Tear
Before you read this chapter, please note that i made a slight change in the previous chapter
when Flash and Edmund had a little confrontation. I didn't like that part so i edited it out.
Sorry for the late update. Things have been hectic at home.
Hope you all are having a great time wherever you may be. 
Chapter 81: Tear
(Sweet Shoppe)
Twilight’s thoughts spun in circles as she poked at her ice cream, stealing a few quick glance at her boyfriend who casually slurped his slushy like everything was right in the world. She couldn’t wrap her head around the idea of him being so… aggressive.
In all of the two and a half year of dating, she never once seen her boyfriend fight or berate anyone before. Sure he might’ve argued the price of a sneaker or hotdog, but never yells out loud. At least… not that she knew of.
According to what Mrs. Cake told her, he and Flash came by the shop one night for a snack. They didn’t really think much of it since they were busy closing up. But then it all changed when Timber exploded and started yelling out angrily like he was just massively offended. He slammed his hand on the table rattling utensils and plates without a care. The Cake couple couldn’t really make anything out of the whole argument but they were certain that Timber was the aggressor. He sounded really mad, like a guy who was unjustly wronged and was taking out his frustration on the poor guy in front of him. It got so bad that some of the other customers decided to sneak away before the situation got too heated. Mrs. Cake even thought that Timber might throw a punch.
Thankfully it didn’t go that far. Timber was a lot of things but ‘Violent’ was not one of them. He’s the closest thing you can find as a pacifist around here.
As for Flash. According to Mr. Cake, the boy just sat there and took it. Not even arguing back – even when Timber was literally right on his face. Either he was really chill about it or he simply had no comeback whatsoever. When the whole thing ended, both of them left at different times, with Flash leaving a very generous tip for the waitress.
“Everything alright?” Her eyes shot up to meet Timber who glanced at her worryingly. Despite the change in his hairdo and overall attire, he still had that same old feeling of kindness. “Your ice cream is melting.”
Oh crap. It really was melting. She’s been poking at a yolky object for far longer than she realized. Her carefully presented smiley face was becoming goop right in front of her eyes.
“Sorry. My mind’s just somewhere else today.”
“Family problem or magic problem?” Neither, thank goodness. It was far more complex than that. “Hey. You know you can tell me anything, right?” Of course she knew that. “What’s the matter? Was the date too bland? The food in the restaurant not to your liking?”
“No.” He gasped. “No! I mean, yes. It was great. All of it was great. The food, the movie, the walk around the park. It was… umm…”
“Dryer than the desert of Perilous Peaks?” Hush you!
“It was fun.” She lied. “I’m just thinking about… something.” Particularly you, who just so happens to be keeping secrets.
“Twili? What’s wrong?” She saw his hand reach out to hers which she quickly took away.
“It’s nothing. Really.” Another lie. “I was just… thinking about my research and school and stuff.” That was a horrible excuse. Probably one of the worse she came up with, and Timber seemed to notice.
“Was it the new look? Was it too much?”
“No.” She paused. “Well yes. A little bit. But that’s not entirely it. It’s just that… this whole… new you thing kind of got me puzzled.” It was more than just that. He was different. Totally and completely. It was as if she was talking to a whole new person. She’s a believer of people changing over time, but Timber was more instantaneous. His attitude was a complete 180 of his previous self. Her sweet old Timber would never wear something as flashy as that blazer, and he certainly wasn’t one to wear jewelry that would make even Rarity turn green with envy. Twilight was even open to the idea that he was abducted by aliens and replaced with a half-cooked clone.
A farfetched idea but still an idea.
Timber checked himself and let out a small laugh. “Heh. Just because I look different, doesn’t mean I’m not the same old Timber. Come on now Twi. You know me better than anyone else.”
I used to think that too. But seeing this new side of you kind of makes me question that. This wasn’t the same Timber she knew from Camp Everfree. He seemed more… overly attentive and confident. Flirty but in a strange way. And he certainly didn’t keep secrets from her. At least… nothing as big as a fight with one of her friends.
She wasn’t sure if it was just her nerves talking here. But she couldn’t shake the feeling that something else was off.
