"Twilight. Twilight! Twi-light!"

"Mnnnhh... what?" Twilight cracked her eyes open as Moondancer shouted her name and shook her. Why Moondancer of all ponies was doing it was a matter for a more awake pony to deal with.

"You really need to go talk to Trixie. Now."

"Trixie?" Twilight rubbed her eyes as a few more synapses crept to life, reminding her of who Trixie was, and what had happened the previous night. "Trixie! Is she okay? What happened?"

"Do you really think I'd be waking you and telling you to go talk to Trixie if everything was fine? Really?" Moondancer rolled her eyes at Twilight, "How about you go find out what happened, instead of asking me. She's outside."

Twilight scrambled out of her sleeping bag and stumbled to her hooves before running out to Trixie, leaping over the recumbent form of Mayfly who seemed to have a big dreamy smile on her face as she slept.

Sunset was already outside, hovering near the entrance to the cave, several meters from Trixie, who lay on her stomach staring blankly over the open vista of the jungle. "Thank goodness Twilight. I don't know what's wrong with Trixie, but she won't respond to me. She just keeps staring off into the distance. It also felt kind of weird around her, like... something, I don't know, but it gave me the creeps."

"Yeah, it'll do that," Twilight said noncommittally. She gave Sunset a brave smile, then slowly walked over to Trixie. The air around her felt noticeably colder than it was a mere ten steps away, and the sensation was making Twilight's hair stand on its end. Twilight put it out of her mind to pay attention to Trixie, who was lay with her muzzle buried under her legs. The half dried remains of tears streaked her cheeks, and her eyes were locked forwards, staring at nothing. To top it all off, a faint purple and black miasma swirled around her horn, barely visible to the naked eye.

Twilight swallowed down her concerns, "Trixie?" There was no answer, so she laid a hoof on Trixie's back and shook her, "Come on Trixie, don't do this." Trixie still didn't do anything to even acknowledge Twilight's existence, so feeling that her options were running low, Twilight did the simplest thing she could think of. She smacked Trixie across the back of the head.

"Ungh!" And just like that, Trixie was back. "Ow! What the fuck?" Trixie rubbed the back of her head, and fluttered her eyes rapidly as they were sore from not blinking much. Noticed only by Twilight was that the chill feeling around Trixie was suddenly gone. "What was that for?"

"You mean you don't remember being out here for ages staring blankly into the distance?" Twilight cocked her head questioningly, "Yes? No?"

"Ages? What do you mean ages?" Trixie suddenly realised that it was daylight, and was surprised that so much time had passed. "Oh," she murmured, rubbing her cheeks free of the crusty remains of her tears.

Twilight sat next to Trixie, not bothering to physically comfort Trixie since she knew it wouldn't likely be appreciated. "What's going on Trixie?" she asked. "Why were you out here?"

"I- I don't know. I couldn't sleep, so I came out here for some fresh air, and it kinda felt like something was watching me." Trixie tried to laugh, but it sounded fake even to her, "I guess I just scared myself."

"You scared yourself to tears then lay here for hours in a semi catatonic state while pretty much leaking dark magic out of your horn." Twilight raised an eyebrow at Trixie, "I hate to say it, but that does not sound legit. In fact it sounds incredibly 'not' legit. What really happened Trixie?"

"I just heard something, that's all. Nothing to worry about." Trixie smiled up at Twilight, but she still seemed entirely unconvinced.

"Trixie, stop lying to me. Or at least stop trying to hide things. What did you hear last night?"

"It was nothing, just a bird or something."

"Mm-hmm, and did the bird say?"

"What? It's a bird, it didn't say anything."

"So it wasn't a bird then."

Trixie pushed herself up so she was sitting, and looked irritably at Twilight. "What are you getting at Twilight? I heard a noise, got scared, and-"

"Didn't go back in the cave where it would be safer, instead choosing to sit out here for hours frozen on the spot. Can you see why I'm having issues with this explanation? Come on Trixie, you know you can talk to me. What happened last night?"

Trixie looked down and studied the ground intently for several seconds. She didn't want to say what really happened, and wished Twilight would just drop the issue. That seemed unlikely though, and became less and less likely the longer she went without speaking, so she gave in.

"I did hear something last night. A voice."

Twilight nodded slowly. Hearing a voice in the jungle didn't exactly seem impossible, so Trixie being this wound up seemed odd. "Oookay, what did the voice say?"

"Ours."

"Ours? That's all it said?"

Trixie nodded, "Yep, that's it. Well, not quite. It felt like it came from right behind me, like, right in my ear, and when it spoke I turned round to hit it, but there was nothing there. I- I-" Trixie licked her dry lips, trying to get her thoughts out of her mouth. "It was those things, wasn't it? The things that say they own me. As soon as I used dark magic again, they were there." Trixie looked back up at Twilight, her eyes brimming with tears. "I can't do this again Twilight, I just... can't! Please don't let them take me."

Twilight didn't even think about it this time, and pulled Trixie into a hug as she cried her heart out. Compared to how Trixie normally acted, this was a bit of a shock to Twilight. Last time this issue had come up, Trixie barely made anything of it, but considering how it ended with both of them fighting, and Twilight tearing Trixie's horn off with her teeth, perhaps knowing how high the stakes could be made it a lot worse for her.

