The monorail chugged along, the long line of cars swaying back and forth, racing towards sundown. Sideralis, who was helpless, was surrounded by a wall of mechanical meat. Stout sat on his right, Mustang sat on his left. Stout was holding him up, he was still woozy from the loss of blood.

Queen Chrysalis had stayed back at Cyclops, guarding the facility, keeping Scootaloo safe, and keeping everything secure. Twilight had insisted things were safe again, but how could anything be safe? There was a war against changelings. There was war here, wherever this place was. Sideralis had seen a staggering amount of violence already—a cannon had been fired at him. He had seen what his companions were capable of. Somepony had sabotaged Mustang and had done something horrible to her. There was a hidden vault under Cyclops that was filled with the unknown, perhaps the scariest and most upsetting thing of all.

Sideralis feared whatever was under the research center.

He was afraid, he was confused, he was in pain, and he wasn’t dealing with it very well. He wished that he really was a colt again, back the way he was, so that he could find some nice place to hide, some place dark, comforting, and secluded. He was far too big to fit into a hiding spot now, like climbing inside the cupboard and pulling the door shut.

With a great deal of effort, he managed to lift his left foreleg, his tail twitching up against his hindquarters as he did so. Mustang was distracted and staring off out the window, looking for danger. She looked very, very serious and it made Sideralis feel rather nervous. It made her look all… murdery.

It took every bit of effort he had, but Sideralis managed to boop Mustang on the nose. All who observed this action responded with stony, uncomfortable silence. Mustang’s lone surviving blue eye focused upon Sideralis’ broad hoof as it rested upon her nose. Mustang’s ears stood straight up.

“Unknown protocol: error, file not found,” Mustang said in an odd, somewhat mechanical voice. Her murdery expression had vanished, replaced by one of pure, uncertain confusion.

Across from Mustang, Twilight Sparkle began to snicker, trying to hold it in and failing. She covered her mouth with her hoof and her swallowed laughter came out as loud snorts in rapid fire bursts, her wings fluttering in time with her repressed laughter.

Beside Sideralis, Stout began to giggle, her whole body shaking with glee, her bright orange eye now cheerful for the first time in quite a while. She watched as Sideralis pressed his hoof against Mustang’s nose again, and then he pulled it away. She smiled, revealing perfect white ceramic composite teeth.

As for Sideralis himself, a low, faint, somewhat weak chuckle resonated in his barrel, which turned into a wickering equine laugh. He watched as Mustang’s ears swiveled, rotating in different directions, and her eye moved, focusing upon him.

Apple Bloom and Mjölna both began to prod each other in the ribs and start laughing, while Mustang continued to sit there with a blank stare upon her face. After a moment, Mustang began to snortle, a strange nasal laugh.

Twilight broke completely, almost falling out of her seat, her laughter coming out like a flood. Somehow, she managed to mutter the words, “File not found,” as the fit of laughter overtook her.

Heading into an unknown, grim situation, Sideralis had managed to make everypony laugh and make himself feel better. Everypony on the train car was laughing now. The mood had been brightened. Everypony felt better.

Off to the west, the sun dipped a little closer to the horizon.

“Oh, my poor baby!” Hearing Fluttershy’s words, Stout braced herself for impact. The yellow mare she called her mother was waiting for her at the monorail station. Stout smiled… but the impact never came. Fluttershy went past in a blur and—

Fluttershy slammed into Sideralis with all of the force of a cloud and a butterfly impacting one another in a light springtime breeze. Stout stared as Fluttershy ran her hoof up and down Sideralis’ neck, touched his face, his wings, she checked him over, looking for signs of injury.

Stout sighed. At least she wouldn’t have to complain about Fluttershy treating her like a filly or embarrassing her while she was trying to do her job. She looked at Mustang and for a moment, their eyes met. Stout could see the corners of Mustang’s mouth were turned up somewhat. Seeing Mustang smile made her feel better. Stout ignored the kissy-kissy sounds of Fluttershy using the most basic of her first aid skills to look for boo-boos on Sideralis’ face. She laughed when she heard Sideralis’ nickers of protest.

