“Do you understand how much trouble you’re in?!”

A hand slapped down on a table in front of Trixie, startling her as a hostile royal guard stood over her. After she, Coco, and Lyra had been arrested, the three of them had been taken to a holding cell with many other members of the support group. One by one they were taken into a seperate room and interrogated, and now it was Trixie’s turn.

“Inciting a riot, endangering the lives of ponies, assaulting a princess. These are serious crimes, and if you don’t tell us which of your little group did it, then we’ll just have to bring you all in.”

At that moment, Trixie was in the accompaniment of two guards. A stallion baring down over her, bringing up unpleasant memories of when other stallions did the same while raping her, and a mare who was quietly watching from across the table. Trixie herself was handcuffed to a chair, a magic binding ring on her horn, which was something Trixie particularly disliked, due to her wanting to practice with her magic that had just returned to her.

“Aren’t you going to do something about this?” Trixie said to the female guard, “This has to breach some sort of mare treatment policy.”

“Miss Lunamoon,” the guard mare said, “While my partner here is being aggressive with you, it’s necessary to apprehend the member of your group who attacked Celestia. Believe me, I don’t like it myself, but this can all be avoided if you’d just point out who it is. If you are cooperative you could be out of here in twenty minutes, but otherwise we will just have to assume that you were the one who did it.”

“Then you should at least remind him that Celestia isn’t a princess anymore. She stepped down, if you remember.” Before entering, one of the other girls that went in ahead of the rest gave a few of the others a heads up on how the guards were acting, and how to respond if they turned confrontational, “Throwing a tomato at someone isn’t exactly a serious crime.”

“Is that a confession?” the stallion asked, glaring at the mare as if she had some sin against him, when it was very likely that he had done just that to her during the Fall, seeing how many stallions used her body during that time.

“No, it’s me sympathizing with the pony who did.” Trixie stated, “They didn’t really do anything but show that they disagreed with a mare who betrayed Equestria.”

“You know that’s not true,” said the guard mare, “Celestia was brainwashed by the Crystal Heart.”

“Was she?” Trixie retorted, “Because I think Carrot Top made some pretty good points.”

“Carrot Top,” the mare repeated, “That’s… the one who was arguing with Twilight and Celestia before, right?”

“Yeah,” Trixie confirmed, knowing that Carrot Top was in no position to be blamed for throwing the piece of fruit at Celestia, having all eyes on her at the moment of its tossing, “And she’s right. We have no way of telling if Celestia, Twilight, or Cadence were brainwashed or not, and if they betrayed us once, they could easily betray us again.”

“Celestia wouldn’t do that.” said the male guard, certain of the former princess’ loyalty to Equestria. “And we’re the ones asking the questions here.”

Trixie just shifted her an eyebrow upwards as she gave the stallion a speculative sideways glance, “I don’t think so. You’re so insistent that Celestia didn’t betray Equestria of her own choice, but can you prove that?”

“I’ve served under Celestia for years, and she would never do something that would make the citizens of her kingdom miserable.”

“I bet you could say that about lots of mares who turned out to be willing red collars.” Trixie replied, “Have you ever considered that you might be wrong, and that all three of the red collared princesses might have given themselves up willingly. You can’t deny it’s possible after somepony witnessed Twilight doing it.”

“That could have just been a misunderstanding,” answered the mare, “The Fall was a confusing time, and it’s very likely that what your friend saw wasn’t what really happened.”

“So I just have to take your word that the ponies who have a hand running Equestria won’t hand us over to some other threat the next time it’s convenient for them, instead of listening to a mare who saw what happened first-hand?”

The guard mare wanted to dispute Trixie’s assertions, but she couldn’t do so without second-guessing what she might say in the defense of the alicorns. She wanted to believe that at the very least Celestia’s brainwashing was true, because she too had served the princess long enough to know the white alicorn would never do anything to harm those she ruled over. That was difficult though, as being a royal guard mare, she had been a prisoner within the castle when Dainn was king, and thus a witness by proxy to Celestia’s transformation from proud princess to submissive slave.

For the first few months, the princess of the sun was a black collar who resisted every sexual act inflicted upon her regal form. Yet, over time that changed to her being lead through the halls of the castle by one of Dainn’s council, crawling on hands and knees with her tongue hanging out her smiling mouth, happily wagging her tail, with a red collar secured around her throat. From that day forward, Celestia acted as the caribou wanted, all the way to her memory erasure, never once showing signs of reluctance or remorse. Of course, that all could be explained if she was indeed brainwashed, but having seen that transformation did give the mare some reason to doubt, and thus no real footing when it came to debating with the blue unicorn across from her.

