Razor Wit blinked blearily awake as a powerfully built Human man slammed a nearby door open. He locked eyes with her as he approached. Following him were eight other Humans all wearing camouflage uniforms and carrying what looked like rifles, though the Unicorn would be hard pressed to identify much else about the weapons. The apparent leader had fierce eyes and what seemed to be a permanent scowl on his face as he stared her down from outside her hermetically sealed containment cell.

He stared at her, not moving for a few moments before he spoke, "You've been talking, Unicorn." He said in Mandarin.

Razor slowly stood up, facing the man evenly, "It's about all I can do." She replied, also in Mandarin, "Your wife is a very good teacher and I have a gift for languages." She lit her horn dimly, not casting any spells, but merely to see if the man would react in any way. He did not. She kept her horn lit in case she needed to cast a spell.

The man held out his left hand, "You will stop talking to my wife."

Razor felt the tendrils of an incredibly powerful but very crude spell trying to form over her mind. She did not have enough time to identify exactly what it was, but mind magic was bad news and this was a bad man. Thankfully due to the paranoia of Equestrians regarding mind magic, most Ponies learned how to resist many crude and simple mind spells when they were little and Unicorns had an additional advantage when doing so. Razor cast her own spell, False Positive. It was specifically designed to make one believe their mental spell had worked while keeping the defender safe from the effects. Razor had always compared it to willingly taking the back seat in a carriage while you controlled a puppet in the front while the puppet takes arrows and you stay safe.

Hiriboshi saw the Unicorn's eyes glass over and silently congratulated himself, 'If I can control one of them I can control any of them. We've secured our future from these creatures already.' He then spoke out loud, "Step forward." Without pause the Unicorn stepped forward. Just to make sure, he then ordered, "Smash your face against the glass in front of you." The Unicorn bashed its entire face and head against the glass and held it there. It did not even blink. Hiriboshi was pleased, "Step away from the glass." Razor did so, ignoring the blood leaking down her face. The General continued, "The next time you see my wife you will say nothing, but otherwise behave in a way that is normal for you. You are a mute, stupid animal. If she addresses you, you will tilt your head like a dog, but you are incapable of speaking to her. You WILL speak to and cooperate with the scientists who are studying you. You will help them in any way you can. Do you understand?"

"Yes." Razor replied in a complete monotone. As a language specialist tonal control was an absolute necessity.

The General nodded stiffly, turned on his heels and walked out. Razor had to force herself not to let out a sigh of relief. She could clearly see the cameras and microphones oscillating to record everything in the room. Thankfully the cameras could not see the far left corner of the containment cell. Razor had already moved the cot over there when she first woke up, so she evenly walked back to it.

She laid down and began plotting, 'He thinks he controlled me. I can use that. Princess Celestia would throw a fit if she learned I know a Silent Speech spell. I don't need to physically speak to his wife, I can talk to her mind. There aren't any laws about mind magic here. And his wife seems like a perfectly likable person.' she took a deep, slow breath, 'I may not be able to fight physically, but the mind is always the first battlefield. You want to play games, General? Fine, let's play.'

**********

Captain Michael Joyner was both pleased and disappointed. He was finally off work and relaxing in his office before he went home. Princess Celestia had stopped by for a chat and Mike used the opportunity to air a few minor gripes, "While having more species around is a great way to improve relations, and thankfully the Red Changelings are less stiff and formal when off duty, there are still a LOT of visitors and the added Gryphons and E.U.P. Guards just increased that number by an order of magnitude. My officers are stretched thin and run ragged. Thankfully it's mostly just patrols, but there has been a distinct uptick of problems, roughly proportional to the number of additional visitors divided by two-hundred. Nothing violent save for a few minor bar fights which generally resolved before we arrived. This is exhausting, Princess. I cannot fathom how you dealt with an entire country for a thousand years. Just a single week has been maddening..."

The Captain's door suddenly burst open, "Captain! Suey just checked in. They found it!" The Communication Relay officer blurted.

Before Mike could utter a word, Celestia spoke loudly, "Discord, if you please?"

There was a trio of flashes and suddenly Discord stood in the room bowing at the waist, "Done and done." He said with a sneer, "That portal isn't going anywhere now. Oh don't get me wrong, they'll THINK they're moving it. The landscape will change and all that, but the entrance and exit? It'll be stuck in the same place until it no longer exists." He suddenly bent over, "Whew! You wouldn't think it would take so much out of me."

