Finding Friendship

by Kamen-Zero


— Chapter Thirty-Nine —

--- Explosive Exposure ---

The bright afternoon sun blazed down over the land as Twilight galloped along at top speed, driven solely by her single-minded drive to assure Spike's safety by any means necessary. By now the pain held within the bite wound of hers had subsided considerably, now nothing more than a dull stinging sensation, but it had been replaced by a plethora of new unpleasant sensations that wracked the alicorn's body.

Her legs ached with each step forward, lungs burning and begging for her to stop to catch her breath. A mixture of sweat and tears rolled down her face, blurring her vision through a consistent veil of moisture. And then there was that blistering summer sunlight, seemingly here only to make Twilight's life even more miserable by utilizing its mere existence. A fast-paced tour of Ponyville would be enough to make anyone build up a sweat, but doing so while underneath what was, in essence, a heavy blanket did not help matters at all. By this point, it was only her force of habit and sheer stubbornness that kept Twilight from just tearing off the blasted thing and being done with it. But the physical misery that Twilight was made to endure was nothing compared to the mental anguish that plagued her every thought, and there was only one way to alleviate that burden.

And as her destination drew closer and closer with each hurried step, Twilight learned that the town of Ponyville was sandwiched between two large plots of trees.

The first was the Everfree Forest to the south, which Twilight was very familiar with by now, and the second to the northwest had been given the name "Sweet Apple Acres." Both about the land's purpose, and who had ownership of the territory. Though unlike the Everfree Forest, the large wooden archway bearing that name signified that these weren't exactly the same type of wild growths that made up the wooded region to the south. Past the gate's threshold was like an entirely different world. The field of grass that had been leading up to this point was replaced by simple dirt and soil. At least around the pathway and the many apple trees that likely gave this expanse its name. The almost countless trees stood tall and proud, evenly spaced apart in neat orderly rows, fenced off to disway any potential interlopers from interfering with them. Reds were by far the most abundant of the fruits Twilight could see, though there were still quite a few variations out there. And in the middle of it was a simple farmhouse accompanied by a bright red barn. And while the rustic beauty of this well-maintained farmland was lost on Twilight at this moment in time, there was one aspect of the plantation that caught her attention.

It was absolutely massive.

At least as large as the rest of Ponyville itself, maybe a little bit bigger or smaller as it was hard to tell from this vantage point. But the point still stood that Sweet Apple Acres was a big place with a lot of open land, meaning that Twilight was going to have a lot of ground to cover if she was going to find Spike. Swiftly approaching the large gateway that served as the main entrance, Twilight surveyed what she could of the farmland with ferocious intensity. And just as her unexpected informant had told her, a town guard could be seen standing at attention by the main gate. Likely to keep an eye out for Spike in case he came back around while also serving to keep any unwanted interlopers out.

Though if this lone guard thought for even a second that he stood any chance of standing between Twilight and her baby, he was going to be in for a very rude wake-up call. She wasn't even going to give him a chance to try and stop her with something like "you can't enter, official business" or "there's a wild animal on the loose and we need you to stay clear," she was not in the mood for anybody to stand between her and Spike any longer. But as she ignited her horn with righteous intent, there was an unexpected interruption in the form of Applejack bolting right on by. She slowed down to almost to a complete stop as she watched in perplexion as Applejack flagged down the guard and began speaking with him in an angered tone.

"Twilight?" Fluttershy's arrival was just as unexpected and sudden as Applejack's, with the pegasus tapping Twilight's shoulder to catch her attention and get her to come to a full stop. "How're you holding up?"

"Not the greatest..." Twilight wasn't exactly sure what to feel right now. There were many conflicting feelings of joy and guilt in seeing these two again, mostly because of the hasty way that they'd been informed about the incident between her and Spike. Thankfully, if nothing else, Fluttershy seemed more concerned with the actual crisis at the moment, but that didn't mean Twilight was out of hot water yet. "Someone saw some guards chase Spike this way, so I came to check it out..."

"Don't worry, we're gonna find him, okay?" Absolute certainty backed up Fluttershy's claim, and her words did something in easing Twilight's troubled mind.

"Alright, come on you two," Applejack shouted from across the way, waving them down to come and join her. Looking back over to her and the guard, it was clear that Applejack had managed to win the short-lived debate, though the guard himself seemed more than a little suspicious of the whole thing. "We gotta lot of... apples to count. So yeah, let's get going..."