“This is getting us nowhere,” the guardmare said instead, relenting that her opinion on the matter was not sufficient enough to dispute Trixie’s conclusions, “You can believe whatever you want about the alicorns, but the real matter at hand is that someone in your group endangered the lives of hundreds of ponies based on a petty act. If it had just been that someone threw a piece of rotten fruit at Celestia, it might not have been seen as that serious, but doing that in a public area, in the social climate we are in, was reckless and irresponsible. It’s because for that reason that we have to bring them in. Do you understand that?”

Trixie did understand that, but she really didn’t know who attacked Celestia in the first place. All she knew was that it was a mare, and that was just because Coco told her. The only reason she was so difficult with the guards was because she didn’t want to be the reason anyone from her group got in trouble, and was a little afraid that if that happened, she might get kicked out of her current place of residence, as Sunset Shimmer certainly would not be happy with her if she was the cause of something like that.

“So let's start from the beginning…” The guard mare said, wanting to try one last chance to crack under the pressure, “Ponies have testified that somepony wearing one of those handkerchiefs you have around your neck threw the tomato. We caught you trying to escape the castle with two other mares. You claimed that neither of them were responsible, and that you didn’t do it yourself, but then who was respo-?”

The door to the interrogation room opened, and a third pony wearing a guard uniform entered the room, that pony being Flash Sentry. “You have to let this unicorn go.” he stated as he held the door open.

The other stallion turned to Flash, giving him a small salute in recognition of his status as committee member, before asking the first question that came to mind, “Have we found the perpetrator?”

“Yeah, they turned themselves in a few minutes ago.” Flash said, before turning his attention to Trixie. “Apparently, they managed to slip through security during the panic, but your group’s leader convinced them to turn themselves in and face the consequences of his actions. She’s currently waiting for the release of the rest of you in the lobby.”

Trixie was a bit surprised, hearing that Sunset Shimmer had come and fixed the situation so quickly, and that she was currently in the building. With Sunset not having come to public announcement, Trixie was sure that she had gone off to do something important that would take up a good portion of the day, if not all of it. With her here, not only was Trixie being released immediately, but everything was being resolved neatly, without so much of a wasted word or gesture.

“Then if you’re not holding me any longer, get this ring off my horn.”

Moments later, Trixie was being escorted out of the guard station, liberated from her bonds as she had requested. With her horn freed, the first thing she tried to do was activate it again as she did in the castle courtyard, but the second the horn lit up, she was asked not to cast spells in the guard station, for obvious security reasons.

The blue unicorn reluctantly complied, but then rushed her way to the door, wanting to once more use her magic like she did in the times before the caribou. She was excited, even for the slight bit of magical sparks she could produce, and wanted to get outside as quickly as possible in order to see how much of her old talents she could recover. However, she was reminded upon reaching the lobby that she wasn’t here by herself, and herself, and that someone was waiting on her, that someone being a yellow unicorn with fiery hair.

“Trixie, I’m glad to see you’re ok.” Sunset Shimmer said, walking up to her fellow unicorn, “These ponies didn’t do anything to frighten you, did they?”

“No, I’m ok,” Trixie replied, easing the concerns of the other mare, “I just want to get out of here as soon as possible.”

“Then allow me to walk you out,” said Sunset, taking Trixie by the arm, “The others are already outside waiting for us.”

“Sunset, wait!” yelled Flash Sentry, “We still have questions for you.”

“Questions for me?” Sunset replied, looking over her shoulder as she spoke, not stopping for a second on her way out, “I’m flattered, Flash, but if you’re looking for a date then I’m all booked up. Get a hold of my assistant, and perhaps she can squeeze you in some-.”

“Sunset Shimmer!” A loud voice boomed through the guard station, one carrying with it a power and authority that any pony in Equestria would recognize, that being the voice of the former alicorn princess.

While Sunset wouldn’t stop for Flash Sentry, Celestia had enough pull with her to give the unicorn pause. So with a soft sigh, she turned around to face her former mentor. “Celestia, I wasn’t expecting to see you here. What a pleasant surprise.”

By the time Sunset had turned around, Celestia had stood herself beside Flash Sentry, an unamused expression on her face.

“Wait here a moment, Trixie,” Sunset said as she went to speak with the alicorn, “This won’t take long.”

“You shouldn’t say things that you know aren’t true,” said Celestia, “You have a lot to answer for.”

“I do?” Sunset said curiously, “I thought all your questions were answered. You got the stallion who started the riot, what more could you want?”

Stallion? Trixie thought to herself, That’s not right… Coco said that it was a mare from her group who caused the riot.

“Did you send that unicorn here to pelt me today?” Celestia asked, completely serious in tone.

