//------------------------------// // Epilogue // Story: When They Found Common Ground // by Craine //------------------------------// Twilight Sparkle was ashamed of herself. And she had every reason to be. Because of a few rumors, an overexcited earth pony, and a curiosity that couldn’t be denied, Twilight had played her hoof in destroying a perfect bond. She never thought this day would come, she never thought she’d be responsible, but it happened. Applejack and Rarity were no longer friends. It was terrible. Horrible. To see two peas in a pod go head-to-head like that. Twilight couldn’t hear what Rarity and Applejack were saying, but watching Rarity jump back, watching Applejack barge passed her and straight for the door, Twilight simply couldn’t watch anymore, and neither could Pinkie Pie. They couldn’t watch their friendship crumble like ash. They couldn’t watch Applejack crash through that door screaming how she never wanted to see Rarity again. So Twilight and Pinkie ran. They ran, and ran until their legs buckled beneath them. And that night, Twilight was sure she’d never seen Pinkie cry before, and was even more sure she never wanted to again. And now, the morning after, Twilight skulked aimlessly throughout Ponyville, sifting through option after option of self-punishment. Even though Twilight was quite sure she’d never tie her wings down and throw herself off a cliff, go to Sweet Apple Acres during Applebuck Season and disguise herself as a tree, or swear off reading for a week, she still felt dirty. A rat is what she felt like. A filthy vermin that unjustly escaped punishment. Of course, the pink pony walking next to her, jabbering on and on about things Twilight was sure didn’t make sense, insisted on sharing the blame. “To conclude,” Pinkie continued with a deep breath that thinned the air, “if we catch the next train to Hoofington in ten minutes, that’ll leave us plenty of time to find a home, and change our names.” Twilight groaned. “Pinkie. We’re not going anywhere,” she said. Pinkie stopped in her tracks and stared at Twilight like she declared ponies had fingers. She bounded forward and jumped in Twilight’s path. “Twilight! Weren't you listening to me?!” Pinkie shouted. “We can’t stay here! Not after… We just can’t!” Twilight groaned again. At first, if maybe under slight duress, Twilight had actually thought packing her things and jumping town would spare her the shame of seeing Applejack avoid Carousel Boutique at every turn, or Rarity looking at apples with a scrunched forehead. Twilight walked passed her frazzled friend. “Pinkie, running away from this won’t change anything. It won’t bring Applejack and Rarity together again,” she said with a gripping pit in her stomach. Pinkie jumped in her path again. “But it’s all my fault! If I wasn’t so set on playing ‘matchmaker’, they’d be at the Boutique right now working on dresses, and smirking, and pacing, and blushing, and being totally in love, and—oh, there I go again!” Pinkie’s face fell into her hooves. Another pain in Twilight’s stomach accompanied the first, like two lumps of burning coal. She sat upon the dirt road and placed a hoof on Pinkie’s shoulder. “Oh, Pinkie. I overreacted too.” That was true. So true that it hurt. “I got so caught up in the hype, I didn’t see how much I was hurting them. If I hadn’t followed Rarity to the spa that day...” Pinkie lifted her head, and Twilight could feel something inside of her shrivel at those wet blue eyes. “But I dragged you into it! I saw things that weren’t there! I made Applejack change her attitude, bath after work, and stop smiling when she—” Pinkie gasped long and loud. Twilight raised a concerned brow. “Pinkie? Are you okay?” she said. Pinkie fell back on her haunches. “Twilight. I made Applejack stop smiling…” Even Twilight felt that one. With a cringe and a suck of her teeth, Twilight desperately searched for the right thing to say, but found nothing of the sort. “I made her unhappy. I ruined the one thing that could’ve brought that smile to her everyday. I took Rarity’s knight in shining armor away from her. They hate each other because of—” Pinkie leaned back, looking at the sky like it showed her a truth infinitely above mortal comprehension. “I’m… I’m a monster.” If memory served, and it did quite well, Twilight knew Pinkie was quite far gone. “I’m sorry Pinkie…” Was all she could muster. Pinkie shot to her hooves and continued the aimless trek. “That’s it! I’m through! Finished! I’m moving to Hoofington, and there’s nothing anypony can say to change that!” she shouted. As the crowds thickened, Twilight realized they had entered the market area. Which was perfect. Maybe some delicious cantaloupe would ease the mind. Didn’t hold much hope for Pinkie, but… “It’ll be hard saying goodbye to the Cakes! But I gotta do it, Twilight! I just gotta!” The pair continued along isles and isles of food-stands that teemed with every type of fruit and vegetable in the equine diet. She smiled a grateful smile, the grumble in her stomach having dulled the pain in her heart. “Ponyville doesn’t need a frown-down party-pooper-pants like me darkening its door! Well I’ll fix that! I’ll leave and I’ll never come back!” Pinkie continued. They reached the fruit stand, and the misty tropical scent filled Twilight’s nostrils. Just as she licked her lips at the thought of that cantaloup, a clump of clashing colors near the apple-stand caught her eye. “Oh, but I’d still write to you girls, of course! I could tell you all about my new life with friends that I totally DIDN’T drive apart! And you could tell me how Rarity and Applejack would be doing—no, don't do that! I don’t wanna know!” Twilight broke left to a nearby bench to get a better look, with Pinkie miraculously aware enough to follow. Orange and white. Applejack and Rarity. Together. Smiling. Laughing. Standing very close to each other. “And when I change my name, it’ll be something more happy! Something unbefitting of a heartless monster! Something like Alouiscious! Wait, that’s not even spelled right… Ooh! Bakers Dozen! No, too obvious… I know! Surprise! That’s perfect!” Twilight watched the pair at the apple-stand, her eyes narrowing as her wings gave a slight twitch. Rarity levitated a fresh apple from the pile, and gave Applejack a look Twilight hadn’t seen before. Applejack leaned forward and bit into the apple. “It’ll be kinda weird signing letters with a different name. Probably more weird for you girls though. Oh, I know! I’d write that it’s actually ‘Pinkie Pie’ and nopony will be confused! But wait, if I did that and signed it ‘Surprise’, wouldn’t that be forging?” As Applejack chewed, Rarity leaned forward and took a bite of her own. They stared at each other for a time, chewed slowly and deliberately, swallowed... then took a bite together. Twilight’s eyes widened as the apple got smaller and smaller. “Is forging signatures a crime? Will that make police ponies unhappy?” Pinkie gasped again with hooves pressed to her temples. “What if ‘Surprise’ is another pony’s name?! What if I impersonate them?! What if that pony goes through same thing I did with that stupid Mirror Pool?!” By now the apple was completely gone, but the feast continued. With every smack and lick. “Oh just look at me!” Pinkie threw her forelegs to the air and collapsed on her chest. “I can’t even change my identity without ruining another pony’s life! I’m pathetic! I’m a criminal! A sad ruinous criminal! I should be condemned! I should be locked in a dungeon! Or banished! Or locked in a dungeon at the place I was banished to! I—” Twilight pressed her hoof against Pinkie’s forehead and lifted it to the scene. Pinkie’s jaw fell to the ground. And the two little ponies watched as a bustling day at the Market turned into a loud cheering fest, complete with whistles and stomping hooves. With shouts that sounded an awful lot like “Finally!” or “Took ‘em long enough!” or “Twenty bits says they take each other right here,” Applejack and Rarity proceeded to make out in the middle of that crowd without a care in the world. Pinkie put her jaw back where it belonged. “Hey, Twilight?” “Yes, Pinkie?” “Called it.” ********** Meanwhile, at an alternate world... Because sometimes it's just. That. Simple. FIN