“I know. It’s just that this problem of mine isn’t exactly easy to share.” Twilight reasoned.
“Hey. I said it before and I’ll say it again. You can tell me anything. What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didn’t help my girl out in her time of need?”
She looked at him for a moment, trying her best to search for any signs of deceit. But there was none. Perhaps there was still a little bit of her dear old Timber hiding under all that suave and hair gel.
Twilight wasn’t really sure on how to handle this. Heck, all of her experience regarding love has been a trial and error approach. It was either a hit or a miss. And sadly this scenario only had one shot. She couldn’t rely on the old TV series to help her and none of her friends were close enough to offer a helpful advice.
She had to face the music. No more running, no more delaying tactics.
Ugh… if she knew breakup was going to be this bad she would’ve practiced the day before.
“Alright.” The girl said finally, locking eyes with her boyfriend. Her heart pounded, quickly pumping blood into her massive brain. “Do you promise to answer honestly?”
“Scout’s honor.” Not the same as a Pinkie Swear, but it’ll do.
With a deep breath, she laid her spoon on her melted ice cream and opened her mouth.
“What didn’t you tell me that you and Flash had a fight?”
…
…
…
Time itself seemed to have slowed down for her and Timber. Every tone of sound, every voice around them seemed to have gone mute.
As expected, the boy’s face drained of all color. That confident stride he came in earlier suddenly fell and shattered onto the floor leaving nothing more but a boy who was caught red handed. His breathing stopped while his eyes shot up wide open. At this very moment, his brain was most likely going on the fritz.
And Twilight didn’t budge an inch either.
When she posed that question, she did not pry her eyes away, but rather forced herself to face him. She will hear his answers, no matter how distasteful it might be, and clear this whole mess up once and for all.
“Wh… what?” Timber’s voice went rasp as he was able to squeeze the words out of his mouth.
So it’s true. His expression said it all.
There was a small part of her hoping that Mrs. Cake was wrong. That it was all just an over-reaction of imagination or a simple misunderstanding. But the boy’s stammering and stuttering proved otherwise.
“Wh what are you talking about?” Timber turned away, making a hasty retreat, already regretting everything that led to this situation. “I never… we…”
“Mrs. Cake told me.” She continued her accusation. “She told me how you sounded really angry, and yelled at Flash for something.” The boy sat back in stunned silence. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
“Because it’s… I wasn’t…” Timber went on with his broken sentences, unable to conjure a proper excuse. He fumbled, eyes casting to every patron in the shop hoping that one of them would give him an out. “Twilight, it’s not what it sounds like.”
“What happened to ‘You can tell me anything’?” She countered, again earning a grit from her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend. “Timber. You know that Flash is one of my friends. If you two are having a disagreement then tell me.”
“It’s not that.” He huffed. “Flash and I just got to a disagreement, that’s all.”
“That’s not what I heard. From what Mrs. Cake said, you were really angry at him.” The question poured out but the boy refused to answer. “Timber?”
It took a moment for him to realize that there was no escaping it. Sweat began to collect on his forehead slowly tracing down his face. He bit his lip and looked away, not wanting to make eye contact. It was as if he was caught in the web of his own creation and was trying to find a way out.
But he had to answer. He had to. He had no other option.
“I… can’t tell you.”
…
It was Twilight’s turn to be stunned. She braced herself for an answer but she never expected him to pull a stone-wall maneuver. “Why not?”
“Because I can’t.” That was not an answer. There was no way she was gonna accept that. “Flash and I fought because… he did something… bad.” Flash? He was the one who started it? “He… stole something of mine. A while back. Something very precious to me. Something I didn’t want to lose.”
Flash? A thief?
“What was it?”
“I can’t say. At least not yet.” He let out another sigh, still refusing to look at her. “When I found out about it. I got really mad at him. I guess I got a little overboard with the whole yelling thing. Look, can we not talk about it?”
“Timber.”
“I know that it’s not ideal. But this is something really… personal for me. I can’t tell you just yet. But I promise, when I’m ready… I’ll tell you. So… can you wait? Just for a little while? Please?”
