Uh... Is this thing on? Check, check, one two, greatness incarnate speaking... Yep, everything's good here... What?... Oh! I'm on now?? Jeez, ya coulda warned a pony...

*AHEM* So... what's up? The name's Dash. Rainbow Dash. Equestria's Fastest Flier, Bearer of the Element of Loyalty, the soon-to-be Wonderbolt, yada yada yada... All you need to know is that I am one awesome pon-- huh? What do you MEAN 'No Bragging'?... I'm not bragging, I was jus--!... Oh, fine, whatever! Excuse ME for making myself known...

*AHEM* So where was I...? Oh yeah... So in case ya missed it, Ty COMPLETELY blew his top and charged off alone after Gillian after he kidnapped Twilight. TWILIGHT of all ponies, getting kidnapped: I know, it sounds a bit far-fetched, but bear with me. There's a lot goin' on here I'm sure you don't have the patience to listen to. Celestia knows I don't. So I'll keep you up to speed from where we left off before. So anyway... After I tried talking some sense into that lummox, we instead wound up making a bet: First to find them between me and him gets a favor from the loser... or should I say I was getting TWO favors for the price of one? Because he's got a snowball's chance in Tartarus if he thinks he's gonna beat me! Heh heh, have I got something in store for you... But yeah, he got a bit of a head start on me. I still had a job to do in setting up a strategy with the others. After Zecora and I saw Ty off with this anti-magic potion stuff, we made our way back up to Twilight's balcony to discuss a last-minute gameplan...

"Alright, ladies... and Spike," I began, taking charge of the situation like I naturally do. "We've got a missing, magically-disabled unicorn, two international criminals, and a SUPREMELY ticked off human on our hooves. And Celestia knows where Gillian took Twi..."

"Actually..." Princess Celestia herself spoke, sounding unsure of herself. "I don't."

"Oh! Right... Sorry, Princess," I gracefully apologized. "It's a figure of speech."

"Is that so? Hm..."

"Yeah. So anyway, we have no idea where they've gone, and Ty's charging in like a blindfolded rhino who just got his food stolen. To make sure we wrap things up while avoiding casualty, we'll obviously need to disperse and comb around town for any suspicious signs of Gillian or Comet. Ty should be easy enough to find, so I'll say this in advance; if you see him, offer assistance to him, but don't be surprised if he refuses."

"Pardon me, but what d'ya mean, 'if he refuses'?" asked my good buddy Applejack.

"I mean that he's pretty much bent on finding them himself. I'm sure we can ALL guess what he might do if he does..."

"...He's THAT mad, huh?"

"Yeah. That's another reason we might want to speed things up here so we can start. But now we move on to the searching strategies. Fluttershy and I will get a Pegasus's-eye view of things. Rarity, you and Lyra can try scanning for traces of magic activity with Gillian's signature, seeing as Twi's magic is disabled as we know it."

"But Rainbow..." Rarity began. "I don't know nearly as much about those sorts of spells as Twilight does... I only know how to utilize such location spells to search for jewelry, not other ponies..."

"I know a thing or two about magic signatures," Lyra countered, much to my relief. "It's really simple. I could try teaching you as we go along."

"Good," I replied, eager to speed things along. "Spike, you and A.J. can go around asking the townsponies if they'd seen any clues regarding a tan, spiky-haired unicorn stallion or a cerulean, plum-haired mare."

"But how do we know if they actually teleported into town and not to some secret hideout or something?" asked Spike. He brought up a good point.

"There aren't very many places to hide around here... unless you're like Pinkie Pie," I reasoned, gesturing toward the pink Earth pony. "...in which chase, we'd have our work cut out for us. Sneaky as Gillian might be, there's no way he's as clever at hiding as Pinkie is..."

"'Pinkie' and 'Clever' in the same sentence... Never thought THAT would come outta me... Then again, she DOES have her moments..."

"Speaking of... Pinkie."

"YES MA'AM, RAINBOW DASH, MA'AM!!" she shouted as if she were in a battle squad. Already, she was showing her enthusiasm.

"Is it possible for you to do that thing...? Y'know, the thing where you instantly know where somepony is and appear right next to them, no matter how far away from you they run or fly?"

"Sorry Dashie, but I've never tried that on a unicorn before. They vanished out of here while we were busy listening to that really loud ringing sound and being blinder than a bat that forgot his glasses at home when he needed to drive a carriage to Las Pegasus... but then he--!"

"Okay," I interrupted in order to prevent her from rambling on. "Um... then I guess you can warn the town that there's been a kidnapping and that we could use all the help we can get to locate the culprit. Oh, and... it's probably good if you let them know that the giant, rampaging alien monkey with the vial of green liquid on him is on our side."

"Okie Dokie Lokie!" the Earth mare agreed with a bright smile and a salute. "You can count on me, Dashie!"

"Good. Zecora, your primary objective is to find Ty and at the very least, tell him how to use that potion. In the meantime, you can join A.J. and Spike in asking the citizens of Ponyville if they've seen Twilight or Gillian around recently." The zebra nodded in agreement. "And Princess..."

"Yes, my subject?" she asked. The second we locked eyes, I felt my sense of leadership slip away almost completely. Surely, I couldn't order the Princess of Equestria around... It'd be disrespectful. Like if a foal was ordering a full grown pony around.

