Blue Angel

by V-Pony

Inseptium Nova-Pt 6: The Enemy of My Enemy...

September 13th, Fillydelphia, Post-Midnight

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“All it takes is one bad day to reduce the sanest man alive to lunacy…you had a bad day once, am I right? I know I am…you had a bad day and it drove you as crazy as everybody else…only, you won’t admit it. You have to keep pretending that life makes sense; that…there’s some point to all this struggling. What made you what you are?”
-Joker, The Killing Joke

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“Holy hoof, how does Derpy deal with the ponies in this town?” Rainbow Dash groaned and collapsed onto the rather lumpy bed in the North-Central Hotel and stared at the chipping brown stucco coating the walls. She’d been told it was one of the nicer stays in the city…but if this was nice, then she was almost afraid to see what the “economy value” motels she’d flown over had to offer. Eesh…I miss my cloud house already.
The Element of Loyalty rolled over and pulled out the mail route she’d picked up earlier that day at the post office, studying the linear path it took around the north-eastern section of the city, which was convenient as the hotel had a close proximity to the route. According to the post-master, it was the most historic section of settlement and was populated with the more well-off residents of the city, so she’d better be on her best behavior while delivering their mail and newspapers.

“Well, as long as they’re nicer than the guys that kept cat-calling me in traffic today, I’ll play nice,” Dash muttered, grinding her teeth slightly as she thought back over the green and yellow Pegasus stallions who had whistled at her coming out of the post-office. She’d rolled her eyes and ignored them, but they followed her for a few blocks, calling her every demeaning name under Celestia’s sun until she felt her blood practically boiling. She finally whipped around and charged at them in anger, stopping just shy of ramming into them while flaring her wings threateningly. The rainbow Pegasus gave them a glare so fierce and sudden that the smaller green male’s wings folded up in fright and he landed with minimal damage on the rooftops a short distance below, while his larger yellow friend turned tail and fled into the city, true to his color, she’d noted.
“Hmmph, stallions,” Dash snorted and headed to her the hotel. “Only got one thing on their minds from birth, I swear…well buck that noise!”

Rainbow Dash growled and punched her pillow, causing it to fly across the room and splat against the wall in a cloud of feathers. She was so tired of being looked at as nothing but another piece of tail to be had! She could count on a single hoof the only stallions her age that she trusted: one large red pony by the name of Big Macintosh; and that was probably only because of his modest upbringing and work-first attitude that convinced her that he didn’t have ulterior motives when they spoke face to face.
Heh, good ol’ Big Mac…gentle giant, indeed.

Well, now that she thought about it, there was one other stallion around her age that she didn’t scorn as a hormone-driven animal…but that was because he was hardly a Pegasus at all…so did that really count? “Ugh, too complicated,” Dash groaned and looked at the clock: 12:20 AM; and her mail route began at 6 in the morning. With a reluctant snort, she finally settled down and fluffed her remaining pillow gently so it wouldn’t explode and closed her eyes for the night. To her surprise, her last thoughts before drifting off settled on that not-quite-Pegasus…heh, at least he has a comfy hospital bed to sleep in…probably snug as a bug in a rug…

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Ponyville…

“What in tarnation happened here!?” Applejack gaped up at the roofless Gilded Griffon, Fluttershy and Rarity standing at either side of the farm pony with similar expressions of shock on their faces. Fluttershy and Rarity had convinced Applejack to accompany them to a spa session that evening, one thing had led to another, and the trio had eventually ended up ordering in dinner. They’d sat and chatted well into the night, sharing their dinner and gossip with the spa ponies Aloe and Lotus until they’d begun to hear music drifting down the street from the rustic café.

“Huh, sounds like tha music Volare was playin’ a few weeks ago,” Applejack had noted. “But he’s in tha hospital recoverin…”

“I’ll bet it’s that DJ, Vinyl Scratch,” Rarity suggested as she munched daintily on the remains of a dandelion sandwich. “I heard something about her recording some of that music from Volare and using it on her tours; so I’m betting it’s just her and her friends living it up a bit at the bar and playing her tour music.”

“Yes, that sounds like Vinyl,” Fluttershy nodded with a chuckle. “Oh, Rarity, I’ve been meaning to ask: you said you’re working on a gift for Volare, right?”

“Yeah, Ah heard about that too, sugarcubce,” Applejack cocked an eyebrow. “Whatcha cookin’ up in that boutique o’ yourn, eh?”

“Ohoho, an artist never reveals her projects before they’re completed,” the fashionista tittered a bit smugly. “Suffice to say it invokes a very personal connection with his origins and his occupation as a pilot. Oh, and the Cutie Mark Crusaders are even lending a hoof with the design; the little dears.”

“Aww, come on, Rare,” Applejack thumped her massage table with a hoof. “If’n ya’ll are lettin’ mah little sister help out, ya’ll gotta tell us somethin’.”

“Oh, let’s see…how does Big Macintosh say it,” the Unicorn tapped her chin with a hoof for a moment. “Oh yes: Nnnope. You’ll just have to see it when I reveal it, just like everypony else; in truth your little sister and her friends are only lending me ideas. Nopony has seen it just yet besides yours truly.” Applejack collapsed back with a defeated groan as Fluttershy laughed lightly at her friends’ exchange before she paused, her nose crinkled strangely. The butter-colored Pegasus sniffed the air lightly and detected a scent rather out of place in a spa.

“Um, girls,” she raised a hoof for attention. “Do you smell smoke?” Her friends gave her a strange look before realizing that she wasn’t attempting a bad joke or something of the like; she was serious.

“Yeah, in fact Ah do,” Applejack sniffed and nodded with a worried expression, although Rarity waved a hoof dismissively.

“Oh pish, I’ll bet it’s just the spa ponies lighting up some incense,” the Unicorn scoffed. “Oh Aloe, Lotus! Are you two burning fragrance or something back there?”

“No, not us,” Aloe called back, poking her pink-maned head out from the rec room. “Why, what’s going on?” Lotus peeked out around her friend with a similar expression of concern.

“Oh, nothing, Fluttershy and Applejack thought they smelled something burning, that’s all,” Rarity waved back before hearing the farm pony grunt gruffly.

“We ain’t thinkin’ we smell it, Rare. We know we do,” the Earth Pony insisted. “Take a whiff yourself. There, smell that? Somethin’s on fire nearby; Ah’ll bet Kicks McGee on it,” she indicated her right hind hoof before standing up. “Come on ya’ll, if somethin’s burnin’, it can get outta hoof real quick.”

“She’s right, Rarity,” Fluttershy nodded and took to her hooves as well, giving the spa ponies a small wave with her wing before heading to the door. “Come on.”

“Awww, but we hadn’t gotten to try their new salt baths yet!” the violet-maned Unicorn whined, not wanting to leave the spa despite the late hour, but she was speaking to an empty room; Applejack and Fluttershy had already left to investigate the smell of the fire. “Ohhh…ponyfeathers!” Rarity cursed and leapt to her hooves, plunking down a hoof-full of bits for their services and galloping after her friends.

After following their noses down the street and troublingly noting that the smell of fire was leading them towards the Gilded Griffon, the trio stopped in their tracks as a pair of green-maned Unicorns came pelting out of a back alley, galloping at full-speed as if Cerberus himself were after them. “Whoa, slow down ya’ll-hey!” Applejack called as the pair saw them, crossed to the opposite sidewalk, and continued on their break-neck pace before turning a corner and disappearing just as quickly as they’d shown up. “Now what in the hayseed are those two doin’ at this hour?” The farm pony lifted her hat and scratched her hairline.

“Late night hoof-race?” Fluttershy suggested sheepishly.

“Hardly,” Rarity huffed warily. “Those two were running scared, away from the direction of the smell of this smoke.”

“You don’t think they set a fire and were running from it, do you?” Fluttershy gasped, causing Applejack to pull her hat back down.

“Ya’ll might be on ta somethin’ there, sugarcube. C’mon, let’s figure out this smoke an’ we’ll go from there!” The trio ran towards the smell, noting that it was beginning to fade for some odd reason. But by the time they reached the smoldering bushes outside of the Gilded Griffon, they had realized there were bigger issues at hoof. Much bigger.

“Oh my goodness, is that Volare in there?!” Rarity gasped, indicating the blue Pegasus standing in the doorway and beckoning to a number of other ponies inside. One by one, they ran out of the building: Lyra, Bon-Bon, Vinyl Scratch, Octavia, and finally Pinkie Pie(?!) carrying her party cannon over her head. Before anypony had a chance to ask what was going on, the blue Pegasus (whom they were certain was Volare now, somehow) suddenly ran back into the building, the roof of which they saw was collapsing. But why would he run back in and how in the hay was he walking again, much less running!?