Captain Joyner's right eye twitched, "What? That doesn't make any sense."

Discord looked at the wall to his right and said, "I know that trope and I'm not doing it." He then winked at you.

Celestia nuzzled the Chaos Lord tenderly, "You still haven't recovered from..." She leaned in and whispered, "When you reversed time." She kissed his cheek softly, "You've never told anyone, have you?"

Mike was too busy to listen in on their conversation. He had plans to set in motion, "Recall Suey and Rifin immediately and send out the containment team. How far away is it?"

"In the Balzak Lands sir." The Communication Relay officer replied.

"We have a non-aggression treaty with them, right?" Mike asked.

The Communication Relay officer bobbed her head, "Yes sir. They are aware of the situation and while they have declined involvement, they have granted blanket permission to conduct operations on their land so long as their people are not harmed nor involved." She smiled, "We got this bastard."

"Not yet we don't. But it's time to prepare." Captain Joyner said, "Contact the citizens who have pledged their cooperation and involvement and bring them in, twenty at a time and in alphabetical order. We promised weapons and armor and I'll be damned if we send them out not knowing how to use any of it." He then turned to Celestia, "How long before Luna's interview? How many days?"

Celestia drew in a small breath and let it out, "Eight days. You have eight days to prepare."

**********

Mason had returned to Haysburg the previous week so Artex was left with Visceral Slaughter and Vaiawa to help him care for Oriana and Danielle while they recovered. They were finally home, but while Vaiawa tended to them as necessary, Artex and Razor's mother practiced and trained. Running, pushups, sit-ups, push-ups, pull-ups, and combat practice. They trained in their armor and carrying their weapons. Artex did roughly five times more exercises than the sixty-eight year old Unicorn, who was considered to be early middle age for a Kavim. They wrapped up their exercises for the morning and had just taken off their armor. Visceral Slaughter had her Civil Guard armor painted grey. She would not be acting in the capacity of a Civil Guard soon enough, so she would not wear the colors. Artex had chosen not to wear his C.W.G. armor, instead opting for his green robe which still had the chain maile Rarity had sown into it years back. It had been Chris who had convinced him that he would only need something to protect against punctures and blades. Chris did not explain why, but he assured Dan that everything was going to be taken care of.

They were already finished with everything but the combat practice when Artex spoke up, "So what do you do with that metal ribbon? Is it like a sword?"

Visceral Slaughter smirked, "Would you like to see?" She asked with a nasty glint in her eye, "Fight me and find out. You heal quickly, right?"

Artex rolled his eyes, "Are you seriously trying to intimidate me?" He spread his feet and flexed his knees, putting up his hands, "Come on then."

Visceral's horn began glowing and the ribbon unfurled itself from her leg, levitating underneath her body and out of sight, "Are you really sure you heal fast enough?"

In response Artex dashed forward, hands empty, and attempted to deliver a low kick to the Unicorn mare. Visceral dodged to the left and Artex noticed a flash of metal then a terrible pain in his calf. He grunted and tried to step back, emphasis on tried. His calf muscles screamed when he tried to use them and as a result he fell to the ground as blood seeped into his leg wraps.

The disfigured man held up his left hand while he gripped his calf with his right, "Hold!" He saw Visceral's ribbon wrap itself back around her leg and she trotted over to him, "Let me see your leg."

Artex yanked off his wrap and gazed in amazement at the deep gash which began at the base of his heel and ended near the back of his knee. Thankfully it was already closing, but the depth of the cut was at least an inch and a half. A truly horrific injury if not for his healing ability.

Artex turned his eyes to the older Unicorn, "That is terrifying. I barely saw it."

Visceral nodded solemnly, "If not for your ability to heal, I would have sent you to the hospital. I know enough about Human biology to have intentionally missed your Achilles tendon. The damage and disruption to the muscle was enough. I could have completely severed the muscle by running the ribbon right up the bone." She stepped back and looked his square in the eyes, "My ribbon can pierce the flesh of every living creature in the world save for Dragons. And even then it is not an issue, I can just direct it to their eyes, nose, mouth, ears, or other orifices. Pinpoint precision is my specialty and a large amount of pressure applied to a very small surface area will slice and penetrate easily. With the ribbon constantly in motion around my legs, barrel, or head, nobody can predict where the next attack is coming from and the constant movement makes fighting multiple enemies simple."