Unlike Fluttershy, Applejack sounded like she had absolutely no confidence to back up the words she was speaking. It sounded like a blatant excuse to get Twilight and Fluttershy past the admittedly minimal barricade, but Twilight wasn't about to scrutinize the farmer for not being able to come up with a better excuse and she was the first to rush past the large gate. Fluttershy and Applejack were soon to follow, each hurriedly walking side-by-side with Twilight further into the farmland. There was a time where nothing was said between the three, but once they were out of earshot of that lone guard Applejack was astute in breaking that silence.

"Hey, um... sorry about earlier," Applejack spoke solemnly towards Twilight, her head slumping downwards in shame. "I, eh, didn't know the little guy was with you..."

Twilight stopped. And once the other two ponies noticed this and stopped as well, she looked towards Applejack with an appalling expression. Today had been a very long and very stressful series of events served with a side of agonizingly unanswered questions. And Applejack had just added yet another one to Twilight's already full plate, and the cloaked alicorn wasn't taking another step without at least having this one thing made clear. "I'm sorry, what?"

"I'm... talking about Spike..." Applejack continued, "I didn't know he was with you."

"I told her everything," Fluttershy confessed before Twilight even had the chance to accuse her of anything, "I couldn't just leave her in the dark. You've made it very clear that you want all the help you can get."

Twilight didn't say anything. Or rather, it was more like she couldn't say anything. After everything that had gone on today, to say Twilight's headspace was a mess was an absolute understatement. And she didn't even have a knee-jerk reaction to respond to this newest piece of news with. She just stood there, with this almost dazed and confused expression, trying to murmur out some kind of reply in response to this newest development. But that question never quite fully formed, not enough to make it past Twilight's quivering lips at the very least.

"Twilight, I'm sorry. But I think secrecy is off the table at this point." Fluttershy shook her head and sighed. Even though Twilight couldn't form the words, Fluttershy was clearly able to get the message. And it was at this moment that she chose to put her hoof down on the matter. "People know about Spike now. And finding him isn't going to make that go away. We need ponies on our side if this is going to turn out for the better."

The stern words resonated deeply with Twilight, and for the life of her she couldn't come up with a sound response. She found herself agreeing with Fluttershy's logic more than anything. It seems that one of them had at least put some thought into what would happen after Spike was located, and it made perfect sense to Twilight even now. Sequestering Spike back into hiding wasn't going to stop the whole town from turning every stone to find the so-called unidentified animal, and it was only now that Twilight was made to realize this in a moment of clarity. And it was this moment of clarity that allowed Twilight to finally pull herself together, thanking Fluttershy for actually taking the time to think things through right now. It was also Fluttershy who was quick to get the small group back on track, suggesting that the three of them split up to cover as much ground as they possibly could. Twilight wasn't going to be the first to dispute that next great idea, but she was the first to pick a direction and head off running.

And once again, Twilight was back to hurrying along in search of her lost son. Though there were significantly fewer places to hide in the relatively open expanse of apple trees. The only real place there was to hide was behind one of those many trees, in fact, as the rest of the landscape was mostly devoid of other protrusions or obstacles. The family that ran this place made very well sure that the only things that grew here were apple trees and grass, it was almost shockingly well maintained. But that high level of maintenance served well in Twilight's favor at the moment, so for that, she was thankful. The only thing that acted as some kind of obstacle was the presence of those town guards that had been brought to her attention earlier, Twilight taking careful measures to remain unnoticed by those law-enforcing professionals. Applejack wasn't here anymore to give her an excuse to stick around here, and she didn't want to have to displace any more ponies than she absolutely had to. If only to keep the law off of her back as much as possible.

She called out his name only when she was sure she wasn't in the presence of any guards, only using a loud enough tone to carry a short distance. It wasn't much, but she was hopeful it would help the dragon find his way to her. Even though she was fairly certain he didn't want anything to do with her right now. She went on like this for what felt like hours, only able to tell the time by looking to the scorching sun's slow crawl across the skyline. It had to be later in the day by now, the sun still wasn't anywhere close to setting, but it had made quite the sizable trek in the time that this search had dragged on.

"Spike?! I'm sorry! I didn't mean what I said!" The alicorn continued to call out as she searched, weaving between trees like a sewing needle through a sheet of fabric. "Or... not in the way you thought I meant it... just let me explain!"

