Chapter 22
“Listen, sugarcube, I know you’re upset about the game yesterday-”
“Don’t ‘sugarcube’ me, AJ,” Rainbow shot back, rising from her seat to glare down at the country girl from across the table the Rainbooms were meeting at. “I know what I saw.”
The outburst drew a warning glance from Mrs. Cake as she bustled about Sugarcube Corner tidying up after the other patrons. Though the shop had seen a decrease in customers since the truth about Anon-A-Miss had come out with students either being punished for participating or still keeping a low profile following the release of their own secrets. Needless to say, the loss of business and the sullen moods of her clientele left the previously welcoming shop owner more on edge than before.
“Would you two kindly sit down and lower your voices, unless you want to be thrown out of here,” Rarity hissed at the bickering pair. Casting a wary eye to the other patrons, the observant teen had been the only one to catch the glares from Mrs. Cake as their meeting devolved into a shouting match, as the others were too wrapped up in the argument or, in the case of Fluttershy, cowering under the table. Applejack and Rainbow Dash both relented in taking their seats but continued their heated staredown.
“I’m telling you, she was there,” Rainbow continued equally as adamant as before though with a decrease in volume.
“Rainbow,” came the hesitant voice of Fluttershy as she slid back up into her seat, “It’s been months since…” A choked sob escaped her making her unable to continue, though the others already knew.
Embracing the animal lover in a side-hug, Rarity continued the thought Fluttershy had been unable to voice. “It' has been months since Sunset left, darling, months since we abandoned her, and Gilda and her goons made it clear what kind of treatment she would receive if she stayed at CHS.” Tears started down at the memory, streaking her porcelain cheeks in a river of mascara.
“Sunset’s gone, sugarcube, because of us,” Applejack stated seriously though the quaver in her voice hinted at the difficulty of this truth. “She left and the magic left with her. The portal and the book haven’t given us any response in months of trying, and frankly, Ah can’t blame them. After what happened, I wouldn’t want ta talk ta us either. So tell me, Dash, why, after all this time of ignoring our messages and apologies, would Princess Twilight finally turn up? Not to yell at us, mind, or tell us off, or give us a speech about what friendship is supposed to be, but to go to your soccer game across town?”
“I don’t know, okay, but I’m telling you she was there!” Rainbow began to rise from her chair again as her tone intensified only to be dragged back down by an eerily sober faced Pinkie Pie.
“Dashie, I don’t think you actually saw the princess…” Pinkie began only to be cut off by the athlete.
“I’m telling you it was her.”
“How do you know it wasn’t…:”
“Pinkie, if it wasn’t her then why would she have been talking about magic?”
“Magic? “ Rarity said, hope seeming to spark in her sapphire eyes. “Really are you sure that’s what she said, darling?”
“I’m positive, and that’s not all. I’m pretty sure I heard her talking to someone and…”
“And what, Dash?” prompted the farmer.
“And I swear it was Sunset’s voice.”
The Rainbooms sat around their table at Sugar Cube Corner in stunned silence, trying to take in what Rainbow Dash had just told them.
“Daring, if this is true-” Rarity began
“It is,” Rainbow insisted. “She sucked the magic right out of me and then left. I would have gone after her but my legs were still shaking.”
“But why would Princess Twilight be stealing magic?” Fluttershy asked. “She might be mad at us, but I can’t imagine she’d do it to hurt you.”
“Not ta mention, what’s she doin’ at our rival school that’s plum across town?” put in Applejack.
“And in a Crystal Prep uniform no less. I mean yes the color pallet would compliment her hair color and skin tone, but really plaid. It’s just so...so 90s.”
“Yeah, Rares, Ah doubt she’s there cause she likes the outfits,” retorted the cowgirl with an eye roll.
“Then why do you think she was there, Applejack?” huffed the fashionist.
“Ah don’t know. Ah mean Crystal Prep is a private school so they have all sorts of things we don’t have here at CHS not ta mention they beat us at dang near everything-”
“Even friendship?” The voice was small and quiet and could almost have been mistaken from Fluttershy’s except it came from the other side of the table. Pinkie's blue eyes looked up from staring at the table and met her friends’. “Do you think she’s trying to replace us?”
“Pinkie dear,” Rarity soothed, reaching across to the former party planner only to be cut off by Pinkie.
“No, Applejack’s right. Crystal Prep is better than us at everything else, why not magic, too. After what we did, it would be hard to be worse friends than us.”
“You think she’s taking our magic, so she can give it to people at Crystal Prep?” Rainbow said in shock.
