//------------------------------// // Act II-III // Story: A New Sun Rises // by CommissarAJ //------------------------------// “So Rainbow Dash is the one with the ball right now?” “The hair should be a dead giveaway,” I explained to Twilight. Though we had only been watching the soccer game for about fifteen minutes now, it was obvious that she was even more clueless about the sport than I had been. Some last-minute reading in the library had brought me up to speed on the basics of the sport, but I would have thought that Twilight would have some knowledge given that her brother was so involved with it. “She’s the Wondercolts’ captain, and statistically their best player.” “Her athleticism is quite remarkable,” Twilight observed. Were one available, I am certain she would have had something out to start taking measurements. I could tell that she was practically forcing herself to stay put: constant fidgeting, wandering eyes, and a look upon her face that screamed ‘I’d rather be reading.’ I knew the look because it was one that I used to wear all the time back when I was studying under Princess Celestia. She was making an effort to try and stay engaged, but I knew it was only a matter of time before she took the first opportunity to slip away from me. I glanced over to Twilight and noticed her eyes beginning to drift away. “So who do you think will win this showdown: Dash or Gilda?” I asked with the hopes that highlighting the current play would keep the girl’s attention with me. The aforementioned players were about to go head-to-head, and I was curious to see how Gilda’s defensive skills would stack up against Dash’s agility. It was a good thing they were playing soccer and not something with full-contact or Gilda would probably have just steamrolled the much smaller striker. “I don’t have enough information on either of them to make an accurate prediction,” Twilight answered. “You know, most people would just automatically side with the one that’s being coached by their older brother.” “And allow personal feelings to bias my judgment? That would be dishonest of me,” she retorted. “While I have confidence in my brother’s abilities as a coach, the final result will be more dependent on the skills of the individual players in question. Though Gilda does have a significant size advantage, Dash has, according to you, speed and agility: there are too many variables to make an accurate prediction on such short notice.” She would have gone on further, but predictions soon became pointless as Rainbow Dash utilized some very impressive footwork to juggle the ball past Gilda before leaving her in the metaphorical dust. Even from way up in the bleachers, I could see Gilda’s face twisting in frustration. I took some perverse pleasure in seeing her getting upstaged. A few moments later, Rainbow Dash planted the ball into the back of the Gryphon’s net. To no surprise, there wasn’t a loud reaction beyond the Wondercolts’ own cheering. I only afforded myself a quiet ‘yay,’ so as to avoid drawing any unnecessary attention to myself. Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to watch Rainbow Dash run rings around her opponents, I had to focus on keeping Twilight where she was without making my intentions obvious. But how could I keep her attention when she seemed so uninterested in the game? I began to think that perhaps I was going about this the wrong way, and rather than trying to keep her interest on the game, I should talk about something she was interested in. Sometimes all a quiet person needed was the right subject. “So what was so confounding about my results?” I started with the easy question so as to avoid making it seem like I was forcing the subject into play. “It was just...inconsistent.” I wasn’t sure if her prompt reply was reluctance from a genuine disinterest in speaking with me, or just the normal assumption that other people wouldn’t be interested in the finer details. I decided to coax her some more. “Inconsistent in what way? Come on Twilight, you took some more of my hair, the least you could do is tell me why.” Twilight gave me a pensive look, though I wasn’t sure if it was because my feigned interested was unconvincing, or just the idea of somebody being interested in her science was hard to believe. She probably wasn’t used to talking about these subjects to people who weren’t wearing lab coats and pocket protectors. “You said the crater was made by an exploding gas line, correct?” she asked in return. I nodded, wary of where the line of questioning was going. Twilight struck me as the kind of person who only believed in what she could measure and prove, which made lying difficult when you had absolutely no evidence