“Volare, you idiot, come back!” the fashionista shouted in a very un-Rarity-like fashion. But Volare apparently didn’t hear her, and they were all treated to the sight of him running towards the back of the café, grabbing at the hoof of a blue Unicorn sprawled out on the ground before the falling roof blocked him from their vision in a cloud of smoke and flying debris. By the time the roar of the falling roof finally faded away, sleepy ponies from up and down the street were peeking out of their homes, wondering exactly what in the holy hoof had woken them up.

Applejack spoke for them all when, without turning from the wreckage of the restaurant, she asked aloud for all to hear: “What in tarnation happened here!?” To her surprise, instead of a lot of hoof-scuffing and hemming and hawing from the group of ponies that had run out of the building, they all started chattering at once. Inside of a minute, Applejack had been informed of the situation with the two Unicorns healing Volare, Trixie bursting in, and then a fracas ensuing that eventually caused the roof to fall in.

“But why would Volare run back into that death trap?!” Rarity cried, approaching the blocked front door on trembling hooves. The only real access into the wreckage was through the broken front windows, and to everypony’s surprise, she leaped right through one of them and called out into the debris, digging with her hoof as she did so and getting her just-cleaned white coat filthy with gray dust. “Volare! Volare, where are you, darling?! It’s Rarity, please speak to me!” Meanwhile, Bon-Bon simply sat on her flank in shock, staring at her beloved place of business while Octavia tried to comfort her. Lyra held a hoof over her mouth, not sure what to say before steeling herself and joining Rarity on the search for Volare.

“Was anypony else left in the building?” Fluttershy asked, her eyes flicking between all ponies present before it dawned on her who the blue Unicorn had been that she’d seen. “Oh my…he must have run back in to save Trixie!” she gasped before entering the collapsed building, carefully picking her way among the broken roof shingles and sharp spars of wood.

“Why in tha hay would he wanna do that fer her, ‘specially if she did all of this?” Applejack shook her head in confusion. “Hey Bon-Bon, Octavia, get offa your flanks! It’s gonna take some mighty heavin liftin’ in here, so go get tha Town Guard an’ mah brother, pronto!”

“R-right!” Bon-Bon nodded and took off down the street towards the local Guard Post, while Octavia ran west out of town as fast her hooves would carry her, headed towards Sweet Apple Acres.

“Actually AJ, there was something really wrong with Trixie in there,” Pinkie spoke up, navigating the crushed restaurant interior towards her friend.

“Yeah, she’s arrogant and a short-sighted ijit; tell me somethin' Ah don't know,” the farm pony snorted before Vinyl Scratch chimed in.

“No, just listen Applejack. Trixie busted in here looking for two cohorts of hers cuz they’d poisoned her and left her in the woods,” the DJ explained. “What they poisoned her with was nightshade, and it caused her to totally lose her mind in there,” she nodded towards the building. “I think ol’ Volare, in a moment of bravery, stupidity, or what have you, ran back in to save her cuz he knew she wasn’t in her right mind and didn’t deserve to have the roof fall in on her…” she trailed off, not sure what else to say before Applejack nodded in understanding.

“Ah swear, that dern fool Volare’s got a heart bigger’n his brain,” she muttered and ran towards the section of building where she’d last seen the Pegasus, the DJ on her hooves as they carefully stepped over and around the fallen roof debris, smashed tables, and shattered booths.

“Hey Volare, you alive in here, dude?!” She called out, tripping over a curved wooden object as she searched. “Whoa, hey, I found Octy’s cello; how the hay is this thing still in one piece?”

“Vinyl, please, don’t be so…insensitive about this!” Rarity snapped, obviously upset that her friend might have just been crushed to death.

“Jeez, just sayin’,” the DJ rolled her eyes and trotted the instrument out of the wreckage before resuming her search. Rarity, on the other hoof, turned back to the wall she’d been pawing around. The roof had collapsed straight in along the walls for the most part, leaving shell of the room intact and open to the night sky. However, it had fallen considerably thickly in this particular corner, actually pulling down a section of the adjacent wall with it and creating a substantial pile of detritus, out of which she could just barely see the top edge of a door frame peeking. “Volare! Volare, are you in there?” Rarity called towards it hopefully, but nothing but silence and the sounds of the settling roof remains greeted her ears.

The fashionista was about to turn away and search elsewhere when a faint voice called out from below the rubble, causing Rarity to turn around so fast that she nearly fell down in the dirt. “Rarity *cough-cough*! Jeez, that you up there?”

“Yes, yes, it’s me!” the white Unicorn smiled and tapped on the wall to emphasize her location. But as she did so, she took note of the cracks that formed around her hoof; it was then that she realized just how unsteady the building was.

“Oh good, cuz for a minute there I couldn’t decide if I was either crazy or dead,” a dry laugh issued forth from under the debris. “Glad it’s neither! Holy shit, I’m alive…I can’t believe it!”

“Everypony, come quickly! I found Volare! I think he’s trapped under this rubbish!” Rarity called excitedly. “Just be careful; this wall is unstable.”

“Where? Is he alive?” Lyra asked as she scrambled over the broken bar before realizing where everypony was gathering, preparing to dig down to find their friend. Despite the grim situation, she couldn’t help but let out a laugh of relief that drew strange looks until she explained herself. “You’re not gonna believe this, but I know where he is! He’s not under all this crap,” she tapped the top of the door frame. “He’s in my human artifacts room of all places; talk about crazy luck, huh?”

“Yeah, no kidding!” Volare called out from the room. “Where the heck’s the light switch down here, Lyra-ow, my hoof!” he cried, accompanied by the sound of clattering metal. “I’m ok…but I don’t think…whatever I just tripped over, is!”

“It’s back over here by the door, Volare,” the lyrist instructed, and after a few more moments of fumbling around, the Pegasus found the switch and clicked it on, filling the room with brilliant yellow light.

“Ah, much better,” he said he regarded what he’d stubbed his hoof on: a bicycle that looked older than he was; both tires were flat and the handlebars were covered in rust. But it wasn’t the old bike that drew the majority of his attention, no, it was the sensation of feeling between his right shoulder blade and ribcage. Rather than soreness, though, it just felt…normal and whole; and that could only mean one possible thing. With a small gulp, the pilot turned to regard the right side of his body…
His wing, the wing he’d torn off and had literally been dead weight for the past half month, was tucked up neatly against his ribs of its own power; no need for a sling here!

The blue Pegasus slowly and carefully willed his wing to lift and extend away from his body, and with every inch that it rose, the higher his spirits raised until every single flight feather and pinion was stretched to their fullest length. He could even feel the blood rushing through the muscles and fibers of the limb, and the sensation was positively amazing! He then matched it with his left wing until both were spanned out away from his body. True, he was aware that he’d used them to propel himself along the floor and through the door not 10 minutes ago, but confirmation by sight held a power of its own. Strangely, even though the rest of the scars of his body were gone, the ring that marked where his wing had been reattached was not only still there, but the fur/feather boundary had regrown over it. The strange thing was the color, though: it wasn’t blue like the rest of his wing, but a deep, jet black. Weird… Volare shrugged off the thought and tucked his wings back up against his body, extended them and raised them experimentally, and finally flapped them downwards with enough force to blow a few newspaper clippings off the walls. As he did so, he let out a whoop so loud that the ponies above the door were sure he’d injured himself.

“Volare! Volare, what’s happening?! Oh my goodness, he’s dying down there!” Fluttershy called in alarm before she realized that her friend wasn’t shouting in pain, but rather in joy. “Volare?”

“Guys, this is awesome!” he shouted back through a grin that stretched from ear to ear. If only he weren’t stuck in this little room!

“What’s awesome, all my stuff?” Lyra asked curiously.

“No, I mean, yes, it’s pretty cool, but that’s not it, yehaaaaw!” Volare shouted again with another strong flap of his wings before finally calming down enough to explain. “Those Unicorns weren’t lying…they fixed me! My wings, they work! They work!!”

“What the hay, how?” Applejack queried in confusion, but before the Pegasus could explain, he heard movement in the room behind him.

“Ugh, isn’t that normal for a Pegasus?” a voice called out groggily. Volare tucked his wings back up and turned around to regard the owner of the voice: The Great and Powerful Trixie. The blue magician was holding her head in her hooves and rocking back and forth slightly, groaning with every breath. “Agh, my head…where am I…what the hoof happened?” But before Volare could explain, she lifted her face from her hooves, looked about at the human belongings piled around them…all the things in Lyra's room she'd desired to see for months within spitting distance...and promptly began to freak out. “AHH, how am I here?! Oh sweet Celestia, I’m dead, I’m dead aren’t I?!” She looked up at Volare pleadingly for an answer, but he could only facehoof in response.

