CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

There was dead silence in the clearing.

Twilight exhaled as the powerful magic disappeared back into her crown, feeling the pressure behind her eyes fade away. She hadn't expected such a huge upsurge of power, even from Grojband's heart-song, and the rush of exhilaration that always accompanied a successful spell wasn't wearing off anytime soon.

"That…was…AWESOME!"

Rainbow Dash flew up into the air, eyes wide with amazement. "I had no IDEA you guys could do something like that! Heart-songs are usually kind of boring, but…"

"I agree, it was most impressive," Rarity said, her skin flushing the tiniest bit under her white fur. "I knew Elaine – er, Laney – could do it."

"And for that, you have our thanks."

With a start, Twilight turned. The princesses, Celestia and Luna, stood at the edge of the clearing, their wings unfurled and their faces graced with dazzling smiles. If it was possible, the clearing got quieter. Even Rainbow Dash flapped slowly back down to the ground in the presence of the rulers of Equestria.

"Grojband, I sincerely apologize for my actions toward you and Twilight when you first entered our world," Celestia said, stepping toward Laney and lowering her head. "It was wrong of me to judge you before I even knew your intent. I have dealt with…complications from other worlds before, and though you brought trouble with you, you also had the means to destroy it."

"Okay," Laney said, a little uncertainly. "Thanks."

"And Twilight," the princess continued. "If you hadn't stood up for and protected these ponies, the entire multiverse may have suffered greatly. You and your friends were very brave to do so."

"Oh, it was nothing, Princess, really," Twilight said, turning a little red. Trust me to have a hard time taking compliments at a moment like this…

Kin and Kon were staring at the princesses with their mouths wide open – as if they hadn't seen Celestia before! Please – while Corey buffed his hooves on his chest fur. "Seriously, though. You should have seen everyone. We were like, bam! Pow! Magical musical rainbow!"

The sun princess laughed. "I believe I could enjoy myself in your company, Corey Riffin."

"Speakin' of 'magical musical rainbows'," Applejack said pointedly, "Ah think we all are wonderin' what the hay just went on there."

"Twilight may have told you a little bit about how Trixie let Grojband into our world," said Princess Luna. "When she did so, the heart-song left her powers refreshed, rejuvenated, and highly advanced. It became almost as powerful as alicorn magic, certainly enough to overcome it if the alicorn is caught unawares, as we were."

"We believe that she planned to enact revenge upon you, Twilight, before expanding her plan to include taking over the entire multiverse," Celestia continued, "but why, we are not so sure."

Twilight felt her blush return in full force. It must have been because of that Ursa Minor fiasco…I didn't know she'd hold such a grudge!

"Grojband's song-magic was infused with Trixie's Equestrian auric magic when she set it free here," Princess Celestia said, bowing her head so that the tip of her horn touched Laney's. "To defeat her, a similar combination was necessary, and all of you came together perfectly to do so."

Princess Luna walked over to Trixie. The pale blue mare's mane was tangled, her coat smeared with dust, and tears left grimy tracks down the fur on her cheeks. "Trixie Lulamoon, you have committed crimes against Equestria, as well as many other worlds, that have never been attempted on such a large scale. It is only by the powers of Grojband and of the Elements of Harmony that balance has been restored in all those worlds and in this one. For that, you have been stripped of all power, Equestrian or otherwise – a fitting punishment, due to the circumstances."

Trixie sniffled.

"Is there anything you have to say for yourself?" Princess Celestia asked.

Trixie buried her head in her hooves.

"She dreamed of remaking the worlds in her image, sister," Luna said softly. "If she had succeeded, I do not know what we would have done."

Twilight suddenly felt a horrible nagging guilt in her stomach. "Princess Celestia?"

The princess turned. "Yes, my little pony?"

"If it's not too dangerous…and if everypony else agrees with me…would it be all right if we just let Trixie go?"

"WHAT?" Rainbow Dash's wings snapped open, sending her into the air once again. "This mare tried to take over the world, Twilight! All the worlds! And you want to just let her walk free?"

