“Well, Twilight Sparkle?” Sawdust motioned to a small clock on the table on one side of the room. “You have seven minutes left. You’d better think fast.”
Doctor examined the contraption that Trixie was chained to, and then looked at Sawdust. ‘If I could just get him to look away for a second, I can use my Sonic Screwdriver to free Trixie…But then he’d just shoot her…Damnit! We need a distraction of some kind…’
Twilight looked at the knife at her hooves, then back to Sawdust. “You swear you’ll let her go…If I do this?” Sawdust nodded, chuckling under his breath. Twilight wasn’t sure whether she could trust him or not. It was clear he had lost his mind, so there was no guarantee that he would keep his promise.
Even so, she didn’t have much time. She had to do something, or else Trixie would defiantly die. She began to levitate the knife with her magic, hoping she could cast a teleportation spell on Sawdust to move him away from Trixie without him noticing. Unfortunately, he was aware of what she was trying, and pushed his gun up against Trixie’s head once again. “I don’t think so, Twilight. Use your hooves, not your magic.”
Twilight stamped a hoof on the ground, frustrated that her plan was so easily seen through. She picked up the knife with one of her hooves, and stared at it for a while. Finally, she turned her gaze away, looking at Doctor, who was keeping his eyes on Sawdust, waiting for the right moment to act. She turned back towards Sawdust, and brought the knife close to the right side of her chest.
Sawdust struggled to hold back his laughter, and eventually failed, erupting into loud, maniacal laughter. “Well? You’d better hurry, Twilight. Before you run out of time.”
Trixie watched as Twilight held the knife against her chest, her entire body shaking and sweating as she rapidly shifted her gaze between Sawdust and Trixie. The look in Twilight’s eyes told Trixie that Twilight was actually considering driving the knife into her chest. She tried to speak up, but all she could manage was a faint whisper. “Don’t…Twilight, stop it…” Nopony seemed to hear her, and all she could do was watch as the purple Unicorn prepared to take her own life. ‘Damnit! Don’t you dare, Twilight Sparkle! If you take your life to save mine, I’ll never forgive you!’
“Now, Doctor!” Everypony in the room turned to the side to look at the source of a new voice inside the room. They were all surprised to see Princess Celestia standing against a wall, holding Trixie in her hooves. “Hurry!”
Sawdust moved his gun towards Trixie, and fired a shot. The bullet passed through her, colliding with the wall behind the Princess. “What!?” He suddenly realised what was happening. Somepony had performed an illusionary spell to draw his attention away from Trixie. “NO!” She turned back towards Trixie, and saw Doctor dragging her away, holding a still active Sonic Screwdriver in his mouth.
He attempted to point his gun at the brown Earth Pony, but it was blasted out of his levitation spell by a beam of purple energy. He turned around to see Twilight Sparkle charging towards him, throwing the knife behind her, and charging up her magic.
Sawdust nimbly dodged Twilights assault, and used his own magic to smash open a window. He ran toward sit and jumped out, grabbing hold of a tree branch, and slowly making his way down the tree to reach the ground.
Twilight saw Sawdust escaping, and decided to give chase quickly. “Doctor, take care of Trixie!” She shouted, making her way outside of the room and running down the stairs. The tower was too high to teleport down the ground, and she wasn’t athletic enough to risk climbing down the tree, so she had to take the long way down.
Once she was down, she ran out of the bell tower, but stopped when she saw two Royal Guards standing in front of her. “W-What the?”
One of the guards, a tall, cyan Unicorn, approached Twilight. “Miss Sparkle? We understand there is another with you, along with the hostage taken by Sawdust, correct?”
Twilight just stared in silence at the two guards. She was clearly confused, so the other guard, a short, pink Pegasus, started to explain things to her. “The Princess had a nightmare last night. She saw her star pupil in trouble, pleading for somepony to save…What was it, Trixie?” The Unicorn guard nodded, and the Pegasus guard continued. “It is rare for the Princess to experience nightmares. Usually, they are predictions of the future. And, not wanting to take any chances, she decided to come here personally to make sure that everything was ok.”
