//------------------------------// // Twilight's Trust // Story: Earning Freedom // by Daxisle //------------------------------// Twilight's Trust Twilight closed her book and sighed. She looked around the library for the little purple dragon she knew was no longer there, a small bit of her believing that what had happened yesterday was all a very bad nightmare. Spike left, just like he said he would. It hurt Twilight knowing that the dragon felt he had to move out because of her, despite his repeated attempts to say otherwise. She had been trying to figure out what had gone wrong, what she had done to make him leave. "It's not your fault" he kept telling her, but it took two to tango. Deciding to make herself a sandwich, the librarian stood from the cushion on which she lay and slowly moped to the kitchen. The closest thing she could get from him as far as a real explanation went was that he didn't have the time for her. His job kept him busy ten hours out of the day and left him too exhausted to do much else. She pulled out some bread and pushed the thought out of her mind. "He's not trying to reject me, he said so himself. I just wish things could have been different, Spike." She said, her eyes misting over with tears. Finishing up the lunch she was making herself, Twilight looked out the kitchen window and caught sight of the one story white house down the street. Sin's home used to fill her with a mix of suspicion and boiling envy, what with the dragon choosing the stallion over her, but now she wished she could go there, just to check up on him. She pulled herself away and scowled a little, he needed his space, and she needed to start moving on. Spike was right, she'd been spending too much time cooped up in Golden Oaks and needed to get out more. She needed to find something to do other than study, maybe one of her friends could... Twilight felt her heart sink as her friends crossed her mind. It was a brand new problem that hurt almost as much as her son leaving the nest. Cringing, the librarian turned her eyes to the small picture that sat above her fireplace, a picture of Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, rarity and herself. The longer she looked, the more her depression began igniting into hurt anger. How? How could they do that to her? They'd met Cadance once before, but acted like they'd known the alicorn better than Twilight had. She told them, countless times she told them that the bride to be wasn't acting right. She'd known Cadance for years, she knew how she handled stress, how she handled being upset, and yet even Celestia didn't believe her. They all just walked away and left to her to sob and cry in the middle of the hall floor. Like she was just looking for a way to hurt her brother and beloved foal sitter. "Why?" She asked, her legs beginning to tremble as the picture was taken up in her lavender aura. "Why didn't any of you believe me? When have I ever lied to any of you?" She touched the surface of the picture. Fluttershy had apologized, back at the hospital. It broke Twilight's heart to see the gentle pegasus breaking down in tears, apologizing over and over again, begging for he unicorn to forgive here. Twilight said she did, and as much as she wanted to mean it, she just couldn't. When the girls abandoned her like they did, the did a serious disservice to their elements of friendship and harmony. None of them would even hear her out. She couldn't be too mad at her brother, what with the mind control and the fact he was caught up in the emotional roller coaster of it all, but even as he begged for her to pardon his sins, she simply couldn't. How could she? They'd all been through so much together. Twilight had invited some of them into her home to have a sleep over, she'd have gladly let any one of them stay at her home if they needed to. Why wouldn't they at least hear her out? A couple of knocks came from the door, breaking the mare of her thoughts. She quickly replaced the picture, whipped her eyes clean of any tears and wondered over to the door with the closest thing she could muster to a smile. "Good morning, welcome to- Oh, hello Applejack." The orange mare outside her door was somber, her hind leg in a small cast. "Mornin' Twilight." She cleared her throat, looking down for a moment then forcing herself to look into the librarian's eyes. "May Ah come in? Ah need ta talk to ya." Twilight pressed her lips and stood silently for a moment before opening the door and letting the cow pony in. "Much abliged." She was a little taken aback by the apple pony's appearance, but pushed her indignation to the way side. It only figured that Applejack would be the first to talk to her about what happened. She offered her friend