I finally found out what that flag those soapbox ponies have been using represents; it's an updated version of the old Earth Pony Tribe flag. The original flag had four segments; one depicting the sun, one a hill, one crops, and one flowers. This flag was meant to symbolize the Earth Pony's connection to nature. However, their flag is a little different; it has no segments, simply half blue (top) and half reddish-brown (bottom) with the blue half having the sun, and the brown half having three saplings in a row. After discovering this is when I noticed something else; each and every one of these ponies are earth ponies. I never once spot a unicorn wearing their bands or badges, or a pegasus, or anything. In fact, they seem downright wary, if not all out rude, to anypony who isn't an earth pony!
I've sent Celestia a letter, hoping for a response. She hasn't been responding much as of late, save for a message a few days ago saying that she 'had everything under control' and that I shouldn't worry too much about unusual ponies on soap boxes.
On a (hopefully) unrelated note, I've noticed Big Mac coming by the library more and more often. I mean, it's not like an every day thing or anything, just every couple of days, and he's always checking out books. Not just any books either; 'advanced physics' type books. I'm going to be honest, I never knew Big Mac to be the type of pony to read those types of books. Oddest thing is, I don't think he's reading them all the way through; I questioned him about Cerebra's Law of Mass Conservation in Metamorphosis Spells, and he just fumbled about it. I guess he IS an earth pony, after all. Still, considering one of the books he picked up was 'Magic for Feather Brains', I figured he would have run across it at some point. I really must ask Applejack about that later.
I may have to do some good old fashioned sleuthing to figure out just what's going on here.
From the journal of former princess, Twilight Sparkle
One month, two days before Ponyville incident
***
I've begun to notice a pattern in which my friends hit me or otherwise render me unconscious today. That was the first thing I thought after I regained consciousness and any semblance of rational thought. Rainbow Dash stood over me, looking down at me. I had expected utter rage to be in her eyes; anger, fury, some form of emotion, the kind I once saw in my brash friend. That wasn't what I saw at all.
I saw eyes of stone cold; calculating, reasoning.
The eyes of a killer.
I felt uneasy. Those weren't the eyes of my old friend. They were the eyes of a pony who had seen things. A pony who had done things. I guess I should have figured it, by the odd, warped texture around her right eye; it was like a burn, but... neater. More like somepony had twisted the flesh on one side of her face around. The eye itself seemed undamaged; indeed, it had all the same clarity of it's twin, with the added intimidation of the skin surrounding it seeming like a scar of some sort.
And she spoke with a tone that was interrogating and held no emotional bond whatsoever.
"Who are you? Who do you work for?"
I gulped. "I-it's me, T-Twilight Sparkle..."
She stared at me for a moment. Then, she swung a hoof at me and struck me in the face; I could hear the sound of Pinkie screaming in surprise, but the ringing in my head temporarily dulled it out. Had Rainbow Dash always hit so hard? I pulled myself back up, finding myself suddenly very afraid as I looked back at her. "I'm going to ask again, and this time, you tell the truth. Who are you?"
"Rainbow Dash, it's really m-"
Once more, she hit me in the face, this time the other side, and I fell to my side. It was then that I noticed the slight tinge of copper in my mouth. I reached a hoof to the floor and tried to press myself up, spitting out a little blood as I got back to my hooves shakily.
"Dashie!" Shouted Pinkie, "Stop! Stop it!"
If Rainbow heard Pinkie, she ignored her."I'm going to ask one more time, and if you lie this time, I'm going to kill you."
Wait, what!?
"Who. Are. You."
I stared at her, my eyes wide and filled with fear, tears. Those cold, uncaring eyes. She would do it. She wasn't bluffing. I could tell, she was ready to kill me if I didn't give her an answer that satisfied her. What do I do? Do I give her a fake name? Do I pretend? Would she kill me anyway? With the Empire, I was afraid of being dragged away and imprisoned for the remainder of my life. Right now, I was afraid that said remainder wouldn't be long enough to wash my face.
"Dashie! It's Twilight!" shouted Pinkie, coming between me and my friend. "It's really, really her!"