She sighed, suddenly looking much more unsure of herself, "I... as angry as I am... I don't know how to kill. I've never killed anyone before... and it scares me."

As his leg finished healing, Artex tested it out. Feeling no pain, he sat down on the ground too, "I don't either, not really. I've been in some fights, but nothing where I ever intentionally succeeded at taking someone's life... But when we do fight, just remember what happened to Tip, and Rose Thorn. Let that rage and anger fuel your hatred. When you attack, make sure to do as much damage as you can. Make it hurt. Make them suffer for what they did. Give them the physical agony you feel in your heart and find joy in their screams."

Visceral stepped back, her eyes wide, "W-what!? That's... that's horrible!"

Artex smiled maliciously as his eyes flashed green for s split second, "No, it's justice. They murdered Tip and Rose and now I'm going to murder them. They do what they do for fun and like the old saying goes, 'If you can't beat em, join em.' Well I'm going to teach them what happens when they murder innocent people. And as for the General, ooh I've got something special in mind for him." Artex grinned sadistically, "I'm going to capture him and everyone he loves, then I'm going to slice off his eyelids so he can't blink. Once that's done I'll slowly take his loved ones apart right in front of him. Then I'm going to literally skin him alive and only after I soak his skinless body in salty lemon juice and vinegar will I then begin the real pain. For his final moments, I am going to give him a rare treat: The Blood Eagle..."

"Stop! For the love of all good things, stop!" Visceral's face was pale and her legs were trembling, "Torturing innocent people!? What's wrong with you!? What good would it do to debase yourself to their level!?"

The vitriol of her statement caused his mind to grind to a halt, forcing all voices silent, even his own, as Visceral continued, "You know how much it hurts to have lost Rose and Tip, and you want to do worse to someone else!? Torturing and murdering his family, who didn't do anything to you!? Razor would NOT have married a man who thought and acted like this! Shame on you! What would she say if she heard you right now!?"

Visceral stepped back and narrowed her eyes, "I KNOW I was wrong about other races, but what you just said would make me think otherwise, were I a lesser mare. If you do this, Razor will never come back to you and you know it. I know you're hurting, but doing something worse, even if the person deserves it, will make you worse than them because you know better." She stomped her right forehoof firmly on the ground, "You need to think long and hard about what you're going to do and how far you're willing to go... and how much it'll cost you."

"I'm angry and hurting too!" She sniffled as she spoke, trying to hold back tears, "Rose was a good mare and I'd known Tip for ages. Their deaths hurt me so much and I cannot imagine how much they hurt you. But lowering yourself to such an extreme just shows that the General has won. Capture the General and punish him according to our laws. Don't become a monster just to destroy another one. You can be better than that. Razor saw that and I trust her judgement."

Visceral wiped her eyes then turned to head back into the house. She stopped a few feet away from the door, and spoke over her shoulder, "Or did my daughter marry a liar who is only now showing his true colors?" So spoken, she entered the house and closed the door behind her.

Artex sat in shock for a long while, on the bare dirt behind the house, 'I-is she right?' his Mother In-Law's words had penetrated into the haze of his rage and struck squarely, 'Am I planning to go too far?' the voice which was not his had been subdued by the Unicorn mare, 'I said I was going to Blood Eagle the General; she didn't seem to have a problem with that. She was upset because of what I said I would do to the General's family,' He sat there thinking over what he had planned in his mind.

His plan was monstrous, '...and she's right.' he sighed heavily, 'I've let my rage over Tip and Rose get to me too much. The General deserves whatever comes his way, but if his family didn't do anything wrong I have no reason to hate them.' He flopped his face into his hands, 'Rosey...' he tried to stop the tears. He had been trying for almost two weeks, focusing on his anger and rage and plotting his revenge. All for the sake of staving off the mourning of his murdered friend and lost love.

Now that Visceral had forcefully silenced the hateful voice inside of him, had broken his focus on revenge, the sorrow began flowing forth in full force. The disfigured man shuddered as he felt his eyes filling with tears, 'Rosey... my Rosey... I'll never see her again.' the thought and admittance held far more weight than he imagined it would. The emotional burden had slipped from where he stored it, pretended fo ignore it, it was hopeless. The pain crashed down, more like crushed down on him. His jaw quivered and his breath hitched hard as he quickly devolved into a bawling, soul wrenching ugly cry.