Slowly Trixie cried herself out, and just let Twilight hold her as she occasionally sobbed and hiccupped. "I'm scared Twilight. I don't want to be owned by something. Please don't let them take me."

"I won't," said Twilight, and she meant it. She'd failed too many of her friends lately, and she was determined to not fail another. If only she knew how to fix this.

"You promise?"

"I promise. Whatever those things are, they better watch out because they're going to have to deal with me."

The jungle seemed a lot scarier today, as far as Trixie was concerned anyway. For the last week she'd confidently blundered her way through the overgrowth, not worrying about anything much. Now though, every shadow hid something sinister, all eyes were watching her, and every sound was a threat whispered in her ear. She knew that, in short, she was losing her mind as she jumped at pretty much everything.

She shrieked as something brushed her side, and built up her magic ready to attack when a purple hoof smacked her on the horn, probably harder than intended since the motion almost slammed Trixie's nose against the floor.

"Uh, sorry," Twilight laughed nervously. "Don't know my own strength sometimes. I only meant to stop you drawing attention to us."

"'S fine," Trixie said blearily, her vision spinning from the strike, and her horn agonisingly feeling like it was no longer the same shape. "I guess I'm just a bit jumpy today."

"No kidding," said Twilight, pointing behind them to where Sunset, Moondancer, and Mayfly were keeping a safe distance. Although not so far away you couldn't see their nervous expressions. "It's understandable that what happened has you a bit shaken, but what you're doing isn't really... what's the word?"

"Helping?" Trixie suggested flatly.

"Not what I was going for, but I suppose that's one way of putting it. Look, Trixie, I know you don't want to go back to the way you were, and that's fine, great even, but this nervousness is not helping you either. Nothing is going to jump out and get you... or at least nothing related to your fears is going to jump out and get you, and if they did, what would you even do?"

"I'd, uh... I don't know. Attack them I guess."

"With what?"

"My... magic." Trixie sighed to herself as that sounded ludicrous even to her ears. She'd have to use dark magic to attack with any strength, and that was only building up her problems, rather than fixing them. One look at Twilight was enough to see that the alicorn had come to the same conclusion.

"So you're scared that something might attack because you don't want to use your magic to fight back, is that it?"

"Partially, I guess. We are talking about me using dark magic, right? I'm not going to pretend we are only to be wrong later."

"Yeah, we are. You don't want to use it, so you're scared of things that might have to involve you using it. What if I told you that you don't really need it any more? Or at least not unless it's a real emergency, which even I do."

Trixie shrugged as she walked, "I'd tell you that you're a liar."

Twilight snorted a laugh, "I thought as much. I'm not lying though. I'm sure you haven't noticed, mostly because all magic feels weak compared to dark magic which is part of the trap of using it, but your time using dark magic has greatly increased your capacity for all types of magic. Basically it made you a lot stronger that you originally were."

"I get the feeling we've talked about this before. Still, I'm curious. Like, how strong are we talking here?" Trixie grinned excitedly, "Like alicorn strong?"

"Uh, nooo," Twilight said awkwardly. "Not that magic really works in terms of strength, but I'll say that you're somewhere between Moondancer and Sunset in terms of power."

Trixie's expression went flat, "So still less than you when you were still a unicorn?"

"Again, I'm going to reiterate that magic isn't measured in terms of power like that."

"So, I'm not as powerful as unicorn you was."

Twilight sighed irritably, "No."

"You know what? While meeting you was great and all, at least in the long run, it really did burst my bubble. Not only did I learn that I'm not the best, but because of you I've met unicorns that are more powerful than me, meaning that I'm not even second best. I'm actually not even in the top ten, am I?"

Twilight rolled her eyes, "I really doubt there's a top ten, and I keep telling you that it doesn't really work like that. I'm the Element of Magic, which should in theory put me as one of the most powerful magic users in existence, but I can assure you that both Celestia and Luna could probably beat me in a fight without too much difficulty, because it's your skill at casting that makes the difference, and they have a lot more experience than me. Power is a factor, but a skilled caster can overcome a powerful one.

"Okay, fine, you made your point. So I'm somewhere between Moondancer and Sunset, making me, what? Sundancer? Or Moonset?"

"Out of those two, Sundancer sounds better. What it really means though, is that in power terms, that's not too shabby. You're probably more 'powerful' than any Adept we trained in Mareitania."

"Ah yes, them," Trixie hummed. "Don't seem like such a good idea now, do they?"

"Not so much, but what I'm getting at Trixie, if we stop going off on tangents, is that I'm willing to teach you magic if you want so that you don't need to rely on dark magic to do anything."

"Except for emergencies, like you said."

"Exactly. I'm even willing to have a go at teaching you light magic to balance things out a little, although I'm not going to count on that one really working."

"Don't think I can do it?"

Twilight shook her head, "I don't think I can teach it. I'm not even a hundred percent I can do it to any effective level right now if I'm honest, but I'm sure Sunset could have a go at teaching you if I can't. Assuming she's capable of doing it. So how about it Trixie? Do you want to learn some real magic instead of cheaters magic?"

Trixie nodded slowly, like she was really thinking it over. "You do mean I'll be learning how to fight with my magic and stuff."

"Oh yeah," definitely," Twilight laughed. "I think that's kind of a given considering what we're doing. There is plenty of other stuff we can teach you, but we'll have to leave out the really complicated stuff for now because that's not really something you can teach on the move." Twilight grinned slyly at Trixie, "So, are you in or not?"

