Shining ran forwards as quickly as his injury would allow. Despite his tinnitus he forced himself to concentrate. He compared the injuries of his fallen brethren in seconds, satisfied that the guard Pinkamena had held hostage - despite being impaled - wasn't in anywhere near as much danger as the one who had been shot. He forced the volume of his voice over the constant noise in his ears as he rolled the pony onto his side. He was barely breathing, "MEDIC!"

The guards glanced between one another, having barely heard him over the horrendous ringing that still filled their skulls.

Seconds were ticking by far too quickly, "WHERE'S THE FUCKING MEDIC!?"

A unicorn dashed out from the ranks, dropping and unrolling a pack filled with several surgical implements beside the pony.

Shining gave her room to work as several syringes were plunged into the guard in preparation. He saw the rest of the guards tending to the injured and the unconscious around him, took a deep breath, and adopted his commanding tone once more, "I want the injured over here in triage order! The rest of you..." He hissed as he put weight on his injured leg, adrenaline no longer effectively dulling the pain, "Retrieve your gear and take a headcount, now."

The guards moved immediately, leaving Shining to look back at the medic and the guard being treated. His punctured armour now lay discarded off to the side. The unicorn levitated a scalpel, holding the blade above a magical flame for a few seconds before making a small incision in the guard's chest.

Shining shook his head and crouched beside the medic, offering his assistance and levitating the required implements into her grasp as she requested them. There was little else he could do.

At Discord's cry Celestia's vision blurred, memories flashing before her eyes of the last time Discord had roared her name with such sheer hate, back on the day of his first imprisonment. They had destroyed the chaos he had sewn across Equestria, and when he had learned such, it was her name he bellowed.

Then he had made an example of their actions and summoned Calamity.

Fire.

Blood.

Death.

The screams of the innocent.

Countless lives-

"Celestia?"

The Princess in question resurfaced, meeting Luna's knowing gaze, "What do we do now, sister?"

Celestia glanced through one of the stained glass windows, "I'll... I'll scan for them myself. But not today, it's already far too late, the sun must set, and the moon rise."

Luna gestured to the other three, who were wincing from the constant buzzing in their ears, but looking between each other and the image of the guards constantly, as if they were stuck in a cycle, "What about them? I'd say it's unwise to leave them on their own after what we've just witnessed."

Celestia nodded in agreement, "We have plenty of spare suites, we'll keep them here until they're over the worst of it. What we certainly don't want is them running off to save their friends and coming back in a coffin." She raised her voice a little to get their attention, "Girls?"

One by one they turned to face her, the blank looks on their faces made it clear to Celestia that they were still processing everything that had happened. She didn't blame them. "It would be best if you stayed the night here in the castle. It might not look it right now, but it's already late, and after what's happened it would be wrong of me to send you all home."

"Thank you." There was no emotion evident in their voices, confirming Celestia's suspicions that they were running on autopilot.

"Alright then, I'm going to set the sun. Luna, could you show them to their suites before you raise the moon? I'd do it myself, but there's something I have to take care of. I'll join you later."

"Of course, but what is it you're going to do?"

"I need to contact the heads of the royal printing and courier offices." Luna squinted one eye in confusion, "I'll explain later."

Luna shrugged and gave the mares beside her a heartfelt, sympathetic glance, extending her left wing across their backs gently. Celestia turned for the door, only to be stopped by Luna, "Aren't you forgetting something, sister?"

Celestia gave a 'hm?' before following Luna's gaze to the viewing spell that was still active. She trotted to it and tapped it unceremoniously with her horn, causing it to gradually fizzle out of existence, the last remnants vanishing with a *pop* and a small rush of air. The spell now gone, Celestia bade everypony present goodnight and exited the room.

The sound of the doors clicking shut caused Rarity to jolt slightly. She shook her head and attempted to gather her thoughts. When she eventually gathered her wits and looked up at Luna her expression was absolutely dejected, "... Princess Luna?" Despite the state she was in, she spoke clearly, to Luna's surprise.

"Yes, Rarity?"

"Did what I think just happened really happen?"

Luna bit her lip, "It did."

She felt like crying, but no tears came, "Why is it always us, Princess? Why!?"

"Rarity-"

"We've suffered enough! None of us want this any more! We don't want any more fighting and tears! What did we do, Princess!? What did we do to deserve this!? Why can't things just go back to how they were!? Tell me, Luna! TELL ME!" After holding her stare for several seconds, realisation dawned in Rarity's eyes. She withdrew her hooves from the Princess' shoulders and stepped out of her face, "... Princess, forgive me."

Luna's painfully sympathetic expression hadn't wavered throughout the entire encounter, "You did nothing to deserve this, Rarity. None of you did." She sighed, "There's an old saying, back from before Discord was defeated the first time: 'Fate be thou gravest nemesis. For what puppet can refuse the will of its master? What piece can refuse the hoof that moves it? There has been none. Nor ever shall there be.'"

Rarity stared in confusion, "I... I don't understand... So we have no say over anything?"

Luna shook her head, "That quote was spoken as a warning on the futility of defying Discord's will. Barely anypony dared to speak his name, so 'Fate' was the preferred name ponies would use, in reference to the inevitability of him finding those who would dare speak out against him." She smiled slightly, "When me and my sister defeated Discord, that quote vanished from history. I made a point of remembering it though."

"W-Why? I don't follow."

"Because Celestia and I did the impossible. We challenged Discord. We challenged 'Fate'. And despite all the hardships we endured, we emerged victorious." She placed a wing around the unicorn, "Bad things happen to good ponies. But the ponies who push on when fate would like nothing better than to crush their spirits, they can do incredible things. Things that seemed impossible before they happened. You three can defy fate, just as we did. You can't change the past, but you can save your friends. It will take a long time, and a great deal of hardship, but if you fight hard enough, Rarity, nothing is beyond your reach."

Rarity forced a pained smile, "I'll try, but it hurts so much, Princess."

