“You’re getting too much pushback. Focus more on resisting it.”

“You’re too loyal to your threads again. Give up on them sooner.”

“Too much pushback.”

“Just use the threads that are there. Stop being picky.”

“Too much pushback.”

“Too much pushback, Vi. We’ve been past this. You can do better. Resist it! Resist! Resist!”

It was three days since their trip to Canterlot. Vi was standing in the middle of the library’s upper floor and was literally grinding her teeth in effort. Her eyes were closed, her horn glowing brightly, and her face was slick wet with sweat.

“Yes, like that. Now- no loyalty to threads! Keep it like this. Hold on... now. Time to pull. Pull pull pull pull pull! Wait, work on your- yes, good. Pull. Pull! Good. A bit further. Stop holding on to threads! Ugh. Now res- good. Just a bit further. ... Okay, well done.”

The glow around the filly’s horn disappeared. She was panting, her eyes closed, her head hanging loose from her neck. With two subsequent poofs, Twilight made a trip downstairs, returning momentarily with a towel. Rather than taking it in her magic, Vi sat down to free up a hoof, which was still shaking as she took the item from Twilight.

Moving through the magical plane was like swimming through a river, without strokes, against the stream, and at the constant threat of sinking. To navigate, one had to pull on the aptly titled threads – little bits of free-flowing energy that constantly formed and deformed at random – whenever they were close, all the while applying extraordinary discipline to ‘resist’ the constant pull toward one’s physical location. Finally, one’s mind needed be kept in a particular state so as not to be pushed out of the plane entirely.

“You’re angry,” was the first thing Vi said, still holding on to the towel.

Twilight sighed in response.

“Sorry. I’m not angry at you.”

“I know.”

“It’s my fault,” Twilight pressed forth behind gritted teeth, “I made us wait. I knew we wouldn’t be able to pretend, and I just pushed the thought away. If you hadn’t done anything then I guess he’d be fine, but you couldn’t have known, and if I had listened to you he’d also be fine and I could have known.” She walked to the other side of the room but seemed to have no aim, turning around momentarily. “Vi, you have no idea how- or maybe you do but- if I was talking to anyone else – anyone – she’d have just said something to contradict me. But you didn’t. You agree. It is my fault. It is. I was... it’s... ugh. Fluttershy was smarter than me. She was... she listened to you... but if she hadn’t done anything we’d also be fine... if you hadn’t done anything he’d be fine... it’s so unfair!”

“It was unlucky,” Vi said quietly, “I agree that you made a mistake, but it was unlucky that it mattered so much. But what we learned is that we actually still have a large advan-”

“Yes, I know,” Twilight cut her off. “It better brings Shining back. We’ve been making more progress than I expected. You’re close to getting this right.”

Vi didn’t object to the abrupt change of topic, she just nodded.

“How was it to lie?” Twilight then asked, out of the blue. “When Cadence came into our room on the day Shining disappeared...”

“I remember.” Vi said nothing for a while, staring into the seemingly endless depths of one of Twilight’s bookshelves.

“It really bothers you, doesn’t it?”

“I’ve been thinking about it... a lot... it was my first lie... ever.”

“Oh.”

“That’s the one thing I never wanted to do. You remember, on the day we met when you asked me about pride?”

“Yeah, I do. You said you have none.”

“I did, and I believed it, but it wasn’t true. I was proud. Of not having lied... ever. I was lucky that my parents drilled it into me from a young age. One of the earliest things I understood was that you shouldn’t lie. But now I have. Now ‘never’ is just ‘once’, and it didn’t even help.”

Twilight walked across the room to stand next to the filly.

“Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me like you had to make a choice between the thing you care most about and what’s actually right, and you made the correct choice. Shouldn’t that-”

“I know. It was right to lie there. But... I just... I hoped... the situations where lying is actually good are so rare, I just hoped it wouldn’t happen to me. And now I can’t say ‘I’ve never lied before’-”

“You’ve never said that to me anyway.”

“Well... okay. But I can’t say it to myself anymore and see how dumb it is to have pride?”

Twilight snickered, but Vi didn’t seem to find it funny, so after just a few moments, she stopped.

