Taming The Past

The sky began to dim, if the low levels of light pouring through the window didn’t give it away. It was around this hour that Twilight Sparkle decided to share her story toward her three friends, one of them being the sister of one of two of her best friends. Or to put it simply: Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie, and her older sister, Maud. The girls seemed rather intrigued with whatever story their best friend had to share with them.

“Do you remember when we first met?” Twilight asked. “And I told you how I skipped a few classes?

“Yeah?” Rainbow Dash responded, cluelessly. “I know you started hanging with us a month ago. What about that?”

“Well… It’s true I was able to keep a few classes. But it didn’t happen all at once. Actually, it all started back in Kindergarten when I was very young…”

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She remembered the old schoolhouse like it was yesterday, her kindergarten year. It was recess period, all the kids were out by the playground running around, laughing, and swinging together. It was just great to be out of the classroom. All… But ‘one’ little girl, with her ponytail, her glasses, and dressed more like she came from private school and not a public class. This was Twilight Sparkle, when she was very young, finding a spot, sitting under a tree providing shade from the sun and reading her book without a care in the world, all by herself.

“Most kids would play tic-tac-toe or tag, and I would find myself sitting alone with my studies. I can’t tell you why, I just joy opening a book and tuning out to all the noise in a place where I can be at peace. I loved reading, so much I’ve read just about every book in the library. I’ve read more than enough books to understand what every plot stood for, every character’s motivation, every prop, location, everything… Books were my escape from life.”

Of course, little Twilight Sparkle’s own personal time did not go unnoticed. Overlooking her from the classroom window, one of the teachers had been watching Twilight Sparkle reading in her own quiet corner under that tree. The teacher just nods her head, while she strokes her chin in thought.

“It did not take long for my teacher to find out. Suffice to say she was impressed.”

Sometime later, Twilight Sparkle found herself escorted to another room by her parents. She was invited to meet with some of the school’s faculty. She nervously walked toward an empty table, taking a seat as her parents looked on. Twilight is then handed a stack of papers from one of the teachers, the little girl looks up to the teacher, who gives a slight nod. With a deep breath, Twilight proceeds to get to work. Days turns to weeks as every stack was completed.

“My parents took me to a testing center to determine how advanced my skills were. I swear I must’ve taken hundreds of tests over a few weeks. When it was all done, the testing facility told my parents their little girl was ‘gifted’. That I had the intellect of a middle schooler and I should advance onto 7th grade.”

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While telling the story, Twilight Sparkle paused for a moment to acknowledge her friends. To say Rainbow Dash was confused was an understatement, she literally did not seem to understand. Suffice to say, everyone’s face looked perturbed.

“You see girls, the school system works like this,” Twilight explains. “There are twelve grades, though if you add Kindergarten there’s technically thirteen. Basically, what happened was I basically skipped all of Elementary School after only four months of Kindergarten.”

Everyone seemed rather surprised, silently applauding Twilight Sparkle with a motion of their eyeballs. As Twilight Sparkle continued, though, her voice started to sound more upset, if not broken or stuttering.

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The car had pulled up to the front of the middle school, along with every car in front and behind them. Young Twilight Sparkle stepped out from the back passenger seat onto the grounds of the school. She turned back toward her parents, who waved inaudibly with a reassuring gaze. As her parents worked their way out of the driveway, Twilight Sparkle stood there looking at her new school. All the students walking toward class and how she felt small compared to the building, all the while she was that little girl with her backpack and lunchbox she had since kindergarten.

“It was August, a month after I turned seven. There I was about to enter seventh grade… But I k-kind of didn’t want to…”

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“Why did you?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yeah, if you didn’t feel it was right to go through with it, why go into the seventh grade at all?

“Hmm… Because I always felt that’s what my parents wanted,” Twilight sighed. “The moment they realized how intelligent I was, they were so proud it seemed they wanted me to go through with it. I remember them being so happy, all for me. If I said no back then, they’d be disappointed for the rest of my life.”

Twilight frowned a bit; a cough escapes her lips. There was something else that bothered her, even Pinkie Pie could tell. Seeing as how they would not be content unless she told the whole story, she had to continue.

“It wasn’t long after arriving, I kind of… Well, I was mocked.”

That one moment, Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash were stunned hearing that. While Maud… All she did was just stare, with that blank expression. Pinkie Pie, on the other hand, she was so stunned she let her sandwich fall from her grip and onto the floor.

“They did?” Pinkie asked, concerned. “But why? And how?”

From the look on Twilight’s face, that very question seemed painful to ask. Whether it was the way her eyebrows dropped or the eyes facing another direction, it bothered her. It took a deep breath and a silent prayer to find her courage… To go back…

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Lunch period was the worst time when Twilight Sparkle felt the eyes watching her, whispers passed into each other’s ears. The worst part was that they didn’t have to tell her directly. They would just eye her as she sat at a table all by her lonesome and they would be talking to each other, snickering knowing that it was all about her. Lunch period was an uncomfortable time for Twilight Sparkle, feeling alone amongst people… And the things they say.

“At first, they were just talking. The other kids would poke fun of my age, how I dressed, anything they could pass along. I tried to just let it roll over me; sticks and stones, my father would say… But that wasn’t enough.”

At one point, Twilight Sparkle decided to step away and go outside to eat. But when she opened the door…

SPLASH!

She felt a cold rush of liquid splash all over her, and then she heard the clatter of a bucket… And that’s when they started laughing. Twilight gasped, shaking off the liquid off her hair, cold milk from a bucket purposely set to make a mess. She turned to a particular group of girls, the popular girls, who did not hide their malicious intent. It was all a joke to make a fool out of the new girl and it worked.

