There was a sickening chill that overcame Twilight Sparkle, something unimaginably tangent and disturbing. Her veins were bolts of electricity that ran itself up and down her body. Her mind was a battlefield--explosions, impaired senses, pain. It all coursed through her. Her blood had turned to diamonds.
The game had played itself out. The inevitable truth and its ending had reared its ugly head at her. There was absolutely nothing left. It was done. But Twilight didn’t see it that way. In some way, Twilight viewed this as the beginning of something else entirely. Maybe, it was effecting her brain differently, emotionally as well as mentally jarring. Her brain fizzed and spasmed, and she felt a migraine coming on.
These three ponies. Star, Lyre, Hourglass, whoever they were. They hated Twilight and her friends so much that they would destroy the entire town. They wanted their lives to be ruined, and in shambles. They wanted them all to suffer in their own self-guided version of misery and disappointment. They wanted the Elements of Harmony’s friendship to be no more.
“Hourglass” continued to stare at them, her blue eyes boiling over with hidden rage. Twilight only gaped at the mare. She looked familiar--so familiar. She just could not remember her name. It was on the tip of her tongue. “Hourglass” licked her lips, and grinned. “Well? You all just going to stand there?” Her voice was husky, sounding like it should belong to a full grown mare. Fortunately, the mare looked about Twilight age--if not younger.
“Hey, Lyra, look.” The pony with the lyre cutie mark smirked devilishly at her accomplice. “Lyra” then turned her attention back to Twilight and her friends. “Looks like a cat’s got their tongue.”
Lyra chuckled, a sound that made Twilight’s blood turn to ice. Twilight simply stared at her, gears running. Did she ever hear that name before? Why is there some kind of voice in the back of her head shouting at her? Yelling the name over and over again? “I’m sure they wouldn’t just appear at our doorstep for no reason… hmm?” Lyra cast a curious look their way.
“Oh, we have a reason alright…” Twilight heard Rainbow Dash mumble behind her. She heard a small “scrunch” behind her. Twilight sneaked a peek backwards. Rainbow Dash was digging her hooves into the rocky soil underneath them, holding back her uncontrollable anger. She had a horrifyingly large sneer on her face, and her eyes were narrowed and deadly. Pinkie had noticed Rainbow’s shift in temperaments. The pink mare put her foreleg across Rainbow’s chest, like a barrier, as if telling her “please, calm down for now”.
Twilight could tell Rainbow didn’t take joy in heeding Pinkie’s silently given advice. But Twilight watched as her glower disappeared in size. She could still see the veins in Rainbow’s neck protrude, and her wings flex every now and then. Should the time call for it, Rainbow was ready to pounce.
Was Rainbow’s attitude justified? Twilight didn’t know, but she was pretty sure so far. Rainbow, as well as the rest of her friends, had their secret exposed to practically everyone in town. The pegasus was surely emotionally and mentally corrupted and frazzled. And, given Rainbow’s natural sense of loyalty that earned her a spot in the Elements of Harmony in the first place, she would do anything she could to protect her friends. This being one of those times--and when Twilight took this into consideration, she was almost surprised that Rainbow Dash didn’t fully snap.
“You.” Applejack’s voice cut through the air like a butcher knife. She spoke carefully and powerfully. “You’re the ones who did this.” Applejack was unusually calm and collected, which almost frightened Twilight. Her placid voice and her indifferent looking eyes must have struck a nerve with Lyra and “Hourglass”.
“Excuse me?” “Hourglass” put a hoof on her chest innocently, and meagerly shook her head. The tiniest of smiles was apparent on her lips. Her voice was littered with sarcasm. “We have no idea what you’re talking about.” “Hourglass” stuck her head out the door for a brief second, and looked around. She got almost uncomfortably close to Twilight’s face. She was sure that that was on purpose. “Wow, sure is foggy out here.”
Twilight’s eye twitched. Rainbow Dash huffed from behind her. Rarity and Fluttershy looked at Twilight, and then back to the two mares at the door. “I… we know. May we come in? I think we need to have a chat.”
