Trixie's hooves splash into the watery mud as she runs into the grungy alley, and through gray of heavy rain, she barely sees Gray Muffin disappear around the corner. She calls after him and gives chase, but right as she rounds the corner she is slammed against the wall and has a muddy hoof put over her mouth. Her muffled screams might as well have been silent with the hard rain pouring down around them and her attempt to pry the hoof off are useless.

“Quiet!” orders the stallion.

Trixie stops, realizing that the stallion that pushed her against the wall is Gray Muffin, but even though he saved her life, she still trembles from seeing his eyes up close. Something about the downpour falling off the brim of his hat makes his brown eyes more absolute in his resolve. And after seeing what he did to Sunshine, she does not even want to think what wrath he will bring upon her if she defies him. So, not wanting to get stomped to death, her ears droop and tears pool in her eyes as she nods her head quickly.

Gray Muffin peers around the corner, hoof still over Trixie's mouth, and seconds later, he looks back at her. “I’m going to release you, but you need to stay quiet or I will leave you at the mercy of the guards. Are we clear?”

Trixie nods her head again and carefully watches him move his hoof from her face. She collapses with a splash in the mud, shaking and biting her tongue and ignoring the taste of mud so she does not whimper as Gray Muffin looks around the corner, then does a quick scan of the area. Once he is finished, he links his hoof under Trixie's, helps her up and puts his hoof to his mouth to motion her to stay quiet. Again, Trixie nods and she trails him as fast as her battered body will allow when he trots through the alley.

Trixie is led through a maze of alleys and abandoned buildings, and it amazes her at how, despite his age and his injuries, Gray Muffin is able to keep them both hidden from the swarm of ponies searching for them. When they get to a weathered, wooden bridge over a murky, misty river running at the edge of Barnville, Gray Muffin peers over the splintering railing while Trixie anxiously watches the guards scurry about.

“Over here,” whispers Gray Muffin.

Trixie looks over her shoulder and sees Gray Muffin motioning her to come to him. She trots forward and sees an old boat covered with banged up metal plates and a faded symbol in the shape of a wrench in a lightning bolt painted on the side. There are a couple of unicorn mares wearing all black, full body suits looking at them, too, as well as other ponies wearing similar garb working on different parts of the boat in almost total silence.

Gray Muffin looks at Trixie and tilts his head towards the boat below. “Jump.”

“You-you want Trixie to jump?” stammers Trixie.

“Did you just... Never mind. Either you jump or I throw you.”

Some guards shout indistinctly and both ponies turn their heads and see a small army running towards them with their lights breaking through the rain. Gray Muffin turns to Trixie and yells for her to jump with a vicious snarl. His shouts makes Trixie jump in her skin and yelp, and when she hears the stampede go on the bridge, she takes a deep breath, closes her eyes and jumps over the railing.

Instead of feeling cold, murky water or a hard deck like what Trixie had been expected, she feels invisible tendrils grab her and gently lower her on the rough wooden dock on the boat. She opens one eye and sees that she’s safe on the boat, and that a green, magical mist evaporates from her and her other eye opens when she sees Gray Muffin next to her with an orange mist fading away from him. The unicorns quickly give them rubber boots and when Trixie sees that everyone is wearing them, and that Gray Muffin is putting them on at great speed, she slides them on without question.

Trixie is surprised to see Gray Muffin run towards a diamond dog clutching a large steering wheel with his clawed, gorilla like hands driver, and when he orders him to get them airborne, her mind goes blank. She would like to ponder on how a boat can fly, but the group of guards that run up to the railing and order them to stop puts a damper on that.

Trixie looks up at the small army lined up, and her ears droops and she backpedals when she sees various rifles and pistols being levitated and aimed towards them. Then she hears a whirring sound followed closely clicks and groans coming from the boat, and she watches in wonder as the back of the boat splits open and a Tesla coil rises from the back. The murky water is pushed up as a pair of turbine engines on a ball-and-joint system on each side of the boat roll out, screaming and spraying mist over everyone and everything. A bright flash of blue light appears in the center of the engines and the boat lifts itself out of the river with a deafening roar and throwing the murky water at the guards.

