“Order up,” Donut Joe cried, setting down four plates at their table. “Six cake, two crullers, a jelly and three glaze. That’ll be fifteen bits, ladies.”

Twilight —or rather, the frizzy-haired, green coated mare she was disguised as— widened her eyes. “I don’t recall your prices being so… exotic, Joe.”

The stallion sighed, wiping down his counter of crumbs and other miscellaneous soil. “Sorry kids, overhead is through the roof these days. ‘New management’ is trying to fund everything from the inside since trade between Equestria and everypo—”

He shut his mouth promptly, staring at each window as he corrected himself. “Everyone else, basically vanished overnight. I don’t know how picking the pockets of the local businesses helps in the long run, but that’s what’s happening.

“Hmm,” he grunted, staring out the window at a pair of CID on patrol. “But what can you do? I hear whispers about some sort of rebellion brewing, but I just feel bad for ‘em. It’s over, and they’re just hurtin’ themselves actin’ otherwise. Keep your muzzle clean and do what you can to survive, that’s what I say.

“Aw, ‘nough politics though, you kids ain’t here for that.”

“Got your bits!” Pinkie declared, wearing a purple streak in her still pink hair, her coat bleach-white. She nosed out a number of glimmering gold pieces, offering them to the baker.

“Thanks for dropping in.” Joe beamed warmly, scooping up the gold. “You enjoy those.”

Once out of earshot, Rainbow Dash groaned as her teeth sunk into a jelly. “I ‘shtill say ah cud’ve gne...” Rainbow swallowed while Twilight crinkled her nose. “With a pyrite coat and onyx mane.”

Twilight sighed. “Y’know, just because Rarity isn’t here doesn’t mean nopony’s going to chide you for talking with your mouth full.

“And no, disguising yourself to look like Daring Do isn’t going to attract that much less attention. At least you get to keep lightning in your cutie mark.”

“Yeah,” Rainbow sighed, grinning in spite of herself as she looked over the twin blue bolts on her bright pink coat. “Still don’t know why pink.”

“It offsets the blue mane,” Fluttershy explained, herself wearing a red mane in a ponytail —of all things— and ice-blue coat.

Rainbow shrugged. “Whatever, it’s just good to be back somewhere sorta normal. So that’s it then, you got the dragons to come and you went home? Nothing else?”

Twilight shook her head, magicking a cake donut in reach of her mouth.. “We don’t know anything for sure. They still need to deliberate. But I hope so. Otherwise, yeah, coming home was pretty straightforward.”

“I can’t believe it’s tomorrow!” Fluttershy hissed. “Oh girls, aren’t the rest of you scared?”

“Of course,” Twilight told her, eyes going soft. “It all comes down to this, everything on the line. It’s why I wanted us to do this, just have one good, normal moment, before…”

Rainbow stared at her as Twilight gazed off into space. “Before we kick Mandeville back to whatever hole he crawled out of! Stop looking at your hooves like you’re waiting your turn in front of a firing squad!

“We’ve got this, it’s always been easier doing this stuff than waiting for it. Me? I can’t wait.”

“Y-yeah,” Pinkie grimaced. “Can’t wait!”

Walking the streets of Canterlot had simultaneously been a good and sour outing. Disguising themselves was all but essential now, if it hadn’t been before Twilight’s emancipation from the literal iron fist of Adrian Mandeville. Hiding from the drones was easy enough, but ensuring they weren’t recognized by passerby was equally important. They had gone as far as to avoid the use of names, lest one of the drones pick up on it.

“All the ponies here sure don’t like being in the open anymore,” Rainbow commented, as a lone stallion hugged the wall past them before nearly slamming the door to a bank behind him as he scrambled indoors.

Everything in Canterlot was more or less as it had been before, except that the streets were far emptier. Few were taking pleasure-strolls like they were, mostly keeping out of sight. Outdoor dining areas kept their umbrellas closed, as all the customers preferred to remain inside.

“Just think about it like we’ve got the whole town to ourselves,” Twilight offered, lifting her chin up and starting a crooked canter that she evidently considered a strut.

Rainbow found herself biting into her own hoof as tears of mirth formed in the corners of her eyes, forcing herself to look away. Finally, Twilight stopped when she noticed she was alone, turning around to see a pair of bemused looks, and one that looked ready to cackle like a goose.

“Oh come on, this is about escapism! We’re supposed to be having fun!”

“What’re ya’ lookin’ at me for?” Rainbow demanded, grinning like a maniac. “I’m having a great t— Whoa!”

“What?” Twilight demanded, tracing Rainbow’s gaze behind her. What she found was something she hadn’t expected, but supposed she should have.

She stared up at the delicate-looking grey monolith, her lips thinning as her eyebrows sank. Paw and talon stretched outward in warding, face twisted in a permanent howl of fear and surprise, the bizarre form of the draconequus loomed from the well manicured grass of Canterlot Cliffs Park.

“D-d,” Fluttershy stammered, struggling to push Pinkie Pie in front of her only to slide back herself, “Discord.”

“I didn’t know this was where he’d end up,” Rainbow told them.

“I know,” Twilight agreed, not taking her eyes off the stony Spirit of Chaos. “I’d have thought he’d be placed in a… a vault, surrounded by guards or something.”

Finally finding her nerve, Fluttershy approached, hiding her face behind her mane. “Well, he used to be in a garden before. Maybe Princess Celestia just thought being outside with green grass, happy ponies and sunshine would better his mood?”

Rainbow Dash cocked an eyebrow. “You think he can tell anything that’s going on, stuck like that?”

Twilight continued to stare. “Now that you mention it, I think he knows most everything that’s going on.

“Remember how prepared he was for us? He knew us, all of us. He knew how to get to us. He didn’t figure that out in the short time he was awake before the Princess summoned us.”

She approached the statue, until she was feet from its legs, staring into the blank and petrified eyes. “You probably even know what the resistance is planning.”

Her frown deepened, as she whispered, “Don’t you?”

The other three watched her as she continued to stare intently.

“Um, Morning Star?” Pinkie broached. “Are you okay?”

Twilight ignored the question. “You’d be laughing at us, if you could. Our last option, turning you loose, destroying Luna and Celestia’s legacy without lifting a hoof.

“Well let me tell you: I’ll personally make sure you’re bound to serve us, even if I have to follow you around for the rest of my life in case you try something.”

Rainbow walked herself between Twilight and the statue. “Whoa whoa,” she whispered conspiratorially, “if he can hear you, then all you’re giving him is ammo to mess with you! Who says he won’t just refuse until we meet his conditions?”

Twilight scoffed. “And who says whispering will make him deaf to you? Rain— I mean, ‘Firefly,’ unless somepony else has the Elements bound to them, he’ll be stuck like that forever with nopony to free him.”

“Actually,” Fluttershy said, “if he just waited to outlive us, we couldn’t be bonded to the Elements, and he’d shake free anyway.”

Twilight’s eyebrows rose as she conceded the point with an “Uhhhh…”

“Hey!” Rainbow cried, clapping a hoof over Fluttershy’s mouth. “Don’t give him ideas!”

“You girls just don’t get Discord, do you?” Pinkie sighed. When her friends shrugged, she began.

“Discord wouldn’t be too happy about losing the princesses, because they’ve always been the ones he got the biggest rise out of. Prime targets because of all the harmony they supply. Plus, they live long like he does, so he won’t have playmates like them for a really long time, and dragons are too touchy to be a challenge for pranks.

“Then there’s the ponies! See, he’d rather have lots and lots of ponies to see the chaos he does, because he LOVES being the center of attention! He’d help us with the sun no problem.

“See, Discord might be a dumb meanie-head sometimes when he’s on a roll, but he doesn’t really wanna hurt anypony, he just wants to have a good time. He’s not really ‘EVIL,’ he just likes to mess with ponies.”

