Reddling swallowed slowly as he hobbled threw the piles of fallen Changelings. He was shaking from side to side with each step, but some edge kept him focused as he drew nearer to the Wedding room. After a few minutes of slow pacing, the Elements rushed past Reddling, leaving him to push forward with his group. Midnight was limping along with the support of Bruiser, and behind them were Tops and Nightshade, who were staring long and hard at the madness that had consumed their capital. Web seemed to be on the verge of giggling as she studied the dead creatures, looking at their internal organs as she passed them.

But their feelings and concern- or lack thereof- for the current tragedy were not at the forefront of Reddling's mind. He would have time to care for his friends later, after he recovered his knives from the body of the Queen he had stabbed. His coat hung around him in melted and burned ruins, with only a few useful strips hanging onto his shoulders. The cuffs of his coat had not been destroyed, but were stained green now with the blood of dead Changelings, and smelled not unlike their rotting corpses. The stink was perhaps the worst thing, the smell of death that continued to assail nostrils as small bugs broke down their larger counterparts.

Reddling shivered as Midnight moved up to trot next to him. Midnight looked like complete hell, and what was more, his left eye did not appear to work anymore. It had been gored out by something, and now only an empty socket was left there, forcibly held closed by dried blood. Midnight's wings were in terrible shape, with cuts and holes in the leathery webbing parts.

No words were exchanged until they had arrived in the Wedding room, that was, until Tops cried out.

"Uuugh!" Tops yelped, wrenching his head back. Reddling had thrust himself inside the room without a second thought, instantly beginning to dig around in large amounts of slime. The room resembled the earth pony's quarters, only this time there were two ponies hanging against the walls. On one wall hung Shining Armor, and nearby was Princess Celestia, both of their white coats stained with green goo. They were both half encased in their cocoons, with blank stares on their faces. Reddling barely heard the cries from the Elements of Harmony as they rushed to help Princess Celestia. With some help from the Night Guard, they got her down from the wall.

Seeing a glint of metal, Reddlin's heart soared as he ripped Ausfall from the goo, kissing it passionately as he began to clean off the blade. He barely had time to enjoy his respite however, as it was at that same moment he realized Celestia was conscious. She'd surely remember him poisoning her.

"Twilight?" Celestia asked, looking not at Twilight, but at Reddling. It was a deep stare that felt totally foreign, like some other life form was judging him. With a blink, Celestia turned away from the piece of meat in front of her and looked at her student. "Twilight, What- what has happened?"

"I- oh, I... I can't-" Twilight turned to Celestia, then back to Shining Armor. "Can- girls, N-Night Guard, can you help her? Please? Get her out of this horrible place, I have to help my brother." Without a second thought, Reddling turned back to protecting his knife as the others went about their work. Tops and Bruiser helped remove Celestia from the room with the other elements. Meanwhile, near the edge of the room, Nighthsade had begun attending to Midnight, who was in quite serious condition.

One by one, everypony left the room, leaving Twilight and her brother alone with Reddling. Reddling blinked at the stairs where he was sure that Princess Celestia had been dragged up before, then back to Twilight struggling with her brother.

Rainy. What if that was Rainy on the wall? What if that was, me on the wall? Rainy would be fighting to save me, get me down and away from this horror. Equestrians aren't monsters, but they are different- and you... Reddling stood up, sheathing his now clean knife and trotting over to Twilight. Twilight Sparkle. You lead the elements of harmony, and are trusted by the princesses. You're related to the groom of a royal wedding... Yet I've seen in you heart that I would not believe of an Equestrian. Who are you? Where do you come from? What're you doing?

"First Cadance, now you..." Twilight said quietly. Reddling's head jerked up as he approached quietly behind Twilight.

"Cadance? Twily? Wha-" Shining Armor began, but Twilight instantly cut him off with renewed efforts to pull him down from the wall on her own.

"Brother! Ah!" Reddling watched relief spread over Twilight's face as she beamed up at the would-be groom.

"Family..." Reddling whispered. He could hear the words of the green Changeling Queen echoing in his head now. You're a long way from home.

"Where- Where is Cadance?" Shining pleaded.

