"L-Luna, please, you don't--"

"Shut your mouth, and don't call me Luna!"

"But--"

"I said shut up!" a hoof reached out and slapped Rarity across the face heavily. Rarity fell to the floor, whimpering. The Princess frowned down at her. "Weak." she mumbled.

There was no Princess Luna in the room. In her place, Nightmare Moon had taken over. Her anger spilled over onto the poor Rarity. The purple cloud floated about the room, pulsing with Nightmare's emotions. She spat at Rarity angrily.

"Don't you know what is happening? Are you stupid?" she growled.

"I... I don't understand, Princess..."

"She's out to kill you! She's out to kill me! I should have realized this sooner. Of course Celestia would send out Twilight. That damned tyrant, that damned Twilight. She'll never lay a hoof on you, do you hear me? Never!" Nightmare Moon spun around and stuck her face near Rarity's, a manic look in her eyes. "never..." she whispered, more quiet and soft.

Rarity trembled. "Wh...what?"

"Celestia wants to kill me. She's always wanted to kill me. I'm not of royal blood, I'm not stable, I'm not anything a princess should be. Then there's you, an Element of Harmony. You were made to kill me."

"Made?" Rarity repeated.

"Yes, made." Nightmare sighed. "She used some sort of scientific spell to alter you and the other four Elements to be 'the perfect warrior'. You failed, you didn't kill me. Celestia doesn't like imperfection."

"So, she wants us to die... because we didn't k-kill you?"

"Yes. Like I said, she hates imperfection." Nightmare Moon stared off into space for a moment, a heavy silence filling the room. "if you want to live," she began again after a few moments, "You'll have to run away. With me."

Rarity blinked at Nightmare Moon. She was terrified in her presence, shaking and shivering. She looked down at her legs, frowning at the bruises and cuts there. Nightmare Moon was far from a gentle friend; she forced Rarity to love her, to worship her. While she was horrified by the alicorn, Rarity wanted to live, too. She still didn't understand exactly what was happening, but she did know that even if Nightmare was abusive herself, she'd protect her form outside forces. "I'll go with you, as long as you promise to protect me, and explain this more when we get there."

Nightmare Moon blinked at Rarity, happiness slowly filling her. The anger inside her evaporated, and Luna was herself once again. "I-I'm sorry if I hurt you," she always said this first, after mood swings like such.

Rarity helped up the Princess. "It's ok, dear."

"We'd better go. Get some stuff packed."

Rarity nodded and hurried into her room, leaving Luna sitting thoughtfully in the main room. Is she leaving because she trusts me, or because it's her only chance of living?"

---

Twilight's anger overflowed. "SPIKE!"

Spike scurried into the room, trembling. "Y-yes, Twilight?"

She pointed into the murky pool, at the cage, "He's dead."

Spike glanced at it, and nodded. " Uh, yeah?"

"He died... too... early!" Twilight stomped her hooves in frustration. "I didn't get to do all the other things I had planned!"

"Well, Twi, he's not one of the Elements, so it's not like it really mattered how he died. The actual Elements have to be killed brutally to die."

Twilight rounded on Spike. "I don't care, Spike! I have to learn to be a horrible killer just like the Princess! If she finds out I just let one slip after just barely grazing him with torture, she'll flip!"

Spike shrugged. "Sorry, Twilight. I'm sure the Princess will understand." Spike neared the cage, and breathed a large gust of fire into it, sending it to Canterlot. Not ten seconds later, he burped out a note. He read it aloud.

"Dearest Twilight,

Thank you for the fresh kill. Gilda here has been getting hungry. I am slightly disappointed at the lack of damage to the corpse, but I'm sure my little murderer will do better next time. Please, hurry with the last Element. I know it will be hard, seeing as it is another unicorn, but I'm getting antsy. If Luna is out there, she might figure out what is going on, and inform Rarity.

Many regards,

Princess Celestia."

Twilight sighed. "It's true. I need to continue with Rarity."

Spike frowned. "I wish that--"

"No, Spike." Twilight interrupted. "You're my pet, and I work for Celestia. You have to get used to these sort of things, even if you have feelings for the pony."

Spike looked down at his feet and nodded sadly.

"Spike, please clean up. I have to go and plan out my attack on Rarity." Spike's face became twisted with disgust, but he didn't argue. Quietly, Twilight walked upstairs and to her bedroom, pulling out the large quantity of books that were hidden under her bed. Murder mystery books, books on ancient tortures, and one book called Encyclopedia Magisica; a Guide To The Strengths and Weaknesses of Unicorn Magic. Twilight flipped through it, scanning the pages. After a while, she came across one very interesting section. She read it aloud to her self.

"Unicorn magic," she read, "is made in a special part of an unicorn's brain. This special part, named the Magia Lobe, is located near the top on the brain, just under the horn. When a unicorn thinks of a certain spell, the Magia Lobe is notified and sends the correct signal to the horn, which casts the spell using large amounts of energy from said unicorn's body. If something were to happen to the horn and it broke, then it would be impossible to cast spells. There is something called an iaculator carminis near the tip of the horn. That iaculator carminis is what converts the energy into magic, and casts the spell. If the horn were to have more than one inch broken off, the iaculator carminis would either be cut in half, or taken out completely. This would be extremely painful, and would leave the unicorn incapable of magic. It is possible to have a donation of a new horn, but scientists are still working on connecting the iaculator carminis's nerves back into the Magia Lobe so late it can work again.