"I'm afraid I agree with Rainbow, darling," Rarity said. "Trixie is too much of a threat."

"I had to write my own lyrics to take her down! She nearly killed me - twice!" Laney argued.

Twilight's ears flattened indignantly on her head. "She's been stripped of her magic! She couldn't even lift a quill if she tried. Besides, this whole problem came of us – well, except Grojband – not giving her a second chance in the first place. She made a few mistakes, but we all hated her right away instead of trying to bring out the best in her. It wouldn't be fair to just make her more sad and angry." Especially when I would have felt the same way in her situation.

She looked at her friends. Laney, Applejack, and Rainbow still looked skeptical, but Kon was nodding, and Fluttershy had a faint smile at the corners of her mouth. "Yes, please, Princess," the yellow Pegasus said softly. "Everypony deserves a little mercy."

Princess Celestia thought for a moment, then nodded her head, gesturing for Luna to step aside. "I hoped you would say such a thing. Trixie has gone through enough punishment with the loss of her power and her future. I think a dose of the magic of friendship would be more beneficial for her than the magic of the Canterlot dungeons."

The purple unicorn let out a breath that she hadn't realized she'd been holding. "Thank you so much, Princess Celestia!"

Celestia's horn glowed, and Trixie vanished in a burst of golden light. "I'll let her rest for a while in a room at Canterlot Castle, and then release her into your care," she told Twilight. "I'm sure you'll be able to keep her under control."

Rainbow let out an audible grumble, but other than that there were no objections.

"I would invite you to the castle for a celebration," Celestia said, "but I don't think anypony else knew how close Equestria was to being conquered by an extremely powerful world-hopping mare. Also, you all look like you're in need of some rest. Please return to Ponyville and take some time to relax."

"But what about us?" Corey suddenly asked. "We left the zebras. How will we get home now?"

Princess Luna smiled at the orange colt. "I think you'll find that ponies besides yourselves know how to follow magical trails. You were tracked by four members of the Umawe tribe. They should arrive in Ponyville in less than two days, and they can perform the ritual needed to send you back to your own world."

"Awesome!" Kin yelled, high-hoofing his brother.

Twilight watched Corey and Laney hug. It was great to see them this happy, but she suddenly remembered how much she was going to miss them, no matter how quirky they could be. Had it really only been a week since they'd met?

"Good luck with your return to your own world," Luna said, nodding to Grojband. "Perhaps our paths will cross again someday."

The smaller alicorn turned and took off into the early morning sky. As Princess Celestia began to follow, Twilight stepped forward. "Princess…thanks again. For letting Trixie go."

The princess placed a hoof on her student's shoulder, giving her another warm smile. "No, Twilight. Thank you, for seeing what I could not."

As she watched Celestia and Luna fly toward Canterlot, Twilight could feel another blush heating up her face. Geez, every time she praises me I come away a little more embarrassed than before.

"Laney, are you all right?" Fluttershy asked. The little green mare was standing next to Corey and staring into the distance, her eyes wide. Twilight thought she looked a little insane.

"Me? Oh, no, I'm fine," Laney said, snapping out of her daze. "I'm just a little exhilarated. I mean, I just wrote a song at the drop of a hat, and it combined with some other magic, took someone's magical powers away, and saved the world. That's kind of hard to believe."

"Really? I do that all the time!" Pinkie Pie said cheerfully.

Laney blinked.

"Don't worry, sugarcube. She's just bein' Pinkie Pie," Applejack laughed. "Though we do seem to be facin' a lot of enemies lately."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Twilight asked. "That is a lot to take in."

Laney nodded, leaning on Corey's side and nuzzling her face into his fur. "Yep. In fact, I'm probably better than I've been in a long time."

Corey looked down at her, surprised, then returned the nuzzle. "It took you dying," he said softly. "I should have realized it sooner."

"Hey, it just goes to show how much of a softy you are inside," Laney teased. Then she turned to Twilight. "The question is, are you all going to be okay, watching after Trixie?"

