//------------------------------// // Chapter Ten // Story: The Day My Life Continued // by Authora97 //------------------------------// The next day, I quickly awoke to the sound of my phone blasting the alarm. The room smelled like old sock and worse is I think that’s the best it’s smelled in years. The bed was lumpy but I got over it. I was in my jacket and jeans from the night before, apparently I had been too emotionally wrecked to change. Cookie was off on a pillow beside me, she was asleep and looked cute as ever. She was snuggling up onto her front paws. She was a little upset after the whole ordeal, but she felt better once I gave her the pillow and rubbed behind her ears. I hopped out of bed, walking to my purse hanging on a chair and pulling out a bright yellow hair tie. Carefully taking out the blue one I currently had on, I placed the yellow one so it would be a ponytail. Taking care of my outfit so it wouldn’t look like I slept in it took all of ten minutes. This outfit was perfect for repeated wears, and I felt so jealous of my alternate self in this universe. Carefully picking up Cookie, I placed her in my purse. The kitten protested lightly. “Hey, I got you a kitty toy.” I encouraged. The kitten looked ready to hiss, until I held up the small robot mouse toy I bought last night. Her eyes went wide, instantly lashing out at the toy. I threw it into the bag, Cookie running behind it. That, and all the other random things inside, should keep her entertained until lunchtime. I didn’t want to get caught with a cat on school grounds and be kicked out, especially when they found out I wasn’t a student. I walked out of the motel room, making sure the door shut behind me. This hadn’t been my first time using a motel room for one night stays, which Darcy always found sad because I never used them for one night stands. “Hey.” A familiar voice greeted. I paused, turning to the voice with hesitation. It was this world’s version of Bumblebee. It seemed like him at least; golden yellow skin, black hair in a blown back look, a black shirt with his cutiemark in silhouette, a real leather jacket worthy of a biker, and black pants. His eyes were still that familiar shade of gold, but something was off about them. Not just that this was a completely different person (also, that he was a person and not a pony) but there was something else there. It was like a whole other layer over his eyes. I had seen that kind of thing before, but couldn’t for the life of me figure out where. Bumblebee the human smirked at me, leaning against the wall of the motel. I feel like the whole thing would only be made more cliche if he had been wearing those wire sunglasses you see in the movies. Oh, you’re laughing? Try to remember where I am right now. Equestria Girls the movie. “Hey.” I said back, gripping the strap on my bag. My nervous ticks and I. He scanned the parking lot, as if trying not to look at me. His face turned a polite serious. “Haven’t seen you around before.” “New in town.” I replied. “Needed a place for the night and motels are cheap.” I looked him over, then checked our surroundings. It was like an Equestrian version of Motel 6. Not bad, but not good either. “Why do you wanna know?” Bumblebee the human pushed himself off the wall, walking a bit closer to me. He pushed his hands into his pockets. “I’m in the business of noticing new faces.” His smirk came back. “Especially the pretty ones. Got a name to go with it?” ‘Do I actually know what my Bumblebee does?’ I thought. ‘Also, does the flirting mean that every Bumblebee wants to date me, or that he’s just a giant flirt?’ “Raspberry.” “That’s a fake.” Bumblebee the human said. I quirked my brow. He noticed the name, but mine didn’t? “This business, we notice fakes.” “And call them out on it?” I questioned, finding myself smiling. “What if you call them out and then they shoot you in the face?” Bumblebee the human blinked. “Huh. Good point.” He scratched the back of is head. My grip on my bag loosened at the familiar gesture. “I wasn’t actually supposed to tell you about the business.” He, face palming. “Still new to it myself, if you can believe it.” “Don’t get down on yourself. You’re the first to notice it was a fake name.” I complimented. This made his smirk turn into a goofy grin. “Not bad for first introductions. But what do I call you?” “Bumblebee.” He answered almost immediately. “That’s fake too.” I teased. Bumblebee the human gave me a ‘really?’ grin. “How could you tell?” He said in fake assurance. “I tried so hard.” I laughed. ‘Cause your pegasus self told me the same thing.’ I couldn’t say that, so I could only say “I’m in a business of fake names too.” Bumblebee the human dropped his smile, instead looked at me with confusion. “That wasn’t a lie.” “Oops.” I shrugged, smirking. I leaned in. “I wasn’t supposed to tell you that either.” I said softly. “You look like you’re just out of highschool.” Bumblebee the human fumbled. Man, already keeping him on his toes. “I’m older than I look.” I said, walking backwards just so I could see his confused face. It was really adorable. “See you around, Bumblebee.” “Yeah, yeah. You too, Raspberry.” Bumblebee said, waving me off but grinning. I smiled, brightly. This could be the beginning of a new friendship. First, I think I need to go finish an old one. The walk back to the school was short, a few students were arriving and snickering. They saw the video. Why did I help her get back to Equestria? She obviously disliked me. Even when I helped her brother and Mia at the Crystal Empire and their wedding. I helped with Trixie and so much more. How could she turn her back on me because of a little kitten?! But, still. This wasn’t a good enough reason to end our friendship. We had a bigger fight when she sent herself back in time, locked me in her basement, and then I foalnapped her and took her to Canterlot. Besides, Twilight wasn’t the type to say things that were meaningful in a fight. She just said whatever came to her in the spur of the moment. She didn’t mean to remind me that my twin sister tried to murder me after Darcy said she hated me. She better have a damn good explanation, because just thinking about it all made me angry again. And to think, I started the day on such a high note. Either way, I didn’t get the kitten for me. I got her for Lilac. Cookie was just a little orphan, no family, probably no friends except Fluttershy. She was all alone in this big, bad world. Fluttershy seemed so sad before I offered to adopt a pet...now that I think about it, I think I was supposed to tell Twilight something about that. Not just crying Fluttershy, but there was a nagging thought. Wait...I remember what it was! “Raspberry!” And, there it goes. This had been happening a lot more frequently since the Dalek Crucible. Looking back and putting on my best smile, I turned back to see Pinkie Pie waving frantically. I ran up to her and she gripped my arm. “Wow, what’s up Pinkie Pie?” I asked her. Pinkie looked really worried, she began shaking me. “Have you seen it?” It clicked. “The video about Twilight?” She nodded. “I saw it. Your point?” The pinkette backed away for a second, it was more out of worry for Twilight than my slightly tired tone. “It’s so bad! No one is gonna vote for her now!” Pinkie told me. “She probably hasn’t seen it yet. We should go find her.” I added. Pinkie’s mood shifted, she was smiling a mile wide. “Great idea!” The pink skinned girl grabbed my wrist and started dragging me around the whole building until we ended up in a classroom with human Rarity, Applejack and a girl with purple skin, a green dress, blonde hair and a purple/green dog. Fluttershy came in behind us. I glared at Twilight, letting her know I was still mad at her. She shrunk back a little. Spike did too. Rarity crossed her arms. “So much for the disguise.” “Ah’ve been lookin’ all over for ya!” Applejack said. “Me too.” Fluttershy whispered. “Me three!” Pinkie said, dangling from the ceiling. “Look, I’m just following these people.” I shrugged, walking over to one of the desks. “You never needed me in the first place.” Twilight frowned, wincing. A part of me hated throwing it back in her face, but she kinda deserved it. She’s always assumed the worst of me, ever since we met. She locked me up in her basement because she was overly paranoid, she let my daughter run off after a dragon migration to sate her curiosity, and if Twilight hadn’t found that damn spell under my bed then she wouldn’t have come to