//------------------------------//
// Chapter 1: Occurrence at the Border 
// Story: A Vacation in Romaneia 
// by The_Last_Centurion 
//------------------------------//

This story is a fan-fiction of MLP:FiM. I don't own any of it. It belongs to Hasbro, etc, etc. 
Don't sue. Seriously. That would be so uncouth. 


Chapter 1: Occurrence at the Border


Twilight Sparkle breathed in happily, and looked out at the sea of clouds, red, pink and gold with the rising sun.
“Spike, you gotta come see this!” she shouted back into the room they shared. 
“Twi. Trying. To. Sleep.” answered back a peeved off baby dragon's voice.
Twilight ignored his grumpiness and looked back over the balcony. The sky from this height was so beautiful and rare to see for a unicorn, niegh anypony except for pegasi, to see. 
Twilight reminded to thank Princess Celestia again in her next letter to her. She had constantly sent her mentor letters of what happened so far and how thankful she was to her for this fun birthday present. Twilight remembered when Princess first gave her the small card with two tickets for an all-expense paid vacation to Romaneia. At first, Twilight was sad she couldn't bring the other mares on the trip with her, but she was extremely excited to go. Her friends all agreed that she needed a vacation away from Ponyville, and this sounded like a great change of pace.
Twilight thought about the country and became even more excited. She had been reading up on the country of Romaneia for quite some time, asking the Princess about it in many letters. Twilight was interested in the country not just because it was so different from Equestria, but also because it was the home of some of the strongest unicorn mages in pony history. It was even speculated that Twilight's loved hero, Starswirl the Bearded, came from Romaneia.
Twilight took one last deep breath of the morning air and walked back into the airliner's room, closing the balcony door behind her. She walked to her bed and gently nuzzled the lump in the sheets.
“Twilight! Stop it!” the lump giggled, obviously ticklish.
Twilight smiled and kept at it, the young dragon's giggles becoming louder until he finally threw the covers off of him.
“Stop! Stop! I'm up!” he ceded, wimping the tears of mirth from his eyes. “So what are we going to do today, Twilight? Maybe some more swimming? Or that all-day buffet downstairs...” he drooled. 
Twilight gently closed his mouth with a sisterly hoof. “Actually, we're landing today.”
“Really?!” 
True, the airliner had been fun. There had been plenty of fun to be had, from the shuffleboard, to the various eateries on the ship that always had some sort of entertainment, and even to swimming in the ship's pool which had a bottom made out of thick windows. It had always scared Twilight to swim in it, to see the open sky underneath her, but it was also a sort of rush. 
Alas, it all had to end eventually. The three days of fun they spent on the ship was coming to a close today, only to be replaced by greater fun and adventures.
Twilight walked over to the bedside table and opened up its top drawer. Inside, was a small, hoof-written itinerary.
“10:00 AM. Land in Oatadea. Site-see and shop until Noon. Then board shuttles to travel to Clip-Nacloppa to stay night. Make sure to have all luggage and passports ready.” Twilight read aloud before glancing to the clock on the table. It read '8:30.'   
“Come on Spike, let's go get breakfast before we pack up!”
“Sure thing Twi! Where are we going to eat?”
“I was thinking the Haycake house on the third floor.”
“I wanted to go back to that Tail resturant! It was so good!”
“That stuff that made me breath fire?!? That was too hot to be good.”
The two walked out of the room still squabbling friendly, Twilight shutting and magically locking the door behind her. They traveled down corridor after corridor of plushy opulence. The Princess's gift had not been cheap. Celestia had pulled all the stops for her prized student, sending her away on the fanciest and most qualified airliner service she find. 
Twilight thought about this again, while still playfully teasing Spike until they came to the haycake restaurant. Twilight and Spike had a delightful breakfast, Twilight eating a bowl of fruit salad while Spike devoured a stack of haycakes. When they were done, Twilight put the breakfast on her tab that Celestia paid for. The duo cheerfully went back up to their room to pack up, arriving there a little after 9:00.
Twilight and Spike had both packed lightly, since they only expected to traveling for a little over a week. Twilight had all her things in her saddlebags, which were basically her bit bag and a few things; the itinerary, a small camera Rarity had given her, a translation guide, a small traveler's guide of the significant landmarks, her and Spike's passports, and a letter from Princess Celestia if anything went bad. Spike had also packed some things too, just they were worn in a small pouch around his neck. The items were small trinkets, but very important to him; a few gem shards, a couple of bits, some parchment, and a stick of charcoal for writing. 