Luna moved over to the other two and gently nudged them until they began trotting with her towards the door, "I know, Rarity, I know. Being strong doesn't mean being emotionless, after all."

They trotted in silence until they neared their suites, "I think it best if these two spend a while with you, if that's alright? It wouldn't be a good idea to leave them alone in this state."

Rarity nodded and ushered the other two inside, "Thank you, Princess, for everything."

"Goodnight, Rarity."

The moment the door clicked shut the unicorn felt tears sting at her eyes. Once the Princess' hoofsteps could no longer be heard she let out a mournful whine and leant against the door for support. The Princess could try to inspire the three of them all she wanted, Rarity still felt anything but, "I should have gone with them... If I were there, maybe nopony would've been hurt... Maybe none of those horrible things would've happened..."

Twilight, firing spells that were clearly intended to maim their targets, "Twilight... What happened to you?"

A guard, his eye slashed from its socket, "Pinkie... How could you enjoy that?"

And Fluttershy staring, horrified, as the guard remained still on the ground, blood pooling beneath him, "Fluttershy... Oh, Fluttershy!" She let her head droop forwards until both her forehead and horn rested against the door.

"I just want to get you all out of this... I just want to help you... I just.. I just... I-I-I..."

She raised a hoof to her mouth in an attempt to calm and compose herself.

Rainbow Dash stirred behind her.

Darkness.

Having been in this situation before, Twilight instinctively flared her magic to her horn, illuminating the cave in time to see Discord stumble and lean against the far wall with as he panted slightly.

Pinkamena scanned around quickly, "This isn't the same cave as the first time." she stated assuredly, "Where are we?"

Discord waved his claw and shook his head in response as he tried to catch his breath.

Pinkamena rolled her eyes and elected to look at Twilight, who in turn, looked back. She pretended not to notice the unicorn's ears falling back as they examined one another, "It doesn't seem like introductions are in order, does it?"

Twilight blinked in surprise at how normal and non-threatening the other sounded, but a look of horror dawned on her face quickly enough as she realised what, or rather whom, she had forgotten, "Wait... Fluttershy!?"

She waved her horn to illuminate the darker areas until she spotted the pegasus. She was still standing, staring at nothing with tears streaking down her muzzle. Every few seconds or so a barely audible whimper would escape her throat, only to subside immediately. Angel was atop her head, watching for any response to his intermittent taps with wide eyes.

Twilight darted across to her, "Fluttershy?"

She didn't move a muscle.

Twilight nudged her side worriedly, "Fluttershy?"

Still nothing.

Twilight tried not to panic at her friend's state as she stepped in front of her and put a hoof on her shoulder, shaking her gently, "Fluttershy, talk to me... Fluttershy?"

The pegasus blinked, the distant look in her eyes fading slightly as she focused in on her friend's face. She gave the faintest of murmurs, inaudible to all around her.

Twilight put her head closer to Fluttershy's, "What?"

It was terribly quiet, but it was definitely there, "I... I..."

Twilight hid her concerns and spoke soothingly, "It's alright, take your time."

After several seconds, her whisper was heard again, "I... I... I k-k-"

Twilight waited patiently, but she grimaced as the horror on her friend's face increased twofold. Fluttershy spoke flatly, as if she didn't believe what she was saying, "I killed him... I killed that stallion... He's dead..." She met Twilight's concerned eyes with her own terrified ones, her breaths becoming short and dangerously shallow, "What have I done, Twilight?"

Twilight struggled to find words to console her friend, but fortunately - or rather, unfortunately - for her, Fluttershy continued before she even had the chance to speak, "What have I done? What have I done?" Her voice started rising, and the sheer agony present in it rose accordingly, "What have I done? What have I done? What have I done? What have I done!? What have I done!? WhathaveIdone!? WhathaveIdone!?" She stopped, taking a shaking gasp as she fully grasped her actions and the consequences.

She screamed.

Twilight tried to find the words to calm her friend, but nothing came to mind. Fluttershy's trembling was even worse than before, tears leaked freely down her face, and her eyes held a disturbing hollowness to them now. The unicorn desperately searched for something - anything - to say that would bring Fluttershy back around, and upon failing began to panic, 'She could end up traumatised if this goes on! I have to calm her down!' As hard as she tried, everything she thought up seemed pathetically inadequate, and her worry began showing through.

Pinkamena blew her mane out of her face as she saw Twilight's calmness slowly seeping away, and trotted purposefully over to the pair. She tapped Twilight to get her attention before nudging her away slightly and pointing to Fluttershy, making sure to remain quiet all the while.

The unicorn eyed her suspiciously but, having no ideas of her own, complied and stood back, giving Pinkamena enough room to speak to Fluttershy face-to-face.

Pinkamena lowered her head so she could meet Fluttershy's gaze head-on, "Fluttershy."

It took the pegasus a few seconds to register her presence, but once she did her reaction was clearly evident; she yelped and backed as far across the cave as she could, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to do it! It was an accident! Please don't hurt me! Please!"

Pinkamena kept her expression level and her pace steady as she followed Fluttershy across the room. Twilight watched warily, tracking the two with her horn so as to keep them in the light. Fluttershy squeaked and cowered pitifully upon backing into the wall, "No! Stay away! Please! Twilight, help me!"

Pinkamena stopped a few paces from her, regarding her expressionlessly from above, ignoring the challenging gaze that the rabbit atop her head was shooting her, "Fluttershy." The pegasus shrank back against the wall as far as she could. Pinkamena sighed and laid on the floor before her, "Fluttershy, look at me." Her tone was calm and collected, yet strangely compelling.

Despite her better judgement, Fluttershy eventually raised her head and looked at her for a fraction of a second before whipping it back down again, "I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!"

"I'm not going to hurt you, Fluttershy. You need to calm down. Look at me."

It took a long time, but eventually the pegasus tentatively lifted her head, fully expecting Pinkamena to start beating the life out of her for her own amusement. When Pinkamena was sure she had Fluttershy's attention, she tilted her head a fraction spoke coolly, "You're not thinking things through. You're letting yourself panic over simple assumptions."