"The iaculator carminis's secrets are still unknown to most scientists. It is a small, blue-purple ball that is slightly squishy and soft in texture. If one held it, they would feel a very light feeling of electricity coming from the ball, but it's actually just stored energy form the unicorn's body. Some scientists believe is is just an over sized nerve, and others believe it is a whole new concept to the unicorn body."

Twilight looked at the diagram below the section, wondering how she could put Rarity in a position to dislocate her horn. As the unicorn continued reading the following chapter named "Defense and Attack Spells", Spike scurried up into the room.

"So I cleaned up the blood and vomit and stuff, and drained the pool. Now what?"

Twilight smiled at him. "Now, you can spend some time with me!" She held out her forelegs, and the two hugged each other tightly. Though neither one said anything, a heavy sad and serious feeling fell over them. "Spike," Twilight said softly into his ear, "I never stopped to ask you, but are you sure you're ok with what I'm doing? I've made you help, I've made you clean up, and you're still a baby dragon, after all."

The dragon's body began to shake, and Twilight heard soft sobbing coming from him. "It's hard," he said after a while. " B-but, I'd do anything for you, Twilight. You're like my mom. I understand that you have to do this. It's the princess's orders."

Twilight began to tear up herself. "Oh, Spike," she breathed, hugging him closer. "I'm so sorry you have to go through this. When this is over, I'll make sure you'll never have to see such horrid things again."

Spike sniffled. "i love you, Twilight."

"I love you too, Spike."

---

Meanwhile, In Canterlot, Gilda was having her dinner.

The griffon spat and pushed the mauled body away from her. "No," she choke. "I refuse to eat any more ponies. It's just not right."

The Princess frowned at her. "Then you'll just have to starve. Somegriffon has to rid of the bodies, and you happen to be the only one being punished in the chambers at the moment." She leaned closer to the bars on Gilda's cell. "You should have at least killed Rainbow Dash while you could. Maybe I wouldn't have been so angry."

Flashbacks of better days whooshed through Gilda's mind. Being alone and afraid at flight camp, and Rainbow Dash coming over to cheer her up and be her friend. The two sitting together at lunch, making jokes about the other feathered creatures at the camp. Growing up into awkward teens, sticking up for each other at school. Even sharing their first kiss together when they were growing older and learning their sexuality. How could Gilda ever kill somepony so important to her? Yet, the last time she'd seen Rainbow Dash she was just a barely recognizable body on her dinner plate. She turned away form the Princess, tears burning her eyes. "No." She repeated.

Celestia's anger flared. Suddenly, Gilda was covered in a snaking pink cloud that held her several inches off the ground by her neck. The Princess leaned as close to the griffon as she could, her face pressing against the bars. "Eat it, or die slowly." she growled.

Gilda coughed and spluttered, but managed to nod her head a few times. The Princess dropped her, and the griffin quickly tore into the carcass. Celestia laughed at her tears and gagging noises, watching her with a broad smile on her face. "You see, Gilda," she said, "If I were not as brutal as such, no pony would respect me. Besides, you deserve it. All the ponies and other creatures punished in these chambers deserved it. You've been a naughty griffon, and you should expect much more punishment after my dear Twilight has finished her duty. Hah! I thought you were tough, but some little unicorn can do better than you! Gilda, you are a disgrace to beasts of all kind. Your softness will be the reason for your death."

Gilda angrily gulped down the cold meat, hate bubbling inside her as the Princess tore on with her verbal abuse. She thought that karma would reward her for not killing the Elements, but maybe, the Princess controls karma, too. Was it possible that not killing the Elements was wrong, though? Is the world supposed to be brutal and twisted like this?

The Princess's laughter quieted down, and she turned around. "Two more weeks." She said simply as she quietly walked up into the palace.

Gilda frowned. She pushed the remains of the body away from her, and turned to throw up the disgusting meal int eh corner. She couldn't bare the thought of having some innocent ponie's body in her belly.

"Two more weeks..." she muttered to herself. "Two more weeks to live? Is that what she meant?" Gilda turned to the wall, where she used her claws to sketch a picture of the Elements, with Rainbow Dash in the center, smiling proudly. She held her paw to the drawing, tears pooling at her eyelids. "I miss you so much, Dash," she whispered. "I'll see you soon, though. In two weeks, we can fly together again, we can joke around together again. That is, if I don't go to h-hell..." Gilda choked on her words, looking down at her back paws. Tears blurred her vision and dropped heavily onto her fur. No, I can't think like that. Not now. She looked back up at the drawing of Rainbow Dash. "I promise, we'll be together again soon."

Gilda pressed her body against the cold wall, tears falling steadily down her face. She stayed like that for a long while, until she eventually cried herself to sleep. She used to have nice dreams about flying through the clouds, a big smile on her face. Tonight, her dreams were crowded with images of horrible monsters and darkness, fire and hate.