//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - Return // Story: Shattered Harmony Part 1 - The Call // by Phazon_Corrupted_Unicorn //------------------------------// A lone figure crested the hill overlooking Ponyville. She bore only a cape and pointed hat, each one embroidered with stars and moons, and had saddlebags slung over her back that were covered by the cape. The saddlebags bore only the smallest amount needed for the mare to survive, though it was running out fast. She sat down and levitated a small bag of coins from her bags. She gave it a shake over a hoof, only to have two bits fall from sack. She sighed, then placed them back in the bag and returned it to her saddlebags. She was at her end. If this gamble didn’t work…well, she didn’t know what she’d do. Probably wander off and starve, she thought bitterly. The sun peeked through the mountains to shine its rays down into the valley. The mare could only watch as the town was bathed by the slow and steady fire of sunlight, turning the homes from dull to bright, finally ending with its light shining on the crystalline tower that was her destination. She pulled out a newspaper with the words Equestria Daily written on top and a large picture of the newest princess on the front cover. She was waving at the crowd with the words Princess Twilight will rule from the town of Ponyville across the bottom. The mare swallowed, then gazed at the crystal tower again. If she was going to do this, she’d better get it over with. She stowed the newspaper and started down the road into the town. As she walked through town, she was glad that there weren’t very many ponies awake at this time. She didn’t know if they would remember her from the last two times coming here, but she was sure if they did they wouldn’t be too happy about it. She moved as fast as she dared, trying not to make a disturbance but also trying to get to the tower as fast as possible. She wanted, needed to know if this would work. If it didn’t then she’d rather be out of Ponyville quickly. The town had bad memories for her, ones that she didn’t fancy dredging up. She made it to the castle with little incident, only a foal caught her eye as she looked around which made her pull her hat down farther and rush on, and she gazed up at it. The tower was more than that. It was about as wide around as the treehouse had been, several smaller towers emerging at different heights as the tower rose to the sky. It finally ended dozens of hooves above her head in a point with a purple flag flying from the pole there. The flag bore the commonly accepted symbol for the Elements of Harmony, five gems of different colors arranged in a circle around a sixth in the center, each one connected by a shield of gold. The mare didn’t have much time to think about the flag when the doors she’d been sitting in front of swung open. The mare dropped her gaze to the doors as a familiar purple Alicorn strode out into the sunlight. She dropped down into the lowest bow she could as the Alicorn stood over her, shock and surprise on her face. “Trixie?” the Alicorn asked, “what are you doing here?” “Twil—Princess Twilight Sparkle, Trix-I mean I have come here to ask something of you,” Trixie said, her hat falling off and landing in the dirt. “Trixie, please get up and come inside, I was just about to start my day,” Twilight said, levitating the hat off the ground. She waited until Trixie rose from her bow and she walked back into the castle, the showmare following her. Twilight set the hat on a peg close to the door, then walked down the hall. Trixie froze as the doors closed behind her, staring down the hallway. It glistened in the morning light, obliterating the shadows and causing everything to glow softly. The carpet was soft under her hooves and a tear ran down her cheek as she looked around. Twilight stopped when she realized Trixie wasn’t following her. She turned back to the stunned mare and watched as tears ran down her face, falling onto the carpet. “Trixie,” Trixie sniffed, “I mean, if I’d known this…” Her voice fell away as Twilight walked back to her and rested a wing over the trembling mare’s back. With that smallest grace, Trixie collapsed on the ground, tears flowing like a river onto the carpet. Twilight sat down next to Trixie, still resting her wing over the mare. She nudged Trixie’s horn with her muzzle, causing the mare to look up at her. “I don’t know what’s happened to you after you left Ponyville each time you did,” Twilight said softly, raising Trixie’s head and levitating over a tissue. Trixie took hold of it in her hooves and started to wipe her eyes as Twilight continued, “but I’m sorry for the way I treated you. After you left last time I was angry at what you’d done to my friends. I wanted to run after you and make you pay for all the horrible things you did to Ponyville.” Trixie shrank away from Twilight, fear flashing on her face. “But,” Twilight moved closer to the frightened mare, “thinking about it more I came to realize that you and I are a lot alike. You didn’t have many friends before coming to Ponyville, and you didn’t get the best welcome either. “Before moving to Ponyville, I only cared about my books. I only wanted to read, never go to parties, though I was invited to dozens. My only focus was strengthening my magic. Reading and practicing was all I had time for, or so I thought. Then when Princess Celestia sent me to Ponyville to prepare for the Summer Sun Celebration with the added note to make friends while I was here, I resented her. I thought she wasn’t taking me seriously. But when Nightmare Moon returned and the girls and I went into the Everfree Forest to retrieve the Elements of Harmony, I learned more and more the importance of friends. I came to realize that I couldn’t return to my studies, that magic was useless unless you had friends, that friendship really was the most powerful magic I could study. “Each time you came to Ponyville, you were trying to make a living, but you were also trying to make friends. You wandered because you didn’t have anywhere to call home. Even now you don’t have your show cart with you. You still don’t have a place to call your own. And here I am, the Princess of Friendship, charged with spreading the magic of friendship all over Equestria. I guess it only seems fitting to start doing that in my own hometown, don’t you think?” Trixie looked up at Twilight, the fur on her face wet with tears. “But that’s impossible,” she whispered, “you’re willing to forgive me, even after all that I’ve done?” Twilight shook her head. “It’s not impossible when you think about how powerful the magic of friendship is,” she said standing up and holding out a hoof for Trixie. Trixie stared at it, then hesitantly raised a hoof and took Twilight’s. Twilight pulled her up onto her hooves, then pulled her into a hug. “That’s why, Trixie Lulamoon, I want to extend the invitation to be my friend,” she said with a smile on her face. Trixie’s jaw fell open and she shook her head slowly. “No,” she said, and Twilight’s face fell slightly, “no, I don’t deserve to be your friend.” Twilight nodded her head softly. “Then if you don’t want to be my friend,” she said thoughtfully, “how about you learn about friendship from me?” Trixie stared at her like she’d lost her mind. “You mean,” she said slowly, almost unbelieving, “you want to make me your student?” “Why not?” Twilight said, smiling, “Princess Celestia’s taken at least two, and I’m sure even more than that, and she’s running the entire country. So why can’t I when I only have a town to take care of?” Her eyes tearing up again, Trixie wrapped her hooves around the princess, hugging her like she’d vanish if Trixie let go. “I’m home,” Trixie whispered, “I’m finally home.”