Four is Greater
Chapter 2
Aftermath
Applejack stood with a solid smile on her face, grinning proudly at Twilight.
Rainbow Dash was stock-still, her face betraying no emotion.
Twilight looked to be on the verge of tears.
And then, in a sudden burst of speed, Rainbow as gone, the sound of shattering glass filled the room as Twilight's previously locked balcony doors were blasted clean off their hinges, falling out onto her balcony with a pegasus sized hole cut clean through the wood design lining the glass patterns, the glass itself now nothing but shards littering the floor. Twilight watched in silent horror as the rainbow trail of her friend faded into the distance, a cyan bolt at its head as it rocketed away into the dim light of dusk.
Twilight jumped when she felt a gentle hoof rest itself on her shoulder. “I know; I was shocked I'd let one of her kind get so close to me, too. But it's over now; I doubt we'll be seeing her again,” Applejack stated confidently.
Whirling around, Twilight stared aghast at the farmer next to her. Her mouth worked uselessly for a second, trying to form the words she wanted to say. How could Applejack be so... cold?
“What... happened?” Twilight asked finally, her mind catching up to the situation her body found itself in.
Applejack put a hoof to her chin, rubbing it thoughtfully. “You mean at lunch? Well... after you left, she tried to convince us her sickness was normal – even said you still thought she was normal, can you imagine? - an' after a couple failed attempts she took off. I had a hunch, so I came here; make sure she didn't do nothin' to ya,” Applejack answered, smiling happily, and somewhat proudly, that she'd been there in time to protect her unicorn friend.
“S-sickness?” Twilight stuttered, eye wide as she braced herself for an explanation she probably didn't want to here.
“Well, to be fair nopony's exactly sure what it is. Some say it's a problem in the head, others a disease. All I know is it ain't normal,” the farmer explained calmly. “But whatever it is, it's gone now. Guess we need to find a better Element of Loyalty, huh?”
Twilight never once tore her eyes away from her shattered balcony doors. Instead, she closed her eyes, locking away the tears she could feel threatening to spill out, and took a deep breath. “Get out,” she whispered, her voice strained as she forced herself to hold back her screams.
“What was that?” Applejack asked innocently, trying to catch the librarian’s eye.
“I said get out,” Twilight repeated, louder; firmer. Applejack seemed to be surprised for a second, before nodding in understanding.
“Of course; it is quite a shock, an' you probably need some time. I'll be at the farm if ya need me.” Tipping her hat, Applejack made her exit from the room, quietly closing the door behind her and leaving the library.
Twilight listened, waiting for the sound of her front door closing, before she once again opened her eyes. Instantly her damn broke, and tears came flowing down her cheeks, running down and dripping off her chin onto the wooden floor beneath her.
“Twilight? I heard something breaking up here, are you- Twilight!” Spike gasped as he came around the corner into the room, seeing the lavender mare openly sobbing in the middle of the room. He didn't hesitate as he came running to her side, wrapping her as best he could in a comforting hug. “Twilight? What's wrong?”
Twilight didn't answer. Instead, she returned his embrace gratefully and continued to cry. He didn't stop her, as confused and concerned as he was, he just let her cry. He didn't know why, either; both Rainbow and Applejack had come in, requesting to see her. He'd seen Applejack leave, and the best he could guess was that Rainbow caused the distinct lack of doors on the balcony, but the rest was a mystery to him.
“What do I do, Spike?” Twilight blubbered out, her sobbing growing quieter. “Did I make the right choice?” Twilight was speaking more to herself than Spike; that the young dragon knew, but he didn't care. Twilight seemed to be calming down, and for now that's all the mattered.
“What happened, Twilight?” Spike asked, not really expecting an answer but hoping for some kind of response out of the devastated mare.
“I... I think I made a mistake, Spike,” Twilight sniffled, releasing him as her sobbing finally stopped. “I think I chose wrong.”
“Chose? Twilight, what are you talking about?” Spike was growing more and more concerned by the vague and confusing answers He hesitantly released his embrace and looked up at the older mare as she tried to wipe away her tears, only for them to be replaced by more.
“If four is greater than one... why do I feel like I lost everything?” Twilight continued to ignore her assistant's questions, once again lost in her own mind as she found her way back to her bed, sitting on the edge of the mattress and starring blankly at the opposite wall. Spike crawled up on the bed and sat down next to her.
