Bonus chapter! Enjoy!

3 Days later...

Traitor to your Element!

No friend of mine!

Uncool jerk!

Fire. Fire everywhere. All she once held dear, and all she holds dear now, burning.

Rainbow bolted up with a start, sweat streaking down her head. A few minutes of panting, and she managed to get her breathing under control, she eased herself out of her bed. She didn't bother to put on her tunic, let alone her armor; She just groggily trotted over to once of the couches, collapsing on it in a heap. She then gripped her head, letting out dry sobs and racking, heaving breaths.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry." She repeated this over and over like a mantra, yet it was never enough. Even though she wasn't asleep, she could still see them. The calm face of Noblis, the terror-stricken ones of the miners, and the others of the several other missions the Caesar had given her. Her heaving and sobbing got worse as she sunk her face even further into the soft couch.

She had been able to live with herself before, but only because of the crackers. Now, the guilt welled up like a hurricane; one that, if unleashed, would rip her apart. The actions she had been ordered to commit sent her reeling, and she wanted it to stop. Her only defense from it came from the fact she was merely following orders. However, this was a weak excuse and one that barely helped.

"Domina?," a voice said, causing her head to fly up. Castus stood at the door, face contorted into a look of concern. "Are, uh; are you ok, Domina?"

"Y-yeah! Fine! Just fucking peachy," she said. It was half-assed, even for her, and Castus wasn't fooled for a second.

"Are you sure? I mean, I've never seen you like this before, and you-"

"I said I'm fine!," she snapped. "Just, ran out of my meds, that's all."

He entered, muttering something. Rainbows ears perked up, but she couldn't quite catch what it was. Instead, she asked, "What did you say?"

"What?"

"You heard me. What, did, you, say? And don't lie to me."

He gulped, tugging at the collar of his tunic. "Er, nothing."

She trotted up to him, her iron talons clacking on the floor. When she was a few inches from his face, she said, "I said don't lie to me. Now, tell the truth, or so help me, not even the Lords of Tartarus will find you when I'm done with you."

He looked incredibly uncomfortable but sighed and lowered his head. When he raised it up again, he said, "Ok. I said 'Did I do the right thing?'"

It was now Rainbows turn to shoot a look his way. "And what exactly did you mean by that?"

"I, er, I, I-"

"I, er, I, I," she mocked. "Sometime in the next year, cocks-for-brains."

He sighed, then said, "Alright. When you've been out on missions and Dominus Tonituro has been taking his nap, I've been swapping out your crackers with matter beads. They're normally used for just wetting something down, but they're small enough to pass for them when dyed."

For several brief seconds, neither of them said a word. Then, Rainbows' face contorted in rage, and she grabbed him by the throat.

Castus was thrown to the ground, sinking a few centimeters into the thick mud by the forest, just outside the capital. Just above him, flapping wings casting constantly shifting shadows over him from the rising sun. Rainbow Dash then landed, advancing on him with a swift, military gait. She then put one of her crossbow pistols to his forehead, growling out, "You have ten seconds to start talking, or else I pin you to this tree. Why, by all that is holy and sacred in this world, did you FUCK AROUND WITH MY MEDS!!?"

He leaned on his legs, trying to stand, but was halted in this endeavor when the bolt was pressed further into his forehead. "I-I wanted to help you! Those things aren't medicine; it's shit that'll ruin your body, and I thought if I could keep you from using it so much, I could help you. I only wanted to-" Once again, he was stopped in his task by the crossbow bolt.

"Ha! What a load of shit. No, really; why the fuck did you do it?"

"I'm telling the truth," he sputtered. "I swear, I didn't want to hurt you. I just wanted to help!"

She swung the pistol, smacking him in the side of the head. He further into the mud, it starting to stain his leathery skin. "Don't you fucking lie to me! You don't want to fucking help me! Nobody does. Now ANSWER ME!"

"I'm telling the-Wait, no one wants to help you? What do you mean?"

She stepped back, relieving the push of the bolt on his forehead. "Isn't it obvious!? Everywhere I fucking go, everyone fucks me over! On the mainland, it was brigands and that bastard Huffer. Later, it was Dermot and the rest of those maniacs. Now, its the condescending Caesar and the rest of her Parliamentarian assholes who have more purple dye than common sense. Why the hell would you be any different?" With that last sentence, she put the crossbow back to his head.

"Listen! I'm telling you, I want to help you. Those things aren't good for you, and I thought-"

"DON'T YOU THINK I FUCKING KNOW THAT!?," she roared. "YOU THINK I JUST DO THOSE THINGS FOR FUN!? NO! I DO 'UM CAUSE I'M A FUCKING MONSTER!"

She raised up the crossbow from his face again, firing the bolt into a tree trunk before tossing it aside. She then fell on her haunches, once again sobbing. "I-I don't want to do them. I w-want to s-st-stop. But, I c-can't li-live with myself oth-otherwise. T-the shit I-I've done. T-the p-people I killed. Hell, I even look like one. I'm just a shambling, scarred, s-self pitying monster." By now, she was full-on crying, unashamed tears falling down her face. "S-so, t-tell me. W-why the f-fuck should I believe y-you?"

He stood, walking over to her and sitting down next to her. He held one of her talons, saying softly, "Listen, Domina-Rainbow Dash. We've known one another for, what, two years now? And in that time, I've seen you suffer. Through your training, your pregnancy, your work for the Caesar. And in that time, you've done all that, and haven't failed. You kept going when most people I know would've given up and died long ago. You're strong, loyal to a, like you said, condescending Caesar, and you care deeply to your son. You aren't a monster. You're, to take a word from you, Awesome."

Her sobbing had stopped, replaced only by the heavy breathing that generally accompanied the aftermath of crying. She then said, "Prove it."

"W-what?" It was his turn to sputter out words again.

"You heard me," she said, standing up and giving him a predatory grin. "I said, prove to me that you do care." She then spun around, bucking him in the chest. He fell to the ground, and she was on him in a second, still grinning. "Keep in mind. This is my first time actually able to do something in a scenario like this, so, bear with me."