to help it. “Your hair sample had much stronger emissions than the soil samples,” she continued. “Which doesn’t make any sense if the contamination simply came from falling into the hole. Of course, I got that information from the geiger counter, so I took the hair sample to get a more accurate reading, which confirmed what I got earlier. Were you, like, actually there for the explosion?” “It was during a school dance. A lot of us were present.” At least I wasn’t lying there, though I was still nervous about where her deductions were leading her. “Ruined my favourite coat, too.” “I’m still not sure what exactly this explosion has resulted in because the readings I’m getting don’t coincide with any fundamental particles I’m familiar with.” I had hit pay dirt, as Twilight began to carry on about the results she had gotten thus far in her pursuit of this mystery. It was a good thing that I was an A-student in science because she was not giving me much opportunity to ask questions. “I even had to go to the city’s hall of records to pull up the old geological surveys of the area just so I could compare the results to the exact compositions that were measured around the time of the school’s construction.” She had a passion, I had to admit, along with a tenacity that made my former ambition-fueled drive look like a stalled go-cart. It was nice having somebody that I could have an intellectual conversation about the sciences with. No offense to my friends, but none of them liked to touch the subject beyond that day’s homework assignment, which meant the conversations rarely went beyond ‘I don’t understand this part’ or ‘what’s the answer to number five?’ It would never be on par with discussing magical theorem with Princess Celestia, but it sated the part of me that yearned for knowledge. The conversation was interrupted when the crowd erupted into an ecstatic cheer. Because everybody shot to their feet, I couldn’t see what had just happened, but there weren’t many possibilities that elicited such reactions from crowds. To no surprise, when the audience settled down, I saw Lightning Dust running up the field with her hands in the air. “Looks like the kid can deliver,” I reflected. “Did we just score?” Twilight asked. “Your team scored,” I corrected. “Oh right. You won’t hold it against me if I cheer the next time they score, will you?” “Be my guest. It’s your brother’s team after all.” The game continued, but our conversation didn’t. Maybe Twilight felt like the subject had petered out, or maybe she had something else on her mind. She did, after all, have her chin resting upon her knuckles in a ‘deep thinker’ fashion. “Do you...play any sports, Sunset?” she asked out of the blue. “Not really,” I said with a shrug. “I tried once, and I gave somebody a bloody nose.” “Sounds like the first time my brother tried to get me into the game.” I decided that the subject of her brother might be an interesting one to linger on for a while. If I wanted to make a better article involving him, I needed to learn a bit more about the man from a secondary source with more reliability. “You know, he was kinda worried that you weren’t going to show up for this game,” I commented with the hope that Twilight would take the bait. “He’s always worried about me over something,” Twilight answered with a sigh. “I know he does it because he cares, but it can be a bit...overbearing at times. I mean, when my parents planned for their vacation in a couple of weeks, Shining insisted that I stay at his place in the meantime because apparently I can’t be trusted in my own home without parental supervision.” “I know that feeling.” The only reason I was living with Celestia was because she felt that I needed parental guidance in order to better myself. To be fair, the past few weeks did highlight my difficulties in making sound judgments, so maybe I did need them more than I was willing to admit at the time. And while Celestia trusted me to not burn the house down in the brief period between the end of my school day and her return from work, Luna still kept her bedroom door locked when she wasn’t around. “I mean, I love my brother and all, but it feels like he just doesn’t understand me, you know?” I didn’t, actually, since I had always been an only child, but I nodded and pretended I understood. “I’m sure he’s trying his best. Maybe if you spent more time with him, he’d be able to get a better understanding of you,” I suggested. If what Shining Armour said was true, Twilight probably spent more time working on her science projects than socializing. While I admired her passion, I worried that she might become more like me: alone with only a huge chip on the shoulder to keep