Author's Notes:

The Usual Disclaimer:

The following is a work of parody, and is protected as Fair Use under section 17 U.S. Code § 107 of US Copyright Law. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic and all affiliated characters are property of Hasbro Inc.

I own nothing. All characters, settings and other belong to their respective owners. This is purely a fan-work with no intent towards profit, slander or harm towards the characters, settings or other, or their respective owners. If the respective owners feel that this fan-work in any way, shape or form threatens or besmirches their property, please let me know so that it be can be removed asap.

Please support the show.

Well, that escalated quickly.

I'd like to thank everybody for their feedback with the distorted abomination of a chapter that was 49, and hopefully spreading it out over two chapters with more caution and sleep and less trying to unrealistically push out chapters two or three times a week with the amount of RL shenanigans pressing down on me will result in a more enjoyable and less disjointed story.

I never actually thought I'd be doing 50 chapters for the first part of the Sympathyverse, let alone 50 chapters and we're still freakin' not done yet! I'd like to say it means something good, but I think I'm just an unnecessarily wordy bastard, and I blame it all on being a DM for 3-plus gaming groups. Never doubt the necessity of having to explain a room brick by brick to twenty or so metagaming bastigess. My apologies, I'm still trying to tone down the walls of text, but it's something I struggle with and will likely never truly conquer.

CHAPTER 50

The air in Twilight’s bedroom felt heavy with stress and anticipation as the ‘victims’ of Rarity’s prank and the Cake’s mistake looked at one another, all of them suddenly gripped with nervousness as they weighed up who would, or should, speak first, before finally Applejack sighed heavily and made her move.

“Well, your Majesty, if’n ah can go first?” Applejack asked, raising a hoof and waiting for several moments before Luna nodded. “Ah’m right plum pissed at ‘em all, but it’s obvious the Cakes meant no harm, an’ Rarity is bein’ … well, a right bitch, but ah can understan’ her getting’ her back up with everypony after her, ‘specially after taking a hoof to the guts like she did this mornin’. If’n the Cakes won’t mind usin’ some of our apples the next time they enter a competition, an’ make sure everypony knows it came from our family farm, ah’m willing to call it a day. An’ ah’ll jus’ have Rarity make me a couple of sets of nice, simple clothes for when ah start hirin’ some more farmhooves ‘round Apple Acres.”

“That’s all?” The Lunar Princess asked softly, raising an eyebrow at the farm-mare incredulously. “I admit, I had asked you all to take their situations into consideration, but after what they did to you ...”

“Ah ain’t gonna beggar ‘em, if that’s what you’re asking, Princess Luna. The Cakes might have done wrong, but they didn’t do wrong on purpose an’ it’s plain as the freckles on mah face that they’re as torn up ‘bout it as ah am. Besides, Pinkie’s got the right of it, the Cakes are good Ponies with a pair of the sweetest lil’ Foals y’all ever did see, it’d be wrong to push for more when they’re obviously tryin’ to make things right.”

“An’ Rarity’s a friend, even if she is bein’ a miss snooty frou-frou right now. Ain’t gonna throw that away ‘cause of some stupid prank gone wrong. If’n that were the case, ah’d have bucked Pinkie an’ Rainbow clear of mah family’s lands years back...” The farm-mare finished with a wry smile and a small round of chuckles from the room.

“Very well. Twilight? I’m sorry, but …” Luna began, turning her head to look at Twilight and spotting her marefriend already scribbling down Applejack’s ‘claim’ on a sheet of paper.

“Already on it. Can’t believe we’re actually having to do this, but I’m recording everything for the Hall of Records, and for a friendship letter to Princess Celestia when this is all said and done.”

“Excellent. Next … Fluttershy?”

“I … oh, uhm.” The butter-colored Mare stammered before earning an impatient swat from Zecora. “Oh bother. I wouldn’t object if the Cakes could maybe give me some of their baked goods that might be on the verge of expiring for a few weeks? We’ve had an influx of critters from the Everfree Forest over the past few weeks who lost their homes to the Hydra and her spawn, and they are eating a lot of my food-stores ...”

