"Everything?" Honeydew said, surprised by Fleur's request. "I don't even know where to start."

"How about you start at the beginning, when they found Faust?"

"The beginning?" Honeydew nodded slowly, "Alright. It began... it began with a bargain, desperately made by a pony due to be sentenced to death for his crimes, and the crimes of his predecessors, committed against Mareitania for over a thousand years. As you can imagine, he was not impressed."

"This trial is a sham!"

Many of the ponies in the room gasped at the outburst from the Viscount, directed at the four ponies sat in a row before the dais bearing the shattered throne of the Duchy.

"It is important that you and your forebears be brought to justice for the crimes you've committed against Mareitania," Daybreak said calmly, unfazed by the outburst.

"Even with those words you admit that you consider me guilty," the Viscount shouted, pointing an accusing hoof at the members of the Council. "Stop acting like this is a trial when it already has a foregone conclusion. This is little more than a sentencing!"

"It's a trial-" Sour Mash started to say, only to be interrupted by the Viscount.

"What about you, Ivory?" he said to the pony at the left end of the Council. "You're being very quiet there because you know how this ends."

Ivory tried to maintain her composure, but even to the casual observer it wasn't hard to see the slump in her posture. "It's important that justice is done Francis. You and your family committed terrible crimes against Mareitania during their rule."

"And so the child must pay for the sins of the father," the Viscount said gruffly. "Laughable."

"Your own crimes alone are enough to see you hung," Daybreak pointedly told the Viscount.

"Is that so?"

"It is."

Francis was quiet for a moment, then smirked at the Council. "Then that is just yet more proof that this is a sham. Your laws are based upon Equestrian laws, yes?"

"They are," Daybreak confirmed.

"In that case you'd know full well that in Equestrian law you cannot retroactively prosecute ponies for crimes committed before new laws come into effect. You speak of me paying for my crimes, but the problem there is that nothing of what I did was illegal at the time. You are prosecuting me retroactively, which is by your own laws illegal, proving without a doubt that this trial is a sham, on top of you already deciding that I am, without a doubt, guilty."

The throne room went quiet as the Viscount called the Council out on their actions. The Viscount himself stood proudly, smiling smugly at the four ponies before him. "Are we going to start acting like this is what we all know it to be? A sentencing to death of a falsely accused and innocent pony, denied the right to a proper trial?"

"Like there's a single pony in this room that could possibly deny what you have done!" Snowbright shouted from the side of the room, breaking the silence he'd carefully maintained during the proceedings. He grunted as Daybreak waved him down.

"Very well, Viscount, since you hold such contempt for us, perhaps we should proceed with what you think this is."

"Or perhaps you could tell me my supposed crimes? Maybe not though, because then I'd be forced to remind you that nothing I did was illegal at the time." Francis nodded thoughtfully, "You're right, that'd be a waste of all our times since you'd only ignore me anyway."

"Oh for goodness sake." Daybreak sat and gestured at Sour Mash, "I think we should just get on with this. These ponies here all know how guilty he is."

"Need I remind you that all these ponies here are part of your movement," Lord Hayfield said, leaning over to whisper. "This was hardly going to be the most impartial crowd to begin with. I hate to say it, but the Viscount isn't entirely wrong."

"I know," Daybreak admitted. "That's why I say it's best that we just do what we always intended. Carry on Mash."

Sour Mash stood and cleared his throat to read off the scroll in front of him. "Francis, former Viscount to the deposed Duchy of Mareitania. You have been accused and found guilty of numerous crimes against the peoples of Mareitania, including murder, slavery, and other more debauched crimes. For these crimes, you are to be hung from the neck until dead. Is there anything you wish to say?"

"Certainly. Kill me and you will never find your precious Lady."

"Excuse me?" Daybreak said slowly, unsure of what the Viscount was saying. "What are you talking about?"

"The Lady?" said the Viscount. "You know, the mythical figure that led you to overthrowing our nation's true masters? The alicorn that many of you claimed Twilight Sparkle was a messenger of? I'm sure you've heard of her."

"Of course we have heard of her!" Daybreak snapped. "What I was to know is what you're talking about!"

"She's real, and is here in this very keep, hidden away where only I can find her. If you kill me, you will never find her and she will suffer for eternity because of it."

"Just ignore him," Snowbright said to the Council. "He's just desperate to save his slimy hide."

"You're right, I am," Francis said sternly. "What I'm telling you is no lie though. I can give you your Lady, and all I ask for in return is my life and my freedom. If I'm wrong, then you've lost nothing but time, of which you have an ample supply of."

Daybreak groaned under his breath, ready to dismiss the Viscount's words, when a figure in the assembly stood, making him groan again. It was Guiding Light, leader of the church of the Lady. "Yes Guiding Light?"

"I demand that you at least investigate his claims. If our Lady truly is here in this keep, then is it not worth seeking her? I realise your need for justice is great, and I do not deny that the Viscount should pay for his crimes, but the return of the Lady is too great a hope to ignore. What better cure could there be for the ailing spirit of our country than the one being that could truly unite us all? Please councillors, I implore you to at least see if this criminal speaks true before you execute him."

"And now we have ourselves in a bind," Mash whispered to Daybreak. "You know those nutters will never stop seeking her if they think their bloody Lady might be here. Perhaps it would be easier to see if he's right, and have Guiding Light there with us just so she can be sure he was making it up."

"I agree," said Hayfield. From the other side of Hayfield was a nod from Ivory, denying Daybreak the chance of refusing it.

"Very well," Daybreak said solemnly. "We will investigate the Viscount's claims, so until we know for certain he is telling the truth, this court is adjourned."

"You can't possibly let him live!" A mare shouted from the crowd, getting shouts of agreement from others, while most of them stayed quiet. "He needs to pay for what he did!"

"And he shall," Daybreak said evenly, although he wasn't sure how to go about giving everypony what they wanted. "Now please, go in peace until you are summoned again. Except for you Viscount, and you Snowbright."

The Council waited until the room was empty save for themselves, Snowbright, Francis, and a few guards that were waiting to return Francis to his cell. He smiled smugly at the councillors, feeling superior in the knowledge that he was about to save his skin and get revenge in one fell swoop.

"You can't seriously believe him," Snowbright said to Daybreak once it was just the few of them. "Everypony knows the Lady is just a myth. He's just making this up!"

"I can assure you she is quite real," Francis said smoothly. "My father showed me her several years ago, calling her our greatest secret, and the reason why there must always be a Duke on the throne of Mareitania."

"To keep her there?" Ivory asked.