Fluttershy's eyes widened in confusion, "W-What?"

Her tone remained detached and analytical, "How do you know that guard is dead?"

Fluttershy flinched as she recalled what she had done, "I-I-I... I shot h-him..."

"But there was no clear indication that you killed him. Think about it, those guards were wearing heavy plate armour, it's more than likely that the majority of the force behind those arrows was absorbed by the armour before they perforated. Moreover, they didn't just stumble across us, they were specifically sent after us as a mission, meaning that the unit that came after us was evidently part of a military division. Due to this, they would undoubtedly have brought a team medic along to prevent casualties, meaning that the injured guards are probably receiving treatment as we speak."

Fluttershy remained silent for several seconds, contemplating what had been said, "Wait... S-So, you m-mean..."

"That there's a good likelihood that he's actually alive, yes."

Hope and relief gleamed from Fluttershy's expression, though the latter vanished in a heartbeat as she grimaced, "I'm... I'm a horrible pony."

"How so? There's still a chance he's alive."

"B-But I... I still shot h-him. I still tried to k-kill him..."

Pinkamena stood and backed away a step, speaking calmly as she removed the Element of Laughter from her neck and examined it, "Yes, you did, there's no debating that."

Fluttershy whimpered.

"But if you hadn't, Twilight and I would've been on the receiving end instead. You did the right thing."

The pegasus eyed Pinkamena from her position on the ground and shook her head, "N-No, I d-don't think I did. I could have just g-gotten rid of the arrows. N-Nopony needed to get hurt..."

Pinkamena still rolled the Element between her hooves curiously, "You saw him trying to snatch those arrows back from you. If you'd have dropped them he would've snatched them away, and the result would have been as he originally intended, only he would've shot you too."

"But I-I still shouldn't have hurt him... H-He was scared... He was j-just doing his job..."

Pinkamena clasped the Element back around her neck and shrugged, "Your morals are different to mine, I respect that. However, there's one detail I won't allow you to overlook. Regardless of whatever else happened, you saved us, Fluttershy, and despite what you yourself might think of it, Twilight and I are incredibly grateful that you did what you did." Pinkamena extended her hoof towards Fluttershy hesitantly, unfamiliar with the prospect of reaching out - both physically and emotionally - to another pony, "Thank you."

Fluttershy stared at the outstretched hoof blankly as she processed what Pinkamena had said. After several seconds, the distant look in her eyes faded somewhat, a small amount of comprehension showing on her face as she realised the significance of the other pony's gesture. She swallowed nervously, but reached out her own hoof nonetheless.

They held their forehooves together for a short moment until Pinkamena clasped hers firmly around Fluttershy's and pulled her up to stand. They met each other's eyes, and though Pinkamena's still held the same composed, near emotionless look as they had since her emergence, Fluttershy's were positively brimming with emotion.

Gratitude. Shock. Anxiousness. Disbelief. Sympathy. Regret. Fear. Self-loathing. The latter few were hidden well, but Pinkamena saw them all. She kept her observations to herself.

Pinkamena stepped back as it became apparent that emotions weren't the only thing brimming in Fluttershy's eyes as she gave a sniffle and looked to the ground. Pinkamena turned to Twilight and pointed at the pegasus.

The unicorn nodded in response and trotted over to Fluttershy, embracing her and allowing the pegasus to bury her head deep into her mane as the array of emotions overwhelmed her. Twilight stroked her hoof gently across Fluttershy's back as she cried. It hurt her to see her friend suffering, yet at the same time she felt incredibly relieved that Fluttershy was coming back around, as opposed to staring off into nothingness. She turned her head a fraction to look at Pinkamena and spoke quietly so as not to alarm her distressed friend, "Pinkamena... thank you."

The pony in question said nothing, not acknowledging the statement in any way, instead electing to trot over to Discord and leave Twilight to console the mare weeping into her mane.

Discord was almost too tired to be snide. Almost. "Thank you all for your limitless patience, I appreciate it to no end." He made a point of squinting at Pinkamena, who had questioned him relentlessly for the past twenty minutes whilst he recovered his strength and remodelled the cave into the layout they were familiar with. His glare faded, "But I think you'll all agree, we have much to discuss." he spoke gravely, eyeing each of the ponies in turn.

A series of silent nods prompted him to continue, "First off, let's get what I know for certain out of the way so you'll all stop irritating me. We're currently out to the west of Appleloosa." He summoned up the map they had been following, dotted lines trekking west from their previous location near Dodge. He noticed Twilight's face scrunch up in confusion, "Yes, before you ask, we've backtracked, and it's going to cost us time and effort to make up lost ground ." He clenched his teeth and spoke in a clipped tone, "Time and effort that could have been applied elsewhere if somepony had been more careful."

Twilight averted her eyes in shame, trying to think up another factor that may have led to their discovery, only to come up blank, "I didn't mean to... It was an accident!"

"Regardless, it was still a costly one. We can debate the specifics later, but right now we've more important things to discuss."

Twilight exhaled slowly to calm herself, "Yeah..."

"The problem we now have is that Celestia has a general idea of where we are. She knows I can't move us far when I'm tired, and will probably have guards sweep-searching everywhere for miles; meaning we need to get as far away from here as possible, as quickly as possible." He gave a half-sigh, half-groan, "But I can't teleport us far enough to evade them completely until I've recuperated sufficiently, and that'll take a couple of days, at least. Once I've rested enough I'll teleport us east to the Haysead Swamps. They won't be able to follow or track us into there, and our chances of being stumbled upon there are more or less zero." He dangled his legs over the edge of the cloud, resting his elbows atop his knees and interlocking his paw and claw in such a way that the bottom half of his face was hidden behind them, "Since I need to conserve my strength I'm afraid you'll have to resort to basic magical exercises, Twilight. I can't expend energy soaking up rampant chaos blasts every few minutes or so."