“Volare, dude, what’s going on down there?” Vinyl Scratch’s voice filtered down to him. “Who the hay is screaming now?”

“Oh, that’s just Trixie; she’s alive and well,” Volare called back as Trixie proceeded to back herself into a corner, staring wide-eyed at the bizarre objects surrounding her, chief of which was the strange, two-wheeled contraption lying on its side next to her. “I don’t think she approves of your collection, Lyra!”

“Meh, everypony’s a critic,” the lyrist replied with a wave of her hoof. “Trixie’s not still trying to blow everything up is she? Hope not, cuz Rarity says this wall is really unstable.”

“No, she’s just…mostly backed up into a corner,” Volare observed, feeling a tinge of pity for the scared blue pony. “Any ideas?”

“Yeah, don’t piss her off,” Vinyl replied matter-of-factly. “She’s probably still under the influence and pretty confused, so the more calm you can keep her, the better, especially since you two are in such a tight space, ya know?”

“Gee, thanks for the great news, Vinyl,” Volare muttered sarcastically.

“No problem dude! AJ says just sit tight, cuz help’s on the way.” The DJ declared.

“Thanks, will do,” the Pegasus replied, noting that Trixie was still pressed up into the corner like a caged animal, her eyes darting left and right and her chest heaving great, panicky breaths; he doubted she’d take this for too long before trying to blast her way out…and as unstable as the place was, that could get them both killed. Time for a little friendly intervention.
“Hey, um…Trixie?” he said gently, and took a tentative step towards the magician, feeling almost like Grant approaching Lee to make peace. At his words, Trixie’s eyes roving eyes settled on him, and she pressed herself a little bit tighter against the wall. “Are you ok?”

“Do I look like I’m ok?!” Trixie cried, her back hooves scuffling as she tried to retreat even further. “I-I know I should be dead! That roof fell on me and…and I’m dead…and you’re the specter that took me away, aren’t you?” She was truly a pathetic sight to behold compared to how proud and powerful she’d seemed earlier, but she was obviously shaken by his presence. Volare decided to sit down, rather than approach her further, allowing her to calm down just a little bit.

“Trixie, this may come as a shock to you…but you’re not dead,” Volare said with a gentle smile.

“H-How do I know you’re telling the truth?” the magician demanded, though she was now leaning slightly forward in curiosity. “You’re the last thing I saw before I…before…”

“Ah, I see now,” the pilot nodded in understanding. “I’m the last thing you saw before the roof fell in because I saved you. And right now we’re stuck in here, it’s pretty unstable, and it’s in our best interest for you to not freak out too badly and collapse this room; help is on its way. We just need to be patient for now.” He waited for her to protest, but it was almost like she was waiting hopefully for further confirmation that she was, indeed, still alive. That and she still looked very confused as to why she was even in this room with this Pegasus whom she could have sworn was some sort of specter of death before he claimed otherwise. When she didn’t speak, he continued. “Don’t you remember what happened?”

“I…um…” Trixie looked down, all semblance of her earlier arrogance gone, leaving nothing but a confused and frightened shell of a mare. She shook her head and rubbed her forehead, as if trying her hardest to remember. “I remember the woods…and the howls of the Timberwolves chasing me…sweet Luna, they chased me for days,” she shuddered visibly as she spoke. “I…remember coming into town but…everything was all wobbly and full of strange colors. I want to say I was looking for something or somepony, but…it’s so fuzzy, I don’t know.” She shook her head again and bit her lip, exerting quite a bit of effort to recall the recent events. “I…I walked into a restaurant and…I saw faces and shapes, but…all the lights went out. It’s just a blank after that until I woke up with…” she trailed off, staring at Volare as if trying to contemplate the messages that her drug-addled brain were sending her. “With you running away…but I called out…and you came back and…that’s all I remember before I woke up here and saw…w-what is that thing, anyway?” she nodded at the bicycle, no longer shaking nearly as badly as before, which eased Volare’s worries somewhat.

“Oh, heh, that,” he got up and nudged the rusty vehicle with his hoof. “This is a bicycle. It’s something humans ride on Earth in order to”-

“Humans!” Trixie suddenly cried, rising to her hooves and taking a few steps out of the corner. It was as if a switch had been flipped in her head, and now she was on a different tangent entirely. At Volare’s strange look, she composed herself and explained. “Ah, allow me to explain. I’m just…rather passionate about the study of humans, for I hope to one day learn the magical secrets of their famous magicians, that way I will finally be powerful enough to…hey, hey, hey,” Trixie stomped a hoof in irritation at Volare’s chuckles. “Specter or not, if I’m stuck here with you, at the very least give me enough respect to not laugh at me! This is serious business here!”

“Oh lord, I’m sorry,” Volare calmed down and straightened his face. “It’s just that…why are you looking for these magicians, exactly?”

“To learn their secrets and tricks,” she replied tersely. “So that I may become an even more powerful magician than I currently am.”

“Um, Trixie,” Volare began, choosing his next words as delicately as he possible…he really didn’t need her flying off the handle again and bringing this room down on them. I guess this is what it feels like to smash a child’s long-held belief in Santa or something… “Who told you that the secrets of human magicians could help you?”

“Why, I discovered it myself,” she replied with a hint of pride. “I purchased a book pulled directly from Earth itself, and it profiled many Earth magicians and their tricks. With knowledge like that, I could become more powerful than any Unicorn!”

“What makes you think that?” The tone of Volare’s question, nearly silent and almost…pitiful, was no less jarring than if he’d shouted it at her. Trixie halted in mid-speech and regarded him for a long and wary moment, waiting for him to start laughing and admit it was all a bad joke. But when he retained that same expression, a cold chill began to work its way up her spine; she’d never been questioned by anypony on this…although to tell the truth, the only two other ponies who knew about it were Ray and Jill…

“I, um…because the tricks they did in those books were so amazing, that’s why!” Trixie replied, her voice just a tad bit too shrill and forced. “Don’t you think so?”

“I believe they’re interesting illusions,” Volare replied bluntly, causing the magician to recoil slightly, as if she’d been personally insulted.

“I-illusions?!” she sputtered. “They’re more than just illusions, you fool! They’re the greatest magical acts Earth has ever seen!” To her surprise, instead of accepting her claims, he stood and regarded her with that same look of near-pity. “W-why do you keep looking at me like that?” Volare didn’t speak at first; he simply turned and regarded the myriad of newspaper clipping adorning the walls before heaving a small sigh.

“Humans have always had a knack for hiding the truth, especially when it's to their benefit,” he regarded an article that profiled used cars from the 1980's, the Cadillac Cimarron* the first on the list. Huh, fitting... “Prettying things up to be better than they really are in order to turn a profit; cheating in order to get ahead; or even outright lying, fooling an audience with a lot of smoke and mirrors…but no true substance.” He glanced over at the magician, who looked halfway between anger and confusion. “What do you consider magic, Trixie?”

“I, well…magic is a Unicorn using her will in order to accomplish great feats of skill and tricks of wonderment, like this!” she said with a flare of blue sparks from her horn. “That’s just a taste of what magic is. Why would you ask such a thing? Have you never seen such magic before, Pegasus?”

“No, not exactly,” Volare replied with a small shake of his head. “I’ve seen enough in my time here to know the difference between true magic and illusions. And I’m sorry to break it to you, but what humans consider magic is nothing but clever illusions and sleight of hand.” At this declaration, Trixie leaped forward and crammed her horn up under his chin, glaring at him as if he were some sort of blasphemer.

“Give me one good reason why I shouldn’t blast your head clear off your neck,” she growled. But despite his heart pounding a mile a minute, Volare played it as cool as he could, and he merely continued to wear that slightly sad expression. “S-stop looking at me like that!” she ordered. “Now tell me where you get the gall to insult the powers of human magic like that!”

“What if I told you that I’d been closer to these tricks than you’d ever dreamed of being?” he asked cryptically, causing Trixie to back off a step, unsure of what to say for a moment.

“Well, I’d ask how, of course,” the magician finally replied, her head on a slight tilt as she did so.

“Heh,” he looked down at the old bicycle, contemplating it for a moment before grabbing the handlebars in his hooves and lifting it upright. “What would you say could ride this bike, if it were built by humans, for humans?”

“Well, only humans of course. Get to the point, already!”

“Trying.” It was rather awkward, but he managed to sit down on the squeaky, rotting seat, place his back hooves on the pedals, and pushed. By balancing himself with his outstretched wings, he managed to pedal the bike, flat tires and all, in a short circle before stopping and hopping off, setting it back down carefully and turning back to the magician, whose jaw was located a bit more closely to her chest than her nose. “Damn, it’s been a long time…guess they’re right when they say you never forget.”

