The wheels of the cart thudded down onto the stone of the courtyard in front of Puddingarde keep, and Twilight didn't even bother to unhitch herself from it, choosing instead to teleport straight out of the harness and run into the keep, ignoring the shouts from Trixie and Thorn as the cart tipped back and threw them out.

She galloped in through the main entrance just as something caught her eye, and she skidded to a halt and back-pedalled back out through the door to have a look.

A middle aged stallion was sat on a stool in front of a rectangular slab of stone bigger than he was. He had a small chisel held firmly in his left hoof, and was gently tapping at it with a hammer held in his right. Beside him was a stack of similar slabs that had been untouched by his chisel.

Frowning, Twilight walked over to him to have a closer look at what he was doing. He was gently and patiently engraving a name onto the slab to add to the two dozen he had already completed, along with the cutie mark that belonged to the name. Twilight recognised one or two of them, but the majority of them she didn't. It wasn't a huge leap of imagination for her to figure out these were the names and marks of ponies that had fallen defending Puddingarde from Filigree's ill-fated attack.

Twilight held a hoof to her mouth as her eyes watered. Daybreak had hinted that he had something planned to commemorate the fallen, and clearly this was part of it.

A throat was cleared behind her, and Twilight pulled herself away to find Daybreak watching her, the corner of his mouth turned up in a faint smile. "I take it you approve then?"

Twilight nodded as her voice evaded her for a second. "I do," she croaked a few seconds later.

"You should see the rest of it then. Come on." He led her inside and to the left where a wooden frame had been bolted to the wall, and slotted into it was more slabs like the one outside, only fully engraved with the names and marks of thirty to forty ponies on each. Only seven had been done so far, so the engraver had his work cut out.

Twilight couldn't stop herself from working out how much more room would be needed to fill in the rest of the names, and stopped when she found that the space that was left exceeded the space that was needed. "Why is there so much space left Daybreak?"

"Because it would be naïve to think that more names won't be added to the ones already there. We can even expand the frame as needed, but hopefully that won't be necessary." The fact that it probably would be was left unsaid. "I hope you like it."

Twilight scanned across the names, taking in each one until she found the one she recognised best. In the bottom left corner of the bottom left slab was Mason's name, along with his mark of a chisel splitting a block of stone. Twilight hadn't known Mason long, but she felt the stallion would approve of being the cornerstone of the memorial.

"It's perfect. I am wondering how you managed to do all this though."

"I happen to know a diamond dog that could hunt me down some appropriate stone for this."

"You asked Fishbait?"

"I did, and he was more than happy to help. He's got his dogs looking for more since we don't have enough yet. As for the engraver, that was just a matter of money."

"He's not one of ours?"

Daybreak shook his head, "Apparently an engraver was a little too niche for us to have picked up, which is saying a lot since we've got a mare here whose talent is sniffing out truffles. It's worth the expense anyway, especially since I found the former mayor's personal fund."

"Really?"

"Yep. I'm going to say that embezzlement is probably the least of his crimes, even if it were the one he practiced most. Apart from paying for this I've put the rest back into the city funds, and towards paying for the long overdue maintenance of a certain orphanage Fleur was keen on helping, which cheered her up no end."

"They're back?"

"They are. They got back yesterday, and apparently had a bit of a time of things. They're in the infirmary with Soarin, who is acquainting himself with some more ponies that arrived recently."

He led the way to the infirmary and it didn't take Twilight long to realise who Daybreak was talking about when she saw a pony she vaguely recognised with a white coat and a soft pink mane and tail, who was scribbling something on a piece of paper on a desk. "Nurse Redheart?"

Redheart jumped slightly from the unexpected intrusion into her work, and was about to give the pony a gentle scolding when she saw who was addressing her, and she quickly dropped into a bow, "Princess! My apologies, I wasn't expecting to see you here."

Twilight gestured for Redheart to stand, "It's just Twilight here, not princess. I have to admit I'm surprised to see you here."

