Author's Notes:

Sorry this took so long, I've been busy with some stuff. Anyway, I put a good amount of time and effort into this, so enjoy! And remember, if you see any errors, please tell me!

“So, let me get this straight…”

Pinkamena and the changeling were sitting in the center of the room, the only light source being a flashlight Pinkamena stole from the barracks on her way out, having snatched it off the guard that was in the doorway, which was facing the roof of the room. The door to cell had been closed, so any of the guards coming by wouldn’t think she had come into this cell. The changeling, who had been chained to the wall and had more shackles on him then she did, was sitting down on the ground across from her, though it seemed the way he had to sit due to the chains was making him uncomfortable.

Pinkamena was sitting down on the other side of the flashlight, her broken right hoof being held close to her chest, her other hoof laying on her leg. She looked back at the changeling, his green eyes shutting repeatedly as he seemed to struggle to stay awake. Though she seemed to be looking at him vacantly, lost in her thoughts as she was piecing together what she was told.

“Chrysalis felt a strong source of love here, or at least something close to it. But, being so close to Canterlot, and so recent after The Canterlot Invasion, she couldn’t risk assaulting it. And since most of the changelings were still recovering, she couldn’t send a squad for reconnaissance. You were the best at spying and infiltration available, so you were sent to see what this source of love was. You came to Cloudsdale disguised to investigate, but they saw through it somehow. And, to make a short story shorter, you got the shit beat out of you.”

The changeling seemed to scowl, though not just at Pinkamena, he seemed to be angry at himself for failing. “The ponies here are more...vicious, than what we’re used to. Besides, that wasn’t the only reason. The second I entered this cursed place, I lost connection to the hive mind, which was...unpleasant, to say the least.” He spoke slowly and hesitantly, as if just speaking was a struggle.

“Wow, being away from mommy for too long makes you weak, sounds like a toxic relationship if I’ve ever heard of one. And I should know, I’ve seen far too many.”

The changelings just scoffed, closing his eyes in annoyance. She wasn’t sure if that meant he didn’t have the energy to respond, or he didn’t think she was worth it.

“Right, anyway. So, when they interrogated you and you still wouldn’t talk, they locked you up. Wouldn’t feed you, wouldn’t let you out, and from what I can see, wouldn’t let you sleep either. I’m actually more surprised they haven’t done that to me yet. And, since you’re so weak, you are unable to change form, or even move without straining yourself. But what I don’t understand,” Pinkamena lifted her hoof up, moving it closer to the changelings. The bone had been more or less set back in place, but the blood had only just recently dried. “Why can’t you feed off of me?” She asked confusedly, causing him to open his eyes and look at her arm.

“Because, I don’t know why, but I can’t detect a trace of love in you. And even if I could,” He leaned forward slowly, licking a bit of the dried blood with his long, snake-like tongue. He suddenly cringed and recoiled, his tongue going back into his mouth rather quickly, seemed he didn’t like the taste of her blood. “Bitter, ew. Anyway, the amount I would have to take out of you to make me strong enough to break out of here, would kill you. I just met you, so it wouldn’t be a loss to me. But, I’m too weak to force you, and I doubt you’d even let me. Plus, you were able to escape out of your own cell and get here, so you’re obviously more useful than you seem.” He said as he rested his head on his hooves, closing his eyes.

“Gee, thanks. But a source of love? Here? This is probably the place in Equestria with the least amount of love, what could possibly be here that-” Pinkamena was interrupted by the changelings groaning, or as much of a groan he could manage. “Do all ponies enjoy repeating what they already know? If so, then I can see why we usually just put them to sleep before feeding.”

“No, I do it because it helps me think and process things, it doe- wait a minute.” She suddenly stopped talking, as if coming to some sort of realization. The word ‘process’ made her think back to the giant tubes filled with the rainbow-like liquid, then the word ‘Spectra’ coming to mind after her talk with Dutch. Then she thought of the changelings, how they need to extract love from ponies to survive, or at least what they called love, but what if it wasn’t love at all?

There was a click in Pinkamena’s mind as she realized something, a small smirk of satisfaction on her face. The changeling slightly opened his eyes, looking up at the pink pony before him curiously. Both at why she suddenly stopped talking, and why she had that smile on her face. “What?”