“I feel so bad for Cadence,” she said instead, visibly shuddering.

“At least she held up well.”

“Yeah,” Twilight murmured, “she’s amazing. Who else would keep together so well if her husband was taken from her the day before their wedding! It’s so... cruel!”

Vi replied nothing. After some time, Twilight looked at her.

“What?”

“Uh... nothing important.”

Twilight sighed. “Vi...”

“Well, what you made me think is that you’re really not used to suffering.”

“I’m not-” She stopped. “Ah.” Then she laughed. It wasn’t a happy laugh, and it wasn’t one that Vi joined in, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself.

“You’re right,” she said eventually, as her laughing subsided. “You’re right. You’re right, Vi. We’re not used to suffering, Celestia be damned.”

“Well, it’s clearly her fault.”

“Yeah.” Twilight made another sound that could have been interpreted as a laugh, until she repeated it and it became clear that she was trying not to cry.

“I don’t know what I’ll do,” she whispered, “if he doesn’t come back.”

Knock. Knock.

Vi wrote three more numbers into the matrix she was attempting to invert, then stood up to answer the door. A blue unicorn mare with a white mane and tail stood outside.

“How can I help you?” Vi asked politely.

The mare looked at her with apparent irritation.

“Who are you?”

“Call me ‘Vi’. I can assist you if you’re here to lend a book.”

“Is Twilight not living here anymore?”

“No, Twilight’s still living here,” Vi said, and without invitation, the unknown mare stepped inside, shutting the door behind her. She looked at Vi with a frown, her expression somewhere between annoyed and angry.

“Are you her sister?”

“Hm. Probably not.”

“Probably? What do you mean, ‘probably not’?”

“Uh, well, Twilight has adopted me, but I think she’d consider me more of a sister-in-law than a daughter-in-law. We’re not biologically related, in any case. Listen, if you don’t need-”

“How old are you?” She asked, interrupting Vi once again.

“... ten. As of today.”

“Oh.” For some reason, this seemed to have thrown her off. “Uh... uhhm, happy birthday... Vi.”

“Thank you.”

The mare sighed. “Listen,” she said, “I need to talk to Twilight. Is she here?”

“Upstairs. So you’re not here to lend a book?”

“No.”

“Alright. In that case, I can get her for you. Please wait here.”

Vi made for the staircase, finding Twilight sitting on her desk, reading.

“Twilight?”

“Hm?”

“Somepony wants to talk to you. She said she’s not here to lend a book. I’ve never seen her before.”

Vi waited patiently while Twilight finished whatever section of her book she was immersed in.

“Alright,” she then murmured, putting a bookmark between the pages before she closed it. In a slower tempo, they made their way downstairs. When they reached the base of the staircase, a point from which one could see the entrance, Twilight suddenly froze. Vi took a few more steps before she turned around.

“What is it?”

“...”

“... Twilight?”

“Trixie!”

The pony in question stared at her from across the room, and this time, there could be no doubt that the look on her face was one of pure hostility.

“What are you doing here?” Twilight asked as she approached her.

Trixie took a deep breath.

“I came to demand an apology!”

Twilight did a double take.

“What?!”

“I demand an apology!” Trixie repeated in no uncertain terms.

“You’re rich! Why would I have to apologize to you?”

“Oh, I don’t know,” Trixie began in what was clearly a long-awaited reply, “how about for ruining my reputation in half of Equestria? I thought you had only done it for Ponyville, but no! The Ponyville Press prints a story and it somehow reaches all the way to Las Pegasus! I couldn’t make a single bit after all this time of traveling there!”

“You brought that upon yourself, Trixie! You-”

“HOW?! How have I brought this upon myself, Twilight? How?”

“You showed off in front of everypony, and you brought an Ursa Minor-”

“I DID NOT BRING THE FUCKING URSA HERE,” Trixie screamed, making both Twilight and Vi wince backwards, “THOSE MORONS SNIPS AND SNAILS DID THAT!”

“B-but, you still showed off-”

“I WAS PUTTING ON A SHOW! A SHOW, TWILIGHT! SHOWING OFF IS WHAT I DO! IT’S MY TALENT! MY PROFESSION! MY DREAM! DO YOU KNOW THAT I HAVE TO EARN MONEY TO LIVE?”

