Twilight sped down the road towards the hospital, Midnight in the passenger seat and Pinkamena in the back. The unicorn weaved in and out traffic, dodging the cars to make it to the hospital as quick as possible.

"Shit!" Twilight yelled, before swerving around a green van. "How could I let this happen?"

"This wasn't your fault," Midnight said as she eyed the mare. "You couldn't have seen this coming."

"While I was relaxing in our room, Kyra was getting--" Twi began before cutting herself off with a sharp inhale of hatred.

Midnight let out a sigh and nodded. "I was getting a lap dance at the Wet Mare with Applejack... If you're at fault, so am I."

"And, I haven't been of any help to anyone," Pinks said dejectedly.

The black mare looked back at her with a light smile. "Everyone handles trauma differently, Pinkie. We're just glad to have you back."

"Yeah," Twilight agreed, looking in the rear view mirror. "You're a real ass-kicker."

Pinkamena gave a light smile before looking out her window. "Is there a plan?"

“Go see Kyra,” Twilight began. “ask her what happened, and hopefully the next step reveals itself.”

“And, is it doesn’t?” The pink mare asked.

Twilight eyed her before letting out a sigh. “What’s wrong?”

The pink mare didn’t say anything for about a minute before answering the question. “This mission we’re on... Do you ever ask yourself what the point of it all is? All the ones we’ve lost along the way... Was it worth it?”

“Of course it’s worth it,” Midnight replied. “If we did nothing, Chrysalis and her changelings would’ve taken over the city, or Ruby would’ve killed everyone, or Surprise would’ve won, or the sirens... Point is, everyone we’ve lost died fighting so the rest of us could live in peace.”

“Died fighting?” Pinkie asked, sounding irritated. “Did Citrus, Blitz, Tech, Emerald, and Aqua die fighting?”

Midnight went wide-eyed and looked at Twilight, whose grip on the steering wheel tightened. “Aqua saved Twilight,” she said, placing a hand on Twilight’s. “And, we... we’ve never stopped thinking about the others, either.”

Twilight exhaled sharply and loosened her grip on the wheel. When she seemed relaxed, Midnight took her hand away. "No one else is gonna die," Twilight said, eyes narrowed. "Not on my watch..."

The black mare let out a sigh as she looked down the road. "Twilight... You've... You've made so much progress since Surprise. Please, don't--"

"Don't what?" Twilight interrupted. "Don't protect my team?"

"Don't regress," Midnight finished. "You can protect them while not becoming obsessed again."

The unicorn eyed her but said nothing. The remainder of the ride was silent.

When the group entered the hospital and approached the front desk, they were met by a white mare wearing a nurse’s uniform.

“Hello, again, Twilight,” the nurse said with a smile. “How’s the head?”

“It’s... better,” the unicorn replied. “But, I’m not here to catch up, Redheart.”

The nurse gave a sad smile and nodded. “Official Elementals business? Something to do with Kyra?”

“We need to find out who attacked her,” Twilight explained. “Before she attacks anyone else. Has Spitfire been notified?”

“I called the cops as soon as she came in,” Redheart nodded. “She said you’d probably be on the way.”

“How is she?” Asked Midnight, stepping up to the counter.

The nurse turned her attention to the black mare and motioned towards the door with her head. “Down the hall. Room 7.”

Midnight nodded and she and Pinkie left to go see their friend. Twilight watched them leave before Redheart spoke again.

“Another friend of yours is there,” the nurse explained. “Said he loves her and isn’t leaving her side until she’s better. So sweet. Stubborn. But, sweet.”

Twilight gave a light smile. “That’s Night.” She then sighed and looked at Redheart. “Hey, uh... thanks... for helping me with my head...”

“No problem,” the white mare replied with a smile. “It’s my job. By the way, have you had any... outbursts? Acted out of character? Anything? After all, your brain did suffer some damage.”

Twilight shook her head and shrugged. “I’ve been... distant... Paranoid, as Midnight would say...”

“Did you meet with that therapist I recommended?”

The purple unicorn gave a couple light nods. “Once...”

Redheart let out a sigh. “Twilight, you need to speak with someone. With the damage done to your brain, you could lash out. If you let your anger out on the wrong—”

“I will let my anger out on the right pony,” Twilight said with narrowed eyes. “The one who’s attacking my team.”

The nurse nodded. “Okay... Just don’t go too far.”

“I’ll go as far as I need to,” Twilight said, before leaving the desk to go find Kyra’s room.

Redheart let out a sigh. “Be careful...”

Twilight found the right room and entered. Kyra was laying in her bed upAgainst the left wall of the room. Night was seated in a chair beside her on her left, and Midnight and Pinkamena were standing on her right side. They all stopped talking when Twilight entered.

“How ya feeling?” Twilight asked, approaching the bed.

Kyra gave a light smile. “Been better. I should be good to go in a couple days.”

Nodding, Twilight gripped the edge of the bed and leaned in. “Who did this?” She asked darkly.

Kyra’s smile faded. “I... I don’t know... She was purple... with green hair that was... s-somehow... alive. She used it like... like tentacles to... throw me around... I hope that helps.”

Twilight nodded and placed her hand on Kyra’s shoulder. “It does. We’ll let you rest now. Your voice sounds a little raspy...”

The red mare face her a slightly wider smile than before. “Thanks... Now, go catch her...”

The unicorn chuckled and stood up. “Of course.”

“But, you really have a lead?” Asked Midnight. “Purple mare and green hair. That’s not a lot to go by.”