**********

Chris drew a steadying breath as he braced himself for what was to come, "Okay, start with the rubber ball." He commanded.

Kolo grinned and cocked back his arm, "This gonna have some stank on it!" He then contracted the muscles in his body, starting with his feet and ending with his finger tips. The ball crossed the distance at almost mach speeds, the friction from the passing air heating up the rubber slightly. Chris braced himself as the ball crossed the thirty Fathom distance in the blink of an eye.

The impact felt like someone gently tossed a well stuffed plushie at him. Chris opened his eyes and peeked at the ball which was nestled nicely in the grass at his feet. He reached down and picked it up, "Well let's amp this up." He threw the ball back to Kolo saying, "The rock next. Try to really nail me."

Kolo caught the ball and picked the baseball sized river stone, "Okay, but if Luna gets mad, YOU'RE taking the blame." For the second time, Kolo cocked back his arm and let fly with as much power as he could.

Chris forced himself to watch the rock coming, though he could barely see it. The impact felt like the rock had been gently tossed at him. It hit him in the stomach and barely even nudged his skin. Chris braced himself once more, 'This next one is going to be the make or break one.' He took a steadying breath, "Okay. You know what's next."

Kolo nodded and picked up the pistol, double checking that the three C. W. G. Officers were still there to render aid if something went wrong, "Yall ready?" Receiving a trio of silent nods, Kolo turned and raised the pistol, "Last chance, Chris. You really, REALLY sure 'bout this?"

Chris blinked hard and licked his lips, 'If this goes wrong, Luna is going to be PISSED.' He shook his head and firmed up his stance, "By order of your King, FIRE!"

Kolo fired.

The impact of the bullet felt like someone had flicked a marble at him.

Chris grinned and looked back at Kolo, "Yep, the Kinetic Nullifier Belts make you bulletproof." He strode forward and patted a very relieved Kolo on the arm since he could not reach the man's shoulder, "Let's get these issued to the folks from New Humansville and reserve the rest for other volunteers, as many as we can manage. Let's try to focus on issuing them to Earth Ponies, Saddle Arabians, and Zebras... well if any decide to come. It's too early to tell yet, we still have a week to go."

**********

Darryl laid his head against Backlash as they relaxed in their home. The taciturn mare grunted as he did so, "Me lying on the couch does not give you carte blanche to use me as a pillow while I read."

Darryl sighed and said nothing. Knowing the usual snarky replies the Marine almost always had at the ready, Backlash became worried, "Something troubles you." She put down her book and turned her full attention to Darryl, absently using her lips to muss his hair, "Tell me."

Darryl grunted before answering her, "Something's wrong with Dan."

Backlash pulled her head back from his as she replied, "Of course he is troubled. He has lost a great deal in a very short time and I am certain he feels a tremendous amount of stress and anxiety for Razor Wit and their foal. Any husband who was not horribly stressed would be unnatural."

"No, I mean there's something wrong with him, really wrong." Darryl sighed, "When I went to see him there was something off about his eyes... it was like I was looking at a different person. As if the man I knew was gone, replaced by something else. Something dark..."

"Explain." Backlash insisted.

Darryl shrugged, "I-I don't know. It was like... like he, his personality, was... withdrawn or hiding or... something-I don't know. But when I looked into his eyes it was like there was something else there, like there was someone else in control... or someTHING... and it was dark-like it was the embodiment of anger and rage and hate. Like whatever it was, delighted in the thought of causing as much pain as possible." It was at that point that Darryl realized Backlash had gone stiff behind him, "Hon?" He turned his head toward her, "What's wrong?"

Without any preamble, Backlash suddenly stood up on the couch, "I need to see him. Now."

**********

Darryl and Backlash arrived at the house and knocked loudly. Visceral opened the door and the pair could hear broken sobbing from somewhere inside. Visceral wore a long-suffering expression and sighed, "Not reeeeaaaaally the best of times. He finally broke down after I yelled at him." Her expression turned guilty for a split second before she composed herself, "We sparred and afterward he went on this tangent about what he plans to do. It was... excessively violent and I reminded him of what Razor would think if she heard him talk like that. I left and came back out a few minutes later only to find him curled up on his side sobbing." Visceral lowered her eyes, "I wasn't trying to do that to him, but he needed to hear it. I levitated him upstairs to Vaiawa, Oriana, and... his Human wife. THAT was an awkward introduction, let me tell you. 'Hi, I'm the mother of the mare who your husband married on another world. Oh, and I just verbally lambasted him into a sobbing mess.' I can only hope she doesn't hate me."