The guards scream, and some cower while others are knocked down by the splash, and some even gallop full speed away from the vehicle. Trixie can’t blame them though, she’d probably be one of the ponies screaming and running if she saw something like this rising out of the water. When the headlights on the vehicle flicker on, she can only imagine them looking like giant glowing eyes of a monster.

Again, her thoughts are interrupted when one of the ponies on the deck tosses Trixie a rope attached to a rubber coated bar.

Trixie stares at it blankly for a couple of seconds before the pony that tossed her the rope says: “Tie yourself to the pole, you idiot!”

Trixie awkwardly uses her hoof and mouth to tie the rope around her body, and for good measure she also wraps her hooves around the bar and holds on tight. The ship lurches forward with a thunderous BOOM and Trixie eyes are forced shut as the wind pushes against her face. If she shrieks or screams or makes any sounds, she doesn’t hear it over the rushing wind and crackling electricity.

A couple of minutes later the pilot lowers the speed to a level where ponies can walk around as comfortably as an open stroll at high altitude will allow. Trixie doesn’t need to open her eyes to know that her mane is a mess, she can feel it plainly, and when she opens her eyes she tries to push the loose clumps of hair down, but it is fruitless. Deciding not to waste any time trying to fix her mane since she is covered in mud, blood and bruises, she leaves her mane a mess and checks out the Tesla coil, wincing slightly from her sore hindquarters reacting. She can feel her fur and mane stand up as she approaches it, and as cool as it is to look at, she knows touching it is out of the question, so she sits down and stares at it, instead.

“Do you like it?” asks Gray Muffin with a barely noticeable hint of smugness in his voice.

Trixie nods. “It’s amazing.”

A small, satisfied smile flickers across Gray Muffin’s face and he turns around and orders the crew to do some technical stuff that Trixie doesn’t catch. Trixie continues staring at the Tesla coil in a trance like state, marveling at the artistic nature of the electric currents visibly snaking around the coil and discharging into the gray sky is artistic in its own way. When her eyes start hurting from looking at the bright light she peeks over the edge and watches the trees pass under them. Another wondrous sight to behold after escaping an unpleasant fate.

Trixie then frowns when the image of Sunshine’s lifeless eyes flash in her mind. She knows that Sunshine was vile, but she still can’t believe that Gray Muffin killed him, and the brutality of the execution was so horrifying that she almost forgot about what almost happened to her.

“Something bothering you?” asks Gray Muffin suddenly.

Trixie eeps and jumps around to look at Gray Muffin while clutching her heart. She tries fixing her mane casually in a poor attempt to act like nothing is wrong. “Trixie is fine.”

“Third pony talk again?” teases Gray Muffin.

“Well... Um..."

“Just don’t get too comfortable. If you talk down to my colleagues I’ll kick you off.”

Trixie’s eyes widen and can clearly picture Gray Muffin stopping the ship and kicking her off without hesitation. So she acknowledges his statement with a rapid nod. Gray Muffin returns the nod and turns around to do something else, but Trixie stops him and asks: “Actually, can we talk? Preferably somewhere private.”

Gray Muffin stares at Trixie for a couple of seconds before motioning her to follow him. She follows him down into the bowels of the ship, which is incredibly crowded with beds and steam and gem powered technology, and he leads her to the very back. Trixie looks around nervously, and when she hears something suddenly scrape against the wood she jumps and expects something other than a stool being pulled out by Gray Muffin.

Gray Muffin points at the stool. “Have a seat.”

Trixie sits down and tries to think of how to tell her rescuer that she is grateful for helping her escape, but doesn’t approve of the killing. While she thinks about this, Gray Muffin looks at her intently, like he’s trying to read her mind.

“Mr. Muffin, what you did was heroic.” Trixie says as she looks down at the rough floor.

