It was a cool morning in Canterlot; the sun rose slowly but steadily from its slumber, retiring the moon from its watch. Crimson Brass was getting himself ready for another day in Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. But this day was not like any other; the annual Prom was that very day. Usually, he didn’t concern himself about such silly things like parties, but this year Crimson had a very special somepony in his mind; he just had to ask her out yet.
Crimson glanced at himself in the mirror, admiring the contrast between his ivory coat and his red mane. His dark-red eyes followed his body through the mirror, before landing on his stud stamp, a closed brown tome with a cerulean quill resting gently on top of it. The fact that made Crimson to still lack a date weren’t his looks, just his excessive shyness.
He gazed away from the mirror and looked around in his room, trying to find his saddlebags. As he walked around in his search, his mind began to wander about the school and his fellow colleagues. He often found it curious that some the so-called gifted unicorns had time to party all day and still manage to pass on all of the school's tests; which were no laughing matter. Crimson always studied after the classes and even he found the tests really hard. ‘Maybe some kind monetary encouragement makes the teachers re-think about the answers of some of their students before casting a final vote...’ He thought, but was quick to shrug such thoughts as he magicked a comb to settle his mane properly.
"Each pony will become what he or she decides to; I'm glad that my work will have merit to it," he said to himself, still looking at the mirror, straightening his mane the best he could manage; the pillow was somehow always able to ruin it.
Finally accepting that his mane couldn't be tamed even with the help of the Princess herself, he trotted downstairs and found his saddlebags lazily resting against a corner. He opened them up and made a mental checklist to see if he hadn’t forgotten anything. ‘Books, check. Rolls of parchment, check. Quill, check. Inkwells, check. Some bits in case I get too hungry from studying, check.’ Levitating an apple from the fruit basket on the top of his kitchen's table, he trotted once more out the door and ventured in the still quiet streets of Canterlot.
He ate his apple on the way to the School, as his mind absently pondered about how he should invite a certain pony to the prom. It was a little short-noticed for sure, but he hoped that she should say yes and maybe they'd have a wonderful night. 'I might even get a kiss from her!' Blushing slightly at these thoughts, he picked up the pace while trying to focus on other things.
He allowed his legs to trot automatically as he caught a glimpse from Canterlot’s buildings. “These buildings are nothing like the ones in Fillydelphia... These ones look like they were conjured, not built...” He mumbled to himself as he began to remember the architecture in his hometown. The ones at Fillydelphia were not as old as these were, but somehow they managed to stay as if they were on the brink of collapsing, not to mention the graffiti paintings that made those color-faded buildings look even worse.
Streets and minutes passed by before he finally arrived at the front gates of the School. On it's both sides, two statues as big as his house stood proud. Both were identical except for the gender differences; each displayed a Unicorn holding some kind of archaic parchment, its deep eyes vehemently locked with the parchment. Crimson couldn't help but feel a bit inspired from it; he always looked forward to learn new things, whichever they were. His mother loved the way her son always felt interested in absolutely everything. She once told him that he had the most beautiful 'wild staring eyes' that she'd ever seen, even though his were exactly alike to his father's.
Crimson trotted past the front gates and trotted happily on a dirt road that led towards the front doors of the school building. Before leading the students inside the building, the dirt roads forked around a statue of both Princess Celestia and Luna, each Royal Sister flanking the other, gazing at the distant horizon. Like the ones besides the front gates, the amount of detail put into it made it seem that these alicorns could pretty much be the Princesses themselves. Crimson suddenly felt very gloomy; he still couldn't understand why Celestia had to banish Luna to the moon. ‘Couldn't she just destroy or confine the spirit of Nightmare Moon in a statue and free Luna?’ He thought, but Crimson wasn't aware of the Elements of Harmony's existence. He wasn't aware that Luna possessed some of the Elements and therefore, Celestia couldn't help her sister with only half of them. He shook his head trying to rid himself of these thoughts; he had a goal to accomplish today. That's when he saw her: Twilight Sparkle.
Time seemed to slow down as Crimson Brass glanced at the Princess' protégé, the most beautiful pony he'd ever seen. The lights around her seemed to dim, enhancing the feature which Crimson was most found of in her; her diligent lavender eyes. This was the mare Crimson hoped would accompany him to the prom this night. Twilight Sparkle was, to most other ponies, just another egghead pony. But to him she was something more; he really felt a special connection with that mare, even though both shared few words.
Crimson always felt his heart melt when he sat next to her on their study sessions. It felt as if all his blood was drained from him and concentrated only on his ears and cheeks; he could feel how hot they were, even without touching them. Even now, laid on the ground, with her gaze only meeting the wise words painted those paper pages, she was simply breathtaking. But to him, it weren’t just her looks that counted; he valued her quizzical intellect and fondness of learning as well.
Fighting the cowardice in himself, he slowly walked towards her. She never raised her eyes from her book, completely oblivious to his nearing presence. Twilight was much like Crimson himself; diligent but also very shy.
Reality crashed in on him when he realized he was too close to her. He stopped dead on his tracks as his mind began to doubt him. 'What if she thinks that I'm joking her around? What if she start laughing at me? What if she says she has to study?!' - GASP - 'What if she says no!?'. As Crimson stood there in confusion, trying his best to overcome his shyness, the bell on the top of the Magic Tower rang two times, making Twilight wake up from her reading and dart towards her class. Crimson breathed out a relieved sigh, smiling to lady luck for the favor she just did by postponing his fate.
