The night has become dark. No moon visible - the lampposts which illuminate the Gardens of Canterlot Castle are the only beacons in this gloomy dusk. A shadow uses this darkness to traverse the green and approach the waterfall, as well as his own left hand to silence the incoherent sputters of the mare he holds closely against his chest.

Past the grass and away from the view of the patrolling guards, Crimson dives himself and Dahlia behind the waterfall and enters them into the bunker. He descends, replaces the stone hatch, and carefully takes one metal ladder step after the other until he reaches the bottom. He feels his hand wet and warm.

He removes the hand which covered Dahlia's mouth, and the mare sighs, "Haaa~" She licks her lips, getting off the saliva which was plastered on them. She looks up to Crimson and he looks back down to her simultaneously. "... Your hand smells... good," the little mare mumbles. With his left brow raised at her antics, he walks to the bunk bed and sets her down. Being put down seems to cause displeasure as she complains, "Heeey!"

Crimson lets out a breath from his mouth before he kicks off his boots. The day was certainly something to remember, at least for one of them. The other might not even remember it at all. He unbuckles his belt, slips it out of its loops, and lets it fall to the ground as he shrugs off his duster. Both of them hit the cement at the same time.

He lets himself drop down onto the bed, almost rolling over Dahlia. He rests on his back and closes his eyes. The mare seems to get the hint and plops herself down next to him, also resting on her back with eyes closed and mouth slightly hung.

"Huuunnh, spiiiiiin..." she whispers quietly. "Hnnnnhh..."

Crimson's eyes come open slightly when he feels her come closer. She rolled onto her side, putting one hoof under his arm and the other extended over his chest. He shifts his eyes down to her, seeing that hers are still shut. He finesses his arm out from her extended arm and pulls her closer, tucking her head and cheek onto his inner pectoral.

"Hmm... soooft~" she mumbles again.

... What a strange feeling. He wants to put a word to it, however difficult it may be. ... Happiness. Maybe. Something sort of like it, but with pieces missing. Happiness with holes in it. Holding Dahlia close like this makes him feel happy, there is no doubt about it. Yet, something feels... incomplete. He reaffirms his hold on her by squeezing her slightly.

"Mmmmh~"

Yup. It is indeed Dahlia that he is holding. The aggressive, bickering mare is now vulnerable in his hold. He is not smiling at the moment, his expression is droopy and drained, but partial happiness is what he feels in this moment.

"Crimmin..."

"Hm?" He asks in return to her calling his 'name.'

"... Why?"

"Mm?"

"Why're you like this... Crimmin..."

"Like what?"

"Why... why're... you like this..."

He starts to realize maybe she is not fully cognizant of what she is saying or doing. He opts to not answer, in the event that this is the case, but he comes to regret it when she elevates her tone.

"Answer meeee!" She lifts her head and opens her eyes, glaring hazy magenta fury into him.

"What're you talkin' about, girly? Like what?"

"Y'know!"

"I don't."

"Huugh, see! You're... always... likethis." She puts her head down on his chest again, her eyes half lidded and looking toward his face, but he can tell she is not actually looking at him.

"I think you need some sleep. Had little more wine than you can handle."

"Shuttup..."

He smiles at this, looking down at her aether-gazing front. He admires her from this close, melded between delight at being able to without her getting upset, and amazed that he has somehow reached a point with her that he can.

"Crimmin..."

"Mm?"

"... Can I ask'ym something?"

"Anythin'."

She closes her eyes tightly, enough to put just a slight amount of concern into him. She keeps them tightly closed as her breathing picks up slightly. "F'you can not get mad at me?"

"Fer what?"

"The thiing…"

"You haven't asked the thing yet."

"... Yeah, well, you... you haven't asked the thing either."

"Suppose you’re right."

Her eyes open briefly. "Don't get maaad!" she pleads before shutting them again.

"Fer what?”

"Promise you won't get mad!"

"Right, Deedee, right, I won't get mad. What is it?"

The mare shuffles slightly, somewhat curling into a ball before lining her lips. "You wun'nt get mad if... I wannettokiss... you?"

"... What?" He asks as his eyes widen. He heard her. He heard her loud and clear, despite the waning of her voice.

"Yousaid you wun'nt get maad!"

"Deedee, I ain't mad, I'm just..."

She lifts her head and glares pleading eyes into his. "I-I can explain! It's just, like, um... y-you know the--! W-Winty! You remember Winty!?"

"Sssh, sssh, easy. Easy," he murmurs to her as he puts his hands around her back, attempting to ease her climbing apprehension. "Yes, I remember Winty. Gal from Dodge."

"Yeah! H-Her! She! Winty! She kissed you, remember?"

"Clear as day."

"W-Well, I-I just... I just think it's not fair! It's not fair she got to and-- she-- she doesn't even, like... she doesn't even know you!"

"Dahlia, you were the reason she kissed me to begin with."

"No!"

"Yes?"

"No! It's not fair! Not fair she got to!"

He nearly speaks his mind, but quickly realizes that this poor little creature is terribly intoxicated. Maybe not black-out, but far from sober. He huffs in resignation, gazing back into her trembling eyes. "... 'N what's the solution to this issue, you suppose?"

Dahlia stops for a moment, simply glaring back at him in silence. She tucks her chin, stares up at him, and scrunches her muzzle. "... T-That... you tell me the truth. The reaaaal truth."

"On?"

"You."

"... Uh-huh..."

"You! The real truth with you 'n... Moonlight!"

The man quickly feels his cheeks heating up. "Me 'n Moonlight? What's that supposed to mean?"

"You know! You and her! You liked her! You liked and-- and you probably kissed her and stuff!"

"... Huh?"

"Huh? Huuh?" she rudely mimics him, deepening her voice while doing so.

"Dahlia, cut it out.”

"Why do you hate me!?" she cries with tightly closed eyes.

"What? Girly, I don't hate you."

"You hate me!"

“Still not true.”

“Then why won’t you answer me!”

“’Cuz you ain’t gimme the chance. We weren't lovers, we didn't kiss, we didn't do jack. She was... she was a friend."

"Yeah, right! How about you ppprove it!" she spits the word terribly, albeit accidentally, over his face. He does not react to it.

"'N how do you expect me to do that?"

Her eyes come to a squint. An obvious flame is burning inside her, one of many mashed emotions that cannot be properly or cohesively codified. Her form trembles before she grunts out her words. "You... you kiss me, and if it tastes like... MMmMoonlight! Then you're a... fuckiiing~... liar!"

"... You serious?"

"Dead! I'll know you're lying to me!"

"D-... Dahlia, do... do you even know how fuckin' insane everythin' you just said is?"

"Hah! I knew you were lying!"

"I ain't lyin' to you! Moonlight 'n I ain't done nothin' together!"

"Oooonly oooone way to prove it, bucko!"

“Dahlia, this is—Mh!”

Before he could finish his protest, the little mare presses her lips a tad-bit aggressively against his. She quickly tilts her head to lock it in, where Crimson is still reeling from shock to understand the advance.

It feels like she leaves herself on him forever - so long that his eyes begin to close. Once they do, his head tilts opposite of Dahlia’s.

Her warmth, the slight tinge of fruity wine in her breath mixed with her natural scent… it feels unreal. Trying to interpret every single sensation at once puts his body on auto-pilot. He suckles her lower lip accidentally, or more appropriately, instinctually. “Hmmh~” she moans into his mouth.

And her eyes break open. The moan she emits seems to snap her back to reality, and she breaks off of him with a trail of saliva connecting them for a second. She blinks repeatedly and stares back at Crimson with a stressed, caught-in-the-act expression.

Crimson lines his lips and forces a slight smile to try and comfort her obvious anxiousness. It seems to be the right move as she smiles back, albeit more genuinely than him.

“Um,” Dahlia sorely begins, “… I’m sorry, Crim… I’m… really sorry…”

He shakes his head, still holding the smile. “Don’t be.”

“I am. I just… I don’t know what got into me. I’m a freak.”

“You’re not, Deedee, I’d—” He stops himself, thinking twice on his next words. “… I’d say somethin’, but… it’d probably make you upset.”

She tilts her slightly bobbing head at him, overrun with curiosity. “… Say it.”