“I was just doing my job.” Gray Muffin says humbly while pulling out a stool for himself.

“But Trixie is a little bit concerned about your methods.”

Gray Muffin sighs and sits on his stool. “You do not approve of me ending his life?”

“Why did you have to kill him?”

“Why are you upset that I killed him? He raped you and yet-”

“Okay, I get it!” says Trixie irritably with a wave of her hoof. “But the way you did was... It was horrible.”

“He was scum and deserved more than what he got.”

“But couldn’t you have tied him up and left him for the guards or something?” Trixie says uneasily.

Gray Muffin shakes his head. “The system is broken. Ponies cannot rely on the Equestrian government to protect them anymore.”

“And let me guess, ponies can count on you? A pony who murders and steals from other ponies who murder and steal?”

“You were saved by us, were you not?”

“Um... Trixie guesses so.”

Gray Muffin leans forward. “Trixie, I know from your viewpoint, I am just another criminal. Yes, I killed Sunshine and yes we stole his assets and destroyed his empire in one fell swoop, but you must understand that we are not criminals and that there are ponies out there that do not want what is best for others. They are fueled by vice and want nothing more than to destroy what little purity is left in Equestrian. What I do, what my colleagues do, is brutal, but necessary for the Greater Good and the protection of the innocents.”

“Trixie is not following. What do you mean?”

Gray Muffin sighs exasperatedly and rubs the bridge between his eyes as best as his hoof will allow, then he looks back at Trixie, clearly annoyed by her question. “Ponies like Sunshine exploit the desperate, such as you, for a promise of somepony taking care of them. They are taken in, cleaned up, and then sold as slaves. Drug dealers flood the streets with narcotics and poison the minds and bodies of the youth, promising them an escape from the Tartarus that Gray Area Logic wrought unto society -a form of Tartarus that we allowed into our lives. The corrupt schools, politicians and media moguls fuel this by teaching foals that there is never a right or wrong answer, only a convenient one. Those who believe in True Harmony and the moral responsibilities that come with it are quickly silenced by the sheep who are dumb enough to believe their shepherd's demonizing campaigns. Which, unfortunately, is nearly everypony now.”

Trixie bites her lip in thought about this paranoid rant, and decides to play along, even if she is not buying it completely about the corrupted schools and politicans. “But what about Princess Celestia? She can fix this, right?”

Gray Muffin scoffs. “Celestia and the Solar Council endorse Gray Area Logic. It becomes easier to enslave a group when they are promised a life without responsibility in exchange for shackles.”

Trixie looks down to ponder Gray Muffin’s claim, again skeptical of his words. “What about Princess Luna?”

“Luna understands the symbolism and strength behind True Harmony and the responsibility of virtue,” replies Gray Muffin proudly, but then he deflates and looks down. “However, she does not have the power nor the influence to make the changes to save this country. And even if she did, nopony will trust her because of her past actions.”

“Are you talking about Nightmare Moon?”

“Among many things, yes.”

Trixie nods and tries to think of something to say. As grateful as she is for him rescuing her, she still doesn’t like the fact that Gray Muffin killed Sunshine, but given his obvious conspiracy theory type paranoia she knows there will be no reasoning with him on that matter. However, she believes that he did have a point when he labeled her as a victim. She thinks about Sunshine’s hooves all over her, his nasty tongue in her mouth, and how he had his way with her in his specially built prison.

“I don’t want to be a victim anymore,” whispers Trixie, shaking and tearing up as the horrible event plays back in her mind. She doesn't care about Gray Muffin's conspiracy theories, all she knows is that this stallion in front of her saved her from an unpleasant fate, and she will be damned if she lets anyone ever do that to her again. When she looks up at Gray Muffin, though, she sees him staring at her with a hint of skepticism in his eyes. “What Sunshine did to me was horrifying and I don’t want that to ever happen to me again... Can you help me?”

“How?” says Gray Muffin with an arched brow.

