"Do you have any idea what you've done!" Fleur growled in Twilight's face, from between gritted teeth, Twilight taking a step back defensively.

"Yes, I know what I've done," Twilight said quietly, her head drooping. "And now some poor mare is going to pay the price for it." She looked back up at Fleur with tears in her eyes, "And it's all my fault."

"Really? Really? You think that's all you've done? Are you really that fucking dense?"

"What are you talking about Fleur?" Octavia asked as she surreptitiously tried to edge her way in between Fleur and Twilight.

"This... purple fucking idiot has given the army every fucking excuse it needs to do whatever it wants here!" Fleur grabbed Twilight's bangs in her magic and dragged her, squealing and protesting, to a more secluded part of the courtyard where she roughly threw Twilight sideways against the wall.

She was roughly shoved aside by Octavia who fully interposed herself between Fleur and Twilight, who was now crouched down cowering. "I don't know what you think you're doing Fleur but you better explain yourself!" she demanded with her eyes narrowed.

"Fine. I'll try to keep it simple. Do you know why the army is here, doing what it's doing?"

"Of course, they're here to root out an imaginary insurrection."

"Right, an insurrection that didn't exist. All they were doing really was putting the fear of the Duke and the army into ponies. At least that's what they were doing until a certain purple 'unicorn' went and attacked a bunch of soldiers."

"I was only trying to help! They were arresting foals Fleur, foals! I couldn't just sit there and do nothing!"

"Well you should have done nothing!" Fleur snapped. "Now you've convinced the ponies in charge that there actually is an insurrection here! And you've made unicorns bigger targets for the soldiers than they were before! Before long there'll be even more soldiers brought in which means even less freedom for the ponies here and a lot more unicorns being arrested and beaten in small dark rooms before being kicked back out into the street with their horns snapped off their head all because some dumb ass purple unicorn doesn't know the meaning of the word consequences!"

Twilight sagged against the wall, a knot forming in her chest as the weight of Fleur's revelations dragged her down. "Bu- but I-I was... I was only trying to help... I-I-" She collapsed onto her stomach, her legs no longer able to support her, and lay there, unmoving.

"Why on earth would they snap unicorns horns off?" Octavia asked at the same that Trixie asked, "Why did you think it was Twilight that attacked the soldiers?"

Fleur sighed and rolled her eyes. "Ugh, firstly they've been arresting loads of unicorns since the attack and beating the crap out of them for information. They've also been doing it because a unicorn attacked their buddies and have been taking it into their own hooves to dehorn any unicorn as a result. And Trixie, no offence to you but there's only one unicorn in Mareitania with the skills to pull an attack like that off. Credit where credit is due and all that."

Twilight wasn't listening, the sound of their voices sounding like little more than droning as she lay there with her mind trapped in a never-ending loop of I've failed, I tried to help those ponies and now I've made things worse! Ponies are going to die because I helped and it's all my fault! It was like being trapped in a nightmare, the thoughts swirling through her head again and again. She snapped out of it when a bugle call suddenly sounded from somewhere, the shock of it cutting straight through the fog in her mind. She stood up and wiped her eyes free of tears before looking out over the crowd towards the gallows where a soldier was stood blowing said bugle. He stopped and hooked it on his armour before addressing the crowd. "Silence for General Sabre!"

Apparently that was all he was going to say. He stood there as a sandy coloured, middle aged stallion, dressed in an ornate uniform and complete with mutton chops coming from his silver mane; walked onto the platform and nodded to the horn blower. He stood there looking over the crowd in silence, the crowd murmuring more the longer he said nothing.

Eventually, in a high nasal voice that Twilight would have found amusing on any other day in any other situation, he addressed the crowd. "It has come to my attention that certain ponies from this fair city do not enjoy living under military protection. Why else would your noble guardians be attacked in broad daylight and horribly altered by dark magics? Perhaps it was a rogue element who performed this heinous act, but perhaps not. Anypony else that was there also seems to have conveniently developed memory loss as a result, despite not being attacked themselves."

"Need I remind you that withholding information from us during this time is a criminal act since it clearly makes you complicit with the fiends who assaulted our brave soldiers. As a result of this complicity you shall now be living under higher scrutiny. More soldiers will be arriving within the week and curfew is now reduced to seven o'clock."

The crowd erupted into booing and hissing and the General stopped talking as they did, his face growing as red as a beetroot as the crowd continued their protestations. "Silence!" he squealed. "I will have silence!"

"Go to hell!" a mare shouted from the crowd, with many others shouting their affirmation of that idea. The General didn't rise to their taunts but instead nodded to the horn blower who shouted "Bring out the prisoners!"