“I shouldn’t.”

“I promise I won’t get mad.”

“You promise?”

“Promise.”

He glances away, his wry simper growing wider. “… No need fer a pretty gal like yerself to apologize fer somethin’ I rather enjoyed.”

She almost hiccups from the embarrassment, her face blushes bright pink. Emotions boil from zero to one hundred, but she manages to settle down quickly. Rather than bark something crude or inappropriate, she rolls her eyes against his words.

“Told you it was gonna be bad.”

“I’ll take your word for it next time.” She sighs out relief while letting her eyes fall to his chest, the place where she wishes nothing more but to rest her head. She does exactly this, setting herself back down onto him gently and staring off the side of the bed.

It is not long before her eyes close once more. Her breathing steadies from the heightened pace she had during their exchange. Crimson cannot seem to be able to remove his eyes from her, caught in a limbo of emotions… but it becomes clear to him what he is feeling. He understands what has happened, not with Dahlia, but with himself.

During his time spent in Equestria, he always saw the creatures of this world as simply that. Creatures. Non-humans that have similar intelligence or personality to humans. Internal traits aside, they are not the same species as him, no matter what they say or do. They are creatures that he does not find, or should not find, attractive in a non-platonic way. He always felt… strange about this topic. He had an opinion, one which he verbally shared with a few denizens of this land already, but he never felt it to be a solid one. As thick-headed as he is, his opinions always stand on nearly indestructible pillars which only few were toppled by presentations of fact or knowledge. This opinion, however, was supported on a pillar of salt.

He faces himself now to realize… that pillar has crumbled.

"… Crim?” Her slurred, meek voice calls to him.

“Mm?”

“… Do you like me, Crim?”

“Course I do.”

She shuffles slightly. “… I like you too, Crim~”

Again, silence brews around them. A warm, amber, comfortable silence that momentarily blocks out the troubles of the world outside. His mind begins to wander off, a yearning hope emerges. A hope that tomorrow will be a flawless excursion to finally put all of this stress and mayhem behind him. He yearns to return home to his sister, there is nothing more that he wants than to see her again.

Second to that, analyzing the plausibility of something he told Dahlia. If there was a way for him to get to Equestria, then…

“Hiluvyuh…”

His insides flutter at hearing her words, or what he understood them to be. It stops him completely, he completely forgets what his mind was just thinking about. The that simple phrase floats around his head, bouncing off the walls sporadically. A stray idea tells him to reply back, to speak up and acknowledge her.

“I—” He finds himself stopped when Dahlia releases a slow, deep breath, that which tells him she has already fallen asleep. “… Love you too,” he finishes to no one but himself. He puckers his mouth, irritated at himself for taking too long to say it back. Maybe it is better this way. If her sober self does not like her drunk self, or they have split personalities, he would have dug himself into a hole he could never crawl out of. Especially with a girl like Dahlia.

He hopes that she remembers tonight. It would be tragic if she did not. Or worse, she misremembers.

He holds onto his self-hatred but calms himself down enough to rest. He puts his hands around her back and holds her, letting his eyes come closed. The solace of sleep is quick and friendly to him tonight.

‎

‎

The morning and afternoon were spent sleeping. Most of the evening was used for recovering, rehydrating, and avoiding conversation due to a pounding headache on Dahlia’s end. Now she and Crimson sit at the edge of the bed without saying a word. They have not said anything to each other nearly the entire evening. The man keeps his tired eyes on the clock, a water bottle in his left hand, and already dressed in the sleek sneaking attire provided by Kleid. Dahlia is staring at the ground, her own water bottle in between her legs.

"... You better now?" he asks without looking to her, breaking the silence that pressed over them quite harshly.

"... I guess. Headache's gone, at least."

"That's good. I know you ain't need me to tell you this, but... you drank a lot yesterday."

"... Yeah. Staying away from alcohol for a long time to come.”

"Prolly a good idea. ... You, uh... remember anythin' from last night?"

"... I'd rather not talk about it."

"Not sayin' we should, just wonderin' if you do."

“Why does that matter?”

“… Guess it doesn’t.”

Dahlia begins to squirm uncomfortably at his yielding disposition. The ensuing terse silence only makes her feel worse about being so confrontational. "Okay, yeah, I do,” she caves. “Happy now?" she turns to giving a biting stare.

"Thanks fer answering," he replies, still not looking to her.

Dahlia simmers down quickly as the guilt rises. She faces the floor in front of her again. "... I'm sorry."

"For?"

"For being a huge bitch to you. And especially dinner last night. I knew I shouldn’t have drank at all, but I just… I'm so embarrassed right now, I could kill myself."

"C’mon, Deedee, don’t feel bad fer nothin’. I had a good time last night, all with dinner, the show, and everythin' after. You ain't gotta apologize fer that."

"... Easy for you to say. You didn't make a total fucking fool of yourself… and you didn’t say anything you shouldn’t have said…"

"You ain't done nothin' wrong but let me inside yer mind. I know you've met plenny types that'd take advantage of you fer that, but I ain't. In fact, it made me happy you did."

She looks towards him again, and this time, he looks back to her. “… It made you happy?” she inquires timidly.

“Happier than I’ve been in… a good long while.”

"... If I didn't know you any better, I'd just call you a smooth-talking piece of shit and want nothing to do with you."

"But?" he presses with a growing smile.

"..." She looks away again, letting her ears drop to her head. "... But I know you're telling the truth. And... I appreciate that."

"Course, girly. I know you ain’t too keen on talkin’ about a few aspects of yesterday, so I ain’t gonna pry. But I can’t help but one thing, If you don’t mind my askin’.”

“What’s up?”

“How’d you get us into the show? Thought it was brimmed to the top."

“It was. Even I was surprised I found a way to get us in.”

“’N how’d you go about that?”

“Our good ‘ol friend Kleid. When I gave him the relic you nabbed the other night, I asked if he could help us out with getting in.”

Crimson chuckles lightly. “Well he did more than just help us out.” He says as he lifts up his left hand, where the red band still wraps around his wrist. Though now, it no longer glows.

“Heey, yeah, about that!” Crimson’s smile drops quickly when Dahlia’s tone sharpens. “Where’d you go last night? The show started and you just got up and left!”

“Yeah, it was-- … well, you remember them folks who were havin’ trouble gettin’ their bags backstage?” She nods, holding a questioning gaze. “Well, I… guess I felt bad fer ‘em. Helped ‘em out. Even got some money for it too,” he says as he reaches into the pocket where she slipped the coin purse into. He takes it out and presents it to her.

She seems mildly satisfied at seeing the baggie, but still has her left brow raised. “Well don’t do something like that ever again. You leaving really scared the shit out of me.”

“Hmh, my apologies, girly. I won’t make it a habit. I was…” he fights his muse for a moment, debating whether to say it or not. With her curious eyes upon him, the last thing he could do is lie or brush her off. “… I was lookin’ at the human that was with them. She appreciated me helpin’ her out. You already know I wanna find out what happened to humankind here, so gettin’ to see her up close might’a been a way to get a wrap on the situation first-hand. I didn’t find out much, but… let’s just say this’s only made my drive that much stronger.” Dahlia listens intently, letting her eyes wander as she does. “… Heh, ‘n I suppose I couldn’t have done it if it weren’t fer Kleid.” His words cause her to look at him again and smile. “Fer a Horseshoe, he’s good company.”

“Hehe, that’s what I said~” Crimson smiles at her in return, but his eyes seem to drift on their own towards the clock. Dahlia follows his gaze, seeing the hands read roughly 11:25. Both of their smiles fade away. "... Almost time, huh?"

"... Reckon so."

"You gonna be okay sneaking into Moonlight's room?"

"Ready as I'll ever be. Kinda have an idea mapped out. Just hopin' it works and I get back here safe."

"That makes two of us, Crim."

The man brings his bottle to his lips, take three big swings to finish it off, sighs, and crumples the plastic bottle before setting it down on the bed. "Guess I should get goin'."

"Yeah. I'll get the projector ready."

Crimson nods and rises from the bed. Dahlia caps her bottle and sets it down on the sheets before she does the same, flying up to the second bunk to retrieve the device.

