• Published 11th Aug 2017
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Vanishing Act - redandready45

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Farewell Princess

Author's Note:

Here is your belated Christmas gift, everypony! Enjoy.

Early Friday Evening


In front of the Canterlot High horse statue, a small gathering of students stood around preparing to say their goodbyes to their favorite Pony Princess as the sun slowly set.

A stand of refreshments had been set up by Pinkie Pie to give Twilight a nice, if somewhat muted, going away party. The Rainbooms and the students of Canterlot congregated around the Princess of Friendship.

"They have classical music in your world?" Octavia asked Twilight while holding up a plastic cup of punch like it was a fancy glass of champagne.

"Yep," the Princess said. "In fact, the other version of you also plays cello." Before Octavia could respond, Lyra excitedly shoved her out of the way.

"Really?" Lyra asked Twilight, ignorant of Octavia's huff of frustration. "How do you play cello with...hooves?" She asked with an goofy grin.

"Lyra," Bon Bon said with a groan. "Why do you have to be so rude?!" She started pulling the blue-white haired girl away by her shoulders. "I'm so sorry Princess," she said to the purple-skinned royal, "Lyra's like that annoying puppy who is too cute to dump in the pound."

"Hey," Lyra uttered, trying to break free from Bon-Bon's grip.

"Don't worry about, it" Twilight said a wave of her hand. "Pony Lyra is the same way," she finished with an amused smile.

"Really?" Lyra said happily, before trying again to break free from Bon Bon.

"Ever since Pony Lyra found out about this place, she's asked me lots of questions about this place and begged me to let her go," Twilight said with a small annoyance.

"Oh man, don't let the other Lyra come here," Mirco Chips said facetiously. "Two Lyras at once would destroy the fabric of reality." Everyone laughed at that. Lyra huffed cutely over it.

"Our Lyra's also begged us to go to the Pony world." Applejack said.

"Well why can't I?" Lyra complained. "Why can't we all go on, like, a field trip to Equestria?"

"That is a good question your majesty." Micro Chips asked in a curious voice. "Why haven't you wanted to pursue cultural and scientific exchange between your world and ours? You've shown enormous interest in human technology."

Princess Twilight's good natured face twisted into something unusually nervous.

"I've wanted to do that, Micro Chips," Princess Twilight said uneasily. "But the pony who built the portal to this world...warned about the consequences of interdimensional exchange. Putting magic here has not always been a good thing for this world. Sunset had her, you know, episode." The fire-haired girl guiltily sighed, only for others to give her a reassuring look and pats on the back to remind her that they forgave her for her transgressions. "And the Dazzlings were able to brainwash people who didn't have latent magic protecting them, and then what happened last week," everyone flinched at that. "This world simply isn't prepared to deal with magical calamities."

"Also, while I appreciate humanity's technological achievements, human history hasn't always been progress," Twilight continued. "The wars here are more destructive than anything I've seen or read about in Equestria." She took a deep breath and continued. "My fear is if I bring tech to my world, it might be misused in a way that even the Magic of Friendship can't heal." Micro Chips frowned at that, dreading the idea of a magical world torn apart by human guns. Lyra stopped behaving petulantly, and looked pretty serious, as the implications dawned on her. Other people too looked uncomfortable at the implications.

"But," Princess Twilight said with a small amount of hope. "Sunset plans to continue studying the effects of magic here. And I also plan on looking into some...rules regarding the exchange of technology. Maybe in a few months...I could let some of you guys come, once I've worked out some protocol first."

"That sounds fair," Lyra said. Everyone went back to idle chatter and consumption of refreshments, except for one forlorn looking boy who approached Twilight.

"I really screwed up, didn't I?" Flash said in a regretful tone.

"Flash, it's water under the bridge," Princess Twilight said in a reassuring tone. "You apologized and I already made it...clear that you weren't gonna do it again."