“You can... um... Oh, I know! You can train me!”

“Train you? You criticized me of killing your rapist a minute ago, you clearly do not believe me about what is happening, and now you want me to train you?”

“Please! I-I can’t let that happen to me ever again!”

“We are fighting an endless war, Trixie. Even though the League of Justice fights to protect the innocent, we cannot be everywhere at once.”

“But I can help! And if you look at it from a, um, another perspective then you'll benefit from me joining because you'll have one less victim to worry about and you'll be getting a new member for your club! See? Benefits!”

Trixie jumps off her stool and approaches Gray Muffin with a pathetic, pleading smile. Gray Muffin only stares with his usual stone faced expression and when Trixie is right in front of him she sits down and broadens her pleading smile, making a small, squee noise.

“No,” says Gray Muffin bluntly.

Trixie forces her smile to stay, but her ears droop and her eyes lose the hopeful glint. Then her smile twists into a pout. “Why!”

Gray Muffin frowns.“Because I know you won’t be able to handle it. If you didn’t want to see your violator killed, what makes you think you’ll be suitable to fight for justice?”

“Ha! But, you see, Trixie can handle anything you throw at her!”

“Enough with the third pony talk.”

“But it’s true! You underestimate the Great and Powerful-” Trixie sees Gray Muffin glaring at her and she shrinks back, smiling sheepishly. “Me.”

“No, you overestimate yourself, Trixie. Trust me when I say the League of Justice is not for you.”

“Hey! Trixie-”

“Third pony.”

“I’ve been through a lot over the years and I need this!”

“No, you want what has not been offered to you.”

“But I-you-you saved me without breaking a sweat! I-I want, no I need to be like you if I want to-”

Gray Muffin snarls and immediately storms out of the room. When the door slams shut, Trixie cringes and looks down with her ears drooped and body sulking, realizing that she said something stupid.

“Smooth, Trixie. Real smooth,” she mumbles irritably.

She then takes a breath, slides off her stool and trots to the desk. The deck still has some activity, but most of the crew is milling about, conversing cheerfully amongst themselves while the diamond dog remains steering, completely lost in his concentration. It does not take long for Trixie to spot Gray Muffin walking around, retaining his slight limp, and checking on those that are working.

He gives approving pats on the shoulders and praises, and occasionally fixes a small problem before moving on. Trixie tries to get his attention by calling his name, waving her hoof in front of his face, and walking in front of him, but he ignores her each time. Finally, after a good five minutes of badgering on Trixie’s part and Gray Muffin checking, double checking and triple checking the double checks, he stops in front of the Tesla coil and stares at it intently while she stands next to him and tries to look at his face.

“Gray Muffin, did I say something to hurt your feelings?” asks Trixie.

“You said something arrogant, and your word choice was very childish,” replies Gray Muffin harshly.

“What did I say?”

“You said you needed to be like me. But you know nothing about me. All you know is that I kill and steal from others. Tell me, Trixie, how exactly does that point to somepony that should be looked up to?”

“Well... You said you were protecting the innocent, so that part seemed good,” says Trixie meekly.

Gray Muffin snorts. “It seems good, but this path I have chosen is more of a burden than a blessing, and the only reason I have not abandoned it is because my country needs me more than ever.”

Trixie is silent for a moment as the words seep in, especially the last part, but knowing that she had obviously struck a sore spot with her rescuer she tries to make amends. “Look, I’m sorry for what I said, but, the thing is, I don’t want to be afraid anymore. I am tired of running and begging and-and I’m just sick of being afraid of what tomorrow will be like, and you look like a pony who has no fear.”

“No pony lives without fear,” says Gray Muffin, and then he turns to Trixie and she looks down to hide the shame in her eyes. “But if you truly want to free yourself from being a victim and join something greater than yourself, then you must understand that commitment to the League is lifelong. There is no backing out and corruption will not be tolerated on any level. Do you understand the gravity of what you desire?”

