Chapter 1: Doubt
Twilight sat in a lonely cage overlooking the bleak landscape of a broken Equestria, wondering just where everything had gone wrong.
By all meanings of the word and by every account, she had failed.
She had failed to get help from the hippogriffs-turned-seaponies. She had failed to acquire the pearl that would have helped save Equestria. She had been so wrapped up in saving Equestria that she had resorted to using deception and theft to achieve it, and she neglected her title. Instead of making an ally, she had gotten them all kicked from Seaquestria. She had yelled at Pinkie and had driven away her friends.
She had failed friendship... But it wouldn't be the first time her friends turned away.
Even as the wind from the airship's travel whipped through her mane, Twilight sighed. She didn't want to go down memory lane, but there would be plenty of time to reminisce between here and Canterlot. She might as well distract herself.
The week after Discord's defeat, something so horrible had happened that Twilight ran to get the help of her friends. Her friendship report for the week wasn't done; She was so afraid of being pushed back into the torment that was Magic Kindergarten that she was practically falling apart at the seams. Anypony could tell from looking at her that she had been a terrified, neurotic mess for most of the day. Her face was flushed, her mane and coat disheveled, and the panic in her voice was so prevalent that the timberwolves in the Everfree Forest could probably smell it.
Even with all of the signs that the problem was clearly bothering her, her friends didn't take it seriously. In fact, they laughed it off, brought out food, and ignored Twilight's breakdown. They continued to have their picnic even after Twilight had run off, even though she was supposed to be there with them.
Twilight sniffled wetly, shivering from the cool air blowing through the cage bars.
She had made a stupid mistake, trying to invent a friendship problem to solve so she could write to Celestia about it. When the town started fighting and Celestia stepped in, it was only then her friends had even thought to care for her. They had even run in to stop the Princess from "punishing" her, and from then on, they promised that they would take the problems she would have seriously instead of brushing her off, even if the problem didn't seem that big.
She thought back to that moment and her heart twinged. Why did it hurt so much?
It was so long ago, long before she had even gotten her wings, but it happened; And not even a month later, her brother had invited them to his wedding. She was miffed, of course, that he chose to do it through paper instead of pony to pony, but once she figured out why, she had accepted it.
When she didn't like the bride, even after witnessing her horrible behavior, her friends all thought she was just being jealous or overprotective because the bride was taking up all of his time.
That wasn't the case, we all know that, but when she went through with her accusations... She knew she was being childish in the final words she flung at the impostor. She knew she should have handled it differently, but she didn't. As a result, her brother chewed her out and kicked her from the wedding altogether, and her friends...
Her friends just gaped, but when Shining Armor left the room, they...
They knew her. They knew she could overreact to some things and be childish, but they should have known she wouldn't accuse a pony of being evil just to get her brother back!
But they left.
Even Celestia had gone, and her friends, the ones that were supposed to be there for her... They had abandoned her in the wedding hall as if she'd deserved it all. Because she'd made a mistake.
She had been right in the end, but it hadn't mattered. Nopony really thought to apologize when it was all over, and she was still asked to make the preparations for the real royal wedding and was made the best mare again, so things were fixed, right?
They weren't.
Her friends had promised...
Twilight sniffled again, the tear tracks on her cheeks quickly cooling as the wind hit her. It was good to know, even at her lowest point, that the incidents from years ago still came back to haunt her.
There were other incidents, too. With all of the problems she'd made, after every stupid mistake, her friends only really came back for her after shit hit the fan. Was it guilt? An obligation? Did they just come back because they felt they had no other choice?
She had to wonder if Spike was safe. If he told them she had been captured. If they were on their way to Canterlot right now, cobbling together some form of rescue plan to get her out of Tempest's clutches. She could see the smog hanging over Canterlot now, and colorful dots in dark cages, but unless all of her friends could pull off an invisible Sonic Rainboom, they wouldn't be there. As it was, even traveling normally, her friends wouldn't make it in time to avert whatever they had in store for her.
If... If they're even coming. She swallowed dryly. Her cage began to lower.
