Original Link:
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Wide open eyes. Mouths pressed shut. Lightly shaking. Tear trails washing down the cheeks. Both Twilight and Rarity sat like this in the waiting room of the Ponyville hospital for a felt eternity. The only ponies breaking the silence were the nurses, treating Rarity’s cuts. But as soon as they were done, they joined the doctors in the emergency room to assist.

Nearly ten hours had passed and still, the group got no response from the doctors about Applejack’s condition. Fluttershy as well couldn’t stop staring at the door to the emergency room, even though her expression remained blank. Eventually, Crystal Blossom could convince the two unicorn mares to at least try getting over their trauma and use the wait to get some sleep. But just two hours later, Nurse Redheart entered the waiting room, causing the keepers of harmony to instantly jump up and stare at her in anticipation for news.

The long surgery had clearly drained her. Even though she was wearing a surgical mask, the group could see the exhaustion in her eyes. With a sigh, she removed the mask and started speaking.

“We managed to treat the wounds and stabilize her. But due to the extreme amount of blood she lost, she fell into a coma. Right now, machines and spells are all that keep her breathing and her heart beating. We still can’t say if she will survive or not. It all depends on whether she will wake up in the next few days,” Nurse Redheart explained.

Slowly, Rarity and Twilight sat down again, their gazes lowering to the floor and starting to cry.

“I’m sorry I can’t bring you better news… You can see her if you want. We brought her to room 44,” the nurse stated.

“You did everything you could. Thank you, nurse,” Crystal responded, then turned her head over to Twilight.

The purple mare responded the glance and gave a short nod. Then, they all started walking.

---

With only few words, the keepers of harmony decided to stay in Applejack’s hospital room for a while. They were all too tired and mentally exhausted to go anywhere, so they just sat down around her bed and began to wait again. They did not mind the beeping of the medical devices connecting to their friend, but it was still a very depressing sight to look at. Those stitches on her throat, chest and front leg. The bracelet she was wearing, connecting her to a monitor. The tube she had stuck in her mouth, which made her breathe. Even Twilight thought that this made Applejack seem more like a dead body in desperate attempt to be kept alive.

As the time passed, the keepers of harmony slowly fell asleep again. Like always, Fluttershy and Crystal Blossom stood awake, guarding the room and meditating in switching shifts.

---

It already was afternoon of the second day back in Ponyville when the group woke up. Again, they just kept sitting around Applejack’s bed for hours. But the more time passed, the more they had to make a few realizations.

“Perhaps the BloodClaw Cult wanted exactly this to happen. They made us stop chasing after them with this,” Fluttershy commented.

“They are everywhere…Even here in Ponyville. Two cultists tried to trap and kill me, which is why I have these cuts,” Rarity added.

“I’m…” Twilight started, having trouble to get a hold of herself. “I’m just so sorry… I never meant for any of this to happen… I should have never asked any of you to follow me…”

“Darling. We wanted to come with you. And you just have to admit you would have never made it anywhere if we wouldn’t have supported you,” Rarity tried to explain.

“We all made the decision to go with you,” Crystal stated. “Even though we experienced tragedy after tragedy throughout the journey, it was the right decision. Without us, the BloodClaw Cult would have never been uncovered. Without your investigation, Twilight, it would be too late for Equestria to save itself by now. It may not be over, yet. But it already can clearly be said that you saved the entire land from much, much worse.”

“But was that all worth it? So many ponies died… Applejack’s entire family is gone… And just look at her. There is a big chance she may not make it and will need to get reaped… Was this all really worth it?” Twilight asked.

“Think logically, Twilight. Would there have been any way to turn things out for the better? Would there have been any way to prevent everything from happening?” Crystal asked back.

“I… have no idea. It’s just… Applejack thinks I’m to blame for all this…” the purple mare spoke.

“She said those words while under the influence of Maledictum Insania. You know precisely that she was not thinking at that moment. At the very beginning of this journey, I said that I believe in the abilities of all of you, keepers. Not only did you live up to my expectations, but you even surpassed them. Not once did I ever doubt you, Twilight. Not even now that all these horrible things happened. You and your friends. You truly are the ones keeping harmony alive in Equestria. It does not matter what will come next. I, and all the other reapers, we will keep believing in all of you and we will support you until the very end,” Crystal explained, bowing down to the group.

