Broken Mirror

Chapters

I - The Pinkie Principle
II - A Warm Welcome
III - Camp Wake Up Call
IV - Cartwheel of Expectations
V - Mob Mentality
VI - Purge
VII - Seeing Double
VIII - Settling in
X - Setting Out
XI - In the Web
XII - Icthus
XIII - Aid Most Unwelcome
XIV - Neighagra Falls
XV - Somewhere in the Woods
XVI - The Secret
XVII - Arbitrary Prison
XVIII - A Time of Reconsideration
XIX - Destiny's Defiler
XX - Flight of the Starshell
XXI - Who We Are
XXIII - Turning Point
XXIV - Me
XXV - The Elements of Harmony
XXVI - Progress and Darkness
XXVII - The Question
Epilogue
IX - Meetings of Chance and Fate
XXII - Breaking Into the Nightmare
Credits

I - The Pinkie Principle

The word beginning is a lie.

'The start. The moment from which everything afterwards comes.' Many would say their story started when they were born. Wrong. They existed for a number of months before they were born, and the biology used in the conception existed countless years before that. The sequence of events cycles back even further, to the grandparents, great grandparents, deep ancestors - even to the atoms themselves, forged in the fires of the Big Bang.

Even that isn't a beginning, it is rather an end - an end to our understanding. And even then, endings are lies as well. Something has to have caused that fiery explosion at the forge of creation, but at that point philosophy, religion, and science become intermingled and everyone has to ask if they really want the question to be answered. Those who try ensure that things will get ugly rather quickly.

The idea that events have a start is an illusion perpetrated by minds that don't know better - cannot know better, in most senses. The concept is so fundamental to them that it is never considered.

My solution is simple: absorb the entirety of a sequence of events at once. Take the limited information available and attempt to remove the temporal bias. For obvious reasons this is likely not an option for anyone else, so sadly a 'beginning' must be arbitrarily established.

What follows is a lie. <<

~~~

Twilight Sparkle awoke with an annoyed whinny. She had evidentially forgotten to draw the curtains the night before, and was now being assaulted by an intense ray of solar energy. She was consciously aware of the bright sunbeam on her eyelids, but was not yet awake enough to realize that opening her eyes was a bad idea.

"Ackpth!" she blurted, flailing around as her eyes were scorched with the brilliant image of the sun. The afterimage was engrained into her mind despite the rapid resealing of her eyelids. Closing them tighter didn't help matters - it only made Twilight's head hurt.

In her continual semi-groggy state she managed to fall off her bed and land face first on the floor, wings and hooves splayed. "Ow..." she muttered. She slowly stood up, wobbling slightly from the rude awakening, and shook her head to clear it - though this only turned Twilight's minor head pain into a full-blown headache.

"Okay..." she said, flapping her wings to loosen their tight muscles. "This is not a good start to the day." She glanced at her reflection in her bedside mirror just to make sure nothing was bruised or scratched, relieved to see that the worst was a messed up mane. Well, and the headache, but there wasn't much a mirror could help her with in regards to that.

She set out, marching down the crystalline stairs to one of the many halls inside her castle. Spike was already there, setting out two plates for breakfast. "Morning Spike," Twilight said, sitting down at the table, "what's for breakfast?"

"Toast. Lots and lots of toast," Spike said, smiling sheepishly. "I burnt the hash browns."

Twilight smirked. "Is Celestia dealing with an unexpected breakfast?"

"Ah, no, the stove caught fire this time. I have no idea why." There was a loud ding from the kitchen. "That'll be the toast!" Spike stood up quickly, rubbing his hands together in anticipation. He never made it into the kitchen, for a bright pink presence blocked his path.

"It isn't the toast, silly, it's the cupcakes!" In a bright rush of elastic energy, a third plate was set, and a pile of cupcakes were deposited on top of each setting.

The pink presence itself sat at a third chair that hadn't existed a moment before. "Enjoy!"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Cupcakes for breakfast? Really Pinkie?"

The pink cotton-candy like earth pony giggled. "Why not? Better than just toast right?" She tossed a cupcake into the air and caught it in her mouth, seeming to swallow it whole.

Spike narrowed his eyes. Then he threw his hands into the air and sat back down, admitting defeat. "Yeah... Better than toast..."

Twilight lifted a cupcake to her mouth and bit in - it tasted like sugar and laughter, as always. "So, why are you here Pinkie?"

Pinkie grinned. "I sensed a breakfast emergency! So I heeded the call to action, and am here to provide delicious breakfasts!" She leapt onto the table, standing on her hind hooves, as if ready to pounce on some unsuspecting prey. She reached into her mane and produced a plate covered in pancakes - or, more accurately, a plate covered in whipped cream that Twilight assumed had pancakes underneath, somewhere.

Twilight stared at the giant mound in fascination. "You know, Pinkie, sometimes I still wonder."

Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Really Twi?"

"Yeah, I know, it's just 'Pinkie being Pinkie.' Still..." She pulled a pancake out of the stack and munched on it. "I wonder about it a lot."

Pinkie shrugged. "Well, I don't know how it all works either, so I don't know what to tell you."

"Don't worry about it, not a problem, it's just who you are. Though aren't you a little curious as to how you work?"

"Sometimes," Pinkie admitted, "but thinking about what I can do just makes my itty bitty brain hurt!"

Twilight chuckled. "I know the feeling... Both physically and mentally, as you know." Twilight paused for a second, eating another cupcake while she took a moment for some retrospection. "Regardless, that isn't important, anything interesting going on with you lately?"

"Hrm... Well there's a birthday tomorrow, and I was going to see if I could tie a million balloons to Sugarcube Corner... But nothing major going on. Don't even have to work today! Weekend!" She produced a party blower and blew it. Twilight and Spike covered their ears a little late, unable to muffle the sharp noise.

Twilight shook her head. "Ow..." She rubbed her temples, trying to calm her headache. "Well, sadly I am extremely busy, princess duties and studies day after day..." She furrowed her brow, unable to come up with the tasks she had to do today. "Spike, what is on the list today?"

Spike reached under the table and puled out a scroll. "Let's see... Today..." He blinked. "Nothing. It's not even a 'vacation' or 'hang out with friends' day. It's just blank."

Twilight stared at Spike in disbelief. "...What?"

"You have nothing to do today."

Twilight sat back, stunned. "...That never happens."

"Yeah, I'm surprised too."

"Yay!" Pinkie cheered. "That means we can do stuff! Oooh! What would we do? Fight some monsters? Fly through the sky? Have a random dance party for no reason!?"

Twilight was about to choose the random dance party when another idea occurred to her. "Pinkie, you said you were curious about yourself right?"

"Uh, yeah?"

"Why don't we see what we can find out? I don't really expect to find any answers, but you and I might learn some things about what you can do."

"Oooh! Sciency bonding time! To the lab!"

"Woah, hold it Pinkie!" Twilight reached out, grabbing the pink blur with her magic. "We can finish breakfast first! And I don't think we'll do it here anyway, I know someone who has a bigger lab..."

Pinkie grinned. "I think I know who it is!"

~~~

"Great Wickering Stallions!" the Doctor yelled, jaw dropping. He hardly recognized his laboratory anymore. All of his favorite things were still there- the plasma ball, the central tank, the flying machine mode, the bookshelves - but everything looked organized. The pages were well stacked, the loose objects were grouped by function and appearance, and to top it all off the chemistry station looked clean. It never looked clean, the vaguely circular room always looked like a disheveled mess with random experiments and materials thrown around haphazardly, the Doctor always praying something wouldn't spontaneously combust.

"Who...?" the Doctor wondered aloud.

"Oh!" Rarity said, poking her white head out of the basement. "That'd be me, dear."

The Doctor cocked his head. "But wait... You weren't supposed to do this until tomorrow... And I just wanted a spruce up, not a complete reorganization..."

"I had nothing to do and I figured I'd help out a friend. Plus, I lost sleep last night over how disorganized this was. I just couldn't let it wait another day."

The Doctor let a grin come to his face. "Why, thank you. Here, let me pay you more-"

"Think of no such thing," Rarity interrupted, stalling his hoof with her own, "I enjoyed making this place beautiful. You simply have so many wondrous pieces hidden here!"

"I didn't think I even had this much room."

"You just need to know how to arrange things, Doctor. I'm not quite done with the basement, but that shouldn't take much longer. You should be able to invite ponies over soon." With a toss of her mane, she descended back down the stairs.

The Doctor could see it now. Actual scientific discussion in his house - with all the areas easily accessible and presentable. The other scientists would take him seriously, along with those pretentious Canterlot mages, and he could finally revolutionize how Equestria perceived science. The Doctor's smile widened at the thought. "Thank you so much miss Rarity! I can't imagine how difficult this must have been... Did the spacial anomalies give you any trouble?"

Rarity answered from the basement. "Doctor, Twilight's castle is also bigger in the inside. The space was liberating, if anything."

"Well, I'll let you get to it." Humming to himself, he walked around the central tank, examining his abode more closely. It really did look like a completely new place. Now he just had to remember not to let it fall into disarray again. That would be a challenge. He gulped, realizing the daunting task before him for the first time. Luckily, he was spared further contemplation by a knock at the door. "Yes?" he called, opening the door.

"SCIENCE TIME!" Pinkie yelled, barreling into him. He yelled in surprise, falling flat on his back, the impact knocking a model of Equis off a nearby table.

Twilight came in after the pink menace, the sparkle of experimentation in her eyes. "Yeah, it's science time. You busy Doctor?"

"Not at all," he said, standing up and brushing himself off, "what's the scientific emergency?"

"Me!" Pinkie said, bouncing around like a rubber ball. She ducked behind the plasma ball - appearing next inside the tank, squealing out a trail of bubbles. She swam upwards, far into the ceiling, and then popped out of Twilight's mane. "Woo!"

The Doctor shook his head. "Why is she so excited?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes and smirked. "Because we're here to try - and probably fail - to answer a question. How do Pinkie's powers work, and why?"

The Doctor put his hoof to his chin. "You know... That is a good question. Wondered it myself, from time to time."

"Well, I have too!" Pinkie said, "so let's science it and see what happens! What are we going to do!? Huh? Will there be explosions?"

Twilight laughed. "Maybe later. Right now, we just need to take some samples and see if anything's weird about them. By the way, Doctor, love what you've done with the place. Looks better than I ever thought it could!"

"Thank Rarity, she's the one who organized the entire mess. Anyway, you want science? Well then - to the basement!" the Doctor said. He marched down the starts to the large space beneath his house. It was a location in the process of renovation - objects and gizmos were moved into various piles - metallic, wooden, plastic, machinery, plus a few others - and half the floor was adorned with nice rugs with geometric patterns while the other half was barren. Rarity hummed to herself as she laid another rug down.

"Hi Rarity!" Pinkie waved. "Thanks!"

"Hm?" Rarity said, looking up. "Oh, Pinkie! Uh... You're welcome?"

"...Where'd you find these rugs?" the Doctor asked.

"That closet over there. Seems to be an endless amount."

"Ah," the Doctor said, not surprised in the least, "well, do you know where the medical station is?"

"Against that wall for now," Rarity said, pointing. "It will be placed in the center of the room next to your novels eventually. You have good taste in fiction, by the way."

"Er... Yes," the Doctor said, deciding it wasn't wise to continue with that subject. He trotted up to the medical station, glancing at the vials, needles, popsicle sticks, petri dishes, and other implements that were strewn across the desk alongside a built in microscope and centrifuge. "Let's see..." he muttered.

"Hair and blood samples," Twilight said. "Isolate the DNA as well and... any thing else we'll need?"

"Not that I'm aware of," the Doctor said, grabbing a blood drawing needle. "Ready Pinkie?"

"STAB ME!" she shouted, thrusting her leg towards the Doctor. She giggled at his startled expression. Twilight rolled her eyes and motioned for the Doctor to go ahead. He looked at Pinkie, unsure, but did stick the needle in and drew the blood. Pinkie shrieked, swooned, and fell flat on the ground.

The Doctor panicked. "Wh... Pinkie? What? What did I do?"

Twilight put a hoof to her mouth, failing to stop the chuckling. Pinkie joined in quickly afterwards, and soon the two were laughing uncontrollably. "Gotcha!" Pinkie said, touching the Doctor on the nose.

"I... I suppose you did." He shook his head, putting the blood into a vial. Twilight plucked a hair from Pinkie's mane with her magic, handing it to the Doctor. "Thanks," he said, "I'll be getting the results for the next little while."

"Okay," Twilight said, "Pinkie! It is time to see what you can do!" She levitated a camera from one of the piles, setting up its tripod with a quick flick of a switch. The camera's screen sparked to life, displaying a monochromatic image of Pinkie. It proceeded to color parts of the image purple as it detected magic, brighter shades representing higher concentrations of magic. On the screen, Pinkie appeared almost white, the color was so intense.

Twilight examined the screen, a knowing smile on her face. "You are still the earth pony with the highest saturation of magic I've ever seen." She raised her wing, hitting the 'record' button. She cleared her throat. "This is Twilight Sparkle speaking, and this is the first tape on what I am calling... The Pinkie Project. Say hi to the camera Pinkie."

Pinkie waved her hoof around rapidly. "Hi pony scientists from the future!"

"Yes. Anyway, we are here to record the various 'impossible' feats Pinkie can perform. So... Go."

Pinkie sat still, smiling at the camera.

Twilight facehooved. "That means do something, Pinkie."

"Oh. Right." She pulled a sapphire-blue accordion out of her mane and started dancing to the instrument's noise. "Acooordion soooooong!"

"Ability one: object summoning," Twilight said, studying the image onscreen, "there is a minor surge of magic when it occurs, of a pattern I don't immediately recognize."

Pinkie twisted her body around, rolling her blue party canon out from behind her.

Twilight's eyes flew wide open. "Pinkie wait-'

With a mischievous grin, Pinkie launched the party cannon. The confetti burst out with a swirl of colors, knocking Twilight and the camera over. Twilight shook her head and stood back up with a groan, lifting the camera up alongside her. After checking to make sure the device wasn't broken, she let out a sigh of relief. "Try not to knock over the camera, Pinkie Or do anything else that could damage it."

Twilight blinked. Pinkie wasn't where she had just been. Instead she was on the completely other side of the basement, juggling some bean bags

"...Ability two: unusual travel speed. Or teleporting. Or something. It's hard to tell."

Pinkie ran back to the camera. "Ooh! Ooh! What next? This is fun!"

"...Hide behind that broom over there," Twilight suggested, pointing one of the most pathetic brooms ever to exist. The tool only had a few dozen bristles left on it, and the handle was bent at an unusual angle, splintering all over.

Pinkie leapt behind the broom and vanished. Twilight swore she could hear her giggling as if the pink pony were right behind it.

"Ability three: hiding behind impossibly small objects."

Pinkie appeared behind Twilight and tapped her in the back of the neck. "Boo."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Back in front of the camera, Pinkie."

Stretching herself like a noodle, Pinkie threw herself like a slingshot back in front of the camera. She giggled, leaping into the air and did a backflip. Instead of falling to the ground she just kept flipping - and flipping, and flipping...

Twilight shook her head, tearing her eyes from the mesmerizing infinity of the backflips. "Ability five: elasticity. Ability six..." She paused, furrowing her brow. "...That." She looked closer at the magic readings on the screen, shaking her head at what she saw. "Okay, this isn't making any sense or helping us get to the bottom of this." She quickly shut off the camera and collapsed the stand. "Sorry Pinkie, I didn't learn anything."

"It's okay, that was fun!"

"Great Wickering Stallions!" the Doctor called from the medical station, "this isn't normal!"

"We were expecting that," Twilight said, walking over to the Doctor and his microscope, "how is it unusual?"

"Take a look!" he offered. Pinkie leapt in front of the microscope, her eye bulging towards the main lens. "Woooah! That's so cool! I have no idea what I'm looking at!"

"Your cells," the Doctor explained while Pinkie let Twilight have a look. "They... aren't acting like normal cells."

The image Twilight saw was of several pink-tinted cells moving around. Besides the pink color, they looked like normal cells - but they didn't move like normal cells. Pony cells would usually drift around lazily, go after specific chemicals, or not move at all. Pinkie's cells were all moving, vibrating, stretching, and mingling with each other with excess energy. It looked like a microscopic party. It occurred to Twilight that it would cost a lot of energy to keep this level of activity up. No wonder Pinkie ate so much.

"...Yeah cells don't do that," Twilight said, looking up with a smile. "Maybe the answers are in them? Perhaps they are tied into a sort of magic that, when combined as one, turns into what Pinkie has?"

"Maybe," the Doctor said, "more study is warranted... Rarity, where's the magic scan box?"

"Next to your life size cardboard cutout of Newton," Rarity called from across the room.

The Doctor had the grace to look sheepish. "Er... Yes. Right. Of course." He quickly grabbed the small black box and placed it on the medical station. "Let's see what we have here..."

Pinkie decided she'd had enough science for a moment, and it didn't look like they needed her right now. She bounded over to Rarity, knocking over the cardboard cutout of Newton as she did so, paying the historic pegasus scientist's visage no mind. "Hi Rarity!"

"Oh, hello Pinkie," Rarity said, placing another rug down and dusting it off with a feather duster. "I've been wondering... Since when do you like science?"

Pinkie shrugged. "Eh, Twilight was curious, I was curious, and we had nothing to do today. So we figured 'why not?' and rushed right here for some fun! I haven't been disappointed yet!"

"Yes, I saw you over there with that camera..." Rarity frowned. "...Are you sure you want to do this?"

Pinkie cocked her head. "Why not? It can't hurt, and I'm a little curious. Plus, I get to spend time with Twilight, and that's almost always fun!"

"It's just..." Rarity bit her lip. "I thought you liked the mystery, the carefree element, having no need to know, just to be."

"Pfft, it isn't a need, it's just something to do. Twilight doesn't even really expect to find an answer. She's just having fun, like me!"

Rarity shook her head. "If you say so, Pinkie. Even so, perhaps give some more thought in the future?"

Pinkie gave her a confused look. "Uh... Okay?"

"Good. That's all I ask. Now, mind helping me with these rugs?"

"Not at all!"

While Rarity and Pinkie set to laying down more rugs on the bare floor, the Doctor examined his magic box closely. The boxes six faces displayed ever-changing white glyphs, the circle-based symbols approximating the structure of the magic. On the primary face were a lot of question marks. "It's unable to recognize the magic pattern the cells are exhibiting. Which is odd, this thing is calibrated to recognize even exotic magics, like that of a sphinx..."

"So she's unique. No surprise there whatsoever." Twilight squinted, examining the readings closely. A smile slowly creeped up her face. "I think I can recreate this."

"Really? You can mimic a magic signature?"

"Well, my special talent is magic, so it shouldn't be too hard. Don't expect me to be jumping behind brooms anytime soon, you probably need experience for things like that." She closed her eyes and lit her horn, creating a bundle of pink energy in midair. It vibrated energetically, shifting space in a ripple pattern. A few loose papers flew around, and a few bottles were knocked off their shelves.

"Please don't break things!" Rarity called from across the room, but otherwise paying them little mind.

"Woah..." Twilight said, cocking her head, examining the pink energy. It looked like a soft, shifting cloud moments away from releasing rain. "I didn't channel that much energy... It's drawing energy from somewhere else..."

"What do you suppose it is?" The Doctor asked.

"It's pink and it feels weird." Twilight shrugged, watching as several papers flew into the pink energy, and vanished. "Huh. Looks like it's taking them somewhere."

Across the room, Pinkie suddenly stood motionless, her expression going completely blank.

"Pinkie?" Rarity asked, putting a hoof on her frozen friend, "are you okay?"

Pinkie made no response. Her eyes didn't even register Rarity's presence - they just stared far into the distance. She might as well have just been a statue.

"Twilight, something's wrong with Pinkie!" Rarity yelled.

Twilight turned to look at Rarity. "What?" In doing this, she lost focus on the pink cloud for an instant - and that was all that it needed. It increased in size tenfold, becoming less of a cloud and more of a swirling vortex in the fabric of reality. The magic box, camera, and several other loose objects were devoured within a second. The intense tidal forces began to pull at Twilight and the Doctor, inching them towards it.

Twilight acted quickly, encasing the vortex in a bubble shield before anything else could be pulled in. She felt the pull of the vortex wane, and allowed herself to relax. "Well... That could have been bad."

And then Rarity and Pinkie were inside the bubble shield. Twilight was sure they had been outside when she cast it - but there was no denying they were inside now. "Rarity!" Twilight yelled, dropping the bubble shield in an attempt to free the two of them. Rarity screamed in response, flailing her hooves in futility. She was sucked into the vortex despite Twilight's attempts to pull her out, her body stretching into a thin white swirl. Pinkie maintained static and expressionless while the vortex folded her into itself.

The moment Pinkie passed through the center, the vortex let out a soft popping noise and vanished.

Twilight and the Doctor stood motionless, horror plastered on their faces.

Author's Note

Roll opening theme

-GM, master of the falls.

II - A Warm Welcome

Pinkamina Pie and Rarity Belle. Entire libraries could be filled with observations on these two ponies - and I fully expect such places exist somewhere, split off in some distant place.

Rarity: a generous mare who would do anything for just about anyone, a maiden of pure heart if ever there was one. Classy, and yet not arrogant or deceptive. What a mare.

Pinkie: the bringer of laughter to all ponies, even among horrible darkness and sorrow. A mare of exceptional power and skill who devoted her life to what many would consider a chokingly mundane task. Hyper, happy, carefree - contagious.

Everyone likes those images.

Everyone needs a wake-up call. An entire section in those libraries should be devoted to disbanding these deceptions.

Chew on this.

Rarity: A manipulator, a passive-aggressive unicorn who has the eye of a business executive and the brains to bend ponies to her will, showing only what she wants them to see. Entitled, whiny, overdramatic, and depressing - a facade. She knows what she wants and how to get it, and the only reason she hasn't done more despicable things is because her ambition fails her.

Pinkamina: An idiot. A fool with the keys to the universe, the power that none understand. A fearful mare, afraid for everyone she meets. A liar - or rather, one who lives a lie, a lie that everything will be fine if she could only keep smiling. She knows so much and yet so little.

Gross exaggeration? Not entirely. It's just as true as the first descriptions I gave. Of course, everyone has already made up their minds about the two of them, and nothing I say will change their bias, so I wonder why I bother? <<

~~~

Rarity came to with a pained groan. She had the headache to end all headaches, and one of her eyelashes had been dislodged. And all in all, she felt just like someone who hit their head on the rocky ground at high speed should feel upon regaining consciousness. She opened her eyes, subconsciously using her magic to adjust her eyelash back into place. She became aware of the rocky surface she was laid upon, and that it was dark. She let out an annoyed grunt, lighting her horn to illuminate the surroundings.

She was in a cave. Strewn about the gray stalagmites and stalactites were various bits of paper, scientific equipment, and a few magic devices. Rarity only saw one exit to the cavern - a narrow, upward sloping tunnel she couldn't see the end of. There was no sign of a pink magic vortex, though Pinkie Pie herself was easy to pick out from the drab background. The earth pony was on her back, her four legs stiff and pointed straight to the ceiling. Rarity stumbled over to her, horrified by the blank, faraway look in Pinkie's eyes.

"Pinkie? Pinkie can you hear me?!"

Pinkie didn't move.

"Pinkie!" Rarity yelled, nudging her friend. This prompted a response - Pinkie screamed and leaped into the air, flailing wildly, somehow staying airborne longer than should have been possible. After a few seconds, she landed flat on her hooves, breathing rapidly, unable to get enough air. She reached for Rarity, but before she could say anything she passed out from hyperventilation. Rarity caught her before she hit the ground.

Rarity blinked, stunned by what had just happened. "P... Pinkie...?"

Pinkie's eyes flew open. She took a long, deep breath, before slowly rising to her hooves once more. "Okay," she said, "that was one of the most horrible feelings I've ever had." She shook herself, clearing her head. She proceeded to check herself over, finding that all the bruises and scratches were superficial. "But I'm fine now!" she declared, the smile returning to her face.

"W-what happened?" Rarity asked.

"I don't know!" Pinkie shrugged. "Twilight did something and... I stopped." She shuddered, shaking her head once more. "Just... Stopped. It was like part of me was being torn somewhere else, and if I tried to do anything else I'd just break."

Rarity was speechless, the horrified look on her face increasing in intensity the more she thought about what Pinkie had just said.

"But I feel fine now - if a little... odd." She scrunched her muzzle as if it itched. "Proooobalby just recovering."

Rarity nodded. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine Rarity, really." The grin on Pinkie's face doubled in size. "Now let's get out of this cave and find out where we are!"

Rarity let out a sigh of relief, smiling. "Alright - but only if you take it easy."

"You too. That's a nasty bump on your head."

Rarity winced, nodding. "I know. I can feel it throbbing. But I'll live." She caressed the lump with one of her hooves, trying to ignore the pain.

Pinkie nodded. "Good! Now lead the way, you are the flashlight!"

"Yes, yes, I know..." Rarity took a step forward, increasing the brightness of her horn as much as she could manage with her headache. As they left the papers and equipment behind, the rocky pathway became narrower and the upwards slope gradually increased the further they went. Rarity noticed her heartbeat accelerate the closer the walls came to her. She gulped, hoping to get out into the sun quickly.

"Isn't this exciting Rarity? We're in a cave in the unknown having an adventure!"

"Yes, I suppose you could say that..." Rarity muttered, her nervousness rising within her. She glanced left and right, looking for any branch in the path, finding none.

"I wonder what we'll find - treasure? A secret society? Daring Do? A super-uper-duper computer person?"

"A dead end!?" Rarity exclaimed.

"Well, I mean, we could find that but-"

"No, Pinkie, this path literally just ends right here!" She poked her hoof at the rocky wall in front of them, throwing a few stones loose.

"Oh," Pinkie said, "that's not good."

"No, it isn't!" Rarity wailed, putting her face in her hooves. "We're trapped down here! We're going to suffocate!" She lost all concentration, dropping the light spell, trying to focus on her breathing - trying to keep herself from passing out. It was hard to focus - too many thoughts were swirling within her head. She had started the day out organizing the Doctor's house, and now she was doomed to a short existence within this cavern. What was the last thing she said to Sweetie Belle? She couldn't remember...

"Rarity..." Pinkie said. "Open your eyes. And don't light your horn."

"Huh?" Rarity said, looking up into the face of Pinkie, sniffing. "...Why?"

"You can see me."

"Yes Pinkie I can see you, I'm not deaf." She paused for a second. "...I can see you." It didn't take long for her to find the source of the light - a crack between two large rocks embedded into the wall in front of them. She couldn't see through the tiny opening, but she could feel the warmth coming from it.

"Okay..." Rarity said, pursing her lips. "We... We need to be careful, move these rocks out of the way delicately so we don't cause a cave-in..."

"Hiiiii-ya!" Pinkie yelled, colliding with one of the large rocks and sending it flying, creating a large opening in the cavern wall through which sunlight poured in. There was no indication of the cave collapsing on them.

Rarity sighed, averting her eyes from the intense light. "Or we could do that. Throw caution to the wind and risk our lives."

"C'mon Rarity, it's an adventure!"

"Yes, I suppose it is..." She climbed out of the cave, into the open world outside. The scenery was empty for the most part - endless grasslands composed of short, dull blades of grass. Not a single tree was visible, and bushes were hard to come by. The sun high in the sky, but it wasn't noon yet. A chilled breeze blew through the grasses, creating a minimal rippling effect.

This wasn't to say there was nothing there at all, far from it. There was one thing in particular.

"Woah..." Pinkie said.

"My Stars..." Rarity gasped.

Before them stood a city larger than any city they had ever imagined. The buildings rose to an absurd height, their rectangular gray visages casting a tremendous shadow over the landscape. There were no outskirts to be seen - no farms, no little houses, no cabins, nothing but hundreds of skyscrapers getting ever-taller as the two mares' eyes were drawn towards the center. One would expect such a tremendous collection of structures to be bustling with movement and life, but the two of them saw almost none from their vantage point. A couple specks could be seen flying from building to building, but aside from that, the shining buildings seemed lifeless.

"Odd," Rarity said, "I have no idea what this place is."

"Then let's go ask!"

Rarity shrugged. "I don't see that we really have any other choice in the matter." She smirked. "Looks a tad like Manehattan though, so the inhabitants will likely be reasonable."

Pinkie facehooved at Rairty's remark but decided not to comment on it. They set off at once, marching down the small hill they were on top of, heading right for the city. They were less than a mile away, so it quickly dominated their entire field of view. However, even as they approached, they still couldn't see much life. The buildings stood tall, and the streets were abandoned. Everything was just too big and angular, filling Pinkie and Rarity with ominous feelings.

Pinkie frowned. "Where is everypony?"

"I don't know... But this place is far too clean to be empty. We just need to do some looking." Rarity stepped onto the street, hooves clacking on the pavement. The clipping and clopping noises echoed through the silent city.

Pinkie moved to follow, but something made her stop. Her hoof began to twitch and her eyes rolled in her sockets, the Pinkie Sense flipping left and right crazily, like it couldn't decide what it wanted to say. A feeling of wrongness filled her body, her very nature feeling violated by the mere idea of setting foot in this place. Then everything stopped, the feeling reducing to a shudder.

"Pinkie?" Rarity called back. "What's going on?"

"It feels wrong," Pinkie said. "This place. Something's... wrong with it. Like blue raspberries."

Rarity frowned, focusing for a moment on the area. She did feel... something off about this place, more than just the usual abandonment of the street. "I feel something too, Pinkie. But we need to see if we can find some answers, regardless."

"I... I don't think we should."

"Pinkie... Come on. It won't hurt us to just walk in. We can run out at any moment." She looked up at the giant buildings, all of which looked more or less the same - gray bricks with the occasional dark window, varying only by height and the placement of the windows. "We won't leave sight of the outside. It'd be easy to get lost."

"Okay..." Pinkie said, stepping onto the concrete. She let out a yelp, shuddering as she felt something latch onto her, tugging at her very core. She took in a breath, pushing through the wrongness and walking up to Rarity, shaking. "Let's... Let's look quickly okay?"

"Of course," she said. "Helooooo!" Is anyone here? We need some help! could anypony perhaps tell us where we are?"

There were no responses.

"Is this place really abandoned?" Rarity wondered.

"No," Pinkie said, pointing upwards, "I see flying machines."

Sure enough, there was a teardrop-shaped machine flying above them. It was silver and glowed in a few places with a soft blue light. It paid them no mind, flying into one of the windows of a building far above them.

"Huh," Rarity said, holding her hoof over her eyes and squinting. She couldn't see any more flying things in the sky. Scanning the streets, she didn't see anything either.

Wait...

"Look!" Rarity pointed down a street to their left. "A pony!" She galloped as fast as her four legs could carry her, Pinkie bouncing along behind. Pinkie frowned as she bounced - her hooves were starting to hurt. That never happened when she bounced, she could always do it as long as she wanted. ...It was probably the road. Just another reason this place was wrong. She sighed, stopping the bouncing and regressing to a simple gallop behind Rarity.

The pony they were approaching was an earth pony stallion. He was blue and wore a bored expression, looking forward like nothing mattered, stepping with a methodical motion.

"Hey! Hey dear! Do you think you could help a few lost mares out?" Rarity called out.

The stallion lazily looked over towards them, mild annoyance on his face. This annoyance quickly turned into dumbfounded surprise. His eyes widened and he stopped in his tracks, unmoving.

"We seem to be hopelessly lost, mister, and we were hoping you could tell us what this place is?"

The stallion's face transformed from flabbergasted to complete bloodcurdling rage in an instant. His veins popped and he opened his mouth to unleash one of the most terrifying sounds Rarity and Pinkie had ever heard. "GREEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAGHAAAAAAA!"

Rarity was taken aback - so taken aback that she did nothing to stop the hoof flying at her face. She screamed as he made contact, her small frame falling to the ground, blood dripping from the left side of her face.

He would have done much worse had Pinkie not barreled into him in that moment, tossing him aside. It had taken a lot less effort than she had expected, but she didn't dwell on that."You okay, Rarity?"

"N... No," she said, standing up. "I... I can stand though..."

"And so can our friend." Pinkie said, pointing at the pony.

He spat. "êewol spl¯æc cworaxan, accas!"

Pinkie shrugged. "Okay, let's do this!" She pulled a pair of boxing gloves out of her mane and smirked. She rushed him, preparing a spectacular uppercut. However, he had gotten smarter - though not calmer. He twisted to the side, dodging the pink bullet that was Pinkie, making a straight beeline for Rarity. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAACCAAAAAAAAAS!"

This time Rarity was ready, catching his hoof in her magic, twisting the outstretched leg. He roared in pain, tossed to the ground once more. He didn't let this deter him, however. After smashing his hoof on the ground like the earth had offended him in some way, he readied his other front hoof for a swing.

Pinkie pulled out a frying pan and hit him in the back of his head. He made a soft 'gagh...' noise before losing consciousness.

"Can we get out of here now!?" Pinkie pleaded, smacking him on the head again just to make sure.

"Yes," Rarity said, wiping the blood from her face. The two of them galloped away as quickly as they could manage. No more ponies came out of the buildings.

Pinkie felt drained. Something was pulling at her, tugging at her soul, demanding she stay. She didn't listen to it, but moving out of the city was much, much harder than it should have been. There was something more going on that just pavement beneath her hooves.

Then they heard a loud hum behind them. Glancing over their shoulders, they saw one of the flying machines hovering a meter off the ground, going right for them. It was much faster than they were.

"Oh no..." Rarity said. "Step on it Pinkie!"

"I am!" Pinkie snapped back. "Something's wrong!"

The machine deployed two large guns, preparing to riddle them with bullets.

The two of them leaped out of the city and into the grass. Instantly, Pinkie felt revitalized - and relieved. As if the wrongness was over and everything would be fine. They were out, they were free, they could relax...

She had failed to consider the possibility that the machine would still shoot at them. A mixture of lasers and bullets flew out of the barrels at them. They wouldn't even have had time to scream.

But the agonizing death didn't come - instead, an aura of blue magic filled the area between them at the machine, catching all bullets and reflecting all lasers. A mare's voice yelled. "Get your ass out of here! They're not in the city anymore, drone!"

The drone made a beeping noise and flew back into the maze of buildings without so much as a hesitation.

"Oh thank Stars..." Rarity said, letting out a sigh of relief. "Thank you," she said, turning to their savior. Rarity's jaw dropped the moment she saw her. She recognized the mare before them.

Pinkie did as well. "...Minuette!?"

Minuette shot Pinkie a death glare with her deep, blue eyes. "Don't talk to me, bucker." She turned to Rarity. "And you... What the Tartarus were you thinking?!"

"I... Uh... I was lost?" Rarity managed, looking with concern at the small green hat on Minuette's head, unsure what it meant. She felt as if it was important. Pinkie was still reeling from the death glare she had received.

"Friggin idiot..." Minuette muttered. "You two are coming back to camp. With me. Now. No objections."

Neither of them objected, too scared and exhausted to even think of doing something aside from whatever the blue unicorn wanted them to do. She led them away from the gray city, every step hitting the ground much harder than was necessary.

III - Camp Wake Up Call

Toothpaste. There are many kinds of toothpaste, but for the purposes of this illustration simply two will suffice. Suppose one is called 'blue' and another is 'white.' A hypothetical person used the 'blue' on all his life, liking the nice, calm, bubbly flavor. He was happy and didn't question it. Then one day the big company executives stopped making the 'blue' toothpaste for whatever dumb reason. Without even giving it much thought, our hypothetical person started using the 'white' toothpaste, expecting it to be exactly the same as the 'blue' toothpaste even though it looked, smelled, and felt completely different.

He stuck it in his mouth and screamed in agony as the intense chemical-minty flavor overpowered his senses. He probably would have been fine had he not expected it to be nice, calm, and bubbly.

Make of this what you will.<<

~~~

"Soooo..." Pinkie said nervously. "I wonder how far it is to camp?"

Minuette stopped in her tracks and glared at Pinkie. "I told you not to talk to me."

"Oh I wasn't, I was just wondering aloud!"

Minuette slapped Pinkie across the face. "You talked to me there."

"Really!?" Rarity yelled. "You hit her just for talking to you?!" She let out an angry breath, rushing to Pinkie to steady her.

Minuette's features contorted in disgust. "You sicken me."

"The feeling is mutual, I assure you," Rarity bristled.

Minuette seemed mildly surprised at this but made no response. Instead, she just gestured for them to continue their trek across the dull, endless grass.

"Thanks, Rarity," Pinkie said, "who knew someone with such a cute little hat could be so mean?"

"Don't pay her any attention," Rarity said, "but try not to antagonize her, okay Pinkie?"

"Okay..." Pinkie sniffed. "Haven't met a single friend here..."

Rarity gulped but said nothing. Holding each other up, they followed after Minuette. The blue unicorn kept glancing behind herself from time to time to see if they were still following. Each time she turned her head back around, her face became more and more disgusted. She seemed to take the fact she was supposed to look at them as an insult.

Rarity wondered what was going on with Minuette... She didn't seem to recognize them at all, and she was acting exceptionally hateful. ...Had Twilight's spell messed up the destinies of ponies again? No... Minuette's cutie mark was the same... But Twilight's spell had to have done something, what else could explain this?

Pinkie wasn't thinking about any of this. She just felt partially empty, wrong. The very world around her felt bleak, and she just didn't have the energy she used to. Everything felt... solid.

The three mares walked along the endless rolling hills of grass, not speaking a word to each other. After about an hour of walking, they crested a hill and were finally able to see into the small valley that held their destination. The camp was a literal camp - a collection of a few dozen tents. Dozens of ponies, all wearing hats similar to Minuette's, scrambled around like a bunch of ants.

Minuette took a breath. "Minuette reporting in!" she called, beginning her descent into the valley. "Got two... 'refugees' here that need to be debriefed!"

"Bring them down!" A loud, booming male voice called up to her. "My tent!"

"Yessir!" Minuette said, saluting even though she couldn't see her Commander from her current vantage point. "Move it." She muttered, using her magic to shove the two of them forward.

Rarity lit her horn, pushing against Minuette's telekinesis. "There's no need for that, we're moving."

They marched into the camp. Given the swords, spears, and other weapons laying around, it was easily discernable that the camp was a base of military operations. Unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies were all present, though the earth ponies were in an evident minority, composing less than a tenth of the visible ponies. While Rarity and Pinkie hobbled into the camp, everypony stopped to stare at them. There were many initial looks of disgust - mostly from the unicorns, but they were far from the only race engaging in the intense disapproving glares. However, most of these looks of disgust gave way to confusion and surprise. Whispers began to circulate around camp, and despite Rarity's best efforts, she couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Enough of that," Minuette barked, "let the minglers have their time, they're needed by the Commander. So no prodding, that means you Pipps."

A short purple pegasus snorted. "You can't order-"

Minuette lit her horn and shot Pipps in the side, knocking him over. "You were saying, Pipps?"

"Ow..."

"That's what I thought." Minuette turned away, grabbing Pinkie by the neck. She dragged the pink pony - and by extension the currently stunned Rarity - into a large teal tent. Sitting at a rudimentary desk was a light blue pegasus wearing a green hat. His hat was slightly different from all the others, for it was adorned with a single red stripe in the middle. He looked closely at them - letting his eyes stop on all three of their faces. "Hrm... what have we here?"

Rarity put a hoof to her mouth when he spoke. "S-Soarin?"

Soarin blinked. "You know me?"

Minuette shook her head. "Sir, these two mares are crazy! They walked right into the Concretion! I saved them, blocked a drone's bullets, told it to peeve off, and dragged their sorry asses all the way back here. They both thought they knew me, and I can guarantee I've never met either of them before in my life!"

Soarin turned to Pinkie and Rarity, his expression unreadable. "Care to explain what the Tartarus you are doing out here and who the heck you are?"

"Well... I... I'm Rarity Bell and..." She took a deep breath, shaking. "We... We're horribly lost. We woke up in a cave and... And we had to dig our way out, and then... and then..." She started bawling. "We don't know what's going on! We're just lost and broken and lonely and just want to go home and get away from all the violent stallions, guns, and... and... We just need your hel-"

"Stop it," Soarin interjected, eyes narrow. "That was the wrong answer."

Rarity blinked. "...Wha?"

"I know when somepony's trying to manipulate me. You look like a mare who's used to getting what she wants from everypony around her. Not going to fly. Stop this dribbling waterworks nonsense and tell me what the deal is without any pointless add-ons that make me tempted just to have you cracked."

Rarity didn't want to find out what cracked meant. "Y-Yes sir," she said.

"Now. Let's try this again. Who are you?"

"Rarity Belle. This is Pinkie Pie."

Soarin raised an eyebrow at this, glancing at Minuette. She shook her head. "It isn't her. That's a true-pigger standing before you."

Soarin nodded slowly. "Understood. Now... The difficult part. What in Tartarus were you thinking?"

"Uh..." Rarity said, unsure of what to say.

"We were lost. We saw civilization," Pinkie said, rolling her eyes. "What would you do if you crawled out of a cave into an empty field and the only thing you saw was a city?"

Minuette bristled. "How dare you talk to the Commander! I ought to-"

Soarin held up a hoof to silence her. Minuette was most unhappy with this, but she complied. Soarin turned his attention to Pinkie, leaning closer. "I'd get my ass out of there as fast as I could."

Pinkie blinked, then shrugged. "Well yeah, you know the place is bad mojo. I felt it in there, the evil. But before I got there I had no idea!"

Soarin narrowed his eyes. "You're claiming that you've never heard of the Concretion?"

"Not until today," Pinkie said. "Also, who names something the Concretion? It sounds boring and disgusting, even a little silly. Though I suppose I came from Ponyville, so maybe I'm the silly one here, I don't know. Names are funny."

Soarin blinked. "Either you are the most convincing actor I've ever seen or you're telling the truth and are crazy."

"The latter," Pinkie giggled.

Minuette's face transformed from one of general disgust to one of bewilderment. "B-But who in Equestria wouldn't know of the Concretion!?"

Rarity lit up. "Equestria? You know where it is? Where is it!?"

Soarin raised an eyebrow. "...You're standing on Equestrian soil."

"Oh don't be daft, I know Equestria like the back of my hoof, and there was never a giant city in the middle."

"It could be Equestria," Pinkie suggested. "Think. Rarity. That's Minuette, but it's not the fun loving Minuette we know. That's Soarin, but he isn't the pie loving Soarin we know."

Soarin's eyes widened in shock.

"...Okay, so maybe he still likes pie. But still, think - what if this Equestria, isn't our Equestria."

The tent fell silent. Rarity looked deep into Pinkie's eyes. "...How will we get home then?"

"I guess we just hope Twilight and the Doctor figure something out!"

"Okay!" Minuette yelled. "Calling it! Hogshit! I recognize those names! You two are a bunch of lying asses who need to be dumped into the pit of Tartarus!"

"Let's not be hasty," Soarin said. "Describe Twilight and the Doctor to us."

"Well..." Pinkie took a breath. "Twilight's one of our best friends, an amazing purple alicorn who just looooves books and has her own castle and has the best dragon assistant ever and is the Element of Magic and is the Princess of Friendship-"

"Of bucking course..." Minuette muttered.

"The Doctor?" Soarin asked, wishing to move on.

Rarity decided she'd speak. "A bit of an extravagant stallion who's our town's resident scientist type. He-" Rarity stopped, noticing the faces of Soarin and Minuette flash with horror. "...What's wrong with scientists?"

Soarin let out a sharp breath as if he couldn't believe he was going to explain this. "Only the Concretes have scientists."

Rarity frowned. "...What are Concretes?"

Pinkie shivered. "Rarity, the pony we met in the city."

Rarity let out a long breath. "...He was terrifying."

Minuette looked back and forth between Soarin and the two mares. "This makes no sense."

"No, it doesn't," Soarin agreed. "Would you happen to have any evidence of your claims?"

"Well..." Rarity said, putting her hoof to her chin. "There's probably still some of the Doctor's equipment and notes in the cave..."

"Where's that?"

"Just a hop, skip, and a jump from the city!" Pinkie sung, falling over in the middle of her dance. "Ow."

Soarin sighed. "More specific please."

"A few minutes walk from the street Minuette found us on," Rarity said, "You could probably see it from the edge of the city if you were looking."

Soarin frowned. He turned behind him and stuck his head out of the tent. "Bravo! Clamp! Form up and prepare for a fly-spy run! Minuette will brief you on your mission! Report to her in two minutes!"

Minuette blinked. "But sir, I should go-"

"Minuette, tell the team where you found them. You will stay here and guard the prisoners."

"Prisoners!?" Rarity blurted.

"You're an unknown," Soarin said, "and I don't like you. You won't be harmed, you have my word." He paused to glare at Minuette. "That goes for the earth as well, understood?"

Minuette's face twisted. She wanted to explode at him - but didn't. She simply nodded slowly.

"B-but..." Rarity shook her head. "You can't lock us up for no reason!"

"Trespassing on a private military installation and matters of interest to the Crown should be enough to keep me out of trouble. Now get out before I lose my patience."

They left quickly, Minuette watching them like a vulture.

"So, uh, where's the prison tent?" Pinkie asked.

"Isn't one," Minuette said, letting a smirk crawl up her face. She led them to a metal pole in the center of camp. She rummaged through a crate next to the pole and produced two pairs of hoofcuffs.

"You can't be serious," Rarity said.

"Beleive me, I am. I'm also totally serious when I say I will bust your face in the moment the Commander gives me any indication of permission." She growled as she chained them to the pole, tightening the cuffs just slightly more than was necessary. At that point, two pegasi, a mare and stallion who were presumably Bravo and Clamp, landed behind Minuette.

Minuette cleared her throat. "So, here's the deal. I found these bucking minglers on seventy-first street. Check the hills around there for a cave and bring back anything you can find - even Concrete devices. It might be important, blasphemous as it is."

"Yes Minuette!" they said, spreading their wings and taking flight.

"Do back before nightfall and don't do anything preeny!"

The two of them bristled, flying away without another word.

"Insubordinate assess..." Minuette said, turning back to Rarity and Pinkie. "So, guess what, I'm stuck here with you minglers. Guard duty practically makes me another prisoner. So needless to say, I'm about as peeved as an ursa major who's lost her cub. So if you want to keep your beautiful faces in working order, I suggest you sit down and shut up!"

Rarity and Pinkie nodded, hugging each other tightly.

"And quit it with the hugging! It's nauseating!"

They quickly released each other and scurried to opposite sides of the pole. They looked around fearfully - many soldiers passed by, shooting them intense glares. Not a friendly face was seen in the crowd - the best expression they saw was ambivalence and curiosity. No pity. no sadness. Mostly disgust and anger. A few even spat in their direction when close enough.

The largest earth pony Rarity had ever seen walked up to her, snorting. "I bet you're a runter."

A unicorn soldier shouted at him from the sidelines. "Every unicorn's a runter to you, cloud rooter!"

The earth pony smirked. "You hear that?" he asked Rarity. "That's the sound of a pony who wants to experience living Tartarus. I'll get to him later. You on the other hoof..." He chuckled. "Well, I think you're already there."

Rarity glanced at Minuette. Minuette just shrugged in response and started whistling, an amused look in her eyes.

"Oh look at that, she doesn't like you. Absolute shocker," he laughed. "You look so dainty too... Like a little thing from Canterlot tossed out of that cancer and shown the bright bleak world... How's it treating you runter? How is it?"

Rarity started crying, keeping her mouth shut. She audibly winced when he caressed her face, pausing on the recent wound. "I bet it hurts, oh so much. Would you like a little something to help with that? No? Oh you might get it anyway..."

"...Minuette..." Rarity squeaked.

"Did I say you could talk bitch!?" Minuette shouted.

Rarity stared at Minuette, horrified. The stallion just laughed, leaning in closer. "Oh, looks like this doesn't count as harm then? Good. We'll see how far she lets me go..." He kissed her - hard. She squirmed, her mind too distracted to prepare one of her spells.

GONG.

The giant earth pony stumbled backward, bewildered.

GONG.

Pinkie was standing over him with a frying pan, hoofcufffs dangling loose around her front leg.

GONG.

He lost consciousness.

GONG.

Rarity didn't tell Pinkie to stop.

GONG.

Pinkie threw the frying pan away, her hair deflating to a mostly flat state. She fell to her knees and bawled her eyes out over the prone form of the earth pony.

Minuette stared, slack-jawed. The camp began to murmur. "Did... Did she just take out TS?" One said.

"I think she did."

"Holy shit."

Soarin strode into the camp, his face betraying his mood - one of a stallion who really didn't have the time for this crap. He walked to the pole and took in the scene. Murmuring ponies. A startled, speechless Minuette. Rarity clinging to the pole like some scared animal. Pinkie crying over the unconscious form of TS. Soarin wondered how Pinkie had managed to take him out without drawing any blood.

Soarin turned to Minuette first, annoyed. "I said no harm was to-"

"T-they were unharmed! TS hadn't even gone very far! I wasn't going to let him go there but... Then muddy here just takes a frying pan out of... I dunno where and starts beating him with it! Th.. how? Wha?"

"Earths do have magic," Soarin said, looking closely at the still bawling Pinkie. Literal rivers of tears were beginning to develop around her. "But I've never seen or heard of anything like this... Chain her back up. Watch them both closely. Don't let anypony near them. Celestia knows what'll happen if you let a vocal unicorn near her."

Minuette gulped and nodded. "Yessir."

"Now excuse me, I..." He looked up at the sky, frowning. Bravo and Clamp were flying back. "That was too fast!" he yelled.

"Sorry, sir! We found the cave, but the Concretes had it surrounded with a sizeable presence!"

Soarin frowned. "Well, the cave exists, these mares seem absolutely crazy, and the Concretes suddenly find that cave interesting enough to form a presence around..." He frowned, turning to Rarity and Pinkie. "I believe you."

"C-c-can we be released?" Rarity managed. Pinkie was in no shape to respond.

"No," Soarin said. "You're still prisoners and you will stay there until I get orders. Flit!" He pointed at a pegasus. "I will have a letter for you to deliver to General Spitfire momentarily. Be prepared."

"Yessir!" Flit saluted with his wing.

Soarin glanced at Minuette. "Don't let any more trouble break out. As much of an ass as TS was, he was an excellent warrior. I don't need to hospitalize another asset."

Minuette nodded wordlessly.

"Good," Soarin said, walking back into his tent, at which point it began to rain.

"Buck!" Minuette yelled. Rarity was too shocked and Pinkie too busy crying to care all that much about being rained on.

~~~

Thunder rolled and rain fell down in a deluge that carpeted the entire plains in a suffocating wetness. The camp, being in the center of a valley, was accumulating a rather copious amount of water. It had only been dark for about an hour and already the three mares' teeth had begun to chatter. The rest of the camp had wisely decided to stay inside their tents, only coming out when it was absolutely required.

"I-I'm going to catch h-hypothermia because of you t-two!" Minuette sputtered. "H-Hope you're happy."

"Y-you can't stand silence c-can you?" Rarity asked.

"What the f-frick does t-that have to do with me and h-hypothermia?"

"Well, you're t-talking to us."

"F-Fancy yourself smart-m-mouth do you?"

"N-no, not really, just... P-pinking up the slack for P-pinkie." Images of Pinkie swinging that frying pan over TS's body crossed her mind again. She shook her head and looked at Pinkie, worried. "Darling..."

"I would have killed him. I would have killed him." Pinkie stared at her hooves, face bleak.

"I... I... I can't say I would have objected," Rarity admitted.

Pinkie turned and looked Rarity in the eye. "R-really? B-but it's so wrong..."

"Yes... I... I know Pinkie. I know. I h-hate myself for thinking that b-but-"

"FOR CELESTIA'S SAKE!" Minuette shouted. "Y-You two are so naive and sickly-sweet! It's stupid that's what it is! If you're threatened by anything in this world you beat it until it shrivels up and dies!"

Pinkie stared into Minuette's eyes and spoke with a soulless monotone. "It wasn't like that back home. Everypony looked out for everypony else. Friendship was magic. I liked each and every day, only wanting one thing: to make ponies smile. I was happy, almost everypony I knew was happy. We made friends with our enemies. We-"

Minuette punched her. "S-sorry, I forgot you weren't allowed to t-talk to me for a moment there, rooter. And as for that world of yours... I..." She furrowed her brow, trying to come up with a retort. Finding none, she turned away from them.

Rarity sagged. Pinkie was depressed, Minuette was perpetually angry at them just for existing, Soarin' didn't really care about them as ponies, and who knew what TS would have done...

Rarity's entire body heaved, forcing painful tears out. They were in another place, far from home, but agonizingly similar enough to the Equestria they knew to be a constant cruel reminder of what they once had. She looked at Minuette and saw a bubbly happy mare who was one of Pinkie and Twilight's closer friends - only to have the illusion shattered every time the soldier spoke.

And Pinkie...

Pinkie had changed since coming here. Even before the encounter with TS, Rarity could see her struggling to smile... A horrifying thought.

"What's that blue light?" Pinkie asked, pointing up into the sky.

Minuette twitched. "Oh help me, Luna, I don't know if I can restrain myself..."

"In the sky," Pinkie said, pointing into the night. "Blue light."

Minuette looked up at the clouds. "There's no way you can see any-" Her expression shifted from anger to fear instantly. "DRONE!" She yelled at the top of her lungs. "DROOOONE!"

The camp sprung to life quickly. The soldiers all ran out as fast as they could, picking up their weapons and readying their spells in a rush of activity. All had their eyes kept on the blue light flying overhead, a single pinprick of energy amongst the storm.

"It's flying low," Rarity heard Bravo tell Minuette, "below the clouds."

"Then either it doesn't care about stealth or we are the target." Minuette said.

Soarin descended from the sky, giving Bravo a tired look. "I'm willing to bet the latter." He glanced over at Rarity and Pinkie.

"Shit," Minuette spat, "they're getting us attacked now!?"

"Very likely," Soarin said, turning to Rarity. "You may have to start moving fast. Minuette, you are to-"

A lance of blue light shot from the sky, incinerating a nearby tent in a fireball. In the light of the explosion, Rarity could see limbs go flying in all directions, some of the blood splattering across her face. She screamed.

Soarin spread his wings. "Get them out of here!" he yelled at Minuette. "Now! The Concretes can't have them!"

Minuette nodded, firing a magic laser to undo their hoofcuffs. "It's your lucky day minglers! Let's mooooove!"

Rarity rushed to Pinkie, helping her up. "Come on, Pinkie..."

"I'll drag her," Minuette muttered, grabbing Pinkie by the hoof and scrambling away with Rarity close behind. Minuette lit her horn, surrounding the three of them in a hazy glow. Rarity watched as Minuette vanished before her very eyes. "Okay, we're all invisible. This does not mean you are quiet. Here's a rope, don't loose your hold on it, it'll be a nightmare to find each other like this. So, go where the rope pulls, and shush!" Rarity felt a rope fall over her face, and she bit it hard. She stumbled in the direction she was pulled, barely able to process what was going on.

All the tents were lanced from above, the entire camp turning into a sea of fire amongst the rain. Smoke rose above the water, blocking the visibility of all ponies on the ground. The soldiers fought back - pegasi flying directly at the drone, and unicorns retaliating with their own lasers. Few of the attacks hit the small glowing target above them, but those that did make contact caused sparks to fly from the metallic carapace. Eventually, one of the pegasi managed to fly right up to the machine and drive his enchanted spear into it, creating a tremendous explosion that engulfed both him and the drone.

"They did it!" Rarity said. "They-"

"No," Minuette said, "they didn't."

She was right. Seven more blue lights appeared, dropping from above the clouds, firing a massive volley of missiles at the camp.

"How... Devastating..." Rarity gasped. From their vantage point halfway up the valley, she could see the entire camp burning.

"They can do worse," Minuette said. "They're minimizing damage because they want you alive."

Rarity shook her head. "That doesn't make sense! What if we were in one of those tents!?"

"Shut it!" Minuette shouted, ramming her hoof in the invisible Rarity's mouth. "Just because they have some tactics doesn't mean they're all that smart! Those drones are designed to purge us!"

They made it to the crest of a hill and stopped. They watched as the battle continued. Two more drones exploded from attacks, and one was frozen in crystal by a unicorn. But the four remaining were more than enough to clean up the leftover resistance.

Soarin made himself known, holding dual enchanted swords that shone with the power of the sun. He shot into the air, dodging the bullets of one drone and driving his swords right into the front of another. He used the explosion to launch himself into another drone - one that lanced him right in the forehead before he could complete his maneuver. He fell from the sky, the light going out of his blades.

Minuette gasped. "C... C... Commander..."

The drones began to meticulously search the camp wreckage, killing anypony they found they didn't like, which was everyone.

Rarity gulped. "We need to leave. Now." Minuette made no response. "...Minuette?"

Minuette shivered in the rain, eyes full of the fire of the valley. "We... We're all doomed..."

Rarity sighed, grabbing Minuette and Pinkie. She slowly dragged the two shellshocked mares across the grasslands in utter darkness, rain falling all around them. She hoped they would stay invisible for quite a while. And that the rain would cover up the drag marks.

IV - Cartwheel of Expectations

There are those who act all tough, who seem hardened on the outside, who it seems like nothing would ever get to them. They seem like the perfect soldier, the kind of person that would stare death in the face and strangle it, determined to the end.

But when actually confronted, they fall apart. Everyone has that one thing they anchor their life on. Their beliefs. Another person. Perhaps even a place they hold dear.

So it follows that the best way to utterly and completely tear someone's mind asunder is to destroy their home, kill all those they hold dear, and challenge their fundamental worldviews. It's not always required to do all three, but if the decimation needs to be certain, why risk it?

Perhaps you find this line of thought sadistic. Perhaps you should. But then, why do we study philosophy?

What is it about minds that we demand to understand how they break?

Perhaps that is a topic for another time.<<

~~~

Front hoof.