I have a feeling you don't want to hear the answer Reddling thought, standing just outside of Twilight's field of view and observing her struggle.

"She- I can't explain it, I'm so sorry," Twilight whispered. Nopony else would have been able to hear her, but for the countless time Reddling found himself thanking Luna for his enhanced hearing. "I'll- I'll explain later. We just need to get you help."

Reddling trotted forward now, tapping Twilight on the shoulder. Pain shot up and down his limb as he raised it to touch her, less so from his dislike of touching Equestrians but from the countless wounds covering his body. "Miss Twilight, right? Let's get him up and moving, if you would?"

"Thank you, Thank you..." Twilight whispered as Reddling gave one pull with her, freeing Shining from the wall. With a little work, they both managed to support him, propping up the unicorn on both sides and beginning to move along the path of the others.

Wading through the muck of the wedding room felt surreal to Reddling as they clambered away from the horrors of that evening. Reddling couldn't help but feel anger rise up inside his chest. He had learned that some ponies in Equestria were exceptions to the rule and- despite what the church might say- they were still creatures with emotions, feelings, and ambitions.

And without a second thought, these monsters had begun ripping that away from everypony they encountered. Equestrian or otherwise, this would not be allowed to continue.

"Let's get Shining to the Infirmary. They'll take care of the Princess." Twilight Sparkle said, nodding her head the Reddling's Night Guard friends and the other Elements of Harmony, who were escorting Princess Celestia.

I wonder, if I had killed the Princesses in all this chaos, would the day have ended like this? or would the bugs have won? Reddling wondered, letting Twilight lead the way to the infirmary with a soft "As you wish, ma'am."

The fighting seemed to have totally died down now. Here and there in the halls Twilight and Reddling passed shaken ponies trotting along or staring at the windows and walls. the corpses of drones littered the floors, their bright green blood bleeding onto the stone and staining the walls. Occasionally, they had to walk over the body of a dead Soldier Changeling or of an Euestrian guard.

"Disgusting bugs. They did this to Equestria, Silverfield wouldn't last five minutes." Reddling said to himself, staring at the different mangled bodies as he passed them. Try as he might, whether it was the body of an Equestrian or of a Changeling, his frist thought was still to see them both as merely animals.

Once Twilight and Reddling arrived at the infirmary, they both stopped to stare at the rows upon rows of cots. scores of makeshift beds were keeping the place packed. Here and there ponies lay cut and wounded. Others who were not so lucky were being operated upon, their bodies gashed open or burned. More disturbing than all of this was a section where ponies seemed unharmed, but empty. They were only able to stare blankly ahead of them, their eyes cloudy and dim.

"Please, is there somewhere for my brother?" Twilight asked a passing nurse, who instantly pushed her back towards the door.

"If he's up and walking and not bleeding he's better than everypony else here. Get him some rest and if he doesn't get better then come back." The nurse said hastily.

"But!" Twilight began, but with another push from the nurse the three ponies nearly fell over into the hallway.

"There are dozens of ponies who need attention now! There's nothing we can do! I'm sorry!" The nurse turned away and vanished into the crowd of ponies, weaving her way through the rows of cots.

"Miss Twilight? We'll take him back to the Night Guard barracks. We can try to do something for him there." Reddling said, staring harshly at the nurse as Twilight nodded her head in agreement.

Outside in the courtyard, Reddling could not help but shake his head. The streets were littered with bodies. Everywhere armies of drones lay dead with an occasional pony helping another fellow up. Among these ponies were some mourning for their dead, helplessly weeping over fallen bodies or trying to wake up their dead. Some others stood over the bodies of misty eyed ponies, trying to get some response out of them.

Don't. Don't do it... You baby Reddling felt his mind snap as he stared at the world around him. Small foals wept openly over the bodies of their dead parents. Family members trying in vain to wake up those who were misty eyed and gone from the world seemed to liter every foot of the world around him. Those responsible for so much suffering would pay, and Reddling was going to make sure it was at his hooves. These fates around him were not something he could wish on any creature.