"Perhaps. I don't honestly know. My father acted like she was a threat to him, but all I saw was a starving and broken pony." Francis shrugged, "She doesn't seem like a danger to anypony, except maybe myself, but I have nothing to lose in that case."

"And how could your father have possibly captured and contained somepony like the Lady?" Mash said, his scorn clear in his voice.

"He didn't," Francis replied. "She's been there since before the Duchy was founded. Since before the exodus even. She was put there by none other than Princess Platinum, although I have no idea why. I wouldn't be surprised if nopony knows, including the Lady herself. I can tell you though, that both Twilight Sparkle, and Princess Celestia knew about her, and not only chose to leave her there, but to seal her in even tighter."

"That's bullshit," said Snowbright, only to get a faint smile from Francis.

"You can ask her yourself when we find her. Of course, there's still the matter of my life. If I help you find her, I want a full pardon and enough marcs to start a new life in comfort where I will be no trouble to you at all. You can even monitor me if you feel the need."

"You haven't even begun to prove your claims," Hayfield pointed out. "Perhaps you ought to before making demands."

"Very well." Francis pointed up at the shattered throne, at its highest point where an ornate disc sat at its peak. "The disc at the top of the throne. That's the key to her cell. You can simply pull it out with your magic."

"Uh-huh," Daybreak grunted, grabbing at the disc with his magic, and pulling it. To his shock it slid free, turning out to be a couple of inches wide. It was also rather heavy, and when he brought it to himself he turned it over, revealing a collection of mechanisms on its underside. "Huh."

"Now that's over with, let's move on to my monthly stipend."

Snowbright grabbed the Viscount's mane, pulling his head down until his ear was level with Snowbright's mouth. "You haven't proven anything yet, not until we know where she really is."

"She's in a section below the dungeons, in the part all but the Duke was forbidden to go. You know exactly where it is, or where it should be anyway."

"What do you mean where it should be?" Ivory asked as Snowbright released the Viscount's mane.

"In an attempt to prevent the Lady's release, Princess Celestia sealed over the entrance so you can hardly tell it's there."

Sour Mash snorted a laugh, "Then maybe we should do the same. If Princess Celestia thought this alicorn, who might not even be the Lady, was dangerous enough to seal away forever, perhaps we should pay attention to that."

"I doubt she's dangerous," Francis insisted. "I've seen her, and she is not a threat. Even if she was, what better way to spare yourselves her wrath than to be the ones that rescued her?"

"And set her on Equestria instead?" said Hayfield. "Our only allies in this larger world we find ourselves part of now? Don't be ridiculous."

Francis rolled his eyes, "She'll get out one day anyway, either by being discovered, or simply through time wearing away the mountain. Wouldn't it be better to do it now, so you can be in control of it?"

"What do you think Daybreak?" Ivory asked the yellow unicorn, who had gone quiet as he stared at the key in his magic.

"All my life I've heard about the Lady. I never really believed in her, but holding this key... I don't know. I want to believe, and there's only one way to be sure." Daybreak looked up sharply, locking eyes with the Viscount. "Francis, you won't be getting a monthly stipend or anything like that, but if you are right, you have my guarantee that your life will be spared, and even kept comfortably. Agreed?" he added, looking at the other councillors, getting a nod in answer.

"Refuse," said Snowbright, "and we'll go looking anyway since you already pretty much just told us where she is."

Francis cursed under his breath. He had lost control of negotiations, he knew that, but now they had him by the throat so he couldn't refuse if he wanted to live. "Fine, I accept."

Daybreak nodded once, "Good. Take us to her."

"So they just accepted the Viscount's word for all of it?" Fleur raised an eyebrow at Honeydew, "Really?"

"He wasn't important to the Council, other than as a pony to direct the blame onto. All he had to bargain with was his life. If they didn't find the Lady, he knew they'd only proceed with executing him.

"Since I already know they found her, I suppose it's too much to hope that he was wrong, and they executed him anyway?"

"It is unfortunately. Unluckily for all of us, he took them straight to where they needed to go."

"Here," said Francis, running his hoof over the small indentation left in the rock after Celestia had sealed the entrance. "This is where the entrance to the Lady's prison is. Or was, at least. I can't begin to guess how thick the rock is."

Daybreak looked over the mostly blank wall that the Viscount had led them to through a long corridor of empty cells. Apparently the entrance had been left uncovered and unprotected for the entire time the Duchy had existed, save for the threat of horrible things if you went down there. Now there was a blank wall with a dent in it, and the slightest hint that the wall had almost flowed like water to become that way.

"And you're sure this is the place?" Mash asked, eyeing the Viscount.

"Positive," said Francis. "Unless Celestia did this to the entire passage, all you have to do is break through this rock."

"I really dislike the way he seems so happy about all this," Snowbright whispered to Daybreak. "I seriously think he's planning something."

"I'd be surprised if he's not," Daybreak whispered back. He glanced at Guiding Light and the collection of other ponies they'd brought with them to prove that this was either real or a hoax. "It's too late to stop now." He gestured at a couple of ponies bearing an iron bar and a large hammer, to start breaking through the rock.

The one holding the bar placed its point on the indentation, and held it there as the one with the hammer repeatedly struck the other end with a painful sound that echoed around the dungeons. It took a couple of minutes to break through, and then they did the iron bar flew through the hole with nothing there to stop it, and it was as much as the hammer pony could do to not smash the hammer against the head of his counterpart.

"See!" Francis shouted triumphantly. "It's hollow behind it! Now you just need to break the rest down so we can find your Lady."

"With all due haste!" Guiding Light added. "I hate to imagine the condition she must be in to after having been sealed away for so long."

"There's no guarantee we're going to find anything," Snowbright reminded her as the two ponies started working to clear the entrance of rock, hammering away at the obstruction.

"She's here," Guiding Light stated firmly, her eyes shining. "I know it."

Daybreak merely rolled his eyes, pinning his ears back to protect them from the sharp ringing of the hammers as they broke down the entrance inch by inch. He briefly paid attention to the Viscount and how keen he seemed about all this. He'd been pretty unrepentant about everything so far, so to think he was helping to free the Lady for her benefit alone seemed unlikely. He gained something from this, but what?

It took a while, but eventually the entrance was cleared, and they put aside their tools as they prepared to venture into the darkness. Daybreak led the way, his horn glowing to provide a light by which to see as they descended down a spiral stairs cut into the stone, each step made treacherous by the rubble covering them that Ivory swept away as she passed.

