Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Hooves

by alexmagnet

The End (Pt. III): The Beginning

The End (Pt. III): The Beginning

“...Wait!” Twilight shouted after a long silence. Spike rolled his head to the side, looking at her. He raised an eyebrow. “This isn't the end,” she said. “It's the beginning!”

“No,” said Spike, “this is definitely the end. Look around,” he said, spreading his arms wide. “There's nothing left. This,” he said as he shook his arms, “is the end of everything.”

Twilight held up her hoof. “Except for us,” she clarified.

“So what?”

“So,” said Twilight slowly, “It means we can start over.”

Spike eyed her questioningly. “You mean like,” he paused for few seconds, “breeding?”

“What? Eww, no!” Twilight cried, sticking out her tongue. “I mean that we can go forward in time until everything starts over.”

“Oh,” Spike said, somewhat disappointed. “Are you sure it works like that?”

“Of course. Time is cyclical, and,” she continued, “I saw it in a TV show once.”

Spike cocked his head to the side. “A TV show?”

Twilight nodded excitedly. “Plus,” she added, “I've got a mar—”

Spike held up his hand, silencing Twilight. “I believe you.” He shook his head. “But still, how you plan on making us travel forward in time?”

Twilight smiled knowingly. “Do you remember,” she said, “back when I was telling you about tachyons?” Spike nodded slowly. “I said that they could only be used for forward time-travel.” Spike's eyes widened as Twilight's smile grew.

“But,” said Spike, “where are we going to find tachyons? It's not like you just carry them—” Spike's sentence was cut short when Twilight produced a small jar, filled with what he presumed to be tachyons. Twilight lifted the jar, displaying it proudly. “Oh come on, you have got to be—really?” He stared at Twilight incredulously. “You just carry those around, do you?” he said, pointing at the jar.

Twilight nodded, still smiling. “These are my emergency tachyons,” she explained as she jiggled the jar. “I always have them with me. You know,” she said, winking, “in case of time-travel emergency.”

Spike closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. Sighing slowly he replied, “Where do you even keep those?”

“I don't think that's important.”

Rolling his eyes, Spike responded, “Well, how are you going to use them?”

Twilight tapped her chin thoughtfully. “I don't know,” she finally admitted. “I guess I can just apply the same type of magic I used for backwards time-travel.” She shrugged her shoulders. “That will probably work.”

“Probably?”

“Did you have another suggestion?” Twilight replied sarcastically.

“I—well—no, not really I guess,” Spike confessed, dropping his arms.

“Good,” Twilight replied cheerily. Taking a deep breath she said, “Okay.” Twilight unscrewed the lid of the jar and poured the contents into the void. They hung in the white space, floating in the nothingness. Spike stared at the tachyons, they were pitch black but surrounded by a light pink and yellow aura. They grouped themselves into a small circle and bobbed up and down slightly.

“I thought they were supposed to be tiny,” Spike pointed out.

“Evidently not,” Twilight mumbled. “Anyway, here goes nothing.” Twilight sucked in her breath as her horn began to emanate a faint purplish light. The light grew stronger and more pronounced the longer she kept the spell going. Beads of sweat began to form on her forehead from the strain, soaking the bandage wrapped around her head. Her magic spilled over the ring of tachyons, exciting them. They began to bounce around occasionally stopping suddenly and reversing direction. As they shot around, everywhere they touched seemed to catch fire. Not literally, but the white nothingness seemed to burn away at their touch, leaving black spots all over the place. As the black spots grew so did their number. Soon they had burned away the entire white void, leaving a black void in its place.

“This doesn't seem much better,” Spike complained. “Everything is just black now. How is this diff—” Spike was interrupted by the birth of a tiny white speck far off in the distance. He stared at it, trying to discern what it was. He glanced at Twilight, but she was still heavily focused on casting her magic. Her face was calm despite the extreme force she was exerting. Spike watched as she emptied all of her magical energy into the tachyons, sending them further and further away. As they bounced away they caused more white specks to appear, eventually they dotted the blackness like snowflakes. They grew in size slowly.

Spike looked on in wonderment as the universe began to build up around him. Each tiny mote of light was a star being formed, and each star had started forming its own system of planets. Soon the sky, since that is what Spike realized the dark void was now, was filled with star systems and planets. He could start to make out the formation of constellations he recognized. Not too far from him he saw Orion begin to take shape as well as the Little and Big Dippers. His jaw dropped slightly as the magnitude of the universe finally hit him. There were millions of specks and, by extension, millions of planets, and they, were just one tiny planet in all the vastness of space.

Speaking of their planet, Spike looked down to see that it had begun to take shape under his feet. The sun was growing every second, filling the sky with its heat. As it did it began to evaporate the seas that covered the planet, leaving behind spits of land all over the place. Twilight's magic, which had destroyed the universe once before, was now bringing it back to life. Spike was awestruck, his jaw dropping further as she breathed everything back into existence.

