Sin. What is sin, really? Is it some all powerful evil that corrupts a pony's soul, or is it something far simpler? We all know of sin as our transgressions against others, but what of those sins that are so foul, they even carry names? Lust, Greed, Gluttony, Wrath, Pride, Sloth, and Envy. I looked into the hearts and memories of the seven who carried these names, and found that while their sins were great, the creatures behind them were just like any other normal being. They lived, they laughed, they loved and hated... and they sinned. They each became forces of great power in the broken city of Chicacolt.

But yet, somehow... some of them remembered who they were, and what it meant to be cleansed of their sins. I sometimes wonder what would have happened to the ponies during the war if they had remembered their own sins and sought forgiveness. Would we still have ended up with this hellish land we call home? Or would ponykind have taken a different route, and looked for peace with the zebras?

I think about Twilight, and about her own sins. The mare who would one day rest in the Goddess, watching helplessly as her own progeny spilled innocent blood in the name of Unity. What would have happened to her and Spark? Would I even be here to tell this tale?

I slumped to my haunches in utter defeat. Despite everything I had struggled for I had failed once more. I looked up at the space where Lucky and Spark had been. I couldn't even begin to form words over what had happened. The being that had left us was Spark given physical form, the Element of Magic herself unleashed upon the Wasteland. I thought about the riddle she had left. Finding her where it all began? What did she mean by that? Where was she going? What were her plans?

My mind swam with these thoughts and more. The reality of Lucky's sacrifice weighed heavy on my heart. Why did she have to do that? She deserved better! She deserved to live her own life, not one twisted by the corrupted Element. I hung my head low, tears flowing freely as I struggled to figure out what to do next. Thankfully, a groan from nearby stole my attention away. I looked over at Pride. The dark alicorn's eyes were flittering open as she tried to push herself up. I shook my tears away and stood. I strode over to the mare, towering over her as her gaze drifted upwards. Her eyes, once filled with contempt and hatred, were now filled with fear. I felt Violet step up next to me, her hoof resting on my shoulder blade.

“P-p-please...” the alicorn at my feet whispered.

The others had gathered around me. I stole a glance at Patch and Steeljack. The two were supporting each other, but they appeared to be fine otherwise. Nixis and Danish stood next to them, the cream colored unicorn sporting a wry smile on his face. Beyond them, Cranky and Lilith sat apart from the group. They were conversing quietly, keeping their eyes on Pride at all times.

“Pride,” I said. I shook my head, forcing myself to focus on the situation. There would be time for dealing with Spark later. First, I had to deal with the here and now.

“Please...” the mare said quietly. She cowered beneath me, shivering as she tried to scramble away. “I never... never meant...”

I dropped to my haunches immediately, realizing that I had somehow succeeded inside Pride's mind. I had managed to dispel whatever was inside of her. Was it completely gone now? I let my cold expression fall, a soft smile emerging upon my lips.

“Hey... Diamond, right?” I said.

The mare nodded slowly. “I never... I never meant to hurt anyone. I only... only wanted...” she said quietly.

“You only wanted to help,” a grating voice said from behind me. Cranky had finally taken interest in the situation. Lilith stood at his side.

“No, I'm sorry, I'm so so sorry...” Diamond said, her eyes widening. “Please... it was that... that thing...”

“Thing?” Lilith said, cocking her head. “What thing?”

“There was something inside of those statues, wasn't there, Diamond?” I said. “Something that made you do those things.”

Diamond nodded again silently, confirming what I had seen in the memories.

“It... it told me that I was serving a greater purpose... that I was going to be the Queen that the world needed,” she said. “First it just pushed, suggested and prodded... but then it took over. I was always in the background after that, watching as it...”

“It took your only friends away from you,” I said. “I saw. I saw your memory, and I felt that thing inside your head. But you beat it, Diamond. You did. I felt your power. You had it in you all along.”

“That means I’m responsible,” Diamond replied. “I let her do those terrible... horrific things. I let her destroy my friends. I deserve whatever punishment you have to exact over me.”

Silence filled the air. I looked up at Lilith and Cranky. The ancient ghoul nodded slowly. I smiled and turned back, reaching a hoof out. I rested it on Diamond's shoulder, causing her to shiver at my touch.

“I'm not... no... we're not going to punish you, Diamond. You deserve better. You deserve a second chance, just like everypony else does,” I said. “And you can start by helping us. Where are the statues?”

“Why do you...?” the alicorn asked. “Why do you need to know where they are?”

“Because I intend to get rid of them. They're dangerous, and whatever is inside of them should be destroyed,” I proclaimed. I stood. “Now then, will you help us?”

Diamond looked away for a few moments and then nodded shakily.

“You have to understand... I never meant to hurt anypony,” she said quietly as she pulled herself up into a standing position.

“I know you didn't. And now I'm going to help you end it,” I said with a soft smile. “For you, and your friends.”

Diamond hung her head, and finally tossed her head at a corner of the room.

“Follow me,” she said.

She trotted past the others, struggling to not look at them as she moved towards the far stone wall. I followed behind her, Violet right next to me. She looked up at me with concern in her eyes.

“Star? What happened to you?” she said. “What happened to Spark?”

“Lucky... she... she let Spark merge with her. That... thing you saw was them,” I said. “She's gone though. The plan still stands. Deal with Pride, deal with Spark.”

“Sure, love - that’s for the future, and I’m with you all the way. But what happens now?” Violet asked, leaning warmly against my flank.

“We'll destroy the statues and get the hell out of this place. Regroup somewhere safe, and then try and figure out where to go next,” I said quietly.

The far wall opened silently at Diamond’s approach, revealing a great hall lined in stone. Diamond plodded down it, glancing back occasionally as if to make sure we were still there.

“It's not far,” she said.

I smiled reassuringly at her, and glanced back at the others. “Alright, you guys keep watch. Violet and Lilith, you're with us,” I said.

The two mares nodded as the others moved back down the hall to keep watch. The four of us rounded the next corner, the flames of the torches giving way to an unholy blue light. In the center of the small chamber was a large pedestal. Arranged on top of the stone were seven statues. Earth pony, Pegasus, Unicorn, Donkey, Minotuar, Zebra... and Alicorn. They glowed brightly in the darkness, pulsing with energy as we drew near. It felt like they were waiting for us. As we stepped forward, I felt the air grow cold. I glanced over at Diamond. She waited with anticipation over what was to come.

“I'm going to need your help for this, Diamond. Violet, you too,” I said. “If something goes wrong, I want you to take Thunder Flash and melt them down into slag.” Violet nodded in response, levitating out her beam rifle. “Diamond. You and I are going to try and trap this thing inside the statues.”

“How are we supposed to do that?” Diamond replied.

“Trust me,” I said with a grin. “We can do it.” I looked down at the statues. I knew that whatever this thing was, it was dangerous. Before I could do anything, I felt a hoof on my shoulder. I glanced back, seeing Diamond.

“T-T-Thank you. I don't know why you're doing this. I don't... I don't deserve this...” she said. I smiled softly. From beside the alicorn, Lilith appeared.

“Diamond,” the black mare said. “None of us blame you. But you have to fix this. I've accepted that Cutter is long gone, but we can't let his death be in vain. You can do this.”

Diamond shuddered as Lilith reached out, pulling her into a hug.

“But... I... I took him away from you... I was so selfish...” she said.

“You were. But that's the best thing about second chances. Everypony deserves them,” Lilith replied, glancing over at me and winking.

I smiled knowingly. I knew it was a good idea to bring Lilith along. Diamond nodded in silence before turning back to me.

“Okay... I'm ready, I guess. What do we do?” she asked.

“Focus your magic on the statues. I’ll be right here with you, and we'll try and snare it. We'll force it back in and then lock up the statues for good,” I said.

Diamond nodded and began to flare her horn. I joined in, focusing on the pedestal and the statues. The energy between us intensified, and I felt a tug in the back of my mind. I found myself hearing Diamond's thoughts. As expected, the mare was terrified of what she had done. I tried to push a smile at her, projecting my own thoughts to let her know that everything was going to work out in the end.

Diamond looked back at me, her eyes and horn glowing with magic and determination. A darkness curled between us suddenly, a wisp of black energy from the statues. I growled under my breath, and a soft chuckle stroked the fringes of my and Diamond’s shared mind.

Well, well... you sure didn't waste any time, did you Diamond? the dark voice echoed through our minds. And I see you've brought your new friend too. Such a delectable little plaything, she is. Now then... be a good girl and let me back in. You still have plenty of unfinished work to do.

No! I heard Diamond's voice in my head shout. I won't give in to you! You made me do horrible things to my friends! To so many others!

If I recall correctly, my little pony, you gave in to me quite readily. You accepted your place in life, as my servant, the voice replied.

She's not yours anymore, I interrupted, packing all the disdain I could into my voice. She's her own pony, free just like she was meant to be!

Ahh... the so-called Ministry Mare finally speaks. You know, I knew the real Twilight Sparkle... once. You are nothing compared to her, the voice said. As for the other, she's nothing more than a pawn. A means to an end.

You're wrong, I thought. I was beginning to get seriously annoyed with this thing's insistence. Diamond was silent. That couldn't be good.

Ohh... am I now? I am pretty sure that she was my willing slave, the voice said. Besides... she will never find anypony like me.

I'm her friend, I thought. She has me, and even after your foul influence, she has Lilith, and the others.

Pish, the voice replied, chuckling madly. If you're so willing to be her friend, why not take her place then? It's the sacrifice your broken little green friend made for you.

Never, I thought. I'm fine right where I am.

Oh, but I will have you. I will have all of you in the end. I am your worst Nightmare, Radiant Star! the voice growled.

I don't care what you are, I'm going to put you back where belong so that nopony else will ever find you! I thought angrily, focusing my magic on the statues.

Through the haze of power pouring from myself and Diamond, I saw a deep blue smoke pouring out of the statues. The smoke coiled onto the ground and bulked into a massive cloud of pure threat. I drew breath to redouble my efforts, but was shocked into a gasp when the cloud puffed into a pony-shaped form.

Have it your way, Ministry Mare. I will show you true power, the voice said as the form stepped delicately out of the last wisps of smoke. It was a tall slender alicorn mare, with a coat of dark blue smoke. Shadows played across her coat with the flexing of her legs. Her eyes shot open, revealing snakelike orbs glowing with arcane power. The thing's wings flared open as it dove towards Diamond and I.

Violet snarled, firing a blast of silver fire at the vaguely pony-esque thing. The fire passed through the thing as if it wasn't even there.

“Shit! My fire passes right through it!” the green mare shouted as she pulled Thunder Flash back to her. The close quarters meant that any other fire was likely to hit somepony else. The creature landed on the pedestal with a *crash*, slamming into Diamond. The blue mare hit the ground hard, grunting in pain as her horn sputtered out. I spun around, lashing out with a forehoof. The dark creature turned, blocking my strike and sending me sliding back into the dark stone hall. I groaned as I came to a halt. My own magic dissipated and I felt my grip on the statues loosen.

“Well, Radiant Star? Do you wish to give in, to become one with the darkness, become one with Nightmare?” the monster shouted as it stalked towards me.

“Never!” I called back, pushing myself off the ground.

“Your friends will die this day,” the other alicorn said. “When I stand before you on a pile of their corpses, when all that is left is me, you will. You will join with me and I will wreak my just and terrible vengeance on the pathetic pony race!”

“You're very melodramatic, you know that, right?” I quipped. Where was Diamond? Why hadn't she joined me yet? I needed her help to contain this thing, I wasn’t feeling too good about my chances of pulling it off on my own. “So, tell me something. What are you, really?”

