“I wonder if it’s been an hour yet...”

Spike paced nervously in his new surroundings. He hadn’t thought that anyplace could be more uninviting than the Canterlot dungeons, but found himself to be incorrect shortly after arriving in this new location.

“I should wait a bit longer...”

The dragon continued pacing, swatting an errant spiderweb from time to time and waiting—hoping—for something to happen.

“They probably got caught... Fireshade said Luna was on her way...”

Making another circuit of the huge, dimly lit room that he found himself in after the teleportation, Spike wondered how long it would take him to get to D’Larame on foot.

“I don’t even know where I am...”

Growing evermore frustrated with the situation at hand, Spike growled to himself.

“Why would they send a second load of supplies, but not themselves?”

Then he heard it. Starting as a whisper of a whistle, like a light breeze blowing through a small tube, the sound quickly gained intensity, and suddenly the entire room was awash in bright, white light. The sound and light quickly ebbed, leaving behind two unicorns in its place.

Twilight stumbled, but remained standing. Meanwhile, Fireshade’s sitting form slowly toppled to the side with an audible thud.

“You made it!” Spike exclaimed happily, running to greet his friend.

Twilight turned to the dragon, slack-jawed and eyes wide. Tears began falling from her face as she began to shake uncontrollably. Spike quickly slowed his pace and approached slowly, his gaze went from Twilight to Fireshade and back.

“Twilight, what happened? Is Fireshade okay?” he asked with mounting concern, glancing to the pony on the floor.

Twilight continued to shake and cry. “I—I don’t know i-i-if she’s okay...” She paused to let out a particularly loud sob. “We... Oh no... No no no no... This can’t be happening.” She turned her eyes towards the floor and whimpered.

Spike placed himself directly in front of the bawling unicorn. “Twilight?”

She looked up to him. “Sh-sh-she’s dead Spike...”

“What?” Spike looked to Fireshade. “She seems hurt pretty bad, but I can tell she’s breathing from here. It’s okay, Twilight, you can fix her up!”

The mage continued looking at her friend and slowly shook her head while tears continued to stream down her face.

“Of course you can, Twi! You’re one of the most powerful unicorns in the world, if anyone can hel—”

“No, Spike! I can’t help her!” Twilight exploded with rage. “Luna’s dead and it’s my fault!”

We did what had to be done. If Fireshade hadn’t done it, we would be the ones dead right now.

“Maybe that would have been better!”

Spike had no response to the outburst, and chose to stand quietly while Twilight continued to quietly cry. “Luna’s dead?” he whispered to himself. After a few moments, he decided to check on Fireshade. He took the few steps to the other unicorn and kneeled beside here.

“Uh, Twilight... I think she really needs some help. She’s breathing all weird and gurgly and there’s a lot of blood from her nose and ears.”

Fireshade needs our help now. There is no point in distressing over a dead tyrant.

Twilight was at Fireshade’s side in an instant, quietly looking the unicorn over. “Oh, Fireshade... This is bad.” She looked to Spike, tears already beginning to dry. “I need you to move her.”

“What? Where?” Spike questioned. “And why don’t you just float her wherever?”

“To one of the bunk rooms, and because I don’t want to end up like her. This is magic overexertion and...” Twilight shook her head slightly. “You know what? Just move her Spike, we don’t have time for the explanations. The rooms are down that hall on the left, just put her in the first one.”

Spike shrugged and picked up the bloodied mare as gently as he could.

Twilight ran to the two piles of lab equipment and supplies, looking for the medical cabinet. “And make sure to lay her on her side!” she yelled as Spike and Fireshade made their way down the hallway.

8th year of the Second Diarchy, Day 11, Southern Solstice
Personal Journal, entry 16

I can truthfully say that our departure from Canterlot could not have possibly gone any worse. What an absolute, unmitigated disaster. Short of Celestia dropping dead, we’ll likely never be able to go home again, and as much as it pains me, I should probably start thinking about political asylum or possibly even outright defection to another nation.

I still can’t believe that we were able to kill one of the princesses. The memory is surreal, like a dream-state. I’m having an incredibly difficult time parsing the reality of the situation in my mind.

I’ve explained our situation more thoroughly to Spike. It took hours to convince him that Luna is truly dead. However, he doesn’t seem one hundred percent convinced that what we are doing is the right thing, even though he won’t voice that opinion. I know that what we’re doing is the wrong thing for the right reasons, but I can’t see an alternative. He would do anything for me, right or wrong, and I will take advantage of that if I have to.