Packing went fairly quickly, so they focused on clearing up the room, not wanting to be rude. They finished that shortly too and soon became bored. 
Twilight glanced at the clock again. It was just 9:30. They had 30 minutes to kill, but what to do?
“Can we go to the pool deck one last time Twi?” Spike asked pleadingly.
Twilight glanced at the clock again, worrying a little. Then she let it go and shrugged her shoulders. “Sure, why not?” 
They left the room, Twilight leaving the door open, showing the housekeeping ponies on the ship that they had left the room for the last time. They descended a floor and walked towards fore of the ship until they came out onto a warm, sun-filled deck.
The pool was built into the boat and ponies swam and lounged around it in the morning sun. Twilight thought it was surprising it could be so warm above the clouds, but still found it pleasant. She and Spike walked to the pool's side and grabbed a pool chair. Twilight put their things under the chair while Spike cannonballed into the pool and swam to some foals that waved him over. Twilight shook her head, sitting down in the chair, relaxing in the warm sunlight. She closed her eyes and wished that this would never end, knowing that this was the good life. 
But all good things must come to an end, or at least make way for better things.
Twilight perked her head up from the chair when the ship's intercom buzzed and popped.
“Hi folks, this is your captain speaking. It's a gorgeous morning and we're set to land in 10 minutes. If you're out on deck, I'd like for you all to come inside while we make our decent. Thank you for your understanding.”
Twilight started to get up out of the chair lazily, stretching and popping her joints. Spike walked over to her, drying himself off with a towel belonging to the ship.
“Are you all dried off?” she asked as she grabbed their stuff from under the chair.
“Enough.” Spike said throwing his towel in a receptacle as they walked inside to a communal dining area.
The wait was short as the captain came on the intercom again “It's been fun flying with all of you folks. Welcome to Romaneia.” 
Twilight and Spike practically sprinted out of the airliner. They came out into the same warm sunlight, but the sea of clouds was gone. Instead, lush, green mountains surrounding a small town that glistened in the sun replaced the clouds. Twilight's and Spike's eyes grew big as they took in the scenery. They looked at each other and hugged.
“We made it!” Twilight squealed.
Spike escaped out of her hug and excitedly hopped up onto her back. “Come on Twi! Let's go!”
They duo sped off the boat and into the town, looking at all the shops and lovely buildings. They had straw roofs like the homes in Ponyville, yet the overall architecture of the houses was different.
“Wow, they look like ginger-bread houses!” Spike said. “Reminds me of Hearth's Warming Eve.........”
“Well let's see what these ginger-bread stores have to offer!” Twilight replied just as excitedly.
They shopped for what seemed like a short time, but Twilight became anxious when Spike pointed out the time. It was 11:45, and they didn't know where the bus station was. 
Twilight dropped the hoofcrafted dress she was looking at and sped out of the store without a second thought, not hearing the yelling that followed her from the store's owner. She looked around the square of the town frantically and raced over to a pony selling flowers from a stall.
“Excuse me? Do you know where the bus station is?”
The pony was an elder stallion with a mustache who looked confused when Twilight asked him so much. “I.....no.....speak...” he said in a thick eastern accent, pantomiming speaking with his hooves.
“Oh! Right.” Twilight uttered. She removed the translation guide from her saddlebags and flipped until she found the words she wanted. She tried speaking the fragmented sentence out to the shop-keeper, but he just shrugged his shoulders. 
“No...speak..” he repeated.
Twilight decided to just open the book to the right pages and show him the words, hoping he could read. 
He read quickly, and shook his head in realization. He raised a hoof and pointed to eastern side of the square, where sure enough, two large metal gates and a sign that had the words for 'bus station' in Romaneinan on it, stood.
Twilight looked in the book one last time to find out how to thank him. Then she turned around and started running off towards the station, before running into a bag-full of vegetables.
Twilight collided with the bag and the Romaneina filly who held them.
“Oh my gosh! Are you alright?” Twilight uttered.
The filly said something in Romaneian and then started picking up the spilled vegetables.
Twilight and Spike helped her put them back into the bag and the little filly turned to Twilight. She stuttered out an accented “Thank You” in Equestrian. Before giving Twilight a big hug. Twilight was taken aback at first, but smiled and hugged the filly back. 
The filly left with her vegetables and Twilight let Spike climb onto her back. She cast a glance and looked back at the filly walking away in the crowd and sighed.
“Awwww, she just about Applebloom's age.” 
“Um, Twi? Shouldn't we be in a hurry?”
