Chapter 14

Arrival

Preston clung to one of the many rooftops in the area, his camera held up by the two mechanical arms that attached to the device on his neck. It was an old mechanism that he had devised so that he could take pictures while his hooves were occupied, a talent that had proved to be more than valuable on a few occassions. Part of him was excited to be back in the fray of his old job, but any excitement he had was immediately stifled.

Trying to keep his heart from racing, Preston surveyed the surrounding area. It had taken hours of searching, but he had finally found the entrance to this underground city through a mixture of dumb luck and expertise. At the moment, he was resting on the side of a tilted, thatch-roofed cottage on the very edge of the town, making as many observations as he could before he ventured further. From what Preston knew of this place, it was always referred to as a town, but this was one of the largest cities he had ever seen, almost as large as Canterlot.

Making sure that the flash was off, Preston, began to take a series of pictures of his immediate surroundings for future reference. He was going to need every detail he could dig up if he was going to convince everypony that this place existed. In truth, Preston didn’t know anything either, other than the fact that the city was supposed to be a secret that only the mayoral staff and nightwatch knew about.

Consoling himself in the fact that everypony else was safe at the moment, Preston put the camera down and cautiously peeked over the top of the roof. In spite of the fact that this entire city was underground, the sprawling suburbs in front of him were constructed out of some of the most brightly colored materials that he had ever seen. Everything was decorated with unique splashes of paint, making the whole city look like one of the ghastly modern art exhibitions that he had attended back in Baltimare.

One of the most interesting aspects was the way that everything was arranged. All of the colorful buildings were gathered around a dull, earthy spire that reached from the bottom of the cave to the very top, one that only appeared to be decorated by a few spartan windows. Everything was set up to face this spire, but it was so bland in comparison to the rest of the unique cityscape.

As quietly as he could, Preston snapped a few more pictures and began to rotate the lens of his homemade camera. The more that he focused on his work, the easier it would be to forget about Red, but his mind kept wandering back to her. Somepony here must be blackmailing her, forcing her to orchestrate these disappearances. Red wouldn’t do anything like that of her own volition, not even if the royal sisters themselves gave the order.

Through his lens, he could make out a few ponies in the streets, all of them gussied up in the most bizarre fashions that Preston had ever seen. There were only a few that he could spot walking down the street, but it was difficult to see anything clearly through the myriad of colorful houses.

Sighing, Preston began to wonder if he was doing the right thing. He’d run off by himself in the vain hope that he could clear Red’s name, but he had absolutely no leads outside of a hidden city that may or may not be involved somehow. If he jumped out into the open, they’d probably take him in the same way that they’d taken the rest of Everdale, but he wouldn’t be able to get any information if he crept around in the shadows.

I’ve come this far, haven’t I? No reason to go back. Let’s see if my old journalism skills are still up to par.

Steeling himself, Preston pushed himself away from the roof. “Hang on, Red,” he whispered, swallowing air. “I’ll clear things up for ya.”

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Page Inkwell stared at the six ponies in front of her as they swarmed around the statue. They wouldn’t find any clues unless they had been left behind by Preston, but Page had the sinking feeling that he wouldn’t be careless enough to leave any evidence behind. She hadn’t known him that well before the disappearances started happening, but after he had become Red’s secretary she saw just how cunning he could be when push came to shove. It made her wonder what kind of journalism he had practiced before he moved to Everdale.

Thinking about Preston reminded her that they needed to get moving, since he was probably miles ahead of them by now. With a sigh, Page trotted into the stream of light that surrounded the statue and gave it one last look. The fact that one of the heads had been knocked off was disconcerting, but Page forced herself not to think about its meaning, just like she forced herself not to think about Mezza. They would deal with her condition later.

“Alright,” Page called out in a harsh whisper, just in case there was any security around the entrance. “Let’s get going. Preston’s probably found the town itself by now, so we have no time to lose.”

None of them directly objected to her order, but she could still hear them whispering to each other. Something inside of Page was irked by the fact that none of them seemed to be taking this seriously, but she did her best to ignore it. Back when those six had become famous, Page had daydreamed about being one of them, but she had thankfully grown out of that foalish trend. The way Page saw them now, these heroes were nothing more than fillies playing pretend with super-powered toys.