my world and Darcy would still be alive! Okay. I guess I have a lot more suppressed hate for Twilight than I originally thought. No wonder I exploded on her last night, I’m surprised I didn’t do worse. Pinkie ran to Twilight’s face, looking over the green dress. “I like your new look!” “I do have an eye for these sorts of things.” The fashionista stuck her nose up. “Not that you seem to care.” “What?!” Pinkie screeched. “Why do you think she doesn’t care?” Twilight asked. Applejack, Fluttershy, and I immediately started giving her signals to shut them hell up. “No, never mind. Why were you all looking for me? What’s going on?” She took off her wig. “Oh, she hasn’t seen it yet.” Fluttershy realized. Everyone winced sympathetically. “Seen what?” Twilight asked, being guided by Rarity into the seat beside me. Pinkie brought out her pink laptop, opening it to the video in her email. “Oh, it’s really not that bad.” I turned my head away, not wanting to watch it a second time. I was a sympathetic person, meaning I felt just as much humiliation from the video as Twilight did. It didn’t show her ridiculous gorilla hands on the computer, but there was a lot of walking into doors and trying to eat a book. There was even the awkward thing with the fax machine. One look from Spike told me he was just as worried as I was. Cookie, however, just popped out of my bag to show me she had caught the mouse. I glanced at the laptop, seeing an image of Twilight leaping away from the fax machine, then gave her a scratch behind the ears. “Wha...I...” Twilight closed the laptop, slumping in her seat out of shock. The girls and I looked at her with sadness. We knew how far Sunset Shimmer would go. You didn’t wanna see the stuff she did to Rarity in her video. “I take that back. It’s pretty bad!” Pinkie said. “But this all happened yesterday! At the library!” Twilight looked to us. “Has everyone in the school seen this? Is that why they were all looking at me that way?” No one could look Twilight in the eyes. “What am I gonna do?” The purple alicorn princess was starting panic. “No one is gonna vote for me after seeing this!” Fluttershy came to her side, giving her a gentle smile. “Not that it’ll make any difference, but I’ll still vote for you.” Twilight thunked her head on her desk. Fluttershy was a good friend, but we needed all the votes to get the crown from Sunset Shimmer. Equestria depended on it. “You were so nice to stand up for me when Sunset Shimmer was picking on me yesterday.” “If ya still wanna run, maybe there’s something I can do to help!” Pinkie offered. Fluttershy glared at her fellow pinkette. “Word of advice? Don’t accept her help. She doesn’t take anything seriously!” “Ugh!” Pinkie stomped her foot. “Why do you have to be so awful to me?” Rarity scoffed, albeit in her own way. “Don’t play innocent, Pinkie Pie! You are no better than she is!” I’ll admit, hearing Rarity and Fluttershy not getting along was the most unbelievable thing about this world. Once a week in Equestria, the two would go out to the spa to talk! Granted, Rarity did most of the talking, but still! The party person gasped, glaring her blue eyes at the fashionista. “And what is that supposed to mean?!” Rarity ignored the comment, leaning down to the confused Twilight’s side. I picked Cookie up, brushing her calico coat. The kitten purred, rubbing her head against my pink hoodie. “I am happy to offer up my assistance as well.” She threw a glare at Pinkie. “To someone who would appreciate what I have to offer!” The three girls all started yelling over each other. I rolled my eyes, moving Cookie and I to a chair closer the door. It was quieter back here, and just a bit further away from Twilight. The purple alicorn was hunched in her chair, struggling being in the middle of their argument. “Listen to y’all carryin’ on!” Applejack suddenly shouted. She crossed her arms, turning her nose at us. “Get over it and move on!” “You mean like how you’ve gotten over what happened with Rainbow Dash?” Rarity pointed out accusingly. “She said she’d get the softball team to make an appearance at my bake sale.” Applejack explained, almost angrily. “I tell everybody they’re comin’, and then not one of ‘em shows up! She made a liar outta me! That’s different!” “Is not!” Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Rarity argued. “Is too!” Applejack argued back. I shut my eyes, leaning back in my chair. Why did I come to a high school again? Thee arguments got on my nerves. “Enough.” I barked, not opening my eyes. The arguing stopped immediately. I felt their eyes on me. Cookie meowed, rubbing her head on my hand to calm me down. “Twilight, show them that book before I end up hurting somebody.” Twilight paused, about to ask me how I knew what she was talking about. Her lips snapped shut, a faint pink blush on her cheeks telling me she remembered. Spike gave her the yearbook. “Here. Let me show you something. You were friends once.” Applejack sighed, fondly, “Hmm. The Freshman Fair. Y’all remember?” The three girls nodded in agreement. “But something happened." Twilight said. "I think that something was Sunset Shimmer.” That bacon haired bitch! She wanted Twilight and I at odds, to be fighting. Our fight would cause us to delay, give Sunset enough time to take the Element of Magic. I fell right into it, not even fighting. Sunset Shimmer made me go native. She’s good. “Well, it’s a nice theory, darling, but Sunset Shimmer had nothing to do with it.” Rarity said. “She’s right. Sunset Shimmer isn’t the one who ruined my silent auction for the animal shelter by bringing fireworks and noisemakers” The yellow teen said, sending a quick glare to the bright pink one. “It was supposed to be a serious event, and Pinkie Pie ruined it!” “What are you talking about?” Pinkie asked. She pulled out her phone. “I got a text from you saying that you didn’t want a silent auction. You wanted a big party!” “Huh?” Fluttershy reeled back. “I never sent you a text.” Pinkie looked down at her phone. “You didn’t?” “You don’t think she’s the one who’s been sending me those emails, do you?” Rarity asked. They all looked at her blankly. “Every time I volunteer to help with the decorations at a school function, I get an email from Pinkie Pie saying she has plenty of volunteers! And then I find out she’s done everything herself.” “I never sent you any emails...” “It would be easy to hack.” I commented. “Your phone, I mean. Sunset would just have to grab it when you were setting up a party, type in the password, and then do the damage. The email is easier, since you wouldn’t have it on your person at all times. All she would really have to know is the password.” “She could never guess me password!” Pinkie said. “It’s a secret!” “CupcakemakerPartyPlannerPinkaminaDianePie.” I droned. Pinkie’s jaw dropped. “You are psychic.” I smiled smugly, making a dramatic bow with my arm before stuffing it back in my pocket. Twilight glanced back at me. She knew I could figure things out quickly, that I had managed “Maybe she’s the reason Rainbow Dash didn’t show up for my bake sale!” Applejack realized. “Wow. That’s horrible.” I said, my tone condescending. “And I bet you marched right up to her and gave her what for.” The farm girl took off her hat, bashful. “Heh, I guess I kinda stopped talkin’ to her at all after that.” Twilight Sparkle stood up, walking to her friend’s human double. She took the hat, putting it on Applejack’s head “Maybe now would be a good time to start.” She turned to me, an apologetic look on her face. “And speaking of apologizing. Raspberry-” “I’m fine. You go and do your thing.” I assured, smiling kindly. Now I that I knew this was Sunset’s plan, I was determined to work against it. Twilight needed me right now, and we needed to fix what Sunset broke. Twilight shook her head, walking over to me. “I’m so sorry for what I said yesterday. I didn’t mean-” “Twilight, we’re cool. Go save their friendship.” I said, trying to get her to go. “It needs to be fixed.” She didn’t take that for an answer. “So does our’s. I didn’t mean any of what I said last night. I was just stressed out from...everything.” I started glaring. She was like my stubborn little sister at times like this. “Twilight. Go.” “But-” I groaned. In a rush, I put Cookie in the bag, wrapped it over my shoulder, grabbed Twilight’s bag, threw it at her, and dragged her out the door. “I can explain on the way of our bigger problem.” “Of course.” Twilight started shaking her in dismay. I had just