* * *
He would soon regret lady luck's cruel joke. He couldn't pay one single neuron of attention to his Magical History class and to make it worse, he knew that the topic of today's class would definitely be on a question or two in the final exam. The teacher continued lecturing about some of Star Swirl's accomplishments in the field of conjuring and summoning; she often stopped the lecturing to praise herself about Star Swirl being her Ph.D. thesis in Theoretical Magic.
‘You have to give it to her; she is well aware of just about everything involving Star Swirl's magical realizations...’ He thought, before the teacher’s voice became muffled and nonsensical once more. Crimson accepted the fact that he wouldn't be able to understand anything from the class and so, folded his forehooves on the top his table, resting his head against them and making his mind contemplate all the possible ways he could ask Twilight to go to the prom with him. Scenes of Crimson making a foal out of himself played out in his mind several times. Each ending abruptly as his envisioned Twilight started to berate him for saying or doing something stupid.
"I'm doomed..." He mumbled to himself under his breath.
* * *
The rest of Crimson's morning classes took as long as the first one did, if not longer; every second felt like a minute to him. He acknowledged the incessant rumble in his belly and walked towards the cafeteria. Purchasing his lunch, Crimson sat gloomily and slowly ate his daffodil and daisy sandwich. Looking up to the giant clock that hung on the wall, he nearly gagged when he saw that the lunch break was nearing its end. He left his half-eaten sandwich behind and galloped towards the school library.
He prayed to Luna that Twilight would be there studying, knowing just how she was regarding time and her duties. Just when he was nearing the library’s corridor, the School bell chimed, announcing the beginning of the second period of classes. He stood still, looking at everypony that gingerly walked from the library, hoping that he could catch even a glimpse of the pink streak in her purple hair. Minutes passed and Twilight was nowhere to be seen. With a weary sigh, Crimson began to feel that the idea of Twilight going to the prom with him was becoming less and less tangible.
He walked towards his classroom and, after hearing a lecture about being late for his classes, he sat down onto his chair. Needless to say that these afternoon classes took longer than what he had intended; he had never before wished for a time-altering spell to exist. As Crimson's final class ended, he darted out of the classroom, searching for his hopefully soon-to-be prom date.
The first thing he checked were the many classrooms on his floor. Peeking through the glass windows on each door, he entered the empty classes and knocked on the ones who had ponies in it. After half an hour of fruitless effort, he went to check the library, but still no sight of Twilight Sparkle. He even checked the library’s section of banned spells, but that also proved to be futile. "It is as if she just disappeared..." Crimson mumbled, a bit frustrated.
He was almost giving up when a sight gave his mind a crazy idea. Before him stood a cyan unicorn with a white mane; Trixie. She was one of the popular mares in the school. ‘If anypony would know where to find somepony, that pony would be Trixie!’
Trixie was not known for her kindness; in fact she was a pretty tough pony. Crimson couldn't fathom as to why she was so popular, after all most ponies were afraid of her and the ones who weren't were often denigrated by her. Approaching Trixie by himself wouldn’t be an easy task. Even less so right now, when she was hanging out around with her friends. He had second thoughts as he approached the mare; it would be far easier to kiss his Enchantment teacher than make Trixie cooperate. He already regretted his idea.
"Uhm... hey... excuse me T- Trixie...” he said, earning a glare of pure disapproval from Trixie and her friends. “W- would you, by any chance, kn- know where T- Twilight is?" He asked, struggling not to be intimidated by her stare and her friends’ laughs.
"Who?" She ran her eyes through his extent; from his eyes to his hoof and back to the eyes, like she was analyzing every inch of his being.
‘"Uhm... T- Twilight S- Sparkle... You see, I was hoping to ask her to the p- pro-"
"I think you misunderstood me. I asked 'Who are you'," she said, earning Crimson a round of mocking laughter from her friends. He silently berated himself for having such stupid idea.
"W- Well, I'm Crims-"
"Pffff... What-ever! Get lost, loser," She spat, dismissing him and waving her left forehoof for emphasis.
As Crimson gave his back to her, he could hear Trixie scowling him to her friends who didn't hesitate to add their own share of guffaws and giggles. He breathed a weary sigh and just when he was done accepting this harsh defeat that fate has imposed onto him, a sight for sore eyes appeared. There, lying on the grass and deeply focused on a book, stood Twilight. Her lavender coat glistening in the hot sunlight.
Crimson started to gallop towards the mare, not wanting to delay his torment further. A thousand thoughts rushed through his mind 'What do I do? What do I say? Should I tell her that I am in love with her? What if she already has a date? Oh dear Luna... please help me!'. His mind was so focused on the different possibilities of failure that he paid no attention to his own speed or what stood before of him.
As he galloped past a tree, his rear hoof got caught in its root. He never realized he was falling. His face connected with the hard dirt; lifting debris and small clouds of brown dust as he rolled on the ground, hurling in a collision course with Twilight. Being the not-so-easily distracted pony that she is, Twilight didn't see Crimson Brass neither gallop nor roll toward her. When she grasped the full extent of the situation she was into, she magically closed her book and levitated it towards the hurling pony, giving a small screech as she did so. The book smacked his face with a dry sound.
"Owww! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" he cried while massaging his muzzle with his forehooves. He looked at one of his hoofs and was glad -- and a bit surprised -- that his muzzle wasn’t bleeding.
"Crimson! Oh dear, I'm so sorry! It's just- I was reading this book and suddenly I look up and there is something quickly approaching me and my magic took control...” She stopped and gasped for breath, calming her exasperation a bit. “You startled me..." She said with a sincere apologetic look on her face.
