Ch. 12: Failing at Friendship

Back on the surface, the team shot their heads up, back to normal, and gasped as they swam up to shore and coughed.

"I hate water," mumbled Sonic. Twilight's friends wasted no time getting right to business in railing the princess.

"What were you thinkin'?" asked Applejack incredulously. "I mean, stealin' their pearl?!"

Twilight sighed as she turned to them. "It was the only way to save Equestria," she said.

"Except it wasn't!" said Pinkie. "The queen was going to say yes! We did what you told us, and that's what made her realize we were ponies worth saving!" Then Sonic realized it and snapped his fingers.

"That's what she was planning," he said. "She didn't want us to show Skystar the best time of her life. She just needed a diversion!" The others gasped, and Twilight started to get pissed.

"I never would've done it, but this isn't Equestria!" she said. "We can't just dance around with con artists, make Rainbooms in the sky and expect everything to work out! It's not enough. We are not enough!"

"No Twilight," said Pinkie seriously. "We stuck together. We were gonna get the help we needed. The only thing that stopped us, was you."

"Well, I'm doing the best I can!" yelled Twilight.

"Yeah, and your best sucks!" said Sonic bluntly.

"Look, it's all on me," said Twilight as she walked away. "I'm the one Tempest wants. I'm the last princess…"

"You're also the only one who doesn't trust her friends!" said Pinkie.

"Well, maybe I would've been better off without friends like YOU!" yelled Twilight, magic sparking around her horn. Pinkie gave a shocked, upset gasp and Sonic moved for his katana. Pinkie looked down and Twilight realized she screwed up as she looked at her friends. Fluttershy had closed her eyes, Rarity was staring at her, wide-eyed and slack-jawed, and Applejack and Rainbow Dash just scowled at her. Pinkie walked away, still staring at the ground.

"Pinkie…" said Twilight, turning to her. "I…"

Pinkie sniffed, obviously hurt. "I just can't talk to you right now," she said simply and continued walking. The others followed suit, all giving Twilight the cold shoulder. Then Sonic bumped her shoulder on purpose and stopped, looking at her with an angry look in his eye.

"Well. You did it," he said bitterly. "You doomed Equestria all by yourself with a single sentence. And all it cost you was six meaningful friends. Congratulations. I'm sure your friends in the Storm King's army will throw themselves off a cliff to get you a promotion. After your magic is stolen." Then he kept walking. Spike walked up to try and say something, but no one listened. Twilight turned the other way and walked off, leaving Spike alone on the beach.

A short time later, Twilight was sitting alone on a high stone cliff overlooking the ocean. The waves beat the rock, and every piece of washed-away sediment became, in her eyes, just another innocent bystander that had been harmed by the Storm King's actions, or roped in to help him against their will. But most of all, they became the relationships she had made and failed since the Friendship Festival; Capper, Captain Celaeno, and her crew, Princess Skystar, Queen Novo, Sonic, her friends, all of them were lost to her; the cliff.

Spike walked up behind her to try and comfort her. "Twilight?" he asked. "It's okay… You'll figure it out."

Twilight just sobbed. "No…" she whimpered. "I can't." Tears flowed to her eyes. "I ruined everything. There's no chance to save Equestria now." One shining tear rolled down her muzzle and dangled near her chin. "It's all my fault." Then the tear fell from her chin and down to the ocean, but not before catching a reflection of Sonic and the others on the beach below.

Then out of nowhere, she heard muffled struggling. "Spike?" she asked. She looked behind her and saw a Storm Creature holding Spike. She tried to blast him free with a spell, but a cage fell on top of her and trapped her. She screamed as she could feel it rising. "No-no-no-no-no-no-no-no! No!" She looked up and all she could see was Tempest's airship. "SPIIIKE!"

Spike quickly breathed fire on the Monster's arm to make him let him go and ran to the edge of the cliff as Tempest's ship flew away. "TWILIGHT!" he yelled.