The next morning Rainbow Dash woke up feeling even worse than when she'd fallen asleep. The bruises she'd taken yesterday had turned ugly yellows and browns. When she stood up her legs felt stiff and the arm Kain had wrenched behind her back felt particularly ripe.

She got out of bed stripped down and had a shower. She then got dressed in her jogging suit.

She then flew out on her morning exercises. She wanted to be a wonder bolt after all and to do that she'd need to be at peak physical condition. Yesterday had been tiring true but no more so than a regular day of hard exercise. No the real trouble was the thousands of little aches and pains Kain had so carefully placed.

She finished her morning routine of flights and exercises and made her way back home. When she got there she changed into a grass stained tank top and shorts. She checked the time and realised it was already almost midday. She must have slept in later than usual.

She flew to the Apple farm and hovered above the clearing where the white pebbles and rings had been laid out. Everybody was already there. She then realised she'd forgotten her sword when she'd taken it off for her shower. She quickly flew back to her house and strapped the sword on before speeding back. By then she was two minutes late.
When she landed Kain called out 'You're late! By a few minutes if my watch doesn't lie. You can make those up in hours tonight. Also if you forget your sword again I'll make you regret it. Now line up behind everybody else.'

Rainbow saw that all the girls were already lined up. She stood at the back of the line like she was told. Everybody had the swords he'd given them strapped on. None of them looked very happy at all. Fluttershy in particular looked miserable with one black eye. Raritys' limp from yesterday had gotten worse. Though Rainbow did note that even limping Rarity had a sexy saunter.

'All right today is going to be spent mostly ringside. Today were going to practising with the swords I gave you. But first a gentle spar with me to see how well I chose you're weapons. And also I want you to take off your shirts.'

Fluttershys' head snapped around at this 'Why?' she asked louder than her usual barely above a whisper. 'I d-d-don't want to do that.'

Kain smiled at her malevolently. 'Because a blow from one of these will hurt more on bare skin. Also if you're feeling shy don't worry. I'll be dressed the same as you anyway.'

Rainbow could tell he wasn't saying any of this to make them feel more comfortable. Rainbow had to admit that the thought of being in a ring with him all but naked was uncomfortable to say the least.

'Plus any folk that doesn't want to do this can have a much less gentle full contact session with me.'

The girls did as they were told and removed their shirts. Fluttershy slowly and hesitantly slipped the turtle neck she wore over her head. Rainbow watched as she did it and couldn't help but note that because she did it so slowly it only made her seem more attractive. Applejack for some reason put her hat on after she was done. Rainbow didn't understand. The girl was all but naked and she still insisted on wearing that dumb hat!

The first person in the ring with Kain was Pinkie. He was as gentle as he said he would be and Pinkie left the ring without a new mark on her. Applejack was next. Almost the moment they started he called a stop and took the sword from her hands. He went over to the rack and took out a larger one He gave it to her and they started again. He again called a stop and this time gave her a regular sized long sword. He didn't like this either and by the end he'd given her back the hand and a half sword she'd started with. He still didn't seem satisfied with it. Twilight entered the ring and left with a slightly thinner and longer sword than her original. Rarity kept her sword but Fluttershy ended up with a short sword like Twilights old one. Rainbow was last and kept the sword he'd given her first. True to his word he had been gentle and none of them had been hurt.

That soon changed. Kain broke them off into the same pairings as yesterday. Kain put them in the rings, then he went about showing them the basic techniques you used when fighting with all their various types of swords. Things worked out similar to the way they did yesterday with Applejack and Rainbow Dash digging into each other whole heartedly, Pinkie and Twilight only taking things seriously because of Kains' continued presence and Fluttershy and Rarity half-heartedly running through the motions with each other. This did not please Kain.

He broke the partners up and repartnered Applejack with Twilight, Pinkie with Rarity and Rainbow with Fluttershy. This didn't improve the situation at all. Rainbow and Fluttershy were completely unwilling to hit each other. Pinkie and Rarity were no better and Applejack and Twilight were also just going through the motions.