“You…what do you mean, they?” an expression of shocked realization was beginning to spread across the magician’s face as she spoke, stumbling backwards into a cardboard box full of socks. Where the heck did Lyra keep getting these things?
“Who’s ‘they’?”

“The ones who built this bicycle, of course,” Volare replied with a nod. “The humans; can’t live on Earth without running into them, ya know?”

“Yes, but…” she shook her head, her mind not able to contemplate the implications she was facing.

“Oh come now, I already know you know I’m from Earth; you’ve said as much yourself. Something about wanting to know the secrets of human magic from me, right?” He gave her a small smirk. “You must have been pretty sure about that to the point of wanting to kidnap me, eh?”

“Yes, well…” Trixie fumbled for words for a moment. “I was under a lot of stress; you said so yourself.”

“Touche,” the Pegasus chuckled. “So I did. Fact still stands that you believed strongly enough to take a risk like that. Weird thing about Pegasi and Earth though…I hear pray tell from Lyra Heartstrings that Princess Celestia herself said that Pegasi don’t exist there. So, if Pegasi don’t exist there…and I can ride a bike, meant only for humans…” he chuckled again as Trixie struggled to stand from the box of socks, her face a mask of disbelief, despite the obvious solution all the facts pointed towards.

“Volare, right?” the magician asked, and he nodded in reply. He’s going to think I’m crazy as a loon… “What…are you?” she asked with a wary squint.

“A Pegasus…well, sorta,” Volare replied with a sheepish shrug of his wings.

“Ok, let me rephrase that,” Trixie rolled her eyes and sighed. “What did you used to be?”

“I used to be that which you’ve sought for some time now, Trixie,” the pilot said with a smile that sent her reeling backwards, missing the sock box entirely and crashing into a spare tire. Volare rolled his eyes; this whole ‘hey guess what, I’m human, please don’t freak out’ bit was getting a little old.

“N-no, that’s….that’s crazy,” Trixie muttered to herself, waiting for the punchline to the Pegasus’ newest bad joke. But when none came, she simply sat there and continued to shake her head. Volare quietly approached her, closed the lid on the box, and sat down on it, waiting for her to regain her composure. When she finally did so with a self-assuring nod, she looked back up at him with reluctance. “So…this isn’t a joke?”

“I’m serious as a heart attack. Man, I wish I had Vinyl’s recording device so I don’t have to explain all this crap all over again,” he blew air from between his lips and spoke up again. “Here’s the short version: I was a human back on Earth about three weeks ago. Through a crazy accident, I ended up here, and because my body was so badly damaged, a new one was made for me; the one you see before you,” he spread his wings slightly in emphasis (man it just felt so damn good to do that again!)
“In any case, through a whole lot of crazy events, I lost my wing, had it reattached here,” he nodded towards the black ring, “and I’ve been trying to get it fixed ever since until tonight; so that’s why I was so excited earlier,” he blushed slightly; he must have looked like a damn fool in Trixie’s eyes. The magician chuckled lightly, the first sign of any sort of positive emotion out of her since this ordeal began, and it further eased his worries.

“So,” the blue Unicorn stood and took a step or two towards him. “You say you’ve seen human magic up close and personal?”

“Mhm, I have, or what passes for it, anyways,” he nodded.

“And you say it’s all illusion, huh?” she sighed and closed her eyes, awaiting the repetition of the answer she’d refused to believe earlier.

“That’s right,” he replied.

“Damn,” she cursed under her breath before picking up a balled up pair of socks with her magic, regarding them coldly, and hurling them against the far wall in a brief flare of anger. “Well, that’s just bucking wonderful…all that time and effort…do you think you could humor me just a little bit and explain how…how human magic is fake?” she requested. “I mean, it just looked so…convincing.”

“Which is exactly what those illusions are designed to do,” he risked reaching his hoof out and setting it comfortingly on her shoulder, but she immediately shrugged it off with another snort. “I’ll explain what I can.”

“Alright,” she began to pace the floor and name off the famous magicians she knew.

……………………….

Meanwhile, above them, Bon-Bon had come back with two of the Earth Pony Town Guards, while Octavia had returned with Big Macintosh, and the large red pony quickly determined that they couldn’t simply move the debris out of the way. Unfortunately, because of the way things were leaning and balanced, if they moved the fallen roof without some kind of support system, the room Volare and Trixie were sheltered in would almost certainly collapse.

“We’ll have to figure out a way to hold this wall up to gettem outta there,” the farm stallion concluded, speaking away from the other mares so they wouldn’t get upset.

“Why not just break down the back wall of the room,” the first Guard named Snowhooves suggested, but the second Guard, named Firetail shook his head.

“Nah, that ain’t gonna work either; it’d compromise the integrity of the structure and probably knock it down before they could get out.” If there was one thing many Earth Ponies had a nose for, it was structural integrity, possibly due to their lack of magic to use as an emergency if something went wrong or their lack of ability to build with gravity-defying clouds. In short, if they didn't get it right the first time...they weren't often graced with a second chance.

“Well, then what’re we supposed to do; leave ‘em in there all night?” the Snowhooves shot back before Big Mac snorted loudly.

“Nope, we can’t do that. Accordin’ ta Lyra, there ain’t any air vents in there, so if’n we wait till mornin’, they’ll suffocate,” he frowned grimly. “We got any pieces of wood or anythin’ ta use to prop the wall up?”

“No, any large pieces got crushed by the roof, and there’s nothing under construction nearby to borrow materials from either,” the Snowhooves shook his head before Pinkie popped up from behind a broken window, startling the trio of stallions.

“Seems like a doozy of a pickle we’re in, huh?” Pinkie mused out loud.

“You’ve got that right, ma’am,” the Firetail nodded. “And we’re about out of ideas. You got anything to suggest?”

“Mhm, I think so; I’m kinda surprised you haven’t thought of it yet, actually,” Pinkie idly scratched her head while craning her neck up at the precariously balanced shell of a building.

“This isn’t the time for riddles, Miss,” Snowhooves snorted. “This is the time for action!”

“Oh I know, but you’re not thinking outside the box,” the pink pony quipped. “Just hang on tight; I’ll be right back!” She then began to hop off west across town, softly whistling a little tune as she did so, as if the situation was anything other than grim.

“Ah tell ya, half tha time Ah swear Pinkie is outta her gourd, and the other half Ah swear she knows more’n all of us put together,” Big Mac shook his head.

“Let’s hope this is one of those latter times,” the Snowhooves said as they returned to the mares to explain the situation.

………………………..

“Harold Houdini’s escape tricks; how are those fake?” Trixie asked, digging far back into the human magic history that she could recall.

“Oho, going old school, eh?” Volare chuckled, rather enjoying this little quiz for some odd reason. “More than likely keys hidden on his person during the trick to undo the locks with,” the Pegasus explained.

“Hmm…Criss Angel, the Mind Freak?” Volare barely suppressed a chuckle at her usage of formal titles before he spoke.

“Sleight of hand and camera angles,” the pilot crossed his hooves confidently.

“Um, Penn and Teller?” the blue Unicorn asked a bit desperately.

“Heh, those guys use comedy as a distraction in order to perform sleight of hand card tricks and other crazy stuff,” Volare chuckled, having actually been to one of their memorable performances in Vegas when he was younger. “They get you to empathize with them so you’ll believe just about anything they do; it’s all gimmicks and memorization, nothing more.”

“Ugh, I give up!” Trixie felt like the little kid who opened their Christmas presents early only to be disappointed at how anti-climactic it all was. She stopped pacing and kicked the box of socks once more before sitting back down on the spare tire, grumbling into her hooves.

Volare sat there in silence for a long moment, allowing Trixie to mull this information over before speaking again. “I’m sorry to burst your bubble like this, Trixie…I…can tell it was important to you, and”-

“Important?!” Trixie interrupted him, standing up and looking him dead in the eye, her face becoming more and more distraught as she spoke. “I’ve only dedicated the past year of my life and all of my funds towards it, and now you…you come in here and smash it all to pieces!” She fumed and kicked at the bike, immediately regretting it the moment her hoof made contact with the hard metal frame. “Agh, dammit all!” She muttered under her breath for a little while longer, past the denial stage and flying straight into the anger stage. Huh, who knew Kubler-Ross applied here?

“Perhaps if you told me why it was so important, I’d be able to more easily sympathize with you, Trixie,” Volare gave her a gentle smile, remembering Vinyl’s warning and doing his best to keep her calm. “I’m all ears if you wanna talk about that.”
“Right, well,” the magician paused for a moment. “For years, I’d lived the life of a traveling magician, going from town to town and performing feats of wonder for the crowds that gathered. I enjoyed being the center of attention, not to mention the income…but then one day I came to Ponyville, and”-

“Your arrogance finally caught up with you,” Volare interrupted without thinking. Shit…

“H-how did you know about that?” Trixie eyed him warily.