The crowd fell silent as the prisoners were brought out of the castle and escorted onto the gallows, the shackles on their hooves clinking as they walked. The first prisoner was a fat, grey earth pony stallion who had his head wrapped in bandages for some reason. The second was a dark purple unicorn stallion with a spiky, bright silver mane who scowled at the General before scanning the crowd as if searching for something. Thirdly came a pink unicorn mare with a two tone red mane, a red heart and arrow cutie mark visible under the tattered remains of a dress that somehow made her look more naked than if she wasn't wearing it. She was also sobbing openly, tears and mascara running down her face, and Twilight's heart ached with each sob, knowing that this must be the pony that got arrested for Twilight's crimes.

"Hey! That's the drug dealer I saw in the market!"

"Trixie, she's a prostitute you moron," Fleur said with a groan, lightly batting Trixie on the back of her head.

"Trixie totally knew that." Twilight was about to say something as well when she was distracted by shouts from nearby. When she looked to see what might be causing them she was surprised to see it was Octavia, charging through the crowd.

Octavia stood open mouthed as she saw the first prisoner step up onto the gallows, shocked that he of all ponies would be there. Snapping out of it she stood up on her rear legs, years of playing the cello making her well balanced, and whipped her head around as she searched for two other ponies she thought might be there in the crowd.

She spotted them about midway across the square and swiftly fell back onto all fours before pushing her way through the crowd to them, ignoring the shouts and complaints directed at her. After a minute or two she came upon the ponies she was looking for, Sapphire and Velvet.

Sapphire was watching the ponies on the gallows, her expression grim and her eyes hard as she did her best to comfort Velvet, who was facing away from the gallows as she wept. "Sapphire! Velvet! What's going on? Why's your fa- why is he up there?" Octavia asked hurriedly.

"Hello Octavia," Sapphire said, not taking her eyes off the gallows. "Isn't it obvious why he's up there?"

"Not really, they're hanging ponies suspected of being rebels! I'm pretty sure your father- sorry, he isn't a rebel." Octavia glanced at the gallows where a noose was being placed around his neck.

"We know that, but Peach Blossom accused him of being one when the soldiers took her in for questioning and they don't seem particularly concerned with obtaining proof. That or he has enough of a reputation that they don't care. I hope it’s that one. About time he was brought to justice."

"Peach Blossom did this?" Octavia looked around, hoping to find the peach coloured pony but couldn't see her. "Where is she?"

"Back at ours. The soldiers beat her pretty badly, snapped her horn off, broke her leg and purposely split one of her hooves. We're taking care of her until she's better since she's probably safer in the upper city." Octavia shuddered. Split hooves were one of the most painful things known to pony kind, possibly on a par with foal birth.

"Velvet?" Octavia asked quietly, placing a hoof on Velvet's shoulder. "Are you okay?" On a scale of one to ten for dumb questions Octavia had to admit that was probably an eleven. Velvet looked up at Octavia, her pale brown eyes brimming with tears before she squeezed them shut and shook her head.

"He hurt Sapphire," she said, her voice little more than a whisper, "and he hurt so many others. He's- he's getting what he dese- deserves. He's a monst-" Her voice cracked and she said nothing more as she choked up. Velvet suddenly tensed as the crowd cheered before falling to her haunches, being held up by Sapphire, whose expression remained unchanging even as it gazed upon the now dangling and twitching body of her abuser.

"I-I... I don't- I um..." Octavia wanted to say something comforting, to both of them, but her words failed her. Sapphire turned her view away from the gallows and towards Octavia, a fire burning in her eyes.

"It's fine, you don't have to say anything. We need to go, we have things to do since he's... well, yeah. She gestured towards the gallows, "But it was nice to see you again Octavia. Take care." Sapphire started to leave, Velvet leaning against her for support as she walked.

"I... don't..." Octavia sagged and watched as the two ponies made their way through the crowd. "Take of yourselves," she said quietly before turning and heading back to the others.

Twilight flinched as the first prisoner fell and averted her gaze, feeling sick with horror as the crowd cheered for the death of a probably innocent pony. She glanced over to Trixie who had similarly averted her eyes, meeting Twilight's glance in return. The only one of them able to watch was Fleur, who was carefully maintaining an impassive visage, although Twilight could hear her grinding her slightly bared teeth.

After a minute grey hooves entered her vision and she looked up as Octavia sat next to her, resting her forehead against the wall, facing away from the gallows. "Are you okay?" Twilight asked, unknowingly mirroring Octavia's question to Velvet a few minutes earlier.

