Twilight Sparkle Joins a Gang
There was nothing particularly strange about this one Tuesday. Sure, the residents of Brooklyn would tell you, the overcast sky was keeping almost everyone inside, but who could blame them? The sky was a miserable, dull grey, the clouds refusing to move to let the sunshine in. But in spite of the mostly-deserted streets and the depressing weather, this was definitely just another ordinary day.
At least, it was until Twilight Sparkle arrived in town.
The journey was near-instantaneous for the purple unicorn mare – anyone who would have been watching the streets would have seen a quick flash and heard a sound not unlike that of a whip cracking. The pony looked around for a moment in confusion, before breaking out into a smile.
“Excellent!” she said out loud in a cheerful tone. “It looks like the multi-dimensional transport spell works just as expected! I wonder where I’ve ended up?”
The pony trotted forwards a few steps, hesitant in spite of her magical spell’s success, in the direction of a nearby poster advertising a concert of some sort. Twilight had a quick read of it, but was more interested in the picture on the poster. “Hmm… looks like this dimension is home to humans! I remember Star Swirl the Bearded mentioning them in some of his notes…interesting.
“Still, the primary test of my spell was to see whether I actually could pierce the different dimensions,” Twilight continued, speaking as though somepony was nearby recording all of her words. “And now that that’s done, I’ll return to Equestria – if I want to come back to this dimension and study humans, I can do it some other time, when I’ve got better equipment with me.”
Closing her eyes, the mare concentrated carefully, recalling the spell that she had cast to get here in the first place. For a pony with magical skills as great as hers, it was surprisingly simple to cast, given that it was essentially ripping apart space-time like a fragile cardboard box. As Twilight concentrated, however, she noticed something that should have been readily apparent to her when she had first arrived in Brooklyn – her horn had an odd numbness to it.
“Hmm – it looks like that spell drains more of my magic that I realised,” Twilight murmured to herself as the spell failed to be cast. “I guess I’ll have to wait a little while for my magic to recharge – I might as well have a look around here whilst I’m waiting.”
Knowing that her spell would return her to her home in the Ponyville library once she could cast it, Twilight headed in a random direction, determined to learn as much as she could about the place she was in. Although the prospect of exploring an unknown world frightened her somewhat, Twilight continued putting one hoof in front of the other in the name of discovery.
Twilight kept finding her gaze returning to the buildings around her. Derelict as they were, houses made of concrete weren’t exactly common in Equestria. Maybe I’m in some sort of human equivalent of Manehattan? the purple unicorn speculated. I wonder how they create these buildings – Star Swirl’s notes on humans were very brief. And what are these strange metallic vehicles just lying around the place? Come to think of it, I should probably find somehuman to talk to, so that I can ask them all of these questions.
From the other side of the street, a group of humans had spotted Twilight, although she hadn’t noticed them yet. They were all wearing singlets and baggy clothes, their jeans falling around their ankles. The apparent leader of them, a dark-skinned man, was wearing a red bandanna on his head.
“Yo,” he said to the other three members of the group, “you fools seein’ what I’m seein’?”
“You mean that purple horse thing?” another member asked. “Yeah, I’m seein’ it. The fuck is up with that?”
“…We smoke crack an’ forget about it?” another member suggested. The group shared a collective shrug, but before they could converse any further, Twilight spotted the group and trotted across the road to them.
“Good afternoon, gentlecol- I mean, gentlemen,” Twilight began politely. “My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I –”
“Wait, it talks too?” the leader asked sceptically.
“…Yeah, we definitely smoked crack,” the member who had earlier suggested such a thing said. “No way could this shit be real.”
“But then how could we all be seein’ the same thing?” the final member of the gang, who hadn’t spoken yet, asked. He was the only white member of the group, and was skinny and tall. His voice had a bit of a nasal pitch to it.
Twilight cleared her throat and tried again. “Good afternoon, gentlemen. My name is Twilight Sparkle, and I have come to your world as part of an important scientific experiment which could change our understanding of magic as we know it! Is it okay if I ask you some questions?” She finished with the biggest smile she could muster, not entirely sure whether she felt comfortable speaking to humans who ignored her initial greeting despite clearing speaking and understanding Equestrian.