“If you were able to feed, you’d be able to bust us out of this place by turning into a pegasus, right?” Pinkamena asked eagerly, forming a plan within her mind.

“Easier said than done, but yes.” He replied as he raised his head, looking now more confused than curious.

“And if we can bust out of this place, you can report back to Chrysalis about this place, right?”

“Why are you asking me these questions?”

Pinkamena suddenly stood up, though flinching as if she forgot her hoof was broken. “I think I know what the source of love in this place is, and I might be able to get some for you, more than what you’d need. And if I can, we can get out of here.”

For a moment, he looked hopeful. But then he looked at her in disbelief, though it was hard to tell since he seemed to struggle to keep his head up. “That’s great and all, but you’re just one pony with a broken hoof, and everyone in this place is probably looking for you. It was just dumb luck that you managed to get here with only a broken hoof, there’s no way you could get the amount I would need.” He rested his head back on his hooves defeatedly, though more out of exhaustion than anything else, though his gaze never left her.

“Do you have a better idea? It’s not like you can get up and do anything yourself.”

He looked at her angrily, but then sighed, seeing this was most likely his only chance. “Fine, let’s say you can. What’s your big plan after that? How are you going to get me out of these chains, past all the guards, and to an exit, all with your broken hoof?”

“You let me worry about that, first I need to focus on getting the spectra.” She said as she leaned down, picking the flashlight up off the ground and just barely being able to hold it in her hoof, she wouldn’t have been able to if there wasn’t a handle on the side for hooves. She then proceeded to limp over to the door, pushing on it lightly to leave it slightly open. She proceeded to peek out the door, looking for any guards nearby.

“Now that I think about it, I don’t even know your name, though I doubt I would even be able to pronounce it,” Pinkamena said as she continued to keep her focus on scanning the hallway, missing just a single guard could be fatal.

“My name is long, at least by pony standards. I’ll tell you the name I go by when I’m undercover as one of you, Brick. You?”

Pinkamena hesitated, she couldn’t tell him she was one of the mane six, he wouldn’t trust her then. And even if he did, it wouldn’t be until after a lot of explanation, and she didn’t have the time or patience for that. She would have to give him a fake name, though going under a different alias wasn’t something she was unfamiliar with. The problem was, there was the chance one of the guards or something would shout her name when she was with him, but that was a ‘cross that bridge when she got to it’ kind of situation.

“Brick, huh? Very creative. My name is Marshmallow Leaf, but most just call me Marsh for short.”

*********************************************************************************************

Since the only place she’s been where there was spectra was where she was locked up, that’s where she was going to go. The way back was a lot longer than the way in, mostly because her broken hoof slowed her down, and because since the guards seemed to be more active in tracking her down, she had to be more careful and patient in avoiding them. Not just that, but she couldn’t leave her broken hoof like it was. So she stopped by the janitor’s closet, and made a makeshift sling out of rags and paper towels, which was barely holding together. But, it was better than nothing. She also put the flashlight in the sling, which was hard since it was quite a tight fit, but at least now walking would be easier. Besides, she was already here.

Before entering, she barely opened the door, peeking through it to see what there was. There were only three guards in the room, which was tiny compared to how many there were before. There could have been multiple reasons why, some were sent to help with other riots, or sent to help search for her, try to get any stragglers that may have run into other parts in the factory, or maybe even a few of the guards actually got killed in the riot.

There was one guard standing on the other side of the door she was peeking through, their back facing it, which made sense considering this was the only exit. The other two were on the bottom floor where most of the slaves were, carrying out the bodies, which there were a lot of.

The only other ponies in the room were maybe a dozen slaves running the industrial line, but they seemed rather stressed since there were a lot fewer ponies working on this than what was needed, meaning they had to do the job of multiple ponies. But, there was still something bothering Pinkamena. Yes, she understood why there were so little guards compared to what was usually in here. But three? Rainbow Dash is far too paranoid to allow such a small number, there would need to be twice that to even watch all the slaves properly.

“So then why three?” Pinkamena mumbled to herself, speaking her mind.

“Oh, you mean the guards? Oh, that would be because of me.” A voice said behind her, barely louder than a whisper.

