Rainbow Dash sat on the edge of the chasm, glancing back over her shoulder. Her eyes drifted from pony to pony. Twilight was staring off to the north, her back turned to the others, Rarity and Fluttershy were still lying on the ground together, crying, Applejack was sitting next to them deep in thought and Pinkie… taking a further look around she couldn’t see Pinkie at all. She considered going to look for her, but she had something else on her mind to deal with first. Dash took one more look around the plateau they were sitting on and, with a practiced leap, dove head first into the canyon.

Fanning her wings open, she was both glad and dismayed at the ease with which she glided through the air. She felt the air currents flowing along them, each row of feathers, and the wind bending along, around and through her feathers. She closed her eyes for a moment, to savor the feeling. She shook her head, reopening her eyes and reminding herself of the situation- the loss of a friend. If her wings had worked this well not fifteen minutes before, she would not be searching the crevice for some sign of Nathan. Slowing her descent, she began to scour the walls of the canyon for some evidence of the human’s passage.

The storm continued to sweep unabated through the chasm below, gusts of wind and snow buffeting the pegasus’ slow descent. Dash looked below, frowning at the lack of visibility. Her eyes ran along the boulders and cracks running along the sides of the cliff. Glancing up and gauging where Nathan would have fallen from, her search was far slower than she would have liked, and only her desire to see the human unharmed overwhelmed the urge to give up. The longer she searched the greater her desperation grew. Not a scratch, scrap of clothing, or bag could be seen hung up on a rock.

“Horseapples, this is stupid. Dumb zebra spit, I’ll never find you like this.” As she turned to head back up the cliff side she caught something out the corner of her eye. She felt acid in the back of her throat and a sick feeling in her gut. Blood. A long smear ran down one side, roughly below where Nathan had fallen. Without thinking, she folded her wings against her back and dived straight into the white depths below. The snow and ice nipped at her eyes, threatening to blind her while tears were squeezed out in steady streams. Ignoring a larger hail shard that ripped into her side, she continued to dive relentlessly into the blinding white mist below.

Closing her eyes for a moment, she tried to shake the image of the blood out of her head, but it persisted despite her efforts. She instantly regretted it. Her shoulder grazed an outcropping of rock jutting up from the base of the cliff pushing her into a tumble. Her eyes flew wide, and she attempted to compensate, swinging around an old trunk growing out the side that suddenly greeted her. Looking back over her now throbbing shoulder, she considered how close she had been to throwing herself headfirst into a rock. Then she hit the ground.

She bounced a few times, tumbling and rolling along the ground, and finally came to a rest in a lump. Groaning, she sat up, and took a moment to survey her body. She had a few bruises, and her shoulder and side hurt fiercely, but she was relieved to see her injuries were mild at worst. As images of the bloody smear came rushing back, she bound to her feet. She started frantically combing the area for any sign of the enormous bipedal.

“Comes on… come on… come on! This isn’t right. None of this is right. Why aren’t you here? This is all your fault, you big stupid oaf. You know that? All of this is your fault! If it weren’t for you, we wouldn’t have had to kick you out of town, then Fluttershy wouldn’t have felt guilty then gone to that stupid forest, then there’s the whole changeling invasion, then while answering Celestia’s stupid summons, everything from my wings to weather and magic stops working because of you, not only that but all of my friends’ve been getting all weird too! Now, you go and get yourself killed, and why? The heck were you trying to prove anyways? That Rarity’s a jerk? That Twilight was wrong and that you were a good person? I coulda’ told you that! You rat-faced, bark-chewing, meat eating, two legged furless monkey… IT’S ALL YOUR FAULT.” She wanted so badly to blame everything she was feeling on Nathan. All of her conflicting emotions, her misgivings for her friends…

Friends. That’s what this came down to. The heck did that mean anyway? Twilight Sparkle got sent to Ponyville to learn about the magic of friendship. Those first two days, they all got together to fight and bring back another friend, Princess Luna. The Elements of Harmony, the magical relics that signified their connection, had worked together, twice now, to defend Equestria from some ancient evil. Dash wasn’t philosophical, wise, or intelligent, at least not compared to other ponies, but even she could put it all together for herself. As long as you had your friends, and they all worked together, there was nothing they couldn’t overcome. Up until today, especially being the Element of Loyalty, she had believed that with all of her heart. Now, she wasn’t so sure.

The Elements of Harmony required them to all work together in sync for the greater good, a single act of friendship connecting the six. With a common goal, that friendship was able to light a path in the darkest heart, and seal away even the most chaotic of beings. As long as their friendship was strong, and they were working towards a common goal. Why didn’t it work then? No, they didn’t have the Elements of Harmony themselves on them at the time, and surely with their strength they could have saved Nathan, but it shouldn’t have required them. The magical implements were merely physical representations of the bonds between them, not the bonds themselves. They should have been able to do it together because they were all friends…

She stopped trotting, her face turned sour. The last of her tears were sniffed away and a cold, grimy feeling started to well up in her heart. If her stomach had been sick from the sight of the blood smear before, the sudden realization of their situation made her positively nauseous. Her yells started to turn into screams.

“It can’t be like this! Don’t let it be like this! Answer me!” Behind her she heard some shuffling sounds. Her ears perked up and she turned to face the sound. “Nathan?” She walked over towards the shuffling, hearing a few groans. Relief flooded her body. “Oh Celestia, I’m so glad I found you. I saw all the blood you left behind and I thought for sure you were… ah whatever who cares, come on we have to get you back up top. Funny thing is my wings are still working fine. Guess you were wrong tortoise wrinkle! Hahaha. Nathan? Nathan?” Her jovial attitude dropped away as she came closer to the groaning. “Uh… Na…than?” The groans turned into a growl and a pack of timber wolves stepped forward out of the mist, several of them with blood in their mouths and one wolf still tearing into a particularly shaped bag. Dash froze, a tight ball of ice formed in the pit of her stomach. There was only one specific body shape that backpack would’ve accommodated, and Spike wasn’t big enough to carry that.

It could’ve only been Nathan’s.

“No… No, no, no NO!” She started backing up immediately, putting as much distance between her, the snarling pack of wolves and, perhaps most importantly, the torn backpack, as she dared before trying to fly off. As the wolves moved to close the distance, she gave a powerful flap of her wings and in a burst of colour she flew off as fast as she could. A couple of the closer wolves made an attempt to make a leap at her, but they were quickly outranged, and ultimately went back to the bag that a few of the others had been ripping between them, spilling the contents over the snow. Flapping back up to the cliff edge, tears streaming from her eyes, she landed with a thump next to the other ponies. Applejack looked up at her, seeing her injuries.

“Dash? In tarnation happened to ya?! Where’d you go?” Dash snorted.

“Applejack, what makes you feel right in the world? What’s the one thing that, no matter what, at the end of the day, you think about it, and it makes you feel like everything is going to be ok?”

“Uh… that didn’t really answer mah question, but… Ah guess my family. No matter where Ah am in Equestria, or what adventure we go on, Ah just think of Big Mac, Applebloom and Granny Smith, and Ah know that we’ll succeed, and when Ah get home Ah’ll have a big ‘ole apple pie waitin’ for me. Why?”

“For me, it’s my friends, being the element of loyalty and all. I’m loyal to my friends to the end.”

“Well that goes without…”

“If I had any.” Applejack stopped moving and stared intently at Dash.

“Wh-what? Dash? How could you say that?!”

“Think about it Applejack. We’ve been friends for years- we’ve done everything together. We’ve defeated villains together. We’ve worked together in everything. You know who’s the only one who’s worked with me on anything lately? I’ll give you three guesses, and chances are he’s dead.”

“Now Dash, that ain’t right. Sure we haven’t seen eye to eye on everything…”

“Eye to eye? Applejack, think. Really really think. Consider the last three months. Have you enjoyed them? Have they been what you expected them to?” Applejack huffed.

“Well, Ah don’t appreciate being put on the spot but no, Ah reckon they’ve been anything but.”

“Exactly. It’s all wrong. I feel like I don’t know any of you anymore. You’re not the ponies I’ve come to call my friends.”

“Now Dash, Ah ain’t been much different…”

“Lying to us all isn’t different?” Applejack’s jaw hung loose.

“Wh-what? Who told you?” Rainbow Dash shook her head.

“Who else? Nathan. We do talk sometimes y’know, like friends should do. Is there anything else you want to tell me?”

“Well Pinkie Pie…”

“Making excuses now?”

“Dash!”

“Forget it. Where is that bubblehead anyways? I have questions for her too. Talk to me when you can be honest.” Leaving behind a speechless Applejack, she flapped past Rarity and Fluttershy. There wasn’t any movement from her fellow pegasus, but she could hear Rarity softly repeating the same thing over and over again.

“Shhh, now. I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I would do anything if I could bring him back to you.” Rarity was barely above a state of shock herself. Rainbow Dash had more to say to the normally pompous unicorn, but seeing her in the state she was in, barely holding on herself while consoling her catatonic friend, she just didn’t have it in her to continue her attack. It was too little too late, but Rainbow could see the genuine hurt in Rarity’s eyes.

After a few minutes of searching she noted with mild distress that Pinkie was trying to make her way down the chasm herself, jumping from rock to rock and making much slower progress than she herself had made flying down.

“Pinkie Pie! The heck’re you doing?!” Dash flew up to a disgruntled looking Pinkie. She cast the pegasus a sidelong glanced and huffed.

“What’s it look like I’m doing? I’m going down to find Nathan. I can’t see anything with all the snow below.” Dash shook her head.

“Pinkie… There isn’t anyone to find down there. Just get back up.”

“No. You obviously didn’t find him, so he has to be still down there.” She hopped down another rock, feeling one hoof barely keep purchase on the narrow surface. Her face paled momentarily before it firmed up again, she hunched back and began to tense up for another leap.