Vi’s eyes darted to Twilight, who was standing there with her mouth half-opened, not moving an inch. But Trixie wasn’t done yet, she opened the pouch she was wearing, taking out a purse. She squeezed it tight with her magic, tighter than it would be possible if a lot were inside, then thrust it onto the ground. It made almost no sound.

“That’s what I have left,” she spat, “after selling my wagon. NOTHING!”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight whispered. Her gaze was set onto the ground, her expression one of utter shock.

“Great! That doesn’t give me back my life!”

“Can I say something?” Vi asked carefully, as both of the adults remained silent. “Trixie?”

Trixie’s gaze, which had been fixated at Twilight the entire time, slowly wandered to the filly. “Uh. Yes?”

“Twilight actually has a lot of money. If what you say is true, I think she could compensate you for your financial losses.”

Something flickered in the showmare’s eyes. “Is that true?” She demanded.

“Yes.”

“And would you?”

“Y-yes.”

“How much have you lost?” Vi asked. “Based on reputational damage so far, and the cost of traveling here.” She thought for a moment. “And bad trades you had to make,” she added.

The time that passed in between Vi’s question and Trixie’s answer seemed to be too short for a proper calculation, but too long for a figure recited from memory.

“One-thousand-five-hundred,” Trixie declared.

“Obviously,” Vi said carefully as Twilight didn’t reply, “we shouldn’t rush to any conclusions. Why don’t we all sit down and-”

“I can’t,” Twilight interrupted her. “I don’t have the capacity to deal with this. Any of it. Vi, you can make whatever decision you think is best. Promise her money if you want. I’ll pay what you settle on. Just... ... whatever. Good luck, I guess.”

Poof.

“...”

“Her brother has vanished,” Vi said to Trixie. “But I can’t make an informed decision without having her side of the story, so... um... just... hold on.”

She opened the door, flipping the sign from ‘open’ to ‘closed.’

“Her brother vanished?” Trixie repeated.

“Yes, Shining Armor, captain of the Royal Guard, has vanished in a conspiracy against Canterlot, and he hasn’t been found yet. That’s the state of public information. You... well, you came at a bad time.”

Trixie straightened up. “That’s not my fault,” she declared. “Twilight has ruined my life, perhaps this is just fair retaliation.”

“It’s... not... fair... retaliation,” Vi said slowly. “If the universe had a mechanism to punish ponies for harming each other, I really doubt it would do it in this way and while harming somepony who hasn’t done anything.”

“I... I wasn’t being literate.” Awkwardly, Trixie picked her crumbled purse back up. “So... what... now?”

“Let’s sit down,” Vi said, gesturing to the kitchen. “If Twilight doesn’t want to be bothered, then it’s better to get out of range. You should tell me what’s happened with an appropriate amount of detail. Please don’t leave out the parts that make you look bad.”

“I came to Ponyville peacefully,” Trixie recited, “to give my performance. It was the second time I had performed in Ponyville. Everypony liked it, except for Twilight and her friends! Rainbow Dash was the first to complain! Then Applejack came on stage too, and-”

“Hold on,” Vi interrupted. “Be more specific. A lot more specific. What did you say or do, and what did Rainbow Dash say or do? Be as specific as you can, and don’t leave out the other side. I will check with Twilight afterward, and it’s better if I hear everything from you.”

“... fine. Let’s see... I was just going through my usual program. But Twilight and her friends began bickering! Rarity was first! She complained that I was showing off! Showing off! In my show! How can somepony be this stupid? Then Rainbow Dash flew on stage! Just like that! I didn’t insult her! And she challenged me! She demanded to know what was special about me, so I gave one of my usual lines, that I once vanquished an Ursa Major all by myself. Then I-”

“Hold on,” Vi said again. “An Ursa Major? You didn’t do that, did you?”

“Of course not! It’s an act!”

“Right, but was everyone clear on that?”

“What do I know?!” Trixie sounded frustrated. “Everypony who’s not a total idiot would know.”