"Thanks, Twily" Shining said. Reddling had barely noticed that he was now in the darkness of the recruit's barracks. Grabbing extra blankets from his own bed, Reddling tossed one to Twilight as they both began to clean the slimey ooze off of themselves and then Shining Armor. Twilight's expression was blank and vacant as she held one of Shining's hooves, cleaning the gunk off his face and neck. although they did all they could, some of the goo was caked into the fur. Only a good shower was sure to get that off, but at least Shining looked somewhat less... alien.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Reddling said coldly. His tears were gone now, and he had recovered much of his usual facade. Twilight continued to stroke Shining's hoof, blinking.

"I- what is he going to think? when he wake up?" Twilight asked, looking up to Reddling. Reddling said nothing, but moved to the side, pulling up a more comfortable chair for Twilight to rest in. "Cadance..." Twilight whispered slowly to Shining.

"Water?" Reddling asked, uncorking his miraculously still working flask to Twilight. She sipped the water unsteadily, her hooves trembling. The idea of using magic to hold it seemed totally out of her control now, and she was lucky her hooves worked as well as they did.

"You should... get back to your friends, I'm sure they-" Twilight began, but Reddling cut her off.

"My friends and I have a little rule about not leaving ponies alone." Reddling paused, then continued, "Besides, this is a restricted area right? I don't even know."

For a moment, both of them sat in silence. Reddling tore off his breastplate and tossed it aside, shaking his head at how ineffective the armor had been. Shoving his ruined coat to the ground, Reddling eventually returned to Twilight's side wearing his dress attire.

"My friends are probably worried about me," Twilight said, "You should go tell them I'm okay. I'll be okay here for a little."

"Squeak if you- I mean, holler, if you need something." Reddling said.

"Thank you." Twilight said, her eyes still locked on her brother. With a moment finally to himself, Reddling let out a grim smile. Even though it had come at such a cost, he couldn't be more happy with one fact he'd picked up from Twilight.

One down, two to go!

Meandering into the Princesses' throne room, Reddling paused to look around. The Elements, his Night Guard comrades, as well as Captain Lunar and Princess Luna were now with Princess Celestia. Princess Luna wore dress armor that seemed similar to his, but it was significantly fancier and more functional. She seemed taller and darker tonight. There was a ferocity in her mane as the stars whipped around violently. A few wounds, scratches, and burns adorned her body, and her now green covered sword was laid on a small table.

The Spirit of the Night, how scary. Reddling thought mockingly as he saluted Luna and Captain Lunar, averting his eyes from the latter. Even if Reddling had been able to read Lunar's expression under his helmet, he was so spattered with gore it was a wonder that the bat pony could see at all.

"To the wounded, first thing. Many are stricken with some aliment, as though the life has been sucked from them. A solution must be found as soon as is possible." Luna said to a page, who darted off. "The bodies must be dealt with, though many will shy away from such gruesome duties. Fallen Ponies should be buried with the respect they deserve, and the monsters burned."

Reddling moved further away from Luna, trying to avoid being recommended for any janitorial roles. He turned to face an orange earth pony, who looked up at him as he approached.

"Excuse me,' Reddling said quietly, "A message from Twilight to her friends, that's you correct?"

"Yessir, that's us. Her and her brother holdin' up alright?" Applejack asked.

"Yes, they're in the Night Guard barracks, although I think she needs some time alone, what with the situation around Princess Cadance." Reddling kept his statements to a cold fact. He didn't feel any grief over the death of Princess Cadance, although he wasn't about to let them know that.

"Thankee, but we know our friend well 'nough." Applejack turned from Reddling to Celestia. "Yer Majesty, err, if yer done with us, is'it alright if we go to Twilight?"

I can't tell if you're hard of hearing, of if you just don't care. Reddling thought, turning away from Applejack and not paying attention to the Elements as they left. Laying next to Tops and Nightshade, Reddling watched as Bruiser sat next to another bat pony tending to Midnight's horrifying wounds.

"Mind if I sit for a spell, Tops?" Reddling asked with a tiny smirk.

"Not at all." Tops replied, nodding to the ground next to him. Reddling sat down, stretching out slowly and feeling every muscle burn.

