Self Blame.

Ambushed.

  Adorabella woke with a start. Her room was dark. She heard a hoof fall. She could feel a pony breathing on the other side of the room. She was not alone. Her body refused to move. A bright light blinded her. Slowly her eyes adjusted and she saw Ginger Twist standing at the foot of her bed horn glowing.

  "I have the potions I swear!" yelled Adorabella.

  Ginger nodded. "I know you do. I came here to warn you. Rock and Catch are being punished for tattling on me. They should have known the syndicate values loyalty over everthing else."

  Adorabella almost corrected her, but she didn't know if warning Ginger about the coup was a good idea.

  "They were sent to Ponyville," said Ginger. "Get your potions. You are coming back to Fillydelphia."

  "No." Her body was still paralyzed.

  "What?" Ginger almost laughed at the absurdity. "Rock and Catch know you are here. They are going to kill you."

  Adorabella shook her head. Her body was cooperating. "I can protect myself now that you are not holding me back. You will get your potions tomorrow."

  Ginger stared at Adorabella. She opened her mouth to speak. She closed her mouth. She shook her head. "I was not holding you back. I let you fight your own battles. You held yourself back."

  Adorabella wanted to argue. "Let me fight this battle then."

  Ginger grabbed Adorabella with her telekinesis and dragged her out the door.

  Adorabella tried to flap her wings but she was held tight in the unicorn's magic grip. She fought so hard her wings threatened to snap.

  A pegasus stalion with a buzz cut and neck tattoos stood in the hall way. "Get to bed fillies," yelled Frames. It was scary how much she knew.

  Ginger snorted. She released Adorabella. "I am not coming back for you. If you are not back in Fillydelphia by sunrise I will not protect you from the syndicate no matter how much you beg or plead."

  Adorabella flew back to her room. She could hear Frames and Ginger's muffled voices through the door. Nither of them sounded happy.

  After a few minutes Adorabella's door opened. Frames poked her head in. She saw Adorabella lying still on her bed. She closed the door.

  So much for fighting her own battles.

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  The stiff cold air of the forest was a comfort to Adorabella because to other ponies it was an omen. Adorabella flew into the club house before the sun rose; she flew out as quickly as she could.

  Catch chased the pegasus his horn glowing in an effort to catch her with his telekinesis.

  Rock seemingly appeared out of no where and blocked Adorabella's fastest path out of the forest.

  Adorabella didn't have time to think. She had to escape as quickly as possibel. She flew up. She squirmed past the tree branches like a spelunker craling through a meander. The branches scratched her hooves, face and body. Her joints ached the moment she started climbing. A larger pony never would have been able to follow her. Bolts of stunning magic cracked against the branches below her. She kept pushing up through any norrow gap she could find. Soon there were no more gaps. The trees and their giant branches were too close together for her to move anywhere but back toward her attackers.

  Adorabella vomited. The space she cramed herself into was so small her hot puke had no place to go but down her chest. Her heart punched her chest ten times a second hurting more than the cuts on her legs. She sqeezed her eyes shut and tryed to keep tears out of the cuts on her cheeks.