Spike stared once more at the closed door to the room his boss was staying in. It was the beginning of a beautiful Saturday, which was an especially special day in Spike's book since it was the one day of the week Twilight granted him the entire day off to do what he wanted, whether it was sleeping all day, eating all day, bathing all day, or any mix of the three and then some. Twilight normally took the day off too, but there was something, well, off today.

Namely, Twilight wasn't up yet. It was closing in on noon and Twilight, the one person he knew who took her studies so seriously she put them before things as welcome and wonderful as sleep and food. At least Spike didn't understand it. Twilight was usually up before the young dragon, usually the one to wake Spike up in fact. So, either Twilight had another long night putting up with Pinkie Pie again and chose to just sleep the day away - again - or she was trying to astral-project herself through her dreams. Again. No matter how you cut it, it was unusual.

Maybe he'd surprise her. "Bet she'd love a breakfast in bed." He smiled at the thought of Twilight's wide eyes and gushing voice as he commandeered the kitchen, and proudly went to work. Nothing said good morning to a sleepy pony like pancakes and grilled asparagus stalks. With any luck, he might not have even drained the syrup from his last sweets binge.

He pushed open a window above the stove as the pans beneath him sizzled, and he took in the smell of fresh morning air and cooking food. Birds in the tree branches chirped merrily, and even the sound of bees seemed bright and optimistic as they gathered food from the flowers. It also let in the voices of an active town, all of Ponyville seeming to be fully alive. It was going to be a gorgeous day, and all signs were pointing towards a relaxing lay by the pond, or perhaps he could tag along with the girls on the day they'd no doubt spend on either another crazy scheme or maybe they'd actually relax for once.

Speak of the devil, there was a knock on the door. He made sure the food would be fine by itself for a moment and hopped off his stool. He opened the door, and found a pair of orange legs in the way. "Oh hiya Spike, was hopin' somepony'd be here." Applejack sounded a bit giddy, which was unusual since she was usually so wooden and laid back.

"What's up Applejack?" Spike invited her in, shutting the door behind her when she finished politely wiping her hooves and entered the library. "You're going to have to wait a while, Twilight's still asleep for some reason and I thought I'd surprise her with breakfast." The dragon came back to the kitchen to tend the meal, smiling at the sheer livelihood of the day. He was all for a couple of good omens.

"I dun' mind, I just need her help balancing' a checkbook. Big Mac's got it all figured out 'til Apple Bloom tried to turn housekeeper with a hose and washed all the ink off a page, an' Twilight's better with numbers than me or him so we figured we'd send them her way an' see what she turns out." She trotted around the house, abnormally restless.

"She shouldn't have a problem with that. Sweet day, huh? I could tell the moment I got up it'd be great."

Applejack knocked her back hooves together to make a clapping noise. "Like ya wouldn't believe! Even Fluttershy's hoppin' about like Pinkie Pie. Can't wait t'see Twilight's reaction to all this. If any pony would be a laugh to see this excited it'd be her. Huh, I hope paperwork don't soak her spirits none."

Spike gave a humored snort as he mounted the pancake stack, the accompanying asparagus, and the syrup all on one plate and proudly marched towards the door with it held above his head. "If anything it'll just make Twilight happier. Hey, can you get the door?"

"Not a prob' Spike." Applejack followed him to the closed door and opened it up, and squinted her eyes to peer into the dark room, all while smiling as she made her call: "Wakey wakey Twilight Sparkle! It's a smilin' sorta day!"

"KILL ME."

Applejack, for her part, did not even squeak at a voice that sounded so pained it could have gone through a cheese grater and sounded more pleasant, and was quick to reenter the room with Spike.

"Twilight, are you alright?" The dragon asked with clear concern in his voice as he set the plate down on a nightstand to be forgotten before climbing onto the bed with the still figure. It must have startled Twilight, since a quiver went through the lump on the bed.

"Hey, c'mon sugarcube, don't be like that. Are ya sick?" Applejack walked around to the other side of the bed and pressed her nose against what she thought was Twilight's face under the blanket. Part of the covered mass lifted, and a bleary, blood-shot, tear-slicked eye stared at the farm pony whose nose was practically pushing into Twilight's backside. The orange-maned girl shot back and grinned sheepishly before Twilight laid her head down on the pillow, uncovering most of her face with the blanket. "Not feelin' too ripe?"

"Uuuhnngh…" Applejack had dreams of a zombie apocalypse once. It was more of a recurring nightmare from when she'd overheard a ghost story from her brother when she was tiny, and hearing those imagined groans, even during the day could make her spine ice-cold. Yet none of them sounded as remotely terrifying as Twilight did. "Spiiingnghhh… Spiiike…" She groaned ghoulishly.

Spike had left the room though, and was only just returning with a bag of medical supplies. From what Applejack could see, Twilight had not gotten a lot of sleep. Her pupils were puny, and the red veins around the edges were thick and numerous. Dark bags hung under her eyes, and whatever was ailing her was paining her enough to cause wetness to pool at the bottom of each lid. Applejack's fantastic morning started to feel more and more like a nightmare as Spike stuck a thermometer under Twilight's tongue and watched the monitor with impatience. His frown only deepened. "Your temp's fine, Twi. Need some pain medication?"

"Hay I think we could knock her up with morphine at this point. She looks like heck came and took a bite of her…" Applejack ran her hoof along Twilight's side as the unicorn murmured incoherently. "Speak up hon, you're whisperin'."

"Spike…" Her voice was small, and full of hurt and exhaustion. The dragon set the pain pills down. "Spike… Are you there?" She blinked one eye at a time, which was eerie to watch.

"You know I'm here Twilight, do you need water? Food? More blankets? Less blankets? I can read you Canterlot's Hygiene Standards if you need me to." The dragon joined Applejack in rubbing the calmly fidgeting body.

"Spike… You… You love me right?" The Unicorn asked, making the dragon squirm uncomfortably. She was getting mushy in front of company, but considering the circumstances…

"I love you a lot Twilight, why? Don't tell me you're dying!" Applejack's stomach pitted. She hadn't even considered that, and seeing Twilight the way she was now, every shadow started to look like skull or a scythe, waiting for a corpse. She sucked in a hissing breath to stop herself from screaming for help. It might not be as bad as it looked, but she really really wanted to go see a doctor.

"No… Spike, you'll do anything for me, right?" Spike nodded, rubbing Twilight's side vigorously to let her know he would. "Then, Spike, please, okay? Please please go to my cabinet and get me a quill. Please? Please get the sturdy enchanted one please? Please…?" She begged weakly as Spike ran to her cabinet and grabbed the requested quill, and on a second thought grabbed a few sheets of scroll paper.

"Do you want me to get Celestia?" Spike asked, the idea causing Applejack to calm down. Celestia loved Twilight dearly as her star student, surely if she heard her student was curled up on the precipice of death the Princess would be there in an instant with all manner of cures. But no, Twilight was shaking her head, and shifted it to get a better look at Spike. Applejack grimaced at the sight of such a tight, contorted face, caused by immense pain.

"No, Spike, take that pen, okay? I need you to follow my instructions very carefully…" The Unicorn somehow mustered the strength to raise her head level with Spike's. "Come here, okay? Hold the pen up horizontally…" Her voice was so soft as she gave the instructions while Spike, looking confused, did as he was asked. "Now I want you to point it at my eye…" Spike came a bit closer, and Applejack still wasn't sure what was happening. She knew Spike didn't have any greater understanding, as he was still looking to Twilight for instruction. Twilight stared straight at the pen as best as she could, while something dawned on Spike.

"Twilight, your horn…" Applejack lifted her sight from the pen to Twilight's horn and gasped softly as she saw was Spike was staring at.

"Spike please!" Twilight grimaced and a tear slipped down her cheek as she stared at the quill, and the two immediately looked down at the tool as the Unicorn squirmed and stabilized herself, staring harder at the pen. "Spike, listen carefully… I know you love me and I love you too, so please, just do as I say…"

"Anything Twilight." Spike frowned deeply, his eyes not flickering to the horn again.

"Okay, please, when I count to three I need you to do this. Alright? On three I just need you to take that pen, and don't hold back, drive it through my eye." The dragon fumbled with the quill in shock as Applejack's jaw dropped. "Make sure it goes deep, it has to get to the brain to KILL ME otherwise it'll just-"

"Twilight this is no time to be joking around! We need to get your horn looked at!" Spike threw the quill in frustration, and he had to push her down as she scrambled towards the item, looking desperately sad.

"But Spike, I need you to-"

"Twilight he's right." Applejack lifted herself onto the bed and tugged Twilight back down into a lying position with her teeth and the sorceress' mane, "Ain't nothin' so bad in the universe t'go makin' your friends kill you. You need t'get your horn looked at."

"Ugghnng…" Twilight's moan made the two wince. "What's so bad about my horn you guys won't let me just end the pain? What if I swear to put you two in my will? Spike, you can have my gems, all of them, Applejack, you can take my place as Celestia's student, you'll be such a good unicorn!" Twilight whimpered and squirmed, trying to roll over and cover her face, but Applejack kept her still.

"Quit talkin' yer nonsense, Twi! Yer horn is bleedin'!" Applejack sighed as she watched her friend with concern. The pain must have been bad. What makes a horn bleed? Whatever it was, it was enough to send a sturdy girl like Twilight into wanting death.

"Bleeding!" Twilight choked out, trying to sit up, but was forced to lay down with a press of Applejack's hooves. On closer inspection, it wasn't the horn, just the skull around it. There was a tiny red ring around the base of the horny, and thin red lines were creeping down her forehead. "But I was done with that last week!" Applejack rolled her eyes while Spike gave out a noise between a gasp of disgust and a retch.

"Don't be so dirty sugarcube." She looked Twilight right in her strained eyes, and sighed. "Sorry fer bein' so rough but you ain't exactly in the right states of mind." She leaned down and gently touched her nose to Twilight's, an act so intimate looking it made Spike feel uncomfortable for just standing there. Twilight didn't seem to really notice. Well, at least until Applejack began to lick up the blood.

"Oh Celestia…" Spike and Twilight groaned for completely separate reasons. After that little tidbit of unwanted information earlier, Spike had to fight to keep his lunch down as he raced out of the library to go find a doctor. Getting a tongue bath from Applejack seemed to calm down Twilight, who was no longer trying to fight being bedridden, nor was she whimpering. Applejack reasoned it was either the mind tricking itself or somehow, she was taking some of the pressure off. Either way, she was damn glad Spike had left and no other pony was here. It was one thing to be caught standing on a pony in her bed, it was another to get caught licking her face.

---

It started like a tiny pebble dropping into a pond. Spike had barged into the doctor's office during their lunch break, shouting about bleeding horns and suicide, and clearing the air only after a nurse forced him to drink a glass of water to calm down. Spike lead the doctor and his nurse off towards a cottage near the edge of the woods, and they found to their annoyance he'd only stopped by to grab more medical help. Spike had been much more articulate when speaking to Fluttershy, but all he managed to get out was "Twilight's really hurt" before Fluttershy almost knocked him off balance to charge towards town. The group of four were shouting over each other to explain or get an explanation, not doing a thing to hide the situation from outside ears. Within twenty minutes news of Twilight Sparkle being so horrendously sick she was crying blood and trying to jam sharp things into her head to make the pain stop due to a period had reached Sweet Apple Acres.

Big Mac silently thanked the Princesses he was born a male and took Apple Bloom and her friends aside to give them the big 'period talk' Applejack had been saving. If only to prevent the three from screaming about not wanting to lose all their blood.

---

"How would you describe the pain?" The doctor asked while keeping a clipboard and a quill handy. His nurse was carefully scooping soup into the suffering young girl's mouth, nodding her thanks to Applejack who had been quick to give the professionals space by replacing Twilight's pillow with her own body. Twilight hadn't recovered much from when Spike had left her, but she was no longer eyeing quills like they were salvation.

"… Bad." Twilight's answer was slow, methodical, and well thought out in its own way. The doctor shifted and cleared his throat. Applejack would have kicked the doctor for his rudeness if she hadn't been under Twilight, but a glare served to remind him his place instead.

"Twilight, I think he might mean 'how' does it hurt?" Fluttershy offered so gently and sweetly it made Spike's panicking fidgets quit. The Pegasus was careful as she wrapped a thin hand cloth dipped in herbs and solutions around the poor mare's horn. It took a few moments for the pain in Twilight's face to subside, and a few minutes more for her eyes to stop looking so ragged from the continued burn. Twilight blinked slowly, as if truly, clearly taking in everything around her for the first time.

"I think," Twilight began, her voice a little stronger. "I think whatever's in that rag is the best thing ever." Fluttershy's smile lit the room up a few notches brighter as Twilight more easily sipped at the soup. Now she just looked tired, but still, any movement caused her to wince and tear up again. "It feels like my forehead is getting stabbed right where my horn is. Like somebody took a big, hot knife and just-"

"That'll be fine Twilight." Applejack shifted, making Twilight sigh.

"What would do that though? I've never heard of a unicorn getting horn-pains before." Spike sat at the end of the bed and looked deep in thought. "I've never even read anything like it. I've heard of magical short-outs but nothing like, well, what you look like."

Twilight's smile was weak, and the change of muscles made her wince. "Is it that bad?"

"To be frank, miss Sparkle, in my long line of work, I've never met anypony look so absolutely agonized. I've seen dead ponies with eyes more alive than yours had been, if I may be so blunt." The doctor chewed the tip of his quill, making Twilight wince, which caused her to wince even more. "To be honest, when I walked in here, I was fairly sure you wouldn't survive for very long. Though seeing as you are now, I can honestly say it's probably not fatal, but as your companion has said, it's undocumented. Unicorns aren't my area of expertise anyways, a doctor from, say, Canterlot would be in a better position to make any sort of judgment."

The room was quiet as everypony considered his words. Twilight was the first to break the silence with tears in her eyes. "Did I really look dead?" She asked Applejack. The brave, honest, hard-working, athletic pony couldn't keep her body from shaking from the memory.

"Twilight, when ya first looked at me, th'only thing that kept me from screamin' my bloody head off was me bein' too frozen up with fright." The unicorn nodded solemnly. Spike had painted the picture for her, and she guessed she wouldn't have reacted any better if she walked in on anyone else with eyes like that. Heck, as sheltered as she was, she probably would have caused the place to explode from fear.

She felt something hot press against her forehead, and then saw Fluttershy roll the heat-soaked towel over her eyes. Soothing relief washed over her face, and Applejack let out a little breath as she felt her friend relax, even a little.

"Well that settles it then, doesn't it?" Spike asked, getting the attention of the others. "We have to go get somebody from Canterlot. I could send a letter to Celestia asking for a doctor, she'll understand. It's the fastest way after all, and you're in a lot of pain." Most of the room nodded in agreement, except Twilight Sparkle. "… Twilight?" Spike crawled up the bed and rubbed her side.

The unicorn was quiet, but breathing. Then Fluttershy, the doctor, and the nurse gave a tiny sigh of relief. "What? What's so nice?" Applejack asked, looking to their calm faces.

"Poor thing is finally asleep. Perhaps it's for the best. You do what you need to do, I'll go make a formal report. If you can't get a doctor out your way, stop by my clinic and I'll have a carriage sent for. For now, under no circumstances is Twilight Sparkle to be let out of bed. There is far too much pressure in her head for her to be coherent on her feet. And especially, this is vital, and you should already know this, but do not disturb her horn too much." The doctor packed his things while the nurse kept his notes and set the soup bowl beside what looked like a very good, if cooled down breakfast plate.

The two left as quietly as possible, much to Applejack's relief. Twilight finally looked calmed down after the whole incident. She wanted it to just be a bad dream but she felt, well, kind of motherly, sisterly, or just plain friendly to be here taking care of her. "I'll be honest with ya Twilight, even if it's a bit unfair that ye're asleep and all, but ya'll nearly scared my hooves off. Don'tcha worry, the Princess is gonna hear about this." She smiled, and Fluttershy carefully removed the hot cloths from Twilight's face.

---

"I can understand your distress at the situation sir, I really do." Celestia tried to act sincere, not wanting her subjects to let her know she was bored out of her mind from listening to this debate. "But I simply can't bring myself to allow you to take over a farm field for land alone." Equestria was not limited in land or resources in any way, yet day in, day out, Celestia often heard about land debates.

"But Princess if you'll take a moment to look at my charts-"

"We've been over the blas'ed things a hun'red times alrea'y! Her memory ain' tarnished none since five minu'es ago!" The business pony narrowed his eyes at what he assumed was a simple farm pony - rather than the organizer and defacto leader of the Agricultural Guild - and the farm pony repaid the stare in kind. Celestia sighed breathlessly. Every debate was the same. Somebody wanted somebody else's land, mostly out of jealousy from how well it was performing, often presenting proof some valuable thing was in or under the dirt. She tried to remain democratic about it, but she was always a few steps from signing a form that would prevent the taking over of land.

"You'll find that the land is rich in Lunanium, if we took the land for drilling we could have a seventy-five percent increase in strength and durability of your average kitchen sink!" Oh, right, and usually it was for mundane things. Celestia hid a roll of her eyes with a flick of her magnificent hair. "An' I keep saying if you're so interested in wha's un'er my land I'll go dig it up myself!"

"That's not how it works at all!"

The squabbling stopped for a moment when there was a flash of green fire in front of the Princess. Celestia stared at the scroll rather melodramatically, inwardly feeling like bouncing in joy from the reprieve, but hiding it behind years of practice. "If you two will grant me just a moment of silence, my student has probably sent me her learnings for the week." If she could count on one thing, it would be Twilight's verboseness giving her a reason to read the scroll extra carefully, perhaps two more times to increase her break by a few needed minutes. It was nice to see what she was up to after all.

This letter was neither verbose, nor from Twilight. It was almost beautiful in its simplicity.

Twilight's dying.

Blood everywhere.

Send doctors.

Thanks to how she held the page, the two uncomfortably shuffling ponies before her never got to see what true fear looked like.

---

"Ye're positive the Princess will take priority of this?" Applejack watched the young dragon as he used a wet rag to so carefully clean the blood off of Twilight's face. The flow from the base of her horn was mercifully slow. Rather than pour out as Applejack had initially feared, small drops would form at the very bottom and then pick a path down the mare's face to go sliding.

Watching Twilight sleep had been peaceful, but Applejack had been getting awfully sore and allowed Spike to hold Twilight's head up so the farm pony could slip out and push in a pillow. The three of them still gathered around her bed, with Fluttershy leaving intermittently to turn away nosy neighbors and tell them no, Twilight Sparkle wasn't dying, she'd probably be okay, yes there was some blood, no it wasn't because she was menstruating. Luckily, as easily as a rumor could be started, the honest folk of Ponyville could quell it, which would have been nice to know earlier because Big Mac now suddenly had a load of incredibly uncomfortable questions he needed to look up.

Speaking of looking up…

"Is that an air raid?" Rainbow Dash stared up at the sky as, among the clouds, she could spot the shapes of hundreds of Pegasi slipping in and out of the puffy white sea. Several of the ponies she'd been standing near watched the confusion on her face and took a look themselves, and slowly, carefully backed their way into their houses. The Royal Guard often sent overhead fliers to scout the land and map its shape, but always at highspeed. These Pegasi took slow, silent action as they perched in the clouds and watched below. There was something afoot, and only a few ponies correctly guessed what they'd come for.

Rainbow Dash wasn't one of them, having slept in late, not hearing an inkling of the rumor that Twilight was shooting blood out of her eyes like some sort of freak desert lizard. So, as far as she knew, there was nothing wrong in the town. Even then, the Royal Guard weren't the sort to just hang out above a town without explanation. She took to the skies and followed one particular shape upwards, righting herself horizontally next to the figure, who had a steeled face, golden armor, and tensed muscles like Dash had never seen. It took her a moment to realize he was staring at her. "… What's up?"

The Pegasus snorted and flew up higher. "Hey!" Dash gave chase, breaking through the cloudline only to find herself in the middle of a group of guards staring towards the center of a large circle of guards. It wasn't easy to tell because of the sun, but she realized that Celestia was standing uncomfortable and restless in the middle of her private army, pacing wordlessly back and forth. Now Dash's confusion was reaching critical mass, her head cocking ever so slowly to the side as she tried to puzzle exactly why the Princess would be standing above Ponyville acting so worried. It must've made the guards restless watching their leader act so nervous, because they weren't doing their "silent and still" thing.

"Hey Dervish, you knew this Sparkle girl, right?" She heard somewhere behind her. Rainbow Dash turned immediately. There was a young guard standing should to shoulder with a much older colt, who was looking particularly sour.

"Heck I was there from day one, I was assigned to keep an eye on her 'til she got older." The Sparkle girl? It only just dawned on Rainbow Dash that they must've meant Twilight. Slipping between the ranks to get to the two, she poked her head up to put her nose to nose with Dervish.

"Hey, what do you guys think you're doing storming our airspace like this? What's this got to do with Twilight? Why is the Princess here, why does she look like something bad happened?" Dash demanded of the two, not controlling the volume of her voice, currently pitching high above their whisper. The two guards glanced to each other, and rather than answer, stood rigid and forward, facing the middle of the circle. "I'm talking to you two and I want answers! I live down there!"

"Then maybe you can explain what's happening?" She heard a voice so beautiful, she knew it could only have been one pony. She turned to stare at the Princess, whose eyes were placed down on her. Dash froze a little, stuck between wanting to bow and wanting to keep staring. The Princess shuffled nervously as the sky-blue pony gave her in barest terms a bow, then stood straight and worked her mouth uncomfortably. "You're Rainbow Dash, correct?" The Princess finally pushed, her patience over the edge already. The Pegasus nodded. "What happened to Twilight Sparkle?" She took two steps forward, bringing her nearly face to face with Dash, who lowered herself in fright.

"Wh-what do you mean what happened to Twilight? I have no idea, I just woke up!" Dash tried to explain, looking around nervously. Every guard on the cloud was staring at her, and the Princess, whose presence normally soothed, caused every nerve of hers to be on edge. "Why? What's going on? What's this about?"

The Princess stared down at her own hooves in a rare display of weakness as she explained. "I got a letter less than an hour ago telling me that Twilight, my student, was dying."

The little rainbow filly sat stock still in the middle of all the attention, suddenly not caring for it at all. She then said, in the most high-pitched squeak she had in her: "What!"

The Princess didn't have time to react as the Pegasus dove through the clouds, spiraling down towards the town below. The Princess finally gave the word, and the guards followed.

"Sounds like a bit o' ruckus happenin' outside." Applejack stood alongside Fluttershy as the two watching the outside with concern. Ponies were rushing indoors and staring upwards, making the eerie feeling Applejack had feel even more ominous.

"It just started a few seconds ago. I can't imagine what's-" the two mares gasped. They saw Rainbow Dash, breaking the airspeed limit like no other, charging straight for the library, as well as over five dozen Royal Guards flying after her, straight towards the tree house. The two had to blink rapidly as they saw what they thought was the Princess was in fact the Princess streaking towards the house and gaining on Dash almost effortlessly.

The two mares briefly had the idea of what a castle siege would feel like against overwhelming numbers. And a door made of wood.

The front door exploded inwards from a kick and Dash zoomed inside, landing on her hooves and looking firm, but teary. "I heard Twilight's dying where is Twilight why is she dying what did you do to her the Princess is here and guys what's going on!" The Pegasus demanded, bouncing on her hooves with a pained frown as, glory of glories, in walked Princess Celestia. Fluttershy and Applejack both gasped, and bowed low.

"Girls, do not bow before me today. Where is Twilight Sparkle?" The Princess asked, her tone so overly polite that Applejack could easily pick up on the pain and discomfort in her voice. Guard ponies immediately began to file into the room, taking a post in each corner, watching the room in dead silence as one opened a door.

"Wait! Don't go openin' doors, Twilight's sick in there!" Applejack called after the ponies entering the room. She was blocked by two more standing by the door, and Celestia entered the room herself. "Hold on, she ain't dyin'!" Applejack called into the room. Celestia paused before the bed, and turned to look to Applejack with an incredibly relieved expression.

"She isn't?" Her voice sounded so unsure and weak. This wasn't like the Princess at all.

Applejack shook her head, slipped past the Guard's wings, and entered the room. Fluttershy followed her, quickly followed by Dash. "But I heard she was dying just now! Why didn't anybody tell me-"

"For the love of all of Equestria and Celestia's sun!" Nopony said anything as they turned to the figure in the bed. "Would everybody please shut up!" Twilight raised her head, bleary eyed, blood-shot, and teary again as pain reentered her forehead.

"Oh! Twilight I'm so sorry I forgot to change the rags I-"

"What is going on?" Celestia demanded firmly. Twilight turned her head towards the voice, and blinked slowly. She'd just woken up, again, and pain was slashing through her skull. Everything looked murky through the pain, but the voices she could clearly hear. Each twitch caused her horn to flare up painfully, and she had to grit her teeth to blink through it.

"Princess Celestia…?" The lavender unicorn reached a hoof out, but Celestia ignored it in favor of gently nuzzling her student along her neck. She spied blood on the girl's forehead and she froze for a heartbeat. She began to gently inspect it and the wound, which seemed to be coming from, of all things, her horn.

"I'm here my student. What happened? I just got a letter from Spike saying you were dying." Her voice took on a motherly tone as she calmly walked around the bed, using her nose and teeth to make sure Twilight had every bit of comfort possible from her current set-up, and Twilight's dreadful eyes tracked her progress.

"Spike!" Fluttershy looked to the dragon with an almost pained look, and the dragon, who had been pinned by a guard, just smiled apologetically.

"Well, we needed somebody out here fast, and it worked."

"And you scared me half to death!" The Princess grunted, looking annoyed for the first time in a very long while. "Twilight Sparkle, how do you feel?" She gently rubbed her nose against the mare's ear. The longer she looked into her student's eyes, the more damage she imagined. She looked like she'd been through some horrendous pain, but she was coherent at least. Twilight nestled into bed as Celestia tucked her, and it took Applejack a moment to spring to the unicorn's side and, to Celestia's confusion, covered her mouth with a hoof.

"Uh, well, y'see, s'far as Ah can tell she'd probably been up most o' the night. Something' 'bout her horn's actin' up and causin' her a heck of a head pain. She ain't in no mood to be makin' choices of her own right now, isn' that right Twilight?" The unicorn turned to look to Applejack, who felt very small all of a sudden under her withered stare. She took her hoof from Twilight's mouth as Celestia began to dismiss the guards, apologizing for getting them up in arms for a false alarm. None of them looked particularly sorry about it though, and the one Dash recognized as Dervish took a long look in the room before heading off.

"Wait, so Twilight's not dying, right?" She asked, approaching the bed, cringing at the sight of her friend's face. She'd seen pain before, even on her own face. Especially when a nasty fall had snapped one of her back legs in two. She'd been put in the emergency ward and saw all sorts of pain, but there was something haunting about Twilight's look. It almost looked like she'd given up the fight against it.

"No, thankfully. I can only imagine poor Twilight's pain, so I've been doing everything I can to reduce it. Would you like another rag?" Fluttershy leaned down and held up another cloth that smelled heavily of nature and wrapped it around Twilight's horn again, as gentle as could be.

Dash looked indignant, and stomped a hoof as she spoke, "Well then what's with all the talk about her dying then, and the gloom and doom of the room?"

"Spike was jus' bein' overdramatic in his letter and turned it into a big boom."

"Sorry, guess I kind of was acting like a buffoon…"

"Stop that!" Everyone stared at Twilight, who was grimacing. "It's one thing to rhyme on purpose but that was just annoying!" Celestia let herself smile as she stared at her student's face. She finally seemed to be calming down, and her eyes were returning to normal, somewhat. "It's like you all caught Pinkie Pie or something and the last thing I need is wackiness! I really need to-"

"Come with me to Canterlot." Celestia concluded firmly. She was staring at Twilight's horn, using her magic to gently lift the rag and reveal the base so she could stare at it. "Something is clearly wrong with your horn and it needs to be looked at by some specialists."

Fluttershy looked up to the Princess with a small frown. "You can't do it Princess?"

Celestia shook her head while stroking Twilight's side. Twilight's face was calming, the soaked rag doing its job. "I could look and guess but that's the best I can do. I need an expert's opinion. We have all the necessary equipment and staff back in Canterlot."

"Well that's it then, right? We just take her to Canterlot and get her fixed. Then she won't be bleeding or dying or in pain, right?" Dash watched the egghead, partly annoyed at what happened but now concerned. At the very least Twilight was okay. If she had been dying, she wouldn't know what to do with herself.

"Ah s'pose it wouldnt hurt, but at least one of us should go with 'er. Ah'd do it but Ah can't abandon my farm if another pony can go instead." Applejack turned her eyes between her gathered friends.

"I can go." Fluttershy offered timidly, watching Twilight with worry. Twilight had fallen asleep again, she must have been up all night with this pain.

"Ya sure sugarcube? Don'tcha got some animals to keep an eye on?" Fluttershy lowered her eyes in thought.

"Guys, why don't I just go? I am her number one assistant." Spike finally interrupted the silence, and was met with more than one glare. "Or I can stay in the library, keep it all fresh and clean, and not cause any more trouble." He chuckled nervously and back away.

"No, I can do it. I'll just ask Rarity to keep an eye on things for me, I've shown her how to take care of animals. Besides, I know how to make the solution." She nodded to the bowl of herbs on a desk. Nobody refuted that.

"That's that then." Princess Celestia telekinetically lifted Twilight, keeping her wrapped in the blanket, and laid her student on her back. "Fluttershy, take as much time as you need. Bring more of this solution, it seems to be working wonders for Twilight. I'm going straight to Canterlot with Twilight, you'll find her in the hospital. I'll send word that you have royal access to the building." The group followed the Princess outside, and using magic to keep Twilight secure and comfortable, the alicorn began to lift off the ground, and started to fly away. Since a good number of citizens had returned outside, the sight was met with more than a few ooh's and aah's.

Fluttershy didn't even say goodbye as she ran to her cottage to gather some things, leaving Applejack and Rainbow Dash standing on the doorstep of the library. "Ah s'pose the right thing to do would be makin' sure nobody thinks Twilight's dyin' or some such." Applejack considered their options, and turned to Dash.

"And going and getting Rarity. Leave that to me, you make sure everyone knows Twilight's gonna be okay!" She lifted up, and was about to fly away, but she stopped herself and looked back to Applejack. "She'll be okay, right? Just a little horn pain is all. Like getting a crick in your leg or something', you can't walk but it won't kill you, right?"

Applejack stood in silence, thinking about the days events. It all seemed so incredible yet terrifying. Celestia hadn't even recognize what was causing the pains or the blood, but Twilight was incredibly tough for being so small. She couldn't think of any other pony, much less a frail little unicorn taking an anvil to the head and shrugging it off. She wondered how Rarity would have reacted in the same situation. Twilight felt like dying after all. "You don't worry none Dash, Fluttershy 'n the Princess'll be there, along with a buncha fancy-pants doctor types. Shoot with that much care, the reaper himself couldn't so much as take a peak at our girl."

Dash nodded, smiling at the thought, and shot off for the boutique. Applejack stayed in place for several moments though, considering her own words. Then, she stepped into town for a talk.

Fluttershy wasn't entirely sure how to sympathize with Twilight at this point. Growing up, she'd had her own fair share of blows to the head that kept her uncomfortable for a while, which sometimes lead to a lack of sleep, but she could see the unicorn was only walking through the motions now, more than likely asleep on her hooves when she wasn't trembling in pain. She'd done her best to keep her comfortable, but the doctors insisted she not wear the rags during testing.

Another cause for her discomfort was being so close to Celestia and not bowing, nor getting speeched at, nor was there any sort of special event. Standing near the worried Princess she could see just how much like every pony she truly was. Her emotions were written clearly across her face, and she sagged in an unroyal fashion as she watched through the glass window. The doctors had insisted only the patient and professionals be in the room as they ran her through x-rays and measured her horn while testing it magically and physically. It was found very quickly the unicorn did not like to have it touched, and nearly had a handful when the first yelp nearly sent the Princess through the door. Fortunately for them, one was not a proper ruling Princess unless you had restraint.

While it was only forty minutes or so of constant testing, from an outsider's perspective it felt like it just kept dragging on. The white-coated unicorns finally put Twilight in a bed though and gave her something to help her sleep, and a nurse invited them into the room from a different door. The tiny hospital room was a small, comfy cot, a window, a trashcan, a few monitoring machines, and a radio. Twilight was snuggled up in the bed, deep in sleep as a nurse used a small file to collect a few shavings, but they could see that even the slightest movement of the horn caused her to wince and squirm. The two approached the bed and the nurse bowed herself out after collecting the samples.

Celestia was quiet while she observed her student. She'd calmed down in the time she'd walked across the room, just happy to see her student at peace again. "Perhaps you should start mixing that solution again, Fluttershy, she's restless." Celestia advised, watching Twilight's face twitched. She did her best to make her comfortable, fluffing the pillow, straightening the blanket, making sure she was warm with a glow of her horn. Fluttershy was carefully pressing cloth to Twilight's face to ease the pain and comfort her. While Celestia didn't doubt it'd make Twilight feel good, seeing most of her face wrapped up wasn't reassuring.

"Ah, Princess, glad you're here. The results were in quickly, the labs were very curious about this case." A doctor entered, a manilla unicorn with glasses and a braided brown mane. The woman calmly approached the bed and noted all the cloth on her face. "I've read about natural remedies like this, could never understand it myself. Then again, I suppose I don't spend a lot of time in nature."

"The reports, doctor." Celestia urged, causing the doctor to cough and nod slowly.

"Yes, right, the reports. Let's take a look at what we've found." She took the clip board resting gently on her hind quarters and lead them to a part of the wall where there were clips to hold papers and pictures. The doctor floated the first paper up, an x-ray, and let them look closer. It was a profile from Twilight's left, revealing her bone structure, and more importantly her horn. "Now, this picture was confusing at first because when we took our first look, something seemed out of the ordinary." Fluttershy squinted her eyes. She wasn't intimately familiar with the pony bone-structure but she could tell something was off. She stared harder at the head, and chewed her inner cheek slowly.

"It's in her head." Celestia spoke up. Fluttershy didn't know what she meant at first until she looked closer and realized it: Unicorn horns were attached straight into the skull, Twilight's horn dug into the skull and went through, stopping just in front of the brain. "What does that mean, doctor? Is it a growth?"