“Twilight?” He repeated, concern clear in his voice.
“I don't know what to do,” Twilight whimpered, falling onto her back and staring at the ceiling rather than the wall.
“Just calm down and tell me what happened, Twilight. I can't help you if you don't,” Spike prompted quietly, walking across the bed until he was next to Twilight's head and sitting back down.
“It's... about Rainbow Dash,” Twilight admitted finally, making her assistant raise a curious eyebrow.
“What about her?”
“She... we abandoned her, Spike. Our friends... they... they called her a freak. They think she's sick... and I... I agreed with them...” Twilight's voice shook almost as much as her body as she spoke, but she continued anyway. The dam had been broken, and the tears were flooding out faster and faster. “I was the only one, Spike. I was the only one... and I lied to her. I lied to all of them, just because four is greater than one.”
“Rainbow Dash is sick? What do you mean? Why would the others say such mean things to her?” Spike asked, shocked by what he'd just been told. It just didn't add up to him; what could Rainbow Dash possibly do to earn such a thing?
“Because she's not like them. They don't understand and it scares them, they've all been raised to be scared of ponies like her,” Twilight explained sadly. “She knew that, but still she told us all the truth, because she though she could trust us... she should have been able to trust us. Instead we threw it right back in her face.”
“I don't get it, Twilight; how is she different?”
“She's gay, Spike,” she said quietly, barely above a whisper.
Spike's eyes widened a little. “They abandoned her for that?” He asked incredulously, until something else clicked in his mind. Something else Twilight had said. “Y-you abandoned her because of that?”
Twilight couldn't bring herself to look at him. Instead she turned away, nodding weakly.
“Twilight!” Spike scolded firmly. “How could you! The others maybe, but you? Don't you remember what happened when the other students in Celestia' Schools found out you were bisexual? Don't you remember how much that hurt? But you did the exact same thing to Rainbow Dash anyway. Why?”
“Because I was scared Spike!” Twilight shouted, through shame rather than anger. “Because if I didn't agree with the girls I'd lose them all as friends. Because if they find out how I am they'd shun me like they shunned her! I didn’t know what I was supposed to do! If I lied I'd keep four of them as my friends... if I didn't, I'd only have one of them left...”
Spike shook his head, crossing his arms in disappointment. “You know what you did was wrong, don't you?”
“I know!” Twilight sobbed, raising her hooves up to her face and hiding behind them. “But I didn’t know what else I could do!”
“Tell the truth, Twilight,” Spike advised gently, “You could have convinced the others, I'm sure of it.”
Twilight shook her head adamantly behind her hooves. “You don't get it Spike, this is something that's been ingrained in them for as long as they can remember. I wouldn't be able to change their minds, no matter how hard I tried.”
“That doesn't mean you should just give up and roll over!” Spike protested loudly, making Twilight lower her hooves to look at him. “You shouldn't have lied to them, Twilight.”
“I'm not so sure. Who's to say they're wrong? Maybe ponies like us are different. Maybe... Maybe we are-”
“You are not,” Spike stressed, grabbing Twilight's hoof in his own scaled claws. “Twilight, you know what the Princess said about it. What Cadence told you, remember?”
Twilight sighed, squeezing the claw that was holding her hoof. “Love is love no matter who loves who, I know... but you should have seen them, Spike. The things they said, and I have no doubt they said worse things after I left...”
“All the more reason you should have supported her!” Spike argued sternly.
“But then I'd loose all four of therm as my friends!” Twilight protested. “I just... I don't know anymore.”
“Twilight,” the dragon groaned quietly. “If yours and Rainbow Dash's positions were reversed, what would you want Dash to do?”
Twilight sniffled weakly, glancing over to Spike. “I... I'd want her to tell the truth... no matter what it was.”
“Exactly. And knowing Rainbow Dash, do you think she'd let anypony else tell her what was right or wrong?”
“No...”
Spike flung his arms above his head. “Well then?”
“I... I need to go find her.” Twilight rose of the bed, wiping the remaining tears away from her cheeks. “I need to find her,” she repeated, more strength in her voice as she sat up.
“Exactly!”Spike cheered as Twilight pushed herself off the bed.