Hesitantly, the man takes slow steps to the ladder. He reaches his hands to clasp the cold metal bars which protrude from the concrete wall. He looks back towards the bunks, where Dahlia sits on the bottom bed and is already staring back at him. "... I'll be back soon," he says to comfort her.

"You better," she replies with apparent tension in her voice. Her ears then fall flat on her head before she speaks up again. “… This isn’t a good time to say this, but…” She feels a lump in her throat, which she tries with all her might to get rid of before stalling Crimson for too long. Her face takes on a pink blush as she steels herself. “I meant what I said last night… so please don’t screw this up.”

The man feels his own emotions frolicking. He smiles warmly to her. “… Even if I did. Nothin’ would stop me from comin’ back to you. I promise.”

Her ears meekly stand up again as she smiles back. She simply nods, taking his words into her heart.

With that, the man departs and exits the bunker.

Following the same process as the first time around, he escapes the waterfall and waits for the two guards to retreat for their lunch break. Once they leave, he dashes across the dewy grass and clambers up the tree as before. Penetrating the Castle from the window, he enters its vast, wide, echoing halls. He follows the same route as before, but rather than taking a left turn down the furthest hall towards the Labs, he instead takes a right turn towards the Eastern Tower.

Guards are near-effortlessly avoided, and with Dahlia jamming the wards, it is as trivial a task as ever. The path is continued, and within minutes, the residences which lie before the Eastern Tower are encountered. Unfortunately here, he has no pillars to hide behind, but the immense hundred-meter hall that spans the residences only has one guard. He double-takes, triple-takes even, and he confirms only one guard. Said guard is located at the very center of the hall and picks at the plumes of her helmet. Everypony peacefully sleeps in their rooms, the guard is keeping her bored self busy.

Crimson looks up at the moon shining colors weakly through the monumental stained glass windows. They are located so high up that there is plenty of dark shady wall under them where no light hits. The guardmare has her back towards the shade, but she is dangerously close to the wall. He has no alternative but to try to creep behind.

He stays slow and crouch-runs along the dark wall until he is roughly ten meters from the mare. He slows his roll until he reaches a steady prowl. He keeps his eyes intently on the mare, focused and dilated. Step by step, he nears her. Her trimmed tail is only about a foot away from the wall, he has very little room to squeeze behind her.

Only about a meter away from her now, the working space he has is starting to worry him. He does not think he will be able to get past her. He slowly cranes his head back, debating turning around and heading a different route.

Fat chance. He did not memorize the patterns from the guards on the other floors, neither did Magnifying's vision follow that path.

He curses in his mind. He could try knocking her out and putting her somewhere safe, but he recalls Kleid's strict instruction. Without much else to work with, he steels his nerves and slowly stands up to his full height, getting his back against the wall.

He slowly, every so slowly, tippy-toes sideways to get directly behind the guard. He grits his teeth - but a molecule of space is left between his knees and the mare's tail tip.

"Huh," the mare huffs. Crimson's blood freezes. "Huh?" she turns her head to the left, eyes dilated to grains of sand. Crimson trembles. The mare keeps her head turned this way.

…

"Ha-choo!" The mare hops, her helmet jumps off her head and drops onto the marble ground, making quite a ruckus when the golden metal hits the ground. "Hugh, damn it!" she whisper-shouts, stepping forward to pick it up.

Crimson's body moves before his mind does, nearly stumbling over himself to come down and crouch-sprint the fuck away from the guard.

The guard gets her helmet and turns around to reposition herself against the wall, finding...

... nothing out of the ordinary. She hopes she did not disturb any sleeping ponies with her mishap.

Feeling his heart in his throat, he exhales his relief once he makes it to the staircase of the Eastern Tower. His objective is close now, just one floor down. He knows he cannot just waltz up to her door, the two guards that protect it are still planted, and have been ever since the retraining order was placed against him. Fortunately, there is still a way in.

Instead of taking the staircase of the Eastern Tower down to her room, he spots a window frame which actually has no glass on it - just an open exposure that looks like a window. It is a decent leap up, but nothing he cannot handle. He glances around quickly to ensure no one can hear or see him, then he crouches down to wind himself up. With gritted teeth, he springs up and vaults right through the open window frame, spinning one-eighty to hang himself off the sill. He looks down, seeing the Gardens well below. He sees the patrol has returned from lunch and is posted again, but they are oblivious to his high-up climbing. He hardly believes thirty minutes are already up. Though it stresses him, he knows it would not serve him well to worry about it for now.

He sees a white marble ledge less than a foot below him, the very one he was expecting. He lets go of the sill and meekly drops the tiny distance. He sticks his chest to the walls of the Castle's exterior and begins to shimmy towards the west face of the Tower.

Carefully and expertly, he makes it around the exterior length of the Tower, and none of the bored guards below have bothered to look up. He eventually makes it to a dome-like protrusion made of many separate panes of glass, one that looks right into the Head Researcher's room.

Crimson swallows a rock and crouches low again, ensuring that he does not cast a shadow into her room. He expects her to be asleep, but finds himself surprised when lights inside her room as still on. While strange, at least he does not need to worry about the moon casting his shadow inside.

He peeks in from the edge of the window dome, seeing the large telescope staring up at him directly. He also has an unobstructed view of her bedroom, which she is not located at. He cannot see her from this angle, but he assumes she is at one of the lab tables below.

He looks down at the windows now, trying to find some sort of latch or method of opening. He finds himself out of luck. There is nothing present to get these windows opened. He lines his lips in thought, wondering if there is any other way except breaking them to get in.

...

He sighs his thwarting. He really only has one option. With excessive caution, he places his right palm onto the pane of glass that faces him the closest and applies pressure. It starts gentle but steadily increases in force. Before long, the glass croaks its complaint and cracks, progressively cracking further as he keeps pushing in. He stops once the glass looks like a spider web. He sticks his finger into one of the patterns of the crack, pushing it right through to make a little hole. He proceeds to carefully pick off glass from this hole and set it aside so it does not fall into her room.

It takes several minutes, but he is successful at taking off all the glass to one of the many panes that makes the dome. The pane is just big enough for him to slip through. He turns around and comes down onto his belly, letting his feet slip in first before the rest of his body. With absolute caution, he lets his body hang as he uses his hands to remain latched. He looks for a good spot to drop, where any would be fine for him, but would make too much noise.

Now that he is actually inside her room, he hears conversation - it briefly interrupts his track of mind. It sounds like... Magnifying. Not that he is surprised. Both he and Moonlight share in discourse, he cannot understand what they are talking about from this height.

... Moonlight's voice. How long has it been since he has heard it with his own ears.

He snaps himself out of his distraction. He looks around again for a suitable landing spot. He thinks perhaps the massive telescope might be good. It looks heavy as shit and practically immovable. He could land on the face that looks up at him perfectly without making nearly the same amount of noise compared to plummeting all the way to the bedroom. He thinks he could also use it to run up and jump from to get back onto this ledge. A feat of acrobatics that may be tricky to pull off depending if this telescope can handle it.

It is all he has to work with now. Taking a leap of faith, he swings his body and lets go of the ledge to fall down onto the telescope's head.

Ccrk! "HAhahahaha!"

His eyes protrude from his head. He looks down quickly at his landing, understanding what the mild cracking sound was. Luckily, the telescope is indeed beefy enough to tank his landing without even an inch of movement, but the glass ocular he landed on cracked. Fortunately for him, it was just that - a crack, nothing major. The sound of the crack was also drowned out by a well-timed laugh coming from Magnifying. He swallows the metal taste in his mouth and quickly comes off the telescope to land on the second floor balcony to Moonlight's room.

Now that he is this close, he can hear their conversation clearly. He assumes they are at the usual lab table below, possibly partaking in dessert as something smells warm and sweet. He creeps along the carpet of Moonlight's bedroom, peering off the railings of the balcony to get a look at the first floor.

He was right, they are indeed at the usual table and are eating something that looks like chocolate cookie cakes. Strangely, they are dressed in nice attire - Moonlight in a simple black dress that compliments her eyes, and Magnifying in a white tux. Trying to ignore them, he looks to the right, and there he sees it - the belt, the one propped up and presented like a trophy. At this point, he just needs to wait for a good opportunity to snatch it. They will surely spot him if he tries to go after it now.