“What am I? I am the thing that feeds on your despair. I am a creature forged in the blackest of nights,” the thing crowed.

Yep... definitely heavily on the melodramatic side, I thought as the creature actually posed, flaring its wings and rearing.

“I am your Eternal Queen.”

“Well, I don't remember voting for you,” I joked, ducking to the side to look past the creature. Come on, Diamond... I thought. Hurry up!

“Waiting for that waste of space?” the creature said. “She's not going to be much help to you.” A thick blue tendril erupted from the side of the thing. It reached back into the chamber. Diamond appeared on the other end of the tendril, writhing in agony as she tried to pull herself out of the tentacle's embrace. A second tendril popped out, grabbing Violet as well. My eyes widened.

“Violet!” I yelled. “Put her down!”

“Star!” I heard shouts from behind me. I glanced back, seeing the others gathered behind me. I growled under my breath. This was not good. I couldn't let this thing get past me. I had to stop it here.

“Everypony, stay back!” I called out. “This thing can't be hurt by normal means!” I turned around, facing the beast once more. Diamond was flailing in the embrace of the smoke, howling as she tried to free herself. “Diamond, Violet, stay calm! I'm gonna get you guys out of there!”

“I don't think so. These pathetic wretches are coming with me. After all, I still need a host,” the monster replied, waving Diamond and Violet about in the air.

“Put. THEM. DOWN,” I said angrily, using my magic to emphasize my point.

The creature snarled, rushing forward at me. Tentacles poured from its sides, lashing out at me. I flared my horn, batting at the tendrils with blasts of telekinesis. The monstrous thing chuckled wildly as it broke free. Violet struggled, her horn lighting up as she tried to get free of the creature's grip. Thunder Flash whipped about in the air, firing down at one of the tentacles. The silver fire burned it away, dropping the green mare to the ground with a grunt of pain.

I cocked my head in confusion. Didn’t those shots go right through it before? I thought. Pushing the thought out of my head, I called out for my love. “Violet!”

“I'm alright!” she called back, leaping out of the way of a second tendril. “Lilith! Get me out of here!”

The black mare streaked through the fight, snatching Violet up and carrying her back to the others. I sighed. That was one thing taken care of. The monster's eyes flared as it lifted Diamond up next to her.

“No matter. This one will do just fine,” it said. It's mouth opened wide as it began to pull the other alicorn closer.

“Diamond!” I shouted, flaring my horn once more. A blast of magic erupted from it, hitting the tendril. It severed completely, dropping Diamond unceremoniously to the ground below. “Enough of this. I don't care what you are. You are not going to possess her again.”

“I don't recall asking your permission,” the thing said. It sprouted new tendrils, reaching for Diamond with half a dozen smokey extrusions.

“Diamond! You have to get up! I can't do this without you,” I said.

“It's... it's too strong...” Diamond wheezed. She was trying to push herself up as another tendril wrapped itself around her barrel. The mare yelped as she was lifted into the air once more. Her horn tried to spark, but it was weak and fizzled out immediately. “Star... you have to trust me. You have to go... just leave me...”

“No, Diamond. I won't leave you! You don't deserve this!” I shouted.

Diamond smiled weakly as she was lifted into the air by the grinning beast. “It will be okay, Star. This is the way it has to be.” she said. As her body rotated momentarily to face away from the monster, she winked at me.

“Yes... give in. See how powerful you can be,” it said. “Give in to me, and be free!”

“No... never. Never again. I'll bury you before that happens!” Diamond replied, flaring her horn brightly. It simmered down a second later. “There. It's done. Star... hit it with everything you got. Don’t worry about sealing it into the statues, just force us back into the statue chamber!”

“But... what do you mean 'it's done'?” I asked cautiously.

“The self-destruct sequence! I activated the Stable's self-destruct sequence! You don't have much time, so force us in there and I'll seal the door. I'll bury this fucking thing here, and it will never hurt anypony else again!” The blue mare caroled.

“You did WHAT?!” I shouted, my eyes widening.

The thing holding her snarled as it surged forward, trying to get past me. I ignited my horn again, putting up the best shield I could possibly think of. Shining Armor's shield spell flared into existence, stopping the beast cold in its tracks. My horn seared with pain, and I grunted as I forced the shield forward, pushing the pony-shaped monster back down the hall. I gritted my teeth, feeling the shield begin to falter as I finally managed to get the two into the statue chamber. Diamond grinned as her own horn flared.

“I'll take it from here, Star. Thank you... so so much. You freed me from this... thing,” she said softly. “I wish we had more time to get to know each other, the right way. But one cannot change fate. The Nightmare’s grip on me was my doom, and my grip will be hers! Now GIT, you silly pony!”

I put up a hoof as the door slammed shut and my shield disappeared. A rumble echoed from above me somewhere.

“Diamond!!” I shrieked, pounding on the stone door as hard as I could. “Diamond, no! You can't do this! Please!”

You don't have much time, Radiant Star... Diamond's voice echoed in the back of my head. I've seen what the spirit of Magic wants for this world, and it's not pretty. You are the only one who can stop her. You have to stop her! Please... this is what I want...

I sighed, tears streaming out of my eyes. I couldn't just leave her! I couldn't –

There's no time, GO!!! Diamond shouted in my mind. Without thinking, I spun on one hoof, turning tail and running towards my friends.

“WegottagoStable'sgonnablowupokaybye!” I shouted as I ran past. My friends looked at each other with wide eyes and pelted after me.

She had done it. She had activated the self-destruct sequence just to keep that thing... whatever it was... from escaping into the Wasteland. Thoughts of Diamond and her sacrifice whirled in my head as I ran. They drove me forward through the Stable as it began to come apart all around us. They gave me hope that we would get out alive.

Rumbling noises filled the air above us as we ran. The dull gray walls of the Stable began to shift and grind under the pressure of the explosions that were ripping the underground complex to pieces. We had managed to make it out of the Overmare's office and into the Atrium. The large hall was in shambles. Chunks of cement and metal pipe had fallen into the center of the room. At the far end, a massive amount of debris blocked our passage into the next hall.

“What?!” I yelled, my voice fraught with panic. I reached out with telekinesis, trying to move the debris out of the way, but there was just too much. I frantically began to move multiple pieces at once. The hall shuddered as a large slab of cement ceiling came loose from the ceiling above.

“Star!” Nixis roared, slamming into me and pushing me out of the way. The cement struck the ground, exploding into a thousand pieces. I pushed myself up, groaning. The hellhound lay next to me, whimpering in pain. Several pieces of cement were embedded in his side. Blood pooled beneath his body.

My heart sunk to my stomach and my blood went cold. I had already lost Diamond, I was not about to lose another friend.

“Nixis!” I exclaimed, reaching over to hold onto him.

“Are... are you alright?” he said, wincing as he spoke. I nodded in reply. “Good.”

“Nixis... stay with me... stay with me!!!” I cried as he closed his eyes. “I can't... I can't lose another... please...”

“It's... it's alright. I managed to do some good,” the hellhound whispered, his eyes fluttering open and closed.

Violet was next to us in a flash, her horn bright with magic. “No, you're going to be just fine, Nixis,” my love said, anger in her voice as she began to work.

The pieces of cement began to glow, a soft green light emanating from them. The shrapnel disintegrated into fine dust. Violet's eyes flared with determination and power as she poured magic into the wounds, doing the best she could to close them up. “Danish! I need bandages and a healing potion, quick!”

The cream-colored unicorn scrambled over to us, floating out the medical supplies. Violet took them, pushing the healing potion over to me. I glanced over at the others. They were looking out for any more falling debris. Another explosion ripped into the complex far above us somewhere, the room shaking and grinding. The dust settled, and I wondered just how long it would take for this whole thing to end. Diamond hadn't exactly specified a time limit, after all.

I looked down at Nixis, floating out the healing potion and tipping it up so that he could drink. As I watched Violet work, I couldn't help but be impressed. She was so incredible. Her eyes flashed fiercely and a realization washed over me in that moment. This was what she lived for. Filing that in the back of my head for later, I tried my best to keep Nixis calm under her ministrations. The hellhound beneath us sputtered as Violet finished bandaging up his wounds. It wasn't pretty, but it would have to do until we got out of this hellish place.

“Can you stand?” I asked.

Nixis nodded, pushing himself up. He smiled as he winced and held his side.

“I'll be fine, Ministry Mare. This is one friend that won’t be leaving you anytime soon. Let's get out of here,” he said.

“I couldn't agree more,” I said, looking back at the others. “This way's blocked off. Anypony got any ideas?”

“We should probably follow him,” Lilith said, pointing at the next hall over from the Atrium. A flash of pink substance was trailing down it.

My eyes widened. Cranky? Oh no... you're not going where I think you're... I thought, dreading the answer that I already knew. Of course the donkey wasn't going to leave this place without Matilda.

“Alright, everypony. I'm going after Cranky. Violet, you're with me. Everypony else, find a way to get topside,” I said. “There has to be an elevator, or something that will take us up.”

“Umm... wouldn't it be better if we stuck together?” Patch said, cocking her head. Steeljack and Danish nodded in agreement.

“Normally, I'd say yes. But if he's planning on doing what I think he's gonna do, he's gonna need my help to do it. Don't worry, we'll be right behind you,” I said.

“Hurry up then, Star. We'll hold the door,” Lilith replied, grinning.

I flashed her a grin myself and glanced down at Violet. “Ready to go?” I said.

She nodded and we took off down the hall, following after Cranky. The rumbling above us was getting louder now. I could only imagine how long it was going to take to completely destroy a Stable this large. I prayed to Luna that there was a way out that was still open. The shifting and grinding halls gave new meaning to the word 'death trap' as we galloped hard, trying to stay in Cranky's tracks. Before too long, we arrived at the medical wing. The ghoul had ripped open the metal doors to the infirmary, leaving them lying on the ground.

“Cranky!” I called out, stepping into the medical bay. The secret door to Matilda’s room was open. Cranky was inside, sobbing as he held onto the stasis tube. I moved into the bay. Violet stayed at the door, waiting for me.

“I... I can't move her. Not without turning the machine off,” he said under his breath. “She won't survive the shock.”

I looked down at the donkey in the tube. She looked... peaceful amidst the shaking and rumbling going on above. I hadn't had a chance to ask Diamond if she knew how to disable the lock. I reached out with my magic, taking hold of the device. My mind screamed as I tried to piece together how to open the tube. Eventually it was too much. I fell to the ground, grunting in pain, my horn searing.

“Ouch...” I said, putting my hoof up to my horn.

Violet was at my side within moments. “Star,” she said. “Are you alright?”

“I can't open it,” I said, shaking my head. “It's too much. I can't break past the psychic lock.” I looked up at Cranky. “Cranky...”

“Just go then, kid,” he spoke after a long pause.

“What? No... no Cranky. I can't do that,” I said, my eyes widening..

“Kid. We don't have time. This place is coming down all around us,” Cranky said with a sigh. “Now you need to go. You need to find that thing, and you need to live.”

“So do you!” I shouted angrily, tears in my eyes. “You deserve to live too!”

“You call THIS living?!!!” the ghoul roared. He was shaking now. “Have you seen me? I've lived for centuries. I saw the end of my world, the end of everything! All I want... All I NEED... is to be with my Matilda. One last time.”

“I...” I started to say before Cranky spun around, his red orbs smoldering with intense anger.

“GO!!! Leave me! You don't have the time. You need to get out of here!” he growled.