Even with the occasional sighting of a town guard continuing the search, Twilight was honestly starting to lose hope. Even after spending the better part of a day searching without end, she hadn't even seen the slightest trace of Spike anywhere. She felt like she was ten steps behind him at every turn, only chasing the vague directions of others who had seen him before she even got the chance to. It was heart-wrenchingly infuriating to know that he was still out in the world somewhere and she couldn't do a thing about it. Even with the endlessly appreciated help from the few allies she had, the chances of her reuniting with Spike were seemingly growing slimmer and slimmer with each passing moment.

"Please... I don't wanna lose you..."

With that last weak cry, Twilight slumped down to the ground and sat there amongst the dirt and apple trees as if to accept her defeat. Spike was still nowhere to be seen and the trail had gone cold at this point, she'd been searching for so long and still, there was nothing to show for her efforts. With any luck, she thought, maybe Applejack or Fluttershy would have found him by now. But at this point Twilight wasn't counting on that little miracle happening in her favor. And frankly, she didn't even think to deserve it. "Horribly" was one word that could be used to describe her behavior as of late. Towards Pinkie and Rarity, towards Fluttershy and Applejack, and even towards that random town guard she whisked away on a panic-induced whim. For the whole of this day, Twilight had been acting like a spoiled child who hadn't been getting their way, and it was no longer possible for her to ignore that fact. It wasn't even just today that she had been acting in such a manner. All she had done last night was simply pester Rainbow Dash into allowing her to poke her nose where it didn't belong, constantly pushing the boundaries of the permission that she was unjustly given. All of that had been for a good cause, at least Twilight thought so at the time, but now all she could think of was how in-the-wrong she was about the whole thing. And then there was the matter of how she even got into this mess in the first place.

All of this was put into motion the day she had taken Spike and ventured out into the world under the pretense of figuring out where he had come from. And while she was earnest in achieving that goal, it was far from the only reason she had left Canterlot. It was fear of her loved ones' mortality that had played a key deciding factor in her departure, and in the soon-to-be-three years since she had made that decision she had only looked back very recently. The past years had been spent selfishly running away from a problem that there was no easy-way-out of, running away from the only people in the world who could possibly help her through all her fears and doubts about her unwilling longevity. There was no longer any denying it. Twilight was a selfish, almost heartless person. She had been so willing to throw away everything else to spend centuries alone with the little creature that had fallen into her life just based on the sheer fact that he was a dragon and would long outlive almost any other pony in the world without much hassle. But the past three years had only served to set Spike up for this horribly tragic event so early on in his life.

It wasn't even for her own sake that she wanted to find him—all of her worries were focused solely on Spike. He had to be so scared and confused right now, Twilight could hardly even stomach the thought of it. She had done enough already to hurt him more than he ever deserved, and now he had half of Ponyville hunting him down under the pretense that he was a dangerous wild animal. All because of a few red smears on his face that had come from him biting her earlier, an action that was wholly Twilight's fault.

"Hey! You! What're you doing here?!" Someone shouted in an angry tone. Based on the tone and authority held within her voice, it was likely that it was one of the guards who was out here searching for Spike. Twilight was drawn out of her hopeless dismay quickly enough and was placed on high alert, quickly trying to come up with an excuse that would get the guard to leave her alone—or just zap her away if that didn't work. But neither scenario would come to pass, as made clear when someone else answered the question justly.

"Uh... I live here?" Apple Bloom sounded both confused and offended by the guard's question. Something that made sense, seeing as how she definitely did live here if this place was owned by her's and Applejack's family.

Though this sudden development was enough to spark Twilight's curiosity, prompting her to mosey on over to where this interaction was taking place. Keeping herself hidden behind one of the many fruit-bearing plants, it was easy enough to spot the two ponies. And, as expected, a unicorn mare bearing the guard's garb was angrily glaring over to the familiar earth pony filly who matched the grimace with her own. Though even now, Twilight couldn't help but notice something that seemed a little out of place. Situated next to the little pony was a basket filled to the brim with foodstuffs. Apples, bread, a couple of bottles of water, and several other junk food items and drinks as well. Apple Bloom looked like she was ready for a picnic with that setup she had. And Twilight would have been ready to believe that if she hadn't taken notice of two very peculiar items hidden amongst the hoard of snacks.

A towel and a bar of soap.