you company. “Considering you barely understand the sport he loves, it sounds like you could make more of an effort to connect with him as well.” Twilight slumped over and let out a quiet sigh. “You’re probably right,” she groaned. “We used to be so close, but things changed after he moved out.” She then paused and gave me a curious look. “Why am I even telling you these things? I don’t even know you.” I had no real answer to offer other than an uncertain shrug. In my mind, the only reason she was talking to me about such issues was because she didn’t know who I was. If she had any clue as to the person I used to be, she would’ve zipped her mouth when we first sat down. “Well who would you normally talk to?” I suggested. “My brother,” she answered with growing despair. I was beginning to regret bringing up the subject of her older brother. Had I any worthwhile advice to give, I would’ve spoken up, but I barely knew enough about friendship to get by. Besides, I told myself there were people better equipped to help her with this conundrum, and she would no doubt seek them out once the game was over. Despite beginning to feel some sense of concern for her, I reminded myself that this Twilight was not my responsibility, and it was for the best if I kept as much distance from her as I could, if not physically then at least emotionally. Suddenly, Twilight rose to her feet with the announcement, “I need a drink. I think I saw a girl selling beverages wandering around here.” Luckily, my reflexes were slow enough that when I grabbed Twilight’s wrist to prevent her from leaving, it did not betray the panic I felt. While Applejack was, in my view, the most level-headed when it came to the subject of Twilight Sparkle, a sudden appearance might cause the same momentary lapse in judgment that I demonstrated not too long ago. Having two complete strangers blurt out your name would be enough to make anybody suspicious. “Hold on,” I said before getting to my feet, “I happen to be good friends with that girl, and I’m pretty thirsty, too. How about I go get drinks for the two of us? I can probably get a small discount.” “That’s really not necessary. I can pay for my own drinks.” Twilight tried to leave, so I had use myself as a blockade. “Please, I insist. It’s the least I can do considering I’m the one that’s making you sit and talk.” She appeared reluctant at first, but relented with a quiet sigh of resignation. “Fair enough, but I’m paying you back when you return.” I felt a huge sense of relief as that potential disaster was averted. As Twilight returned to her seat, I sought out Applejack. During my drawn-out march to the other side of the field, I deliberated how I was going to explain the situation to her. If I told her everything, then I would likely have to explain my first encounter with Twilight, too, which would just lead to anger and a stern lecture. Applejack said we should keep our distance from Twilight, and here I was doing the exact opposite. It wasn’t as though it was my intention to be watching the game with her, but what else could I do unless I wanted her probing the soccer team with a geiger counter. I was going to have to think on my feet because I soon found Applejack, still peddling her products from a large tray slung from her shoulders. “Well hey there, Sunset!” she greeted with a jubilant wave upon noticing my approach. “Shouldn’t you be keeping your eyes on the game?” “I am,” I responded without thinking. To be honest, I hadn’t been taking as many notes as I should’ve, but I had bigger concerns on my plate. “Listen, we got a bit of a situation: I just found out that Twilight goes to this school.” For a brief instant, there was that look of elation I expected on Applejack’s face—a flash of hope and expectation. That flame was snuffed in an instant once reasoning set in and she realized which Twilight Sparkle I was referring to. “How’d you find that out?” she asked. There was still a hint of disappointment in her voice. Perhaps her pragmatic outlook on the subject back at Sugarcube Corner was simply because she just didn’t want to be reminded of the friend she’d likely never see again. “Her brother is the coach for the school’s soccer team. Her name came up during the interview.” A white lie, but I figured that once today was over, I could make Crystal Heart Academy a no-go zone for myself, and I’d never have to worry about dealing with Twilight again. She didn’t strike me as the type that I’d bump into at the mall or Sugarcube Corner. “Listen, we need to keep an eye out for her. You and I know she’s not the same, but if somebody from the soccer team sees her—” “They might try to strike up a friendly conversation,” Applejack