“I… I,” Twilight sputtered, losing steam before sighing. “I’ll take your word for it, I guess.”

All four ponies leapt as a scream pierced the air behind them, followed by a higher pitched scream from Fluttershy.

Whirling around, they saw a teenage filly with modest but noticeable braces prancing from hoof to hoof, staring Fluttershy in the eyes with the intensity of a five-alarm fire. “Ohmagoshohmagoshohmagosh, you’re FLUTTERSHY!”

“Wha? I mean— N-no, no, I’m not, you must be a little confused,” the petrified pegasus whispered, backing away only for the mare to constantly close the distance. “M-my name is… Posey! I’m not a model.”

“It’s so YOU!” the bracefaced filly gushed. “I tried all your looks with Photo Finish. You’re such a perfect demure ball of adorable!”

Fluttershy finally found herself backed into Twilight, trapped between a unicorn and a headcase.

“Um, excuse me!” Twilight projected over the rambling mare.

“—so of course you left at the top of your game—”

“You’re kinda causing a scene here!”

“—wouldn’t have the restraint, what with all that—”

Rainbow then landed forcibly between Fluttershy and the mare, clearing her throat loudly. The fangirl stopped, yet the noise persisted. Rainbow then turned to see the source, also babbling at Fluttershy.

“—and that’s when I realized the difference between an alligator and a crocodile—”

“PINK—” Rainbow bellowed, before correcting herself, “I mean, SURPRISE!”

“Ooh!” Pinkie cooed. “Who are we surprising?! I love— Oh, wait, I got it. Sorry.”

“So, uh,” Rainbow began, leaning her head, “I’m Firefly. And you, you’re…”

“Tessen!” the fangirl replied. “But all my friends call me Tess.”

“So, Tessen… not scared a heights, are ya?”

Tessen stared blankly. “Uh, no, not really.”

“Twi— I mean, ‘Morning Star?’ ”

In a violet flare, Tessen vanished, a panicked yelp emitting from a nearby rooftop.

Rainbow grinned as her eyes narrowed. “Haha, nice!”

The four of them stared up at the bewildered fanfilly, gathering together once more.

“Will… will she be okay up there?” Fluttershy wondered aloud.

“Of course,” Twilight said, wearing a self-satisfied smirk. “That’s just the East-Canterlot observatory. That roof’s not even off-limits to visitors. And maybe she can point her eyes somewhere other than a trendy teen magazine while she’s there.”

Moments later, another, higher scream sounded around the corner of the block. Rainbow sighed. “Ugh! Fluttershy, I never thought we’d have to worry about you blowing our low-profile.”

Twilight stared down in the direction of the sound. “I don’t think that’s another fan.”

A peach colored pegasus filly bolted into an alleyway, the machine hot on her heels. But she gaped at a solid brick wall on the other end. Trapped.

Slamming her eyes shut, she charged forward, flapping her little wings for all they were worth. She’d barely cleared her hooves of the floor when she slammed into an open trash lid with a sound like a misshapen gong. Nearly in tears, she shielded herself with it, cowering as she awaited the inevitable. A towering shadow filled the entrance to the alley.

“Citizen, cease and desist. Resistance will do you no good,” the CID ordered, its body lowering to prevent the filly from sneaking past its spindly legs.

“No!” the filly moaned, as she started to cry. “I d-didn’t mean it! I don’t wanna die!”

“HEY!” a voice demanded from the opening of the alley.

The CID turned, measuring the potential threat. A pegasus and unicorn stood firm at the mouth of the alley, two other heads poking around the side.

“Go about your business, citizens,” the CID answered. “To interfere with sentencing is obstruction of justice.”

“What’re you chasing that little filly for?” Rainbow asked brusquely.

“It was my understanding that children weren’t subject to adult charges,” Twilight added.

The CID turned its attention their way, gun still trained down the alley. “This exception has been treated as a loophole to evade prosecution in an unacceptably high number of circumstances. The exemption of minors is hereby lifted when no responsible keeper can be found, in order to eliminate such legal abuse.

“This minor was found vandalizing a Spotter unit, and will be summarily executed as a result.”

“I DIDN’T MEAN TO-HOO-HOO!” the filly bawled. “I was just learning to fly, and it flew into me! I didn’t mean to break it! It was a ACCIDENT!”

“Defendant's confession is recorded, and appreciated,” the CID said, turning back to the child. “Please put your forelimbs against the wall and remain still for sentencing.”

“NO-HO-HO-HO! GO AWAY!”

“It was us!” Twilight shouted. “We put her up to it!”

The CID’s body turned slowly their way.

“You wanted adults to bear responsibility? You’ve got ‘em!”

“Yeah!” Rainbow cried, wings flared out as they stared the machine down. Twilight, meanwhile, glanced sideways at the empty outdoor section of yet another cafe.

“Confession is recorded, and appreciated,” the CID repeated, like the robot it was, as its gun arm whipped around and fired.

A burst of lavender light delivered a metal cafe table between the CID and its quarry, taking every impact as it raced forward before smashing into the drone and delivering its overturned body into the opposite wall.

“Go kiddo, we’ve got this!” Pinkie declared, as the four bolted down the lane and away from the alley.

“Oh goodness!” Fluttershy cried. “So what’s the plan?!”

“Amble Avenue!” Twilight told her. “It’s not far, trust me!”

“Oh boy!” Pinkie said, staring straight ahead. “Cavalry at twelve-o-clock!

“Kinda ironic, really,” she added, as two additional CID turned the corner towards them.

“What do we do?!” Fluttershy demanded.

“Run the blockade!” Twilight said, not slowing down a moment.

The CID trained their weapons in seconds, but Twilight was already focused on the drainage grate running across the CID’s end of the street. With a slight magical effort, water surged up as a great wall between them and the machines.

Shots fired regardless, mostly wild. As she’d hoped, the refraction of the water was interfering with their targeting, but something more made itself apparent soon after.

“Augh! Ow!” Dash cried, stumbling.

“Rainbow Dash?!” Twilight asked, ending her charge.

“I’m… fine?” Rainbow answered, a red weal on her forehead. “Hey, they nailed me! What gives, I’ve gotten slingshot injuries worse than that!”

Twilight looked back to the CID, who continued firing at them wildly, only for her to notice the bullets. Rather than whizzing past, they were visibly arcing from the water, bouncing over the ground. Still fast, but far from lethal.

Her mouth hung open. “The water is slowing the bullets down! Just a foot of water has enough friction to rob its kinetic energy!”

“Six-o-clock!” Pinkie shrieked, heralding the approach of three spotter drones.

In a literal flash, Twilight forced the water back onto the CID and teleported the party behind them. With yet another magical motion, the water froze in place, sealing the CID with it. They then made a left turn down the next street, Rainbow taking flight.

Rainbow flew up beside a gargoyle on a nearby rooftop, waiting as the Spotters flew past, only to seize two of them by the barrels and smash the pair of them between the third in the middle. The Spotter dropped to the floor as Rainbow Dash picked up speed, spinning mid flight before releasing her captives into the walls of two separate buildings where they clattered into ruin.

“End of the balcony and we jump!” Twilight ordered.

“Jump?!” Fluttershy parroted, looking to the street’s end which led into a sheer drop to the valley below.

Rainbow fixed her with a look, switching gaze between Fluttershy’s face and wings. “Do I have to remind you again?”

“Trust me!” Twilight answered, as another pair of CID rounded the corner in front of them.

In another teleportive flash, Twilight and her friends were over the ledge of the balcony, the group at large crying out as they dropped suddenly out of sight.

The CID approached the ledge, peering over and towards the abyss, a waterfall roaring down to the valley floor a thousand feet below.