Rainbow stared at Pinkie for a moment, then looked to me.
"Soarin'? Spirfire? Hold Pinkie."
In an instant, the two wonderbolts flew over to my pink friend and grabbed her forelegs and held her back. She struggled and pulled against them. "Blue Blood? Remove the shirt. Shake it down to make sure it's not hiding any weapons."
Pinkie's eyes widened. "Dashie! No!"
I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping that if I couldn't see it, it wouldn't hurt.
And then I felt my shirt leave my body.
And the room fell quiet.
I didn't dare open my eyes. I didn't dare look. I didn't dare see their faces. It was too much.
"Holy shit..." I heard Spitfire croak.
"Oh that is just wrong..." said a sympathetic Soarin'.
Pinkie Pie... I heard her sob a bit. "Oh Twilight... I'm so, so sorry..."
"It.. she... oh... oh no..." and, suddenly, I could hear the sound of Blue Blood throwing up.
There I was, exposed to everypony. My secret shame revealed. The horror I've hidden from all but Stock and Zecora for so many years. Two jagged scars lined my back.
Where my wings should have been.
"P-please... give it back..." I whimpered.
I felt the shirt slowly lower over my head, and I grabbed it with my own magic and pulled it down the rest of the way, pushing my hooves through the arm holes. I didn't care if they saw me cry. It may seem petty, and maybe it was, but... I didn't like ponies seeing it. I hid my face and kept on the floor, the situation finally catching up to me; being nearly beaten to death by my old friend, being exposed... it was all too much. I cried.
"... I see..." said Rainbow Dash. "I'm sorry for your loss, Twilight." So now she believes me? Why didn't I believe her? It wasn't just what was going on; her voice held no sense of sympathy. What had happened to this mare? I think at that moment, Soarin' and Spitfire let go of Pinkie, because she hurried to me and helped me to my hooves and hugged me. I returned the hug, trying to control my emotions. I know I hadn't had them for long, but they were still a part of me, you know? Losing them was still like losing a piece of myself.
"How are you alive?"
I have to admit, at this point, I was beginning to get irritated by Rainbow Dash. Even now she was asking more like an interrogator than a friend who found a friend. "Zecora saved me..." I said, sniffling. "... She found me at the edge of the Everfree Forest... she brought me back to her house, and nursed me back to health..."
"What happened? When we visited her hut, it didn't seem anypony had been there for a while." Did this mare have any soul left in her?
I cleared my throat a bit as I regained my composure. "As soon as Zecora thought I was well enough to make the trip, we fled by caravan. We ran into a few other refugees along the way, and fled to the White Tail Woods where we set up a sort of permacamp."
Rainbow quirked a brow. "The White Tail Hideaway? We knew of it, and kept tabs on it until the Empire figured out where it was, and most of the ponies who lived there either came into our circle or continued fleeing."
I sighed. "We didn't stay long." I looked up at Rainbow, trying to keep calm and remember that this mare treating me more like evidence than anything else was my friend at one time. "A few months passed, and I couldn't take not doing anything anymore. Zecora and I left to try to find you girls, and we did that for nearly six months before..." I froze. "... Before we went our separate ways?"
"Falling out?"
I shook my head. "No." I grimaced. "Reality."
***
THREE YEARS AGO...
It was dark. There was a slight nip in the air, but my hide had long since grown used to it. I stared from the brush out at the setting before us; a mansion on a hill. This had once been a getaway for none other than Prince Blue Blood himself, taken by the new regime and deposited to their mission. Of course, their commander was a pony of wealth, even before the revolution. I don't know if he simply refused to have sub-par living arrangements, if this was convenient, or if he simply had nowhere else to be right now.
All I knew is that the rumors along the grapevine said he knew where my friends were.
"Are you sure that this is wise? You don't even bare disguise!"
I nodded to my zebra friend. "I know... but it wouldn't matter. I have a horn on my head, so unless we cut that off, and while I know you could, I'd rather you not, there's no way a disguise would work." All of the ponies here wore barrettes that revealed their foreheads. My little walking-around hat won't suffice, and nopony was supposed to be here but soldiers; if I showed up, they'd arrest me on sight.
