Greetings. I am Vultarian01. *Holds up hands* Let's not do anything hasty. I'm sorry for taking so long. And I'm sorry for posting this at the last possible moment. Why don't you just... read chapter 50 and I'll explain myself (make an excuse JK) in my ending note. I hope you enjoy. Danke.

Disclaimer: I do not own MLP or any of it's respective characters. Enjoy.

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Chapter 50

Monday, October 26, 12:40pm

"If I take away the remainder of this equation and use it to replace x, then maybe…"

The bell rang for lunch, knocking Twilight out of her focus.

"Alright you guys, time turn in your tests! Put them in a stack on my desk, and I'll give you the results tomorrow! In the meantime, swiggle on to your next class with your bad selves! Or, something like that…"

Twilight got up from her desk and reviewed her test as she walked. She felt confident with her answers, but she didn't have enough time to answer the last two questions. The test still felt like an A, but not being able to complete it made it feel lesser than that. She almost always finished her work, after all.

Twilight placed her test with everyone else's and left the room. She could have finished it sooner, but her mind was preoccupied with other worries. One of them being Sunset Shimmer. Sunset hasn't texted, or called, since Lyra made her cry and run out of the CCPW building.

"I swear, if I see Lyra's face anytime today…" Twilight grinded her teeth, but after a couple of students were looking at her curiously, she calmed herself down. She wasn't going to blow up again; especially not in front of the entire student body. It wasn't completely Lyra's fault anyway. It was, displeasingly enough, a group effort. Still, Lyra made the killing blow.

"No! You stop brain!" Twilight yelled at herself in her head.

Twilight traversed the trafficking students and made her way to the school cafeteria. Maybe a little food in her gullet would help calm her down. Twilight got in line and got out with a tray full of apple sliders, a grilled cheese sandwich, grits, mashed potatoes, two rolls, and a carton of 2% milk. That should last her the afternoon. Next was trying to find a table, which was never a problem for her. She walked to the near back of the cafeteria; the part that was usually empty. She found the table where she and her friends usually sat together, but Fluttershy was the only one there being that Twilight didn't have lunch with the other girls on Mondays.

"Hey, Fluttershy." Twilight greeted, sitting down opposite to her.

Fluttershy greeted her with a weak smile. "Hey, Twilight. It's nice to see you feeling better after your emotional breakdown and Octavia's hospitalization."

Twilight never felt more promptly the need to go look for another table. But, she knew that Fluttershy wasn't being malicious. It did annoy her how fast Fluttershy bummed her out, though. And her face probably gave it away because Fluttershy immediately looked sad.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Fluttershy apologized, "Too blunt?"

Yes, it kinda was, but it was also true. "No, it's okay."

Fluttershy spun her fork in her mashed potatoes, looking apologetic. "I shouldn't have made such a hasty assumption. I was just trying to be nice, and you did look content…"

Great, now Twilight felt guilty for unintentionally making Fluttershy feel guilty. "Fluttershy, I said it was okay. And if I did look content, I was probably just faking it."

Fluttershy took a nibble out of her apple slider. "If it makes you feel any better, I don't feel very happy either." That was just the trend, apparently. Twilight was getting pretty worn out by it too.

"It doesn't make me feel better to know that you're sad," said Twilight, "Is it okay if I asked what you did after what happened Saturday?" Twilight tried to ask as easily as possible, but she knew how vain that hope was.

"Oh, you know… I went home… fed Angel… cried myself to sleep…" To most people, Fluttershy would be being too honest, but it's something that Twilight came to expect from her. But, that was okay. Twilight wanted to share her feelings too.

Twilight sighed. "Fluttershy, I'm sorry about lying to you."

Fluttershy reached from across the table and put her hand on Twilight's. "It's okay, Twilight. I forgive you."

"You're a little quick to forgive, aren't you?" Twilight said plainly. She was the one apologizing, but that didn't mean she didn't feel bad about it anymore.

"Well… what you did was mean, but… I can understand why you did it." Fluttershy said thoughtfully.