"Sorry Twilight... I was just happy to see you today!” He said, getting up from the floor but still gently massaging his muzzle. “I was just wondering, would you... would you..." The weight and meaning of those words subtly made sense to him. His mind rushed; million thoughts per second, making his motor and cognitive functions disable themselves for a moment. “I... ugh... erm... I was... eh... I just...”
"What...? Crimson, you aren't making sense. Are you feeling alright?" She glanced over to the book in her right hoof; 2,437 pages of pure pain; she wasn't sure if it was enough to cause some permanent brain damage. "Did I hit you too hard? I'm sorry!"
"N- No, I'm fine! I- I'm just a b- b- bit ne- nervous," he said, trying to focus on what he had to say. "Wouldyouliketogotothepromwithme?" He said a tad too quick, almost spitting in the process, but Twilight understood it perfectly.
"I- I..." It was now her turn to stutter. Twilight looked down to conceal her blushing cheeks. "I... would love to, Crim-sy." The moment Crimson heard it, a smile formed on his face. He too blushed lightly before rubbing the back of his head with a hoof. Crimson swore that the butterflies that ruffled inside his stomach whenever Twilight was in sight were now more active than ever. He never thought about having a nickname; his name being very short as it is, but he didn't mind. He would let Twilight call him anything she wanted. "Let's meet together at the front door. 7.pm sharp," she said with a dumb, happy grin plastered over her face as she excitedly giggled like a little foal on the inside.
Both ponies were somewhat good friends, one never truly wondered about the other’s feelings about himself. After the initial stuttering, the conversation flowed smoothly and both continued to talk for about half an hour, before each went to their respective homes to prepare themselves for what promised to be a wonderful night.
Walking towards his house, Crimson couldn't help but feel his heart flutter inside his chest. It was something the stallion never experience before. Different, but good. He looked up to the sky, knowing that it would be a night that they would never forget!
Unbeknownst to both of them, somepony else got curious and followed the white male pony after she dismissed him. Trixie overheard the whole thing as her face was filled with an ear-to-ear devious grin. ‘This would be the best prank that I -- nay; anypony -- ever pulled out.’ She thought as she saw Twilight give Crimson a light peck on the cheek before both went their separate ways.
"Those two losers will never see it coming..."
* * *
Crimson had just taken his bath and was getting himself properly dressed. Somehow his mind brought back memories from the day he'd been accepted into Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He was still a 'blank flank' as the other ponies in his school used to call him. He sighed at those invading memories; his foalhood wasn’t the prettiest.
* * *
Every day as a little colt was a bit too much of a rough day to Crimson. Everypony -- except for the caretakers -- in Little Butterfly Daycare were mean to him. They used to call him a 'blank flank', 'colt cuddler' and 'gelded horn'. Even though the little colt didn't understand some of those names at that time, he knew that those were offensive.
The little colt slowly walked toward his house. The lessons learned in the daycare still fresh on his mind. When he opened the door to his home, his mother -- a white Pegasus with a sea-blue mane -- was there, waiting for him in the living room. Little Crimson darted towards her and tackled his mother in a tight embrace, one which she happily returned, before caressing his mane gently.
"You're lucky, you know? Red eyes suit so few." She was a lovely pegasus, always very kind to everypony; she always knew how to lift Crimson's spirit after any rough day. The little foal wished that all the ponies in the world could follow his mother’s example and know that this is how they should treat each other; with love and compassion, not hate or indifference.
On that particular day, she cooked a nice carrot stew with a pinch of garlic, some potatoes and some cherry-tomatoes -- a simple dish for sure, but it was Crimson's favorite. His father -- a dark-gray unicorn with a ruby-red mane -- came back from his job and greeted both son and mother with a joyful grin. Crimson remembered that whenever he would read some adventure book, he would always imagine his dad playing the role meant for the original protagonist.
After eating his dinner, Crimson's father played with his son until it was his bed-time, but on this particular day, there wasn't no bedtime for him. His parents told the colt to sit down as they would tell him something very serious. Suddenly he was a little frightened; his parents only asked him to sit down when he did something wrong, and today nothing of the sort happened.
Still, the little foal sat on one of the living room’s couches and warily waited for whatever his parents had to say. Once they began, though, he saw that his fears were somewhat unfounded; they told him that he has been accepted to a very big school, and that he would have to be away from them but that they both loved him very much.
The news were met with mixed feelings by the young Crimson: on one hoof, he would be away from his parents; but on the other, he was going to a new place filled with new ponies which were all friends in potential.
"We will visit you there often, we promise. I know it will be hard to do things by yourself at first. If you feel alone at any time just remember how much your father and I are proud of you," his mother said, hugging him in a motherly embrace.
"Your mother is right, son. We both know that you're destined to greatness, that's why we want you to study at that academy! We want you to be the best unicorn you can be,” his father said, stroking his mane playfully with his forehoof. “You deserve it!"
* * *
Crimson couldn't understand his father's words back then, but now they made complete sense; it wasn’t until some months after his approval in Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns that he earned his stud stamp, discovering his passion for studying.
Even with the distance between Fillydelphia and Canterlot, he couldn’t help but feel that his parents were there for him. They always sent his allowance every month, helping Crimson cover the bills he couldn’t pay with his part-time job as the school’s library’s organizer.
A tear formed in Crimson's eyes as those memories came to him, but he inhaled deeply and held his emotions; it was now time to focus on tiding himself for what promised to be a wonderful night with his love. Crimson wondered if he should declare himself before, in the middle or after the party. After much thought he decided to stick with the latter, when both were alone. Crimson blushed at the possibility of earning a kiss from Twilight.
