Arc 1- 1 (Justice Is Absolute)

Ten Years Later...

Trixie is jolted awake by a sudden bump. She raises her head and peeks out from behind a bale of hay and sees that the wagon she snuck on has traveled into a town called Barnville; knowledge of this courtesy of a worn sign saying: "Welcome to Barnville!"vwith the words faded, the paint chipping, and a picture of a happy farmer with devil horns and red eyes crudely painted on. Just from the sign alone she can tell that she's in for a rough stay at Barnville. However, one thing that strikes her as odd, besides the creepy sign, is that the town looks almost exactly like Ponyville, only all the colors have been sucked away and the roads are muddy with pockets of icky water in the most inconvenient of places. Even the sky is dingy! The sun is hiding behind a thick layer of clouds that are the color of corpses and the sky is so gray that it’s difficult to tell where the clouds end and where the sky begins.

When the cart pulls to a stop, she quickly hops out of it and ducks into the safety of an alley. Her normally well-kept light blue coat and silver tail and mane have suffered years of neglect and are now covered in thick, crusty layers of dirt and other things she’d rather not talk about. Trixie did do her best to stay clean, but it seemed like the farther she traveled from Ponyville and Canterlot, the dirtier everything became.

The ever so pleasant ponies Ponyville thought she had a bad attitude, well they’d go into a state of comatose from the horrible mannerism that the ponies of Detrot deliver. And the water? It’s sparkling clean in Canterlot and clear in Ponyville, but past the Everfree Forest, near places like Stalliongrad and Fillydelphia, there were times she wondered if the sewage treatments plants were leaking. Those ponies are so blinded by their utopian lifestyle that they haven’t realized that Harmony only exists near the capital of Equestria. The farther ponies are from Celestia’s presence, the more distant the ideals of Harmony become.

Some thunder rumbles in the distance and the former Great and Powerful Trixie looks up and feels some rain patter against her face. She frowns and looks down at her hooves; her once beautiful coat now reduced to an indescribable mess. Trixie sighs and folds her forehooves over each other and lies in the mud under the cover of a cheap tarp. However, a strong gust of wind rips the tarp away and carries it down the muddy road. Trixie scoffs “Figures” and curls up, not even caring that polluted rain is soaking her and pushing her tattered mane over her face. She thinks that maybe with some luck that she’ll melt away into the nothingness, just as her father had predicted, and just as the ponies of Equestria see her as.

A nothing.

Trixie blinks some tears away and tries to think about something good. Anything will do for her at this moment. Such as, the mud is comfortable and the rain is giving her a free shower. A comfortable mud bed and a free shower against her loss of wealth, fame, image, and basically everything she had.

“Now what’s ah sweet lil’ mare like ya doin’ out here in tha rain for?” asks an eerie voice that is obviously trying to come off as friendly.

Trixie looks up and sees a slender pegasus stallion with a sickly green coat and a yellow tail with no mane smiling down at her. He is wearing a ratty poncho that covers most of his body and his teeth are crooked and rotting, his eyes are also yellow and to top it off, his nose is constantly twitching. Trixie remains silent as she looks at the strange pony, in her prime she would be repulsed by the stallion’s nose-burning bad breath, but nothing surprises her now. Trixie looks away from him and at the watery mud she’s lying in, she doesn’t want to give him the benefit of an answer. The stallion simply chuckles lightly and lays down in front of her and tries to get a better look at her face.

“Do I scare ya? Sorry if I do. Years in the mines at Shattered Hoof Quarry did ah number on mah lungs and looks, if ya know what I mean.”

Trixie closes her eyes and wishes for the stallion to go away. But just like everything else, it doesn’t go her way, the stranger persists with basic chatter that no one in the right mind would care about.

Then her unwelcomed visitor suddenly extends his hoof and says, “Mah name is Sunshine Cloud, I was ah big fan of yer shows Miss Great and Powerful Trixie.”

Trixie stares dumbfounded at him. “You-you know who I am-I mean who Trixie is?” She then mentally kicks herself after asking that dumb question.

“Darn right I do,” snickers Sunshine “and I see ya still got that charm of yers.”

Trixie’s blush is hidden behind the mud caked to her face, but she’s still glad that she’s finally recognized after a decade of being alone! She can almost squeal like a happy little filly about this turn of events!

Sunshine pulls off his poncho and gently puts it over Trixie, and, as if to enforce his affection, he extends one of his wings and uses it as umbrella to cover her head. Trixie looks at the wing and notices that they aren’t like normal pegasi wings; its slightly deformed and some of the fathers fall loose just by the rain droplets splattering against them.