“And Rarity’s ‘blood price’?” Twilight prodded her friend verbally as the shy Pegasus tried to shrink behind Zecora again.

“S-s-s-she has to look after the Cutiemark Crusaders over the weekends twice a month for a year… once she’s better and caught up on work. And she has to apologize to everypony she was trying to prank.”

“And once again I am in awe of the good hearts of the Ponies of Ponyville.” Luna said aloud, earning a bashful smile from Fluttershy before the Pegasus finally managed to shrink back behind her Zebra friend. “Next, I would suggest Rainbow Dash … preferably before she bursts.”

“I want the Cakes to stand in-line for me every day the next time Cider Season comes around.” The rainbow-maned Pegasus snapped seconds after Luna had finished speaking. “I am going to get a mug of cider this time that doesn’t come from the bottom of a barrel or that I had to beg or borrow from somepony else. And Rarity has to agree that she is never going to try to trick me into going to the Ponyville Spa-Center, or to harp on about me about the state of my hooves!”

“That’s a … a little unfair, considering the Cakes have to look after their twins …” Twilight began, before the Cakes began to shake their heads vigorously. “Well, still, when that happens, hopefully somepony can babysit for a few hours … maybe I could try looking after them again?”

“Princess Twilight, we’re very grateful for the offer, but the last time you tried to look after our children, Pumpkin and Pound ended up glowing fluorescent green from nose to tail and spoke in draconic for a week. Please understand that we were very grateful for the effort, but you are never looking after our Foals ever again.” Cup Cake pointed out with a mournful expression as Carrot continued to shake his head.

“I’m never going to live that down … okay, Rainbow’s request is recorded, who is next?” Twilight muttered sourly as she jotted down the request.

“This one would like a say, if she please, if she may?” Zecora spoke up next. “My ass still stings and my legs move like I’ve had a stroke, but these Ponies are remorseful and it would be cruel to send them broke. Connections they must have, as successful business ponies, perhaps they could find helpers to rebuild my house so homely?”

“Help find … reliable work-crews to rebuild your house. Got it.” The purple princess scribbled down the note, ignoring Luna’s eye-rolling.

“I would have recorded it word for word, Twilight. My sister has always loved the way Zebra Shamans speak. Still, once again I must say I am greatly surprised at you all. Most Ponies from Canterlot would be asking for the sun and moon, figuratively speaking, in these situations. It speaks volumes for the characters of all parties involved ...” Pointing a hoof at Big Mac next, Luna gestured for the large Stallion to say his piece.

“Ain’t got much words to say, but I’m mad as heck at the three of you.” Big Mac rumbled, glaring at the Cakes, and then Rarity before seeing them cringe apparently made the Stallion reconsider. “Ain’t much more I could add, given what my sister and her friends have said, but I’ll settle for some nice and simple clothes from Rarity when she’s able to work again, and maybe some free food from the Cakes the next time my sisters and I have to work at our stall at the Ponyville Markets.”

“Clothing and a suit of well-made, simple clothing. Lunch delivered to your stall for … six months?” Scribbling franticly, Twilight looked up and offered a firm end to the ‘blood price’, and both the Cakes and Big Mac nodded in assent. “Well, that seems relatively fair to both parties? Who is next, Luna?”

“I would say the Crusaders. Although under normal circumstances I would have the parents or guardians of the underage Ponies speak, given the unusual situation at our hooves and the fact that the legal guardians of the Crusaders are all present, or are unavailable right now, it would be best if the Crusaders speak for themselves.” Luna’s hoof now extended to the Crusaders, who brought their heads together and began whispering fiercely for a long while before separating, and Sweetie Belle sat up to speak.

“Thank you, Princess Luna. We want … milkshakes, one free milkshake for each of us, every week, from the Cakes! And we want Rarity to apologise to everypony, and she has to let us use our pick of her supplies to make the Cutiemark Crusader Clubhouse look better!” The young Unicorn said firmly, smiling as her fellow Crusaders clapped appreciatively.

