Hoofed by Your Own Petard

by Tortfeasor

Truth Will Come to Light

Disclaimer: Ha ha! The not owning has been doubled!

Just how far was it from Coltcinnati to Manehatten? Applejack had guessed it would take about a week of travel but she had never mentioned the landscape would be this monotonous. Even Pinkie Pie’s spirits seemed tested by the sheer repetitiveness of their trek.

More than that, they were all on edge. After what they’d done in Coltcinnati there was no way Nightmare Moon didn’t know who they were and more importantly what they were doing. Eyes were constantly flitting to the sky to look for white pegasi in golden armor calling down Trixie and the royal guards.

For all their supposed preparedness they were still caught off guard when they rounded a corner to find themselves face to face with Trixie and a squad of guards.

“The Great and Powerful Trixie would say this was just business, but as much trouble as you six have been Trixie is going to enjoy this.”

Rainbow Dash took to the sky, this time unhindered by a roof, and engaged several guard pegasi. Unlike her fellow pegasus Fluttershy quickly moved back from the battle and readied herself to tend to any wounded. Applejack and Pinkie Pie leapt together into the guards who remained on the ground. Again their opponents didn’t expect them to attack while outnumbered and again they used it to their advantage.

That left Rarity and Twilight once again facing off against Trixie. Rather that left Rarity facing off against Trixie and Twilight looking on.

Being in much better condition than the last time they’d fought Rarity seemed to be holding her own with much less effort. Keeping an eye on the other two unicorns Twilight turned her attention to helping her other friends. She didn’t think her magic was back to where it had been before Coltcinnati quite yet but it was more than enough to pick up small rocks and fling them at the guards.

The trouble started when one of the flying guards broke off from fighting Rainbow Dash to attack Fluttershy. The yellow pegasus couldn’t possibly hope to defend herself from an ill tempered rabbit let alone a trained soldier. Twilight looked around and saw that it was up to her to help her friend.

Grabbing the diving pegasus with her magic seemed a good idea at the time. It did not occur to Twilight until afterwards that such an abrupt stop might do bad things to a pony’s neck. The snap wasn’t audible to the lavender unicorn but the particularly abrupt cessation of resistance told her everything she needed to know about what she’d just done.

“Oh no, not again,” Twilight stumbled back. This was the third time killed somepony using her magic and the first without losing all control of herself.

“No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no,” Twilight dropped onto her belly and closed her eyes against the world.

All of a sudden that bottomless well of power was there and drawing her in. Twilight fought as hard as she could but she could feel the power welling up in her horn until it couldn’t possibly do anything but leap outwards.

Twilight felt herself lift from the ground and a scream that could only have come from her rang in her ears. She felt the power in her horn crest and it leapt out in a single unbelievably large pulse. Twilight fell to the ground and felt the air explode from her lungs in one great burst.

She opened her eyes to see a ruined landscape that looked more like the surface of the moon than anywhere in Equestria. As far as she could see there was only ruined and burnt desolation. A few smoldering piles of dust was all she could see to mark that there might have ever been another pony anywhere near her. Perpetually just outside the edge of her vision Twilight failed to notice the midnight black alicorn smile and disappear.

“What have I done?” Twilight felt hot tears start running from her eyes.

A terrible scream of pain and anger ripped from her throat but there was nopony there to hear it.

Twilight Sparkle jerked awake in the small copse of trees they’d taken shelter in to sleep. Her fur was matted with sweat and her throat was as dry as the desert one had to cross to reach the mild west. She looked at the destruction around her and saw… her friends peacefully sleeping. Had that been a dream? It had felt so real.

Hesitantly she took hold of her canteen with her magic and lifted it to her lips. Everything worked like it was supposed to. Her horn didn’t feel like bursting and she didn’t launch the poor canteen halfway back to Canterlot.

“Hi Twilight!” Pinkie Pie appearing out of nowhere did come close to making Twilight jump halfway back to Canterlot with surprise.

“Pinkie Pie?” Twilight could feel her heart pounding in her chest. “Weren’t you just asleep?”