Octavia shook her head, grinding her forehead against the stone of the wall. "Not really. We shouldn't be here. I'm also really starting to dislike that question."

"I know, I'm sorry Octavia. I don't think we should ha-" Twilight whipped her head around as scream pierced the night, a half hysterical begging from a unicorn mare pleading for the life of the purple stallion on the gallows, standing with a noose around his neck.

"Please! He's all I have! Please don't kill him!"

"Star! Don't!" the stallion shouted back. "It's not worth it! I'm not worth it! Get out of here befo-ack!" He was cut off when one of the soldiers punched him in the gut, choking himself with the noose as he doubled over in pain which only made the mares screams more frantic.

"Nightlight!"

Twilight folded her ears back and felt herself shake at hearing her father’s name mentioned even if it wasn't actually him. She whimpered slightly as the General stepped forward and spoke, "Cease your prattle woman! This stallion has been charged with committing insurrectionist activities and he will pay the price. Men, you have permission to use lethal force should she try to get in the way."

"But sir!" One of the soldiers exclaimed. "She's just one mare!"

"Don't you dare question my orders soldier! If she comes within ten paces of the gallows you will strike her down!"

"Sir yes sir!" As one of the soldiers stepped up to the lever that would open the trap door beneath the stallion the mare charged the gallows. "No! Don't!" she shouted before one of the soldiers swung round with a spear in his mouth, stabbing her through the neck. The mares eyes went wide and she staggered as a trickle of blood fell from the corner of her mouth and from the wound staining her white fur crimson."

"Star! No!" the stallion shouted as he struggled with his bonds, trying to escape and get to the mare.

"Good work soldier," the General said with a cruel grin on his face. "Now let’s hang that traitor and get on with this."

The soldier who had stabbed the mare pulled the spear back and dropped it, the mare falling over and pawing at her neck and coughing up blood as she choked on her own vital fluids. "I- I- I didn't- I didn't mean to! I'm sorry!"

"Pick up your weapon and get back into line before I have you court-martialed! I will not stand for insubordination!" The mare’s movements slowed as her life ebbed from her, the stallion still struggling to get to her. Two ponies rushed forward to try and help her, but there was nothing they could do as the mare struggled, drowning in her own blood. "You fucking killed her!" one of them shouted.

A single rock flew from somewhere in the crowd, narrowly missing the General followed by another that cracked one of the soldiers on the head, dropping him like a sack of potatoes. Many in the crowd started to push towards the gallows and the soldiers backed off in return. "Get back you curs! I will have order! Soldiers, kill anypony who would dare attack!"

There crowd didn’t seem to care as they continued to push up against the gallows, but they relented and fell silent when somepony in the crowd started singing something in a language Twilight couldn't understand. The song was quickly taken up by others in the crowd, getting louder and louder until it drowned out the feeble shouts of the General who was starting to look worried. "What is that?" Twilight asked Fleur as she searched for the pony that started it. She spotted him and saw that it was the bar pony from before, singing with one hoof over his heart and a determined look on his face.

"It's the old Prench national anthem," she said vaguely. "Sung when patriots are about to do something pretty dumb." She started glancing about nervously.

The song rolled to a stop and silence reclaimed the square. "We need reinforcements right now!" the General screamed at no one in particular.

"Viva la Prance!" the bar pony shouted before charging the stage, others picking up the charge as he ran. The soldiers brought their weapons to bear but they might as well have been wielding toothpicks as the ponies pushed them aside before crushing them against the gallows, beating the soldiers who fought back into bloody messes and taking their weapons.

The ponies then swarmed onto the gallows with most going after the General and his remaining soldiers, apart from a few which helped to free the two remaining prisoners. The stallion leapt off the gallows to the fallen mare who lay cooling in a pool of blood. Twilight could barely hear his wails of grief over the sound of the other ponies as they subdued and strung up the General. "You will all die for this!" the General shouted before somepony pulled the lever and dropped the pony, leaving him to thrash as the noose choked the life from him.

Twilight, Trixie and Octavia stood slack jawed as they failed to comprehend just what exactly had happened. Fleur seemed a bit more controlled but did seem to be swearing under her breath a lot. The fact that they had all witnessed several ponies die in the space of a few minutes didn't even enter their minds as they watched the bar pony walk to the front of the gallows and address the crowd.

"I don't know about all you folk but I reckon these soldiers have had the run of our city for far too long. I think it's high time we made them consider their futures and how leaving would be good for them." He hefted a spear into the air, "Everypony who's with me grab a weapon if you can and let's show these bastards that we ain't gonna roll over and play nice for them!"

