Ch.4 Please Talk To Me
The room was silent, save for the sounds of keys clacking. Twilight sat at her desk dressed in a frumpy pair of pajamas with a slight bed-head, eyes glazed with boredom as she stared at her computer. On the surface, the teen seemed to be fine, but those closest to her could tell from a glance that something was bothering her. This went double for Petal, the Wraith all to aware of the teen's emotional turmoil. She could see as well as sense the fear, confusion, and shame fighting for dominance in the girl's heart, the three emotions manifesting as different colored lights displayed on one of her crystal walls.
A similar quagmire of emotions ran through her as well, though self-loathing had become an unwilling participant in her internal clash of titans. Had she not been trapped in this confounded crystal prison, she could've protected Twilight better. Maybe things wound't have turned out as bad as they had.
With a shiver down her spine, her mind drifted to what happened yesterday at the mall.
***
It was as if a dam had broke. The second Sugar Coat touched Twilight's shoulder, a massive flood of fear-filled black energy poured into Petal's prison. She yelped as the tide pulled her under, kicking, screaming, and gasping for air. At the same time, she heard Twilight scream "GET AWAY FROM ME!!!" before she was dragged into the seemingly endless tide of terror.
Fear filled her both literally and metaphorically as she tried to regain control of her unwanted domain. In doing so, she opened her mouth and sucked in as much of the wild emotions as she could bear. A near fatal mistake, as the tide tried to force itself down her throat. She cut off the flow just before it could overwhelm her, but not enough to keep herself from puking up some of the excess that tried to gag her. Sinking to the floor, she fell to her knees as the tide bore down on her like the deep ocean depths.
It was too much, she couldn't fight against this. This wasn't just ordinary fear or anxiety. This was the crushing terror of a phobia, a fear that no level of logic could fight against. A fear brought on by those two girls from Twilight's school.
A burning rage flared within her at that realization, her Miasma surging more than she could ever remember in response. Gritting her teeth, she let the anger bubbling inside her give her the strength she needed to stand. Out of instinct, she raised her right hand up to her side, spread her fingers wide, and channeled her Miasma into it. She didn't know what she was going to manifest and she didn't care, so long as it brought this madness to an end. In response to her will, dark energy gathered into her hand and took form as a jet black ornate spear. With a savage snarl, she stabbed the weapon forward, the dark energy making it up taking on a violet tint as it ripped through the dark tide.
The raw emotional energy froze, then howled like a wounded banshee as it was pulled into the spear's head. At the same time, Petal saw several black vines rise out of the ground around her. Each vine sported dozens of different fruit, each black with a faint lavender light glowing within them. She ignored them, far too focused on trying to fight back the darkness standing between her and her friend. Riding her rage, she gathered as much of her Miasma as she could into her free hand, all the while trying to find her window to the outside world.
She saw it, shining like a beacon in the middle of an oceanic storm at her left. She turned towards the light, then shifted her stance so that her free hand was pointed behind herself. Then, she let the power gathered loose and flew towards the light. Between her spear and the thrust of her blast, she closed the distance in seconds, her spear bouncing harmlessly against the crystal wall. She slammed her free hand onto the wall and channelled even more Miasma than she did previously. Dozens of black vines burst out of her arm, each half an inch thick with a slightly pointed end. They burrowed through the wall like a mass of writhing serpents, but when they made it to her bonded girl, something strange happened.
Suddenly, she wasn't in her prison anymore. She was in the mall, countless people watching her as she ran past them. She wasn't as strong or fast as she should've been. She felt weak, scared, like a cornered animal struggling to escape a predator. She had no control of her movements or her own line of sight. It was as if she had become even more of a spectator than she was to begin with.
Have to get away!
"Twilight?" she asked, her voice a shocked echo.
Have to escape! Too much! It's all too much!
"Twilight! It's me! Petal! Can you hear me?!"
I NEED TO GET AWAY!
A sudden lurch in her stomach made her gasp, a cold dread filling her as she guessed what that meant. Trying to figure out what she could do about it, something seemed to click into place in her head. She suddenly knew the whole layout of the mall, the locations of certain stores in particular as well as one of five locations that she knew she needed to get to.