“Uhm … milkshakes for a lifetime might be a little steep, don’t you think?” Twilight ventured tentatively. “And girls, while I hate to point this out, Rarity has to pay for all those materials, she can’t just give them away …”

“Maybe it would be best if you get your free drinks for three months, and Rarity has to provide basic amenities for your clubhouse, such as pillows or curtains, something like that? Good quality furnishings, not just hand-me-down things like what you have now?” Fluttershy added, peeking over Zecora’s flank.

“Oh. Yeah, that’s probably better. We’d probably end up breaking any real furniture we got.” Scootaloo muttered, earning a punch in the shoulder from Sweetie Belle and a long-suffering groan from Apple Bloom.

“Well, you are all still living with your families, so I suppose you don’t quite understand how hard it can be to make ends meet at your age.” Luna said loudly, raising an eyebrow as Sweetie Belle opened a mouth to protest. “Blood Price is meant to incur loss enough to make the offenders know they have committed an offence great enough to be punished and to sting enough that they will not repeat their actions, not to bleed them dry. Do not push me on this, children.”

“I promise you girls, you’re all getting super-sized Pinkie-style milkshakes, whatever toppings you want.” Mr Cake blurted, closing his eyes and squeezing his wife’s shoulder as the smaller, portly Mare’s voice failed her. “We … we can’t apologize nearly enough for what happened to you three. Bad enough everypony else got … but you … you’re so young and … and I just can’t imagine …”

Apparently mollified at the prospect of three months of free milkshakes almost as big as they were, Sweetie Belle grinned, along with her friends, and sat down quickly, while Luna looked to the ceiling and mouthed ‘mother earth, preserve me from the foals’ before speaking again.

“Very well, we’ve all heard the victim’s claims. First, the Cakes: Do you have any counter-proposals to offer before We make our ruling?”

“None, your Majesty. And we’d like to thank everypony for being so kind. We know we messed up, and we’ll do everything we can to make this up to everypony.” Carrot Cake said hoarsely, bowing his head and sagging against his wife.

“Thank you, everypony, thank you so mu-hu-hu-huuuuch …” Cup Cake began before bursting into tears and putting her face into her hooves. “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry …”

Hesitantly, Applejack stood up and tottered over to the sobbing Mare, gently giving her a hug before being grabbed in turn by the distraught Cup Cake, who was in-turn hugged by Fluttershy, the three Mares holding onto each other tightly, although Twilight suspected it might have had more to do with how strained the muscles in Applejack’s and Fluttershy’s legs might be after their ‘romp’ than Cup Cake trying to apologize for her awful mistake.

“And Lady Rarity?” Luna asked loudly over the sniffling and whispered comments of ‘it’s alright’ and ‘please let go’ from the trio of Mares.

“I don’t really have much of a choice, do I?” The nearly-mummified Unicorn snorted bitterly, her posture, with all four legs sticking out like a child’s doll in their plaster prison, almost comical against the frustration on her features. “Very well, I acquiesce to this ‘Blood Price’ farce, even if it is not my fault.”

The room went dead silent as everypony in the room focused on Rarity, some frowning, some closing their eyes and sighing, and Twilight and Luna simultaneously face-hoofing.

“Lady Rarity, you just agreed, meaning you are bound to the terms the victims have given, thus you have to apologize.” The Lunar Monarch said in a very calm and very even tone after several deep, calming breaths. “Otherwise, this has all been for naught, and I will have to decide the terms of your ‘blood price’ myself …”

“Nopony is asking for you to apologise for the Cake’s part in this mess … sorry, mister and missus Cake …” Twilight began, wincing and bobbing her head to the bakers, who merely shook their heads and gave her wan smiles. “… But you do have to apologise for your attempt to super-charge the Crusaders with sugar so that the Apple family would have to deal with all three young Mares being hyperactive all night long. That’s all that’s being asked of you.”