“What happened to your wings?” asks Trixie

“That ol’ pieces o’ junk? I haven’t gotten the slightest clue,” chuckles Sunshine. “I was workin’ in the quarry when there was this explosion and next thing I know, I’m flyin’ tail over hoof and I see black. Woke up in the hospital next day and the doctor told me they had t’ amputate one wing, but they left the other on. Now it’s just there as an umbrella for the pretty mares”

Sunshine then proceeds to leading Trixie to a pub named “Cloudsdale Rejects Pub”. Like the rest of Barnville, its poorly kept; the walls are covered with grime and vulgar graffiti, the ceiling has only Celestia knows what plastered on it, and there are thick trails of muddy hoof prints all over the worn floor. There’s also a lot of miserable ponies hunched over the bar counter and tables drinking hard cider and licking blocks of salt. Some are so drunk or dehydrated that they have collapsed on the floor or passed out at their tables. Despite the sad scene, Trixie still wishes that she had the bits to buy herself a drink and a meal.

Trixie’s stomach growls and her mouth waters when she sees a platter of fresh hay bacon and a pitcher of cider carried out of the kitchen in the mouth of a pegasus more. The mare has a scarlet coat and fiery colored mane and tail and is also wearing a simple, but well kept, poncho. The mare flicks her tail against the face of another mare that gave her a quick feel, then she gives the other patrons a murderous gaze and those looking at her are quick to turn their heads from her.

Trixie watches the mare slide the plate of hay bacon in front of a mysterious earth pony stallion sitting in the corner. He is older than most of the ponies in the room and is surprisingly well dressed in a brown trench coat that is covering a dark suit, and a fedora of the same color as the coat. The stallion has brownish-gray fur with a fading black mane and tail and black spots that surround his eyes and muzzle. After the mare unenthusiastically sets the plate down the stallion gives her a few bits and she takes them and heads towards Sunshine. When she reaches Sunshine she gives Trixie a dirty look before ignoring her completely.

“Gray Muffin is back,” says the mare coldly.

“He won’t cause any trouble,” assures Sunshine. “By the way, Scarlet, this is Trixie Lulamoon. Trixie, this is mah sister, Scarlet Cloud.”

Trixie extends her hoof and says: “How do you do?”

Scarlet looks at the hoof with disgust and then glares at her brother. “As if you need more tramps.”

Trixie looks down and strokes the muddy floor to hide the pain, that statement was like a rusty knife plunged into her heart.

“Now, now, Scarlet, what have we talked about with that language of yers,” Sunshine says firmly while hugging Trixie around her neck sympathetically.

Scarlet scoffs and walks back to the kitchen with her nose in the air. When she is out of sight Sunshine sighs sadly and rubs Trixies mane, saying: “You’ll have t’ forgive mah sister. She’s ah bit grouchy most of the time.”

Sunshine looks at Gray Muffin, he’s eating his hay bacon but is also keeping an eye on his surroundings as if searching for possible assassins.

“Why don’t ya get cleaned up and I’ll get ya somethin’ t’ eat.” Sunshine says in a darker tone. He then pecks Trixie on the cheek and gently nudges her towards the rickety stairs. Trixie feels a shiver run up her spine because of it, but she pushes her uneasiness aside and proceeds up the stairs to find the shower. As she quietly walks up the stairs she tries to keep her mind focused on the warm shower and the desperately needed food, but she also wonders what Sunshine plans on doing with her. Out of her years of horrendous traveling, she has quickly figured out that nobody does anything generous out of the kindness of their hearts. There is always a trade off, and as grateful as she is for Sunshine’s help, she still doesn’t know what he wants in return. Trixie snaps out of her thoughts when she hears Sunshine confront Gray Muffin. She partially ignores the conversation, but when she hears Gray Muffin speak, she stops and peeks down the stairs to see what the two stallions are talking about.

“Still mad about what happened that night, are ya?” teases Sunshine.

“I’m always mad at you,” remarks Gray Muffin harshly; his voice is raspy, like his vocal cords suffered through a traumatic injury of some sort.

“Ahhh, I see. Why are ya here, Mr. Muffin?”

“You know why I’m here.”

“Nope, can’t say that I do.”

“Where are they?”

“Where are who?”

“The slaves.”

Trixie gasps and takes a step back, luckily the pub is loud so no one heard her. But now her heart is beating rapidly and her trust in Sunshine is completely destroyed as those last three lines echo in her mind. She wonders why would someone demand Sunshine to tell him where slaves are, and she’s also wondering why “slave” was mentioned in the first place. She knows slavery had been outlawed in Equestria for three hundred years.

Sunshine laughs while taking a seat in front of Gray Muffin and helping himself to some of the hay bacon. “Mr. Muffin, I am ah gentlecolt. I treat mares and stallions the way they deserve t’ be treated and I help everypony around here get by in someway.”

“You're garbage," growls Gray Muffin.

Sunshine flashes an unnerving smile at Gray Muffin and says in a feigned friendly tone: “Jus’ remember whose town this is.”

Gray Muffin grumbles: “I should kill you on the spot and be done with it." before nibbling on a slice of hay bacon.

“Oh come on, Mr. Muffin, ya really shouldn’t be so rude in mah house. Besides, what would yer boss say if ya took matters into yer own hooves?”

Gray Muffin and Sunshine have a brief, but intense, staring contest that ends with Gray Muffin growling like a timberwolf and leaving. Before he leaves, though, he stops in the middle of the doorway and turns his head to look at the pub’s customers, specifically at Trixie. He leaves as soon as Trixie shrinks away and when the door shuts behind him, Sunshine starts heading towards the stairs.

