Once Trixie had filled her saddlebag with her things (mostly beauty related Twilight noticed) they boarded the next train to Ponyville.

They got a small carriage together, the two ponies sitting across from each other on the couches that lined its sides. Trixie seemed incredibly nervous during the journey. She was not the same loud, chatty pony that Twilight had spent dinner with. She sat in silence, looking out the window at the back of the carriage. Twilight noticed the look of concern on the show pony's face.

"Don't worry Trixie, it'll be fine. Ponyville is a nice town, they won’t say a word,"  Twilight assured her.

‘’If you say so Twilight...’’ Trixie responded, not sounding convinced.

‘’Besides it’s late now anyway, there won’t even be many ponies around.’’

Twilight tried hard to change the topic to something else in an attempt to relax her nervous companion. She had little luck, getting short dead-end responses from her. Twilight was stunned by the sudden transformation Trixie had taken. She really is nervous She thought to herself. She felt yet another pang of empathy for the pony. Failing again to get conversation out of her, she decided to leave the topic, pulling a book out of her saddlebag and reading in silence.

*

The train pulled into Ponyville station at around 11:30pm. We shouldn’t run into many ponies at this hour Twilight thought. The library is also pretty close to the station.

‘’Just follow me Trixie,’’ Twilight explained, ‘’It’s not far from here at all.’’

‘’Alright,’’ the show pony replied meekly, hiding under her starry hat and cape which she had donned before boarding the train. Twilight might have pointed out that she looked far more conspicuous with it on but Twilight didn’t want her to take it off for some reason. That hat and cape are strangely alluring She mused.

They walked in nervous silence towards the library. They had to pass through the market area first, but Twilight hadn’t given it much thought due to the late hour. As they approached the market area though, a wave of noise hit them. Music, chatting and various other busy sounds met their ears. The late night market Twilight realized. This goes on until midnight. Glancing behind her, she saw a visibly nervous Trixie.

‘’Sorry Trixie, I forgot about this market,’’ Twilight explained, ‘’Anyway, it’ll be fine. We just need to get to the library. Look, you can see it from here,’’ Twilight pointed to the silhouette of a great, many branched tree in the distance. ‘’Just stick with me.’’

They entered the throng of busy buyers in the market. Banners were strung between the dozens of stalls lining either side of the street. Each was adorned with its own lantern to light the area for the queues of ponies perusing the various goods each vendor had to offer. Fruits, vegetables and other produce were in abundance.  

Trixie’s breath was caught in her throat. Come on Trixie. She tried to calm herself. It’s silly to be so afraid of a crowd, you’re a performer! She glanced around, her mind growing paranoid as she thought she saw ponies looking at her funny, pointing questioning hooves in her direction. She honestly could not tell if she was imagining it or not.

The distance between them and the shadowy tree felt as though it was getting larger rather than smaller to Trixie. She kept her eyes focused on Twilight. Her worries started to melt away as she took in the lavender pony, appreciating her sleek purple mane. What a lovely...

‘’Is that the Great and Powerful Trixie?!’’ A voice called from the crowd.

Trixie’s heart sank. She looked over to the Tree, its brown colour becoming clear as they approached. So close.

‘’It is!’’ Another voice called. ‘’She has some nerve showing her face here again!’’

Twilight backed up beside Trixie. ‘’Just ignore them, keep walking.’’

However, a crowd had begun to form.

‘’Has the awful and pathetic Trixie come back to be embarrassed some more?’’ Another voice called.

Shouts and insults started to stream steadily from the mob. Twilight’s head was spinning. Why are they being so horrible? Haven’t they even taken notice that she’s with me? She looked around the crowd trying to spot familiar faces. She saw a few, Berry Punch, Cheerilee, Cloud kicker... but they all had angry faces. They didn’t seem familiar to her at all. As she looked around she saw a flash of red in her peripherals and a startled yell struck her ears.

She looked to her right to see a wincing Trixie, the remains of a tossed tomato sliding down her snout.  They had come to a halt, the crowd completely surrounding the pair. To Twilight’s shock, the rest of the crowd joined in, and a barrage of produce, insults and shouts found their way to Trixie.

