The doors to the medical wing closed softly behind the Elements as they strolled from the room, the guards within breathing a sigh of relief now that the source of their present state had left.

Once more in the quiet halls of the castle, Dimmed Star and company made their way to the next destination, their suite.

As the girls behind her chatted about what they would do once they returned home, Dimmed Star could only feel a growing anxiety the closer they got to the room where Spike awaited her. She bit her lower lip nervously, being mindful of her sharp teeth. Although Rarity had reassured her, it did not stop her mind from wandering to the worst possible outcomes that could occur when they reached the room.

'Will he run? Will he scream... Will he even look at me?' As much as the first two hurt to think about, that last one seemed to hurt far more. Thinking back, she remembered when she had first hatched the little drake.

He had been such a fragile thing for a baby dragon. She closed her eyes as she remembered the way he would gaze upon her, his wide eyes filled with adoration that only a child looking upon their mother could have. But she wasn't his mother, she reminded herself as her eyes glistened at the memory. She may have hatched him, but she only played a part in raising him, more the role of a sister than a mother. Her own mother had taken the bulk of the responsibilities in raising the hatchling so that she could focus on her studies, but that didn't stop her from sneaking off to spend time with him.

She remembered how her mother was having such trouble trying to teach him how to walk, the infant constantly struggling to stay on all fours like those around him. It didn't take her long to figure out that due to his size, walking like a quadruped simply wasn't possible yet. His body would have to grow longer before he could emulate the older of his species. Taking it upon herself, she began to teach him in secret, first to walk, then to run.

She smiled softly as the sounds of his little feet running around her in excitement played in her ears.

"Dimmed Star?" The sound of the voice right next to her snapped her from her reverie and she opened her eyes quickly taking in her surroundings. She had apparently stopped in the hall at some point, the girls having caught up to her and watched her worriedly. Rarity stood in front of her, concern in her features.

"What?" She asked briskly, annoyed at having her precious memories be interrupted. Rarity's ears folded back as she glanced down, before looking back up to her.

"I'm... so sorry dear, it's just... you stopped suddenly and when we caught up to you, you were crying..." Dimmed Star raised a hoof and wiped at her eyes quickly.

"It's nothing." She snapped, before walking past Rarity, who turned to watch her leave. Fluttershy came up to her and gave a comforting nuzzle that she reciprocated.

"Just give her time." The shy mare advised, then proceeded to follow after Dimmed Star. Taking her advice to heart, Rarity and the others followed suit.

The rest of the trip was left in relative silence, the girls concerned for their friend, Dimmed Star concerned for the little purple dragon she grew closer and closer to confronting.

After what seemed like hours of traversing the castle's intricate hallways, they finally came to the door of the suite that the girls had been sharing for the past week. Dimmed Star stood before it, shaking like a frightened filly. Her eyes trembling as she stared at the doorknob, her hoof resting on its surface and her heart beating like a drum. The girls behind her looked on in worry before Fluttershy's turned to a look of compassion.

So focused on the back of her hoof that hovered over the doorknob, Dimmed Star did not notice she had approached until her yellow hoof hovered over her own. Looking to the mare in surprise, she felt her mouth open slightly at what she saw.

Fluttershy stood next to her, a smile on her face as she pushed Dimmed Star's hoof up against the doorknob. Her eyes showed nothing but assurance as Dimmed Star looked to them in concern.

"It'll be okay." Her comforting tone left Dimmed Star feeling a bit more relaxed. Closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, she turned back to the door and moved to push it open.

However before she could, the knob turned on its own and the door swiftly opened before them.

"You're really good at that Spike." Applebloom looked on with awe as the young dragon scratched the back of his head, embarrassed by the praise.

"It's not really that hard, here I'll show you." Taking up another piece of paper, he began to fold it much slower this time.

"When you fold it here, you gotta watch the corners. If they aren't even, then the whole thing can end up looking less like a crane and more like a balled-up piece of paper." He chuckled as he carefully crafted the crane. Once it was complete, he held it up for her to inspect.

"Mine doesn't look anything like that." Turning, they found Sweetie Belle looking rather downtrodden as she held up a piece of paper that at first glance looked more like a giraffe than a crane.

"I guess an origami cutie mark isn't in the books for me." She sighed, disappointed.