She was one of the reasons he had accepted his job; to be closer to her. He felt some kind of peace every time saw her studying... or talking... or day-dreaming... every memory that Crimson had of Twilight was fully enjoyed and cherished; Crimson wouldn't let any of them go to waste. She was his love at first sight; it was only natural of him to feel that much attraction towards this mare. But his obsession was not even near the borderline to creepy; he was always very kind and helpful toward Twilight and he would never, ever, do something to purposefully hurt her.
His mind now showed him the first time both of them exchanged words, a rather quick scene; she was looking for a particular book about Equestria's cultural changes and their implications on the lives of modern-age ponies. Although their conversation was a brief one, based on a question and on a 'one moment please' reply, Crimson couldn't help but feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.
Tying neatly the knot on his bow tie, Crimson just admired himself in the mirror for a bit: he was able to tame that wild mane of his and was also able to style it out a bit. “I’m ready,” he announced, grinning at his reflection. Crimson poured some drops of Luna's Tears cologne onto his hooves and, after rubbing one against the other, rubbed both on each sides of his neck. The sweet aroma pleased Crimson and he thought that it would too please his date.
Surveying himself one last time on the mirror, he couldn't find any notable imperfections on his coat, mane or bow tie, so he grabbed Twilight's address from his night table, and kept it safe on his pocket. He knew that both had determined that they would meet at the prom's entrance, but he was feeling lucky enough to accompany the mare to her house once the prom was over.
Crimson Brass opened the front door of his home and proudly walked towards the School. The night air mixed with the cool, gentle summer breeze and the starlit night sky gave Crimson some sense of accomplishment.
‘This night is going to be perfect!’
* * *
The prom was being held at the school's gymnasium. A wide banner was placed on top of the front doors of the gym, greeting everypony to the 992th Annual Prom. Twilight stood beside the door trotting from side to side, looking down at the ground nervously. Crimson felt all his breath being taken from him when he saw Twilight in a long, light-blue dress adorned with some laces on the back. Crimson’s thoughts about her beauty were stopped when he acknowledged the nervous look plastered across her face. He quickly checked his watch, fearing that he was late for the date. He breathed a relieved sigh when the clock told him that he was seven minutes early.
"Hey, Twi!" said Crimson as he trotted towards the mare. Her eyes almost instantly lit up at the sight of him.
"Oh Crimson, thank Celestia you're here! I thought you weren't coming... I thought you were just goofing me around..." Twilight blushed furiously and looked down, knowing how foalish she sounded right now. Crimson chuckled a bit. ‘Sometimes Twi is a bit too paranoid for her own good.’
"Oh, Twi. I would never do that to...” He paused for a moment, tensing up. ‘To you, come on, Crimson, say it!’ “... to my friends.”
"Yeah... I know but... " She trailed off, still blushing intensely.
"Never mind about that, Twi. I'm here now." A sincere smile formed on his face. He blushed a bit as he extended his hoof towards her. "Let's?"
Twilight extended her hoof to him, which he immediately took on his own. "Let's, Crim-sy." Crimson's blush was now darker than his mane, he knew that Twilight called him by his new nickname just to tease him a bit. He wasn't surprised to feel that he actually liked it.
The prom room was filled with various unicorn students, some dancing, some talking and some kissing. Crimson was rather happy to know that nopony really paid any attention to the pair, as this would expand the amount of time he could spend with Twilight alone. Nopony except for a certain blue unicorn.
Crimson led Twilight to the punch table; he knew that they would both need some dose of liquid courage before they could get the night going ‘properly’. After wasting some time on the drinks and a dose of small-talk, Crimson felt bold enough to ask Twilight to a dance.
"Twi, would you like to dance with me?" He tried his hardest not to sound too pleading.
"But I... I..." She didn't know how to say it without looking like she was dismissing him. "I’ve never danced before... I don't know if I can..." She bit her lower lip, clearly embarrassed.
"To be quite frank, me neither. But..." He opened her eyes, looking directly into hers, blushing slightly. "When I'm with you, I'm willing to try."
Twilight didn't answer right then; she gave herself some thought before nodding to him. "I trust you, Crim-sy."
Both ponies headed towards the dance floor, trying their hardest not to be near the center. But as the other dancing pairs kept pushing our pair, Twilight and Crimson ended up in the eye of the storm. Both were very pathetic at dancing, bouncing, missing some steps, bumping, stepping on another pair's hooves; but both were enjoying each other's company so much that they didn't seem to care or even acknowledge what was happening around them.
They danced goofily like that until the energetic music died and a slower, more romantic one started. Crimson looked deeply in Twilight's eyes and, for a moment, it was as if he could see her very soul. Crimson slowly moved forward and embraced Twilight, who didn't flinch or fight back; throwing herself at his arms. They both danced face to face, eyes locked until Twilight came closer and gently rested her head on his shoulder.
That instant, the whole world seemed to fade; gravity all nonsense now. For an immense amount of time the only ponies in the whole universe were the two lovers. His heart fluttered in a comforting way as Twilight’s embrace tightened just the slightest. A small 'thank you' was all that could be heard by Crimson as the eons seemed to pass by beyond them, as if the god of time itself feared to break the perfect, lovely moment they were sharing. He never felt such happiness in his entire life.
And she... Ruined... Everything.
The pair was so focused on the moment they both shared, that they didn't notice when the laughter started. Once the laughter became too much for them not to acknowledge it, the pair slowly broke their embrace only to find that both of them were surrounded by what seemed to be the entire crowd party-goers. All of them were pointing their hooves at the pair and laughing to their hearts contents. Twilight looked in Crimson’s eyes and gasped. A sudden jolt of adrenaline kicked in and she galloped the fastest she could; no direction in particular.