“Why is that Spi......THE BUS!!!!!” Twilight realized with a start, racing carefully through the crowds  She burst through the gates of the station and went straight to the ticket-mare.
“Could you tell me where the noon bus for all passengers of the airliner is?” Twilight asked her breathlessly.
The mare had a light green coat, a blonde mane, and was chewing something. She lazily looked at a magic chart on her desk. The chart changed with every bus arrival or departure. 
“Oh, I'm shorry, the noonday buss hash left already.” she said, Twilight deflating at the words.
“I could transhfer your tickets to another bus.” the ticket-mare continued, quickly scribbling something down on two pieces of thin paper.
“Really?”
“Yesh, but you'd have to hurry.” she said, dunking the pieces of paper in a jar of fluid that turned them gold when they were pulled out.
“It's a public bus and it leavesh the third terminal in two minutes.” she finished handing the two tickets to Twilight.
The lavender unicorn was relieved. “Thank you so much! Goodbye!”
The ticket-mare waved. “Revedere.” she replied back in Romaneian.
Twilight and Spike got on the bus mere seconds before it was to leave. They were reprimanded by the driver for that, but brushed off his curses in Romaneian and had their tickets punched. Elated and tired from the sprint and close-call, Spike and Twilight grabbed the first two seats on the bus. They chatted excitedly for a minute or two, but the atmosphere of the bus slowly killed their conversation. 
Twilight looked around fully for the first time, noticing that the bus was actually quite grimy. It ran on solar energy like all other buses, but it seemed all the sunshine and happiness stopped at the magical voltaic cells. The bus was filled with quiet ponies, some dressed in shabby clothes, and all were just as dirty as the bus. 
This was strange. Where was all the niceness, the sublime beauty that was seen in the town? All these ponies on the bus looked sad, many even looked ill, and not the kind of illness that would go away with a night of sleep and some good soup. Twilight had never seen ponies like this. She felt as if she had entered a new world. One that wasn't the bright, happy one she was used to.
“No,” she told herself, shaking such thoughts away. “sure these ponies are.... a little down on their luck, but they'll get help right? I mean there are ponies like this in Canterlot.....but not so much....”
Indeed, the bus was filled with sick and dirty ponies. It felt less like a public bus, and more like a hearse. 
She looked over at Spike to find him watching the scenery pass outside, trying to be oblivious to the bus and its passengers. Twilight decided to follow suit, picking out the book of famous attractions and landmarks across Romaneia. 
The bus went on for miles, the sun falling to the horizon in the process. It passed through the gorgeous mountains Twilight and Spike had first viewed when coming out of the airliner, and out into the valley roads. The roads themselves could explain a lot about Romania. As they went up into the mountains, they were beautiful, but with one turn, they turned into gravely and brown muck. This continued on throughout the journey into the valleys, only those roads had large pot holes. 
When the bus went over another pot hole, Twilight had her book come crashing to her face and Spike hit the window with his head. Both muttering obscenities under their breaths, they braced for another pothole.
They both grumbled at the pain they felt caused by the horrible suspension of the bus, but their pain evaporated as they heard a loud crash near the back of the bus and a gasp that would scare anypony.
Twilight and Spike looked back in curiosity, only to find fear. An elderly mare in a shawl had fallen to the aisle of the bus. A younger mare sat in her seat, tears streaming down her face, biting her lip. Twilight was shocked. She quickly stood up and rushed to the mares. She looked at the mare on the ground and felt for a pulse. It was weak, but it was there. Then she looked up to the crying mare.
The mare had two long blonde braids that made up her mane, but her coat was a dusty orange, with brown splotches. Her eyes reflected her horror as Twilight looked into them. 
“It's ok” Twilight said taking the mare's shaking hoof in hers. “I can help her.”
The mare looked at Twilight, her eyes growing even wider and her tears coming in rivets down her cheeks. She quickly glanced up to the front of the bus and then at Twilight again. She pressed her eyes closed and started to silently sob. Twilight tried to pull her into a hug, but she resisted with all her being. 
“Hkelp hker.” the mare whispered to Twilight before breaking down into crying in silence.
Twilight stood up and looked around. She shouted to all the passengers. “I need a blanket! Does anypony have a blanket?” 
Somepony poked her on the hoof. She turned and was surprised to find the stallion from the flower stall who had helped her find the bus station in Oataeda. He handed her a thick woolen blanket.
Twilight went to grab it, but the stallion pulled her close to him hardly. 
“Don't....speak...” he whispered in his accent, handing her the blanket and releasing his hard grip on her hoof. Twilight looked to him in shock, but he only put a hoof to his lips and shook his head; the universal sign for 'be quiet.'