Twilight frowned slightly at the mention of the magic she had failed so miserably to harness, "I understand. I guess it can't be helped, given the circumstances."

Discord gave a thoughtful 'hmm' in response, shifting his gaze to Fluttershy who was staring at the floor with a despondent expression, "I know how this sounds, but we need to learn from what happened today. We can't let down our guard for even a moment until we're in guaranteed safety, and that in itself might take us a while to find. Moreover, I think you all have a better concept of what Celestia is wiling to do to retrieve you now, and as she becomes more desperate you can expect her attempts to become so, too. Things are going to start changing now, more than any of you can begin to imagine, mark my words..." He looked to the last mare of the three and brought his hands away from his face, instead folding his arms as he eyed her suspiciously, "Speaking of change, you have lots of explaining to do, Pinkamena."

Pinkamena reclined into her chair, "Considering it's as much your fault as Pinkie's - if not more - that I spent years locked in a cell, I don't really feel like explaining anything to you. However, since I can't kill you, and I know you'll just force me back in there if I don't, I don't have that many options, do I?"

Discord nodded then shook his head, "Nope."

She furrowed her brow for a moment before giving a huff and looking up at the ceiling, "Care to elaborate then?"

"First thing's first, what are you doing out in the first place?"

"I'm out because Pinkie let me out."

"Yes, I'm sure that's a precise description of what happened." Discord mocked.

Pinkamena rolled her eyes and snarled, "Go in and ask her yourself if you're going to insist on pissing me off instead of listening."

Discord narrowed his eyes, "I intended to, don't you worry."

"Worry was the furthest thing from my mind, I assure you."

They glared at each other for a few seconds before Discord cocked his head and spoke in a clipped tone, "Next question. Why did she let you out?"

Pinkamena let a smile pull at the corners of her mouth, "Because although she's weak, and naive, she's smart. Smarter than any of you give her credit for, actually. Even I respect her intelligence to some degree."

Discord had to resist the urge to alter his voice to match Pinkamena's as he mimicked her, "Care to elaborate then?"

"She saw that you were all segregated, and realised that relying on only you to defend everypony simply wouldn't work. She was cornered, and I made her an offer: She could let me out and take my place in the cell, allowing me to do what she couldn't and save her friends. Or she could stay in control and kick and scream as the guards dragged her back to Canterlot, most likely with these two in tow." She gestured to Twilight and Fluttershy, both of whom wore guilty expressions at the thought of Pinkie sacrificing her freedom to save them. "She did the maths and chose the former, obviously, and well, you know the rest."

"Well I suppose that explains why you emerged when you did, then."

Pinkamena gave a curt nod, "What else?"

"Why did you stick to your end of the bargain? Why not simply use your new found freedom to run, instead of saving them?"

"There's plenty of reasons. First off being that, despite what Pinkie did to me, she released me in good faith, and even if I owe her nothing, she was willing to put herself through misery to help you all. Personal sacrifice is something I admire, even in her case. Secondly, although she was the one that made it, that 'Pinkie Promise' of hers? It's not a joke. Even if I'm the one in control, we're still sharing a mind, and I'm not willing to take any chances with breaking it." She shuddered for a moment, causing even Discord some level of unease. "Third, even though she's in the cage now, she can still communicate with me unless I directly focus on shutting her up, and I think you all realise how much of an incredible effort it takes to make her do so. I'm not willing to have her nag me about lying to her for the rest of my days. And finally... I just like hurting ponies," she sighed contentedly, "it excites me. I haven't felt so good in a long time..." She shrugged and caught the sickened expressions of the two beside her, causing her to frown, "Oh, get over it. It doesn't take a genius to realise that you two are into some weird stuff."

Twilight hiked an eyebrow, "Excuse me?"

Fluttershy shrank back in her seat, "W-What?"

Pinkamena pointed at the unicorn's saddlebags, predominantly filled with maps, books and writing equipment, "Really, the whole 'student' thing? It practically screams 'roleplay' to me."

Twilight gasped and held up her hooves by her head at the statement, but Pinkamena was already speaking before she even had the opportunity to defend herself, "And you?" She pointed at Fluttershy, who shrank back further, "Well... How should I put this?" She pointed at Angel, who was currently in the process of holding up his paw in what was supposedly an offensive gesture, "Animals." She gestured towards Discord, "Funny how he's made up of lots of different animal parts, too, don't you think?"

Fluttershy slowly came to comprehend what Pinkamena was insinuating, her mouth dropping open and blood rushing to her face, which by now held a truly mortified expression, "N-No! That's j-just! I'd never-"

"Enough already!" Discord regarded Pinkamena with a look of grave disapproval, "When you're finished trying to establish their preferences, I'd like to get back to the important questions."

"Fine..." Her gaze remained on the blushing pegasus for a moment longer, smirking to herself as she hid behind her mane.

Discord stroked his beard absent-mindedly, "So you've established control over the mind the two of you share. What happens to Pinkie now? Surely you realise I'm not about to let you lock her away for the rest of her days?"

Pinkamena let her upper body droop, "I know. Strange how you'd do that for her, but not me, huh?"

"If you remember correctly, the last time we saw face-to-face you kicked the living hell out of Pinkie. That didn't exactly sway the odds of me doing so in your favour."

She sneered at him through her mane, "I would've thought you'd understand after a thousand years in stone."

Discord smirked, "I do. But I'm too much of a gentledraconequus - that doesn't roll off the tongue nicely - to do something so crude... Plus hate is much more useful when you bottle it up. Needless to say, I have a very, very big hate bottle... and it's overflowing." He dropped his smile, "Seriously though, what happens to her now?"

"That entirely depends on her answer to a very important question."

He leaned towards her slightly, "Which is?"

Pinkamena waved a hoof, "None of your business. If you're planning on comparing our accounts of how it happened you might as well come with me, but I'm not asking that question with you there."

