The sparring session was refreshing for Pinkamena, and Copper could say the same. It's not everyday anypony would see somepony without any armor fighting so flawlessly high rank soldiers with nothing a pair of kitchen knifes, to the point where the cult's captain allowed the other cultists to enter in the barracks of the underground complex to watch the show.

She was swift with her technique and deadlier when she would manage to disarm the swords out of their hands and stop with her smaller weapons pointed at a gap between the pieces of their armors.
For the final, Copper himself decided to challenge the pink mare to a sparring session, without his armor too and for weapon of choice, his two favorite duo of short swords.

She got out of the warm shower and wrapped the towel around her body, using another one to dry her hair. She putted back on her washed outfit previously provided by the cult, and wearing the dirty white top-tank made It feel like It had shrunken. Luckily the leather black jacket with short sleeves and the black mini jean shorts were a different material to the washing process.

Pinkamena stepped out of the room and calmly walked to the infirmary, with the medical chief coming out with her files.

"Hello there." She greeted.

"Hey... how is he?" Pinkamena asked worried.

"Recovering. There isn't much I can tell. We managed to heal his artery in the nose. Most of his wounds were superficial like I said previously, and we didn't even needed to worry about those very much. His mucles... well, It's according to him once he wakes up."

"Did he woke up while I wasn't there?"

"For what my assistants told me, no. He's in a coma." The nurse sighed sadly, but tried to cheer up the pink mare. "But he's quite something, your friend. His body was all numb, so we didn't need to use any anesthesia, which made the operation to his back much easier. And for superficial wounds, his recovery his astonishing. For glass cuts, the wounds closed in less than one night, now they are just small scars under his fur."

"Thank you." Pinkamena walked inside while the nurse gave her passage, and found Sigil sitting on a chair next to the bed where Mane was recovering. "Oh... didn't expect you here." She said It in a cold tone.

"What do you mean?" The blue mare didn't took her eyes out of Mane. "Implying I don't care about him?"

"No. I mean, I wanted some time alone with him."

"I see... I also want some time alone with you." Sigil glared at her.

"Wha-what?!" Pinkamena blushed red like a tomato. "I-I admit sometimes I'm into mares, but no need for sudden invi-"

"It's not that... murderer!" Sigil stood up and grabbed a paper from her pockets and unfolded. It was a 'wanted' poster with Diane's face on It. "What do you have to say in your defense?"

"Listen. Keep calm, and allow me to explain. It's like you didn't knew."

"I didn't, until I took a stroll around the city at the middle of the night and saw this. Besides, neither you or Mane were wanted by the law in the Crystal Empire, so imagine my surprise when he once told me the Royal Guard was a problem for him." She turned the poster and started reading. "Interesting, 'The Cannibal of Ponyville', ninety thousand bits in your head. Cannibalism, all degrees of murder. You built quite a reputation..."

"Slow down there." Pinkamena slowly grabbed her knifes. "Most of that is the past, and thanks to this wonderful bastard here, I regret my actions from back then. If you have any intention in delivering me to the Royal Guard, I won't hesitate."

"For your information, I have two loaded pistols with me." Sigil laughed. "And no. I have no intentions like those, I was just testing your temper. If you couldn't tell, we are friends already and I couldn't do such a thing." She ripped the poster in four and threw It on the garbage bin. "I just want an explanation how Mane could change you so much, because changing the personality of a serial killer isn't a magic that any unicorn can do."

Pinkamena calmed down and sheathed her blades back in her belt. "Take a seat then." She grabbed a nearby chair and took It next to Sigil's chair. "It's a long history..."

One hour and half later...

The pink mare had finished her story in how she met Mane and he made to her. Sigil kept silent hearing the whole thing, sometimes dropping a question or two, which Pinka gladly answered.

"That's one hell of a story..." Sigil commented in a low voice.

"I know right? It was like he knew my scream for help from deep inside my mind."

"Well... you wanted some time allow with him, didn't you?" Sigil stood up and walked towards the door. "I'll leave then. And I'm happy that he has such a nice company, not minding her past." She opened the door and quietly closed behind her.

The room and dead silent from inside and outside, with just those two now. Pinkamena approached the chair from the bed and stared at Mane sleeping. The stallion has been there for the last four days sleeping. That morning was something to be memorized, who he was and what could he do if somepony wasn't careful in playing with his temper.

Pinkamena held his hand and took It to her face, allowing his inanimate fingers to caress her. She remembered the day he petted her and scratched behind he ears, and smiled with the funny but cute memory. Diane putted his hand back next to him, but didn't release her grip.

"You know..." She whispered to him, even if he was sleeping. "I just remembered when you petted me. Nopony else caressed me besides my parents, and that was more than fifteen years ago. Now look at me, nineteen years old and no love, haha... how could this happen..?" She giggled quietly.

She though for a bit.
"I know you're not listening at the moment... but I want to let you know how close to you I grew in these last months. How much have we gone through together in just four months?" She raised her hands and started counting. "From meeting each other with me almost killing. You changed my personality. We crashed a social event. Then I almost killed you again. Traveled together to the Crystal Empire. Infiltrate in a mansion and escape. Discover with you your new powers. We fought in a mini war in the middle of the mountains against an army of mafiosos. I mean... look at this, so many events we went by side by side!" She smiled at him. "Now that I think of It... I was stuck in an endless loop of killing just for killing. And since I met you, my life changed so much. Now I kill for justice, and this feels even greater than before."

She leaned close of him, and caressed his hair.

"You are really something... You may have a split personality like me. We are so alike..." She closed her eyes and kissed his forehead. "I want to thank you for all you've done for me..."

Pinkamena stood up and released his hand. "I gotta go for now. But I'll be back later. I have some stories I want to share with you."

"Are they good..?" He whispered when she was about to leave. Pinkamena raised her ears in alert and turned around, to see Mane slightly moving in bed, still with his eyes closed.

"You're awake!" The mare jumped next to the bed in excitement. "How do you feel?"

"I can't feel my legs... and my back fucking hurts." He moaned in pain. "I woke up and you were almost gone. How much I've been here?"

"Around four or five days."

"Five days?!" Mane gasped while flinching in some pain. "I've been stuck in my nightmare for five days! At least It was the less messed up."

"By Luna's mercy, I'm sorry for that!" She served him a glass of water.

"Luna's mercy... what a fucking coincidence, girl." He thought while drinking. "Have I missed something while I was gone?"

"Not much. Life here was pretty much the same for everypony." Pinkamena slightly blush. "But boring without you, as if dead..." She whispered.

"What was that?" Mane looked at her blushing cheeks.

"Nothing. Nothing... Can you stand up?"

"I don't think so. But I can move them, but without the touch of agony. Did I break something without noticing?"

"Nah. According to their medic, you had a muscular burnout."

"Hmm... I can relate after the magic outburst I had that day. It was just too much for me at the time." He uncovered the beds sheetson his body, seeing only a long bandage wrapping his torso. "I've been shot, I remember that. The bullet came out of my body when I went 'Shadow Body'."

"Yeah, they got confused because they couldn't find the bullet, oh well..."

"Are there new plans? We are almost done with our job in this city." He asked while trying to get up.

"No. We didn't plan anything without you, silly."

"Well, because I have something else to do before we head to the final part."

"What is It?" Diane looked at him with curiosity.

"I... I can't really tell." The stallion looked at her with a secretive expression.

"Why? You are worrying me." She looked on his suspiciously.

"Maybe I'll tell later, but I have a task for you. To gather some stuff."

"...okay..." Pinka said It slowly with an awkward face.

"But before that, call a nurse to give me a painkiller... my legs and back are killing me."