"I'm in. I'm so definitely in." Trixie held up a hoof as Twilight cheered, "Just don't go calling me your student or anything, because I will... have to invent some cruel and unusual things your alicorn physiology can't overcome if you do."

"Deal. Now, are you ready for todays lesson, my faithful student?" Twilight smiled as Trixie groaned at her. "Come on, let me have that, just once."

Trixie turned her groan into a begrudging sigh, "Fine, once. So what's todays lesson? Let me guess. It's breathing exercises isn't it."

"Uh, no. I'm pretty sure you already know how to breath to an adequate degree, so we can skip that frippery. Todays' lesson, or lesson one, is accepting your limitations."

"What? That sounds like a sucky lesson."

"It's an important one though. If you can't do something, either keep trying, or accept that you can't do it. Don't try to cut corners by using dark magic instead, because that very much goes against why I'm teaching you this stuff in the first place."

"So you're saying I should be okay with not being able to do things. No falling back to dark magic to do it for me."

"Exactly. Unless it's an emerge-"

"Yes unless it's an emergency! I get it!" Trixie nodded as she thought about that. It was at least a reasonable request, accepting your limitations. Perhaps she might even give it a go at some point. "Okay, awesome. What's the next lesson?"

"There's no rush Trixie, it's a long way to Saddle Arabia."

"I know that, but I want to learn this stuff! Come on Twilight, don't be shy."

Twilight smiled at Trixie, pleased to see her desire to learn. "Alright then, your next lesson is how to blow stuff up... with your mind."

"Now we're talking."

"What do you think they're talking about?" Moondancer asked as she, Sunset, and Mayfly kept their distance from Trixie.

"Twilight's offered to teach Trixie magic other than dark magic. She's also said that Sunset can teach light magic to Trixie if she can't." Mayfly blanched at the looks Moondancer and Sunset gave her, "What? Could you not hear them?"

Sunset shrugged that off as changeling weirdness, instead turning her thoughts towards what Mayfly had said. "I don't know if I can teach light magic. Heck, I don't even know if I can even do light magic. In fact, I don't even really know how to do it."

Moondancer adjusted her glasses, "I do believe the general method is to simply think happy thoughts."

"Is that from experience?"

"Hah!" Moondancer moved her glasses again as her laugh made them slip down her muzzle. Then she caught Sunset's confused expression. "Wait, you're being serious?"

"Well, yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"Do I really seem like a happy kind of pony to you? Do you even know me?"

"I'd like to," Sunset said earnestly. "I don't know why you're so resistant to the idea of having friends?"

"I had friends, once." Moondancer directed a piercing glare at Twilight, "It didn't work out, and I'm never letting myself get hurt like that again."

"It's hurting you now," said Sunset. "Don't think I haven't seen the way you look at Twilight when she's alone with Trixie, or with any of us really, except you. You're jealous of her being friends with other ponies."

"No I'm not!"

"Yes, you are. Is this how you really want things to be? To always be too scared to reach out to another pony because you're afraid of getting hurt?"

Moondancer stopped and pressed a hoof up against Sunset's chest, pushing her back. "You have no idea what it was like Sunset! You have no idea what Twilight did to me! I'm never feeling like that again!"

Sunset gently pushed Moondancer's hoof away, "Actually I do know what happened. Twilight's already told me what she did, and it's pretty clear how it's affected you. You do realise that she feels terrible for what she did, right?"

"I couldn't care less how she feels."

"Liar," Mayfly said quietly, reading Moondancer's feelings like a book.

"You stay out of this!" Moondancer glared at Mayfly, but the changeling seemed indifferent to Moondancer's rage, so she turned it back to Sunset. "If Twilight feels terrible for what she did, then that is the least she deserves."

"But that spiteful attitude is just adding to your own pain!"

"I'm used to it." Moondancer turned and started walking again, her head low. "Besides, how terrible do you really think she feels if she can blame me for being friends with her."

"She doesn't blame you for being friends with her. She's just bad at expressing the idea that just because she was a terrible friend, you didn't have to abandon your other friends, or the idea of friendship, because she messed things with you up."

Moondancer raised a skeptical eyebrow at Sunset, "Is that so? That doesn't sound remotely like what she said."

"Moondancer, I don't need to be a mind reader to know you're not only unhappy, but angry about it too, just as Twilight knows it's unlikely that you'll ever forgive her. But all she really wants at the end of the day is for you to be happy. Isn't that something you want as well?"

"Of course it is!" Moondancer sighed and grit her teeth, "But I don't know how, and I'm scared because I don't want to get hurt again."

"I think you'll find the first step is trying to make friends with ponies, instead of shutting them out."

"And who would want to be friends with me?"

Sunset smiled at Moondancer. "I would."

"Really?"

"Sure! I bet Mayfly would too, right Mayfly?"

Mayfly nodded affirmatively, "I too have recently learnt that having friends is a good thing, so if Moondancer wants to be friends, that's good for both of us. Also good for understanding traitor Thorax's warped logic. I must admit, he must be well fed if this is how things are with friends." Mayfly coughed awkwardly as both of them looked at her funny. "Extra food fringe benefit. Not the actual point of being friends. Other benefits possible though, like comforts for when Moondancer has another existential crisis."

"You'd really want to be my friend?" Moondancer looked at both of them like they'd gone mad, "Really?"