“I... thanks, Spike. I don't know what I'd do without my number one assistant,” Twilight said as she rushed out her bedroom door and down the stairs. Spike heard the front door open then slam shut as she ran out of the house.
Blushing lightly at the compliment, Spike hopped of Twilight's bed. “While you find Rainbow Dash,” he muttered to himself, descending the stairs. “I'm going to go talk some sense into these ponies.”
-_-_-_-
Rainbow Dash stomped around her house in a blind rage. Anything and everything in her path was tossed out a window, smashed under her hoof, or slammed on the floor. Nothing escaped her angry rampage. For every vase she smashed and every picture she flung across the room, just a little bit of her anger bled from her body, leaving the soul crushing sorrow in its wake.
With a scream of rage Rainbow flung her hoof into a picture hanging on the wall, the glass shattering under the force of her punch. She felt the razor sharp edges slash into her skin but she didn't care. Removing her hoof, she looked through teary eyes at a blood-stained picture of six ponies, all smiling brightly at a camera. Her best friends. She collapsed on the floor into a pitiful sobbing mess. She curled in on herself, turning into a small, whimpering ball of cyan fur and rainbow mane.
She didn't have anything anymore. Word would spread through the town, and by the next day everypony in Ponyville would hate her. For all she knew there was already a mob of ponies forming to run her out of town. She wouldn't be surprised, if her... former friends reactions were any indication. They'd probably be at the front.
So Rainbow Dash cried. She wailed and she sobbed openly on her floor. She'd lost everything, and what she hadn't lost yet she'd be sure to lose soon enough. Images of her past, of her time spent with her friends flashed through her mind, only making her cry harder. Hatred swam through her very being every time she thought about her friends and their faces when she'd told them. But perhaps worst of all was Twilight's. Rainbow had seen the look Twilight had given her; Twilight didn't hate her. Twilight didn't agree with the rest of them.
But still, the unicorn had chosen a side, and it was not Rainbow's. Rainbow Dash hated her for that. Twilight had lied to all of them, just to keep the majority of her friendships alive. So be it; Rainbow didn't need her. Rainbow Dash didn’t need anypony. Not anymore.
It was on weak and shaky hooves that the cyan pegasus pushed herself from the floor. She staggered unevenly into her bedroom, tears still running down her cheeks as she moved to her closet, digging within for a moment before extracting what she was looking for.
She laid her saddlebags out on her bed and threw them open, hastily stuffing a few choice items inside. A Wonderbolt poster or two, a signed Spitfire photo, a few basic hygiene products. She packed only the bare minimum for what she would need, threw what bits she kept with her in the bags, and strapped them onto her back.
She had nothing left in Ponyville, nothing but good memories tainted by the shadow of betrayal. With a speed she normally reserved for competitions Rainbow Dash flew out of her house, knocking the picture of her five former friends to the floor before blasting out her front door and into the evening sky. She put the small town of Ponyville behind her and headed in a random direction. At the moment, she didn't care where she was going. Anywhere was better than Ponyville.
Without looking back she soared swiftly through the cool air.
Alright. I'm glad we've got Twilight thinking sensibly again. I'm not sure what the rest of the chapters will be formatted as , but I think doing each chapter as a scene of Rainbow/Twilight and a scene with Spike/homophobic would help move the story along well.
5137854
That's exactly the plan for the coming chapters. I want the rest of the chapters after the third one to be around 4-6K words, which gives me some elbow room to have both sides in there along with some extra.
MOAR NAO!!!!!!!!!!
I want to cry why would my friends leave me. I'm not gay but if I were would they really leave me
That Twilight realized how wrong she was on her own is one of the most satisfying things here--she didn't need anypony to tell her she screwed up, she just needed a direction to go.
I do hope the intensity of Rainbow Dash's hate is one of those temporary emotional highs following things going FUBAR. Not because I think the hate would be undeserved, but the transition from close friendship to full-fledged hate takes longer. Some more feelings of pain and betrayal, loneliness and regret for coming out, followed by resentment and longing for the past, before finally blooming into real loathing.