Trixie looks down and scrapes her hoof against the rough deck as his words sink into her, and a moment later, she takes a deep breath and looks into his eyes, nodding. “I understand.”

A few minutes later the airship lands in a clearing in the forest and Trixie is levitated off of the ship and gently lowered on the wet grass below. Gray Muffin is also lowered next to Trixie and he escorts her away from the ship, near the tree line with a group of ponies standing around in a defensive perimeter. Trixie is a bit uneasy seeing the weapons being levitated or held in their mouths of the ever watchful guards.

“Do you remember what I said before I killed Sunshine?” asks Gray Muffin sternly.

“Trixie thinks so,” says Trixie hesitantly, putting her focus back on the old stallion.

“Repeat it.”

“What?”

“Repeat what I said before I killed Sunshine.”

Trixie looks at Gray Muffin, then at his ship, then at the guards, and back at him again. He stares back at her expectantly and she takes a deep breath and goes on to reciting what Gray Muffin had said before he crushed Sunshine’s neck. “There is only black and white. There is never gray... For justice is absolute.”

Gray Muffin stares at her, neither saying a word of recognition or disapproval, and when the seconds start ticking by, Trixie gets nervous and starts sweating profusely while stepping back, preparing herself for a run in the forest. Finally, after what seems like an eternity of silence, Gray Muffin nods approvingly.

“Good, now, if you really want what you say you must do two things. First, you must find the manor that resides in an abandoned dragon cave with a waterfall on either side of the entrance. Second, once you find it, you must repeat my final words to Sunshine and they will let you in. If you don’t they will kill you,” instructs Gray Muffin.

He turns to and starts back towards the ship, and Trixie's jaw drops and her heart races with panic as she trots after him.

“Wait, aren’t you taking me with you?” asks Trixie, her voice cracking with a terrified whine.

Gray Muffin keeps walking. “No.”

“Why!”

Gray Muffin stops and looks at Trixie over his shoulder. “I think it’s obvious.”

“...A test?”

Gray Muffin nods subtly and coolly walks back to the ship, barking at the guards to return aboard. Trixie yells at Gray Muffin, asking him for a general direction, but all he does is turn, flash a quick smirk, and then he and his guards are levitated on the aircraft. Seconds later, the turbines turn at full speed and Trixie shields her eyes from the dirt and blades of grass kicked up and when the ship is above the trees, it speeds away and disappears from view within a matter of seconds, leaving Trixie alone in the field. She looks around the clearing and paces in circles for a few seconds before swearing under her breath and deciding her best choice is following the ship. She takes a deep breath to collect herself, and then boldly marches into the forest.

Trixie has been trekking through the forest for hours, she had traveled all night and the day is now reaching afternoon. During her walk she had asked anyone she came across for directions to the manor Gray Muffin described, but the responses were either: “I don’t know”, “You’re crazy”, “Turn around and go home”, or “If you blow me I’ll tell you”. Needless to say, the pervert that said the latest said lost his front teeth after Trixie bucked him in the mouth.

Nearly a full forty eight hours of hiking later, and she finally reaches the area with mountain with the waterfalls cascading down on either side, creating a mist at the bottom that shrouds the base of the mountain. Trixie smiles with relief and takes a seat by a tree to catch her breath, but that smile of hers fades when she realizes just how steep that mountain is and how slick the water has made it. Just from her spot at the base she can tell that it is almost completely flat in certain areas and that alone makes her stomach churn and a thought crosses her mind to call quits and go about her merry way to another random direction. However, she stops herself, remembering that she is doing this so no one will ever take advantage of her like Sunshine did ever again, and if that means climbing a slick mountain with her bare hooves, then so be it. Though, that does not mean she will enjoy the climb, though, and she groans and forces her exhausted legs to move, staring resentfully at the mountain.

This is going to be fun, she thinks sarcastically.