concluded. “Our school’s been pretty good at not making a big deal out of it, but if more people find out about magical girls visiting the school, they might discover the portal in the statue.” Once again, Applejack displayed her ability to keep pace with my reasoning. “If folks find out about that portal, we could lose the statue...and your only way home.” “And it could put both of our worlds in jeopardy. I can’t even begin to imagine the kind of chaos that could occur if humans started wandering into Equestria unchecked.” It was hard to stress just how disastrous such a situation could be without making a scene. To describe it as ‘bad’ would be as much of an understatement as saying a rampaging hydra was ‘a bit of a problem.’ Now the mirror may have had magic properties that limited travel, but I didn’t know what kind of secrets science could unlock if given enough time to examine the portal. “Do you know if she’s at the game?” I lied and shrugged my shoulders. “He mentioned that she might be at the game. I think the best idea would be for the two of us to keep an eye out for her, and if we see her getting close to the Wondercolts we’ll find some way to stall her or something.” “Not exactly the best of plans, but we ain’t exactly got a lot to go on,” Applejack said. Despite her misgivings, she nonetheless nodded in agreement. “You stay on that side of the field and keep an eye out, and I’ll stay on this side,” I instructed, directing Applejack to remain on the side of the field that I knew Twilight was not on. It might have been a bit dishonest of me, but I wanted to keep this world’s Twilight Sparkle as far as possible from any potential links to the other Twilight, and who could I trust other than myself? I just couldn’t take the chance. “Oh, wait!” I called out just as my friend turned to leave. I had almost forgotten the other reason I came. “I need...um, two of those things you’re selling.” “You mean fizzy apple cider?” she asked before picking up a bottle of the aforementioned beverage. “I thought you hated the stuff.” “What? Oh, come on, Applejack. I just said all that to get under your skin,” I said, forcing out a laugh to try and make it seem like it had all been one poorly-made joke. Needless to say, my friend remained skeptical. “Seriously, AJ, I love apple cider. Really!” In retrospect, I should have just told her the truth—that I had never had fizzy apple cider before—but in my haste, I overplayed my hand. And in true Applejack fashion, she called me out on my bluff. She popped off the cap and handed the bottle over to me. “Show me.” It was hard to maintain a poker face as I stared down the bubbling amber concoction. As I brought it closer to my lips, I could feel the fizz tickling my nostrils with its sharp aroma. I reminded myself that almost everybody at the school enjoyed the Apple family’s cider, but the whole ordeal could’ve been made easier if Applejack’s gaze wasn’t burning a hole through my face. “Just do it!” Before I could give my brain more time to second-guess itself, I tipped the bottle back and took a hefty swig from it. It felt like a thousand barbed apples pouring down my gullet, sending waves of tingling sensations up my throat. “Hey, this stuff is actually pretty good,” I said once I finished. “And here I was worried that I’d have to pretend to like it.” Applejack just laughed and shook her head. “Okay funny girl, here’s the other one,” she said, handing me a second bottle. “Who’s it for anyways? You making new friends already?” “Nothing so ambitious,” I replied. “Just working the angles with some interviews—a smile and a free drink will get one much more than just a smile alone.” “Good thinkin’! Anywho, I best get a move on if I’m going to keep an eye out for you-know-who.” I paid for the drinks and we headed out for our respective missions. I felt a bit more relieved now that I knew that Applejack would be spending the rest of the match on the other side of the field. It didn’t relieve all the guilt from the excessive lying, but it was better than nothing. Speaking of the match, hearing another roar from the crowd told me that the game was no longer going in my team’s favour. I wasn’t too concerned about the outcome of the game, but if I was going to pull a decent article out of this event, I was going to have to start paying more attention to what was happening. Unfortunately, my plans to focus on the game got put on hold when I returned to my seat and discovered an absence of any purple-haired science geeks. I didn’t want to jump to conclusions, but it was possible that Twilight had just jumped ship on me. I should have seen this coming. She had just been waiting for some distance, and it didn’t