"...You can count on us, Your Highness!" I assured with a salute. I'm not gonna lie: It would've felt waaay past uncomfortable to give Princess Celestia of all ponies orders...

"I'm positive I can. However, it is my duty as Equestria's Co-Ruler to uphold the law and sustain peace in the land. That being said, I'd like to offer my assistance in this sear--!"

"Princess!" called a masculine voice from the sky. We looked up to see one of Celestia's guards coming down.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Canterlot needs you. The townsfolk: They await your scheduled public address regarding the city's budget for repairs around the Eastern quardant," said the guard.

"Oh, darn... That completely slipped my mind... I will be there posthaste," Celestia assured before turning to me. "What perfect timing, too... I suppose I won't be able to deliver my aid to your search at the moment..."

"It's okay, Your Majesty. We've got it all under control. By the time you get back, I'm sure we'll have Gillian all wrapped up and ready to go for ya."

"Thank you for your assurance, Rainbow Dash. Just see to it that both Twilight and Ty come out of this situation safe. Speaking of Ty... I didn't think it necessary to warn him as I thought we'd be done with this ordeal by now, but... at this point, given what we'd just observed of him, it is imperative for you to be advised that the magic coursing through his body at this moment is highly malleable..."

"Malleable?" I repeated, confused by what she meant.

"What do you mean, Princess?" asked a curious Fluttershy.

"I mean that it took more than a normal healing spell to regenerate him."

"M-more than 'normal'?? Was he hurt that badly?" asked Fluttershy, all of a sudden frightful.

"I'm afraid so... It took a marginally more powerful, yet considerably less stable second-grade healing spell to relieve him of the numerous severe injuries he sustained prior to my arrival. The spell works much more slowly in its rejuvenation process, but it also makes its benefactor feel as if they had already fully recovered... so long as he or she remains completely at ease throughout the spell's working period of about six to ten hours."

"Oh, dear... What may happen to him if he does NOT stay calm?" asked Rarity.

"I... cannot say for certain... However, what I AM able to tell you is that this spell hasn't yet passed its testing phases... There have been past cases of ponies taking in too much negative emotional stimulation before the spell's completion, as well as the spell itself having unpredictable adverse effects based on the pony's emotions... But at the same time, given how badly he'd been injured, I was left with very little choice but to use that spell... I should have expected such treachery as Gillian's...! I fear that if, by any chance, Ty loses control of his anger in his quest, he may possibly--!"

"Pardon the interruption, Princess, but the townsfolk; they grow impatient as we speak," the guard urged. "And we run later by the minute..."

"I see... Let us depart, then..." she said in worry as she took flight after the guard. Before she took off, though, she turned back to us. "See to it that Gillian is found and apprehended as soon as possible. I also implore you to deliver my warning to our human comrade even sooner; especially in the case that this search proves a challenge. I bid you all my farewell. I will return as soon as I can." And with that, possibly our biggest asset to this search was gone, occupied by some boring old Canterlot town meeting.

"Alright..." I said after the Princess departed. "We have our plans set up, we have more reason to find our human first, and we have no more time left to dilly-dally. Let's get a move on, troops!" With that, everypony grouped up in their assigned parties and we quickly began our search...

About 20 minutes later...

Fluttershy and I were keeping very steady surveillance on the ground below us as we circled the town in our efforts to spot the ponies in question. Everypony else had been doing their jobs as well, as far as I could tell. A.J. and Spike were blazing through town digging for info, Lyra was searching for clues or signs of Gillian's magic while trying to teach Rarity the spell she was casting, Pinkie grabbed her bullhorn and had been shouting the news at the top of her lungs, and Zecora had been looking for info at her own pace, seeing as her main objective was the only one yet to be complete. I didn't see Ty either, which could've only meant he was really on the move... I wondered where he could've gone so quickly.

"Um... Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy called.

"Yeah?" I passively responded, never taking my hawk-like gaze off of the ground below us.

"How... how do you think they're doing?"

"I think they're doing alright. Pinkie might be going a little overboard as usual, and Spike & Applejack could pick up the pace a little... And Rarity really needs to lear--!"

"No, I mean... I mean Twilight and Ty... How do you think they're doing?"

"Oh... Well Twi might not be able to use her magic, but I'm sure she's alright; for now, anyway. I can't really say for myself. The sooner we find them, the better. As for Ty... he's fine. Angrier than a raging Minotaur and in way over his head, but he's good."

"Yes, but... he was so... so mad... and he's already been through so much... I feel so bad for him..."

"Aw come on, Fluttershy. He's pretty tough. He'll be alright," I nonchalantly assured.

"I hope..."

"Zecora gave him something to defend himself with in case he finds them first and things get ugly with Gillian," I confidently added.

"I know, but... he doesn't deserve what's been happening to him..."

"Okay, now you're sounding a bit TOO worried..."

"What do you mean?" she had my attention as we stopped with me turning to look at her big green puppy-dog eyes. She always WAS one to worry more than she needed to...

"I mean from him getting kidnapped and hurt repeatedly, to Twilight hitting him because she thought he was seeing me behind her back, to what happened to him earlier this morning when he saved me..."