For a moment, Twilight smiled back at Crystal. But then, she let her ears hanging again and her sadness resurfaced. Slowly, the purple mare stood up and walked over to the elder reaper mare, placing her right front hoof on her shoulder.

“You bow down to nopony other than your mistress,” Twilight spoke, then suddenly hugged the light blue mare.

Crystal seemed surprised for a brief moment, but then embraced Twilight back. After that, the purple mare let go and turned around. From Crystal, to Fluttershy, to Rarity, she embraced all of them individually. Finally, she returned to the bed and held Applejack’s front leg.

“I know, I’m not saying this often enough. But… honestly… Thank you. All of you. Thank you for always supporting me. Thank you for always being there. And yes, I mean you too, Crystal. Thank you so much for believing in me. I would be so lost without all of you,” Twilight spoke with tears in her eyes.

Rarity smiled in response. Fluttershy and Crystal nodded shortly. After that, it became silent again in the hospital room. All eyes returned to the unconscious mare on the bed.

“Well… What do we do now? Can we really just sit here, waiting and hoping for Applejack to wake up again? The cult is right outside! They have Ponyville under their control,” Rarity wondered.

Nearly ten seconds passed before Twilight turned around and gazed out of the window towards her home village.

“Give me a moment. I will think of something. I just… just need a moment more…” the purple mare requested.

Silence filled the room anew. Twilight sunk deeper and deeper into thoughts while Rarity kept on sitting next to Fluttershy and Crystal on the left side of the bed. Suddenly, the door opened and a doctor entered, carrying a syringe.

“Hello, everypony. I’m sorry, but you need to leave for a while. Your friend needs an injection and some check up,” he requested.

The group nodded and started walking. But while the two unicorn mares headed out, something occurred to the reapers: Why was this doctor walking around with the syringe ready? Wasn’t that pretty dangerous in case somepony stumbled into him? And why did they even need to leave the room for a check up in the first place? The nurses never said Applejack needed additional medication either. It was Fluttershy who stopped first and grabbed the doctor by his front leg.

“What is in the syringe?” she wanted to know.

“Just something that will help her heal up faster,” the doctor responded.

“And why did you wait until now to give her this medication?” Crystal added.

Now, Twilight and Rarity turned back around, as well starting to find this suspicious.

“It needs a lot of complex medical knowledge to understand that. Just let me do my job, okay?” the doctor requested in a mildly frustrated tone.

This only caused the distrust to grow inside the mares. Twilight and Rarity slowly began to walk back over to Applejack. While doing so, they noticed that the doctor’s eyes started jumping around nervously.

“Let me see the syringe,” Crystal requested.

“What? No! I can’t let you do that!” the doctor protested.

“As reapers, we have the authority to make these requests. Please hand over the syringe,” Fluttershy requested anew.

The doctor stood still for a moment, then suddenly turned around and started running over to Applejack. But before he could reach her, Twilight used a spell to launch the doctor against a wall. Crystal instantly reacted and used an ice spell to form shackles around his front and hind legs. Finally, Fluttershy placed the dull side of her scythe’s blade against his neck. As he looked into her eyes, he found himself so shocked, he let go of the syringe and allowed it to drop on the floor.

Now in control, Crystal stepped forth and picked the syringe back up, analyzing its content.

“It is a heartbeat slowing medication. Not very dangerous usually, but in Applejack’s condition, it would have been lethal and impossible to track back. The nurses would have only assumed that she did not make it,” she commented.

Twilight had disbelief written on her face for a moment. But very quickly, it became replaced by an expression of fury. She stepped in front of the stallion, violently turned his head aside and moved the fur behind his left ear.

“As I thought. The claw mark symbol. He is a cultist,” she commented in anger. “You monsters never know when its enough, huh?”

Finally, the doctor snapped out of his shock. After he processed the words Twilight told to him, he started to grin and chuckle.