Rarity huffed in her cast, glaring at Twilight before scoffing and turning her face away as much as her cast would allow, missing the wince as Twilight’s eyes flashed dark purple again and the newest Alicorn sagged in pain, a dull whimper of pain escaping her this time.

“I can’t believe you!” In a surprisingly display of temper, Fluttershy pushed herself free of Cup Cake’s iron-grip hug and stormed over to Rarity, pulling Rarity’s head around to face her and butting heads with the startled Unicorn, glaring, no, Staring right into Rarity’s eyes. “Applejack saved your life, and you repaid her with a prank?”

“B-but my face, she hit my face …” Rarity whimpered, unable to look away, unable to escape as Fluttershy’s eyes bored into her own, dredging up feelings of guilt …. “My face, Fluttershy! After all I’ve done to cultivate my image, to lay the foundations for my joining the elite of Canterlot …”

“Yah plum-done dog-gone idiot! Princess Celestia was pullin’ down enough magic t’make Twilight’s home start to turn see-through, an’ yah were gonna quibble an’ whine with Twilight ‘bout goin’ outside ‘cause yer mane was a lil’ mussy?” Applejack spoke up now, face going first slack in surprise, then into a tense mask of anger. “An’ after Princess Celestia herself told y’all that trappin’ us all in that light-pillar-thingy o’ hers was somethin’ she was willin’ to do, an’ not half as bad as what she’d done to her own dang sister, yah tried to prank my family an’ the Crusaders fer saving yer plot? Uh, beggin’ yer pardon, Princess Luna.”

“I take no offence, Applejack, although I am both alarmed and very, very angry to hear that Lady Rarity, a Unicorn no less, could not sense the overwhelming amount of magic being unleashed and still not realize the danger you were all in at the time.” Luna replied to the farm-mare, her teal-coloured eyes now boring holes in Rarity’s face … or what little of it was visible beneath the now-enraged Fluttershy’s own face. “I would have thought, of all of Element Bearers, as a Pony whose work is entirely dependent upon the finesse of her magical gifts that Lady Rarity would be easily able sense the threat and react appropriately.”

“Pr-princess Celestia would never hurt her subjects …” The words came meekly from the immobilized Unicorn, as much from the emotional pressure Fluttershy was applying as the lack of space she had to use her mouth with how closely the butter-coloured Pegasus was pressing their faces together.

“Not intentionally, but my sister does have an entire nation to protect.” Luna pointed out as Applejack finally took pity on Rarity and dragged Fluttershy back several inches, a task that, strangely enough, left both Fluttershy and Applejack blushing furiously. “If trapping two of the Element Bearers and two of her fellow Princesses in a Stasis Field for several days would have prevented another Lust War with the Succuponies, then Celestia would do so. She would blame herself for our distress, but the position of Princess often means putting one’s own feelings aside in favour of the greater good.”

“Look, before we go off-topic again … Rarity, apologise to everypony, please, before Fluttershy has to use the Stare on you again. Then the Cakes can go home and the rest of you have to stay here for a few minutes more, at least, while we sort out some … interesting hurdles that yesterday put in-front of us.” Twilight chipped in, rubbing at her temples as if suffering a headache. “Then we can put all of this behind us, move on and never mention it ever again.”

“I … apologise …”

Twilight and Luna sighed in relief. Perhaps the morning could be salvaged after all …

“… Even if it is not my fault.”

Twilight groaned loudly and slammed her muzzle into the mattress, muffling her cursing into indecipherable outrage through the innocent linens, while Luna settled for another face-hoof and set of deep, calming breathing exercises.

“Apology … accepted, ah guess. Best we’re gonna get from Rares till she pulls her horn outta her plot.” Applejack muttered sourly, before a single, solitary cushion flew through the air in a slow, majestic arc and pomf’d onto Rarity’s face, impaling itself on her horn.