"Saved you?" I questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"Mm-hmm..."

"When did that happen?"

"When Mr. Gillian attacked us just before Princess Celestia arrived. He pushed me out of the way of the spell he was hit with at the last second... He said it himself when she showed up, remember?"

"I couldn't really hear him... He must've been speaking too quietly. Is that really what happened, though?"

"Yes..."

"Wow... I thought Gillian just shot him from behind after you went to get him. Twilight saw part of that and screamed her head off when she saw him on the ground, smoking. Kudos to him for thinking quick and rescuing you. But I guess you're right; he HAS had a pretty rough time, huh?"

"Yes... but then there's this situation... AND what Princess Celestia said about the spell she used to heal him earlier... how it was 'malleable...' What do you think she meant?"

"Your guess is as good as mine. All I understood was something about him losing control of his anger and something possibly happening because of that... I just hope it doesn't mean that he'll literally explode or something..." From that, my fellow pegasus whimpered and cringed.

"Okay, bad example. Look... I know you're worried about them, but we'll pull through and wrap things up soon... Twilight's the smartest pony we've ever known. She'll surely know what to do in a hostage situation; even IF she's the hostage. Ty, I'm sure wouldn't do anything that might get him into trouble. He's smarter than we give him credit for. I know for myself," I assured as I drifted over to her to pat her on the back. She eased up a little, but started looking at the ground like she lost something of her own.

"Okay..." was all she responded with. After that, the air went silent... too silent. Like, 'somepony telling a bad joke that nopony laughs at' kind of silent. Coupled with how worried Fluttershy was acting, I got curious.

"...Hey... you... don't still have that crush on him... do you?" I asked, taking note of exactly how worried she seemed.

"What?? O-of course not... I... I'm just worried about him is all..." she hastily replied as she looked at me for a second, then turned away, blushing and hiding her face behind her mane. Given that kind of reaction to a simple question, I was a little skeptical.

"Are you sure? I haven't really seen you this worried since the time you thought that herd of squirrels got lost at the train station..."

"Y-y... Mm-hmm..." she answered, withdrawing into her 'Fluttershell,' as I used to call it when we were fillies.

"Jeez, she must have it BAD for him... I'm not even sure if Twilight was this worried the first time he got taken away... Although it could be debatable... What do they even find so interesting about him, anyway? He isn't even a pony... Plus, he's cool and all, but he isn't exactly the most appealing-looking guy I've ever seen... human OR pony... Then again, he's the only human I've ever seen... Am I missing something?" I caught myself lost in thought before I realized we were in the middle of a search effort.

"Uh-huh... Well how about this? We split off and look in different areas to boost our chances just a little more," I suggested. "That sound good?"

"Sure..."

"Alright. I'll search the Eastern half. You search West. Let's meet up back here. Lemme know if you see anypony or anything out of the ordinary. And if you see Ty, don't forget to deliver Princess Celestia's warning to him."

"Yes." With that, Fluttershy and I split up to search separate areas of Ponyville...

*POOF* "Let go of me!" I shouted as I pushed the stallion away, finally recovering from that ghastly little trick of his back at the library. I looked around to see that we were surrounded by trees and various forms of plant life. From the looks of it, we were in some secluded clearing within the confines of the Everfree Forest.

"Jeez, that took a lot out of me..." Gillian complained to himself, panting. "I'm not sure I have enough left in me to last... even WITH that miniature boost from Ms. Sparkle..."

"Gillian!" Comet shouted, seeming HIGHLY perturbed. "What were you THINKING!?" She didn't seem to agree with his last-ditch effort for freedom from his rightful punishment. "Do you know how thoroughly you've screwed us on this one?? Celestia will NEVER give us the freedom you were looking for now! Why--?"

"Comet, honey, calm down!" the oblivious stallion began. "With Twilight Sparkle here, the Princess would have no CHOICE but to free us! Don't you see? Our plan is finally on the right track!"

"He seems pretty confident that Celestia is actually considering surrendering to his outrageous demands... Well you've got another thing coming, Gillian!"

"No! This isn't OUR plan anymore! This is YOURS! I already told you I didn't want anything to do with this, and then you go and make our situation twenty times worse! You tried to attack her after faking being disabled! She's more than likely contemplating some way to forcibly put a stop to you, not giving in to this ludicrous ultimatum! Is THAT what you call, 'on the right track'?"

"You don't know what you're saying! This was a sudden move, yes, but with good reason! I avoided being disabled because I managed to prepare myself after the first time, but I thought she'd have been more lenient towards us after hearing our plight!"

"Of COURSE she wouldn't have!!" the cerulean unicorn yelled, much to Gillian's fright. "After all we've done!? I wouldn't expect her to be any more lenient toward a pair of ravenous, bloodthirsty Griffins who tried EATING some of Ponyville's citizens!"

"Baby, keep your voice down...!" He tried to hush. "You'll alert Ms. Sparkle's friends...!"

"I just don't understand why you don't seem to know when to give up!" she berated, ignoring his plea for her to use an inside voice. "I admire your undying drive to attain your goals! I really do! But there are times when the opposition just proves to be too much! I'm sure you had that realization when you tricked me into helping you take over Saddle Arabia, you SHOULD'VE realized it when Ty almost hammered a hole into your skull, and you DEFINITELY should've realized it when we were standing before the Princess of Equestria of all ponies!"