finished explaining what I had put together about Sunset. Spike and Cookie listened in, though only Spike looked like he understood. Cookie was chewing on her mouse toy. “She knows who my friends are, it would make sense she knows about you too.” Twilight said. “Making us fight would keep us from finding the crown.” I nodded, leaning back on the bleachers. “Don’t get me wrong, I’m still hurt over what you said. A lot of it went over the line, Sparkle of Twilight, a lot of it.” “I know. I knew as soon as I said it that I couldn’t take them back.” Twilight said, sounding ashamed of herself. “I was too busy trying to be better than what Sunset said about me, trying to be better at blending in like you, when instead I just blew up at you.” “Which is, ironically, what I would’ve done to you.” I joked. Twilight had a ghost of a smile. “You were trying to be like me?” I said after a short pause. Her purple cheeks turned red. “Well, yeah. You taught me your pre-traveling method of planning. How to notice their behavior to realize the proper motivation. I mean, you figured all of this out listening to our friends doubles argue.” “It was obvious Subset would go back to an old method to deal with a new threat.” I shrugged. “If it ain’t broke, ya know.” “Exactly my point!” Twilight said. “You’re deductive reasoning is amazing.” “No.” I shook my head. “I’m like the Oracle from the Matrix. I don’t know what’s happening, but I’ve seen it a thousand times. After a while, you realize they’re all the same stories with different characters.” Twilight paused, a bit confused at the reference. Haven’t I shown her the Matrix yet? “Any way.” I moved on. “Now that we know Sunset’s motive, she can’t trick us twice. Only problem is that once she sees we’ve resolved our problems, she’ll try a different tactic.” My friend nodded. “Which means we actually have resolved them. Once we get Rainbow onboard, and come up with a plan to stop her, we’ll talk about the fight.” “I’d rather not.” I admitted. “But...to keep it from happening again, fine.” “They’re actually talking! That’s a good sign!” Rarity said, just as soon as Twilight and I finished. After a brief argument, Applejack and Rainbow Dash hugged. Pinkie Pie squealed. “Hugs! Ooh, hugs are always good!” That has got to be the quickest friendship repair I have ever seen. Applejack walked up to us, Rainbow carrying a soccer ball followed behind. “Somebody, and I think we can all guess who, told Rainbow Dash that my bake sale had been moved to a different day. Dash showed up with all the softball team and thought I’d cancelled on her!” The others frowned, it coming together just how much evil Sunset has done to them. “So you’re lookin’ to dethrone Sunset Shimmer and become Princess of the Fall Formal, huh?” Rainbow asked Twilight. The alicorn nodded, her neck almost squeaking. “Gotta say, I’d really love to see that happen.” The athlete said. “I’ll totally help you out! All you gotta do is beat me in a game of one-on-one.” “What?” The librarian gaped in horror. “First to five goals wins.” Rainbow kicked the ball, it blasting into the net at fire setting speeds. “One-zip!” Twilight turned to me, a pleading look on her face. I looked her straight in the eyes. “What do you want written on your gravestone?” Her frown deepened. “That’s game!” Rainbow announced. I’ve murdered people in less brutal ways. Twilight was lying on the ground, panting. The humans, the pets, and I gathered around her, trying to be comforting. “I...really thought you were gonna... pull it off there in the end!” Rarity laughed nervously. My hand reached for Twilight’s helping her to her feet. “No. No, that was brutal. I’m surprised you’re still alive after a beating like that.” The student winced. She leaned on me for support, the game having superhero out. Rainbow smiled, coming to our side. “So what’s the plan? How can I help you be princess instead of Sunset Shimmer?” “But...I...lost!” Twilight panted. “Of course you lost. I’m awesome!” The athlete bragged in a way that only Rainbow Dash’s double could. “But I’m not gonna help just anybody try and beat Sunset Shimmer. The Fall Formal Princess should be someone with heart and determination. You’ve proved that you’ve got ‘em both!” The rest of us wrapped