Lyra looked at the mare with the hourglass cutie mark, before the former shrugged. The hourglass mare stared at Lyra for a short second. Lyra grabbed the edge of the door, and started to allow the six to enter the rinky-dink cabin. That was before “Hourglass” planted a hoof on the door, creating a loud “clang”. Apparently, Lyra had read “Hourglass” incorrectly. “Wait a second,” she said. Her smile quickly shifted to a frown. “Why should we let you in? We don’t just let random strangers into our house.” Lyra looked like she wanted to hold back a snigger.
“Please!” Rainbow Dash exploded. Twilight was almost hoping that the three mares wouldn’t prod and instigate her, but it appeared that her wishes were short lived. “We know it was you that did this!” “Hourglass” rolled her eyes.
“Rainbow, please…” Pinkie begged. Rainbow Dash took one look into Pinkie’s pleading eyes, and let out a soft sigh.
“We need to talk. You know who we are. It’ll be over before you know it.” Twilight didn’t smile, nor did she frown. She tried to act as mature as possible, and as if she was reasoning with criminals--weapons drawn and aiming at her--threatening to strike at any moment.
Lyra exhaled sharply, and gave “Hourglass” a mocking stare, as if she was silently telling her friend, “Are these mares serious?”. Twilight’s eye twitched again. Lyra viewed them as nothing more than a gigantic joke, it seemed. “Hourglass” as well. At least, that was what Twilight felt. The resentment in their voices, and the rudeness in their body language tipped her off. Something wasn’t right with them. Somehow,Twilight could just feel the hatred resonating off of them. It made Twilight’s heart hurt just thinking about it.
“Hourglass” looked at each and every single one of the Elements of Harmony, and then gave a disrespectful grunt. “Well, I guess.” Lyra chuckled, as if her response was a riot. Twilight nodded their direction as Lyra and “Hourglass” moved out of the way of the entrance. Twilight, being at the front of the group, wandered inside. Pinkie would have been the second pony to enter when Lyra held out a hoof, keeping her outside.
“Hey…” Pinkie whined. “Hourglass” coughed.
“Uhm, no,” replied “Hourglass”. Lyra was about three inches taller than “Hourglass”, but she was still acting like some kind of bodyguard. Twilight felt confused, and tricked for some reason. “Just Twilight. Sorry, but you all gotta wait outside.”
“Pardon me?” Applejack replied. Her inner anger finally starting to show through after umpteeth hours of supreme tranquility.
“No way!” Rainbow shouted, disregarding Pinkie entirely and almost shoving her aside to get closer to the door. When she reached it, however, she stood at the entrance. “You’re letting us in! All of us! I’ll… I’ll force myself in if I have to!” Rainbow Dash shot the two mares a look that could have killed. The two didn’t seem fazed in the slightest.
“Yeah! Ain’t no way we’re gonna let Twilight go in there by herself! You messed with all of us, ‘member?” Applejack replied. Applejack nodded at Twilight, as if she was saying: “Don’t worry, ah got your back”.
“Yeah, no.” Lyra said, waving as the five stood dumbstruck outside the doorway. “Sorry. Buh-bye.” Lyra tried to slam the door, but Rainbow held out a hoof. Twilight cringed.
“Dearies, please let us in,” Rarity pleaded. “We won’t cause trouble. We promise. Right, girls?” Rarity looked specifically towards Applejack and Rainbow Dash, who were still seething. They didn’t appear to be acknowledging Rarity. “Hourglass” and Lyra only gave the five of them bored, half-lidded stares.
“I’ll be fine, girls,” Twilight replied. She was sure that if she didn’t intervene, Rainbow or Applejack would say something that’d ruin their chances for peace for good. “I’ll be in and out in a jiffy. Trust me.”
The remaining members of the Elements of Harmony frowned in very different ways. By this point, Fluttershy was in the back of the pack, looking as if she was about to bolt. Even still, she appeared pretty leery about the entire situation. Rainbow only gritted her teeth. She punched her hooves together. “Well… gah! Fine. But as soon as we think something’s starting to go wrong, we’ll be bustin’ down that door.” She gave the other two mares a dreadful look. Applejack grinned herself.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” replied Lyra. Rainbow gave her a completely appalled look, before turning back to Twilight. Pinkie Pie, surprisingly, was the one that opened her mouth.