"What are you saying!?" He shot back, seeming to be getting upset with Comet's attitude.

"I didn't see this coming... Their plan is falling apart at the seams, and not even because of my or any of my friends' efforts to stop them..."

"Would you rather get sent back to that hellhole of a prison back in Saddle Arabia?? Would you rather be locked up and forced to sit and dwell amongst the scum of that country in a filthy institutionalized daycare center for the rest of your life??"

"Of course not! No, but... *sigh* I wasn't going to even bother telling you this, but... before you broke me free, I only had to serve five months," the distressed mare admitted.

"WHAT??" the stallion asked, dumbfounded by what he'd just heard.

"Yeah... five measly, insignificant little months... They said I wouldn't be persecuted to the fullest extent like you were if I were to relinquish my use of the trans-dimensional spell I'd developed to bring you here..."

"But... why? Why didn't you tell me that!? Why did you give up use of that spell?"

"Because, like I said to myself THOUSANDS of times before, I trusted you! Other than that, my involvement with your conspiracy plot ruined my reputation! I wouldn't have been able to find a job after being convicted of a crime as detestable as trying to instigate a war that would've annihilated two countries at once! I'd have walked out with NOTHING! You were all I had left... I love you so much... I thought you felt the same when you sprung me from my imprisonment. Foolish as it may have been for me to think it, I figured we'd run away to some deserted island or some far-off place after the fact... That we'd... that we'd... find some place to be free... to be happy... and... and maybe to... to start a family..."

"...Comet..."

"When I found out we were going to Equestria to settle your little grudge, however, my hopes were shot... but I still went along anyway, holding on to that unbelievably slim hope that somehow, you'd succeed in what you were doing... or at the very least, you'd change your mind and change course to a place where we'd never be discovered to avoid more trouble than we were already in... And NOW look where we are... On the brink of spending the rest of our natural existences holed up in some disgusting, mucky, run-down dungeon, all because you want to give us 'freedom...' Tell me: Is all of this strain and heartache worth the freedom you feel we deserve? Is it? If you ask me, then it seems at this point that I'd have been better off waiting to be legally released..."

"If you don't like how I've been running things, then why don't you just leave and turn yourself in, you ingrate!?" Gillian brashly shouted, shocking Comet and even me. "I felt absolutely fucking ABYSMAL for the way I treated you! I tried to right the wrongs I'd dealt unto you! This entire plan was devised with YOU in mind! Unlike you, I didn't have five measly little months. I had fifteen years to life! I had nothing to lose! I'd have GLADLY spent the rest of my life in prison if it meant you were free from your wrongful incarceration! But NOW you tell me you don't appreciate the sacrifices I've made for you??"

"That's not at ALL what I'm saying! You know that! What I don't appreciate is how many lives we've put in danger because of it! Ms. Twilight here, her beloved Ty, all of her friends! And while we're on the subject, what kind of sentiment did you think you were giving me when you injured Ms. Sparkle and her friends!? Or when you nearly KILLED that poor human!? Or when you tried attacking Princess Celestia!? Is THAT your idea of sacrifice?"

"Those were instances of me losing my temper! You know how short my fuse is! Besides, you did some damage yourself!" at that, Comet scoffed in complete disgust.

"To protect you! Don't you DARE try to drag me through the swamp with you! Everything I've done, I did for you and ONLY you! As a self-aware pony, it made me sick to my stomach to cause all the harm I'd dished out. I still feel a possibly insatiable need to apologize to all of them... I'd be lucky if even the little dragon forgave me... In fact... Ms. Sparkle?" she beckoned, bringing her attention to me.

"Yes?" I responded, although I was a simply taken aback by the verbal confrontation that unfolded between these two.

"I'm sorry. I'm truly, very deeply sorry... for everything," she solemnly apologized in front of her partner in crime, which threw me for more loops than almost anything else had this entire weekend.

"Wow... what do I say to that? I mean, I'd like to forgive her, but..."

"Um... i-it's... okay...?" I uncertainly forgave, still a bit stunned by her nobility.

"...No... As a matter of fact, it isn't... And it won't be until we respectfully turn ourselves in..." with that, the cerulean, lavender-haired unicorn mare turned toward her significant other. "Let's just give this up, baby... There's nothing to be gained... Not anymore..."

"Are you KIDDING me!? You expect me to just throw all of this away!? Are you aware of how much of a struggle this has been? Do you realize how close we are to attaining our freedom??"

"Nrrgh, no!! No more excuses! I've HAD it with this incorrigible, despicable mess you call an escape plan, Gillian! I want out! Now drop the attitude, drop this plan, and bring this poor mare back to her friends! You might believe that there's still a point in this, but the fact is that we're doomed to fail at every possible aspect! Don't you understand that!? I can only WONDER how badly you've infuriated those other ponies!"

"I said NO!!" hollered the stallion, intent on keeping his delusion that he'd succeed without ramification.

