"Why didn't that pony tell me which way to go when I got in here?!" Rainbow Dash groaned out as she hit another dead end down, yet, another long corridor.

The pegasus had been walking for what seemed like hours to her. On several occasions she would run across a small grate that would allow just a smidgen of light through to help illuminate her way, but now that the evening had rolled in, the light was quickly fading, making her little trip through this secret passage, a possible dangerous encounter.

Making her way around another corner, the pegasus came to a stop as she listened, swiveling her ears forward upon hearing soft chatter in the distance. Giving an internal cheer she quickly flew down the corridor in the dim light, and making a quiet landing near the voices as they continued on in conversation.

"I'm telling ya Dust, Dash is going to get booted from the Bolts if she don't get her head out of her flank. I mean, I know she and the king had a thing in the past, and he even helped her get into the squad. But that don't give her no right to just up and tell him she ain't gonna watch his kid. I mean it's a cake job! The squirt is sitting in his room playing with Fleet Foot right now, and we're all getting paid to do this." Soarin laughed as he peeked into Starlights room, seeing the foal playing with the Wonderbolt.

"Yea, it's a cake job alright." Lightning Dust sighed, laying her ears back, looking away in what felt like shame. "I still wish Dash wasn't so hot headed. It's like she turned into what I was like when I got kicked out of the Wonderbolts academy the first time. I got lucky the second time around and they accepted me back in. It was hard, but I managed to graduate and become a Bolt. Dash on the other hoof, seemed to take up my old habits. Hot-headed, stubborn, selfish. Heh, she doesn't even seem like the element of loyalty now, does she." She smirked slightly to Soarin, he just rubbing his withers nervously.

"Well, yea.... I mean.... ah who am I kidding. Ever since she became captain, she's turned into a complete jerk. Always bossing us around and thinking she's better than the rest of us. Her training exercises are almost to hard to do as well. It's crazy that she even thinks we can do half of the stuff she pushes herself to the brink to do. I think I even saw her laugh at that one pegasus that crashed while trying to do one of her signature tricks. It's sickening being under her hoof since she's the captain."

"Was, the captain, and let's keep it that way. Everything'll be better under my guidance. No more harsh training exercises. No more killing ourselves just to please some pony that sits too high up on her pedestal. And if there is one thing I'll do, it's giving us all a well deserved break that lasts more than just a few days. Maybe I could ask Midnight to give us a weeks paid vacation after all this is over with. You know, to give the bolts something to look forward to for all their hard work." Dust smirked back toward the light blue pegasus at her side.

"We'll see." He chuckled. "But seeing as the king has been a real hard ass lately, I doubt he'll be in the mood to give such liberties. I mean, what he did to Dash was a bit extreme, even for him." Soarin sighed.

Dash, at this moment, was seething with so much rage that she was grinding her teeth. Never had she been talked about in such a manner. But, after a moment, she hung her head, giving a soft sniffle as she turned to head back in the direction she had come from.

"They're right. I messed up big time." She sighed to herself. "And now I'm stuck in the Celestia foresaken place, with no way to get...." She paused as her hoof pressed down onto a stone, pushing it further into the ground and causing a soft click to be heard. A large section of the wall opening up slowly causing a loud grinding noise to echo about as the stone wall slid across the floor before becoming flush with its adjacent wall.

There, standing before her were Lightning Dust and Soarin. Both of which who looked at her in shock for a moment, that was, of course, until Lightning Dust gave a smirk, flaring her wings out.

"Trespassing on castle grounds after the king forbid you from returning is a serious crime Dash. So then, are you going to come quietly, or...." Lightning Dust was suddenly cut off as Dash sucker bucked her with epic speed, sending her through Starlights door and making her crash right into the block castle that he and Fleet Foot had built.

"Later." Dash shouted as she bolted down the hall, only to seize up, mid flight, within a unicorns magical grasp.

"And where do you think you're going prisoner?" The guard grinned evilly as he watched the expression of horror play across Dashs face. "I do think the king would love to see you once again." He snickered out as LIghtning Dust landed next to him, rubbing her jaw with a hoof for a moment before reaching into her saddle bag to pull out a pair of cuffs and wing restraint, quickly placing them onto the Rainbow maned pegasus.