"Oh you certainly did alright," Rainbow Dash said with a wry smile. "You made yourself so clear, the whole school heard. I felt the school shaking for a minute." Princess Twilight blushed in embarrassment over it.

"That was the Royal Canterlot Voice," Sunset said with a wry smile, sounding both wistful and sad. "I heard that more times then one should."

"Yeah, I went a little overboard telling you off," Princess Twilight admitted sheepishly. "And I'm sorry."

"Don't be," Flash said remorsefully. "It was a stupid thing to do. I was so excited to see you I took it for granted...that you're not exactly...normal." Twilight looked down and let out a bitter sigh. Flash let out another sigh. "I'm sorry...I didn't mean to say anything-,"

"Flash, you didn't say anything wrong," Princess Twilight said, before letting out a sigh. "It's just...sometimes I wished I...lived a life like yours."

"Like mine?" Flash said.

"I grew up the student of a princess," Twilight said. "I grew under the spotlight, with all these reporters snooping around my life."

"They harassed you?" Flash asked sympathetically.

"Yeah," Twilight uttered with a small frown. "One reporter tried to ask me about the Princess' secrets when I was five."

"Wow, talk about nerve!" Rainbow huffed.

"The ponies at school were even worse," Twilight said with some sadness. "A lot of them came from noble families. They felt that a 'common pony' like me didn't deserve it." She rubbed her hair nervously. "So they-,"

"They bullied you didn't they?" Sunset asked in a sympathetic tone.

"Yeah," Princess Twilight said. "And they didn't stop until Princess Celestia found me...glued to a tree with an 'egghead' sign on my neck." Princess Twilight felt Flash pat her on the shoulder in comfort, while the other people in the vicinity narrowed their eyes in anger over the snobs who dared hurt their favorite pony princess.

"That happened to me too," Sunset said, remembering some not so fond memories.

"What did you do?" Rainbow Dash asked Sunset.

"Tried to become a pony god that so that I would be powerful enough to crush the nobility under my hoof for daring to mock my greatness," Sunset said casually with a wry smile.

"Oh," Rainbow Dash said rubbing her arms in discomfort.

"Well the joke's on them," Applejack said to Twilight with a somewhat nasty grin. "Those spoiled brats now have to bow to you."

"It's even worse," Twilight said with frustration. "Now they lie and claim that I was their best friend all along. Since I became a princess, two nobles have written fake biographies about me, claiming that 'they' were my inspiration."

"Scoundrels," Applejack said with a grunt.

"Some of them even write me marriage proposals before they even know who I am," Twilight said with a scoff.

"How crass," Rarity said with disgust. "They claim to be nobles, but they behave like such boors."

"One of the reasons why I liked you Flash is because you were the first male who liked me before you found I was a Princess," Twilight said warmly to Flash.

"Well, it helps that you're the prettiest princess I've ever met," Flash said with a wide smile.

"You're such a dork," Twilight said playfully. "Anyways, between dealing with nobles, having to fight evil villains, and all the work I have to do," she said somberly, "sometimes I wish I grew up in a place like this, where I wouldn't have to deal with all that, and I could just be Twilight Sparkle and not...the Princess of Friendship."

"Our world certainly isn't perfect," Micro Chips said. "There are plenty of dangers in this world, like natural disasters, nukes, and really bad popstars."

"I know," Princess Twilight said sadly. "But...I miss being able to come here whenever I want. Miss...being able to be in a place where people like me for who I am, not the crown on my head." She looked down. "Now I have a new student I need to take care off, so I'm going to be even more busy." She looked at Flash sadly. "I'm afraid I'll be so busy...I'm not going to be able to come here at all." Flash looked at her with the same sad tone, as did other students who liked hanging out with Princess Twilight.

"All rocks erode and shift," a voice said. Flash and Twilight turned around, and jumped at the scary face of Maud Pie. She looked at them blankly, while holding her pet rock Boulder. Behind her were Limestone and Marble Pie.

"Uh...what?" Flash uttered.