“Purple hair that’s alive,” Twilight corrected. “There’s only one purple mare I know who works with hair products... and I didn’t trust her from the start.” She then turned to Pinkamena. “Get a team over to Sylk. I wanna check the morgue before we leave.”

“The... morgue?” Pinkie asked, looking confused.

“I would like to make sure Surprise is dead,” Twilight growled. “I want to see the body, and put a bullet in her head.”

“It’s been a year, but... okay,” Pinkie replied, pulling out her phone. “I’ll get that team together.”

“You may like to know...” Kyra said, getting everyone’s attention. “the call that tipped me off... came from my contact at the hotel I used to own. I think the mare that attacked me is staying there.”

Twilight quickly turned to the pink mare again. “Get a team to the hotel on Parker St.. I’ll check out the morgue and then head there.”

Pinkamena nodded and started dialing as she left the room. Giving Kyra a smile, Twilight turned and left the room. Midnight hesitated before looking over at Kyra.

“Get well soon,” she said with a friendly smile.

The red mare smiled back. “Thanks, I’m... planning on it...”

Twilight headed down the stairs to the hospital’s morgue. As she walked down the hall towards the room, she was approached by a purple nurse wearing a face mask and a typical nurse’s uniform.

“You can’t be down here, m...” she started. “You’re Twilight, aren’t you? With the Elementals.”

“That’s me,” Twilight said impatiently. “I need to see Surprise’s body.”

The nurse gave a confused look. “Her body? Why...”

“I need to make sure she’s dead,” the purple mare sighed.

“Oh, she’s dead,” the purple nurse said with a light chuckle. “You saw to that, didn’t you? Her limbs, and then a few bullets to the head?”

“Heat of the moment,” Twi cooed in a dark tone. “Now, show me... the body...”

The nurse hesitated before sighing and heading towards the morgue. “This way,” she said, entering the room.

Twilight followed closely as the nurse headed towards a wall of body storage lockers.

“We’re keeping her cold until we decide what to do with her,” the nurse explained, opening a locker door. “We called the police and, apparently, she has no living family.”

“Then burn her,” Twilight growled under her breath as the nurse pulled the tray out.

When she unzipped the body bag, the nurse opened it up. There was the dead mare, her white skin now a light gray, her long yellow hair a mess, and her arms and legs mangled and busted.

“Even if she were to somehow wake up,” the nurse started. “it’s not like she could go anywhere.”

Twilight kept her eyes on the body. “Burn it.”

The nurse placed her hands on the edge of the body tray. “Burn it?”

“She has no family?” Twilight asked. “Then, who’s paying for the funeral?” The nurse said nothing. “Burning her is the only option here,” she said, pulling out her gun. “Or should I plug her with more holes?”

The nurse hesitated some more before letting out a defeated sigh. “I’ll need to... make some calls...”

“Make the calls,” Twi said, putting her gun away. “I can wait.”

A couple Elementals cars sped down the road towards Sylk, Inc., the car in front being driven by Rainbow Dash. In the passenger seat was Blood Rain.

“Are you sure about this?” Dash asked. “This mare we’re after is dangerous. She took out one of our best with no problem.”

“I’d like to pull my weight around here,” the pegasus replied. “Training today was okay, but... after that huge battle... I want some more action.”

Dash chuckled and eyed her. “You know we’re... trying to prevent the action, right?”

“Sure,” Blood said with a smirk. “Doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy it while it lasts.”

Another group of Elementals cars raced towards the hotel on Parker St., lead by Cadance and Shining Armor.

“Feels good to be out in the field again,” Cadance said from the passenger seat.

Shining smiled and nodded in agreement. “Sure does... Though, I wish it wasn’t because one of our friends was hospitalized.”

Cadance’s smile faded. “Yeah... Poor Kyra...”

“We’ll get this mare,” The stallion said as he put a hand on his wife’s. “Make sure she doesn’t hurt anyone else...”

Twilight stood in the incineration room, watching the purple nurse wheeling the table with Surprise’s body on it towards the large machine. The mare then opens the incinerator and pushes the body inside. Closing the door, she locked it and hit the button. As the fire burned, Twilight moved closer, walking to the inverse to watch the body burn.

Midnight then walked up behind her. “Satisfied?” She asked. “If so, could we think about might actually be involved?”

“What do you mean?” Asked the unicorn, sounding like she wasn’t really paying attention.

“Well, clearly Surprise isn’t behind this,” Midnight started. “So, who is? Who else is out there that poses a threat?”

“Starlight,” Twi said as she looked over her shoulder. “But, I doubt she’s behind Tresemme. She doesn’t fit.”

“Then, why burn the body?” The black mare asked, confused.

“I just wanted to be sure,” Twilight said, before turning and walking away. “Now, let’s find this fucking bitch... and kill her.”

“Do we... Do we have to kill her?” Asked Midnight, following after her. “Is there no other way?”

“She’s far too dangerous,” Twilight continued in a dark tone as they left the room. “If we let her live, she could cause more damage. Hurt more of our team.”

Midnight quickly grabs her by the shoulder and spins her around before kissing her on the lips. Holding Twilight by both shoulders, she can feel the mare start to relax a little as her shoulders drop. Breaking the kiss, Midnight stared into Twilight’s eyes, the unicorn staring into hers.

Letting out a sigh, Twilight rested her forehead on Midnight’s right shoulder. “If we can... we’ll capture her... and decide what to do after...”

Smiling, Midnight patted her lover’s back. “Thank you... Now, let’s go find where she’s hiding... and stop her.”

Twilight nodded and pulled away. “Right. Lets go.”

Author's Notes:

OC Credits:
Blood Rain owned by: Duelist96