Knights of Equestria: Part 2

A/N: I own nothing. I make no money from this writing.

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Knights of Equestria part 2: Recoveries and Returns

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   Twilight's body ached. It ached as if she had run the Running of the Leaves three times in a row, followed immediately by a couple Winter Wrap-Ups. For a while all she did was lie where she was and contemplate on her achingness.

   After a time she didn't know the length of, Twilight came to the realization that she was not lying on her own bed in her library home, but on one a lot less comfortable. With this realization she opened her eyes, quickly groaning and closing them again from the harsh hospital light. "Ow..." She was in a hospital. She couldn't quite remember any reason to be in the hospital.

   A sound of movement to her right made Twilight turned her head that way and open her eyes into a squint. On a chair beside her bed slept an Earth Pony Twilight only faintly recognized. His coat was a medium brown, matching nicely enough with his wild dark brown hair. His Cutie Mark was an hourglass, and on his right side was strapped some kind of holster.

   Twilight rolled onto her stomach to get a better look at the holster, and when she did the bed beneath her creaked. Instantly the strange pony's eyes shot open and locked with hers. They were a beautiful shade of green, Twilight thought.

   "Oh you're awake. Fan-TAS-tic!" The hourglass pony jumped up from his seat and pulled a thin little...cylinder thing from his holster with his teeth. Pointing it at her he activated the blue light at the end and began waving it over her body.

   "Uh...doctor?"

   "Hmm?" The pony Twilight now assumed to be a doctor stopped whatever it was he was doing and looked her in the eyes again. "Pthwat ith it?" At her confused look he slid the device back into its holster and grinned. "Sorry about that. Now, what is it, hm? Come along now, out with it."

   Twilight frowned and gave her head a shake. Faint memories of a fire, and her friends, were beginning to come back to her. "Doctor, I'm not sure if I remember...what happened, why am I in the hospital?"

   "Oh, nothing too much to get worked up over. Saving places from certain doom gets rather old after a while, wouldn't you agree?"

   Before Twilight could give any kind of response to this statement the hospital room's door burst open, and in rushed Applejack, Pinkie Pie, and Fluttershy, all screaming Twilight's name.

   Pinkie Pie reached the bed first, at which point she scooped Twilight up into a bone-crushing hug. "Oh my goodness Twilight I am soooo happy you're awake now! You were so awesome when you saved the town from all the mean fire, then you collapsed and we were all worried and then you were in the hospital for so long with the Doctor watching over you while we helped rebuild the town, and now you're awake! And so-"

   Applejack stuffed a hoof into Pinkie's mouth to get her to stop talking and let go of Twilight, who then collapsed back down onto the bed gasping for breath. Applejack chuckled and smiled. "What Pinkie Pie here means is, sure is good ta see you back among the living, Twilight. Plus, thanks for savin' our butts and all." Applejack then glanced over at the Doctor. "And thank you for keepin' an eye on her, Doc."

   "It was my pleasure." The Doctor noticed Twilight trying to climb out of bed and hurriedly rushed to her side. "Hold on dear, lean on me. You've been resting for a while."

   A light blush colored Twilight's cheeks as she got back on her hooves with the stallion's help. After a moment of testing her footing she smiled. "Thank you, Doctor...?"

   "Whoof," the pony replied. "Around here I'm Doctor Whoof. Now, if you'll excuse me, ladies," he said, edging his way around the group to the door. "I have another patient to check on. Allons-y!"

   And with that, he was gone. Applejack shook her head and sighed. "What a strange pony."

   "Oh, I don't know," Fluttershy quietly offered. "He seems pretty nice..."

   "Yeah, he does," Twilight spoke, softly, continuing to look out the door Doctor Whoof had left through. After a moment she shook her head and looked to her friends. "Uh, Pinkie Pie. A moment ago you said I'd been in here a while, recovering from saving Ponyville...how long?"

   At this question the three ponies who had come to visit her suddenly found their hooves very interesting to look at. Twilight frowned and stomped her hoof hard on the ground, making the three jump and look back up at her. Finally it was Fluttershy who spoke.

   "Um, well you see, th-this is the morning of your third day here..."

   Twilight's eyes widened, and she quickly sat down in the chair the Doctor had been in minutes earlier. "Two whole days...I haven't been knocked out of it like that since I was a little filly..."

   Applejack coughed and continued on where Fluttershy had stopped. "There's uh, there's more ya need ta know. I'm sure ya noticed some of our number ain't here right now..."

   "Oh, that's right!" Twilight's head shot up and she began looking around. "Where's Rarity, and Rainbow Dash? I want to see them too."