He turned his attention away from Twilight and back to the planet beneath him that had just seen its first land-based life forms. He watched as they lived and died, and grew, all at an accelerated pace. He gaped at evolution happening right before his eyes, and he saw the first dragons take shape, his ancestors. Ponies too had begun to evolve. It would seem they did not get along though since the dragons were killing thousands of ponies. Luckily Twilight's eyes were clenched shut and she did not see the massacre, so Spike breathed a sigh of relief. He watched as cities and towns rose and fell just as the mountains had risen from the earth before. Far at the top of a mountain he could see Canterlot beginning to take shape. For a brief moment the sun did not rise and it stayed dark. He looked up to the moon and he saw that it was completely barren. He kept his eyes trained on it however, waiting patiently. Soon its surface became pockmarked, seemingly randomly at first and then the marks started to take the shape of a pony's head. Spike watched as the Mare in the Moon was built in mere seconds. They were getting close now.

Ponyville had already begun building up around him by now, but the inhabitants seemed to be blissfully unaware of Twilight and himself. Spike figured that was most likely to due to some of Twilight's black magic. Before long he began to see buildings he knew take shape. In fact, for the past while he had seen a tree that was planted by one of the Ponyvillians grow into the library they lived in now. Many different ponies came into the tree as it was hollowed out and construction began on the library. What took years to build took seconds for Spike to observe. The bedroom they had been in built up around them, all the furniture seemed to appear out of nowhere. Soon the room was exactly as Spike remembered it.

He glanced out the window and saw the Mare in the Moon had recently disappeared and seconds later he saw himself and Twilight in fast-motion eating, sleeping, and generally living in the bedroom. He was about to call out to Twilight and tell her to slow down, but she had already reduced the flow of magic pulled the tachyons back in. Their forward travel slowed down to an almost normal speed as the tachyons began to reform the ring and Twilight's horn started to dim. Finally they stopped altogether, coming to rest comfortably in the same positions they had left in. Twilight gathered her tachyons back in the jar and put them away.

Spike gazed around the room and saw that Twilight was panting heavily. He was impressed by her prowess. He grinned, Twilight really was an amazing mare. She had both destroyed and rebuilt space and time all in one day. He approached Twilight and laid a claw on her shoulder comfortingly.

“That was amazing. Is everything back exactly like it was?” he asked.

Twilight, still wheezing, replied in between breaths. “It... should... be.” She took one deep breath and exhaled slowly through her nose. More calmly she added, “This should be a carbon copy of our time and universe.”

Spike nodded his head, “It looks just like I remember it.” His brow furrowed, “Actually,” he said. “Something does seem a little different. I think we stopped about a month too early,” he said pointing at a calender hanging on the wall.

Twilight smiled, “I know.”

“Why?”

“Because I—” Twilight was prevented from explaining herself by the sudden opening of the library door.

“Oh, what do you know, Spike?”

“I'm just saying that I think your mane would look really cool if it was blue. Like a dark sea blue or something. That would be awesome.”

“Just shut up, you have no idea what you're—”

Twilight and Spike stopped suddenly as they noticed Twilight and Spike were already standing in the room. “What the hell is going on here?” said the Twilight who had just walked in.

“Seriously, how is there two of us?” added new-Spike.

“Somepony care to explain thi—” New-Twilight was cut off by her and new-Spike's sudden disappearance in a flash of light. The Spike that was left glanced over at the remaining Twilight.

“Did you do that?” he said slowly.

She nodded silently.

Spike threw his arms out, “Why?”

“They were getting on my nerves. That, and they were creating a paradox.” Spike spread his arms further. “What?” Twilight said. “We can't have two Twilights and two Spikes running around. They had to go.”

“What did you do with them,” questioned Spike. “You didn't... kill them, did you?”

Twilight laughed. “No no, I just sent them to the moon,” she said. Seeing Spike's look of horror she added, “I'm sure they'll be fine. If I know Twilight then I know she'll figure out a way to survive in the vacuum of space.”

“But won't that mean they'll come back?” he asked.

“Oh, I don't think they'll be a problem,” said Twilight, waving a hoof dismissively. “Anyways, as I was saying before we were interrupted, the reason I stopped us a month ahead of time was so that I could train more. To beat Trixie,” she added upon seeing Spike's arched eyebrows.

“Trixie has been boxing for years, and you think a month will give you enough time to train?” Spike scoffed. “You should've stopped way back,” he said, making a fist and pointing his thumb over his shoulder.

Twilight sighed. “This will have to do. Now come on, we've got a lot of training to do.” She swooped across the room and pulled Spike out the door and into the hallway. They rushed out of the library and across town. Eventually they reached the gym, Twilight's apparent destination. She bucked open the door dramatically and approached the front desk. She dragged Spike behind her before sliding him across the floor and into the reception desk. Placing her front hooves on the wooden desk she opened her mouth to speak.

“Do you have a membership?” asked the mare behind the desk dryly.

