Stepping out of the lavender portal, I had to admit that despite being created by Nightmare Moon, it was a good spell. Cost less magic than teleporting the same distance, took less concentration and took a bit longer to actually get from place to place, but it was faster than taking a train. Normally I'd have been proud at learning such a complex spell, but this time I felt sick.

"Twilight Sparkle," greeted the nearest pegasus, "let me escort you to the command tent."

Nodding, I followed with Nightwish and Silent Spell on either side. Sure, I wore my cloak to hide the scars, but in this chilly weather it offered a bit of warmth which was better than nothing. As we made our way through the camp, silence followed in our wake until the only sounds were our hoofbeats, the clinking sound of my ceramic scale armor and of my two swords slapping my sides.

"What's your opinion so far?" I asked my companions.

"Ordered, morale's low though. Can't say much without getting a proper look around," supplied Nightwish.

"Very well. Take a fly overhead while we walk and tell me what you see." I could see the guard suppress a snarl at my orders. "And what about you Silent?"

To my surprise, he raised his left foreleg where there was a small blackboard of some kind, managed to nab the piece of chalk strapped to his leg next to it and began writing, all the while keeping pace on three hooves and not looking at where he was going. Once done he raised it up so I could read what he had written, "They've been attacked recently. You can see scorch marks on some of the tents and if you look closely at the wooden crates, there is evidence of shrapnel damage."

Nodding, I turned my attention back to the guard who was busy pretending he wasn't trying to read Silent's note. "Can we hurry this up? I don't have all day."

"Yes ma'am."

"And cut the attitude," I barked. Snorting in frustration, I turned back to the black earth pony who had grin on his face. "Are you laughing at me?"

The grin was replaced by a pair of impossibly large eyes and an innocent little quiver of his lower lip. Resisting the urge to facehoof, I was saved by our escort suddenly stopping. "We're here Lady Sparkle."

"Lieutenant colonel," was my curt reply as I brushed past. One of the few things Shining Armor had taught me about the military was that titles were important as was hierarchy.

Stepping into the room, Silent Spell and Nightwish followed close behind. I didn't bother acknowledging those in the room – not even a nod or glance and when I did look at one of them, I let my gaze slide off as though they were inconsequential. And they were.

"Nightwish, tell me what you found out." I hid a smile at the way the commanders stiffened further if that were possible.

"Camp is well set up, tactically sound and placed on good ground. Terrain is overall flat with no elevated ground and past the town is a pretty dense forest. Village fortifications are pretty strong from what I've seen – reinforced walls, archers, mages and I caught a glimpse of a Wonderbolt uniform as well."

Silent Spell tapped me gently on the shoulder and showed me his writing board. Although there was nothing written down, he had a serious expression on his face and when I glanced up, the twinkle in his eyes told me why. Nodding once with a grim expression on my face, I finally turned around to face the group of ponies before me.

"Here's the deal gentlecolts, Nightmare Moon is not pleased with the progress you have made so far and so she's sent me along to take command and make sure things get done." Pausing, I waited for the pony in charge to cry out and rant, but to my pleasant surprise, there was silence. "Here is what's going to happen, I'm going to go out there, kill as many ponies as I can and then come back so we can all go home. Any questions?"

Silence. I think they were all too busy thinking I was insane to do form any coherent thoughts.

"Do you want us to surround the village so nopony escapes?" asked one of them.

"No. A desperate enemy fights all the harder. Leave the back open so they can get out into the forest and escape that way and no, I don't want any ponies put in there to ambush them. I want them to escape so they can spread the word of what happened here."

"And you plan on doing this all on your own?" said another, clearly lacking faith in my abilities.

"Yes, though I doubt my babysitter here would like that." A snort from Nightwish answered my statement. "But feel free to observe from a safe distance."

"Well stallions, I don't know about you, but I've been camped out here for over a month, harassed continuously and I'm missing my wife. If the mare before us can do what she says I'm all for it and we won't be risking a single life in the process. All in favor?"

