"What do you mean 'she isn't seeing anypony'?! Since when has Celestia ever not held court?"

"It's just as I said ma'am. Princess Celestia has refused audience with anypony that comes to call without an appointment. Before you ask, the list is months long so your next likely audience won't be until sometime after winter wrap-up. I'm sorry, but there is simply no way for you to see the princess." The guards seemed to be sympathetic, however neither was budging.

Twilight Sparkle huffed. The five mares had headed straight for the castle the moment they arrived in Canterlot, only to be impeded by the guards.

"Tell her Twilight Sparkle is here to see her- her number one student!" Twilight hated playing the 'student' card, but she didn't see much choice. To her surprise, the guard's demeanor changed almost immediately.

"You say your name is Twilight Sparkle?" The guard squinted his eyes.

"Yes!" Twilight was smiling. Finally, we’re getting somewhere.

"This changes things."

"Of course it does..." Twilight shut her eyes, her face radiated smugness almost palpably.

"You're specifically banned from seeing the princess. We’re also under orders to detain your party, and have you escorted to an immediate holding area." The guards pounded their spears to the ground, as the mares tittered nervously.

"I'm not allowed to see the princess? Detainment? What’s going on here? Under whose authority?!"

"Mine." All the mares heads turned as one, as a single unicorn pony made his way to the group, a badge worn proudly that signified his authority as captain of the guards.

"Shining!? This is under your approval?!” Twilight shook her head. “What the hay is going on here?"

"It's good to see you too Twily. There’s a lot going on in Canterlot right now." Twilight flinched for a moment before remembering who it was calling her the name. Shining Armor rustled her mane with his hoof before setting her down again. The moment over, Twilight shot her brother a glare.

"Why did you ban me from seeing the princess?! Why the heck did you order them to detain us? And to where?" The last time she had been so mad at him, she had found out second-hoof he was getting married.

“Shhh, not so loud. No, technically I don't have that power but… most of what I’ve been doing these past few months hasn’t been technical either." The mares glanced at the pair watching the door and received a curt nod in return. “Where’s Rainbow Dash?”

All the mares turned their head away, Fluttershy looked as if she might start crying. “It’s… a long story. Why does that have anything to do with detaining us?”

"As for why... this is a conversation we should have away from everypony." Shining looked over at the guards himself. “No offense.”

"None taken Captain Sparkle. Be careful. And you’re bringing the keg next time." Shining grimaced at the last part, shooting a nervous glance at his sister, prompting wry smiles from the guards.

"Eh-heh. Is it my turn already?"

"Hey!" One of the guards got excited for a moment and pointed at Applejack. "That mare runs Sweet Apple Acres! They've got the best cider in Equestria. Shini... er I mean, Captain Sparkle, if you know her can you get some of that cider up here?"

"I'll ask her later. For now, you two are back on duty. You know the drill." Shining gave the pair a stern look.

"Of course sir. We haven’t met with you nor anypony else today."

"Exactly." Shining walked up to them leaned into them, dropping his voice to a whisper. "And spread the word to the others while you’re at it, we can’t afford to move more obviously than we already have. I’m not even sure if we could afford even this much movement."

The pair of guards silently nodded and went back to staring out over Canterlot, resuming their vigil over the palace. Shining Armor returned to the mares and found a troubled looking Twilight.

"C'mon girls. I'll explain everything as soon as we're alone." Shining didn't like keeping secrets from his sister, but there wasn't much choice.

"Alright. Well at least we'll get to see Cadance. I haven't seen her since the wedding." Twilight was smiling again, but it was soon tempered by a look from Shining.

"I'm sorry Twilight, this is a conversation for us only. We're going to mom and dad's. They’re… away right now so we'll have the place to ourselves." With that, Shining Armor trotted off to the Sparkle family estate, leaving the confused mares to follow.

"Twilight, darling, what in heavens name is going on?" Rarity was visibly nervous.

"I don't know Rarity, but I don't think I like it. Any of it." Their confusion only grew as Shining took them on a winding tour through Canterlot, down dark alleyways and crowded streets. What would have normally been a fifteen minute walk down one of the main thoroughfares of the city took the better part of an hour. Every few minutes Shining would glance behind them and a electric blue light would encase the whole group, though the effect of which was lost on the mares at the time. Finally stepping out onto a bright street a few houses down from their destination, Shining took one last look around before ducking into the house.

Twilight went into the kitchen and poured a few cups of water while Shining set out some seats in the living room. After everypony was settled, Twilight turned her glare back at her brother.

"Alright! I want answers. What's going on Shiny? Why did you put out an arrest order on us? Why can’t I see the princess, I’m on a standing order from her to meet her presence."

"The first answers the second, and it's not that you can't, it's that you absolutely shouldn't. Not with what's happening in Canterlot.” Shining let out a detracted breath, kneading his temples with his hooves.

“What is happening in Canterlot, if ya don’t mind us askin’? We came in from Ponyville, shut off like the rest of the country, news kinna travels a mite slow.” Applejack nodded towards Shining, who returned her look with a frown.

“Over here, the changelings are the least of our problems. At first it was only the global restriction orders: all cities and towns of Equestria are to be restricted from all incoming and outgoing traffic unless certified by the princess’ themselves. Fairly heavy-hooved for Celestia, but nopony really questioned it. She always had the best interest of us at heart. Even before that though she was rarely coming out of her chambers. Complaining about nightmares…”

“Nightmares…?” Rarity silently paled on her cushion. “What… does she see in them?”

“I don’t know.” Shining shook his head and waved a hoof at the white unicorn. “But that was roughly when the curfews and mandates started. Nopony is to be on the street earlier than six in the morning, and nopony on the street later than nine in the evening. At first, nopony took it seriously. Punishment here usually consists of a lecture and perhaps some community service. The first night alone the guard was forced to imprison over a hundred ponies. Foals included.” The statement drew gasps from the assembled ponies. “We tried to reason with Celestia, but she insisted that we needed to take a firm stance for the protection of Equestria.”

“I-I thought that Equestria didn’t have any prisons. That’s what Twilight said.” Fluttershy pointed at the mare in question. Shining nodded.

“That’s what I thought. But the word does exist, and it seems to exist for a reason, apparently long before any of us were born there were several of them dotting the landscape. Celestia had them put under stasis rather than destroying them, and thus the one under Canterlot Palace was brought back. Its architecture is rather archaic compared to our generation, but it has no problems holding thousands of ponies.” Shining sighed.

“Thousands?! How many ‘ave y’got in there?“ Applejack was sneering.

“At last count? Five hundred and twenty six.” Shining dropped his head. “Most of the arrests have been my responsibility. So far we’ve managed to talk her out of enacting any harsher laws, but rumor has it that she’s been looking to bring in capital punishment.”

“Wh-what’s that mean? D-does it have something to do with money?” Fluttershy tentatively prodded.

“It’s an obsolete term used to notate state mandated executions…” Shining looked away, while color drained from Fluttershy’s face as she shrunk back into her cushion.

“How positively barbaric. Where has Princess Luna been in all of this?” Rarity narrowed her eyes. “Is she going along with this atrocity?”

“No.” Shining shook his head. “She does not. However, she is very busy… with what I do not know. But she does not seem to be actively helping Celestia.”

“But she should!” Twilight shook her head. “Princess Celestia always knows what’s best for her ponies, even if we can’t see it ourselves.”

“Twilight, how can you say that? You’re saying that putting over a half thousand ponies into prison for what constitutes a minor inconvenience at worst is acceptable?” Shining shook his head. “You can’t be serious.”

“There has to be something we’re missing, we are talking about Celestia after all.” Twilight looked deep in thought for a moment. “What else is going on? Maybe there’s something you’re missing.”

“I don’t doubt that. Something is very wrong with Equestria, and it goes far beyond this latest incursion by the changelings. Among them is the Princess’s state of mind." Shining’s face was upturned in concern.

"Ah reckon that ain't the first time Ah've thought that this week."

"Darling, you have no idea."

"I-It's hard to think things are ok when you've lost two of your friends in the space of a few days."

"I couldn't throw a party if I wanted to." Pinkie seemed to be the most despondent of all, and there was something more on the tip of her tongue to say, but she finally shook her head and let it go. Shining looked between the mares before settling his gaze on Twilight, shaking his head.

"So you've noticed it as well. Everything has not been well."

"Everything?" Twilight jumped in, clearly agitated. "I would appreciate it if somepony would start explaining things to me. What is wrong? Sure there were the changelings, and Truth Seeker, but we’ve dealt with them. What could the four of you possibly be upset about? For that matter what are you going on about Shiny?"

“Twily, haven’t you been listening? Princess Celestia’s been doing things that she’s never done before in our recorded history. We can’t really say that she’s sane anymore, we can’t even be sure if she actually is Celestia.” Twilight gasped, but Shining ignored her, carrying on. “That isn’t all, along with the global economy in steady decline, the entire Griffon kingdom themselves has clamped down on communications following a singular delegate that left as soon as they were refused audience, there’s been a mass emigration of Griffons back to their homeland and nopony seems to know anything about why. The Zebrican herds are also nowhere to be found along their chartered migration paths, or anywhere else for that matter. Weather has been acting erratically, clouds moving and raining without a single pegasus pony around, tidal waves occurring without unicorns pushing up the Gaian plates, and volcanoes erupting without the earth pony lava prompts. Your friends also seems claim that all the right things’ve been going wrong.”

“So?” Twilight spat out. “Like I said, I don’t understand what they have to be upset about. We’re here, safe and sound, and barring Dash’s decision to abandon us, who cares about the rest of the world? Celestia’s still in charge and even if everything isn’t right, right now, it soon will be in Equestria.”

“Twilight…” Shining squinted at his sister, and his horn started sparking. “Tell me, what did you vow to us on the day you finished reading Marechoir’s Macilent tome of Magi’s Metaphysics on Mundus Magickal?”

“What’s it to you? I don’t un-” Twilight was interrupted mid sentence by Shining.

“What oath was it that you made for yourself and so passionately recited at the start of every morning for two years until Spike smelted the words into an immortalized bronze plaque to get you to shut up about it? Recite it to me now.”

Twilight’s expression turned into something confused, before she started reciting. “That I’d always follow and study magic as something to help others. That it’s a helpful tool and not something worthwhile intrinsically, that my assumptive reasoning behind practicing and studying magic would always be because it can be of greatest possible help to the greatest number of foreseeable possible ponies or beings without harming others. That although possessing it is a matter of talent, using it justly is a matter of heart, and a pony one should seek to respect is one that has the latter regardless of the former.”

Tears started rolling down her cheeks, and her voice became hitched. “T-that the reason I started studying magic, was because I thought Celestia to be the greatest pony that had ever lived. N-not because she’s the most knowledgeable, or the one pony w-with the most access to prana, but in reaction to having those, she bore out her heart, blood, sweat and soul to all of Equestria f-for hundreds and hundreds of years. T-That for a-all her magic, and wisdom, and absolute p-power she wielded, she never once demonstrated anything but empathy, understanding and compassion for any living thing s-she has ever come across.” At this point Twilight started choking down sobs, as magic started to spark from her horn.