   Applejack kicked her hooves and shared a look with Pinkie and Fluttershy, before looking back at the purple Unicorn. "Twi...ya might want ta come with us...there's somethin' ya need ta see."

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   The air was thick with the smell of ashes, even now, two days after the great fire. Teams of professionals had been dispatched from Canterlot immediately upon hearing of the disaster, and as such rebuilding was going at a steady pace. Steady, but slow. Rough estimates put the amount of fire-damaged buildings at nearly a third of the entire city, mostly important infrastructure such as city hall, and the post office. Rebuilding efforts were therefore focused on these places, followed by houses. Private businesses were...less fortunate.

   "Nnh...nngh!" Another piece of broken and burnt timber was levitated away, and Rarity looked down into the crevice it had covered, hoping beyond hope that she would find something, anything, in salvageable condition. When nothing but charred remains were found, Rarity forced back another sob and continued on with her self-imposed work.

   Sweetie Belle sat in silence by where the door had once been and watched her sister move on to another pile of debris. It worried Sweetie how the white Unicorn, normally borderline obsessive compulsive about cleanliness, paid no heed to the ash and cinders she was smearing on her body through her salvage work, dying her coat an increasingly-darker grey. She would catch her increasingly frayed and torn mane in some overhanging timber, and without any thought yank it out and continue on, leaving a few, or not so few, strands behind. Before the young filly's eyes, her older sister was transforming into a whole new person. And she didn't like it.

   "Rarity, when can we go get breakfast? I'm hungry, and this place is making me feel weird..."

   Rarity didn't bother to look up as she shifted aside some more debris. "We'll go soon, dear. Just a couple more minutes...there has to be something left..." This last bit was whispered more to herself than to Sweetie Belle.

   "But that's what you said half an hour ago!"

   Rarity dropped the remains of a dresser she was levitating and whirled around to face her sister. "Sweetie Belle, please! I am trying to see if there is anything salvageable of my career and our home! I really don't need your constant...constant..." Rarity faltered as she looked down at Sweetie Belle and saw the tears forming in the young filly's eyes. Immediately her irritation vanished, and she rushed to her sister's side and enveloped her into a tight hug. "No no, please don't cry dear. I didn't mean to yell at you, I promise. I was just so...frustrated with all of this!"

   Sweetie Belle sniffled and pressed her face against her sister's chest, hugging her back. "I understand...I'm sorry I can't help you with anything..."

   Rarity gave Sweetie a nuzzle on the face and did her best to smile. "Oh, don't say that, Sweetie. You're...you're inspiring me. Yes, that's it; moral support. I just don't know what I would do if I didn't have my little sister to care for."

   Sweetie Belle smiled then, and Rarity gave a nod of satisfaction. "Good, now then, let's get something to eat..." she looked down at herself, coat colored black and grey from moving around in the wrecked store. She then looked at Sweetie Belle and saw that hugging her and dirtied up her mane and coat as well. "Um, after we have ourselves a shower, okay?"

   Sweetie Belle gave a vigorous nod of her head. "Yeah, okay! Oh, let's go to Sweet Apple Acres! They've got hot showers, and Applejack's sure to fix us something good to eat!" Rarity smiled and nodded in agreement with this idea, and so together the two sisters left the remains of their home and began the long walk through town to Sweet Apple Acres.

   As they went, Rarity could not help but look around. Everywhere she looked seemed to be bustling with activity. Teams of construction workers from Canterlot and native Ponyville ponies mingled through the streets and on the houses, working together like all good ponies knew to do. Meanwhile, stores sold their wares at half-price to everyone, even those not directly involved in the work of rebuilding. It was at times like this that helped communities come together.

   The pair passed Sugarcube Corner, the only store not to be damaged in any way from the fires. Rarity glanced at it and felt a tingle of something like jealousy pass through her. She shook her head and quickly pushed this back down, away from her thoughts. It was horrible of her, she thought, to resent Pinkie for not losing anything...unlike her...

   "Excuse me, Ms. Rarity?"

   Rarity was snapped from her darkening thoughts by the unfamiliar voice. She looked to the source to find a pony in a deep blue cloak exiting from Sugarcube Corner and trotting towards them. "Um, yes?"

   The pony held her head down, and Rarity knew it was a she from the voice, and so as she approached Rarity could not see under the hood. "Tell me, where can I find Twilight Sparkle? Official Canterlot business."

   Rarity frowned, but motioned towards the hospital with her horn. "She's in there, but, the doctors said she probably wouldn't wake up for another day, at the least."

