Jay had gotten to the safe house and they had admitted him without a word. The healers were gentle and didn't ask questions. They put him in an empty ward so as not to wake any of the other ponies staying there. They cleaned and bandaged his wounds, placing healing spells on the wounds that were still weeping blood and his wing, which had just been pulled out of place. With his wing set and everything wrapped up, food was brought and his weapons where taken with the promise of their return when he left.

The sleep seemed so inviting and the relaxed, fast efficiency of the healers was soothing. But Jay's mind raced. He was unable to completely relax with the thought of Clockwise and Bird still out in the night. It had occurred to him now that he was thinking clearer that maybe sending Clockwise after Bird had not been a good move. Sure, Clock was smart and resourceful but she was also rather sentimental and there was no way that she would stand a chance in a fight. Bird needed someone to reign her in and Clockwise could talk some sense into her but, if there was already a conflict what could the tinker do? Jay told the healers to expect two more ponies before they left him. He lay in the bed, every part of him hurt or was sore and guilt clenched his stomach. While he lay in safety, his friend and sister where out there. He had to go to them, but what could he do? Common sense told him that he would be more useless than Clockwise and would just be dead weight but, the nagging sensation told him he was failing as a brother and a friend. What if Bird hurt her wing? She relied on them heavily when fighting and although her talent wasn't flying related, if she lost that, her chances of winning against an experienced fighter was slim. What if Clockwise was drawn into a fight and killed? What if Bird kept fighting and they both died? What if Hew couldn't find Bird and Clock spend the rest of the night searching for a pony who was gone? What if they never came back? What if he never found out what happened to them?

Jay lay there, unable to sleep unable to stop thinking of the worse possible situation. His thoughts growing darker and his chest tight. Almost against his will, Jay fell into a restless sleep. As usual, his dreams were filled with the dead, some long gone and others new from that very night. These were the nightmares that filled his dreams, all of the ponies he had killed. All of the wrongs he had done to them. All he had stolen from them, their life, their loves, their future. Tonight, two more bodies hung in his dreams, two that he had never cut into but their deaths would weigh on him all the same. Added to the normal torments of sleep, Jay saw Bird and Clockwise laying before him with all of the nameless others he had stolen everything from to get nothing.

Only in sleep did all of Jay's masks that he showed the world fall away. Only in sleep could he not lie to himself to cope with what his life had become. In the day Jay could always keep up his walls. His lies. His masks. It was all for Bird. Be cheerful, be kind, be strong, she needed him. He had to protect her from herself. He had to guild her. It was only in sleep could he admit that he needed Bird more than she would ever need him. He could leave this life and start over and Bird would be just as safe as if he had been with her. Only in sleep did Jay ever admit to himself how broken Bird really was and how unfixable that break had become.

Hew's inner workings were jarred as he hit the brick wall but he could feel his mistress drawing away from him. That was the goal. Mistress leave safely. Distract black unicorn. Keep Mistress safe. He was more or less unhurt so he shifted to his feet and launched into the air again. Hew swooped towards the black unicorn, preparing to dive away from the bolts of magic, holding the screeching voice box in one bronze claw. He swerved as the unicorn started blasting magic at him again.

Suddenly something changed. Hew knew something was different and the sudden shift caused him to miscalculate and dive too low to the unicorn. A strong green magic crashed into him, throwing him back into a wall again. Hew barley registered his damage, all of his focus was on the change. Something had become wrong. Something that was not meant to be. In that instant that the something changed everything, his mistress was stopped in her retreat. Hew did not know how he knew something was wrong but he knew it to be true. That which was not to happen had happened and now everything was different.

It seemed that the black unicorn had noticed too, his eyes were drawn in the direction that Hew's Mistress was. Hew was in the air and attacked the unicorn's face but again he was hit by that green aura and this time, the unicorn followed him to where he was thrown. Another bolt of magic destroyed the voice box and then the unicorn turned and started toward where Clockwise and Blue Bird were. Hew struggled to stand, now registering the bent feathers and disassembled leg, damaged when the voice box was destroyed.