‎
‎

---

‎
‎

Dahlia's peeled eyes bounce across the hologram of the throw-projector. She sits on the first bunk, her hooves tap the buttons rapidly, the magical machine swapping between each ward and freezing them as Crimson comes into view.

Her precise and almost perfect timing allow maybe a spec of the man to appear before she forces the ward's feedback to stop - whoever is monitoring the wards inside the Castle could not be the wiser. She ensures to keep them frozen for long enough for her partner to get through, still being able to view real-time feedback from the ward after intercepting it.

Dahlia's stress eases at watching him make great progress. Although apprehensive, his proficiency reminds her that he lived at the Castle for some time, so he is familiar with its halls. She cannot help be impressed by watching it him in action.

She enters a panic when Crimson gets caught with the guard at the residences, tensing and shuffling on the bed all the while. She catches the guard mare sneezing, Crimson bolting through, and both parties continuing their paths without alarm. Once the man jumps through the window of the Eastern Tower, she sighs deep relief.

The easiness does not last long. As a measure to respect Moonlight's privacy, there are no wards in her room. At this point, Crimson is going solo, and she could not be more worried. She slumps back and shifts over to her side, laying on the bed and tensely awaiting for him to appear back on any of the nearby wards.

‎

---

‎
‎

"And I couldn't be happier!" Moonlight exclaims excitedly. "I really hope I'm able to get the release papers for her soon."

"Seeing you happy makes me happy, Moonlight," Magnifying relishes. "I know everything will go through perfectly, and soon, you'll get Furi into a much better home!"

"Thank you, Magnifying. That really does mean a lot. I just... I know I'm not her mother, and I really wish she had family I could return her to, but... she told me she's happy with her 'auntie.'"

"The simple fact she calls you auntie is so adorable! She's the sweetest little thing."

"Ooh, she iiiis!~" Moonlight holds her chest with her hooves. "The only thing I worry about is teaching her how to fly. I'm really going to have to get some books on basic flying and maneuvering. I think we have some in the Castle library."

"I'm sure we do! As a matter of fact, I have an elementary flyer's book I could give to you. I-I had a feeling you would want to teach her how to fly, so I picked it up ahead of time."

Moonlight gasps lightly. "Magnifying, that's so sweet of you! You really didn't have to, t-the library..."

The stallion throws his hoof, "D'aw, don't worry yourself, dear. I wanted to get you something that would help."

Moonlight shifts in her seat excitedly. "Thank you, thank you! I can't wait to read through it with her and give her lessons! Hopefully she'll learn everything just as well as if a pegasus were teaching her." As if a venomous thought seeped into her joy, her elation begins to visibly deflate. "... But... what if she doesn't?"

"No, dear, please. Don't think like that. I'm sure she'll learn like an expert! She's super smart!"

"I-I know she is, but... what if I can't teach her? What if I'm the reason she can't learn? M-Maybe I can take her to flying school? Ooh, but she hates flying instructors. She's already tried before. What am I going to do if she doesn't learn?"

Magnifying reaches his hooves out in her general direction to calm her. "Moonlight, please. You're overthinking this. She still has so much time to learn, she's only a foal! You'll teach her up from the ground, and she'll be the best flier Equestria has ever seen!"

"... Thank you, Magnifying," she replies to his encouragement, putting up a weak smile. "I-I'm not very confident in my abilities, but..."

As she trails off, not finishing her thought, Magnifying regresses into his mind as well. He knows what he wants to say, he hypes himself up for what is to come. His muse reaches around his resolve to aid him in this proposition...

‎
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---

‎
‎

He looks at the reflection of himself in the restroom mirror, getting one last glob of hair gel into his light sky-blue hair. His tongue sticks from his mouth as he lathers the goopy substance on, ensuring it spreads evenly as to not cause awkward clumps of mane.

He straightens up and looks at himself again. He admires his spiffy white tux, the one he worked the Castle laundromat tooth and nail to clean after he spilled soup onto it one fateful night. It cost him more time and money than he would like to admit, but he believes it is worth restoring his favorite outfit to its former glory.

He looks presentable and he feels ready - today is the day. Today is the day that he sets out his heart and cards. The date with Moonlight is soon to come, a fancy restaurant he booked for the both of them to enjoy a break from the monotony of each day. Nothing has happened for some time, no new assignments have come about, so what better way to take the free time than to go out and eat?

He has it all mapped out. Tonight should be perfect. With a satisfied smile to himself, Magnifying exits the restroom and steps out to the living quarters of his room in the second floor of the Western Tower. His modest residence is only one bedroom, one bathroom, a living room and kitchen, but he is happy with it.

He is even happier with the countless prints, drawings, and photographs of a certain easy-blue unicorn mare placed all around his home. Moonlight Wish literally encompasses the entire living room with her face in these presentations, and Magnifying ensures to smile, blow kisses, and wink at every single one.

He trots to his kitchen, located to the right of the bathroom, and moves to some cupboards next to the fridge to retrieve mints housed in a small tin metal box. He pops two in his mouth and swishes them around. After, he returns to the living room and heads to the door. Rather than exit, he stops and takes a step left, towards a hung picture-frame that holds a photograph of him and Moonlight ‘together,’ smiling for their individual scribe initiations from years ago. The picture had a few other scribes as well, but he had cut them out and enhanced just their section so they could be smiling together.

"Tonight's the big night, dear. Nothing will go wrong." He channels his magic through his horn, getting a drawer next to him opened and taking out two rings. He looks at the first ring, a beautiful platinum ring that holds a cut rose quartz in it, nearly the same color as Moonlight's eyes. He pockets this ring in his right tux pocket before holding the next ring up to his face. A plain silver ring. "Nothing will go wrong... I'll make sure of it." He stows this ring next, tucking it into his left tux pocket.

Ripe and ready to go, he lets out a tense exhale and opens his door, heading to Moonlight. He maneuvers through the Castle until he stops at the regal cobalt doors which two stallions are posted before. Magnifying’s small smile melts for a frown and tense brows. His magic aggressively channels to grab both guards by their collars and drag them closer so his head is between theirs.

“Whatever you do,” Magnifying begins with a low growl, “you do NOT open that door. I don’t care WHAT you hear, you stay put unless I call ‘guards.’ Is that understood?”

Fearful and near trembling, both guards swallow and nod repeatedly.

The simper from before returns to his lips at their acknowledgement. He lets them go and allows them to adjust their helmets.

“The time… is now.” He lifts his hoof to knock.

‎
‎ ‎

‎ ‎

"Hohoho! Yes, yes! That happens after the Marrow Betwixt!" Moonlight happily exclaims over her plate of exquisite greens.

The air of this hyper-fancy restaurant had intimidated the mare at first, but after kindling a conversation about one of her favorite books, she has the glee and energy he had hoped for. Magnifying admires her in the simple black dress she picked, it fits over her delicate yet filled form so well it is driving him mad. The easy black eyeliner she has gives her face such a new energy, especially from a mare who never wears makeup.

"Aah, right! I thought chapter fourteen was the Marrow, but that's fifteen! Fourteen has the--"

"Frost sirens!" "Frost sirens!"

"Oooo, I love that part so much!" Moonlight vibrates in her seat.

"Hoh, yes, it was so tense! If it were any more thrilling, the bite marks on my left hoof would have scarred!"

Moonlight puts her hoof over her mouth to hide her laughter. "Goodness, yes! The left corner of my bottom lip was the bystander caught in the chaos of reading that chapter. I thought the bites would never heal!"

"Wow, I think I remember that! The bites on your lips! Weren't we preparing a spell for the centrifuge at the lab?"

Moonlight holds her cheek, gasping in remembrance. "We were! Swirl was sick that day, all the noise it was making made her so angry!"

They share in laughter at the yellow mare's expense. "Angry is definitely an understatement!"

She looks so happy. Moonlight is genuinely enjoying her time. That is exactly what he wants, it is making him ecstatic seeing her like this. It is perfect, it is setting the mood so perfectly. He will pick up the tab and they can return to the comfort of her room...

... then, it is time.
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‎
‎

"... Thank you, Magnifying," she replies to his encouragement, putting up a weak smile. "I-I'm not very confident in my abilities, but..."