Twilight held up a hoof, her mouth still open. “Damn,” she grumbled, placing her hoof back down. Kneeling down to Spike she whispered, “I forgot that this Twilight hasn't got a membership here yet.” She pursed her lips silently. A few seconds later her eyes lit up. “Hold on! This Twilight also hasn't got a membership at that stupid yacht club yet!” she whispered excitedly. “That means I've got plenty of money.” Spike gaped at her. Standing back up Twilight glared at the reception desk mare and said, “No, but I would like one.” She looked down at Spike, winking at him. He looked away, rolling his eyes.

A couple of minutes later Twilight had finished filling out the membership application and payed her twenty bits. She handed the paper to the mare and received a laminated membership card in return. Holding it triumphantly above her head Twilight cried out, “With this I shall defeat Trixie!”

“I think you're being a bit over-dramatic,” Spike said, scratching his head.

“Oh, shut up.”

___

Several hours later Twilight and Spike left the gym. Breathing heavily, Twilight stretched out her back and shook out her limbs, cracking her neck as she exhaled slowly.

“I thought that went very well,” she said after stretching.

“Yeah,” Spike agreed. “They actually had a punching bag and everything.”

Twilight nodded her head. “It's weird that that was the one thing different about this universe.”

“Like some kind of tiny deus ex machina.”

“Oh well,” Twilight said, shrugging her shoulders. “You won't hear me complaining.”

“So,” said Spike, looking up at Twilight. “Are you going to do this everyday?”

Twilight, after taking a deep breath, responded, “Yep. Up until my fight with Trixie at least.”

“It's going to be a long month,” said Spike as he stared into the sky.

“Yep.” She followed Spike's gaze into the sky. After a long pause she finally spoke up. “Well,” she sighed, “we better get back home before it gets dark.” Spike nodded. The two collected themselves and made their way back to the library, and to their beds.

The next morning Spike was woken by the sounds of Twilight making coffee downstairs. He yawned, stretching his arms out wide. Scratching his back he rolled out of bed and made for the kitchen. There he found Twilight pouring herself a cup of coffee.

“There you are,” she said, noticing Spike walk in. “I was wondering when you'd get up.”

Spike yawned again. “What time is it?” he asked groggily.

“6:30,” Twilight replied cheerily. “We have a lot to do, so we need to be up as early as possible.”

Spike rubbed his eyes, yawning yet again. “I thought you were the one training, not me.”

“But, I need your help.” Spike sighed. “Oh, don't be such a baby,” snapped Twilight. “You barely do anything as it is.”

“Why even do this at all?” asked Spike.

“Why?”

“Yeah, why not just send Trixie to the moon or, better yet, just don't sign the paper since you know it's coming? Why bother training at all?”

“I want to prove I can beat her,” Twilight answered. “It's not about the library. This is between me and her.”

“Whatever you say,” Spike said, waving his hand.

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Just shut up.”

Over the next few minutes Twilight finished her cup of coffee. Once she was done she 'convinced' Spike to help her at the gym. They spent all day training, stopping only rarely for breaks and only once to eat. Twilight would spend several hours working on her endurance by running or trotting on the treadmill and another several building her strength with weights. She went everywhere on her hind legs so she could practice balancing on them. She also started adding protein supplements to her morning coffee, and her meals. For the rest of the month everyday was spent training. Twilight shut everything else out of her life. She ignored her friends, her family, and, on more than one occasion, she neglected to feed Spike. But, it was all worth it when the day finally came for her to face Trixie.

Twilight and Spike stood in front of Sugar Cube Corner once again. She was decidedly more muscular this time around though, and he was looking a little more haggard. Without even bothering to knock on the door Twilight flung it open, yelling, “Pinkie!”

A few moments later Pinkie bounced her way across the bakery and stopped in front of Twilight. Giggling, she exclaimed, “Hiya, Twilight! Hey there, Spike!” She waved her hoof excitedly. “You could've just knocked,” she said, looking at the broken hinges on the door.

Twilight was in no mood to deal with Pinkie so she stomped her hooves on the ground angrily. “Pinkie,” she said, “just shut up and take me to Trixie. I know she's staying in your basement,” she snapped. “I also know why she's here,” she added, cutting off Pinkie's intended reply.

Pinkie giggled and started bouncing again. “Okey dokey loki!” She hopped away, leading them into the basement towards their, hopefully, final confrontation with Trixie. Twilight's heart began to beat fast, she felt nervousness overcome her. She knew that she was prepared but still, she couldn't help but feel the same apprehension that she felt the first time she fought Trixie. The memory of her defeat swam back to the forefront of her mind as she slowly descended the steps. As she rounded the corner she saw, sitting under the same naked light bulb, Trixie. She was just as Twilight remembered. Her magician's hat pulled down over her eyes and her cape resting lazily behind her. Not to be fooled this time, Twilight sucked in her chest and strode determinedly over to the sleeping mare. She slammed her hoof down on the table, waking Trixie unceremoniously. She fell backwards, tumbling out of her chair. Twilight waited patiently for Trixie to gather herself.

