//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Twilight Sparkle, Bringer of Chaos // by Caligari87 //------------------------------// Rarity stomped back and forth on the now-empty train station. Her bags lay scattered in the general vicinity. One had popped open, spilling incidental clothing and toiletries onto the platform. She kicked it again as she stomped by. “Of all the nerve!” she fumed, mainly to herself. “Leaving like that and then showing up as if nothing were wrong! ‘Hello Rarity, so nice of you to meet me here, how have you been?’ Oh, I’m fine, simply trying to cope with a mild case of utter betrayal!” The train had waited for her, but after nearly 20 minutes of indecision the conductor had simply closed the doors and shrugged. Not that she could really blame him. She wouldn’t want to ride with her either. “Who does she think she is? ‘Hello, I’m Twilight Sparkle, let me pretend to be your friend while I secretly plot to sell you out to the Emperor, because I’m his star student!’ IS THAT WHAT IT WAS?!” She shouted the last sentence at the top of her lungs in the direction of Ponyville proper, and the library. Suddenly feeling rather exhausted, Rarity stopped and sat down in a huff. She’d been pacing and ranting for too long, and her hooves ached from driving them into the platform. She noted with mild embarrassment there were several half-crescent indentations in the wooden surface. There was a crumpled piece of paper stuck in one of the deeper dents, as if she’d stomped particularly hard on that spot. Seeking a distraction from her whirling thoughts, she pulled the paper out and smoothed it. It was her receipt and ticket for a one-way trip to Manehatten, now useless since the train had left without her. She took a deep, shuddering breath, slowly exhaled, and got to her hooves again as the red tunnel around her vision gradually faded. A quick application of magic, and her open suitcase repacked and latched, then joined the others in a neat stack. She levitated her fancy hat from the platform, straightened the plumage (which complimented the dark purple of her locks), and delicately donned it. A quick dab at her puffy eyes thankfully revealed only a little runny mascara, which she quickly cleaned up. Finally looking the part of a proper mare again, Rarity gathered her bags and trotted lightly back over to the ticket office. The stallion behind the counter regarded her warily over rounded spectacles. Rarity smiled warmly and put the wrinkled paper under the glass. “Good sir, I’m dreadfully sorry to impose, but I appear to have missed my train. Might I trouble you for a refund?” Using a light spell between streetlamps (many of which had stopped working, or run off on their own at some point or another), Rarity made her way across Ponyville. She dropped off her suitcases at the boutique, then stopped by The Sugar Polyhedron for a couple pints of vanilla oat swirl, and a few other items. She knew it was horrible for her figure, but there were times that simply required overindulgence, and this was one of them. Once the ice-cream was purchased, she began heading toward the Everfree Forest. Her journey through the darkened town was surprisingly uneventful, which was simultaneously welcome and grating. The nature of Chaos generally dictated that something would happen by random chance eventually, and the longer she went without a frog hitting her in the face, or the cobblestones melting to lava, or cider falling from the sky as sleet, the more apprehensive she got. She made it across town and up to the edge of the Everfree without incident, however. The path to Fluttershy and Zecora’s cabin was moderately clear, and the cabin itself was well-lit, casting beams of warm light down the path, and also back into the forest to illuminate any approaching threats. The cabin itself had been built to take advantage of a certain “neutral zone”. The Everfree Forest was not ordered by any means, yet it was largely not affected by the Chaos magic that ruled most of Discordia. It was some kind of terrifying mismash, where leaves and twigs might assemble themselves into timberwolves, or fallen stars manifest as an Ursa Major. Only one thing was certain in the Everfree: Ponies were definitely not very high on the food chain. The contrasting magics made for a certain area of stability near the treeline, however. There, life generally went as expected, boring and predictable. It was the perfect place for a timid spirit like Fluttershy. Reaching the front door, Rarity knocked gently. A muffled voice made a confused-sounding noise, and light hoof-falls approached. Rarity stepped back politely as the door unlocked and swung open to reveal a familiar striped face. “Good evening Zecora,” Rarity said. “I hope I’m not intruding.” “Rarity, not at all! It