“Yep,” the pink earth pony wore a humongous smile despite the hour. “But once I’m awake I don’t like wasting any time.”

Twilight couldn’t help laughing a little at her friend’s antics. “Normally I’d take any chance I can get to catch up on my sleep but I don’t think I’m going back to sleep tonight, today, whatever time it is.”

“Oh that’s okay,” Pinkie Pie said, “if we all get up earlier we can find your book earlier. And we can have a ‘we found Twilight’s book’ party! Then we can beat Nightmare Moon and we’ll have the most epic party in the history of Equestria!”

“I don’t know about that,” Twilight sighed, “we still have to find the book in the first place. And even if we find the book and it says how Celestia beat Nightmare Moon there’s no guarantee we can pull it off. And besides, I’m dangerous to be around. I’ve been dreaming about it, I could hurt all of you without meaning to.”

“Do you think we care about that?” Pinkie Pie looked truly curious. “You’re our friend Twilight. We trust you, or we wouldn’t be here.”

“But it’s been getting worse when I lose control,” Twilight groaned, “it hurts more and more ponies each time. I don’t know how I didn’t kill you back in Coltcinnati and I can’t be sure that I won’t the next time I lose control. I’m still not sure I did the right thing when I let Rarity talk me out of having my horn removed.”

Pinkie Pie started giggling. “Are you going to worry about that all the time you worry wart? Rarity’s teaching you how to control your magic. Fluttershy was able to stop you when you were all wooshy glowy. And the rest of us will do everything we can to make sure you don’t go all wooshy glowy again. Now turn that frown upside down miss!”

Twilight’s first attempt at a smile left much to be desired. Pinkie Pie was not however a pony easily deterred from making others laugh. Once the pink pony started laughing it proved infectious and soon both were on their backs gasping with peals of laughter.

“Pinkie Pie,” came the grumble from a rainbow colored patch sticking out from under a blanket, “can you stop getting up so early? Some of us are trying to sleep.”

“No can do Dashie!” Pinkie pie said between laughs.

“You want me to what?” Twilight gaped in disbelief.

“You heard me darling,” Rarity had a fantastic poker face. “All of our belongings for as long as you can manage. Every time you’ve pushed your magic has been through a catastrophic release. I want you to push it under controlled conditions so you can learn your limits, how to handle them, and hopefully build up your magic.”

“But Rarity I’ve been trying to get my magic down for years.”

Rarity did not appear to care that Twilight not might her laughing at that. “Oh Twilight. You and your teachers went about teaching you in completely the wrong way. After seeing two of your little shows I’ve come to think you probably have enough magical power to make Trixie and I look like bumbling amateurs.”

“Leave the joking to Pinkie Pie,” Twilight glared at the other unicorn. “Believe me, I’m incredibly thankful that you’re teaching me more magic but I came to terms long ago that I’ll never be anything special. Besides, we’re trying to not attract attention. Don’t you think one pony carrying six ponies gear is something that would draw notice?”

“I’m sure anypony we come across could be easily convinced that you’re merely a good friend doing a favor. And please, Twilight, have some faith in me. I may not be a professional teacher but I do know the methods Celestia used to teach me and everything I’ve seen you do makes me think that these are the sorts of lessons you need to make real progress with your magic. I for one think that I speak for all of us when I say that the rewards are well worth the risks.”

“I trust Rarity’s fast talking. If it lets me not carry my saddlebags for a few hours then I’m all for Twilight doing some learning.”

“Gee thanks Rainbow Dash,” Twilight turned her glare to the pegasus.

“Twilight,” Applejack was much more diplomatic than the other two, “we’re not asking you to carry our bags the rest of the way to Manehatten. And if Rarity is even partly correct then you could improve your magic a considerable amount. If it will help pass the time I’ll tell you about Manehatten and how I came to live there.”

“Fine,” Twilight sighed.

