Chapter 10:
Welcome Back
“What is she doing here, Twilight? Don’t you remember the last time? And the time before that!” someone argued, his loud pleas clearly audible from the top floor where Trixie resided. She was lying at the bottom edge of the bed, listening in closely to the conversation going on downstairs.
“Spike, I’ve told you already... it’s different now,” Twilight contended, trying to sound reasonable with little reason to give. It must have been difficult, Trixie assumed, to defend her after all she had done in the past to this town and its citizens, to try to give a reason for her return and somehow explain how she must have changed in some way. Twilight hardly knew anything about Trixie’s position now, so there was no way she could have given certain explanations. But that was, perhaps, what baffled Trixie the most. Why was she doing all of this? To Trixie, this was all just a means to win the tournament.
“Likely story. What if this is all just another trick to get back at you? We can’t trust her!”
“I know you mean well, Spike... but I know what I’m getting myself into. Don’t worry about me. Everything will be okay. Trust me,” Twilight finished with a sigh. A few more hushed words were spoken between the two, indistinct to Trixie’s ear.
Does she really know what she is getting into? Trixie wondered. What am I getting into? Spike’s worries were sensible, as it was more than likely foolish for anypony in Ponyville to trust her anymore. Twilight may have forgiven her, but that had nothing to do with actually giving her any sort of credence. If anything, most ponies would have reacted with some sort of detestation. Perhaps Twilight isn’t as bright as she’s made out to be? That would certainly explain this situation.
The bottom floor was now silent, from what Trixie could tell, at last encouraging her to get out of bed. With the sun already nearing the apex of the sky, the room where she had slept was now flooded in bright sunlight, revealing her new accommodations. A few steps down from the bedroom would lead to a lower level, once again with bookshelves set into the walls and telescopes furnishing every window. This was more than likely not only an extension of the library downstairs, but Twilight’s study as well. A hole in the wall exited to some more steps, descending to the ground floor. Trixie stood at the top for a moment, knowing she’d have to go down sooner or later.
With slow steps, she descended, meeting eye to eye with Twilight as soon as she came into view. “Good morning,” Twilight said in a peppy tone, as if she hadn’t been up all night. “Did you sleep well?” The room was looking much neater now, Twilight sitting at the empty, round table with a single book before her and what looked like a cup of tea or coffee.
“Well enough,” Trixie replied, still holding to stern manners. Twilight didn’t seem to mind, only nodding with a smile. Trixie moved to the table and sat on one of the cushions a short distance away from the other mare.
“Would you care for some tea? There’s still some hot water left.”
“No... thank you,” she replied, looking down at the wooden table.
"Well, Spike went out to pick up some groceries for lunch. It shouldn’t be too long now.” Trixie let one of her hooves fall hard on the table, startling Twilight and making her teacup rattle, spilling some of its contents onto the saucer. She looked up with a serious glare, at which Twilight could only look back with the slightest apprehension.
“Why are you doing this?” Trixie said, anger slipping through her controlled tone.
“What do you mean?”
“Do not play dumb, Twilight. All of... this! Why? I do not understand you! Why are you, of all ponies, doing this for me? I do not even know why I am agreeing to any of this,” she said with an exasperated and short laugh of disbelief. Bringing a hoof to her head, she looked back down at the table, away from the other mare’s gaze.
"Trixie...” Twilight said in a hushed tone. “Are you okay? Is something on your mind?”
“N-no! I am fine! It is just... none of your business, all right?” she looked up with a furrowed brow. “You still have not answered my question.” Twilight sighed in response, shaking her head ever so slightly.
“I want to help you- or better yet, I want us to help each other. Is that so difficult for you to accept?”
“Considering... yes.”
“Well... you’re already in this -we’re already in this. Together. So we both have to get used to it,” she said with a smile. “I’m sure you’ll come around to all this in due time, but for now we have to make it work.”
“I suppose,” Trixie said with unambiguous unease. The room fell to silence once again, fitting for the library setting. Trixie adjusted herself uncomfortably as Twilight’s eyes shifted from side to side. Twilight held on to her forced grin, letting it fade away as the absence of sound or action lingered. She lightly tapped her hooves on the table, making Trixie give her another quizzical glance.
“So... what are we doing?” Trixie finally had to ask, not wanting the situation to last any longer.