“Pinkie, I did find… something.” Pinkie stopped mid-jump, and turned to face the pegasus, her initial excitement dying off as soon as she saw the expression on the other mare’s face.

“W-what did you find?” Dash turned her head, she didn’t want to see her face.

“I found one of his weird bags…” Pinkie hesitantly eyed up the pegasus.

“Oh?”

“And, uh, a smear of blood down one of the canyon walls…” Pinkie’s eyes went wide.

“Oh no! Dash did you find him? Is he ok? Why didn’t you bring him back up if he hit the wall? Is he bleeding at the bottom right now? Is he…” Dash cut her off before she could finish the sentence.

“I don’t know Pinkie. He wasn’t there… just…” Pinkie’s lip was trembling.

“Yes?” The cyan mare sighed, dropping her head.

“There was a pack of timber wolves fighting over what was left of his weird bag; there was fresh blood on their fangs…” The pink earth pony’s pupils dilated. She stood in place for a moment and glanced down into the chasm, taking an honest look at how far the jump would actually be from the point she was standing and whether or not it would be survivable. Quickly shaking away the idea, she glanced back up at Dash.

“T-timber wolves? Dash…” Dash frowned.

“What do YOU care anyways?”

“Wh-what? Dash? What are you saying? Of course I care!” Dash lowered her altitude to meet Pinkie’s gaze angrily.

“You do huh? Then why’d ya lie to us then and talk Applejack into going with Twilight’s crazy plan.” Pinkie nearly fell off the cliff having heard the words from Rainbow Dash.

“What are you talking about? I never did anything like that!”

“What did you mean then? I thought you were his friend. Our friend.” Pinkie shook her head sadly.

“If you only knew…”

“What? Explain it to me Pinkie I knew there was something that you were keeping secret with Nathan behind our backs, out with it! I know I screwed up when I didn’t tell anypony about how Nathan made ambient magic around him not work, me not talking got him killed! So TALK.” The pink mare’s expression twisted into something nervous, frightened and even guilty, it was an expression that Rainbow Dash had never seen on her normally happily saccharine face.

“I… I can’t.” Dash growled and flapped her wings aggressively.

“You can’t? Seriously? Everypony is being as crazy as that time when Discord was around screwing things up, Nathan is dead, and you just ‘can’t’? Buck you Pinkie.” Pinkie looked up, a pained expression on her face. She looked for a moment like she had more to add; to defend herself against Dash’s damnation, but nothing came out. “Bah.”

“Wait!”

“Yeah?”

“Can…can you help me back up to the top? Dash growled.

“Ugh! FINE!” With a modest amount of effort, she grabbed the pink mare and dragged her back up over the edge in time to see a pegasus in royal armor approaching Twilight. “Wait, who’s that?” Pinkie started to fidget in Dash’s grip, forcing the pegasus to give her a light tap with her rear hoof to remind her of their precarious position.

“Oh oh! Maybe Celestia sent somepony to help us find Nathan!” She was starting to show that characteristic smile again. Dash shook her head as she set Pinkie down.

“I doubt that. How would she know we needed help? We should go see what they’re talking about.” The two hurried over to where the pegasus pony and Twilight were finishing up their conversation.

“… I hope you understand that Celestia won’t wait much longer for your group to arrive in Canterlot.” Twilight shook her head.

“But the human…”

“I will pass on the message Twilight Sparkle, but for the time being the summons of the princess still stand. Read them at the earliest convenience and convene the harmony elements.” The pegasus grunted in the general direction of the two approaching mares and took off towards Canterlot with a powerful flap of his wings. As he departed, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie trotted up to where Twilight was slowly reading a scroll.

“Hey Twilight?” Dash interrupted her reading. “What’d that guard want? He seemed to be in an awful hurry.” Twilight sighed and glanced up at the two.

“It’s not good, I’m afraid.” Pinkie shook her head, and her ears flattening.

“More bad news? As it is we’re going to have to wait for the snow and wind to die down below before we can find out where Nathan is. Dashie said she found a pack of timber wolves down below, and some blood! He’s going to need our help.” She was nearly frantic again, but she managed to keep a grip long enough to finish her sentence without completely breaking down.

“…we can’t stay.” Twilight stated matter of factly, continuing to run her eyes over the scroll in her possession. Both Pinkie and Dash stood there with their mouths open for a moment before they heard Applejack trot up behind them.

“Come again, sugar cube?” The orange mare was eyeing up Twilight carefully.

“It’s a summons from Princess Celestia. Here let me read it.” Twilight made a show of clearing her throat. “Dear Twilight Sparkle and Friends: It has come to our attention that the route thou art taking in reaching Canterlot is taking much longer than we would have anticipated it taking. We had presumed, since it should have only been Twilight and the human traveling that it would be around four or five days following the railway. For whatever reason, thou hath chosen to travel as a group, and travel northward in an unorthodox manner that escapes our reasoning.

Moreover, it is becoming abundantly clear to us that thou art beginning to question the wisdom of thy ruler and taking solace in the misguided ramblings of a foreign deviant who thou should know is not in good standing with us. This messenger hath been sent to encourage thy party to travel faster. We shall expect thou to arrive in Canterlot within the next three days. Shouldest thou take longer, we shall have to remind thee that whilst thou has enjoyed a privileged position by our side before, nopony is above the wisdom and knowledge of thy ruler, and thy party shall suffer a punishment swift and fitting. We assure you, sending you back to magic kindergarten would be lenient. We eagerly await your arrival. Princess Celestia.” She levitated the scroll back down and rolled it out on the ground in front of the others, allowing them to read it themselves. Their looks turned from curiosity, to shock, to downright horror.

“W-what in tarnation? That Celestia lookin’ for a hoot or somethin’?” Applejack was sputtering. “W-we jes’ lost Nathan an’ all o’ a sudden Princess Celestia tells us to git it goin’? Ah reckon the princess has her reasons but…”

“But that’s ridiculous!” Pinkie butted in. “We can’t abandon him! No way, no how! I’m staying here and nothing any of you say will change my mind.” The other ponies could see that she was quivering slightly.

“I’m sorry Pinkie, but that’s not an option. The princess has demanded we get to Canterlot as soon as possible, and we can’t disappoint her. That goes for all of us. Now let’s pack our things and go. Rainbow Dash, can you go help Rarity and Fluttershy please? The others will get the rest of the stuff together and…”

“No.” Twilight looked slightly dumbfounded at Rainbow Dash and frowned.

“I’m sorry?” Dash lifted into the air and brought herself close to Twilight’s face.

“I think I speak for everypony here when I say, and I mean this with all due respect,” the sarcasm dripping off her voice indicating she meant anything but, “no.”

“Dash, this is a letter from Princess Celestia! We have to do as she says! If we don’t she’ll punish us. This is worse than the time I was tardy for a friendship report! She says we need to go to Canterlot, so we’re going to Canterlot.” Dash’s frame trembled.

“You… are you… Twilight…” She couldn’t take it anymore. “ARE YOU SERIOUS?! Nathan saves us from going over a cliff, after YOU take us the wrong way into a blizzard, saves Rarity again, and falls off the cliff himself! Fluttershy’s a wreck, Rarity’s barely able to stand, we all just watched a friend tumble over a cliff, and you’re just going to run home to mommy at the first call?” Twilight shook her head.

“Now Dash, you know Celestia isn’t my mother. I have a mother her name is…”

“I DON’T CARE WHAT HER NAME IS GENIUS! You’re all acting like a bunch of stupid jacked up donkeys! Rarity I could at least understand, she tends to blow everything out of proportion, but you? You lie to us for months.” Dash caught Applejack flinch out of the corner of her eye, but kept the focus of her aggression on Twilight. “You treat him like a research project. Now that he ain’t useful to you, you’re just going to abandon him? Just ‘cause the princess says so?”

“It’s a letter from Celestia Rainbow Dash. There’s not much to do about it. I asked the guard to send somepony out to look for Nathan later, and that will have to be good enough for now. Read the letter Dash. She’s going to be cross if we delay any longer.” Dash grabbed the letter out of Twilight’s hooves.

“Cross? CROSS?! I’ll show you cross!” She proceeded to tear the letter to shreds and allowed the confetti to drift down onto the snow while a shocked Twilight Sparkle attempted to gather it all up with her magic.

“Rainbow Dash!”

“Shut up Twilight. You know what? Fine. Let’s go. Pinkie, Applejack, grab your stuff. Help me get the others moving so that little miss egghead here can run home to mommy.”

“I told you she’s not my…” A threatening glare from Rainbow Dash cut her words short. The pegasus turned back to the earth ponies. Pinkie was crying again, but managed to squeak out a whisper.

“Dash we can’t just…” Dash ran a hoof over her pink mane and sighed.

“I’m sorry Pinks. I’m not as happy as Twilight is about it, but it’s still a letter from the princess. Come on, we’ll get help for Nathan later. He’ll be fine. Always has a plan right?” Her earlier exaggeration hit home with Applejack, and the farmer and pegasus shared a glance that Pinkie picked up almost immediately, her tears flowing even more. There was no point in staying any longer if they hadn’t found him yet. Nathan’s plans had tended to be haphazard at best, and at best they would be looking for a body to bury. Sighing they trotted off to help the other two ponies gather their belongings. Twilight Sparkle looked off towards Canterlot, carefully tucked the shreds of scroll into her bag and started to gather her things.

You would think they would be more excited about a letter from the princess. I know I always am. I should ask Dash why she’s so angry later. Must have been something I said. Oh well, I’ll be seeing Celestia again soon! She skipped off, humming a tune, and followed along as the others trudged through the snow in the proper direction of the farms she had identified on the map earlier in the day, Rainbow Dash and Applejack all but carrying Fluttershy while Rarity leaned on a still sobbing Pinkie Pie for support. They could all be miserable if they wanted.

It was a lovely afternoon and Twilight was going to enjoy it.