The Pegasus guard saw Doctor approaching from within the tower, carrying Trixie on his back. She immediately started to help Doctor with carrying Trixie to the hospital. The Unicorn guard continued. “When she sensed the abnormal air in this town, she used her magic to discover a barrier surrounding it, and then used her own magic to infiltrate without being noticed.
“Right now, she’s chasing Sawdust through the Everfree forest. We were instructed to escort you and the hostage to the hospital, to make sure that you were both ok.”
Now Twilight understood what that illusion was earlier. It must have been Princess Celestia, drawing Sawdust’s attention away just long enough for Doctor and her to react. She looked over at the Everfree forest. She wanted to help the Princess, and make sure that Sawdust was captured this time, but she was stopped by a hoof from the Unicorn guard in front of her. “I have to help her! Please, let me go!”
“Sorry, but we have our orders.” The guard smiled softly at Twilight. “Have faith in the Princess. She’ll capture him, for sure…For now, I think that other mare really needs her friends right now.”
Twilight realised that the guard was talking about Trixie, and decided that he was right. Celestia was the Princess of the Sun. There was no way she’d lose to just a single pony, right? And Trixie did need help right away. “Ok then…I’ll trust the Princess.” She said, leaving the area and moving towards the small town, the Unicorn guard following closely behind her.
Twilight walked into the hospital room where Trixie was sleeping, following Dr. Stable, with her friends walking alongside her. Dr. Stable instructed them to remain silent as they approached Trixie, who was sleeping soundly in her hospital bed. “Don’t worry, girls. Trixie’s condition is stable. She just needs her rest right now.” He approached the sleeping mare and checked her temperature and breathing, to make sure her condition hadn’t worsened in his absence. “There doesn’t seem to be anything to worry about, but given her previous condition, I think it would be best if one of you stayed here to keep watch over her.”
Twilight stepped forward and offered to spend the night in the hospital, watching over Trixie. Rarity also offered to stay, but Twilight assured her that she would be just fine on her own. “Well, if you say so, Twilight.” Rarity said, leaving the room with the rest of Twilight’s friends.
“Just don’t forget to get some sleep yourself.” Applejack said as she left the room.
Dr. Stable finished examining Trixie, and concluded that she was in good health. “Well then, Twilight, if there’s any sudden change in her condition, make sure you contact either myself, or one of the nurses, ok?”
Twilight nodded, and pulled a stool over to the side of Trixie’s bed. She sat down on it, and watched as Trixie slept, hoping that she would wake up soon.
Sawdust ran as fast as he could through the dark forest. He had heard stories about the Everfree forest, but never imagined that it would actually be so…Scary. He had to admit, the place frightened him. The abnormal darkness, despite it only being early evening. The strange chill that ran through his body. The way the clouds above him moved all on their own, and the strange creatures that he had passed by as he ran.
What scared him most, though, was the fact that Princess Celestia was on his tail. He had to try and shake her off, somehow. He tried obstructing her path as he ran, and scattering his magic into various directions, but it wasn’t working. He could feel her catching up to him, and it would only be a matter of time before he was captured.
He stopped when he arrived at a small clearing, starting to run out of breath. “Damnit…DamnitdamnitdamnitDAMNITDAMNIIIIIIT!” He shouted, taking off once again, but stopping when a familiar cloaked pony intercepted him. “YOU AGAIN!?” He attempted to blast the pony with his magic, but a gunshot to his hoof not only caused him to lose focus, dropping his spell, but also caused him to stop moving forward, and slowly back up.
The cloaked pony approached Sawdust, holding his gun up and pointing it at him. “I warned you countless times. But you never listen…You brought this fate upon yourself, Sawdust.”
Sawdust’s eyes widened, both in surprise and fear as he realised who this meddlesome pony was. He starred in horror as the cloaked pony stopped approaching him, and was about to turn and run away, when the sound of a gunshot rang through the air, and a blinding pain passed through Sawdust’s body.