"When Princess Celestia asked for volunteers from the different hospitals around Equestria, I could hardly refuse. Although, I do wish she had been a little more forthcoming with what she expected us to do here. I was surprised enough when she told us you were leading the rebellion without mentioning anything else."

Twilight winced guiltily, "Sorry, but a lot of things going on here are kind of... need to know. I'm just glad we have some properly trained medical staff now. What are you working on?"

"A dietary plan for Drip Dry and some of the other malnourished pegasi I'm afraid. I'm also going over a treatment plan for her wings since we have the equipment and necessary expertise here to possibly fix them now."

Twilight beamed at her, "That's good. It'd be nice to see her happy."

"You should ask Doctor Amal for the full details, since I'm no surgeon."

"Amal? That's an unusual name."

"It's Saddle Arabian for hope."

"He's a Saddle Arabian?"

"She is, and she's one of the foremost experts on pegasus physiology in Equestria." Redheart smiled, "I know, I find it odd how she came to earn that position as well seeing as there aren't any Saddle Arabian pegasi. She really is good at what she does though, to be fair. You'll find her in Sawbones' office."

"Right, Thank you." Twilight let Redheart return to her work while she entered Sawbones' office where she found the others along with Soarin who was in the middle of having his wing set in a cast by the pony that Twilight could only assume was Doctor Amal. Mostly due to the height.

"Twilight! You're back!" Twilight was quickly found the front of her chest being squeezed by the filly's stubby legs in a hug.

"I am." She frowned as she watched the doctor work, "And it seems I missed a few things in the week and a bit I've been gone. Why is Soarin's wing broken?"

"We had a run in with our favourite hunter," Octavia explained. "She attacked us at Hayfield manor, under the impression that you and Trixie would be there as well. She broke Soarin's wing after he saved Ivory's life."

"Anything for the pretty ones," Soarin mumbled before giggling.

"Um..."

"He's had quite a bit of morphine," Octavia added.

"I see. I hope he'll be okay." Twilight regarded Soarin with sympathy for a moment longer before turning to Fleur, "Are you okay after seeing her again?"

Fleur pursed her lips and shook her head, "Not really, but I'll get over it. I'm feeling a lot better now we have some proper doctors here to treat my injuries." Ponies a lot denser than the ones there couldn't have missed the scowls Sawbones and Suture gave her. "Sorry, nothing against you, but Mareitanian medicine is so far behind Equestria it's almost tragic."

"What's with the boots?" Twilight cut in smoothly before Fleur created an incident.

"I got them while we were away. It's a boring story so I'll just say they help me to walk."

"Alright then." Twilight really wished there weren't quite so many ponies in the room as it left her wanting to talk to all of them at once. "Uh, Ivory... does that mean that your mission didn't work out?"

"Yes and no. Things got a bit more complicated after we got back and found out the news."

"News? What news?"

"You haven't heard yet? I suggest you go talk with Fleetfoot and Seeker then. They're down in the command room trying to correlate their findings."

Twilight rubbed her head, "Right, I guess I better go do that then." She turned to leave but found Trixie blocking the doorway, watching the tall white Saddle Arabian with curiosity.

"Who's the tall one?"

"She's one of our new medical ponies," Twilight explained. Then she realised that she hadn't even said so much as hello to the pony treating Soarin, and quickly decided to fix that. "Sorry, got a lot on my mind. It's nice to meet you Doctor Amal."

"And it's nice to meet you as well Princess," the doctor said in her accented voice as she dipped into a quick bow.

"Please, call me Twilight."

"Then I shall insist that you call me Amal."

"If that's what you want." Twilight smiled, then rocked back on her hooves a little, "So... what made you want to come here?"

Amal laughed and flipped her long, braided, light blue mane over her neck, "Always the same question."

"Sorry! I didn't mean to offend you!"