"What the hell were you thinking, staying behind like that?" Nightshade demanded, looking across Tops and staring at Reddling. Reddling looked at her confusedly, and she continued; "When we ran from the wedding, you stayed behind."

"That's something for me to know, and explain, ...Right now, in a hushed, low voice away from other ears." Reddling said. Nightshade sat there, intently staring at him and waiting. sighing, Reddling stood up and motioned for them to both follow him to a small railing that overlooked the city. Stepping outside with the other two, he leaned on the rails, looking out at the countryside and mountaintops.

Blinking slowly, Reddling threw a Silverfieldian salute to Tops and Nightshade. He raised the hoof from his snout to his brow, covering one eye and keeping the flatter side of his hoof facing his skull in an uncomfortable fashion.

"This is a Silverfieldian salute. The one in the guise of Princess Cadance knew where I am from." Reddling said worriedly.

"How?" Tops asked, blinking.

"Accints Rially pronouci thimsilvis." Reddling said, rolling his R for good effect. Clearing his throat quickly, he continued, "I lied about my name to a guard, and they said they were giving that name to the Princess... I had to confirm my fears."

"You're not making any sense, Reddling, I don't understand." Tops said, a very confused look on his face.

Sighing, Reddling looked southward. "With wings, I can make it to Silverfield and back in maybe a day. Rainy is the name of somepony very close to me, I can't let him get hurt no matter what, understand?" Reddling turned back to his friends, his face now filled with seriousness.

"You're worried about him, okay." Tops said, reaching out a hoof to pat Reddling on the shoulder and calm him down. Having none of it, Reddling backed away before the hoof could even touch him with a hiss.

"I threw two knives into the chest of the one playing dress up. I'd rather check on Rainy and get back than be worried he's dead, or worse. I have to go." Reddling turned to jump into the sky, but Tops wrapped his hooves around Reddling, pulling him down to earth.

"Not tonight you aren't, you look awful, Reddling. You nearly died back there. Midnight told us he found you pinned down by half a dozen of those things, with half a dozen more ready to eat you or something!" Tops said firmly, yet... gently. He was always gentle in his voice and tone, even when his intent was much firmer.

"They wouldn't have killed me, yet." Reddling said determinedly, looking up at the sky. "Stop touching me."

"Then maybe!" Tops said, his voice rising in frustration, "You'd have ended up like that earth pony or Shining Armor, as good as dead and glued to a wall by slime!"

"Tops, calm down." Nightshade said as Reddling flinched.

"Okay- Okay, Someday you'll know what I mean, I didn't mean to upset you." Reddling said, secretly hoping they would all live long enough for him to reveal that he was in fact, only wearing a mask.

A mask that was becoming more natural everyday...

"You were the one who kept saying we should always stick together." Nightshade said, "Midnight ran off when he saw you weren't with us, and saved your flank. Don't do that again, alright? We were all worried."

Worried? why are you, worried about me? Reddling blinked confusedly at Nightshade, who remained cold as ever.

"I still don't like you," Nightshade continued, "But we're still a team, and I'd rather not see you needlessly throw your stupid life away."

"Needlessly. That's how all Equestrians are, they just want something..." Reddling mumbled as Nightshade turned and trotted away, despite Tops' angry pleas as he called her name. A few hushed moments passed before Tops turned back to Reddling.

"She certainly... has a way with words, I guess." Tops said quietly.

"She's not out of line." Reddling said simply.

Tops frowned, 'Well, she could certainly be a littler nicer about it."

"Not something I expect from her." Reddling said with a sigh, "She means well... I think. Damn, I really wanted to be wrong about today."

"In the end, everything- almost everything worked out. lots of ponies are hurt or killed or- or worse, and Cadance is still missing." Tops said.

Reddling turned to Tops, staring him in the eyes with a grave expression. "They don't know about Princess Cadance?"

"Twilight hasn't- said..." Tops tried, but quickly stopped, screwing up his face painfully. "You're probably right."

"I wonder how fast news travels." Reddling posed to the dead sky. Tops looked questioningly at Reddling, who continued, "If she is dead, Silverfield, well hell even with this horror, if you like to get drunk, they have the best parties.' Reddling gave a bitter laugh at the end of his statement, thinking of the parties surely going on Silverfield right now.