The ponies surrounding him cheered and raised their own weapons into the air before exiting the square and spreading out into the city in small groups. It didn't take long for the square to empty leaving a few stragglers, Nightlight, who was hugging the body of the mare, and Twilight and her companions. "What the fuck just happened?" Trixie half shouted, conveying the feelings of the others quite accurately.

"I think we just saw the birth of an actual insurrection," Octavia answered her. "Should we- Should we be helping them?" she asked after an awkward few seconds.

"What? No!" Twilight gestured around in a big sweeping arc. "This? This isn't an insurrection! This is barely controlled chaos! We shouldn't be helping them, we should be stopping them before this city tears itself apart!"

"You both wrong!" Fleur shouted at both of them before either could argue. "We need to get out of here."

"You can't be serious Fleur! This is your home, where you were born! Do you really want to see it torn apart by this madness?" Twilight pleaded. "We have to stop this."

Fleur shook her head sadly, "There's no stopping this Twilight. This is a choice between martial law and mob rule, and quite frankly I don't find either very appealing. We need to get out of here, and now is an ideal time while everypony is busy."

"But this is my fault! We have to stop this! I have to stop this!"

"For the record," Trixie interjected, "I agree with Fleur about the whole leaving thing. Mob rule sounds worse than martial law if you ask me. At least martial law has law, even if it is a bit one sided in this messed up country."

"Twilight. Once news of this reaches the Duke he's going to send an actual army here that will either lay siege on the city and starve it into submission, which isn't far off seeing as how they restricted trade, or they will enter the city and kill anypony who looks at them wrong. Maybe both. Starving ponies tend not to fight back much."

"But... I... I have to... I have to stop this..." Twilight muttered weakly before slumping against the wall in defeat. "This is my fault."

Fleur grabbed Twilight's head in her forehooves and looked her straight in the eyes. "Yes Twilight, you fucked up and I'm not going to lie to you and say you didn't. But what's going on out there right now isn't really your fault. At most you were the spark that lit the fuse to this mess, but right now we need to get out of here; pity parties can happen after."

"Yep... that's me, I'm good at sparks. And parties." Twilight pushed Fleur's hooves off and stood up, steadying her breathing as she adjusted her cloak and tried to smooth her fraying mane down. "How can you be so calm about this Fleur?" she asked once she seemed satisfied with her appearance.

"Something Fancy Pants once told me about politics. I didn't really get what he meant at first since it was kind of long winded, but it boiled down to sense first, blind rage after."

"A misquote of a non-quote," Trixie commented with a snort as she adjusted her own gear. "Loving it. Now how about we get out of here?"

"Right, we should head to the Arch. It’s the nearest and most straight forward way out." Fleur started to head to the exit out of the square when she paused mid step. "Of course we might have to kick the gate down or something when we get there but we can worry about that later. Let’s go."

"Hold on." Twilight said before trotting over to where Nightlight was still holding the body of the mare. "I- I'm really sorry, I... I wish I could change all of this, truly." She placed a hoof on his shoulder but the stallion didn't react in the slightest. She bit her lower lip nervously and was about to go when he spoke."

"We were going to be married in August. Just a small ceremony with a few friends. We didn't need a fancy wedding as long as we were together." He let out a choking sob, tears streaming down his face. "I was okay with dying here because I knew she was okay, I knew she was would survive even without me... It was always us just us when we were young, looking out for each other because nopony else would, but she was always the stronger of us..." He fell silent once more, gently rocking the body of the mare.

"I-I... I'm sorry!" Twilight turned and ran back to the others, tears staining her own cheeks. She did her best to wipe them off before nodding at Fleur who led them out the gate and down the street.

Even just outside the castle square there was a noticeable difference in atmosphere. They could hear the shouts and cries of ponies fighting in the streets. The fighting had already moved on from around the castle, leaving nothing more than bloodstains and broken bodies behind. A soldier was leaning against the base of a statue with half a spear protruding from his chest, yet somehow he clung to life. His gaze followed them as they went past, his eyes begging for help or mercy, but none of them were able to give either.

"You were right," Octavia whispered, "this is madness." A burning cart illuminated the worry in her eyes. "If we're headed this way, do you mind if we make a small detour? There are some ponies I wish to check on to see if they're okay." Fleur rolled her eyes and grimaced but nodded for Octavia to lead the way.

Thankfully it was only a small detour, and the first sign they had that they had arrived was the crossbow bolt that shattered on the cobblestones by Octavia's hooves. "One wrong move and you're dead!"

