Mint rolled out of her bed in the infirmary onto her three unsteady hooves, nearly faceplanting onto the floor. She righted herself and shook her head, clearing the haze from her mind. The stuffy room made it hard to think clearly, which wasn't helped along by the anesthetics. Sighing, she peeled off the sensors plastered to her body and shuffled over towards the door. It opened automatically as she neared it, sliding into the wall with a light hiss. A nurse charged through the doorway at the same time and nearly collided with her. The nurse let out a small yelp before stepping back and taking a breath.

"Mint, you had me worried when the monitors went dark. You should be resting in bed, not moving around like this. You need to give your body time to heal. We've been over this," she said, motioning for her to walk back into the room.

"I'm tired of sitting around. It's been a week. Can't I just take a quick walk? Please? I'm fine, really." Mint lifted one of her hind legs and balanced shakily on two legs, smiling and trying to demonstrate her point.

The nurse ran a hoof down the side of her neck. The young pony had been sitting patiently for a while now. As long as she was careful, she wasn't likely to make her injuries worse. She sighed reluctantly. "Alright, but be careful. You'll never heal if you're always moving around."

"Thank you!" Mint hobbled past the nurse into the hallway and glanced around her. She had been unconscious when she was brought to the infirmary, so the clean hallways were completely unfamiliar to her. She looked around as she came to an intersection, pressing herself against the wall as a doctor rushed past. Shrugging, she picked a hall at random, turning right to head down a short hallway that ended at a set of double doors. She could see light filtering in through the frosted windows, but it was impossible to tell what was on the other side through the translucent glass.

Mint pushed one of the doors open and squinted at the dazzling courtyard in front of her. It was a large space with trees and bushes lining the smooth stone walkways. She could hear wildlife rustling in the brush or occasionally scampering up a tree. A small pond sat neatly in one corner of the square area, the fountain in the middle of it sending ripples across its surface. There was a line of benches situated around it, and Mint saw her friends seated in them. Well, most of her friends, anyway.

Mint had heard about the deaths of Chartreuse, Fern, and of course, Tangelo. She had been devastated at the news, and she couldn't help thinking that things could have turned out differently if her Mech hadn't been destroyed so early on in the fight. She shuddered, thinking back to the event. A Gauss slug had passed straight through the cockpit of her Adder, removing her right foreleg in the process. She had managed to eject before a follow-up shot punched a hole through the Mech's center torso, and had been taken onto one of the DropShips by a medic. She had been transferred to an infirmary on the Ghost Bear facility after the battle was over, and she had woken up a few days prior, weary and confused.

Mint walked over to her friends, not wanting to call out and startle them. Vermillion and Mist were sitting on one of the benches, talking in hushed voices, while Sundance sat not too far off and stared off into space with one of his forelegs bandaged and in a sling. Bistre was lying on the ground, listlessly pulling up blades of grass and dropping them into the pond.

"Hey guys," Mint said as she ambled closer. The air was crisp enough for her breath to turn to vapor, but strangely she didn't feel all that cold. Mist and Vermillion waved to her before turning back to continue their conversation. Bistre simply glanced at her from the corner of his eye, and Sundance ignored her completely. Mint sighed internally. She couldn't even imagine the pain he was going through. Sure, she had been close to Tangelo. The two of them had practically been sisters. But Tangelo had told her just how much Sundance meant to her during their countless late-night talks, even before they had started dating. She knew Sundance felt the same way about her, and she couldn't see that kind of hurt going away easily.

Mint plopped herself down next to Sundance and gazed into the pond. She could see fish swimming around aimlessly in it; Koi, if she remembered correctly. They were native to Terra but were brought over to many other planets back during the first Exodus. She watched the creatures mill about for a few moments, before eventually breaking the silence. "They're kind of like us, aren't they? The fish trapped in the pond, I mean."

Sundance shifted his gaze slowly towards her, his brow creased slightly into a frown.

"We got dragged into this war unwillingly, and now there's nothing we can do to get out of it. Try as we might, there's no escape."

Sundance turned back towards the pond, silent for a moment. "But we can get out now. It's over. The war will be finished soon. We don't have to fight anymore." He stared at the Koi blankly. "They're trapped, but we have a way out."

Mint shook her head. "The Koi could leave too, but they'd have to evolve and grow legs. We're in the same boat. You and I both know that even though it's simple in theory for us to leave all this behind us, it's much easier said than done." She sighed and rested her head on the back of the bench, turning her eyes towards the early grey sky. Strana's white star gleamed above the mountains, its rays cutting through the morning fog. It was almost ironic; the way the pure light made their whole situation seem so clear, and now that they finally had the opportunity for the peaceful lives they've always wanted, they were going to turn their backs on the one in a million chance.

"After everything that's happened, do you really think you could just sit by and wait? After everything our old Clan did to us, could you really do nothing? I don't know about you, but now that I'm finally out of there, I realize my old dream of settling down as a merchant was never going to happen, at least not for a long while. Maybe it's the determination we developed as cadets, the sense of duty Slate demonstrated, the selfless sacrifice made by Cotton, or revenge for the deaths of our friends, but now there's nothing I want more than to be the one to personally run a blade through the heart of that foul Khan who started this century-long struggle." Mint clenched her hoof in her lap, before sighing and relaxing her body. "That's my take on our situation, anyway. Do with it what you will."