"And you haven't. Are you aware of the cultural program Celestia maintains to help foreign nationals earn places in Equestrian universities?" Twilight had, although it hadn't been something she was very familiar with since Celestia's school for gifted unicorns only really focused on ponies with horns. "Thanks to that program," Amal continued, "I was able to gain a place in Manehatten University to study medicine, where I specialised in pegasi since I found their ability to fly so fascinating. Of course, there aren't a lot of pegasi in Saddle Arabia, so I chose to remain in Equestria. When Celestia called for volunteers to come here I accepted, to repay some of what I owe both her and Equestria."

Twilight didn't remember asking, but could only assume that was some strange thing where ponies felt compelled to tell everything to princesses. "I'm glad you decided to put your skills to use here as we have a lot of pegasi that could use your help. How have you found it so far?"

"Your facilities here are... lacking, but we shall do what we can. For the most part I'm still trying to get used to the way ponies look at me here."

"At least zebras are normal sized," the filly grumbled.

"Yeah, they aren't very experienced with other kinds of equine yet. Or non-equines for that matter. Still, they'll get used to you."

"I hope so."

"They will. Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet you Doc- Ahem, Amal."

"Likewise."

Twilight made to leave, gently nudging Trixie put of the door, only to go back and gesture for Ivory to come with her. "So when you say things got a bit more complicated once you heard 'the news,' what does that mean?" Twilight asked as they made their way down to the command room, followed by Daybreak, Trixie, and Thorn.

"It means that the best I can tell you is who our friends are. The rest is questionable because of what's happened. You'll find out soon enough."

"And none of you can tell me because..?"

"Because I can't tell you what I don't know?" said Trixie.

"I didn't mean you Trixie!" Twilight folded her ears back to muffle Trixie's sniggering.

"Believe me," said Ivory, "You need to hear this from the source."

Trixie snirked, "Or straight from the horses mouth."

"I didn't want to say it like that!"

Twilight ignored their bickering as best she could as they wound down into the depths of Puddingarde. She pushed the door to the command room open and led the way in, finding Seeker and Fleetfoot poring over a map of Mareitania that was covered in lines and scribbles. "Can somepony stop being all cryptic and please please pleeease... tell me what's going on? Please?"

Fleetfoot looked up, "Oh! You're back! How did Bitmark go? Uh... ma'am."

"It went strange. We started our attack on the soldiers, but rather than fight back, they left, even though they had superior numbers."

"That does make sense with what we've found out so far," Fleetfoot said to Seeker.

Twilight threw her head back and groaned with exasperation, "What? What have you found out?"

Seeker gestured for Twilight to study the map they had been working on. The most noticeable thing on it was a big black line running across the country beneath Whiplash. "The enemy appears to be retreating from the south of the country."

"Huh?"

"It seems that between our efforts here, and the efforts of our individual cells in other places, along with the ferocity of Shadow and her thestrals in destroying their supply lines, has prompted the enemy to give up the south entirely. Everything below Whiplash has been abandoned, with only a token force to hold Whiplash as it no longer has any strategic value."

"What do you mean 'no strategic value?'" Trixie asked. "Isn't that their biggest shipping thing on the Mareissippi?"

"It was," said Ivory, "but since it shipped stuff to the south, and we now control the south, it's-"

"Pointless," Twilight finished. "It could be useful to us if we took it though, for two reasons."

"And what reasons are those?" asked Trixie.

"Well, shipping, obviously, and the pegasus facility would serve well as a holding centre for any prisoners we might take. Then we could actually take prisoners..."

"So you want us to go after Whiplash then?" Trixie asked.

"I do, but not yet." Twilight studied the map for a few seconds, "I'm not sure I understand the Duke's decision here though. Surely he realises that we would have an advantage from him doing this?"