Chrysalis sat in her room brooding. She had never before felt so helpless against the tides of fate, the tipping and swaying of the Balance. In all of the centuries as the queen of the changelings, and the centuries before that, she had always been the architect of her own destiny. When she had broken away from her ‘siblings’ and started her own kingdom, she had done so with the confidence that her way was the right way and she would forever rule the changelings as she believed Celestia and Luna should have ruled over the ponies. Now, with the ever degrading situation with Discord, there wasn’t much for her to control anymore.

Glancing around her bedchamber, the queen stood and began to slowly pace about, her eyes running along the cracks and crevasses that lined her room. Unlike the rest of her kingdom, which had been carefully and painstakingly carved out of the earth to suit the needs of the changelings, she had left this alcove on the side of her palace untouched, enjoying the rough and uneven nature of the room. Now, it acted as a representation of her thoughts and feelings- it didn’t matter how many centuries she had spent carefully manicuring her kingdom as an extension of her will and desires, in the end the driving force was a rough hewn core. Where before she found solace in the uneven nature of the room, it now brought her misery. Catching her reflection in her mirror, she turned to face it and grimaced.

“I was once the all powerful queen of the changelings, bane of the ponies, master of all I surveyed. Now what am I? A servant? A puppet?” The reflection in the mirror shimmered momentarily, the queen in the mirror looking back at her cracking a grin. Chrysalis took a shocked step away from the mirror and squinted.

“Surprised? Of course you are. You’re so predictable. It’s no wonder Discord has his way with you. You’ve been so happy to go along with him for all this time. Broken-Wing is right- you won’t be happy until everypony is either bowed to your will or impaled upon the trees that cover Equestria.” The image giggled.

“N-no! You have it wrong! I’m the ruler of the changelings! No one has their way with Queen Chrysalis, and I never intended to kill anypony!”

“Oh really? Then why is it that every time that he comes to visit you tremble at his presence and do his bidding? It’s obvious you’re powerless against him. It was only a few centuries ago you thought nothing of the deaths of a few ponies just to assert your power over those around you. What’s changed? Have you gone weak? Has Celestia finally taught you the joys of friendship?”

“I am still in control! I only work with Discord to further the influence of my changelings! And what I may have done in the past has no correlation to what I am doing now. I can’t take the love and affection from the ponies if they’re dead, now can I?” The reflection burst into a laugh.

“Oh keep telling yourself that great and mighty Chrysalis. You want them to suffer, to burn! You want to crush their little pony skulls under your hooves and watch them suffer. You want Celestia to die a slow and horrible death to sate your bloodlust. You want that sniveling Luna to go back to the moon and never return! Your justification is that you need to survive? You’ve even forgotten the reason why you’ve forced your own form to sustain purely on love and affection! Why not just adapt yourself to take in hate? It is just as powerful as love, and just as sustaining. As for being in control, are you serious? Look at you, you can’t even control the reflection in the mirror, how are you supposed to control a kingdom? A country? You will never rule Equestria, and I have my doubts as to whether or not you’ll be in control of the changelings before long. Discord has you wrapped around that little paw of his.” Chrysalis shook her head and began to tremble.

“It wasn’t supposed to be like this! This isn’t why I did this, this isn’t what I wanted! It was simpler then. Things were much clearer. Why couldn’t they have stayed the same? I’m just trying to make it right again, trying to make Celestia see the error of their thinking! This can’t be the right way!”

“You’re trying to make Celestia see the error of her ways by invading her kingdom and overthrowing her? Sticking her in a cocoon and making her watch everything she loves be destroyed by you and your minions? You really think that was going to do it?”

“If she could only be made to think like I do! We’ve been playing the same game for thousands of years and look where it’s gotten us! Discord broke and we were forced to petrify him, Luna lost control of her powers and went insane then Celestia was forced to banish her to the moon, and I can’t even see eye to eye with them anymore! When we decided to live amongst the societies of Equestria, this was never in the plans. This was never my plan”

“You speak of things as if you actually have done something about it. You broke away from the others and made your own kingdom. You wanted to keep the four of you together, and you couldn’t even decide on what you should look like. At least Discord chose his form. You’re just a sniveling shell of a being that steals your power from whatever creature you can. If not the love and affection of the ponies, then the ‘charity’ of a mad being. You’re hopeless.”

Chrysalis began to pace around her room again, ever keeping her eyes on the reflection. Much to her distaste, rather than move away from the mirror and match her slow walk as one would expect a reflection to do, it stayed front and center, staring back at her. The eyes were critical and judging, the smirk never leaving its face. The queen huffed and shook her head. I’m having a conversation with my own reflection. If I thought I was going crazy before…

“What do you want from me? What am I supposed to say? That I’ve failed? That my machinations for the world have been in vain and that if I had merely gone along with everything like I should have that everything would have been fine? I can’t accept that. I will never accept that. As long as this body draws breath, I will fight hoof and horn to take control.” The reflection returned a chortling laugh.

“Oh you arrogant pompous fool. Don’t you get it? That’s exactly why things have happened! It’s precisely because you just won’t accept the inevitable, you’ve doomed yourself and the others to their fates. But that’s the beauty of it isn’t it? This has been over three thousand years in the making Chrysalis, and now even if you wanted to, even if you stopped your foolish crusade, the wheels have already been set in motion. Eldest of the pillars, Change of the four. No matter what happens now, you will always remember this as the end of what could have been. All of this is a reduction of your pitiful insecurities.” Returning to the mirror and eyeing up the now menacing reflection, Chrysalis was trembling. She wanted to scream, so very badly, but she swallowed her emotions and gathered her thoughts.

“No, this can’t be it. What are you saying to me? That there’s nothing to be done? I should just go along with whatever Discord wants because in the end that’s what that worthless Balance has decreed?”

“No you stupid sniveling wench, I’m saying you should go along with whatever Discord wants because this is what your actions have brought on you all. You’re still not understanding, I thought your petulant refusal to come to terms with your idiocy was cute at first, like a bug pretending that the hoof won’t crush it as long as you ignore it and keep walking your own path. Now it just serves to make me angry. Get it through your head. This is all your doing, and you have nopony, nobeing, to blame but yourself.” Chrysalis could feel the rage building within her, her teeth gritting and the muscles along her front legs rippling.

“T-there has to be another option! Something, anything, I can do! This isn’t what I wanted. I never wanted it to end like this! This can’t be the end! I won’t let it happen, I can’t. Even if it means that I submit, I will change! Give me an option, give me an out!”

“Oh there is an option. I don’t expect that you’ll just roll over and do nothing. Gather your troops. Train them, grow your army. Embrace your inner despot and march on Canterlot with all the forces you can spare. Crush the ponies beneath your hooves and paint the streets red with Celestia and Luna’s blood. Drink in their misery, rule alongside Discord. Be the good little puppet that he demands of you. Your changelings are nothing more than the knife that will cut through to the heart of Equestria.”

“N-no, we are more! We can be more!”

“Ahahahahah! You’re a slave! A puppet! Not only to the Balance but also to Discord, and as insane as he is, you’ll be following him soon enough!” Chrysalis screamed.

“NOOOO!!!” Her hoof shot out and smashed the mirror, shards of glass flying everywhere, peppering the room and herself. The glass bit into her leg and hoof, leaving streaks of green blood along the floor and her bed. The pain of the cuts was almost unfelt, as a numb feeling covered her whole body. The only thing she felt was despair. Looking down at one of the large shards she caught the reflection of her eye, still judging her, and the last quiet wisps of a laugh.

“You came from nothing, and will return to nothing….” Recoiling from the mirror she took a few steps back, considering her next course of action. Her thoughts were soon lost as the door to her side slammed open. A now freed from his cocoon Broken-Wing barged through the door, concern etched on his face, followed by two of the other changeling guards.

“Queen Chrysalis! We heard a disturbance in your chamber and came running. Are you alright? Is there somepony here?!” His eyes traced the room, seeing the spots of blood and the shattered mirror. Chrysalis stood in place for a moment, unsure how to answer, before slowly shaking her head and sighing.

“N-no I’m alright Broken-Wing. I was trying to get out of bed and I tripped and fell into my mirror. I put my hoof through it, but the wounds aren’t very deep.” She gathered up some of her already blood splotched sheets and used her magic to slowly bandaged up her leg. Broken-Wing trotted over and inspected the wounds. True to her word, the cuts weren’t more than a few millimeters deep, but something in her words left him concerned.

“Very good, your majesty. I’ll have these guards clean up the mess and then leave you to your sleep. Forgive us for the intrusion.” Chrysalis nodded slightly.

“It is forgiven, Broken-Wing. However, the mess can be cleaned later. I need to speak with you. Send the guards away.” Broken raised his eyebrow, but shooed away the nameless minions with a tilt of his head. As they departed, sealing the door behind them, he trotted up to his queen and bowed deeply, showing the proper etiquette he had been neglecting the last few days. Chrysalis noted that with his new body he not only stood at her height, but his girth was wider now, meaning that for the first time since the advent of the changelings, she was not the physically largest of the species. Her protégé noticed a slight look of nervousness etched on her face, though he chose to ignore it for her sake. Seeing the bow, she waved her uninjured hoof dismissively and rolled her eyes. “Please, drop the formalities. I was… hasty in judging you, and it was wrong what I did.”

“Alright Chrys.” The admission of imperfection was unnatural coming from the queen, and Broken-Wing was waiting for the other hoof to drop, but he wisely chose to bite back a retort. “What did you want to talk about? Other than why you lied to us about the mirror?”

“What do you mean?” Chrysalis blinked a few times in feigned ignorance.

“Why did you break your mirror?” A wave of empathetic irritation passed over her. Sighing again, she slowly rolled her good hoof over.

“I was just thinking to myself. About what you and I talked about, what Discord has been trying to accomplish, how badly I really want to overthrow Celestia, and what that means for us as changelings and myself as… well, myself. I don’t like a lot of the answers, and if I was unhappy about Discord and his meddling in our destiny before, well, now I’m terrified.”

