Greetings. I am Vultarian01. So... yeah, that was way longer than a month. But, to be clear, when I took the hiatus I tried not thinking about this story for the entire month of August (2015) so my mind could rest from all the Canterlot Carnage Pro Wrestling action. So, I literally started writing this chapter when September (2015) begun. I kinda forgot what I was going to do with the next few chapters, so I had to take the time to recollect my thoughts. But, luckily, I remember what I want to do with it now. I fixed up my plan, and I think I'm ready to go. Not sure if I'll send out new chapters faster, but I already have a little over 2,000 words done on chapter 48. Then again, you know the process. Regardless, I hope you guys weren't too disappointed. Danke.

Disclaimer: I do not own MLP or any of its respective characters. Enjoy.

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Chapter 47

Saturday, October 24, 8:43pm

It was nearly dark outside. The crickets were just starting to sing their tune as they eagerly awaited for the moon to listen to their nightly chorus. It was a windy late evening, too. The trees shook as the wind brushed itself against them, shaking off the leaves and acorns that the neighbors would have to bother removing in the morning. But that was their problem. Keeping the yard clean was the kind of problem Twilight wished she had right now, but she was faced with one a little more daunting than a few scattered sticks and twigs.

She was in the family room. She sat in the middle of the couch with her knees together and her hands folded on her lap. She looked down at the coffee table, not knowing what was going to happen. She felt like a child that was about to be severely punished, which seemed like a distinct possibility. She looked up and watched Night Light pace back and forth with a conflicted expression. Pacing was a habit of his when he was put in a difficult position. Twilight had the same habit too, and she would even put on the same face. Too bad she was the difficult variable in this scenario. Twilight Velvet was in one of the chairs next to the fake fireplace. She sat in her chair with the same posture as her daughter, but it was clear that she was deep in thought, distraught by what had happened with Octavia and the others. Twilight stared at her knuckles for a while before her father got her attention.

Night Light ceased his pacing and put his hand on his hips in an authoritarian like manner. "Twilight, look alive. We got a few things to discuss."

Twilight did not argue. "Yes sir."

Night Light stopped his pacing and turned to Cadence who was standing off in the corner of the room. "Is that everything, Cadence?"

Cadence nodded. "Yes sir, it is." Cadence said, giving Twilight a disappointed look. After Octavia's uncle came to pick her up and take her to the hospital, everyone else was told to go home immediately. Twilight, herself, was escorted by Shining Armor and Cadence. The two were understandably upset, and Twilight tried to explain herself, but they were obviously in no mood to listen to her excuses. Twilight couldn't blame them, so the three walked with not an utterance of a word to each other. They eventually reached the house, and her father, mother, and Spike were there to greet them. They went to welcome in Cadence, but they noticed that she was not particularly cheerful. Twilight saw Spike looking at her funny, and she mouthed for him to go to his room. As he left, Shining Armor and Cadence began talking about the hysterics of Canterlot Carnage Pro Wrestling's latest main event. And that was how Twilight ended up sitting on the couch, waiting in angst for what may happen next.

Twilight Velvet stood herself up from her chair and went to shake Cadence's hand meekly. "I am so sorry about all of this. When you were coming down here, we didn't think that you would get involved with Twilight's club, let alone get roped into all of this mess."

Cadence nodded again, but did not make direct eye contact this time. "It's fine."

Night Light shook his head. "No, it's not fine," he said before giving Twilight a grim look, "Young lady, come up here and apologize to Cadence right now."

Twilight did what she was told to do. She stood up and slowly walked over to Cadence. Once Twilight was standing in front of her, she looked her in the eye and saw all of the disappointment she was expecting to see. She had lied to that face, and she felt her guilt stabbing her in the gut with a butter knife. But she fought back the tears, and she hung her head in shameful self-disgust.

"Cadence, I'm sorry for lying to you and Shining Armor. And I'm sorry that you had to witness what had happened. I just thought that-

"Twilight, you already said you were sorry. We'll talk about your justifications later. Go sit back down." Night Light ordered her daughter.

