The Shadow Pony

III: Old Friends

Twilight slammed the door behind her. The Golden Oak Library looked a little messier than usual. Spike was organizing a pile of books before noticing Twilight enter. Spike studied Twilight for a moment; She appeared agitated and angry. Her face was scrunched into a face that could kill if faces could kill ponies. Spike looked at her with worry. Not because of Twilight, but fearing for his own safety.

"Hey, Twilight. Is there something wrong? I heard about Fluttershy. I'm sorry about that," Spike said, attempting to ease Twilight of her bitterness. Twilight moved past Spike, not even glancing at him. She magically opened her refrigerator and took out a carton of milk. She levitated a glass and poured the milk into the glass. Twilight placed the carton back into the refrigerator and walked to her table and slumped herself down.

Spike stared at Twilight as she peformed these actions. Spike knew something was bothering her. Spike wasn't present at the meeting at the town hall, so he wasn't too entirely sure about what was troubling her. Spike had to know; the curiosity was killing him.

Twilight sipped on her milk, staring off into blank space with a face that could threaten one's life. Spike walked to Twilight and tapped on her lightly. Twilight didn't respond to the action. She continued sipping her milk. Spike decided that one more poke couldn't hurt. As Spike's finger was about to land on Twilight's skin, Twilight smacked her glass down on the table.

"I can't believe that stupid colt did that to me! He never had the right to do that! I never asked for it!" Twilight exploded, with red starting to appear on her cheeks. Spike backed away a few steps, aware of the fact that Twilight had a potentially dangerous weapon in her hoof that she could use at any time.

"Stupid idiot... that stupid, stupid idiot..." Twilight droned out.

Spike raised a finger and asked, "Twilight? Are you okay?"

Twilight looked down at the baby dragon. Twilight twitched a little bit. She breathed out, and calmed down a little.

"I'm sorry I bursted at you, Spike. It's just that... Sweet mother Celestia... that stupid colt," Twilight spoke calmly with a hint of annoyance audible at the last part of her sentence. Spike stared at her with confusion visible on his face.

"Twilight, whose this colt you keep talking about?" Spike asked.

Twilight realized how vague she was before. Twilight blushed a little, then started to explain.

"My apologies for the confusion. Princess Celestia paired me with one of my ex-coltfriends whose name is Shadow Heart. He led me to the stage and talked about our relationship in public. In public! Then, he just... he just..." Twilight stuttered for a moment, building up a burst of fiery emotion. Spike backed up slowly, anticipating the possible outburst.

"Twili-" Spike started to speak.

"He kissed me!!" Twilight cried out, spilling her milk on to the table. Spike ducked down and covered his head. Twilight stared into space, breathing in and out heavily. She then looked down at Spike, still cowering. Twilight eased a little. She pranced down from her chair. She walked over to Spike and smoothed his scales. Spike looked up at Twilight. Her face was not as angry as before.

"I'm sorry, Spike. Maybe I over reacted a little bit. Besides, that was a long time ago, I can still be friends with him anyways," Twilight said smoothly, almost mother-like. Spike smiled at Twilight. Spike was glad that everything was patched up. Twilight turned her head to find the milk dripping from the table.

"Oh, goodness! Gotta fix that up!" Twilight magically grabbed a cloth and wiped the table. Spike felt something in his throat suddenly pounding up to his mouth. Spike covered his mouth, then regurgitated a burst of green flame. A letter appeared out of the flames. Spike catched the letter as it fell to the ground. Twilight looked up from the milk spill and rudely grabbed the letter from his hands. Twilight opened the letter and scanned the letter.

Dear Twilight

I have heard about your recent burst of aggression at the meeting at the town hall. As my student, I find this behaviour completely irresponsible. You should be able to accept your partners, no matter who it is.

I understand that Shadow Heart was a coltfriend of yours, and I can feel how he could have "betrayed" you for his studies. But you must remember that the past is forgotten and you should tie some loose ends with your partner. I am counting on you, as this investigation is very serious, and might be dangerous as well. Please get along with Shadow Heart. He seems like an "interesting" character.

Sincerely

Princess Celestia

Twilight read the last sentence. "Interesting" was a good word for it. Shadow Heart was always the sporadic type, and he changed personalities every other ten minutes. He could be happy to serious in a matter of seconds. Somehow, Twilight liked that in him. She didn't know why, but it just seemed right to her.

Maybe...

Maybe Twilight and Shadow Heart could...

No!, she thought to herself, attacking the very thought. He broke my heart years ago! I will just keep it as friends, and maybe see how it goes. Resting with that decision, Twilight placed the letter on the table and continued to scrub the floor with the cloth. But with every passing moment, not a second went by that Twilight hadn't seriously considered her going back to Shadow Heart.

Shadow Heart rested on a comfortable bed in a hotel room. He received a couple of stitches on his face, but nevertheless felt much better. He stared up at the ceiling and thought for minutes on end. One subject pranced around his mind : Twilight Sparkle.

She is a wonderful mare, Shadow Heart thought. I should have never have left her for my studies.

Shadow Heart stood himself up and walked to the desk nearby. He pulled out the chair and sat himself down. A bottle of vodka rested by the corner of the desk, still full. Shadow Heart popped the cap and took a gulp. He finished drinking, and rested the bottle down. Shadow Heart was, but never admitted, a heavy drinker. He had too many thoughts swimming around his brain, so the only thing that could shoo them away, was vodka. He liked the refreshing flavor of it as well. it was almost his best friend, when nobody else would care. He started to drink, when he left...

A knock was heard from the door. Shadow Heart perked up and jumped down from the seat and walked to the door. The person who knocked was a grey mare, whose eyes were cross-eyed. She was carrying a mailbag. The mare rustled through the bag that she was carrying, and pulled out an envelope.

"Delivery for Shadow Heart!" She said enthusiastically. Shadow Heart looked at the envelope and took it from the mare's hooves. He thanked the mare and closed the door. He studied the envelope for a moment. Unlike most envelopes, this envelope was completely black. He ripped open the envelope and skimmed through the letter. His eyes darted across the letter frantically. His mouth started to open slightly. He ripped the letter into pieces and jumped back into bed. He pulled the blanket up to his shoulders and fell into a deep sleep.

There is no way I am going back. Shadow Heart thought.

Never...