"How about this then?" A voice full of pride commanded their attention. Looking next to Sweetie, they found Scootaloo happily holding up an expertly crafted paper crane. Sweetie and Applebloom awed in amazement while Spike stared in shock.

"How did you figure it out so fast? And with hooves!?" His voice of surprise only spurred the young pegasis' ego as she puffed her chest out in pride.

"Ah it wasn't so hard, certainly easier than trying to beat this one in a card game." She grinned, nudging Sweetie Belle with her hoof as both fillies looked to each other for a moment, before breaking out in giggles. Applebloom and Spike joined in their laughter after only a moment, before an idea struck the young farmer.

"Hey ah got an idea! Let's really see what's better, hooves or claws!" Looking to her in confusion, she grinned as she turned and trotted over to a nearby dresser, pulling a drawer open and retrieving a large stack of colored paper. Returning to her friends, she dropped it down between Scootaloo and Spike.

"What ah mean is, let's have a competition to see who can make the most cranes!" She beamed as the two of them looked to each other with challenging smiles.

"Oh there is no doubt about it, claws are better!" Spike fired the first shot, snatching up the first sheet of paper as Scootaloo quickly grabbed hold of the next, her own grin matching him.

"Nuh-uh! Hooves are gonna win this one!" As the two began to furiously craft crane after crane, Applebloom walked over and sat with Sweetie Belle while they watched.

"Thanks, Sweetie." Sweetie Belle looked to the young apple farmer in surprise.

"Thanks for what?" Applebloom smirked and nudged the unicorn with her shoulder, nearly knocking her over in the process.

"Y'all know what, don't play dumb. If ya hadn't suggested for Spike to show us his paper foldin, we never woulda got his mind off of Twilight." Sweetie smiled softly as they watched the growing pile of cranes and the two participants who would shoot light-hearted insults at one another's crafting appendages from time to time.

"I only did what we were all trying to do, cheer him up. It never would have worked without all three of us keeping his attention like this." Applebloom nodded in agreement. The two sat in silence as they watched the pile of cranes grow.

The girls blinked in amazement at the mountain of cranes before them. The contest had ended moments before and only because they had run out of any paper left in the room. The colorful mound reached above the edge of the nearby bed and it was a wide as two of the beds put together.

"Do you think we overdid it?" Scootaloo asked next to Spike, who rubbed his chin in thought.

"For the honor of claws winning? Nope." She turned to him with a grin.

"You mean hooves winning!" They both turned to Applebloom expectantly, who looked between the two of them in surprise.

"Wait, y'all weren't counting?" They both blinked at this, before letting out groans of annoyance.

"We thought you were counting!" Scootaloo exclaimed. Spike sighed in defeat as he turned away from the girls while they argued over who should have been counting. Shaking his head he grinned at the fun he had managed to partake in, despite how things had turned out the previous day and this morning. Looking back at them, he smiled as the two girls now wrestled with one another, but neither one looked angry, only smiling as they tussled.

'They're the best friends a dragon could ask for.' He turned to Sweetie, who had taken to being the referee and began to call out made-up fouls or rules for their bout, but before he could say anything, he caught a whiff of something. It was subtle at first, but it grew stronger the more he focused on it.

Turning with the smell, he tried to figure out what it reminded him of. The most prominent of the smell wasn't unfamiliar to him as a fire-breather, burnt fur. It was quite strong and almost completely covered the other scents around it.

'What is that?' He focused on the other scents that were only slightly fainter, but all familiar. He could smell the scent of the many animals that always accompanied Fluttershy, the expensive perfume that he'd become accustomed to from his time spent around Rarity, the smell of apples and tree bark that he'd always associated with Applejack. Taking a deeper breath, he felt his mouth water at the smell of fresh pastries and baked goods that Pinkie always worked with, and finally, he could smell the rain as though it were indoors and not outside where it should be, the best way to tell if Rainbow Dash was around.

It took him only a brief moment to realize that the smells were coming from the direction of the door, or to be more precise, they wafted in under the small crevice between the door and the floor itself.

"They're back." He whispered, before grinning widely. He turned back to the girls who had stopped wrestling to look in his direction at his odd sniffing.