He broke the partners again and partnered Applejack with Fluttershy Rainbow with Twilight and Rarity with Pinkie. This was even worse. The main problem was Fluttershy. Anyone who partnered with her was unwilling to hurt her. Kain was frustrated. He ranted and raved and threatened but no matter what he did no one was willing to hit Fluttershy, nor was she willing to hit them.

Then he happened upon the solution. He realised that Fluttershy was the element of kindness. He realised Fluttershy was more concerned about others being hurt then getting herself hurt.

'Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash get over here. Applejack partner up with Twilight.' He sounded odd as he said this. Like he was about to do a particularly unpleasant task. 'Rainbow, drop your sword and hold your hands behind your back.' Rainbow looked at him confused for a second but did as she was bid. 'Now Fluttershy I want you to hit Rainbow Dash.'

Fluttershy looked at him and hesitantly readied herself to hit Rainbow. She hit Rainbow but it was a pathetic blow without any force behind it. Rainbow didn't even flinch as the wooden sword tapped her on the shoulder.

'Noooo…. Hit her harder.' Ordered Kain.

Fluttershy hesitated again and lightly tapped Rainbow Dash with the end of her sword. It was barely a harder strike than the first.

Kain sounded like he was getting annoyed 'Properly strike Rainbow Dash or I will, and I'll keep doing it until you join in.'
Fluttershy looked at him with a confused expression. 'What?'

Kain didn't answer. He just drew his sword and used the flat of his blade to give Rainbow Dash a solid whack on the arm. Rainbow Dash yelped at the strike. He pulled back to strike again.

'No stop!' Fluttershy screamed. 'Don't you dare touch her again! Or else I'll-'

'Or else you'll do what?' he said contemptuously 'You'll glare at me? Come on! The only way for you to help your friend is to man up hit her!'

He raised the sword again and Struck Rainbow Harder than he had the first time on her stomach. Rainbow grunted in pain but held her position. She knew if she moved things would only get worse for herself and Fluttershy.

Kain raised his sword again but Fluttershy cried out 'Wait!'

Fluttershy glared at Kain hatefully. With tears in her eyes she raised her wooden sword and hit Rainbow Dash. It was a solid blow and Rainbow definitely felt it but it wasn't as hard as either of Kains' blows and she bore it stoically.

'That's it!' Kain cried triumphantly 'Now hit her again!' he said.

Fluttershy did so with just as much force.

'Now, Rainbow, you hit Fluttershy.'

At first Rainbow objected. But by the end of it Rainbow and Fluttershy were practicing on each other vigorously. Fluttershy though had angry tears streaming from her eyes and Rainbow kept staring at Kain defiantly.

Kain then went on to convince the other four girls to always practice one each other this way. He used similar threats of hurting their friends if they failed to comply.

Once he'd demonstrated to everyone he said 'This is as hard as I want you to fight each other. Hit each other this hard unless I say otherwise.' He sounded very satisfied.

After that the day was much less dramatic. It was a series of practice fights with a variety of partners with him occasionally stopping them to show them what they were doing wrong or teaching them something new. If anyone seemed to slack off he threatened that persons' partner rather than that person. It was effective in keeping them motivated. He was merciless and had no compunctions about hitting any of them. By the end of the day he was hated by all of the girls.
When the sun was about to set he called it a day. 'Ladies you've all pleased me today. Go home and get some rest. Tomorrow won't be anywhere near as hard as today. Now Rainbow Dash I seem to recall that you were two minutes late.'
All the girls left except for Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy.

Fluttershy had decided to stay to make sure that Rainbow was okay. Kain ignored Fluttershy and went about teaching Rainbow Dash some extra sword drills. A painful two hours later Rainbow Dash was extra tired and extra bruised.
Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy flew together in awkward silence. Ranbow flew a little bit ahead but she flew slower than she usually did so that Fluttershy could keep up.