“T-that it’s understandable and righteous for e-everypony to be fearful and nervous when she comes, absolutely n-not because she is to be an object of fear and stress, but because the way she conducts herself, not only as a ruler but as a pony, i-is more radiant and blinding than the sun she has charge of could e-ever hope to be. B-because of that radiance, her humility and selflessness, it’s conceivable that we, perhaps, will never be fully able repay her unrelenting, unending and immortal servitude to all of Equestria, and the thought never being able to fully reciprocate the open love give to us by such a w-wonderful, caring pony strikes us all with the greatest terror no beast, real or imagined, can ever hope to match.

“T-that for all her efforts, everypony else is also trying with all their might, step by step, to make for a better world; for the best of all possible worlds. And that I believe, with all of my h-heart, that the study and performance of magic is my way, my best way, to h-honor and follow in the hoofsteps of the greatest heroine P-Ponykind has ever known! That not only should we celebrate her selflessness and dutifulness, but we should a-also e-emulate it so that t-together, hoof in hoof, we may achieve Mareto’s fabled Optimality. W-with this study of magic, it is a-above strength as a magus that I aim, and above strength as a knowledgeable pony… It is strength as a pony that I seek, for it is first and foremost that I conduct myself properly as a pony that can be fit to walk by her highness’s side.” As soon as she finished reciting her oath, Twilight cried out, clutching at her forehead, before going silent. Shining Armor immediately rushed by her side as the mares crowded around them both.

“Twilight! What’s wrong? Come on, speak to me…” Shining Armor rounded over to the other mares. “What the hay’s up with my sister, THAT is the way she’s supposed to be. I thought she was a changeling at first, but there’s no way that a changeling would know something like that, I’m not even sure if they’re physiologically capable of pronouncing half the stuff she just said. What was all that garbage that was pouring out of her mouth not five minutes ago??”

"W-we don’t know. She’s been like that ever since…” Fluttershy stumbled over the words trying to finish what she was going to say.

"Ypsilon fell off the cliff?" Shining finished the sentence for her. In his peripheral vision he could see Pinkie Pie flinch.

"That's about the time, yeah. It's been getting worse over time though. Still… I didn’t know Twilight actually felt like that. The real Twilight that is.” The pink mare's response nearly floored the room, shocked at the cool, collected Pinkie. Shining Armor responded first eyeing the pink mare suspiciously.

“That’s funny for you to say, you’re Pinkie Pie right? The random, hyperactive and happy one? Twilight had her heart broken because of you, you know.” The guard stallion’s response was equally stunning, reactions ranging from Fluttershy covering her face with her cushion, to Rarity’s jaw hanging open and drool pooling on the floor.

“That’s ridiculous!”

“Yer jokin’ righ’? Ya know her barndoor don’t swing that way?”

“Not the way I meant it girls, Pinkie you remember the time Twilight found out about your so-called Pinkie sense and lost her mind trying to figure out how it worked?”

“Uh huh…” Pinkie warily responded.

“Well, she sent me a spastic letter in-between her investigation asking for books on prescience and potential links to magical cognitions. She was desperately looking to prove you wrong, because she thought your prescience was literally all encompassing and, if properly controlled, could literally solve any and every latent problem in Equestria. I was on the verge of visiting Ponyville myself when I found out she mailed an identical letter to every single collegiate she knew the name of, and was systematically categorizing every response she got in orders of relevance.” The mares all collectively nodded at this, that was definitely Twilight.

“She was pretty broken up when she found out that your powers were, for all intents and purposes, random, completely localized and, even worse, dependent on your personal interpretation to be of any use. You put a golden grail of magic in front of her, and took it away. Then-” Shining Armor was interrupted by Applejack shoving a hoof out.

"Now hol’ on there pardner. We can talk ‘bout how Twilight gits all crazy over magic later, the heck’s a 'Ypsilon'? What kinda name is that? The only one going over a cliff was Na... er that human." The farmer was cocking an eyebrow.

"They're one and the same Applejack." Shining nodded in her direction. "Do you want the official report, or the one that's being passed around Canterlot?"

"Both I reckon?"

"Alright then." Shining’s reminiscent look melted off his face as he puffed out his chest as if he were about to give a report of national interest to the princess herself. "Official designation given as 'Ypsilon'. Bi-pedal humanoid standing roughly eighteen hooves high, intelligence is at least that on the order of any known sentient, possibly higher."

"That does sound like him…" Rarity was wringing her hooves together.

"Due to information Princess Celestia has received, it has been determined that this Ypsilon is a threat to not only the princess, but all of Equestria. If he is found he is to be approached only by a large group of guards and apprehended by any means necessary, up to and including the termination of the subject, though live capture is preferred."

"What?!" Her earlier timidness was gone, and in it's place it had left a seething with anger Fluttershy. "N-Nathan? My Nathan? The guards were under orders to possibly k-k-kill him?! He wouldn't hurt a fly unless provoked! He just wanted to go home! Isn't that why we did all this? Came all this way?!" Shining took a few steps back.

"Whoa, I'm just giving you the official line." The stallion was slightly worried for his well-being.

“By tha looks of things, ah don’ much think Celestia was ever gonna jes let him git on home like that. It ain’t the guards fault fer followin’ orders.” Applejack defended Shining Armor.

“You’re… you’re wrong.” Fluttershy trotted towards Applejack and leveled a glare at the tannish mare. “She wouldn’t just bring us here to sentence him to some awful fate. I can’t believe that Celestia would be that cruel.”

“Her words are not all that inaccurate. I personally suspect that that was Celestia’s intentions all along. Which was why I put out an order to have you all apprehended at the first notice.” Shining Armor nodded to Twilight unconscious on the floor.

“But why?” Pinkie stepped up next to Fluttershy, the beginnings of a tear forming in the corner of her eye. “Why would she put us all through this for that?”

“I don’t know. But I do have a particular curiosity about the human, especially how much Celestia wants him.” Shining shook his head.

“Now, Fluttershy, I'm sure there's been some misunderstanding. I-I mean the other humans are… well… " Rarity glanced around the room, nervously looking into any corners that lacked sufficient light.. "It's all moot anyways because he's..."

"Please don't say it Rarity." Pinkie shook her head. "I... I mean, Fluttershy has suffered enough." Rarity indicated her compliance with a nod and turned her attention back to Shining Armor and Fluttershy.

"What is the unofficial story? Obviously Princess Celestia would know that the human is mostly... er relatively... that is to say... he's more harmless than Discord? Even if she didn‘t know what to do with him."

"Rarity!" Pinkie snapped.

"You know what I mean dear! It's not like he would choose to attack somepony unprovoked, but he can be, well, dangerous." The white unicorn was doing her best to soften the blow, but it was clear from Pinkie's expression she was having none of it.

"Well... that's the thing..." Shining produced a piece of weather-beaten parchment and held it out to the mares. In bold writing at the top it said "MAN DEMON", and there was a picture drawn of a horrendous two legged monster eating foals and using his massive claws to eviscerate nearby ponies. Smaller writing was scrawled below the image: "Beware the man demon! He comes to consume your foals, rape your mare, and murder you while you sleep! His magic is more powerful than all, save for our benevolent monarch, Princess Celestia. If you see him, report him to the nearest guard. Do not approach him, lest he devour your soul! Taking a moment to read through the proclamation, the mares stood with their mouths agape.

"That's nothing but lies!" Pinkie and Fluttershy both yelled at the same time.

"Is anypony actually fallin’ for that tripe?" Applejack nodded in agreement, her face turned up in disgust."

"I have to agree with the others, Captain Sparkle." Rarity was, to Fluttershy's shock and happiness, nearly as perturbed as the rest of them. "While he had his rougher moments, none of this sounds remotely like what he would do. He doesn't even like mares... in that way."

"Ah'm purty danged sure ya were one of them who that spread the rumor that he ate Scootaloo." Applejack snorted.

"I've made some unladylike mistakes, and I am sorry for them." Rarity was blushing. "Don't throw me under the carriage when I'm trying to support my friends." Applejack begrudgingly gave her a nod, and the rest turned back to Shining.

"Please, Rarity, Shining is fine." The stallion hated being referred to by rank when he wasn't on duty. "And you all don't have to explain to me that this is nothing but sensationalist propaganda. I know. This is another part of why I stopped following her orders."

"M-maybe some evil pony is r-responsible?" Fluttershy quietly squeaked out. "Or- or maybe the ponies just got the wrong information and this is just a really big mistake…”

"I’m afraid that’s not possible." Shining was shaking his head. "The 'pony' responsible was Princess Celestia herself." The room filled with gasps. "That's not all- seven new flyers are due to go up at the end of today. The princess is just putting the finishing touches on them. I have early drafts..." Shining trailed off as he laid out several more pieces of paper on a table. If the gasps from before were loud, the new ones filling the room were deafening.

On each of the flyers was a vile caricature of each of the assembled mares, including the currently absent Rainbow Dash. Similar fear-inciting words were written on each one, proclaiming them to be accomplices of the man demon, responsible for kidnapping foals and making pacts with ponies in return for their souls. Twilight's was particularly offensive, declaring her public enemy number two.

"Ah don't like this one bit gals. There ain't nothing under the sun that'd justify her writing nonsense like this. Nathan Ah kin understand, if ya’ll don’t know nothin’ ‘bout him, but there ain’t no way Celestia ain’t flown offa her rocker if she’s makin’ stuff up ‘bout us." Applejack tore her gaze from the flyers and looked up at Shining. "Ah don't get it though. You said there were seven of these here parchments, and ah kin only see six. Who’s public enemy number one?"

"Take a look." Shining rolled out the seventh flyer. The mares all shuddered and took a step back. While the picture of the human, and their own images were barely recognizable, they all knew the pony in the last one, and it filled them with dread.

"N-N-Nightmare Moon?!" Fluttershy was cowering underneath a barely concealing pillow. "Th-that's not possible. We s-stopped her in the Everfree Forest. She's Luna now. How can there possibly be a f-flyer for her?"

"The flyer is for Princess Luna." Shining sighed. "Princess Celestia has declared the six of you, as well as Luna, enemies of Equestria and as of tomorrow you are all to be detained and brought to the palace for punishment as co-conspirators and traitors to the crown. Which was why I had to get to all of you first."

"This is all wrong." Everypony turned to look at Pinkie, who merely gazed at a spot on the floor. "I just wanted us to be friends with him. First Rarity with her bigotry, then that letter from Celestia." She looked up at her friends. "Then, things just keep getting worse. In saving the mare who possibly hated him the most he dies... and then Dashie... I feel like this is my fault. Maybe I should have done something more."

"Wait... that's right, I asked earlier, Rainbow Dash isn't here." Shining carefully inspected the faces of the assembled ponies to confirm his observation. "What happened to her?” He pointed a hoof at Twilight. “To my sister?” He swept his hoof to the rest of the standing mares. “And the rest of you for that matter?"

The conscious mares exchanged looks, and then Applejack stepped forward to speak. "Well, it all started ‘round three months ago when mah sis ran up an’ told us ‘bout a strange critter she found in the fields..."

