The Town of Friendship

“What would you do?”

The question was a simple one, yet rather poignant in the moment. Twilight was taken aback by it and dropped the spoon she was magically holding. She had become extremely adept with her gifts over that year, and had taken to teaching magic as well as friendship. But her dinner guest’s question made her stop and seriously think, and that caused her to lose her focus on the utensil.

The topic of conversation between her and Mud Hooves had been almost consistent throughout the evening. A simple invitation to make up for knocking him over had turned into a gigantic geopolitical talk, with the main point being what to do should Queen Lilly ever discover their secret hiding place and decide to invade it. “What would you do?” He asked again.

“I…I don’t know,” Twilight said, “I’ve never been in a fight before.”

“Let me rephrase the question, then. Would you be willing to die for your friends?” He asked.

Twilight stopped once again, but this time, she was seriously reconsidering her decision to invite him here. He was nosing into every aspect of her life, from prostitution until the present, and now he dropped the ultimate bombshell. Would I be willing to die for those I love? She asked herself. Her brother’s image flashed through her mind as she weighed her options. On the one hoof, she loved life now and the feeling of getting out of bed every morning. But on the other, if she didn’t save her friends, they might not live, and a life without friends was no life at all.

She suddenly sat up, confident in her response. “Yes,” she said, “yes, I would. I would die for everypony in this town if I had to. I believe that one of the great, yet sad, tenets of friendship is sacrifice, and one’s duty to one’s friends demands that they conform to that. Anypony who runs off while a friend is under attack is a coward, and doesn’t deserve the friendship that they so foolishly tossed away. Saving somepony else is one of the highest achievements anypony can reach for. So yes…I would gladly die for my friends.”

Mud Hooves smiled, and Twilight felt warmer. She could feel a new friendship between herself and the stallion beginning to bud and, though it was only in its infancy, it graced her soul with softness and kindness. She smiled back at him, trying to invoke a sense of gratitude for his understanding. They were both on the same page, and now there was no doubt she had made the right decision in inviting him for a meal. But it felt as if the dinner had turned from a mare’s apology into a stallion’s thankfulness.

“I want to thank you for coming tonight, Mud Hooves,” Twilight said, “I felt terrible about knocking you over earlier.”

“It’s my pleasure,” Mud responded, “and think nothing of that. I’m more interested in a burgeoning friendship.”

He smiled again, and Twilight couldn’t help but blush. Wait…I’m blushing? She asked herself. Why?! He’s not handsome or attractive! But…there’s…just…something about him that I can’t get over. I don’t know what it is, but I sure do enjoy being around it. He’s charming…in an odd sort-of way.

“Well, I’m thrilled that you wanna be friends with me,” she said, “and maybe we could do this again sometime?”

“It would be my honor,” he said.

Twilight felt the blush returning, and she was just about to discuss the details of another dinner date when she heard an awful screaming coming from the town square. It was the sound of many voices in distress, crying out Celestia’s name and begging her to come and save them. But then there was another name shouted, and when it was said, Twilight’s veins ran ice cold.

“QUEEN LILLY!” Somepony shrieked, “QUEEN LILLY’S HERE! THE TOWN OF FRIENDSHIP HAS FALLEN!”

Mud and Twilight quickly ran out of her home, not bothering to pick up the plates that crashed to the floor. They dashed through the streets and into the square where a pile of ponies were staring with wide, bloodshot eyes. Mothers held crying foals close, and the other ponies formed a wall around them. Nopony was going to get through and hurt the youngest among them, and they were prepared to lay down their lives to accomplish that goal. At their head stood Starlight Glimmer and her entourage, standing bravely against the evil that assailed them.

The evil in question was a huge component of Lilly’s army, which had found their way into the town through months of excessive digging. Queen Lilly stood astride of Starlight, dressed in battle armor and giving the town’s leader a vicious glare. Her orange eyes glowed with the fires of hell, and her equally tinged mane was sending off smoke of its own accord. Lilly ground her sharpened teeth together as the tense standoff continued.

Twilight quickly located her close friends and she and Mud gathered around them. “What the buck is going on?!” She screamed.

“It’s Lilly!” Rarity shouted, “we’re all doomed! Doomed, I tell you! DOOMED!”

Twilight rolled her eyes at her friend’s melodramatic reaction, and turned to Rainbow Dash. “Dash, do we have any options?”

“Why are you talking to me?!”

“Because you seem like the kind of pony who would know the answer to that question!”

“Well, I don’t know! I’m just as scared as everypony else!”

Twilight sighed and looked at the ground, where she saw a tiny flower that had just begun its life. It stretched toward the heavens, reaching out for more of the sunlight that filtered into the cavern. But it was having a difficult time because a much larger plant was next to it. The large stalk sapped all the energy away from the hapless bud and it was losing life because of it. Lilly… Twilight thought, …you’ve been in charge for too long! It’s time we take a stand!

So she trotted to the front of the crowd and shouted, “HEY! LILLY!”

Lilly looked down and smiled as she recognized her former prostitute. “Twilight Sparkle,” she said in a voice that would make demons run for cover, “my best worker. How I have missed seeing your face around Canterlot. How could you have left that utopia and descended to this pitiful little hell?”

“This isn’t hell!” Twilight screamed, “it’s heaven! You’ve been leading Equestria into complete ruin long enough! It’s time for friendship to reign supreme once again!”

“Oh…well…let’s just see what the commander of my army has to say about that.”

Twilight’s mouth fell open in shock as a new pony stepped to the head of Lilly’s ranks. He was tall, white, with a blue mane and blue eyes. She would know that pony anywhere, and tears of heartache and betrayal flooded her vision as she looked at a sight she never thought she’d see. It was her brother, Shining Armor.