Why would they? They're safer without me there. They're happier without me there. They'll probably go back to the seaponies, apologize, sing a song, preform a sonic rainboom, and ride out the Storm King's reign in Seaquestria. All they've been doing since we left is trust strangers, being as loud and visible as possible, and singing songs... They didn't bother to look for me when I ran from their picnic, or when I went missing and was trapped in the crystal caverns during the impostor's wedding, and... with the way I yelled at them...
Another tear fell, but Twilight knew she had to stop crying now, or Tempest would see her despair and further poison the thoughts she had of her friends.
It's unfair to think of them that way now. Those were old incidents. I failed friendship. That was me. That was all me...
And yet, the poison didn't go away.
"I never would have done it, but this isn't Equestria! We can't just dance around with con artists, make rainbooms in the sky, and expect everything to work out! It's not enough. We are not enough."
"No, Twilight. We stuck together. We were going to get the help we need. The only thing that stopped us was you!"
"Well I'm doing the best I can! It's all on me! I'm the one Tempest wants, I'm the last princess."
"You're also the one who doesn't trust her friends!"
"Well maybe I would've been better off without friends like you!"
The face Pinkie made when Twilight said that was burned into in her mind.
It was my fault. All my fault. It's different when you made a princess they didn't know cry, but them, personally...?
She was hardly responsive when her cage was lifted from its chain and loaded onto a cart, pulled by two enslaved ponies.
Help... isn't coming...
She was utterly silent as she was carted into the throne room and beheld the other three princesses, all encased in black crystal. The Storm King, upon hearing her title, laughed in her face, and she continued to go mostly ignored. It did still push a needle into her heart when Tempest emphasized that she was alone now and wouldn't be a problem. It just... Drove home the fact that the Equestria as she knew it was doomed unless something happened.
And it did.
Twilight was right; She made a mistake, though her arguments were right. They left, she got captured, Spike had told the others, and the others came back.
When all was said and done, Twilight stood in the crowd alongside her "friends," her magic restored, Equestria fixed as if the invasion never happened, and Songbird Serenade sang a song about hurting and growing through the pain. When she looked at Twilight specifically, she did her best to smile for the popstar.
Can't have the Princess of Friendship looking glum, can she?
Twilight had apologized, over and over and over again before the festival continued, until even Fluttershy couldn't take the apologies anymore and told her to stop; That it wasn't the time or place. It still felt like somepony had stepped on her heart, but Twilight stopped. She just wanted to show them how sorry she was for messing things up. Even when she was around them in the crowd, she could feel the tension in their group and began noticing the small, hostile looks she was getting when they thought she wasn't looking. When she did look over, they would quickly avert their gaze.
There was only so much she could take.
She wasn't going to stop the Friendship Festival to confront them about it. It would have to wait until afterwards. They would have a nice, long talk, maybe sing a song, and hug at the end, and their friendship would be even stronger.
The feeling of hostile eyes didn't leave her as she walked over to Tempest, offering her a hoof in friendship.
Maybe it'll blow over by tomorrow.
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hmmm...
This is already interesting me.
Applejack did.
Why do writers keep forgetting this?
9134352
Convenience for a story, along with it being from a relatively old episode makes for easy slips of the memory that are filled in by something else that works for the story they're writing.
Good setup.
9137547
How big is Mt. Canter?
9389116
Late reply I know, but from what I understand? It's about as tall as Mount Saint Helens and Canterlot is about half way up.
Edit: Pre-1980 Eruption mind.
YES. ALL THE YES. THEY DIDNT LOOK FOR HER WHILE SHE WAS IN THE CAVES. SHE WAS MISSING FROM HER OWN GODDAMN BROTHERS WEDDING AND NO ONE QUESTIONED A THING. AND THEY LOOKED ASHAMED ONCE SHE REAPPEARED. NO ONE LISTENS TO HER EVEN THOUGH THEY PROMISED BACK IN LESSON ZERO. AND THEY ALIENATED HER ON THAT ONE DISCORD EPISODE. Sometimes i wish that she would just snap and become a villain one day, so they all have to actually realize that they got problems too
9674216
Well the discord thing doesn't count because they were manipulated by him