Discord rubbed his forehead tiredly, "Alright, but if it turns out you've lied to me I'll throw you back in there at a moment's notice."

"Fine by me. Although I wouldn't put it past her to lie herself just to get out of there."

"We'll see, I suppose. When do you plan on seeing her?"

She sighed, "No time like the present, I guess... Just sitting here is the same as the cell, minus the bars. Boring."

Discord reclined on his cloud, "Very well then. Shall we?"

"I suppose." She turned to Fluttershy, a mischievous grin on her face, "Don't try anything naughty on me whilst I'm out, Fluttershy." She giggled at the mare's embarrassment and lowered her voice seductively, "I'd want to be awake to enjoy that..." As it turned out, Fluttershy's head could only manage a certain amount of blood being pumped to it before she passed out and slumped over, causing Pinkamena to erupt into a fit of laughter and Twilight to run over and check on her.

Upon affirming that Fluttershy was indeed fine, Twilight shot Pinkamena a glare, "That was too much! Stop making jokes like that around her! Especially after what she's just been through!" Twilight's expression fell from angry to stunned, a blush of her own appearing on her cheeks, "You... You were joking, r-right?"

Pinkamena snorted loudly at Twilight's reaction, "Of course! It's just funny to see her flustered is all. Plus she's out cold, so she doesn't need to worry about things for a while."

Discord couldn't help but chuckle lightly, "She does have a point."

Twilight deadpanned, "Go see Pinkie, or I'll knock you both out myself."

Discord shrugged and Pinkamena stifled one last laugh at the unicorn's expense before the two returned to their respective seats and slumped over a few seconds later, leaving Twilight and Angel the only conscious ones in the room. Twilight smiled weakly at the bunny who was pressing his paw deep into his face, "With friends like these, who needs enemies? Am I right?"

Angel made several confusing gestures that Twilight didn't understand. After facepawing once again he hopped over to her saddlebags, withdrew a dictionary, and cycled through it to the word 'friends', tapping it twice before pointing to the unconscious forms of Discord and Pinkamena and shaking his head. Twilight continued to watch as he proceeded to turn more pages, eventually stopping and repeatedly slamming his paw against another word.

'Morons'

"No argument here."

"Have you managed to alter the posters?" Celestia asked the pony beside her, casting her eyes over the noisy machinery.

"Yes, your majesty, the press is printing the newer versions as we speak. There should be sufficient copies for widespread distribution by morning, provided nothing goes wrong with the machine."

"Thank you, Ink Print." She sighed pensively, "I had hoped things would never have escalated to the point where I'd have to resort to this. But they're dangerous as they are now, I can't allow them to pose a threat to others." her voice wavered slightly, "No matter how much they mean to me..."

Ink caught her tone, and the uncharacteristic sadness present on her face, "Princess?"

Celestia shook her head and feigned a smile, "I'm sorry, Ink Print, I've a lot on my mind, that's all. Have these sent to the distribution office when you deem there to be enough copies."

"Of course, your majesty." Ink said, bowing his head as he did so. He watched her leave, noticing the way she dragged her hooves along the floor slightly on her way out. After waiting a few moments he shook away his concerns, it was none of his business to delve into the Princess's personal life. If she wanted to explain her worries to him, she would have done so. He trotted over to where the finished products were being stacked and loaded into boxes. As the next poster slid out, he intercepted it before it landed on the pile and examined it.

In truth, it wasn't that hard to realise why the Princess seemed so upset. The faces on the posters were familiar enough to many of Canterlot's citizens, for various reasons, and all - save one - were considered close friends of the Princesses. However, the face on the poster he currently held stood out in particular, and it quickly became apparent to him why she had seemed so defeated by the entire situation.

After all, it wasn't every day that a student of the Princess herself fell from being a beacon of hope for the entirety of Equestria to a lowlife criminal.

He scanned it over one last time before setting it down on top of the nearest pile and getting back to work. He shook his head, not knowing exactly what to think. The header was something he thought he'd never see, let alone print for Princess Celestia herself.

WANTED: Twilight Sparkle

Pinkie jolted her head upwards as the door to her cell swung open, "... Discord! I heard what's happening outside, things sound pretty tense..."

"That's one way of putting it." He chuckled and stepped through the threshold, moving aside to reveal Pinkamena trotting through behind him.

Pinkie froze on the spot at the sight of her, "W-What are you going to do with me?"

Pinkamena tilted her head in slight confusion, "Question you once he's gone, as you've already heard." She kicked the door shut behind her with a hind leg and looked expectantly at Discord.

The draconequus leaned against the wall beside him as he began, "I could go through and ask you everything Pinkamena told me, question by question, but I assume you heard everything we did?"

"Yep. It's really weird... Like hearing, but not with your own ears, if that makes sense?"

He gave a hollow chuckle, "What would the two of us be reduced to if we were bound to the rules of making sense? Anyway, if you heard everything, then a simple yes/no answer should suffice. Did Pinkamena tell the exact truth about everything?

Pinkie looked down at her hooves, "Yes."

"You're sure?"

"Mhmm," she nodded sadly, "I let her out to help them, and took her place in here by choice."

Discord gave Pinkamena a sideways glance and murmured, "Not much of a choice if you ask me." He pushed off the wall and stood upright, "Then I'd best let Pinkamena ask you whatever it is she wants to ask." Pinkie's face fell, "Look, Pinkie, I'm not going to leave you in here forever, I'm just giving Pinkamena a grace period until we figure out what the hell we're doing about this setback." He prepared to snap his fingers, but gave Pinkamena a harsh look, "You are here to ask her questions, not intimidate her into never coming out. If I find that this is the case the next time I'm here, well, let's just say you'll have earned yourself a dramatically extended sentence." He shrugged one shoulder nonchalantly and disappeared.

Pinkie audibly whined as Pinkamena turned to face her, taking mechanical, shaking steps away from her. Pinkamena swept her mane from her face and ground her teeth; already becoming irritated that the only ponies she could interact with had a tendency to retreat whenever they conversed, "What is it now?"