"Girls, they're back!" He yelled in excitement, rushing towards the door. The girls barely gave it thought before they tried to rush after him, Applebloom and Scootaloo struggling to untangle themselves.

"Spike wait!" Sweetie Belle called out to him, but he would not hear it. As he reached the door, he jumped up, it being just a bit higher than he could reach normally. Grasping the knob, he twisted it as he dropped down, his claws gripping the door's edge as he yanked it open, a smile on his face as he expected to see the girls, but most importantly, Twilight.

The door swung open and Dimmed Star stared at the young drake on the other side of the doorway. The silence was deafening as each looked to one another in surprise. Dimmed Star fought to keep her trembling under control, opening her mouth as though to say something as the young dragon slowly looked her over in confusion, before taking a step back from her.

That one step felt like a thousand to Dimmed Star, as she felt her heart drop to her hooves and shatter. Her wide eyes stared after Spike while he only looked on in slight trepidation. Her mouth moved only slightly, but no sound escaped her lips.

Spike looked to the strange mare who stood in the doorway, her off-putting black eyes watching him. She had not been what he was hoping to see, not even close. It was scary the way she looked at him, as though she knew him, expected something from him. The smell of burnt fur was far stronger now, and he could tell from the proximity that it was this mare that stood before him.

Taking a step back as well, Dimmed Star turned away from him and began to walk back out into the hall, her eyes wide and unshed tears threatening to fall. The girls moved out of her way to give her space as she passed. Fluttershy made to follow, but Rarity held her hoof up, blocking her.

"Like you said, dear... she needs time... but also I think... somepony else..." She turned a meaningful gaze to the young drake who stood in the doorway, his claws clasped together as he stared at the back of the mare who walked away. Walking up to him, she leaned down and rested her forehead against his, being mindful of her horn and Spike's crest. Spike for his part was surprised by this sudden action and he blushed furiously at the proximity of his crush's face to his own, but her sorrowful expression told him that now was not the time to be having a crisis in the romance department.

"Oh, Spikey... go to her... of all of us, she needs you, more than anypony." She spoke softly, her voice tired. Her words left him in confusion as she raised her head up, giving him a quick peck to his forehead. Walking further into the room, she nudged his back with her hoof, pushing him out and into the hall as she and the other girls walked into the room after her, each giving him their best looks of encouragement. Turning to look after them, his mouth trying to form words to express what he did not understand, he could only watch as the door closed behind them, leaving him alone in the hall with the strange mare.

Dimmed Star had stopped moving a little ways away from the door and had sat down, her mind trying to process her emotions. Her heart in tatters once more, she hiccuped as she fought to keep her tears in check, only to fail as they trailed down her muzzle, the black fluid dripping and staining the carpet below.

'I... I knew it was a possibility... but I... I...' Her eyes clenched tight as she fought to keep herself from screaming at the injustice of it all.

Spike watched the mare cautiously, wringing his claws together as he tried to piece together why Rarity had said what she did, and why she had been adamant that he should be the one the talk to this stranger. Glancing around the hall, he hoped that the door would open to let him back in, but the sound of a sob drew his attention. Looking once more to the stranger, he could see her frame trembling and hear the sounds of crying, her distorted voice only adding to his wariness. Glancing to the floor, he took a deep breath, before slowly making his way towards her.

Dimmed Star didn't even hear his approach over the sound of her own sorrow as he slowly crept around her, before stopping in front of her and watching her silently. He swallowed nervously as he looked her over more closely.

Memories of the day before rose unbidden to his mind as he looked at her.

'That thing... it was Twilight, what was left of her after the caves...' Cadence's words rang in his memory as he felt his eyes widen. He remembered when that scary creature had come through the wall at the wedding, but he just couldn't believe it had actually been Twilight. Even after the fact, when the fighting broke out again, Rarity and Fluttershy had kept himself and the crusaders hidden as best they could, while blocking their own view of what had unfolded. Spike hadn't seen her in this form.

Taking another cautious step towards her, his eyes wide, he took a few tentative sniffs. The smell of burnt fur was overwhelming from this range and it nearly made him gag, but he held strong, taking deeper sniffs the closer he got.