Darryl snorted, "Naw. Danielle is a VERY forgiving person. She had to be, to deal with Dan, or Artex as you know him. I grew up just down the street from her family and we went to school together."

Backlash finally decided to speak up, "How have you been, Visceral?"

Darryl blinked, "Wait, you two know each other?"

Visceral gave the man a sad smile, "Backlash tutored me when I was a filly. She was one of the instructors at Celestia's School For Gifted Unicorns, but she also tutored Unicorns who had naturally weak magic, like me." She turned her attention to Backlash, "I'm probably better at basic and complex physical manipulation than even you are now."

"I can only hope. I want my students to surpass me, not disappoint me. Do you still use that blue silk ribbon to tie up your mane and tail?" Backlash asked.

Visceral uncoiled the metal ribbon from her foreleg, "Yes, and I added this to my repertoire."

Backlash frowned, quite a feat for the already dour Unicorn mare, "A weapon then?" She sighed heavily at Visceral's confirming nod, "I did not teach you to have you use your magic for brutality. Still, it does appear to be a very precise weapon and unfortunately violence DOES have its time and place."

"Ladies, we need to see Dan as soon as possible. That's why we're here." Darryl spoke up before the pair could begin reminiscing and explaining.

Backlash nodded, "True. I became distracted. He is on the upper floor?"

"Yes. The first door on the right is the bedroom where he and his family are." Visceral stated, "Be wary though, there are more than his wives in there. His parents are there, his sister and her husband too. Their two boys are off running around in town with Amber Eyes right now though. Just be careful. Emotions are running high and it might be easy to set someone off."

Backlash's expression never wavered even for a second, "Thank you. Darryl, you take the lead. I am ignorant regarding how best to approach the situation."

"You mean you don't understand tactfulness." The Marine snarked.

"I believe that is a simplified version of what I just said." Backlash replied as Darryl led her up the stairs.

Darryl knocked on the door gently and waited for someone to open it. Both Human and Kavim could hear quiet weeping coming from inside the room. In mere moments the door cracked open revealing Cheryl, "This really isn't the best time." She said in low volume.

"I'm really sorry, but we need to check on Dan. This is very important, it cannot wait. We'll try not to be too intrusive, but this really is vital." Darryl stated emphatically.

"Okay fine but make it as quick as you can. If it was almost anyone else Darryl, I would have said no." Cheryl explained slowly opening the door.

The disfigured man was lying on his side being cuddled by Vaiawa while Oriana and Danielle held his hands. His parents were sitting on the edge of the massive bed, watching quietly and Cheryl's husband Brian, was standing in the corner of the room watching carefully, as if studying the scene.

Vaiawa looked up from Artex and smiled at him sadly. She leaned her head down and nuzzled the crying man in her embrace, "Now you've done it," she said softly but playfully, "All that noise brought your friend over."

Backlash subtly lit her horn and waited for Artex to show his eyes. Artex looked up at Darryl and before he could say a single word the Unicorn mare had to strain her self control, 'It's there! Oh dear Celestia it's there! No! Stay calm! Stay calm, mare!' On the outside Backlash only adjusted her ears slightly and flared her nostrils. She would have to speak to Darryl later about what she sensed. For now, she let her fiance do the talking. He needed to spend time with his friend before he wasn't Darryl's friend anymore.

**********

As Darryl and Backlash walked back to New Humansville, Darryl finally asked, "Okay, what the Hell was so vital about seeing him right freaking now?"

"Do you remember the stories about the corruption Queen Luna allowed to form in her sorrow, bitterness and envy? The corruption which twisted her into Nightmare Moon? The corruption which forced out her voluntary will and instilled its own? Artex has a form of it festering in his heart right now." Backlash said emotionlessly as they walked, "It is passive right now, likely due to him venting his emotions. And before you ask, no, I did not read his mind. All I did was search for that specific kind of corruption. I used to moonlight as a Rectifier and when Luna returned she wanted to know what happened to her, so she submitted to some research. We learned a great deal about the way this corruption works, thankfully, and all Rectifiers are trained to watch for it."