Back hoof.

Front hoof.

Back hoof.

Front hoof...

It was all Pinkie could think about right now. Walking. There was too much swirling around her head to let her mind wander. If given the chance, she'd latch onto the feeling of emptiness inside her... The things she'd done to TS... The words Rarity had spoken to her... The burning camp...

Her mane was dangerously close to completely flat, but the expression coupled with her mane was not despondent or livid like usual. Instead, her face was straight and blank. Her movement was robotic, calculated, methodical. She hadn't said anything all night or morning.

Neither had Minuette, for that matter. She walked ahead of Pinkie, just behind Rarity, head down. Her face had generally remained sour, but occasionally Rarity would see signs of a deeply troubled mare. Rarity herself had enough of her wits about her to know she hadn't the foggiest idea of what to do or where to go. She just kept walking, hoping to see something, anything that could help them. Even an abandoned cabin would be nice - but all she saw was grass and trees. The trees were more prevalent than they were closer to the Concretion, but they were still sparse along the great plains. The only landmark she saw was the Concretion itself, still visible in the distance.

She sighed - she was far too numb to feel anything about that place. She was spent, barely enough energy in her legs to keep moving. She'd expected to collapse into a heap before daybreak, but she somehow managed to pull through, her four legs accessing reservoirs of energy she didn't know she had.

She knew she wouldn't last much longer though. She looked around, frantically, for a place to rest - and then she saw it. There was something in the distance that wasn't grass or trees. It was a dull brown and crossed her vision like a snake... It might have been a road.

She picked up speed slightly, grunting through her fatigue. She stumbled towards the path, dangerously close to falling over with every few steps. It took a few minutes to reach it, but the moment she arrived at the dirt path she decided enough was enough. She let her legs give out from underneath her, letting out a sigh of relief as her body hit the dirty ground. "A road! I found a road!"

"Want a medal?" Minuette hissed, cresting the hill behind her, Pinkie a few moments behind.

Rarity took in a sharp breath of air. "No, I just want to take a minute and appreciate the road. The sign of civilizaiton. Stars... I didn't realize how good dirt felt until today..."

This shook Pinkie out of her stupor. She fixed rarity with a blank look. "...What!?"

Rarity raised an eyebrow at Pinkie. Seeing that Pinkie's mane still hadn't improved, she chose her words carefully. "...Yes, I do suppose enjoying this dirt has ruined my appearance..."

"There's dirt everywhere!" Pinkie shouted suddenly. "If you wanted to roll in the dirt you could have done it at any time!"

Rarity recoiled. "Pinkie... You aren't feeling well... You need to calm down..."

"No, really?" She said, letting out a sharp, fake laugh. "I hadn't noticed!"

"Pinkie... What's wrong? You can talk to me."

"I have no idea! I feel like something was taken from me! Like a part of me was ripped from the earth beneath my hooves! Things hurt now Rarity! Things that didn't hurt before! My hooves hurt when I bounce! My legs hurt when I stretch! I..." She fell silent. "...Ponies died. Something's wrong with this world..."

"Something's wrong with you," Minuette muttered.

Pinkie glared at Minuette with the intensity of a honey badger. To her credit, Minuette didn't recoil in the slightest.

Rarity held up her hooves before the tension could escalate further. "Look, we're all on the ends of our ropes here. But we're also all in this together. So, one way or another, we're going to have to tolerate each other to survive. Okay, Minuette? Pinkie?"

Minuette huffed. "Fine."

Pinkie nodded slowly, face stoic once more.

Rarity forced a smile. "Good! Minuette, where are we going?"

"We're on the road. We should travel along it."

"Minuette..."

Minuette took in a sharp breath. "Closest town is Cartwheel. That way," she said, pointing to the eastern side of the road. "There probably won't be a contact for me there, but it's close enough to Neighagra Falls, where I know one is. Then I'll find out what the frick to do with you two."

"It won't involve being chained to a pole will it?"

Minuette sneered. "I doubt it, but I'll see what I can do."

Rarity balked. "You wouldn't!"

"Oh yes, I would!"

"Why!?"

Minuette jabbed a hoof at Rarity. "Because you've ruined my life, that's why - you bucking minglers!"

"You didn't have to save us," Pinkie said, not even looking at the two of them.

Minuette bristled. "Yeah. Remind me of my failures why don't you, make me want to drive you six feet under the dirty mud you hold so close to your pigged heart!"

"You seem upset," Pinkie deadpanned.

"No shit! I wonder why!"

"Such a mystery."

"I am going to hurt you now. It will be long, excruciating, and devastating."

"Stop!" Rarity yelled. "This is just what I said not to do less than two minutes ago!"

Minuette twitched but backed down. Pinkie did the same.

"Good." Rarity put her hoof down. "Now, we have a Cartwheel to get-"

Part of the ground behind Rarity exploded from a near-miss missile. Minuette quickly raised a shield around the three of them, preventing the three subsequent missile volleys from vaporizing them.

"Drone!" Minuette yelled. "Stupid!"

The drone fired a lance weapon, shattering Minuette's shield. The impact of the metallic rod with the ground tossed the three mares in different directions. The drone flew in low, extending a claw from its underside towards Pinkie. Pinkie elegantly leaped over the drone's silvery shell, landing softly behind it.

The drone took a few moments to turn around for another pass. Minuette seized the opportunity to blast the machine with a few high-energy laser spells. A few sections on the dome began to smoke from the assault, but otherwise, there was no visible damage. It charged them again, this time choosing to ignore Pinkie in favor of unleashing a stream of bullets right at Minuette.

Minuette levitated the bullets in front of her, stopping every last one a meter away from her body. However, she was unable to stop them and the drone itself. She prepared for the machine to barrel right into her.

It never connected. Rarity stepped in, using her own magic to divert the machine's course away from Minuette - and towards herself. The drone continued firing as it pulled up, sending a few bullets Rarity's way. She reacted in an instant - stopping one of the ballistics inches from her forehead. "My... I just stopped a bullet!"

"Not all of them," Minuette shouted, firing more lasers at the drone as it turned to make another pass.

"What do you mean?I don't feel anything..." Rarity looked herself over and froze. There was a red hole in her leg. "Well... Then... I suppose I'm in shock... I think I'll pass out now." Her eyes rolled back into her skull and she tipped to the ground.

Pinkie took one look at rarity and snapped. Her mane flattened completely and a look of rage took over her previously impassive face. "Okay, mister drone-pants! You're dead!" She leaped into the air higher than was physically possible. She landed atop the drone's back with an impressively loud thunk. She produced her party cannon. "Say cheese."

The confetti explosion produced enough downward force that the drone skimmed the ground, kicking up grass and clods of dirt. The drone managed to regain control, rising into the air once more only to have a giant rubber hammer smash it into the ground with a loud squeak. Pinkie grinned. "You know, that was kinda fun!" Her tail began to twitch uncontrollably. "Huh? Haven't had any Pinkie Sense in a while..." She listened to the call of danger, hopping off of the crashed drone just in time to avoid a bullet.

Minuette took the opportunity to blast the drone with a half-dozen bolts of magic in quick succession, blowing the machine to smithereens. She cackled. "Take that clanker!"

Pinkie smiled, her hair poofing up slightly. "Yeah! Take that clanker!"

Minuette laughed - then caught herself and returned to her normal, angry face. "Hey, bucker, no using my lines."

Pinkie smirked. "Oh come on, I know a repressed smile when I see one! Let it out! Let it out! Let it - ohmygosh Rarity!" She rushed over to her downed friend. "Rarity?"

Rarity groaned, the blood from her leg already pooling on the ground, reddening even more of her already disturbed coat.

"We need to move fast or she's going to bleed out," Minuette said.

"I can do that." Pinkie hefted Rarity onto her back. "Try and keep up."

"Cloud rooter, do you have any idea-"

Pinkie shot down the road at absurd speeds, nothing more than a pink streak in the distance.

Minuette stared down the road in shock. Crap, she's going to arrive at the town before me. "Pigger!" She yelled. "Hold up!" She cast accelerado and retenporia on herself in a futile attempt to catch up with the pink pony. Pinkie was rushing her friend to civilization to save her life...

Minuette bit her lip. They might just get themselves killed.

~~~

Cartwheel was so named because the largest building was a giant waterwheel that slowly rotated alongside a large, raging river. There were only a few dozen buildings scattered around, most constructed with stone, though there were a couple wooden abodes and a helping of cloud houses. None of the structures looked to be in good shape, many falling apart or rotting.

Life was slow, silent, and downcast. The earth ponies worked the fields with their heads downtrodden, most watched by unicorns, a small number of which had shiny monocles on their faces. The center of town was mostly occupied by pegasi, all shooting each other death glares as they went about their daily business.

It was in this unsavory town square that Pinkie ran into, Rarity on her back. The wind rush from her momentum blew through the open area, drawing the gazes of all the present pegasi to her. "Is there a doctor in the house!? Rarity needs a doctor! She's been shot!"

The first response was not "I am" nor "I'll go get such-and-such." It wasn't "no" or "what's a doctor?" either.

"What. The buck. Is a cloud rooter doing in our square!?" A tall, black pegasus roared.

Pinkie twitched. "Shove your racist bias elsewhere right now! Can't you see she's hurt?"

The pegasus seemed taken aback. "Did... did you just talk back to me?"

"Yes. So? Doctor! Need! Get it into your thick skull!"

"Calm down, calm down," a milky white unicorn stallion said, striding into the commotion. He wore a monocle on his left eye that shrouded his brilliant green iris. He walked up to Pinkie, examining Rarity with a frown. "Oh. Well, that's something." He lit his horn, stopping the bleeding instantly. He levitated Rarity off Pinkie's back and carried her away.

"W-wait!" Pinkie said. "Where are you-"

"She needs further treatment. If you're still around when she gets better I'll have somepony find you."

"Still around...?" She said. The stallion walked into a nearby building and shut the door. Pinkie's stared at the door for several moments, dragged out of her stupor only by the twitch of her tail. She sidestepped just in time to avoid the black pegasus's skydive attack. He embedded his face into the ground, to the immense amusement of all the pegasi around.

Pinkie giggled. "You okay there?"

"I'm going to kill you," he said, flaring his wings. "No cloud rooter talks back to Thunder, and nopony makes a fool of me!"

Pinkie took a step back, grimacing. It was happening again. They were being attacked. There was evil. It was so sad and depressing and she just wasn't sure if she could take it...

...well, why exactly did it have to be that way? Why did it have to be sad?

Pinkie smiled, her mane suddenly poofing back to its regular state. She leaped onto her hind hooves, gesturing for Thunder to get closer. "Come at me, birdy, let's see how this goes!"

The crowd went wild at this. "You going to take that Thunder?" "You going to let the pig trash talk you?"

Thunder bared his teeth. "You just signed your death certificate." He threw a punch, and Pinkie was suddenly standing on his outstretched hoof.

"I don't think you know what that is." She jumped off his leg and landed squarely on his head.

"Th- what?" Thunder rolled over to knock her off, only to somehow find himself held in her hooves.

"The draw!" Pinkie said, pulling her hooves back. "The calculation!" She squinted her eyes and licked her lips. "The throw!" She tossed the squirming Thunder into the air. "The score!" With a clang, Thunder landed in a garbage can. She held her hooves high, grinning. The crowd went wild, laughing and pointing at Thunder.

Thunder flew out of the dumpster, revealing a knife in his wing. "That's it!"

"Oh really? Your big trick is a knife?" She rolled her eyes, reaching into her mane. "I got dozens of those." She threw a few kitchen and chef's knives out just to make her point. "Kiiiinda boring to use in a fight though, don't you think?"

Thunder roared, flying at her, knife pointed at her chest. A microsecond before he hit, she stepped out of the way. She ripped the knife out of his wing with her tail. "Hrm... Good grip, but the blade could use sharpening." She threw it at a wall - and it didn't stick. "Woah, really poor blade quality there."

Thunder was so angry he was no longer able to form words. He ran right for her, she dodged. He barreled towards her, and she did it again. She dodged. Again, she dodged. Again, again, and again.

She shrugged. "Wow, this is getting boooooring. Do you have any other tricks?"

Thunder responded with another completely pointless lunge - right into Pinkie's frying pan. his eyes rolled back into his skull and he slumped to the ground, unconscious. Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Guess not."

She turned to the town and grinned, her right eye twitching involuntarily. "Victory is mine! What's my prize?"

"Get her!" One of the pegasi yelled. With this, the crowd surged forth as one to pummel her.

"Oh," Pinkie said, "I... don't think I can take you all..." She gulped.

"Stop!" In a flash of blue, Minuette appeared."This mare is needed alive for official Equestrian Military business! Any of you preeners touch her and you will be annihilated by my horn! Do I make myself absolutely clear?!"

"Loud and clear, accas bitch!" a different pegasus yelled.

"If I ever find out who said that they will rot in Tartarus for eternity," Minuette spat. Then she turned to Pinkie. "Where's Rarity?"

"...One of the monocle unicorns took her into that house..." Pinkie said.

"Ugh, I hate Inspectors..." Minuette muttered. "Did they offer to treat her?"

"I think so."

"Okay. You better come with, the crowd looks like it wants to murder you."

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "And you don't?"

"I have orders."

"Ooooh! You don't! Progress!"

A look of panic crossed Minuette's face. She glanced at the crowd for a moment, calculating. She slapped Pinkie across the face - hard. "If I didn't need you alive you'd be rotting in a pit of your own pigger filth!"

The crowd cheered.

Pinkie's mane was returned to its flat state, her eyes watering with tears. A look of uncertainty crossed Minuette's face for the slightest moment, but she buried it quickly. She grabbed hold of Pinkie by the mane. "Come on." She dragged her into the house roughly. Pinkie left a trail of tears along the ground.

V - Mob Mentality

Here's a question: How would you describe Cartwheel in one word?

This is not a question for you, so don't try to answer it, lest you end up the fool.

Actual answers vary drastically, from 'where?' to 'home' and other such meaningless words along the lines of 'empty,' 'distant,' 'boring,' 'round,' 'feathery,' 'unwelcoming,' and 'idiotic.' All of these words are legitimate, I suppose, though in a rather shallow and bigoted way.

I have a word I find much more appropriate than all others I've heard.

Unforgiving.

The town has a sort of mob mentality about it. Nothing magical or overly unusual about it, just a mob, a perfectly regular mob in most senses. Except for the odd little fact that the mob isn't mindless. It remembers everything in it, creating a collective memory. And like all mobs, it's as violent as a greedy dragon.

Imagine a greedy dragon the size of a town that knows how to hold a grudge for eternity, and you have Cartwheel.

The most terrifying thought to most is that Cartwheel isn't even close to the worst place on the planet. There are much more horrid things out there. But that terror is shallow. What should be considered terrifying about Cartwheel is a bit harder to grasp.

Where are all the children? <<

~~~

"She'll live," the white stallion said. He'd introduced himself a few moments ago as Inspector Calcium. "She'll probably be able to travel soon, in fact. Though she needs rest now."

Minuette sighed. "This has all just been one clusterbuck after another... Nice to have some good news for a change." She looked through a grimy window, noticing the setting sun. "We'll have to find somewhere to stay..."

"Good luck finding a bed for your earth there," Calcium said, tucking Rarity in.

"Yeah. She seems to have completely forgotten how things work around here."

"Hey!" Pinkie said. "How was I supposed to-"

Minuette's eyes darted to Calcium, performing a quick calculation. She raised a hoof to slap Pinkie, but that hoof was caught midair by Pinkie's own. Pinkie locked eyes with Minuette - both pairs filled with anger.

"Can't even keep your earth under control," Calcium said, slightly bemused.

Minuette looked like she wanted to punch his skull in. She carefully pulled her hoof back from Pinkie and stomped outside. "Make your own sleeping accommodations, rooter. Word of advice, nopony is going to let you sleep under their roof, soooooo... hope you find a nice pasture of grass!"

Pinkie twitched. "I hope you get a moldy bed!"

"I probably will, but I'll at least have a bed, best you can do is sleep with piggers!"

"Pigs are nice, pink, and soft! and I don't mind mud!"

"Celestia's ass, stop taking things so literally!"

"Oh, I know peeerfectly well what it means! I'm just trying to annoy you!"

Minuette stormed out of the building and slammed the door. Pinkie hoof-pumped. "Woo! Point for Pinkie!" She cackled maniacally, eyes darting around wildly.

"...Dead mare walking," Calcium muttered under his breath.

Pinkie slid right next to him, her mouth right next to his ear. "What was that? Why am I dead?"

Calcium backed away, looking at her with annoyance rather than disgust - or fear. "I was referring to your soldier," he said, examining her through his monocle.

Pinkie cocked her head. "Wha...? She hasn't made anypony mad..."

"You really are as stupid as you look," he said, adjusting the placement of Rarity's sheets.

Pinkie forced a smile, gritting her teeth. "You care to tell me what obvious thing I'm missing, boney?"

"No," he said, levitating her into the air, kicking the door open, and tossing her out. "Don't come back here without your soldier. I can't stand your kind." The door slammed in her face.

Pinkie laughed. "Well... great! At least Rarity'll be fine in there! Yeah!" Pinkie got up and walked away, face contorting spastically as she went. Every step she took was hard, flat, and angry. She walked right through the square again.

"Hey!" a pegasus yelled. "This is our space, haven't you learned that?"

"No!" Pinkie rang out, grinning. "Anypony want to try and teach me that!?"

"Oh, you have no idea..." another pegasus said, grinning.

"Shaaaame on you!" Pinkie sang. "I'm needed by the army and hooo boy would they get mad if something were to happen to me!"

"Buck the army." A deep, authoritative voice rang out. A tall golden mare strode into Pinkie's sight, her horn glowing intensely. "I don't care if you're the princess's illegitimate daughter or have intelligence that will change the world. You defied."

Pinkie's mane poofed up slightly. The world came into focus, and she smirked, producing her frying pan. "You want to dance?"

The golden unicorn said nothing. She merely fired a laser, which Pinkie dodged by nimbly lifting a leg. The bolt drilled a meter deep hole into the ground.

"Wow!" Pinkie said. "Impressive! If you'd hit me I'd be-"

A pegasus bystander collided with her, pinning her to the ground. Pinkie rolled, tossing him off as if he were a basketball, narrowly avoiding another laser bolt from the golden unicorn. She threw her frying pan at the unicorn, only for it to be disintegrated. Pinkie noticed dozens of pegasi moving as one, rushing her. She couldn't dodge them all - she was pushed to the ground, encased in angry bodies. Wriggling like a worm, she managed to squeeze herself out as if she were made of some rubbery substance. She screamed in pain as she did so - it hurt, it hurt a lot, to bend her body like that. Was that what normal ponies felt when she dragged them around back home?

With a quick pop, she was free, though she collided rather quickly with an outstretched hoof. "Ow..." she muttered. "This is hardly sporting!"

She realized in this moment it wasn't going to be fun anymore. She saw something in her opponents - it mostly wasn't hatred, though that was there. It was fear. Fear of what she represented. She was scaring them, and had been ever since she showed up...

Her mane went flat again. She lost her energy and sank to the ground, letting the pegasi pile on her. Dozens upon dozens of them, all punching and biting, unable to organize their panicked rage.

Then Pinkie's tail twitched. Her eyes widened. "Oh no." She tried to throw them all off her, but her jump was too slow. The laser from the golden unicorn missed her - but it instantly killed three pegasi.

"WHAT THE HECK IS WRONG WITH YOU!?" Pinkie screamed. She punched behind her, knocking out a pegasus she had no way of knowing was there.

The golden unicorn blinked. "Sacrifices must be-"

The blast from a party cannon sent the unicorn flying. "SACRIFICES FOR WHAT? YOU KILLED THEM!"

For the first time since Pinkie had laid eyes on her, emotion crossed the unicorn's face. "No, you did! If you had been submissive and weak like you were supposed to be this wouldn't be necessary!"

"W-what?"

"You did this! you broke the order with your earthly defiance!"

Pinkie looked at the scant remains of the pegasi - a wing here, a hoof there. "N-no..."

"Yes. You did that." Her horn glowed. "And surely you can realize, murderers don't deserve to live."

Pinkie said nothing. She didn't even move. Didn't look up.

"Just submit to your punishment." She fired the laser.

Pinkie dodged, leaping quickly behind a building and vanishing completely.

"DAMNIT!" The unicorn yelled. She looked at the three pegasi's remains, her face pained. "D-damnit... That was for nothing..."

"She'll pay for what she did here," a pegasus mare said.

"Yes. Yes, she will." She narrowed her eyes. "I know just how to do it."

Meanwhile, over a mile away, Pinkie cried herself to sleep in the shade of one of the few trees in the plains.

~~~

Minuette let out the most pained groan imaginable when she walked into the room she had procured for the night. The space was bare, the only bathroom was a window looking to the street, and the bed was not only moldy, half of it was missing. If she had felt safer, she would have just cast a sleeping spell on herself, but that was too risky in a place like this. It wasn't just because Pinkie had to go and be an idiot. She was part of the army... And nopony in these little towns liked the army...

She shook her head. They couldn't do anything to her, none of them were warriors. And Rarity was with an Inspector, so the ponies would have to be complete idiots to try anything. Minuette refused to think about Pinkie Pie right now. That mare could go hang herself for all Minuette cared at the moment. At least, that's what she told herself - part of her felt depressed at the thought.

"What's wrong with you..." Minuette muttered to herself. "She's just a cloud rooting pig of a mud pony! Bucker, she's also annoying!" She flopped onto the half mattress, ignoring the dampness. "The world would be so much better off if she never left hers..."

She rolled onto her side, looking out the window. Stars appeared in the darkening sky slowly, and the moon rose, a sure sign of Luna watching over them all. The stellar object's white rays fell on Minuette's face, feeling her with a momentary feeling of comfort.

The sky sure was beautiful tonight. She could have let herself get lost in it. She almost did - but then she heard a creak behind her door.

Buuuuuuuuck...

She should've known the serenity was too good to be true.

Her door was kicked down. She vaporized the first pegasus in line with a single high-intensity magic blast. "Who's next?"

A golden beam of energy shot from the hallway towards Minuette. She cast accelerado to dodge it, the end of her tail burning into ash, along with a large section of the floor. Minuette raised a set of miniature magic shields in a rapidly rotating pattern along with six magical bullets as glowing blue points of energy ready to launch at her command. "Big mistake. I'm a trained soldier! No mere town brawler is-"

She was interrupted by another laser, which her shields easily deflected. She raised an eyebrow. "Was that-"

Then she felt the golden unicorn behind her. The unicorn tore Minuette's shields off with her magic and summoned an ethereal blade to her side. Minuette rolled out of the way, but the blade nicked her front shoulder, drawing blood. She reared up on her hind legs, firing her magic bullets at her opponent. All six hit - all six bounced off a magical sheen hidden just beneath the golden fur.

"The buck!?"

"I was once in the army myself," the unicorn said. "I hated every minute of it. Yet they somehow managed to promote me to Commander before I flew the coop."

Minuette took a step back. A deserter...

"Scared?" The mare leaned in. "You should be. That pink pony of yours just killed three of my people. You know what the punishment for an out of control earth is."

Minuette didn't believe for a second Pinkie had killed those three ponies, she was far too soft for that. The thought wasn't very comforting. "S-she isn't mine! I was just tasked with getting her to another army base! She's her own mare!"

"This isn't a court, cadet. This is justice."

Minuette thought fast. She was outclassed here, and she knew it. Even if she did win somehow, it'd likely turn the entire town against her. But if she submitted she'd die... There was only one option.

"Bye," Minuette said, teleporting away. She found herself outside, face down in the street, smoking slightly. Being nervous was never good for teleportation. She scrambled to her hooves and galloped through town. Luckily the streets were abandoned - unluckily the golden mare knew how to teleport as well.

Minuette reared the moment she saw the flash of yellow that heralded her opponent's presence. The golden mare snorted. "So you not only aren't an idiot, you know a spell most cadets don't. Bet you're at the top of your unit. Used to getting things your way?"

"Why are you psychoanalyzing me?"

"Makes it more interesting than just vaporizing you off the face of Equis."

"You're a bucking weird psycho."

"I don't think that word means what you think it does." She raised an eyebrow. "Are you calculating a long range teleport?"

That was exactly what Minuette was doing. "W-what? What makes you say that? How could I, a mere cadet, know long-range teleportation?"

"I'm curious to see if you can do it. And where you'll go that you think is safe."

"Uh... What?"

"Just do it."

"Something's wrong with you."

"Already knew that. Go on."

Minuette grimaced. "Alrighty..." She teleported right in front of Inspector Calcium's door, smashing her face into the wood. She ran into the house and shut the door behind her. Breathing hard, she turned to look Calcium in the eyes. "The ponies in this town are crazy!"

"A definite," Calcium said, looking up from his book.

"How can you stand to work here? How hasn't she purged this place yet!?"

Calcium's eye twinkled. "Oh, they're self-defeating."

Minuette shivered. "Y-you do know you've got a deserter out there right?"

"Oh, yes. Gold Standard's her name. Idealistic mare." He turned to the sleeping form of Rarity. "Bit like this one, actually."

"She woke up?"

"Oh yes. Asked for you and Pinkie. I said you were asleep. She said a lot of interesting things." He looked at her. "...What the Concretes did was an act of war."

"Yeah, I know."

"Only a matter of time until the Crown reciprocates."

Minuette nodded, glancing over at Rarity again. She jumped when she realized Rarity's eyes were open.

Rarity sighed. "Calm yourself, darling, I'm fine."

Minuette let out a breath. "Good. We'll need to leave as soon as possible. The town's filled with crazed preeners and... some scarily sane runters."

"Where's Pinkie?"

"Somewhere outside town," Minuette said. "Let's get out first, then we can go look for her." Why am I even suggesting that...

Rarity nodded. She stepped out of bed, wincing when she put weight on the leg that was shot. "Oh... I fear I am going to be slow."

"Just keeps getting better and better..." Minuette facehooved.

"Oh, you don't know the half of it," a new voice said.

Calcium looked into the doorway. "Ah. Madam mayor. Wasn't expecting you."

The blue mare walked in, levitating her extravagant coat off her body. "Likewise." She smiled at Minuette and Rarity. "Pleasure to meet you."

"...Trixie?" Rarity said in disbelief.

"Yes, that's my given name. Just 'Mayor' is fine." She walked around the establishment with grace and rhythm, something that looked completely alien to Rarity when coming from the form of Trixie.

"So," Trixie said, "you've noticed I have a town of completely mad ponies."

"Yes!" Minuette yelled. "This bucking place is succumbing to the mob! They tried to attack me! They claimed we killed some ponies! They've become fixated! I'm amazed you haven't been purged yet!"

"Purged...?" Rarity asked.

Minuette sighed. "As a town gets bigger, its dangers of becoming a corrupt city constantly rise. When a high corruption is detected Inspectors will send word to Sunset and have the town burnt to the ground."

"My Stars..."

Trixie raised an eyebrow. "You had to explain that to her?"

"Er... yes."

"There really is some top-secret army operations going on, aren't there?"

Minuette facehooved. "Yes! Bucking Celestia yes!"

Trixie nodded. "That makes this even more painful."

"...What?" Rarity said, frowning.

"In order to keep my town and the good ponies left in it from being purged, I convinced Calcium not to report us."

Minuette blinked. "...How!?"

"The mob is a self-solving problem," Trixie said. "The population keeps going down. Those within the mob that are brutal never live long, and fewer and fewer are able to resist the call each day. Since they can't have children, it'll eventually kill itself with its toxicity."

"Th-that's horrible," Rarity said, reeling at the implications.

"Dodging the law always is."

Minuette shook her head. "How does this concern us?"

Trixie sighed. "Sadly, the mob here will never forget a debt or wrong. You and your ponies insulted them personally. They won't stop until you pay with your life. And in the process, they will start attacking bystanders, and towns you visit will be essentially invaded. The whole point of letting them kill themselves off will be pointless."

Minuette looked at Calcium. "Do you hear this?"

"Yes."

"You agreed to this!?"

Calcium nodded. "And all the other Inspectors in town. But with your arrival, we've been forced to give the Mayor an ultimatum. Either she has you killed to appease the mob, or we call for a purge before they can get out."

Rarity gasped. "But... But... No! I won't allow it! These ponies have lives!" She sat down. "I'll live here the rest of my days, even if that is only for the next few minutes, to stop this! My only request is that you let me see Pinkie first."

Minuette's jaw dropped. "Are. You. Crazy!? You're the reason the Concretes are starting a war! You... You know things! You're important! You can't just throw it away for some stupid backwater town that should have been burnt off the map years ago!"

"Yes, I can," she said, folding her hooves. "I've only been in this world a day and I'm already done playing by your rules. This is all wrong, every aspect of it. I'm not just going to say 'oh, well, if that's the way you do things...' anymore! No! Seriously, what the heck is wrong with you ponies?!"

"Did you not hear the Mayor? She's going to execute us!"

"Try and stop me."

Trixie sighed. "They've convinced me."

"...What?" Rarity said.

"Order the purge."

Calcium nodded and walked out of the house. Rarity looked ready to burst a blood vessel. "I just told you not to do that! Weren't you listening!?"

"That means you are worth saving," Trixie said. "You're important. Besides..." She looked out a window at the town itself. "It would have taken too long anyway. It's only a matter of time before another troublemaker comes to town."

Minuette gulped. Rarity grabbed Trixie's hoof and looked into her eyes. "...What has this world done to you?"

"What it does to everypony," she sighed. "You try to do your best, but you only end up making deals with devils..."

"I..." Rarity sighed. "...Thank you. For trying. ...What's going to happen to you?"

Trixie smiled sadly. "Don't worry about me."

Rarity put a hoof to her mouth in realization.

"I suggest you leave quickly. Who knows how long it'll be. I'll keep Gold occupied."

Minuette awkwardly looked from Rarity to Trixie, a bit overtaken by the conversation. She turned to Trixie and saluted. "May the Stars be with you."

Trixie saluted back. "Likewise."

Minuette cast the invisibility spell, taking Rarity by the hoof and getting her out of town in silence. Minuette heard Gold Standard start yelling - presumably at Trixie. The sounds of magic lasers going off could be heard. There was no way Trixie would last long against that.

After they were out in the grassy fields, Minuette heard Rarity crying. She sighed. "Look. It's... It's the way things are. We have to cut off what parts are dangerous before they kill us."

"You're all broken..." Rarity managed.

"...I'm not going to disagree with you there."

~~~

Pinkie woke up, looking at the night sky. The town of Cartwheel slept below. It looked much more peaceful form a distance. If she hadn't just been in there, she might have fooled herself into believing it was welcoming. She saw a few ponies leave town. She wondered why they were leaving. Why they looked to be in such a hurry.

She saw something bright red in the sky getting closer and closer. It looked a bit like a miniature sun...

VI - Purge

The purge is a barbaric practice fuelled by paranoia that continually gets validated in increasingly irksome ways.

The process went something like this: Equestria was terrified of cities and their tendency towards corruption - so all cities save for Canterlot itself were torn down and divided up into smaller towns where possible. Ponies were relocated and families were separated. And yet, it seemed as if the corruption hadn't gone away, for violence still broke out all over the place and ponies all in all continued to be stupid and angry.

Instead of coming to the reasonable assumption that the ponies were just peeved about their cities being torn down, the government made an immense leap in logic. They decided the societal corruption was a mental and magical disease that prevailed in larger communities, and that splitting those communities up had just lessened its spread, not destroyed it.

In their great wisdom, the Sisters allowed the creation of the Inspectors and the purge protocol. Government trained unicorns would live in every town and report if the disease manifested itself strongly. As a failsafe, most towns got several Inspectors, who ended up taking over the roles of general law keeping. In theory, Inspectors were altruistic. In reality, most decided they'd use their power to shape the towns into whatever they desired, threatening the ponies with a purge if they didn't comply. Of course, they had to be subtle about it, or else their fellow Inspectors would call a purge down on them, but that wasn't enough of a check and balance.

When Sunset took over the purging personally, those threats and manipulations decreased substantially.

And thus is how the purge got to where it is.<<

~~~

Shimmering death.

That's how Pinkie would describe the intense glow above Cartwheel. She couldn't make out much in the way of details in the glowing doom, but she was sure she saw a pair of fiery wings within the sphere. The citizens of Cartwheel knew what was coming. The mob raged as one: not running, not accepting their fate, but fighting back. Golden lasers shot from the ground, mixed with a hoard of pegasi and other magic missiles. The attacks all burned off the edge of the fiery threat without so much as shifting the flaming ball's shape. The wings within the glow flapped a single time - lighting up the night with a blanket of fire, banishing the stars from sight. The houses melted under the intense wave of heat. Screams rang out for the briefest of moments before all the vocal cords burned into nothing. The grasses lit, chains of fire forming through the vast green sea.

As if that wasn't enough, the fiery star launched itself into the ground, creating a tremendous explosion, vaporizing all that survived the initial flames. The afterimage of the explosion was still burned into Pinkie's mind long after it had dissipated.

The great fiery blemish on the land vanished as quickly as it was created, snuffed out with a single thought, leaving nothing behind but scorched earth with thick trails of smoke. A flat plane of ash served as a scar for the land, a reminder. The fiery globe took flight, leaving with amazing speed, out of sight within a minute. Its work was done. All was silent. Pinkie hadn't budged.

Pinkie realized something in that moment.

Minuette had been in town.

Rarity had been...

Pinkie's pupils shrunk to little pinpricks of intense darkness. Her face became flat and robotic, and her body ceased the mad twitching entirely. She might as well have been a statue.

She took in a long, deep breath through her nose. She held the air in for over a minute.

Then the air came out in an agonizing scream that raged against life itself. Grass rustled, trees shook, and bugs fled from the shrill, devastating noise. Rage. Nothing but pure rage. Murder was in her face while she screamed, plants around her shriveling up just from the intent. And yet, she didn't move. She just yelled, and yelled, and yelled, for longer than a single breath would have allowed. She had no conscious intent of stopping.

Rage at this level cannot be maintained forever. Eventually, the brain becomes incapable of holding the rush of emotion, draining itself of the intensity for its own protection. The scream trailed off into nothing, leaving a pathetic empty husk of a pony.

The first moments were all her trying to keep her mind blank - not to think, not to act, not to go down that path. To refuse giving the light of day to anything. To do nothing at all, indefinitely. This lasted for hardly a minute - images and thoughts started to burrow in through the defenses. It all started with scant images, sounds - Rarity's face, smiling. An explosion. Somepony screaming 'bucker!' in Pinkie's face. Explosions, lasers, ponies being disintegrated. That golden unicorn yelling at her. Fires falling from the sky and consuming everypony.

Rarity, running from the falling fire, Minuette by her side. Rarity scrambled, screaming. Minuette turned to ash beside her, falling into nothing. Rarity's mane burned off, singing her skin. Her entire coat soon vanished, burning down to nothing, her pristine white skin charred to a black. Her legs gave out, unable to work through the intense pain of the fire clawing her on all sides. Her body boiled, the flames eating her slowly until she was nothing more than dust in the wind...

So wrong.

What had they done to this world to call for this? All they had done was show up and try to run away... Try to be friendly... But apparently that was wrong. That wasn't the way things were. That was worthy of death. And it was her fault...

Her fault. She knew it - she had something to do with the fires coming down. That unicorn was right, she, Pinkamina Diane Pie, had killed them. Not just Rarity and Minuette, but them all. It was something she did. She was certain of it in that moment. Nothing else could be right in her mind - her emotionless, drained, sluggish mind. It was all her.

"I'm done," she said, reaching into her mane and pulling out her party cannon. It brought the slightest hint of a smile to her face. The blue color, the energetic appearance, the flowery wheels. She stood there, looking at it for a while, observing her reflection in the blue barrel. So... So sad. So empty. So wrong.

She patted the party cannon. "It's... nice to see you, old friend." She climbed into the barrel of the cannon, angling herself so her head poked out. "Goodbye."

With a celebratory noise and a blast of confetti, Pinkie was launched into the air, sailing upwards for several seconds, the wind whipping through her mane. She opened her eyes the moment she peaked, looking at the ground a seemingly infinite distance below. She had done this thousands of times before - launch out of the cannon, fall, and then bounce to the surprise of all watching. A sorrowful smile crept up her face as she remembered all those parties she was a part of.

Funny, anypony who had seen them would think this was normal, just another one of her tricks.

But she wasn't going to let herself bounce this time.

She began to fall, gradually accelerating towards the ground. The wind burned against her eyeballs, tearing tears from them. She was forced to close them - which let her mind wander.

Don't bounce.

She remembered her life back home, her mission of bringing smiles and laughter to all. The many parties she threw, the millions of smiles she had created. Tears seeped through her eyelids, trailing behind her.

Don't bounce.

Her friends, her best friends. They were there. Twilight. Rainbow. Starlight. Fluttershy. Applejack. Spike. Rarity...

Don't bounce.

She held Rarity's memory close. The graceful and generous mare. Her smile, her laugh, her annoyed looks... Looks that would never be seen again by anyone... Because...

"I'M SORRY I COULDN'T PROTECT YOU!" She yelled to the universe. She spread her hooves out, ready for the impact.

And then she stopped falling. She didn't hit the ground, didn't suddenly cease to exist - she just stopped falling.

She opened her eyes slowly, stomach reeling from the deceleration. She was less than an inch from the ground.

"OH COME ON!" she yelled. "I can't even do that right? Of all the-"

Rarity barreled into her, hugging the pink mare tight. Through her own tears, she screamed at Pinkie. "Don't you ever try that again Pinkie Pie! Pinkie... Oh my gosh Pinkie..."

"Y... You're alive!?" Pinkie's flattened mane vanished instantly, all the color and energy returning to her body with a single pop. "You're alive!" She lifted Rarity into the air and squeezed her tight, laughing and crying at the same time. "You're alive and you saved me! Oh, thank you thank you thank you!"

"Pinkie..." Rarity sniffed, "I didn't do that."

Pinkie looked around Rarity, seeing Minuette standing there. Minuette blinked. "...It was all a matter of following the scream. "

Pinkie grinned, stretching her hoof out to Minuette and pulling her into the hug. "Thank you both!" she cried, crying into both their coats.

"Woah!" Minuette struggled against the cuddly pink pony in vain. "Hey! Not the hugs bucker! Not the hugs!"

Pinkie smiled coyly, sniffing. "Nah, you need it."

Minuette continued struggling and swearing up a storm, but she noticeably didn't attempt to harm Pinkie. She couldn't bring herself to try, there was something about a giggling and crying pony that made her stop, unsure.

Pinkie did eventually release them, beaming. Rarity beamed right back - and while Minuette felt violated, a smile crept up her face without her knowledge.

For seemingly no reason, the three of them broke out into laughter. They fell to the ground, rolling in the grass, laughing at themselves, their situaiton, and the universe...

They let it all out. None of them had been prepared for this mess - something about the situation was just comical. Tears and laughs rang out in the abandoned fields. Occasionally one of them would try to say something only to be overcome by a fit of giggles, which would only make the other two laugh harder. The cycle could not be broken by even their best efforts - laughing on, even as the sky grew brigher and the stars began to vanish. Eventually, the three mares found themselves laying face up, looking at the sky as morning dawned, softly giggling.

Minuette was the first to get out a coherent sentence. "What the buck do we do now?"

"I don't know, darling," Rarity chuckled. "You're the one who supposedly knows where we're going."

"Oooooh, what if she was just pretending she knew what she was doing this whole time!?" Pinkie suggested.

Minuette let out a sharp laugh. "Yeah, I've been completely lost this entire time! I don't even know what the color blue is, much less which direction is down!"

All three of them burst into heavy laughter again, a few seconds passing before Rarity managed a question. "Seriously, where are we going?"

"Neighagra Falls, I think," Minuette snorted. "Large army base there, Princess Twilight as well."

"Oh my gosh!" Pinkie yelled, putting her hooves on her cheeks. "Twilight's a princess here too?"

Minuette laughed. "You really can't pick up on context clues, can you Pinker? Of bucking course she is!"

Pinkie cocked her head, smirking. "You called me Pinker."

Minuette froze. "No. No, definitely not, you're definitely a pigger." There was silence for a moment. "...A cloud-rooting motherbucking pigger who can't identify the mud's distaste for bright colors!"

There was silence for two full seconds. Then they all burst into laughter again. "Minuette... Oh you!" Pinkie spouted.

"Oh, that was devastating Minuette!" Rarity added.

"I know right?" Pinkie added.

"What the flipping buck is wrong with us?" Minuette asked, smile faltering.

"A lot less than there was a few hours ago!" Pinkie said.

"No, I mean seriously, what's wrong with us?" Minuette looked panicked. "Wh-what's wrong with me? You're a bucking earth. And you're a mingler! And... oh my gosh you two are turning me into a mingler. Shit. No. So much no. Nononononono..."

Rarity frowned. "...Why is that so bad?"

"Cause it is! You start giving piggers the idea that they're just as good as you, that they're worth your attention and they start expecting it from others! And that's just against the natural bucking order!" She was shivering now, eyes darting left and right.

"Do I look like part of the 'natural bucking order' Minuette?" Pinkie asked.

Rarity put a hoof over her mouth, stifling a giggle at the word 'bucking' coming out of a perfectly cheerful Pinkie's mouth. Minuette twitched. "No, you do not, and that's the problem! You're taking me out of it! I like my order! It's nice!"

"Yes, well..." Rarity looked into the distance at the ashen land. "...Maybe order isn't that great. Just look at you. And come to think of it, those Concretes seem pretty organized..."

Minuette opened her mouth to object, and then shut it, realizing Rarity had a point. Then she facehooved. "Shiiiiiit why am I even talking to you..."

"We just shared a few life and death scenarios and watched a town burn," Pinkie said, shuddering. "It's called bonding."

"I know what bonding is you twat!"

"Oh really?" Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "Cause you seem awfully bad at it."

It was Minuette's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Are you insulting my social skills, Pinker?"

"Yeah! Watcha gonna do about it? Huh? Huh?" She leaped onto her hind hooves, making a 'come get me' gesture.

Minuette turned to Rarity. "...Is she serious?"

"Rarely."

"That doesn't bucking help."

"Try swearing more. Perhaps it'll start making sense."

Minuette let out a chuckle. Then she sighed. "I'm doomed aren't I?"

"Yep!" Pinkie yelled, sticking a party blower in her mouth. "Time for a 'Minuette no longer hates us' party!"

"I wouldn't go that far just yet, Pinker."

"Okay, fine," Pinkie rolled her eyes. "The 'Minuette doesn't want to be a cruel meany pants anymore' party."

Minuette facehooved. "No, no, you're doing it wrong." She levitated the party blower out of her mouth and lit it like a cigar. She breathed the smoke in and cleared her throat. "It's the 'Minuette's no longer a bitch' party. Never use the phrase 'meany-pants' when insulting, it's degrading both to you and to me."

"Maybe that was the point!"

Minuette twitched. "By Luna's twat, you're annoying."

"Yes, well, that's just Pinkie Pie I'm afraid," Rarity said. "She grows on you like an ugly little dog."

Pinkie blinked. "I really hope you aren't talking about Diamond Dogs."

"What? Why-" Rarity turned beat red. "Oh my..."

Minuette and Pinkie laughed. Rarity sighed. "Yes, be that way, I suppose." She was silent for a moment, a question forming in her mind. "Minuette, what is a mingler? I have a good idea, but I want to know exactly."

Minuette knocked herself aside the head. "Of course you wouldn't know... Heh. Minglers are ponies of differing races mingling with each other like they aren't fundamentally different. Like they're on the same level! Ha! Like unicorns aren't superior. I mean... I mean..." She looked at the ground confused. "Shit..."

"What?"

"If anypony finds out about this..." She gulped, looking at Pinkie. "I can't do this. I'm a soldier. Do you know what happens to soldier suspected of mingling? Of course not. Officially, nothing. Unofficially, there'll be an 'accident' arranged."

"Why on earth would anypony do that?"

"Upsetting the order," Pinkie said. "They have a way. Anything that threatens that needs to be destroyed. It's why Minuette wanted to kill us. And why the town turned against us..."

"Yes, exactly!" Minuette shouted. "No, wait, no that's not quite right... Argh, what are you doing to my head!?"

Rarity rolled her eyes. "It's called thinking, Minuette."

"I hate it already."

Pinkie smirked. "You hated it long before today."

Minuette shot Pinkie a glare. Pinkie just shot a cheeky grin back.

Rarity held up a hoof. "It's become obvious to me that this world will not accept us for what we are or how we act. As much as it pains me to say this... Perhaps we should conform, at least when out in public, so as not to cause more..." She looked at the ashen land where Cartwheel used to be. "...Scenes."

Pinkie sighed. "Yeah..."

"Minuette, how should we act?"

Minuette bit her lip. "Well, simple really. Piggers are the dirt of the earth and are worth less than a pile of shit. All of them are utter trash that the world would be better off without, or better still, if they never existed." She pointed at Pinkie. "Lose the smile. Do whatever you are told without talking back. Do not speak, do not make eye contact unless required, and look downtrodden, damnit."

Pinkie gulped. "Not... Sure I can do that."

"Well talking back is likely a death sentence in many places, unless you're protected. And trust me, until we can get you to the army again, you're not within a damn of being protected."

Pinkie nodded slowly. "I'll try."

"You better friggin try. And do not fight back if you get abused. You're not supposed to."

Rarity slapped Minuette. Minuette took a few steps back. "W-what!?"

"Get that line of thinking out of your head! She's a pony just like you!"

"...I was just-"

"You said it with conviction," Rarity chided. "Stop. Now that I have you talking, let me tell you how disgusting I find this blatant racism! The world is full of wonderful earth ponies, that, if you just get a chance to know them, you'll learn that they are great, strong, amazing ponies who will stick with you to the end. Please just... Just..." She couldn't find the right words.

Minuette blinked, not sure how to respond.

Rarity sighed. "Sorry. I shouldn't expect you to just... change suddenly. It takes more than just getting the giggles in a field after a traumatizing series of events to change ponies... Just... Please. Don't stop thinking about what you're doing. Next time you look down on somepony, think about it."

Minuette blinked. "...Sure. Why the buck not, I suppose."

"Progress!" Pinkie cheered.

"I still think you're all a bunch of morons."

"I've known plenty of genius earth ponies," Rarity said.

"Do you see these eyes!?" Minuette asked. "Show me a smart pigger and I'll laugh like a madmare while my brain adjusts! Which, by the way, it hasn't fracking adjusted yet!" She started laughing.

"Insanity," Pinkie said, "liberating, isn't it?"

"Buck off."

Pinkie shrugged. "Gladly. To Neighagra Falls!" She bounced off in a random direction.

"Wrong way Pinker!"

~~~

Neighagra Falls was a beautiful settlement. It was built around a grand waterfall of the same name, the cascading waters regularly creating natural rainbows around the buildings, of which there were hundreds. Most of them were of medium to high-quality construction, and unlike Cartwheel many had multiple stories. There was even a clock tower, currently striking one in the afternoon. Next to it was a tall castle constructed of stone blocks, adorned with large crystals atop the spires.

Surrounding the town was a stone wall built into the sides of the cliffs. The buildings were completely surrounded, creating a very defensible position. There were three large gates in the walls, all manned by solders, each of them wearing little green hats. Most looked extremely bored.

This boredom curse was about to be remedied for the guards at the middle gate.

Minuette walked up, Rarity in tow. The two unicorns weren't that unusual, they came in and out all the time. What caught the eyes of the guards was Pinkie - who was strapped to Minuette's back like a backpack. The pink pony was talking at an absurd speed. "What did the clock say to the pony? See you in a Minuette! Why did the dog cross the road? He wasn't a chicken, he didn't cross the road, don't be silly! Knock knock, who's there, I dunno you started the joke! Where's that cake? I WANT IT! This is so punny! Who needs a trombone? The sad skeleton!"

"FOR THE LOVE OF CELESTIA SHUT YOUR ROOTER UP!"

Minuette glared at the guard. "Ex-cuse me? Did you just ask me to shut off my joke pig? Well, see here, I happen to like my joke pig, it makes me smile, keeps me docile."

"Docile in the domicile!" Pinkie blurted.

"Yes, very. Now, do you really want me to shut her up? Because that'd make me cranky, and since I'm here on important government business, well, if I'm cranky..." She took a step closer to him. "Do the math. Don't worry, I'm patient, I can stand here while you work it out."

"Work of play is an oxymoron!"

The guard recoiled. "Er... You'll have to report to the Inspector office once in the city..."

"Not an issue, dears," Rarity said. "We'll be fine."

The guard looked at her closely. There was something about her... He shook his head. "Fine, just... Get that cotton candy cloud rooter out of my sight!"

"I was once a cotton candy cloud, but I rooted myself to the ground! Heehee!"

"Go already!"

Minuette walked in, Rarity alongside her. As they passed through, the guard had the gall to mutter to his partner. "She must have a sad life if she likes jokes that much..."

Minuette ignored them, giving Rarity a subtle hoofbump. "That was fun!" Pinkie blurted.

"Keep spouting jokes," Minuette said, "we're in town. Let's burn the ears of everypony here."

It was very effective - the joke spouting earth pony atop a grumpy unicorn soldier was a very good deterrent to ponies. Minuette herself would have gone mad had she not gotten such priceless reactions from the various citizens. All three races ran from the joke machine without thought - it was just painful to listen too.

Rarity got to look at the architecture without obstruction because of this. The buildings were all unique, made out of stone, wood, and other materials. The colors were bright, with each building painted with vibrant dyes. There was no standardized street direction, window shape, or door height, creating an image of barely maintained order. Despite this, it seemed full of life - before they came in and made all the ponies walk away, there were ponies walking around, doing their business, smiling. Admittedly, the few earths they saw were downtrodden or angry looking, but Rarity couldn't find that surprising anymore.

Eventually, though, they arrived at the Inspector office, a small white building with a lot of scrolls inside, sprawled everywhere in a haphazard mess. A receptionist looked up from what she was doing. "Oh, excuse me, reorganizing the files. What is your reason for visiting?"

"Checking into Neighagra Falls," Minuette said, tapping Pinkie to get her to quiet down. "I am Minuette Turner, with the military. I need to deliver these two to a base."

"Well, the Inspector should be able to see you about that." The receptionist knocked on the door behind her. The door flew open, revealing a graceful white unicorn with a purple mane. Her intelligent blue eyes glanced over them through her glistening monocle. There was a bored look plastered on her smooth face. "Yes, who is it...?"

Rarity locked eyes with the Inspector. They stared at each other's nearly identical faces for several seconds. Minuette's jaw dropped. Pinkie gasped.

The Inspector blinked. "Well then. I am Inspector Rarity Belle. You?"

"...Rarity Belle."

The Inspector paused. "...Fascinating. You should probably come into my office. Saffron, you saw nothing."

The receptionist nodded in understanding, turning back to organizing the scrolls without another word. The Inspector took the three mares into her office, none of them knowing what to expect.

VII - Seeing Double

Everyone's wondered, at some point in their lives, how they would have turned out if things had been different. If they had secured that promotion, if their parents hadn't perished, if they hadn't been convicted of murder, if they had been nicer to their spouse.

But, shallow as always, they only think of it in terms of one or two events. They think of how their life would have been different based on their own choices. Few ask the truly interesting question.

What if you had been born into a different situation?

What then?