"That's what we assumed, until we took a look at some of the key factors in backwards horn growth." Fluttershy's wings stood on end just hearing about the name. That sounded unfortunately painful. "First, it wouldn't cause blood loss around the horn. Second, the pain wouldn't be this extreme until it was actually pressing into the brain, and even then she wouldn't have survived this long in that case. Finally, Twilight Sparkle's magic isn't deterred in any way. In fact, since her last physical, she's conducting magic at an increased rate." She spoke in a casual tone as she pulled out the next sheet of paper.

"How much has it increased?" Celestia asked in very mild surprise.

"Does that make her horn grow backwards?" Fluttershy also asked.

"Around forty times her conductivity since before she left."

"Oh." Celestia's eyes widened in less mild surprise.

"And no, to your question miss Fluttershy. Though to be honest, during the opening exam the number was merely thirty-eight times the original. In a span of forty minutes, it increased twice. And yes, we've checked it repeatedly. The original calculation were correct, as were the new ones. We plan to do periodic testing." The doctor hung up the second sheet. Fluttershy and Celestia both read it, finding it to be the physical measurements of Twilight, with horn length and width highlighted. Six inches on the nose. "This was also her initial physical information. As you can see, her horn was half a foot in length, and half an inch in width on the base. Now, this is where it finally dawned on us."

A third paper was attached to the wall and the two began to read it quickly, getting straight to the bolded horn length. "That's-" Celestia stood rigid as she leaned in close. "This can't be right. She's nearly reached her full maturity."

"We know, that's why we had to keep her for so long. We had to dig up old pictures and measurements to make sure we were absolutely accurate. Low and behold, they were. Princess Celestia, I hate to make light of your student's pain, but you have an incredibly interesting case here. I've never seen anypony's horn grow two and a half inches in the span of sixteen hours." It wasn't just the length, the width had grown to eight-tenths of an inch from half.

"But what does that mean? Are you saying she's getting hurt because her horn's growing?" Fluttershy asked, checking back and forth between the charts. Nothing but the information on the horn changed, other than a small list of scars from her recent adventures in Ponyville.

"Precisely. Her horn is growing so rapidly it's not giving her skull time to completely recover. It's pushing aside skin and bone on it's way out." Fluttershy gasped at the thought, and instinctively covered her own forehead. The doctor chortled. "Oh I did much the same when I had that described to me. It's small wonder her vision has been so skewered as of late. That much pain as well as having your forehead reorganized can have its side-effects. Oh, but I'm not done. Other than having a continually growing horn, we've discovered more."

Fluttershy trembled as she watched the doctor put more charts on the walls, not sure if she could take any more of this painful sounding testing, but found to her minor relief she couldn't read the charts. They were graphs filled with numbers and lines. Celestia however found them very interesting as she read each one carefully, taking them all in, but pausing the longest on the last chart. "Doctor, you're going to have to explain this to me. It completely deviates from the other charts."

"Well, as you can see, from her birth to her last year attending the university, her magical growth has been constant and on one path." Fluttershy read the first few charts mapping the growth, a purple line representing the slow, upwards growth of Twilight's magic. There were two other lines, one blue and one green. "She never had any Earth pony connections nor Pegasus qualities, so her body never had to stemmy the growth of her personal magic." Fluttershy understood. The green and the blue lines must've represented the innate magics of Pegasi and Earth ponies. If she understood the charts right, the non unicorn-magics would probably be at one level once the pony reached adulthood and stay there. It would at least explain why she only had to visit a magical testing facility once in her life.

Then she read the forth chart. Twilight's magic was already reaching pretty high, but she noticed a new, yellow line. It went from the zero point of the graph and launched straight up until it touched the purple line, and at the point the lines combined into an orange line, which breached the top of the graph and just seemed to continue.

"From what we can tell, the yellow line is some sort of outside force. Tracing it in the body it doesn't form in the heart like unicorn magic, doesn't begin in the stomach like Earth Pony magic, and not in the wings and legs like Pegasi magic. Whatever it is, it's not in the body, she's collecting it from around her." Celestia and Fluttershy shared a look of confusion, but they differed in reason.

"The horn can only focus the magic inside of you." She stated, as if from a textbook. She stood and lifted a hoof to her chin in thought, and took a closer look. The doctor said nothing as she let the princess stare. "It collects from outside the body and gathers inside of it like regular magic?"

"As far as we can tell, no, it's incredibly different. It intermingles with regular magic and as far as we can tell functions like it, but we can't measure it, it doesn't respond to most tests. The only way we could tell was when we tried to overload her with foreign magic to get her to force out hers." Celestia nodded expectantly. "We couldn't do it." Celestia turned to face the sadly smiling doctor. "We'd have more luck trying to move the stars. No matter how much we pumped into her it was like trying to bury the ocean in sand. There was just no end to the tunnel. We got a Line-Maker in here to map out her magical pool and found it to be the exact same size as it usually was, and we kept them there while we pumped the magic in. What he saw was that the magic wasn't filling up space or pushing out any of Twilight's own. It was dispersing in the air around her. We then took a shot in the dark and tested the whole room and found Twilight had a cloud of magic so thick around her she could practically glow in the dark."

"Meaning what?" Celestia prodded as a flurry of papers began to cover the walls from the doctor's magic. "Are you saying she, well…"

"Absorbs magic. At least magic you try to put in her, the machines all worked fine. Whatever is happening to your dear student is making her very strong. The only consequences I can see in the near and far future is tampering with her horn while it grows could cause deformations, leading to migraines and an off-center horn, and the sudden shift and expansion of her skull could cause similar results. Whatever this is could also stop her from casting any sort of magic whatsoever. While our tests draw out her magic, there's no real way to confirm she can still do the same. We will only be able to tell with time."

Something changed in Celestia's stance. Fluttershy looked up at her curiously, and the doctor seemed confused as a look of solid determination crossed the lord mare's features. "You are going to make sure Twilight Sparkle can continue to use her magic."

"Lady Celestia, I understand your concern but-"

"I'm not sure that you do, Doctor. No offense, but unlike most Unicorns, Twilight doesn't use her magic to help with her job. Magic is her job. If she lost her magic for any reason…" Celestia sighed as she let the sentence hang in the air. Nobody had to finish it. Your passion in life created your cutie mark, what you were meant to do all along for as long as you pleased, to have it stripped away from you permanently…

"… I understand." The doctor finally concluded, gathering her papers. "Well, you know what you need to know, Princess Celestia. We will take every precaution we can in making sure the horn grows in properly. That much we can do. We'll have her cast her first spell once the pain subsides and she can focus. Until then, lots of bed rest." She moved to Twilight's cot and stared at the odd horn on her head. Something was definitely odd about this one.

"Um, doctor?" The two older ponies looked to Fluttershy, who stood at the foot of Twilight's bed. "Is it okay if I stay in here? Until she gets better I mean. I'd be going home with her. I just want to make sure she's comfortable."

"You did come all this way just for her." Celestia interrupted the woman before she could even speak. "Doctor see about getting an extra mattress in here. I want Fluttershy by her side at all times. Twilight needs her friends." Celestia knew that better than anyone. The element of Friendship withered without the people they cared for being nearby.

"Of course, Princess."

---

It had been a mighty long day. Applejack had spent the rest of the beautiful day letting her friends and the officials know that Twilight was in good hands. The panic the whole debacle had nearly caused made talk of war and assassins, words that didn't rest easy on anyone's ears, but it was a relief to hear that Celestia was just picking up her student. Town life returned to normal, but most conversations started with: "Did you see Celestia and the royal guard?"

"And the Princess honestly had no idea what was wrong with her? Oh, the horrors!" Rarity dragged her hooves down her face and shook her head. Applejack made it a point to visit her friends last, since she didn't want to bore them by dragging them around town to hear the same story again and again.

Applejack just nodded slowly, and gave her a hopeful smile. "There's no need to go worryin' yer mane off though Rarity, Princess Celestia and Fluttershy are with her right now. We're gonna see Twilight Sparkle right as rain soon enough, ya got my word." Applejack nodded, believing her own words sure enough.

"Oh I believe you Applejack but it's not just Twilight I'm worried about. A bleeding horn, this could ruin her as a unicorn!" Rarity stamped the wood floor beneath her feet and sighed deeply.

"Ruin her? What're ya on about Rarity, it's just a bit o' blood." Applejack followed the white unicorn upstairs to the creative part of her boutique, watching as she rolled out fabric. "… T'ain't just a bit o' blood, is it?" She asked, feeling worried again.

"Applejack, I know you're not a unicorn so it'll be difficult to understand, but bare with me while I paint you a picture. As an Earth Pony, when you stand on the dirt, how do you feel?" Rarity asked, turning to Applejack with a counseling look. Applejack didn't like that look, it made her feel like somepony wasn't acting like she wasn't intelligent.

"Y'know darn well I feel alive on the dirt. Feeling the grass under my hooves and smellin' the air, ain't a better feelin'." Applejack concluded with a smart bob of her head. It was the honest truth, Rainbow Dash would give a similar answer if asked if she liked flying in the air.

"And how do you feel up here on the second story, where the ground's not beneath your feet?" Rarity asked, measuring along a pane of cloth before taking a pair of scissors. Applejack thought about it and pawed the ground in thought, and took a deep breath.

"It feels like, well, it's hard to describe. Like a part of me went numb, or I'm missin' a leg or somethin' but it ain't really my leg. Just somethin' feels gone down below." She answered. Now that she thought about it, it was a dreadful feeling. She had the urge to go roll around in the grass suddenly.

"Well, a unicorn's horn is very similar. It's an extension of who we are, the focal point of our magic. Without a horn, we can't do magic, and magic is what defines a unicorn. It may sound strange but taking away our magic is like taking the dirt from underneath your feet." Applejack considered what she'd been told, and bowed her head.

"I guess I see yer point. What happens to unicorns who lose their horns? Or their magic?" Applejack asked. She hadn't been expecting the severity of the answer.

"CatASTROPHE darling, catastrophe!" Rarity pressed her hoof against her forehead and swooned at the thought. "I've heard many stories or unicorns losing their horns in some accident, or on a drunken binge. Exile and death is a more merciful alternative. Without a way to let loose the magic within them, all that energy stores inside of them, urging to be released in some way, some fashion. All that creativity inside of a pony and none of it can be let out! Many of them drive themselves into incurable depression, but a couple of the ambitious, powerful ones drive themselves mad trying to find a way to let the magic out!"

"But Rarity, a unicorn like you devotes herself to dress makin'. It can't be so bad for you, you could toil yer days away sewin' and stitchin' and the like." Applejack didn't want to believe that unicorns, known for their eccentricies, were just a close shave away from instability. Sure unicorn horns were tough, but like Rarity said, accidents and drunken binges had a tendency to disagree with what was difficult or not.

"Oh no no no no no dear Applejack, I use my magic to work. I lift the scissors, fold the cloth, but more than anything…" She approached a chest and lifted it, revealing a small mountain of gems. Applejack stared for several seconds before she realized Rarity was close to running out if all she had was one measly chest. "These. My magic lets me find and utilize these. Gems have always been my passion." She lifted a particularly sparkly ruby and stared at it in the light. Her horn was glowing softly, and Applejack could only stare as she watched the gem begin to shine brighter and brighter until it tossed off dazzling light in all directions. "I know it seems shallow but I love these things. I see a dress and I need to compliment it with gems. Without my magic, all I'd have it a small pile of pretty rocks."

Applejack could swear Rarity was having a moment of crazy. The way she waxed poetic about the gems, but she recalled Rarity was magically attuned to them. She could find them with a point of her horn after all, and no matter the number of gems in a stack she could lift them all with ease whereas a small suitcase of clothes could strain her. Then again, Applejack liked her farm and her apples. "Rarity, I can't say I understand you Unicorns any, but if it means so much to ya I can't really argue."

"I didn't expect you to Applejack, I'm just worried for our friend. Such drama always makes me feel so talkative." Rarity put her gems back and returns to the cloth she was managing, and soon had it cut into the proper shape to flatter a pony's flank.

"Well, like I said sugarcube, Twilight ain't in any trouble. 'Sides, I've seen her take blows to the head before, she'll pull through with more magic bristling' at the tip of her horn in no time." Applejack smiled triumphantly.

---

"That's it Twilight, just a few more sips and you'll be all full." Fluttershy didn't like to admit she took excessive pleasure in being a caretaker, but there was no greater feeling in her heart than watching something needy and weak grow strong again. Just knowing somepony or something needed her help gave her the warm and fuzzies. "There, all full. How do you feel?" Fluttershy set the empty bowl aside as she watched Twilight. Her horn was wrapped with a new rag, and Twilight's eyes looked a lot less empty.

"… Trashcan." Twilight whimpered as a growl came from her stomach. Fluttershy sighed, but still dove for the small wastebasket and turned her head away. Still, the retching noises were enough to make her own stomach flighty. "Uughh…"

"That's the third bowl today, Twilight. You have to be able to keep something down…" Fluttershy gave her friend a cup of water, and it was drained with relish. Anything to relieve the vile taste in her mouth.

"Maybe some dry bread." Twilight groaned as the bucket was taken from her and the rag was tightened around her horn again, causing her to wince. "Or maybe I can learn to photosynthesize before I die of starvation. I bet there's a spell for that…"

"No Twilight, no spell work. Not until your horn is fully grown again. If you stress it out before it's fully healed it may never work the same again." Fluttershy went to the intercom and placed an order for a plate of plain bread while before coming back to the bedridden unicorn. "Oh it's just like the birds I take care of. They want to go and fly so early but I keep having to say no until finally it's all fixed, and they spread their wings and fly, free and beautiful and unharmed." Fluttershy turned on the radio before opening the window blinds and staring out at the beautiful orange sky.

"Weather ponies are calling in a light rain for the next few days to make up for week-long drown. They're assuring us there will still be sun between the showers, but to stick to the main roads to not muddy up anyone's hooves. Sports news has been scarce lately but the Manehatten Hotrods have-" Fluttershy watched as Twilight stretched a hoof out to click the radio to a different station. Soft classical began to play, and Twilight laid back with a tiny sigh.

"How do you feel after, well, eating?" Fluttershy stood alongside the bed again, watching Twilight's face. She'd slept for eight hours straight, waking up only because the smell of hot soup had disturbed her from her dreams. Fluttershy had ordered a second bowl for Twilight, but it turned out to be too thick for her, and it came back out. The same story for the second, and now the third bowl. It could have been worse Fluttershy supposed. If she'd ordered the baked and breaded celery sticks on onions and Twilight had wanted a bite, she'd bet it would have come out even faster, if possible.

"… Got a tummy ache." Twilight answered meekly. The strain on her stomach from trying to hold the food down was understandable. She just felt so oddly vulnerable under Fluttershy's oh so careful watch. She could see why the animals trusted her so much, Fluttershy had taken every precaution to keep her patient comfortable, even refusing a few curious interns at the door who had been wanting a strange case to crack. She'd been cautiously insistent at first, but after a few minutes of begging and then threatening, she'd turned the stare on. She herself had permission from Celestia to take care of Twilight, she'd show them what security threats could be answered with.

"I understand. Don't you worry a thing, some light, fresh bread will clear that up." Fluttershy smiled. There was a lot of innocence in it. Twilight had been at the academy long enough to see the difference between a world-weary, tired professor and a bubbly new recruit looking to make her mark in the long list of magical history. Fluttershy had grown up timid, and she guessed only recently "came out of her shell". She still had that world-trusting innocence so many older students lost as the intensity of their studies, projects, and desire for jobs and fame weighed down the feeling of security that the world was happy and bright and accepting. One of the advantages of living among animals who didn't scowl behind a desk as they used your resume as a check-list of everything they didn't want in you. Twilight never wanted to see that smile weigh heavy with regret or cynicism of the world around her.

"Fluttershy?" The pink-maned pony looked to Twilight, who, since waking up, had always seemed to be staring at you and through you at the same time. It was the way the medicine played with her eyes. "Anypony ever tell you you're gorgeous?"

Fluttershy giggled quietly to herself. Twilight was sweet when she was drugged. She ran a hoof down the unicorn's side and sighed. "Thank you Twilight, and yes." She paused, and thought about how many times Rarity had used the word to describe a new look she'd put on Fluttershy. "But not that sincerely. Thank you. Maybe you should catch some sleep until the bread gets here?"

"No, I mean it. I mean, you look good. Well…" Twilight paused and stared at the ceiling for a few seconds. "As far as I know. I guess I haven't been everywhere to judge. I mean, really, the standards of beauty change with each passing culture, Zecora's little cut may be the height of beauty where she comes from where we prefer long and flowing manes. In her culture you may even be the ugliest girl ever!" Fluttershy bit her lip. Twilight didn't notice as she just kept rambling through her own cloudied head. Twilight paused when she heard a whimper from the Pegasus. "Hey, Fluts, you alright?" She asked, and Fluttershy finally burst out laughing.

The unicorn stared at the laughing Pegasus, not sure what was so funny but she began to join in just for the kick of it. It hurt to laugh, but it didn't hurt bad enough to make her stop. Fluttershy's gentle giggles finally died down, prompting Twilight to stop abruptly and stare at her friend. "Twilight, you're so strange when you're in a hospital. Please get some sleep, and don't…" She snickered a little, "Don't call me Fluts. It makes me sound… Manly."

Twilight didn't say anything, but suddenly a broad smile crossed her face, as if the most brilliant idea entered her head. "Flutterguy!" She began to giggle to herself, and Fluttershy groaned at the pun.

"Now I know you need sleep for sure. Lay down and get some rest. Maybe the medicine will work its way out and we can have a real conversation." Twilight laid her head down and did as she was told, oddly enough, and turned over, away from Fluttershy. The unicorn smiled to herself. She'd made her laugh.

She still regretted joining in though; ow.

---

It was only through a combination of Fluttershy's tender care and a lot of sleeping medicine Twilight managed to push through the last of it. Periodic testing with the doctors had revealed only a trace amount of her horn was left to grow. It was her third day in the hospital, and by this time the horn was getting thicker and harder to bare the growth. Even with the solution-soaked rags and the medication, she was still in immense pain.

Fluttershy was glad that Twilight was under such heavy amounts of pain reliever because, watching her restlessly roll around, whimpering in agony while the Pegasus calmly stroked her head and whispered words of encouragement as Twilight worked through the pain. She hadn't noticed earlier due to not paying it much attention, but her horn was definitely longer. Her rag no longer wrapped around the full horn, exposing a near deathly sharpened tip that would cause quite a prick if rubbed wrong. On top of that, her hair didn't even hide the base anymore.

"The doctors told me she's in the final stages of growth." Fluttershy turned quickly and spotted Celestia approaching from the doorway. She'd never noticed before but the Princess had incredibly quiet hoof-steps. "Is she doing okay?" Celestia leaned down to Fluttershy. The two had grown accustomed to each other over the days, but Fluttershy still insisted on bowing whenever she entered, but when they spoke, they spoke as friends, not royalty and their subjects.

"It doesn't seem like it, no matter what I do I can't stop her from being in pain anymore. She does this even in her sleep, so I can't tell if whether she's awake or not." Celestia nodded quietly and nuzzled her student's neck for a moment. "You two are very close." Fluttershy finally pointed out after days of watching Celestia care for young Twilight.

"I've been lonely for hundreds of years." Celestia spoke freely, not hiding the exhaustion in her voice. "When I'd seen Twilight's true magical prowess, I'd felt inclined to take her as my personal student more out of worry of what she'd do without proper training, but over time, she came to be a bright spot in my day. She was so eager to learn she often forgot my position, and treated me more and more like a teacher, then a friend. Honestly," the Princess chuckled, "until Luna came back, Twilight's been the only person I think I'd consider a friend. The guards are nice and grow used to me but never stop treating me like a Princess." Celestia smiled at that.

Fluttershy did recall that Twilight, upon seeing Celestia after Nightmare Moon's defeat, rather than respectfully bow, went in to greet the Princess, and shared a small snuggle. "I never thought a Princess could get lonely." Fluttershy admitted, a bit embarrassed.

"It's one thing to have people around you. It's another to have somebody who considers you, well, not really an equal but considers you as a pony rather than a Princess." They both turned when they heard a gasping noise, and watched with slowly deepening frowns as Twilight, in her bed, began to kick and squirm, thrusting her head forward in a bucking motion. Fluttershy and Celestia pressed against her to keep her still, trying to not hear the frightened and pained gasps, until finally it subsided.

Fluttershy didn't let go for what felt like a long time, worried that if she wasn't there, Twilight would go back to kicking and squirming. She let go only reluctantly when the Princess did so, and they took a close look at the Unicorn. She was no longer whimpering, and seemed to have finally settled down enough to take a long needed nap. Fluttershy removed the cloth, replacing it quickly to mop up a sudden gush of blood, and the two took a close look.

"As far as horns go, hers is quite magnificent. I don't think I've ever seen one like it." The Princess admitted. It was several inches short of two solid feet, and it looked awkward on Twilight's smaller body. "At least not on a unicorn. This is definitely strange. Fluttershy, go get a doctor, I think the horn may have finally reached its full growth."

Fluttershy nodded and stepped out of the room. In minutes, it had four doctors of varying jobs carefully measuring and studying the sleeping girl's horn. Fluttershy went almost unnoticed but the Princess was given a wide berth as they moved around the room. Fluttershy kept getting bumped up against until she moved to the back of the room.

"Well, we've done what we can." The lead doctor finally concluded, scanning his clipboard. "From six inches to a foot and nine inches, half an inch in width to a full inch and a half." The doctor reported to the Princess, who nodded while looking through the rest of the papers for her magic charts.

"The magic scans we got were interesting. They're no longer measurable by conventional means so we had to compare them to your's and Luna's charts. We've found her levels are at least a sixteenth of Luna's, and an eighteenth of yours Princess Celestia." The Princess did not hide the surprise in her eyes, and Fluttershy simply needed to know.

"Is that a lot of magic?" Fluttershy asked the Princess, who nodded down to the pink-maned mare.

"Your average Unicorn at the height of their power would be around maybe a five-hundredth of me. Twilight was closer to a four-hundred and fiftieth when her magic was unrestrained. This increase in power, do you have any idea why, doctor?"

The doctor could only shake his head, and let out a throaty sigh. "If I did we'd have a stack of papers on it being written already, but as far as we can tell, other than the foreign magic we got nothing. Until we can find a test that can detect the magic clinging to her, we have little reason to keep her once she wakes up. If I may suggest, Princess, spend a few hours having her cast spells as she would normally when she does, provided she still can and isn't too weak from the medicine. If she can't control her strength, I'll have to insist she stays in Canterlot."

Fluttershy's eyes widened, and she looked to Celestia with a large, disagreeing frown. Celestia didn't look down at her. "I have to agree. But if she can control it, I'm sending her back to Ponyville." The doctor didn't dispute this.

Fluttershy took a moment to press her nose to Twilight's neck, sincerely hoping Twilight would have the willpower to control whatever newfound strength she had.

---

"Ow." Twilight squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to open them again but was met with much of the same reaction. She was going to have a word with whoever set up this room and demand to know why they thought it would be intelligent to put the bed directly beneath the light. It was also really quiet. Wasn't there a radio in the room? She could barely remember. The past few days had been hazy and all she remembered was being sick and dazed.

Oh and there was Fluttershy. She vaguely recalled Fluttershy was there. She also thought of a funny new nickname for her but something told her that Fluttershy wouldn't like it. Pity.

"Nng, my head feels so heavy!" She groaned, not wanting to open her eyes again or risk facing the blinding light. She heard a soft gasp of surprise, and soon felt a hoof rubbing her side. "Is that you Fluttershy?" She asked, turning her head to the side and opening one eye. It was still really bright, but that's because she wasn't looking at the yellow coat of her softest friend.

"How do feel my student?" Princess Celestia asked, smiling kindly down on Twilight. Twilight finally opened her eyes fully, feeling awfully lazy. She yawned loudly, maybe she'd go loafing around a bit. Grab a nice book, curl up in front of a fire… Oh but she wasn't home.

"Dang…" She mumbled, getting off her back and onto her stomach, legs tucked underneath her body. "I feel tired. And hungry. And thirsty. I wanna go home." Something was pushed under her nose and she leaned down to eat. It was plain old bread, and she couldn't have been more grateful. Well, a carrot sounded good right now but beggars can't be choosers. Celestia took care while floating a glass of water to Twilight's lips and after she'd drained it and finished the bread, she curled up tighter and yawned.

"You can't go back to sleep Twilight, we need to send you home first." Twilight could hear Celestia's smile. She snuggled into herself tighter. "Oh don't be difficult Twilight, we just need to test a few things and we can send you back to your library, and your nice warm bed and Spike and all your books…" Twilight muttered something she couldn't hear and stretched out, standing up slowly on her bed.

"Okay okay, you win. That sounds so good right now." Twilight blinked lazily at Celestia, before she noticed something odd. Something just out of sight above her head. She looked up, and blinked. It was still there! She twisted her neck and rolled her eyes and tried her best to see what was there, but never managed to get a good look. Celestia chuckled at her student.

"Here." A mirror pane popped into existence just in front of Twilight, who leaned in for a good look. She only needed a few seconds to see what had happened. Celestia watched her student's jaw drop. "Impressive, isn't it? That's what's been causing you so much trouble these past few days."

"My horn!" Twilight widened her eyes, blinked rapidly, and then rubbed them before she finally accepted this was no illusion. "My little horn is so… Big now! What happen-"

"We're not sure." Celestia answered, her voice losing a bit of its energy. "All we know is that it's connected somehow to the sudden increase of magic inside of you. And around you for that matter." She was staring at Twilight now with the spell the Line-Mappers used. It was like she was surrounded by an orange cloud, or highlighted by it. It did not obscure Twilight no matter which angle you looked at her from, and as Twilight grew more and more confused, the cloud seemed to match her emotion. It grew fuzzier, more ecstatic, roiling around her as Twilight was consumed with emotion. Twilight turned her head away, and the orange cloud lightly tapped the mirror, dismissing it. "Did you dismiss my mirror?" She felt the need to ask, since Twilight's horn hadn't even glowed to do so.

The little unicorn shook her head. "No, why, didn't you?" Celestia stared at her for a few moments.

"No. Come, we need to test your magical abilities. The doctors need to know if the change affected your control at all." Celestia turned and heard Twilight leap off the bed to follow her. The two walked side-by-side out of the hospital and straight into the castle.

"You mentioned something about my," she paused, thinking about what she'd been told, "magic increasing?" She finally asked as they navigated the white-washed hospital walls.

"Yes Twilight. Do you feel any different? Stronger?" Celestia asked her as they headed for the door separating the castle from the hospital.

"No, not really. I don't feel any different at all. Actually I feel kind of weak but I did just recover." Celestia nodded and didn't add anything, so Twilight didn't push it. She searched deep within herself, and felt no different magically than she could remember. When they pushed through the doors, her idle thoughts were interrupted by a wave of nostalgia.

It was everything Twilight remembered about her old home. The sun décor on the tapestries and streamers had been changed to show a moon as well, and the walls had no windows, preferring instead open archways and balconies to let the sun shine in. Guards were everywhere, but not just guarding. They straightened rugs, gave directions to other servants, watered plants, dusted corners and book shelves. Only a few were ever actually guarding anything such as the dungeon where old, forbidden books that only the Archivists could see, the throne room, the bedrooms. When Twilight passed by an open balcony, she could spy the gardens below. She saw with some excitement that Princess Luna was out and about, sniffing flowers and tending one section of the garden.

"Does it feel good to be back in the castle?" Princess Celestia asked her, and Twilight just smiled sheepishly. She hadn't been aware how much she'd been swinging her head around, not noticing how many people had to leap out of the way to avoid the vicious horn she was now sporting.

"I haven't been here in so long. I forgot how peaceful it could be when there weren't any guests." Twilight noted. She saw a few guards she recognized, and they seemed to recognize her back. A few nodded their heads in recognition, and one even openly waved and smiled.

"It's one of the few peaceful times of the day. I was lucky that you decided to wake up now rather than later. We should hurry, Fluttershy's expecting us in the training hall." Celestia urged her quietly and picked up the pace.

"The training hall? The old training hall?" Since Twilight had been under the direct tutelage of Celestia, she did not use the training hall since Celestia granted her access to a place a little more private. The Princess nodded as they walked through several long hallways before reaching the magical academy. Celestia lead her to a large pair of open double doors, which opened into a massive gymnasium. Many students and teachers were inside, giving lectures over the nature of magic and urging their students to lift and change their surroundings. Fluttershy was watching with interest in a corner of the room, two guards sitting by her side. They bowed their greetings to Princess Celestia, Fluttershy doing so with a little less show and a big smile.

"You're finally awake." Fluttershy said with deep relief, moving forward towards Twilight. The two nestled against one another, and Twilight nodded slowly. "We've been worried about you. I'm glad to see you're alright."

"Agreed." One of the guards grunted, his younger partner turning to him in surprise. "We have a small course set up, basic spells only. The area's restricted advanced spells until sundown for Princess Luna's demonstration. We don't need any more misfires."

"Thank you sirs." Twilight bowed her head honestly, and Fluttershy skipped away before the horn could touch her, and Twilight smiled apologetically. "Thank you so much Fluttershy. I'm not sure how I would have gotten through this without you. Is there any way I can repay you?" They stepped past the guards, although Celestia stayed behind with them.

"Well, if you could pay a little more attention to where you swung your horn that would be nice." Fluttershy's smile was a bit joking, but Twilight nodded her head. "Well, okay, so, how do you usually start practicing?"

"You go by steps. You stack the weights," she pointed to a small pile of five metallic gray cubes, and one triangle "turn them a different color, and then fit them into the other pile." She pointed to another stack of weight that were in a pyramid shape, with five blocks missing, as well as a pointed top. "It's pretty easy but it won't hurt to humor everyone."

Fluttershy sat back as Twilight stacked the cubes. She was fast about it, not bothering with just one, getting them all stacked with the pyramid on top within the span of a few seconds. She then leaned forward to tap the tip of her horn against the stack, but didn't compensate for the new length of her horn. The stack tipped over, and Twilight frowned as it fell apart. "You really need to keep an eye on your new horn." Fluttershy pressed her body to Twilight's and then leaned over to look at the pyramid weight in front of her. "Oh, oh dear. Looks like the fall chipped a side." Twilight looked over and yes, one of the pointed ends had been broken off. Twilight rolled her front legs in a shrug, and this time made sure she knew where the tip of her horn was before leaning down and tapping the broken point. The sides around it stretched and slowly formed another sharp end, and Twilight continued to complete the exercise.

Celestia turned to the older guard by her side. "You said Advanced spell work had been restricted?" The guard nodded, a suspicious look on his face. Repair work wasn't too powerful, but it still was qualified as advanced. Twilight completed the pyramid with her magic and smiled cheekily at the Princess.

"All done!" The unicorn announced. Celestia hid her suspicion, but nodded slowly.

"Very well. We'll have a sky chariot prepared for you soon enough. Until then, why don't we-" A guard entered the room from behind the Princess, yet the Princess turned immediately to face him.

"Princess Celestia, Candlejack is requesting an early meeting. He's insisting his supply of rope has been-" He leapt backwards to avoid a net that had been tossed a bit too far by a younger student, who tried to make up for it with an embarrassed smile. Celestia hung her head as she turned to Twilight.

"I can't keep my subjects waiting, but I promise you Twilight I'll be in touch soon. If you have any problems, never hesitate to seek me out." Celestia pressed herself to Twilight only briefly and walked away, pulling herself up royally. It was time to work.

"Miss Sparkle, if you'll follow us we can get you and your friend in a sky carriage in short time. Come along." Twilight watched her mentor leave with a sad look, and Fluttershy bowed her head as she followed along.

"Poor Princess Celestia. She needs a break from being a Princess someday." The yellow-coated Pegasus looked around the castle in all its finery. No wonder the Princess felt lonely despite the company, it was so big and empty looking when it wasn't in the midst of a party. Twilight nodded her agreement, but the guard said nothing as he lead them towards the sky port.

Two guards especially made to retrieve and deliver people of importance were already harnessed and waiting patiently for Fluttershy and Twilight out on the extended platform near the top of the castle. Fluttershy entered first and sat on the cushion as Twilight stepped in, and the back of the chariot was closed and locked up. The guards that had escorted them before spoke shortly to the carriers before the two Pegasi up front announced they'd be leaving. They spread their wings and lifted up, and flew in the direction of Ponyville.

Twilight said nothing as she watched the passing country down below, but Fluttershy began to twitch in nervousness as the Pegasus continued to rise until they were passing through the massing clouds. They were white and fluffy, but as a Pegasus Fluttershy could smell the coming storm. She understood why they were being taken above the clouds but it still made her nervous. She didn't like to not be able to see the ground. "Um, sirs, the rain shower won't be for a little while longer, perhaps we could stay-"

"Sorry ma'am, but regulations require us to remain above the clouds until descent in the event of a coming shower. I'm very sorry." He said in a gruff tone, but he did sound like he meant it. Fluttershy sighed a little.

"Why go beneath the clouds anyways, we'll miss this fantastic sunset!" Twilight was staring out the back of the chariot and Fluttershy turned to watch. The sun was slowly setting below the cloudline. It would be down quickly, and Fluttershy, despite being unable to see the ground, was sighing softly at the beauty of it. She was a romantic at heart, not the lovesick sort like Rarity but all the fantastic sights and settings that just opened her heart. "To think, when I first came to Ponyville, I never really noticed the simple, pretty things in life." The unicorn admitted with a sad smile.

"Really?" Fluttershy looked to Twilight, who nodded. She knew she was self-sheltered but didn't know the extent. Twilight didn't talk about before Ponyville much, said there wasn't much to say about it.

"Yeah. It's kinda sad now that I think about it. I'm glad I can appreciate real beauty right now." Twilight eagerly watched the sun slowly get swallowed from view by the clouds, turning the sky a fantastic orange.

Something occurred to Fluttershy, something she remembered from just a day before. "Twilight, I know you were kind of out of it when you told me this but do you really think I'm…" She blushed at the thought and pawed the cushion of their chariot, lowering her voice to a whisper. "Pretty?"

"Yes Fluttershy, you're very pretty." Fluttershy peeked up. Twilight wasn't even looking at her. She sighed. Maybe it was a pipe dream, but Twilight had called her gorgeous once and pretty now. Maybe that was a good thing and she shouldn't get her hopes up.

"I think you're pretty too." She tried anyways, tilting her head to hide her face with her cotton candy mane.

