//------------------------------// // Chapter 12 // Story: May the Best Friends Win // by Trinary //------------------------------// & & & Twilight trotted into town, the last bit of her conversation with Rainbow Dash playing over in her mind. “I don’t know about this Twilight,” Rainbow Dash swished her tail anxiously. “Are you sure there isn’t some other way?” The unicorn in question sighed but couldn’t lie. “Probably…but I think this is the best one available to us. You need to see for yourself what Trixie is like when you’re not around…the real Trixie.” Rainbow Dash groaned. “Ugh…fine. Go ahead. I—I trust you.” Twilight smiled gently as her horn started to shimmer. “Thank you Rainbow Dash. Don’t worry. This won’t hurt a bit…” “TWILIGHT!” Somepony shouted in her ear. She shrieked and leaped into the air, her legs flailing as gravity took hold of her and she came crashing down in a heap, her face having a close encounter with the ground. “Hiya Twilight, whatcha doooing?” Pinkie Pie hopped around the fallen unicorn. “Is that fun, it looks like fun. Can I try too? Okay one, two, three go!” Pinkie buried her entire head in the ground without even having to bend her knees like a normal pony. It was as if her neck just extended as far as it needed to go. Twilight would have been surprised by this but she knew better. “…Pinkie,” she mumbled around a face full of dirt. Pinkie’s signature pink tail waved a little in acknowledgement that she heard her. “Why did you do that?” “Hhmmhmh hmmph hmmmh!” “…Pinkie, take your head out of the ground and THEN tell me.” Twilight groaned as she sat up, idly spitting out some dirt that got in her mouth. Her pink companion pulled her head out of the ground with an audible ‘pop!’ and sat on her rump. “Oh, okay! Um, what did I do?” “You screamed in my ear!” Twilight snapped. “Why’d you do that?” Pinkie giggled. “Cuz it’s really funny when you yell and jump and then fall and go POOF!” She rolled on her back. “Isn’t that just hilarious?” “Incredibly.” Twilight deadpanned. “Well, thanks for that Pinkie, but I should go—” Pinkie shot up and gasped. “Twilight!” Wincing, Twilight rubbed her ear. “Gaah! Pinkie, not again!” “But your mane!” The pink pony pointed to it. “It’s all not Twilight-y! What happened?” Sure enough, Twilight’s mane had been ruffled and matted all out of its normal shape. Part of it hung down covering about half her face while the top bit stood straight up in a series of spikes. “Rainbow Dash happened.” Twilight explained curtly. “Oooh. Rainbow Dash styles hair? Wait ‘til Rarity hears!” Pinkie exclaimed, bouncing around and examining Twilight’s mane critically. “You look just like that one pony, whatshisname! Er, Doctor…” “Who?” “I’m trying to think, give me a minute.” Twilight rolled her eyes, well, the one that wasn’t obscured by her mane anyway. “It’s fine Pinkie, really. Have you seen Trixie?” “Ya-huh,” she nodded. “She was over at her carriage, stagecoach thingie.” After briefly thanking Pinkie, Twilight continued on her way. She strode through town intent on finding Trixie and not letting anything distract her. Fate it seemed had other plans. She was walking past the Ponyville schoolhouse when she saw a sight that nopony ever wanted to see within a mile of a school: an ambulance. Her heart suddenly gripped with fear, Twilight ran over just as the ponies pulling the ambulance carriage started galloping off to the hospital. A small worried crowd had already gathered in front of the schoolhouse. On the front steps of the school sat a visibly shaken looking Cheerilee, a blanket draped over her shoulders by Nurse Redheart as she sat next to the beleaguered teacher, reassuring her. Twilight teleported herself to the other side of the gathered ponies and headed up to them. “What happened?” She asked urgently. “Is everypony okay?” Cheerilee shook her head and looked down miserably. “There’s been an accident…Dinky’s at the hospital.” Twilight’s hoof flew up to her mouth. “Oh no…is it serious?” Cheerilee bit her lip and let her head sink in shame. Her eyes brimmed with tears, making Twilight fear the worst. Redheart shook her head and comforted the overemotional teacher. “No, it wasn’t anything serious.” She said to Twilight, assuring them both. The purple unicorn sagged, letting out a breath she wasn’t aware she’d been holding. “That’s a relief…” she sighed. “What happened?” “From what Cheerilee and the foals observed…” Redheart started, but Cheerilee held up a hoof. “I