“Right!” Twilight snapped back to her cheery self. “I was up the latter half of the night coming up with a rather comprehensive and efficient study guide to follow!” Saying that, she magically lifted a scroll from under the table, letting it fall and unfurl over the table and continue on over the floor.
“Study guide...” Trixie gawked with wide eyes at the full length of the list.
“This is only day one, of course! We have a little over three months to prepare, and I plan on getting the most out of it,” she said excitedly, more to herself than anything. She clopped her hooves together giddily as Trixie watched her with a raised brow of confusion.
“You seem overexcited. Is this some sort of exercise or practice for you?” Trixie sneered, not reducing the other pony’s thrill in the slightest.
“Oh, I am! And no, I wouldn’t call it that. It’s more... an experience. For both of us,” she nodded happily.
“Right,” Trixie said with a drawl before letting out a heavy sigh. “So, where do we-”
All of a sudden, the door was thrown open with a loud bang, drawing the full attention of the two unsuspecting ponies. A white unicorn mare with an expertly fashioned purple mane trotted into the room with grace, a little purple dragon hurrying close behind.
“Twilight!” she cried dramatically, “I came as soon as Spike told me of the tragedy that has occurred!”
“Rarity?” Twilight replied in a cool tone, still looking surprised to see her friend burst through the door so excitedly. “What’s wrong?” She got up and trotted closer to the glowering mare, whose focus was fixed on a bemused Trixie.
“What’s wrong? What’s wrong!?” Turning to Twilight, Rarity was almost yelling, not in anger, but more in worry and disbelief. “I should be asking you! It is quite obvious that we have a serious dilemma on our hooves. Oh no! Has she put you under a spell? Snap out of it, Twilight!” Rarity faced Twilight directly, leaning in close. Twilight backed away, falling onto her haunches and raising her forehooves into the air.
“What are you talking about? Rarity, just calm down-”
“You!” Rarity turned away, pointing an accusing hoof towards Trixie, who was still sitting in her spot. “What did you do to our dear Twilight!” Trixie’s eyes widened in response, but quickly became half-lidded. A scenario like this was highly expected to occur; it was only a matter of time. She wasn’t in the mood to contest such rubbish at the moment -she hadn’t done anything, after all. Well, hadn’t done anything yet, anyway.
“Rarity, calm down,” Twilight pleaded, running in between the other two unicorns. “Everything is okay. Trust me.” Rarity returned a wavering stare; a small frown came to her face but she quickly began to settle down, to Twilight’s relief. Trixie shifted uneasily in her seat, trying to hide her discomfort with a serious facade. Staying silent was probably her best bet at the moment. Seeing Twilight’s friend being so adamant in coming to Twilight’s aid at a moment’s notice was an action foreign to Trixie. And just as surprising as before, seeing Twilight stand up for her, even facing one of her closest friends. Trixie didn’t need this. She never asked Twilight Sparkle to defend her. But speaking up now would only make things worse. She chose to remain fighting her urges in silence.
“Twilight, darling, listen to yourself. Of all ponies, you should be able to realize what sort of situation you’re getting into with this...” Rarity’s voice had softened considerably; concern was heavy behind each of her words. Twilight returned a thoughtful expression with a slightly curved smile. She gave a quick glance over to Spike, who bashfully tried to make himself smaller behind the white unicorn.
“I understand your concern… but I’ve asked Trixie to come back to Ponyville-”
“What!?” Rarity spat, unable to withhold an exasperated gasp of surprise.
“Hold on, hold on. I can explain.”
“I certainly hope so, Twilight! You have got a lot of explaining to do. Everypony else will want to hear of this as well,” she said with a humph and a flick of her mane.
“I know. Wait… oh no. Please don’t tell me you told the others!” Twilight enquired in a worrisome tone, quickly using her magic to close the door that had been left open.
“Well, not yet. But I was just about to have Spike fetch the others as soon as I made sure you were safe.” She looked over to Twilight’s assistant, still hiding behind her. “Spike, would you be a dear and fetch our friends, please?”
“Right away!” he said immediately, turning to head out the door. Just as he reached for the door handle, a violet aura engulfed him.