Dimmed Star tried to wipe her tears away once more but to no avail. However, in the brief moment of pause between her sobs, she had opened her eyes and now started in surprise at seeing the young dragon before her. He sniffed harder as tears slowly began to trail from his own eyes. The two stared at one another for a brief moment, before he suddenly jumped forwards and latched onto her, causing her to stumble back.

"S-Spike!?" She asked in shock and disbelief. He slowly nuzzled deeper into her fur, burying his nose into her chest and taking deep breaths while grasping at her with his claws.

"I... I can sm-smell you... I know your scent a-anywhere... it's faint... but I can smell in-ink... and parchment..." His words sent a shock through her as she stopped trying to stall her tears and merely let them flow. Ever so slowly, she wrapped her hooves around him softly, before full on cradling him into her chest. The two stayed like that for a long while, not even caring when the door to the suite opened and the girls filed out with all of their belongings and the crusaders in tow. They watched the scene with bright smiles on their faces and a few tears in their eyes.

"Twilight... my Twi-Twilight." Dimmed Star said nothing to correct the young drake as he began to cry loudly into her chest. Her heart throbbed from within and her head dipped forward to nuzzle him. A memory from long ago rose to the forefront of her mind, from back when Spike had first begun to learn how to talk.

'Come on Spike, say it, say Twilight!' A young Twilight Sparkle encouraged, holding out a piece of quartz crystal to entice the infant to do what she asked. At first, only a babble of sounds had escaped his lips as he reached for her from the baby chair. Getting only incoherent noises from the young drake for the fourth time, Twilight sighed in disappointment. Smiling despite herself, she looked to him fondly as he giggled at her. Reaching her hoof forward, she presented the treat to him.

'Here you silly dragon, we'll get it next time.' Instead of reaching for the small crystal, however, his claws went past it and latched onto her foreleg. She watched him in awe as his mouth moved and finally, he uttered his first word.

'M-momma!'

The loading dock at the Canterlot train station was nearly empty, which was no surprise given how the weather had been earlier that morning.

After securing their belongings and making sure the foals were all settled, Dimmed Star, with Spike in tow, and the rest of the girls had made their way out of the castle and through the streets of Canterlot. Had it been warmer and with less rain, the streets might have been a bit busier, but as it was there were very few ponies out and about. This came as somewhat of a small blessing to the group as it meant that those few who were out, only stared nervously in the direction of Dimmed Star, quickly scurrying off once they would meet her annoyed gaze.

When they had first arrived at the train station and approached the outdoor ticket booth however, the attendant had quickly slammed his window shut upon spotting her, those next to him doing much the same. It was only due to Rarity and Applejack's quick action that Dimmed Star hadn't ripped her way through the windows to get at the ' pathetic and worthless sacks of meat,' as she had put it in her frustration. At their suggestion to wait on the loading dock to spend more time with Spike, she had relented and allowed them to handle the arduous task of persuading the attendant to open the window once more.

Dimmed Star sat on the loading dock, her bags next to her along with Spike's. The small drake had refused to let go of her ever since the two of them had been reunited. When they had begun to leave, he had climbed onto her back and buried his snout into her mane, taking deep breaths. She didn't mind it any, as it only cemented that he would never see her as anything less than his.

Now with him in her lap once more, she gently stroked his back while he slept, dry tears staining his cheeks. It had been only a few minutes when the rest of the girls returned, nervous smiles on their faces.

"Well, it took some convincing, but we did manage to get the tickets." Rarity chuckled as she came to sit next to Dimmed Star. The dark mare glanced to her with slight irritation, before motioning her head towards the sleeping drake. Rarity gasped softly as she raised a hoof to her mouth.

"Oh! So sorry dear." She spoke much lower this time, so as to prevent herself from waking him. Dimmed Star only nodded slightly, acknowledging the apology.

"It's fine. I just don't want to wake him right now..." She raised her hoof from his back, instead using it to stroke the young one's head, causing him to smile lightly. She gave her own soft smile, her features serene.

"Uh, I hope he's a hard sleeper, cause we got company." Rainbow caught their attention. Looking to where she pointed, they found both Celestia and Cadence, a small contingent of guards standing close by, and the head of the Council, Fancy Pants, who looked to Rarity with a smile and a slight nod.