matter who went to get the drinks because she was going to leave either way. “Just a minor setback,” I muttered under my breath. Twilight couldn’t have gotten far in these crowds, especially carrying that bag of gadgets with her. I had no choice but to go searching, lest she find her way to the Wondercolts’ bench. “Excuse me,” I said after turning to a random girl in a nearby seat, “did you see where my friend went?” “Your what now?” the young girl replied. “My friend. She was sitting right here just a few minutes ago.” The girl glanced back to the empty seats, and then just rolled her eyes with a malicious smirk. “You mean Twilight Dorkle? Surprised she even showed up.” Dorkle? Now there was a brand of creativity that used to be commonplace in my parlance back during my more malicious days. I was beginning to see more of a pattern as to Twilight’s standing at the academy. It would explain part of the reason why she preferred the science lab to social gatherings. Despite an overwhelming temptation to test the resiliency of the Crystal Heart Academy uniform against fizzy apple cider, I had a nerd to track down. I felt a lot less guilty about lying to Applejack now, as her vigilance on the far side of the field meant that I could concentrate my efforts on my half, and didn’t have to worry about Twilight getting close to the Wondercolts. Despite using a vantage point in the bleachers, I couldn’t see any sign of Twilight—there were just too many people milling about around the field. It wasn’t until I got back down to ground level that I realized that half-time had been called, hence the extra bustle. “Hey Sunset!” I heard a familiar voice calling for my attention. Any other time and I would’ve enjoyed the company, but I did not have time to waste socializing. Alas, unless I wanted fewer friends in this world, I had to put on a smile when I saw Rainbow Dash arrive at my side. For me, it was a strange sight at first as she looked more winded than usual. Then again, I had never actually seen her in the middle of a game before. Every time I had watched Dash doing anything athletic, it was always brief and she made it look as casual as zipping up a pair of jeans. Until then, I never knew that she could do ‘flustered and sweat-drenched.’ “Rainbow Dash, what are you doing over here? Shouldn’t you be focusing on the game?” “It’s halftime,” Dash pointed out, “besides, I had to hear it for myself.” “Hear what?” I asked despite having a suspicion as to what it was. She leaned in closer with a look of excitement and anticipation in her eyes. “That Twilight Sparkle is at this school. Is it really true?” I should have realized that Applejack wouldn’t keep the information to herself. It wasn’t about gossip or excitement, just prudence on her part. Maybe it would be for the best if Rainbow Dash knew to keep a watchful eye, too, but I worried nonetheless. “Yes, she is a student here,” I said while trying to keep my answers brief. “I don’t know where she is though.” Rainbow looked disappointed at the news, replying, “I guess I have to do what AJ said, and keep my distance, huh?” “It’s for the best,” I reassured her. I was just about to give Dash the same speech about all the horrific consequences that could result from getting involved with Twilight Sparkle, but another member of the soccer match chose that as an opportune moment to swoop in. While I normally disliked having my conversations interrupted, the distraction was a welcomed opportunity. “Yo! Sunset Shimmer!” It was Lightning Dust, looking just as ragged as Rainbow Dash except with a far more triumphant grin across her face. It was a well-deserved expression given that she was responsible for her team’s current lead over the Wondercolts. “I’ve got a few minutes before the second half if you want to do some more interviewing.” “You’ve been fraternizing with the enemy?” Rainbow shouted in disbelief while pointing an accusatory finger at the other soccer player. I vocalized my contempt for my friend’s reaction with an audible groan before reaching out and forcing Rainbow’s outstretched arm down. “I write for the school paper, remember? I’m allowed to talk to the other team.” Rainbow Dash glared at Lightning Dust and I, putting on her best facade of scrutinizing suspicion. “Just don’t think you can butter up Sunset into giving up any of my team’s secrets,” she warned. “I don’t know any of your secrets.” Despite my insistence to the contrary, Dash stuck with her narrative. “I’ve got my eyes on you,” Rainbow Dash cautioned while gesturing to her eyes. She then started backing up onto the field, still keeping a locked gaze upon Lightning and I, and almost tripped over a soccer ball in the process. Lightning