She couldn’t decline that sad face. She just… couldn’t.
(Twilight’s house)
ARGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!
Twilight felt like she wanted to scream – and scream she did. She garnered all of her frustration and anger and threw it all into her favorite pillow gripping it onto the seams and tearing it like she wanted to swallow it whole.
What the heck was that!? What did she just do?
I’ll tell you what she just did. She chickened out! She blinked at the last moment and lost her fervor. She was a klutz, a wimp, and a spineless pony!
“Not exactly the words I’d use, but yeah. That could’ve gone so much better.” She couldn’t even make a good comeback to retort to her evil counterpart who laid by her bed like no one’s care.
She had everything ready – well not entirely. But she was determined to put the break-up prospective out in the open. It would’ve made things easier in the long run. Then that argument between Timber and Flash came along and everything just went up in one huge mess!
God she hated it. She hated herself for being such a chicken, she hated Timber for keeping secrets, she hated this ungrateful angel reading her mind, and she hates the fact that she can’t do anything about any of her problems! This is such a frustrating annoyance! Being helpless stinks so bad! She can’t imagine a worse feeling than this!
Twilight let out another scream onto her pillow biting it in the process.
“There there girl. Let it all out. You’ll feel better that way.” It’s now even more humiliating that she was receiving consolation from one of her former enemies. “Oh I’m not consoling you. I’m just being entertained how miserable you are.”
Ugh… this stinks. Why do breakups have to be so hard?
“I just don’t get it.” She said finally, letting go of the pillow. “I can’t wrap my head around what Mrs. Cake said. I mean… what could those two be arguing about that Timber would be so angry about? What did Flash take from him? I mean… he’s super rich. He can buy anything.”
And Flash isn’t a thief. At least… I don’t think so. He wouldn’t steal anything.
“Oh please. Don’t tell me you actually believe that nonsense?” Nonsense? “Didn’t you noticed Timber’s whole reaction? That obvious tell-tell signs he was giving out? The way he rubbed the back of his neck, the way he changes the subject, how he tried to avoid eye-contact. Don’t take this the wrong way, but your sweet’ol Timber was lying through his teeth the whole time.”
“Wha? No. That’s crazy. Timber wouldn’t…”
“Lie? Please. The only thing he didn’t do was hold a sign up saying: ‘I’m lying’. Face it Twilight. Your boyfriend is a bonafied two-faced cheat. He’s hiding something. And I’m willing to bet it’s more than just a simple argument with blue rich boy.”
Twilight didn’t want to listen, but so far this ridiculous Angel has been on a streak. She’s been predicting everything far better than any fortune teller. And betting against her right now seems a loser’s gamble.
“What should I do?”
“Breakup with him? Duh.”
“Yeah I got that part. But… how? I totally screwed up in the shop. I really tried. But then this fight between him and Flash came along and he looked really sad. I just… couldn’t really bring myself to just… bring more bad news. And the longer this goes on, the harder it’ll become for me to… actually breakup with him. What should I do?”
“Why are you asking me for? What do I look like? A relationship counselor?”
“No but you’ve been right so far. So… please?”
Midnight blinked, though somewhat surprised. “Wow… you must be really desperate.” I really am. “Ugh… you have to be kidding me. From an all-powerful sorceress in the whole world reduced to becoming a therapist for a teenager with boy problems. How the mighty has fallen.” She followed it up with a smack to the head and a loud tiresome groan. “GAH! Fine! But only because watching you go through this for too long is unhealthy for me too. But if we’re doing this, I need to know you’re committed. No matter what happens, you will do everything in your power to breakup with Timber.”
“I will!”
“Good. So first thing’s first. We need to find out what those two fought about. And seeing as only the two of them know, we may as well get to the source.” The source? “We call Flash and asked him.”
“What? No! That’s just…”
“Ah ah…” The Angel wagged her finger at her. “Full commitment. We are getting to the bottom of this mess one problem at a time. And it’s clear you won’t be able to focus on anything else today until you find out what those two got beefed on.”
Dang it.
Sighing in resignation, Twilight obeyed her evil-self and found the boy’s number.