Truly a hypothetical question, many will say. And they're right. There comes a point that even if someone looks like you, shares your name, your DNA - if they've had a different life, they were never you in the first place. <<

~~~

The office of Inspector Rarity Belle was not what the other Rarity had expected. The place was not one she could appreciate, it was bare of any tasteful decoration whatsoever. The office was sparse, mostly devoid of character save for a disorganized pile of trinkets on one end of the desk and a stack of papers on the other. Rarity found herself wondering what the Inspector had been thinking, collecting all those tacky objects. Why did she have seventeen different cubes? What was that cone of metal? And.. was that a stuffed squirrel underneath a pineapple carving?

"Ah, I see my trinkets have caught your eye," the Inspector said - speaking with Rarity's voice, but with no trace of higher class to it. Rarity couldn't bring herself to think of the mare before her as anything but 'the Inspector.' The mare held herself differently - she wasn't as careful with her movements, and her mane showed no sign of delicate care, being left loose. The Inspector picked up a diamond shaped crystal. "I have thousands more at home, these are just the ones here at the moment."

"Er... They're... Interesting," Rarity said.

"Ah," the Inspector said. She reached to her eye and took off the monocle, looking at the three of them with her unadorned eyes. They sparkled with an intelligence Rarity was used to seeing in the mirror. "Now, I do believe I'm entitled to an explanation. Cadet, do a brief."

Minuette nodded and saluted. "Very well, Inspector. Two days ago I was on patrol around the Concretion and saw these two individuals - Rarity Belle and Pinkie Pie - wander inside the city bounds. As a drone chased them out, I rushed to save them from being turned to slag. Upon reporting back to camp they claimed they were from another world entirely, one where the Concretion doesn't exist and things are freakily different. We didn't believe them at first, but they were completely clueless on how things worked here, and the Concretes were flooding over the location they appeared in our world. After this, our base was attacked and obliterated by Concrete drones, presumably because we had the two of them with us. Commander Soarin tasked me with delivering them to another base, so we made our way here." She paused. "Yes, it sounds crazy, that's because it is, but that's what happened. A message should have been sent to General Spitfire if you need any more proof. And..." She glanced at Rarity. "...Well, there's the fact that both of you exist."

The Inspector nodded. "We'd been wondering why the base was destroyed... This makes as much sense as anything. I do wonder what two ordinary ponies have that's worth starting a war over."

Minuette frowned. "The war is official then."

"Yes," the Inspector said."We are unfortunately in the position of being one of the largest Equestrian settlements, and uncomfortably close to the Concretion. We will likely be a prime target once they stop hammering on Canterlot. Trading fire over the pass won't keep them forever."

Rarity shook her head slightly - it felt weird hearing her voice say those things, reporting on a war...

"Regardless," the Inspector said, "I believe you, since it explains some things, and it'd be somewhat hard to deny it considering I am staring the spitting image of myself in the face. I still wish to know why they want you so badly."

Pinkie shrugged - which was somewhat difficult to do while tied to Minuette's back. "That's proooobably me."

The Inspector raised a judgmental eyebrow. "...And how's that?"

"Like this." Pinkie twisted, turning herself into a tornado, throwing the ropes off herself. She jumped into the air, shoving Minuette to the ground.

"Pigger! Gah!" Minuette yelled.

"Oh don't worry about it, I can just tie myself up again later," Pinkie smirked.

Minuette nervously made some 'quiet' gestures, after which she turned to the Inspector. "It could be that. It could be some unknown 'lab equipment' the Concretes found in the cave. It could just be because they're from a world where things are craptastically different."

The Inspector blinked slowly, staring at Pinkie. "...Fascinating. Does the name 'Diane' mean anything to you?"

Pinkie blinked. "Uh... Yes it does. That's my middle name..." She scratched her mane. "...Wait, do you know other me?"

"In a way," Rarity said.

Pinkie grinned. "Ooooh! What's other me like? Crazy? Happy? Sad? Smart? Curious? Boring? Oh, boring would be dreadful..."

"She's one of the Concrete's top scientists and is more than likely the one who ordered all the attacks on you."

"Oh," Pinkie said. She shrugged. "Evil twin, gotcha."

Minuette facehooved. "I probably should have mentioned that earlier..."

"Oh really?" Rarity chided.

"Hey, it's been a pretty shitty and chaotic two days okay?"

"I know. I was there, dear."

The Inspector's nose twitched. "Well, as much as I hate to say this, I have no right to make a decision on what to do with you. I'll have to forward you to the Princess."

"Ooooh! We get to meet Twilight too?" Pinkie asked.

"Yes. I will brief her on the situation in preparation for an audience. She will probably want to see you as soon as possible. And please, make the fact that you're minglers more discreet, hmm?"

The three mares gulped. "What are you talking about?" Minuette blurted.

"Look," the Inspector said, putting a hoof to her head in exasperation. "You don't have to admit it. Just know that keeping her tied to your back won't always work. You speak to her with an audible respect, and you don't lash out. Any unicorn soldier worth their salt would assault an earth who talked so candidly."

Rarity shook her head. "We can't do that..."

"Well, you either have to react like you should to the earth, or the earth will have to act like an earth."

"Hey! I'm right here!" Pinkie said.

"So?" the Inspector said. "You've already failed. Keep your head down, don't look excited, don't look happy. It's better if you aren't any of those things as well. Become afraid. Be what you're supposed to be."

Pinkie frowned. "...You're just like the rest of them, aren't you?"

Rarity saw something in her counterpart's eyes - something so slight that nopony should have noticed it. It was the look of a pony who was struggling deep within herself. "Yes, I am," the Inspector answered. "Because that's the way things are."

Rarity glared at her. "We disagree."

"I know," the Inspector said. "...I really can't have you seen together in public more than you already have..."

Rarity was confused for a moment - but then realized. "Oh. I look like you."

"Precisely. Our marks may be different, but not everypony will use that as an identifier."

Rarity blinked. "They... are?" She looked at the Inspector's flank - the mark was a single blue diamond with a monocle lens imposed over the center. "...Huh. What does it mean?"

"I can see behind the veils ponies wear," the Inspector said. "It's very helpful in my profession. Regardless, I have to get you to the castle unseen."

"just use Minuette's invisibility spell!" Pinkie said. "Prettty obvious!"

The Inspector sighed. "We have measures in place to prevent invisible exploits here, and magic sensors. The earth probably set them off already."

Pinkie twitched. "I'm here! You can talk to me!"

The inspector took in a long breath. "Well, I could, but that'd be beneath me."

Pinkie steamed but stayed quiet.

The Inspector nodded in approval. "You'll all stay here while I brief the princess. She'll come to get you personally when the time comes."

"Won't that be dangerous to her?" Rarity asked.

The Inspector smirked. "She's the princess. She can teleport anywhere she wants unhindered."

"Makes sense."

"Now, just so you know," the Inspector took a moment to glare at all three of them. "I'll be a lot less friendly if you leave this room."

Pinkie grumbled at that, but nodded. The Inspector walked out of the office and locked the door behind her. The three mares stood in silence for a minute.

"Okay, I'm bored," Pinkie said, turning to the pile of trinkets. "I wonder what fun things are in there?"

~~~

"It's bizarre," Rarity said, "I can see myself, I can see the class, the grace, the beauty - but it's all shrouded by a distant exterior. She could be so much more..."

"You have a really huge ego, don't you?" Minuette asked.

"Are you suggesting I'm not better than her?"

"Well, she wasn't as much of a drama queen."

Rarity moved to respond but quickly thought better of it. She frowned, looking down at the ground. Maybe the Inspector was just different... Not somepony to be judged...

"I did it!" Pinkie shouted, grinning. "I stacked them all on top of each other!" She gestured towards a tower of trinkets that went from the floor to the ceiling.

"There is no way that all of the trinkets are in that tower," Minuette said.

"I may have cheated a bit," Pinkie admitted.

"Where'd the extras go?"

"I dunno," Pinkie shrugged. "If I turn it into a pile again, they'll probably reappear. The art of the stack isn't an exact science."

A blue magic aura knocked one of the trinkets out of Pinkie's tower, causing the entire thing to collapse into a pile with some trinkets that weren't in the tower.

Pinkie twitched. "All right, who did that!?"

Rarity pointed at Minuette and Minuette pointed at Rarity. Pinkie facehooved. "I must dish out trinket justice!" She started throwing the small objects at Minuette and Rarity - and they threw back, kicking off a miniature war. The war ended without a clear victor two minutes later when a powerful burst of purple magic lit up the space. Twilight Sparkle, alicorn princess, stood before them. She looked almost identical to the Twilight they knew - pointed horn, purple coat, streaked mane, and a starburst cutie mark. The main differing feature was that she had a pair of goggles on her forehead, just under her tiara.

"Already bored I see?" she said, raising an eyebrow. Minuette stood to attention, Rarity had the decency to blush, and Pinkie threw a trinket at her. Twilight caught it with her magic.

"A new foe has appeared!" Pinkie yelled. "A- oh wait uhh..." She took a breath and forcefully brought her head down. "I mean... Nevermind..."

Twilight held up a hoof. "You don't have to hide from me. Rarity has already informed me of your relation. But she was right, you are bad at hiding it." She smiled warmly. "Luckily I can teleport us right to my castle. Hold still..."

Pinkie knew she shouldn't have expected anything familiar, but in her mind the word 'castle' meant a tall, crystalline structure filled with all colors imaginable. She was prepared to see the crystal halls she knew, awaiting the beautiful walls, the glowing chandeliers, and maybe even the Map...

She was sorely disappointed. Bleak gray stone defined the hall they appeared in. The drab construction material contrasted somewhat with dozens of purple banners proudly displaying Twilight's cutie mark, but the hall was completely empty otherwise, save a small throne at the end at which Twilight was seated. She looked down at them, a curious expression on her face. "So. I am Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Harmony."

Minuette bowed. Rarity looked at her in confusion for a moment. "Oh, yes, right." She bowed as well, pulling Pinkie down with her. "Terribly sorry, haven't... bowed in a while."

"Understandable," Twilight said, frowning. "Tell me what I'm like."

"Well..." Rarity began.

"I want to hear it from Pinkie," Twilight interrupted.

"Really!?" Pinkie's jaw dropped. "Nopony's cared anything about what I've said the entire time I've been here!"

"That makes your words all the more valuable. Please, what am I like?"

Pinkie smiled. "You're just amazing! You're smart, you're caring, you're understanding, you want to help everyone... You've grown so much! You started out as a bookworm and became the Princess of Friendship itself, saving the world more times than we can count! You're one of my best friends!"

Twilight's face became a battlefield. She was beaming at the description with an intense pride, but her eyes watered with a deep turmoil. "Yes... That's right. That's good. Very... Very good." She sighed. "I... I'm not the Twilight you know, don't expect that from me. But... she sounds amazing."

"She is!" Pinkie grinned. "Maybe you'll get to meet her one day when she finds out how to find us! ...if she can..."

"I'm sure she'll stop at nothing." Twilight stepped down from her throne, walking to Pinkie. "And I won't let her friends die before then. You're safe now."

Minuette coughed. "Your... highness?"

"Yes, Minuette, I am being very candid about this. Nopony's watching. And I know none of you will tell, I see it in your minds."

Rarity blinked. "Wait, what?"

"Oh, sorry, didn't know that was unacceptable to you. Let me turn it off." She tilted her head sideways, her horn flashing with a soft glow. "There, I often forget ponies don't like their minds being pried into."

"...How can you forget something like that?" Rarity asked.

"More importantly, how'd you survive Pinkie's mind!?" Minuette gawked.

"Second question first," Twilight said. "The spell doesn't permit an overload, keeps my mind sane. As for how I forgot about ponies... I have to use it all the time, in my position. To help others, to make sure all this doesn't come falling down around me. My friends have gotten used to it..." She looked wistfully out a window. "I suppose it's a testament to how ruined our world is that I stoop to this."

Minuette blinked. "Okay, Princess, forgive me, but what the buck!?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Your mind had suggested you saw the problems..."

"I have!" Minuette said. "Maybe. I'm not sure. Kinda think I'm losing my mind. But how can you be like this? How does anyone follow you? How!?"

Twilight smiled the most innocent smile. "They only see what they want to see. I keep it that way."

"You bend their minds," Rarity said.

"Yes," Twilight said, furrowing her brow. "Excuse me, I don't know you that well, so I have to think of a response... Uh... You don't like it. You think it's wrong. It is."

"Then why?"

"Because if I ever let them see me as a whole, all that I've worked for will fall. We are the largest settlement in Equestria save Canterlot. We have avoided the corruption, kept free from the purge. Part of that is due to our amazing Inspectors such as Rarity, but a lot of it has to do with me. I keep them from tearing each other apart. I keep us safe." She looked at them with sad eyes. "Maybe I can stop one day, but that day is not today. I know you won't understand, I know you won't approve. That's why I told you."

Minuette blinked. "What?"

"I need to be reminded how wrong it is. I forgot, again, as I always do. My friends have slowly forgotten over the years. It becomes normalized. It can't be allowed to stay that way. I need to know... Tha... Uh..."

Rarity shook her head. "You're... How do I say this...?"

"Crazy? Mad? Insane? Almost assuredly. I've been doing this for years. Molding minds affects your own. I'm a very broken mare sitting on a throne, wiping the minds of those who'll cause me trouble. I'm one of those villains you read about in storybooks. I'm just waiting for the day the heroes show up and make things right." She looked closely at Pinkie and Rarity as if she were judging them; she looked like she wanted to say something, but shook her head with a smirk on her face. "I'm sorry, am I burdening you? I can't really tell without... it."

"A... bit," Rarity admitted.

"Let us stop talking about me and unfortunate mental practices then. Let's move on to you and what is to be done with you. I will try to accommodate your... minds without looking into them."

"...Why are you giving us special treatment?" Rarity asked.

Twilight shook her head. "Because you've had enough stress and chaos and fear of the unknown in your life as of late. You need to adjust. I think."

"...Thank you."

"Don't... Mention it? Sorry, still trying to adjust myself," she laughed. "Now, what to do with you... Have any of you given any thought as to what was going to happen when you got here?"

Minuette blinked. "...Not really, Princess. I was told to get them to an authority and I did. I guess I'll go help in the war now. Since that's a thing..."

"For your service, I offer you the position of Commander here in Neighagra Falls. Naturally, I can't tell everypony why you've been promoted, but it'll work out."

Minuette's eyes widened. "The bu- I mean, it would be an honor." She bowed.

"That was easy. Now... for you two..." A frown crossed her face. "Do you... Have anything to offer us?"

Pinkie and Rarity glanced at each other and shrugged. "Twi- sorry," Rarity shook her head. "Princess, we don't have much to offer. I'm a seamstress and Pinkie here throws parties for a living. I don't have any amazing skills or knowledge, and testing on Pinkie's... abilities is what got us into this mess in the first place."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "How so?"

Rarity put a hoof around Pinkie. Pinkie smiled sheepishly. "Well, other you was curious about my powers, and then I was, then the Doctor was, and then they did some tests, and things exploded, and then we were here."

Minuette let out a huff. "Tests going wrong. Big bucking surprise."

"The Doctor..." Twilight said. "He wouldn't happen to be a brown earth would he?"

"Yes. Who's he here?" Rarity asked, dreading the response.

"Concrete scientist," Twilight said. "Invented the drones they use."

"How poetic."

Twilight sighed. "So we don't have anything besides Pinkie here, who the Concretes probably want to study. And we can't let that happen, nopony knows what they'd do if they could cross dimensions..."

Minuette shook her head. "They hate magic, Princess, if anything they'd just want to destroy her."

"Don't be so quick to assume, Commander," Twilight said, not commenting further on the subject. "I... I wish you could be of more help. Sorry. That was rude just there. It's not your fault..."

"We could tell you about our world!" Pinkie offered.

"I'll take you up on that, but it will have to be later. We need to find a place for you in Neighagra falls, assuming you don't want to stay locked up in the castle for an indefinite amount of time. Possibly months."

"I could not handle that," Pinkie declared.

"She'd probably blow a wall to shit before the week was out," Minuette agreed.

"So, naturally, you need to figure out how to live here without dying." Twilight frowned. "And without making a scene either. You look like a high profile Inspector, and you don't act like any earth pony ever. Even the activists aren't like you, and being an activist is hardly laying low."

"New identities," Rarity said. "You can change our appearance, find us jobs."

"I'm stillll an earth pony, Rarity," Pinkie reminded her.

"So? Our Twilight knew the race-change spell. I'm sure the princess here knows it as well."

"There's a race change spell!?" Twilight blinked. "That'd put a defect in the argument of so many by its mere existence..."

"It doesn't exist here?" Rarity facheooved. "Absolutely wonderful. We can't have her being an earth pony, it's already caused a lot of trouble... No offense Pinkie."

"None taken," Pinkie said. "I do like being an earth pony though, it's awesome!"

Minuette gagged on those words. Conversely, Twilight beamed at them. "In another place, that'd be a great attitude. I'd have you sent to the movement if you weren't so important. But..." She pursed her lips. "A race-change spell... I don't have that, but it has given me an idea." She lit her horn, spread her wings, and engulfed Pinkie's head in a magical aura. Ina second, a nice pink horn shot out of her forehead.

"Ooooooh amazing! I have my own horn!" Pinkie started bouncing around. "Now I can do magic and shoot lasers and..."

"Dear heavens, the world isn't ready," Rarity said. "Either world..."

"The horn's purely cosmetic," Twilight said. "Doesn't do anything."

"Problem," Minuette butted in. "I can't feel any magic coming from it. I know it's fake."

With a quick spell, Twilight cracked the horn down the middle. "Broken horns don't give off magic."

"An Inspector will still notice."

Twilight smirked. "I can take care of them. Don't worry. I'll just say 'national security' and they'll do whatever I say." She turned to Rarity. "I'm going to change your mane and eye color. Any preference?"

"...Red mane, green eyes," she said.

"Hearth's Warming colors?" Pinkie frowned, tapping her broken horn with her hoof.

"Yes, Pinkie. This place could stand some festivity."

Twilight made the changes - Rarity's mane became a stripey scarlet and black, and her eyes flashed to a brilliant emerald green.

"Mirror please?"

"Oh," Twilight said, "right." She conjured up a mirror and showed Rarity.

"...You know, I was thinking it was about time for a new look. This... could be a good thing."

"Now... Rarity, we need to give you a new name and a new job... What is your special talent by the way?"

Rarity looked at her flank. "I can see the hidden beauty within things. I used it to fashion clothing back home."

Twilight smiled. "That's a perfect job for you. A little odd, not too many customers, great for laying low. How about... Thread Eye?"

"Needle Sight?" Pinkie offered.

"Sewn View?" Minuette suggested.

"I'll... Think on it for a while," Rarity said, realizing with no small amount of glee that she was going to be a seamstress again.

"My talent is throwing parties!" Pinkie cheered.

"No," Twilight said. "Far too conspicuous. We don't want a lot of attention, and you scream for attention..."

"I can also bake! I like baking! I love manning the counter and talking to ponies!"

"Something tells me you'd draw attention there anyway..." Twilight frowned."I'm not sure what to give you..."

A silence fell over the hall, broken only by the distant rumblings of the falls.

"Wow. Those falls are loud," Pinkie said.

"Yes, yes they are. Up close it's pretty deafening-" Twilight lit up with an idea. "Tourist guide!"

"What?" Rarity asked.

"There's an extensive cave system behind the falls. We don't get all that many tourists, but there's enough. Ponies who take that job have to be loud, extravagant, and friendly to deal with the visitors and tremendous noise of the falls!"

Pinkie was silent for a moment, listening to the cascading water in the distance. Then her face lit up into a grin. "That sounds super-duper fun!"

"Then it's settled," Twilight said. "I'll have Rarity - the Inspector - make the arrangements. Don't worry, she's a personal friend of mine and won't let anything go unchecked. I will do whatever I can to keep you safe in this trying time."

"You... have no idea how much this means," Rarity said. "You've treated us with unconditional kindness... It means so much."

"I know..." Twilight said with a sigh. "Trust me, I know..." She shook her head. "But what are we waiting here for, we have lives to give you!"

VIII - Settling in

I wish I had an angry bear I could unleash to get my points across. Everyone would understand many lessons after getting chased by an angry bear. They'd perceive on a personal level that nature is not their friend. That danger fills the world. That bears are not teddy bears, and without proper training, bears will eat whatever they see - including anyone in front of them.

But perhaps the most important thing to take away from a bear encounter doesn't hit until after the running, screaming, scrambling, and the adrenaline rush. A moment is spent to catch a breather, a moment used to enjoy the continued state of existence and life. A serene moment of thanks is given to the universe.

That is, until the pain hits. Running from a bear is no easy task. Of course, during the conflict, the brain tells the body not to worry about silly little things like pain, the very continuation of life is on the line. But after the brain realizes it's still alive, well, it lets the body feel all the pain it had accumulated over the ordeal in one single rush.

Often this pain is worse than the bear itself. <<

~~~

Inspector Rarity Belle and the similar mare now known as Iris Shard walked down one of Neighagra Falls's most populous streets, the two of them right out in the open for all ponies to see. The stunt was intentional - if anypony thought that 'Iris' looked anything like the Inspector, well, that was just silly, both of them were seen walking together. If anything, the two might be related, but nopony had any way to figure that out. Furthermore, asking an Inspector about her family was not the smartest thing somepony could do with their time. There would be no mistaking the two unicorns, and it wouldn't even be seen as unusual - it was hardly odd for Twilight to task an Inspector with introducing somepony to town.

Iris - or, more accurately, Rarity - was finally getting a chance to enjoy herself. The chaos was over - she was no longer running for her life. She could appreciate this new place she was in - take a moment to appreciate the bright culture!

"Oh, what's that?" she asked, speaking up slightly to get over the noise of the falls, which was loud enough to be prominent in this part of town.

The Inspector followed Rarity's hoof. "That's a house. Nothing unusual about it."

"But the architecture is so different from the others! The vast majority aren't as well constructed, nor with a balcony!"

"Somepony just had some good architectural talent when they came in. Most ponies build their own houses when they move here - or hire one of the many builders. They tend to like experimenting with designs."

Rarity blinked. "...Am I going to have to-"

"No, we've rented out an apartment for you and Pinkie, did you forget?"

"Well, I had thought that maybe it was temporary."

"Interesting thought, but no, you should be able to keep it as long as you need. You'll find it to be very simple, but not uncomfortable. And above all else - it's inconspicuous."

"It'll be great just to have a bed that isn't in a hospital..."

The Inspector looked at her, monocle glinting. "You really have been traumatized. I would say you need to see a specialist, but we don't have any that'd keep you under wraps. I suggest confiding in friends as much as you can to stabilize yourself."

"You sound like you speak from experience, Inspector."

The Inspector looked far into the distance. "Indeed I do. I wouldn't be here today if it weren't for Twilight and the girls.."

"Want to tell me about them?"

"Not right now, we have to get you to your shop platform."

"Setting up a new location..." Rarity smirked. "Oh, another Rarity for You shop, coming soon to Neighagra Falls!"

The Inspector glared at her, scanning the crowd to see if anypony was paying attention.

Rarity grinned sheepishly. "Er... Iris for You."

"You need to watch your tongue."

"Very much so, yes, I do, dear."

"Why do you talk like that?" The Inspector asked, appearing genuinely curious.

"It is the speech of high class," Rarity said. "Though I myself didn't start out among them, I eventually proved myself a lady through my deeds. It was because of my vernacular that I was taken seriously among those I admired."

"Things must be extremely different where you're from. The idealist 'class' of Canterlot isn't trusted. Nopony wants to be a self-absorbed snotty arrogant accas - pardon my language."

Rarity let out a soft chuckle. "Trust me, I've gotten used to it from Commander Minuette."

"Presumably..." The Inspector stopped mid-sentence and instead looked behind Rarity with an incredulous look. Rarity slowly followed her gaze to an area of the street with a higher concentration of ponies, a concentration of which increased before their eyes. There was a surprising majority of earth ponies in the crowd, while there had been almost none of them when Rarity and the Inspector had arrived. In the center of the congealing crowd, there was a makeshift stage, upon which a tall zebra stood, his eyes darker than Rarity thought possible.

"Oh no..." The Inspector said.

"Who's that?" Rarity asked.

"Amplify. The leader of a... certain Movement offshoot."

"Hear me, earths of Neighagra Falls!" As his unnaturally loud voice rang out, Rarity could swear she heard the cascading noise of the falls die out, as if they feared to interrupt his voice. He had the attention of every pony in the square, regardless of if they were earth ponies or not. "War, as you all know, has broken out in our already defective and horrendously uncaring world. On one side we have the impersonal, savage, madness-driven Concretes, fighting to exterminate magic from the world. On the other, us - and as a nation, can we really say we are any better? We may not be corrupted by the allures of technology, the savage forces of violence, nor the madness of knowledge; but in the Concretion, every citizen is treated equally. In the Concretion, what you say won't get you killed. In the Concretion, all ideas are heard and considered. We have none of these things."

He raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the crowd. "Am I saying we should back down from the fight? No! I'm saying this war is taking our minds off another enemy close to home. Just because a cruel, corrupted power is laying siege to our capital does not mean we should stand down and let the horns and wings trample over us! If anything, it should serve as a wake-up call to those of you who are undecided; who think their position in life is just fine! Who do you think will be thrown away first if the Concretes get here? Who do you think will be abandoned, destroyed, and left to rot? The earths!"

He paused for effect. "We, who are the backbone of society. We, who grow almost all their sustenance. We, who serve them day in and day out - we are denied. Given such a pathetic slice that it goes beyond an insult - it becomes poisonous. It must be stopped."

Rarity turned to the Inspector. "Why does nopony listen to him?"

"Wait for it," the Inspector said.

"We must turn the tables!" Amplify yelled. "We, the wingless and hornless, the powerless, will take the place in society we deserve! We will rise to the top, show them that our lack makes us stronger than them!" He raised a hoof into the air. "The power of the earth is at your backs! Use it! Together we will stand and defy, and take what is due! We are the Movement, and all you promins better be ready to give up because you won't be able to take us!"

The earth ponies in the crowds cheered. Most of the unicorns and pegasi looked nervous, frightened - few could keep an intense glare on such a large group.

"Does... Does he realize what he is doing?" Rarity asked.

"We don't know," the Inspector said. "He showed up one day and tried to rile earth ponies up. Some listened. We attacked them numerous times - and they always survived, somehow. To be part of Amplify's group is to paradoxically both have a target on the back of your head and to be protected. We all know they want a fight. We had considered giving them one - even Twilight thinks they're dangerous - but now... We can't afford it with the war. And they know it. This is... bold, even for them."

Rarity gulped. She felt a lot less confidence in her ability to understand situations.

"Earth power!" the crowd yelled. "Earth power!"

"Now listen here ya' crazies!" A voice rang out - one Rarity recognized instantly. She didn't believe it at first - but she soon saw the pony running through the crowd. Orange, yellow mane, apples on her flank, a hat on her head. Applejack leaped onto the state next to Amplify, standing in a manner identical to the mare Rarity knew - even the hat looked the same. She spoke once again, the voice indifferentiable from Rarity's friend in tone, power, or accent. "Realize what you're doing! If y'all make a move now, you doom Equestria in this war!"

The Inspector let out a sigh of relief. "I was concerned she wouldn't show up for a moment..."

"Ah..." Amplify grinned at his opponent. "Our resident mingler-traitor."

"That doesn't matter right now," Applejack said. "What matters is that you think! Take a moment. We're at war. Do y'all want to invite the Concretes in to lay waste to our kind? 'Cause if you rile up now, you might as well throw open the gates!"

"I say let them come!" Amplify shouted. "They'll expect a town with weakened defenses and occupied army, thinking in their misguided way that without the promins, we are nothing. Well, won't they get a surprise when they find us! We will meet them in the streets and demonstrate our power!"

"How many of us will die doin' that?" Applejack pushed, leaning closer to him. "How many mothers? Fathers? Children? How many will be left behind, Amplify?"

Amplify glared. "You think it matters? What matters is that we take the place we deserve, at any cost! This cannot be won with peace, this cannot be won by any of your wishful methods. The time to take a stand is now! Do not look away when challenged! Fight back! Hold your head high! Defy! Defy! Command!"

Applejack turned to the crowd. "Y'all going to risk it? Y'all want to doom us! No! Stop this madness! We don't need command. We don't need to be dominant. We can coexist! You want to do something about our position? Help win this war! Prove yourselves!"

Amplify smirked. "Oh, Applejack, Applejack, wherever did you go wrong? Was it those mingling friends of yours that distort what is meant to be? We are not pegasi. We are not unicorns. There will always be a separation. We cannot prove ourselves equal because equal does not exist! We cannot play by their rules, for they will maintain their unrighteous dominance! We need to make our own rules."

"How can you really believe that?" Applejack yelled. "You aren't even one of us!"

"Oh, playing the 'zebra' card, are we? I thought you were against differentiating?"

"Ah was usin' your words!"

"Well then let me use yours. Why aren't you out fighting the war? Why aren't you working alongside them?"

Applejack twitched. "You know Ah have a family to look ou-"

"There you have it!" Amplify yelled. "The mingling traitor is also a hypocrite! Why listen to her when you can listen to what's in your hearts? I can lead you to that - I've never betrayed you, I've never changed my mind on you. I've never offered advice that I wouldn't use myself."

"Hogwash!"

"Once again you stoop to extreme lows. Why don't you go cry to your little Mingler's Society about how crazy I am so you can validate your own sad, sad lifestyle. You are all a disgrace to the Movement's name. Why-"

"Shut the buck up!" These were not Applejack's words - they were those of a pony in the crowd. Throwing off a cloak, a white pegasus revealed herself, wings extended aggressively. The mare charged towards Amplify, murder in her eyes.

Amplify simply lifted a hoof. The pegasus hit the hoof, stopping dead in her tracks - her momentum should have been more than enough to toss Amplify to the ground, but no such thing happened. He didn't even budge. "What?" she said, baffled.

"You disgust me. Stay with your own kind where you belong." He tossed her over his shoulder, his facial features darkening with unnatural blackness.

"Candlelight!" Applejack yelled. The moment she saw the pegasus was okay, she turned to glare at Amplify.

"She attacked me, Applejack. Everypony here saw it." He smiled at his opponent knowingly. With a soft chuckle, he leaped off the stage. "Act now, or forever consign us to stagnation!"

The Inspector attempted to follow Amplify through the dispersing crowd - but he seemed to vanish the moment she tried. It was then that a dozen or so Inspectors arrived to clean up the mess, glaring venomously at the crowd; they made a handful of arrests by freezing rowdy earth ponies in crystal.

"They arrive now!?" Rarity shouted, running after the Inspector. "Why not earlier? Why didn't you do anything?"

The Inspector shook her head and sighed. "I said we tried in the past. Confronting Amplify directly only makes things worse. Ponies disappear. Lives are ruined. He's brutal, and his ponies seem to like that."

"How can he do that? He's just a zebra!"

"We don't know..." the Inspector said. "All we know is that whenever we threaten or lock up or kill any of his Movement... Bad things happen to us. Even when he himself is behind bars..."

Rarity furrowed her brow. "That zebra needs to be stopped."

"I know. Twilight's working on it. Applejack's Movement - Mingler's Society or whatever you want to call it - have been the most effective at combatting his influence. But as I said, the war has us occupied."

Rarity frowned - had she misjudged the Inspector earlier? "Those other problems you have are giving him an opportunity."

"Yes," the Inspector sighed. "I know. We know. But we don't know what we can do about it."

Rarity looked at the now empty street and drooped her head. "...I was just thinking I could like it here... ...Where do I go to help Applejack?"

"No, absolutely not. That'd draw attention to you." The Inspector shook her head. "Even if the membership is a secret one, we can't have you doing that. Too risky. You will have a target painted on the back of your head without the protection."

"But..."

"Just leave the problems to us, okay?" the Inspector asked. "Maybe after some time you can play your part, but for now you need to lie quietly. ...Let's just get you to your shop."

"...Fine," Rarity said, her stomach in knots. The two walked in silence, Rarity's head hanging low the entire time. They passed a few other soap-box ponies, yelling out their opinions - each one startling.

"They all need to die!"

"Cooperation is key!"

"Earth power!"

"Magic makes might makes right!"

"We can get on our clouds and leave at any time!"

"Fight as one, live as three!"

Rarity folded her ears back, trying to drown it all out. Why did they have to come out now? Did Amplify just give some sort of 'now's the time to shout' signal? Neighagra Falls had been pleasant just an hour ago...

All of this was put out of her mind when they arrived. The building was plain, for a shop - white, square, and affixed with big windows. They stepped inside the undecorated interior, and already Rarity's mind went to work imagining what she could do with the space. Curtains here, drapes over there, a few soft lights, a small chandelier, and a collection of ornamental vases to start... Some racks to the left of dresses, and jackets to the right... Hats over in the corner... She'd need to rearrange the boxes of fabric first, of course.

"Will this do?" the Inspector asked.

"This will do nicely. Spectacularly, really," Rarity said, leaving the events of a few minutes ago in the deep recesses of her mind.

"I'll leave you to it then. Have a fantastic time - inform the Inspectors' office when you're ready to open up shop." She looked Rarity in the eye. "Don't worry about problems that aren't yours, you have a new life. Good luck, Rarity."

"Iris," Rarity corrected with a smirk on her face. The Inspector smiled back for the briefest of moments before leaving. Rarity was left alone. She took a moment to breathe - a soft smile upon her face. She began to hum to herself as she unpacked and rearranged the fabric boxes - literal tons of material in all colors and patterns alongside seemingly endless supplies of threads, needles, and dyes. no sewing machine - which wasn't all that surprising now that she thought about it. She didn't need any machinery to do her work, luckily. Perhaps slowing down and doing it old fashioned would be good for her anyway, get her to slow down in real life as well.

She color coded the fabrics next, placing them in neat stacks on the shelves. She found a particular blue-and-white pattern she liked and draped it over the windows - she'd create proper curtains later, but they'd do for now. She arranged the threads in their trays, tying the black and white off for easy use. She quickly became absorbed in the creation of her little shop, humming the time away, making the place elegant.

There were only two mannequins - both unicorns. Again, she wasn't that surprised. Regardless, they'd do just fine for her purposes. She set them by the main windows and smiled, proud of her shop. It was still bare-bones - and lacked any products to sell - but it looked presentable now. It was time to actually sew something. She decided to start simple with a hat.

She grabbed some white fabric, a pair of scissors, and the black thread. She worked quickly, slicing out sections of the cloth, shaping it into the shape of a simple triangular hat held together by simple stitching. It was a horribly bland and uncreative piece, but it was a hat. She could still do it with ease - she was doing it, just like back at home.

Home...

She wasn't home. She was so far from home her brain didn't even have a way to perceive it. There would be no friends coming into her shop just to say hi... No candid talk...

She could make new friends though. She's already made some in fact - Minuette, the Inspector, and Twilight. She wasn't truly alone, either. Pinkie was in town, presumably having the time of her life at the Falls. Rarity knew she was now able to live a normal life doing what she loved. She finally felt safe enough to relax.

Her eyes drooped as she moved to the next hat, a yawn coming from her lips. She spent more time on the hat - she wanted to do something more complex than the rushed hat at her side. She tried to force herself to focus on the job at hand but was only able to give herself a headache, bringing her work to a halt for a few minutes. She was terribly sore all over - bruised, scuffed, and scarred where the bullet had hit her leg. Every part of her hurt.

Had she really not taken a moment to really look herself over until now? Had she really not let herself relax?

She looked in a tall mirror to her left, making sure she took her time to take it all in. She wasn't dirty or mangy, not anymore, but she had cuts in many locations, the one on her face being the most prominent; it was probably going to scar just like the bullet wound. She moved to her chair and sat down, wincing from her sore muscles. How had she been running like this for so long? How had she gone on? Was it just because she had to - because there was no choice?

She let out a sigh and set her jaw - she could sleep later tonight. She had work to do - she needed to prove to herself she was fine. She went back to it, working through the pain, crafting a beautiful purple hat with three feathers folded over the top. She looked at it, eyes sparkling. She set it atop one of the mannequin heads.

It looked perfect.

Something about it told her that everything was fine. That it was okay now. That it was safe. This stirred something deep inside her heart; a churning, curdling mess of emotions that had been pushed deep into the recesses of her mind came bubbling to the surface, unleashing itself all at once. She burst into tears, eyes never leaving the hat even as she sunk to the floor, devolving into a horrid heaving wreck of conflict. She tried to stand up, but pain shot through her leg, preventing her from returning to a stable position.

She tore her gaze from the hat - she couldn't look at it anymore, and she didn't know why. She crawled along the floor to her counter, covered in leftover scraps from her recent work. Tears still falling, she climbed into her chair. She lashed out spontaneously, wiping an entire section off her counter, an action which sapped too much energy from her body. She leaned back in her chair and didn't budge, allowing herself to cry it out.

What was she crying about? Nothing. Everything. There was too much held back to focus on any one thing - it was about herself, it was about Pinkie, it was about home, it was about this new 'home', it was about the horrors - and yet, it was about none of those things. She just needed to purge her system of... everything. She knew it couldn't be healthy, but at this point, it was too late to do anything else - just cry it out in a torrent of concentrated sorrows.

She didn't know how long she sat there before the tears finally stopped coming. She didn't know how long she sat there afterwards, either. She just sat, lethargic, no desire to go anywhere or to do anything. She felt emptied - was that good? Bad? She didn't know - not yet. She couldn't really think about it yet.

The front door to the shop opened, ringing a little bell hung from the ceiling. Rarity didn't look. "...We're not open yet."

"Oh. Sorry, I was just... Looking for a hat."

Rarity tilted her head upwards to see a pink earth pony standing in the doorway. Lily. Rarity sighed. "I... Suppose I can give you that hat," she said, pointing at the purple one. "But..." she blinked, slowly realizing she probably shouldn't be talking to an earth pony. She decided to screw that. "You know what? Just take it and don't tell anypony I gave it to you."

Lily's eyes widened and she nodded in understanding. "Thank you." She darted her head left and right, warily. "I saw you at the speech."

"Oh?" Rarity said, trying to muster the energy to give an appropriate response.

"If you feel up to it you can find us two nights from now on fourth street, in the abandoned brown building. Wear something inconspicuous that hides your face."

Rarity forced a smile. "I'll... think about it."

"Please do. We can always use more." She put the hat on - notably right over where a horn would be if she had one - and left the shop.

It took Rarity five minutes to fully realize what had just happened. She had just been invited to a Mingler's meeting. She shouldn't go, the Inspector would be furious - but Rarity knew, somehow, that she'd end up going anyway, and that nopony could stop her. She smirked mischievously under her tired eyes.

~~~

The Falls were louder than a stampede of raging buffalo, Pinkie decided. She found that as she neared the neverending cascade of water, she was unable to hear the sound of her own hooves on the pavement - or anything else for that matter. This close - close enough that she could see the falls hit the waters below - it was almost unbearable.

However, Pinkie, being Pinkie, took it in stride, trotting up the pathway at a brisk pace. She would have preferred to bounce along, but there was no reason to hurt her hooves doing that. Plus, she could see the falls better this way - they were beautiful, streaking down to the earth with speeds so fast the falls blurred before her eyes. Water sprayed everywhere, misting the surrounding area, transforming it into a brilliant prism. Natural rainbows shone in all directions, generating the illusion of a multicolored web spreading out from the Falls - truly, a natural wonder.

Pinkie found herself shaking with anticipation - she was supposed to give tours of this wonder and the cave system behind it! It was just so exciting! She was almost close enough to touch the falls! She stuck her tongue out, stretching it to impossible lengths, and licked the stream of water. The cascading volumes proved to be a bit much for her to handle, shoving her tongue back sharply. Rapidly moving water was no pushover, she decided.

She rubbed her sore tongue and continued on her way, arriving at the entrance shortly thereafter. She couldn't see much besides the large counter with a bored pegasus mare manning it. Above the counter was a large bright sign that read 'Welcome to Neighagra Caverns.'

"Hello! I'm Pinkie Pie! I'm here for training!"

She realized the pegasus didn't even know Pinkie was there, and with the Falls drowning out all the noise, she was going to have to work to get noticed. She took out a megaphone. "HELLO, I'M PINKIE PIE!"

The pegasus didn't even look up. Pinkie frowned - was she being ignored? She tapped her front hooves on the counter, a motion which finally prompted the pegasus to look up and blush in embarrassment. She started moving her wings rapidly in complex patterns.

"Sorry, I don't know wing-sign..." Pinkie admitted sheepishly.

The pegasus rolled her eyes, taking out a card and handing it to Pinkie. I can read lips, just speak towards my eyes, it read.

"Oh. I'm Pinkie Pie! Hi, nice to meet you! I was told to come here for training?"

The pegasus looked confused for a moment. She reached under the counter, locating a sheet of paper with official looking text all over it. She shrugged, nodded towards Pinkie, and opened the left side of the counter.

"Thanks! Where do I go?"

The pegasus pointed down the cave towards a large purple curtain draped from the rocky ceiling. Pinkie nodded in thanks and bounded over to the curtains. They were heavy, taking considerable effort to move out of the way enough for her to pass through to the other side. She was stunned to notice how dampened the sound of the Falls became once she passed to the other side - the crescendo was still ridiculously loud, but she felt like she could probably be understood if she yelled at the volume of a normal pony, no need for a megaphone at all.

The next thing she noticed was the real reception area of the Neighagra Caverns - and it was pretty disappointing. There were only two stands set up, one for food, and one for tours. The tours kiosk was currently empty - 'out on tour, back within the hour' - while the food stand had a sleeping mare Pinkie recognized instantly.

"HI RAINBOW DASH!" She yelled over the waters, rushing to the stand.

Rainbow Dash lazily opened one of her eyes. Now that Pinkie was closer, she could see a number of scars on Rainbow's face and a chunk missing from one of her ears - the mare had evidentially been through a lot. The pegasus muttered something Pinkie couldn't hear.

"What was that!?"

"I said - 'oh, great! You!'" Rainbow Dash shouted back.

"So you knew I was coming!?"

"Yes, I did, piggering cloud rooter!"

Pinkie frowned. "Oh, there must be some mistake, see, I'm a unicorn, not one of those silly earthers!"

"Wow! You really don't have any submissive instincts! Good! That's what I was hoping for!"

"Huh!?"

"Have a snow cone, rooter, on the house!" Rainbow tossed Pinkie a cup full blue slush.

"Thanks! Still not a rooter though!"

"Constant denial! I like you! You can drop it though, Twilight told me the whooole schtick ahead of time! Quite the story!"

"Oh, you know Twilight? Awesome!" Now that she mentioned it, Rainbow Dash hadn't been surprised when Pinkie knew her name, and she had already known she was an earth pony. Pinkie took a sip from the snow cone. "So, what do I do here!?"

"Well, for one, I hope you've got a voice!" Rainbow Dash laughed. "You have to talk about this loud most of the day! Bucking noise won't be blocked!"

"Cool! I can do that! I can even sing that!"

"For the love of... don't sing!" Rainbow Dash waved her hoof around. "After that, well, be entertaining! Draw the eye to the caverns!"

"I can totally do that!" Pinkie yelled, pulling out her party cannon and blasting confetti into Rainbow Dash's face. She raised her hooves and wing in defense.

Wing.

Singular.

Pinkie's face must have made a visible change to indicate her shock because Rainbow Dash facehooved. "Yes, I only have one wing! That's not all either!" She lifted up the hatch and rolled herself out of the food stand, revealing a wheelchair - and her two back legs that looked like they hadn't been used in years.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so sorry! That-"

"Don't be!" Rainbow Dash snorted, rolling yer eyes. "I picked a fight with a zebra, brought this on myself! Stop it with the sorry face! I said stop it, bucker!"

"But it's so sad!"

"For the love of... it is what it is! In Ce- nevermind, done, you saw it, now we're good!" She twirled her wheelchair around. "I gotta teach you how to give a tour!"

Pinkie glanced at the tour stand. "Shouldn't we wait for the current group to come back!?"

"Nah, that's just there because Farundael didn't show up today! There's no tour right now!"

Pinkie looked down the bumpy cave system, frowning. She glanced back at Rainbow Dash's wheelchair, pursing her lips. She opened her mouth to ask a question, but Rainbow Dash didn't give her the chance. "Yes, I'm abso-friggin-lutely fine, dammit! I'm not a helpless twat, get over it already!" She pointed her wing menacingly at Pinkie. "I will break that cosmetic horn of yours even further, screw Twilight!"

"Oooookay then!" Pinkie said, grinning nervously. "How's this go?!"

"The first step of a tour is to stand behind the kiosk over there and wait for a group to show up! Some days, none come at all! Others, we get about a dozen! Make sure they've got a paid ticket and didn't just sneak past Quartzite! Then you point them to my station to see if they'll buy our overpriced refreshments!"

"Pretty substandard too!" Pinkie said, sipping her drink again. "I could probably help with that! Here!" She pulled a slushie out of her mane and handed it to Rainbow Dash.

The pegasus took it, eyed it skeptically, and sipped. "...Luna's bald asshole that's delicious."

"That swear and that observation shouldn't go together! It sounds unreal!"

"Buck your muzzle!" Rainbow Dash shouted back. "I'm going to need you to stock up the food court with that stuff later. Some magic you got there!"

"Yeah, it's unique!"

"Which is why you're here, and not out there! Now, listen up, the first part of the tour is a long winding tunnel of boring cave! So you have to make it sound as interesting as possible!" She began rolling down the cavern, navigating the uneven ground expertly. "You'll need to memorize this spiel, so pay attention! Ahem! As you can all see, here we've got a hefty deposit of sedimentary metamorphics that formed back when this place was a lava field! There are no bats, don't worry, they can't stand the shape we have here! Look to your left - that's the largest boulder in this tunnel! Some think it may be the fossilized remains of an ancient dragon egg! Don't wake the little baby! Up ahead we've got the rock of horrible nightmares, formed from the unholy combination of a dragon and a griffon long after this cavern was created! And here we have the magic water spout, preparing to erupt any day!"

Pinkie looked at the water spout. "That's a hole dug by a shovel!"

"Huh, good eye, I didn't even know that!"

"Is any of that speech actually true?!"

"Quartzite told me it was utter shit one time, but I couldn't be bothered to learn what it all actually was, Farundael wrote the nonsense, and Quartzite can't really give tours can she?!"

"Guess not! Isn't it weird that we've been talking to each other in yells this whole time?!"

"Eh, I'm considered too loud out there, so I really don't give a buck! Yell, yell, we all yell!" She slurped her drink, smiling blissfully. "Damn, that's good!"

"I was a baker back home!"

"We don't need anything that fancy! Anyway, we've done the boring walk - you missed half the speech though - but now for the things ponies actually want to see!" Rainbow Dash led Pinkie through a narrow archway into the largest cavern Pinkie had ever seen. They stood on a ledge lined with precarious railings, and Pinkie couldn't see the other side, or the bottom.

"Woah..."

"Yeah, we don't know how far it goes either!" Her voice echoed back at her from across the expanse. "Ah, there's the signal to stop yelling!" Sure enough, the Falls weren't deafening anymore - regular conversation could be maintained.

"You're still yelling," Pinkie observed.

"Yeah, well I'm loud!" Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Just kidding, I can be quieter."

"...Well, you're not yelling anymore..."

"And you can go buck yourself," Rainbow Dash laughed.

"Eh, pretty impossible considering."

Rainbow Dash's laugh stopped cold as she processed Pinkie's remark - and then it resumed with a boisterous intensity. "You. I like you."

"I figured that out a while ago!"

"Oh well, then, Miss observant, how many feathers do I have behind my back?"

"One. The middle one," Pinkie said.

Rainbow Dash took out her wing - and it was exactly as Pinkie said it would be. "Huh. You know if I wasn't friends with Twilight I'd find you beyond creepy." She laughed, pulling Pinkie in with her wing to give the pink pony a surprisingly intense noogie. Pinkie slipped out of her grasp like jello, laughing.

"You're quite the pony, Rainbow Dash!"

"I'm an idiot," Rainbow Dash said matter-of-factly, moving along with the tour before Pinkie could comment. "We know this place by an absolutely inspired name: the Endless Cavern. In the list of most boring names for interesting things, this is the fifth worst."

"What's the worst?"

"Concretion. Death-city within sight range of Canterlot that's the size of a damn forest. But they don't call it Destrikka or Abbadon, no, they name it after an artificial rock."

"Yeah, that is kinda boring. Then again, I'm from Ponyville. We're a village. We have ponies."

Rainbow Dash burst out into laughter once more. "Not sure if that beats Concretion, but it's damn close."

Pinkie nodded vigorously. "Now what? What's the next cool thing?"

"The rickety bridge," Rainbow Dash said, gesturing towards the oldest and most decayed looking bridge Pinkie had ever seen. The haphazard series of ropes and planks led to another part of the cavern. Many of the wooden boards were missing, and the ropes looked ready to unravel at any moment. She even saw a mouse eating one of the ropes.

"We have to cross that?"

"Buck no, the point is to make the tourists think they have to. They actually go through this exit here to another chamber." Rainbow Dash rolled herself across the narrow ledge towards an opening in the cavern wall, working against the steep incline.

Pinkie looked at the wheelchair with a concerned look.

"I've done this hundreds of times!" Rainbow Dash panted. "Stop the damn worrying, it's not like the thing fell off yesterday, for crying out loud."

"Sorry."

"And stop the apologizing, mud. You don't need to apologize to me for anything ever. Got it?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yep! Sorry!"

Rainbow Dash fixed her with a glare. Pinkie facehooved. "Oooooooh sorry about that - AUGH! I DID IT AGAIN! SORRY! AUGH!"

"You need help. Lots of it. Not for this job, but in general. Regardless, here we are." The two arrived in a cavern much smaller than the previous, but much more impressive. Every inch of the space was lined with multicolored crystals of all kinds, many of which were actively glowing, sending beams of light out in a neon web. "Welcome to the Luminescent Cavern. You'll probably spend the most time here. Let them spread out, look around, and give them some horseshit about how you think the crystals formed."

"Pretty..." Pinkie said.

"That's what they all say."

"This'd make a great disco room."

"...And that's a new one. Well, can't say I'm surprised at this point."

"You are taking this all pretty well," Pinkie observed.

"Rooter, when you see what I've seen, been on the adventures I've been on, not much fazes you anymore. Not all these marks are from that damn zebra, merely most. For whatever reason, the universe has decided to make my sorry excuse for a life the focus of adventure, fate, and other damned stupid things."

"Hey! I'm sure you've had a pretty good life, you seem all right!"

"That's what they all say," Rainbow Dash sighed. She pointed up ahead. "We'll be getting closer to the Falls soon, so we won't be able to hear each other at all."

"Okay!"

"You'll take the group out over the pier here and have them look out over the town. I say give them ten minutes, or until their ears start to bleed! Then take them up to the next place!"

"Okie dokie loki!" They soon passed through another large, heavy curtain, back out into the sunlight. They were behind the waterfall, many stories above the ground. Stepping to the side, they could see the entire town through the mist - castle, clock tower, walls, all of it. As she leaned on the railings, Pinkie's face was one of glee. She would get to see this view every day and she'd get to share it with others! This was perfect for her!

She turned back to Rainbow Dash. The disabled pegasus was sitting at the base of a large staircase, breathing heavily. Pinkie moved to help her up, but Rainbow Dash extended her wing, giving Pinkie pause. Rainbow Dash flapped, sending a powerful gust of wind downwards, launching her and her wheelchair up one step. She flapped again, rising up another step. With each powerful flap, she moved up one more step, straining her body further and further.

Pinkie gawked - her Rainbow Dash was known to use the 'one wing hover' trick occasionally, but her Rainbow Dash was a stunt flier. How hard was this Rainbow Dash working to do this?

Rainbow Dash arrived at the top of the stairs, exhausted, breathing harder than an athlete after a long run. She made no move to pass through the curtains before her.

Pinkie grabbed the wheelchair from behind and rolled it through the curtains. Rainbow Dash gave no argument, vocal or otherwise, she just sat there while Pinkie wheeled her through the new tunnel. Pinkie smiled as the sound of the Falls receded behind them. The cavern spiraled downward until it came to an artificially carved cavern lined with podiums, upon which many interesting rocks were placed.

Rainbow Dash took a breath to explain what to do in this location, but Pinkie beat her to it. "And here we have a wiiiide selection of amazing rocks found right here in these very caverns! That one over there lights on fire when exposed to certain magics! That one over there was found by an evil dragon centuries ago! And that one tastes like cotton candy - I lick it once a day, just to make sure it never changes!"

Rainbow Dash chuckled. "Can I have a lick?"

"No, sorry, it's already too small to see!"

Rainbow Dash laughed again, still short of breath. "I think you're going to do fine Pinkie Pie. That cavern over there returns us to the entrance. Let's get to business. Got any more slushies?"

