The Mage Outlaw

Chapters

On The Run
Hunting Her Prey
Back in Canterlot

On The Run

“Get her!”

Guards quickly surrounded a cloaked pony in the middle of the wet cobblestone street, rain droplets clanking against their armor as they stood their ground against the mysterious pony. A guard wearing gold-accented armor walked out from the group, glaring at the pony. The star on the middle of his chestplate signified his position.

“Remove your cloak and drop your weapons!” The captain barked, his horn igniting. “Do so now or we will have to use force!”

The other guards followed his lead, igniting their horns as well. The cloaked pony, however, simply stood there, not moving an inch.

The captain’s lip curled inwards. “I said remove your cloak and dr-”

He was cut off by the cloak hurling towards him at impossible speeds. Unable to dodge, the cloak hit him head on, though it didn’t hurt as he expected it to. He quickly tossed it off, opening his mouth to bark another command.

That command never came out, however.

His eyes widened as he tried to process the scene before him. The once clear glistening cobblestone street was now tainted with a dark red.

“H-How?” The captain stuttered, shaking his head like he didn’t want to believe it was real.

“I did what you wanted, Shiny,” the pony said mockingly. “I took my cloak off.”

Shining Armor snapped out of the shock, bearing his teeth at the enemy. “You won’t get away with this!”

Before him was his own flesh and blood, his own little sister: Twilight Velvet Sparkle.

“I already have,” Twilight smirked.

“No you haven’t!” Shining Armor screamed, lunging forward as he brandished his sword.

“Always the hasty one, aren’t you,” Twilight sighed, shaking her head. Simply side-stepping the blade, she ignited her horn. “Why don’t you cool off a bit?”

Shining Armor created a shield around himself in anticipation of an attack, but felt something cold creep up his legs.

Looking down, he saw his hooves frozen in place. He tried to break out, using magic and his sword, but it was no use. He was stuck.

“As I said before, I already got away with it,” Twilight winked. Tossing on her cloak, she turned her back to him. “It seems you failed them, Shiny. Just like you failed me.”

Her words echoed through his head as she trotted away, disappearing into the mist.

All was silent except for the raindrops falling on his helmet.

Shining Armor grunted as he tried to break free. He tried and tried, but the ice just didn’t budge. He looked down at the street, the dark red liquid running down into the gutters. He heard distant voices and the sounds of hoofsteps approaching.

“Why Twilight…” He hung head, shutting his eyes tightly. “Why?”

A platoon of guards ran through the forest right outside of Canterlot, looking high and low for the cloaked pony. The forest was damp and dark, raindrops falling through the spaces between the branches. Leaves crunched under their armored hooves as they searched around.

“She couldn’t have gotten far!” One of the guards yelled. “Keep lookin’ and stay sharp. She took out a whole other platoon in the city.”

“Seriously, is that even possible?” Another guard muttered.

“Captain Shining Armor was the only survivor they said,” The guard next to him whispered. “He said he was blinded for not even a second and his whole platoon was on the ground, dead.”

“What are you two muttering about over there?” Their lieutenant barked at them. “Move your asses now!”

“Y-Yes sir!” The two saluted quickly before going back to searching, trotting through the forest cautiously.

Unbeknownst to them, the pony they were looking for was lurking right above them. Masking her teleports with the crunching of leaves and the heavy rainfall, she went from branch to branch, following a guard who was lagging behind.

Twilight carefully watched the guard, looking for an opening to strike. The guard eventually fell behind the rest of his squadron, quickly trying to regroup, slashing through some bushes with his magic. Twilight, however, did not let this opportunity slip.

Using the noise of his magic to cover hers, she shot a small beam, drilling a clean hole straight through his head. The guard stood still for a few seconds before falling over on his side, lying motionless on the ground. He made a loud thud when he hit the ground, alerting some of the guards. They all rushed towards the sound, met with the body of their comrade.

“She’s nearby!” The lieutenant shouted. “Defensive formation!”

All of the guards all skillfully separated and formed pairs. One of them igniting their horn to form a barrier around them, another levitating a sword and shield, standing in an offensive position.

Unfortunately, there was now an odd number of guards, leaving one out in the open.

“Private, what are you doing?!” The lieutenant asked.

“S-Sir, there’s no other pony to pair up with!” He stuttered, looking around at the others.

“Just hop in with the closest pair then, you dimwit!”

“Yes s-”

The poor private was cut off as another one of those beams went clean through his skull, killing him immediately. He joined the other guard on the ground, motionless.

“Shit!” The lieutenant cursed under his breath. “Did any of you see where that beam came from?”

“It came from above us, sir!” The guard shielding him said. “She must be up in the trees.”

“Good eye, Sergeant,” The lieutenant complimented. “You heard him! Let loose on the trees above. Celestia will be able to handle the aftermath.”

The guards levitating the swords quickly sheathed them, and aimed their horns up at the trees. The guards holding the barriers made a little hole at the top, allowing their partner to shoot spells up in the trees.

They rained hell on the branches above them, causing the rain to pour on them heavily. They cleared the branches above them, however, there was nopony was to be seen.

“Cease fire!” The lieutenant yelled, the guards quickly stopping their magic. “Does anypony have eyes on her?”

No guard replied, standing there in silence as they looked at the lieutenant.

“Keep those barriers up and watch for any movements in the trees around us,” The lieutenant commanded before letting out a sigh. The guards followed his orders, standing their ground with their barriers up.

A few moments passed, the guards still looking around at their surroundings.

“You think she just ran away?” The guard next to the lieutenant asked.

“That’s a very high possibility,” The lieutenant grumbled. “She must’ve just used those two as a way to force us to be careful so she could slip away.”

“What should we do now then, sir?”

“We simply wait,” The lieutenant said. “We cannot let our guard down, no matter what.”

“Sir!” One of the guards shouted.

“What is it, private?”

The guard pointed towards the forest. “Blinding Lights here said he saw something flash in those trees over there!”

“What are you all waiting for then? Fire away!”

Quickly opening up the hole in the barrier, the guards once again started blasting away at the trees. They, however, did not see the multiple bolts raining down coming down on them. They quickly found their mark, making it through the small hole in the barriers. As it entered, it quickly jumped all around like a pinball. As it bounced and bounced, it burned holes right through the guards, going in one side and coming out the other.

The guards dropped like flies onto the ground, some surviving the attack, while others were lucky enough to die on the spot. The lieutenant was included in the former group, gritting his teeth in pain, eyes shut tight. The guard’s screams filled his ears as he lay there.

“W-What happened?” The lieutenant groaned, turning to his left and opening his eyes. Staring back at him was the pony shielding him, staring at him with lifeless eyes. His whole body was riddled with holes, one right on his forehead.