There was silence amongst the group for a few moments before the leader sighed. “Sure thing,” he said, sitting down on a nearby bench. “Ain’t the worst thing that could happen to us.”
“You serious, Johnny Dee?” one of the other members asked. “You’re actually gonna talk to it?”
“I need summat to take my mind off this afternoon,” Johnny explained. “An’ if talkin’ to this horse does that, then that’s what I’ll do.”
“I’m a unicorn, actually,” Twilight corrected. “If you don’t mind my asking, what’s happening this afternoon? Is… is something bad going to happen?”
“We is plannin’ a hit,” Johnny said simply.
“We are planning a hit,” Twilight corrected. She climbed up onto the bench beside Johnny Dee and sat next to him. “Who are ‘we’? Your friends?”
“Yeah,” Johnny confirmed. “This is Big Mike, Marco, and Pete,” he said, pointing to each in turn. “Together, we form the Tenth Street Rollers!”
“Nice to meet you all!” Twilight said cheerfully. “Well, I’m sure that whatever a ‘hit’ is, you’ll all have fun doing it! Activities are always much more fun to do with friends than by yourself –why, before I moved to Ponyville, I- is something funny?” Twilight’s tone changed from being chirpy and upbeat to one of confusion as the Tenth Street Rollers started snickering.
“Lissen to you!” Big Mike laughed. As his name suggested, he was the largest member of the group. His large presence and bald head would have made him look intimidating were he not laughing. “‘You’ll all have fun doin’ it’ – where you from, girl? The land of lollypops and unicorns?”
“Well, yes, Equestria does contain both unicorns and lollypops,” Twilight replied, missing the sarcasm. “But we’ve also got pegasi and Earth ponies – even griffins! It’s nothing like your world!” Once more, Twilight found her gaze caught by the buildings, quite large and monolithic by Ponyville standards.
“But still – where’d you get all this – this optimism from?” Marco asked in a quiet voice. He had dark rings underneath his eyes to match his dark hair.
“Oh, that’s easy!” Twilight said. “My friends, of course! They’ve changed my life so much, and I’m all the better for it! I know that any time I’ve got a problem of some sort, I can count on my friends to help me solve it, just like how they can count on me to help solve their problems!”
“Yeah?” Big Mike challenged. “Could they solve the problem of how the Tenth Street Rollers are gonna get killed this afternoon durin’ a badly-planned hit?”
“W-what?!” Twilight stammered, not expecting something so morbid. “What in Equestria is happening here? Is – is something wrong?”
“What’d you say your name was?” Johnny Dee asked Twilight quietly.
“Twilight Sparkle.”
“Look, Twilight – you obviously don’ know what a hit is,” he said, deadly serious. “What’s gonna happen this afternoon, is me an’ the Tenth Street Rollers are gonna go after another gang an’ take out as many of ‘em as we can – before they take us out.”
“Take them out? What do you mean by – oh. Oooooohhhhhhhh.” Twilight fell silent as she worked out what the gang meant. She had a strange feeling, one she couldn’t quite describe – like a mix of danger, worry, and sadness.
There was an awkward silence amongst the group as they let Twilight contemplate the information. Finally, Twilight said, very quietly and slowly, “B-but… why do you have to go and-and ‘take out’ somehumans?”
“’Cos they killed my cousin,” Johnny Dee explained. “My brother and my cousin used to be part o’ the Tenth Street Rollers – but then when the Hammerheads started to muscle in on our territory, my cowardly bro switched sides – he killed our cousin to prove to ‘em that he was serious ‘bout joinin’. So now, we’ve gotta go teach my bro a lesson – even if we die in the process.”
“That’s horrible!” Twilight gasped. “You can’t do that!”
“It’s the way o’ the street,” Johnny said simply.
“But – why can’t you just talk to him?” Twilight asked. “Whenever you’ve got something important to say to a friend – or a family member – you should say it. If they’re your friend, they’ll listen to you and respect your opinion. Why, I remember when my friend Fluttershy became a model –”
“Oh, we are gonna say somethin’ to him,” Johnny Dee interrupted, taking a pistol out from a holster and cocking it menacingly. He didn’t notice the bullet ejecting from the back as a result. “In the only language he’ll listen to.”