"Redding!" Tops said, shocked and horrified, "That's awful!"

"The party, or getting drunk part?" Reddling asked plainly.

"Celebrating somepony dying? I know your countryfolk don't like Equestrians, but how could you make a joke about this?" Tops swept his hoof over the sky and the entire city. "How could somepony be happy about all of this?"

"Those are questions I simply cannot answer without taking you to Silverfield." Reddling said quietly. "I doubt a diplomatic mission to some backwater former city state is high on anypony's lists now though, we've got to deal with these bugs."

"Silverfield doesn't sound like a very nice place. I'm glad you got out." Tops said to Reddling, leaning on the railing and looking over at him. After a few dark moments, Tops turned to leave, and Reddling nodded.

"Me too, me too..."

Reddling returned to the throne room a few minutes later, almost instantly running into Princess Luna upon his return. Snapping to attention, Reddling stared up at her.

"Reddling." She said evenly, brushing her mane back and looking down ... proudly?

"Your Highness?" Reddling asked coolly. The proud look on her face was rather off putting, given he had broken many rules to be at the Wedding today.

"I understand you were a key player in assisting with our victory today, however costly it was." Luna sighed deeply, "Your fellows are assisting in the restoration of the city. It will be a difficult and tragic process- you, however, are too hurt. You and Midnight return to your quarters and rest. When you have recovered, I am sure there will yet be things to do."

"Yes, your highness." Reddling said.

"If you see Twilight Sparkle or her friends, tell them that if they are able, their assistance could be used. Await further information." Luna said.

"Understood, your highness."

Dreams were already swimming in front of Reddling's eyes before he hit the sheets of his bed.

Reddling was alone when he opened an eye, hugging onto his sheets. Midnight was asleep in his bunk, while Shining Armor slept across from him in another bed. Sitting up, Reddling threw the sheets away and stood up. His chest and limbs were still yelling in pain, but much of it seemed to have subsided. Touching his chest, he could feel the scars already beginning to form. The wound felt at least a few weeks old already...

Web.

The door opened and Reddling turned, finding himself face to face with Twilight Sparkle, who blinked in surprise. Nodding to her, Reddling began to move for the door, eager to escape his useless bedrest.

"Miss Twilight." He said politely, trotting past her and stopping for a moment.

"Oh, you're- awake?" she said, somewhat surprised. Reddling simply nodded as she continued, "I just wanted to talk to my brother. I'll- I hope you don't mind."

"We bats are nocturnal, I don't sleep at night." Reddling looked over at Midnight, who subtly twitched an ear. "I'll leave you alone with him, do you know where everypony else is?"

"They're cleaning up this mess." Twilight said, moving over to her brother and beginning to rub his shoulder. "Shining- Wake up-"

Reddling trotted towards the door, but noted that even as Shining woke up, Twilight didn't say anything, looking at Reddling and waiting for him to leave. Not wanting her to notice he'd picked up on this, Reddling hurried out the door, letting it close behind him gently. Outside, he made a few soft hoofclicks on the stone, letting them slowly get quieter and quieter as he leaned in to listen at the door.

"...She, ...nopony... ...you should know what happened." Twilight's voice came in hushed whispers. Reddling quietly moved down the hallway, taking cover behind a corner as he heard Shining Armor and Twilight move towards the door. When the doors opened, a still frail looking Shining Armor began to head the other direction down the hallway, Twilight leading the way. A short time after they had rounded the corner, Midnight poked his head out, beginning to follow them with Reddling right on his tail.

"Did you overhear her conversation as well?" Midnight asked quietly. Reddling nodded to him, keeping his eyes locked on Twilight's back from the shadows.

"Parts." Reddling hissed, focusing on muffling every hoofstep he took.

"There is mysterious business ahoof with Cadance." Midnight whispered back.

"Other than being dead?" Reddling asked.