Twilight quickly wrapped up the elderly mare in silence. She took the mare's shawl and rolled it into a small pillow and put it under her head. From what Twilight could find with her limited medical expertise, the mare had a bad fever. The best thing the lavender unicorn was keep her warm and comfortable. Without a true doctor, this mare could die. Twilight cringed at the thought. She turned to the front of the bus and walked up the aisle of the bus to the driver with a purpose.
“Excuse me? Sir?” she asked the pudgy stallion who had his beady little eyes fixed on the road.  He seemed like he was aiming to hit every pot hole he could. He hit another one before quickly darting an eye to view Twilight.
“What is it?” he said nastily.
“Somepony back there is sick. I think she needs to see a doctor, or she could die.” Twilight said, gulping down the feeling of being sick herself.
The driver's demeanor lightened from a nasty frown, to a sad look. 
“Don't worry miss.” he said with more gentleness than Twilight though he had. “We're going to stop at a checkpoint in a short while. Whoever is sick will get help.”
Twilight headed back to her seat with Spike trying to fight a feeling of sickness and grief. She sat down silently next to Spike, who watched her with a mix of curiosity and worry. Then Twilight broke into a series of silent sobs, much like the mare at the back of the bus. She felt a small purple and green claw on her shoulder as Spike pulled her into a brotherly embrace. Twilight scooped him up and cried quietly for a time. She didn't know why she cried, but she knew it shouldn't have been like this. What happened? Everything was so normal this morning? When had her world gone to Tartarus? 
Celestia's sun was setting as the bus pulled up to a squat, gray  building sitting on top of a crest of one of the valley. The building had a bar that blocked the road and had ponies in combat fatigues that stood guarding the building. One was in a boxy room that operated the bar, one was on the roof of the building with a high tech crossbow, and three came out of the drab building as the bus pulled up. 
As one, the poor ponies in the back rose and filed out of the bus, making Twilight and Spike scared. Were they supposed to follow them? Should they stay there? What was going on?!?
The one of the three ponies filed the passengers into the building, while the other two approached the bus. The got on and the driver started speaking to one of them in Romaneian, while the other cast a suspicious glance to Twilight and Spike. The first army-pony passed by the duo, but the next came up to them.
“You two.” he said in fragments. “Go in building, Chief will talk with soon.” then he went off to join his comrade who was picking up the sick mare to take her off the bus. Twilight and Spike decided to heed the soldiers words and they left the bus to walk outside for the first time in hours.
Twilight would have loved the chance to stretch and walk about any other time, but the outside seemed as oppressive and scary as the bus had been. The sky was already dark, not from the sunset, but from the dark storm clouds rolling in, telling it would rain tonight. It also felt a little chilly, putting shivers in Twilight's spine. She slowly approached the door into the gray juggernaut as the bar was lifted and the bus sped to the other side of it only to stop when it was clear of the bar. The bar went back down and the bus waited, while Twilight walked into the building with a scared Spike clutching her neck and sitting on her back.
She entered through the door to find out it led down a long unlit corridor. She followed it, taking every twist and turn with apprehension, until she spotted a white light around one last turn. She took a left and came into a room with two more guards. The room was bright, but still felt cold. It was sterile, much like the hospital in Ponyville, but it felt more.....sinister.
The guards looked at Twilight and Spike surprised. They chatted to each other in Romaneian, before one spoke to a magical communications device on his fatigue. Another static-y voice spilled out of the communicator, speaking Romaneian quickly. Both guards looked at each other with raised eyebrows.
One guard went over to the door in front of Twilight on the opposite side of the room and closed it. It slammed shut with a metallic 'CLANG'. Twilight started to panic before she saw the other guard going to a door on the right wall of the room and opening it up, waving Twilight over as he did. 
Twilight followed the first guard, while the other guard followed behind in single file. They walked down a normal sized corridor which was well lit and had white-washed walls. The feel of normalcy started to dispel Twilight's panic. Twilight felt even more secure as they came out to a larger room that had looked like a normal office. They passed through the room and down another wing that had many doors on the walls. The first guard stopped in front of one room and pulled a ring of keys out from one pocket. He unlocked the room and the other guard gently pushed the duo towards the open door. Twilight went into the room.
The room was like the rest of the building, well lit, yet eerily cold. However, there were some slight differences. In the center of the room stood a table with one seat on each side of it. The two  walls on either side of the door were made of dark glass from chest-up. Twilight turned around when she heard one of the guards clear his throat.