Sawdust stared into space for a few seconds, his body shaking as it grew colder, and his hooves trembling. He slowly looked down at his body, and saw a red liquid dripping from a hole in his chest, He turned over to the cloaked pony, who was still pointing his gun at Sawdust. “Black…” He said, but stopped when he started to cough up some blood. He fell down to the ground unable to keep his balance any longer, and slowly, the world around him started to fade away.
Sawdust’s body had grown so very cold, but he didn’t even notice anymore. He watched as the last bit of light disappeared, his vision being filled by a deep, dark void. His breathing gradually slowed down as his body grew weaker, slowing to an eventually stop.
The cloaked pony stared at the scene for a few minutes, and then dropped the gun to the ground, slowly backing up as he realised what he had just done. “I…I killed somepony…” He heard hoofsteps approaching quickly, and snapped out of it, hurriedly running from the scene before the Princess arrived. ‘I’ve killed yet again…This time, though, I was able to see my victim’s face…’ The pony remembered the image of Sawdust falling to the floor and breathing his last few breaths, and he had to hold back his stomach acid as it worked its way up through his throat. ‘Even if it was to protect her, my only daughter…There’s no excuse for what I’ve done! I’m…A monster, aren’t I?’
Twilight walked into Trixie’s hospital room carrying a cup of coffee and a book with her magic. It was getting late, and Twilight wasn’t feeling particularly tired, so she decided to borrow one of the hospital’s books to read while she watched over Trixie.
She sat down next to Trixie’s bed, setting her coffee on the bedside table and opening her book to the first page. She quickly became absorbed in the book, but shifted her gaze towards Trixie every now and to see if she had woken up yet. After the fifth time, she decided to stop constantly checking, since Dr. Stable said it might be a few days before she wakes up.
Despite Dr. Stable’s prediction, though, Trixie slowly started to open her eyes, staring at the white ceiling above her as she allowed her eyes to adjust to the light. She let out a soft moan, her head killing her, and then turned over to see a purple Unicorn reading a book next to her.
She sat up in her bed, gaining Twilight’s attention, who shifted her gaze away from her book and stared wide-eyed at Trixie. “Sparkle…” Trixie rubbed the side of her head, but kept her eyes fixed on Twilight.
Twilight’s face lit up, and she immediately stood up and closed in on Trixie. “Trixie! You’re awake!” She noticed that Trixie seemed to be in pain, and she tried to help. She put a hoof on her friend’s shoulder, looking at her with a look of concern. “Are you ok? Where does it hurt?”
Trixie grinded her teeth together, and glared at Twilight. She batted Twilight’s hoof away with her own, causing Twilight to look at her with a mixture of concern and confusion. “Don’t touch Trixie, Twilight Sparkle.” She climbed out of bed, and stood on the other side to Twilight. “Trixie needs no pity from the likes of you.”
Twilight was speechless for a few moments. She was trying to understand why Trixie was suddenly acting like this, when an idea crossed her mind. “Trixie…Have your memories returned?”
Trixie nodded, and then stretched her limbs to wake them up. “That’s right. It happened some time after Trixie was kidnapped by Sawdust. She remembers everything…Including you.”
“Me?” Twilight looked ever more confused, and tried to think of what she meant. “Trixie, have we met before? I mean, before our encounter in Ponyville?”
Trixie stomped her hoof on the ground, and started breathing heavily, trying to keep herself from shouting out in anger. “You still don’t remember Trixie? You honestly have no idea who Trixie is?” She walked closer to Twilight, her rage-filled eyes causing Twilight to move back until she hit a wall. “Twilight, let’s go outside. It’s been a long time, and Trixie wants to prove that she has finally surpassed you.”
“Trixie, what are you talking about? Surpassed me at what?”
“Magic, of course.”