To say that Applejack was nervous on her first day of school in Manehatten would be quite the understatement. She’d gotten up extra early, and her aunt had helped make sure her hair was perfect. None of the city born students would be able to criticize her appearance. Likewise her uncle had helped make sure all her bags were packed and that she’d done all the reading for the first day. Applejack was normally the sort of pony to have done all that on her own but between her nervousness and trying to truly settle in Manehatten she was glad for the help.

That evening found Applejack crying into her aunt’s mane. “They kept laughing at me because I’m from Ponyville and it’s not a fancy city. Then when I couldn’t take it anymore and I started talking in a drawl they laughed at me for that!”

“Don’t cry Applejack dear,” her aunt stroked her mane. “They don’t know you yet and they’re just acting out. I’m sure after a few days they’ll figure out how stupid they’re being and they’ll start to warm up to you. If it keeps going your uncle and I can always talk to your teacher. We’ll see if suspending half your class gets the message through that bullying our niece is a bad idea.”

Her uncle’s tone was surprisingly gruff. “I know I didn’t spend as much time on the farm as my brother but I know how much hard work goes into bucking apples. If any of the other students ever looks like they want to do more than laugh at you I want you to just buck something near them. If that doesn’t make them think twice I don’t know what will.”

“Thanks Aunt and Uncle Orange,” Applejack wiped her eyes dry with a hoof. “I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

Junior high, Applejack could hardly believe she was already in junior high school. She could hardly believe how much she wanted to go to junior high for that matter. Her aunt and uncle had made good on their promise to speak with her elementary school teachers and after an anti-bullying seminar failed to fix the problem several students had indeed been suspended for bullying. That combined with the increased awareness of the teachers had succeeded in more or less stopping the other students from picking on the country born pony. It had done nothing however to make Applejack anything but an outsider to her classmates.

When her aunt and uncle suggested she attend a different middle school than the rest of her classmates Applejack’s response had been mild irritation that it had taken them so long to suggest the idea.

She wouldn’t lie and say she wasn’t from Ponyville, but if nopony ever asked then she would be just another student. She hadn’t spoken with a drawl in a year and a half and while she didn’t want to lose the ability she was simply becoming more comfortable speaking like a cultured Manehatten pony. And most of all the school had a student run paper! She wouldn’t be able to join it her first year but in her second and third years she could finally plunge into the reason she’d decided to stay in Manehatten.

“How was my niece’s first day of junior high?” Uncle Orange walked through the door that same evening.

“It went very well,” Applejack called from the dining room where her aunt had her setting the table. “There are several other ponies not from Manehatten and I’ve lived here the longest of any of them. Hardly anypony seems to care whether or not a pony is from Manehatten.”

“I told you that a new school would do wonders for you,” Aunt Orange carried out several plates of food the chefs had prepared earlier. “It’s such a relief to see you at a different school than those… barbarians.”

“Thank you dear,” Uncle Orange took his plate. “So have your teachers given you any homework yet Applejack?”

“Don’t remind me,” Applejack groaned.

High school, Applejack swallowed more fear than she cared to admit at the thought. She’d done well in junior high and wound up editor in chief of the student paper but now she was a small fish in a big pond. And even if she was stuck with all the menial work she was on the school paper’s staff from day one. Her first assignment, interviewing the principal about the upcoming year, was about as dull and unoriginal as it got but it was a start.

Her aunt and uncle thought that their niece deserved better but they tended to think that about most everything. Applejack appreciated the thought but having risen to editor in chief once she knew she could do it again. She hadn’t given up on her dream of being an investigative journalist but she now knew that there were a great many steps she had to go through first.

“Excuse me miss, Applejack was it?” The principal’s secretary looked over at the young mare. “I need to go use the little filly’s room. If Miss Hackney finishes up with her other appointment she’ll let you in on her own.”

Applejack nodded and the other pony left the office. On her own Applejack lasted about thirty seconds before her curiosity about Miss Hackney’s other appointment made her sneak up to the door and press her ear against it. Applejack was rather proud of herself for lasting that long.

The door was too thick for her to make out exactly what was being said but what she could make out sounded quite interesting indeed. She couldn’t be exactly sure, but it sounded like there was some interesting bookkeeping going on at the school. None of her teachers had covered accounting or the like in school yet but she remembered very well the newspaper article that had convinced her to stay in Manehatten.

