Leap of Faith: Twilight Vs. The Great and Powerful

by Wolokai

Rating: teen
Tags: Romance, Adventure, Sex, Tragedy, Princess Celestia, Slice of Life, Dark, Twilight Sparkle, Sad, Princess Luna, Original Character, Trixie, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Length: 39346

Somepony's causing problems in Manehatten, and Twilight won't believe who it is!!!

(Rainbow Vs. Wild ---> Octavia Vs. Rave ---> Shyness Vs. Kindness ---> Twilight Vs. The Great and Powerful.)

Twilight couldn't be happier for her friends. Rainbow Dash and Applejack have gotten together after their mishap in the Everfree Forest. Big Macintosh and Fluttershy have finally hit it off. And even her new friend Octavia has even found love with Vinyl Scratch! The only exclusions are Pinkie and Rarity, who are too preoccupied with parties or dresses to even care!

But...what about her? What about Twilight...who feels as if she's missing out?

There's little she can do about it for right now though, as Princess Luna herself has requested she help deal with a problem in Manehatten. Somepony has been causing serious trouble in the city that never sleeps, and Twilight isn't going to believe who's behind it all!

Can she let go of the past, look past the facade, and see a pony who's hurt, broken, and afraid?

Can she save a mare who everypony has deemed a 'Phony', a 'Failure', and a 'Dead End of Life'?

Will she hear the cries of help from a mare she thought she knew...and take a Leap of Faith?

Published 2011-12-27 21:12:15 UTC
Last updated 2012-02-01 18:17:01 UTC

Chapter Two - Blue Blues Baby

The next afternoon....three hours down a certain railroad track...and on the outskirts of the concrete jungle of the city known as 'Manehatten', an alarm clock blared loudly. The time on this clock blinked rapidly, the current time being 3:45 P.M. The clock was resting on the soft padding of a futon which took up its residence in the middle of a trashed bedroom, dirt and dust coating the floor and empty Apple Cider bottles discarded randomly around the bed. The bedroom window was open with the blinds down, the rays of the afternoon sun divided and casting their glow on the dirty carpet as the gentle licks of cold, December wind gently lapped and pushed against a star-speckled cap and matching pointed-hat.

The sounds of soft moaning could be heard from the rumpled sheets and blankets that were covering the bed, a lump underneath their cotton walls shifting and moving around. Two hooves of semi-dark blue color reached out of the top of the sheets and gently pulled them down, revealing the closed-eyed face of a mare with a sort of partially bleached, blue color of a mane. A small colt plushie was pushed up against the jaw of the blue mare, her eyes flying open and staring towards the blaring clock. Her eyes were a depressing gray color, her horn lighting up with a dull blue aura of magic and silencing the clock. She sat up slowly in bed, her eyes partially narrowed and a grimace forming on her lips. She picked up an Apple Cider bottle from the top of her bed where she had thrown it the previous night. She sighed, blowing her bedraggled mane out of her face and shaking the Apple Cider bottle, its glass shell devoid of any comforting substance.

She frowned, dropping the bottle on the ground and pushing herself out of bed. She stared towards the ground with a hurtful expression on her face, her hoofsteps soft and quiet. She moved out into and across the small hallway outside her bedroom and straight into the living room, her eyes shifting up towards the wooden cupboard that lined the far wall. Hopping up on her hind legs, she opened the wooden door and grimaced, her eye twitching from the sight of a spider crawling over her mane-brush. Slowly looking away, her eyes followed the contours of the wooden planks and towards the other side of of the cupboard. With a quiet sigh, she looked upon the small bottle of pills that rested in the dark shadow of an unopened bottle of Apple Cider. With another twitch from her eye, she reached a hoof out and pulled the two items from their place in the cupboard, quietly shutting the door with a magic glow from her horn.

Trotting over, she hopped up on one of the wooden chairs and sighed, placing the two bottles on the table and propping her chin up on her hoof. She looked around the room lazily, the clock on the far wall ticking ever so slowly. As the clock struck 3:42, the mare's eyes widened. Whispers began to echo out from the hallway, gently bouncing off the walls and floating the mare's ears. With wide eyes, she quickly grasped the bottle of cider and popped the top, opening her mouth and chugging down the red-orange liquid down in one go. She let out a tiny hiccup as she put the bottle down, her eye twitching a bit more and a bitter grimace stretching across her lips. Still hearing the whispers, the shaky mare picked up the bottle of pills and magically unscrewed the cap, pulling out two pills and popping them quickly with a painful swallow.

The voices stopped almost immediately, a heavy sigh escaping the mare as she levitated a small stack of mail towards her, peering at the words with a general taste of cider-tinged medicine sticking to her tongue like a festering growth. She quickly discarded the first bit of mail, the title reading 'Grow your horn in just TWO WEEKS!'. She frowned at the next piece, a letter from her landlord demanding more bits and more rent. She sighed as she read through the next one, an 'URGENT' stamped bill payment for the wooden show-trailer she no longer owned...the memory of its splintering remains fresh in her mind from when an Ursa Minor had smashed it into nothing. As she looked over the last piece of mail, her eyes suddenly narrowed and she gritted her teeth. She quickly started to shred the mail between her hooves, seething with anger as the words 'The Great Fraud: Ursa story a lie!' disintegrated into shreds of paper, along with a picture of her standing on a small wooden stage. She banged her hooves on the table loudly, the shredded paper falling to the floor like snow.

She hopped out of the chair with a slight huff and trotted into her bathroom, magically opening the sliding door to her shower and pushing a hoof against the red square in the wall that would activate the warm water. It was of course cold at first, but it gave the mare enough time to trot out for a moment and return with a new bottle of Apple Cider. Holding a hoof under the watery stream, she felt the water reach a warm enough temperature that she could bear. Stepping into the shower, she sighed, the feeling of the water rushing down her mane and body making the stressed mare shiver. She slid down the wall of the shower and relaxed, her wide, staring eyes traveling over the expanse of her bathroom. She took a swig of cider and swallowed with another grimace, her eyes staring down towards the drain. She felt her eye twitch as she thought about her life....how it was so similar to that drain. All of it that she had left had run completely down it, into a black abyss where most ponies didn't care about learning or wondering about...wondering where the water goes once it disappears into that void of pain and loneliness.

She stayed in the shower for Celestia only knows how long before stepping out, wrapping a towel up around her sopping wet mane and drying the rest of herself off with a levitating towel. She dropped the cider bottle in the sink, the clinking of the other five bottles in the basin ringing int he mare's ears. Quickly leaving the bathroom, she trotted into her living room and pulled the nearest book off of the bookshelf and settled onto her couch, flipping it open and scanning the pages of spells that she had hoped to have mastered by New Year's. As she scanned down the pages however, her mind kept pulling itself away, distracting her with flashes and images of the life she had before this. That day in Ponyville...the mares who challenged her...and the mare who 'defeated' her, making a total fool out of her and running her completely out of town. The name of that mare escaped her, but it was just the image of her smiling face, her lavender coat, and her violet eyes that got the blue mare screaming. She chucked the book across the room, the bang from the wall it collided with only infuriating the mare more. She rushed over, pushing everything off of her table and flipping it over, her back legs kicking out and bucking her wooden chair into the wall.

Tears began to form in her eyes as she took a step forward and tripped over a bottle of cider, her body hitting the dusty ground with a loud 'THUD'. She started to weep, crawling forward on her belly as the tears from her eyes gently dripped to the ground, clearing away the grime as they fell. The whispers returned as she crawled out into the hallway, reaching for the front door weakly.

"Fat flank!"

"Orphan!!!!!"

"Fake!!! Faker!!!!"

"You're weak at magic! What is this, Magic Kindergarten?!"

She let out a furious scream, pushing herself up on her hooves and galloping at full speed through the front door. The door swung open with a loud bang, the frigid December air greeting the mare with a murderous embrace. Tears streamed down her face as she ran, ran away from her warm, depressing home. She let out a yelp as her hoof struck a rock and sent her into a front flip, the air being knocked out of her as her back collided with the ground. She gasped for air as her chest heaved up and downwards, the sun beginning to go down beyond the trees. She must have been in that shower for longer then she had thought, watching as stars began to blanket the sky and twinkle with supreme majesty. She didn't know if it was her eyes playing tricks on her, or just her sanity finally starting to shatter, but she swore she could see a name etched in the white speckled sky of darkness:

'Trixie'

Trixie let out a choking sob, holding a hoof up to the sky as her voice weakly rasped up towards the sky

"Twinkle Twinkle...Little Star....

...how I wonder...what you are...

...Please hear me now if you care...

...please give love to this poor mare..."

Her hoof dropped back to the ground, her eyes slowly closing as exhaustion took her in a tight hold and sent her into a world of painless sleep. It wasn't long after this that a shadow passed over Trixie, hooves of midnight blue gently picking her up and placing her on the back of dark-colored Unicorn with Pegasus wings.

The door to Trixie's house opened quietly, the sounds of soft hoofsteps shattering the thin silence that pervaded the desolate household. Being careful not to wake her, Princess Luna gently placed Trixie in her futon and pulled up the sheets, giving her head a comforting rub and placing a large bag of bits on her bed-side table. Along with the bag came a note, scribbled in her hand-writing 'You are not alone...'. With a final sigh, Luna quietly exited the room and went about fixing the trashed living room with a quick sweep of magic, seeing herself out shortly after that. The saddened Princess took too the skies, gently gliding through the frigid air that seemed to warm rather than cool her. Her thoughts ran over Trixie...the poor, cold, lonely mare who was forced to live such a wretched life. She wanted to do something...anything, but being on the moon for over 1,000 years had seriously taken its toll. She wasn't really sure how to deal with the situation, as she was more or less socially incapable. She needed a pony who knew a great deal about friendship, somepony who she could rely on, somepony Celestia could trust to see things through...somepony like...

Luna gasped as she whispered quietly to the wind "Of course!"

(I was actually inspired to write this chapter after hearing this PMV posted on DeusGear's Channel ---> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P1w9eoNC6ic&feature=related . It's not exactly the same but just the raw emotion of this video nearly had me in tears and I figured it was the perfect set-up for Trixie's character in this fic. Credit for the song and video go to their respective owners.)

Chapter Three - A Painful Reminder

"Tia', please, can't we just TELL her what is going on?" Luna whined, following her sister, Princess Celestia through the royal castle in Canterlot, an escort of two guards at their rear. It was the early morning of the next day, Celestia now on her way to raise the sun with Luna in tow.

The solar princess sighed and shook her head, trying to figure out how to best explain the situation to her younger, naive sister "Luna..." she whispered, magically opening the door to a balcony overlooking the massive Hedge Labyrinth that took up most of the castle's backyard "That's the easy way of doing things, you'd never learn anything from it!" Luna scowled as she watched her sister's horn light up with magic, the golden rays of majesty emitting from the sun gleaming over the trees of the Everfree Forest. The sun had begun to rise, casting its warm glow across the world and bringing a slight warmth to the frigid cold of December.

Luna started to pout "But Tia', how will she ever be able to help if she knows not what we want her to do! Poor Trixie has already been through so much pain, I can't bear to see her suffer any longer!" Celestia sighed, watching as the sun rose higher and higher into the sky, signalling the start of Equestria's day. All over the world, ponies had begun to open their tired, sleepy eyes, shuffling out of bed in order to prepare for their work day or their day off.

Turning about, Celestia spoke as she walked back towards the throne room with Luna "I am still a little...unsettled about the turn of events you have revealed to me dear sister...about the mare causing such mischief" She gave a sideways glance over to the Lunar Mare who had 'Guilty' written all over her face. When Luna did not reply, Celestia went on "However, I do agree with you that is an excellent opportunity for redemption. The only thing I do not agree with...is putting my star-pupil in danger. Manehatten is a city of its own workings, of its own laws. Sure they are within my boundaries and therefore within my protection, but no matter what I do to exercise my own rule, they continue to operate down there as if they were their own nation. Their own guards, their own laws, Luna. Laws that I may not have any sway over, regardless of my position or not. Do you understand?"

Luna nodded quickly and said "Yes, I do, that is why we must inform your pupil about the dangers, about Trixie! How will she ever be able to-" She was cut off by Celestia opening the door to the Throne room and placing a hoof on her shoulder. The solar princess gave her a comforting smile and quickly trotted up towards the throne, stepping up and sitting on her haunches, the velvet texture of the massive chair making her feel calm and at ease.

She spoke as Luna approached, a concerned look on her face "Dear Sister...let's say I gave you a difficult math problem. You could solve this problem by thinking hard and doing hard work...or...I could just give you your favorite abacus and you could be done a great deal more quickly!"

Luna frowned, remembering this conversation from an earlier time and asking "Tia'...I've told you this before, how would I ever learn anything that way? How would I know how to solve the issue if I did things the easy w- ......oh." A look of realization passed over Luna's face as Celestia smiled, her point coming across clear as day.

She whispered "Exactly, now, as I know you really want this issue resolved quickly...I'm afraid I must ask you to wait for one more day before telling Twilight."

Luna's jaw dropped, her voice coming out in a squeaky manner "A d..day?! Tia' how can you ask me to let poor Trixie suffer any longer! What's going up there in that sunny head of yours!?"

The guards snickered a little, quickly regaining their composure as Celestia cleared her throat and whispered with a tiny smile on her face "Trust me, dear Sister. It is for the best. I promise that tommorow we will send Twilight on her way...but for now...let's let her rest. She's got a big day today I'd wager."

Luna raised an eyebrow and muttered "What makes you say that?" Celestia let her smile fade a little, a small frown forming on her lips as she remembered the previous night, watching her lonely pupil on the freezing balcony of her library out of concern and wishing she could help her just as Luna wanted to help Trixie.

Looking up, Celestia whispered "Call it a hunch..."

~~~

"Twilight! Come on, would you wake up already!?" Spike shouted, gently slapping a sleeping Twilight Sparkle on the cheek and causing her to give a groan of protest.

"Five more minutes..." She whimpered, rolling away from Spike. The purple dragon wasn't having any of it though, scowling at the purple mare and forming an idea in his head. He quickly padded into the kitchen, grabbing up a pepper shaker near the stove and heading back. He sprinkled pepper in his open palm and bent his head down, taking a huge whiff of it and waiting. Sure enough, a sneeze quickly formed in his nasal cavity, the dragon taking in a huge heap of air "Aahh....Ahhh!!! AAAAAAACHOOO!!!" Twilight squealed as a jet of green fire singed her backside, causing the lavender mare to fly up and land hard on her backside.

Spike broke out in heavy laughter as Twilight growled at him and narrowed her eyes, shouting "Spike! How could you do something so mean, not to mention RUDE! You could have burnt my coat, or worse, set my whole TAIL on fire!"

Spike merely wiped a tear from his eye and chuckled "Worked though didn't it? You're lucky I even bothered to wake you up, don't you remember what today is!?" Twilight raised an eyebrow as Spike sighed, shaking his head and saying "You're supposed to go to the school for Career Day, remember? Rarity's too busy with a massive order and she needed you to go in her place so Sweetie Belle wouldn't be left out!"

Twilight gasped, looking towards the clock and thinking she may have already been late. Her wide eyes only narrowed however, watching as the clock struck seven A.M. She turned back to Spike and shouted "Spike! I'm not supposed to be there for another two hours! Why'd you wake me up so early!?"

Spike scowled at the mare as he made his way back towards the kitchen, shouting "I'm a guy, guys know that mares take at least an hour and a half to get themselves ready for public! That gives you half an hour to eat breakfast and do whatever else!"

Twilight scoffed in insult, shouting towards the retreating dragon "That's not true and you know it!" To herself however, she muttered "I only take about an hour...".

~~~

An hour later, Twilight found herself along the road towards the School house, her scarf tightly wound around her neck in attempts to keep the cold away. She trotted down the lonely, snowy road, her eyes staring ahead and wandering aimlessly around the cold, dead ground and sky. A small frown had formed on her face, the feelings of the previous night creeping into her mind. Her dreary thinking was cut short however, as a familiar voice called out to her "Well howdy Twi'! What brings ya'll down this way?" Twilight looked up, a small smile forming on her face and a hurtful throbbing echoing from her heart. Applejack was walking down the path with Rainbow Dash, scarves wrapped around their necks and a small cape hanging over Rainbow's wings.

Twilight weakly called back "Hey...Applejack! Um...I'm just on my way to the school...Sweetie Belle's Career Day...you know?"

Applejack smiled and trotted up to her lavender friend, exclaiming "Well that's mighty considerate of ya Twi'. Ah know Rarity would have wanted to be there herself, it's a good thing you were able to take her place! Poor Sweetie Belle woulda been devastated if she were the only one to not have anypony for show and tell!"

Twilight smiled and spoke wearily as Rainbow Dash trotted up "So...what brings YOU two down THIS way?"

Rainbow was the one to answer "Meh, didn't really want to stay cooped up in AJ's house all day, no matter how...warm it was..." She winked at Twilight, who in turn only blushed and watched as Applejack gave her a playful bonk on her marefriend's head.

"Now come on you" The country mare whispered, pulling Rainbow along down the road "Poor Twi' don't need to know that part! Catch ya'll later Twi'?"

Twilight nodded, putting forth her most fake smile that she could muster and shouting "Of course! See you girls later!!!" Turning around and trotting down the road, Twilight immediately let her smile drop and her head hang low. She took a quick look back, quickly regretting it as she watched Applejack share a quick, but tender kiss with her true love. She whipped her back around and broke out into a gallop, wanting nothing more then to just get this day over with.

~~~

"Up next, we have Sweetie Belle with her show, Miss Twilight Sparkle from the Ponyville Library!" Cheerilee spoke with a happy tone, clapping along with the class as Sweetie Belle walked towards the front of the classroom with Twilight.

As they approached the front, Twilight whispered down to her "Rarity says she's sorry...again. You know she wishes it was her up here with you."

Sweetie Belle smiled and nodded, whispering back "It's ok...somepony has to pay the bills and put food on the table, so I forgive her!" The two of them stood at the head of the class, Twilight giving a polite smile as the young filly spoke "Since my sister couldn't be here, I chose to do my Career Day Project on one of her best friends, Twilight Sparkle!" Twilight blushed as Sweetie went on "Twilight works at the Library, where she sorts and resorts all of the books while studying magic. She also runs our library card system, which lets us check out books and return them by a certain date. She gets real mad if you don't return a book though, so let that serve as a warning!" Twilight playfully raised an eyebrow and gave the class a semi-goofy look, drawing giggles from the young fillies and foals in the classroom. Sweetie Belle went on as the giggles subsided "This isn't the career I was really looking into, but I thought anything was better then Rarity's dresses, yech!" Even Twilight giggled at this, just imagining the look on Rarity's face if she could have heard this. Sweetie Belle took a quick bow and exclaimed "And that is my presentation of Miss Twilight!"

The class gave a polite applause as Cheerilee spoke "Alright! Now, does anypony have any questions for Miss Sparkle?" A few hooves went up, Twilight's eyes shifting around and trying to decide which pony to pick on. Just as she was about to narrow it down to two, a small voice spoke up, a familar, but sad voice:

"Are you sad Miss Twilight?"

Her eyes widened a little, her eyes slowly looking over to Applebloom, who sat in the middle of the class and who looked at her with a concerned, but saddened expression. The whole class quieted as the two quietly stared at one another, the lavender mare's mouth partially agape as she processed the question in her brain. Was she sad? She had never been asked that question before...she didn't know how to answer, how was she was supposed to answer!? Could she come up with a lie, a joke, something, anything, how did she, when, where, how could she, didn't she kn-

"Twilight?" She jumped, not even noticing Fluttershy sitting near the back of the class, sitting right next to Big Macintosh.

"Applebloom's Career Project...of course it had to be Macintosh" Thought Twilight, quickly shaking herself out of her small brain spasm and quietly answering the small filly "Of...of course I'm happy Applebloom...why wouldn't I be?"

The filly shrugged as she whispered "I don't know...Applejack said you were looking a little down lately and-"

"Alrighty! I'm sorry to rush this but we're running a bit behind. If anypony has any other questions for Miss Sparkle they can ask them after class!" Cheerilee exclaimed, earning a quietly muttered 'Thank you' from Twilight. The teacher nodded with a tiny smile and said "Applebloom, it's your turn!"

Twilight made her way to the back of the classroom as Macintosh went up front with Applebloom, the timid Fluttershy quietly whispering "H...hi Twilight. How are you?" Twilight merely shrugged, letting out a quiet sigh as she plopped down next to Fluttershy.

Applebloom smiled as she began her presentation "This here's mah brother, mah BIG brother! BIG Macintosh! He's our work horse for Sweet Apple Acres, and he goes all day beatin' the ever livin' bejesus out of trees with his powerful legs and usin' the money from the apples we sell to buy us all that we need to live, like newer tools and those magazines Applejack likes to keep hushed up!" The class partially roared with laughter as Macintosh blushed a little, Cheerilee quickly trying to calm the class down while trying to keep her own composure.

Twilight smiled a little, praying that the worst was over and that she could finish the day on a good note. Oh, oh she couldn't have been more wrong if the poor mare even TRIED to be, listening as a young foal asked "Is Miss Fluttershy your marefriend?"

Big Macintosh blushed a little, looking towards the back of the classroom and locking eyes with his smiling love, letting out his signature "Eeyup!"

Twilight's ears flattened to her head as the expected barrage of questions rained down on the Stallion, "Are you two going to be together forever?!", "Are you going to get married?!", "Is being in love nice? I still think foals are gross!", "Who's going to ask who for marriage first!?". Twilight winced at each question, looking up only to the sound of Cheerilee's throat clearing, the mare nudging her head towards the door. Twilight nodded and got up, Fluttershy unaware of her departure as she continued to lock eyes with her hunk of a stallion.

She followed Cheerilee out the door, turning and whispering "Thank you..."

Cheerilee shook her head and whispered "No...thank you, for coming in today for Rarity. Will you be ok dear? You look as if you've seen a ghost."

Twilight nodded a little and whispered "Yeah...I'll be fine. Thank you for having me Miss Cheerilee." With exchanging nods, the mares went their separate ways, Cheerilee inside her classroom and Twilight out into the desolate, painful air of December.

~~~

"Come in!!!" Rarity shouted, her eyes locked on her sewing pattern and gently pushing the fabric through the machine. Her front door opened, the bell jingling as she expected it would.

The sound she was not expecting however, was the sounds of sniffling and a weak voice crying out "R...Rarity?" The white mare looked up with wide-eyes, gasping as she saw Twilight standing, shivering in her doorway with tears streaming down her face.

She immedietly put down her sewing and jumped up, rushing over to her friend with a volley of questions "Oh my GOODNESS darling, what's wrong?! Why are you out and about with just a scarf over your poor, cold little body? Oh no, did Career Day not go over well? Oh I KNEW I should have been there...I'm sorry for asking you to go Twilight it was simply not my place to demand such a thing!" Twilight didn't say a word, simply pushing herself into Rarity's hooves and crying into her shoulder, falling on her haunches and letting the white mare pull her into a gentle hug. Rarity gently rubbed her back, cooing with her soft voice "There there....it's ok...it's all ok. Momma Rarity is here...come darling, let's get that wet scarf off of you and get you warmed up, shall we?" Twilight weakly nodded, slowly moving with Rarity's support to the 'Living' side of the boutique, a fire already roaring in the fireplace. Rarity gently set her down in front of the fireplace and pulled her scarf off, setting it in front of her so it would dry with the heat. She put a hoof on Twilight's shoulder and whispered "I'll get some tea, alright? I'll be right back." Twilight nodded, gently laying her head on her hooves and sniffing, a fresh set of tears slowly moving down her face.

Rarity returned five minutes later, a small plate with two cups of tea floating beside her. She sat on her haunches and passed one to Twilight who took it graciously with a small sip. Rarity took a sip of her own and sighed, looking towards the unicorn with concern and whispered "So what happened...how bad was Career Day?"