Twilight looked outside the window, seeing that it was not only dark, but pouring with rain. She then looked at Trixie, who was a complete mess, and was obviously in no shape to be straining herself right now. “Trixie, come on now, you’re in no shape to be showing off right now. If you really want to compete, we can do so at some other time, but-”
“RIGHT NOW!” Trixie shouted, her voice causing the other patient in the room to wake up and tell her to quiet down. She took no notice, and moved closer to Twilight, her horn lighting up. “Trixie has had enough of being second to you, Twilight! She’s going to prove herself right now, and she’s going to make you acknowledge Trixie!”
Twilight saw that Trixie wasn’t going to back down very easily, and tried to think of some way to calm her. It was no use, though. Trixie let loose a beam of magical energy, causing Twilight to dodge to the side and witness the wall exploding next to her. Trixie was not going to listen to reason, and if she kept this up inside the hospital, it would endanger the other patients.
She had no other choice. She could use her magic to hold Trixie down, or to suppress her magic, but in Trixie’s state, the shock might be too much. She had to calm her down carefully. She used her magic to teleport behind Trixie, and opened the window at the far end of the room, jumping outside. Trixie followed her, and they ran a good distance away from the hospital, Trixie used her magic create an illusion of the ground in front of Twilight splitting open.
The illusion fooled the Unicorn long enough for Trixie to catch up and launch a series of rocks towards her with her levitation magic. Twilight prepared to shield herself from them, but stopped when she realised that they were just another illusion. She saw Trixie charging in, and prepared to dodge her assault. She was surprised, however, when the rocks hit her, and some actually stung. She noticed light cuts on her body, and realised that Trixie must have thrown real rocks as well as illusionary ones. Twilight actually felt embarrassed falling for such an old trick.
Trixie successfully managed to pounce Twilight whilst her guard was down, and attempted to put her to sleep using a tranquilizer spell. Twilight used her own magic to teleport a short distance away, causing Trixie to fall facedown into the mud beneath her. Trixie rose to her hooves, her anger rising as she turned to face Twilight, who was asking her to stop.
“Ever since Trixie first met you, she has respected you, Twilight Sparkle.” Twilight fell silent as Trixie said that, and she let Trixie continue. “Trixie declared you her rival that day. She could see your amazing magic potential, even without those silly test papers. You were always above Trixie, and you were her source of inspiration. Every day, Trixie would work hard to surpass you. To prove to everypony that she was number one! Not you, Twilight Sparkle!”
Trixie charged up her next magical attack, and Twilight immediately began to charge her own. Once Trixie fired, Twilight waited a few seconds, and fired her own, making sure that the volume of the magical energy was about the same. The two forces met in midair. She recognised the type of magical energy that Trixie had used, and made sure that her own opposed it. That way, when the two forces met, they would cancel each other out, resulting in a very bright light that flashed for a second, but also minimised the destructive power to no more than a small crater in the ground.
Trixie once again charged towards Twilight, using her magic to power up her leg muscles. She was starting to get worn out, but she wouldn’t stop just yet. She was determined to prove herself to Twilight once and for all. “Trixie won’t lose to you anymore!” She started to swing her hooves towards Twilight, enchanting them with a stun spell. One successful hit is all it would take to stun Twilight for a few seconds, making her an easy target for her magic.
Twilight noticed the faint blue glow around Trixie’s hooves, and used her own to improve her leg muscles, dodging Trixie’s strikes as she made them. “Trixie! Please, calm down! You don’t have to do this! It doesn’t matter if you’re number one or not, right!? We’re friends, after all!”
“NO!” Trixie shouted, stopping momentarily to catch her breath. “It’s too late for that, Twilight Sparkle! Trixie already offered her friendship countless times, but you…You were always too busy studying! You never even knew Trixie existed! So don’t go saying that Trixie is your friend now, when back at school you would refuse Trixie the friendship she desired for six whole years!”
Trixie continued her attacks on Twilight, who let one of them connect so that she could drain the magic out of Trixie’s hooves, rendering her spell unusable. Trixie flinched, and fell down to her knees. “Are you ok!?” Twilight asked out of genuine concern. She thought that simply deactivating Trixie’s magic would be ok, but apparently Trixie was in worse condition than she seemed to be in.