Not being able to make out exactly what was being said Applejack only barely made it back to the chair she’d been sitting at when the door started to open. Applejack didn’t recognize the unicorn who walked out of the office, but if her new found suspicions were correct she didn’t think she was supposed to recognize the unicorn.

“Applejack,” Miss Hackney turned to face her, her chalkboard cutie mark making clear the earth pony’s talent was education. “I’m going to go to the teacher’s lounge to refill my coffee. Take a seat in my office and make yourself comfortable. We’ll start the interview for the paper when I get back, okay?”

Applejack nodded again and calmly walked into the office. As soon as the door closed behind her she bolted behind the desk. There was a pair of ledgers on the desk that were clearly not for students to look at. Applejack promptly ignored this, took note of where the ledgers were, and opened them up.

Not being intimately familiar with the school’s finances she couldn’t tell exactly what was going on but there was clearly something fishy between the books. One was well worn, obviously the one shown to the public, while the other seemed to be handled only by a few ponies. Applejack scribbled down several figures from both books showing discrepancies between the two and hurried back to the chair where she was supposed to wait. She hoped she didn’t seem too distracted during the interview knowing what she now knew.

“This is very interesting Miss… Applejack was it?” Applejack had decided to take her finding to the Manehatten Times. “How did you say you found out about this again?”

Applejack retold her story for what felt like the hundredth time since she’d walked in the doors. At least the white pegasus with a red mane, Paradise the name plate on her desk said, was a reporter. Applejack had worked her way through more secretaries and bureaucrats than she’d thought lived in all Manehatten to get here.

“That is rather… believable,” the pegasus paced out from behind her desk. Applejack didn’t see how two green palm trees and an orange crescent moon made a reporter’s cutie mark but she was still a blank flank herself so she couldn’t very well complain. “I pulled a few papers while you were working your way up here and what I’ve read does seem to fit this. The teachers at your school are screaming from every rooftop that they’re short of money and yet when the district did an audit it came through squeaky clean.”

“So you believe me?” Applejack didn’t even try to keep the smile off her face.

“I’m not going that far yet,” Paradise said, “but it looks like you’ve found smoke. And where there’s smoke there’s probably fire. We have a few more investigative tools at our hooves than a high school paper. You’ll probably have to tell your story a few thousand times more but I think I can convince my editors that this is worth looking into.”

Applejack loved the Manehatten University campus. Perhaps more than that she loved being at Manehatten University with a cutie mark. High school had put her among the latest of late comers to getting a cutie mark. She didn’t know any ponies in university without a cutie mark but she liked to think that if she met any the length of time she’d gone without getting her cutie mark would give her some empathy for their plight.

The day the story about Miss Hackney had run had been the greatest day of Applejack’s life. It was a long, long step closer to her dream to be published in a real paper, the Manehatten Times no less! Her aunt and uncle had been beyond proud of the niece who was as close to a daughter as they would ever have. Paradise had been quite happy with the young mare she’d been working with, and she wasn’t exactly distraught that this could help her career for that matter. Applejack had been beside herself when the first paper came off the presses and then Aunt Orange had exclaimed that she was now the proud owner of a cutie mark.

Applejack had been a little worried when Miss Hackney had cried that she would have vengeance as she was being hauled away, but Paradise and the police officers who’d hauled away the ex-principal had assured her that was a common threat and one rarely made good on. The fame hadn’t particularly followed her to university but she and Paradise had kept in touch. She was in fact on her way to see Paradise at the times.

She wasn’t sure why the pegasus wanted to see her but she’d learned from her aunt and uncle never to pass up an opportunity to make, improve, or maintain a business relationship. When she showed up at Paradise’s cubicle she was directed by one of Paradise’s cubicle neighbors to an office instead.

“Hello Applejack,” Paradise smiled as she poked her head into the open door. “How’d you like to come work for me?”