Trixie walks into the mist that reduces her visibly down to just a few feet, and shivers when the freezing dew clings to her coat. She instinctively shakes the water off, but she feels like a water magnet because as soon as she shakes the dew off, twice as many attach themselves onto her. She grits her teeth and tries to ignore the numbing cold, but ignoring it goes right out the window when she falls in neck deep frigid water. She’s briefly submerged, but quickly rises back to the surface and gasps for air and coughs out the icy water in thick globs. Trixie's hooves pedal frantically under the water and her teeth chatter and her voice quivers as she spews a stream of swears while her eyes dart around in desperation to search for any way out. But when she cannot find any besides the way back, she does the only thing she can do besides retreat. She swims blindly until she reaches the mountain.

After swimming out of the freezing body of water, Trixie pulls herself out on the mud, curls up tightly and shivers uncontrollably while her teeth chatter so hard she’s afraid they’ll break. Trixie rubs her hooves together and blows hot air into them, then creates a spark from her horn that briefly ignites the ground in electrical flame.

She stops and shoots another test round, and when it is met with success, she laughs and nearly cries with relief as she hops to her hooves. Despite her desire to rest, she still gallops around the area and gathers as much wood and mulch as she can, dries them up using her weak magic to do so, and then creates a small fire. Trixie sits by the fire for an indefinite amount of time before her bones and muscles no longer feel frozen, and when that happens she braves the mountain once more.

As she climbs, she's constantly bombarded by the water cascading down, and the slick rocks cause her to slip and slide more times than she can count, and the accumulated bruises are equal in number. It also doesn’t help that every step she takes makes her muscles and bones scream and beg for her to stop because of those injuries, but she ignores those and presses on, determined to reach the top.

It takes Trixie at least six hours to reach the cave Gray Muffin described, which thankfully has a flat entrance and some natural stairs made from intermingled tree roots and stone. She has to use the last bit of her strength to climb up the stairs, and when she’s safe inside the cave’s mouth she rolls on her back, panting heavily and ready for a much needed nap. She can’t even tell the difference between her sweat and the water from the waterfalls, and frankly she doesn’t really want to think about it.

Trixie looks to her side and smiles victoriously when she sees the manor. Its built directly into the cave with an elegant network of small towers and wooden tubes connecting to the main household. Hanging from the towers is the same wrench in lightning bolt symbol she has seen on the boat and the entrance is made of a giant set of oak doors with justice scales carved into them.

Trixie groggily wipes the sweat and dew off of her face, forces herself to stand and proceeds to approaching the manor with the grace of a three legged pony with crooked eyes. As she walks her mane gets a small itch and her eyes shift between the towers of the manor. Trixie stops walking and looks around, but doesn’t see anything, so she gulps and continues walking, but this time with more caution. After reaching the doors she takes a deep breath, waits a minute to recollect her miniscule energy and then knocks on the door. All it takes is one knock for the door to open. It groans in protest as it grinds across the stone floor, making a nasty scratching sound that hurts her ears.

When the doors fully part, Trixie sees a dark hallway with small pockets of light made from weak torches. She swallows her fear and walks inside while mumbling Gray Muffin's quote quietly, over and over again. When she’s a few paces in the door suddenly seals itself shut and Trixie turns around just in time to see a unicorn mare levitate a rectangular stone slab hiding in the ceiling in front of the door.

The mare has the same color scheme as Gray Muffin, only her hair is darker, longer and combed to the side to partially cover her eye, and she doesn’t have his black spots. She also has a stone for a cutie mark and Trixie can’t help but laugh at the inside, thinking how much it would suck to have such a cutie mark. The unicorn, after finishing putting the boulder in its place, stares at Trixie murderously, and she, in turn, continues to walk down the hallway with the unicorn closely following her. She looks at each of the torches and sees that they have the same design on them as the banners.

“Keep walking,” orders the unicorn.

Trixie gives the unicorn a dirty glare. However, when the unicorn charges her horn and the rocks on the floor break apart and reform to a dozen small sharp blades, Trixie instantly apologizes and practically runs down the hallway, no longer wanting to laugh about the unicorn’s cutie mark.