"Really," Sunset confirmed.

"You're not going to say I have to forgive Twilight are you?"

"It would be nice if you did, but no, I'm not going to suggest anything. I will suggest giving Trixie a chance, as she can be a nice pony when she wants to be."

Moondancer scoffed at the suggestion, "Yeah, that'll be the day. So is there anything we need to? To become friends I mean. Some kind of ritual?"

"Not really. You just sort of become friends."

"So, we're friends now? Just like that?"

Sunset smiled at Moondancer, "Just like that."

"Oh. I guess it's easier because we already know each other."

"We'll worry about meeting new ponies some other time, like when there's actually new ponies to meet."

"And they aren't trying to kill us."

"That too."

Moondancer nodded thoughtfully. Not that she'd say it, because she felt ashamed of how much it affected her, but it felt nice to say she had friends again.

Rarity clutched at her stomach, trying to ease the pains it was giving her. Weeks of only two meals a day had taken their toll, and she knew she was coming unattractively skinny, but the thought of one of the others going hungry repulsed her more than the consequences to herself ever could. As much as she tried, her generous streak won out every time, and honestly, she wouldn't have it any other way.

Not that she was required to do much more than the bare minimum, imprisoned as she was, so the impact was lessened to a degree. Once a day she was taken away to have the same daft question asked to her, and every day she turned them down in favour of her friends having the extra food. Perhaps its true attraction was that it was the only way she had to rebel against her captors, however small a way it was. Without that she'd have nothing since maintaining her grace and image was becoming near impossible after so long without a wash.

"R-Rarity?" Fluttershy quavered sadly, her voice almost lost to the quiet around them.

Rarity perked up and shuffled closer to her cell door as soon as she heard Fluttershy say her name, ready to help her friend. "Yes Fluttershy darling?"

"I... I don't know, I just thought I'd been left on my own again."

"Fluttershy, you know Spike's always here if you want to talk."

"Seriously," Spike grumbled. "What I wouldn't give to get out of this cell for even ten minutes. About as much as I'd give to brush my teeth probably."

"I-I-I'm sorry Spike," Fluttershy spluttered, "I didn't mean t-to say that you weren't-"

"You know, if you're feeling lonely I could always ask the guards to let you share my cell for a while."

Rarity shuddered with a mix of disgust and suppressed rage. "Francis, we all know you've already asked that about all of us, and got a hoof in your face from the guards for your trouble. If you don't have anything constructive to add to the conversation, perhaps it would be best if you added nothing at all."

"You'll give in eventually, if only to feel the considerate touch of a pony not wearing armour."

"As if anything you might do could be called considerate. Now do be a dear and shut up." Rarity unconsciously brushed her mane as she composed herself, then dropped her hoof with a sigh as she bumped it against the inhibitor on her horn. "You know there's always somepony here Fluttershy." Rarity sat quietly for several seconds, but there didn't seem to be a reply forthcoming. "Fluttershy?"

"I don't know how much more of this I can take Rarity. I don't know why they're doing what they're doing to us, and I don't know why we're fighting it. I don't want to keep fighting it." Fluttershy sniffled quietly, "I don't know what to do any more."

"I know none of this is right Fluttershy, but we can't give in to it." Rarity wanted to spit after saying those words. She'd been saying the same thing everyday for what felt like months, and they were starting to sound hollow even to herself. It seemed a lot more personal to both Applejack and Fluttershy though, who seemed to be losing focus of why they were fighting this a lot easier than herself. Rarity was ashamed to admit it, but she'd understand Fluttershy giving in, but Applejack was no better, and she was the most stubborn mare Rarity knew, so for her to want to give in worried Rarity considerably.

"I don't know any more," Fluttershy said in a tiny voice, disrupting Rarity from sinking into her own thoughts any further. "I just don't know."

Rarity carefully contemplated what she was going to say to Fluttershy, but was disturbed by the clatter of armour. Rarity swallowed nervously; the sound of armour used to be accompanied by the sounds of defiance, but more and more that was replaced with sullen acceptance.

Applejack was allowed to walk into her cell, rather than be thrown into it, and there were no last words shouted after the departing guards. There was only a small thud as Applejack pressed her head against the cell door and sighed. "I can't do this no more," she said in a tone of voice that usually belonged to Fluttershy.

Rarity didn't say anything, knowing that the worn out platitudes she'd been spouting had truly run their course. Instead she had only one question on her mind, "Why not?"

"Because what's the point? They do the same things to us day in and day out, and all the things they tell us just don't sound like lies to me no more. Celestia, Luna, Twilight, all of them... Faust's right to be angry at them."

"Don't be absurd Applejack! You know those are nothing but lies told to try and break us! To turn us against our friends!"

"Really Rarity? Because every time I hear it I have three little voices in my head. One tells me that of course it's true, how could it not be? Another tells me that despite what I want to think, what I'm hearing is no lie. And the final voice tells me it's not true because none of them would do such a thing, yet it has no arguments in its own favour. I hate to say it Rarity, but I'm getting pretty fed up of hearing that last voice. Maybe the Lady was right about everything all along."

"So what?" Rarity said loudly, making Applejack jump. "Even if what she's saying is true, does it really excuse her going to war with Equestria? Even if Celestia, Luna, and even Twilight have truly wronged her, does the entirety of Equestria really need to pay for their wrongdoings? Come on Applejack! You know what she's doing is wrong! If you can't even think that, then you surely realise she's putting your family in danger for other ponies crimes? Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

"What she's doing could put the world right Rarity."