"... But I am, dear," he speaks up with determination. "And don't you worry, you're not in this alone." Magnifying comes off his stool and comes around the table, standing besides Moonlight. He reaches out and puts his hoof to her side where her cutie mark lies, gently caressing her through her dress. "... I'll be by your side every step of the way. A-And... for Furi's sake, I not only hope she has an auntie to guide her..." Moonlight's wary expression begins to lighten with realization to his words. "... I hope she has an uncle too." The mare's face blushes deep cherry red. "M-Moonlight..."

"... Y-Yes... M-Magnifying?" she stutters terribly, almost unable to breath from anticipation of what's to come.

"... M-Moonlight, I love you so much, that I... I... I couldn't bare the thought of seeing you with somepony else. I-I lost you once... when Crescent wrongfully took you. That... horrible excuse for a stallion treated you, the most wonderful, gorgeous mare in Equus, so badly... I-I... wanted to kill him."

Moonlight's mouth falls and her eyes widen in shock.

"T-Then, when he was prosecuted and you left Canterlot, I lost you again. Y-You were gone for six years! My heart ached every day that you were gone, and I so badly hoped that you would return..." He briefly stares off into the distance, recollecting the emptiness he felt during that time. "Moonlight, I-I've told you this before, but... when I found out you came back, I... I couldn't contain my joy. I-I actually cried that night! The love of my life returned, and I could finally express my love to her as I've failed to do in the past!"

Moonlight has plummeted so deep into astonishment that her attempt to speak up to him results in nothing but her lower lip quivering.

"M-Moonlight, I'm sorry this is coming out so suddenly, b-but seeing you, and seeing Furi... you would make out to be such a beautiful mother, a-and I would give everything to provide the family you always wanted."

Her irises begin to tremble.

"Moonlight..." His horn begins to glow light teal, and out of his right tuxedo pocket levitates a platinum ring encrusted with a pink quartz crystal. While still holding her side, he comes down to his haunches, craning his neck upwards the stare into her unsteady orbs. "Moonlight, w-will... will you marry me?"

The question drives a thin wire right through her heart, cutting it cleanly in half. Her breath catches in her throat, and she begins to cough. Her fit puts Magnifying in a state of utter panic.

"M-Moonlight, dear! P-Please, breath!" He sets the ring down on the table and stands back up, helping Moonlight straighten her back. She continues to cough terribly until the spit she swallowed finally escapes her windpipe.

"Ahck, hk!" Moonlight croaks, trying to wipe the tears from her eyes - tears built up for more than one reason. She repeatedly takes deep breaths, composing herself as much as she can in this situation. "M-Magnifying, I-I..." The stallion's shimmering eyes stare intently at her, two bottomless wells of hope and desperation. "Mag... Magnifying..." The tears she wipes are no longer from the coughing fit, the stallion notes this very clearly. "... I-I'm..." He leans closer to her, almost to the point of toppling her over. "... I-'m so sorry..."

The stallion's left eye twitches.

"I-I'm... I'm so sorry, I... I can't..."

Again, his left eye twitches repeatedly. He slowly backs away from the emotional mare, glaring needles at her in disbelief. "... Y-You... you can't?" She waves her head left and right, still rubbing her eyes. "... You... can't. And... you're sorry?" She nods her head repeatedly. "... You can't... and... you're... sorry..."

"I-I'm s-so v-v-very s-sorry, Ma-Magnifying..."

"... Why?" he asks coldly and flatly.

This simple yet concerning question causes Moonlight to look up at him, her reddened eyes still streaming tears. "... Wu-Wh-Why?"

"Yes, Moonlight... why?"

"… Magnifying...?" she questions with stupor. She understands him, but...

"The question is simple, dear... why? Why do you turn me away?"

Her saddened emotion begins to meld into something more akin to... fear. She begins to sober up quickly at the rate of her heart increasing. "I-I..."

"Does your heart belong to another? Hm?"

Moonlight is completely thunderstruck at his disposition now - firm, oppressive, and terrifying.

"Could I... Could I never win over your love? Despite my best efforts? Moonlight, I... I've learned everything I could about you, found out what things you enjoy and the things you don't just so I could... so I could be compatible with you. You're the most gorgeous mare I've ever seen, and easily the smartest as well, yet... you could not recognize that I was doing everything in my power to be the perfect partner for you."

"... M-Magnifying, w-what are you saying?"

"Tell me. Does your heart belong to another? Does it... perhaps... belong to a being that is not of our species?"

"W-Wha..." She shakes in her fright, trying at the resolute piece of her soul to speak up. "Why are you acting like this, Magnifying? W-What are you trying to say?"

"Please. Please answer me. They are very simple questions, and I humbly request an answer."

"B-But, who would muh-my heart belong to?"

"You should know, Moonlight."

She racks her brain for an answer that may satisfy this unhinging stallion. "Nn-- Nn-- Nopony..."

Magnifying's languid stare falls to the ground, seeming highly disappointed. "... Why do you lie to me, Moonlight? Why do you treat me as you would an insolent child?"

"I-I... I would never--!"

"Moonlight, I'll give you another chance... please..." The horrified mare darts her pink eyes left and right, trying to find the rhyme or reason as to why she is in this situation to begin with. "You rejected me... and I understand. Perhaps... perhaps I am not your type, despite us having a great friendship. But under the circumstances, I find it very hard to believe it simply ends there. Who does your heart belong to?"

She wants to cry again. She feels her stress and anxiety about to overflow. She clenches her eyes tightly, before opening them and calling brokenly. "N-No! Nopony!"

Magnifying stares at her, almost savoring how her composure falls apart and wrecks all over the ground. "... You lied to me again, Moonlight. You can't hide the truth from me. Your heart..." he looks away, feeling a bitter stake ram into his chest, "... belongs to Crimson." Moonlight shudders at the emphasized name being spoken, goosebumps dance across her coat. Magnifying proceeds to chuckle at her reaction. "See? It's so obvious that it's repulsive. For a reason I cannot comprehend, your love for that human has completely annulled any sense of progress you gained from your relationship with Crescent Cool. He does not care about you, Moonlight. He would rather jump into the jaws of death than care for your feelings. What happened to that conviction you felt during your signing of the restraining order? How you told Celestia that she was right in removing him from Consortium business? Does your health not matter to you anymore? Is your obsession with that human greater than your sense of self-preservation?"

All the words he speaks ride into Moonlight's mind like electric shocks. It is too much for her to process, too much for her breaking heart to handle. "W-Why are you saying these things, Magnifying? W-Why are you acting like this? Y-You're... you're so kind to me, I-I thought y-you... u-understood me..."

"But I do! My love, I am the ONLY pony who understands you! I made it my life goal to ensure this fact! Please! Please, Moonlight! I can still be yours! I can still be yours, please! It's not too late!"

"I-I can't, Magnifying... I can't... I-I don't... I have..." she tries to push the words through her tightening throat, "... I have tried... to let myself l-love you... b-but I can't! I don't know why! I've tried so hard! All the sweet little things you do, it-it's..."

The stallion gives her dilating eyes, nodding twice. "... Finish your thought."

"I-It's... c... c..."

“… Go on…”

She trembles, nearly bursting. "Creepy! It’s creepy! So many things you've done or said are sometimes too much! I-I can't handle it, I'm... I don't know what's wrong with me! You’re so nice! But I’m just so terrible, and I just... I... I had..."

"... Go ahead," the stallion calmly states with a smile. "Say it. Say what you need to say."

"... I've had..." She feels she will regret speaking her mind, but his coaxing and her shambled aplomb drive her to do as he says. "... I've had a... b-bad feeling about you..."

The stallions smile grows much wider, borderline deranged. "Why's that?"

"I-I don't know! I really don't know!"

"Just a hunch, maybe?"

The mare nods as tears run down her cheeks again, putting her hooves over her eyes to hide the shame she feels at being terrible and judgmental.

"Don't cry, Moonlight. There's no need to. Because, eheh, you're right! You're actually very, very right!" The sniffling mare looks up to him confounded. "Haha! I don't know how you and Furi did it, but you're right! Maybe because you're actually intelligent, unlike the rest of the stone-biting morons in the Consortium. Especially Celestia. What a stupid bitch."