“You never learn, do you?”

The lieutenant grunted as he looked up, met with the face of a lavender mare staring down at him. Coughing out blood, he glared at her. “How could you do this, you sick fuck?”

“I was going to do you a favor and put you out of your misery, but you decide to curse at me?” Twilight shook her head, sighing. “You really have to work on your manners.”

“Fuck you,” the lieutenant spat, coughing out more blood.

“Wow, was that really necessary?” Twilight cocked an eyebrow. “Anyways, if you somehow survive, tell everypony to stop trying to catch me already. It's annoying to be on the run, you know.”

“So I’m your messenger now, huh?”

Twilight shrugged. “If you survive, you are. If you don’t, I’m leaving this scroll here just in case.” She levitatied a scroll out of her saddlebag and dropped it right next to his face. “It basically says the same thing, but just written out a bit more. I do hope they find it.”

“You monster…” He said, his voice trailing off as he went limp.

“Well, I guess he didn’t survive,” Twilight shrugged. “Guess I’ll clean up the others then.” Trotting over to some of the other survivors, she quickly put them out of their misery with a clean bolt through the head.

She made her way to the last survivor who was leaned up against a tree. He was lucky enough to survive with fewer injuries than the less, but unlucky enough to have the bolt graze the top of his eyes. There was a line from one side to the other side of his face right across his eyeline.

“W-Who’s there?” He stuttered out, trying to feel in front of him. “Is that you Blinding Lights? Did we win?”

“Unfortunately not,” Twilight giggled, sitting down in front of him.

“Oh…”

“I’ll give you the choice since it seems you could still recover from this, considering the magic in the libraries. I could either end your suffering right now, or I could leave you here and you could possibly live to see another day.” Twilight paused for a second. “Well, I mean not see another day, but you know what I mean.”

The guard sat there in prolonged silence with Twilight.

“You really are weighing out the pros and cons, aren’t you?” Twilight asked.

“I have a wife and kids and I’d love to go back to them, but not being able to see them? I think that might be worse than dying,” The guard sighed. “But I want to be there for them, you know?”

“A family man, huh?” Twilight smiled. “I can help you out more than any doctor can in Canterlot, but you have to promise me something.”

“Are you saying that you could help me see again?”

“Well I can’t promise to fully give you your vision back, but I could possibly give you some of it,” Twilight said. “You might have to wear glasses the rest of your life, but I’m sure that’s not a problem.”

The guard nodded frantically. “O-Okay, I’ll do whatever you want then!”

“Just promise me to always be there for your family through everything. Even if they fail and something and they disappoint you, just be there for them.”

The guard could’ve sworn he heard her voice quiver for a second, but he quickly pushed that thought to the back of his mind. “That’s it?”

Twilight levitated the scroll that was next to the lieutenant over and placed it in his hoof. “Quit the guard and deliver this to Celestia.”

“I’ll do it,” The guard said quickly. “If it means I can see my wife and kids, I’ll do anything.”

“I’m happy to hear that,” Twilight weakly smiled. “This might feel weird for a second, and you’re probably going to black out, but I promise you’ll be safe.”

“Thank you,” The guard said through sniffling, tears of joy rolling down his cheeks, “thank you so much.”

Twilight stayed silent, her horn igniting. Placing it in front of the guard's face, Twilight fired off a spell. The guard’s body relaxed, his breathing soft and a smile on his face. He was still clutching the scroll even as he slept.

Twilight turned her back to the guard and looked up into the now clear sky. She closed her eyes as she basked in the sunlight, letting out a long sigh.

“You’ll always be there for me, huh?” Twilight scoffed. “What a lie.”

Igniting her horn, she pulled her hood over her head and began trotting back into the forest.

Hunting Her Prey

Twilight treaded carefully through the forest, constantly peering back and to her sides. Only a couple days had passed since her most recent encounter with the guards, so she had to be fully aware of her surroundings.

Guards weren’t the only thing she had to be wary about, however. Wild animals and bandits were some of the many things that could potentially endanger her. Not only that, but traversing the terrain proved to be challenging, even for somepony like Twilight.

“Note to self, never take the forest route ever again,” Twilight grumbled after she landed face first after tripping on a root. Sitting up and rubbing the dirt off her face, she took a deep breath and looked up into the sky.

“WHERE IS THE BUCKING ROAD?!”

Birds flocked into the sky as her voice echoed throughout the forest. Twilight shook her head quickly before getting back on her hooves. She stood still, listening to her surroundings. Soon enough, she heard hoofsteps in the distance approaching her. Smirking, she ignited her horn, disappearing from the clearing she was in.

Standing up in some trees nearby, she saw a group of ponies emerging from the other side. Swords and other weapons hung on their sides. These ponies, however, were not dressed in armor like guards usually were. They simply wore ragged clothing, meaning they were most likely bandits.

Twilight simply watched them in silence.

“Are you sure you heard somepony yell?” One of them asked sternly.

“I swear we did, boss!” the pony replied.

The ‘boss’ glared at the group. “You guys haven’t been eating those berries again, have you?”

“We promise we heard a mare yell from this direction!” Another one said. “Look, there’s even some hoofsteps going into the forest.”

The boss looked down at the muddy floor, spotting the hoofprints.

“You’re right,” The boss grinned. “Who’d be dumb enough to enter this forest alone? Especially a mare.”

“I know right?” One of his lackeys snickered. “Once we catch her, she’s going to regret ever leaving whatever whore house she came from!”

“You boys go catch her. She couldn’t have gotten far if she decided to keep moving,” The boss ordered. “I’ll stay here with Thunder Metal and make sure she doesn’t loop back around.”

“Yes boss!” The group of ponies said in unison before galloping into the forest. The boss watched their backs, the grin still on his face.

“Boss, I don’t mean to ruin your fun, but there’s a possibility that the mare we’re hunting is the infamous mage, Twilight,” Thunder Metal said. “I heard rumors that she escaped into this forest
after killing some guards..”

“Pfft, what’s one mage going to do against seven ponies?”

“You’re right,” Thunder Metal nodded hesitantly. “I hope…” he muttered under his breath.

Just then, something cracked behind them, causing them to quickly turn around and draw their weapons. However there was nothing there except the broken branch.

“That wasn’t here before, was it?” Thunder Metal asked, inspecting the branch.

“Who knows?” The boss shrugged, placing his mace on his side. “Probably just some stupid animal or something. Stop being such a wuss.”

Then there was another crack behind them, the two spinning around.

Thunder Metal tilted his head. “Another branch?”

“What the hell?” The boss shouted, his eye twitching slightly. Walking up to the broken branch, he kicked it off to the side. There was another crack behind him.

“I swear if it’s another branch,” The boss growled.