She quickly but silently shut the door, and just as quickly and silently turned around, slamming the pony behind her against the wall with her good hoof against his neck. He made a grunting sound when he hit the wall, but otherwise remained silent.

He, like most here, was a pegasus. His coat a bright red, similar to the color of blood. His mane and tail were a bright white with streaks of grey, seeming to be spiked up at the ends. He also had a goatee, it was zigzagged under his chin, looking identical to lightning. Almost his entire body except for the tips of his hooves was covered in a lab coat, making it impossible to see his cutie mark. He had a pair of clear, bright white glasses at the end of his muzzle, allowing her to see the amber eyes looking down at her. Instead of being afraid or angry like she expected, he seemed completely calm, even having a composed smile on his face.

“Who the Tartarus are you?” Pinkamena asked angrily as she put a little more pressure on his neck, but he didn’t seem to lose his composure at all.

“I’m the one who’s been helping you.”

That caused Pinkamena to let up a little, but only a little.

“Prove it.”

He looked like he was about to sigh, but decided against it, and settled on just frowning at her. “Would you like me to recite the entire letter I pushed under your door after I unlocked it? Besides, I have something you’ll need if you want to get Spectra to that changeling.”

Pinkamena was surprised he knew her plan, but kept her composure. Hesitantly, she pulled away from him, but was still ready to pounce on him at any moment if need be. He began rubbing his neck where she was pushing against him, but other than that he was completely composed.

“How did you know that I was planning to do that?”

He scoffed as he lowered his hoof from his neck, as if it was the easiest question anyone's ever asked him. “Who do you think was the one that put you in the cell connected to the changeling? I knew even if I hadn’t told you to, you would have ended up in that cell sooner or later. And I assumed you were smart enough to put together that this source of ‘love’ he was trying to get to was the spectra here, and you were going to come back here and try to get some so the changeling would help you, you being here just proves I was right.” He said as he pushed his glasses closer to his eyes, that smug smile on his face.

This left Pinkamena slightly dumbfounded, he had correctly predicted what had happened in the last thirty minutes or so. But, that also made her a lot more suspicious. “Who are you?”

“My name is not important, besides we don’t have the time for idle chatter.” He said as he pulled a small vial out of his lab pocket, tossing it towards her. She was a little surprised, but she was able to catch it in her mouth. “I’ll go ahead and summarize things up for you, since I know you won’t listen to me if I don’t tell you something. Basically, I’ve been planning this out since I’ve heard of you. Your escape would benefit me, in more ways than you’d think. Like I said, I’m the one who arranged to have you put in the cell connected to the one with the changeling, since a changeling would be one of the few things that could leave and enter this place other than a pegasus. I’ve also been helping out in other ways, putting fresh, and ignorant, guards in the barracks and the three guards out there are also new. Unlocking your door and giving you that bobby pin,”

He looked at Pinkamena’s broken hoof, raising his eyebrow slightly as he realized why it was broken. “Which I noticed you didn’t use on your own shackles, I assume you still have it then? Good, that means you can use it to unlock the changeling's shackles and I don’t have the get the key, that would have been a pain. Anyway, that vial I gave you?” He said as he pointed at it, causing her to gently put it in her hoof. “Very special. Spectra can only be contained in one of two ways. In an very carefully made glass, which is what that vial is made out of. Or in a pony’s body, but, well, let’s just say a normal pony drinking spectra would have,” He seemed to flinch when he said that, his smile disappearing as he remembered something unpleasant. “Unpredictable results.”

She glanced down at the vial in her hoof, but quickly looked back at him, not sure if she could trust him just yet. She then put the vial in her sling, wincing a little as it touched her hoof. The sling she been made was completly made out of toilet paper, having stopped by the bathroom on the way here. It was shitty, but it would have to do. “That’s cool and all, but this is a rather small vial. He’s been starved for days, you sure this is going to be enough to give him the charge he needs?” She asked as she glared at him, something about this guy just put her on edge, or maybe that was just the place?

When she got out of here, she was going to come back and burn this place to the ground, even if it kills her, which it probably will.