When Pinkie eventually spoke she sounded pitifully weak, "Please don't hurt me again!"

"What? I'm only standing here, what gave you the impression-"

"You said you like hurting p-ponies, and... and..." Pinkie trembled as she remembered the events following their previous exchange, "You did those awful things to those g-guards. I know what I s-said about hurting me a while back if it m-made you feel better, b-but please, p-please not like that!"

Pinkamena grunted in irritation, "I did those things because they were necessary to save both us and your friends. Not to say I didn't enjoy doing so, but I'm no psychopath, Pinkie, I'm not going to go looking for ponies to cut on a whim."

"But if I-I'd have known that y-you'd-"

"What, hurt them? If I hadn't your friends would've been hauled off to the hooves of Celestia. Answer me this, if you'd have known what I was going to do beforehand, would you still have kept me sealed away so that I couldn't hurt any complete strangers? Even though by doing so you'd allow your friends to be captured and locked away, or worse?"

Pinkie averted her eyes, looking downcast at the floor, "N-No, I couldn't let my friends suffer that." She took a deep breath before tentatively raising her head, "P-Pinkamena?"

"What?"

Pinkie shuffled her hooves nervously, "I wish you h-hadn't hurt those p-ponies back then, and it really does s-scare me that you liked it, b-but..." she forced a thin smile, "I want to say thank you anyway. You kept your p-promise and saved my friends, a-and you even helped Fluttershy after what happened, so thank you for that too."

Pinkamena flicked her mane from her face and approached Pinkie, "I'm not here to listen to you grovel. I'm here because I need you to answer me an important question, as you're well aware."

Pinkie gulped and nodded, "What- What is it?"

"I've already asked you before, I just need to hear your answer."

"Huh?"

"If our roles were reversed for all those years, and I was your jailor - as I am now - would you have forgiven me?"

Pinkie bit her lip and looked away, unwilling to give her answer.

Pinkamena stepped closer and grasped her muzzle with a hoof, "Look. At. Me."

Pinkie slowly opened her eyes, though only to the point where it seemed like she was flinching, preparing herself for a punch to the face should one come her way.

"Well?"

Pinkie gave in, shaking her head as much as she could whilst Pinkamena held her muzzle, "No..."

Pinkamena let her go, and Pinkie curled up into a defensive ball immediately in response. When no blows came, she hazarded a glance at the pony above her.

Pinkamena looked down upon her, her calm, judgemental expression the one of a pony who has succeeded in meting out righteous justice, "And that's why I'm the better pony."

Pinkie blinked in disbelief at the hoof that had been extended to her, shakily extending her own before being pulled to her hooves. Pinkamena trotted to the door and tapped the lock, causing it to swing open. She didn't linger by it for any longer than necessary, instead she moved over to her chair and sat facing the door, observing Pinkie all the while, "Go. Get out. He'd just let you out anyway, even if I didn't. At least this way it's done on my terms."

Pinkie was absolutely stunned, "Pinkamena..."

"Just get out, I don't want to hear it."

Pinkie stuttered several times as she tried to form coherent sentences, but eventually settled with displaying a thin, but warm smile as she looked upon her alter-ego.

She reached the doorway before Pinkamena spoke up, "Pinkie, I've started to forgive you for the most tormenting experience of my entire life, so listen carefully. You'd best prove to me that you're worthy of it. The least you can do is trust me now, seen as though I've just let you walk free. If I want to be released, you'll release me, you owe me that much after all the years I've spent in here."

Pinkie nodded wholeheartedly, "O-Of course! Anything else?"

"Not right now, I need to think. Get out, and don't you dare disturb me until I'm done. Don't confuse forgiveness with kindness, Pinkie."

Pinkie nodded again, speaking sincerely as she reached out and closed the door behind her, "Thank you so much, Pinkamena." She vanished.

Pinkamena reached beneath the seat and grasped the rock that had been resting by a chair leg, studying its intricacies, qualities, and flaws absent mindedly as she mulled over the events of the day, and just how much things were starting to change. A memory of her and Pinkie as foals, laughing and playing together, flashed before her eyes; which were becoming slightly misted over, accompanied by a wrenching feeling in her chest.

"One day, maybe..."

The rock clattered to the floor as she held her head in her hooves, "Maybe..."

She couldn't remember the last time she'd cried.

Rarity and Rainbow Dash didn't know how long they had been sat, clutching one another and weeping as the cumulative emotional payload of the day finally exploded. The only indication that time had passed at all was that the sun no longer shone outside, resulting in the room being illuminated only by the moonlight.

A rustling in the darkness gave them pause. They released each other and wiped away their tears so as to see if the cause was what, or rather whom, they expected. Surely enough, Applejack was coming out of her dazed state, shuffling about in a disoriented fashion as she tried to get her bearings.

"Wh-Where am Ah?"

Rarity's horn glowed as she lit several of the smaller torches around the room before she moved and placed a hoof on her shoulder, "It's alright, relax. Princess Luna brought the three of us up here. We all spaced out after... after that."

Applejack grimaced, "Ah, Ah don't..." She choked, "Ah know they were scared and not thinkin' straight, but... but even then, Fluttershy!? Ah don't believe it... Ah just don't. Ah can't."

Rarity moved to hug her friend, but Applejack backed away, her disbelief giving way to rage, "Ah won't!"

The unicorn stepped back, hoping giving her time to simmer would eventually lead to her calming down.

It didn't.

She swivelled her head frantically before settling on one of the dressers, swiping all the expensive perfumes away to shatter against the wall, "You manipulatin' BASTARD!"

Rainbow jumped up, "Applejack! What the hay are you doing!?"

She slammed her forehooves against the wood, cracking it and crying out in rage and pain each time, "YOU! DIS-GUSTIN'! LYIN'! SNAKE! BASTARD!"

Rarity stepped towards her cautiously, "Applejack stop!"