(Flash’s mansion)
“There we go. All done.” Dr. Heartbeat declared pulling the needle out and letting Edmund plug the injection area with a band-aid. Flash gritted bitterly but didn’t complain. He had gotten used to the usual checkup his dad makes him go through. It was a little inconvenience, but that’s a small price to pay for health.
And just like before the ‘Good’ doctor finalized his conclusion on his laptop and whispered the results to Edmund who casually jot it down on his notes. Dad will probably want to see it once he gets back.
At least there doesn’t seem to anything out of the ordinary. The scans didn’t show any indication of his new found magic. Either the equipment the doctor brought was faulty or maybe his tools couldn’t read them. Either way, his secret remained safe, and that was the important thing. The last thing he wanted was for that doctor to strap more devices on him and become an unwilling lab rat.
No sir. He wasn’t getting more needles on him.
Well… unless it was Twilight doing it.
That girl had bedside manners at least. Not to mention she was easy on the eyes.
“Master Flash?” Edmund spoke up bringing the boy out of his fantasy, the doctor having left for the rest room. “Would you like some refreshments? You must be exhausted after that little ordeal. The kitchen staff made some wonderful pastries today. Perfect for an afternoon snack.”
“Ah. No, but thanks. I’ll just head back to my room.” He shrugged. “Say Edmund. Is it normal for people to get monthly checkups like this?”
“I wouldn’t say yes. But, your father takes your wellbeing very seriously. While it is unconventional, having a checkup like this can make a world of difference. Not to mention that the good Doctor is paid handsomely for his service.” Yeah he’ll bet. “Why do you ask?”
“It’s just that Dr. Heartbeat is our family doctor and all. But I’ve never seen him checkup dad before.”
Edmund’s brow rose. “Master Sombra has an entirely different schedule from yourself, sir. He is a very busy man after all. Not to mention he has only returned a few months ago.”
“Yeah that made sense.” Flash rubbed the back of his neck. “So what did the scans show? Anything good?”
“You’re the picture of health, Master Flash. Nothing you should be concerned of.”
“Can I see?”
But to his surprise, Edmund jerked back with his notes. “Umm… it’s nothing much, sir. Just some random numbers here and there. Hardly anything you or I could understand.” Did he just call him dumb in a roundabout way?
“Edmund?”
“Ahem. I should probably go. I have to arrange a driver for the good doctor.” Without even waiting, the butler scampered off, leaving a rather stunned Flash behind.
Ok that was just weird. In all his years of knowing Edmund, Flash knew the guy to be as solid as a rock. He was a wall in itself. An unflappable image of professionalism who can do no wrong. He wouldn’t care if the world ended tomorrow if there was still a single dish left dirty.
But in that split moment, his professionalism faltered. The guy practically shook, surprised even. Kind of like Sunset when something major bothered her. He stammered and jerked away like he was trying to hide something from him.
He was only asking to see the results. Nothing wrong with that. If Edmund had just given a proper excuse, he wouldn’t have even cared either way. But for some reason, that little request touched a nerve. Was he keeping something from him?
Curiosity came over the boy, and he decided to investigate.
Flash made a curious face as he moved ahead to Dr. Heartbeat’s laptop. Edmund may have taken his notes with him, but he still had the original source of the info. Thankfully the good Doctor didn’t seem all that keen of protecting his files.
So much for the Patient-Doctor confidentiality. But he’s not complaining.
Let’s see here.
Aha! Flash’s test results. That was easy enough.
Looks like Dr. Heartbeat has been keeping a strict observation on him. From the looks of it, he’s even got files from years before.
Flash won’t pretend to understand what was written here. Edmund wasn’t wrong when he said he wouldn’t understand. There were so many big-words here that they sounded almost like a complete alien language. It may as well have been because they all sounded like something you’d hear from school.
Flash didn’t know what he expected. He never really took much interest in his checkups until just now. In fact, the Doctor kept telling him that he was the picture of health itself, and that there were no risk of any illnesses. It’s like a recorder that repeated the same phrase over and over for the last 10 or so years.
But then one thing did catch his eye.