The entire room turned as one, barring Rarity who couldn’t see at all with her face once-more covered by a foreign object, to see a scowling Sweetie Belle trying to pull another cushion out from beneath her fellow Crusaders to fling that one too.

“I’m not accepting that! This is the sisterhooves social all over again! Rarity thinks she can’t do wrong, but we wouldn’t even be here if she hadn’t ordered that cake in the first place!” Sweetie Belle got to her hooves and yank the cushion out from under Scootaloo and threw it at her sister, landing it atop the other cushion before the young Unicorn fled the room, sobbing at the top of her lungs. “I’m not coming home until Rarity apologises!”

Taking off after their friend, the other two Crusaders rushed out, leaving the adults blinking in surprise, with Rarity levitating the two cushions off her horn and face with a look of shock on her face.

“Well … that was a thing.” Rainbow Dash muttered as the Ponies in the room shifted awkwardly, all gazes turning to the floundering Rarity. “Then again, Sweetie brings up a point. This isn’t the first time Rarity’s burnt us …”

“I beg your pardon?” The fashionista spluttered.

“Yes, now that you mention it, Rarity did blow us off when she went to Canterlot.” Fluttershy pointed out, a rare frown marring the butter-coloured Pegasus’s features as she stared, a thankfully normal stare, at her immobilized friend. “She spent all her time hanging off Fancy Pants and Fleur Dis Lee and his entourage, and lied about Opal getting sick, even to the point she dumped water over the poor dear to cover up when we arrived.”

“H-how did you …?”

“Rarity … I can talk to animals. And Opal was with you the entire time.” Fluttershy sighed and looked away from her friend, closing her eyes as she spoke. “I heard every little detail about what you got up to when you went to Canterlot.”

“… I will not apologise for trying to make my business more successful. I will … apologise … for my part in this debacle …” It took an obvious effort of will for Rarity to not add that it wasn’t her fault again to the end of that, and it took her several more seconds to swallow the words and continue speaking as the rest of the room either glared at her or waited for her next move. “But I will not apologise for chasing my dream. I will join the elite of our society, and I will not apologise for pursuing that goal, even if it does not meet the approval of my friends.”

“Even if it meant all of us getting’ stuck in Princess Celestia’s magical sunbeam trap?” Applejack asked, raising an eyebrow, to which Rarity sniffed dismissively, neither Pony paying attention as Twilight’s eyes flashed with dark purple light again, the Alicorn all but going limp on her bed and whimpering in pain, nor Luna’s startled hiss as she wrapped a wing around Twilight and tried to pull her marefriend up into a sitting position again.

“I have spent years cultivating an image of class and culture, Applejack, something you have proven time and time again you do not understand nor appreciate. I do not intend to spend the rest of my days in Ponyville, labouring over clothing for the masses who do not understand the love I put into my work! Countless days spent slaving over designs, weeks or months where I went out into the wilderness hunting gems and dealing with unscrupulous merchants and arrogant nobles, just so that I may finally find a place where my art, my masterpieces, can be truly appreciated for what they are, the circle of Nobility that serves and advises the Princess herself.” Rarity spat back, glaring at the farm-pony as she did so. “To enter into those refined ranks, I must prove I am noble in bearing and intent, if not birth. I intend to marry into their ranks as soon as I can find a Stallion of suitable rank and amicable nature, and that means I must dazzle the Nobility beyond anything a landed or titled Mare of their own ranks can. I will not be held back or made to feel guilty for pursuing my dream by Ponies content to live in a two-bit town and spend every day working their hooves to the bone for a pittance!”

“I will not apologise for wanting to better myself and my lot in life, and if how I do so makes me a bad Pony in your eyes, then know I return those feelings in full measure!”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Twilight gasped in pain, her muzzle almost touching the floor as she suffered another surge of pain, the magic of the Element of Generosity flooding her senses as the vision appeared before her mind’s eye again, the dark purple gem at the heart of Rarity’s torc straining against the setting that held it in place before the golden metal holding it in place squealed, and the gem flung itself free of the setting … and vanished.