The farmer rounded on her friend, "FUCK OFF!" Without missing a beat she bucked the dresser full-force, shattering it and completely destroying the drawers she had hit, "AH'M GONNA KILL HIM!"

Rainbow heard muffled shouts from outside, no doubt the guards had picked up on the commotion. She bolted across the room to her friend, "Appleack! You need to stop this right now!" She reached out a hoof, only for it to be swatted away. Before she could react Applejack shoved her, sending her sprawling back into one of the bed posts.

Applejack glowered down at the remnants of the dresser and broke away a huge chunk with ease. Her cries had descended into incoherent roars, which she gave after every breath. She raised the splintered wood over her head and hurled it blindly across the room, sending it crashing through a tall glass window and tumbling to the courtyard below.

Rainbow shook the stars from her eyes and pounced at Applejack, knocking her onto her back and pinning her down. Even so, every kick Applejack made was nearly enough to throw her off, "Rarity, help me!" she cried as she forced her friend back down again.

A blue aura promptly enveloped Applejacks hooves, but even with the combined efforts of the other two they still moved several inches each time she tried to lash out. Rainbow leaned her head close to her friend's, "Applejack! You have to calm down! We're your friends! We just want to-"

"GET OFF'A ME!" Applejack gritted her teeth and delivered a powerful headbutt, catching Rainbow right above the eye and causing her to reel back and cry out in pain. Applejack wasted no time getting back to her hooves, and would've made a beeline straight for Dash were her hooves not weighted by Rarity's magical aura. Nevertheless she was still managing to close the distance slowly, still bellowing savagely after every breath.

Rarity put more energy into the spell, "Applejack stop! Stop it!"

The doors to the suite flung open, several guards darting inside and quickly evaluating the scene before tackling the earth pony to the floor and restraining her as she flailed and tried to lash at them.

One approached Rainbow Dash - currently keeled over and grasping at the area above her eye - to ensure she wasn't seriously injured, whilst another trotted over to Rarity, "Miss Rarity? What happened? What's wrong with Miss Applejack?"

Rarity looked past the guard at her friend, still writhing frantically, "She's... just received some news, terrible news. We all have. As you can see, she didn't take it very well."

The guard nodded, "Should we escort her elsewhere until she has calmed down?"

Rarity glanced back at Applejack, noting that her struggling was subsiding, and her shouts had been replaced with heavy, grunting breaths, "No, no thank you. Things are hard enough on her as it is."

"Very well. However, I'm afraid the Princesses must be informed of all disturbances within the castle, it's standard procedure." Rarity nodded, and the guard turned to two others by the door, "Drift, inform Princess Celestia. Bright, Princess Luna." The guards saluted and trotted outside.

Rarity turned her attention to Rainbow Dash, who was now standing, cradling her injury with a hoof and waving off the advice of the guard behind her. Blood was dripping from her hoof, "Rainbow Dash?" Rarity approached the pegasus, "Are you alright, dear?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"How bad is it?"

Rainbow winced as she released the pressure on her injury, revealing a nasty gash trailing from above her eye to the middle of her forehead, eliciting a gasp from Rarity, "Rainbow Dash, you need something on that right away."

Rainbow held up a hoof, "I said I'm fine, it can wait."

Applejack was still kicking out intermittently against the hold of the guards, to little effect. She glanced up as she heard hooves approaching from the side. When she registered it to be Rainbow Dash and Rarity, she snarled and lined up a barrage of terrible insults.

Then she saw the blood.

She stopped moving, her spiteful thoughts forgotten in an instant as she came to terms with harming her friend. She observed Rainbow with a blank expression for almost an entire minute before she spoke, "Rainbow Dash... Ah'm sorry... Ah'm so sorry..."

The guards shared a glance and cautiously released her, ready to pin her once again should she prove to be lying. She sat up and stared at the injury as Rainbow sat in front of her, "Ah didn't know what Ah was doin', Ah swear!" She sniffled loudly, "Ah'm so, so sorry."

Rainbow smiled slightly, "It's fine, it's fine, I'm alright."

Applejack drooped her head onto her Rainbow's shoulder, tears leaking down her face and onto her friend's mane.

Rainbow wrapped a foreleg around Applejack, pulling her in tight, her own mouth drawing into a thin line. She glanced past her, up at the smashed window, and the moon high in the sky beyond it.

The guards around the pair moved away, all collectively trotting to the door, with the exception of the stallion that stood beside Rarity. He glanced around briefly, "If I may, I'd respectfully recommend that the three of you move to an adjacent suite. It's bound to get cold in here after that, miss." He pointed up at the remnants of the window pane.

Rarity nodded, "Thank you for your help, I'll be sure to give my commendations of you and your guards to the Princesses. And yes, I think we will." She saw Applejack and Rainbow locked in a tight embrace, Applejack burying her muzzle deep into Rainbow's shoulder, "Soon, anyway. Best not to disturb her right now."

The guard gave a respectful tip of his head and stepped out, closing the doors behind him.

Rarity trotted to the space a window once occupied, feeling the cool night breeze ruffle through her fur. She looked out over Canterlot, down to Ponyville, and across the world beyond, and couldn't help but wonder if her friends were out there in the distance somewhere, looking back.

An icy chill ran up her spine, though be it from the cold, or her own thoughts, she didn't know.

After Pinkie had been welcomed back, hugged to near-asphyxiation and explained her dealings with Pinkamena the cave had lapsed into an odd silence. Of course, there had been other occasions where the five of them had spent time relaxing quietly - though these weren't all that common, due mainly to the involvement of Pinkie and Discord - but this time things felt different somehow.

Regardless of exactly why they were silent, it gave them all time to reflect on things. Time, Discord realised, that not everypony in the room should be spending alone with their thoughts. After persuading Twilight to resume her training as best she could under the circumstances he had intended to issue Pinkie and Fluttershy tasks of their own to keep them busy, but relented upon noticing that they were quite happy to watch Twilight practice instead.