"Actually it's more of a double-edged sword in this case," said Fleetfoot. She pointed a hoof at the marker for Prance then High Rock, "From what I saw they've been building up the defenses at Prance with siege weapons to hit us from afar. Not a great strategy when we can fire-bomb them with our pegasi, but the build-up of soldiers there is significant. I think he's hoping that between Prance and High Rock, he'll be able to hold off our advances."

Trixie scoffed, "Like that would stop us."

"Lots of civilians in Prance," Ivory pointed out.

"That's not the only thing," said Seeker. "From what little I have heard, I do believe the Duke is recruiting ponies into his army. They are building their forces just as we are."

Ivory shook her head sadly, "Only he'd be more likely to give these ponies a weapon and shove them on the front to die stupidly."

"Ma'am, you said the soldiers withdrew from Bitmark?"

It took a moment for Twilight to realise that Fleetfoot had asked her a question that she should probably answer, and she shook her unease off. "Sorry, I was thinking. Yes they withdrew. When we captured their leader she said they were headed back to Prance."

"How many?"

"Two to two and a half thousand if I had to guess. We agreed to let them leave since it gave us Bitmark with minimal losses. Especially since I was having to fight with untrained and underequipped rebels. If those soldiers had really fought back en masse it might have ended up being a total rout at worst, and a pyrrhic victory wouldn't have been too much better."

Fleetfoot scribbled another number next to Prance, and whistled in a low tone. "I hate to say it, but there's no way we could take out just Prance with our current forces, let alone Prance and High Rock."

"So we need a little time to build up our forces," said Trixie. "Now that we control the south, that's hardly an issue."

Twilight rubbed her temples. Not even two weeks ago they were having to fight for the survival of the rebellion. Now they held the southern reaches of the country, and she didn't like the reasons why. Sure the Duke still held most of Mareitania, but that would mean he considered the south worth losing, and that's what confused her the most.

"Maybe he's just trying to buy himself time," she hazarded. "Maybe he's trying to build up his forces until he feels capable of pushing us back. I guess his loss here made him nervous."

Daybreak considered that for a moment, "Perhaps. He does have a lot more support from ponies in the north, and I guess he could do that."

"That just means we have to keep the pressure up!" Trixie snatched the map off the table, "What's between us and Prance?"

"Farmland mostly," said Daybreak. "Most of Mareitania is farmland. North of the caverns to the lands above Prance could be considered the breadbasket of the country."

"Wouldn't the Duke want to hold onto that to feed his army?"

"I suspect so, yes."

"Then if we put pressure of the farmlands he'll either back off and let us have them, undermining his ability to feed ponies, or he'll try and protect them, giving us a chance to whittle them down."

"What about the farmers?"

"Nuts to them."

Twilight took the map back off Trixie," We can't do that."

"Why not?"

"Because knowing the Duke, he would let innocent ponies starve if it meant feeding his soldiers. Also knowing him, that would mostly mean the unicorns and pegasi. Maybe we can try that once the harvests have been gathered, assuming we still need to at that point."

Trixie rolled her eyes, "You are such a soft touch Twilight."

Twilight ignored her, "We can't do much against the Duke right now, so as long as he isn't attacking us, we can allow him to stew for a few weeks. Ivory, I have a job for you, Fleur, Octavia, and the others."

"Yes?"

"Those Lords and Ladies you were trying to get to join us, are they all within our new territory?"

"They are."

"Then I want you to try and convince them to join us again. Hopefully now the Duke has abandoned them they might be a bit more willing."

"And if they still refuse?"

"Then we will seize their holdings by force if we have to. Not the best solution, I know, but we don't have much choice. I also want you to start working on fixing things with the help of our new allies, along the lines of investing in the infrastructure of the country; transport, healthcare, education, stuff like that.

Ivory didn't seem comfortable with that, but nodded anyway. "Okay, I think we can do that..."

Twilight breathed out harshly, "Sorry Ivy, I didn't mean to dump that on you. I just want you to make a start on things. If you need help, or it's too much, just say and I'll try and find a way to help you."