Trixie instantly runs in the bathroom, which was luckily easy to find, locks herself inside, and pretends to be showering. The only window in the bathroom is above the bathtub, so she climbs inside the tub and tries to open it. She hadn’t realized how hot she put the water on, though, and almost jumps out because the temperature blisters her skin under her coat. But she persists. She tries to open the window, occasionally flinging her wet mane out of her face, but she can’t open the window. It is built solidly into the wall.

“Oh no. No. No no no no no no!” whimpers Trixie as she frantically bangs against the window with her hoof.

Nothing happens. The window doesn’t even budge or show any signs of taking any damage. Then there is a light knocking on the door followed closely by Sunshine’s creepy voice. “Trixie, how are ya doin’ in there, darlin’?”

Trixie’s heart stops and she stares at the door. When Sunshine knocks again, she whimpers and her whole body trembles and she feels like she’s going to vomit. She’s too terrified to care about the boiling water splashing against her hide.

When the doorknob shakes, Trixie whimpers. “I-I’m doing fine, thanks!”

The doorknob shakes again and Trixie sinks into the tub, silently praying to Celestia that he won’t break the door down and attack her. There is a slight pause before Sunshine asks: “Why is the door locked?”

“I like my privacy,” says Trixie while wiping a mix of nervous sweat, tears, and scorching hot water off of her face.

“Ahhh, I can’t say I blame ya there. Listen, I jus’ realized that I forgot t’ put soap in the bathroom. I just bought a new batch since I ran out earlier. Now, if ya want, I can send Scarlet in t’ hand ya the new soap and she can help ya wash up."

“No, that-that’s quite alright. I-I’ll just rinse myself off.”

Trixie tries to open the window again, this time with her famed magic, but this “famed magic” turns out to be worse than pitiful. Her horn sputters pathetically and her stomach growls to reminder that her energy is too depleted for her to use even a simple levitation spell. She curses herself for being so stupid as to allowing an obviously creepy pony to do this to her.

“Nonsense,” says Sunshine theatrically, “a pretty mare like yerself must always look her best. I’ll get Scarlet, she’ll get ya cleaned up, and we’ll have ah nice dinner!"

Trixie hears Sunshine’s hoof steps fade, and when she no longer hears him she quietly opens the door and peeks out into the hallway. She doesn’t see or hear her captor anywhere. In fact, she doesn’t hear anything except for the howling wind and the rain banging against the walls. Trixie can also hear the wood creaking under the weight of a couple of ponies casual walking about. She puts her ear to the floor, an old trick she learned when she resorted to theft to snag food, and hears Sunshine and Scarlet having a conversation amongst themselves downstairs.

“Why don’t you just kill him and get it over with?” asks Scarlet.

“He hasn’t tried to kill me yet so I’m returnin’ the favor,” replies Sunshine.

“That's stupid! He's interfering with everything!”

Trixie has to put a hoof to her mouth to cover her gasp when she hears an echo of hoof colliding with skin and metal clanging to the floor over Scarlet’s yelp.

“DON’T YELL AT ME! DON’T YA EVER YELL AT ME!” screams Sunshine.

Trixie hears Sunshine aggressively screaming at Scarlet as she desperately tries to apologize, and while they are distracted Trixie makes a move to run to the door, but when she’s halfway down the stairs, Scarlet slides across the floor, still wearing her poncho, and her head bangs against the door with enough force to shake it and leave a crack. Trixie stops and backs up the stairs, and she shrinks down when she sees Sunshine walk into view foaming at the mouth with his eye is twitching. Curiosity is what keeps Trixie in her spot as she watches the horrifying scene unfold.

Scarlet scrambles to her hooves and holds her forehooves together like she’s praying and continues apologizing to Sunshine. Sunshine puts his forehoof under Scarlet’s chin and lifts her head up so that she’s looking into his eyes. Then his expression softens and he hugs her tightly while stroking her mane.

“I’m sorry, Scarlet,” whispers Sunshine, “ya know I get worked up over some things. But can ya do me ah favor and help Trixie clean up?”

“Ye-Yeah, I’ll go do that,” whimpers Scarlet, an expression of pure fear on her face.

“I’m gonna fix dinner. How does ah salad sound?”

“...Sounds nice.”

“Good. Run along now, we don’t want to keep her waitin’.”

Trixie scampers back into the bathroom, locks the door, and pretends to be cleaning herself once again. A minute later the door opens up and Scarlet walks into the bathroom with a key in her mouth. She sets the key on the sink and briefly steps out to bring a bucket of shampoo and other body care products. Trixie and Scarlet stare at each other for a moment before she closes the door. She eyes Trixie suspiciously, and Trixie realizes that Scarlet knows that she had watched what had happened but did nothing to help.

“If you’re going to sneak around, you really shouldn’t do it with wet hooves,” says Scarlet matter-of-factly as she sticks her hoof in the water to test the temperature. She is quick to pull her hoof out and swear about the water’s insane temperature, then she stares at Trixie like she’s a weirdo. “By Celestia! How are you not cooked in that water?”