“You said it yourself, Dashie,” Pinkie said. “The magic got sucked out of you and was drawn to Twilight. Twilight in a Crystal Prep uniform.”
“No, that can’t be right,” Dash began but then stopped, “Can it?”
“Well, sugarcube,” Applejack started, trying to piece things together, “have ya managed any sort of ponying up since the incident in the locker room?”
“Well, no, but that doesn’t mean anything. I used a lot of magic right beforehand so I might just have worn myself out, not to mention we’ve all been having troubles with magic since...you know.”
“Actually,” said Rarity seeming to recall something, “now that you mention it, I haven’t been able to pony-up to any degree recently either.”
“You saw Twilight too?” asked Fluttershy.
“Well, no, not exactly,” began the fashionista, “at least, I’m not sure. There was an incident at the store over the weekend. I was talking to a customer about wedding dresses when she asked me about some of the ensembles I had prepared for the upcoming Friendship Games.”
“Ensembles?” cut in the farmgirl. “As in more than one for a competition we don’t even know the events for?”
“Oh really, darling, you say it as if I’d let a little detail like that get in the way of making sure we look fabulous for the Games.”
“Gettng back to the point,” Rainbow cut in, not wanting the conversation to devolve into fashion talk or another argument between the pair over fashion.
“Right,” Rarity said, “the point is that I, too, had a moment when I felt like I was on the verge of actually ponying up but then I lost it. Not just like before, but like you described, where I was feeling weak and drained. I haven’t managed even a flicker of magic since even as I was finishing up the line for the Friendship Games.”
“Line? Now there’s a whole Friendship Games line of clothes?” started Applejack. “Is it possible, that ya just overworked yourself which is why ya were all tired?”
Before the designer could respond, however, it was Fluttershy that piped up. “Um actually, I think the same thing happened to me too.”
“What? When?” cut in Dash, obviously protective of her oldest friend.
“Last Friday at the shelter,” the shy girl replied. “I was in the middle of storytime for the animals when I started to pony up, but then it started to slip away. I thought it was just because I had remembered…” The whole table nodded in understanding. “But hearing your stories, it was the same thing. I got all weak and tired afterward. If I hadn’t been, I might have gone after the girl-”
“Girl, what girl, darling?”
“Um, at least I think it was a girl. She was wearing a hoodie so I wasn’t sure. She seemed nervous, but that’s understandable, I mean I’d be worried too if one of my animals was sick. That’s why I didn’t even stop her when she left with one of the crates from the shelter.”
“Whoa,” cut in Rainbow, indignant at the comment, “You mean she stole from the shelter?”
“Well, no,” replied Fluttershy. “I mean it was returned over the weekend.”
“Was it Twilight?” asked Applejack.
“No. Dr. Fauna said it was some lady with pink skin and tri-colored hair.”
Rarity gasped. “That sounds like the woman I saw as well. She said she worked at Crystal Prep.” The table went silent at the comment. Each of the Rainbooms staring at each other trying to figure out what it could all mean. Rainbow Dash was the first to break the silence.
“There’s no way this is all a coincidence. Twilight’s taking our magic and teaming up with Crystal Prep.”
“I can’t say I disagree, darling, and not to put too fine a point on it, but what are we supposed to do about it?”
“What are we supposed to do?” Rainbow barked.
“Rare’s is right, sugarcube. Princess Twilight gave us the magic so it seems ta me like she’s got the right to take it back if she needs ta.”
“Come on, AJ, you can’t be serious,” Rainbow balked.
“Dashie, Twilight gave us the magic because we were supposed to be the bestest at friendship, but we proved that wasn’t true when we fell for Anon-A-Miss. If Twilight thinks our magic can do more good at Crystal Prep, if they can make others happy, maybe they should have it.”
“Especially if you said Sunset was there too,” added Fluttershy’s small voice. “She deserves to find friends that will care about her.”
Rainbow just growled. “No. No, this can’t be it. I will not let it end like this.”
“Well what do ya suggest, Dash?” asked Applejack.
Rainbow paused, not sure what she was suggesting, but she’d be damned if she’d go down to Crystal Prep without even a fight. She’d lost the soccer match, but she wouldn’t lose this. This was too important especially if it meant the chance to see Sunset again and apologize to her for being such a lousy friend. Then it hit her.
“That’s it!”
“What’s it, darling?”
“Look,” said Rainbow, “if we’re right, Twilight’s taking our powers, but she’s only got mine, yours, and Shy’s, which means she still has to get AJ’s and Pinkie’s right.”
“I suppose,” agreed the farmer cautiously. Dash wasn’t known for her big ideas unless they involved pranks so Applejack remained wary.