Whilst Crimson observed in awe, he could notice that Twilight's colors were changing quickly. She changed from pink, to green, then pitch-black in a matter of seconds. 'What the buck?!' Was the only thought that passed his mind as he shifted his attention towards his own hooves; he too was changing colors. Crimson couldn't help but to feel weak and pathetic. 'How did this even happen? I don't even...'
* * *
When both Crimson and Twilight were by the punch table, talking and drinking, Trixie eyed them both warily. On this special night, Trixie brought along with her pride and over-inflated ego, a certain concoction that her zebra maid once taught her; a little Poison Joke extract mixed with thirty drops of distilled sunflower oil, to mask scent, taste and color of the brew.
Trixie stood near the pair, waiting for an opportunity to act. Her impatience seemed to stretch the wait on and on, but a certain time had come when both ponies were a bit groggy from the amount of alcohol consumed. They were also pretty much so enveloped in their conversation that they wouldn't notice what was going on around them. Retrieving her mix, Trixie made sure that nopony whatsoever acknowledged her presence. She removed the cork from the vial's top and tilted it over both ponies' glasses, pouring a few drops of the vile elixir on each cup. Trixie herself didn't know what exactly compelled her to do it, but she knew that she would enjoy the outcome.
* * *
Crimson stood there dumbstruck as the ponies still pointed and laughed at him. Tears formed on the pony's eyes and he too galloped away from there, going in the same direction he last saw Twilight going. Breaking through the wall of ponies that stood before him was no easy task but he overcame the obstacle and began to search for Twilight.
He wasted a few minutes searching inside the gym, but his efforts were proven fruitless. 'She must be home by now...' He thought, beginning to curse his luck. Deciding that, without Twilight the prospect of having fun pretty much had died, Crimson decided to leave. He passed the gym’s doors and gave one last look back to the party that once promised to host the best night of his life.
"This is the worst night of my life... and I'll bet that it's hers too..." he muttered sadly to himself as he kicked a small pebble on the dirt road that would lead him to the school’s gates. He made a mental note to apologize to Twilight for what happened. All he really wanted now was to go back in there and find the one responsible... but he let that thought go as he really had no idea of whom it might have been.
When Crimson arrived at the school gates, his eyes caught up with a nearby bush. It was an ordinary bush, for sure, but it wasn't the bush that held his attention; it was what was hiding -- or rather, trying to hide -- in it. He didn't notice any form in particular, but he saw that it quickly changed its colors. 'That's got to be her!'
"Um, Twi... you... you okay?" he said slowly, not wanting to startle her.
"Huh... Crimson?! How... how did you find me?" the mare said, still not moving from her hideout.
"Well..." Crimson thought for a moment about what he was going to say next. "You're... kinda the odd pony out..."
"Yeah... after what happened... I guess I kinda am..." Crimson seemed to shrink at hearing Twilight's answer. 'Bad choice' He thought.
"Would you... like to go?"
"Well... it's not like I'm going back inside after that." Twilight let out a small sigh and rose from the bush, revealing her color-changing mane and coat. She still looked down, but Crimson noticed that her eyes were puffy and she seemed on the verge of tears. "If only..."
Crimson trotted until he was beside her. He placed a gentle hoof on her shoulder and smiled a bit at her. “Hey... it’s no biggie.”
Twilight sighed wearily. "I... I just wished that they could all stop it... That they would be my friends..." Twilight closed her eyes, as a small stream of tears flew from them, sliding down her cheeks.
"Twi, I don't mean to be rude but..." Crimson stopped for a moment, he wouldn't want to say something he'd regret. "I don't think they like us! Think about it: they never once before tried to befriend us.” He had intended to tell her that he cared for her. That he tried his best to build up their friendship. But once more, cowardice got the best of him, making him allow this opportunity to slip by.
"Well, I... I kind of can make them like me..." She mumbled, eyes wide and focusing on something at the distance. She remembered one strange, archaic spell that she once read on the school’s library section of banned spells. A strange smile started to form on Twilight's face as she contemplated her possibilities.
"Huh?" Crimson said in confusion. "Well- I... I guess that if... if it would make you happy... I really don't think they deserve to be your friends..."
"It's just a simple spell, where's the harm?" she insisted. Crimson felt uneasy, the dread being powered by the strange smile spread across her face.
"If you say so, Twi. I believe in you." He honestly, truly didn't know if what he'd just said was the truth or a lie.
"I... I... don't know..." she said, really not sure of anything at the moment.
Crimson didn't know how to answer this; he didn't know if he even was supposed to answer it. After waiting a few moments for the mare to continue, the silent became very awkward so he decided to see what was on the mare's mind. "What?"
"I SAID 'I DON'T KNOW'! Gosh, why do you have to be always like this?!" The mare, for some unknown reason, turned all her bottled fury towards the only pony who had been nice to her the whole day. "Everything is 'Oh, I'm sorry Twilight', 'Please forgive me, Twilight', 'What's wrong, Twilight'. Ughh!" she said, mimicking his voice with a mocking tone.
Crimson was shocked to see Twilight acting like this; it just wasn't her. She was a kind, understanding pony, not somepony prone to angry outbursts. He was going to mutter an apology, but remembered what the mare just said and swallowed his words. Some minutes passed in deep silence, the mare looking directly in Crimson's eyes, although his were gazing only the ground below.
"Well?!" Twilight finally broke the silence.
"Well... like I said... If... If it will make you happy..." he said, his voice nearly cracking. His eyes were barely handling the tears from pouring out. He didn't understand her sudden change.