Twilight sniffed and rubbed her eyes, whispering "It wasn't Career Day Rarity....it was just me being stupid." Rarity raised an eyebrow as she went on, letting her friend get whatever she needed off her chest out "I had to deal with Applejack and Rainbow Dash...being all lovey dovey in the snow...and low and behold, Big Macintosh and Fluttershy were at Career Day for Applebloom...what is it Rarity? Is it me? Am I too much of an egghead like Rainbow's always saying? Do I smell bad or...or...am I ugly? I just want to knoooow!" She finished her last word with a heavy wail, Rarity quickly scooting over and pulling the crying unicorn in her hooves.

She whispered as she rocked Twilight back and forth "Shhh...hush now dear, that's not it at all. You're not an, ugh, egghead as that brute Rainbow likes to call you. You're not ugly either, you're very beautiful! It's just...love isn't something you can force darling. You can't wish for it, and you can't magically make it happen either. It just means you haven't found that special someone yet! If anything it sounds like you have the same problem as the Crusaders when it comes to their cutie marks...all it needs is time dear."

Twilight sniffed, whimpering into Rarity's coat "B...but...how much time?"

Rarity sighed, shaking her head as she continued to rock the weeping mare back and forth "I don't know dear...nopony knows. Could be today....could be...tommorow.

Twilight smiled, whispering "Thank you Rarity...you're such a good friend..."

Rarity sighed contently, whispering back "Anytime darling, now let's finish this delicious tea and I'll show you some bright pieces I've been working on for the Canterlot Shoot. I just KNOW you're going to love these!"

~~~

Twilight smiled, pushing her way into the Library and welcoming the warm embrace it gave to her, the fire still going in the fireplace. She took off her warm scarf, placing it on the coat rack and trotting upstairs to her bedroom. Spike was snoozing in his basket, just as Twilight expected him to be. With quiet movements and a little bit of magic, Twilight levitated the romance novel she had been reading over the past few days over to her and settled down on her bed, her belly warm against the soft fabric. She cracked the book open to her bookmarked page and sighed, eyes starting to scan over the words she had left behind only a short while ago. As she read, she thought about Rarity had said to her, going over it in her mind. Who knows...maybe love was coming for her tommorow...

Chapter Four - All Aboard!

The next morning was just as dreary as the previous one, with Twilight once again getting singed on her rump by a very impatient Spike. "For crying out loud Spike!" Twilight shouted, rubbing her rear and scowling at him "Any more and I'm going to have to see Nurse Redheart about ointment!"

Spike gave her a look and shouted "Well maybe I wouldn't have to burn you if you would wake up when you were supposed to! Library is supposed to open today, you know, regular business hours?" Twilight sighed, nodding from her bed and waving a hoof at him. She fell back on her bed as Spike headed down the stairs, her eyes focused on the ceiling.

"Why do I even bother..." Twilight thought to herself, her eyes shifting to the glass door and that led to her balcony. "What's the point...really? Wake up, go through miserable day after miserable day, watching my friends be happy and be in love. Why not me...? Why can't somepony love me?". She whimpered as she felt tears rolls down her cheek, her own voice coming out in a quiet whisper "Oh great...the start of the day and I'm already crying...stupid. Stupid stupid stupid....". She rolled over on her side, staring towards the picture on her nightstand that showed her and her friends showing a group hug. She was happy for them of course...but there was no denying that she was jealous of the happiness they were relishing in.

After five minutes of crying and quiet whimpering, Twilight finally found the strength to heave herself out of bed and trot into the bathroom. The temperature knobs for her shower were illuminated in a purple aura of magic and immediately turned to their preset position, the perfect mixture of hot and cold water pouring down onto the shower floor. Twilight frowned as she stepped into the stream of water, plopping herself down on her haunches and hanging her head, the water cascading down her mane and down her face like tears. It was the only 'happy place' she could have ever made for herself, the cool, comforting touch of the water like a pair of massaging hooves, getting all the stress and ache out of her weary muscles and tense body. Her thoughts wandered as she turned her head upwards, letting the water fall directly onto her face and pamper her frowning lips. She thought about work, how she'd have to spend another day sorting through books and re-shelving every bookcase. She went over Sweetie Belle's presentation, the familiar pang of sadness tearing through her heart as she remembered all those questions the students were asking a blushing Macintosh. Finally, her thoughts unintentionally settled on the romance novel she had been reading the night before.

Her thoughts ran over the way Sparkling Sunshine had been pinned on her back, her marefriend pushing her belly against her lover's and sharing a passionate kiss. Twilight bit her bottom lip slightly, her own hoof running down her own belly just as she had read it in her novel. As sexually frustrated as she was, being a virgin and all, Twilight wasn't surprised at the sudden rush of heat she felt racing through her body. Her hoof traveled down her belly and over her thigh, a shudder racking her frame as she drew ever closer to another...blissful...satisfying...beautiful moment, all alone and all to herse-

The bathroom door was knocked on roughly, causing Twilight to jump a little and squeak. Spike's voice floated through the door as Twilight panted a little, staring towards the shower wall with wide eyes "Twilight, for Celestia's sake could you hurry up?! I've got to use the bathroom!!!" Twilight sighed, putting a hoof on the shower knobs and quietly turning the water off. What water was left from her sopping wet mane, dripped down her face and mixed in perfectly with a fresh wave of tears.

~~~

"Magical Maladies and Mishaps goes under 'M'...Unicorn Horns, A Study goes under 'U'..." Twilight muttered, quietly shelving all the books she had pulled from one of the bookcases lining the walls. She had already gone through four customers, each ironically checking out a romance novel. Every title that passed under the Unicorn's sad eyes, another painful reminder stabbed at her heart, remembering the nights she had spent up reading all those happy endings and wishing that she herself could have one. The Unicorn had just finished shelving Common Cures 101 when she heard the front door opening, her own voice echoing out like some bored, half-dead animal "Welcome to the Ponyville Library...if you have anything specific you're looking for I'll be sure to help..." The voice that spoke out however, made Twilight freeze instantly.

Her whole body seized up as a familiar, lunar voice whispered out to her "Greetings Miss Sparkle...um...I do hope I am not interrupting anything." Twilight whirled about and let out a high-pitched 'squeak', watching as Princess Luna quietly closed the door behind her.

"N...no! Not at all Princess!" Twilight stuttered, quickly trotting over to her with a smile on her face "What do I owe the honor of this visit?"

Luna smiled and looked towards one of her floor pillows, whispering "May I? I'd like to get off my hooves first." Twilight nodded and held out a hoof, motioning for the Princess to take whatever seat she liked.

As Luna situated herself on her haunches, Twilight asked "Care for some tea? I think I still have a fresh batch in the kettle!"

Luna nodded and smiled as she said "Tea would be lovely, thank you" The Princess let her eyes wander around the neat and clean library, going over in her head how she was supposed to Twilight what she needed to know without spilling the beans by accident.

She looked up as Twilight brought out two fresh cups of tea, taking her own seat on a cushion and exclaiming "I must say Princess I really wasn't expecting a visit from Royalty today! Is there a special occasion or something going on that I didn't know about?"

Luna smiled and said with a kind tone in her voice "I wish it were only so Twilight...I'm actually here on behalf of Tia' and myself concerning a little...problem...that has arisen in Manehatten." Twilight raised an eyebrow, nodding and motioning for her to continue. Luna did so after a heavy sigh and a hard sip from her tea "There's been reports of multiple thefts, vandalism, grand theft carriage, all sorts of things. Usually we would let Manehatten handle this type of thing on their own, since they pretty much run themselves, but Tia' and I are convinced that maybe this requires a more...subtle approach."

Twilight cocked her head in confusion and whispered "O...k...but how does any of that involve me?"

Luna looked away sheepishly for a moment before muttering "Well...we think it's a pony causing all the trouble, a single pony. From what I've seen of the situation it's a pony who's...a bit upset, more so lonely and depressed then anger. I know you are the Unicorn who helped unite the Elements of Harmony, and have such a good track record of keeping and creating the best of friendships here in Ponyville...so..."

Twilight nodded and took a sip of her tea, finishing Luna's statement with "Because of that, you'd like me to go to Manehatten and personally try and help this wayward pony."

Luna nodded but also said with a worried look in her eye "That is correct...however I must exercise a word of caution to you Twilight...the government of Manehatten is not one to be trifled with. They're a very proud, snobbish sort of people who operate outside the boundaries of The Sun Law. You're going to be on your own, nopony else nor Spike can come with you."

Twilight nodded, finishing her tea with a simple "I understand...when do I leave?"

Luna frowned as she whispered "Today...actually. I'm sorry this is on such short notice, but I believe it's better if we nip this problem in the bud now before it gets any worse and somepony does something they might regret."

Twilight nodded as Princess Luna stood, exclaiming "You can count on me Princess! Thank you so much for stopping by!"

Luna nodded and lit up her horn with magic, producing a single train ticket out of thin air that was stamped with her crescent moon cutie-mark. She spoke as she opened the door "Your train leaves in just an hour and a half so...I'll expect you back in a few days, ok?" Twilight nodded as Luna slowly walked out the door, calling back "If you run into trouble and can't handle the problem on your own, Tia' is just a letter away!" Twilight nodded again, giving a final goodbye wave to Luna and closing the door.

She turned and shouted "Spike!!!! Get down here!"

Moments later, the soft padding of Spike's feet were heard as he descended the staircase, his face one of question "Yeah? What's up Twilight?"

The Unicorn quickly ignited her horn, trotting past Spike and up the stairs as she spoke "I'm leaving Spike, for a few days. I know it's short notice but Princess Luna herself has tasked me with handling a friendship problem in Manehatten."

Spike blinked, following her up the stairs as he asked "Who all is going with you?"

Twilight sighed and flipped open a suitcase she had levitated from her closet, throwing a few pairs of hoof socks and scarves into the open container as she said "Nopony, not even you Spike. I need you here to manage the library and I can't have my friends be put in danger while they're with me...besides, I don't need them getting bored and doing inappropriate things while I'm around..."

She grimaced as Spike spoke with concern "Danger...? What's going on Twilight? Why is there danger, why can't you let everypony know you're going?"

Twilight sighed and pushed the suitcase shut as she muttered "Because it would be just like that night when Nightmare Moon had returned, whenever my friends noticed I was in trouble they came running. I can't have that happening this time Spike, I need them to be safe and not know where I am!"

Spike face-palmed and groaned, shouting "But what about the DANGER!? What's going on that's so dangerous?"

Twilight sighed, shaking her head as she whispered "Truth be told...I don't know. Princess Luna had reason enough to worry, so that's good enough for me! Be good...and keep up with the Library, ok?" Spike nodded and leaned up, giving the mare a tight hug around her neck and receiving a motherly nuzzle from her. "I'll be back before you know it!" She smiled, trotting past him with her suitcase in tow.

~~~

"ALL ABOARD!!!!!! Hoofington Express now departing for Manehatten!" A nearby ticket colt shouted, walking by the large train that was resting in the Ponyville Train Station. Twilight moved through the crowds, squeezing her way past the impatient ponies trying to catch their own trains. She flashed her ticket to the colt standing guard by the train doors and nodded, letting her pass and board. The Unicorn sighed as she made her way down the cramped hallway, pushing past other ponies who were trying to get by.

"Sorry, excuse me, ooooh sorry! Oh I didn't see you there, I'm sorry!" Twilight muttered, as she pushed her way through, finally coming across bunk, T-2. She dropped her suitcase on the bottom bed of the three-mattress bunk bed and crawled in, settling down with a heavy sigh. Opening her suitcase, she pulled out the romance novel she had been reading the night before and spread it out on her pillow, figuring that she didn't have anything better to do then to get lost in her own fantasy's. After all, it was going to be a loooooong ride to Manehatten, what else could she do? The Train's steam-pipe let out a loud whistle and lurched forward, slowly picking up speed and beginning it's journey to the city that never sleeps. Twilight read for what seemed like an hour, but it was evident that the Unicorn was growing weary, her eyes drooping and shutting slightly. Figuring she had enough travel time, she placed her book back in her suitcase and laid her head down, curling up on her side for a light snooze.

~~~

Twilight smiled with joy as she was pushed down on her back, a pair of hooves running down her belly as she was straddled by some unknown pony. She could tell the pony was smiling as she was, and kept telling herself that this was it, this was the moment! She wouldn't have to wait any longer, she found the true love she was looking for! The pony leaned over slowly, nibbling on Twilight's ear and causing the Unicorn to shiver with excitement. What she wasn't expecting though...was the voice of the stranger to be so...familiar..., her voice sweet and seductive "We're under attack..."

"W...what?" Twilight muttered, eyes opening slowly and her ears perking to the sounds of ponies screaming and hooves thudding against the hallway carpet.

"RUN!!! RUN FOR YOUR LIVES WE'RE BEING ATTACKED!" A mare screamed, running by as the train gave a violent screech and started to slow down rapidly. Ponies fell to the ground at the sudden shift of speed, Twilight herself nearly getting clobbered in the head by her own suitcase. She quickly looked out the window, wondering what was going on when she suddenly gasped. A group of several ponies was standing on a hill far off from the train, and from this distance there was no way Twilight could identify any of them. What she noticed was that the pony up-front's head started to glow, and she quickly deduced that it had to have been a Unicorn. Just as she was trying to peer closer, maybe even use a Scrying spell to see who it could be, the unknown Unicorn let out a giant bolt of Azure magic, barreling it straight towards the train. Twilight screamed in fright as the bolt collided with the side of the car in front of her, the whole train starting to tip from the force of the explosion. Fire and smoke flared up from the impact site of the train as the whole chain began to tip and crash into the ground. Twilight hung on tightly to the curtains near her bed, but still she could not hold on for long. With a final shout, Twilight fell down across the train and into the opposite side's bunks. She held her head in her hooves and groaned, not even noticing her own suitcase being dislodged from its crook in her bed and flying down, straight towards her head.

She looked up as she saw the container rushing towards and -

'Thud'

Chapter Five - Bloodington Express

Blackness...that is all Twilight Sparkle could see and feel for Celestia knows how long, her body feeling as if it was floating through an endless darkness. Suddenly, she saw a single light, the light that continued to grow brighter and brighter as she floated closer to it. She could feel a dull throbbing in her head, pain registering in her mind as the light enveloped her, the smell of smoke reaching her nostrils. She let out a soft groan, her eyes fluttering open and tearing up as the smoke floating through the train car irritated them, and put a hoof up to her head gently and winced, seething in pain as she felt the bump that had formed from the impact of the dropping suitcase. She sat up slowly and looked around, coughing a little on the smoke and looking around to see if anypony was around. She frowned as she realized she was alone, and gently climbed up onto the hallway, using the wooden dividers of the bunk beds as stepping stones.

She hopped from plank to plank, moving quickly towards the front door of the car and opening it with her magic. She coughed as she lept from the smoking car, landing with a loud 'thud' on the ground and taking in large gulps of fresh air, the heat of the afternoon sun bearing down on her. She looked around at the destruction that had been wrought on the car in front of her, its side completely blasted open and boxes of what looked like food littering the ground in front of it. She got up slowly, her head still throbbing from earlier, and made her way around the wreckage, the smell of smoke prominent in the air. She looked over the gaping hole in awe, shreds of metal hanging limply off of the edges and looking as if they had partially been melted. As she approached the hole, she heard the sounds of shuffling from within. She stopped, lifting her head up and asking loudly "Hello? Is anypony there!?". Silence followed her shout, the shuffling suddenly ceasing...an awkward silence prevailing over the area.

Just as she was about to approach, she jumped back with a frightened squeal, a bolt of green magic burning the ground just in front of her. Her horn lit up on instinct, a magical bubble forming around her and deflecting another two bolts of green magic.

A colt's voice followed the second bolt "Go away! This belongs to us, not you!" Twilight blinked in surprise, still reeling in shock from being attacked. Her horn flashed once and with her magic she lifted herself up along with the bubble, getting a good bird's eye view of the inside of the car. She gasped as she witnessed a group of four ponies, three earth, one Pegasus, scrounging through the boxes of food that made up the insides of the car. The scavenging was not what startled the mare the most however...it was the condition of the scavengers. She could see their ribs through their skin, the heavy bags under their eyes, the scars that adorned their flanks and sides.

She gently floated over, shouting "Are you all ok?! I'm not going to hurt you...you didn't have to shoot at me!"

The green-coated colt looked up, horn flaring up with emerald magic and his voice spitting venom at her "Screw you! We don't need your sympathy or concern, we're just fine on our own!" Twilight frowned, touching down on the side of the blasted opening, her bubble opening just enough underneath for her to plant her hooves down on firm metal.

She looked towards the colt, still whispering as the other ponies moved away from her, digging deeper into the pile of boxes "I was just shocked...you all attacked the train...you could have hurt somepony!"

The colt scoffed, turning his head and hissing "You think we care? None of these bastards would extend a hoof of gratitude towards us, so what's the point? If they're not going to give us what we need to survive, we'll TAKE it!"

Twilight's eyes widened at the colt's blunt statement and whispered "But...why? Why would you need to resort to violence and thievery...?"

The colt sighed, dropping the box of food he had lifted with his magic and turned towards her, an annoyed expression on his face. "Look," he muttered, the anger clearly audible in his voice "We came from the downtown area of Manehatten...it's a mess down there. There are ponies down there who are worse off then US, if you can believe it. We struck a deal with this mare who said she could help us get what we need, but only if we got her some kind of...anti-anxiety medication...whatever, the point is, we needed these supplies. Nopony is helping us, nopony CARES! The mayor is as corrupt as we are starving and we're going to do whatever we can to survive, no matter who gets in our way, got it?!" Twilight nodded slowly, but was still a little confused as to why they weren't getting the care and food they needed.

Her thoughts were short-lived however as one of the ponies, a mare, screamed "Guards!!!!" Twilight turned her head towards the entrance and gasped as three chariots, red in color, flew across the sky. They were heading towards the train with what looked like an escort of two Pegasus ponies each.

The colt screamed "Run!!! We're no match for them all!" He dove out of the car, running down the length of the train as Twilight watched the chariots come closer. She noticed that the three chariots seemed to have a red glow over each of them, probably made from Unicorns. As the other ponies jumped from the car, Twilight watched in horror as six bolts of crimson magic shot out from the chariots and rocketed towards her. She lept from the opening as the bolts raced by her, igniting the inside of the car with explosive fire. The force of the explosion threw her a good forty feet, the bubble of magic taking most of the impact and shattering like glass. She hit the dirt with a loud 'OOF!', looking up as the chariots circled overhead, the red-armored Unicorns firing bolts of magic towards the fleeing ponies.

She yelped as a few of the armored Pegasus ponies landed nearby, one catching sight of her and shouting "There's one! Grab her!!!!" She pushed herself up on her hooves, running back towards the train.

She screamed as they gave chase "Wait! I'm not with them!!! This isn't my robbery, stop!!!" The guards paid her words no attention however, continuing to chase her towards one of the forward cars. Twilight jumped up onto the rear platform of one of the passenger cars, throwing the door open with magic and closing it quickly behind her. She lit her horn up with magic and whipped her head downwards, the lock of the door melting and welding itself to the door frame. She jumped back in fright as the Guards kicked their hooves against the door, shouting for her to let them in and to cease and desist. Ignoring this, obviously, she turned and started to gallop down the car, her thoughts racing about what she was supposed to do. They were guards from Manehatten, she knew that from their colored armor and the travel guides she had read before she embarked on her journey. The only problem was...they probably thought she was one of the robbers, and were now trying to arrest her. She yelped suddenly as a bolt of crimson magic blasted through the window in front of her, just passing in front of her face and crashing through the other side. She dove to the ground, covering her head with her hooves as magic tore through the windows and walls above her. They were either trying to flush her out...or kill her, and both possibilities scared the ever-living bejesus out of Twilight.

The bolts of magic suddenly ceased, the walls of the car smoking from the attack. Twilight lifted her head up, quickly turning it to the sound of a horn flaring up with magic. The door she had welded shut was being cut open by a Unicorn, and looked like it would be open soon. She gasped, pushing herself up and running down the hall. The welded door, after a heavy buck, caved in and allowed two Pegasus ponies and the Unicorn inside, chasing her down the way. Just as she was nearing the door, it opened with a loud 'BANG', more guards rushing in in attempts to grab her. She skidded to a halt and looked behind her, watching as the two groups started to close in on her. "Well..." she thought, tears in her eyes and sorrow in her heart "Good job Twilight...fail your task before it even has a chance to start...figures th-" Her thoughts were cut off by a loud explosion from above. Twilight looked up with a loud yelp as burning piece of circular metal was ripped from the roof of the car, and a small ball of Azure colored magic fell through, bouncing along the floor like a ball. Twilight stared at it curiously, as did the guards, wondering exactly what it was supposed to be. Suddenly, the ball exploded into a blinding light, drawing screams from the guards and Twilight as their vision gleamed with white. Her ears rang as she felt something land next to her, a pair of hooves wrapping around her neck and the feeling of magic rippling over her skin.

She had felt this countless times before...the magic over her skin...the sudden rush of wind and the cold feeling of icy water washing over her. She was being teleported.

(Bit short, but I'm still feeling partially under the weather...that and there have been a few events that have taken place that kinda put me off for a bit. Sorry for all the trouble and the waiting, but I'm back!)

Chapter Six - The Enemy of my Enemy is NOT my Friend!

Twilight gasped for air as she was let go, the aura of magic fading away and her senses slowly returning to her. She had never been 'piggy-backed' with a Teleportation spell before, and now she understood why Spike had been upset when he was brought with her the day she received the Gala Tickets. Her coat had been partially singed, some smoke rising off of her mane and her teeth partially chattering. A voice, male, gently whispered out to her "You...alright? Don't go freaking out now...you're not in trouble or anything, not anymore." She looked over slowly, eyes still wide, towards an azure coated unicorn. His eyes were a soft, grayish magenta, and his mane was a light silver which matched his black and white magic wand Cutie Mark.

Twilight nodded wearily as she took in a deep breath, letting it out with a soft sigh and whispering "I...think I'll be ok. Thank you."

The unicorn smiled a little, holding a hoof out. "No problem," He said "But I think you might want to stay out of the authority's way from now on."

Twilight smiled and nodded, taking the time to look around at where she had been brought. From the looks of the small living room, cramped looking kitchen, and the various cracks and peeling wallpaper that adorned the walls, she had narrowed the options down to an apartment...or really really small trailer. She looked towards the Unicorn and whispered "Um...not to sound rude but...where the hay am I?"

The unicorn laughed, trotting towards the window in the far wall. He lit up his horn and grabbed the string for the shades with his magic, exclaiming in an excited manner "An apartment on the second floor of the Winchester Building...but overall? Well...if I could put it any more simply...welcome, to Manehatten!" He tugged down on the strings, the shades opening up and allowing Twilight to look through as she trotted up. Her eyes widened in pure shock as she looked over the massive concrete city before her. The streets were crammed full of ponies rushing about, carriages speeding this way and that, and the skies were absolutely littered with Pegasus ponies.

"W...wow" Twilight whispered, looking over the many buildings and the signs with flashing lights. "Applejack told me Manehatten was big...but I didn't think it would be THIS big!"

The unicorn chuckled a little, nodding and muttering "Yep, I heard it's about...oh, maybe seven times the size of Canterlot. Who takes the time to measure though, right?" Twilight nodded with a slight smile, turning to the unicorn as he cleared his throat and said "I'm sorry...where are my manners? My name's Thoendithas Arcaneium...but you can just call me 'Thoen', everypony else does."

Twilight smiled and held out a hoof, shaking Thoen's as she stated with formality "I'm Twilight Sparkle, resident Librarian of Ponyville and Protege of Princess Celestia herself, it's wonderful to meet you Thoen."