the couch and took the cushion she was on before, giving her friend her undivided attention. "Ah'll cut righ' to it, Twi. Ah am sorreh fer not listenin' to ya about Cadenza. Ya were right in bein' suspicious o' her, Ah was so wrapped up in thinkin' ya were jes jealous n' tryin' ta ruin yer brother's big day tha Ah didn't even take the time tah hear what y'all were gonna say. Ah was bein' stupid, we all were, and Ah apologize fer it, fer what it's worth." Calm, cool, collected and genuine. It was almost amazing how detached yet fully present Applejack appeared to be. Twilight knew the earth pony meant every word she said, but then again, she had a few things she wanted to say herself. "You thought I wanted to ruin my big brother's wedding? Why would you think that?" Applejack inhaled and exhaled. "Honestly Twi' emotions got in th' way." Twilight's eye quirked and her head tilted. "When Ah saw the fake Cadance cryin', Ah thought it was the real Cadance. From mah perspective at the time, what Ah saw was a jealous little sister who was takin' her brother's bride's stressed out behavior n' makin' it inta somethin' it wasn't. It made me angry, seein' you call her evil, yellin' at her until she was in tears. I'd imagine the others would tell ya the same." "Though, there's another reason, Ah suppose." She removed her stetson and looked Twilight in the eye. "When you brought up tha' she was usin' mind control on Shinin', I was reminded o' what Soarin did tah me. It hurt, Twilight. It hurt to think tha' anypony else in the world was able er willin' to do to yer brother what he did tah me. Usin' some sorta magic tah force somepony to love you while bein' a bad sort. Ah... Ah didn't wanna think about it, so Ah left. Ah know you wont see it as an excuse, n' that's not what I'm tryin' tah make it into. But that's part of the reason Ah walked out how Ah did." Twilight was dumbstruck, she'd almost forgotten about it when Applejack told her. The love potion that Soarin had used made her become infatuated, even to the point of emotional abuse. It wasn't quite the same thing that happened with Shining Armor, but it was a similar concept. Applejack was right though, that wasn't going to be an excuse. If anything, that should have helped convince her that the possibility existed. When she brought it up, AJ just nodded her head and agreed that she should have, but didn't. Getting caught up in a stressful moment and being lead by the emotional manipulations of a crying mare was what had lead them to where they were now. It may not have been a logical or sound truth, but the world isn't dictated by only logic and soundness. Emotions were powerful things, emotions could easily turn friends into enemies and destroy years of built trust and care in under a minute. Again, she wasn't using it as an excuse against what she'd done, but it was the reason. "I- I just don't understand how you all could walk away from me like that. Do you have any idea how betrayed I felt, watching the ponies I called friends walk away from me like that?" She was trembling, fighting the urge to cry and hit Applejack, to try to make her feel the pain she'd felt. Looking down in a mask of guilt, Applejack shook her head. "No, Ah'm afraid Ah don't know how you felt, Sugarcube; n' Am'm not gonna pretend ah do." She answered calmly. The calmness in Applejack's voice was driving Twilight crazy. It was the complete opposite of Fluttershy's apology, and what's worse, Twilight found her words much easier to take than the timid pegasus'. It was rational, collected, and nothing but straight facts. No excuses, no justifications, just the truth. "Applejack, I-" A series of knocks at the door interupted her. AJ nodded and Twilight stood from her cooshin and answered it. "Pinkie Pie?" The saddened pink pony stood in the door way, her usually fluffy pink mane was bone straight and her once vibrant and energetic eyes were dull and lifeless. Her entire body seemed... muted somehow, bringing a terrifying memory of their trial in the maze when Discord had corrupted her. It almost made the librarian physically sick to look at the shell of a pony that stood before her. "Hey Twilight, may I come in?" She asked dully, like her voice and mind were on auto pilot. Frowning in concern, Twilight stood back and herded her in. Pinkie and Applejack made eye contact with eachother but said nothing, neither looking surprised to see the other here. As expected, the party mare had also come to apologize. "I- I'm so sorry Twilight, I don't, I don't know what to say." She began to hiccup, fighting back sobs. "I- I was a terrible friend to you." The confusion and inner turmoil she'd felt from Applejack magnified ten fold. She'd never seen Pinkie like