My Little Pony: The Portal

Chapter 16: Past Mistakes

"So, what're we doing today, Alex?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"I don't know. I gotta get some shopping today. Maybe we can get some ice cream afterwards?" He suggested to them. They nodded.

"Mmm, ice cream." Fluttershy hummed.

"That sounds lovely." Rarity agreed with a nod.

"Awesome. It's decided then. Shopping and ice cream." Alex nodded.

"We are closer than ever to figuring this portal out. I'm sure of it. I can feel it." Twilight said.

"Twilight, we've been running tests for the last three hours. Can we please take a break?" Starlight requested, her head tiredly falling on the desk she was sitting at. Twilight sighed and nodded.

"Alright. Yeah, we can get something to eat." Twilight said. They both got up and exited the schoolhouse. At that moment, Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom were coming up to the schoolhouse, apparently to meet up with them.

"See? I told you that they've been hanging out at the schoolhouse a lot!" Scootaloo said, clearly her point being proven by Twilight and Starlight's presence.

"What's the Princess of Friendship and her student doing at our schoolhouse?" Apple Bloom asked.

"We're trying to figure out a very complicated magic spell that we came up with, and made a mistake on." Starlight explained in the most general terms she could think of.

"Yeah, it looks complex," Scootaloo said, peering at the chalkboard through the window. "It looks important too."

"Yes. It is very important. We need to figure this out as soon as possible." Twilight said, trying not to sound too desperate.

"Hey, Twilight? When is Rarity getting back from her trip?" Sweetie Belle asked somewhat abruptly.

"What?"

"Applejack told me that Rarity's been gone for awhile and she doesn't know where she is. I figured she's just off doing some of her fashion stuff. But she's been gone awhile. Did she say when she was getting back?" Sweetie Belle asked.

Twilight swallowed hard, opening her mouth to answer. However, trying to muster up something reassuring while looking Sweetie Belle in the eyes was proving to be much more difficult for her. So Starlight offered an answer.

"I'm sure she'll be back before you know it, Sweetie Belle."

"I hope so. It's not like her to just leave without saying anything. It's kind of rude too." Sweetie Belle said.

"Where are you staying now?" Twilight asked.

"I'm staying over with the Apples right now. It's like a sleepover! And I've been helping on the farm too. It's a lot of work." Sweetie Belle replied.

"Heheh, that's farm life for ya." Apple Bloom chuckled.

"Well that's good. Well...gotta go, see ya!" Twilight said before making a hasty retreat from the conversation. Starlight glanced her direction in surprise, and then quickly closed off the conversation with Sweetie Belle and the others.

"Um, Twilight's...really hungry. We're gonna grab some grub before we get back to what we were doing. Take care, girls." Starlight said, waving them off as she went to catch up with Twilight.

"Bye, Starlight!" All three of them said in unison.

Starlight quickened her pace to catch up with Twilight, who was trotting along at a miserable pace. She could see the guilt written all over her face, and even Starlight couldn't help but resonate with those feelings.