"Twilight! There's a bathroom about ten feet to our left! GET THE FUCK IN THERE!!!"
That seemed to have the desired effect, as not a second later, she took a sudden left turn towards the room in question. As she bolted into the room , the pain in her gut grew to unbearable levels. When she made it to a stall, she threw the bags she was only dimly aware she had been holding to the ground and kneeled before the porcelain throne. The only saving grace the Wraith earned from the whole ordeal was that Twilight closed her eyes before her nausea ran its course.
When it seemed as though the worst was behind them, Petal tried to see if she had control of her Feeding Vines. To her surprise, she felt them move, though it was a bit more difficult then she was used to. Not wanting to prolong her friend's suffering any longer, she willed them into action, covering the dazed girl from top to bottom. The second the vines went to work, Petal fell backwards onto the cold crystal floor of her prison, her now severed right arm already regenerating. Her spear crumbled away as she laid there panting, her mind reeling as dozens of fruit-bearing black vines melted back into the ground to store their harvest. She could feel the Feeding Vines adding to her already massive stockpile of food along with her friend's steadily stabilizing emotional state.
What...THE FUCK....just happened?!
***
What followed was an awkward ten minutes waiting outside of the mall for Velvet to pick them up, then another fifteen minutes of forced smiles as Twilight stared in a one girl fashion show for her family. All the while, Petal tried to shake off what happened earlier. She hated to admit it both at the time and in the present, but the whole incident terrified her. Wraiths seldom felt the emotion. They were strong, near invincible apex predators that, in some cases, literally spread fear in those that crossed their path. In that brief moment that was not the case. She was a scared, vulnerable, teenage girl running for her life from a perceived threat just seconds after almost being crushed under a tide of literal terror.
To say she was shook would've been an understatement, but she was also confused. The girl that triggered Twilight's episode, Sugar Coat, didn't seem to be that much of a threat. In fact, the girl seemed to to be legitimately worried about Twilight. At least, that was the impression she got before her friend's mental state collapsed. Clearly there was a story there, but both she and Twilight were too drained to do more than pass out the second the human's head hit her pillow last night.
It became clear to the Wraith that, while her friend had managed to get a decent night's sleep, a lot of the previous day's emotional baggage still clung to her in the present. Something Petal took note of fairly early was how neurotic the teen was. Everything had to go according to some schedule or be done in a very specific way. It bordered on mania sometimes.The prime example of this was the time the girl found an overdue library book under her bed. Petal was still trying to eat all the fruit she stored that day.
As such, Twilight would always wake up early, make herself presentable, then head down for breakfast at the exact same time every morning without fail. Even on weekends when most students slept in, she kept to this routine. This morning, Petal had to nag her into getting some food into her and she didn't even bother brushing her hair. Now here she sat, an hour past noon scrolling through random sights online looking like something the cat dragged in.
Spike stared up at her with worry, the small puppy unable to do more than whine faintly at his master's woes. Petal could relate, but unlike the small animal, she had the power to at least try to do something about the situation. Ironically enough, said animal gave her just the excuse she needed.
"Hey, how about we take Spike for a walk?" Petal asked. "Poor guy looks like he could really use one and it's a pretty good day today."
Twilight dragged her eyes away from her computer to the anxious pup to the sunny clear sky outside her window. It was a nice day today, she couldn't deny that, but she just couldn't muster up the will to take advantage of it. All she wanted to do was curl up into a little ball in some dark place and wait for the world to end.
Petal let out a sigh, then with a determined frown yelled, "Twilight Sparkle!"
"Yes?!" she flinched, sitting up straight in her seat.
"As your friend, it is my job to worry about you and help you if things look like they're hitting the crapper, right?"
"Well-" she started uneasily.
"Right!" Petal briskly cut in. "Now as your friend, I'm telling you this because I really care. GET OFF OF YOUR ASS, GET DRESSED, AND TAKE YOUR DOG FOR A FUCKING WALK!"
"Yes ma'am!" Twilight squeaked, jumping to her feet.
"And you're going out in one of your new outfits," she barked.