“Case relayed to ground and air patrol. Formulating potential landing impact radius. Orders: Continue assigned route. Execute.”

Finally, the CID walked calmly away, back to prowling the streets. Below the balcony however, four attentive ears sagged in relief, as Twilight finally put the floating group down on the walkway beside the waterfall source, and they travelled down the sewer tunnels together.

“You WHAT?!”

Twilight, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy and even Rainbow Dash winced as the short but imposing General Smolder’s temple bulged with popping veins.

Corey was in the middle of a short briefing on the layout of Mandeville’s facility, outlining what they were likely to find once inside, when the four had pulled the general and princess aside and explained what they had been doing.

The general’s cry had caused a slight interruption in the briefing as heads turned towards them. Little could compare with Cadance however, whose eyes had narrowed considerably.

“We used disguises!” Twilight offered. “All of us, and we never used our real names!”

“Twilight, I can’t believe this of you!” Cadance snapped. “Our entire plan revolves around the Elements, and you snuck FOUR of them up to have doughnuts in sight of the heaviest drone-occupied city in Equestria! What if you’d been caught?! What if you’d been killed?!

“And Donut Joe’s? Twilight, Joe knows you! He easily could have seen through you!”

“And despite the success of your disguise,” Smolder growled, “you all but blew your cover provoking a streetfight you easily could have lost.”

“Hey, you don’t understand!” Rainbow rebutted. “They were gonna kill this kid because of that stupid vandalism thing!”

Twilight nodded. “All due respect Cadance, but what were we supposed to do, just leave her?”

Cadance took a breath and closed her eyes. “Forgetting for a moment that you shouldn’t have been there to begin with? That might be exactly what you should have done.”

Twilight stepped back a few feet, while the others mouths hung open. “W-wh-what? Cadance, you can’t be—”

“Twilight wake up! That sort of thing happens all the time out there!” Cadance’s furrowed brows rose slightly, clearly pained. “I know how cold that sounds, I know that goes against every instinct you or I probably have, but we don’t have the resources to answer the plight of every individual pony we come across!

“We have to keep our eye on the prize. We’re working to end Mandeville’s reign entirely, to stop that from ever happening again.”

Smolder grunted his approval. “The teams we send up are given explicit orders to stay on-mission. They have specific timetables, they’re not allowed to risk the resistance’s discovery or their mission in order to play the hero.”

Twilight stared between them, unable to find words.

“You think that was about being a hero?” Fluttershy asked at last.

The others turned to look at her, the silence settling again.

“We did that because it was the right thing to do. I know you’ve got big strategies and they’re drawing every last ounce of strength, but if we’re not going to help the ones we’re in a position to save, then what are we fighting to preserve in Equestria? What are we struggling to bring back that we can’t personify in the struggle?”

“That’s a real sweet idea honey,” Smolder said, “but in the real world, in this war, it doesn’t count for much!”

Fluttershy huffed, a frown sprouting from her face. “If you don’t believe in Equestria, then how can you ever bring it back?”

“Believe in— I—” Smolder sputtered.

“And what would your aunt have said about leaving innocent fillies to their fates?” Fluttershy wondered aloud to Cadance. “Do you really think she would ever have told Twilight to leave somepony she could protect? I won't believe it, and I think you’ll make a poor replacement if you do.”

Smolder sputtered again. “Th-that! Is too far, missy! How dare you speak to a superior—”

“Smolder, stop! It-it’s fine,” Cadance ordered, ears folded over. “I don’t know what my aunt would have done, Fluttershy. But I will admit, there are things I cannot see her doing. But her wisdom was always in finding some clever way to do the right thing, regardless of how hard that was.”

Smolder eyed Fluttershy accusingly. “We’re straying from the point; it’s not us on trial here! What in Equestria are you doing telling us this anyway? The way you say it, you got away clean! What’s this confession for? Guilty conscience?”

Twilight took a calming breath. “While we were fighting off CID patrols, we learned something. Something about Mandeville’s weapons, about guns.

“It’s water!”

The two looked at each other, then back to Twilight, simultaneously repeating, “Water?”

“Twilight brought up this wall of water ‘tween us and the CID!” Rainbow explained. “It wasn’t even that thick, and it slowed the bullets down so much it was like getting hit, not stabbed!”

“They lost a lot of their kinetic energy passing through!” Twilight said. “If we could use this properly, we would have yet another shield against Mandeville’s weapons!”

“And how exactly do we test this theory of yours?” Smolder asked.

“I dunno,” Corey said, looming behind them, “I might be of some use.”

The muffled “pfooot!” from Corey’s water bottle suppressor was complemented by a nigh simultaneous splash and thud, as the round from Corey’s USP Match sank through a beachball-sized sphere of water held aloft by Twilight’s magic and into a target on the opposite side. The lead itself clattered to the ground before its casing had danced itself into silence, spinning along its brass rims.

“It bounced,” Smolder said at last.

Corey responded by blasting another three rounds, to similar effect, before sinking one into a different target.

“That’ll be our control group,” Corey said, smirking.

Engaging the safety, they approached the two targets. By this point, Etherea had joined them and was silently assessing everything.

“It still left a mark,” Cadance commented, “but no doubt this side came out better than the unprotected shot.”

Indeed, the dents in the water target paled in comparison to the splintered hole in the other.

“Jesus guys,” Corey said, poking his finger through the target hole, “these rounds are forty-fives, this is the good stuff, and it stopped ‘em cold. I think you might be onto something here.

“Can’t believe I forgot about that, I know I’ve heard this somewhere before. Water’s the best bullet-stop there is.”

“Water shields,” Smolder said, shaking his head. “Who knew? And in Cloudsdale? It’s not like we’ll run short.”

“It won’t be impregnable,” Etherea began, “but I’ll fear less for our lighter than air warships. I don’t support the risk it took to discover this, but we would be fools not to make use of it.”

Rainbow surreptitiously smacked Twilight’s hoof victoriously. Her right hoof, which she stared at wide-eyed, in a silent howl of pain.

“Well, I think that calls for a well-earned lunch-break,” Corey offered as he walked backwards, before tripping over a teal-colored unicorn who was putting up fresh target bullseyes.

Stuck under Corey’s knees, the yellow-eyed unicorn glared over at him, blowing a white lock of hair out of her face. “Watch where you’re going you— Um…”

“Corey Webber,” he answered, offering an open hand as he got up. “I’m a human.”

The mare stared at his hand a moment, before looking at him in the eye. “Lyra Heartstrings. I don’t care.”

She stomped off, grumbling as she replaced the next bullseye in line. Corey shrugged to himself and followed the others to the mess hall.

“I for one support your decision, Junior,” Nightlight said, taking a healthy swig of chamomile, before smacking his lips as he eyed his tongue. “Bleh! Of all the caffeinated things we could smuggle in, why tea? I hate tea.”

Twilight smirked as she chewed the specially prepared daffodil sandwich her mother had brought to the mess hall. They had agreed to have a private family lunch, and she had to admit, it reminded her deeply of her childhood.

“Hon,” Velvet began, “be lucky you’re having something caffeinated at all. I’d never let you get all strung-up on coffee the day before something this important anyway.”

“Try n’ stop me…” Nightlight muttered, swirling his cup.

“Sorry Nighty, didn’t catch that.”

“I asked if anypony could top me off, this stuff screams for more cream. Eh?”

The knee of her father’s foreleg poked her in the side, and she rewarded him the mildest chortle. “Dad, that’s kinda…”

He grimaced. “Lame?”

Velvet nodded to her husband, rolling her eyes with a smile.

“Mom?” Twilight said after a while. “Dad? About tomorrow—”

“You’re going to talk us out of going tomorrow, aren’t you?” Velvet postulated.