Trixie struggles to come up with a coherent answer but Scarlet dismisses Trixie’s babbling with a wave of her hoof and jumps in the tub with her without taking off her poncho. Trixie flinches as the area is splashed with the steamy water while Scarlet bullies her way behind Trixie in the tub. Trixie is about to scold Scarlet for her behavior, but ends up wincing when the pegasus starts scrubbing off the grime that has covered her body with hard, painful strokes using  what feels like a heavy duty scrubber. Each stroke makes Trixie wince and when Scarlet uses the shampoo and conditioner, she scrubs with the same force and same brush. However, despite the painful ordeal, when she’s done, Trixie’s shine from her years as a performer returns. It makes her feel younger, special, and a lot like the Great and Powerful Trixie again. Then came brushing out the knots. Trixie hears Scarlet grunting with annoyance as she brushes her mane and tail. Trixie lets out a tiny wince or yelp when she feels some of her hair get ripped out, but when the brushing is done her mane and tail regain the curl that she had before.

“Feel better?” asks Scarlet grumpily while tossing the disgusting scrubber and hairy brush back in the bucket.

“Much better,” replies Trixie softly with a slight quiver in her voice.

“We should head downstairs, my brother is waiting.”

Trixie nods and follows the pegasus downstairs, and prepares herself for the worst.

When they walk into the dining room, which is in a room sealed off behind the kitchen, they see a rickety old table with three chairs around it, and in front of each chair is a plate with salad on it and a cup of water. In the middle of the table is a big salad bowl and hanging above it is a cheap chandelier. Sunshine is sitting in the middle chair, facing the doorway, and when he sees the two mares walk in her smiles and stands up and helps Trixie sit. Scarlet refuses to take off her soaked poncho, though, which irritates Sunshine.

“Scarlet, take off yer poncho," orders Sunshine as he adjusts Trixie’s seat, prompting her to smile nervously.

“Do I have to?” whines Scarlet.

Sunshine sits down on his chair. “It isn't polite t’ wear work attire at the table, especially if its wet. Now take. It. Off.”

Scarlet reluctantly takes it off and hangs it up at the hook, and that is when Trixie sees that Scarlet doesn’t have a cutie mark. When Scarlet sits down, she glares at Trixie, and when Trixie looks away she glares daggers at her brother.

“Happy?" grumbles Scarlet.

“Very. Now, let us eat!” says Sunshine with a broad smile.

They eat in silence for a couple of minutes before Sunshine decides to get a conversation going. The conversation goes as smoothly as it can for a few minutes, which during that time frame Sunshine manages to convince Trixie to do her “third pony talk”. He starts to get really creepy after that.

“I betcha ya’re wonderin’ about mah scars,” says Sunshine slyly to Trixie.

“You already told Trixie about your wings,” says Trixie carefully; she doesn’t want to let Sunshine know that she’s terrified right now.

“Mah wings, yes, but not about the scar over mah cutie mark.”

Trixie, against her better judgement, leans over her chair and sees that there is a grotesque scar that completely covers the area where Sunshine’s cutie mark would be. She cringes and sits back in her seat, trying to forget what she just saw.

“Mah sister, as ya know, still doesn’t have her cutie mark. It’s quite tragic,” begins Sunshine casually, “but the other fillies and colts made fun o’ her at our school in Cloudsdale. She came home cryin’ to mah... our... our parents every day about the bullies and so we decided it was best t’ move to Barnville. They needed pegasi for the weather, we needed t’ get away from Cloudsdale. It was perfect. But mah sister still got bullied, and so one day, when I was workin’ in the blacksmith’s place, I brought all her bullies with me for a lil’ trip, jus’ t’ show how things are done.” Sunshine takes a bite of his salad before he continues his story with a mouth full of half chewed leaves, flowers, and hay. “The lil’ fillies and colts were excited ‘cause of all the stuff and I told them I would tell them ah secret. They wanted the secret, they didn’t know what the secret was about, but it was ah secret nonetheless. At the end of mah li’l tour, I brought the kids t’ the back, and this colt named L Roy said ‘What’s this secret ya were talkin’ ‘bout?’ and I said ‘Watch’. And I took ah hot slab o’ metal and burned mah cutie mark clean off!”

Trixie chokes on some salad she was trying to eat as the mental image of Sunshine’s insane action invades her mind.

“They all screamed and cried and I told them that if I can burn off mah cutie mark without hesitation, then what makes them think that I won’t hesitate to burn theirs off! I told them that if I found out that any one of them said ah word to mah sister about not havin’ her cutie mark, I would drag them back to the blacksmithin’ place and burn theirs off!”

“He got fired and grounded for a year the same day,” says Scarlet dryly.

“I did, but they never bothered her again. Can ya guess what the secret was?” Before Trixie can respond, Sunshine answers his own question. “Good luck guessin’. I completely forgot what it was.”