I haven't lost a drop of interest in this story and will absolutely love to see where you go from here. The meet-up of Twilight and Rainbow Dash (is that coming next chapter, or will we be on a "Twilight Tries to Hunt down Rainbow" arc for a few chapters?) seems like it will be... confrontational, if Rainbow Dash's reaction is anything to go by, but I will really like to see how Twilight gets through to her, and how she apologizes. Is the TwiDash going to start quickly, or will there be a gradual build-up into romance as they start to see one another in a different light? I personally prefer the more drawn out path, if only because it makes the eventual realization and confession of love more... intense, but getting into the parts quickly can be satisfying, too.
I do hope that Spike or Celestia don't tell the remaining four about Twilight's bisexuality--that really seems like something she should do herself (although in efforts to get through to them I could certainly see it being brought up). Both because of her temporary abandonment of Rainbow (going through the same thing herself is... fitting, especially considering that she at least has the certainty that Dashie won't shun her for her bisexuality) and because it would be meaningful in regards to her abandoning her passive mentality and confronting her friends (or one-time friends) about their prejudices.
Also, Twilight--your problem is that, while you would have a higher number of friends by shunning Rainbow Dash, you don't address the issue of friend quality.
1 = 100% friendship (one true true friend)
Prejudice = -10% friendship
Actively shunning a friend due to prejudice (or otherwise performing a horrible act for that reason) = -30% friendship
Abandoning a friend due to prejudice = -25% friendship
Having no shame about their actions = -15% friendship
Attempts to make you imitate their prejudiced ways = -15% friendship
Needs help = +10% pseudo-friendship points (in regards to prioritizing friendship for an action, rather than rating friendship as a whole)
Rainbow Dash = 100% friendship (110% effective friendship)
Applejack = 30% friendship
Rarity = 30% friendship
Pinkie Pie = 65% friendship (in absence of observed attempts to force Twilight and in light their uncomfortable, somewhat regretful-seeming behavior, they are not reduced to the point of Rarity and Applejack)
Fluttershy = 65% friendship (in absence of observed attempts to force Twilight and in light their uncomfortable, somewhat regretful-seeming behavior, they are not reduced to the point of Rarity and Applejack)
If you use averages (to determine quality of friendship on each side), Rainbow Dash is at 100% (110% for the duration of her time of need), while the other four are at a mere 47.50% friendship. If you compare them additively, Rainbow Dash still comes out as being only one friend compared to the other four being worth almost 2 full friendships... but then, Twilight, your friendship rating would go down for abandoning her, for picking prejudiced friends over non, and for taking actions you are ashamed of despite knowing that they are wrong.
5138186
Whoa, 'kay, a lot of questions that I'm actually willing to answer here.
While Twilight doesn't meet Rainbow in the next chapter and I do have planned for a few chapters of searching I wouldn't call it an entire arc. Then again, this story was supposed to be about 4 chapters long when I initially planned it, and that idea went out the window early on so the planning for this fic is very flexible as I look over it with a lot more experience then I had when I originally thought it through.
How the romance develops is... a weird sort of combination of quick and slow, and you'll see what I mean by that later.
I have a lot of plans for Spike's little adventure, starting with Rarity next chapter, and I don't want to give too much of that away.
And.. whoa... uh... thanks for the math on the friends thing... I think....
5138186
While I don't know if I'd put it in %s like that I agree with the idea here.
I never really got the argument that four is greater than one especially from a pony as intelligent and precise as Twilight. Four is not always greater than one and Twilight would know that. Four bruised, rotten apples aren't worth one good one, four pennies are not greater than a quarter, anything to do with chemistry, ect... Even friendships are not 100% equal. That's why you have "best" friends after all. And that leads to a different question... Does Twilight not see her friends any differently at all even now? Ignoring the question of whether they'd ever find out about her own sexuality, does she still like them as much/think she can still hang out with them like before now that she knows what they think of ponies like herself and Rainbow?
Lastly, Twilight has dealt with this problem before (apparently in Canterlot when it directly effected her), had BOTH (?) of her dearest and most loved childhood figures (Cadance, who at least in her eyes is probably the closest thing there is to an expert in the concept of love, and Celestia who is very much a second mother to her) tell her it's not wrong, and still acted this way? WTF Twilight?! Twilight hero worships Cadance so hard that even years later as a young adult she still fauns over her every word like a little puppy (even down to playing patty cake with her like she did as a child), while she follows Celestia's words to the absolute letter (down to having a meltdown for missing an imaginary deadline), and she didn't accept/follow their response to the situation when it happened with her friends..?