"Tell me then, what is your plan? I shall help any way I can."
"Simple..." I started. "We're going to have to sneak in. I'm going to try to make my way to the General's quarters and see if he has any written documents. If he's in there, I'll try to shake him down; a silencing dome will keep him from alerting any guards, and I'll be able to grab answers from him with good, old fashioned threats of violence."
"Surely you do not intend to bring harm to our general friend?"
"No" I sighed. "But he doesn't know that. As far as he knows, I'm a pony on edge and I'm ready to disintegrate him with a thought. Once I get the answers I need, I'll teleport back here."
"And what is it you wish me to do?"
"I need you to search the house for anything we can use. You already have your disguise, so you may not have to sneak much, thankfully. From what I understand, there is a ledger of known fugitives, both captured and wanted, in the barracks for the thugs to access. If you can, swipe that, though don't endanger yourself if it's too risky. Meet me back here when you do leave."
"I mean you to worry not... but what if one of us is caught?"
I took a breath. "If you aren't back here within two hours, I'll come back. I won't let them take you."
"You are noble, this is true... but Twilight... what of you?"
I stared at her for a few minutes. I smiled, trying to hide the nervousness I had in the very concept of it. "If I'm not back here within the same time limit, just leave." She simply stared and nodded slowly; I could tell she didn't like the idea. And so, I took a deep breath. "Alright, here I go."
We both sneaked in our separate ways, keeping to the brush around the house. There were guards protecting each entrance. On a balcony, I could see a pony wielding a battle saddle; I felt a slight pain in my right hind leg at the mere sight of the tool. I looked around, trying to gauge an entry point; it was then that I noticed an outside exit to a basement, or perhaps a wine cellar? Rather than debate in my head, I analyzed the area round it; one guard. I suppose with the battle saddle on the balcony and the actual entrances guarded, they didn't feel the basement needed much protection? Unfortunately, it was out of those ponies' line of sight.
This was too easy.
I moved to be sure nopony else would see me, and looked around; good, this pony was the only one who might notice my action. I fired off a sleeping spell, and before he could shout, he fell to the floor snoozing like a log. I wrapped a telekinetic field around him and pulled him into the bushes nearby, making sure to tie his hooves together. Quickly, quietly, I trotted forward; I was wearing a sleek black catsuit to allow myself some level of camouflage. I neared the basement door and tugged on it to find that it was unlocked. This was way too easy.
As I descended the staircase, I figured out why.
Before me were several bunks, each with a hoof-locker at the end. Nopony was down here. 'Well' I thought to myself, 'I found the barracks...' Moving quickly, I gently eased the door shut behind me. I made my way towards the exit, but I stopped; what if there were guards on the other side of that door? Would they guard the inside? I took a deep breath, and prepared myself to act quick. I shoved the door open and leaped out into a hallway...
to find it empty.
The sound of voices around the corner didn't give me time to consider my luck as I quickly (and quietly) shut the door back and rushed to the opposite direction. Making sure to peak around the corner, I found this path was empty as well. I managed to just barely escape the sight of two guards patrolling the halls.
There were several doors, but I couldn't tell which of them lead where. I focused magic into my horn and cast a spell I had learned for situations like this; in an instant, the world turned grey, and all living things became visible through walls as shapes of blue light. Why hadn't I thought to cast this at that door? Stress makes me forget some important details.
I made my way to a nearby staircase and climbed it, making sure to turn about to take in my surroundings. As I reached the top, I noted several ponies heading my way; I didn't even need the 'detect life' spell to hear them laughing up a storm. I was quick to hide in a nearby broom closet, and pray that none of them had any intention of cleaning anything. I watched them pass me by, none the wiser that a unicorn was among them.
Eventually, I was able to leave my hiding place and hurry along. As I progressed down the hall, I canceled the spell as I neared a pair of large double-doors. The General's quarters. Chances were, I'd find answers here. I pushed the doors open and stepped inside; naturally, it was well furnished, with a large bed, plush pillows, a chest at the end, a desk, and several decorative items that made me wonder how often it's occupant intended others to see it?
