Twist was far from comfortable sleeping in her cell, Dolly being the main reason. She pretended to be nice before becoming randomly violent. It was like she was playing mind games with Twist.

Twist was curled up on the uncomfortable top bunk as she pressed herself against the wall. She was trying to take up as little space as possible. Even though she was a small filly, she felt like she every movement she made was extremely noticeable. Even her breathing and heartbeat seemed loud enough to echo.

Twist listened closely for any noises from below her. If my obnoxious lungs weren't so loud! She growled internally as she stifled her breathing. She heard slow, deep breaths coming from Dolly. This meant she was either asleep or really good at faking being asleep. She decided to take a chance and closed her eyes. Even though she thought she was too scared to fall asleep, she passed out.

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Asher's eyes slid open. He inhaled sharply in surprise, causing a slight sting to pulse from his chest. For a brief moment, he was unsure of where he was. His memories flooded back when he realized he was in a hospital room. He was wearing a breathing mask and there were tubes connecting him to machines.

Asher heard a feminine gasp as hoof-steps ran up to his side. He was relieved to see his wife had shown up. Faith's blonde mane was messy and several strands hung in her face. Her purple eyes were concerned as she stared at him.

"You got stabbed, dear..." she tilted her head thoughtfully.

"I- I am aware of that," Asher was surprised by how different his voice was. It was gravelly and, instead of portraying the sarcasm he intended, it made it seem like he was in pain. Obviously, he wasn't, seeing as the doctors at this hospital don't know how to properly use morphine.

"I wasn't pointing it out for you," Faith smirked kindly, "I was asking you why."

"Oh, why. Jay didn't listen to me until it was too late- or um. Yeah. Dangerous criminal..." He coughed slightly.

"I heard about Jay already. Cotton told me, actually. The twins are babysitting their foals for now."

Asher tried not to roll his eyes- eye- and gave a polite nod. He really didn't care what the twins were doing right now. He wasn't unloving, he was just... stoic. They'd understand his method sooner or later.

"Well, this is why I signed those legal documents when I got this job, I guess." Asher forced himself to smile.

"Next time could you try not to get stabbed in the lung?" Faith gave him a short glare before stepping back. "You and Jay have been getting a lot of injuries lately. Along with those claims made by that filly... What do you guys do in your spare time?" Her tone was half playful and half disappointed.

"Wait around until we get told somepony is in danger. Mostly we just straighten out our useless desks because we're always the last to be dispatched," he explained sarcastically.

"I hope you know how much this costs, Ash." Faith's voice became more stern.

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Twilight was at her desk with a notebook and pencil. There were books upon books stacked up on either side of the desk. The topics included phycology, weather science, weather records, weather related beasts, phycology related beasts, and pretty much everything else that had to do with her situation. Her purple eyes were focusing hard as she skimmed through each book, wrote a small note or two, and continued to the next.

King Sombra... Discord... Freak Tornadoes... Everfree Forest Logic... Weather for Dummies... 5 Stages of Grief In the Beyond... Anatomy of Murder... Demons... Foal Possession... Weat- Twilight paused. Foal Possession... She skimmed through the book once more but found no new information.

Spike watched her with worry. She was absolute frantic about this and hadn't stopped to eat or talk or anything. It wasn't uncommon for her to go on a study-binge, but this was ridiculous. His legs twitched slightly as he thought about confronting her, but he decided against it.

"Nothing... Nothing... Nothing..." Twilight muttered softly as she concentrated.

Spike sighed quietly and left the princess alone in her study.

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Apple Jack snuggled into her bed and stared at the wall. She wanted her little sister back to play with. She knew that she couldn't mope around for long, but she savored the moment. Wallowing in her misery was very satisfactory in a small, strange way.

Apple Jack heard strong, heavy hoof-steps at her bedroom door. "That you, Big Mac?" She called softly.

"Eeyup..." Big Mac's stoic tone gave off a hint of depression.

"I'll be out in a jiffy," she said and she sat up.

Twilight was probably trying to find a way to make Apple Jack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash get over their losses. That pony could never just leave something alone; she always had to research and experiment with it. It look all the emotion out of everything she touched.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle aren't test subjects. Neither are AJ, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash. Did Twilight have the right to be "testing" on them?

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"What's your plan, anyways?" Scootaloo asked. They were in the free time room with a movie playing. Blaire and Bailey were sitting so that they were facing the wall with Scootaloo to their left. No supervisors would be able to tell what they were saying this way.

"Use your call to contact that princess that saved you," Blaire began.

"Tell her that something immoral is happening here and that the only way to stop it is that she has to break you out."

"Tell her to teleport into your cell in the dead of night-"

"What about my friend? She's in another pod, I think," Scootaloo interrupted.

"That's your problem, newbie." Bailey turned to Blaire and gave her a brief glare.

"When she gets in there, have her get us out too," Blaire continued.

"Okay, but what if she doesn't believe me?" Scootaloo purposed.

"At least you tried, I guess..."

"When is this all going to happen?" Scootaloo asked.

"Next Tuesday you call her."

"The rest is up to the princess," Bailey concluded.

"I can't believe you guys trust me like this!" Scootaloo said giddily.

"If you decide to rat on us..."

"We'll be forced to bash your skull in and crush your spine," Bailey explained placidly.

Scootaloo had defeated two officers... TWICE. As if these twins stood a chance against her. Even though she was more than certain their 'threat' meant nothing, she still nodded politely.

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Cotton was sitting at the foot of the hospital bed as she talked. Her long, curly mane was going over her shoulder, down to her stomach while she gently stroked it.

"Do I need to be more blunt about this?" She asked in a frustrated tone.

"Maybe... I mean... I get it, but..." Jay bowed his head slightly.

"Do you really?" Cotton insisted. Her pink eyes flicked tensely between Jay and her mane.

"Of course I do! I'm not in the wrong here, though. I'm perfectly able to perform my duties even if I'm a little rough around the edges." Jay looked out the window to avoid Cotton's gaze.

"I know that, but you need to be a little less... 'rough around the edges'. Nothing wrong with you as a person, but..." she sighed and tried to think of the proper way to explain without saying anything unsavory.

"I know what you're trying not to say," Jay muttered bitterly.

"I'm not going to say it, but you get the idea. Just... we still have the ther-"

"I don't need that! I'm perfectly fine on my own, Cotton!" He snapped.

"If you didn't need it you wouldn't be in this hospital room because of-"

"Ask Asher about it! Oh wait, you can't! Know why? Cuz' he has a punctured lung!" Jay's voice was just below shouting and above pouting.

Cotton let out a depressed sigh. "I get it. If anything like this happens again, though, you won't have a choice." Cotton concluded sternly. Her tone told Jay that it was the end of the discussion.

Author's Note

If you got all the references when Twilight was going through the books...
Good Job, You Are Now My Favorite Person Ever