“It wasn’t enough they dumped milk over my head at lunch, not even that was satisfying. For days, they’d knock books and papers from my hands as I’d walked down the hall. And ever since that day, everyone would call me a baby… And I hadn’t heard the end of it till Middle School was over.”

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The Pies and Rainbow Dash, mostly Rainbow Dash, were appalled.

“Why those rotten jerks!” Rainbow snapped, outraged. “I oughtta hunt them down and make them apologize!”

Twilight Sparkle nervously laughed, but she believed Rainbow Dash… Especially because she was serious.

“I appreciate your good intentions, Rainbow,” Twilight said. “But it wouldn’t be worth it. Besides, it was a long time ago and I hardly remember anyone from seventh grade.”

“They were really hard on you, were they?” Pinkie asked.

“They wanted to break her,” Maud said, bluntly.

Twilight looked away, closing her eyes as if she were unable to look at them.

“Yes… You’re half right,” Twilight quietly whispered. “Middle school wasn’t worst; it was when high school came along. When I first went to… ‘Crystal Prep’.”

Everyone squirmed in their seats, pained of the mental image of Twilight’s torture. They knew that Crystal Prep was a very competitive school and not everyone there were nice, but they rarely heard about it from Twilight’s eyes. As for Twilight, her head hung low, as if she looked like a pulsating sphere of sadness ready to burst. She didn’t feel ready to go on even after already saying so much…

And then, Twilight Sparkle felt a strange sensation, two hands wrapped around her. But when she looked up, it wasn’t Pinkie Pie as she expected… Nor was it Rainbow Dash. Instead, to Twilight’s surprise, it was Maud Pie. She had approached Twilight Sparkle, when she felt at her lowest point, and with no words and no reason at all, she just hugged her. It was a rare time when Maud shared a sentimental moment with a person that wasn’t her sister.

“Just say what you must,” Maud said, simply.

It felt nice being held in Maud’s embrace, Twilight could feel her spirit brighten. As she rested her head upon her gray sweater, Twilight hugged Maud back happy away from the wretched memories. Rainbow and Pinkie watched in awe, standing there as if a spell caused time to halt. Eventually Twilight raised her head and forced a small, dim smile, at the very least grateful for Maud’s gesture. Twilight watched as Maud stepped away to rejoin her sister and Rainbow at the couch, as they all sat patiently waiting for Twilight to continue.

For a moment, Twilight Sparkle just stood there, wondering what just happened. Looking at Maud’s stoic face, she couldn’t tell if she held some soft spot for her or if she just felt guilty. Whatever the case may be, it was able to help her continue where she left off. But unfortunately, Twilight knew what she had to say next was not any happier.

“Anyways,” Twilight said, recalling where she left off. “So… I was only in middle school for two years…”

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Twilight Sparkle was sitting in the principal’s office one day, her two parents were sitting beside her. The irony of the situation was that she wasn’t called in for any trouble she caused. The principal was simply having a word with her parents, showing them the results of the exams that Twilight had just taken. Based on the body movement and facial expressions, the principal was impressed, and the parents were in awe, occasionally turning to an uncertain Twilight Sparkle.

“Over those years, I aced so many tests and quizzes, that one day the Principal calls my parents into the office just to tell them that the school recommends I try some high school level practice exams. Specifically, those exams were to get me to the most prestigious school in Canterlot: Crystal Prep. I was reluctant, but I knew the abuse from my classmates would never stop unless I agreed. So, I decided to take the exams, hoping this school would be different.”

Twilight recalled sitting in a classroom all by herself, just so she’d be able to concentrate on the Crystal Prep exam. She went straight to work, mostly out of instinct because she knew the material by heart. She spent so much time reviewing the material the exam has covered, she practically had the answers memorized.

“Not surprisingly, I had the highest score that exceeds Canterlot High’s standards. They said middle school was too basic, that I should go off to high school. But rather than Canterlot, they purposely wanted me to go to Crystal Prep, where the best of the best thrive. At first, I was excited to be accepted into high school at such a young age. It didn’t matter where I’d go because I knew I had a future waiting for me.”

“And yet, at the same time, I was sad too. I spent so many years surrounded by tests and studies, I had little time to make friends growing up. I had been alone all my life. But they told me, the kids that go to Crystal Prep, they are mature and open-minded, so I—I—”

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Twilight Sparkle froze, clamping her eyes shut, fighting tears threatening to come out. That was always the most painful part of the story, Twilight knew what would happen. She imagined all the looks everyone gave her, but no one spoke. Whether they were afraid anything they’d say would make her sad or perhaps they were just confused, Twilight felt the whole world collapse around her. The pressure increased every second, as tears trickled down her eyes.

No matter how hard Twilight tried to fight her sadness, no matter how tight she shut her eyes, the sadness won’t go away. It was a struggle for Twilight Sparkle to finish her story, she practically choked over her final words.

“I was… Gullible enough… To believe them… I was wrong.”

Twilight Sparkle wiped the tears from her eyes, trying to prove she’s a strong woman. But Twilight just couldn’t stop crying… It was inevitable, she was broken.

“Twilight, you don’t have to tell us if it hurts so much,” Rainbow Dash assured. “We feel horrible making you feel this way. You don’t have to finish the story, no biggie.”

“Yeah, we like you when you’re happy,” Pinkie quickly interjected. “Not… This.”

Pinkie always knew when someone needed cheering up, while Twilight Sparkle felt like garbage. So many emotions rushed through her head, she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to feel. Pain? Sorry? Anger? Regardless, her outburst flooded the room and she felt worse. Not just because the way she was feeling, but she could feel everyone feeling just as sad as her… If not worse.