Sundance frowned again, deeper this time. The gears in his head slowly began turning, and he glanced at her again. Before he could reply though, Bistre stood up and sighed in a resigned way. He turned around and walked past their bench. "That's great and all, but not all of us are as determined as you." He stopped and looked at Mint over his shoulder. "I... I wish I had half the confidence and strength as you. A DropShip is picking me up tomorrow. I'm leaving to become a laborer."

Mint blinked at him. "I understand. Maybe we'll see each other again someday," she said, smiling sadly at her friend. He had been acting differently ever since he killed Sienna, and she had almost expected him to stay out of the fighting now that they were free. He hadn't done much during the battle either, mostly just hanging out at the rear of the formation. She couldn't really blame him, actually. It was still strange though, seeing the once hotheaded pony now so quiet and feeble.

Bistre nodded and turned away before slowly slinking towards the double doors Mint had come through earlier. Mint sighed and turned to face forwards again. She patted Sundance gently on the shoulder. "Think about it, okay? Don't spend the rest of your life wallowing like this. It's not what Tangelo would want." She stood up and walked over towards Mist and Vermillion, the latter nodding as she neared.

"Good to see you out of bed," Vermillion said.

Mint smiled. "Feels good, too. Hopefully I won't be hobbling around like this for long. Colonel Dash said he'd pay for a prosthetic, regardless of whether or not I choose to accept his offer. Obviously I'm going to, though."

Mist nodded. "We were thinking the same thing. The Clan Draconequus higher-ups have to pay for what they've done, and we'd love to be a part of that."

Mint sat down next to them. "Good. I wasn't entirely sure if I'd have to go on alone." She shifted to get into a more comfortable position, the cold stone bench hurting her spine. "So we're bondsponies now. What does that mean, exactly?"

"It's a bit different for each Clan, but Hazelnut explained it all to me a few days ago. Once you and Sundance are well enough to leave, we'll get bondcords, bracelets that we'll have to wear until we earn the right to join Clan Ghost Bear as reinstated warriors, abtakhas. We'll need to prove our combat skill, integrity, and loyalty for that to happen." Mist scratched the back of his head. "There was something else he mentioned, but apparently Colonel Dash didn't tell him the specifics. All I know is that there's another trial we'll have to pass before we can join the Silveroot Keshik. We'll be abtakhas whether or not we pass it though."

Mint nodded. "Sounds like a pretty good deal. I can't wait to put an end to this mess," she said, leaning back on the bench. She smiled to herself. Now that their old Clan's cruelty and war crimes had been brought to light, the Khans of all the other Clans had made new plans to meet on Strana, safely this time. Once they came to a decision, Clan Draconequus was likely to be hunted down and killed, and their destruction would be a sweet one. Mint sighed in a way that was almost happy. "It's good to finally see some justice in the universe."

Galaxy Commander Peregrine was walking across the battlefield in his Dire Wolf, surveying the destruction that had occurred. While the freeborn unit who had saved his Khan suffered heavy casualties, he was pleased to see the entire attacking force had been wiped out. Not a single MechWarrior from either Clan Wolf or Clan Ghost Bear had fallen, either.

Peregrine had agreed to allow Clan Ghost Bear to have the survivors as bondsponies, on the condition Clan Wolf got the destroyed Mechs and DropShips as salvage. There were a lot of strong Mechs lying as scrap across the battlefield, and the recoverable ones would make a favorable addition to his unit's armory. He placed a hoof over the throttle and was about to move forward, but a scraping noise outside of his Mech made him stop. "What was that? Are one of the enemies still alive?" he thought, gripping the controls tighter. He spun his Mech around suddenly, expecting to see an enemy Mech still kicking around behind him. He did not, however, expect to see a pilot he had thought dead stand their Mech back up, pieces of it falling off as the structure weakly held the mess of a machine together.

It was barely recognizable anymore, but he could tell it was a Clan Marauder. It's right arm hung loosely by its side, there wasn't a scrap of armor left on it, and the cockpit had been blown to hell, revealing the injured MechWarrior inside. The glass of her neurohelmet had been shattered, and he could see the terrible burn wounds underneath. Her cooling suit had fared similarly, and very little of her grey fur and yellow mane were still visible, but somehow, she was still breathing and strong enough to control her Mech. It was a miracle either the pilot or the machine had survived, and Peregrine was more than a little impressed.

Peregrine tapped a hoof against his chin, thinking. While he had agreed to send any bodies inside the Mechs to Clan Ghost Bear so the freeborn unit could mourn their dead, he hadn't been given instructions on what to do with live pilots. This left him in a rather odd predicament. "Hmm... what to do with you?" he mused. He leaned back in his seat, an idea coming to mind. "The Ghost Bears got the rest of the survivors, so why don't we keep just one? I'm sure nopony will mind."

