Author's Notes:

For those who'd made it past part one, congratulations for getting hooked onto the story and thanks for returning to it; like Day Six, it was too big to end on its own without a proper conclusion as was their respective nights so it was split into fragments but updated on the same day anyway nonetheless so as to keep y'all wishing for more.

As such, this chapter, like before, will still be devoid of sudden fire and flames from long ago and taking place at nighttime as usual albeit without the action: a difficult task to accomplish in the lost time spent writing on my own, it was an arduous struggle to have it expressed quickly; besides, this one's going to be longer than the other part alongside it but has been finished nonetheless.

For those still wondering what the next part will be bringing, think back to the chapters before and understand it well; after all, this is still a Mature fanfic, dealing with heavy subject matter unsuitable for those under eighteen, easily offended, and/or quickly nauseated.

There was currently a deadening calmness that had permeated throughout the stony surroundings of the very room all throughout the way. The ceiling possessed a rather small bright flame suspended ten feet from the solid ground while acting as the main source of illumination within the looking glass. The flooring was basked in cryptic woodworking more befitting of telling a tall tale within every step of the way thereof. A small table rested upon them in the center, made completely of metal and with a bolder color shade to go alongside with it. There were also some matching chairs nearby both of with various handles creating a different style than the rest.

A blue alicorn mare had stood out and about nearby that circular table as she were, tender and vigilant for the time being. The long dark blue tresses upon the owner’s weary head lay flat upon her own body as its lustrous sheen faded alongside. The blue alicorn had her big bright eyes already filled to the brim with resilience and reserve peering outward from the sockets. Her body was adorned with a large olive overcoat, covering up most of it save for the hands and hooves; the former had thick leather gloves upon them whereas the latter were covered up with some boots.

Within the blue alicorn’s line of eyesight were only three different mares: Rainbow, a cyan pegasus armed to the teeth save for her face and hands; Applejack, an orange mare sitting down on her luck; and, at long last a sobbing rarity of a white unicorn perched against the door frame.

“Any fortune on dearest Pinkie…?” the overcoat wearer soon asked as she took one step forward.

An answer reached the blue alicorn’s ears, coming from one individual who was already seated, “not at all, Princess Luna; Ah gotta say: Ah have never seen her so devastated in mah own life but Ah can’t blame her. Ah was there when she was at that whorehouse back at Ponyville: the way she suddenly snapped into purple, it'd felt like that she became a different pony in a heartbeat. She warned me about what would happen if Ah abandoned that black collar around mah neck; Ah never figured that it'd be even that bad enough for something like this to happen. What in the world could Ah ever expected from this: every single Element of Harmony a red collar, for the most part?”

“Thou mustn’t hold thyself against such needless torment for what hast been done against thee and thine friends and kin…” the aforementioned individual had replied somberly, “my dear sister didn’t become a red collar purely out of choice; in fact, she too lost her own mind in the process…”

“You mean like that fucking traitor, Cadence, right?!” the armored equine interjected, slamming her fist nearby a wall in the process.

Luna noticed the newly formed crater upon the surface and answered, “nay: when that fiend took over Canterlot all too long ago, Celestia alongside myself were forced into their experiments as test subjects when the caribou realized how we'd still refused to adopt their depraved ideology. Since that day, they and those whom became corrupted under their influence were doing everything in their power to bend our resolve until they were finally contorted into Dainn’s ideal forms: out of the two, she'd proved to be more stalwart than myself. Given my rather recent return to this very world, I was reluctant to rally against them for in fear of Nightmare Moon taking over and risk destroying everything in the process of saving the land. Even with all the drugs, brainwashing, and outright brutality they had served me, I'd refused to let myself falter; of course, everything had changed when she'd suddenly cracked under pressure: at that time, she was just like one of thy friends but only for a brief interval nonetheless.”

“Ya mean to tell me that Princess Celestia was also–––” Applejack started to respond before stopping herself in the process, “but that’s impossible; she has too good of a head upon her shoulders to let that shit happen…!”

“Don’t be too sure about it, darling; if there’s anything we'd learned from this ordeal, it wouldn’t be from some trashy erotica in a red light district these bastards would've written up: we’re all foals for letting this false dichotomy overtake our individuality!” a nearby unicorn spat out instantaneously.