Without waiting for a response, she continued on past the statue and into the darkness again, having to look away to avoid meeting Mezza’s frozen stare. She didn’t have time to deal with the guilt of dragging Mezza into this, not when other ponies were in danger as well. Those six were so—

“Ow!” Page cried out as she walked headfirst into something, recoiling back. Blinking, she let her eyes adjust to the light, only to find herself staring at a solid wall of rock.

“Uh, it’s kind of a dead end over there,” one of the six ponies behind her declared. “I thought you knew that when you brought us here.”

Page whipped around and glared at the rainbow-maned pegasus who had spoken, eyes narrowed. “Well pardon me if I have a little bit of trouble seeing in the dark!” she hissed.

As soon as the words left her mouth, something in her mind clicked on, giving her a strange sense of deja vu. Deep down, she felt like she was forgetting something important, but she couldn’t place her hoof on it. Whatever it was, it couldn’t have been important, since Cadance’s truth spell hadn’t brought it up. Page would never admit it, but some of her memories still felt slightly hazy.

“You okay?” Rarity asked, sounding concerned. “Twilight might know a healing spell, or—”

“I’m fine,” Page protested, glaring up at the Element of Generosity and trying to ignore the sudden headache. “If this is a dead end, we might have to start looking elsewhere.”

“Nope!” came a shout from the other side of the statue, where the obnoxious pink pony of the group was examining something. “Let’s see what this button does!”

Before Page could object, Pinkie slammed her hoof onto something. Instead of a cave-in of some kind, like Page had expected, a small shelf of rocks to her left swung open, letting some light seep into the dark cave.

“That... was awesome!” Rainbow declared, immediately flying over to the fake door and taking a look to see what was behind it.

“Hey, what is it?’ Page called out, galloping as quickly as she could to join the colorful pegasus.

There, behind the false door, was a small chamber with a lit torch on display, illuminating what appeared to a row of wooden minecarts in the back. Baffled, Page stepped inside to get a better look, only to find that there really was a bunch of carts on a well-worn track. The track led into a dark tunnel, and while Page couldn’t see the end of it, she had a feeling that they had just found their ticket into the hidden town.

“Oh my gosh!” Rainbow squeaked, pushing Page aside and darting into the small room. “This is just like when Daring Do was trying to find the ancient gems in the Amazon, but then Ahuizotl swooped in and—”

“Rainbow, focus!” Twilight called out from behind them. “This is probably how they get in and out, using a system of minecarts like this. As much as I’d like to take the time to study this and make a full equipological study of this city, we need to get moving.”

Page was glad that Twilight had jumped in, otherwise she might have started talking to Rainbow about the Daring Do series. It was one of her guilty pleasures, something to pass the time when she and Nightowl had run out of stories to tell, but she would never admit to anypony how much she actually knew about the books. Coughing, Page silently reminded herself of her mission, even though the prospect of a wild minecart ride was enough to distract her from the disastrous events of the past hour.

“Hm,” Twilight continued, making her way inside of the cramped room. “It’d be dangerous to fit more than two ponies on a cart at once, since they’re so small, but at least we’ll all have partners.”

Page was about to agree, but the memory of Mezza punched her in the gut before she could say anything. No, there used to be eight of them — an even number — but now there were only seven. Twilight, because she had insisted on carrying Mezza along, was going to have to go by herself.

It seemed that Twilight and the others realized it shortly after Page did, leading to an awkward stare shared between all seven of them.

Page was the first to break the silence. “Fine then, we’ll split up like we did before, but this time in pairs. I don’t care who goes with who, but this time, make sure that nopony gets separated, alright?”

There were murmurs of approval from the six of them as they slowly shifted around into pairs. The two pegasi, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, had decided to go together while the annoying pink one had thankfully chosen to go with Rarity, who didn’t look too pleased with the idea.

“Looks like that leaves the two of us,” the remaining pony, Applejack, called from outside of the chamber. “Hope that’s alright with ya.”

Page, squeezing her way out of the small room so that she could breathe, nodded. “It’s fine. If I had to pick a partner, you’d be on top of my list. You’ve got a good head on your shoulders from what I’ve seen.”

“Aw, shucks, don’t flatter me like that,” Applejack sighed, looking away. “If anything, I’ve just been useless this whole time. Twi’s been the one who solved everything, but all I could do was sit back and watch.”

“She didn’t solve it, you know,” Page insisted, not caring if anypony else heard her. “So hey, maybe sitting back and waiting for information was the best idea after all.”