From what he can read, the doctor seemed to be very keen on monitoring his heart. Every report and scans detailed everything down to the last digit.
Was it just a coincidence?
Wait… something else isn’t right here.
The files that Dr. Heartbeat recorded were only from 14 years ago. The records from beyond that were from someone else.
A certain Dr. Flatline.
Not exactly a name I would choose for a Doctor.
He seemed to be a staff at Canterlot General Hospital. There are also some notes here. Something about ‘His condition worsening’?
Was he sick? He can’t really recall when he was that young.
“Dr. Heartbeat, sir. Your ride is ready.”
Ah crud. No time.
Flash hastily closed the file and returned to his seat as Edmund and the good doctor returned. He gave them a polite nod and smile and pretended like everything was fine.
Back in his room, he couldn’t hear his phone buzzing in his bag.
(Twilight’s house)
He wasn’t answering.
Flash was probably busy. He did say he had something to do today after all. Twilight wasn’t sure if she should feel disappointed or relieved.
“Neither! You should be frustrated!”
“Look. Even if I did get him to answer, it wouldn’t matter.” She gruffed back at her counterpart. “I mean, what would I even say? ‘Hey Flash. I heard you and Timber had a big fight the other day. Mind telling me what that was all about?’.”
“Yes! Exactly!”
Oh…
“Well…”
“You’re really bad at this whole relationship stuff, aren’t ya?”
Twilight couldn’t help but sulk in return. She really was bad at this. So much so that the voice in her head was scolding her.
That’s it. She was done. There was no way she was going to get through this without help. Proper help. Someone, anyone would do.
She scanned her list of friends and groaned.
Sunset… where are you when I need you the most?
(Equestria) (Canterlot Castle Library)
Hmm? Odd. For a moment there it sounded like Twilight was calling her.
“Something wrong?” Princess Cadance asked, noticing her sudden staring into space. “Did you find something?”
“No. I must be… tired.” Sunset admitted setting another book down into the pile. “Going through all this research is starting to take a toll on me. I think this is the most Ancient Ponish I’ve read since I left Celestia’s School. And combing through all of Starswirl’s journal is like trying to decipher an entirely different language. He might be a genius, but his horn writing is like that of a filly.”
“Yeah. Twilight might’ve said something about that.” The Princess of Love nodded in agreement looking just as equally exhausted as her. She gave out a soft yawn before drawing forward another book from the pile. “Thankfully Starlight translated most of it. If it wasn’t for her, we’d still be stuck reading through his diary.”
It wasn’t much of a diary. But more like a complaint book.
Even in his younger years, all Starswirl did was whine about Celestia and Luna during their youths. One record even detailed a hinted romance between her former mentor and a King in another realm.
“Tell me about it.” Sunset scoffed. “But still… even after everything. We’re still nowhere close to deciphering his Portal Spell.” She pulled out a note from the pile. “How does he do it? I know that Old Magic is all about incantations and rituals but the way he describes them makes it look like a complex mish mash of everything. I wouldn’t have made heads or tails with these notes if it weren’t for Stygian. Speaking of which… where is he?”
“Here~~.” The old frail unicorn declared, raising a hoof from a pile of scrolls and books. “I was just umm… resting my eyes. Reading all these notes of Ancient Ponish is really taxing my brain.”
“Any luck on your end?”
“No. But I understand part of it the magic. From what I can tell: The spell he used to create the portal mirrors creates a breach in Limbo. The Land in Between Space. It then bridges one part of another world with the mirror, creating a wormhole that travels both ways.”
“But how does he know which world to go to?” Cadance asked, taking a break on the cushions provided.
“That’s just it. He doesn’t. The paths he creates are completely random. There’s even one entry in his journal that one of his experiments led him to an ocean world. He flooded his lab and a whole village at one point.”
Sunset scoffed. “That sounds… reckless.”
“What else did it say?” Cadance droned.
“Well things got easier after he brought back objects from that world. He wrote that when an object of some power is brought in, it became a focal point. Instead of sticking randomly, the focal object becomes like a beacon. It hones it from the world it came from and bridges the gap.” That would certainly explain why each mirror only went to one world and not multiple.