Dust just raised an eyebrow and asked, “Is she always like that?” “She just gets very competitive at times.” I would have preferred to use the term ‘clinically insane’ instead, but Rainbow Dash was still my friend even if her behavior sometimes made me wonder which dictionary she was using to define those terms. At least Rainbow Dash was gone for the time being, which meant I only had to excuse myself from Lightning Dust’s attention and I could finally resume my search. “So...I’ve got two goals so far and I’m feelin’ pretty chatty, if you catch my drift,” Lightning Dust said with an eager grin. “Post-game, I promise,” I replied. “Now I know this might sound a bit strange, but have you seen Twilight Sparkle around?” I held up the bottles of fizzy cider with the hopes that Lightning Dust would assume that I was merely playing the role of delivery-girl. “Dorkle? You’ve been talking to her?” “Why does everyone seem so surprised by that?” I replied, noting both the repetition of surprise and the use of the derogatory nickname. “It might have something to do Silverspeed’s missing eyebrows, or how the science lab still smells like a pineapple. It’s getting to the point where seeing a pineapple makes me feel sick to my stomach.” Considering that Lightning Dust was new to Crystal Heart Academy, that meant both of those events must have happened within the past month or so. It made me curious as to what other surprises laid in store for me were I to keep sifting through Twilight’s student life. “That girl is just plain...weird.” It was strange that Twilight appeared to be no more popular at her school than I was at mine, yet she appeared to be more victim than bully. It worried me because it drove home the point that simply dropping my malicious and hurtful ways may not be enough to change the way people thought of me. “She didn’t seem that bad to me,” I said, putting forward my own sense of confusion in order to coax a better explanation. “Maybe you got lucky,” Lightning said with a shrug of her shoulders. “I tried talking to her once and she barked at me—something about messing up the humidity near her specimens.” By the sound of her indifference, I suspected that Lightning did not make much of an attempt to understand Twilight Sparkle. Given how Lightning was described as part of the ‘cool crowd,’ their interactions were most likely limited to purely academic ones. And just like how Rainbow Dash could act a bit strange when she was in her element, so too could a scientifically-minded girl if you tried to strike up a conversation in the middle of an experiment. As much as I would have liked to probe Lightning Dust for more information, I was in a hurry. “Listen, have you seen her or not?” I asked. “Over near her brother,” she answered with a sigh and a half-hearted thumbing in the general direction of her coach. “Hard to believe those two are related.” I decided to ignore the continued slights against Twilight; though they were no business of mine, I could not help but feel a sense of indignation each time it occurred. They reminded me too much of the callous disregard towards others that had been the centerpiece of my horrid attitude. I wanted to say something, but if words could fix that kind of behavior, I wouldn’t have needed a rainbow freight train to change my ways. I hurried on my way to find Shining Armour while still trying to keep the two opened bottles of fizzy cider from getting knocked from my grasp. When I finally located the elusive little amateur scientist, I was surprised to find that she was not speaking with her brother as I had hoped, but was instead taking refuge behind a nearby tree. And here I had hoped that Twilight had taken some of my words to heart and attempted to reforge her bond with her brother. “You know, Twilight, you’re not going to have much luck getting a good view of the game from there,” I spoke up in order to announce my arrival. As I didn’t want to take the chance that she might run off on me, I had to sneak up behind her from the opposite side of the tree. “Oh! Sunset Shimmer…I, uh, didn’t see you there.” She was surprised by my presence, though I wasn’t sure if it was due to my sudden appearance at her side or just the fact that I managed to find her. “You....actually came back?” “Well I wasn’t planning on drinking both of these,” I answered while holding up the beverages. As I held out a bottle for her, I saw the apprehension in her eyes. Could it have been that Twilight thought that I had used the opportunity to bail on her instead? I hadn’t stopped to consider what she might have been worrying over. She was not Princess Twilight Sparkle who chased me through a magic mirror into an alternate