I closed the door behind me and trotted towards the desk. Yanking it open with my magic, I pulled several pieces of paper, many blank, some with inconsequential things on them such as poems or doodles. It was then that I noticed a journal. "Perfect" I said to myself, levitating it from the desk and into my saddlebag.
"Wha-who are you?"
I turned around to find a stallion, mint-green with a brown mane and brown eyes, wearing a noble's coat, staring back at me. I quickly slammed the door shut behind him and sealed it, and threw up a soundproof barrier around us. Naturally, he began shouting and screaming and pounding at the edges of the dome.
"It's no use, nopony can hear you" I said. I didn't move closer to him; he might have a knife. For now, it's best to keep my distance.
"What do you want!? Money? Freedom? I-I-I have connections, I can make it so you live like one of the princesses! Nopony will have to know!"
"I'm not here for any of that" I said. Okay, maybe I was, but not the freedom he was offering. "I'm here because you may hold information that I find extremely valuable. Now, you can tell me what I want to know, and I'll be on my merry way, or you can keep quiet, and I can see how many species of rodent I can turn you into."
He gulped and nodded, a mix of relief and tension washing over him. "O-of course! Of course... what do you want to know?"
"The Elements of Harmony" I said. "Where are they?"
"They're.... I think the archives said they're lost...?"
"No, not the actual elements" I groaned. "The bearers! Where are the bearers of harmony!"
He shifted a bit. "Uh... well... Princess Twilight Sparkle is dead...." At least he didn't recognize me. "... The others I...." He stopped for a moment, looking around the room. "... I really don't know... I-I think there's a ledger under my bed with that information if you'll just let me-"
"No" I said. "You stay right there. I'll get it. If you come anywhere near me, you'll be vaporized." Slowly, without taking my eyes off of him, I leaned down under his bed and reached beneath it, keeping my eyes on him. I noticed him moving slowly around. "What are you doing?"
"K-keeping my distance as best as possible so I don't get vaporized..." I guess I might have laid that one on a bit hard. I kept my eyes on him though, hoofing around and finding a book. I pulled it out, and noticed the cover.
'150 ways to make your friends jealous.'
"What?"
"What can I say..." he said, reaching a hoof towards a candle hanging off the wall. "I like being better." He yanked it instantly, and in that moment, I heard a buzzing noise.
And then, a sharp pain shot through my head. I yelped and fell to the floor, clutching my skull as the magic I had been using dissipated. He stepped towards me, grinning. "Oh you poor, stupid mare. Did you honestly think I'd risk not having a spellbreaker on my property?"
I groaned, forcing my eyes open. "Wha... but.... "
"We made them bigger" He smirked, rubbing a hoof to his coat. "Specially designed to protect property. I dare say, not only do they reach further than the kind used by Spellbreaker Soldiers, they're also more powerful, so I imagine that a unicorn such as yourself must be quite disoriented right now."
A sense of vertigo did indeed complicate matters for me. I felt dizzy, my horn was numb, and I was completely powerless. "I don't like to keep it on; at first it's harmless, but after an hour or so, even we earth ponies start feeling a bit weak. But to a unicorn, it's effects are immediate, and I imagine rather unpleasant at this strength." He trotted towards me and nudged me with a hoof. "I imagine you're so weak right now you can barely move your head without the room spinning."
He sighed and reached to his side, withdrawing a sword. "You're a lovely mare, but I'm afraid I don't take kindly to having my life threatened. So, here's the new deal. I'm going to torture you until I've had my fill, and then I'm going to have you burned alive. Fitting death for a witch, no?"
He swung the sword. I screamed as I felt it slash my cheek. Blood flowed, and I whimpered. I was trapped. I was powerless. He raised the sword above his head as if ready to make the killing blow; wasn't he just going to torture me first? Wait a minute, was I going to argue this? I winced, seeing my life flash before my eyes.