"All rocks erode," Maud repeated, not breaking a sweat. "The largest mountains crumble, the hardest stones break apart, and the nicest statues become sand. No matter what you are or what you're made of, the tides and winds of changes will come for you. They are the only thing that is constant in life." Maud paused for a moment to eat a chip. "The only thing you can do is move with them." Flash and Twilight just stared at her in awe. After a few moments, the stoic girl walked toward the refreshment table.

"Hard to believe that her head is full of something other than rocks isn't it?" Limestone Pie wryly asked the pair with a small smile. Her faced twisted into amusement watching Maud put Boulder on a plate and pour chips on it. "But Maud knows more than most people when you give her a chance."

"Mmm," Marble uttered with a nod. The two sisters walked over the refreshments.

"She's right, you know," Flash said to Twilight. "We've got to deal with the fact that you're gonna be too busy to come here whenever you want."

"Maybe I could give you one of those journals," Twilight said. "That way we could-,"

"Hey, what are you doing here?!" Bon Bon said angrily. Twilight, Flash, and the Rainbooms saw the party get quiet. Princess Twilight and Sunset pushed through the crowds. They saw Bon Bon lecturing very downtrodden looking Shadowbolts while Juniper was standing to the side. The other partygoers were also looking at them with distaste.

"Princess Twilight invited us," Indigo said in protest.

"Yeah, well, get lost!" Bon Bon yelled. "We don't want losers like you."

"Yeah!" Lyra yelled.

"But-,

"Why can't you just go, before you hurt someone else," Sandalwood said, albeit with more patience then Bon Bon.

"Bon Bon," Twilight said. "What are you doing?"

"Taking out the trash, Princess," Bon Bon said with a gleeful smile. Juniper Montage was giving her a glare.

"I invited them here," Princess Twilight said. "I get why you guys are angry, but this isn't the right way to go about it." Twilight expected Bon Bon to argue, but instead Bon Bon walked away with Lyra.

"It is your party Princess," Bon Bon said respectfully. "But don't blame me if they blow someone else up." Bon Bon said a little too loudly. The words hit the Shadowbolts like bullets. Lyra and Bon Bon walked over the refreshment stand.

"I'm going to go try the punch," Juniper said quickly, walking over there.

"Hey," Sunset said with a forced smile, trying to raise their spirits, "thanks for coming! Come on, I'll show you around."

"Yeah," Twilight said with some forced enthusiasm.

"Well, everybody seems happy to see us," Sour Sweet said. "NOT!" The other Shadowbolts echoed that statement, watching as everyone was looking at them with no small amount of hatred.

"Just give them time," Sunset reassured them. "They'll come to like you guys." He walked up to Bulk Biceps.

"Bulk," Sunset said. The red-eyed bodybuilder turned to him. His normally goofy face twisted into utter disdain when he saw the Shadowbolts behind her. "Uh...Indigo loves to do workout routines. Maybe you could...offer some advice."

"You want some advice?" Bulk said.

"Uh, yeah," Indigo said happily.

"I hear going to Crystal Prep will shorten your life," Bulk said with disdain before turning away from them.

"Daisy," Twilight said. "You know Sunny Flare right?" Sunny gave what she hope was a welcoming smile to the pink-skinned girl.

"Yeah," Daisy said uneasily. "Uh, Roseluck really wants to talk to you, over there."

"Really?" Sunny said turning the other way, only to see no one was there. She turned back, only to see a frustrated Princess Twilight. Sunny let out a sigh of frustration and guilt.


"What's your problem?" Bon Bon was snacking on a small pile of cake when she turned around and saw some tanned-skin girl coming up to her while Lyra was having a chat with Violet.

"I'm sorry," Bon Bon said with some annoyance. "Do I know you?"

"Juniper Montage," the girl uttered. Bon Bon's eyes narrowed in anger.

"Oh, you came with the Crystal bitches," Bon Bon said with some disdain. "You must be one of them."

"I'm new to Crystal Prep," Juniper argued. "I've only been here for a week. So please don't involve me in whatever...dispute you guys have."