“But if so, then why did Starlight’s experiments failed? She followed the instructions to the letter.”
“A few factors could’ve caused it. The object itself is too worn to be used to bridge the gap between worlds. It’s possible that IT being in this world for so long, withered its original connection. So every time Starlight tried to connect it, it stops half way and breaks down.”
Kind of like a battery dying out just when you need it the most.
“So how are we going to open a portal to Ezaquatel?” Sunset asked again.
“I’m afraid we can’t. Not unless we start doing it like Starswirl did and go randomly.” And risk opening the gate to another ocean? Or worse yet, a raging volcano? No thanks. Bringing that kind of chaos to Equestria was not an option. The new ruling Princess already had her hands full will all the diplomatic meetings.
But if that’s the case, then rebuilding the portal to Ezaquatel would be… impossible.
Sunburst would be lost to them… for good.
…
No… she won’t allow it.
“There has to be another way. Can we use another object?”
But Stygian shook his head in response. “The result would be the same. All the items Starswirl brought from the other side have been here far too long. They’ve lost their connection.” Dang it. Another dead end. “And even if we did have an object, we still need to create a portal stable enough to hold it together. And Starlight wasn’t even half way of completing it.”
Cadance sighed, frustrated by the whole ordeal. “It seems like Starswirl’s own genius really is his own undoing. The Old Magic was simply far too advance and complex back in its hay days. It would take someone like Twilight to figure this out.”
Yeah it would. If Princess Twilight was here she’d figure this whole thing in a blink of an eye. She was a genius in her own right.
…!
“Wait.” Sunset’s mind clicked, pointing her hoof at Cadance. “Say that again?”
The pink Alicorn blinked. “Uh… it would take someone like Twilight to figure this out?”
“No. Before that.”
“That… Old Magic was simply far too advance and complex.”
“Far too advance.” And then an idea clicked. “Hold on. What if we had something else we could use to open a portal instead of a spell? Something that can create a bridge on its own. And if we combine it with the object from Ezaquatel, it can catapult the whole thing, making it easier to connect the worlds together.”
Stygian gave her a look, brushing his chin in thought. “That could work. But what kind of relic would be powerful enough to bridge two worlds together?” His answer came in the form of a statuette that Sunset produced from her saddlebag.
“This is a Yaztec Portal Stone.” She declared proudly. “It has the ability to create portals bridging two places. I was doing my own research with it before I came back. My friends and I acquired them from a few sources back in the human world.”
“Incredible.” Cadance gasped, glancing at the odd figurine like it was an alien object. “I can sense a very complex spell locked inside of it.”
“If we use this on one of Starswirl’s mirrors, combined with any object from Ezaquatel, I think we might be able to create a stable enough portal to reach the other side.” It was a long shot for sure. There were a few factors that neither of them had even taken into account. But time was not on their side.
The longer they delayed, the less chance they’d find Sunburst.
They needed to throw caution to the wind and get this show on the road.
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AHHHHH! I thought we were finally gonna see the break up. No fair
So, Flash was magically infused as a child to overcome having a frail heart?
Oh you have got to be kidding me! She was so close to finally breaking up with Timber and being done with it! I never thought I would agree with Midnight Sparkle so much, but it feels like she is constantly saying the right thing in this situation. How much longer are you going to drag this out?
Meanwhile, Flash almost got a look at his records but all he really saw was the "his condition is worsening" note. Sounds like it was pretty serious.
He's definitely not wrong, though I have heard a few names that are just as bad, if not worse, like Dr. Malpractice.
More drama for Twilight.
Agreed, one of the worse. 😒
Better spill the beans before things get worse timber, your in some serious hot water now! 😡
Your seriously gonna get dumped once you tell twilight the truth. 😠
They just are.
She's right twi, it's now or never.
Yep, talk about a close call. 😬
She really is. 😑
Damn.
That might just work, good thinking sunset!
Timber really are pathetic ，again I kinda understand his situation ，a familiar thing happened on me before. He just a normal guy who wanna be with his gf . I hope author don‘t make him pathetic further. lol