"Thanks." Fluttershy sighed. Twilight hadn't taken her eyes off the sunset. Well, she tried. She watched the sunset until the sun fell beneath the clouds, and things began to turn dark. It was quickly replaced with moonlight as a full moon rose from the front of the Chariot and slowly turned the world around the dark and silver. It was also so quiet.

That was why they noticed the other Pegasi. A dark, winged-shape rose from the clouds slowly, level with them, matching their speed to their left. "Who do you think that is?" Fluttershy asked, turning her head to the right to notice a second, no third, wait there were four dark pony shapes behind them. Two to the back left and right, and two almost directly behind them, flying at a far enough distance they looked like shadows in the night sky.

"Maybe a friendly passing group? I read that some Pegasi take it on themselves to escort night travelers and protect them from bandits." Twilight pointed out, and the two heard an uneasy snort from the front. The two guards were watching four more pony shapes warily out in front of them, each in a similar position as the four from behind.

"Twilight…" Fluttershy turned in a slow circle. There were eight dark figures keeping perfect speed and position around them. "What if these are the bandits?" She whispered low.

"I didn't want to consider that…" Twilight whispered back.

"By order of Princess Celestia!" One of the guards finally called. "I demand you identify yourselves to her royal guard! Speak!" He shouted. The four ponies in the middle of the shadows' circle were tense. The guards began to slow down to let them pass, but they merely slowed down with them. The guards tried to lower into the clouds, but the four mid-circle ponies flew in closer almost visible through the moonlight. Fluttershy and Twilight stared at the nearest one. The Pegasus was a dark gray, while the one on the other side was plain black. The guards snorted in agitation as they rose again, playing their game for now, well aware of the precious cargo they were carrying.

"Girls. Stay alert. We may have to do something drastic if they attack." One of the guards told them, his eyes shifting back and forth between their eight "escorts". The girls just nodded slowly.

Seconds crawled by like minutes, tense as could be. Any move the carriage made, the eight Pegasi matched. The moon was now above the clouds, barely. The light cast a disturbing image, as the silvered clouds contrasted with the dark shapes more sharply. Fluttershy let out a tiny, scared whimper.

"Twilight, can't you telepo-" Then the Pegasi, as one raised their heads and gave a powerful, piercing whiny that sent chills down both girls' spines, and the guards made a move to dive into the clouds. Then the sound of rolling thunder filled their ears, sending both girls to dive to the cushions, screaming as they covered their ears, and the world turned white.

When Fluttershy opened her eyes again, her body was one giant sore, like she'd been hit by lightning. Splinters surrounded her, and it took her a moment to realize she was falling. She gasped softly and looked to her left and spied Twilight, eyes closed and falling limply.

And the dark shapes dove inwards.

Her ears were ringing. Her heart was thumping powerfully in her chest. Every muscle in her body screamed for her to stop moving and let them rest, but a voice in the back of Fluttershy's head told her to give her body no heed. She twisted in the air, righting herself to put the clouds above her and dove towards Twilight. The eight shadowed figured were diving in faster than she could hope to match, but she was closer.

Tears in her eyes from the stress she shot downwards towards the figure, hooves extended to catch the unicorn, but something collided into her. Hard. Fluttershy yet out a cry of pain, feeling a strong pair of arms lock around her waist, and a face hovering near her ear. She thrashed in the air, throwing the pony's flight pattern around erratically, but a second pony slammed into her, knocking the air out of her lungs. She gasped for air, her body falling limp from pain as the two ponies began to dive for the ground. She stared upwards as the remaining six piled on top of Twilight and started to make off with her. Part of Fluttershy just wanted to let them go so she could rest, to end the exhaustion. That part of Fluttershy was ignored.

What little Fluttershy knew of aerial combat was put to use. The two figures clinging to her were strong, and her wings and front legs locked into place. Her back legs though were free, and she took a deep breath and she prepared herself. "Sorry…" She whispered, and brought both knees between the spread legs of her two captors. One gave a hoarse shout and fell off her, cradling his bruised groin, the other just grit her teeth. Fluttershy reared her head back as the female was distracted, and when the bandit turned back to glare at the girl she was met with a forehead to the nose. The grip loosened, and Fluttershy pulled herself free of the legs around her and caught herself in mid-air. She extended her wings and flapped them rapidly, gaining distance from the ground as she shot towards the now distant figures of shadows.

She did everything she could to speed up, lower her wind resistance, but the figures were getting farther and farther away. She whimpered softly, turning her head to see one of her former captors recovering while the other struggled in mid-air, and she kept going towards the distant Pegasi. Despite their payload, the combined six of them picked up ground that Fluttershy felt she could never cover by herself.

"Twilight…" She whispered, hooves extended as she flapped her wings harder than she'd ever had before, a twisting knot in her gut as she realized, slowly, horribly, that she wasn't going to be fast enough. Tears streamed down her cheeks as her wings flapped so hard they were starting to go numb, yet she couldn't match the others' speed. She could do nothing for her friend.

Before despair had a chance to clench her heart, she heard the noise again. Distant thunder, rolling towards her, and she turned quickly. The other two had fully recovered, and she watched as sparks ran from their wings into the clouds, forming jagged currents of lightning, and a bright spot appeared in the clouds moving erratically towards her. Fluttershy had just a second to drop, and she watched the bright spot pass over her. The other two began to shout to the six making off with Twilight, but they were not heard. The six paused just long enough to see the glowing trail pause just above them, and immediately four of them fell from the sky to avoid it. The other two, still holding Twilight, weren't so lucky.

Fluttershy only stared in horror and fascination as the bright spot shot a bolt of lightning as thick as a tree downwards, slashing through the air for less than a second, and the two Pegasi fell away, screaming in pain as flames wrapped around their broken bodies. Fluttershy gasped to herself as a third figure began to fall straight down, and she saw it was her friend. With a shriek of terror, Fluttershy dove at an angle for the falling unicorn, well aware she was not alone in her attempt. It didn't matter, as long as she caught Twilight, as long as she could get her friend.

Twilight was falling fast, but Pegasi were lighter. Fluttershy flew close enough to fly almost parallel with Twilight, and in an instant had her in her arms. She grit her teeth and began to pull upwards needing to slow down, and judging by the wind underneath her hooves barely avoiding an assailant. She had that to be thankful for as she rose upwards, finally pausing in midair. She needed to get to the ground, but a glance downwards told her that was a bad idea. There were shapes gathering beneath her, staring up at her. Expectantly. She turned her head in a slow circle, and noticed the six remaining figures were circling them slowly. They had every chance to dive in and grab them both, but they seemed hesitant.

If they were relying on her being the same, they were about to be disappointed. Fluttershy began to flap her wings and rose rapidly, which grabbed the attention of the Pegasi. Fluttershy squeezed Twilight to her chest and aimed for the clouds.

A quick glance downwards told her she wasn't going to make it. One of the Pegasi was closing in quickly, hooves extended to grab onto Twilight, and Fluttershy considered dropping beneath the attempt except one of the Pegasi was already a ways beneath her. She wished she knew all those aerial acrobatics Rainbow Dash was so good at, maybe then…

She glanced downwards quickly and saw the Pegasus was a few feet away, and she knew that, if he grabbed on, the rest would follow, and there'd be no chance of them getting away from this. Fluttershy wasn't sure what else to do. Luckily, her passenger did.

The Pegasus, so intent on Fluttershy, never saw the Unicorn's back hoof collide with his chin. The Pegasus fell away, spiraling away from the two as Twilight groaned. "Stupid… Bandits…" She hissed, obviously as sore as Fluttershy was.

"Don't worry Twilight, we're almost to the clouds, we might be able to escape them inside the clouds." Fluttershy shouted over the roaring air around them.

"Not a chance Fluttershy, that lightning thing they did would smoke us out the instant they got up there. I have an idea, get through the cloud barrier and I might be able to help." Fluttershy said nothing, but squeezed Twilight harder to her body. With renewed determination, she flew up, into the clouds.

---

Rainbow Dash was staring off into the distance again. A second roar of thunder, this one longer and louder than the last. From her balcony on her cloud-formed home, she tried to puzzle it out. The small rain shower wasn't supposed to happen for at least another few hours, and on top of that, small rain showers often did not feature thunder and lightning. It was suspicious, but mishaps had happened before.

Part of her considered diving in to take a look herself, see if any young fliers were causing a ruckus and bucking clouds they weren't supposed to, but she also wondered if it was just theatrics for a traveling performance. It's happened before, and was actually pretty neat.

She sat on her balcony and watched the night sky, wanting to hear the thunder again.

---

"Drop me." Twilight ordered Fluttershy. The Pegasus looked down at her friend with a mixed look of shock and confusion, but Twilight gave her the pleading eyes. "Just trust me Fluttershy…" So Fluttershy did. Twilight landed on the clouds like they were solid, and Fluttershy joined her. Twilight laid on her stomach, prompting Fluttershy to do the same. "Hiding." Twilight nodded as six figures burst from the fluff around them and flew outwards, scanning the skies.

The two ponies laid still, but Fluttershy began to whimper. The two blows she'd taken earlier while being captured intermingled all too well with her sore muscles from the lightning strike. She buried her face in the cloud and tried to ignore it, but her position wasn't comfortable. She began to breath deeply, until a hoof touched her face. She opened her eyes to find Twilight's worried stare on her, and Fluttershy slowly calmed herself down.

"No sign of them." Twilight pushed her hoof into her mouth as her eyes widened in surprise. One of the Pegasus was right behind her, standing on her tail while he spoke to another of the Pegasus. "Think they're in the clouds?" He asked. The other snorted in annoyance.

"Skykite would had found them by now if they had. Search high, they might be using the shadows to blend into the sky." The two shook their heads and they turned, and one of their hooves hit something solid.

"Found 'em." The first one growled cockily. What happened next, Fluttershy was unsure, all she knew was Twilight began to glow, and there was a flash of lightning, and the male had disappeared. The other leapt high into the air, avoiding another blast of lightning as Twilight stood, her horn glowing blue as electricity ran along her coat into the clouds below. There was an incredibly boom of thunder, and the second Pegasus whinnied in alarm. The four others turned and stared down at their companion before closing in using a circling pattern.

Fluttershy stayed low, whimpering as she stared up at Twilight who was crackling furiously with electricity. An orange glow slowly formed on the surface of her mane, and arcs of lightning sprang from the clouds and traveled along her body as the Pegasus, in turn, began to crackle back. The other four watched calmly, waiting for the slightest provocation.

"Twilight, what do we do?" Fluttershy whispered, getting to her hooves slowly, still staying low.

"We need to flee." Twilight's voice was deep, and flat. It almost didn't sound like hers. It was so low and confident it came out as solid monotone. "Or we need to fight." Fluttershy stared at her friend, who was beginning to crackle more. There was the sound of distant thunder, then another boom, then a third.

Fluttershy screamed as the world lit up with energy.

---

"All Pegasus ponies wake up!" Rainbow Dash shouted down towards Ponyville, flying as slow as she could bare as she repeated her line again and again. "All Pegasus ponies wake up! There is an emergency weather event! All Pegasus ponies get OUT OF BED NOW!"

She was joined lazily by other ponies, yawning and looking to Rainbow Dash curiously or in annoyance. "'Sup Dash?" One asked as he closed in. Dash pointed into the distance, where there were several flashes of light, followed by the loudest series of thunder claps they'd ever heard at this distance.

"Holy horse apples." One of the Pegasus whispered, his eyes narrowing. "I saw the light, where's the lightning?"

"Could be in the clouds." One answered just above him.

"Or above them." Dash also pointed out. "Either way, this is weird. Let's go take a look, if some idiot thinks he's being funny by keeping the whole kingdom awake, they need some sense bucked into them."

There was another rolling of thunder, and this time they saw it. It was definitely above the clouds, and it was bright and vicious enough to set a few of the Pegasi on edge. "That ain't natural. No pony in their right mind would make a bolt that strong! They could burn the whole field if that hit the ground."

"And that's why the weather ponies are reporting in!" Somebody laughed as they flew towards the area.

---

There were hooves all around her, all purple, all crackling with energy. Fluttershy raised her head, and saw Twilight carefully stepping around her to watch the circling bandits. "Twilight…"

"You're alright?" Twilight asked, again in deep monotone. Fluttershy nodded slowly. "Then run. Run while you can. You can't be here for this. They'll hurt you." She advised darkly, her body tensing. At least one of the Pegasi in the sky were missing, the other four watching the two ponies like hawks.

"Twilight I can't just-

"Fluttershy!" An edge of command, of accusation entered her voice. Fluttershy realized this wasn't Twilight, Twilight was never this short with her. Never this vicious sounding with her words. "Go now! I'll fight them!"

"What about you!" Fluttershy shouted desperately as she heard another loud clap, and she screamed as lightning flashed around them, only to get sucked straight into the odd orange aura surrounding Twilight. "I can't leave you here Twilight! I won't leave until you come with m-" She was cut short. Twilight's legs had flashed, and Fluttershy felt numb. She realized she was rolling away from her friend. She'd been bolted by Twilight. Harmlessly, but the sting of rejection burned all the same.

"Go. Don't make me do that again." Fluttershy stood shakily, tears in her eyes as the four Pegasi circled in closer and closer, speaking to each other, planning while Twilight held the line. "I said go Fluttershy!"

"No." Fluttershy grunted, pushing into Twilight's side, feeling the energy along her. It was warm, it was powerful, and in her mind, it was unnatural around her friend.

"Fluttershy!" Twilight growled, twisting her head towards her friend. She was met with a look of quivering steel. Then she screamed as the four figures dove, slamming into the two ponies wordlessly, throwing them through the clouds. Fluttershy managed to right herself in mid-air just beneath the fluffy mass, despite the pains, despite the numbness, she caught herself. She spied Twilight standing on a free-floating cloud beneath the sea of white above them, sparkling with lightning while three of the Pegasi dove in, around her, keeping her attention and trying to hit her with a fresh bolt, but each shot failed as they struck her aura. Twilight returned each blast in kind, narrowly missing each time, but slowly gaining accuracy.

Fluttershy raced to join Twilight on the cloud, some strain of stubbornness telling her to be there. Maybe it was stupid. Maybe she should run. Twilight needed her though, whether she knew it or not.

She felt impact against her stomach and was knocked out of her flight line by one of the Pegasi. The Pegasus flew in, hooves straightened out and crashed into Fluttershy, sending her towards the ground as Fluttershy dazedly gagged for air, her chest burning with pain. She knew a rib or two was broken, but worse was the pounding headache from the second attack. She righted herself, just barely, still well above the ground. Above the swarming figures beneath her.

She stared with cloudy eyes as the figure swooped towards her, and she dropped suddenly, avoiding a third blow. The rational part of her mind told her that Twilight was right, they needed help, they needed Ponyville. Still, Twilight…

She turned her head from Twilight, a terrible sense of betrayal filling her stomach as she sped towards Ponyville. She didn't want to leave Twilight, but she couldn't do this on her own. She flew as fast as she could. Far above the clouds, she narrowly missed the help she so desperately sought.

---

"Give up!" One of the Pegasi shouted down towards the cloud-riding unicorn, diving below as a bolt of lightning nearly struck him out of place. The sound of thunder was constant now, echoing against the clouds and ground, a cauldron of booming noise and flashing lights. The rolling thunder got louder as electricity sprung from the clouds, missing their targets or getting sucked in by a quivering orange aura.

Twilight snorted at the words of "Advice" and shifted her stance to let a bolt surge from her cloud, striking just underneath the mouthy Pegasus. "Give up or we will be forced to hurt your little friend!" One of them shouted, dropping to avoid another bolt.

'That foal.' Twilight snorted in disgust. A part of her was screeching in disgust at the thought but she quelled it. No time to dwell on the distractions, she could reprimand Fluttershy for this later. 'If she survives.' She winced, her head burning with pain as something rebelled against that very thought. A moment later she was airborne when a Pegasus tackled her off the cloud. The headache was gone, and she stared in fury at the mare giving her a wide-eyed look of shock.

In midair, Twilight exploded with electricity, turning the offending foal to ash before landing on a newly-formed cloud, letting the charred remains drop off of her to the ground. That annoying part of her recognized that she'd just ended a life, but the queasiness was short-lived. The other two seemed more hesitant to attack her now, and began to turn tail. "No." Twilight whispered, willing the cloud forward. "You don't get off easy."

Rainbow Dash recognized the flashes were coming from beneath the clouds now. Her eyes had narrowed and she grit her teeth angrily at whatever idiot was now hitting the ground. The thunder never stopped now, and half of Ponyville and Canterlot must have been woken up. There was foolish and then there was just plain dangerous. "Below the clouds! Keep an eye out for whatever jerk is pulling this off!"

The entire troupe of forty lowered through the soft white, the flashes getting brighter and brighter as they got closer. Rainbow Dash picked up speed, leaving the rest behind before breaking through the clouds. She saw them, she saw the idiotic mule kicking up the ruckus, she saw…

"Twilight!" Dash shouted, slowly down as she watched the cloud-riding unicorn speed away from her. Then the sound of thunder crashed around her, and from the cloud she rode a lightning bolt branched out, and as her eyes followed the electric trail she spied a Pegasus. Dash froze in midair, soon surrounded by her equally stunned group as the odd Pegasus jerked unnaturally from the hit, and exploded into flames before falling towards the Earth.

They floated there for a few long seconds while Twilight came to a stop, and turned. Dash stared into Twilight's eyes. They were solid white, glowing as intensely as the orange around her, and there was a look of pure apathy on her face as she came to Rainbow Dash. The others backed away, frightened by the strangely glowing unicorn. "Rainbow Dash." Twilight nodded in small greeting.

Dash's eyes widened, and she grit her teeth. "What the hay is wrong with your voice! What is going on! Who was that!" Dash demanded, landing on the cloud next to Twilight. The only thing keeping her from fleeing in fear was the deep attachment she felt towards the Unicorn. She couldn't just leave her. Twilight must have had a good reason, right?

Twilight turned her head slowly, and stared at the burning heap on the ground fading from view. "An enemy. They chose to attack Fluttershy and I on our return. One is still after Fluttershy. Come." The cloud began to speed up towards Ponyville, and the Pegasi reluctantly followed.

"Enemy? Attack! Fluttershy! Twilight what is going on!" Rainbow Dash demanded, stomping her hoof dramatically. "Nopony just attacks another pony like that! You killed somepony Twilight, what's wrong with you!" She was shouting through blurry eyes now, still shocked from what she'd just witnessed.

Twilight turned her head slowly towards Dash, and the blue Pegasus took a step back, then held her ground firmly. She did not like those eyes. "They hurt Fluttershy. Would you have let them go?"

Dash stood on the cloud, stunned. There was no sincerity in Twilight's voice, she was deliberately targeting a weak spot, and didn't even try to hide it. Despite this, Dash hung her head, her teeth hurting from how hard she clenched them. "Dangit Twilight… Let's go save Fluttershy." Twilight grunted the affirmative and began to crackle with electricity.

---

The citizens of Ponyville stared in the distance as the bright flashes of light and thunderclaps finally stopped. The mayor twisted her mouth from a frown into a hesitant smile. The weather ponies must have finally tended to the problem. A good thing too, there was so much activity in the past week it was spooking her citizens. First the librarian's sick horn, then Celestia's military appearance, and now this? At least things finally settled down.

"Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie shouted from next to the mayor, and the eyes turned to the sky. Pink mane and yellow coat, it was definitely Fluttershy flying overhead. "Maybe she knows what all the hubbub is about!" The pink pony smiled, until she spotted the Pegasus behind Fluttershy.

Fluttershy landed hard in front of Rarity's boutique, a short distance away from the town square everyone was standing in. She barely caught herself on her hooves and it disturbed her cracked ribs, making her whimper in pain. Her hesitation cost her as the pursuing Pegasus smashed into her from behind, throwing her off her legs and onto the ground a short distance from the door. The Pegasus closed the gap quickly and stood over Fluttershy, raising his hooves to trample her where she lay.

Fluttershy tucked her back legs in, and kicked upwards, making the Pegasus grunt as he was tossed off her. She was sickened by the crunching noise, but the Pegasus hardly seemed to notice as he closed in on the standing, shaking girl. Fluttershy turned rapidly and thrust her legs out, catching the bandit in the chest again and tossing him into the Boutique's door right as the town came around the corner. The Pegasus stood, again, coughed up blood, and weakly charged Fluttershy.

The Pegasus girl stared in disbelief as her own body moved itself, and she head butted the pony in the chest, sending him back onto the ground. She raised herself up, and before she knew what she was doing, stomped.

The Pegasus beneath her wailed in pain as twice she struck his stomach and chest, before she was tugged backwards by her tail. Unable to take it anymore, she fell to her side and shook in agony and sorrow. She could hear voices, she could hear them calling her name but she just didn't hear them. She wanted to weep. She did what she should have, she knew, but still, the thought of harming another…

"Fluttershy!" A new voice shouted. She stopped twitching so violently and turned her head upwards, staring into the deeply concerned eyes of Pinkie Pie. "Fluttershy, it's okay, it's okay! Stop shaking, please!" She begged her, until Fluttershy slowly shifted onto her knees.

"Fluttershy!" The two ponies looked upwards as a cloud descended, and Rainbow Dash hopped off and ran to her wounded friend. "Did these… Did those guys do this to you!" Dash demanded. Fluttershy, bit her lip, but nodded slowly.

"Then they must be reprimanded." Came a frighteningly flat voice. Then everybody noticed that Twilight was standing on the cloud, passive, glowing. "I can make it quick." She offered, but was nearly thrown off the cloud as Dash charged her, stomping the cloud and forcing her face into Twilight's.

"Don't you even dare suggest that Twilight! I don't know what the hay is going on inside your head but you're not killing a second pony!" She shouted into Twilight's face. There was utter silence, except from Pinkie Pie, who was hyperventilating as she stared at the Unicorn she thought she knew.

"The numbers don't matter. He would be my eighth anyways, and are you suggesting we let him go after what he did to-"

"Don't go there! You…" Dash stomped the cloud again, her voice raising even higher. "You don't even care about Fluttershy! You're just trying to make me feel bad! Well I feel terrible but I don't even want to kill him!"

Twilight's eyes turned to narrow, glowing slits. "How noble." She hissed, venom dripping off the last word.

"That's not Twilight." They turned to Fluttershy, who stood, shakily. "That's not Twilight. Twilight's in there but that's not her. It can't be her." Fluttershy whispered, approaching slowly. Twilight was now glaring at Fluttershy.

"I don't know what you're talking about!" She snapped. Dash could finally see it. It was like Twilight was a whole different person. There were inklings of her, but they were distilled into pure apathy, anger, and violence.

"Twilight." Dash called, bringing the Unicorn's furious attention to her, only to hesitate. Dash had a deeply sorrowful look on her face. "I know I call you an egghead and make fun of you sometimes, but I really do think you're a good friend. If you're in there, come out! I don't like this you, she's not cool. She's just a bitch!" Everyone recoiled from the dark word, everyone but Twilight. Her face slowly fell into one of confusion, unsureness, and slowly, but surely…

"False… Gods…" The Pegasus on the ground had risen to his front hooves, and was staring at Twilight with a mixture of hatred and pain. "A lie… A lie given life by true royalty. An accident…" He coughed up more blood, and slowly crawled towards Twilight, his eyes glowering with accusation.

"What are you on about?" Twilight growled darkly, anger rising around her in the form of a swirling red aura. Dash watched her work, her words, become meaningless in an instant.

"You were a mistake!" The Pegasus shouted. "You were never meant to happen! There was meant to be one, and by some divine prank there's you!" He spat out blood and more blood, his anger never wavering. "I am just one of many! You'll be taken!" A crack of thunder, and the pony screamed as he was thrown off his feet against the wall again. He lifted his head weakly, grinning as if he'd won. "You can't… Fight us all!" He rose again, but on willpower alone. One step and he'd topple. "Your false power…" He began to laugh painfully through broken ribs and lungs. "Will not be yours for much longer…"

Twilight crackled with energy again, and Dash threw herself in front of Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy as the world around them roared when the next lightning bolt tossed the colt into the wall. He laid there, weak, agonized, but still smiling. "Lies die when the truth comes to light. TAKE ME GODDESS!" The third bolt splattered him across the wall, leaving nothing but a dark imprint of something that used to be alive.

The whole of the town was silent, every eye on the imprint, then the powerfully glowing Twilight. She stood there in all her fury, horn glowing blue as electricity jumped to the ground. Everyone whimpered softly in fear and began to back away. Everyone but Fluttershy.

"No, don't go near her!" Dash shouted urgently, but Fluttershy didn't hear her. She limped to the cloud, nearly falling on her way. Twilight had turned to watch her, daring her to make even the smallest slight against her. Fluttershy lifted her torso onto the cloud, which began to crackle dangerously as Twilight willed power into her.

"You're in there…" Fluttershy whispered as she pulled herself onto the cloud, ignoring the sparks beneath her feet. Twilight stared into the expression of sincerity and worry that Fluttershy held, and backed away, the sparks turning into arcs of raw power that singed the fur and stung the flesh on Fluttershy's legs. But she kept coming, until their cheeks touched. "Please Twilight… We love you so much, please come back out. Please come back out and stop this mare who thinks she's you."

Twilight hesitated, the lightning slowly stopping until all there were were two ponies. Her eyes still glowed, her aura boiling with intensity as her breathing deepened as something inside of her…

… Clicked.

The cloud disappeared along with the orange, and Fluttershy fell to her hooves, just barely catching herself before she fell over. She sat to keep her balance, and stared down at the limp, unconscious form of her newest friend. "Twilight Sparkle…?" She whispered, reaching forward with one hoof to touch her cheek.

"…"

Fluttershy rubbed slowly, and whispered again. "Twilight, are you in there?"

"…"

Fluttershy's lips quivered and her eyes grew misty, as she whispered one more time. "Twilight, you need to get up…"

"…"

Fluttershy hung her head.

"Jus'…" Fluttershy lifted her head and stared at the unicorn. "Few more min'u's Spike…"

Her heart swelling, Fluttershy finally allowed herself to collapse.

---

The infirmary only had two patients the next day. In one bed laid Twilight Sparkle, still unconscious. She'd been given a quick physical and it was found there were no problems whatsoever. As far as anyone could tell, she was just out of it.

That was why Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, and Pinkie Pie were spending their time next to Fluttershy's bed. She was wrapped in bandages, holding her ribs back in place and restraining her legs. Her head had a bandage around it as well. All in all, Fluttershy looked very much liked the patients she watched over.

"It's most certainly a terrifying development." Rarity murmured, watching Twilight from the other side of Fluttershy's bed, admiring her new horn with only slight envy. "Even for her this must be quite the shock. In and out of bed the past four days."

"It wasn't Twilight in control though. Well, some other Twilight maybe but not our Twilight. She spoke in a" Pinkie lowered her voice to a deathly monotone, which was all too convincing for Fluttershy's and Dash's tastes, "deep scary voice." It went back to normal quickly though. "And she didn't even care about Fluttershy or Dashie until they started talking to Twilight instead of Meanie-Pants!"

"Even then, ya'll reckon she's safe? If anythin' we should be contactin' the Princess." Applejack turned her firm eyes to Twilight. She didn't like that new horn when it was coming out, now she was fairly certain it was pure evil. "Ah'm not sure we can even trust her at this point. What if she flips out on us again?"

"How can you say that?" Rainbow Dash glowered at her friend softly. "Sure she had one freaky moment since getting that thing but that doesn't mean it'll happen again! That's still Twilight over there, she just has…" She chewed the words in her mouth and finally spoke again, "freak stuff inside of her!"

"Rainbow Dash is right." Fluttershy piped up softly, unable to speak at full strength less she risk stressing her wounded chest. "She didn't act like this until we got attacked. She didn't even realize she had new magic until somepony told her."

"Speaking of magic." Rarity cleared her throat. "You did say that the Pegasi that attacked you summoned lightning bolts?" Fluttershy nodded meekly. "With their wings, in fact?" Another nod. "And you're positively sure they weren't unicorns?" Third nod. Rarity stared at her for the longest time. "You'll excuse me if I'm having a moment of disbelief."

"I don't believe it none neither. How the hay did Twilight even start shooting lightning herself? She told me herself she ain't got any spells to hurt ponies." Applejack asked suspiciously, her eyes not leaving Twilight's still form.

"She," Fluttershy winced and hesitated, slowing her breathing until she felt well again, "she, well, the orange around her did absorb the lightning strikes they kept shooting at her. She may have learned from there, the doctor's had mentioned she absorbs foreign magic." She then buried her snout under the blanket and squeezed her eyes shut. "It's probably why we survived and our escorts disappeared…"

Applejack frowned, finally turned towards Fluttershy to softly rub her forehead, "Aw shoot hon, I hadn't meant to make ya feel bad. If it makes ya feel better they found the guards, they were just tangled up in some trees and got them to a hospital lickety-split." Fluttershy's expression did soften, and slowly she calmed down. "See, nothin' wrong."

"Well…" Pinkie Pie started, but was nudged sharply by Dash. "Right! Nothing wrong." She smiled perkily, even as the memories of the screaming pony played in her mind. Mean Twilight would haunt her for a while, she knew.

"Visiting hours are coming to a close girls, say your goodbyes." The doctor called from his office. The five ponies sadly looked to each other, but quietly said their goodbyes. They left, one by one, except Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy watched the Pegasus approach the cot with Twilight on it, and not-so-gently tug the blanket up to her neck. "Be tough Twilight. If you let Bitch take you over again, I'm going to personally knock her out of you. I promise you, I'll be so mad you can hit me with all the lightning you got and you'll just make me a madder pony. Hear me? Stay you, stay strong." Fluttershy hid her face so Dash wouldn't know she watched as the Pegasus left the building and shut the door. She watched Dash walk into the sunset, and sighed quietly.

---

She opened her eyes only reluctantly. She'd been trying to get back to sleep for the past thirty seconds but even through her eyelids she could see the light. She let out a yawn, it didn't feel like morning, yet it still glowed like morning. Her eyes fluttered open and she stared out the window into the darkness. It was definitely not morning. Yet there was still light, to her left. She turned her head, and saw Twilight standing next to her bed, the tip of her horn lit up with soft light.

Fluttershy tensed instinctively upon seeing Twilight, but let out her breath as she saw she was seeing her friend, not the angry one. Her eyes were purple again, not blank, and she began to shake as she saw how sad Twilight looked. The two watched the other for a long time, staring at each other in the eye before Twilight finally broke the silence. "Everything that happened this morning…" Her voice broke, tortured by sorrow and disbelief. "Fluttershy I didn't mean to do any of that. I don't know what happened. It's like I was watching through the eyes of another person…" Tears rolled down her cheeks, and Fluttershy instinctively, this time with the right intentions, moved closer and wrapped a leg around Twilight's neck, pulling her close so the unicorn could have a good cry in her side.

"I know Twilight, I know. I could tell it wasn't you. Everything she did-"

"I killed somepony!" Twilight shouted suddenly, stopping Fluttershy. Fluttershy shifted, and despite the pains, held Twilight close with both arms. "I didn't even want to, I didn't try to, but I just watched myself kill them one by one! That last one…" She sniffled into Fluttershy's chest and the Pegasus tugged. Twilight, understanding, got into the bed and pressed herself against Fluttershy. "Why did I have to keep attacking! Why didn't I realize-"

"Twilight." Fluttershy's voice was firm. Twilight looked into her eyes weepily, and Fluttershy squeezed quietly. "That wasn't you. I don't know you as well as I know the others, but I know you well enough. You're a kind pony, you wouldn't kill another one on purpose. There was something else there, controlling your body and your magic, but you're stronger than them. You just needed some help." Fluttershy tried to smile, but Twilight hid her snout against Fluttershy's chest and sniffled.

"I'm so sorry Fluttershy. I'm going to make it up to you, however I can." She squeezed, but not tightly. She knew the quiet pony was hurt, she knew it was her fault. She stopped Fluttershy from speaking again by talking first, "I don't care what you say about why I shouldn't. You took care of me and I hurt you. I'm going to take care of you, and make up for what I did to you."

Fluttershy didn't argue. They would talk in the morning when Twilight felt better. She wouldn't hear a no until they were both completely awake. She was consoled, at the very least, by the thought that Twilight was okay, she was back, and hated the other her. In away, the snuggling made the day feel worth it.

---

"The greedy queen was sitting upon her throne." He felt merry today! "Around sat everything she did own!" He hopped along, tailed by two nervously squirming guards. "Jewels and fineries and pets did rest!" The bells at the end of each tip of his fool's hat jingled with each hop, a solemn warning to those ahead of his presence, "Yet a deep scowl rest upon her crest!"

Two leather-covered guards up ahead were quick to open the doors to not interrupt his stride, "The greedy queen was greedy!" The chipperness in his voice could be heard even as the guards shut the doors. "One might even say she was quite needy!" The guards behind him slunk towards the shadows, trying to distance themselves. "One day a servant found her a magic lamp!" They spied the double doors at the end of the hallway, and looked to each other nervously. "She rubbed it and rubbed it and out came a genie with a mighty stamp!" The two guards at the door were trained well enough to show no emotion. "Genie, I command you, riches, riches, to fill every coffer, chest, and bucket!" Even still, their hearts beat harder as he bounced nearer and nearer. "I need jewels and gems everywhere you can tuck it!"

The throne room was magnificent, and full of unicorns, captains, a well dressed general, and of course, him. "The genie was tired of greed and pride!" Every conversation stopped. "So everywhere he could he put gold to hide!" Every eye turned to the cheerily bouncing figure. "From her nose to her ears to her throat with gold she was rife!" He bounced once more, entering a line-up of several uncomfortable figures, landing hard enough for his stomp to echo across the room. "Let this be a lesson on the fine things in life!" He ended, smiling cheekily up to the top of the throne.

There was utter silence as everyone stared at him, and he felt absolutely gorgeous there. Here he was, where he needed to be, once again being given the attention he so deserved. There was a small cough from behind him as a guard spoke up. "Uh, may we be dismissed now? I have much to-"

He flew quite neatly across the room, landing in front of the door with a choked gasp, a dagger shoved cleanly, horizontally into his throat, cutting his air supply. He bled messily, and many of the less important figures not before the great one pushed away from both him and the corpse.

The other guard, knowing better, left the room in an instant, dragging away the body of his body. "You really should hire less rude guards. You don't interrupt a fellow's silent audience." He smiled quite affectionately up at the gold-furred colt with the platinum blonde mane.