"Up there, the blue glow," Francis said as they reached the bottom, pointing up the dark hallway to a blue glow at the far end. "That's her cell."

Daybreak only nodded and started heading in the direction indicated. There were other cells down here, but each of them seemed to be empty of even the most basic of amenities. Eventually he stopped looking as something blocked most of the light from the far cell.

"Who's there?" a voice called out, raspy and weak. Daybreak was readying himself to respond when Guiding Light pushed past him and sprinted for the cell.

"My Lady? Is it really you?" Guiding Light placed her hooves on the door to see in through the small window in the door. Blue eyes stared back at her, framed by strands of a thin, burgundy mane attached to the head of a white alicorn. "It is you! It is! You are real! You're-"

"Who are you?" the voice asked again, her eyes flicking to the others in the passage as they came closer.

"We're here to save you," Guiding Light said, sounding a little unsure. "I am Guiding Light, leader of the Church of the Lady, and we're here to release you."

"Release me?" A small smile crept onto the corners of the alicorn's mouth. "You really intend to release me?"

"Of course! Daybreak, give me the key, please?"

Daybreak kept the key out of Guiding Light's grasp as he stepped up to the door. He eyed the alicorn within, seeing her bone-thin and ragged appearance, the black bands around parts of her, whose runes glowed blue as they nullified her magic, and the glimmer of hope in her eyes. If this wasn't the Lady, he had no idea who else she could be. He still felt it prudent to ask though.

"Who are you?"

"Me?" the alicorn said, like she was surprised to be asked.

"Is it not clear she's the Lady!" Guiding Light growled. "Give me that key so I can let her out!"

"The Lady?" the alicorn said, giving Guiding Light pause.

"Yes, the Lady, or the Lady of the North if that is the name you prefer. The first alicorn, whom protected us from the terrors of the frozen north? The alicorn that made us? The alicorn that helped shape the world?" Guiding Light trailed off, her voice growing weak with a fear that this alicorn wasn't who she hoped it was. "That is you, isn't it?"

Daybreak couldn't help but notice the guilty expression that flashed across the alicorn's face at the mention of the 'terrors of the frozen north.'

"I am whom you speak of, yes, but I was never called the Lady."

"Then who are you?" Daybreak asked.

"My name... is Faust."

"And you know nothing of being the Lady of the North?"

"I've been here for fifteen hundred years, and I was never called such a thing, not even during those scant visits I received off the various dukes that ruled over the centuries I've been here."

"How are you not dead?" Snowbright asked, rather tactlessly.

"Because I have no choice in the matter."

"Just like Twilight," Ivory murmured.

Faust's eyes flashed with anger upon hearing Twilight's name, "I'm guessing you must be Twilight Sparkle's rebels to speak of her in such a way. Would it please you to know that she, Princess... ngh, Luna, and Celestia, all conspired to keep me here?"

"I told you they knew," Francis said smugly.

Daybreak pointed a hoof at the Viscount, "You, shut up. I refuse to believe that Twilight, Celestia, and Luna would have kept Faust here without a good reason."

"I- I don't know," Faust whimpered. "Please, just... please let me out. You're rebels, so you must know what it's like to want to be free? That's all I want right now! To not be trapped in here any longer!"

"Please!" Guiding Light begged, falling to her knees before Daybreak, "Can you not see she is suffering? Please release her."

Daybreak closed his eyes and sighed, unable to escape the feeling that this might have been a mistake. "Alright," he said. "We'll free her."

"Thank you," Faust said wearily as Guiding Light squealed with joy.

Daybreak turned the key in his magic, lining up the notches on it that corresponded with those in the lock, then slid it in. Glowing lines flashed to life on the key, forming a jumbled confusion of picture fragments. Daybreak stared at it dumbly, not even beginning to see what it was supposed to be.

"You have to complete the image," Faust explained.

"I don't know what that's supposed to be though," Daybreak admitted.

"The key was forged by skilled artificers in the service of Princess Platinum as part of her plan to trap me here and secure her legacy, and that of her people," Faust explained. "The image forms the coat of arms for Unicornia."

"That was the profile of a unicorn head, wasn't it?" said Mash. "On a blue background with stars?" He reached out to move one of the sections of the image, only for an arc of magic to strike his hoof, making him rapidly pull it back. "Son of a bitch! Ow!"

"It was forged by unicorns to only be used by unicorns," Faust explained further. "One of the unicorns will have to use their magic to manipulate it."

"Oh good," Daybreak grumbled. "I am famous for my love of puzzles." He sighed and set to work, moving piece by piece into what was hopefully a coherent image.

"Who was that?" Snowbright asked, peering into the cell to the right of Faust's, its sole occupant being a rather elderly skeleton that seemed to have been dismembered at some point.

"That was the pony that led the rebellion some four hundred years ago," Faust told him with a hint of bitterness in her voice. "They forced her to surrender herself, and brought her here."

"So they knew she couldn't have been the Lady as she claimed, because they had the real one here all along," Hayfield said thoughtfully. "Did you not learn of the Lady through her?"

"I wasn't aware it applied to me, and her pained ravings as she was cut to pieces and left to die weren't the most enlightening things I've ever heard. I don't think she really knew who I was before that happened, other than I was just another prisoner here."

"She died the death she deserved for daring to impersonate you," Guiding Light said with conviction, drawing some concerned looks from those around her until she was corrected by Faust.

"She tried her best to help ponies. Nopony deserves to die for that."

"Oh, um... apologies my Lady, I didn't mean to-"

"Got it!" Daybreak shouted gleefully. There was a click, and the blue lines extended from the key to the door, travelling along lines cut into its surface as various noises came from inside it. Just as it seemed to be building to something, the magic faded, and the door swung ever so slightly inwards.

Faust backed up as Daybreak gently pushed the door open and recoiled at the smell, then gingerly walked back to the doorway, setting one hoof outside her cell, then another, then all of them. She suppressed a cry of joy in her throat, but not enough to stop an excited sounded whine escaping.

She started walking, ignoring the stares she got at her gaunt frame and fraying feathers. She had spent a millennium and a half with nothing but rock over her head, and now she felt a pressing need to see the sky. He legs protested against the activity, going both stiff and weak, but she persevered as there was nothing that was going to stop her now.

All of them followed her up the stairs in silence, keeping a watchful eye on the shaky alicorn. She stopped for breath at the top, which allowed Snowbright a chance to catch the amused grin the Viscount was wearing. He held a hoof to the Viscount's chest, slowing him as Faust and the others set off again.

"You might have been right about her, but something tells me this is far more than just an exercise in altruism for you. You're planning something, and I'll be damned if I don't put a stop to it."