Peregrine pressed a button to activate the external speakers on his Mech. Judging by the state of the Marauder, there wasn't much of a chance the comms on it were still functional. He cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak. "MechWarrior, I hereby claim you as my bondspony. You now serve the Red Keshik of Clan Wolf under my direct command."

Discord groaned internally as Fluttershy greeted him at the door again. He was starting to regret telling her about his plan to kill Celestia and Luna. Even though she couldn't tell anypony else, she had refused to do anything but try to persuade him to change the past few years.

"Welcome back, Discord. Did you-"

"No, I didn't make any new friends today. Honestly Fluttershy, you should just stop trying to convince me. My mind is made up." Discord walked over to his couch and flopped into it before letting out an overly dramatic sigh. "Planning to overthrow an interplanetary government takes a lot of work. What does the Lord of Chaos have to do to relax around here?" He snapped his fingers, only to be met with a disappointing flash. Even that seemed to get weaker each time he did it.

"You could-"

"Make friends. Yes, you've tried that one already. A hundred times, in fact." His clawed hand went reflexively to the ornate ring on his other index finger. He tended to play with it whenever he got irritated. It was a gift from Celestia, given to him centuries ago, with a matching bracelet worn by each of the royal ponies. Exactly when or why it was given, he couldn't remember. That memory had always eluded his mind, for some strange reason.

"You never told me how you got that. It seems a bit strange for you to wear a ring like that," Fluttershy said, floating over towards him.

He spun the ring around his finger. "I don't entirely remember how I got it. It happened ages ago. All I know is that Celestia gave it to me."

Fluttershy frowned, confused. "And you still wear it? But I thought you hated her? You wouldn't still be wearing a gift from her after all this time if that were true."

"Fine, I will take it off, then," Discord retorted, twisting the ring off of his finger just to spite her. Truth be told, he had always been too terrified to remove it. He didn't know why, but whenever he thought of removing the ring, a sharp terror shot through his body. This time was no exception, and as the ring slowly moved off of his finger, he physically felt a chill move up his spine.

The ring came off of Discord's finger, throwing up sparks as it went. His eyes shot open and a thousand new thoughts flooded his head. His mind somehow felt... clearer. As if a thick fog he hadn't realized was there had suddenly lifted.

"Discord? Are you feeling alright?" Fluttershy said, concerned. He had suddenly locked up and was staring off into space, completely silent.

Discord slowly turned to the ring in his hand. A theory popped into his head, and to test it out, he crushed the ring in his palm. When he opened it again, the ring had turned into a pebble, grey and ordinary. "My magic..."

He turned his head towards Fluttershy, who had a look of confusion on her face. As they sat there in silence, realization dawned on both of them, almost at the same time, and Fluttershy followed after Discord as he stormed out of his house. "Discord, wait!"

"No! All of these years, that's why my magic was slowly disappearing? Those curs!" Discord shouted, flinging the ring-turned-pebble as far as he could, out into the depths of Chaosville. "An enchanted ring? How dare they curb my powers!" He huffed angrily, cursing himself for being dumb enough to put on that ring all those years ago. The memory had suddenly came into his mind when he removed it. "Was it enchanted to alter my thoughts as well? That must be why it took me so long to remove it."

"Discord, please, don't do this! I'm sure Celestia has a perfectly valid explanation!" Fluttershy said desperately as Discord raised one hand.

Discord scoffed. "You mean they didn't trust me! After a millennium and a half, those sisters still didn't think I was good enough to restrain myself. And look where that's gotten us. Well, I'm done playing nice."

"Please think this over! You don't have to kill them. They were just worried-"

"That I might turn evil again? Guess what, they were right. You never really believed in me either, did you? You've just been pretending this whole time, haven't you?" Discord could feel the anger building up inside of him, but he didn't particularly care. It was too much for him to control anymore.

Fluttershy recoiled backward, hurt. "Why would you think I would do something like that? Of course I believe in you! I've always believed in you!"

Discord snorted and raised one of his hands again. "I'm sure you did. Goodbye, Fluttershy. It's time to go back to your real friends in the afterlife. I'm sure they'd love to hear more of your lies," he snarled, snapping his fingers.

"No, wait! I-" Fluttershy cut off as her astral body was enveloped in a flash of bright light, and a moment later, she was gone.

Discord sighed. He knew he had gone too far, but he was too pissed to care. He'd have to reconjure her some time and apologize. For now, however, he had a mission to complete. With his magic now returned, he could abandon his original plan and take his rightful place as Lord of Chaos again. He frowned dangerously. Celestia and Luna had messed with the wrong draconequus, and now they were going to pay.

Author's Notes:

What a ride that was. Hope everyone liked the plot twists in the last few chapters. I'm gonna take a short break from writing now as I head into finals week and deal with some other upcoming personal stuff. After that I might make a short pilot story for a cool fic idea I had. I guess we'll see. Anyway, I'll start on the second part of this fic at some point in the next few months, so keep an eye out (Watch my blogs, too. It's not all significant, but I do post some pretty important stuff there).

"Be ever vigilant and rely on your strengths: Faith, which preserves us; Knowledge, which gives us power; Understanding, which lets us know our foes; Courage, which lets us face the darkness without fear."
~Our father, Nicholas Kerensky