Thoen's eyes widened as he heard her full title, whispering "You...are Princess Celestia's star pupil? Why Miss Sparkle...this is such an honor!"

Twilight blushed as he shook her hoof a bit harder, muttering "R...really?"

Thoen nodded excitedly and said "Oh but of course! I used to teach up at the Magic School in Canterlot!" His smile suddenly turned downwards however as he muttered "Unfortunately...with Canterlot's economy taking a hit...I kind of got let go. Things in Ponyville didn't help either when...oh shucks, who am I to complain?" He shrugged with a small smile, looking out of the window as he muttered "Things are bad for everypony...and as long as I've got my mind on my mission I'll be fine. We're survivors, the lot of us here in Downtown."

Twilight raised an eyebrow, whispering "You mean the ponies who were ransacking the food car? Wait...that Azure bolt...YOU were the one who attacked the train!?"

Thoen nodded meekly, whispering as Twilight leaned slightly away "Now...don't go freaking out, I told you to relax, you're in no danger. Yes...I was the unicorn who shot the train...it wasn't the best idea in the world but somepony was getting desperate. The uh...poor ponies who you met down at the train had made a deal and I got kind of roped into it. I guess it makes sense...we don't really have the bits to afford her medication, which reminds me..." He trailed off, trotting towards the kitchen for a quick moment and trotting back, a small brown bag in his mouth. He dropped it in front of Twilight, who seemed to have calmed down and asked "Could you do me a favor? I think it only fair, you know...I saved you and all."

Twilight nodded with a small smile and said "Of course, I owe you from the train! Sure, whatever you need me to do is fine."

Thoen nodded but raised an eyebrow, his voice tinged with curiosity "If you don't mind me asking before you go and do this for me...exactly why didn't you teleport yourself out of there in the first place? You being Celestia's pride and joy...I kind of find it hard to believe that you couldn't have just escaped on your own."

Twilight blushed a little, bowing her head and whispering "I...I don't know. I kind of...froze up I guess..."

Thoen nodded a little in understanding "Yeah, it seems like that was your first tumble with any sort of real violence or battle."

The mare looked up at this though, shaking her head with a slight smile "Well...actually that's not true, I've had run ins with Manticores and Hydras...Ursa Minor...".

Thoen whistled at this, his eyes widening as he said "Well I'll be...you sure live up to your name as Celestia's star pupil. I don't blame you for freezing up like you did, happens to unicorns a lot more often then you think. It's like a fainting goat, when he's surprised he'll lock right up! When we're surprised...well sometimes our magic and minds don't work right away." Twilight nodded and looked down at the bag, drawing Thoen's eyes down to it as well as he spoke "Right, anyway...the favor. I need you to deliver this bag to a house on the outskirts of the city, in the suburbs. It's got the uh...payment for the Train Job".

Twilight nodded and levitated the bag up with her magic, heading towards the door with a quick "No problem! Which house exactly is it?"

Thoen opened the door for her as he said "It's...a bit of a run-down looking place. Just about the color of my coat, red roof, and a red mailbox. The numbers on it are '2', '2', and '3', got it?" Twilight nodded and paused for a moment, turning to listen as Thoen called out "Wait!" He looked down with a guilty expression and mumbled "I'm sorry...you know, for the train. The pony down at that house...it's really all for her. When you see her...tell her Thoen says sorry and that...well she can come back anytime, ok?" Twilight nodded and trotted out to door, heading towards the stairs. The last thing she heard before she made her way down was Thoen calling after her "Keep away from the guards!".

~~~

Twilight hobbled on three hooves, her front right hoof still stinging from where a large stallion had stepped on it. She was having a really rough time navigating the streets with the amount of ponies walking, trotting, and galloping this way and that. As she moved down the street (by some miracle), she noticed long lines of ponies waving out towards the streets, hollering loudly at yellow and black colored carriages that raced by.

"Taxi!!! TAXI!!!"

"TAXI! I know you heard me horn sucker!!!"

"Oi! Get yer ass over here for' ah have to whup somepony's ASS!"

Twilight's eyes widened as she listened to the loud, and not to mention rude screams of the ponies. "How can ponies stand to act like this..." she thought to herself, a sharp yelp escaping her lips as a colt roughly pushed past her shoulder, his saddlebags scraping at her side. She frowned and continued down the street, looking up at sign nailed to one of the large traffic light posts. There was a sign like it on every corner, the words etched into its metal plating displaying the clear message of NO TELEPORTING, NO BEGGING, NO STOPPING!. She grimaced at the no teleporting part...though it made a lot of sense. She had read about countless incidents where a unicorn had used a teleportation spell in high population areas...and ended up either in the walls of a building, a thousand feet up in the air, or through another pony...either one spelling out death. She shivered as she remembered the article about a Unicorn who had managed to teleport herself halfway into side of a train car, just as it was about to pass through the tunnel. She could never really get the picture out of her mind...the smear of blood running all the way down the entire length of the train, or the top half that was still twitching when the train stopped...a look of sheer terror on the mare's dead, frozen face.

Twilight shook her head, taking in a deep breath as sighing as she started to weave further into the now dissipating crowds of ponies. She must have been approaching the suburbs area, as the amount of activity dropped suddenly and allowed her more room to breathe and move. Buildings and parking lots slowly gave way to houses and yards, streets of hard concrete to trails of dirt. The dramatic change had Twilight looking over the area with slight despair, as most of the houses were rundown, dirty, or simply boarded up completely. Trash and garbage littered most of the area, mailboxes lay bent and broken, and most of the yards were overgrown with weeds and tall grass. Twilight gulped as she scanned over the rusted metal numbers that were nailed to the posts of the mailboxes, whispering quietly "218...219...220..." She looked up as she approached the house Thoen had described, looking over its faded blue walls and decaying red roof. The number '223' was displayed very clearly on a dented mailbox, drawing a nod from Twilight. She trotted up towards the dirt-smeared door and knocked lightly with a raised hoof, sitting back on her haunches and waiting. She sighed, mulling over in her head the events that had taken place from the train till now. She was supposed to be here for a 'Friendship Problem', but the funny thing was...Luna hadn't even told her exactly WHO she was going to be helping.

She didn't know if it was coincidence or not, but at that exact moment, a puff of green magic flared up nearby, drawing a surprised look from Twilight. A rolled up letter had fallen from the aura of magic, similar to the way Spike sent and received their letters back in Ponyville. She picked it up with her magic and unfurled it, reading over what she recognized as Princess Luna's hoof-writing.

"Dear Twilight,

I trust by now your train has arrived in Manehatten...I was hoping you could send me confirmation of your arrival as quick as you can. I didn't want to reveal to you who your assignment was until AFTER you had arrived...since I didn't want you getting cold-hooves. I know that sounds harsh of me...but Tia' and I both agreed that since you know this pony...personally...that maybe it would be best to tell you after you got there. Just know that I wanted to tell you everything...and that I hope you'll forgive me for throwing this all upon you so suddenly. You'll find the pony at 223, Appleteenie Lane, in the suburbs on the south side of the city. Do write back soon...

- Luna."

Twilight blinked with wide-eyes as she read over the address. There was no way...could it have really been the same address? Was it fate, destiny? Or could it have even be-

-BANG!!!!-

Twilight jumped as the front door flew open, a loud, and overly obnoxious voice screaming out to her "YOU!!!!!!" She whirled her head towards the entrance of the house and gasped loudly, her pupils shrinking as she beheld the azure coated unicorn mare standing in the doorway, her eyes wild and a heavy grimace crossing her face.

Twilight stuttered, not believing her eyes "T...Tri...Tri...!!!"

She let out a loud yelp as Trixie got in her face, shouting with as much venom as she could muster in her voice "The name's, TRIXIE, bitch!" With that, Trixie reared a front hoof back and forward, punching Twilight straight in the eye.

It was going to be a long day indeed.

Chapter Seven - Brawling is Magic!

Twilight held both her hooves over her eye, whimpering as Trixie stood over her and screamed her head off, her star-sparkled cape flapping about in the light breeze "Who the hell do you think you are coming here!? What the hell do you want!? What, come to chase me out of THIS town too!? I ought to gut you right here and now you son of a bitch!"

The lavender mare looked up towards Trixie with her good eye, shouting back up at her "What the hell is wrong with you!? Do you punch everypony you see in the face upon greeting them!? I came to give you payment or something as a favor from Thoen, I didn't come to fight! That and I got a letter from the prin-"

Twilight didn't think it was possible...but it looked like Trixie was getting even angrier, her shouts more hateful then before and cutting her off "You WHAT!? How the hell do you know about that, who are you working for!? How do you know Thoen!? You must be working for them, the security force! You bastard, you couldn't just leave me alone after Ponyville, you had to come find me and finish the job huh!?" Twilight stuttered, trying to come up with words to prove Trixie wrong, dumbfounded at the sheer lunacy of how Trixie was seeing things. Before she could say anything however, Trixie snarled and lit her horn up with magic, shrieking "Screw it, I don't even want to HEAR THE EXCUSE! I don't need you ruining what little I have left!"

Twilight shrieked as a pinkish aura surrounded her, lifting her up and tossing her across the neighbor's yard to the left. She turned her head and gasped, watching as she came face to face with a carriage parked in the driveway next door, the window on its side displaying her frightened reflection. A thunderous crash was heard as Twilight flew through the window, the carriage swaying violently from the impact. Trixie spit on the ground towards the carriage and shouted "And stay out, ya purple shithead!" Just as she turned to head back inside, picking up the bag of bits and grimacing, a loud clattering came from the carriage. She stopped, turning her head towards the carriage as a bright red glow started to emit itself from inside. Trixie could feel the rising levels of magic, and quickly flared up her own horn, flicking the bag of bits into her house and shutting the door quickly.

She gasped as the door to the carriage was thrown open violently, the hinges snapping and causing it to tumble to the ground loudly. She blinked as Twilight stood in the doorway, her coat a dazzling yellowish white, and her mane looking and whipping about like chaotic fire.

She looked at Trixie, breathing in heavily and screaming as loud as she could, her voice partially cracking "MY COAT, IS, LAVENDER!!!!!!" She pointed her horn down, her magic flaring around her horn and around the broken door. Trixie gasped as the door was lifted up and thrown towards her like a disc, the mare just barely ducking under the lethal projectile.

Trixie looked up, her horn alight with pink magic as she growled "Oh...you want to play it rough huh!? Alright then Twifuck Shitkle, let's play!"

Twilight's fiery appearance had dissipated as she jumped from the carriage, her magic forming a bubbling shield around herself as Trixie ripped her mailbox from out of the ground and chucked it at her. As it smashed against Twilight's bubble, it quickly dissolved into dust and gleamed with purple magic, turning itself into a swarm of bees and flying back towards Trixie. The azure unicorn narrowed her eyes, her horn flashing and bringing forth out of thin air a can of insecticide. She held it in front of her and sprayed it, killing the bees instantly with the magical poison and drawing a frustrated growl out of Twilight. Before she could conjure up another spell however, Trixie whipped her head to the left in a slashing manner, setting the air in front of her on fire and jumping behind it. Holding the can up, she sprayed through the fire and screamed a furious battle cry, the poison quickly turning into a make-shift flamethrower and launching a hellish stream of fire towards Twilight..

Twilight gasped as her bubble started to melt from the magical fire, the risk of get turned into a burnt marshmellow growing more evident in her mind. She flicked her eyes up quickly and produced a large red can out of thin air, dropping it in the middle of the fiery stream. At this, Trixie could only stare in horror as the can was engulfed in the flame, her screams echoing out across the neighborhood "GASOLINE!? ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MI-"

"KABOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!!!!!'

Trixie had jumped away, turning her back towards the explosion which had rocked and shattered the very ground. She did not escape injury however, a few cuts and scrapes adorning her body from the chunks of rock that had flown by. As the smoke cleared, she spotted Twilight rushing towards her with her head bowed, her eyes glowing with purple magic. Her horn flared, producing a large, purple colored rapier out of thin air.

Twilight screamed and jumped towards her as Trixie produced her own blade "En GARDE', Bitch!" They crossed blades with a loud clanging of metal, the two of them beginning a furious fencing match and jumping back and forth, trying to get the upper hoof on the other. Trixie laughed with glee as she quickly parried Twilight's blade and gave her a nick on her shoulder, the wound bleeding slightly. Her laughter was cut short however as she received a long scratch on her side, drawing out a sharp hiss of pain and another furious shout of anger.

Trixie rushed forward, giving a quick twirl of her body and smashing her blade into Twilight's. The force of the impact threw the unicorn backwards, her blade dissipating as she touched down on the ground. Trixie's own eyes gleamed as Twilight lowered her horn, the glow around it pulsating rapidly. As Twilight readied her attack, Trixie's horn flashed and turned her own sword into an assortment of six blades, her magic hurling them towards her foe. Twilight let out a heavy bellow as her horn flashed brightly and shot out a purple laser towards Trixie, the sudden rush of wind it brought sending a few of the knives off course and causing them to just barely nick her skin. Trixie turned her body to the right slightly, avoiding the deadly laser as she tried to bring her knives back around and attack the exposed unicorn.

As they readied themselves for another assault however, a bellowing voice roared out "ENOUGH!!!!". The two unicorn's immediately released their magic, heads snapping to the left as Thoendithas galloped quickly towards the scuffle. He approached Trixie, who had a look of upmost horror on her face and said "Trixie Arcanieum, SHAME on you! Attacking the mare who brought you the bits for your medication! Is that how you treat everypony who helps you!? I knew that I should have gone with my gut and escorted Twilight here, and I'm glad that I chose to come anyway! By Celestia's Sun I could see the explosion from all the way down the frigging ROAD!"

Trixie stuttered as Twilight blinked in amazement, surprised at how quickly the azure mare had fallen under the colt's loud voice "B...but she's the one who...who..."

Thoen sighed in aggravation and rolled his eyes, growling "I know who she is Trixie, she's Twilight Sparkle, the one who supposedly ran you out of town. The way I heard it though, was that you chose to run away rather then pony up and face the consequences of your actions!"

Trixie frowned and screamed "That's not fair! You weren't there, you don't know what it was like to get humiliated and ridiculed in front of everypony in town!!!"

Twilight could only wince as Thoen pushed his forehead against Trixie's and shouted "You think I don't know what it feels like!? Imagine having a Royal Guard waltz into my office to tell me my own daughter went about bragging her head off which led to the glorious inviting of an Ursa Minor to Ponyville!!! How do you think my colleagues saw me after that little episode!?"

Trixie bowed her head as she mulled over what Thoen had said, Twilight's voice barely audible over the breeze "Thoen...he's your father?"

Thoen nodded and replied in Trixie's stead, the azure mare falling quiet as she grimaced towards the ground "I'm sorry Miss Sparkle...I suppose I should have been more open about that. I knew from the moment I saw you on the train exactly who you were. I don't blame you for that day with the Ursa...if anything I thank you for it. My daughter learned a valuable lesson from that...or so I thought." He ended his statement with a slight glare towards Trixie, who could only mumble curses towards the ground.

Twilight sighed and winced from the wound on her shoulder, muttering "That's...ok I guess. Would have been better to warn me about Trixie though..."

Thoen scoffed and looked down towards the grumbling mare, a stern tone in his voice "Well I thought that my daughter would have had better manners...I didn't expect her to cause a full out magical brawl in the streets. Which, mind you, probably caused some unwanted attention! You know how the guards can be Trixie, what were you thinking!?"

Trixie rolled her eyes, simply turning away and limping back towards her house, the bag of bits scattered about the front hallway. Thoen sighed and looked towards Twilight, a small smile on his face as he whispered "Come on...let's get you two patched up...maybe we can try again with some calm, civilized discussion, Trixie!" He added the last bit with a raised voice, getting no response from her except the shaking of her head.

~~~

"Ouch!"

"Oh, did that hurt? I'm sorry, maybe if you hadn't acted like a two year old and beat up the mare trying to help you, you wouldn't be in this mess, now would you!?" Thoen retorted to Trixie's outburst of pain. A tight bandage had been wrapped around the unicorn's side, a grimace on her face as she watched Twilight, fully bandaged, take a sip out of her tea.

"Why the hell is she even here...what business could she have with us that isn't driving our name into the dirt..." she growled, ignoring the furious look that she drew from Thoen who replied

"You watch your mouth...if you want to blame somepony, blame yourself for the way things are. Now that you mention it though..." He looked over towards Twilight and muttered "Why DID you come out to Manehatten anyway?"

Twilight blushed a little out of embarrassment and rubbed the back of her head with her hoof as she explained "It's...a bit ironic actually. Princess Luna had told me about a pony-in-need out here in Manehatten...I didn't find out exactly who it was until I had knocked on her door...a lot of good that did." She shot a look towards Trixie who widened her eyes as the explanation.

Thoen raised an eyebrow in surprise and whispered "You came here on Princess Luna's behalf...for Trixie?"

Twilight nodded as Trixie let out a scoff of protest, her voice dripping with hate "I don't need your sympathy, pity, or your help! I've been surviving well enough on my own!"

Thoen sighed and gave Trixie a slight bop on the head as he whispered "Yes, but nopony should have to survive, they should be living, smiling, laughing! Look at where you live Trixie, can't you just swallow your pride for once?"

Twilight looked at Trixie with apprehension. Sure, she wanted to do her duty to help out, she wanted to be able to complete the task Luna had set for her...but Trixie? How could she stand for this? How was she supposed to help Trixie of all ponies!? How did Luna except them to be friends?! She sighed and muttered "Yes...I came here for Trixie. Princess Luna wants me to be her friend...teach her about friendship."

At this, Trixie laughed and raised an eyebrow, shouting in her usual egotistical fashion "Really? You and me...friends? Ha, don't make me laugh...no...don't make me puke! Why would I ever want to become friends with you?!"

Twilight sighed as Thoen glared at his daughter, her voice soft but strained "I never wanted to fight Trixie, I was angry, ok? I never meant for things to end in Ponyville like they did when you were there. So you got a little ego-crazy...have you met Rainbow Dash? We don't run her out of town...we accept her for who she is. If you'd just clean up your act and learn to be more accepting...you could-"

She was cut off by Trixie's scoff, the azure mare hopping off the stool she had been sitting on and trotting away, her nose up in the air. She shouted from the other room "I don't need to sit there and be subjugated to such horseshit, so enjoy your stay while it lasts Sparkle!"

Thoen sighed and shook his head, watching his daughter leave. He turned back towards Twilight and muttered "I'm sorry about her...she's just been having a real rough time."

Twilight looked down towards her bandaged shoulder and sighed "Yeah...I noticed."

Thoen walked up to her and whispered, a worried look in his eyes "Do you think you'll be able to help her?"

Twilight shook her head and whispered back "I don't know...things didn't really get off to a good start...and I blame myself for overreacting and retaliating against her. I'll try my best but...I don't know."

Thoen nodded and put a hoof on her good shoulder, making her look up as he said "Well...do your best regardless, that's all I or Luna could ever ask for. As long as you try, that's what matters. Me personally...I hope she'll come to her senses soon...she's been out here for too long, and I'm always too busy working to really come down here and spend time with her."

Twilight nodded and smiled "I have hope...who knows, maybe this won't be so-"

"If you're planning on staying overnight, don't you DARE use my bathroom! If you gotta go, pop a squat outside in the bushes because this bathroom is racist against purple ponies!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes and grimaced as she finished her sentence ".....bad."

(Pic credit goes to respective owner)

Chapter Eight - Hardships

Twilight's jaw dropped, her eyes widening and throwing Thoen a look of pure disbelief as she walked towards the door with him. "Y...you're leaving!?" she whimpered, looking back behind her slightly to see if Trixie was anywhere to be found.

Thoen nodded and opened the door with his magic "Well yes, I can't stay the entire time you know!"

Twilight turned back around and spoke frantically, in more of a pleading manner then anything "But...you can't just leave me with her! You have no idea what Trixie's going to do to me once you leave, DO YOU!?"

Thoen raised an eyebrow, looking towards her and muttering "Do YOU?"

Twilight blinked, thinking slightly for a moment before whispering "Well...no. But it can't be anything good! Thoen she tried to hit me with a flamethrower for crying out loud!"

Thoen sighed, turning around fully to face her. He had a comforting smile on his face that seemed to only slightly calm Twilight's nerves as he said "Twilight Sparkle, I have the upmost respect for Princess Celestia, and I have never doubted her in the past. That also includes not doubting who she's chosen as her star pupil. You don't get to be in that spot by being just any ol' pony, you know? I have faith in you Twilight...you should to." With a smile and a quick nod, Thoen turned and made his way out the door, closing it quietly behind him and leaving a distraught Twilight behind.

She looked around nervously, muttering quietly to herself "Easy Twilight...just...take it easy. No need to freak out...everything's going to be-"

"OK!!! Who, the, FUCK, took my goddamn Cheerileeos!? That's MY cereal!! SPARKLE!!!!!!"

Twilight sighed, putting a gentle hoof against her own face and turning to head into the kitchen. As she walked in, Trixie rounded on her and immediately set off with "There you are cereal-thief! Where are my Cheerileeos!? I know you hid them somew-" She stopped as she watched the cabinet to her right glow with purple magic and open, the box of cereal floating out and resting itself comfortably on the counter top. She looked towards Twilight slowly, watching her eyes as they narrowed and her mouth opening to speak.

She muttered quietly "Trixie, let's get one thing straight here, ok? I'm...not...out...TO GET YOU!" Trixie blinked, slightly taken aback by the force of her statement, staring as she went on "The Princesses wanted me to come here to HELP you, not hurt you! I'm sorry that I nearly cut your head off with a carriage door, blew up a part of the road with gasoline, De-atomized your mailbox, assaulted you with a swarm of bees, and nearly cut through your brain with a high-powered laser, ok? The sooner we can move past this rival-hate crap, the sooner we can get all this over with and move on to being happy, alright!?"