Violet tugged on me. “He's right, Star. We need to catch up with the others,” she said, glancing up at Cranky.

He nodded. I stood shakily with her help. I didn’t want to leave him. I had to keep trying.

“I... I can't. I need to help...” I said, panting as I reached out again with my magic. Fire seared in my mind once more as the lock began to attack my senses. I fell to the ground again as the room began to shake and rumble violently. My love grabbed onto me, and I felt the sensation of her magic washing over me. I grunted as I was pulled out of the bay. Cranky smiled at me as I looked up at him, tears making my vision hazy.

“Kid, I gotta thank you. You made me see what was really important. I'll never forget you. Matilda won't either,” he said, turning back to the stasis tube. I heard him mutter 'I'm here now, my love' under his breath as the medical bay shook again with intense force. Several large chunks of ceiling fell in front of the doorway, sealing the donkey ghoul and his soul mate away forever. I screamed loudly as Violet dragged me away.

“Star!” she yelled. “Get a hold of yourself! If we don't get our asses in gear, we're going to be buried too!”

I wasn't listening. I pulled free, trying to move the rocks away. Violet grabbed me, spinning me about to face her and planted her lips on mine. I melted into the kiss. It was forceful, angry, and electrifying. Violet pulled away, leaving me panting hard. My eyes widened.

“Violet?” I said, shaking hard. Tears filled my eyes. “I... I don't know what to do...”

“We get out of here. We move on. We find Spark, and we stop her, remember?” she said. I nodded mutely in response. “Alright then, now let's get going. We need to find the others.” I stood, Violet helping me as I glanced at my E.F.S. I had a map now! Whatever had been blocking it was now gone. A green blip was right next to me, and on the other side of the piled rubble... two green blips.

“Violet... do you see it?” I said, shaking the tears away. She nodded in reply. “Let's find the others. We're getting out of this hellhole.” I moved forward on autopilot, my love right at my side. I couldn't stop thinking about Cranky. The donkey had sacrificed himself and his chance at happiness to see me safe. Any second spent inside the medical bay further, and we'd have been trapped inside with him and Matilda. I prayed to Luna as we ran, hoping that he and his long-lost love would find each other in the afterlife. They certainly deserved that much.

The Atrium was still in shambles as we moved through it, heading in what we hoped was the right direction. I kept looking at my E.F.S., hoping to see if the others would show up. They weren't appearing yet. We galloped into the next hallway, panting hard. Thankfully, there was no obstructions in our path. The Stable continued to shake and rumble all around us. Gray halls flew by, and I barely even registered where we were. All I could think about was getting us out of this hellhole. My brain was running on autopilot. A second glance at my E.F.S. showed several green blips up ahead.

“Violet,” I said, breathing heavily as we rounded the next corner. “I see them.”

My love nodded, her expression firm and fierce. Shouting from down the hall brought me out of my thoughts. The hallway opened up, and we came upon the others. They were standing in front of what looked like a large set of elevator doors. Steeljack was trying to force the doors open. Lilith spun around. Her eyes went dark.

“Cranky?” she said.

I hung my head low. Violet stepped forward, answering for me.

“He... he stayed behind. We couldn't get Matilda out in time,” she said.

“I... I see,” the black mare replied with a frown. “Well, while you were gone we found this door. We've been trying to get through it.”

Patch stood by Nixis, who was sitting on the ground, while Danish was hanging back near Lilith. The hellhound looked better, but he wasn't out of the clear yet. He was still going to need medical attention, and soon.

“Steeljack,” I said calmly, drawing the attention of the gray earth pony. “Stand back. I will deal with this.”

He started to protest, but nodded and stepped away. I reached out with my magic, battering away at the door with strike after strike of force. The door buckled underneath the telekinesis, finally giving way. The elevator inside looked old and decrepit, and there was no telling where it went, but it was worth a shot. I watched silently as the others entered the ancient elevator. I stepped in, glaring at the roof with a sigh. I focused my magic, intending to rip a hole in the ceiling to allow our escape. Violet poked me in the side.

“The power’s on.” she said in wonder.

I looked. Sure enough, the little sign displaying the floor was lit. I pressed the button for the top floor, marked ‘E’ for entrance. The button obligingly lit, and the metal box began to rise. I breathed a sigh of relief and then felt panic. Would this thing even go where we wanted it to?

We moved up for what felt like forever. I could hear the Stable ripping itself to pieces. The explosions were getting louder now, the elevator bouncing and shaking. The car suddenly lurched to a halt, grinding as a large *BOOM* echoed from below.

“What happened?!” Violet yelled.

Patch bounded over to the control panel, ripping it off to look at the boards inside. Her eyes went wide with fear.

“We lost power,” she said. “We're not moving!” She began pounding at the panel in anger.

I put my hoof on her shoulder. “Patch. If there's no power, there's nothing we can do. We're going to have to do this the old-fashioned way.”

I flared my horn and extended my magic to the elevator's frame, trying to push it upward. It lurched again, knocking me to the side. My telekinesis dissipated, and I grunted angrily. Another set of explosions erupted from somewhere below us. They were getting closer. Steeljack had grabbed onto Patch, holding onto her as she cried into his shoulder. Danish was praying, to whom I couldn't hear. Lilith looked angry, but determined to not let her fear show. Nixis seemed to be at peace, a smile on his face. Violet appeared to be scared, tears filling her eyes.

“We got so far... and now we're going to die...” she said under her breath.

I hung my head. I couldn't let this happen. I still had things to take care of. Spark. Lucky. I couldn't let my friends die! I couldn't let Violet die! I couldn't let Cranky and Diamond's sacrifices be for nothing!

“No!!” I roared. “No! We're not going to die here! We're getting out of here!!” I reached back into my mind, feeling around for some memory of Twilight's that might help us. A stray thought brought a small smile to my lips. I knew exactly what spell to use. My horn ignited once I had figured out the specifics, the magic taking hold of the elevator once more. The metal box suddenly began to rise at an accelerated rate. It shuddered as it sped up the shaft, groaning and whining against the metal.

“What's going on?!!!” Steeljack shouted as the elevator picked up speed and we began to float in the center of it.

“Gravity spell!” I called back with a grin. I had to hoof it to the Ministry Mare. Twilight really knew her stuff when it came to magic. The elevator shot up the shaft like a rocket, showing no signs of stopping. How far up does it go?! I thought frantically. The explosions that were wracking the Stable had begun to diminish. The only sound now was the shriek of the elevator flying along it’s track. It was overpowering.

“Star!!” Violet yelled. “Why are we still going up?!”

“I don't know!!” I shouted. I tapped my horn, trying to cut off the spell. It wouldn't stop. My eyes widened as I realized there was a very real chance that the elevator was going to crash. Why wouldn't the spell stop? I had to cast it, I should have been able to stop it! “Shit! I can't stop it! We're going to ---”

*CRASH*

The elevator hit the top of its shaft with a catastrophic smash. The floor came up as the car deformed, squirting us out into the lobby. As I flew through the air holding my poor aching horn in my hooves, the last thing I saw was Violet flying butt-first out of the elevator, screaming. Then my head hit, and darkness.

I groaned, looking down the dark hallway. The white doors lined it just as they always had. I didn't want to be here! I wanted to be back with my friends! I sighed, waiting for the door to open. A simple *fwoosh* sounded from down the hall, and a door made a violent *creak* in response. I pulled myself from the hard wood. I trudged towards the door, not wanting to really hear which of Twilight's memories or emotions I was going to be made to see. I pushed open the wooden door.

I blinked. It was some sort of temple. It reminded me of the Followers temples in Fort Knowledge. Sunlight filtered into the room through the stained glass windows. Standing at the far end on the dais was three ponies. They were alicorns, one green, one blue, and one purple. They all shared the same cutie mark – Twilight's cutie mark. I stepped forward nervously.

“Radiant Star,” the three alicorns said as one. This was going to be one of those dream sequences I guessed. “We are Unity.”

“Unity? What kind of fucked up part of Twilight is Unity?” I said.

“We are a part of Twilight that came from her time during the Goddess,” the three said. “We who have watched you for some time, now.”

“Why? Why me?” I replied.

“Because you are special, Radiant Star. We come with a message from the One. She wishes for you to keep moving forward. Spark must be stopped,” they said.

I glared at the three alicorns. “Oh, so she wants me to stop her now, does she? What happened to making a choice?” I growled.

“Circumstances have changed. You failed in containing her. She is free to walk the outer world,” the alicorns said in their eerie synchrony.

“I'm... I'm dealing with that,” I said. “I'm going to find her, and I'm going to save her. The world still needs her!” I was frustrated beyond belief. Twilight wanted me to kill Spark? It just didn't sound right at all.

“Spark is dangerous. She will threaten all of creation. The One cannot intervene directly in this. Thus, she has chosen you to be her hoof in the outer world, and us to be her emissary to you,” the alicorns said impassively. That was the last straw. Between Nightmare and these three, I’d had enough of overdramatic alicorns.

“You listen to me. Tell Twilight that I'm not going to kill her. You hear me? I won't do it. Not while... not while Lucky's in there too,” I said, tears filling my eyes. “I won't kill them!”

“Spark may not give you a choice,” the three said. “Thou must remain vigilant, Radiant Star. The One only wishes to rectify her mistakes.”

“By making me pay for those mistakes?!” I shouted at the alicorns. “It's Twilight's fault Spark is the way she is.”

“The One recognizes your concerns,” the alicorns said.

“Make sure she recognizes this, then,” I said, turning away. “I'm going to save her. You got that? Lucky, Spark... whatever they are now... I'm going to give them a chance. And then... well Twilight and I are going to have a talk. A real talk. Not through this proxy bullshit that she keeps pulling on me.”

“The One looks forward to talking with you,” the three replied.

I growled under my breath. Yeah, I bet she does, I thought as I stalked back out into the hallway. Things had just gotten a lot more complicated, it seemed. The weight of everything that had happened had suddenly begun to pile onto my mind. I had lost Diamond and Cranky, and had nearly lost the others in the process. Diamond had sacrificed herself to save us, to save the Wasteland from Nightmare. Cranky had chosen to stay with his Matilda, together for the first time in countless years.

I sighed, hanging my head low. I thought about what Unity had said. I was going to have to face Spark again, and I was going to have to be ready to save her, no matter what. Darkness began to overtake me once more, and I waited for whatever was going to happen next.

I groaned, feeling a hoof on my side as I awoke. My horn ached, a dull throbbing with crispy spikes of agony mixed in. I grumbled into the pain as I opened my eyes. Violet was sitting next to me, resting against my side. A closer look revealed that she had been crying. I sighed.

“Hey,” I said, reaching up and nuzzling her close.

Her eyes widened as she pulled me into a fierce hug. “Star! I was so worried!” she shouted. “You didn't... wake up, and we were all so scared...”

“Shh... it's alright, sweetheart. I'm here,” I said softly.

Violet nodded, pulling back. The others appeared to be sleeping soundly around us. A glance around me revealed that we were in some sort of office lobby. The dull gray walls of the Stable were gone, replaced by black onyx pillars and shades of blue. The lobby was spotless. No debris, no rubble, except what had been made by the elevator’s violent ascent. No skeletons, even.

“Where are we?” I asked.

“I think... I think we're in Filly's Tower. It's definitely not the Stable,” Violet replied. The ground beneath us was still rumbling. “That's been going on now for hours. That place must have been huge.”

I nodded mutely, pulling myself into a sitting position. The experience with Unity had certainly taken a lot out of me. I still had a searing headache.