“Wh—Who dares disturb The Great and Powerful Trixie!” she demanded as she stood up clumsily, her hat perched precariously on her head.

“Save it,” Twilight hissed, holding up her hoof. “I know why you're here,” she said calmly. Trixie opened her mouth to protest, but Twilight cut her off. “And I know that you have the deed to my house. I don't care about that,” she said, putting her hoof down. “I want to fight you.”

“Trixie won't ask how you know all that.”

“Good.”

“But, she will tell you that we won't fight until midnight tomorrow,” she said, smirking. “Trixie wants to gather a crowd, so that you can lose in front of everyone, just like she did.”

Twilight shook her head. “No. We fight tonight,” she said, slamming her hoof down. “Right here, right now.” She emphasized each word with another stomp.

Trixie grinned, saying, “Trixie has to wonder why you are so eager? It is not what she expected.”

“Let's just say I've got a score to settle,” Twilight said, narrowing her eyes.

Trixie stared into Twilight's lavender eyes, drilling holes into them. After a long silence, and a lot of staring, Trixie broke her death glare and said, “Very well then. We shall have our match tonight.” Turning to Pinkie Pie she said, “You, annoying one, fetch Trixie's wrappings, she shall not fight without them.”

As Pinkie started bouncing away Twilight called after her. “And grab some for me as well,” she said, not looking away from Trixie.

For a time they sat waiting, Twilight and Spike whispered back and forth while Trixie slowly removed her hat and cape. She took them off carefully and laid them gently on the table, placing her hat on top of her folded cape. She then stepped back from the table and reared up on her hind legs. With a hard look on face she began to practice punching by repeatedly swinging at the air. She kept on the edges of her hooves as she did, always bobbing slightly. She seemed to be light as a feather as she stood on her hind legs effortlessly. Twilight couldn't help but admire how easy she made it look. She clearly was a master of boxing, her form was perfect and her punches were powerful. With each jab she exhaled, sometimes making several quick jabs in a row. Her mane and tail bounced as she danced around and her muscles rippled with each punch.

Finally, Pinkie returned and deposited several rolls of bandages on the table. “There ya go!” she said cheerfully as Trixie dropped to all fours and Twilight stopped whispering to Spike. Pinkie Pie seemed to be blissfully unaware of the circumstances. That, or she just was unshakably happy. Twilight envied her somewhat, then realized how stupid that was and shook her head. She leaned forward and snatched a roll off the table with her mouth as Trixie did the same. They both started wrapping their hooves. Twilight was quite practiced at it now and she could do it almost as quickly as Trixie. It was cathartic for her, wrapping her hooves. She took a deep breath once she was done, shaking out her shoulders and standing on her hind legs. She made two quick jabs and then looked at Trixie. She was standing on her hind legs as well, cracking her neck and shaking her limbs.

Twilight breathed in sharply then slowly let it out through her nose. Clapping her hooves together she said, “Let's do this.”

Trixie nodded, raising up her hooves in the defensive position. “Let's.”

They moved to the center of the room and tapped hooves before backing away. Trixie spit on the ground and started shuffling her hooves, circling Twilight. Twilight matched her, her hooves raised, and they began their dance. Spike and Pinkie watched from the sidelines as tension filled the air. The two ponies glared at each other as they circled, each refusing to break eye contact. Trixie was the first to make a move. She lunged forward taking a reckless swing at Twilight's left side. Twilight smirked, side-stepping the blow and retaliating with one of her own. It caught Trixie's rib cage, causing her to stumble backwards slightly before regaining her footing. She coughed slighlty, spitting up a small amount of blood. Smirking, Trixie wiped her mouth with her hoof and returned to the fight. She made another quick jab at Twilight's left side, but this time anticipated her dodge and punished with a left hook. The blow caught Twilight right below her liver. She held her hoof over her side as she staggered back. Trixie grinned as Twilight spit up blood, wheezing slightly.

“You must think Trixie is some kind of amateur,” she said haughtily, “to believe that she would fall for the same maneuver twice.” She laughed as Twilight wiped her mouth and shook her head. Twilight lurched towards Trixie as she laughed, releasing a powerful corkscrew punch into her stomach. Trixie was caught off guard and took the full force of the attack. She doubled over, coughing up more blood. Twilight stepped back, keeping on the edges of her hooves and bobbing up and down. She let Trixie regain her composure and her stance before grinning at her contemptuously.

“You must think I'm some kind of amateur to not take advantage of such a clear opening,” she laughed.

Trixie smirked back at Twilight arrogantly. “Not bad,” she admitted. “But you are still no match for Trixie.”

“Is that so?” countered Twilight. “We'll see about that.”

They returned to their positions and renewed their duel. Now, however, Trixie was a little more cautious. She took care not to underestimate Twilight, even if she was just an amateur. As they bounced around they swapped jabs, parrying or dodging each one in turn. After a few minutes or so the match began to take its toll. They were both sweating profusely and their bandages were frayed, along with their manes and tails.

