Fluttershy burst out of the command room as though a dragon was on her heels. Leaping over the table without a second thought, she glided to the ground and faced the stunned ponies around her. At the sight of the yellow pegasus in her disguise, every pony snapped to attention. There was a general consensus that there needed to be a second name for Fluttershy when she was in disguise, but no one had thought of one yet. The best suggestion had been 'Shy and Flutter though considering that was suggested by Pinkie, there were doubts.

"Ponies are in the Everfree getting attacked by a manticore. AJ and Fleetfoot with me, Spitfire you're in charge," ordered Flutter. A bird landed on her shoulder and chirped a few lines while she gathered her medicine kit. "Come, we need to hurry."

The bird took off and Flutter was immediately in hot pursuit with the other ponies close behind. She felt so confident, so sure of herself, almost as though nothing could stand in her way. When they entered the dense forest, Fluttershy wasn't paralysed with fear, the ominous shadows didn't seem quite as scary as before and with each rustling of the leaves her eyes was snap over and carefully analyze what she saw to compare with what she knew about the creatures of the Everfree Forest. Most importantly, she kept an eye on her surroundings.

Without fear inhibiting her, Fluttershy ran with a sense of balance that matched Pinkie's, letting her keep up with the others as they stumbled over rocks, slipped in mud and tripped over roots. Then again, she was used to travelling through the forest unlike the others. The distinct sound of snapping wood filtered through the leaves and Fluttershy's eyes snapped across while her ears twitched. Every tiny detail was taken in and referenced with her extensive knowledge of the flora and fauna that existed within the Everfree. After a couple seconds, her attention went back to the bird she was following.

How many ponies could still be saved though?

According to the birdie, the group was near the Ancient Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters which was a good thirty minutes away. Thirty minutes. And it takes seven ponies working together to take down a single manticore. In thirty minutes they could all be dead and eaten.

Determination descended on Fluttershy. She will not lose any ponies and she will not lose the manticore. She will get there in time and she will save every single last creature. Eyes narrowed and her mane was tossed to one side with a shake of her head, then to every ponies surprise, she picked up speed as she half ran, half flew through the forest. Without her sense of balance, the others soon found it difficult to keep the driven pegasus in sight.

They heard it before they saw it. There was nothing in the world that sounded quite like a manticore's territory roar – it sounded like a full on lion roar if it was played through a trumpet and the pitched sharpened slightly. There was no time for second guesses, no time for thinking or doubting. Fluttershy hurled herself through the branches as she let her disguise drop. Skidding to a stop in front of manticore, placing herself between him and the ponies while drawing herself to her full height.

"You! This is the third time in as many months." The manticore tried to say something, but the normally shy pegasus took a step forward and he wisely closed his muzzle. "How many times do I have to tell you to let ponies through your territory? They are not going to steal your kills, they don't even eat meat. Now sit down and apologise to the poor ponies."

The manticore whimpered something.

"What was that? I can't hear you."

The manticore repeated his whimper is a slightly louder voice. At Fluttershy's unamused look though, he made a series of whines with the occasional growl and snarl interspaced within it.

"Cut the attitude and this time actually mean it."

Ears drooping, the manticore repeated its whines one last time, but this time the extra snarls and growls were missing. At this point, the others crashed through the trees and the beast was immediately on its feet, muscles tense, but one look at Fluttershy, and it made a low whimpering sound before sitting back down and giving what could only be the manticore equivalent of a smile.

"Now that wasn't so difficult was it?" Fluttershy walked over to the manticore and rubbing him behind the ear. "Now go home and think about what you've done. If this happens again, I'll have to tell your mother, you hear?"

With an almost pitiful nod and whine, the manticore vanished into the forest with only a barely visible limp to testify to the fight that had occurred. Letting out the breath she was unconsciously holding, she turned to face the ponies and instinctively let out a small 'meep' before suddenly vanishing from view as she hid behind the imposing frame of Applejack. Peeking out from behind her friend, she gave a small gasp at the sight of all the ghastly wounds the ponies had sustained. There were broken bones, torn muscles, slashed faces and one pony was already dead on the grass.

Despite the ponies being in full guard armour, despite their obvious weariness and caution, Fluttershy scooped up her dropped box and raced over. "If you've got a minor injury such as bruises or cuts I want you on the left. Middle for broken bones or serious head wounds. Life threatening injuries on the right unless they can't be moved. Dash, I want you to-" Fluttershy's head snapped up from the broken bone she was tending to. "What are you doing here? Wait, Gilda?" She went back to work and before her question had been answered, and before either could speak, she had already moved onto the next patient.

"Heh, I was wondering when you'd notice." Dash quickly picked up a vial of antiseptic. "You'd always get caught up when looking after your animals. See Gilda? I told you, never mess with Fluttershy or she will kick your feathery butt into next week."

"I thought you were just messing with me, but... Dude, I've never seen anyone stare down a manticore before. That was seriously hardcore." At the other gryphon's chuckle, Gilda shot her a death glare. "Oh shut up."