Twilight was frozen with horror. Many of her friends and acquaintances were in the crowd, but none of them seemed familiar. They had been transformed into some horrible cruel mass, sneering and angry. Even Derpy was up there tossing muffins, missing completely, but the stern look on her face showed she was trying her hardest to hit her target. She could only hope that none of the Elements Of Harmony were in that crowd. Once Twilight had gotten past the initial shock she dove in front of Trixie, taking the brunt of the projectiles hurtled her way. The missile barrage began to slow, and came to a complete halt when the realization struck the crowd that they were now hitting the town librarian. A hush fell over the mob.

‘‘YOU’RE ALL MONSTERS!’’ Twilight yelled, tears of fury welling in her eyes. ‘‘I NEVER KNEW THIS TOWN WAS EVEN CAPABLE OF SUCH CRUELTY TOWARDS ANOTHER PONY!’’ Twilight’s breathing was ragged, her throat already hoarse from the screaming. ‘’SHE MAY HAVE MADE A BAD FIRST IMPRESSION, BUT THIS IS HOW YOU WELCOME HER INTO TOWN?! SHE HAD THE COURAGE TO WALK BACK INTO THIS TOWN AND THIS IS HOW YOU TREAT HER?! YOU ALL MAKE ME SICK!’’

Twilight’s horn began to glow, encircling her and Trixie with a purple ball of energy. With a flash it was gone, the two ponies disappearing with it. The mob dispersed soon after, shamed mutterings being shared between its members.

*

The precarious pile of books Spike was carrying teetered dangerously in his arms as he moved them across the room.

Where the hay is Twilight? I hope nothing happened to her in Manehatten. He thought, his concern growing as the hour grew later.

A sudden, sharp ’ZAP’ made Spike leap in surprise, the books racing towards the ceiling before plummeting back down on the startled dragon, burying him in a messy pile.

He lifted his head out of the pile to see two very disheveled ponies standing in the library foyer, various types of fruit and vegetable running slowly down their coats and hanging from their manes.

‘’Twilight?!’’ Spike said with concern. ‘’TRIXIE?!’’ He yelled as he took in the azure pony standing beside his lifetime friend. ‘’You two look awful, what happened?’’ He asked as he climbed out of the pile of books.

‘’If it’s all the same to you Twilight,’’ Trixie spoke up, her voice choked as she failed to fight back tears, ''I’d just like to be shown to my bed right now.’’

Twilight looked at the pathetic mess that was Trixie standing in front of her, her beautiful silver mane and blue coat ruined by the rotting produce dripping from them. She never felt such a mixture of rage and sadness before. She tried to speak calmly.

‘’Of course Trixie, let me show you where the bathroom is, and then I’ll show you to your bed.’’

Twilight did just that, waiting patiently as the blue pony cleaned herself, Twilight following suit. She showed her to her own bedroom, where two beds lay waiting.

‘’Pick whichever one you like, I tend to swap between the two myself’’ Twilight explained as she walked into the room with Trixie.

‘’Thank you Twilight’’ Trixie choked out, fresh tears welling in her eyes. ‘’Don’t worry about me too much, I probably deserved what I got...’’

‘’No Trixie!’’ Twilight rebutted, ‘’No pony deserves what you got today. I’m sorry, I told you the whole time it would be fine because I truly believed it. I never knew this town was capable of such...vitriol.’’

‘’It’s ok, I...I’d just like to sleep right now.’’

‘’Ok Trixie,’’ Twilight said quietly to the dejected pony. ‘’Get some rest. We can talk in the morning.’’

Twilight walked back downstairs, where Spike was still waiting patiently for an explanation. He didn’t ask outright as he could tell the situation was serious. He just sat quietly on a stool looking at her with big concerned eyes. Twilight was just about to explain the situation when she heard a knocking at the door. She didn’t know whether to answer it or not. She hesitated, but then decided to open the door. Outside, an orange earth pony wearing a brown Stetson was standing with a look of deep concern on her face.