Before anypony could voice their opinion, I smirked and said, "You say that as if you can stop me." With those parting words, I swept out of the room and began walking towards Reinsville.

"Just how do you plan on taking on an entire village and surviving?" asked Nightwish. "I know you're powerful, but you're not an alicorn."

"By creating chaos of course. Guards are trained to fight as a cohesive unit with each subunit having a clear purpose within the whole. If I disrupt their purpose, attacking units that by all accounts shouldn't be attacked from angles that shouldn't be possible, it'll confuse them. Furthermore, if I take out the commanders quickly and effectively from the start, it'll reduce their ability to function even further."

As I spoke, I watched as Silent Spell took on the pose of a high class Canterlot snob and trotted forward with his nose up in the air. Then he stood up on his hind legs, mimed sorting a stack of papers on a lectern, adjusted his invisible glasses then he began lecturing to his audience of two all the while keeping that expression on his face.

"Oh har, har, real amusing. I can see now why Nightmare Moon decided to saddle us with you. It's to punish us – a very cruel form of punishment."

Stumbling back, both hooves clasped themselves over his heart before Silent fell backwards with a thump and his tongue lolled out. After a couple seconds of silence, one eye peaked open and I couldn't help, but chuckle at his antics.

"Like I said," commented Nightwish, "if Silent Spell wants you to know something, you'll end up knowing it. Even if that involves a hammer."

"At any rate," I added a glare for emphasis, "Nightwish, you can tag along if you want with a small platoon of pegasi. Silent, I want you to keep a similar sized platoon consisting of unicorns and earth ponies on standby in case I do end up in trouble."

Clearing my throat, I channeled magic through my horn. "Attention Reinsville," with my magically amplified voice, it easily carried, "you have five minutes to surrender or flee. This is your first warning."

Before my voice had finished echoing through the empty plains, a large blue dome appeared around the village. Blinking in surprise, I began trotting towards the shield while I reached out with my magic to assess the shield spell. While it wasn't very complex, the amount of power necessary to form it was impressive though. I could name three other ponies other than myself who could create a spell of this size and two of them were alicorns while the third was my brother. Considering the magical aura was blue not magenta, that ruled out my brother, though he'd probably die of embarrassment to have created such a simple shield spell. He was casting more complex spells when he was thirteen!

Maybe that's what they wanted me to think though. Perhaps it was a super complex spell with multiple facets and layers with a trigger spell hidden somewhere. It was definitely plausible, though constructing something that complex over such a massive area would be exceptionally difficult. Better safe than sorry though.

By the time I had reached the edge of the camp, two minutes had already passed. Slowing to a walk, I let myself catch my breath as I examined the shield from the safe distance. No matter how I probed at it or turned it over in my mind though, the same result always came back – there was absolutely no sort of energy diverter or re-distributer or transformer and the normal cuff links weren't there, instead it was a seemingly random (and highly inefficient) series of cuff links between power nodes. The end result was a tangled mess of links and oddly placed nodes that did not resemble the fine fishing net model drilled into every unicorn foal's brain. Either the pony was a genius or a complete idiot.

"Trixie is on the wall above the main gate. Beside her is Misty from the Wonderbolts while the Streak siblings are with the pegasi and High Winds seems to be in charge of unicorns. They've got archers interspersed on the wall with unicorns scattered throughout as well to cover shield spells if necessary. Reinforcements are within the walls resting," said Nightwish as he landed beside me.

There was a polite tap on my shoulder and looking over my shoulder, Silent first gestured at the ponies gathered behind him before looking up at the moon in an exaggerated manner. Some ponies looked confused, but I got what he was saying.

It was time.

Freeing both blades, I plunged them into the ground before me. Then reaching out with my magic, I located the weak spot in its construction – it was inevitable really considering how unbalanced the power distribution was. Focusing my magic into a single point, I struck. To my surprise, it didn't even waver. The pony was stupid, but strong. Taking a deep breath I struck a second time with triple the power and the entire thing shattered like glass.