Sunset scoffed a little, “Is that what you think I’m doing with my time? Planning petty acts to do to you when Equestria is in the state it is?”

“I don’t believe that’s what you’d do, but several of your group said that they only came today because you told them to be here.”

“Of course I told them to be here,” Sunset answered, “I feel that every member of my support group should be aware of the current policies of our kingdom, so they can be informed on what decisions their leaders are making for them. I would have been here myself if not for a prior arrangement I had to attend.”

“Sunset…” Celesita said, visibly disheartened by the attitude of the other mare.

“If you think I planned all this, let me remind you that only one of them threw something at you. It’s not my fault if you or your other student said something that they found offensive.”

“If I felt that was all this was, then I wouldn’t be nearly as upset as I am at the moment.” Celestia explained, “I know you and I have had our differences in opinions, both before and after the Fall, but I made you a member of the committee because I had faith in your abilities. When you left, it felt like you took whatever hope I had for you and smashed it on the floor.”

“We’ve discussed this before,” Sunset replied, “I didn’t agree with the choices your committee was making, nor did I think they were repairing Equestria at a reasonable pace. I left so I could help ponies in ways your committee never could.”

Celestia looked away from her former student for a second, her sternness briefly giving way to dejection.

“I wish that we could have seen things on more even terms, but you always felt that you didn’t need to follow my plans for you in order to succeed. If you truly are trying to help the ponies of Equestria, then I understand, but please don’t guide them towards hate.”

“Trust me, I don’t need to guide them to that.” Sunset replied, “The caribou have already brought them to that point. All I can do now is help them find ways to deal with it.”

“Constructive ways, I’m hoping.” said Celestia, the look on her face making it hard to decern wether she believed Sunset was being sincere or not.

“Is that all then?” Sunset asked.

“Not quite…” Celestia answered, “Considering that nopony got seriously hurt, the intent of the stallion to only attack me, and your contributions to the resistance against the caribou, I have talked with the committee and had them drop the charges.”

“Oh, how gracious of-.”

“With the stipulation that you and your group are aware that this leniency will not be repeated. Next time, whoever decides to cause a riot or do some act hostile against another pony will be arrested and held to the full extent of the laws. Are we clear?”

Sunset smiled, “Crystal.”

“Good, then please-”

Suddenly, the entrance to the guard station flew open, and a panicked and exhausted royal pegasus guard flew into the room. “Princess Celestia! Flash Sentry! Thank Equestria you’re here!”

“Wait a second,” Flash Sentry said, catching the pegasus as he practically crashed into the two. He gave the armored pony a moment to catch his breath, “Okay, now tell us what’s going on.”

As the pegasus rested, he took note that civilians were present, as he knew that the information he had was not something they should hear. However, he also needed to make Celestia and Flash aware of what happened immediately.

“It’s that special assignment the committee sent us on this morning.” the guard said, standing himself upright, “Something happened to it, something dire.”

Celestia and Flash instantly understood what he was referring to, and fear grew in their hearts as the news set in that something had gone wrong with it.

“The other guards are trying to fix the situation right now, but we were deterred for hours.”

“Did you get a good look at who did this?” Flash said, forgoing all subtlety, wanting an answer now, and hoping that the answer would be yes.

“Sorry, but no.” replied the guard, “They kept themselves concealed, but all accounts from those who caught a glimpse of them say that they were ponies.”

“Is something wrong, Celestia?” Sunset said, butting in, “Sounds like you’re in trouble. Do you need some help with what this guard is talking about?”

“Thank you, Sunset, but that won’t be necessary,” Celestia replied, as this was a matter for the Committee to deal with, and Sunset was no longer part of it, “But don’t leave yet. We’ll be releasing that stallion we were talking about soon, and I would like for you to escort him out of Canterlot and back to his home.”

“Very well,” said Sunset, accepting Celestia’s request, “I’ll be waiting for him outside. Just send him that way when you’re done with him.”

With that, Sunset made her way to the exit, with Trixie following right behind her. Celestia, on the other hand, stood and watched the mare until she was completely out of sight, not sure how to take this current version of her former student.

The two of them had always had different views on things, originally splitting ways when Sunset expressed a desire to use her power to rule over ponies with absolute authority. When Celestia refused her, she fled Canterlot and went into hiding. This eventually turned out to be a good thing, as during the Fall, Sunset was able to evade the caribou and started her own resistance group against them, successfully liberating and hiding away many mares from the oppressors until Dainn was slain.

Celestia had hoped that this position of responsibility would have given Sunset the proper perspective that a leader should have, and while it certainly seemed to change the mare from caring only about personal power, it appeared that she still believed that her methods were what was best for Equestria.