Trixie wiped her brow, clearing the sweat away before saying, “How long have you been boxing, Sparkle?”

Twilight, panting, replied, “About a month now.”

Trixie looked surprised. “Only a month?”

“What can I say?,” Twilight retorted, shrugging. “I'm a fast learner.” She put her hooves in front of her face.

“Trixie admits that is quite impressive. But, you still lack experience.”

As she said that Trixie leapt forward and began her attack again. She swung at Twilight relentlessly, but she was careful not to leave herself open. Each punch was quick and precise, too quick for Twilight to punish. Twilight held up her hooves and defended herself as best she could, turning as she needed to make each hit do as little damage as possible, but it was no use. Eventually, Trixie opened Twilight up and was able to get one quick jab in, causing Twilight to falter in her defense. Trixie took full advantage of this opportunity and began beating on Twilight's now undefended midsection. She jabbed repeatedly into her stomach, following her as Twilight stepped backwards. She held up her hooves to cover her face, hoping at least to protect her upper body. She staggered backwards and eventually tripped, moving her left hoof to catch herself, she left her face undefended. Trixie smirked as she saw this. Her right hoof shot out, hitting Twilight square in the jaw.

She fell backwards, landing hard on the ground. She coughed up more blood, spitting out a tooth. Trixie's smile grew wide as she swooped in to finish the wounded mare off. Twilight lay helpless on the ground while Trixie savagely attacked her face, hitting her over and over again. She sat there, her face becoming more and more bloodied as Trixie swung at her. Twilight's vision began to fade as she looked up at Trixie. She saw her smirking face, that raw power in her eyes, and suddenly a spark of determination lit in her own eyes. She lost to Trixie once, and it wasn't going to happen again. As Trixie launched her right hoof at Twilight's face she parried it with her left hoof, swatting it away and delivering her own right hook. Her hoof planted itself in Trixie's side, causing her to spit up more blood, spraying on Twilight's face. Twilight jumped up with renewed vigor and began battering Trixie's open stomach. She jabbed at her ribs brutally, returning the beating she had just received.

Twilight was now on the offensive. Right, right, right, left, right. Over and over again she hooked and jabbed at Trixie's sides and middle. She stumbled backwards, falling over just as Twilight had done. Twilight saw her chance for revenge and leapt on top her and began assaulting Trixie's face. With every punch Trixie's head turned away and then came back just in time to be hit again. It was quite a sight to see two mare's beating the hell out of each other. Spike whistled slowly and Pinkie bounced up and down with a huge smile across her face.

“This so exciting!” she exclaimed.

Twilight had raised one hoof high into the air to deliver a ruinous haymaker. But, as she did Trixie kicked at her side and caused Twilight to roll over. The two lay on the ground panting, just a few feet from each other. Breathing heavily, Trixie was the first to get up. She stood slowly, her hooves were wobbly and she was still coughing up blood. She wiped her mouth with her now blood-soaked bandages and waited for Twilight to stand. Twilight lay looking up at the ceiling. She tasted iron and she felt another loose tooth. Finally, she rolled over and heaved herself up, returning to her hind legs. Using her tongue she felt around her mouth for anymore missing teeth. Finding none she gathered all the blood in her mouth and spit it on the ground. She wiped her mouth, looking down at her bloodied, frayed, and torn bandages. Looking up she saw Trixie, her hooves held up shakily, standing there, waiting for her. Twilight breathed in slowly, then put her hooves up once more, exhaling as she did.

They both approached the center of the room. Their movements were sluggish, and their punches weak. Neither seemed to be able to land a decent hit. Wheezing Twilight said, “Let's end this.” She lurched forward, hooking her right hoof as hard as she could at Trixie. Hoping that a combination of surprise and fatigue would prevent her from dodging. The punch seemed to fly in slow-motion, rocketing at Trixie's face. Twilight had put all of her power into it, and she had very little power left. Trixie saw the punch coming and she smirked. Despite her tiredness she was still able to dodge the attack and, due to its all-in nature, it left Twilight wide open. Twilight's eyes widened as she saw Trixie's smiling face disappear from view. “No,” she breathed quietly.

A split second later Trixie appeared from underneath Twilight, her right hoof soaring upwards directly into Twilight's jaw. The force of the uppercut lifted Twilight into the air. She felt like she was floating, it was almost peaceful in a way. Then the fall came and she hit the ground, coughing as she did. Trixie stood victoriously over her. She knelt down, whispering into to Twilight's ear she said,

“Was there ever any doubt?”

That was the last thing Twilight heard before blacking out. Trixie stood slowly, peering down at her unconscious form with a smirk on her face. She dusted herself off and began unwrapping her bandages. Spike watched her, his mouth hanging open. Pinkie was next to him, still bouncing obliviously. Trixie finished removing her wrappings and spit them on the ground. She took two steps and then collapsed on the ground, falling asleep before she even it the floor. Spike shook his head slowly.

“Well,” he said after a pause, “I guess that's it then. Twilight lost... again.”