The colt in all his kingly manner, from his flowing red cape, his ruby-encrusted circlet, and silvered armor eyed the Jester in the same manner you'd give piece of charcoaled toast, and snorted softly. "We're not here to discuss your treatment of my royal servants Cloppin. May I remind you that each drop of blood you spill is another bit you cost me? You cost yourself?" He snarled, but the good natured man just bounced excitedly.

"Oh maybe so but it's nothing I can't give back give back! I hear there's excellent news concerning the double!"

Shallom the Pegasus growled low at Cloppin. He tucked in his angel-feathered wings tightly as the Jester giggled quietly to himself under the lord's glare. It wasn't the childish behavior nor so much the garish outfit this time, but to insult him in such a casual manner? The lord slowly rose off his haunches and composed himself, already a magnificent sight being taller than any other pony with the color of wealth adorning him, but when he stepped forward under the sunlight and began to glow, even the excitable idiot settled down. "Yes, it's true we have found her. The news is regretfully not 'excellent' as you'd know if you so much peaked at the mission statement you were given."

"Ah but I have I have! Do not underestimate my linguistics my lord, I read it again and again and again and again! Eight Night Flashers! Incinerated with lightning! Haha, the irony is what kills me lord!" The clown laughed happily, until he was shoved hard to the side.

"It'll be the iron that kills you if you do not respect my soldiers!" Shallom roared at the still bouncing pony. The bouncing stopped, and Cloppin closed the gap in an unseen instant, his white panted face nearly touching Shallom's blue. The Pegasus could not read the freak's eyes, as they were permanently black, and blended in with the black circles drawn around them. One large circle around the right eye, one half-closed eye drawn around the other. Then Cloppin grinned with all of his teeth.

He did not want to fall for it, but Shallom finally flinched at the sight of the grinning skull. "Now dear Shallom…" Cloppin whispered hotly, not losing that edge of joy. "I think we should calm down some, unless you think if I shaved those beautiful wings you would-"

"ENOUGH!" All eyes turned to the lord, who had his eyes narrowed, but showed no signs of anger. "I will not have these petty squabbles in my throne room! Least of all from any of you three! We are here to discuss the missions you will be partaking, not, NOT disregard the service of eight of my loyal soldiers!"

Shallom glared at Cloppin, who just saluted smartly. "'Kay!"

"Now, as you know we have located the false one." The lord slowly paced back and forth on his raised dais, his eyes taken from the gathered group below as he entered deep thought. "She proved to be powerful. She killed several of our finest. This set-back is minor though as we have gathered information that could have cost us hundreds more. As such, we will not hesitate in our pursuit. There is so much more to do, but as of now we have a new priority. Shallom, your services will be much more necessary in seeking the reawakened places. Rukafelth, it is your place to capture the false one now." The lord spoke, and Rukafelth stood, taller than Cloppin or Shallom, and bowed his head.

"As you say, Lord. I have heard." The heavily armored figure turned and marched towards the doors, leaving the room. Shallom followed suit, sharing a brief stare with Cloppin, and quelling his own anger before escaping the room.

"Cloppin, you will continue to gather information for me, and I demand of you, no more neck "games", I want as few deaths as possible." Cloppin just bounced in place, the fool's cap jingling ominously. "Do not mistake my leniency for generosity Cloppin." The lord snorted.

The Jester just smiled foalishly, and skipped out of the room.

This is chapter 4. Chapter 3 was uploaded incredibly early, so if you missed it, skip back a page.

---

She was awake before she'd opened her eyes. Light was filling her vision even behind her eyelids, and reluctantly she opened them up. The sun peaked in the room, flooding it with light, and filling her eyes with it. She noted that the view was absolutely fantastic, but it was slightly lessened by the whole being in a hospital bit.

All her legs felt sore, and breathing proved to be difficult. Her head also hurt, and when she twisted her head her neck felt so rusty and creaky. Her wings, despite the sheer amount of work put on them, actually felt fine.

"Mornin'." Fluttershy turned her head to the side and looked down, over the side of the bed. Twilight looked back up at her, a blanket laid on the ground as did a pillow. "You look lively, feel alright?" Twilight stood with a smile, but Fluttershy's trained eyes noticed she favored her left side. Probably the side she slept on the floor.

"Oh Twilight, why did you spend the night on the floor?" Fluttershy asked with a small sigh, still very much concerned for the pony. Three days with horn pains, one fight night of crazy, and this time she chose her own suffering. She really just needed to lay down of her own choosing and relax.

"You fell asleep while comforting me." Twilight admitted with a small, sheepish smile. "I wasn't sleepy so I got to the floor and noticed they had extra blankets and a pillow underneath along with this." Twilight telekinetically lifted a book into view, simply titled as: 'Cuts, Pains, and Sores: Household Remedies to Household Pains.' "I guess I just spent the whole night reading. I've never really looked at medical books before, they're quite fascinating! I know so much more about Pony anatomy and medical care." She smiled.

Twilight always did love to learn new things. It was a good thing she lived in a library, otherwise she would just visit every day. And live there anyways. Fluttershy smiled softly. "I'm very happy for you Twilight. But really, it's no big deal, you can go home if you-" Twilight stomped a hoof sharply on the tile floor.

"No." Her voice was firm and her stare hard as she spoke, and then she softened. "I need to make up for everything that went wrong, for everything I did. I'm going to start by making you more comfortable." Fluttershy hid her nose under the sheets again while Twilight went to the bathroom and came back with several towels wrapped around something. Twilight pressed the cold packs and gently tied them around the sore area's of Fluttershy's body, and smiled at her handiwork. "How do you feel?"

Fluttershy shifted, thought for a moment, and smiled. "Good, thank you." Twilight smiled hugely as the door opened down the room. The two girls looked as Spike walked inside, carrying a big plate of food above his head. "Good morning Twilight! I brought you something to eat. Hi Fluttershy." Spike smiled at the two girls as he set the plate of pancakes and grilled asparagus on the nightstand.

"Hi Spike! Wow, this looks amazing, I wish I'd been in bed for this…" Twilight sniffed the meal, then floated it to set it on the bed by Fluttershy.

"Good morning Spike. I'd, uh, be a little louder but-"

"I understand Fluttershy." He hopped on top of the bed, and watched as Twilight carefully cut the food with a knife and fork, using her hooves to work through the pastries. She took a small section and held it to Fluttershy's mouth.

Fluttershy, despite her grace and elegance, couldn't stop herself from licking her lips. "I shouldn't Twilight… He made it for you…" She was met with a rough stare, and meekly she opened her mouth and took a bite, then whimpered at the taste. "Oh this is so good Spike! Fantastic even. " Spike smiled in triumph as Twilight ate a bite as well, and took turns presenting it to Fluttershy, then to herself.

"That's why he's my number one assistant. He can do anything." Spike hid a blush as the two girls ate breakfast. While Twilight ate, she wondered if Spike knew what had happened, if he'd reported it to Celestia, if he thought differently of her. She watched him carefully as she ate, but Spike seemed no different. When they finished, Twilight put the dish aside and used a towel to clean any mess off herself or Fluttershy.

"Oh, that reminds me." Spike turned to the unicorn. "Rarity stopped me on the way here. She was wondering if you knew anything about cleaning ash off a doorl." Twilight froze, and before either of them could ask, slipped into the bathroom. "Huh, you think she's-" He stopped when he faced Fluttershy. No mere mortal could face The Stare.

"You are not to make light of Miss Sparkle's condition Spike." She told him, still sounding deathly serious in a pained whisper.

"Alright alright!" Spike held up his little hands. "It's not like I'm trying to be mean, it's just…"

"It is a big deal." Twilight said, passing by, lifting up Spike by his neck using her teeth and set him by her side. She had a very passive look as she faced Fluttershy. "I'm going to be back as soon as I'm done helping Rarity. Actually, I'll visit Zecora and get some herbs to help you first, then I'll be back. Don't worry." Twilight took a step towards the door.

"Twilight, wait, will you come here?" Fluttershy asked, tugging the blanket up to her chin, suddenly shy. Her little heart was beating as Twilight approached slowly. "Look Twilight, what you did yesterday… It wasn't you, but you had the right intentions. Protecting yourself and me. Whatever that part of you was, it went overboard, but you were the one that saved us both. Thank you." Fluttershy leaned in, and planted the lightest kiss on Twilight's cheek, causing the Unicorn to leap back in mild surprise. The two stared at the other, Twilight with wide eyes and Fluttershy with happy ones, and the Unicorn slowly smiled.

"Okay. But I'm still coming back. I promise." Twilight smiled softly. Fluttershy nodded, but the unicorn leaned in. "I mean it. I'm gonna come back and make you nice and comfortable. I-" She paused, and to Spike's and Fluttershy's confusion, let out an exasperated sigh, "I Pinkie Pie Swear."

---

Twilight rubbed her sore eye through the lid as Spike escorted her to the boutique. She couldn't tell because of her eye, but Spike could see the looks in everyone else's eyes. Twilight scared them. Twilight was a stranger. Twilight was too dangerous. Only the ones that genuinely knew who she was offered sympathetic looks, and the only ones that were spared a glare from Spike.

How couldn't he have heard about what happened last night? The deaths, the changes, the terror Twilight had become, but as far as Spike saw, she was the same old Pony, just with a big freaking horn now. Having been raised by the unicorn, he knew better. Whatever had happened, Twilight had a good reason, and if she wasn't in control, she wasn't to blame for her actions. He hung back a bit and rubbed Twilight's side. The unicorn gently hit his tail with a sweep of her own in kind. As they neared the boutique, she began to slow. Spike kept pace, and Twilight turned to look at him with a slightly worried face. He knew her thoughts, he pet her side. "You're the same old Twilight, I don't think you're bad in any way. Now c'mon, let's go look at the door."

On the door of the boutique was another painful reminder of the morning before. The pony had been thrown into the wall, and vaporized, leaving a shadow of his body slumped against the front door. The white unicorn was already standing there, staring at it closely.

Rarity was in a conundrum. Not about the door, it needed to be washed of course, but ever since she'd spied it this morning during her list of chores she couldn't help but start thinking about Twilight. A lot of rumors were flying around town and somebody had even protested her staying in the same hospital as Fluttershy, but the doctor was adamant to keep the two together. She had no doubt it was a good idea, Fluttershy would help Twilight when she woke up, and knowing Twilight she wouldn't leave Fluttershy's-

"Morning Rarity." Spike called, smiling hugely as he approached. "I enlisted some help in cleaning your door!" He smiled as Rarity turned to look to Twilight. Twilight stood tense, not sure what to do under Rarity's stare. As plain and unassuming as it was.

Rarity rubbed her chin with her hoof as she stared at Twilight. "Shouldn't you be with Fluttershy? I figured you'd be spending every waking moment by the poor dear's side." Rarity felt her stomach pinch at the look on Twilight's face. "N-not that you don't have a good reason to be here I'm sure. Helping with the door, right?"

Twilight nodded slowly. "I also wanted to say I'm sorry about what happened. If I was just not stupid and took control-"

"Not another word Twilight Sparkle. It wasn't you who ruined my door, it was that, how did Rainbow Dash put it so crudely? Yes, that b-word with the fancy lightning. From everything I've heard, your body was there, not the true you." Rarity turned back to the door in consideration while Twilight hung her head.

"See Twilight? Your friends don't think you're a bad person. Everything that happened wasn't your fault. Nobody will ever say otherwise." Spike smiled, but it was mystified at Twilight's continued frown. "C'mon Twilight, what's the problem here? You can tell your number one assistant."

"I feel like I'm responsible…" Twilight admitted quietly. Spike just grew more mystified. "It feels good that everybody trusts me but after all that happened I… I could have stopped it. If I stopped scaring myself and took a step forward. If I just tried…"

"Maybe so." Spike admitted with a shrug. "But it's not like we'll know unless it happens again, and I know pretty well that the moment you get to the library you'll do everything you can to research a way into controlling it. Face it Twilight, I know you in and out, you get cranky when something's out of order. Now c'mon, go help her clean that door so we can get to Zecora's."

Twilight hung her head and approached the door, while Rarity stared even more closely at the stain. "You, um, understand that I'm hesitant to clean it myself. Do you have any suggestions? Perhaps a hose from a distance? Splash some soap on it?"

"Don't worry Rarity, I'll get it." Twilight took the nearby sponge in hoof and dipped it in the buckets of water and soap and began to clean slowly, wiping away the pains of yesterday with each stroke.

"What are you doing darling!" Rarity demanded, pushing her leg down with an undignified snort. "Using your bare hooves to clean such a…" She looked to the stain and bowed her head in slight apology. "Don't you think you should use your magic?"

Twilight bit her lip as she pulled her leg away and shook her head. "No, Rarity. I'm not comfortable using magic right now. I'd rather do this manually." She made a move to clean again, but Rarity stopped her again.

Rarity stood there, gave a small, sad smile, and nodded. "I understand. But trust your magic Twilight, it is yours to control after all." Twilight gave a small sigh and kept cleaning. Rarity joined in a moment later, using her own magic to wash the door down. There was not a single comforting thing about the whole ordeal.

---

The news of the attack had sent the Canterlot castle into full red alert mode. An attack on a royal carriage was unheard of. Even bandits dared not disturb the guards no matter how many there were, and such crimes were quickly and easily brought to justice. Celestia did not use her magic to invade the privacy of others unless there was a sufficiently inexcusable crime.

Celestia knew she could not stand idly by, especially since two of her guards had gotten hurt in the process, and worse, their targets were the passengers. She'd spent hours in a trance, guards in every corner of the room to watch the Princess while she was unable to watch herself, and more than one of them was nervous staring at her. Normally she could identify the attackers and have them arrested in an instant, but she was spending far too long in her trance.

There was a knock on the door, and it was opened so three guards could enter, one in the lead, and one pushing the other on a gurney. Celestia drew herself out of her trance to watch the guards approach. The guards were blessed, many assumed, to see Celestia at all times. In public, in private, and in a way, they were right. They saw the Princess at all times, when she was happy, and especially when she was sad. Many commoners did not understand what she endured, but the guards did. The guards performed their duties and acted as a buffer between her and the world around her that, despite her very best, did not pacify itself and leave her subjects unharmed. If worst came to worst, they were there to share in her private moments of gloom, and do whatever she asked to ease the pains.

Since Luna had come, Celestia had been happier, having less moments to simply lay down in silence and consider the world outside the castle, as the two preferred to sit and discuss it. They acted as friends, they acted as advisors, and they acted as comfort. The guards were happy to see the Princess in brighter spirits, but today they knew they'd be hard to come by. Nobody knew that better than the three guards who just entered.

"We come baring new information regarding the attack on Twilight Sparkle and Fluttershy." The lead announced, turning his head to the bed-ridden male who squirmed his way into a sitting position.

"You could not have better time. I regret to inform everyone that, despite my best efforts, I can't seem to find the attackers by any magical means." Her voice was shy, and very sorry. The guard waved it away, and sat before Celestia as he cleared his throat.

"I think I may be able to offer some insight into why, ma'am. We've been doing extensive work on the location of the attackers ourselves but have turned up short, until he woke up." He turned his head to the pony in the cot, who had finally gotten comfortable sitting. Celestia's ears flicked forward, and she watched the man carefully.

"…" He stared at the Princess with understanding eyes, and he finally spoke. "Princess, what I'm about to tell you is going to be hard to hear. When I'd fallen and hit the tree I was given the perfect view of everything that went on beneath the clouds. I cannot tell you all of the details, but I'll do my best to explain what I saw." Now every guard in attendance was listening in, and the utter silence of the statement caused the guard to squirm again. "If I am correct Princess Celestia, your sight requires a person as the focus. As in when you use it to find somebody, that person has to exist?"

"Correct." The Princess said immediately, now watching the guard suspiciously. Something didn't seem right with his tone. He knew of terrible things.

"Well, as far as I can tell, the reason you've turned up short is no fault of your own. The people you were trying to find, the attackers…" He worked his jaw slowly. "After miss Sparkle's work, I can safely say there was no possible way there would be any bodies left."

His words hung in the air, which had turned a few degrees colder as Celestia's surprise grew palpable. "Perhaps…" She started, breaking the silence mercifully as she took a few steps closer to the guard. "Perhaps if you could explain more, sir?" The guard nodded his head quietly, and slowly closed his eyes in thought.

"When I'd landed in the tree, I was dazed for several moments, but when I came to I could see Miss Sparkle's Pegasus friend carrying her up to the clouds. What had brought me to was a flash of lightning, much like the one that had grounded me. The two broke through the cloudline and the attackers followed. I couldn't see anything then, but there was a lot of thunder and a lot of flashes. I don't know who was attacking, but I remember seeing the two girls fall. Their attackers followed, and Miss Sparkle had landed on a cloud. Her friend tried to join her, but was driven off and chased back to Ponyville by one of the attackers. The rest of the attackers attempted multiple times to secure Miss Sparkle." The guards and the Princess leaned forward for more information. The guard collected his thoughts, and finally spoke. "I don't want to accuse you of anything, Princess Celestia, but it had always been my understanding that the school does not teach spells made solely to harm others. Miss Sparkle's lightning spell was… Unmatched." The Princess' wings stretched their full length as agitation entered her limbs, forcing her to pace back and forth. "And unfortunately, equally non-survivable. The attackers…" The guard grimly felt his face sink. They were hardened, all hardened, but death not brought on by the years was unusual, and disgusting. "I can safely say you can't find them because there's nothing of them left. What wasn't immediately disintegrated was burned away."

The Princess stopped in front of her throne, staring straight at the sun just above where she would sit, the representation of who she was and what she did, her significance to the world and her care, the warmth she felt for it and chose to gave it, and she felt like ice. "Think back. Carefully." She chose her words wisely. "You're sure this wasn't a dream brought on by the attack?" Her tone her dropped very low.

The guard gulped visibly from the accusation in Celestia's voice. It was a tough thing to accuse the Princess' beloved student of something so drastic as murder. "Princess Celestia, I mean you nor your student any disrespect. I know I was awake for that full thing. For her part, when Rainbow Dash showed up, she no longer attacked. The only ponies she…" He had to be careful with this. He didn't want to wound the Princess any further. "Fought off were her attackers. I've heard she and her friend are both safe in Ponyville."

"I know." The Princess turned back to the sun insignia above her throne. "Take him back to the hospital. And leave the room. All of you. I have much to think about." They complied, slowly, one by one exiting the room. The Princess hadn't asked for her guards to leave in many many years. They hoped, for Princess Celestia's sake, Twilight Sparkle had good reasons.

---

"Well, all washed up." Rarity stared at the freshly washed door with Twilight, who set the sponges to the side. The door stood fine, not a thing wrong with it, yet it still gave them both an uneasy feeling. Especially since the sponges sat there, blackened with ash. "What do you suppose we do with those?" She asked, pointing to the items.

"I was thinking of that…" Twilight sighed softly, apparently not wanting to think about it anymore. "I want to bury them. Give that guy a grave or something. It's the least I can do." She felt a leg around her shoulders, and found Rarity smiling at her.

"One make-up at a time then. Do whatever you feel you need to do Twilight Sparkle, but if I may give you some advice…" She leaned in and whispered to her, "Avoid Rainbow Dash for today. I don't believe she's given up on you yet but she's going to demand answers and explanations. You know how she gets if anything happens to Fluttershy." Twilight gave a slow nod.

"I wouldn't know what to tell her anyways. I couldn't control myself. It's like I was having thoughts that weren't mine either. Ones that just didn't care." Rarity nodded slowly.

"In time, you'll find the answers. For now, we just have to pick up after ourselves and look for them." Rarity noticed Twilight's little smile, and leaned down to get a better look, prompting Twilight to turn away from her in embarrassment.

"Where do you find this advice, Rarity? You don't seem like the sort who'd know." Twilight quickly added, "No offense."

"Comes with being an older sister. Sweetie Belle has so many questions and troubles, I was bound to have some good advice to pass around. It helps she can't cook to save her life, and the only thing Scootaloo seems to get attracted to is food." Twilight gave her a questioning look, and Rarity chortled. "Oh listen to me mouth off. Don't let me hold you up, and I'll help you dig the grave for the, uh, sponges. Just come by when you need me." Twilight nodded. She felt a little better now that it was done and she'd had a talk. She would definitely come get Rarity if she meant it.

As she nudged Spike to get him to follow, Rarity spoke up again. "Oh, uh, Twilight? I don't mean to steal away your friends but I have a big project I need to work on tonight and I need somebody to keep an eye on Sweetie Belle while I work. I was wondering if I could borrow Spike?"

Twilight looked down to the dragon, who looked back up to Twilight with big, round pleading eyes, and the unicorn sighed in amusement. "Alright Rarity. But just to let you know I will be going to Zecora's before I go see Fluttershy again. I should be with her all night." Rarity nodded at that and waved her off as Spike ran to join his crush.

Twilight wished she hadn't allowed it as she walked towards the Everfree Forest. With Spike there, she was always sure she had somebody to watch her back, somebody she could trust, but without him, as she walked through the town full of people now doing their best to avoid her, she felt more isolated than ever before. She'd gotten so used to the warmth of the town and friendship, hearing all the talking turn to whispers, the ponies avoiding her gaze… She wasn't welcome at her own home anymore.

Leaving the town had almost been a relief since she no longer had to see the accusing looks. Her tail even perked up a little as she stepped into the forest. It meant she was a step closer to getting to Zecora and getting some remedies for Fluttershy, and helping her, and making up for-

"Yo, Twilight!" Twilight paused and turned, staring into the sky and cringing as she saw the rainbow. Rainbow Dash slowed to a stop and landed next to the unicorn, and gave her a curious look. "What are you going into the forest for? I've been looking out all day to see when you'd finally take a step out of the hospital, grab a nap, and now you're going into the forest?"

Twilight chuckled nervously, and gave a slow nod, remembering Rarity's advice. Just don't talk about what had happened. "Well, yeah, I was going to see Zecora and see if she had any herbs or remedies to help with Fluttershy's aches."

"Oh, right." Dash's eyes narrowed and Twilight began to walk, Rainbow Dash keeping up, ahead of her in fact as she looked back at her. "I've been wanting to ask you…"

'Oh no…' Twilight didn't want to answer any questions she didn't have the answer to herself. Or answer ones she'd already answered. "Rainbow Dash." She interrupted quickly. "Can we not talk about what happened? I kind of want to just move on and help everyone. Make up for what I did." She walked past the Pegasus, who stopped in her tracks, then sprang ahead of Twilight.

"No way, I have a lot of questions to ask you about what the hay happened! You can't just walk away and say no! This is serious stuff!" She tossed her body in front of Twilight, and to her surprise, took an incredibly aggressive stance, one that spoke 'one more step and you're going to the ground'. She wanted to be mad about this, to be absolutely furious that Dash didn't understand, but then it occurred to her that Dash wasn't afraid of her. That meant more to her right now than Dash's stubbornness.

Still, she wasn't in a talking mood. "No, Dash, I want to hurry back. I've left Fluttershy alone for too long." She tried to walk around the Pegasus, but Dash had charged her, knocking her to the ground, standing over her so Twilight couldn't get away.

"Look Twilight, I'm not too big on hurting my friends but I'm not letting you move until you start talking and answering. This is a huge deal, we can't just ignore it." The Pegasus stiffened her legs as Twilight began to squirm, and stared up at Dash with a mixture of shock and angered annoyance.

"Well I don't want to talk about it right now! I've been thinking about it constantly day in and day out, I dreamed about it all yesterday and watched myself kill them again and again without having the ability to care! I! Don't! Want! To! Talk!" She tossed herself and thrashed, but Rainbow Dash held her still between her legs and glared down into her eyes.

"I'm not talking about the deaths! If you'd sit down and think for a moment you'd realize there's something deeper going on. The others didn't want to talk to you about it yet but I just know if we don't something bad will happen soon and there won't be any answers!" The Pegasus stomped the ground near Twilight's neck, not to intimidate but to show her frustration. It served both purposes.

"Well I don't know what to tell you! You haven't asked me anything and won't let me up!" Twilight's horn glowed for just a moment, considering pushing Dash off of her, but the blue Pegasus shrieked and tossed herself away at the sight of the glow, taking an even more aggressive stance when Twilight sat up. "Dash-!" She gasped at the look in her eyes. "I- I didn't mean to, I was just going to push-"

"How hard!" Dash shouted, taking an uneasy step back. "Fluttershy told us you got a whole lot more magic, how do I know you can control it? How do I know it was just a little 'push'?"

Twilight quivered as she got to her hooves, "Because that's all it was meant to be! I know I can do my magic without going overboard, I already did it in Canterlot. Dash you have to believe me, I don't intent to hurt anypony every again with my magic." She watched as the Pegasus slowly lifted from her crouched pounce, but her face never wavered.

"Fine." Dash softened her muscles and stood still, watching Twilight's every move. "Who the hay were those guys attacking you?"

---

A dragon in the sky was a rare and terrifying sight. Dragons rarely flew by day, and even if they were going anywhere at all, it wouldn't be far from their dens. If they were flying, they were searching for new dens, or perhaps a mate, both which could have destructive repercussions on the surrounding environment. But more than that, a dragon was not a social creature except with its mate and the occasional familial visit, and always flew alone.

"The Trell are getting antsy, she's near." Rukafelth turned his head to the side, his Sky-Tracer barely paying attention to the direction of his mount as the dragon rocked back and forth in the air, trying to dislodge the spurs in its neck as he stared into his pack. "What's our direction, Captain?"

The Juggernaut calmly stroked the side of his powerful companion's neck before he stood, turning to his force of some twenty-three men and their gently gliding beasts, and made a wave for their attention. "The three of you whom I've entrusted in the capture are to take the Trell-bag and let it guide you to her. The rest of you will come with me to our station. Laputa will wait no longer." He called, in his own throat, barely above his normal speaking voice, but to the riders he boomed with authority and power.

"Aye!" Three riders pulled up underneath the Sky-Tracer, riding smaller dragons that barely qualified as drakes themselves, but none-the-less served their purpose incredibly well. The Tracer closed the pack he'd been staring into and dropped it below into the open hooves of the lead Catcher. The three riders fell into seeking formation, dropping from the group of twenty-four as Rukafelth lead his squad far to the south.

---

"I have no idea Dash." She stared down at her hooves quietly, shuffling with agitation she had only just begun to experience. It was odd, she did not feel annoyed at Rainbow Dash, yet some sense of energy entered her, making her tremble. "We thought they were bandits until that one began to speak to me."

"Bandits who summon lightning?" Dash asked dryly, making Twilight wince.

"I honestly have no idea Dash, I've been in Canterlot nearly my whole life studying magic. If I'd known there was such a thing as a Pegasus that could command lightning, I'd have heard about it." Dash began to pace now, also agitated.

"Well I'd have too. Lightning's no easy thing to deal with, and making it without touching the clouds? Impossible without magic. What if they were just unicorns with that wing spell?" But Twilight was shaking her head.

"None of them had horns from what I saw, and you could tell if they started to glow. I saw them seem to summon it using their wings."

"Wings aren't magical, they're all natural." Dash spread her own pair, flapping lightly, not lifting off the ground, just doing so for show. "What about Pegasi with enchanted wings?" But again, Twilight was shaking her head.

"No glow." Dash worked her jaw in a circle as she thought about it, then stomped with a tiny huff.

"Well what the heck is it then? You don't just summon lightning! And that reminds me, that guy yelling at you, calling you false and lies, he certainly seemed to know you." She paused, then glared. "Yeah, that's why I asked you that, he knew you pretty well to call you a liar!"

Twilight twitched, but shook her head. "No no no no, I didn't know him, I knew nothing about what he was talking about. I guess he was talking about my horn or my increase in magic, but, I just thought he was crazy. Just babbling about things…"

"I don't know about that, he seemed pretty sure of himself. There's something about your horn, Twilight." Dash stuck her face in front of Twilight's, and glared. "And I don't like it, and I want it gone. It makes you weird and it caused bad ponies to attack you and Fluttershy. Get. Rid of it." She articulated, making Twilight glare back.

"If I could get rid of my new horn, don't you think I would have? It's caused me nothing but trouble for four days straight, and there's no way I'd get rid of my ability to use magic. Magic is my life! It's what I was meant to do, I'm not going to just go cut the entire thing off!"

"Not even if it keeps hurting Fluttershy? Or yourself? What happens if Pinkie Pie, or me, or Applejack, or Rarity gets caught up in it? You're just going to keep it around even if it's dangerous?"

"We don't KNOW if it's what's dangerous!" Twilight shouted. Normally there'd be a flock of birds flying in fear of the sudden outburst, but neither girl noticed it was too quiet. "It could just be that extra magic and I have no idea how to get rid of it, and I'm not about to chop my horn off just to make sure! This sort of thing requires study, testing, and more than anything, PATIENCE!"

"And look where study, testing, and PATIENCE got us! It got Fluttershy hospitalized!"

"That was because we didn't know what was going on! As soon as I figure out with all the PATIENT STUDYING I'll be doing, it will never happen again, I'll even siphon out all that extra magic if it means safety, but I will not remove my horn!"

"It's just a dumb horn Twilight! Get it off and we won't have any more freaks attacking ponies who matter!"

Twilight narrowed her eyes to match Dash's, and they stared at each other for the longest time. "Only if you remove your wings." She spoke plainly. Rainbow Dash leapt back, wings extended, and wrapped around herself.

"No way! No way in heck! These are way too important to me Twilight! You don't just get rid of somebody's wings! They're my life! I can't live without th-" She froze in mid-sentence and stared at Twilight. Then her horn. She then looked back at her wings and flapped them. Magic was Twilight's life. Flying was hers. If she lost her own wings, she didn't think there'd be anything left. What else was there to do for her? Sure she was athletic but she was meant to be a Pegasus, meant to fly.

She looked to Twilight, who was staring at the ground with a very pained look on her face. Twilight spent her life studying and practicing magic. Sure she'd make a great secretary, perhaps even a good mayor, but that didn't interest her. Dash looked at her wings and then to Twilight's horn.

She approached, slowly, and lifted Twilight's chin with her hoof, and did her best to look as sorry as possible. "Twilight, I didn't mean it. I-… I was scared and not thinking. Twilight, I'm so-" The world turned into a blur as something grabbed her, and she was crushed against Twilight. Something tough and knotted pressed against her side, and she felt the ground leave them.

When she opened her eyes, she could see the sky through a criss-crossed pattern of rope, her snout stuck through one of the square holes. Up above them, she saw a masked pony in dark armor pulling them up while the dragon he rode turned, bringing them south.

Each tug of the rope sent Twilight screaming into her ear as they swayed high above the ground. Rainbow Dash stared at the masked Pony, the mask being solid white with red war stripes drawn from the crown to the tip of the nose, and tried to shout over Twilight, over the roaring wind. "Whoever you are you'd better let us go right now! You're with those bandits aren't yo-" she coughed as she was smacked against the side of the small dragon, and finally the Rider had them next to him. Dash couldn't fit her hoof through the net hole, but at least her snout could fit. She tried to clamp onto his tail hair, but he twisted, grabbing something from a bag. He pulled out what looked like a shadow with tiny red eyes and teeth, and tossed it onto them.

Dash nipped at the thing, but it didn't seem to notice as black tendrils slid around her neck. Dash bucked and kicked as much as she could but her movement was heavily restricted, and with a pained snort felt it begin to squeeze. She tried to gasp for breath, but it squeezed harder and tighter, each breath causing it to squeeze more until she couldn't breath at all. Panic began to set in and she started to thrash as she choked, but the creature was relentlessly powerful in her bound state. Tears stung her eyes and her lungs burned with need for air as the little black creature slowly unwrapped one tendril, and grabbed Twilight's throat, causing her scream to waver. As Dash's vision began to tunnel she realized this wasn't something she could win or fight. For a moment she felt she was going to die.

The last thing she heard before losing consciousness was Twilight's screams choke out. The Rider, grunting with relief at the silence, hitched the two girls to the dragon's wing joints behind him.

---

Air.

She stared down her chest at her body, feeling weak and defeated. She heard the faint crackle of fire from the torches around her, and she shifted to stare around the room. It was large, and in each corner were… Instruments. A large metallic coffin filled with spikes, a table with chains and wheels and ropes to hold and stretch the limbs, whips held by hooks on the walls, and chain manacles along each wall. Dash knew fear from angering a dragon, and she knew terror from seeing Nightmare Moon, but never had the feelings sapped her strength and will. Maybe it was the room, maybe it was having been strangled.

She shook her hoof, and felt resistance. Looking up, she saw she was in one of the manacle sets. No, it was her freedom. They'd taken her freedom. She couldn't move, she could only shake around a bit. She spread her wings and flapped, rising upwards, and outwards, but the only thing that gave her a glimpse of was Twilight's fate. She fell, smacking against the wall with a pained grunt as she stared into the middle of the room, almost hidden from the lack of light provided by the small torches, but there she was.

Twilight was laying on a table similar to the rack, but there were only manacles wrapped around her hooves rather than ropes around wheels. She looked helpless on her back. Dash could hardly bare to look at how weak Twilight seemed. They'd been arguing earlier, and as she hung there it just felt…

Pointless.

Where had it gotten them? What had they discovered? That ponies flying on dragons wanted them apparently. Part of her knew they had to escape, but in her weakness, in her lack of movement, another part was just defeated. The scared, lonely, afraid to lose part that made her the quivering wreck during the Fliers' Competition. "No…" She whispered to herself. She couldn't accept defeat. Applejack would never accept defeat, and Applejack was the only person worthy enough to be called a challenge.

She lifted one of her back legs back, and slapped it against the stone wall behind her, making a clapping sound. "Twilight!" She hissed. The figure began to stir, and slowly the unicorn's eyes opened. They widened, and she took a deep breath, then let it out slowly in relief. Dash sighed with her. "Up here Twilight!"

The unicorn turned her head and looked, and in an instant shook, trying to roll over, but getting caught. "Rainbow Dash!" She jerked again, and the chains grew taut, "Ow! Rainbow Dash, are you okay? Where are we?" She called. The pony on the wall glanced around slowly, then shook her head.

"I'm not sure Twilight. Looks like a…" She looked around at all the instruments and thought back to some old shows. "A torture chamber?" She finally said. Then it hit her. It must have hit Twilight too, because now she was flailing violently, her horn glowing as she tried to blast off the manacles.

"Th-they're resistant! I can't get them off! Rainbow Dash you have to escape!" Twilight turned her neck and faced the Pegasus, who flinched as the horn flared with light, and shot a manacle. No luck. "What… What's going on here!"