“I would have came to check on you, but I had patients to look after, I was needed,” Fluttershy let out a long worried squeal, “oh, I do hope that Princess Luna isn’t upset with me, I can’t be in two places at once… are you okay?”

“He’s fine. We had to take a lot of blood from him to fix Scootaloo though,” Stout said, informing her mother of what had happened. “Don’t worry, Scoots is fine. You know how she is. She tried picking a fight with somepony and got kicked. Scootaloo is going to be fine though.”

Clinging to Sideralis, Fluttershy let out a pained squeak, closed her eyes, and shook her head, sounding almost as though she was about to start hyperventilating. After a few seconds, she brought herself under some control and then looked at Sideralis. “It was very brave of you to give blood for Scootaloo… oh, your mother would be proud. You’re a good pony.” Fluttershy reached out and brushed Sideralis’ mane from his face.

“Come on, we must be going. It’s almost sundown,” Twilight said, urging the group to get moving and get to where they needed to be going. “Stout, carry Fluttershy with Sideralis and let her keep checking him over until she is satisfied that he is okay. We don’t have time to keep sitting here.”

Stout nodded, acknowledging Twilight’s order, and lifted up both Sideralis and Fluttershy in a telekinetic bubble to carry them.

As the sun began to settle, it became twilight time. The shadows became long and dark. Smoke rose up into the sky. The city had seen fighting. Buildings had been damaged, windows broken, and rubble could see seen in the streets.

Ahead was something that Sideralis could make out, but did not understand. A wooden stage had been built, it was surrounded by guard ponies wearing armor. Spike stood near the stage, hunched protectively over a white unicorn named Sweetie Belle.

The stage, as curious as it was, had a scaffold of wood over it, and three ponies stood near the middle. There were ropes tied to the scaffold over the stage and the ropes were also secured around the necks of the ponies in the middle of the stage. Sideralis had no frame of reference for what it was that he was seeing, he had no idea what it was, its purpose and function baffled him.

Horns sounded as Twilight entered the square and a weak, weary cheer went up from the ponies, a loud bellow from Spike, and enthusiastic hooting from Sweetie Belle, which became echoed by the soldiers.

“Princess Twilight Sparkle of Equestria!” a voice shouted, announcing Twilight’s presence. “And Prince Sideralis, son of Princess Luna, Nephew of Princess Celestia, acting on the Royal Pony Sisters’ behalf.”

Sideralis was being carried towards the stage. He felt his stomach lurch and his ears began to ring again. He felt his heart thumping inside of his barrel. The crowd was growing larger, more and more ponies were pouring into the square.

Now seated upon the wooden stage, Sideralis looked at the three ponies. He recognised the pegasus, but not the others. There was a unicorn, a stallion, and an earth pony, a female. All three of them were bloody, scabby, each of them had seen a great deal of violence. The mare was missing an ear and the whole side of her face was clotted with blood. Her back legs and her tail was clotted and caked with dried blood.

No effort had been made to see to their wounds, some of which hurt to even look at. It made Sideralis sad and he had trouble looking at them. More than anything, Sideralis wanted to know what was going on and what was about to happen. Twilight was sitting right beside him, looking grim, sad, confused, and a little angry.

“What is about to happen?” Sideralis asked in a low whisper that couldn’t be heard over the roar of the crowd.

“Ponies of Equestria… I am not one for fancy words. My name is General Thunderclap.” A silvery white pegasus strode forward, his voice booming, needing no magical amplification. He was wearing silver armor decorated with purple enamel, covered in a moon and stars motif. “I have called all of you together today to bear witness to what we do with traitors, usurpers, and betrayers.”

The silvery white pegasus pointed with his wing at the three ponies standing together. “These are the ponies responsible for the misery, the murder, and the loss of life that we experienced. These are the ponies responsible for the violence in the city. These ponies… these traitors, thought they would be your new kings and queens. When you resisted, and being good ponies, of course you resisted, many of you were injured, and even killed. I am filled with regret that I could not save more of you. I hope that in time, you will forgive me, I did what I could.”