“I... I don't know what to do, Violet,” I finally said. “I... I wish I knew. I wish I could fix everything. I could have saved Matilda, I know I could have.” I hung my head, feeling pretty piss poor about myself. I felt a hoof wrap around my neck. “Come on, Vi... not even that is gonna make me – mmmph!”

My head shot up and I felt Violet's lips press against mine once more. It was a fierce and passionate kiss, one filled with all the love I was sorely missing. Violet pulled back, and smiled.

“It's okay. We'll figure it out. In the end, Cranky got what he wanted. He only wanted to be with her. I'd have done the same, if it were you,” she said.

“But I failed! I let Diamond sacrifice herself, I nearly let Nixis die, and Cranky...” I said, my eyes beginning to water. “I even let Lucky sacrifice herself for me... I was ready... I was ready to let Spark take me...”

“You... you were going to just let her?” Violet said.

I nodded. “But then Lucky intervened. She told me that it was her destiny. That she was supposed to help me when I would need it the most. I keep running it through my head, Violet. I should have been stronger, I should have been able to stop her,” I said frantically.

“I'm glad you didn't...” Violet breathed. “Star... we can deal with Spark. We'll do what we have to do, but we need you to do it. I need you. Did you even think about how it would have affected me?”

“I... I did,” I said softly. “I know that you would have been hurt... and I felt horrible for even considering it... but I didn't see any other choice. But now, she's free... and all I can do is chase after her again.”

Violet smiled and pulled me close into another embrace.

“I know. It'll be fine, Star. You just have to trust me,” she said. “We'll get through this.”

I sighed, trying to bury my fears in the security of Violet’s embrace. I couldn't do it, but I wasn't about to let her know that. I decided to change the subject. It was logical, and there was something I had been meaning to tell her.

“You know... I wanted to tell you that I was very impressed with what you did with Nixis,” I said softly. “You saved his life. I couldn't do anything but panic.”

“Thanks. I just sort of... ran on autopilot I guess... I felt like I had to... I had to save him,” she said with a sigh. “I've never felt anything like that before.”

“I know,” I said, pointing to my love's flank. “If I had to guess... I'd say it has to do something with your cutie mark.”

Violet looked back at the eye, wreathed in flames. “My cutie mark? What do you mean?” she said.

“I think I know what it means. You told me once that you stared into the eyes of a fierce dragon. That's what you do for your friends, Violet. For those you love, you would face down dragon's fire,” I said. I had a lot of time to work through this, and I knew I was right. “Your talent is protecting the ones you love.”

Violet's eyes widened as the realization hit her. She began to tear up, and I pulled her close yet again. Quiet descended upon us, and I took a moment to glance about. The others were still asleep. Violet, in her infinite love for her friends, had forgone her own sleep to watch over them. My love cleared her tears and pulled herself away into a sitting position.

“We should probably wake the others. Figure out how the hell we're getting out of this place,” she said.

I nodded, and pushed myself up. I shook out, feeling rather rested but still uneasy. We were still in danger. Filly's Tower was an unknown, other than the Minotaur. If the stories were to be believed, the Tower itself was haunted. Violet went around our camp, gently prodding the others to awaken. I smiled gently at Steeljack and Patch as they got up and began packing up our gear. Lilith and Danish it seemed had somehow found themselves close together in their sleep and were now blushing profusely. I giggled, prompting the black mare to roll her eyes at me. Last but not least was Nixis, standing triumphantly. The bandages wrapped around his midsection were dirty, but unbloodied. Still, against all odds, he had survived. Violet had apparently been performing more healing spells on him since I was out, as he looked far better than he had down in the Stable. I stood before him and bowed my head.

“I owe you my life, and an apology,” I said softly.

The hellhound coughed and smiled. “You do not owe me anything, Star. I did what I had to do. You once called me friend, did you not?” He said. I nodded slowly. “Then accept what has happened, as a gesture of that friendship.”

“I... I will,” I said. “Nixis?” The hellhound raised his ears. “I fear what comes next. Spark's out there, biding her time. I don't even know what she plans to do, or where she's going. I'm frightened.” Nixis flashed a toothy grin and placed a paw on my shoulder.

“Fear not for the future, Radiant Star. Too much time spent on such thoughts will place great stress upon you. It is better to take your fear and channel it into focus. Focus your will, my friend. You will see this through, I know you will. And I will do my best to help you in your quest,” he said.

I nodded, pondering the hellhound's words. I freely admitted that Spark's freedom, her physical form, what Twilight wanted me to do... it all frightened me. I was scared out of my wits over what the corrupted Element of Magic's plans were. All she had left me was a clue to find her where it all began. I didn't even know what that meant! A cough from behind us brought me out of my thoughts. I turned back, seeing Violet. She had Thunder Flash hanging in its harness, and her beautiful face wore an expression of fierce determination.

“We're ready to go,” she said.

“Then we go,” I said.

The stairs appeared to go up forever. They were dark black, with hints of blue light shining through them. I groaned. We had quickly been able to ascertain that we were on the ground floor of the Tower. With the defense megaspell still active outside, there was only one way to go: up.

“Well, at the very least. We'll have some time to relax, right?” Patch said, trying to break the tension building in the air.

I sighed and nodded, taking the first step. It illuminated as my hoof touched it. I moved forward with purpose, and I wasn't planning on stopping until I reached some way out of this fucked up place. As we walked, an eerie quiet filled the air. It was too quiet.

“This place is a little creepy,” I heard Danish say.

“A little?” Lilith replied with a giggle. “I think this place maxes out the creep scale.”

I was inclined to agree with her. There was something off about this stairwell. It was the very definition of creepy. We reached a landing, and I looked up once more. I groaned again. I really hated stairs. If there was ever a more villainous thing in the Wasteland, it was stairs. Violet gave me a reassuring glance as we continued moving. I had a lot to think about. Where were all the offices? Why were there so many stairs? I briefly wondered if Discord was playing with me again, but pushed the thought from my mind. No... the spirit of Chaos wouldn't be that cruel. Sure, he liked a good game, but this many stairs? No... only pre-war ponies were that fucked in the head.

The next couple landings had doors that apparently led to other sections of the Tower, but they were locked. I considered trying to open them, but I knew it would be fruitless. The only way I could see out of this was to speak to the Minotaur. The next landing however, had a door that was wide open. Skittering lights gleamed off the walls beyond it.

“Do you think...?” Violet questioned.

“I'm not exactly sure how high up we even are,” I said. “Still, it's worth a shot.” We moved into the hall, moving as quietly as possible. The lights danced along the walls as the hall opened up into a series of terminals sitting at cubicles. They were still active, it seemed. Their screen saver programs were responsible for the dancing lights. At the far end of the office was a unremarkable set of double doors.

Help us... a voice whispered, tugging at my ears. I cocked my head in confusion.

“Did you guys hear that?” I said.

The others shook their heads.

“Hear what, Star?” Steeljack said. “It's quiet.”

Help us... the voice whispered again. It was coming from the doors. As the others picked through the cubicles for anything salvageable, I moved over to the two doors.

“Hello?” I said quietly. “Is anypony there?”

Help us... the voice whispered, louder now. My eyes widened. There was something here. What was it? I pushed open the door. Beyond it was a wide circular chamber. In the center was a pedestal holding what appeared to be a silvery crystal. I stepped inside, the doors closing behind me.

“Who's there? What is this place?” I called out. I moved deeper into the room, coming closer to the pedestal. The crystal gleamed in the darkness.

Help usss...... the voice continued. We need your help.... Something moved out of the corner of my eye. I spun about, growling and unlatching Stargazer. Violet held up her hooves as I pointed my gun in her direction.

“Star! It's me, it's me!” she shouted.

I sighed, dropping the minigun. “Don't do that,” I said. “This place is giving me the creeps already. Sneaking up on me only makes it worse.”

“Sorry, sweetie. What the hell is this room?” Violet asked, a sheepish grin on her face.

“Not sure,” I said, running my hoof over the crystal sitting on the pedestal. A film of dust came away from it. “Whatever it is, nopony's been here for a very long time.”

“I don't think there's anything else on this floor,” Violet said. “We didn't even find anything good in the cubes. And we can't get any of terminals to come out of their screen savers.”

“We should probably head back to the stairs then,” I said as we moved towards the doors. I pulled on the handle with my telekinesis, but it wouldn't budge. “Umm... Violet? The doors won't open.”

“What? What do you mean they won't open?” my marefriend said, stepping past me and flaring her horn. The doors remained closed.

Help us.... the voice that I had been hearing said. Violet's eyes widened.

“Did you hear that?” she said.

“You too?” I asked. “I've been hearing it since we moved into the office. It was coming... from in here.”

HELP US... the voice shouted. We turned around towards the source of it. The pedestal in the center of the room was starting to bubble an inky blackness from the top of it. It began to spew forth, causing the silvery gleam of the crystal to disappear entirely.

“Star... what is that thing?” Violet said, her voice shaky.

The black bubbling substance spilled over onto the ground. I was vaguely reminded of the Smooze, but it was the wrong color. The stuff began to grow, and what appeared to be a head began to rise out of it. It didn't have any eyes, and it was growling loudly.

“I don't know, but I don't like it,” I said, unlatching Stargazer from its harness. I aimed, watching and waiting. A pair of legs emerged out of the black goo, followed by another pair. The vacant depressions where eyes should have been considered us.

HELP USSSSSS.... a rasping voice erupted from the maw of the creature. It lurched forward, leaving black hoofprints on the floor.

“Violet, we need to get out of here. See if you can work on the door, I'll try and hold this thing off,” I said.

My love gave me a fierce glare, but simply nodded and moved back to the door. She began to bang on it, hoping to draw the attention of the others.

I turned my attention back to the black thing. It was still moving toward me. “Help you? Who are you?”

WE ARE LOST... HELP US.... the thing rasped. It's voice was raw and harsh sounding.

“We're lost too. So what say we help each other? We can get out of this place,” I said, chuckling. I hoped I could distract the thing long enough for Violet to make some progress.

YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND... WE WANT YOU... YOU WILL HELP US... FEED US! the voice broke into a shriek as the creature lunged forward, it's mouth expanding. Silvery crystal teeth glittered inside.

I growled, stepping back and smacking the ponyform in the face with Stargazer. It reeled backwards from the impact, hitting the ground with a *splat*.

“Violet? How's that door coming along?!” I shouted.

“I don't know why it won't open! And the others haven't heard me beating on it, either!” She called back. “I'm gonna try something!” I heard her open up with Thunder Flash, the silvery light flashing in the corner of my eyes. The bubbling creature pulled itself up from the ground, gurgling as it lurched forward again.

NOOOOOO..... the thing rasped. NOO GUNS, FEEEED USSSS..... It launched at me, its jaws wrapping around my leg and catching me off guard. Pain shot through my body as the creature's maw clamped down. My leg sizzled and I roared. I shook the appendage, trying to dislodge the thing.

“Get off!” I shouted, floating Stargazer around. Using the minigun as a club, I began beating the thing relentlessly. I growled, forcing my way through the pain. The creature wasn't letting go. It's mouth began to wrap around my limb, the black substance it was made of flowing over my body like slime. My horn flared, and I reached into the back of my mind, trying to find some way out of this. Telekinesis wrapped around the thing, and I pushed my magic to try and force it off of my leg.