An intense glare was shot from Rainbow who snarled, “correction, Rarity: you were the foals who chose to take the red collar like Roseluck did; I stayed in the black just like Spitfire despite what Soarin did to us.”

“We already got that…!” the eponymous listener sobbed, “I’m sorry, do you remember the fact that every one of us had somepony close enough to risk our neck out? You can’t go out and make such a bold generalization because of the fact I hadn’t gone with you all to the cursed Festival that day…!”

“Rarity, why do you think that it should be the case here?!” the orange mare replied in the process.

The white unicorn gasped out, “it’s obvious as the collar around my neck, remember Applejack…? Besides, even I remembered what had became of Twilight since she escaped from Spikey–Wikey’s clutches…!”

“Even so, Spike’s not here to cover up for our mistakes…!” the cyan pegasus spoke up, “these bastards did a damn fine job for us!”

“The real mistake made around these parts was Dainn’s crap: ponies disappearing into the ground, the suicides that followed after the reign, not to mention what they did to our families; Ah been putting up with their sick game just as much long as y'all gals…” Applejack retorted within only seconds.

At that point, Rainbow turned her eyes onto the orange pony and replied, “and why is that? I have no family, no friends, not even a partner to stick it to those stupid stags; how do you think they would have treated us regardless of such facts? If anything, you all ought to be lucky that we hadn’t ended up like Miss Harshwhinny earlier, craving for some stallion’s cock like the whole world depended on it…!”

“FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA, WE’RE YOUR FRIENDS; WE'D ALL SEEN HOW IT'D STARTED…!” Applejack shot back in anger, jumping upward out of her seat in the process, “even if Dainn hadn’t won this fight, let alone came here, tell me this: unless that was the case, then what the hay did we go on these adventures for in the past year; can ya tell me just that?!”

“To be frank, I’m not sure anymore: I highly doubt that we would've gone all this way to see our world turned into such a nightmare all this time; after all, it’s only a matter of time before somepony decides to blow everything back to Tartarus again…!” the cyan pegasus answered the orange mare.

Sure enough, tensions were reaching skyward as both Applejack and Rainbow were locked into an intense staredown with Rarity looking onward in fear. Even though that the white unicorn was out of their sights, she wasn’t pushed to the back of their minds either to say the very least. A deluge of tears escaped onto the cold hard floor below her as she heard the two growl at one another.

Soon, the blue alicorn broke the silence and said, “I agree with thyselves and thine opinions: the recovery process requires rebuilding and reinforcing every aspect of our lives before their arrival. The fact that our friendships had been tested by such forces is reminiscent of the current situation right this waking moment: monsters lurking around every corner, their spells in dire need of reworking, and the traps hanging amongst us. Either way, they all require our complete attention; if we are to remedy these afflictions besieging Equestria at once, then it’s imperative that an alliance must be formed once more with a common goal. Never should we allow such weaknesses to embed themselves into our society like what Dainn had done long before; after all, self–destruction is something that he would've looked forward to anyway had he lived.”

“Luna’s right: as much as it pains me to say this, we can’t argue and fight each other to the death…” the orange mare said, quickly breaking away from the cyan pegasus’ line of eyesight, “besides, there’s still work that needs to be done and doing none of it'd only make it worse.”

“Fine then, but I’m still keeping an eye on her and Twilight; after what happened, we can’t afford to have another bastard tyrant taking the helm…” Rainbow sighed as she walked away from Applejack at once.

Luna watched as the orange mare trudged past Rarity and sighed, “I haven’t experienced the populace expressing such overwhelming disarray when the Sirens had came to be; perhaps, it must have been long since that very day. Even without my own horn, I can see it clearly: families torn asunder, friendships in upheaval, neighborhood littered with upheaval, our ideals all but destroyed; they’re almost at each others’ throats thanks to such a great evil that Dainn wrought upon Equestria. Unbeknownst to my little ponies, I was still able to observe their dreams but not as much as I was able to intervene thanks to what the caribou had done to me and my sister.”

Applejack found herself in a hallway and walked alone, leaving the other equines to their own devices at once. The orange mare became well aware of how many doors there were within her sights: two on one side and three on the opposite. She was calm on the outside but thinking throughout this time: given the situation at hand, the red collar around her neck was echoing back to the conversation recently.