“... okay. I’m having a hard time being fair here. If there’s one thing you need to know about me it’s that I hate lying. But you’re making it sound like it’s normal in a performance. Are you sure that’s-”

“It’s... it’s... it’s the rural area, I think. If I would perform in Manehattan, nopony would make this mistake. Perhaps in Ponyville, ponies are more dense than that! But why is that my fault?”

“So it’s a communication problem,” Vi summarized. “Okay. What happened next?”

“I returned the challenge! I asked them to put their hooves where their mouths were! The orange one was the first to accept, but she was no match for the great and powerful Trixie! ... um, I have a collection of spells to show those kinds of ponies off. I didn’t hurt her, I just dealt with a haggler. In my way. Rainbow Dash tried the same, and I showed her off, too! Afterward, I even warned everyone to learn from her example. But this insufferable dragon kept insisting-”

“Trixie,” Vi interrupted, “please stop insulting other... ponies or dragons.”

“Trixie has a right to insult them!”

“Anypony has the right to insult anypony else,” Vi said impatiently, ”but it’s almost never a good idea.”

“It is if those ponies deserve it!”

“No, it’s not. You can take this moment as a demonstration. There is nothing to be gained by calling Spike insufferable, but there is a lot to lose. Spike is upstairs – he probably won’t be coming down because he must have heard you yelling, but if he did walk in on you, that could really hurt your cause. Whether it’s good to insult other ponies doesn’t depend on whether what you’re saying is true, it depends on whether it’s practical, and it usually isn’t.”

“Fine,” Trixie spat. “Then Spike kept saying that I wouldn’t be as strong as Twilight, while I was performing!”

“See,” Vi interrupted, “you’re being inconsistent. You claim to care just about truth, but what Spike said is also true, right? What he did is similar to what you’re doing when you’re insulting him. You can think he’s insufferable, and he can think Twilight is better, but that doesn’t excuse saying it. Even if it were true.”

The look on Trixie’s face made it clear that she didn’t appreciate where the conversation was going.

“So you agree,” she said after a moment, “that Spike shouldn’t have interrupted Trixie’s performance?”

“Yeah, I’d even agree that what he did was a lot worse.”

“Good. Well, this st- Rarity came on stage next. That was... laughable! She couldn’t do anything! But after I was done with her, Spike still kept saying how much better Twilight was than me! I clearly could not let it stand, so I challenged Twilight to show what she’s got-”

“Wait wait wait. You challenged Twilight? Are you crazy?”

“The great and powerful Trixie is not crazy!” Trixie spat. “And Twilight refused, anyway. Refused, and ran off. Which is terrible for publicity! A magic contest of any kind is a spectacle, but running made it look like it was my fault. My fault! All I did was react to bullies!”

“Okay,” Vi said. “Okay. So... well... even if all of that is true... Twilight didn’t actually... do anything... right? I don’t see what crime she committed. It’s not her fault if Spike is being insensitive.”

“Why not? It’s her pet dragon!”

“Mhhhgggnhhhh,” Vi made, “Trixie! That’s not a reasonable standard! Think about what... uhm... well, I don’t have a good example, but it’s obviously not going to get you far, if you think everyone is responsible for all the things that ponies they raised are doing. Is it your mother’s fault if you insult-”

“Whatever!” Trixie cut her off. “That’s not the real story! Snips and Snails – two ponies from here – they brought an Ursa Minor to Ponyville-”

“Well, that’s just... not even on the same scale with how stupid it is. That’s not about hurt feelings, that could actually kill ponies.”

“Indeed it could! It almost did! And it’s what they did. Not me, but them!”

“And they did it so you could demonstrate what you said in your performance.”

“Yes! Which is-”

“-incredibly stupid-”

“-laughable. Yes! And-”

“-Twilight had to deal with it because obviously, she’s the only one capable?”

“... yes,” Trixie admitted, “yes, that’s what happened. But that’s not the worst part! My wagon was destroyed by the Ursa, and-”

“I thought you had to sell it?”

“I had to sell my next one! First I had to buy it with what little I had saved!”

“I see. ... So what else happened?”