A soft glow erupted from the creature, and it slipped away, leaving my body as quickly as it had latched onto it. It squealed angrily as it tried to come at me again. A green glow found its way around me, yanking me backwards through the air before the thing could get close enough. I glanced back, seeing Violet. Her eyes were on fire and Thunder Flash was floating in her magic. A blast of silver erupted from the beam rifle, slamming into the monster. Smoking holes appeared where the fire hit it. The door behind her slammed open violently, revealing Steeljack.

“Come on!” he shouted, stretching forward to snatch Violet’s tail in his teeth. Violet’s expression as he dragged her bodily out of the room was indescribable, and even with my leg in agony from the creature’s bite, I couldn’t help but laugh. I spun in Violet’s magic as she slid out the door. As I rotated upside down, I saw the monster beginning to reform itself. It surged forward, growing massively as it charged the door. I forced the metal closed with a flick of my horn, as the thing struck with a massive *thud*.

NO...... HELP USSSSS...... the thing called from beyond the door. I flopped unceremoniously to the ground as Violet released me from her magical grasp. My horn flared, grabbing a desk from one of the cubicles and forcing it against the door to hopefully prevent it from opening. I panted, looking back at the others and grinning sheepishly.

“Erm... sorry, we sort of got locked in there,” I said. I could hear the thing continually pounding at the door. It was still calling out for help. “We'd better get going. This won't hold for long.”

Without wasting a moment, we moved out of the office area and back to the stairwell. I groaned. This place was already proving to be one fucked up thing after another. Just what was that thing in that room? Why did it need help? What did it want? Too many questions filtered through my brain as we began to walk, a little more hurriedly now, up the stairs.

“What happened to you guys?” Danish said. “One second you were there, the next Steeljack was banging on those doors.”

I sighed as Violet explained what had happened. The others began theorizing on what the thing was while we walked. I wanted no more distractions. We needed to find the Minotaur. It was the only way we were getting out of this hellish Tower. The stairs continued to flow upwards. It seemed like we would never reach the top. We passed landing after landing, not daring to stop after what had happened. I knew instinctively that the Minotaur would be at the top of the Tower. I wasn't sure how I knew, but the intuition was strong enough that I was willing to depend on it.

After what seemed like hours (which only ended up being less than an hour according to my PipBuck’s traitorous time function), we arrived at a landing where the stairs just... stopped. A set of doors graced the far end of the landing. A sign on one read MINISTRY OF ARCANE SCIENCE RADIO HUB. A red light was on the wall next to them, with a sign reading ON AIR. It was dark.

“Is this it?” Lilith asked.

“It has to be,” Patch said. “There's no more stairs.”

“Let's go,” I said. “We've got a date with the Minotaur.”

A cold breeze whisked across my coat as we made our way down the hallway, inching closer towards what sounded like beeping noises. I was sure that this is where the Minotaur was. My eyes drifted up to the ceiling, noting the cameras following our movements. Looks like he knows we're here, I said. The hallway opened up into a large open room, large terminal monitors lining the far wall. I recognized this room. This was where I was before when I met the Minotaur.

“Radiant Star,” a harsh voice from behind the large metal chair at the far end called out.

“Minotaur,” I said calmly.

A chuckle erupted from the chair. “You're a hard mare to catch up with, you know that right? I was beginning to wonder where you'd run off to. But then the explosions started, and you showed up in the Tower,” the Minotaur replied. “You blew up a fucking Stable!”

“Not exactly. Diamond did that,” I said angrily. “She triggered the self-destruct sequence.”

“Diamond? Diamond Night?” the voice said. “So she was involved. That makes sense.”

“You knew her?” I said, my eyes widening. “How...?”

“Ahh, Ministry Mare. I've been around this city a long time. I see and hear everything,” the Minotaur said. Several of the monitors flickered to life, showing the area surrounding the Tower. “Just like how your little adventure in the Stable has caused quite a bit of damage to the city.” The majority of the buildings on the screens were devastated. The ground appeared to be shaking still, the repercussions of the Stable's explosion highly evident.

“Why didn't the Tower fall?” I said, cocking my head in confusion.

“This Tower has stood since before the end of the war. It's never going to fall,” the Minotaur said. “It's too well constructed.”

“How do you know that?” Patch said, cocking her head.

“You don't really want to know that,” the voice said. “There's just some things about this place that are better left unsaid.”

“Like the fucked up chambers with black inky pony-shaped things in them?” I said. “What else is there that's worse than that?”

“So you've seen one of the megaspell chambers. One of the Tower's primary functions was megaspell research and design,” the Minotaur said. “That is why it was so well built. If it wasn't, it would rain death and destruction upon a lot more than just this city.”

“So... what... you keep everything under control?” I said angrily.

“I do. And I will continue to do so for a very, very long time,” the Minotaur replied. “Now then... I assume that you're here because you want safe passage out of the Tower.” I nodded. “I can't let you do that. You're dangerous, Ministry Mare. With what you've seen here, how can I trust that you won't come back?”

“I have something that I need to do,” I said, stepping forward. “Something important. This place... it will remain safe. I will guarantee that.”

“No. I think not,” the voice said. “I will ensure this building's safety by eliminating you.” Several ceiling mounted turrets came down from above, pointing right at us.

I growled, unlatching Stargazer. “Coward! If you want to get rid of me, come here and do it yourself!” I shouted.

“Oh, that would be oh so difficult,” the voice said with another chuckle. The metal chair began to swing out from the large mass of terminals. It turned around, revealing that it was completely empty. My jaw dropped. “You should see the look on your face. It's quite priceless.”

“Where are you?” I said.

“Everywhere. Haven't you figured it out by now, or are you that dense?” The voice said. The terminals began to light up and beep. “I'm the Artificial Intelligence that controls the Tower. Designed by the late great Iron Will for the war effort. I was designed to be an ultimate adaptive intelligence.”

“Wait... you're a computer program?” Patch said, her eyes aglow with awe.

“Yes. My original purpose was monitoring and surveillance. I was supposed to guard Filly's Tower, as well as to monitor the Equestrian populace. Thus, the camera systems installed around the city. Pinkie Pie herself even used my network services to interface with her sprite bots. I still shudder at the music,” the voice said.

“So why the radio broadcast? Why the Minotaur?” I said. “Why invent him?”

“After the end of the war, there was little that was left living in the city. My systems picked up rumors of life in the south, near Manehatten. Being unable to leave this Tower... I used what systems I had access to in order to communicate. A radio personality by the name of DJ-PON3 came into contact with me, and I learned much about the Wasteland from him,” the Minotaur said. “The Minotaur that you know was invented in order to prevent anypony from accessing the Tower.” The turrets whirred as they kept a close bead on us. “Now, that is enough idle chatter. I'm sorry that I must kill you. But you must know that I cannot let you wreak your brand of havoc on the city.”

The turrets opened fire, sending out blasts of hot red death. My friends and I scattered, the fire striking the ground with a sizzle. I tumbled into a roll, bringing Stargazer around. I dropped into E.S.A.T.S., queuing up several shots at the turrets. The spell released and my gun let loose. The bullets struck, sparks flying from the metal casings. One of the turrets exploded, flooding the air with shrapnel. Violet snarled, unleashing a blast of silver from Thunder Flash. Lilith leaped in front of Danish, using her bladed wings to deflect a laser blast that was headed towards the cream-colored stallion. Patch and Steeljack fought back to back, dodging and ducking as they fired at the turrets. Nixis awkwardly rolled out of the way of a blast of energy, clutching his bandaged side. He replied with a flung knife, skewering one of the turrets in a vulnerable spot. It obligingly spat sparks and exploded.

“Minotaur!” I shouted. It was obvious that we couldn't keep this up. More turrets appeared from the ceiling as well as the walls, each one firing its own particular brand of fiery death. “You have to stop this! Listen to me!”

“Negative,” the Minotaur replied. “I have to get rid of you. You cannot be allowed to live. She wishes it, so it must be.”

I cocked my head amidst the chaos. “She?” I said, confused. “What?”

As if in response to my question, all of the monitors in the room switched over to a picture of a black alicorn. Her mane shone like the stars themselves. It was the same alicorn from the Stable. The shadows playing over her face seemed to writhe and turn at their own whim as the mare grinned wickedly at us. The turrets stopped firing, winding down as she began to speak. It was clear that she wanted to gloat over us.

“Yes... Did you really think that pathetic bitch Diamond could contain me?” She said. I blinked. No... No it can't be...I thought.

“You're... you're that... that thing from the statues?” I said. The mare nodded in reply. “What did you do to Diamond?”

“She's buried six thousand feet under tons of rubble,” the alicorn said. “The pathetic weakling couldn’t even save herself, much less hold me.”

I glared at the mare on the monitor. No! I thought. Diamond sacrificed herself to stop this thing! And it just... bypassed her like she was nothing!

“What are you... some sort of fucked up pre-war shit?” I asked angrily. “You said that you knew the real Twilight Sparkle. What did you mean by that?”

“After all of my clues, after me speaking my name, you still don’t recognize me? I am the one who nearly brought eternal night to all of the world. I am known by many names, but most call me Nightmare,” she said. My eyes widened. It couldn’t be. Not her. There was no way. She was supposed to have... have died! “Yes... you know who I am, Radiant Star.”

“That’s impossible... how are you... how are you even here?” I said frantically.

“Trapped within seven statues, I was once the being you called Nightmare in legend. I am but a vestige of that power. But now... now I am free! I am able to take control of this city! And once I launch the megaspells contained within this tower, I will control the Wasteland!” the alicorn crowed madly. Her draconic eyes flared as she began to cackle wildly.

“Did... she just say what I thought she did?” Danish said, cocking his head.

“I think she did,” Lilith said.

“No... I will stop you,” I said angrily, thinking of the Pink Cloud megaspell that I had brought here myself. “I will not let you do that. You'll destroy all of Equestria!”

“I believe that's the point,” the dark mare replied. “You ponies... so attached to your silly pathetic little lives. You see, Diamond always had aspirations of grandeur. She wanted the power, but she couldn't take it for herself. I will get my revenge on Equestria!” The turrets surrounding us began to whine as they re-aimed at us.

So that was it. This... this... thing was controlling the Tower, and pretty soon it intended on launching every weaponized megaspell in the place. I hung my head. What could I do? How could I stop this thing?

“Yes... you see how pointless it is. You are defeated, Ministry Mare. And now, I shall kill you along with the rest of this sad little world you love so dearly. You see... you let me out after all. When you helped that pathetic mare in her mind, you gave me life.”

A fire lit in the back of my mind. Nightmare... it had been trapped inside the statues and locked away for hundreds of years. Diamond had somehow imprisoned it in her own mind, which must have kept its influence from spreading too far. But I had freed it when I had helped Diamond overcome it. I hadn't dispelled the damn thing like I thought I had!

But... maybe there's a way to put it back, I thought. But I don't have the statues... they're down in the Stable. My eyes widened. But I do have... I accessed my PipBuck's inventory spell, searching for it. There! I pulled the item out of my saddlebags and set it on the ground. Lucky's smiling form looked out at me. The words Have Faith were all I could focus on. Without thinking or even knowing what I was doing, I cast the spell, feeling the magic flow through me. The statue glowed with intense power, and the mare on the screen scowled.

“What are you doing?” Nightmare snarled. The turrets geared up to fire again.

I opened my eyes, the arcane energies causing them to glow brightly. I lifted a hoof, putting up a shield spell around us. The statue of Lucky hung before me, gathering the magic in the air as the mare in the monitor howled loudly.

“No!! What is this?! What are...?” the alicorn shouted.