The one winged gryphon ignored her. "My name is Silvia and I have some knowledge in healing magics. If you wish I can assist Element of Kindness."

"Um... could you please help ease that solder's pain? If... if that's alright with you that is."

"But he'll d-"

"I know." One look at those large blue eyes though, and any complaint Silvia might have had died. "Just... please..."

"Alrig-"

" 'Shy, watch out!" yelled Applejack.

The pink maned pegasus looked up even as Applejack raced toward her, but it was too late. The guard was too close, too fast, his hind hooves were already snapping out. A lethal buck to the head. Dash and Gilda had their backs to Fluttershy as they worked on a pony and none of the other guards would be able to reach them in time. And the pegasus herself was far too scared, frozen in place as she watched those hooves close the distance.

Black magic surrounded the earth pony and a blink later, he was slammed into a tree. Before anypony could react, a beam hit the pony and he immediately slumped to the ground. Silence descended over the small group only for it to be broken by a male pony with a dark red coat.

"I apologize most profusely for the actions of my subordinate." He lifted off his helm revealing yellow mane with a single bright red stripe through it. "My name is Corporal Foxtrot and I'd like to personally thank you for taking care of the wounded and chasing away the manticore. Without your help the situation would have been far worse."

"I'm more interested in why you have a sword on your back," interrupted Dash. "It looks so wicked. Hey Gilda, I bet that sword could cleave your puny spear in two."

"Sword? Why the hay do you have a sword?" asked Applejack. "Ponies can't hold 'em and unicorns like ya can use magic. They're for creatures with those whatcha-ma-call-its... fancy, smancy hand-claw thingies."

"No offense, but if I could possibly interrupt," said Fluttershy in her usual whisper, "but there are ponies who need help. Not that the current discussion isn't invigorating and interesting, it's just, that... um... would it be possible to talk and work at the same time? Not to imply you're unable to do it normally, but-"

"Well most ponies think unicorns are useless at close range combat," began Corporal Foxtrot, completely failing to hear Fluttershy as per usual, "so they're taught to get in close and fast. With this though, they're in for a nasty surprise."

There were a couple of snickers from the other guards as he said this, but Fluttershy simply tuned them all out and went back to work. There were more important things than fawning over a piece of metal. Especially one designed to injure ponies. Just the thought of such tools of war existing made her blood boil. If she had her way, all such objects would be melted down and recycled. The pony she was stitching up winced and tensed up as Fluttershy jabbed the needle into his side with just a bit too much force. Tying it off, the yellow pegasus flitted over to her next patient and bandaged up the leg wound in no time while the next patient required some manticore poison antidote and the one after that had a concussion. Within five minutes after first arriving at the scene, Fluttershy reached her last patient.

He was not going to live.

Too much blood had already been lost and that wasn't even factoring the broken ribs or the blood he had coughed up or the blueness around his lips. No matter how you looked at it, he had a punctured lung. Maybe if Fluttershy had a thin knife he might have a chance of survive, but even then, without a proper medical facility his chances of survival was exceptionally low.

"This..." He turned his head to the side, coughing up blood. "Is it isn't it?"

The pink maned pegasus knelt down by the pony as tears leaked down her cheeks, nodding all the while. "I'm... I'm sorry."

The navy blue pegasus below her looked up with dull eyes full of fear. They gazed at each other silently, neither knowing what to say. "I'm scared..." he finally wheezed out.

"Oh no... you shouldn't be scared." Gently, she shifted his head onto her thigh and stroked his pale green mane lovingly. "Death isn't something we should fear. Especially not you." At his inquiring glance, she explained is a soft, yet strong voice, "How many ponies have you saved? How many have you protected? How much good have you done? When you pass over, you'll be able to face Gaia with your head held high. When you see your friends and family again you'll be able to tell them so many tales of your deeds and I just know they'll be so proud of you. And from the great beyond you'll have able to watch your friends and family, to guide them and protect them from harm just like how you do now."

"Yeah... I suppose..." he whispered, "I'm so tired..."

"I'm sorry," Fluttershy choked out between sobs before managing to recover a couple seconds later. Taking a deep breath, she began singing in her softest voice, lulling him off to his final sleep.

Hush now, quiet now

It's time to lay your sleepy head

Hush now, quiet now

It's time to go to bed...

"So let me get this straight, you teleported us from my dungeon to another dungeon?" I gave an experimental tug on the magical leash she had me on.

When I got no reply, I decided to change tactics and channeled my inner Rarity. "You know, this place is absolutely dreadful. It's grey, grey and more grey – absolutely no style at all darling. Why, just imagine what a splash of color could do to liven up this place. Then again, considering the barbarian atmosphere you've cultivated, you'll no doubt ask for something like 'blood red' which has absolutely no-"

At my grating voice she wrapped a chain around my muzzle to stop me from talking. Okay, that was definitely out of character. No yelling, no screaming, no sarcastic reply, no pain. Something was definitely off here and that single thought scared me more than anything else she could have done except smile. I hate that smile. Without words to fill the void, all I could hear were our hoof beats against the cold stone floor, the occasional splash as we stepped in puddles of blood, whimpering, begging, cries of pain and pleads for death.