With both swords back in hoof, I teleported onto wall. In the split second between me appearing the my telekinetic wave, a look of utter disbelief appeared on Trixie's face. Then the entire section of wall I was standing on was reduced to dust. Ponies flew everywhere, splinters exploded outwards, debris was thrown in all direction. Disappearing, I reappeared beside two unicorns. Two quick slices and a buck later I was on another spot on the wall. Leaving a hole in one pony, I slit the throat of another before unleashing a wave of fire that consumed the wooden structure.

Teleporting, I appeared beside a Wonderbolt. She turned, but it was already too late, her entrails were already all over the floor. Ducking under a buck, I did the same to the pegasus who attacked me while drawing my free sword in a 360 degree arc around my body. Those who were too slow ended up dead. Liquefying the ground beneath their reserves, I vanished once more from sight.

This time I dropped down from the sky, landing hooves first on a flying pegasus. Slamming into the ground, there was a sharp crack as his spine snapped. Throwing my dagger, I took out a second then teleporting, I called it back to me, letting it slice through a third on its return path. All the while, both blades where spinning around me, slicing all those who dared come close.

Disappear, reappear, kill.

It wasn't a fight, it wasn't even a challenge. It was a slaughter. Every time I reappeared at least two ponies would drop dead and with the constant teleporting, the unicorns couldn't get a shot in or protect anyone. With the muddy ground, it was impossible for the earth ponies to get a firm footing. It was chaos. All that were left were the pegasi who I killed without a second thought. A few managed to escape though.

Vanishing once more, I reappeared back in my original position before the camp. Head to hoof I was covered in blood, it flowed through my mane and fur freely. I could taste it on my lips. If somepony was to come along right this moment, they wouldn't see a bookworm, they wouldn't even see a lavender unicorn. What they'd see was a red monster.

I was meant to feel something right? After all, I had just sliced my way through who knows how many pony in a matter of seconds. And yet... There was nothing. In fact, there was pride. I was proud that I could teleport in the middle of a fight. I was proud that my telekinetic wave left a crater on the ground. I was proud that I didn't get a single hoof laid on me. Standing there, I channeled magic into my horn and those around me automatically flinched back. The only one who didn't was Silent Spell who regard me silently.

"This is your second warning, you have five minutes yet again." It was only once I was done with my announcement that I realized I still had a pony impaled on the end of my sword. With a flick, I sent the body tumbling into the pool of blood at my feet. Beside me, Celestia stood there with an encouraging smile on her face.

"None of you foals will move!" My eyes snapped back to the ruined town and there in the gaping hole that used to the front gate stood a blue unicorn in a star spangled hat and cape. A little worse for wear, but nothing serious. "Twilight Sparkle, you think you can get rid of the Great and Powerful Trixie that easily? Anything you can do, Trixie can do better!"

"Scratch that," I said, "you've got however long it takes me to put down this arrogant mare."

Teleporting over, I smirked as my blade descended on her unprotected back. Instead of the cry I was expecting through, my sword passed straight through. Crap. The illusion flickered then exploded. Pain flared through my body as I was overloaded with magic for the first time in months. Struggling onto my hooves, I shook out my fur even as residual magic sparked across my coat. Whether it was the first time or the nth time, it still hurt worse than Tartarus.

I teleported to the right just as a blue ball of magic slammed into my previous position leaving a nice crater. Even fifty feet away I could feel the air crackle with power making my mane stand on end. Standing still was not an option, I kept blinking across the battlefield, staying in the same spot for no longer than a second. Every time a flash went off, I looked for a shadow, a flicker, anything to tell me where the damn invisible unicorn was, but each and every single damn time there was nothing. Occasionally, there'd be a Trixie taunting me in some manner or form. Was it the real one or another illusion?