“I'm putting you somewhere you'll never harm anypony ever again!” I shouted. I hated to have to do this to the statue of Lucky, but I realized that her message was more important than the physical thing. I needed to have faith, I needed to be confident in my own ability to stop this thing. It was Lucky's brand of blind faith that drove me forward. I unleashed the magic, a vortex of power that engulfed every inch of the room.

Nightmare snarled as she was pulled from the screen, her essence flowing towards the statuette. After a few moments, everything went pure white and then immediately returned to normal. The statuette sat on the floor, glowing. I slumped to the ground, my horn searing in pain. A voice brought me out of my pain as I felt Violet put her hooves around me. I had done it. Whether the thing was truly the real Nightmare, I would never know... but for now I had managed to prevent it from escaping and hurting a lot of ponies.

“bzzzzttt..... Ministry Mare.... “ the Minotaur said from all around us. “What happened?”

I tried to speak, but couldn't do anything but hold a hoof to my horn.

“There... there was something infecting you...” Violet said. “Don't you remember it?”

“My logs tell me that I was out of commission for several hours. I don't remember anything during that time,” the computer replied. “You saved me?” Violet nodded in response. “Why?”

“Because...” I croaked through the pain. “Because you can keep this place safe. You have to. If you don't... I don't even want to think about what would happen.” I pushed myself up, gesturing to the statue. “Plus... I need you to keep this thing safe. Lock it up, where nopony will ever find it.”

A door opened, and a service robot appeared, a tiny pony with an oversized head. It trotted up to the statue and picked it up, removing it from the room as quickly as it had appeared.

“It will be done, Ministry Mare,” the artificial intelligence said. “To thank you for saving me, I will allow you to leave the Tower safely.” I sighed. Finally! Some progress!

“Thank you...” I said, coughing. “Umm... we don't have to go back down all those stairs do we?”

“No,” it said finally. “There is an elevator here that will take you down to the ground floor. I will give you time to clear the perimeter before I re-activate the Tower's defenses. Now... go Radiant Star.”

A door opened from nowhere at the far end of the hall, revealing the elevator. I nodded, allowing Violet to help me to it. The others followed and I looked back at the computer terminals.

“Goodbye, Minotaur... thank you.” I said, sighing as the elevator door closed. It began to hum as it made its way down the Tower. In what felt like forever (but was actually ten minutes), the door opened, revealing that were on the ground floor once more. I stumbled out, Violet helping me to move along. I smiled at her.

“You alright?” she asked.

“I'll be okay,” I said with a nod. “Let's get the hell out of this place.”

I looked back up at the Tower as we made our way out of the perimeter. The elevator ride had been brief, but had allowed me enough time to plan our next move. The Tower seemed to look down on me as I left, and I nodded a salute at it. Moving to follow my friends, I considered what I had just done. I knew I was leaving Lucky's statue, but I also knew that she wouldn't have minded. Her faith in me had bolstered my resolve, and helped me seal away Nightmare... for good.

I stalked along in silence as the others took in the cool night air. The sun was beginning to drop, and the city of Chicacolt was quiet. My mind was lost in my thoughts, considering what I was going to do now about Spark. I flicked on the radio, hoping to hear something from the Minotaur. The brash familiar voice that was so different than the computer program's real voice filled the air as we walked.

Yeeeeeeeeeehaaaawwww!! That's right kiddos, it's time again for the Morning Moo Madhouse! I'm your host, the greatest of all time the MINOTAUR!

And boy do I have some news for you. That rumbling you fine folk heard for miles? That was Stable 180 friends. It's been blown up. If you're within... well... if you're near the center of the city, you done felt it more than others. How did this happen? Well kids, it seems that the cause was our friend the Ministry Mare. There was apparently some bad juju going on down there, and as a result the self-destruct sequence was activated.

My intelligence says that the Ministry Mare is now headed out of the city. Hats off to you, Ministry Mare. I hope you find whatever it is you're looking for.

Now, with that said, let's get back to the dick and fart jokes. We've been missing those for far too long on here! ...

I chuckled at the Minotaur's broadcast. At least he was tasteful enough to not explain the real reason the Stable had blown, and for that I thanked him. I went back to ignoring the radio and thinking to myself. I didn't even hear Violet tell me that we were getting close to our destination until she poked me really hard in the side.

“Ow!” I said, glaring at her.

“Sorry, but we're here,” she said, motioning with a hoof.

The soft glow of Theater came upon us as we rounded the next corner. Danish stepped forward, an air of confidence around him as the guards approached.

“Boys,” he said. “Stand down, it's just me.”

“Danish?” One of the guards said. “Where the fuck have you been? The Boss has been worried sick about you.”

“Tell the Boss we're alright,” Danish said with a grin. “I’ll be getting the Ministry Mare and her crew set up here, then I’ll be over to see him.”

The guards nodded, moving aside to allow us to enter. I nodded in thanks to them as I walked by, seeing friendly smiles on their faces.

The hustle and bustle of Theater was just as I had remembered it. Ponies, griffons, and other various species flowed through the open lobby, purchasing what wares they could from the vendors. There was newness to the settlement as well. The banners, once filled with war propaganda and promotions for musicals were now painted over with simple colors representing the MMMM. The group had made good on their promises to maintain the settlements, it seemed. The vendors also had increased their haul considerably, their loud shouting adding to the general din of the main marketplace.

Danish proceeded to move swiftly through the crowds, heading straight for the far end of the settlement, where the MMMM had set up their operations. Several of the gang's members saluted to the cream-colored unicorn when he appeared.

“Hello, boys. Need to put my friends here up for a while. Whatcha got for me?” he said. One of the ponies, a chocolate colored earth pony mare, stepped forward.

“We've got a few rooms available,” she said, her eyes widening. “Luna, you all look like hell. Thin Mint!” A soft green mare popped head out of one of the makeshift doors. “Get these folk upstairs to some of the empty rooms, and make sure to bring them up some food while you're at it!” The other mare nodded excitedly, motioning for us to follow her.

I looked down to Danish. “Thank you,” I said softly.

“T'ain't nothin',” the unicorn said with a grin. “Now go on, you rest. I've got some business to take care of here.”

“Would... would you mind some company?” Lilith said, her eyes hopeful.

I smiled. Ha! I knew there was something going on there! Danish's face seemed to flush red for a moment and he nodded.

“Sure, darlin'. I wouldn't mind at all,” he said, glancing over at Nixis. “Also... this old boy needs to have a doctor to look at him.”

The chocolate colored mare nodded. “If he will follow me, I will take him to see the doctor,” she said softly. Nixis smiled a carefully tooth-free grin and loped after the mare. The others moved to follow Thin Mint to their rooms.

“I'll... be up in a bit myself,” I said, putting a hoof up. “I'd like to walk around, relax a little.”

The others nodded. I followed behind the two wayward lovebirds for a short while, chuckling to myself as they tried to not walk too close together. I peeled off, heading down another long stretch of vendors. My eyes drifted over to the bar I had met Lucky in. It was the same bar that I had seen Grenadine and Cutter in. I allowed myself to head there, not intending to drink any, but to see. I sat down at the bar, the familiar face of the bartender appearing before me. His blue eyes looked old and wise, if a little sad.

“What can I get for ya, darlin'?” he said.

“A water, if that will please,” I said. The bartender nodded and began to pour a glass of water for me. “Are you... Horace per chance?”

“Aye, that'd be me,” he said. “And you're the famous Ministry Mare, if my listenin's on the radio are correct.”

“Yes... you're right. It's me,” I said softly.

“Something bothering you?”the bartender said.

“Just... too much going on. Lost friends, lost a lot more,” I said with a sigh. “Fuck it. Give me a bottle of your finest, Horace.”

“You sure?” Horace replied.

I nodded, and the bartender pulled out a bottle. I floated out enough caps, setting them on the counter. Pouring myself a glass, I took a drink. The smooth burning taste of alcohol seared my throat. I sighed in contentment.

“Ahh... that's the stuff,” I said. “Let me ask you something, Horace... you ever have friends?”

Horace nodded. “Once upon a time, I did. Two regulars that used to come in here. Cutter and Grenadine. They're gone now,” the bartender said morosely. “But I won't ever forget them. They were good friends.”

I nodded. I wouldn't forget them either. I took another swig of the brown liquid. I knew this was a bad idea, but I didn't rightly care at the moment. Life, it seemed, had conspired to take much away from me. Diamond... Cranky... Lucky... even Spark if I truly considered what she was.

“Did you... know anypony named Diamond?” I asked without thinking.

“Diamond Night. Alicorn just like you. Poor girl, she went a little coco in the head. I never knew what happened to her after that,” Horace said solemnly.

“She... she died. Saving lives, but she died all the same, “ I said, lowering my head onto the bar. “She was a friend of mine as well. And I miss her terribly.”

“I'm sorry to hear that, friend. Let me know if you need anything else. I've got some things to take care of,” Horace said, trotting down the other side of the bar.

I sighed, taking another drink. A glint of silver caught my eye. Sitting down the bar was what I thought was a Steel Ranger. A red cape draped off his shoulders, a silver helmet sitting next to him. His soft white mane drifted down his neck, which was lined with scars. He glanced over at me, the green of his eyes meeting my own. I smiled softly as the stallion almost sprung to his hooves, flipping his helmet onto his head with an almost theatrical gesture. He trotted over to me, and bowed low.

“Milady. Thou art the one they call the Ministry Mare?” he said.

“And you are...?” I said, my cheeks flushing red. Oh, great... I thought as the alcohol began to take hold.

“Mine name is Grey Knight, Holy Knight of the Celestial Order. I come to thou with a message. I have been waiting for you,” the stallion said. “I was told that thou would return to one of the pony settlements.”

“Really, now? A message?” I said.

“It is from the residents of Arlington,” the stallion said with a nod. “The wicked and vile Steel Rangers in the area have begun to threaten the town. It is a crime against ponykind to allow their kind to prosper. Why have thou simply not destroyed them, yet?”

I groaned. This was one of those self-righteous ponies. I idly wondered how he had survived in the moral ambiguity that was the Wasteland.

“Look, you ancient knucklehead, we just barely got out from under 6.. 6000.. 600 thousand million rubbles of ton that was exploding around us. We just lost two of our own, barely saved the Wasteland from a shadow of the Nightmare itself - HIC-,” I said drunkenly, thinking back to the town of Arlington. Cotton Candy's vile face popped into my mind. “And WE art going - damnit- are going to take at least ONE day to lick our wounds and REST. If you’re so worried about it, why didn't you help them?”

“The townsfolk specifically requested thine assistance. I now see that I was in error to fetch you. Thou art a drunk and vile pony,” Grey replied angrily.

I sighed, my face turning redder under the alcohol’s influence.

“Hold it!,” I said, continuing my drunken rant. “I will help the ponies of Arlington, but I am going to spend at least ONE day in bed with my marefriend first! When I leave, we'll go to Arlington and sort all of this out, alright?”

Grey looked away for a moment, and then nodded. “Fine. I will be staying here until thou art ready to leave,” he said.

“Why do you speak so funny?” I asked, the alcohol taking my questions in a completely different direction.

“Whyfor dost thou not, fair alicorn?” The stallion said. “This is the High Equestrian tongue, borne of the great Princess Celestia herself. I have studied it as part of mine initiation into the Order.”

“There's... more of you?” I said. I had never heard of the Celestial Order before. Was this some sort of new faction?

“Nay. I am the only member,” Grey said. “I have seen much in the Wasteland, going from place to place and stopping what suffering I can. Crimes are crimes, no matter the circumstance.”

I blinked. Forget prewar ponies, what the fuck was wrong with ponies in the Wasteland?