"Alright fine," the blue-and pink girl said, her disdain not entirely fading from her voice. "It's only fair to warn you that those girls blew up their teammate just to win a game."

"I know what they did," Juniper argued sternly. Bon Bon gave her an unimpressed expression.

"You must be the biggest idiot if you know what happened and you're still hanging out with them." Juniper Montage jaw set.

"You don't know them. They were-,"

"All I know is that those rich jerks have always rubbed it in our faces about superior they are," Bon Bon said with anger. "Always vandalizing our property, always talking about their victory, always making fun of us because we weren't born rich." Juniper's anger dialed back a bit as she took this in. "Now...they've shown us how GREAT they are. They blew up a classmate just to win a trophy. And sooner or later...they'll turn on you the second you stop being important." Juniper's face turned red at that.

"You better take that back," Juniper growled.

"Why don't you just get lost," Bon Bon said with annoyance, turning away from Juniper with a sneer. Juniper got back into her face again.

"I know my friends did stupid things," Juniper said. "But they want to change. They deserve a second chance." Bon Bon's face twisted into a nasty grin.

"You know what I think they deserve?" Bon Bon almost snarled to fuming, pig-tailed girl.


"Look maybe we should go," Lemon said to a desperate Sunset Shimmer. "These dudes don't think we're cool."

"Guys, just give it some more-,"

"Look, Sunset, I appreciate you giving us a chance," Sugarcoat said. "But we're clearly not welcome here." Sugarcoat let out a sigh. "We'll see you at the lab-,"

"YOU BITCH!"

The Shadowbolts, Twilight, and Sunset followed the yell, and came up to a shocking sight.

Bon Bon and Juniper rolling on the ground, punching, biting, and smacking each other in the face, letting out screams and swears. The party and music had stopped as everyone looked at the spectacle in shock.

Bon Bon and Juniper were yanking each others' hair (the latter's pigtails coming undone), when finally Lyra and Sunny came to pull the two apart. The two however, kept trying to go after each other.

"What's going on here?" Twilight said, shouting to the fighting pair.

"Nothing princess," Bon Bon snarled, her eye swollen and black, "this girl must've forgotten to take her medication."

"SHE SAID THEY SHOULD DIE!" a bloody-mouthed Juniper screamed back.

"What?" Twilight said.

"I said they deserved another chance," Juniper yelled. "They said my friends deserved to die a horrible death."

"Well yeah," Bon Bon said in a smug tone. "They got the other Twilight killed so-,"

"Did you really say that Bonnie?" Lyra asked. Her goofy expression was replaced by a mixture of anger and disappointment.

"Well," Bon Bon said feeling the wind being pulled out of her sails, "they were the ones who-," Bon Bon paused as she saw a stone-faced Twilight approach her. She felt her heart go into her throat as she saw everyone else give her the same disappointed look.

"So, you think it is OK to wish death on someone else?" Twilight said, crossing her arms and giving her a look that could kill.

"Let's go Juniper," Sunny said, a mixture of anger and sadness on her face. "They all hate us. We shouldn't bother them anymore." The Shadowbolts turned to walk away, only for Sunset and Rarity to get in their way to keep them from leaving

"See, they're leaving," Bon Bon told Twilight nervously. "Now we can all go back-," she turned only to see Pinkie Pie staring at her with a cold look, and her usual poofy hair flat. Bon Bon felt herself shaking.

From a distance, Limestone, Marble, and Maud looked amused, scared, and mildly concerned respectively.

"This is a Cupcakes mode," Limestone said to Flash with an expression that combined fear and amusement.

"Cupcakes mode?"

"In 5th grade, some little snot stole Pinkie's cupcakes and threw them at Marble," Limestone said, putting a warm hand on Marble's shoulder as she trembled. "Pinkie Pie went up to the boy, and just stared at him for a minute. Then she grabbed him by the shirt, and threatened to shove cupcakes down his throat if he didn't apologize to Marble."