Trixie thought about it for a moment, putting a hoof to her chin. Finally, she pointed her hoof at Twilight and muttered "Look, I've got enough on my plate as it is, and I don't need your buddy-buddy friendship shit using up all my precious brain power. I'll go out on a hoof though...three days Sparkle, three days to 'friendship' me or whatever the hell it is you do to brainwash ponies into acting like well-reformed goody-goods. After that, you'll do yourself and me a huge favor by removing your fat, purple ass from my house and out of my ruined life, got it?" With that, Trixie walked away, not even bothering to hear Twilight's reaction. The lavender mare frowned, looking over her shoulder slightly and staring down at her own flank. It didn't look THAT fat...

~~~

For the remainder of the day, Twilight quietly shadowed Trixie, following her about the house and watching how she handled herself. She even went as far as levitating a small notepad around with her, quietly jotting down notes as Trixie went about her day. Unfortunately...the only thing Twilight had been able to write so far was 'bitch', 'drink', 'bitch some more', 'drink', 'drink', 'medication', 'drink'.

Twilight sighed as she wrote down 'drink' on the notepad again and muttered "Don't you think that maybe you ought to go out and enjoy the fresh air?"

At this, Trixie simply scoffed and spoke with a slight slur, the alcohol kicking into high gear "What!? I don't need fressshhh air! I gosh...too much of it in the housshhh! My air ishh so fresh that I...I uh...well I could do sshhomething with it! Pissh off!!!" She stumbled around the living room, lightly bumping against her coffee table and pushing a few magazines off its surface. Twilight simply sighed, walking behind her and picking up the mess with a gentle burst of magic.

She narrowed her eyes as Trixie started to sing terribly off key, the lavender mare throwing her hooves up to her ears as she shouted "Trixie for Celestia's sake! How much of that shit did you DRINK!?"

Trixie hiccuped as she went on "My little pooooony!!!! My little poo...uh...shit! Dammit Sshhparkle, you made me forget the worsh to the shong!!!" She wearily hoisted herself up on her couch, staring towards the T.V. and acting as if she was trying to stay awake. Her eyes blinked rapidly and she swayed back and forth, as if she were about to fall over. Luckily for her, Twilight managed to catch her as she started to fall forward, the mare gently lowering her onto the cushions of the couch. She turned Trixie on her side and sighed as she heard a sob escape her lips.

Twilight groaned as the sobs grew louder "Trixie come on...what's the matter now, why are you crying!?"

In response, Trixie simply let out a weak gurgle and rolled her eyes, whimpering "Yeah thassh right...yell at Trixie for crying...thassh ok!!! What, am I not suposshed to cry? Is it causshh I'm weak!?"

Twilight shook her head and put a hoof on Trixie's forehead, whispering "No, of course not...you can feel however you want to feel. What I don't understand is why...why are you doing this to yourself? Why the medication...the alcohol...this place and the train job! How did you become so...so..."

"Pathetic?" Trixie muttered, her sobs reducing themselves to mere sniffles. Twilight blinked as Trixie wiped at her eyes with a hoof and whispered "Thinssh...ugh...things have been hard since I ran away from Ponyville...I didn't have any bits, my carriage was destroyed...and what money I had saved all went to this shitty little crap-hole I call a house. Dad found this place for me...said it was the cheapest...said it might do me some good to get away for awhile. Get away...right, moving doesn't make bill collectors go away, or pony thieves to go away. I started suffering from mild panic attacks and anxiety before the end of the first month. I was having nightmares...I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't find a job. Dad's been supporting me this whole time and all I've been doing in return is being worthless...and then you showed up." Twilight frowned and stared at Trixie as she nodded "Yeah, you...the very pony who showed me up in front of all of Ponyville. You just had to have the last laugh didn't you?"

Twilight sighed and shook her head, whispering "Trixie...I didn't stop that Ursa Minor to show you up...I did it so that it wouldn't go on a chaotic rampage and slaughter everyone in town! If I hadn't gotten it back to its cave when I did, the MAJOR could have come looking for it! How do you think Celestia would react to finding out all of Ponyville, not to mention the Elements of Harmony, were eaten or slaughtered?! I did what I did for PONYVILLE, not for vengeance!"

Trixie rolled her eyes slightly out of pride...but she still thought about her words. Perhaps Twilight wasn't truly out to get her...but then again, she had been in this same situation before. Ponies she thought she could trust ended up stabbing her in the back, and there was NOWAY she was going to let Twilight Sparkle of all ponies get her too! She muttered quietly "I'm going to sleep...don't steal anything while I do, and DON'T go outside..."

Twilight raised an eyebrow as she whispered back "Trixie there's nothing in this house WORTH stealing, first of all...second of all, why can't I go outside? I thought you said I had to...'pop a squat' or whate-"

She was cut off by Trixie waving her hoof about and sighing "Just...forget what I said. It's not safe to go out at night and I don't need to wake up to a Twilight Pancake splattered all over the side of my house and windows..."

Twilight smiled and said "Are you...worried about me Trixie?"

At this Trixie's cheeks flared red and her eyes widened, the words she spoke frantic and her voice high "What?! No! I...I just don't need Dad kicking my ass for your dumb mistake is all! Stay indoors, got it!?"

Twilight giggled and whispered as Trixie gave her a snide look and rested her head on the pillow, the lavender mare whispering "Whatever you say Trixie..." She looked over towards her suitcase (Graciously recovered by Thoen) and brought it over with her magic, opening it slightly and producing a small, leather-bound book with a tree on its cover. She plopped down on her belly beside the couch and cracked open the book, looking over Trixie for just a moment more and turning back towards her book. She wouldn't be sleeping soon...that was for sure. Granted, she knew Trixie would probably be up later in the night anyway, so that gave her plenty of time to operate and figure out how exactly she was going to help Trixie with Friendship.

After around in hour, however...Trixie started to mumble and shift around in her sleep. Twilight looked over as Trixie's soft groans become whimpers of fear, of terror. As the azure mare started to scream, Twilight quickly got up to her hooves and tried to shake her awake.

It was going to be a long...long night indeed.

Chapter Nine - Cold Hearted Nightmare

Chapter Nine - Cold Hearted Nightmare

~Trixie~

Fatass. She thinks I'm not onto her little game, but I am. Oh...I so am! I don't care what she says about trying to help me, she's a fucking LIAR! I smirked as I laid my head down on the couch cushion, hoping to get to sleep soon. The Alcohol had done a beautiful job of numbing me, as usual. I found it to be no trouble at all to start feeling that gentle tug of sleep, that calming abyss of emptiness. My eyes wandered around the room slowly, my vision blurred and my tongue hanging out of my mouth slightly. Queen Purple of the Fatass Brigade seemed to be off in her own little world, staring at me with this pathetic frown and eyes that looked sympathetic. Right...like I need HER sympathy! I don't need her friendship crap, I don't need her advice, I don't need ANYTHING from her!

I had only just told her about not going outside, knowing about how dangerous it could be at night. Just as she started to open that big, smart mouth of hers, I cut her off quick and proper "Just...forget what I said. It's not safe to go out at night and I don't need to wake up to a Twilight Pancake splattered all over the side of my house and windows..."

I grimaced as she flashed me that small, cute little smile and whispered "Are you worried about me Trixie?"

Against my deepest will and wishes, my cheeks burned with a maddening blush. I rolled my eyes and spoke...in a higher voice then I would have liked "What?! No! I...I just don't need Dad kicking my ass for your dumb mistake is all! Stay indoors, got it!?" Stupid, stupid, stupid! Why couldn't she see...why did she have to turn it around on me!? Oh...wait, I forgot...she's good at that kind of hateful shit.

I closed my eyes, my grimace still plastered on my face as Fat-flank Sparkle-hips whispered "Whatever you say Trixie.."

Ugh...she's so full of herself! How can she stand to put up with herself?! Whatever, I hope she does go outside! That'll show that punkass who's top-pony around here! Then again...dealing with Dad's anger would be more of a pain, and I'm not really in the mood to put up with it.

I let my eyes close slowly, my blurred vision mixing with the beautiful color of black and my grimace finally fading as sleep finally held me close in its tight embrace. For awhile I swam in the inky blackness of blissful nothingness, floating quietly along a river of peace and numbness. Something was...wrong though. I didn't know exactly what it was...but something felt off. I felt...incomplete, broken even, as if I was scattered about across this abyss and left to float like rags in the wind. I grew cold, my skin rippling with goosebumps under my fur, shivering from an icy wind. I opened my eyes and let out a sharp, ragged gasp as I found myself partially buried in a large pile of snow. The sky and everything else around me was a pure, black, nothingness, the only area visible around me being a house-sized area of snow.

I looked around in absolute fear, wondering where I was, how I got here, why I was here. This couldn't be real...it couldn't be! I was still at home, it's a dream....or is it? I got up to my hooves slowly, shaking my body free of snow and letting out a hot puff of steamy air from my dry mouth. I looked around me slowly, still frightful of this place but knowing that I couldn't stay in this spot forever. With weak, semi-frozen movements, I slowly trudged forward through the cold, hateful snow.

I don't really know how long I walked through the endless plain of cold misery, because for some reason...I knew time in this place didn't matter. All that mattered was the pain, the pain of this place...the pain of the snow...the pain of my heart. And then...for just one, split-second, I felt it. A soft, but noticeable pang in my heart. I missed her...I missed the company. I didn't want to be alone and I wanted to see her again! "Twilight!" I shouted, looking around and shouting frantically "Twilight where are you!? TWILIGHT!!!" The echoes of my voice floated about the abysmal plains, carrying my desperate message to regions unknown. When she didn't answer me...I let out a weak sob and fell to the snowy ground. I buried my head under my hooves and pushed my cheek up against the snow, resolving to just sit and wallow in my own self misery.

But then...just as I weakly called out her name "Tw...Twilight...", a deep rumble rose up from the ground. It was like an earthquake, complete with thunderous sounds of ice cracking and what sounded like thunder. Over the sound of this...I started to hear them, the voices of other ponies, some familiar...some not. They all said the same thing however...the same thing I was forced to hear for so long growing up...

"Fat flank!!!"

"Where's your mommy? Oh, that's right, SHE'S DEAD! HAHAHA!!"

"Great and Powerful? More like Worthless and Weak!"

"Does Daddy do bad stuff to you instead now that Mommy's already dead?"

"Shut up!!! LEAVE ME ALONE!" I cried, sobbing and rolling over on the ground, writhing about as if I was being attacked.

"You deserve to die, you sicken me!"

"You should have been sent up with Luna, that moon might have done you some good!"

"Trixie...."

"Why don't you just die already? It'd do us all a favor!"

"Trixie...it's ok..."

"Not an Orphan? Don't worry, Daddy will probably kill himself soon because you're such a disappointment"

"I'm here Trixie...I'm here, look at me!"

I looked up slowly, hearing her voice mixed in with the others that taunted and stabbed at me. I gasped as I beheld her form gracefully moving and parting the snow where she walked. It was as if her body and presence were so warm that not even the unrelenting snow could keep her at bay. "Twilight..." I wheezed, holding a hoof out towards her, trying my very best to reach her. She smiled and stopped in front of me, slowly lowering herself to her belly and putting her head over my own.

"You're not alone" she whispered. It was just those three words...those three that made me cry with joy. I let my warm tears flow freely, soaking the grassy ground no longer covered with snow. It was in that moment that I heart it...the Thump-Thump of a heartbeat. It sounded as if it was echoing all around me, rumbling through the ground and roaring across the sky. Twilight whispered again as I stared towards the ground in amazement "You see? You're not as cold-hearted as you thought you were. I promised you that I was here to help you...and help you I will, no matter what."

In a flash, the snow evaporated rapidly and the black outlines of the area gleamed with a warm, yellowish glow tinged with orange. The Thump-Thump of the heartbeat sounded again, and I felt...warm, in my chest. I felt warm, peaceful, and most of all...calm. I felt better then I had in months, with Twilight here to comfort me and my thick, frigid shell surrounding my heart finally cracking. I laid my head upon the warm, grassy ground, smiling a little as Twilight laid her head down upon me and whispered "Sleep...". I nodded slightly, closing my eyes and taking in a warm, blissful breath of fresh, clean air. As I breathed out, my vision blackened again and I felt myself waking up, away from the beautiful landscape I had only just been in.

I opened my eyes slowly, my vision registering just one color: Lavender. I watched in amazement as Twilight's horn stopped glowing, the rod of power resting gently against mine. She was laying next to me on her belly, and had leaned over to...to...help me. It was real, she was really there! I whispered quietly "Twilight...", making her pull her head away from my horn and smile, looking down at me as a mother would her filly.

She whispered quietly "Sleep ok? I tried to wake you up but you wouldn't stir, so I thought some magic might help calm your nerves."

I blinked in surprise, whispering back "What....time is it?"

She smiled, looking over with weary eyes towards the clock and muttering "Eight-Thirty in the morning, I sort of lost track of the time." I gasped as a wave of realization passed over me, knowing exactly what all she had to do to...it couldn't be!

I whispered towards her, horrified "You...you stayed up...the entire night, to help me sleep?!" I could easily spot the bags under her eyes, the weak, tired look in those violet eyes of hers. "Twilight tell me you've at least gotten a little sleep tonight!?"

She shook her head slightly, a smile till on her face as she whispered "Nah...I've had longer nights then this. I couldn't just let you suffer the whole night...it was nothing really."

I shook my head and sat up, raising my voice in worry "That...you shouldn't have had to do that, I never asked for you to do that for me!"

Twilight shrugged and said simply "So? You've been suffering for so long Trixie...I figured you deserved a good night's sleep for once." I felt tears creeping up into my eyes as she said that, my heart throbbing with a feeling I don't think I ever felt before. I cared...about her, I cared about her well-being as she cared for mine. Knowing this, I let a look of determination spread across my face and jumped from the couch. Before Twilight could question me as to what I was doing, I put my hooves on her side and rolled her over on her back. With as weak as she was, I found it easy enough to do.

As I levitated a blanket over from my lounge chair, Twilight whispered "Trixie...? What are you-"

"Shhh..." I whispered, cutting her off and draping the blanket over her. "It's not healthy to stay up the entire night...you deserve some sleep too."

"But what about you?" she whispered, a look of concern on her face as sleep started to tug at her consciousness.

I smiled and gave her a small kiss on her forehead, whispering "This is the first time I've actually woken up in the morning...I think I'll go enjoy the sunrise and maybe some breakfast..."

She smiled at me and whispered "All right...good night Trixie..."

I smiled down at her and whispered back, my hoof gently on hers "No Twilight...good morning."

~~~

I sat outside, watching as Celestia's sun slowly rose up over the far mountains to the east. It was the first time in years that I had seen the sunrise...and just beholding its warm, glowing embrace was enough to get me to smile like an idiot. I got to my hooves after the sun finally rose up over the tallest of the mountains and went back towards the house. Prior to this, I managed to find an old, beat-up mailbox sitting in a pile of trash down the street. Me being the resourceful pony that I was...I thought it was a nice addition to a lonely house-hold. I opened the mailbox and pulled out what I dubbed 'The Usual', bills and an advertisement to grow my horn. I sighed as I sifted through him with magic and quickly shredded them all, scattering them about the wind.

I had to admit...Twilight really did a number on me. Sure I was still a little hesitant to accept her help...maybe even a little distrustful still but, it felt better to have her around anyway. Who knows, maybe I could squeeze a few more nights sleep out of her, maybe breakfast in bed! I smiled at the thought, but frowned as my stomach growled at the mention of food. I trotted inside, closing the door softly behind me as to not wake up Twilight. Walking into the living room with a light sigh, I smiled as I looked over a sleeping Twilight, tucked in so...cutely, into the couch. Her mane was ruffled and messy, a light blush on her cheeks and a small puddle of drool forming on the couch cushion. I walked over quietly, wiping away the puddle with the blanket and gave her a small pat on her head. A light moan escaped her and she shifted a little under the blanket, making me smile a little wider and trot towards the kitchen.

A breakfast for two...suddenly sounded pretty good.

~*~*~*~*~

(Note: Okie Dokie, well, um. Good news and bad news! The good news is...um, things are on schedule! YES! Bad news...may have to cancel Muffin Vs. Baked Bads and Generosity Vs. Kindness. Just looking over them and the content, I'm not really comfortable putting them out. It seems like too far a stretch and I'd hate to beat a dead horse [scuse the pun...'], so that said, there's going to be this Leap of Faith, and two more. The next Leap of Faith is, sadly, the last "Official" one of the series, but there will be a bonus surprise one! It comes after the surprise I have for you all that I mentioned in my blog which is on my FIMFiction profile page. So technically it's the surprise...after the surprise...if that makes any sense, heh...

ANYWAY, I'm sorry about the two cancellations, I may change my mind but it's not looking good so...enjoy this story anyway! BE SURE to pay attention to any announcements on my profile page's blog or any I put here, they be important ya'll!

Oh, and don't be afraid that the writing will stop after Leap of Faith and the surprises! There WILL BE MOAR!!!!!

-Wolokai)

Chapter Ten - Suck, Buck, and Two Smokin' Horns.

The first thing that registered in Twilight's mind as she woke up was...just how wonderful the smell of daisies was. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, her violet iris's scanning over the white colored ceiling slowly and over the delicate patterns of carvings that decorated the ceiling fan above. She fought the urge to resume her deep slumber, blinking rapidly and looking over towards the fireplace. The small clock on the wall nearby displayed 12:01, signaling the very start of the afternoon. Twilight let out a soft sigh and sniffed as the enveloping smell of warm, daisy stew floated across the living room. Sitting up slowly, she let out soft groans as her stiff joints and spine popped. The night hadn't been easy on her, using a good amount of highly concentrated energy and magic to sift through Trixie's mind and locate her nervous center, gently calming it so she could sleep herself. While Twilight told herself it was necessary...she still felt a slight pang of guilt for invading Trixie's privacy so...recklessly. She saw the most of Trixie's childhood in quick flashes, the pain and anguish she felt when she had lost her mother to Marekemia, and the depression that racked her when all those bullies tormented her.

Twilight smiled though at the warm tenderness she brought to Trixie's heart and mind, hoping that by some miracle she maybe at least got SOME kind of message through to the stubborn, azure unicorn. She whipped the blankets off of herself with a quick flash of her magic and rolled off the couch, stretching to get the kinks out of her legs and body. The light of the sun gently danced through the cracks of the blinds that covered most of the windows and the sliding glass door in the back of the living room, providing Twilight with a small amount of warmth across her lavender coat. As she approached the kitchen, the heavenly smell of daisies and herbs poured over her like a refreshing bucket of warm water, the unicorn singing brightly as she walked in onto the tiled floor "Good morning!". Trixie was sitting on a lone bar stool in front of the stove, gently stirring the daisy stew in its pot with her magic.

At the hearing of Twilight's voice, the azure unicorn turned her head and muttered with a semi-bored expression on her face "Sparkle...".

'Uh oh' Twilight thought, frowning slightly as she made her way towards Trixie 'Maybe I gave myself a little too much credit there for last night...but just maybe'. She stopped beside Trixie and took a quick whiff of the air near the pot, smiling and saying with glee "Wow Trixie, this sure smells delicious! I didn't know you could cook!"

The corner of Trixie's mouth twitched a little, her best attempt at a complimented smile. She nodded instead, lifting the stew filled spoon out of the pot and blowing on it gently. She took a small sip and smacked her tongue against the roof of her mouth a few times to discern whether or not the mixture was fit for eating or not.

Twilight smiled as Trixie nodded at the pot, levitating two bowls from a nearby cabinet and filling them magically with the stew. She hopped off the stool and spoke as she levitated the bowls over towards the beat up looking table "So...sleep well?"

The lavender mare nodded excitingly and whispered "Yes, thank you! Your couch is pretty comfortable and it was wonderful to wake up to the smell of cooked food. Spike always makes me breakfast for me if I don't get up on time...says the smell is enough to drag my flank out of bed." She giggled as Trixie tried once again to force a smile upon her face, failing yet again. Another nod was the best that she could do, Trixie decided, and placed the bowls on the table, looking over towards the silverware drawer. Twilight watched as a pair of spoons made their way over to them, placing themselves neatly beside their bowls. With a quiet 'Thank you' from Twilight, the two began to eat in silence of words, the only sounds echoing from the kitchen being the slurps of their soup. Twilight smiled with glee as she took her third sip of the stew and whispered "Wow Trixie...this is really, really good! Where did you learn to cook like this?"

Without missing a beat, Trixie spoke in the most nonchalant way possible "Dad did most of the cooking when mom was dying and vomiting up all the regular food we tried to cook her. I learned by watching him and a few cooking shows, knowing that I'd need to cook for myself one day. Dad was at the hospital a lot in her waning months, so it was up to me to fend for myself..."

Twilight's mouth was partially agape, a spoon of stew floating just in front of her parting lips and her eyes wide. She whispered quietly "Trixie...I...I'm s-"

"You don't have to say sorry Sparkle..." Trixie whispered, looking down at her soup sadly and muttering "It's not like you didn't know anyway..."

At this, Twilight put her spoon down into the bowl and frowned, her heart throbbing with guilt. "Trixie..." she muttered, unsure if this was going in a direction she would like "I'm sorry about...invading your privacy like that. I couldn't stand to see you just suffer though..."

Trixie shrugged and spoke with a light sight "I'm not upset...believe me I'm grateful for what you did..."

Twilight nodded, looking away awkwardly for a moment before whispering "Do you want to...talk about it?"

The azure unicorn simply sighed and shook her head, muttering "Not really...not now anyway. You should eat your soup before it gets too cold..."

Twilight frowned, wanting to at least push for some kind of answer, but respected her decision all the same. She went back to quietly eating her soup, an awkward silence settling over the kitchen. It didn't last long however, as Trixie looked up and said "Don't think this changes a lot Sparkle, because like I said I'm grateful for what you did for me...but I still don't trust you. For a split-second I felt like I cared about you...maybe I still do partially, maybe it was the spell you were weaving that made me feel that way, I don't know. In regards to that I don't want you doing any more magic on me...I need to see for myself how I feel and how I want to act, got it?"

Twilight nodded and spoke with a sad tinge in her voice "If that's the way you feel...then ok. Just remember that I'm not here to sabotage you or -"

"Yeah, I know Sparkle" Trixie said, cutting her off with a small grimace on her face "Sorry if this comes off as harsh, but my statement from yesterday still stands. You've got two days left to teach me all this...'friendship' stuff, because as far as that's concerned I'm still not convinced I need it. I've got more important things to do and worry about then a social life."

Twilight sighed and nodded her head sadly, whispering "I know..." With that, Trixie nodded and went back to her soup, eating as if nothing had happened. Twilight however, stared at Trixie sadly for a few more seconds before awkwardly going back to her own soup

~~~

"What?" Trixie suddenly asked as her and Twilight made their way down towards the Uppercity Districts, the traffic starting to pick up along the streets.

"I asked you why it wasn't safe to go out at night..." Twilight said, trying her best not to lose Trixie in the thickening crowds of ponies. After their breakfast, Trixie had insisted they go to the local Pharmacy for her medication first before doing any of Twilight's 'Friendship' business.

Trixie let out a loud huff as she shoved her way past a fancily dressed colt, shouting over the crowds of the loud, obnoxious ponies trying their best to hitch a taxi carriage "Because it just is, ok!? Manehatten isn't the safest place in Equestria for the common pony. You have to either be really fast, really sneaky, or look tough as hell to stand a chance out here at night. There's some mean...vicious ponies in this world Twilight Sparkle...and the worst of them inhabit Manehatten after Celestia's protective, ever-watching sun goes down. That's as far as I'm going with that...."

After another twenty minutes of tight squeezing, shoving, and running across streets and narrowly missing speeding taxi carriages, Twilight looked up towards the rickety sign that read "Pharm's Pharmacy! Get yer acid trip and get the FUCK OUT!". She stared at the sign with wide eyes and whispered "How nice...", quietly following Trixie inside. The smell that wafted out of the dirty glass door nearly floored the lavender mare. It smelled like a mixture of dead pets and sewage, the raw potency of it all nearly making Twilight retch with each staggering breath she took. Trixie seemed to not have any issues at all dealing with the atrocious smell, and trotted quickly through the vile aisles of pill bottles that gave off their own sense of dread and foreboding. The azure unicorn, wasting no time in waiting for Twilight, went up to the dusty looking counter at the front and rang the bell three times.

She was not at all surprised at the sudden cocking of a shotgun and the harsh shouts of a sick sounding colt that had jumped up from behind the counter "Ya'll come to rob the wrong store ya varmints!! Get ready to become swiss cheese ya durn bitches!" Twilight squealed and dove behind one of the shelves of pills, leaving Trixie to annoyingly stare down the barrel of the shotgun that rested in the hooves of a dark grey colt. His mane had several bald spots and looked as if it was still falling out in a few places. His eyes were a sickening yellow and one could tell just by a quick glance or two that this pony was NOT aging well.

Trixie sighed and put a hoof on the shotgun's barrel, pushing it gently out of the way as she muttered "Pharm...for fuck sakes can you cut the gun bullshit? Seriously, you're gonna kill somepony one of these days that you wished had stayed alive. Some of these local junkies are unfortunately related to the guards...remember?"

Pharm scoffed, lowering his shotgun and placing it back behind the counter. Twilight peaked her head nervously around the corner of the shelves as Pharm rasped out loudly "Ah don't give two shits and a prize race horse's ass bout' what the guards think! Far as them assholes is concerned, they can all line up in one of their neat, fancy shmancy rows and take to sucking my big, fat wrinkly di-"

"PHARM, my meds please?!" Trixie shouted, a look of fury in her eyes and the sound of her gritting teeth clearly audible. Pharm simply grumbled and slowly made his way into one of the back aisles behind the counter. After shuffling and even dropping a few bottles, Pharm finally came back up to the front and dropped a bottle of 'Anxia-Gone!' Anxiety medication on the counter.

"Hundred n' forty two bits Trix....ya fucking freeloader..." Pharm grunted, putting a bored hoof under his chin and giving her a dark glare. Trixie's mouth contorted into a foul grimace and her eyes narrowed as she dropped a small brown pouch of bits on the counter and collected her pills. She inclined her head towards the door as she turned around, catching sight of the cowering Twilight nearby. Twilight nodded and hurried with her towards the door, wincing as Pharm shouted after them "And stay out! Ya fuckin' raggedy ass bastard kids you!!!!"

Outside, Twilight took in several, heavenly gulps of fresh air and wheezed "What a scoundrel! How can ponies stand to let him stay in business when it smells and sounds like a sewer of garbage in there?!"

Trixie opened up the bottle and threw her head back as she took two pills, gulping and replying after a light sigh "Because the guards need a dirty, shitty pharmacy to keep their psychopath kids doped up and out of trouble while they compete amongst each other for better positions, rank, and pay."

Twilight frowned as they started to make their way uptown, muttering "That's horrible...how can Equestria just ignore this giant cesspool of scum and villainy!? Can't Princess Celestia-"

"Stop that sentence there Sparkle," Trixie said, cutting her off and turning her head as she stopped "Trust me, a lot of ponies have asked what you've asked. 'Why can't Celestia?', it's simple. Celestia's the ruler of Equestria, yes, but she's just one princess, her hoof only reaches out so far you know. Without her constant attention, Manehatten fell into a deep, dark world of shit. In order for any kind of cleanup to be done, Celestia would have to call in the army and proclaim Martial Law. With the mayor of Manehatten as ass-hurt and sick as he is, there's no way he'll let it happen. He's as corrupt as Pharm is bat-shit insane, having his own personal militia of elite guards that do nothing except make everypony's life a living, prison-like hell." She looked over Twilight's semi-shocked, distraught expression and sighed, muttering "Just...let's forget about Manehatten for right now...I got my medication and that's what's important. Shouldn't you be like...ya know...doing your friendship thing or whatever?"

Twilight thought about it a moment and smiled, looking up at Trixie and nodding. She asked Trixie as they made their way across a crosswalk "Do you know of any good sandwich shops or lunch areas we can go to? I'm feeling a bit hungry."

Trixie stopped for a moment and thought, running a hoof under her chin for a moment and smiling wide as she said "Oh...I may know one...."