Applejack winced, but remained as calm as ever. “I don’t mean to offend ya, but maybe you should listen to your own advice as well. We ain’t gonna figure anything out until we get to the end of this rail, after all.”

The words stung, but Page kept her frustration from boiling over. There was something about the way that the Element of Honesty spoke that made everypony listen to her, a trait that Page admired. Even though she knew that Applejack was right, and that she had been jumping to conclusions just as much as Twilight had, she wasn’t going to give up.

Silently, Page watched as Pinkie dragged Rarity into one of the carts, the prim unicorn looking more than hesitant to continue. “Please, Pinkie!” Rarity pleaded. “Maybe we should go alone! You see, we'd cover more ground, and—”

“C’mon, Rarity, put your hooves up!”

“Wait, wha—Aaaaaaaaaaah!”

The piercing scream faded away as Pinkie gave the minecart a mighty shove and hopped inside, sending them careening into the dark cave ahead. Page didn’t want to imagine what it would be like to be left alone with the hyperactive pink pony for more than a few minutes at a time, so she was glad that Rarity had taken one for the team.

“Hurry it up!” ordered Rainbow as she grabbed Fluttershy by the tail and forcefully tossed her into the next cart. “We’re gonna lose them if we don’t get our flanks in gear!”

“W-well, maybe we should take things slow! I mean, th-this track looks awfully old, so—”

“There’s no time! Hey AJ, could you give us a kickstart?”

“Don’t mind if I do!”

With a resounding crack!, Applejack sent the cart sailing down into the tunnels as another scream echoed through the chamber. Swallowing air, Page began to wonder if riding with the farm pony was such a good idea after all.

“Twi, you go next,” Applejack offered, stepping out of the way and motioning towards the next cart in line. “Me and Page can get ourselves a running start, so we can help ya out if ya want.”

“A-actually, I think we’ll take it slow,” Twilight stammered anxiously, gingerly climbing into the cart and levitating the statue in with her. Page had to look away to maintain her resolve. “But could you give me a second first? I’m going to lower the barrier so that it won’t drain my energy anymore.”

“If you insist, sugarcube. Just take care of yourself, ‘kay?”

“Can do. And just to be sure, I set up a sensor barrier in front of the minecarts, just in case somepony is tailing us. Rarity didn't mention it when she went through, but I figured I would let you know. See you at the bottom?”

“See you at the bottom.”

Page, eyes drilling into the floor, heard the squeaky wheels slowly fading off into the distance. Part of her was glad that she didn’t have to look at Mezza’s frightened face anymore, but the other part was worried that something might happen to her while they were separated. Page already felt responsible for what had happened to her, but she would never forgive herself if they couldn’t find a way to bring Mezza back to normal.

“Once we get down there, stay on guard,” Page ordered. “The real culprits are probably waiting for us. One of them’s already made their move.”

“Who, Mulchy?” Applejack asked, frowning. “We don’t know anything about her, so don’t get your hopes up for this mystery mare to prove your friends innocent. For one, we don’t even know what the hay she looks like!”

“It’s Dolce, but I’ve got a pretty good idea,” Page whispered to herself, running over the scene in her head one last time. “I’m pretty sure that she’s real, if only because she left a few subtle hints back in the forest. She was careless, so now I know exactly how she managed to petrify Mezza. I just... wish we could’ve stopped it somehow.”

“Hey, you feelin’ alright?” Applejack asked, catching Page by surprise. “If it’s about what I said earlier, you can—”

“No, you’re right. I’m being a little hasty. I know. I just hope I’m doing the right thing.”

“Are you still worried about that? C’mon, sugarcube, if you’re always worried about that, you ain’t gonna get anything done. Now, lemme ask ya this: why did you lead us out here in the first place?”

Page hesitated, wondering if it was a trick question. “Well, I want to prove that my friends are innocent.”

“Then you’re doing the right thing. Now, if you’re done mopin’, I believe we’ve got a train to catch.”

As Applejack leaned up against the next cart, Page felt a welling of admiration for the earth pony in front of her. Twilight Sparkle always seemed to make things more complicated than they really were, but Applejack was the kind of pony that got right to the heart of the matter. By themselves, the two would be impossible to put up with, but together, they started to seem more like the heroes that Page had imagined them to be. Their friendship was truly fascinating.