Fluttershy had to be the sweetest girl in the world. Twilight didn't deserve this kindness from her. "Have you heard from Sunset?"

Fluttershy shook her head. "I'm sorry, but she won't talk to me. I tried calling and texting her, but she wouldn't answer back. I even tried visiting her apartment building, but a man at the desk told me he hasn't seen her either."

It kind of worried her that Sunset wasn't speaking to them. And if Sunset wasn't even returning Fluttershy's calls, she must be in a bad way. Hopefully not to the point of…

Fluttershy looked up and saw a very concerned expression on Fluttershy, as well as a few other students whispering amongst themselves in the cafeteria. Twilight touched her face and looked at her wet fingers. She must not have noticed that she was crying.

"I'm so sorry…" That was all Twilight could think about saying.

"Twilight, please don't cry." Fluttershy comforted, handing one of her napkins to Twilight. Twilight appreciatively grabbed the napkin and used it to wipe her face. And blow her nose. Loudly.

The two of them ate in relative silence until their meals were finished. They both put their lunch trays in a stack with the others before checking the time. It was already time to leave for next period. Fluttershy gave Twilight a hushed nod before scurrying to her next class. Twilight looked around and a few students were looking at her as they passed by. Even one of the teachers stopped her on her way to the next class and asked her if she was alright. Luckily, he didn't press her much after she told him that "She was having some girl problems". He knew exactly what she meant, and he walked away faster than he probably had ever done in the last decade of his life. Uncomfortable menstruation excuses for the win.

The rest of the day carried on normally, if you didn't account for Twilight's constant feeling of dread. She managed to act at least a little relaxed, and thankfully no one gave her much attention. Well, aside from Nurse Redheart taking her aside to privately ask her how she was dealing with her "girl problems". Uncomfortable menstruation excuses NOT for the win.

She had three periods left before school was over. Her fifth class was in English. Rarity and Applejack were in that class with her, and she was half-expecting them to make it awkward. But, to her surprise, they acted pretty casual; like how they were before all this mess. The three of them made conversation, but they did not bring up CCPW. Obviously because they were in class, and because the two of them knew how on edge they all were, and did not want to dwell. It was nice for the moment, but it wasn't anything ultimately productive to Twilight's mood.

Sixth period was in Music. Musical arts weren't anything Twilight was particularly interested in, but electives were required in order to graduate. It was easy. Not much work for her other than stand and sing while some of the other students played instruments. All she had to do, really, was keep her attendance up and she would pass. Octavia was supposed to be in the same class, playing her cello, but due to a certain accident, she was hospitalized. Poor Octavia. Twilight didn't even have a chance to visit Octavia since there were no visiting hours on Sunday. She'll have to make a mental note of checking in on her later.

Finally, seventh period was her economics class. Oddly enough, she hasn't seen Rainbow Dash around. She was supposed to be in this class with her. She sick or something? Didn't matter too much right now. Rainbow Dash wouldn't want to talk to her anyway. Other than Rainbow, none of her friends were in this class, and that might have been a good thing. She needed to start focusing on her studies again. Maybe that would occupy her time away from her worries, even if for only an hour and a half. But it was the same result as her math class. Too much thinking, not enough work.

*DING….DING….DING….DING….*

The final bell rang, and the school day was concluded. To Twilight, the bell was the most beautiful thing she had heard all day. Despite herself, Twilight didn't want to spend another minute longer in school than she had to.

Twilight Sparkle was pulled along the current of students trying to walk out the front door at the same time. She was getting bumped and pushed around; hearing other kids talk about what they were going to do after school or who was dating which soccer player. Twilight didn't fight against the stream. After years of being shoved and tossed around like a practice dummy, she knew it was futile to fight against it. She was not salmon. Besides, she was going in that direction anyway. She just wished that the guy in front of him didn't sell like two-week-old Doritos.

She was finally out of the building when the current of her peers spat her out. She dusted herself off, and was about to continue on the path home, but she heard a very loud voice calling to her.