Turning around one more time, his eyes widened. In front of him was Thunder Metal, standing up tall. There was something very wrong with him, however.

His head was twisted in the wrong direction.

“Holy shit!” Stumbling back, he drew his mace again and planted himself into the ground. “Whoever the fuck did that, show yourself now! I’m not scared of a pony like you, scurrying around and striking when it’s easy.”

Thunder Metal’s lifeless body fell onto the ground with a loud thud, splashing up some mud. The boss simply stood there, looking around all around him.

“I said show yourself coward!”

The culprit, however, remained hidden away. At least that’s what Twilight made the poor stallion believe. The boss had seen his companion fall into the mud, but he didn’t see the hoofprints slowly creeping closer to him.

“Regroup boys, we’re under attack!” The boss shouted, his voice echoing through the forest. Their footsteps slowly became louder and louder as they approached the grove. It would only be a few minutes before they arrived back.

“You guys sure are organized for a group of bandits,” Twilight said, appearing right behind the boss.

“What the-”

A bolt passed right through his kneecaps, instantly dropping him face first into the mud. He screamed as he tried to get up, only to fall down like a foal first learning how to walk. Gritting his teeth, he lay there, looking up at the perpetrator.

“Where the hell did you come from?” He asked through ragged breaths.

“I was invisible,” Twilight simply replied.

“How?”

To which Twilight rolled her eyes, pointing to her horn as her answer. “Anyways, here’s what’s going to happen. You’re going to take me to your hideout, then I’m going to do Equestria a favor and get rid of scum like you. Got it?”

The boss snickered before on her face. “I ain’t gonna do shit for you, missy. If you haven’t realized by now, you’re completely surrounded.”

Twilight looked up to see that she was indeed completely surrounded. The round clearing she was now fully encircled by the other ponies she saw earlier. There were two pegasi, two earth ponies, and a unicorn. They all had their weapons drawn, and the unicorn in the group had his horn ignited.

“Wow, they got here pretty quickly,” Twilight said.

“You’re screwed now,” The boss grinned. “I can’t wait to feel your-”

Twilight swiftly cut him off with a bolt right through his forehead. He went stiff as he lay there in the mud, blood slowly dripping out of his wound.

“You bitch!” The unicorn shouted before firing off a magic bolt.

Twilight side-stepped before igniting her own horn, causing the other unicorn’s horns to fizzle out. He tried to ignite it again and again, but it would simply spark before fizzling out everytime.

The unicorn glared at her. “What the hell did you do?”

“Just a simple trick I learned,” Twilight shrugged. “Anti-magic field.”

“Hah, that means you can’t use magic either!” One of the bandits taunted. “Now you’re basically useless.”

“Am I?” Twilight smirked. “Come and find out.”

“She’s bluffing,” The unicorn called. “Don’t be afraid, just run her down!”

The two earth ponies ran towards her while the pegasi opted to fly up and dash down towards her. The pegasi got to her first, slicing their swords down on her at the same time at two different angles.

Twilight, however, was unfazed by their swiftness. She quickly drew her short sword with her mouth, deflecting one slice while simultaneously dodging the other. Before the pegasus who she parried could react, she lodged her blade in his throat, causing him to crash into the mud. Twilight took her balde out of his neck and left him there as he flailed around, his forehooves pressing down hard on the wound.

The earth ponies swung at her back, but Twilight simply just disappeared before their blades could connect.

“Where the hell did she go?” One of the earth ponies shouted.

“She’s next to Caster!” The hovering pegasus said.

They turned around to see Twilight right next to the unicorn. Before Caster could do anything though, he fell to the ground face first, a hole on the side of his head. Twilight’s horn was still ignited, levitating her sword.

“I thought she couldn’t use magic!” The pegasus said.

“It must’ve had a time limit or something.”

“You were actually able to guess that? I’m impressed!” Twilight smiled. “However, that won’t be enough to save you three.”

The three remaining bandits stood off against Twilight, brandishing their weapons. Two earth ponies and a pegasus against a unicorn.

“We have to somehow all get near and corner her,” One of the earth ponies muttered.

The pegasus scowled. “Easier said than done.”

“It’s our only chance. If we don’t do anything, we’re dead,” The same earth pony said. “We might as well die trying then just give up like this.”

“I’d rather die than get turned in,” The other earth pony added.

“You got that right,” The pegasus nodded. “So here’s the plan, we-”

The pegasus suddenly stopped in the middle of his sentence, plummeting towards the ground. With a loud thud and a few cracks, his limp body hit the ground.

“You were taking too long,” Twilight commented, her horn glowing. “I don’t know why you’d decide to just stand there and talk when there’s an enemy right in front of you. A pretty ineffective tactic, if you ask me.”

The earth ponies glared at her.

“It’s now or never I guess!” one of them called out, sprinting towards her. The other earth pony followed suit, trying to circle around Twilight to flank her. Twilight simply stood there as they closed in on her.

“Now!” The flanking pony yelled, one swinging at her left side while the other swung at her right side. It was a coordinated attack to try and corner Twilight.

Twilight teleported a safe distance away. “Only if you did this with your whole group.”

“Stop running away, coward!” One of them yelled.

“Wouldn’t it be considered cowardly to gang up on a pony, much less a mare?” Twilight cocked an eyebrow, a smirk on her face.

“Shut it!” He growled.

“There are more pressing matters than you two, so let’s finish this quickly, okay?” Twilight said, igniting her horn.

The two tried to run away, but their hooves wouldn’t move. Looking down, they saw that they were slowly sinking into the mud. They squirmed around, trying to escape, but it was futile. No matter what they did, they continued to sink.

“So, which one of you wants to be a good pony and lead me back to your camp?” Twilight smiled down at them.

“Fuck you!” One of them spat at her. “I’m not taking you nowhere, you dirty whore.”

Twilight continued to smile. “That’s unfortunate. I recall reading somewhere that suffocation is one of the most painful ways to die.”

“I’m willing to provide a painless death if you simply show me where your camp is. It’s as easy as that!”

“Are you even a pony anymore?” The other pony cried out. “This is just cruel!”

Twilight deadpanned. “Ironic, coming from you.”

The two remained silent at her comment. They continued to sink, eventually their hooves fully emerged.

Twilight sighed. “I really didn’t want to do this, but you left me no choice. I will force one of you to show me where your camp is through any means possible. I will take one of you with me and you will act as my guide. The other will not be as fortunate.”

“Not only will you suffocate, I’ll also set you ablaze,” Twilight said, a cruel smile on her face. “Now, which one of you wants to help me out?”

“I’ll never help you, no matter how much suffering I go through!” One of them growled.

The other, however, nodded quietly.

