Author's Notes:

This chapter is not super action filled, but I hope you'll enjoy it nonetheless. See you guys later!

Rarity stared at the ceiling above. Counting the paneling was hardly what one would call entertainment, but it came close to being the only activity that she was able to enjoy. It gave her time to ponder the upcoming trek over to the next building, as well as what was necessary to get this horrible game of hide and seek over with. It also helped settle her nerves. The amount of excitement from today was more than she could handle.

Shifting her back, she sunk a little further into the couch. Glancing to her left, she stared at the remainder of her group. Twilight and Celestia had gone someplace else, the same as those Neighland-Yupony guards. Her gaze rested on Applejack and Rainbow Dash. This evening had put them all through a lot. Rarity raised her right hoof in front of her muzzle, the piece of cloth soaked through with her dry blood. She could only expect that this wound would stick with her throughout the rest of her life. Pinkie sat upside-down on a chair in the far left corner close to Applejack, and Trixie sat in the middle of the room.

“That stallion’s dead…” Rarity glanced over at Rainbow Dash, the mare’s back towards her. “He’s dead.”

“Quite frankly, Ah feel like Ah could agree with yah there.” Applejack murmured, leaning against the wall. “This stallion’s been causin’ nothin’ but grief ta everypony here.”

Rarity closed her eyes a little. “Even though I’d never use that term you girls use; ‘death’ for it is too ghastly. However, I have to concur.” They were all upset. They all had a right to be angry. “But would you really put yourself through that situation? I certainly would not like to see Bishop Neighland ever again, but to literally resort to violence? I don’t think I could go through with such a vicious deed.”

Applejack eyed Rarity for a moment before sighing herself. “Ya’ll know I’d like to. But even Ah couldn’t handle the thought of killing another pony.” But when the two glanced at Rainbow Dash, she didn’t even speak. “Rainbow?”

“Why are you two so scared of that?” She swiveled around to face them. “Yeah, okay, I haven’t done that before either. And to be honest, I don’t know if I could ever. But this pony was responsible for killing Gilda--even if it was the Xenomorph that actually did it.” Her frown deepened. “He should be put down for all I care.”

“But that wouldn’t be right.” They turned towards Trixie, who took a step towards their group. “Rainbow… it just isn’t the right decision. Sure, he killed Gilda… but what about the others? The other hundred ponies that could be dying at this moment? Maybe even more.”

“Yeah.” Pinkie chirped up. “That’s no fun. Bishop may be a party pooper, but he doesn’t need to die, right?”

“Then what should we do? Let him live after all of this?”

“If it were Princess Celestia’s wishes, then heck, I’d guess we’d hafta follow her decision.” Applejack pointed out. “But we can’t just decide who gets ta live and who doesn’t. That there wouldn’t be right.”

“I think Applejack has a point there, darling.” Rarity rested her bad hoof on the couch. “It’s best we don’t muddy our hooves with that stallion’s blood. Otherwise we’d be no better than Neighland.” Rainbow Dash seemed to heed their words, but moments later she simply turned her back on them. Rarity understood the pain she was going through. Losing an old friend such as Gilda must’ve been an awful feeling.

Her ears swiveled towards the sound of hoofsteps. Aqua and Daring stepped down one last step before they scanned the room. “How’s everypony doing?” Daring asked.

“We’re fine,” Applejack said, taking a quick glance at everypony.

Daring nodded, and Aquafrost trotted over to Applejack first. “I think I can heal your wound just a little more. I don’t know how much of it will recover, though.” Her horn lit up in a scarlet aura, encasing Applejack’s leg wound. She flinched a little at the odd sensation, but it seemed to only last for a moment. When Aquafrost’s aura disappeared, the large wound on Applejack’s had receded further. It may have not healed completely, but it had decreased in size.

“Hoowee.” Applejack smiled. “Well ain’t that the bee’s knees. It doesn’t hurt as much before.”