Ivory nodded with a bit more confidence, "I'll do my best."

"Thank you." Twilight picked up the map again and highlighted in her magic three little villages that fell into their territory, "Daybreak, did you send any of our ponies to these places."

"Two of them. I think you told me to leave Hoovendale."

"Are they in a position to take control of those villages?"

"I might have to send some ponies to help them, but it shouldn't be a big problem."

"Do it then."

"What about Hoovendale?"

"What about it?" asked Trixie "There's nothing there much."

"Yes there is, look." Daybreak pointed at a spot a mile above Hoovendale. "There's a big lumber mill there which would be a huge asset for us."

"Oh yes, because who doesn't love lumber mills?"

"Shut up Trixie." Daybreak turned to Twilight, "Do you get what I'm talking about at least?" Twilight shrugged and shook her head. "Oh for goodness sake! Lumber! Wood! A material that could be used to build siege weapons! You know, catapults! Stuff like that!"

"Because we were totally incapable of cutting down trees before," Trixie sneered sarcastically.

"They wouldn't be as nice as the wood we could get from a proper lumber mill."

Twilight stood, "He's right Trixie, we need that wood if we want to build siege weapons."

"But we don't know how to build catapults!" exclaimed Trixie.

"The burnt catapults are still outside," said Ivory. "We could try and work it out from them?"

Daybreak grinned, "See? Even Ivory knows what I'm talking about."

"So... what?" Trixie pointed over he shoulder towards the exit, "Should we go and seize this lumber mill too?"

"No Trixie," Twilight huffed. "It's a business. We'll buy the wood from them because we're not thieves." Trixie grunted and sat down, clearly unimpressed. "Daybreak, could you and Thorn take care of that, and the villages?"

"You can count on it."

"Right, between all that and all the new recruits we'll be getting from Bitmark, I think we have more than enough to keep us busy for a while."

"Hmm..." Twilight waited while Celestia thought about all that Twilight had told her. "It's an unusual move to be sure. If I were to hazard a guess I would say that he considers the loss of lands heavily occupied by unicorns to be an inconsequential loss, even if it allows you to build up your forces."

"But that's just it! Why would he let us do that?"

"I don't know Twilight. I've been trying to fathom the minds of Mareitania's Dukes for a long time, and never got very far. I imagine that as far as he's concerned, he's drawn a line in the sand that he doesn't think you'll cross."

"That's stupid."

"Not really Twilight. Were you expecting him to keep pushing forward with his current strategy, and let you pick his army apart piecemeal?"

"Well, no..."

"Unable to maintain supply lines, or send proper reinforcements..."

"Okay, I get it."

"Retreating is a perfectly viable strategy Twilight. Not to mention that you're suddenly left with the burden of running the lands you've taken."

"I've already got ponies working on that. Hopefully we'll be able to improve on a lot of things."

"I suspected you would."

Twilight put it out of her mind for now, wanting to think about something else for a while. Sadly Celestia chose the subject before Twilight could even try to think of something else.

"How have you been after your... unexpected expiration?"

"Is that what you're choosing to call it? Really? I died Celestia, don't beat about the bush."

"Very well, but my question still stands."

Twilight held her head in her hooves, resting her elbows on the stone so her chin hovered just above the speaker stone as she tried to sum up her feelings on the issue. "Mostly I'm just confused about the whole thing. I can almost picture the methods behind it, but I just can't understand why."

"I could spout theories at you for days Twilight, but you'd still be none the wiser."

"I know. I just wish I knew how to deal with it. Within two days we were making jokes about it, trivializing my own inability to die. It's... It's... I don't know."

"I know this isn't what you wish to hear, but I'm being honest when I say it is best to not think about it too much."

"Yeah, I think I can understand that." Twilight shifted her position to get more comfortable, "We had those doctor ponies arrive. Thanks for sending them."

"I hope they serve you well. You haven't had any problems with ponies reacting to Doctor Amal have you?"