Rarity was aghast, and wasn't alone in it judging by the outburst from Spike's cell. From Fluttershy came nothing, and Rarity didn't need to ask to know that Fluttershy was either too beaten down to disagree, or even worse actually agreed. If Spike wasn't there, Rarity might have thought she was going mad to be the only one not agreeing with this.

Rarity grit her teeth as her stomach rumbled painfully. Everything really had turned to shit if this is how things were becoming, and yet she found herself too tired to argue further, and had only one thing left to say to Applejack.

"What is it you really think that's wrong with the world in the first place?"

Applejack didn't answer.

Feeling there was nothing more to say on the issue, Rarity crawled back onto her rock hard bed and curled up into a ball, clutching her stomach with her hooves in an attempt to make it feel better. It didn't work, but there was literally nothing else for her to do. The discussions she could have with her friends seemed to be a thing of the past now, and her future seemed that much emptier because of it.

She didn't cry though, as all the tears she could have shed simply wouldn't come out. She was simply too worn out by her experiences to cry any more, which was only one of a number of things Faust had taken from her.

Minutes later a guard opened the door of her cell and placed on the floor a bowl of the slop that passed for food where they were. Rarity was surprised at the unexpected intrusion, but the thoughts of food quelled her need to be snippy at the guard bringing it. "Is that really for me?"

"It is," the guard confirmed. "Lady Faust wishes to see you, so I suggest you eat quickly."

That wrecked her excitement at eating, but Rarity wasn't about to turn down the opportunity to fill her belly, grabbing the bowl in her hooves and downing its contents in a most unladylike fashion. Propriety be damned, she was too hungry to care, and she knew it would only be taken off her if she didn't finish it fast enough. It also took her mind off the taste, which lay somewhere between overcooked porridge, and dish water.

As she predicted, it was only minutes until the guard returned with company, so she was glad she'd decided to eat as fast as possible, even if meant her stomach hurt for an entirely different reason now. She was still licking the bowl when the guard snatched it out of her hooves.

"Get up and get moving. You know what'll happen if you give us any trouble."

Rarity nodded, not wanting to experience getting a ring put through her nose to be led around by, as was threatened during her early days here. Stepping out of her cell she fell into place between two guards, following the one in front up out of the dungeons to a room she hadn't been in before.

The air had a faint aroma of ozone to it, strong enough to be noticed over the smell of unwashed pony. A low cage sat in the corner, its contents dark and shadowed. At least that's what Rarity thought until the darkness shifted with a clinking of chains, and turned two catlike turquoise eyes on her. Eyes she recognised as belonging to something that no longer was. The eyes locked onto hers for a few seconds, then turned away again, and that was all the time she had to think about it as the guards threw her onto a bench and began strapping her down.

Rarity squirmed fearfully as her hooves were strapped down, followed by more straps over her back, her neck, and finally her muzzle, adding a cloth in her mouth for her to bite on, leaving her entirely immobile and vulnerable to whatever was about to happen to her.

She clamped her still loose tail between her legs, and discovered that she was in fact still capable of producing tears, even though eyes squeezed tightly shut.

"Thank you kind sir's, that'll be all."

"Are you sure my Lady?"

"I'm quite sure, but thank you for the concern."

Rarity cautiously opened her eyes again, seeing the guard ponies exiting the room. That didn't leave her feeling any more optimistic than before though as she had the kindly smiling visage of Faust turned onto her. Out of the corner of her eye she could see whatever was in the cage was warily watching Faust as well.

"Hello Rarity," Faust said, her tone pleasant. Even if she were able, Rarity wouldn't have returned the greeting. "I'm sorry for the rough treatment here, but I'm afraid it's necessary for what I must do. You see, Twilight Sparkle isn't in Equestria, or Mareitania, and I would very much like to know where she's gone, so I'm hoping that you might help me with that. Ah-ah!" Faust said quickly as Rarity tried to speak. "I know you wouldn't betray her like that, but it's okay, I have ways around that."

Rarity glowered at Faust as she opened the cage in the room and used her magic to tear its occupant out into the open, a black alicorn with a purple cutie mark that looked almost like Princess Luna's. She had a flowing purple-blue mane, and was unmistakably Nightmare Moon, although Rarity did remember Nightmare Moon as being a good bit taller.

Rarity squealed and tried to break free as Faust dragged the chain bound black alicorn in front of Rarity. She had no idea why, or more importantly, how Nightmare Moon was here, and a prisoner of Faust no less, but she knew for certain from the way the dark pony was looking at her that Rarity, and what she had done along with her friends, had not been forgotten.

"I see you two have at least a passing acquaintance," Faust said, seeing the two ponies reactions to each other. "That'll save some time. Now then Rarity, I'm sure you'd like to know what's going to happen now. I'll keep it simple. This creature is going to break into your mind and search for any clues as to where Twilight Sparkle might have gone. Failing that, you share a connection to your friends, and I'll happily use that to track them down if I have to, but I cannot find that connection myself. This creature however, can." Faust pushed Nightmare forwards, "Begin."