“That’s good then. Just make sure that you don’t overdo it. You could end up opening the wound again,” Aquafrost warned her. She then moved over to Rainbow Dash. “Could I have a look at your wound, please?” Rainbow nodded and moved so Aqua faced her. She took a quick look before nodding. “It looks good, Rainbow. Just listen to the same advice and you should be fine.” Then Aqua finally came over to Rarity. She unwrapped the bandage and was again met with the sight of only the flesh remaining on the hoof.

Rarity flinched when Aqua’s hoof touched the exposed flesh. “Sorry,” Aqua quickly said. She reached for the hoof again as she rested her right hoof underneath Rarity’s. She looked it over, a faint frown on her muzzle. “I don’t know if I can heal it any further… but I’ll try.” When Rarity felt the magic encase her hoof, she didn’t notice anything at first. She yelped when the magic intensified, trying to pull her hoof away from the invisible source. “Sorry!” Aqua quickly undid the spell, taking a step back from Rarity.

“Why’d that have to hurt?” Rarity complained, gently wrapping her hoof in the cloth again.

“Healing magic is… very specific on what it can do,” Aquafrost began. “Depending on the level the spell is, a basic healing spell can only heal so much. What I’m using is the more advanced spell, which can heal the wound more efficiently. However, even it has its limits. And… if the wound has healed as far as it can with magic, the body will feel pain if a healing spell tries to repair the damage any further. So it’ll hurt more instead of helping the patient.”

Her explanation at least helped Rarity understand why her hoof suddenly throbbed with intense pain. She rested it against her chest as gently as she could. “Thank you for trying anyway, Aqua.” Aqua quickly backed away, but Daring stopped her in her tracks.

“Don’t worry, Aqua. You tried. That’s all that matters.” Daring turned towards Rarity. “Speaking of… I was hoping to talk to you as soon as I could.”

“About what?” Rarity tilted her head.

“About my adventure from a week ago.” There was something odd about the way Daring was looking. She was avoiding eye contact for some odd reason. “I… feel like none of this would’ve happened if I had done something a while back. Something that would’ve stopped this all taking place.” Daring sighed before her eyes met Rarity’s. “I had your… embryo in my grasp at one point.” Rarity stood rigid at what Daring had said.

“After I got back to Canterlot, and when Celestia and Luna had me rest, I couldn’t help but wonder why I didn’t just squash that Xenomorph there and then. If I had, then nopony here would have to go through what we’re all dealing with right now. I just… felt it would’ve been better if I had brought it to Celestia and Luna.”

Rarity sat there. Still. Unmoving. But even as a couple tears trickled down, she slowly shook her head. “I-it’s not your fault…” Even now, she felt that Daring should’ve taken the blame. If she could have gotten rid of that disgusting monster, then this whole situation would’ve never happened. But there was no point in doing so. She was not going to hide behind that veil any longer. “I… am upset. I really am. But… I can’t blame anypony else for my problems.” Daring wasn’t as tense as before, a faint smile on her muzzle. “And although it was Blueblood who gave you your assignment, I can’t blame you for wanting to do the right thing by bringing it to the Princesses.”

That was all Rarity could say. Daring slowly nodded. “Thank you…” Daring turned around and walked away, gesturing to Aquafrost to leave with her. Rarity let out a sigh and wiped her eyes with her good hoof. She felt a little woozy, having used all of her reserve to not lash out at Daring. She didn’t have the right to, or if she did, she could not bring herself to say what she had to say. Either way, maybe it was for the best. Maybe all the crazy and terrifying events happening to them was for the best. If only she could see it that way. Rarity rested her head against the left arm of the couch. She closed her eyes and breathed in. Rest would do her good. Whatever was going to happen here soon, she would have to regain most of her strength for the challenges ahead. Maybe even find some peace in the quiet darkness of sleep.

Crystal yawned as she rested on a chair. Facing towards the wall of windows, she slowly scanned each glass frame. There had been no movement these past few minutes. It was a nice reprieve from all the action: peace and quiet instead of blood-curdling screams and the screeching of those horrible monsters. What a relief it was. She glanced to her right and watched Aquafrost and Daring pass underneath an arch.

“How are they doing?” Crystal asked.