Twilight said nothing and only kept staring at him. The moment of silence made Crimson think that she would dismiss whatever idea she had. But then Twilight closed her eyes and soon, her horn was wrapped within a purple aura. She struggled to cast the spell right, this being the first time she actually tried it. She knew that, this being the first time casting it, the spell would lack its full potential, but Twilight’s only hope was that it would work, even without its full potency.
She grunted as little hearts began to leave her horn. Crimson stood in awe as the floating hearts twisted and turned in the air before heading back to their caster, slowly but steadily penetrating her chest.
Crimson’s legs began to falter as he began to feel lightheaded. His mind was rushing with strange and illogical thoughts but try as he might, he couldn't grasp them; he was aware of their existence but, at the same time, wasn't. This conflicting situation only added up to his desperation as he felt himself shrinking inside his own mind.
Soon, his whole body became numb and distant, as if his limbs didn’t belong to him. The numbness progressed and Crimson completely lost the feeling on his legs. For a moment he thought that he would fall and kiss the ground, but strangely enough his legs still stood. Every single mental struggle to move his body was met with a strange jolt of searing pain. He could still use his sight; but it was restricted to wherever his eyes were pointed at, that is. He saw Twilight’s strange grin shift into a maniacal laughter.
His feeling of dread grew more, prompting Crimson to scream inside his own mind. His mouth trembled for a moment, but no sound was ever heard coming from it. He never felt something so horrible his entire life; true helplessness.
He struggled to break free from the curse, only to be met with the white-hot pain once more. He shivered on the inside, but to anypony watching the scene, nothing could be seen happening to him, except for his distant, lost eyes; those were the only things that were visibly not in place with the pony, except for his color-changing mane and coat. Both were filled almost entirely with two red hearts.
“Crimson... are you there?” she asked, whispering into his ear after she trotted closer to him, voice bordering anxiety. She moved her head and looked deep into Crimsons’s emotionless eyes.
“Yes, Twilight.” His body replied in a voice much different than his own. The maniacal grin spread itself once more on Twilight’s face; she finally had what she so much desired.
* * *
At first all that Twilight did was to stay beside Crimson's body, talking to it while it replied exactly what the mare wanted to hear. Everypony that gazed upon the color-shifting mare were soon hypnotized by the spell she cast upon herself. Their eyes also changed and pretty soon the entire prom crowd had their normal eyes replaced with red hearts. As the spell made its way in stealing the other ponies’ minds, Twilight suddenly felt overjoyed with the amount of ponies that urged themselves to satisfy all her needs. She soon forgot about the existence of Crimson and darted off to be with the other ponies, the popular ones.
"Twilight, I don't know why you are changing colors but it is simply beautiful! They all seem to match your personality so well!"
"Miss Twilight, may I have the next dance?"
“I really like your mane!”
"Oh Twilight, why haven't we known each other before? We are going to be the best of friends from now on!"
Crimson's body tried to interact with Twilight too, but she dismissed him whenever he tried.
"Not now Crimson. I'm talking to some very important ponies." Crimson's body could only nod in reply; anything she said was now law. Although obeying her command to stay away for some time, the spell made him resilient; he would walk up towards Twilight and try to interact with her again and again.
“Can’t you see that I’m busy here?!” she said, grunting a bit. An idea popped into her mind; a way to get rid of Crimson for some time. “Crimson, why won’t you be a dear ad go bring me a glass of punch.”
“Yes, Twilight.” his body replied, whilst the real Crimson lost inside his mind urged his body not to. Twilight simply watched as Crimson tried to walk past the wall of ponies that surrounded the color-shifting mare. He would keep on trying to get the punch glass for her and nopony except for Twilight could stop him. As he tried fruitlessly to break through and make way to the punch table, Twilight simply turned and continued to chat with the party ponies.
Even with the spell already being cast, Twilight felt nervous. She was trying to figure out what these kinds of ponies liked to hear and talk about. Most of them approached her to talk about very obnoxious topics that she had no knowledge about. The voice of a mare that was next to her was what brought her from her mental trance.
"Honestly, Twilight Sparkle. I don't know how you are able to put up with him. I mean- look at him! You're so... and he's so... so!" the mare said, pointing towards Crimson. Twilight looked at the stallion, still trying to walk past the crowd of ponies that stood between him and the punch. Twilight remained silent, merely looking at the stallion. The goofy way he tried to walk forward made her giggle at him, which prompted all ponies within ear range to point at him and laugh.
“I heard that he got that cutie mark from copying a book and claiming it to be his own.” Twilight heard a stallion say to her.
It was then that it came to her: these ponies loved to talk down each other. They spent countless hours spreading rumors and gossiping about everypony’s lives. She however, knew almost nothing about the other ponies’ lives, except for her own and for Crimson’s.
“I for one, think that he is some sort of creep,” one mare said. “Lilly told me that he used to peek through the mare’s locker rooms after the school games.”
Without Twilight’s tampering, everypony around her started to tell her some rumors they heard about Crimson. Some were simple, other complicated. Some were farfetched, others seemed to be true. Before she gave it much thought, Twilight also joined those ponies in sharing some gossips and secrets she knew about the ivory stallion.
Twilight bore that evil grin as she told the whole crowd of ponies some of Crimson's most intimate details, focusing her best into making him look pathetic. The ponies laughed at Crimson’s secrets, they would even without the spell’s influence.
Meanwhile, Crimson’s body managed to get past the crowd and was walking towards the punch table. Whilst the real stallion struggled inside of himself, only to be zapped by that strange pain that kept him bound to the spell, his body walked without even noticing his real self’s pain.