"B-But I'm not going anywhere," she stammered, running towards the still bagged clothes in question.
"There's a park nearby, right?"
"Yes, but-"
"No buts! You're taking Spike to that park for some fun and to get your head on straight! I am not going to sit around and watch you mope all day! You got it!?"
"Y-Yes." she gulped, quickly choosing an outfit.
"Good," Petal sighed, then with a much softer tone said, "Now go get ready. We've got another week of hell to look forward to tomorrow and I want us to make the most of the time we have before then."
"Right," Twilight sighed, then smiled lightly as she took her pendant off and gently laid it down on her desk. "Thanks Petal."
"Anytime Sparky," the Wraith said with an audible smirk.
***
Six Pillars Park was a massive plot of land, fifty blocks long and thirty wide with an even split of recreational center and natural beauty. It was the city's attempt to maintain a form of modern entertainment for its residents and what few sections of nature still remained in the city. As such, while the urbanized half was home to a track field, a gym, and a swimming pool, the wild half was more akin to a natural evergreen forest complete with a lake that housed various water fowl in the spring and summer.
Twilight walked the dirt path through it, an excited Spike barking and sniffing everything in sight with more energy than he had any right to own. Twilight giggled at the sight, a gentle breeze ruffling her black tank-top and navy blue jeans. Said breeze pushed her ponytail around, the tip lightly tapping against the active Bluetooth in her right ear. Petal let out a satisfied sight, happy to feel her friend's stress and gloom subside. It was rare that she felt the teen feel so relaxed, her mood generally shifting between nervous and frustrated most of the time. While her instincts told her to take advantage of that, to even egg it on at times, she couldn't deny that she liked to see the girl when she was like this. It made her cringe a bit when she thought about what she needed to do next.
Seeing little point in beating around the bush, Petal took a deep breath and said, "So, want to explain what the hell happened yesterday?"
Twilight flinched, then frowned as she stared down at her pendant.
"Do we really need to talk about this?"
"Yes," Petal frowned, tone flatter than paper. "You almost had a stroke and I want to know why."
Twilight's frown deepened and for a few minutes, she refused to say anything. Then, just when Petal was about to pressure an answer out of her, the girl sighed and said, "Sugar Coat is an Elite."
Petal was silent for a moment, then groaned.
"That's what freaked you out?"
"Yeah," Twilight nodded.
Petal took a deep breath, bracing herself for what she knew was going to happen next, given her friend's history with Elites.
"What did she do to you? Is she as bad as bitch one and two?"
"No," Twilight sighed. "We don't really interact. In fact, I think yesterday was the first time we ever talked to each other."
"Okay, so why did you flip out like that? She didn't seem like she was up to anything. Hell, she looked like she was trying to be nice to you."
"I doubt it," she huffed, a bitter edge entering her tone as she added, "Elites don't get along. Period. Especially ones that have such a huge gap in rank as Sugar and I."
"Okay, putting that bullshit aside for a second, what do you mean 'gap in rank'? What's the damn ladder here and where does Sugar Coat stand?"
Twilight sighed, then said, "Starting from the top, it's me, Sunny Flare, Sour Sweet, Royal Pin, Sugar Coat, Trenderhoof, Neon Lights, Jet Set, Indigo Zap, and Lemon Zest. We each have some parts of the school that we have some influence over thanks to our ranks. Sugar Coat is Head Librarian Aid for the school library and thus, has it as her territory. She seldom leaves it outside of going to class, so I had to avoid going there to avoid her."
"So, 'you stay on your side of the line and I'll stay on mine' kind of deal, right?" Petal asked.
"Exactly," she nodded. "All of us stick to that rule. It's the only reason I can get any kind of privacy in my lab."
"But that doesn't explain why you were so scared of her," Petal insisted. "I mean, sure, she had a bit of a mouth, but she wasn't being hostile or anything like that."
Twilight's tone and expression darkened as she said, "One thing all of the Elites have in common is a desire to rank up. The higher your rank, the more power you have in the school and the more opportunities you have when you graduate. As such, there's always a power struggle among us and the bigger the gap, the worse the struggle. You saw how Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet treat me and they're just ranked two and three. How much do you think someone at rank five hates me?"