“We believe in you, Twilight. We love y-”
The door slammed shut. The wind from the motion rushed past Twilight like the stray wind from a tornado. It watered her eyes, but Twilight wasn’t sure if it was because of the door. Twilight’s heart began to beat a little faster. To her chagrin, Lyra immediately took out a large piece of chain, and a lock. She got to work closing the door for good. Since her horn was still aglow and at work because of the spell, she was forced to use her hooves.
Twilight’s friends had faith in her. That was all that mattered to her. Her friends knew, deep down, that Twilight was absolutely capable of reasoning with the three mares by herself. Was that the reason why? Did they remain outside simply to improve their chances of getting the spells undone? Did they remain outside because they knew it would have been a smart decision? Did they remain outside because they thought that, if all six of them went inside, nothing good would come out of it? Perhaps Pinkie and Rarity figured that if Applejack and Rainbow went inside, nothing would get solved. Deep inside, Twilight knew the answer lingered.
Twilight turned back to the middle of the cabin. She was met by the disapproving, and rather intimidating, eyes of three mares. “Star”, the white bodied mare with three stars for a cutie mark, was sitting upon a single bed to the right of the door--near a broken window. It was nothing more than a dirty mattress, and a worn yellow blanket covered in stains of varying colors. The entire cabin was that of a single room, save for a single door that must have lead off to a bathroom. In the northeast corner of the room, was a refrigerator and sink with a mirror. The mirror was smudged, and the refrigerator was left open. It must’ve not been running. There was no food inside.
In the middle of the room, was a round rug the color of lilies. At least, it was. Now, it was very dirty and covered in different substances and crumbs. There was a cracked television screen in the southwest corner of the room, and a rotted wooden chair in front of it. The room itself stank of mildew and dirt. Personal belongings riddled the floor. Twilight hoped that the three mares didn’t actually live there. It looked like an absolutely horrid place to live on first glance.
Lyra had finished locking the door, and had wandered to the other side of the room next to “Hourglass”. Everypony was shooting Twilight a look of pure detestment. Twilight felt herself wanting to redden.
For a few moments, nopony said anything. Twilight could almost hear the gears turning in the other three mares’ minds, as if they were secretly plotting what to do with her. Twilight swallowed her nervousness. However, she waited. She waited for the other ponies to explain themselves. They knew full well what they did. Twilight knew. They were caught.
A full minute passed by, before “Star” opened her mouth. “You gonna say anything?” she asked, boredly. She yawned on her bed, and lied on her belly.
“Excuse me?” Twilight said, automatically. She shot the other mares a look of amazement. They, were questioning her?
“You decided to knock on our door. Now what do you want?” Lyra replied. Twilight, to say the least, wasn’t expecting this. Her train of thought was thrown off entirely. She faltered.
“I--uh--I’m here to talk a-” Twilight was cut off by a raucous bout of laughter coming from Lyra.
“Minuette, are you hearing this?” Lyra asked, pointing a hoof at the lavender unicorn. Twilight’s mouth was open in sheer astonishment. For some reason, a little bit more heat decided to settle in her cheeks. “She knocks on our door with her posse, and when she gets what she wants, she babbles like an idiot.” Twilight regained her posture at the sound of this, straightening her back and projecting her voice.
“Excuse me!” she almost yelled. “I am not an idiot.” Lyra rolled her eyes, as if she was simply pardoning a joke that she never wanted to hear in the first place. “And you know why I’m here. Let’s not try and beat around the bush. The least we can do is act like adults here instead of calling names…”
Twilight couldn’t take her mind off the pony named Minuette, the pony with the hourglass cutie mark. Why was that name so familiar? That cutie mark? That voice? Twilight just couldn’t place a time or situation where she remembered these two mares. Twilight wasn’t even sure of the real name of “Star”, but even if she did, she knew she’d have no idea of who she was anyways. Twilight was completely in the dark. It didn’t help the situation.
“Twilight, we know what you’re trying to do.” Minuette shot Twilight an empty gaze. Her eyes were almost glossed over, as if Minuette was thinking about something else as she spoke. “And I’m going to tell you right now. Stop it. We don’t care.”