~~~

"CHUG, CHUG, CHUG, CHUG, CHUG, YEAAAAAAHH!!!!" The patrons of the bar, 'The Hung Horse', screamed with cheers and excitement. Twilight watched as the chugging colt slammed his shotglass down on the table and fell from his chair, crashing loudly to the ground. She looked about with wide, frightened eyes at the old-western style like bar, watching as unicorns played pool, skimp-dressed barmaids and mares walking about, and others simply drink and drink until they couldn't see anything but a fuzzy blur.

She turned her head to Trixie and shouted over the loud violin music being played in the far off corner of the bar "This was your idea of lunch!? Trixie this is a BAR!!!"

Trixie chuckled and made her way over to the counter, pulling up a stool for herself and settling up on top of it with a quick word to the bartender "The usual, Sam!" The colt nodded and trotted over, poking his head through the kitchen door and shouting something that Twilight could not discern.

The lavender mare sighed as she made her way over to the counter with Trixie, wondering exactly how she was supposed to turn this back around to fit her goal. Originally the plan had been to teach Trixie about communication, as one of friendship's most important aspects is learning to talk openly and friendly with your friends, and she figured that a nice conversation over lunch would do the trick. She frowned as she hopped up on the stool and thought, looking over towards Trixie who had already started to have a go at her first bottle of Apple Cider.

"Apple Cider..." Twilight thought...a small smile forming on her face as an idea slowly pieced itself together in her head "Apple Cider....Apple Cider!!! That's it!". Her smile faded slightly though, realizing the lengths she was probably going to have to go to for this. She looked up towards the ceiling for a moment and closed her eyes, muttering quietly to her self a sort of prayer "Celestia...please let this be the right choice...please let this be the right decision...and please, oh please...let me not remember this when I wake up". She looked down with narrowed eyes, a determined and fierce look on her face as she shouted "Oi, barkeep, I'll have what she's having!"

Trixie sat stunned for a moment, watching as Sam the bartender grabbed Twilight a bottle of Apple Cider and slid it towards her. She turned her head and raised an eyebrow, an amused smirk on her face as she said "Wow Sparkle...you never told me you were into the hard stuff."

Twilight scoffed and puffed out her chest, unscrewing the top of the cider bottle and lying with a confident voice "Are you kidding me? Applejack makes REAL Apple Cider, it's way harder then this stuff. It's all strictly under the table of course, wouldn't want the Princess finding out her star-pupil had a bit of a wild side."

Trixie smiled a little, muttering "Heh...I had you pegged for a goody-good Sparkle...guess I might be wrong after all!"

Twilight nodded confidently, but in her mind her thoughts were plagued with sheer nervousness. "Yeah...let's just hope I'M not wrong..." she thought, taking her first hard gulp of the Cider and coughing loudly. The taste was bitter in nature, the only saving grace being the soft underlying taste of sweet Apple Juice.

Trixie smirked and muttered "Hard stuff huh?", taking her fourth swig of the bottle and feeling a burning heat crawl up into her cheeks.

Twilight rolled her eyes and took another forceful gulp of the vile liquid, muttering back "This stuff burns, unlike AJ's, so it takes a bit to get used to."

Trixie merely shrugged, taking another swig and holding up her hoof towards the barkeep. She shouted, her left eye twitching for a moment "Two more for me and the mare!"

~~~

"Ha ha ha!!! He threw up how many letters?!" Trixie shouted, her mane a ruffled mess and a bottle hanging limp in her hoof.

"L...like four hundred or shhommething...ha! He...he wasssh all crying cause his wittle tummy was hurting! F...friggin Celessshtia showed no mercy on him at ALL!" Twilight replied, a loud hiccup echoing out of her lungs and her hoof accidentally knocking over the neat row of twenty four Apple Cider bottles that littered the counter. The two mares laughed hysterically after Twilight did her best impersonation of Spike heaving up letters, her face contorted into foul, retching grimace.

Sam the bartender walked over and gently tapped on the counter, getting the sluggish attention of the two trashed mares and saying "Alright Trix...you know how it is. Twenty is the usual limit, but I know your father so I figured I'd let you have a few more. I got to cut you off though, or else I'll get fired ok?"

Trixie simply shrugged, her eyes drooping for a moment as Twilight swayed on the bar stool, giggling like a school filly. She started to fall back and let out a sharp peep as her head hit something hard. She looked up slowly, her iris's shrinking in fright as a GIANT, muscle ripped stallion looked down on her with a look of rage.

He pushed her off of him and shouted "Watch it, you purple fat ass!!!"

Several of the patrons nearby gasped as Twilight stared towards him with narrowed eyes, her speech slurred but her voice definitely one of anger "What...the fuck did you sshhhay to me fuckass!?"

Trixie's eyes widened slightly in amazement, listening to Twilight's sudden insult and the massive stallion turning his head slowly towards her to mutter "I said...watch it, fat ass!"

Twilight shook her head, her horn sparking for a moment as she muttered, a threatening tone in her voice "Oh no no no no...not that...what else did you call me?"

The stallion grimaced at her and muttered "What...purple?"

"Yeah...purple" Twilight growled, standing up on the bar stool to look the stallion in the eye. Her legs wobbled a little as she tried to balance herself through her drunken stupor. She leaned her head in close to the Stallion's and whispered "Call me purple...one more time...I fucking dare you..."

Trixie, at this point, hopped out of her stool and muttered "I gotta use the little filly's room", making her way towards the back of the establishment. A colt took her spot, pushing the small pile of bottles out of his way and nodding towards the bartender as Twilight continued to death glare the stallion.

The massive hunk narrowed his eyes and whispered menacingly at her "Purple, bitch."

Twilight's horn crackled violently, a massive bottle of Jack flying over to her from a nearby table. It crashed loudly over the back of the Stallion's head, dazing him for a moment as alcohol spilled out all over the counter and floor. The Stallion roared as he recovered from the blow, rearing a hoof back and throwing it forward towards Twilight, hoping to knock her head clean off with one punch. As drunk as she was, her reaction time was amazingly quick as she ducked from the blow. The stallion's hoof connected with the face of the colt who had taken Trixie's spot, the innocent pony flying from his stool and crashing into a table seating eight drunk, and now pissed off colts.

"OI! You son of a bitch!" One shouted, getting up and charging towards the stallion. Twilight let out a small squeak and dove over the counter as the colt through a bar stool at him. The stallion smacking the stool away with brute force, sending it over into ANOTHER group of drunk ponies.

Trixie came out of the bathroom shortly after, muttering "Sam...you better call a janitor...someone went and took a shit all over the fl..." her sentence trailed off as she looked with wide eyes over the massive bar fight that was taking place, the cheery tunes of singing and violin music wafting through the air.

She spotted Twilight through the thick of it, watching in amazement as she took a hoof-punch to the face and returned it with at least twice the strength, knocking the attacking colt out. She spotted Trixie from her spot in the crowd and smiled, shouting "Look Trixie! A party!!! Come party quick before it's over!!!". At this, Trixie smiled widely and charged forward, leaping over the body of a knocked out mare and throwing a hoof forward. She clotheslined a passing colt who went to make a go at Twilight and kicked out her back hooves to catch another in the face. The two mares laughed as the brawl grew in intensity, chairs and tables getting thrown about violently as bottles were smashed over the heads of several ponies.

Trixie laughed as she took a swig of an open Apple Cider bottle nearby and smashed it over a colt's head, Twilight having equal fun as she hurled a chair across the bar and into the back of the head of the Stallion who had insulted her. The fun was short-lived however, as the front door of the bar gleamed red around it's edges and exploded violently, the roars of "EVERYPONY DOWN!" and "FREEZE!!!" echoing across the bar.

"GUARDS!!!" a colt shouted, Twilight blinking in alarm and feeling the sudden tug of hooves against her coat. She was being dragged backwards, her screams loud and frantic. She didn't even bother to look at who was dragging her, unknowing that it was Trixie who was leading them towards the kitchen door behind the counter. The bar at this point was in a chaotic uproar, with ponies and guards charging into each other and adding more violence to the mayhem.

Trixie growled as she pulled the unicorn towards the bar, sick of her pointless screaming. "Twilight shut up!" She shouted, grabbing a nearby cider bottle and smashing it over the lavender mare's head. Twilight fell limp almost immediately, groaning as Trixie hoisted her up onto her back and charged through the kitchen door. She looked around quickly, smiling as she spotted the door near the back that held a comforting sign above it's metal entrance. A sign that read 'Exit'.

~~~

"Oh...why does my head hurt...?" Twilight groaned, her drool running down Trixie's side and her hooves swaying limply as her carrier moved down the crowded streets in a quick trot. The fight had sobered Trixie up pretty good, making it easier for her to navigate the insane mess of ponies. Despite the mess of drool running down her coat and the obvious scolding and lecturing she was going to get when Thoen found out about Twilight getting into a massive bar brawl, she was smiling like a complete idiot. As far as she was concerned, it was the most fun she had in ages. She had to admit...Twilight was actually a pretty fun pony to be around, knowing that if she stuck around...that there was going to be plenty more crazy adventures on the way.

As they made their way back into the lower city area, the crowds grew less and less in size, signaling that they were nearing home.

Trixie however, suddenly blushed like crazy as Twilight ran a hot tongue up the back of her neck and muttered happily "Mmmh...I love blueberries..."

The azure unicorn laughed nervously as she made her way down the street towards her house, muttering back towards Twilight "You're drunk."

Twilight didn't acknowledge her statement, simply muttering "I want more blueberries...hey Trixie, can we go get more blueberries?"

Trixie nodded with a sly smile as she whispered "Of course...after we get home and I get drunk again. I didn't get to enjoy the haze long enough."

Trixie pushed her way through the front door of the house, bucking it closed behind her and quickly trotting through the house towards the kitchen. She tilted herself backwards, letting Twilight gently slide off of her back and onto her rear. She opened the fridge shortly after, looking through the mostly barren shelves for a small bowl of blueberries she KNEW she still had. Just as she peered down into the lower shelves, she let out a loud shriek and turned her head towards Twilight. The lavender mare in question was running a tongue up the left side of her flank, staring up at her with glazed eyes. Twilight smiled, a smile forming around her stuck out tongue as she gurgled "Berries?"

Trixie blinked, her cheeks as red as apples. She turned herself around slowly as Twilight started to scoot herself closer to her, forcing the mare to back herself up against the colt shelving of the fridge. "T...Twilight!" Trixie squeaked as Twilight tried to lick her blushing cheek, drool partially leaking out of the corner of her mouth.

"Just a taste..." Twilight whispered, struggling against the hoof Trixie had stuck out to hold her off.

Trixie looked around quickly, trying to figure out some way to get out of the awkward situation. She stopped however, as a small smile creeped onto her face. One of the things she had always wanted to was get back at Twilight in some way...just some crazy...humiliating way. Out of the many ideas she had formed over the years...this had to be her craziest one yet.

Still holding a struggling, whimpering Twilight at bay, Trixie looked over towards one of the far off cupboards and lit it up with her magic. The door opened slowly, revealing a large, green bottle of liquid that was labeled with an apple covered in a bio-hazard simple. Under the symbol was the word that often drove Trixie to shiver with excitement, always failing to fulfill her self dare to drink the taunting substance. She had gotten the bottle secretly from a colt down in Appleloosa when she went to visit an old friend of hers, and was warned extensively over the drinking of it. She had heard that it was like no other substance in Equestria, that the hangover could even wreck Princess Celestia, and that it was even banned in several towns and cities for its harsh potency.

She figured though...that this would do perfectly for what she had in mind, her eyes eagerly staring at the word "BRAEBURNED".

"Hey Twilight...let's say you and I share a few drinks....and then we'll get to those blueberries."

(Shazam! Hope this chapter's up to PAR, I tried to lengthen it for everyone's benefit. Hope you guys saw my announcement about having a Tumblr, and I wanted to ask you all something concerning that real quick. I got a question about the two leap of faiths I planned on cancelling, and I'm now reconsidering it. What do YOU think? Do you think I should put those two out or no? Give me your opinions!")

Chapter Eleven - In the name of the Law!

Twilight's head was on fire, and her body was numb as ice. That was the best way she could describe the furious pain roaring through her brain and loss of feeling in her body as she slowly gained a hold of her shattered consciousness. Her stomach felt like it was a lost ship upon a trembling, gurgling sea of rage and misery, threatening to capsize in an instant...or in her case, to throw up. "What...the shit?" she swore in her head, trying to process what all had happened the night before. She couldn't remember much, save a few flashes and images of flying bar stools and the taste of blueberries. What she DID remember, was the moment that her and Trixie had walked into the bar for 'Lunch'. Letting out a small moan, Twilight tried to move, but found herself unable...the sudden realization of a weight pressing down on her flashing in her mind. She was trapped under something.

Opening her eyes slowly, Twilight stared at the closed eyes of Trixie before her, the azure unicorn draped lazily over her. Twilight was just about to speak when she realized she couldn't...looking down in her field of vision and suddenly letting out a terrified squeak. Feeling started to rapidly course its way back through the lavender mare as she felt Trixie's tongue hanging limp inside her own open mouth, her own mouth open and pressed firmly against hers. "OH MY GOSH!!!!" Twilight squealed in her mind, her face turning red more rapidly then anypony could have dared imagine. It was only then that Twilight felt a similar burning somewhere else on her body, nearly matching the fire of her head...realizing that the soreness was radiating from the direct middle of her haunches.

Trixie screamed and flew back, startled awake by the cry of terror that Twilight let out of now vacant mouth as she shoved her hooves against Trixie's chest. The azure mare hit the nearby counter with a loud 'BANG!' as Twilight screamed "TRIXIE WHAT THE HELL!?!"

Trixie blinked, a hoof up to her head as she groaned "What!? What happened, what's going on!?"

Twilight had crawled backwards and pressed her back up against the fridge, tears in her eyes as she squeaked "Did...did you...oh my gosh Trixie how could you?!"

Trixie's head was bowed, hooves over her eyes as a throbbing pain echoed in her head, her heartbeat audible in her ears. She groaned "How could I what? What happened?!"

Twilight felt her eye twitch as she shouted "You RAPED ME!"

At this, Trixie's head flew up and her eyes widened as she whispered "Say what?"

Twilight whimpered, her hooves on her haunches as she squeaked "I woke up with your tongue in my mouth and our...our...we were pressed..." She couldn't finish her sentence, her eye still twitching and her lungs closing up slightly.

Trixie frowned, her wide eyes still staring towards Twilight. She whispered "I...don't remember last night, what do you mean I raped you!? Why in the fucking hell of all Equestria would I....uh oh." She stared over towards her left, her eyes passing over the completely empty bottle of 'Braeburned'.

Twilight hugged herself tight and whispered "What do you mean you don't remember!? What are you staring...what's in that bottle!? What did you do!!?"

Trixie sighed in aggravation and held out her hooves towards Twilight, half-shouting "Alright just calm down! Look, neither one of us knows what happened, alright!? I only meant to give you a raging hangover, not ride horseback! So our haunches burn, that drink makes EVERYTHING burn! And so what if...if I kissed you, big fucking whoop! Mare's kiss all the time! The only way we're really gonna remember anything is if we take some water mixed with a tad bit of cider...only remedy that colt down in Appleloosa told me would work."

Ten minutes later, the headache plagued mares shared the mixture of cider-water and a few pills of aspirin. Trixie put her head in her hooves and groaned as Twilight tried to blink the pain out of her eyes and whispered "Do you always feel like this after you drink? Celestia damn it all I feel like garbage..."

Trixie scoffed and muttered "Gee, thanks...at least I have a tolerance to it, unlike you miss 'Hardass'".

Twilight rolled her eyes as she sighed "Hey, I did what I did to get the lesson of friendship across, alright? Don't expect me to do that again anytime soon though..."

"Lesson?" Trixie asked, her voice dripping with sarcasm "Really...a lesson? What the hell kind of lesson was THAT!?"

Twilight blushed slightly and stared down towards the table she at and whispered "Well...friends always enjoy doing the things they like together...like cooking, or shopping...I figured you'd enjoy a good drinking buddy."

Trixie raised an eyebrow and muttered "Uh huh...well a lot of good THAT did! Do you remember anything yet...?"

Twilight nodded, looking away with an embarrassed blush "It's...slowly coming back to me. I remember some stallion calling me purple...I didn't like that."

Trixie rolled her eyes and waved her hoof in frustration, shouting "Not about the bar fight! I remember that part, I'm talking about last night, US!" Twilight blinked and looked up towards the ceiling for a moment and thinking.

After a few minutes, Twilight sighed and shook her head, muttering "No...I still can't remember last ni-"

And then...it struck her.

~~~

Like a crashing wave of ocean water, Twilight saw and felt the memories of the previous night flooding back to her. She had already dragged her tongue across Trixie's rear, begging for blueberries. Trixie had already popped the bottle of the 'Braeburned', and had taken a chug. She held it out to Twilight and muttered "H...here...this tastes like blueberries! Drink up Twilight!" Eager to get the taste in her mouth, Twilight eagerly grasped the bottle and chugged down at least five mouthfuls. At that moment, there was no denying that she completely blasted. Trixie herself took a massive load of the bottle and blinked, time and space bending her utterly smashed mind. They found themselves a few minutes later giggling, laughing hysterically, and howling as they ran about the house, chasing one another like a sick game of cat and mouse.

At one particular moment, Twilight shoved Trixie against the living room wall, pinning her with her hooves and whispering seductively "Got you...". Trixie blushed and gasped as Twilight shoved her head forward and pressed their lips together. At first, Trixie was startled, but then...she got used to the idea. Kissing back, Trixie threw her hooves around Twilight and dragged them both to the ground. They rolled around on the ground, desperately trying to rub and smother one another with kisses and affectionate nuzzling, until eventually Twilight was the one to claim victory. She wrestled her way on top of Trixie and smiled, whispering "You ready for a REAL rodeo?" Trixie, a furious blush passing over her face, nodded and put her hooves on Twilight's sides, spreading her haunches and...

~~~

Twilight's eye twitched as she came back to reality, whispering "Eight times...". Trixie, who had been watching her closely, raised an eyebrow and gave her a questioning look. Twilight's bottom lip quivered as she tried to speak "W...we fucked, eight times...I was on top for six of them."

Trixie's eyes had fully widened, her jaw dropping at the sudden realization. She muttered "We...we seriously...did it eight times!?"

Twilight nodded very slowly, muttering "Twice in your bedroom...once in the hallway...four times on this table...and once in your shower." The two mares were silent after that, staring towards one another as the clock on the wall ticked much too loudly in Trixie's opinion. Finally after several tense minutes, Twilight sighed and muttered "Well...that debunks the rape theory...so much for my virginity....."

Trixie smirked and whispered "Well at least you're taking it well..." Twilight looked up, noticing that Trixie was looking off to the side and frowning.

Blushing, Twilight leaned forward and whispered "I'm not mad...this is just really sudden is all...from what I could remember I think I enjoyed it so it's not all bad..."

At this, Trixie threw up her hooves and shouted "How are you taking this in stride!? Isn't this at all awkward for you!? Twilight we got smashed and FUCKED eight times! How can you just sit there all calm and shit?! You lost your virginity without a care in the fucking world and you act like it doesn't even matter!"

Twilight leaned back, startled at Trixie's sudden outburst and muttered when she was finished "Trixie...what happened, happened. There's no changing that, ok? Sure it's a bit...awkward, but there's no changing the past. The only thing I can think to do is just accept it, analyze it, learn, and move on from it. It's just how I am Trixie..." Trixie scoffed and looked off to the side for a moment, staring towards a far off wall. She wasn't really surprised when Twilight asked "Was it good for you...?". The azure mare thought about it for a moment, her own memories of the previous night flowing through her mind slowly. She remembered the heat...the passion...the friction between her and a screaming, groaning Twilight as the hours of rolled by into the night. She had wanted Twilight...she needed Twilight. After a moment, Trixie nodded and sighed, blushing and looking towards Twilight for a moment who asked "So...what does that make us?"

Trixie scoffed and answered "Technically? Friends with Benefits, since you insist on driving this friendship shit into my brain. Anything else, that's all on you..."

Twilight blinked, whispering "What do you mean 'anything else'? Are you talking about...being Marefriends?"

Trixie started at Twilight for a moment before she spoke "Um...there's not much else besides that. Concerning that, I think we can both agree our feelings are a bit of a mess right now. I don't know how I feel about you anymore, and I'm sure you don't even know what to feel about anything right now. We've only been together here for a few days, and I'm not sure after everything that's happened that we can just go and develop feelings this fast...if there even any feelings at all. Let's just...continue on with the friendship business and we'll deal with this later, my head's pounding."

Twilight nodded slowly and watched as Trixie made her way over to her kitchen, rummaging through the cabinets for a pan. It was true, Twilight really didn't know how to rationalize her feelings for Trixie anymore. Over the course of a few days, she had gone from enemy to lover. She looked at Trixie differently, her eyes running over her curves, down her flank, and back up to her chest, neck, and beautiful, bed-ragged mane. She felt drawn to her now...like she needed to be in her company...like she wanted her.

Hopping off the chair, she went to the kitchen as well and spoke as she walked in "So..anything you want to do today?"