“Of course.” He glared at her back, but unlike most in this place, there was no anger, just annoyance. “Pure spectra is very potent, when a changeling feeds on a pony, they get maybe a fraction of what that vial can contain, which is the equivalent to how much spectra is in a small colts body. If you fill that vial full and feed it to him, he’ll be filled for weeks before he’s hungry again. Speaking of that, I forgot to give you this.” He said as he once again pulled something out of his lab coat, but deciding to walk forward and hand it to her. She looks down at it with a confused expression on her face, this wasn’t something she’d seen before.

“What is this?” She asked as she moved it around in her hooves, but wasn’t any closer to discovering its purpose.

“Spectra is mildly radioactive in its pure form, so, stored in the massive amounts we need, it would eventually destroy anything it was being stored in. To solve this problem, that glass has been enhanced to fix itself almost instantaneously with even the slightest of fractures. There are only two ways to safely extract the spectra from those tubes, the first would be opening the latches on the top, which isn’t an option since you’re not a pegasus. The other,” He pointed his hoof towards the metal object. “Is to use a metal spile.”

The spile was maybe three inches long, one end of it was sharp and had a hole in it, which was the part she was supposed to stab into the object she wants to sap. The other end had a small, pipelike bar, which is where the spectra was going to be coming from. There was also a small valve on it, which was used to help control how much was coming out.

“You’re an earth pony, so I assume you know how to use that. Word of advice, you’re going to wanna stab it really hard, that glass is thicker than it looks. Well, I’ll be taking my leave now.” He turned around and began walking down the hallway, not even glancing back at her.

“Wait.” She suddenly said, as she put the spile in her sling.

He stopped where he was, turning his head a little bit to the right to look at her with his right eye.

“Why are you helping me?”

For a few seconds he just stared at her, then his face stretched into a grin, a quiet chuckle escaping his lips.

“Let’s just say I’ve been looking for a chance to screw over Rainbow Dash, and you’re the perfect opportunity.”

*********************************************************************************************

Getting the spectra was easier than she thought.

Taking down the guard on the other side of the door was rather simple, even with her broken hoof. It seems the back of their legs weren’t as well protected as they should be, at least not with the armor they were wearing. One swift kick to the back of their knee knocked them down enough to where she could get her good hoof around their neck, snapping it. She wasn’t used to doing with one hoof, so it was harder than she was used to. But, it worked, so it’s fine.

She also knew that that stallion asked she avoided killing them, but until he stopped being vague with his answers, buck him.

The other two guards were still hauling bodies out, though there only seemed to be two left. As for the slaves in the room? Most didn’t notice, the ones that did didn’t seem to care. And since the guards seem busy taking the bodies wherever they were, she was able to climb down to the bottom floor, where the spectra was. Though it took her a lot longer than it normally would, she was lucky the guards didn’t come back too soon.

But when she touched the ground, there was no way they’d catch her. The bottom got the least light out of anywhere else in this room, and with her years of hiding in the dark and deceiving ponies came experience, she knew how to lie, how to stay hidden, she wouldn’t get caught.

She snuck over to the tubes of spectra, only stopping when the guards came in to get the last body. When their focus was on lifting and taking the body away, she moved closer to the tubes. When she got to the tubes, she nearly had to close her eyes due to the brightness of it, it was a lot brighter up close than at a distance. But, once she adjusted, she reached into her sling, pulling out the spile and slammed it into the tube with her mouth.

There were small cracks to the left and right of where she inserted the spile, then she watched in slight amazement as they repaired themselves before her eyes, she could think of dozens of ideas for material like that. She then reached back into the sling, pulling out the vial and popping the cork off of it, holding it under the vial after turning the small valve. Two seconds later, there was a steady dripping of spectra into the vial, which was quickly filling it up.

“Are you here to rescue us?”

Pinkamena quickly turned her head to her left, noticing a little filly had somehow managed to sneak up to her. She was young, the size of Applebloom. She was covered in grime and blood, making it hard to tell what color her coat and mane were, or if she even had a cutie mark. She could tell she had a pair of wings, signaling she was a pegasus, and if she was here, a failure. She could also see she had a pair of bright green eyes that were looking up at her pleadingly, as if begging to be saved.

“Um…” Pinkamena glanced back at the vial, it was halfway full, and quickly filling up. She turned back to the filly, who was still staring up at her. Celestia, did she hate foals.

“No, sorry kid, I’m only here to help myself.”