"I suppose we'll see." Midnight replied. Outside the barracks there were ponies everywhere working on cleaning up the city and castle. Changeling drones were being thrown in piles to be carried outside of the city and burned in piles. Every citizen and servant Reddling passed was notably miserable, making them excellent cover for Midnight and Reddling to simply blend into. After several minutes, Twilight had lead Shining to the underside of Canterlot, near the very same crystal caves that Reddling had found himself at on his date with Web. It felt so long ago now, as if he had been living a different life in those days.

"You have to trust me, alright?" Twilight said to Shining Armor, lighting her horn at the edge of the cave.

"...After everything that happened..." Shining began, sighing. "But alright, Twily, I trust you." They both began to descend into the caves, Twilight's horn lighting the way. Reddling and Midnight both scoffed to themselves at the ponies crawling through the darkness. Bat ponies had no need for light, unlike those sunlickers.

"Just- please, please trust me." Twilight repeated, turning to her brother.

"Of course, Twilight..." Shining said, bemused. "I don't see why you're being so..."

"Cadance!" Twilight called into the darkness. A few seconds passed. Reddling felt a cold chill go down his spine, and then his heart stop as a musical voice replied, it's beauty something like the vibration of crystal, or breaking glass...

"Twilight?" The voice called from the darkness.

So that's the voice of our frilly pink Princess, but why does she sound so much like... Whatever, show your face, I know these caves. I could... I could take you out here and now, I just have to ditch Midnight and those two unicorns...

"Cadance? C- Cadance!" Shining Armor's ears perked up as he ran forward into the darkness, his voice stopping as Twilight's light shined upon the Pink princess, changing Shining's voice from one of utter joy to pure horror.

"Shining Armor! No! Don't-" Cadance's yelled, the situation now fully lit up. Reddling and Midnight trotted together around a corner as Reddling trembled, already aware of what he was going to see. Princess Cadance wasn't dead, it was a fate far, far worse...

"Cadance, I'm sorry he- He needs to know..." Twilight said, Midnight turning to look at Reddling in horror as they both went around a corner. Reddling looked down, staying in the shadows. Midnight's expression of pity and terror transfixed on the situation was not exactly motivation for Reddling to look at another pony's suffering- be they one of his targets or not.

Shining Armor and Twilight were both staring at a Changeling, flinching into a corner. Her face was covered with blackened and gnarled hooves, with her skin now covered in a slick black chitin. A pinkish carapace on her back sprouted two transparent wings, all of it leading to the same dark conclusion in everypony's mind. A Changeling queen.

A fate worse than death.

"W-What... Cadance, what happened to you?" Shining said in disbelief. Reddling shook his head, feeling it was quite obvious what had happened.

"I-I was attacked- but some monster..." Cadance said. Reddling turned and whispered quickly to Midnight about possibly going to make an instant report of this, but he shook his head, leaning forward and listening as Cadance continued, "It bit me... I had terrible dreams, like I was drowning, like I was dying... And Twilight, she found me, woke me up and... like this!" Cadance's voice failed as she broke down into sobs, still covering her face from Shining Armor and Twilight.

"It was like you were being eaten alive. Violated, and utterly destroyed..." Reddling stepped forward into the light, speaking loudly and clearly for all to hear. All three of them gave a start, turning in near panic at the sound of Reddling's voice. Cadance had dropped her hooves now, showing that her eyes had become a brilliant pink with narrow purple slits for pupils.

"It's you! That- that batpony!" Twilight cried, "What are you doing here?"

Reddling reached into the shadow and grabbed Midnight around the neck, pulling him roughly into the light as he said, "Following this one."

"What!?" Midnight said indignantly. "We came together!"

"Yeah, only because you started to follow-" Reddling stopped, taking a quick breath before facing Twilight, "Look, that doesn't matter."

"Twilight, we overheard some of what you said to your brother and were concerned, I apologize if we have overstepped ourselves but this is... this is very complicated." Midnight looked down apologetically.

"I just saw a capital get ravaged by an invasion an the first thing that happens when I wake up is two ponies sneak below the city to see something mysterious. Forgive me if I'm not at least a little skeptical, Miss Twilight." Reddling said, keeping his voice even as he walked closer, looking from Shining, to Twilight, and finally to Cadance.