Suddenly, two hooves grabbed his head. He only had time to look shocked before they twisted, and he fell to the side in a heap, his neck at an unnatural angle. Standing behind him was none other than Zecora, dressed in a Guard's uniform, her coat painted white. She stared at me in shock, then looked down to the corpse before her. Her expression shifted to normal, however, and she helped me to my hooves, though with the Spellbreaker still working, I was wobbly at best, and the vertigo made it hard to keep myself aimed straight.
"They will surely find this soon. For us to flee would be a boon." She put a hoof around my shoulder and lead me to one of the windows and opened it, looking outside. After a few moments of scrutinization, she looked towards me. "Trust me Twilight, it will be alright."
"What?"
Before she said anything more, Zecora tossed me out the window, and I fell screaming until I landed in a bush - not the most graceful window exit I've ever made. The sound of hooves rushing towards my direction afforded me no time to consider this though; it seemed I was caught, and this time, there was no way for me to escape.
"Intrude in the mansion proper! The general's dead, we must stop her!" shouted Zecora from the window above. Okay, maybe I didn't put enough trust in her? I heard the sounds of hooves rushing away from the bush, and the sound of doors opening, and ponies shouting orderst o one another. Slowly, I crawled away from the bush, trying my hardest to move in a straight line as the effects of the Spellbreaker were still hounding me. I heard the shuffling as Zecora leaped from the window into the bush herself, before leaping out after me; as she ran by me, she quickly scooped me onto her back, and we made our escape into the wilderness.
We ran for a while, and slowly, I felt the numbness and vertigo fade. As soon as I could feel my magic again, we teleported a bit further away. When we finally reached our caravans and finally had a chance to breathe, Zecora turned towards me, panting, shaking her head.
"I found the Spellbreaker in a room. It was much bigger; I thought you doomed!"
I panted and gulped down a mix of oxygen and saliva to clear my parched throat. "That... barely rhymes..." Maybe not the best thing to say to the mare who has saved my life on more than one occasion... but she didn't take offense at least.
"Twilight, my friend, you could have died!" She shouted, pointing at me. "He was prepared to carve your hide!"
"I know!" I shouted back, more than a little exhausted in spirit and body. "I know..." I gulped. It wouldn't be the first time one of these lunatics tried to kill me. "... Look, Zecora, I'm sorry. I didn't see anypony with Spellbreakers patrolling the area, and I had the detect life spell to let me see into the building, so I thought it was safe... I had no idea they were making those things king-sized..." Zecora only sighed, looking sadly at her hooves. It was then that I realized; she had just killed somepony. We had done a lot of crazy things in this time, but never have either of us killed anypony. "Zecora, I'm sorry-"
"No" she said, though not firmly; it was gentle. She smiled a sad smile at me. "It is a shame, I will not lie... but it was either you or him to die..." She once more averted her gaze to her hooves, her expression once more mournful. "To snuff a life is so much weight... but to lose a friend brings pain so great..." She looked to me again, shaking her head. "I wish I could find another way... to spare his life, and save the day. But you he was ready to end, and I shan't allow harm come to my friend."
I didn't know how to respond. I wanted to tell her she didn't have to kill him, she could have just knocked him out, or tricked him, or something... but... she panicked. She was in a tough situation. And had she not done what she had done, I might not even be breathing right now. I could see it in her eyes; it was hurting her. She had blood on her hooves, and it was hurting her. She had blood on her hooves, she had taken the life of another, and the stain on her soul would never wash out. It was then that I had a realization.
I had driven my friend to kill.
I was not only responsible for that pony's death, but also for the blood on my friend's hooves.
The mare who saved my life. Who kept me company in a lonely world. Who massaged my back when the damaged remains og my wing muscles acted up. The mare I know who wanted nothing more than to heal, and my own foolishness had forced her to kill. We had been doing this for six months. We had been traveling around, sneaking into camps, talking at shady bars, everything to gather information. I sighed and shook my head. I had a lot of thinking to do.
"Zecora... let's go... let's get away from here and get some rest..."
***
"I read that journal we had taken from him. I discovered that despite every rumor I had heard that he had been gathering intel on the remaining bearers of Harmony, the general's notes only had the following to say; I was dead, Applejack and Pinkie Pie were 'co-operative', and that you, Fluttershy, and Rarity couldn't be found." I looked at all the ponies staring at me; each of them seemed enthralled. Pinkie had a bag of popcorn. But Rainbow still seemed cold.