'Rainbow… I'm sorry about... Earlier when… I'm sorry.' Fluttershy said quietly.

Rainbow dropped back to get closer to Fluttershy 'That's ok Fluttershy. I don't blame you.'

They travelled in silence for a while.

Rainbow broke the silence 'So am I flying you home or you flying me home?'

Fluttershy answered quietly 'I'd really like it if you flew with me to my home.'

'No problem' Rainbow smiled back at Fluttershy 'but I'd like to stop at Carousel Boutique and Sugar cube corner. Kain was really rough on Pinkie and Rarity.'

'Yeah that's probably a good idea.' Fluttershy said.

'How about you? Are you feeling okay Fluttershy?'

Fluttershy didn't answer. They flew the rest of the way to Sugar cube corner in silence. Rainbow flew slowly alongside Fluttershy. When they arrived they knocked on the door. It was Pinkie who answered.

'Oh, hey guys!' Pinkie said perkily. 'Whatcha doin here at this hour?'

Rainbow answered 'I just got off my after hours with Kain. We just came here to see how you were doing. He was really rough on you today.'

Pinkies' perkiness faded a little. 'Oh that? He's just a bully. I'm fine. I wouldn't let a meanie pants like that make me feel bad. Besides he was meaner to both of you than he was to me. What kind of a silly person would I be if I let anything he did get to me?'

Rainbow smiled 'Ok then, we just wanted to make sure.'

Pinkie smiled 'Ok bye then. Have a super awesome night!' and closed the door before Rainbow or Fluttershy could respond.

The two then flew to Carousel Boutique in silence. It was a little out of their way but they were worried about their friend. They knocked on the door. It was Sweetie Bell who answered.

'Hi Sweetie, is Rarity around?' Fluttershy asked because she was better at handling children than Rainbow.

Sweetie nodded at Fluttershy then frowned 'Hi Fluttershy. Yeah, she came home all sad. Did something happen today?'

'Nothing happened' Fluttershy assured her 'I'm just wondering if we could see her?'

Sweetie smiled 'She's having a bath. I could take you to see her if you wanted but she might get angry.'

Fluttershy nodded her understanding 'Okay we'll leave-'

'Wait a minute' Rainbow interrupted 'Shouldn't we check on her? I mean Sweetie did just say she came home in bad shape, and maybe we should see if she needs anyth-'

'No Rainbow' Fluttershy firmly cut her off 'Rarity values her privacy and barging in like that will not help her'.

Rainbow thought about it for a second before she consented. 'Ok we'll just have to talk to her tomorrow.'

Fluttershy turned back to Sweetie 'Let her know we stopped by will you?'

Sweetie nodded 'Ok. Why do you have a black eye?'

'Good night Sweetie.' Fluttershy said ignoring the question.

'Night.' Sweetie said and shut the door.

Fluttershy and Rainbow then flew back to the town centre and headed towards Fluttershys' home on the outskirts of town. They saw Kain sitting on a bench in the middle of the park. He still had his sword strapped on and in one hand he had a bottle of whiskey. He was drinking straight from the bottle.

They hurried on past him without saying anything.

'What's he doing?' Fluttershy asked. 'It's night time and he's all alone'

'I think he's an alcoholic.' Answered Rainbow.

'Really?' Fluttershy asked.

'Yeah I talked to Applejack about it and she said he was heaps hung over on the first day he trained us. Apparently He's been drinking every night he's been in Ponyville.'

'Why?' Fluttershy asked.

'I don't know.' Rainbow said. 'I think he's just a jerk who enjoys hurting people, and when there's no one else around he hurts himself instead.'

Fluttershy thought that didn't make sense but decided not to say anything. They continued their flight in silence. Eventually they arrived at Fluttershys' house.

They landed and stood at the door awkwardly for a moment before Rainbow said 'Well... Good night.' And started to turn away.