"I have done nothing except that which I promised," Francis blustered. "In fact, since I have done just that, I think I'll be taking both my life and my freedom, thank you very mu- Ah!" Francis shouted as Snowbright grabbed him by the collar and swung him in through the open door of a cell, slamming it shut behind him. "What do you think you're doing?"

"You may have bought your life with this, but there is no way in hell that we would ever let you go free." Snowbright reared up and slammed his hooves against the bars of the cell, "You will rot in here for the rest of your miserable life, until you wish we'd killed you!" His piece said, Snowbright pushed away from the cell and followed after the others.

Francis pressed his face against the bars, but even he had the sense to realise that nothing he could say would matter. All he could do was rest assured that the seeds of his revenge had been sown.

"Of all the things I wish could've been different about our time in Mareitania," Fleur sighed, "killing the Viscount is now number one. All of this could have been avoided so easily."

"It is such a small oversight to cause so much trouble," Honeydew agreed. "Frankly he would have deserved it anyway."

"Quite. Still, spending the rest of his life in a cell is a comeuppance of sorts." Fleur raised an eyebrow at Honeydew as the mare nodded her agreement, "How do you know all this anyway? You weren't there for any of this."

"Actually I was at the trial, but the rest was pretty well known. The return of the Lady wasn't something to not talk about, and there were enough ponies around spreading rumours to be able to create quite a comprehensive story. It was all common knowledge by the end of the week."

"I see. Please continue."

It didn't take long for Snowbright to catch back up with the others, running into them on the steps out of the dungeons. All of them were watching Faust as she struggled upwards, but none of them dared to lend a hoof. Even Guiding Light kept her distance, choosing to watch her god labour step by step.

It could easily have been half an hour before Faust conquered the steps out of the dungeons, and she stopped to gasp for breath at the top. Still they were too afraid to offer her help, but not once did Faust ask for it either.

"Are we really humouring this?" Snowbright asked Daybreak as Faust set off again, making her way towards the main entrance to the keep, none of them particularly wondering how she knew the way. "I don't think I need to remind you how dangerous alicorns are, and we know next to nothing about this one."

"Other than she's the Lady," said Daybreak.

"And? Get serious Daybreak. All we know about her are stories. We don't know for certain if any of them are really true, or why this Princess Platitude, or whatever her name was, really put her down there. We need to find out if she's dangerous before we can't stop her."

Daybreak rolled his eyes at Snowbright and his overcautious attitude, "And maybe you need to wake up to what's in front of you. This is the Lady Snowbright, the Lady!"

"You said it yourself Daybreak! If Twilight, Luna, and Celestia kept her in there, it had to be for a reason! Why would three other alicorns be so afraid of this one to want to seal her away? Stop being awed by all this, and think!"

"Does she look dangerous to you? She can barely climb stairs without collapsing! Besides, the cat is well and truly out of the bag now, so there's no way we could possible hide her again."

"Then contact Twilight, Celestia, or any of them, and ask them about Faust. I'm sure the knowledge that she's a genocidal maniac would be useful before we give her too much freedom!"

Daybreak snorted a laugh at Snowbright, "You want to ask Equestria for advice? You? You hate Equestria!"

"So? If they can save us from making a huge mistake, I think it's worth it."

Daybreak patted Snowbright on the side and shook his head, "You're really overreacting here. Let's give her a chance to say her piece, then we'll consider asking the princesses for advice if we need it. For now, let's give her a bit of time out of her cell, yes?"

"Fine," Snowbright grunted, "but if this goes wrong, it's on your heads, not mine."

Daybreak shrugged, considering the matter resolved as Faust made it to the entrance. The two guards standing to either side of the double doors pulled them open, eyeing Faust with amazement. It was raining outside, and Guiding Light dashed in front of Faust to say so, but the alicorn shook her head.

"I don't care. I need to be outside."

Guiding Light frowned but nodded, stepping aside to let Faust out. She walked out into the rain, her skin twitching as the chilly droplets landed on her threadbare coat. She raised her head and smiled, laughing as she let the rain wash the filth of a millennia off her, then sat and opened her mouth, catching raindrops on her tongue.

"Ooo... so dangerous," Daybreak snarked, nudging Snowbright on the side. He walked out into the rain to Faust, clearing his throat to get her attention. "Sorry to disturb you, but as you can imagine, some of us are rather curious as to how you came to end up in that prison. Other than stories, we know very little about you."

"Of course, my apologies. I was just ecstatic at the thought of seeing the outside world again."

Daybreak bowed apologetically, "I don't mean to stop you from enjoying this moment, but... Twilight, Luna, and Celestia sealed you down there for a reason. We need to know why they did that."

"Because they fear who I am," Faust said cryptically. "I will explain all, but while I do, might I trouble you for a little food and water?"

"Well?" Fleur asked, hanging on the edge of her seat. "What did she tell them?"

"I don't know," said Honeydew, giving Fleur a helpless shrug. "Nopony except the Council, Snowbright, and Guiding Light knows, but when they left they had removed the bands inhibiting her magic, and said nothing of it except Snowbright. Even then, all he did was claim that he was right about Equestria and the princesses all along."

"So she could have told them anything? Anything at all? She could have told the truth, or a lie, or anything?"

"Anything," said Honeydew. "I wish I knew more just so I could tell you. Just so I could know myself, about why she dragged us into this war. I guess that's between her and the Council though."

"Actually, quite a few of us know the real reason why, but what I want to know is if Faust told them the truth, because I've heard it mentioned that she cannot lie. Even so, if the Council knew her story, they couldn't have agreed to attack Equestria based on that alone? That'd be madness."

"No, but there never was any proper reason. You know she used magic and the faith ponies had in her to compel Mareitania to enact her wishes."

"I know. Anyway, Faust told the Council her story. What then?"

"After that nopony saw Faust for a week save the Council, Snowbright, and Guiding Light. I was surprised when she asked to see me."

Honeydew gulped nervously at the alicorn before her. She'd been washed, brushed, and fed, but a week was far from long enough to remove a millennia and a half of neglect, even from an alicorn. Faust was still painfully thin, and the bald patches where the bands had worn away her coat stood out. There was also no warmth in her eyes that Honeydew could see. It felt like the look Faust was giving her was the look of a workpony inspecting their tools.

"I'm told you create wondrous machines," Faust said before the silence became too thick to break. "Powered by fire and steam no less."

"T-t-that's right," Honeydew stammered. "Steam power is the future of our country."