Twilight gulped. "Y-Yes sir…" Twilight said before going back to the couch and sitting down obediently.

"Cadence, I hope that you're still going to be attending the Halloween party next Saturday. It would be a shame if you didn't come." Twilight Velvet said anxiously.

Cadence offered a reassuring smile. "No, I'll come. You can be sure of that."

Twilight Velvet put her hand on her chest and let out a breath of relief. "Good. Now, if you don't mind, we would like to have a talk with Twilight."

"I understand Miss Velvet. Shining Armor's outside waiting for me to take me to my cousin's place," Cadence said before addressing Night Light. "You sure it's okay if he can use your car?"

"No problem. Shining Armor's an excellent driver. Just don't you two go using it for things I would do." Night light joked with a wink, earning an irritated nudge from his wife.

Cadence giggled. "I won't, I promise. Goodbye."

Cadence picked up her bag and walked out the front door. A minute later, the sound of the Sedan starting up could be heard from inside the house before it started fading, indicating that the two had just left. Now it was just Twilight and her parents, and the loud cranking of the car might as well have been the execution shot for any sense of calmness in the house. Cadence was gone now, and there was nothing that could stop her mom and dad from snapping her head right off. Thoughts churned in her head as to what might happen. Will she go to jail? Will she be put in military school? Will her parents make her throw away all of her books? The last one made her gag a little. Not that she thinks she doesn't deserve it.

Twilight watched with discomforting anticipation as her parents turned around and went back to their seats. The friendly faces they put on for Cadence have since disappeared, and have been replaced with bitter disappointment. Twilight Velvet sat in the same chair, and Night Light pulled up another seat next to her. He told Twilight to explain herself before leaning back to listen to her side of the story. She did so, and after she finished going over every moment from the start of the show to the finish, she waited for her parents to speak. There was a minute long silence, but Night Light eventually slouched and buried his face in his hands.

"Twilight…" Night Light said through muffled palms.

Twilight clenched her knees with white knuckles. "Yes, dad?"

Night Light lifted his face and rubbed his head. "Twilight, I really don't like saying this, but… I suspected that this whole thing might not turn out well."

Out of fear, Twilight began to explain herself further. "I-

"Don't interrupt your father when he's speaking." Twilight Velvet ordered her.

Twilight stopped herself and slumped back down. "Yes ma'am…"

Night Light sighed. "As I was saying, I knew something like this was going to happen sooner or later. I thought you said you could handle this."

"But, I was handling it." said Twilight. She really was. Not up until two weeks ago, of course, but she felt that she had done a fairly good job of being the general manager.

However, Twilight instantly regretted saying that. Night Light went from looking disappointed to looking frustrated rather quickly after that remark. "… Twilight… tell me, is lying to everyone and letting things get this out of hand what you call handling it?"

Twilight instantly felt the backlash of her statement. She continued to look down. "No."

"I didn't think so," Night Light said gruffly.

Now it was her mom's turn to speak. "I think we should have a talk, Twilight. About CCPW."

Twilight gulped. "Yes ma'am?"

Twilight Velvet pushed some hair out of her face before continuing. "When we and the other adults discussed whether to give you permission to start this little club, organization, company, or whatever you liked to call it, we were worried about how this may affect all of you."

They did. She remembered showing them a PowerPoint presentation about the benefits of Canterlot Carnage Pro Wrestling. She explained the condensed history of professional wrestling as well as the values of teamwork and sportsmanship. Then, of course, she and her friends had to get some starter lessons from Rainbow Blaze on how to perform moves properly. Even after that, though, they were still a little unsure, but she and her friends wouldn't take no for an answer and they all eventually came to an agreement.

"I can't really speak for the other parents, honestly, but after we talked, me and Night Light felt a little better about it and trusted that you and your friends knew what you were doing." Twilight Velvet finished.