In spite of the morbid situation, Twilight’s gaze was caught by the gun. “Ooh, what’s that?” she asked, fascinated by the technology unheard of in Equestria. “Mind if I take a look?” In her enthusiasm for knowledge, she levitated the gun out of Johnny’s hand before he could respond.
“Hmm… it’s obviously designed for humans to hold with your hands, since you don’t have magic like we unicorns…” Twilight muttered, rotating the gun in all sorts of directions with her magic as she examined it. “This part is evidently where it’s held… but what does this -”
BANG!
Twilight yelped and leapt into the air from the bench as she squeezed the trigger with a simple bit of telekinesis, shooting out a bullet which fortunately didn’t hit anybody. It took her a moment to regain her nerves, upon which she levitated the gun back to Johnny Dee. “W-well then, I can’t say I expected that to happen,” she said, her voice still quaking a bit from the shock. “But nevertheless, it is certainly an interesting invention. I imagine that the purpose of creating such a loud noise is to signal the start of a race or other sporting event?” she theorised.
The Tenth Street Rollers all ignored the question, deciding that it was better for the unicorn if she didn’t know the deadly purpose of the weapon. “Anyway,” Pete said, returning to more serious matters, “the point is, we’re not going to talk our problems over with the Hammerheads. We’re gonna give ‘em what’s coming to ‘em!”
“But why can’t you just talk to these Hammerheads?” Twilight asked, concern edging into her voice as she climbed back onto the bench. “Johnny, you said that your brother’s joined the Hammerheads – why can’t you talk to him about him leaving the Tenth Street Rollers? A brother is somepony – or somehuman, in this case – who you should be able to look up to, and who should be there to help and protect you.” The unicorn smiled as she recalled fond memories of her own brother, Shining Armour.
“’Cos the street just don’t work that way,” Johnny said. “He ain’t my bro any more – he’s a traitor to the gang.”
“Things are obviously different where you come from, Twilight,” Marco added quietly. “But believe us – here, this is how we do things.”
“Oh yeah?” Twilight asked, knowing that she was fighting a losing battle. “Well – well, that may be true, but have you ever considered that your brother had a good reason for what he did?” The gang members all looked at her more intensely than they had been earlier. “I – I mean, maybe he’s just confused now, and he needs some support! Maybe he just wants to sit down with his B.B.B.F.F. – are you older or younger than him? – and talk about what he’s done.” Everyone was staring at Johnny Dee, who was thinking over Twilight’s words carefully.
“I mean, friendship may not be easy,” Twilight continued, seeing her words starting to have an effect on the gang leader, “but it’s worth fighting for!”
“Twilight,” Johnny asked after thinking intently for another few moments, “what’s a B.B.-whatever-the-fuck you said?”
“A Big Brother, Best Friend Forever!” Twilight said cheerfully. “I have one of my own – Shining Armour. We used to get on really well, but then he had to move because of –”
“Yeah, whatever,” Johnny interrupted. “Look, I’d like to believe you with all this – this friendship shit, and I’d love to have my bro back. But none of this shit is gonna happen!”
“That’s because you haven’t tried talking to your brother!” Twilight said, exasperated. “Look, let me give you an example – when my friend Fluttershy became a model, she hated it, but didn’t say anything because she thought that another friend of mine, Rarity, was incredibly excited for her.” Some of the gang members snickered at the names of Twilight’s friends, whilst others merely scoffed. Only Johnny seemed to be paying serious attention. “Rarity, meanwhile, was secretly jealous of Fluttershy, but didn’t say anything because she was too polite to.
“To cut a long story short, in the end both ponies told the other their real thoughts about Fluttershy’s modelling job, and neither resented the other for their opinion. In fact, it solved the problem very nicely!” Twilight finished her story, beaming at the gang.
“So… wait a minute…” Big Mike said, thinking over the story carefully. “Are you sayin’ we should become models to solve our problems with the Hammerheads?”
Twilight facehoofed. “No! I’m saying that if you would talk your problems over with the Hammerheads rather than – than resorting to violence, you might save yourselves a lot of effort. I mean, how do you know that the Hammerheads don’t want to talk to you?” The gang members all answered Twilight’s question immediately, obviously not considering it worth much thought.
“’Cos they’re the meanest motherfuckers around here.”