Hew righted himself as much as he could and tried to forced his flight spell to levitate him a few centimeters off the ground. He was incapable of this and tried to balance on one leg to get up, he opened his wings and tried beat upward, his wings scraping on the cobble street. He managed to gain some altitude, his balance was off only when he has a few feet up could he right himself. Hew had no way to feel pain but it was odd sending signals to his leg to find a lack of acknowledgement or movement. He flew clumsily but was able to get high enough to see the magical signature of the black unicorn and Blue Bird facing each other, his mistress was behind Blue Bird with the magical signature of another young earth pony and unicorn. Hew saw a difference in the earth pony and the unicorn. They were the change. Their difference was not like the black unicorn's, no, they were both exactly what they seemed to be, but their magical signatures seemed to clash with the world around them. It was unlike anything that Hew had ever seen before, it was like their very presence was editing the magical signature of everything around them, like ripples in a pond. It made Hew unsure. He could feel it effecting him and he was unsure if it was good or not. He only knew that he had to stop the black unicorn. He sped up, he heard his mistress's call to him and the other pony say something, addressing the other unicorn as "Red". Hew didn't bother with this and flew into the face of the black unicorn, he pecked and beat the unicorn with his wings and almost immediately magic hit him directly in the chess, as he was flung back he knew that his efforts had been fruitless, he also knew that his animation spell had been damaged somehow. For the first time in his existence, Hew felt his wings grow heavy like the metal that they were. His vision blurred and the last thing he registered was crashing into a crate and hitting the ground.

“Undo? What? Do you think I time travel?” Red hissed, his ears back and his eyes wide.

They had jumped into high stress situations before but for the first time, the knowledge that there had to be a good ending was gone. This wasn't supposed to happen, Stasis knew a reader shouldn't ever be able to change the course of a story. No matter what you did in a Magic Book or Comic, the outcome was always the same, or the book's characters would start to fix the situation themselves, like a 'You lost this round, read again'. Readers didn't affect the story. Why was this even possible? Red's bending the rules seemed to have bent more than just the guidelines readers went by but the stories' as well.

The night seemed to be holding it's breath. Bird and Pathos looked at each other, hostility etched in every one of Bird's features while Pathos remained blank like a slate. Stasis could have sworn they stood there for an hour, Bird flapping rhythmically to keep aloft and Pathos barely breathing.

It was broken by a clatter behind them and a lopsided bronze form flew over them and launched itself at Pathos. One of Hew's legs hung limp and dead from a few chinks of metal and one wing was badly bent but he was able to keep himself airborne and mostly upright. He beat Pathos back with his wings but there seemed to be a hitch in his movement. He seemed, for the first time, mechanical instead of a living raven made of metal. Stasis felt a cold shiver run down his back, none of this was supposed to happen. Hew flew up then turned to dive at Pathos.

“Hew, back!” Clockwise yelped but the clockwork raven ignored her and dipped lower to peck at Pathos's eyes.

Pathos's magic hit Hew full in the chest and threw him back into a stack of crates and the metal bird was still. Stasis darted back to where Hew had fallen, a soft whirring came from the broken body. The bird tried to pick itself up but was unable. With a series of clicks and whirs, it looked up at Stasis then turned to look past him as it's mistress. Blue lights that lit eye sockets dimed, flickered, and faded. Clockwise choked, she seemed to sink into herself and deflate as if her will had faded with Hew's animation spell. The bronze body seemed more of a shell than a body. Hew dead? Couldn't happen, that is exactly what the reader was supposed to prevent in a normal jump.

Faster than Stasis could see, Bird chose that moment to move. She darted forward and behind Pathos, dagger in hoof, she came down on Pathos's back. Stasis knew enough about fighting to see that only Pathos's twisting away from Bird had save his spinal cord from being severed. Pathos's side was stained red but he didn't seem to feel the deep bite of the blade, his horn immediately flared and Bird was engulfed in green. He flung her down against a wall, she twisted and her back took the brunt of the force, snapping her head back but her wings and legs remained undamaged. Bird hit the wall with a sickening thud and slumped to the ground in a dark blue heap. She looked up, eyes scanning the alley then searching the ground for the lost dagger. The dim light of a single lamp showed it laying out of reach at Pathos's feet. Pathos looked at Bird as if disappointed and picked the dagger up with his magic.