Sunshine laughs and claps his hooves, and Scarlet rolls her eyes. Trixie forces herself to smile, hoping that the smile will prevent Sunshine from doing something terrible to her.

“Trixie finds this salad delicious. What’s in it?” says Trixie in a poor attempt to hide her uneasiness.

“Oh, now ya flatter me, darlin’,” chuckles Sunshine. “It has mah own special recipe that mah friends and customers love.”

Trixie nods and looks at Scarlet for help, but she eats her salad like it was any normal day. Trixie eats a bit more salad and then tries to convince Sunshine that she has to leave.

“This food was great, and Trixie is grateful for the shower, but she really must be going," says Trixie anxiously.

Sunshine shakes his head in mock disbelief. “Oh but Trixie, where ever will ya go?”

“I-Trixie travels, so she’ll find a place to go. She always does,” replies Trixie, eyes shifting between Sunshine and Scarlet.

Sunshine’s smile fades and Scarlet quietly gets up and blocks the doorway like a deadly drone, and Trixie shrinks in her seat and her ears droop as she watches Sunshine stand up.

“But if there is anything Trixie can do to repay for your kindness she will gladly do so,” says Trixie meekly and desperately.

Sunshine’s smile returns and walks over to Trixie with his tail swishing.

“Anything, eh?” Sunshine says in curious and sensual tone.

Trixie nods, but she’s not liking what his tone is implying. Sunshine runs his hoof along Trixie’s back, making her shake and whimper, and her takes extra care to feel her curves. When he gets good feel for her freshly cleaned pelt he grins, licks his lips, and stares at her cutie mark.

“Well, ya could spend the night here. That would mean the world to me and mah sister,” whispers Sunshine lustfully.

Trixie gulps and tries nodding while her body shudders from his touch, but it comes out more as a subtle head motion. “You sure that is all Trixie can do for you?”

“I’m positive!” replies Sunshine with a sudden burst of energy and pulling away from Trixie, grinning, “Scarlet, darlin’, could ya prepare the guest room for the Miss Great and Powerful Trixie!”

Scarlet leaves without saying a word and Sunshine’s smile twists into a frown when he notices that Trixie has yet to touch her water. “Yer cup is still full...”

Trixie stares at the water. “Oh, Trixie apologizes, she just wasn’t that thirsty.”

Trixie then looks up and smiles reassuringly, but that doesn’t do anything to ease the apparent emotional pain Sunshine is in.

“That water is filtered five times, and I have ah unicorn who specializes in cleaning sanitize it even more,” says Sunshine.

Trixie levitates the cup to her mouth hesitantly. “Look, Sunshine, I appreciate what you did, but I can’t stay.”

“Where are ya goin’ t’ go?” asks Sunshine, “Ya got no money, no home, no pony here knows ya, and I can’t let a jewel like you sleep outside in the muck."

“I’ll find a way.”

Sunshine sighs. “Well if that’s what ya want, I can’t really stop ya now can I?”

Trixie once again finds herself forcing herself to smile and nod. Sunshine also nods and then drinks the water from his cup in a single gulp.

“Could ya at least have a drink before ya go?” begs Sunshine, “The water out there is like drinking shit.”