Aquafrost stopped and moved her attention to Crystal. “They’re doing fine.” A faint frown on her muzzle. “Applejack shouldn’t be limping as much as before. Rainbow Dash is doing fine, but I couldn’t heal Rarity’s wound any further.”

“Figures,” Crystal murmured. “Her wound did look pretty serious. I don’t have to be a doctor to tell that she’ll be limping for a while.” It could’ve been the rest of her life, but Crystal would not jump to conclusions.

“Anywho.” Daring took her turn to speak, sitting down in a chair adjacent to Crystal. “We also did a perimeter check of the building. No activity as far as we’ve noticed. But Aqua and I did discover a building not too far from here.” Daring removed her pith helmet and brushed off a bit of dust. “She wanted to do a quick check of it, but I said it was too risky.”

“But there could’ve been more ponies that might have needed our help,” Aquafrost argued. “I can’t just let anypony else on this island die. There’ve been too many deaths already.”

Crystal glanced at Daring for a few moments before looking back at Aqua. “Well, so long as you two didn’t find anything else, I think we’re fine.” When she saw that Aqua’s frown deepened, she gestured to her to move next to her. Aqua hesitantly nodded before trotting over to the chair next to Crystal. When Aquafrost sat down, Crystal asked, “What’s wrong?”

Aquafrost didn’t speak for a moment until she relented. “I… just wish that we could help everypony else. I can’t even imagine how many ponies are losing their lives. We have to do something about it.”

She rested her head against the chair’s top rail. “You know… I understand that you want to help these other ponies. But some of them are in a position where it’s impossible for us to help them.”

“But I can’t just accept that.” Aquafrost broke Crystal’s gaze and glanced to her side. “Some of these ponies that are dying are other friends that I’ve made. For all I know, most of them could be dead by now.” Tears threatened to trickle down her muzzle, but she blinked quickly and shook her head. “Why is it that they have to suffer? They don’t deserve any of this… we weren’t the ones who helped Bishop create these monsters…”

“You aren’t wrong there, Aqua.” Daring spoke up, resting her pith helmet on her lap. “I’ve always thought that most ponies working under Bishop were bad. You guys have certainly proven me wrong. But even if they aren’t responsible for this mess, I don’t think that Bishop really cared about them in the first place.” Daring snorted and put her helmet back on. “If he really did, he wouldn’t have let those Xenomorphs break free.”

A thought came back to Crystal; an all too dreadful moment. “Aqua…” Aqua turned to face Crystal. “You remember when you found me on the floor, right? After that guard had… cut me open?” She did not see the surprised gaze on Daring Do. “Well… after you left and when I was able to recover, I ended up getting caught by that same doctor, the one who was responsible for interrogating me. He… had me taken to a chamber. He was going to use one of those… facehuggers... to impregnate me.”

Aquafrost’s eyes widened. Crystal took her eyes off Aqua’s for a moment. She breathed in before returning her attention to Aquafrost. “What Daring Do said was somewhat correct.” She reached a hoof forward and rested it over top Aqua’s right hoof. “I understand how desperate you are to save the other ponies. But right now… it’s more important that we stop Bishop Neighland. When we get him, we’ll be able to help everypony else.”

It was silent for a moment before Blazing Ash finally broke the silence. “Welp, I’m sold. I think it’ll be a nice change of pace if we get rid of Bishop.”

Aquafrost did not break her silence. Crystal tilted her head. “Aqua?” She felt something brush the top of her hoof and saw that Aqua had placed her left hoof over Crystal’s own.

“If we do somehow get Bishop… how are we going to deal with those things?”

That was a good question, yet a particularly hard one to answer. Crystal pulled her gaze away for a moment. How would they deal with the rest of those bloodthirsty beasts? She could not come up with a solution; not on her own. When she felt Aqua’s grip loosen, she gently cupped Aqua’s right hoof. “I don’t know, but… we’ll find a way to get through this mess… somehow.” She only got a faint nod from Aqua.