“Again?” asked Pinkie.

Spike shook his head. “I was just thinking out loud.” Pinkie eyed him suspiciously. “It's nothing, really,” he said.

“Okey dokey loki!” Pinkie replied happily. Luckily Pinkie was easily swayed.

Spike breathed in deeply through his nose, and then let it out slowly. “I suppose I better take her home then,” he said, motioning to Twilight.

“Oh! Oh! I'll help!” Pinkie shouted bouncing over to Twilight's unconscious body.

“Yeah, yeah. Alright, you can help.”

“Yay!”

___

After he and Pinkie managed to drag Twilight back to the library, Spike got some much needed rest. For once, he was not woken by any loud noises, or any of Twilight's outbursts. He was able to sleep through the whole night and he woke the next morning feeling fully rested. Stretching and yawning as he rolled out of bed, Spike looked over to see Twilight still sound asleep. The night before must have been pretty rough on her. Her face was cut and bruised in many places and the rest of her body, specifically her ribs, fared little better. He had taken the bandages off her hooves before putting her to bed and now in the morning light he saw that they were bruised badly.

Spike furrowed his brow and tapped his chin. His eyes lit up as an idea came to him. He rushed downstairs and into the kitchen where he began making Twilight's coffee. He also cracked a couple of eggs and began mixing together the ingredients for pancakes. He figured Twilight could use a bit of a pick-me-up when she finally awoke.

As the hummed, stirring away at the batter he heard a knock at the door. Putting down the whisk he licked his fingers and jumped off the stool. Walking over to the door he wondered to himself who could be here at such an early hour. When he opened the door he wondered no more. Standing there, looking just as bad as Twilight, was Trixie. Her mane was dirty and her face stained with blood. She had gauze wrapped all around her head and many tiny cuts and bruises. Though, she still had that same look of confidence, or arrogance, on her face. Her hat and cape were back in their rightful places, and she was smirking, like always.

“Trixie would like to speak with the contemptible mare you call 'Twilight',” she said.

“Is this about the library?” questioned Spike.

Trixie nodded, still smirking. Spike sighed, “Fine, I'll go get her.” Spike hurriedly went upstairs into the bedroom where he found Twilight just waking up.

“Is someone making pancakes?” she asked groggily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.

Ignoring her question Spike grabbed her hoof and pulled her out of bed. “Trixie's here,” he said urgently.

Twilight's eyes shot wide open. “Crap.” She ran over to the mirror and began brushing out her mane. She looked at her face and saw how badly she had been beaten. She felt her face, wincing as she touched the bruises. Turning back to Spike she asked, “How do I look?”

Spike shook his head, narrowing his eyes. “Why do you care?”

“Oh, shut up. Let's just go downstairs.” Twilight flung open the bedroom door and trotted down the stairs. She approached the front door with Spike in tow. Opening it slowly she saw Trixie standing on the other side. Her hat now off and in her left hoof. “Yes,” Twilight said quickly, “can I help you?”

Trixie laughed sarcastically. “Very funny. Trixie presumes you know why she's here?”

Twilight sighed. “Yes, I know.”

“Good, that will save some time.” Trixie reached into her hat and fished out a official looking paper. Showing it to Twilight she said, “Here is the deed you signed. It says that you will relinquish your property to Trixie.”

“Trixie,” Twilight said calmly. “Isn't there any kind of deal we can work out?”

Trixie shook her head, chuckling. “I'm afraid not, Sparkle. You lost the fight and so too shall you lose your home. And this,” she said, shaking the paper, “is the proof.”

Twilight's eyes narrowed as Trixie shook the paper. “Wait a second,” she said suspiciously. “Let me see that.” She made a grab for the paper, but Trixie pulled it away quickly so Twilight was only able to grab half of it. It tore across the middle as Twilight held on to one end while Trixie yanked away the other. Twilight looked down at the half she held in her mouth, spitting it into her hoof. Her eyebrows raised as she read the torn paper.

“Is this for real?” she asked, holding it up. “Did you write this yourself?”

Trixie looked around shiftily, finally confessing, “Alright fine.” She crossed her hooves and tossed the paper aside. “I faked the deed.”

Twilight stared open-mouthed at her. “Why?” she asked, shaking her head. “And also, why are you speaking in first person now?”

“It's tiring to always speak in third person,” she said as she shrugged her shoulders. “And besides, it's really just an act.” Twilight gaped at her. “The reason I forged that deed—”

“Poorly I might add,” interjected Twilight.

Trixie glared at her, Twilight closed her mouth. “Is because,” she paused. “Well, to be honest, I'm homeless.” Twilight was about to say something but she cut her off. “After the whole 'Ursa Major' incident I was left without a carriage, which, I might add, was also my home. It was destroyed by the bear you see,” she explained. “So, after a long time and a lot of thinking I decided to come back to Ponyville. Mostly to get revenge on you,” she said, pointing at Twilight. “But, also to find a home. I figured I could kill two birds with one stone and just win your home from you. I knew that I could never win in a magic duel so I challenged you to the only thing I knew well enough to beat you at, boxing.” Twilight listened silently as Trixie told her story. “I also knew that I would never get you to agree to wager your home. That is why I tricked your dragon into having you sign those papers, which I forged,” she added after a second. “I didn't really think you would put up much of a fight when I came to collect, so I wasn't too worried about you discovering that the documents were fake.”