"*GASP*" Comet was taken aback by his foalish outburst, her sea-foam-colored eyes wavering in heartbroken astonishment. "...F-fine... if that's the way you want it... then... then... *sniffle* we're through... I'm breaking up with you, you insensitive, obstinate mule.... Clearly, your plans are more valuable to you than I am... *sniffle* Ms. Twilight, can you accompany me out of the forest?" she asked me as she approached but met resistance when Gillian stepped in between us.

"She isn't going ANYWHERE...!" he practically growled at her.

"Gillian, please! We've done too much! I don't know about you, but I'm going to do what's right; not for us, maybe, but for those who were caught up in this..."

"...Nrrgh, FINE!! GET LOST!!" Gillian angrily shouted, seemingly without thinking. Half a second later, he realized it as the hurt became evident on Comet's face. Her jaw hung open as her eyes widened in devastation. "Comet, I... I didn't mean..." Before he could utter out anything to soothe the mare, she turned and ran off into the woods, sobbing her poor, distraught eyes out. He tried giving chase, but stopped after only a few hoofsteps. After the sounds of her despair faded away into the landscape, an ominous silence washed over me and the now-downtrodden stallion. As we sat there, I couldn't help but shed a few tears of empathy for poor Comet.

"Wow... That was totally uncalled for...! I-I should speak up..."

"...Just what is wrong with you?" I asked in complete appall, my voice quaking with a mixture of sorrow and spite. He didn't seem to acknowledge me, his gaze turned toward the ground. I slowly trotted toward him. "That mare didn't deserve you talking to her like that... She was only trying to earn your approval..."

"Shut up..."

"She gave you everything she had, and even when she had nothing left to give, she gave you more... But then you just threw it all back in her face...*sniffle* Are you really that blind to the feelings of your own special somepony?"

"Shut up..." It appeared he wasn't trying to hear me out, trying to get me to silence myself by building a figurative wall of solitude around himself. I trotted even closer, making sure my words rang in his head.

"It's one thing to commit such atrocities as the ones you've dealt upon me and my friends, but for you to say that you were doing it for Comet, only for you to lash out at her when she seemed unhappy?"

"Shut up...!"

"That doesn't say you were honestly doing it for her; it says you were honestly doing it for yourself!"

"Shut UP!" He yelled. Before I knew it, *SMACK!* an eruption of agony washed over my cheek as my head was forcibly turned sideways. Gillian had just... hit me. As much as it hurt (and it really hurt), I wasn't too fazed or alarmed by the impact. It only meant that I was right about something; that somewhere deep inside the recesses of his mind, a chord had been struck.

"...The truth... It hurts, but it will set you free..." I mused as I calmly recovered from his uncalculated attack, rubbing my pulsing cheek with a hoof.

"Oh, what do YOU know? You have no idea what it's like to make the mistakes I've made... To try your hardest to atone for them... and to have the fruits of your efforts turn out rotten and putrid..." he muttered, his crimson red eyes still focused on the moist, gunky earth we stood on.

"While I don't know what it's like to usurp a position of power or what it's like to manipulate somepony, I DO know what it's like to try and make amends... More so, I know what it's like to have somepony you care deeply about turn their back on you in a stressful time..."

"What are you on about?"

"I mean, have you ever thought about how Comet might've felt about this? Sure, only now did she finally voice her concerns, but YOU of all ponies should've noticed any discrepancies in her disposition from the start; anything that would alert you to her discomfort with what you've been doing... More importantly, you should understand how she felt when she tried to convince you that what you're doing was wrong, only to have you so bitterly turn her away..."

"She's already made it obvious that she doesn't want to be free... You reminding me of it isn't helping."

"That's not the point, Gillian."

"Oh, Ms. Psychotherapist?" he sarcastically inquired, becoming indignant as he cast a contemptuous glare at me. "Then what the hell's the problem?!"

"You want to know the problem!?" I heatedly asked back, not much caring for his bitterness. "It's YOU!"

"Me??"

"Yes, you! It's exactly as I said before; you're doing this for yourself, but you're using her as some sort of justification!"

"I was NOT doing this for myself!"

"Yes, you were! Otherwise, you wouldn't have said such horrible things to her when she said she didn't like what you were doing! The ends might justify the means in YOUR mind, but she knew better than that! So should you!"

"Oh, so it's ALL MY fault for trying to give her her life back? It's ALL MY fault for striving to right the wrongs I'd committed against her? Is it?"

"To be blunt, it is! Not just for the fact that you've physically and emotionally tormented and harassed an entire slew of other ponies to get your job done, but also for the fact that you didn't even ONCE seem to ask her how she truly felt about this maniacal series of heinous crimes! I mean, you tell me! Does kidnapping other ponies and forcing them to take you where you need to go sound like an ideal plan for amnesty to you? Does breaking out o--?"

"I GET it, Twilight Sparkle!! Little Miss High-and-Mighty Protege of Princess Celestia, giving me a morality lesson like I'm a fucking kid! What, do you expect me to learn some stupid lesson about 'the Magic of Friendship' from this? Do you want me to write some worthless, bullshit friendship report about it??" Alarmed, I stood silent, registering the stallion's harsh words.

"Wha...? How could he know about my friendship studies...? Ah, It doesn't matter... He clearly needs a reality check... And I can only help him get one if I keep my cool, which means not letting his foul mood influence mine..." With that thought, I took a deep breath to calm myself, already knowing that fighting fire with fire would only construct a far more perilous inferno...