Trixie sighs and slowly sips her water. After she is done drinking the water she immediately feels tipsy and her world starts spinning. She tries to move her legs, but they collapse under her like a tower of jelly. Trixie fights to stay awake, but her eyelids feel like they weigh ten tons each and with every blink everything becomes darker. The last thing she sees before blacking out completely is Sunshine standing over her, grinning and saying: “Let’s get ya t’ bed.”

~~~~~~~~~~

Trixie wakes up in a comfortable, queen sized bed that has a basic set of sheets and pillows. Normally she would want to remain in the comfortable bed, but the room she’s in has no windows and no other furniture, and has only a single, overpowered light bulb hanging in the middle of the ceiling. The only way out of the prison is a thick wooden door with a trio of bolt locks on it. The whole layout makes her mane itch and her body tingle with uneasiness.

Trixie jumps out of the bed, gallops to the door and tries to unlock them, but they’re locked from the outside. She tries using her magic to unlock it, hoping that her meal had replenished some of her magic, but her horn sputters and shoots out pathetic sparks. When she tries again, nothing happens. Trixie strains herself to get some of her magic to work, but all she gets is a headache and tears. She starts hyperventilating and hastily pacing in circles as she tries to figure out a way out of her room.

“No, no, this can’t be happening,” whimpers Trixie under her breath. “This can’t be happening. This can’t be happening. Why is this happening?”

She hears a trio of deadbolts unlocked and the door creaks open. Trixie backs away as Sunshine trots in the room with Scarlet standing in the hallway. She furrows her brows and she stomps her hoof as hard as she can.

“What did you do to me!” demands Trixie

“I gave ya an antidote.” says Sunshine casually as his sister closes the door behind him. “Ya were traveling for so long in the wilderness that ya probably caught somethin’ nasty.”

“I blacked out!”

“For only five minutes. Ya must’ve been real sick. Poor, poor Trixie. Luckily good ole Sunshine is here to take care o’ ya, right?”

“Why is my magic gone!”

“Oh that? That’s not permanent, it’s merely a side effect that tha medicine has t’ clean yer system,” says Sunshine with a casual wave of his hoof.

Trixie’s heart skips a beat when she hears the door locks click again and sees Sunshine smile with his tail flicking.

Trixie growls and aims her horn threateningly at the deformed pegasus. “Why not take me to a hospital.”

The two ponies find themselves in a standoff, and Trixie still tries to get her magic to work while Sunshine smiles lustfully, thinking it’s cute the way she’s struggling.

“Hospitals are expensive, darlin’,” coos Sunshine.

“Health care is free!" retorts Trixie.

“Don’t mean much if our hospitals are outdated."

“Where did you even get the drug?”

Sunshine laughs and stomps like it was funniest thing he’s heard in a long time. “It’s not a drug! It’s a crop here in Barnville. We call it the healin’ ‘shroom. It’s ah ‘shroom that fixes jus’ ‘bout anything, at the expense of flight loss for pegasi, magic loss for unicorns, and loss o’ energy for earth ponies. Side effects last only ah day.”

“You put it my water without my knowledge!” screams Trixie.

“DON’T YELL AT ME!”

Sunshine stomps forward with his wing expanded in a threatening manner and foaming at the mouth. Trixie, now fearing for her life more than anything else, scrambles backwards and falls on her back. She quickly rolls on her hooves and continues to back away from Sunshine. His one wing continues to flap threateningly and his nostrils flare as his eyes narrow and twitch with aggravation.

“I helped ya outta the muck! I cleaned ya up! I fed ya! And ya repay me with SCREAMIN’! WHAT’S WRONG WITH YA!”

Sunshine foaming eye twitching continues until he realizes that Trixie is whimpering and shaking in the corner. He calms down and wipes the drool from his mouth while his one wing falls down to his side shamefully.

“Sorry, darlin’,” sighs Sunshine “I get ah lil’ worked up over some things.” Then he extends his hoof to stroke Trixie’s silvery mane, but she scampers away to the other corner and he smiles reassuringly. “It’s okay, Trixie, I would never hurt ya. Yer too precious t’ me”

Trixie shakes her head, sniffling and eyes red and shining from crying. “Just let me go, Sunshine, please!"

Sunshine ignores Trixie’s plea and approaches her, his unquenchable lust for her becoming more and more apparent as his drooling and lip licking becomes more active. Then, as he smiles and licks his lips hungrily, he says in a clearly lecherous tone: “Yer a beautiful mare, ya know that right?”

His one wing expands again, this time in such a way that Trixie recognizes as a sign of wanting. Her eyes widen and she shakes her head while trying to find a way past him, but he matches every step she takes and with each step he takes is one step closer to her. It’s like a game to him.

“When I was visitin’ Canterlot and I saw ya performin’, I loved how ya glowed like tha moon. I followed ya around, from Canterlot t’ New Yoke City and even traveled t’ Ponyville t’ see ya perform.”

Sunshine chuckles and flaps his wing excitedly. Trixie is now backed against another corner and can only slump down helplessly as Sunshine walks towards her with the drooling, rapist grin taking up his whole face.

“Please, just-just let me go...” begs Trixie quietly, trembling and crying.

“I loved how ya upstaged those pretties in Ponyville,” continues Sunshine. “And I was so eager t’ finally have tha courage to ask for yer autagraph, but then I had t’ leave back to Barnville since mah father needed mah help with the weather. But when I heard the accusation of ya bein’ fake, I knew that they were LYIN’! They were all lyin’ because the Great and Powerful Trixie IS unbeatable! And they knew, oh yes they knew, so they did the only thing they could do t’ destroy you. They made ya out t’ be ah villain!!!”