“You will do no such thing,” Twilight said, pulling Spike back with her magic. “We can’t have everypony else know. Not yet, anyway.” It was understandable for Twilight to want to keep Trixie hidden, at least for the time being. Ponyville finding out about her would more than likely result in some sort of chaos, such as what was unfolding at this very moment.
“Twilight,” Rarity said with a sigh and a shake of her head. “How could you not want to tell our friends about this?”
“Please, just… let me explain,” Twilight said as she moved back to the table, gesturing for Rarity to do the same across from Trixie. Rarity hesitated for a second before slowly moving to take a seat, a glare coming to her face as her eyes met with the unicorn’s. Trixie only held to her slightly perplexed, yet uninterested face. With a breath, Twilight began, “You are aware of Princess Luna’s Tournament, right?”
“Yes,” Rarity answered shortly, her stare unwavering.
“Right. So... Trixie’s participating in the tournament and-”
“No,” Rarity quickly interrupted, at last turning to Twilight with an incredulous stare. “No-no-no-no… you can’t be thinking what I think you are.”
“Well… that depends.”
“I think you are actually considering sheltering her after all she’s done!”
“I’m trying to help her-”
“Help her?” Rarity broke in again. “How can somepony, anypony, help her!?” she pointed a hoof at the pony in question, which made her go a bit wide-eyed. “After all she did, you’re trying to help her win this tournament? Even worse, so she can become the student of a princess? There are so many reasons as to why you shouldn’t have even considered this! First off-”
“Rarity-” Twilight tried to intervene, only to once again be halted by the argumentative mare.
“No, you sit there and you listen to my reasons. Of all the ponies, Twilight, you chose the pony who banished you with the aid of an evil artifact. The one who put all of Ponyville under siege and made us all do her bidding! A pony that is hardly proficient in anything outside of silly tricks and flashy lights!”
A loud bang of hooves crashing down on hard wood resonated through the room. Both ponies looked over to the until-now silent Trixie. She stood up, forehooves on the table and head low. A silence quickly befell the room, leaving only the sound of Trixie’s heavy but composed breathing. It was nearly a minute before she finally spoke.
“Look… I know how stupid this all seems to be. Trust me,” Trixie said, pausing to take a breath. “I don’t blame you for what you’re thinking. It is probably what most ponies here would think, too. There is every reason to be wary of this situation, and I know there is a good chance that nothing I can say will make those feelings go away. So right now, I do not care what anypony else thinks. I am here for my own reasons, and the only pony I am concerned with is Twilight.”
“And don’t you think her friends would be concerned for her?” Rarity said, in a cold tone.
“That is not my problem. I am here on invitation from Twilight and nothing more.”
“And that’s the very reason why I am concerned!” Rarity sat up, her tone rising ever so slightly.
“Rarity,” Twilight jumped in, “let me explain. Trixie,” she said, turning to the other mare, whose expression had become a challenging glare, “just sit there and let me clear things up, okay?”
“Yes, explain the situation.” Trixie sat down with a humph. “I’m sure we would all like to know why Twilight Sparkle has offered to help a pony like me,” Trixie said with mocking mimicry.
All eyes were now fixed towards Twilight. Rarity continued to hold the soft look of anxious unease, and Trixie’s expression returned to one of apathy in an attempt to hide her interest. There was a bit more silence that was once again broken by a loud sigh. “Okay, let me explain this whole situation here,” Twilight began. It was a long and exhaustive elucidation as Twilight tried to mention and clear up any possible point, bringing up anything previously shared with princess Luna. At times Rarity tried to intervene, but Twilight only kept on with her explanation. Trixie merely sat and listened.
“So you see,” Twilight said, at last giving hint of an end to her disquisition, “the princess sees more in Trixie. She sees a pony with potential… and I must admit that I agree with her. I’m aware of Trixie’s past sins, but I honestly believe she’s changed, or is at least trying to. I want to help her, and I feel she can help me in return with my own studies. And I know what you must be thinking, Rarity, but I am fairly confident in my decision in inviting Trixie back to Ponyville.”
Another prolonged silence fell within the room. Twilight tried to hold a wide smile, but the unresponsive expressions of the others seemed to discourage it and make it fade away. Now it was Twilight who was shifting slightly in her seat and bringing her hooves up to tap on the wooden table. Rarity brought a hoof to her slightly shaking head as Trixie’s serious face held.