Seeing Bird thrown seemed to enliven Clockwise and she sprang forward to help Bird but a blast of Pathos's magic threw her back. Bird was visibly shaking as she got unsteadily to her feet and looked up at them. A fresh stream of blood dripped down her face and her wings hung limply at her sides. Pathos tossed Bird's dagger into the air with his magic then caught it as it fell. He seemed unconcerned with the proceedings, but played idly with the knife and looked attentively at Bird without speaking.

Stasis looked at Red and saw his own conflicts in his friend's face. It was torcher to stand by and watch but, the fact that this was happening at all meant something was extremely wrong. Usually the book would provided some relative protection for readers but now, they had changed the course of the book and it seemed they were apart of the story. They hadn't been hurt yet but they had never seen a character hurt this badly or die. Could they die here? Red looked scared, conflicted, and confused. His ears twitched and his eyes were wide. A red aura flickered around his horn as if he wanted to do something but couldn't figure out what to do and terror prevented him from completing a spell. Stasis didn't have magic and was not an athlete. He couldn't fight. He had read this book so many times, he almost knew it by heart, why was this so out of control? Why couldn't he think of something? He knew these characters, he knew this world, but why were these things happening? They had done something more than just stop Bird and Clockwise from escaping and now something more was wrong. Was the escape really that vital to the world in general? This was the second to last book, nothing major was should really happen until the next book right?

Stasis shivered and stepped away from the broken body of Hew. He looked at Clockwise then at Pathos. The black unicorn had relaxed although he was still on guard.

"Please stop!" Clockwise said softly, her voice shaking. “Please, let us go. I don't know what Bird has done to you and I don't know why you set us up but there has to be a better way to deal with it.”

Stasis looked desperately at Red, the unicorn met his gaze and only shook his head. Pathos glanced at them with a relaxed curiosity then turned his focus to Clockwise.

"My young Lady Gearsmith, your family is extremely concerned with your whereabouts." Pathos said pleasantly.

Clockwise visibly winced at her family's title and name. Her eyes shifted between Bird and Pathos, "Please let us go. I need to get Blue Bird to a healer."

"What would your family say about your associating with criminals like Miss Bird? A pony of your standing and bloodlines walking the streets with a filly mercenary." Pathos asked, his tone remaining relaxed and casual as if they were at a dinner party and he had all night.

"We are going to leave now, I'm sorry about the trouble." Clockwise said, her tone becoming polite and steady. She started moving slowly toward Bird and watching Pathos carefully for a sign that he was going to stop her. Bird drew her last knife and flapped clumsily into the air, violet eyes locked on the black unicorn, seemingly unaware or uncaring that Clockwise's goal was to get them both out alive. Bird looked suicidal.

Stasis took the opportunity to move backward, closer to Red. "Can you send up a flare to attract the attention of the officers that should be at the docks?" Stasis whispered, "I don't think Pathos is going to let them go. None of this should happen."

“Flare? Right. Easy.” Red said, he too seemed to have gotten a grip on their situation, “Are you sure that an officer would be on our side though?”

Stasis shrugged, “Pathos may be a Lord here but there is no way he would commit a murder in plain view of the city guard unless he knew he would be totally backed up by the Council.”

“I really need to reread these books. He isn't going to care about killing in front of normal civilians, right? Or killing normal civilians for that matter.” Red hissed and glanced behind them, “Lets get a little ways away so I have time to get a few flares up before he attacks us. Try to distract him if he goes for Bird or Clockwise before I get the flares up.”

Stasis only nodded, both of them started to slowly back away. Clockwise inched closer to Bird. Bird still oblivious to Clockwise's intentions of slipping away and Bird launched herself forward at Pathos, although slower than before. She was able to dodge a few bolts of magic sent her way but one clipped her wing and she spun out of control and crashed into a pile of crates. Yet again Bird picked herself up but now all of her injuries of the night seemed to wash over her and she sunk to the ground again, her trembling legs unable to hold her. Pathos flicked Bird's dagger into the air one last time before letting it clatter to the ground. He approached Bird and smiled at her gently. Clockwise growing tense and circling carefully behind Pathos so he couldn't see her as easily.