Twilight’s heart froze. Her eyes widened at the sudden crude remark, and she suddenly knew that there was no way that this was going to end well. Twilight wondered how long it would take for her friends to break the door down, should it get worse. What did she do? Twilight didn’t know. What did she do to make these mares hate her so much? Twilight had enemies, sure. But… none that hated her on a scale like this.
“Lemme guess,” Lyra interjected. She stuck her nose in the air. “You did a Magic-Tracker spell in order to find us, right?” Lyra gave Twilight a smug smile, one that almost made Twilight shiver. Twilight didn’t need to explain that Lyra was, indeed, correct. She needed to get a hold of herself, quick. She needed to hold her head high, and take control of the situation.
“That doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t. We know what you did. We know that you’re the ones that turned Ponyville into a warzone.” Twilight returned their glares with one of her own. The moment she locked eyes with Lyra, the mare turned to look at “Star”, almost awkwardly.
“Warzone? Nah.” Every syllable that dripped out of Minuette’s voice was like that of poison--threatening to intoxicate and render Twilight immobile. “We didn’t do that.”
“Are you kidding? So you’re saying you're not responsible for what’s going on?” Twilight refused to believe this. It was them. No way in Tartarus it wasn’t. Twilight had the nagging feeling that, for some reason, she was to blame.
“No,” Minuette replied. “That was us.” She pointed her her horn, which was still glowing a bright blue, the color of her eyes and coat. “As a matter of fact, we’re still doing it. Can’t believe it took you schmucks almost fourteen hours to figure that out.”
Twilight had to hold herself back, had to keep herself from getting angry. Meanwhile, “Star” was looking like she was about to burst out laughing. Twilight wasn’t sure if it was because of the face she was making, or not. Nevertheless, she frowned.
She was right. Twilight was right. These three were responsible for this. These three were responsible for making her friends cry. For almost ruining what they had, their ultimate friendship. For causing some ponies to burn down their homes. For absolutely destroying the mental state of those in Ponyville. For posting her darkest secret on the front of the library. Spike will never think of her the same way again. Rarity will never truly regain her sister. Applejack will always resent Fluttershy for what she did.
Here she was, in front of the ponies who caused it all. She couldn’t form a word.
“I mean, it’s not like we hid our tracks well. We actually made it pretty easy to find us. Kind of a shame, really. We’ve been running ourselves ragged, keeping these spells going for this long. We’ve had to switch off countless times, really. We expected to be found after a few hours. But a whole day? I’m kind of shocked, Twilight Sparkle.” Minuette said Twilight’s name as if it was a mockery.
Twilight didn’t know what to say, except for one thing. “W-Why? Why would you do this?” Her voice was surprisingly kind and serene, but that was only because she was desperate and pleading. She needed answers. Nothing made sense. She wanted her life back to the way it was not even twenty-four hours ago. She wanted her friends to have their lives back.
“Why?” “Star” suddenly repeated. Her words held so much contained anger that it was almost hurtful to hear. Apparently, Twilight had asked the wrong right question. “Why?! You really don’t know why we did this Twilight Sparkle?” All of a sudden, “Star” was off the bed, and standing not even two inches from Twilight’s face. She was heaving breaths, holding back an innermost rage that kept itself inside of her. Twilight moved back a ways, but “Star” was still there in front of here. “You dare ask us? Who in Tartarus do you thin-”
“Twinkleshine, chill for a second,” Minuette replied. “Let’s see what she knows first.” Twinkleshine grumbled to herself, and switched glances between Minuette and Twilight Sparkle. It was as if she was debating listening to her friend, and clocking Twilight with a clenched hoof. After ten more seconds of silent mental arguing, she took a seat back on the dirty bed, cursing to herself quietly.
What she knew? Twilight couldn’t get it out of her head. What did they mean by that?
Another awkward few seconds passed by, before Minuette opened her mouth again. “So, it’s true. You really don’t know why we did this, hmm? Why we revealed your secret, your friends’ secrets, the town’s secrets? Why we decided to do everything we did? Who we are, even? You have absolutely no idea?”