While Twilight was hauled upstairs to her bed, Applejack, with help from the others, gave a rough account of their personal tribulations of the last few months. Some of it he already knew, such as the fate of the human. Some was omitted, such as Applejack's conversation with Nathan prior to the manticore attack. Overall though they painted a fairly accurate picture of what they had gone through, leaving a slightly faint Shining.

"I had no idea he was so important to you, Fluttershy." Shining nodded at the pegasus, who meekly returned a smile. “But… None of that really answers what happened to Twilight, nor accounts for the other inconsistencies.” He turned his head back to the unconscious mare. “Also for Twilight to be twisted so far that she ended up trying to betray her own best friends… And we know that she is Twilight, or somepony’s able to read her memories and enact her mannerisms so exactly that I can’t tell the difference.”

Applejack snorted in disbelief. “Whaddya mean ‘bout that? Twilight’s been actin’ like she’s been on the rag fer weeks now. She ain’t never done that b’fore.”

“No, I agree that her outward behavior is very different. But I’m her brother, and I’m fairly sure nopony’s studied her enough to memorize her speech pattern, vocabulary, nervous habits as well as her ability to use magic. I doubt an actor that talented would fail to account for her mood.” Pinkie silently raised her hoof. “Yes?”

“I think we should take a look at the letter from Celestia she’s got stashed in her bag.” Pinkie pointed out the sack in question. “I don’t know anything about magic, but Twilight became obsessed about getting to Canterlot right after reading it, during the blizzard she was in a bad mood but she still cared about other ponies, and if Princess Celestia’s really as crazy as you say she is…” Shining Armor cantered over to the bag, spilling its contents over the floor.

“Steer clear.” The mares backed away, as an electric blue light surrounded a tattered piece of parchment. It floated over to Shining Armor who inspected it, it was obvious that at one point it was ripped apart, it was even more obvious of how carefully it was pieced back together, and the paper was smudged and worn, like it’d been read dozens if not hundreds of times. “What happened to it? This was supposed to have been delivered only several days ago, not several years ago.”

“Rainbow ripped it to shreds. Twilight told everypony to make way to Canterlot again right after t-that blizzard. I didn’t know she re-pieced it back together like that…” Fluttershy’s quiet voice answered.

Shining Armor muttered to himself as the magic flowed across the parchment and shifted in colors. He frowned as he released his grip on it, letting it flutter back to the ground. “There’s nothing wrong with it, it’s just a letter, no trace of magical residue. Even if we assume that Celestia used the most basic of adulative magic on it possible to theoretically hide her handiwork, the effects would’ve been just that, just a minor perceptual inconvenience. At that level it might result in making somepony dislike sweets just a little bit more, and even then they’d be able to recognize it and the spell would shake off. Even a creature like Discord requires near-physical contact in order to ensure large scale personality changes, and he’s magnitudes stronger than Celestia. Magic-wise, the letter has nothing to do with what’s wrong Twilight. ” While Pinkie stared at the paper pensively, Applejack and Fluttershy deflated, while Rarity stepped forward.

“I don’t believe we’re looking at this correctly then… Would Twilight actually go this far for a piece of parchment? It was in dozens of pieces before the dear pieced it back together, an awful lot of effort for a message she already read don’t you think? And I’ve seen her overreact before, believe me, but I’ve never seen anything like this… The other times she was simply occupied to the exclusion of everything else, and that’s understandable if you’ve work to do. But… But she’s never not cared before.” Rarity piped up in tepid defense. “I’m not disagreeing with you Mr. Sparkle, what affecting her may not have anything to do with magic from a letter, and she was getting worse far before this ever happened, with that deception and all… But we do know that after reading that letter she became simply intolerable even at the best of times…” Rarity trailed off, looking to her one of her best friends’ brother for any sort of answer.

“I’m afraid I don’t know anything about that Rarity, I don’t doubt that something was wrong with her… but around the end she seemed to have snapped out of it. We can take care of her until she wakes up, we can hope that maybe she’ll have something resembling an explanation if she’s our Twilight again.” Shining Armor let out a great sigh, and looked to the clock by the wall. “It’s getting late; you’ll all be staying here tonight. Look after Twilight for me, tell me if anything happens, I have work to tend to.” The mares dispersed from the room, Applejack getting pulled alongside a quietly insistent Pinkie as Fluttershy and Rarity made their way to Twilight’s room. As the lights flickered out one by one, and as the captain of the guards was left alone to his thoughts he pulled out crystalline oblate spheroid and began speaking into it.

“Yes… This is Armor speaking…”

Princess Celestia was lounging in her chambers watching her morning sun bathe Canterlot in uncharacteristic warmth for the time of year. Her mind, for once, was devoid of the tumultuous inner conflict and fear, and while she was hardly at peace her current state of mind was much more familiar to the alicorn. Her head in the right place, she had blessed her little ponies with a warm solar embrace. It was not to last; a few moments later there was a rapid knocking at her door.

"Yes Lawn Order, come in." Celestia snapped at the pony behind the door. After a few moments of the door remaining shut she yelled again. "If thou does not wish to suffer our wrath, thou shalt open the door and enter. Quickly."

A moment of frantic shuffling later and Lawn quickly entered the room, several reports clutched in her mouth and held aloft by her magic as usual. And there was that glint in her eyes again. Yes, flinty unyielding determination, it was immediately covered over by an artificial fear. This shalt be enjoyable indeed. Celestia licked her lips in anticipation. Lawn approached the princess, visibly attempting to suppress the fear she was showing. The slight stutter in her voice was helping her act. Or perhaps it was not an act at all.

"G-good morning Princess Celestia. I hope that you slept well?" Lawn took a steadying breath and forced a calm expression across her visage. Celestia had a soft, almost benevolent look on her face.

"Indeed our slumber was most refreshing. Wouldst thou care to enjoy one as well?" Celestia's expression turned dark. "Because if thou wastes any more of our precious time, we shall make sure thee enters a slumber thou shalt never awaken from."

"Yes of course Princess Celestia. My apologies, your majesty." Lawn shuffled the reports in front of her, deciding where to begin. We almost admire her resolve. Celestia thought to herself. Let’s see if we cannot… encourage thy foalishness.

"Get on with it!" Shrieked Celestia, brimstone playing across her eyes.

"Twilight Sparkle and her companions have arrived in Canterlot, Princess Celestia!" It was all Lawn could do not to scream out her answer. To her shock and mild chagrin, rather than continue her verbal attack, Celestia reclined back and allowed that gentle warm smile to cross her face again.

"Oh, we art aware Lawn. She arrived first thing this morning."

"However there are..."

"... two of her companions missing. The human and Rainbow Dash. Again, yes, we art aware."

“You knew?” Lawn raised a calculated eyebrow, then immediately flinched almost as if she just realized what she was doing. Celestia almost broke out into applause.

“Certainly. It bodes well for a ruler to know all of the comings and goings of their kingdom. We, of course, hath been watching carefully as those ponies and the human made their trek across our lands.” Celestia smile. “The human perished a few days prior. The one thou referred to as ‘Rainbow Dash’ departed sometime the evening before. We art fully aware of everything that transpires in our kingdom.” Celestia narrowed her eyes momentarily before allowing them to soften again. Lawn felt the tips of her hooves grow ice cold, slowly spreading through her extremities.

“E-everything?” Lawn nervously shuffled her papers again.

“Yes, we art particularly concerned for the treasonous acts of Twilight and her friends. We hath spent most of our morning divining what punishments we shalt apply.” Celestia levitated a glass of water over to herself, taking a sip before replacing it on a nearby table.

"Treason? P-punishment?"

"Of course, my dear Lawn." Celestia had returned to her calm demeanor, while Lawn Order continued to shake in her fetlocks. "We hath determined that for conspiring with an enemy of Equestria, Twilight and her friends have committed acts of treason. I have already determined their sentence."

"M-may I ask what their punishments will be?" Lawn was sick to her stomach. For Celestia to go this far with Twilight involved...

"Mmm well we hath decided that a personal touch is required. Twilight, for instance, shall be stripped of her magic and isolated from her friends."

"I'm sorry?" Lawn had gone a shade of pale that would have made Rarity jealous. "I-Is that possible? You can remove a unicorn's ability to use magic?"

"Or a pegasi's wings. It is but a trifling matter. Our only regret is that it doth tend to break the mind of the punished."

"Is it permanent?"

"It can be." Celestia narrowed her eyes at Lawn Order and hissed. "That depends on how repentant Twilight is."

"What about of others?" Lawn was visibly shaking now. She didn't consider really consider herself a courageous pony, but not one so easily terrified either. She wondered if she actually misjudged herself that badly so as to be so completely terrified by her own ruler.

"We hath not yet decided what shall become of them. However, we hath heard rumours that certain members of our guard hath been pining for an evening with Miss Fluttershy. What do we care if they all take their turn in the same night?" Celestia's mouth twisted into a cruel grin.

Lawn's mouth hung open aghast. When the princess had first taken a firm stand against Luna, the advisor had been confused but ultimately understanding. If there was a legitimate threat to Equestria, and Lawn had never before doubted Celestia's words, then she could understand what the princess was going through. However, Lawn had been less than understanding when Celestia had decreed Twilight and her closest friends traitors. Furthermore, her decided punishment for Twilight, a pony that lived and breathed magic, bordered on cruel, regardless of the perceived crimes she had committed. That it was reversible was of small relief. Her pondered punishment for Fluttershy, quite possibly Equestria's kindest and most gentle citizen, was outrageous. There was no going back from such an act. Lawn began to back away slowly from the creature... no, monster she decided to herself... both in fear for her own life and the inability to believe that this thing sitting in front her was really her once beloved monarch. She had wondered beforehand the ramifications of her actions, but… there was no question about it. Outwardly, she appeared mostly calm, if not a little artificially terrified. Am I really acting that terror out now? What would be the difference between being terrified of being found out and being terrified of your ruler?

“O-of course, your word is law, Princess Celestia. I personally do not support such actions, I will of course willingly carry out your commands.” Lawn nodded to the princess, intending to turn and leave, but was stopped when she felt Celestia’s telekinesis wrap around her body, forcing her to look up at the reagent. Lawn Order felt a ball of ice form in the pit of her stomach.

"Brave, brave little Lawn Order. Thou art putting on such a brave face, and taking such a noble stance in spite of thy real fear. We can see it..." Celestia stood up to her full height, towering over a shuddering Lawn, as she slowly moved closer. "We can hear it..." Celestia came within inches of the advisor's face. "We can smell it."

“What are you talking about, Princess Celestia? Wh-why would I be afraid of you? I mean, you are of course an imposing figure, b-but you‘ve always shown so much love and care for us ponies.” Lawn attempted to move away, but Celestia held her firm. It is over for me, isn’t it?

