Test 2

Twilight was born with a devastating illness, found only in unicorns. It had once almost wiped all of them out, and even today it could kill the host. It was why she always had to be careful, why she always needed to watch herself. The sickness kept her body on the brink of collapsing, and every time she took a step, anypony nearby would look at her worriedly.

This illness had been the reason why she withdrew into her books. Each held worlds filled with better things, things she she would have loved to do, but she wasn‘t complaining about her life. Her papa had told her that smart ponies didn‘t complain, and Twilight was a smart pony.

But even a filly as intelligent as her wanted more out of the world than pictures and words.

She knew the way from home to the hospital, but that was as far as she‘d ever traveled. One big street with many crossings, leading to places she would never see.

To Twilight, Canterlot was only what was along the road, like Cadenza‘s Sweets. A portrait of the Princess of Love hung above it, with the her name engraved in it, and the kind, pretty mare that owned it. She had been very close to Shining Armor, and would always greet them with a warm smile and sometimes gave them candy for free.

Not only that, though, for the big road went by the new city hall. It was a large building, its stones covered in black paint, and a blue roof atop of it, and gargoyles looking down on the city below, trophies from the first invasion of the griffon lands. Guards were posted in front of it, wearing the blue coats and hats of the republican guard, carrying the traditional shootsticks with bayonets. The filly also knew of the burgundy houses, and the alleys in between them. She even knew the pubs and other places her papa went to forget that mama had died, and that his dear son hadn‘t wanted to go to the military school.

That was the Canterlot she knew, and she had never thought she‘d be seeing any more of it. Yet there she was, behind that odd filly with the beat-up face and the confident smile.

They crawled beneath the ruined branches of the bushes and over the paling grass of the hospital‘s garden. It might have been a lovely green once, but all it did nowadays was slowly wither. Only a few flowers stood now. Their colors were stale, but as Twilight passed by them, she found them quite enthralling. Six of them were even blooming side by side in the bracken.

Trixie balanced her package well, even while she provided support to Twilight, who stumbled over her own hooves now and then, threatening to fall on her nose every few meters. Her breaths were fast, but every single time she was about to fall her new friend caught her. For Twilight that lifted any remaining suspicions she had about the other unicorn. Nopony besides Redheart had cared so much about her so much.

As they hurried through the garden, Twilight noticed some ponies sitting on a bench close to the entrance. They could have easily spotted the two, but if they did, they chose to ignore them.

Lucky us, Twilight thought. If nopony noticed them, Nurse Redheart wouldn‘t find out that they had fled. She didn‘t want Redheart to be upset. The other nurses seemed to always be upset, so she really, really wanted to keep at least one of them happy. That alone almost made her go back, not wanting to have yet another one yell at her.

But, she did not turn around, and instead followed closely behind Trixie. This would be the only time she broke the rules, and Nurse Redheart was nice, she would forgive her. All those smiles, the extra food, and every time she had held the filly‘s hoof to tell her that everything would be alright – all that wouldn‘t be erased so easily. At least, Twilight hoped so.

When they reached the garden‘s front gate the small brown filly unconsciously looked back, bidding farewell to the hospital. The world awaited them, and despite the things that were here, she knew in her heart that her papa wasn‘t coming to see her. Neither would anypony else. She had to go.

Trixie gave a casual nod to the guard that was placed there, his only response being a dull gaze in their direction, telling them how little he cared about his work here, or even the safety of the two fillies leaving without their parents. It reminded her of one of the detective stories she had read, only that had been an asylum, and the detective had had a princess as his companion.

“We‘re going to the meeting point,” Trixie announced as they passed the gate, and the city unfolded before them.

Bristling with life, ponies moved seamlessly back and forth, and for a moment everything became overwhelming. So Twilight shuffled closer to Trixie, seeking comfort in being close to a pony that she could call a friend. Yet, at the sound of those words, Twilight couldn‘t help but tilt her head, and asked, “Meeting point?”

“Mmhm,” Trixie replied, not breaking stride. “It‘s our super special secret place. It‘ll be awesome, and you‘re probably going to see the others, too.”

Twilight had to strain to hear Trixie as the sounds of the city buffeted her. She could see the mouth of the other filly still moving, but couldn‘t make out anything she said. Was she explaining something important? Twilight didn‘t know, but didn‘t say anything, since walking around town like that was too exhilarating to be worried. The only way it could‘ve been better was if her mother was there smiling and helping her walk.

The filly shook the thoughts out of her head; she needed to follow Trixie. If she lost her ...

Just imagining being lost in the crowd sent tendrils of cold terror down her spine, and Twilight forced herself to take deep breaths as her heart resumed its frantic beat. She needed to calm down, but between trying to keep up with the filly and taking in the sights along the rich side of the capital, it was proving to be very difficult.