"I'm glad we caught up to you, I was worried I wouldn't get a chance to see you when we got to the medical wing and they told us that you had already left and you weren’t in your room." Cadence limped forward, her hooves in fresh bandages and pain medicine running through her system. Dimmed Star looked to her for a moment, before turning away and continuing to watch Spike sleep. Cadence felt her ears droop as she looked at her longingly. Taking a few more steps towards her, she and Rarity shared a small glance as the fashionista stood and trotted away to give them space. Coming to a stop next to the mare, Cadence slowly sat down, wincing as her hooves twinged.

"Do they hurt?" Dimmed Star's voice came as a surprise to the princess as she looked to her. She caught her pupils, the three teal dots at the center of her black eyes, glancing at her hooves out of the corner of her eye.

"N-no... not anymore. The doctors took good care of me." She responded carefully, looking to her bandages herself. Her mind drifted back to how she had gotten the injuries in the first place. The memory of what the mare next to her had nearly done as she mistook her for the fake counterpart as fresh in her mind as though it had just happened. A shiver ran down her spine and her breath hitched.

"Are you... afraid of me too?" Her heart leaped as she snapped to look to her future sister-in-law. Dimmed Star was no longer looking at her, now fully occupied with stroking Spike's spinal crest. Raising her hoof, Cadence let it hover over her shoulder for a moment, before letting it come into contact with her.

"Yes... I am afraid. But I'm not afraid of you, Dimmed Star... I'm afraid for you..." Her answer was met with silence.

Celestia walked up to the rest of the girls while the crusaders tried to sneak a bit closer to hear what Dimmed Star and Cadence were saying, only to be pulled back by their sisters, Scootaloo being dragged over to sit with Rainbow Dash.

"How has she been?" Celestia asked cautiously, her eyes never leaving the back of her former student.

"It has been difficult, but we are all having to adjust." Rarity sighed as Fancy Pants came to stand beside her. The rest of the girls nodded in agreement.

"I understand..." The sound of a train had everypony look down the tracks, seeing it approaching rapidly. Raising to their hooves, everypony began to gather their bags and prepare to board. Fancy Pants took this as an opportunity to approach.

"Miss Star, a word if you would." Dimmed Star paused as she allowed Cadence to lift Spike and set him on her back, he grabbed ahold of her fur tightly in his sleep, once more burying his face into her mane. Seeing that he had her attention, Fancy Pants cleared his throat and straightened his monocle with his magic.

"The Council doesn't always see eye to eye, nor are we omnipotent. Please keep in mind that we are no more villains than you yourself claim to be. We only sought what was best for everypony, and at the time and given the circumstances, what we did was what we had thought was best. With what you've said being taken into account, as well as the witnesses that can verify such, you were well within your right to defend yourself." Dimmed Star's eyes watched him with irritation as he spoke.

"That said, I need to know that you aren't going to harm anypony else. Can you tell me that with certainty?" The two of them stared hard at one another as the train came to a stop behind them, the sound of steam releasing from its engines drowning out all others for a moment. Dimmed Star's eyes glinted in the small bit of light that refracted from the metal of the transport as Celestia and the rest of the ponies present waited for her answer with bated breath.

"I'll say this once, and only once." She finally spoke as she turned from him, two black tendrils of Ink bleeding from her forelegs. Fancy Pants and Cadence both took worried steps back as the guards behind Celestia made to move forward, only to stop at the princess' silent motion. Slowly, the tendrils reached forward and grasped ahold of the bags that she and Spike had brought with them. Giving a toothy grin as she turned and made her way to the now open train doors, Dimmed Star pushed past the conductor who had opened them, he stumbled to get out of her way.

"I'll do what I have to if it means protecting myself and those closest to me." Fancy Pants swallowed nervously as she disappeared into the train. The rest of the Elements slowly began to file in after her, the crusaders looking nervous. Celestia came to stand next to him after the doors closed shortly after, the conductor making his way towards the front of the train.

"I suppose that's the best I'm going to get as an answer." Fancy sighed dejectedly. Celestia took a deep breath herself, steeling her nerves.

"It is better than the alternative." She nodded, tilting her head in the direction of the window where the girls began to get comfortable. Dimmed Star was nowhere to be seen however, likely having chose to sit away from anywhere that she could have been observed. Cadence fluffed her wings a bit, trying to warm herself on this cold, rainy day.