Petal thought about that for a moment. In a lot of ways, Twilight had a point. Assuming all of the Elites thought like that and had their own ways of climbing up the latter, it would make sense for Twilight to be so nervous. Combine that with the stress numbers two and three were putting on her and it was a miracle Twilight hadn't popped a long time ago. Of course, that was assuming Twilight was right about how the other Elites operated. While she didn't know Sugar Coat all that much, she could tell that the girl was fairly genuine in her intentions. One of the many things that came naturally to her kind was reading people. It helped them know just what buttons to push to get the most negative emotions out of them. A task that is made easier by their ability to sense emotions, but even with that denied to her she was certain in her assessment.
"She didn't seem all that bad."
"Trust me Petal. Elites never do anything for each other just to be nice."
***
Sugar Coat seldom enjoyed the outdoors. For the most part, the quiet of a library or the rattling of dice were the things that kept her at ease. As it stood, only two things could bring her out of her twin caves of serenity and into the mostly wild portion of Six Pillars Park. Or rather, two people. As she sat on a red and white checker board blanket with a book at her side, two girls sat across from her with worried expressions. One was a light amaranth girl with long, straight tri-toned green hair that went just past her shoulders. She wore a pair of baggy blue jeans with rips around the knees and a white T-shirt sporting a band logo with a missing right sleeve. A pair of pink headphones hung loosely around her neck. The other was a light amber girl with short and wavy tri-toned blue hair. She wore a pair of navy blue sport shorts and a gray tank top. A pair of brass aviator goggles sat strapped across her forehead.
Each of them stared wide-eyed and slack jawed at sugar, the normally stoic girl showing a faint sign of worry.
"Dude, are you serious?" the amaranth girl asked.
"I wish I wasn't, Lemon Zest," Sugar sighed.
"What the hell did you do to her?" the amber girl asked, incredulity heavy in her tone.
"Nothing," Sugar said flatly, a hint of anger entering her eyes. "You should learn not to assume the worst in people Indigo Zap. That's a really bad habit."
"Whatever," the amber girl, Indigo, huffed, crossing her arms. "You had to have done something to her. People don't flip out like that for no reason."
"Did you find out what was up?" the amaranth girl, Lemon Zest, asked.
"No," Sugar sighed. "I stayed close to make sure she didn't hurt herself, but I didn't want to trigger another episode."
"Did you try getting in touch with her through Crystal Heart?" Indigo asked.
"Yes, but she apparently keeps her account set to private," Sugar frowned. "Unless I try to hack it, their's no way for me to contact her through that."
"Dude, that sucks," Lemon frowned. "Do you think her friends can help her out?"
"She has friends?" Indigo blinked.
"I think so. I've seen Numbers Two and Three hang out with her a lot at lunch," Lemon shrugged.
"They're not her friends."
Indigo and Lemon flinched, the pure malice dripping off of their normally stoic friend's tone putting a chill down their spines.
"W-What makes you say that," Indigo gulped.
"Sunny and Sour don't do friendship," she spat, before she took a deep calming breath and added, "Let's leave it at that."
"Whatever you say, Number Five," Lemon said, chuckling nervously. "So, what's the plan?"
"I don't know," Sugar sighed. "On one hand, I think I should mind my own business and leave her alone, but on the other, if Sunny and Sour are giving her a hard time, I think I should at least try to help."
"You mean we, right?" Lemon asked, cracking a crooked smile.
"No," Sugar said flatly. "I am not going to have Sunny take shots at you over this. I'm in the top five. Out of the three of us, I have the most power and the best chance at standing against her."
"If she can do something like that to Number One, then it really doesn't matter what we do," Lemon shrugged. "Heck, since we're on the bottom, what do Indigo and I have to lose?"
"She's got a point," Indigo grumbled, her competitive spirit raging at being reminded of her lowly station.
"I still don't want to involve you two in this," Sugar frowned.
"I'm not asking for permission," Lemon snorted.
"Ditto," Indigo smirked.
Sugar gave her friends a pair of empty looks, then smiled as she sighed, "You two are hopeless."