“Um, everypony’s heard of that story; about how an Ursa Minor came to town and you tried to stop it, just like you’d said you could, but turns out you couldn’t.” The pilot said hastily, causing Trixie’s features to droop.

“Ah, that’s true…I couldn’t,” she said with a reluctant snort. “I take it you know what else happened then?”

“Yeah, Twilight Sparkle had to save the day, right?”

“Yes…little Miss Goody Two-Hooves had to arrive and show me up…publicly humiliate me,” Trixie growled lightly.

“So what happened after that? You swear revenge on Twilight Sparkle?” But just as Trixie began to nod emphatically, Volare cut her off. “That was stupid…she was only doing her job, she didn’t mean to humiliate you, and you know that. You’re smarter than that, Trixie…now why would you do something that stupid, huh? Pride get the better of you?”

“Shut up!” the magician shot back, taking a threatening step towards him; but he felt he’d struck a nerve within her, and was thus on the right track.

“So you thought to yourself: I’m gonna hit Twilight where she doesn’t expect it, so you heard of human magic and decided to go after that without doing a little more research on the subject, is that it?” He made no attempt to hide his condescending tone anymore. “And now you’re pissed cuz it’s bitten you in the flank?”

“I said shut up!” Trixie shouted, her horn beginning to glow. Once again, she approached him, teeth bared and eyes narrowed, and stopped less than a foot away from his face before speaking. “This isn't fair!! You…you, this is all your fault! You just had to grab my aspirations, wad them up in a little ball, and then throw them in my face!” She growled and stomped her hoof. “I’ll bet you’re laughing on the inside right now, aren’t you? I’ll bet you’re thinking ‘oho, I could take her back to Earth if I wanted and show her the truth’, but no, you’ve gotta dangle it in front of me and make me beg for it; is that it? You want me to lower and debase myself to begging for the real truth, huh? You…you dream-destroying bastard…human…f-freak!” she spat the last word and continued to fix him with a glare. But Volare had had about enough of this crap.

“Look here, you,” he suddenly rose to his hooves, not giving a damn that she had the power to probably make good on her threat of frying his head off. He got right up in her face, ears splayed back and wings flared wide as he did so. “I’m fed up with your verbal abuse of me, Trixie! All I’ve done in the last half hour is save your life and tell you the truth, but you repay me with threats and insults! Now how’s that for fair, huh?!” His outburst sent her stumbling backwards in surprise, and he followed her until she was backed up against the wall; he was gonna make his point right now!

“Are you mad because the truth isn’t what you always wanted, is that it? Well, the truth is the truth, Trixie; and there’s no changing it! Sometimes it sucks, but it’s better than wasting your time on a lie, isn’t it?” He snorted. “Would you rather remain ignorant of the truth that damn badly?”

“Well, no, but”-

“But nothing! That’s the truth and…look, even for your sake, I wish it were different, cuz I think magic is pretty cool,” he paused and closed his eyes. “But…they’re nothing but illusions and lies. What you did up there just now is more amazing than anything any human magician has ever pulled off, and you did it with ease! So why get mad over it? Why not just accept that you’re already better than them? Why would you be angry that you’re not living a lie…why would you be mad that you’re doing something greater than smoke and mirrors? Now you can either accept the truth or reject it, but believe me when I say that I’ve got nothing to gain in the slightest by lying to you.”

He stepped back from the magician and turned away before resuming speaking. “And you speak angrily of the loss of your dreams as if you’re unique…as if you’re above me because of that…where do you get the gall to do that?! You think I’m above such loss?”

“I wouldn’t know.”

“That’s right, you don’t know,” he snapped, sniffling slightly. “So please…don’t assume things, ok?” He wiped his nose before continuing. “You think I intentionally came here…that I meant to get into an accident that forced me to be stuck here like this?” He regarded her coldly, but she remained silent. “That accident occurred on the day that I achieved a dream I’d been working half my life towards. Just as I had it within my grasp, it was snatched away…and now I’m here, away from my homeworld, lost, and just plain confused half the time.” He gave the driest of chuckles and poked at the squeaky bike wheel with his hoof, wondering for an instant who it might have belonged to…a young kid, a working dad that bought it so he could spend time with his son, or even an old man just trying to stay fit and extend his life a few years further before the end…before it got taken away in a rusty flash of light…he shook the musings away and cleared his throat.

“So when you speak of lost dreams, don’t do so in the belief that you’re the only one in the room with that sort of problem. Or at the very least, do as I am: stop sitting around crying about it, accept the truth for what it is, and roll with it…it might suck, but it’s better than living a delusional lie. So go on, blast my head off if you feel like that’ll solve your problems, but it’ll only prove you’re afraid of the truth-that you screwed up-and that you’re not ready to stop running from it because your damn pride is still blinding you!”

With that said, the pilot turned and stalked a short distance away before sitting down in the opposite corner, bowing his head and staring holes in the back of his eyelids as he did so. After a moment, Trixie pulled herself away from the wall, thought her next words over carefully, and finally spoke. “Volare…”

“Hrm?”

“I’m…sorry for that,” she bowed her head and frowned as she spoke; she couldn’t remember the last time she’d apologized to anypony…or at the very least felt the need to. “I…shouldn’t have assumed such things…”

“It’s fine,” he waved a hoof dismissively without looking up from the floor.

“No…no, it’s really not,” Trixie shook her head and came closer. The Pegasus kept his eyes closed, not sure of what was about to happen. But, instead of feeling his head melting off his shoulders, he heard the sound of soft sobbing. He opened his eyes to see Trixie had a hoof over her face and was hitching in a breath ever so often; he couldn’t believe it…he’d broken her pride.
“Trixie?”

“You’re right…you’re right Volare,” she lowered her hoof, revealing her grief-stricken face. “I let my hate for a happenstance situation take over and…look where it’s gotten me.” She slowly sat down on the floor, legs sprawled in either direction, not caring how pathetic she looked anymore. “I’ve got no place to live…I’ve got no more money…and now I find out that the human magic isn’t even close to what I thought…damn it all,” she slammed a hoof on the floor and allowed her light blue stick-filled mane to cascade over her face as she sobbed softly to herself. It was a pitiful sight that tugged at Volare’s soul, and despite his better judgment, he couldn’t help but approach her and sit down next to her.

“You know, in hindsight, although things really went off the rails,” Volare said gently after a moment. “When taken out of context, your plan wasn’t all that bad.”

“Huh-but I thought you said it was stupid,” Trixie mumbled into her crossed forelegs.

“Yeah, in the context of the situation it was,” he ventured another pat on her shoulder, but this time she didn’t shrug it off. “But, would you believe that there’s a book that says that attacking an enemy from an unexpected direction is always the wisest decision in battle?”

“H-how does that apply here?” she wiped her eyes and stared at him.

“Well, why did you want to gain human knowledge of magic? I’ll bet it was because you were betting on Twilight not knowing the same tricks, therefore it would give you the advantage, am I right?” He gave her a small smile. “Or, at least, you said something of the like back in the café a while ago.”

“R-right…yes,” she sighed. “Something like that…sweet Luna, I really bucked up badly, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, to say the least,” he nodded solemnly.

“Please tell me what happened…I didn’t kill anypony did I?” Trixie gasped with a look of horror that clashed with her seeming willingness to murder at will half an hour ago. That alone was enough to convince Volare that she wasn’t in control of herself out there.

“Oh, no, no, no, nothing that bad,” the pilot chuckled, giving her another comforting pat of his hoof. “I mean, you certainly gave it your all against Pinkie Pie, but I don’t think you were even able to lay a hoof on her…still, you two, by accident or what have you, combined to create the greatest magic trick I’ve ever seen.”

“Oh really?” Trixie asked with a small smirk of curious pride. “Do tell.”

“Alright, I’ll do my best,” Volare chuckled, and began to relate the battle that had them stuck in this predicament.

----------------------------

“Wakey wakey, Spikey-wikey,” Pinkie called into the Library, knocking on the front door in a frenzied fashion. But when the only response she got was something along the lines of a combination of snores and the mumbled name of “Rarity?”, Pinkie rolled her blue eyes and decided to let herself in; although it wasn’t like doors had ever really stopped her, it was kinda rude to just show up in somepony’s home this late at night, ya know? So, she quickly trotted around the base of the tree and climbed the lattice-work under the Twilight’s balcony. The party pony scrambled up to the landing in front of the hinged window that led into her friend’s room and put her ear to the glass; but there was even less noise coming from the bedroom than from Spike in the lobby. Huh, she must really be asleep! Without a second thought, for Snowhooves was right: this was the time for action, she tapped on the window as loudly as she dared.