world just to retrieve a magic crown; this was Twilight Sparkle, science nerd, who probably considered speaking in front of a crowded classroom to be the closest thing to armageddon in her life. “I promise I won’t bite,” I said in the hopes of reassuring her of my mostly-honest intentions. She was still cautious, but like any good scientist, she put her trust in the evidence: I had done nothing thus far to give her reason to not trust me beyond her own sense of apprehension. Eventually, she accepted the bottle and took a quick sip from it. “Thank you,” she said in a subdued murmur. I waited to see if she would say anything else, but she remained content just sipping at her drink while staring off in the opposite direction of her brother. I planted myself next to her, leaning against the same tree but keeping enough distance with the hopes that she wouldn’t feel a need to run off again. I wound up just tapping my fingernails against the bottom of my bottle due to boredom and the fact that I wasn’t thirsty. Soon, I found myself getting irritated with Twilight; not just because of the silence, but because I knew she was stalling. “Have you actually gone over and said hi to your brother yet?” I asked despite knowing the answer. “N-not yet. He’s...busy talking to his team. I can’t interrupt him while he’s working,” Twilight answered. It sounded as though she were trying to convince herself rather than me, and judging by the way she eyeballed the soccer players like a kicked puppy, it wasn’t her brother that she was concerned about. “And in a few minutes he’s going to be too focused on the game to really talk, so go now while you still have an opportunity,” I said. There was no reason for me to get involved with her personal affairs, and there was even a little voice in the back of my mind trying to talk me out of what I was doing, but I wasn’t about to stand on the sidelines while she painted over her fears with a fresh coat of rationalization. “You’re not scared of those other girls, are you?” “Scared? Wh—? No! Of course not!” Twilight scoffed at the notion. “Fear is spawned from ignorance and childish notions; both of which I have outgrown. I simply prefer to not be around them.” Her reaction reminded me of the old phrase, ‘the lady doth protest too much,’ or even just a puffer fish trying to ward off predators. Of course, it was easy to stand on the sidelines and say that things didn’t affect you, so I decided to put her theory to the test. “Then let’s just go. I doubt he’ll mind,” I said as I took her by the wrist. Just as I had anticipated, Twilight reacted to the idea much like a cat reacts to being thrown into the bathtub. “No, wait! I can’t!” she yelped, wrenching her limb free. For a brief second, there was a look of deer-in-headlights panic. The shame was evident once she realized that her carefully constructed facade had just self-destructed in a heartbeat. I felt a bit guilty about my methods, but I reminded myself it was impossible to overcome one’s demons if you refused to even acknowledge their existence. “You really are terrified of them, aren’t you?” I asked, taking a more sympathetic tone. Twilight couldn’t even look me in the eye for more than a second, as if I had caught her in the middle of some horrible, unspeakable act. There was a quiet murmur of discontent before she sat at the base of the curl, knees clenched to her chest. “They all hate me,” she squeaked. As I stood there, looming over the shell-shocked student, I asked myself why I was doing this. I had no right to dictate the terms to which she lived her life; if she wanted to stay in a bubble, shirking away from ninety-percent of the school population, that was her choice to make. And just because I needed somebody to smack some sense into me when I was doing something stupid and self-destructive, it didn’t mean that I had to be so heavy-handed sharing that wisdom with others. There must have been somebody better equipped to give her counsel: a teacher, a parent, a friend...anybody but me. Yet when I looked to my surroundings, I had no idea who I could turn to. I remembered Shining Armour making mention of Cadance having a rapport with Twilight, but she was nowhere to be seen. I could have gone to get Shining myself, but that might have resulted in those soccer players following us. If Twilight was scared of facing those girls on even ground, I doubt she would want to be seen as she was right now. Despite there being hundreds of people within arm’s reach, I suspected that Twilight felt terribly alone in that moment; her, alone, against the world. In a way, it was not too dissimilar to when I found myself at the bottom of a dusty crater, surrounded by students