Twilight glanced down at the paper she held in her hoof. “You thought this,” she held up the forgery, “would fool me? This is like, baby-town nonsense right here. I realized it was a fake as soon as I saw it,” she said tapping the paper.

Trixie held up a hoof. “Ah, but you did sign it,” she chuckled. Twilight opened her mouth about to make a witty comeback and then she closed it again, unable to come up with anything. Spike chortled behind her.

“Oh, shut up, Spike.” Twilight turned back to Trixie. “So, where does this leave us?” she said.

Trixie sat there silently for a long time, staring at the ground. Finally she opened her mouth slowly and asked, “Can I come live with you?”

Twilight nearly fell over from shock. She tilted her head, staring at Trixie with her mouth hanging open. “Seriously?”

Trixie shrugged. “I've got nowhere else to go.”

Twilight stared silently at Trixie, transfixed. She couldn't believe where this situation had ended up. She clenched her eyes shut and tilted her head back. After a long silence she finally opened her eyes and brought her head back down. She sighed slowly. “Sure, I guess so.” Spike stared up at Twilight stupefied. Trixie smiled, standing up straight.

“Excellent!” she said excitedly.

Twilight waved Trixie inside, saying, “Well, come on in then. The guest room is upstairs and to the right.” Spike stood in the doorway, in shock, until Twilight pushed him out of the way. Trixie trotted through the door and upstairs. As she passed by the kitchen she called back to Twilight.

“Is someone making pancakes?” Receiving no answer she continued on her way upstairs.

Twilight and Spike stood in the main hall, Spike shuffling his feet and Twilight thinking to herself.

“Why did you let her stay?” Spike eventually asked.

Twilight looked up to the bedroom where Trixie had just opened the door. She watched her walk inside, shutting the door behind her. Without looking back at Spike she answered, “Because, Spike. She may be arrogant and self-centered, but she is a damn good boxer, and it took a lot of guts for her to ask to stay here.” She looked away from the bedroom door and back down at Spike, blushing slightly. “Also,” she added, “I feel kind of guilty since I'm semi-responsible for her current homelessness.”

Spike arched an eyebrow. “Semi?”

Twilight rolled her eyes. “Oh, shut up.” After a short pause she patted Spike on the back. “Come on,” she said, “let's go finish making those pancakes.”

As they walked towards the kitchen Spike glanced up at Twilight. “Does this mean there's going to be a sequel,” he asked.

Twilight, without looking down, nodded. “Yeah, I guess so.”

Spike crossed his arms. “Damn, I hate sequels.”

Comments

[alexmagnet]

After a lot of thinking I decided that the ending I wrote was not good enough. But, rather than erase it and start over I chose to extend the ending by adding another chapter. I did this for two reasons. One, I don't believe in just whiting out my mistakes and pretending like they didn't happen. I want to keep those chapters as they are as a reminder. Two, I wanted to see if I could write an extended ending that provided the readers with a little more satisfaction, without taking away what I had already done. I suppose only the comments will tell if I was successful or not.

Anyways, I appreciate the time everyone spent reading this and I want to say thank you.The fact that anyone at all reads this still amazes me. You guys are awesome, even if you still hate the ending.

(Trixie is best pony... )

[EDIT:] I have no idea why the indenting is messed up so bad. I've checked the document again in editing mode and everything looks fine. I'm seriously at a loss. Sorry, I guess.

[Chromablitz]

@Alexmagnet dude I loved the ending. Has the funny irony thats been through out the whole story, especially with Twilight. All the while and even her defeat she's been rude and arrogant too though not as much as Trixie, and so karma comes in. I found it a sweet ending that Trixie ends up living with her after all that, sorta heart warming. It would be awesome if you wrote a story of their living conditions after. The shenanigans of Twilight, Trixie, and Spike living together would be hilarious.

[Swashbucklist]

Her mane and tail bounced as she danced around and her muscles rippled with each punch.

Well, there's my favorite sentence. Moving on.

Sometimes, mistakes lead to improvements that wouldn't have happened otherwise. Sean Akins and Jason DeMarco wanted TOM (the robot in my profile image), host of Toonami, to have a face at first, but without sufficient graphics, they were forced to give him a visor, which turned out to be way cooler. Even if they didn't learn their lesson and gave TOM 4 a face anyway.

Thanks to your lackluster original ending, we got to see Twilight do something totally epic and amazing. Right before she did something careless and stupid. Would it really have been so hard to let their past selves live in Ponyville while she trained in another town? Silly Twilight. Spike, however, did not learn. He still missed the opportunity to become Trixie's slave. Although in this case, she never offered, so I guess it's not his fault. But now that all three are living together (and two extras are hopefully still alive on the moon), perhaps he'll get lucky with that magician/athlete/dominatrix.