“Terrified?” Chrysalis began a slow pace as nodded.

“Indeed. Your queen has done many things in her lifetime that she is less than proud of, but always with the intention that it would push changeling society into its rightful place in Equestria. If I’ve ever done wrong or for lack of a better word, evil, it was always for the greater good.” Broken-Wing shook his head.

“I’m not sure I understand Chrysalis. The greater good of what? You’ve always had the best intentions for the changeling nation, and as one who has looked through the records of our society, at least those that exist, I can say without any bias that it seems that you’ve done the same for many centuries. What is it you’re not telling me?” She eyed up the changeling standing before her and found her thoughts drifting. Only a few centuries ago she couldn’t see herself sharing her thoughts and feelings with any other being, not even another changeling. Seeing the changeling she was proudest to know, and learning as time went on how resourceful and intelligent he was, was one of the few sources of warmth in her chest. For a moment she debated telling him everything, but she thought better of it and shook her head.

“It would take far too long to explain it all to you Broken-Wing. Let it be for now that I’ve had thoughts and designs for centuries that I’ve been working towards, and unfortunately it seems that they might be for nothing if everything goes as Discord wishes. My reflection, and how it’s changed over the years, has made it clear, and I overreacted.”

“So… you bashed your mirror with your hoof on purpose because you didn’t like your reflection?” She grumbled a bit and shrugged.

“You might say that…” Broken-Wing squinted at Chrysalis and slowly tilted his head towards her, flaring out his wings in a half-stretch, half-uncomfortable gesture.

“Alright then.” Chrysalis’s face went red.

“Don’t patronize me! I may not be the perfect vision of control and power that my changeling minions believe me to be, but I am still the ruler here and I will not be mocked! I still have the strength to wring the life out of you!” Broken took a step backwards.

“I meant no offense…” She relaxed and muttered to herself under her breath for a moment before addressing the changeling.

“I… I know. Sometimes it is difficult for me to control my temper. Especially as of late. I’m sorry Broken-Wing. This is all almost too much for me.”

“Discord? Celestia?”

“Either. Both. All of it. I’m starting to lose the end of my grasp on the situation. The more time goes on the more I realize she’s right- I’m just a puppet of my own designs to be used by them in their game.” Broken looked worried for a moment, before an indignant rage overtook him.

“Sorry, who said this? I shall crush them and bring you their hide!” He was normally calm and concerted, but for whatever reason the thought of somepony, gryphon, zebra, or changeling for that matter, speaking blasphemy of his queen angered him greatly. Seeing the look on his face, Chrysalis waved a hoof at him in an effort to calm him.

“No being of importance Broken-Wing.” The irony of her own words was not lost on the queen, but she shrugged away the self-inflicted sting and continued speaking. “And please, I need you to be the calm one. Your queen is finding it difficult to control her own emotions, and I don’t need you flying off the handle.” The other changeling nodded and grunted in recognition, though the insult of Chrysalis still didn’t sit right with him.

“So, where are we at with our plans? Discord after we deal with Celestia? Is that still happening?” Chrysalis shrugged and nodded.

“Until something changes, yes. We’ve invested too much into this, both in time and changelings, to waver now. At this point, there doesn’t seem to be any option other than to march on Canterlot, and after we must be prepared to turn our forces against Discord before anything else changes. We can’t let him gain anymore power than he already has.” Wing nodded. “The only thing I’m concerned about is the human. He has stated that much of his plan to take Celestia revolves around him, and we know nothing about him other than what he looks like and what he can do with that stick of his. It makes me nervous that we don’t know which side he will fall on.”

“It doesn’t matter now anyways.” Chrysalis’ ears perked up and she slowly turned to face Broken-Wing head on.

“I’m sorry? What aren’t you telling me?” Broken allowed for a ghost of a smile to pass his face, smugness seemed to radiate from his entire being. “Oh, you have something juicy for me don’t you?”

“Indeed, Queen Chrysalis. His little human is dead.” Chrysalis couldn’t have been more shocked if Discord himself had told her the news. Her mouth dropped open and she stood there staring at the other changeling for a few moments before regaining her composure.

“W-what? Where? How? When?” Broken-Wing wouldn’t admit it, but it was rare that he could put Chrysalis in such a state of shock, and he reveled in it every time.

“Earlier in the day, a gorge south of here. Apparently they wandered into it during a blizzard and aimlessly tumbled towards the chasm. He saved the ponies that are accompanying him…”

“Twilight Sparkle and the rest of the harmonies?”

“Indeed. Apparently the white unicorn flew off the edge and he had to dive off the side to save her. The scouts watching the scene unfold were unable to get a look at what happened due to the storm, but the next thing they saw was the ponies sitting around sniveling, and the human was gone, the rope attached to the unicorn severed. Attempts to locate his body were met with opposition- a pack of timber wolves. I believe it safe to say that if he fell from that height and the wolves were there, he is likely deceased, and Discord’s ace is no more.” Chrysalis started to giggle, growing into a deep throaty laugh.

“Oh Broken-Wing! This is perfect, absolutely perfect! This is exactly what we needed. With the human gone, whatever advantage he hoped to gain is gone, which means he needs us more than ever to help with the overthrow with Canterlot! He’s going to get sloppy, and that’s when we can strike!” Broken-Wing nodded hesitantly.

“Yes, this is true, but he has to have more going on than that. He’s been planning this for a long time by his own words, and you yourself questioned him on whether or not the human might die without his intervention. As angry as he was, I didn’t note any overt concern on his part.” Chrysalis shrugged.

“Possibly, however the human was definitely the key to his plan, or at least the most integral part. With him out of the way, Discord will only be weaker.”

“Speaking of, have you heard from him? Normally he comes in and tears you a new one…” The queen glared at Broken-Wing dangerously, and he wisely reformed his statement. “… I mean he usually comes down and screams over some petty details.”

“Of course he’s not here. He has surveillance all over Equestria, and can watch anypony he chooses from his cauldron. If we know he’s dead, Discord will know, which means that he’s scared, and he’s not going to show his face around here until he’s sure he has the situation under control. Excellent!”

“I’m still not sure about this…”

“Nonsense! Your queen is sure that everything will be fine. Now, leave me. This is what I’ve been waiting for. I have much to think about. Thank-you Broken-Wing.” He turned to leave and glanced back over his shoulder.

“Chrys… just be careful. Please.” She nearly screamed at her minion, but she couldn’t fault him for his concern.

“Of course. Now go!” Trotting out he closed the door behind him. Chrysalis allowed a smile to roll across her face and she glared at the piece of glass that the reflection had last spoken to her from. “A puppet? To whom? Discord? Fate? Hardly. Queen Chrysalis will have the last laugh, mark my word.” She began to cackle, feeling in control for the first time in months.

Trotting slowly over the rolling hills, the five mares made their way south glumly, approaching the series of farms that Twilight had intended for them to stay at for the night. She herself had her nose pointed into the air, and barely held herself back from running as soon as she saw the buildings in question.

“Look girls! I told you that I would get us there! No need for the sad faces now! Come on!” She quickly bounded off, anticipating the warm meal and bed that would surely soon follow. The other mares stopped in their tracks and watched the lavender pony. Dash stood up on her hind legs and started rubbing her hooves together.

“She thinks we’re worried because we were lost? She thinks we’re worried because we didn’t know where the farm was? Is she for real? I’m gonna clean her…” As she lifted off the ground, Applejack’s hoof stuck out in her way, forcing her to pause.

“Hold ‘er there Sally. Ah know what you’re thinking, but takin’ it out on Twi ain’t gonna solve our problem. She could just be hiding her true feelings so she doesn’t have to go through…” She let the thought linger and glanced towards the other three ponies brining up the rear. Rarity had recovered enough emotionally to be able to help Pinkie carry Fluttershy. The earth pony wore a permanent scowl on her face, while the pegasus showed no signs of outward emotion, staring aimlessly in whatever direction the pair had her head facing. Applejack shook her head, and could feel her chest tightening. “Nopony should have to go through that.” Dash huffed.

“Yeah whatever, I’m soooo sure that’s what Twilight’s doing. Let’s ignore the fact that everypony has basically been lying to everypony else. Sure. You’re just as bad as the rest, making excuses and lying.” She winged off ahead of Twilight and broke down the door of the first farmhouse she saw. She trotted in, found a room, slammed the door behind her and threw her bags in a corner. Flopping down in the bed, she groaned, trying to put her thoughts together. A few minutes later the others stumbled through the door and Twilight had a fire burning.

The evening progressed quietly. Twilight attempted to start up a few conversations, but was met with varying levels of resistance. Rainbow Dash only came out of her room long enough to have something to eat, Appplejack had entertained her for a few minutes when she commented on the quality of apples they had purchased in Manyhooves, and Pinkie Pie had muttered something about “priorities” and ambled off to bed herself. Fluttershy and Rarity were in their own room, refusing to come out even to eat. Fluttershy lay in her bed, her hooves wrapped tightly around herself back to her friend, while Rarity sat in her bed observing her friend. Her own feelings bubbling to the surface, she reached out to the pegasus.

“F-Fluttershy, I know that for the last few months you and I have been… distant. I didn’t always understand Nathan, and I’ll admit there were times when I strongly disliked him, but I’m going to be as honest with you as I can be.” She looked for some sort of movement or indication from Fluttershy. The pegasus mare continued to lay silently, her hooves running aimlessly over the object in her hands. Rarity swallowed and continued talking.

“Nathan brought something out of you that I’ve never seen from you. I always wished and hoped you would come of your shell and be more comfortable around other ponies. You started to do so of your own accord, but after spending a few weeks with him it was obvious the effect the human had on you. I was terrified and mystified at the same time. Of all of the creatures to help you live up to the potential I’ve always known you to have, it was the human, and he scared me.