Her eyes swept the building, drinking in the sights. While they walked, Twilight forgot the ill, lonely, bed-bound filly surrounded by books.

Marveling at the city, she mentally noted down everything. From the stallions with their top hats, and the mares with their fancy headdresses trotting around on the sidewalks; the carriages, both motorized and pulled manually by deer that filled the street and created the sound of traffic at high-noon. It truly was a dazzling display, especially the deer. Her father had told her that long ago they had got in a war with Equestria, and lost their lands before being enslaved. At least, until Cadenza had freed them, and given them a chance to live in peace.

Twilight loved history, but stopped day dreaming when Trixie grabbed her foreleg and pulled her along.

“Come on,” she said cheerfully, a grin with missing teeth adorning her face. Trixie quickly led them across the street, but not before dodging a motorized carriage and having a deer pause to let them past, the pony in the carriage shouted in outrage, but it didn‘t matter to them, the two had already disappeared into the crowd of ponies. They trotted across the sidewalk until they reached an alley.

There was a pegasus nearby – he seemed to be comforting a filly that could‘ve been his daughter. Twilight paused for a moment as she catched a hint of their conversation, and curiosity dictated that she listened to all of it.

“Daddy‘ll go to kick some griffon flank soon! Really, RD, there‘s nothing to worry about. Daddy‘s the strongest warrior there is.”

While he spoke, Twilight realized that he wore black uniform with golden buttons, matched those of a high-ranking Cloudsdalian officer. Twilight only recognized it from a picture book her father had given Shining, it contained all the military ranks he could earn by joining up with the guard. Still, as shiny as the uniform was, it didn‘t hold her attention for long.

No, she found herself looking at the filly that seemed like it was about to to weep in the arms of a mare that might‘ve been her mother. Twilight didn‘t know why she drew her attention to the filly, except that “RD‘s” mane had six colors, ranging from black to pale blonde.

Pony manes could range from the palest blonde, to the richest brown, to even the deepest black, but never before had Twilight seen a pony with so many colors in her hair. Trixie‘s coloring didn‘t look half as weird now.

Turning away, Twilight spotted Trixie in the alley, still waiting, and then making a beckoning gesture with her hoof. Smiling with another burst of excitement, the brown unicorn moved forward, her frail legs carrying her away from the loud streets deeper into the brown alley, which was filled with bags of trash and the rotten smell of vomit, she knew that smell far too well.

However, she ignored it, and calmly continued, only to feel the strength suddenly fade from her legs, just as Trixie turned around again. She fell into a puddle in the middle of the small alley, surrounded by trash, with the small rats watching her in an extremely bored fashion. It was the moment she had been dreading, and she began to gag and cough. Her heart hammered against her chest, and her stomach began to throb in tandem with her heart. The pain was coming back and Twilight wrapped her forelegs around her stomach, tears falling to the ground. She knew what was about to happen, and soon enough she began to hurl.

“Breathe, Twilight, breathe!” the voice cut through the pain, and suddenly Twilight was looking at a new filly – no, a mare with a wagon, fighting a gigantic bear that seemed to be made of stars. With a blink, the mare vanished, and she saw Trixie standing over her. The unicorn had a fearful expression, and seemed ready to panic. Taking a deep breath she focused on Twilight.

“Calm down,” she soothed. “Look at me, watch me! Look at Trixie! Look at her! You need to breathe like Trixie! Come on! In ... and out ... In ... and out.”

Twilight watched the now pale filly who was breathing in and out in an over excessive manner. Still, Twilight copied her, breathing in and out, in sync with Trixie. She focused everything on it, and strangely enough, it seemed to help her calm down. She didn‘t really care why though, the pain was receding, and after only a few more moments, even her stomach wasn‘t hurting anymore.

Trixie stood by her the entire time, watching her recover. After a time, while Twilight lay there on the trash-strewn ground, the stink of the city enveloping them, she pressed herself close to the filly, hugging her with all her strength. She whispered reassuring words into Twilight‘s ear; that she wouldn‘t let anything bad happen to her, that she was her friend, that she‘d never leave anypony alone, that Twilight could trust her, because Trixie was honest, because Trixie was a good filly, and the best wizard in the world.

Twilight noticed in her delirium that the other filly had suddenly started talking in the third person. It was very strange, she dazedly thought, but it faded quite quickly, and relaxed. She soon slipped into the world of dreams.

Twilight woke up under a white, woolen blanket, with an unicorn filly leaning over her. Trixie was watching her with her brows drawn together, biting her lip, but her mouth immediately turned into a smile as she saw her friend open her eyes. Almost immediately she threw her arms around Twilight, not even bothering to make sure whether the weaker unicorn had recognized her. For a moment, Twilight nearly panicked, but as the other pony‘s limbs closed in a hug, she could feel Trixie‘s trembling.