"Quit panicking Twilight! Just… Let's sit and think for a moment, okay? You're a smart pony, you can do this!" Dash urged. Twilight stopped shaking around so much, but she could still hear her whimpering. Dash wanted to let out a good cry right now, but she was strong, she had to be strong. The strong didn't cry.

She just needed to calm down and think. That was all. She wasn't dumb, if she tried she bet she could escape this thing a hundred times in the next minute. She just had to be smart about it, like Twilight was being, meditating herself. Her horn began to glow and sparkle, and for a brief moment, Dash felt hopeful.

All too brief.

A heavy wooden door opened, and Rainbow Dash watched as six heavily armored ponies stepped inside, each wielding a vicious spike on their helmets and the front and back of their hoof-covers had small, but sharp spikes for trampling. The six ponies surrounded Twilight, who opened her eyes from the noise and looked around slowly. 'Don't panic Twilight, you were about to cast a spell, you can do it if you don't panic. I don't care if these ones die as long as we can be free!' She thought out loud. She grit her teeth in fear as Twilight began to scream again.

"Silence her!" A unicorn entered the room, covered in fine robes and looking at the screaming pony with utter contempt. He glanced to one of the guards, who pulled out a funnel from a bag she'd been carrying, and then a large glass bottle of something clear. The guard hovered the glass over Twilight's gut, and Dash felt herself kicking the wall, trying to get near and smash the guard out of the way, but she'd already dropped the bottle.

Twilight let out a painful hack and lay still, tears pooling at her eyes as the guard took the bottle and began to open it. "Leave her alone!" Dash shouted from the wall, lunging forward, pulling the manacles, causing them to cut deep into her legs but she ignored it. "She's just an innocent girl! Leave Twilight alone! Leave her alone or I'll-" They ignored her as two of the soldiers pried open Twilight's mouth and jaw, and pushed the funnel into her mouth.

Dash figured it out all too late as the guard with the glass lifted the bottle and began to pour it into Twilight's mouth. The unicorn's weeping eyes bulged, and she gagged as the liquid flowed inside. 'Don't swallow it don't swallow it don't swallow it don't swallow it for the love of Celestia Twilight don't swallow it!' Her neck bobbed, and Dash screamed in fury as she kicked the wall and lunged again. They continued to pay her no attention as they poured the entire bottle's contents into Twilight's mouth.

The unicorn began to kick and squirm but was quickly held still by the other guards, and she was forced to swallow what was left. She let out a cough, coughing louder and louder, kicked and twisting her head around, but slowly she began to stop. Rainbow Dash stared for the longest time as her friend began to go still, the only indication she was alive was her slowly rising and falling chest. "No!" She shouted, feeling fur rub away as she pushed out again. "No you leave her alone! You sick monsters leave Twilight alone! She did nothing! The horn's not her fault! Get away from her she's-" hooves collided with her stomach, and she rose, her eyes wide with pain. The guard set his back legs down and nodded to the Unicorn.

Dash watched in wheezing silence as the Unicorn took out what looked like a series of small rings of various sizes and began to slide them down Twilight's horn. Each locked into place at a certain ways down Twilight's horn, and when the forth was placed the Unicorn went digging for something else. He pulled out a small quill and glowing ink, and using both began to write on each ring. Twilight laid still, her eyes half lidded and mouth partially open.

The Unicorn put his things away and nodded to the guards, who unshackled Twilight. One shoved her roughly off the table, near Dash's hanging legs, and she weakly pushed forward again, wanting to get to her limp friend. She drew blood, and the guards put the pony on a stretcher and hauled her off. "Well, that's one. Suppose this one will fight?" One of the guards asked, staring up at Rainbow Dash.

"Nah." A second turned and reared her back legs, and Dash began to shout until they drove into her stomach, causing her to hack up something vile into her mouth. She felt limp as they unshackled her and laid her on the table Twilight had just been on, still warm. They chained her hooves down, and the Unicorn gave orders Dash didn't hear. Two of them stood by her sides, each grabbing a wing she tried to weakly pull in, and pulled them out and laid them flat. "Quit moving Blue, or we'll start using nails to keep you still." The kicker threatened, making Dash stop twitching her wings. The unicorn dug into his bag and held something in his mouth as he walked by.

Scissors.

Rainbow Dash tried to kick, but only managed to weakly lift her leg and let it fall, the pain from her stomach running all over her body as the Unicorn carefully had one wing lifted, and starting at the edges of her beautiful blue wings, began to clip.

---

They'd hauled her forcibly down long stone passageways, brightly lit by large torches and hanging lanterns, revealing rows of solid wood doors. Each hallway seemed long and wide, and as she turned her head slowly to watch, she only apathetically noted that the place was fairly empty. Every now and then a guard or two, but for the most part the place was dead silent, and very still.

They dragged her across an atrium, and she noticed a pony standing with two others, with a white mask on, with two red lines down his face. The masked pony waved cheekily and turned back to his companions when Dash was dragged down another hallway. Her limbs her, her stomach was churning with pain, and she held back tears when she touched upon the burning sensation in her wings. Everything about her hurt, but more than anything her ego, her feelings, and her sense of self. Meekly she flapped the ragged things behind her, loosening a few feathers from the tips that hadn't been cut out, but a kick to her side told her to stop. She did.

They dragged her down a spiraling staircase, letting her bump painfully against each stair until they reached the bottom, where they dragged her across a floor with small piles of wet hay laying around. She turned her head to the left, and saw this was a prison. Two cells stood side-by-side. The one nearest to the door had a purple figure lying down in it. Rainbow Dash was thrown unmercifully into the one with no inhabitants, and the sliding, barred door was slammed shut.

She stood weakly as the guards walked out of the room and up the stairs, shutting the door behind them, leaving Dash to herself. There was water all over the floor, dripping from a few cracks in the windowless wall. It soiled the hay on the floor, making it soft, tasteless, disgusting. Gruel and floor water. In a far corner was an old, molded mattress, and across from it was a hole in the ground. She didn't need three guesses to figure out what it was for, judging by the smell.

She sat on the floor, pushing herself up on her front legs to stare across the far wall where there was a single torch. Here she was, the great Rainbow Dash, in a jail cell, weakened by beatings, wings clipped to an unusable state. The incident had been petrifying. The Unicorn didn't even try to exercise whatever medical professionalism he may have had, simply clipping away and magically tugging out the wonky feathers. It had stung, and she had finally started screaming since her capture. The one Pegasus guard who had been in attendance had to even look away.

You do not take away a Pegasus' wings.

A small thought occurred to her, and an argument that felt like so long ago sprang to mind. 'Only if you remove your wings.' Had they taken her horn? That's what they wanted, right? The horn? Rainbow Dash felt the pity for herself turn to concern for Twilight. Whatever they had fed her made Dash's gut wrench just thinking about it. She pushed her snout through the bars.

"Twilight?" She whispered, wincing at the pain and softness of her voice. "Twilight are you there? C'mon Twilight, speak to me…" She trailed off on the last word. She heard the slightest sound of straw shifting, and nothing else. Twilight wasn't with her.

She began to scream again.

Her voice grew ragged as she screamed and shouted, stomping her hooves against the ground, kicking the stone walls, throwing herself against the door until she bruised. The place was solid, even if she was at full strength her legs were just muscle and bone, the walls were all stone and the bars were metal. She kicked and screamed until every part of her hurt more and more, and only stopped when she couldn't scream anymore and couldn't kick anymore. She fell on her side near a wall, and shut her eyes. Time passed easily on the outside, and she slept until the sun fell and the moon rose. Restless, pained, and crying.

---

Rarity hated to admit it, but Fluttershy pulled off bandages very well. With her naturally soft personality and beautiful looks and face, the bandages around her head and chest looked good. The other citizens seemed to think so, extending offerings of help to the girl slowly padding up the street, at a much more precise pace.

"Should you be walking?" Rarity asked with worry, walking out of the boutique to greet the Pegasus in the middle of the street. "Really darling, you'll get those fresh bandages grungy and dirty! And there's no need to strain that graceful walk of yours. You're going to hurt yourself." Rarity fussed, stepping around Fluttershy who lightly turned her head to keep track of the fashionista.

"I'll be okay as long as I don't rush. The Nurse said I just need to avoid any strenuous activity for several days. With some care I may be able to move sooner." She smiled a little, and Rarity returned it.

"Well, if care will help, why not stay in the hospital? Nurse Redheart is a fantastic caretaker. When I cramped my hoof from sewing she took oh so much care to keep my pedicure perfect while examining and treating it."

"Well, that's just the thing, see, I want to be cared for but, see, Twilight promised me she'd help." Her smile disappeared as she thought. "She promised she'd be back from Zecora's soon and she never takes long. She should have been back hours ago."

Rarity rubbed her chin as she thought about it. She did recall Twilight saying she'd spend the night with the soft pony. "Twilight isn't the one to skip out on a promised engagement. Wherever could she be then?" Rarity didn't want to consider Twilight skipping out on purpose but it was there. She figured she must have had a good reason, she really did care about her friends. After all, it's what let her break away from the angry self.

"Well, I was thinking, maybe we could get Rainbow Dash to go to Zecora's and ask for us? I hope she didn't run into another cockatrice." Fluttershy slowly turned her body, and faced the direction of the forest, and gulped quietly.

"Ya'll mention Rainbow Dash?" Applejack approach from the side, Pinkie Pie trailing behind her curiously.

"Yes, we were discussing Twilight not showing up to tend to Fluttershy, and were thinking about asking Rainbow Dash to go into the forest to see if she was there or on her way back." Rarity explained as Fluttershy slowly stretched her untouched wings.

"I'll go to her house and ask her." She gave a light flap of her wings and rose slowly, then landed with a tiny shake. "Or not…" She whimpered, squeezing her eyes at the throb her chest gave her.

"If she were at her house, Pinkie an' I'd know." Fluttershy walked over to Fluttershy and brushed against her softly for comfort. The Pegasus sighed her thanks, but looked to Applejack curiously.

"We took my balloon!" Pinkie Pie grinned. It was well known that, despite being an Earth Pony, Pinkie Pie liked to be in the air. "We rose up and up and floated straight into Dashie's door and I thought 'how rude!' so I knocked anyways but there wasn't an answer, not even shouting!" The pony rubbed her chin again in curiosity at the oddness of the situation, and Applejack turned to a passing pony.

"Hey, ya'll seen Rainbow Dash or Twilight Sparkle anywheres? Two seem to have gone missin'." She asked the boy, who turned his head towards the forest.

"Rumor has it Twilight Sparkle went into the forest and Dash chased her in." He said as he faced the forest with a suspicious stare. "I know you four are close to those two so I'd say go get them, fast if they haven't come back yet. And close your ears, a lot of people are saying things." He sped up and passed by. Fluttershy finally noticed the way people were acting.

They rushed everywhere, barely stopping to admire their surroundings as they went from place to place, the only ones staying outside were in large groups. The four of them watched the people around them act, of all things, inhospitable. "Ya think this is connected to Twilight?" Applejack asked, and Pinkie Pie skipped towards the forest.

"Only one way to find out! C'mon ponies, we have friends to find!" The four set off into the forest, at a slow pace to make sure Fluttershy could keep up. Applejack looked to the typically shy, scared pony with some worry, seeing her injury and pains, but she wouldn't be able to hold her back without force now. Their friends were gone, possibly in trouble. There was no way she'd stay back now, not when something needed help.

'I hope you're alright Twilight. I know you ain't the reason for this. Ya can't be. Ye're Friendship after all.' Applejack thought, walking behind the rest so they couldn't see the frown she wore.

---

Rainbow Dash could only assume it was morning because she'd woken up only fifteen minutes ago. Ten minutes?

Five?

She didn't know anymore. The only sense of time she'd had since she woke up sore and ragged-winged was the steady drip of water from the wall. She didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night. She remembered shouting and kicking and crying but the instances between falling asleep and waking up felt side-by-side, yet her sore flank was a clear indication she'd been asleep for some time on the hard, wet floor. She'd rubbed herself against the walls that weren't wet to dry off but she still felt soaked. It only added to the misery she was feeling and the misery of the cell.

The hay was old, and what was dry was dusty and made her cough, and what was wet was disgusting. She chose to stop eating after three mouthfuls and curled up on a mattress that smelled heavily of mildew, but it was better than standing around and laying in water. She'd wrapped her legs around her head and listened to the wall drip.

Was it twenty minutes now? Was it still only five? She hadn't been here long and already she felt like her sanity was slipping away. She was alone in a cold, wet cell in a stone fortress who knew where surrounded by a bunch of people who decided to snip up her beautiful wings and make her a pointless show mare.

Her eyes pulled open and widened further than they'd had in a long while when she heard wailing from the next cell. She jerked her head up and listened to the pained crying, and stood up to her hooves quickly. She recognized the noise, it was Twilight. She walked towards the bars, her hooves slapping the water. The wailing died down to soft whimpers at the noise, and Rainbow Dash pushed her snout through the bars. "T-Twilight?" She called just above a whisper, afraid as if the noises would leave her if she spoke any louder.

"…" Dash cocked her ear as she heard shuffling. She could imagine Twilight's pained struggling, trying to get to her hooves, kicking water and hay away. She heard her get to her hooves and the slap of water. She'd fallen. Dash whimpered. She wanted to be there for her, to help her up, stroke her head, tell her it would be okay. She knew she hurt, maybe more than she did herself. "Dash…"

"I'm here Twilight." Dash whispered, the strength in her voice cracking. She winced at how weak she sounded, even to herself. It hurt, and Twilight couldn't have missed it. She looked back at one wing, which was now only a stub compared to what it used to be. "I'm here."

Silence, followed by more struggling. She heard uneasy steps, and winced as she heard another crash from Twilight falling. It hurt to just hear, reminded her of how useless she was. Another crash, another wince, until she heard something land against the wall separating their cells, sturdy as it was. Rainbow Dash walked over and did the same, and as she poked her snout out between the bars, she could see the tip of purple just outside her vision.

"How do you feel?" Dash finally asked. She knew the answer, but even a little normalcy was welcome.

"… My horn hurt more." Twilight admitted weakly. Her voice was tiny. "But my head and my stomach…" She heard Twilight take a few steps, and a few moments later there was an abominable retching sound. Dash began to feel pity. Whatever they'd fed her must have been terrible. All this crappy hay wouldn't help anytime soon. Dash felt broken but Twilight was in actual pain.

Was there really a difference between the two?

"… Sorry…" Dash whispered, hanging her head and pressing it against the cool stone wall.

"H-huh..?" Twilight whimpered from the other side, groaning in pain as she tumbled to the floor again. Dash winced at the splash, and pressed her hooves against the wall, as if she could reach her.

"I said I'm sorry." She spoke up a little, and heard nothing. She heard Twilight land against the wall again, and heard a sigh. "Your horn's trouble. Not you. I shouldn't have been mad at you."

"…" Still silence.

"Twilight, can you hear me? Please say something, I said I'm sorry…"

"…" She didn't like how quiet she was. It reminded her of earlier, in the torture chamber, when she'd just laid there… "I am too…" The silence felt heavy and uncomfortable. If they intended to hurt the ponies they were doing a good job of it. Even the most meager of conversations stung.

"We'll get out though, right? We're gonna get free." Free sounded good. She listened, and heard nothing. She was almost sure Twilight was no longer listening after the few minutes of silence. "We're gonna go back to Ponyville and see all our friends. Pinkie Pie will throw us a 'welcome home' party."

"…" She wished Twilight would say something. She didn't want to think all she heard were answers in her own head. She got a small idea, a small one that made her heart twist. She stuck her hoof out of the space nearest the wall and a bar, and reached over the wall. She bent and twisted, sidling as close as she could to stick her leg around the wall. It must have nearly been a foot thick, but she felt the edge. Her hoof barely stuck around the edge, but she wiggled it. She heard unsteady steps, water shifting, and she wiggled her hoof again. She felt hopeful as she did, and it only bloomed as a nose touched against the hoof.

"You are there…" Dash whispered in very soft excitement, feeling the nose rub her hoof up and down in a nod. "Do you want me to be quiet?" A shake of the nose. No, she wanted to hear her. "Don't wanna talk?" Another shake. "… Why?" She had to ask. Quiet, no movement, and a thought occurred to her. "Hurts to?" A nod. "Sorry…" A soft nuzzle. She was forgiven. They stood there for a few moments, Dash straining to keep her leg up and Twilight nuzzling the presented hoof, and it seemed peaceful. It made her a little happy.

She heard, in the distance, the sound of an opening door, and then hoof steps. She apologized quickly and pulled her hoof from Twilight's head and retreated back into her cell as she heard the footsteps come closer. She began to tremble as she heard the door open. Four hooves in a row, there were two guards. "You saw the look on Rukafelth's face when he was told?"

"I would not want to be Belizio right now. He was fuming that they used up a whole bottle on her. Speaking of which…" Twilight's jail cell opened, Dash heard, and the two entered. "Yikes, she took it hard."

"You drain a full bottle of that and come out sunshine and flowers." Dash heard Twilight gasp in the next cell while the guards spoke, and squirmed to her feet, a sense of anger filling her. Her heart throbbed as she pushed her snout through the bars.

"Leave her alone!" She shouted, causing the entire room to go still.

"They weren't kidding about her voice. Hey, uh, prisoner number two. Quiet down."

"You're an idiot."

"At least I tried something, what would you suggest? A kick to the teeth? Rukafelth took the whip to Norlan for that." The guards stepped out in front Dash's cell, covered head to toe in the same vicious armor as the rest, ropes around their legs as Twilight meekly followed, both wrapped around her neck. "Listen blue, we don't got much against you but we can't let you out. Get comfy until we move and we may even give you a classy room to get locked in, and if you quiet down, you'll probably give hangover-girl here an easier morning."

"And what are you going to do to her! I don't care about a fancy room, what are you doing with Twilight!" She shouted, for the first time noticing the way Twilight cringed and quivered at her voice. Dash took a step back and fixed her with concerned stare. When Twilight looked, it was one full of hurt and apology and sweet Celestian sun her eyes looked awful.

"There, see? Quiet down and spare her some pain, eh?" The guard smirked, and the second snorted.

"Prick." Both him and Dash grumbled at the same time.

"Malta c'mon.." The first chased his partner as he turned tail and left, pulling Twilight along. "She knows better now, right? There's that!"

"Rukafelth is going to snap his leg off in your ass." Dash pressed her face to the bars and watched them leave, shutting the door behind them. Twilight had given her one last, longing look before the door shut, and again Dash felt alone.

---

The constant bickering was the hardest part, not the slow ascent up the stairs. Twilight closed her eyes multiple times on the way up and tried to block out the noises, each which sent a flash of pain to her head. Everything felt amplified through all five of her senses, and the two idiots dragging her up the stairs weren't helping the matter. One's voice was quiet and calm, if a bit on the sarcastic side, while the other chose to shout to get his points across and plead for some take.

Even worse was the ache in her chest. She wanted to go back, to talk to Dash, to get to her somehow. She didn't mind being alone in her big ol' library where everyone could visit and she could step out to see her friends, but she hated to be forcibly separated from them. She felt so frail without them…

The quiet one walked behind her as the loud one opened the door, and she was pushed through into a hallway. The light at the end of the hallway was bright enough to make her eyes force shut as she was lead closer and closer towards it, until they finally emerged in an enormous atrium. She knew it was enormous because a lot of voices had gone quiet, and she could feel eyes on her. She knew it was them, her captors and her torturers, and she was being brought before them and presented to them for their entertainment, or whatever purposes they truly had.

The two guards stopped pulling and she collapsed on the floor in exhaustion. She held her head between her front legs and breathed shallowly. Nobody had said anything or made a move at all. Then there was a heavy step. Then another, and she heard what sounded like a giant approaching her. She squeezed her eyes shut as a hoof twice as big as her own rested on her back, trailed up her neck, nudged her ear, and rested on her forehead, just near her horn. Still. Silence? The hoof stepped down in front of her face, and when she opened her eyes she could see it was wrapped in a very light bronze metal. "I believe I had given my orders clearly." His voice was so low, yet it was so easily heard. He made Jazz singers sound like little girls when comparing their voice. "She was not to be harmed."

There was uneasy shuffling going on around them as the enormous pony above her began to walk slowly around her. "Sir Rukafelth, we brought no harm to the fake. She was like this when we retrieved her." The loud, whiny guard from earlier explained. It was quiet for several seconds, and she was almost sure he approved until there was an enormous smash as he pounded his hoof into the ground.

"So you observed her sickness, witnessed her pains, and saw her exhaustion, and you did not inform me she was not fit for audience? What sort of information will I extract from the sick and beaten?" She lifted a hoof to watch him, and hid her gasp. The pony, Rukafelth, was taller than princess Celestia, at least by a full head. His entire body was covered in shimmering, yellow-bronze armor that reminded her of a setting sun, and rather than be covered in vicious spikes like his darker-armored subordinates, each stud was small, thick, and tactfully placed where each joint in the armor would bend, the slightest, yet effective sign of intimidation. His coat was snow white, not as pure as Celestia's, with solid black hair that reminded her of a stream-lined lion's mane. It was his eyes though. His eyes that told her what a beast this pony was. Nopony with eyes as clear, blood-red as his went down in history on good terms.

"I," the guard pony was lost for words for all of two second, "well I'm fairly sure Malta has no medical training and neither do I. Were we supposed to take her to the medic?" He asked with a soft laugh.

"If it really isn't too much to ask. Belizio, step forward." In her skewed vision she saw a few hooves unsteadily move inwards towards Rukafelth and Twilight, and a small glance up showed her it was the unicorn. She gasped and curled into a tighter ball at the recognition and hid her tears as the unicorn stopped by her. "Tend to her. I want her to be able to stand on her own when I speak to her and think clearly. If that's not too much to ask for." She could feel the venom in his voice, even if it wasn't directed at her.

"O-of course not Sir." The unicorn stepped towards the softly quivering form on the floor and leaned down, tapping his horn against Twilight's side. Twilight squeaked and curled up tighter, feeling heat surge from her ribs and spread to her nose and to all four feet. The heat filled her, and she began to kick and try to counter with her own magic, but despite trying she could not counter the heat until it dissipated. She laid still, wondering what he'd done, until she realized the throbbing in her head and twisting of her stomach had disappeared. She opened her eyes and looked up to the backend up the unicorn, who was retreating into the crowd quickly.

She heard, or rather felt the heavy step behind her and slowly turned her eyes upwards to face the giant. His eyes were piercing through her, as If he was staring straight through her confused face to see what else there was behind her wide, scared eyes. Twilight couldn't remove her gaze from his. It was so terrifying yet enrapturing, reminding her of Nightmare Moon all over again. Rukafelth watched her for a long time, and finally flared his nostrils as he lifted his head. "We are not to be disturbed." He announced, leaning his head down and grabbing an abandoned rope. He turned and pulled, throwing Twilight towards him with a grunt. "On your hooves, girl. I will pull you all the way if I have to, but I won't be gentle." Twilight took the hint and scrabbled to her hooves, and stood uneasily. They were all staring at her with mixed expressions. Some with confusion, some with curiosity, and some, she noticed, with outright hatred. One of them she recognized on stance alone as the female guard who'd dropped the bottle on her stomach.

She sped forward and placed Rukafelth between herself and the guard, drawing an interested glance from the enormous pony as Twilight watched the room disappear through his legs. They'd walked towards the head of the room where a simple throne had been, which did not look big enough for Rukafelth to sit. They'd walked around it, through a simple door, and entered a new room. It was wide and well-furnished, with red-satin tapestries along the walls and an enviously enormous bed crammed hastily into the corner. In the middle of the room was a massively wide table, which Twilight had to look at once to notice it had a map of Equestria laid on it. The door shut behind her with a massive kick of the colt's leg, and he quietly went to the other side of the room, around the table. He kicked a cushion towards her underneath the table, and then came back around. This time, in his mouth, was a whip. He dropped it on the table and turned his attention to Twilight, who'd backed herself against the door.

Now, being alone with a pony that could sit on her to death, who apparently was terrifying enough to send those frightfully brutish guards into panic at the mere mention of his anger, she was willing to go back into the room and face the crowd.

"You have a friend with you, in that prison." He stated in a deep rumble. Twilight flicked her eyes back to his unrelenting stare. She could swear she'd never seen him blink. "A Pegasus with mutilated wings. Is she important to you?"

Twilight's mind raced in thought as she stared at him, hundreds of worries cycling through her head. This is what torturers did, right? Use information again you? "No, she's not." She said quickly. Rukafelth turned his head and picked up the whip. She pressed herself back against the door.

"Is that so? Then you would have no qualms should I choose to march her in front of my subjects and have her whipped?" He flicked his head, and Twilight screamed as she fell back, the tip of the lash snapping right in front of her, disturbing nothing but air. Twilight trembled on the ground as Rukafelth set the whip aside again.

"N-no! Don't you dare hurt her! She's done nothing wrong!" She took in a lot of dry gulps of air to calm her down, weeping as the giant snorted softly.

"No, she has not. I'd prefer to not have to put her in the line of fire but I do need you to answer my questions truthfully." The large pony shrugged his broad shoulders and leaned down to look her in the face. "You can do that, I assume."

"I could also lie." Twilight reminded him with a hardened stare that twitched too much.

"If that was the case then I'd have to torture you." He told her as if the consequence was so simple and minor she could have eaten ice cream without permission and that would be the punishment. "I'd have to do so until you were so broken up with pain the idea of lying will have left you. Until all you can speak is the truths I need to hear. Please don't make me torture you." He sounded sincere, and Twilight meekly turned her head away. She didn't understand Rukafelth. She didn't understand what was going on. "Are you ready to tell me the truth?" Twilight nodded quietly on the floor as Rukafelth calmly took the cushion he'd kicked over and rested on it, staring at the unicorn. "How did you get the magic around you?"

She turned to stare into his eyes. He wasn't staring at her or through her. He was staring around her, at whatever magic Celestia said she had. She stared at her own person in confusion and shook her head. "I don't know." She finally spoke. Rukafelth turned his head and his teeth slipped around the handle of the whip. "I don't know! I'm telling the truth, I don't know where it came from or how I can even access it! My horn just hurt one morning and-" The whip snapped just above her head, the cracking noise making her ears ring as she curled into a tight ball, babbling through a mouth that wanted to scream and tears that kept falling "- I don't know! I don't know! I just don't know! I don't know!" She whimpered on the floor.

It had been years since Rukafelth had seen somebody so very willing to show their emotions in front of him, or anyone in his home kingdom. This girl, Twilight had not known the hardships his kingdom had faced, and did not mask her feelings. A part of him felt guilty for sending her into these convulsions, but his duty left him with little choice. "So you woke up and your horn hurt. Then you had the magic?" He asked plainly, receiving a brief, sad nod. "What is the nature of your magic?"

She laid quiet and still on the floor in front of him, and he flared his nostrils again. "… I don't know…" She answered in a meek voice. He tensed his neck muscled and snorted.

"Yet you used it to incinerate my comrade's men. Turned their own weapons against them and commanded the skies while receiving no damage from any attack they dealt in turn. How?"

"I don't know…"

"You used the magic effortlessly to remove them. There was no pause to gather power whenever you attacked, just aiming and redirecting."

"I don't know!"

"You showed signs of a personality change. Aggression, wanton fury, manipulation, tyranny, why?"

"I said I didn't know!"

Rukafelth narrowed his eyes and stood quickly, and Twilight meekly shoved herself into the wall hard as a pair of legs crashed down in front of her, and her eyes were filled with Rukafelth's deathly red pupils, brimming with annoyance. "You don't know at all! You're just some magical filly who happened to get a God's-worth of magic, no idea how to use it, yet somehow against all logic fight off eight trained soldiers single-hoofedly without understanding its nature, origin, or reason!"

Twilight began to openly cry as she spoke. "Yes! Yes I don't know what's happening or who you are or why this is going on but I just don't know! All this is happening and I don't know why and-" she sniffled and curled up into a tight, quivering ball, "-people keep getting hurt and I don't know what's going on anymore…" She whimpered.

Rukafelth slowly backed away as he stared at the filly. Testingly he lifted a hoof and pressed it against her side, making her cringe and curl in tighter, waiting for a coming blow. She did not fight back, did not lash out, did not say anything. She couldn't see his eyes as they filled with concern. He turned away from her and walked away, leaving the unicorn to herself. When Twilight opened her eyes, she could see him staring at the map on the table. One hoof was nervously scraping at the ground. "Listen, girl, what is your name?"

She laid still and hid her eyes again, wrapping her legs around her face so he wouldn't see her. She heard him shift in front of her. "Your name, girl, what is it?" She gently uncovered one eye and saw he had turned his head to look at her, but she remained quiet. Then he turned his body and leaned down in front of her with an unreadable expression.

"… Twilight Sparkle…" She whispered, barely heard by the great pony.

He turned and went back to the map on the table, staring at it for a long time. "This land, Equestria, has it fought in wars? Does it have enemies? Conflicts?" He asked. Twilight wracked her brain and shook her head.

"We had an incident earlier this year when an old evil who was locked away for a thousand years returned…" She didn't want to reveal her part in it. He might get suspicious. "It was stopped, and the curse around the evil was broken, and the Princess was restored to her normal self and introduced back into Equestria."

"The evil was the Princess? And she was just…" He worked his jaw. "Returned?"

"Well, the evil wasn't her, it was something else. Like weird evil magic. The real her is really nice and pleasant and shy. There weren't any deaths and nobody got harmed." She added while closing her eyes at the memory, hearing that her quick work with her friends had kept all of Equestria safe and sound. "And we've had no wars with anybody for thousands of years, and the only deaths that weren't by old age were quickly dealt with, and murderers are kept far away, locked up until we're sure they can safely be released or just never released."

"And your enemies?"

"We have none." Rukafelth returned to his map and stared at the landscape of Equestria. "Where are you from?" The colt turned to the little girl on the floor, and grunted softly.

"The land of Golding. It's a ways away." He answered quietly as he considered all the information given to him. "Very far west." Maybe he shouldn't speak so openly to her, but he knew the girl was harmless. Especially with the inhibitors on her. She was quiet for several moments.

"Why are you here? Attacking me?" She asked. Rukafelth did not answer, and instead, walked to the door. He pushed it open and ducked under the frame to poke his head out of the room.

"Malta, Ziel, return Miss Sparkle to her cell. Provide her and the other prisoner with fresh hay. No questions." Twilight was forced to her feet as the large male tugged her up with the rope, and passed it to the two guards. Twilight shakily followed them out, glancing back to Rukafelth as he went to his maps again. The atrium was completely quiet as she was lead past the many guards, all watching her disappear down the hallway and through the door.

She met no eyes, instead staring at the floor. On the way down the hallway towards the cells, she looked down a passageway on chance, and noticed at the end a door that stood out from the rest of the wooden doors. It was solid stone, two slabs pressed together to form a line, with a rock archway covered in runes. Two Unicorns were there, horns glowing, doing… Something. She didn't know what. She didn't care. All that mattered was, when she looked, a word popped into her head: "Exit."

---

Her back legs hurt severely. She was pretty sure she hadn't broken anything but she may have strained something badly. Dash gently rubbed her hurt legs while wincing at the sting in them. After they'd taken Twilight, something in her just snapped. Thinking about it made her shiver, as she'd remembered shouting out the bars at the door, screaming in anger and sorrow, kicking the bars, kicking the walls, throwing herself around the room impotently. Every part of her churned with anger, but she'd helplessly resigned herself to the old, dirty mattress in the corner of the wet cell.

The cell was too confining. She'd looked at every inch of it she could and found it to be solid. It was too small, too wet, and full of too much hay to effectively even run around, and worse yet, without her wings, an entire dimension had been cut off from her. She was feeling more and more claustrophobic with each passing minute, and already the walls looked like they were falling inwards, getting smaller and unhealthier. She closed her eyes to stop seeing it. Kicking herself raw had been an even worse idea, since now she didn't want to move.

She rested her head on her front legs and tried to not think, but she was worried. They'd taken Twilight from her, and doing who knew what. They were rough enough just attaching the rings to her horn, but now they'd try to pry information. Rainbow Dash trusted Twilight, but wasn't sure the unicorn wasn't hiding something. The horn? The magic? The weird evil Twilight? She knew Twilight was a smart pony, she had to know something. At least she wanted to know why they were captured. She knew they wanted Twilight, possibly her magic, but what for? Were they going to be killed? What if they never found out and-

"No no no no no no NO!" She hissed as she stood, pain shooting down her legs, but wobbly she made her way to the cell bars and stared at them again, trying to find some way out. "Not gonna stay forever. Not gonna stay forever…" She whispered. She pushed against each bar with her hoof, and found them to be completely solid. She looked down at her hooves as she lightly tapped one in weak fury, and happened to notice the way the water pooled around one bar. She kicked again and looked closer, and saw it disappear around the steel rod's base. She lightly tapped the bar, and noted, that despite the solidness, it shifted just a little. She stuck the tip of her hoof in the stone around the bar and scratched backwards, and watched the slightest bit of dirt tug away. Recognition hit, followed by a warm feeling in her chest, and then a cold pit in her stomach as she heard the door open. While she was busy she hadn't heard them coming down the stairs, and she backed away from the bars quickly, keeping steady as her legs strained to keep her up.

She watched one of the guards tug a rope, and heard a few unsteady steps while the cell door creaked open. "In." She heard in a dull voice, and heard Twilight grunt in response. "In, please?" The guard asked with a tiny sigh, and she heard the unicorn get pushed into her cell. It was slammed shut, locked, and the two left out the door into the prison. The lock clicked.

"Twilight/Rainbow Dash!" They whispered to each other through the bars, "I found a way out!" The two froze as they heard the other, but Dash was the first to break it. "Are you okay Twilight? You don't sound sick anymore."

"They healed me so I could answer a few questions from their leader." She admitted, and Dash noted the water Twilight's voice lowered.

"If those guys did anything-"

"They didn't. Their leader, Rukafelth, was… I don't know how to describe him. He's absolutely beastly. He's bigger than Celestia and has these evil looking eyes, but when I told him I didn't know anything that was going on…" She paused and walked to the front of the cell. "I think he started to believe me. He stopped talking to me though. He has this huge map of Equestria and-" her voice warbled as it lowered, "Dash, they're worried about my magic. They're looking for something in Equestria, and he called those eight ponies that I, well… He said they were his comrade's men. There more of them Dash, and from what I heard him talk about, I think they're planning a war…"

"With EQUESTRIA!" Dash moved as fast as she could to stick her snout out between the bars and watched Twilight's mouth. "We have to tell somebody!"