Twilight, as of now, knew their names. Lyra was the green pony with the lyre cutie mark. Twinkleshine was the bad-tempered mare on the bed. Minuette appeared to be in charge, standing before her with a hourglass for a cutie mark. Unfortunately, she just didn’t know who they were. They did seem familiar. Twilight had a hunch that she knew them from somewhere. It killed her inside to shake her head.
Twinkleshine groaned, loudly. “Here we go…” Lyra and Twinkleshine almost appeared amused by her reply. Minuette only grinned.
“Here’s the deal, Twilight Sparkle. We’re going to leave up your secret--everypony’s secrets. We’re going to leave them up for as long as necessary until you remember just who in Celestia’s name we are,” said Minuette. Twilight turned to Lyra, who was now sitting in the creaky wooden chair by the television, and Twinkleshine. Both mares were glaring daggers.
“Girls, I’m sorry, but I really cannot remember. Maybe we-”
“Think. Now,” Twinkleshine spat. Twilight sighed sadly.
She thought in her mind. She needed to remember. Twilight knew, deep in the recesses of her mind, that the answer lurked and lingered. Somewhere back there, the answer was hiding. Twilight felt as if she was holding but a mere butterfly net, but trying to catch a bird flying a hundred feet above her. The thinking game was one that Twilight had mastered. The reality game, Twilight was leery about.
Who were these mares? Lyra. Minuette. Twinkleshine. Twilight kept repeating those names to herself. Over, and over, and over, and over. Why didn’t they click? Why did the names seem so foreign to her, yet again feel so near and dear to her? She thought about their faces, their bodies, their gestures, everything about them that she had learned in the last few minutes that could possibly tie her, and these three mares together.
The pressure was on. She needed to come up with an answer quickly. If she replied incorrectly, she wasn’t sure what the consequences would be. She needed to think long and hard, and answer accordingly. She thought about everything. She thought about everything in Twilight’s life leading to this.
Who was Minuette?
Who was Lyra?
Who was Twinkleshine?
And when, while thinking those three questions to herself, did she come up with a completely plausible answer. She looked up from her gaze towards the floor, and let the soft words come flowing forth. “The wedding.”
“Excuse me? I didn’t quite hear you,” replied Twinkleshine, who was sitting no more than two feet away from Twilight Sparkle.
“The wedding,” Twilight said, louder this time. “I remember you three. The wedding. You were the bridesmaids for my brothers wedding.”
“Yes… and?” Minuette pushed. Twilight wasn’t sure what else to say. Therefore, she gave the wrong answer right after her correct one.
“And… you… you attacked me. You attacked Cadence and I in that cave.” Twilight felt just a little bit sick as the words made themselves noticeable. She felt just a little bit self-conscious as soon as the mares stopped cold. They simply stared at Twilight, dumbfounded and jaw’s dropped.
“What?” Lyra was the mare to break the silence. She put a hoof to her ear, and rubbed it. “Did I just hear her right?”
Minuette nodded. “You know what, I think you did. I don’t think she’s kidding either.” Twilight immediately regretted what she had said, and wished she could have taken it back, and tried a different answer.
“She had better be,” piped Twinkleshine. She was kneading her hooves, keeping them busy.
“That’s how you view it, Twilight?” Minuette replied. She was squinting her eyes, as if she just could not believe the words that came out of the lavender unicorns mouth. Twilight refused to back down, or remain passive.
“What do you mean? Of course that’s how I view it. How could I have not known sooner? You three were under Chysalis’ mind control last year during the wedding, and tried to keep Cadence and I in those caves forever. Is that it? Is that why you did all of this?”
Another silence.
“Twilight… if you know what’s good for you, just stop talking. You’re digging yourself into a deeper hole.” Minuette sighed, and turned to the two other mares. “What did I tell you both? I knew she wouldn’t remember. And if she did, she’d have this whole one sided view of it.”
“Huh?” Twilight couldn’t believe it. That had to be the reason! Twilight didn’t know those three from anywhere else. The answer lied somewhere in the wedding. She knew it.
“Don’t play dumb,” shot Lyra. “That’s not the reason. Though, I’m still peeved about it.” She crossed her forelegs. Twilight’s mind was beginning to wane. Nothing was making sense to her, anymore.