“Are you okay, Celestia?” Flash asked the alicorn, seeing her frustration, believing it came from seeing Sunset more than it did the bad news guard had brought, terrible as it was.

“I’m fine,” answered Celestia, “We have bigger problems to deal with than her right now. Guardsman, tell us exactly where your squad is, and when this happened.”

As Celestia went off to fix the new dilemma the guard presented her with, Sunset Shimmer and Trixie rejoined with those other members of ‘Mares for a Better Equestria’ who hadn’t managed to slip past the guards during the riot.

Sunset explained to all the others of their group what was going on, as many were still unaware that someone had turned themself in. Trixie, knowing most of what was going on already, slipped away around a corner, secluding herself just out of sight from the others. This was the first moment since being arrested that she was able to use her horn without interferance, and she desperately wanted to see if her magic had truly returned.

Concentrating, focused only on casting a spell, any spell, she tried to remember what it was like prior to her horn’s severing. It was hard, incredibly so, but with a small amount of effort, she managed to get her horn to glow. It wasn’t much, the most basic of skills a unicorn could perform, but it was more than the unicorn had been able to do in some time. She had to continue, so she directed her focus on some small rocks on the ground, trying her best to get the light pieces of rock to move.

Getting her horn to glow with magic was the most basic of techniques, the catalyst to all unicorn magic, but of all spells known by creatures of Equestria, moving something with only your magic was perhaps the simplest. It was such an easy spell that it was more than likely the first one any unicorn learned, and most other magically adept creatures were capable of learning it as well. With her horn reactivated, if there was any spell that Trixie should have been able to perform, it should have been this one.

It took a minute or two, but the unicorn managed to envelop the pebbles with her magical aura. That alone didn’t make Trixie happy, though. To be satisfied with herself, she would need to move the rocks off the ground, which was proving to be a bit more challenging. She could make them shudder on the dirt, and - with a little more force of will - could even roll them around with a mental push, but lifting something even as small as those tiny bits of matter felt near impossible. That didn’t stop Trixie from making more and more attempts, by each one was met with the same results.

“There you are,” said Sunset Shimmer, catching Trixie in the middle of her private practice, “Oh, and I see that Lyra was right. She told me that you said something about your magic returning.”

Trixie didn’t reply, hardly noticing Sunset while her mind was directed only to the use of her magic on the stones. Sunset, seeing that Trixie was trying to relearn the levitation spell, patiently allowed Trixie to make an attempt, but in the end the blue unicorn was left fatigued from overusing her horn.

“Not a bad try,” Sunset said, commending Trixie for her effort.

“Please, don’t patronize me,” said Trixie, fully aware that this spell was so easy a blank flank could do it.

“Well, you still need work,” Sunset admitted, “But the fact that you have the ability to cast spells at all is an improvement. There are still mares out there who are too stunted to do even that.”

Trixie could appreciate what the yellow unicorn was trying to say, but right now, she didn’t care about the progress of other ponies. She was only concerned with why her horn was continuing to fail her.

“You know, you were putting quite a bit of stress on your horn the way you were trying to levitate those stones.” Sunset commented, “Far more than normal for a spell like that. If you ask me, that was part of the problem. You’re trying too hard because part of you still thinks that you’re not able to do this.”

“But…” Trixie tried to rebut.

Sunset wasn’t going to let her though, and stopped her by saying, “Didn’t I hear that you knocked one of the guard stallions flat during the riot, with a blast of concussive magic? That’s not easy to do, and, from my point of view, says you have a lot of magic potential.”

“You… really think so? I mean, I didn’t do that on purpose, not that I wanted to.”

“No, no, I understand.” Sunset assured, “It was a matter of self defense, and a mare is allowed to protect themselves however they see fit if they feel they are in danger. The point is that you have more magical power inside you than you assume, and trying to force it all out for a spell so minor is going to cause it to fail, one way or another.”

“Then what should I do?” Trixie asked, “Magic is the one thing in my life that I know will make me happy, and I can barely use it.”

“Hmm…” Sunset put a hand to her chin, thinking about the problem deeply, “Well, let me ask you this. When you were a filly, did you put that much effort into learning to levitate things?”

“Well… no.” Trixie replied. Levitation was something that came fairly naturally to her when she was younger.

Her parents used to tell her that when she was a foal, she would levitate things all the time, from spoons, to toys, to random objects around the house that were light enough for her to carry with her magic. This wasn’t particularly abnormal for foals under a year old, but what was odd was that it never stopped. Most unicorn foals would reach a period where they’d go from wildly casting random spells to being unable to cast any at all, having to relearn the skill around the time they’d get their cutie mark, but Trixie could levitate things for as long as she could recall. In a sense, she was a prodigy of the levitation arts, despite her talents never going further than manipulating light objects.