“La Chief vill be hkere soon.” he said before closing the door in Twilight's face.
Twilight walked over to the table and stood in front of it. What was going on? She felt like she was safe now, that she could get some help; then why did this place feel like nothing but bad news? Why was she so scared? Those military ponies were just there to help. At least she thought so.
Her thoughts were interrupted as the door opened up to reveal an older stallion that wore the same fatigues, but with different markings. Twilight could tell he was the leader not from the guards telling her so, but because he walked with command. 
He closed the door behind himself and walked over to Twilight and Spike. He had a dark green coat and a darker green mane. 
“Sit. Please.” he said as he pulled on chair out of the table, offering it to Twilight. Spike hopped off of Twilight and quickly scampered onto the chair and then onto the table. Twilight silently took the offered chair, sitting down in unsure what to think. She was comforted though, when a small dragon sitting on the table put his clay over her hoof.
The 'chief' sat at the other side of the table, slowly putting his hooves onto the table. 
“Hello, my name is General Tin. As you can tell from my title I am a general in the Romaneian army.” he said politely, but with authority. “I came to this minor stop for a routine check up only to find a surprise waiting for me. Would you like to tell me who you are and how you came to be on board a worker's shuttle?”
Twilight gulped trying to think of what to say first, but the small claw on her hoof tightened, helping her calm her anxiety. She took a deep breath.
“I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess Celestia's protegee and the Bearer of the Element of Magic.” she said introducing herself first, then pointing to Spike. “This is Spike, he's like my little brother. We both come from Equestria and we got on that bus by accident. There was a mix up with buses....” Twilight explained, General Tin nodding his head understandingly.
“If you are who you say you are, could you show me some form of identification?”
“Of course!” Twilight said reaching into her saddlebags with her telekinesis. She fished around for her bit bag, which held their money and passports. 
Twilight smiled knowing they could get out of there safely and that this was all an accident, until she couldn't find it. 
She nervously laughed to the General who looked on with a growing frown. Twilight took off her saddlebags and dumped their contents onto the table. 
“Where is it, where is it?” she said frantically searching for the small bag. Then she realized. The filly with the flowers. She must have taken it. It was the only way it could be gone. That thieving motherbucker!
Twilight nervously smiled. “It appears they have been stolen....But don't worry!” she said her eyes darting between the General and the now frozen-stiff Spike. 
“I have a letter from Princess Celestia explaining my station.” she said floating it to the General out of the pile of stuff.
The General took it stoically and read it with a solid frown. 
“This would be redeeming evidence.” he said slowly. “If I was not told you were fraternizing with the workers. Getting them riled up?”
“What? No, there was a little old mare....”
The General rose crumpling up the letter in anger. “How do I not know you are a spy of those damn rebels? How do I not know this letter is a clever fake?” he said throwing the crumpled letter to the floor, yelling at Twilight.
Twilight was too stunned to say anything.
“No, I KNOW you are a spy sent by that damn Gogol. He has been sending people like you for the last three months, and they have been nothing but trouble. Destroying the roads. Stealing our documents. Harming my soldiers by poison and foul-play. But the foolish spies are not invincible!” he spat accusignly at Twilight.
“Do you know what happens to them?” he said leaning towards Twilight, threateningly. “We get every one of them.” he whispered in her ear. 
Twilight's eyes grew wide with fear. This was a vacation! Princess Celestia said the letter would be her fail-safe, her get home free card! Why was this happening?!?!?!?!?
Twilight turned her head when she heard a loud slap. She saw Spike standing on the table, his chest heaving. She saw the General leaning back, holding his cheek with one hoof, glaring at Spike.
“Don't you talk to my sister that way!” Spike said heroically in defense of Twilight.
The General simply raised his hoof and smacked Spike off the table. Spike flew through the air and hit a wall with an 'Umph!' as the General muttered. “Runt.”
Twilight broke out of her trance of fear. Somepony can threaten her all they want, and they can even attack her, but NOPONY lays a hoof on Spike!
Twilight acted out of anger and instinct, blasting the General head-on with a strong magical blast. He was thrown off of his hooves and through the glass, shattering it and falling into the next room.
Twilight rushed over to Spike.
“Spike are you ok?”
He groggily rose bracing himself against the wall, rubbing his neck.
“I think so. That was one heck of a spell Twi.” he said looking at the broken window. 
Twilight gasped and threw Spike on her back. She plodded over to the window slowly. She looked into the other room with horror. She couldn't live with herself if she killed another pony, nay, another living creature. She always knew how strong she was with magic, but when he hit Spike.....