"An infinite amount!"

~~~

Minuette marched into the main hall of Twilight's castle. Twilight herself was sitting on her throne, whispering something into the ear of a buttery yellow pegasus with a soft pink mane.

"Commander Minuette reporting as ordered!" Minuette saluted, touching her new red-striped hat. Celestia, it felt damn good to be able to say that. She thought she'd never get the Commander stripe.

"Ah! Minuette! Welcome! I was just telling Ambassador Fluttershy all about you. Come on in!"

Fluttershy looked Twilight in the eye and narrowed her eyes. "You shut it off," she said with a soft, beautiful, but also strong voice.

"Uh, yes, yes. Minuette isn't used to it and-"

Fluttershy glided over to Minuette with a single graceful movement, raising an eyebrow. "The Princess needs full access to the thought processes of both her enemies and allies in order to do her job effectively. You should get used to it quickly."

Minuette gulped - something about this pegasus mare scared her, not that she'd ever admit it. "I'll do whatever is necessary."

Twilight nodded, turning her mental screening back on with a twist of her head. "Very well. Fluttershy, Minuette. Minuette, Fluttershy. Minuette is to be my personal Commander, my mouth to the military. Fluttershy is my eyes and ears abroad, in other towns and nations, such as the Empire or Griffonstone."

Minuette moved to speak, but Twilight smirked, indicating it wasn't necessary. "Fluttershy's well aware of Rarity and Pinkie, that we are protecting them, and why we are doing so. We've been talking about almost nothing else this entire meeting."

"Your presence has changed everything," Fluttershy said.

"Yes, I know we-" Minuette began.

Twilight interrupted. "-We're not talking about the war you caused, that was going to happen anyway. Nor are we talking about the fact that by being here you paint a target on us. We-" She stopped. "Go ahead, Fluttershy."

"Thank you." She looked right at Minuette, making the unicorn twitch involuntarily. "What you brought over spits in the face of our society. A world where not only do all three races get along, but there are many cities, technology does not bring doom, and a race change spell exists. The mere fact that all of this is true somewhere is dangerous to the perceived ideals of this nation." She paused for effect, making Minuette even more nervous. What was it about this pegasus that was so... commanding?

"...And that's a good thing," Fluttershy continued, surprising Minuette. "I've spent almost all of my career trying to get us past these horrid boundaries that limit us as a people. Most ponies hadn't thought it was possible for us to move past this - most think it isn't meant to be, that this is the way things are, so this is the way things should be. I myself had begun to have doubts as to what I could do. But those two ponies..." A smile burst out across her face, but somehow she didn't lose her authoritative presence. "They are proof that it's possible. It can be done. They represent hope in our mission. I can't thank you enough for bringing them here and coming around yourself."

"Uh... Okay?"

Twilight chuckled. "She's terrified of you Fluttershy, and it's confusing her."

"I know," Fluttershy said. "You'll get used to this after some time, Minuette, like you'll get used to the mind reading, or Rainbow Dash's mouth."

"Who?"

"You'll meet her eventually," Twilight said. "Regardless, you need to be fully briefed on our purpose in Neighagra Falls. This place is an experiment, an experiment that would have been purged long ago if it wasn't for us. Our goal... is Harmony. Most ponies don't realize that being the Princess of Harmony puts me at direct odds with their worldview. The hatred, the stubbornness, the divisions, the lies - all of it, they take for granted, and my friends and I oppose all of it. We let this town grow into what really should be called a city. We do what we can to help the earths and the minglers - we let ponies be free to choose, as free as we can allow."

Twilight frowned, sensing Minuette's doubt. "No, it doesn't work completely. Many of the blocks are self-imposed. You'd be surprised how many earths don't want freedom - don't want change. We've also made mistakes. Letting Amplify become strong was our largest so far. But Fluttershy has toured Equestria, and she can say for certain that the society we have here is by far the most tolerant. It's both a wonderful sight and a bit disheartening at the same time."

"In the end, our purpose is absurd and simple," Fluttershy said. "Get all people to live together in harmony."

"You're insane," Minuette said.

"Very," Twilight smirked. "But we can't not try. I can't just stand by and let the world stew, continually getting worse. Things didn't use to be this way."

Minuette raised an eyebrow. "They didn't?"

"It's been removed from our history books - conveniently not mentioned - but before the Nightmare Fuel came, we did live in Harmony. I've spoken to both Celestia and Luna on the matter, and they remember the years fondly. They wish to go back to a time when everypony treated each other like actual ponies... But the corruption swept across the land, and we still haven't recovered from that. Our society actively fights the recovery, actually getting further and further set in our ways... If we just lie down and let our world continue on the path it's on, it may fall."

Minuette reeled - this was a bit much for her to process. She wasn't even aware there had been any problems until a few days ago! ...At least not consciously.

"Oh, we're not done yet," Twilight sighed. "We're now at war, and war is never a good way to heal wounds. Your actions may have started it, but now that we're fighting it I don't think they'll stop even if they get what they're looking for. They hate our magic. It'll be a delicate time over the next few weeks, especially since we're slated to lose."

"What!?" Minuette blurted.

"Fluttershy just returned from Canterlot and Nova. Canterlot is already under siege and predictions say the magic defenses will give out before the Concretes do. Nova is expecting an attack within a few days they're not sure they can repel. And we're the only other major stronghold in Equestria. As defensible as we are, we're not designed with a military purpose in mind, like Nova."

"We can't-"

"I know. The Concretes are even worse off than our society. They've had most of their morals and soul removed from them. They cannot have Harmony." She paused as if consulting something in her mind. "It's tragic, is what it is."

Fluttershy put a hoof on Twilight. She didn't say anything - she didn't need to. She never needed to.

That has to be weird, Minuette thought.

"Used to be," Twilight said. "But do anything for a few years and it becomes normal."

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow.

"...Which is one of the problems with our society..." Twilight sighed. "Sometimes I wonder, who are we to shape the world?"

"If not us, then who?" Fluttershy asked aloud for Minuette's sake.

Twilight glanced knowingly at Minuette. "So, you are now my link to the military, Commander. I know you can easily pretend to be in charge and get information out of nearly anypony. You are not to raise suspicion of yourself, but you will promote Harmony and reward those who are Harmonious when you are able. You will also join me in all major meetings so I may scan your thoughts for anything you can think of, just like how I use Fluttershy for political information and speeches."

Minuette blinked. "Wait. How much of what you say is-?"

Twilight's eyes sparkled knowingly. "Quite a bit are her words, not mine. She doesn't speak all that often, but she sure makes her position known. That's a secret, by the way, few know about this repertoire we have here." Twilight glanced at Fluttershy. "Repertoire? Really?"

Fluttershy sighed. "I can have some fun outside the meetings. There's one tonight, Minuette. You'll need to be there."

"Anything-"

"Sunset will be there," Twilight said. "And there'll likely be questions about you, Rarity, and Pinkie. Answer everything truthfully but don't mention what their world is like. Pretend like it isn't important or that you don't care. We don't want to cover up another scandal." Sensing Minuette's incoming question, Twilight continued. "Until then, I'll just announce you to the base and General Amethyst. You don't have to hide anything from her, she's on our side, but most of the Commanders and Soldiers are not. You'll get to know how the army is run here, probably even be given a personal tour by Amethyst."

Minuette nodded. "Yes, Princess!" She bowed.

"Just call me Twilight. In private, anyway. It's a complex game we play here, and a dangerous one - but I sense you're just taking this all as a challenge."

Minuette grinned. "You better bucking believe it."

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow at the swear but didn't comment. Twilight nodded. "Then let it be done." She lit her horn and teleported herself, Fluttershy, and Minuette to the top of a building within the military district. Ponies in green hats were marching in formation under the careful eye of a purple unicorn in a gold-striped hat - presumably Amethyst. The soldiers all stood to attention, saluting as one.

"Soldiers of Equestria!' Twilight boomed. Minuette noticed Fluttershy's face becoming one of intense focus and calculation. "I have selected a member from your ranks to serve as my connection to the military! She represents my will among you - and your will among me. Commander Minuette, step forward!"

Minuette did so, face set. She raised a hoof in a salute to the crowd. The entire crowd returned the salute, including the General. Minuette kept her face straight, even though she was giddy inside.

"I leave her to you," Twilight addressed Amethyst.

"Yes, my princess," Amethyst bowed. "This way, Commander."

"Yes sir," Minuette said, leaping down from her position. Now among the regular soldiers, the unicorn General and Commander began to head towards a small building marked 'General.'

"The rules are simple," Amethyst said. "One, my word is law. Two, do anything to jeopardize the functionality of this unit and I will jeopardize the functionality of you. Three, don't be stupid."

"Yes sir!"

"Glad we have an understanding. Good to have you on site, Commander."

Minuette nodded, swiveling her ears to listen to the other soldiers. Most weren't saying anything, and others were just talking about what this change meant for them. But one voice stood out...

"Who even is she? I bet she's some pompous runter out of Canterlot who doesn't know the first thing about military operation-"

Minuette grabbed the offending pegasus with her magic, dragging her to the ground. Minuette snorted. "Name and rank."

"...Cadet Brownie."

"Well, Brownie, let me tell that preening mind of yours something. I was in that base that was destroyed by the Concretes. I've been in an operation that took drones down. I've lived with the shadow of the Concretes over my head for weeks at a time. And what have you done Brownie?"

Brownie said nothing in response.

"Thought not." Minuette tossed her over her shoulder, smirking at the thump the pegasus made when she hit the ground. "Anyone else?"

There was no response.

Amethyst smirked. "You don't take any shit, I see."

"Depends on the shit."

"Good. Have to be able to identify the good and bad shit in this job."

Minuette chuckled. She liked it here already.

X - Setting Out

There once was a person who had a simple job - push buttons at the button factory. The work was so beyond pointless that it dulled his brain to the intelligence of a rather bright eggplant, but he did his job dutifully, pressing that button every second or so without fail, for years.

Then, out of the blue, a new employee was hired who had the absolutely amazing idea to press ten buttons at once. The original worker was annoyed, but he got to keep pushing his button, so despite his ire towards the new employee’s superior operation, he decided to ignore it with all his might so it wouldn’t affect him.

And then the new employee suggested that the old one start pushing more buttons at once. He even offered to show him how to do it in a way that’d make it easy.

The new employee was found dead in a ditch the following morning.<<

~~~

Minuette pressed her ears to the back of her head as she approached the Falls - tourists actually braved this noise just for the sake of looking at some caves? How was there even a profit from the tourist service? Shaking her head to clear it, she walked up to the entrance, shivering slightly. She leaned on the entrance, panting. Quartzite looked up from her book and pointed at the rates with a wing.

Minuette opened her mouth to say something but realized that’d probably be pointless since she couldn’t hear anything over the intense noise. Quartzite saw her confusion, passing Minuette the note that said ‘I can read lips.’

Minuette supposed that made sense, how else was anypony supposed to communicate here? Through writing? “I was wondering, is Pinkie in?”

Quartzite nodded but made no further motions.

“...Can you let me in to see her?”

Quartzite pointed at the rates again.

“Buck no, I’m not here for a tour! I’m not paying for it, you pree-” she stopped herself. “...Look, I’m here to see Pinkie, nothing more.”

She pointed at the rates again with an annoyingly innocent smile.

Minuette growled. “Do you see this hat? I’m a commander! Twilight’s personal commander! You better let me in right this instant!”

She pointed at the rates again, unfazed. Perhaps even a little amused.

Minuette grunted and threw some bits on the counter. “Fine.”

Quartzite gladly took the bits and gave Minuette a ticket. She then opened the counter and directed the Commander to the curtains.

Grumpy and annoyed, Minuette entered the curtains and beheld the interior of Neighagra Caverns. With the sound muffled enough to be bearable, she could appreciate how amazingly festive everything looked. There was a giant circle of stands, each filled with different kinds of food and decorated with balloons and glitter of all colors. A rainbow pegasus was wheeling around from stand to stand, with a hat on her head with the words “Snack Shack” printed on it. To the side of the circle of snacks, there was a large green and pink striped station labeled ‘tours.’ A bored looking pale yellow unicorn sat there, her mane dropping to the floor.

“Hello!” Minuette yelled over the din.

At this remark the mare shot bolt upright, grinning in anticipation. “Hello! Welcome to the wondrous Neighagra Caverns! Give me your ticket so we may start the tour!”

“Not here for a tour, looking for Pinkie Pie!”

“Oh...” Minuette couldn’t hear the unicorn’s sigh, but she could see the excitement drain out of the mare, replaced with distaste. “She’s giving a tour right now! She’ll be back soon! You can buy snacks over there until she comes back!”

“Okay!” Minuette yelled, trotting over to the snack carts.

“Hello and welcome to the Circle of Snacks, the Snack Shack!” The pegasus shouted, wheeling into the center of the circle. “What can I get ya, Minuette!? Hard lemonade!?”

“You know who I am!?”

“You’re one of the ponies Pinks won’t shut up about! Glad to meetcha, runter. I’m Rainbow Dash!”

Minuette glared. “What the Tartarus did you just call me!?”

“Oh my bucking damn, you are an uptight accas! Get over it! They’re just words, missy-mare!”

Minuette blinked in confusion. “...What?”

“Still confused, I see! Eh, you’ll come around eventually, see the way of the Dash! Takes a while to figure out your place in this mess!”

“I...” Minuette glanced back at the bored mare manning the tours cautiously.

“Farundael can’t hear us! Sound does not go very far here! Secrets are safe!”

“...You sure!?”

“Buckyberry, you’re a paranoid wreck aren’t you?! Relax! Have some of this... drink that I’m like 90% sure is alcoholic!”

Minuette took a drink and sniffed it - the scent of apples wafted into her nostrils. She took a swig and found that it was absolutely delicious.

“That’ll be five bits!”

“Hey! You gave it to me!”

“Didn’t say it was free did I!?” Rainbow Dash lounged back in her wheelchair with the most annoying smirk plastered on her face.

MInuette glared. “Not giving you five bits!”

“Well, then I can just throw you out and not tell Pinks you were here!”

Minuette looked at the wheelchair. “I doubt you could!”

“Good point! What are the chances a cripple like myself could take out a Commander!?”

“Slim as a jim!” Minuette coughed. “Yelling is hard!”

“You get used to it! Or if you’re Pinks, it just doesn’t matter!”

“She make all this food!?”

“Pulled right out of her mudder mane! She says she’ll be putting down carpets and lights when she has time!”

“Sounds like she’s fitting in well!”

“Every tourist seems to think so as well - oh look over there!”

Coming out of a tunnel was a group of tourists - about six ponies in total, all unicorns. One of them was a young filly Pinkie had on her back - both were laughing, and the entire tour was smiling. Pinkie gently put the filly down and brought out her megaphone. “Sorry folks! That’s the whole tour! If you need refreshments, the Circle of Snacks has a gift shop in it in addition to all the saliva-inducing food! Leave through the curtains you entered whenever you want! Come again soon!”

The ponies nodded and said a few things - presumably thanks, and walked out of the cavern without so much as a glance at the Snack Shack’s Circle of Snacks. Pinkie quickly bounced into the booth, landing right next to Farundael. “Hey, Farun! How’s it hanging?”

Farundael glared at Pinkie for a second before looking away.

“Oh come on Farun! Be happier! It’d help you do your tours!”

Farundael muttered something inaudible but presumably insulting.

Pinkie frowned. “Farundael... You need to at least try more if you want ponies to enjoy your tours! Smile! Be bombastic! come up with interesting anecdotes on the fly! Act amazed yourself! There is so much you could do! I can even help you!”

“Go to Tartarus.” Pinkie didn’t need to hear that to understand what it meant. She sighed, dropping out of the stand, head down.

Minuette taped her on the shoulder. Pinkie brightened the moment she saw her. “Minuette! Why are you here!?”

“Wanted to drop by and see what you were up to!”

“I’m doing this!” She leaped on top of the ‘oturs’ stand and grinned. “Want a tour!?”

“Nah, I don’t have that much time.”

“Shame! She’s really good at it!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“I have no doubt in my mind, eh Pinkier?”

“Yep! I’m also sprucing this place up! Going to transform it from the boring hole it was to a real party zone!”

“Buck yes!”

“I’ll drink to that!” Rainbow Dash laughed, swiping Minuette’s drink and chugging the rest of it before Minuette could do anything.

“Anyway... Uh, Pinkie!” Minuette glanced at Farundael for a moment. “Got some more... Private business to talk over with you!”

“Oooooh gotcha! You’ve got the station, Farun!”

Farundael shot Pinkie a death glare but said nothing. Pinkie looked sad for a moment but quickly recovered, bouncing out into the open, dragging Minuette and Rainbow Dash a ways away.

“Why is she so peeved with you?” Minuette shouted.

“I think it’s because I'm better at the job than she is! And she won’t let me help her! I’m really not sure what to do!”

“Let her stew. She’ll get over it!” Rainbow Dash suggested. “Not like she’s a great pony anyway, the accas!”

Minuette twitched. “...Anyway, I’m going to be leaving soon! Twilight’s taking me to negotiations with the Crystal Empire!”

Rainbow Dash performed a spit-take. “The Tartarus?! She agreed to go!?”

“...Yes? Why’s that weird?!”

“Sombra killed her brother and sister-in-law that’s what’s bucking weird!”

Pinkie shook her head. “Sombra exists here? You didn’t defeat him?”

“Yet another reason our world sucks!” Rainbow Dash threw her hooves wide. “O great Pinks, what superiority will you reveal next!?”

Minuette sighed. “Well, Twilight’s going to recruit his armies for the war! The fight isn’t going well!”

Pinkie nodded. “Good luck Minuette!”

“Pinkier, I don’t need luck, I got skills! Look at my new hat!”

Rainbow Dash groaned. “Of all the stupid, asinine...”

Minuette looked at Rainbow Dash oddly - she didn’t understand the impaired pegasus. She wasn’t used to one of her race talking to her like this outside the army. It felt... unnatural - not as unnatural as Pinkie, but still.

“Oh look!” Pinkie yelled. “Another batch of tourists! ...Eh, Farundael can handle them!”

“Are you kidding?!” Rainbow Dash shouted. “In her state, she’d do worse than usual!”

“Feel like I should let her do it though...”

“Just go with her!” Minuette suggested. “Help her if she needs it!”

“Good idea! Thanks, Minuette!” She bounced back to FArundael, smiling. Farundael looked distraught at the incoming pink fluff.

“Well, later runter!” Rainbow Dash shouted.

“...Later!” Minuette responded, trotting towards the curtains. That Rainbow was an odd duck to be sure. She’d have to ask Pinkie about her later. Specifically ab-

The full sound of the Falls hit her the moment she exited the curtains, stopping her thought process cold. She folded her ears back as quickly as she could manage - but she’d already gotten a headache from the sharp volume increase. She ran away from the Falls as fast as possible. Quartzite watched as she left, still smiling.

~~~

“What is the Crystal Empire like here?” Rarity asked Minuette while she measured the Commander’s proportions.

“Never been there,” Minuette said. “I hear it’s pretty brutal though. Everypony’s life is absolute shit and they’re powerless to stop Sombra’s magic.”

“I suppose I never did get to see what the Crystal Empire was under Sombra’s rule... Twilight - my Twilight - would know, but she didn’t tell me much of what she saw.”

Minuette raised an eyebrow. “Thought you beat the ever-loving shit out of him before he could win?”

“We did. Twilight ended up in another... er... time, yes, let’s go with that. In this time, Sombra had won and was warring with Equestria. Twilight told of a war-torn landscape that hadn’t seen peace in years... Of a world ruled by war...” She looked far into the distance. “Things are only going to get worse the longer this goes on, Minuette.”

“Hence why we need to negotiate an alliance,” Minuette grunted. “Not that I’m happy allying with a slave-driver.”

“Your society treats earth ponies as slaves in all but name. Even here.”

“...Fair enough.”

“I have no doubt he’s an evil individual, Minuette, but perhaps you shouldn’t be so against the alliance. Perhaps it can let you help the Crystal Empire later.”

“Maybe. Still, we’re losing, and pretty badly. Canterlot’s barely holding out, and most other battles are resulting in a loss for us. Be careful Rarity - they’ll come here eventually.”

“Surely you’ll be able to stop them?”

“I hope so. I damn well hope so.” She glanced at the setting sun. “I’ll be leaving before sunrise tomorrow. See you in a few days.”

“You too,” Rarity waved. “I’ll have something to give you by then.”

“I’m telling you, nothing too froofy.”

“Not. Froofy. Got it. Bye!”

Rarity stood there for several minutes after Minuette had left, contemplative.

It was tonight. The meeting.

As the sun set and night fell, she wondered if she was really going. Was it worth the risk to her life to go? To see what this world had to offer? To see what she could do - if anything? If there really was hope?

She saw a unicorn push an earth pony down in the street outside, screaming obscenities at the terrified stallion. Rarity winced.

She was going all right.

She grabbed a dark cloak from the rack, exiting the shop through the back and locking up. She glanced left, then right, then trotted down the side of the street, head down. The night was silent, and few ponies were out. She headed towards the place Lily had told her to go, a feeling of exhilaration flooding her body. She really wasn’t supposed to be doing this, and it was such a risk. And for whatever reason, that felt good right now. A smirk crossed her face - screw the Inspectors and the horrors of this world, she would make a stand.

“Hey, pigger! What’re you doing out this late? Lost? Don’t know the farms from the city?”

Rarity sighed, lifting a nearby pebble with her magic and tossing it behind her. The pegasus who had been yelling at her tensed before flying away. “Ponies should learn not to make assumptions...” Rarity muttered to herself, turning down Fourth Street. The place looked run down - presumably a part of Neighagra Falls with a large earth pony population. She walked up to the abandoned brown building to her left and knocked. The door opened, revealing a familiar face - Lily. “Glad you could make it,” she said. “It’s Iris Shard, add her to the approved list, with a pending marker.” Lily opened the door the rest of the way, inviting Rarity in. A blue stallion scribbled something in a book, presumably the name ‘Iris Shard.’

Lily turned to Rarity with a smile. “The actual meeting location is elsewhere, we’ll have to teleport to it. Is that fine with you?”

“I've been in my fair share of teleports, dear, I’ll be fine.” She walked around the room, removing her hood. “Who are you, by the way?” She asked the stallion.

“Mink. That’s what everyone calls me, anyway.” He lit his horn. “Did you invite anyone else, Lily?”

“Not this week,” Lily answered. “Let’s go.”

Then they were somewhere else. When the flash of blue light cleared, the abandoned shack was gone, replaced by a large stone basement lit with ceiling-mounted magic crystals. There were a few hundred ponies trotting around - most in dark clothing, but there were a few who wore nothing like normal. She could see many earths, pegasi, and unicorns, though the unicorns were an obvious minority. What surprised her was that there were more than just ponies here - there was a bar, a band playing soothing music, a collection of bookshelves in one corner that made up a library, and there was even a corner with a few games. If she didn’t know better, she’d have said this was some kind of private club.

What struck her next were the expressions - ponies were smiling. She hadn’t seen so many genuine smiles in one place since she arrived in this world. A pegasus and an earth pony couple giggled, and a unicorn-pegasus duo were debating something in a box, and it looked like there were some foals playing buckball in the distance. One team in particular seemed rather familiar...

“Scootaloo, pass the darned ball next time!”

“Sweetie, come on, flying isn’t as easy as it looks!”

“Girls, come on, Ah think we can do it better! Just have fun!”

“My Stars...” Rarity said, putting a hoof to her mouth. Scootaloo was flying. And Sweetie Belle... Was right there. For a split second, Rarity saw her sister - but then Rarity noted the differences. The unkempt mane, the bruised nose, and the way she held herself higher, with more strength in her legs. That wasn’t Rarity’s sister - that was the Inspector’s sister. Somepony else...

Wait - if Sweetie Belle was here, that probably meant...

Rarity quickly put her hood back on and scanned the crowd. She saw her almost immediately - the Inspector, walking across the large hall alongside Rainbow Dash. Rarity knew the smart thing was to turn away and avoid them at all costs - but there was just something about the Inspector that made her unable to look away. Why was the Inspector here? She had been less than open to the minglers before... Unless - it had all been an act. It made sense, really, and if Rarity was honest with herself she had suspected as much before - the Inspector was good friends with Twilight, and had been released when Applejack had shown up, perhaps a bit too relieved...

As Rarity neared them, she could make out their conversation.

“...And Pinks would love it here! She’d just show up and turn it all into a big festive party! Food! Balloons! Games! Bucking games Rarity!”

The Inspector smiled, the rough exterior having seemingly vanished from her features. “I know. But she needs to be protected - I’m sorry Rainbow, as endearing as she is-”

“Yeah, yeah, I know damn well what it is. ‘Savior of the world’ or something.”

“Precisely.”

“Eh. ...What time are you going up, by the way?”

“Shortly. Soon as Applejack arrives.”

“Applebloom and Mac are already here, shouldn’t she...?”

“Eeyep,” Applejack said, walking up from behind them. “Ah’m here.”

The Inspector and Applejack embraced. “Nice to see you again Applejack - I mean really see you.”

“Aw, it’s nothin’,” Applejack responded. “I know you’re always watchin’.”

“Well, it is my profession.”

“Don’t Ah know it...”

The Inspector allowed herself to look pained. “Indeed...”

Rarity expected Rainbow Dash to blurt something out, as ponies like her were apt to do in situations like this, but she just looked sad as well.

“Stop it,” Fluttershy said, descending from above. “Rarity, you’ve more than redeemed yourself. It’s been years - you really need to move on. You’ve been forgiven.”

The Inspector hugged Fluttershy. “It’s so good to see you again. You... You hold us together.”

Fluttershy smiled. “I certainly try. Sadly, I have to leave tomorrow before dawn, but that’s not going to stop me from being here.” She looked around at those gathered, pride evident on her face. “Applejack, look at what we’ve done here. These ponies love each other. And it doesn’t hurt. There is harmony.”

“Ah really wish Twilight could attend these things...” Applejack said.

“One day, she’ll be able to,” the Inspector offered. “Until then, we need to be vigilant.”

“Shall we go up?” Fluttershy asked.

“Definitely,” the Inspector said.

“Yep!” Applejack grinned. “Let’s give them a show!” She bounded onto the stage and rammed her front hooves into a metal plate on the ground, creating a sound not unlike a ringing gong. “Hello! Good evening everypony! Having a good time?”

There was a chorus of ‘yeah!’s.

“Good! We’ll let you get back to that soon, Celestia knows we don’t get enough time to be ourselves, but we still need to have some talkin’ from time to time.”

The Inspector lifted herself onto the stage. “Definitely, but we still have things that need to be said. First, for any new members out there, you don’t need to be afraid. We’ll accept you for whatever you are, wherever you come from. Everyone is equal here - don’t be afraid. I understand this is a dramatic change for a lot of you - I was there myself once, and I had done many horrible things. But I still had a place here.” She glanced knowingly at Applejack. “I was shown forgiveness that I didn’t know existed. We can offer that to you as well, regardless of what you’ve done. Here, you can renew yourself.”

Applejack smirked. “Eeyep!” The two mares hoofbumped. “Now, just so you know, we meet here every week. If you want to invite somepony new, talk to your contact - the pony who brought you here. We’ve got a lot o’ resources for y’all, books are over there if you’re confused, and several ponies who can teach you how to keep your membership hidden are there as well. You can tell who they are by the white butterfly hairclips. Don’t be afraid to ask them questions - even ones that might be considered rude, they can handle it.”

The Inspector put a leg over Applejack. “Now, without further ado, our founder and Royal Ambassador, Fluttershy!”

The crowd erupted in stamping applause as Fluttershy drifted down from the ceiling, one of the butterfly hairclips in her mane, matching her single white butterfly cutie mark perfectly. She looked out at the crowd, spreading her wings wide. There was an inspiring air of power around her - but she also had a delicate smile that reminded Rarity of her Fluttershy. So kind, so soft, so understanding

“It’s good to be back,” she said, “and even though I am to leave again very soon, I couldn’t imagine not staying long enough to see you all again. This society has grown so so much, it fills my heart with warmth to see this - this harmony between ponies that exists almost nowhere else. Most of us thought we wouldn’t get this far. Most of us thought such a society would be pointless, that we would die defying the way things are. We were prepared to do so anyway, not wanting the world provided to us anymore. But we didn’t have to - we lived. We grew. More and more see where we come from. We made allies - we converted many. We made friends with our enemies. Those in high places gave us their blessing. Amazing ponies like the princess, General Amethyst...” She looked at the Inspector. “Rarity, and her coworkers...”

The Inspector bowed.

“We would not be where we are today without them. We can go out in public and speak. We can hold important positions in society We can live in a place where the Inspectors will defend us instead of turning a blind eye. I’m allowed to bring our message to far off lands. Speaking of which, I recently went to Griffonstone, and found something amazing. There are groups there, like this one, that help those ponies who flee Equestria to find a place in the griffon nation. They risk their lives taking ponies over the border from here and the Crystal Empire, getting them identification, and finding them jobs. And it just so happens that one of those griffons is with us here tonight. Before she comes on, I encourage you, just as you learned to love your fellow pony, do the same for her. She is just as amazing as you or me. Let’s give a warm welcome to Gabby!”

From behind the stage, a gray griffon poked out her head. “Uh... Hi?”

Many ponies looked concerned, and a few even frightened - but there was encouraging applause anyway. Gabby walked out the rest of the way to center stage and smiled. “You know, I was concerned this was going to go waaaaay south, but look at this! Look at us! all here in the same room without any hostility! Ohmygosh this is just amazing! You’re all great!” She waved her talons to the crowd, beaming.

Applejack cleared her throat. “Gabby will be mingling with the crowd afterwards. If y’all have any questions or ya’ need to get out of here, talk to her. She doesn’t bite - doesn’t even have teeth!”

There were chuckles from the crowd.

Fluttershy continued. “And the griffons aren’t all. There’s more out there, a place of real harmony I’ve recently learned about.” She smiled knowingly. “One might even call it a whole new world.” Rarity’s eyes widened - she wasn’t, was she? “I can’t say much about it now, but we have met two ponies who never knew of the divide. Two ponies who lived their whole lives like we do in this room without fear. Instead of this horrible war, let us dwell on that - there is a place of harmony somewhere out there. We can’t get to it now, but we know it exists, and it means that our mission is possible. We now know it can be done - before we thought we were nothing but wishful but thinking. But now...!” She spread her wings again, eyes watering, the biggest smile on her face. “Will will not always be a scared minority! We can find our place in this world! We can turn it around!”

Cheers erupted from the crowd, louder than before. Rarity found herself applauding as well, tears in her own eyes - Fluttershy was right, the mere fact that her world existed was proof that these ponies weren’t fighting for something impossible. Rarity knew why Fluttershy was doing what she was - she was giving her ponies the hope she herself had. Rarity found herself getting more and more hopeful, just knowing that Fluttershy and all these ponies were with them.

“I’d very much like to meet these two,” a voice rang out from the crowd. Everypony gasped as Amplify threw off his cloak, glaring Fluttershy right in the face.

“How the bucking Tartarus did you get here!?” Rainbow Dash screamed.”Get the buck out, zipper! You aren’t-”

Fluttershy held up a wing. “No, Rainbow. Let him. He’s aware of the same problem we are, even if his conclusions and methods are different. He has a say.”

Amplify raised an eyebrow. “I see the rumors of your kindness were not exaggerated.”

Fluttershy smirked. “You don’t found a groundbreaking movement by being complacent.”

“True... I suppose I was taken in by it myself...” He narrowed his eyes. “I want to meet them - these two ponies.”

“Perhaps when it is safer, after the war. They are in hiding right now, and for good reason. Ponies who don’t engage in our horrors get targets painted on them. Plus, you aren’t all that trustworthy.”

“How do I know you aren’t making it up then? You have to be excellent at doing that since you’ve managed to keep your identity a secret from the general public all this time.”

Fluttershy shrugged. “That’s true. I could be lying. I could, and I could easily get away with it. On the other hand, you could too. Lies are everywhere.”

“But my truthfulness isn’t being called into question, yours is. The word of a pegasus in bed with the government, somehow being both an activist icon and a mare of incredible power. You are a suspicious enigma, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy shrugged. “That’s how it had to be. I lie often to protect my ponies, and keep myself out of the public eye - as do most of us.”

“I’d love to know what government secret you use to keep everypony from knowing who you are. Tech perhaps?”

Fluttershy just smiled knowingly at that. Rarity knew what it was - Twilight Sparkle herself. Apparently, Amplify had no idea.

“Regardless...” Amplify raised a hoof. “I don’t believe you. And anypony who does is an idealistic and brainless individual. Do you really think that somewhere in this world there’s a place that has harmony? Does it even seem possible? While you’re here, it might be. While you’re surrounded by a few hundred of your blasphemous kind, it almost seems normal. Like it should be...”

“That’s it!” Applejack yelled. “Amplify!”

Fluttershy raised a wing, silencing Applejack. She whispered something into her ear that made Applejack visibly shrink back.

Amplify continued with a determined expression. “Think ponies! This isn’t normal! How could it be? You have to lie on your surface all the time! You are taught to cover up your tracks, deceive, and cheat everypony around you - even your family! I don’t know about you, but that sounds wrong! If you object to me and my violence, why don’t you object to your own lies!?”

“We are working towards something greater,” Fluttershy said.

“There it is - motive! you need to have a goal to justify yourself! To live! To exist! Without that, you are nothing! That is why you would lie about these ponies - you need to keep your Movement together with a reason to exist - a tangible goal rather than an impossibility. These two ponies you speak of are nothing more than fabrications! They-”

“DO I LOOK LIKE A FABRICATION TO YOU!?” Rarity screamed, throwing off her cloak.

The entire basement fell silent. Applejack and the Inspector looked panicked. Fluttershy looked... intrigued. Rainbow Dash did a spit take.

Amplify looked at Rarity in disbelief. He could feel his entire speech falling to pieces around him. He knew, somehow, that the unicorn before him was exactly who she said she was. “...Who are you?”

Rarity seethed. “You know what? I think I’ll actually tell you. Rairty. Rarity Belle. Yes, that’s the same name as the mare up there on the stage, how does that fit into your tiny little worldview!?”

Amplify’s eye twitched. “It makes no sense.”

Rarity grinned. “Good! Now take this on for size - where I'm from, there is no racism! There is absolutely none among us ponies! I know dozens of earth ponies personally! And even a few zebras! And griffons! And even a couple dragons! On and that’s not all, I’ll have you know that my grandfather was an earth pony, and I am very proud of my heritage!” She snorted.

There were gasps throughout the crowd. Amplify said nothing, and Fluttershy smiled.

“You tell him Rarity!” Rainbow Dash yelled.

“Oh, I’m not even close to done yet! We don’t have Concretes at all! They don’t exist! We have many cities! there are no purges! Sombra was defeated by my friends!” She leaned in towards Amplify. “And there is no war. There hasn’t been any for centuries.”

“You could be lying,” he said.

“One of my best friends has a pet alligator with no teeth named Gummy. Another one works on a farm and makes jam out of magic apples. Another is a pegasus who does stunts as part of a show to entertain the masses. The rather uncreative name of my home is Ponyville. The name of a zebra I know is Zecora. She speaks in rhymes! Nothing but rhymes! Need any more details!?” She was breathing extremely heavily, sweating as she heaved.

He looked down at her. “...No.”

“Good. Then... Then stop attacking these ponies.” The anger went from her quickly. “Don’t keep what they’re trying to do from happening. It’s beautiful, what I see here. It reminds me of home - a home I can’t go back to. Please, look into yourself.” She smiled. “I’ll even welcome you.”

Something inside Amplify snapped in that moment. His collected guise vanished, replaced with a mad rage. “Avalnax Tenevos!” He yelled, raising a hoof. Rarity sensed impressive magic power collection around it, taking a step back in concern. She saw shadows spiral off his hoof, approaching her with dangerous intent...

“Nope,” Applejack said, bucking him in the side of the head. The Inspector followed this up by encasing Amplify’s hoof in crystal. The crowd’s unicorns shot their magic at him.

“Stay away!”

“You monster!”

“She offered you a welcome!”

“Bastard!”

Rainbow Dash wheeled herself next to Rarity. “You are the stupidest bitch I have ever met.”

Rarity saw Rainbow Dash’s huge grin and laughed. “Yes... Yes, I am.”

Amplify roared, surrounding himself with dark energy - and teleporting away.

Fluttershy grinned. “Another victory here today!” The crowd cheered.

Rarity was grinning - hoofbumping Rainbow Dash and various other ponies, her emotions soaring. They plummeted when she saw the Inspector and Applejack coming right for her. Their expressions told Rarity one thing - they weren’t happy. Rarity gulped.

“Do you have any idea how stupid that was!?” They shouted at the exact same time.

“Uh... not until I was already committed.”

“Gosh, you are crazy...” Applejack muttered.

“We’re going to have to... to...” The Inspector grabbed her man. “I don’t know! You were supposed to stay away for this very reason!”

“Sorry,” Rarity said.

“Don’t be,” Fluttershy said, landing next to her and placing a wing around her. “I could have handled him, but the seeds of doubt would have been placed. What you did here today was soundly defeat him. I would not have been able to get him to snap. You did good.”

Rainbow Dash laughed. “You bet she did!” Rarity yelped when Rainbow Dash slapped her on the back. “That was awesome!”

“Well... This is going to be a paperwork nightmare...” The Inspector said, examining the crowd. Despite herself, a smile crawled up her face. ”...But I guess this works... I can deal with it.”

Applejack put a hoof around the Inspector. “Ya sure can!”

Fluttershy smiled. “Now, I’m sure you can do that... But now, there are a lot of ponies who want to meet Rarity here. Are you okay with that?”

Rarity took in a deep breath. “Yes. I am.” She turned to look at the crowd surrounding her. “...Hello there....”

XI - In the Web

Violence.

Noun.

One. A brutal method of resolving conflict.

Two. A hurtful means to an end.

Deception.

Noun.

One. A brutal method of resolving conflict.

Two. A hurtful means to an end.

Almost every major conflict was resolved through one of the above methods. Either there was a fight or a lie. Peace talks are never honest, don't make me laugh. It's possible to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth and still be deceptive. Perhaps it is better known as manipulation.

The truth is just a tool to be used. Nothing more than something said expecting a specific result from someone.

The truth is extremely brutal when used correctly, more so than any form of lie or violence, because the truth can't be denied in a thoughtful mind, and it cannot be solidly argued against. Truth is a dangerous thing.

People hate truth with a burning passion, and ignore it whenever possible. <<

~~~

The meeting had disbanded many hours ago; most of the members had been teleported away, one by one. Rarity was sitting with Applejack, Fluttershy, the Inspector, and Rainbow Dash in the rapidly emptying hall. All five of them were smiling impressive smiles. Applejack's confident and powerful; Fluttershy's calm, warm, and authoritative; the Inspector's small, wise, and thoughtful; Rainbow Dash's... loud. That was probably the best word to describe it.

"So then I said 'can I have a lick?' and she was all 'No, sorry, it's already too small to see!'" A chorus of laughter rounded the table. Rainbow Dash cut her laugh short, looking far into the distance. "...She would love to be here."

"Perhaps next time?" Rarity, glancing towards Fluttershy.

"There's no real point in keeping her hidden from our society anymore..." Fluttershy noted. "As long as you remain stealthy and listen to Lily, I don't see why not."

"You sure that's a good idea?" the Inspector asked. "Her powers-"

"I'm aware," Fluttershy said, pausing to take a sip of her tea, "but Rainbow's right, she'd love it here, and I think she'd be great for us now that there's not as much of a secret to keep."

"Won't that make it easier for the Concretes to find her?"

Fluttershy smirked. "Nopony knows I'm the Founder, Rarity, if we've kept that secret, we can keep this one. It will be fine." The moment the words left her mouth, a troubled look crossed her face.

"Amplify?" Applejack asked.

"Amplify," Fluttershy confirmed. "He knows. He's a bitter zebra. Rarity, your existence is a personal affront to him."

Rarity didn't have time to comprehend the confusion of the Inspector and herself both being called 'Rarity' at the same table, for the conversation moved on quickly.

"Y'all don't think he would..."

"He might," Fluttershy said, "but I choose to believe he values his ponies, and won't jeopardize them just for petty revenge."

Rarity furrowed her brow. "What could he do?"

"Report you to the Concretes. He's rather intelligent, he could figure out they want you."

Rarity gulped. "So I've put us in danger..."

"And given them all hope," Fluttershy said. "Don't forget that. Never forget that."

Rarity couldn't help but feel that was an order. "Yes. I'll remember."

"To not forgetting!" Rainbow Dash yelled, raising her mug for a toast. Fluttershy met her with her teacup. Rainbow Dash downed her drink instantly after the soft clink. "Ah, that's the bucking spot..."

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "What did I tell you about that tongue?"

"Bucking pigger accas on a mud stick preening with a runter," she responded.

Fluttershy's feathers ruffled; Applejack just laughed. "You should stop tryin' to change her, Flutters, she ain't hurting anyone."

"Words have power, Applejack. Dangerous power," Fluttershy responded.

The Inspector smirked. "True. But say them enough and they lose all meaning."

"Heck yes!" Rainbow Dash chuckled.

"...I'm curious," Rarity butted into the conversation. "How did all of you meet?"

The ponies all fell silent. Everypony looked guilty about something, their gaze slowly shifting to Fluttershy. The pegasus took in a breath. "We were almost all enemies at the start. I had a newly formed Movement under my wing, Rarity and Twilight were Inspectors straight out of the Academy, Applejack was an aggressive territorial defender, and Rainbow Dash..."

"It was me against the whole freaking world," Rainbow Dash interjected. "If you weren't Rainbow Bucking Dash, you were apt to get the shit beaten out of you by a Rainbow sack of trash."

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes. That. Both Applejack and I have memories of her doing that to us."

"I was theeeee worst!" Rainbow Dash blurted, slightly louder than normal.

"There were others worse than you," Applejack reminded her.

"Yeah. I ran into one of them, remember?"

Fluttershy shook her head slightly. "We all do, Rainbow. That's the day most of us met. Rainbow Dash picked a fight with a zebra who was passing through; Zecora if I remember correctly. Zecora tore Rainbow's wing clean off, pummeled her with dark magic, and left her for dead." Fluttershy sighed at the memory. "I saw it, and so did Applejack. We didn't know each other, but in that moment we both knew only one thing - we needed to help Rainbow. I didn't think about keeping up appearances, and Applejack never thinks anyway."

Applejack rolled her eyes. "Really? Never?"

"Nope," Fluttershy said. "Zecora was long gone when Twilight arrived on the scene. She thought we had attacked Rainbow, and it took a lot of effort to calm the fresh Inspector down. I got her to put aside her prejudice and help Rainbow Dash - and she did what she could. She was still great at magic back then, remarkably managing to save Rainbow Dash's life. We took Rainbow into my house - where we all stayed, watching over her, many things going unsaid. AJ and Twilight quickly found out I was part of the Movement, seeing as a lot of ponies kept coming to my door every few hours, thinking it was safe to talk to me. I didn't scream at any of them, a dead giveaway. But Twilight decided not to report me. She later told me it was because she saw in me the kindest soul she had ever met, and she couldn't bring herself to order the purge. Back then, the mere existence of a mingler was grounds for a purge if they were prominent enough. I'm happy to say we've taken care of that in this day and age... ...Regardless, Twilight considered ordering the purge several times but never did. I cared for Rainbow Dash, and even though Applejack, Twilight, and I rarely talked to each other for a while after that, we had garnered a respect for each other and slowly became good friends."

"And I learned that I wasn't the top of the world!" Rainbow Dash blurted.

Rarity turned to the Inspector. "What about you?"

"I knew Twilight. That was it," the Inspector sighed. "I didn't come around for a couple years, just prior to Twilight's coronation. I was the holdout, the horrible one."

"Hey, we all did stupid things," Applejack said. "Ah'm probably the reason Amplify's such a pain in our arses."

"Fluttershy doesn't have any regrets," Rainbow Dash said. "She was on the right page from the start..."

Fluttershy blushed slightly. "I was just lucky." She stood up. "Well, I must go. Twilight and I are heading to the Crystal Empire."

"Are you sure she can go back there?" The Inspector asked.

"She understands. I have faith in her."

"Can you go back there?"

Fluttershy hesitated for a second. "...Yes, Yes I can." She spread her wings. "See you girls again soon." She flew off to a teleporter unicorn, gone a few seconds later with a flash of magic.

"So..." Rarity said, "what happens to me now?"

"We change your appearance again so Amplify's ponies won't recognize you," the Inspector said. "Twilight isn't here, so it needs to be something simple."

"Coat dye. Make her gray," Applejack suggested.

Rarity sighed. "I really would prefer not to continually changing my appearance. I already live under a pseudonym and this isn't my real mane! Plus, what do I tell my customers?"

The Inspector frowned. "I'm... Not sure..."

"Clothes dying accident," Rainbow Dash said. "Fell into the gray, couldn't get it out, decided to make it uniform. Easy."

The Inspector blinked. "...That's... Actually a passable idea Rainbow."

"I get them when I'm drunk sometimes," Rainbow Dash chuckled.

"Well then... Think you can do that Iris?"

Rarity nodded. "Yeah."

"Might want to hide your cutie mark as well."

"An excuse to wear a dress all the time? Such horror," Rarity deadpanned.

"Good. Let's do this again next week."

"As always!" Rainbow Dash blurted.

"Think you could have a planned speech next time?" Applejack asked.

Rarity smirked. "I think Pinkie and I both will have one."

"Nice! You two will be fantastic!" Rainbow Dash whooped.

Rarity smiled. "I sure do hope so."

~~~

The door to the apartment opened before Rarity even reached for it. A very sleep-deprived Pinkie was standing in the doorway, grinning. "You're back!"

"Did you... Stay up this whole time!? Pinkie, it's tomorrow already!"

"Couldn't sleep! I was worried! I would have hunted you down if I knew where you were - or bothered to find out. Nevermind. How'd it go?"

"Can we talk about this in the morning?"

"Rarity, it is technically morning."

Rarity groaned, tossing her cloak to the side of the room. "Well, it was amazing. It felt like home, Pinkie. This world Fluttershy's made here really has something special."

"Ooooh, so she's the big honcho?"

"Yes, and she's so gentle, but also strong. She just has a commanding demeanor about her. It's... odd, but inspiring. She's got a dream for the future. A dream to get rid of all this horrid racism, prejudice, and violence... And I got to help!"

"Oh? ...Rarity, what did you do?"

"That horrid Amplify was in the room and he started calling Fluttershy's speech of hope into question. So I... Revealed myself and gave him a stern talking to. It was rather... heated and unladylike, but it felt so liberating. So right. I backed him into a corner. He tried to kill me but the crowd surged to my ad. It was beautiful, Pinkie!"

"...You revealed yourself..."

"Oh, well, yes - the Inspector and Applejack had a fit about that, but Rainbow Dash was supportive, and Fluttershy thanked me at the end! She even said I could bring you next time! And we could talk to the entire society!"

"Ohmygosh I can go!?"

Yes! You'll love it there! There are games even! It could use somepony like you, Rainbow even said so!"

Pinke squee'd. "Ohmygosh this is so exciting! When's the next meeting!?"

"A week."

Pinkie sagged. "I won't last that long..."

"Oh yes you will, stop that. Anyway... a lot more stuff happened, but I am tired right now. We can talk about the depths of their versions of us and our friends later. I need some rest before work tomorrow. I need to dye my coat gray."

"Uh... What?"

"I'll explain tomorrow. For now, sleep!"

"You can't leave me hanging like this! What else happened? What was Fluttershy like? How were the other ponies!? Raaaaarity!"

"Goodnight Pinkie." Rarity flopped onto her bed.

Pinkie grumbled. "Like I'm going to get any sleep at all now..."

~~~

Minuette and Twilight were sitting on top of a tower of the castle. The chilly night air blew through their manes, chilling them to the bone. They were alone save for a single three-pony flying chariot without a single pegasus guard hooked up to it.

"...So are you going to tell me yet?"

Twilight kept a completely straight face. "Tell you what?"

"You can read my damn mind, I know that you know."

"All I'm getting right now is a 'you would know that I would know that you would know that I would know that you would know..."

"Luna's spirit, you're ruthless."

"What is ruth and where can I get it?" Twilight deadpanned.

Minuette facehooved. "Mares and gentecolts, the hope of our nation."

"There's no audience here - who are you talking to?"

"Would you quit it with the overly literal act already?"

"You aren't making any sense."

Minuette's eye twitched, but she said nothing. Let it go, she implored herself. There was silence for a beautiful three seconds.

"...Just as much nonsense as when you asked how we would get the chariot to fly."

"Buck you," Minuette grunted.

"My, that's such royal slander! I should either have you locked up or take you up on the offer!"

There was silence for a few seconds. Minuette froze in place, contemplating what had just come out of the princess's mouth.

Twilight couldn't take it anymore - she broke out into a wide smirk. "You're imagining it."

"N-no I'm not."

"I can see it aaaaaaaaaaall!" Twilight trilled.

"You're bucking ruthless!"

"Is that Ruth I see in there?"

"LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA LA!"

"You know you can say something and think something very different right?"

"But- you- ACK!"

Twilight giggled. "Ah, I haven't been able to do that in a while..."

"Don't you have clueless guards you can mess with instead?"

"Well, yes, but I have to wipe their minds afterward so they don't get any ideas. Not satisfying. And my other friends have become inoculated to it. You on the other hoof..."

"I feel like I'm a chunk of fresh meat in front of a particularly sadistic griffon."

"How do you know I'm not a sadistic griffon? I could just be replacing your memories with that of a purple alicorn."

Minuette smirked. "Because you suggested, just now, that you might be one. And since you're not a moron, had you been a real griffon, you would never have said that."

"Unless I said it to make you think I wasn't,"

Minuette blinked. "Damn. You're good."

"I can see into your mind, of course I'm good. Yes, I can still see that question you have. How are we going to get this chariot to fly? Well, think Minuette."

Minuette thought numerous thoughts. Twilight laughed. Minuette got angrier. Twilight's grin grew.

Out of the blue, Twilight suddenly rolled her eyes. "Yes, Fluttershy, I am." Fluttershy dropped from the sky, raising an eyebrow at Twilight. "Oh please, it's all in good fun!"

Fluttershy shrugged."Good to see you're awake, Minuette."

"Maybe you can tell me - how are we going to fly this bucking thing?"

"Wait and see," Fluttershy said.

"Damnit!" Minuette blurted. "You're in cahoots!"

"Oh, of course," Twilight smirked. "What else would we be in?"

Fluttershy must have thought something hilarious in that moment because Twilight took one look at her and burst into laughter.

Minuette twitched. "I feel like a third wheel."

"Where we're going, we don't need wheels!" Twilight shouted, landing on the front seat of the chariot. "All aboard!"

Fluttershy and Minuette climbed in behind her. Minuette cleared her throat. "So... How are we going to fly this thing?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Minuette saw Fluttershy smirk ominously.

Twilight lit her horn, teleporting them far into the sky. Instantly, they all started falling, plummeting to the ground below.

"You crazy bitches! We're going to crash!"

Fluttershy put a hoof on her. "Relax. Twilight's got this."

Minuette blinked, ready to retort, but she was distracted by Twilight spreading her wings wide. She moved her flying goggles over her eyes, a smirk crossing her face. Her mane and tail flashed with purple energy, sparkles flying off her hairs from the aether itself. Her wings glowed brightly, and three sparks of magic energy appeared around the chariot. The auras fashioned themselves into translucent cylinders, two placing themselves at the back of the chariot and one underneath. All of the magic constructs ignited, three trails of energy shooting out, pushing the chariot forwards and upwards with intense power. Minuette felt herself press into the back of her seat, her lips pulled back by the intense force. Beside her, Fluttershy seemed calm, as if nothing was happening.

Eventually, the acceleration forces wore off, allowing Minuette the chance to catch her breath. "...You crazy bitches!"

Twilight's mane and tail returned to their default state, the three thrust spells acting on their own. "Yes. We're crazy. Your point?"

"I... I'm not sure."

"Good," Fluttershy said, "You're learning."

"Hey look! The sun's rising!" Twilight shouted.

Everypony turned to the side, seeing the light of the suns slowly crest the horizon, banishing the stars and darkness, heralding a new day. Minuette saluted in its direction. For a brief moment, she felt peace.

Then she realized from this high up they could see the battlefields. Large swaths of scorched grass, felled forests... burnt towns. There was no way to tell if a town had been purged or razed by Concretes.

Twilight sighed. "We really are lucky they don't think Neighagra Falls is worth the effort to attack yet." She looked towards the northeast. "I hope Sunset is doing okay..."

Fluttershy put a hoof on Twilight, not needing to say anything. Twilight smiled slightly at the action.

"Yeah... That's true."

Minuette wasn't sure if the exchange was beautiful or creepy.

XII - Icthus

There is always a bigger fish.

Such a statement is true in all cases except one - there truly must be a fish that is larger than all the others or at least tied with another fish. Now, it's hard to prove without a doubt that a fish really is the biggest seeing how there are trillions of the things worldwide. No one could ever compare them all since new fish are constantly born and old ones die constantly.

In reality, the saying has little to do with fish. It has to do with power, telling all never to take it for granted. There will always be one higher than you - or, at the very least, it's highly likely there is, and the guy slightly smaller than you might have friends. The point is, if power is to be kept, it must be guarded.

This leads to many leaders doing despicable things all for the sake of retaining power. Oh, sure, they may be good for the people, they may seek out new ideas and plans, and they may even be popular. but that matters not. All of them have had to protect their holdings somehow. Corruption is not a matter of 'if' or 'when;' it is a guarantee of success.

Look out for number one. <<

~~~

"There," Fluttershy said, "you can see the Concretion now."

It was midday, and the magic chariot was flying at a brisk pace across the plains. There were few towns left standing in this section of Equestria, the war having claimed most. There was little evidence of troop movement or drones, however - and Minuette knew why. The Equestrian Military had abandoned the small outposts and towns early in favor of the strongholds, abandoning the towns to the Concretes. The Concretes were completely sure there was nothing else out here to burn, so they weren't even patrolling this area. How many ponies had they killed? Ten thousand? More? Whatever it was, it was going to be bigger than she thought - those little towns sure added up after a while.

Minuette lifted her head to look at the Concretion itself. From this far it didn't look ominous, evil, or even powerful. It was an unassuming gray splotch in the distance. Minuette growled at the Concretion. "They're going to pay for this."

Twilight nodded. "Yes, yes they will."

Fluttershy said nothing, merely drooping slightly. Twilight looked at her with concern.

They rode on in silence for a little while, the magic thrusters making a soft humming noise. Minuette started imagining ways she was going to punish those Concretes...

"That's brutal," Twilight commented.

"They deserve it."

"You know they don't really have a choice right?" Fluttershy said.

Minuette huffed. "That just means I can bash their damn skulls in without giving a shit."

"They were ponies once, long ago..."

"They're monsters now," Minuette said.

Fluttershy sighed. "...There's one. Our source. Not a monster."

"Not a pony either," Twilight snapped. "The best possible Concrete, the best they could produce. Emotionless."

"So now my 'do not kill' list has increased to one from zip," Minuette said. "Your point?"

"Brutality and violence aren't right," Fluttershy said. "It's something we're against."

"Against using on other ponies," Twilight said. "They aren't ponies, Minuette. They refuse to talk. They kill us because they hate what we are. They live in a society for no reason beyond defeating the rest of the world. They don't care about each other..." She started to tremble.

Minuette blinked. "...Have you been in the Concretion?"

"No," Twilight said. "I've met more than a few Concretes though. Prisoners. Spies. They're incapable of changing. I've... I've worked out the hatred of magic and cruelty out of them forcefully, and they just become husks devoted to progress. Take that progression desire away, and they don't see a point to anything at all. They'll starve to death if you don't force feed them. There's no good in them whatsoever."

Twilight shot a glare at Fluttershy. "Why, yes, Fluttershy, I do know. I've tried. You've been there when I've tried. It's been edited out of them. I know! They aren't ponies anymore!"

Fluttershy sighed. Twilight shook her head. "No, Flutters... Not again. I'm not doing this again." She twisted her head sideways and closed her eyes. "I need some quiet."

Minuette turned to Fluttershy. "Did she just-"

"Yes. She turned her magic off. She's also blocked her hearing." Fluttershy shook her head. "She really did try harder than anypony to find some shred of harmony left in the Concretes. She had to give up, the search was destroying her. I've personally never stopped believing there was something in there, but she just can't let herself have those thoughts. I've gotten fairly decent at not thinking about it in her presence, but I'm not perfect. I should have never said anything."

Minuette twitched. "You really believe there's hope for them?"

"I believe that if we don't consider the possibility, we are taking too much of a risk."

"...You're way too idealistic."

Fluttershy glared at Minuette, making her shrink back in fear. "Somepony has to be. everypony sets the bar too low, claiming this is just how things are, just how things should be. even if they agree it's wrong, they do nothing to change it. I have to hold us to a standard, I need a standard to exist."

Minuette blinked, saying nothing.

Fluttershy turned away, gazing towards the Concretion, troubled. Minuette turned the other direction. She may have been convinced the piggers weren't absolute trash, but the Concretes? They were just evil.

But what about the source they mentioned?

A freak. Not normal. Even then, not good.

But what if there was a good one somewhere in there?

Minuette shoved the thought out of her mind, instead deciding to think of Twilight. She was clearly unstable - was it because she was mad? Crazy? Stressed? Overworked? Because they were going to the place responsible for her brother's death? Was it because she had to hear the minds of all? Was it the Concretes?

Was it everything?

Minuette looked at Twilight sitting there, tuning them out, and thought for the first time that maybe her princess might not be the best pony for the job.

Sacrilege.

"Incoming!" Fluttershy yelled, slapping Twilight alongside the head with her wing, snapping the alicorn out of it. Minuette leaped up, horn ablaze, staring intently at the Concretion. What she saw coming directly for them wasn't a standard drone - it was a good seventy times larger, almost as large as Twilight's castle. The craft was composed of a few dozen smaller units, each the shape of a normal drone, but each a good four times larger, and each with pink glowing energy rather than blue. The conglomerate drone was closing in fast.

Twilight clicked her head, turning her magic back on. She channeled her power, her eyes transforming into intense globes of light, light that would be blinding had she not been wearing her goggles. Her mane and tail spread out, flowing with the winds of magic all around her, sparkling with the colors and stars of twilight. The thrust spells on the chariot went into overdirve, pumping out three times as much energy as before. Minuette was knocked over, falling to the seat of the chariot, while Fluttershy had difficulty standing.

The ship was still gaining on them.

"We're about to find out what a few dozen combat drones can do," Fluttershy said. "Minuette, can you teleport the chariot?"

"Yes!" I hope.

"Reassuring!" Twilight quipped.

"Not now Twilight!" Fluttershy chided. "Minuette, you'll need to teleport us whenever we're about to get hit. Twilight, give her a magic boost and switch to the offensive on my mark!"

"Gotcha!" Twilight said.

Minuette blinked. "Wait, why are-"

"We're not in charge here Minuette, she is! Listen to her!" Twilight shouted, her voice reverberating with alien frequencies. Minuette shut up and listened.

Fluttershy nodded, raising a hoof, squinting at the incoming ship. She spread her wings, feeling the gusts of wind pass through them, analyzing everything she could take into account. Then she took in a sharp breath. "MARK!"

The chariot entered a steep upward climb, heading right for the sun above them. Minuette felt her horn surge with gifted magic, sparking with a strange mixture of blue and purple energies. She quickly prepared a maneuvering teleport, ready for whenever it was needed.

As it turned out, it was needed right then. Several dozen missiles shot out of the ship, beelining right for them. Minuette teleported behind the missiles, maneuvering the chariot closer to the Concrete ship. Twilight capitalized on the opportunity, unleashing an attack. With a powerful flex of her wings, she left the chariot temporarily to vaporize the center of the conglomeration with a simple thought. No lasers, no explosions, just the center of the ship turning to purple dust in a minute, the sparks reflecting in the princess's lenses. She landed back on the chariot with a graceful swoop.

"Yeah!" Minuette cheered.

"We're not done yet!" Fluttershy shouted. With the center gone, the two separated parts flew on their own. They released any broken bits from their bodies, flying as two shiny ships. They fired a volley of lasers that Minuette was unable to teleport away from - forcing Twilight to raise a shield. "I can't attack and defend at the same time easily, Minuette!"

"Working on it!" Minuette readied another teleport, using her telekinesis at the same time to catch a volley of bullets, lowering the strain on Twilight's shield. Minuette had never been able to manage this many spells at once before - it felt great to have this boost!

"Don't get cocky!" Twilight yelled, vaporizing half of one of the remaining crafts. Minuette teleported through another volley of missiles, only for a laser to meet them. The left siding of the chariot burnt off. The conglomeration was evidentially adjusting its strategy to compensate for the teleportation.

"Damnit!" Minuette yelled, pulling on their chariot with her telekinesis, moving them out of the way of a volley of bullets.

Fluttershy grit her teeth. "Ram them into each other!"

"I'll try!" Twilight said.

"Get us closer Minuette!"

"They're just going to hurt us again!"

"DO IT!" Fluttershy commanded.

Minuette didn't question it again. She lit her horn and teleported the chariot closer to the smaller ship. She felt a bullet cut into her flank, and saw blood fly out of one of Fluttershy's wings. Minuette managed to stay standing, growling through the pain, trying to protect them with her telekinesis. Fluttershy wasn't made of as stern of stuff - determined though she was, her form wasn't that of a warrior. She crumpled to the ground when the second bullet hit her leg. The chariot was now riddled with holes and wasn't looking like it'd hold together much longer.

Twilight grabbed the smaller ship part and threw it into the larger part. The two sections exploded upon contact, sending shrapnel flying in all directions. The shockwave threw the amazingly still intact chariot away. Twilight righted the chariot with her magic, pointing it back at the Crystal Empire. She didn't need to ask if everypony was okay - with her magic, she healed Fluttershy and Minuette right up. Then she reverted to her default pony form, chest heaving. She lifted her goggles and looked at them with shaky eyes. "We're alive."

"Enough of those combat drones could blast through anything Celestia or Luna had to offer," Fluttershy said, gulping.

"...We really do need that treaty," Minuette admitted.

Twilight nodded, checking to make sure the chariot was still stable enough to carry them. "I know. I know. I'm sorry Fluttershy, it's just..."

"You don't need to say anything," Fluttershy responded. "It's fine. It will always be fine. We shouldn't expect to agree on everything."

Twilight smiled sadly. "You didn't need to say that, you know."

"I wanted to."

Twilight nodded. Then she turned to Minuette. "You did great."

"I'm a soldier Twilight. I fight and follow orders. It's my bucking job."

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Yes, yes it is..." They flew away, to the north, leaving the Concretion behind.

They didn't notice something crawl out of the conglomeration's wreckage. It was in the shape of a large pony, metallic, and pink. It glared at the chariot flying into the distance, as if its continued existence was a personal affront.