“Perfect!” Twilight chirped, igniting her horn and teleported him out of the mud. She then placed magic shackles on him, tying him to a nearby tree. “Now you stay put while I deal with your friend here.”

It was barely a second after she said that when his comrade in the mud was set ablaze, his screams echoing throughout the forest.

“YOU TRAITOR!” he repeatedly yelled as he sunk further and further down. The other pony cast his gaze at the ground and shut his eyes tight, not wanting to look at his friend as he met his fate.

“I HOPE YOU ROT AWAY IN SOME JAIL CELL YOU UNGRATEFUL BASTARD!”

“FUCK YOU AND YOUR FAMILY. I HOPE THEY ALL ROT IN HELL!

He cursed and yelled obscenities before he was fully submerged in the mud, completely silencing him.

“He was rather rude, wasn’t he?” Twilight giggled as she stood over the last bandit.

He remained silent however, still looking down at the ground.

“We’ll, now it’s time for you to uphold your part of the deal,” Twilight said, chaining him up like a slave.

The bandit hesitantly stood up and looked over at Twilight.

“What do you plan to do with me afterwards?“

“I told you, remember? Once you show me to your camp, I’ll give you a painless death.”

He sighed. “So I’m dead either way?”

“Yup!” Twilight chirped. “Now, lead the way!“

The lone bandit started walking in the direction where the group originally came from. Twilight followed a fair distance behind him, the leash almost fully tightened.

He paused, looking back at his captor. “Why are you so far behind me?”

“I know you can’t really do anything, but caution is something a pony should always practice,” Twilight answered. “Especially in times like this.”

Shrugging, he continued walking. “Can’t argue with that.”

“Eeyup,” Twilight nodded. “Now keep walking.”

They continued through the forest, eventually nearing the outside of another, much larger clearing. There were tents scattered about, as well as some extinguished fire pits. Examining further, she saw a couple more bandits wandering about, chatting amongst themselves.

“I thank you for your service, but as we both know, this is the end of the line for you,” Twilight weakly smiled at the bandit.

He solemnly nodded, returning the smile as Twilight ignited her horn. With a clean cast, a bolt flew straight through his skull, instantly killing him. Twilight was sure to catch his body before it landed, not wanting to alert any pony of her presence. Placing him down gently, she closed his eyes.

“Now then, let’s go finish the job!” Twilight hummed to herself.

Easily sneaking into the camp, she lurked around, hiding behind tents, boxes, and other things scattered about. Twilight constantly surveyed the ponies and things around her. She was looking for one thing, and only one thing.

“So what are we goin’ do with em?”

Twilight’s ears perked up, stopping in her tracks.

“I heard we’re selling them to some sick noble,” another pony said. “Apparently they’re into that kind of thing.”

“What a freak,” he scoffed.

“Rich folk have weird taste.”

Twilight slightly peeked up from behind the box, getting a good look at the ponies and the cargo next to them.

“Bingo,” she whispered to herself before crouching back down. She crept closer and closer, jumping from cover to cover, still hidden from the guards.

“Gotta take a leak man,” one hummed, walking in Twilight’s direction.

“Don’t take too long!” the other one called out to him.

“Yeah yeah, whatever,” he called back, stepping out of his sight behind some boxes.

A hoof suddenly pulled him onto the ground. A weight on his stomach, a hoof over his mouth, and cold steel against his neck signified one thing. He tried to scream but was quickly cut off by the dagger cleanly slicing his neck, blood oozing out.

Twilight continued to hold her hoof to his mouth, regardless of the blood spraying onto her. Sprinkles got on her face and chest, but she stayed resilient. Soon enough, the bandit succumbed to the blood loss, going limp.

Wiping the blood off of her, she got off him and peaked around the corner again. The other guard was still just standing there, staring off into space. Twilight smirked, igniting her horn. Fully turning the corner, she put him down with a bolt through the head. As his body was about to hit the ground, Twilight quickly caught him with a quick levitation spell, placing him down gently.

“W-What happened?” A small voice whimpered.

Twilight slowly approached the multiple box shaped objects covered by cloth. “Is somepony there?” She whispered.

“Who are you? Are you going to hurt us?”

Twilight pulled off all the cloth with magic, revealing dozens of cages filled with children. Fillies and colts, some sleeping while others were cowering, staring at the strange pony who uncovered them. Twilight clicked her tongue as she took it all in, a large frown forming on her face. She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. As she slowly exhaled, she opened her eyes slowly.

“No, I’m not going to hurt any of you,” Twilight whispered. “I’m actually here to rescue you all, though I was told there were only a few ponies.” Sighing, she mumbled to herself. “And that they weren’t children.”

Clearing her throat, Twilight weakly smiled. “I’m going to need you all to stay quiet until I come back, okay?”

The majority of them nodded.

“I’m going to put the cover back on. Promise me you won’t try and lift it up until I say.”

“We promise,” a couple of them said in unison.

“Good,” Twilight nodded, levitating the cover onto the cages. There were a few whispers before the camp was silent again. Twilight’s smile instantly vanished as soon as the cages were covered, replaced with a deep frown.

“Ponynapping is one thing, but children?” Twilight growled as she walked deeper into the camp. “They took it too far.”

“Who the hell are you?” A bandit shouted as he spotted her.

Twilight snapped towards him, causing the bandit to flinch slightly. Twilight’s glare was seething with anger, and directed it right at him. Before he could even do anything else, a bolt pierced his neck. He fell onto the ground, holding his neck. He tried to scream and cry out, but just couldn’t. His mouth was open, but no noise was being produced.

Twilight teleported close to him, looming over him with the same glare. “You know, I regret giving the other’s such peaceful deaths.”

The bandit tried to crawl away, but his hoof was nailed into the ground by a sword. Looking to his side, he realized the blade in his hoof was his own.

“You’re not going anywhere,” Twilight simply said, digging and twisting the blade deeper and deeper. “There’s no room in hell for a pony like you.”

Twilight levitated over some nails used to pin down the tents as well as a mallet. With three quick strikes, he was nailed to the ground like one of the tents around. He tried to stay as still as possible, wincing in pain.

Twilight stared down at him with cold eyes. “You wait here while I round up the rest of you sick animals.”

Twilight levitated more nails next to him before moving deeper into the camp to hunt down the rest of her prey. She soon found two more guards and quickly crippled them in a similar fashion. She would precisely hit their vocal cords in a non-life threatening area, drop them to the ground, teleport them to the cages and pin them down, rinse, and repeat.

She continued this process over and over, spreading fear and confusion throughout the camp. Eventually rounding up all of the bandits, she stood before all of them. They all showed different emotions towards her. Anger, fear, worry, even despair. Twilight didn’t care however as she loomed over them.

“I’m glad you all came here without a fuss. Now, who put you all up to this?”