"The boy wet his pants didn't come back to school for a week.," Maud said, a small amount of dark amusement forming on her usually quiet face. Flash was speechless, and his mouth turned dry over Pinkie's utterly cold expression. The usually active party girl was as still as stone. The pink girl looked like a spider patiently waiting to go in for the kill.

"Uh, look," Bon Bon said to the unusually still Pinkie Pie. "You know they blew up the other Twilight, so why are you-,"

"If you ever. Say anything. Like to. That to. Anyone ever again," Pinkie Pie said, each word sounding like steam released from a thundering volcano. She moved her head forward so that she was staring directly at Bon Bon, who was now shaking in her boots. "You will never be allowed at any. Of. My. Parties."

"I," Bon Bon said, sounding terrified. Flash looked in shock, while Limestone began cackling with glee.

"Ever." Pinkie Pie turned away from Bon Bon in disgust and got back behind Princess Twilight.

"OK everybody," Twilight said in cold fury. While quiet, the force of the words made them audible to everyone present. "Party's over. We're all going to have a serious talk." Everyone immediately dropped whatever they were doing and turned to face Twilight. They remembered that underneath this teenage girl was a pony princess with abilities they couldn't comprehend.

"I love coming here," Twilight said, looking around so everyone could hear. "As I said, I love being in a place where I can be Twilight and not just Princess." Princess Twilight bit her lip in frustration. "But there is one thing about you guys that...really infuriates me. Is that you never learn to rise above. To forgive. To give other people a chance." Princess Twilight took another deep breath.

"Yeah, I know it can be hard to forgive. It can really hard to rise above. Back home, people tell me I can way too forgiving. But there is a reason why you should forgive. Because...doing the opposite and letting your anger consume you...can make you terrible. One example of that is...Anon-A-Miss." The Shadowbolts and Juniper noticed everyone's expressions twisted into one of shame. Sunset's expression was especially forlorn.

"How did that start again?" Twilight said rhetorically. "Oh yeah, because three little girls couldn't let go of their grudge against Sunset." Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, and Scootaloo craned their necks in sorrow, despite Twilight not addressing them directly. "So consumed by their hatred, they pulled a stunt so bad, they humiliated not only their loved ones, but everyone in Canterlot High." She took another deep breath. "Not only that, but the rest of you, instead of rising above, turned on someone who defended you ungrateful jerks from a bunch of monsters. Even she was on her knees crying her eyes out, you all continued to mocked her." Everyone, especially the Rainbooms, looked utterly downcast at their least proud moment. Twilight's faced twisted into a snarl. She ran her palm along her face, and let out deep breath, her anger abating somewhat.

"But I forgave you guys. You know why? Because you guys weren't completely wrong in suspecting her. She pulled these kinds of stunts in the past, and she hurt you guys pretty badly. I didn't expect for the hurt to go away completely," Twilight said, with some sympathy. Sunset let out a small tear of shame, but her friends ran over to hug her. "But instead of dealing with your problems with empathy and maturity, you chose the worst possible path. You chose to listen to anger, and the process, you hurt someone who didn't deserve it." Twilight let out another breath to calm herself down.

"Here's another point, I want to make," Twilight said sternly. "You all have this...really smug attitude where you pat yourself on the back for doing the bare minimum. You all think that being good simply means 'not being a demon' or 'not being a siren'." The Shadowbolts' faces twisted into confusion at that. "And now you think being good means 'not blowing people up.' That's not being good. That's not being heroic. You don't get to call yourself good just because you don't act bad. That's just being lazy." Twilight's eyes narrowed. "Being good means being better than the people who you. It means doing 150% what your enemies do to you." Twilight let out a deep breath and continued.

