breathing of her pursuer close behind. No matter how hard she tried, the pony kept pace. She ran through the outskirts of Ponyville, past Fluttershy's cottage, through the apple orchards. She ran for everything she was worth, and still the figure kept pace. Rainbow finally collapsed. Out of breath and suffering through unbearable pain in her legs, she just couldn't go any further. The pony who had been tailing her finally stood over Rainbow triumphantly. “You been runnin’ fer quite awhile. Do ya ever think you’ll have the guts to actually face what ya did?” Applejack asked, staring down at the panting pony. “Apple... Applejack... I-I’m sorry...” “I don’t quite believe ya, Rainbow. I think ya just dont wanna talk about it, but what are ya gonna do when ya fail her, too? Ya just gonna run away?” Rainbow started backing away from the farmpony in fear. Her rear legs suddenly fell out from under her. She put her front legs down to keep from sliding any further. Glancing behind her, she realized that the vast expanse of land had suddenly changed to a cliff. One she was currently hanging precariously from. “Where ya gonna run now?” Applejack asked. Rainbow’s hooves slipped and she fell from the cliff, staring up at Applejack as she tumbled to the ground. Twilight felt herself fall back into the blue expanse as the world shattered around her. “It appears she has awoken,” Luna explained. “I...I can see why. Tell me, Princess, why are you showing me this?” Twilight asked. Luna sighed. “It’s easy to tell you are in pain. No doubt your friends know, as well. I think there is more going on than anypony knows. I hope by showing you this you can maybe piece together this puzzle.” An overwhelming ripple of light cut through the serene blue of the empty space. Twilight felt herself being pulled away. “It appears we are out of time, Twilight Sparkle. Please, talk to my sister, for your own peace of mind.” The unicorn couldn’t respond as the whole world went light. “Twilight, you said you were gonna go shopping today.” The unicorn snapped upright in her chair. “Huh?” Spike shook an empty jug at her. “We need milk, flour, eggs, sugar, and a whole bunch of other stuff!”   Twilight glanced at the unfinished star chart in front of her, and then back to her assistant. “Can’t it wait till tomorrow?” “Oh, sure it can, but so will breakfast, lunch, and dinner,” Spike said, folding his arms. Twilight let out a resigned sigh. “You’re right. Sorry, Spike. I just haven’t been myself lately.” She hopped off the chair and, using her magic, slipped on her saddlebags. “I’ll be back in little bit. Hold the library down for me, please.” “I always do,” the dragon replied with a self satisfied grin. Twilight walked out the door into the afternoon sun. She blinked at the painful light shining down upon her. It had been entirely too long since she had last left the library. She was shocked at how bright the sun seemed after being cooped up for so long. What really surprised her, though, was the thick layer of fog blanketing the ground. Fog was rare in Ponyville, much less in the heat of the afternoon sun. “Howdy Twi! It’s good to see ya! What brings you outside today?” The unicorn turned to the familiar cowpony. “Oh, hey Applejack. I was just going to get some groceries. We’re running a bit low. What about you?” “Me? Oh, I’m just bringing this here cartload of apples to the stand. How’s about this fog, huh?” “Tell me about it! You know what’s causing it?” Applejack snorted. “Sure do. It’s these dang old pegasi. Not one of them seems to know a thing about the weather. Why, just yesterday, they nearly flooded my farm! Those feather brains!” “I guess they’re just getting used to not having Rainbow Dash around,” Twilight mumbled. Applejack's head tilted sadly. “We all miss ‘em, Twi. We just have to be strong until they get this mess sorted out.” “What do you mean?” Twilight asked curiously. “If there’s anypony I know, it’s Rainbow Dash. She might think she likes Pinkie right now, but lemme tell ya, ain’t no way in Tartarus they can live the rest of their lives together. That pink puffball will have Dash climbing the walls three weeks in. “And you know this because you and Rainbow dated, right?” Applejack nodded. Both ponies marched on in silence while the gears turned in Twilight’s head. She decided to try something a bit risky.   “Applejack, why didn’t you just tell me the truth about what happened between you and Rainbow Dash?” The farmpony was stunned. “What do you mean?” “I know you two didn’t just ‘break up.’” “Ho-how did you know?” “You aren’t a very good liar,” Twilight bluffed. Applejack came to a halt and glanced around. She gave Twilight a motion to follow and walked to a nearby tree. The cowpony unceremoniously plopped down on her rump with her back leaning against the tree. Twilight followed suit and waited. “Musta been a good four years ago. Rainbow Dash and I were inseparable. Talk of tha town. We spent almost every free minute we had together. We were quite a pair...” “So... what happened?" “Well, one day ah get it in mah thick skull that after all of Rainbow's carrying on about flying and tricks and other nonsense, that ah wanted to fly with her. She was excited about it too of course. Ah just wanted to feel what she felt, what she loved so much about flyin. She grabbed me by mah front legs and took off, and whoo doggy. Ah gotta say, my stomach was doing backflips tha whole time. We musta been in tha air for maybe five, ten minutes when ah started to slip. She tried getting a better grip, but ah fell right through her hooves. Next thing ah know, I'm in the hospital with a broken leg." Twilight shook her head sadly. "Applejack, I’m sorry." "Don't be. Like ah told her, ah knew tha risks goin in. Unfortunately she didn't feel the same way." "What do you mean?" Applejack sighed. "After the fall, she became more distant, stopped staying over. She didn't hate me or anything, but she told me she just couldn't look at me like that again without thinking about how she let me down. It hurt, it hurt a whole heckuva lot knowing ah was just a reminder of her screwing up. So when she said she couldn't do it anymore, ah just let it be." Twilight was nearly speechless. "Bu- wha- you two were happy together, right?" "Sure we were. It took me many a sleepless nights to get over that cocky little pony. Not sure ah really have.” "Then why just... let her go?" Twilight asked. Applejack took a heavy breath, sadness clear in her eyes. "Twi, how would you feel if the pony you cared about the most saw nothing but their biggest screw up anytime they looked at you?" Awful. Horrible. Heart-rending. These were just a few of the words that came to mind. "I'm... I'm sorry Applejack. I didn't mean to make you go through this again." The cowpony wrapped a comforting leg around Twilight. "S'okay, Sugarcube. Everything's fine now. She and ah both moved on. Speaking of moving on, how’re you holding up?" If Twilight had been a gifted liar, now would've definitely been the perfect time for such a skill. "Things just aren't the same without her- I mean, them around." "I know what you meant, Twi," Applejack said. "You and Rainbow weren’t near as coy or clever as y'all thought ya were. It was obvious something was up between you two, especially now that ya stay cooped up all day.” Twilight’s ears fell in shame. Everypony, it seemed, could tell something was going on between them, but she was just too afraid to accept it. Searching her feelings, she recalled feeling trapped, being cornered. Now she felt imprisoned. What made it all the more frustrating was the short amount of time they had spent together. Surely building a relationship takes more than a week or so. Nevertheless, the feelings were there, the longing true, and the aching in her heart undeniable. "Applejack! I just got a letter from-" The sentence came to a screeching halt as Twilight and Applejack both turned to the new voice. "Heya there, Fluttershy. Whatcha hollerin’ about?" Applejack asked. "Oh, um, I shouldn't really say in front of... well, um...” Fluttershy trailed off, gesturing towards Twilight. "Oh, don't be silly. You said you got a letter, right? Let’s see what it says," the cowpony said, taking it from Fluttershy. Hey guys, what’s up? Hope everything’s been good in Ponyville since we left. Pinkie and I have been tearing Manehattan up! We've gotten kicked out of three different restaurants just this week! "Sounds like those two," Applejack snickered. Oh yeah, I nearly forgot the whole reason I was writing in the first place. Tomorrow I'll be performing in front of a sold out crowd in The Bell Stadium! Ponies everywhere will be staring at yours truly as I blow their minds with my awesomeness. In this letter you’ll find tickets that the owner let me give to anypony I wanted! Hope to see you guys there! Rainbow Dash P.S. Pinkie Pie says hi, and she'll have a cake ready just for you guys! "Well shine mah horseshoes. That lil’ fireball got her own show and everything!" The cowpony cackled. "It's been a while since ah've been to Manehattan, though. Ah should get home and pack. You got the tickets, Fluttershy?" Fluttershy squeaked in fear, and pulled out three tickets. Twilight stared at the tickets for a moment, then sighed. “I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” “Whaddya mean, Twi? What’s goin’ on?” "Three tickets, Applejack,” Twilight began. “That's you, Rarity and Fluttershy. I’m not invited.” “Now hang on a minute. There’s gotta be some sorta mistake. You sure there weren’t any other tickets in there?” Fluttershy shook her head solemnly. Applejack’s face fell. “Oh... I... I’m sorry, Twi.” “Whatever... I just need to finish shopping so I can go home and take a nap.” Twilight walked away, head hanging dejectedly, while Fluttershy and Applejack stared at her in sympathy.