"I know. I know that Dash but… First we have to get out of here. Then we go tell somebody, then I'm going to do a lot of researching. They come from this place really far West of here called Golding and-"

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on. I don't care where they come from, why are they here?" Dash demanded.

"I don't know Dash… I just don't know. I don't know what's happening around here, I don't know what Golding is or who its people are, why they're here, why they want war, why they want me, why they want my magic, where my magic comes from, I just. Don't…" She hung her head, sliding to her belly, getting wet in the process. "I don't know Rainbow Dash. I don't know anything."

The silence was uncomfortable. Twilight heard shifting from the other side, and lifted her eyes to see a hoof a few feet above her outside the cell bars. "C'mon Twilight… You know lots of stuff. Way more than me… Like you said, you just have to look into it, right? But we gotta escape first. I found something." She pulled her hoof back, and Twilight cocked her ear when she heard a scraping noise. "Look at the bottom of the bars, the stone around it. I think all this water made it really weak. With a little bit of time we'll be able to loosen the bars some. Then if we kick it enough, maybe be able to knock it out of the roof." Twilight stood slowly, ignoring her soaking coat and reached out with a hoof, and tapped a bar. She watched it move in the stone, take water around it.

"…" She stared for a while, lightly scraping the stone until a few loosened bits came out. It would destroy her hooves and sting, she knew, but by Celestia it was a way out. "Dash, you're a genius! These holes for the bars couldn't have been molded around them to keep them permanently firm, not for a tiny prison like this, the holes have to be a little bit bigger, especially in the ceiling." She began to scrape more furiously, watching bit by bit, the stone loosen and make the hole around the lower bar bigger. Water slipped into the crack, and that made Twilight smile, just a bit.

She heard Dash working in the cell next to her, while Dash began to talk. "Hey, you said you found a way out too. What was your idea?" She asked, scratching at the ground. Her dedication began to come back. As a goal entered her mind, a direction of where to go, ideas of what to do began to fill her, and she devoted every ounce of her once constant energy into performing it. She stared at the space on the ground like she would the sky, and tugged her hoof along it, opening it slowly.

"Up the stairs is a hallway. In that hallway is another passageway, leading to a stone door covered in all these runes. Two unicorns were sealing it I think. If… When we get out of here, we just need to make our way upstairs. If we can avoid getting caught I might be able to open the door."

"With what?" Dash asked, scratching faster at the floor as she saw some more loosen.

"Um… Magic, what else?" Twilight answered, then it occurred to her. She leaned down and tapped her horn against the ground and… Nothing.

"I thought those ring things they put on your horn were supposed to prevent you from using magic?" Twilight stopped. She looked up, and just outside of her vision, saw the changes on her horn.

"What… No!" She hissed, and reached up with her hooves to remove them. They didn't budge, no matter how hard she tugged. She tried twisting and turning, but they were stuck fast. She attempted to use magic, but it wouldn't react. She could feel it inside of her churning as she tried to call it up, but the rings prevented it from escaping out of her horn.

"Twilight, what are you doing?" Dash called as she heard something striking the bars.

"Breaking the rings!" The unicorn called back, rearing her head to the side and crashing her horn against the bars, but to no avail. She rubbed her head and groaned, staring down at the floor, and began to dig again. "Look, Dash, I don't think I can get these off by myself. We have to try though."

"Yeah, who knows, maybe we can open it just by ourselves!" Dash smirked at that. Magic or not, she had something magic didn't: sheer, stubborn, bone-headed determination. All they needed to do was knock down the bars and get out. Then she could put her wits up against fancy Unicorn magic.

---

The room had been darkened until all that could be seen were the small flames of four candles set in a line pattern against the far wall. Rukafelth, unable to see even his own hoof before his eyes, stared at the candles as he shifted his weight to his hind in discomfort as he pulled at the reservoir of energy in his stomach and felt it course through his body, down his legs and into the ground. He watched two trails of flame extend from each hoof towards the candles. Each candle lit up bright green as the flames touched the wax, and the flames began to rise to the ceiling and expand, until they were tall green walls with only the thinnest line of space between each one. In each flame was a face.

From his left to right, he saw Cloppin, Shallom, his lord and king Galio, and the court wizard, Balla. Cloppin's usual smile shown much brighter than usual today, Shallom was calm, Galio's expression continued to show royal reservation, while Balla watched them with interest. Her eyes were wide with curiosity as she considered all the men before her.

"I wish I could have you file reports in a more comfortable and formal manner but the circumstances require more immediate ways of discussion. Thanks to Balla's efforts we have been rendered untraceable. The shield will allow us free use of magic without warning the Unicorns of the land to our presence. You may speak openly about your efforts." Galio spoke, turning his head slightly. "Shallom, any discoveries so far?"

"Afraid not Lord Galio, though the search has been extensive. Even with the magic pulsing through the ley-lines, Atmos' legacies are surprisingly resistant to being found. Work is slow, though, my soldiers are not used to being so…" He cocked his head in thought. "Sneaky."

"You merely lack subterfuge Shallom." Cloppin's smile bloomed further, revealing rows of perfectly white teeth. "You float in, boasting full of hot air, but when you set your hooves on the ground you can't help but trip over them. If you took your head down from the clouds-"

"A lesson in stealth from Cloppin." Shallom snorted. "The hypocrisy is plain astonishing. Tell me, jester, what valuable tidbits of information have you uncovered from Horshire?" The Pegasus snorted, and Cloppin's smile grew and grew.

"Oh so so much my dear bird. I'll have the data sent to you in the shadows soon enough, and I promise you'll see how I do my work." The two stared at each other with either contempt or amusement until Galio turned to face Rukafelth.

"That answers my question to Cloppin. Rukafelth, how has your search for the fake and Laputa been?" He asked the great colt. Rukafelth stood in perfect silence as every eye turned to him. He thought to himself carefully.

"We have found her, yes." Cloppin's face went from distractedly happy, and paid solid attention to Rukafelth. Shallom himself looked absolutely ecstatic, waiting to hear more. Rukafelth noted with some self-satisfaction that his success made his lord change from reserved royalty to excitement, and Balla was all but bouncing. "And she has been captured and questioned as well. I was careful during the interrogation. Every word she spoke was the truth."

"And?" Galio leaned in.

"What is the nature of her magic? Is it the same as ours?" Balla's head disappeared and Rukafelth heard the sound of paper shuffling. "How has she taken it?"

"How does she plan to impede us further? How did you even catch her with that much magic inside of her?" Shallom asked, smirking. Revenge.

"I will speak frankly and honestly. When I set my eyes on her, I did not see the bold-speaking tyrant your men saw Shallom. When she'd stepped into my room, she had no magic around her to be dispelled. She did not lie or hide. She was a simple, scared girl. I questioned her about the magic and she has no knowledge of how she got it or how to use it. She does not know how she killed your men and regrets it. She is entirely unaware of it other than that it exists around her." Balla looked severely disappointed and opened her mouth. "No, trust me, I understand Balla. She herself does not understand how she got it."

The five of them stood in silence, considering what they'd been told. Cloppin's interest merely grew and he disappeared to find some papers as well, while Shallom fumed to himself. Lord Galio had his eyes closed in thought while Balla took notes. "So she knows nothing. Is that all you found?" He finally asked, reserved once more.

"No. Lord Galio, I'm uncomfortable with our military presence here, we spoke in short length about Equestria. They have not known war for thousands of years and all violent incidents are quelled peacefully and respectfully. These people are nothing more than peaceful farmers and crafts makers. If we aren't careful, we could seriously disturb the balance here." The silence following his words was harder than he expected. He knew he was challenging the Lord's wisdom but he had to know what consequences could be wrought. Cloppin had disappeared, but his reaction would have been hysterics. Shallom gave Rukafelth the quietest glare the Pegasus had ever offered anybody, while Balla looked unamused.

"I spend weeks preparing the shield and you want to just bring that down? There's lot of resources we'd lose if we brought it down to return the soldiers home. The magic could get disrupted unless we make it whole. Not to mention, even if we went through with this peacefully, the awakening would cause just as much harm to Equestria if not more. With us here, we can at least suppress it!" She reasoned, making Rukafelth sigh.

"I followed Miss Sparkle's information-"

"Sparkle?" Galio raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, the unicorn. I followed her information and did some reading. Their Princesses are more than capable by themselves but they have plenty of unicorns trained to non-violently protect the kingdom. They could dispel the aftereffects on their own with minimal casualties-"

"And risk the entire operation." Galio concluded, eyes closed. "We'll do what we can, Rukafelth, but Golding comes first. Equestria comes after. I understand your reluctance, but do not hesitate to do whatever you have to do to push forward. When you reach Laputa, call for our next meeting. And as for this Miss Sparkle…" He opened his eyes, and Rukafelth wilted a little under his firm stare. "Don't grow familiar with her. She is a risk, and will have to be an unfortunate loss later. I don't want you growing attached to an empirical traitor. Am I understood?"

Rukafelth stood in silence, his head hung low. He lifted it slowly, and gave a quiet nod. "Of course sir. I will keep her in her cell. I am afraid to station guards though, she is able to…" He gulped, recalling the feelings of defense and care he grew during their talk, "Gain favor quickly."

"Troubling. But do what is necessary. I'll be returning to my duties. Everyone is dismissed."

One by one, the flames went out. Rukafelth stood in the darkness and considered his place quietly, unable to dismiss the innocent clarity of Twilight's eyes in the face of danger. Could he remove that from an entire kingdom personally?

Shadows seemed unnatural in the Court of the Sun, where even during the night a perfect full moon lit up the entire throne room with eerie white light that somehow highlighted its very magnificence as the yellow and orange stones set around the room in the shape of a sun glowed white and silver, reminding all who entered that even at night, this room would forever be held by the power of the sun. Tonight though, the torches of magical origin were dim, and dark shapes flickered about the walls as Celestia felt her kingdom around her feeling as dark as she did.

Even so, as Celestia paced about her empty throne, attempting to think, the softly glowing white images of her greatest responsibility brought back calm, peaceful memories.

'I never forgot about you.' Celestia heard her own voice in her head as she walked up towards her own throne, her head turning left and right as she took in the glowing white stones on the wall. 'When I'd sealed away Nightmare Moon, I took every step I could to remind myself that you are still a princess, and my sister. Whenever I was in here late at night, listening to my subjects,' she turned and sat on a cushion, staring down the long carpet that lead to the open double-doors that let her see out through a balcony to witness the rise of the celestial royalty, 'I would silence them for a few minutes to allow the moon to rise peacefully, so I could watch it, and hopefully you would see me, and be reminded that I am here, that I love you, that I miss you.'

'But the stones on the wall…' She heard Luna's voice now, young, shy, so full of questions about the new Equestria around her. How the land had changed in one-thousand years, how the people had shaped themselves under Celestia's guidance. 'Are they not suns? They're your symbol, sister.'

'Take a closer look.' She'd advised, and Celestia, heeding her own words, stepped down from her throne to examine one of the white suns on the wall. 'Look at what glows. Not my sun's robes, but your moon's perfect circle. What does it really look like?'

Luna had gone quiet and stared at the circle for the longest time, disbelieving her sister's words and her own eyes, but she saw what Celestia wanted to show her. The white light drowned the corona from the looker's vision, leaving a perfectly white glowing sphere. 'You kept my moon.' Luna had gasped softly.

'In your absence, I learned something, dear sister. Without the sun, there is no day to grant the plants, the animals, and the people energy and growth. Without the moon and the stars, the nights would be terrifyingly bleak, devoid of art and beauty, and it would feel as if nobody watched over the people. When I watch the moon rise, it's like your peaceful eye is watching me, guiding me to safety by the twinkle of your stars. I can only imagine the pony children, lost after dark looking to the moon, wishing for your help home, only to watch the stars twinkle where they need to go, and let hope fill them as you guided them to safety. I'd never considered how much effort you put into the beauty and comfort of your nights.' Celestia had explained.

The Alicorn mare smiled as she remembered her sister's blush at her words, and calmly the darker of the two explained herself. 'I remember my old nightmares. I remember pitch black, running in treacherous fields, unable to find my way back to home, constantly wishing for the day. I remember the nights back then, when I was making them, all they did was let a pony know when to sleep. But what if you were in the wrong place? I remember how people looked to your sun for guidance, east to west, so I made the moon to do the same. But still, up in the sky, it was one bright reminder of how terribly dark and ugly it was, so I began to…' she blushed and trailed off.

Celestia had smiled, and she was still smiling, 'Connect the dots? You were so proud of your little mare doodles. I still can't see Orion, even in pictures.'

Luna had scoffed, and Celestia giggled at the indignation in Luna's expression, 'That's because you can't appreciate night art! I can see the colors of the plants and leaves under your sun but you can't see the mightiest of ancient ponies in the stars? I guess I always was the art appreciator in the family.'

Celestia had snorted with laughter, causing her sister to firm up her haughty look. 'Please dear Luna, I've had a thousand years to learn art. If I can't see Orion, ME of all people, he must not be there!'

"Nuh UH!' Luna had started to bounce in place, fuming at Celestia's teasing, 'He's totally there! I'll fly you up there right now and show you!' Celestia had followed her sister that night into the stars, and Luna began to show her Orion. Maybe Celestia really didn't have the right eyes for art, but she could appreciate her sister's imagination, and the way she described him Celestia could imagine the mighty pony of hunting legend, clearing the lands of Equestria of its enemies with only his bow and arrows.

Standing among the field of stars, surrounding by softly twinkling light, as dust swirled into multi-colored patterns in the distance and the land of Equestria lay beneath her, she understood why Luna had been so unhappy nobody would venture out after dark. Whatever had molded her jealousy into a weapon of destruction had done a very sloppy job of giving Luna a reason to stay jealous. The night was still so fantastic even a thousand years ago. It was why she had enthused Twilight so much into looking at the stars and all the celestial bodies floating beyond the sky, because she knew somebody needed to look at the sky and see it not as a flying map, not as an extra bit of light, and definitely not as cold, encroaching terror, but as a beautiful landscape with Luna's thoughtful eye watching over you.

She believed her success had been total, as the few letters Celestia had insisted Twilight write to Luna quickly went into a discussion of Twilight's favorite constellations and curiosity about some of the less documented things in the sky. Twilight had even suggested a few shapes and offered diagrams to make it even more eye-catching, but Luna had reluctantly declined, explaining if she did, the night would be too bright for sleep. Celestia wondered if she should have tried and convinced Luna to go through with it, and toss a Moon Festival under the new sky. She knew the parties would probably be less active and quiet since all eyes would be in the sky, watching the beauty crawl across it.

Part of the idea thrilled her, since she had formerly been in control of the night for a thousand years. The days were full of activity and work and every now and then a bit of fun, but the nights were full of peace and quiet contrast. She began to even grow a little jealous of her sister's position as the artist of the sky, but there was little time to be petty over one's positioning. Besides, the true beauty came on the rare nights they merged their creations and created a brilliant red moon, or a startling black sun.

"Princess Celestia?" The Princess' trance ended abruptly as she heard quiet footsteps behind her, and she turned with a tiny blush towards the few guards who had entered her throne room, the first of the day since she'd demanded alone time. "Are we interrupting you?"

"No, no, of course not. I was just thinking." She turned and stepped up to her throne, and sat gracefully on her cushion, erecting herself to full regal stature, and giving the guards a quiet, thoughtful look. "You have news of what's been happening?" She asked, watching as the guards sat, and the first approached.

"Yes, Princess, and we've discussed our findings privately in an attempt to connect them. We are afraid we have no good news for this night, other than total assured privacy. All lesser meetings for the next month have been cancelled as to turn our full attention to Equestria." He stated.

Celestia couldn't keep the surprise out of her voice as she answered, "For the next month? Is that absolutely necessary? There are so many matters to attend to daily, can my subjects last without me?" They understood she was asking herself more than anyone, it was rare Celestia had any amount of free time longer than an hour. A full month could cause enough political controversy to raise questions of her priorities in Equestria.

"We're not sure, Princess, but Luna has elected herself to take over your meeting duties as you attend to the real problems."

'Oh, excellent. This will be a good experience for Luna.' She trusted her sister. She'd been studying Equestrian history and economy since she returned, and due to being an all natural night owl, she was given plenty of time to catch up, although her wisdom would be more based on logic and gut instinct rather than experience. "Real problems, you say? Please explain."

"Ahem." He cleared his throat and took a scroll from his ankle pack and let Celestia take it. "The scouts have been busy lately, taking much longer on patrols and being more detailed with their reports. They are flying in in greater numbers as well, keeping themselves safe. Foreign ponies have entered Equestria without announcing themselves, performing suspicious activities, appearing and disappearing at random, and with them they've brought many…" He took a deep breath as Celestia's eyes widened at the report. "Many mysteries. Eavesdroppers have heard them discussing magic, artifacts, Goddesses and lords, and more troubling they've discussed what they call 'the False One' or 'the Fake'."

Celestia picked up where he left off as she read his report out loud, "'The Fake', heard discussing 'The Fake' stealing the magic of their Goddess, said magic has not been detailed but is almost revered. 'The Fake' is said to have turned lightning against its wielder, and mercilessly killed eight soldiers without hesitation.'" She paused in thought, her eyes wide as she considered what she'd just heard.

"We believe, as I'm sure you have guessed, they are talking about Twilight Sparkle. This news is especially distressing because," he turned his eyes slowly to the next guard, who approached very weakly.

Celestia stared at the guard as he undid his own pouch and pushed the scroll to Celestia, who picked it up, dreading the information it contained. "There are reports in Ponyville that Twilight Sparkle has disappeared into the Everfree Forest with one of her friends, Rainbow Dash. Where they have gone, if anyone has taken them, or if they're…" He swallowed a very dry throat, "Still alive is questionable."

It would have been more merciful to shoot Celestia through the heart. The pain that crossed her eyes made the guard quiver, nobody had ever seen Celestia is such a state of despair. Celestia had been alone when she'd been forced to banish Nightmare Moon, so she could console herself. The guards watched the Princess squeeze her eyes shut to push the tears back, and her flowing, beautiful, shining hair began to lose its luster, and slowly it fell flat.

The third guard let the second step back and hide himself from view, and she carefully pulled her own report from her pack and rather than let Celestia take it, laid it flat before her. The Princess looked, but did not read, letting her hair hide her face. "The unicorns report unusual amounts of magic in Equestria, and it's disrupting all magical communication and scrying. All magic has been rendered undetectable as well. Two unicorns in the same room could cast a spell and neither would know it without seeing the other. Even worse, any attempts to enter or leave Equestria have failed."

"Failed?" Celestia raised her head, revealing one softly tearing eye.

"Yes… A large shield has been placed on all paths in and out of the Kingdom. We hired the Wonderbolts to check the skyline and they've found there's no upper limit to the spell, but you still cannot go past the magical boundaries that have been placed. Any attempts to dispel them have been disastrous. The unicorns are still recovering from the magical shock they've received but other than pain and unconsciousness are unharmed."

"No…" She mumbled, standing up abruptly, the grace long associated with her as a Princess leaving as she felt things were spiraling out of her control, "No no, that cannot be. I'll have to look into that immediately. Twilight…" She looked past the guards to the moon, watching Luna's protective eye, and willed her to guide Twilight home, back to her, back where she couldn't be touched.

"We have investigations currently under way so we may retrieve Miss Sparkle and bring her to safety and to inspection where we can discover the connection between her and the strange soldiers. For now, we have one final report, and it may be the most disturbing of them." The soldier before her retreated as the final guard approached, and mimicking his comrades undid an ankle pouch to present a scroll to Celestia.

Celestia didn't want to hear more bad news, didn't want to know what more needed her attention. To her, nothing was more important than finding her student, the one being she could genuinely and affectionately refer to as a friend in the last lonely thousand years, the girl she saw her little sister's passion and affection in, and in a way, she saw Twilight as her own little girl. She knew Twilight's parents quite well, and they traded letters often to discuss the growing young girl, and to Celestia's embarrassment found out there was much she had to learn about dealing with a child and helping raise one, but it had been an exciting and fulfilling experience to personally raise a little mare to a blooming adult.

She wondered how her parents would react knowing their daughter had gone missing, and Celestia couldn't immediately help.

"Princess?" The guard asked as he watched the pony of the sun quietly sum up her pained thoughts, and Celestia opened her eyes, just a crack.

"Go ahead. I'm listening…" Just barely, but she was listening to the guard as he made his report.

"The patrol sent to Horshire has not returned. The next patrol sent to Horshire came back, and reported a ghost town. They'd landed and searched briefly, but left quickly. They claimed it was an emergency that had thrashed their nerves. Everyone in the town is gone, except one body."

"One… Body?" Celestia repeated in a slow, disbelieving tone, fear crawling into her voice. Horshire was a safe place, it had always been completely safe. It was the first all unicorn settlement in Equestria, and the forefront of historical and mythical information, and many unicorns were trained there in protection against some of the harsher elements of the land that surrounded it. If it had been attacked or evacuated, the spectacle of magic would have announced such an incident in an instant. But no, a patrol had been lost, and another scared out of town.

"They found a pony child who had been hung by gallows that formerly did not exist in Horshire. He was stuffed into a bad and strung by a rope around the neck. We're assuming it was to send a warning to all entering the town. We're sending an investigation as soon as possible, and to hopefully find a trace of the missing residents." The guard informed her.

"A pony…" The princess took a deep breath and closed her eyes, and breathed it out slowly, "Child…" She took in the information even more slowly, Twilight briefly slipping her mind as the impact of what happened hit her. "… Send Hero in to lead the investigation. The perpetrators, the citizens, everyone must be found. Quickly." She whispered, and the guards nodded. "I'll lead the investigation on the barriers and the cut of communication. Send everyone who can to find Twilight." The Princess began to walk towards the double-doors, towards the moon, every part of her feeling cool with uselessness.

"Of course Princess. We can promise you she will be found and returned safely. We promise." They all bowed low, and left the Princess to herself, all alone on the balcony.

She remembered now why she had so little time to think about art and possibly making the day more beautiful. Duty had a tendency to bite hard when she thought about such things.

---

Scratch. Scratch scratch. Tap scratch rustle.

---

(The following takes place right after Twilight and Dash were imprisoned)

"Ye're certainly dedicated, I'll give you that." Fluttershy smiled quietly at the compliment, her body moving like she had rusted hinges but never stopping. The entire time they'd been walking it had been mostly silent, everyone left to their own assumptions and predictions, but the sight of Zecora's twisted tree was enough to send relief through all four of them.

"I, um…" The shy Pegasus got a meek look as they stopped in front of the door. "I wasn't sure I'd make it all the way myself… Now that I'm here though, I feel kinda… Good. Don't stop on my account though, we need to find them." She nodded to the other three.

"While I understand your concern darling, there's no reason we need to turn an emergency for two ponies into one for three." Rarity looked to Zecora's home as the Zebra poked her head to see the noise. She waved politely to her visitors and stepped inside, leaving the door open. "We'll ask Miss Zecora to keep an eye on you until you can make the full trip again."

"No, I mean…" Fluttershy tapped at the ground with one paw, "I don't want to bother her…"

"We understand sugarcube, but your well-bein' is just as important right now." Applejack told her, making Fluttershy sigh. Of course they'd pick the end of their journey to tell her all this.

"Ahem." They turned to face the zebra mystic standing on her doorstep with a raised eyebrow. "Do you plan to stay out in the cold, or would you like to come in, if I may be so bold?" Zecora swept a hoof up, revealing the light and warmth of her home, and the four made the way inside.

Zecora always had a pot of something going, be it soup or potions, but not tonight. Her cauldron was empty, and instead her workspace was full of thin, shaved sticks, whittled from downed branches. "Sorry t'bother ya so late and all Zecora, but we have some…" She stared around. There was no other talking, just Zecora taking a sharp knife and gently scraping it along the wood.

"Our good bestest friends Twilight and Dashie came to the forest to find you and never came out! Since you live out here in the Everfree Forest, we were hoping you'd have seen a bit of mane or hair of them!" Pinkie Pie smiled, but was not her usual bouncy self.

Zecora continued to sharpen, even as she spoke. "Hide nor hair of your friends I have seen, but this and news of the forest have me feeling a little green." She held up a stick, which they saw had a fine, vicious point, which she dipped into a pot of some disgusting, semi-solid ooze, and then rest it light on a pile of similar sticks. "The animals are fearful and do not share your hope, but they spoke of two ponies and condemned them to the rope."

"Two ponies!" Rarity clapped her front hooves together at the news, but Fluttershy looked a tad suspicious.

"What do you mean: 'condemned them to the rope'?"

"Forgive me Fluttershy, I forgot how Equestria can be so quiet." She took up another branch and began to sharpen it. "Is merely an expression, whose meaning I hope causes no riot. In my old land a thick length of rope was placed around the neck of those found to be guilty, and they were dropped, their neck snapped, and as a cause the land was less filthy." She met their confused, uncomprehending stares, and she frowned. "What I mean to say is that the animals have seen two ponies taken suspiciously, they are afraid…" She gulped, heavily, and stared at her own hooves, "that they will be dealt with most viciously."

She watched all four of them slowly recognize what she meant, and as predicted, Applejack exploded first. "What in tarnation do you mean 'dealt with viciously'! You can't be saying somepony is trying to hurt Twilight and Rainbow Dash, could ya!"

"That is, I am afraid, the point of what I told you. I am sorry, I wish I could help, but I have much to do." The zebra turned and went back to the sticks, but was whirled around rather suddenly and forced to face Pinkie Pie.

"There has to be some sort of mistake! Twilight and Rainbow Dash have done nothing wrong, why would they be taken? Who would be so… So!"

"Mistaken!" Rarity finished with a deep frown. "I can't think of any reason for somebody to target them!"

"And what the hay do you mean there's nothin' ya'll can do!" Applejack seethed, baring closer to the Zebra, who took a step away from the enraged pony. "Ya'll know it happened and ya'll're sittin' here with a pile of sticks and spoutin' nonsense about rope and-"

"Applejack, please, I am worried, make no mistake." Zecora frowned at the ponies, stepping away from them to her pile of sticks. "But first and foremost there are many precautions I must take. The event of a dragon is terrifying sight, and before I can attend to others I must tend to my own plight." She turned lifted a stick carefully from one end, the non-stick side, and laid it where they could see it. "Litter the trees with dung soaked spears, when the dragons try to fly in they will strike their most vulnerable fears."

"Dung!" Rarity cried in disgust, and Fluttershy looked especially faint as the smell finally reached them. Applejack kicked it away, and Zecora placed it back in the pile.

"Filthy, disease-ridden, and nasty I know, but the look and the smell is not just for show. Poke it through and pierce your hoof, and the pain it renders will leave you unable to move."

"You said there were dragons." Applejack snarled, and Zecora bobbed her head. Fluttershy sat slowly at the news, staring in fright at her hooves. "Are you tryin'a tell us that Twilight and Dash… They was taken by dragons?"

"…" Zecora bowed her head low in apology. "The forest claims those dragons had riders, armored-ponies who were trained as fighters. I did not see them but the inhabitants claim that it's true, and the animals that can lie number in the few."

"You have to take us there Zecora, we need to see where they were picked up. Maybe we can find some clues…" Pinkie Pie offered, frowning deeply at the zebra. Zecora knew when she was beaten, and with a heavy sigh, showed them out.

They walked down the trail a long ways, slow again so Fluttershy could keep up. The girls recognized they were just turned around and heading back towards Ponyville, but nobody said anything. Zecora a short distance from exiting the forest, and perked her ears. "We are hear. The animals avoid this place out of their fear." The zebra stepped aside as the four girls examined the ground by the light of the moon.

It was flat, dirt, plain, and had only recently been disturbed by themselves, and all in all, looked like it always had. The five stood in silence as they searched, but turned up short. "Ain't no sign of struggle."

"And the tree canopies have not been disturbed." Zecora added.

"We're not exactly an investigation unit girls, maybe we should go find some professional help?" Rarity offered weakly.

"Speaking of 'needing help', where did Fluttershy go?" Pinkie asked, staring around the clearing. The other three joined her in staring around, and naturally stared down the path they had just come. "She was just here a moment ago."

"In the woods." Rarity pointed, and they followed the direction she pointed. They saw a flash of pink behind some brush and approached, and found the Pegasus talking quietly with a Doe. The creature looked unashamedly frightened of the area, but still made soft whimpering sounds in response to Fluttershy's questions. Frequently the deer pointed her nose in a direction, until it broke away from the conversation with a scamper. Fluttershy walked to her friends weakly.

"All I could gather is that we need to follow the south. She kept looking up and pointing that way, so…" She whispered, watching them with wide eyes.

"Then we don't got a choice." Applejack voiced, looking straight at Fluttershy, then the other three with a clear look of a reluctant plan. "Some of us need to go lookin' before somethin' terrible happens to those two. I think it should be myself, and Pinkie Pie." The pink pony nodded, but Fluttershy and Rarity almost immediately protested.

"You can't expect us to just sit on our hooves and wait for you all day, do you? They're our friends too!"

"And I already promised Twilight I'd protect her. If she got attacked again and I just let her go…" Fluttershy whimpered, but Applejack shook her head.

"Rarity, ya'll have a way with words and know what the hay's goin' on, Fluttershy, you're still too hurt to be doin' much travelin'. I'm sorry ya'll, but Pinkie's fast when she wants t'be and I got the stamina to push through this. We'll be back though, ya'll can count on it. Zecora…?" She turned her head to face the zebra, who bowed her head low again.

"I will finish the defenses and keep my home protected, and when I finish, I promise my presence can be expected. We must hurry, for twilight and Rainbow Dash may be in grave danger." She turned on her hooves and walked down the trail, "Keep an eye out, we do not want to be caught by another mysterious stranger."

The other four looked between each other, Fluttershy and Rarity with a dejected stare, but Applejack gave them her best, comforting smile. "Girls, ya'll don't gotta worry any. Pinkie and I will be right quick. We'll find 'em safe and sound and bring 'em home. Ya'll need to get the word out quickly that they've been taken by dragon-ridin' foals." The two nodded reluctantly as Pinkie Pie bounced proudly.

"I'll be keeping an eye on Applejack so don't worry about a thing! C'mon girls, let's get to it!" She turned and began to charge south with Applejack on her tail, and Rarity urged Fluttershy to follow her.

---

Scratch scratch scratch scratch tink!

---

His steps were fueled by energy, each reach of his long gallop taking him closer and closer to his current object of interest. His speed was blinding, too fast to see, too quiet to hear, and far lighter than one would assume. It was almost like a racing fog, just barely disturbing the surrounding flora while not snapping a single twig, despite the intensity of his steps.

He had to move fast if he wanted to see it, to see her, to see the thing that made Rukafelth indecisive, to see what made the mountain question where it stood, to see what made the Juggernaut quiver. Long long LONG had he waited this day to see even a hint of weakness, and he needed it NEEDED IT. She had Shallom stomping his hooves in rage and Rukafelth opening his heart, she could be the thing he wanted most.

And if Balla was right, she had enough magic swirling around her to make an Alicorn shake. Yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes yes YES! It was just the upper hand he was looking for! The skull smiled viciously at the idea.

Even better, if Rukafelth was right, she was vulnerable herself, not used to violence, which made things all the better.

The forest echoed with the giggles of a poltergeist.

---

"Ow!"

"You alright?"

"Chipped a hoof…"

"You can keep it up. You have to!"

…

…

…

Scratch scratch scratch.

---

Nestled on the side of a low cliff, a shelf carved out from the bare rock to construct homes and a town hall, a lower ring pressed flat and bared for buildings of business and pleasure, Horshire was the model of an updated, well-educated, technologically sound frontier town.

It was as much of a tourist hotspot as it was a center of information on old Equestria and the myths of the world around it. It was a center of archaeology, set up in an old mining town that uncovered an old cavern filled with ancient tomes and devices with enough history around them to make a librarian's jaw detach itself. Unicorns from all over Equestria moved in, tidying up what was formerly a little Earth Pony town and turning it into an industrious center of excavation.

Its value to Canterlot and Equestria as a whole had reached the upper limits when the small town had boomed with enough magic from its collective unicorn population to change the land around it. Formerly small, passive creatures began to grow larger, more aggressive, making things mysterious as objects not nailed down began to disappear, found later deep in the wilds among nests, usually chewed up and a bit sticky. Folk-Lorists and Biologists began to pay a visit and study the wildlife, and set up expeditions to discover the effect the magic was having on the untamed population.

Objects, books, and creatures of mythical legend and value did not go immediately to Canterlot. Horshire, far away and dangerous as it was to get to, unofficially had first dibs on anything historically, magically, or mythologically intriguing. That meant at all hours it was bustling with intellectuals, the handiworkers, the spouses, and the children, as well as the old scholars who have retired, but wanted a place of excitement and information to relay their wisdom and stories of intrigue to any who would listen.

Trade of tools and artifacts as well as objects of mere material value like gems and Old-Equestrian bracelets were always set up for sale in booths, and every now in then, in the back alleys, would be a few mystics looking for a quick buck who would magically align the stars in their payers favor… Or not. It was usually the latter, but sometimes you got lucky. Sometimes.

Hero Cloudbreaker, the inappropriately named but appropriately positioned super soldier of the Royal Guard landed gently on all four hooves in the middle of the town, thirty soldiers landing around him just as quietly, afraid to disturb the silence of Horshire. The blonde haired leader of the investigation and initiation squad took several uneasy steps towards the middle of the town square where, hastily, almost without care about design or safety, a gallows had been built.

He took one step on top of it, pressed his hoof down, and sensing no danger, climbed on top. The raised platform offered no new perspective of the town. Not a local soul seemed to exist. The buildings were dark, quiet, and unlocked, with unbarred windows and doors held open by the wind showing no signs of anyone trying to hide. He turned his head quietly to the center of the gallows, where a bag was hung by a rope. He did not need to open it to tell what was inside. The shape was too distinctive, the smell putrid in his nostrils, and it took him a moment to realize he was quivering in anger.

A child. A child was in that bag. Lifeless. Taken from it needlessly, harshly. His men watched with mixed expressions as he circled around the bag, before carefully reaching up and untied the rope. He caught the corpse over his shoulders and walked down the gallows, to his men. "If the child's parents live, I want the body sent to them post haste. If not…" He stared back at the buildings with a tense expression. "I want them buried in their home town. It's the very least we can do."