“I’ve been scared before, of course. Nightmare Moon, Discord, the dragon that threatened to cover Ponyville with his snoring, the time Spike turned into that monstrous brute, the changeling invasion, even the time I was abducted by those beastly diamond dogs, to name a few. However, I’ve always overcome my fears. Nathan was different. I didn’t understand him, his thinking or what he was trying to do. I mean really, a predator living in Ponyville.” She thought she saw Fluttershy flinch a little and she softened her tone. “I’m sorry, I realize now he wasn’t really a predator, at least not the way we think of one. At any rate dear, I admit that he terrified me, and it made me do and say some very un-ladylike things.” She shook her head and closed her eyes, taking a deep breath and stepping down from the bed, slowly walking over to Fluttershy and laying a hoof on her back.

“I was torn between my fear for him and my love for you. Even though I saw what he was doing for you I wanted us to be rid of him as soon as possible. I was jealous, you know, of your relationship with him. Oh, not that I wanted to have him for myself, nothing so silly. No, I was jealous because I waited years for you to find a nice stallion to settle down with. You were always the kindest and sweetest of us, and it only seemed right that a nice gentle pony would come along and sweep you off your feet. Instead, you chose that human. I was furious. Furious! I hadn’t been that mad since the time you were a model for Photo Finish!” She dropped her head and took a steadying breath.

“But then I saw it. Against all of my feelings, my fears, my distaste for Nathan, I saw a sliver, just a sliver, of what you saw in him, and I started to understand. I understood your feelings, your dreams, your belief in him. Even knowing that it couldn’t last forever, you still chose him over anypony else. You were willing to choose him over your friendship with me… and that’s my fault. I forced you to choose, and I know now that you would have gladly rather had both. Sadly, now that I’ve come to my senses and made up, it seems I was too little too late.” A slow tear rolled down her cheek, memories of the afternoon threatening to overwhelm her again.

“And then… and then… as if that wasn’t enough… he had to go and… why did he do that?!” Her voice was just under a shriek. “Why? You knew him better than the rest of us, you’ve had plenty of chances to talk to him! Why did he do that? He could have let me go! He could have let me sail off the edge into oblivion and for once it wouldn’t be the worst possible thing. I wouldn’t have held it against him. Nopony would have. I was just dreadful to him, and it would have been a just come-uppance. Why did he save me? After everything I said to him, everything I did… why would he sacrifice himself and force you to go through this?!” She wept openly, the tears streaming down her face and rolling off Fluttershy’s shoulder.

“I’m so sorry Fluttershy! I’m so, so sorry. If I could do anything to bring him back, I would! I would gladly trade places with him if only it meant you would be whole again.” As she cried, she heard a slight vibration coming off of Fluttershy. She had spoken, but it was too faint to hear, and her eyes were still focused squarely on the wall. Her hooves started to roll the object they were holding over and over, and Rarity glanced over the pegasus’ shoulder to see what she had.

“His… journal?” Rarity had forgotten that Fluttershy had held on to the book in question that morning. How she had managed to get it out of her saddlebags in her current state the unicorn couldn’t say, but now seeing the tome jogged her memory. As the pegasus rolled the book in her hooves, she seemed to be trying to raise it up. Rarity used her magic to gently grasp the book and lift it into her own hooves.

“You… want me to read this?” The pegasus’ head moved ever so slightly in a seeming nod. Rarity looked around nervously, her tears stilling flowing, and nodded back. “I’m not sure how Nathan would feel about this, but if you think this is a good idea, then I will. Thank-you.” The white unicorn leaned over and wrapped her hoof around Fluttershy, giving her a light hug. As she stood to walk back to her own bed, the pegasus suddenly threw her own hoof up around Rarity’s neck, pulling her tight in, a single tear rolling down her own cheek. As suddenly as it had started, Fluttershy slipped off, her eyes unblinking but unfocused, as if what she was seeing didn’t really have anything to do with what was registering on her eyes.

Wandering back to her own bed, she slowly perused a few entries, skimming through and looking for passages that referenced Fluttershy and Rarity specifically. She grimaced at the early entries, withstanding a second-hand scathing of her own character and actions. Reminding herself she was largely at fault for the opinions of the human, she pushed onwards, finding that as time had gone on, Nathan had begun to reflect her in a more positive light, and had come to terms with her misgivings while she herself had continued to vilify him.

She read for a while longer, finally coming to the last entry in the journal. Reading Fluttershy’s own writing, she glanced over at the now slumbering yellow mare, and gave a weak smile. She still didn’t fully understand the human, but she had learned enough that she could at least put the day’s events behind her.

“I think I understand a little now… Thank you Fluttershy.” She set down the journal and rolled over, facing the wall herself.

“He did it because he only wanted the best for you, and for whatever reason, to him that meant me.”

Twilight Sparkle sat by the fire, slowly and meticulously putting the scroll that Rainbow Dash had shredded earlier back together. She had managed to remember a spell to create an adhesive out of a jar of honey and a pinch of salt, and the newly formed glue was sitting next to her with a butter-knife sticking out of it acting as an applicator. Treating the scroll like a puzzle she hummed to herself, tongue sticking out to the side, smiling slightly every time she found two pieces that matched up. Dash had done a number on the royal summons, and if Twilight had to guess she probably had at least two hundred pieces to adhere together, but she was determined to see it through.

Knowing what the scroll said, of course, made it easy to find a lot of the inner pieces, so she had started there and was moving on to finishing the borders. As she added another piece to the puzzle, she heard the soft click of a door down the hallway, followed by the faint slow beating of wings. Turning to look, she could see the offending pegasus making her way towards her, looking slightly sheepish.

“Uh, hey Twilight.” Dash rubbed the back of her head and smirked. “I wanted to come talk to you. Y’know just between you and me.” Twilight smiled and dropped the pieces of scroll she was holding.

“Sure Rainbow Dash. What’s on your mind?” The pegasus flitted over and sat down next to the purple mare.

“I wanted to say that I’m not really sure everything that’s going on, and sometimes I’m not the smoothest cloud in the skies, but uh… I don’t wanna fight. With anypony. So uh, look I’m sorry about earlier.” Twilight shook her head and inclined it towards the fragments of the scroll.

“What? You mean tearing up the princess’ royal summons? That’s alright Dash, accidents happen. I know you were just as excited as I was! I’ll have it fixed in no time.” She was beaming. Rainbow Dash stood and took a step back from the unicorn, her expression slack in express disbelief.

“W-what?”

“Oh you know, I know you girls were worried after this afternoon that I didn’t know where we were going or where we were, and you all seemed so upset over it! Personally I was a little worried myself but I knew eventually we would get to where we were going. After that wonderful royal guard brought Princess Celestia’s scroll to us, I knew that everything would be alright. It made me so happy!” Dash could feel her hoof trembling, her face growing red and the hair along her back standing on end.

“Happy? You thought that this would make us happy? After what happened to Nathan?” Twilight rolled her eyes and laughed.

“Oh don’t worry about him Dash. I’m sure he’s fine, and the guard said they would probably send some guards to find him later on. We wouldn’t have been able to find him anyways if he is alive.” Dash growled.

“If? If?! Sparkle, has your head been kicked in or something? Haven’t you noticed anything around you?! We didn’t flippin’ care if we were lost or not!” Twilight shrank back from the agitated mare, confusion etched on her face.

“Y-you weren’t? But after the princess’ letter I thought for sure that’s why you were upset! You just wanted to get to Canterlot as soon as possible, just like me!”

“You stupid, egg-headed, flippant, book-reading, princess worshiping, few apples short of a barrel, ignorant unicorn!” The lavender mare sniffed back a tear.

“D-Dash, why are you yelling at me? I thought we were friends?” Dash bucked her hind legs and sent a table flying, spilling food and cutlery everywhere.

“Friends? I don’t even know you anymore Twilight Sparkle! Forget it. I’m not sorry. You want to be a joker? Go talk to Pinkie Pie. I’m sure she would love a good laugh. Oh wait, that’s right. She hasn’t talked to you since Nathan plummeted to his death either, has she? If I was him, I’d have some choice words for you little miss book-worm. Since I’m not, I’ll just leave you to your little jigsaw. Have fun.” She stormed off back to her room, slamming the door behind her. Twilight sat on her own, still confused over what she had said to offend the pegasus. Something she said had struck a chord with the unicorn though.

“I should go see what Pinkie Pie is doing, she has been pretty quiet.” Twilight rolled her eyes and shook her head. That rainbow mare could be so confusing sometimes. She trotted down the hallway and found the room that Pinkie Pie had chosen to sleep in for the night. Putting her ear against the door, she could hear the faint sound of sobbing. She stepped back and tilted her head, her confused feelings returning. Crying? Why would Pinkie be crying. Surely, Nathan would be fine, and they would be seeing Celestia soon! She chuckled to herself over how silly her friends were being over the whole thing. Gently, she began to knock at Pinkie’s door.

“Pinkie? Are you there? I wanted to talk to you about today. You haven’t had much to say and that just seemed really weird to me.” Twilight silently chastised herself. Of course Pinkie was there.

“Go away, Twilight.”

“Oh but why Pinkie? Everypony is acting so upset, and I’m really confused. Dash said you might want to share a laugh or something.” A few moments passed and after a faint grumbling sound, Pinkie could be heard walking towards the door. “Pinkie?” Without opening the door the pink pony responded to her.

“Look, Twilight, I know today has been hard on all of us, and I think that you’re just a little confused, so I think it’s best if we all just got some sleep so that we’re ready to go first thing in the morning. We wouldn’t want to keep Celestia waiting any longer, now do we?” She tried to force out a slight giggle. It ended up getting choked out of existence by a simultaneous sob. Twilight started to smile, either failing to notice the odd sound, or ignoring it.

