"So, how'd it go with your brother?" Applejack asked as Twilight sat down at their lunch table the next day with Rainbow.
"It....went." She said, popping a fry in her mouth.
"That bad, huh?" The farm girl asked sympathetically.
"He's such a stubborn prick. I can't even bring up Cadence without him throwing a hissy fit." Twilight angrily bit into her burger.
"Well, first loves are kind of hard to get over." Fluttershy reasoned.
"Yeah, months! Not ten years!" Twilight shouted, exasperated. "Sorry." She mumbled, she didn't mean to yell at Fluttershy.
"No harm done." The pink haired woman assured her. "Still, something should be done about this. If he doesn't get out of this, he'll probably be forty and still living with your parents."
"That's what I tried to tell him but he won't listen to me!" Twilight pinched the bridge of her nose. "If I could find her, and get them back together again, I would!"
"So why don't you?" Rarity asked.
"Huh?" Twilight barked in confusion.
"Why don't you do just that?" Rarity clarified. "Find Cadence and see if you can bring them back together. Or at least let them catch up. I'm sure they'll both have much to talk about. Well, Cadence, maybe." She added, remembering what Shining spent the last ten years doing.
"Rarity you're a genius!"
The older girl flipped her hair. "Yes, dear I know." She giggled.
"Uh, not ta be the Debby Downer here, but how do you know Cadence still lives in the same state, let alone town?" Applejack said. "For all we know she could be halfway across the country."
Dash nodded. "Aj's right. Not to discourage you or anything babe, but it seems like sort of a long shot."
Twilight shrugged. "It doesn't hurt to try."
Later, after Twilight came home from her evening classes, she snuck into Shining's room while he was out and nabbed his yearbook before booking it into her own room where Applejack Fluttershy sat.
"Okay..." she mused, flipping through the book. "Aha!" She pointed to Cadence's class photo. "It says she went to an out of state college. Guess you were right about that, AJ."
"You forgot what college she went to?" Fluttershy asked in confusion.
Twilight shrugged. "Hey, in my defense, it has been ten years. Plus the last time I ever got anything from her was when I was like, ten."
"There's an easier way to do this you know. You could go online and see if she has an online profile somewhere." Fluttershy suggested.
"Knowing Bubblegum Princess, she probably does." Twilight responded, rolling her eyes. She pulled her laptop off her desk and placed it into her lap. Searching Cadence's name in a search engine, she found a few results that could possibly help.
After reading through a few, she sighed. "None of these say anything about where she lives," she announced with a sigh. "Maybe this was a dumb idea."
Applejack put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't give up now, sugarcube. We're just getting started. Hey, I'm sure Cadence's mom still lives in her house. Why don't we ask her what she's been up to?"
Twilight's face lit up. "Of course! How could i be so myopic!" She groaned smacking her forehead. She looked at the clock. "It's kind of late to be going over there now, don't you think?"
"Then we can go first thing in the morning. We don't have class until one tomorrow." Fluttershy piped. "I'm sure the girls won't mind if we skipped out on them for a while."
Having not been to Cadence's house in years, finding it was hard, but eventually they were successful. The last time they'd all been there was Cadence's graduation party. Twilight hadn't remembered much about it except for the fact that that was the second to last time she ever saw the older girl.
Her stomach churned once they pulled up to it, one of the last memories of their friendship replaying in her mind.
An eight year old Twilight sat on the porch step as she watched the glow of cars pass by as the party in the house behind her was in full swing. Her friends were in there, having fun playing games and dancing. She was out here in the night staring down the street blankly.
She had been out here for a while. She wasn’t really sure how long, but she was sure it was long enough for someone to start looking for her. Her suspicions were confirmed when she felt someone sit beside her. She didn’t have to turn to look and see who it was to know who it was.
“Why are you out here?”
The question hung in the air as the sound of another car passing the house floated by. Twilight stared straight ahead, not daring to look over at the other girl.
“Twilight?”
Nothing.
In comparison, this was very much like the first time they were alone together. Twilight staring blankly at something, and Cadence trying in vain to grab her attention. The sense of deja vu made Twilight sick.
“Squirt. Look at me.” Cadence said sternly, forcing Twilight to look at her. Her eyebrows shot up when she realized that there were tears in her eyes and that her pale cheeks were puffy and stained with them. She had been crying.
But why?
“Tell me what’s wrong. Now.” The blonde ordered. It was in her big sister voice that had gotten Twilight to tell her many things over the past few months. It was because of this voice that she knew so many things about the younger girl that not even Shining knew.
And it was also because of this voice, that Twilight could not speak. She shook her head, turning away. “I’m fine. It’s whatever.” She mumbled, wiping the tears off her face in the sleeve of her t-shirt. She sniffled a bit and gripped at the bottom of her shirt. Something she only did when she was angry.
“I’m not letting you sit out here crying all night. I can’t help you if you don’t tell me what’s-”
It came out barely above a whisper.
“I don’t want you to leave.”
“What?” Cadence barked.
“I said I don’t want you to leave, okay?! There! Are you happy?! I told you what was wrong, now leave me alone!” Twilight shouted at her, the crying starting up again. She absolutely hated crying. It made her look like the weak, fragile little girl everyone already saw her as.
“I’m so sorry, Twilight. I had no idea you-”
“You had no idea what?! That I looked up to you?! That I saw you as my sister?! That you are the only person who truly understands me?!” Twilight screamed at her, pointing to herself. “What about Shiny? Did you tell him you were leaving?”
Cadence pursed her lips.
Twilight snorted. “Of course not. Because you knew exactly how much it would hurt him to know that you’re leaving to go probably half way across the country! Bubblegum Princess! Always looking out for no one but herself!”
“Hey! I look out for everyone I love okay?!” Cadence shouted back.
“Then how come you didn’t look out for me, huh?! You know how much I need you, Cadence! You knew, and you still did what you wanted to do! So you have to deal with the consequences, not me!” By now Twilight was red in the face.
“My life doesn't revolve around you, Twilight!” Cadence shouted back. “I’m my own person with my own dreams and aspirations! I’m not gonna stick around forever so that you can follow me like a lost puppy! You’re such a selfish little brat!”
Silence.
Cadence’s eyes widened as she realized what she said. Twilight gave her a look of horror, and if she was a puppy, she would have looked like she had just gotten kicked. “Twilight I’m-” She said reaching out for her.
Twilight smacked her hand away. “Don’t touch me! I’m just a selfish little brat, remember?!” She rose to her feet and ran back inside, sobbing.
“You alright, sugarcube, you kind of spaced out there.” Applejack, who was in the passenger side of Twilight’s car said, waving her hand in Twilight’s face.
“Huh?” Twilight asked. Her vision had come back into focus and she had a tight grip on the steering wheel that was concerning both Applejack and Fluttershy.
“Oh, um, yeah. Sorry. I was just...remembering something.” She said, unbuckling her seatbelt and getting out on her side and stepping onto the curb. “Let’s just see if this works.”