Didn't matter, this was a battle of endurance. One that I was losing too. Even now, I the dull ache at the base of my horn was making it difficult to concentrate – nothing I couldn't deal with though. If I could go three days without sleep studying for an exam then ace said exam, I could do this.

And then the bombardment stopped. Had she run out of magic or was it a trick? I stood still on the wasted field, letting the breeze catch my cape and mane – eyes constantly scanning as I formulated a plan in my mind. There was no vegetation left, it had been blasted away by Trixie so a pinch of magic to whip up the wind and I had a dust storm on my hands. Then I softened the ground. A bolt of pure magic flew through the air, missing me by so far, a blind unicorn could have done better. If that was the only spell she knew, she'd never win, but she had potential – I'll give her that.

Casting a cloud walking spell, I teleported high up into the air and dispersed the dust storm. Silence descended as she tried to figure out where I went. With the soft ground though, I knew exactly where she was, I could see her hoof prints and I could see the dust clinging to her body. Black claws rose from the ground, clamping around her legs like a vice and dragging her down into the portal below. A flash of white light and the claws turned to dust.

Bolts of lightning rained down, each one deflected by a shield back into the air. Teleporting down, I unleashed a close range blast, sending her through the wall and into the town. Following with a wave of fire I reappeared on the opposite side of town and sent a wave of water from the other side. The two slammed together in the centre of town. Containing the superheated steam with a forcefield, I began compressing it all.

She'd survive, I knew she would.

Something pushed back, then before I knew what happened, the shield shattered. The steam was whipped into the air and there at the centre of it all was a certain blue unicorn. One leg was broken, there was burnt fur everywhere and she was swaying on her feet, but even as I watched, magic was dancing over her body, healing the worst injuries.

She was almost perfect. Flawed, but close to perfect.

"I've had fun, but it's time to end this."

I liquefied the ground and then re-solidified it, trapping her hooves. Pouring my magic into a single point, I teleported next to her in a flash of lightning, destroying her hastily constructed barrier. Following with a wave of magic, her hooves were ripped from the ground and thrown into the large building. A short sword followed her prone body, imbedding itself next to her head. Channeling magic through the blade, an explosion tore through the building, completely destroying the foundations. The entire building collapsed.

Then using my sword as an anchor, I found myself next to an unconscious Trixie with a magenta barrier protecting us from imminent death. Taking a deep breath, I felt deep into my body and there at my centre I could feel a warmth. A warmth that reminded me of finishing a good book or making a magical discovery or getting that A++ on a test. A warmth reminiscent of Princess Celestia.

Drawing it out, the Element of Magic shone before my eyes and with a parting kiss on the gem, I floated it down to lie on Trixie's chest. Making sure to magically chain the two together, I opened a portal beneath her and sent her to the place where it all began – The Castle of the Two Pony Sisters. Some part of me felt as though I should say something, some sort of explanation for my actions even if she'd never hear me. It was silly and doing so would get me killed, but the temptation was still there.

Was she the right choice? I don't know, I certainly hope so.

For good measure I gathered up my magic and reduced the rubble bearing down on my shield to ash. Make it flashy and make it over the top. I stood there, any sign of the building had been reduced to microscopic particles. Turning around, I regarded the remaining ponies as I hefted my two swords. With the adrenaline receding, the mere act of picking up my weapons made me whimper in pain, but I had to do this. I had to see this through to the end.

I caught Phantom Celestia smiling at me in that loving way of hers as she stood in the entrails of a Wonderbolt. Am I a good pony? Are you proud of me? For you Princess, everything I do is always for you. I turned back those watching me in an awed and disgusted silence.

"Time's up."

Let the slaughter commence.

"I- I'm telling the truth!" The royal purple unicorn pleaded with desperation in his eyes. "I don't work for Nightmare Moon, please you've got to believe me."