The two girls chuckled at that, only for all three of them to let out startled yelps a second later when an uninvited guest scampered onto their blanket. It was a purple puppy with a green tail and ears, a brown leather leash hanging limply off of its collar. The small animal barked excitedly as it ran, sniffed, and licked each of them in turn with reckless abandon. Eventually, the creature hopped onto Sugar's lap, the girl blinking in shock as it made itself comfortable. Seeing little else to do, the girl smiled and pet the pup. Her friends all cooed and gushed over the small animal, each of them taking turns petting it. The dog ate up the attention, rolling onto his back to better bask in the abundant pettings and belly rubs.
"He's so cute!" Lemon gushed, finding just the right spot to get the dog's leg kicking.
"Who's a good boy?" Indigo cooed, scratching behind one of the dog's ears.
"I wonder who's dog this is," Sugar mused, taking a peek at the dog's collar.
Not even a second later, a feeble, trembling female voice caught their attention.
"P-P-Please, don't hurt him."
Slowly, the three girls turned their heads towards it source. Standing about ten feet away from them was a trembling and near hysterics Twilight Sparkle. Lemon and Indigo reared back slightly at just how scared the girl looked, but Sugar looked completely unmoved by the display. While she held the dog, she thought very carefully about how to proceed from here. She could let the dog go, but then Twilight would run and she would have no idea how to help her. She could try to use the dog as leverage, but that might poison the girl's already unfavorable opinion of her. Though, if she approached the latter option right, the damage could be mitigated if not outright negated over time. Thinking over her words carefully, she took a deep breath and did what she always did with her party. She rolled the dice and saw what happened.
"I won't hurt him," Sugar said flatly. "Contrary to what you may or may not think of me, I am not a monster. I want a few things done first."
"Whatever you want," Twilight sniffled.
"First, I want you to let me contact you through Crystal Heart."
"Okay," she sighed, hands trembling as she pulled out her phone and activated the app in question.
A few seconds later, Sugar's own phone buzzed as her app alerted her to a link request. A couple quick taps later and the request was accepted. Nodding to herself, she shifted her attention back to Twilight.
"Next, I want you to tell me everything that Sunny Flare and Sour Sweet has done to you."
"E-Everything?" she gulped.
"Everything," Sugar intoned.
"O-Okay," she stammered, shakily sitting down cross legged in the grass.
As the girl prepared to voice her grievances, Sugar fought back a sense of self-loathing. This was not how she had hoped to help her, but she couldn't deny that it would most likely get results. Hopefully, the apology message she sent her later wouldn't be too long. That was a bad habit she desperately needed to kick.
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Mandatory friendship? I mean if it works...
10698558
More like an intervention. Sugar doesn't know the full story, but wants to help Twilight.
Yeah, I never got the impression that the other three were all that bad, just judging by their debut scene on the bus, so it's clear that whatever Twilight thinks of the rest of her fellow Elites is based on how Soursweet and Sunny Flare treat her. Just based on their pony counterparts, Trenderhoof wouldn't be so bad, while Jet Set might be a problem.
But for Twilight's sake, I hope the three girls can aid in Petal's efforts
Great job keep up the good work
That whole entire time Twilight was saying that it leads do not like each other and are willing to get ahead, and yet there was sugar coat hanging out with two people that aren't even close to the top five. It looks like Twilight needs to learn more not to judge people based on how other people treat her and especially their status, something that looks like it's about to happen to her right now.
Woo. so we have more friends. And yep Petal is definitely acting like a friend so I really hope she manages to find a way free of her prison at this point. It sounds like we have a dark but not evil reflection of the EoH forming here? Huh, wonder what new/old Element Petal would embody?
10705381
Well considering the other elites aren't nice even slightly she naturally doesn't trust the rest of the group. Plus she really needs mental help. Between her social anxiety and the fact the students are sharks and I doubt growing up smarter than average was easy for friendship.
10705381
So I think Twilight has it Partially correct. Some of the Elites are like 2 and 3 meanwhile those who are ranked 5 and Below are actually very nice. Or it's just 2 and 3. Personally I think 2 & 3 need to be stomped into the ground.