The two separated, Crystal leaning against the chair. She heard a snicker and looked for the source. When she saw Daring Do with a faint grin, Crystal rolled her eyes. “Oh, go stuff your face with your pith helmet.” Daring only persisted, breaking out into a chuckle. She heard another small fit of giggles, glancing at Aqua, who held a faint yet bright blush on her muzzle. Crystal’s cheeks flushed with her own darker blush, shaking her head until she finally laughed as well.

A moment like this was such a rarity, especially when there were still pony lives being lost. Maybe it wasn’t the best mood to be in a time like this. However, Crystal felt that it would help them all in the long run. They couldn’t forget how to laugh or smile. When all this was done with, they could chuckle or grin as much as they’d like… as long as fate did not have anything hidden in store for them.

There was no need for any rash actions. Twilight knew that better than anypony else. At a couple points, she had felt the need to abandon all caution and just let things fall where they may. A spell that had convinced nearly everypony in Ponyville to chase after her childhood doll, Smarty Pants. The time where she thought they could’ve rebuild Ponyville in a period of ten minutes after a swarm of parasprites nearly demolished the town. Of course, that last one hadn’t been her fault.

However, she could not come up with any spell to fix the mess she was in. No, it was not because of some spell that had backfired. Nor did it involve any of her friends. Twilight had not stopped walking for a good while. All the thoughts that swirled through her head were tangled. That, to her, was the least of her problems. Ever since she had seen Rarity’s Xenomorph, that same message came to mind. She had been repeating it quietly, but when she murmured again, it came into clarity. “I-it’s all y-your f-f-fault…”

Twilight immediately stopped in her tracks. Breath labored, she slowly shook her head. “It’s all your fault… it’s a-all…” She heard hoofsteps and looked up, only to see herself. Had that hatred and doubt she held; did it finally take a physical form?

“It is all your fault. You could’ve saved him. Instead, you tried to play the hero and help everypony else. They weren’t important. Shining Armor was important.” The other Twilight sneered, taking another step. “No wonder Cadance never openly blamed you. She thinks you’ve disappointed her as well. You let her husband die, the love of her life! She’s a widow, and she’s pregnant! Her child is going to grow up never knowing their father, because of you!”

“N-no… I c-couldn’t have… Shining Armor… I couldn’t save him,” Twilight shakily whispered.

“Stop saying you couldn’t!” Twilight flinched when her other self yelled at her. “You could have easily saved him if you weren’t slowing down to save those other ponies. You should’ve let them die. You should’ve found him and left those ruins. You could have put him into stasis instead of killing him like you did!” With a small yet frightening grin, she continued, “You’re out of excuses… just admit it already… the truth will prove what you couldn’t do…”

Twilight closed her eyes as tears slowly trickled down her muzzle. “I… I--”

“Twilight?” She stood rigid, eyes wide. She took a quick glance over her shoulder. When she saw Princess Celestia being helped by her guard, she immediately looked away. Quickly she rubbed her eyes and took a moment to breathe before fully turning herself around.

“Hey, Princess Celestia.” Twilight’s smile faltered. “Wh-what are you doing down here?”

Celestia stopped walking and glanced down at Retrospect. He nodded and let go of her, Twilight shakily standing up on her bad shoulder. Twilight winced at the sight but was still impressed by Celestia’s determination to stay upright. “Twilight.” Twilight’s pupils shrunk after she heard her former teacher’s tone, quiet yet firm. “Why are you talking to yourself? Why do you keep tearing yourself down?”

The tears that Twilight tried to hold back before came out in full force. Every excuse she thought up was not going to convince Celestia. ‘Don’t you dare rat me out!’ That voice came back, its tone filled with nothing but anger. ‘If you tell her what’s been going on, then I will make sure you never see the light of day ever again!’

“I… I-I-I…”

“Twilight… you’re worrying me. What’s going on?” Celestia took a step towards her.

As she moved forward, Twilight moved backwards. “I… I can’t… I-I--”

'I know what you’re thinking.’ That horrible voice came back again. ‘Don’t you dare speak a word to her!’

“You can’t what? You can’t tell me what’s going on?” Celestia’s faint frown only softened. “Please… I want you to tell me what’s going on. You aren’t well. You need to speak to me.”

