A/N: well I'm back again…and I'm really starting to run out of things to say…um…enjoy the story I guess, well you know the drill.

Trials of Redemption: chapter 9: returning home

After spending another night in the city, the girls quickly made their way to the train station, and bought tickets for the next train back to PonyVille, not long after they waited did the train arrive and they quickly boarded, they all waited anxiously as the train left the station, and headed for home.

(PonyVille, train station)

A few hours passed when the train whistle squealed loudly and the breaks began to kick in, the girls watched as the train came to a stop, and they quickly made their way off the platform, as they walked through the streets, they slowly came up to the library, Twilight turned to them, "alright girls, we should rest up for today, then tomorrow we'll go and confront him, I'll see you all later" she said and they all nodded before going their separate ways, Twilight opened the door, and walked inside.

The first thing she saw was Spike sitting on the couch, eating a bucket of ice cream, when he saw her, he slowly pushed the tube away and chuckled nervously, "heh, Twilight, I thought you said you'd be back later in the day, welcome home" he said nervously rubbing his arm, Twilight frowned and walked passed him, "never mind that Spike, any mail or anything?" she asked putting her bag down, he shook his head, "nothing more than the usual, I'll put your stuff in the basement, be right back" he said, Twilight smiled as she watched him go.

Twilight stood there for a few minutes just relaxing from the trip back, when she suddenly heard knocking on the door, she groaned and walked up to the door, "I thought I told you girls to go home and get some re-" she said but was cut off when she opened the door, and saw none other than Fleet standing there, a smile on his face, her eyes widened and she found herself at a loss for words, "hey Twilight, I was wondering if I could take you up on your offer to exchange some books or something, can I come in?" he asked calmly, Twilight struggled to speak, but she didn't want to sound suspicious, she opened the bottom portion of the door, and stepped to the side, he smiled and walked inside, and looked around, "where's Spike?" he asked, Twilight could feel her heart beat slowly beginning to increase, "he's in the basement, putting my travel bag away" she said in a calm tone.

He chuckled lightly as he walked along the bookshelf; he turned to her with a smile, "travel bag? Why did you need one of those?" he asked, as he turned to her, Twilight could feel sweat coming down her face, "well…I was just making sure it was in good condition, I've been meaning to buy a new one" she said, but Fleet smiled, and took a step closer, "Twilight…I can tell your lying, I'm well aware of your trip to Baltimare, to see the old chief, how is Moon Beam by the way?" he asked, Twilight knew she had been caught in the act, there was no point hiding it now.

She sighed heavily, and looked down, "yes my friends and I went to Baltimare to visit Moon Beam, how did know?" she asked, he gave off a light chuckle, "being the owner of a wealthy has its advantages, one of them having my own little group of spies that I hired to spy on my competitors, I have eyes and ears everywhere, what was it that you wanted to talk with Moon Beam about, it's okay to tell me, I'm just curious to know" he said taking a few steps closer, Twilight took a few steps back.

"we just…wanted to know about what happened to you, I'm sorry Fleet, about your family, your marefriend, I never knew you went through such pain" she said, he frowned slightly, and took another step closer, "it's okay, all water under the bridge at this point, if you really wanted to know the truth, you could have just asked me, I would have told you" he said as he nearly stepped in front of Twilight, he slowly reached his hoof out to her and Twilight backed up until she hit the book shelf, Fleet hesitated and then looked away sadly, "I know what you're thinking, you think I'm the killer, you think I killed that nice couple, and attacked your friend, I guess you have every right to be suspicious, new stallion moves into town, then all these terrible things start happening, you're not the first and probably not the last" he said as he backed away and slowly started making his way to the door.

Twilight watched as he opened it, he hesitated and turned to look at her, with sadness in his eyes, "I'm not the bad guy in all this, I'm no killer Twilight, I'm a victim, just like that nice couple and your friend, I never meant harm to anypony, I just wanted to live a simple life, but no matter what I do, my past forever haunts me, I just thought you should know, and be careful" he said before he left and closed the door behind him.

Twilight watched and let out a deep breath, just as Spike came walking up, "what was that all about?" he asked, Twilight wiped away the tears that threatened to spill out, as she turned to him, "nothing he just came over for a visit, I think I'll take a little nap Spike, wake me up in a few hours" she said as she made her way up the stairs.

A/N: well, that chapter came out shorter than I expected, but oh well, things don't always go as planned, hope you enjoyed, peace.