“You heretics don’t deserve any better,” the stallion replied.

“Oh just you wait until you get to prison,” Rarity commented with a hate filled expression.

Suddenly, Twilight’s glance lowered. Crystal was about to cast another spell to get the cultist off from the wall and wrap him into chains, ready for transportation. But she was interrupted by the purple mare, lifting a front hoof.

“No. He won’t go to prison,” she commanded.

“Huh? Why not, darling? Do you want to interrogate him?” Rarity wondered.

“Hah! You can try if you want, but I won’t tell you anything!” the doctor stated in a mocking tone.

For a couple of seconds, Twilight just stood there, still pinning the stallion’s head against the wall with her eyes focusing the ground. But then, she calmly let go of him, went back down to all four and started walking over to her saddlebag.

“No,” was all she said in response.

Rarity was confused about what Twilight’s intentions were. But Fluttershy and Crystal Blossom could see something. They saw her expression. The last time her eyes burned with such anger was when she found out that Despair had murdered Spike and devoured his soul.

Twilight used a spell to open her saddlebag. A black book without title came flying out of it. Since the reapers entrusted her the nameless book, she kept on scanning through it every once in a while. This time, she picked a specific chapter in the book and read through it swiftly.

“Twilight… what are you going to do?” Fluttershy wondered.

Seconds passed with no response. The cultist just hung there, laughing lowly at the insecurity of the group. Finally, Twilight closed and stored the book again.

“Crystal… you asked me how I could have turned things out to the better? Well. I tried to solve this battle against the cult with sense and moral. But this just won’t get us anywhere. Due to my inability to seriously harm or even kill ponies, a lot of bad things happened. This even goes all the way back to Obsidian,” the purple mare explained, her eyes burning with hatred. “I'm sorry. I learned my lesson. There is no reasoning with the cult. I won't make this mistake ever again.”

“Haha! What now? Do you want to kill me? You? A stupid, heretical follower of the alicorns? Face it. You don’t have the stomach for that,” the cultist started mocking.

Now, Twilight began approaching the stallion with a dead serious expression.

“Twilight! Darling! You are not seriously going to kill him…Are you?” Rarity spoke with a worried expression.

The closer she came, the more her horn started to glow. But before she could do anything, Crystal stepped in front of her.

“You do not have to overthrow your moral perspectives, Twilight. We have gotten this far trying to keep casualties at a minimum. Do not let your emotions turn you into a killer now,” she spoke.

“This has nothing to do with moral or emotions, Crystal. The opposite actually. If this is what needs to be done to protect my friends, then so be it. I won’t hesitate anymore. I won’t let anything like this happen to any of you ever again,” the purple mare spoke with determination.

“Twilight… Even though I think Mistress Celestia would understand... If you go this path once, there is no turning back. For us reapers, it is natural to kill. This is what we are made for. But its not natural for ponies. If you kill him, it will haunt you for the rest of your life,” Fluttershy warned.

“Desperate times call for desperate measures. One thing Obsidian tried to teach me was that all who fight the demons and insanity have to make sacrifices at some point. I don’t care if I will have nightmares for the rest of my life. Maybe what you say is right and I won’t regret it now, but in future. Still, this is a sacrifice I am willing to take. For everypony out there. It just has to stop, as fast as possible,” Twilight replied.

“Twilight…” Rarity commented in a speechless tone, covering her mouth with her front legs.

Fluttershy and Crystal exchanged a quick glance, then looked back at the stallion. He still kept on grinning with a cocky expression, not believing the group would actually go this far. After all, they were the keepers of harmony. The most naive ponies in the entire land. Why would they, of all, be willing to kill?

“Are you sure you want to go this far?” Crystal questioned as she turned back to Twilight.

The purple mare nodded in response, the determination and fury in her eyes not getting any less intense. Ultimately, Crystal and Fluttershy stepped aside.

“It is as I said. No matter what comes next, I will keep believing in you and supporting you until the very end,” the light blue mare commented.

Twilight just continued walking and stopped right in front of the stallion. Now, he slowly began to doubt his preconceptions and looked around nervously again.