~~~

"Would you just shut up!?" Farundael spat in Pinkie's face. "All you do is talk, talk, talk, talk! You're so Celestia-damned annoying! How about you stop trying to do my job!?"

"Uh... I was hired Farun... I..."

"We didn't need a new tour guide! I was all that we needed! I had a good thing going here before you showed up! And then you had the gall to tell me how to do what I do! Like you were the perfect little pink puff that everypony adored!"

Pinkie started to tear up. "Farun, I was trying to help you..."

"Oh, was that all?" Farundael gestured violently at the decorations all over the cavern. "You sure you weren't all 'Hey, look at what I can do! Look at how good I am! Look at me! I'm Pinkie Pie, look at me! I'm an accas and yet I can still do all these things!' Look at you! You are a damned ditzy bitch who doesn't know that moderation exists!"

"Farundael, do I need to come over there?" Rainbow Dash shouted.

'You stay out of this Dash!"

"Oh I don't think so!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "I don't think you realize something! She's done great! The tourists love her! The food is better than it's ever been before! And she's not bucking absent half the time!"

"She's just a damn attention whore who doesn't know when to shut up and leave things alone!"

"Celestia's twat, you're an idiot! you're getting paid more because of her! This place actually makes a sizeable profit now! You should be thanking her!"

"Thanking her? Her? Are you insane? How can't you see it!? She's nothing but a damned little girl who doesn't get that her idiocy isn't cute!"

"Okay, punching you now. Where you want it? Face? Horn? Crotch? Flank? Choose your punishment!"

"Stop it!" Pinkie wailed, tears dripping down her face. "Stop it now! We're supposed to be friends here! We are a team! Farun! What can I do!?"

Farundael growled. "You can leave! Go sell yourself elsewhere, whore!"

Rainbow Dash punched Farundael in the snout, launching her into the tour stand and breaking it.

"Stop Dashie!" Pinkie yelled.

"She was being a bitch!"

"So? She's still a pony!" Pinkie rushed over to Farundael, picking her up.

"Do you not know when to STOP!?" Farundael screeched, shoving Pinkie's help away. "Bucking stop! Stop being the hero! Stop doing everything! Things were damn fine before you showed up, why'd you have to change it!?"

"A question I'd like the answer to myself," a new voice said - one that was not yelling. The voice was actually rather softly spoken, but everyone heard it as if it had been spoken in their own ears despite the noise of the falls. They all turned to see Quartzite walking in with... Amplify. Quartzite was signing with her wings, pointing at her ear repeatedly.

She had heard him. She'd never heard anything in her life.

"Was I interrupting something?" Amplify asked, taking an ominous step forward.

Rainbow Dash was frozen to the spot with fear, and Farundael backed away several steps.

Pinkie, on the other hand, wiped away her tears and put on a smile. "Hello Amplify, I've heard so much about you!"

"Good things I hope?"

"Nope! All bad!" She giggled. "Here for a tour?"

Amplify seemed to consider this for a moment. "Sure. I've never been down here in all my years."

"Come with me then!" She began to bounce off.

"Pinkie!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "Are you crazy!?"

"Yes, I am! Don't worry, I'll be fine, just keep doing your job." She bounced down the tunnel. "This way Amplify!" She cleared her throat. "Welcome toooooo Neighagra Caverns! An amazing treasure hidden right behind the Falls! There's an amazing history to these caves, but we all know no one's interested in that, so let's just look at this cool rock!"

"Mmm... Fascinating. How did you break that horn of yours, by the way?"

Pinkie rolled her eyes as if to say 'nice try'. "Rock farm accident. Was dropped when I was young in one of the fields while the earths were rotating the rocks!"

"Oh, your childhood must have been difficult..."

"I grew up in Cartwheel! It would have been bad regardless! It was recently purged..." She shook her head. "But enough about me, what about you?!" She knew he wasn't buying the story, but it wasn't like she was going to be honest or just let him lead the conversation.

"I thought you were here to take me through the Caverns? Not to ask me questions."

"Ah, well, really, there's nothing cool until we reach the end of this tunnel, and that'll take a liiiiiittle bit. So! Where are you from!?"

"The southern jungles," he said, "among my fellow zebra tribes."

"Ooooh, what was that like!?"

"Presumably about as horrid as Cartwheel. There's a reason nopony goes south."

"Pfft, I'm sure they weren't all bad!"

"Oh? And why not?"

Pinkie knew a loaded question when she heard one. "You're here aren't you!?"

"I suppose that is true. However, I sense something more, beyond your 'question answer'. You've met another zebra, haven't you?"

"Yeah, don't remember much about her though, except she wasn't evil!"

Amplify frowned. That evidentially wasn't the answer he wanted. Pinkie grinned, throwing her hooves wide. "Welcome to the Endless Cavern!"

"is it really endless?"

"No idea," she said, lowering her voice since the Falls were no longer deafening.

"Interesting. Truly a natural wonder."

"Yeah! Now we have to go over there!" She pointed across the rickety bridge. "It's time to play with our lives!"

"I find it hard to believe you walk all the tourists across that, access."

Pinkie shrugged. "Eh, no fooling you is there? There's another bridge down here. I've decorated it in streamers!" she bounced into the air and landed on her hind legs in the exact middle of the good bridge. "Come along!"

Amplify followed. "Interesting powers you have..."

"Turns out, when you crack your horn, magic manifests in other ways! Like... you! I hear you have magic! That voice thing you do has to be part of it."

"All zebras are connected to the life of the jungle, the wilds of nature."

"Ooooh! Cool! I can pull things out of my mane and bounce around like crazy! What can you do?"

"Shadows and sound," he said, "the black stripe of the jungle, the connection to the fundamental energy of our race."

"Oooh! Vague and mysterious! I like it!" She bounced into the luminescent cavern, changing the subject. "Look at all these crystals!"

"Impressive."

"You ain't seen nothin' yet!" She leaped towards the ceiling and pulled down a disco ball. "Dance room! Woohoo!"

"What gave you the idea for this?"

"Well, the crystals reflect light, and I thought that'd be great for dancing if I rigged up some mirrors!"

"A very... technological viewpoint."

"Pfft, not really. Anypony could have thought of it."

Amplify nodded slowly. "...You're good."

"I try my best!"

"I mean with your words. You're careful. Very careful. You hide behind a facsimile of happiness and randomness. It's hard to read through that."

Pinkie giggled. "Amplify, you don't know me at all! This is how I am, like, allll the time!"

His thoughtful look became a scowl. "Disgusting."

"Oh? How so? It's fun! it makes ponies smile! It's a lot better than what you get by screaming, and ponies appreciate the fun!" She stuck her tongue out in a silly way. "Maybe you just need a laugh to dent that tough exterior of yours! Come on! Give a real smile!"

He twitched. "Again. Again! That's all the proof I need. Nopony would ever offer me the olive branch. Ever." He raised a hoof and charged her. She pulled a frying pan out of her mane, slapping his shadowy hoof aside.

She giggled. "Well, guess the gig's up. Let's do this stripey! Let's dance in the disco light!"

Amplify twitched. "You really are infuriating."

Pinkie dodged another punch, appearing on top of his head. "Eh, I'm silly, fun, and happy! Ponies usually like the happy."

"What about your friend who was screaming at you?" Amplify questioned, slamming his front hooves into the ground, sending a wave of shadowy energy at her. As she leaped over it, she swore she saw leaves forming in the darkness before it shriveled up and died.

"Farun's just had some bad times, that's all, she'll come around." Pinkie did a pirouette around Amplify's next set of blows. She produced a pie and threw it right into his face.

Amplify grit his teeth, ramming a hoof into a nearby crystal. He tore it off, the sharp implement refracting in the disco light. Shadows snaked around it, a veil of constant growth and decay. "She was right. You are an attention whore. You see things and can't just leave them be."

He swung after her with the crystal, shadows and light dancing all around. She bounced and wormed her way through all of it, bowing as she did so. "You think I'm going to listen to you? Heehee! that's funny. Trying to distract me? Well, it wooooon't work! Because I know ponies like laughter. Because I know the birthday of every pony in Ponyville! Because everyone smiles when I come along! Maybe I do call a biiiiit too much attention to myself, but I make ponies lives better. And I'm never going to stop."

Amplify stared at her, a bit dumbfounded. She smiled in return. "I could throw you a party if you wanted."

Amplify broke. "Why do you all offer me peace!?" He swung after her again, cracking the cavern walls when he missed. "I am your enemy! Act like it!"

"I did that once," Pinkie said, her expression deadly serious for a split second. "It was horrible. I never want to go back there."

Amplify wasn't talking anymore - he raised his front hooves above himself, creating a black sphere that sucked all loose objects inside - except Pinkie, who just stood there like nothing was happening. She smirked. "I'm going to treat you like an angry foal who's been very, very bad today." A peppy, disco-esque beat began to flood the room and Pinkie pumped her legs to the beat. "Disco battle time!"

She leaped into action, boxing gloves on her hoove while she sang.

Disco battle!
Move to the beat!
Bring on the heat!
Punch with a dozen gloves!
Or pump out a hundred doves!

Pinkie jumped around and around Amplify, boxing him across the room and assaulting him with stuffed doves.

Disco battle!
Amplify, move!
It's time to groove!
Left hoof, right hoof, what fun!
Try and hit me in the tum!

Amplify growled. "What is this?!"

"'S called a heartsong, silly, you're supposed to get into it."

Amplify roared-

I will do no such thing!
I care not for what you bring!
Your influence is dangerous -
To kill you would be pious!

"That's the spirit!" Pinkie grinned. She leaped into the air, performing a complex sequence of dance moves before yanking on Amplify's tail.

Disco battle!
Spin your 'ponent!
Just to win it!"
Show them your groovy moves!
With the shakes in your hooooooooves~

Amplify growled, driving Pinkie into the ground with a shadowy claw from nowhere.

Your cheeriness
Disgusting
Your innocence
Moronic
Your powers
Blasphemous
Your ideals...

Perhaps the song isn't so bad
It's possible I shouldn't be so mad
I feel something like never before
Like my essence is off the floor

Let me tell you why you must die today
Not because you insist the world is yours to play
But for a reason deep to myself
A hatred of your kind high on my shelf!

He moved with the music, grinning psychotically. Pinkie tried to dodge his next blow, but it skimmed her across the face, drawing blood. She screamed. The music took on a dark, distorted tone. The colors dimmed, and the world fell dark.

The truth is...
...all ponies die.
The truth is...
...you all live a lie.
The truth is...
...you forget your place.
The truth is...
...I manipulate race.

Pinkie felt the shadows swirl and knot around her, driving her into the crystal-studded ground. She felt the sharp points of the crystals pierce the skin on her back - she screamed.

One down, one to go.
Sad you won't get to see my show.

Amplify laughed harder than he had in a long while. "You aren't as powerful as you believe..." He sneered at her as the music faded away. Pinkie coughed up blood. "Had you been different, you might have been useful. But you were naive. Never help your enemies. Never offer them peace. It never goes well."

"Ah reckon otherwise."

Amplify groaned, turning to the entrance of the cavern to see Applejack. "I can kill you here too, traitor."

"You can try. You can also try to kill my enemy-made-friend behind you."

He whirled around - but was too slow. A blue magic aura slapped him across the face. The Inspector appeared, spitting on the floor. "You're a sadly misled individual, Amplify."

"You're really going to make your stand here!?" Amplify laughed, summoning the shadows to him. The Inspector's horn went black, and her magic aura dropped to nothing. Applejack visibly shook from the dark presence, taking an involuntary step back. "The only reason she lasted this long is because I couldn't neutralize her magic, whatever it is. You two are normal."

"That... Might be true..." The Inspector admitted.

"But did ya really think we'd come alone?" Applejack added.

A dozen or so Inspectors appeared using teleports. Amplify seemed ready to fight for a moment - but then a smile came to his face. "Oh look, she's not moving anymore..." He poked the limp form of Pinkie, getting no response or heartbeat. "Looks like I won't be needed here after all... I'm afraid this battle has to be postponed to a time more opportune for me." He surrounded himself in shadow, and was gone.

The Inspector and Applejack took maybe one second to process this before running to Pinkie's body. "Pinkie! Pinkie!" The Inspector yelled, trying to mend the wounds - her magic woefully inadequate. She couldn't restart the heart... "Oh... I'm so sorry we weren't here sooner..."

Pinkie opened one eye. "Is he gone?"

Applejack and the Inspector stared down in disbelief - hadn't she been dead a second ago? Rainbow Dash wheeled in at that moment, a strange look of horror and amusement on her face.

"Are you... Okay?" The Inspector asked.

"Oh no," Pinkie said, "My ribs are broken, my stomach's pierced, and I'm pretty sure my left lung is collapsed." She coughed up some more blood. "But I'm really good at playing dead! Had you all good, didn't I?"

"Get a healer!" Applejack yelled. "Stat! She's losing a lot of blood!"

Rainbow Dash looked guilty. "I... Sorry I couldn't get any help sooner."

"It's okay. I'll be fine Dashie. You got the help to save me! And, well, Amplify thinks I'm dead now, so that's good! But you all need to go protect Rarity."

"We've sent some ponies to help her. You don't need to be worried," the Inspector said.

"Yep, she'll be fine. Don't you fret none," Applejack said.

"Nice to meet you by the way Applejack! I'm Pinkie Pie!" She extended a hoof.

Applejack blinked. "Aren't you in a lot of pain? How are you...?"

"Merely a flesh wound."

"You really are something..." Applejack shook her hoof.

Pinkie grinned - then had another coughing fit. "Okay, I really need a doctor. I'm not kidding, I really am bleeding out here."

"HURRY IT UP WITH THAT DOCTOR!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Oh," Pinkie said. "I'm going to pass out now."

She did.

XIII - Aid Most Unwelcome

Some people just like to toy with the minds of others. I fully admit to being among them. There's something tantalizing about manipulating others to your own whims and means. Perhaps one of the most classic examples is letting the victim believe he's been successfully lying to you for so long, only to reveal you knew the entire time.

Or my personal favorite - the long haul. Build up trust with someone. Work your way into a good position. And then, when the time is right, execute your plan and watch them become crestfallen, destroyed. Of course, there's the satisfaction of watching the plan succeed in the first place, but the reactions are the icing on the cake.

Barbaric, isn't it? But oh, what if I wasn't describing me just there? I was, to be sure, but what if it applied to someone else?

Say, a pretty pony princess pulling the blinds over a whole nation?

She laughs about it regularly. She has to.

Or she'd break.

In a line of work where you must lie, deceive, and betray regularly, you must either find no moral qualms with your actions... or be able to laugh.

Laughter is the best medicine.<<

~~~

The Crystal Empire was always cold. Snow blew in from the north, blanketing the landscape around the crystalline city. The city itself was warmer but ravaged by magic both ancient and terrible. Magic that Minuette, Fluttershy, and Twilight were going to meet. With the frigid winds blustering against her face, Twilight stood up - slowly, as to not jeopardize the stability of the chariot further. Her face was expressionless, her eyes hidden behind goggles. She lit her horn, projecting an image of her cutie mark ten times as large as she herself was, calling attention to themselves.

"Be calm when you see them," Twilight said."They are known to fight at the slightest provocation."

Minuette nodded slowly.

The aforementioned 'they' flew up to them - two crystal ponies adorned with black armor that hid almost all of their bodies. Their eyes weren't visible behind their helmets, but an unseemly glow permeated from the area where they should have been. Red spikes lined their armor, and their wings were covered in long, sharp knives. Wordlessly, they grabbed the chariot, breaking off the floor Fluttershy was sitting in with their brutish motions. Annoyed, Fluttershy flew along with them as the chariot was dragged to the central spire. Minuette couldn't make out many features of the city below - it was very dark despite it being mid-afternoon. She saw no ponies aside from the two alongside them. She didn't think they were too far up to see ponies on the ground, so this fact concerned her. She knew this place had a lot of ponies in it - where were they?

She was reminded of the rumors that all crystal ponies were just zombies made to serve Sombra. She shivered involuntarily.

They were led into a crystal hall open to the sky in the middle of the tower. A crystal earth pony was sitting at a desk, wearing only a slick black suit. She looked... tired. "Princess Sparkle. Ambassador. Commander. King Sombra will see you soon."

Twilight frowned. "Okay." She waved with her wing, directing Minuette and Fluttershy to a bench. Minuette took a moment to look around - she had to admit, the hall was stunning. Far from the dark gloomy place she had been expecting, the room was bright, refracting the light from the sun to display a complex pattern of rays on the walls. The banners that lined the hall were a deep gray, adorned with many rubies. There were no guards whatsoever.

What king had no guards in his palace hall?

"He has some," Twilight said, "not many though, there's six or so on the floor above us."

"What else have you sensed?"

"He wasn't expecting us. He never has visitors of any kind. He doesn't need to listen to his citizens, they listen to him without questioning it. This place is controlled by his magic."

Minuette gulped.

"Don't worry, I can protect you. I think I use the same spells he does, though admittedly on a more delicate, more personal scale." She looked at the crystal pony receptionist. "She has nothing to look forward to in life, and Sombra's wired her not to care about that. Those pegasi were even worse - their only thought was 'follow order.' Everything else was tangential to that, it's their whole world." She sighed. "Yes, Fluttershy, I suppose that will make them good soldiers for us. Still... Are we sure about this?"

"We don't really have a choice," Fluttershy reminded her.

Minuette nodded. "Yeah. We need the ponies. We can give him the boot later."

Twilight sighed. "...Here we go."

"Oh?"

"Sombra will see you now," a crystal unicorn said from the stairway.

Minuette took a breath. She was really going to be in the presence of King Sombra, a bastard if ever there was one. She needed to keep her cool so everything didn't come falling apart around them.

"Very much so," Twilight said, following the crystal unicorn. As they ascended, the staircase slowly became darker and darker, the brilliant light of the sun fading into a distant memory. Gaseous shadows took form, filling the air, hindering the vision of the ponies. Just as Twilight was about to cast a light spell to deal with the darkness, the unicorn stopped at a large set of black double doors, watched by four guards.

The doors slid open without anypony touching them, the only noise they made being a soft whoosh of air. Inside was pitch blackness beyond that which Minuette had ever seen.

"Right in there," the unicorn said. "Take as long as you need."

Twilight gulped. "If anything goes wrong, I'll get us out of there."

Minuette and Fluttershy nodded, following their Princess into the darkness. The doors shut behind them, removing any sort of optical input for their brains to process. It was utter and complete darkness.

They relied on their ears and hooves to move, carefully feeling the floor and moving forward, giving careful thought to the sounds of their companions' breathing and hoofsteps.

Twilight lit her horn - and couldn't see the light. She shivered. "Hello? King Sombra, your excellency, I arrive seeking discourse!"

"And who would you be?" A deep, throaty voice boomed from all around them.

"Princess of Harmony, Twilight Sparkle, of Equestria!"

"Ah, the new one. How many of you are there now? Five?"

"...Four," Twilight bristled.

"I could have sworn there was five... Let's see... Sun, Moon, Fire, you, and... Oh right. I remember her." He laughed. "Delightful, she was."

"Why y-" Twilight stopped when Fluttershy put a wing on her. Twilight took in a large breath to collect herself. "While it is true we've had bad blood in the past, that is not why we are here. We have a mutual enemy."

"The Concretes. I'm aware they've started their little war. A bit earlier than expected."

"It has become clear to us that we will not survive the war with the Concretes. A difficult admission yes, but we come to you with-"

"Stop that."

"...Stop what?"

"Speaking those words that aren't yours. You're just relaying the words of your diplomat there."

"I assure you, these words have not been spoken by my diplomat in an-" Twilight stopped mid-sentence. Minuette could hear Fluttershy tapping her hoof rapidly, and Twilight taking a few hasty steps back. "Wh... What did you do?"

"Simple. I jammed all mental spells within this room. I'd much rather hear your words, princess."

"I... I... I..."

"Terrified? Trembling? Oh, let me even the playing field a bit then. After all, I'm nothing if not fair." The darkness vanished instantly, revealing a tall, bright crystal throne room. Seated on the throne was a giant black pony dressed in flowing red robes. His wings were folded at his side, and his horn was glowing a soft red. Around his neck he wore a red magic amulet with pride, dark magic wafting off of it into his evil eyes. He smirked. "Now you can see me,"

Twilight took in a deep breath and stamped her hoof on the ground. "We are looking for assistance in the war. An... alliance. The Concretes will destroy us and move onto you. Uh.. Yeah. That's about it." She grinned awkwardly.

Minuette could feel Fluttershy swearing internally.

"An admirable attempt at a speech, Princess. But why should I listen to you? Explain that to me. Tell me why you are worth allying with?"

"Uh... We have resources. Ponies. And a common enemy. We also have intel about the Concretion and..."

"You ordered my assassination. Tell me, were you specifically involved in that order? In sending your brother to his death?"

Fluttershy spread her wings. "That's enough Sombra! We are not here to discuss that! We are here to seek a temporary alliance against a common enemy! You knew she was using my mind - why not talk to me and get the words from the source? Why go after her?"

Sombra lifted Fluttershy into the air and tossed her into a wall. One of her wings cracked, making her scream out.

"Why you-" Minuette lit her horn, only to find herself tossed into a different wall.

"Fluttershy! Minuette!" Twilight called out.

"This is between you and me, Twilight Sparkle," Sombra spat. "Not between me and who controls you, not between me and your guard, me and you." He stepped down from his throne, walking up to her. "And you need to be the one to say this."

"...Why!?"

"Because you hate me. And I hate you."

Twilight twitched. "What... game is this?"

"Mine," Sombra said, growling. "Why do you hate me, princess?"

"You know what? Screw it!" Twilight blurted. "You're evil! You take away everything from ponies and force them to conform to your will! You kill and murder! You have sick, sick ideals!"

"How is what I do any different from what you do?"

"What in Tartarus do you mean!?"

"I mean, you are clearly skilled at mental magics. Enough to take the words right from the pegasus's mind. You'd have to be skilled at bending minds as well. Must be exceptional at it. A princess having a pegasus as a trusted advisor - highly abnormal. I've held many meetings with your nation over the years, and this is the first time I've seen a pegasus representative. You'd have to change opinion on a large scale to pull that off, not to mention the state of affairs in your town of Neighagra Falls... There's no way you get to where you are without intense and deep manipulation."

"It's not the same!" Twilight yelled. "I guide ponies to a brighter future!"

Sombra started circling her. "A brighter future according to you. I know most of your citizens would abhor your future vision, in addition to what means you use to accomplish it."

"So? They're misguided! Corrupted by the current system!"

"So you know what's best for them?"

"Yes! Or at least Fluttershy does!"

"You really are just a pawn..."

Twilight scrunched her muzzle. "I don't care about that. What I care about is a future with harmony."

"And why exactly are you so certain harmony is a good thing?"

"Because I've seen it! felt it! It was inspiring, like nothing else seen in the world! I felt closer to everything than I had ever had before!"

Sombra laughed. "I once lived in a society that was harmonious like the one you dream of. I never felt like it worked. But then I found power, I saw it. I felt it. Others bending to my will was inspiring, I felt closer to everything than I ever had before. This sound familiar yet?"

Twilight pressed her ears to the back of her head. "Y-you're just saying that..."

"No, I'm not. What I've done here in my Empire here is exercise my will - and that's good to me. You are doing the exact same as I; you are exacting your will on others, which is good to you. And that's all that matters, in the end."

"N-no! I care about the will of others!"

Sombra laughed. "The fact that you do is part of your will. You decide if the will of others is important, and while you do, day by day, week by week, you bend it to suit your needs."

Twilight grit her teeth. "I'm not you."

"No, you're not. You don't see as clearly as I do. You think there's some ideal, some golden rule that defines what you do, that justifies it. All there is to justify anything is you."

"I.. I listen to feedback! I... I let others tell me when I'm wrong!"

"And who decided that was a good thing to do? That's right, you. You are all there is in your world. you make all the decisions. You are it."

"N-no," Twilight said, voice cracking. "I'm better than you."

Sombra laughed again. "Oh, the Princess cries! How she wails against the horror!" He rushed close to her, face inches from her own. "Cadence did the same thing. She spouted ideals of 'love' and 'tolerance' for all. Even she, in the end, realized it was all her. All assigned by her. It's the only way things can be. There is nothing else."

Twilight roared, firing off a magic missile, only to be rammed into a wall by Sombra's impressive power. Her goggles were knocked off her eyes, revealing the tearful and terrified orbs to the world. She screamed at King Sombra's face.

"Your brother was worse than you, by the way. He didn't think. He just thought whatever she thought. Foolish, really. Once you lose your compass you're forced to take a look around. Realize something about yourself. He never got to make use of the freedom I gave him. Perhaps you will." He dropped her to the ground and whispered in her ear. "It's all you."

"You... sadistic freak!" Minuette yelled.

"To you, maybe," Sombra said, ramming Minuette into the ground again. "But to me... well, this is just the way things should be. After all, it's all me."

Twilight was a tearful, crying wreck. Sombra walked up to her, stooping down to her level, his face inches from her own. "I accept this offer of an alliance."

"W-what!?" Fluttershy said, a look of bafflement on her face - an alien expression to her features.

"You heard me. I'll organize the armies. I presume you want most of them sent to Nova?"

Fluttershy nodded slowly. "Yes... We'd like a small contingent sent with us back to Neighagra Falls as well."

"Done." He extended his hoof to her. Wincing through the pain of her broken wing, Fluttershy shook it. Then she looked him in the eye.

"Why all of this?"

"Oh come on, somepony like you should understand. I really do hate her and what they tried to do to me. She needed to be put in her place. Send the others my regards, amazing pegasus. You and I aren't all that different from each other either."

Fluttershy shrugged. "Perhaps not. And yet, I'm not bothered by that. Because I believe there's an abject good in the universe, a true moral set that's there and right regardless of who you are or what you're like. I know I don't have the perfect ideal - but I know I'm closer than you are."

Sombra said nothing for a moment. "...That's absurd."

Fluttershy smiled. "To you maybe." She turned around. "We're done here. Have the unit meet us at the open hall." She limped to Twilight, helping the shaky wreck up. They walked out of the throne room.

Minuette shot a death glare at Sombra as she left.

Sombra found that amusing. "You aren't as above it as you think you are, Commander. If you were wrong before, why not again?"

"Buck you."

Sombra laughed. "Flattering, but I have others for that." he laughed harder. "My, that's quite an imagination you have there!"

Minuette ran out of the room to catch up with Fluttershy and Twilight. "I thought you were going to keep him out of my head!"

Fluttershy shot Minuette a glare. "She's not in any shape to do that right now."

"I'm done," Twilight said, "Done."

"No, no, he's gone now Twilight. We got what we came here for. We have to move on."

"Oh, I will. I'll move on and prove him wrong."

Fluttershy paled. "Twilight... You can't be serious."

"I am," she said, healing Fluttershy's wing. "I'm not going to be like him."

"Twilight! You need your powers! We couldn't have gotten this far without them!"

"That's what you think. I have to think about what I think."

"Twilight-"

"Fluttershy, I will not be like him." She turned, walking away. "Let's just go home."

Minuette looked closely at Fluttershy - the pegasus's face looked calm and collected, but her rapid breathing and involuntary twitches said otherwise.

She was afraid.

~~~

Pinkie opened her eyes with one swift movement, a grin spreading across her face. "I'm awake!" She sat up - and instantly regretted it. Sharp pains shot through her body, originating from all along her back. She quickly laid back down, face frozen in a grimace.

Rainbow Dash laughed. "Take it easy Pinks, you got the shit beaten out of you."

"I'm surprised she was even able to sit up..." the Inspector said. "She's healing remarkably quickly."

"Eh, that's just what I do," Pinkie said. "Usually it doesn't even take this long!"

"Have you been impaled on crystals before?" the Inspector asked.

"...Actually no... But I did fall apart into a few dozen pieces once! Took a while, but I put myself back together!"

The Inspector put her monocle on, looking at Pinkie closely. "I wonder... How far does your power go?"

"No idea. Hey, I've been meaning to ask you, what does that monocle do? It can't just be a normal one."

"It scans for magic," the Inspector said. "Generally it can tell what kind of magic is nearby, and it can also tell the emotional state of most ponies based on that." She took it off yer eye and offered it to Pinkie. "It also allows you to see more."

Pinkie put the lens on her left eye and gasped - the entire world was filled with colors, ponies each glowing with a unique mix of colors and shapes, and giant purple lines crisscrossed through the sky. The sky... Wait, she was inside the castle. "You can see through walls?"

"All Inspectors can," the Inspector confirmed.

"Wait, what!?" a familiar voice shouted. "You can see through walls!?"

Rainbow Dash, the Inspector, and Pinkie turned to the voice. It came from Farundael, who was currently sitting in a corner, looking at them all with wild eyes.

"Uh... Why's Farun here? She probably doesn't like it..." Pinkie said.

"You shut up," Farundael spat.

The Inspector sighed. "She wasn't going to stay quiet about the events in the caverns, so we're keeping her with us until Twilight gets back."

"Ooooooooh," Pinkie said. "Sorry Farun, looks like you gotta stay here a while. Don't worry, I'm sure Twilight will be back soon!"

"Buck you."

Rainbow Dash glared. "You want me to come over there again?"

Farundael fell silent, grumbling.

Pinkie coughed. "So, uh, where's Rarity?"

"She's in the castle - somewhere," the Inspector said. "Went to talk with General Amethyst last I knew. She should be back any minute."

"Wait... Aren't you Rarity?" Farundael asked.

"Yes. I am. And so is she," the Inspector said, not in the mood to say anything further. Farundael picked up on this, her frown deepening further. Her mood became even more confused when Rarity herself walked in.

"Pinkie?! You're awake!"

"Yes, I am. I accept hugs, but not too hard. Kinda in pain - OW!" The hug was still harder than it should have been, but just as hard as Rarity needed it to be.

"I was so worried..."

"Heh - ow - yeah. Thanks, Rarity."

"I just realized something..." Rainbow Dash said. "Pinks survived a fight with Amplify! That's like, unheard of!"

"I guess I really can play dead!"

"Buck yes you can!" They hoofbumped and giggled.

"How are you doing, Rarity?" Pinkie asked, turning to her friend.

"Well..." She put a hoof to her chin. "Decent, I suppose. I did just have to abandon my shop, leaving so much work undone. I hope Tinker doesn't mind, his coat's not coming back..."

"We'll get you back out there as soon as we think it's safe," the Inspector said. "Amplify really does have it out for you."

"How did he find Pinkie?" Rarity asked.

"We're not sure. Rainbow and I were discussing her a lot at the Meeting though... He could have followed Rainbow to work."

"Yeah. This is totally my fault," Rainbow Dash sighed.

Rarity held up a hoof. "I'm the one who set him off. You're fine Rainbow."

"Eh, if you say so."

"There's plenty of blame to go around, I'm sure we can all agree on that," the Inspector said. Everypony nodded.

Applejack trotted in at that moment. "Reeeeeeal bad news. Amplify's gotten rumors circulating 'bout a certain earth masquerading as a unicorn, Fluttershy being in with the Minglers, and Twilight being corrupt."

The Inspector put a hoof on Applejack and sighed. "What a time for Twilight to be gone..."

"Absolutely perfect, ain't it?"

"WHAT THE ACTUAL BUCK?" Farundael yelled, pointing at the Inspector and Applejack. "Wh... Wh... Wh..."

"I think you broke Farundael," Pinkie said.

Applejack narrowed her eyes. "What's she doin' here anyway?"

"Knows too much. Not friendly," Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh come on, stop selling her short!" Pinkie insisted.

"You know, I don't think I'll ever understand why you insist on giving the bitch the benefit of the doubt. Figure she'd have proven she was an asshole by now."

"Assholes still need friends."

Rainbow Dash burst into laughter and both versions of Rarity facehooved.

Farundael was bewildered. "...All of you? MINGLERS!?"

"And virtually all the other Inspectors in town as well," the Inspector offered. "Wrap your little mind around that."

Farundael was stunned into silence again.

Applejack shook her head. "Come on Rares, give her some slack. Don't need to be brutal."

The Inspector bowed her head. "Yeah... Sorry."

"I must be dreaming..." Farundael muttered.

"Wonder if Twilight can incorporate that..." Rainbow Dash muttered.

"She has great skills. She'll find it no obstacle," the Inspector said.

"We still need to do something about these rumors," Applejack said.

"Well, without Twilight..." the Inspector didn't finish the sentence.

"Why are these rumors such a big hoot anyway?" Rarity asked. "They're just rumors, surely not everypony will just believe them."

"They might," General Amethyst said, walking into the doorway. "They're all mostly true, after all."

Rarity frowned. "But wouldn't it take a while...?"

"The Mingler's society isn't known for being very secretive," Amethyst said. "The only reason secrets are kept is because Twilight is diligent to contain any breaches. They don't happen too often, but when they do, you'd be surprised how many ponies realize they've been lied to - and get understandably furious."

Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Why does everything have to be so complicated here? Why all the secrets?"

"It's hard to get any progress without them," Amethyst said. "There was hardly any change at all before Twilight came here. Fluttershy was all we had, and she could barely keep herself and her friends alive."

Rarity shook her head. "Such an unfortunate circumstance... Twilight can fix it when she comes back, right?"

"We believe so," Amethyst said. "But... We don't know how long she'll be. So we need to keep order until she does get back."

"Ah'm already having my ponies spread counter-rumors," Applejack said. "Don't like the lyin', but it needs to be done. Not that it's helpin' much. The truth is more potent."

"We could organize an Inquisition," the Inspector offered. "Get the ponies nervous that continued spreading of these rumors and unrest will trigger a purge."

"The buck!?" Farundael yelled. "You... You're all crazy! And evil! Purge threats? My Celestia-"

"Shut her up," Amethyst ordered. The Inspector complied, zipping Farundael's mouth shut with a zipper spell.

"...She has a point," Pinkie said. "We are kinda sounding like the bad guys here."

Applejack nodded. "Ah feel you. But Ah've tried other ways Pinkie, and trust me, it ain't good on the other side either. This is all kinda my fault actually, I let Amplify put us in this situation..."

Amethyst shook her head. "Quit the blame game, it doesn't help us. I'm sorry Pinkie, but if you could think of a better option..."

Pinkie sighed. "No, I can't. It just... Doesn't sit well."

"Nor should it," the Inspector said. "Twilight is well aware of what she does. But we are fighting for something greater."

Pinkie nodded.

Amethyst put a hoof to her chin again. "Now, I'll put the army on high alert, make it seem like I'm expecting a Concrete attack. It'll keep them docile, nervous, but more concerned about Concretes than possible Minglers. It'll buy us time until Twilight comes back."

The Inspector nodded. "That sounds like the best we can do. I'll go order the Inquisition."

Amethyst's ears suddenly perked up. "Applejack, hide under the bed. Now."

Applejack didn't waste time, shoving herself under Pinkie in a single swift motion. She dragged her hat in after her just as General Quota entered the room. "Ah, Amethyst, there you are. I was looking for you. What're you doing here with..." He saw Pinkie. "Oh. Our resident earth in disguise. How are you doing?"

Farundael started screaming through the zipper. The Inspector quickly made her fall asleep. Quota didn't even bat an eye at this exchange.

Pinkie looked at Quota and shrugged. "Eh, I'm doing better. Think I'll be able to do stuff again tomorrow."

"Hm..." He looked at Rarity and Rainbow Dash. "Care to introduce me to these two?"

Amethyst nodded. "That would be Iris Shard, the other Rarity, and Rainbow Dash, Pinkie's coworker."

"Hm," Quota said. "I guess you're all too far in now."

Rarity raised an eyebrow. "I was too far in the moment I came to this world."

Quota smirked. "It is nice to finally meet the mares who have caused so much trouble over the last few days." He glanced over at Pinkie. "Lost cover?"

"Amplify," The Inspector said. "He somehow managed to learn of their existence. We don't know how. We're lucky Pinkie survived."

"Such a troublesome zebra..." Quota muttered. "I'm pretty sure he's the one stirring up trouble out there right now. It's as if he knows Twilight is gone and thinks he can take over..."

"We're already taking actions," Amethyst said. "We're ordering a fake Inquisition, setting the army on high alert as a distraction, and using civilian groups to counter the rumors. Twilight can set the record straight when she returns."

"You're assuming there are no truths to the claims, General. It is rather odd that Twilight chose a pegasus, and that nobody seems to question it."

Amethyst glared. "You dare suggest that of our Princess? That she's a lying, deceptive, malevolent mingler!?"

Quota raised an eyebrow. "Oh of course not, such rumors are always exaggerations. But she isn't holy like the royal sisters - if she's strayed from the path, I'm sure Celestia would like to know."

Amethyst frowned. "Questioning the princess like that is rather close to treason..."

"I don't see an executor in her," Quota said. "One of her better qualities as a leader, if I do say so myself. Just keep your eyes peeled General, don't dismiss the rumors out of hand. "

"Do you suggest we do anything differently?"

"For now, no, continue with the stated plans. But we must be vigilant. Do not let her station pull the blinds over us." He curtly nodded, then left the room.

Rarity let out a breath she had been holding for the last minute. "My Stars that was terrifying."

Pinkie nodded slowly. "He's smart."

"Extremely," Amethyst said. "We've had to erase his knowledge more times than anypony else. He's suspicious of Twilight right now, but not us, so we're in the clear."

Applejack crawled out from her hiding place. "We are way too close for comfort here. Twilight better get back soon or she'll have a right mess on her hooves."

"Twilight hasn't failed us before," the Inspector said, "and neither has Fluttershy. They've taken care of problems like this before. We just need to buy time."

"And you need to rest," Rainbow Dash said, punching Pinkie in the shoulder. Pinkie yelped - then laughed.

"Yes... I dare say there's been enough excitement for today..." Rarity yawned. "Well, I can stay here, yes?"

"Of course. Have to keep you safe somehow," the Inspector said.

"Well, I hope you don't mind if I just fall asleep then."

"Not at all."

~~~

Pinkie woke up as the sunlight hit her face. She hopped out of bed - everything hurt when she did so, but at least she didn't collapse this time. Rarity was sleeping in the cot beside her, and aside from a few guards at the door, nopony else was there.

She slowly and painfully walked to the window and looked outside. The sun was shining, the birds were chirping...

...And it looked like there was a mob forming outside the castle.

...Oh no.

Pinkie picked Rarity up - wincing as she did so - and pressed the unicorn's face to the window. "We have a problem Rarity."

Rarity woke up, groaned, and then saw the problem outside. "Heavens, that escalated quickly..."

"We need to figure out what's going on!"

Rarity walked up to one of the guards. "Excuse me, but can you point us to Inspector Rarity Belle?"

"Royal meeting room."

"Thank you kindly." The two mares scrambled through the castle halls - Pinkie grunting with every step she took. They eventually appeared at the doors to the royal meeting room. The guards blocked their entry. "There's an emergency right now."

"We know," Rarity said. "Just tell them Iris Shard and Pinkie Pie are here."

"We have orders not to-"

The Inspector opened the doors, a crazed expression on her face. "Let them in!"

The guards obeyed, allowing the two mares into the room. Amethyst, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash were already there, along with a half-dozen soldiers and Inspectors running around the place in a panicked frenzy.

"How did this get so bad so quickly?" Rarity asked, looking at out the large window-doors that sealed off a balcony. Ponies were swarming around the castle, more coming by the second.

Amethyst pointed with a hoof. "There. Front of the crowd, next to Celestia's statue."

There, standing under the form of Celestia, was General Quota.

...And Farundael.

Pinkie made a whimpering noise.

XIV - Neighagra Falls

Mistakes were made.

You can see it can't you?

You feel how these mistakes will tear everything apart, don't you?

You hope it isn't true - that there's some way to fix this. That the good guys won't be punished. That showing kindness, forgiveness, and a willingness to help won't destroy them.

But it already has.

There must be some win condition, you scream. There must be a way out of this. After all, this isn't the last chapter! They still have so much to do!

No, it's not the last chapter. But it will not go the way you want.

You still think this can be salvaged?

That the heroes can save their carefully constructed web of lies?

Go ahead, believe that. Read on.

I pity you. <<

~~~

"What are we going to do!?" Rarity wailed.

Amethyst frowned. "I'm going to have to go out there and address the crowd - and Quota. It's not going to go well, but hopefully, we can at least resolve this peacefully." She looked out at the amassing angry crowd, grimacing. "I have Inspectors interspersed throughout the populace. Monocle-less, of course, since Farundael could have told him about us...I can't believe we were so assinine!" She stamped the ground. "We knew she wasn't trustworthy! Why didn't we lock her up better!?"

"Quota probably had her released on his order last night," the Inspector said, frown deepening.

"Or any number of other things could have happened," Applejack said, "we weren't watching her all that closely. Nor were we watching Quota - he could have suspected her to be useful from the moment he saw her and just not said anything. Or Amplify could have told him for all we know."

"What the buck did he tell them?" Rainbow Dash said, nervously glancing out the window. "They're really mad."

Pinkie shivered. "It... Could have been anything."

"Or everything," Amethyst shook her head, turning to a nearby Commander. "Is the castle defensible?"

"Yes, sir."

"Good. I hope to Celestia we won't need to fight..." She trotted towards the window, taking in a deep breath. "...They're getting impatient. I don't think we can meet them with silence any longer. Rarity - Inspector Rarity - with me. Rest of you, out of sight. This will get ugly."

Everypony nodded. The Inspector followed Amethyst to the windowed doors. The General leveled her breathing, set her jaw, and threw the windows open. The two of them stepped out onto the balcony.

The noise - the unending jeering, yelling, screaming rage - was powerful enough to drown out the noise of the Falls themselves. What was happening down there defied explanation. Earth ponies, pegasi, and unicorns all acting as one - soldiers, elders, youth, civilians, rich, poor - all part of the mob. Finding unity in hatred.

Brutal irony indeed, that the only thing they could agree on was that they hated what they had heard.

Amethyst supposed a hundred or so ponies down there were probably angry at 'conspiracy' and 'corruption' - but she was certain most of them were mad at one thing, and one thing only. Mingling. Earths with other races, pegasi treated equal as unicorns, a princess even considering the earths or pegasi as friends. The great princess was supposed to be so far above that, above them - above even the unicorns.

So here they were as one, enraged, led by a twisted General and a pony who knew too much.

United.

Brutal, pathetic, irony.

Amethyst lit her horn, amplifying her voice to auditorium levels. "General Quota, explain yourself!"

"I know what you've done!" He yelled, amplifying his voice in return.

"And what would that be?"

"Don't play dumb with me Amethyst Star!"

"I have done many things Quota. I have ordered much. I wish to know specifically what could be horrible enough to gather this large of a treasonous act?!"

"You're a conspirator with a mingler! Specifically, Fluttershy, a founder of that Mingler Society!"

"Are you suggesting that Fluttershy, trusted advisor of our princess and ambassador for Equestria, is a high mingler?"

"You are not pulling the blind over my eyes with that language again, Amethyst! I had thought you maybe have been true to our nation - patriotic even! I had thought you weren't part of the conspiracy! But no, you're in deep. I don't know how I didn't see it before, but you are part of a plot against the people of Neighagra Falls!"

"Quata, please outline this conspiracy so I may address it."

Quota smirked. "Gladly. Farundael?"

Farundael took a breath, letting Quota's magic fill her vocal cords. "You spread lies! You ordered a false Inquisition! You ordered the army on high alert just to breed fear! You conversed with Applejack, a high profile mingler! You disguised an earth as a unicorn and gave her a job! And you just bend the minds of every pony so you can get away with it! How can anypony stop you when nopony can remember anything!?"

Amethyst narrowed her eyes. "And how, pray tell, do we alter your minds?"

"You've brainwashed our fair princess!" Quota shouted. Amethyst cursed inwardly - that was clever. Making Twilight the victim... "She's a puppet that does what your group desires! When was the last time she gave a speech without Fluttershy present? When was the last time she openly affirmed the correct positions of the races? Never! Instead, look at what she's been saying! She never comes out directly, but this entire city has been guided towards a goal for minglers! When was the last time we busted one of their cells? When was the last time any serious legal action was taken against them? You've taken our princess from us and replaced her with some hollow husk that is warping out society to damnation! We want her back!"

"Sacrilege!" Amethyst shouted. "Treason! The princess is our holy leader - infallible!"

"You and I both know she was once a lowly Inspector. A normal unicorn, with faults, problems, issues. Without power. You manipulated her and her magic for your own vile purposes!"

"Quite the accusation, Quota. Is there any evidence of this?"

A new voice entered the fray - calm, collected, and yet somehow heard by everpony around. "Oh, he has a few bits of evidence. A couple captured minglers who were surprisingly easy to crack; soldiers inside the castle who've seen things..." Amplify strode to the front of the crowd. "I myself testify that at the last mingler meeting, Fluttershy spoke."

Amethyst glared. "Your word means nothing, zebra."

Quota happened to agree. "Leave, terrorist, this doesn't concern you!"

"Oh, it doesn't, does it? But I have an important source for you!" He waved his hooves towards the crowd, signaling several of his earth pony followers. They carried into the front two ponies - one was a large red stallion and the other a tiny yellow filly. "May I present Applebloom and Big Macintosh."

Applejack gasped. "Oh no... you-"

"Stay back!" Rarity blurted, pulling Applejack away from the window. "They'll see you!"

Applejack bucked Rarity in the face. "Those are my family! Ah'm going out-"

Pinkie pulled out a net and grabbed Applejack, yelling in pain as her body was taxed by the use of her power.

"Let... Me... Go..."

The Inspector turned back to Applejack from the balcony, lowering her voice. "No. Don't," she said, tears in her eyes. She quickly turned back to the crowd.

Amplify grinned up at the Inspector. "Applejack's up there, isn't she? Oh, how wonderful, you must be having quite the time keeping her from busting out and giving me a mouthful!"

"Ah'm going to kill him..." Applejack said in a state of tranquil fury, still stuck in Pinkie's net, though no longer struggling.

Amethyst narrowed her eyes. "Amplify, what is the point of these two?"

"Oh, I think you know, you've been doing nothing but play dumb this entire conversation. But for those of you who don't know, this is all that remains of Applejack's family, the rest killed long ago for what they did. They know the deep inside of the Mingler's Society," he chuckled. "They trusted their fellow members not to reveal their hiding spot. How wrong they were." He nudged Applebloom. "Let's all hear, little filly, who spoke at the last meeting? Your sister, I know, an admirable performance. Who was the pegasus up with her?"

Applebloom said nothing.

"Just give me a name, little one. Who was it? Who spoke? Oh come now, little Applebloom... just remember their names... NAMES!"

Applebloom paled. "...Applebloom..."

"NAMES FILLY!" Amplify shouted, his voice no longer resembling that of a pony or any living creature.

"Applejack, Rarity, and Fluttershy!" Applebloom screamed, the ululations coming from her mouth unnatural.

"Rarity?" Amplify raised an eyebrow. "Well, well, how damning. An Inspector among them! The very one standing beside our General up there! Oh, how... How... Perfect." He grinned. "And many of you may think 'oh, she just admitted that out of fear.' Which is where Big Mac comes in..."

Amplify strode over to the red stallion, his smirk growing as he did so. "All you need to do is tell me the names of some or your leaders, those that would have spoken at last night's meeting. Different ones than the poor, little Applebloom said - that is, assuming Inspector Rarity wasn't one of them..."

"...Firefly. Moondancer."

"Huh. Clever, clever response Big Mac. Almost as if it was practiced, planned. But, you see, we have Firefly here with us." A pink pegasus was tossed before Amplify. "If you're really a leader, you will be able to describe certain things to us. It won't even require a betrayal!" He laughed. "How many official members do you have?"

"11,721, worldwide." the Inspector whispered under her breath.

Firefly said nothing, not knowing the answer, or even an estimate.

"And furthermore..." Amplify took a white butterfly hairclip out of his pocket. "Why would you model your symbol of mingling, this artifact here, after Fluttershy's cutie mark if she weren't involved?"

Quota grinned - he evidentially liked where Amplify was going with this. "Indeed! Why would it!? There's no hiding anymore, Amethyst! You're out in the open! Your Inspector has been called out, Fluttershy has been damned, and you are standing by them! What do you say? Or... Perhaps we should be asking Rarity?"

The crowd roared, ready to burst, ready to storm the castle - overthrow the corruption.

The Inspector took a breath - they'd been made out. "I'm going to try it," she told Amethyst.

Amethyst slowly nodded - and took a few steps back.

The Inspector walked to the very edge of the balcony, removing her monocle. She stood up on her hind hooves, placing her front on the railing for support. "Do you have any idea what we've done for you!? Do you!?"

"Does it matter?" Quota retorted.

"This town would have been purged long ago if it wasn't for us!" The Inspector slammed a hoof down. "I almost ordered it myself, just before Twilight's coronation! You would all be dead if we hadn't defied the rules! This place was too important! And we've done more than simply let you enjoy your lives - ever since Twilight has been a princess, all your lives have improved! The Death rate is at an all time low! We have the largest mixed population in the country! Our economy is booming! Ponies are safe! And here's a little secret - Princess Twilight Sparkle has been a member of our Society since she was a unicorn. She was one before I was! We haven't brainwashed her - she agreed with us and offered her magic! You can't deny that your lives are all better because of her and what she's done! She's the one who convinced me not to order the purge all those years ago!" The Inspector huffed. "Look what we've done for you! Look at it! This town wouldn't exist without us!"

Quota let out a soft chuckle. "You know what, you're right. Perhaps we are better off because of what she's done. But you try to take it too far. Unity? Don't make me laugh! That isn't the way things are supposed to be! There is a fundamental physical inequality. To change that is to upset nature itself!"

The Inspector growled. "Fine. If that's what you think. It's wrong, it's so wrong. Ponies die because of it. You cull earths, and they kill unicorns in retaliation. And then you fight back, and the system allows it."

Quota laughed. "Not here! Not in this town! We have a natural separation here, and as you said, death rates are down! Our town is exactly where it needs to be!"

"The only reason that happens is because all the Inspectors are with us! All of them!"

"That's impossible! They're all appointed by the Sisters themselves! They'd have to specifically be chosen for..." A look of horror crossed Quota's face.

A slow smirk crept up the Inspector's. She said nothing.

"...I think we need to discuss this..." Quota said, suddenly very nervous. "Honestly. And... carefully."

"Of course," the Inspector said. "Soon as we think it's safe to open the doors."

"Yes... Yes... Everypony, disband, go home! We'll sort this out, for all you ponies. We'll... Figure out how deep this goes."

Farundael looked at Quota. "But..."

"Farundael, just do it, we're on extremely dangerous ground..."

Pinkie and Rarity exchanged glances - Quota was backing down. Without him, an official authority figure, the mob would lose its spearhead... This could be salvaged.

"Cowards!" Amplify yelled. "Cowards, all of you! Sine when has peace accomplished anything? Since when has letting them talk it out ever helped you? SINCE WHEN!? It let a conspiracy form around you! We cannot let this stand! We will take them down and charge this castle!"

Nopony moved. Amplify grit his teeth - so close. So... Close... But he was still a zebra. They wouldn't listen to him.

The Inspector saw something flash out of the corner of her eye - something pink had leaped overtop of the crowd, too fast for most to notice or care about, landing somewhere out of the Inspector's line of sight. She narrowed her eyes - something was up.

And then there was an explosion. The explosion engulfed much of the gathered crowd, vaporizing ponies with little effort. Amplify used his shadows to protect himself, while Quota used magic for himself and Farundael. Applebloom and Big Mac received no such protection. They didn't even have time to scream. The energy cleared, leaving a circular imprint of charcoal. Dozens of ponies burnt to piles of ash in a single, uncaring instant.

Amplify was dumbfounded, Quota as well. Applejack screamed, her yells heard easily over the shocked silence of the crowd, the sound of somepony who was suddenly alone. Torn from the last connections of family she had protected dutifully over the years. Forced to remember the other losses all in one moment. Time stopped for everypony in that moment. It had all seemed to happen without warning, without reason, without direction...

Rarity and Pinkie couldn't believe what they'd just seen. Someone had just blown up several dozen ponies... Who? Why? What was the point?

Amethyst broke the spell with a single word. She recognized the type of explosion. "Concretes..."

Somepony in the crowd launched a magic bolt. Then somepony else fired back without thinking. More bolts shot out in retaliation. Hooves went flying, wings flapped madly, and soldiers raised their weapons. All hell broke loose - the mob moved forward, rushing the gates in a mad, scared fury. They had no organization - they simply moved, fighting amongst themselves in panic, following the path they were set on. The soldiers guarding the castle blasted whoever they could with their magic lasers, trying to subdue, but often killing. The soldiers and Inspectors within the mob only served to aggravate it more with their pointless attempts to subdue the madness.

Civil War had broken out because of a lone Concrete bomb.

Amplify laughed. "YES!!!!"

Quota stared at him in disbelief. "Are you mad?!"

"YES!"

Rarity and Amethyst leaped back into the meeting room. "Okay! We failed!" Amethyst yelled. "Retreat!"

"Where!?" Rainbow Dash blurted. "We're surrounded!"

"We've got an underground passage to a secret safe house," Amethyst said. "From there we'll head to Nova. Sunset will protect us."

"Applebloom..." Applejack muttered. "Big Mac..."

Rainbow Dash wheeled up to Applejack and dragged the earth pony onto her lap. The Inspector rushed to steady Applejack as well. "Let's move!" she called, reaffixing her monocle with a graceful swipe of her hoof.

Amethyst turned to the Commanders and Inspectors in the room. "Save as many as you can!"

"Yes sir!"

Amethyst saluted to her loyal ponies. "Time to move! Basement!" She galloped off. The Inspector rushed Rainbow and Applejack down the hallway after her. Pinkie and Rarity ran close behind - Pinkie still forcing herself through her pain. Tears started to drop from her face, the pain was so much. She needed to heal...