"But that was when there were only six of you," Night Light added, "We didn't know that you would bring more people into it. We thought that there were going to be some problems because these weren't kids that you didn't normally hang around with. But, we also spoke to their parents and they said that they were okay with this, so we thought that everything was going alright. Until…"

Twilight had a feeling that she knew where they were going with this.

Night Light continued. "A week or two ago, you and your friends have been acting noticeably strange. And by strange, I mean tired and ill. We thought that there was some kind of problem, but we chalked it up as just exhaustion the first time. Then we heard from Rainbow Blaze that you invited Sunset Shimmer to join CCPW without notifying your friends ahead of time."

There it is. Twilight knew that Sunset Shimmer would be brought up. "Mom, Dad, I can explain that."

"Twilight, I said no interrupting your father." Twilight's mom ordered, this time with a more stern tone.

Twilight's words jumped back into her throat and she shut her mouth obediently, not letting them escape.

Night Light stood up from his chair and looked down at her daughter. "I'm sure you can, but I think you should be hearing things from another point of view because, apparently, you haven't been doing that lately."

Those words stung Twilight hard. Words always hurt when you know there is a little truth behind them. She didn't think she was the one that would be given the metaphorical knife in the wound, though. Guess that, again, shows what she knows. But still…

"But they were being so mean to Sunset Shimmer! You didn't remember me telling you how bad they've been treating her?!" Twilight argued. She knows that she should be silent, but not when there is still an obvious injustice present.

Twilight Velvet's mouth dropped. "Twilight, you won't raise your voice that way!"

"Its fine, honey," Night Light said to her wife before continuing. "I understand what you're saying, and I agree that they are wrong for treating her that way. And I'm sure they will be punished as well. But, that doesn't seem to be the only problem because it isn't JUST Sunset Shimmer that was causing problems. By what just happened earlier today, a lot of you aren't getting along great either. You've been arguing amongst yourselves, just keeping the pot stirring more and more. And, to make it worse, you had to go and lie to Cadence and your brother about it because you couldn't just tell us about it. And not just lie to them about your problems, but also lying ABOUT them to your friends, making them look like they had it out for them! I mean, seriously, I do not know how you would ever come to the conclusion that your brother and Cadence would call the police! That is simply insane!" Night Light started to pace in a circle again, but his wife grabbed his hand and pulled him back into his seat.

"Night Light, please. There's no need to go off into hysterics." Twilight Velvet soothed, calming him down to a steadier breathing cycle.

Night light rubbed the pulsating parts of his head, relaxing himself. "You're absolutely right. I'm sorry for going off like that... It's just… darn it, Twilight, you're sixteen years old…"

"I'm sorry…" Twilight croaked, feeling like she was going to tear up.

"Okay, okay, okay… let's all just calm down. We're not going to solve anything by getting upset," Twilight Velvet soothed once more, "Let's all just take off the edge by doing some breathing exercises, alright?"

Twilight cooled herself down long enough to give her a nod. She, her father, and mother then took a deep breath, pulling her arms towards their torso. The held it for a minute before slowly exhaling that air, pushing their arms forward and away from their bodies. They all seemed to be a little more relaxed than they were earlier. They took a brief period of silence to think about what they are going to say before continuing the talk.

"Okay… I'm sorry for ranting at you like that, Twilight. But I thought that you would at least try letting us help sort things out after Rainbow Dash assaulted Sunset Shimmer." Nigh Light slightly whispered, allowing his voice to return to a more normal volume.

"You knew about that?" Twilight asked. She knew that they knew. Like they said before, the adults keep each other informed. However, she was just curious what they had to say about it.

Twilight Velvet continued for her husband. "Yes, Rainbow Blaze called us. He also told us about what the others have been doing to Sunset Shimmer, but he didn't know how bad it was. Rainbow Dash wouldn't tell him much else, though. And we wanted to ask your other friends, but…"

"You knew about that?" Twilight asked. She knew that they knew. Like they said before, the adults keep each other informed. However, she was just curious what they had to say about it.