"Miss Bird, I had high hopes for you and then you had to go off and try things your own way." Pathos shook his head, almost sadly, "It's a shame really. Now you are just getting in my way." Pathos's horn flared and Bird looked up at him with hate but unable to summon the strength to stand.

In an instant, Clockwise picked up the dropped dagger and shot forward, only to be lifted by Pathos's green aura and suspended, struggling, a few feet from the ground. Pathos remained relaxed and casual about all that he did despite the difficulty often seen in unicorns when holding living creatures.

Stasis ran forward with the intention of bowling into Pathos, only to be picked up as well. At the same time, Red's horn flared, a bolt of red magic shot towards Pathos and as Pathos easily deflected it with his own magic, Red shot a strong beam of red light into the air. It arched above the tall buildings that had been shielding the light from Pathos's magic and shone like a distress call.

Stasis watched the flare and almost immediately after it had cleared the buildings, Red sent off another, and another. A blast of green magic hit Red, throwing him to the ground as he sent off a fourth flare into the night.

Pathos sighed and looked from Clockwise and Stasis, struggling in his magic, to Red breathing hard on the ground, and finally to the battered Bird who lay before him. "Another time then." He said, "Despite what ponies think, Manehatten does have a relatively effective justice system."

“The city guard is only the Lord's and Council's personal army!” Bird snapped weakly.

"Terribly convenient I'm a Lord then, isn't it?" Pathos smiled down at her one last time then looked at where he held Clockwise and Stasis. Stasis watched in horror as the aura surrounding him and Clockwise turned from green to red, just in time for three armored ponies to turn a corner and come racing towards them. Pathos's horn was lite but a red magic identical to Red Rook's hovered around it.

"Answering a distress signal! Sir! What's the situation?" The leader called as they ran nearer and halted a few paces away. They fanned out and the three of them blocked the narrow alley.

Pathos turned to them and smiled, "Good evening gentalcoals, thank you for the fast response. There has been an attempt on my life by these youths."

The leader of the officers squinted at Pathos in surprise and dropped to one knee, followed by his men, "Lord Pathos! I didn't 'spct to find you n' this neighborhood!"

"Please stand, my airship is at the docks right now for repairs, I was just heading home when I was attacked." Pathos said, politely nodding to Bird, "Luckily I am rather practiced in self defense."

The officers stood and the leader looked over the situation for a moment, "Good thing too! Four against one would be too much for some ponies!"

"Ah, well do you think that they should be secured behind bars for the night? I am sure the courts can see to them in the morning." Pathos said.

"It seems I recognize that blue one there. Maybe she's been brought before the law before?" The leader said, "Don' recognize thoose other three though."

Pathos's magic brought Clockwise forward and set her down gently in front of the officers, "This is the missing, young Lady Gearsmith. I'd suggest you contact Lord Gearsmith and let him know that his granddaughter has been found."

"Lady Gearsmith! The missing! Ah thought you were assumed dead after so long! Why are you here m'Lady?" The lead officer asked, concern lacing his voice.

"I'm not! I just . . ." Clockwise's voice failed her and she looked back at Bird. Her voice changed slightly, sounding polite with a hint of authority, the desperation and fear gone. "Please, Miss Bird needs a healer."

The lead officer looked over at Bird with an expression of annoyance, "Miss Bird? Yes, I 'member watching a hearing for a Blue Bird 'bout a year ago. Been charged with murder and got off with it.” The officer sighed and glanced back at Clockwise, “A heeler will be called for at the station. Your family will be contracted then too."

Clockwise said nothing, just looked attentively at Pathos. Pathos cleared his throat politely and picked up Red and Bird in his magic along with Stasis, "Could I assist you gentlecolts in some way?" He asked the officers.

"Don' go to the trouble, m'Lord, we just need to get them to the station for the courts in the mornin." The leader said easily and motioned one of his colts forward.