"I- I promised Cadance I would keep this secret..." Twilight started. Her voice died as Cadance slipped down to the floor again, covering her head with her hooves and trembling. There were a few moments of silence between the group, nopony moving. Shining finally turned to his wife, and put a hoof on her shoulder, wrapping his other hoof around her head, pulling her into an embrace.

"Cadance, we'll find some way through this..." Shining said as Cadance wrapped her gnarled hooves around him tightly, sobbing not in pain now, but relief.

"Perhaps- Perhaps this can be undone, somehow?" Midnight offered. Reddling nodded, turning to Twilight.

"It might be possible, Web- she was with us at the Elements Tower- was able to save me from Changeling venom." Reddling offered, suddenly realizing that he had not seen Web in some time. She had left the elements tower with them, and obviously visited him in his sleep to heal him, but he had not actually seen her since the ending of the battle.

"Or maybe it can change their shape! Perhaps she can continue to live as she did before?" Midnight asked.

"Midnight!" Reddling hissed, "I thought I was insensitive..."

"It- it's true! Do not give in to despair just yet, Princess. You may yet find some resolution to your affliction!" Midnight said hopefully. Reddling just shook his head, looking down at Cadance.

"You're not going to find it down here in a cave." Reddling said bitterly. There was a sudden push from Cadance as she ripped herself away from Shining Armor, backing up and looking appalled. Everypony gave a start and looked at her as she stared at Shining, wiping away some of her tears.

"No! Stop! I'm... hurting you, I can feel it." Cadance said, looking at Shining Armor. Indeed, his eyes were slightly dimmer and more unfocused than before as he wobbled towards her, unwilling to turn his wife away.

"Cadance... Don't give up, We'll fix this, I promise." Twilight said.

"Please- Just go..." Cadance said, once again hiding her face. Twilight stared at her sister long and hard, but finally relented, nodding to Midnight and Reddling.

"Alright, let's leave her be." Twilight said.

"Right, and hope tomorrow she isn't one of us incognito." Reddling shook his head angrily. Even though Cadance was a target for him to kill, he could not help but feel for her plight. The fact that he had nearly met the same fate stayed in his mind as he continued, "This is wrong. She needs help, not a dark cave."

"She- she's ashamed of what's happened to her. I want to help her, but I can't just force her out. Not after everything that's happened." Twilight said sadly, looking at Reddling.

"The next group to stumble on her may be surprisingly less understanding than any of us." Reddling retorted.

"I'll visit her as much as I can, and I'm sure Shining Armor will too- and if we find some solution, then we can fix it and be done with it, and if we can't-" Twilight stopped for a moment, relaxing herself for a moment before standing up more proudly. "We will, we have to."

"...As you wish." Reddling said. Leaving Cadance alone, Twilight nearly dragged Shining Armor away as they headed back to the palace.

"I'm going to take my brother back to the barracks. Thank you for letting us use your quarters, and the kind words about Cadance..." Twilight said, "But please, keep this quiet. Nopony else should know about this. I don't want wild rumors spreading, it would break her heart."

"We're Bats, Miss Twilight. Nopony is going to listen to us anyway." Reddling said. Twilight gave no response, so he raised his hooves, waving them around a little and continuing, "Rawr! Blood sucking, sleep in crypts bats?"

"...Those are just silly stories that mares tell to their foals... This is real." She said quietly.

"And they're just about as likely to believe this story as they are that we're bloodsucking vermin. Your secret is safe with us." Reddling said.

"Thank you, thank you for everything." Twilight leaned in and gave him a quick hug, then turned to Midnight and did the same. Reddling didn't brush himself off until she was well out of sight however, trotting off with her big brother.

"...What are those caved used for, anyway?" Reddling asked quietly.

"I do not know." Midnight said. "I do know that certain caves below the city have been repurposed for the Night Guard." Midnight paused for a moment, staring up at the sky, then turning to Reddling. "What do we do now?"

"Now..." Reddling thought aloud. "We go rest. We do what Luna told us to do, and give her any help she needs when we don't look like walking meatbags."

Been Awhile since an update huh? Been getting ready for Bronycon.