Twilight Velvet continued for her husband. "Yes, Rainbow Blaze called us. He also told us about what the others have been doing to Sunset Shimmer, but he didn't know how bad it was. Rainbow Dash wouldn't tell him much else though. And we wanted to ask your other friends, but…"

Twilight listened as her mom's words faded off into a mere thought. Her mom's expression mirrored Twilight's own earlier in the conversation. She looked ashamed.

Twilight was off-put by her mom's sudden silence. "But, what?"

Twilight's mom suddenly looked as if she were about to cry as well. But why would she? She wasn't the one who did anything wrong. And looking at her dad, he looked just as guilty of something. Did she do this to them?

Night Light got up from his chair, this time slower; like an old man trying not to strain himself. "Twilight… I think it's time we apologize to you as well."

Twilight was a little surprised that her father would apologize for no seeable reason. "Huh?"

Night Light and Twilight Velvet went to the couch and sat beside her, peering down at her. Twilight did not know who to face, so she continued to stare at her lap while they spoke.

"Twilight… when we agreed to let you wrestle, we trusted you with being personally responsible for everything. And because of that, we wanted to assure the other parents that you knew what you were doing and could be trusted. You are well organized, you can multitask, you are basically a smart girl with a good head on your shoulders," Night Light said, prompting Twilight to smile slightly. He frowned, "And because of that, most of us did not feel a need to pry into your personal hobbies, so we didn't press you on many things. Even after Sunset Shimmer, we did not want to violate your privacy. I mean, we do ask questions from time to time, but that was to make sure that you were okay. And THAT was our mistake…"

Twilight nodded as she listened, letting Night Light know that everything he said was being been heard. She didn't know that they had such confidence in her abilities. It makes what she did feel even more awfully despicable now.

Night Light went on. "Sweetheart, we should have been more involved in this. We knew something was going on, and we have heard bits of it here and there, but we still felt as though… as though if we did interfere, we would look as if we didn't trust you. But we probably took that mentality too far. Even Camershy and Granny Smith were thinking about stepping in. We should have done that, though. And if we did, we probably would have sorted this whole thing out. We, as parents, should have been more engaging. But we didn't, which is why I am apologizing to you. We're sorry for not being there, Twilight…"

Twilight felt her father pull her in for a hug. However, she did not move her arms to return the embrace. She didn't' have enough strength to embrace him without weeping. She should've done the right thing and asked for help. Too bad it took her this long to figure that out.

Twilight Velvet took a turn at hugging her daughter as well. "And this isn't us saying that you're not a responsible girl, Twilight. Even responsible people make mistakes now and then. It's obvious that the course of action you took was not the most… intuitive decision, but hopefully you will have learned something from this."

Twilight Velvet released Twilight and let her slouch forward. Twilight hung her head dejectedly.

"Yeah, I learned that if you do the right thing and try to help someone you'll make an enemy out of everyone…" she said, not bothering to mumble the words.

Night Light put a firm hand on Twilight's back. "Twilight, you did the right thing wanting to include Sunset Shimmer. But maybe your timing was a little... off."

Twilight Velvet moved herself closer to the saddened Twilight Sparkle. "I believe you when you say that Sunset Shimmer isn't as bad as she used to be-

She isn't bad at all, mom!" Twilight snapped.

Her mom's eyes widened in shock at the sudden outburst. Twilight felt a small tick of leftover rage leave her body. She softened her expression and looked away from her. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have raised my voice like that."

Her mom quickly collected herself and attempted to reword herself. "I believe you when you say Sunset Shimmer isn't bad anymore… but, she did hurt a lot of your friends and plenty of others too. Nobody should have expected for her to be forgiven right away. You probably knew that."

That was true. After everything that Sunset Shimmer had done, there was no visible chance that everyone would forgive her right off the bat. But, she felt so bad for her. Sunset Shimmer didn't even have her parents to comfort her anymore. What was she supposed to do? Leave her alone? She couldn't. She wouldn't.