"HEY, TWILIGHT! HEY! HEY! OVER HERE! OVER! HERE! HEEEEERE-UH!"

Twilight looked to the middle of the courtyard where the Wondercolts statue stood tall. She and her friends usually hung out at the monument, making casual conversations and such. But, Pinkie's urgent expression didn't seem to invite her for just a small chat. She was jumping and waving, earning her a passing glance from some of her fellow classmates. Twilight was curious. Yesterday, she called Pinkie Pie to check in on her. They talked for a while, and they made up. But, why was Pinkie calling her over, then? That was a question that could necessitate into a variety of strange answers, especially from the poofy-haired, sugar-high teenager. Still, she didn't want Pinkie Pie to make a scene, so she quickly hurried over to the statue.

"Wha-" Before Twilight could even finish her fist word, she was stopped short with a palm over her mouth. Pinkie Pie shushed her.

"Secret meeting." Pinkie Pie whispered; her serious face activated.

Twilight politely removed Pinkie's hand from her mouth, "It isn't that secret when you're screaming your location from across the courtyard," Twilight looked behind Pinkie Pie and saw Fluttershy and Rarity, "What this is about?"

The four of them gathered closer to the statue before continuing in hushed voices.

Fluttershy spoke first. "I'm sorry about not telling you sooner, Twilight. But you looked really upset in the lunchroom, so I thought we would just wait out here for you. Applejack would've come too, but she had to go home and do some chores before she was allowed to go."

Twilight was confused. "Go where? Could you elaborate? I have no Idea what you're talking about."

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "OH! I'm sorry. I'll just get straight to the point. I hope you wouldn't mind because you usually do this kind of thing, but we kinda called for a meeting."

"It was Fluttershy's idea!" pepped Pinkie Pie, putting Fluttershy in an uncomfortable, yet friendly, headlock.

"A meeting?!" Twilight exclaimed, gesturing her hands around her head, "I-I'm still confused Why wasn't I told about this?"

"We sent a group text a couple of hours ago," answered Pinkie, letting go of Fluttershy.

"But I didn't get a text!" said Twilight, taking out her phone and looking through her messages.

Fluttershy rubbed her neck, wincing from the pain of the sudden hold. "I sent the text a little after I left lunch."

Rarity took out her phone and started texting Twilight. "Fluttershy excluded you from the group text. She wanted to tell you in person, in the lunchroom, but I guess she didn't want to bother you."

Fluttershy rubbed her arm. "I wanted to tell you in person, you know, just in case…. You know."

Twilight's phone beeped and she received the text. She opened it up and read it.

Excuse me. I hope I am not interrupting whatever you may be doing, but, if it's not too much trouble, I would like to call a meeting for all Canterlot Carnage Pro Wrestling wrestlers. Call or text me for information on the time, location, and any other information. If you want, I mean. I know a lot of you are feeling hurt or angry, but we need to have a polite and non-mean talk about this because I believe we're more than just wrestlers. We're friends. I don't know if this will help in any way, but I think it's worth a try. Thank you very much. I'm sorry for bothering you.

"Was I too wordy? Oh, I hope they don't decide not to show up at the last minute because of my big mouth." Fluttershy quietly worried, chewing on her thumbnail.

"Don't worry, they'll come. I'm the one preparing the food after all." Pinkie Pie assured, slapping Fluttershy on the back.

Just as Twilight finished reading the message, another text appeared.

"Sorry," apologized Rarity, "forgot to add something."

Refreshments will be served.

"Can't go wrong with foo-hooo-hoo-hoo-hooo...hoo-oood~!" Pinkie Pie sung merrily.

"Fluttershy arranged for a small get-together," explained Rarity, "We were hoping that we could all come together and, maybe, work things out between each other."

"…Really?" Twilight asked, surprised by this proclamation, "But, how did you convince them?"

"It took some persuading, but, they all agreed that it is time to talk about this instead of just continuing to avoid each other," said Rarity, who suddenly tilted her head in an afterthought, "Well… most of them, anyway. Octavia will not be able to come since she's still hospitalized. And Lyra was very persistent on not going, but Bon Bon said that she would try some way to convince her."