There was a mumble of acceptance and one of the Guards took the body and laid it delicately out in the open ground. Hero returned to the gallows and stared at the arm that held the rope. He knew it was not this object's fault, it was just an unfeeling tool, but it was part of it none the less. He turned, and shattered it with a kick, throwing the splinters behind him like so many memories that would need to be unburied. He turned to his loyal men, and began to address them with a voice you'd associate with a wise king. "There will be no fancy speeches today. Whatever is responsible for this tragedy must be found and dealt with immediately. Princess Celestia does not wish for anymore deaths, but I am issuing a 'dead or alive' decree. Fifteen of you will investigate the surrounding woods for traces of the killers, the rest of you will be in town with me looking for much of the same, with the added objective of finding any of the historical documents and artifacts. They must be preserved. Go, in good faith and in Celestia's name, let us find our enemies." A motto that hadn't been uttered in seriousness for tens of years since their last serial killer. Equestria was changing, and Hero, the super soldier of the Royal Guard and proud defender of the land of the Sun and Moon, did not like it.

No. As half his men took to the forest and the other half began to search the buildings, he rapidly made his way to the Historical Society of Equestrian texts. Action meant trouble, trouble meant people, property, lives getting hurt. He'd become a guard swearing he'd protect these people under any cost, but that included the idealistic view of the world around him he once held. He opened the door to the library of old tomes, and found, to his deep dissatisfaction, that it was devoid of both life and text. All the books had been stripped from the shelves, all the old documents pulled out of glass cases, and even the check-out lists and library information had been lifted.

He'd become the legend he was through repeated acts of bravery, strength, honor, and intelligence, always remaining a moral pillar in Equestrian life and military, even if it was considered outdated and just for display. He'd become a legend by seeing the disgusting underbelly of Equestria in all its unholy glory, proving again and again that sometimes police work didn't just foot what had to be done. He'd seen Pegasus bandits attacking sky carriages, Earth ponies with a need for thrills and violence battering towns and wrecking the country-side, rogue Unicorns doing back-alley alterations, experimenting on the lives around them, and he found again and again that for every thousand friendly, lively, good-natured pony citizens there were, there was a rotten one taking advantage of the peaceful lifestyle.

Maybe it was why he found himself xenophobic and a tad racist to outside ponies, but a good number he caught hadn't adjusted to the Equestrian lifestyle. How little the citizens knew of the world outside Equestria, some of the violence that went on beyond the borders of their border countries, and the number of ponies fleeing for a better life… Or an easier profit. Yet in his time, murder was rare.

Outright removal was a new thing altogether. It made his gut churn as the unfamiliar situation settled in on him. He felt look a rookie walking in on his first raid again, and for all his wisdom and experience couldn't sum up his feelings. His gut told him, deep down, that the townies had befallen a terrible fate. His heart told him they could still be alive out there. He sincerely wanted to believe his heart.

"The Historical Society is empty. Clear of all books and papers." He informed one of his captains, who bowed his head low.

"The individual museums have been cannibalized as well. The libraries are empty, and all the crafts buildings are still full, but all papers have just gone up in smoke. Somebody's after the printed stuff here."

"I think we should look in the vaults. Some of the older, more delicate stuff is kept there. As well as some of the more dangerous information." He started to walk towards the town hall in order to retrieve the spare set of keys while his captain hurried up to catch up beside him.

"More dangerous information? Sir?" He'd asked.

"Equestria wasn't always Equestria. From what I gleaned, before Celestia's parents the land was war torn by other Alicorns. The vaulted stuff is information on Ancient Equestria, specifically old practices and weapon-making techniques; at least one has a ritual that can raise volcanoes on command. Things we don't want falling in the wrong hands." He explained as they walked up the wooden steps to the hall, and through the open door into a building full of tables and hastily discarded seat cushions. Not a scrap of paper in the place, and they walked towards the podium.

"Sounds pretty heavy. Why keep it in Horshire?" His captain asked as Hero searched.

"It's more safe than Canterlot. More unicorns trained in protection per square foot, access to arms and technology that have slipped the minds of the more current population, as well as being out of the way enough to not be immediately considered on a map. And since it's fairly easy to find out about Horshire, it's sneaking up on it that's difficult. When threatened, they can easily erect barriers strong enough to hold armies back, and the woods are so thick and full of potential problems, it's almost not worth it. A single artillery strike might get through if nopony is watching the sky, but the observatory eggheads rarely take their eyes off the sky. The cliff they're backed with is full of a lot of well-hidden holes and many sensors to warn the mining operations in town of cave-ins and rockslides. Fifty hooves would count as a 'rockslide'." He snorted in frustration and lifted his head up. No keys. "We may need a demolitions team to open the vaults."

They began to walk back towards the center of town, the captain watching Hero with a confused expression. "So how was Horshire raided?"

Hero remained quiet for the longest time until they stood back on the gallows platform. "That is going to be the question we'll be asked long after the perp is caught."

"Commander Hero!" The two pony guards turned slowly towards the rushing soldier, and Hero noted the haunted expression in his eyes. "There is…" He turned his head frequently in the direction of one of the vault buildings disguised as a local bookstore, gasping for air, eyes wide. "We've found them! We've found all of them. In the vaults. The citizens, the unicorns, the children…" He babbled until Hero stepped down in front of him and met his eyes.

"Take me."

The guard turned tail and ran, Hero and the captain following him kept up a brisk pace. They ran into the building, past the empty book shelves and into the storage room in the back. The cramped space had a panel slid back from behind a bookshelf, revealing a small passageway that lead to a stairway. Down the stairway was a massive metal door full of intricate locks and gears, opened wide to reveal a room that must have once held a dozen ancient items that had devastating potential. Instead, it all made Hero groan from queasiness. He was not alone, as his Captain had to step back out the moment he saw what it was.

The population of Horshire numbered in around the two-hundreds, with the less permanent wanderers bringing it up to around three-hundred daily, and each and every one of them had been heaped haphazardly against the walls, in stacks, one on top of the other. On the outside, nearest to Hero were the elderly, then the adults, and then the children. All except one, who sat with wide, terrified eyes as she stared at Hero.

Hero stared back. The smell of the place was almost overwhelming, and the floor had grown an unpleasant sticky coat as fluids from the corpses seeped across the floor, mixing and mixing and settling into a thin paste. Yet the little filly sat in the middle of it all, an expression that suggested she'd seen death itself laughing in her face written all over her. Hero, for the first time in many years, was at a loss for words.

---

Tink tink tink tink tink scratch tink.

---

Shallom wasn't sure what he found more aggravating about Cloppin's so called info-dump. On one hoof, the Jester hadn't lied when he said he'd found a lot of information in Horshire, meaning Cloppin didn't make himself out to be entirely useless. On the other hoof, as valuable as a majority of the information was, he seemed more concerned with gathering every single possible scrap of information there was, whether it was relevant or irrelevant. In his cloud-covered home base for himself and his men, he had stacks of papers on a desk blessed by himself to float on top of the sea of white fluff, and even larger stacks waiting on the floor.

He hated reading. Hate hate HATED reading. He was an action sort of creature, not to mention dyslexic, so he often spent several minutes on the same page again and again making sure he got all the right info, and the stupid clown decided to send him every single paper whether it was a child's essay on the activity of the moon or an elderly scholar's musings on the great power in whatever piece of rusted scrap he found in a dig. Yet, every few pages, locations were revealed to him and new ideas on the strength of the power he was seeking sent shudders down his spine. It was worth it.

Yet he'd been here for almost eight hours now, reading and sorting and burning whatever was irrelevant with a flash of his eyes, and it was starting to show in his stance.

There was a knock on his door, and he grunted what could have been a "come in" or a "leave the pizza by the door", either way, the door opened and one of his gold armored captains entered. "Pardon my interruptions, Skylord. The men are growing restless without orders. What have you been doing in here?" The mare glanced around the room carefully, and found stacks upon stacks of paper lining the walls. She raised a delicate eyebrow. "You've been reading?"

"Very important." He grumbled, tossing a paper in one of eight piles on the floor. The Pegasus walked over to that particular stack and lifted up the paper in one hoof. "Much to learn, much information to know. Very important."

The Pegasus stared at the paper he'd tossed for the longest time, "Why My Mom and Dad are the Best Parents Ever, by Daisy Digs; a B-, that's very generous of you, sire." The captain smirked as Shallom shook his head and snorted.

"Knew most basic facts, good attention to detail. Very little research done, sloppy hoof writing." Shallom mumbled, and the captain approached delicately, and pressing her side against his, shifted him away from the desk. He did not looked amused. "I am busy, Schola."

"You're delirious. Divide up the work and have us lowly captains work it through, we'll show you what needs to be read or not. Besides, some of us have been doing some research in our spare time based on your information. We've found some thing you might find interesting." Shallom watched Schola reach into a pack on her side and pull out a scroll. She unfurled it and gave it to Shallom, who read it carefully.

"You're doing research on… Twilight Sparkle?" He asked, the name registering in his mind, but barely. He recalled Rukafelth during their last meeting.

"Yes, the Fake. The False One. Twilight Sparkle of Canterlot, the Taker of Golding's Power." Her eyes narrowed as she spoke, and she watched all the right switches click in her leader's head, and Shallom began to growl.

"And what makes you think I care about the information on a thief? Rukafelth has her, all I know is that she'll be taken for her crimes and the power returned. What else matters?" He shook his head, looking to the piles of paper he hadn't gone through yet. Maybe he should just let the others sort it…

"Read it sir. We made it short, and it has the only information you need to know about her." Shallom sighed and turned back to Schola to read the report.

"Twilight Sparkle of Canterlot, the student of…" He trailed off, his eyes disbelieving the words written before him, "The student of Princess Celestia, Alicorn ruler of Equestria. Shown from a young age to have advanced abilities in magic, one of her first and most magical acts being the accidental polymorph of her parents and several staff members into potted plants. Taken as Celestia's student, she quickly advanced through school and showed an aptitude and understanding unmatched in the history of Equestria. While Spartan with her use of magic, her knowledge and fast thinking combined with her excessive magical strength have deterred enemies many times her size, strength, and even age. Almost by herself she nearly defeated a crazed Alicorn of Eternal Night, Nightmare Moon." He turned his head briskly towards the door, marching at a pace one could equate to running.

"Sir! Where are you going? Should I rally the men?" Schola asked, watching her leader walk to the edge of a cloud and spread his mighty white wings. "Sir?"

"No, continue my research, I want detailed reports in two days. Do not try to skip ahead, I want all of them read closely and carefully. I am going to be flying to Rukafelth, he is dealing with a power he does not fully understand. I am the fastest here, so it will be the safest for me to go. I want no missions until I return. Dismissed." He dived off the cloud without waiting for confirmation, wings spread, and he lifted upwards, flapping rapidly as he sped south. Three seconds after his take off, there was a massive crashing noise, and rainbow-colored circles were all that were left of him as he lead a rainbow across the sky.

---

Scratch scratch scratch tink tink tink.

---

Stopping hadn't been part of the plan. Applejack watched the sun sit in the sky, and turned her head to scan her surroundings. The trees of the Everfree Forest had been passed what felt like a long time ago, and now they were in the woods of… Somewhere else. Each tree was straight and tall, of a light brown wood rather than the dark, knotted, creature-like figures of the Everfree Forest. It was certainly more welcoming, but also quite a bit hotter, and they'd been running for most of the night and day now. Applejack was feeling the strain of fatigue in her muscles, and looking to Pinkie Pie she saw there was a way to get all that bubbly energy exhausted.

'Took a while though.' She mused as Pinkie rested against a tree, panting heavily. Her hair hadn't flattened, a good sign she was still hopeful and energetic. Applejack glanced around their surroundings, then turned to her companion. "Hey, Pinkie Pie. Short break, find a good patch a' grass and bushes and fill up, dunno how much further it's gonna be so we should get full."

Pinkie Pie stared at the grass on the ground and then to Applejack, and raised an eyebrow. "Ew, you actually eat this sort of stuff Applejack? I don't think I've ever resorted to eating grass before, it's so plain and icky!"

"Aww c'mon now sugarcube, t'ain't nothin' wrong with a little natural feed." She bent down and bit off the tops of a patch of grass and chewed slowly before swallowing. "Fills ya up if ya give it time."

"No thank you!" The pink mare got to her hooves wobbly-like, and glanced out in the forest. "I prefer my food to be a little more sweet! I thought I saw some berries earlier, so I'm going to go find them. I'll be back in a few shakes!" She began to bounce away from the farmer pony, who just sighed.

"Don' go gettin' lost now, y'hear? If you ain't back in two minutes I'm draggin' ya'll away from those berry bushes."

"Okey-doki-loki!" Was Pinkie Pie's response. Applejack calmly leaned down to graze again. She hoped Pinkie Pie would take longer than two minutes, berries would certainly liven up this feast.

Pinkie Pie skipped back towards the clearing she'd thought she'd spied earlier, seeing it again soon enough. With a smile, she hopped out of the bush blocking her path and landed suddenly. A few feet further and she'd have landed hooves first onto an old tombstone. She stared at it, bug-eyed for a few seconds, before she calmed herself down. It wasn't just one tombstone either, it was an entire, old gravesite, worn away by age and elements. Still, Pinkie Pie was the superstitious sort, and quietly she walked around the length of it, stopping only when one of the outer bushes she passed bore the fruit she'd been hunting for. "A-hah! I knew this was the right place! Er, sorry." She turned back to apologize to the graves, but froze.

She saw a skull, two black holes, a white face, wide, grinning teeth, and… A foal's cap? The upper-half of his body had a sheet thrown around it like a too-short rain poncho that stopped just above has back-half, and it was checkered black and orange, ending in long spike-patterns with tiny bells on the end of each one. His back half actually wore black pants, covering his cutie mark, and letting his oddly thin tail poke out. She turned away from her bounty to stare at the strangest pony she'd ever seen. "What an odd thing to say in a graveyard of all places all places!" The skull spoke, making Pinkie jump. The Pony turned, the bells on the end of his cap tinkling softly as he looked past Pinkie at the bush. Pinkie finally saw it was all face-paint, even though the pitch black eyes were still a curiosity. "Oh, you mean your one of those sorts that lives off the land? What an interesting idea, could never do so myself self, far too unrefined for this court-tempered tongue of mine of mine, but to each their own, yes?" The jester took a step forward.

Pinkie Pie smiled nervously at the odd pony, and took an uneasy step back. "Um, yeah! I usually eat a lot of sweets and stuff because I live in a bakery and I need to test the sweets to make sure they're delicious but a friend and I are in a rush somewhere to help our friends and we stopped for food and I didn't want to eat icky grass and thought I saw some berries here and I did which is really lucky even though this is a gravesite but I'm being careful to be nice to the dead ponies - Celestia rest their souls and all! - 'cause I don't want ten years bad luck and, uh, now that I think about it I'm not hungry! So, I'll just be getting-" She turned her head towards the direction Applejack would be, only to find the skull-pony was standing there as well. She flipped her eyes back towards where he was a moment ago, only to find him still there. Then back to where he was, or would be - or should be? - now, and yes, he was still there. She slowly crept backwards until she could see both in her vision, yet there was only one, where he should have been. Between her and Applejack.

"You're the talkative sort, I can tell." The jester approached, rocking his head back and forth to make the bells jingle. Pinkie Pie quivered a little, her appetite gone as adrenaline began to fill her legs, telling her to flee, to get away from this dangerous thing. "I like to talk too, tell stories, sing songs, entertain my liege and my guests. They call me a genius when it comes to jestering, because even when they're in the greatest of agonies, my jokes will still knock 'em dead!"

Pinkie Pie twitched, one hoof sticking out at an angle for her to run past the slowly walking thing, but as her eyes looked into the dark circles of the pony's eyes, she felt herself freeze with terror as he came closer and closer, for all appearances harmless, but underneath that cheeky grin and flamboyant outfit, she felt there was something deeply disturbed about this creature. She carefully began to back away, and he started to move faster towards her, his smile stretching sadistically until she could see all of his teeth. She felt her flank brush the leaves of a bush, and she pushed back inside of it until the approaching pony disappeared from view.

There was a flash of reflected light, and a rush of air as the jester flew through the bush, a stiletto held between his teeth cutting through the brush, nicking away leaves and twigs with a mere touch, and he emerged from the other side. He stood in brief confusion, seeing his blade was still glowing, not painted red with spilled blood, and he turned his head rapidly around. All he saw was a flash of pink dive out of the berry bush and in the direction he'd been keeping her from, and a hideous smile opened across his face. "Oh-hohohoho. Even Cloppin can appreciate a good trick." He began to give chase, humming loudly, lowly, his magical will stretching across the land as his personal soldiers were roused to action.

Pinkie Pie charged through the brush, turning her head to stare back at where the pony was still standing, and when she turned her head forward she could swear the shadows around her were moving. She stopped as a dark shape emerged from the hole of a nearby tree and she slipped around it quickly, but she watched as the shadows grew and mutated, growing beady red eyes, black tendrils slowly extending to grab at her, brushing her mane with deathly cold mist that made her scream. Something caught her leg, wrapping around it and squeezing, tugging her off her hooves and throwing her onto her face. She felt the sickly cold mist swirl around her, and watched the shadows close in, watched their beady red eyes as they gripped her limbs and neck and tail and hair, closing her veins as they tightened and choking her. The shadows grew thin, sharp white teeth, and made no noise as they held her still while hoof steps filled her ears. Tears streamed from her eyes as she gagged for air and felt her body go numb from lack of circulation, and she watched the gaily dressed pony approach while a sharp blade between his flat teeth.

"How the little mare ran. A tricky girl, but so easily lost in the shadows. A pity, but you were a thrill either way." Pinkie's eyes widened as he stood over her and leaned down, the blade pressing to her abdomen. "I can't wait to see…" He giggled, "I just can't wait to see…" He began to push slowly, making Pinkie give soundless screams as he drew blood, but he pulled away suddenly. Through misty eyes she saw his head turn, and then he was gone. No puff of smoke, no flash of light, he was no longer there, and the shadows retreated to their corners.

Pinkie laid still, panting, feeling the blood flow back through her numb body as Applejack jumped over a bush and landed by her side. "Oh lordie, Pinkie…" The filly leaned down, eyes filled with concerned as she stared into Pinkie's foregone eyes, and she began to rub her with a hoof. "Pinkie Pie what the hay happened, ye're cold as death…" Applejack began to rub her slowly with her hooves, massaging her legs to get the warmth and feeling back, pausing only when she spied blood.

"M-monsters…" Pinkie whimpered as Applejack stared at the wound, then began to glance around. Applejack listened as she grabbed some vines and a lot of sap-soaked leaves, the best she could come up with, "I-I found the berries in a graveyard, and then I s-saw a pony clown, really scary one…" She whispered, feeling Applejack apply the leaves to her stomach and wrap a few vines around her. "H-he chased me with a knife, and the shadows came to life and started to strangle me and-" she couldn't finish, too busy hiccupping in fear and drowning out her own voice with her tears.

Applejack pressed her cheek to Pinkie's and sighed softly. "I didn't see no shadows or clowns, but Pinkie ya probably just spooked yerself in that graveyard. Y'know it's bad luck to hang around those. C'mon, we gotta go save Twilight." She helped Pinkie stand up, and pressed her side against the shivering mare's. "I'll be with ya Pinkie, I'll keep them away from ya. Ya just gotta hang on with me. Let's go." Pinkie nodded slowly, the twisting in her gut never really leaving as they began to run again.

Overhead, they were shadowed by a sadistic wind.

---

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

…

"Got it."

---

Every major unicorn in Canterlot had shown up in the Hearing Room. Celestia mused moodily that this was possibly the first time in a hundred years that everyone chose to show up, and for what? Not to see the killer and hear his story and condemn him, not to discuss the distribution of Horshire's mythical collection, but to hear the story of a little unicorn filly Hero had found. The forty-eight unicorns who took the roles of overseeing the weather planning, crop placement, animal migration, economic chartering, and magical use and misuse sat quietly, twenty-four on one side of the room sitting in their risers, twenty-four on the other doing the same. Celestia sat at the head of the room at the end of a long carpet on a high-raised platform to oversee things while Hero, who had never once left the little gray filly's side, opened the doors and walked in, the tiny mare in front of him.

Celestia knew she shouldn't have been so harsh in her thoughts on the unicorns, many were busy with what they did, and word had only recently been passed around about Horshire's fate, and its sole survivor, the so called "Rubber Pony". As she watched the filly step up to the wooden hearing platform, her eyes never looking at anybody, she could see just how haunted the girl was. She did not smile, laugh, look amazed or dazed, look pleased with herself or nervous, she looked dead on the inside. An uncommon expression in Equestria, that made Celestia gulp. None of the other unicorns looked any better as they stared.

"Connie Torsion?" Celestia called to the young girl, who looked up meekly. Hero was behind her, standing on the steps, his large presence nearly on top of her. He had a look of pained determination while staring down at the filly. Celestia watched how her eyes rarely blinked. She was unnerving as much as she was unnerved. "Could you please tell us what happened in Horshire?" Celestia asked politely, the motions feeling so… Sick right now when pressed on the girl.

Connie looked down at her small hooves, and Hero gently stroked her back with his nose, making her shudder. "You can tell them Connie. That's Princess Celestia, our wise and kind Princess." Connie just nodded weakly, calmly pawing at the wood beneath her hooves. "You can tell her anything. She's a very nice pony and wants to help you. You just have to tell her." He spoke quietly, and fatherly, having never felt the urge to have a kid before, yet paternal instincts punted into overdrive at the sight of this little thing.

"Um…" Connie slowly looked up from her hooves to see the Princess had gotten off her platform and was a few feet in front of her, almost on level with her. That seemed to calm her down. "I-it was… A nice day… I was practicing with mom in our backyard, our circus act was coming soon, and I had to get a trick right…"

"You're part of the circus?" Celestia asked kindly. Several of the unicorns padded nervously and in annoyance at the distraction, but nobody said anything.

"Y-yeah. I was a conto- contro- a bendy girl for the Skyhigh Unicorn Actors of Equestria. It was gonna be my first show…" Celestia approached slowly, resting her chin on the hearing stand's guardrail, and looked into Connie's eyes. "I-I'm really good at it. Momma says so and so did Mister Skyhigh." She paused, her eyes softening as she stared at Celestia. "W-wanna see?"

Celestia opened her mouth, and some of the Unicorns began to follow suit to get the hearing moving, but Hero interrupted them. "Yes, they would like to see it Connie. Show them 'The Pretzelnator'." He advised her, and Connie nodded rapidly. Everypony was quiet as her horn flashed for just a moment, and Celestia noticed the way she began to sag around the middle. The filly turned, ducked her head underneath her torso, her tail meeting her face halfway through, and to Celestia's astonishment, she grabbed her tail in her teeth at the base. Nobody had that sort of flexibility, and there certainly weren't any spells to do that. Connie then flipped over onto her back, and balanced perfectly, legs straight out in the air before bending inwards to make a heart shape over her head and tail. She held it for a few seconds, before popping free.

Another flash of her horn, and she no longer sagged. Celestia watched her smile as a few of the unicorns began to praise the move, and the impressive magic she'd used, but saw very little joy in it. "That was very impressive Connie."

"Y-yeah. I told you I'm good." She wagged her tail a little, and Hero lightly nudged her flank. "O-oh, right," she took in a slow breath, and a little more confident, began to speak, "I was practicing with mom in our backyard when we heard a lot of people talking and shouting near the town square. Momma told me to stay but I followed her sneaky-like because I wanted to see. Some of our guards had put up a shield to keep out a really scary looking pony who looked like a skeleton clown. They were trying to get him to tell them who he was but he would just laugh and say stuff like 'It doesn't matter who I am, just that you give me what I want'. Then he just kind of…" She paused in thought, her little face falling flat with emotion again. "Walked in…"

"Through the shield?" Somebody in the stands asked. Little Connie nodded softly.

"L-Like it wasn't th-there. They s-started sh-shouting a lo-ot. N-nobody coul-could use m-magic on him. Th-then he had a kn-kni- a kn-knife and…" She froze, her eyes wide. Hero gently wrapped a leg around her. "H-he p-put it in… In…" She began to hyperventilate, and Celestia could see where this was going quickly. The unicorns attending began to speak among themselves, understanding just as well as Celestia cast a little spell to calm her down. "And they fell… Just… All of them were… Like sleeping but… Dolls…" She said just loud enough for them to hear, and a small uproar had to be silenced before she could continue.

"The shadows…" She continued in a low voice. "They started grabbing everyone… And soon he had everyone there. I was in the front with a lot of my friends, all the kids were up front near the clown pony, and he was telling us to give him keys to the stuff we'd dug up, but nobody would give it to him so the shadows put together a big wooden arm in the middle of the town, and said if we didn't he'd hurt everyone. I don't think anyone believed him because they just started shouting more. Th-then he got mad at everyone and put a rope on the arm, and grabbed my best friend Molly. Then it got really really quiet because he'd put Molly on the rope, and the shadows squeezed my neck so hard I couldn't scream. But Molly could, Molly cried a lot until he dropped her." Connie laid down as the entire room went dead quiet.

Celestia couldn't move. She could only stare at the emotionless face of the little girl who'd watched her best friend die. "He told us if nobody would speak up, he'd do the same thing to us, and he tossed Molly onto the ground in front of us. I think somebody tried to tell him, but the shadows were squeezing our necks so we couldn't speak, so he grabbed another kid." She paused, and stared up at the ceiling in thought. "Yeah, it was Chaser. He was really good at sports back when he could move. After that I don't remember seeing much because I was crying so hard I didn't see who he got next. I think he was after us kids first, 'cause I don't remember seeing any adults until it was my turn. He dragged me up and put the rope around my neck, and dropped me, but, see, I was smart!" She smiled wide at that, but her eyes never changed.

"I'd never let go of my spell, so when he dropped me I just flopped all over and got tossed onto all the other kids and the mean pony guy never noticed! So I was okay. I was too scared to move because I didn't want him to know I was alive, so I just watched as he finished the kids, then started bringing the adults up to be roped too, and when the adults were all done - there were a lot, I remember I was there long enough to see the sun fall - he took all the old ponies and put them on the rope next. And then when everypony but me was gone, the shadows went away and he started searching everywhere, but I never moved, 'cause if I did he might notice and use a knife on me. So I laid still, really still, until he started carrying out all this stuff with his shadows. I don't know where it went, I couldn't see, and then the shadows came back and grabbed everypony. They pulled us down into this big dark vault place and piled everypony up except for me." She gulped loudly, tears now appearing in her eyes as she thought carefully to herself.

Nobody made so much as a move that might disturb her train of thought, and she curled up weakly, Hero calmly rubbing her side with one hoof. "They put me in the middle of the room, not on the sides like the others, and then the mean skeleton-pony guy walked in and looked right down at me, and he told me, 'You can foal a rope but you can't rope the foal' and then he walked out and shut the door. And then after crying for a really long time, the door opened, and he helped me out." She looked up to Hero, and squirmed to her hooves so she could press her face to his chest. With a passive face he held her close, to let her know he would protect her.

Nopony said anything for the longest time as the girl wept into Hero's chest, but nobody had to. The door had opened, and in walked a royal messenger. "We've just received word of Twilight Sparkle's possibly location from her friends. We've sent a team to investigate."

Added a GRIMDARK warning at a reader's request from last chapter pertaining to Cloppin.

Also this is the last pre-written story I'll be posting in a row, everything else I'm actively working on so no worries about that. I should be able to update weekly at the very least. Thank you for all the reviews, this has been very fun to write and equally fun to plan. I'm looking forward to getting into the actual meat of the story.

---

Twilight opened her eyes a crack as her body told her to wake up. Her leg was still sore from the constant scratching motions it had been going through last night and she still felt very cautious about the tip of her hoof. She briefly wondered how long she'd been sleeping, what time of day it was, and if she could go fast enough to finish today, but she pushed the thoughts aside knowing straight and simple she had to finish it today. She just had to.

She got up groggily and became aware there was no scratching noises in the next cell. Dash must have tired herself out and went to lay down like Twilight had. "Finally tired out?" She asked as she approached the cell bars. They only briefly got visited last night by the guards to get food, a rather dry, somewhat dusty dish of grain and seed, just barely filling but granting enough energy to give her some more time to work. They hadn't noticed her attempts to escape though, as the water pooling around the cell floor got sucked into the hole when she'd pushed away the straw barrier keeping it at bay while she worked. The combination of stone flecks, mud, and dust made it too cloudy to see the hole. Twilight spent a bit of time praying to the Princesses for her good luck.

"Nope." Was the response over in the next cell. Twilight blinked as she heard Rainbow Dash move around. "Just trying to find the right angle for this. The bar's all rusty in the ground, so I think if I aim this just right…" Twilight winced at the loud clang from Dash kicking the bar, and heard her grunt. "Okay, that wasn't right…"

Twilight pulled as much water out of her hole as she could and admired her work. She'd spent half a day chipping a water-logged stone block with only her hooves and so far had a fair hole. She predicted there wasn't too much to dig through, and using her other, more awkward hoof, continued to dig as Rainbow Dash kicked her bar again, getting another pained grunt. "Aww c'mon! You're all rusted up and crap, break!" The Pegasus shouted. Twilight had noticed since gaining a goal, Dash's vigor had returned. The vulnerable, meek pony from before was now back to normal.

"It's still steel, Dash. And keep quiet, what if somebody hears us?" Twilight whispered. Rainbow Dash silenced herself and seemed to toy with her cell bar for a while, probably trying to find weakness. "You put more pressure behind the back of your heel than the rest of your hoof. Just use your head Dash, you're a smart girl." The small encouragements they traded back and forth to each other since enacting the plan had been a minor, but welcomed morale boost. Their relationship together had been a standard jock and egghead deal, Dash being headstrong, unstoppably persistent, and all about physical skill, and Twilight being incredibly cautious, over-prepared, nose in a book, and more concerned with her mind than her body.

They'd rarely been alone together before, and it always seemed to devolve into sniping at each other's lack of abilities. Here though… Dash trusted Twilight to be tough, Twilight trusted Dash to be intelligent. There was another loud clang, followed by a vicious crack. "Hah! That did the trick. Few more of those…" Twilight continued to dig, and after a few moments she could see she found the bottom of the bar. Elation filled her, and she began to widen the hole, offer it a little more room. She kept hearing Dash kick the bar, and finally she heard a sharp snapping noise. She listened and heard the rest of the bar fall out of the hole in the ceiling.

In the other cell, Dash was quick to cash the remains of the bar in her teeth before it could fall loudly on the floor, and carefully placed it in her cell. She stared at the gap between bars, and with a smug grin pushed her head through easily. She wriggled her body as it caught on the front of her legs, and she twisted to get her legs through, and carefully turned back and forth to get it around her ribs. The squeeze was tight, and she had to exhale to reduce her size just a little. She squirmed and wriggled, getting the bars past her chest and she slid through, now working to get her back legs out. When she turned her head, she could see Twilight watching her, and she smiled proudly. She kicked her back legs, twisted, and turned her body sideways to slide through the bars, and landed on the ground, outside her cell, one step closer to being a free filly. Twilight didn't say anything, but the look of relief that crossed her face, and the elated way she jumped in her cell told Dash that she was proud.

"You finished in there?" The Pegasus approached the cell bars and stared down at the bar Twilight had been working on and saw the hole was practically deep enough.

"Just about," Twilight checked the hole again and kept scratching. "I just need to widen it a little and-" she ducked as Dash's hoof connected with the bar, causing it to shake.

"Feels right to me. Help me." She kicked again, making it shake again.

"It'll be easier if you let me-"

"It'll be faster if you start kicking! I did it, so can you." Dash grunted, a third kick making a few pebbles fall from the ceiling. Twilight looked skeptical, but backed up, turned, and kicked. She did not have Dash's strength, nor quite her precision, and it ended sloppy. But she tried, and she tried again, and again, the two kicking the bar as hard as they could repeatedly, until finally the rusted end broke, letting the rest of the bar fall. It was caught, placed out of the way, and Twilight pushed her head through.

Like Dash, she'd been caught by her front legs, and with Dash's instruction pushed them through. Dash, being a Pegasus, had thicker muscle around her ribs to support her wings, so Twilight slipped through more easily than she had, but was caught by her stomach. "Nng!" She grunted, pushed until it had hurt. "Nng… Nng! Dash, I can't-" she turned and stared at her own stomach, trying to take a deep breath to slide through.

Dash stared, examining the way Twilight flexed her stomach, and grabbed the unicorn by her mane and began to tug. "You're too thick!" She grunted from between her teeth, "We might have to just… Pull!" She growled, making Twilight pause.

"Thick…?" She mumbled, then took a deep breath and wiggled around, slowly sidling herself bit by bit, only to get caught on her back legs.

"Crap, okay, lemme think, maybe we could use water to lube you up?" She offered as Twilight struggled to twist like Dash had to straighten her legs and pull through, but even when she'd matched her movements the bars still caught her flank and legs. "We have got to get you working out…"

"Not… Thick!" Twilight grunted, pulling herself as hard as she could. Rainbow Dash snickered at Twilight's insistence, then turned. Twilight continued to struggle, stopping only as Dash's legs struck out underneath her head, kicking one of the bars holding her still.

"Keep moving!" Dash hissed, doing it again as Twilight pulled herself. Slowly it began to work, letting Twilight squeeze out until she popped from her cell. Twilight landed on front with a groan, and looked up to find Dash smiling at her goofily. It was an expression Twilight matched as they'd realized they'd gotten out. It was short-lived as Dash turned her head to face the door. She grabbed its handle and tugged, but it stayed fast. "Locked." She muttered bitterly.

She looked to Twilight for any sort of advice, but saw the Unicorn's eyes were on herself. "Your wings..." Twilight whispered, having just seen the ragged, torn up state of the Pegasuses' wings.

Dash frowned a little, looking back at the tiny, pathetic little excuses of what was left of her own former glory, and shook her head away from the despair that tried to slip into her stomach. "Not now, we need to get out of here, let's worry about it later." She told her, and Twilight only weakly agreed.

She watched Twilight turn and close her mouth around the steel bar they'd knocked loose from the ceiling and she carried it over. "I got a small idea. The lock should be pretty old, so if we line up this bar right and give it enough force we should jar the lock enough to open it up."

"Or we could bust it and end up permanently locked in here." Dash pointed out dryly as Twilight inspected the angle.

"No way, I've done this a few times before when I forgot my room key."

"… You've broken down doors."

"Uh huh. Usually with magic and a banister but a sharp kick to the end should get it right." Using her hooves, she held the bar up straight where Dash could kick it.