'Rainbow wait!' Rainbow turned back to Fluttershy.

Tears appeared in Fluttershys' eyes 'I'm really really sorry about…' She broke down into sobs.

Fluttershy rushed over and threw her arms around friend.

'It's ok' Rainbow said while awkwardly wrapping her arms around Fluttershy. She tried to do what she thought Applejack might do in the same circumstances. 'Let it out. It's ok' she said gently into her friends' ear, awkwardly patting Fluttershy on the back.

Fluttershy buried her face in Rainbows shoulder 'I never wanted to hurt my friends…. I never thought I'd….. How can one person be so cruel?' she asked pulling back and looking in Rainbow Dashes' eyes.

'I don't know…' Rainbow answered 'I just think there's something wrong with him.'

Fluttershy buried her face in Rainbows shoulder again 'I don't know how I'm going to face his brother if I can't even face him' she started to cry again.

'That's ok Fluttershy… Everything will be fine.' Rainbow assured Fluttershy despite not being certain herself.

'Rainbow Dash?'

'Yeah?'

'Would you please stay with me tonight? I don't want to be alone.' Fluttershy asked and looked up at Rainbow Dash.

For some reason Rainbow Dash blushed. But she answered quickly. 'Yeah, yeah. No problem Fluttershy. I understand.'

With that Fluttershy broke off the hug and inserted her key into the door and unlocked it. The house was fairly clean and she'd taken care of the animals before her training had started. When the door opened all the animals in a variety of cages started barking and mewling and making a thousand other types of animal sounds.

'I've got to get them dinner' Fluttershy raised her voice slightly to get above the racket 'But you can shower up stairs and you can borrow some of my pyjamas if you have to.'

'Thanks Fluttershy.' Rainbow said and walked up the stairs.

Fluttershy went about feeding all the animals in their cages. It wasn't hard. most of them just wanted some food and a little attention. Fluttershy did the job quickly and was almost done by the time Rainbow came downstairs rubbing a towel into her hair. She was wearing some of Fluttershys' dull pink and yellow shorts and a shirt. They fit well because both the girls were of about the same size but on Rainbow Dash they made the toning on her arms and calves stand out a lot more.

'Where am I sleeping?' Rainbow asked.

Fluttershy waved a hand at the couch 'The couch turns into a bed, we'll just have to move the coffee table.'

'Cool' Rainbow said and walked over to the couch.

She lifted the coffee table and moved it by herself. She set it down next to a wall and went back to the couch. She fiddled with the couch for a bit before she figured out the mechanism and folded it out. The mattress was bare so Fluttershy went upstairs to get some pillows, sheets and blankets. She came back downstairs and made the bed.

Fluttershy then made a simple late night dinner of salad and some other assorted vegetarian foods. It wasn't particularly nice but Fluttershy noticed Rainbow ate her meal ravenously. They ate in silence and when they were done Rainbow helped Fluttershy wash the dishes.

This done Fluttershy went upstairs for a shower and Rainbow lay down gratefully onto the bed. Despite the fact the lights were still on Rainbow fell asleep almost instantly.

Fluttershy came downstairs a few minutes later. She noticed Rainbow was asleep so Fluttershy decided not to disturb her friend, as she turned off the lights and went upstairs. Fluttershy lay down in her bed and fell asleep.
---

On an isolated road not too far away from Canterlot three friends camped together by the side of the road. They had a fire crackling merrily and were cooking a delicious smelling stew of carrots, potatoes and herbs. They ate together and laughed happily.

They were traveling traders. The friends were one earth folk, a winged folk and a mystic folk. The three had met and became friends at business school in Canterlot. None of them had enjoyed it at all and dropped out to become traders together.

The new job made nowhere near as much money as they could've if they'd completed business school, but all three of them enjoyed travelling together and sleeping under the stars. As long as they had food at night they weren't very worried about cash. They were young and free and simply loved the life style.