The crowd fell silent. Sideralis could feel a tension in the air. How much death had happened? What had gone on in the city? When he was at Cyclops, what had been going on here? When he had been passed out, what had gone on while he slumbered, his body recovering from all the blood he gave to help Scootaloo?

“Marigold, Monsoon, and Skyfire… each of you have been found guilty of a whole host of crimes, including sedition. You have already been sentenced, there will be no reprieve, I am here to carry out your punishment. Are there any last words?” Thunderclap turned his steely gaze upon the earth pony mare, the unicorn stallion, and the pegasus stallion who stood with ropes around their necks.

“How did most of us end up under the rule of the least of us?” Monsoon said, his voice rough, dry, and scratchy. One eye was swollen shut, along with one nostril. He was missing a few teeth and one wing hung crooked at his side. “We used to be great, we three tribes. We had our own kings, our own queens. We had our own royal bloodlines. We had greatness… we pegasi were a tribe of warriors… how did we lose all that we had? We could have been great again… why are you content to be slaves… to be subservient guards… how did such a great and noble tribe become so broken and so servile?”

Sideralis’ ears fell back, not knowing what to think about Monsoon’s words.

“For too long, we have existed under a pair of tyrant princesses who took the sun and the moon away from us and held them hostage in exchange for our surrender… we gave up our sovereign right to rule in exchange for our continued existence… we all knew what would happen if we resisted… the sun would stop moving and the world would suffer. For over a thousand years, we suffered under the rule of tyrants who took from us our birthrights, who took away our sun, our moon, and our stars. We were left destitute and with nothing… we have done no wrong, we wanted a return to our former glory, back when we were great,” the unicorn said in a voice reedy and almost screechy with pain.

There was a long silence as the crowd waited for the earth pony to say something, anything. General Thunderclap walked over to her, a sneer upon his face, and then stood beside her.

“No pretty words, Queen Marigold?” Thunderclap asked. “Perhaps you’d like to regale us with the tale of what happened during your final hours of rule… when it became clear that you were going to lose, and lose big. When your raiders, who had been out ransacking the city for wealth and valuables, decided to take this loss out on you.” Reaching out his wing, Thunderclap flicked the bloody mess where Marigold’s ear used to be. “They took their payment, Marigold. They took their payment right out of your pretty little ass… looks like you got an ear bit off… tell me, were you sassy? Did you give one of them some lip while you still had some fight in you? I bet you gave them plenty of lip once they broke you in… I bet you were spitroasted. Did you feel like the queen you believed yourself to be? This is why you don’t hire mercenaries… I hope you learned something. Hired goons will always seek their payment—”

“Fush ofsh!” the mare spat.

“What’s that Marigold, I couldn’t hear you… kinda hard to talk with no teeth, ain’t it, I’m guessing that you bit somepony’s dick, didn’t you?” Thunderclap let out a cruel chuckle. “At least you had your last meal… you’re going to die with a full stomach, unlike these other two assholes.”

Sitting beside Sideralis, Twilight gagged and then began sobbing. It took a great deal of effort, but Sideralis managed to wrap his wing around the smaller alicorn beside him. He didn’t understand what was going on and he didn’t want to know. Everything was far too awful. How had this happened? Were these the good ponies he was supposed to save?

Thunderclap turned around and then strode towards Twilight. His face seemed sad, genuine sadness, and more than anything, the old stallion looked tired. He stood before Twilight and bowed his head.

“Majesty, I am still loyal, not just to you, but to Princess Luna, whom I have long served, tirelessly and without question. It pains me to do this, but you need to send a clear message to your subjects about what happens if they try to overthrow you.” Thunderclap turned his head and stared at the wooden lever a short distance away. “Majesty, you are not a stupid pony, so I am certain that you know what needs to be done. If you pull that lever, you’ll be seen as strong, determined, and capable of rule. If you don’t pull that lever, then I’ll have to be the one to pull that lever… and you will look weak, timid, and unfit for rule. Our problems will multiply like rabbits left in the garden.”