Some of the ponies responded with some gargles and unintelligible groans, though it seemed like they were cursing her out.

“Oh, right,” Twilight sighed while shaking her head.. “They can’t talk anymore. Why’d I make such an idiotic decision?”

Twilight remained silent for a moment before shrugging.

“Oh well, guess I’ll just have to read your minds then!” Twilight chirped. Trotting over to one of them, she ignited her horn, placing it close to their head. Closing her eyes, she stared into the darkness for a moment.

“Hello? Can you hear me?” Twilight thought.

“W-What the hell?” Another voice said in her head. “You’re saying you can actually read our minds? That’s insane. You’re insane!”

“I get that alot. Now, answer the question.”

“I’m not telling you jack, lady!” He shouted in his head.

“I can be here all day, waiting for you to slip and think about it,” Twilight said, feeling a grin form on her face. “If I keep asking, you’ll eventually think of it. It’s only a matter of time.”

“I can’t hear you! Lalalalalala!” The bandit shouted and hummed, trying to block her out.

“So I’ll ask again. Who put you up to this?”

“Lalalalalala!”

“Who. Put. You. Up. To. This?”

“Lalalalala I’m never trusting that damn prince from Canterlot ever again. He got us in this fucking mess lalalal-”

“Why thank you,” Twilight smirked, opening her eyes. Lifting his head up as much as he could, the bandit’s eyes shot open, fear and shame written all over his face. “Don’t think your fate is going to be any better than your comrades though.”

He hung his head, laying down flat on the ground. He lay there, accepting whatever Twilight had in store for all of them.

“Now that I have a lead, I can finally leave!” Twilight chirped, walking away from everypony. She heard them struggle against the nails, guttural groans escaping their throats, crying out for mercy. Twilight simply ignored them, humming as she walked back to the cages.

The groans became quieter as the distance between them grew. Soon enough, it was quiet. Twilight was already standing in front of the cages. Pulling the cloth off, more children were awake. Some of them gasped in surprise while some cowered in the corner of their cages. Others, however, stared at her with optimistic eyes.

“You don’t need to be scared,” Twilight said lightly, trying to comfort them. “I just had to make sure none of the bad guys would come back to get you. You’re all going to be just fine.”

“R-Really?” One of the kids stuttered out.

“Really.”

With a flicker of her horn, all the locks on the cages broke, allowing the children to push the door open. Most of them cautiously walked out, looking in all directions as if they were about to get snatched up again.

Twilight giggled slightly as she watched them

“The bad guys are all gone,” Twilight said. “I scared them away, so they won’t ever come back.”

The children nodded hesitantly before all huddling in front of Twilight.

“So, uhhh…” Twilight rubbed the back of her head. “Let’s get you all back to the city, I guess? Closest one would be…” Twilight let out a groan. “Canterlot.”

One of the kids looked up at her, his head slightly tilted. “What’s wrong with Canterlot?”

Twilight patted the kids' heads. “There’s nothing wrong with Canterlot per se. It’s just that a lot of ponies there don’t like me.”

“Why wouldn’t they like you?”

“Let’s just say that I’ve done some bad things as well,” Twilight simply said. “And that I’m kind of wanted for murder and theft…” She added under her breath.

“I’m sure you didn’t mean to,” The kid frowned. “Maybe a big meanie made you do it!”

“Something like that,” Twilight weakly smiled. “Anyways, we’ll start heading to Canterlot right now and cover as much ground as possible. We’re probably going to have to stop halfway there. Traveling in the dark is dangerous as it is, but through this forest is a big no-no.”

“Are there m-m-monsters?!” One of them asked.

“There are but you don’t need to worry since I’m here!” Twilight grinned, puffing her chest out. “This big sister will take care of you.”

The kids stared at her, confused at her last statement. They continued to just stare at her, silence filling the camp.

Twilight’s confident grin slowly turned into a sheepish one. Slightly blushing, she cleared her throat and sighed.

“Let’s just start heading to Canterlot.”

Author's Note

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry for delays, but between work and my other hobbies, it's hard to find time to write. That and I've been going through a bit of writer's block :twilightblush:

Feel free to leave a comment or suggestion. Any kind of constructive criticism is always welcomed!

Back in Canterlot

Author's Note

Look! A new chapter for something!

Haha, sorry everyone for the wait. Writing has been slow for me mainly due to time restraints, but I've been slowly working on all my stories. I feel like this chapter was a little bit of a mess structure wise, but overall I'm satisfied with how it came out.

For my release schedule, I don't want to give any of you false hope. I'll try to get one out every month but we'll see.

Thank you all for reading and see you in the next one!

Back in Canterlot

Twilight simply watched the wonderful gates of Canterlot from a far. It was bustling with ponies, some trying to leave while others trying to enter. Caravans and wagons, guards and carriages. There were a vast number of things coming in and out of the city.

It truly was the capital of Equestria.

“Still the same as always,” Twilight scoffed. “Well, I guess I was here just a couple days ago.”

“Woah, that city is huge!” one of the kids squeaked. “We get to go there?”

“Yup,” Twilight smiled weakly. “Unfortunately,” she added under her breath.

The kids cheered happily at the notion of getting to enter the capital of Equestria.

“I need you all to remain silent when we start to approach the gates though,” Twilight said. “Let me talk to the guards, okay?”

“Okay!” Some of them chirped, nodding their heads.

“Well here goes nothing,” Twilight mumbled, her horn igniting. A purple aura washed over her briefly before fading away just as fast.

“Why are you blue now?” A kid asked, tugging on her cloak.

Twilight patted the filly’s head. “Just a magic trick I learned a while back. Helps keep pesky ponies away.”

“Pesky? What’s that mean?” The filly asked, tilting her head slightly.

“Pesky is similar to annoying or bothersome,” Twilight explained. “Some ponies just want to bother me for some reason.”

“Why would anypony want to do that? You’re awesome!”

Twilight shrugged. “They have their reasons.”

Tossing her hood on, she ushered the kids to follow behind her. Reaching the path to the gate, they approached the tall walls of Canterlot. The top of the walls were lined with a couple guards, surveying the ponies coming in and out of the city.

Twilight kept her face hidden with her hood. Even with her disguise, there was a slight chance that somepony would recognize her face. Even if the possibility was inconceivable, there was no harm in being too careful. Thankfully the line had died down, allowing her to reach the gate in mere minutes, away from the eyes of the guards above.

“Halt,” one of the three guards commanded her. The other two stood behind him, covering the gate with their spears. “Name and reason of visit, please.”

“My name is Sapphire Glow and I’m here because I have business with the hall,” Twilight answered.

“What kind of business?” The guard eyed her.