can tell it.” The teacher sniffled. “It was just after lunch. The foals were all outside for recess. I—I was trying to keep an eye on everypony but I…I couldn’t…” She hiccuped. Redheart rubbed Cheerilee’s back. “It’s okay, nopony blames you…” Cheerilee’s eyes were moist as she continued, not acknowledging either pony present. “Dinky was trying to pull this rock out of the ground with her magic. I-I think she was trying to impress Pipsqueak—he had stubbed his hoof on that rock. She kept huffing and straining herself but the rock wouldn’t move. Some of the other foals wandered over to watch and Dinky ended up trying even harder! Her horn was glowing and she was getting upset and angry—I was just on my way over to tell her not to try so hard when there was this bright light and the rock just…exploded out of the ground and it—and it h-hit her in the head…” Cheerilee let out a low keening wail as she buried her face in the nurse’s shoulder and started crying in earnest; not out of fear for the trouble she might be in, but for the sake of her students that she cared so much for who were now scared or in pain. Redheart embraced the poor teacher and held her tightly. “It’s okay Cheerilee, it’s not your fault…Dinky’s going to be fine.” She looked up at Twilight. “The rock just grazed the side of Dinky’s head. I doubt she’ll need more than a stitch or two.” Twilight felt a tremble work its way through her body. “T-that’s…” she gulped. “That’s good to hear…that Dinky will be okay. Does her family know? Where are the other students?” “They’re in the classroom with one of the other nurses, checking for any bruises or shock. They’re understandably upset, but okay.” Redheart assured her. “We’re contacting their parents now…Miss Doo is probably still on her mail runs so unless somepony happens to run into her...” “Is there anypony with Dinky at the hospital? Her family, I mean.” Twilight asked. Redheart shook her head. “I don’t know. I think her next emergency contacts are her sister, Sparkler; her neighbor, Carrot Top; and her god-mother, Rainbow Dash.” Twilight’s eyes widened. Rainbow Dash… “I have to go!” She blurted out. “I—I’ll make sure Rainbow Dash and her family get to Dinky...but before I go, I have to ask you a question Cheerilee.” She waited for the emotional teacher to dry her eyes and look up. “You said Dinky was getting upset before the accident…what happened exactly?” “W-well,” Cheerilee thought. “She was mumbling at the rock then she started shouting at it. She sounded angry…the angrier she got, the brighter her horn and the rock seemed to get until…” Twilight understood. “And that’s when it happened?” Cheerilee nodded. “I suspected as much…I’ll let you know how Dinky’s doing in a bit.” She turned and started galloping hard to the hospital. If nothing else, Twilight thought ruefully, she was sure getting in her daily dose of exercise for the day. By the time it occurred to her simply to magic herself to the hospital, she was already at town square. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t Twilight Spackle,” came a familiar mocking tone from right in front of her, blocking her path. Twilight snorted. “It’s Sparkle and I don’t have time for this…” she muttered, starting to walk around Trixie only to have her move in Twilight’s way again. “Really?” Trixie smirked. “Trixie thinks Spackle matches you better. Perhaps you’d like something more fittingly inane like Twilight Twinkle?” She snorted. “Or should that be Twilight Tinkle?” While Twilight’s cheeks did heat up, Twilight felt more annoyance than embarrassment. “Is that all you have?” She asked the obnoxious showpony. “You really can’t find something else to annoy me about?” Twilight shook her head. “If you like, Trixie can comment on that bird’s nest you call a mane.” She clucked her tongue disapprovingly at the mattered mess that obscured the left side of Twilight’s face and stuck out in all directions. Twilight shook her head. “Forget it, I’m leaving.” Trixie huffed, hating to be so easily brushed aside. “Trixie did not give you permission to leave!” “That’s probably because I didn’t ask for it,” Twilight retorted shortly. “Now will you just stop, for five minutes, just stop? I have to go, there was an accident—” Trixie sniggered. “What, again? Does this happen when you’re not even asleep?” She broke into peals of laughter. “That is rich! Rainbow Dash was right, you are hilarious!” Twilight stiffened. “Rainbow Dash never said that.” She