"Of course it is, yes, but what about the weapons? Are those the future too?"

Honeydew shook her head rapidly, "No! I regret ever designing those horrible things! I'd take it back if I could." Honeydew cowered at the hint of disappointment in Faust's eyes.

"But a machine like that is but another tool, and in the right hooves could be used to protect rather than harm."

Honeydew twisted her hooves together, wishing to be anywhere but where she was. "I guess, but it would only protect by causing harm to others. I'm not sure that's much better."

"It seems strange for such a gentle soul to have created such terrible machines, and even stranger for a creator to hate their creations. Still, I cannot fault you for your honesty." Faust smiled kindly at Honeydew, "I have a request to make of you. I wish for you to continue designing and building these tanks."

Faust's horn flashed, and Honeydew looked up at it, unsure of what that meant. "I'm pretty sure only the Council can ask me to do that, and I made it clear that I wouldn't without good reason."

"Is the safety of Mareitania not a good enough reason?" Faust said sharply, a trace of anger creeping into her words.

"Not unless I know what I'm keeping Mareitania safe from?"

"Equestria."

Honeydew almost laughed, but managed to hold it back as she saw how serious Faust was being. "B-b-but Equestria are our allies. They helped to free us from the Duke. Didn't they?"

"Yes, but I'm sure they only seek to use you for their own ends in the future. I'm sure they're more than happy to steal your steam powered machines from you to use."

"But Equestria already has steam power. We actually stole a lot of our knowledge on it from them rather than the other way around."

Faust's expression darkened, "So they already possess steam tanks? Troubling."

"I don't think so. Equestria is a pacifist country, and they don't even possess a standing army, let alone maintain things like steam tanks."

"But we shall have to prepare in case they do, meaning you shall have to build and design more steam tanks." Faust's horn flashed again, and again Honeydew stared at it quizzically.

"You sound like you want to attack Equestria."

Faust opened her mouth to answer, shut it slowly with a click, then tried again. "Celestia and Luna kept me imprisoned here, and I wish to be prepared in case they try to imprison me again."

"Not Twilight Sparkle though?" Honeydew quickly decided to stop talking as Faust grit her teeth.

"Twilight Sparkle is a hero of Mareitania," she said, although it seemed to pain her to do so. "I have no direct quarrel with her, but with her masters."

"You mean Celestia and Luna again? I thought that as a princess she was their equal?"

"It doesn't surprise me you would think that way. Twilight Sparkle is little more than a servant from what I've seen, and I'm sure the Council would like to see her freed from her bonds of servitude. You could help that by designing more tanks."

"I... don't think that's a good idea. Maybe I should talk it over with the Council before I decide." Honeydew wasn't about to say it, but she was convinced that Faust definitely planned on attacking Equestria at some point. She hoped the Council would put a stop to that.

"Very well, but I think you'll find the Council agrees with me in that we should build Mareitania's defenses," Faust said matter of factly, like her say on it was final. "Go discuss it with them if you must, but don't be surprised when they tell you the same as I have."

"What did the Council say?"

"They said that if Faust thinks we should build more tanks, we should build more tanks. It's clear to me now that they were quite under her control by that point."

"You mentioned her horn flashing. Do you think she was trying to control you as well?"

"Most definitely," Honeydew said with a firm nod. "I can't think of any other reason she'd want to see me in person. I think it was after that she started creating her widespread form of mind control, after her failure with me told her the magic wasn't fool proof. Maybe she hoped that individuals like me would be so outnumbered by her followers that we'd have no choice but to go along with it all. It worked too."

"Perhaps," Fleur agreed. "Do you know how she cast the spell to get everypony to follow her?"

"I don't know, but she made a request for a pure crystal, I know that. The problem was that the crystals from Mareitania fell far short of the quality she needed, so the Shades were dispatched to acquire one from Equestria with exacting specifications."

"You have got to be kidding me," Fleur grumbled. "They managed to do that, and we had no idea at all?"

"Equis was probably still being unified from the Royal and Night Guard at that time," Sonny pointed out, breaking the silence she'd maintained throughout all of this so far. "It wouldn't surprise me they missed that, and a lot of other things at the time. Especially since we had no idea Mareitania was becoming a threat as well."

"Right, right, of course." Fleur slumped down and pushed her fringe up with a hoof, holding it there for several seconds before letting it fall with a sigh as company. "What happened after that then?"

"Not much really. With your pegasi still in the country, and only those within High Rock under her control, not a lot could happen without you finding out about it. They probably laid the groundwork of the military growth they needed to attack you with. Nopony really even saw Faust that much either, and I spent as much time in Stalliongrad as I could, working on the tanks and other things because I felt so out of place in High Rock, and used to get the worst headaches."

"So the Council convinced you to start working on the tanks and other things?"

"They did, but I was far from happy about it. After I was done designing Mareitania's rail network, I had very little involvement in it. That's when all the other work started, such as designing and building the various machines that would streamline the production of war materials. Other than that, I have no idea what else was really happening. Not until the pegasi were removed from New Pegasopolis, and the city destroyed."

"What about the story that you were under threat from the griffons?" Sonny asked.

"That was the story spread to the populace about why so much military development was going on, but by the time it mattered, Faust had already started to spread her magic outside of High Rock. Nopony really questioned it after that. Just as they didn't really question it when the pegasi left, or when it was revealed that they were going to be attacking Equestria. If the Lady wished it, they were happy to comply."

Fleur steepled her hooves as a thought came to her, "How did they destroy New Pegasopolis? Bombs tend to have a limited effect on clouds unless you enchant them to not go through clouds, or can time the explosions."

"They used the Adepts, like they did against the original Pegasopolis. Sort of anyway. We tried to use the tanks, even though I told them that the city was well out of their range. As you said, they were rather ineffective. The griffons, however, weren't recruited until after the first Equestrian raid on the shipyards by Brayside. I couldn't tell you how they got involved though."

"We're getting ahead of ourselves here," said Fleur. "The plans were laid to build up Mareitania's military, and Faust started spreading her influence outside of High Rock using an enchanted crystal from Equestria. Otherwise, nothing much happened for a while, yes?"

"Mmhmm," Honeydew hummed with a nod. "Time was an issue though, and it was getting closer to the time they'd have to remove the pegasi before they started noticing things."

"Ironic then that Griffon Intelligence spotted far more going on than the pegasi ever did," Sonny pointed out.

"Too true," Fleur agreed. "I don't think it's too hard to imagine that the military build-up began, followed not too long after by the removal of the pegasi."

