//------------------------------//
// XII: Confrontation 
// Story: Where in Equestria are we? 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

	"I hate you so much Vinyl Scratch."

The sentence alone hung in the air after Vinyl and her allies had returned to the Terminal; after they had saved Trixie from the clutches of the Elements of Hate and the Hateful Six. Vinyl hadn't expected Trixie to say she was glad to see them all again, but the comment that the showmare had actually made was so shocking that Vinyl's heart nearly skipped a beat. Octavia gasped and Derpy wept some tears as Lyra stood face to face with the mare, determination burning in her eyes.

"How can you stand there and say that to the pony who saved your life countless times?" Lyra asked, no, shouted at the mare that was the cause of so much of their troubles, "Vinyl has been truthful to the three, no, the four of us since this adventure began when we stepped into the Terminal. And yet here you are, saying that you hate her for saving your seemingly worthless flank."

"Easily," Trixie answered the mare, unaware of her eyes changing to a deep red permanently, "It is because she has been lying to us as to how many allies Oblivion already has waiting for us."

"What are you talking about?" Vinyl asked, turning to stare at Trixie, "I have told you all about my blunder and the creation of Death Scratch. Not to mention the fact that the Elements of Hate and the Hateful Six stand in our way of gathering the keys."

"But you haven't told them about the Seven Deadly Sins," Trixie replied, her own anger rising despite the calm composure she held, "or the other Riders of the Four Horsemen."

"Where did you hear about those ponies?" Vinyl asked, fear creeping into her voice as she remembered the dangerous mares with ease, "No pony should know about them anymore."

"The Elements of Hate told me," Trixie answered, not even bothering to hide the fact, "or more like Twilight Sparkle told me about how each of the Elements represent one of the seven sins, leaving the seat of Pride open for the one that Lord Oblivion chooses to claim it. And the fact that Pinkamena is really the Element of Violence, the Sin of Gluttony, and the Rider of War."

"Why did they bother telling you all these things if you were their sworn enemy?" Octavia wondered loudly, making her thoughts clear to both sides of the argument.

"I'm wondering the same thing myself," Vinyl admitted, clearly missing the fact that Trixie had referred to Oblivion as Lord Oblivion, "That still doesn't tell us where the Key of Greed is hidden, which means that we will have to make a secondary trip to the World of Greed to recover it."

"To recover what you were tasked with obtaining a second time," Trixie spat, "Don't be so sure that the key is in the World of Greed, Vinyl. Lady Rarity told me that she kept the key on her at all times, which means that the key will be with her at any given time on any given world. You'll have to search them all to discover her location in order to win back the key."

"What's gotten into you Trixie?" Vinyl asked, confused as to the mares actions as of late, "Since when were you such a quitter and a coward? The Trixie I knew would never say that there was no hope in recovering the keys and defeating the evil Oblivion. Yet here you are, saying that we'll never recover the Key of Greed from Rarity."

"I never said that," Trixie said, teleporting right in front of Vinyl with her staff drawn, "but when the Horsemen come riding you and the rest of your, 'allies', will lose along with the Harmony that you are foolishly trying to protect. Let's face it Vinyl Scratch, you aren't any closer to saving the Universe than you were at the beginning of your adventure over a thousand years ago. Admit defeat gracefully and return the keys to me."

Shining Armor could not believe what he was hearing; the mare known as Trixie was beginning to sound a lot like one of the drones that they had captured a few months ago. She had appeared to have given up the hope that Oblivion could be defeated and seemed to want to have nothing to do with everything. Except for trying to make their commander see things her way and surrender to the darkness.

"You have changed Trixie," Vinyl softly admitted, not allowing herself to be fooled by the mare any longer, "I thought you were just acting so we could get the keys without raising any suspicion, but now I see that that wasn't your intention. You have fallen Trixie, that I can see now. You will be defeated here and now and we will cast you aside in one of the remote worlds to think about your actions. Maybe you will regret choosing to side with Oblivion, but until he is defeated you will feel his presence until the day you die."

"Die you ungrateful maggot," Trixie shouted, unleashing her magic at Vinyl, who managed to teleport over to Shining Armor with ease.

"Everypony stand down," Vinyl shouted, gathering all the attention in the Terminal to them, "I will deal with Trixie by myself."

Trixie smirked and ran forward, allowing the darkness to leap off of her and rush straight for the mare her hate was focused on. Vinyl drew her sword and sliced through the darkness with ease, moving just a bit to Trixie's left to avoid the sudden bolt of magic coming her way. Vinyl jumped into the air and slammed the base of her hilt into Trixie's head, crushing the hat she had always wore with ease and easily gave the showmare a concussion.

Trixie growled and darkness surged around her as her tackled Vinyl into a wall, crushing the area around them as others gathered around them. She raised her staff and channeled her magic through it, sharpening the end to a jagged point so she could pierce Vinyl's shoulder with it. Then a golden chain wrapped around her right front leg, causing her to look back and see Octavia holding the very chain.

"You will not harm my friend you monster," Octavia shouted, her sword at the ready.

"I care not for this anymore," Trixie said, shaking her head as another gateway opened up next to her, "I guess we will see each other in the world under Fluttershy's command soon enough my dear Scratch. Until then I suggest you learn to trust your allies more and actually tell them whats coming their way. Be seeing you."

With that Trixie, having already let go of Vinyl, stepped up to the gateway and smiled, the golden chain fading away completely. With the iron bracelet still secured around her wrist and the key of violence around her neck she stepped into the next realm and bid her former allies good bye.

"Faust almighty," Vinyl muttered, nearly slamming her head into the ground, "She STILL has the bloody Key of Violence with her."