“Of course Trixie is ok!” She stood up quickly, flinching again from the pain in her legs. She shook off the pain, and continued glaring at Twilight, her face a type of anger that Twilight had never seen before. Although it wasn’t all anger. Twilight could see sadness and loneliness in those eyes, as well as…Pleading?
“Trixie, you’re obviously not ok. Come back to the hospital. Please. I’m worried about you.”
Trixie’s resolve almost broke when she stared at Twilight’s sorrowful face, but she shook her head rapidly, and kept her mind focused. “The only reason I even put up with that school, even though I had already chosen to become a showmare, was because of you. I wanted to prove that I was just as powerful as you, maybe even more so! But it wasn’t just for me! I didn’t need to convince myself of anything!” Trixie pointed a hoof at Twilight. “I wanted you to see how powerful I was. I wanted you to see that I existed! That I was your equal! If I couldn’t win your friendship, at the very least, I wanted to remember my name!”
Trixie charged towards Twilight once again, and surprised her by teleporting behind the purple Unicorn, and unleashing a shockwave of magical energy that knock Twilight down. Trixie charged some magic into her horn, but Twilight managed to recover in time and gain some distance by teleporting. Trixie let out a loud scream that echoed through the night, and charged forward, the light of her horn shining so brightly that it illuminated the darkness of the night.
Before she could reach Twilight, though, she crashed into something in front of her. Her movements ceased, and the light of her horn vanished. It took her a few seconds to realise what she had crashed into. It was a small barrier that Twilight had erected just moments after Trixie began charging in. Trixie fell down to floor, and remained silent as she stared at the ground.
Twilight tore down her barrier, and slowly approached Trixie. Once she got close to the mare, she tried to find the right words. But none would come. She didn’t know what to say to her. The two remained still for what felt like hours, but was really only a few minutes. The only sound either could hear was that of the rain crashing down onto the ground around them.
Eventually, a new sound was heard. Twilight watched as tears began to run down Trixie’s face, and as Trixie tried to hold back her sobbing voice as she wiped them away. “Why?” Trixie finally asked, thought Twilight didn’t respond. She was about to ask “why what?”, but Trixie continued before she could. “Why wasn’t anything I did ever good enough? Why did you never notice whenever I was standing next to you?” Trixie stood up and once again faced Twilight, only now, her face was no longer filled with anger and loathing. Her face was completely wet, from both the rain pouring down on her, and the tears running down her face. Twilight still saw that same pleading look in Trixie’s eyes.
“All I ever wanted…Was to be recognised by you…Why did…” Trixie wiped away a few more tears, and turned her head away. “Why did I have to fall in love with you!? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t get you out of my head! But…I had to defeat you! I had to make you realise that I existed! So I pushed those feelings into the far corners of my mind, and spent every day studying and training so that I could surpass you.
“And yet, despite all of that, you never once noticed Trixie’s feelings! Why, of all ponies, did Trixie have to fall in love with somepony like you!? ANSWER ME, TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” Twilight stared at Trixie, completely speechless, as Trixie stared back at Twilight, waiting for something. Anything. But no words came to Twilight’s mouth. She couldn’t find the right words to say to Trixie. All she could do was stand there in silence, looking at Trixie with…‘Pity? You pity me now, Twilight Sparkle? Stop it…Trixie doesn’t need your pity…’
Twilight took a step towards Trixie, but before she could say anything, Trixie shouted three words that echoed loudly throughout the small town. “I HATE YOU!” Twilight was stunned by those three words, and could only watch as Trixie ran away from Twilight, disappearing into the distance as she made her way towards the Everfree forest.
Once Twilight could no longer see Trixie, she brought her hoof up to her chest, and then up to her face, feeling tears running down her face. “Trixie…” She took a few steps forward, beginning to walk slowly in the direction that Trixie had run off in. “You were the filly…I first wanted as my friend…” She said to nopony in particular. In her mind, she cursed herself for not saying them sooner, but then came back to her senses, and picked up her pace, running quickly after Trixie towards the Everfree forest.