“Alright, here we go,” announced Page as she hopped into the minecart, making herself comfortable. Maybe her friends really were guilty. Maybe they weren’t. Either way, they were still her friends, and Page was going to help them. “All aboard the Dank, Dark Express! Next stop, Eccondale!”

“That’s the spirit!” Applejack called out, giving the cart a powerful push before hopping inside.

Heart pounding with an odd mix of excitement and fear, Page readied herself for what awaited her at the end of the dark, yawning tunnel.

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“Oh man, this isn’t good....”

Red winced as she heard one of her captors, Shining Armor, echoed her thoughts. The barrier that they had been following had just vanished into thin air, leaving Red to imagine the worst possible reasons. Had Twilight been attacked? If so, it would have been at least 10 minutes since then, so she would be long gone at this point. Another victim.

“Pick up the pace, you three!” came a harsh bark from behind them, but Red didn’t respond. Shining could threaten them all he wanted, but there was nothing he could do to convince Red that they were going in the right direction.

No matter which way Red walked, the outcome would be the same. If she took a step to the left, all of the ponies around her would still meet the same fate as if she took a step to the right, reminding her of how powerless she was. No matter what she did, it was too late to save any of them, including herself.

Despite that, she continued walking forward, if only because there was nothing left to do. Sometimes, Red wished that she wasn’t as smart as she was, if only so that she could maintain some kind of naive optimism about the magic of friendship triumphing over everything. If she could only—

“Wait, what’s this?” Cadance asked, making Red jump. Had they somehow found the entrance already? No, based on their surroundings, they were going the wrong direction.

“What, all of these sticks?” Shining asked, turning back to face the group and giving the three prisoners a suspicious glare. “Well, now that you mention it, they’re all lined up. Did Twilight do this?”

“Probably,” the alicorn mused. “Back when I foalsat her, she left a trail of books leading outside to trick me into thinking she’d run away, so I wouldn’t be surprised if she put these here as well. That is, unless one of you knows which way we’re supposed to go.”

Red winced as Cadance and Shining eyed them warily. This was another pointless crossroad, a seemingly important decision that wouldn’t make a difference in the larger scheme of things. If she led them the wrong way, it would only delay the inevitable, so Red wasted no time in pointing off to her right, voluntarily leading them right to the entrance.

Expecting a thinly veiled threat from Caesura, Red turned to face the off-white unicorn. Much to her surprise, Red was only met with a silent, cautionary glare, which spoke volumes more than anything else Caesura could have done.

“Thanks,” came Cadance’s kind voice, making Red turn to face her. “I’m glad you’ve decided to cooperate. Now c’mon, let’s get moving.”

Red’s apathy faded and frustration took its place. At the root of Red’s frustration was a burning sense of jealousy; she was jealous of Cadance’s ability to be happy at a time like this, even after everything she had been through so far. Why couldn’t Red be so blindly optimistic like that?

As their trek continued in silence, Red could feel the acidic gaze from Caesura on her back. She tried to ignore it, focusing on the path ahead and reminding herself that they would arrive at any minute. I’m sorry Caesura, but there’s no reason to panic. There’s nothing I can do anyway.

After one of the longest minutes, the five ponies arrived at the vine-covered cliff face where the trail of sticks ended. The sight filled Red with a sense of impending disaster, but at least she could pretend that the Elements of Harmony hadn’t found the actual entrance. It was a slim chance, but it was better than the alternative.

Pulling back the curtain of greenery, Shining Armor took a quick look inside, apparently checking to make sure that it was safe. “Looks like a normal cave to me,” he called out, turning back to face the group. “This had better not be a trap.”

Caesura grinned. “Nope, it’s totally not a trap. It’s completely safe. Absolutely fine.”

“Right,” Shining groaned as he lit up his horn and hesitantly ventured inside. “But still, this seems like a normal cave, but — Woah, nevermind!”

Despite the urgency of the situation, Red didn’t have the energy to act worried. Instead, she just followed along with what everypony else did, running on autopilot. As they ran inside, she thought about Preston again, causing her mood to spiral even further downwards. Had he found this place as well? If only he had been smart enough to accept the truth and let things go....

Time continued to tick along, leaving Red in her own world. The first blow came to her when she noticed that one of the heads on the statue had been broken off, lying in pieces on the floor. She couldn’t be sure if the Elements of Harmony had done that, but Red had the feeling that this had been done to convey a message to anypony that found it.