……………..

The memory spell Twilight had used on her self…perhaps a bit too well, for it revealed what she’d seen and only what she had seen herself, meaning that if the Unicorn attempted to read one of the scrolls pulls off the wall by her friends, although they might have seen it, there was no way for her to read the memories of the memories of her friends…ugh, this was giving her a headache! She’d even gotten desperate enough to “pause” her memory and investigate a particular scroll in question that looked particularly promising. But try as she might, she just couldn’t fit herself around her memories to get a good look at the scroll before it was tossed aside. She’d finally found a split second of the scroll sailing through the air in which she could get a good look at the writing, but as it flew through the air…dammit all, it rolled back up!

The Librarian replayed the memory again and again over three dozen times, growing more and more frantic with each instance. No…no, no, no No, NO! It’s just no good! She collapsed in exhaustion on the floor of the Starswirl the Bearded Wing, a bizarre, photo-like scene of flying scrolls, Spike eating ice cream, herself screaming in fear at the rising sun, and Pinkie tapping on the window revolving around her…wait a sec, Pinkie tapping on the window?! The Unicorn did a double take and stared at the memory of Pinkie…who seemed to be staring right back at her. “…P-Pinkie?” she called out softly. This seemed impossible, even for Pinkie Pie!

“Heya Twilight!” the party pony grinned and waved gleefully, and it wasn’t until the Librarian took a closer look that she realized something was different about her friend from the memory she recalled: she wasn’t wearing the skin-tight black suit like she and Spike had been…What the hay…?
“C’mon Twilight, open the window, you silly filly!” her blue-eyed friend called out, continuing to tap on the window. In a bit of a disbelieving daze, Twilight stumbled to the window, lifted the latch, and everything blurred into dark blue and black in an instant, causing her to stumble backwards in alarm and fall over her bed. Her bed?! “Whoa, you ok, Twilight?” Pinkie’s voice asked, prompting the Unicorn to blink her eyes a few times and realize that she was back in her Library, specifically her bedroom, and that it was so dark because it was nighttime; specifically post-midnight according to the clock on her wall.

“Wha-Pinkie?” Twilight rubbed her eyes, the memory of the Starswirl Wing still fresh in her mind. “What’s going on?”

“Well, I climbed up here to your window cuz Spike was too sleepy to open the door, and you were sitting there all zonked out like this,” she crossed her blue eyes and dangled her tongue out of her mouth, tilting her neck and making a moaning noise as she did so and causing Twilight to blush furiously.

“…was I seriously doing all that?” she asked with a wince.

“Pretty much, yeah, so I tapped on the window, you jumped up and let me in, and…yeah, here we are,” she grinned. “Oh, duh, almost forgot; we need your help down at the Gilded Griffon!”

“Why, that old place finally burned down or something?” the Unicorn cocked an eyebrow, but her smirk faded at Pinkie’s reply.
“Mmm, not quite; the roof fell in though cuz me and The Great and Powerful Trixie got into this big old fracas over Volare, and-mmmmpph!”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa!” Twilight stuffed a hoof in her friend’s mouth and stared at her in shock. “Trixie showed up there?”

“Yep, well, I showed up after she showed up, but same diff,” Pinkie nodded.

“And you fought over Volare?” the bookworm asked warily, doing her best to keep somewhat calm and not to jump to any conclusions…again…

“Yep, she tried this big crazy magic trick on me, but when it didn’t work, I used my party cannon and it kinda knocked the roof down,” the party pony explained, her friend’s face growing more horrified by the moment. “Oh, and Volare fell off the roof and tackled Trixie; isn’t that crazy?” At her answer, Twilight’s eyes shot wide open and she let out a gasp of shock.

“Wait, how’d he get on the roof, Pinkie?!”

“Oh, I put him up there cuz these Trixie was trying to carry him away from his dinner or something…maybe I shoulda asked Lyra and the rest what was going on, huh? Twilight…Twi, you ok?” But her friend was positively seething, smoke beginning to curl up from her mane.

“No, I’m not ok,” she forced out between gritted teeth. “Pinkie, what happened to Volare, exactly?”

“Oh, when the roof fell in, he kinda got stuck underneath it,” the pony replied. “Oh, but the really crazy thing that happened was”- But before she could continue, Twilight had heard enough, and she teleported past her in a flash of white light and reappeared on the ground, galloping hard towards the café as fast as her hooves would carry her, ignoring the shouts of Pinkie as she ran after her. I swear, if Volare’s dead, I’ll figure out a way to bring him back to life and kill him myself if his explanation is anything less than stellar!

------------------------

Volare was growing increasingly worried about Trixie’s state of health; during the retelling of the battle outside, the magician’s hooves and ears had begun to shiver ever so slightly. Though she waved him off, looking to hear the rest of the story, the shakes got increasingly worse to the point that her entire body had begun to tremble and quiver, her teeth chattering so badly that she could hardly speak to tell Volare that she was felt really, really cold all of a sudden. Volare had called up to Vinyl to ask what the heck could be going on, and the DJ explained that she was probably going into withdrawal from the drugs that Ray and Jill had slipped her. She told him to keep her calm and warm, that they’d have them out of there soon enough.

Thinking quickly, Volare dug through the boxes of Lyra’s human objects before he found an old wool blanket that he gently wrapped around Trixie before sitting back down next to her and allowing the magician to huddle up next to him for warmth. The force of her shivering was getting so bad that it was causing the pilot to wobble as well as she leaned against him, giving him a small, helpless, but nonetheless grateful smile.

“Th-thanks, V-v-volare,” she stuttered, forcing her eyes closed and setting her jaw against the headache that she felt coming on as her thoughts turned to Ray and Jill. “I s-swear I’ll have m-my revenge on those t-two Unicorns for reducing me to this,” she growled despite her chills, causing Volare to wrap a hoof around her comfortingly.

“You and me both, Trixie…they owe us both big time,” he growled softly. She looked up at him curiously and he explained that those two had tried to kill him at least twice, probably three times, and had tortured his little sister Scootaloo…he’d never forgive them for that. The only answer was vengeance.

“W-well, I suppose we sh-share a c-common enemy then, huh?” Trixie laughed dryly.

“The enemy of my enemy is my friend, eh?” Volare mused. “Well, we’re kinda in the same boat here, Trixie…we need as many friends as we can find in this world right now.”

“I suppose,” she nodded, tucking her head lower against her chest. Volare reached down and unwound a particularly gnarly twig from her mane and tossed it aside, causing her to chuckle. “Again…t-thank you…that thing was r-really starting to irritate m-me.”

“Yeah, you’re a real mess alright,” the Pegasus returned the chuckle and removed a few more sticks before the magician spoke up again.

“I’m c-confused, though,” she looked up at him. “W-why’re you d-doing these things f-for me?” At his curious look, she continued. “I m-m-m-mean-dammit! Sorry…I mean you s-saving me out th-there…you should have j-just let the roof c-crush me…Luna knows I d-deserved it…”

“Nah, I couldn’t let that happen, Trixie,” Volare replied with a squeeze of his hoof. “Like I said, you weren’t even close to being in your right mind out there, and I just…when I saw you calling for help…I couldn’t just leave you to die. Heh, I suppose if humanity has any magic it all, it's our capacity for compassion...even for our foes.”

“You’re a f-fool,” the blue Unicorn retorted. “I’ll p-probably go t-to prison for what I d-did anyway…so w-what’s it m-matter?”

“Well I still believe you’re innocent, Trixie.” She stared at him for a long moment, certain he was lying…but there wasn’t a trace of jest on his face. “And I believe that if you hadn’t shown up when you did and caused the scene that you did, there’s no telling what those two bastards might have done with me…where or who they might have taken me to…so I feel I owe you my life.”

“Peh, d-don’t try to m-make me the h-hero in all th-this,” she snorted and shook her head. “That was an a-accident and y-you know it…”

“So was the damage that was caused out there,” Volare insisted. “Besides, I think even good accidents should be rewarded.”

“H-how?”

“How’s this sound: if they try to put you on trial for what happened, I’ll defend you, Trixie…cuz the enemy of my enemy…is truly my friend.” At his answer, Trixie couldn’t help the pair of tears that squeezed from her eyes, and she buried her face in the blanket to hide them. She couldn’t remember the last time somepony had called her friend…and he was right: she needed all the friends she could make right now…here at the end of her miserable rope. “You ok?”