Sideralis glanced around, looking at the lever, then at the three ponies, noticing the trapdoor beneath them, then at the ropes hanging from the wooden scaffolding. With a horrified gasp, he had some understanding of what was about to happen.

“Princess Twilight, the ponies of Equestria need you, as a servant of the Empire, I am begging you not to fail them,” Thunderclap said in a whisper that was just barely heard over the angry roaring of the crowd.

Sideralis felt as though he was going to be sick. Twilight stood up, slipping free of his embrace, and she took a few steps towards the wooden lever. She blinked a few times, her ears twitching, and her tail swished around her hind legs. She was looking at him, Sideralis realised that Twilight was looking at him. Her face had a pleading expression, as if she was begging him for help.

What did he know? What could he do?

Twilight was in so much pain, he could see it, feel it, her expression caused his own bones to ache and he felt his heart begin to crack. Sideralis realised that Twilight couldn’t bear this burden alone, somepony had to share the weight of this with her.

Sideralis realised it was him. Could he pull the lever? He looked at Stout. He was supposed to save lives, not end them. He wanted to save lives. He had wanted to save Scootaloo. He had even wanted to save the ponies that had attacked them, begging to have them spared. All those ponies shot in the knee were in the hospital now, being treated, they would live, they would be punished, perhaps confined, but they would live.

He turned and looked at the three ponies with ropes tied around their necks. How much misery had they caused? How many lives had been lost because of what they had done? Sideralis went numb when he understood what to do. He looked Twilight in the eye and then gave a slow nod of his head. He would share this weight with her. He would take responsibility for this with her. Somehow, they would get through this together.

Sideralis flinched when Twilight yanked the lever with her magic. The trapdoor fell away with a thunk. The three ponies fell, the ropes going taut. Marigold bounced once and after twitching a few times, she went still. Skyfire bounced, continued to kick and thrash, then on the second bounce, his neck turned at an odd angle and his struggles became almost a sleepy looking dance.

Monsoon was not so lucky. The fall had not broken his neck and he hung there, strangling to death, kicking, thrashing, his whole body contorting from agony. He gurgled as he hung in the air, his hind legs trying to find something to stand on so he could breathe, so he could save himself.

“Ponies of Equestria, this city remains under martial law. The representative government of Saddle Arabia has placed me in charge of this city until such a time that order has been restored. Those same representatives wish to show their support for Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Sideralis, the recognised royal heads of Equestria.” Thunderclap paused as Monsoon gurgled and pissed himself. “The city of Maredina has been gifted to Equestria and is as of this moment of announcement, Equestrian soil. To the Saddle Arabians in the city, you have nothing to worry about, very little will change, I assure you, but your government is sending representatives to speak with you about the change. We welcome you and hope that you will stay with us. We apologise for this lapse in law and order and we hope that you will be patient with us while we clean everything up. As you can see, Princess Twilight is still in control.”

Thunderclap extended his wing and pointed at Twilight.

Shuddering, Twilight Sparkle turned and began to walk away, blinking away tears, her head held low. Fluttershy rushed to Twilight’s side as Twilight walked off the stage, and the pair walked together, Fluttershy leaning up against Twilight’s side.

“Majesty, where are you going?” Thunderclap asked. “Your subjects need you.”

Twilight paused, lifted her head, and then looked back over her shoulder. She extended her wing and pointed at the three hanging ponies. “Maybe so, but I am off to mourn those that I could not save. I failed them. They lost hope. They lost hope in the future, they lost hope in Equestria rising once again from the ashes, and they lost hope in me. If you will excuse me, I am going to grieve for them, I doubt that anypony else will.”

Sideralis felt himself lifted as Stout began to move.

Thunderclap bowed his head, nodded, and then held out his wing in salute.

Author's Notes:

This still isn't over... more to come soonish.