“Oh, thank Celestia, you‘re awake,” Trixie whispered.

“Y-yeah,” Twilight said, lifting her arms to return the hug. It didn‘t matter how weak she felt, she wanted her friend to know she was okay.

Loosening her grip after a moment of lingering, Twilight took a look at her surroundings. The first thing she noticed was where she lay. She was on a sofa that was colored in the most atrocious green, and full of holes, yet oddly enough it was extremely comfortable. They seemed to be in a large hall. The walls were made out of red stone blocks, with wooden planks hammered into them to help support the frame.

However, the best feature of the hall was the assortment of items – there were old toasters, tables, and even a couple beds haphazardly lined about. Not to mention the spotted carpets filled with holes, moth-eaten drapes, small packages filled with clothes, and so much more. Yet, the longer she looked around, the older and more damaged everything appeared.

Spotting a window, she saw Canterlot‘s sky was filled with storm clouds, the implication of the sight made her feel slightly more nervous. Turning back to Trixie, who still hadn‘t released her, she gave a light push so they could talk properly.

“How long have I been out?”

“Maybe an hour, tops,” Trixie answered after a moment, her brows furrowing again.

“When I break down, I usually sleep a lot longer,” Twilight said with a small giggle.

It might‘ve been Trixie‘s presence that made everything feel brighter and filled her with joy, but a strange feeling seemed to be the real cause. Twilight lifted her hoof to her horn, trying to remember, she had dreamt of something, something she knew in her bones was very important, but couldn‘t remember what. Sensing an approaching headache, she tried to change the topic. “We‘re not back in the hospital.”

Trixie looked away from her for a second, then the words started to tumble out of her mouth and over each other for a second. “T-Trixie panicked and when Trixie panics she always goes here first ... BUT! Trixie knows this place is the best for resting up. Nopony can find us here, so everything is always awesome. You can trust Trixie on that. Nopony else is more trustworthy; Trixie can always keep a promise, or a secret.”

Twilight blinked at the odd tone in her voice, confused, but before she could ask what she meant, Trixie had jumped off the sofa. She then picked four different bottles up off the ground. The bottles had names printed on them in elder Equestrian and beneath in new Equestrian detailing the contents. Twilight only needed a glance to realize they were her medications. For a moment, she considered pulling Trixie into another hug. The filly was more reliable than her papa, and almost as nice as Nurse Redheart.

“Thank you,” she said, a bright but slightly strained smile on her face as she took the bottles and opened them. Twilight was proud to be able to remember how many the nurses would give her, and she quickly swallowed some, hoping that Nightmare Moon would gobble her ailment up.

“Trixie didn‘t know you suffered from that sickness,” Trixie said, with her eyes studying her hooves.

So she knows, Twilight thought. Trixie‘s expression told her that she had previous experience with it, and knew how bad it could be. However, Twilight knew she was okay, what was important was that she was outside in the real world.

“It doesn‘t matter,” she said reassuringly. “Hey, what‘s it you wanted to show me?”

Twilight was still intent on making this trip count, especially after what happened in the alleyway. Thankfully, Trixie immediately nodded. She seemed glad to avoid the topic of death and disease.

Trixie grabbed the box of her back and kicked open her tiny box with her gray hoof, and with a theatrical swirl she pulled out a purple, star-spangled cloak, and a matching hat. She rapidly fastened the cloak around her neck while Twilight watched the glittering stars on it in awe. Trixie then placed the hat atop her head, and stood up on her hind legs.

“Now watch in awe, while Trixie performs the greatestest tricks today!” she exclaimed, raising her front hooves above her head. Again, a smile adorned her face, but it was different now.

Charming, charismatic, Twilight thought as she saw the beaten up filly stand there, her hat slipping down her face. This will be fun.

She had never been to a magician‘s show before. Twilight giddily clapped her hooves together. No matter what happened next, it would be the greatest thing she‘d ever see. Papa and Shining couldn‘t see it, but that didn‘t matter, this was her moment, for her alone. Her ears perked up, and her heart beat against her chest, but for the first time she didn‘t care. Trixie was about to show here the best tricks in the world – what more could she ask for?

Yet, what happened wasn‘t quite what she expected. Instead of marvelous tricks, a voice sounded off from the hall. It was very quiet, but steadfast, full of of innocent beliefs and childish dreams. A voice that filled Twilight with wonder, but made Trixie furrow her brows and twist her mouth. The voice only asked one question, for the filly cared only about one thing whenever she saw a wizard or magician performing.

“Could you grow me hands?” Lyra asked.