"I'm going back to the archives... I have a lot of work to do." Celestia glanced to her niece who watched the train as it began to pull out of the station.

"If you’d like, I could perhaps join you?" Cadence waved after the train as it passed, the few girls that they could see through the windows waving back.

"I would like that..."

" 'Nothur!" Business Savvy demanded as he slammed down the fifth glass of alcohol. The stallion barely even looked up as the barkeep of the Sun's Retreat tavern placed another pint. Reaching forward, he grasped the glass in his hoof, holding tightly to it as though it would flee should he let go. His hair was a mess compared to its usual slicked back appearance, his normally well kept business suit soaked from the rain and his fur sticking out in places. His eyes were red and old tear stains could be seen trailing down his face.

The stallion had not taken the Hearing well, even less so when a guard had informed him that the mare responsible for killing his only son was walking around freely. At first it had seemed like an assured and simple thing, convict the murderous bitch and send her to prison for the rest of her life. It was supposed to be that simple... He growled in annoyance, before throwing his head back and draining almost half of the alcohol within the glass. Slamming it back down, he took a few large gulps of air and glanced over to the picture that sat at the bar with him.

Another glass sat on the bar, holding the picture up. This pint was still full and he dared not touch or drink from it. The picture that leaned on it showed the image of a young stallion, his fur as pale white as his father's and his green mane and tail were short and well-trimmed. His sea-green eyes shined with a mirth he'd inherited from his mother and he smiled brightly as he held up the letter that had the word ' accepted' in bold across the top. Savvy hiccuped as he looked at the image.

He dropped his head low as he felt a sob escape his lips, before forcing himself to sit up once more and raise his glass to the picture.

" 'Nothur one ferr you, my b-boy." His voice cracked as he spoke, his words a bit slurred. It was at this moment that the doors to the quaint little tavern opened and Hasty Vote strolled in, her outfit changed out for a clean and still absurdly pink dress and scarf, her forehooves covered in short, fuzzy pink gloves. Her mane and fur had been cleaned and she now wore a new large, pink designer hat. Wind Rider walked in after her as the doors shut, breathing a sigh of annoyance.

Glancing through the room, Hasty let out a sound of success as she spotted the miserable stallion at the end of the bar. She practically tiptoed her way through, being extra careful as not to let her clothing touch any of the chairs or tables as she passed, Wind Rider trailing behind her with much less care.

"So, this is where you ran off to. Enjoying yourself are we?" Hasty Vote spoke, her voice haughty as she stood next to him. Savvy ignored her as he continued to gulp down his drink. She huffed in annoyance while she waited, Wind Rider coming up to take a seat next to the mourning father. However, just as he was about to sit, Savvy's foreleg swung out and nearly knocked him over, sending him stumbling back.

"Hey! What's yo-" He stopped as Savvy glared at him, his hoof pointing to the picture and pint that sat above the chair.

"Tha's my s-shon's chair." His eyes were slightly unfocused, and his words slurred more, but his anger at Wind Rider nearly sitting where his son had, kept him focused. Wind Rider nodded after a moment, making his way to sit on the other side of Savvy.

"So this is all you're going to do then? Drink your sorrows away and grieve for your boy?" Hasty asked, her tone none to caring as Savvy glared at her now.

"Take car' what you shay bout my s-son." He warned, turning away from her and pushing his now sixth empty glass away.

" 'Nothur!" He shouted, gaining the barkeep's attention as he washed a few glasses. Before he could put them down to come over, however, Hasty stepped up to the bar and placed a bag of bits on the edge.

"I think he's had enough deary, would you give us a moment alone?" The bartender looked to her curiously for a moment, before leaning over to grab the bag in his teeth and making his way through the kitchen doors. Savvy looked to her in anger as he straightened himself up in the chair, or rather as best he could.

"Wha' do you think you're doin'?" He growled out, about to yell for the bartender to come back. Hasty Vote stopped him, however, as she levitated his son's picture up and began to look it over. He yelled in anger as he lunged at her, reaching for the picture, only for her to casually step to the side, sending him sprawling to the floor in his inebriated state.