Twilight up a group hug, cheering. The others were all sitting by the booth, shakes in hand. Twilight was standing beside me, waiting on her order. Mrs. Cake handed me a peanut butter chocolate banana milkshake, also with whipped cream. What? I have a sweet tooth. While giving her the necessary cash, I felt someone walk up behind me. Not in a way that was dangerous, and definitely not in a way that was dangerous. I smiled, shaking my head. Wow, still no better on sneaking up on people even in this universe huh? “You are in high school.” Bumblebee said softly. I smirked. “I prefer to think of it as I’ve gone undercover.” I turned to face him. He looked the same as he did this morning, albeit this time his hair was brushed and he smelled nicer. Or, maybe that was just the atmosphere-Hold on, did i just say he smelled nice? I shook my head, forcing myself back into reality. “To help stop a mob boss intent on destroying the city.” Bumblebee chuckled, glancing at my new friends. “Kinda like in 21 Jump Street?” “Yeah.” I nodded. “Except, a billion times more dangerous.” “Sounds fun.” The man looked back to me, curious. “Is that the fake name business you’re in?” “Mhh-hmm.” I took a sip of my milkshake. “Gotta get back to work.” Bumblebee grinned. He walked around me, to the counter. “I won’t stop you. Tell me how it goes later.” “Don’t have your number.” The sentence came out like a request. Pulling my phone out, I created a new contact for Bumblebee. “Give it to me.” “Somebody’s forward.” Bumblebee commented. He took the phone though, glancing at me as he typed in the number. “I like forward.” He held the phone back out to me. “I’m a forward person. Sometimes.” The last part came out like an afterthought. I took my phone back, biting my lip in nerves. “See you around, Bumblebee.” I waved, walking back to the couch. He waved back. “Not if I see you first, Raspberry.” He walked up to the booth, waiting for Mrs. Cake. I shamelessly checked to see if he was- Yep. Medium build. Just like his alternate self.. “What just happened?” Twilight gaped at me. I sipped at my shake. “I think I was possessed by the spirit of Darcy Anderson, and asked for his number.” Twilight blinked in confusion. “Bumble...hold on. That was the the stallion you went on the date with in Ponyville!” “So he was.” I cheered, sipping my milkshake. “And apparently, he likes me in either dimension. That’s a real ego boost. I mean, not that I really need one, but to get bold offering versions of the same guy to like me is impressive.” “I did tell you that your relationship could be improving your...problem.” Twilight reminded me. “Could it have the same effect with the same stallion-err, man?” “How should I know?” I shook my head. “Boys are a whole different ball game. One only Darcy mastered.” With that said, I walked over to the couch to let Twilight order. Sitting down, I started thinking about the Bumblebee in my universe. He said he had been following me, trying to work up the guts to ask me out. Would this Bumblebee be the same? No way. I was not going to that dance without a date, not this time. I let Cookie out of her bag, giving her a few cat treats. Looking at her reminded me of Lilac, and how she and Bumblebee had gotten along so well after they met. He was different, he was good with kids, and he took time to actually figure out what I liked before taking me on a date. Yeah, he was lying about a lot. I was too. Who knows, maybe we’ll both end up confessing our secrets and have one of those adorable arguments where the other says their secret is worse and then they both just agree to disagree. His human self walked by, winking at me. This caused me to start blushing, using m shake to cover it. I winked back, the two of us keeping eyes on the other until he walked out. The romantic in me had woken up, and like a dragon it wouldn’t go back sleep. I was starting to think of places I could take him for dates (both in Equestria and not) when Twilight walked back up to the couch. She was blushing heavily, and twirling a lock of her blue hair. “See. See. I told you.” I lightly teased. “Whole different ball game.” “Don’t even think about it!” Rarity chided her. “You’re already trying to get her crown. Who knows what Sunset Shimmer