Again Rarity struggled against her bonds as Nightmare Moon moved closer, a silvery thread of magic winding up her horn that sparked erratically before coming loose and floating down towards Rarity's head and touching it. Blinding agony tore through Rarity's head, and she screamed into her gag, her eyes squeezed shut as the walls of her mind were torn asunder. Then as abruptly as the pain started, it stopped.

Rarity cautiously opened her eyes, and gasped as she saw the ever familiar confines of the Carousel Boutique around her. Her hooves were unbound, her horn uninhibited, and her mane and tail perfectly styled. She was having the hardest time telling if this was real of not.

"I thought you'd prefer to see somewhere familiar."

Rarity shrieked and turned to find the same black alicorn that had tore into her mind sitting on the floor in the middle of the room. Rarity started to back away, but the alicorn looked so miserable and forlorn she stopped. "Why are you here? We destroyed you!"

"Not so thoroughly as you think you did, but why I'm here is a long and complicated story that I don't even fully understand myself. Suffice it to say that I'm not Nightmare Moon, at least not entirely, and I mean you no harm."

"A likely story. That pain as you broke into my mind, that was very unlike my definition of not meaning to do harm."

"I'm sorry, but I'm not as skilled at this as Luna is, and trapped in this body my skill at it seems to be even worse than before. Fortunately, the pain will make Faust think that I'm actually doing as she asked, rather than this."

"This? What is 'this?' I have no idea what's going on!"

"And I'm going to tell you, if you'll listen. Firstly, so we're on even terms, my name is Nightmare, and I'm a friend of Twilight Sparkle's."

"I'm pretty sure she would have mentioned something like you if that were true."

"Both myself and Princess Luna asked her to keep my existence a secret. Luna felt it best that Celestia not know I existed because she would only see me as Nightmare Moon and seek to destroy me."

"Princess Luna knows about you? Why hasn't she destroyed you?"

"Because I asked Twilight to stop her. In return I provided some assistance to her during her time in Mareitania-"

"Arrgh!" Rarity stomped her hooves on the ground, but they didn't have the satisfying sound the real floorboards in the real Carousel Boutique made. "Why does everything come back to blasted Mareitania?! On top of what she did, and everything that's happening now, she also managed to resurrect Nightmare Moon as well? I am sick to death of Mareitania!"

Nightmare paused and calmly looked at Rarity. "Be that as it may, I was brought to existence in Mareitania, by accident on Luna's part rather than Twilight's. I was however trapped in the dreamscape until Faust found me and tore me out. Then she made her worst mistake and gave me a body, making me a proper alicorn rather than a figment in the dreamscape. She also destroyed her ability to destroy me by doing so, which is what brings us here."

"And why would she want to destroy you?"

"Because all these things you've been hearing about Faust, they're true, but not entirely. Celestia and Luna didn't imprison Faust. Princess Platinum did, so she could steal Celestia, Faust's daughter, away from her to set up as the ruler of all three pony tribes."

Rarity's mouth hung open at what she'd just been told. "You can't be serious!"

"I wish."

"But wait, what about Luna? Wasn't she Faust's daughter as well if her and Celestia are sisters?"

"She is, and she isn't. Celestia's father was Starswirl the bearded, born out of a loving coupling between himself and Faust before her imprisonment. Luna was conceived not long after Faust's imprisonment, after Celestia had already been taken away, through the vile actions of one King Sombra, who forced Faust to unwillingly bear his offspring, not that he was aware of it either."

Rarity swallowed, her stomach sickened by the thought of that. "You mean Princess Luna is a child of..." Rarity couldn't bring herself to say the word.

"She is," said Nightmare, knowing what Rarity was trying to say. "Suffice to say, Faust despises Luna, and Platinum separating them at Luna's birth was the most merciful thing she could've done. As you are likely aware, Luna became Nightmare Moon, which is all part of where I come from, meaning that I'm essentially Luna as well, which means Faust despises me as much as she does Luna. I'm sure you could tell that much from the way she refuses to say my name."

"Then why would she make you an alicorn if she wants to destroy you?"

Nightmare grinned at Rarity, "Because she's an idiot. She didn't really know what I was when she agonisingly tore me out of the dreamscape, and since I wasn't really anything solid I couldn't communicate with her. She decided to give me a body, but foolishly let me steer its design, and by the time she realised what was happening it was far too late to stop me."

"Then I sincerely hope we don't all come to regret her foolishness," Rarity said coldly.

Nightmare rolled her eyes, "Here we go. Rarity, I'm not what you think I am, and while I do bear a passing resemblance to Nightmare Moon, I am not her. I don't want to hurt anypony, or rule Equestria, or to plunge the world into eternal night. I just want to be free to live my life. I'm also trying to help you, so a little less hostility on your part would be appreciated, especially after I had you fed."

"How could you have done that?"

"I know they haven't been feeding you properly, to try and make you selfish by not giving up your food for the others. I basically told them you need to fed for me to do this, so you're less distracted by your thoughts of hunger. You're welcome by the way."

"But why? Why would they do that?"

"To break your connection to the Elements of Harmony. That way they won't work against Faust's plans even if you do escape here."

Rarity looked away, seeing the sense in what she was hearing, even if she was inclined towards ignoring them due to who was speaking to her. Still, one prisoner to another, perhaps it wouldn't hurt to listen to Nightmare. There was one thing bothering her though, more than the many other things.

"Why call yourself Nightmare if you claim to not be Nightmare Moon?"