   The hooded pony nodded at this, before a sudden bluish-purple glow came from under the hood. A small sack floated out from the cloak to lie at Rarity's hooves. When she looked into it she found it filled with gold bits.

   "Oh my, I just couldn't take this much for simple direc-"

   But when Rarity looked back up, the mysterious Unicorn was gone.

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   In a bush that had been not-so-subtly following Rarity all morning, Spike sat and thought.

   "Something about that Unicorn seemed so familiar..."

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   The first thing to come to Twilight's mind after she entered the intensive care ward her friends had directed her to was how...stifling, it felt. The air was cool, not cold but cooler than Twilight was used to in Ponyville at that time of year, and it had an overwhelming smell of antiseptic.

   Immediately after this Twilight noticed the two patients in this particular room. In one bed lay a small Unicorn filly, her coat a purplish-grey and her mane and tail lemon-yellow. At this patient's bed sat the town's mailmare, Ditzy Twilight thought her name was, and beside her was Doctor Whoof. Neither paid Twilight or her friends any attention as they entered.

   In the other bed lay a familiar rainbow-maned Pegasus. Hesitantly, Twilight trotted over to the bed and looked down at her fallen friend. Rainbow lay on her left side, her chest only barely rising in quick, labored breaths. Her hair lay limp and lifeless around her head, and seemed to have dulled a great deal since last time Twilight had seen her. An IV was plugged in, and a clear oxygen mask was affixed over her face.

   "What...what happened?" Twilight asked, wanting to look away but unable to.

   None of her friends answered her. Instead Ditzy sniffled and turned away from her sleeping daughter's side, walking over to the side of Dash's bed opposite Twilight and the others. "It's the fault of the fault lines. Measuring right substance overflew cabbages, grew a big spindle. Lights out with the cheese grater."

   "Uh..." Twilight looked at Ditzy. "What?"

   At this moment Doctor Whoof joined in on the conversation, walking over to beside Ditzy. "Don't think anything bad about our dear Ditzy here, she couldn't help it. It's an old speech problem I helped her get over a long time ago. Seems she's relapsed since the big fire, curious. Very curious."

   Doctor Whoof wrapped a foreleg around Ditzy's shoulders and held her close. "Anyhow, what she was trying to say was that she thinks it's her fault. She's the one who alerted brave Rainbow to the fires, and it was following her into her house to rescue young Dinky over there when Rainbow got hit by a rush of smoke and superheated air. Filled her lungs with smoke and burnt them, pretty nastily I've heard. Oh, and then Rainbow fell about 12 feet to the ground. Miracle she didn't break her ne...um..." He faltered at the glares he was receiving from everyone. "Well anyway, that's how it happened. Personally I think it's rubbish for Ditzy to blame herself, but what do I know, eh? I'm just the Doctor is all."

   Twilight nodded to this, though she wasn't really paying much attention anymore. The weakness of her body after two days of not moving was catching up to her, and so she rested her head on Rainbow Dash's bed and sighed. "I never thought something like this could happen to her, to anypony I knew. This is all my fault, I'm not prepared. I don't KNOW any healing magic!"

   "But I do!"

   Everyone present turned to find a new pony at the door, wrapped in a deep blue cloak that hid all features. Twilight, the only Unicorn present, immediately sensed something familiar about this pony. "And who are you?"

   "I have been sent here by Princess Luna, to take care of matters very dire." The stranger slid her way through the small crowd of ponies, stopping at Rainbow Dash's bed by Twilight's side. Though it was hard to tell past the hood, the others got the impression that she was focused just as much on Twilight as on Rainbow Dash. "However, I could never conduct my business without bestowing assistance to such a courageous Pegasus!"

   Near the back, Applejack rolled her eyes and leaned in to whisper to Fluttershy. "Is she a medic, or a showpony? Yeesh!"

   The mysterious stranger chuckled then, and held out her forelegs over the downed Pegasus's body, revealing her coat to be a royal blue. "Oh ye of little faith, watch and be amazed at the healing powers of-"

   "Trixie!" Twilight shouted, just as a bluish-purple haze of magic burst from the stranger's hooves and swept over Rainbow Dash's body. The oxygen mask was lifted from Rainbow's face and her lips were opened, a tendril of magic sliding in between them and down to reach the burnt areas. The whole room was silent, no one daring to speak for fear of breaking the Unicorn's concentration.

   Twilight watched her fellow Unicorn work with the focus expected of Princess Celestia's prized student. This was a kind of magic she had never bothered with much, more interested in her youth in studying the most impressive-looking magic she could, and then later on becoming more interested in myths and history. It was, she realized then, a glaring hole in her knowledge.