“Well…”

“I’m sorry, Junior,” Nightlight said, unyielding. “We couldn’t live with ourselves if we sat by and watched our daughter handle this without us. Besides, you’ve done plenty of that before now, haven’t you?”

Velvet smiled at her. “My brave, grown-up little girl. Saved Equestria three times before now, and we could just explode with pride! But this time, you need all the help you can get.”

Twilight found herself speechless, and watched them in silence.

“We believe in you, kid. I reckon tomorrow’s gonna be number four. Maybe this time they’ll give you a sundae for it.”

“Nighty!” Velvet scolded in laughter, as they hugged their daughter between them.

Twilight returned their embrace, closing her eyes.

“I love you guys.”

At one in the afternoon, Smolder gathered the infiltration team in the War Room, a map of the Everfree Forest and surrounding areas upon the blackboard.

“Every one of you are getting shuddeye right after this meeting concludes, because come seven tonight, you’re all beginning your mission.”

“I thought this was tomorrow,” Applejack questioned, chewing her tongue thoughtfully.

“Barely,” Smolder said. “And everypony else here’s not far behind you. By four-thirty, just before the usual dawn time, we’ll be positioned to strike.”

“The early hour will matter little to the drones,” Etherea told them, “but given our... ‘illustrious ruler’s’ sleeping habits, we will catch him when he is least prepared. Any decisions he makes will be of minimal effectiveness. Nopony is at their best unrested.”

“Um, hold on, hold on,” Corey began. “You need us all to leave here, infiltrate the facility, and be ready to act in a window of,” Corey paused, “ten hours, just under ten hours.

“Forgive me, but between the caves, the journey, the forest, all while employing absolute stealth mind you.”

He paced a moment, before giving a quick shake of his head. “There’s no way we can make that on foot. We’d need to have literally left yesterday. A couple of us with a fast pegasus? Maybe, but even then we’d need a way inside, and this group can’t all fly, not at the speeds we need anyway. That could take hours. I’m sorry, I just don’t see it.”

“Glad you said something, Specialist,” Smolder said, smirking. “We’ve got a promising lead from an informant in Stalliongrad. If the intel is accurate, then we have your way in.”

“Stalliongrad?” Rarity said, nostrils flaring. “That’s on the other end of the forest! It’s nearly worse than just knocking on Mandeville’s front door! In regards to time, anyway.”

“But didn’t we mention?” Etherea said. “You’ll not be walking, nor flying. For this journey, we’re engaging a long-distance teleport.”

Twilight’s eyes turned to saucers. “For a group this size? Etherea, as skilled as you are, it’ll take the magic of a dozen mages to help you. That kind of magical spike will almost certainly be detected.”

“This deep underground, the resulting surge in the magical ether will appear as nothing on the surface,” Etherea explained, “and the spot you’ll arrive in Stalliongrad exists under similar conditions.”

“And as it is,” Cadance began, “Stalliongrad is not yet occupied, and a frequently used safe harbor for Cloudsdale. Evidently Mandeville didn’t deem it of enough strategic importance to expand the railways, or cut a swath through the forest like he did invading Canterlot.”

The group contemplated a moment, before Smolder began again. “I don’t need to tell you that everything… everything is riding on this. On you. If we fail here, even the best retreat we could muster will incur crippling losses. There will be no resistance left worth taking seriously.

“Your orders are simple: get in, find the Elements. If you can find it along the way, disable the CAIRO machine and stem our losses. Otherwise, get out. Get out and head right for the rendezvous point in Stalliongrad. After this, we don’t know whether this chapter will still be safe. Then we lay low until we can be ready to release Discord. Are there any questions?”

“Uh, yeah,” Rainbow intoned. “I know I’m supposed to meet up after that too, but why am I here and not hearing this from Spitfire?”

“Nopony else knows about Stalliongrad,” Cadance answered. “Our informant there is the only one outside of this room with that information. It is strictly ‘need to know,’ and Captain Spitfire doesn’t. You, Rainbow, know because you bear one of the Elements, and we will need you in the end.”

“Um, wow,” Rainbow muttered, smirking. “My clearance is above Wonderbolt status! That’s cool.”

Smolder cleared his throat. “If there is nothing else, I advise that you all rest. If necessary, there are spells and other various aids to ensure you can sleep. Dreamlessly.”

Smolder’s expression softened, and his voice grew quieter. “I wouldn’t blame any of you for having trouble with that tonight. You’re all dismissed.”

Twilight knew as well as any of them how seriously she needed to take getting her rest, and yet the potion she was provided remained stoppered beside her as she sat under the covers. However much she understood the need for rest, she had unfinished business to attend to.

Two sealed letters sat before her: one with an embossed lightning bolt and cloud, the other with three butterflies. She opened the former.

‘Twilight,

I’m no good at this mushy, sappy stuff, but right now I kinda wish I was. I’m drawing this huge blank, and all I can come up with is how much this hurts!

It’s not fair! It shoulda been me, you never did anything wrong! Stuff just kept happening to you, that heartless, no good, bottom feeding hunk of horesapples finally just went and killed you!

I tried to save you, I promise I tried! But Applejack, she

Look, if there’s some chance you know what I’m writing, then I gotta be real with you. I’ve never had a friend like Applejack make me feel so betrayed. And what really gets me is I’m afraid she was right! And then I feel even madder! Cuz I can’t accept that! I can’t accept that the right thing to do was nothing! I coulda done it, I know I could! Things woulda turned out okay. Somehow. Right?

I just can’t even look at her anymore. She just reminds me of how I let you down, and I just keep hearing her say what I plain old don’t wanna hear!

What’s worse is that nopony else is taking sides, and I’m almost mad at them for not backing me up, but I know if they did we’d be even more broken up than we are now. And then I think of you. You wouldn’t want that to happen, and I’m trying, I swear I am!

It’s all just so frustrating! And I miss you! Darnit, I can’t believe some egghead I had zero things in common with turned out to be one of my best friends ever. I don’t want to say goodbye. Forget that! I’m not doing it. Best friends forever, and forever ain’t done yet.

You don’t like it? Too bad, you’re stuck with me.’

Twilight shook her head and smiled at the ending bravado. Dark spots disfigured the paper below the last line, betraying the facade of a stiff upper lip. “Oh Rainbow.”

It was comforting, perhaps, to see that she wasn’t as sure about opposing Applejack as she seemed. All the same, there was clearly a lot of pain and frustration in her. As revealing as the letter was, they were no closer to sewing these wounds shut. Until they did, she doubted if Discord would be going anywhere. And she couldn’t convince herself that it wouldn’t be for the best.

She opened Fluttershy’s envelope. Twilight had been surprised that she consented to having her letter read, but it wouldn’t have been the first time that Fluttershy put her spine on full display.

‘Dear Twilight,

Everything is so different now. I can’t believe it was just a few days ago that I was caring for my critter friends, having a spa appointment with Rarity, and smiling, laughing with you.

I was so helpless, I couldn’t budge to help. I stood up to Rainbow when she demanded Philomena’s tear to save you. You and I know it wouldn’t have worked, but I keep wondering if it would have. Maybe it would have been some kind of miracle we’d only understand afterward. Maybe instead of being reasonable, I was the one between you and living your life again.

And I know I can’t do that to myself! Living in the past, lumping guilt on myself instead of the one who really did this. I was afraid to join the resistance, but I know you’d want me to be brave. I know the others need my help. I don’t know what I can do, but I’ll try my best anyway. I’ve always followed you, Twilight, and I know where you’d be now if you could. Why stop now?

With love,
Fluttershy’

Twilight’s mind had to reel during the times when ponies referred to her in a leadership capacity. She might have led the charge, but she never saw it as being followed, so much as being joined. The cause wasn’t about her after all.

All the same, if it inspired a pony like Fluttershy to stand in the name of what was right, it couldn’t be so bad.