The hope in her eyes seemed to leave as Pinkamena said that, her head lowering as she looked at the ground. “Oh, ok. It’s just…” She turned back to where the guards were taking the body, as if afraid they’d come back at any moment, then she glanced back at Pinkamena.

“My mommy told me that we would be saved, that somepony would come and take us away, take us home. And that I just needed to hold on, that we would be rescued! A-and, that’s the last thing she t-told me b-before…” Tears began rolling down her cheeks as she sniffled, Pinkamena only groaned in response. “Before the mean ponies took her away, I haven’t seen her since. I miss her so much!” She sat down on the dirty floor and began sobbing, but thanks to the sounds of the machinery and the screaming from the ponies being slaughtered on the industrial lines, it could barely be heard.

“Mother? I thought they only killed foals?” Pinkamena asked curiously, not sure whether or not she could trust this filly.

“W-when I was really young, some men from The Factory told her it was her time, and I didn’t see her again. Then they took me here, and she was working here with the bad ponies, against her will! Then she tried to set me free, b-but we got caught, and that was when they took her!”

Pinkamena turned back to the vial when she felt drops on her hoof. The vial was full and was now having little drops coming out the top of it. She quickly pulled the vial back and put the cork back in it slipping it back in her sling. She then pulled the spile out of the tube and put in her sling, but not before a few drops hit the floor.

“Listen kid,” Pinkamena said as she turned to the filly, causing her to look up at her, tears still rolling down her cheeks. “I don’t care about your sob story, or how your mom's dead, ok? I only care about me, I don’t belong here. I need to escape, I’m not here to rescue you, or anypony else in this Celestia forsaken place.” Pinkamena turned around and began walking towards the rails, where she climbed down here in the first place. “So unless you can really pull your weight and help me escape this place, I have no use for you.” She said as she began climbing up, not even glancing back at the sobbing filly.

“I can bring you to where they brought us in!” The young filly shouted desperately, only barely heard by Pinkamena over the sounds of murder and machines.

Pinkamena stopped where she was, turning back around towards the filly skeptically. She walked back up to the filly, looking down at her as she contemplated something.

“Ok, I’ll bite. How?”

“Well…” The filly wiped her face, some of the grime coming off her, but still not enough to see very much underneath. “After failing the test, they gave us candy, as a treat for trying! But, after taking a bite, I don’t remember much. I do remember later waking up in a strange room with a bunch of other foals, it was really dark. But, I guess I woke up earlier than most, but I decided to still pretend I was asleep! They just brought us into this room through a huge pipe, pulling us out of little crates that could hold maybe five of us. Then, after most of us were awake,” She turned around, pointing towards the room the guards were taking the bodies into, luckily they hadn’t come back yet. "They took us back there and put us in a cell, like prisoners, dozens of us were just crammed in there! They give us food once every three days, and take a few of us with them, but that’s it. Right outside of the room is a huge hole in the ground where they put all the...d-dead ponies, it’s so cold and wet in there.”

Pinkamena looked into the room, then back down at the filly, who was rubbing her shoulder that looked to have a bruise on it. She was having doubts, she knew very little about this place, this filly very well could have been a trick, but she didn’t seem to be lying. Pinkamena, on the other hoof, was very good at lying, and being able to tell when someone else was lying. This filly was either really good, or was being genuine. But this might have been her only chance at getting out, at least a lot safer than running around lost looking for something that looks like an exit.

“Then why are you out here, if they always keep you in that cell?”

The filly stopped rubbing her shoulder and turned around to face Pinkamena, shaking slightly out of fear. “After the big fight between some of the workers and the bad ponies, a lot of workers died. Some of the bad ponies came in and pulled some of us out, telling us that we needed to take their place.”

That made sense, considering how she saw things going before she left, she figured a lot of them died. And looking down at the filly now, seeing how traumatized and terrified she was, it would have been slightly difficult to believe this was a trick. But then she remembered how she was as a filly, and it suddenly became more plausible.

Pinkamena looked down at the filly, then looked around the factory, and sighed. Might as well, it’s not like she had many options, and she certainly wasn’t a stranger to risk.

“What’s your name?”

The filly looked up at her blinking confusedly, as if she didn’t quite understand what she was asked.

“What?”

“Your name.”