Wimps.

I had endured torture from Nightmare Moon herself. Did you hear me pleading for death? No. Here was I, standing proud, following my torturer without a second thought, strolling straight into the jaws of certain excruciating pain. My only hope is that none of them were working for my friends and if they were, that they hadn't spilled anything about their location. They better not spill.

Eventually we reached a heavy metal door. Without even breaking stride, she unlocked it and stepped through. It took a couple of minutes for my eyes to adjust to the sudden bright light, but when I did, I gazed upon the scene as dispassionately as I could manage. Before me where six ponies shackled to the wall spread eagled like I was. Two were females, three were pegasi, there was one unicorn and the rest earth ponies. From the looks of things they had been starved, beaten repeatedly and burnt.

To my surprise, Nightmare Moon gave the six ponies a look full of hate and disgust. In fact, her whole body trembled from barely contained emotions. "Twilight Sparkle, you will kill one of these ponies."

I looked up at the knife she hovered in front of me then looked at her as though she was insane. "No."

"If you don't I'll kill them myself." A sadistic grin suddenly spread across her face. "And I will enjoy it more than you can possibly imagine."

My eyes hardened. "No."

Her grin widened and she was almost bouncing on the ground from barely contained glee. "We were hoping you'd say that!"

Before I could blink, four ethereal blades appeared and buried themselves into the nearest pony. One through the throat, a second at his heart, another found his stomach and the last one was lodged between his hind legs. That looked painful and if his echoing screams were anything go by, it was extremely painful. The sound sent shudders down my spine and made my blood turn to ice.

Why are you doing this? Stop it!

I... I had spoken right? I mean, I felt my jaw move, but I didn't hear any of my words. All I could hear was the screams, the begging, the pleading as the pegasus was tortured. I could smell his fur burning, I could see it area around the sword slowly turning black and charring. Why was she doing this? This... this was mindless cruelty.

"You know, you could have prevented this suffering." Somehow, her words managed to slice through the dense wall of sound. I stared at her. That sadistic smile on her face as she twisted the blade creating what was the single most sickening thing I had ever experienced.

"You made a choice and now you will watch the consequences." At her words, I squeezed my eyes shut. If I could foil her plan, even in the most insignificant way possible, I would do it.

"You will open your eyes, or I will remove them." To my chagrin, I immediately opened them again. "Now watch. Watch him or I swear I will remove your eyes and make you eat them."

Unwillingly, I looked back at the pegasus and realized he was no longer screaming. Instead he was lying there completely still except for the occasional spasm, all the while whimpering and begging in a hoarse voice. Had he finally gone into shock? Suddenly, the sword between his legs crystallized and a ragged scream was torn from his throat.

There was torture, and then there was this.

A flicker of light from the ground caught my attention. Glancing down, my eyes widened at the realization that it was the dagger Nightmare Moon had earlier. Yet another feral scream drew my attention back to the poor pony.

I didn't pause to consider what I was doing. I didn't pause to think at all. I scooped up the knife in my jaws, took three steps, jumped and slashed. Blood sprayed over my face, turning my purple fur a deep red. The only sounds were the dripping blood and the knife clattering on the floor. With the sudden silence, the soft sounds were abnormally loud and it echoed in my mind. Stumbling back, I collapsed into the pool of blood.

I... I did the right thing...

Right?

Of course I did! He was going to die either way and now he would no longer have to suffer under Nightmare Moon. By killing him, I saved him from dying a particularly horrifying and pain filled manner. Therefore, my actions are perfectly ethical and are justified.

But...

Looking up at those lifeless eyes really made me question that. No matter how I spun it, no matter how justified I was, I still killed a pony. That was a fact. I, Twilight Sparkle, killed another pony. Did he have children? A wife? Maybe he was a professor on the edge of a miraculous breakthrough destined to change Equestria forever.

No.

I found that part of me that questioned and anguished, and I boxed it up before burying it in the deepest, darkest corner of my mind. My goal was to bring Celestia back and save Equestria. Nothing else matters.

A thought suddenly occurred and I had to fight to keep the smile off my face. It was a losing battle. What started off as smile grew to grin grew to a chuckle to laughter to giggling – mad, insane giggling as I rolled around in the pony's blood. The look of utter surprise and fear on Nightmare Moon's face just made it all the sweeter.

She wanted to break my spirit? Break my morals? Let her. I'll revel in it. After all, what better way to show I'm broken than to act the sociopath? I had to be careful though and balance everything. If everything she's shown me is true, then she doesn't want a psychopath under her rule, she wants somepony to keep her true.

Nonetheless, thank you Nightmare Moon for giving me a way out. If not for you, I'd be stuck in the dungeon for a couple more months probably.

The giggling suddenly stopped and I stood up as though nothing had happened. Turning around slowly, I faced Nightmare Moon with a slight smile on my face –I just couldn't help myself. We gazed at each other for a long time, assessing the situation and reactions.

"Red is not my color."