"Sapphire?" Sapphire was sat in the window above the front door, pointing a now unloaded crossbow at them.

"Octavia? Oh, uh... sorry about that. It seems the natives are a bit restless so I stole this crossbow from a dead soldier, you know, just in case."

Octavia bit back her first reply of 'are you crazy?' since Sapphire wasn't a mare she wanted to say that to. "So you and Velvet are okay then? I was worried," she asked instead.

"Yes, we're fine. Peach Blossom is too. Seems leaving the execution early was a prudent decision. I would let you in but we've barricaded the door quite severely and it would be difficult to move it all again. That and I doubt we have the provisions for four more ponies in here."

Octavia watched as Sapphire calmly reloaded the crossbow, looking the every inch like a practiced killer as she did it without fumbling. She also wondered about Sapphire's strangely posh speech. She was half expecting her to call this a 'jolly good riot.' "That's alright, we're leaving the city anyway. I just wanted to make sure that you and the others were fine."

"Oh yes, we're fine. Apart from the complete breakdown of law and order, you could almost call this a jolly good riot. Good luck out there Octavia! You may well need it." Sapphire rested the reloaded crossbow on the windowsill and aimed along it, apparently seeming to forget they were even there.

Fleur turned around and led the group back the way they came. "I'm pretty sure there's a name for what that mare is."

"Bat shit crazy?" Trixie suggested.

"Yeah, that could be it."

"She's not usually like that. At least, she wasn't like that the last few times I've met her."

"Oh yes," Trixie sneered sarcastically, "I bet she thinks of that time she and that other mare abducted you to be raped was just a 'jolly fun lark.' I've bet you've become the best of friends and know all of each other’s secrets."

"Pony was going to rape who now?"

"Oh right, you don't know about that do you Fleur? I guess we can tell you but only once we've gotten out of this place."

"Borderline personality disorder," Twilight said quietly from behind them.

"Excuse me?"

"Ponies can develop it as a result of traumatic experiences, like that pony has had plenty of. To simplify it, it can fracture a pony’s personality into several versions of the same pony, but with each version usually having some kind of emotional extreme. For example that one seemed to have an upper class Nightmare Moon may care attitude, another might be quite melancholy whilst a third might be rather childish. I'm quite probably wrong but from that and from what you said about her Octavia, it seems a likely possibility."

Octavia opened her mouth to say something but Fleur beat her to it. "As fascinating as this all is could we maybe think about getting the hay outta here?" Octavia and Twilight both spoke their assent to that idea but Trixie seemed to have something else on her mind.

"Trixie does tend to wonder sometimes about why they call it a Nightmare Moon may care attitude. I just think it gives the wrong impression about her."

Fleur tried to a few times to tell Trixie to shut up and hurry up but the result was her mouth flapping silently. "I'm almost afraid to ask but what are you talking about?" she said, relenting to the demands of her curiosity.

"It's just that in my opinion Nightmare Moon was at least passionate about what she wanted. Sure it would have been the end of all life on the planet which would have been, y'know, really bad, but you still have to admire a mare that’s willing to go to any lengths for what she really believes in."

"She tried to kill her sister and end all life on the planet just so ponies would be forced to admire her night sky for a bit before they all froze to death." Fleur scrunched up her face in a mock expression of thought, "Hmmmm... Nope, no admiration here."

Octavia tapped her chin with a hoof as she thought. "I always wanted to ask her that if it's eternal night here, does that mean its eternal day somewhere else? Doesn't seem like much of an eternal night if it’s also eternal day somewhere else."

"Great! A frigid wasteland on one side of the planet, and a scorching desert on the other. Maybe if we're lucky there's a nice temperate zone in-between where all the survivors can constantly fight over what few remaining scraps of society we have left."

"Okay okay! I never said Trixie agreed with what Nightmare Moon was doing! I just admire her drive! Sheesh. Can we get on with leaving the city now? Because this irreverent discussion doesn't help us and if we're going to argue could we at least walk while we do it?"

Twilight said nothing, but felt glad that Luna wasn't around to hear this. Less so because she might get offended but because she would probably be her biggest critic and it would be a bit weird to see Luna, one of four princesses of Equestria, whimsically discussing her evil alter ego in the midst of a city in chaos.

Fleur nodded at Trixie, gesturing for them all to follow her. She led them on an indirect route through the city, doing her best to avoid the fighting in case they got dragged into it. More than once they had to double back as soldiers and partisans battled it out in the streets. Even away from the fighting they could still hear it; mares and stallions shouting and screaming as they battled. More than once they had come across the remains of a skirmish, stepping around the bodies of the fallen whose lifeless eyes blankly surveyed the carnage around them. The wounded survivors were worse.