"If it would be any easier, I could just teleport us all to the station." Pathos said and without waiting for a reply, there was a flash and the officers and Pathos stood in a dark corridor, looking in a large cell at Bird, Clockwise, Red, and Stasis.

A lamp hung from the ceiling above the corridor and it was enough to see the long rows of barbed cells on either side. The cell that they had been placed was empty apart from six cots attached to the stone wall, three above and three below. The cells around them were dark but shadows of ponies could be seen moving about, probably awoken by the flash of the teleport.

"Why, thank you!" The leader of the officers said once he had recovered from the surprise.

"Just doing my civil duty sir." Pathos said and his magic released Red, Stasis, and Bird to the ground.

"It's so nice having a Lord who doesn't act above us common folk." A younger officer said, stepping forward to check that the cell was locked.

"Oh?" Pathos said pleasantly but there was a hard edge to the one word that made the young officer wince.

"Not that I should judge the Lords, they are a wonderful set of ponies, truly!" The youth stuttered quickly, "Without them and the Council running everything, Manehatten would be in chaos! So much better than when we were still under the rule of Canterlot and those alicorn!"

The room was still a moment, as if waiting for Pathos response but, Pathos only looked at the youth with an emotionless expression.

"Very good." He said once the silence had stretched longer than was comfortable, "I will be off then, it has been a long night. However, expect me back in the morning."

"Are you goin' to press charges against the Blue?" The leader asked, a sharp glance in the direction of his subordinate.

"I haven't decided yet, but I would like to speak to the the red one and the grey one before the court sees them." Pathos said carelessly and started to walk down the corridor, casually scanning the dark cells. "I can see myself out. Good night gentlecolts."

With that, Pathos was gone. The jail was quiet and tense. Bird lay on the ground where Pathos had put her, Clockwise stood beside her while Red and Stasis stood a little ways away. The leader of the officers glared at the younger officer then looked at the new prisoners

"Oh! Lady Gearsmith, please forgive me!" He fumbled with the keys to try and unlock to cell to let Clockwise out.

"No, I would like to stay here." Clockwise said, her voice steady and final, "Please fetch a healer and don't contact my family until the morning."

"Please! I insist!"

"No. I insist." Clockwise said, her tone not unlike Pathos's.

"M'Lady, I . . ." The officer's voice dwindled away but he looked at her curiously, "Well, if that's what you want." He turned to the older of the other two officers, a unicorn, "Confiscate their possessions n' bring them to the main office when you are done." He turned to the younger officer, "You go n' get a healer here, Cure Cut should be the most likely to come at this time of night." With that, he turned at started off in the direction Pathos had gone, the younger officer trotting after him.

The unicorn officer left behind looked over Bird's network of leather straps that held her weapons to her body, “Would you like to turn over your equipment yourself or have me remove them?”

Without a word, Clockwise began to undo the leather straps. Clockwise removed Bird's leather cuffs first then slowly started on all of the other thin buckles. Bird didn't struggle and lay there submissively but did not shift her position to make the job any easier. Clockwise carefully removed the blades from Bird's wings and checked that all of the razors in the cuffs were present before dumping it all on the ground. The officer levitated the mess of black leather through the bars to him and looked at CLockwise as if contemplating whether to take her cloak or not. He decided against it and left without another word, taking Bird's gear with him.

There was a soft murmur of low voices and movement from the cells around them. Bird started to stand, leaning against Clockwise who slowly guided her to a cot.

“Let us help.” Stasis said as he and Red started forward.

Bird shot them a venomous look. "Stay away." She said weakly but her voice dripping with hate.

"Please! We didn't mean to-" Stais started but Bird's cold voice cut him off.

“Don't give me anymore reason to dislike you two.” She snapped, Clockwise ignored the two colts and urging Bird forward.

Red and Stasis exchanged a glance then backed away and watched as Clockwise got the pegasi to a cot. Clockwise removed her cloak and draped it over Bird, muttering soothingly all the while, but Stasis and Red couldn't make out her words.

Stasis and Red backed up and put their heads together. The shadows from the cells around them shifted but no pony stepped into the light to address the newcomers.