“But I… I…” Twilight’s breaths quickened in pace. She visibly shook, lowering her gaze to the floor. “I… I…”

'No! You will not tell her about me! You are going to stay silent or else!’

“Twilight. Tell me what’s going on right no--”

“Shut up!!!” Twilight screamed out those words when she heard that violent voice interrupt Celestia. She whimpered after she said those words. Slowly, she fell to the floor as those quiet sniffles turned into a weak weeping. Celestia stood still for a moment, eyes wide with surprise. She took a couple steps forward, yet Twilight did not move from her spot at all.

“Twilight…” She glanced up to her former teacher, the image of Celestia blurry from the tears. “Please… tell me what is going on.”

There was no longer that voice in her head. Twilight could feel it slinking away, so she took her chance. “I… I-I’m s-so sorry…” She leaned into Celestia’s chest, her painful cries escalating in volume. Her body trembled more and more as her former teacher wrapped her wings around her. She couldn’t speak, so she listened as Celestia shushed her. When she felt a hoof run through her mane, the tears only multiplied with each second.

“There, there…” Celestia murmured. “Tell me, Twilight… please. Tell me what you’re so upset about.”

Twilight took a couple breaths, but it still didn’t help. So when she heard the desperation in Celestia’s tone, she spoke to the best of her ability. “I… I’ve been s-struggling to accept what I-I did…” With each moment she spoke, she became a little more quiet. “I c-couldn’t accept what I did to him… to Shining Armor. I f-felt so guilty for e-ending his life, even t-though he wanted me to.” It only worsened when her parents had acknowledged it as a last request. Even though they shared her pain, it hurt when they too had said that there was little she could’ve done.

Celestia remained silent for a moment until she said, “We all must make decisions. Some will be for the best, and yet some will have terrible consequences. Or we can do a selfish act and believe that it really was the right choice.” She brought her right hoof up top Twilight’s chin and lifted her gaze upward. “What you did was unavoidable. It was a decision that was difficult to make… yet you did what you thought was right. If it truly was what Shining wanted, then you must understand why he wanted it to happen.”

The answer was already obvious to Twilight. He was already infected with one of those disgusting embryos, and it was already coming out. “B-but I… I feel like I could have saved him. T-that he would still be alive if I had tried s-something…”

“Even if you wanted to save him, I doubt that there would’ve been a way. It would have been too late to put a stasis spell on him. And there was no possible way you were getting him to Canterlot in time,” Celestia pointed out. “But you must learn to accept what has happened. It is hard to know that somepony sacrificed themselves when you thought you could have saved their life. I know full well how difficult that reality is.”

“B-because of what happened to Luna?”

Celestia nodded. “But not just her. There are times when I lose a pony every day in Equestria. I feel as if there could’ve been some way to save him or her. But the truth is that many ponies will die… however, you must understand that there is a point where you can no longer grieve. Yet do not dismiss them from your memories. Remember all the good times that you had with Shining Armor. You’ll find that it is easier to accept his loss if you think back to happy memories you had with your older brother.”

Twilight blinked once. She sniffled and wiped her eyes. Everything Celestia had said did ring true. But all of that pain was so hard to overcome. Twilight knew though that she had to give it a try. So she closed her eyes, images both painful and happy coming to her. To see him alive again in her mind was somewhat calming. Her crying nearly ceased, yet tiny beads of water continued to trickle down her muzzle. Twilight opened her eyes when she felt a hoof grab her own.

She looked up, a faint smile on her muzzle. Twilight let Celestia help her up. She was a little shaky at first until she stabilized her footing. With one last wipe of her eyes, she met Celestia’s gaze. “Thank you… for helping me.” But she would not know how much she could forgive of herself just yet. This, however, at least was a start.

Celestia only nodded. “Now I believe it is high time we regrouped with the others. We should move along before any unwanted guests catch us when we’re not looking.” Retrospect helped Celestia move down the hall, Twilight slowly following a couple feet behind. Although there was still much to forgive herself for, now was not the time. They still had a mission to do. Twilight had to make sure that Bishop Neighland answered for his actions. Maybe then this nightmare would end and peace would finally resume across Equestria once more.