Twilight tucked the letters away, her head slipping out from the covers and towards her pillow, when she saw light poking out from under Pinkie’s bed. Glancing up, the bed’s vacancy inspired a sigh, and she slipped under the poster and back into Pinkie Pie’s ‘happy place.’

“Pinkie?” she cried, making no effort to be silent as she saw her target peering down at something in her hooves.

The only response was a quiet sniff as Pinkie all but ignored her. The closer she got, the more she could make out the weedy image of a young stallion gazing happily back at the camera.

“Pinkie, who is that? Are you alright?”

Pinkie closed her eyes, tear streaks lining her face. “Y’know, so many ponies just look past me, ignore me when I’m not taking things seriously. Like I’m a little filly, and I don’t understand.

“Well, sometimes that’s true, but I get the really important stuff. I still laugh though. I still joke, and keep a smile. Ponies need that, y’know? When it really hurts? Anything but be serious. I did serious, a whole fillyhood of no-nonsense, nothing but reality. Firm reality, hard as a rock.”

More tears trailed down her face as she clutched the photo. “But I can’t just smile anymore! That little light in my heart that keeps me glowing on the inside went out. How can I laugh and joke and smile… at all this?”

Twilight felt helpless to do much else, other than to put a hoof around her back and hug her from behind.

“You were gone Twilight. So were Celestia and Luna. And Double Time.”

“I’m sorry,” Twilight offered, less comfortable by the second. “I’m afraid I don’t know—”

“He saved me,” Pinkie whispered. “He saved my life in the battle, and gave up his. Even after I Pinkie Promised he’d be okay!”

Pinkie turned around and wailed loudly into Twilight’s shoulder.

“I went to his service! Th-thanked his parents and told them how sorry I was! They gave me this picture to remember him by, and it… and I…”

“Pinkie, you couldn’t keep a promise like that. You had no idea what was going to happen! If he cared that much about staying safe, he wouldn’t have done something so brave.”

Pinkie shook her head rapidly, moaning in annoyance. “A Pinkie Promise should never be broken, especially not by Pinkie! You’re right, I made a promise I couldn’t keep, but that’s not any better than lying!”

Twilight hugged her softly. “You helped him overcome his fear the only way you knew how. He didn’t die because of you, you didn’t break a promise. He chose to absolve you of that promise because he wanted to save you. He abandoned safety, knowingly, not because you put him in danger.”

Pinkie sat still, sniffing now and again in relative silence, before finally saying, “Thanks anyway Twilight. It’s a nice thought.

“I think I’m gonna go to bed. Big day tomorrow.”

Twilight grunted an agreement, slowly following as Pinkie vanished through the hole in the floorboards again.

Moments later, she climbed out and towards bed, when she felt a slight pain as something knocked into the side of her head.

“Gah!”

“Oh goodness gracious!” Rarity cried, stumbling. “Twilight dear, what ever are you still doing up?”

Twilight groaned as she looked up to see the seamstress retreat slightly. “I was checking on Pinkie, she seemed troubled. Y’know, I could ask you the same question. Where are you off to?”

“Oh,” Rarity said, paling slightly. “I was off to grab a last little something from the... ‘gourmet’ before bed. But I saw you before dear, under the covers. More of those letters then?”

“Yeah,” she answered. “I mean, this could be it, y’know? I’d rather read those while I still can rather than wonder ‘what if.’ ”

Rarity flashed a sudden smile. “My sentiments precisely!

“Ah well, must be off while I can. Be sure not to forget that potion, darling.”

With that, Rarity traipsed off, leaving Twilight to her thoughts. Thoughts that were circling towards her like vultures.

One long gulp of the sleep potion was all it took. She couldn’t quite remember setting the bottle down.

Twilight stirred at the sound of several voices, figures swimming in her blurred vision. She was upright for some reason.

“Do it!” one said, a male. “Do it now, and be done!”

“No,” another said, “she deserves to know why.”

The numbness of sleep was fading, and as she gathered her surroundings she realized she wasn’t in her cot, and she certainly hadn’t sleepwalked there.

“I dunno guys, I… I-I I just dunno!” the third voice quaked. “I don’t think I can do this!”

“You’ve done your part,” the first said. “Either of us can do the rest.”

Twilight looked to the three stallions before her, all wearing hoods made from bedsheets. She made to speak, only to realize her mouth had been stuffed with cloth, which by now had become soggy on her tongue. Her words came out in an incoherent mumble, drawing the attention of the others to her.

Further investigation brought her to realize her legs were all bound to a pillar behind her. Drawing breath heavier and heavier from her nostrils, she tried to summon magic to free herself, but found it quite impossible.

The situation was clearer, and yet so much a mystery to her. Looking past the stallions watching her without obvious expression, she saw store shelves and supplies. She’d been dragged to some kind of storage room, still within the bounds of the caverns, noting the pink crystals in the corner.

She struggled, straining against her bonds and working to make as much sound as she could. Her eyes found one of the three as he approached, wary of his unknown intent.

“Shhh…” the second voice bid, a unicorn, bringing a midnight hoof across her cheek. “Please, don’t struggle. You’re bound tightly, and wearing an inhibitor on your horn. Though you might find it hard to believe, we’re on your side.”

Twilight enunciated her confusion, pausing to hear him say more.

“Don’t worry, we’re not selling you to Mandeville or some other sick thing. We won’t lay a hoof on your dignity. You don’t deserve to suffer in any way.”

“Stop beating around the bush!” The first voice harped, the owner of a large, chartreuse pegasus body. “This isn’t going to get any easier if you draw it out!”

The second stallion glanced to his companion, closing his barely visible eyes for a moment and bowing his head.

“I’m sorry Twilight Sparkle, but I’m afraid you need to die.”

A different sort of numbness crawled up her spine than before, her breathing intensifying. Though she did her best to keep calm and rational, she felt a pair of tears rolling down her face.

“It’s not for anything you did,” the big one told her, “but you must all the same.”

The unicorn continued. “Sparkle, everypony knows all of this is to free Discord. So many ponies are about to line-up for a suicide mission just to collect your Elements. We would want no part in this operation, but our families are all here.”

Twilight tried to control her shaky breathing, looking into eyes that looked as terrified as she felt.

“But there’s a better way!” the third of them, a lemon-hued and scrawny pegasus, chirped. “We can bring Discord out without the Elements!”

The unicorn nodded his head. “If we slay even one of the bearers, the binding is broken. Just as it was when the six of you took the power from Princess Celestia! It’s what I had hoped for after we’d lost. I believed Mandeville had slipped and fallen on his own sword when he executed you. This time though, it’ll be real.”

Twilight shook her head, doing her best to retort through the muffling of the cloth. The midnight unicorn came closer to her.

“Your sacrifice will save Equestria, Miss Sparkle. Without the needless bloodshed. You of all ponies must understand: after all, you have family here too.”

Twilight wanted to nod with comprehension, but didn’t dare any action to provoke the murder. As if to understand this, the unicorn made to remove her gag, only to stop and look her in the eye.

“I’m going to remove this. So you can speak. We’re not here to butcher you, but be warned: if you scream, we will not hesitate to silence you. Permanently. Please, let us afford you the dignity you deserve.”

Twilight closed her eyes, lowering her chin as the gag was removed. On opening them, the three only watched her.

“I understand. After everything that’s happened, I’d gladly forfeit my life to stop this.

“But I still think ours is the better way! I won’t beg for my life over the lives of so many, but your way means Discord is untethered. You’ll be entirely unable to stop him! At least our way would buy us time, time that can be used to rediscover how unicorns once moved the sun and moon before!”