Honeydew nodded at Fleur, "Yes, but Faust first had to learn about you, Twilight, and everything else. For that she needed a pony from Ponyville to question, and Pegasopolis had four of them for her to choose from."

Honeydew watched nervously as General Snowbright marched into High Rock, a metal crate with holes drilled into its sides carried behind him. She couldn't see what was in it, but the frightened whimpering coming from within told her it was most likely a pony, and definitely a female.

"What's going on?" she asked Daybreak who was standing nearby, watching what was happening with a fierce intensity. "Who is that?"

"That is the pegasus our Lady requested to question about Twilight Sparkle and the Elements of Harmony. Whatever else she knows about Equestria would be useful too."

"You've abducted her?" Honeydew quickly bit her tongue before she said anything she shouldn't. One of her observations of the ponies under Faust's control was that they spoke quite freely about the Lady and her plans, so long as they believed you were on the same side. Her work ethic had ponies believing Honeydew was happy to work for the Lady, but truthfully it was only to distract herself from the reality of the situation, even if it actively made that situation worse.

"She will be unharmed," Daybreak assured Honeydew. "It's unfortunate that she had to be brought here in such a way, but we had to bring her here without the other pegasi noticing."

"How could they possibly not notice one of their own is missing?" Honeydew asked, seeing that as a major flaw in the plan. "You know what those Equestrians are like," she added, trying to voice a positive thing in a negative way, as the Equestrian pegasi tended to look out for each other in this country that had proven less than welcoming to them.

"They'll be too busy to worry about it soon enough."

Honeydew swallowed back her reply, as it sounded like they intended to attack the pegasi, which was a terrible idea on so many levels. Instead she allowed herself to be distracted by the crate being open, and its contents dragged out by a unicorn. It was indeed a pegasus mare, a dingy purple in colour with a very light sea-green mane and tail. She wore a large pink bow in her mane, suggesting the mare was relatively young.

As soon as she was out of the crate, the mare tried to take flight to escape her captors. The exit had already been shut, so it was unlikely she'd get far, but she tried none the less. She'd barely made it two meters off the ground when the magic of the unicorns around her grabbed her, pulling her back down and slamming her against the ground hard enough to stun her.

"Pluck her wings," Snowbright commanded, only to be immediately countermanded by Daybreak.

"Only pluck enough to stop her flying. This pegasus has done nothing to deserve such treatment, and you know how our Lady feels about such things."

"Fine," Snowbright grumbled, nodding to some of his subordinates who started plucking feathers from the pegasus. Honeydew lowered her ears and looked away as the pegasus screamed and cried, begging for mercy from the horribly detached ponies watching her. A couple of others looked away, but that was it.

Slowly the screams relented, and Honeydew dared to look again, finding the pegasus was weeping silently into the ground, overcome by the pain. She was surrounded by her own discarded feathers that had drawn tiny trails of red onto the floor as they landed, and her wings were covered in tiny dribbles of blood that stemmed from the violently removed feathers.

"Get up," Snowbright ordered the pegasus, who didn't so much as move a muscle to obey him. "I said, get up." Snowbright slammed a hoof onto the stone floor next to the pegasus's face, shocking her into jumping to her hooves with a shriek. "Now follow me, and somepony, clean up this mess."

Honeydew almost cried in sympathy as the weeping mare followed after Snowbright on legs that shook with each step as she followed him to wherever he was taking her, her wings dragging on the floor. "You can't tell me that was necessary," she said to Daybreak.

"Faust requested that the pegasus was unbound when brought to her. I'm not pleased about what just happened, but we have to stop her escaping or attacking. Hopefully that should be the worst the poor thing has to endure."

Honeydew doubted it, but again she felt unable to say so. Trying to take her mind off it, she focussed on other things. "Why exactly was my presence requested here?"

"We have a project for you. Follow me up to the council chambers and I'll tell you all about it."

Honeydew nodded and let Daybreak lead the way. Unfortunately that involved going the same way as Snowbright had taken the pegasus. Honeydew was sickened to see the occasional smudge of red as might be left by a feather brushing blood onto the ground. Further along was a larger collection of smudges that hinted that the pegasus had collapsed.

Anger grew in Honeydew, making itself heard above the usual background terror that had dwelled in her since her meeting with Faust. This pegasus had done nothing but help Mareitania, giving her time and comfortable life up to endure the country continued to have suitable weather as the native pegasi left for Equestria. Such a selfless act, punished by being abducted and brought here at the whim of a rather polite tyrant, her wings stripped of feathers, and probably about to suffer worse, despite what Daybreak had said. Honeydew wished she could do something to help her, but had no idea where to even begin.

Before she'd had a chance to work it out, they arrived at the council chambers, formally known as the throne room, with the shattered throne still sitting as a symbol of what they had defeated to get here. Too bad Faust had made a mockery of that.

"What's this about Daybreak?"

Daybreak waved Honeydew over to the table the Council used, and rolled out a map. "I know this isn't your area of expertise, but-"

"Area of expertise? Since when has that stopped you before? I'm probably one of the best architects in Mareitania now because of the things you've had me build."

"Right, yes, and that'll come in handy for this. We need you to design an irrigation system."

Honeydew blinked at Daybreak, waiting for more information. "An irrigation system for what?" she asked when that information wasn't forthcoming.

"For Mareitania."

"For Mareitania? I'm afraid I don't understand."

"Basically, we need you to design an irrigation system for the entire country, capable of performing the same function as pegasus made weather, thus, freeing us from the need to employ Equestrian pegasi."

"That's... that's impossible! The sheer scale of such a thing would be absurd! Where are you even getting the water for such a thing if it never rains? You need pegasi for that."

"From the Mareissippi, which is fed by the mountains in the north."

"That's not going to be fit for pony consumption!"

"Then design something that'll make it fit for consumption."

"That's not a solution, but fine, assuming I could even do that, do you really expect me to be able to get water to every inch of land in the country? Including the forests and everywhere?"

Daybreak levelled a hoof, "There may be some 'acceptable' losses in the process."

Honeydew paused, her brain failing to comprehend how stupid this was. "Why are you even asking me to do this? What are you planning to do to the pegasi?"

"Nothing really. Faust feels that it would be better if the pegasi were allowed to return home to Equestria. This irrigation system would allow them to do so."

"But it would take years to design and implement something like this, and that's if it's even possible in the first place. How long do I have?"

"Before the pegasi leave? About a week."

"WHAT?! You can't be serious!"

Daybreak waved his hooves towards Honeydew to get her to calm down, "It's alright, Faust said she'd take over the weather. To be honest, what you're designing is a back-up system, rather than something we need urgently. You'll get the time you need to build it."