“I knew somepony would understand where I was coming from! Of course we don’t want to leave Celestia waiting. She’s so eager to see all of us, and I know that as soon as we get there everything is going to be alright again!” Pinkie sighed.

“Of course Twilight. You’re always right. Goodnight.” Twilight wasn’t finished though.

“I don’t understand why you think I’m confused though. It’s like I said to Dash, I knew where we were trying to get to the whole time. Yes I realize that I got us lost for a bit, but I would hardly call that being confused it was just an accident. If anything Dash is the confused one. She seems so upset with me over nothing. Also, today wasn’t that bad. Sure, Nathan might have taken off but he’s done that before and he always finds his way back. The princess will help us find him if we get to Canterlot before him.”

“Twilight…” Pinkie backed away from the door in a mixture of shock and disgust. “Wh-what’s wrong with you?” She turned and buried her face in her bed, hooves covering her head. She needed to shut the thoughts out, needed to shut Twilight out.

“Nothing silly! I’m right as rain. Now that I know that Princess Celestia is eagerly waiting for us in Canterlot, all of my fears have vanished! Oh sure, I’ll admit that not having Nathan with us is slightly concerning, but we can make do without him just like we always have.” Pinkie rammed her head into the pillow on her bed, trying partially to muffle the noise that was coming out of that pony’s mouth, screaming into the soft moss pillow cover. Don’t do it, don’t say it, don’t say something you’re going to regret. She’s not herself, she’s not acting like Twilight Sparkle would act. If she convinced you to lie to everypony so she could study the human, then she can’t really be herself. Don’t take it out on her. Don’t. Don’t DON’T. “Pinkie what’s that sound? Are you alright?” The party pony picked herself up from the bed and took a deep breath, composing herself.

“I’m fine Twilight. Totally fine. Yep. Couldn’t be better! Time for bed, okie-dokie loki?” What about your promise to Nathan,. Are you still going to lie to them? The thoughts pouring from her head she started smashing her head against the board, slamming it against the head cover over and over until she slipped and crashed face first against the floor. “Owwww!” Hearing the commotion, Twilight magically willed the door unlocked and barged in.

“Pinkie! Are you alright? I heard a crash!” She looked down at the clearly in pain earth pony, as Pinkie slowly turned to face her. A trickle of blood ran down her chin, a fresh nosebleed being the culprit, while her cheek was starting to bruise.

“Fine Twilight, like I said, just fine.” She stood up and faced the corner, away from the intruder, frustrated and embarrassed.

“Oh no you’re not! Look at your face! Did you fall? Here, let me help you.” Twilight grasped a piece of cloth and gently pressed it against Pinkie’s nose, trying to stop the nosebleed. She couldn’t do anything for the bruise, but it didn’t look that bad to her.

“T-thanks Twilight. I’m alright, really.” Twilight sighed.

“Obviously not. Did you want to talk about it?” Pinkie muttered under her breath.

“Not with you.”

“What was that?”

“I’ll make do.”

“Alright… are you sure?”

“Yes Twilight I’m sure.” She turned away, and brushed the cloth aside, intending to climb into bed and shut out the day’s events.

“You don’t look like you’re sure.” Twilight crocked her head to the side, legitimate concern starting to cross her face.

“I’M FINE.” Pinkie snapped suddenly, catching the unicorn off guard. She covered her mouth with her hooves almost immediately, regretting her outburst. “I-I’m sorry. I’m having issues dealing with all of this. That wasn’t very Pinkie of me.”

“N-no Pinkie, it’s fine. I didn’t realize you were so upset. What’s wrong? Please, talk to me. Help me to understand.” Pinkie Pie sighed. She wanted to run and hide. She hated the feeling of being cornered like this, and even worse it was the last pony in the world she wanted to talk to. She turned her head to the side, and grimaced. Regardless of her feelings, Nathan wouldn’t have run from Twilight, and he would have told her exactly what was on his mind. For all their abuse of the human, her friends never mistook who he was at heart, at least in her opinion. It was time for her to open up. No, it was long due.

“Alright Twilight, you win. Let’s talk. Shut the door.” Twilight was about to launch into a tirade about the magic of friendship and being there for her friends, and hearing Pinkie submit to her prying caught her off-guard.

“O-ok. Good. Yes, good.” She turned and shut the door, per Pinkie’s request. Gently locking it, she faced the pink pony again with a confused, slightly sad look on her face.

“So, what’s going on? What am I missing?” Pinkie shook her head, almost unbelieving that Twilight could be so dense. Rather than say so, she asked a rhetorical question instead.

“Twilight, what happened today?”

“Well we left in a storm, stopped for a break while the storm was at it’s worst, headed out again, got lost, Nathan left, and then we came here.” Pinkie’s eye twitched slightly but she continued talking.

“Nathan did what, Twilight?”

“He left. Just like with the manticores.” Pinkie shook her head.

“No, he didn’t. He sacrificed himself to save our lives. To save my life, your life. Rarity’s life.” Twilight could feel a lump in her stomach.

“W-well yes, we did all go for quite the tumble, and I would be lying if I said that he wasn’t a large part of our survival, but I would hardly call it a sacrifice. He prefers to be alone anyways.” Pinkie could feel her hooves trembling.

“Hardly a sacrifice? Do you not understand what happened to him? Do I need to spell it out to you of all ponies?” Her words came out slowly and unevenly, and she was unable to look Twilight in the eyes. Even though she was still certain there wasn’t any issue, the feeling in the pit of the unicorn’s stomach refused to go away. Ah! She knew what was going on. She giggled a little.

“Spell it out to me? You’re being such a downer Pinkie. Where’s the bubbly persona? Where’s the party pony? C’mon stop being so serious. Your joking is starting to freak me out a little here.” Her giggling died away as she could see a horrified look coming from the pink party pony.

“Twilight I… you can’t… no. Please, go away, before I say something we’ll both regret.” Her bottom lip quivered and she averted her eyes again, waving a hoof for Twilight to exit the room. The lavender unicorn’s self-confidence wavered and she started to stammer.

“P-Pinkie?”

“Go away.”

“Pinkie why are you being so…” Pinkie couldn’t take it anymore and the floodgates of her emotions failed.

“BECAUSE HE’S DEAD! AFTER EVERYTHING YOU PUT HIM THROUGH! ALL THE LYING, THE SCHEMING YOU’VE DONE, CONVINCING APPLEJACK. AFTER everything… everything… and you can’t even understand something as simple as this. Damn you Twilight Sparkle. You, Rarity, Princess Celestia. Damn you all.” Her bellowing trickled off to a mild sobbing whine at the end. Twilight was shocked, not only from Pinkie’s outburst, but also the realization of what the human’s fate might be. Now that she thought about it, it was obvious that there was a very real chance Nathan had perished in his fall, but up until the pink pony’s verbal assault such an idea hadn’t even remotely occurred to her.

“Oh… oh Pinkie. I’m sorry. I… I didn’t…” Pinkie’s eyes flared wide, the tears streaming down.

“What? You didn’t think that Nathan might be dead? Didn’t think of what affect that might have on us? Fluttershy? Me? You, Twilight Sparkle, chief student and researcher didn’t think?! How could you possible… that’s not even…” She trailed off unable to find the words to confront the unicorn with. Twilight continued to stutter.

“I-I’m sorry Pinkie. I know it seems odd but I really didn’t think that it was possible that he was gone…” Her own tears started to form, now that not only the mental as well as emotional realizations had hit her. “I… I didn’t think… he might be… Oh Celestia what have I done… what have I said…” Pinkie’s head was reeling.

“That’s it? Just like that you suddenly realize you’re being a jerk? No Twilight, that’s not how this works. This isn’t ok. You have months of lying to make up for, and this is just the tip of the cupcake.”

“W-what do you mean?” Pinkie shook her head and focused as hard as she could on not screaming, closing her eyes. When she opened them again, they lay on her friend. Her friend. The words rattled around in her head. You’re their friend, but you don’t let them treat you like they’re your friends. This whole trust business is one-sided, they trust you to be honest with them, upfront and willing to listen. They try to treat you as if you’re the pony that they meet everyday to talk to, they try to listen to you when they think you know things, they try to accommodate you for they pony they think you are. The problem is they have no idea who you actually are, how in the world could you possibly think that they would treat you as anything other than a party pony if you’ve never trusted them enough to show anything about yourself?

Hearing the words in her head brought a new wave of emotions. She had seen enough by this point to know something wasn’t right with Twilight, and the urge to force her away and live the rest of her life shutting the unicorn out would not only be foreign to herself, but to the persona she had built up to protect herself from being alone. Even in death, Nathan was right. Twilight didn’t know who Pinkie was, or what her feelings were. Even if she had understood the ramifications of Nathan’s drop off the cliff, she wouldn’t have known what Pinkie’s true reaction to it would’ve been. She had never given her, or any other pony, the chance. Sighing, she slowly shook her head.

“I-I don’t know Twilight. This is just so much for me to deal with. Before he… saved Rarity… Nathan and I talked. It wasn’t a pleasant conversation, but it was one we needed to have. I’m still upset with you, and I will be for a long time. Deceiving us all, regardless of motive, was one of the most unfriendly things you have ever done, but that’s not to say we don’t all hide behind our words. I’ve been party to your deception as well, I know, amongst other things. I still don’t understand how you could be so dense that you didn’t know that Nathan was likely gone. Forever. However, in the name of friendship, I’m willing to believe you. If only for him.” She was still crying, but she felt a better grip on the situation and a half smile formed on her face.

“P-Pinkie I’m sorry I didn’t realize.” Pinkie shook her head.

“I know Twilight. It’s alright. No, no it’s not alright, but I’m trying to let it be. We need to be strong for the others. Have you seen them Twilight, really seen them? Fluttershy can’t speak and Rarity is barely holding it together. Dashie’s getting angry at everything, and Applejack is nearly as confused as you are.” Twilight gasped.