Not exactly the first things that come to mind when preparing for a picnic, especially for someone as young as Apple Bloom. And this oddly specific discrepancy was enough to convince Twilight that there was something more going on here. And that "something more" was giving the unseen observer was getting a very familiar feeling, almost exactly like when Apple Bloom and her friends convinced her to help build that trebuchet. And that was something that stuck out to Twilight even now, which only further drew her into this conversation. If only to see what it was this filly was hiding, as Twilight couldn't shake the feeling that this might be more relevant to her plight then what it looked like. It wasn't much, but she was desperate enough to follow even this far-fetched lead.

"Okay, fair enough, but you still shouldn't be out here right now," the guard retorted back in a snooty and condescending voice, "I don't know if you've heard, but there's been some weird animal running around town all day. And we've cornered it here. You being out here isn't a good idea right now. So come on, I'll walk you home."

"Uh, I don't know what you're goin' on about, but I think I would've noticed if there was something like that running about our farm." Apple Bloom answered almost nervously, picking up her basket for just a moment before backing away. "Sorry, lady, but I think you're full of it."

Just as the way the guard was acting shouldn't have been the way someone should talk to a child, Apple Bloom's reaction wasn't what Twilight would have expected from a child. One would think that a town guard telling her about some dangerous animal would have gotten the young mare to take the offer for a safe walk home, but the opposite seemed true in this instance. There also seemed to be a hint of nervousness behind the filly's words, almost as if she was hiding something—exactly like the other time Twilight had interacted with this kid.

"Kid, I don't have time for this. You need to get somewhere safe." The guard looked like she didn't take to kindly to being insulted out of the blue like that, but was at least willing to do her job and keep this civilian safe.

"I really don't think there's anything dangerous out here," Applebloom insisted with great defiance, "Actually... I think you and your copper buddies are just here to swipe a few free snacks!"

"Wh-what?! That's ridiculous, just come on and—"

"Wouldn't be the first time, either! Don't think we haven't noticed!" Apple Bloom shouted with growing confidence, "I hear Granny and Applejack talking about it all the time! Maybe I should go tell her that we've got a whole squad of intruders running around? Huh? HUH?!"

The guard pony knew something about Apple Bloom's grandmother that Twilight did not, as that threat was enough to make the mare go pale in the face. It was her turn to recoil away from the other pony now, seemingly terrified of the elderly mare of the Apple Family. And while Apple Bloom's remark was an obvious bluff, it was enough to get the town guard to turn tail and run about as fast as Twilight had been moving all day. This got Twilight to feel a little bit nervous about whatever this granny of Apple Bloom's was capable of, but such concerns were short-lived once Apple Bloom continued along her merry way, basket in tow.

And in response to this, Twilight went from frantically running around Sweet Apple Acres to trailing Apple Bloom at a slow and careful pace. She knew that if the filly spotted her she'd get much the same treatment as that guard did, so staying silent and unseen were Twilight's top priorities right now. Apple Bloom was much less cautious then her pursuer was, however, never once even thinking to suspect the idea that she was being followed. And after some time of walking, Twilight was made privy to the filly's destination.

Sequestered deep within the heart of Sweet Apple Acres, looking to be situated in an older tree that had since stopped bearing fruit, someone had decided to build this little fort for levity's sake. It looked like it had been here for many years, with many modifications that had been added to it over that time like a balcony and what could only be described as a watchtower. It was an impressive structure that any kid would love to spend hours on end in, and it was fairly obvious that Apple Bloom and her friends had commandeered it for their own purposes. Twilight watched with great enthusiasm as Apple Bloom ascended the simple staircase that led up to the entrance before vanishing into the clubhouse altogether.

Seeing as how she had already come this far, it wouldn't hurt at this point to at least check to see if her gut feeling was right or wrong. With great trepidation, Twilight moved towards the child's fortress and began to slowly head up the stairs. If her hunch was wrong, she didn't want to have to explain to a bunch of fillies why she had followed one of them to their clubhouse. That was an endeavor that would take far too much time right now, so the stealthy option was once again chosen as Twilight pressed her ear against the door. An entirely pointless gesture, as the open windows were more than enough to let the voices carry out of the small building, allowing her to easily listen in on the conversation-in-progress.

"So there's also a bit of bad news," Apple Bloom was the first voice Twilight heard in the confines of the treehouse, "There's a bunch of cops running around. Looking for you-know-who."

"That's not good," Scootaloo added with a blank tone of voice, "They're gonna look here eventually, right? What're we gonna do then? How're we gonna explain this?"