What she had hoped would be the end of this morning’s particular brand of disaster was now instead the heart of what seemed to be the genesis of a bitter feud as her friends screeched insults at each other while the Cakes cowered between them, and Luna used her magic liberally to keep the other Element Bearers separate from each other.

Mercifully, no visions of the other Elements inflicted themselves on her, although a part of her mind wondered how Rainbow Dash inflicting a Sonic Rainboom-propelled punch to Rarity’s everything could be counted as ‘loyal’, and a sudden surge of alien knowledge poured into her brain.

It was … illuminating, to say the least. Knowledge poured into her, facts and traits of the Elements she hadn’t even thought to research or ask questions about were made uncomfortably clear to Twilight to the point of physical pain as her mind struggled to absorb the knowledge being forced into it, and the presence of Magic, the actual Element of Magic itself, became clearly noticeable to her, a spiritual weight she hadn’t even known she was carrying since the day they had all banished the Nightmare Spirit from Luna and purified her of her Nightmare Moon persona …

“… Think I care? I have given endlessly to everypony in this room, my time, my clothing, my ... oh my word!” Twilight finally found the strength to focus on the conversation as Rarity began yelling over the top of the other Element Bearers, until Twilight’s horn flashed and the room was bathed in her magic for several seconds, startling all in the room into silence and drawing their eyes to the newest Alicorn.

“You’re a grown mare, Rarity, you can do what you want with your life. But when you put somepony else’s life on the line, that is where we have a problem. I’ll ask Nurse Redheart to return you to your home, and I’ll retrieve the Elements of Harmony.” The purple Alicorn sighed and let her horn flicker with magic a second time, the beginnings of a spell swirling around the twisting spire on her forehead, the purple aura sparkling as powerful magic was invoked.

“Oh, don’t trust me with the Elements anymore? Perhaps you’ll leave them with the Cakes next? Or maybe Discord this time?” Rarity snapped back, grimacing at her friend.

“I trust you with them, Rarity. I have always trusted you ... but right now you’re in no position to protect them. And most importantly, Generosity doesn’t belong to you anymore.” The Alicorn sighed, bowing her head as the spluttering fashionista filled the air with half-coherent noise, the glow around Twilight’s horn brightened and the flashed before a rush of displaced air ruffled the manes and tails of the Ponies in the room, and the Elements of Harmony flashed into existence, settling onto their Bearers with a flash of rainbow-hued light.

All five of Elements.

“Twilight, is that …” Luna whispered as Twilight levitated her crown off of her head, where the six-pointed star of Friendship now had a neighbour, the purple kite-shaped stone that had once been the centrepiece of the Torc of Generosity, now much smaller and set directly below the six-pointed star, the new gem set amongst the swirling golden wires that supported the larger, six-pointed gem above the crown.

“Oh mah stars …”

“Did Rarity just get das boot?”

“I think not well will this go! Thank goodness restrained is that …”

“Wait, we can lose our Elements?”

Rarity, for her part, was stunned into merciful silence, her eyes bulging as her pupils shrank to pin-pricks, rapidly flicking from the remaining torcs to Twilight’s crown and back again.

“I am sorry, Rarity. Ever since you started trying to avoid your part in this disaster, I felt the Elements call out to me, and the connection between you and Generosity fray a little bit more every time.” Twilight explained, an expression of fatigue clearly visible on her face as she placed the newly-augmented crown back on her head. “I don’t fully understand why, but Generosity is refusing to allow you to wield it until you find Harmony within yourself again. I’m sorry … I’m sorry I couldn’t stop this from happening.”

“Nor should you have even thought to try, Twilight. The Elements are fragments of even greater powers, and if you had tried to intercede, you may have been punished severely for reaching above your station.” Luna stood up and walked over to Twilight, wrapping a large dusky-blue wing around the young Alicorn and squeezing her gently. “I would also strongly recommend all of us keep a close eye on Lady Rarity over the coming days. Speaking from experience, being rejected by the Elements can be a traumatic experience, and I will be monitoring her dreams carefully over the next few weeks.”