“Y-yes, of course,” she replied with the slightest of poorly-hidden sniffles. “The G-great and P-powerful T-trixie is…I’m f-fine, thank y-you, V-volare,” she looked up at him before a new bout of crippling chills hit her, causing her to latch onto him with both hooves for dear life. “Dear G-goddesses…I’m g-going to d-die in here after all…aren’t I?”

“No Trixie, you’re not gonna die. You’re gonna be ok, just hang on,” he held her closely until the fit passed, running a hoof comfortingly through her mane, taking note of the tatters in her formerly lustrous mane and the welts torn through her fur caused by running through the forest in a terrified haze for days. I swear Ray and Jill…if it’s the last thing I do…I’ll find a special spot in hell for you two…you and your damn boss for doing this to this poor mare…to Scootaloo…and to me…

------------------------

“Move everypony, move!” Twilight Sparkle cried authoritatively as she reached the site of the collapsed building and approached the first pony she recognized: Big Macintosh. He and the others quickly informed her of the situation with the building’s integrity and where Volare was stuck, and although the news that he was alive in there eased her worries somewhat…dammit, I’m still gonna kill that guy for making me worry like this! Working quickly, she magically raised up numerous rafters and spars of wood and rubbles, propping the corner of the building up and melding it all together into a relatively stable structure that would have to eventually be pulled down, but it would hold for now.

“Ok, here goes,” the Librarian announced. “Stand back!” She concentrated carefully, feeling every nook and cranny of the debris piled against the door, magically weaving her will under and through the rubbish until it was all alight in a bright violet aura. Exerting her full magical strength, the Unicorn heaved the mass of rubble up and over her head like a small planetoid, levitating it over the far wall of the building and setting it down in large cloud of splinters and dust. As soon as she was sure that the her repairs were holding, she pushed her way back through the Guards and her friends and trotted right up to the drunkenly-leaning door that read PRIVATE.

With a grunt and a shove, she pushed the door open, revealing a sight that would have knocked her on her flank if it didn’t in fact incense her even further: there was Volare, seemingly in one piece and sitting against the far wall. And who of all ponies was he sitting with than the Great and Powerful Trixie herself! The blue magician was wrapped in a blanket and huddled up against the Pegasus, and at the sound of Twilight’s entry, she looked up at her old nemesis with a bit of a guilty expression.

“T-Twilight Sparkle,” Trixie leaned up and smiled weakly. “Thank you so much for”-

“Save it, Trixie!” the Librarian snapped, silencing the blue Unicorn with her tone alone. Sensing a lot of hostility coming from his friend, Volare rose to his hooves to greet her, the very action of which elicited a gasp of shock from her.

“Heya, Twilight,” he smiled sheepishly, noting her expression of surprise.

“Y-you’re standing,” Twilight declared, wide-eyed in disbelief. But his leg was supposed to broken and…where were his bandages?!

“Yeah, I know,” he nodded and grinned, taking a few more steps towards her. “And that’s not all”-

“That’s nice,” Twilight cut him off with a low growl, closed the gap between him, and before he could react, she hauled back her forehoof and clocked him right in the side of his head, causing him to stagger sideways and Trixie’s eyebrows to shoot up in surprise; she’d never seen Twilight do something quite like that!

“Aha, good to see you too, Twi,” the Pegasus chuckled softly, shaking his head to clear the ringing from his ear.

“This h-how you g-greet your friends n-nowadays, T-twilight?” Trixie chided the violet Unicorn through her shudders, but the bookworm ignored her.

“I think I should explain,” Volare began, but Twilight cut him off again, not caring that everypony outside was squeezed into the door and watching the scene unfold before them in silence; nopony envying Volare’s current role as the target of the Unicorn’s emotional tirade.

“Horseapples!” The Librarian cried, her face contorted with a myriad of emotions, chief of which was a mixture of anger and relief at Volare somehow being back on his hooves. “Do you realize what I’ve been through today cuz I thought…cuz I thought you’d never walk or fly again and…here you are and the best you can say is ‘heya?!’” She shook the tears away that threatened to sneak out and glared up at him in fury. “You bucking scared me to death and here you are cuddling with Trixie of all ponies!?” Did that moment they shared in the hospital room mean nothing?! Had he lied to her about that…?

“Twilight, it’s not what it looks like, I’m telling you,” the pilot tried to calm her down, but she was nearing hysterics again…and he had a feeling as to why she felt this way…Dammit…

“Of course it’s exactly what it looks like!” she cried, stomping her hoof. “What else could it be?! You-you big…jerk!!” And with that, she cocked her hoof back to hit him again but to everypony’s shock (except for Trixie this time…go figure), before Twilight’s hoof could connect with his face again, something dark blue, solid, and covered in feathers flashed up to the right side of his head, catching her hoof in a clean block and stopping it cold. She stared in utter disbelief from her shaking hoof to the feathered appendage, to the point where it connected to the right side of Volare’s body, and finally up to his face, which wore the most polite smile he could muster.

“H-how…what…” Twilight managed to gasp before her back hooves lost her balance, the physical and emotional toll of the past few days finally overcame her willpower, and she pitched forward into Volare, who caught her with his wings. The Pegasus gently lowered himself to a sitting position, holding up Twilight’s face and continuing to smile down at her. “I-I don’t understand…how are your wings…working?”

“Like I said, Twilight,” he chuckled lightly under his breath. “I think I should explain-oof!” But he was cut off by the Librarian’s hooves being thrown around his neck and hugging him as tightly as she could manage. “Heh-heh-can’t really breathe, Twi!”

Good she smiled as she allowed the tears of relief to finally slide from her eyes and soak his shoulder. Cuz I still need to kill you…just a little bit…glad you're ok, though...big, dumb jerk...

----------------------------------

Notes: Woohoo, Volare’s back in action! But what about Trixie, will she be ok? And what about Ray and Jill?! They need to catch those bastards before they make it outta town! The Guard had better find them before Volare does…cuz there may not be much left to arrest if that happens!
Volare: I’ll moider da bum(s)!

*Cadillac Cimarron:
http://www.time.com/time/specials/2007/article/0,28804,1658545_1658533_1658526,00.html
One of the Top 50 Worst Cars of all time

Comments

[cloudranger]

Great chapter! Also, hooray for the balance of human compassion and our unrelenting vengeance. This story only gets better mate.

[V-Pony]

1250313 Volare: how bout no

1250354 LOL hope you made it back in one piece!

1250574
But thank you for the compliments!

1250695 Dat dey are!

1250774 Heh, I think you'll like how I explained her situation, then

1250936 Trust me, Trixie can't die...yet...

1251259 Nope, wasn't any of those

[V-Pony]

1251274 Stiil, that's more classic rock than most kids your age know, so I commend you for that
Have a 'stache!

1251305 Oops?

1251320 Volare: F**K YEAH!!
Author:

1251334 LOL ?

1251775 I dunno!
Drink more coffee!

1251810 Indeed, and everything was gone...so that's gonna raise some freaky red flags...
As for going back to Earth...we'll see

1252053 Eh-heh, I'll get to work on fixing them (this was before the Youtube video link option on the site)
Thank you, though!

1252347

[V-Pony]

1252373 LOL Pinkie as Chuck Norris' mom...why does that somehow make sense?

1253123 LOL do eet!

1253130 Oh good

1253136 Volare: thank you!

1253489

1254863 LOL a fic on this must be written!

1255247 That's happened to me before
*pat pat*
Thanks for trying, though.

1255783 Patience grasshoppah!

1256824 Damn you, Peppy Hare!

1258165 Thank you!

1258277 Eesh, I don't wanna steal your sleep

1258284
Pinkie: Saw III
Volare:

1258466 Yeah, crazy-assed day, huh?

[Assasin_Asha]

Glad to see Twi is mostly OK. I do hope that Pinkie's intrusion had no negative feedback... Though way to go with jumping to conlusions... again... Oh well, it's justified!
And look, Trixie finally realised what she did. Poor soul.
Good to see Volare being a good example of compassion, human style! Because, seriously, only a human could treat someone like that...
And the title was kinda a dead giveaway of them befriending each other.
So... wait. Was that cliffhanger? Because I'm not sure. Oh and I want to know what other changes in Volare's appearance were inflicted upon him... namely his mane! I bet Rarity is going to point this first thing in her speech. Or something like that.