that once feared me, but now felt only contempt. The cause may have been different, but the end products were the same: a sense of isolation, a sudden and immense burden of shame, and a cocktail of fear and paranoia with a garnish of self-loathing. And the only reason I was able to climb out of that hole was because somebody, who at that point had nothing to gain, offered their hand to me. So I sat down next to Twilight and decided it was time for some honesty. “I used to be the kind of person that people like you have nightmares about going to school,” I admitted. That piqued her curiosity, if only because it seemed like an odd thing to bring up in a conversation. “Wait, are you saying that you used to be a...a bully?” she asked in disbelief. I imagine I threw her mind for a loop with a narrative that did not match her experiences with me thus far. “I think tyrant would be more apt,” I said, bringing my knees up to my chest. “You don’t seem like the type to shove kids into lockers,” Twilight commented, perhaps still trying to make sense of the revelation. “Twilight, I used to be able to glare people into a locker,” I replied before affording myself a quiet, morbid chuckle. It was hard not to look back at those days with some sense of nostalgia. As ill-deserved and delusional it may have been, I used to be powerful: I could get what I want, when I wanted it. Now I couldn’t even make a phone call without proper clearance from my self-appointed caretakers. “Why are you telling me all this?” I gave my confused friend a reassuring smile. “So that you’ll believe me when I tell you that people like the ones that have you so worked up only have as much power as you’re willing to give them.” Twilight gave me a skeptical look, one that I understood as to why. My advice sounded outlandish, even to my own ears, but considering I had been on the receiving end of it, I could attest to its efficacy. She needed more assurance, which meant having to swallow more humble pie. “Listen, I used to be the most feared person in my school: nobody dared to cross me. But all it took was one new student who refused to be afraid. Once that happened, everyone else in the school rallied around her. And now…” I hadn’t intended to let my words drift away, and it took Twilight a few seconds to realize that my hesitation was not intentional. “‘And now’ what?” “Now nobody is scared. Everyone just hates me, and I deserve every bit of it,” I sighed. I had intended for this conversation to be something of a motivator for Twilight, but it was having the opposite effect on me. I had to push my feelings aside if I were to get back to the task of providing helpful advice. “The point is, Twilight, they are not as powerful as you think they are. And the moment you start standing up to them, they start losing that power.” “But what if it just gets worse?” “It might. In fact, there’s a good chance it will...for a while.” I refrained from giving her empty platitudes. She’d accept truth, no matter how unpalatable it might seem at first. “But I speak from experience when I say that the harder they try, the more everyone will realize just how little they can actually do.” Having said all that I could, I got back to my feet. If Twilight remained reluctant even with my advice, then there was nothing more that I could offer her. While such a turn of events would be disappointing, at the same I wouldn’t blame her for wanting to stay where it was safe. Fear was a powerful motivator, after all, and one I used to wield to great effect. I just hoped my honesty was enough to win enough trust to last us through the rest of the game. As Twilight sat there, mulling over my words, I offered out my hand. She looked to my hand for a moment, then cast her gaze up to me. “Why are you doing this?” she asked. “You barely even know me.” “It looks like you could use a friend right now. What more should a person need?” It’s amazing to consider how the right choice of words can have such resonanting consequences. At the time, they just felt like what needed to be said in order to get Twilight to follow along, and I was oblivious to what these seeds could become. I unwittingly set into motion a chain of events, like falling dominoes, that would change my life forever. And all it took was, ‘it looks like you could use a friend.’ “Okay, but if I lose my nerve and try to run, just...um, keep pushing me,” Twilight suggested before taking my hand. “They’re not as scary as you think, and you’re stronger than you give yourself credit,” I said before helping her back to her feet. I kept a firm grip as I led her towards her brother.. “Hey Shining!” I called out. “Look who I managed to find.” “Twily! You made it!”