For what seemed the second time within 48 hours, Twilight opened her eyes, her senses coming back faster than the previous time, with the exception of one. She couldn't feel anything, she felt no presence of an inhibitor ring so it couldn't have been that, perhaps she was just tired. She looked around her, taking in the area she was in, the trees that were way taller than any she had seen, their colors ranging from muted reds to light browns. She craned her head upwards, following the trunks of the monster sized trees as the took off from the ground before creating a large canopy that bloated out much of the sunlight. This forest was different, it was similar to Whitetail woods because of it's serene look, but it kept the sinister feeling that was akin to the Everfree forest. If Twilight weren't in this situation, she would've taken time to study the trees but she didn't feel like she would want to study them anyway.

Her sense of touch slowly came up, and she felt the presence of something on her flank. Turning to the protruding object she took note that it was a saddlebag, or at least as close as she was going to get to one. The brown object in question looked like it had been made hastily, and looked as if it were tearing at the seams. It wouldn't be long before it fell apart. Twilight stood up, the bag sliding off of her, and she started to reach down to grab it, figuring that it would have basic supplies in it, after all she had it for a reason. She stopped, focusing on something on her cutie mark. Upon closer inspection, sitting directly over her cutie mark, what a black mark depicting a sun, with a half crescent moon on the inside. She had been branded, and right on her cutie mark at that! It was like spitting in the face of Faust herself and expecting good things to happen. Not only had she been removed from her home, but she also had a brand! It's like Celestia herself told her that even her special talent wasn't worth anything anymore.

Twilight became infuriated, her anger leading her thoughts as she yelled obscenities that the lavender pony would normally be incapable of doing.

(For the sake of my sanity, I'm using the actual curses and not the pony ones...)

"Screw you! Fuck You! Go Throw Yourself Into Your Own Sun Celestia!" She yelled at nothing in particular, the anger draining out of her system as quick as it had come. Twilight suddenly heard the soft sound of water hitting the ground. She realized that it was starting to rain, and judging from the sky, it would be long. She focused on the task of finding shelter, if she were in the woods, she'd hopefully run into an unoccupied cavern so that she could vent more of her anger out at Celestia. She didn't know why she was particularly angry with her, but it strove to drive her forward, so she would use it to her advantage.

After a few hours of searching in the rain, Twilight had finally found a suitable cave that wasn't filled with something. The last one she came across made her heart stop figuratively, she decided to remove herself from there as quick as possible. Either way, Twilight had finally found someplace to take cover from the rain as it had begun to pick up, and she guessed that it would last until the next day. She decided to take assessment of what she had, and used her magic, pulling her bag from her back and opening it, spilling out the contents. She was greeted with an array of objects, one being a loaf of bread. She also spotted some other things upon the pile, namely letters, in total, she counted four.

Twilight took them in her magic, the letters floating in her magic as they came towards her face. On them she could see that only one of them bore a royal seal, meaning that this one was from Celestia. She decided to read this one first, better to get the anger out of her system right? In the dim light of her magic, she opened it, reading it's contents.
Dear Twilight Sparkle,

It has come to my attention that you decided to take matters into your own hands, and even worse, took it upon yourself to attack my niece. I cannot condone this behavior, even from you Twilight. Know that despite your banishment, there have been measures taken to insure the safety of Equestria. Know that also, should you be found in Equestrian territory or any allied territories, that brand you bear will light up, teleporting you to the dungeons underneath Canterlot Castle, where you will then be served a death sentence. Know that I am disappointed in your actions -

Twilight had stopped reading it halfway through. Her anger had returned, and before she could register it, she had took the letter and applied a pyrokinesis spell to it, the letter starting to burn, producing a purple flame before it turned into a shade of red. It would burn long enough for her to not need the use of her horn's light, but she decided to keep it on as she opened the next letter. She immediately recognized the handwriting as Spike's, despite it obviously being written on the verge of tears, seeing as it had numerous dried dots on it, with the addition that the handwriting seemed shaken.

Hey Twilight.

I guess this is one of the first times I've had to write without you saying anything huh? Its weird, but this isn't the reason why I wrote this. Almost everyone is so hellbent on you being wrong, and banishing you that they aren't looking at the bigger picture. While I don't like what you did I have to say that I don't care, I don't believe that you could ever harm somepony that much if you ever wanted to, and I certainly don't think you'd attack without justifiable reasoning. I tried telling Celestia these things but she just brushed it off, and told me that was "young and impressionable". To be honest Twi, I don't trust anyone here anymore and I can't find myself staying with the people that took my mother away from me. I just feel, numb... to say the least. I haven't told anyone yet, but I don't plan on staying at all, and I'm probably going to leave and head for the dragonlands. I just don't want to be here anymore now that you aren't around, and I really don't feel like staying up at the castle. Just know Twi, if no one else believes you I did, and I'm pretty sure your parents did too, but couldn't find the right words to say it. I'm so tired... Goodnight Twilight, and don't forget: I'll always be waiting for you.

Your Faithful Assistant, Spike.

Twilight started crying, no words could convey what she felt. Despite it all, Spike still believed her, and he couldn't do anything because of his age. She wanted to be able to teleport back to Equestria right then and there but she felt like if what the burning letter said was true, then she'd find herself much more quickly six feet under than in the arms of Spike. She looked at the last letter, recognizing the neat and careful folding that her parents were for. She didn't want to open that one, she couldn't. She didn't have the strength to read what they had to say, and if she did, it would've broken her even more. She placed the final letter back in her bag, along with Spike's letter and the bread she had received. She hadn't paid it any mind, but she also noticed a cloak among the items, it was black but held no features among it, so she recognized that this couldn't have been one of Rarity's works. She put it on, it fit over her hiding her features.

Twilight wanted to do more, but with the rain pouring down outside and she stuck who knows where, she decided that the only thing she could do was sleep. It would only be for a little bit after all, at least until the rain let up and she could explore more.

Author's Note

Can anybody guess what the trees in the forest are based off of? Anybody at all? Anyway, I'd like to thank you all that have shown your support for the story so far, and I also want to say thank you to all of you who've placed this story on various shelves. Onward to the next!

Αυτή είναι η επίσημη γλώσσα του έθνους.

Also, if you all are wondering about the symphony, think Moonlight Sonata, or Lacrimosa, or if you know Overwatch: Sigma's Origin Theme.