Nightmare shrugged, "I carry all Nightmare Moon's memories within me, including a thousand years trapped on the moon. Quite simply it's a name I'm used to having."

"You remember all that? How?"

"Really Rarity, we have more important things to discuss. To put it simply, the Elements of Harmony stripped Nightmare Moon away from Luna, but didn't destroy her, instead locking her remains away in Luna's head, along with most of her memories of being Nightmare Moon. Through a series of improbable events, I ended up being made from those fragments, and also from Luna." Nightmare sighed and rubbed the side of her head irritably, "As I said, it's complicated. Now can we please get onto the important stuff? I hate having to explain all this to ponies."

"I'd say it's rather necessary to explain it if you wish to garner even a modicum of trust, but for what it's worth, I believe you, and if Twilight trusts you, then I shall trust you."

"How generous," Nightmare deadpanned.

"Now how do you intend to help me? You have a way to escape?"

"Hah! I wish. But no, I don't have a way to escape, and neither do you. I know you're not going to like hearing this, but you need to stop pinning your hopes on a rescue, especially from Twilight."

"What?! How could you even say that? There's no way Twilight would just leave us to rot in here!"

"It doesn't matter what Twilight wants. I bet she wants nothing more than to save you and the others, but she knows as well as I, if not better, that rescuing you really isn't possible right now."

"And why might that be?" Rarity fumed. That Nightmare could claim to be Twilight's friend and then say that about her. Sure Twilight had been a little off lately, but she wouldn't just leave them there. Would she? Rarity suddenly found herself very wary of what she thought she could be sure of.

"This is High Rock Keep you're in," Nightmare continued, ignoring how worried Rarity now seemed. "It's a big, magic proof fortress guarded by a well armed and experienced army. Equestria would need an army itself to get in here. And while Equestria does now have an army, it is laughably outmatched, and quite frankly is more concerned with protecting Equestria than saving three ponies and a baby dragon. Then there's the fact that Faust is here."

"And why is that such a big issue?"

Nightmare tapped a hoof to her chin, "How to explain this... Uh, okay, if alicorns were to be considered gods amongst ponies, Faust would be a god amongst alicorns. She is so far beyond Twilight, or Celestia, Luna, or any of us. Maybe even all of us. While Faust is here, Twilight would only be dooming herself trying to save you."

"She couldn't possibly be that powerful," Rarity sniffed, dismissing the idea.

"Rarity, she is at least the equal of Discord in terms of power, and I don't think I need to explain the kind of power he has. Faust is not to be trifled with, which is why you need to put these thoughts of getting rescued away. You might get rescued one day, but don't kid yourself into thinking it'll be any time soon."

Rarity opened her mouth to argue, and she really did want nothing more than to tell Nightmare she was wrong, but her own doubts quickly gnawed at her assertions before she could even say them. Frankly, Nightmare was speaking too much sense, and Twilight wouldn't throw herself away on a hopeless rescue. Once upon a time maybe, but that time had been and gone.

"Why are you telling me this? How is this possibly helping me in the slightest?"

"It doesn't now, but hopefully the lack of a rescue will hurt less as time goes on." Nightmare shrugged sadly, "Perhaps now you won't blame Twilight when that rescue fails to materialize in the slightest. It's not because she doesn't want to, but because she literally can't."

Rarity slumped to the ground, suddenly feeling inexplicably tired. She'd basically been told to throw her hopes and optimism out the window, and if what Nightmare had said was true, it made sense to do so. The problem was that hope and optimism was all Rarity felt she had left. Without those...

"I'm sorry Rarity, but you needed to hear that before you started to blame Twilight for not coming."

"You don't know that! You don't know she isn't coming!"

"You're right, I don't, but while I'd appreciate the rescue myself, I'd happily call her a fool for taking such a stupid risk."

Rarity fell to her stomach and hid her face behind her legs as tears started falling down her cheeks. Now that Applejack and Fluttershy were... slipping away from her, and there was no rescue coming, all she had left was Spike, and she couldn't even see him.

"Wait, what was that about Applejack and Fluttershy?"

"Excuse me?" Rarity looked up sharply at Nightmare.

Nightmare grinned sheepishly, "Sorry, but I can read your thoughts a bit if I pay attention. Not intentionally I assure you. Whatever. You said, or thought, whichever, that Applejack and Fluttershy are slipping away from you. What do you mean?"

"And why should you care?"

"Because you're all Twilight's friends, and I care about her enough to care about what happens to you. Now please, tell me what you mean."

Rarity almost didn't say anything, mostly out of spite, and also because she knew Nightmare could probably rip it out of her head if she so desired. However, the contrite way Nightmare sat before her pushed her to at least have a go, and she explained what had happened with the others earlier.

Nightmare hummed thoughtfully. "It sounds like they're succumbing to Faust's mind control spell."

"Mind control spell? What do you mean by that?"

"It's how she's got everypony here to side with her so fast. From the outside it looks like a love spell, to force ponies to adore her, but there's more to it than that. It also forces ponies to think she's right, or something, I don't know, I'm not an expert. The point is that it's affecting your friends too. It's not their fault Rarity."

"Oh..." Rarity sighed, then stopped as a thought struck her. "Wait, why aren't I affected, or you?"

"My guess is that inhibitor you're wearing has protected you from the spell. As for me, I have no idea. Maybe being an alicorn has something to do with it." Nightmare shrugged again, "I'm just guessing if I'm honest. Although, I do think I could help your friends if I can get to them, and I think I know just how to do that."