Tilting her stetson back, Applejack chewed on the piece of hay between her teeth. Then ever so slowly, she leaned forward in her chair and tilted his head up so that she was looking him straight in the eye. His entire body locked in place and his pupils constricted to pinpricks. Pushing forward with her mind, she smashed through any sort of mental barrier he had and gazed directly into his mind. After a couple of seconds rummaging around and peering into closest nopony should peer into, Applejack leaned back in her chair and took a sip of water. Holding his gaze for a couple more seconds, she finally looked off to the side and he collapsed onto the ground, limbs trembling so much he could barely stand.

"Th- Th- That was mind magic." He scrambled back until his back was to the wall and still he tried to get away. "It's illegal! And you're an earth pony..." The fear came back stronger than ever, it rolled off him in waves. "What... what are you?"

"Mind magic huh?" Applejack glanced over at Echo who made a point of looking at her muzzle rather her eyes. "Ah'll have ta ask ya about that later then when we're not busy."

"Sure," was his stiff reply.

"Now, about you." Her gaze swung back to the unicorn who flinched back as though struck. "Tell me Pumpkin..." He flinched as his real name was used rather than one he had given. "Why do you work for Nightmare Moon?"

"I told you I-"

"Lies!" roared Applejack. "That is a lie. The 'family' ya came with is a lie. The only truth ya've told us is that you came from Canterlot!" Her hoof slammed into the wall next to his head leaving an indent. "Ah'll ask one. Last. Time. Why?"

"If I tell you she'll kill me."

"If you don't, Applejack will," remarked Echo with a shrug. "Don't think she won't. After all, we have to keep this a place a secret and it's not like we have a dungeon or anything."

While it wasn't technically a lie, Applejack still had to bite her tongue to stop herself from objecting at what Echo had said. She knew why it was done, but it just didn't sit right with her – after all, she was the Element of Honesty. Turning back to Pumpkin though, she knew it had worked. This time she didn't even bother asking a question, the farm pony merely cocked an eyebrow and the unicorn shrunk into the ground.

"I... um... I need the job... With all the riots and the occasional fighting going on, taxes have gone way up and I'm having to work two jobs to support my family. She offered enough money that I wouldn't have to work another year if I managed to give her one more piece of legit intel and well..." He rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly before looking up with big watery eyes. "Please don't kill me?"

Before Applejack could reply though, the door opened and in strolled Flutter confident as can be. The earth pony regarded her close friend silently, eyes raking over every inch of her friends body and then looking up, their eyes met. There was no fear in those cyan eyes of hers, only defiance and curiosity.

Then she sat stood next to the cowering pony and gave him a smile that reminded Applejack far too much of a predators grin before speaking in that soft voice of hers, "If you could fight against Nightmare Moon without endangering your family, would you?"

"Of course!"

"That's what I thought..." Closing her eyes for a second, she thought for a second. "Applejack was he telling the truth?"

"Of course."

"Hm..." Opening both eyes, Flutter licked her dry lips. "Echo, you may leave us."

"Yes general."

Once the door was shut behind him, the now pink pegasus regarded Pumpkin silently. "If you want to live, you'll work for us."

"What!" Applejack grabbed Flutter by the shoulder and dragged her outside, slamming the door behind her. "What do ya think you're doing?"

"Getting us spies," she replied with a hiss. "My animal friends do wonders, but they can't read writing, don't have the best vocabulary, can't carry messages without attracting attention and some things should not be written down. Foxtrot is starting to get jumpy and fears for his cover, and we can't risk him recruiting guards. One wrong move and our only asset within the military is lost."

"An asset? Is that all ya think of him as? And what about threatening Pumpkin's life?"

"Like I said, we need more spies and I was going to suggest we move his family to a safe location in return." With a toss of her mane, Fluttershy strolled back into the room while casually saying over her shoulder, "Plus, it's the right thing to do. For Equestria and for Celestia remember?"