"We texted the adults, too," added Fluttershy, "The other girls said they'll talk to them about it later, but they're pretty sure their parents would let them come."

"I'll be bringing mini-sandwiches, and chips, drinks! AND, once they eat some of Pinkie Pie's special salsa dip, the good times will be coming all around! Isn't that great, Twilight?!" Pinkie Pie cheered excitedly, grabbing Twilight's hands.

Twilight processed this. "So… where does this meeting take place?"

The three of them glanced nervously between each other.

"Um… it's at Rainbow Dash's house." said Fluttershy, cringing.

Twilight felt her stomach knot-up, and she took a step back. "Rainbow Dash's house?!"

Rarity was quick to be at Twilight's side. "Now, Twilight, I know that you are feeling apprehensive about this, but you and Rainbow need to reconcile. It isn't healthy for either of you to bottle up your emotions. And, it would be so terrible if you two never spoke again. And I don't think I need to tell you about what happened at CCPW, and what you need to do about it."

"How did you even convince Rainbow Blaze to allow this?" Twilight asked, feeling unease.

Fluttershy tilted her head, allowing her hair to cover half of her face. "Me and Pinkie Pie went over to have a talk with them, yesterday. Rainbow Dash is still grounded, but Mr. Blaze said that this would probably be the best thing to do. He's going to be there to keep an eye on us, but he won't try to get in the way."

Rarity addressed Twilight again. "I'm sure your parents have been notified, but I'm not so sure about their answer. But, if they will allow you to join us, what time would you feel most comfortable with?"

Twilight looked down. "I… uh…"

Rarity and Pinkie Pie looked at each other, frowning. Fluttershy looked at Twilight with concern and beckoned to Rarity and Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy whispered something to them, and they nodded in response. Both girls waved goodbye as they headed home. Fluttershy and Twilight were now alone.

"Twilight, are you okay?" asked Fluttershy.

Twilight crossed her arms loosely underneath her breasts. "I just… I don't know about this, Fluttershy."

"Twilight, you don't have to be scared. I'm sure they'll forgive you," said Fluttershy, "And, you know, Rainbow Dash misses you too."

Twilight looked up at Fluttershy. "She does?"

Fluttershy smiled. "Yes, she does. She really wants to talk with you."

"Does this means she's not mad at me anymore?" Twilight asked, feeling some glimmer of hope forming. Unfortunately, Fluttershy's body language and cheerless frown diffused her confidence of that happening. "Oh… I see."

Fluttershy quickly interjected. "She might be, Twilight, but she's willing to listen to you if you're willing to listen to her," Fluttershy did what Pinkie Pie had done before, and took Twilight's hands into hers, "I guess I can't force you to come, but I think you know that this is the best chance you have to make things right. I don't want to see my friends fighting anymore."

Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Exhaling, she conceded. "… I don't want there to be any more disharmony in our friendships either. I'll try to be there." She said, hugging Fluttershy firmly.

Soon after, Fluttershy's father came and picked her up from school. On the way home, Twilight felt ashamed. Shocker, right? But why should she be? There were plenty of reasons, but she was mainly referring to this meeting. This really was the perfect opportunity for reconcile, as Rarity put it. Twilight tried texting almost everyone yesterday, but got mixed results. She wasn't expecting everything to be resolved over a texted heartfelt apology, but it was at least the best thing to start out with. She didn't have to text Rarity and Applejack for obvious reasons; Rainbow Dash even more so. Fluttershy didn't even text her back. Yet, at least it wasn't as bad as the distain that she received from the others. Octavia told her to leave her alone, and Bon Bon gave her the same aloof response. Vinyl Scratch even told her to fuck off, making her irritation more emphatic by placing a middle finger emoji at the end of her text. Twilight didn't even know they made middle finger emojis. Twilight honestly didn't feel the need to text Lyra. Though she did owe her an apology too, she was still furious at her. All in all, not a lot of progress was made on her part.