Rarity brightened up slightly, "You could?"

"Perhaps."

"Then yes, please do. I need them if I'm going to get through this."

Nightmare grinned crookedly, "Alright then. I'm going to end this now, and I'm sorry to say that it is going to hurt, a lot. I just felt I should apologise for that."

Rarity whined in the back of her throat, "Very well, I guess there's no avoiding it. Save my friends though, and I will happily forgive any pain."

"I shall certainly do my best."

The world turned white as Nightmare broke the connection between them, and Rarity screamed into her gag as a spear of agony lanced through her head, again and again in time with the beating of her heart which was inexplicably loud in her ears. She sucked in a shuddering breath and screamed again, her teeth and jaw aching from how hard she was biting down.

The pain quickly faded though, lessening from blinding agony to mere pain over several seconds. Just in time to hear the conversation between Nightmare and Faust.

"What do you mean she doesn't know anything?"

"She doesn't know anything," Nightmare stated, emphasising each word. "Her last memories of Twilight's whereabouts was when she left to come here. You've seen Twilight more recently than she has. As far as she knows, if Twilight isn't here, or in Equestria, she could be anywhere."

Faust growled with rage and Nightmare flinched as the larger alicorn held up a hoof to strike her. "What of their connection through the Tree of Harmony?"

"There was something there," Nightmare lied, having not even bothered to look, "but it was weak. Too weak to follow. If I could get access to the other two bearers I might be able to find, or build a stronger connection."

"Very well," Faust said slowly as she lowered her hoof and opened the door to the room. "Guards?"

"Yes my Lady?"

"Return Rarity to her cell and bring me Fluttershy."

"At once."

Nightmare sat quietly to the side as Rarity was unstrapped. The poor mare couldn't even stand after her ordeal, so the guards eventually settled for slinging her over the back of one of their number. Nightmare caught Rarity looking at her as she was carried out, and winked at her. In return she got to see a small glimmer of hope that shone in Rarity's eyes.
Nightmare held her grin until Rarity was out of sight, then let her face drop. When Faust found out what Nightmare had done, and was going to do to keep that small glimmer of hope alive between the three bearers... Nightmare knew it was going to cost her dearly.

"Twilight better appreciate this," she whispered to herself.

Rarity was, for the closest version she could get to it right now, happy. While she had inititally questioned herself for hoping Nightmare actually intended to help any of them, it seemed the black alicorn had been true to her word. She'd returned Fluttershy and Applejack to her, and that alone gave Rarity hope enough that things could be okay. Yes the illusion they'd shared of being rescued had been shattered, but Rarity had accepted the sense behind Nightmare's words, as had the others. In fact, things seemed to be less pressured knowing that they weren't likely to be rescued any time soon, and they could put their thought's towards simple survival instead.

"Ah'm telling you Rarity, we'll survive on a bit less food for a day or two. You're going to end up really hurting yourself if you don't eat more."

"I know, but every time they ask me, I enjoy the aggravation on their faces when I refuse to give in to them. It's the only thing that helps me sleep at night these days."

Applejack sighed and grinned, "You're hopeless Rarity. I'm telling you to say yes to having the extra food tonight. It won't be you being selfish, but you graciously accepting a gift from me and Fluttershy. Seriously, if you refuse it tonight, I'm going to throw my own food at you just to spite you. Don't. Do. It."

"Fine, fine." Rarity smiled at both Applejack, and what she could see of Fluttershy. "Thank you, both of y-"

A scream echoed through the dungeon, followed by another. Desperate pleas for mercy came afterwards, pleading for something to not be done.

"Good heavens," Rarity whispered, pressing her face to the bars of her cells to try and see where the screams came from. The others did the same, including the former Viscount Francis. "What are they doing to that poor mare?"

"It sounds awful," Fluttershy whimpered. She stopped and squeezed her lips together tightly as Faust walked down the hallway towards them, unheedful of the screams behind her.

"She brought this on herself," Faust said, almost like she could read what they were all thinking. "She could have earned herself some mercy by complying, but instead she had to defy me. Now that creature is paying the price of her defiance. I suppose you think that means you've won, but it matters little in the end, so congratulations I suppose for having her outsmart me."

"You can hardly blame us for her actions," Rarity said to Faust. "We didn't even know she existed until you forced her to invade our minds."

"As I said, it matters little. I'm also not here to gloat over the fate of a pony that deserves all she suffering she earned for herself. She will no longer be a danger to anypony after this, so worry not for her fate. What I am here to do is inform you that you won't be seeing me for a while. Events have progressed enough to begin the ordering of this world, so I shall be occupied for quite some time. Until such a time as I return, I have instructed your guards to keep you well enough. So enjoy your hollow victory over me, for as I said, it matters little. Good day."

"What was that about?" Spike asked as Faust left slowly, the screams of Nightmare falling into a hushed silence.

"It means she's about to attack Equestria," Francis said smugly. "About damn time too."

Author's Notes:

Okay, back in the saddle! (Hah, horse puns.) Things should hopefully return to relative normality with weekly posts for a while, so... yay!

I've also started going over Freemare for those interested. Not to make any major changes, but to fix my frankly terrible grammar, and other small mistakes. I'm only talking like a chapter every now and then when I have the time, but it will be done.