All Applejack could do was stand there and stare as the door swung close. Not once did she detect a hint of lying in her friend's words and the casual way Flutter spoke was chilling. What happened the sweet demure pegasus who practically oozed adorableness ? With a sigh, Applejack began walking down the hall with her hooves dragging along the ground. Had they changed that much since this all began? Twilight had, there was no doubt about that and so had Fluttershy, but she was still Applejack right? Still the dependable earth pony who could be counted on no matter what the task was. Rainbow Dash was still be the lazy, yet brilliant pegasus who somehow manages to get everything done despite always napping and Rarity was still the fussy frou-frou mare who could never get her hooves dirty. Pinkie was still as insane as always and despite the changes, Fluttershy still cared for everything.

Another sigh escaped. Looking up, the pony walking towards her immediately averted her gaze and stepped out of the way. With a frown, Applejack glanced over at the stallion walking next to the mare and he too looked away, but a second too late. One look. That's all she needed. A single look and she knew he was unfaithful.

"Ah suggest ya ask him about a mare called Starshine," said Applejack as she walked past the couple.

The resulting slap echoed through the tunnel like a firework going off and the following hasty explanations from the male set the orange earth pony's blood on fire. Without even looking backwards, she called out, "Lies. They're all lies."

A second slap echoed through the hall quickly followed by stomping hooves. All around her, looks of fear were exchanged and every time Applejack so much as flicked her eyes in their direction, they shrunk back or looked away. With a barely hidden snarl, Applejack began making her way to the sparring grounds to work off some steam. With each step she took though, the annoyance grew until it was full blown anger. It didn't matter where she went or who she looked at, every single last one of them avoided her gaze like the plague and more than once hushed whispers reached her ears.

Storming through the door, she slammed into Gilda and the two tumbled to the ground. With a groan, Applejack picked herself up from the ground and offered a hoof to Gilda. "Sorry about that sugarcube."

Ignoring the outstretched hoof, Gilda scrambled back into her feet and looked down at the match going on. "Not now, this fight is awesome."

"Okay...?"

Squeezing next to her, Applejack looked down and blinked in surprise. It was Spitfire against Lyra. Lyra of all ponies. And yet when Applejack looked around the hall, everypony was watching in absolute silence. A sudden cheer went up and her eyes snapped back to the action.

There, in the centre was Lyra, stumbling back on her hind hooves. Spitfire immediately moved in for the kill, but instead of dropping onto all four, the mint unicorn managed to stay upright. Pivoting on one leg, she blocked the blow while her hind hoof came up in an arc. Even Applejack winced as it drove into Spitfire's muzzle sending her sprawling onto the floor.

Complete and utter silence filled the air.

Then with a deliberate slowness, Lyra bought her hoof to the ground so she was standing on two legs and then in a final act of defiance began walking. On two legs. Her hind legs. Not only had she managed to stay balanced on one hoof (which by all accounts was impossible), she was now strolling calmly over to Spitfire on two legs (yet another impossibility – not that it meant much by this stage).

Eventually Spitfire managed to beak the silence. "Where in Equestria did you learn to stand on two legs and balance on one?"

Everypony leaned in to hear the reply.

"Oh! Well there used to be these creatures called humans." At the stumped expressions, she smiled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her neck. "Bonnie doesn't like me talking about them, but they're these... er... Imagine a diamond dog, now imagine them furless and with a flat face. They had all sorts of cool stuff like hands! Oh Celestia, you have no clue how awesome hands are. Anyways, they always walked around on two legs so... I... er... why are you looking at me like that?"

"Lyra?"

"Yeah?"

"Congrats, you're my new apprentice." Spitfire looked up at the crowd that had gathered. "All of you! Two hundred pushups. Now!" With a groan and mumble, everypony complied.

Applejack turned to face Gilda. "You. Me. Sparring. Now."

"Someone's in a bad mood. Hope you can handle me."

"That was mah line."

Bang!