“Oh! Sorry, It’s just,” She had a moment of slight embarrassment as she looked up at Pinkamena, a sheepish smile on her face. “They don’t call us by our names, just numbers. Anyway, mines Flitter! What’s you-”

“Flitter,” Pinkamena said sharply, lowering herself down to Flitter and keeping eye contact with her, her gaze seeming to pierce through her. “Can you lead me back to the room they brought you into? The one with the big pipe?”

Flitter suddenly looked nervous, raised her hoof slightly as if she intended to run away, but she somehow felt like she wouldn’t get far. “Um, yes, I can. But-”

“Good, now I want you to listen to me closely.” Pinkamena put her hoof on Flitter’s shoulder where the bruise was, planting her grip firmly on it and making sure Flitter couldn’t escape. “I need to go and get someone, since you failed the test, that means you can’t fly, at least not very well. We need him to fly out of here, so while I’m getting him, I want you to hide behind these tubes and wait for me to get back, which will be soon. Can you do that?”

Flitter didn’t say anything, she only nodded as she bit her lip in fear.

“Ok, one more thing. If this turns out to be a trap, or you’re lying to me, or anything!” She squeezed the bruise on Flitter, causing her to whimper in pain. She brought her hoof up to Pinkamena’s to try to pry it off, but it didn’t budge. “I’ll make what they do here look like an bucking joke!”

*********************************************************************************************

Pinkamena walked back into the cell containing Brick, slowly shutting the door behind her. She then pulled the flashlight out, turning it on and pointing it where he was. He was laying on the ground with his head resting on his hooves sleeping, he looked almost peaceful

“Hey, bitch, wake up,” Pinkamena said as she slapped him, it wasn’t very hard, but hard enough to make an audible slapping noise.

He groggily looked up at her, squinting his eyes at the light being shined in his face, looking more annoyed than angry.

“That’s not my na-”

He was interrupted by the feeling of something cylindrical and glass being shoved in his mouth, then the most delicious liquid he’d ever tasted coming from it.

“I don’t care, shut up and drink your milk, you big baby.” Pinkamena said as she let go of the vial, as he had no problem holding the vial in his hooves chugging the spectra within. She then moved behind him, pulling the flashlight out and pointing them at the shackles as she pulled the bobby pin out of her hair and got to work.

After five minutes, he was free of his shackles. Pinkamena stepped back and looked at him, as he stuck his long, split in two parts changeling tongue in the vial to try and get every last spark of spectra. She admitted she had some...lewd thoughts of the capabilities of a tongue like that, to say the least.

“So, you got the charge you need?”

There was a loud popping noise as he pulled his tongue out of the vial, dropping it to the ground, though it didn’t break. He then shook the shackles, and began flexing his limbs a little. Then a smile stretched on his face as a bright, burning green fire suddenly overcame his body. Within seconds, there now stood a dark brown stallion before her. There was no cutie mark, though she expected that was because he didn’t see the point in one right now. He had a blue mane and coat that were ruffled and messy, as if he hadn’t had a bath in weeks. He turned to her with a confident smile on his face, revealing a pair of dark aquamarine eyes. His grin only widened when he stretched his wings to his sides.

“Oh yeah, I’m more than ready, I’m bucking pumped.”

Pinkamena chuckled a little bit as she walked up to him. “Calm down there Mr macho, there’s a bit of a change of plans.” Pinkamena’s face then turned serious, glaring at the pegasus in front of her. “We need to take a filly with us.”

*********************************************************************************************

It was the middle of the day in Ponyville, and things were more or less normal. There was some distress in the small town, mostly due to worry of their friendly neighborhood party planner being missing. And thanks to her being missing, Sugarcube Corner has been having business problems since they are down one pony. They are stressed and it’s harder for them to run it the same as before, but they are managing.

But there was one pony specifically that was more distressed than the others, the only one that had been looking endlessly for this pony. This pony was Twilight Sparkle, Pinkie had many friends, but she was one of her closest. Or, at least, she liked to think so. Twilight was worried for her friends sudden disappearance, this was something unusual, even for Pinkie. And having absolutely nothing to do with the fact that she had reading a few detective books recently, she decided to do some investigating. She's been going around town, checking her usual hangout locations, and talking to everyone who knew her.