Trixie looked over at Twilight for a moment as she placed the pan on the now heated stove, muttering "You're the friendship teacher, remember? I just want breakfast...whatever you wanna do, I don't care." Twilight nodded and smiled slightly, a simple enough idea popping up into her head.

~~~

Central Park was one of the only real places Trixie believed was free of Manehatten's corruption. The trees had already begun to sprout new leaves, free of the destructive temperatures of the winter nights that had begun to grow warmer with each passing day. All around, families of ponies enjoyed picnics, running around with their foals and fillies, and simply sitting and enjoying one another's company. Twilight and Trixie themselves were situated under one of the trees, laying on their bellies and watching the groups of ponies at play. Trixie looked over and muttered "And...exactly what lesson is this?"

Twilight smiled and watched as a small filly was tickled by her father, the two of them giggling and chasing each other about. She looked towards Trixie and whispered "The same as what everypony here in the park is doing. Enjoying one another's company!" Trixie raised an eyebrow as Twilight went on "Think about it, friends are around each other for a reason. They enjoy doing the same things and hold the same interests, BECAUSE they enjoy being around one another. Friendship is about togetherness and closeness, and I figured it would be nice to just enjoy one another's presence." Trixie nodded slowly and looked over towards the family. She found herself smiling after a little while, watching the father chase around his little filly.

After a moment she spoke, getting Twilight's attention "My dad and I...we used to play around Trottington Park in Canterlot. Mom always laughed when I managed to trip him up with my magic and jump up on top of him. We'd have the best tickle fights...followed by a trip to the ice cream parlor."

Twilight smiled and whispered "I know it may be different...but you can still have those good times again Trixie. I have loads of fun with my friends in Ponyville...and I wish you and Thoen could have fun as well."

Trixie raised an eyebrow and asked "Are you asking me and Thoen to...come back to Ponyville?"

"Of course" Twilight nodded with a smile "I mean...sure everyone would need a bit to get used to you coming back...but it'd be a NEW you! A happy, friendly Trixie that I know everypony will love!"

Trixie smiled at this, looking down towards the ground and muttering "Maybe...I'll talk to Dad about it later."

Twilight nudged her side, whispering "Why don't we go see him now? The sooner the better, right?" Trixie thought over it for a moment before nodding and standing, the two of them making their way towards the entrance of the park.

Just as they exited onto the sidewalk, however, a loud, booming voice roared in their direction "There she is! HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!!!!" Twilight gasped as two guards clad in the red armor of Manehatten glared towards her, their front hooves pawing at the ground in front of them, as if ready to charge.

Trixie looked to their right and gasped, pointing towards the nearby wall and shouting "Oh no, Twilight look!" Twilight looked to where Trixie was pointing and gasped, staring towards the various posters...of her.

Wanted for Train Robbery!!! If you see this pony, contact authorities immediately! BITS REWARD!

It was this caption that rested under a rough sketch of her, the posters lining themselves along most of the wall. Twilight gasped as she remembered the first day she came to Manehatten...the guards and the train! "Oh SHIT!" She squealed as the Guards began their charge towards them.

Trixie growled and jumped in front of her, shouting "Twilight shield your eyes!". With a quick hoof over her eyes, Twilight turned her head away as Trixie lit up and ignited her horn with a furious flash of light, blinding the guards and causing them to stumble forward onto the ground. "Come on!" She shouted, dragging Twilight down the sidewalk in a full gallop.

It wasn't long before the guards shook the blindness away and gave chase, shouting after them "STOP! IN THE NAME OF THE LAW!!!!"

Trixie laughed at this as they flew down the street, shouting back at them "Your law is bullshit!". Twilight screamed as they rushed towards the crosswalk ahead, the 'DO NOT TROT' light blinking rapidly. "Come on, hurry!" Trixie shouted, barreling across the street as the light above changed from red to green. Taking a quick dive, the two of them reached the other side safely, unlike the guards who were stuck on the opposite side of the street crowded with carriages. Trixie let out a small laugh, but suddenly squeaked as three more guards caught sight of Twilight from their side of the street. Turning quickly, the two mares ran down the street, shoving through the thick crowds of ponies and receiving loud shouts of protest in return. "Run Twilight, run!!!" Trixie screamed, trying her best to keep Twilight ahead of her and away from the rampaging guards.

"Where are we going!?" Shouted Twilight, weaving in and out of the crowds and trying to stay ahead of the guards.

"Run to Thoen's! It's around the next corner and down the street on left, eight buildings down!" Trixie shouted back, skidding to a halt and turning on her hooves. "Keep going I'll catch up!" She yelled, bowing her head and lighting up her horn. An empty carriage parked nearby gleamed with Trixie's pink aura of magic, moving and turning forward to roll into the guards. The pursuers and the bystanders nearby lept back in a panic as the carriage crashed into the nearby building, cutting off the sidewalk. Trixie shouted with triumph but turned suddenly at the yelps of Twilight's voice. She gasped as four guards rounded the corner in front of Twilight and grabbed at her, doing their best to pin her to the ground. "NO!!!" Trixie screamed, galloping forward to intercept them.

Seeing this, Twilight screamed towards her "Don't! Run away or they'll get you too!!! Trixie run!!!!". Trixie slowed slightly, hesitating as one of the guards slipped a small silver ring over Twilight's horn, negating any magic she would attempt to use.

Growling, Trixie turned her head and watched as more and more guards made their way down the street towards Twilight, the odds quickly turning against them. With a quick shout of "I WILL FIND YOU!" to Twilight, the azure unicorn dashed into the nearest alley in hopes to cut across the corner and make her way to the street Thoen lived on.

~~~

Thoen licked his lips in concentration, his horn aglow with azure magic and his eyes dead set on the small, miniature anchor in front of him. A small model ship rested in front of him, a pair of tweezers magically floating in front of his eyes and grasping the small anchor. He felt a small drip of sweat rolling down his forehead as the anchor neared the front of the ship, his voice just a tiny whisper "There we go...nice and easy...just...right th-"

"DAAAAAAAD!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Thoen yelped and jumped out of his chair, the tweezers flying up and sticking themselves up in the ceiling. Landing roughly on his flank, Thoen spun around in his chair and shouted "Fucking hell Trixie! You're gonna give your old man a heart attack doing that! What in the hay are you...." He trailed off as Trixie started to cry, her eyes soaked with tears as she sniffed and bawled. "Goodness Trixie...what's wrong?! What's happened!"

The azure mare rushed to her father, grasping him in a tight hug and shouting "The guards took Twilight! They've got her for the robbery of the Hoofington Express!"

Thoen frowned, holding his daughter tightly and whispering "Oh no...how long ago was that?"

Trixie sniffed, wiping her eyes and whimpering "No more then...then five minutes ago..."

Thoen nodded, whispering to Trixie "You sound really devastated...I guess this means you've had a change of heart about her?". Trixie could feel a raw emotion gripping at her, a feeling of loss and agony...maybe even as bad as the feelings she had when her mother died. The loss of a loved one...the loss of a mare she cared about. There was no mistaking it this time. After the days she spent with Twilight, the bar fight, their night of drunk passion, the park....she finally realized that she was not only starting to change from Twilight's friendship lessons...but that she was falling in love with her too. Thoen smiled as he felt her heartbeat against his chest and whispered "So...what are we going to do?"

Trixie, in response to this, let out a sobbing growl and clenched her teeth, whispering menacingly "I know what you're going to do...but as for me...I'm going to rip every fucking stone and brick out of that damn jail. In the name of the law my ass!"

Chapter Twelve - Rage of the Solar Flare

"Oi Thoen, I thought we said no more of this criminal business! We got ya girl her meds, what more do ya want from us?" Spoke a black colored colt with white spots adorning his face and sides. Around him sat the very same ponies who had helped Thoen rob the Hoofington Express. The group had been summoned to Thoen's apartment, and all were very much agitated at the demanding of their presence and the urgency of the meeting, wondering exactly what Thoen needed so badly.

The seven of them sat in a semi circle, all staring towards Thoen who spoke from his chair in the front "My friends...I understand that you must be a little...upset that you have been summoned in such a way. Believe me when I say, however, that I did not do so lightly. We all have our own lives and families that we must try to provide for and take care of, and I would never ask you to do something that would hinder that in ANY way."

A mare on the black colt's left muttered "You make it sound like you're planning for something dangerous..."

Thoen nodded and sighed sadly, looking at each of the ponies faces as he whispered "None of this leaves the apartment...as always, agreed?" The group nodded, eager for Thoen to go on. With a deep breath, Thoen breathed out sadly "Well there's no easy or gentle way to put this, so I'll just throw this out on the table. Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia of Equestria's star pupil...is sitting in the Manehatten Criminal Institution, and my daughter and I need your help to break her out and ferry her away to the Sun Border."

The ponies sat in silence for a moment, wide-eyed with mouths partially agape in shock and horror. The colt sitting farthest on the right, a chest-nut brown coat and darker mane whispered "You want us...to help you...break into a prison, for the elite student of Princess Celestia? Through an army of guards, thick walls, and miles of razor wire...for a single pony? Why...how!?"

Thoen looked to his right slowly, staring quietly towards a distraught looking Trixie who sat at the far end of the living room. Her mane was a ruffled mess, her cheeks tear streaked and her eyes puffy and red. Her eyes were fixated on the large prison building sitting ominously in the middle of the city with black, stormy clouds resting overhead. Thoen sighed, turning back towards the ponies and shaking his head "No...we're not going to break into the prison...we're going to destroy it."

At this, the black colt scoffed and shook his head, muttering in a sarcastic tone "Oh great...we're going to war. And just how do you plan on rescuing this pony out of the prison? We kind of need to GET INSIDE and GET HER OUT, which sort of crushes the point of destroying it in the first place. HOW would we even destroy it?! The whole complex is a fortress!"

Thoen smiled slightly, looking towards the colt and whispering "Oh...you'd be surprised what damage can be done with the simplest of things. Words, for example...can have a lot of impact on things." The group looked at him with a confused expression, a cream-colored mare whispering from the far left "What...do you mean by words? What did you do Thoen?"

Thoen shrugged slightly, a twinkle in his eye as he said "Oh...nothing really. I might have sent a letter to a few royal officials...maybe sent one to Canterlot or so..."

He smiled as the semi-circle of ponies jumped up, horrified expressions etched on their faces as they shouted towards him

"Are you insane!?"

"Thoen you didn't!"

"We're screwed, all of us!"

"War! War is what you're after!"

"Damn it all Thoen!!!"

The group continued to scream and insult Thoen, labeling him 'crazy' and 'lunatic'. Thoen didn't seem to be bothered by this at all, simply sitting on his haunches in the chair and crossing his front hooves in his lap. It wasn't until Trixie looked over and screamed "SHUT UP!!!!" that the group finally grew quiet.

Thoen sighed as they all sat back down, grumbling about the severe turn of events that was sure to take place soon. Thoen waited until they had grown fully quiet before speaking quietly "There...if that's the end of the noise, I can continue?" Nopony spoke, drawing a nod out of Thoen who went on "Very well. Now, we all know life as we know it in Manehatten is garbage. It's vulger, it's disguisting, it's wretched, and it needs to be fixed, now. The whole of Manehatten knows this, just as I know it and Trixie knows it and you all know it. We've been on the precipice of rebellion for awhile, for there are whispers everywhere in this city and I DO hear them. Ponies can't take this anymore...it's not right, it's not fair. If one rises against them, another will as well. If a few rise, we will ALL rise! The Mayor has plagued us with tyranny long enough, and by his own foolish hoof he's crafted the biggest powder keg in Equestrian history: The populace of Manehatten. All it takes now...is a spark, and the fuse will ignite. I've taken it upon myself to light the fuse...but now I need a bang. Martial Law is inevitable...war, is inevitable. I sent a letter to Canterlot explaining the full gravity of Manehatten's situation, AND Twilight's status of Imprisonment to Princess Celestia via an old friend that I still talk to in Canterlot. I received a response no more then three minutes from my sent letter. The Solar Flare is already on their way here, who we all know as the best and most elite of Celestia's Royal Guard...and I hear Celestia won't be too far behind them either." The group all grew wide-eyed as Thoen went on, Trixie the only pony moving in the room as she quietly made her way to the kitchen, hoping to make herself a comforting cup of tea. Thoen's eyes watched her retreating form as he continued on "Celestia...is very, very angry. We can use that to our advantage, we can use her rage and her hoof to smack down the tyranny that's plagued this city, and finally instil Martial Law! We can save the poor, the sick, the weak, everypony!"

The group looked towards one another, silencing questioning each other about whether this really was a good idea or not. A blue coated mare on the middle-left chair muttered "Well if Celestia and the Solar Flare are already on their way...there's really no choice is there?"

The black colt sighed in aggravation and growled "Dammit Thoen...you really don't give us much of a choice do you?"

Thoen shook his head, muttering "That's not true...you have a choice to help me fight with the Solar Flare and show them that we are willing to do whatever we can to help Manehatten become a beautiful, peaceful city again. We need to show the ponies of Manehatten that this isn't just a police action, but that it's their own ponyfolk, friends and family, fighting to save a city in ruin!"

A few ponies nodded, their shocked expressions quickly turning into looks of determination and agreement. A green colt on the right held up his hoof, muttering "But...what's the point in fighting if Princess Celestia is coming? Can't she just...you know...do her Goddess thing or whatever and free Twilight that way?"

Some nodded at this question, they too sharing the same thoughts. Thoen nodded as well and spoke "Celestia could probably handle the rescuing of Twilight alone...but to weed out the Manehatten Guard, secure the entire city of Manehatten, and ensure a peaceful transition of power, she'll need the help of her Royal Guard. That's where The Solar Flare comes in. They'll be handling the rescue of Twilight while Celestia deals with The Mayor. What I need to know now, however, is what you all decide to do. Are you in, or are you out?"

Seven hooves went up at once, signalling to Thoen that the entire group was ready to take on the biggest fight of their lives. The black colt in the center nodded towards Thoen and whispered "We're with you. You fed our families from the train job, and by doing this you'll help free them from a disgusting Tyrant as well. I think I can speak for all of us when I say we're ready to risk what we have left to fight."

From behind the group, Trixie finished her tea and stared towards her father with a look of determined fury on her face, her whisper menacing and thick with rage "Alright then...let's go to war."

~~~

Twilight groaned, a dull, throbbing pain pounding away at the back of her bruised skull. She was chained with her back against a cold, black wall, her front hooves chained above her and her rear hooves chained below her. Several bruises and cuts adorned her body, which was accompanied by a sickening black-eye on her left eye. With her left eye swelled shut, her right eye was the only one to flutter open, her cell coming into a blurry view. The cell was empty and desolate for the most part, with but a single wooden table resting near the iron balls which made up the borders of her confinement. A wooden paddle, two knives, and a small coil of rope rested on its surface, with small streaks of blood splotching the shining edges of the blades. The memories brought forth from the table of instruments wanted to make Twilight retch and vomit, the white-hot pain of her scratches making her writhe slightly in her chains. Over and over she played back the earlier hours in her mind...the scars of her memory drawing tears out of her good eye.

'Smack! Smack! Smack!'

"Stop!!! Stop, please it hurts!!! Please!!!!" Twilight begged, screamed even as a large, bulky stallion gripped the wooden paddle in his teeth and spanked Twilight on her exposed flank.

A growling voice shouted over her wailing cries of pain, a colt's voice, a colt she knew only as 'The Captain'. Strong and powerful it roared "Then tell us who else was involved in the train robbery! We saw others fleeing the scene when we arrived at the Hoofington Express!"

Twilight sobbed and let out a sharp yell of pain as the stallion spanked her again, drawing a frantic, squealing voice out of the mare "I told you, I was just a passenger! I was on the train when it was attacked and my suitcase hit me in the head when the train tipped! I'm telling the truth!!!"

The Captain sighed, his Manehatten Guard's arm clattering slightly as he shifted his weight on his hooves and looked towards the stallion. He whispered just loud enough for Twilight to hear the words that her blood run cold with fear "Get the knives."

Twilight flailed about in her chains as the sound of a knife sliding across the table was heard, with her screams echoing across the walls of the prison. "NO! No please don't! Don't!!! Somepony help me!!! Please, please don't! No, NO!!! Don't do th- AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGHHHHHHH!!!"

"NOOO!!!" Twilight screamed, the memory of knives sliding across her legs and body fading into the black abyss of her thoughts. Her good eye flicked over to the right as the sound of iron sliding across the metal wafted through the hallway. Two sets of hoof-steps echoed in Twilight's ears, her breath starting to come out in panicked gasps. She knew it was them, The Captain and the stallion, coming back to torture her.

She let out a terrified squeak and shut her good eye tight as the voice of the colt shouted towards her "Last chance mare, start talking or I'm going to have to do something you're REALLY not going to like!"

Twilight whimpered, whispering in a terrified tone "I told you...I was just a passenger! You have to believe me, please!"

The colt sighed, nodding to the Stallion who reached into his saddlebags and produced a large metal nail. He dropped it on the table as Twilight opened up her eye and gasped. It was no surprise that she begun to flail and scream bloody murder as the stallion proceeded to pull a hammer from his saddlebags, making his way towards the squealing mare with both tools of destructive torture. The stallion stopped in front of her, rearing a hoof back and throwing it forward to heave a punch in Twilight's exposed belly. The mare went limp in an instant, a guttural cry of whimpering pain escaping the unicorn's lips. She knew it was inevitable, the savage, brutal pain she was about to endure.

"Just give us a name...any name, and you can spare yourself at least twenty minutes." the colt whispered, a tone of fake concern laced in his voice.

Twilight hung there in silence in a moment, a grimace etched on her face and her eyes no longer clenched tight. The only sound that came out of her in that instant...was the sound of music. She sang a soft, quiet tune which drew a questioning look from the colt:

"Twinkle, Twinkle...little...s...star.

"How I w...wonder, what you are...

If there...there's somepony that cares...

Please give...lo...love to this poor mare..."

Just as the stallion readied himself to hammer away at the deadly nail pointed towards Twilight's rear leg, a thunderous explosion echoed out through the building. The walls shook violently as the dim lights above flicked and went out, drawing a terrified shout out of the three of them. The iron door at the end of the hall swung open with a loud bang as a colt clad in armor rushed down the hallway, The Captain shouting towards him "What's the commotion about!? What just happened!?"

The armored guard shouted towards the colt "Captain! We're under attack!"

Another explosion from outside rocked the building as The Captain shouted back "From who!? Who the hell would dare!?"

~*~ Twenty minutes earlier ~*~

Thoen carefully made his way down the street, Trixie close behind him. The rest of the group had gone to gather as much support as they could, leaving the two of them to scout out the prison. As they approached the corner, Thoen stopped, holding out a hoof to stop Trixie. She looked up at him as he whispered and turned his head towards the corner "Wait here." The mare nodded as Thoen carefully approached the street corner, taking extra care to slowly lean his head around the corner. The prison was the size of at least half a city block, with one tower situated on two sides. The walls were lined with several layers of razor wire, and even had what looked like electrical wiring running through its center. The only real structural weakness Thoen saw was the simple, 'double-door' black gate which rested in the front of the prison. The only problem was it was being guarded by two, very strong, very powerful looking stallions with thick, bulky, red colored armor that fully covered their bodies except for their eyes and the end of their snout.

Thoen shook his head as he leaned back around the corner, sighing "This is going to be a bit difficult...Trixie are you sure you want to be here for this? ....Trixie?" He turned his head to look at her when he received no response, and gasped. He just barely caught a glimpse of Trixie's squirming legs as she disappeared around a corner and into an alley. Rushing forward, Thoen barreled into the alley, ready to fight off whatever was attacking his daughter. His intentions were crushed however as a firm pair of hooves grasped him and threw him against the wall, pinning him.

A hoof was pressed up against his mouth as Trixie was shoved up next to him and a voice whispered out to both of them "We are friend, not foe. If you do not scream you will be released...and we can talk." Thoen looked around carefully as the forms of over twenty ponies situated themselves around him and Trixie, surrounding him. The pony pinning him was wearing a matching outfit as the others: A brown cloak and hood and a brown body coat which, despite its intention, failed to cover up the yellow color of royal armor which Thoen was certain carried the Sun Crest of Princess Celestia. Thoen nodded to the Royal Guard who held him in place and let out a quiet breath as the colt retreated back a few steps, Trixie being released as well. The colt who pinned Thoen stepped aside, allowing a tall stallion wearing the same gear through to stand in front of the two. Trixie and Thoen looked up at the massive hulk of a stallion, his face concealed by a thick, black bandana. His emerald eyes were the only thing visible from the hood pulled over his head, and they carried a sort of determined, fierce look in his eyes.

With a quick look over the two ponies, the Stallion began to speak. His voice was like a lion's, proud and very powerful "I am Captain Volokai Evangiline Avangarde Kurr, of her Majesty Princess Celestia's Solar Flare. We are here to acquire Miss Twilight Sparkle from the Prison nearby. You, are Mr. Arcaneium, correct?" Thoen nodded as Volokai went on "Good, then we will proceed. I must ask that for your own safety you do not interfere...however" He paused as he caught a fierce glare from Trixie, drawing his eyes towards her for a second before they flicked back to Thoen "If you do decide to...'assist' us...in this operation, then you shall do so at your own risk. Myself nor my ponies will be responsible for probable injuries or death that will result from this raid, understood?" Thoen nodded, the captain nodding in return and turning to nod towards his group.

The guards sprung into action, moving further into the alley with careful stealth and quick movements as Thoen held out a hoof towards the captain and whispered "How did you all get here so fast...and undetected? There's guards everywhere! Surely they would have picked you out of the crowd!"

Captain Volokai grunted, lifting a hoof up and lowering his bandana. A thin scar ran over his brown-furred face and stretched slightly as he spoke "We have our own ways of moving about Mr. Arcaneium...ways even you would not understand" Thoen frowned and followed the captain as he made his way down the street, coming up behind the guard and quietly whispering orders to set up a position near the opening of the next alley over, located directly across from the prison building. "How many more ponies are coming, Mr. Arcaneium?" The captain whispered, reaching into the folds of his robes and producing a large vial of green liquid.

Thoen stared at it with apprehension and whispered "Maybe...fifty or so, depending on who my companions can muster. What...is in that vial?"

Volokai looked at Thoen for a moment before he passed the vial on to another guard and took a step back, whispering "A little...present from a good zebra friend of mine." Thoen watched as two unicorn guards near the front of the alley dropped to their knees, waiting as the guard with the vial produced a long piece of elastic from his own saddlebags and tied one end to each unicorn's horn. He gave the elastic a firm pull and drew a nod from the unicorns, the two of them squinting their eyes and staring towards the gate. Volokai nodded as the guard placed the vial carefully in the elastic and folded it in on itself, pulling it back and aiming it towards the gates. With the quick whisper of "Fire!", the guard let go of the elastic and watched as the green vial sailed through the air, across the street, and directly into the bars of the gate. What happened next drew a sharp gasp out of both Thoen and Trixie as a thunderous explosion rocketed from the gate. The stallions at the gate dove for cover as Volokai hissed "Fire again! You only got one set of hinges!", the guard nodding and placing another vial produced from his own robes in the elastic. With another fierce tug and a quick release, the second vial sailed across the street and into the second set of hinges that held up the first half of the gate.

Volokai watched as the green liquid fizzled and melted through the hinges with ease, cracking the metal and bringing down the half of the gate. Loud shouts and commands could be heard from the interior of the prison as Volokai quickly signaled his ponies with rapid movements of his hooves. The Solar Flare sprung into action and lept from the alleyway, charging into the chaotic streets of screaming citizens and panicked ponies. Ponies abandoned carriages where they sat in the streets, Volokai quickly pointing a hoof to several and shouting "Sun Group, dig in and hold the streets! Heat Group, with me!" The royal guard quickly split up into their respective groups, with Sun Group taking cover behind the abandoned carriages with horns aglow and long swords clenched in their teeth. Beam Group gathered around Volokai as he shouted towards Thoen "Mr. Arcaneium! I would ask that you and your militia help hold these streets! More and more reinforcements from the Manehatten Guard will be trying their best to retake the front!"

Thoen nodded and shouted "You can count on us!"

Nodding, Volokai quickly directed his ponies towards the gates as the Stallion guards at the front traded a few bolts of magic with the group. They fell easily enough, granting Beam Group entry into the prison. Thoen watched in silence as Trixie slipped in quietly behind Beam Group, galloping into the prison after the Captain. He gulped and turned to take his place between an earth pony and a unicorn, receiving nods from them which he returned with a low grunt.

Already he could hear the familiar shouts of his comrades down the street "Oi! Thoen we made it!!! Where you want us!?"

Thoen shouted up into the air "In the middle here with us! We need to hold the gate!"