would do if you ended up getting her ex-boyfriend too?” “I’m not trying to.” Twilight began, nervous. “I don’t even know... We just accidentally...” She winced, looking back to the orange teen. “Ex-boyfriend?” “Flash Sentry broke up with her a few weeks ago.” Fluttershy explained. “I can’t believe she hasn’t done something awful to him yet.” The teen walked by, so we all pretended to be more interested in our drinks. Twilight, unfortunately, didn’t have one. So she was able to watch Flash leave, and he could watch her back. Twilight looked over at me. “Maybe she’s just waiting until she has the power to do something really awful.” I gave her a grim look, telling her she was right. Applejack stood up, legs hanging in her chair. “Alright, girls.” She called our attention. “Dance is tomorrow night, and we still don’t know how we’re gonna get Twilight the votes she needs to be named princess.” She started pacing, marching up to grab Twilight’s arms. “Right now, folks only know the Twilight from the videos Sunset Shimmer posted online. We need to help ‘em see her differently.” “I’VE GOT IT!” Rarity screamed. The girls all jumped, looking up at the fashionista. Everyone else in the cafe joined in, looking with both concerned and ‘what the fuck?’ faces. Rarity seemed to notice the attention, cheeks turning pink for a moment. “Ahem. I mean, um, perhaps I have a solution.” She said in a calmer voice. She reached for her backpack. “Now this may be an absolutely preposterous idea, but what if we all wore these as a sign of unity?” In her white hands were some blue and yellows horse themed headbands and belts. “Okay. I’m intrigued.” I said, leaning forward in my couch seat. “How do those help?” Rarity placed them on her head. “Freshman year, they were very, very popular. A way for everybody to show their school spirit! You know? ‘Go, Canterlot Wondercolts!’” She hopped in place, cheering. We got a few glances from other patrons. “Ahem. I haven’t sold any in ages.” She admitted, getting more and handing them out. “I mean, the five of us are obviously very different, but deep down, we’re all Canterlot Wondercolts!” She handed one to me. I smiled, fixing the accessories on my body. I looked good in blue, what could I say? Twilight smiled thankfully at me, it was a small thing showing her I wasn’t completely mad about our argument. “Sunset Shimmer is the one who divided us, Twilight Sparkle is the one who united us. And we’re gonna let everyone know it!” Rarity put a headband on Twilight’s head, standing proudly at her inspiring speech. “What do you think?” The girls all gave thumbs-up, I nodded, and Spike looked at Rarity with hearts in his eyes. The fashionista, in turn, hugged Twilight. I had bought us a motel room for the night, guiding Twilight to her bed. Once she was settled, I sat across from her. “Okay.” I said. “Let’s resolve our issues so Sunset can’t use them against us.” Twilight winced, reconsidering her idea. Spike climbed out of the backpack, going to Twilight’s side. “Well, I’m sorry that I didn’t say anything. You two were fighting, and I couldn’t do anything about it.” “I don’t blame you, Spike.” I said. “Neither do I.” Twilight agreed. She scratched his head, making his tongue lag out. “This fight was caused by the two of us. We’re grown-ups, and we fought like teenagers. We should have known better.” Cookie walked into my lap, snuggling against my hoodie. I brushed down on her fur, making her purr. “Firstly, we address the fact you said I was impulsive.” “Actually, I was thinking we should start-” “I’m a control freak. Don’t make me hurt you.” I warned, teasingly. Twilight smiled back. “Anyway, my impulsiveness. While it is true that I will sometimes make the occasional n-the-spot decision, it’s not in the moment. Cookie wasn’t adopted cause because I thought it would be cool to have a kitten.” “I don’t want to sound rude, but why did you?” Twilight asked. “You didn’t seem the type to want a cat, especially with your life being as it is.” “Fluttershy was crying.” I explained. “Her human self, anyway. Nobody was coming to adopt animals from the animal shelter-” “And there is no way you could say no to a crying Fluttershy.” Twilight realized. “Especially one you’d just met.” Cookie purred, so