‘No, don’t do it!’ He tried to argue with himself. ‘She’s just using you, Crimson!’ But try as he might, he couldn’t break her binding spell. Every jolt of the searing pain served only to drain the stallion of his energies and to disencourage him from trying further. His body filled a cup with the punch and walked back toward the mare who was circled by ponies. When he tried to breach through the wall once again, he heard Twilight speaking.
“He really thinks that we’re an item- oh, thank you!” She interrupted her speech when a random pony filled her glass with punch, prompting Crimson’s body to drop his own cup to the floor. A brown colored stallion cut in before she could continue.
“So why do you hang out with him?” Twilight nearly choked on her drink. Suppressing her coughs to the best of her abilities, she waited until her throat stopped burning before continuing.
“I don’t ‘hang out’ with him. I mean-” she said, poking her forehoof on her chin, trying to find the right words. “The only thing his friendship has brought to me were this color-changing coat and access to certain library areas that are off-limit to most ponies.” What part of mind Crimson could still control was devastated. Were he not under the spell’s influence, his eyes would be filled with tears. Betrayal, the most bitter feeling there is.
Twilight continued her talk with the popular ponies, spilling more and more of Crimson’s personal life to them. She told them about all the times she dismissed Crimson's invitations for dates. She told them about how Crimson still cried on some stormy winter nights, missing his grandmother after some fatal accident took her away from him. While all the ponies laughed to their hearts’ contents, Crimson was dumbstruck to acknowledge that his body was also sharing their laughter.
It was really cruel; Crimson didn't like the feeling the spell brought him when it was cast. But now she was torturing him. He felt cheated... manipulated... fragile... pathetic. His mind, or rather the part that worked, was a turmoil. Crimson was struggling against a great set of emotions. ‘I... I just wanted her to be happy... I only needed to see her smile... Why is she doing this to me?!’ He cried inside of himself. ‘Why, Twilight?’
'No... no! Enough is enough!' The stallion thought to himself. Pain struck his body as if he was hit by a lightning bolt, but the stallion kept struggling. He felt his legs becoming numb, a sign that he was managing to crack open the spell. Suddenly Crimson felt the same strange things when the spell was cast happening to him, only in reverse; he seemed to grow inside of himself, regaining his motor skills as the strange and fast-paced thoughts vanished.
"H... How...? I'm free..." Was all he could mutter.
What Crimson didn't know is that the spell didn't work on him the same way it did for the other ponies. Because of his former love towards Twilight, he was less affected by it: not only the spell's effects wore off earlier on him; the feeling he had for her also created a shell inside his own mind. Whilst other ponies would never know what really happened to make them like Twilight so much, Crimson's love stopped the spell before it could get deeper into his mind, allowing the real Crimson to maintain most of his cognitive functions unaffected.
It was now Crimson's turn to gallop away from everything. When he neared the gym’s door, he turned his neck around and his eyes connected to Twilight's. For a moment the mare's heart skipped a beat, for she could see that the pony was free from her spell as the giant red hearts were no longer present in his eyes.
Crimson's gaze was a mix between sadness and boiling anger, he kept staring Twilight, not even blinking, until the mare was uncomfortable enough to look him in the eye. When she redirected her attention towards another pony who'd come to glorify her, Crimson had to fight back the urge to vomit. How could anypony, especially Twilight Sparkle, lower herself to such a point was beyond him.
As his heart pounded against his chest, he galloped to his own home, not caring about the curious gazes that were shot in his direction by some ponies walking the streets. He didn't even bother to close the front door; the amount of momentum flung it open and made it close itself just as the pony passed through.
He threw himself on top of his bed, not bothering with mattresses, covers, bow tie or whatever. ‘Maybe it was all some kind of bad dream? Maybe I will wake up and Twilight will still be my friend...’ Crimson knew that he was only lying to himself. It really had happened and no love or wishful thinking in the world would change it. Crimson cried himself to sleep that night.
* * *
Many days had passed since the incident at the prom, something that affected deeply Crimson's social life. Even though he had no friends -- except for Twilight, which proved herself not to be the best one at it -- the ponies often treated him with indifference. But now everypony in the school found a new amusement to themselves; to make Crimson's life a living hell. Every now and then, Crimson had to hear those ponies’ opinions about how much of a waste or a failure he was.
It was a regular day with the regular insults and mocking. Crimson was ready to leave the school as he saw Twilight talking to some mares that were visibly bored. He could only think that, now that the spell’s effect wore off, she was clueless as to what she could possibly say to hold the attention of those ponies long enough for a real conversation to start. But the mares she was talking to felt disinclined to give her a chance to at least try.
He couldn’t pass this opportunity; Twilight was surrounded with ponies for the next couple of days after the prom. He didn’t know if he would get another chance to confront her. Crimson felt his rage stir up inside of him at the sight of Twilight. He fought back the urge to tackle her and instead, decided to confront her with words.
"Twilight, I need to speak with you." He stood firm, even with the emotional maelstrom inside his mind.
"Ugh! Sorry girls, I'm afraid our little chat will have to be delayed." Twilight said, clearly annoyed at Crimson's presence.
"Yeah... sure..." said one of the mares, relieved that Crimson showed up. They left, glad that they wouldn't have to make up excuses just to get away from Twilight and that boring conversation. Crimson waited until both mares were out of hearing range.
"What the hay happened back there at the prom?!" He spat at her.
"What do you mean 'what happened'? You said yourself that if it would make me happy I should do it," the purple mare said, visibly annoyed at that display of anger.
"Yes, but... why did you have to talk about me?!" Crimson's voice was nearly cracking. He breathed deeply as to not lose his composure. "I thought we were friends!"
"I- I barely know you," she said in her defense.