~~~

"Three right!"

"Above! Take him out!"

"Two down, press that corner!"

"Three on our six, pressure, pressure!"

"Locked, moving!"

A Solar Flare unicorn ducked as he listened to the harsh shouting of his comrades, shooting a bolt of magic down the narrow hallway that rested just near the main entrance hall to the prison building. Trixie was situated next to him, trying her best to keep the guards at the end of the hall pinned down. The hallway was cramped with the Solar Flare taking cover behind several boxes that they had quickly pulled over to surround a large iron door that Volokai determined led into the dungeon area. Volokai ran a hoof slowly over a small hoof-sized map, his face as calm as his demeanor. He only paused to look up at two of his soldiers cutting through the metal of the door slowly with their magic.

"Time?!" he shouted towards the unicorns, watching as the handle started to give away.

"Twenty seconds sir!" one shouted, drawing a curt nod from Volokai.

He barked quickly to the others "Alright, stack up! I want six ponies holding this hall, the rest of you with me!" They quickly formed up, near the door, the Unicorn guard finally cutting through the lock and pushing the iron door open with a heavy push. Just as it swung inwards, however, the unicorn let out a blood-gurgled scream as a bolt of magic struck his neck. He fell to the ground as two more unicorns shot bolts into the dungeon's hallway, the screams of a mare within reaching Trixie's ears.

"Twilight!!!" She screamed, rushing to the door as Volokai and the rest of the ponies forced their way inside. The Manehatten Captain growled as his Stallion took a bolt to the face, leaping over with a long sword clenched in his teeth towards Volokai.

"Secure Twilight Sparkle!" Shouted Volokai, who pulled his own sword out from his side and rushed to meet his adversary. The Solar Flare rushed down the hall, firing bolts of magic to keep the remaining three Manehatten Guards pinned behind an overturned table. Trixie felt tears brimming in her eyes as a unicorn approached Twilight's cell, lighting up his horn and starting the long cut through the metal lock.

She looked over to Twilight, looking up he bruised and beaten body and shouting "Twilight are you ok!? It's Trixie! I'm here!!!"

Twilight's good eye opened slowly, staring right at Trixie and smiling as she shouted in a hoarse voice "Trixie! Oh thank Celestia!"

The unicorn guard shouted as his horn cut through "I got it!", pushing the cell door open and stepping aside to let Trixie through. She quickly rushed up to the chained mare, pointing her horn towards her bonds and shattering them with small bolts of magic. Twilight yelped as she dropped from the wall, landing firmly on Trixie's back.

"Hold on, I've got you!" Trixie shouted, nodding towards Volokai who had managed to draw his blade across the Manehatten Captain's neck.

Volokai took one look at Twilight, seeing her secured and shouted "Alright! Fall back! All Solar Flare, fall back to the streets!!!"

~~~

"Hold the line! In the name of Celestia you will not falter!" Shouted one of the Solar Flare unicorns, ducking to avoid six bolts of magic flying past the carriage. Sun Group, along with Thoen's Militia were aligned in a tight semi-circle outside the gate, and were trying their best to hold back the growing number of Manehattan guards. Several of the militia ponies had died, along with three of the Solar Flare, with the situation growing worse and worse with each passing second. Pegasus Ponies wrestled and dueled in the air, while earth ponies tried their best to leap over some over-turned carriages to engage the defensive group at close-range.

Thoen turned his head and shot at a Pegasus over head, watching as his bolt struck home and felled his target. He took a glance at the gate and turned his head to fire another bolt, when the sudden realization of what he saw hit him and he turned his head back quickly. Trixie rushed out of the gate with Twilight on her back, Captain Volokai and the rest of the Solar Flare not far behind.

"Divide yourselves amongst the barriers and carriages and hold the line! We must hold out for Princess Celestia! She is coming boys, so make it count!!!" Volokai shouted, rushing to take a place next to Thoen as Trixie gingerly placed Twilight behind a small stone-barrier that had been erected by one of the guard's magic.

As the minutes dragged on by, the Manehatten Guard continued to swell with numbers, pushing more and more at the Solar Flare's line. "Hold! We must hold!" Screamed Volokai, punching a Manehatten Guard in the face and following through with a quick thrust with his sword. It was in this moment that Twilight opened her good eye slowly and looked around, watching as bolts of magic flew this way and that. She spotted Trixie on the opposite side of the line, doing her best to launch bolts of her own magic over the barriers and to not get hit herself. A flash of movement from the left caught Twilight's attention, and she let out a small squeak as she saw the far left of the line fall, the last of the Militia holding it going down with a bolt to the face. Four Manehatten Guards lept over the opening, drawing several screams from the nearby Solar Flare who turned to engage the attackers. She watched as two of the attackers immediately went down from bolts, and another engage in sword-play with another. It wasn't until the final attacker aimed his horn at Thoen did she feel the world slow to a near stop.

Trixie screamed as she saw the attacker aim at her father "DADDY!!!". Thoen turned his head slowly as a bolt of magic escaped the attacker's horn, his body being pelted by three bolts from the Solar Flare immediately after. Thoen knew the bolt was going too fast for him to move, and he closed his eyes to brace for the inevitable impact. Impact did come...however, it was in a way he did not expect. He felt his body being physically shoved out of the way, landing on his back with a firm weight pressed down on him. He opened his eyes and blinked in surprise, looking down to see what had happened. He gasped as he saw Twilight laying on his chest, her side smoking from where the bolt had struck her. Blood oozed from the wound as Twilight's good eye fluttered closed.

Trixie let out a cry of despair, rushing over towards Twilight as Volokai roared "SPARKLE IS DOWN! Dammit it all! Medics! Hold the line! HOLD THE LI-"

He never got to finish his sentence.

A bright, unbearable explosion of light gleamed above the street suddenly which was accompanied by a deafening roar. All the windows of buildings nearby shattered ground rumbled and shook violently. Ponies fell to the ground as the light shrunk and dissipated, and a single white mare landed in the center of the defensive line. Her horn was aglow with yellow magic, her wings fully erect and unleashing her full wingspan. Her tiara glinted in the light of a brightened sun as she spoke in a loud, booming voice, a look of fury in her eyes "I, Princess Celestia of Equestria, hereby instill Martial Law upon the City of Manehatten, by the authority of my crown and the surrender of the Mayor of Manehatten! By this order, all those who would stand against my guard and Manehatten's citizens, will cease and desist!"

The Manehatten guard howled in fear and took off running at the sudden sight of Princess Celestia who now made her way over to her gravely wounded student. Volokai watched her as she dipped to her knees and placed her horn atop Twilight's head. Trixie sobbed as Celestia's horn gleamed with magic, her whimpers barely audible over the shouts of the Solar Flare who were re-securing their perimeter "P...please help her!"

Celestia frowned as she passed her horn over Twilight's body, whispering to Trixie "She is dying...I do not know if she will last much longer...but I will try my best to restore her in Canterlot. Captain!" Volokai snapped to attention as Celestia stood back up to her full height and shouted "Gather your forces! Reinforcements are already on the way. You are to began the taking of Manehatten!"

Volokai nodded and with a quick salute shouted "Aye Milady! Alright, you heard her! Form up into your street parties! Three meter spread!"

Celestia turned her attention back to Trixie, looking down at her tear streaked face and whispering "Now...let us hurry." With that, she dipped her head and let her horn gleam, surrounding Trixie, Twilight, Thoen, and herself in a yellowish bubble of magic...and disappearing in a bright, yellow flash.

(Sorry if it seems a bit...rushed. I'm working in a time crunch here T_T)

Chapter Thirteen - Mother

Chapter Thirteen - Mother

"Give me another shot of Adrenaline!"

"Hold on Twilight, hold on!"

"Dammit she's going into cardiac arrest!!!"

"CRASH CART, STAT!!!"

The screams of Nurse Redheart and several other medical ponies filled the hallways in the Ponyville Urgent Care center, the very building in an uproar at the sudden appearance of Princess Celestia in their waiting room, her magic having blasted away most of the furniture and sending it flying at the walls. Trixie could only watch in despair, her father's hoof on her shoulder as Twilight was thrown upon a gurney and rushed into the deeper part of the hospital. Twilight's swollen eye had managed to crack itself open with her good one, her vision fluttering as the bright overhead lights passed by rapidly. Her head rolled gently from side to side as she was flown down the hall. Only vaguely was she aware of her physical feelings...a soreness here...a twinge of pain there. The only constant was a severe, aching pain on her side where she knew she had been shot.

Slowly looking to her left, she watched a panicked Nurse Redheart buck open two large double-doors and lead the gurney inside. Twilight's body lurched to the right as the gurney swerved to a stop, her hooves and body quickly being moved and adjusted by the doctors and nurse. Her vision blurred and blackened in and out, reality fading away and returning too rapidly for her mind to keep up. When blackness came, it was replaced by a dim light, and the scent of...apples. Apples was all that Twilight could use to describe the aura of light that pressed at her fading life and consciousness. She knew she was dying...she knew she was not going to make it. She shut her eyes and let out a tiny breath as Nurse Redheart pushed the shock paddles against her chest and surged her with a high voltage hit. The lavender mare's broken body lurched upwards, only to fall back to the gurney a near lifeless heap. Twilight's vision once again blackened, the light now permanent in her vision as Nurse Redheart's frantic voice fell on deaf ears.

"Twilight! Please no! Twilight don't do this, not to us! Not to Celestia!" The nurse screamed, rubbing the paddles together and pressing them against the mare's singed chest "CLEAR!". A third shock...a third set of tears from the nurse. Redheart wearily looked up towards the clock as she sobbed, her ears deaf and tuning out the words of the doctor labeling Twilight's official time of death, the EKG machine letting out its final sounds that signaled the end of life.

Beep.......Beep.....Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.....

~*~

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee........beep beep beep beep beep beep!!!!!!!

"AUGGGH!!!!" Twilight heaved, gasping as she sat up quickly and stared straight ahead, her breath coming in frantic gasps and intakes. Her eyes darted around quickly, the scene before her hard to determine as reality or dream. She was sitting in what appeared to be one of the fields of Sweet Apple Acres, rows upon rows of apple trees dominating the area. She quickly looked down at herself, running her front hooves over her own clean, undamaged and unharmed body. She blinked in amazement, looking back up at the apple trees with a shuddering breath. Everything looked so...warped, different in a way. It was like a light haze had been veiled over her eyes, and that the world seemed to be out of focus. Memories of Manehatten were still at the very forefront of her mind, memories that made her wonder and question just exactly how she got to be in Sweet Apple Acres in the first place.

As if answering her mindful questions, the loud thudding of an apple tree's trunk being hit reached the ears of the alarmed unicorn, her head turning towards the sound. She got to her hooves slowly, her balance slightly off as she tumbled ever so slightly to the right. Listening for another thudding of a tree, Twilight moved a few hoofsteps forward into the orchard. She redirected her direction as another thud echoed out from somewhere to her right, and again to the left when she ventured to far in the wrong direction. For three minutes, the thudding of apple trees reached Twilight's ears, and for three minutes the questions of 'Why am I here, how am I here?' poked and prodded at the unicorn's brain.

Finally, after stepping around a large apple tree, the source of the apple trees thuds became clear. It was apple-bucking. The bucking pony in question stopped in mid-kick, his gleaming green eye catching sight of Twilight as she stepped around. He was a big stallion, his coat a neatly blended mixture of red and orange fur, and a deep set of wrinkles running up his snout. Around his neck he wore a light brown riding crop, a matching color for the stetson cowcolt hat he wore atop his head. As she looked over these two particular items, she found herself feeling a surge of emotion rushing through her brain...an emotion of longing. It was only then that she recognized the items, knowing that they belonged to Big Macintosh and Applejack...meaning...

"Well howdy! Lam sakes ya'll ponies just ain't built as tough as they used ta be!" The stallion mused, a warm smile on his old face and a twinkle in his eyes as he tipped back his stetson with a hoof. "Ya'll must be Twilight Sparkle, a pleasure to make yer acquaintance."

He made a slight bow as Twilight looked around steadily with shifty eyes, whispering a rapid series of questions "Where...how did I...get here? Who are you? Do you know Big Macintosh...and Applejack? How did you know my name?"

The stallion's eyes widened slightly but his smile remained, holding up a hoof as he spoke "Whoooa nelly! Simmer down their sugarcube, you'll give yerself a panic attack! Now...to answer sum of ya'lls questions...yer in the middle of nowhere, and everywhere. How ya got here...well ah think ya'll know how THAT happened. As fer Macintosh' an little Applejack, course ah know em, they're mah grandponies after all!"

Twilight's eyes widened and her heart sank as the stallion's words burned themselves into her mind, her voice shaky and whimpering as she squeaked "Y...you're Applejack's Pappy...so...so that means..."

The stallion nodded, whispering in a soothing voice "Eeyup...Applelicious Jack, Miss Sparkle...and technically, yes, yer dead."

Twilight couldn't help but feel a cold ache pressing at her stomach, her eyes shifting around the orchard "So this...this is..."

"Something like...a place ya'll go to after ya die. It's all different for everypony who passes on. Ah came here myself to find mah daughter and her husband restin' here earlier then me...tragic thing that." Applelicious muttered, shaking his head slightly as Twilight took a few careful steps forward.

"If that's the case...why am I here with you? No offense but I don't...see why I'm in Sweet Apple Acres Mr. Jack...and what do you mean by 'technically dead...?" Twilight muttered, giving the smiling stallion a quizzical look.

Applelicious simply chuckled as he said "Well to be honest, ah don't rightly know why ya'll are here, and by technically dead ah mean yeah, yer dead because yer here...but yer not the same as the others. Ah don't quite know how to put my hoof on it...but there's definitely something different bout the way ya'll feel..." The stallion frowned for a moment before smiling, looking over towards the farmhouse Twilight recognized from the real Sweet Apple Acres in Ponyville and said "But...you can try askin' the mare who lives up there in mah farmhouse! Ah can't really tell ya why she took to lodging up with me...but ah don't mind. She's good company n' all...but she ain't no Granny Smith!"

Twilight smiled a little and nodded, trotting towards the house as she said "Thank you then Mr. Jack..."

"Nah..." the stallion smiled, preparing his rear hooves for another bucking at the trees "Ya'll can call me Applelicious, or Pappy, either one suits me just fine!"

Twilight nodded and trotted up the small wooden stairs leading up into the farm house as the stallion's apple-bucking resumed, the mare quietly poking her head inside the fully opened doorway. "Hello?" Twilight called out quietly, her voice echoing softly off the wooden planks of the walls and floor.

She was surprised when a calm, soothing voice called gently from the kitchen "In here dear...it's about time you arrived." Twilight gulped, walking slowly through the house towards the sound of humming which was flowing in from the kitchen. As she poked her head in, she couldn't help but gasp, an azure coated unicorn mare with a silvery white and blue mane quietly pouring two cups of tea with violet coated magic. Her eyes were a deep, gleaming purple, with her cutie mark that of two Crescent Moons behind a black and white magic wand. At first, Twilight couldn't believe her eyes...the fully grown mare in front of her bringing deep emotions of joy and great sadness at the same time. She couldn't even help herself as she whispered the name "Trixie...?"

The mare turned her head at the sound of Twilight's voice, a small smile on her face as she levitated the two cups of tea over onto the kitchen table, whispering "No dear...not quite. Here, have a seat, I have been waiting to talk to you for a long time now..."

Twilight nodded slowly, taking a seat across from the azure mare who took her own place at the head of the table, a sip of tea quickly disappearing from her cup. As Twilight sat, her eyes trailed over the mare's cutie mark and mane, her whispers quiet yet still loud enough to be heard "You're...Trixie's mother then, aren't you?"

The mare smiled, nodding quietly as she took another sip of tea and whispered "Mmhmm...you are correct. I am Trixilena Arcaneium, Trixie is indeed my daughter."

Twilight smiled, looking down at her cup of tea as she muttered "So I really am dead...I know you died of Marekemia Miss Arcaneium..."

At this, Trixilena simply chuckled and took another sip of her tea, watching as Twilight took a ginger sip of hers. She held out a comforting hoof to Twilight and whispered "Oh do not worry yourself so little one...all is well. You are not truly dead...at least not yet."

Twilight looked up suddenly, a confused look in her eye as she whispered "Truly dead? What do you mean...what's happened to me?"

Trixilena shifted comfortably in her chair as she explained "Applelicious was correct when he said you were different then the others. He had not yet met a Pony who was dead and yet not dead...a pony in a coma."

Twilight's eyes widened as the words of Trixilena poured over her like a bucket of icy water. She was in a coma...but she may as well have been dead anyway. "How..." Twilight muttered, staring towards the unicorn mare "Did you know I would be coming here one day...how could you have known...? Me and Trixie were just fillies when...when you..."

Struggling to find the less awkward of possible word choices, Trixilena simply smiled as she said "I don't know...I just knew you'd come one day. I could feel, hear your presence from this place...a presence that I felt harmonize with my daughter's. It was like you two were one and the same...of the same feelings...same happiness...same love." Twilight smiled, nodding as Trixilena went on "It was like an itch waiting to be scratched...you arriving I mean. Now that you are here...I feel much better, knowing that I'll be able to clear up some of those doubts of yours."

Twilight frowned, staring towards the mare as she whispered "Doubts...? What do you mean doubts?"

"Doubts that you'd ever find true love in life, doubts about you being able to help and save my daughter from a tragic life of pain and misery, doubts that you wouldn't make it in time to shove my husband out of the way of a bolt of magic. Doubts...that what you did in Manehatten just wasn't the best you could do."

Twilight sniffed, tears in her eyes as she whispered "How can you know all this...how did you know this would happen? Fate...? Destiny...?"

Trixilena took another calm sip of her tea, smiling as she shrugged at Twilight's words and replying with soothing ones of her own "Who knows how the universe truly works sweetheart? So many things happen that we can't truly explain, but they happen none the less. My whole family, from generations start to its inevitable end at the closing of time have not and never will have Marekemia, yet I was suddenly struck down by it. Sometimes...we just have to accept things in life and death, no matter how horrid or blissful they may be." Twilight nodded slightly, staring towards the mare as she went on "You've always been a doubtful pony it seems Twilight...a sad thing to see in a beautiful, young mare such as yourself. Tell me...why do you feel like you aren't as special as your friends?"

Twilight looked away with a heavy guilt in her eyes and a slight shake in her voice as she spoke "Because...because they all seem to be much better off then I am, and that they're living their dreams and life to the fullest. Look at me...I'm the only one alone...the only one with no real dreams or goals but to study magic and...just go around the same circle of life until I die."

Trixilena smiled a bit wider, putting a hoof over Twilight's as she whispered to the teary mare "Honey...you were never alone, you knew that. Sure, your friends all found the love they were looking for, and the life they wanted...but that in no way excluded you from having that very same thing! Love isn't just measured in who is dating, seeing, or married to who. Love is companionship, friendship, togetherness. It's something you've always had in your life Twilight, from your parents, Princess Celestia, your friends...and now my daughter. As for life...Twilight you're one of the most gifted unicorns in existence when it comes to being versed in the arts of arcane magic. You can do anything, BE anything you want to be with talents like yours! Don't put yourself down before you've even tried!"

Twilight let out a small sob, tears running down her face as she wept "I'm so sorry! I'll try harder, I promise!"

Trixilena frowned slightly, her eyes softening as she whispered "Sweetie, why do you cry? What is there to apologize for when you are not guilty?"

"Because" Twilight sobbed, sniffing loudly "If I had only known what you just told me...if I could only go back and fix it...I could have done a better job in Manehatten, I could have done so many things right...instead I ended up shot...I abandoned my life...my friends...Trixie..."

The azure mare shook her head slightly, a smile creeping back onto her face as she whispered "Oh honey...no...that's not true and you know it." She pulled both of Twilight's hooves in her own, staring deep into her eyes as the lavender mare stared back, tears streaming down her cheeks. "You believe you didn't do much good in Manehatten...but you're wrong, you're so wrong dear. Trixie found true love...Thoen found peace and happiness knowing his daughter was going to be alright, a city plagued with crime, pain, and tyranny rose up against its oppressors in the hopes that it could taste the sweetness of freedom and lead a beautiful life. All because...a lavender unicorn by the name Twilight Sparkle boarded a train in the hopes that she could extend a caring hoof to all those who needed it...to my daughter...to my husband...to the city. You've saved, thousands, of lives Twilight Sparkle, a thousand and one when you pushed my husband out of the way and took the bolt of magic as your own. You SACRIFICED yourself so that others could live on in a world meant to be free, you were willing to DIE for that! You saved their lives Twilight...at the cost of your own. You...you are such an amazing, wonderful, beautiful pony Twilight Sparkle and you don't even acknowledge it." She smiled as she finished her words, watching as Twilight openly sobbed on Trixilena's hooves, her body quivering and shaking as the azure mare's words settled in her thudding heart. Twilight had once again tried to apologize, but was quickly cut off by a gentle hoof against her lips "No dear...you don't need to apologize. You will never need to apologize for what you've done in Manehatten, or your life."

Twilight nodded, smiling slightly as she sniffed and watched Trixilena stand up from her chair. The azure unicorn gently moved the table out of the way, causing Twilight to gently slide out of her own chair in confusion. "Now..." the azure mare whispered, smiling as a door nearby opened, a door Twilight knew led to the backyard of the farm house. Another creak nearby had Twilight's head turning, knowing that the front door had opened as well. She turned her head back to Trixilena and blinked as she spoke "You understand now...after all I've said, that your life was not as horrid as you once believed it to be, and that your actions did truly matter. With that...I leave you a choice Twilight Sparkle. Come into the backyard with me...and I'll take you home. Or...you may choose to stay."

Her reaction was almost immediate, with her lavender body turning to face the backyard. Her tears had dried, and a large smile had begun to settle on her face. "I want to go home..." she whispered, sharing smiles with Trixilena as she took her place next to Twilight "I'm not done yet...there's still so much to do and...my friends need me...Trixie needs me..."

Trixilena nodded, satisfied with Twilight's answer and whispering "Well then...let's get you home."

The two mares, smiling, approached the open back door, unfazed as the view from outside turned from apple trees to a gleaming light of whiteness, like the sun. The light felt warm on Twilight's coat as she stepped from the farmhouse, her and Trixilena's form slowly being enveloped and disappearing in the warm white of bliss and peacefulness. As Twilight closed her eyes, the light went out, darkness surrounding her as she floated in an unknown space. Just before she felt sleep envelop her...Trixilena's voice spoke to her for a final time.

"Always remember, Twilight Sparkle...you are NEVER alone..."

~*~

Twilight was aware. Aware of her beating heart, the light coolness of air that gently pushed against her face and chest from a ceiling fan overhead, and a small tube that rested in her mouth that was attached to an oxygen mask. Her eyes fluttered open slowly, adjusting to the brightness of the white room she rested in. On her right was a wide assortment of medical machines and equipment that tracked almost everything going on with her body. As she turned her eyes to the left, tears instantly brimmed in them. Two large nightstands had been set up by Twilight, with their tops absolutely littered with cards, presents, streamers and balloons that clogged up at least a a good eighth of the ceiling. She looked over the wonderful stack of items, Trixilena's words still comfortably resting in her heart. It was then that she noticed the guard standing by the door, catching sight of him through the jungle of gifts. By his scar, size, and insignia engraved on his armor, she knew immediately that it was Captain Volokai. He was sleeping standing up, weary bags of fatigue resting under his eyes and a sad grimace on his face.

She frowned, reaching up with a hoof to pull the tube and oxygen mask off of her face. As she did, one of the machines to her right beeped rapidly at least five times, stirring the Captain awake immediately "Huh!? What, who goes there!? In the name of Celestia and Sparkle I demand you show your fa-" He stopped as he caught sight of Twilight sitting up gently, mane falling over her face slightly and her lips forming a comforting smile.

The Captain could only stare in wonder as Twilight whispered "Good morning Captain..."

Volokai, tears in his eyes, whispered back "Good morning Twilight Sparkle...I trust you slept well?" Twilight nodded, watching as the Captain slowly walked over, his voice still low and quiet "Is there anything I can get for you Milady? Anything at all?"

Twilight shook her head as she spoke "Not at the moment Captain...although if it is alright, I would like it if you did not tell anypony I was awake yet...I'd like to rest a bit more before I'm bombarded with crying ponies."

The Captain chuckled and nodded "Of course Milady...however I must inform Princess Celestia. It is by royal order I do this, although I'm sure Her Majesty will understand your request as well. You gave her...all of us a good fright there Milady...it's good to have you home."

Twilight smiled "It's good to be home Captain...exactly how long was I out by the way?"

At this the Captain frowned slightly, his voice growing a bit weaker "About a week...and what a week it's been Milady. Sobbing ponies, distraught ponies, ponies bringing gifts...Thoendithas visited up until Thursday...but Miss Trixie has been here every day. She usually arrives around the evening hours, so you should have most of the day to rest before you see her. I will make sure Nurse Redheart keeps her silence as well about your awakening, by royal order of course"

Twilight smiled as Volokai gave her a sly wink "Thank you Captain, that's all I wanted really."

Nodding with a quick salute, Volokai smiled and said "Of course Milady, I shall send the letter to Her Majesty immediately!" Twilight gave a small nod, turning her head back forward to stare at the wall and sigh happily. It was so good to be alive...the feeling of fresh air flowing through her body, only to be expelled in a light, calm breeze through her snout. The sound of Volokai's voice however, had Twilight turning her head back towards the door "Um...Milady? I know this may not be the best time but...I was insisted on asking you something."

Volokai had a small frown on his face as Twilight spoke "Of course Captain, what's the question and who's it for?"

The Captain fidgeted for a second before muttering "This is awkward...". Finally, he looked up and sighed, speaking towards the patient mare "My son, he's a bit of a writer you see...he's written a good number of stories about some of the ponies here in Ponyville...small series about 'Leaps of Faith'...getting a bit famous for them I suppose..." Twilight nodded, allowing him to go on "He was wondering...he heard about Manehatten, and about you and Miss Trixie...he was wondering if he could come ask you about what happened, maybe turn it into a story...but ONLY if you were given a clean bill of health, were completed rested, and only by your ok. He didn't want to impose..."

Twilight shook her head, smiling as she said "Of course I'll talk to your son Captain! I'll be sure to contact you when I'm ready." With a slight nod and a small smile, the Captain left the room quietly, shutting the door behind him. As soon as he had gone, Twilight let herself fall back on the bed, staring upwards towards the ceiling for a moment before closing her eyes and letting out a quiet sigh of joy.

Good Morning indeed....

Chapter Fourteen - A Great and Powerful End

(This Chapter's a tad short, just like the other end chapters....that's right, I said end.)

Twilight sighed, staring up towards the ceiling of her hospital room. Nurse Redheart had come in several times since Volokai had informed her of her awakening. "Vitals fine...blood pressure's ok...your side looks good...I'd say you have a clean bill of health!" She had told her only five minutes ago, making Twilight smile. She toyed with the idea of going back to sleep for awhile when Nurse Redheart poked her head back in and whispered "Um...Twilight dear. You have a visitor...she doesn't know you are awake though...should I...?"

Twilight turned her head towards the Nurse and nodded, whispering "Let her in, don't tell her I'm awake though." The nurse nodded, stepping back out of the door and giving Twilight the time she needed to situate herself under the blankets and close her eyes, hiding under the guise of comatose sleep. She waited for a good two minutes, listening, wondering who was coming in. Nurse Redheart had said it would be a mare...but which one? It could have been any of her friends...the mayor even, or it could have been -

"Twilight?" Trixie whispered, poking her head through the door and staring towards her sleeping love. "Of course...you're not awake..." she frowned, quietly walking in and shutting the door silently behind her. She tread as if she were on thin ice, moving carefully towards the side of her bed, in front of the medical machinery. She found herself smiling a little as she looked over Twilight's peaceful face, her eyes trailing slowly over every curve and turn of her true love's features. "I see they have you off the breathing machine...I guess that means you're recovering..." Trixie whispered, tears in her eyes as she found it increasingly difficult to speak "I...I missed you today...Thoen wouldn't let me come to see you until the evening. I've been spending the better part of the week going around Ponyville...apologizing...introducing myself...trying to make amends for the Ursa Minor. It's working, you know...we told them the story about you coming to Manehatten...your friends were a little upset that you didn't tell them where you were going but they're more overjoyed then angry now that you're back. Everything worked out alright in the end I guess..." She looked down slightly, staring towards an empty spot in the bed and whispering "Not everything though..."

Twilight allowed herself to let out a small, weak groan, drawing Trixie's widening eyes up quickly. "Twilight..?" She whispered, drawing her face up close to Twilight's. She leaned in quietly and whispered as quietly as she could "Are you...are you awake?". She couldn't help but let out a terrified squeal as Twilight flung her front hooves up and wrapped them around Trixie's neck, pulling her in and pushing her lips heavily against hers. Trixie could do nothing except let tears flow from her eyes as she watched Twilight's eyes open slowly, staring deep into her own.

When their kiss finally ended, she let Trixie's head move back slightly and said "Hey..."

"Hey..." Trixie sniffed, a wide smile on her face that almost mimicked Twilight's. "You're...you're awake!"

Twilight giggled, giving Trixie another tender kiss and whispering "I also met someone...when I was asleep." Trixie blinked in confusion, watching Twilight carefully as she stared deep into her eyes and whispered "You have your mother's eyes Trixie..."

It was just that statement alone that had Trixie's eyes swelling with tears, her smile widening to its fullest point "Y...you saw her?"

Twilight nodded slowly, whispering "And I found out...that I'm not alone. Because I have my friends...I have the Princess...and I have you..." She leaned her head up towards Trixie and whispered just before their lips met "I love you..."