Finally, after walking for five minutes down the hallway of Tartarus with the blade wielding unicorn trailing her, Trixie enters a large extravagant room brightly lit with electric light. Sitting in the back of the room on a simple wooden throne is a beige pegasus stallion wearing dark armor and a crimson cape held in place by the lightning bolt and wrench clip. Standing next to the pegasus is Gray Muffin, wearing his usual outfit, but he appears to be free of any injuries he sustained before.

The pegasus stands up and walks towards Trixie, flashing his wings challengingly for just a moment, and since she is depleted of all of her energy, she collapses on the floor and watches the pegasus approaches.

“Who are you!?” booms the pegasus’s voice.

“There is... there is only black and white. There is never gray... For-for justice is... absolute,” says Trixie weakly, now on the brink of passing out.

“Who are you!?”

“I... My name is Trixie... Trixie Lulamoon.”

“Why have you come!?”

“I... I came to... I came to learn how to defend myself and... and to learn to fight injustice so... so that I won't be a victim ever again.”

“Who told you about my residence!?”

Trixie nods towards Gray Muffin and then briefly loses consciousness, but when her eyes snap open she’s staring right into the angry, blue eyes of the pegasus.

“I’ve heard of you, Great and Powerful Trixie. You are an egotistical, lying, tramp and the daughter of the late Eclipse Lulamoon, the greatest crime lord of Equestria,” sneers the pegasus. “I am not even surprised that you came here with nothing but selfish desires when the League of Justice is about selflessness for the Greater Good.”

Trixie looks down to hide her shame, even though she knows it’s hopeless. It seems everyone that knows about her can only think ill of her.

“I was that,” whispers Trixie sadly, she then looks at the pegasus with tears in her eyes. “But I... Please, can you help me?”

Roar Shock kicks Trixie away, sending a sharp pain in her side and yelping in pain as she rolls across the floor. After coming to a stop, she coughs roughly, giving her the taste of copper and her legs struggle to hold her up.

“To fight injustice and evil you must abandon yourself to complete selflessness!” yells the pegasus.

He rams Trixie in the chest and she skids across the floor, coming to a sharp halt when her head bangs against the wall. She has a horrible ringing in her ears and a smart pain tearing at the back of her head as a warm liquid trails down her neck.

“Here, we are the shadows of the innocent! We have no name! No identity! And like all entities, the criminals and corrupt fear what they cannot see!” bellows the pegasus as he rapidly approaches Trixie.

Trixie stands up, but is quickly knocked down as the pegasus' hoof collides with her jaw with an echoing sound of hoof against skin. She screams in pain and clutches her jaw with one hoof and holds up her other towards the pegasus.

“Wait! Wait!” cries Trixie

The pegasus stomps on Trixie's side, and she feels some of her ribs snap and her agonizing wails echo in the chamber, but nobody moves to aid her. Not even Gray Muffin.

“Evil waits for nopony!” snarls the pegasus.

He stomps Trixie’s gut and she cries out again and curls in the fetal position, sobbing and coughing blood while the thoughts of being beaten to death like Sunshine plague her mind.

“Please, stop,” wheezes Trixie in weak, raspy breathes, her vision turning to haze with tears and darkness and her shaking hoof barely raised.

Trixie hears Gray Muffin say something, but with everything fading around her she doesn’t understand a word he says, ands he looks up and sees her attacker bringing his hoof up, slightly distracted by Gray Muffin. The final moments of Sunshine play in Trixie’s mind again and a burst of adrenaline goes through her veins, refusing to die like him in some cave in the middle of nowhere.

Trixie turns her body slightly so her horn is aimed at the pegasus and she shoots him in the chest with a telekinetic blast that launches him backwards, all the way into the ceiling. He bounces off of the ceiling and lands belly first on the throne, shattering it into mere splinters of what it once was and covering him with fallen debris made up of loose rocks, timber, and lighting fixtures.