As if that omen wasn’t bad enough, one last sight made her heart sink all of the way into her stomach. The hidden door to the right of the statue had been left wide open, confirming Red’s fears and sealing her fate. The Elements of Harmony had found Eccondale. She was too late.

The realization dawned on her with the force of a speeding chariot, launching her out of her daydreams and back into reality. Shining Armor was cautiously creeping up to the secret room while Cadance, Caesura, and Nightowl lagged behind.

Red’s first instinct was to try and stop him before he sent himself down the rails, but that wouldn’t accomplish anything. It was too late to stop them, even if she somehow managed to convince them that Twilight and her friends would be perfectly safe down there. There was nothing to gain by stalling them any longer.

But... then there’s nothing to lose.

As soon as Red realized her situation, she felt a peculiar lightness inside of her. Ever since she had stepped up to be the mayor, she had been shouldering an impossibly heavy burden, one that placed the fate of everypony she knew in her hooves. Now that her actions were completely inconsequential, she felt as light as a feather, since nothing in her power could prevent the inevitable. There was no way forward anymore, but that also meant there was no way back.

“Hey!” Red shouted, her throat sore from maintaining her silence for such a long time. Her exclamation caught the attention of everypony in the room, but a certain mangy unicorn was already staring daggers at her. Red, with her fears and inhibitions pounding in her chest, returned the threatening glare with a mocking grin. Caesura wouldn’t be able to stop her anymore. It was time to take action.

“Red?” Princess Cadance asked, turning around and motioning for her husband to step back from the room. “Are you feeling okay? I know it was rude of us to force you to come along with us, but—”

“I’m fine,” Red coughed, starting to make her way towards the once-hidden room and stopping just outside of the doorway. “This has gone on long enough. Before we go any further, I have something to say. Princess, I hope you don’t take this personally, but I hope that you have your truth spell ready for me.”

Red continued walking as the other four ponies stared at her, but she refused to look back at them. Even though she had nothing to lose, there was still a trace of hesitation left inside of her, a small trace that reminded her of why she had remained silent in the first place. Regardless, the worst case scenario had already come to pass, so there was nothing she could to make the situation any more abysmal than it already was. Part of her wondered if this half-baked plan was actually going to work, since she had no idea how Cadance’s truth spell worked, but either way, it was time to take a stand. Red Tape wasn’t going to be pushed around anymore.

Thinking of Preston, Red smiled warmly to herself. He was half of the reason that she was actually going through with this crazy scheme. The vain hope of his forgiveness was enough to keep her from giving up. Planting her hooves firmly in the ground, she stared Cadance directly in the eyes.

“I’m going to make a confession.”

The alicorn, eyes wide, glanced back at Nightowl, who winced at the mere mention of it. The watchpony took a step backwards, eyes wide. “B-but—”

“Don’t try and talk me out of it, Nightowl! I just... don’t care anymore. Princess, if you don’t mind, I would like to speak the truth.”

Cadance, faltering, looked back at her husband. “A-are you sure? Maybe we should—”

“Just do it!”

Praying that her nerves didn’t give out, Red watched as the alicorn’s horn lit up, creating an ethereal heart in the air between the two of them. In that instant... Red saw everything.

Her life flashed before her eyes in the most literal sense. All of her memories, both good and bad, began to float to the surface of her consciousness, drowning out her fear and replacing it with a constant wash of emotions. The excitement of being a filly, the pride of finding her cutie mark in student council, the anxiety of her first day on the job.... All of it crashed into her at once, leaving her momentarily stunned.

But then, her memories of the past month and a half began to surface, bringing the intense self-hatred and impotence that accompanied them. She saw her confrontation with Dotted Line, her desperate attempts to keep everypony under control, and her helplessness in the face of danger. Entire body shaking with unseen effort, she focused on those memories, letting them burrow deep into her thoughts so that she would never forget them.

Red let herself be overtaken by the powerful scenes, unable to think of anything else. This was the truth of what she felt. This was the truth of the last month and a half. With excruciating effort, Red drew and shaky breath and prepared the two words that she had been repeating to herself ever since Twilight had exposed her for the worthless mare that she was.

“I-I’m... guilty.”

As soon as the words parted with her lips, Red felt like she could breathe again. It had been such a struggle to say the words for some reason, but they had still come out. The swirl of memories around her finally slowed, allowing her to rest for a brief moment... but that moment didn’t last forever. In fact, it barely lasted more than a second.