“You… you’re mad at me… and watched as this town went to ruins… because I defended myself and Equestria? And Cadence? From Changelings? The three of you tried to ruin my friendship and the lives of everypony in Ponyville because of that?”
“Are you deaf?” Minuette insulted. “We just said that was not the reason.” Twinkleshine stood back up, and began to scream at the top of her lungs.
“It’s not the main reason! It’s just another reason why we hate your guts, Twilight Sparkle!” Twilight’s mouth parted. Her mouth was dry, and it felt like she had gargled sand. “We couldn’t help it that Chysalis used us! She took over our bodies! Messed with our minds, dammit!” She picked up a horseshoe from the floor, and whirled it in a fit of rage. It missed Twilight’s head by three inches, and smashed into the television. Glass shattered and hit the floor, and the machine itself sparked dangerously.
“Twinkle, we needed that…” Twilight heard Lyra groan.
Twinkleshine didn’t appear to listen. She was in the zone, Twilight could tell. Twinkleshine’s main focus was her. “We couldn’t do a thing about it! Do you know how much that wedding meant to us? Did you know that Cadence was not only your babysitter, but Minuette’s good friend? Did you know that you and your friends were taking our place as bridesmaids? I bet you were crying with joy, watching them get married, huh?”
Twilight didn’t know what to say. She stayed absolutely silent.
“Did you know that we were locked in that cavern for about three days? No food, no water, nothing to keep us warm but dirty white dresses that we never even got to use? Knowing full well that nopony would ever know that you’ve disappeared, and are begging for salvation two hundred feet under the ground where nopony can hear your cries for help? Did you know that you almost got us killed that day, Twilight? And you have the guts to sit here and say ‘I don’t remember you’.” With this, with the end of her rant having come and gone, she simply stopped speaking. She held a hoof to her probably aching throat, and sat back down on the bed. She was grumbling.
Twilight couldn’t believe it. She just couldn’t believe it. Twilight hadn’t thought about her battle with Chrysalis in a long time. In fact, she had forgotten about it entirely. So much had happened since then. She hadn’t stopped to think about what had happened to the three after she had escaped the cavern. She remembered. She was so worried about stopping the wedding, and getting the real Cadence back to the altar that she had completely forgotten. Twilight didn’t feel like being unpassive anymore.
“I… I’m so sorry.... I never thought about it. I never stopped to think about where you ponies were, and how I’d have been taking a bridesmaid position that was already filled.” She turned to cast a sad gaze upon Minuette. “I didn’t know you were Cadence’s friend.”
Twinkleshine huffed, and looked away. Lyra looked at Minuette. Minuette shrugged indifferently. “That’s all fine and dandy. We don’t accept your apology. Mainly because that’s not the main reason why we resent you. I’m pretty sure that I’ve said this about three times, now.”
Twilight’s brain threatened to stop entirely. That… wasn’t the main reason why she was hated? Why her friends were hated? Why? The three of them had almost died, but there was a deeper reason as to why they did this? What could be more harsher than death? Almost dying on account of somepony else? Twilight knew that there was no way she’d guess correctly. She just didn’t know.
“I don’t know the real reason,” Twilight said honestly. “If I did, I would have said it. Please tell me. I want to make this right. Ponies are still suffering outside, suffering because of their secrets.”
There was another pause. Lyra and Twinkleshine only stared at Minuette, as if the three were having a small conversation with their eyes. Twinkleshine was the mare who seemed most against what Minuette wanted to do, shaking her head every so often. Lyra appeared indifferent. In the end, Minuette sided with Lyra. “Think back, Twilight. Who are we? Think back to two years ago.”
Twilight only stood there, in awe. For a moment, she hesitated. “Come on, Ms. Element-of-Magic. We know you can do it,” Lyra egged on mockingly.
Who were they? Why… why couldn’t she remember? Twilight was starting to get irritated--started feeling the sweat trickle down her forehead as time went on. Her brain was beginning to hurt, and she felt a migraine slowly starting to form deep inside her mind. Everything must fit into place somewhere. She must know. She cannot risk it to not know. Her brain had never betrayed her before. Why was it starting now.