is so nice to have you call.” Zecora smiled warmly. “We had prepared tea for two, but I will gladly set a place for you.” “Thank you, dear, that would be lovely.” Rarity delicately wiped her hooves on the doormat. She stepped inside. “So I take it Fluttershy is home as well, then?” The zebra chuckled “You know she fears the dark and gloom; you’ll find her in the sitting room.” She closed the door, locking it behind them, and led Rarity into the house. “Go on in, don’t wait for me. I must prepare some extra tea!” Zecora trotted down a hall toward the kitchen. She was a transplant, originally from Zebraca, and had emigrated on hoof to escape civil unrest. With a lifetime of tribal living and wilderness survival skills, but little knowledge of the local geography, she’d travelled to Discordia and spent over two years living and wandering in the Everfree, before emerging into Ponyville about a year ago. She was pleasant and very intelligent, if sometimes ignorant to the particulars of pony society. Fluttershy had been the first to meet her since the cabin was the closest building to the Everfree, and the two had become fast friends, each a compliment to the other’s personality and skills. Rarity turned and stepped into the sitting room. A buttery-yellow pegasus with a pink mane looked up from preparing tea leaves, and her face brightened. “Rarity!” she quietly exclaimed, jumping to her hooves. “Fluttershy, darling!” Rarity hugged her friend tightly. “Oh I’ve missed you!” “I’ve missed you too; we haven’t even seen you in days.” Rarity felt a pang of guilt at not visiting before her planned departure. “Yes,” she said drawing away. “I must admit much of that is my fault; I know you don’t get out often, and I really should come by more. But...” she raised the bag of ice cream with a smile. “I hope this makes up for it a little.” Fluttershy giggled. “Oh, that wasn’t necessary. But it does sound delicious. I haven’t had any in ages; Zecora’s usually the one who goes into town and I don’t think she believes in ice cream.” “Mark my words, the taste is fine,” Zecora said as she entered the room, a tray with steaming kettle and an extra tea setting balanced on her back. “And I indulge from time-to-time. But only rarely, for you see, that stuff is far to cold for me!” “Well, then it’s a good thing I picked this up, too.” Rarity levitated two additional items from the bag. “Do you prefer frosted carrot cake or sweet wheat cookies?” The three mares chatted lightly for some time, sipping on tea and munching on more sweet treats than was probably advisable, but none of them minded. They hadn’t spent a proper evening together in weeks, so a little indulgence was fine. Rarity did envy both her friends a little. Zecora was trim and muscular from a lifetime of wilderness living, and often took excursions into the dangerous Everfree Forest “just because”. Fluttershy, like most other pegasi, had a ridiculously high metabolism to keep her body light and provide the energy bursts her wings required. Both seemed to have no issue burning off extra sweets, while Rarity knew she would probably be regretting this ice cream for a couple weeks at least. Even so, it was good to be with her friends again. Ever since Twilight’s letters, it had been understood that they couldn’t spend much time together, or risk falling afoul of Discord’s wrath. Which brought her to the unpleasant topic of the evening. “I actually had something else to tell you both,” Rarity said, taking advantage of a conversational lull. “It’s not at all welcome news, but I thought you should know.” The other mares glanced at each other curiously, then back at Rarity. “Twilight Sparkle is back in Ponyville.” Fluttershy squeaked and raised a hoof to her mouth, eyes wide. “Did she say why she’s back? Where did you meet her? Oh! I hope she doesn’t come here!” The timid pegasus had a positively crippling fear of confrontation. Rarity flicked her mane nervously. “Well, I met her at the train station; she was stepping off when I bumped into her. I really didn’t give her much of a chance to explain why she was back… my behavior was… rather unbecoming, if you take my meaning.” Zecora snorted and pawed the floor.  “I would hope that you were clear, her presence is not welcome here!” “Oh, rest assured I was very clear. What she did was positively dreadful, and I certainly did not sugar-coat that fact.” Fluttershy seemed to recover slightly from her initial shock, and cocked her head at Rarity. “Why were you at the train station? Were you meeting somepony?” “Actually no…” The twinge of guilt bubbled up again, but this was partially why she’d come over in the first place. Better get it over with. “To be perfectly frank dear, I was going out of town. All this…” she motioned in the general direction of Ponyville; “...has been wearing on my nerves. So, I bought a ticket last night, for today’s train to Manehatten.” “But... that means…” Fluttershy’s voice faltered. “Without goodbyes you would have left, and your poor friends would be bereft,” Zecora summed up matter-of-factly. Rarity sighed and peered deep into the carton of ice cream. Reaching the bottom had not assuaged her frustrations or guilt at trying to slip out of town unnoticed. She sat the spoon and empty container unceremoniously on the table. “Zecora, do you remember when you arrived in town last year? How we all came together to get you settled in?” “I remember well the kindness shown. You took me in, gave me a home. I know it was a trying task, but for better friends I could not ask.” “Well, we weren’t always that way, were we, Fluttershy?” Fluttershy seemed curious at the change in topic, but accommodated Rarity’s question. “Yes, that’s right. I’d only heard of Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash by reputation, and I didn’t even know Rarity and Applejack at all.” “And I only knew Applejack because of my gem-finding skills and helping feed her pet dragon,” Rarity added, tapping her horn. “I actually had to look up the word ‘friend’ when you first used it, Zecora. “My point is, the five of us are all still new to this idea of friendship. This last year has been absolutely incredible, learning and growing together. And when that Twilight Sparkle showed up…” Rarity’s voice faltered. There was more emotion attached to this than she had let herself realize. “You wished to befriend another pony, but did not think she was a phony,” Zecora said. “Exactly,” Rarity nodded, preemptively dabbing a tear before her remaining mascara could suffer. “I jumped in too quickly, got too involved before I realized what she really was. After she… After the letters, I was frightened. Not just for myself, but for all of us. I didn’t want to bring punishment on anyone, but I couldn’t stand to just forget our friendship… and...” her voice constricted again. “And you knew it would be painful to leave, but it was less painful than trying to stay and forget.” Fluttershy finished. Her tone was understanding, not accusatory or hurt. She rested a comforting hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “Yes, it’s foalish, I know… And then meeting her at the station! It was just… Did I tell you, she didn’t even take the blanket I made for her? I went to the library after, and she just... left it, wadded up in a corner like a used tissue!” The emotions were bubbling up now, and Rarity made no effort to suppress them. She paused only a moment to blow her nose before continuing. “When I saw her, I didn’t think about why she was here. I just yelled and screamed, like a common street pony. For all I know, she was coming to apologize. I could have listened, could have forgiven her, but now I’ve gone ruined that chance!” She slumped face-down against the table, sobbing. “I’m a horrible friend!” The other two mares looked at each other, unsure exactly how to handle the breakdown. Fluttershy took the initiative to shift closer and wrap a foreleg around Rarity’s shoulders, hugging her gently. "Well, I don't think you're a horrible friend." “A perfect mare you may not be,” Zecora added, moving to comfort Rarity as well, “but you are a perfect friend to me.” “Do you really mean that?” Rarity’s voice was muffled by the tabletop. “Of course she does,” Fluttershy assured, “and so do I.” Rarity’s sobs continued for a few minutes, but finally slowed. She lifted her head off the table and wiped the tears from her eyes, noting the remaining smudged mascara with mild annoyance.. “Thank you, dears. Ugh. I still feel absolutely terrible, though. I shouldn’t have yelled at her. More than that, I shouldn’t have tried to leave without telling anypony.” “It’s water under the bridge now. We can understand why you tried, but we’re just glad you didn’t.” Fluttershy hugged Rarity again, then gave her a little space to recuperate. “Me too.” Rarity sniffed and rubbed her eyes a final time. The surge of emotion had been intense but relatively brief, and now that it was out she could think more clearly. “Zecora, do you think we should… maybe check on Twilight?” she asked. “You’re our resident friendship expert, if anypony is.” Zecora shrugged. “I come from a land where friendship exists, but I’m hardly an expert even in this. Still, it would be well, to ask why she is in town. Who knows, perhaps she may have come around?” “Do we even know where she is?” Fluttershy’s eyes were large and apprehensive again at the prospect of a possible confrontation. “Well, I don’t know for sure...” Rarity said slowly. “...but she wouldn’t have gone far in this darkness. She was staying at the library last time. We should probably check there first.”