Rainbow quirked a brow. "And Zecora?"
I sighed and shook my head. "Like I said, we parted ways. I told her I couldn't force her in a situation like that again. I told her to go somewhere safe... that I would work alone. She begged me not to; begged me to follow her, to find somewhere safe... but I couldn't. I had to try." I looked at Pinkie, then Rainbow. "After a while... I lost hope. I went to Vanhoover when I heard word that I might find somepony there. I found Octavia trying to free Vinyl Scratch, who had been captured and detained... helped Vinyl escape... but at that point I hit a dead end. My contacts had no more information, whatever money I had was spent, and breaking Vinyl free put a high alert around the area so even hiding in the woods was a risky concept. Octavia gave me a place to stay, and I looked for a job... found one with somepony who became a dear friend, and moved in there so that Octavia could travel around and find Vinyl somewhere safe to hide." I shrugged, looking at the ceiling. "We kept in touch and wrote each other, using coded words and phrases. I settled into my new life, accepted my limitations, and the rest is history."
"That's an amazing tale, Twilight" said Rainbow. "So, that's what happened to General Grass. We had heard he was killed, but could never figure out how... our organization was in it's infancy then, and I highly doubted any of ours at the time would be so bold." She smirked. "It's true he had been tracking us, though. He was basically a joke; his status as a general was only earned due to his money and his connections, and he wanted to glorify himself by finding and capturing the remaining non-earth pony elements."
I had to ask. "And now?"
Rainbow quirked her brow. "Now? Now what?"
Did I really want to know? "You said you weren't so bold as to kill a general. What about now?" Rainbow grimaced a bit, but did not miss a beat.
"We do what must be done, regardless of the cost."
I didn't like to think of that. I had so many questions to ask her. So much to wonder, and yet so much that I wasn't sure I wanted to know. Mister Cake was right; some of my friends had changed... but just how much? It was then that I was struck by a familiar friend, and I winced and stiffened, hissing in pain as the muscles in my back seized up, which I think made Pinkie, Soarin' and Spitfire jump. Pinkie hurried to my side. "Twilight? What's wrong?"
I whimpered. "Back hurts... back hurts..."
The three pegasai exchanged glances, and then Spitfire stepped forward, eying me over. "I assume a result of mediocre attempt to repair the damage of your severed wings?"
"N-not exactly..." I gulped. "Zecora... didn't have top-of-the-line surgery equipment... but she did what she could..."
Spitfire sighed and shook her head. "I see..." She looked to Soarin' and Rainbow Dash. "It happens a lot, especially with pegasai who were victims of the first raids. Back then, they liked cutting off the wings to 'even things out." She looked to me sadly. "If there's one thing I have to give them, at least now they wait until you're in one of their camps to clip your wings." Why didn't that bring me any comfort?
"Twilight?"
I looked up to see Pinkie staring worriedly at me. "Y-yes?"
"Do you mind if I help?"
"H-how?"
"Just... relax."
Pinkie placed her hooves on the bottom of my shirt; I admit, I tensed up, but I let her pull it up and off of me, and once more, I found myself exposed. "Lay down on your stomach." I slowly eased myself to the floor, ignoring the pain of my muscles screaming to stop as best I could. Pinkie then sat next to me and placed her hooves on my back...
and started massaging.
At first, it hurt, but I quickly felt the tension leave. I felt my muscles relax. I don't think even Stock was this good. I dare say, I think I blushed a little. After a few minutes, she leaned down to look me in the eye. "Better?" I simply nodded, and she stopped and stood up. I got back to my hooves and moved my shoulders around; there was a slight bit of tension there, but Stock also usually gives me massages for a bit longer to work it all out. Pinkie smiled. "I learned how to give massages because ponies love massages. Teacup knows how too, but I figured you'd rather have a friend do it for you."
I smiled to Pinkie, happy that at least one of my friends was familiar. "Thank you, Pinkie..."