“Fluttershy! Oh goodness I didn’t even think of her until just now! She cared for Nathan so much, she must be absolutely heartbroken! Oh Celestia how could I have missed this?” Twilight looked down and watched her own tears fall to the floor, mixing with the dust of neglect. She looked back up at Pinkie. “Just heartbroken.” As she said the word again, she caught a mix of emotions behind Pinkie’s eyes and a slow realization crept across Twilight’s face.

“P-Pinkie?” Pinkie averted her gaze, refusing to look the unicorn in the eyes. Twilight gasped, taking the action as confirmation of her suspicions. “Oh Pinkie… oh Pinkie! I’m so sorry! I didn’t realize… none of us…did you even get to…” Pinkie shot up a hoof, still refusing to make eye contact.

“No. And none of the others will ever know. If I can’t tell him… then I don’t have anypony else I would tell. Besides, have you seen Fluttershy?” Twilight slowly trotted over and placed her legs around Pinkie’s neck, pulling her in for an embrace. The pink pony stiffened at the touch, but eventually allowed herself to soften into Twilight’s hug. Bringing her own legs up she returned the gesture, burying her face in Twilight’s chest.

“It’s not fair. I had so many chance, so many opportunities to tell him. Why didn’t I do it Twilight? Why didn’t I tell him the truth? Why did he have to go not knowing? Would it have changed anything if I had?” Twilight’s tears ran down and mixed with Pinkie’s and both sat together sobbing.

“I don’t know Pinkie. I don’t know. I’m so sorry.” The two cried in each other’s embrace for what seemed like an eternity before Pinkie finally and silently crawled into bed and fell asleep, emotionally and physically drained. As Twilight left the room, she glanced down the hall to where the scroll still sat in shreds., a feeling of discomfort washing over her, though it quickly passed.

“Well, time to go finish fixing that scroll. I wish I knew what was really bugging Pinkie and the others though. Oh well, maybe Celestia will help me sort it out, after she sends out that search party for Nathan of course.” She started to hum a tune to herself again and trotted back to her puzzle.

Finally allowing herself a moment of quiet reflection on the day, Rarity lay in bed staring up at the ceiling of the cottage, slightly more at peace with the day’s events, but unable to shake the overwhelming feeling of loss and frustration. The journal had helped to alleviate some of her emotions, but overall she still couldn’t come to terms with Nathan’s sacrifice for her. She forced her eyes shut, hoping that her sheer exhaustion would help her to sleep, and soon after she drifted off.

Once again she found herself in the body of another, not the quaint family she had visited before, but another woman all the same. She was sitting in some sort of four-sided glass overhang beside a paved road. The sign read “bus-stop”. It was night, but a nearby street-light allowed enough of a reflection in the glass that she could make out her features. She was wearing a black dress with matching shoes, and one of her hands held a bag of some sorts. These dreams are becoming more and more strange. Once again though, I’ve had the good graces to wind up sharing a body with a snappy dresser. Young one as well, quite ravishing. I could get used to this. If she could smile she would be. Her host glanced down the road to the left, watching vehicles pass by.

After a few minutes a large one stopped in front of her, the side of it identifying it as a “bus”, and her host retrieved something that she identified as currency out of the bag, dropped several coins into a box just inside and took a seat surrounded by several other humans. A couple were dressed similarly to her host- fairly fashionable, neat and kempt, young. One of the males kept glancing at a black square in his hands, pointing it towards one of the females, and the pair giggled. Rarity could see pictures of others were appearing on the black square, and judging from the expressions, as well as the redness in their cheeks, they had had a wonderful evening. Towards the back there were a few rougher looking folks- dirty, smelly, several bags littered about them. Her host wrinkled her nose in protest, just as Rarity would have done if she could have. Well they can’t all be so couth. I assumed some of the humans would be dishevelled. Her host turned back towards the front of the bus and watched streets go past.

Rarity lost track of time, so engrossed with the size and scope of the city her host was traveling through. Lights and sounds were everywhere. Vehicles of all shapes and sizes passed by the bus she was in. She had lost track of how many streets they had passed long ago, and could only begin to guess how many more humans lived here than all the ponies in Ponyville, possibly in Canterlot. She was brought back into the present when her host reached up and pulled a yellow cord, and Rarity reasoned that she was announcing to the driver her intention to dismount the vehicle. This is a fabulous idea- so many can be served with only one driver, and it’s so orderly and thought out. For all the horror stories I’ve heard these humans can be so organized and neat. A moment later the bus came to a stop at a similar glass shelter, and her host dismounted.

Walking along the dark road for a few moments, she found herself in a residential neighbourhood. Looking from house to house she could almost envision that any one of them housed Andrew and Chloe, sound asleep in their beds as their lovely parents sat by the fire and snuggled. She could feel the warmness in her heart returning. A couple streets ahead of her a smaller vehicle that she recognized as a “car” from the description Nathan gave her pulled out and drove in her general direction. As it approached and began to slow down Rarity could feel her host’s heart rate speeding up, nervous for who was in the vehicle. Seeing the window roll down, her host breathed a sigh of relief.

“Hey Meghan! Where you off to at this time of night? Bars closed an hour ago!” Meghan laughed.

“Very funny Gregory. I’m on my way home, I’m all done bar-hopping for the night.” Gregory raised his eyebrow. Rarity gave the human a cursory inspection, noting the gaunt facial features and large glasses. She reminded him a bit of a pony she met once at the market while helping Fluttershy shop for Angel.

“That’s weird- don’t you normally take the 28?”

“Yeah, missed the last one. Had to take the 13 and transferred to the 41B. Unfortunately it adds about half an hour to my walk, and I’m in these. They’re killing me!” She pointed down at the pair of pumps, and lifted one foot off the ground to rub the growing blister. “What are you doing over here? Don’t you live over on the south-side now?” Gregory nodded.

“Uh… yeah… but I was um… visiting a friend!” Meghan raised her eyebrow, but still smiled.

“Oh yeah? That didn’t sound so sure to me. Oooo bet you it’s a girl! Is she cute? Can I meet her?” Gregory sighed.

“Hardly. Did you want a lift?”

“I should be alright, it’s not that much further to walk. I don‘t want to be a burden.”

“Oh come on, it’s no trouble, really. Hop in.” Meghan looked at Drew and shrugged. She kicked off her heels, picked them up and padded barefoot over and jumped in the passenger side.

“Thanks. I appreciate it.” What a gentleman. What luck, not only do I get to spend my nights as two fashionable young ladies, they both have such nice men in their lives. I could get used to this.

“No problem. So how was your night?”

“It was alright, I guess. The girls and I met up at that new bar downtown.”

“The Blue Swirl?” Meghan nodded.

“Yeah that’s the one. It’s alright, a little pricey on the cover charge, but the drink prices are right, and they don’t charge extra when they have a live band playing. They had this group in tonight, and they were just amazing!”

“Oh yeah?”

“Mmhmm. They mostly did covers, but they had a couple original songs. Pretty tight overall. I think they need a new sound tech though. Bit of a delay on the sound. Overall I would go see them again. Anyways, we went and saw this band at the Swirl, and Joseph showed up.” Gregory sighed.

“That jerk? I thought you dumped him weeks ago.”

“Oh I did, but you know there’s just something about him. We started talking and I thought maybe we could work it out.” She looked out the window and snorted. “Fat chance. What a jerk. Just as we were talking, and he’s telling me how much he misses me, he grabs the butt of the nearest waitress and says ‘hey baby, what time do you get off?’. What an ass!” Rarity felt sick. What an uncouth lout.

“See? This is what I’ve been saying for years. You should be with me! Why do you always go for the jerks?” Meghan sighed.

“Gregory, don’t be so selfish! We talked about this! I’m sorry, I’m just not into you, alright? You’re going to have to deal with it. You’re a good friend, but that’s it.” She started to cry. Not having anything to wipe of her tears, she held her hands up to her face. Gregory frowned.

“I-I’m sorry Meghan. Here, take this.” He grabbed a fresh handkerchief from his glove box and gave it to her. She nodded and blew her nose in it, wiping her running makeup away and sobbing into it.

“It’s alright. It’s just hard, y’know? Look, you’re a nice guy, and any girl would be lucky to have you, but I guess I’m just destined to be with jerks for the rest of my life. Ooo, I’m a little drunk still I think. I’m feeling dizzy.” She wiped away some more of her tears, breathing deeply into the handkerchief. Looking out the window, she was suddenly confused. “Hey, this isn’t the way to my house. Where are we going?”

“Don’t you worry about that, just sit back and relax.” Rarity suddenly felt a chill run through her conscious. I don’t like the sounds of that. Her host didn’t seem to be taking it well either, looking over to the driver and squinting her eyes. Gregory suddenly looked very serious.

“What are you talking about? Oh my head!” She closed her eyes and held the cloth to her face again taking a few steadying breaths. They weren’t helping. Rarity could feel her host slowly slipping into a deep sleep. Meghan struggled to stay awake for a moment more then blacked out.

Some time later, Rarity could feel Meghan awakening and as she opened her eyes she took in the surroundings. She was in some sort of sparsely furnished room, with a single hanging bulb lighting the area. Her host struggled to move, panicking as she realized that her arms and legs were bound tightly to the table she was lying on. Glancing to her side, she saw a small desk will all sorts of strange objects on it. The sound off footsteps could be heard above, and the faint click of a door opening. Someone walked down the stairs and it took Meghan a moment to realize who it was.

“Gregory! Help me! What’s going on?!” Gregory turned to face her and started giggling.

“Oh, I’ll help you alright. I’ll help you to understand what you really are, why you act like you do, and what it’s like to be rejected by the girl you love. Think of it like a science lesson!” Meghan’s eyes went wide.

“W-what are you saying? You did this to me? B-but how?”