“What happened? I was being blamed! That’s what happened! Blamed for bringing the Ursa to Ponyville! The Ponyville Press even had an article about it!”

“And they reported that you-”

“‘Showmare brings Ursa to town, Twilight has to save her life!’”

“That was their headline?”

“Yes, it was! And ‘save’ was misspelled, too!”

“Why didn’t you demand they change-”

“Because I only read it weeks after I had to leave Ponyville in shame! I was already in Las Pegasus!”

“... okay. Hm. And was it really that bad for you?”

“Yes it was! It was! I was ruined! In Baltimare it was fine, but in Las Pegasus, they’d heard of it and it ruined my appearance, and in Dodge Junction-”

“Okay,” Vi cut her off, “I believe you. I don’t know most other places, so giving me more detail won’t help. But... provided what you said is accurate – and if you left something out, you should tell me – then – again – why are you angry at Twilight?”

“Why I am angry at Twilight?! Because she humiliated me!”

“... by dealing with the Ursa?”

“Exactly.”

“Nnnghhh... Trixie! Would you rather she did not deal with the Ursa?”

“... if you put it that way, no.”

“So in other words, she did nothing wrong?”

“She is the head of all of those... those element bearers! Rainbow Dash and Rarity and also Spike-”

“For Pete’s sake, stop blaming her for things other ponies did!”

“So you are putting it all on me?!”

“Of course not! Not if what you told me is true. Your life was substantially ruined, but it wasn’t by Twilight! I don’t understand why you don’t see that! Have you really had this anger all this time without ever thinking about it rationally?”

“I did not plan to put it all on Twilight,” Trixie admitted. “I meant to demand apologies from them all. But when Twilight began to blame Trixie, I snapped.”

“Yeah,” Vi said dryly, “I noticed. It seems obvious that her recollection of what happened wasn’t particularly good, either. But that’s in a different category to actually ruining your life! Twilight isn’t perfect, but she and Fluttershy are the most sane ponies I have ever met... in Ponyville. Anyway, it looks to me like Twilight didn’t even owe you an apology, let alone financial compensation.”

“So Trixie will get nothing?”

“Well, somepony clearly owes you something, it’s just not Twilight. Whoever decided to print the article which seems blatantly false deserves a big chunk of the blame. Her, and Rarity, Rainbow Dash, and Applejack all have some dirt on their hooves.” Vi sighed. “If you want to hear what I think, Trixie, I think that in an ideal world, there would be a mechanism for you to sue them. Equestria seems pretty close to an ideal world to me, and if I understood correctly what Twilight taught me, I think you’re supposed to drag them to the mayor, who would then decide how much they owe you. But... I also think this is one candidate for the cases where the system might fail you. The problem is that Rarity... well, and Applejack too, perhaps even more so – that they have pretty good standing in Ponyville. You on the other hoof have pretty low standing. Or, rather, I mean, the pony who wrote the article is probably the one directly responsible for ruining your reputation... but I have no idea who that is... so, hm, I don’t know how promising that approach is. Maybe your idea of dealing with it privately is better... though, good luck getting Rarity to apologize. Though she really should. ... if your recollections are accurate. Um.” Vi made a pause, frowning. “Sorry, that was a bit of a mess. Did you get what I was trying to say?”

“You said that Rarity isn’t honest enough to apologize, and that the mayor will be on her side, too, so Trixie won’t be able to use the law, either!”

“N... no,” Vi protested. “No, that’s not what I said. I said I don’t know whether the legal approach will work. Maybe it would work. I didn’t ascribe poor judgment to the mayor. To Rarity, maybe. And Trixie, you reading this into my response doesn’t look good for the accuracy of your recollections.”

“If... if if, if somepony says that somepony else might not be fair to Trixie, then she won’t be fair to Trixie!” Trixie seemed upset. “Always! I was just being pessimistic. It’s not a bad thing to be pessimistic, not about other ponies. Not about other ponies in Ponyville! This does not impune on Trixie’s memory!”

“Okay,” Vi said, “maybe other ponies don’t say what they mean. If they talk about this stuff. But I do. Maybe other ponies’ judgment of how biased ponies are is skewed. But if I tell you that I don’t know whether the mayor would be fair to you, then that means that I don’t know whether the mayor would be fair to you. Okay?”