Stasis whispered, "I forgot Pathos could change his aura, it was only relevant in book four. Can you get us out of here?"

Red looked slightly down trodden, "No. I had planned on taking us to the beginning of the book so we could watch without messing up the story and then when we got to the normal part where a reader would come in, we would do the normal thing and save Hew and the book's normal enchantment would kick in and kick us out."

Stasis wanted to scream. Of course. Red didn't plan. Red never planned. He went through life by making it up as he went along and usually that worked for him. Stasis couldn't live like that. If he could, he arranged his whole month on the first. Summer had not taken him by surprise and he had know exactly what he was doing for the first two weeks. Red added the spontaneous to his life but, these days Stasis planned for Red too.

Stasis took a deep breath and forced his voice to be neutral, "So, now that the story is off course, we may never trigger the natural spell to get us out?"

"Right." Red sounded concerned but not overly so. "Will figure something out, technically all we really have to do is get the story back on course and we're fine."

"How? I think Hew is dead, we are going to need a different way to trigger the spell." Stasis said, "Can we die in a book?" Stasis knew that these books tended to be dark. In past jumps into the Counter Gears had always been high stress but there was always the assurance of being pulled out and that the situation would be rectified by the characters if the reader was unable to in the book's time limit.

"I don't think so but who knows? Quite a few things I didn't think possible have already happened, like us actually affecting anything. Can't say I thought we could possibly get things this messed up." Red shrugged, trying to sound nonchalant, "As for a trigger, maybe-"

A low, cold voice from one of the darkened cells cut through the relative quiet of the jail, "I must admit that I never expected to see Blue Bird in such a sorry state."

Clockwise looked up sharply and Bird stirred slightly, "Bug off." Bird said, her voice soft but it was the only noise and carried in the large room so all could hear.

"It will be the gallows for you. So young, such talent if misdirected." The voice was sarcastic with had no sympathy in it, as if seeing Bird so hurt was a sight to savor.

A big dark green stallion moved into view the cell next to them, his body was covered in scars and his coat was ragged from neglect. "Little Bird. The one who would take any job at the right price." The stallion paced slowly on his side of the bars, his gaze never leaving Bird.

She lifted her head and met his gaze unflinchingly though her eyes were dull. Bird shifted on the cot, her careful movements were obvious but she didn't seemed cowed or ashamed of her condition. "I heard you had fallen but to be lowered to taunts is farther down that I might have guessed." Bird said, her voice still soft but casual, eerily similar to how Pathos had spoken to her.

"Little Bird. All alone. A runaway Lady and lost colts for company. Where is your dear brother?" The stallion said, "Where is the dear Jay now?"

"She's not alone." Clockwise said sharply.

"Oh?" he said, "A Lady trying to lose her title? Another misfit who is unhappy with being one of the lucky ones? How is that shadow of a pony company even for a rat?"

"Rats are unredeemable and unwanted by most. Misfits fall together and find that this world has not stained everything." Clockwise said retaining her mild authoritative tone she had used with the officers, "I'm friends with the Blues and they have taught me more about the world than any tutor. It is a dark world but there cannot be darkness without light."

"Pretty words from a pretty face." The stallion sneered, "You are being dragged down from your pretty petit stood and there is nothing to save you. Blue Bird will be hung tomorrow and you will return to your petticoats and fine wine. You were one of the ones who got to be put in a place of promise and you want to throw it away? Do you know how many fillies your age look up to you wishing they could have half of what you were given?"

Stasis started, the stallion had more or less summed up Clockwise's internal conflicts from book three of the series. He felt his body tense and a slight thrill run through him. A chance to see Clockwise defend herself from ideas that she was once wracked by guilt with? Maybe they didn't mess up quite as badly as he had originally thought is the book was giving them this novel opportunity.