"They might not even be the same kind of lock!"

"Well, we can do this now or find something else for later." Dash opened her mouth to argue, but let it die on that logic. She turned, and angling carefully, gave the bar a nice, hard kick. The bar struck the lock, denting the keyhole and causing the whole thing to rattle. Twilight pulled the door open. "Nothing to it!" She grinned at that, and Dash let out a tiny breath of relief.

"Alright fine, you're the smart one. C'mon, before they get mad at us for breaking their stuff."

"And escaping their prison…"

"That too."

---

Shallom stood quietly on the cloud, staring at the sight just below. He wondered how many ponies knew this place existed in Equestria, how many even tried to go this far south through forests so dense that the slightest misstep could have you turned around on your hooves, sending you barreling around aimlessly until exhaustion, hunger, and thirst overtook you? The only sign of correct progression is when you walked into the stone wall of a temple whose top didn't even touch the tree canopies? The only way Shallom even knew was because his legs felt incredibly twitchy above it, and his wings had begun to shiver.

It wasn't the most perfect of hiding places, but Rukafelth's report had mentioned it hadn't been touched in many many years. Shallom descended slowly, through the tree canopies to land on the stone roof of a building he was familiar with in text only. He walked along to the sloped side and leapt to the ground some twenty-five feet below. He turned towards the entrance, which was an arch made of rock with a pair of stone slabs serving as doors. He stared at the doors, and his wings began to twitch and quiver. A spark of blue lightning began to arc along the stone from his wings, between the stone slabs, and they began to glow blue. They shook softly, and slowly separated to create an entrance. He stepped inside, the doors closing behind him as the magical connection ceased.

He walked down a dark, featureless passageway until he entered a brightly lit atrium. There were ten of Rukafelth's soldiers gathered, eating on woven carpets, until there was a collective growl of their stomachs. The stood immediately and turned, facing Shallom. "Sky Steed!" One called in surprise, bowing low alongside the other nine as they recognized the Pegasus. "What brings you to us so suddenly Sir Shallom?" The same one asked. Probably a captain. Not that he could tell, Rukafelth insisted on one standard outfit, so rank would show through intelligence and strength rather than flashy armor.

"I have information regarding The Fake that Rukafelth should hear. He hasn't connected to Lord Galio so I needed my own speed to deliver this information quickly. Where is he?" Shallom asked, holding himself proudly before the soldiers. They looked up to him quietly and then back to the throne room.

"He'd be in his quarters, Sir. We'll go ask him for audience."

"Do tell him that I'm here." The many soldiers nodded quietly and three approached the door to their leader's quarters. One raised a hoof and knocked politely, three times, and waited.

"I'm in my meditation, please allow me several more minutes." Was the deep response.

"Sir, Sky Steed Shallom is asking for an audience. Should we ask him to-" The door opened rather suddenly, and Shallom watched Rukafelth's mighty bulk emerge from the comparatively small door to step out into the room. The white-haired Juggernaut watched his winged counter-part, then he smiled.

"This is a pleasant surprise. What brings you Shallom? Care for some grain?" He asked pleasantly, and Shallom relaxed. The guards backed away from the two mighty commanders as they approached and gave the other a formal bow.

"Grain would be welcome, I've had a long trip and those Sonic… 'Rainbooms' the locals call them are quite strenuous." Rukafelth nodded to one of his men, who sped towards the kitchens to retrieve a fresh bowl. "I also have some interesting information regarding the Fake."

"A Sonic Rainboom…" Rukafelth lead Shallom to the carpeted seat of the throne, and the two sat. "Odd, those. I've read they're exhilarating to see. Odd they can only be performed in Equestria."

"Do keep in mind that the Princesses have surprised us before with their magic. It would almost be worth exploring it myself, except that it's all but useless."

"I've actually taken the time to read about it myself. The magic around here is fairly docile, serving more as a helping hand and a grand show rather than be made for such things as war. I read it's the ponies' duties in Equestria to even manage the seasons and the weather. I've never heard of such things elsewhere."

"Keeps them responsible and busy I suppose… Speaking of responsibilities, my information." Rukafelth bowed his head to apologize, and nodded to let Shallom continue, right before a bowl of fresh grain was pushed in front of the Pegasus. "Her name is Twilight Sparkle."

"I know, I've asked her."

"Right, but how much do you know about her history, where she comes from, what she's done?"

Rukafelth closed his eyes to think, and Shallom nibbled the grain before him while Rukafelth thought. Finally, his eyes opened. "She told me nothing of her history, just her name."

"Precisely. My captains decided to look into her history during their free time and found some halfway legitimately threatening information on her." Shallom stated calmly, studying Rukafelth's reaction. There was none.

"Shallom, all I saw in her was a scared. Warriors, anypony who's faced danger do not cower so easily or release tears as freely as she did. I highly doubt she's a threat." Rukafelth mused while Shallom shook his head.

"You're correct, she is not a warrior. She is Princess Celestia's personal student of magic."

A pause. Then, "We've placed magical inhibitors on her. No magic can be done through the horn. She does not have knowledge of the power she took either. She is aware of its existence, but not how to exploit it."

"Have you ever heard of Nightmare Moon?"

"I did some research on the ancient evils here, the former and current Princess Luna, correct? Twilight said she was stopped immediately and about incident."

"By Twilight." Shallom watched as Rukafelth's face fell, and began to work her jaw in slow circles. "Twilight and friends, I should say. There were five others."

"… So she activated the Elements of Harmony." At Shallom's confused look, he explained, "They're old artifacts, apparently associated with the sixth and final element, Friendship. They're powerful, powerful enough to defeat an Alicorn. And if I'd read correctly, they still contain each element within them."

"So she may still have an Element of Harmony inside of her… And we may not even know it."

The two stood abruptly, but Rukafelth suddenly relaxed, moving to lay down again. Shallom stared at him. "The sixth element can only be activated when present with the five other elements. She's alone with one filly downstairs. She can't activate her element, and the magic is useless right now."

"Fine then. So maybe she can't activate the element, maybe she doesn't know how to use the stolen magic, maybe she can't use her own magic, there is still cause for concern."

Rukafelth was growing an amused little smile now. "You make her out to be some multi-purpose tool. She can't use her power at all, what's left? She's weak. We feed her just enough to sustain her, and the water around the cell isn't exactly healthy. She'll be fine to move to Lord Galio's encampment after Laputa is opened."

"She's intelligent. Resourceful. She's solved several situations on wits alone. I don't understand it well enough myself but she can substitute resourcefulness for brawn. She's probably even considered several ways to get out of her cell, probably save her friend too. For all we know she could be acting on it."

"And to what end? Guards are stationed inside the atrium at all times, and thanks to our Lord's blessing they have excellent senses. Not to mention she wouldn't be able to open the front entrance for that matter. The only other way they could go is the door to Laputa, and if the ancient magics don't crush her soul before she gets a good look at it she would be unable to open it. Behind every wall is a mountain's worth of dirt and their cells are positioned against the wall of the ocean."

Shallom thought to himself about what he was told. Something still irked him. He knew there was something… Maybe he was working himself up over nothing, but she had power dwelling in her that could rival a lesser alicorn, and he figured she had the smarts to get around without the power anyways. He stood up and finally spoke. "Alright, but I would still like to see her myself. I like to see the face of my enemy before they're executed." It wasn't some morbid thing. He wanted to see the face of The Fake, the girl that had stolen a healthy portion of their power. He wanted to know their enemy.

Rukafelth had joined him on his hooves, but looked uneasy, "It may not be a good idea. Two of my guards have expressed some… Reluctance at her living arrangements after two full minutes of escorting her. I myself felt… Lax around her. She is good at drawing sympathy. The less time you spend in her presence, the easier her passing will be for you."

Shallom wasn't listening though, he'd moved to the middle of the atrium and flared his wings in annoyance when Rukafelth didn't follow. Rukafelth let out a great sigh and lead him towards the cells.

---

(Several minutes before)

It was just a door. Two stone slabs surrounded by an arch covered in runes in a hallway with no doors. Rainbow Dash was watching down the hallway to make sure nopony had seen them. They were in the clear for now, but she doubted it would stay that way for long. Still, it was just a stone door with an arch.

So why didn't she want to approach it? She'd just slid into the hallway out of direct view of the atrium but still, when she looked at that simple stone door, she felt uneasy. Twilight was approaching it freely without caution, either ignoring or not feeling the same thing Dash was, and that worried her. She felt like she had to keep Twilight out of more trouble but at the same time they needed to approach the door if they meant to escape. Dash hated that door though.

She took a few steps closer towards it and shivered, feeling an ice cube slide into her tummy as she stared at the door. It took her a few seconds to realize Twilight was hastily calling for her to come forward, yet her hooves almost refused to move. "C'mon Dash, get over here! Quickly!" Twilight whispered.

"… There's something wrong with this door, Twilight." Dash whispered back, an oppressive force squeezing her from all sides, making her want to turn and flee, warning her that if she stepped any closer, it would not hold back. How Twilight didn't notice the thick, aggressive force in the hallway was beyond her, but the Unicorn approached Dash with an uncertain look. "I think… It's like I feel it… It wants to eat me…" She explained with a soft gulp, staring at the door with broad eyes as she felt it would open up at any time and swallow her.

"That's ridiculous Dash, it's just a door. There's nothing wrong with it, c'mon." Twilight grabbed ahold of the Pegasus' mane and began to pull her along, inching her closer to the door, but was stopped. She turned, seeing Dash's hooves dug into the ground as she stared at the door with a shocked face.

It was coming at her full force now. She had experienced magic-induced levitation only once and had never forgotten the experience, and the feeling of magic always felt so… Wrong. It felt like a tyrant taking ahold of her, shaping her the way it wanted, the way it felt like, taking her where it demanded. She'd humbly told Twilight one day to never ever touch her with a spell unless it meant to save her life, because she never ever wanted to feel like Twilight was that tyrant.

Yet before a cold, unfeeling door made of basic materials and held together by magic, she could feel the tyrant looming around her. She'd entered its domain, and whatever enchanted the door was well aware she was there and was daring her, encouraging her to step closer to be under its control. Before her eyes flashed yawning mouths that glimpsed into an inescapable abyss, mouths that had many tentacled tongues to grab its prey and tug them in, surrounded by razor-sharp teeth that would grind her like a saw blade, and into the cold, black serpentine eyes that hypnotized her into walking in. The pale white, slimy skin it had suddenly encircled her, and she could feel its massive tail tugging her closer and closer to the beast's maw, which widened to reveal the skeletons of the other creatures it had consumed laying strewn among its teeth, not their bodies consumed but their minds and souls, leaving everything else to rot. Suddenly the great beast lunged, and Dash let out a silent scream as her eyes burst open into a blaze of bright light, to find herself staring into Twilight's white eyes.

"… You let it take you." She stated plainly in a familiar voice that made her stomach churn. Twilight scoffed as the orange aura around her pulled away from Dash, sucking away a black orb that had been tucked into her stomach where her heart had been. "Even the most foalish of Pegasi would know better. I was under the impression you were a fighter."

Dash stared at Twilight, whose voice was so calm and full of venom, her face tight with disappointment and bemusement at Dash's failure, and Dash let out a soft sob. Twilight reared back in surprise and Dash began to cry. "It was scary, okay! I didn't know… I'm not used to magic…" She whimpered, her eyes half-lidded, but she could see Twilight twitch in discomfort.

"Well…" Her slightly deeper, sarcastic voice slowly grew lighter as her white eyes faded. "Well maybe you just…" The orange aura stopped, the black ball of Dash's fear fading with it, and Twilight smiled sympathetically. "Maybe you just need me here with you… C'mon…" Twilight slid her front hooves under Dash's chest and lifted, helping her stand up. Dash smiled gratefully at Twilight, rubbing away the tears as her fear lessened. She trusted Twilight, and no longer felt so afraid of that door.

As they approached, neither noticed the other's neck, where a softly glowing necklace had dissipated from view.

"How are we gonna open it?" Dash asked, looking to Twilight. She noticed nothing out of the ordinary, just how she always saw her.

"Well, my magic is out of the question since it's blocked off… Or I don't know how to use it." She mumbled bitterly. That orange aura had given her so much hope during her frustration at Dash's weakness, but now all she felt was regret for doubting her friend's integrity.

Her eyes widened and her ears began to Twitch wildly as she felt something nibble her horn. She finally realized that Dash was leaning up, mouth around the rings on Twilight's horn, and was tugging. Twilight was too embarrassed to say anything until Dash pressed her hooves to her face and began to tug harder. "Ow! Dash! That really-"

"Jus'… One… Momen'!" Dash grunted with each tug and push, until Twilight felt her face had taken just about enough punishment and she pushed Dash off. "Those things are hard as hay to get off. We probably need another Unicorn to get them off." Dash mumbled angrily as she turned and approached the door. She began to inspect it closely, earlier fears forgotten with Twilight by her side, and she began to paw at it to look for weakness. "This thing is tighter than Rarity's jewelry box…" She stated in a soft sigh.

"Uh-huh…" Twilight murmured, rubbing her sore face and horn.

"This is no time to beauty up Twilight, help me!" Dash hissed, but her eyes widened in surprise immediately. Twilight watched the way Dash's face fell from determined, to very suddenly oh so very scared. She turned her head to follow her gaze, and found herself staring into the eyes of a Luna-sized Pegasus.

The enormous blue Pegasus slowly turned to face them, looking equally surprised, decked out in golden flight armor, with a sky-colored coat and a mane, tail, and wings the color of purest snow. His eyes were piercing gold, and he moved with the fluid grace of a prince. Yet that image shattered when they narrowed with such ferocity, Twilight knew death was on his mind. "THIEF!" He shouted, his voice a mighty boom as he reared back and stomped hard on the ground, his wings fanning outwards violently, and the entire building rumbled as a lightning storm was thrown their way.

Twilight watched in terror as the bolts jumped from wall to wall, with no possible way to judge where they would go, or how many there were. They were trapped between a rock and death. Her mind cleared as solid terror replaced all thoughts, and with a scream she forced the bolts back with an orange-colored barrier. It disappeared in an instant as the huge Pegasus flew through it unheeded, his gold eyes glinting with anger. Twilight turned, and tackled the equally stunned Dash towards the door.

In her maddened rush she'd felt no resistance, no pain, no anger, just terror. Fear was rattling her mind and vision and all she knew was she had to escape their certain death, and it was only when a solid something hit the side of her head did she stop.

---

"NO!" Shallom crashed his hooves into the stone door, flames leaping from his legs and wings, enveloping himself and the entire hallway with a menacingly bright fireball. He stared at the doors with grit teeth and narrowed eyes, and whirled around aggressively as he felt a presence nearby.

Rukafelth stared at the door, his face a mixture of shock, agony, and slight despair. It had opened. In an instant when the unicorn ran, it had opened in a flash of orange, and just as quickly slammed shut. The few unicorns he had working under him had been experimenting day and night with the door, but due to their limited understanding of how it worked had a time limit. All doors associated with Chell had this enchantment, and they had lost several mighty fine unicorns when they were first experimenting with them.

But on top of that, the girl was out of his hooves. He knew the irony was there that she'd escaped after reassuring Shallom, but he chose to ignore it. He knew Galio would be disappointed in him, and would step up all measures to recapture her. First it had been eight experts in live capture, then it had been himself, and he would have oppressed her, but at least kept her safe. The next step would be either the commander with the grudge, the sadist, or the Lord himself. He had to get her back if he wanted to keep her safe.

He paused and closed his eyes; he shouldn't think such things like that. Protecting her was a great risk, but at the very least he could treat her fairly. As fair as the situation could call for. He looked to see Shallom still staring at him, in full attack mode, ready to unleash himself on the next threatening thing that crossed him. "I am sorry."

"Sorry!" Shallom shouted, tossing his mane back in irritation.

"For doubting you. I'll gather the Unicorns, you take my riders over sea. They'll be heading for Laputa." Rukafelth turned away. He knew Shallom, and he knew the only thing saving himself from being chewed out was the quickly formed plan. As long as he had a mission, his fellow Commander could focus his anger into something useful.

"With any luck she'll die in Laputa as well." Shallom snorted as they briskly made their way to the atrium.

"Don't be so morbid, we do need her after all." Shallom stayed quiet, but Rukafelth knew he was fuming.

---

Rainbow Dash really hated to kick from an angle, but she didn't have a choice in the matter. Twilight picked herself up off the floor, rubbing her smarting cheek with tenderness as her wide, quivering eyes slowly calmed down. Dash shook her mane out of her face. What a rush, one moment certain that death would be coursing through her, the next being shoved into… Wherever they were by the normally calm, meek Twilight. "That was an epic freak-out." Dash said as she looked back they way they'd come.

She could see those stone doors a long ways off, up a dark, cavernous hallway. Twilight had bull rushed them through the door somehow, and down a steep cave that lead deeper underground. The entire place was lit up by weird white orbs that almost looked pearl-like, and cast the cave in a soft, blue light. That worked for her, better than stumbling around in the dark.

"Sorry…" She looked around slowly, taking in what Dash took in, then looking ahead. They were at one end of a wide cavern, standing on perhaps the one bit of dry land there. Most of the ground past the entrance had a layer of water on top of it, but due to the lighting and the griminess of the water, it was hard to tell just how deep it went. Along the sides of the wall were those orbs of light, that cast just barely enough of the light to keep most of the room lit up. There were some raised parts of the floor that weren't wet, and a good jump would probably be enough to cross them.

Perhaps most telling was that in the middle of the room, surrounding by a circular platform that wasn't wet, was a slightly submerged statue. Since the light clung mostly to the sides of the room it was difficult to tell exactly what the twisted, tentacle-like statue was. For some reason though, it was absolutely fascinating. As Twilight leapt from their dry land to the next, she continued to stare at the statue. Dash followed behind her closely.

Dash's instincts told her to take Twilight around another way, some place that didn't seem so suspicious or dangerous, to never trust what was behind the oppressive door, but glancing around she knew that wasn't an option. They could only move forward and hope to emerge safely. Still, that statue in the middle made her chest scream to back away, to leave it alone, to never touch it, never approach it.

She was more cautious than Twilight as the Unicorn quietly stood before the statue. "Whatever this is, it's old. Really old. It may even be older than Equestria…" She mumbled, leaning forward to get a closer look. Dash jumped in close, her teeth grasping Twilight's tail and she tugged her back, away from the submerged thing. "Dash, what are you doing!" Twilight demanded, staring at the other filly incredulously.

"This thing gives me the exact same feeling as the door did. Whatever made this…" Dash whispered, staring at the statue. "I think it wants to eat us. I think it wants to eat everything. In the vision the door gave me I saw a lot of bodies." The former-Pegasus whispered as she recalled the enormous fishy thing that had so clearly intended to devour her.

"It's just a spell on the door to give you a pre-rendered hallucination Dash. It's an old spell only really paranoid Unicorns would use on a secret room or a drawer they wouldn't want anyone to go through." Twilight stated, staring at the statue again. She wanted to go see what it was, but it was so hard in the dark.

"That felt way too real and way too evil to just be a simple hallucination to scare us off! I could feel it trying to eat my soul!" Twilight didn't look like she believed her, so Dash continued. "And when you went all glowey on me that orange stuff around you pulled something black out of my chest!" Twilight's stare slipped a little as she thought back to what the aura had taken, and she chewed her lip. "Explain that to me!"

"… I don't know, okay. It might just be a really good spell. I have no idea what I did, its like everything was moving around on its own. My body, my thoughts, the weird magic…"

"That's because you let that thing take you over again. It seemed to know exactly what it was doing." Twilight lowered her eyes, remembering the powerful annoyance she'd felt towards Rainbow Dash for daring to show weakness, for letting herself get taken by a spell she felt so confident she knew. Maybe it did know what it was doing… "Anyways, I don't like that statue or the door or whatever made both. I don't want to mess with them."

There was a rumble above them, and the two stared upwards. Loose gravel fell as the ground shook softly, gradually increasing in viciousness and causing the light around them to waver. It stopped just as suddenly as it had started. Above them, there was a tiny spark of light, and then an orb that had gone out lit up, just above the statue. Twilight stared at the very odd statue now that she could see it.

It was of an Alicorn she did not recognize, unpainted and non-decorated, staring down at her and Dash with subtle intensity. It was like he was judging them from his skewed stone-throne, and it was almost… Daring them to move forward. Coiled around him in a circle but not obscuring the Alicorn's sight was an enormous eel like being. Its head and body were clearly eel-like, but it had long, thin arms that reminded her of Spike's hands, each ending in a four-fingered hand topped with hooked claws, and the body ended in multiple tentacle-like tails. The eel's face had wide, blank eyes, suggesting minimal intelligence, and its open mouth revealed many lovingly carved sharp teeth, and some ten tiny, thin tongues wriggling out of its open maw. She glanced down at the pedestal holding the two beings, and saw it was in a language she did not understand.

"Well, I got my wish. C'mon Dash." She started to walk around the statue, but paused when Dash did not follow. She turned her head. "Dash?" She looked to her friend, and saw her staring, stock-still at the statue, her face a mask of terror. Concerned, Twilight walked back towards her and gently bumped her with her side. "Dash?" She whispered.

"That's it…" Dash whispered, staring up at the enormous eel-like beast. Twilight noticed that before, it seemed like the eel had been staring at her. Now it was staring at Dash. "That's the thing that was going to eat me…"

"Dash…" Twilight whispered in worry as she looked to the statue. It was still staring at Dash, its little hands curled up into tight balls, every part of it looking ready to lunge, despite being only six feet tall or so. "Dash, snap out of it, it's a statue."

"We're walking into its lair…" Rainbow Dash whispered low, and Twilight's hair stood on end as her eyes began to roll back into her head. Like before when they'd been at the door, Dash's eyes showed solid white and red veins as she was pulled viciously into her own mind. It was something she'd only read about, spells powerful enough to force ones consciousness inwards, often leaving the face and eyes blank. She had heard of the consequences, of losing your mind to the magic. All that was left was a blank shell, an empty mind, and a soul roiling in its own prison. "We admit the body of our fallen comrade to the depths-"

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight shouted to her, but Dash's head rolled downwards, and Twilight started to shake her rapidly.

"-where illustrious Anemone may take them beyond the veil between ours and the underworld, where they may forever watch us in their Earthly wisdom-"

"Dash!" The unicorn shoved Rainbow Dash onto the floor, but the Pegasus lay limp on the ground, whispering loudly, rapidly, with passionate dedication to her words.

"-to advise us from beyond the veil through the whispers of the sea. Glory be to the grand Anathema, whose stare from beyond has rent our enemies asunder, open wide the jaws of hell and consume this offering of heathens we give you in place of the soul of our comrade-"

Twilight stared around in panic as Rainbow Dash continued to whisper, and an idea sprang to mind. It had only a chance of working but she just needed to shock her out of it. She grabbed Dash by her tail and began to drag her to the water's edge.

"-and forever grant us passage through your waters while dismaying our enemies of their ships. May our passage to the underworld be peaceful. Amen. We admit the body of our fallen comrade-"

Twilight held Rainbow Dash's head in her hooves, and with a soft apology, forced it under the water. Bubble sprang up rapidly, and she could hear Dash trying to articulate words, and she waited until the bubbles stop. Then Dash's body jerked, and Twilight pulled her up from the water to let her breath.

Dash sucked in a deep breath of air, her eyes wide and red as she tried to refill her lungs. Twilight watched with worry, holding her friend around the neck as Dash calmed down. She stared at her distorted reflection in the water, and then to Twilight, and gave a very soft whimper. "It was in my head…"

"It's okay Dash, it's gone now." Whatever 'it' was concerned Twilight. She'd figured the door had just been a defense, but now the statue? And it was a handsome, well made statue too. Unless the person who enchanted it to attack people's minds were truly vain, they wouldn't waste such a valuable image…

… Speaking of which, why didn't it attack her? She was just as foreign as Dash, no more special than her either since while she herself was an expert Unicorn, Dash was a professional flier. Unless…

"Anathema…" Dash coughed up some water, and Twilight's ear perked. She'd mumbled that word while being attacked. "Anathema was in my head… He was going to eat me, and send me beyond… But he saw you… Through my eyes he saw you… He wants us to come to Laputa…"

"No." Twilight said firmly in response. "Whoever he is, he attacked you twice and obviously isn't a great guy. We have more important things to worry about than him or Laputa, we have to go warn Celestia-"

"Laputa is deeper in the cavern. It's the only was to get out of here. It will lead to Anathema." Dash stood and stared down the cavern towards another door, her face very calm. She was stilly suffering the aftereffects of the attack on her head. Twilight gently wrapped an arm around Dash's shoulders, and the rainbow-haired filly turned to meet Twilight's eyes. They were heavy with concern, and it took Dash a few moments to calm down. "… It's not like we have any other choice."

"… I still don't like it."

"Well, I don't like a lot of things and live with them. I told you that horn was going to be dangerous. C'mon, while you still have that thing we should keep going." Dash continued forward and Twilight sighed quietly. She didn't know if she was okay or not. She would just have to keep an eye out for her.

The two walked towards the door at the far end, which luckily was just a stone door that needed to be pushed open. The two ponies worked together to get it wide enough for the both of them to walk past and entered a steep, narrow cave. The two walked down it slowly, watching their steps to keep from slipping down the long passageway.

It seemed to stretch on forever, and the only noises around them was the sound of dripping water and their hoof steps. Twilight turned to look at Dash, who still seemed unfazed. "Dash, are you alright?"

"… Fine, why?" The Pegasus answered. Twilight continued to stare with more worry.

"You just had your mind attacked, invaded, turned in on itself by a statue and got told to come meet some guy called Anathema, whom apparently opens the jaws of hell to consume heathens. Yet you haven't reacted at all since it happened." Twilight pointed out, stopping. Dash stopped with her and they stared at each other.

"Well… Okay, it was pretty freaky, but we don't have a choice, right? We have to go this way, and Anathema happens to be along the way."

"We do have a choice Dash. There's never just one way, you just have to keep your mind and eyes open. Why do you even care if we meet this Anathema guy?"

Rainbow Dash smirked a little. "Well duh, he can help us escape."

"How do you know that? Did he say it?"

"Well, no, but he saw you and wants us down there. That must mean he wants to help us."

"Or capture us, like those soldiers back there. What's going on Dash, why do you want to see this guy?" Twilight tried to look suspicious but it couldn't push out the worry in her eyes.

Dash's smile quivered a little, but she kept on walking before Twilight could get a good luck. "I saw my little brother with him is all."

Twilight stared at Dash for a while before springing forward, letting her momentum and the slick floor slide her down to Rainbow Dash. "Your little brother?"

"Um, yeah. His name was Teller Pen, he really liked to tell stories and stuff, had a good imagination for it. He, um…" Dash quickened her walking pace, and Twilight did as well. "He would always go out looking for inspiration for stories, even when he could barely fly. He had an accident though." She sucked in a deep breath and started running even faster, and Twilight kept up with grit teeth, barely keeping traction on this slick floor.

She could see Dash ahead of her, head lowered, not up to watch ahead, and she continued to talk, but not to her. "He was always off by himself!" Dash shouted as she ran. "I was supposed to watch him but I was so busy practicing my flying! I was supposed to be teaching him but I was too caught up in my own thing! So he'd run off without me! I should have been watching him but he fell! He didn't know how to stabilize and-" She stopped suddenly, sliding a good ways before catching herself. Twilight caught herself a little late, but took the effort to get by Dash again. "-and that was it…" Rainbow Dash let her hair hang around her face as she took in deep, pained breaths. "I could have spent that time showing off with the older kids to teach him to fly, to stabilize, but I didn't. So he fell."

Twilight watched Dash carefully, a cold feeling in her stomach. She knew Rainbow Dash was an only child but, never knew that it hadn't started that way. "Dash…" She reached out a hoof, but it was knocked away.

"Don't tell me it wasn't my fault! I'd been told to teach him to fly, but I didn't. He wasn't a natural like me, I thought everypony could fly as well as I did but… But Teller…" She sucked in a ragged breath. "He couldn't. Everyone tells me it's not my fault but I just kept a damned eye out for him… If I taught him how to fly…" She looked up to Twilight, her eyes wet, but no tears sprang forth. She wondered how many people knew this story… "Mom and dad told me he wouldn't want me to ever stop flying, he loved to watch me get better and better, so I got better and better at it for myself and for him. And right now he's with Anathema, and I'm going to see him again and beg for forgiveness. Okay Twilight? I don't care if I have to see those images again, as long as I can see Teller."

"…" Twilight didn't know what to say. Dash hated to show weakness, and didn't talk a lot about her childhood, only stories about her time at the Young Flier's Academy. Maybe this was why. Dash did seem rather helpful when it came to the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and despite being a braggart and consistently mocking her for not being athletic, never looked down on a pony younger than herself. Not to mention the big sister instinct she had around Fluttershy, and the constant attempts to get her to improve herself from a shy, small-voiced pony. "Alright. We'll go see Anathema."

She didn't want to point out that the dead didn't talk, but somehow, after her experience with the week, with Pegasi summoning lightning, ponies bigger than Celestia, and doors and statues that ate minds, she was finding it a little more credible. What concerned her more and more was Dash's mood as they traveled down the seemingly endless tunnel. She could tell she was on edge, probably regretting telling Twilight what she'd seen, but Twilight felt… Not good, nor comforted, but understanding.

She did want to tell Dash that it probably wasn't her fault, but the more she thought about it the more she thought about her own situation. She blamed herself for the deaths of those eight Pegasi, and began to think on it more and more… In a way, it was their fault. Not their complete fault but they weren't blameless. Despite this they'd been forgiven again and again.

Twilight knew she'd never forgive herself for not taking some control during that fight, like Dash would never forgive herself for what happened to her brother. Being able to analyze it in her head, rationalize their feelings and compare them, and see she wasn't the only one… It made it a little easier to forgive herself for what happened. But Dash… She had to try.

"Dash?" Twilight turned her head to Dash, and Dash turned her head to Twilight. Twilight's eyes were sympathetic, but she had a tiny smile. Dash had a look of annoyance, as she expected Twilight to start forgiving her for what had happened. But instead… "Tell me about Teller."

Dash slowed down, her annoyed look becoming confused. "Huh?"

"Tell me about him. All you remember. I want to know about your family." Dash's eyes batted rapidly, and Twilight smiled a bit wider. It felt good to watch Dash's face soften, and hear her start to talk. And talk. And talk.

Teller, like Dash said, liked to make stories. He was lively, and just as active as Dash, always running about, opening his mouth to tell anyone about his day in live-action detail with maybe some exaggeration thrown in, following Dash wherever she went to watch her fly and show off. It seemed to put Dash at ease to speak so freely, and the longer she spoke the more detail she put in. Dash seemed to even laugh a little at her own story when it got funny, and the smiles came easily.

"Do you talk about him often with anyone?" Twilight asked as the long path finally began to level out slowly.

"No. I don't like to. The memories hurt a lot. Sometimes when I'm up on my cloud, I try to think to him, y'know? Wherever he's gone I tell him about the day. I keep imagining him reacting and making it bigger and better, making Fluttershy transform into a huge dragon to fight off the other before it could devour us, or how I fell so fast during the Sonic Rainboom that I went through the ground and came out the other side. But I never told anyone, not even Fluttershy. It figures it's the smart one that would make me talk." Dash smirked a little, and Twilight matched it. She then took a deep breath, and sighed out loud. "But any chance to see him again, to tell the stories for real, and to apologize… I'm gonna take it. I'll look into the mouth of hell if I gotta, and just to keep giving him stories. I'll fight back out of it when I'm through. I'm his big sister, I gotta be strong and amazing for him." Twilight nodded at that simple fact.

"I don't think it's a good idea, but it means a lot to you, so let's go see what we can find. Oh, and if he's as good a storyteller as you say he is…" Dash looked to Twilight expectantly as the ground finally became flat, and they walked towards a light. "Put in a good word for me? Please?"

The two shared a small laugh as they entered a chamber. Other than the floor, it was perfectly cylindrical, and in the middle was an old carved column with stone serpents wrapping around it, their heads meeting at the top, mouths open to hold a brightly glowing orb of light. The two approached it with small amazement as it shown on them, and they looked around slowly.

"I don't see an exit." Dash frowned, and Twilight continued to stare at the orb. "Is this some sort of puzzle we need magic for again? Glow orange and be rewarded or something? Who even built this place?" Dash mumbled. "Some old kooks who feel like placing weird traps on doors? Big circular rooms to confuse us? Did we miss a path?" She turned to Twilight. "Hey, Sparkle, what's with the eyes?" She took a step back.

Twilight's eyes were glowing white, reflecting the color and the intensity of the orb sitting on the pedestal. Dash watched closely, waiting for that bitter, nippy side to come out, but Twilight continued to just stare. "Hey, Twilight… Um, it's cool but we need to go." She shook the unicorn, who did not respond. "Twilight? You aren't falling for the trap I did, did you? You can't just let this take us-"

"TAKE US." Twilight repeated loudly, and Dash's eyes widened as a stone slab carved to match it's curved surroundings slid over the entrance of the tunnel they'd just left, and above them, in the middle of the room, a hole appeared, and began to widen.

"Twilight?" Dash asked meekly, as Twilight blinked her eyes slowly, the brightness leaving them. Then, from the newly opened hole, sea-water began to pour in, coating the orb in a waterfall as it began to rapidly fill up the room, the hole in the ceiling widening still. "Twilight!" Dash shouted this time, leaping away from the pouring water with the Unicorn as the water filled up to their knees, then their stomachs, and then their necks.

The two of them took deep breaths of air and began to swim in panic as the water continued to fill, but the waterfall was growing as did the hole above them, letting in more and more water until the entire ceiling opened, pushing them away from each other into opposite ends of the room. The two took a last gasp of air before they were completely submerged, floating around helplessly in the submerged cavern. They stared at each other with wide eyes, until the glowing orb blinded them with a suddenly burst of light.

Rainbow Dash sucked in a deep breath, staring at Twilight, still floating across from her but not in water. It took her a moment to realize they were in the middle of an enormous bubble. "This… This can't be for real." She mumbled loudly.

"I think it would like to argue that with you…" Twilight stared at the glowing sphere as it lifted off its pedestal, the two ponies still hovering just around it. Twilight stared up at the hole where the water had filled the cave, and saw nothing but darkness. That did not deter the orb any as it, inside of its enormous bubble, began to steal Twilight and Rainbow Dash away, up into the darkness.