Of course, Sunset didn’t know that, and just assumed Trixie developed her magic like any other filly. “I didn’t think so. While it’s hard for most fillies to learn something as simple as levitation, it usually comes from them trying too hard, instead of allowing it to come naturally. Next time you try to pick something up, why don’t you try a gentler approach. Don’t pour all your magic into a single attempt to cast an easy to do spell. Let it flow naturally.”

As an example of what she was trying to get at, Sunset casually lifted up the stones Trixie was trying to lift herself, and placed them into the blue unicorn’s hands. “See, effortless, as it should be. All that extra magic you’re trying to push out is causing it all to get backed up, if I were to take a guess. So try it again sometime, and be gentle with it.”

“Ok, if you say so…” said Trixie, charging her horn for another go.

“Not right now, though,” Sunset said with a slight laugh, “You’ve already tired yourself out, and we’ll be leaving shortly.” Only a moment later, the sound of a door opening reached the ears of the two unicorns, “In fact, that’s probably our last member coming out now. Better go greet him.”

Trixie sighed. Though recognizing the familiar drained sensation that unicorns did after expending too much magic at once, she really wanted to try again, to see if Sunset’s advice would change anything. Sunset was the one in charge though, at least in this particular matter, and Trixie did like the idea of leaving this place after being imprisoned there for the past few hours.

“Okay, let’s go greet this stallion and get out of here.” Trixie said complacently, pocketing the stones for later use. While any rocks would do for practice, she figured that using ones she already failed at moving would be more appropriate.

The two mares headed back to the larger group, everyone now crowded around the front door to the guard station. It appeared that the stallion had indeed been released, and now everyone was trying to ask him a million questions, with a few openly praising the unicorn for doing something so bold to a former red collar of Celestia’s status.

“Okay, okay!” Sunset said loudly, raising her voice over those of the crowd’s as she approached, Trixie at her side, “Give him some space! He just got grilled by the royal guards, and probably doesn’t want to answer a barrage of questions. Besides, I need to talk to him myself.”

The ponies slowly went silent, and parted to form a clear path to the guilty stallion who had admitted to have tossed a piece of fruit at Celestia. Trixie, while not really that enthralled by the notion of some stallion hurling rotten produce at an authority figure as the others, was curious enough that she wanted to get a good look at this pony’s face, in case he became a problem again later on. What she saw caused her to skip a breath, as a grey unicorn male with a purple and grey striped mane came into view.

“Star Bright?” she said to herself, knowing this stallion decently well: The last stallion to rape her, and the first one to help her after the Fall. A male who for some time was a part of her life, as he did what he could to protect her for the harm he had caused her. That was, until the caribou were routed, ponies had full control over Equestria again, and things began to stabilize. At that point, Star Bright allowed the governing body to decide what was best for Trixie, as even during their time together, Trixie’s self-esteem was plummeting and her depression was rising. If there had been any good thing in her life at that time, it was him, and losing him was the final thing that had sent her into the dark, emotional pit she had been stuck in prior to joining Sunset’s support group.

“There’s our little ‘hero’,” Sunset said jokingly, standing in front of the stallion, “I hope those guards didn’t intimidate you too much.”

“They did a little,” Star Bright said, a bit bashfully, “They were asking all kinds of questions, trying to figure out how and why I did it.”

“And what did you tell them?” asked Sunset.

“I told them that I snuck the tomato onto the castle grounds in a bag, with the intent of tossing it at Celestia, because I was angry about how she let the Fall happen.”

“Good,” Sunset replied, shaking her finger at the stallion, “Now just don’t go doing that again, got it? You don’t want to make our group look bad.”

“Huh?” Star Bright responded, looking fairly confused for a moment, until recognition appeared in his eyes, “Oh right, attacking Celestia and causing the riot, right!”

“Then if you understand…” Sunset turned back to the rest of the congregation, “Okay everyone, the show’s over. Time to head back to your homes and rest. We’re gonna have a lot of things to do in the near future, and I don’t want to hear about any of you getting into any more trouble.”

Everyone dispersed, gathering up into their own small groups before making their leave of Canterlot. As this happened, Sunset took Star Bright by the shoulder, continuing their conversation in private as she went to join up with those of the group she had taken personal responsibility for. Of course, this led to Star Bright walking by Trixie, which was something he couldn’t be oblivious about.

“Trixie?!” he said, surprised to see the unicorn mare there, “I… umm… You joined Mares for a Better Equestria? That’s great. I’m glad to see that you’re doing better, and that you got your horn back.”

“I’m… glad to see you too, Star Bright…” Trixie said, both ponies feeling an awkward tension between them.