“Twilight,” Rarity said at last, “my disapproval certainly still holds. Nor am I happy over your decision or the situation… but I trust you know what you are doing. I only hope it’s all really for the best. The others should know of this as well.”
“Hold on...”
“Wait. Don’t tell me you don’t want to inform our friends of this?” Rarity gasped.
“No, no, no! Of course I’ll tell them. But… not yet. I want to let things settle a bit. Get things organized with Trixie here first. Just… can you please not tell anypony else about this for the time being?”
Rarity’s brow furrowed at the request, but soon her features softened once again as she nodded. “Okay, Twilight. I will refrain from telling a soul of your… situation. But please, tell them soon, OK? I just want you to be safe.” She leaned closer to her friend and rested a hoof on Twilight’s shoulder.
“Thanks, Rarity. Everything will be fine, I promise,” Twilight said, smiling in return.
“Oh, be sure of that, darling. You!” Rarity exclaimed, turning once again to Trixie and pointing a hoof. “Don’t you dare even think of hurting Twilight! Or anypony else for that matter, got that?” she threatened rather menacingly. Trixie only rolled her eyes and looked away. Rarity humphed in return before turning back to Twilight. “I presume matters have been settled… in a way. I am sorry to say that I am very busy at the boutique at the moment, but that doesn’t mean I won’t come by and check on you every now and again.”
“Again, thank you, Rarity. But there is absolutely nothing you should be worried about. I can take care of myself well enough.” Both Rarity and Twilight got up and began to move towards the door. “And if anything does go wrong -which I’m not saying anything will!- I know my friends will be there for me,” she said, smiling as she opened the door. Rarity stepped outside and turned to face Twilight once again.
“I am sure you can handle yourself well enough. And if there’s anypony that can help her, I’m sure it would be you, Twilight. Now, I’m off. Have a nice day now!” she said in a much cheerier tone, turning away gracefully. Twilight watched and waited for a minute before taking a step back and slowly closing the door. The audible click of the lock seemed loud in such silence. Yet another sigh of relief escaped Twilight.
“Spike,” Twilight said, as casually as ever. She waited for a moment, but there was no sign of the baby dragon. “Oh, Spike, can you come out here for a few minutes?” she called again, once more speaking in the slightest sing-song tone.
“Uhh, a bit busy in here!” a response finally came from the kitchen. “I-I’m making lunch! It’ll be ready in a bit!” Twilight only hummed to herself in response. At last she looked over to Trixie, who continued to stare at her from the table.
“Sorry… that was, umm, not in the schedule,” Twilight laughed a bit sheepishly, but once again her attempt at lightening the mood was met with no response. “Right… well, at least we were able to clear things up a bit, right?” she spoke hopefully as she moved back to her spot at the table.
“Yes, that was an interesting yet inevitable encounter. I only have to deal with that for about three months.”
“Well… concerning that. I really advise that you not leave the library for a little bit. Just let me figure all that out, okay? But that’s beside the point. Let’s get everything else straight now. I extended an invitation and you came. We have our reasons, but we must agree to work together. Will you at least accept that?”
“Do I have any other choice?”
“Well, you’re already here. And we’ve already gone through one citizen of Ponyville well enough, right?” Twilight said playfully. Trixie looked down, away from Twilight’s gaze.
She defended me. Even before one of her friends. Why did she do that!? Does she want to help me so badly? And for such a silly reason? Trixie couldn’t make sense of it, even after the supposed reasons were given. She certainly believed Twilight was being truthful with her words, but it was all so silly to Trixie. However, who was Trixie to contest this? Even with such a nonsensical reason she had to admit there was so much to gain from such an offer. And above all else, there really was no other choice in mind.
“We’ll work together,” Trixie said at last, looking at Twilight with a serious expression.
“Great! Now, we’re already behind schedule, so just give me a few minutes to go revise it!” Twilight said happily, trotting upstairs with the long scroll waving behind her. By subconscious act, a thin smile slowly crept onto Trixie’s face.
The room fell to silence in the few minutes of Twilight’s absence, leaving Trixie to carry on with her insistent pondering. She could only imagine what was in store for her in the next three months, not even wanting to consider what lay ahead of that. There were any number of possibilities to her current situation, and it would be fruitless to predict what was to come. At this very moment, Trixie knew her best option was to face things as they came, one by one.