"My, my. He was such a handsome colt. It's such a shame he was heartlessly murdered and then consumed by that monster." She tsked as she walked around Savvy, who could only growl in frustration while trying to stand.

"Shut up!" He yelled out as she came around to his head, dropping the picture on the floor before him. He gasped as he reached to catch it before it hit the floor, flinging both his front hooves forwards and sending himself across the floor once more, but he caught it.

"Is this how you're going to deal with his loss? Drinking the night away until you can't even remember his face?" Hasty asked, disgusted. Savvy didn't care what she thought though, he only cared about the picture he brought close to himself, hugging it tightly.

"Wh-wha's it matter to you?" He groaned out. Wind Rider glanced down at him to make sure that he couldn't see that he had taken the full pint that had held up his son's picture and sipped from it.

"It's simple my friend, we only want to help." Wind Rider shrugged as he spoke around the lip of the glass. Hasty nodded with a sweet smile as she crouched down a bit to be face to face with Savvy.

"Indeed dear. We simply can't let you drown your life away like this when you could be doing so much more. Like dealing with your son's killer, for instance." Savvy's eyes snapped open, he glared at Hasty Vote as she smiled back.

"Wha' are y-you talkin’ bout." He mumbled out as he fought to bring himself to a sitting position. Hasty's smile widened as her hazel colored magic helped him to right himself.

"What I mean dear, is helping us to deal with a free-roaming murderer. Mr. Rider and I have a few ideas, and we'd like to discuss them with you." Savvy glanced over to Wind Rider, who watched him back carefully, the quarter empty pint still in his hoof.

"Wha' makes you th-think I want any part of... whatever... you two are scheming?" He slurred out, before groaning as he felt his head begin to spin and his stomach take a few somersaults. Hasty gave a light laugh as she placed a hoof on his chest where he clutched the image.

"Because dear, your son deserves Justice, don't you think?" She batted her eyes sweetly as he looked down to the picture, tears welling in his eyes once more as he gazed upon his son's face.

"I... don't think I shou-" Hasty placed her hoof against his lips for a moment silencing him as he looked to her confused. Pulling away, she nodded to the picture.

"What was his name?" Savvy looked back to the image, hiccuping as he stared at it.

"G-gavel... Dream Gavel... H-he... he always wanted to be a guard... I... I told him no... that he needed to go into the family business… Needed to follow in my hoofsteps..." His slurred speech slowly began to correct itself as he drifted back to his memories, Wind Rider and Hasty watching him carefully as he spoke of his son, tears dripping down his face.

"He went behind my back though... got accepted into the guard... I was so mad that day, but his mother was so happy for him. She took this picture, and yet no matter how angry I was... How much I wanted to yell at him for defying me... I was so, so... proud of him..." He clenched his eyes shut as the tears dripped onto the picture of his son, who could only smile back to his grieving father. Hasty walked up to stand beside him and patted his back softly.

"Awe, there there deary. I know it's hard, but you can get past this and I know just the way to do it." Savvy slowly calmed down as Wind Rider finished the drink, setting the glass down and making his way over to them. Glancing to his fellow council member, Savvy's eyes bore his sorrow for all to see, as well as a glimmer of hope.

"H-how?" Hasty smiled and turned to Wind Rider, who nodded as he walked around to the front of Savvy. The three council member's chatted for quite some time inside the quiet Tavern.

Author's Notes:

Twilight, Shaded, Dimmed Star: HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!!!

Shaded: With it being a Holiday and the chapter was already written and had been proofread, special thanks to Kuunlehti btw, we decided to go ahead and post up the next chapter for your enjoyment!

Twilight: We hope that all of you have a great Thanksgiving and that you make sure to take time out of your busy schedules to spend it with your Family and Friends!

Dimmed Star: Don't forget to take some time for yourself as well and just enjoy the festivities! There will be plenty of Food, Music, and Games that I'm sure you'll all be enjoying!

Twilight, Shaded, Dimmed Star: Have a Happy Holiday!

* Scootaloo walks in wearing a Turkey outfit with an annoyed look*

Turkeyloo: Shaded Blood does not own MLP: FIM or the Equinox Ponies... A special thanks to Kuunlehti for proof reading and editing... gobble gobble...

* Begins to walk off stage grumbling insults at Shaded*