“Oh, you two know each other, then,” said Sunset, gesturing them both to follow.

“You could say that…” Star Bright said, his sheepishness rising.

“Star Bright took care of me for a while after the Fall,” said Trixie, avoiding completely how they originally met.

“Then it’s nice to see that Star Bright has always been a good colt, looking out for the well-being of mares.” said Sunset, “He joined our group a while back, wanting to make up for all the wrongs he committed under caribou control. He has been very useful since then.”

“Has he now?” Trixie said, a bit annoyed that he had left, then never came back to check on her or how she was fairing.

“Y-yeah,” Star Bright answered, realizing himself that he had all but abandoned Trixie at the mare’s shelter, “I’ve been doing a lot of things for the group, helping mares work through their problems… having them help me through my own.”

“What problems do you have?” Trixie wondered aloud, not seeing Star Bright as the type to be persecuted for his actions in the Fall, due to his timidness and want to help others.

“Star Bright has guilt issues,” Sunset said, answering for the stallion, “Despite his brainwashing, he sees the things he did during at the caribou’s command as his fault, which is not a terrible viewpoint. Perhaps it’s extreme, but remember that our group holds the view that stallions should do whatever they can to make it up to the mares that were wronged, and a little guilt and humility never killed anyone.”

“Thank you, Miss Shimmer.” Star Bright said, glad that Sunset saw that he meant well.

“But… well, don’t take this the wrong way,” said Trixie, “But I never really saw what Star Bright did as his fault.”

“Well thanks, Trixie.” Star Bright responded.

“He’s too nice to do anything to harm a mare. To be honest, I’m surprised that he was the one who attacked Celestia.”

“Well… About that…” Star Bright started to say.

“Star Bright, not here,” said Sunset, scolding the stallion, “We’re still in range of the guard station. Wait till we get out of the city, and I’ll explain everything. Oh, and Star Bright, I want you to come with me for a bit of debriefing and your next assignment.”

“Ok.” Star Bright agreed, not giving so much as a hint of objection to the order.

Trixie, in turn, just followed the two, her curiosity peeked about what Star Bright had wanted to say, and why it was so important that Sunset shushed him.

The three of them increased their pace until they caught up with Lyra and Carrot Top, the other two members of Trixie’s group who had attended Twilight’s announcements and had been arrested for questioning. Together, the five of them made their way to the city gate, where a stallion-drawn carriage was waiting for them, as well as Starlight Glimmer.

“Welcome back, you all.” Starlight greeted, opening the door to the carriage for the others before entering herself.

“Starlight,” said Sunset as she addressed her assistant, “How did that assignment I gave you go?”

“The package was delivered without issue,” the pink unicorn answered, “And I’ll be inspecting it later tonight, as soon as we drop off everyone at the club house.”

“Something we should know about?” asked Carrot Top, inserting herself to the conversation quickly.

“Not at the moment,” Sunset replied, “It’s just something big I’ve been working on in order to help our cause. It’s kind of a surprise though, but it won’t be too much longer till we let you in on it.”

“More importantly,” Trixie said, not wanting her own inquiries to be forgotten, “What was it that you shushed Star Bright over back in Canterlot?”

Sunset looked to Starlight, and gave her a nod. In turn, the pink mare told the two stallions up front that it was time to leave. It took a moment of the cart moving, but Sunset soon became ready to address that subject.

“Sorry for the secrecy, but this is information that can’t be leaked, for the safety of one of our other members.” Sunset explained, “We have a mare in our ranks that’s a bit of a hothead.”

“You mean Carrot Top?” Lyra asked jokingly.

“Hey!” Carrot replied, knowing it was a joke, but not enjoying it.

One that has a much worse temperament than her, I fear.” Sunset continued, “She’s gotten in trouble before for the way she protests our current leaders, and how little they are doing to actually help Equestria, and there was a strong possibility that if she was caught again, she’d be arrested for sure.”

“Who is it?” Trixie asked, concerned by this new information.

“No one in our chapter,” Sunset explained, “And you wouldn’t know them if I told you their name. If she were to be imprisoned, though, it would look bad on the image of our group. That’s why I asked Star Bright here to confess to the assault in her place.”

“You what?!” yelled Trixie, completely surprised.

“Sunset, you didn’t…” said Lyra.

“No, no,” said Star Bright, “I was happy to do it. It was the least I could do after all I’ve done to mares.”

Sunset gave a slight smirk at Star Bright’s earnest response. “It’s not like I did it with the intent to let him be imprisoned. Unlike this mare, Star Bright has a near spotless record. Knowing Celestia, I figured she wouldn’t press charges over somepony making a simple, if aggressive, protest if they were an otherwise model citizen.”

“And what if she had?” asked Lyra.