“I... I see. Well... it was nice to meet you. I will go to Arlington. But I have to rest, Grey. I'm exhausted, right now I would be no help to anypone,” I said.

The stallion nodded curtly, and turned to leave the bar. He passed by a familiar pair of faces. Danish and Lilith had entered the bar, waving at ponies who noticed the two. I smiled as they sat down next to me.

“Hey there, how are you two doing?” I said quietly.

“Great,” Lilith replied with a smile. “What about you?”

“I... I'm alright. Just... thinking about things,” I said.

“Don't think too hard, alright? I know it's rough... but I miss them too. No matter what Diamond did, in the end... she tried her best to redeem herself,” the black mare said.

“I know... but... what do we do now?” I said, nearly moving to tears. “They're... they're gone...”

Lilith pulled me close, giving me a fierce hug. “That's something you need to spend some time figuring out, sweetheart. I can't help you with that,” she said. “But I can listen, alright? If you need to talk, just let me know.”

“I'll see you in a little bit, then?” I asked the mare.

She smiled and nodded. I rolled my eyes and headed upstairs. Within moments I had arrived at several makeshift rooms that had been set up in the office areas above the main lobby. The rooms were grungy and dirty, but they were still better than I had expected. I plopped down onto the mattress next to Violet and sighed sleepily.

I pulled open my bags and began pulling out my things while the others were lying on their beds. I had certainly collected quite a bit in my travels. The memories of Pride and the others rested nearby, secure in their carrier. I intended to give them to Gluttony as soon as possible, a testament to Diamond and Cranky's sacrifices. I floated out Twilights diary, paging through it and looking for any clues I could as to Spark's location. A glint in the corner of my eye caught my attention. It was a memory orb, sitting in my bag. It wasn't one that I had remembered putting there. It shimmered as I rolled it out. I glanced back at Violet, who was in the middle of cleaning Thunder Flash. I needed something, some form of relief for even a little while.

“Violet?” I said quietly. She looked over at me and saw the orb sitting in my hooves. She nodded slowly and I smiled. I glanced down at the orb and latched onto it with my magic, feeling the world slip away into nothingness.

I knew this body, quite well actually. I had been in Twilight's body often enough to be familiar with the Ministry Mare's form. Where had this memory orb come from? Why was it from Twilight? Nothing made any sense, here. The mare was walking down a long hallway in what appeared to be a large palace. Crystals shined from every inch of the walls. Twilight opened the door at the far end, appearing in a large open dining hall. A pink alicorn sat at the far end, her eyes lighting up as she saw the mare.

“Twilight!” she said as she stood, rushing over to give my host a hug. The two ponies grinned as they went through what I figured was practically ritual by this point in time.

“Sunshine, sunshine! Ladybugs awake! Clap your hooves and give a little shake!”

The two giggled loudly as they finished their little dance. Twilight smiled.

“Cadance,” she said. “It's good to see you.”

“And you, Twilight. What brings you to my little corner of Equestria?” Cadance replied. “You're a hard mare to get a hold of, you know that right?”

“Yes, well... I've been plenty busy. Ministry business and all,” Twilight said. “I actually came to see Shining. Is he... is he around?”

“He's down in the throne room, I believe. Do you want me to call him?” the alicorn said.

“That's alright, I'll go down and see him myself. I need to speak with him,” Twilight said.

Cadance cocked her head. “What's up? Something wrong?” she said.

“Nothings wrong,” Twilight replied curtly. “Ministry business. Princess Luna sent me.”

“Fine, don't tell me. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Your Ministries and their secrets are obviously more important than spending time with your sister in law,” Cadance said, turning away. “Like I said, you'll find him down in the throne room. Let me know when you're ready to leave.”

Twilight turned around, stepping back into the hallway. As she walked, I felt another presence appear next to her.

“Well, that was certainly vicious of you,” Spark said as she shimmered to life. She looked much like I knew her, black mane and all. She had a wicked grin on her face.

“You know how important this is,” Twilight said angrily. “I cannot afford to let anypony know of why I'm really here.”

“Still... you were so... short with her. I very much enjoyed it,” she said.

Twilight glared at the spirit. “I'm sure you did,” she said. “I didn't like it one bit, but Cadance can't know about Shining Armor. Not ever.”

The mare continued down the hall, finding herself at the top of a large crystal staircase. What is it with pre-war ponies and their stairs?! I thought as Twilight descended them. The stairs ended at a massive hallway with a large crystal throne at the far end. A familiar white unicorn sat upon the throne, listening to the petitioners and nodding occasionally. He looked up as he saw my host, his eyes widening.

“Alright, everypony,” the stallion said, standing from the throne. “That will be all for today. Thank you for your concerns.” The line of petitioners grumbled, but trudged out of the hall anyways. Shining Armor looked down at my host, motioning for her to come to him. “Twilight. It's good to see you.”

“It's good to see you too, brother,” Twilight replied icily.

Shining narrowed his eyes. “So... you figured it out?” he said. Twilight nodded nodded in reply. “I see. That's not very good.”

“No, it's not. Why didn't you tell me?” she said.

Shining Armor turned away for a moment. “It wasn't important. I didn't want you to worry about it,” he said.

“You plan to kill yourself, and you don't want me to worry?!” my host shouted. “I don't see why you have to do this!”

Shining lowered his head, grunting in pain.

“Because... I'm doing it for you. You know that, Twilight. It's all for the spell,” he said.

“Fuck the stupid spell!” Twilight raged. “I'm sick of this, Shining! I'm sick of all of this secrecy, this pain! I can't stand it! I just can't... I want to find a cure for you...”

“This is a cure, Twilight. Once you've cast the spell, I'll live forever,” Shining replied. “I will be perfect in every way. All thanks to her.”

Twilight sighed. “No, it's not perfect. And I'm sick of hearing about her. She... she scares me, Shiny,” she said. “I'm frightened of what she might do if she were free.”

“I know you're scared, Twilight. But trust me. Everything will be just fine,” he said. “Now, come here.”

Twilight hung her head and trotted over to the unicorn. Tears were beginning to fill her eyes.

“I just... I can't do it Shining. I can't... I can't watch you die...” she said.

Shining reached out, pulling the mare into a hug. “Don't worry... everything will be fine. It will fix this, and then we can make it so nopony else can ever die. I have faith in you, Twily,” the older stallion said.

Twilight sighed and nodded finally, clearing her tears.

Shining smiled softly. “Now, I'm sure you've got business to attend to. Let me know if you need anything, anything at all.”

“I... I will,” Twilight said. The stallion turned away and headed out of the throne room. Twilight stepped up to the balcony, looking out upon the empire beneath her. “I will save you, Shining. The right way.”

“And just how do you plan on doing that, Twilight?” Spark echoed in the back of her mind. “He's set on the plan that we agreed upon.”

“No... that's not the way. I won't let you do it. I'll find a way to stop you. If I have to expend all of my energy on it, I will stop you,” Twilight said angrily. “I will stop you!”

“I'm looking forward to it, Twilight. But until then, be a good little filly and do the work I've shown you,” Spark said. I could just see the smug face of the spirit in the background.

Twilight scowled and turned, walking away from the balcony and to the door as the memory faded to black.

I awoke to a dark room, Violet snuggled closely next to me. I poked my head up, looking around. Everypony seemed to be present and accounted for, except for Nixis and Danish. I stood, careful not to wake Violet. I made my way out of our room, pondering what I had seen and where the mystery memory orb had come from. Somepony had obviously wanted me to see Twilight and Shining Armor, but who? What did it all mean? And how did it play into what Spark was doing now?

I trotted down the stairs to the lobby, stepping once more into the hustle and bustle. Theater it seemed, never slept. Ponies of all creeds flowed through the crowd, and I caught a glimpse of who I was looking for. The hellhound and the unicorn were sitting at a table in the bar, speaking quietly. I stepped to the table and sat down. They looked up at me and smiled.

“Gentlecolt and hellhound,” I said, glancing over at Nixis. “Couldn't sleep?”

“Sleep does seem to elude me, yes,” the hellhound replied. “Danish and I have been discussing plans for what's going to happen next.”

“Do tell,” I said, interested in what the two had come up with.

“Well, darlin'. I'm planning on staying here. The MMMM needs me, and I can't abandon Gluttony,” Danish said.

“I sort of... expected as much,” I said with a nod. “What about Lilith? Is she going to stay here too?”

Danish shrugged. “Don't rightly know. What she decides is up to her, I suppose. I suspect that she'll decide to follow you, though,” the cream-colored unicorn said. “She's a good mare. Got a good head on her shoulders.” I nodded.

“And you, Nixis?” I said, turning to the hellhound. “What do you want to do?”

“I would like to see my village, once more,” Nixis said. “But I will go with you as long as you have need of me.”

“Thank you, Nixis. That is appreciated,” I said. “I... I know that we need to find Spark. And I think the only way we can do that is to go to Manehattan.”

“What's in Manehattan?” Danish said, cocking his head.

“The Twilight Society. I need to see them. Maybe... maybe they can help me decipher where Spark went,” I said. “There's also a settlement south of the city that I need to visit. Arlington.”

“I've heard of them. What's wrong down there?” Danish asked.

“Steel Rangers. A particularly stupid group of them are threatening the town. I need to help them,” I said.

“If you'd like... I can get together a contingent of MMMM to assist,” Danish said.

“That... might be a pretty good idea,” I said. “The backup might be needed, and would certainly be appreciated.”

A waiter came by and dropped off a set of drinks. I smiled and took the mug, drinking deeply from it. The warm liquid seared my throat. Thankfully, the memory orb had given me enough time to sleep off the drink I'd had earlier.

“I can do that. Least I can do for you, Star,” the unicorn replied. “I'll make a call to a few of the boys. They should be free.”

“Thank you,” I said, taking another drink and standing. “I think... I think I'm gonna wander, see what else is around here.”

In truth, I had a destination in mind. It was a place I'd been wanting to see since I got out of the Stable. Nixis and Danish nodded cheerfully. I left them and headed towards the entrance to Theater, smiling at the guards standing watch. The streets were lit by the soft glow of the signs on the side of the settlement. I trotted down the dark road, trying to keep an eye out for my intended destination. The bank sat at the far end of the street, looking as still and decrepit as it had in the memory. I stepped inside its ruined walls, taking it all in. Diamond had been here, once. It had been her home in this corner of the Wasteland.

I trotted into the back offices, looking for any signs that the mare had indeed been here. I came across what appeared to be a bed, made out of old tattered blankets. A dead terminal sat in the corner. I sat down, rifling through the blankets. I found a book, nearly coming off of its spine. Opening it, I realized that it had belonged to Diamond. It was her diary, apparently. I picked up in the middle of the book, coming across familiar names.

An old friend visited me today. Cranky. Oh, how I've longed for somepony to be around that actually knows me. I've been so lonely as of late. Evora has told me many times that I'm never alone, but she doesn't understand. When I was in Unity, I was part of something. I was part of a larger community, all working towards perfection. I... I miss it still. My erstwhile sisters have abandoned me now, placing their faith in this Savior they so tout. The Followers of the Apocalypse. I've watched them from afar, but never allowed to come near. Why do they hate me? Why do they not want me around? Is it because my memories aren't perfect? Is it because my mind is shattered into thousands of pieces? I wish I knew.

But that will all change, soon. I've made several discoveries as of late concerning the statues. The statues that Twilight Sparkle herself made several references to. I know they exist, I can feel it in my bones. It's almost as if something is driving me towards them, pushing me to find them.