“Are not even my dreams sacrosanct? Bad enough there are Royal Agents spying on us all, but first my so-called friends assault me and lay false blame at my hooves, then Twilight betrays me and strips me of my duties as a Bearer, but now you deny me even the privacy of my own thoughts?” Rarity shrieked, rocking furiously in her cast, trying to inch closer to Twilight, her horn flaring and spluttering as her temper got the better of whatever spell she was trying to cast.

“When I lost my connection to the Elements because my jealousy and anger got the better of me, I went insane. I lost my balance, my connection to Harmony, to the point where a Nightmare Spirit was able to completely possess me and take control of my physical form, and even usurp control over my Aspect. No doubt the Element will rekindle its connection with you when you once again embody the true nature it represents once more.” The dusky blue Alicorn replied, her tone angry and her face a stony mask as the Lunar Princess used her own magic to firmly put Rarity back on her pillow. “You do not bear all the fault for what has transpired, Lady Rarity, but consider that a fragment of the forces of Creation itself find your actions and attitude intolerable. Think on that very carefully before you fling accusations of betrayal in the faces of those who call you friend.”

“Okay everypony, ah get this is a big development, but somepony needs to get Rarity home a’fore she says or does something she’ll really regret.” Applejack sighed and threw her hat over Rarity’s face as the Unicorn opened her mouth to either shout a protest or curse at the Princess. “Ain’t nopony going to change their minds right now, an’ the Element’s already spoken, so there ain’t no point in draggin’ this out any longer.”

“I … we’ll get her.” Carrot Cake said, flicking his eyes nervously from the immobilized, muffled Unicorn in the corner to the newly-augmented crown on Twilight’s head before the gangly baker and his wife all but bolted for the door.

“This is … you cannot … my destiny ...!” Rarity spluttered furiously, levitating Applejack’s hat off her face and telekinetically flinging it across the room. “This will not stand! I will write to Princess Celestia, to the Council of Nobles, to the papers! Right-minded Ponies will take my side, and you will …”

Luna’s horn glowed, and a matching glow surrounded Rarity for several seconds as the Unicorn ranted, her words slowing and slurring before she finally relaxed and began to loudly snore.

“Well … it appears that Lady Rarity will require more than just a nurse’s tender care.” The Lunar Princess muttered in the now-quiet room as Fluttershy crept over to Rarity’s side and placed a hoof against the Unicorn’s neck, checking Rarity’s vitals. “I will require Spike to send a letter to my sister to have a flock of my Night Guard reassigned to oversee her needs until such time as Rarity is whole and hale again ... and can be made to see reason. The last thing Equestria needs is to have a scandal surrounding the Element Bearers, or a disgruntled ex-Bearer for that matter. Our country is divided enough as it stands, and having an Element Bearer, one of our greatest national treasures, stained by such crimes and scandal will only cause our allies to think even less of Equestria as a whole.”

“Were … were you serious? That you went off your nut when you lost the Elements? And we can lose our Elements?” Rainbow Dash asked softly, brushing a feathery wing over the gleaming golden torc around her neck with an expression of doubt and alarm on her face.

“It’s news to me too, Rainbow.” Twilight replied in an equally soft voice, levitating the crown off her head and staring at the two gems now glittering back at her.

“It takes an extreme event to disrupt the bond between Bearer and Element, such as when Celestia forced the Elements to obey only herself to banish my corrupted self from Equis … or a long, slow build-up of disharmony, such as what happened to myself when I began to believe only one Princess could rule our nation. Perhaps once Lady Rarity calms down enough to see how much a foal she is being, I shall send her to the Royal Mind-He … Psychiatrist. Faust knows, she has helped my sister and I greatly over the past few years with dealing with each other and our history together and my adapting to the changes to my country over the past thousand years, perhaps …” Luna tapped a hoof to her lips as she spoke, her eyes trailing over the Element Bearers before a sad smile played over her face. “Perhaps all of us could stand to visit Happy Place? Surely all of you bear some burdens you have kept to yourselves, stresses and complaints you have swallowed rather than harm those around you?”

