//------------------------------//
// Chapter Ten - Suck, Buck, and Two Smokin' Horns. 
// Story: Leap of Faith: Twilight Vs. The Great and Powerful 
// by Wolokai 
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	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!")