The conversation they were in the middle of died suddenly when a strange folk landed in the middle of their small campsite with a 'whump' and a flap of wings. The stranger was tall and had two curved horns stretching out from his forehead. He also had wings but they definitely were not the normal feathery wings of a sky folk or mystic folk. The man for some reason was wearing a dirty and torn hospital gown.

'Mind if I join you?' the figure asked.

The young earth folk had noticed the hospital gown and had decided the man might be crazy. He might be an escaped mental patient or something. He glanced at his friends and could see they were thinking the same thing.

So he politely smiled answered 'Good evening. I'm sorry but we've only cooked enough for three.' He hoped the man might leave them alone if he thought they had nothing to give him.
The man smiled and said 'It's ok. I understand.'

His horns then turned a deeper shade of black than the dark night around them. They seemed to absorb the light from the fire. In his hands a thin black rod appeared.

He hurled the black rod, like a javelin, at the horned folk who was seated between his two friends. The black spear went through the mans' eye and killed him instantly. The spear evaporated and the other two folk could only watch in horror as their friend tipped over backwards. They continued to stare in horror as a pool of blood spread out from the underside of his head.

The man walked over and grabbed the leg of the corpse. He moved it and sat right between the two stunned folk.

He smiled at them and said 'Now there are three of us.'

A day later a regular patrol of fifty guardsmen arrived. They found one earth folk with broken fingers and toes sitting alone at a burnt out camp site in a state of shock. Near the camp fire they found the desecrated bodies of a sky folk and mystic folk. The two had been killed, the bodies skinned, then butchered and the meat cooked over the fire. The skins of the two victims were never recovered but a dirty hospital gown would later be found at the camp site by police investigators that were brought in from Canterlot.

The incident was reported to Celestia and the bodies were returned to the families of the deceased. The surviving earth folk would later be admitted to a psychiatric hospital where he admitted to having eaten some of the meat of his friends after being forced to, under pain of death, by the murderous stranger.

Similarly disturbing reports of a murderous stranger would slowly filter into Canterlot for months to come. But all the reports that came after the first one described the "Back road Butcher", as he would eventually come to be known, as wearing a pair of rough self-made leather pants. Reports from survivors of the attacks said that at some of the killings the Back Road Butcher would stop and skin some of his victims before moving on. One survivor reported that the Butcher had tanned the skins of multiple victims and had used the leather in the morning to stitch together a crude jacket similar to the leather pants he was already wearing.
---

Kains' eyes flashed open. He was on the floor of his bedroom. He groaned and put a hand to his head as he rolled over. He was in the same clothes he'd been wearing last night when he passed out. He noticed the smell and realised he was sitting in a pool of his own vomit.

He sat up groggily and looked out the window. From the position of the sun it was almost midday.

He got up and prepared to face another day with a hangover.
---

Fluttershy stood in the pebbled clearing at Sweet Apple Acres with her friends. All six of them were there and it was already midday.

Fluttershy and Rainbow had arrived at the clearing early and found Rarity already there. Fluttershy had checked to see if Rarity was Ok after the harsh treatment Kain had dealt to her and Rarity had reassured her friend that she was fine. Fluttershy thought Raritys' answer had been a little vague but believed that her friend was fine.

Her other friends slowly arrived at the clearing and chatted together while waiting for Kain to show up. The rack of swords that usually decorated the clearing wasn't there and Fluttershy figured he'd taken it home with himself after last nights practice session.

About twenty minutes after midday Kain showed up. He smelled like bad liquor and his eyes were heavily blood shot.

'You're late!' Twilight accused him the moment he came into range.

He grimaced when she spoke but otherwise ignored her and walked over to a tree where he took off his shoes and shirt. He stood up and turned around when he was done and found his way blocked by a particularly angry looking Applejack.

'You were drinking.' She growled with her arms crossed. 'Now you're late. What yah do in private is yer business but when it starts to affect our training then Ah'm going ta get involved.'