She looked at the crumpled body of the General, cut up by glass shards and scaring Twilight with every second. She had to know.
“Twilight, what are you doing?” Spike exclaimed as Twilight climbed over the low wall into the room. The force of her spell had blasted all the glass outwards into the room. The power of the spell could be seen by the amount of glass shards embedded into the wall opposite of where the window once was. 
Twilight stepped on the broken glass, each step crunching until she reached the General's body. She felt for a pulse and checked for a breath, and sighed. He had been knocked out and wounded, but not dead.
She slumped with relief before Spike gasped loudly and pointed further into the room. This was the first time Twilight truly took in the sights of the new room. It was sterile like the last, but it had metal gurneys in it and it led into another room by a small aperture. Twilight saw what Spike gasped at, and she thought she would be sick.
Past the opening in the wall was a metal gurney. On that gurney laid a large black mass. Or at least that's what it looked like at first, until the pair had noticed the open zipper at the top. It was a black body bag, and from the opening, the old mare from the bus could be seen.
Spike jumped off of Twilight and walked through the aperture. He uttered a loud “Oh Celestia!” when her rounded the corner. Twilight followed quickly, but numbly. She too muttered “Oh Celestia!” before throwing up on the floor when she saw what was in the room.
There were gurneys that almost covered the entire room, and on each one was a large black bag. All were zipped closed with thick black tape covering the zipper and zipper train. Some of the bags were distorted and bloated, showing they had been there for quite a while. Twilight assumed she had just found out where the spies had gone. 
Twilight curled up into a ball on the floor away from her vomit and started to cry. Spike held her in a hug and cried too. They did not cry loud pangs of loss and sadness, but of a soft cry of fear, of being totally scared. They cried in silence when they heard the the glass start to crunch and Romaneian swearing. The pair closed their eyes and held each other tight, wishing to be away from this deceptive land and to be home. 
They opened their eyes once more when they head a door open and slam shut, knowing that they were safe, for now.
“Twilight, we have to get out of here.” Spike said, drying his tears and trying to put on a brave face. “Let's sneak out while the General is gone looking for us.”
Twilight rose feeling sick to her stomach, but determined to escape this horror. She nodded at Spike's plan, and she started to walk out of the room of sadness, Spike following her. They crossed over the broken glass and the wall back into the original room. Spike slowly inched the door open and looked up and down the hall.
“Let's go Twi. I don't see anypony.” he said waving her on.
They snuck down the hall back to the room that looked like an office, and they both noticed a large rain streaked window. It overlooked the valley below it and the foothills that rose beyond. Spike rushed to the window and pointed out to a hill.
“Twilight, do you think you could teleport us there?”
“I....I think so, just.....just give me a minute.”
She started to collect the magic within herself, but kept losing it as she lost her focus thinking about the dead bodies. So many bodies......
She broke down again, but Spike comforted her.
“Come on Twi. You beat Nightmare Moon, you stopped a Ursa Minor, you stopped Discord, and even helped stop the Changeling invasion! This is just one little teleport! You can do this Twi, I know you can.”
Twilight sniffeled and tried to collect the magic within herself again. She almost had it when the General broke into the room with eleven armed soldiers who must have been stationed at the building.
“Hold it right there, rebel scum.” he said as his soldiers took aim at the two with their hi-tech crossbows. Twilight and Spike instinctively put up their hooves and claws, respectively.
“You spies have been a plague on me for too long. With you two we are going to find Gogol and put this whole Faust-damned rebellion down! Take them away.”
“Wait!” Twilight said quickly.
“What is it?”
“If we tell you where Gogol is now, will you let us go?”
The Generaly looked smuggishly bemused. “Go ahead and tell us now, you might get your freedom..”
“Let me talk to Spike first, we both know only half of the directions to Gogol.”
The General's eyes narrowed. “Quickly, or you die on the spot.”	
Twilight inched closer to Spike, bent down and whispered to him. “I can't teleport yet, I don't have enough energy.”
“That's fine, I got a plan that 'ill give them something to occupy themselves.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you just summon a strong wind that will blow towards them when I give you the signal. Then you get ready to teleport. I'll take care of the rest.”
“Alright. I love you Spike.” 
“I love you too, Twilight.”
They broke apart from their hug-huddle and the General looked at them expectantly, not feeling the breeze Twilight had stealthily summoned.
“Well, where is he?” he asked with finality.
“I've always wanted to do this...” Spike said a little too happily for the situation. 