It also became clear as they took their meandering route through the city that this had gone far beyond a fight to liberate the city and had become a free for all, with looters and arsonists having a field day if all broken windows and fires were any indication. Judging by Fleur's heavy breathing it was effecting her heavily to see her home in flames, and not just because of the smoke.

They rounded a corner and Fleur let out a cry as she saw a building being gutted by fire. She sprinted off and skidded to halt just far enough away so it wasn't too hot. "Fuck... No..."

"What is it?" Octavia asked once she and the others had caught up.

"It’s the bakery I used to come to as a kid. Cookie Dough, who owns it, used to give me the leftovers and stuff 'cause he knew I was homeless. It's also the bakery making the order I told you about. I can't believe some fucker burnt it down."

"I can." They looked round to where a pale brown earth pony stallion was comforting a weeping pale yellow earth pony mare in the shade of a nearby tree. "The amount of times I've done orders for the Duke and his cronies, I'm not surprised ponies around here thought I was on their side."

"Doughy! You're ok!" Fleur ran over to the stallion but stopped short of hugging him when she noticed his burns and half missing mane.

"Heh, barely. Got a few burns making sure Buns got out, but it's nothing that won't heal in time. I see you've done your best to stay out of this."

"Yeah, we're trying to get out of the city but the fighting isn't making it easy. Fuck knows what we're going to do if the gates are locked. You should come too, especially if ponies around here think you're on the Dukes side."

The stallion chuckled lightly and shook his head. "Thanks but no thanks, I've got a bakery to rebuild. The money I got for that last order should be enough to cover most of the rebuilding. Say what you want about the Viscount but he isn't shy about paying for quality. Good job I put the money in the bank and not under my mattress even if only because coins are uncomfortable to sleep on." Fleur watched the fire shining in his eyes as a coy grin crossed his face. "Maybe I'll finally get around to extending the business into dairy products. I have the feeling that ice cream will be quite the popular dish someday."

Fleur grinned in return and gave him a gentle peck on the cheek. "Sounds like a great idea. We're going to go now but hopefully I'll see you again soon."

"Heh, last time you said that it took you nearly fifteen years to get back to me. Try and make it a bit shorter this time."

"Deal," Fleur said with a giggle. "Come on guys lets go." She started to trot off but paused to stare into the burning wreckage of the bakery, her smile slipping off her face. "I hope he's serious. He made the best cookies."

"C'mon! This way!" Fleur panted as she charged through the narrow alleyways, a pack of soldiers chasing after them. They had headed to the market which had a more direct route to the outer limits of the city, but were surprised to find it neither rife with fighting or aflame but full of soldiers who were attempting to rally. It seems that a trio unicorns weren't welcome company seeing as how a dozen of the soldiers had started chasing after them the moment they had set hoof in the market place.

"Are you sure you know where you're going?" Trixie panted between breaths. "It's just this city isn't that big yet we're still stuck in it!"

"Trixie!" Twilight said, forestalling Fleur's next comment. "When we turn the next corner can you make some illusions to keep running down the alley."

"I think so! Why? What are you going to do?"

"I'm going to get us out of here! All of you, when I shout stop, stop running!"

"Why?" Fleur asked.

"Because I mightn't be able to catch you in time if you don't!" They kept running, watching carefully as the next turning rushed to meet them. They skidded around it and as soon as they had Trixie's horn flared creating four illusions of them that kept running in a straight line down the alley. "Stop!" Twilight shouted as her own horn flared, teleporting them away. She skidded to a halt as they reappeared on the roof of the building they had been running next to.

They slid down the tiles but managed to stop before they fell off the roof, although it was a close call with Octavia who just managed to stop with her hooves in the guttering. She swallowed and cautiously backed off from the edge before joining the others in looking down at where the soldiers were still chasing the illusions.

"Wow those soldiers must be dense," Trixie said as they watched. "Those illusions aren't even trying to dodge the rubbish, they're just phasing right through it! Surely they can tell something's wrong?"

"They're probably just putting running through rubbish down as unicorn witchcraft and trickery," Fleur said back. "Always found it odd even when I lived here that despite unicorns having no magical training or skill, ponies will happily believe that unicorns are capable of all kinds of magic. You could actually live up to your self-imposed title here Trixie, y'know, if you didn't get brutally murdered for it." Trixie stuck her tongue out at Fleur.