Pinkie jolted up in bed only for her vision to swim and a second later she collapsed back into the bed with a pained grunt. Owwwww, what happened last night? Must have been one heck of a party. Rolling out of bed, she dropped onto the wooden floor causing pain to shoot through her body. A small whimper escaping, Pinkie curled up into a ball focusing on happy thoughts. Pain wasn't a foreign concept to her, after all, working with experimental machinery was a dangerous business.

After a couple of minutes, she slowly uncurled herself and began examining her body. There were scratches and bruises all over her body, her left forehoof was heavily bandaged up and there was even more around her torso to the point it could have mummified three ponies no problem. Tapping her hoof against the bed, she blinked in surprise. A couple more taps and she began to giggle. It was numb! Completely and utterly numb. It was such a weird and random feeling that she couldn't help, but lick her hoof. Still nothing. So she began nibbling on it because what else is a pony to do?

The door suddenly opened and there stood a colt with a completely confused expression on his face.

"Hello!" Pinkie was suddenly before him. "I'm Pinkie Pie, what's your name! Hm... Is it Star Chaser? Sunshine? Lollipops? Oh! Oh! I know, iiiiiiit's Blue Berry Muffin Super Deluxe! Am I right? Huh, huh, huh?"

"Er... Um..." He looked over his shoulder. "Captain, are you certain she's dangerous?"

Ice filled her veins. Everything that happened last night returned in a flash and she knew, just knew that thanks to her Vinyl and her friend were now in trouble. They were going to take them in and... and...

"Torture them," supplied Pinkamina. "But that doesn't have to be the case. Let me help."

Before Pinkie could even think of a reply, pink magic enveloped her and she was dragged into the room. Hoofcuffs were immediately snapped around her ankles, but she didn't care about that, she didn't even see the commander in charge. All she could see was Vinyl and the grey earth pony. All she could see were the bruises, the cracked lips, the blood stained coat and the singed fur.

For the first time in her life, Pinkie felt anger. Proper, full blow, Pinkie Smash anger. But at the same time, she felt shame and guilt because she knew no matter how angry she got, how much she wanted to hurt some pony, she could never do it. To deliberately give into the anger was to cause pain and tears was something she'd never forgive herself for.

"The let me," purred Pinkamina. "If you don't they'll be taken in, they'll be tortured, you'll be executed and Equestria will go to Tartarus. Let me. Unless you plan on doing it yourself..."

Pinkie hesitated.

"Alright boys, lets drag them back to Canterlot, Nightmare Moon has been after this one for a long time." She paused for a second. "But I suppose we can work off our frustrations first. After all, they would obviously put up a struggle right."

"Pinkamina?" There a coldness in Pinkie's words that would have made Nightmare Moon pause. "Could you..."

"I thought you'd never ask."

Taking her first breath in the real world, a shiver ran through Pinkamina. The cold metal bit into her legs, but she didn't mind, it was a constant reminder that this was the real world – a world she had only seen in Pinkie's memories. Her pink tongue darted out, licking her lips and a small moan escaped as she felt on the guards brush up against her. Just the feeling of fur on fur was so... so... exquisite. And then they brushed up against her again and this time it tickled her nose, forcing a small and totally adorable sneeze to escape. At the sensation and happily little giggle escaped. It was just all so weird and wonderful.

"Sir, I think she's gone insane."

Oh right, the guards. The pink pony looked over her shoulder at the guard standing there before glancing around the room, taking in every single last detail. Blowing a lock of flat hair out of her eyes, she grinned over the captain.

"My name's Pinkamina, what's yours?" she said in an all too pleasant and all too soft voice, "You know, just so I can-"

All of a sudden she was on her back hooves, elbow driving into the guard behind her. Then reaching over her shoulder, she wrapped the chains around his neck and using her body as a pivot point, threw him at the unicorn. Using the momentum to carry her forward into a roll, she stood up and rammed her head into pegasus before her. Turning on one foot, she blocked the first hit while the second slammed into her stomach. A happy little giggle escaped as she felt pain travel through her body. It was such an interesting feeling, such a wonderful one – just the way it snapped everything into perspective all at once. Her countering buck snapped the guard's head back to an impossible angle.