"And, as hard as it may be to except… it's Sunset Shimmer's problem. She was the bully; she was the one who made the mistakes, so she has to be the one who ultimately has to clean up her mess." Twilight's mom finished on a reluctant note, probably not wanting her daughter to get upset.

"But, you know, it's good of you to help her. At least you're making her face the people that hate her. But you can't fix all of her problems, Twilight. She has to do it. Do you understand?" asked her father.

Twilight smiled slightly and nodded in agreement, but in honesty she blocked out everything they had said beyond what her mom may have said about it being Sunset's problem. She heard it before, and hearing it again wouldn't make any difference. "Sure."

Night Light slowly stood up from the couch. "Good. Now, you probably haven't had dinner yet, have you?"

Twilight clutched her stomach. She suddenly felt very empty. Guess everything that happened took her mind off of nutrition. "No, I haven't."

Night Light walked to the doorway to the kitchen, but didn't go farther beyond that. "In that case, we should continue this conversation after you eat."

Both Twilights stood from their seats and began walking to the kitchen; the younger Twilight lagging behind slightly.

Twilight sat at the end of the kitchen table. Apparently, the rest of her family (excluding Shining Armor) had already eaten because her mom placed a plate of reheated chicken nuggets and macaroni in front of her. She didn't complain, and she grabbed a spoon before scooping her meal into her mouth. As she engulfed her food, she could hear her parents talking to each other in hushed voices in the hallway. She could only make out a few words, though: meeting, hospital, sugar, rainbow, and smith. The rest sounded like mumbles. She could deduce that they, and very likely the other parents, will have a meeting about this sometime in the near future. She didn't know if they would try and sort this out while also planning the annual Halloween party next weekend. Then again, they could just make this a quick fix and make them shut down Canterlot Carnage Pro Wrestling all together. She hoped that would not be the way things end.

After Twilight finished eating and washing her bowl, her parents came back in to continue the conversation. They didn't add much the subject though. They pretty much said what Twilight expected them to say. All of the adults were going to have a discussion about this, luckily after the party was over. Then, they told Twilight that they would discuss her punishment for what she did in the morning. She definitely looked forward to that funfest.

Eventually, Shining Armor returned home and Twilight formally apologized to him. He didn't say anything back and just walked back to his room. At least he didn't blow up on her. She'll have to explain herself to him and Cadence sometime during the week as well. But, until then, she was sent to her room. She grabbed the rail of the stairs and pulled herself up. Climbing them was a chore, and she felt a slight hint of relief when she saw that the door to her room was opened for her. As she entered it, she noticed that her bed was already made and the lights were turned off. Closing the door behind her, she got into her pajamas and got under her covers.

She didn't find herself sleeping afterwards, though. She waited for about thirty minutes to make sure nobody was goin to check in on her. After some time had passed, she finally allowed herself to bury her face in her pillow and cry. She felt ashamed and humiliated. To think that everyone would end up like this crushed her expectations. It was supposed to be fun, but drama was just biding its time to tear everything she loved apart. Even when she made small mistakes, she would always try to correct them. But, she only made everything worse this time. And after the bloodshed and pain that was caused today, what is she doing instead? Crying. She was crying and blubbering like a pathetic little girl with no idea what to do. It was the only thing she had been doing for the past two weeks, and nothing she did fixed anything. She never felt more like a failure in any other time of her life than she did weeping in her bed right now. Not like she could feel anything else.

Twenty minutes had passed since then, and she eventually started to calm down. She was reduced to hiccupping, but she tried to keep her voice down so no one could hear. She felt sleep pulling at her brain, and she would have been happy to oblige, but a muffled buzzing noise caught her attention. She tiredly searched her blanket until she came across her cell phone vibrating. It stopped, however, and Twilight unlocked her touch screen, showing the screensaver of her in a Starswhirl the Bearded cosplay outfit. Twilight went to her call log and realized that she had a missed call from Rarity. She didn't know what to make of it, but then the phone started ringing again. This time, Twilight answered it.

"Hello..?" Twilight sniffed.

"Twilight? Darling, are you alright? Have you been crying?" Rarity asked. She sounded concerned.