The chartreuse stallion scoffed. “As if Discord could be kept at bay long enough for that. Face facts: the Elements have just had us on borrowed time. Discord couldn’t be stopped forever, neither could Nightmare Moon. Him coming back is inevitable, even if you found six other ponies to take the reigns before you pass away in your bed one night. You can’t keep that going till the end of time. Might as well face the music, all of us.”

Twilight’s nostrils flared. “You don’t know that! In case you forgot, Nightmare Moon was stopped forever. We brought Luna back! We can find a way to stop Discord, but only if we have the chance to try!

“Everypony going out there is doing it because they want to, not because they were forced. They’re willing to try for the hard win. It’s why my family is fighting, same as yours. It’s not up to me to stop them.”

Twilight’s head sank, and she closed her eyes. “Please. Please let us try!”

The midnight stallion shook his head. “There are too many ‘ifs’ in your plan. Too many ponies at stake. If you can get in. If you can find the Elements. If you can get out. If you can find a lost, ancient magic before Discord turns the tables.

“I’m sorry Twilight. We’re not losing our families on your ‘ifs’. Not when we can end this here, in this room.”

Twilight sagged under her bonds, and found herself trembling as the chartreuse stallion drew a longsword.

“We will not be cruel,” he said. “This is not an execution. You will be made a martyr, loved and remembered for what you gave. Whatever words you wish us to pass on, we will pass them. And this blade is not our only means of putting you to sleep. We can use a poison, if you would prefer.”

Twilight’s mind spun, before she answered, “W-what kind of poisons do you have?”

The third stallion’s shaking hooves reached for the shelves behind him, and came up with three small cups, but the chartreuse stallion stepped in front of him.

“Be warned. While we wish you to have some choice, we will not tolerate stalling. If you do not choose, we will choose for you.”

He backed off, allowing the cowed pegasus to continue.

“We—” He coughed. “We have manticore and arachne venom, or cone shell toxin, if you’d like it very quick.”

“W-which is,” Twilight stammered, “the slowest?”

“The arachne,” the unicorn told her, “but you don’t want it. The pain will be terrible. Those spiders like to drag out the feeding process. If you’re trying to be clever and wait for somepony to cure it, then I beg you to think better. These were all chosen specifically for their lack of antidote.”

“I,” Twilight began, drawing a ragged breath as another trickle of tears rolled over her cheeks, “want to see my friends and family one last time alive. If it won’t matter once I’ve been poisoned, then there’s no point in restraining me, right? Let me die free.”

The three looked at each other, considering, before each nodding to the evident leader of the group.

“If that is how you would have it, then let us hesitate no longer.” The small one handed his midnight friend one of the cups. “Be strong, Twilight Sparkle. This is going to hurt.”

Swiftly, his horn lit up, and she found her mouth forced open. Panic taking her, she found herself quite unable to resist, only moaning as he tipped the cup into her mouth and forced her to take swallow after swallow of the foul ichor, which felt like he was choking her with molten iron.

Conscious thought gave way to primal instinct as she fought to squirm away, to spit out or vomit the horrible mixture. She knew too much resistance would end with her on the wrong side of a sword, but the pain had taken over. Icy shards of glass were carving their way through her veins. Her mouth, throat and belly were on fire.

Somewhere in it all, she heard a distant crashing, his captor dropping the poisoned cup and leaving her hanging slack to the pillar. In that time, part of her slowly processed the pain receding from her mouth and tongue, with no other feeling replacing it. Somehow, still writhing from the agony, part of her escaped into her thoughts on how the numbness must be her nerve-endings dying. Simply incapable of delivering the sensation of pain up her spine anymore.

She noticed the parts of her body that weren’t numb were quickly becoming harder to move. That would be the paralyzing agent of the venom, she knew, holding her rigid. As if rigor mortis was jumping the gun and too eager to begin.

Eyes shut against the pain, she didn’t notice immediately that she was being shaken, or that she was cut loose until she felt gravity shift. She expected to fall to the floor, but something softer caught her, guiding her down.

“Twilight, what’d they do to you?!” Applejack’s voice reached her from afar. “Twilight, say somethin,’ please!”

She opened her eyes, barely resisting the paralyzing agent before moving another muscle she was no longer certain she still had.

“A’ll Jaa?” she rasped, seeing the earth pony over her, eyes red and glassy. The cowpony’s eyes streamed in response.

“Twilight… oh Celestia, stay awake! Stay awake!”

“WHAT’D YOU DO TO HER?!” Rainbow shrieked, directly into the face of the Chartreuse stallion she had floored and was now straddling.

“It’s too late,” the midnight stallion said feet away from Twilight, hooves over his head in surrender as soldiers held their blades at his neck. “There’s no cure for arachne toxin, I’m sorry. Be with her, she’s going to be in a lot of pain until the end.”

The sound of frantic stomping filled the air as Rainbow Dash abandoned her mount and made a sliding kick into the leader’s chest. He belched air, coughing hysterically with his hood slipped off. Recognition dawned on one of the soldier’s keeping him pinned.

“Hey, that’s Comet! He’s in the surface op team with my cousin.”

“Great now I know what not to write on his unmarked grave!” Rainbow seethed through clenched teeth. “Tell me why you did this and maybe I won’t break your neck!”

“We… had to s-save these ponies!” Comet wheezed. “All of you, from walking into this pointless massacre! Putting down one of the Elements would just cut out the middlemare, ensure Discord’s return with minimal bloodshed.”

“You think you’re some kinda’ hero, trying to kill Twilight?! You’re gonna fry for this!” Rainbow spat, kicking Comet in the head, eliciting a howl from him as clutched his muzzle.

“Not! ...Hero! We deserve whatever we receive, we’re murderers now! We didn’t want this, but somepony had to do something!”

“You’re not killers yet, slimeball, we’re gonna fix this!”

“Dash, somepony come quick, please!” Applejack moaned.

It took only a glimpse to see what she was talking about. Twilight was looking at them through eyes that were growing foggy. Her coat and mane were graying all over, and already bald patches were forming on her body as the worst of it started falling out. It looked as though she’d aged a lifetime in a few minutes. She coughed up a rotted-looking green, black and yellow gunk, the inside of her mouth looking no better.

“Twilight, omygosh what’s happening?!” Rainbow panicked, holding her delicately around the shoulders as though she might fall apart like a dandelion.

“The toxin was introduced orally?” a voice inquired as its owner kneeled beside them. It was Doctor Minophen, looking bedraggled but professional all the same.

“Help her, Doc, we’re beggin’ ya!” Applejack pled, unable to look away from Twilight’s face.

Taking a stainless steel prod, Minophen spread Twilight’s lips aside, peering into her mouth and angling her head into the light.

“Necrosis of the upper digestive tract, considerable subdermal tissue damage.”

“It’s arachne venom, we know what’s wrong with her!” Rainbow snipped.

“Might not be,” Minophen rebutted, shining a light in Twilight’s eyes. “Might be something similar in effect but more simply cured. He could be lying to prevent proper treatment.”

“Well why aren’t you treatin’ her for it in case he’s n-not lyin’?!” Applejack blurted, doing her best not to blubber all over her frail friend, who by now was rhasping, tremors wracking her body.

“Because the only thing I can do for real arachne venom at this concentration is call in a coroner.”

“Nah-ho-ho-ho…” Applejack moaned, unable to control herself any longer as she hid her face behind a hoof.

“I won’t give up on her!” Rainbow proclaimed, her own eyes going glassy as they turned to peer into Twilight’s. “I can’t lose you again!”

“Girls! Girls!” Pinkie cried, bounding into the room alongside Fluttershy. “We can’t find Rarity! And… and we might have forgotten where Corey’s room is…”

Fluttershy somehow accomplished a cross between a gasp and a scream upon seeing Twilight Sparkle’s now ghoulish form.