“Okay!” said Twilight, coming down the stairs and snapping Trixie out of her thoughtful stupor. “A few minor adjustments here and there, but we should be back on track in no time!”
“I can hardly withhold my enthusiasm,” Trixie replied in a dry tone. “So, where shall we begin? Some combat, or perhaps some counterspells?” Trixie got up and took a step towards Twilight, who had reached the bottom of the steps.
“Oh, no, there’s much to do before we actually get to practicing new spells!” Twilight said, trotting by Trixie and heading for one of the many bookshelves.
“What?” Trixie said to the mare that was now too focused on her current task to respond. Her horn shone a faint violet as multiple books were carefully slipped out of their spots and levitated onto a neat pile on the table. It wasn’t long before about a dozen books of all sizes were put into a tall and straight stack. Twilight turned to inspect her choices, nodding with a smile before turning to Trixie.
“This is where we’ll begin,” she said, gesturing at the books. “I’m sure you’ve read a few magic tomes before, but there’s always so much more to know! Especially when you’re dealing with magic.”
“I’ve read enough about magic before. I am not going to spend invaluable time reading more useless books when I can be practicing my actual skills,” Trixie said a bit sternly, looking at Twilight with a raised brow.
Twilight gasped. “You can never read enough of anything. And like I said, especially with magic! One must understand and approach magic from as many angles as possible. Even with all these books and all this knowledge, there’s still so much mystery as to what magic can do!” Twilight smiled, nodding in her own self-approval. “Plus, it’s not like we’re going to be reading for the next three months. We’ll get to some actual fieldwork soon enough. But right now, studies are in order!”
“Fine.” Trixie returned a vexed sigh, giving a less-than-enthusiastic glare before she returned to the table and sat before the pile of books, looking up as it seemingly towered above her. “But only because my magic still has to fully recover,” she said, slowly levitating one of the thinner tomes directly in front of her. A Guide to Magical Theory, read the plain hardcover. This looks fun.
“Oooh, that’s a good one,” Twilight said, looking over. Trixie turned her head to face Twilight.
“I have the feeling you have read all these already.”
“Well… ahem. I don’t mean to boast or anything,” she said with a short and stifled laugh. But Trixie stayed silent, only returning a half-lidded glare. “Umm, I mean. Yes. I have for the most part.”
“Right. So... are you just going to sit there and make sure I read?”
“No, no, of course not. But that reminds me! I had forgotten with all the commotion before. We should discuss the living situation, now that you’ll be staying here for some time and all,” Twilight said, still seemingly a bit too eager. “I have an extra bed you can use, and you can either be upstairs in my room, or down in the basement. Your choice.”
“I would prefer to be in my own room, so I will be taking the basement.”
“Yeah, I had suspected as much. I should warn you though, it’s sort of my research room and can get pretty messy. But just… disregard anything that’s down there.”
“Right,” Trixie drawled. “So how did you sitting there watching me remind you of this?”
“I have to get things at least somewhat presentable, of course! You came so suddenly I had no time to prepare. Let me get things in order while you study up on those books, OK? Also, I was planning on taking a trip to Canterlot sometime this week to check out a few others as well.”
“Whatever suits you,” Trixie said, turning away and opening the book, flipping to the first chapter.
“Have fun then!” Twilight said, already losing the focus of Trixie’s attention. The room immediately fell silent once again. Trixie’s gaze was fixated to the word-covered page as her training began in earnest.
Super-glad this fic came back after such a long break (or at least what felt like a long break, ) and you're back to plugging away!
I'm sure there's going to be much more in the way of Trixie's time in Ponyville, but for some reason the last little bit in this chapter makes me feel like we're going to see an anime-style time skip, which would be a great mechanic to use for this kind of story. It allows us to have a fairly distinctive view of how characters have changed (or haven't changed) in the intervening period, as well as a chance for them to put a few aces up their sleeves for coming battles. You probably know this already - especially if this is what you're planning - but remember the best way to set up off-screen character development is to make sure that seeds of change are planted on-screen first, in full view of the readers, and then when you pick up X amount of time later, the change characters go through doesn't feel rushed or forced.
This fic is well on it's way to my top 5 list!
( You know that means you're going to have to decide which other story to bump off, right?)
...shuddap you; go read your book.
( Hmph!)