Trixie closes her eyes and sobs while begging Sunshine to let her leave, but her plea falls on deaf ears. She smells and feels Sunshine’s warm, smelly breath brush across her coat and push some of her mane away. Trixie whimpers and trembles harder, knowing that this is the end and that no one is coming to save her.

“And their crimes, these rumors, against ya made ya feel worthless didn’t it?” whispers Sunshine. Trixie slowly opens her eyes and sniffles, but doesn’t give a response, and Sunshine leans next to Trixie’s ear. “I’ll make ya feel valuable again.”

Trixie shakes her head and begs and sobs when she feels Sunshine’s tongue slide up her cheek and to her ear. “Please, Sunshine, just please let me go!”

Sunshine whispers, “No can do, darlin’. We need each other.” as he nips Trixie’s ear.

Trixie screams and pushes Sunshine back with as hard as she can. Sunshine stumbles back and Trixie makes a mad dash to the door, but he jumps on top of her and presses her head against the floor. Trixie’s hooves scratch against the floor as she tries to squirm her way out from under the deformed pegasus, but he does very well in keeping his prize pinned underneath him.

“Don’t fight it. Don’t fight it.” says Sunshine between his excited panting. “It’ll only be more painful for both of us if ya do."

Trixie screams for help and Sunshine puts his forehoof under Trixie’s chin and forces her to look into his sick eyes. She tries to fight back again, but he pushes down harder on her and wraps his hoof around her neck and pushes her head against her chest. Now her head can’t move and her only escape is her closing her eyes and thinking of something other than her being raped. But she can’t think of or hear or feel anything other than Sunshine’s perverted eyes, his panting, and his icky coat and muscles.

“No pony is comin’, Trixie,” Sunshine says through his eager, heavy breathing.

Then he presses his lips against Trixie’s and forces his tongue into her mouth. Trixie’s eyes shoot open and she sobs and kicks her limbs wildly as the slimy muscle swishes around her orifice to get as much of her as it can. After what seems like hours, Sunshine pulls away, leaving a trail of saliva between the two, and Trixie collapses to the ground, shaking, sobbing, and gasping for air.

Sunshine climbs off of Trixie and she quietly begs through her tears as he traces her spine with his hoof and stops above her tail.

“No pony is comin’. It’s jus’ us, darlin'.”

Trixie tries to fight her way out, but Sunshine strikes her on the cheek and she cries out in pain as she feels her lip split and a fresh bruise form on her face.

“Stop fightin’ what was meant t’ be!”

oooOOOooo

Scarlet casually cleans the pub, not caring for the struggling she’s hearing from her brother’s special room. She grudgingly wipes remains of salt bricks, hay, and spilled drinks from the tables with a damp rag. When she looks up at the ceiling, though, she scowls and wonders how the unpleasant gunk got up there. She flies up and tries to scrub it off, but the rag she’s using proves to be useless against the gunky menace.

She presses her hooves into her sides and glares at the thing, mumbling:“Great.”

Scarlet glides to the kitchen to get the needed cleaning supplies for whatever is on the ceiling. Scarlet carelessly tosses the rag in a bucket of brown water and opens up the janitor’s closet to search for the said supplies. As she searches the closet she doesn’t notice a shadowy figure walking up behind her. When she finds a spray bottle of what she wanted she smiles to herself, then the same figure rams her head against the wall, leaving a gash on her head and knocking her out cold.

The figure adjusts his fedora and coat, and walks towards the source of the struggle.

oooOOOooo

Trixie, now with a bloody lip and a bruise across her cheek, keeps her eyes closed as she feels Sunshine climb on top of her again, and press himself against her backside. She sniffles and twitches when she feels Sunshine move her tail out of the way and his nasty mouth nibble at her ear. She has given up on calling for help or fighting him. He was right, no one was coming for her, and her attempts to fight back without her magic led to her getting beaten, so she can only hope that her fate will be quick.

“Oh don’t cry, Trixie, I’ll take care o’ ya,” says Sunshine gently while wiping tears from her eye. “I’ll be yer friend. Yer one friend in Equestria. How about some cooperation between friends, eh?”

Trixie reluctantly raises her backside, sobbing quietly, in the hopes that her cooperation will prevent more harm from falling onto her.

“That’s it. Good girl.” Sunshine’s tail flicks excitedly as he places his forehooves on either side of Trixie and presses them against her to keep her locked in place. “It’ll be fun for the both o’ us an’ ya know it.”

Suddenly, the door is kicked off of its hinges and Gray Muffin stomps into the room with his mental crosshairs locked on Sunshine. Sunshine jumps away from Trixie and glares at Gray Muffin. Trixie opens her eyes and shrinks to the ground, not moving from her spot. She’s too terrified to move.

“What the hay are ya doin’ here Muffin!” yells Sunshine.

Trixie watches the two stallions circle each other, each ready to kill each other and each preparing to do so in a different manner. Sunshine is snorting hot air and flapping his one wing threateningly, while Gray Muffin is calm and collected and watching Sunshine’s movement’s carefully.

“ANSWER ME!” screams Sunshine.

“We found the slaves,” replies Gray Muffin casually.

Sunshine’s eye twitches. “So, ya found some of them. Big deal.”

“No, we found all of two hundred of them,” Gray Muffin says, and then his eyes narrow. “We also found your stash of bits and graves of those you and your scumbag friends murdered.”

Sunshine shakes his head and laughs nervously. “There’s no way ya-”

“All four of your prisons have been found and burned to the ground with your twenty rats chained to the furnaces and doused in cooking oil. Your three million in bits is now ours, and now Roar Shock has given me the order to kill you.”