"If we can break up the love-fest here girls..." interrupted Rainbow Dash, "I think we have other matters to discuss." She turned her attention to me. "Twilight. You may not realize this, but you being alive? That is very, very weighty stuff. With the Crystal Empire having severed all ties to Equestria and hidden themselves away with magic, and with Celestia and Luna's locations an absolute mystery, you are one of the few members of royalty active in Equestria."
"Wait, what?" I gasped.
"We have Prince Blue Blood, too, of course." Rainbow pointed out; the Prince charmingly rose his nose upward to show his stats as an elite who would not drown if the water in Equestria got to nose-height. "All other royalty are beyond our grasp. Add this to the fact everypony thought you were dead..." It was then that I saw Rainbow smile. Grin really. "Yes... this is a really big morale booster..."
"Wait Rainbow... what are you planning?"
She turned to me and nodded. "Twilight, welcome to the Resistance."
"What?" I was shocked. "Why should I join you guys!?" It's not that I didn't want to help. The Resistance just has a history of... killing.
"Because, you have two options." She stepped closer. "One, you don't, you head back out there and live a life in hiding and fear of being found out, and never lifting a hoof to help anypony. Or two, you join us, and do something meaningful."
"And who says I can't do something meaningful without joining you?"
Rainbow laughed at this. "Twilight, have you seen the world? They're making the stuff that kicked our flanks at the Ponyville Massacre stronger. The Earth Ponies are encouraging industry to fill the void of magical services. Rumor has it they even built a machine to move the sun and moon around!" She shook her head. "There are no other organizations. Any who have tried have either died or been integrated into ours. It's either us, a life of hiding, or certain doom."
It hadn't struck me, really. A machine that does Celestia and Luna's jobs? It was preposterous! Of course... if you had told me years ago that they'd have a machine that disrupts magic, I'd have said the same thing. Did I really have a choice?
"Can I think on it?"
Rainbow nodded. "Take all the time you need. Pinks, would you be alright giving her boarding until she comes to her senses? We're pushing it for housing down here as is."
Pinkie jumped up and down, nodding. "I'd be glad to! I have just the room for Twilight! We'll fill it with books, and... and... books! And... a telescope? Oh! And books!" We left the room, Pinkie bouncing along, Teacup following with the usual air of a dedicated butlerpony. Now, I was a bit confused, and a bit worried. Was Rainbow right? Was this really my only option? Perhaps I could start my own organization? Of course, that seemed somewhat silly when I had all the available resources; perhaps I could help structure a 'less murder' policy? I was suddenly more stressed, and I found the dregs Pinkie hadn't worked out of my tensed muscles slowly knotting back up.
"Twilight Sparkle!?"
I turned around, and to my surprise, found Trixie running towards me. Was she going to challenge me to another magic duel? I really didn't have the time or desire to deal with her today. "Yes Trixie?"
Trixie stood there, fidgeting a bit. "Well, Trixie had heard of your supposed death... and... well... Trixie knows that we never really did get along well... and... Trixie just.... Trixie...." She gulped a bit, and then, did something that left me speechless; she threw herself forward and hugged me tightly.
I was utterly dumbfounded. I put my hooves around her to not seem cold, and was more surprised when I heard a sniffle.
"Trixie is glad you are okay..."
After a bit, she let go, cleared her throat, and wiped her tears away, straightening her poise. "It... it would please Trixie very much if you told nopony of that..." She looked over my shoulder at Pinkie and Teacup. "That goes for you too as well."
Teacup nodded. "As you wish, Madam Trixie."
"You got it Trix!" said Pinkie with a hop.
With that, Trixie gave a gentle nod, smiling to me, and then turned, trotting back towards the vault where their meeting was taking place before we had interrupted. I turned to look to Pinkie, who simply smiled. "She took it pretty hard when we heard you died."
Even Trixie cared? It was pleasant, and I admit... I spent most of the rest of the day smiling. Maybe I had more friends than I realized? I suppose that being part of the Resistance might not be a bad thing. Not saying I'm joining, mind you... but... there are good ponies there.
TO BE CONTINUED...