said stiffly, turning around. “Really?” Trixie practically purred. “I seem to recall her mentioning something about that when she was telling me all about your nighttime issues…” “She never told you about that.” Twilight fumed. “You were eavesdropping when she and I were talking behind your carriage back when we first met, admit it!” Trixie chuckled, shaking her head. “Come now Twilight…Trixie has known Rainbow Dash for such a much longer time than you. Do you really think she has any secrets from Trixie? Especially such humorous ones? Rainbow Dash does love a good joke…and you’re the biggest Trixie has ever seen.” Twilight was stone faced. “Dinky’s in the hospital,” she said bluntly. Trixie was left flat-hooved. “Care to guess why? I’ll tell you…she was trying too hard to use her magic and tried to use her emotions to fuel her magical strength. Remember who taught her that method?” To give her some credit, Trixie at least had the grace to look abashed. Her face paled at the prospect of having put a filly in the hospital. Twilight revised her estimation of Trixie an infinitesimal fraction of a percent higher. Trixie shook her head. “I-It was just for training!” She blurted, trying to bluster her way out of any responsibility for this. “U-using emotions to fuel your magic—” “—is irresponsible, dangerous and the first thing any unicorn worth their horn teaches their students not to do!” Twilight interrupted harshly. “But you did! You didn’t care if it was dangerous or if Dinky got hurt—you just wanted Dinky and Rainbow Dash to think that you were a better teacher than me…” She took a breath. “…and I have to know: why?” Twilight stepped forward, prompting Trixie to retreat half a step. “Why are you doing this? Why do you hate me? Why do you like making fun of me and trying to drive a wedge between Rainbow Dash and her friends?” Trixie trembled, cornered and nervous. “Y-you stupid filly,” she fleered. “You think this is about you? Trixie doesn’t care at all about a stupid, nerdy, tiny-horned, bed-wetting excuse of a unicorn!” Her words were belied by the long list of adjectives and the hate-filled glare she was shooting at her. “T-trixie doesn’t care if Rainbow Dash thinks that snot-nosed little you are the coolest unicorn she’s ever met or one of her best friends ever, even though Trixie knew Rainbow Dash before you! Before any of you!” She stomped her hoof. “Trixie was the one who told Rainbow Dash to follow her dreams, to fight for her future! Instead she abandoned it to settle with a bunch of hickponies from Nowheresville and go off and have adventures with THEM and let them be her best friends i-instead of…of….me…” In spite of herself, Twilight felt a twinge of pity. “Trixie…I’m sor—” Trixie’s eyes glinted murderously. “No! You do not get to feel sorry for me! I am the Great and Powerful Trixie! Nopony pities me—ponies wish they were me! When I'm done nopony in the world will want to even know you! Not Rainbow Dash, not your friends, your family--not even you will want to know you!” She shrieked, so hysterical she didn't even care that she wasn't making any sense. "Trixie stop!" Twilight tried to talk her down. Trixie trembled. "I--Trixie is going to the hospital. She knows Rainbow Dash will be there. A-and Trixie will fix this! Everything will be perfect! Rainbow Dash will join Trixie and together we will become rich and famous and have everything we always wanted! I can give her that! Not you! Not you, Twilight Sparkle!" She spat venomously as she glared at Twilight, practically daring her to argue with her. "I can't give Rainbow Dash everything she ever wanted." Twilight admitted softly, lowering her head. Trixie beamed. Twilight raised her head. "But we can give her what she needs: friends who'll stick by her no matter what. Other ponies have tried tempting Rainbow Dash by offering up her dreams on a silver platter in exchange for abandoning the ponies she cared about. They didn't like the response she gave them. I don't think you'll have any better luck." Trixie fumed. Seeking to end their confrontation on her terms, she used her magic to create a smoke bomb. By the time Twilight cleared the smoke with her own magic, Trixie was already halfway out of sight, running to the hospital. Twilight sighed and closed her eyes as she readied her own magic. She knew she had to be there when Trixie arrived. Twilight just hoped things would turn out better than she was expecting them to. But she doubted it. & & &