Trixie is surprised that she is able to do such a feat, and that fuels her will to stand up and fight some more, even if she is going to be on the defensive with nigh nonexistent energy. Her eyes, droopy with exhaustion, dart around the room as more creatures -equines, goats and griffins- wearing armored outfits step out to confront her. However, even though everything may be fading into darkness at a faster rate now and her slaughter imminent, she figures she might as well go down fighting.

Trixie, relying on pure adrenaline, uses her magic to grab a table and swing it in front of her like a torch against wolves.

“Come on!” she yells defiantly, heart thumping like speedy drums in her ears and breathing ragged as her vision fluctuates more sporadically.

She is surprised to see the group stop their advancement, but when she hears the earth rumble and stone break and mash against each other, she turns to the source and loses her train of thought. All she can do is stare with drooped ears and a slack jaw at a pony sized, spiked mace floating above the unicorn that let her in.

The mace wielding unicorn flashes a devious smile and swings the mace towards Trixie, who, in turn without much hope for surviving, holds the table in front of her like a shield with her eyes squeezed shut. But, instead of feeling pain and being dragged to Hell by Charon, she hears Gray Muffin yelling at the unicorn.

“Terra, stop!”

Nothing happens. No spike blowing Trixie's head apart. No complete pulverization. No death. Only silence.

Trixie opens one eye and lowers the table, wincing when the stone scrapes against the wall, and when she lets the table drop, she sees the face hovering above her head. With that visual, she falls to her haunches, short of breath and heart beating like the wings of a hummingbird.

The unicorn, Terra, looks at Gray Muffin, bows and lets the mace fall next to Trixie and crumble to the ground. Upon impact, the stones melt into the ground, leaving only small bumps to let others know of the manipulation the unicorn had used on the ground.

Meanwhile, Gray Muffin helps the pegasus out of the pile of rubble he's under and whispers something to him.

The pegasus nods and tries to make himself look presentable while he limps towards Trixie. “Trixie Lulamoon, I am Roar Shock, head of the League of Justice. My faithful student, and closest friend, Gray Muffin, has advised me-”

That's nice, thinks Trixie with relief. Then her eyes roll back and her vision blacks out as she collapses to the floor, completely unconscious, with the last thing she hears is the table she tried to use as a shield fall and break next to her.

Roar Shock huffs in disbelief as he stares at Trixie's limp, beaten figure with disgust. “That was rude.”

Gray Muffin, however, calls for a medic as he gallops towards Trixie. He nearly pushes Terra away when he is by her side and checks to make sure she didn't die on the spot. He breathes a sigh of relief and silently thanks Luna when he sees her chest rise and fall slowly, then he glares at Roar Shock.

“What is wrong with you? You nearly killed her!” says Gray Muffin furiously.

“I should ask you the same question, seeing as how you told a Lulamoon where I lived,” remarks Roar Shock coldly.

“She isn't Eclipse!” A team of medics approach Trixie with a cot levitated in front of them, and Gray Muffin steps back to let them work. He then sits down, removes his fedora and runs his hoof through his mane, sighing deeply. “We'll have to bring Redheart over and get some healing mushrooms just so she doesn't die over night.”

Roar Shock simply rolls his eyes and limps away, calling Terra to follow him. She is quick to gallop after him, leaving Gray Muffin to supervises the medics putting Trixie on their stretcher. Once she is on, Gray Muffin follows them on their careful trip to the infirmary. They go past a few rows of cots, all occupied by trainees, ranging from zebras to ponies, griffins to goats, and even a diamond dog and a caribou, all injured in some way. They watch in silence as the small group takes the cot next to a heater bolted into the stone wall with vent shafts and wires snaking up into the ceiling. The medics gently put Trixie on the cot and are dismissed by Gray Muffin after they cover her with a sheet, and after they leave, the old stallion pulls up a stool and calmly waits for her to wake up.

Author's Notes:

Edited 19 Jul 2014