Honeydew felt her heart sink. Of course Faust wanted it, and what Faust wanted, she got, logic and reason be damned. "Okay, I'll see what I can come up with."

"Attagirl. You get your head down for a couple of weeks, and we'll have a look at what you can come up with."

Honeydew nodded morosely, unable to hide it this time. Thankfully Daybreak didn't notice, or didn't care. Perhaps he thought she was thinking about the task, when really her thoughts had drifted to a far darker place. Whatever it was, he didn't stop her as she left and made her way back down, stopping at the place where the pegasus had fallen.

A gross curiosity built in her, joining her anger and her desire to help the poor mare, and she found herself wandering towards Faust's chambers, following the faint trail of blood.

Two guards stood outside the door to where Faust was hosting her new guest. Honeydew doubted they would let her into Faust's room, not that she wanted to do such a thing anyway, so she ducked into the next room along, which so happened to be the chambers of the former Duke, where he'd killed himself in the last weeks of the civil war.

The room was still trashed after Trixie had her breakdown, although the crystals that had embedded everything were long gone, leaving scarred walls, splintered floorboards, and broken furniture, along with a faintly musty smell that had come with not being used. Nopony had even touched the room until Faust came along, when they'd drilled a couple of spy holes to keep an eye on her. It was one of these that Honeydew made use of now, placing her eye to it and listening to the occupants of the next room, of which there was three.

"Flitter, please," Faust said from her padded dais. "I have no desire to hurt you, but if you won't tell me what I need to know, you leave me little choice."

"I won't betray the princesses!" Flitter near screamed as she struggled in the grip of Snowbright, her cheeks shining with tears, and her chin dripping with blood. There was a slight whistle to her speech as well, which probably shared an origin with the blood if Honeydew were any judge.

"You're devotion to them is admirable Flitter, but misplaced. They are false rulers sitting on a throne of lies, built by a pony who betrayed you all. You gain nothing by protecting them."

"I-I-I don't care!"

"Pity. Snowbright, remove another one."

Honeydew looked away quickly as Snowbright jammed the end of a pliers into Flitter's mouth, but looking away wasn't enough to save her from the screech of agony that Flitter made as a tooth was wrenched out of her jaw.

"I'll ask you again Flitter, tell me about Twilight Sparkle." Flitter didn't answer, instead crying and shaking until Snowbright almost dropped her. "For goodness sake. Snowbright?"

"Wait!" Flitter screamed as Snowbright brought the pliers back to her mouth. Faust's raised an eyebrow at Flitter, and waited a moment, ready to order Snowbright to continue if Flitter said nothing. "Sh- she lives in Ponyville."

"I'm aware of that. I want to know where in Ponyville."

"In a big crystal castle in a crystal tree, you can't miss it."

"A crystal castle in a crystal tree you say? Was it built that way?"

"I-I guess? It was made when Twilight and her friends defeated Tirek."

"Made? As in built as a reward?"

"I don't know! There was a big rainbow and it just appeared out of the ground! I think it had something to with the Tree of Harmony."

"The Tree of Harmony?" Faust murmured. "Does that mean Twilight is connected to it? Her friends as well?"

"I- Yes, I, um..."

"Tell me about her friends."

"Her friends? But they're just ordinary ponies!"

"Hardly, not if they're connected to the Tree of Harmony. Snowbright, coerce her some more."

Honeydew ran as Flitter started screaming again, and didn't stop until she couldn't hear it any more.

"I'm such a coward."

"I can't say I blame you for running," Fleur said soothingly.

"But I could have done something to help her, and I was so scared I did nothing! I... I'm just a stupid coward." Honeydew looked at the floor and shuddered a sigh. "How is Flitter now? After being rescued?"

"Physically, fine. With Twilight's healing device she's recovered fully, including her teeth."

"Oh goo-"

"Mentally, she's a mess. She's still in counselling, suffers frequent nightmares, and tends to act violently to anypony that puts so much as a hoof near her mouth. Really she's about as well as you expect a victim of High Rock's tender mercies to be." Fleur laid her scarred leg on the desk in front of her.

Honeydew stared at the leg for a few seconds, then dropped her gaze. "Right."

"It's also interesting to know that the unicorn hunter in Snowbright isn't entirely dead, but that's unimportant now, although it's tempting to arrange an accident for him and his teeth. And balls. And all of him really." Fleur inhaled and exhaled slowly, "Okay, so I'm guessing that was about a week before the pegasi were forced to leave, and a few days more before we arrived?"

"That's right. I guess you kind of know the story from there."

"Yes, but I would like to know what happened right after we departed in such a hurry."

"Hold on," said Sonny. "Did you ever complete those designs for a country spanning irrigation system?"

"No. I worked on it some more, but with Faust's existence discovered by you, nopony seemed to care any more, so I stopped. Not long after that Bon Bon and her team found me and... killed me, so to speak."

"That's a shame," Sonny sighed. "I imagine those designs would have sold well in dry countries." Sonny shrugged as Fleur eyed her, "What? I've never stopped being a griffon just because I work for ponies. You can take the griffon out of Griffonstone, but you can-" Sonny stopped and grunted as the other two openly stared at her. "Just get on with whatever you're doing," she said, waving a claw at the others.

Honeydew jumped into wakefulness as a scream echoed around High Rock, then gasped as the ever-present pressure that settled in her head every time she came to High Rock suddenly disappeared, the relief washing over her like a cold shower.

Coherent thoughts escaped her for a moment, but she scrambled out of bed, catching her hooves in the sheets and falling to the floor. She clambered to her hooves and ran for the door, slamming it open and hurrying towards the source of the scream, which she knew had to have come from where Faust was.

Others were hurrying there as she did, and a crowd was gathered around Faust's chambers. Honeydew carefully pushed through them, taking care of the guards in case they decided to stop her. None did, too preoccupied with everything else to care what she did.

She stumbled into the room, and froze as she saw Faust. She cried in agony, tears running down her cheeks as blood dribbled from the severed stump of her horn. Ponies were trying to help her, but she thrashed her hooves at them, her strength sending the ponies flying.

"W-what happened?" Honeydew asked, only to be ignored. She was about to ask again when she saw Daybreak slumped against the wall, his head clutched in his hooves. "Daybreak!"

"Nggh..." Daybreak hissed as Honeydew pulled him up, keeping one hoof pressed against his forehead under his horn, his head feeling like it wanted to explode. He fluttered his right eye open, looking at the pony that was trying to help him. "Honeydew? What happened? Wait, where's Twilight?"