“Red Tape,” echoed Cadance’s voice from all sides of her consciousness. The genuine concern in her voice was impossible to ignore, making Red’s breath catch in her throat again. “Tell us. What are you guilty of?”

The words struck deep in Red’s heart, stirring up even more memories and emotions for her to confront: Page’s friendship from when they were fillies, Nightowl’s pride when he joined the nightwatch and got his cutie mark, Caesura’s smile when she first arrived, and the first time that she had talked with Preston. They all assaulted her at once, laying her heart bare and branding it with the pain of failure as all of the memories played out, leading all of the way up to the present day.

All this time, Red had been trying to run away from the guilt that she had been hiding, but now that Cadance’s spell had forced her to accept it, the cracks in her emotional armor began to spread. No, armor wasn’t the right metaphor anymore. It was more like the walls of a dam that had been on the verge of breaking for months..

Words spilled out of her mouth uncontrollably. “I’m guilty of lying to my friends. I’m guilty of not being able to protect all the ponies I care about. I’m guilty of being the worst mayor of Everdale. I’m guilty of being unable to save Everdale. I’m guilty of betraying everypony I know. I’m guilty! I’m guilty!”

Amidst the maelstrom of repressed emotions, a soothing voice cut through the storm, one that wasn’t berating her for all of the mistakes she had made. It was a kind voice, one that miraculously quieted the violent winds around her.

“So you believe that you are guilty of those things. That is the truth, but something tells me that this isn’t the truth you wanted to reveal to us. So instead, I will ask you directly. Are you guilty of any crimes involving the disappearances in Everdale?”

The answer nearly slipped out, but Red violently bit her tongue. Originally, her plan had been to only say that she was guilty, bending the truth so that they would accept her as the villain and give up on trying to help her. There was no point in being anything but the villain anymore! The violent tempest of her thoughts roared louder than ever, begging her to let one, final truth be known. Initially, she fought it, refusing to admit all of the mistakes she had made, but one painful memory refused to be ignored.

Red was there... back in room 201 of the Everdale Hotel. Preston’s gentle hooves were wrapped around her shoulders, his soft wings shielding her from the rest of the world. They were willing to forgive her. He was willing to forgive her. That brief moment in time, that flicker of light, had been the only time she had felt safe in months.

The memory lingered, reminding her of the warm sensation she had the joy of experiencing. No, she couldn’t ignore that any longer. She had betrayed the only pony that cared for her more than anything else, sending him off to a dangerous city to try and save her from herself. Red couldn’t take it anymore. She was tired of having everything be decided for her, just like it had been for the rest of her life. It was time to take a stand. I may have nothing to lose... but now I have everything to gain, don’t I?

“I’m innocent.”

Silence. The rush of memories receded back into the recesses of Red’s consciousness, leaving her with nothing but an alien sense of weightlessness. She had done it. She had finally spoken the truth.

Holding her breath and opening her eyes, Red realized that she could barely see anything in front of her, since everything was covered in a sky-blue haze. Thinking that she had been crying, Red brought her hoof up to wipe her tears, only to find that her cheeks were dry. She hadn’t been crying at all.

As soon as Red realized what the blurry hue was, something jerked her backwards, punctuated by a blinding pain in the back of her head. As the world spun around her, Red was barely conscious of the fact that she was still moving. No, the floor was moving. It shook violently beneath her as the faint smudge of light in her vision began to fade away. Why?

Dazed and confused, Red’s eyelids began to feel heavy. Her head hurt. Her back hurt. Everything hurt... everything but her heart.

As consciousness left her, she smiled.

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Caesura let out a sigh of both regret and relief. Her glowing horn slowly began to lose its hazy, sky-blue hue as she let her levitation spell fade away.

Before she could even draw another breath, she felt the constricting sensation of being wrapped in a levitation spell, one so powerful that it nearly suffocated her. She had known that this would happen, but she had to shut Red up somehow, otherwise she might have said too much.

“Cadance, go after her!” Shining Armor barked. “See if you can catch up to her before she gets too far, I’ll stay here!”

“Don’t bother,” Caesura stated coldly, struggling to even breathe from the pressure of the levitation spell around her. “That’s a whole system of rails down there. Even I don’t know where she’ll end up. She’s also unconscious, so she won’t be getting off of that cart until it reaches the end of the—”

“You!” the furious stallion bellowed, smashing his hoof into the ground and choking her words off mid-sentence. “Start talking! Tell us everything you know!”