   A sudden bright flash snapped Twilight from her thoughts as the stranger she thought was Trixie ended the magic. As the magic glow retreated back under those blue robes everyone present could see that Rainbow's breathing was now much less labored, and the color had returned to her mane. The stranger nodded in satisfaction. "There, that is much better."

   "Fan-TAS-tic!" Doctor Whoof shouted, rearing up on his hind legs. "What a GREAT display of such POWERFUL healing magic! Most impressive I've seen since I lived in Gallopfrey!"

   Twilight took a step toward Rainbow's healer as the hooded Unicorn turned away from Rainbow Dash and faced them. "Trixie, is that really you?"

   The stranger began to laugh, and suddenly threw off her robes and hood, revealing that it was indeed the Unicorn magician they had not seen for over a year. "Yes, it is I, the Humble and Competent Trixie! I have come back for the turn of the tide!"
The next moment Trixie was tackled to the ground by Pinkie Pie, followed quickly by Fluttershy, Applejack, and Ditzy Doo in a massive group hug. All four were crying from joy. "Oh thank you thank you thank you!" Yelled Pinkie Pie. "Thanks to you, Dashie's all better now!"

   Trixie flailed beneath the four-pony pileup. "Help...can't...breathe..."

   Standing to the side, Twilight laughed past her own tears and shook her head at the sight. "I don't know why you're here, oh 'Humble and Competent Trixie', but thanks. Thank you so much."

   After a few more seconds the pile of hugging ponies finally stopped and pulled away, allowing Trixie space to climb back up onto her hooves. She gave her mane a shake and brushed some imaginary dirt from her shoulders, before turning fully to Twilight Sparkle and smiling. "Yes, well, thank you very much. Although, Trixie will do for real conversations. That's who I am now."

   "Golly, where'd ya learn that fancy healin' magic, Trixie? Lat we saw of ya, you weren't much more than'a lotta flash with no bang. No offence."

   "None taken, apple farmer. And I suppose all of you deserve to hear the story of what happened to me after I was run...no, after I ran away from town. Wandering the countryside for months, shunning the company of others, I was filled with anger, humiliation, and hate. And as anypony who has studied the magic arts knows, our emotions are a powerful and dangerous source of strength..."

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   "GRAAAAHHHH!"

   The towering Oak tree shattered from the magical impact. Woodland animals scattered, their shrill cries filling the night long after the echoes of the explosion faded away.

   Beneath this overlaying cacophony of fear, Trixie sobbed as she stumbled along the forest path. Practically blind from the hot tears that filled her eyes and streamed down her cheeks, as she went Trixie tripped over every rock, every upraised root that got in her way. Every time this happened the blue Unicorn let loose another scream, another pulse of magic, and another random tree or boulder was shattered.

   Trixie's rage was blind and consuming. It coursed through her veins, filling her with power and dark magic that ate away at her as much as it drove her on. She screamed and cried like a wild beast from the mythical Time before the Taming. In her wake lay a wide, meandering path of destruction, more suited for a dragon than for a pony.

   Trixie began to charge up another magical blast when a sudden drop made her yelp and cut it off. She tumbled down the slope, coming to rest after a moment at the very edge of a small lake; a pool, really. She climbed back up onto her hooves, shook her mane in a feeble attempt to rid it of the leaves and broken twigs, only to slump back down onto her stomach the next moment. The anger left her system, leaving behind only cold, numbing sadness. She took one glance at her reflection in the pool, but only for a moment, before looking away and burying her head in her hooves, her crying renewed.

   Seconds passed with the only sound her weakening sobs, the cries of the animals long faded away. Suddenly a new sound reached Trixie's ears, soft at first but slowly growing. A rush of wind, and then she heard the sound of four hooves touching down onto solid ground. Despite herself, Trixie looked up to the source of the sound and found herself looking straight into Princess Luna's concerned eyes.

   "Gah!"

   The shout startled Luna, making her wings flare as she took a hesitant step back from Trixie. Trixie herself scrambled back to her hooves and took more than a few steps back. "Pr-Princess Luna!"

   The princess nodded and pulled her wings back in, looking down at the quivering Unicorn with concerned eyes once more. "My little pony, what is the matter? Why has filled you with so much darkness and led you to the Lunar Pool?"

   "L-Lunar Pool?" Trixie glanced back down at the pool, avoiding her reflection, and saw that it was indeed in the exact shape of a crescent moon. She had stumbled onto a place of legend without even realizing it. "I, I hadn't known where I was...not for the longest time..."

   Luna's eyes grew even softer, and she moved closer to Trixie. "Little pony, what is your name? No, wait, don't tell me, this will be easier..."