“And if she’s hanging out at Crystal Prep, then the next time we’d likely see her is…”
“The Friendship Games,” Rarity said finishing the sentence.
“So all we have to do,” continued Rainbow, “is win the Friendship Games.”
“Dashie, I don’t know-”
“No think about it, Pinkie, if we win we can show we’re better than Crystal Prep and maybe we can convince Twilight to give us another chance. We can show her that we learned our lesson after Anon-A-Miss, and maybe she can tell Sunset we’re sorry.”
“Ah don’t-”
“What do we have to lose, AJ? Huh? Because where I’m sitting we’ve already lost too much, and I sure as hell am not going to give up on the possibility of making things right. I don’t care how slim our chances are, if this is the only way we might have a chance to show Sunset how sorry we are for everything, you damn well better believe that I will fight tooth and nail to win.’
The farmer watched her impassioned friend and noted sadly that despite the unabashed loyalty on display right now by the athlete, that there was not even a flicker of azure glow around her.
“All right Ah’m in,” said the farmer. “I don’t know if this scheme o’ yours will work but it’s not like we weren’t gonna try and beat those fancy prep school kids, and now we just have even more reason ta win.”
“Me too,” chimed in Rarity. “We’ll prove ourselves once again in the heat of battle and look fabulous doing it too.”
“Rares-” Applejack began.
“Oh hush darling, once you see what I’ve been working on even you won’t complain.”
“Yay,” cheered Fluttershy quietly though the enthusiasm was real.
“Pinkie?” asked the athlete, turning to the one member who had been relatively quiet throughout their discussion.
“I’ll do whatever it takes to make Sunny smile again,” said the pinkette seriously.
“Then it’s settled,” said the athlete with a smile. “I’ll talk to Principal Celestia tomorrow and see what else we can set up to get the school and the team ready to show those Crystal Preppers what it really means to be a Wondercolt.”
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Great chapter! I’ll be looking out for your blog posts for sure! See you next year.
Happy holidays!
Don't they think that secretly stealing magic would be a little callous for Princess of Friendship? I mean she was pretty open for Sunset and a second Chance for her after turning into literal Demon and trying to burn them alive. And Pinkie even mentioned that she's seen Twilight before in the first movie so I guess there's the idea its not the same Twilight. Though, guilt might be just clouding their judgment. Especially Pinkie (poor girl). That's what I like about this story. Their actions and guilt really affect them.
And again, Happy Holidays.
Wondercolt not Wonderbolt
Darn! No more chapters until next year.
10548020
Fixed. Thanks, I'm surprised I hadn't goofed that up before.
The girls are getting the wrong idea regarding one Twilight Sparkle, but I like the idea of doing whatever is necessary to earn redemption.
I'll see you next year and see what you'll bring up in this story. By the way, are Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo going to appear again? I want to see them doing something to amend their actions as Anon-a-Miss.
Hope the girls will soon realize when the story resumes next year that the twilight Sunset is with is the human twilight
looks up the five stages of grief
denial ~before reveal of anon-a-miss all of them
anger ~before and after reveal of anon-a-miss all o them
bargaining ~rainbow dash, Applejack, Rarity
depression ~pinkie pie, Fluttershy
acceptance ~none of them
This is my reasoning for why I think they're desperate enough to think this is going to work even though there's no proof that its going to work. Yet Rainbow's thinking and the conviction in her actions has me rooting for it to work regardless of them missing the point.
10551734
Leap of Faith, my friend. People make mistakes everyday. Many of them realize their mistakes. Few repent for their mistakes, and fewer still actually try and fix it.
Do not go gently into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
The Rainbooms lost Sunset over what is basically highschool gossip. They realize that and that they have a chance to atone. They're not letting this chance slip by them. Especially Rainbow Dash.
10603183
Unfortunately, that would be the most likely conclusion, yes.
I'm happy about how this chapter ended. I was getting worried that the Rainbooms thought Twilight betrayed them, and while they might still see it that way, because of their guilt over how they treated Sunset, they feel it was justified. So now they're more determined to make it up to Twilight and Sunset (even though it's really only Sunset at this point since Twilight is busy chasing a psychotic time-travelling mare).
10603026
That's what I like about this. Usually with fics after the Fall Formal or Anon-a-Miss, Dash is usually the least trusting of Sunset out of the Rainbooms. So, to see here that she's being true to her element and is the most determined to get Sunset back is oddly refreshing.
Please continue this🙏😭😍
Great story! Looking forward to more.
This is your only chance of redemption.
DONT.MESS.IT.UP
11306662
No pressure!