‘’Oh Applejack,’’ Twilight sighed ‘’Please tell me you were not a part of that crowd.’’

‘’Ah wasn’t Twi, but ah saw the whole darn thing from my stand in the market.’’ Applejack announced as Twilight led her inside, closing the door behind her. ‘’Ah didn’t realize what was happening at first ‘cos ah was on the other side of the crowd. Then ah heard you shoutin’ something fierce, and before ah could push through the crowd you teleported out of there,’’ The orange pony explained.

‘’Did you ever expect the ponies in this town could be so horrible?’’ Twilight cried. ‘’I mean I’ve read books on it before, mob rule, when individuals get swept up in the emotions of a crowd but still...’’ Twilight’s voice began to break as her eyes welled up with tears. ’’It was mostly ponies I know out there Applejack. It was terrifying to see them acting so...vile.’’ She choked out, tears now pouring readily down her cheeks.

‘’It’s alright sugarcube, come here,’’ Applejack took Twilight in a comforting hug. ‘’Ah don’t know why you brought that Trixie back to town, but ah’m sure you have a good reason.’’

‘’I still don’t know what happened,’’ Spike chimed in.

Applejack and Twilight regaled the horrific incident to the purple dragon, whose eyes widened with shock at each terrible detail.

‘’Wow that’s awful Twilight, I hope you're ok,’’ Spike offered at the end of the story.

‘’I’m fine Spike, a little shaken but ok,’’ Twilight replied, slowly regaining her composure. ‘’I wasn’t the one those ponies were after.''

‘’Yeah, you still haven’t explained why Trixie is here though.’’ Spike recalled.

‘’I was trying to be her friend Spike, trying to introduce her to the magic of friendship and instead she got this. She would have been better off had I never gone to see her again.’’ Twilight's voice began to choke up again.

‘’Now now sugarcube this ain’t your fault, you never could have expected the reception she got,’’ Applejack interjected.

‘’That poor mare is up there, probably still shaking with fear and it’s all because of me. I’m an idiot,’’ Twilight yelled, new tears starting to form under her eyes.

‘’Listen to me Twi’’ Applejack cut in, putting a reassuring hoof on Twilight’s shoulder. ‘’This situation is not gonna get any better if you keep blaming yourself. If you wanna make Trixie feel better, you’re gonna have to forgive yourself first and be strong for her.''

Applejack's no-nonsense tone and advice had an innate calming effect on Twilight. She was right. She had to be strong for Trixie.

‘’Thank you so much Applejack’’ Twilight responded, hugging the earth pony close.

‘’No problem Twi, that’s what friends do.’’ Applejack explained as she squeezed Twilight back. ‘’Now ah gotta get moving back to my stand, ah left it to come after you. Get some rest. Ah’ll see you in the morning.’’

Applejack turned and began to leave, stopping just outside the door.

‘’Oh and Twi, ah found Trixie mighty annoying last time she was here sure, but ah have no problem with her being back if it’s important to you,’’ The earth pony explained.

‘’Thanks Applejack, you’re amazing,’’ Twilight smiled.

‘’Like ah said, that’s what friends do.’’

With that she left, and Twilight closed the door behind her.

There was a long silence in the library as Twilight sat there with Spike, trying to calm herself. After a few minutes, the young dragon cut in.

‘’What are you going to do Twilight?’’ He asked.

‘’Right now I think sleep is the best thing. Let’s just go to bed.’’

With that Spike left to find his bed, and Twilight walked slowly upstairs to her room.

She opened the door to her room gently, not knowing if Trixie was asleep yet or not. She crept in, only hearing the sound of another pony breathing softly. In the dim moonlight shining through her window she saw Trixie’s face. She was fast asleep, the area around her eyes visibly wet from tears she had clearly only recently shed. Twilight sighed at the sight. She was overcome by a sudden urge to climb into the bed with her and wrap her hooves around her. She almost did it before sense came back into her mind. That would just be weird She thought to herself. She didn’t manage to convince herself of this fact, but climbed into the empty bed all the same. The exhaustion of the day hit her fast as her head touched the pillow, and she fell asleep in moments.