"Well, there's really nowhere else to hide him," Sweetie Belle spoke up, "I know if my mom found him in our house she'd have eight heart attacks at the same time."

"We don't need to move him, they think he's just a wild animal—no offense," Apple Bloom continued, "So they shouldn't think to look in here... as long as he stays quiet... You can do that, right Lil' Buddy?" There were a few seconds of silence before there was an answer, but when it finally came Twilight nearly screamed.

"Y-yeah," Spike meekly answered from within the clubhouse much to Twilight's elation, "Thanks for helping me..."

There aren't enough words in any language to describe the instantaneous change in Twilight's mood. In an instant, all of the anxiety and fear that had been building without any end in sight was shattered like glass as hope flooded into her heart at this change. There was no longer any uncertainty to Spike's safety, there wasn't any immediate danger to be had at least right now. Not only that, but a small group of ponies had seemingly even offered to help him avoid the unfriendly forces hunting him down, something that only further served to help improve the alicorn's mood. She was so elated, in fact, that all previously established notions of subtlety were thrown out the window as she practically knocked the door down in her mindless desire to reunite with her son.

"SPIKE!"

The loud declaration of joy was met by the frightened and ear-piercing screeches of the three little ponies, who had clearly not been expecting a cloaked pony to burst into their clubhouse screaming. But they were of little concern to Twilight right now, her eyes locked firmly on the long dragon towards the back of the room. In less than a second Spike's attention was drawn to Twilight as a look of terror came across his face, shortly before dropping the wet towel and soap he was using to clean himself. Then, moving with speed far too fast for Twilight to react to, Spike scampered to the nearest window and threw himself out of it.

"Spike, no!" Relief turned back into horror as Twilight reached out with her magic to catch him, only just missing its target by mere fractions of a second. Hurridly she went to the window he had leaped from, just in time to watch her son hit the ground and take off running. "No! Come back!" She cried out to no avail, only now remembering the fair bit of animosity that still lingered between the two of them and why he had run away in the first place. Though there wasn't much time to dwell on that, not with the sudden onslaught of three fillies going out of their way to attack her for her trespass. Not anywhere near enough to cause Twilight any harm, or even move her very much, but was enough to be an irritating distraction.

"LEAVE HIM ALONE YOU BIG BULLY!" Scootaloo was the first to squeal, repeatedly headbutting one of Twilight's hind legs in an almost comical fashion. It had the absolute least effect

"HE AIN'T GONNA HURT NOBODY! HE'S NICE!" Apple Bloom was quick to add, spinning around and striking Twilight with an admittedly strong kick from her hind legs. It managed to make Twilight flinch, if only just a little bit because she wasn't expecting it. Though these two attacks were followed by a sudden green glow to ensnare her cloak as it was tugged sharply away from the window.

"He's got enough problems to deal with right now!" Sweetie Belle yelled, pulling for all she was worth on the older pony's cloak in an attempt to stop her. Twilight didn't budge an inch, but that didn't stop Sweetie from trying ever harder. Her efforts were quick to inspire her two cohorts, each one latching onto the robe with their teeth and helping their friend. "He doesn't need you turning him into the guards!"

"H-hey! Cut it out!" Twilight shouted as she stood her ground to resist the constant yanking of the three fillies, not wanting to fight back in any meaningful way to keep from accidentally hurting any of these kids. "You don't—"

Everything was rendered silent when the sound of ripping fabric reached Twilight's ears, with two of the three fillies being flung backward from the sudden loss of support. The damage Twilight's cloak had sustained earlier had mixed horribly with the abuse the three kids had decided to put it through. The result was a now very much revealed alicorn standing in the middle of the clubhouse, with nothing but the tattered remains of a cloak still hugging her neck—far too short to hide her wings even a little bit. For the second time today, Twilight's alicorn status had been exposed.

"Holy crap..." Sweetie Belle was the first of the three to take notice, seeing as how she was the only one who hadn't fallen over herself from the cloak's unfortunate destruction. But once Apple Bloom and Scootaloo had reoriented themselves, they were quick to join in on the shock and awe. It seems that the implications of Twilight's true nature weren't lost even on these kids, much to the alicorn's dismay.

There were many things Twilight wanted to say and do in response to this, and once again she was too flustered to pick a course of action. Was she to thank the fillies for fighting so hard to keep Spike safe? Scold them for what they had just uncovered? Or should she just stop wasting time and go after Spike? It took her far longer than it should have, given the circumstances, but she did eventually manage to come up with an answer.