Rarity couldn't believe what was happening. Just a few days ago she was working in a shop, making hats and dresses. And now here she was, in a castle that was being attacked by what were essentially her neighbors. To Pinkie, it was just a larger version of the mob at Cartwheel, except now every time she moved she felt the need to scream.

She was running.

She was constantly wincing to herself, letting out pained cries every few moments.

They heard tremendous explosions around them - presumably from stronger unicorns unleashing explosive spells. Ceilings started to cave in and the floor cracked beneath their hooves. The entire castle shook with an even larger explosion a few seconds later, destroying the floor beneath them and depositing them on the floor below.

"Shit!" Amethyst yelled. "They're gatesmashing!"

"What!?" Rarity yelled.

"Some soldiers have some... Architecturally devastating spells. Quota must have had a few in his mob... We have to move faster." She picked up Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rainbow Dash in her powerful telekinesis. "It has to be this way you three."

"Not complaining!" Rainbow Dash said.

"Oh, sweet embrace of stillness..." Pinkie moaned.

Amethyst took off again, the Inspector and Rarity flanking her on either side. They ran through the halls, windows exploding around them in showers of magic, revealing the intense chaos outside. The mob had lost much of its force, large portions fighting each other instead of focusing on the castle, though there were still enough focused on their spells that the walls were crumbling down around them.

They could hear Amplify laughing, even after they took the stairs to the basement. His dark, unnatural voice disturbed them all.

"Up ahead!" Amethyst yelled. "That door!"

"Right!" Rarity said, charging towards the unassuming wooden door at the end of the hallway. "Almost-"

Something exploded behind them. They were tossed towards the door as the ceiling behind them collapsed, depositing a single form into the basement. It was pink and shaped like a pony, but it was much larger. The four legs were covered in bright metal, the body lined with lights, lasers, guns, and a large assortment of other weapons and devices. The tail was encased in a pristine accordion casing, and the helmet had a blue visor alongside numerous antennae coming out the back. Currently, the helmet was off - held in the mechanical front hoof, revealing a flesh-and-blood pony inside. It was a mare with a pink coat and a straight mane of a darker shade. Her eyes were piercing blue and she looked mad. "Tôbrôwaxan yectol êew dictlyhte."

"Concrete!" Amethyst screamed, dropping everyone she was carrying in an instant.

"Diane..." the Inspector said, aghast, unable to move as the Concrete put her helmet back on.

"Diane saxagu. Asoctaxan duguð burtum, vaxan flêvaxan hêl."

Amethyst wasted no further time, surrounding Diane in dozens of magical sawblade constructs, ordering them to mince the Concrete into dozens of pieces. Diane pulled a metallic pair of swords from her back and cut through each construct with ease.

The Inspector acted next, attempting a simple laser spell - which was reflected right back at her by the swords. She barely dodged her own attack.

"Go!" Amethyst yelled. "There's nothing you can do against her!"

"Maybe not them! But I can!" Pinkie yelled, pulling a giant squeaky hammer out of her mane and slapping Diane as if she were a golf ball. The armor was unable to absorb the blow, flying into a nearby wall.

Pinkie roared in equal amounts triumph and pain. Diane simply stood up from the nearby wall's wreckage. "You," she said, pointing at Pinkie and speaking with a dry accent. "You are fascinating."

"And you're me," Pinkie said.

"In a way," Diane paused for a moment. "Come with me and I let them go. Even the Raritys."

"What!?" Amethyst blurted. The Inspector looked just as surprised.

Pinkie lowered her hammer. "...Would you take me back to the Concretion?"

"That would remove your powers," Diane said. "So, no. You'll be kept at an external site. You will be well cared for, by the standards of Equestria anyway. I don't know about your home's standards. You will be kept as a rare specimen. Anything your powers couldn't provide, we could give you."

"Don't trust her!" the Inspector yelled. "She's lying!"

"Don't go, Pinkie," Rarity said.

Pinkie nodded. "Whatever you say, Rarity."

Realizing further negotiation was pointless, Diane tossed a bomb out of her side hatch, Amethyst barely managing to deflect the sphere before it exploded. Pinkie produced a giant saw and charged Diane with it, stumbling as she did so. She could only ignore so much pain, even in a situation like this...

"Eewol elðaxanc cynick hûsc n¯ævaxan êewol hîwr¯æcaxan," Diane said, shooting the saw out of Pinkie's hooves with a side-mounted gun. She attempted to riddle Pinkie with bullets, but Pinkie dodged each and every one, arriving at Diane and giving her a sock across the face, cracking the shining blue visor. Pinkie pulled out an anvil and tossed it, smashing Diane into a wall.

"Amazing job Pinkie!" Amethyst yelled, encasing Diane and the anvil in crystal.

Pinkie winced. "Not... Really..." Blood began to drip from a reopened wound in her back. "Gah... This was a bad idea..."

The crystal Diane was encased in shattered into dozens of pieces. The Concrete stepped out of the shards, retracting the mechanical poles that had forced the crystal apart.

"Run!" Amethyst shouted. "For real this time!"

Pinkie didn't argue again, leaping through the door, the other ponies surging in behind her.

The Inspector gave one last salute to Amethyst before leaving as well.

Diane tried to jump over Amethyst only to have a magical hand grab her and throw her into the rubble again. "No. You. Don't." Amethyst spat.

"I am more advanced than you."

"And I've trained my entire life specifically to fight you cheating Concretes. And I don't have to win, either. I just have to keep you busy."

"Fucking accas!" Diane yelled, arming her missile launchers, only to have the rockets explode in her face. Unfazed, she fired dozens of intense pink lasers at Amethyst, who bent their paths into the ceiling above them, loosening more stone. She lit her horn, her eyes replaced with powerful orbs of light. Seventeen pillars of magic filled the area. "Deal with this, you slab."

Explosions shook the tunnel Rarity and the others were traveling through, knocking dirt into all their faces. Rarity gulped. "She's... She's not going to make it is she?"

"I don't know," the Inspector said. "The strength of an advanced Concrete in full armor is not exactly something we've ever tested fighting... I know the General is exceptionally skilled in magic, but I don't know the capabilities of Diane..."

Applejack started screaming suddenly. "She did it! The bucking Concrete! She did it! She killed them! LET ME AT HER YOU BASTARDS!"

"Applejack! Stop it!" the Inspector shouted. "We need you here! We need to get out! Okay? Okay!?"

"They were all I had left Rarity! Ah think Ah've had enough of letting those who kill mah family off the hook!"

The Inspector dropped Applejack, aghast.

Applejack slapped her hoof to her mouth. "Ah... Uh... Ah didn't..."

The inspector gagged, struggling to keep herself composed. "I-I... T-thought..."

"Stop it!" Rarity yelled. "We need to move! Now! Usually, I'm all for resolving deep personal conflicts but we are out of time!" She ran down the tunnel. "Come on!"

"You heard her!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "Run down the damn tunnel, runting rooters! Your life literally depends on it!"

The Inspector nodded. "Yes! Right! Flee!" She grabbed Pinkie with her telekinesis. "How are you doing?"

"Pain... I'll live..."

"Good," she set Pinkie on Applejack's back. Applejack nodded slowly, taking off after Rarity shortly thereafter. The tunnel was long and dark, lit only by the horns of the white unicorns. They heard explosions every few seconds from behind them - but they sounded further and further away with every second, until they were drowned out by the thundering of the Falls. Eventually, the long dusty tunnel began to slope upwards, ending at a trap door. Rarity flung it open, coughing from the upturned dust. She helped Rainbow Dash up. The other three arrived shortly thereafter, pulling themselves up.

Rarity looked outside the safe house through a window slit. "Street seems abandoned."

The Inspector looked through her monocle. "There are some ponies out there, but very few. They're hiding in their homes."

"Okay. Good." Rarity bit her lip. "Where to now?"

"We get out of town," Applejack said, shaking, but holding herself together. "With all this chaos, we should be able to sneak out easily. Just need to check in with a sect and we're free..." She trailed off, looking at the ground, vacant.

The Inspector put a hoof on her, saying nothing.

"Well, hop to it then!" Pinkie yelled. "Somepony's bound to find us eventually if we don't move!"

"How right you are..." In a burst of shadowy energy, Amplify appeared between them all. He trapped all five of them in a shadowy grip. "Really clever, the lot of you almost made it out."

"How did you-" the Inspector began, but was cut off when the shadows around her tightened.

"-know where this was?" Amplify chuckled. "Simple. General Lemon can be surprisingly forthcoming with information when riled up. Now... How about I set an example with you?"

He completely encased the five of them in shadowy cocoons made of ever-decaying and rebirthing vines. He dragged them, blind, through Neighagra Falls, squeezing them just because he could. "Make way! Make way! Look what I haaaaave!"

He stood once again in front of the castle - this time at the back of the mob. Quota and Farundael were still there, staring at the still-collapsing castle. Amplify dumped the ponies out on the ground, Rainbow Dash's wheelchair snapping in two in the fall. "Oh, look, An Inspector, a disabled preener, Applejack, a lying unicorn, and a bucker disguised as a unicorn." He snarled. "HAVE AT THEM, PONIES OF NEIGHAGRA FALLS!"

Enough of the mob took notice of Amplify's distinctive voice - and charged at the ponies, ready for blood. The mares entered a five-way group hug.

"It was nice knowin' y'all!" Applejack said.

"I'm so glad I got to see some goodness in this world!" Rarity blurted.

Pinkie just cried. Rainbow Dash said nothing.

The Inspector looked right at Amplify, her monocle shining in the sunlight. "You. You are going to regret this."

"This is what I wanted the whole time," Amplify smirked, taking a few steps back so the incoming mob would have room to do their dirty work. "I have no regrets now."

A pegasus was in the front of the mob, mere inches away from impact...

...When everything went purple.

"Somepony better have a really good explanation as to what the heck is going on here!" Twilight Sparkle boomed. Her magic was on full display, body glowing, mane sparkling, eyes intense.

The mob stopped moving in a single instant, the sight of their princess shocking them out of it.

"Oh thank Celestia's Fire..." Rainbow Dash said in relief.

Fluttershy descended from the sky, landing next to Twilight while Minuette simply teleported down. Rarity noticed that they both looked... different. Fluttershy's breathing was slightly nervous, her ear twitching involuntarily. Minuette looked baffled by what she was seeing and was openly terrified.

Amplify stamped a hoof. "The ponies know what you've done. Your conditioning. Your conspiracies. Your mingling. How you're in the pocket of the Mingler's society. How they control you."

"Not... anymore," Twilight said, nervously. "I... I saw some things in the Crystal Empire. Terrible, horrid, and uh... pretty bad messed up things. Yeah." She smiled awkwardly, returning to her default alicorn form. "I... I decided I was done."

Amplify blinked. "...What?"

"I'm done. Done with the mind... stuff. Done with the... lies. Cheating. Yeah. Right. It was corrupting the very thing I wanted. Harmony."

The crowd was obviously confused.

Fluttershy sighed. "It's a complex situation, she-"

"No, Fluttershy, I need to say this. Not you, me." Twilight nervously glanced around. "I... admittedly haven't really done this before. I always relied on my magic to know what to say. Fluttershy had such a way with words, Rarity too. Not so much Rainbow Dash..."

"Gee, thanks," Rainbow Dash muttered.

"You're welcome," Twilight said. "I... I've been living a lie. It's time for that to end. I... Er... Well, I was going to come back, tell everypony I had brokered an alliance with the Crystal Empire, and then just simply stop with all the mind magic. That was the plaaaaaaan... But since it appears everything has gone to the dogs while I was gone, I suppose I might as well come clean. I have done wrong. Horribly, horribly wrong things. I've changed the memories of all who stood in the way of my friends and I. Quota over there was the one I had to change the most times. You were such a problem. I mean really, you figured it out sixteen times Quota. Who does that?"

Quota was understandably speechless about this revelation.

"I did a lot of other things. I walked around reading the minds of every pony I saw. It told me what they thought, felt, and uh... thought. Yeah. I based almost everything I ever said off of that. My friends learned not to mind, eventually. But I could justify it by working for Harmony... The phrase is, I think, the 'ends justify the means.' They don't. They really don't. For then we become no better than Sombra..."

"Twilight..." Fluttershy called.

"I'm not done, Flutters. Basically, what I'm saying is I've been doing this wrong. I'm not really cut out for leadership. Even before I was coronated, I was following Fluttershy, and even Applejack. I did what I could, and believed in a better future. I don't deserve to be your princess. Maybe they do, but not me. That said... Look at this place." She gestures wide with her hoof and spread her wings. "These buildings are nice! Those falls are cool! We don't kill each other here! The purge is a distant memory! We are safe! And the food's better even! Where else has two Hayburgers? Nowhere! Canterlot's just too stuck up for that kind of thing! You can't deny - we've done better. A lot better, since, you know, I started 'ruling.' It wasn't really me though."

She smiled. "Basically, what I'm trying to say is... I'm sorry. I'm sorry I lied to all of you. I'm sorry I did these bad things. I was trying to protect you. To achieve the harmony we had in our ancient past, where we were free... That's... That's all I want. I see beauty in day to day life. I don't care if it isn't me who does it, or if I have to be shot out of the sky to do it. I just want it to happen. I guess... I'm not sure what else to say. Sorry again? Look around, look at yourselves - acting as one? Let's talk about..." She turned around to her friends. "...You know what? I know. These ponies, all of them, are my closest friends. They are the kindest, most loyal, most generous, most honest, funniest, and most determined ponies you will ever see. Some have seen a world of harmony firsthoof. Others just... Just spend their entire lives fighting for it." Twilight beamed at her friends. "Come on girls. Say something."

"Hi! I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie said, removing her horn somehow. "I can throw a party for all of you!"

"I am Rainbow Buckin' Dash! I lost a fight with a zebra. I suck."

"Ah'm Applejack, and Ah uh... well you probably know me."

The Inspector hugged her. "They don't know you, Applejack. They see a revolutionary. They don't see a great mare who would do anything for her friends... and... family..." The Inspector broke into tears. Applejack just hugged her back..

"I'm Rarity Belle," Rarity said. "A... Different mare from a different place. I owned a fashion store downtown, under the name Iris Shard. As... Odd as this place is, it was amazing to work here."

"I'm Minuette. A week ago I thought I knew everything. now I don't know anything at all! These mares know what's up folks!"

"And I am Fluttershy," Fluttershy stepped forward, spreading her wings. "I... You know what, screw the speech." She laughed, loosening her posture and stretching out her wings. "Hi. I like animals, vanilla pudding, acrobatic flying, and peace. I have issues just accepting things the way they are. I'm a huge idealist, like, really huge. I have a dream. I have a silly, stupid, unrealistic dream. A dream that children won't be killed for who they play with. A dream that we won't eat ourselves from the inside out. I... Have a dream. That maybe... Maybe it's time for a turning point."

Twilight smiled. "Master of words, right there." She clapped her hooves. "So, everypony, you're mad. You should be. But let's talk this out. There doesn't have to be more death and lies. The game is up." She extended her hoof. "Let's... see where we go from here...?" She smiled awkwardly.

Quota walked up to her and nodded. "That... Would be best, Princess." He extended his own hoof.

...But it never touched hers.

"Are you bucking serious!?" Farundael screeched. "No! Screw this, no!" She grabbed a loose blade off the ground. "I didn't go through all this shit just for things to change again! DIE!"

The mob reacted to this action - where before they had looked confused, sad, conflicted - now they were just angry again. They charged.

Twilight became crestfallen. Tears in her eyes, she lit her horn. "So be it."

In a flash of purple energy, she and her seven friends were gone. Quota stood there, frozen, as the mob charged around him. They didn't care that their target was gone. They didn't care that the castle was in ruins. Not anymore.

Amplify laughed. "I was worried there for a second!"

"You... What do you want? Really?" Quota asked.

As the ponies surged around the two of them, Amplify grinned. "I want you to destroy yourselves. To get the fate your stupid society deserves."

Quota yelled. "You'll doom us! The Concretes are going to win!"

"Shoulda thought of that before you organized a mob, General."

"I never intended violence! I just wanted leverage!"

Amplify laughed. "Mistake on your part!"

"The Concretes will come for you zebras eventually!" He yelled. "You're dooming yourself."

"Oh, they'll get what's coming to them eventually," Amplify said. "We're on it, trust me."

"I'd love to see you try to pull that off, striper." Diane fell from the sky, turning the mob from enraged to terrified in an instant. Her armor was damaged, battered, and smoking in a few places, but still fully operational.

Amplify paled. "...What!?" He took several steps back, raising some defensive dark vines. He knew exactly who stood before him, and he knew her power.

A shadow fell over them. Amplify and Quota looked up to see a giant ship composed of roughly fifty combat drones above them, ready to lay waste to Neighagra Falls. Amplify gulped. "No... This is supposed to spread! The mob can't end here! It must..." He saw Diane twitch.

He tried to react, but in one swift motion Diane lobbed off the zebra's head, his blood flying in a graceful arc over her mechanical suit. The zebra's unnatural voice could be heard, screaming in rage, slowly dissipating into nothing. He knew he was dead, but he screamed anyway.

"Whichelicaxar axaelich eb zo socect n¯ænig ple bôn êewol wherc n whercaxa elgirdo êewol wiðolbritaxa." Diane said, turning to Quota. "It means 'don't take your eyes off your opponent'."

Quota looked at the castle. Ruined. Quota looked at the city walls. Mostly unmanned. Quota looked at the hundreds of ponies around him, many of them soldiers that should have been protecting the city.

He generated a missile spell and aimed it at himself. Diane slapped him across the head, interrupting his spell. "I'm your execution." She drove her sword into his side, severing his spine while arcing the second sword to crack his horn. He screamed for a second, then fell motionless. She turned back to her radio. "Wiðolwinnaxa n¯ænig ple waxaporiaxan. Spirraxan ðeno axas fulhscîl."

Diane and the body of quota were scooped up into the ship. then bombs were dropped, bowing what was left of the castle into nothing, decimating dozens of nearby buildings in the process. The Falls themselves crumbled, the rainbows dissipating, the water diverting from its single course. The caverns collapsed and the walls fell to dust, the magic defenses torn to shreds before enough soldiers could fire them off.

Normally it would have taken weeks, even months to take down the stronghold that was Neighagra Falls.

It would only take a couple hours to completely subjugate it. The Concretes's timing had been perfect.

Far away, on a hill covered in trees, Twilight Sparkle watched her city burn. Tears flooded down her slack-jawed face. "I... I could have fixed that... I just... Needed to order them... I... I..."

Fluttershy put a hoof on her. "Twilight..."

"I should have listened to you."

Fluttershy nodded slowly, tears on her own face. "Yes... Yes, you should have." She hugged Twilight tight. "Oh, you really should have..."

The eight mares watched their city burn...

XV - Somewhere in the Woods

What is rock bottom?

It is often considered to be the furthest one can fall. The greatest depth to which anyone can stoop - it is implied that it's impossible to get any worse at that point.

Foolish.

Things are never so bad that they can't get worse.

Simply double the pain.

Kill someone else.

Lose an arm.

Lose another arm.

Lose all the memories.

Have a friend lose all their memories.

Or learn that your hope is unfounded. <<

~~~

It was a silent night in the Eastwood. The moon hung low in the sky, casting long shadows that cut along the landscape, imprisoning entire swaths of land in midnight bars. An owl let out a hoot before flying off to hunt, scanning the forest for prey. It saw dozens of rodents scurrying around, thinking they were being clever and silent - but in reality were easy pickings for the wise bird. However, the rodents were spared, for something else caught the owl's eye - a yellow-orange light took that honor, it's smoke trail and warmth piquing the owl's natural curiosity. Most animals would flee from fire, but this was an owl. It knew what it saw wasn't a raging forest blaze - rather, a controlled flame. It flew towards the soft light, lighting on a tree branch nearby, swiveling its head around to survey the area, the flames reflecting in the dark orbs that were the owl's eyes.

There were ponies. Eight of them. All were female, none were talking. They all just stared into the fire, ears down. The owl could tell a few of them noticed its presence, they just didn't care. To the owl's disappointment there was no food, no cooked meal, not even any supplies to raid. Just eight mares and a fire. The ponies looked like they had been there a long time.

The owl decided this was a waste of its time and flew off. This irked Rainbow Dash. "Oh, are we too boring for you!?"

"Rainbow Dash," Rarity chided, "now is not the tim-"

"What? It's not like anypony was saying anything!" She threw her two hooves towards the sky and flopped onto her back. She looked like she wanted to move more, but without her chair, that wasn't happening without more effort than she was willingto give. There was silence once more.

"Dash has a point," Applejack said after a while. "We shouldn't sulk here in silence forever. We need to face what happened."

The Inspector raised an eyebrow. "Neighagra Falls is gone, all of the ponies we know and love are dead, we're stuck out in the woods, and we were rejected by our own ponies." She stared into the fire as if she were trying to blind herself. "That sum it up?"

"You forgot the part where I ruined everything," Twilight said.

"Well, yeah, that's true..." Rainbow Dash said. "But I'm the one who wouldn't shut up about Pinkie and blew the lid off this whole thing for Amplify!"

"I'm the one who got Amplify angry in the first place..." Rarity said.

"And I fought him with a song!" Pinkie said. "In hindsight, that was probably a really bad idea."

"There's enough blame to go around," Fluttershy said. "All of us screwed up in one way or another, and we are now paying for it."

"Excuse me?" Minuette interjected. "What did I mess up!?"

The Inspector huffed. "At this moment, you're being a bonehead. Remind all of us that we messed up and you didn't, why don't you?"

"Do you want to have a go, Inspector?"

"No. It would only deplete our energy further."

"Girls, stop," Fluttershy said. "The last thing we need right now is to start fighting amongst ourselves. Physically or otherwise."

Rainbow Dash snorted. "Well, you better think of something else to do pretty bucking quick Fluttershy, cause everypony's fuse is this close to going off."

Minuette grumbled at this remark.

Fluttershy sagged her head. "I don't know, for once. I think we're doing all we can now. We're talking it out."

"Oooh!" Pinkie said. "We could set up like a support group here! I could get Rarity's drama cough, I could get some psychoanalysissy glasses, and a notebook!" She took some glasses, a notebook, and her cracked horn out of her mane, using the pink cone as a makeshift pen. "We could all pitch in!" She twitched, her smile far too big for the situation at hand.

"Pinkie... You're mane's sagging," Applejack observed.

"N-no it's not! Silly! I'm fine! It only goes flat when I'm depressed, psychotic, or both! And I'm neither right now!" She cackled, her mane entering an intermediary state. She looked at Minuette, notepad ready. "How do you feel?"

"I call bullshit," Minuette said. "Bull-shit."

"Afraiiiid to tell us about your feeeeeelings?"Pinkie leaned in, raising an eyebrow repeatedly.

"Pinkie!" Rarity yelled. "Not the time!"

"She does have the right idea though..." Fluttershy said. "We can't just continue like this. We need to get our feelings and... traumas out into the open."

"Celestia's ass, you can't be serious," Rainbow Dash muttered.

"I'll start," Fluttershy continued.

"Oh Luna, she is," Minuette facehooved. "Nopony wants to hear this!"

Fluttershy ignored her. "I'm terrified. I haven't been this terrified since I was a little filly, a little filly who was beaten because she couldn't bear to let the earth pony kids go hungry at their school. I'm also angry, angry at Twilight for not listening to me. Angry at all you for letting it get so out of control. Angry at that idiot Amplify." She drooped. "I'm guilty. Guilty for taking Twilight away from Neighagra Falls. Guitly of putting you all in this situation. And I... I..." She took in a breath in an attempt to compose herself - but failed. She broke down crying. "They're all dead... They're all dead... They're all dead..."

Many of the mares had seen Fluttershy cry before. Usually, it was something hidden, kept in the corner of the pegasus's eye. A few times it was open grief over the loss of somepony close, or the hopelessness of a situation. They had seen those bouts of sorrow before.

This wasn't anything like that. She kept repeating "they're all dead..." over and over and over again, holding her front hooves to her head, rocking her body slightly with her heaving chest, choking on her own tears. She was a mess - and that was something she'd never been before. She could always bring herself under control.

"Stop it!" Rainbow Dash yelled, crying as well. "Stop it Fluttershy! Stop!" Enraged, Rainbow Dash flapped her single wing and lunged at Fluttershy. In one swift motion, Fluttershy grabbed Rainbow Dash by the wing and pinned her to the ground. Rainbow Dash yelled out, struggling - but she couldn't escape. Fluttershy looked down at her, tears falling down onto Rainbow Dash's back.

"Let... Me... Go...!"

Fluttershy said nothing.

"Dammit, Fluttershy!"

"I..." Fluttershy stepped off, staring at Rainbow Dash as if she'd never seen her before. "...I'm sorry Dash."

"Buck yes you are!"

"Wha?" Rarity pointed an accusing hoof. "You attacked her!"

"She was being a bitch!"

"Oh, should I come over there and give you a good pummeling then!?"

"You think you can miss fancy pants!?"

"STOP!" Fluttershy wailed. "Just STOP!"

Silence fell again. Many of them were crying.

"Look! We have to deal with this!" Fluttershy continued. "it's not going to happen quickly! There will be pain! Lots of pain! We lost everything. Everything. We-"

"Everything but each other," Twilight said. "We... We still have that."

"As I recall, my life was muuuuuch better before I met any of you!" Minuette blurted. "I wasn't involved in some great conspiracy! The fate of Equestria had nothing to do with me! I was just an ordinary soldier doing ordinary things. And then you all had to go and make me question things!"

"I can revert you," Twilight said without thinking. "If you want. Return you to ignorance."

"Didn't you just decide you weren't going to do that anymore? Why didn't you change your mind back there?Oh, and is it on now? Can you tell me what I'm thinking about you!?"

Twilight looked away. "It's off."

"Turn it on, Princess. I want you to see this."

Pinkie paled. "No, Twi, bad idea-"

Twilight had already cocked her head - and she started screaming in agony, clutching her head and turning it off again. She continued whimpering, pressing her hooves to her temples.

"Guess I'm better than I thought," Minuette muttered.

"Accas asshole," Rainbow Dash spat.

"You know what, I'm sick of you and your-"

Pinkie shot off a party blower, glancing at the two of them. "Stop it. Minuette, that wasn't you that hurt Twilight. That was all of us. There's... There's too much here."

"Too much what?" Rarity asked.

"Anger. Regret. Sorrow. Guilt. Grief," Twilight listed off, shakily standing back up. "It... it was so strong. I...I wasn't expecting it." She looked around the fire at the many faces around her. "...Why are you all so guilty for being mad at me?I deserve to be the victim of your hate!"

Fluttershy turned to put a hoof on Twilight, but the alicorn batted it away with her wing. "No. Tell me. Why?"

Applejack sighed. "Because you tried so hard. Because you thought you were doing the right thing. Because... You're our friend, Twilight. And it's not just you. All of us are angry at each other. Ah can point at each and every one of these ponies and list off several reasons Ah'm downright angry with 'em. But Ah can also think of several reasons I should be mad at myself." She turned to look at the Inspector with sad eyes. "...Several reasons."

The Inspector shook her head, tears in her eyes. "You were acting out of emotional turmoil."

"Yeah, Ah was, but that ain't somethin' that's going to go away. You know how it is..." Applejack sighed but kept eye contact with the Inspector.

The Inspector choked. "A-applejack, I'm the one who killed your grandmother. It's h-hardly the s-same."

Rarity, Pinkie, and Minuette gasped.

"Rarity... Rarity... Rarity..." Applejack took off her hat and looked deep into the Inspector's eyes. "We don't need to do this again. You've changed. Ah hate the you that did that. You hate the you that did that. But the you that's here now..."

The Inspector's tears flowed down like twin waterfalls. "Oh Applejack..."

The two embraced. Everypony around them was overcome by a mixture of admiration and guilt over the way they'd been acting.

Fluttershy let herself smile. "You two... Are an inspiration to us all. As always..." She stood up tall, wiped her face with her wing, and addressed everypony. "There's enough blame to go around. We all had some hoof in this - be it conscious or not. But we've lost too much to harbor hate. We've lost too much to let this drive us apart. Ponies- thousands of ponies - have died because of us. We failed."

A silence fell over the clearing, only the creaking of the fire audible over the night silence.

"But that doesn't mean we should give up," Fluttershy continued. "Not all hope is lost. Equestria still has two strongholds, and we have allies in the Crystal Empire. The Society is not gone, there are other cells - and we are alive. Right now at this very moment the eight of us are standing here, living and breathing. We're not okay. We're screwed up. we lost the battle. But nothing is unforgivable. We are not done. We may be down, but we are not out."

Rainbow Dash nodded slowly. "No... We're not. We're still here. That means something, I guess."

Minuette bit her lip. "...Fine. Fine. I... I guess you're right."

"She usually is," Twilight said.

Pinkie's smile became genuine. "This... This is beautiful! All of you! all of us! This... This is Friendship!"

"Oh, Luna's twat, Pinkie!" Minuette yelled. "Stop it with the cheesy feelsy friendly stuff!"

"Oh come ooooon! You liiiiike it!"

Minuette blinked. "...Yeah..."

This got a chuckle from everypony.

Rarity let out a giant yawn. "Oh, my apologies..."

"It's alright," Fluttershy said. "We all could use some sleep. We're nowhere near done with this discussion - nor are we ready to complete it. But... we need some sleep. Before that, I need to know everypony will stand by each other." she put her hoof over the fire. "Whatever happens, whatever pain, whatever loss, we stick together."

"Together," Everypony chimed, putting a hoof in.

~~~

"...Hey, Pinkie? You still awake?" Minuette asked.

Pinkie's eyes shot open in an instant, startling MInuette. "I am now."

"Yeesh. You're still you, even after all this..."

"Eh, I already had my psychotic breakdown a while ago. It'd be repetitive to go down that route again. Still..." She whimpered. "I feel so sorry for Farundael..."

"...What did you see in that bitch?"

"Exactly that. She was horrible. I wanted to help her smile. I didn't get enough time..."

"I... Nevermind," Minuette shook her head. "Pinkie... I need to ask you something."

"Hrm?"

"Is it worth it?"

Pinkie raised an eyebrow. "Is what worth what?"

"Is this... 'harmony' you have worth all this?"

Pinkie paused for a moment. "I... I think so."

"Would you, personally, kill a pony if you knew it'd bring it about?"

Something slightly unsettling flashed in Pinkie's eyes. She answered without hesitation. "Yes."

Minuette shivered. "You... seem really sure about that."

Pinkie sighed. "It's because I am. I'm sure I'd do it. I'm sure everypony here but Rarity would do it. Most of us have killed already." She pulled a knife out of her mane and made some stabbing gestures. "I... used to think that all problems could be solved by being friendly. I don't anymore."

Minuette let out a soft chuckle. "Having your own stark realization about how things are?"

"Yeah. We aren't immune to believing convenient lies where I'm from. Harmony, while amazing, is nooot the magic cure-all for everything everypony seems to think it is. I think that Flutters has the right idea. Fight for it. Cause otherwise it aiiiiiin't happening, at least not here. But we'll make it happen here."

Minuette looked up into the night sky. "I don't know, Pinker. I don know if I want to fight for that."

"...Why not?"

"I think I'm just... Damn tired. I've been running on rage and hatred all my life, and now that it's going away... I just feel tired. Bucking tired."

"Well... sorry Minuette, I don't know what to say... I don't think you can rest. I think we're all in too deep."

"I... I know. Damn. Damn shit damn. Just....Gah. I looked into evil itself Pinkie. It looked back."

"That must have been horrible."

"It was. And I think what you're fighting goes down deeper than just pure evil. It's part of nature. It's a good fight, don't get me wrong. I just look and think it's a hopeless fight and that all of you damn well know it."

"...All we know is that it's possible. It's real where I'm from! And it's beautiful!"

"I know. I know. I don't even know why I'm going on about this, really. Not about to take Twilight up on her offer of 'accepted brainwashing'."

Pinkie giggled. "That is a weird idea... Ordering yourself to be brainwashed. I wonder what it's like..."

"I'm not going to find out."

"You two..." Rarity mumbled from a few feet away. "Quiet... Some of us are trying to sleep here."

Pinkie stifled a snort. "Sorry Rarity!"

"Just go to sleep - it's uncomfortable enough out here without the extra noise."

"Yeah... We'll talk about this later Minuette. Goodnight!"

Minuette nodded slowly. "Yeah... Goodnight."

~~~

The Sun shone down upon the Eastwood. Everypony was up and moving about - they were far from okay, but they weren't staring off into nothing anymore. They were chattering in hushed tones. Occasionally somepony would break out into tears or start yelling at something inane, but one or two of the others would always comfort them.

Nopony was okay.

But at least they were together.

"Okay, listen up!" Fluttershy said suddenly. "We're heading to Nova. It'll take us a few days to get there in our current state, but we should be able to make it without too much difficulty. We'll be safe there - and then we can talk about what to do next. We'll avoid roads and towns - given recent events I don't believe it would be a good idea to show our faces publicly.

Everypony nodded in agreement at that.

"Does anypony here have anything else to suggest?"

"Can't we send somepony ahead to announce our coming?" the Inspector asked.

"It'd have to be either me or Twilight to go ahead... and I don't think we need to split up right now."

"Fair enough."

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "All I know is that AJ and Pinks are going to have to work out a system for carrying me."

"Ah'll keep carryin' ya 'till Pinkie feels better," Applejack insisted. "Maybe even pass ya' off to Minuette."

Fluttershy nodded. "Let's continue on then."

The seven ponies slowly walked through the forest, following the hovering form of Fluttershy, leaving their home far behind. They could see smoke rising from the distant wreckage of Neighagra Falls - were they to look behind them, which they wisely didn't.

Pinkie bounded over to Rarity, her back still hurting, but overall feeling much better. "Hi!"

"Hi, Pinkie."

"Are you okay?"

"Are you?"

"Nope," Pinkie admitted. "I mean, I know we're all messed up, but I just can't let the screw-up I had go... I wonder if it'd be different if I left Farun alone. If I had taken the fight with Amplify seriously..."

Rarity sighed. "I wonder if I should have never gone to that meeting..."

"Yeah, but we can't mess with time, so well neeeeeever know what would have happened. We need to drop it and move on!"

"You know saying it and doing it are two completely different things, right dear?"

"Yeah, but that's the first step!" She tried to grin, but it just ended up a sad smile. "On... On the road to recovery, right?"

"All of us are..." Rarity said, looking out at the group. "We just witnessed something disastrous that we all had a hoof in..." She lowered her head. "And... Life had just become stable again, for us. I had a shop! I was making dresses! I was normal once again! Now? Now I'm on the run again! Again! Wasn't once enough?"

Pinkie sagged. "I never got to throw that party either..."

"Do the Stars just hate us or something?"

"Sure seems like it," Twilight commented from their left. "Sorry, uh, was I not supposed to interject?"

"It's fine," Rarity said. "Care to elaborate on your thought?"

"Well, uh, it seems like the world just has it out for you two. Hunted, attacked, a trail of destruction... I'm sure your... destinies are powerful, but I'm not sure if that's just because you're from another world or not or because of other things and the future or fate..."

"So, what, destiny just decides we have to suffer?" Rarity asked.

"Maybe? Fate isn't something that's well understood."

"No kidding," Pinkie said. "From what our Twilight said, messing with it changes things... drastically."

Twilight blinked. "She tried to mess up fate?"

Pinkie shook her head. "Nope! A mare named Starlight Glimmerdid that, Twilight had to stop her."

"How did this mare change fate?" Twilight asked, curiosity evident.

"Time travel," Rarity said. "Don't ask me to explain it, I really don't understand. She kept us and our friends from ever meeting, resulting in a lot of horrid worlds..."

"Worse than... this?"

"Some," Pinkie said. "Our Twilight described a world where there was nothing - a Wasteland of sorts."

"You... Your friendship was important enough that severing it caused that?" Twilight shook her head. "You really are cosmic playthings..."

"Aren't we all?" Fluttershy called back. "None of our lives have really been normal, have they?"

"Mine was..." Minuette reminded everypony.

"Well, you've been dragged in now!" Rainbow Dash said. "Buckle up bonehead, the ride won't be over anytime soon!"

Minuette let out a sharp breath. "Thanks for reminding me."

"No problemo."

"Ah think you're tryin' too hard Dash," Applejack said.

"I think that's exactly what we need!" Pinkie announced, pulling out her party cannon and shooting confetti everywhere.

Applejack chuckled. "M-maybe."

"Hey AJ..." Rainbow Dash said, looking down at her mount. "You're probably..."

"No, I'm not fine, thanks for askin' though, not talkin' about it now."

"Yeesh..."

"Let her talk on her own time," Fluttershy said.

Applejack nodded. "Thanks, Flutters."

"It's what I'm here for."

"Hey, girls..." the Inspector said, squinting through her monocle. "I'm picking up some unusual magic over there."

Minuette raised an eyebrow. "Is it dangerous?"

"No. It's stationary and it's not very strong... It's just colored strangely."

Twilight stopped walking. "...I want to go check it out!"

"Is that really a good idea?" Minuette asked.

"...Since when were you the voice of reason?" Rarity wondered aloud.

Rarity's question went unanswered. Fluttershy looked at Minuette and shrugged. "Maybe it's safe, maybe not. but we could use the diversion, frankly. Lead the way, Rarity!"

The Inspector nodded, making a sharp left, cutting through the trees at a brisk pace. Within a minute of speed-walking, the source of the magic revealed itself - an ancient cabin built around a tree. Wire meshes and trinkets lined the outer walls, indicating that it was abandoned or at the very least not taken care of. The windows were broken and parts of it were rotting. On the front door was a glyph - a swirling black mark with twelve black triangles around it, giving the vague appearance of the sun.

Rainbow Dash yelped and fell right off Applejack upon seeing the glyph. "Z-Zecora!" the pegasus blurted.

"You know... That does look like her glyph!" Pinkie said. "Huh!"

"No bucking way, you know Zecora!?" Rainbow Dash blurted. "Wait - right of course you do, alternate universe..."

"I mentioned her before, Rainbow," Rarity said. "She lives outside Ponyville and serves as our settlement's 'wise sage' sort."

"Yeah, well, that's your Zecora. This one's a wing-ripping monster."

Pinkie put a hoof to her mouth. "Really!?"

Rainbow Dash sat herself up with some effort. "I'm going to destroy this place."

"We won't stand in your way," Fluttershy said.

"I would like to investigate it first," Twilight said, pensive.

"Go ahead! Knock yourselves out!" Rainbow Dash grinned. "Let's ransack this bucking place!"

Fluttershy threw open the door to reveal an abandoned interior. There was evidence of animals having run through the place previously - cobwebs, dung, scratches, overturned furniture, and even a few bones that didn't look like they were part of the trinket collection. The Inspector picked up a particularly small skull and kept it - she'd need to restart her collection from scratch. She didn't take any of the other mystical trinkets, she didn't trust them, the magic coming from them was unpleasant to her Monocle.

There was an empty cauldron in the center of the hut, and many of the shelves were lined with long ago decomposed brewing ingredients. There was also a bookshelf that, somewhat surprisingly, was hardly defaced or worn at all. Twilight levitated a few books from the shelf and opened them. "Crap. All in Zebrican."

Rarity looked over the pages. "This is a botany textbook."

"...You can read Zebrican!?"

"Yes. You can't? I mean, I studied the language for the culture, I thought anypony in Celesita's School had to learn it."

"The zebras aren't exactly open to letting us study their culture. There are maybe two dozen ponies in Equestria who can read Zebrican."

"Our zebras are hardly like that. Though admittedly I'm not great at reading it, all I know is from basic classes and what I learned from Zecora. Pinkie?"

"Hey, I never bothered learning any of that stuff," Pinkie shrugged. "You were the one who thought it'd be 'cultural'."

"Yes, well..." Rarity looked at another book. "Ah, a potion brewing manual."

"Oooooh! Applebloom'd love that!" Pinkie said.

"E-excuse me!?" Applejack blurted.

"Oh. Oooooooh... Our Applebloom. Not yours. Has a potion brewing hobby. Ours. Not yours. Though I'm sure yours is good at it. Was. I'm going to stop talking now." Pinkie pocketed the potion brewing book in her mane and slid out of sight.

Applejack twitched, having half a mind to just knock her silly. She resisted the urge.

Rainbow Dash crawled to a nightstand and smashed it in half. "Anything in here besides books?"

The Inspector shook her head. "No. The cauldron is giving off most of the residual magic, but I doubt it'd be a good idea to mess with it."

"This one won't open..." Rarity said, messing with a small black book. Twilight levitated it over so she could try to open it.

"It's sealed..." She said, turning it over. The book was bound with leather and adorned with a faint impression of Zecora's glyph. Twilight rushed her magic into the sealed book - popping the spell open with an explosion of pitch black dust. Everypony started coughing.

Rarity, through her coughing, took the book in her hooves and dragged her eyes over the page. "I... Can't read most of this. I think it's shorthoof."

Twilight poked her head in. "What can you tell us?"

"I think this is Zecora's journal. Or at the very least I think she wrote it. I don't know what exactly she put in here... The letters "AN" show up a lot, probably in reference to a name.... Oh look, here's a map." She lifted one of the tables upright and set the book flat on top of it.

"That's Equestria," The Inspector said.

"I know what Equestria looks like," Rarity muttered. "So, I'm pretty sure that dot is Canterlot, and that's the Concretion... So this dot here is-" she paused painfully, "-was Neighagra Falls. And this here is the Crystal Empire, and this to the right has to be Nova, right?"

"Yes," Fluttershy said. "That's Nova."

"What's that south of Nova?" Twilight asked.

Applejack squinted her eyes. "Ah have no idea. Was that Manehattan before it got purged?"

"Manehattan got purged!?" Rarity said, aghast.

"Yes," Fluttershy said, "it did. But it was further north than that, and on the shoreline."

"So this has to be a somewhat recent map if Manehattan's not on it," Twilight said. "...So what is that dot?"

Rarity furrowed her brow. "All I can tell you is that it has a lot of notes around it - most ending in the zebra equivalent of a question mark."

"Well, it's on the way to Nova," Fluttershy said. "We could check it out."

Applejack nodded. "Ah don't see why not."

Twilight copied the page into her memory. "Rarity, what else do you see?"

"I'll have to study it more... Though there are a few symbols I see that aren't even in Zebrican. This one, for instance, I see over and over..." The symbol was a circle inscribed with a crescent and five spokes running through it.

Twilight's eyes lit up. "Oh, I know what that is. It's the symbol for the Nightmare Fuel."

"The what the who now?" Pinkie asked.

"I'm sure I've mentioned it before..." Twilight said.

"The Nightmare Fuel is an evil force that plagued the land a thousand years ago," Fluttershy said. "It possessed Princess Luna and kicked off the War of the Heavens - the point in our history where I can safely say everything started going downhill. After Celestia purged the evil from Luna, it seeped into the very ground itself, corrupting those with connections to the earth. Those who could flee to the clouds, while the remaining earths were sapped of magic and life... This is why we have Concretes."

"Wow," Pinkie said. "I can't believe we never asked about that."

Fluttershy shrugged. "It's not something we think about that much. The Concretes congregated in their Concretion and the Nightmare Fuel slowly faded from the land, existing today only within the Concretion walls, though evidence of its curse can be seen everywhere... The grass still hasn't recovered."

"At least it's no longer a problem." Applejack said.

"Eh..." Twilight raised her hoof. "It might, um, be affecting the Concretes still."

"Who gives a buck about the Concretes?" Rainbow Dash countered.

"...Fair enough."

"What in Tartarus are we doing?" the Inspector said, suddenly.

"Ransacking a house," Minuette said, kicking a hole in the wall.

"Yep," Rainbow Dash affirmed, dragging herself to a boarded up window and punching it.

"No, I mean..." the Inspector pursed her lips. "What are we doing? The world is quite literally falling apart around us and here we are engaging in an act of desecration."

"Revenge," Rainbow Dash corrected.

"Sure. Whatever. The point is what are we doing? Why what's the point?"

"Information...?" Twilight offered tentatively, holding up the book.

"Morale," Fluttershy answered.

"How is this good for morale?" the Inspector demanded.

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes. "Rarity, I thought that would be obvious. It gives us something to do besides brood. Gives us some purpose beyond 'walk dejectedly to Nova'." She pointed at the book. "We have a mystery to solve, just like in the old days. An... adventure. We haven't just had one of those in forever."

The Inspector twitched slightly. "I... I... But why?"

"Dear, she just answered," Rarity said.

The Inspector hung her head. "It doesn't feel right. Life shouldn't just resume."

"It has to," Applejack said. "Time marches on."

The Inspector looked away, silent. Applejack sighed.

"Are you quite done?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"Rainbow!" Rarity chided.

"What? I want to know if I can burn this dumb house to the ground already!"

"Yeah, I think we can do that now," Fluttershy said. "...Any objections?"

There were none. Twilight grabbed a stick, lit the tip of it with fire, and handed it to Rainbow Dash. "You have the honors."

"Take this, bitch!" Rainbow Dash yelled, using her wing to toss the flaming object into the cauldron. The ancient oils caught fire and began to spread to the walls. "You're next you bucking mud-sucking accas striper!"

Then the cauldron exploded. Eight mares flew out of the hut, landing painfully in the forest dirt outside. The colors of the flames licking the hut shifted through all the colors of the rainbow, setting off firework-like-explosions into the sky. The color show lasted for several minutes before it died down, leaving behind quite the empty husk of a hut.

Pinkie started laughing. Minuette and Rainbow Dash joined in shortly thereafter, despite the pain from being tossed through the air by an explosion. Soon everypony was laughing at the absurdity of the situation.

Everypony that is, except the Inspector. She stood to the side, looking at them all with an unreadable expression.

~~~

That night the campfire was a much more welcoming place. Faces were still sad, and there were tears, but there was also laughter and fun. Pinkie had even given a little accordion concert, to the simultaneous delight and annoyance of all present.

And then Twilight and Minuette returned to camp.

"So... Funny story..." Twilight began, glancing around nervously. "While we were out foraging for food..."

Pinkie pulled out a cupcake and raised an eyebrow.

"Healthy food, we ran into a manticore, and um..."

Minuette couldn't hold it in any longer. "And she bucking shot it!" She dragged a dead manticore body out of the bushes, dumping it next to the fire. Rarity screamed, but managed not to pass out.

"Minuette!" Twilight chided. "You told it wrong! It was a, uh, accident!"

"It roared, and you shot it from a mile away."

"Still an accident!"

"Bah. Still. Food!"

"Uh... We don't eat meat," Rarity managed.

Pinkie shrugged. "Pfft, I've had bacon before Rarity. It's pretty good stuff!"

"You weren't a pony at the time, Pinkie."

The human 'Earth' I assume?" Twilight asked. "Interesting. Regardless, no, pony biology is not designed to handle meat. That being said, we can eat it, it just won't provide the nutrients we need or be good for a long-term meal-plan... " She gulped and began to magically skin the beast while Minuette rigged up a spit.

Rarity turned, gagging. "I... I think I'm going for a walk in the woods."

"Pussy," Rainbow Dash chuckled.

"Yes. Yes I am," Rarity confirmed, walking out.

"I'll make sure she doesn't get lost," Fluttershy said.

"You just don't like the fact that we're roasting a manticore," Minuette said.

"True. But do what you will do." She flew after Rarity.

"So, 'human' world?" Rainbow Dash asked, looking at Pinkie.

"Yeah, believe it or not, you guys aren't the first alternate universe we've encountered! We found one that wasn't inhabited by ponies at all - instead hairless ape-like creatures called humans! The human Pinkie Pie and I sometimes swap places from time to time just for fun!"

"Weird. Tell me more."

"Well, you see..."

While Pinkie blabbed on to Rainbow and Twilight, Applejack walked up to the Inspector. "What's wrong?"

"You're asking me what's wrong?" The Inspector huffed. "You just watched your family die right before your eyes..."

"Yeah... Rares, you know that's happened before. No, it's not okay, it'll never be okay, and I've had at least four good cries where you couldn't see them, and Ah'll have more. But Ah'm workin' through it. Ah'm tryin'! You're just... Distant."

"I'm always distant."

"You know it's more than that," Applejack said, removing the Inspector's monocle and holding her head, staring deeply into her eyes. "Ah know something else is wrong."

The Inspector's hard exterior broke. "I... I... Just, you're all alone now. This world - my world, has stolen everything from you. I said I wouldn't let anything else happen to your family. I promised Applejack! I promised! I failed! I couldn't do one of the most important things to me!"

"it... was out of your control, Rares."

"But you're alone now..."

"Ah have all of you."

"...But no family..." the Inspector's eyes began to drip. "N-not anymore..."

"Y'all are my family now," Applejack said. "You have been for the longest time." She pulled the Inspector in for a hug, and they stood there for the longest time in silence.

Minuette turned to Twilight. "...She killed her grandma right?"

"Er..." Twilight bit her lip. "Not... Not directly, but she knew what she was doing."

"Why do they seem to be the closest out of all of you then? Seems like that's one huge barrier to get past..."

"One of the most mind-bending mysteries of the universe," Rainbow Dash said. "How do they do it?"

Minuette blinked, looking at them again. "Are they... ...You know..."

Twilight flushed and Rainbow Dash burst out laughing. "Bucking Tartarus no! You're reading waaaaay to far into this! Applejack's straight as an arrow and Rarity isn't the type for relationships!"

Minuette just blinked. "Oh. ...I was just checking." She decided to change the subject and pointed at the manticore on the spit. "How close is it to done?"

"Few more minutes," Twilight said. "Even with magic fire, it still takes time."

Pinkie decided to bound over to the Inspector and Applejack. "Hi!" she said.

Applejack looked up and wiped her face. "...Hi."

"I'm just here to say, well, there's still ponies from your family out there. I can introduce them to you if we ever go back to our world. Big Mac and Applebloom were fine last I checked - and Granny Smith. Heck, we're pretty sure I'm an estranged relative."

The Inspector put a hoof to her mouth, eyes wide.

Applejack hung her head, eyes hidden by her hat. "Ah'm... not so sure that's a good idea."

"Huh?"

Applejack looked up, eyes filled with real tears. "Damn... Ah'm going to say yes anyway. Ah... Ah would like to see them. Thank you, Pinkie."

"Don't mention it! Least I can do!" She pulled the two of them into a hug. Then they returned to the campfire.

"Food. Soon," Pinkie said, pushing her muzzle against Twilight's.

"Uh... Almost done...?"

Pinkie produced a flamethrower and doused the manticore carcass in fire for a second. "Now?"

"...Yeah, it's done. Serving up!" She cut into the meat and handed a piece to everypony present, a tiny amount from the whole slab of meat. "...This is a lot of food."

Pinkie bit into her bit. "Meaty. Not at all like bacon though."

"This is my first time having meat..." the Inspector said, chewing. "Huh. That's certainly a texture."

"Taste good?" Applejack asked.

"...tastes strange."

"Of course."

Twilight shrugged. "Eh, it's meat."

"I love it!" Minuettesaid. "...Guess us soldiers always cook it wrong."

"Eh, I actually prefer Pinkie's stuff," Rainbow Dash said. "She has a 'blue' flavor. It's amazing. I still don't know what it actually is. Tastes so unique..."

"You'll never find out!" Pinkie said, giggling.

At that moment, Rarity and Fluttershy returned. Rarity took one look at the scene and fainted. Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "Well, there she went..."

Everypony burst out into laughter.

~~~

"Day four... The frowns' advance has been halted, but they still find ways to propagate themselves among their targets... The end of the S.M.I.L.E. operation is within sight, but I must stand vigilant! One false move could open the door for a frown resurgence and all progress will be lost!"

"Pinks! Shut the buck up!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Egad! A frown insurgence!" Pinkie leaped in front of Rainbow Dash, tossing a party grenade in front of her - and the pony who was currently carrying her, Minuette. The explosion knocked the two of them over.

"Tactical strike success!" Pinkie said. "Frown banished!"

"I bucking hate you right now." Rainbow Dash groaned.

"Noted and disregarded!"

Fluttershy chuckled at this. Minuette and Rainbow Dash just grumbled. Then Rainbow Dash chuckled slightly, glancing towards Twilight.

"Hm?" Twilight said, looking up.

Rainbow Dash looked at her and smirked - but the smirk fell almost instantly. "Oh. Right. ...I just had a funny thought was all. Just... Used to you laughing as well."

"Ah... Right," Twilight said, frowning. "...You know, I've been giving it a lot of thought. I think... I think I might turn it back on, at least around you girls."

Fluttershy glanced at her. "...You sure you want to do that?"

"Yes. No. Uh... I dunno? I've been.... Lost. Confused. A bit out of my wits, without it. I... I really don't feel like I know what I'm doing without seeing thoughts..."

"It's your choice," Fluttershy said.

"My feeling is that you shouldn't rely on it," Applejack offered. "It could be taken away at any time. Only use it when you have to."

"I'm with AJ on this one," Rarity said.

The Inspector shrugged. "Either way."

Rainbow Dash groaned. "But mind read Twilight is fun!"

"She was great to talk to because she knew exactly what we were thinking!" Pinkie said. "That's a good thing!"

"Still think it's creepy as Tartarus," Minuette weighed in.

"Well, I' not using mind control or manipulation ever again..." Twilight said. "That I know... Still... I feel kind of incomplete..."

"Whatever you decide we'll stand by you," Fluttershy said. Everypony - even Minuette - nodded in agreement.

"...Thank you. I think I'll think on it some more."

"Heh. Think think," Rainbow Dash chuckled.

"...What? I'm afraid I don't get it..."

Rainbow Dash facehooved. "Nevermind."

Fluttershy's ears perked up and she stopped dead in her tracks. "Something's coming. In the sky."

The eight mares could indeed hear something coming from the west, the direction the Concretion lay. Twilight instantly cast the invisibility spell on everypony, and made a quick "SHUSH" noise. Everypony became deathly quiet, watching in fear as a Concrete conglomeration ship composed of a few dozen modules flew overhead, shaking the ground as it passed. The tremendous metallic girth sailed right over them, the sound rising to nearly deafening levels, but starting to drop off as it left the area.

...And then the noise started getting louder again. It was coming back.

"Shit!" Minuette cursed. "They detected us!"

"Get ready girls!" Twilight yelled.

"How are we going to coordinate a defense while invisible?" Minuette asked.

Twilight cocked her head, activating her magics. "I'll manage it."

"You sure you can-" Applejack began.

"No time AJ," Fluttershy said. "Do it Twilight."

"Already am!" She spread her wings, entering her magical form, not that anyone could see it. As the ship made another pass over head, she blasted off a chunk of the left side. "Fluttershy, Rarity, port! Minuette, Applejack, starboard. Pinkie..." She frowned. "I might detect some Concretes on board. Take care of them. Rainbow, Rarity... Er.. Iris, stay down and get out of the way."

"Got it!" Everypony sad, flaking the ship. It fired its weapons - it knew they were somewhere down there, just not any specific location. But it learned quickly, each shot closer than the last. They'd have to do this quickly.

The Inspector grabbed an incoming missile with her telekinesis and hurled it back at the ship - Fluttershy doing the same, except using her hooves physically to do so. Minuette shot the ship with her magic. She was startled with Applejack landed next to her. "What in..."

"Minuette!" Twilight yelled, blasting another section into nothing. "Throw Applejack at it."

"WH-"

"JUST DO IT!"

"Okay!" Minuette said.

Twilight focused on Fluttershy a bit to get her input. "Go for the center if you can you two!"

"Got it!" Applejack and Minuette said. Minuette launched Applejack towards the craft with a violent spell. Applejack extended her hooves and drove them into the metal shell of the craft. "Power of a true earth pony, metal freaks!" She dug into the outer shell, popping into a cockpit - a cockpit in which there were two Concretes in full metallic suits; one red, one white. They tried to attack, but the invisible Applejack had already punched a hole in the floor, dropping all of them to the ground. The ship still fired and attacked on its own, learning as it did so, but it stopped making complex changes in its strategy, for there was no more input. Bullets, lasers, and missiles continued to whale on the landscape, even as Twilight blasted off a third chunk.

One of the Concretes fell right on some swords Pinkie had produced. She giggled - it looked like the red pony was impaled on nothing. It occurred to her that this was probably gruesome and that she should be really disgusted, but she wasn't. She tossed him to the side, moving her focus onto the white one. To her credit, the Concrete did manage to detect Pinkie's position using the hoofprints on the ground. To her horror though, that did not help her land a single blow on the pink pony. Pinkie was just too dodgy. It took ten seconds for the Concrete to fall, dead from an invisible sword.

"Man, nowhere near as annoying as my soul sister," Pinkie observed.

With a graceful motion, Fluttershy grabbed another missile and drove it into the last remaining part of the ship, making sure it hit dead center. The resulting explosion destroyed the ship, but it also threw her into the ground, hard. The remaining chunks of the ship fell into the forest, sending shrapnel flying that was much more effective at hitting the targets than the combat weapons had been.

Twilight dropped the invisibility spell. "Everypony alright?"

Everypony gave a mixture of 'yesses' and 'heal up this shrapnel-induced gash Twi!' - except for Fluttershy. She was lying on the ground, barely breathing, one of her wings broken in half. Twilight winced, lifting the bloodied pegasus into the air. Twilight flooded her with healing energy - forcing the wing to reform itself through numerous loud cracks. Fluttershy yelled out in pain with every sharp jerk. Fortunately, the ordeal was over quickly and she was back on her hooves in a few seconds. "Ow..."

"Why can't you do that for Rainbow Dash?" Rarity asked as Twilight healed a cut on her forehead.

"Zebra magic sucks," Rainbow Dash said. "It really, really sucks. It's got this darn 'no heals' attribute. So I'm pretty stuck like this."

"I'm sorry..."

"I thought we were done with this pointless apologizing?"

Rarity facehooved. "Riiight..."

"We shouldn't stick around," Fluttershy said. "They'll be investigating their crashed ship. Let's move."

The mares quickly wrapped up their healing and moved on.