   Before Trixie could ask what would be easier, Luna leaned down and touched the tips of their horns together. The soft glow of magic filled the clearing, and suddenly before Trixie's mind's eye all the events of her life were played out again, rushing by as if on fast-forward. Through the power of the ancient magic Trixie smiled and laughed when she visited the fair for her first birthday, heard the first joke she understood, wowed her mother when she read successfully for the first time; cowered as she huddled under her blankets from a storm, screamed when a spider plopped down onto her head while in the shower, discovered her extreme allergy to bananas; and cried when she used magic for the first time, learned she had a sister somewhere in the world, and finally, the humiliation of her time in Ponyville and the long months since.

   Once the spell ended, Trixie took a stumbling step back and fell down on her rump. She heard sniffling and looked up to see Luna in a similar position, looking back at her with such caring and understanding, Trixie almost ran from her.

After a moment of silence, Luna spoke. "Oh Trixie, I understand now. I understand what you are going through. The despair...the rage...the hate...you can't stand it, but you think it's all you have. I was like that, once..."

   The words slipped from Trixie's lips before she could stop herself. "Nightmare Moon..."

   Luna nodded. "Yes. I fell into the darkness you now stand at the edge of. Go, look in the pool. See yourself."

   Trixie almost refused, before those all-too understanding eyes drove her to stand up and walk to the edge of the Lunar Pool. She looked at her reflection, and for a moment did not recognize herself. Her mane and tail were bleached white as snow. Her coat meanwhile had darkened to a midnight blue, almost black, and her purple eyes had bled into a horrible red. She cried out but was unable to pull herself away from the image. Behind her Luna spoke.

   "They tell you dark emotions are a source of terrible power, but they don't tell you what that means. Your magic changes, and through it you change. The same process that made me Nightmare Moon is happening to you, Trixie."

   Trixie was silent a moment, looking herself in the eyes, before she huffed and turned away. "W-well, maybe I should just be a villain then! That's all those ponies in Ponyville think of me as, a villain and a liar! And I bet they spread news of my humiliation everywhere, so everypony knows! There's nothing left for me!"

   Silence, and then Luna started laughing. "Oh Trixie, you've been in these woods for too long. You've missed all the tales of the 'Brave Trixie', who held off an Ursa Minor long enough for help to arrive. What stories they tell of you!"

   The dumbfounded expression on Trixie's face would have made Snails feel smart. "I, what, huh?" She shook her head and looked back at Luna. "But...why would they do that? I embarrassed them, I caused an Ursa Minor to attack their town...I ran away!"

   "But not when it counted," Luna spoke. "You boasted, yes, and held yourself as better than others because of your admittedly-powerful magic, but when danger showed itself you did try to save the town instead of running. Bravery in defense of others goes a long way, and few really held it against you for failing."

   Trixie stayed silent for a long while, her head hung so that her frosty-white hair hid whatever expression she wore. Luna sat, waiting, before finally Trixie looked up at her and whispered. "Please, help me."

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   "And she did," Trixie finished, sitting down at the library table with the others. She, Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie had walked there during the course of Trixie's story. Ditzy and Doctor Whoof had stayed at the hospital, after a quick check by Trixie to make sure young Dinky was simply asleep. "And so I became Princess Luna's pupil, just as you are for Princess Celestia, Twilight Sparkle."

   A small round of applause broke out around the table, causing a faint blush to appear on Trixie's cheeks. Twilight, the one sitting closest to Trixie, leaned over and gave her a brief but warm hug. "I am so happy to hear that you're doing well. Though if I'd known that you would suffer like you did, I would have had Rainbow Dash bring you back like she wanted."

   Trixie returned the hug, before smiling and shaking her head. "No, I'm glad you didn't. I've learned so much under Luna. Some things magical and wondrous, others...more personal."

   Before Twilight could ask what she meant, Pinkie Pie jumped from her seat and began bouncing toward the door. "Hurray! Dashie's well, the town's safe, and Trixie's not a big meany-spuneenie anymore! This calls for a party!"

   And before anyone could stop her, Pinkie was gone. Twilight and the others chuckled at this, before the purple Unicorn turned to her blue counterpart. "Trixie, what did you mean by learning personal stuff?"

   "Ah, yes..." Trixie's smile disappeared and she sighed. "I'll tell you later, but first, we must get down to business. I did say I was sent by Princess Luna on matters very dire. Matters relating to the great fire...and you, Twilight."

   The room seemed to grow 20 degrees colder as Trixie looked hard at Twilight. "Twilight Sparkle. Where. Did. You. Learn. Dragon magic?"