“Then I’d have gone in and asked for a favor between ex-student and ex-mentor,” Sunset explained, “Believe me, I wasn’t going to let an innocent stallion like him sit in a cell for too long.”

“And what about the mare who did this?” Trixie asked, addressing the one loose end.

“I’ve already dealt with that accordingly, and given her a proper punishment.” Sunset replied, “If they get in trouble again, it will not be in a way that is associated with our support group, and I won’t be there to rescue them.”

“That’s good.” Trixie said, having had enough chaos and conflict for one lifetime.

“Ok, so that problem is dealt with,” Carrot Top chimed in, “So what now? Are we just going to go back to normal? Working out our issues through meetings?”

“Well, yes,” Sunset Shimmer answered, “But your earlier confrontation with the former leader of Equestria tells me that you want to be more active in your role in this group. Am I right?”

“I am a little tired of sitting around and doing nothing,” Carrot Top replied, “Don’t get me wrong, talking about our problems isn’t a bad thing, and it helps ponies cope with shit, but it’s not really doing anything for Equestria.”

“Then maybe you could help me with some important stuff outside of the meetings?” Sunset suggested, “I have plenty of things to do for a mare of your talents that would help make Equestria a better place.”

“Sure,” Carrot Top replied, “Just as long as I’m not just turned into another one of your assistants... no offence, Starlight.”

“Oh no,” said Sunset Shimmer, “I have a better role for you. I’ll have to set some things up, but I think you’ll be very happy with what I have planned.” Sunset then looked to the other ponies in the carriage, “And what about the rest of you? Mind if I put you all to work for the betterment of Equestria?”

“Sorry,” said Lyra, “But I still have my own problems to deal with at home. Coming out for something like the announcement is one thing, but I can’t be tied to any long-term projects.”

“What about you, Trixie?”

“I… I’ve tried helping to fix Equestria before, and I failed miserably at it,” the blue unicorn replied, thinking back to the work she was practically forced into back at the mare’s shelter, “If it’s ok with you, I’d rather practice my magic for now.”

“Not a problem at all,” Sunset said, “But if it’s magic training you want, maybe there is a way we could incorporate it into your therapy. I’ll think of something, if you are up for it.”

“Well… If it helps me relearn magic, then it couldn’t hurt to try.”

“Good,” Sunset said, “Then I’ll come up with something we can try soon.”

“Um… Miss Shimmer,” Star Bight spoke, “I wouldn’t mind being used in whatever you have in mind.”

“Don’t you worry,” said Sunset, “I already have plans for you, and I think you’ll enjoy them very much.” With that said, everypony present had been addressed, and their future plans laid out for Sunset Shimmer to take into consideration for her own plans. “It’s going to be a little while to get back, so everypony feel free to relax.”

Taking her own advice, Sunset leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes after a long day of having to deal with the aftermath of the riot. The others took by her example, and took to their own means to pass the time. For Carrot Top, it was quiet contemplations. For Lyra, it was looking out the window and watching the scenery pass. For Trixie, it was taking out the stones from earlier and returning to her attempts to cast levitation.

Holding them in the palm of her hand, she took the advice Sunset had given her and didn’t go full force in trying to lift them up. Making the rocks glow with her aura, she tried controlling her magic to put as little of it into the spell as possible, increasing it slowly over time. While this didn’t get the immediate and spectacular results Trixie would have wanted, starting lightly and adjusting over time did get her some results, the pebbles managing to float up a centimeter or two off her palm before the ride was finished.

Back in Canterlot, the Committee of Ponies had regrouped for an emergency meeting, focused on the missing caribou artifact. The six ponies were accompanied by two others, that being Princess Twilight and Celestia, both deemed important enough to the workings of Equestria that they would need to know how this situation was being handled.

“After doing a thorough inspection of the area the Blanking Device was taken from, we have found no trace of caribou involvement in its theft.” explained Flash Sentry, having looked into the matter personally when the investigation started.

“All signs indicate that it was ponies who stole the device,” added Shining Armor, the only other pony present that overlooked the investigation, “But all eyewitness accounts say that the group wore cloaks and masks to hide their identities.”

“That doesn’t mean they aren’t working with the caribou,” said Spitfire, putting in her thoughts, “Or perhaps they are caribou collaborators that wanted the device for themselves.”

“How did this happen?” asked Cheerilee, disturbed at the mismanagement of such an important and dangerous object, “We set up the shipping of the Blanking Device on the day of the announcement in order to distract any who may want it, but then this happened.”

“That is the problem,” said Luna, finally speaking her mind on the subject, “The delivery should have gone off without a hitch. Lots of ponies were present at the assembly, and very few ponies knew what was being shipped outside of those delivering the device to the storage facility.”