"And yet you know enough to insult and depreciate me in front of everypony!" Crimson had to look at the ground, he needed to pause for a moment to collect his thoughts before continuing. "I... I thought that... that you lo-“ He paused once more, focusing all his will into not showing her weakness. “No... I know who you are. I know who’s the real Twilight Sparkle.”
“Crimson, I-”
Crimson never gave a chance for Twilight to retort. He instantly turned around and galloped as fast as he could. Whilst watching Crimson fade away in the distance, something made Twilight's heart pound heavily. With the anger quickly dissipated, her face drooped. She really didn't know why she said those things to her -- now former -- friend.
* * *
After the next couple of days Crimson couldn't stand it anymore. He quit his job at the school's library and sent a letter to his parents, alerting them that he would be returning home. He hadn't gone to school for days now, except for the few after the prom and the day in which he confronted Twilight.
Unbeknownst to him, as the days went by the spell’s lingering effects wore off completely, making the ponies that once glorified Twilight hate her. She never knew what they were talking about and could never start a conversation on her own. Instead, she just joined other’s conversations, derailing them completely. At first they only ignored her whenever she was near hearing range. Then, somehow, the ponies started to grow some certain disdain towards the mare. Needless to say that Twilight's life was ruined pretty much like Crimson's was. The ponies that she happily called friends, now used the secrets that the mare foolishly trusted them with, against her. She made a point to avoid anypony whatsoever.
She didn’t know why, but the only comfort she could find were in the memories of time spent together with Crimson. Even though she stated otherwise to many ponies, she missed Crimson dearly, and the guilt of betraying his trust came down onto her.
“How could I do this to him?” She would say between sobs. “He was my friend...” She knew that she had to apologize to him, but the fear of his answer drove her to remain silent. Every time that Twilight thought about him, her heart sunk in her chest and a feeling of disgust for herself crept into her brain. She spent many nights awake, thinking how she did him wrong; only allowing to the gentle embrace of sleep to carry her when her energies were drained from her restless crying.
Twilight walked slowly through the corridors that led to the school library. Not even reading could take her mind away from what she did. As she neared the big door, she caught a glimpse of two mares talking in the distance, completely oblivious to her presence. Her ears perked up and she moved closer.
"Did you hear about it? That Crimson pony will depart from Canterlot and return to his parent's house in Fillydelphia. Seems like he couldn't take the pressure," one mare said to another, not paying attention to an eavesdropping Twilight. "To be quite frank, I couldn't care less, but I heard that he was leaving today."
Twilight’s heart raced, sinking painfully inside her chest. 'No! Crimson is leaving? Today?!'
"Crim- who?" the other mare asked, raising a brow.
"That color-changing pony from the prom... You know, the one Twilight was so eager to backstab." Twilight's heart nearly stopped as she heard it.
‘I can’t waste more time! I have to find him. I have to tell him...’ She thought as she galloped out of the cafeteria, mind set into finding Crimson and apologizing for everything she’d done. By the time she was nearing the school gate, she heard a certain blue mare with white mane mock her.
"Pffff... What a loser." Twilight fought back the urge to smite that pony where she stood; time couldn't be wasted now. ‘This is my last chance!’ She thought, forcing her muscles to work harder, prompting them to complain painfully.
Twilight didn't know where exactly Crimson lived. The only information that she had about his house is that it was near some kind of restaurant that Crimson often visited. She remembered that he once told her that the food reminded him of his mother's and that it was near his house; that way he wouldn't have to walk with a full stomach.
Her heart pounded as her breaths brought her a jagged pain. She felt her muscles burn as she galloped at full speed. ‘Come on Twilight, you can do this!’ She thought, trying to motivate herself.
She stopped galloping when she spotted a small two-story house with a chariot parked in front of it. Nothing seemed out of ordinary until Twilight saw a white pony with a red mane leaving the house and making his way towards the chariot, levitating a suitcase behind him. Her eyes widened as she saw the stallion enter his transportation and close its door, a sudden jolt of adrenaline struck her and she began to gallop towards the chariot.
As Crimson closed the door of the chariot, he gazed towards his former home. So many memories would have to be abandoned, but all the good ones seemed to only fuel his sadness; they were all tainted now. Crimson let out a weary sigh as the chariot started moving and his house was left behind. He kept staring at the moving streets beyond his window. Both his mind and face were a total blank for expressions.
‘This is it, then... Goodbye, Canterlot...’ It was then that the white stallion saw a purple pony visibly struggling to maintain her pace with the chariot’s. Crimson kept his blank expression on his face as he simply watched the galloping mare. Twilight looked up to his eyes, his apathetic expression brought her a little panic.
"Don't... leave me here! I... need you!" Twilight said as she ran alongside with the chariot. "I'm sorry, Crimson! For everything!" she pleaded, but Crimson kept staring at her with his emotionless gaze. “P... Please, Crim-sy!”
She was able to maintain her pace for some time, but she wasn't by any means a sports pony, not to mention that she'd already galloped all the way from the school. The chariot started to distance itself from the out-of-breath mare. She stopped and inhaled as much air as she could inside her lungs. They burned fiercely, but she had to do it. Twilight then screamed with everything she had towards the chariot that took Crimson away from her. "I LOVE YOU, CRIMSON!"
He turned his gaze away from the chariot's window when he heard the mare’s pleading scream. His eyes shifted towards both his forehooves in front himself, resting on the top of his knees. Suddenly Crimson's body began to tremble. He felt his heart sink as the air around him seemed to compress his very being. Tears rolled from his eyes, falling down onto his hooves, staining the stallion's coat to a darker tone of itself wherever those hit.
"I... I loved you too..."