“Fine. But I’ll visit them privately anyway! Trixie is not in this for the money! I want apologies from Rarity and Rainbow Dash and what’s-her-name and also from Spike!”

“I... really don’t know about that last one. Spike is twelve years old. At the time this happened-”

“Aren’t you two years younger?” Trixie pointed out.

“The comparison to me really isn’t relevant.”

“If you say so.”

There was a bit of a pause, until Vi spoke up again.

“Okay, so – do you happen to have a copy of the article so I can see it myself?”

“I do!” Trixie pulled a badly beleaguered page out of her pouch, which had clearly been ripped out of a newspaper. She put it on the kitchen table, then failed at smoothing it out. “I’ve been holding on to this for a year!”

There was the headline, quoting what Trixie had said at verbatim: ‘Showmare brings Ursa to town, Twilight has to safe her life!’ Vi’s gaze trailed over the rest of the article, which was still just barely readable.

“No ambiguity here,” she concluded, folding it back in. “It says you summoned the Ursa, in no uncertain terms.”

“And it’s a lie!”

“Right. Hmm... I suppose I have to decide what to do with this now, don’t I?”

“It’s Trixie’s!”

“... the situation. Not the article. Although I would recommend leaving it here, because if it gets in any worse shape-”

“I won’t leave it with somepony else!” Trixie demonstrably pulled the newspaper closer to her. “It will be fine for a few more days.”

“Okay. Okay... I really need to talk to Twilight about this now. Will you wait here?”

“Wait here?” Trixie sounded uncomfortable. “I can talk to her myself!”

“I am trying to spare her that,” Vi stated bluntly.

“I... hmpff! Have it your way. Trixie will wait here.”

Vi left it at that, making her way upstairs while Trixie remained in the kitchen. Once there, she was greeted with an unusual sight: Spike, not Twilight, was sitting at the desk. Although he appeared to have read a comic, he was already looking up as the filly approached.

“Is she gone?”

“No. Where’s Twilight?”

Spike lifted a claw, pointing to the upper half of the room.

“You two deal with this,” he said abruptly. “I’ll go see what Rainbow’s up to.”

Vi stepped aside to let him use the staircase, then made her way to look for Twilight, finding her lying in bed, her head buried in her pillow.

“How’d it go?” She asked without looking up, her voice muffled.

“She told me her side of the story, and it doesn’t seem like there’s much of a reason to blame you, even if everything she said is true.”

Twilight’s head surfaced.

“Yeah, I’ve been thinking that, too. But still, we... didn’t do her a favor. There was a newspaper article about it at the time, which claimed that Trixie was the one who brought the Ursa here, and she really wasn’t. I remember that I, I tried to correct the story, I remember that, but... I didn’t try very hard. And it was too late, anyway.”

“She has-” Vi began, but quickly broke off as Twilight continued.

“... This happened before you were here. Not everything was working out even before you made me use my head more.”

“Yeah, the universe won’t help you if you aren’t the good guys, and it seems like you weren’t. At least Rarity and AJ weren’t. And Rainbow Dash. Well... Trixie actually showed me the article. She still has a copy.”

“Oh. ... it must have really been hard for her.”

“Looks like it.”

“... I’m so tired...”

“We can never give up, Twilight. Things could still get a lot worse than they are now.”

“...” Twilight stared at her, and for a moment her surprise seemed to have washed her other feelings away.

“Jeez,” she murmured. “Okay.”

“Try not to feel too guilty,” Vi said. “I don’t think anything you’ve done is particularly bad, neither here nor in Canterlot. Whoever printed that, she has a lot to pay for. And Applejack and Rarity and Rainbow should take a good look in the mirror, too.”

“That doesn’t make me feel better.” Twilight pushed herself into a sitting position. “I should have criticized them back then. But the only thing I cared about was to make sure nopony thought I was boasting...”

“You actually tried to correct the article,” Vi reminded her.

“So what?”

“So you’re not the problem here.”

Twilight sighed.