"Rarity, what are you doing? Why are you calling me?" Twilight asked, masking any cracks in her voice.

"We wanted to see if you were doing, alright, of course." Rarity said, still sounding rather abashed.

"We?" Twilight said. Suddenly, her phone started ringing again. This time it was Applejack. Guess her question just got answered. She switched the call to three-way. "Yes?"

"Hehe... howdy, Twilight." The country girl said with a hint of sadness in her inflection.

Twilight sat herself up in her bed. "AJ? You guys, what's going on?" Twilight asked. There was some silence on the other ends, excluding maybe a few sniffles. Guess someone else has been crying too.

"We just came to see how ya'll were doin'." Applejack said, responding a little quicker than she normally would.

Did they seriously just ask her that? "I don't know, what do you think?" Twilight asked in the most sarcastic way possible.

"Yeah, that was a dumb question." Applejack admitted.

"Twilight, we were merely checking to see if you were okay. No need to be rude." Rarity persisted.

Twilight rolled her eyes and laid back down, staring up at the ceiling.

"Not that we can't fathom why you would be so cross with us. After all, Applejack and I did nothing to assist you in the situation." Rarity finished.

"Oh, so now you two are getting along?" Twilight asked in a snarky tone.

There was another sniffle. It was Applejack. Her voice sounded a little hoarse. Now that Twilight thought about it, she sounded similar to herself.

"When I heard Octavia's scream, I quickly got mah head on straight and went to help. It wasn't till then that I just realized what happened, but it was already too late fer me to do a lick o' good. Big Mac and Granny Smith gave me a lot of hell when ah got home, and that gave me some time to think about what I did," said Applejack, "Twi… I was a dang idiot fer how I've been acting. I should have kept a level head, and I certainly shouldn't 'have been trying to take Rarity's head off like that."

"I had enough time to reflect on my actions as well. The dishonorable way I won my match against Applejack hadn't bothered me too much until after Octavia's accident. I can relate to Applejack's dismay; it took someone getting seriously injured to make us see that we have been behaving like bickering children. And it's an even greater shame that we put our own pride over our ability to reason. So, we decided to talk it out a bit, and we came to a consensus. We shouldn't have been fighting, and instead should have been helping you," Rarity said, swallowing on the other line, "I hope you can accept my sincerest apology, Twilight."

"Yeah, we should have been by yer side, but we blew it along with everyone else. We'll do whatever we can to make it up to you." Applejack said in remorse.

Twilight turned onto her side, and felt tears starting to form again. She stopped them, though, and responded. "No, this was all my fault. If it hadn't been for me, this wouldn't have happened. But, I was so desperate… so desperate to keep everything under control that when Cadence and Big Mac appeared out of nowhere, my better judgment left me. I feel like a fear-mongering tyrant. I yelled at you… I made Pinkie Pie feel like a bad person… and I even made Fluttershy cry. I knew what I did was wrong, but I did it anyway out of the fear that I might lose CCPW. But, I guess I care more about wrestling than I do about my friends…" Twilight felt herself choking up again.

Rarity's tone spiked out of nowhere. "Now hold on just a second, Twilight! What happened was not your fault!"

"What do you mean it wasn't my fault?! Did you just ignore everything I've been doing?!" Twilight shouted at the lowest volume possible. She didn't want to scare any of her family members into coming into her room.

"You may have put us on edge, but that hardly had anything to do with what happened with Octavia, Bon Bon, and Vinyl Scratch. What you did had little to do with Octavia being injured. Bon Bon giving Vinyl a bloody nose was by pure accident, and you couldn't have accounted for that." Rarity insisted.

Twilight nodded her head. "I suppose that's true…"

"The accident transitioning into a four-woman brawl also had little to do with you, Twilight." said Rarity.

"Ah sure as heck weren't thinkin' about you while Ah was chasin' Rarity around." Applejack added.

"Believe me, I wasn't either," Rarity said drolly, prompting a guilty chuckle from AJ, "In fact, your plan might have worked if it had not been for that less than favorable outcome."