“Think. Two years ago. Think!” Minuette’s voice was slowly growing is volume. It didn’t not help her think. It took her a second to find her train of her thought? Two years ago. What happened two years ago? Two years ago, she was milling about Ponyville, making friends. She was reading with Spike in her library. She was studying. She was just meeting Trixie. She was putting an end to Nightmare Moon. She was just meeting her new friends, and the future Elements of Harmony. She was just moving into the library, itself. She was…
Twilight stopped. She knew. She was sure that she knew the three from somewhere before. And now, that she was saying the three words out loud, she felt like the worst pony to ever walk Equestria.
“You...three were my friends. You three were my friends all those years ago.”
A small grin creeped across Minuette’s face. Lyra absentmindedly stared at Twilight, yet into space. Twinkleshine was glaring at her, a look of pure hatred masked her face. Twilight felt so horrible. She remembered why she knew them, now.
“Took you long enough,” Minuette said. A smile was abhorrent, but her eyes showed a slight kindness. “Do you understand, Twilight? Do you understand why we hate you now?”
“I left you, back in Canterlot. All of you. I left you all for my new friends here in Ponyville.”
Twinkleshine opened her mouth, something Twilight hoped wouldn’t happen. “Yes, you did. You were a real jerk to us, Twilight, you know that?”
“Always had a head in a book, Twilight,” Minuette said.
“Always picking your books before us. Ponies who actually thought of you as a friend, Twilight,” Lyra croaked.
“Always disregarding our feelings, Twilight,” Twinkleshine seethed.
Twilight felt sick to her stomach again. On top of that, she felt absolutely horrible. She turned towards the floor, unable to look her former friends in the eyes. “We invited you to a party the same day you disappeared. You turned us down, for what? To read a book by yourself. You didn’t even stick around to tell you whose party it was,” said Minuette.
“You didn’t do anything. We wanted to be your friend. We wanted to hang out with you. But you just wouldn’t… do anything. You just read books all the time. You disregarded how we felt.” Twinkleshine scooted towards the edge of the bed, and leaned over. “Do you know how it felt, Twilight, to have somepony you considered a friend completely ignore you. Now imagine that this same pony moves the very same day, only to make a bunch of brand new--cooler, friends someplace else? Were we not good enough for you, Twilight?”
“No!” Twilight interjected the moment she saw an opportunity. “You three were great friends. I… didn’t appreciate you as much as I should have. I went to Ponyville to learn the Magic of Friendship, and… I made friends while doing so. I’m sorry that I acted that way…”
“You’re sorry?” Twinkleshine exasperated. “That’s all you have to say? You ditch us for new friends, you ignore us entirely, you almost kill us...the list goes on and on! And all you have to say is… ‘I’m sorry’?”
Twilight was holding back tears. “Why the town… why everypony else? Why not just me?” Behind Twilight, the door shook and rattled. Perhaps Twilight’s friends--more specifically Rainbow Dash--had started to become impatient. It wouldn’t be long before the girls assumed something was wrong. She’d already been inside for about ten minutes. For them, it must seem like an eternity.
“Did you know, Twilight, that after we escaped from the caves, we thirsted for revenge. You know how you left you old library completely open and uninhabited? We used it. We took full advantage of your generosity.” Lyra’s eyes were bloodshot, as if she were digging through repressed memories. “We read, and read, and studied--just like you.”
“We read and plotted ways to get back at you. You needed to learn another lesson in friendship,” Minuette explained. “We learned so many wonderful spells! We learned and practiced them! We learned how to make fog! We learned how to uncover secrets! We learned how to make magical paint! We learned how to perform and share monstrously large spells, over a large area, and still have a bit of energy left over. We did our research.”
“We were gonna getcha, Twilight,” Twinkleshine whispered, creepily. “But then we stopped. We thought to ourselves. Maybe we should wait a minute. Maybe, it wasn’t all worth it. Perhaps, if we went to Ponyville, we’d figure out what the big deal was. We’d realize that there was no need to do all this, and that we could be friends there instead of Canterlot.”
“Wait…” Twilight stopped her. Too much information, even for her, to process. “You all live here?”
“Yes,” Minuette replied. She said it in a way that told Twilight that she really wasn’t surprised by that question. “We’ve been living here for six months. We’ve been wandering around town for that long, watching you. Watching your friends. Taking note of every single thing that you did. I even took up a job here. I’m a dentist, you know. Do you even know how rudely I’m treated here? As an orthodontist?”