With the others occupied, Discord turned to Angel, boredom already plastered across his face. The rabbit looked back warily, flinching as the draconequus snapped his fingers. Upon opening his eyes, however, the only change was that a table and chairs stood between them with a chessboard in the centre, the pieces already set up appropriately, "Care to pit your wits against the Master of Chaos and Paragon Puppeteer himself?"

Angel squinted and scrutinised the draconequus, hopping up onto the chair, then the table, deliberately slowly.

Discord grinned down at Angel, "Excellent! If you win I'll even throw in a carrot or two, sound like a deal?" He extended his paw to the bunny, a questioning look on his face.

Angel regarded the paw warily before fixing his eyes on Discord as he slowly extended his own and shook it carefully.

Discord laughed, the area by his head darkening as he leaned over Angel and bore into him with his demonic gaze, "Oh, I seem to have forgotten to mention that if you lose, I take your soul!"

Angel let his jaw drop in disbelief at both the monster above him and his own stupidity, at least until said monster slumped back into his seat, putting his face against his claw in apparent boredom, "Just kidding. Fluttershy would never forgive me." He cocked an eyebrow and the rabbit, who was furrowing his own, "White moves first."

Twilight cut off her magic, waited for the energies to disperse, then began channelling one more; giving her horn an appearance not too dissimilar to someone playing with a lighter. Whilst she couldn't push her limits and risk Discord having to intervene should she lose control, she could at least practice using small amounts of chaos magic. Nothing that could really prove useful or harmful at all, just a small exercise to allow her to become more accustomed to the feel and flow of chaos energies, as well as where to dissipate said energies before they became difficult to harness.

Fluttershy and Pinkie sat beside her, watching in fascination at how deep purple energies spiralled around her horn, and the way they vanished like a puff of lavender smoke whenever Twilight cut the spell. Twilight didn't understand why they seemed so entranced by the simple, repetitive, - and quite frankly - boring process, but after the events of the day she chalked it down to the two of them simply needing something else to focus on. Twilight knew she did, and she didn't mind anyway. The process was still monotonous, but at least having an audience made her focus a little harder on the task.

A chess piece shot over their heads, causing the three of them to jolt. It ricocheted off the wall and landed next to Pinkie, who scooped it up and examined it. Upon closer inspection they found it to be a black pawn, in the likeness of a pony. They all jumped again when it twitched and spoke wearily, "What a fool I was... to believe that there was glory to be found... on the battlefield."

The pawn looked up at Pinkie, who noticed that it was clutching at an area on its side, from which grey ooze was seeping out, "When you're actually there and... it's you or them, you realise something... They're just normal ponies like you and I... just fighting just to survive. Just pieces in a sick game played... by politicians and old stallions." Pinkie made some gentle hushing sounds as the miniature pony coughed, expelling some more of the grey ooze from its mouth.

Twilight deadpanned, "Oh for the love of-"

"Too late I realise... we're all the same... It doesn't matter if we're black, or white... we all bleed the same! We all bleed the same..." The pawn began shivering on Pinkie's hoof. It drew its sword and rested it beside itself, looking up at Pinkie, who's eyes were filling with tears, "G-Give this... to my son... Tell him... t-tell him that I... I..." The pawn went limp in Pinkie's hoof.

She keeled over, holding the piece tightly to her chest as she wept melodramatically, tears pouring from her eyes, "Y-You might have only been a pawn to them, but t-to me you were a brave, brave knight..."

Twilight had given up trying to focus on her magic completely as she grunted and tapped her friend, "Are you just about finished!?"

Pinkie looked up and shrugged, "Yeah, more or less." She dropped the piece to the floor and wiped the ooze off onto her coat, though both turned to dust a few seconds later.

"Thank you." Twilight began focusing the energies into her horn once again. A loud crunch resemblant of cracking glass filled the room, causing her to drop the spell, "What was that?"

All five of them scanned around in confusion until Fluttershy got up and trotted to her saddlebags, "I-It's probably just one of the vials cracking. They did get thrown about a little earlier." They nodded to her, though each wondered to themselves how such a small bottle could make such a loud sound. Fluttershy rummaged through her saddlebags, humming occasionally between the clinking of glass bottles. She stopped and gasped audibly.

Twilight glanced at her worriedly, "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Fluttershy pulled her saddlebags over to the pair and withdrew her Element, setting it down on the floor between them. Twilight and Pinkie gasped too at the sight. A large crack trailed diagonally all the way across the crystal butterfly from the top left to the bottom right, a web of smaller cracks stretching across the surface. Twilight went to pick it up, looking at Fluttershy for permission. She nodded, and Twilight brought it up to eye level, "I don't understand... The Elements don't just break, it's impossible! They're the most powerful items in Equestrian history." She passed the Element to Fluttershy, "What the heck is going on?" They all stared in bewilderment, not sure what to make of it.

Discord moved his piece absent-mindedly as he looked upon the tarnished Element of Kindness. A loud squeak from behind him drew his attention. Angel struck his chest victoriously and thrust his paw down at the board. Discord's King was now holding his hooves high in the air in surrender. Checkmate.

Discord didn't so much as blink, snapping his fingers and materialising three carrots beside Angel without a word before turning his attention back to the Element immediately, much to Angel's confusion.

His expression became grim as he slotted together the pieces of the puzzle and looked upon his only friend with pity in his eyes; hoping against hope that his assumptions were wrong.

'Fluttershy...'

Author's Notes:

So, there you have it. We have consequences, and we have contingencies, who'd have expected it? I know I said this chapter was going to be short, but hey, I managed to write more AND get it out on schedule this time around!

I'd like to see what you guys think has happened to the Element of Kindness, so please don't hesitate to post your speculations below! All will be revealed next chapter, but for now I'm going to leave you guessing >:D

Anyway, as always thanks for reading, leave your comments below and have a nice day!

- Mikemarksman, bringing you guys the scope of things to come, and scoping out cover artists.