~~~

"Huh," Twilight said. "I just realized, I never shut off the mind reading." She held up a hoof before anypony could say anything. "I think I'm fine with it, thanks for thinking about asking. It feels... good, to be back." Fluttershy put a hoof on her. "Thank you, Fluttershy."

Twilight turned to address her friends directly. "I can hear your doubt. Your uncertainty. Your anger. Your guilt. All of you... I'm so sorry. I'm sorry for putting you in this position you are now in - forced to question what you held as fact, what you had held as undeniable. Now? Now we are forced to ask - were we really the good guys? Were we doing the right thing? Was our leadership as good as we believed? Did we bring this on ourselves? Should we have dared to defy the order?"

She paused, letting it sink it. "I don't have even the beginnings of any answers to most those questions - and I think each of us will come to different conclusions in the end. But as for the last one - yes. Yes, we should have fought. Maybe not in the way we did - but we should not have stood by and accepted this world. That would have been wrong. So whatever happens, remember that, if nothing else."

Pinkie started clapping. Soon there was a small chorus of applause. Twilight looked behind herself to see Fluttershy clapping as well, pride in her eyes. Twilight brightened, bowing to her. "Thank you."

"Thank you, my princess," Fluttershy said, bowing as well.

"Oh please, we all know you're in charge here."

"Perhaps," Fluttershy raised an eyebrow playfully. Twilight rolled her eyes, and the group continued on.

"Pinkie," Rarity said, trotting over to her pink friend. "How are you doing?"

"Pretty good actually! Spirits are lifting! The frowns will be defeated!"

"I mean concerning that... tussle from earlier?"

"What about it? We won!"

"I mean... You sure dealt with those Concretes..."

"Yeah? So?"

"Doesn't it bother you?"

Pinkie stopped in her tracks. "You know what? Not really. It probably should though. Might want to have that looked at..." She scratched her chin. "Nope! No angst for that, who needs it? I already went off the deep end - can't afford to do so again! This is a real fight!"

"That's... A change in outlook for you."

"Oh come on, Rarity, you've changed as well. This world kind of forces you to!"

"Yeah..." Rarity looked ahead, blankly. "What was it like?"

"What?"

"Dealing with... You know..."

"Bit bloody, but kinda fun actually. Just a somewhat more... permanent form of my usual style." She looked at Rarity, concerned. "I'm sorry if it bothers you..."

"Well, you did take care of them, and I don't think we'd have let them live anyway..." She shuddered.

"Hey, Rarity, it's a dark time. Calls for dark measures. I've come to realize that sometimes you just have to... you know."

"I... know," she sighed. "Do you think we could go back home?"

"Yes, I'm sure Twilight's working on it..."

"I don't mean that, of course she'll find us eventually. I mean... We've changed. Can we go back?"

Pinkie cocked her head. "Uh... Yeah? Why wouldn't we?"

"She's concerned your old friends will reject the new you," Twilight offered. "Baseless worry, from what I know of your friends."

Rarity drooped. "You... May give them a bit much in the way of credit..."

Pinkie rolled her eyes. "Oh come on, Rarity! They're our friends! They'll accept us! Might not be easy, but they will!"

"...I'm not so sure Pinkie. I'm just not so sure."

"Just wait until they find us, you'll see!"

Twilight's ears suddenly perked up. "Somepony's coming..."

"I don't hear a ship though, can't be Concretes..." Fluttershy added.

"One of ours?" the Inspector asked.

"That might not be a good thing..." Minuette reminded everypony.

Twilight folded her wings. "They are looking for us, but there's no hostility that I can feel." She lit her horn and fired a small magic beacon into the air. Seconds later, a crystal pegasus in full armor landed in front of her.

"Ah, that's why you felt strange. You have a message for me?"

The pegasus pulled an envelope out of his breastplate - a vanilla letter sealed with the mark of Sunset Shimmer. Twilight raised an eyebrow. "Guess Sunset has something to tell us..."

As the pegasus flew away, Twilight opened the message and began to read aloud.

"Dear Princess Twilight Sparkle,

Let me preface by saying it is a relief to learn you survived the fall of Neighagra Falls. I feared I would have to inform Celestia of your demise. The last thing we need right now is for her to become blind with rage. I also congratulate you on a successful diplomatic mission to the Crystal Empire - their assistance has kept the Concretes from surmounting Nova, and have provided other benefits I am not liable to discuss here. I thank you, I know that must have been difficult"

"She's being way too nice," Fluttershy interrupted.

"Yeah, not at all like I remember her," Minuette added.

Twilight sighed. "I know." She continued reading.

"However, the fall of Neighagra Falls has left an impact on the population. They have become terrified, confused, and angry. Enough ponies made it out of Neighagra Falls to reveal what happened prior to its destruction. Your secret is out - and the population despises it.

I regret to inform you that I cannot host you - or your friends - at Nova. The situation is too delicate. Despite all my efforts, distrust of me is brewing. I am being watched. If you were to come, I could not protect you. I would have to turn you in or face retribution.

I do not want to do that.

You are on your own. I recommend living somewhere deep in the wilderness until the war is over and we can take more risks.

We may not have agreed much over the years, but believe me when I say I truly am sorry.

-Princess Sunset Shimmer."

Twilight looked up from the letter, gulping. Everypony looked back at her, feelings of loss and confusion wafting into her mind.

"The buck does she mean we aren't welcome!?" Rainbow Dash shouted. "She could just torch all who oppose what she says!"

"Much as you might love to imagine her as a pyromaniac, she isn't," Fluttershy said. "She's prudent. She knows how this works. If she says she can't, she can't."

"I hate politics," Minuette growled.

Silence fell over the group. They all glanced at each other, unsure of what to do.

"I... I don't know," Twilight said. "I'm not sure there's anything we can do... Canterlot's walled off, Nova won't hold us, and I am not going to the Crystal Empire again..."

"Griffonstone," Fluttershy said. "I have contacts there. They'll take us in."

"We're just leavin'?" Applejack asked. "That doesn't seem right!"

"Would you rather live out your life in the woods?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Cause that's the only other option I see here, and it's shit!"

"We could try to fight!" Pinkie said, twirling her swords.

"With an invalid and a froofy pony?" Rainbow Dash said.

"Hey!" Rarity objected.

"You are!"

Applejack sighed. "Ah.... Ah know you're right. it just doesn't seem right to leave like this..."

"It isn't," Fluttershy said. "But at this point I don't think there are any good choices."

Twilight nodded. "Maybe we can help from Griffonstone."

"Refugee work," the Inspector said. "That will be... fine."

"First we gotta survive being refugees ourselves..." Applejack muttered.

Fluttershy nodded. "We head to Bubble Bay. I will enter the town, alone, and meet with my contacts. They should be able to get a boat for us within a few days of that."

"Where's Bubble Bay?" Rarity asked.

"Same direction we've been going, except a little more to the east and the shoreline. We can still check out that mysterious dot on the way there."

Pinkie let out a sigh of relief. "I was worried there for a second. I can't stand a mystery!"

The Inspector rolled her eyes. "...We really going to that dot?"

"Yes," Fluttershy said, "we are."

~~~

That night Rarity was sitting next to the fire, reading through Zecora's journal. Most of it was still indecipherable, but she was beginning to get a general picture of what Zecora was doing in there. She was working for someone represented by the letters "AN," and they weren't up to anything good, considering all the instances of the word 'death' and 'dark magic' - not to mention the constant use of the Nightmare Fuel symbol in prominent positions. She got the impression they were like Amplify - and that she was reading some dark ancient tome of forbidden knowledge.

She was able to discern they were looking for something. Something 'magic,' but that admittedly wasn't of much help. They thought Equestria had the 'magic' - and many of the pages were scribbled notes about the Princesses, filled with lots of negative word-symbols. They had no love for the Crystal Empire or Concretes either - though there were fewer observations on them in the book. At least in the parts Rarity could make sense of. All Rarity could really glean from the pages was that Zecora was peeved about something relating to the Concretes.

"Ah can't believe Sunset shut us out..." Rarity overheard Applejack say. Rarity looked up from the book, interest piqued.

"Believe it," Minuette muttered. "She decided she didn't want to deal with us, so it's just best if we were gone. So off to Griffonstone with us!"

"Ah always thought she was, you know, willing to take risks."

"She did. Regularly," Twilight said, looking up at the stars. "She was one of those opposed to what I was doing - but she told no one. She kept our secret. She even helped a few times, despite not being sold on the whole 'harmony' aspect."

"Then why is she throwin' us out?"

"Because... Times are hard. Times are really, really hard. She has to choose - and she chose her ponies over helping us. And that's okay."

Rainbow Dash huffed.

"Yes it is Rainbow," Twilight narrowed her eyes.

"Buck her," Rainbow Dash spat. "Buck this war, buck this whole situation!" She threw her hooves into the air. "Isn't there a point that the universe realizes it should stop picking on us?"

"Nope," Pinkie said, "that'll never happen."

"Dammit. Just dammit all to Tartarus," Rainbow Dash muttered, flopping onto the ground. "I hate everything right now."

"Dash..." Applejack began.

"AJ, no offense, but shut it. I need some sleep right now. Good quality motherbucking sleep. Where I can complain all I want." Rainbow Dash closed her eyes and everypony fell silent.

"Well..." Twilight said, finally. "Sleep is good."

"And the sooner we sleep the sooner we can get to the mystery point!" Pinkie grinned.

"True..." Rarity said, closing the book. "I suppose we should turn in, big mystery to solve tomorrow."

"...And disappointment to get over," Applejack said.

"Applejack..." the Inspector sighed. "We aren't abandoned."

"Close enough." She put her hat over her face and curled up on the grassy ground.

Pinkie sighed. "Okay fine, sleep it is..."

They all drifted off once more.

~~~

The area they found themselves in was desolate. No trees - no grass - within line of sight. Just a rocky scenery, covered in unusually shaped spires jutting out of the earth, ranging in size from a marble to a Ponylympic swimming pool, with a few in the distance appearing possibly larger than that. Chasms rippled through the landscape, falling into nothingness. An occasional dry shrub could be seen struggling to live and failing for the most part. Despite the desert-like appearance, the area wasn't even warm - quite the opposite in fact. A chilly breeze blew across the plateau, chilling the eight mares to their cores.

"This was a dumb idea," the Inspector said. "We've got to get out of the country, we can't waste our time wandering around an empty plateau freezing our plots off!"

"Rarity, we haven't even been here an hour," Rainbow Dash said from atop Pinkie's back. "Loosen up and help us look."

Minuette shot a glance at Rainbow Dash. "...You aren't helping much."

Rainbow Dash shrugged. "Can't walk under my own power so... I get a pass."

Fluttershy landed next to them. "Nothing visible from above. If there's anything here, it's probably in one of the chasms."

Pinkie rushed to a chasm and stuck her head in, jostling Rainbow Dash with the quick motion. "Hellllooooooo? Any secrets down there?"

"Dear, secrets won't just tell you they're there," Rarity said.

"You never know Rarity! This one might be talkative!" She rushed to another chasm and yelled down it. She moved rather quickly down the plateau, Rainbow Dash dragged along with her.

Twilight trotted up to one of the chasms and sent a magic light down through the inky darkness. It appeared to be a regular chasm, filled with rocks and the occasional bioluminescent mass. She frowned. "Not getting anything unusual at all on my scans..."

The Inspector walked past them, looking through her monocle. "That's because there's nothing here. It's just a normal, regular plateau. Look." She held out a hoof. "Not any residual magic signatures at all. If anypony had been here recently there'd be some."

Twilight blinked. "Uh, Rarity? We're here."

The Inspector's eyes widened. "...That is unusual. Even Pinkie isn't leaving a magic trail... And I can see her moving over there!"

"Uh... What's that mean?" Rarity asked.

"There's a thaumic signature negater here..."

"In Equestrian, please," Applejack said.

"Somepony's hiding something here with a spell that makes all magic look like wilderness," Twilight smirked. "Clever."

The Inspector backtracked about seven yards. "I can detect my own trail now - it just stops right... here." She made a mark in the dirt. "And after that, it's just gone. As if I was never there."

Twilight teleported a fiar way into the distance, checking the Inspector's readout through her mind. She teleported numerous times, checking to see if the Inspector could see her magical trail each time. After a few minutes of this, she came back.

"It's a circle. Two miles in diameter," Twilight said. "Center has nothing unusual about it, already checked."

"Pinkie just popped out the other side," the Inspector said, waving frantically at Pinkie to come back. Pinkie saw this, and made a sharp turn back, jostling poor Rainbow Dash once again.

"So..." Applejack frowned. "There's something inside a circle two miles wide?"

"Yes," Twilight said. "Somepony went through a lot of trouble to hide this. Those kinds of spells need to be maintained as well, every few weeks. There is no easy feat here..."

Minuette rubbed her hooves together. "Let's find this secret!"

"I think Pinkie just found it," Fluttershy said, pointing. Pinkie had stopped dead in her tracks, reaching a hoof out towards a rock slightly larger than herself. Her hoof passed through the completely solid looking rock. "Cool!" They heard her shout.

Then a light blue magic aura grabbed her and Rainbow Dash, attempting to drag them into the rock - impeded only by Pinkie's quick thinking, ramming her swords into the ground, fighting against the power, yelling out in pain as she was forced to stretch herself considerably.

Twilight teleported over immediately, grabbing the two ponies with her own magic and yanking. The blue magic mixed with hers, both pulling with intense might.

"Owowowowo!" Pinkie yelled. "You're going to tear me in half!"

"Oh, sorry!" Twilight said, distributing her pull to all areas of the pink pony. In the split second she used to switch spells, the magic chose to pull on her in addition to Pinkie and Rainbow Dash. "WAUGH!"

The Inspector and Minuette appeared behind them, pulling with their own power. They managed to pull them away from the rock only for the blue magic to increase in power again.

"Impossible!" Twilight yelled. Not even she could channel that much magic power at one time! And - oh Celestia - it was still increasing!

The Inspector's horn flashed and burnt out from overuse - and with the loss of her magic, the five mares lost the fight, all of them quickly sucked into the rock. The world was quiet once again.

Fluttershy, Rarity, and Applejack gasped. "No..." Rarity called out, not believing it. What could do that?

She was about to find out, seeing as the blue magic surrounded the three of them and started to pull them in. Fluttershy and Applejack struggled, Fluttershy performing some unusual corkscrew maneuver in the air that pulled herself out of the telekinetic grasp, only for it to grab her again, stronger this time. The three were pulled into the rock, rushed over a mile of land to their goal.

As they passed through, they felt nothing - it was as if the rock didn't exist at all. There was, however, a chasm entrance under the rock, a chasm they were now falling into. As they fell, Rarity felt powerful magics slide past her in a regular rhythm, like somepony beating a drum. The rush of air wafted past her in time with the beats, rippling her mane in a most unusual manner. Below her, she saw Twilight, Pinkie, and the others- all of them suddenly speeding up. She glanced upwards, watching Fluttershy and Applejack appear to slow down... The pulsing drum of magic around her slowed the further she fell.

Then she landed on top of Twilight with a powerful thud. "Ow..." Applejack fell on top of Rarity. "Ow!" Fluttershy managed to steer herself aside, landing gently on the floor.

"Everypony okay?" she asked.

"My dignity... I feel like string cheese..." Pinkie groaned. "A string cheese pancake. All of you offa me!"

Twilight got up, shook her head, and spread her wings. "Okay... Where are we?" She looked around. They appeared to be at the entrance to something - a long winding tunnel behind them, a large blue door in front of them. Currently, they were standing on top of some sort of blue tile etched with images of ponies of all races.

Fluttershy moved to the door. "Someone brought us here. I'm going to find out who." She knocked.

The door slid open slightly, a bright light seeping through the crack. A unicorn mare stuck her head out, examining them all with her dull, purple eyes. Her coat was a pink-purple and her mane was purple with a mint stripe through it. She looked at Twilight. "Ah, an alicorn. I suppose that explains why you were all able to put up so much of a fight." She stepped out into the open, revealing the rest of herself, including a cutie mark composed of a star and two wisps of energy. "First, let me apologize for the rashness. Second, let me introduce myself. I am..."

"Starlight Glimmer!?" Rarity blurted - then covered her mouth with her hooves.

Starlight Glimmer blinked, face betraying curiosity. "Why, yes, in fact. You can tell me how you know that later. But for now... Welcome to our little secret." She pushed open the door fully, the light bleaching the eyes of the mares...

Author's Note

Inspector ◊ Applejack

-GM, master of no longer fighting the Homestuck.

XVI - The Secret

Ah, Destiny...

Some of us are wired to understand it, to feel it. To feel the pain which we take in this... thing known as life. I am one of them, a certain pink bundle of cotton candy is another. We see things differently than anyone else - we see that there are heroes, and there are villains. That what can go wrong will go wrong. And that some individuals are at the focal point of destiny, deemed to be important for seemingly no reason whatsoever.

It is a cruel joke, really. Some people are doomed to never amount to anything, forced into a life of mediocrity. Some are thrown into the spotlight and toyed with by the events unfolding around them. Some of this is predictable. If you were born into royalty, expect to be on the scene of endless drama and action, an unending swirl of chaos that the general public eats up like some kind of show. The same rule does not follow for those of low stature. Many a cosmic plaything have been taken from perfectly normal lives and families and thrust into their destiny. Some take the call gladly. Others, not so much. It doesn't matter - it still happens. The call cannot be refused. Usually.

There are those who can defy destiny, ignore it and supersede all the rules. This is different from those like me, who just know how things work. Defiant ones don't know exactly what they're doing. They haven't the foggiest idea that they are free from the ties of destiny... They could change things, in theory. Destroy prophecies. Create new ones.

Here's a spoiler. In the end, the joke's on them. Because they can do this - because they can defy destiny, nature, and all the rest, they become entangled in the destiny of others. Unless, of course, they wanted to live a boring life as a farmer or something. They could probably remain unimportant all they wanted. They would know their place, and nobody would ever find them.

Tragic either way, really. In the end, choosing your own destiny still means you have one. There is no true escape.

But the question to ask is thus: do we truly want to escape?

~~~

Their eyes eventually adjusted to the intense brightness. What they saw through the door made their jaws drop. Inside... Well, it looked like outside. Except it was much brighter - the grass was a vibrant green, the trees lush, and the sky a brilliant blue. The houses that dotted the rolling hills were all unique - no two looking anything like the others. Some were tall and pointed, others barely large enough to fit three ponies inside. Some were painted all the colors of the rainbow, while others were a simple beige. Some looked like palaces, others like sheds. There were farms, fountains, and even a few cloud houses floating around.

But none of them held a candle to the glorious structure in the center. It seemed to be a building composed entirely of magic, with hundreds of round symbols rotating along the outside, more than a few resembling clocks and hourglasses. Directly above it was a fiery globe that illuminated the area, sparking off soft golden magical energies. This light revealed something - this wasn't outside at all. They were in a large cavern. To the left shadows from trees cast onto the 'sky,' and there were no clouds whatsoever beyond the ones that made up the houses, and in one section far away there was a cave opening in 'mid-air.' The gigantic cavern was fake - a convincing lie, to be sure, but still just a cavern dressed up to look like a paradise.

But the ponies that lived here didn't seem to care. Unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies, all lived and moved with genuine smiles on their faces, waving greetings with one another, and in the case of one individual, dancing in public.

They were living in harmony.

Fluttershy spoke first. "This is... Some secret you have here, Starlight." She extended her hoof. "I'm Fluttershy."

It was Starlight's turn to let her jaw drop. "F-Fluttershy? My gosh... Your reputation precedes you."

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. "It... Does?"

Starlight bowed slightly. "It is an honor." She stood up and turned to Twilight. "You must be Princess Twilight Sparkle of Harmony, then."

"Yes," Twilight said, mind reeling.

"Still trying to get into my head then?"

"Oh! Sorry, that's automatic-"

Starlight held up a hoof. "No need to apologize. I could use the practice in mental defense. Plus, I did just drag you all down here against your will, you have the right to some leeway."

Twilight blinked. "...Well, that's a first."

"I'm the first for a lot of things!" Starlight smirked. "Come, I'll treat you to dinner, we can talk more there. I guarantee you won't be harmed. Unless you've got some racist savage in your group, but..." She looked at Pinkie and Applejack. "I doubt it."

Fluttershy nodded. "Lead the way."

Starlight did just that - trotting down a simple brick road towards the building made of magic. they passed dozens of ponies on the way there. Most just waved, smiled, or said: "hey Starlight!" One unicorn stallion walked up to them, laughing. "Quite the crop you've got us this time, Glimmy."

Starlight rolled her eyes. "You know newcomers don't like being equated to farm produce."

Applejack raised a hoof. "Ah don't mind."

"I do," Rarity said.

The stallion shrugged. "Eh, really, does it matter?"

"First impressions are everything," Starlight said. "By the way, the purple one is not only royalty, but she's also reading your thoughts right now. Am I correct in assuming they're extremely lewd?"

The unicorn turned beat red. "Uh..."

Twilight smirked coyly. "Quite the imagination you got there."

Minuette burst into laughter. The stallion just galloped off, blushing furiously.

"Well, hew as a treasure trove of information," Twilight said. "...I think I'm just more confused now."

"It's best to explain over a meal," Starlight said. "And when everypony's sitting down. To be fair, most start freaking out by now."

"Lady, we've had out entire worldview turned completely upside-down in the course of about a week," Minuette pointed out. "It'd take quite a bit to faze us at this point."

"It looks like home..." Rarity said, rubbing a hoof over the grass. "The grass feels right..."

Starlight raised an eyebrow. "More and more surprises from you. I expect I'll have just as many questions for you as you will for me."

Pinkie grinned. "Yay! Questions!"

Rainbow Dash groaned. "Crap... Questions..."

Fluttershy rolled her eyes. "Questions are the essence of understanding."

Pinkie giggled at this.

They soon arrived at the magic house. Starlight lit her horn, causing the hundreds of magic symbols to rotate, twist, and lock into place- forming a door that she reached out and opened. The interior was filled with clocks - all ticking continually in a rhythmic way, creating an oddly soothing sound. Many of them glowed slightly with blue magic, while others appeared to be completely clockwork. A few of the mares became nervous at all the clockwork everywhere - though they took the fact that the house was bigger on the inside in stride.

Rarity smiled. "Oh? You make clocks?"

"Time is an amazing thing," Starlight said. "When I'm not helping run this place, it's what I do." She opened one of the clocks, put on a pair of glasses, and used her magic to shift a gear slightly to the left. "Sorry, it was off by a fourth of a second. Come, the dining room's this way."

They entered a room filled with just as many clocks as the entryway, in the center of which was a table that could seat six ponies. With a quick spell, Starlight increased the size to seat more. She opened a few dozen cupboards, setting plates and silverware for nine. she grabbed several fruits, vegetables, and even a few desserts, setting them out to be enjoyed. "Please, sit."

"Woah... This looks delicious." Applejack said, sitting down.

"I've gained a talent for quick meals over the years," Starlight admitted.

"We should give you some of ours!" Pinkie said, pulling a cake out of her mane along with a platter of cookies, setting them on the table.

Starlight blinked. "I... I didn't think it was possible for an earth to acutely manipulate magic..."

"Everypony says that!" Pinkie giggled.

"Oh! I have some manticore meat!" Minuette said, setting some on the table.

Rarity facehoved. "Really Minuette? In front of our host?"

"I won't judge," Starlight said. "I've sampled meats myself. Can't really produce them down here, you understand, but I'm known to enjoy some bits from time to time. Please, eat. Let us figure out what in Equis is going on here."

"Agreed," the Inspector affirmed, digging into a quesadilla. Twilight looked at the food item with uncertainty.

"First..." Fluttershy said, "introductions. You know me and Twilight. These are our friends, Inspector Rarity Belle, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Commander Minuette, Pinkie Pie, and Iris Shard."

Rarity raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing.

"Well, I don't have any fancy titles..." Starlight admitted, looking at all of them closely. As Pinkie dug into a pineapple, Starlight swiftly used her magic to return her table to a spotless, clean state. "But I do have this little secret here."

"Tell us about this place," Fluttershy said, stars in her eyes.

"Well... It doesn't really have a name. It's just... A place of harmony. Here everypony is happy and cared for, and there's no division. Unicorns, pegasi, earth ponies - and now alicorns I suppose - live together in harmony. It goes a little beyond that though. We have a few griffons, zebras, dogs, and even a dragon living amongst us."

"You yumff a muffin' drammn?" Rainbow Dash asked, spewing bread crumbs everywhere.

Starlight made the mess vanish. "Yes, her name is Tem. Lives over in the cave built into our 'sky.' A gentle creature, surprising for how large she is, with a love for everyone."

"How did this... amazing place come to be?" Fluttershy asked.

"I... I started it some time ago. A rather traumatizing experience as a filly - my best friend was killed for daring to treat an earth pony with kindness - I swore I could create a safe place for all like him and those he cared about. I already knew about this cavern - discovered the empty place when I was a young filly, had to climb out with my own four hooves. Anyone who I saw hurting of afraid, I took here. It... was literally a cave at first, and they relied on me to provide everything for them. But, over time, I got better at magic, and ponies with more varying skills entered, and we just... made it work, in the end." She paused. "That's the extremely abridged version. We were almost discovered several times in the early days, my hometown was purged, and my adventures to learn the complex magic needed to keep this place hidden could fill several books."

"Cool!" Pinkie said. "Oooooooone thing though - why'd you drag us in?"

Starlight moved to answer, but Fluttershy raised a wing. "I believe I can answer that. You can't take any chances that your secret gets out. Anypony who gets close is forcibly taken in and not allowed to leave."

"...That is correct," Starlight said pensively.

"What?" Rainbow Dash blurted. "You're going to keep us here!?"

"I'm sorry, but we can't let there be any chance we get discovered." She looked at Fluttershy with sad eyes. "I... I know you have a great vision of the future for Equestria. Ponies stumble upon this place and speak highly of you. But... we have a future here. There's not one out there."

"Bullshit!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "Fluttershy, we aren't taking this, are we? Are we?"

"...Dash, we were fleeing to Griffonstone. We were on the run." Fluttershy shook her head. "And Starlight's right - even if we are trustworthy and have no intention of telling, mind reading exists. Torture exists. And they'd find this wondrous place and run it into the ground."

Twilight nodded. "That's exactly what they'd do..."

"So what?" Rainbow Dash shouted. "We're just going to sit here and do nothing?"

"That... Might not be a bad thing," Rarity said. She saw Minuette nodding in agreement.

"...Really? Really?" Rainbow Dash threw her hooves into the air. "This is stupid!"

"No, it's not," the Inspector said. "It's smart."

Rainbow Dash was clearly not happy, but she shut up. Twilight frowned. "Rainbow..."

Rainbow Dash groaned. "Don't do anything stupid, I know, I know..."

Fluttershy turned to Starlight - nothing that the unicorn was adjusting the silverware again. "What else can you tell us about how this place works? That was no ordinary tunnel back there."

"Time distortion," Starlight said. "Time inside here is sped up considerably. This place has only existed for a few decades in your time - but in here it's been centuries."

Twilight gasped. "C-Centuries?!"

Starlight nodded. "I've seen multiple generations rise up, grow old, and die. I've known hundreds of ponies. I've seen this place change so much..." She stopped for a moment, pondering something deeply. "So much..."

Fluttershy smiled warmly at her. "From what I've seen, you've done well."

"Thanks. I know that; I know that, but... still hard sometimes. I'm older than Tem. And yet, here I stand, always keeping this place hidden and ticking..."

"That... is an awful lot of clocks you got there," Applejack observed.

"I'm a tinker in my free time. There's no technology taboo here, though I'm one of only a few here to embrace it." She smiled. "It doesn't appear to have driven us into the ground."

Applejack shivered slightly, not liking the implications, but said nothing.

"...We'll give you the benefit of the doubt," Fluttershy said, frowning. "I am curious though, how do you deal with those who aren't so accepting?"

Starlight nodded sagely. "Most will come around after living here a few years. A few never adjust and become hermits near the edge of the cavern system, rarely seen by anyone. However, rarely there are some that refuse to change, no amount of therapy seems to help, and they actively make life worse for the other residents. Those we have to put to death."

Everypony nodded sadly. Then Minuette frowned. "Wait, if they can't be helped, why not just mind-wipe them? I mean, that's what Twilight did..."

Starlight twitched. "I was wondering how you managed to stay hidden... I was hoping it was a method a little less atrocious. I banned mental conditioning a long time ago. It caused a lot of terror and horror I do not want to revisit."

Twilight lowered her head. "...I feel you."

Starlight scratched her chin. "Now it's my turn. How did you come here?"

Fluttershy drooped. "I'm... Not sure how much you know about the world outside. War has broken out with the Concretes. Our secret was compromised. Neighagra Falls has fallen."

Starlight's ears went flat. "I'm sorry..."

"Yes, it's horrible. We are no longer welcome in Equestria - the ponies are against everything we stand for, and our allies are not willing to help us in these trying times. We were fleeing to Griffonstone when we found this place."

"Well, I'm sure we can offer more for you here than Griffonstone."

"Except freedom," Rainbow Dash muttered.

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow. She'd need to have a talk with Rainbow Dash later. "Yes," she said, turning back to Starlight. "You probably have more to offer. I've been to Griffonstone - the place isn't as pristine. As... welcome."

Starlight delicately drank some of her drink. "Thank you. Does... Your Society still exist?"

"Presumably," Fluttershy said. "Though without our protection I fear for the other sects."

"Don't be. There's nothing you can do besides have faith in them." She frowned. "You know, part of me was hoping that one day I'd receive news that you'd done the impossible and changed the world. I suppose I always knew it'd never work out... But I could hope."

Fluttershy narrowed her eyes but remained silent.

"That being said, you still haven't fully explained why you're here - how you found this place. It was no accident, your actions on the surface were not those of ponies wandering randomly. You were looking for something."

"We found a map in a book," Rarity said, sliding the journal to Starlight and opening it to the right page. "We were curious as to what this point was."

"...Concerning..." Starlight said, holding the book up to her glasses. "Do you mind if I borrow this?"

"Not at all," Rarity said. "I'm not getting anything else out of it. Twilight?"

Twilight shrugged. "No problem."

"Thanks," Starlight said, filing it into a bookshelf. "Now... Here's the big question..." She pointed at Rarity and Pinkie. "They're different."

"Uh... Yeah. Yep. From.. far away," Twilight said, quickly glancing at Fluttershy. "Not Equestria. They're from a nation beyond most maps. They aren't limited by our way of thinking."

Starlight raised an eyebrow. "...Did you just consult Fluttershy on what to say?"

"...Yeah, that's normal for me though. Been working on changing that."

"I think you're hiding something," Starlight said. "Iris there knew who I was. She said the grass was like 'back home-' and I had to rewind the genetic code of this grass back a thousand years to make it this green. Not to mention the pink pony with the unusual powers that defy all explanation." She folded her hooves. "You don't have to tell me, you know, but I'd appreciate it."

Fluttershy turned to Pinkie and Rarity. "Your choice."

"I don't mind," Pinkie said.

Rarity nodded. "Neither do I. I... trust her for some reason." She cleared her throat. "My name isn't Iris Shard. It's Rarity Belle - yes the same as the Inspector over there. We might as well be the same pony, on the surface. But I'm from another... Well, another world. A world where there was no Nightmare Fuel, no Concretes, and everypony lived in harmony."

Starlight nodded. "And how'd you get here?"

"Twilight - a different Twilight - decided to perform some tests on Pinkie's unusual powers. A vortex of sorts was opened as the two of us were sucked in. We appeared outside the Concretion."

"We miiiiiiiight have started the war," Pinkie said, glancing around nervously. "Not on purpose!"

"I saved them," Minuette added. "Took them to the Falls, and then we got tangled up in the whole Mingler Conspiracy..."

"And then all of us made mistakes," Fluttershy said. "And we ended up here."

Starlight looked at Rarity and Pinkie, sad. "This world must have been horrific for you. I can't imagine what you must have felt..."

"I went insane for a while," Pinkie said. "That wasn't fun."

"No. I imagine not... Do you mind me asking what your world's version of me is like?"

Rarity smiled. "Not at all! You're strong, a bit compulsive, very talented with magic, and accepting of others. The other you is a good leader. Granted, she fought against us at first and almost destroyed time itself - but she's a close friend now."

"Saved us a few times!" Pinkie added.

Starlight laughed. "Sounds like somepony I'd like to meet one day!"

Twilight nodded. "I know the feeling."

Starlight lit her horn and cleaned up the entire table in two seconds. "Now that that's out of the way, time to get you settled in."

"Settled... in?" the Inspector asked.

"Why, yes, it's time to build you a house. Or houses. It could be anything, really."

Pinkie pulled a lightbulb out of her mane - it lit up. She rummaged around her hairs and pulled out a photograph. "Something like this!"

Everypony crowded around. "Is that... her castle?" Twilight asked.

"Yes," Rarity said. "That is the castle of the Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle."

Fluttershy put a hoof on the picture. "The grass really is that green over there..."

Starlight examined the photograph closer. "A castle. Fitting for a princess. I'm not sure I can make it as large as it needs to be..."

"It's bigger on the inside anyway," Pinkie said.

Starlight grinned. "Ah, an excuse to go all out then? Very well - follow me."

XVII - Arbitrary Prison

Too good to be true.

Many things are in life. Free food. Mercy from nowhere. Friends. Marriages. Perhaps even life itself can be put on this list. There's always a catch, a consequence, to everything.

In theory, at least. But sometimes, food really is free. Mercy really does come spontaneously. Sometimes something is exactly what it seems.

When that's the case... When something is too good to be true, but somehow is anyway... What then?

Will complaints be found regardless?

Will it be accepted?

Or, perhaps, will it be revealed that 'good' isn't all it's cracked up to be?<<

~~~

Starlight led them out of her mystical house and back into the cave proper. A small crowd of a few dozen ponies had formed - faces marked by curiosity and excitement.

Twilight waved a hoof. "...Hi."

Murmurs spread through the gathering. "Oh my gosh it's really her..."

"...The Princess?"

"The Princess, without a doubt!"

Roughly a third of the ponies bowed - much to the ire of the single griffon in the crowd.

"Now, there's no need for that..." Twilight said.

"Oh, but there is," Starlight said. "You are still the chosen of Celestia, the Princess of Harmony, even down here." She bowed herself. "The least we can do is recognize that."

"Not like she has any actual say..." Rainbow Dash muttered.

"Rainbow, can it." Applejack rebuked. Rainbow Dash surprisingly shut up, looking down at her mount, Pinkie, in introspection.

A pegasus in the crowd gasped. "Miss Fluttershy?!"

"Oh my, guess I've been made out too." She smirked to herself. "Yes, I'm Fluttershy-" Then she realized who she was talking to. "...Dumbell!?"

The stallion smirked. "Long time no see!"

Fluttershy blinked. "...I thought you were dead."

"Merely... Disappeared."

"We should catch up later," Fluttershy said, smirking at him.

"Yeah, we still hold meetings down here, even if we're not really a secret. You should come and speak!"

Fluttershy blinked, pondering this. "That'd be nice... Though it may be a while - I still need a house."

The crowd laughed at this. Fluttershy raised an eyebrow.

"It's not going to take long to build, it is it?" Rarity asked.

"Nope," Starlight said. "That hill over there, that's where it'll be built. Do you mind if our little crowd comes along?"

"Not at all," Twilight said.

"It'll make it easier to set up a welcoming party!" Pinkie grinned. "I am about to do the impossible - throw my own welcoming party!"

Starlight scrunched her muzzle. "...Great." She set off, adjusting her glasses as she examined the hill. "I think the ceiling's tall enough here..."

The Inspector raised an eyebrow. "I am very curious as to how you will construct a building of such complexity in such a short time."

Starlight smirked and looked closely at the picture. "...Any images of the interior?"

"Nope!" Pinkie said. "Sorry."

"I can get it from their minds," Twilight offered.

"Ooooooh cool! Doitdoitdoitdoit!" Pinkie giggled.

Starlight looked like she was about to say something to object but Twilight already lit her horn, creating a few more images from Pinkie's mind. "There you are."

Starlight picked them up, nodding slowly. "You will not get an answer to your question, Inspector." She lit her horn, encasing the entire hill in a blue-green bubble of magic. Nothing seemed to change on the inside, but upon closer inspection, it seemed like the grass was rippling.

"Woah..." Pinkie said.

"Give me a... minute." Starlight leaped in - the moment she crossed the barrier her speed increased a hundredfold. Inside the bubble of the magic spells flashed, crystals were torn out of the ground, and the interior became such a blur that it was hard to even tell Starlight was in there.

"Double woah..." Pinkie commented. She stuck her head inside the bubble, and suddenly everything seemed normal. Starlight was trotting along the grass, setting up some crystal beams. She was sweating profusely, but had one of those crazy determined grins on her face.

Pinkie chuckled, pulling her head back out. "Triiiiiple woah!"

Twilight gawked. "That's how she pulled us in from outside - she didn't channel a magic level higher than mine, she just made herself channel faster with time distortion!"

"...I want to be able to do that," the Inspector said. "Just imagine all the utilities of it."

"Sorry Rarity, she channeled more than triple the amount I've ever seen you do. You probably can't use these spells. Neither can you Minuette. Don't ask Pinkie, just don't ask."

"How many apples could an apple bucker buck if an apple bucker could buck apples?"

Rainbow Dash laughed at the question while Rarity and Twilight facehooved. "PINKIE!"

"Predicting me is like teaching a ham sandwich. I'm sure you could do it, but it'd involve breaking several rules of your own."

Applejack grunted. "Ah'm learnin' that firsthoof..."

The bubble came down, the time acceleration stopping in a single instant. Before them stood a smaller version of Friendship Castle, the blue crystal coursing all around the structure, strands dangling from the branches reflecting the fake sunlight to create a brilliant aura, and giant double doors wide open.

"...How'd I do?" Starlight asked.

"...Perfect," Rarity said, eyes sparkling.

"One minute and two seconds," the Inspector said.

Starlight pulled out a stopwatch and glared at it like it had failed her. "Shoot, I was sure I could do it in a minute..." Starlight created a handkerchief and wiped the sweat off herself. "Well, time for a tour. Not enough room for the entire crowd, unfortunately, sorry."

The crowd drooped their heads, but nodded in understanding, trotting off into the distance. Starlight led the mares to the double doors, throwing them open to reveal the main hall. Rarity let her jaw hang open and her eyes go wide - it looked a lot like the interior she remembered. The doors on either side, the dual staircase in the back, the shining ceiling - all just as she could see in her mind's eye. Though on closer inspection she could tell the pattern of crystal growth wasn't the same, and a few of the walls were slightly off. But that didn't really matter - it still felt familiar.

"The doors on this floor lead to private rooms for each of you to do with however you please. The rooms are pretty empty now though, so I can show you it late-"

Pinkie stuck her head out of the door with her cutie mark on it. "You're right, very empty."

"I can confirm," Rainbow Dash said from atop her.

Starlight blinked."...Yes, well, up here." She led them up the stairs to yet another familiar room - round, with a chandelier made of roots above, and a circular table below with a map of Equestria on it - the Equestria they were in right now. The circular form of the Concretion was a dominant feature, far larger than all other cities, including the crown of Griffonstone and the graceful spires of Canterlot. The Inspector walked up to it, examining everything. "Nova... Crystal empire... ...No Neighagra Falls. ...This is accurate."

Starlight nodded. "I try."

"What's that?" Applejack asked, pointing to a spire-like structure at the southern edge of the map.

"Zurduk," Starlight said. "The Zebra 'meeting' city. Bit of a secret to non-zebras, but those who live here have spoken of it."

"...Zebras don't have cities or towns," Twilight said. "They're tribal and nomadic."

"Few live there permanently, from what I know. It's just a meeting place. You should ask a zebra about it, I generally don't keep up to date with the outside world. You eight are, frankly, a bit of an exception to the rule."

"Well, outside's shit, and it's going further and further into that shit," Minuette said. "I don't blame you."

Twilight sighed. "Yeah..."

Pinkie sat in the chair with her cutie mark on it. "Feels... different. I like it!"

Everypony took their seats, eight mares, each sitting in a chair with their mark, even Minuette. Rarity sat down last - and a look of mild disappointment crossed her face. Starlight didn't see it, and Twilight said nothing.

"Well," Starlight began, "the balcony's over there, and the way to the attic's over here. I think I'll leave you to settle in."

"Wait!" Fluttershy called. "What are our responsibilities in this place? If we're living here..."

"Nothing you don't want to do," Starlight said. "We produce more than enough food, and survival isn't an issue. You may find something to do as you live here, but there's no rush. You have all the time in the world." She smiled warmly. "Come to me if you need anything."

"We will," Fluttershy said, waving at the unicorn as she left.

Soon as she was gone RainbowDash slammed her hooves on the table. "Okay, what's the escape plan?"

"Escape plan!?" Minuette blurted. "What?"

"Oh we can't be buying this crap! We are not staying down here the rest of our lives!"

"Rainbow..." Rarity said. "...What would we do up there?"

"Wh- are you all... Really!? The bucking Tartarus is wrong with all you?"

"Dash, calm down," Applejack said. "Ah don't like it either, but we were going to live in exile. Personally, Ah think this exile here is much preferable to Griffonstone."

"The exile wasn't..."

"It was going to be permanent, Rainbow," Twilight said.

"What? What do you-"

"Rainbow, I betrayed my ponies, and by consequence, the crown. If Sunset can't calm her ponies, the problem goes deeper than just 'there's a war going on.' I don't think we can ever go back - the ponies of Equestria will no longer recognize us as ponies, frankly."

Rainbow Dash turned to glare at Fluttershy. "Nice speech, preener."

Fluttershy shook her head. "Actually I told her to suggest we could go back after the war was over. That speech was all hers."

Rainbow Dash glanced back and forth between the two of them. "...You've changed."

"Our world ended," Twilight said. "Maybe... maybe it's time to start anew. See if we can take this little slice of the world. Time to... Well, just live. When was the last time any of us felt safe? It's all been nothing but dangerous game after dangerous game... I really think I could stand to have it end. So I can live without controlling the very ponies around me."

"I say we stay until we receive some indication that the outside world accepts us or needs us," Fluttershy added.

Rainbow Dash slammed her hoof on the table. "No! Come on! You can't all just want to sit here and give everything up! Inspector! Pinkie! Back me up here!"

The Inspector avoided making eye contact and Pinkie just shook her head slowly.

"Buck you all. Seriously. Go buck yourselves." She crawled out of her chair, dragging herself to the stairs.

Pinkie moved to help her. "Dashie..."

"Don't touch me," she spat, slowly crawling down the stairs. "I'm done. I'm so done."

"Let her go," Twilight said, tears in her eyes.

"Oh look at her, so high and mighty, knowing how I'll react. Goodbye, buckface." It took a few minutes for her to make her way, painfully, out the door. But she managed, leaving an empty chair and silence in the room.

"Will she... be okay?" Rarity asked.

"I don't know," Fluttershy said. "She's a volatile mix of stubbornness and self-deprecation issues. I'd normally send somepony to talk to her - but we're all her enemies right now."

"I'll do it," Pinkie said, sitting up quickly. "I'll go talk to her."

"Are you sure that's wise?" the Inspector asked.

"No. But do you have any better ideas?"

Fluttershy sighed, shaking her head. "You're welcome to try... Though we did just let her go..."

Pinkie ignored this latter remark, wasting no time. She leaped into the air and ran down the stairs. She threw open the front doors - Rainbow Dash was still within sight, crawling along a dirt road. A colt pulling a wagon passed her by. He looked at her scooting painfully along. "Hey... You can have my wagon. It looks like you need it."

"Buck off," Rainbow Dash said.

"But... You're in pain."

"I said buck off!" Rainbow Dash screamed, a blood vessel popping in her head. The colt screamed and ran off at high speed, leaving the wagon behind. Rainbow Dash stared blankly into space or a few seconds before climbing into the wagon and rolling down the path.

"Dashie!" Pinkie called from a nearby bush. Rainbow Dash didn't respond.

Pinkie appeared on top of a nearby house. "Rainbow!" Still no response.

She appeared next to a large rock. "Rainbow Dash?" The pegasus just wheeled on past her.

She leaped into the path next, holding out a hoof. "Rainbow Dash, stop."

Rainbow Dash didn't slow down - she collided with Pinkie, the wagon overturning. The two of them tumbled end over end, limbs impacting the dirty ground multiple times, bruising them all over.

Pinkie stood up, wincing at her newfound headache. "Forgot I can't tumble like that anymore..." She felt the wound on her forehead, wiping off a small amount of blood.

Rainbow Dash groaned, similar scrapes and bruises all over her body. "Why'd you have to do that, rooter..."

"I needed to talk to you. You're... going off the deep end."

"You don't get it Pinkie," she said. "I've always been apart of something bigger, brighter, more damn important than useless little me! Ever since that day, I've been with Fluttershy and the girls. I've done everything I could. I've worked for something that might have darn well made a difference! Something bigger! Now!?" She threw her hoof wide, despite the bruises. "Does this look like something a pathetic disabled headstrong idiot can help in any way? Just look at that kid and his wagon! I'm making things worse by being here!"

"Dashie, you don't have to prove yourself to anypony! you've done so much for all of us already. You've challenged us with your ways, called us out on so many things, and been a team guide! You brought all of your friends together, even!"

"By picking a fight with a zebra!"

"That doesn't matter! You are the center! The reason for this group! You provided everything! You are the reason any of us are still alive! Rarity and I probably wouldn't have made it without help from the Inspector and Twilight - and they would never have turned from their ways if it weren't for you!"

"Oh, so what you're saying is that sometimes the world needs a failure?"

"Dashie, I'm not..."

"It's what you're thinking, isn't it? I can feel it! I can feel that you believe that. No... You know it. You know the world needs a failure - me. Just like you know all those other things you have no right knowing."

Pinkie gulped. "Dashie, I don't know what you're talking about..."

"Anything that can go wrong will go wrong. Causality. You just seem to know how things work. And you know you know this too. You see more than we do. I don't think you understand, but you know. The universe hates you. There's hardship. Things must be done. And there have to be screw ups."

Pinkie took a step back.

"I'm right. I bucking knew it.The universe needed a failure to bring everything together. Well, it damn well got one. Look at Rainbow Dash, universe! See what you've done! You happy!?"

"Dashie, you're scaring me-"

"Maybe I should be!" She spat. "Maybe you need to stop taking all this terrifying stuff in stride and giggling all the time! Maybe you should take a moment to think about what all this stuff means! Or maybe I'm just a failure at talking too, ever think about that!?"

"You've done so much-"

"Pales in comparison to what I've done by bucking up. Even if it was for good in the end." She climbed back into her wagon. "I can't do this Pinkie. I can't stay me. I won't."

Pinkie gulped. "Don't do this, please. I'm begging you, Dashie. Don't roll away. We can help you work through this..."

"You all just accepted me. That is not what I needed, nor what I want! You can tell that to Fluttershy. Let her know that some ponies need to be rejected from time to time! Get roughed up!"

Pinkie fell silent.

"I'm done, Pinks. Nice try, but I'm going." Rainbow Dash rolled away, towards the big blue doors out of the cavern, a look of determination on her face. Pinkie sighed. There was no way Rainbow Dash was getting out that way, the cavern was too steep and Pinkie was certain Starlight would know if Rainbow Dash somehow made it. Rainbow Dash'd have to come back and talk then. Maybe she'd have cooled down by then. Pinkie began to head back to the castle, mulling the conversation over in her head.

I'm done... I'm going... Nice try...

Pinkie stopped dead in her tracks. Oh no.

Rainbow Dash was going to get herself out of here or die trying.

Pinkie turned tail and dashed in a burst of pink to the blue double doors, which were wide open. She stopped short- there were two ponies in there. Rainbow Dash and... Starlight.

Rainbow Dash was glaring at Starlight. "You going to stop me?"

"No. I'm not. Because I know you can't get up this chasm in your state."

"Buck you I can't."

"You know you can't."

"So what? I'll at least have tried!"

"Sometimes the strongest move is inaction."

'This isn't one of those times, runter!"

Pinkie could have sworn Starlight's look became murderous for a second. Her tail tucked between her legs instinctively. "You... Little..." She took a sharp breath. "...Are you sure killing yourself can be a strong move?"

"In some cases."

"Is this one of them?"

"Maybe not. But that's definitely not a damn change from the status quo, so big whoop!"

"I thought you all had devoted your lives to changing the status quo?"

"Look where that got us!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "City destroyed! Home gone! Ponies dead!"

"You're trying to change the status quo now."

"How so, o wise one?"

"The status quo here is that no-one leaves. That this place remains safe. That it remains secluded."

"You know what? Just stop," Rainbow Dash spat. "You're the bitch that made this place accept everypony, to let them stay without problems. That's not how it works lady. Some ponies can't-"

"Hermit Horsehair hung himself in his cabin fifteen years ago. The Elen triplets went on a murderous rampage. Fomalhaut attempted to assassinate me. Geraldyr went insane. Finkus tried to climb out and fell to his death. I know full well not everypony will accept this."

Rainbow Dash reeled back in horror. "How can you... do this then?"

"They're a minority," Starlight said. "Most come around - or are at least willing to live, eventually. And I can't ruin it for them." She took off her glasses, looking at Rainbow Dash with ancient, tired eyes. "I really wish you'd reconsider. I think you could learn to live here. Don't do it for anypony else though. Do it for yourself. Prove to yourself that you can do it. Please. Show us all you can."

"But... I can't... That's not how I work..."

"Look at me," Starlight said. "That can be changed. Here, your path is fluid. You can choose this failure - or you can choose to come back. Going up there will certainly be easier, but you don't strike me as the easy type."

"...No. No I'm not."

"Your life is your own," Starlight said, putting her glasses back on, walking out. Rainbow Dash just sat, unmoving, staring at the exit far above.

Pinkie Pie nodded to Starlight as she left, taking it as her cue to walk in. She sat herself down next to Rainbow Dash, silent.

Rainbow Dash pulled her into a hug.

Words weren't needed.

~~~

A few hours later, Minuette stood up. "I'm going for a walk." She trotted out of the hall, leaving five mares behind.

Twilight sighed. "Everyone... I... I feel like we all need to say something, but I think everything's been said. we all know where each other stands, and we all know how each other feels. I... I just don't like where it's ended up."

Applejack shook her head. "Twi, it's called life."

"Yeah..."

Rarity frowned. "I do hope this will let us escape the constant drama we've been subject to..."

"It looks like that may be the case," Fluttershy said. "This place... It's amazing. It's a heaven. It's... It's what I couldn't do."

"Fluttershy, you did amazing things," Twilight said.

Fluttershy nodded slowly.

"Stop thinking those things, you did the best you could. You poured your life into your dream."

Applejack and the Inspector nodded in affirmation. "You're an inspiration to us all, darling," Rarity added.

Fluttershy nodded. "Thank you." She looked around, face sad. "This is hard for all of us. Forced to admit that our time is over. That we did what we could, but now it's out of our hooves. But... I've been thinking. we failed, but we didn't fail completely. We made a statement. We told the world what we thought. We established a society of like minded individuals across the nation. We have to believe in them - the cause isn't lost. It's likely what we did will make ponies confront the fact we exist. That their own princess was so devoted to the cause. We are done - but we left a mark." She smiled. "Maybe, in the end, our goals will be met."

"We opened up a can of worms," Applejack said.

"Indeed," the Inspector agreed.

Fluttershy smiled sadly. "Yes... Yes we did. We can take pride in that. But.. Our role is done now. I guess we're in retirement.

The Inspector sighed. "Retired activists, only in their late twenties..."

"Fluttershy's thirty," Twilight offered.

"Not helpful."

"Sorry."

"Don't be," Fluttershy said. "Let's try to make this as great as possible."

"Yeah!" Twilight grinned. "We can put our lives to something new!"

It hit Rarity in that moment. "...Twilight won't be able to find us. Our Twilight."

Twilight paled. "You... are right. She probably won't..."

"If we receive news of her, we will try to leave, despite whatever Starlight says," Fluttershy said.

"O... kay. But... could we leave? Should we leave if that's the case?"

"We will cross that bridge when we come to it. Right now, time is slowed down. It could be months or years for us before she shows up, if she can."

Rarity drooped. "Right..." She looked out the balcony. She rose from her chair and walked to the railing, looking out at the secret world they were in. "You know... I don't think I'll complain. Considering what we just left... This is paradise."

A swift breeze blew through her mane, and she felt like all her fears were relaxed.

~~~

Minuette started down the path, marching as she had been trained. Left left, right right. Left left, right right.

Then an earth pony walked by her. "Good afternoon!" She said as she passed by. Minuette stumbled slightly as the greeting registered. She turned around, looking at the receding pony with a blank expression.

Then it happened again - a pegasus flew by, waving at her with a smile on his face. Minuette's marching fell out of time, becoming more of a stroll. She began to wave back to all the ponies who greeted her, a small crawling up her face. A skip began to form in her step, and she leaped off the path into the grass with a peppy bounce to her. The greenery felt good under her hooves. She pranced through the grasses, stopping to smell the flowers and to enjoy the shade of a large tree.

She danced around, waving to ponies around her, actually starting to laugh. A few of the bystanders got into the mood with her, skipping around and humming in tune to some unseen music.

"What is this place
Filled with so many wonders?
Casting its spell
That I am now under?