"Oh he will see her again, but with some new accesories." Lightning Dust laughed as the pegasus let Dash go right as Dust bucked her upside the head, knocking her out cold.

Dust gave a growl, spitting some blood to the side as she spoke. "Take the traitor to the king, he said he would deal with her personally if she came back against his warning."

"I do think that this is going to be rather interesting to watch." The unicorn guard laughed as he levitated the unconscious pegasus from the floor and onto his back as he trotted down the hallway.

"What the hell is wrong with me?! Why am I getting pissed of so easy? I'm never like this, not to anyone or anything!" Midnight growled to himself as he paced back and forth within the castles garden, attempting to calm his nerves through the beautiful scenery that was all around him.

"And it's only gotten worse since I absorbed some of Discords chaos energy. Oh God I hope I don't end up splitting into two parts again. I don't think this world could handle another evil me." He groaned out, taking a seat on the grass and rubbing his face with his forehooves.

Just as he was about to pull his hooves away though, he heard the soft thud of hooves hitting the grass as they came near. Pulling himself upright quickly, he turned to see a unicorn guard and Lightning Dust standing there proudly with an unconscious Rainbow Dash floating within the unicorns magic.

"I take it Dash decided to go against my orders?" Midnight spoke out in a calm tone, his eyes narrowing as he glare toward the pegasus.

"We caught her coming out of one of the secret passages next to Starlights room. She surprised me and bucked me into his room. Fleet Foot and Soarin are still stationed at his chambers though." Dust stated as she nodded to the unicorn guard, letting him know to set the pegasus onto the ground.

"Alright then, thank you for bringing her to me. You're dismissed, please head back to your post and notify me of anything else." Midnight stated as his horn lit up, jerkily bringing the rainbow maned pegasus toward him through the air.

As the two ponies watched their king pull the pegasus toward him before dropping her onto a bench, they couldn't help but feel a chill run down their spines. Something felt off about the king, something... unnatural. But they would not get the chance to determine if their suspicions were accurate, as he quickly teleported away, along with the Element of loyalty.

"I've got a bad feeling about this." The guard stated worriedly as the two turned. heading back to their posts.

XXX

In a small flash of light, Midnight and Rainbow Dash appeared within the dungeon of the castle. Dash lay quietly on the ground of the cell that they were in, while Midnight stood over her giving a disapproving look. Sighing softly, he began to pace back and forth in front of her. All the while, the purple mist slowly rising from his eyes as his vision continued to flick down to her as the memories of recent events began to play through his head.

"Ow.... what happened?" Dash groaned out as she attempted to rub her head, only for her hoof to stop part way as her shackles caught it. She tugged once more before her eyes flickered open seeing them, then trying to unfold her wings only for them to halt as the restraints held them tightly to her sides.

"What the?! HEY! Why am I shackled.... up?" She trailed off as she quickly noticed Midnight looming over her, his fire mane and tail giving the small room an eery glow.

"Because you defied my orders and attempted to get into the castle." He growled.

"Only because I wanted to talk some sense into that fat head of yours! Do you even realize how unreasonable you're being?! You never acted like this before, so what changed you?!" Dash snapped.

"What changed me?" Midnight growled back, getting right into her face. "How about the death of my daughter? How about two ponies taking my son into the Everfree forest and almost getting him killed? How about the fact that every single pony I have met thinks they are beyond any type of punishment other than a semi stern talking to? How about the fact that all of this has caused me to think twice about how badly this world needs some sterner laws in order to make the populace understand that death is only a breath away from one single ignorant action? Are those good enough reasons Dash?!" He snapped back, making her recoil.

"Night.... I'm.... sorry." She sighed. "I know that losing Marina was hard, and having Star's life being put in danger was bad too. But still... You need to relax a little. I'm sure everything will work out." She attempted to comfort him, only for him to glare death at her.

"What about the fact that the Element of Loyalty seems to have too big of an ego to do her job properly?"

Dashs face quickly contorted to anger as she spat back. "What is that supposed to mean?! You have no clue what its like to have to keep a team in line for shows, and to keep them fit for battle in case they're called in for royal duties!"