Twinkleshine just shook her head, as if she didn’t even want to get started explaining her troubles. Lyra spoke up instead. “I’m flat broke. Wanna know why? Because I spent my entire savings paying bills and moving down here so that maybe, we could rekindle our friendship.”
There was nothing Twilight could say anymore. She couldn’t even bring herself to say sorry. All she felt like doing was breaking down. She didn’t know if she could live with what she had done to these three mares. She inadvertently ruined their lives, simply because they wanted to be her friends. She had paid them no mind, and it had come with terrible consequences. They’d even been living in the same town as her, suffering, and Twilight didn’t even have the gall to realize. She felt so bad, and at the same time, she wanted to make it right.
“What can I do… how can I make this right?” she asked. There were tears in her eyes. That must’ve been the question that Twinkleshine was waiting for. A malicious grin spread across her face. Lyra and Minuette shared a grand smirk. Twilight felt outnumbered--bullied and hurt. She felt like she was back on the playground, forced to confront the children who didn’t like her.
“We’re going to give you one opportunity. We have a proposition for you.” Twilight’s ears perked up, and she flicked her tail in anticipation. Twilight both dreaded, and couldn’t wait to hear it. She wanted to make everything right. She wanted the secrets down. She wanted to appreciate her old friends for who they were. She wanted everything back to normal, for the most part.
“What? What can I do?”
“Ditch your friends, Twilight,” Twinkleshine murmured malevolently. “Ditch them, and be our friends instead.”
Twilight’s hopeful attitude shifted once again into one of absolute depression. “I… I can’t do that! I can’t just leave them-” Lyra cut her off, and Twilight had immediately realized her horrible word choice.
“You can’t? You can’t just ditch them? Weird. It appears that that’s exactly what you did to us? Why is it so hard to ditch us, but not them?” Lyra’s eyes widened as she spoke, only unnerving Twilight a little bit more. Was she talking to insanity?
“I… no… no, I can’t do that!” Another jiggle of the door handle. Twilight didn’t have much time. “No way. I’m not ditching my friends. Not for you.”
“Excuse us?” Minuette said. She pointed to her horn. “Either be our friend, or we make this spell permanent. It’s your choice.” Twilight was growing dizzy. She needed to sit down. Her head was spinning so fast, it felt like she was on an amusement park ride. She knew of the risk she was taking. She knew of what this might mean for Ponyville. But there was no way.
“My friends mean everything to me. They’re my rock, my salvation when I have a problem or need a helping hoof. They are always at my back when I need them. You… you’re not my friends. You never were. You just wanted me to attend parties and small get togethers. That’s not what friendship is. Friendship isn’t forced, it’s grown. You can’t make me be your friend, especially after being threatened this way. Especially after ruining the lives of innocent ponies in town. Especially after ruining my friends’ lives. You three did a horrid thing. Why would I be your friend?”
Silence.
“I’m sorry for the way I treat you. I’m sorry I almost got you killed and ditched you for another group of friends. But you know what? It helped me learn. I learned so much. And I just want to thank you. My secret is out into the open, and I feel brand new. I honestly feel like you may have helped us, instead of hurt us. You’ve helped us all learn what needed change about who we are. So, keep the secrets up if you wish. I will never be friends with mares that intentionally try to hurt others, whether you succeeded or not.”
More silence. Minuette, Lyra, and Twinkleshine only stared at her. One pony in amazement, the other with pure hatred, the other with indifference in her eyes. Twilight wasn’t sure what to think. She wasn’t sure about anything. She was sure that she had spoke the truth, and she sure wasn’t going to change her mind. It was all said and done. In a matter of a few moments, Minuette’s horn stopped glowing, ending her part of the spell that was being cast all over town. Seconds later, Lyra’s horn stopped. Twinkleshine’s horn dimmed soon after, though she wasn’t happy about it.
“You’re going to regret this, Twilight Sparkle.” Minuette flashed her a malignant grin. “You’re going to regret this, so bad. Soon, when this game ends, you’ll know just what pain truly is.”
It was at that moment the police burst through the door.