I think I’m mostly over the shock of the situation, but I feel completely responsible for the outcome, even if I wasn’t the one that directly powered the magic that killed Luna. The voice says that we had to, and as much as I hate to admit it, it’s correct. If Luna hadn’t died we wouldn’t have a enough of a distraction from Celestia to have come out on top.

I say ‘on top’ like we actually won something. We were extremely lucky to have left that place with our lives intact. Or, at least, mostly intact in Fireshade’s case. She definitely caused herself some serious damage, but I don’t have the proper equipment set up yet to determine to what extent. I’m hoping that she wakes up soon and doesn’t show any signs of permanent damage from the magical overexertion she pushed herself to. I need her help if we are going to get anything done.

It’s been two days since we arrived in this place. The old capital of Equestria. Well, a bit outside of the old capital, but that doesn’t really matter. I’ve got the important pieces of our equipment set up. Spike helped with the lighting, and the large battery bank is now powering an enchanted spell-matrix creating an illusory spell that will mostly mask the above-ground portion of this building. I think that due to its distance from the rest of the ruins of the capital, hiding it completely was prudent. If a patrol noticed a building like this, they would likely be inclined to search it.

Even if we aren’t located, our ability to continue our original path is severely impeded. Truth be told, I’m not entirely sure what to do with the information I gather from Celestia’s tissue sample in the following weeks. If I was still the Magus, I would have some pull with some very important ponies, but now... We were found out far too soon.

The evacuation of the old capital must have happened very quickly. Whoever left this place, left a lot of things behind. It seems that it was likely once some sort of medical facility or perhaps another research laboratory. There is a lot of archaic equipment and some of it even seems to be in workable or repairable condition! Just have to figure out what exactly they are.

Here’s to being on the run from the most powerful nation in the world.
—T.S.

Amber eyes slowly opened, blinking slowly. Fireshade yawned and rolled over on the hard bed, looking toward the dim light filtering through the doorway. “What the hell, where am I?”

Fireshade sniffed the air as she stood up from the bed, eliciting a disgusted scowl. The place was dingy and smelled old, like it had stood abandoned for a very long time. Several vertebrae popped as she stretched her lithe body like a cat and carefully walked to the only exit from the room. “Guh... feels like I’ve been in bed for days.”

A yellow head and messy orange mane appear in the hallway, turning one way, then the other. To the left, the hallway continued for a short distance, and then turned a corner into darkness. To the right, it went for a slightly shorter distance before opening to what appeared to be another room. “Definitely not in Canterlot anymore,” she whispered to herself.

“Heh—” she paused at what she thought were the sounds someone speaking and a metallic clank. An ear perked and swiveled towards the quiet muttering to her right. “H-Hello?” she cautiously and quietly asked as she began making her way towards the voices.

She left the hallway, entering the room from which the sounds were coming from. The area turned out to be much larger than what her view from the hallway alluded to. Noting the severely worn walls with no windows and an occasional tree root jutting into the room, she assumed they were once again underground. On the far side of the room stood Spike with a clawful of tools standing behind Twilight, who was kneeling while working on the large analyzing machine they had liberated from Canterlot.

Neither had noticed her yet, so she walked up behind Spike as quietly as she could.

“Hi Spike!” Fireshade yelled exuberantly.

Spike jumped into the air with a yelp as the tools he had been holding clattered to the ground. As Twilight hurriedly skittered to a standing position, the dragon spun to face the offending unicorn he glared. “Geez, Fireshade, you ‘bout gave me a heart attack!”

Fireshade acknowledged him with a huge smile.

Twilight unceremoniously pushed Spike out of the way. “You’re awake! Oh my gosh, how do you feel?” she asked, leaning forward into Fireshade’s face.

Fireshade craned her head back slightly. “Groggy, I guess,” she replied, scratching at the back of her head. “How long was I out for, and where in the world are we?”

“You’ve been unconscious for almost three days now.” Twilight relaxed to a more comfortable distance. “Besides groggy, how are you feeling?

“Wow... no wonder I’m so hungry,” said Fireshade, looking down to her belly. She looked back to Twilight with a small grin. “Seriously, though, I’m feeling pretty good. I guess some extra sleep will do that.”