“I don’t need to tell you the specifics of my business, I know my rights. I have a letter from the mayor of Ponyville if you would like to see it,” Twilight countered, smirking.

“No, that’s fine,” The guard grumbled. Looking past her, he eyed the kids. “What’s with all the children?”

“Ah, yes,” Twilight mentally slapped her forehead. She had completely forgotten about them somehow! “Well, you see, when I was traveling here from Ponyville, I came across a bandit camp. I was traveling with some of my companions, so we decided that it would be good to get rid of them before they tried to attack travelers.”

“We took it into our hooves, easily wiping them out. After clearing the camp, we came across cages and cages filled with children. It was sickening.” Twilight paused, pretending to calm herself down. Taking deep breaths and wiping her eyes, she let out a long sigh.

“So we decided to bring them here to Canterlot to see if anypony could help find their families. Do you know anywhere that could help me out with that?”

The guard smiled. “You can leave the children with us,” The guard simply said. “We’ll be sure to find their families. Also, I’d like to thank you and your companions for doing such a noble thing. I will be sure that her majesty hears of this.”

“Though, where are your friends?”

“They had business in another town not too far from here, so they decided to stop there first,” Twilight said. “They won’t be here for a couple weeks I believe.”

“That’s too bad. Well, if you do see them again, say that the royal guards and her majesty thank them.”

“Will do,” Twilight nodded. Turning to the children, they were staring at her with sad eyes. “W-What’s wrong?”

“Y-Y-You’re not going t-t-to leave us, are you?” one of them stuttered through sniffles. The child’s eyes were glossy and wet in the corners.

“I’m sorry, but I have to,” Twilight brushed the filly’s mane gently with her hoof. “I still have some things I have to do and can’t look after all of you. Plus, you might be able to see your family again! Isn’t that great?”

The child nodded, though their head was drooping. Sniffling, tears dripped onto the floor.

“Hey, don’t cry,” Twilight frowned, placing a hoof under her chin. Lifting her head up, Twilight smiled at her. “I know it’s going to be hard, but this is for the best, okay? I know you’re all strong, wonderful ponies. I also know that your families miss you a lot, so don’t make them wait, okay?”

The filly nodded before surprising Twilight with a hug. Twilight sighed, rubbing the child’s back as she returned the hug. After releasing the filly, she stood in front of all the children, who were in a similar state as the filly.

“I know you’re all going to grow up to be wonderful ponies,” Twilight grinned. “So live the best life you can. For me, okay?”

“Ok!” The majority of them said, nodding their heads.

“Good,” Twilight nodded back, content all over her face. “Goodbye everypony!” She announced, walking into the city.

They waved to her as she slowly got farther and farther. Taking one last look back, Twilight could barely see their outlines. They were still waving, however. Twilight’s smile never left her face as she went deeper into the city.

Twilight strolled through town without a care in the world. She looked at all the stalls set up along the roads, as well as all the familiar stores and buildings. All the wonderful bookstores she used to visit as a filly. That one donut shop that she just couldn’t get enough of. It was like she was home.

But she knew she wasn’t.

Her smile slowly vanished and her mood dampened as she stood in front of a much too familiar building. Twilight sighed, her mind drifting back to her fillyhood as she stared at the Canterlot library.

A table off in a secluded corner of the library held stacks and stacks of books. It was almost as if the pony sitting there was trying to build some sort of book fort.

A young Twilight sat in the middle of all the books, her eyes darting from one side of the book to another, followed by a quick flip. This continued for a while until her body forced her to blink, causing her to lose her concentration.

Shaking her head, she put the book down and blinked a couple more times. Her eyes felt heavy. Stretching her body out, she heard some pops and cracks. She let out a long sigh.

“I wonder what time it is,” She said to herself, looking around her for a clock. However, all she could see were books. “Whoops, I did it again!”

Looking around, she found a small hole underneath her, light shining through. Crawling through, she ended up outside of the pile of books. As she stood up, her head suddenly felt warm, her vision blurring. She felt herself wobble a bit as she tried to keep her balance. Her vision slowly faded, the last thing she felt was her body falling.

…

Twilight heard faint voices around her which were whispering something she couldn’t make out. Slowly opening her eyes, she stared up at what seemed to be her bedroom’s ceiling. Turning her head to her right, she saw her parents talking to one another. Her dad’s eyebrows were furrowed, a large frown on his face. Her mom, on the other hand, had a softer expression. Her eyes were a bit puffy from crying Twilight assumed.

Looking to her left she saw her brother and babysitter sitting there. Both of their expressions were full of concern, but seemed to slightly change as their eyes met.

“She’s awake!” Shining Armor announced.

“Oh thank goodness,” Twilight Velvet cried out, hugging her tightly. “I was so worried when I found you just laying there in the library.”

“You shocked everypony quite a bit,” Night Light sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “You almost killed yourself studying.”

Shining Armor frowned. “It’s not like we’ll stop loving you if you don’t get into Celestia’s school.”

“Yeah…” Night Light grumbled.

“Are you okay?”

Twilight shook her head, snapping out of her thoughts. A mare stood in front of her, looking her right in the eyes.

“Oh, yes,” Twilight fake coughed, averting her stare. “Just zoning out, that’s all.”

“I’d advise to lay low. The guards have been on high alert ever since that attack the other day,” the mare whispered. “I heard they’re arresting anypony who they deem even remotely suspicious.”

“That’s messed up,” Twilight mumbled. “Though I wouldn’t expect much from them,” She added under her breath.

The mare tilted her head. “What was that?”

“Nothing,” Twilight weakly smiled. “Thank you for the heads up, but I must get going now.”

“Of course,” The mare smiled back.

Twilight made her way through the streets again. Guards would often pass by her, but none of them batted an eye at her. As she strayed farther and farther away from the center of Canterlot, the buildings became more worn and the streets less populated.

Dark alleyways and beggars became much more common.

“This place hasn’t changed a bit,” Twilight grinned.

“What’s a young missy like you doin’ here by yourself?” A gruff voice said from behind her.

Turning around, Twilight mentally rolled her eyes at the three ponies in front of her. Two rather large earth ponies and a unicorn were grinning from ear to ear as they stared at her. They wore tattered black cloaks with their hoods pulled over.

“Just taking a stroll,” Twilight replied before turning back around to start walking again.

“Who said you could leave?” One of the earth ponies grabbed her cloak, tugging it backwards. Twilight sighed as she simply slipped out. Turning around once again, she shot them a glare.

“I’m really in a hurry, so give me my cloak and I’ll be on my merry way.” Twilight frowned, slightly agitated.

The unicorn snickered. “Do you even know who we are?”

“No and I couldn't care less,” Twilight said.

“Feisty, I like it,” The unicorn licked his lips. “Just come with us, and nopony gets hurt.”