The General looked at him in surprise. “You always wanted to betray Gogol?”
“Nope.” Spike said taking a deep breath.
“THIS!” he shouted, blowing out a gout of his strongest flame. Twilight reacted accordingly to Spike's plan, creating a breeze that fed the fire and directed it into the group of soldiers. 
All the soldiers were caught off guard by the sudden blaze. Some caught fire and ran around while the rest ran out of the room now coated in flames. 
“Spike I'm ready, let's go!” Twilight called to the dragon who was proudly admiring his clawwork. He ran over to Twilight who's horn was glowing with powerful magics. 
Fate, however had other ideas. Out of the flames burst a cut up, and now burned, General Tin. He grabbed the baby dragon by the scruff o his neck with his teeth. However, he didn't stop there. He followed the momentum of his jumping-dash, and bucked Twilight square in the chest. 
This time, Twilight was the one to get thrown through a window. The force of the buck threw her off her hooves and through the window and also stealing her breath.
“TWILIGHT!!!!!!” Spike screamed from the now receding building. 
Twilight tried to answer, but her lack of breath made it impossible. Tears fell up from her eyes as she fell from the cliff, smacking her head on a rock and teleporting away.
Spike looked out over the cliff from his prison within the General's teeth. He tried to free himself by clawing, scratching, and breathing flame onto the antagonistic muzzle, but that only earned him a hard hoof to the back of his head.
“Twilight.....” he cried one last time before blacking out.

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Three valleys away, a large flash of purple and a smoking crater in the muddy fields signified Twilight's landing. She looked around slowly and unclearly, feeling a splitting pain in her skull. She closed her eyes again. She felt the cold rain hit her coat and soak her to the bone, but it didn't matter anymore. Spike was gone. She didn't know where she was. The only thing that was left was death. She sunk lower into the mud and cried hard.
She didn't stop until she heard some voices calling out in Romaneian. Oh great, now the soldiers had found her. She wiped her face. If Spike didn't give up without a fight, then neither would she. She pulled herself up on her forehooves and charged up her horn.
The Romaneian ponies came into sight, or what could be called Twilight's sight which was extremely dark and blurry, both from the stormy night and her head injury. She fired an unstable ball of energy at the ponies, which completely missed them, but alerted them to where she was. One of the ponies carried a lantern and from what little light it gave off, Twilight could see they didn't wear the fatigues of the soldiers. 
She slumped back into the mud and fell unconscious wondering who they were.

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Twilight woke up some time later dry and warm in a bed of cushions. She tried to open her eyes, only to get fleeting images of her surroundings and an incredible pain in her skull. She heard more voices out side of whatever shelter she was currently in. 
A wooden door opened and she heard a Romaneian yell what sounded like obscenities back at the other voices. The voice was rough and commanding, and so were the hoofsteps that followed as the pony came inside and sat on the cushions near her hooves. However, the hoofsteps were light and the way the pony sat down was gentle, trying its best not to cause Twilight any unnecessary pain. 
The voice spoke again, but this time in an accented Equestrian, that sounded vaguely pleasing to Twilight.
“I know you are awake Equestriani. Can you use your magic?” the voice asked. 
It was now obvious that the speaker was a stallion, but whether it was a friend or foe, she didn't know.
“I think so.” Twilight said softly.
“How about a small flame?”
Twilight raised her head gently and produced a small flame on the tip of her horn. The stallion stuck something in it for a few seconds then removed it. 
“Ok, you can put it out now.” he said as he breathed in deeply from something.
Twilight put out her flame and wondered what he was doing. Her wonders were answered a few seconds later when she smelled something that made her angry.
She opened her eyes quickly, ignoring the pain and trying to get a glance of the stallion.
“You asked a wounded unicorn to use magic to light your cigarette?!?!” Twilight yelled at him, her eyesight slowly going back to normal.
“You ain't so bad Equestriani.” the stallion said as he took another drag of his cigarette.
Twilight raised her hooves to her eyes to rub them and to clear the rest of her sight. The movement hurt, but it was worth it to find out who this pony was.
Twilight glared straight at a large stallion who looked a little bored and was smoking, lokking him up and down. Large wasn't the best term to describe him, Twilight decided. He was toned, but not as muscular as Big Mac. It was more of his......presence. He FELT like he took up about three times the room he actually needed, yet he looked completely oblivious to this quality of himself. Twilight looked him up and down again taking in his personal details. His coat was a dark gray, like lead, while he had large patches which were a lighter gray, a dirty silver color. He wore a tan leather vest that was made very artfully upon his chest and a dirty brown cabbie cap upon his head. His chocolate brown mane and tail were much longer than that of an Equestrian stallion's, but they were still cut short enough to be considered a 'colt's manecut'. However, his mane was billowy and had the slightest bit of natural curling to it, giving it a wild look. Twilight thought it looked good.