"Thanks," Octavia said to Twilight, giving her a friendly nudge. Twilight nodded but didn't look like a pony would after having saved their skins. Instead she looked like a pony would after having their heart broken.

"Anypony would have done that if they knew how. It's nothing special.” She shook her head and turned to address Fleur, “Where's the gate we're trying to get to?"

Fleur looked around, holding a hoof up ready to point as she tried to get her bearings. Slowly though, her hoof lowered as she looked around before falling back to the tiles with a thud. "..." She couldn't even swear as their vantage point on the roof offered her an excellent view of Prance in chaos. "My home..."

Large parts of the city was in flames now, the small fires having spread eagerly from building to building until entire streets burned brightly in the night. Smoke poured into the sky, the light from the fires reflecting off it and giving the sky a hellish appearance, and coming from all directions was the sounds of fighting and screams, of ponies calling desperately for loved ones and the overwhelming cacophony of a city in chaos.

Trixie looked to Twilight and Octavia for some kind of input but Twilight was staring intently at her hooves and Octavia seemed transfixed on the scene before her, her mouth hanging open. Trixie went back to Fleur but she too was staring, transfixed with tears in her eyes. "For fuck sake... You know it’s bad when I have to be the responsible one." She grabbed Fleur's head in her magic and wrenched it around until she faced her, "Fleur, I know this is your home and I'm sorry, but unless you can tell us the way out we're probably going to die here."

Fleur blinked a few times and her eyes seemed to gain focus as she returned to her senses. "Right... I-uh, it's..." She looked around and found where they were meant to be going, "It's over there," she said, pointing a hoof off to the right.

"Good. Twilight?" Twilight raised her gaze from her hooves and turned it to Trixie who pointed a hoof to where Fleur had before. "Fleur says it’s over there so do whatever you're going to do." Twilight gave a single nod and focused on where the gate was, her eyes twitching as if searching for something.

"Octavia?"

"Y-yes?"

"I don't know, just hold on or something." There was a purple flash and the group appeared on the roof of a building a lot nearer the outer wall, a street away from the way out. "Why didn't we do that sooner?" Trixie asked.

"No magic remember," Twilight said in answer. "However I get the feeling most ponies around here don't care right now if they did see us." She glanced over the edge of the building and there was another flash as she teleported them down to the road below. "Lead on Fleur."

"Ok, the Arch should be on the other side of the square at the end of this street. Be prepared for anything." She crept forward, her head low as she headed to the end of the street and gasped at what she saw.

"What? What is it?" Trixie asked, moving up beside Fleur.

"The gates... They're open... They're just letting ponies out of the city." Trixie squinted as she studied the gate and the ponies exiting the city through it, some running with nothing more than what they had been wearing when this began whilst others were hauling carts and carrying whatever belongings they could strap onto their own backs.

Feeling slightly emboldened, the four ponies headed out of the street and over to the gate where some soldiers were nervously watching the ponies flood out the gate like rats out of a sinking ship. "Why are you just letting us all leave?" Fleur asked one of them.

His eyes twitched to her horn before he answered her, "Less ponies in the city means less ponies trying to kill us. Besides, we'd probably have been killed by now if we had refused and you'd all be getting out anyway, and I ain't the sort to die for nothing. Now get the fuck out of here if you're going."

Fleur nodded and was about to lead the way through the arch when a filly's voice behind them cried out, "Wait!" They all turned and saw a small yellow filly charging across the square towards them.

"No! It's MY stuff!" Trixie cried as she hugged her saddlebags to her sides.

"What? No! I'm not here to rob you. I want you to take me with you!"

"Uh-uh, no way. You’re probably just setting us up so you can rob us when we're asleep or something. Nope, you're staying here, away from my stuff!"

"Please Trixie! Do you have any idea what happens to small unwanted, homeless fillies that nopony would miss in a place like this?"

"And you do?" Trixie asked as she gave the filly a flat stare.

"No, but my imagination can provide a few ideas and not one of them involves a daily helping of cake and hugs. So please, I'm begging you! Take me with you!" The filly's eyes grew big and dewy and her bottom lip jutted out and quivered.

Trixie scratched her chin in mock thought, "After careful consideration of your request and in lieu of your attempted use of puppy eyes to sway me I have reached a conclusion. Piss off."

"Trixie!" Fleur yelled, making Trixie flinch.

"What?"

Fleur picked up the filly in her magic and put her on her back between her saddlebags. "Of course she can come with us. If you want to know what happens to fillies on their own in a place like this then you can stay here. No buts," she added before Trixie had a chance to complain.