Twilight could've easily had proposed a meeting, even though she was clearly not in the best position to do so. She actually thought of that beforehand. It bugged her that Fluttershy was able to make more progress than her, though. She was glad that Fluttershy took the initiative, don't get her wrong. However, even after being given this opportunity, Twilight still felt a bit of confused anger. She knew why she was angry, but the reasoning behind it made her feel even more mortified. Twilight did not want to admit it to Fluttershy, but she acted unsure under the pretense of how she actually felt. She could have told Fluttershy. She would probably have understood. But Twilight chickened out at the last minute.

"I really need to lie down…" Twilight thought, dragging her feet along the sidewalk.

Twilight finally made it home, opening the door. Stepping in, Twilight let her backpack drop on the ground with a noticeable thud. All her thinking was putting her on edge. She could feel her thoughts wrestling against one another, making the day feel uncomfortably long.

"I'm home…" Twilight moaned. Twilight saw Shining Armor washing dishes in the kitchen. He looked back at her, but returned to his chore just as quickly. Shining Armor hasn't talked to her since Saturday. Neither has Cadence. Twilight didn't know how else to get on their good side, but Twilight was not in the mood to make another attempt.

Twilight walked up the stairs, going straight for her bedroom. Closing the door behind her, Twilight took off her shoes to relieve her aching feet. She threw herself on her bed and buried her face in her pillow, trying to sort out all the thoughts swimming around her conscious. Twilight didn't even notice her door opening.

"Can I come in?" It was her dad, Night Light.

Twilight breathed hard into her pillow in response. She heard him close the door and walk over to her bead. The mattress creaked as he sat down next to her. Twilight could feel her father's hand brushing down her hair. It was very soothing.

"I got the text. It looks like you're friends are willing to listen to talk this whole thing out." said Night Light.

Twilight breathed a long, muffled breath into her pillow, hugging it against her face.

Night light frowned. "What's the matter, Twilight? I thought you would be happier. You and your friends have the opportunity to work all of this out together."

Twilight turned her head, revealing half of her melancholy expression to her dad. "I know, dad."

Night Light looked at Twilight with concerned. "Twilight, I thought you would be more willing to talk to them-"

Quicker than a flash, Twilight sat up from her pillow, giving her dad an cross look. "I said that I would be willing to talk to them! Why do you think that I've been apologizing to everyone, huh?! It's not that I... I…" Twilight hugged herself, her face getting red and her eyes beginning to water.

"Okay, Okay, I'm sorry, sweetie. Come here…" Night Light scooted closer to Twilight, putting a comfortingly warm arm around her and pulling her in. Twilight hiccupped, but she didn't bring herself to cry.

"I'm sorry…" Twilight began.

"No, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that. But what's really the matter?"

Twilight crossed her arms. "I'm angry…"

Night Light looked at Twilight curiously. "About what?"

Twilight gulped. "I'm angry at myself…"

"Twilight, I'm sure your friends will forgive you." Night Light comforted.

Twilight looked down at the floor, her feet making circles in the pink carpet. "I'm angry at them too…"

Night Light probably wasn't expecting that, and his eyes widened. "What do you mean?"

Twilight did her breathing exercise to calm herself down first. "I'm… I'm still angry at them for the way they treated Sunset Shimmer, okay?"

Night Light was about to interrupt, but Twilight knew what he was going to say and continued talking anyway.

"When Fluttershy told me about the meeting, I know I should've been happy. I'm very grateful for what she's done, but at the same time a part of me feels like I'm giving up. Dad, I made a lot of mistakes that I feel awful for, not just what happened Saturday. But no matter how bad I feel for what I've done to my friends, I can't help but feel so angry at them! Dad, you weren't there to see how bad they were treating her! They were so mean to her, it made me sick! I know Sunset did a lot of awful things to them, but they were just being bullies back. If they weren't ignoring her, they were getting into arguments and harassing her; treating her like the person she used to be. But I know she's not that person anymore, and it's not fair that they can't see the good in her. Fluttershy forgave her, Pinkie Pie forgave her, so why couldn't they just TRY?!" Twilight could feel herself calming down after getting that off her chest, but she still had to continue, "But I know I did a lot of dishonest things too. I want to be mad at them, but at the same time I was also in the wrong for what I've done. I should've asked them about it first, but they still acted like a bunch of jerks, especially Rainbow Dash. And I still can't get over what Lyra did, either."