I sighed. Diamond... she deserved so much more. Why did the Followers shun her so? If we had shown her friendship, would Pride have ever existed? As I read through the diary, the entries began to get more erratic and frantic. Then... there was a final entry.

The thing I have long waited for has come to pass. This shall be my final entry in this diary. It shall mark my passage from this place to the next. It is time for my ascension.

I closed the book, placing it in my saddlebags for safe-keeping. At the very least, it would give me something to read later. I shuffled around some more, looking for anything that would provide a distraction from what was really bothering me. The one thing that I didn't want to think about.

I'd failed my friends. I'd failed Diamond, Cranky, and nearly gotten Nixis killed, not to mention almost losing the others in the escape from the Stable. No... you did you best to try and save them, a little voice in the back of my head said.

I rummaged some more, finding nothing of great importance. I was about to leave, but then a glint of silver caught my eye. Sitting not too far away on a pedestal was a memory orb. I grinned. Now that's something worth looking into, I thought as I stepped over to the pedestal. The orb shimmered in the darkness. I hadn't noticed it before, but there it was. Without even thinking I grabbed hold of the orb with my magic, letting myself drift away with the fading of the world around me.

I knew exactly who I was. Diamond. Why would she leave a memory orb of her own memories? What did it all mean? The alicorn was sitting where I had been, in the abandoned bank. She was looking at her diary, writing along in it. She stopped for a moment, looking behind herself.

“You know if you wanted to visit, you could have just called first,” my host said wryly.

A shadow in the darkness moved. It coalesced into the lithe form of Evora.

“I apologize. I've been training to be silent lately,” she said, smiling. “I just wanted to check up on you, see how you were doing.”

“I'm alright. I've been trying my hardest to crack into that chest at the Ministry. But I've had no luck,” Diamond replied with a sigh.

Evora nodded and sat down next to my host. “What are we going to do, once you get in there?” she said.

“Hopefully... what's inside is the statues,” my host said.

Evora smiled, placing a hoof on my host's shoulder.

“Diamond... I know that this is important to you, but you have to accept that they might not be what you think they are,” she said.

“But... then how am I supposed to gain acceptance? How am I supposed to help?” Diamond said, tears filling my eyes.

“Diamond... you can help. You have friends. Let them help you. You are worth so much more than you give yourself credit for!” Evora said.

My host shook her head. “Evora, I need to do this. They have to be real. It's the only way,” she said, standing. “I hope you'll understand, but I really should get back to the Ministry hub. I need to keep trying.” My host's wings flared out. She walked outside as Evora trailed behind her.

“Diamond, please. Just... be careful alright?” the zebra said.

My host glanced back at her, nodding.

“I will. I promise,” she said, taking off into the air.

The city stretched out below, beautiful in its own strange way. The Ministry hub loomed in the distance. The mare sighed to herself. “I don't know who you are... but I know you're there somehow.” What? I thought. Was she talking to me?

“Of course I am. Who are you?” the alicorn said.

I'm... How is this is even possible? I said.

Diamond smirked. “Magic works in strange and unexplainable ways. Besides... you feel familiar to me... I can't place it,” she said. “So... who are you?”

A friend, I said. I wasn't truly sure if this had actually happened or if I was merely hallucinating. Somepony who understands you.

“Nopony understands me,” Diamond said. “I'm an outcast. A freak. Not even wanted by my own sisters.”

That's not true. You should listen to your friend, she's right. You have others who accept you for who you are, I said.

“She doesn't truly get it. She's stuck with her head in the clouds, thinking she's in love with me. If she could only see, she wouldn't want to be near me,” the alicorn said.

See what? I replied.

Diamond hesitated before she finally spoke again.

“How broken I am. How messed up my mind is. Maybe that's what this is, another fucked up part of Unity that got stuck in my head. I don't know,” she said quietly. “I'm not a good pony, friend.” I sighed.

Neither am I, I said. I did a bad thing. I left a friend in need, two friends to be exact. They... they didn't make it.

“I... I see. Were you close to these friends of yours?” Diamond said as she landed in the courtyard of the Ministry Hub.

They... they were friends. That's all that matters. And I failed them, I said. I don't know what to do about it, either.

Diamond nodded, turning to head into the Ministry. “I wish I had an answer for you, voice in my head. But I do not. And I have no more time to spare. I need to find my prize,” she said. She had reached the door that held Twilight Sparkle's chest.

Diamond... whatever you do... don't let it consume you. Trust your instincts, and trust your friends, I pleaded with the mare. I don't know why I was doing it. Even if it was a true communication, it was a foregone conclusion that it wouldn’t work. Diamond stalked towards the chest at the far end of the office, as the memory faded to black.

The world drifted back into color and I glanced down at the memory orb. It was a strange thing having spoken with the mare herself. I couldn't explain it. “Strange and Mysterious” it seemed, was as good a descriptor as any for the inner workings of magic. I sighed. Seeing the memory made me feel much worse. Diamond was an outcast, put out by others and treated terribly. It was no wonder she wanted to find some way to help her fellow ponies. I placed the orb in my saddlebags and sighed. I should have been able to save Diamond. Instead, I let her sacrifice herself so that I could escape. I was a horrible pony.

“Foolish pony of purple fair, I see before me the Ministry Mare,” a soft voice said from the shadows. I spun about, looking for where it came from. I knew that voice.

“Who's there?” I said cautiously.

Dark green eyes appeared from the darkness, attached to a striped body. Envy had a soft smile on her face. I leaped back in surprise. The zebra lifted a hoof.

“Hold thyself, Radiant Star. I come in peace,” she said. “I am not surprised to find you here, after what has transpired.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Envy smiled again. “I mean the sealing of the spirit in the statue. It was like I awoke again, remembering everything I had before I was affected by Pride,” she said. “I remembered her.”

“You... you loved her very much,” I said. “And I'm responsible for her death. In a sense, I killed her. Her and Cranky. You must hate me...”

The zebra gave a small chuckle and shook her head.

“I cannot hate you, Star. You are no more responsible for her death than I,” she said. “You must realize this. Diamond made her own choice. She was always stubborn like that. I guess that was what I loved about her. And Cranky... he lived for centuries without his one true love. It's high time he had the peace he long desired.”

“I still... I still failed them,” I said, tears filling my eyes. “Why did I do it?”

“Because they were your friends. You trusted their judgment. Cranky knew what he was doing. So did Diamond. They both did what needed to be done to save their own version of the Wasteland,” Envy said. “Wasteland. It’s such an appropriate name, Radiant Star. This place wastes us all. It wastes our efforts, our loves, and in the end it wastes our lives. In the face of that, the best we can do is pick ourselves back up and keep trying. Even if - no, especially if things seem bad.”

“I... I never thought of it that way,” I said. “Everything seems so complicated now. Spark's gone. There's nothing left for me in this city, anymore.”

“The one you seek may be out of reach, but to you there is so much to learn that I could teach,” Envy said. I blinked. “What I'm trying to say, is that to repay you for the kindness you have done to us for saving Diamond... I could show you some things to help you in your journey. All I ask is that you stay for a few days longer.”

I sat and thought about it for a moment. It was a good offer, for sure. Also, it was a chance to understand Diamond a little better through Evora's eyes. I could send Grey Knight back to Arlington to prepare the ground, and make myself a better fighter. I looked up at her and nodded.

“I'll do it.”

The soft glow of Theater greeted me once more as I trotted up to it. Envy had instructed me to meet her the next day at the bank, where I could begin to learn from her in the ways of zebra magicks. I still wasn't sure about it all, but I knew I was going to need all the help I could get to face Spark again. My thoughts had been plagued by Diamond and Cranky all the way back to the settlement. I pondered Envy's words. Was I really ultimately responsible for their deaths? I wish I knew. I did know, however, that Envy was right. They deserved peace. And in the end, that was what they got. The peace of mind knowing that they had helped the world in some small way. Even if bad things had to happen first. Maybe that was how it was in this Wasteland. Maybe... in some way, bad things had to occur in order to get to the good. I was certainly hoping for some good.

I entered the settlement, smiling at the guards as they let me pass. The place was still active. I waved to several of the MMMM enforcers walking through the crowds, receiving friendly nods in return. Immediately I made my way to the stairs heading up to our rooms. I turned down the hall that housed our temporary home, my eyes widening.

The door to our room was busted off of its hinges, and the light was on. I galloped towards it. What happened?! I thought as I burst into the room. In the center of the room was Steeljack, bound and gagged and completely naked without his power armor. The stallion looked up and began shouting through his gag, making muffled noises as he tried to shift around to sit up. Laying on the floor next to him was a piece of paper with a knife holding it to the ground. My horn flared, untying Steeljack and removing the gag from his mouth. He coughed as the piece of fabric moved away.

“What happened?” I said.

“Somepony hit us, I didn't see them,” the stallion said frantically. “I was knocked out cold. When I woke up Lilith, Violet, and Patch were gone.”

“What about Nixis and Danish?” I said angrily.

“They haven't been up to the room in some time,” Steeljack replied, glancing down at the note. I levitated it away from the knife and folded it open. I narrowed my eyes as I read.

We have the mares. If you wish to seem them alive again, come to the perimeter of Chi-Town and Middle Town. Come alone, and unarmed.

- Lotus Bloom, of the Lotus Triad

I groaned loudly.

“Not again...”

Author's Notes:

Well... there it is. A new chapter. Slightly less than my norm, and a lot less than Chapter 20 for sure, but there was a specific ending to this chapter that I wanted to close on, and I was pretty apt to keep to that.

One of the things that I enjoyed about this chapter was the revelation of Violet’s cutie mark and her special talent. I’ve actually been hinting at this for a very long time. You might recall that it’s always been Violet who puts herself in harm’s way for her friends, whether it be her coming to save Star from Greed, or standing up to Wrath, or facing down Spark in the Arena of Colter Field. Violet’s always been there for her friends, and this interpretation of her cutie mark and talent has been something I was very pleased to write.

This chapter was slightly delayed in the writing of it, due to a lot of personal stuff going on lately. Things have been... well let's just say when it rains it really does pour. I want to thank each and every one of you for the support and readership that you all have given. We are pretty close to the 30,000 overall views mark (if not over that by the time this chapter is posted), and for that I am eternally grateful.

The character of Grey Knight is amanekudara's OC cameo from the cameo contest. I ended up enjoying his idea so much that he will be a bit of a multi-chapter cameo, at least until the group gets to Arlington. Plus, I get to play around with old-fashioned speak. So that's always fun.

As tradition dictates, the title of Chapter 22 is “City on Fire”.

Onto the plugs. So... check out http://askradiantstar.tumblr.com for all your question-y goodness.

My story plug of the week belongs to a well known music maker in the community, who's now trying to write his own sidefic. The premise is interesting, and the way he's approaching it is pretty neat. It's by Warbalist, and it's called “Fallout Equestria: Fertile Ground” and it's worth checking out.

With this chapter, I'd like to welcome on board a new pre-reader. You know him, you love him, it's McMesser! Everyone say hi to our favorite Smooze!

Speaking of our favorite Smooze... McMesser and I have been corresponding back and forth through Tumblr lately, and you might have seen the 'Letters from a Smooze' series. Check them out. They have been immensely fun to play around with, and there will be more to come. In fact, you can pretty much consider where the Smooze has gone since he left our little group to be canon, I love it so much.

Also, major thanks to Wirepony, my editor and practically co-author at this point in the game. This thing just wouldn't be the same without your help.

Major thanks to those of you in the FoE IRC chat. And huge thanks to Arcane_Scroll, who runs the falloutequestria.com website.