The stallion noticed the attention he was getting from the mare and he turned to face her, his golden-green eyes lighting up as he gave her a foolish smile.
“Like what you see, frumos?” he said, his cigarette dangling off of his lip.
Twilight frowned at the ashes he was spilling all over the blanket that covered her, so she put out the cigarette with a small amount of telekinesis.
He gave a wink to Twilight and laughed before turning away and trying to take a drag on the cigarette. 
Twilight bit her cheeks when he tried again and again, finally looking at the tip of the cigarette, noticing it out with puzzlement and some frustration. He turned to Twilight again.
“Could you do your little flame again for me, please?”
“Buck off.”
He rose from his seat swearing in Romaneian and went over to the lamp hanging from the center of the room. He opened a little door on the side of it and re-lit the cigarette. He took a drag and then walked back to where he was sitting and sat down again.
“Now that you're fully awake,” he said waving a hoof over Twilight's 'bed'. “and I have my cigarette lit, I'd like to ask you a few questions.”
Remembering what happened after the last time she was asked a few questions, she cut him off.
“No. First, I ask you a question.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Do all Equestriani have such chutzpah? Bah, go ahead, ask away.” he said taking another drag.
“Who are you? Where am I? Are there any soldiers around?”
Again his eyebrows raised. “Why would you want to know about soldiers?”
“Answer my questions, or you get no answers from me.” Twilight said fiercely.
The monochromatic stallion sighed. “Alright. First off, there are no soldiers here. They never come here because we don't let them find us. Second, you are 40 miles away from Targu Mareses, the second biggest city in Romaneia and a stepping stone to the capital, Bitarest.” he said. Then he stood up again and looked at Twilight. 
“Finally,” he said as he bowed to her. “In your language, I am known as Red Star, as per my mark.” he said standing up straight and then turning and showing off his cutie mark with a flourish. 
It was a perfect five-pointed star, a red as the thick glass that surrounded the lamp.
“Now, may I ask you some questions?”
“Why don't I just tell you how I got here.....”
Red Star pulled a cushion away from her bed and sat on it directly across from her, his eyes now serious and his demeanor changed from the fool she thought he was too a very serious thinker.
“Go. Tell your tail, frumos.”
Twilight told her tale, introducing herself in the process, but also releasing her grief and stress that had built up on her throughout this sadistic journey. When she finished the story, she was almost in tears, but Red Star seemed not to notice. He had risen from his cushion and started pacing her comfortable wooden room.
“Hmmm. Your friend Spike? I do not think Tinny will kill him. He is too important. He will take him to Emperor Pyrite. However, what Pyrite does with him, I cannot say.”
Twilight looked at him in desperation. “Why did I teleport to here? Why wouldn't I teleport to the most obvious place, my home in Ponyville?”
“That is gypsy magic for you, Twilight Sparkle.” Red Star said as he took another drag.
“What?”
Red Star came closer to Twilight.
“Did I not tell you? This place you are in, it is the real Romaneia. It is not the false land of pain and oppression that those pigs made it to be. Romaneia has always been and will always be, the land of the gypsy pony.” he said, blowing a perfect smoke ring into Twilight's face before laughing heartily.
“I'm stuck in a foreign country without a passport, without money, with my little brother KIDNAPPED and he might even DIE, and I'm also accused of being a SPY, and all you can do is LAUGH?!?!?!?”
Red Star went over to the door and opened it up wide. He threw his now smoked away cigarette out the door as the sun rose over the wet hills. It's light illuminated the room and Red Star looked back to Twilight. The rising sun made his eyes glitter to her, making her suddenly feel like everything would be all right.
“Twilight Sparkle,” he said still holding the door open. “We gypsies have a saying.” he raised a hoof. “After bad luck comes good fortune. Do not worry about your friend or your current situation. Just get some rest and know, I will help you.”
“Really?”
“Yes, but you will help me as well.” he said mysteriously with the devil's grin before walking out the door and down the wooden steps. 
The door closed by itself and Twilight was left wondering what he meant. However, she did agree with one thing: getting rest. She put out the lamp with a little magic and the room was encased in darkness. Twilight drifted of to an uneasy sleep, until she hear a phrase in her dreams that calmed her.
“After bad luck comes good fortune.”