"It's going to be tough," Twilight admitted. "But the princess is right. Better to have her surrounded by friends than alone in a dungeon where she might just plan more revenge."

Laney laid her head back on Corey's side. It seemed to Twilight that everything had gone well. Corey and Laney had finally addressed their feelings for each other, Rarity didn't seem to be pining after the stallion anymore, and it looked like Twilight would be gaining a new friend in one way or another. For a moment she just let the sound of her happy friends wash over her, soaking in the victory and the feeling of happiness that radiated from the center of the clearing.

Suddenly, out of the corner of her eye, the unicorn saw another pony lying in a messy pile by the overhanging rock. The sight of its pink coat at first made her think Pinkie Pie? But the party-loving mare was talking to Kin, Kon, and Rarity a mile-a-minute. It wasn't for another few seconds that Twilight remembered Trixie's sidekick – Corey's sister, Trina.

Trina stirred, holding a hoof to a tennis-ball-sized lump on the side of her head. "Ow…what happened? MINA! SNIPS! SNAILS! ANSWERS! NOW!"

The clearing went silent again, and everypony looked at Trina. Mina shrunk back into a ball at the back of the crowd. Snips and Snails, on the other hoof, were nowhere to be found.

"I saiidddd…MINA! WHERE ARE YOU?"

Even injured, Trina was a formidable force of anger. She had already gotten to her feet and was glaring in Mina's direction – apparently she was pretty good at picking the orange mare out in a group. "Get over here! We're getting out of this, um, thing, and going to find Nick Mallory!"

Mina trembled, but Twilight saw Fluttershy give her hoof a squeeze. "Remember – stand up for yourself. You're your own pony," the Pegasus whispered. "You can do this."

Gulping, Mina stood and walked gingerly out of the group. "T-Trina," she stammered.

"Yeah?" Trina yawned. "Actually, don't tell me. Let's just leave already."

The Earth pony didn't move. Twilight could tell that she was shivering, but she stood her ground. "No," Mina said, taking a deep breath and letting it out. "I'm not going anywhere with you."

The pink unicorn paused smoothing her mane down and stared. "ExCUSE me?" she snapped, slamming a hoof into the dirt.

"You heard me," Mina said, her composure slipping the tiniest bit. "I'm staying here."

"WHAT? WHY?"

"Because these ponies have been more friendly to me than you've ever been. And so have your brother and his friends! In fact, so have almost everyone I've ever met!" Mina's voice grew stronger with every word. Twilight trotted forward to back her up, and she could feel the others following her. "So I'm going with them. They have a way to get home, and I'm gonna use it. And when I get there, I'm not hanging out with you anymore."

Trina snorted and stomped her hoof again. "Yeah, right! You've been my friend since, like, ever. You can't just quit on a friend!"

Mina shook her head. "Maybe I've been your friend, but you've never been mine. I think this is fair enough."

There was another explosion of sound. Laney patted Mina on the back, and Fluttershy hugged Mina around the middle, saying "I knew you could do it!"

Twilight looked back around at Trina. "You're welcome to come with us, too, as long as you behave yourself. Ponyville won't take kindly to you if you don't take kindly to Ponyville."

"Speaking of Ponyville, shouldn't we be heading back?" Rarity asked. "I'd quite like to check on my shop – and I've missed Sweetie Belle…"

"And Ah'm sure mah brother and sister will be glad to have me back, too," Applejack said.

"But won't we miss the zebras?" Laney asked, raising a hoof as if she was in class.

"Of course not, silly!" Pinkie giggled. "Even if they didn't follow the magical trail Twilight left, Zecora knows that we live in Ponyville! They'll probably show up tomorrow – which means…"

Kin and Kon jumped up and down. "What? What does it mean?"

"It means…there's plenty of time for me to throw a Goodbye-to-Grojband, Thanks-for-Saving-All-Of-The-Multiverse Party!"

Hey! What are you doing?

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