“Whoa, Twilight, that’s one spooky-kooky costume!” Pinkie exclaimed, bounding over to her. “Who did your makeup? Ooh ooh, I get it! We trick Mandeville into thinking we’re zombies! After all, machines can’t get bitten, right? Or can they…”

“Fluttershy!” Rainbow shouted, nearly breathless. “Your tear, you need to go get it! Hurry!”

“Right, you’re right! Of course, oh goodness gracious! Hold on, Twilight!”

Fluttershy dashed out of the room, wings flapping subconsciously as she put on surprising speed to reach her destination.

“Tear?” Doctor Minophen echoed, hoof against Twilight’s neck as he felt for her pulse.

Applejack came up for air, eyes rubbed red. “D-Dash, you’re right! She’s got that phoenix tear, she might have a chance!”

Minophen stood up, eyes wide open. “A phoenix tear. You have a phoenix tear?!

“And here I was preparing my next-of-kin speech. These signs are unmistakable symptoms of the venom.”

“Hear that, Twi?” Applejack said. “You might be okay!”

“Might?” Minophen scoffed. “A phoenix tear is like a dose of liquid life! If one were carelessly dropped on the floor, I wouldn’t be surprised if a golem sprang out of the ground!”

“No!” Comet cried, trying in vain to throw off the guards restraining him. “Think on what you’re doing, how many you’ll doom! If she dies, the war will be over! Stop pretending that you can put-off the inevitable with the blood of the ponies who trust y—”

The pommel of a sword collided with his head, and Comet went silently to the floor.

“Thanks,” Dash told the guard, who snorted appreciatively.

“Girls, here it is, here it is!” Fluttershy called, bounding inside with the flask under her wing.

“I’ll administer,” Minophen told her, siezing the flask with his magic and uncorking it. “Hold her still.”

Rainbow Dash draped herself across Twilight’s chest, pinning her left legs as Applejack took hold of the right. The poisoned unicorn reacted with a confused thrashing and piteous moans as the doctor held her mouth open.

The golden drop dribbled off the tip of the flask and into her open maw. She exhaled in surprise. A sudden magenta surge incinerated the magical inhibitor atop her horn. The resulting concussive pulse blew her saviors off of her body and shattered every jar on every shelf.

Applejack recovered first, turning to a sight that stalled her breath.

Twilight’s body was still, and wreathed in fire, barely visible as a shadow beneath the flames.

“Twilight?!”

As soon as it had come however, the blaze vanished, sucked back into her skin.

Twilight laid on her side, still and breathless, as the color returned to her eyes. Her coat was resaturating to a rich mulberry, and the bald patches were sprouting new follicles.

In mere moments, once she appeared normal again, her back arched and she began a coughing fit that threatened to leave her hoarse.

Her friends rushed to her side, supporting her as she scrambled onto four hooves, only to clutch her chest and make a gagged moan. Before they could ask what was wrong, she retched, loudly and violently onto the floor in front of her. A blackish, brownish syrup pooled on the stone as she ejected sick from her gut.

Rainbow rubbed her back as she recovered, Pinkie Pie bringing a glass of water from seemingly nowhere.

“Twilight, sugarcube?” Applejack broached. “Are you okay?”

Twilight panted, winded from the ordeal. She took a swig of water, swished it, and spat it out to rid herself of the terrible taste before properly rehydrating.

“I’ve never… ever felt anything that painful before. At least, not physically. I wanted to die. Oh Celestia, I wanted to die.”

“Ah, Twi,” Applejack sighed, pulling her into a hug.

Rainbow patted Fluttershy on the back, startling her. “You did good.”

Fluttershy grimaced. “Please, don’t patronize me. All I did was grab something from my bag.”

“Uh,” Rainbow eloquently replied, “well, hey, you did it… in time?”

“You all think this was all we had?!” a voice in the back demanded. A quick scan of the room showed the big, chartreuse pegasus speaking with his head on the floor, held down by guards.

“As if we’d pull something like this without a plan B.”

The girls each looked to each other as comprehension dawned on their faces. “Rarity!”

Twilight burst out of the room, followed promptly by the others. It was a moment before she realized that her leg had healed alongside the rest of her. The store room was barely outside the barracks where they had slept, explaining to Twilight just how her friends had located her so fast.

“Search further down the hall, I’ll get Corey!” she ordered, splitting off back into the barracks and to the glorified broom-closet at the opposite end. Having been otherwise filled to capacity, Corey was left to bunk in less than ideal conditions, barely on a mattress laid over the floor.

Twilight nearly called out upon reaching the door, before hearing a higher-pitched whine from inside. A low, delirious groan followed.

She stepped back, a wash of scenarios entering her mind. Surely they’d dragged Rarity in without knowing Corey was there. They must have caught him off-guard and captured him.

Twilight couldn’t take any chances. The three might not have been alone for this. Her horn shined with terrible power.

With frightening speed, the door flew open, and magenta energy seized everything inside. Her raw telekinetic power was enough to hold down every assailant within, as surely as if she had stopped time itself.

“Hold on Rarity I won’t let any of… them…”

Finally taking in the scene before her, Twilight found herself confused.

Indeed, Rarity and Corey were inside, but neither bound nor gagged by cloth or tape. Instead, Corey laid on his side on the mattress, the seamstress’ back against his bare chest. From the waist down, blankets covered them both as Corey’s right hand clasped her belly, and her right foreleg reached behind his neck. Both of them stared at her from the corner of their eyes as their heads and necks twisted towards each other in a deep kiss.

“OhmygoshI’msorry!” Twilight cried, feeling her face glow as her horn faded.

“TWILIGHT, WHAT IN THE WORLD?!” Rarity screeched in a frequency only dogs might hear properly, as she twisted her body and buried her ruddy face in Corey’s chest, a crystal glow seizing the blankets and all but burying her from sight.

Corey, meanwhile, held her close, avoiding Twilight’s gaze altogether.

“I’m sorry, I’m so sorry!” Twilight repeated, inching back out the door. “Y’see I was just kidnapped and poisoned by these three stallions and nopony could find you and they hinted maybe that they’d gotten you too… y’know, actually, I’ll leave now and you can meet us later, okay?”

With that, the door slammed shut, leaving the two alone once more.

“What was all that about being poisoned?” Rarity asked, still red as a cherry.

“I dunno, sounds important though. Should we— er, I, get dressed?”

“Well,” she hummed rubbing his chest in circles with the tip of a hoof, “mortifying though it is to have been found in such a compromising position... I’ll admit there is something rather exciting about it.”

“I dunno, it sounded serious; is there even time?”

Rarity giggled musically. “Dear, I’d think you’d have some understanding of equine endurance by now.”

“Oh, well,” Corey said, smirking, “I guess if it’s all about you…”

“Oh, quit whining and come here.”

“Treason.”

The word scraped itself over Smolder’s teeth as he stared at the three stallions, still held fast by guards. “High treason, an act of sabotage to our entire operation, and attempted murder of all things.

“Comet, Jet, and Valentine,” he said, making a point not to address their ranks, “for what you’ve done, I’ll see to it that you live out your days in a cell. Banishment’s too good for these acts. And I’ll do all in my power to make your stay as uncomfortable as I can. Solitary confinement might just be the new normal for the three of you.”

Comet bowed his head, his accomplices joining him. “We knew this going in, sir. I’m only sorry we failed the ponies going into this slaughter.”

Twilight watched this alongside her friends in the war room. Smolder was accompanied by Cadance and Etherea, none of whom were lifting a hoof to contradict him.

She, however, wasn’t so silent.

“Wait, General please, isn’t this a bit harsh?”

Smolder’s ears twisted. “Explain what you mean, Sparkle. I’m not in a good mood.”

“W-what they did was,” she began, pausing to catch Comet’s eye, “awful. They were willing to take lives and the right of us all to choose in order to get what they wanted.