Turning around, she regarded the unicorn under the first pony she attacked. "-you know, write it on your tombstone."

Dropping onto all fours, she began trotting forward. A bolt of fire grazed her shoulder and her grin only became wider at the feeling. She knew pain, she understood it, Pinkie gave all her pain to Pinkamina and she reveled in it. Scooping up a piece of shattered glass, she easily sidestepped the next blast of magic and leapt in. The glass shard imbedded itself in the unicorn's neck and with a jerk of her head, the glass came free as did the torrent of blood. It sprayed over her face, her chest, the created valleys in her fur and coated her mane. Pinkamina bathed in it. Lips parting, she took a lick of her lips and a groan echoed around the room as her eyes fluttered. It was like nothing she had tasted before though technically she hadn't tasted anything before.

"P- P- Pinkie?"

The party pony whirled around with a snarl. "The name's Pinkamina! Pinkie is just a party pooper."

At Vinyl's flinch, the earth pony suddenly flung herself forward, tackling her unicorn friend and snuggling close, purrs escaping with every single nuzzle. No wonder Pinkie loved hugs, they were just so... so... so damn nice. It was like electricity was flowing through her blood. Just that feeling of her coarse fur rubbing against her own, the way Pinkamina could feel the others heart beat and how Vinyl's warmth was enough to banish even the coldest of nights.

"You know Vee, we never got around to enjoying that night a couple months back..." whispered Pinkamina in a seductive voice.

"Wha- What!?" The white mare began to struggle, but it was useless. "I don't know what you're talking about. Octy, I have no clue what she's talking about. Honest."

"Oh don't be like that." A hoof was trailed down Vinyl's chest. "Plus, maybe... Octy was it? Maybe she'd like to join in." A little giggle escaped. "I've never done it before you know and I'm... curious. This is my first time living you know and I want to experience everything. Every. Last. Thing."

"How about getting drunk?"

"Vinyl!" exclaimed Octavia, but she was quickly forgotten as a pair of pink ears perked up at the name of the forbidden drink.

"Hm... That depends, got Apple Cider?"

"I think so?"

Pinkamina was sudden on her hooves. "Drink it is then!"

"Um..." Octavia's eyes darted over to the dead bodies then back to Pinkamina. "Maybe we should clean up first?"

"Oh. Right." With a sigh, Pinkamina brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes and trotted over the captain. Each step pained her, but it was a mere reminder of what she had gained and what she was never going to give up ever again. "I never did get your name you know, but I've got to thank you. If you hadn't been such a stupid sadistic jerk, Pinkie would never have handed control over so easily."

"Are you sure about this?"

"Of course I am, it has to be done and... and it was Celestia's last task you know. It was the final mission she gave me."

"But... It's Tartarus."

"I know."

"Tartarus."

"Were you expecting creepy music to accompany the announcement that time?"

"No, but... Come on, please, this is insane. You need at least fifty ponies with you!"

"I've got you."

"I'm just one pony."

"Your my pony though. My knight in shining armor."

"Cadence..."

"Please Dearheart, this has to be done, you know it does."

"I wish I knew, but you won't tell me anything!"

"..."

"I'll follow you though. I'd follow you till the ends of the earth. You do realize that when most ponies say they'll follow a mare to Tartarus and back, they don't mean it literally right?"

"Good thing you're not most ponies then."

"Cadence I-"

"Shhhh, quiet my love, we'll be fine. Have faith."

"I always do. Now, I believe we were about to do something totally reckless and insane?"

"That we were... that we were..."

"Well in that case, high ho Cadence, away!"

"... Sometimes I really wonder how I fell in love with you."