Applejack almost finishes off Rainbow Dash, only to discover that her spear is stabbing thin air and Pinkie Pie has intervened. Rainbow Dash is quickly knocked out by Pinkie Pie.

"Hey! Whose side are you on?!" Asked an annoyed, Applejack.

"I'm always with the cool-thinking people and against the troublemakers, which group do you belong to?"

"Shut up!" Applejack complains, but retreats.

"Did you come to save Rainbow Dash?" Twilight ask but, Pinkie Pie berates her.

"You didn't follow my advice at all. Next time I may consider other, presumably brutal, options to make you listen." She left leaving Twilight horrified.

Back in her apartment Rainbow Dash uses a Grief Seed to clean her Soul Gem. "Spike, how important is it to clean out your Soul Gem?".

"It's needed to strengthen your magic. I advise you to get more Grief Seeds in order to become stronger. If Twilight were to make a contract, both of you would have the power to defeat rivals like Applejack."

"No, I refuse to get Twilight involved."

Meanwhile Pinkie Pie approaches Applejack in an arcade. "What do you want?" She ask with both eye focused on her game.

"I want to propose a deal."

Applejack bit into a Pocky stick, still focused on the game. "I'm listening."

"I going to let you have the city as your territory but, you can't attack Rainbow Dash."

Considering this Applejack offers Pinkie Pie a Pocky Stick in a gesture of cooperation. Meanwhile Twilight, concerned about the violence between Rainbow Dash and Applejack, tries to persuade her to seek a truce. "You guys are both Magic Mares, who are supposed to battle witches, not each other."

"No way, only selfish Magic Mares such as Applejack intentionally let familiars attack ponies, resulting in the deaths of innocent victims. Next time, it may even be your parents or Shining Armour."

Later that evening Twilight is still deeply worried about Rainbow Dash and asks her mother for advice.

"Twilight you're the perfect child. You always do the right thing and I'm happy that you do but, unfortunately, only doing the right thing doesn't always end happily. Ponies sometimes need to make mistakes. So just make a mistake, somepony has to be in the wrong to balance out there need to be "correct". If there's no right answer, it's necessary to be wrong. Looking back after a while, you realize that was actually the best choice in the end. That's something I believe you must learn how to do gracefully in order to become a smart young Mare."

The next evening, Rainbow Dash is once again confronted by Applejack, who goads her into another fight on top of a highway bridge. However, before the battle starts, Twilight arrives. "Rainbow Dash stop it."

"This has nothing to do with you Twilight." Rainbow Dash tried to warn her but Twilight was already running towards her.

She seizes Rainbow Dash's Soul Gem, the source of a Magic Mares's energy, throwing it off the bridge in the hope of stopping the fight. To Twilight and Applejack's shock, this causes Rainbow Dash to suddenly collapse, lifeless. Then Pinkie Pie pops out of nowhere, probably watching them. "What have you done?"

"Twilight has just thrown Rainbow Dash away." Explains Spike.

"What are you talking about?" Twilight had tears in her eyes.

"As part of the contract, the Soul Gem literally contains a Magic Mare's soul, with their body becoming a mere shell that turns limp and lifeless if the Soul Gem is more than 100 meters away from them."

Appalled, Applejack explodes, "so you're practically turning mares into zombies!"

"I'll never understand all mares repulsion towards the idea. They never see how useful the arrangement is for enabling mares to survive witches' attacks."

Meanwhile, Pinkie Pie had rushed to retrieve the Soul Gem from the bumper of a truck. She brings it back to Rainbow Dash in order to revive her. Twilight hugs Pinkie Pie, "thank you so much."

Not changing her lifeless expression Pinkie Pie tells her to be careful getting Rainbow Dash home. That she shouldn't be seen carrying a body around. That night Rainbow Dash wakes up, not remembering anything that happened after Twilight threw her gem away. "What's going on?"

"Nothing...I'm just glad you're safe." Twilight cries into a confused, yet comforting, Rainbow Dash's arms.

Author's Note

This is the quickest I'd ever published a chapter. Which is probably why it isn't as long as the others but, it's done. Please fill free to comment.

So Far we have: Twilight, Rainbow, Pinkie, Spike, Rarity, Thunderlane, Applejack

Gone: Fluttershy

P.S. We almost lost Rainbow Dash didn't we? xp