“Please, stop this…!” a faint voice invaded Applejack’s ears, causing them both to stand on endwise, “no more… no more…”

“Ah believe that sounds like Pinkie…” the orange mare thought to herself as she began to move onward, now driven to find the suspected source.

With each step taken, the voice had increased in decibels as she walked alone, piqued to make a discovery to confirm her suspicions at once; of course, she had gotten an answer when a nearby door was opened: laying in front was a pink pony propped upon a patchy berth. Her dank dark mane and tail had lain in a great state of utter disorganization: its internal discoloration was running rampant along the shortened locks with an edgy texture all too reminiscent of razor teeth. Aside from a moistened comforter upon the dull body, the pink pony lacked a shred of clothing save for a red collar around her very neck. Donned over her two forearms were at least several small scars freshly sewn over the pink coat like if they were some soddenly slapdash stickers.

The pink pony turned around to face Applejack at once, the former’s weary blue eyes facing the latter’s brilliant green while whimpering, “go away…”

“Pinkie…” the orange mare replied, walking towards the titular individual slowly, “what’s wrong with ya…?”

“Just look at me: I can’t stop the damn voices from getting into my head; they’ve been all screaming at me since they been raping my mom and my sisters this morning…” the pink pony sobbed.

Applejack watched a flood of tears escaping from Pinkie’s eyes and said, “that must be all the crazy talk these caribou put you through since they took over Equestria; they should have been gone by now.”

“Then why aren’t they even leaving me be, Applejack; can you at least try to tell me just that?!” the pink pony still wept, raising her voice towards the orange mare only about much slightly than before, “ever since the rain stopped earlier, I've been hearing how it was all my fault, internally and externally no less. Everywhere I'd went about in Canterlot, I couldn’t walk around without hearing someponies call me awful things like ‘sellout’, ‘pet pony’, and even ‘secondhand slut’ to my face every several minutes. The worst part about it was how I can’t help but I agree with them without question; after all, my own dear family suffered because of what I'd done: Mommy, Inkie, and Blinkie ended up into a purple collar while Daddy’s rotting away in parts unknown. I bet that she would be willing to disown me for what happened to her and my sisters; I just want for her to live on and not get killed because of the whole ordeal that meaniehead put us all through.”

“Now, now, Ah bet that Missus Pie will understand you; she’s your mother for Celestia’s sake…” Applejack replied as she sat down upon the bedside nearby but still far away.

Pinkie turned away and sighed, “not for long I’m afraid; even if she does forgive me, I highly doubt about the others: Inkie would probably run away from me and Blinkie could even consider trying to… trying to… trying to–––”

“It’s going to be okay; ya got me to live for…” the orange mare said, placing a hand gently onto the pink pony’s shoulder at once, “besides, what would even make ya say something like that…?”

“Do you remember that commercial about a theme park few days ago…?” Pinkie asked Applejack slowly.

A full beat of silence passed before being broken away by orange mare, “oh yeah, it was Bitch Busters, wasn’t it…?”

“Mm–hmm…” the pink pony answered with a nod, “I'd went there yesterday to go and save my sisters…”

“What gave ya the idea that they were both up there…?” Applejack had asked Pinkie, prompting the latter to face the former again.

The pink pony took in a breath of fresh air and replied, “it’s easy: the night before last, Rainbow and I made the decision to go and rescue her; had it not been for that, she would have been simply left to rot at the mercy of some mangy beast like I was. Ever since I'd seen her again, I'd the prospect of saving her pop into my mind while remembering my foalhood days upon the rock farm; it was as if a voice was beckoning me to return there. Anyways, we’d ended up killing the guy that was hurting her and stole his clothes; Rainbow suggested the last part since she hated going out in the nude now. I was able to find out about it from some flyer that was on the top of the cage in what had used to be the dining room table: it'd read, ‘CUM SEE THE PARTY PONY’S SISTERS PERFORM THIS MONTH ONLY AT BITCH BUSTERS!’ I felt like that I'd wanted to go to sleep but after seeing them both on there with a fucking purple collar upon them, I couldn’t find the strength to do so; even worse, I almost burned down the kitchen because of it.”

“Now, ya just scaring me; there’s no way a gal such as yourself could do something like this…” the orange mare said calmly, holding firmly without a doubt, “you’re an earth pony just like me, remember…?”

“But what kind of an earth pony just sets something on fire without the means to do so…?” Pinkie retorted uneasily, looking further upon her own two trembling hands with a shaky gaze no less.