~~~

"Alright, everything seems to be in order! You have a wonderful evening Twilight!" Nurse Redheart exclaimed, clipping the small white band off of Twilight's hoof that signified her hospital visit. Twilight smiled and nodded, turning and walking towards the front entrance to the hospital.

"Whew" Twilight muttered, putting her hoof on the door "Finally maybe we can things back to normal" Trixie nodded and together they made their way into town...only to find that it was...empty. "Where is everypony?" Twilight muttered, looking around at all the abandoned shops and stalls that littered the streets.

"I don't know..." Trixie muttered "Let's go check out the library." Twilight nodded and together they quickly moved down the street, the branches of the library tree already in sight.

"Maybe it's a holiday or something" Twilight muttered, putting her hoof up on the door "Who knows? I haven't really been keeping track of the days so it could very well be a -"

"SURPRISE!!!!!!!!!!"

Twilight squealed and flew back as the door to the library opened and a booming chorus of ponies screamed 'surprise!', her mouth agape as she watched her five best friends run outside and tackle her with a group hug. "Girls! Oh I missed you all!"

Rarity smiled and hugged the group even tighter as she whispered "Of course dear, we missed you too!"

"Don't ya'll ever scare us like that again, ya hear?" Applejack cried, adding her own formidable pressure to the group.

"Seriously, how uncool would that be if you died?" Rainbow Dash shouted over the cheering of ponies who had hidden in the streets and behind buildings, adding to the intensity of the surprise.

Twilight smiled as she felt Fluttershy slip a small yellow flower into her mane and whispered "Um...Angel and I picked this out for you...it's our welcome home present...I hope you like it, but if you don't that's ok..."

Twilight simply smiled, grasping Fluttershy in a tight hug as Pinkie smiled and screamed "Alright everypony! Let's get to that PAAAARRTAY!!!!!"

~~~

"How did you all know I was awake?" Twilight whispered from her sitting position on her bed, her and her friends resting upstairs while the rest of the party raged down below. Spike was already passed out, his small form curled up in his basket with a lamp shade over his head.

"Well darling, Princess Celestia actually told us, but demanded that we let you have your rest. That was when Pinkie came up with the marvelous idea for a surprise party!" Rarity said, running a small brush through her own hair.

"Eeyup! Speaking of, don't ya'll think we've missed out on too much of it already?" Applejack shouted, standing up to her hooves with Rainbow Dash.

Twilight smiled as the rest of her friends got up and said "You girls go ahead, I'll be right behind you. You should go too Trixie...I need a moment if that's ok?"

Trixie, sitting next to her, smiled and gave her a small kiss, muttering "Of course...I'll see you downstairs."

Twilight watched them go, and even giggled when Trixie turned her head to blow a kiss to her and give her a sly wink. Once they left, she got up off the bed and walked slowly towards her balcony door. She slid open the door, moving out into the chilly night and looking up at the stars. It was here, several weeks ago, that she prayed to the stars for true love...and she smiled as her wish was granted. She had saved Trixie, saved Thoen, and even saved the city of Manehatten which she heard had finally been cleaned out of corruption and was now on the slow road to full recovery.

She smiled, looking back at how hesitant she had been, how worried she was that Trixie wouldn't pull through, and that she herself wouldn't make it through the ordeal unscathed. As she turned back towards the door, she whispered quietly "I guess all it really takes...is just a Leap of Faith...".

~*~ The E-

"Wait!"

Just as she went to move back inside, a voice cried out from the night

"Wait up for me!"

Twilight turned back around and watched as a colt landed gently on her balcony. In terms of appearance he was only slightly taller then Twilight, his brown coat matching the color of his green eyes perfectly, while his large wings ruffled themselves before settling over his black vest. "Oh, hello there" Twilight said, smiling as the colt dropped a small square box with a bow on it down on the balcony.

"Sorry I'm so late to the party" the colt muttered, a small blush and a bashful grin on his face.

"Oh it's no problem" Twilight whispered, looking down at the small box and smiling "For me?"

The colt nodded, rubbing the back of his head with a hoof and muttering "Yes actually...I heard you were coming back into town today. Sort of passed down the Royal Tree, my father is the Captain of the Solar Flare and..."

Twilight blinked, her eyes widening as she whispered "Oh, you're Captain Volokai's son? How wonderful! I got your request by the way, about the story."

"OH, you did?" The colt blinked, looking at Twilight with hope in his eyes.

The mare nodded "Yep! I was hoping I could find your father to tell him my answer, but seeing as you're here, I can say 'YES' directly to you!"

The colt smiled and grasped Twilight's hoof in his own, shaking it as he sputtered "Oh th..thank you so much Miss Sparkle!"

"Please...call me Twilight" Twilight smiled, watching as the colt let her hoof drop gently and take a step back, blushing slightly. "What's your name?" Twilight whispered, watching as the colt stood up to his full height, a proud look in his eye and proclaim

"My name...is Wolokai".

~*~ The End ~*~

(As always, that after party! Stay tuned!)

The Afterparty!!! - Author's Notes

Howdy! Wolokai here, as usual at the end of every exciting and awesome story. Got quite a bit of news for you all so let's get right too it!

First off, I have some bad news....

Leap of Faith: Muffin Vs. Baked Bads is cancelled.

(BOO!!!!!!! *Gets pelted with garbage*)

I'm sorry I'm sorry! Jeez!!! I apologize a thousand times over for the cancellation, I know, I know! It's for personal reasons that I won't be writing this, and I'm afraid I won't be able to go into detail about it soo...I fully understand if you all flip tables at me.

BUT, BUT!! THERE'S GOOD NEWS!!!

Leap of Faith: Generosity Vs. Laughter IS NOT CANCELLED! That's right! Rarity and Pinkie Pie are next on our list!

One more fic...before the very last one (Or so we think....)

I've got a very, very special announcement as well....tell me everypony...have you heard of "The Ballad of Pinkie Pie?"

That's right, we're going back!!! Pinkamena: The Dark Descent is coming back around for writing with a new title, some changes, and a HEAP TON MORE CONTENT!!!! I had hinted and mentioned in my ask tumblr and FIM blog that we were going back to something, well there it is!!!

Some of the Plot of the story is going to be tweaked for logic's sakes, but it's by popular demand and my favorite critic's wishes that I bring The Ballad of Pinkie Pie up to supreme new levels! Now, I can't tell you exactly when it'll start showing up on FIMFiction, but when it does you WILL BE INFORMED! Follow my page and keep up to date with the next two fics and I'll be sure to drop links and announcements when it shows up!

For right now, I hope you enjoyed (Here comes the awesomeness!) THE MOST VIEWED, HIGHEST RATED, and MOST COMMENTED Leap of Faith yet!!!! I have never been so hyped and excited by you guys and I'm practically squeeing myself to death just thinking about it!

You're all so great and so wonderful that I'm not sure I could write as well as I do without you!

With all this being said, enjoy a brief intermission while we gear up for Leap of Faith: Generosity Vs. Laughter!

Ta ta!!!!

~*~ Wolokai ~*~

Regular Tumblr: http://wolokaikurrsnyder.tumblr.com/

Ask Tumblr (Ask Wolokai The Writer) : http://askwolokai.tumblr.com/

Chapter One - Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.

It had only been four days since Hearth's Warming, and the cold refused to subside. Winter Wrap Up wasn't scheduled to happen for another month or so, which gave everypony in Ponyville enough time to enjoy their Hearth's Warming gifts. On this particular night, the gleeful squees of Vinyl Scratch could be heard all across her and Octavia's brand new house, built very close by to the club. The DJ mare gave Octavia a tight hug as she shouted "Oh thank you Octavia!!! Thank you so much!!!" In her hoof she held a pair of brand new headphones, fresh from the box that lay forgotten near the Hearth's Tree in their living room.

The fire in the fireplace crackled with heat and power as Octavia wheezed, struggling to breathe from Vinyl's crushing hug "V...Vinyl I'm glad you like...like your gift! But honestly...I...need...to...BREATHE!" She took in a heaving breath as Vinyl finally let her go out of her crushing embrace, muttering "Sorry the gift was so late...I had a bit of trouble gathering the bits."

Vinyl shook her head and put a hoof on Octavia's cheek, whispering "Don't...it's ok. Times are hard for everypony, you really didn't have to get me anything! Your love's all I'd ever need baby..."

Octavia smiled and whispered "You mean that?" Vinyl nodded and leaned her head in, meeting Octavia half way as they shared a warm, wonderful kiss. Hooves were wrapped around bodies as Vinyl gently leaned Octavia on her back, setting her on the rug as their hearts throbbed with heat that one could swear was hotter then the raging fire in their fireplace.

Meanwhile, on the other side of Ponyville, near the Everfree forest and inside a small cottage, Fluttershy carefully poured her kettle of tea into two small cups. She made sure that not a drop was spilled, gently placing the kettle back on the stove and picking the tray up in her mouth carefully. With slow, precise movements, she walked back into the living room to where Big Macintosh was laying, his belly pushed against the carpet and his smile warm and loving.

The stallion took a cup and said "Why thank ya kindly Flutters...ah can't tell ya how much ah missed the taste of tea." Fluttershy giggled and set the tray down on the ground, laying next to her coltfriend and snuggling up against him.

The yellow mare smiled as she took her own cup, whispering "I didn't know you liked tea so much Macintosh, I would have stocked up a bit more if I'd known that!"

Macintosh smiled and simply nudged Fluttershy's cheek with his nose, whispering "It's alright...yer the only thing ah'll ever need, so don't you go worryin' bout' it." Fluttershy blushed at this, tilting her head up and sharing a passionate kiss with her new found love, the tea and their love spreading warmth in their bodies.

Love was in the air in Ponyville, with Sweet Apple Acres being no exception. Applejack smiled a little as she heard the sounds of playful barking and Rainbow Dash's giggling from the living room. She had brought Tank over, as well as a few of her belongings. Since the air was so frigid and cold, Applejack didn't want her loving Marefriend to have to spend the winter up in her cloud home, turning into a genuine Pegasicle. The earth pony sighed as she carefully scrubbed the plates in the sink, her eyes wandering over the shiny plates that they made SURE were clean. She didn't want to get a good scolding from Granny Smith, knowing the hours she'd have to spend trapped under the old mare's glare. Rainbow Dash had offered to help of course, but the Apple Mare's natural, stubborn pride when it came to help had kicked in, shooing the Pegasus away. At long last however, the dishes were done and the drying rack full. With a happy sigh, Applejack started to walk towards the living room, the sounds of laughter still echoing out from the doorway. As she stuck her head in, she laughed herself, watching as Winona chased her favorite squeaky toy around the room. The ball was attached by a string which in turn was attached to Tank's shell, the helicoptering Tortoise flying about the room and bringing tears of laughter to Rainbow Dash's eyes.

Rainbow shouted as Applejack walked towards her "Oh...oh my gosh, this is freaking HILARIOUS! Man I could watch this for hours!"

Applejack chuckled and scooted up real close to the mare, whispering seductively in her ear "Ah hope that's not the only thing ya'll wanna do fer hours..."

Rainbow Dash blushed, her wings popping open with a loud 'FWOOMP!', her voice a soft caress on Applejack's ears "Mmmh...Applejack where did this suddenly spring out of?" To this, Applejack pointed a hoof up and waited as Rainbow Dash looked up, smiling at the hanging mistletoe that rested above them on the ceiling.

Applejack whispered as she pulled her marefriend into her hooves "Now...let me show ya how to really rodeo." The two mares giggled, sharing a deep kiss as Tank flew from the room, Winona chasing after him for his toy.

The night lumbered on gently, the stars twinkling above. It was like the perfect piece of artwork crafted by Luna, her canvas the never ending sky of Equestria. Studying this sky, was none other then the Star Pupil, Twilight Sparkle, her breath coming out in puffs of steam. She pressed here eye against the eyeglass of the shiny new telescope Celestia had gotten her for Hearth's Warming, her body warm with the magical blanket Luna had given her.

"It's a coat I often wear at night when I manage the sky" She had told the Lavender Mare, "It keeps me warm at night as I work. Good thing too, last time I went outside without the coat, I sneezed and caused Starswirl's constellation to turn into a Walrus!". Twilight chuckled as she remembered that night, also remembering the new books Spike had gotten her for Hearth's Warming. It was a pair of spell books that she had her eye on for awhile, but had never found the time to journey to Canterlot for. Spike, being summoned to Canterlot for Royal Business, easily got his claws on the pair, his efforts well rewarded as he received a giant Emerald from Twilight.

Twilight took her eye away from the telescope, a small smile on her face as she jotted down some notes on her notepad. She turned her head briefly and smiled as she saw Spike asleep in his basket, snoring a little but not so loud that it would bother the unicorn outside. She looked upwards towards the sky, taking in its dazzling beauty. She sighed, flipping her notepad closed and levitating the telescope back inside, trotting after it and shutting the window-door behind her. She then made her way downstairs and into the kitchen, a cold kettle of tea waiting there for her. She frowned and lit up her horn with magic, the kettle suddenly letting out a sharp hiss. Smiling, she poured herself a cup and headed into the living room, her fire still raging in the fireplace. Laying herself down on the carpet, she stared into the fire and sighed. A lot had been on her mind lately, most of it centered on her own emotions. She was the only one alone on Hearth's Warming, the Sister Princess's and Spike having their gift opening a day early. Twilight understood, knowing that a dragon ambassador had picked an unfortunate date to have a meeting, thus keeping them away from her on Hearth's Warming.

She rested her head on her front hooves and slowly let her smile turn into a frown. She envied the others who could be warm with others who loved them, the feeling of togetherness and love burning in their hearts. Twilight could feel nothing of the sort at the moment, her heart thudding with a cold, dreary beat, her body only warm from the fire. She gently plopped herself on her side, wrapping Luna's blanket around her tightly and singing quietly to herself "Twinkle...Twinkle...little star...

...how I wonder...what you are...

...Please hear me now if you care...

...please give love to this poor mare..."

She fell asleep, her voice trailing off and mumbling as the air of Ponyville continued to swirl with the warmth of love...and the bitter cold of loneliness.

-Bill of Health-

Nurse Redheart sighed, quickly trotting down the white hallways of Ponyville Clinic. Her pager had beeped, her presence requested near the front desk. As she made her way to the front, she spotted the front-desk colt sitting in his chair and reading over what looked to be stories from FIM-Fiction. She sighed and said "Alex...really? Come on now, you can't be reading on duty, you know that!"

The brown colored colt, Alex, looked over to her with a smile and said "Hey, relax! I was reading over Patient #142's file...did you know he's that writer everypony is talking about?"

Nurse Redheart raised an eyebrow as she muttered "This is relevant...how?"

The colt sighed and turned his monitor to face her, pointing at the screen with a hoof and muttering "I just got curious...looked up his stuff, it's not half bad to be honest!" He gave his best smile but frowned as Nurse Redheart gave him a scolding look. He waved a hoof dismissively at her, muttering "Yeah yeah...back to work." Just as Nurse Redheart was about to turn away, a loud, rapid beeping echoed out from the hallway labeled '120-150'. The Nurse took off in a quick gallop, recognizing the sound as the Emergency Help Tone, usually signaled by the pushing of a red button near a patient's bed in case they had fallen or needed help fast. She gasped as she approached a flashing sign that hung above the door, the source of the noise. She stared dumbfounded at the numbers '1', '4', '2', wondering if it was a coincidence, or perhaps something more...

She rushed forward, pushing the door open with great force and gasping at the scene before her. The room, which had been decorated with various 'Get-Well-Soon' cards on the tables, and that held several personal belongings of the patient...was empty! All of the cards and items that had belonged to him were gone, as well as the patient himself! She stared in disbelief towards the open window which allowed a gentle breeze to waft through, and jumped at the screams of the front-desk colt "Nurse!!! Nurse come quick!!!" She turned on her hooves, galloping back to the front desk. As she reached the desk, she skidded to a halt and gasped, watching as the colt pointed a hoof towards the screen, a message popping up FIM-Fiction from the story he had been tracking.

"I have returned...now...where were we..."

- Wolokai

-Intermission- Quick Announcement!

"Octy...?"

Octavia sighed, putting down her cello to look towards a wide-eyed Vinyl Scratch and mutter "Vinyl...it's my practice hour, you KNOW how much I hate being interrupted during practice hour!"

Vinyl rolled her eyes and held out her white laptop, whispering "Yeah I know, but this is serious! LOOK!"

Octavia shook her head, staring towards the screen as she read a highlighted post and grumbled "Vinyl I don't really see how....um...oh dear."

"Yeah...I know, how the hay are we supposed to...how did he...WHAT?!"

Octavia rolled her eyes and walked towards the phone, mumbling "I'll call Twilight...dammit all...silly writers just HAVE to break the fourth wall..."

Vinyl raised an eyebrow and whispered "Fourth...wall?"

http://askwolokai.tumblr.com/

~ That's right readers, I felt arsed enough to make an Ask Tumblr! Though I lack in drawing skills, I make up for it with image editing!!! (To...some extent...) Either way, I've already gotten some good questions, so I hope to see you all there and I hope you all follow me! Have a good one!

I hope I don't fail at this T_T

Wolokai