Moonlight gasps, hearing him swear for the first time in her life.

"Pat yourself in the back, Moonlight... you may have not known what I am, but your hunch carried you a long way. I didn't want to resort to this, but... I won't let you belong to somepony else. I want you to be mine, and I'm sure the Family would accommodate me."

"W-Wha... Mag... nify...?" Her mortification sets in.

Magnifying sees her realization clears as day, and it gives him the utmost satisfaction. "You might have guessed it by now. My Family… is the Black Horseshoes. And, um... in case you didn't know, roughly eighty-nine percent of the Consortium staff bows down to their hoof. They are nothing but puppets that keep the public eye satisfied. And the fact that Celestia thought she could break away is... charming, at best. But, she's coming around. I've seen it."

Overwhelmed with information and emotion, Moonlight thinks but to do one thing... "... I-I... I don't..." she wipes her eyes from her tears, trying to find the kindling of fight inside her spirit. "... I don't... love you, Magnifying. You just can't... force me to be yours."

The stallion grins hysterically. "... Watch me."

At the threat, Moonlight channels her magic with the puffing of her cheeks. She casts her translocation spell in order to--

"No you don't!"

Moonlight feels her spell ride back into her head and stun her when a small silver ring levitates out of Magnifying's left tux pocket and slips right onto her horn. The nullifying ring prevents the spell from completing and further disrupts any casting. This discombobulation has Moonlight reeling in pain and falling off her stool. She hits the ground with a soft thud and her dress causes her great trouble to try to stand back up.

The stallion menacingly walks towards the grounded mare, grinning down at her with malintent. "Ooh, Moonlight. I never wanted it to come to this... but... I couldn't let you escape me a third time. I was patient. I did everything the Family told me to. I put in the effort to make you happy... and now, I want my reward."

The fumbling mare gawks up to her oppressor in absolute horror. "P-Please, Magnifying! Please don't do this! I-I'm sorry! I-I'm so sorry!"

"There's no need to be sorry, dear. While this was the worst outcome, I still hold everything I said to heart. I will give you the best, most loving family you could ever hope for. I know you wanted to wait until marriage, so..." he lifts his chin to the ring that fixes itself onto her horn. "A little unconventional, but it works, right? Let us skip right into the honeymoon. Our children will be beautiful~"

"G-Guahahahards!" she desperately cries into the air. She knows there are two guards on the other side of her door, and there has been more than plenty of noise for them to hear, yet... they do not come to her aid. Her bloodshot eyes turn from the unanswered door to the stallion who-- "No! No! Nononono!" she screams, crawling backwards and away from the stallion who approaches her with a growing erection.

Magnifying throws himself on top of the sobbing mare, pinning her effortlessly. It almost seems like she is not fighting back. He takes this to his advantage to act slow and romantic - he channels his magic to take the end of her dress. "You are so beautiful, Moonlight, it is so unfair. How could one mare be so perfect?" His desire rises when he begins to pull up her dress, exposing her tummy and lower body. Her sobs worsen, yet she no longer cries for help.

He takes a leaning glance down, trying to get a better view below the belt. Her tail still hides her innocence. That pure, delicious, decadent part of her that he has spent many a wet-dream and night of self-pleasure to. He feels like he is going to explode at just the sight of it. His magic envelops her tail and gently moves it out of the way...

The stallion gasps, his member twitches repeatedly. There it is. It is more perfect and beautiful that he ever imagined. Nothing could compare to this moment. Every lonely night he spent, every second of heartache, every tear he shed... the shattering of his already weak mental health. He is now broken, but now he finally gets what he wants.

He aims himself to drive it home.

"GhRoAh-AAAH!"

Something hard and rough grasps the back of his head, something even Moonlight did not see come down. The howl of pain coming from the offending stallion causes the weeping mare to crack one eye open and look towards him. Both eyes break open at seeing what it is. A towering human grasps his head from his mane while he kicks around and flails in pain.

Magnifying's eyes begin to tear from the searing pain of his mane being pulled. He tries his best to direct his staggering gaze to the assaulter. He sees who they are, barely, from his peripheral. "HaAAGH!" Realization sets in. A descript man who wears all black and lets his hair shade over his face. A golden glow emanates from under, coming from the eyes. Fear overcomes Magnifying immediately. He sees through the disguise without a second glance. "CRIM-- SAAGH!"

The stallion begins to channel his magic in an attempt to grasp the man's neck with it. The seething angel reaches his free hand to his horn, grasping it, and crushing it into chunks with a mighty closing of his fist. "GYAHEEHAHAAAA!" Blood squirts from the marrow in his horn, coating the man's fist. A scream of terror rings out from Moonlight as well. "AHA! AHAHAHAHAAA!" Tears flow down the stallions cheeks. Each droplet barely functions to soothe the hate in Crimson's heart. "Y-YOU F-FUCKING! HRH, B-BASTARD!"

Crimson turns the bawling stallion to face him, still suspending him from his mane. His glowing golden eyes glare death into Magnifying. "You..." the man starts, growling into the stallion's face, "... You're a... sad... pathetic waste of life."

"FAAHAAACK!"

"An insect. A lyin' sack of dogshit. I’ll be givin’ you three chances to tell her yer sorry. Least you can do before you die."

“Haaa-aaahh, aaah…” His eyes go crossed from the pain of his broken horn.

The man shakes him, forcing him to come back to reality while further pulling his mane. “Well, boy? Say somethin’.”

"HRAH!” His sand-grains for eyes dart around and he begins to flail again. “F-FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU, YOU STUPID FUCKING APE! FUCK YOU! FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU! I HATE YOU! M-RRAAH-- MOONLIGHT IS MINE! SHE'S MINE! SHE'S MINE! SHE'SMINE,SHE'SMINE,SHE'SMINE,SHE'SMINE!"

Crimson glares at the tantrum before him, enjoying every second of his squirming. "Haven't you figured it out? She ain't into varmin’. Moonlight..." he leans closer to the stallion's ear, "... doesn't like you."

"HAAHAAAAA! SHE FUCKING LOVES ME! SHE LOVES ME!"

The demon which this man has become turns a hellish gaze to the distraught mare on the ground. "That true?" She vibrates in fear at his voice. "You love this punk?"

The fearful Moonlight cannot respond verbally, barely able to shake her head once to deny the claim.

Crimson faces the snotting, crying stallion again. "That's one, Magnifyin'. Two chances left to apologize."

"FUCK YOU! I ALWAYS HATED YOU! THE FIRST DAY SHOWED UP! THE FIRST FUCKING DAY! YOU RUINED IT! RUINED EVERYTHIIIING!"

A grin forms upon his lips. “That's two, Glassy-boy. You wanna burn in hell fer eternity knowin’ you couldn’t even make amends?"

"FUCK YOU, FUCK YOU, FUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOUFUCKYOU!"

"Great talk."

"YOU'LL NEVER HAVE HER! YOU'LL ALWAYS BE THE STUPID MONKEY SLAVED IN A COLLAR! FOR THE REST OF YOUR PATHETIC FUCKING LIFE! THE REST OF YOUR PATHIC LIFE! GUARDS! GUAAAARRDS GUAAA---"

He interrupts the crying pleas of the stallion by pulling him close, his face but a centimeter away from his. He glares fire into his tearing, blood-shot eyes. "You’ll die like you lived. A cryin’ bitch."

"HAAAAAAAAAA!"

Crimson twirls the lunatic in a cartwheeling motion before tossing him up into the air a few feet. As the stallion spins up and then back down, his horn spurting blood in a circle--

BrCRAKCK!

-- a fist catches the stallion mid fall on his temple. His skull shatters into pieces, his jaw dislocates and breaks, his brain churns to mush, his left eyeball shoots out of his head, blood jets out of his mouth and his right ear. Magnifying's entire body whirls into an even wilder spin, crashing into the beakers and glassware of the lab table he is sent into. His corpse skips over the table and hits the next table over, his momentum comes to a halt at hitting the marble base of it. He is already dead before his ragdoll-ing ends.

"HaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Moonlight shrieks in horror at witnessing the death of a pony for the first time in her life. She and the shade make harrowing eye contact. She sees them, the glittering gold that radiates from under jet-black hair - a beautifully hollowed dance of light. Even though the truth is now hers, all she sees is the face of a stranger.