Clockwise turned to look directly at the stallion, her pale blue eyes hard and her face firm, "Being privileged is just as much a curse as living with want. I'd rather endure work and scrabbling for food then watch those around me suffer for my well being. All of them hating me behind my back but trying so hard to please. The aristocratic Lords are no better than the Blues in their crimes. It is a world of smoke and mirror, all the pleasantries when they want nothing more than to poison another ponies drink. In this world, your world, the Blue's world, was the first time I ever saw kindness that didn't expect or require a reward. It was kindness to each other because if they were not kind then no pony ever would be. I was unwanted and lived with the lies that the upper class tells itself until they start to believe it as truth. No matter where you go, you will find cruelty and the world's unfairness. I'd rather try to live by my own labor than oppressing others. Manehatten has fallen into dark days and I don't want to be with the Lords and the Council when they are paid back for all they have done to this city."

"Quite the speech. Do you expect us to be sympathetic? You may not want the world you have but that is hardly our fault. We all have problems, yours just happen to be sugar coated." The stallion said.

"I didn't ask to be born to a family with a title anymore than you asked to be born into suffering! I have no way to change the way the Lords are but I can try and not contribute to or support their ideas and how they run things." Clockwise turned and looked at Bird, who was still and eyes closed but her ears flicked as she listened, "I found ponies who would befriend me and who like me for who I am, not for who I should or who they want me to be."

“Are you hearing yourself?” The stallion said, completely unimpressed, “What I hear is that starving is better than oppressing. Really? You can tell yourself that as many times as you like, it won't change your future.”

The sound of hooves approached them, the young officer appeared, leading an elder unicorn, "Here she is sir. Thank you again for coming."

The cell was unlocked and the healer entered, approaching Bird while the officer remained at the door. Clockwise stepped back as the healer approached and he looked over Bird for a moment before speaking, "Well Miss Bird, I must say that you have out done yourself."

Bird looked up at him, her eyes dull and her voice weak, "Sorry Cure, it's not like I can help that."

"Yes you can. You could try doing something useful with your life for once." Cure Cut said, setting about unpacking his saddlebags and pulling back Clockwise's cloak so he could have a better look at Bird, "You don't really have to go get yourself a fight every time you have a problem Jay can't talk your way out of."

The officer choked, "Do you KNOW her?"

"Yes, Miss Bird has been a client of mine whenever the talents of other healers fail." Cure said mildly and started cleaning Bird's wounds. "If you have somewhere you need to be, please don't feel like you need to stay to protect me."

The officer stared at him a moment, "Well okay. I'm going to lock you in, holler when you're done." The officer left, shaking his head.

The healer worked silently with Clockwise curled up on another cot watching. The green stallion had disappeared into the darkness of his cell again and Red and Stasis slowly made their way over to the cots as well. The night wore on, the cell was occasionally illuminated by healing spells. No pony spoke.

Stasis's mind raced. Hew was gone along with the opportunity to trigger the book's enchantment to send them home. Bird was in jail, Clockwise was well on her way to her family and Jay was at a shelter unaware of what was going on. Pathos wanted to talk to him and Red. Why? Why would he want to talk to them? Why not let them hang? How would they get out? Hew was gone. Bird in jail. Stasis returned to the beginning and seemed unable to break the loop of thought. He ran through it over and over, day drawing nearer.

Finally, Cure finished. Bird had fallen asleep long before and Red and Stasis dozed. Instead of calling for the officers, Cure laid down on a cot as well, seemingly content to spend the night near his patient.

The sun rose and Clockwise had not slept. Miles away, Jay had woken, feeling that now his sister and friend would be back. They were not. Fear chilled Jay, a new fear that something was horribly wrong. Something told him that Bird and Clockwise should be back, safe. They weren't. Where were they? What was this nagging in the back of his mind that things were altered? Jay shivered and felt his chest tighten. Could he have stopped it? Did something really happen or was this feeling the result of the nightmares he had dreaded? Jay closed his eyes and tried to banish the images of broken bodies and tried to convince himself that they were on their way, so close, coming back. The sun would rise and Bird and Clockwise would be there. They had to be. Had to be safe. They had to be okay.

Author's Note

Sorry I haven't updated! Life got ahead of me! Oh well, second chapter! Yeah! I hope you like it! Conventional criticism is appreciated!

Special thanks to my beta-reader, Sefzaps!