“Oh, thank goodness.” Twilight leaned in and gave Fireshade a quick hug. “I had thought you gave yourself a brain hemorrhage with the level of overexertion you went through, but we don’t have the proper tools to diagnose such a thing.”

“What?” Fireshade deadpanned. “How did that happen?” She looked around at the windowless room once again. “And how did we get here?”

“Fireshade, w-what’s the last thing you remember happening?” Twilight asked very seriously with a growing look of concern on her face.

The pyromancer tilted her head in thought. “Uhhhhm... I was being chased by some soldiers...” Her face lit up with recognition. “And I vaporized them! And then... I... uh, started toward the dungeons? Maybe? I—uh, I think... that’s it.”

“You don’t remember fighting the princesses?”

“Ha! Fight the princess-es? Like, at the same time? Have you lost your shit, Twilight? They would have killed us both just for having the gall to to even attempt!” Fireshade chuckled. “Holy shit, Twilight... That’s some... funny...” She finally noticed that Twilight’s dead serious look hadn’t gone away. “...shit?”

“And that’s pretty much what happened.” Twilight stated matter-of-factly. “Or, at least from my perspective... I’m not really sure what happened when Luna was chasing you through the dungeons.”

Fireshade was having a very difficult time processing what she had just been told. Several seconds passed before she was able to even shut her mouth. “Luna’s dead?”

Twilight quickly averted her gaze to the floor. “Uh, yeah...”

“You do realize what this means, Twilight?” Fireshade asked, as her features visibly paled and her breaths became quicker and shorter.

“Yes, I—”

“We’re dead, Twilight!” Fireshade screamed. “If we had gotten away clean, they might have let us go, but regicide!? Oh man... Twilight!”

She’s panicking.

“Celestia is going to come for us no matter where we go!”

I think that’s obvious.

“Or how long it takes! Even if we can stay ahead of her—”

You need to calm her.

“—she’ll just run us to death, like—like some filthy animal!”

Of course, I do.

“Fireshade stop!” Twilight shouted, placing her front hooves on the other’s shoulders. Fireshade ceased her tirade and looked silently to the floor next to her. “Fireshade, please. Look at me.”

Fireshade turned her head to look directly at Twilight with a glimmer of understanding shining through from the manic outburst.

“We’ll figure this out,” Twilight spoke softly and slowly. “Right now we are safe, and we have time to make a new plan. This place is well hidden and it will take a long time for Celestia to find us here. We need to stay calm, or we will make mistakes. Okay?”

Taking a deep breath, Fireshade nodded slowly and Twilight pulled her hooves away from the mare.

“Okay. Now then, as for where we are... It’s an abandoned medical facility, I think. Just outside the old capital! Isn’t it great!” she excitedly said, punctuating her statement with a smile.

“Yeah, great...” Fireshade swiveled her head about, taking in the details of the room. “It’s a hole, Twilight.”

“It is not! It’s a research lab!”

“In a hole...”

“It is kinda in a hole, Twi,” Spike reinforced.

Twilight sighed with defeat. “Well, yeah. I guess you could say that.”

“Yes, I could... because it is. Twilight, our new lab is in even worse condition than the last hole.” Fireshade gestured to a nearby wall. “There’s roots growing through the walls, Twilight!”

“I mean... Yes. Yes there is, but Spike can help cut them out, and we can clean the place up, maybe some fresh paint. It’ll be good as new in no time!”

Fireshade eyed Twilight suspiciously. “Twilight, exactly how long are we planning on being here?”

“Until we can figure out a safe way out of Equestria.”

Until Celestia arrives and we can kill her, as well.

We got lucky with Luna.

The only way Celestia will stop, is if she is dead.

That would have been the natural conclusion, anyhow. She would never abdicate willingly.

That is correct.

But how? She’ll never fall for the same—

“Helllooooh!”

Twilight shook her head, just now noticing the yellow unicorn in front of her, waving a hoof across her field of vision.

“Oh!” Twilight giggled a bit. “Must have spaced off there for a moment.”

“Yeeeah...” Fireshade squinted at the obviously distracted unicorn. “Are you okay?”

“Me? Heh... Yep, just fine!” Another nervous giggle escaped her lips. “So, how about I show you the above ground part of our temporary home?”

Twilight made halfway to the stairwell before she noticed no one was following. She turned with a forced smile. “Come on, you two! I think some fresh air will do us all some good.”

Spike and Fireshade looked at each other and shrugged. Then the three proceeded to the surface.