A purple aura began to form around Twilight’s horn. Her eyes did not move away from the stallion for a single moment while she created a magical sword, letting it float next to her.

As the tension built up more and more, Rarity’s eyes kept on jumping between Twilight, the stallion, the sword and the reapers. She still could not believe what was about to happen and that Fluttershy and Crystal actually agreed with it. But she also thought it would be wrong of her to stop Twilight. After all, she was the leader of the group. If she decided this was the right thing to do, there had to be something true about it. Finally, Rarity just turned around, pressed her eyes shut and covered her ears.

Twilight trembled in tension. The heavy internal struggle could be seen all over her body. She stood there for a while, showing her teeth and pressing them together while she tried to convince herself that this in front of her was not a pony, but a monster. A monster that needed to be slain for the safety of all her friends and of Equestria. Finally, she took a deep breath.

“This is for Applejack!” the purple mare shouted.

The blade launched at the stallion. Just the split of a second later, it was stuck to the hilt in his chest. An expression of shock was written in his face, which also shocked Twilight for a moment. Just now, she realized what she had done.

Not even a second after she injured the cultist, Twilight gained the first thoughts of regret. She watched the stallion with wide open eyes and mouth.

The seconds passed and the blood started running down his chest. Then, his expression slowly shifted again. His eyes became bloodshot and a grin grew on his face.

“I die… for the demon queen…” he spoke.

Suddenly, he closed his eyes and his entire body became limp. The shock on Twilight’s face slowly slipped away as well and became neutral. Still avoiding to look at the cultist, Rarity stood up and walked over to Twilight.

“Darling…” she spoke meekly, hugging the purple mare.

Twilight did not respond in any way. She just kept on staring at the hanging body. This was her doing. She killed him. After a while, the expression of determination returned to her face.

“He showed his true colors as he died. His last thoughts were about Nightmare Moon. I didn’t kill a pony. I killed a monster. There is nothing I need to regret. All of these beasts are nothing but a threat to us. They are who try to destroy Equestria and drown it in suffering. All of them are just as bad as the demons,” Twilight spoke in justification of her doing.

This caused Rarity to lift her head again and stare at Twilight, not sure what she should be thinking anymore.

“Are you really sure? Do you really think this is what needs to be done?” she asked in worry.

“A peaceful solution is not possible. We already aim to kill Black Widow, so what difference does it make? If we can’t fight them above their level, they leave us no alternative. These cultists need to be erased and if it's necessary, I will do it all by myself, just so nopony else has to become a murderer. I’m not asking you to do the same, Rarity. Heck, I would even prefer it if you wouldn’t. But there is no other solution anymore. We have to fight our way straight to the heart of the cult, even if it means to cover my hooves in blood,” the purple mare assured.

Rarity just stared at Twilight with a slightly open mouth. She couldn’t respond to this. Instead, Fluttershy and Crystal Blossom walked over to the body and rammed their scythes in it to prevent the cultist from coming back.

“Even though we may all be of split opinions right now, I can tell you regained your focus and determination, Twilight,” Crystal started. “So what is your plan? What shall we do next?”

“There is nothing we can do for Applejack right now. Let us use this time and drive the cult out of Ponyville by any means necessary. I might have an idea where their church is, but if I’m wrong, we can’t hesitate to find it. Also, we need to make sure that not another cultist sneaks up on Applejack. I want one of you to stay here and guard her. Preferably, I would like this one to be you, Rarity,” the purple mare spoke.

“You want to spare me from having to kill, too?” Rarity asked.

“Yes. This is why I want you to stay and protect Applejack,” Twilight replied.

“Well… I trust you make the right decisions, Twilight. Just like Crystal and Fluttershy, I will trust and support you until the end. Alright. I will stay… Good luck, Twilight,” the fashion diva responded.

“Thank you… Crystal, Fluttershy. Let’s go. We need to tell somepony about what happened in here first,” the purple mare commanded.

The reaper mares nodded in response and followed Twilight out of the hospital room. Rarity just walked back over to Applejack’s bed, sat down and held her hoof.

“I wonder what you would think about all this…” she commented in worry.