"Don't I?" He smirked. "Let me tell you about what I go through on a weekly basis Dash. I check in with the Elite guard and new trainees to make sure they are being trained properly. I sometimes shift into a guise of different ponies in order to get a behind the scenes look at what is going on within the guard. If they complain that things are too hard, I try to alleviate some of the tension as time permits by letting them take a few days off to recuperate. If some of them are found to be slacking too much and not doing what they are supposed to, I have them removed from the guard. The same is said for the Wonderbolts. So don't think I haven't noticed how hard you work them all the time. Even when I've been part of the flight teams training, I have had a hard time keeping up with your regime. You over work them to an extreme. When they do have a day off to relax, they can't move in order to enjoy it. You call me strict right now, but you're the hardest pony to push others when you're in charge."

"You were part of the team? But... when?!" She asked in shock.

"On several occasions. I've always shown up in uniform, so you've never actually seen my cutie mark." He grinned slightly seeing her look of realization.

"That explains how you know so much about what's going on in the academy. Still..."

"Still?" He asked giving her a questioning glance.

"What do you plan on doing with me now? You can't possibly keep me here." She smirked slightly, knowing that her friend wasn't that cold.

"And why not?" He stated bluntly causing her to give a nervous gulp. "You disobeyed a direct order from your king, twice, not to mention that you seem to think you deserve your position as the captain of the Wonderbolts. What makes you think you don't deserve some time, confined, in this little hole in the ground?" He asked, seeing her shocked expression.

"Second chance?" She chuckled nervously, feeling the air begin to get cold around her.

"But I've already given you a second, and a third. Yet you still have the gawl to ask for another just to test your limits with me?" He snorted right in her face. "No Dash, your punishment for this time, is a week in the hole. You will get three meals a day, and no exercise for your wings."

"THAT'S NOT FAIR!" She shouted, only to be pressed backawards and into the wall by the Alicorns magic as he got right in her face, yaelling.

"I DECIDE WHAT'S FAIR! One week, in the hole. I realize that once you're released that you will need to exercise your wings to get them back in shape. However, knowing you, you will be at the top of your game and pushing yourself to the limits in less that two weeks. This will also help you to remember that when you are asked to do something by your king that wouldn't hurt you in the least to do, you should consider doing it. Otherwise.... well...." He waved a hoof around the dark cell showing her the situation she had caused for herself. "Now then, I'll leave you to your waiting." He smirked as he vanished in a flash of light. Dash left there gawking in disbelief.

XXX

Midnight reappeared within Celestias quarters, startling the white Alicorn as she was just getting ready for bed. Giving a sigh, he headed over to the bed giving her a nuzzle as they both climbed into it.

"Night... you're letting your anger take hold again." Celestia cautioned.

"I know, I'm sorry..." He sighed, trailing off. "I just need to take a break, maybe talk to my folks a little."

"Then why not go and see them? I am sure that our daughter wouldn't mind a visit from her loving father. Plus, it wouldn be a good chance to talk to mother and father, maybe even ask them about how they ran things when they were still alive." She smiled pulling the dark Alicorn into a loving hug.

"Yea... I guess it wouldn't hurt." He chuckled. "But if Garret picks a fight with me again..." He growled out, the mist starting to lift further from his eyes.

"Don't worry about him. Just go and see our daughter. I'm sure some time spent with her will make everything ok." Celestia smiled.

"Alright... See you in a few." He smiled, laying down next to her as his horn lit up, surround him in light.... before it turned to darkness.

After a few seconds of shaking his head to clear the fog, he looked around himself, gawking in disbelief at what he was seeing.

"Well well well..... this is a big surprise." Came a laughing growl from behind the Alicorn. "And here I thought Flame was just pulling our legs."

Midnight whipped around to see someone who he knew, would be the one being in all of creation he never wanted to meet again. He watched as the being before him gave a sweeping bow as he spoke.

"Midnight my boy.... welcome.... to Tartarus." He laughed maniacally as he rose to his full height, giving an evil grin that could freeze the blood in your very veins.

"Satan..... no.......... this can't be possible...." Midnight trailed off in shock.