"I don't have time for this again," she muttered angrily before leaping out the window herself to chase after Spike. What the three fillies did from this point onward was no longer any of Twilight's concern for she had far bigger things to deal with. Especially now that she was once again on the run, albeit this time with a much better idea of where he was and where he was headed. After all, she could see him off in the distance.

He runs fast, Twilight couldn't help but comment in her head as she watched the purple speck that was Spike practically dance on the horizon just out of her reach. He was contrasted heavily by the bright red barn he was headed towards, which only helped Twilight keep track of his fleeting form. And while progress was slow, that little purple blip was getting closer and closer with each passing second. And, by extension, Twilight was getting closer and closer to reaching Spike and finally setting all of this straight. She didn't know what she could say to help ease his heart and mind right now, but she had to try. Though that plan was put horrifically on hold as that little purple blip was suddenly stopped and buried underneath a bunch of town guards. They must've finally seen him out in the open and took advantage of the situation. Now, Twilight had thought she would have been angry before seeing her son get dogpiled by a bunch of random ponies with ill intent.

But actually seeing it happen with her own eyes was enough to replace every single aspect of Twilight Sparkle's being with nothing more than the pure unfiltered will to murder.

The alicorn roared like a great and terrible dragon, her horn practically exploding with violently crackling arcane light. The magenta bolts of light coiled around her body like vicious snakes and ripped her from the physical plane of existence only to be deposited just past the squirming pile of guards, now standing between them and the barn Spike had been fleeing towards. Though overshooting her target didn't do much to stop her, with Twilight quickly snapping back around to glare at them for only a microsecond before acting. With a crackling burst of light from her horn, the six or seven guards that had been working together to bound and gag the long dragon were sent flying, leaving Spike behind curled up and trembling on the ground, though otherwise unharmed. They all hit the ground at relatively the same time, mostly unharmed aside from actually hitting the ground itself. The only thing that had kept Twilight from unleashing her full power on them just now was their proximity to Spike.

"Leave my son alone!" She demanded with unwavering wrath and authority, stepping over and standing over Spike's fallen form in a protective gesture. He wouldn't be able to stand up now, but the payoff to that drawback was that he was now the single safest living thing in the world. "If you want to take him, you gotta go through me!" Taking advantage of her already-blown secret, Twilight flared out her wings menacingly. Both in a primal attempt to make herself look larger and more intimidating and as a way to show these ponies that they really shouldn't try again.

It wasn't long before the town guards began to shake off the attack and get back up to their hooves. Some of them began shouting obscenities at Twilight before any of them noticed what exactly it was they were up against. And then, absolute silence. Not all of them noticed Twilight's wings and sparking horn at the same time, but they all gave the same wide-eyed reaction when they finally caught up. From that point on, it was a standoff. On one end was Twilight Sparkle, who stood at the ready to turn the first idiot to try and challenge her into glass. And on the other side, the group of guards was either just standing there mindlessly or murmuring with one-another on what their next course of action should be. On the one hoof, they had their orders and their duties to fulfill. But on the other was an understandable hesitance towards trying to rush down an alicorn. And then there was Spike, who was looking up at Twilight with his own shocked expression.

The passage of time was diluted heavily as the stalemate grew ever longer, nobody present being quite sure how long they remained like this. Twilight certainly wasn't going to make the first move, and none of the guards were willing to take their eyes off of the immediate threat for even a second. And so, they stood there, and they were going to keep standing there for however long it took for one of the two groups to flinch.

"Come on, try me!" Twilight viciously taunted after some time, a bolt of wild magic scorching the ground in front of her in a long, drawn-out lick, the intention and message clear. "Who's gonna be the one to try take away my son?! Huh?! Who's coming to take him from me?!" Now that the immediate danger was over and done with, for the most part, Twilight wasn't quite as willing to just flat out end any of these mares or stallions for just doing their jobs. As mad as she was, she knew that none of them deserved that. But she was still quite mad and needed to blow off some steam. She had already dug herself into this hole, and there wasn't much deeper it could go.

An ear-ringing boom, a ground-shaking crash, and an explosion of dust and dirt directly in between Twilight and the severely outmatched town guards. There were more than a few recoils and shouts at the sudden attack on the behalf of the town guards, them believing that Twilight had made the first act of aggression. But Twilight had done no such thing, and when the dust settled the culprit was revealed to be a large crude ball of blackened iron. A textbook definition of a cannonball, if ever there was one.