“Meanin’ this could have been a random attack, and the device might not’ve been the target?” asked Braeburn.

“More likely, it means that we have a leak somewhere,” Shining Armor answered, “The amount of robberies and muggings in Equestria have been reduced to near non-existence, most ponies have their needs taken care of or have more pressing matters on their mind than pillaging a cart, with those who might have tried being the types we have imprisoned for supporting the caribou. Not only that, but the assailants may have walked into the site of the robbery, but they didn’t walk away. None of their hoofprints were shown to be leaving the area.”

“Pegasi?” Twilight questioned, that being the immediate thought.

“Worse, Princess Twilight.” said Flash, “We believe it that they had one or more unicorns who knew how to teleport with them.”

“That is troubling,” said Celestia, “Teleportation is a difficult spell to master, but not uncommon enough to narrow it down to a very small group of ponies. Anyone who has graduated from my school for gifted ponies would be able to do it, as well as others from other magical schools. It’s even possible that a unicorn who practiced magic enough on their own could perform it, if talented enough, and that would be the most problematic thing of all if they used a unicorn who had done so.”

“Celestia…” Shining Armor said grimly, “Didn’t Sunset Shimmer graduate from your school?”

“I know what you’re thinking, and I’ve already looked into it,” replied the white alicorn, “She had a meeting in Rainbow Falls at the time the Blanking Device was stolen, which places her nowhere near the time or place. Several eyewitnesses spotted her, so she has a very solid alibi.”

“Then that marks one suspect off the list, ah suppose.” Braeburn said, “But this means that we still have no real leads.”

“Discovering who took the Blanking Device is one problem of many we have now,” said Luna, “We’ll have to crack down even harder on public security now in order to keep everypony safe from this new threat. Then there is the other issue this unfortunate event brings up…”

“What would that be?” Cheerilee asked.

“I know what it is,” said Celestia, “At times like this, it is royal protocol to keep information of terrible events from the citizens of Equestria.”

“Why?!” Cheerilee questioned in outrage.

“Don’t get too upset, Cheerilee,” said Spitfire, “It’s a common practice that those in the Equestrian military are very familiar with. In most situations, letting common ponies know that a threat is looming over them from the shadows only leads to the situation becoming much worse. Panic incites easily in those not trained to deal with it, and you saw earlier what that can cause. Now think of that on a kingdom-wide scale.”

“Oh…” Cheerilee responded, remembering what happened during the riot.

“The good thing is that no one knows that the Blanking Device is no longer in our possession,” said Luna, “Save for the thieves, ourselves, and the guards that were protecting it.”

“So we aren’t going to tell anyone about the danger they’re in now?” asked Braeburn, not as pleased by this decision as others.

“Well… That’s the thing,” Celestia said, “It’s up to the committee to decide. If you feel it would be better they knew, then we will have to tell them.”

“My sister is right,” Luna said, “If there is a time to change this protocol, it would be now. We will have a vote, and for the purposes of this single decision, I would like Twilight to act as our female unicorn representative. Since this is a secret vote, and she was a unicorn once, I don’t see why she can’t help decide on this matter, especially since a tie would be pointless in this instance..”

“Thank you for this honor, Princess Luna.” Twilight said, taking a seat at the table.

Luna waited for the purple alicorn to be seated, then said, “All those opposed to keeping the theft a secret, raise your hand.”

Braeburn and Cheerilee reluctantly raised their hands, both visibly unsure about their decision.

“And all those in favor?”

The remaining four ponies lifted their arms up, Shining, Flash, and Spitfire having some level of experience with the protocol and how well it functioned, while Twilight followed what she believed her mentor would do, as it was what Celestia had done in the past. Thus, the committee decided to keep the secret, and thus the peace, at least for now.

“Fine, but we should better find that device soon,” Cheerilee said, not happy with the results, “And by soon, I mean yesterday. I’m not going to tolerate another pony being lost to that damned machine.”

“Don’t worry,” Shining Armor reassured, “The ponies under my command will not rest till we find it.”

That adjourned the meeting of the Committee of Ponies, and the eight ponies went their separate ways, each putting on a brave face, but none of them certain on how to handle this. They had no leads, no suspects, and the Blanking Device was the second most dangerous thing the caribou created, next to their Crystal Cock. Now it was in the hands of ponies they didn’t know, and if they decided to use it, it could only lead to something terrible and potentially irreparable.

Author's Notes:

New chapter up, and after such a long time. Don't worry though, I will be updating this a lot more frequently from now on. Nothing in my way but work and whatever life decided to throw at me, and I'll be working on this until it's finished. Hope all of you who stuck around enjoy the rest of the story.