Kain stepped around her and walked over to one of the practice rings.

He called over his shoulder 'Ladies shirts off. Like yesterday were going to spend today ringside.'

Everybody grumbled and took their shirts off but Fluttershy noticed Applejack did so in silence. She put her hat back on when she was done.

Kain then called out 'Partner yourselves and go over what we did yesterday, but if I catch any of you pulling that half-hearted crap again, well… Just know that you've been warned.'

Everybody did as instructed. Applejack deliberately partnered herself with Fluttershy.

'Fluttershy are you okay? Ah meant to ask you yesterday but-'

'No I'm fine' Fluttershy smiled 'I was feeling pretty bad but Rainbow stayed over and made me feel better.'

Applejack returned Fluttershys' smile 'That's ok then. Rainbow you say? Didn't know she was the type ta offer someone comfort like that.'

They started their practice. It was obvious to anyone watching Applejack was the better of the two, but Fluttershy fought pretty well too. Applejack won most of their rounds but Fluttershy won a surprising number before the partners were switched again.

The day then boiled down to a series of combat drills and sparring sessions punctuated by an occasional yelp and crack when somebody messed up while Kain was watching. They didn't learn anything new they just set about perfecting what they did yesterday.

Everyone in the clearing actually had a surprising amount of fun. Even the least competitive among them enjoyed the rapid nature of the duels and even found themselves laughing when they lost or won a close fought round.

By the end of the day it was clear that Applejack was the best at it among the girls. She won more rounds then she lost no matter who she was partnered with, much to Rainbow dashes' annoyance.

Rainbow got the best of everybody she was partnered with other than Applejack. When she fought Applejack she became rapidly frustrated and at one point spread her wings for flight to give herself an edge. The moment they reached full span, about twice as wide as her arm span, Kain intervened. He struck her sharp blow to her kidney and Rainbow collapsed to the ground in Pain.

'You broke rule Four.' he leaned down next her. 'Now rule one comes into effect.' He then all but dragged Rainbow Dash to a ring.

The two faced off against each other. Rainbow held her sword steadily in the proper position Kain had shown them yesterday. He took up a difference stance to the normal one he'd shown them.

'Feel free to use your wings during this session.' He said 'Though I warn you, it's not as good an idea as you think it is.'

The moment the fight started and it was obvious who the winner would be. Kain moved forward and struck like lightning at Rainbow Dash. Rainbow blocked the blow and barely blocked the second one that whipped around for her face. She then used her wings to pull herself up into the air and out of his immediate reach. She knew she'd done it too slow and expected to be struck for her efforts but Kain for some reason allowed her to take flight. He stepped back and watched as Rainbow Dash flew up for a second before she dipped down suddenly to try and sneak in a surprise attack. It didn't work.

Fluttershy who was watching along with the others wasn't entirely certain what happened. All she saw was that Kain moved violently and suddenly and Rainbow Dash was taken out of the air and put on her back. Before she could rise Kain struck a blow to Rainbows' wrist which caused Rainbow to drop her sword, he then rapidly struck her in the face and stomach. When he was done he leaned down and gave a winded Rainbow Dash a hand up.

'You're progressing nicely.' He assured her 'But don't think that wings will help you in just any fight. If you're indoors for example you'll be better off keeping them furled up. Even in a setting like this flight is not always the best idea. When you fly you make every attack and move you intend to use clear to your enemy. For example right before you flew down at me you changed your body position to help you change your direction. This was a subconscious act that immediately let me know what you intended.'

He then spoke up making it clear he intended everyone to hear 'Wings and horns can be a big advantage when used right. However don't try to use them in combat until I instruct you all in "integrated combat" as my brother used to call it. This is combat which involved the sound use of both magic and flight. I will show you all how to use it as per your individual traits and also show you how to defeat it. I will teach you this when I feel you're all ready for it and that won't be for some time yet. Understand?'