“We couldn’t be absolutely certain why thou were so terrified. Could it have been that certain reports have not been reaching thine rulers ears?” Celestia grabbed the stack of papers that Lawn had been carrying and began to scan them. Her eyes flickered as she found exactly what she was looking for. “We have misjudged thy resolve greatly, Lawn. We had not suspected such resilience and resourcefulness from thy hooves. What dost thou have to say to this?” Celestia held out the scroll for Lawn to see. It was a report on ES-24.

“I-I was going to bring that up next, your highness. It’s the daily report on the progress the researches are making of course.” If she realized only up to this much…

“We can see that.” Celestia chuckled darkly. “We were making reference to the alterations thou hast made to it. Thou may think that thine magical ability be sufficiently wise to fool a mere pony, and we admit it may very well be, but thy would have to wield considerably more power if thou expects to make a fool of ourselves.” Celestia took a few steps towards the advisor. “’Twas a foals endeavor. We were already intimately aware of the status of our own little project. Mistaken, of course, that would be suggesting that thou weren’t doomed the minute thou entered our chambers.” Celestia narrowed her eyes and released Lawn from her grip. Lawn in turn to a few steps back towards the door.

“D-d-d-d-doomed? Wh-wh-wh-why would I be doomed? A-and I only changed the report b-b-b-because I believed that it had b-b-b-been falsified b-b-by one of the researchers.” Lawn tried to smile, but failed miserably.

“Even if thou were telling the truth, which thou are not, we have already ascertained that the original report is accurate. Which leads us to our next question, though we know the answer already. ‘Why wouldst thou, a meek and powerless advisor, willingly choose to mislead thy ruler’? Thou art like the sniveling mares: a traitor!” Celestia growled the last few words. “And that is not all! We know of your other machinations.”

“What do you mean? What other machinations!?” Lawn was scared, but denying her disloyalty was all but impossible. NO!

“We are not the fools thou have taken us for!” Celestia was shrieking again. “Where have you hidden them?! How many of them have escaped?!”

“N-n-n-never! I will never tell you anything! You’ve become a cold tyrant. The Princess Celestia we have grown to love is gone! I will never reveal what we’ve done.” She clasped her hooves over her mouth, letting out a small squeak.

“We suspected. We are not surprised. We shall discover the other members of your insurrection. In the meantime, however, thou art all we require.” Celestia licked her lips and cackled.

"Wh-what are you going to do to me?" Lawn was beyond terrified.

"We haven't decided yet. It would be best if thou started to run." Lawn took one last look at the grinning princess and turned face. Galloping for the exit she threw all of her papers on the floor, focusing on opening the closed door. As it swung open she ran for her life, disappearing down a hallway. Celestia was left chuckling.

"Didst thou enjoy our little show, Slatehide? We never knew how… enjoyable dealing with traitors could be." Celestia turned her gaze up into the corner of her chambers and once more the concealed pegasus flitted to the floor. As his concealment dropped, she could see a scowl imprinted on his face. "We take it thou didst not."

"While I can appreciate wanting to keep your subjects in line, lest they think that they can rule Equestria without your boon, terrifying them isn't a choice I would make." Slatehide tipped into a bow. "With all due respect, your majesty."

"Dispense with the pleasantries." Celestia rolled her hoof in the direction of the pegasus. "I've summoned you here for business, not small talk. Does Nightmare Moon know?"

"No, at this time I have no reason to believe Princess Lun..." Celestia raised one of her hooves and stuck Slatehide across the face, forcing him to tumble to the floor. Getting to his hooves he gently rubbed his cheek with one, grimacing as he could see the blood smeared across his leg.

"Thou shalt not refer to her as 'Princess Luna'." Celestia spoke softly. "The one we called sister is no more, and thou wouldst do well to remember that. Now, continue thine report."

"Yes, of course your majesty." Slatehide was visibly upset at having been struck by the princess, but carried on professionally. "As I was saying, at this time Nightmare Moon is unaware of your knowledge and your plans to move against her."

"What of Stoutheart?"

"I've kept him busy on some fools errands. He's none the wiser himself."

"Thou art not attempting to convince him of Nightmare Moon's treachery?" Celestia narrowed her eyes at him.

"He is young and impressionable, I'm afraid. It would take much time and effort to convince him that Nightmare Moon is a threat, and he would long before that inform on us to her. Even a larger folly should he sense something wrong and report to the Nightmare. No, it is better that I keep him distracted until she is dealt with." A flash of panic washed across Slatehide's eyes. "With your blessings, of course, Princess Celestia."

"Hmm." Celestia looked deep in thought for some time before finally nodding her head slowly. "As always thou have proven yourself a valuable and loyal subject. Thou art an asset to Equestria."

"T-thank-you, Princess Celestia." Slatehide tipped into another bow, unaccustomed to such praise. Celestia rolled her hoof again.

"Yes, yes. Let's get on with it. Dost thou have anything else to report?"

"No, your majesty. Things are still progressing as you have commanded."

"Very good Slatehide. Thou may take your leave of us. We shall call on thee when it is time." Slatehide began to back away slowly, turning his body to the princess, when a thought lodged itself in his mind and refused to be ignored. Seeing the guard pause for a moment, Celestia began to scowl. Seeing the look on her face, Slatehide relented to his thoughts and turned back to face her.

"Princess Celestia... forgive my curiosity, but I must know. Why threaten Lawn and those mares? I admit that their actions have been less than loyal to you, but is threatening them so really necessary?"

"We doth not make threats."

"Then..." Slatehide himself has begun to go a shade of white.

"Indeed. When Twilight Sparkle arrives, we shall deal with her and her friends. Personally. In the meantime, a certain advisor has attempted to usurp us in a myriad of ways, and we shalt not allow such…" Slatehide tipped into another bow and slowly trotted out the door, no words left for the princess. All he could feel was a numbed gnawing on the back of his mind. As he flew off, he clasped in his hoof a certain ticket.

I need to go talk to Stoutheart. He was right. A few moments after he left a pair of pegasi flew in the window both wearing the garb of the royal day guards. Celestia turned to regard them both.

"Follow him, keep thyself out of his sight. See where his loyalties truly lie."

"Should he try and go to the other night guard, or Nightmare Moon?"

"Kill him." Celestia's lips twisted into a wicked grin and she ran her tongue along them. The guards nodded and flew back out the window in pursuit of Slatehide. Celestia allowed herself to recline in comfort again for just a moment before a thought struck her.

"We hath a unicorn to punish!" Rising again, she donned her regalia and rushed out the door, following the bloodcurdling screams that indicated the direction the foolish Lawn had run. Celestia grinned and gave chase. She could have just teleported, but then she would have missed out on half the fun.

Applejack stepped into a bedroom to a sniffling Pinkie Pie, her hair completely straight.

“You suspect me too right? On account of my behavior? How you thought I pushed you into deceiving Nathan?” Pinkie sniffled back a few tears and shook her head. “I honestly don’t remember doing any of that! The first I actually talked to Nathan was a month or two after he moved into Ponyville, honest!”

“Pinkie, Ah’m not here to suspect at ya or nothin’. Ya are weird, but I always had a feelin’ that you were hidin’ somethin’ from the rest o’ us. Reason ah followed ya was ta understand you. Ah’m seeing the same things you are- nopony is acting like Ah think they should. Funny how Shinin’ mentioned Discord, this all seems like somethin’ he’d do. Except it’s happenin’ ta all o’ us, not just Twilight. At the same time though, it ain’t. Fluttershy, bless her soul, is almost being too kind… to the point it’s almost creepy. Ah was lyin’, but at the time Ah thought it was for a good cause. Dash Ah don’t think she was bein’ disloyal or anything, just angry… ya really dug inta her saddle there.” Pinkie flinched, but Applejack continued speaking. “Twilight is completely out to lunch. Rarity’s this close to a breakdown. Then there’s you. Tha way ah’m thinkin’ is that ya were always like this, an’ Rainbow was jes’ mistakin’ ‘bout how you were screwy like the rest o’ us. A’ first ah was thinkin’ that Rainbow was righ’, but if there was anythin’ wrong with that meeting, ah think it might’ve been me.”

“Wh-what do you mean?” Pinkie turned away from the corner and attempted to look Applejack in the eyes.

“Ah mean… everypony else, mahself included, an’ not jes’ you an’ Twi’, was actin’ like we were out afta six rounds at the salt block. Ev’n Fluttershy’s nuttier than a fruitcake over Nathan, she’s pushin’ her best friend away. Then there’s you- when it comes to bein’ level-headed and logical, we usually turn to Twilight. Well, level-headed might be a stretch, even before all o‘ this.” Applejack winked at Pinkie, eliciting a slight chuckle from the pink mare. “This last week, actually the last couple days, for the most part, you’ve been the logical one. And, when yer not being logical, you haven’t been laughing or singing or anything. You’ve been downright depressed. Now, if ya don’t wanna talk about it, that’s fine. Ah understand. Ah’ll try and figure it out myself. However, Ah’m yer friend. Ah’m here for ya. If ya wanted to talk.” Pinkie looked to the door and back to Applejack. The farmer could see the gears turning in Pinkie’s head, and was about to question her further when the pink party pony flung her hooves around her neck and started sobbing into her shoulder.

“Whoa there, sugar cube. You gonna be alright?” Applejack gently ran her hoof along Pinkies curls, allowing the other pony to continue crying. The pink mare gently shook her head, finally looking up. Applejack nearly recoiled from the look of absolute pain in her eyes.

“B-before, before he…” Pinkie struggled with the words. Applejack gave her a soft look, encouraging Pinkie to continue. “Before he saved Rarity, Nathan and I talked. Well, we always talked. I mean, we really talked. While we waited out the storm in that cabin.” Pinkie sighed. “Applejack, I’ve been lying to you since the day I met any of you.”

“Sugar cube, ya ain’t done any lyin’ on any account, trust me I wouldn’ touch ya with a three hoof long rake if ya did.” Applejack closed her eyes. “I could always tell ya were hidin’ something, but not talkin’ ‘bout yourself ain’t the same as lyin’ now is it?”

“But I’m not the pony you all think I am. Or rather, I deliberately positioned myself as just the pony all of you know when, in reality, I was playing off all your preconceptions that I was a party pony and nothing else. When I met all of you, such wonderful friends, I couldn’t stop playing the role. I still love parties, but that’s not all that I am. I’m a complete pony, a total package. I’m not stupid, or ignorant or anything. But after a certain point, you all expected that of me, so it became harder and harder to be anything else.” Pinkie sighed, and turned her head towards one of the windows, watching a few foals playing in the street. “Nathan encouraged me to open up to everypony, and I promised him I would try. Now look.” She turned back to Applejack. “I’m turning my friends against each other. This is all my fault. If it wasn’t for me none of you would be fighting, Dash would still be here, Twilight wouldn’t be… whatever she is.”

“Pinkie… Ah had no idea… none of us did.” Applejack opened and closed her mouth a few more times, but nothing meaningful came out.

“No, I know. That was the point. I didn’t want any of you to find out about the real me. I thought if you did, you wouldn’t want to be friends with me anymore. Looks like I was right.” Pinkie gave a hollow chuckle. “I’m sorry. You can go back to the others now. Mystery solved. It’s all my fault.”