It was kind of a sore move from Twilight to try beater her for the sake of pride. Particularly since that's exactly why Trixie issued the challenge to begin with: it's the only thing she has over Twilight, and yet Celestia's star pupil is raring to snip away the last thread that the malnourished magician's self-esteem is hanging by. She completely deserved that second beating.

Lastly, Trixie's revelation: great idea. She was still as boastful and arrogant as her canon stage persona, but the twist you added also gave me a reason to feel sympathy for her, not to mention it added more depth to the situation in the same way some great movies reveal something that wasn't true from the get-go. And on a more subtle level I though the childish quality of the document was a nice touch, since Trixie has demonstrated a slight hint of immaturity in the show. Great ending to a fanfic that started out great.

[alexmagnet]

1172503
1173730

Well, I guess this means my new ending was at least somewhat successful. That's quite a relief.

Would it really have been so hard to let their past selves live in Ponyville while she trained in another town?... But now that all three are living together (and two extras are hopefully still alive on the moon)

As for the new Twilight and Spike, let's just say that they'll be back, and let's also say that might not have appreciated being sent to the moon(?). *wink wink*

Believe me, I've got big plans for the sequel. I plan on avoiding the Trixie and Twilight learning to live together trope, and go for something completely different. It should be fun... hopefully...

[Key Strix]

Read it all. Final thoughts?

The thing that I didn’t personally like about this story is that Twilight was almost completely demonized save for a few moments such as letting Trixie stay. Most of the time I felt like I was reading from Spike, the henchmen’s point of view as he obediently assists an abusive mad scientist. One who’s willing to destroy everything in her path for a little bit of vengeance against Trixie who just felt like a smaller and less powerful villain just trying to make her way in life. I pretty much just ended up rooting for Trixie all the way. At least she only abused Spike once with a punch for being rude as where it seems like Twilight had been emotionally abusing him since birth.

Though I’m happy Twilight got the thrashings she deserved, I hope at some point Doctor Whooves steps in to smack her a few times for abusing time travel so badly just for some petty revenge. Despite my discomforts with this story, I still enjoyed it for its strange flow, dialog, and simply watching those two throw down in a cage match. Something about Trixie being a hardcore fighter just makes me smile.

Also when Twi asked Spike “What happened?” after losing the first fight, I half expected him to pull a line for the movie Friday and say “You got knocked the f*** out!”

[Key Strix]

1799825
I just stopped by again, many weeks later, to say that I found myself thinking... you know what story Trixie was a badass in? Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Hooves. I think that in my last post, I under appreciated the comedy and creativeness of this piece of work. Now that I think more about it, I actually really like the idea of Twilight pretty much becoming the "villain" of the story. But, as I skim it now, I just wanna let you know that I'm spotting some questionable small mistakes. If you want, I'd be willing to help you out with finding and fixing them.
Other than that, I just wanna be more firm than I was before in saying that I think this is a pretty good story you got here. I mean, it has to be if I'm coming back after so many months just to drop another comment!

[alexmagnet]

2340525
Holy crap, random comments on stories I wrote months ago...

Well, I'm glad you liked it so much you came back to comment a second time. While I appreciate your offer to help fix mistakes, I don't really plan on bothering with them since it's been so long since I wrote this. Plus, I feel like I've improved greatly since writing it, so I probably wouldn't require too much help. But again, I really do appreciate the offer.

[Key Strix]

2340546
No problem! I actually figured as much for that I actually feel a lot of the same way about my old stuff. Seems like there's just little point in going back to fix it all. Just thought I'd offer you a hand any ways!
Any who... I look forward to seeing your more advanced work when I'm able to get around to it!

[Themaskedferret]

I started this and I was totally lost...now that i've finished...I suppose it's not such a bad palce to be. The fights were impressively done.

[alexmagnet]

2891910
Wow, you just went and commented on pretty much everything, didn't you? That's really awesome of you. Thanks, I really appreciate it. I won't reply to all of them, but know that I read all your comments and, again, thanks.

As for this story, well, it was written way back when I sucked really bad. As opposed to now where I only suck somewhat. At least it had cool fights...

[Themaskedferret]

2892195 *grins* Don't worry about it. I try and comment on stuff I read and have varying degrees of success

[vortex123]

well...20

[silverthorn]

This was good, if a little on the odd side.

[Emperor]

I was honestly expecting a bit more of a twist ending, something like that in this reality Trixie is actually a masterful mage on par with Celestia and certainly better than just a mere student of the Sun Princess, or heck, even a Fight Club ending where Trixie is really Twilight's alter-ego and this whole time Spike is watching his master descend further and further into madness.

That, or Sweetie Belle doing something with perfect comic timing.

[Prince Leviathan]

http://www.quickmeme.com/meme/352cwr
^ my experience with this story in one picture.
Good job.