“O-or what?” Caesura gasped, desperately trying to breathe. “You’re gonna send me off to the Canterlot dungeons? I-I’m pretty sure that I’m on my way there already.”

“Shining!” Cadance burst out. “You’re hurting her! Cut it out!”

Slowly, the crushing pressure on Caesura’s chest lightened, allowing her to gasp for air again. She had known that it was much easier to levitate a pegasus, which was the only way that she had been able to toss Red into the cart, but that stallion’s magic was immensely powerful. It was a miracle that she was still conscious.

“Talk to me,” Shining ordered, narrowing his intimidating gaze on her. “What’s down there? Where’s my sister? Why was Red pretending to be guilty this whole time?”

Still coughing, Caesura considered answering him just so that she didn’t incur his wrath again. There would be no stopping him from going into the tunnel and finding Eccondale, so Caesura had nothing to lose. “It’s Everdale’s sister city,” she explained, panting. “That’s where they all went.”

“But what about Red?” asked Cadance as she stepped in between her husband and his prisoner. “Why was she lying this whole time?”

The sudden concern that the alicorn showed caught Caesura off guard. “I... don’t know,” she admitted softly, looking away at the darkness of the cavern. “She wouldn’t say a word, not even to me. But honestly, do you think you would have believed her if she denied it?”

That shut the two of them up, giving Caesura a moment to regain her composure. Deep down, she felt a small amount of pity for Red, but she wouldn’t let it show. The poor pegasus had been jerked around her entire life by forces beyond her control, just like Caesura herself, but Red had rolled with the punches without even wincing. The only guess that Caesura had about why Red pretended to be guilty was that she seemed to have this innate desire to listen to what others tell her to do. When somepony else ordered her to do something, she instinctively complied, just like she had with the letter on the fountain.

But that doesn’t change the fact that she still betrayed me.

“Caesura?” came Nightowl’s voice from behind her, startling her. He had been surprisingly quiet since they had left the jail.

“Wh-what?” she stammered in response, putting on her thorny facade again to mask her emotions. She couldn’t turn around thanks to the levitation spell on her, but she could hear the quiver in his voice. “Don’t tell me you’re going soft on me too.”

“Just give it up already,” she heard him sigh. “Y-you didn’t have to do that to Red. It’s over. I know it sounds strange, but... I’m glad that Cadance used her truth spell on me. It reminded me of how wrong this is. Of how selfish I’ve been. I know I have no room to talk, but it’s time to do the right thing, Caesura. Let’s take them down there to meet her. Maybe we can reach some kind of understanding.”

“No!” Caesura shrieked, finally at her limit. She let her frustrations bubble to the surface, finally removing the mask that she had been wearing, letting her emotions flare in the open. Memories of her entire life flashed before her eyes, reminding her of everything she had put up with throughout the years. “That’s not how things work, you dimwit! You don’t get it! They’re just going to—”

Just as Caesura finally managed to turn herself around to face the watchpony, the levitation spell tightened around her again, cutting her off before she could finish.

Caesura wished that she had the energy to turn and face the two royal ponies behind her. They were the reason that everything had fallen apart! And what had caused them to arrive in Everdale at the critical moment? Dumb luck! And then that worthless princess and her truth spell...! What had that evil witch done to Nightowl?!

“Y-you!” she croaked, barely able to form a single syllable. It took every ounce of energy she had to draw a single breath.

“I’m taking them down to the city,” Nightowl stated firmly, “and you’re not stopping me. I’m grateful for everything you’ve done, but... this is just too much. Even if everything does fall apart, it’s for the best. This place shouldn’t exist. Dotted Line was right.”

Caesura’s fury blazed, but she could do nothing against her restraints. Nightowl and Red had both betrayed her, just like everypony else she knew. She could count the number of trustworthy ponies on her two hooves, but it was only a matter of time before one of them threw her away like the rest already had. The only one she could trust was now in grave danger, and Caesura couldn’t do anything to help her.

As her vision began to fade, she made one last effort at breaking free from the levitation spell. It was useless. She was trapped. Her thoughts became jumbled and her movement became sluggish, but with her last lucid moment, she could only think of one thing.

I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have doubted you. You were right... about everything....