I fed her another cat treat. “That was a part of it.” I said. “Another part was that I thought Lilac would like a pet.” “Of course.” Twilight face palmed. “I had almost forgotten about Lilac. You were so upset about her when you left to get Cookie. You adopted her as a gift to say sorry.” “I’m rubbing off on you.” I bragged. Twilight blushed, not accepting the praise. “It’s how you’ve always said sorry. Gifts.” I tilted my head, waiting for an elaboration. “You bought all of us phones from your world, you took us on a trip to that Disney World place, and you paid off the Chamberlin family mortgage.” “You know about that?” I said, surprised. She twirled her hair. “Felicity Chamberlin told me over a cup of coffee.” She confessed. “Anyway, you did all of this to say sorry for all of the trouble you thought you put us through. When in reality, it was Dominic Ch-” “Don’t say his name.” I warned. Twilight and Spike blinked at me. “It still hurts.” Twilight respected my request. “It was none of our faults.” Twilight continued. “You don’t need to feel guilty over it. You still hand out gifts for us. Gifts are just how you talk to us, and I bet Lilac is going to love her’s.” A look of pure thanks was on my face, I cuddled with Cookie. “Aww. That was so sweet.” I put the kitten on the bed, giving her the mouse toy. She went nuts over it. “And Twilight, back to my original point, I have to think my every action through.” “How so?” Twilight asked. “Let’s take the wedding, since it was brought up.” I began. “I get to Canterlot, see the pink bubble in place. My eyes had the spell exposing changelings because of an attack on my house as a foal. I tell everyone Chrysalis is a changeling, they take her away. She calls her changelings. You guys aren’t even in town to stop it, and Mia is lost in the mines. We lose.” “Why did you side with her?” Spike asked. “If you knew she was a changeling, then why do it at all?” I winced. “The rehearsal.” They winced with me. “I would have been standing in the room, guys. Chrysalis would have expected me to scream at you too. I would have had to watch you start to cry, with the knowledge that I could have stopped that but instead I made it worse. I would have had to bully you, Sparkle of Twilight, and I swore I would never be the bully after it had been done to me.” “That’s why you had Chrysalis send me away sooner.” Twilight said. “Before the rehearsal. To save yourself from being the bully?” “Cause I couldn’t be the bully. I wouldn’t be able to say anything, and then Chrysalis would know I wasn’t actually going to help her, and she’d send us both into the Caverns.” I explained. “I gave you and Mia the time you needed to get to the chapel on time.” Twilight blinked. “You weren’t saving yourself?” “I never save myself. I’m too busy saving you.” I admitted. “Darcy’s proof of that.” This caused me to wince. “Which brings me to my next point.” “But, neither of you never talked about Darcy last night.” Spike pointed out. “Twilight did, unintentionally.” I added. Twilight looked at me in shock. “How?” I pulled Cookie into my lap, along with her toy. She was too busy playing to notice the change. “I told you guys about how she died the first time?” “The rollercoaster.” Twilight said. Her eyes almost welled with tears. “I told you I wished you’d never come to us in the first place, just like Darcy did.” I nodded. “Oh Celestia, I’m so sorry Morg-” “You didn’t mean it, just like she didn’t.” I assured. “They were just things that came up in the argument. I knew that beneath all that anger you were still my friend, and that you appreciated it.” I snickered. “I gave you access to a source of unlimited knowledge: the internet. How could you hate me?” Spike laughed, getting a small glare from Twilight. “You do like studying.” She blushed. She hugged Spike, then hugged me. “Friends?” I hugged her back. “We never stopped.” I ended the hug, giving her and Spike a serious face. “Now, let me settle one more thing.” I pointed a warning finger at Twilight. “If you tell anyone about the Bumblebee in the cafe, I will tell them about Flash.” Spike laughed again, Cookie meowed loudly. Twilight only blushed. “Deal.” Soon after, we got ready for bed and went to sleep. Tomorrow, we go after Sunset.