"There have been many cases where the corruption starts, but almost every time the Pony's herd helps snap them out of it via emotional support. In such cases, when the corruption is not fed, not dwelled upon, it fades and dies like a weed deprived of water. But in cases where there is little support or the Pony isolates themselves or worse yet is isolated by others, the corruption grows until the Pony surrenders to it. When that happens inhibitions are reduced and although the Pony is not stronger than normal, they seem stronger because they lack the self-preservation instincts which keep them from injuring themselves due to overexertion. Their desires are mutated by the corruption into their most extreme versions. In Luna's case, her desire for she and her night to be loved was mutated into trying to force Ponies to love her by denying them daylight. In Artex' case, his anger and rage are being multiplied. If he gives in, I doubt there will be anything he would hesitate to do to hurt someone he feels is responsible. If he surrenders himself to the corruption, he will do terrible things and he will not stop until he believes he has punished or killed everyone who has wronged him."

Backlash grunted as she continued, "It is worse than that though. Once he gives in, the corruption will tint his perceptions against everyone around him. He will perceive any opposition as an enemy to be punished. The only way to stop him at that point is to shock him so badly his conscience mind forces the corruption back or to stop him by overwhelming force. You and I lack that capability." She took a breath and continued, "Visceral managed to snap him out of it for a time, but his condition is not stable. He needs constant support to recover right now. It is critical that he not be exposed to anything which could trigger the corruption back to power."

"So having him join us when we go to free Razor would be a bad idea?" Darryl asked.

"That is one of the stupidest questions you have ever asked. Not only would it be a bad idea, it carries a chance of the corruption growing stronger." She sighed, "He's already planning to go, isn't he." It was not a question, "And has he already been isolating himself?"

Darryl nodded, "Yep. Until Visceral came along he was making himself scarce."

"This problem is headed in a direction to go completely out of control. If he confronts those responsible for Tip, Rose, and Razor not to mention their foal, there is a substantial risk of the corruption growing stronger. However, the reverse might also be true. The fulfillment of him finding Razor and their foal, or even just one of them, might be exactly what he needs to start recovering. If they are both already dead though, I have absolutely no doubt that he would be willing to succumb. But trying to force him to stay instead of joining the effort to save them is an absolute guarantee to make the corruption stronger because he will feel like he is being isolated and pushed away from those he loves. You once said paternal instincts are strong."

"Stronger than mine probably. Even before all of this I could say with complete certainty that he would die to save a child, whether or not it was one he personally knew. His own? Even without the corruption he would do anything to protect his children. His protective instincts alone made him a fantastic security officer before he ever came here. Mix that with paternal instincts and his present capability and you have a potential juggernaut waiting to come out and play." Darryl paused and took a breath before continuing, "If the worst does happen and he surrenders to the corruption, is there anyone who could stop him?"

"Princess Celestia, Queen Luna, Discord, Princess Twilight, Princess Cadence, maybe Prince Consort Shining Armor, Alana, Vaiawa, Arch Magister Catalyst, and maybe one or two others. It is not a long list. The problems are his passive Noun and Verb combinations. His Heal Flesh and his Destroy Magic are the biggest problems. He is a strange mixture of fates and abilities. He is as strong as a powerful Earth Pony and just as tough, but his magic, what little he does have, is absolutely overwhelming compared to an average Human, Unicorn, or Earth Pony. Short of decapitation or a Nullifier Ring like the one he wears on his finger, there are few if any ways to stop him. Before we left, I read his Nouns and Verbs. His Heal Flesh has moved beyond simple healing. It now qualifies as regeneration. If someone were to chop off a limb, be could grow it back in seconds. Only separating his head from the rest of his body or disabling his screfula would halt his regeneration. Or perhaps sending him into space. That last one was a joke. We need to do what we can to ensure he does not get to that point."

Darryl was openly and obviously worried, "So what else do you recommend? What is the best course of action?"

"I am relatively unknown to he and his herd, you know him better. Gather his friends and others close to him. Do not inform them of the exact nature of the problem though. Their reactions to the news might very well make the problem worse or they might not believe it. Stress that he has needed emotional support for what has happened and has been isolating himself. That alone should prove to be enough. We should also inform the Alicorns and the others I mentioned and tell them what is going on with him. If he falls to the corruption maybe they will be able to subdue him without needing to resort to decapitation or anything else. At least I hope so."

Hopefully this is coherent. Proofreader is busy.