"None that I know of. She did say that ponies have a tendency to stare, but I'm sure they'll get used to her."

"I hope so. It would be a shame if she had to return as she really is gifted in her chosen field."

"I'll make sure she's okay."

"Good. I know this is slightly off topic, but have you had any successes on the healing spell you've been working on?"

"I've barely had time to think about it, let alone work on it. Maybe I'll get some time now while we're sorting things out." Twilight shifted again, "So, how have the girls been?"

"Rarity's opened another boutique in Manehatten. Caused quite the media stir due to the unusual circumstances surrounding its opening."

"I wish I could've been there."

"And I bet they wish you could've been there too."

Minutes turned into an hour of idly chatting with Celestia as Twilight caught up with events in Equestria. Things were going well for all her friends there, making Twilight wish it were such for all her friends here too.

"Celestia, I need your advice."

"Of course Twilight, anything."

"It's about Trixie... She did something, and I don't know what to do."

"I'm afraid you're going to have to give me a little more to go on than that." Twilight took a deep breath and laid it all out for Celestia, from Twilight's issues with Trixie's dark magic, her promise to stop Trixie if she went too far, and what Trixie did to Vines. Then she went quiet and cringed in expectation of Celestia giving her a severe scolding.

"I see. Tell me Twilight, do you think that she's gone too far?"

"Excuse me? She murdered a pony!"

"I know Twilight, but do you think she's gone too far by doing that? If you do I can't help but point out you've done nothing to stop her."

"B-but-!"

"But you're afraid she might have been right to be cautious of this Vines. Your methods may have been different, but the intentions were the same."

"She murdered her!"

"As sad as it is to say Twilight, I've done worse things than that, and wrapped them up in good intentions so that ponies would think I did the right thing." Twilight could hear the regret in Celestia's voice. "There are times I wish I had killed a pony if it meant stopping something they did later. You can hardly blame Trixie for falling to the solution that has served her so well since you started this rebellion."

Twilight was shocked, "You're taking her side?"

"I'm not taking any sides, but lawfully speaking, she murdered a pony in a time of war in a country with very lax laws. You could call it a war crime I suppose, but the murder of one pony is... small compared to what she could do if she were to really apply herself."

"So... what? You're saying that she should just get away with it!?"

"Twilight, what you're asking is if I think you should stop her. What I'm going to tell you is that decision is entirely up to you. I realise you want her to stop, but until she really does something you can't agree with, you're just going to let her carry on, aren't you?"

"I-I-"

"You've already justified her murdering that pony as it might have saved lives for her to do so. Is it that you're asking me whether you were wrong to accept what happened?"

Twilight clutched her head in her hooves, "I don't know! I don't know!"

"Or are you looking for reasons to not stop her?"

Twilight's breath shuddered in her chest, "S-she's my friend Celestia! She's my friend, and she's hurt, and it's my fault she's here! It's my fault she's like this! I want to help her Celestia! I want to make her better, but if she keeps getting worse I'm going to have to stop her!" Twilight desperately rubbed her tears away, "I don't want to fight her. I don't want to have to kill her..."

"Who said anything about killing her?"

"Huh?" Twilight murmured with a sniffle.

"And if it's anyponies fault she's like this, it's mine. Twilight, nopony said you have to kill her, so why would you think that?"

"You don't know how powerful she's become. She doesn't have as wide a range of spells as us, but for raw power, she's... Well, she's easily as powerful as you or I."

"Her dark magic is, perhaps, but alicorns are much more than just power and the ability to swing it. Twilight, you're one of the smartest mares I know, and if you can't think of a way to fix this, then there isn't one."

Author's Notes:

I rewrote quite a bit of this chapter. I hated it. I tried again. Same result. I wrote the chapter after this and started on the chapter after that. Still need to do this first. Smashed my face onto the keyboard until I didn't hate it. That'll do.