BAM!

The doors to Moonlight's room are violently kicked open, and in come the two guards who finally responded to the screaming call of the dead stallion. They inhale at what they see - an eviscerated Magnifying, and a figment wearing pure black who stands over the crying Head Researcher. They stagger in their stupefaction. They turn in fear and run back into the grand halls. Both of them retrieve the horns that are sat at their belts and spittle and spit to blow on them as hard as possible.

PwooOOOOOOOO!

The horns are so obnoxiously, damn-near startlingly loud, it makes Crimson jump in fright briefly. The pen pricks that are his eyes dart towards the relic. He dashes towards it as quickly as he can, but he finds himself being surrounded within moments when mages from all over the Castle blink into Moonlight's room. The situation is assessed immediately, the culprit is eyed. Magic is channeled by many horns at once, the man finds himself crushed by the force of over twenty mages grasping him with their ethereal hands. He falls to his knees, clenching his jaw furiously. Try as he might, the culmination of this much power is forcing him down. "Rr-RRAAAH!" The man shouts against his toil. He begins to rise to his feet. The mages gasp in fear. Each one of them try even harder to suppress the target. The battle of wits becomes an egregious stalemate.

Moonlight watches Crimson struggle against the entire Mageguild. She wants to cry out, she wants to put some sort of stop to this, but her broken self cannot even muster the strength to speak. She cannot lift herself off the ground, so she remains rested in the same place Magnifying left her.

As Crimson fights to stay on his feet, he sees another unicorn blink in at the corner of his vision right next to Moonlight. He cannot see who they are or what they wear, but he sees them channeling yellow magic. He is unable to combat the spell shot at him, the one that envelops him until he is a silhouette of magic before it teleports him away.

Moonlight watches him disappear from her room. She cannot stop relinquishing tears, barely strong enough to brokenly whisper one word.

"... Crim... son..."

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Beady little black eyes stare back at her, expressionless. It weirded her out at first, but now that she has held onto it for longer, she thinks she kind of likes it. A meek smile even puts itself up on Dahlia's lips as she stares at the little red bunny she picked out of Crimson's duster.

She lays on her back at the bottom bunk with the throw-projector near her hindlegs, entertaining herself with what she can to stave away the anxiousness. He has not appeared in the wards for a moment now, she assumes he is biding his time. It is the smart play, even if waiting around proves to be more difficult than she anticipated.

She tosses the bunny up a few times, catching it over and over.

PwooOOOOOOOO!

Something offensively loud blasts off, drowning even the waterfall and penetrating the bunker. Dahlia jolts in fright, dropping the bunny on her face, her eyes dilating quickly as she sits up. Her first instinct it to rapidly press the 'next' button on the throw-projector, skipping between every single ward in the Castle with reckless haste.

A dry gasp comes from her mouth. "... No..." She sees tens over tens of guards dash from all parts of the Castle to the Eastern Tower. Mages are seen obtaining scrolls, using them to teleport, heading to the same destination. "No! Nonononononono! Crimson, no! What the fuck did you do!?"

Her jaw pops from clenching her teeth so tightly, powerless, able only to witness the entire Guard storm into Moonlight's room. A churning pit swallows her stomach...

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‎

His surroundings frantically meld to blackened stone, brick, and metal bars. Before he is able to acclimate to this new, cold environment, he is immediately kicked behind his knees to fall forward. Magic encases his body again and he is restrained.

Orientated on his knees, Crimson darts his glare around at over ten unicorns all wearing robes channeling their magic to keep his body immobile while two stallions in golden armor physically hold him down from behind. He sees he is inside a huge spiraling structure that seems to have stairs which climb up and down infinitely, where the walls are lined with medieval prison cells. He finds himself directly in front of one of the cells, his back facing the heavy iron-bar door.

He grits his teeth and grunts, trying to get himself off the ground against their collective grasp. The guards and mages remain steadfast as they wait for something to happen, letting his struggles echo throughout the vast Canterlot Dungeon.

After an uncounted few minutes, the dark ambience is suddenly brightened with yellow magic, enough to briefly stun anyone who directly stared at the center point of it. Crimson turns his eyes away and closes them, letting them recover from the flash. Once he is able to look back the being who teleported in, he is able to piece together that it was the same unicorn who teleported him here to begin with.

The figure is shrouded in robes just as the other mages are, but these robes are not as over-decorated as the mages’, these are much simpler and utilitarian. They look exactly just like—

“Under the ruling of the two princesses, condoned by the Consortium,” this female unicorn begins with determination, “the staunch protectors of Canterlot are obligated to inform you that the right to freedom you once possessed is now revoked. There is no discrimination between race or species, the level of punishment is determined by your actions.”

She speaks to him as if she knew he was intelligent – though it seems more like a generic speech than anything else. Still, Crimson hardly listens to the words, rather than the voice which speaks them. His chest progressively becomes weighted as the spiel continues.

“By court of law, a strong dispel will be cast upon your body to prevent use of magics in any way, shape, or form. This binding will be lifted once you are pardoned or bonded, or at the termination of your sentence. We will ask you only once that you brace yourself.”

The shrouded mare removes her hood, solidifying what he already felt coming. Swirly Cutie approaches him, glaring down at him with utter disdain as her horn begins to glow with her yellow aura. She bows her horn towards him, nearly standing leveled to each other from his kneeling position. Her horn stops an inch from his forehead. The magic literally swirls up the creases of her horn all the way to the tip, it fires out onto him. It does not cause him any apparent pain or discomfort.

Crimson feels the magic tickle his entire body, riding through him like breeze of wind. While it is not painful, he does develop a strange sensation akin to tickling at his scalp. The magic shot at him concentrates on his hair, which confuses not only Swirl, but the guards around. The man hardly realizes what is happening to him until a reeling, collective ‘GASP!’ comes from everyone.

Crimson sees it – the magic travels across his hair and eats away at the black dye that coated it, revealing his deep red hair. The thick strands of hair in front of his face shift in color before his eyes.

Silence imbibes the dungeon for… too long. It is shattered like fine china hitting the ground when Swirl speaks with her wavering voice, “… C… Crimson?" The man lifts his eyes to her. She spots the dilated hazel orbs behind the scraggle.

Murmurs and whispers come from the mages and guards, many scatted “the angel?” and “it cannot be” ring in his ears again and again. Everyone looks completely dumbfounded. What was once a standard incarceration has now turned to confusion.

The situation is further discombobulated when the man and the prison door behind him are grasped by yellow magic – an aura that does not belong to Swirl as her horn does not currently channel magic.

No one has the time to see where it comes from before Crimson is forcefully ripped out of the many magical binds, is lifted and thrown into the dungeon cell, shut and locked as soon as he passes through the door. He hits the ground on his back and bounces once, skidding to a stop before he hits a metal leg of the cell’s bed.

He lifts his head up, grunting, trying to look back at the guards and mages. Their faces paint shock, they all come down for deep bows. A figure steps into view from the edge of the man's cell, a tall white alicorn donned with golden fixtures glares bitterness towards him. No speaking, no movement. Her horn charges with incandescent magic, she and her subjects around her are all encompassed by it.

Crimson stampers onto his feet, uttering a curse to himself. "Celestia!" He shouts as he reaches the bars of his cell and grasps them with fury. Another blinding flash of light, the princess teleports herself and her subjects away before his very eyes. "Fuck!" He exerts his body, trying to bend the bars out. They move very slightly at his force, but as soon as they reach a threshold of about a centimeter, they begin to glow with magic, and moving them becomes all but impossible. Hard-headed and stubborn, he keeps trying, and trying, and trying.

“Faahck!” he staggers back two steps and lets his arms fall limply. He pants and glares at the ground bitterly. “Shit…” He backpedals until he reaches the twin bed, coming down to a squat to sit on the edge of it. “… Fuckin'... god damn it…” He puts his face on his palms, resisting the urge to scream into them.

He sits in silence, with distant clanks of metal and windy drafts in the dungeon to accompany him.

‎
‎

---

‎
‎

The night passes and makes way for the morning.