Dear god Twilight... Well at least we're past this part and on to the fixing things part... Also Spike as the voice of reason...
Poor Twilight. Poor Rainbow. Things just escalated so fast.
Really excited that Spike is going to take charge and go around and have Words with ponies . GET HYPE!
This is going to backfire so hard, isnt it? I get this dreadful feeling Spike is going to end up outing Twilight somewhere during that conversation.
Nice to see it only took a chapter for Twi to realize she was wrong and to get to work on fixing this thing. I'm kinda sad she didn't catch RD before she left, but I guess that would mess with the format of the chapters that you were going for.
A few things I noticed while reading:
hear*
dam
Again, I love what you are doing here, I hope to see to quality work from a topic close to my heart. Keep it up :D
Well, s**tz gun go down.
Hm... I feel the sudden need to go smack a homophobic bitch. Yeah, I think I'll do that. Ta ta!
5138875 Twilight has issues with self-esteem. She thought that her friends would completely abandon her for being good at magic and genuinely thought Celestia would inflict a punishment deserving of traitors to the state for incredibly minor reasons. Although she trusts Cadance and Celestia likely more than anypony, there are certain issues where logic really doesn't apply--such as in how you perceive yourself.
Despite the support of Cadance and Celestia, she starts to take seriously the suggestion that she really is wrong and unnatural. The issue here is that self-esteem isn't logical at all--some are prideful without reason and others imagine themselves as trash despite the wonderful things they've done. It is easy to think that somepony is overestimating your value if you think they're too nice to point out all the things you've done wrong or if you think that a single mistake is going to destroy their affection for you.
I'm not trying to say that Twilight has depression or anything, but for a pony with a pretty much nonexistent social circle the opinions of her few friends becomes that much more important. Combined with her low self-value, and you get a pony very suggestible to attacks on her self-worth. The loving advice of Cadance and Celestia, the familial support of Spike and her family, her own sense of morality, and even her own experiences with social shunning--despite all this (and partway through Spike pointing out how big a mistake she's making, at that!) she still seriously entertains the thought that her feelings and desires are unnatural and wrong. Even through the shame she felt at her actions.
Unfortunately, there really are a lot of non-heteronormative people out there who believe just that about themselves. Spike and Celestia may start working on trying to change the minds of the other four, but Twilight has some issues of her own that need to be resolved. Hopefully Rainbow Dash can help with that.
5139428
I really don't want to start a multipost debate over character motivations/psychology (which is why I removed my last post). Suffice to say I don't like arguments based around what real world people deal with when fictional established characters are involved.
Once again it is Spike who is the voice of reason. Though it would be interesting to see his take since he'll probably be the one who is straight but also doesn't have anything against gays or bisexuals.
5139617 Understandable.
5139617 But...but I liked reading your debate. Almost as much as I liked reading the fic it was about. The people I usually hang out with are idiots. So it's nice to know that there are still intelligent people out there.
5142770
Oh, ummm sorry to disappoint this time.
I'm sure we'll have something to talk about next chapter.
I'm just waiting for Celestia, their god empress that has ruled for thousands of years, to step in and tell the other four they're unbelievably wrong.
5143842 As am I. That is going to be a very interesting chapter, methinks!
Make more! This is awesome!
I normally like Applejack. Let her die. CRUSH HER SPIRIT!!
Meow
This is all quality work and a wonderful story that has grasped my attention and has pulled close to my heart. This is by far within one of the top 5 of list of my favorite fanfics, and I check every day to see if you have updated. Though I do not want you to rush through and create some mediocre hack of a story, I cannot help but wish the chapters would just magically appear at times. I truly support your work and believe it tackles an important subject. Please keep up the wonderful work.
5242262
Thanks for all of that, and for reminding me of this story, for that matter. I kinda forgot...
Anyway, chapter three is actually already written, it was written a long time ago, but it desperately needs a lot of editing before it can be released. I hate editing so I've kind of been putting it off for a while...
If I kick my ass in gear, next chapter should be out by the end of the weekend.
5242287
Well, I am happy I reminded you anyways. Keep up the good work silly.
I look forward to reading what Chapter 3 consist of when you finish it.