this before, sad, depressed and so close to tears. Twilight wanted to hug her, to comfort her, but she couldn't. A small voice in her head began whispering about how the pink earth pony had no right to come in looking for sympathy, that this was all an act to try to smooth things over. Twilight didn't believe it though, in all of her confusion, she knew that her friends would never intentionally manipulate her like that. Even so, Pinkie's tears needed to stop. "Pinkie, calm down, okay?" It took a moment, but she eventually regained her faculties through a thin vale of stoic guilt. "I want to know why you did it." Pinkie's explanation was the exact opposite of her apple friend. Where AJ came out with the cold, hard facts of the situation, Pinkie quickly descended into an incoherent rant of feelings like anger and guilt. She was angry at Twilight for what she had done, thinking her assault on Cadance unjustified, but unlike Applejack, she couldn't justify it in the same way. "I thought you were just mad at her and being crazy. I was wrong, I know that now, and I'm sorry I didn't stay with you. I'm trying to figure out how to make it right, really, I am! Honest! But, I just- " she sighed, slumping her shoulders. "I just don't know what to do, I don't know how to make it up to you and show you how super sorry I am..." Twilight began trembling again, for some reason, Pinkie's voice was becoming very annoying to her. She was all to happy when she'd finally shut up, but still, the damage was done. Anger began to feed off of her confusion in a vicious cycle of indignation and aimless rage. Anger at her friends for what they'd done, and anger at herself for thinking such terrible things about them. She didn't want to be too hard on the two, or any of her friends for that matter, but she also couldn't deny that their abandonment wasn't without consequence. "Pinkie, Applejack. I'm sorry, but I... I just can't trust you two anymore." Twilight admitted. Pinkie's sobs began anew, and AJ cringed and looked away. "When I needed you both most, when my brother walked away from me, telling me not to come to his wedding, you weren't there. I get it, you were both upset and disappointed in me, but you didn't trust me enough to even talk to me and figure out why I was being so dramatic. If you can't trust me with that, than why should I trust you?" Unable to take any more, Pinkie finally broke down and cried before making a mad dash for the door. Though, a lavender aura of magic caught her before she could exit the building. She struggled and squirmed to get free, but magic, unlike other, more physical forms of manipulations, rendered her struggling absolutely useless. "Please, Twilight, just let me go." "No, Pinkie." The librarian shook her head and closed the door before putting Pinkie right back where she was. "Not until you let me finish. I don't trust you, or any of the other girls. That much is true, but I am willing to try and rebuild our friendships again." She paused and cleared her throat. "It was a mistake, and I don't think good friends who care about me should be thrown out of my life over a mistake." Pinkie offered her a weak smile. It was a faint, brittle upturn of the lips, but her tears of sorrow subtlely turned into tears of joy. Applejack stood from her place and walked up to Twilight, placing a hoof on her shoulder. "That's perfectly understandable Twi. N' Ah do hope, that in time, ya can fergive us all fer what we did." Twilight let out a relieved sigh, not happy about the decision she'd made, but finding it to be the most rational. She knew she still wanted to be friends with the girls, and was confident that they would regain her trust once more. With a silent nod, the cow pony said her good byes and offered both Twilight and Pinkie supper at her place tomorrow. An offer Twilight felt hesitant about accepting, but agreed to none the less. If they were going to be reestablishing their friendship, than she would need to make an effort as well. Pinkie followed next, but stopped to give Twilight a hug and thanking her for the chance at redemption. The librarian returned the embrace and saw the pink pony out before closing the door. She felt better, the uncertainty in her chest loosening it's grip greatly, but she knew that it wasn't over yet. She'd need to seek out Fluttershy and be more forthcoming about what would need to happen for the two to be friends again. But as far as Rainbow and Rarity were concerned, they would need to find her, apologize and also face her judgement. She was going to be as harsh on them as she was on Pinkie and Applejack, but she was also willing to make to make the effort, and silently hoped that the six of them would be friends again.