"…So, you two aren't mad at me for lying to you?" asked Twilight.

There was a brief pause on the other side from the two girls, but they still managed somewhat of a reluctant response.

"Well… if you want me to be honest, Twilight, I didn't appreciate being lied to. And, Ah especially didn't appreciate you saying bad about Big Mac. But, on a count of us being so bull-headed that we been tossin' our horns at each other… ah can see why ya did that. Although Big Mac ain't gonna get involved in anything that ain't any of his business." replied Applejack.

"I agree. Sometimes it's difficult to make people get along. Sweetie Belle and I get into quite a number of spats here and there, so I understand the frustration of the ordeal." said Rarity.

Twilight removed her covers and sat cross-legged. "Doesn't mean what I did was right though. And, I'm glad that my plan didn't work. I don't think I could have lived with myself if I had successfully villainized my big brother, Cadence. And even YOUR big brother, Applejack." said Twilight.

"Yeah, he ain't too happy about that either," Applejack admitted with a dry remark, "Ah didn't think he would do it, but ah really just went along with it because ah didn't know that Cadence gal too well."

"I also feel bad for Sunset Shimmer. She didn't deserve to be treated that way." Twilight murmured, "But, let me guess… she deserved it right?"

"No. She didn't deserve that." Applejack said with a slightly harsher tone.

"Oh, so now you're taking her side?" Twilight grumbled, mildly irritated. It takes them this long to realize that she was being treated unfairly? Huh. Maybe they should have blood baths more often.

"No. I personally still don't care for Sunset Shimmer. However, what Lyra said was completely out of line." said Rarity.

"As compared to how all of you have been treating her?" Twilight shot back.

Rarity and Applejack made a few noises on the other line, indicating that they were having trouble finding a good response to that. Eventually, Applejack just spat it out.

"Alright, alright… maybe we've been a bit too harsh on the gal. But it's not like she hadn't done worse, Twilight." Applejack pointed out.

Twilight felt the strong need to argue that point, but she remembered her father's words. "Okay… on my part, I shouldn't have shut you up like that. I should have asked you about letting Sunset Shimmer in first so we could talk about it as a group."

"Absolutely." Rarity agreed.

"But, that doesn't excuse your rude behavior towards her." Twilight pointed out quickly.

"*sigh*… agreed." Rarity said begrudgingly.

"Ah ain't saying that Ah'll be nice to her… but I'll try to be a little more respectable." said Applejack.

Twilight breathed slowly. At least they were willing to tone it down, "That's all I wanted to hear," she said before letting out a long yawn.

"Sounds like somebody's ready to hit the sack." Applejack commented amusingly.

Twilight looked at her clock. It read 10:24pm. "Yeah... I was about to go to sleep before you called, actually."

"OH! I'm terribly sorry! I didn't realize. I don't usually go to bed this early." Rarity apologized.

"It's okay, Rarity," Twilight assured, "But, I better get some shut eye so I can be prepared for my punishment in the morning…" she sighed as she snuggled under her covers.

"Yeah, Ah gots me a good bit of chores to do too. Granny usually gives me some slack on Sundays and Monday's, but mah butt is in hot water right now." Applejack said tiredly, as if she could already feel her arms getting sore from picking apples.

"I as well," said Rarity, "I'm going to be doings some shopping for Halloween decorations and a costume for Sweetie Belle. That is a chore in of itself." she groaned.

"Told ya you should have just kept the decorations from last year, Rarity." commented Applejack.

Rarity gasped. "And have myself be caught using the same decorations TWICE?! Dear, you know that repeat appearances of the same designs aren't going to show the public the amount of effort in innovation you put in for the upcoming seasons! Canterlot DESERVES to know the aesthetic brilliance of a Rarity Halloween!"

"Ya mean like yer 'bedazzling' emerald encrusted pumpkins? Or how you took that scarecrow you brought and gave it a monkey suit with a knotted scarf?" Applejack asked plainly.