The problem was: that was everyone in this town.

It took a lot of walking and sore hooves, but she did eventually ask everypony in town if they knew where she was. And, frustratingly, she had yet to get a breakthrough.

That is, until she talked to Fluttershy.

“But why would she leave so suddenly? She’s impulsive, sure, but this still just doesn’t seem like her.”

Twilight and Fluttershy were currently at Fluttershy’s tree house, Fluttershy had been having some tea when Twilight came knocking on her door. There were many animals around the treehouse, all of them frolicking and playing like normal.

Except this time there wasn’t any sound from inside the treehouse, as if there weren’t any animals in there.

Twilight found this strange, but she was more concerned with Pinkie right now.

“Well, like I said before, she had received news that one of her family members had died, Granny Pie, I believe. She seemed to be so distraught and sad, I felt so bad for the poor thing! Before she left, she told me what was happening and said I should tell everypony else. I guess I just got so caught up with my animals, that It just slipped my mind! I’m so sorry Twilight, I really didn’t mean to make you so upset!”

Twilight was currently standing on the outside of Fluttershy’s door, talking to Fluttershy. Who currently only had the door partly open, her head poking out as her long mane hung down, she was evidently upset when she apologized. Her lips were quivering and she looked at Twilight apologetically.

“Well, yes, that makes sense, and certainly explains why she left so suddenly. But what I don’t understand is why she’d tell you? You live on the outskirts of Ponyville, anypony else would have been a lot closer. It would have made the most sense to tell the cakes, or at least leave some kind of note. Bu-”

Suddenly, there was a sharp rapping noise from with her house, as if someone was hitting a wooden surface lightly but rapidly. When Fluttershy heard this, she went from sad to nervous, glancing back behind her door.

“Sorry Twilight! But Angel gets really upset when I make him wait too long for his food, I gotta go!”

“But I-”

Before Twilight could say anything else, Fluttershy slammed the door in her face. This left her quite surprised and shocked, her mouth slightly agape.

“Did Fluttershy just shut the door on me? Fluttershy!?” Twilight said in disbelief, this was extremely odd behavior. Not just that, but something that important just slipping her mind? Fluttershy was a lot of things, but she wasn’t forgetful.

“Why would she say that? Fluttershy wouldn’t lie to me, right?” Twilight asked herself as she walked away from Fluttershy’s, making her way back to Ponyville. She looked down at the ground sadly, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion as she frowned.

“But then, why can’t I shake this feeling something else is going on here?”

Meanwhile, inside of Fluttershy’s Treehouse.

“How’s the tea?” Fluttershy asked hesitantly, shaking her hooves as she sat the teacup down. The inside of her house was quiet, not a single animal to be seen or heard. Not just that, but it was also a lot darker than usual. All the shades for the windows had been closed, stopping any sunlight from getting in.

In the middle of the room, Fluttershy sat at her wooden, light brown tea table. In front of her was her teacup filled with green tea, a white kettle with purple stripes sat in the middle that matched the cups, and another teacup that had barely been touched. In a wooden chair that matched the table, sat a pony. They could not be seen in the dark, and they remained quiet, watching Fluttershy.

Fluttershy sighed quietly, setting the teacup in her hooves down slowly, still slightly shaking. “Do you really have to kill her? Is there nothing you can do to make them spare her?” she asked desperately, her eyes pleading with the pony across from her.

This pony leaned forward, putting themselves into the light, revealing who they were. Rainbow Dash smiled at Fluttershy, but it wasn’t one of her fake ones. This was a genuine, gentle, caring smile. She laid her hoof on Fluttershy’s, rubbing it comfortingly as her smile changed to a grim frown.

“I’ve tried Shy, but they won’t listen. Besides, she’s killed dozens of pegasi, and maybe even hundreds of ponies. I think...I think she’s beyond saving, I’m sorry.”

Fluttershy sniffled, her eyes began tearing up. “I know, I know! I-i just, I can’t lose another friend to that place, even if their a monster!” Fluttershy began to sob into her hooves loudly, causing Rainbow Dash to get up and embrace her, rubbing the back of her head as Fluttershy cried into her shoulder.

But since Fluttershy was crying, she didn't notice the manic smile stretch onto her friends face.