“What?” Applejack hadn’t unintentionally spoken in a drawl since junior high. It was fortunate for her that her streak was broken where only a pony who already knew her could hear.

“I’ll spare you the chain of resignations and promotions,” Paradise waved the other pony into the office. “But I’ve gone from writing about the news to telling other ponies what news to write about. There’s still a hole from my promotion and even though you’re still working on your journalism degree I know that you can do the job. So what do you say?”

“When do I start?” Applejack finally managed to stammer out.

“I’ve thought about doing some night school to finish my degree,” Applejack said as she finished her tale. “But I’m quite satisfied with my job and I haven’t quite talked the paper into paying for it.”

“Great story,” Twilight wheezed. “Now would you all like to take your bags before you have to carry me the rest of the way to Manehatten?”

“An hour and fifteen minutes,” Rarity said matter of factly, “very good for a first try. I’ll expect you to do better tomorrow.”

“I’m going to do this again?!” Twilight gaped at the other unicorn.

“Of course,” Rarity looked as though Twilight had just told her that her mane had turned green. “Everyday if I can manage it.”

“Please don’t get mad Twilight,” Fluttershy barely managed to make herself heard. “We’re only doing this because we’re your friends. And, and we’ll carry your bags for you when you’re not carrying ours if it helps you rest more and feel better.”

Twilight was not sure it was physically possible to be mad at Fluttershy. The righteous indignation she’d been feeling at her friends setting on her fell flat in the face of the yellow pegasus.

“Oh, oh!” They all turned to see Pinkie Pie gesturing frantically, “That pony looks like he’s coming from Manehatten! Let’s ask him what the city’s like.”

Twilight started with the group towards the oncoming pony and then stopped. That pony looked… No, she promised she would never think about that place again!

“Hi there strangers,” the oncoming pony didn’t seem at all sad for a chance to stop pulling the cart behind him. “On your way to…”

Twilight did recognize him. He’d been a regular at ‘that place.’ Worse, he seemed to recognize her. Twilight had served drinks more often than she’d gone up on stage but it wouldn’t have been at all difficult for a regular to learn her face. And the moonlight made the road about as bright as the inside of the club had often been. The perfect circumstances to recognize her, Twilight thought with a sigh.

“Moondancer?” There was no doubt about it now. He knew what she’d been and he was about to blab it to her friends. “Is that you? Touchy Hooves burned and I didn’t hear anything about any of the girls before I had to make this delivery. Are you trying to find a new club in Manehatten? I stopped at The Bare Flank while I was there and it seemed like a good place.”

Twilight couldn’t take it anymore. Maybe there was something to Rarity’s so called training because Twilight could feel far more power than usual easily surge through her horn. The luckless pony who’d recognized her was blasted off the road by a wave of force Twilight conjured. Normally it was a spell outside twilight’s reach but apparently not today. Glancing at the pile of sticks his cart had become Twilight noted a twitch and let out a small sigh of relief. As angry as she was she didn’t want to kill him.

She turned to her friends and saw every question she didn’t want to answer readable on their faces. It had been nice having friends while it lasted but Twilight had long since given up believing that anything could ever go right for her. She briefly considered trying to lie on her hoofs but Applejack was much too good at figuring that sort of thing out and she couldn’t bring herself to lie to the ponies who’d been kindest to her in her whole life next only to her parents.

“Moondancer was my stage name. I worked at Touchy Hooves as a… well no other way to put it, I was a stripper. I never did drugs like all the others or spread my legs! And I only did it to pay for college. Look, thanks for being so kind to me. I’ll help you find that book in Manehatten and then I’ll get out of your way.”

“Twilight,” Rainbow Dash’s face was a mess of emotions. “We don’t… we all got to know you for you. What I’m trying to say is we don’t care about what you did to pay for college. We know Twilight Sparkle and we like her.”

“Thanks for trying,” Twilight refused to look at any of the others. “But you’re not the first group of ponies to find out about what I do for a living. I know how this all works and I don’t like it but that’s the way it is.”

Head low, Twilight slunk off towards Manehatten. The others looked helplessly at each other before starting after their newly wayward friend.