"There's no need for you to take your aggression out on me, Gillian. You may have taken me hostage AND temporarily disabled my magic, but I can tell a cry for help when I hear one..." the area got silent after that statement, save for the sounds of the animals nearby rustling through the trees.

"...You're a smart mare... and you already seem to have the answer... So tell me... Where did I go wrong?" he calmly asked, much to my surprise.

"Well then... This is a start..."

"...I can't answer that for you, Gillian... That's something you'll have to figure out for yourself."

"But... I don't know... I honestly don't know... " he stammered, a slight waver in his voice as his facial expression softened to one of pensive sadness.

"Yes, you do... You just don't realize it yet. Let's talk... Shall we?"

"*sigh* Great, just what I need; another goddamn Psychology lecture..." he remarked, rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"I'm only here to help..."

"Whether I like it or not, anyway..."

"If you don't like it, then we can sit here in silence until either you give yourself up or my friends locate us and turn you in..."

"...You'd be wasting your time trying to help a hopeless nutjob like me, y'know..."

"Already, a clue... Self-deprecation in a moment of notable dejection... Could be a sign of low self-esteem or maybe some symptom of depression... I suppose I'll find out for myself by studying his motives, as he seems to be opening up..." I was ready to delve into the psyche of my most recent enemy yet... Admittedly, a somewhat selfish venture, but it was to benefit both of us... Especially him...

"You most certainly are NOT hopeless. Or a nutjob. You just seem to have been led astray," I assured, bringing a hoof to his back, even managing to smile warmly at my captor. "With help, you can find the correct path. Talk to me..."

"*sigh* You don't know what you're getting yourself into, but here goes nothing..." he said, taking a seat on the forest floor. "Where to begin... Ah! It all traces back to my time back in the human world..."

"Jeez, I haven't seen them at all! Where the hay could they be?" I'd been flying around, monitoring the Eastern half of town for what felt like forever, and so far, not a single trace of Twi OR Ty... Some of the townsponies were helping us, but from the looks of it, nopony had seen Twilight or Gillian. Some said they saw Ty blazing through here and that he asked them the same questions about the unicorns, but that they couldn't give him an answer. None of the rest of the search party had had any luck, either: Lyra was getting frustrated trying to teach Rarity that magic-tracing spell, which stopped the two in their tracks... Pinkie had already done her job and was trying to help Spike and Applejack, but did more harm than good when she decided to start intimidating everypony she came across like she was some kind of tough-as-nails detective... Zecora didn't fare much better either, seeing as neither she NOR I could find that hairless monkey anywhere...

"Wait! Gillian's hideout!" I realized. In a flash, I rocketed over there, just KNOWING that somepony had to be there... In as little as three seconds, I'd arrived. Wasting no time, I bucked the door down. "Twilight! Gillian!... Comet...? Ty?" It sure as hay didn't help that the house where Gillian had been hiding before was devoid of any life. Why I didn't try searching there first, I didn't know. It was useless either way, seeing as there was nopony there. Getting just a little discouraged, I went back to searching my half of the town. I was flying over toward the area where I'd told Fluttershy we'd meet up at when...

"Rainbow Dash!" Somepony called. I turned to see Fluttershy flying toward me, seeming to have found something.

"Yeah?" I asked, perking up at my best friend's seemingly happy expression.

"I know where Ty is!"

"You do?? Where is he??"

"Quick! Follow me!" Heeding her instruction, I followed closely behind her. A short time later, we came across the human we were looking for, his clothes a bit dirty like he'd been rolling around on the ground and still equipped with Zecora's potion. What I found odd, though, was that he'd been perched on top of some random pony's house, ready to pounce on whoever he thought was coming out of there.

"Ty? What are you doing?" I asked, confused at the alien as we hovered toward him.

"Shhh..." he replied without looking at us, seeming to be thinking. "I think I found 'em..."

"Seriously...??" I asked in a whispery tone, not wanting to give him away if he was right...

"Yea... I been waitin' here t' catch him by surprise when he steps out... I'mma get the drop on him..."

"Why sit here and wait...? We could just bust in there and grab him...!" I reasoned. "He wouldn't even know what hit him...!"

"Yea, but if he has some kinda trap in store, I ain't tryna be the dummy t' run into it..."

"...Wow. Good point."

"Yea... I might be mad as hell, but I'm not stupid..."

"Heh heh... I suppose I should give credit where credit is due, huh...?"

"Yea... but you can do that when you're doin' me that li'l favor, Dashie..."

"Ugh, why I still let him call me that is beyond me... It just sounds weird coming from a guy... I still can't believe he beat me, though... ME!"

"Right... I guess I will..." I admitted in defeat. "That doesn't mean the favor you already owe me for saving you is nullified... Does it...?"

"Not at all... Jus' means an eye for an eye..."

"...What?"

"*sigh* I mean that we gotta scratch each other's backs... Y'know, mutual benefits..." he explained.

"...Right..." I agreed, although I couldn't make much sense out of why he would want me to scratch his back...

"This must be what Twilight meant about his weird comparisons..."

"Oh...! That reminds me..." Fluttershy quietly began. "Ty... There's something you should know..."