“No Pinkie, none of this is yer fault. None of it. Ah don’t know what’s causing most of the problems, Ah don’t know what’s gotten into the others, but Ah know enough that this ain’t you. This has been coming for quite a while, and only a foal would suggest that yer promise to the human has anything to do with this.” Applejack sighed. “And we should be the ones who are sorry. If we’d been the friends we should have been, maybe you wouldn’t have felt the need to lie to us for so long.”

“You’re not the only one feeling that way.” Pinkie gave a weak smile. “I just want to help my friends, and keep my promise.”

“Ah know what you mean Pinkie.” Applejack gently released her grasp on the pink pony and tilted her head. “There’s just one other thing… and Ah’m kinda ashamed of this. Ah understand Nathan was a good friend, he was to all of us, even if some were slower than others to realize it…” Applejack craned her head so she could look into the living room, seeing a particularly fidgety Rarity in conversation with Shining. “But how did somep… someone you’d only known for three months manage to figure out, y’know, the whole thing? Convince you to try and change even? It’d take somepony really special for that almost like you…” Applejack stuck her hooves in front of her muzzle and stared at Pinkie. The pink mare simply looked away again, saying nothing. “Ah…Ah… Oh, Pinkie. Ah git it. What… what ‘bout Fluttershy?”

“A pony can’t help what she feels. I haven’t said anything to her, and I expect you not to either. It doesn’t matter anyways.” Pinkie sniffed back a few more tears, before looking at Applejack. “Pinkie promise you will breathe a word to nopony of this.”

“Ah… Ah promise.” Applejack went through the motions of a Pinkie promise. “Ya can’t just keep this bottled inside though. Does anypony else know?” Pinkie snorted.

“Twilight took a guess at it. I had a very similar conversation to this with her a few days ago. I think she forgot though, or something made her forget. It’s almost as if she forgets most of the events of a day the next time she wakes up. Probably part of whatever is wrong with her. I barely care anymore.” Pinkie shook her head. “I need some time to think. Could you give me some space, please? I’ll be out in a bit. I just need to think.” Applejack nodded, turning around and started trotting towards the bathroom before pausing at the door and looking back over her shoulder.

“Ah’m always there for you sugar cube, no matter what. Y’know that right?” Applejack gave a warm smile.

“I know. Thanks AJ.” Pinkie smiled back, weak as it was. Applejack nodded, as she walked to the bathroom. Midway through freshening up, she was interrupted by poking from a comb enveloped in violet light that led to outside the bathroom. She found herself walking out to Shining Armor and Rarity.

“Twilight’s waking up, I left Fluttershy to watch over her, where’s Pinkie Pie?”

“She and ah just had a talk, jes’ let her stay where she is in ‘er room.” The mare nodded as the three headed towards Twilight’s room.

“What’s happening with Twily? Is she her?”

“We’re not really sure, to be honest darling. She just started twitching awake just now, I was just calling for everypony after she just went back to sleep. We weren’t too sure about what we should’ve done.”

“Follow my lead, don’t try to overact anything. We’ll find out exactly how far this influence spread if it’s still plaguing my sister.”

The three of them walked into Twilight’s room, where Fluttershy was gently nudging a shuffling Twilight. “Twilight… Wake up please?” Fluttershy nipped at one of her ears, prompting the sleepy Twilight to spasm, bonking herself on the bed frame, tangle herself up in the blanket and fall off the bed. Fluttershy winced, as the rest of the ponies watched Twilight groggily pick herself off the floor.

“Ugh where the heck am I?”

“You’re in your room, how do you feel? What was the last thing you remember doing?”

“Hold on, hold on. I’m fine, thanks for asking, and the last thing I remember… Was getting into this house, what, did I get sleepy and nod off or something?” The mare exchanged wary glances with Shining Armor, who gave them a hard stare. He turned back to Twilight.

“Your friends claim that you’ve betrayed them.”

“I have no idea what they’re talking about.” Twilight looked defiant. “I merely did what Princess Celestia would expect of her student.” Shining turned around Twilight and looked to Rarity, seemingly for an explanation. Twilight had a look of triumph on her face.

“Am I missing something?” Rarity sputtered something but stopped when Shining blinked twice, deliberately, slowly.

Play along.

“O-of course, only Pinkie was present, but apparently she was moments away from selling us all out to join with the cultists.” Twilight flinched but remained silent. “Then, when we were running from them, she attempted to use her teleportation spell to teleport herself, and only herself, to safety. Fortunately for us it failed!” Rarity’s voice trembled, she didn’t have to act out her anger.

“I tried to teleport us all first! I only tried to teleport myself after the mass-teleport failed!” Twilight looked for support from the others, but shrank back after finding none.

“Then, as we were nearly exhausted, our dear ’friend’ was about to suggest that we abandon Fluttershy to the cultists to buy the rest of us time to escape.” Rarity could feel the anger in her hooves, but she managed to keep it contained.

“Twilight Sparkle! How could you do that?! To your friends no less! Princess Celestia…” Shining stopped his lecture preemptively. He had ascertained that this wasn’t his Twilight, but… No, this sounds exactly like what Celestia would expect of her: The new one that is... Oh no. Twilight had obviously realized something was amiss with her brother’s tentative defense of her, and was beginning to back away.

“No, you’re all wrong. You’re the ones with problems, not the princess. Celestia always has a good reason for everything. You’ll see…“ Shining’s attention snapped up and he narrowed his eyes at the receding unicorn.

“Girls! Stop her! Whatever it happened to Celestia happened to Twilight as well, don’t let her get away!” Shining leapt towards her in an attempt to grab onto her. Twilight could see the lunge coming and stepped to the side, allowing her brother to sprawl out across the floor. Distracted by her sibling she failed to noticed the farm pony sneaking up behind her. As she turned to run again, Twilight was tackled by Applejack and pinned on the ground. Fluttershy squeaked and hid under her pillow again while Rarity attempted to get a grip on the lavender unicorn’s hooves. Seeing that she was trapped, Twilight began to channel a spell in her horn. The recovering Shining Armor recognized it immediately. “She’s going to teleport, don’t let her get that spell off!” It was too late though. As soon as he had finished the sentence, Twilight had disappeared in a flash of magic.

“Aw horse apples.” Applejack got to her hooves and looked at Shining. “We better get goin’. She’ll be headed straight for Celestia and Ah’d hate to think what…”

*BONG*

Applejack was interrupted by a single, loud metallic sound coming from the other room. The ponies in the living room looked between themselves confused for a moment before hearing the sound repeat itself several times.

*BONG*

*BONG*

*BONG*

*BONG*

The ponies galloped for the guest’s room, unprepared for the sight that greeted them. The other mares and Shining ran in to find said pony with a large cast iron pan in her hooves beating the ever-living snot out of Twilight, tears running down her cheeks.

“This,” *BONG* “is” *BONG* “for” *BONG* “every” *BONG* “terrible thing” *BONG* “you have said” *BONG* “or done in” *BONG* “the last three months.” *BONG* *BONG* “I am so” *BONG* “sick and tired” *BONG* “of you and Princess “ *BONG* “Celestia’s nonsense!” *BONG* The pan had a sheen of red on the side and a gash in Twilight’s head matched it. The unicorn lay limply on the floor while Pinkie continued to ravage her. Applejack rushed in and wrapped her hooves around the pink mare.

“Pinkie! That’s enough! Twilight’s yer friend! Ya need to stop!” Applejack tightened her grip on the struggling Pinkie who attempted to continue her smiting of the unicorn.

“No! You don’t understand! You were right, Applejack. It’s not my fault, it’s her fault! It’s all her fault! If it wasn’t for her, we wouldn’t have gotten lost, he wouldn’t have died, those cultists wouldn’t have caught us and Dashie would still be here. It’s ALL HER FAULT!” Pinkie’s eyes were burning from the tears, and her vision blurred. Rarity took the opportunity to gently remove the blood-slicked pan from the pink mare’s hooves and set it aside. Pinkie broke down sobbing and looked at her hooves, realizing what she had done. Recoiling from Applejack’s touch she tried to shrink into a ball. Applejack, to her credit, tightened her grip on the pink pony, pulling her into a deep hug.

“Shhh, it’s alright sugar cube. It’s alright. Ah don’t know what’s going on with ya, but Ah can tell when a pony needs help, and Ah’m there for ya. Just calm down, calm down.” Applejack cast a glance over at the body of Twilight. Shining rushed to her side.

“Twilight!” Shining gently ran his hoof along the back of her head inspecting her wounds. The blood ran freely, but to his relief none of them were that deep and the bones felt intact. She would wake up with a screaming headache, but by some small miracle no permanent damage had been done. “Oh thank Celestia. She’s going to be ok girls. At least Pinkie stopped her.” As disappointed in Twilight as he had been, he couldn’t bring himself to look at Pinkie. He would like to believe she had purposely left her relatively unharmed, but his gut told him otherwise. Risk or not, Twilight was still his sister. Lifting her in his magic, he gently carried her up to her old bedroom to bandage her head and take care of her.

“Ya hear that? She’s gonna be ok. Ya did good Pinkie, don’t you worry none.” Applejack stroked the pink pony’s mane while Pinkie continued to sob uncontrollably into the farmer’s shoulder. Rarity looked behind her to see Fluttershy staring from the living room, her face having gone slightly pale.

“Fluttershy, darling, I know there was a bit of blood, but it’s alright. Twilight’s going to be fine. You look like you’ve seen something absolutely horrible.” Rarity cocked her head.

“I-I-I think I have. I understand now. It’s Pinkie she…”

“Alright, Twilight’s up in bed resting.” Shining interrupted Fluttershy as he came down the stairs talking. “I’m not sure what your plans are for the rest of the day, but since you can’t go to the palace... I’ll explain to mom and dad that official business has come up and that I need the house for the night, and I’ll have them put up at one of the hotels in the city. You can all,” Shining glanced at Pinkie, taking a breath before continuing on, “stay here for the night. I’ll get the guest bedrooms ready in the meantime.”

“That sounds wonderful, thank-you Shining.” Rarity gave the stallion a genuine smile that Shining returned with a nod. She turned to Fluttershy. “Fluttershy, dear, would you like to join me for some shopping tomorrow? I’ve heard of a few new fashion designers in Canterlot and I’m so looking forward to seeing what they offer. We can stop by a few of the gardens on the way, if you would like?”

“No can do Rarity, I won’t allow any of you outside of this house, depressing as that may be.” Shining Armor had just finished clasping his sister with an anti-magic horn bracer. “I don’t exactly know what I can do with all of you with Twilight in this condition, and the elements incomplete, but I’ll have drummed up something tomorrow.”

Fluttershy smiled tentatively at Rarity. “Thanks for the offer, but I… I needed time to be alone anyway. I need some time to think.” Fluttershy retrieved the journal and wandered into an adjacent room, shutting the door behind her. Seeing the pegasus leave, Pinkie relaxed slightly and looked up at Applejack who was still cradling her in her hooves.