[V-Pony]

1258618 Heh, Twilight reads a little too much sometimes
And trust me...Puddinghead pretty much describes her perfectly

1263606 The show will be spoken of in time...Volare's just gotta figure out a way to do so without looking like a crazy pony

1263663 Ray and Jill are roughly 20ish

1264054 Thank you!

1264082 You what!?
FFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUU-!!!!

[Assasin_Asha]

1264121
You... If anything happens to the author, I'm seding Pinkamina after you...dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Twilight_crazy_invert.png

[Crimson ONayl]

Mares... An unfathomable mystery

[BadLuck_Derpy]

“Whoa, hey, I found Octy’s cello; how the hay is this thing still in one piece?” - Well, AJ, awesome cello is awesome

Wondering what will happen to Trixie... Imagine her working as waitress for Lyra to pay the repairs

[Assasin_Asha]

1264156
"We are sorry the Princess you are trying to reach is currently unavailable..."
Meanwhile, at my room:
Me: What a lovely evening today, wouldn't you say so, Princess?
Princess Luna: Indeed!
dl.dropbox.com/u/31471793/FiMFiction/emoticons/misc_Discord.png

1264137
Oh, and I do care for Rarity... because somepony has to...
Well not really... I was more concerned about Volare's mane...

[Assasin_Asha]

1264178
Not really subtle, are we?
Meh, whatever... If you think you can nuke Princess Luna...
Now, I don't know a thing about Warhammer... so I cannot retort...
This exchange is over...

[Beyond the Horizon]

Looks like Twi hasn't stopped conclusion-jumping huh?

[Assasin_Asha]

1264201
My room(as my whole house) is insured from(is that a correct form of saying this?) nuclear attacks. Fire away!! And I never said about Luna dying either. To nuke Princess Luna and to kill Princess Luna with a nuke are completely different things. At least for me...
He's seriously that powerful? More reasons to not even glance at Warhammer... I hate OP of that kind in pretty much anything. Even if it's not in main story... Derp, that's me, I guess...
And why give Jill choice? Why not both?

[Anonymous Assassin]

Aww yeah! Awesome chapter, I am sooo ready to read the next one!

[Assasin_Asha]

1264224
Who said it should happen in V-pony's vicinity?
Meh, I'm ending this. We are kinda messing up the comment section here.
Welp, all my favourties updated...
What to do? What to do? *gasp* That's it!
CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS BLUE ANGEL REREADERS!! YAY!!!!

[Archmagejay]

Oh hey you finally noticed your wings mate congrats

[Rainbow87dash]

371990 oh god no not the dance of death videobeta.net/gifs/21572.gif

[Rainbow87dash]

1264277 I was on about the American dad episode

[Rainbow87dash]

1264289 oh it's funny Roger (the alien). Is a dictator of his own island and he makes everyone on the island dance At the end of the episode the guy in the pic dancing becomes the new dictator and his dance becomes the dance of death

[djthomp]

Good guy pony-fic author, promises smaller updates every Monday morning, gives us long updates more than once a week.

Nice scene between Trixie and Volare, and I'm glad to see that Twilight made it out of her dream spell apparently unharmed despite the interruption by Pinkie. I had a sudden fear in the middle of the chapter that Pinkie fetching her was going to cause a problem, guess I should have had more faith that Pinkie knows what she's doing.

[DeltaOsprey]

1264201 But will he blend?

[Rainbow87dash]

1264310 you didn't ask I just wanted to share my super awesome fantastic story with you didn't you like it?

[Triv_]

Woot more good chapter awesomeness!

[Cades]

1264085
Okay.jpg

[Pilate]

I think Twilight has a lot of aggression to get out, seems a little OOC for her to jump straight to anger these last few interactions we've seen; Twilight likes logic.

[Chiman1293]

Volare, you survived, are not hurt in any way and are not at any risk to being injurded at all.
What is this madness?

[TacoTown]

well alright then!

[Astarea]

Exquisite.

Every time I see this in my inbox, I squee.

[Tyrannosaurus_Tux]

hug all the jerks

[Android]

Jeez, and here I thought Rainbow Dash was impulsive.

Fuck you asshole.

Ah fuck m- gohrgpwobrdiuhdfoghreo8euy9438hgnhg598hg98gbheerhgfoi hjfpoi fhg

[YorkBrony]

Cadillac Cimarron; the horror, the horror!

[radiation_pony]

when Valore gose to "explore" earth for Twlight with dash and dash waches a brony waching mlpfimevorything makes sence now

[kooarbiter]

WOO new update in this mutha!

i thought "ok just gotta wait till saturday, the xbox MC update should hold me till tuesday, where ill get borderlands 2 which ill beat within the week, but knowing how much i LOVE to replay games, i figured it could hold me till november 6 when *angelic choir* HALO 4 RELEASES!!! but i didnt count on one thing, what will keep my attention for this week solution: Story updates!, specifically this story, until i thought,"aww damn he said he only updates on monday and he wasnt late consarn' it!" it turns out im not using my brain after all(if my algebra 2, principles of tech. and U.S history grades are any indication) and i forgot, stuff comes up and authors can post while flipping off their schedules and make their readers even happier to the point that im ready to say,"F*** the AJ fanclub im joining the vpony and volare fanclub!"

personally i wish you would have ended the obligatory cliffhanger at the point where twi first enters the building and sees trixie and volare in an embrace to make your readers spend all up to the next update (which at your update speed would probably be with in the week) wondering what she did. Alas, it is your story, i am only along for the ride

[thesilentjudger]

I only just finished the other chapters yesterday and now you go and post this!?!??!

Holy mother of Celestia!!! Just.... Keep up the good work.

Just to let you know my eyes started to water on this chapter

[clonezero]

Yey the cello has been saved! Great job everypony!

And Volare nice job counseling Trixie, that was just sweet! To bad Twily crashed the party.

And oh yeah! You've got your wings back, congratulations again Volare! Now wing shrugged them for all their worth, you'll never know when they'll fall off again.

[Unwitting Brony]

You know, I was all nice and warm and fuzzy on the inside after reading the whole bit with Trixie and Volare becoming friends... not enemies... frenemies? Anyway, that was all shot down the drain after Twilight came in and (after learning how badly things can be fucked up by drawing assumptions NOT EVEN A WEEK EARLIER) assumed that Volare was cuddling Trixie, that Volare didn't care for her emotions, that the apple of his eye was actually her "rival". Thankfully, it seems as though crisis will be mostly avoided due to Volare's cool head under pressure..

Yes, I know it's not fair to blame Twilight for assuming that since she was worried to death about Volare being up and about, but come on. Seriously.

[D48]

That was great. I was worried you would screw things up with Trixie after some of the comments on the last chapter, but you nailed her personality here which makes me very happy.

Also, Twilight has really been on a roll lately.

[shira]

1267257

You responded to a post that's half a year old? I got 7 chapters in and gave up. I didn't give it a thumbs down which means I didn't think it was awful...but I didn't rate it at all which usually implies that it was aggressively mediocre and so I moved on. The problem is now that I've had 6 months worth of additional reading, editing, proofreading, etc. I'm now going to be even more picky than I was before so I'm not likely to look back and read it again and see anything other than "Military Brony in Equestria #327"

Besides, I'm not a big fan of Dark tagged fics so this is well outside of my interest at this point. No offense V-pony, just guessing based on what I can gather from checking this out a long time ago.

[MasterDreamy]

Great as always, keep up the great job Vpony

[Anubis Nox]

Volare: I’ll moider da bum(s)!
Me: You like murdering bums don't you?
Volare: FUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-
Volare: Bloody trolls these days..
Me: Successful troll is successful -
images.t-nation.com/forum_images/2/9/291e9_ORIG-successful_troll.jpg

Me: Give me a brohoof for another great chapter author, /)

[Chiman1293]

You know what would suck, is if Vinyl's recording equipment and the recording of Volare's story got destroyed when the building collapsed. Or if Trixie's magic destoried it.

And I just realiesed that Scootallo will get to see her big brother without an injury. That is going to be an interseting confrontation.

[Starscape]

Epic chapter! Scootaloo will be so happy!

But, since I know what you're like, something, SOMETHING will happen that will injure Volare. You do love torturing him.

[q97randomguy]

The best part was when Twi was thinking that if Volare had died she would "find a way to bring him back and kill him again" because if anypony could do it it would be Twilight.

[q97randomguy]

Side note in 2 or 3 chapters this will be the single longest story I have ever read, the current one was like 1100 pages, and this is about to be longer with no sign of stopping.

[HeyClassy]

And once again, Twilight jumps to a conclusion that could damage a potential friendship... Waitta learn from your mistakes Twi...

[Rainbow87dash]

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

[Rainbow87dash]

1269022 why are you running I just want to PLAAAAYYYYY!!!!!

[Rainbow87dash]

1269075 I did the same when I read cupcakes I nearly vomited and I had nightmares for a week
I can't look at Pinkie pie without those memories and images popping up

[Rainbow87dash]

1269108 why would someone write a fic where RD is tortured then killed? Fuck you sergeant sprinkles

[Rainbow87dash]

1269131 no I didn't what's it called?