"Yea, 'Shy?"

"Um... You know that spell the Princess used to heal you?"

"Yea...? What about it...?"

"Well... it... it turns out that it--!" *click* *creeeeak* Suddenly, the door of the house began to open, prompting Fluttershy and me to hide behind him. Within seconds, Ty peered over the edge of the building's roof before launching into action. I peered over as well, but I saw that the pony who'd just walked out hardly fit the description of the ones we were looking for.

"Ty, wait...!" I tried to call. "That isn't--!"

"KYAAH, MOTHAFUCKA!!" he shouted as he jumped off of the building and on top of his prey. But, when Fluttershy and I looked down, we saw that it WASN'T Gillian at all. It was some random tannish-brown Earth stallion with a darker brown spiky mane and an hourglass for a Cutie Mark.

"You might wanna get your eyes checked..." I joked as Fluttershy and hovered down. "This isn't Gillian..."

"...I realize that now..." he shot back in shame as he climbed off of the poor guy. "*sigh* Shit... Sorry 'bout that, yo. Thought you was somebody else," the monkey apologized as he helped the stallion up.

"I-it's okay, Mr. um... Alien Monkey-Thing, sir... I-I seem t-t-to get that a lot... I-I um... I have to go... do something... somewhere else..." The stallion, scared out of his mind, stuttered as he picked himself up and ran off without another word. After the innocent stallion disappeared from our sight, I looked at Ty to see the most ridiculous look of deadpan disbelief I ever laid my eyes on... Oh man, it was priceless... his eyes were half open and his lips were slightly parted in a way where I thought he would've started drooling from how wrong he was about his hunch. I actually tried not to laugh, given how upset I knew he was, but... but... *snort*

"BAA-HAHAHAHAHA!!" I fell onto the ground, busting a gut.

"*sigh* Yea, yea, laugh it up..." he mumbled in defeat.

"I-if it's okay to say, Ty... I-I probably would've made the same mistake, too..." Fluttershy said, trying to console him.

"Somehow, I find that hard t' believe..."

"Oh, n-no... I um... I..." even Fluttershy couldn't resist letting out a giggle at his expense. He simply covered his face with one of his... claw-paw things and shook his head.

"Eugh... God, how dumb was that...? This is why I HATE havin' myopia..."

"You're nearsighted?" asked the yellow mare in shock.

"Moderately... I have glasses, but I ain't bring 'em with me."

"May-maybe ya should've..." I joked in between laughs as I picked myself up.

"Nyeh, maybe you should-- Get up!" he ordered after mimicking me in some foal-like teasing tone.

"Heh, yeah... REAL mature response..." Deciding I'd gotten enough of a laugh at him, I fully recovered and took flight. "Heh heh, if it means anything... I liked your battle cry..." From that, he just shot me a sideways glare like I was still joking. "No, dude, I'm being serious. It was pretty cool. You were all like, 'KYAAH, MOTHERF--!'"

"DON'T say it...!" he hurriedly interrupted.

"Why not? You're not THAT embarrassed, are you?"

"No, but I have a strict self-appointed policy against teachin' human world profanity t' ponies... I already got Twi on my back about washin' my mouth out with soap for accidentally teachin' Spike the 'F' word AND for gettin' her int' the habit of occasionally lettin' slip some human cuss words herself... I don't need her puttin' foul-tastin' stuff in my mouth because o' you, too..."

"Wow, it must be a pretty bad habit of his... Heh, I didn't think he had such a potty-mouth... But I wonder what that 'F' word he was talking about is... Guess I'll have to ask Spike about it..."

"*sigh* Great... Tha'ss two hours o' my life I ain't gettin' back..." Ty complained.

"You sat there for two hours?" Fluttershy asked in shock.

"Of course not. I sat there for a half an hour. I spent the other hour an' a half tryna convince the townsponies I wasn't dangerous t' them an' that I was lookin' for a stallion with tan fur an' spiky hair... Guess I shoulda been more specific. Other than that, I saw Pinkie Pie passin' by earlier. She was shoutin' somethin' about a 'rampaging alien monkey equipped with a vial o' green liquid bein' on our side' through a megaphone... Mind explainin' that?"

"Oh! Yeah, um... Seeing as nopony knows what a human is, that's the best description of you I could think of..." I guiltily admitted.

"Of course... I knew I shoulda had you t' thank... Remind me t' choke you for that..."

"Hey!" I yelled in offense. "I was only trying to--!"

"Relax, Dash... I'm jokin'... Sorta... I'm still gonna getcha for that at some point, though."

"I'll clear my schedule, but for right now, we've sat here horsing around long enough. We need to focus on finding Twilight..."

"Right. But from the looks of it, she ain't anywhere t' be found here... Did ya try checkin'--?"

"Gillian's hideout? Yeah, but there was nopony there."

"Damn...!" he mumbled. "Fluttershy."

"Yes?"

"Any clues on Twi or Gillian?"

"No... I'm sorry... I was busy looking for you..."

"Me? How come?" he asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Because I needed to tell you to keep calm..."

"...Okay...? Why?"

"Because Princess Celestia said that the spell she used to heal you isn't completely finished yet and that if you get angry before it's done, something bad might happen to you..."