“I think I need some time as well.” Pinkie slowly broke Applejack’s hold on her and stood up. “I don’t know what to think anymore. I can’t believe I did that…”

“Pinkie, honey, Ah don’t think it’s such a good idea fer you to be alone in yer state. After what you did to Twi and the rest of it…” Applejack reached a hoof towards the pink pony, but Pinkie gently pushed it away

“No, I’ll be fine. Please, just, let me be.” Pinkie trotted out the door and headed in the opposite direction of Fluttershy. Applejack turned to the only mare remaining in the room.

“Well, Rarity, how ‘bout a round of cards? Y’ can invite some o’ your snooty friends if ya think they kin stand mah accent an’ if Shinin’ there thinks they kin come.” Applejack nodded at the unicorn. Rarity smiled and nodded back.

“I’ll be honest, I didn’t expect you of all ponies to make that offer, but I’ll take what I can get.” Rarity looked back towards Shining. “Please take care of Twilight and let us know if there’s anything we can do for you or her. Oh maybe we can contact Fancy Pants and Fleur for a couple just to catch up if we can’t go anywhere.” Shining grimaced.

“That’s not going to be possible Rarity.”

“Oh?” Rarity gave the stallion a confused look.

“They’re both… out of town. Business trip.”

“O-oh. Alright then.” Rarity frowned but nodded. “You will care for Twilight though, won’t you?

“Absolutely. She’s going to be fine, just needs to sleep it off. I’ll get in touch with the rest of you if anything else comes up. Just remember to try and stay here, and don’t make too much a ruckus. The flyers will be going out later tonight, and regardless of their personal feelings most of the guards will do whatever Celestia asks of them.” Rarity nodded once.

“Good night then.”

Spike, Zecora and the Cutie Mark Crusaders had arrived back in Ponyville the evening before and snuck back into town while the guards were changing shifts. All three of the fillies had been returned to their families, and much to their chagrin swiftly punished. Sweetie Belle had been grounded for a week and had her chores doubled, Scootaloo had been sent to her room where she would have to stay for the next few days (though she would be allowed out to eat), and Big Macintosh had indicated that Applebloom was lucky that times had changed because if she was a foal when he was, she would’ve earned herself a 'whoopin'.

Spike, of course, was spared any punishment due to Twilight being out of town, and even if she had been, Zecora would have argued in favour of sparing the dragon from any sort of retribution due to his involvement being purely out of concern for the trio of foals. That brought Zecora to her next thought though: what she was doing in town, especially with the only mare that she felt could help her, Twilight Sparkle, being absent.

Walking around Ponyville she greeted the various citizens and guards as she made her way back towards Twilight's home. She had stayed the evening before out at Sweet Apple Acres at the Apple's insistence for bringing the fillies home, but her goal laid within the library: discovering anything that might lead her to her family, as well as anything to do with the mysterious stranger that had come to town.

It had been a long, awkward process, but the citizens of Ponyville no longer treated her like the 'evil enchantress' they had made her out to be. They didn't exactly treat her as they would another pony, and some conversations she had were strained, but Zecora felt those differences were cultural and colloquial in nature, so she felt welcomed enough, and it filled her with warmth whenever she had the chance to discuss anything at length with another pony. That she had been invited to stay with the Apples at all was a far cry from the reception she would have expected three years ago.

Reaching the library around mid-day, she rapped on the door with a hoof and patiently waited for Spike to answer. A few moments later she heard some rustling sounds and a low groan issue from beyond the door. Swinging it open wide enough to see who it was, Spike sighed.

"Zecora? What are you doing here so early? I was still sleeping after our 'adventure' last night." Spike allowed the door to swing open wider as he rubbed his eyes with both claws. "I'm so tired."

"I'm sorry Spike that I called so soon, but you should be up- it's after noon! I need to see some books in there, especially if there are any recently written by that lavender mare." Zecora rolled her eyes at the still groggy dragon.

"Laven... oh you mean Twilight. Yeah she was keeping some research on the human that was living here. Come on in, I'll see if I can find them." Spike beckoned Zecora to enter and shut the door behind her. Turning around, he went to a stack of recently used books that he had yet to file away due to being unsure where they should be filed away. Most of them were recent purchases by Twilight, but a couple of them were written by the unicorn herself. While Spike looked through them, Zecora walked around the library looking for evidence of... she wasn't sure what she was looking for. Anything.

"Alright, here we go. Here's where she starts writing about his initial arrival in Ponyville and the subsequent events. He came to town one day, the ponies felt he was a threat due to what Twilight describes as 'a strong suspicion that he was some form of apex predator' whatever that means, sent him into the Everfree. I'm actually surprised you don't know anything about it considering he was in the forest for three days." Spike eyed up the Zebra. Zecora shrugged.

"The forest is huge and their is many a route, it is not astonishing that I did not get a chance to meet this brute. Still, I suppose it’s odd that I haven’t heard anything of this foe, living as close as I do to Ponyville I’m usually in the know.” The zebra shook her head.

“Whoa, hold on. He’s not a brute or a foe or anything like that.” Spike looked up towards the ceiling and tapped a claw on his chin thoughtfully. “I guess he’s a bit rough around the edges, and he could be a bit of a jerk, but he wasn’t that bad a guy. He usually treated me with respect. It’s almost funny how similar he and Twilight can be. Both so absorbed in their work to the neglect of those around them, even though she didn’t really like him.”

“So I take it after he left for the trees, he eventually returned to town and began to fit in with ease?” Zecora shot the dragon an unconvinced look, to which the dragon shrugged and lifted his claws.

“Well I wouldn’t say ‘ease’. Why don’t you just read what’s written down for yourself? Make your own decisions.” Spike wandered away leaving Zecora to peruse the books. Zecora dropped her bags and slowly started leafing through what Twilight had written, starting with when Nathan first came to town and continuing on from there. There were things she admired in the human. He seemed to be intelligent and well spoken. Even through Twilight’s thinly-veiled distaste of him, she could see that there was much to like about Nathan, saving Fluttershy from a rampaging bear at risk to his own life being the first of many acts that she could appreciate. As she read on though, her concerns grew. From his deceit of the ponies around town, his construction of the weapon that she feared most, and the way he dealt with the changelings, there was much to fear from him, even if he wasn’t, as Spike eloquently put it, “that bad a guy”. Finishing her reading, which ended with a final entry explaining the failure of Twilight’s teleport spell the morning that they left town and the results of that. Looking over at the dragon, who had finished cleaning the kitchen and was munching on a ruby, she called over to him.

“Spike, is it true what these books elucidate, that magical spells have little to no effect on this human to date?” Zecora felt a tinge of discomfort she rarely had before. The unnatural nature of this human was… concerning.

“Oh yeah, it’s totally weird.” Spike continued to eat the gem, speaking around mouthfuls. “Sometimes magic will sort of work on him. After he was injured in the fight with the changelings he was forced out of town by Twilight’s repulsion spell. That was the first time we had really seen a spell work on him properly.”

“When Twilight thwarted the changelings in their attack, she also sent the human away with a snap? Did she do it on purpose, trying to cause him harm? Or was he merely a casualty, affected before she could raise an alarm?”

“Twilight said that the spell she used can be altered to affect certain creatures and mindsets, and ignore others, but apparently there wasn’t enough time to do that in the middle of the battle, so she just cast it as quick as possible, what she referred to as the ‘default’ version. Apparently, that meant that it only spared ponies.” Spike shrugged, however Zecora was less than convinced of the authenticity of that claim.

“Regardless of what the mare told you, there’s no way in Equestria that could possibly be true. None of the records that Twilight has noted with glee, refers to the spell affecting a dragon, animal or donkey.”

“W-well I don’t know.” Spike took a moment to really think about what Zecora had said. It was true, he realized, that the only creature other than the changelings that the spell had affected was Nathan. “Alright, so maybe she stretched the truth. Why? Sometimes she can be a little evasive, but it’s not like her to outright lie about things like that. What was she trying to hide? What does this have to do with that shell anyways?”

“I do not know my scaled friend, but the writings of Twilight leave a troubling trend. As for the shell, don’t worry your head, I’m just trying to figure out if this human wants them dead.” Zecora frowned as her attention was brought back to the substance that had brought her to Ponyville in the first place. She had learnt quite a bit about it as a young foal, her elders going into detail over the risks and dangers of it’s creation as well as use. However, to her knowledge zebras were the only species to be familiar with this mixture of powder. This human was a strange individual indeed.

“I realize that you’re just trying to help and you’re worried about the girls, but believe me: if Nathan had wanted to kill any of us he had plenty of opportunities. He could have let Fluttershy die in the forest, he could have gone through with drowning Rainbow Dash, heck he could have left us all to be taken by the changelings when they attacked Ponyville.” Spike shook his head and shrugged. “I don’t really know why he built that thing in the first place, but I think we can trust him. Well, mostly.”

“I’ll take your word on that, though my concerns remain, it’s difficult for me to let go when the dangers inherent are so ingrained in my brain. Can you show me where he worked on his tool? Anything you can show me that will prove he’s not a fool?” Zecora looked over towards the laboratory door, having ascertained from Twilight’s writing where Nathan had been living and working.

“Sure thing, just be careful. It’s kinda of wrecked down there. I guess he had to break some of his stuff in order to stop a bunch of the changelings. Left a mess and destroyed half the basement on top of that. There’s some diagrams and stuff on the workbench you might want to look at.” Spike lead Zecora down the steps to the basement and pointed out the bench. She trotted over and rubbed a hoof on her chin, carefully examining the human’s writing.

“Unfortunately it is as I suspect, I do not have the mind to interpret what has been etched. It doesn’t matter, my expectations are more bright, it is as you say, the man is seemingly alright. The powder still leaves me with a worry, because I care but…” As Zecora spoke, a glint caught her eye. Moving over to the bed she gently reached between the mattress and the frame and pulled out a slender metal tube. It was another shell, though having different manufacture and shape. Next to it was a few pieces of parchment that looked like they had been ripped out of a book. Her eyes went wide as she slowly read through what was written. Her black stripes faded as she went white as a sheet and her jaw flapped as she finally spoke. “…it’s not like he plans to kill every one of them to a mare. Spike, I must go get the rest of my gear, I left it all at the farm and these papers fill me with fear. If you are wise, you will listen to me, send this paper to Celestia before I depart this tree.” Spike eyed the paper in Zecora’s outstretched hoof and frowned.

“R-right now?” Spike moaned. “I could get in trouble for sending something to the princess without Twilight’s permission. I don’t even know what it says.”

“NOW!” Zecora’s yell, caught the dragon entirely off-guard and before another moment had passed he grabbed the parchment and ran up the stairs to an open window, sending it away. Zecora rushed up the stairs behind him, grabbed her bags and stuffed what she had taken from the bed. Slamming the front door of the library open she quickly galloped off, leaving a confused Spike running after her.

A few frantic minutes later Zecora found herself back at Sweet Apple Acres wheezing for air. Stumbling towards the door she took a few steadying breaths and knocked on the door as gently as possible. From the interior it sounded like someone had thrown a bunch of rocks at the door. A few agonizing moments later Big Macintosh opened the door, raising his eyebrow.