"Twilight? Twilight's not here." Honeydew followed Daybreak's eyes to the window Twilight and her friends had escaped through. "Wait, you mean Twilight did this?" It was as much as she could do to not sound pleased.

"She... did, yes, and she did something to me." Daybreak rubbed his head and gently removed his hoof, then paused as he remembered something, his eyes going wide. "She tortured the pegasus."

"What? Twilight? Twilight wouldn't do something like that!"

No, not Twilight. Faust tortured the pegasus. She said she wouldn't..." Daybreak blinked a few times as his thoughts gathered back together. "She lied! She lied to me!"

"Daybreak, I really wouldn't-" Daybreak started to get up, until Honeydew shoved him back down. "Think about what you're doing! Do you really want to confront her about this now?"

"But she lied to me! She told us she couldn't lie!"

"And she didn't, not entirely. I'm guessing she told you she wouldn't harm the pegasus?"

"That's right."

"Then she wasn't lying. She never touched the pegasus herself."

"But... who?"

"Snowbright. Snowbright's the one that did it."

"That mealy-mouthed, son of a bitch! I'm going to-"

"Do nothing! Stop for a moment and think clearly!"

"I am thinking clearly! I feel like I'm thinking clearly for the first time in... months..." Daybreak blinked at nothing, then turned his head towards Faust, who had finally calmed enough to let ponies help her. He was surprised to feel nothing but betrayed by her, while he knew that he would have forgotten his own problems to help her not ten minutes earlier. "What has Twilight done to me?"

"What do you mean?"

"I... she did something to me, and now I... I feel like I can see what's really happening." Daybreak pushed himself up onto his hooves, and staggered over towards Faust, who eyed him angrily through her pain. "Are you alright?"

"Alright? Do I look alright you fool? She cut off my horn!"

"And she escaped with the pegasus. The pegasus you said you weren't going to torture! You lied to me!" Behind him, Honeydew facehoofed hard enough to make it echo. "How could you lie to me?"

"Twilight Sparkle attacked me, and that's your concern?"

Daybreak was about to reply when a sharp kick to his hind quarters made him look back to see Honeydew shaking her head at him. Picking up her meaning he turned back to Faust and smiled falsely. "Apologies my Lady, I must have bumped my head harder than I thought. Excuse me."

Daybreak wasn't expecting to be dismissed, nor did he wait to be as he turned and pushed Honeydew towards the exit, hoping to get some answers once they were far enough away. He led them to his private chambers and shoved her inside roughly, locking the door behind him.

"You know something. Tell me."

"Tell you what? That having that pegasus tortured was the worst thing she's done? Do you even realise what's been going on for the last five months?"

"I don't understand what you mean."

"You let Faust take control of you and the Council! She's leading you into a war with Equestria, and you think one tortured pegasus is the biggest problem here?"

"But Equestria... Equestria..." Daybreak closed his mouth, the reasons for attacking Equestria as he understood them, turning to dust. They were attacking Equestria because Faust wanted them to. There were no other reasons. "I don't understand. How could she do this?"

"I don't know, but ever since you freed her this entire place has been acting crazy, bending over backwards to fulfil her every whim, and she's taken control of everything to force us into a war with Equestria. And you all let it happen!"

"But not you?"

"Not that it mattered," Honeydew replied bitterly. "You all forced me into designing and building more tanks because Faust wished it, and there was nothing I could do to stop it because everypony's come down with- with- Faust fever!" Honeydew panted angrily for a moment before speaking again. "If you're only seeing this now, then I guess what Twilight did was free you from this insanity."

"But she's the Lady! She wouldn't make us do all this! You're lying. You have to be."

"You know I'm not."

"But- but- Oh who am I kidding." Daybreak idly rubbed his horn, a vicious itch having spread through it. "We have to stop this."

"We can't," Honeydew sighed. "As soon as everypony here works out you're against Faust, you'll be ostracized and kicked off the council, and you'll be powerless to do anything."

"But I have to do something!"

"You can't. There's no stopping this now Daybreak. The only thing we can do is go along with it and hope things don't end too badly. You can try and stop it if you want, but leave me out of it." Honeydew unlocked the door and opened it, stopping in the entrance. "I know you can't do nothing, so could you at least be careful?"

"I'll try."

Honeydew nodded. "Take care Daybreak," she said, pulling the door shut after her.

"That was the last time I really spoke to him. I wished him the best, but if he did something stupid, I didn't want to be associated with it."

"I guess he didn't have much success in stopping the war then," said Fleur.

"He tried a few things, but he soon learnt that Faust and her puppet rulers tended to plough through any opposition to her plans. Honeydew shrugged at Fleur, "I guess he just gave up in the end."

"Or the spell wore off and he ended up back under Faust's control. I suppose it doesn't matter either way." Fleur scribbled down some last notes, then placed her pen down. "I'm not sure any of this really helps us, but I feel better for knowing it."

"So what's going to happen to me now?" Honeydew asked, her voice trembling a little.

"Not much if I'm honest. As you're aware, we're currently being invaded by Mareitania, so if you want to remain a secret, Honeydew has to stay effectively dead. I doubt you want to find out what would happen to you if the Mareitanians win and find you in Equestria. Our own counter-intelligence efforts haven't exactly proven great either, so as Bluebelle you'll stay. As for practical uses for you, we don't really have one."

"You don't want me to help develop your steam tanks?"

"You can't help develop them, because we never started to develop them. All our efforts went into developing a counter to Mareitania's tanks, rather than building our own. I guess you might be useful elsewhere though, but that decision isn't mine to make. We'll keep you here in the castle until Princess Luna returns, and she can decide whether to put you to work somewhere."

"So you want me to find somewhere for her?" Sonny asked.

"Please. If you could also arrange for somepony to touch up her disguise, I'd appreciate it. Then you can have a few, well deserved days off. I'd do it myself but I have important things to do."

"No problem boss. Come on Bluebelle."

Fleur smiled at Honeydew as she hesitantly followed after the griffon, then canted her head back and groaned loudly as soon as the door shut behind them. "That told me nothing useful!" She flicked a hoof under the papers she'd been writing on, scattering them across her desk. "Celia! I need caffeine! Celia!"

Author's Notes:

Forty four words short of a full eleven thousand. Gutting. Anyway, it felt like time to learn a bit about what went down in Mareitania after the civil war. Hopefully it might have answered some questions some of you might have, and that I haven't horribly contradicted myself as I am often worried about doing.