"Alright, listen up ya big bunch of ninnies!" An elderly sounding mare shouted at all of them quickly drawing everyone's attention off to the left. Looking over revealed a well-aged green earth pony who was glaring at everyone with an unmatched look of bitterness. Standing behind her was Apple Bloom, peeking out from behind the much older mare the way a nervous and regretful child would after getting their parent involved only for them to escalate the situation far past where it needed to be. And that escalation came in the form of the still-smoking cannon sitting just to the grandmother's right.

Why does she have a cannon? That was the question on Twilight's mind, and she could only suspect that the others were also asking that very same question at this current juncture.

"Ah'mma say this once, so y'all better open yer darned ears!" The elderly pony shouted at the top of her lungs, smacking the cannon with a loud metallic clang for emphasis. "You buncha coppers are trespassin'! So get off my property, 'fore Ah blast ya!"

There was a moment of hesitation on everyone's behalf after the obvious threat, but it didn't take long for the town guards to make their move. Backing up slowly as to not instigate another attack—from either the alicorn or the cannon-crazed earth pony—the group of law enforcers was far enough away they turned tail and ran. It wasn't a frightful run, it looked more as if they were retreating to regroup and reconsider their priorities. So, if nothing else, those stallions and mares were great at hiding their fear as they rightfully ran away. Twilight huffed indignantly at them one last time long after they were out of earshot. She knew well that this wasn't over, her actions and words were probably enough to get the whole of Ponyville's police force to come after her, and that was before taking her alicorn status into account. But, for now, at least, the issue was settled.

"Twilight..." Spike's shaky voice murmured out from beneath the alicorn.

In an instant, Twilight's entire outlook changed as she took a few steps back to allow Spike the room to get off of the ground. He was slow and shakey in doing so, it was clear that he was just as exhausted as Twilight was after all the running he had done. A few bits of red still stained his face, as Twilight had barged in before he could finish cleaning himself, though he wasn't visibly harmed from his run-in with those ponies just now.

"Spike! You're not hurt are you?!" Even though there weren't any visible marks on him, Twilight couldn't help but ask that question. She changed her posture constantly to try and get a better view of the rest of his body, hoping she wouldn't see some previously unseen cut or bruise.

Spike, in response, only sat there looking longingly at the alicorn before him. Unknowable amounts of conflicting emotions clashed within his shakey form, so much so that they made themself manifest in the form of slowly flowing tears. He clearly didn't know what to say, do, or think right now, yet another thing that Twilight could relate to after the day she's had. But after some time of seemingly not knowing what to do, Spike finally broke and acted in accordance with his strongest emotions. Much like before he closed the distance between himself and Twilight with blinding speed, though unlike this morning it wasn't with his fangs at the ready. Instead, he was quick to bury his face into her chest and clasp onto her with the tightest hug he could muster before he finally began to sob. There was only a split second of hesitation on Twilight's behalf at this, a moment taken to realize what had just happened before she returned the favor. She adjusted herself into a seated posture and return the hug with one of her own, one that was further reinforced with the use of her wings.

"I don't hate you..." Spike was able to choke out through his unending sobs, trying for all he was worth to pull Twilight closer into the embrace. "I don't hate you..."

"I know," Twilight kept her answer short and sweet, tears once again beginning to flow down the sides of her face as her own emotions took hold of her once again. But for the first time today, these emotions weren't ones that she wanted to shun off and never once think of again. Right now she only wanted to hold her little dragon and let him cry into her for however long he felt he needed.

And as they continued to sit there, as the minutes stretched on into what felt like hours, there was a slowly growing sense of security and ease. An irrational knowledge that everything was going to be alright, even if very few of today's problems had actually been solved. It didn't erase that there were so many ponies who knew about Spike now. It didn't change the fact that all of Ponyville would likely soon know about her being an alicorn. It didn't undo the horrible things she had said and done in her fit of rage. And it didn't change the fact that she would have to face the consequences of all of that very soon. But that didn't matter right now. Nothing mattered right now. In this one, solitary moment, everything else just faded away as she and her son did their best to comfort each other after the first leg of this trying ordeal.

Right now, there was only Twilight Sparkle and Spike. A wonderful little dragon who'd fallen into her life that loved her with all his heart, and an alicorn who brought him into this world that loved him back just as much.