“Maybe. But do you remember when I first saw Trixie? I know that she’s not the one who brought the Ursa here. And I still was about to accuse her of just that when she snapped! And I knew that it wasn’t true even while I was saying it! What’s wrong with me?!”

“You know almost everypony does stuff like that.”

“Yeah. What’s wrong with almost everypony?!”

“Well, our brains are a complicated mess. But you’re still not the problem here. If what you did was crazy, then what Trixie’s been doing is super crazy. She has real reason to be angry at at least four ponies, and she’s screaming at the one who didn’t do anything wrong. Or far less wrong, at least.”

“Okay.” Twilight sighed. “I hear you. But I might prefer to be the problem myself. I don’t want to have this conversation with Rarity.”

“Trixie wants to demand an apology from everyone involved. I’ll go with her to Rarity if she wants me to. I’m not sure if she’d want you there, anyway. I think she’s still quite angry at you... no matter how little sense that makes. But, um... she’s totally broke right now. I think she needs at least some help to get a room here. Unless we want to let her sleep in-”

“No, we don’t.” Twilight lit her her horn; a cupboard was opened, and a small chest pulled out of its depths. With a click, it opened in mid-air, revealing its contents as it landed softly on the bed.

“Give her two-hundred bits,” Twilight murmured. “For now. If she really traveled here just to get an apology, she must really feel like we did something... like it was horrible for her.”

Vi took two of the larger coins out of the chest, then closed it to allow Twilight to put it back.

“Okay,” she said, “I’ll give it to her and send her off to sleep in the hotel, and you can deal with it tomorrow.”

“Thanks. Oh, and... see that she doesn’t visit anypony today if you can.”

“Aye.” Vi made her way back downstairs, the two shiny coins floating beside her. This wasn’t lost to Trixie, whose eyes almost visibly zoomed in on them as soon as she saw them.

“These are for you,” Vi answered the unspoken question. “Two hundred bits. You can book yourself a room, and I’m not sure if it’s enough for a wagon-”

“It’s not. But... thank you, anyway. You’ve really been... decent to me.” Trixie took the two coins, looking a bit embarrassed as she opened her purse to put them inside.

“I want you to promise me that you wait with your plans until tomorrow. Don’t visit anyone of the others. Especially not Rarity, but not anyone else, either. Actually, forget ‘especially,’ just don’t visit any of them. Don’t do it. Okay?”

“Is that in exchange for-”

“No. I already gave you the money.”

“Then Trixie does not need to... promise... you... ...”

Her voice trailed off as their eyes met.

“Trixie promises,” she said meekly.

“Okay. What’s with the third pronoun?”

“It is... a habit left over,” Trixie murmured. “It’s becoming for a showmare, but... I’m barely a showmare anymore.”

“This really must have had a strong effect on you if it changed your talking patterns... look, Trixie, I think I made this clear already, but I’ll say it again. The one thing you really should avoid, for your own sake, is to lie to me, and breaking a promise counts as lying. I’m fairly sympathetic to your position right now, but that will change if you break a promise. You might lose an ally. Don’t do it. Just get a room, stay quiet, and come by the library again tomorrow, and we’ll figure out how to deal with this.”

“Trixie does not need to be lectured about promises!” Trixie snapped. “She is well aware of the virtue of honesty- don’t look at me like that! The Ursa thing doesn’t count! I told you it was part of a show! I don’t lie when it’s real! I won’t talk to any of them today, alright?”

“Alright,” Vi said. “I’m sorry if that was unnecessary, but a lot of the problems ponies have are the kind that could be avoided if they talked more clearly. If I let a problem happen that I could have avoided by being more clear... well. See you tomorrow.”

“Hmpf. Indeed.” Trixie turned her head demonstrably, taking her pouch and making for the door. Once outside, she paused, turning around. “... thank you again. You’ve been kind to Trixie... unlike everypony else in this stupid town!” She slammed the door shut without awaiting a response.

Twelve hours later, an unkempt Twilight shuffled into the kitchen, finding breakfast already served.

“Thanks,” she said to Vi, who had been reading a book but was now putting it aside.

“Do you feel better?”

“Yeah... I think I do. Thanks again.” She took a jar of strawberry jam, unscrewing it. “Okay... so what’s the plan?”