“But… they were only doing it because they were afraid. They believed their families would all die unless they did something. And as somepony who felt trapped before like them, I can’t really blame them.”

“Twilight, don’t say that!” Cadance demanded. “If they had succeeded there would be no hope of keeping Discord from his goals!”

Twilight ignored her. “I’m not pressing charges against them. I don’t want them near me, but I don’t think they deserve this.”

“Charges?” Smolder barked in humorless laughter. “You don’t have any say over their punishment, Sparkle. You might absolve them of compromising your life, but they did so to compromise my mission!

Twilight visibly winced, helpless as Smolder continued, still stung.

“Take them out of my sight, and put them in a hole so dark they couldn’t know if Nightmare Moon had conquered the world!”

The guards hauled the three out the door, Twilight catching Comet’s eye, his expression inscrutable before his guard forced his head forward. And with that, they were gone.

“We’re sorry you were forced to go through that, Twilight Sparkle,” Etherea told her, placing a hoof on her shoulder. “I have used highly diluted arachne venom as an agent in alchemy before. Powerful, terrible stuff. If not for Fluttershy…”

“I know,” Twilight said, beaming at the pegasus, who still clutched the empty flask in her wing.

“Oh gosh,” Fluttershy said, kicking a hoof, “all I did was bring the flask. I didn’t do anything that great.”

“Oh nonsense, dear!” Rarity said, a hoof to her chest. “Why you… um… you…”

Fluttershy fixed her with a frown.

“You fixed my leg!” Twilight chimed. “If there’s one good thing that came of this, it’s that I can walk better now.”

The dejected-looking pegasus softened visibly. “Anyway, I guess I’d give credit to Celestia. She knew we might need it.”

A red blur swooped onto her shoulder, cooing dejectedly.

“Oh, and you too, Philomena! Of course!”

Beaming —almost literally— the firebird glanced down at the empty flask, a golden drop spilling into it.

“Oh!” Fluttershy gasped. “Philomena, another? Are you sure?”

The phoenix nodded.

“Oh, thank you!”

Rainbow stepped forward, eyeing the bird keenly. “Hey, I thought she could only do that once every something or other.”

“Once per life-cycle,” Twilight corrected. “We forgot to mention, she was forced into another after getting caught in that blast in Dodge.”

“Huh,” Rainbow uttered. “So, not to be morbid, but why don’t we just keep making her shift cycles so we can stockpile this stuff? I mean, we’re probably gonna need it.”

Philomena’s beak hung open suddenly as her eyes widened. Etherea was first to answer as Twilight spluttered.

“Phoenixes only live a limited number of cycles, Miss Dash. It’s all but impossible to destroy a phoenix for good, as they always rejuvenate. Their rejuvenation only works for a number of cycles though. Elsewise, the world would be replete with them, overrun by immortal phoenixes.”

“And multiple tears do you no good,” Twilight explained. “Only one tear will work at a time. The moment another is shed, the previous one loses its power.”

“Ugh,” Rainbow groaned. “Why is nothing ever that easy?”

“Yeah,” Corey agreed. “You think finding the infinity hole in a video game is tough, real life is even tighter.”

“Besides, that would be completely unfair and abusive,” Twilight declared, literally putting her hoof down. “Bordering on the monstrous! She can still feel pain, y’know.”

Smolder forced his way as much between them all as he could, offering another impatient growl. “Okay, enough’s enough! This operation has to begin now! We can’t waste any more time! ‘Therea, round up your mages and send them on their—”

There was a great, persistent rapping on the door, accompanied by a few muffled voices.

“Don’t stand in my way, platemail; my daughter’s in there!”

“Reach for that sword and you’ll be stuck walking backwards for a month! Don’t even test me! TWILIGHT!”

Twilight and Cadance shared a glance, before rushing to the door as the noise took to that of a scuffle.

“Princess, Sparkle, what are…?” Smolder recoiled, before regaining himself. “Do not open that door, I forbid you!”

With the door open, and Smolder decidedly ignored, Twilight beheld the sight of her parents in a tussle between a half-dozen guards.

Clearly, based upon the magical supplex her mother was giving one of the gilded stallions, the war room needed tighter defenses.

“Twilight!” Velvet gushed, dragging four guards with her effortlessly as she clutched her daughter’s head to her chest, before bringing it up to face level between her hooves fit to squish her cheeks. “Are you alright?!”

“We heard some traitorous… horesapple-eaters tried to hurt you!” Nightlight howled, head twisting this way and that, as if the perpetrators might pop-out from under a coaster at any moment.

“Mom, Dad, she’s okay!” Cadance said, as Velvet continued clutching her daughter. “We got the ones responsible, and she’s just fine.

“Now please, you should say you’ll see each other later. It’s about time for us to go.”

Catching his breath, Nightlight offered a smile. “Thank you Cadance. You’ll keep her safe, won’t you?”

Cadance brought a hoof to her chest, closing her eyes. “I swear to do everything I can to bring your daughter back to you.”

Twilight’s parents nearly piled onto her, holding her fast.

“We love you, Twily,” Velvet murmured into her ear.

“We’re so proud of you,” Nightlight whispered, before his voice broke. “Pl-please, come back to us!”

“I-I love you both so much!” Twilight returned, feeling dampness in her eyes. “We’ll make sure to make everything good again, I promise!”

“Ahem!”

Turning around, they saw Smolder tapping his hoof, eyes down to mere slits, though still fully capable of staring Twilight down.

“I think we ought to take the hint.”

The six ponies and the human soldier began to gear up at last, for what was understood to be the final charge.

Fluttershy checked the stopper on her precious phial before staring at herself in a vanity mirror, her expression cipherous.

Rarity strapped her blade-bandolier across one shoulder, crossing the other with a quiver as she inspected her bow. Satisfied, she expertly tied her precious spool of ethereal thread to the bandolier.

Corey Webber dismantled, cleaned, unloaded and reloaded his trifecta of firearms, inspecting every grenade round in his jury-rigged AA20 magazine.

Applejack coiled a length of rope neatly into her saddlebag, before sinking her hind legs into her prototype bucking boots. She lowered the tip of her Stetson.

Pinkie Pie vainly attempted to return her mane to its usual voluminity, only for it to fall flat again. Unfazed, she tied her great horn around her neck, blowing into it experimentally before a mare she’d only ever met once walked up and hugged her.

Rainbow Dash stared down at her Wonderbolt uniform, sitting on a stool as though it were another entity. Ultimately she relented in her standoff, slipping on the form-fitting flight-suit once more.

Lacking the relic given to her by Celestia, Twilight Sparkle took a practice shot at a small wooden chair from her horn. It changed form into chairs of different make and material, before deciding at last on steel and taking it apart. For good measure, a ray of heat reduced the components to a shapeless, red-hot metal ball.

Twilight smiled.

Author's Notes:

Merry Belated Christmas, everyone!

It's been a while, and I'd intended to have more for you after such a wait, but come the 25th I decided to split the chapter I'd had in exchange for hopefully having a faster update on the next one.

If you want an explanation for having taken so long with this chapter, it's been a LOT of things.

I'm holding up an apartment now, got a new job (one that still allows me a lot of free time, by the way) and between bill-paying and houskeeping and everything else I've dealt with, things have been hectic, to say the least.

I won't lie, I spent a lot of time on developing visual elements for this story, and then decided to honor another side-project I'd been neglecting for a long time and decided to see through.

After that, I hit burnout and have spent a LOT of time replaying Skyrim and its DLC expansions. It'd just been too long since I'd vegged, and I got touch indulgent.

It's not a great explanation, but I haven't disappeared, and getting so far with this story there's no chance of it not being finished.

All the same, happy holidays, and thanks for reading ;-)