“It was simple really, I waited for you outside the Blue Swirl while you were in there making a fool of yourself. I was going to pick you up at the bus stop but I thought that was too obvious. I waited until you were walking home. I thought I was going to have to force that rag onto your face. You made it too easy- you sucked up the chloroform like the greedy bitch pig you are. Squeal pig. Squeal!” Meghan’s eyes were wide with terror.

“W-what do you want from me? I told you I thought you were nice! What are you going to do to me? W-we can work this out. You don’t have to do this!” What is going on?! Why is she tied down… what is he doing?! Gregory walked over to the desk holding the assortment of tools.

“Oh, but I do need to this. All little pigs need to be taught lessons.” He picked up a syringe and turned to face Meghan. “Did you know that I took chemistry last year just to be near you? I thought I was going to hate that class, but if it meant being next to you then it would be fine. Of course you picked Joseph to be your lab partner, but I ended up learning so much. For instance, this fascinating substance has the effect of creating a numbing effect, but only for a few minutes. Long enough that you can watch me work, but not so long that you don’t get to enjoy the results. Here, I’ll show you.” Who is this human?! What could he possibly be doing?! Meghan struggled against the straps.

“No… NO!!!” Her screams went unanswered as he slowly injected each of her limbs with a syringe full of the liquid. Rarity could feel Meghan’s limbs go limp and she was forced to stop struggling.

“Good, you’re starting to squeal. I’m going to enjoy this. Did you know how bad I wanted you? Needed you? All I wanted was to put you on a pedestal and give you everything that you wanted. Was that so much to ask? Why reject me?” Meghan was crying.

“I’m sorry… is that what you want to hear? I’m sorry! I should have been with you!” Gregory shook his head.

“It’s too late for that. Now I’ll have to enjoy you this way. If I can’t have you, then no one will be able to enjoy you ever again.” He put on a pair of gloves and picked up a scalpel. “Don’t want to get any bitch pig blood on me. Who knows what diseases you have?” He stood over her, a gleam in his eye.

“Please Gregory… no…” Her lip quivered. Rarity was terrified, even her mind refused to formulate words or a thought, a prisoner to the scene unfolding in front of her.

“Now, we make the first incision. Not too deep, I don’t want to end this too soon.” He placed the scalpel at the top of her thigh and ran it all the way down to her foot, a quarter-inch deep line opening all the way along. The anaesthetic prevented her from feeling the pain, but she screamed nonetheless, seeing the cut open before her eyes. She continued to scream as she watched him repeat the task on her other leg and arms. He grinned.

“There, see? That wasn’t so bad. We had to start the education process there, of course. We needed to get below the skin and try and answer the question ’why does a pig make terrible decisions?’ Do you have the answer yet?” The parts of her body that could still move trembled, and she shook her head. The tears rolled down her face and her nose ran. Looking to the sides she could see the blood covering her arms.

“No, I didn’t think so either. So the next step! Since we can’t see what makes the pig tick, we’ll have to use our other senses. Taste! Normally I wouldn’t dare placed my tongue in an open cut, but the lesson demands it.” Meghan grimaced as Gregory bent down and ran his tongue along her cut, lapping up the blood that had run down her arms. Slurping up a mouthful he bent down and kissed her, allowing the blood to flow between their mouths. Another scream was lost as she struggled to push him away, refusing to kiss back. He stood up and slapped her across the face.

“Stupid bitch. So, how did that taste? Of course, you don’t know. You have no taste in anything, including men. Terrible kisser too, whatever did I see in you? Stupid pig. Well onto our last experiment, and I think you’ll find, my favourite. I want to really hear you give me an honest answer, and since you’re a pig, the only appropriate response would be a squeal. I haven’t really gotten one out of you yet.” He picked up a bottle of lemon juice and a salt-shaker.

“Gregory… please no… anything but that…” He laughed.

“Pigs don’t talk! They squeal!” He liberally poured the lemon juice into her cuts and then began sprinkling salt into them. “Right now you won’t feel a thing, but in about… oh a minute or so, the sensation should come back to your limbs.” Slowly but surely, true to his word, she began to feel her limbs again. At first it was just the dull pain of the cuts running along her limbs, but then the real pain started. The lemon juice and salt layered into the wounds began to sting, and continued to intensify. At first she was able to work through the pain through heavy breathing, doing her best to not give in to her assailant and give him the satisfaction. Fight him! Don’t let him win! Her efforts were in vain. The pain continued to mount and she couldn’t help but scream.

“That’s right, squeal!” Her screaming intensified, louder and louder. The pain was so incredible, it threatened to make her pass out. Seeing her withering, Gregory walked over and slapped her again. “No you don’t! I spent ten years trying to get you! Now that I have you you’re not getting out of this that easily! NOW SCREAM!” Her screaming continued to echo off the walls, the pain shooting through her body. She screamed until she was hoarse in the voice, her throat scratchy and dry. Gregory laughed.

“Good! Now we’re almost to the heart of the matter. Of course you wind up with jerks- you’re just a stupid pig. Now, you’re bleeding like one, and squeal like one. Sort of taste like one too. Just a bit. Only one problem- you don’t look like a pig. That face is far too pretty. Don’t worry we can fix that. Something else I learned in that class- acids make fantastic cleaners- let’s wash away that horrible face of yours, mould it into something more appropriate!” He grinned and lifted a beaker of some clear liquid. He stood overtop of Meghan and slowly began to tilt it over. Meghan was still screaming from the pain of her cuts, but the container of acid held above her forced her screams to renew. The first drops of liquid dropped out of the container…

Rarity awoke with a start, screaming. Her fur was matted all over and she could feel a cold sweat covering both herself and the bed around her. Her eyes shifted over the room around her and for a moment, with her hooves tangled in the sheets, she was afraid she was still strapped to the table in the human's basement. Wrenching her legs free she sat up and laid her eyes on Fluttershy, still unmoving. Her screams were soon choked out as nausea washed over her body, and she could feel bile welling up in her throat.

Unable to hold back, and overwhelmed with emotion, a stream of vomit escaped her mouth, covering herself and the bed. Her continued terror mixed with the newfound feeling of disgust forced another wave of upchuck out and on to the floor, leaving the sickening smell of half digested plant matter and sweets. She continued to scream between waves of nausea, and a moment later the door slammed open, Applejack standing in the frame.

"R-Rarity? What's going on?! Why're ya screaming like that? Are you ok?!" The farmer's quandary went largely unanswered as the distraught unicorn struggled to regain her composure between screaming and ridding herself of her lunch. Before long the vomiting turned to dry heaving, Rarity's stomach devoid of anything else to evacuate. The rest of the mares quickly followed, concern etched on all of their faces. Dash pushed through to the front.

"Rarity! Stop screaming! Get ahold of yourself! What's going on?!" Flying over to the hysterical mare, she grabbed her shoulders and started to shake her. Rarity managed to come to her senses long enough to focus on the pegasus.

"R-Rainbow Dash? H-help me! Don't let him do this! Don't let him kill me!" Her eyes darted all over the room, looking for an unseen assailant.

"Who Rarity? Who is going to kill you? It's only us here!"

"H-h-human. The human! So much pain, it hurt so much!" Pinkie Pie walked up scowling.

"Rarity, Nathan's gone! I thought you were over this whole 'evil human' thing! He's not going to kill you, you ungrateful petty... lunatic! He's dead! From saving you, remember?!" She caught a flash of pain behind Rarity's eyes, but her scowl remained, too worked up by the unicorns continued and unwarranted lambasting of Nathan. The next words caught Pinkie completely off guard.

"N-n-not Nathan. Not Nathan. Another human. Darker. Evil. He... he... that poor girl." Pinkie glanced around nervously.

"Another human? Here? Where?"

"N-not here. In my dream. No, not a dream, a nightmare.” Pinkie sighed and shook her head. Applejack’s mouth curled up into a relieved grin.

“Aw sugar cube, it’s alright. You’re safe with us here. There’s no humans here. It was all just a bad dream. Just relax hon’ it’s gonna’ be alright.” She trotted over and wrapped her hooves around the unicorn attempting to calm her. Rarity pulled back, the shock and fear still etched across her eyes.

“No, you don’t understand. It wasn’t just a dream. I don’t know why, and I don’t know how, but it happened.”

“Ah’m confused. What happened?”

“He did this! He killed her! He used his… his tools… and, and his awful substances, and he painfully, and brutally killed her.” Rarity felt another wave of nausea wash over her and her head began to spin, threatening to make her pass out. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath and regained her composure to the best of her ability. Applejack backed away slowly.

“W… what? Rarity, this ain’t like ya to talk like this… what are ya talking about? Who brutally killed who? It was just a dream!”

“No it wasn’t! I saw it! The blades cutting her skin… the blood running everywhere. Her screams… the screams that went on forever. Girls, I know I must sound dreadfully hysterical, but I don’t have any other way to explain it to you. I saw what I saw. He killed her.” Rainbow Dash shook her head.

“Rarity, you’re being ridiculous. Knock it off, you’re kinda scaring me.” Rarity took another bread and huffed.

“I promise you Rainbow Dash, that if you’re scared, I’m downright terrified. Now, I acknowledge that the day has been a drain on all of us, and normally I would blame my lack of suitable sleep on the… unfortunate passing of a friend, but please, please believe me when I say this was no mere dream. There is something to this, and I don’t understand what.” Pinkie put a hoof on the unicorn’s shoulder.

“I’m sorry I got angry at you Rarity. I… I believe you.” Rarity blinked for a moment and faced the pink mare.

“You do?”

“Of course. As long as you’re not talking about Nathan, I believe it’s possible.” Rarity allowed a slight smile to cross her face.

“T-thank you Pinkie Pie. For everything.” The two shared an embrace. Looking around the room, they could see a mixture of emotions on the others’ faces except for, Rarity noted with distress, Fluttershy who continued to silently stare at the wall. She was about to say something when they heard the front door of the farmhouse explode, and several flaming shards of wood splintered past them in the hall.