“Uh, Zecora? Ya coulda just come in. Yer a guest here, and Apples treat their guests like family.” He stood to the side and ushered her in from the cold.

“I appreciate your generous lodging, however I still feel uncomfortable with just rushing in without proper knocking. I’m really only here to gather the rest of my sacks, I must hurry off to Canterlot before doom comes to Applejack.” Zecora pushed towards the guest room and repacked her saddlebags before turning to exit the house. Much to her chagrin, a hoof stuck in her way.

“Hold on there, pardner. What’s this about mah sister and doom? What’s goin’ on Zecora?” Mac was still level and calm, however in his eyes Zecora could see the nearly dangerous look he was giving her.

“The human that was here has plans most foul, at least as best I can make out he does and he’s been with the mares quite a while. I couldn’t find much information on my family anyways, so I might as well head to Canterlot, regardless of how many days.” Zecora gave Mac a pleading look, but rather than move out of the way he gently shook his head.

“Ah’m not sure how you figure that he’s got some plan, but he’s a good apple, Ah’m sure of it. Ah’m confident that Applejack isn’t in any sort of danger, at least not from Nathan. Now, yer free to do what ya like, Ah can’t stop ya from going to Canterlot, if that’s where ya think ya need to go, but make sure ya don’t go for the wrong reason.” Mac stepped out of the way to allow the zebra passage. As Zecora nodded her thanks and headed for the door the pair heard a fillies voice call from the stop of the stairs.

“Zecora? What’s all the ruckus about? What’s this about Applejack?” Applebloom looked down at the two adults and frowned.

“It’s alright my little foal, worrying you was not my goal. I need to go the castle archives, to find any information of where my family has moved on with their lives.” Zecora put on a gentle smile. Applebloom shook her head.

“Ah heard what you said. You were talkin’ about Nathan and Applejack. Ya think he’s goin’ to hurt her?”

“Now, Applebloom. Ah thought I told ya you were grounded until next week. You git back into yer room before I extend that punishment to next month.” Mac narrowed his eyes.

“Ah’m sorry big brother, Ah just heard that Applejack might be in trouble, and Ah was concerned for her.” Applebloom turned her tail to head to her room.

“Zecora, Ah appreciate what yer tryin’ to do for me and my family, and I respect that you have the best interests at heart for Applejack and the others, but I have Applebloom and Granny Smith to take care of here.” Mac sighed. “Ah still think ya got nothing to worry about. Ah really do appreciate the concern though.”

“I’m sorry you think I’m just blowing smoke.” Zecora returned the glare. “For one who seems to espouse the values of family, you seem to be a joke.”

“What’d ya say to me?”

“You heard me clearly you stubborn addled headed colt, you ‘re not showing very much care for one of your own folk. If I were you I would be leaving the farm soon, attempting to reach my family before ill came to pass at the hands of a loon. Fortunately for you I’m going to do it anyways, even if it means I’m caring more for your own family that her brother she’s known for years and days.”

“Now, that ain’t fair.” Mac rarely got angry. He, and most others, considered himself a calm, rational, level-headed pony that made well-rounded informed decisions, if a bit slow. It was clear from the deepening red of his cheeks that the zebra had crossed a line.

“I apologize to you, that my words were unfair is categorically true, however it might surprise you to note I know a thing or two about kin. This argument is over though, I don’t want to make a din.” She turned up to the stairs to see that Applebloom had left. “Take care of the family you have here at home, and hope that I’m not too late to stop what I have been shown.” With a curt nod, Zecora headed out he door leaving a fuming Big Macintosh in her wake. It was not the way she wanted to leave the Apple residence, but her fears for the mares, Applejack included, was more than she could bear. Lost in thought she barely heard the window above her open and a small bag tumble out until it struck her in the back of the head.

“Who would do such a thing as to strike a mare from the back? Big Macintosh, I didn’t think you were so angry that you would willingly attack!” She rubbed the back of her head with a hoof while turning around to berate the red stallion. To her surprise, rather than the rugged workhorse, she found Applebloom hopping down off of the roof. “Applebloom, you’re going to be in such trouble when Big Mac finds you are out, I would hate to be in your hooves when your punishment comes about!”

“Ah don’t care!” Applebloom glared at the house then back at the zebra. “Every time you’ve tried to help somepony in the past, they always act like yer evil or don’t know what yer talkin’ about. Ah’ve seen the way everypony treats you and it’s not right. You’ve always been right, and more folks need to trust ya. Ah trust ya. If Big Macintosh can’t see that yer tryin’ to help and do something to protect Applejack, then Ah will. Ah’m commin’ with ya.”

“This is a foolish thing you do Applebloom, your brother just wants what’s best for you when he sends you to your room. This isn’t a game to be played, like trying to find your cutie mark, where I am going you should not follow, for I fear the going will be dark.” Zecora moved towards the filly in an attempt to usher her towards the house. Applebloom continued to glare at the zebra.

“No. Ah ain’t going back inside. Half of mah family is in that house, half of mah family is in Canterlot. Yer gonna have to drag me kickin’ and screamin’ back inside if that’s what ya want. Please, Zecora. Take me with you.” Applebloom was almost pleading.

“I should not do this, it would not be right. While I would appreciate the company your future might not be so bright. If your brother finds out I’ve taken you away, he will no longer call me a friend after this day.” Zecora gently shook her head.

“Ya don’t get it Zecora. Ah’m not always the best filly, Ah’ve done a lot of naughty things, and gotten in a lot of trouble. But, ya gotta trust me, this is something Ah need to do. Somepony needs to look out for Applejack. Both of my siblings are too stubborn for their own good, and Ah’m not gonna lie, she ain’t gonna listen to you. Ah need to go.”

“A young filly such as yourself does not need to go anywhere, you have a bed and a home waiting behind you and I refuse to take you away from there.” Zecora frowned. “You are a foolish foal if you think that the wilds is the place for you. There are beasts, changelings, pitfalls and worse don’t doubt that my concern is true. Even I, a well traveled Zebra, who has done and seen a hundred things, do not willingly make this trip except to prevent the ill-tidings that my suspiciousness brings.”

“But Zecora!” Applebloom was moaning. “What happened when you first came to town? Well Ah don’t know when you first came to town, but Ah mean, the time you came into town for supplies once Twilight moved here?”

“Applebloom, you and I both know the answer to that inquiry.” Zecora grimaced. “Your sister and her friends treated me quite terribly, accusing me of being a witch and breaking into my hut, much to my lack of glee. Why do you ask me this rhetorical nonsense? I nearly left the vicinity of Ponyville that day, feeling like it was the last offence.”

“Ah remember. We talked about it. Do you remember why you didn’t leave?”

“A brave little filly wandered into the forest on her own without a care, and proved to the others there was no evil n my ‘lair’.” Zecora gave the filly a warm smile. “I remember that day very well young filly- it was a day that you of all ponies was the one to not be silly.”

“Exactly. That was just Ponyville. What’s it gonna be like when you walk into another town, or even Canterlot, without a pony with you? The first thing those ponies are gonna do is run and hide from you. How are you going to get any answers if nopony will talk to you? If Ah’m with you, then they won’t be as afraid. Just like before.” Applebloom narrowed her eyes questioningly at the zebra.

“You make a good point and you’ve always had my back.” Zecora laughed. “For a small filly you’re cunning and shrewd- someday you will make a good sales pony like your sister Applejack.” Zecora sighed. Applebloom grabbed her bag and headed in the general direction of Canterlot. Zecora struggled with the decision for a moment longer before making her decision. “Applebloom I understand what you are saying and that you care deeply for Applejack, however going towards Canterlot that way is not possible, you’re going to have to turn back.” Zecora shook her head again.

“Zecora! Ah told you Ah wasn’t going back unless ya dragged me.” Applebloom’s face went red.

“Oh, don’t misunderstand you wonderful and brave little filly, I didn’t mean to take you back, I think at this point it would be silly. I admit you’ve worn me down, and to your request I genuinely yield, but if you want to get to Canterlot that would be a bad way to go to get through the shield.” Zecora threw a wink at Applebloom. The young pony took in what the zebra was saying for a moment before a bright smile crossed her face.

“Ya mean it? Ah can come?” Applebloom hopped about excitedly, forcing Zecora to roll her eyes.

“I know better than to tell a Crusader when to stop, it’s clear to me you’ll keep on whining until you come out on top. Let us make haste before we are spotted by anypony, I don’t think either of us will enjoy the resulting ‘ceremony’.” Zecora trotted off towards the fields where she assumed that it would be easy for them to slip out of town. Applebloom fell in line and bounded off after her, excited but nervous. As they lost sight of the farm-house a thought crossed the filly’s mind.

“Hey! What d’ya mean ‘whining’?”

After several long and fruitless games of Rarity attempting to not lose at poker, both mares also agreed to turn in for the night. Bidding Applejack good night, she found herself in the same bedroom as Fluttershy and Twilight.

Rarity was reluctant to bed down at first, the previous evening’s nightmare weighing heavily on her psyche, however she was too tired to keep her eyes open any longer and she passed out within minutes of actually climbing into bed. She had hoped and even prayed that the night would bring her pleasant dreams. Or at least nothing recognizable, but soon enough the swirling torrent of mix and match images (including it seemed an ongoing fascination of her sub-conscious for that Sweetie Belle and Blue Blood romance that she should probably see a psychologist for) cleared up and once again she found herself in the human world. Looking down she could see a pair of heels leading up to a jacket of sorts that reached down to the mid-shins.

The pony feared for a moment of a repeat of the stalking incident and when her host looked around she took a few nervous glances herself to be sure that they weren’t being followed. However, she began to relax as she noticed that not only were they not being followed, but that she actually recognized some of the homes. She had seen them from a different point of view, but they were familiar. As her host passed by one of those parked metal ponyless-carriages she caught her reflection and Rarity put it together. Oh praise Celestia I’m back with Samantha. I’ll get to see Andrew and Chloe again! At leastthey don’t try and kill each other. This is going to be a wonderful dream!

As Samantha approached the door to her home, she reached for the door handle and was surprised to find the door locked. Shrugging she reached into her pocket, retrieved a set of keys and unlocked the door, stepping inside. Kicking off her shoes she called out.

“Daniel are you here? I saw the car’s here but the door was locked.” Rarity’s host walked forward through the house and peered into the various rooms. Seeing no sign of her family, she returned to the living room and ascended the stair case. Reaching the second floor of their home she could see the faint glow of candlelight coming from her bedroom. Samantha smiled, while Rarity felt slightly embarrassed. Oh dear. A quiet home, candles like that in the bedchambers… I would rather this than the vile experiences of the others, mind you but still… as unladylike as it sounds this is quite… icky.

Samantha strolled into the bedroom and saw her husband sitting in an armchair, smiling. Candles lined the room giving off a warm glow, and the room smelled of lavender. Oh I so do love lavender. Rarity could feel her host smile before slowly closing the door behind her. The man drank in his wife’s body.

“How was your evening with the girls? I thought you were getting a little… mature to be going out to the bar and picking up boys.” Daniel chuckled.