"Really now??" he asked, raising both his eyebrows in surprise. "Somethin' like what?"

"I... I don't know... It's better for us not to find out. Please don't be too upset with Mr. Gillian..."

"Hm... No promises, but I'mma do my best not t' lose my cool... At least, not more than I already did... I'd hate t' find out what might happen t' me if I do..." he agreed with a nod.

"Ah! For a while, I'd been looking around! Finally, you have been found!" we heard somepony else comment. We turned to see Zecora, followed by Applejack with Spike on her back.

"What in tarnation are y'all doin' just standin' around?" Applejack questioned.

"I thought I found Gillian here, but turns out I was wrong..." Ty answered.

"Yeah," I added. "We were just about to split up and start searching again..."

"Well let's get a move on, then! Twi could be in a heap o' trouble, an' standin' around ain't gonna help find 'er!" With that, A.J. and Spike were galloping off in the blink of an eye. 'Shy, Ty, and I (hey, that all rhymed) turned our attention to Zecora, who made no signs of being in a hurry.

"Since you are finally here, I'd like to make something clear," said the zebra, gesturing a hoof toward Ty.

"Yea?"

"Your target must swallow the serum whole, if nullifying his magic is your goal."

"Get Gillian to drink the potion. Got it," Ty registered loud and clear.

"Good. Now let us continue our search. Finding Twilight is taking a lot of work." Zecora then dashed off in a different direction than Applejack took off in, leaving us three to our plans.

"Y'know, Zecora jus' reminded me o' somethin'..."

"What?" I asked, intent on hearing his thought.

"Come t' think of it, none of us bothered t' check the Everfree Forest," Ty suggested, making me realize something... "Maybe he took her there like he took me a couple days ago..."

"Of course!!"

"Ty, you're a genius!" I exclaimed with a new sense of determination. "Why didn't I think of that!?"

"Because you was too busy thinkin' about what the 'F' word is..." he joked with a short laugh.

"Huh?? How'd you know??" at that, he chuckled some more.

"One o' these three things: One, you jus' admitted to it. Two, a little bitta Pinkie has rubbed off on me. Three, the 'I wonder what this means' look was scribbled across your face." I floated there, shocked that he even knew what I was thinking in the first place. Fluttershy found it in herself to giggle at Ty's little joke.

"*sigh* Whatever the case, fine, ya got me," I conceded. "Getting back to business, since everypony else is searching throughout the town, why don't the three of us go search the Forest?"

"Sounds good t' me."

"Good! But, to be on the safe side, you're being assigned an escort."

"An 'escort'? What, do you think I'm that helpless?" the human remarked in offense.

"No, but you have no idea what's in those woods. I'd rather you be with protection than run in there alone and find yourself in more trouble than you've already been in..."

"True..."

"So I'm assigning Fluttershy to go with you into the Everfree. You two go and search the area closest to your house, Fluttershy. I'll head toward Zecora's place and either find them, or find my way towards you two. Is that clear?"

"Roger that, Commander Dash!" Ty joked with a salute, although I knew he was actually obeying me. Come to think of it, I like the sound of that... Commander Dash... Has a nice, authoritative ring to it...

"Alright, troops! Let's move out!" with that, Ty and 'Shy headed toward the cottage while I headed out to Zecora's house...

"FINALLY, things are moving in the right direction... The sooner I find them, the sooner I get to make Ty my personal servant for a day...! I can hardly wait...!" With that thought motivating me, I sped up, intent not only on finding my friend and bringing her to safety, but also making another friend of mine regret the day he chose to challenge Equestria's Fastest Flier...

How was that?... Yeah it WAS pretty good, huh?... Hm?... HA! If you think you're gonna beat me, Ty, then you've got six other things coming; each and everyone of those things, you'll be seeing in the form of my dust! When you're eating it!

Author's Notes:

Ooh, did I say the decision was going to be made THIS chapter...? *sucks in air through teeth* Yyyyeah, no. I still haven't tallied the results yet (not that there's that many of them), but so far...:

Ty- 4 (technically 3, but the fourth is a secondary choice)
Reasons: Beat the shit out of Gillian, Because he deserves to run into Gillian's trap (Jerk), Because he's tired of Gillian's shit.

Rainbow Dash- 3/4
Reasons: Rainbow AND Ty find them at the same time. Otherwise, Curiosity regarding how she'll degrade-- I mean uh... get favors from him for a day.

Fluttershy- 1 & 1/2
Reasons: Epic "Stare" and bonding between her and Twilight. Otherwise, ninja her way in and beg Twilight for "sexy funtimes with Ty."

Comet Gazer- 1
Reason: Betray Gillian in a Heel-to-Face Turn.

Shining Armor- 1
Reason: See "Ty, Reason #3"

Black Pinkie- 1
Reason: Because she is Best Pinkie ()

General Desire to See Gillian Dead or Otherwise Incapacitated- 4
Reasons: He is an idiot, Cupcakes (Don't get me started on THAT abominable travesty... ), He's gonna get it, Just plain want him dead.

From the looks of it, the winner (excluding the desire to see Gillian dead or incapacitated) is Ty. Although I still might take in any extra votes before the next chapter is complete, so long as the reasoning is plausible and valid.