“’Cos they’d gun us down before we’d even get fifty metres within their territory.”
“Why’d we want to talk to ‘em anyway? I’d rather take out as many as I can.”
“Guys, I – I think she’s got a point.” There gang members all fell silent as they looked at the last person to have spoken – their leader, Johnny Dee.
“You fuckin’ kidding me?” Big Mike asked, stunned. “You’re actually listenin’ to her?”
“Yeah, I am,” Johnny confirmed defiantly. “’Cos she’s givin’ me a way to get outta killin’ my bro.” Turning to Twilight, he said, “Twilight, how do you think we should do this?”
“Oh, that’s simple!” she said, beaming at the gangster for following her advice. “Just contact your brother, tell him that you want to talk, and then discuss with him that you don’t want to fight him and his friends! I’m sure you’ll work out something eventually!”
“Yeah, that – that sounds good,” Johnny said. Turning to the other members of the Tenth Street Rollers, he said to them “You guys in with me or not? ‘Cos if we can’t talk to the Hammerheads, the only other option we got is to go through with the hit… and I think we all know how that’s gonna go.” There was silence amongst the group for a few moments.
“I’m in,” said Big Mike.
“Me too.” The remaining two members nodded, although they didn’t look too happy about it.
“Good on you all!” Twilight said enthusiastically. She had just noticed that her horn was no longer numb, and probably hadn’t been for a while – she could cast the spell to return to Equestria any time. “Unfortunately, I’ve got to return to Equestria – you have no idea how long spell reports take to write.” She failed to notice half the gang rolling their eyes in response.
“Well, if you gotta go, you gotta go,” Johnny Dee said, smiling as he spoke. “But I gotta tell you, Twilight – your advice has really opened my eyes. Even if this don’t work out, I gotta say – thanks for yo’ help.”
“No problem!” Twilight replied. “I’m sure that everything will be fine – I’m sure that your brother will succumb to the magic of friendship in the end!”
“Yeah, well, I gotta say, Twilight – if you ever come back to Brooklyn, you can consider yourself a member of the Tenth Street Rollers,” Johnny said. One or two of the other gang members scowled at this behind his back. “You’re always welcome for a visit.”
“Thank you!” Twilight said, somewhat taken back by this. “I may be able to visit this world – what did you call it? Brooklyn? – some other time, so I’ll definitely try and come back some time!” She started to concentrate on the spell to return her to Equestria, her horn glowing as she did so. “Goodbye, everyhuman!” she said, waving a hoof a moment or two before she disappeared in a flash of purple light. Before she disappeared, the last thing she saw was the gang smiling back at her (with some admittedly smiling a little more reluctantly than others).
============================
Twilight’s quill scratched quietly across the parchment. It was late in the evening, and she was finishing off her spell report for Princess Celestia.
…and in conclusion, she wrote, as the spell itself has been proven to be completely harmless, the only dangers one should find in using it should be from the different dimensions one finds themselves in.
Yawning, Twilight looked out of the window. In her enthusiasm to tell the Princess all about the spell and its application, she had lost track of time – it was nearing midnight now. Her mind went over the humans she had met in the other dimension - after they had opened up to her, they had been fairly friendly, even if their grammar skills did need working on. Going back to the parchment, Twilight added a quick horizontal line, and began writing below it.
Dear Princess Celestia,
Whilst testing out the spell today, I learned an important lesson about both friendship and family. It doesn’t matter how much a member of your family or one of your friends may dislike you – they will always be willing to talk over problems with you and to repair whatever relationship you have with them, even if it doesn’t seem that way. You shouldn’t give into your fears of what may happen when you need to talk to them – if they care about you, they’ll listen to what you have to say.
From your faithful student,
Twilight Sparkle.
Author's Note
A DoctorSpectrum fic that's not about Vinyl and Octavia? 
So yeah, strange as it sounds, I got the idea for this whilst playing Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I was sneaking around some gang members when I thought, "I wonder what Twilight would do if she encountered a gang?" Strange though, yes, but it gave me the idea to write this. In retrospect, I think that I probably should have stopped about halfway through and scrapped the idea, but oh well, here it is.
Oh, and all of my knowledge of gangs and Brooklyn come from media, so if there's anything stereotypical/inaccurate, that's the reason.