Im the "like" number 100
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I'm so very happy your enjoying so far! Indeed there is much planned for Trixie's stay in Ponyville. Very, very much... But I'll try my hardest to make it as enjoyable as possible for you all! Keep reading, and I hope to not disappoint! Thank you
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100 likes get! Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I hope you continue to enjoy Lodestar as it goes! By the way, your profile pic is great.
It's great to see this fanfic's up and running again.
So Rarity found out that Trixie was there thanks to Spike. I guess Twilight / Trixie should be glad Rarity didn't have Spike get the others while she went to the library. I hope nopony decides to go to the library while Twilight is in Canterlot, especially Rainbow Dash (she will hit first, and not bother asking questions while personally kicked Trixie's flank outta Ponyville.)
I feel as though Rarity and Spike's reactions to Trixie staying for a while to be a little over the top. Granted, Rarity hams it up like no other, but she treated Trixie as though she were the devil. Thinking on it, I suppose Discord got the same reaction when he came back, but that's Discord, a major threat to all of Equestria. This is Trixie, a major threat to one's patience. I just feel as though it got overblown, is all. I'm kinda dreading the others' reactions if they are all going to be like this.
Other than that, I did enjoy the back and forth between Twilight and Trixie. One is looking at this as an opportunity to learn while the other is still unsure how she got caught up in this situation to begin with. I look forward to more scenes between these two.
That's it from me! Till next time.
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Ah, I had thought of taking it a bit over the top a bit as well... but I was going off of the impression that Rarity, and quite frankly everyone that Trixie didn't apologize to, would still be a little cross over what she did. I mean, she pretty much enslaved a whole town with an evil artifact, and I doubt it helped that she only apologized to Twilight before running off. I would certainly be a bit wary of someone with a pretty bad reputation living with a close friend of mine.
Then again, I'd be pretty darn jealous if anybody I knew was sheltering Trixie... But I only jest. I see what you're saying and I'll keep it in mind for what happens next. Thank you!
Good to see an update to this. Hey, Rarity? Five words for you 'want it, need it spell' in regards to turning Ponyville upside down. :p I see her reactions pretty much in-character, at least for Rarity. She can go a bit over-the-top. ;)
EDIT: As for the studying bit... I kinda side with Trixie. Mostly because I learn by doing, for the most part.
3782174 Why thank you keep the good work please
3782883 3783008 Personally, I think you got Rarity's reaction spot on. However, the reaction I am most worried about is Rainbow Dash's. I expect her to have to be restrained from literally kicking Trixie's flank outta Ponyville.
Rarity will sharpen the pitchforks, Spike will light the torches.
Nice fic, it really seems to capture the character of Trixie as being told here. Although, seriously, I have to wonder, why is it Rarity is always involved in some Ponyville secret? In many of the fanfics that I have read, Rarity is always somehow involved in some shape or fashion. I mean, Rarity is really up there on my character list, but her information circle seems to have even the detectives at CSI on high alert.
. First, Trixie surrenders her security, then her comfort, then her body's wishes, and then her pride. By the way, that was a rather elaborate prelim round; really felt like you were in the thick of the action there.
I find it curious that when these scenarios - Twilight's friends have a hostile confrontation with Trixie - happen in stories, the friends usually come across as huge, unforgiving jerks who act even worse than Trixie ever did. Rarity keeps sniping even after Twilight has explained everything. Heck, I've read stories where Rainbow Dash put Trixie in the hospital needing live-saving surgery after after a single insult.
I admit that Rarity has some cause for concern, but her own friends have caused more trouble for Ponyville than Trixie ever had, and she has no problems with them.
I think this story is reaallllly awesome. Please update soon~ not kidding though. I need another update. Like, SOON!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You will update this or I will unleash Pinkamina upon you.
Update! Update now! It is in your best interest to update ASAP
There hasn't been an update for a while. Any progress?
welp, I accidentally readed another incomplete fic.
This one turned to be quite fun. I hope you decide to finish it someday.
Finished re-reading. I can't wait until the other chapters get out, and I really look forward to the stories progression.
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PM'd the author. He said that there's three chapters done, and he's going to get back into this fic ^_^.
6314619 So... there's good in people's hearts after all
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Thanks .
This fic was on my Dead list, but that chapter notification (however quickly hidden) brought me back... let's do this thing!