"I really think we ought to be going now. Look," Octavia said, before pointing off across the square where a large group of armed citizens had charged in. The soldiers were preparing their own weapons and a lot of the ponies in between them started screaming and pushing towards the gate in their panic.

"Oh right, yeah. Let's go ponies." Fleur led the way, pushing through the crowds of ponies when she had to, the filly hanging on around her neck. Slowly they made their way through the arch, but progress was slow and they could feel the pressure building behind them more and more ponies crammed themselves into the tunnel with the occasional muffled scream as ponies fell and were trampled underhoof.

As soon as they were through they turned to the side along the wall as they took a moment to catch their breath, and Fleur put the filly back on the ground. Twilight watched the ponies exiting the arch and was surprised to see Green Roots pulling a wagon out, Cross Stitch, Butterscotch and Lacy riding inside it. Twilight was about to go up to them when she noticed that Cross Stitch was heavily bruised and only had half a horn. Roots must have seen Twilight because when she looked back to him he was scowling at her as he walked. Twilight met his glare for a moment before averting her eyes and turning back to the others. At the very least she could be glad they had made it out safely.

"Now what Fleur?" Octavia asked as she flexed her right forehoof gingerly. "Somepony trod on it in the tunnel but it’s fine." she explained when the others gave her a quizzical look. She gave them a weak grin, "I guess I'm just cursed to slow you all down."

"I don't know why you're asking me," Fleur said with a shrug. "I've got a lot on my mind right now, what with my home city suddenly kicking off in a civil war and half burning down. Maybe you should ask our intrepid leader." She glared at Twilight who raised her head for all of a second before lowering it again.

"You're the one with the big plan to sneak into that party thing," said Trixie, "so I guess that technically makes you the pony in charge since Twilight would have trouble leading a kid into a sweet shop right now."

"Oh yeah? Well maybe we should all consider a permanent change of leadership of this mission."

"Fleur!" Octavia gasped, "There's no need for that! Twilight's doing fine as a leader."

"You're kidding right? She has hardly done anything worthy of being called leadership. In fact her leadership has forcibly dyed Trixie against her will, severely pissed me off and resulted in the shit storm on the other side of that wall!"

"It also saved my life, saved Trixie's horn, and helped ponies who needed it which is more than you can say!" Octavia grit her teeth and squared up to Fleur as if preparing to fight. She only cut eye contact when Twilight put a hoof on her shoulder.

"Fleur's right," said Twilight, her voice dangerously close to breaking. "I shouldn't be leading this. I can't lead this, not now. I appreciate your faith in me but my mistakes have just gotten hundreds of ponies ki-" She choked up, unable to say the word. "Maybe somepony else should lead." Her eyes met Fleur's and watched as her expression softened.

"Maybe. Maybe not. Who says we even need a leader? How about for now we just get walking and give a chance for cooler heads to prevail."

"I had to pick the biggest bunch of weirdo's to hang out with didn't I? I mean we just escaped a city that's on the brink of falling to pieces and you all stop to have an argument." The filly looked between them, her face bearing a puzzled smirk, "Seriously though, what are you guys going on about?"

"Five marcs gets you the whole story." Trixie said to the filly. "If you want the deluxe version though that's ten marcs."

"And suddenly I'm fine not knowing. Now seriously, how about we get out of here?"

"I'm with the filly," Fleur said as she picked the filly up in her magic, placing her on her back once more. "It's a long way to Whiplash so we better get moving if we're going to make the party." Fleur frowned as she felt the filly tense up. "Something wrong... you? Seriously, we need to give you a name."

"I-uh... I just think that you could have picked literally anywhere else. Maybe going back in there would be a better choice," she said, gesturing towards Prance.

"Why?" Trixie asked, "What's wrong with Whiplash? Other than its stupid name?"

"You'll see," Fleur said as she started walking with the filly close behind her. A moment later Trixie started after them followed soon after by Octavia who limped slightly as she walked. Twilight sat watching them as the distance grew between her and the others, although it was easy enough to see them even with all the other ponies around, as the fires in the city provided a lot of light. It also illuminated the sight of Octavia coming back towards her.

“Twilight? Are you coming?” Twilight nodded and stood up slowly, taking her time as she walked because she was afraid she might fall over, considering how much her legs were shaking.

Author's Notes:

How will the ponies cope with this? Can they still press on with the mission despite everything that happened? Can they cope with having an extra pony tagging along? Will I get better at conveying the emotions of others? I mean seriously, I'm a bit emotionally stunted so trying to write emotions in others is like...really hard.