"Did you not SEE what that scarecrow was wearing?! The only thing frightening about it was the way that filthy straw hat clashed with its disgusting, torn blue jean jacket. You're not going to attract anything with that kind of wear." Rarity argued.

"That's the point of a scarecrow, Rarity! To scare things away!" Applejack countered.

"Then I guess you just don't know how powerful and intimidating a sharp suit can be, Applejack." Rarity responded promptly.

Twilight smirked. "Uh, girls…"

Rarity collected herself on the other line. "Oh, I'm sorry, Twilight! I guess we went off on a tangent there. Well, I will see the both of you at school on Monday?"

"Eeyup." said Applejack.

"Okay, well, goodnight you two. Thank you for making sure I was okay." said Twilight.

"Naturally, Darling. Goodnight." said Rarity.

"See you later, Twi." said Applejack.

The three of them disconnected. It was nice to hear the two of them bicker again without the vicious competitiveness behind it. Twilight remembered sometimes chuckling to herself at how they would argue over the most insignificant of topics. They were definitely two different personalities. And at least they were getting along. Hopefully they would keep their word about easing up on Sunset Shimmer's case, but she wasn't going to hold her breath.

So, finally, she placed her head on her pillow and put her phone underneath it. She covered herself up and closed her eyes, trying not to think of anything. She let the darkness settle in to put her away, but her mind couldn't help but wander again. She tried to go to sleep, but something kept nagging at her. Everything that she had been told up until now was played on repeat in her head. And as she was thinking of this, a certain memory snuck in. Then, a disturbing thought formed in her mind and she shot her eyes open. It was something that she didn't think about at the time, but now that it was present it was bothering at her like crazy. She took out her phone and quickly dialed Rarity's phone number again. She waited for her to pick up.

"Twilight, I wasn't expecting you to call back so soon." said Rarity, probably confused on the other end of the line.

"Hey, Rarity… you remember my match with Rainbow Dash and Sunset Shimmer? And how I blind tagged myself in?" Twilight asked nervously.

"Yes? What about it?" the fashionista asked.

"Well, I was thinking and maybe… I…" Twilight's words ceased, and she grew even more nervous.

"… Yes?" pressed Rarity.

"… Nevermind. I guess I was just… thinking about something else. I'm sorry for bothering you." said Twilight.

"…. Um… alright then. Goodnight." Rarity said, more confused now,

"Goodnight." Twilight before hanging up on her friend.

Twilight laid back down and turned off her phone just in case Rarity were to try and call back. She looked out of her window in silent contemplation. She felt bad for backing out of sharing her feelings with Rarity. She was her friend, and she just apologized to her not too long ago. Maybe what she was thinking of was just her feeling paranoid about herself again. It couldn't be possible for her to be thinking that when she did that. Could it? It was possible, but the thought of it being positive made her stomach knot. Whatever. Maybe she was just over thinking again. She's been doing it for the entire day. Maybe sleep will help.

She got up to place the phone on her dresser before going back into bed. Tucking herself in, she faced towards the wall and closed her eyes. Rarity and Applejack forgave her, and Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy will most likely forgive her as well. But, the rest of the girls probably won't be as convinced. Speaking of which, what happened to Sunset Shimmer? And Octavia? And the others? She probably should have asked AJ and Rarity about it, but it's too late now. She'll have to think about that tomorrow. Right now, she needed to let her brain shut off, and finally give her the one moment of serene rest that it so desperately needed.

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Okay, I hope that chapter wasn't too boring. If it was, I am sorry that you are unable to recognize true entertainment (JK Bros. And Ladies.). I am going to be looking for a job, but I have a base for chapter 48, and to keep you interested you should know that Rainbow Dash WILL be in that chapter. That okay? Good. In the mean time, I'll try to push through and finish it. But, as you know, there's no telling when I'll be done. Life just happens sometimes, and I am aware that that's a lame excuse. What was my point? Oh yeah, I'm sorry for making you wait.

Until Chapter 48. Arevoir.