The two earth ponies slowly approached her, but much to their surprise Twilight didn’t stumble backwards like their other victims.

“You guys really need to read more,” Twilight scoffed. “Like seriously, this is so cliche. A group of stallions ganging up on a mare in the bad side of town? How lame.”

One of the earth ponies stopped his advance, tilting his head. “Trope? Cliche? What do those mean?”

“I dunno,” the other earth pony responded, also stopping in his tracks.

The unicorn ringleader slapped his forehead. “She’s making fun of you morons. Now get her!”

“Actually, I’m making fun of you too, not just these idiots,” Twilight chuckled. “Thanks for the laugh, but I really have to go.” Igniting her horn, she started a spell.

Both of the earth ponies pounced towards her, intending to tackle her to the ground. However, as they were about to reach her, Twilight disappeared, causing the two to crash into each other.

“Ow…” They both groaned, one laying atop the other.

“Idiots!” The unicorn scowled. “You two, notify the boss and search for that unicorn!”

Twilight giggled to herself as she disappeared into the darkness of a nearby alleyway.

As the sun set, the streets became more lively. Ponies walked about, entering the various bars and taverns. Twilight slipped into one of the nearby bars and quickly made her way to the counter. Sliding two bits towards the bartender, she took a seat.

“What can I get for ya?” A dark brown earth pony asked as he scooped up the bits.

“A glass of beer please.” Twilight put another bit on the table. “And some information,” She added in a hushed voice.

“Comin’ right up,” the bartender grinned as he grabbed a glass and started working the tap. The golden drink filled the glass to the brim, a layer of white foam on top. Placing it onto the counter, a bit of it spilled out. Leaning closer to her, he whispered. “Now, what kind of information are ya lookin’ for?”

“I need as much information you have on a noble in town,” Twilight replied in a hushed voice.

“There’s a lot of nobles in town, missy,” The bartender scoffed. “Yer gonna have to be more specific than that.”

“Blueblood,” She bluntly stated. “All the information you have, name a price.”

“Are ya crazy?!” The bartender shouted. Everypony’s chatter died down, the bar becoming silent. They were all staring in their direction.

“Sorry everypony, just got a little worked up,” The bartender awkwardly laughed.

The customers shrugged it off, going back to their original conversations. Twilight smirked while she took a sip of the beer, causing the bartender to roll his eyes.

“Missy, be honest with me, why are you diggin’ into Blueblood? Do ya have a death wish?”

“I don’t need to answer that,” Twilight frowned. “As I said before, name a price. I don’t care about what could happen to me, just tell me.”

“Fine,” The bartender relented after some thought.

“Thank you.”

“But!” The bartender quickly added. “Ya can’t tell anypony, and I mean anypony, where ya got this information from. If the royal family finds out it was me, they'll have my head.”

Twilight nodded. “Don’t worry, everything will stay between you and me.”

“I hope so,” he mumbled. “My asking price is two hundred bits. I’ll have as much information as I can get tomorrow night, so make sure to bring the money.”

Twilight clicked her tongue at his price, but begrudgingly agreed. Chugging down the rest of her beer and throwing her hood on, she silently exited the bar. The streets were still quite lively. Stalls with all kinds of different things lined the streets, illuminated by hanging lanterns.

Twilight watched ponies trot up and down the streets, conversing with one another or stopping at one of the various stalls. Although this area couldn’t shine a light on the inner city during the day, it certainly became much better than it at night. However, it wasn’t safe just because more ponies were there. Kidnappings, theft, and even murder were pretty common, though ponies wouldn’t bat an eye to them. That’s just how they were here.

Twilight, however, casually strolled down the streets back towards the inner city. The stall owners would call out to her, but she simply ignored them. Entering an alleyway to escape the crowd, Twilight let out a sigh as she continued walking. Suddenly, she was stopped in her tracks. It felt as if she had just bumped into a brick wall.

“This the pony you're lookin’ for?” A gruff voice said.

Twilight looked up to the towering figure. A large unicorn, somehow even larger than the earth ponies she ran into earlier, was blocking her path. Taking a few steps back, she was stopped yet again. Glancing over her shoulder, she saw those two earth ponies!

“Yeah that’s her,” a familiar voice said, snickering. Stepping out from behind the larger unicorn was the other unicorn who tried to abduct her. “She’s quite good with magic so I thought you’d might be interested.”

“Good with magic, eh?” The bigger unicorn smirked. “Say, missy, come with me and we can have some fun.”

Twilight inwardly gagged. “Um, no thank you.”

His eye twitched slightly. “I wasn’t asking.”

“Well that’s not very gentleman-like,” Twilight huffed. “Not that I’d expect that from ponies like you.”

“Well good thing I’m not a gentleman. Boys, grab her.”

Twilight rolled her eyes, igniting her horn. However, as soon as she was about to teleport away, it fizzled out, allowing the earth ponies to capture her.

“What the hell?” Twilight muttered, looking up at her horn then to the bigger unicorn. He wore a smug smirk, his horn glowing. Her mouth formed an “o” as she put two and two together.

“Cat’s got your tongue?” He mocked.

“No, I was just wondering how an idiot like you could learn such an advanced spell,” Twilight chuckled. “Well, now that you got me, what do you want?”

Narrowing his eyes, he examined her. “How can you be so calm even though you’re captured? Do you have some plan to escape?”

“She’s probably just bluffing,” the smaller unicorn said. “Not even a royal guard could escape your magic suppression!”

“Wow, not even a royal guard?” Twilight gasped, feinting surprise. “I really am in a bind then, huh?”

“Enough with your sarcasm!” the smaller unicorn shouted.

The larger unicorn let out a hearty laugh. “She’s just trying to get on your nerves.”

“And by the looks of it, I really am,” Twilight smirked.

“Alright, enough fun for you,” the larger unicorn said in a serious tone. “I hope you fully understand the situation you’re in. There’s no escaping, so let’s make it easy for both of us.”

“You’re right…” Twilight sighed.

“Thank you.”

“Right that I’ve had enough fun!” Twilight grinned, igniting her horn.

“How the-”

Before he could finish his sentence, a light illuminated the alleyway, causing them all to become temporarily blind. As the light slowly faded, they looked where Twilight was.

“Where the fuck is she?!” The small unicorn yelled in agitation.

“She disappeared…” One of the earth ponies muttered.

“Oh thank you so fucking much,” the small unicorn responded, rolling his eyes. “It’s not like I have eyes to see that.”

“She actually broke through my spell?” the bigger unicorn frowned. After a few moments, he let out a sigh. “I think we should give up on her. She’s obviously somepony not to mess with.”

“Aww, giving up so easily?” Twilight taunted.