Night Light listened to her daughter confess her feelings, nodding his head to let her know she was being listened to. Twilight wiped her face, and looked up at her father.

"Dad… it doesn't make me a bad person for feeling this way, does it?" Twilight asked, wiping her nose, "I know why they hated her, and it's justified. But all they did was treat her like crap without even getting to know her."

Night Light shook his head. "No, of course you're not a bad person."

Twilight tugged at her hair. "I want their forgiveness. I just want this to be over. Do you think… ," Twilight looked away, feeling unsure, "Do you think that I should just go with everything they say? I don't want to, but it if it makes thing better…"

"No, Twilight! You know you can't do that. You won't be able to find any closure by going along with everything and hoping for the best."

Twilight smiled sadly. "You're right, but…"

Night Light got off the bed, squatted in front o f Twilight, and put his hands on her shoulders. "Twilight, you already know what you have to do. I know you're still angry, and that's okay. Your friends aren't completely in the right either, and you did do the right thing by wanting to include sunset Shimmer. But, you still should listen to them. Like I told you before, you should listen to your friend's sides of the story on it, even if it feels wrong. That way, everyone can understand where you're coming from, and so you can understand where they're coming from."

Twilight's eyes shimmered, showing her anxiety of the whole situation. He was right. "Okay, I get it."

Night Light smiled, giving his daughter a hug. "That's my girl. Dinner will be in an hour." With a pat on her shoulder, Night Light left the room, leaving Twilight to her thoughts again. It felt good getting that off her chest, even if it didn't make her feel that much better.

"Um... can I come in too?"

Twilight raised her head to see Spike at her door with a checkered board in his hands. Twilight smiled, happy to see her little brother. Twilight scooted over and let Spike sit next to her. She knew he was eavesdropping on them; he never had a good poker face. She decided not to bring it up, however.

"Hey, Spike. How was your art club?" Twilight asked, wanting to make some conversation.

"Snails kept trying to sniff my pastel crayons, but other than that it was okay," Spike said, opening the board on the table. "Wanna play a game?"

Twilight tapped her chin, acting very intrigued by the proposition. "Hmm… I dunno. You sure you want to play me again?"

Spike straightened his hair and presented her with his most confident lopsided smile. "You may have beaten me last time, but this time I'm not gonna take it so easy on you."

Twilight giggled. "Bring it on." Twilight and Spike started setting up the board.

The two set up their pieces and started their game. As they played, the thought occurred to her that she needed to sort this out. She's going to have to go tomorrow, in front of Rainbow Dash, and everyone else, to try and bring peace back to their group. She was mad at them, and she was still mad at herself. But that was okay. She doesn't know what's going to happen. She'll just have to hope that this will all be over soon. But, until then…

"King me!" Twilight cheered.

"Darn it!" exclaimed Spike.

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Now I know what you're thinking: "Vultarian01, wat da faq?! You take dis long to make a chapter dat is only five-tousand words, and you have da gull to post it at de last possible second? Dude, I am going to take your hashtags and shove dem up your buzzard butthole!"

Okay, I know that's PROBABLY not what you're thinking. I'm kidding. :) #scentedhastags But seriously, I've been busy, and I got into a little bit of writers block too. But you should know that I had to take this chapter very seriously; as seriously as I'm going to have to take chapter 51. I'm not going to tell you what chapter 51 will be about, but you know what it is. Which is why I won't be promising any end date for it. It'll take a little planning on my part, but hopefully it will turn out okay.

I'm sorry for making you wait, but if you hold out a little bit longer, I think I'll be able to ship out these chapters faster. Not promising anything, but cross your fingers. So, until chapter 51, arevoir.