"Again, I understand why you're all angry at these girls too," Twilight said with some anger. "They did a really, really stupid and selfish thing and they got their teammate killed. Believe me, I wasn't happy and you all had every right not to be happy with them. But...they've proven to me that they want to change. They want to make up for what they did by helping Sunset out." The Shadowbolts began crying. Juniper ran up to give them hugs. "I hoped you guys would give them a chance, but I had too much hope in you apparently." The words hit everybody like a nasty bullet. "All you want to be are angry jerks who do the bare minimum."

"It is one thing to lay down the law for them," Twilight said, her voice almost on the verge of tears. "And if they hurt you, you are allowed to hit back. But hurting someone who wants a second chance isn't being a hero. It doesn't solve anything. It won't bring that girl back. You can't fix hate with hate. You can't solve hurt with hurt. All you're doing is making more hurt. And not only that. Your hurting yourselves by doing it." Twilight turned to face a deeply ashamed Bon Bon. "You were so consumed by your anger at the other Twilight dying, that now you're saying that other people should die." Bon Bon felt tears fall down her eyes. "Tell me, is that gonna bring back the other Twilight?" Bon Bon shook her head. "I'm not saying that you should forget everything, let them into your homes, and become their best friend overnight. I'm saying...choose love over hate. Give them a chance. Because the latter doesn't help you. It just makes you into a monster."

"I'm sorry," Bon Bon said, letting her tears fall down her cheeks. She felt Twilight pull her into a hug, causing her tears flow more freely.

"Don't tell it to me, tell it to them," Twilight told Bon Bon, spinning her around to face the Shadowbolts.

"OK," a quivering Bon Bon said, breaking from Twilight and walking over to the Shadowbolts, who were also crying. "I'm sorry I said that," talking directly to Juniper. "I was just so upset about what happened-," Bon Bon stopped as Juniper pulled her into a hug.

"It's OK," Juniper said reassuringly, rubbing Bon Bon's back. Lyra came up behind Bon Bon and hugged her too.

"It's OK Bonnie," Lyra said soothingly, rubbing her girlfriend's back. Sunny and the other Shadowbolts also walked up to give Juniper and Bon Bon a hug.

"We didn't want it to happen," Sunny said, her eyes flowing with fresh tears. She felt Fluttershy came up and give her a hug.

"We know," the yellow-skinned girl said in a reassuring tone.

"I miss her so much," Lemon Zest.

"Me too," Pinkie Pie said, her zany voice becoming nothing but pure compassion as she hugged the rock-loving girl.

Soon, the Rainbooms, Flash, the Pie sisters, and all the other students joined in the hug. They let out their own tears, and offered soothing words to the Shadowbolts to assure them that they weren't monsters. After ten minutes, the Shadowbolts and all the party goers were gathered in a giant group hug, letting out their pain and frustration. Twilight looked at this with no small amount of pride. After a while, everybody broke away from the hug as they ran out of tears.

"Yay," Pinkie Pie said, her previous energy returning to her as the pain slowly faded away. "We can now turn this into a 'Let's make up for the Friendship Games' Party."

"We'd love that," Sunny said, her spirits raised as she saw the previous looks of hostility and distrust replaced with understanding and compassion

For another hour the party went on. The Shadowbolts and the rest of CHS' students interactions became far friendlier. While they were far from being friends, the Shadowbolts felt a weight off their shoulders with the previous hostility and scorn they were shown gone.

As the sun set, and the party wore down, Twilight walked to the base of the statue, readiy

"I'll see you guys in about six weeks," the Princess of Friendship said, facing the crowd of students. "Bye Canterlot High."

"Bye Princess Twilight!" everyone said in unison.

"And remember what I said: when you choose love, incredible things can happen." After giving everyone a last look of appreciation, the Princess of Friendship entered the portal and vanished without a trace. Everyone began walking home or helped to clean up the party mess.

"Hey," Sunny said as she approached Applejack, who was folding the chairs. "Can we help you guys cleanup."

"I don't know if you can," Applejack said with a frown. Sunny and her friends turned to walk away, only to see a small smile form on Applejack's face. "But you may." Sunny's face became bright and she helped Applejack carry the table.

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