Sunshine pales after hearing that and his wing falls down in defeat. He looks down at the floor and a small amount of tears glisten in his eyes. He takes a deep breath and then looks at Gray Muffin with begging look. “...What about Scarlet? Did he order her t’ be killed as well?”

Gray Muffin cracks his neck and then scrapes his hoof against the ground like a bull would when getting ready for a charge. Sunshine’s eye twitches and he screams furiously and flaps his wing as he charges Gray Muffin. With a swift, fluid strike to the chest by Gray Muffin, Sunshine stumbles back while the sounds of bones breaking echo in the room. Then Gray Muffin does a quick spin and bucks the pegasus in the chin, sending him flying into the wall. The force of the kick is strong enough to break some of Sunshine’s teeth, and after he hits the wall he leaves a huge crack in it. Sunshine slumps to the ground and spits out the loose bits of his teeth and smiles pleading at Trixie, his mouth dripping with blood. Trixie stares at Sunshine as he extends his hoof.

“Trixie, darlin’, would ya mind givin’ me ah hoof?” asks Sunshine.

“Get away from her!” snarls Gray Muffin.

Gray Muffin stomps Sunshine’s ribs and Trixie hears more bones snap. Sunshine howls in pain, and then Gray Muffin bites down on the pegasus’s tail and flings him through the wall of the room and into the hallway. Sunshine slams into the wall with bits of wood all around him and coughs painfully and spits globs of blood out of his mouth while struggling to stand up. Gray Muffin orders Trixie to stay in the room while marching towards Sunshine. Sunshine clumsily gets up and tries to buck Gray Muffin, but the earth pony side steps the attack and stomps on one of Sunshine’s forehooves. It snaps near the joint, causing his bone to pop out of his skin in the back, and Sunshine screams in unbelievable pain and thrashes on the floor. The older stallion then bites on Sunshine’s ear and drags him towards the edge of the stairs, leaving a trail of blood behind him. When he gets to the edge of the stairs he releases Sunshine and walks behind him. Sunshine tries to negotiate with Gray Muffin by telling him that there is no need for violence, but the earth pony ignores him. He gives Sunshine a hard kick in the rump that sends him flying over the first few steps, and then tumbling, face first, down the rest of the way.

Trixie shakes as she pushes herself to her hooves with her tail between her legs, and pokes her head out of the room. She follows Gray Muffin as he walks down the stairs and when she reaches the stairs she sees Gray Muffin standing over a mortally injured Sunshine. His legs are twisted the wrong way and his already deformed wing is snapped near the bottom, and the bleeding from those injuries are making a thick pool of blood. If he isn’t killed on the spot he’ll surely die from blood loss

Sunshine coughs and wheezes, and his destroyed legs slide lazily along the floor while his blood soaks his body and floor.

Sunshine looks at Gray Muffin with unmistakable fear. Gray Muffin stares down at the pegasus and paces around him, saying: “There is only black and white.”

“No... No, wait ... Wait a minute...”

“There is never gray.”

Gray Muffin stops by Sunshine’s head and puts his hoof over his neck.

Sunshine shakes his head, whimpering: “Mr. Muffin... please, mah sister...”

“For Justice is absolute.”

“NO!”

Trixie gasps and shrinks back when Gray Muffin brings his hoof up and slams it down on Sunshine’s neck. His neck pops open and showers Gray Muffin’s hoof and the ratty floor with blood. The older stallion then looks up at Trixie. She’s staring, horrified at what she just saw, and slumps to the floor. She can’t believe that she was almost raped and witnessed an execution in the same day.

“You-you-you...” stammers Trixie.

“Did what I had to do,” grumbles Gray Muffin as he rubs his hoof on the floor to get the blood off. Gray Muffin then steps to the front of the stairs as Trixie walks next to him. “The afterlife will not be kind to the likes of him.”

“He... You killed him.” whispers Trixie.

“And he drugged you, tried to rape you, and sold hundreds of kidnapped mares and stallions as prostitutes while murdering dozens of ponies,” Gray Muffin looks at Trixie and she shrinks back. “What did you want me to do? Hug him and give him counseling?”

Trixie looks at Sunshine’s lifeless eyes and the blood pool seeping its way towards them. She feels her dinner swelling up and she turns around and pukes on the stairs. Gray Muffin silently walks towards the kitchen and Trixie, after she’s done puking, sees Gray Muffin leave and she hurries after him.

“Wait, where are you going?” asks Trixie meekly.

“Home,” replies Gray Muffin bluntly.

“Aren’t you going to hide the body... or something?”

“No.”

“Who are you?”

Gray Muffin stops and looks at Trixie with great annoyance. “You already know who I am. I saw you eavesdropping on my conversation with Sunshine.”

“B-but what do you do? Are you a hitpony or-or a... what are you?”

“If I was a hitpony you would be dead too."

“But-”

“We’re done here.”

Gray Muffin leaves without another word and Trixie remains standing, alone, in the pub kitchen. She looks at the gory scene, and then at the swinging door from where Gray Muffin left. She contemplates on whether or not she should go after him. If she stays, then she can tell the Local Guards what happened. How Sunshine had tried to rape her but Gray Muffin saved her by brutally executing him. But she’s also afraid that the guards will arrest her because they think that she did murdered Sunshine. And besides, even if they do believe her, the Local Guards would go after Gray Muffin and toss him in the dungeons. That would be the worst “Thank you” gift of all time. But then again, she’s also wondering if her rescuer is a criminal since he was ordered to kill Sunshine and apparently took three million bits.

When she hears heavy knocking on the door, and the Local Guards demanding someone to open the door, Trixie makes up her mind.

“Gray Muffin, wait!” hollers Trixie.

And she gallops after her hero.