“You’re saying we need therapy?” Fluttershy asked as the Element Bearers, Big Mac and Granny Smith all gave each other awkward looks, and Twilight sighed and put her crown on the floor, scooting it under her bed with a hoof to become acquainted with the dust-bunnies.

“It cannot hurt, especially after today’s debacle. The fact that my sister has not offered any of you access to Happy Place’s services strikes me as a measure of trust in all of your natures, but still, perhaps it is a service that should have been offered sooner.”

“For now, I vote we put the offer on the table and get back to it when we’re all … less stressed.” Raising a hoof into the air, Twilight gave a tired smile as the rest of her Friends, those she had left, raised their hoofs in response and nodded. “Faust knows I’ve spent enough time with Happy Place trying to cure my … issues over the years to give her a glowing endorsement, but getting to see her can be difficult, especially if we’re trying to get an appointment without drawing attention to ourselves.”

“Next, I have some rather … interesting news about the Ponies downstairs.” The purple Princess explained, before Nurse Redheart brusquely entered the room, stalking across the room to sling the immobilized and comatose Rarity across her back and give the two Princesses a dirty look. “N-nurse Redheart?”

“I don’t know what happened up here, but given the Cakes came down looking paler than hospital sheets and you all look like somebody kicked your pet dog, I don’t really care to know.” The bluntly-spoken Mare said, raising a thick eyebrow at the Princesses as if daring them to argue. “All I care to ask is how did you sedate Rarity, how long will she be out for, and how dangerous are repeat applications, since the longer she sleeps, the less she could aggravate her injuries.”

“Ain’t she stuck in that cast?’ Granny Smith pointed out, glaring at the slumbering Unicorn, still obviously offended by the spat between her grand-children and the seamstress.

“Physically, yes, but Rarity is a Unicorn, and Unicorns can do magic, meaning even being immobilized is no guarantee that she won’t end up in dire straits again.” The white-coated Earth Pony turned and gave Rainbow Dash a filthy look in turn, somehow managing to look intimidating despite the splay-legged, drooling, comatose Unicorn slung over her back. “And you. The next time I hear about you injuring another Pony, regardless of what happened, I will report you to the authorities faster than you can perform a Sonic Rainboom, am I clear?”

“Like a Crystal Pony’s mane.” The blue Pegasus replied, smirking until she realized that the nurse was being deadly serious. “But she …”

“Rainbow, I am a trained, professional nurse. I needed only to see everypony walking around to realize that nearly everypony in this room had either a very good, or very bad, time last night. Including three underage Ponies whom, despite the many ulcers they’ve given me over the years, are quite dear to me, if not the entire town.”

The silence in the room was deafening.

“So yes, I can connect the dots about why somepony like you would attack a close friend like Rarity, and why the rest of the posse was treating her like a pariah. Since the Princesses are involved, I’m going to assume the matter is being handled in a responsible manner, but if need be, I can provide medical treatment for … unwanted results, or counselling if required. And I want that information on how you sedated Rarity on my desk before day's end, or I will be back and asking questions ...”

And so saying, the Nurse turned around and left the room as swiftly as she had entered, taking great pains to avoid banging Rarity’s limbs on the doorway as she exited the room.

For close to a minute, the room remained silent, Ponies opening their mouths to speak before thinking better of it, nopony able to think of the words to break the uncomfortable atmosphere before Spike entered the room, looking very nervous himself.

“So, uh … Twilight? Luna? Are you going to introduce everypony to the Agents, or do I tell them to come back tomorrow?”

“We’ll be down in a minute … and tell Mister Rich he might have one fewer Pony to guard than we thought.” Twilight said sadly, a sudden thought chilling her mind as she stared at her beloved younger brother and assistant.

How on Equis was she going to break the news of what just happened to Spike?