Applejack held onto her friend’s hands and said coherently, “would it be a pyromaniac Ah presume…?”

“Anypony can be a pyromaniac in this day and age, even a unicorn but not one without some matches or gasoline…!” the pink pony retorted tearfully to the orange mare, “I’ve killed ponies since they’d tried to rape me and I’ve killed even more before I ever seen Mom again by burning down Fluttershy’s home…”

“How in the world could ya even do that…?” Applejack asked with fear slowing rising within her own eyes.

Pinkie now attempted to regain her composure and began to come up with only her answer, “when Rainbow was being beaten in front of me by that caribou, I'd screamed for him to stop; instead, I saw him catch fire and then the house caught fire alongside him too. The moment that happened, I soon felt the whole wide world suddenly stopping before my very eyes; it was as if countless voices were all crying out in pain while screaming really loud into my ears. I know who they'd all belonged to: friends, neighbors, strangers, partners, all gathered around to make some tainted milk being put out of their misery; no, being burned alive because of me. I didn’t mean to kill any being this time but after what went down, I don’t think anypony in this city would even be willing to see it as that, especially given our reputation now no less.”

“Have ya forgotten the fact that Luna was the first pony to stand up for us when they were about this close to hanging us all out to dry…?” the orange mare then said to the pink pony with a firm look, “better yet, can ya even remember why ya had first came to Sweet Apple Acres the first day when Canterlot nearly went up in flames?”

“Now that you mentioned it, you’re right but that was because you were the only black collars around these parts that haven’t given up yet at the time…” Pinkie answered Applejack, only for the tears to decrease in volume.

At that point, the orange pony looked into her friend’s eyes and said, “and that’s the one thing we’ll never even do, no matter what: as much as the stress of the ordeal is a large problem for the lot of us, rolling over with any of the punches that they threw at us would have proved otherwise; besides, we didn’t come this far to do any of that…”

“Then what should be the only way to convince me to keep on fighting back…?” the pink pony whimpered about but softly, “I know that there are some other questions that would be better off not left unanswered but my body feels like that I want this endless nightmare here to fucking stop…”

“Maybe perhaps this will help...” Applejack whispered slowly but surely to Pinkie’s face without interruption.

It wasn’t even long until their own eyes were closed with both faces burning bright red as they'd shared such a tender gift with one another that had grown stronger in every step of the way. The pony pair grew more eager as their hands slightly moved around in complete synchronicity; therefore, they both explored each other’s warm bodies with such overwhelming ecstasy. In due process, the two of them had then also started to place their very lips upon each other slowly but surely, a kiss almost imminent at best.

Sure enough, the pink pony quickly broke away from the orange mare and stammered about, “A–A–Applejack… I…”

“Ya right: it's too soon for a grown up kiss anyway, Pinkie…” the eponymous listener interjected slowly, edging back as well from the target all at once in turn, “we’ll do the rest later when all this is over, if ya want to of course…”

“Don’t worry about it; I’m just happy to see you again and not end up suffering like my family and me…” Pinkie replied as she stood up straight now, showing off her frail yet petite form in contrast to the fully clothed Applejack.

The orange mare placed a blanket over the pink pony’s body and said, “Let’s go on out of the room; it’s likely that Luna’s going to be needing us here for a complete rundown of the game plan.”

“Alright, Applejack…” Pinkie sighed gradually before she had started to take her very first step forward away from the bed, “I just hope that we get to bring Fluttershy and Twilight out of there too now…”

“Ah think that it would be wise to let them be for now; Ah heard that Twilight is still having a fit over what happened long ago, not that Ah don’t blame her now that she’s come back to her senses slowly…” Applejack said as she too also took it to the stand, no longer burdened with such previous concerns.

The pink pony nodded and began to make her way to the exit where the orange mare had went into, the latter following suit when the former opened the very door. As the two managed to leave the room behind, Pinkie wrapped the comforter around herself, covering up her cleavage and sheath while Applejack held it in together. A full beat of silence had just went in between them as their own eyes were locked firmly towards one another before being quickly broken away once more.

The pink pony said to the orange mare, “Okay Equestria, no more games; let’s… get… dangerous…!”

“Ah could even drink to that…” Applejack had responded no less, “it's time to take our homes back just like old times sake…”