They all looked up to see Twilight on the roof above them, smugly grinning down. Glaring up at her, the bigger unicorn teleported up next to her. Instantly casting another spell, he shot a laser right at her. Unfortunately, all it hit was the roof.

“Did I strike a nerve?” Twilight giggled, looking over at the burn mark left by the laser.

“How did you break through my spell?”

“Easily.”

“That’s not what I meant!” He spat, shooting another beam at her.

Twilight winked. “I know.”

“There’s no way she can take both of us!” The smaller unicorn said as he blinked behind Twilight. Stuck in the middle of them, Twilight calmly stood there.

“You really think I can’t?” Twilight asked. “I mean, I was able to break through your ‘strongest’ spell easily. What makes you think I can’t take both of you at once?”

“That’s it!” the smaller unicorn growled. Igniting his horn, he shot multiple blasts at her.

“Really, that’s it?” Twilight cocked an eyebrow, easily sidestepping all of them.

“You better stop looking down on us!” The bigger unicorn bellowed, releasing a giant lazer at her. It incinerated anything in its path, leaving a large hole in the roof. Twilight was nowhere to be seen.

“I think you got her!”

“Whew, that was close!” Twilight wiped her forehead. Looking down at hole, she frowned. “Besides that, are you going to pay for all this damage, because I’m sure not.”

“You’re going to pay with your life!” The smaller unicorn said, shooting a beam that split into smaller, thinner ones.

Igniting her own horn, Twilight was surrounded by a magenta barrier which deflected the smaller beams.

“I’m getting bored, so I’ll just end it here,” Twilight said, her horn glowing brighter than before. Before the two could even react, a force hit both their backs, slamming them into the roofing. It felt as if they were both slammed with a sledgehammer.

The smaller unicorn practically threw up blood. The bigger one, on the other hand, was a bit more sturdy. He only spat out a little bit of blood, leaving a large crater in the roof.

“It’s been a while since I’ve used that one,” Twilight grinned, looking down at the defeated unicorns. “Now, what should I do with you two?”

They, however, did not respond.

“Hopefully I didn’t kill them,” Twilight frowned, poking the smaller unicorn. His breaths were ragged, but he was still breathing thankfully.

“Hey, what are you doing up there?” Somepony yelled.

Twilight looked down to see a few royal guards staring up at her. Their golden armor shone in the light, making them stand out among the crowd.

“Nothing, just dealing with some criminals,” Twilight replied. “Now I’ll just get going now!”

“Wait!” One of the guards yelled, but Twilight had already teleported away. Flying up to the roof, they were met with the two unconscious criminals.

“She wasn’t lying,” one of them laughed.

“I guess not.”

Humming to herself, Twilight casually trotted down the streets. As she trotted and trotted, less and less ponies were around her. Eventually she found herself on a desolate street besides the two guards in front of a beautiful golden gate.

“Ma’am, are you lost?” the male guard asked.

“Shush,” the female guard beside him nudged his side. “You’re supposed to be quiet when you guard!”

“I’m just trying to be a good pony,” he harrumphed. “Unlike a certain someone I know.”

The female guard rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to Twilight, who was giggling. “What’s so funny?”

“Supposed to be quiet, aye?” the male guard grinned, earning him a jab to his side.

Twilight grinned. “I just find you two amusing, that’s all.”

“Why thank you,” the male guard smirked.

“And I’m not lost, just touring around,” Twilight said. “I wanted to take a look at Celestia’s gem.”

“Are you interested in enrolling somepony into Celestia’s Academy of Magic?” The male guard asked with sparkling eyes. “I wish my son could get in, but the entrance exam is just too hard. Maybe next year!”

“Pfft, yeah right,” the female guard said. “The odds of getting in is one in a thousand. Like, literally. In every thousand applicants, only one gets accepted.”

“Unfortunately,” Twilight mumbled, letting out a long sigh.

“Well you can look all you want as long as you stay outside,” the male guard said. “Nopony is allowed in the school after hours regardless if you’re staff or student.”

Twilight weakly smiled in response. “Of course. I was just taking a quick peak. Thank you for the information.”

“No problem!” the male guard grinned while the female guard simply stood there, nodding her head slowly.

Walking away, Twilight took one more long look back at the school, a frown slowly forming on her face.

“Go ahead, Miss Twilight,” one of the proctors said. “Show us what you can do.”

Twilight nervously laughed as she looked at the proctors, then back at the dragon egg next to her. Shaking her head, she took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. After a moment of deep breaths, she tried to ignite her horn.

Unfortunately, the magic never came.

Minutes ticked by as she strained herself, trying everything in her power to just do something to the egg. The protectors looked down at her with disdain, whispering among themselves as they scribbled notes down.

This led Twilight to try even harder, but it was to no avail. Nothing came, not even a spark of magic.

“That’s enough,” another proctor announced in a cold voice. The other proctors nodded in agreement. “Miss Sparkle, although your effort and dedication is admirable, your magic skills are not. I’m afraid you’re not suited for the Academy of Magic. You may take your leave.”

Twilight’s vision became slightly blurry as her eyes welled with tears. Swallowing back a sob, she looked up at the proctors. “P-Please, just g-give me one more chance!”

“Your next chance is next year when you can retake the entrance exam,” one of them said scornfully, scoffing. “Maybe you should study more rather than playing so much.”

“B-But-”

“No buts!” he barked. “If you do not want to leave, then we will take our leave first!”

With that, the four proctors walked out, not even giving a glance to the filly. Twilight stood in the empty auditorium, falling onto her butt. Not able to contain the tears, she let out loud sobs which echoed through the room.

Twilight cried and cried until her tears ran dry. Her eyes stung and her throat hurt. Wiping her eyes and nose, she begrudgingly stood up. Making her way to the doorway, she took one last longing look at the auditorium before making her way to the courtyard.

Twilight smiled bitterly, breaking out of her daze.

“This is why I hate coming to Canterlot. All these stupid memories always come back,” Twilight mumbled to herself. After a slight pause, Twilight turned around and walked further into the city, towards the castle.

Walking through the dimly lit streets, Twilight’s hooves clacked against the cobblestone. Occasionally passing by a guard, she would give them a small nod before continuing forward. Eventually the scenery changed from city to housing. This wasn’t just your ordinary housing though, but housing for the rich.

Mansions the size of several houses surrounded her. Surrounded by tall gold fences, it gave off an intimidating aura. More guards patrolled this area, though they did not pay any attention to Twilight as she stared at the mansions.

Twilight slightly smiled as she stood in front of a certain mansion, the name plate signifying its owner. Taking a long look at it, Twilight’s smile grew more and more sinister. Turning her back, she laughed to herself.

“You’ve got what’s coming for you, Blueblood.”