Her pink orbs stare into the far off nothing, unmoving, unchanging. She had not slept all night, and she has not moved in hours. A blanket surrounds her still form a she sits on a nursery bed. The sun has begun to shine over the horizon, providing light into her dark blue and white room.

A gentle knock sounds out from the room’s door. She does not react to it whatsoever, and as a matter of fact, she thought it might have just been her imagination… that is, until the door comes open and in trots a nurse. She looks extremely cautious and worried, stepping in at a pace that would allow her patient plenty of time to tell her to leave.

She says nothing. The nurse takes this opportunity to trot a little faster, over to the still mare’s side. “Good morning, Moonlight.”

“… Hmm…” she hums into the air without looking over.

“Are you feeling peckish? Is there anything I can bring you?”

“… Mh-mh…” she slowly shakes her head.

The nurse feels slightly relieved that she got a coherent answer. Last night when she was brought in, she was completely unresponsive. “May I please bring you something to drink?”

“… Mh-mh,” she declines again with the shaking of her head.

“Hydrations is important, Moonlight. You need to drink water.”

“… Mmm,” she hums, seeming to acknowledge what she said, but nothing further.

The nurse smiles at her, hiding the sadness she feels at the state Moonlight’s in. “Stimulation is also important, Moonlight. You’ve been completely still since last night. May I make physical contact?” After some stillness, Moonlight nods her head weakly. “Thank you. Please let me know at any time if you feel uncomfortable.” The nurse carefully reaches her hoof to Moonlight’s, resting it on top. The simple and gentle touch causes Moonlight to jump very quickly, her eyes grow wide and she begins to breathe heavily. “Sshh, sshhh… it’s okay. It’s okay, Moonlight. Inhale… exhale. … Inhale… exhale."

As the nurse continues to repeat these words, they start to reach Moonlight. She follows the presented directions, her frantic breathing slowing down to pace of her words.

“Inhale…” the nurse joins in, taking in a deep breath, “… exhale.” She releases the breath slowly. She smiles again at Moonlight once her breathing is regulated. “Keep breathing like that, you’re doing great.”

She softly runs her hoof up Moonlight’s, until she reaches her foreleg. Moonlight begins to vibrate again, but at focusing on her breathing, it is not as intense as before. Soon, the nurse is able to run her hoof up and down Moonlight’s arm without her anxiety rising.

“I’m happy to see you making progress, Moonlight. If you are willing to tell me what has happened, I may take the appropriate steps to help you further. We could map out the appropriate therapy and treatments for you.”

“Mm…” she hums with a frown forming upon her face.

The nurse leans in and coos, “Ssh, ssh… it’s okay. Do not force yourself if you are not ready. I am here for you. I will listen when you are ready, and only when you are ready.”

“Crruhm…” she huffs with a tremble. The nurse’s ears fall to her head, seeing that this little mare is trying her hardest to be strong. The active attempt at trying to speak her mind is there, and she gives her all the time she needs to let that happen. “… Crrhmm... c-cr… hnnn…” Her eyes finally stare away from the void, looking into the nurse’s eyes.

The nurse can see the despair soaking her soul.

“… C-Crims-s-s-son…”

“Crimson,” the nurse repeats with a nod, keeping her eyes locked on hers to encourage her.

“C-Criimms-s-s… h-he… hnnn, he... help-p-p… mee…”

The nurse nods again, “and what did he help you do?”

“… H-He help-p-p… meee…”

She nods once more. “I’m happy our angel helped you, Moonlight. And what did he help you with?”

“He h-help-p-p… Mag-- … Mag--M-M-M—”

Bam! “Hello, hello!”

Moonlight freezes and clenches her teeth, her eyes dilating to grains of salt. Even the nurse jumps in fright from the sudden kicking open of the room’s door, followed by the entry of a dark green unicorn stallion in a lab coat and two Royal Guards.

“Doctor Ivy?” the nurse questions in shock, glaring back at the Castle's head doctor in disbelief.

“Good morning, nurse Redheart,” he replies very friendly. “And good morning to you as well, miss Wish.”

The easy-blue unicorn has shelled back up and remains completely silent, not hearing a word that he said.

The obviously agitated and confused Redheart speaks up again, “What are you doing here, doctor? And so early?”

“Oh, just some emergency surgeries. Some of our wounded scouts came back from a deployment. I see you’re taking care of miss Wish, here.”

“I am,” she frowns, “just as I have for many years, doctor. We are making excellent progress.” Her frown furrows further at the doctor’s cheeky smirking. “I mean no disrespect, doctor, but why are you here?”

“Just to let you know that I’ll be handling miss Wish’s treatment. You’re relieved, please tend to your other patients.”

“Weh-Whaat?” her eyes dilate. “Why? Moonlight has always been my patient, why are you—?”

“Nurse Redheart,” Ivy sternly calls, interrupting her, “I owe you no explanation. Further insubordination, and I’ll have your license suspended. Take your leave immediately.”

The horribly confused nurse glares back at him and the two guards that protect him. She then looks back to Moonlight, who has regressed completely. Her heart shatters, but with nothing else on her side, she forces herself to leave.

Doctor Ivy and the guards track her as she leaves the room. Once she exits and closes the door, the doctor throws his gaze to the frozen mare sitting on the bed. He walks towards her with an amicable simper. “Good morning, miss Wish.”

“… Hn…” she barely acknowledges, staying unmoving.

“I understand the gravity of your situation. And I will be the first to say, I’m sorry for what has happened. There is important information that I must relay to you.”

“… Hnn…”

The stallion tilts his head at her, seeing that she is completely holed up. She will not be able to listen to him properly in this state. With the unamused raising of his brows, he charges his horn with green magic to fire a quick spell at Moonlight’s chest. It hits her, she rocks back slightly from the mild force of the impact… and her eyes expand very, very wide. Her eyes then dilate to a fairly normal size. She cranes her head as if a demon possessed her, looking directly at the stallion.

“Do I have your attention, miss Wish?”

“Yes,” she replies obediently, still staring up to him.

“There is important information regarding the unfortunate circumstances we find ourselves in. Scribe Magnifying Glass is now deceased, even our best treatment could not resurrect him from such a brutal state. We understand while he may have had… untoward advances to you. I am sorry that you were victim to impulse. Magnifying Glass belonged to a very… important family. A family very important to the Consortium. And due to the nature of this incident, please understand that you may not speak of this to anypony. This information is to remain with you and you alone. Remember the agreements you signed when you were initiated as a Scribe. Security and confidentiality must be upheld, or you will face the consequences. Do you understand?”

“I understand,” she replies in monotone.

“But, worry not, dear. The human responsible for Magnifying’s untimely death will be persecuted to the furthest extent of the law. If all goes well, he will never set foot outside of the Dungeon. Though optimally, he will be put to death. That’s the best outcome we could hope for.”

“Crimson will be killed?”

Ivy brightens in amusement. “Ah, yes, that’s his name. I had forgotten about that. Hmh. ‘Sky.’” He nods, “he will be killed. That’s what we are aiming for.”

"Here?"

"Not here, he will be shipped out. Our benefactors requested him directly. Don't worry about any of it, miss Wish. It will all be taken care of."

She says nothing further, only ogling up at him like a possessed doll.

“Remember, miss Wish. The vows you took many years ago still hold true. We hope you make the right decision. Now relax. Take some time, we understand that this is a lot. Therapy will certainly be required. I will coordinate your treatments and employ the best of the best to aid you in your recovery. Was there anything accommodations I could provide you with in the mean time?”

She faces directly forward at no one for a second or two. She then looks back up to him again. “I would like to go home.”

“To your Baltimare residence, correct?”

“Yes.”

“Most certainly, miss Wish. We’ll get preparations underway as soon as possible.” The doctor and his guards walk to the door and open it. He takes one last look back at her. He channels his horn again, a green phantom-like aura comes rising from Moonlight’s head and leaves her, dispersing into nothing. Then, the doctor and his guards leave and close the door.

The magic leaving her body returns her to her own mind. She recalls everything they discussed as if it happened in the matter of a second.

Not a sound comes from her void gazing self. Tears travel like rain down her cheeks, yet she remains completely still.

Next Chapter: Token of Spite Estimated time remaining: 4 Hours, 42 Minutes