“The only ‘boy’ I want to pick up is sitting in that chair.” Samantha took a few steps closer to her husband and licked her lips. She slowly reached behind her back and started to undo the zipper that was keeping her dress in place.

“Oh? That’s surprising. A spry young woman such as yourself I can only imagine that you had to beat them off with a stick.” The man beckoned over to the bed and his wife took a seat on the side. “Mind you, I would be with them.”

Rarity was steadily getting more and more uncomfortable. She had yet to find a stallion of her own and had not yet had the pleasure of spending an evening with one. She considered it part of her status as a lady. Being here, privy to this intimate moment between husband and wife left her feeling like she was betraying that, willingly or not. That she was physically experiencing everything her host was… Oh no, I’m not ready for this.

“Well then,” Samantha finished peeling off her dress and lay on the bed in only her undergarments, “here I am. Where are the kids, by the way?”

“I sent them to your parent’s place for the night. Let’s try a new game, shall we?” Daniel stood and walked to their en-suite washroom, retrieving several strands of soft silken rope. He cooed gently into her ear as he lovingly tied each of his wife’s limbs to the bed frame and stood back to admire his work. Rarity could tell Samantha was nervous- possibly this was the couple’s first time doing this sort of thing. However, she seemed to be going along with it, and her smile never left her face. “Good, now you’re ready.”

“Ready?” Samantha lifted her head to look into her husbands eyes. She froze. Rather than the loving, caring husband that she had been with for years, she saw what she could only describe as an emotionless husk. His eyes revealed nothing of what was going on in his head. The romance had left the room, and been replaced by fear. “R-ready for what? Honey, what’s going on? Daniel?!” Rarity could feel terror welling up inside of her. N-no. Not here. Not them. Anything but that, please, if there is anything sacred left in the human world, not like this!

“I’ve always wondered how genuinely nice you are as a wife. You’ve always seemed so very good and kind. Too good. It made me wonder: do you have a point where you’re not nice anymore? Where does the fake Samantha end and the real Samantha begin?” He reached into the side drawer and pulled out a lighter and a knife.

“W-what are you doing with those? What are you talking about?! I am the real Samantha! The one you married years ago! I love you!” The woman was shrieking, and in her head another voice, one belonging to a white unicorn, was shrieking too.

“I’m not so sure.” He flicked on the lighter and began to heat the knife until it was glowing red hot. He slowly brought it closer to the woman’s body. The fear in her eyes was palpable and he relished it for a moment longer before pressing the flat of the blade against her stomach. She screamed, feeling the blade cook her skin from the outside in. Blisters welled up where he had pressed it against her, leaving severe burns. Between sobbing screams Samantha yelled at him.

“What are you doing?! I-I loved you… I LOVE you so much! Why are you doing this to me?!” The woman was breathing through clenched teeth, trying to force the pain away.

“Oh I know you loved me. You loved the kids more though. You promised me on our wedding day that it would only be me for the rest of our lives.” Daniel heated the knife to temperature again, this time pressing it against her the moment it glowed hot. Her screams were bloodcurdling, cutting through the house. Rarity was losing her sanity. What is going on? He loved her! They were a good family! How could he be doing this?! This isn’t possible!

“The kids?!” Samantha was yelling at the man now, any fear of upsetting him further gone as soon as he mentioned her children. “This is about the kids?! You love them! Andrew and Chloe think you’re a hero!”

“NO!” He plunged the knife into her shoulder, feeling it cut into flesh and tendons and began to twist it, eliciting higher and higher pitched screams from his victim. Withdrawing it, he could see the gaping bleeding hole he had left. Sticking a pair of fingers in he wiggled them around, feeling the inside of his wife’s shoulder, pulling at whatever he could get a hold on. Samantha continued screaming, tears rolling down her cheeks. “I acted that way because you loved them!” Withdrawing his fingers, he gazed at the bloody flesh clinging to them and slowly ran his tongue along them.

“W-what are you doing? How can you do this?!” Her words were barely understandable over her constant screaming. Daniel pulled back his arm and slapped his wife across the face hard enough to draw more blood. She whimpered and continued to sob.

“Shut up! Quit screaming! You’re going to wake the children you inconsiderate bitch!” Daniel glared at the woman tied to his bed. Samantha’s eyes flew wide.

“Ch-children? I thought you said they were at my parents? They’re here?! Now?! You monster! YOU MONSTER!” She spat at him, a thin sheen of blood covering the man’s face. Slapping his wife again, Daniel shook his head.

“Of course they’re here! I wouldn’t want them to miss out on ‘family’ time. I’ve told them that no matter what they hear, they have to stay in there rooms until I call for them. They’re such obedient children.” Daniel turned to the door. W-what? No. Oh no. No. He couldn’t. He wouldn’t. Samantha, do something! Don’t let him do this! Don’t let him force this on the kids!

“N-no! Anything! Anything but that! I’ll do anything! Say anything! Just spare them! Don’t do this to them!” Samantha struggled against her bonds trying to get free, to do anything to prevent her husband… her husband!… from going any further.

“Oh, you will. You will be saying quite a lot. Andrew! Chloe! Come to our bedroom!” He waited patiently for the children to appear while Samantha continued to try and prevent the inevitable.

“N-no, no! Don’t! Kids! Andrew! Chloe! Don’t come to our room! Run! Go next door! RUN!” Daniel silenced her with another slap. As she squealed in pain, she could feel the hole in her shoulder leaking more and more bodily fluids. The children dutifully appeared, side by side wearing their pajamas, looking at the scene in front of them. Chloe went white while Andrew struggled with what he should be doing. Their father gave them a warm smile.

“It’s alright. Come on over guys. Your mother and I just want to have a talk with you.” The children slowly moved towards the bed while their whimpering mother shook her head emphatically. Seeing them hesitate Daniel stood up, slammed and locked the bedroom door, and physically pulled the pair closer to the bed, his smile gone. “Now, then. Watch closely. This is what happens when you’re a lying bitch.”

Daniel took his knife and pushed it slowly into the woman’s leg, feeling it reach a depth of five or six inches and slowly with a sawing motion moved it down her thigh, opening a large gash deep enough to see muscle and scrape along the bone. The children flinched as their mother screamed so hard her vocal chords gave out. As her face was stitched into open-mouthed horror, a faint wheeze replaced the blood-curdling scream.

“Daddy! What are you doing?! You’re hurting mommy!” Chloe reached out to stop him from doing any more harm and received a backhand from the man in return. She lay on the floor crying, refusing to get up.

“I’m doing what should have been done long ago. We’re just trying to see who this lady is. Now get up and get back here.” Daniel glared at his daughter for a moment longer before screaming at her. “GET UP!” Out of sheer fear for her life, Chloe shakily rose to her feet and stood next to her brother. “Good. Now.” Daniel turned back to the shell of a woman that he one called his wife.

“I’ll give you a choice. I can sit here all night cutting away at you until your innards spill out across the bedroom floor, and then do the same to your children.” Daniel looked between the pair of sobbing, shivering kids to which Samantha shook her head. “Or, give them up.” W-what?

“W-what?” Samantha forced the question out, trying not to focus on the gaping wounds in her body.

“Give them up. We’ll let the government take them, have them adopted out, whatever. What’s it going to be?” Daniel held the knife above his wife threateningly.
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“W-we can’t! I can’t! They’re my children!” Samantha looked between them, and the fear in their eyes.

“Would you rather they die? You would kill your own children just to make a point? Shame on you woman.” He brought the knife closer to her. Samantha looked between the knife and the kids and struggled with the hardest decision of her life. Part of her realized that she was about to die anyways- the wounds were leaking enough blood that there was no way she would survive much longer without medical help, and the chances of that were slim. Her children’s life were held in the balance however. She took a moment to think. Don’t give in! Rarity wished that Samantha could hear her. You can’t let him take your children like this! Oh darling, DON’T LET HIM WIN!. Rarity’s words did not and could not reach the woman however, and with a sigh Samantha made her decision.

“F-fine. Andrew, Chloe, look at mommy. I love you very, very much, always remember that mommy loves you. After tonight, you’re going to live with a new mommy who’s going to love you just as much, if not more.” Samantha couldn’t tell which hurt more, the physical pain of her wounds, or the emotional trauma of having to force her children away just to save them.

“No mommy! We don’t want to go!” Chloe cried and threw her head on the bed. Andrew sobbed and shook his head, wordlessly trying to express his feelings. Rarity was screaming.

“There that was easy. Gave me the proof I need as well.” Daniel chuckled, to which Samantha swung her head towards him.

“W-what do you mean?” Samantha glanced between him and the knife he was still holding.

“I knew you were fake. A real mother would never have given up her children. Oh well.” Daniel shrugged and plunged the knife downwards, driving it through Chloe’s back, impaling her heart and killing her instantly. NO! You monster! How could you?!

“NO!” Samantha hoarsely screamed again, watching her daughters limp body roll of the bed and collapse on the floor. She looked back at Daniel and Andrew and shook her head. Andrew’s eyes went wide and he slowly backed away from his father.

“Dad… dad what did you do? Dad what are you…” His words were cut off as Daniel grabbed him by the head and dragged him into the bathroom kicking and screaming. Several sickening thuds later and the bathroom fell silent. Samantha and Rarity could hear the body slump to the floor. Daniel walked back into the bedroom, blood coating his shirt and hands. He smiled and walked towards the bed.

“Now that they’re dealt with…” He picked up the knife again and held it over his wife. Samantha and Rarity continued to scream inconsolably.

Rarity awoke screaming, her voice hoarse, still feeling everything cut, wound and burn that had been inflicted on her host. Running to the washroom she vomited profusely. Fluttershy slowly trotted into the room and laid a hoof on her back. Rarity shrieked and swung her hoof out, striking the offending limb away. Her glare softened as she saw that rather than a human, it was a meek looking pony.

“O-oh Fluttershy! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to hit you! I thought it was…” Rarity trailed off, remembering the aftermath of her last nightmare.

“A human?” Fluttershy rubbed her hoof with another and questioningly looked at the unicorn.

“Y-yes.” Rarity blushed and looked down, waiting for the expected tongue-lashing. Instead, she received a gentle hug, and Fluttershy nuzzled up against her. Rarity lost control of her emotions and buried her head in her friend’s mane, weeping openly. “I don’t want anything to come between us. Nothing at all… and i-if I have to suffer through these Celestia accursed nightmares alone, I will.” Fluttershy began to cry too.

“I-I-I know Rarity. I know you haven’t meant anything against Nathan the whole time, I’ve just been so lost.” She stroked the unicorn’s mane gently. “W-why don’t you tell me about your d-dreams?”

“No! I couldn’t do that to you… it would destroy you.” Rarity backed away and shook her head vigorously. Fluttershy stepped towards her and gave a warm smile, tears still flowing.

“It’ll be alright. I have my best friend in the world to help me through it, just like I can help her.” Fluttershy nodded and gently embraced the unicorn again. Rarity frowned, but slowly nodded her head.

“A-alright. Let me start at the beginning. There was this wonderful human family and two… two wonderful children named Andrew and Chloe.”