“I’ll catch Trixie at the hotel. We’ll visit AJ and Rarity and Rainbow, and we’ll see what comes off it.”

“You don’t actually have to do this, you know? Maybe you could just talk her out of it.”

“Maybe. But I don’t really want to. I think she’s got a point... and I’m curious to hear how the others are going to frame their side of the story.”

“You’ve probably thought of this,” Twilight said upon swallowing her bite, “but why not invite all of them to one place?”

“Because group dynamics are complicated and bring in a bunch of variables that shouldn’t be there.”

“You mean they’ll be less reasonable if they’re asked together? Rarity and Rainbow and AJ?”

“Probably. Or, maybe. I just think that whatever reaction they’ll have on their own is the more honest one.”

“Hm. And am I a part of any of this?”

“I’d say no. Trixie doesn’t like you and you’re not guilty of anything. It might be-”

“-distracting,” Twilight finished the sentence for her. “Yeah. That makes sense. I don’t mind you doing this alone.”

“Okay.” She let a few seconds pass. “Are you holding up okay?”

“I’m fine.”

Their eyes met for a couple of seconds, then Vi nodded.

“Okay.”

“I know you abandoned your entire family and I’m struggling over the loss of one sibling. But... I don’t know.”

“I left voluntarily, Twilight,” Vi reminded her. “But even if I didn’t... don’t compare yourself to me. We’re different. The same thing can be worse for one pony than for-”

But she was interrupted by another voice. Vi instinctively turned her head, but the door was still closed, and no-one was standing close.

“Hello, ladies.”

The voice was unmistakably male, but it didn’t sound like Spike.

“Who’s there?” She asked, then her gaze fell onto Twilight, whose entire body seemed to be frozen. The slice of bread was hovering in mid-air, halfway between her plate and her mouth.

“Sp... Spike?” Twilight whispered, her voice trembling. “Or anyone else? Is this a prank?”

“I’m afraid not,” the voice said, and then...

... then a bizarre creature emerged head-first out of the table. A bottle of orange juice was knocked over and it hit the floor and broke, but it was unclear whether anyone noticed.

“Discord,” Vi whispered, her gaze trailing his eccentric features. “Isn’t it?”

“Yeeeeessssss!” Discord threw both his arms into the air, and two differently colored fireworks erupted above his head, both of them leaving a mark in the ceiling. “I just decided to get out again, and you are the first pony I visited, Twilight! Not even the princess knows about me yet!”

“How?” Twilight asked, sounding horrified. “How? How did you get out?”

“Hm... hmhmhm...” Discord gave an odd chuckle. “Well, what do you think, Twilight? How did I get out?”

“I don’t know?! You were supposed to be turned to stone! I don’t understand how you got out last time, either! Celestia didn’t want to give me a clear answer!”

“She didn’t, now did she? Well, that’s really too bad.” He sighed theatrically. “Why don’t you think about it, Twilight? Maybe you’ll figure it out. Consider it a riddle! You’ll get ten points for finding the right answer!”

“So...” Vi said slowly, “... what are you going to do?”

“Ohohohoo! I have so many plans! Just you wait! You won’t recognize this town when I’m done with it! But, by the way...” He extended his left arm far beyond its length, and during this motion, his paw also increased in size, until he grabbed the helpless filly around her stomach and simply lifted her up to his height. “... who are you? You’re new. ... Hey – why aren’t you screaming?”

Vi had remained perfectly calm as she was being lifted up, right below the ceiling, not even breaking a sweat as she was put face-to-face with the draconequus.

“What for?” She merely asked. “Would that prevent you from doing it?”

“You...” Discord sounded intrigued. “You don’t seem like the other fillies here... in fact, you... oooh!”

Discord retreated his arm and simultaneously clicked the fingers of his claw. In a swift motion, every item which had been placed on the table was floating away, assembling into a heap on the floor. In the center of the now empty tabletop, the filly was placed.

“I apologize for my manners,” Discord said, making a small bow. “Welcome to Equestria, traveler!”

Author's Note

Not only did I believe in the rapture, I knew it was gonna happen before the late 1980s.