Everybody assembled nodded. Except Rainbow Dash who was still badly winded.

'Good. Everybody back to the rings and if I catch any of you breaking rule four again then I won't be so gentle.'

Everyone returned to their rings and the rest of the day passed without incident.
---

When the sunset Fluttershy was taken aside by Applejack who practically dragged Fluttershy away from the rest of the group.

Applejack didn't waste time getting to the point 'Fluttershy, Ah'm going to talk to Twilight and Spike about sending a message to the princess. Kain's getting out of hand. He showed up late this morning and he hasn't stopped drinking since he's arrived in Ponyville. Ah also wanted to tell the Princess about what Kain did to you and Rainbow yesterday. Before ah did that though ah thought ah'd better check to see if you didn't mind me telling someone else about that. Ah already talked to Rainbow and she said she's fine with it but ah wanted to check with you as well.'

Fluttershy looked Applejack in the eyes as she answered 'I'd like to talk to the Princess about him as well.'

'Why's that?' Applejack asked.

'I'm just not sure that Kain is ok. I think he needs some time with a psychiatrist or something. I'm worried he might hurt someone.' Fluttershy answered quietly.

Applejack thought for a minute 'ok we'll both go to Twilights' house later and see if she's not to busy to help us.'

Fluttershy nodded and the two separated.

Later that night they met up at the door to Twilights house. They greeted each other and it was It was Applejack who knocked on the door.

Twilight answered the door 'Oh. Hi guys what's going on?'

Applejack responded 'Hello Twilight mind if we come in?'

'Uhhh... Yeah sure, it's just kind of a mess right now.' Twilight held the door open and allowed the two of them to pass through. 'So why are you here?'

Fluttershy answered 'We wanted to send a letter to Celestia about Kain.'

Applejack nodded 'He's been out drinking every night he's stayed in Ponyville and the way he's been treating some of us is just plain wrong. Ah don't care if it's supposed to be tough love or somethin'. He needs to be given a serious talking to.'

Twilight nodded 'I agree, I was thinking of sending a letter to Celestia about him anyway.' She then turned around and went upstairs. She came back down with, some ink, some paper, a quill and Spike, who was busily rubbing sleep from his eyes.

Together they composed a letter which voiced their concerns about the Kains' mental health and the state he'd showed up to practice in twice in three days.

When that was done Spike burned the letter with his breath. It was a few minute before Spike burped out a response. This was surprisingly soon given the time of night.

Twilight read it aloud. It didn't have the usual formalities and was apparently hastily written.
It said

'Thank you for sending me this letter. I have read and understand your concerns about Kains' behaviours and will discuss it with him. In a minute Spike will receive a letter which will be a formal summons for Kain to come to Canterlot to speak with me. I'll dispatch a flying chariot to pick him up tomorrow. For now though I advise you all to get some sleep. It is fairly late.'

It was signed at the bottom with Celestias' signature.

Shortly after Twilight had read the letter out Spike burped out another. It had the Princesses personal seal on it and it was addressed to Kain. Twilight set the letter aside to be delivered in the morning without opening it.

Applejack and Fluttershy thanked Twilight and Spike for their help and left for their own homes. Twilight then shut the door and she and Spike went upstairs for bed.
That's the end of chapter five. At the moment things are progressing slowly. I plan on speeding things up a little in the near future.
Also I thought I should mention now sooner rather than later that this story will have no shipping and no notable Romance sub plot. Those scenes with Rainbow Dash were me just joking around about the… Varied… nature of her sexuality according to the fan community. If sex does happen it's going to be off-screen and it's going to happen for the sake of humour or plot and character development.
Also last time I uploaded a chapter I said that I plan on uploading one chapter of this every Monday. I hate to go back on that promise but rather than uploading one chapter of this every Monday it's going to be one chapter (five thousand words) of something every Monday. So if there isn't an update for this next Monday check my profile because something else MLP related may have been uploaded.