Grass oh so green
Ponies so welcoming!
World was so mean
Our lives were just failing...

No more!!!

Oooh, what a magical place!
And I owe it all to Miss Starlight's place!
I asked for a break, and prayer answered
This is how things should well be, damn world shunned!

Yes, this is the answeeeeeeer!"

Minuette laughed and rolled around in the grass, the townsponies applauding her heartsong, a few while still dancing themselves. A small white earth pony extended her hoof to Minuette. "Welcome home, Commander."

Minuette took the hoof, standing up. "How did - oh right. The hat." Minuette took her hat off, looking at it closely. "You know, this is contradictory. It's both a badge of honor and a reminder of the horrors..."

The mare smiled. "It's best to be both. I don't wear mine anymore, I have it at home, mounted."

Minuette smiled. "I suppose that's good. I'm Minuette. You?"

"Redheart."

Minuette's jaw dropped. "R-redheart? You're General Redheart!?"

Redheart smiled. "The very same. I take it I'm still a bit of a legend back out there?"

"Buck yes you are! You were the only earth pony General, course you're still talked about! ...Admittedly, I didn't realize I should probably admire you until right this very now... Most of it isn't very flattering."

"Of course not," Redheart laughed. "I spat in their faces by merely existing. They tried to kill me so many times, eventually had to just get out of there. Ended up here."

"Well... It's an honor, General!" Minuette saluted.

Redheart saluted back. "Likewise, Commander. We should talk more later. But I have some bread in the oven and I'm hoping that by joining in your song I haven't burnt it."

Minuette laughed. "Go check on your bread!" She looked around. "...I think I'm going to go thank Starlight."

"I saw her heading down that road a few moments ago," Redheart offered.

"Thanks!" Minuette trotted down the path at a brisk pace, keeping an eye out for Starlight. She followed the path down a 'frosted' area of the caverns, towards an area filled with treehouses and huts. She saw Starlight knocking on one of the doors, Zecora's journal held in her magic. She looked... mad, for some reason. Minuette decided to hang back before saying anything.

An aged zebra opened the door. "Starlight? What brings you-?"

Starlight shoved the book in the zebra's face. "Zecora, I'd like an explanation."

Minuette blinked. That was Zecora!?

Zecora's eyes went wide. "How did you-"

"Newcomers brought it in. It's how they found this place."

"Impossible, the book was sealed-"

"One of them was an alicorn," Starlight twitched. "But that's not really what I'm mad about - I would have liked to be aware of this book, but probably wouldn't have done anything even if you had told me about it. No, I'm mad about something else. I know enough Zebra to tell that you were working with someone else in here. Who is this AN?"

"He is not important. Neither is any of my past." Zecora grabbed the book.

"Oh, I think it is. AN knows about this place, doesn't he? He saw that map!"

"The plan changed. We no longer needed to search for the Element of Magic. He has no reason-"

"He's a zebra, right? Corrupted with shadow?"

"...Yes."

"He'll come here all right, eventually. The corruption ensures it."

"Then you'll take care of him like you took care of me."

"But who else will he tell!?" Starlight demanded.

"Likely no one. Our tribe was small. The only witness will be the Nightmare Fuel." Zecora looked ashamed of something.

Starlight sighed. "...And I suppose it already knows because of you... Fine. I would still like to know what's in that book."

"It was the plan to restore Equestria's Darkness."

Minuette gasped audibly - causing Zecora and Starlight to look right at her.

"...Bootstrap," Starlight swore. "You heard that."

"Uh, yes, yes I did," Minuette said.

"That's... bad."

"No kidding."

Starlight took in a deep breath, and released it. "Look. I know what you're thinking. You want to know what this plan was. You want to know if it was stopped. You want to go warn your ponies. You have to understand, I-"

"I don't want to leave," Minuette said.

Starlight blinked. "Even after...?"

"No. I don't. I want to stay here. I'm so done with all this 'fate of the world' shit. I just want a life I can live. I don't want this."

"...You'll have to excuse me, that's a little unexpected." Starlight adjusted her glasses, frowning. "You really are tired aren't you?"

"Yes. Yes I am. I was... coming here to thank you for this place. I..." She took in a sharp breath. "I don't want to go. I want to stay here. Away from... everything."

Starlight smiled. "I'm glad you see."

"...Twilight's going to read my mind, and she won't let this be. She'll drag me out with her when she demands to go. Remove my memory of this, please. Please. I can't have this go away now."

"Abandoning your nation, your loyalties? Betrayal?" Zecora blurted.

"Shut up. You should stay hidden. Rainbow Dash wants to murder you."

Starlight bit her lip. "This... is complicated, Minuette. I really don't want to wipe your mind-"

"Do it. Do it to protect your secret. Twilight can never know of this."

"...Okay..." Starlight said. "I'm sorry." She lit her horn... And Minuette dropped to the ground.

Seconds later she stood up, rubbing her head. "Oooogh... Where am I?"

"You were talking and you passed out from what I can only imagine was exhaustion," Starlight said.

"Oh... Sorry." She shook her head. "Been running on damn near empty lately."

"I know," Starlight said, smiling sadly. "Go back to your friends. They probably miss you."

"Right... Right... Thanks again for all this!"

"...Don't mention it."

XVIII - A Time of Reconsideration

Secrets want to be found, perhaps more than anything else in existence. The moment anyone comes across a secret, the temptation to blurt it out to the world becomes extreme, even if by doing so there would be a betrayal.

Revealed secrets bring sorrow, anger, and destruction. Kept secrets aren't much better. Chances are, that secret will eat away at someone, destroying them from the inside out, warping the way they see and understand things - until it eventually guides their entire lives.

But then there's the alternative of not having any secrets - having everything out in the open. But this fails as well. If everyone knew of every dark action, every dark secret within the minds of everyone... Well, forgiveness can only go so far.

Is ignorance the way to go? Voluntary innocence? Is it possible to deny a secret? Why, yes, but usually it involves skill in lying to yourself and distorting your perception of truth.

Magic is a nice shortcut in that regard.<<

~~~

Rarity woke up the moment the false sun turned on, flooding her room with light. She moaned, slowly opening her eyes. "A new day dawns..."

She crawled out of her bed, stood up, and looked around her room. It was really her room - dresses lined the walls, the windows were dressed in ornate drapes, and an intricate mirror was placed opposing the door. She looked at herself - white, purple mane, blue eyes. She had arrived here as Iris Shard - but there had been no need to keep the disguise after that, though she had forgotten she was wearing it. She felt... liberated here. She worked on her mane, brushing the comb through it briskly, yet freely. She quickly curled her tail and affixed her eyelashes.

"You look great, darling," she said to her reflection. She gracefully sauntered to the door and nudged it open - only to get confetti in her face.

"...Pinkie, what's the occasion?" she asked, brushing the paper scraps out of her eyes. The main hall was covered in streamers, balloons, and confection tables - ready for a real party.

Starlight Glimmer looked over at Rarity from atop a giant cake. "Apparently the one month anniversary of living here is worthy of having a party."

"Starlight's helping me set up!" Pinkie grinned. "Her disco ball doesn't need to be tethered!"

"Right," Rarity shook her head. "Well, I suppose I don't have any urgent orders to complete today..."

"It's clothes. It's never urgent," Starlight observed.

"At least I have a job," Rarity said. "Not sure what I'd do without one..."

"Be me," Minuette said, revealing herself buried under a pillow pile on the couch. "It's liberating."

"Thanks, but no thanks," Rarity rolled her eyes. "The layabout lifestyle just isn't for me."

"Some of us don't really have a choice," Rainbow Dash declared, rolling down the stairs in her new wheelchair - designed specifically by Starlight for use on stairs and rough ground.

"Hi Dashie!" Pinkie waved. "How you doing?"

"I could use a party," she admitted.

"Well you're in luck that's exactly what we have here!"

"Pinks, I can tell there's a damn party here," she snapped, then facehooved. "Sorry."

"No problem, it's still progress! Have a cupcake!"

"...This is colored like me..."

"And now I wonder what you taste like," Minuette mused.

"Skittles," Pinkie answered.

Starlight blinked. "I'm sorry, what?"

"Candy from earth. Humans love the things. Rainbow tastes just like them."

Rainbow Dash blinked. "...I don't think I want to know."

"Probably not," Pinkie giggled. "But maybe you doooooooooo~"

"CELESTIA DAMMIT PINKIE!" Twilight yelled from the top of the stairs. "W-why would you think that?"

"Well, I said A, Dashie assumed I meant B, so I combined them together with a squid to make C, and now you're here to create D. Why? This stuff usually doesn't bother you. You tune it out."

"...I need my coffee. Now. I'm not awake enough to do tuning right now."

Applejack ran in. "Ah got you covered Twi! Black, apple, apple cider, smith, delicious, cherry, or caramel?" She pulled a cart covered in various coffees out of her room.

"...Buck it, everything," Twilight muttered.

"You got it!"

"That'll be 62 bits," the Inspector said, leaning in the doorway to her room.

"You... you're charging me?" Twilight gawked.

"You can just make bits appear out of midair Twilight, it's not an issue."

"It's the principle of the thing!"

Applejack shoved a coffee cup larger than Twilight's head into her hooves. "There you are!"

Twilight blinked, then shrugged and created 62 bits, chucking them at the Inspector. Twilight chugged the entire cup - she was at least awake enough to cast a heat resistance spell. "Ugh... That was a bit much..."

Fluttershy arrived next to Applejack. "I still can't quite believe this is your job now."

Ah'm a fine chef, and Rarity's a great accountant!"

"Our stocks are up 90%!" the Inspector said.

"See? Ah have no idea what that means, but it's good."

"It's meaningless here," Starlight said. "You're the only 'company' with 'stocks' here at all."

"That's the genius of it," the Inspector said. "The populace doesn't know what to expect from it, so it drags them in, and they enjoy the food!"

"You seem happy," Rarity observed.

"I never realized how much I hated being an Inspector! The economy is so much more fascinating!" she squealed with glee.

"I think I'm rubbing off on you," Rarity chuckled. "Uh... Can I keep calling you Inspector though?"

"Oh, please do. I'll still keep the title and the monocle."

Pinkie dropped the marshmallows she was juggling. "...You even sound like her now, Inspector."

The Inspector became flushed. "W-why - I..."

"Oh, is that a problem Inspector?" Rainbow Dash playfully jeered. "Identity crisis?"

"Ah... No. Just annoyance." She adjusted her monocle, narrowing her eyes at Rainbow Dash. "My annoyance levels are rising. I'm tempted to throw a trinket at you."

"I must be doing my job."

Minuette chuckled. "Hey! That's right, you do have a job! Annoy the shit out of everypony!"

"Good luck," Starlight chuckled.

Rainbow Dash nudged one of the perfectly aligned glasses out of place, breaking the order in them. Starlight twitched. "Do you want me to literally grill you?"

"Wow, disproportionate retribution much?" Pinkie asked.

"My patience was worn thin by your antics, Pinkie. What were you thinking putting cheese whiz in your cannon?"

"It'd be funny later." Starlight was annoyed by the amount of laughter this comment received.

Fluttershy smiled to everypony. "So, how does this party start, Pinkie?"

"Punch bowl cannonball!" Pinkie yelled, jumping into the air.

"Bootstr-" Starlight was doused with punch in the face before she could finish. She dripped red liquid to the ground, her glasses slowly sliding off her face. Then she laughed. "Well, I hope you understand this means war." She created a watermelon, smirking. She lit it on fire and hurled it at Pinkie.

Pinkie produced a rocket launcher that shot limes. "BANZAI!"

The fruits collided, squirting sugary fruity goodness everywhere. In the midst of their combat, neither of them saw Fluttershy position herself behind the cake. She kicked the great pastry over, engulfing both of them in cake, ending the fight quickly.

Everypony laughed.

~~~

"You all probably know me. Either as your neighbor, a speaker, or by reputation. I am Fluttershy, founder of our Society. What many ponies say when they first meet me is that 'it is an honor'.

"I want you all to know, in my time here - over a month - I have discovered that it is I who should be honored. What you have here is something I never accomplished. An almost complete success. You are not only accepted here, but considered normal. It is a beautiful thing I cannot reiterate enough.

"I've never spoken on this topic, but some of you know about it. The original cell of our comrades recently fell, along with all of Neighagra Falls. Our conspiracy fell under the combined weight of it, a resentful person, and the Concrete war. We stretched ourselves too thin and paid the price for it. If I could go back and redo it I would.

"I was there... there to see my home burn. There to see everything I had built fall apart. We all were - it was, in many ways, the most difficult thing any of us had been through. In many ways, this place was a starsend. We were going to live out our days in Griffonstone - away from home, away from what we wanted, in a land that didn't want us. I feel as if many of us would have broken completely had we not ended up here.

"I'm here to tell all of you to remember. All these things you do here? Don't take them for granted. Starlight does an amazing job of keeping this place hidden, but that doesn't mean things don't change. We are still ponies, and we have a capacity for evil. We always want things, desire what others have, and given certain circumstances will stop at nothing to get it. Many of you may think you are exempt from this - thinking you are a good pony and you'd never do anything like that.

"I'm sorry to say this, but really? Much friendship is created expecting something in return. Those who are racist and bigoted turn only because we make them - and we get a satisfaction and validation from it. Am I saying we are wrong in doing so? No! This work is right - I'm just saying it reveals a capacity within us we should be aware of. Careful.

"We need to watch ourselves, keep ourselves accountable, not let ourselves fall into a semblance of normalcy. We need to realize we are not all that different from the others - we are all ponies. The moment we forget that we start to lose sight of our goal, we can become what we hated, just in a different distortion of what is good and true.

"We could leave behind more and more of our morals, of our convictions, in favor of some greater good, some grant goal - so much so that we'll just forget what we're doing and do it wrong. I... We... I'd just... Just... Miss the mark completely..." She fell silent, shrinking slightly from the audience. "I'm... Sorry," she said, recovering. "That was uncalled for. I guess I'm still recovering. THat leads nicely into my next topic, I suppose, repentance and change..."

~~~

"Fluttershy, what was that about?" Twilight asked, waiting for her backstage.

"Pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows, la la la, pink fluffy unicorns dancing on rainbows! La da dee la da doo la da dee so many wonders-"

"Wow. It's... Been a long time since you've done that," Twilight sighed, grabbing Fluttershy as she tried to pass her. "Fluttershy, don't make me dig for it."

Fluttershy closed her eyes tight and grunted. "You stick your right hoof in you stick your right hoof out - Twilight stop - O' Celestia, how great are-" Fluttershy twitched, trying her absolute best to drown Twilight out of her thoughts. She might have succeeded were she in a more stable mental state, but the emotions were too strong to be buried. She sighed.

"...Fluttershy, you need this. You need my help. You-"

"This place will be the death of me," Fluttershy grunted, ramming her hoof into a wall. "I didn't see it at first, but I sure do see it now! I know you see it too!"

"Flutter-"

"Shush. Shush." She Stared into Twilight, making the alicorn recoil. "I'm going to say this. This place? You know what it is? Proof that I was going about it all wrong! I tried to change the world, and it fell apart. She staked out her claim in a small area the size of a town, and she did it. It worked amazingly. I dreamed too big," she laughed. "Far too big!"

"You did so much..."

"Yes, I did! I worked my wings off for this multiple times and... and... this Secret, this secluded place, it... It shows me I did it all wrong! That to get what I wanted... It needed to be smaller. I reached for the sun and I burned everypony."

"Fluttershy, do you think any of us could have just ignored the outside world then?" Fluttershy didn't need to respond to answer, and she knew it. "Exactly. Could we have taken Neighagra Falls, hid it from the world, and just ignored everything else?"

We should have tried.

"We couldn't though. And even if you were to go back and start again, I know you still can't. You still long to help the outside. You can't be satisfied while there's evil in the world."

"I can never be satisfied," Fluttershy said. "Look at Starlight. She's satisfied. She's happy where she is. She has no impossible ideals... She knows what she can do, and does it. Me? I just keep going and going and going and going until everything falls down. I just... I just..."

"Nothing ventured, nothing gained. Bigger risks, greater reward."

"That's a bit of proverbial hogwash and you know it."

"Well, they have served to define our lives have they not?"

Fluttershy sighed, looking into Twilight's eyes. Tears welled up in the pegasus' features.

"It'll be okay Fluttershy," Twilight said. "You can change your outlook or not. You can stay the same... or not. You can feel inferior to Starlight or not. All I know is that the girls and I will follow you wherever you go." She bowed to her. "I doubted you once, and everything fell apart. Please stop doubting yourself."

Fluttershy let out a soft chuckle. "You weren't completely wrong back there, you know."

"Hey, I'm still learning. Perhaps my teacher needs to pass on more of her knowledge."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes," she pulled her in for a tight hug. "Yes, really."

~~~

"You two," Starlight said one day with no warning, "with me, I want to show you something."

Pinkie and Rarity put down their ping pong paddles. The ball scored for Pinkie, but the two mares didn't register it. They sensed something... urgent and needy in Starlight's voice. "Dear, what is this about?"

"I'll explain once we get there. For now, just come. It'll be cool, I guaranteed." She led them back into her house, the clocks still ticking in time - though Starlight stopped a few times to scrutinize some of the more unusual timepieces that didn't seem to tick at all. She eventually led them into a back hall that ended with a glass door.

"...That looks like an elevator," Pinkie observed.

"It is," Starlight said. "I tinker with a lot more than just clocks. Come" She opened the doors and gestured for them to stand next to her, which they did. Starlight lit her horn, changing a magic crystal in the ceiling from red to green. The elevator lurched, descending roughly three stories into the ground, opening up to a dark basement shortly thereafter. The basement was filled with screens, unusual consoles, softly blinking buttons and lights, haphazard snaking wires that somehow managed to still look organized, many sheets of paper stacked high, and dozens of clocks.

"My..." Rarity said. "...I thought technology was condemned! How can you have this?"

"As I said previously, it's not illegal here," Starlight responded. "But since a distaste for technology won't hurt others, I don't force it on ponies. I don't tell them that I have my secret lab down here, and very few even know about more than the clocks."

"Ooooh! A secret within a secret!" Pinkie grinned. "Nice!"

"I'm glad you appreciate the meta nature of this," Starlight said. "Come, I want you to meet someone." She led them through a set of glass doors, into a much larger room with walls that were basically made of screens. Each screen displayed a graph, chart, or some partial schematic for a device. In the center of the room was something that looked unusually like a Concrete drone, except larger, more angular, and not glowing any color at all.

Pinkie's jaw dropped. "So cool!" She leaped around, looking at everything she could. She did a dance on top of the drone, smashed her face into a screen, spun around rapidly in a wheel chair, and bounced around with mounting excitement. "SO! COOL!"

"Yes yes please stop spinning thank you."

Pinkie shrugged, slowing herself down. She glanced at the screen closest to her. There was text on the screen.

How does it feel to be trapped in a web of lies nobody knows the full truth to? <<

Pinkie stared at the message for a long time, a sinking feeling hitting her gut. This meant something - but she didn't know what. "...Huh?"

Then the message vanished, leaving no trace of it. The screen just had several pie charts on it, stylized to look like actual pies.

Starlight looked over her shoulders. "Ah, that's the earth scanner screen. Well, one of them anyway. It lets us know what's happening on the ground above us. Not important though, what's important is that we find him. Foci! Come on out! it's safe!"

At this point a cobalt blue earth pony fell from the ceiling, landing on his feet, face blank. "I was calibrating the vents, couldn't be interrupted" He sized up Pinkie and Rarity. "The Otherworlders?"

"Yes," Starlight said.

"When can I begin work?"

"...Excuse me?" Rarity blurted.

Starlight facehooved. "Foci, we need to ask their permission first."

"Of course." He turned tail and walked up to the drone. He popped open a hatch and started working on the snaking wires within it using a sparking screwdriver.

"...Is he what I think he is...?" Rarity asked.

"I think so..." Pinkie said.

Starlight nodded. "Meet Foci, our Secret's only Concrete. Most ponies don't even know he exists."

Rarity looked at Foci closely as he worked. "Well, he's only the third Concrete I've met, but he seems a lot... more subdued."

"I had to physically remove his corrupted anger," Starlight said. "I still think I was doing him a favor, removing what the Nightmare Fuel did to him, despite the... questionable nature of the action. Luckily I didn't need to remove his curiosity and inventiveness - I don't think there would have been anything left without it. With his hatred of magic gone, he was more than willing to teach me everything he knew, so long as he got a lab to work in. Which is why this place exists."

"So... What do you work on here?" Rarity asked.

"Many things, mostly different spins on the idea of marrying magic and technology together. Sensors, spell guns, you name it. Our biggest project is the Starshell, though - that large drone behind you. Foci provided the blueprint for a basic Concrete drone, and I infused it with so many enhancements. It's got a temporal drive, magical shielding, a spellglobe, and a pocket dimension!" She grinned. "It's mean, I know I'll never get to actually fly it at full speed, but it's still amazing! We'll have to dig out a new section of cavern just to test it properly!"

"You... Really like your tinkering," Rarity observed.

"Oh, yes, yes I do. I'd do it all the time if I wasn't keeping this secret cave from revealing itself. It's just... so fun!"

"...Why are we here?"

"Oh, right," Starlight cleared her throat. "You said tests performed on Pinkie sent you here?"

"Correct."

Pinkie's eyes widened. "Oh... I see where you're going!"

Starlight nodded with a smirk. "I was thinking, what we have here is probably the only magitech lab on the entire planet. I might be able to figure out how to send you home."

Rarity gasped. "I thought you didn't want anyone to leave!"

"I don't. If I establish a connection to your world I'm moving the entire cavern to it. It's safe, unlike where we are now. The idea is that I get you two home, and I get my people out of this constant danger. It doesn't matter how good we are at hiding or distorting time, we're still relying heavily on luck. All I need is permission to sample Pinkie here."

"That..." Rarity took a step back and set down. "Sorry, it's just a bit overwhelming. I never thought we would be able to get home under our own power..."

"Ah, but we have me!" Pinkie grinned. "Sure, you can take samples!"

"Wait," Rarity said. "That didn't go so well last time, remember? We were tossed here and..."

"I'll be careful," Starlight said. "I may not be able to travel through time, but my rewind spell can undo a few seconds of something. If there's a disaster I'll have the spell ready to stop it. Ahem." She focused on Rarity a moment. When she started speaking Starlight said the exact same words.

"You sure you can do tha-" Rarity stopped talking, but Starlight finished. "-t, Dear?"

Rarity blinked. "Well, evidentially you can."

Starlight nodded. "It's actually pretty easy to do, albeit a bit awkward. The moment anything looks like it'll go wrong, It just is undone. I'll also go slower than your Twilight on purpose, no spells will be cast until I understand."

"I... Okay, I'm fine with this. Just... One question. Why didn't you ask earlier?"

"Had to be sure I could trust you. I can't just read your mind and figure it out like Twilight, I make my own conclusions. That being said, don't tell the others. I don't want them resentful - or getting false hope. I'm not sure I can do this, or that what happened to you can even be replicated."

"We won't," Rarity promised.

"We will be miss zipperlips!" Pinkie cheered.

"Thanks. I can take those samples now right?"

"Go right ahead!" Pinkie grinned.

"Okay, so, hair, blood, tears, urine, spinal fluid-"

"...That's a lot more than Twilight took."

"I'm going to need much more than I just listed. The spinal tap will be rather painful, and some of these later samples will be rather embarrassing for you to obtain, but I'm sure you'll manage."

Pinkie gulped. "Okay..."

"Foci, get the test tubes!"

~~~

"Come one, come all, get your freshly home-made apple pie! Pop tarts! Fitters! Ah even got a pear - I'm in that kind of mood today!" Applejack trotted through town, wheeling the food cart - and the Inspector - around. "Food food food!"

"FOOD!" Rainbow Dash yelled, rolling into view. "I DEMAND THE MANTICORE JERKEY!"

The inspector adjusted her monocle. "Swerve right to avoid her."

Applejack obeyed, missing Rainbow Dash by a mere foot. Rainbow Dash twitched. "Hey! Come back here!"

"The last of the jerky is for paying customers!" Applejack yelled back. "You had an entire stash of it to yourself!"

"So?" Rainbow Dash smirked, rolling after them, using her wing to pick up speed. "I'm gonna getcha!"

Applejack glanced in the rudimentary rear-view mirror she had set up. "She's gaining!"

"Sharp point U-turn," the Inspector ordered. Applejack obeyed - the cart whirled back, nearly toppling over, but managing to right itself and pass the swift Rainbow Dash.

"Buck! I'm not done yet you two!" She rushed after them again.

"Just give up Rainbow!" the Inspector called.

"NEVER!"

"Arial overcharge," the Inspector suggested. Applejack took in a breath and slammed her hooves onto the ground, the Inspector used her magic to pull the cart up alongside Applejack, into the air, over Rainbow Dash.

"Gotcha!" Rainbow Dash shouted, launching herself out of her wheelchair and hitting the cart on the underside, sending it tumbling end over end, foodstuffs flying in all directions. The crash in the nearby pasture was spectacular. Planks of wood went flying off the edge of the cart, pies splattered a few bystanders in the face, and the Inspector and Applejack ended up in a tree while Rainbow Dash ended up face-first in the grass.

Right in front of her face was the last piece of jerky. Her eyes sparkled. She reached for it...

...Only for Minuette to snatch it up and toss it in her mouth.

Rainbow Dash's eyes twitched. "Bonehead smashing time." She attempted to rush Minuette - only to be held down by the Inspector's magic.

"Rainbow Dash!" Applejack shouted. "You broke the cart!"

"You could have just given it to me you know!"

"No! We were going to sell that!" She leaped down from the tree. "Now where is it!?"

"Minuette ate the damn thing."

"No I didn't!" Minuette said - jerky flakes visible on her teeth.

Applejack raised an eyebrow.

"...I don't have money?"

The Inspector leaped down from the tree, sighing. "I guess that's a fair reason for not paying."

"Ahem." The four mares turned to see a male zebra standing nearby. "I'd like to buy a Granny Smith Apple Pie - if it's not too damaged."

"Ah," Applejack said, rooting through the remains of the cart. "Looks like we got some undamaged. Here you go."

"Fifteen bits," the Inspector added.

"Wow, cheap. I pay more than that for Zecora's fragrance potions."

Rainbow Dash fell out of the wheelchair she had just gotten back in. "...Did you just say Zecora?"

"Yes. You probably haven't met her, she's a rather reclusive zebra that lives in a hut over in those 'woods'. Bit quirky and hermit-y, but her charms are legitimate." The zebra handed the Inspector the bits. "I hope you find the means to fix your cart." He walked off.

Minuette blinked. "...Zecora."

"Eeyup," Applejack responded.

"The one who's hut we burned down."

"Eeyup."

"The one who tore off Rainbow's wing."

"Eeyup."

"Rainbow's already gone," the Inspector said.

"Eeyup."

"Probably going to confront Zecora."

"Eeyep."

"There's no way in Tartarus that goes well," Minuette said.

The three shared a glance with each other - then took off down the path at high speed. They were too late, Rainbow Dash was already knocking on the door of the hut. "...Zecora?"

Zecora opened the door, her aging eyes taking a second to process who was before her. "Yes? ...O staen cach." As soon as she recognized Rainbow - she stamped her hoof on the ground and encased Rainbow Dash in a mess of green vines.

That's all Applejack and Minuette needed to see - they attacked as one, driving Zecora into the floor of her own home. Minuette levitated her into the ceiling, Applejack bucked her across the room, and the Inspector looking at her with contempt. Zecora clasped her hooves together, growing many more green vines, attempting to entangle them - but Minuette burned them. Rage on her face, she walked closer and closer to Zecroa, trapping her in a strong grasp of telekinesis.

"How can Starlight let you live here!?"

Applejack pulled back a hoof, aiming at Zecora's jaw. "We oughta-"

"I can tell you about a zebra plot against Equestria please don't kill me!"

"...What?" Minuette asked, a sinking feeling forming in her stomach.

"Guys! Lay off!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "Off! I'm not here to fight!"

Zecora gulped. "You... Weren't?"

"No! I just wanted to talk! Ask... Ask why! And..." She blinked. "Wait, zebra plot against Equestria?"

The Inspector closed the front door. "We'd very much like to hear about that, Zecora."

Zecora managed to pale despite being mostly white already. "Well... You see..."

XIX - Destiny's Defiler

Sometimes the most important details get glossed over. They scream importance, framed in special attention-drawing sigils, but the people around these things pay them little attention - if any at all. They dismiss the fine points as mundane, unimportant, weird, or perhaps just something they are not able to fully understand. They may feel the significance for a moment, but then it is gone and they don't mention it further.

Why do they do that?

Why is there such ignorance?

Perhaps they don't have a choice. They don't have insight, they can't see the entire picture, for they still think about these events in their own limited frame. They have a self-created view of limited existence. Maybe, if they could bring themselves to look at the full picture, to see beyond beginnings and endings...

Well, perhaps only then can the small details be appreciated by those involved with them. Or perhaps such details are doomed to be left collecting dust to the ire of certain individuals.

...I sense you are a little frustrated with me right now.<<

~~~

"Well what?" the Inspector pushed - both vocally and physically.

Zecora squirmed against the wall of her hut, knocking a few of her trinkets over. "Well, you see, all zebras have a hatred of-"

"She's trying to pull the blinds over our eyes," the Inspector interrupted, pocketing one of the little skulls absent-mindedly. "Somepony go get Twilight."

"I'll do it," Minuette said, galloping out, sighing as she did so.

"Now..." Applejack said, raising her hoof menacingly. "You can tell us now, or have Twilight rip it from you in about five minutes. Usually, she's careful about not tearing your consciousness to shreds but Ah'm pretty sure Ah could convince her otherwise, considerin'."

"She'll get it," the Inspector emphasized, "no matter what sort of enchantments or charms you have on you. So answer now - what were you offering in exchange for your life?"

"It has somethin' to do with that AN doesn't it?" Applejack asked.

Zecora shivered. "All I wanted was to live out my days in peace..."

Rainbow Dash glanced at her but said nothing.

Zecora took a breath. "It... His name was Anubis, a zebra loner I met at Zurduk. He was connected to the darkness within us in a way all other zebras weren't. He understood what we were, and why. By chance, I was selected to be one of the handful of zebras he would... need."

"For what?"

"To return Equestria to what it once was. He - we - were devoted to releasing the Nightmare Fuel from the Concretion and spread it back all over the land."

Applejack paled. "T-the earths won't survive another round of that..."

The Inspector nodded slowly. "So, let me get this straight Zecora. This Anubis and a small tribe of his zebra followers, yourself included, wanted to unleash the Nightmare Fuel on the world again?"

"Yes."

"Why in Tartarus!? Do you even read your history books? Have you looked around at the shadow jungle your kind live in? Horrid creatures of darkness that prey on zebras regularly and brutalize whatever they can find! That's because of the Nightmare Fuel! Why would you want to bring it back!?"

"I don't know. It didn't make any sense to me either once Starlight removed my corruption. We just... knew we had to do what he said the moment Anubis said so. It just felt... right."

"How did he plan to unleash it?"

"He told us that there was a magic artifact called the Tree of Harmony buried deep in the center of the Concretion, spending all its power to keep the Nightmare Fuel sealed where it is. He told us if we could destroy that Tree, we would unleash it in one act."

"He was crazy," Applejack said, "no way the Concretes would allow magic in their city."

"They can't destroy the Tree, it's too powerful."

"How'd he plan to destroy it then?"

"He said there was an artifact somewhere in Equestria - the Element of Magic - that had the power within it. We spent many years scouring the land for it. We never found it."

The Inspector raised an eyebrow. "Then why should we be concerned?"

"Because he told me, just before I set out for this place, that he had found another way. A way to drain magic from the Tree over time until it was gone. He said he had plans to give this to the Concretes, so they could destroy the Tree themselves. I... I've been sitting here in this time field, praying that I grow old and die before it is destroyed."

"Does Starlight know about this," Rainbow Dash asked, venomously.

"Some," Zecora said. "She... doesn't know anything beyond the Element of Magic plan. I've convinced her there's no real threat, and that she can stay here and not worry. She... was enraged about the journal."

"Understandable," the Inspector said. "We will have to bring the full story to her attention. We cannot let this stand."

Rainbow Dash's eye twitched. "Wait. Wait. You want to leave now!?"

"We must inform the princesses of the threat," the Inspector said. "Starlight will just have to accept that."

"Let's ask Fluttershy first..." Applejack cautioned. "This is a bit much to process all at once. Nightmare Fuel coming back... That's... That's the worst thing possible."

"I just... Why?" Rainbow Dash blurted, looking at Zecora. "Why?"

"Because Anubis said so," Zecora answered.

"Not about that! Why- Why did you attack? Why did you take my wing?! You don't seem like... Why?"

"I was a different mare."

"Buck that!"

The Inspector put a hoof on Rainbow Dash. "She's right, Rainbow. It's the corruption. Like it makes the Concretes drained and narrow-minded, it makes the zebras aggressive and malevolent."

"How though!? They don't live on top of the Nightmare Fuel do they!?"

"We worship it," Zecora said. "To us, the malevolence is holy, above all else - a gift from our god. We know if we just left it alone, the corruption would fade over time. So we encourage it to thrive on purpose, infusing our jungles with the dark magics bestowed to us. There's a reason the jungles are filled with monsters. We... Cultivate them."

"That's... That's messed up," Rainbow Dash said.

"it's self-gratifying," the Inspector observed. "The corruption makes them like the corruption, so they give themselves more and more corruption, making them like it more and more..."

"We should be worried about this," Applejack said. "The Concretes are just one city. The entire southern jungle is filled with these... corrupted things."

"...Perhaps," the Inspector admitted. "It is curious that we don't think about the zebras much.."

"I still want to know," Rainbow Dash said. "Why? Why did you try to kill me that day, as your corrupted self?"

"You were annoying," Zecora deadpanned.

"...What?"

"You were annoying. That is the only thing I remember about you. You were just one of many dozens I attacked in that town. Most of the others just died. In the end, there really was no reason, I did it because I could. Like almost all zebras would have."

Rainbow Dash slunk back.

"Rainbow... You knew this," the Inspector said.

"It's different hearing it from her," Rainbow Dash gulped. "I... I need..." She shook her head. "We need to get out of here."

In that moment, Twilight teleported into the room, Fluttershy and Minuette flanking her. Minuette was biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.

The Inspector pointed at Zecora. Twilight didn't even need the gesture. She launched right into what she needed to do, placing a hoof on the zebra's forehead and digging into her mind. Zecora squirmed at the feeling, but it was painless.

Twilight stepped back a few seconds later. "Amplify was with them."

"What in tarnation does leading those violent earths have to do with destroying the Tree?" Applejack asked.

"Zecora doesn't know. I'm not sure it did anyway," Twilight said. "But he was there. His rise to power happened shortly after Zecora left... But that's not important right now. He's dead - gone with Neighagra Falls. What matters is that Zecora's right - Anubis is trying to bring back the Nightmare Fuel. I saw him, speaking with his religious fervor in her mind... He knew a lot of things there was no way for him to know."

"Such as?" Fluttershy asked.

"Mostly things about the Concretion. He knew about the Square-Circle Project long before we did."

Fluttershy's eyes widened. "That... That is impossible."

"Project Square Circle?" Minuette asked.

"A genetic engineering project of some kind," Twilight answered. "It was supposed to create 'different' Concretes. It's secret even to most Concretes."

"...Your source must be in deep."

"Yes, she is." Twilight shook her head. "She's also voiced suspicions to us that there is magic in the Concretion, though she has no proof."

"So... This is real? He's a real threat?" Applejack asked.

"Definitely," Twilight nodded. Then she frowned. "I just remembered - Pinkie and Rarity mentioned the Tree of Harmony and the Elements of Harmony before. They'll probably be able to tell us more." She moved to leave, but stopped herself, turning back to Zecora.

"You are a coward."

"Y-yes. I've learned to live with that," Zecora responded.

"You know, long ago the five of us agreed to kill you on sight."

"...I didn't know that."

Twilight frowned. "I was considering it, just now. But then I saw your mind. Your life. The horrors. You're absolutely pathetic, you know what? Not even worth our attention." She trotted out the door. "Come on girls, we have better things to do than waste our time on a mare who's waiting to die."

The door slammed shut. Zecora was left all alone in her hut. she sat still, staring blankly at the door.

She was alive.

She let herself laugh - a laugh of a lunatic. she curled her front legs around her lower knees and started rocking back and forth.

Alive.

What did that even mean?

~~~

Starlight left her home, walking out into the false sunlight of her little secret. She could hear ponies talking, the buzz of bugs in the breeze, and the rustle of leaves. The wind was fake of course, but it was still soothing. She was overcome with a feeling of everything being... perfect.

Instantly she was suspicious. Perfect days just asked for somepony to come along and ruin them.

"Hi Starlight!" Pinkie yelled.

Starlight turned to her left, seeing Rarity and Pinkie walk up to her. "Ah, nice to see you two!"

"Yes well..." Rarity looked around nervously. "...Can we talk here?"

Starlight rolled her eyes. "Relax Rarity, I know we have a secret, but you don't have to be paranoid about it. What do you want to know?"

"Wanted to know if you were doing any active tests yet," Rarity asked.

"My Pinkie sense has been going off all day," Pinkie said. "I don't know why! None of the patterns are familiar!"

"You felt that? Impressive," Starlight adjusted her glasses. "Yes, actually, we have begun tests. We isolated your magic signature and began small-scale exposure to magic. No major results - besides, I suppose, the long-range reaction you had, but we already knew that was possible."

"Oh, okay, I was getting worried," Pinkie giggled. "I even got a doozy on the way here!"

Starlight raised an eyebrow. "...Testing was stopped half an hour ago."

"It's not like we should expect it to make sense, Starlight dear," Rarity said. "We should not assume anything is impossible."

"I'm aware."

"So what have you found out?" Pinkie wondered.

"Well, you actually have two different magics within you that are so closely intertwined I don't think I could separate them if I tried. One is just an extremely high level of earth pony magic."

"Connection to the earth?" Rarity asked.

"No, well, yes. Er... it's complicated." Starlight thought for a minute. "Earth ponies are normally connected to the world, the ground they stand on, substance. Usually, this manifests as enhanced strength, durability, and subtle manipulation of soil and rocks. What Pinkie has is this 'connection' to substance turned up to eleven. She transcends the normal boundaries of earth pony magic, moving from things like rocks and plants to the laws of physics themselves. To her, things like gravity, elasticity, space, distance - they are mere suggestions. Pinkie, if you were fully in tune with your powers and applied yourself, I'm not sure there'd be any such thing as an impossible feat for you."

Pinkie and Rarity stared at her, slackjawed.

"Well, there may be a limit, we're not done testing, but if there is a limit to your power it's really high up there."

"That's so cool! I can do literally anything!" Pinkie whooped.

'Well, you could. Your magic was damaged by your short time in the Concretion and your exposure to the Nightmare Fuel. I'm looking into restoring what was lost, but that could be dangerous. Still, though, your power is far beyond what you even know, or have tried." She looked into Pinkie's somehow still innocent eyes. "You could make a portal home yourself, I am sure."

Rarity gasped. "You mean..."

"The power was within me all along!" Pinkie said, raising her hoof. "Portal, go!"

The air in front of her hoof exploded in confetti, but there was no portal.

"Well, pure belief isn't the answer," Starlight observed. "I think you'll just have to practice a large amount."

"Starlight, you mentioned a... second magic?" Rarity asked.

"Right... That's the one we don't understand. We detect a second signature, tied to reality like the first magic, but differently. it acts without stimuli and with a very confusing pattern. It surged at seemingly random times - when we made a breakthrough on our theory, when I stubbed my hoof, when that house caught fire yesterday. It just seems to like things that happen - as fi it was connected to them in some way. I have no idea what it actually does."

"Weeeeeeird," Pinkie said. "Is it my Pinkie Sense?"

"Maybe? We really don't have data on it, we can't seem to make it reveal itself at all, as if it knows we're watching it. You know the worst part?"

"What?"

"I've seen it before. In myself."

Rarity blinked. "Really? I mean, you're a powerful unicorn, but nothing all that, you know, unusual."

"That's the part of my magic I understand, Rarity. I'm talking about another part - a part that surges at different times than Pinkie's. While hers is related to events happening, mine seems more keyed to when things seem like they should happen - and don't. It's just... I just don't know, it doesn't make sense. I thought I was unique, and then I found that this unusual secondary magic exists in another mare. It's something I really want to figure out."

"Well... We wish you luck with that," Rarity said.

"Yeah!" Pinkie added. "I'm still like 'ohmygosh we actually understand some stuff about me now and it's awesome'!"

"I sure hope so. Try experimenting, see what you can do." She looked up, getting that 'perfect day' feeling again. "Oh, hello Twilight!"

Twilight had her goggles on, obscuring her eyes. Fluttershy and Minuette were at her side; Applejack, the Inspector, and Rainbow Dash were further back. Twilight glanced at Fluttershy. "Hello Starlight. Pinkie, Rarity! We were wondering if you could tell us about the Tree of Harmony. We got to talking about it and realized we never knew that much about it."

"Oh," Rarity said, pursing her lips. "It's the guardian spirit of Equis, a crystal Tree of unknown origin that watches over everypony, promoting harmony and magic. Ours is in the Everfree Forest, and was the source of our Elements of harmony, and Twilight's castle." She pointed at the crystal castle a short ways off. "It's the reason most of us are where we are."

Starlight furrowed her brow, contemplating something deeply. Twilight nodded, continuing on. "And what are the Elements' relation to the Tree?"

Rarity blinked. "Well, Celestia and Luna extracted them from the Tree of Harmony to defeat Discord, and they were later used to banish Luna to the Moon..." Twilight's face contorted slightly at this piece of information. "We had to return them to the Tree in our time because it was weak without them. I'm sorry, is something wrong? What is this about?"

Fluttershy turned to Starlight. "We talked to Zecora."

"...Bootstrap," Starlight swore.

"She didn't tell you everything," Twilight said. "She left out a lot of incriminating information. Mainly, the fact that Anubis had a plan to release the Nightmare Fuel that didn't need the Element of Magic. He found another way, Starlight. Zecora was just hoping she'd grow old and die here, never having to worry about the consequences of her past."

Rarity blinked. "I'm sorry, what!?"

"We discovered a zebra plot to unleash the Nightmare Fuel on the whole of Equestria," Applejack explained. "And we're gonna stop it."

"No, you're not," Starlight said. "You can't leave."

"Did you not hear her!?" Rainbow Dash yelled. "Nightmare Fuel! Equestria! An ancient evil bent on darkness and corruption! How can you just stand by?"

"Because my loyalty is here," Starlight said. "I'm not going to waste my time saving a world that doesn't deserve it! I'm not going to risk my life and the lives of the ponies here just to save a bunch of horrid, misguided, corrupted accas!"

"There are thousands of ponies in my Society," Fluttershy said. "They are all decent ponies. There are thousands more who silently think things are wrong. Are they the horrid, misguided, corrupted accas you want to damn?"

"And do you really think this place is safe from the Nightmare Fuel?" the Inspector asked.

"I'm working on a possible alternative. A way to make everypony here safe forever."

"What!?" Rainbow Dash spat.

Starlight glanced at Pinkie. She nodded, expression confused. "...I've been experimenting with Pinkie's magic in an attempt to connect to the Otherworld. I can move everyone here to there."

There were collective gasps from the six ponies who didn't know about this.

"Oh, so you'd let them go home but not us!?" Rainbow Dash shouted, livid.

"You know it's different!" Starlight retorted. "It's safe there!"

"You'd just leave everyone in this world behind, wouldn't you? Leave everypony to rot!"

"It's already rotting and there's not a damn thing any of us can do to stop it!" Starlight screamed. "You tried! You all tried! And you failed miserably!"

"We brought attention to it," Fluttershy said. "We started a stone rolling."

"A stone heading towards an uphill slope!"

"It's better than running away when there's something you can do!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"What are you going to do? You're exiles! You've been cast out! Who'll listen to you? And even if you get the princesses on board and invested, what can you do? The Tree is in the Concretion. How are you going to get in? How are you going to find their best kept secret? How are you going to save it?!"

"Shut the buck up!" Rainbow Dash shouted. "We don't need a plan to know it has to be done, bucker! The world may suck, and maybe we can't make it better, but we can keep it from getting worse!"

"You'll die!"

"So be it!"

"You stubborn litte..."

"No, you're stubborn, runter!"

Starlight's expression glazed over, a dark look overcoming her eyes. "What did you just-"

"STOP IT!" Rarity yelled. "Stop this fighting! We're friends! We've shared a lot of moments together! We've lived together for months! Please - just stop it!"

A spark appeared in Starlight's dark eyes. "...Good idea."

Everything stopped dead in its tracks - the wind stopped blowing, leaves stopped rustling, and hearts stopped beating. Everything froze.

"I'm... sorry," Starlight said, walking up to the frozen Fluttershy. "I can't... I can't do this."

"Why not?"

Starlight whirled around. There stood a decidedly not frozen Pinkie Pie, munching on a cupcake. Starlight blinked. "How are you..."

"I took the spell as a suggestion."

"...Of course," she sighed. "I don't know Pinkie. I can't let them leave. They'll probably have to mention where they got the information and that means revealing this place... And that's the last thing that I want to happen. But..."

"Buuuut they are making sense."

"Yeah. They are." She frowned. "I spent most of my life not thinking about the outside world in any serious manner. It was a place of danger I needn't have concerned myself with. Unimportant. And they are crazy. They're doomed to destroy themselves or just continue on the doomed path they are already on. Things out there will only get worse - never better. Why delay the inevitable?"

"Because... life is beautiful?"

Starlight's ears perked up. She was only mildly surprised to see that Twilight had broken herself free from the spell. "Is it Twilight? Is it really?"

"Look around-"

"Out there, Twilight. Purges. Death. Racism. Almost nopony is happy. Those that are have it ruined by fear. And-"

"You... haven't been out in so, so long. We were happy out there. Our lives were constantly in danger and we lived with peril - but we were happy."

"I was happy out there as well! At times!" Pinkie offered.

"See? She found happiness." Twilight paused. "I don't pretend to be an expert on... well, anything, or even to have any idea what happened to you, Starlight. But... Rainbow was right. At the very least, we've got to keep it from getting worse. Delay the 'inevitable' so there can be more life. Ponies we care about are out there, living their lives as best they can."

Starlight was silent.

"Starlight, let my ponies go. We can't stay here anymore. You could even come with us, see the world and experience it for yourself." She extended a hoof. "What do you say?"

Starlight looked at Twilight, expression unreadable. She slowly lifted her hoof up to Twilight's. It hung in the air for a moment.

Pinkie whimpered.

"No," Starlight said, retracting the hoof quickly.

"N-no?" Twilight stammered, flabbergasted. "B-but-"

"I SAID NO!" Starlight screamed, lighting her horn and firing a beam of magic into Twilight's chest, sending the alicorn flying. "This is the life I carved out and I'm not about to leave it!"

"We are!" Twilight yelled, firing her own laser back - only to find it traveling back through time towards her, tossing her even further away in the paused world. Starlight accelerated her own timestream, firing off twenty bolts of energy in the time it normally took to cast one. Twilight closed her eyes, preparing for impact - an impact that never came.

Pinkie was holding a mirror shield that had reflected all the attacks back at Starlight. "Pinkie and Twilight versus Starlight - go!" Pinkie announced, the joking tone in her voice strained.

In Starlight's accelerated state, she had no trouble dodging the lasers, and shot twenty more - this time in a pattern that surrounded Twilight. Twilight flew into the air to dodge. She shot a dispel towards Starlight, ending her accelerated speed.

Starlight growled. "You..."

"Learn fast." Twilight cast the acceleration spell on herself, bombarding Starlight with crystallization beams that she blocked with magic shields. Pinkie leaped in, bapping Starlight across the head with a squeaky hammer. Starlight stumbled over to the side, where Twilight's magic-enhanced hoof was waiting, sending the unicorn flying into a tree.

Starlight teleported into the sky, accelerating herself again and casting slowing spells on Twilight and Pinkie - which were resisted by Twilight and had absolutely no effect on Pinkie.

"I hate magic resistance," Starlight muttered.

Pinkie shook her head. "Look, Starlight, you can't win-"

"Oh. Yes. I. Can." Starlight pressed her hooves together. "My power is surging."

"...What?" Twilight said.

"TWILIGHT LOOK OU-" Pinkie began, but was too late. The earth beneath Twilight opened up and swallowed her. It then erupted, spewing the alicorn out with dozens of earth chunks. Starlight slammed her into the ground again with her hooves, uprooting a fair amount of grass with the impact. Twilight roared, teleporting away and surrounding Starlight in a bubble.

Starlight blew up the bubble, driving herself into the air, smashing Twilight downwards again. Pinkie caught Twilight, setting her down gently. She then pulled out a flamethrower, filling the sky with pink flames.

Starlight teleported behind Pinkie - mane singed, but otherwise unharmed. She pulled Pinkie away, throwing her over her shoulder. She then leaped towards Twilight, only to get a magical blast to the face. Twilight flew into the air, readying a larger spell.

Pinkie appeared again, swinging a diamond-tipped hammer at Starlight from behind. Starlight melted the hammer with a thought and tossed Pinkie away again, the pink pony landing painfully on her back.

Twilight unleashed her devastating ship-destroying spell - vaporizing the ground around Starlight. The unicorn herself used her magic shielding to protect herself. With a charred mane, sparkling horn, and angry face Starlight flew into the air. She crashed into Twilight horn-first. Twilight screamed as the bony spire impaled her chest, cracking ribs. The two fell to the ground.

Starlight stood up, blood dripping down her horn, over her face, and into her eyes. Twilight managed to crane her neck to look up at Starlight. Her goggles had fallen off her face, revealing her own sad eyes. "Okay... So maybe you can win... You have the power..." She coughed, some blood coming up from deep inside her. "But you will have to kill me to do it. I didn't think anyone could - I seemed to be really lucky. But..." She coughed again, the noise saying all that needed to be said.

Starlight twitched, creating a gigantic stake made of her magic, angling it right at Twilight's face. Twilight stared up at it, unblinking. She didn't even try to stop it. The stake shook, moving in. Starlight shivered and closed her eyes tightly. She grunted in pain.

Then the stake vanished. Her horn stopped glowing and she started crying. "I... can't do it... I'm weak... You... You... Why..."

"You aren't weak," Twilight said, letting out a sigh of relief and healing herself with a quick spell. She brought Starlight into a hug. "You're a very, very strong mare."

Pinkie put the sword she'd had less than an inch from Starlight's neck away. Then she joined in on the hug.

The world slowly began to return to normal speed.

"...What the buck happened?" Minuette asked.

Twilight looked at her, smiling as she put her goggles back on her forehead. "We... resolved our differences."

~~~

"Since I can't stop you, I'm going to help you," Starlight said, leading the mares into her house. "I'm coming with."

"What!?" Rainbow Dash yelled.

Starlight rolled her eyes, leading them to the elevator. "You could use me. And I want to do my best to protect this place - so I'll watch you and what you say, protecting what I can. and I think I have something that can get you into Canterlot."

Pinkie gasped. "No... You don't mean..."

"I might."

"This is a really tight squeeze..." Applejack said, stuffing herself into the elevator. It began to descend.

"It's maximum occupancy is six," Starlight said.

"That's reassuring."

The elevator came to the bottom, and Minuette yelped in fear first. "T-Technology!?"

Applejack shivered. "This is... Well, it's not a surprise, but still..."

Rainbow Dash threw her hooves wide. "The buck? Are you like some kind of Concrete unicorn!?"

"Dash, calm," Twilight said. "She's helping us."

"But-"

"Calm down," Rarity said. "There's nothing evil down here."

Foci walked past them. "Hi."

"...Was that a Concrete?" Twilight said, looking pensive for the first time.

"Yes," Starlight said. "He's had his violence removed though. Dedicated only to 'progress' now."

Twilight nodded - she understood this. "Oh. Right."

Fluttershy nodded. "I've seen others like him before."

"Created them, you mean?" Starlight asked.

Twilight drooped. "...Yes."

"As much as I've learned from Foci, I still doubt if 'releasing' him from the darkness was the right choice... So I know what it's like. Regardless, here's my offer of aid." She gestured towards the center of the lab. "The Starshell."

"...How is a big Concrete drone going to help us?" the Inspector asked.

"We're going to ride it," Starlight said.

"Ohmygosh it is ready!" Pinkie cheered.

"Yes. Yes it is."

"I'm still not sure this is a good idea..." Rainbow Dash said. "It's technology."

"Rainbow..." Starlight said. "Look at me. You know me. Am I an evil, Concrete mastermind? Am I corrupted beyond measure by my tinkering? Has technology ruined me?"

"You are pretty organized, and that's freaky."

Starlight rolled her eyes. "Seriously, Rainbow Dash."

"...I suppose not."

"Then maybe, just maybe, trust me on this one, okay?"

Rainbow Dash sighed. She looked at Starlight and forced a smile. "Okay."

"Good. All aboard!"

The Inspector blinked. "How are we all going to fit in that thing? It's bigger than normal, yes, but it can't fit all nine of us! I don't even see a hatch!"

"Foci, answer her question," Starlight said playfully.

Foci pressed a button. A cylindrical rod shot out of the side of the Starshell, bathing the nine mares with pink-blue light, making all of them vanish.

Foci turned to the computer screen, pressing some buttons in rapid succession. The Starshell roared to life, the circuitry brimming with a stripey blue-pink color pattern. It floated into the air...

XX - Flight of the Starshell

There are so many debates out there about various things; one side declares the contended thing is the worst evil while the other thinks it is the best thing ever. Dinosaurs, for instance, to use a mundane example. The most savage and dangerous creatures ever to walk Equis or the coolest and most majestic?

Compassion. A horrible weakness that lets you be taken advantage of, or a virtue of the saints?

Emotions. Terrible things that just make life worse every time, or the essence of life itself.

Logic. The death of life and nature, or the path by which everything should be done.

Change. Always the end of the world, or always the savior of the world.

Technology. A corruption of ideas and youth everywhere, or the goal of all civilization.

In truth, the debates are pointless. Such things are neutral, as are most things. Good things may be used for evil ends, and horrid things can be used for saintly ends. At least, that's how things are perceived.

The debates imply that there is an answer to the 'good or evil' question. This is why they are foolish.<<

~~~

The nine mares appeared in an infinite expanse of whiteness, the only visible thing being the nine of them. Even the 'ground' they were standing on was invisible to their senses.

"...Where are we?" the Inspector asked.

"Inside the Starshell," Starlight answered, stamping her hoof on the ground. A mirror appeared in front of her, reflecting back her smirking face. She rubbed her hoof over the mirror, turning it into a display of the Starshell's internal systems. "The Starshell converted us into magic energies and has stored us within its central processor. We can control everything about it from here. I can turn it invisible, teleport, fire weapons, talk..."

"How can we see what we're doing?" Twilight asked.

Starlight tapped the screen, producing several more mirrors that became screens. She tapped them a few times and the white expanse vanished. They were standing in the lab a few feet off the ground and appeared to be bobbing up and down slowly.

Applejack shuddered. "That ain't right..."

Twilight waved at Foci. He didn't respond.

"He can't see you - he sees the Starshell," Starlight said. "All of what you see is just a projected image. But you can talk to him if I turn on the speaker..." She pressed one of the screens. "Go for it."

"Hi Foci!" Pinkie yelled.

"Message received," Foci droned.

"Foci, remember to activate the magic batteries while I'm gone. I don't want the enchantments for the secret to go down."

"Affirmative."

"Alright... Girls, I'd say hold on, but there's not any inertia in here so... you might feel nauseous."

Fluttershy nodded. "Got it."

"So..." Starlight said, pressing a few more buttons. "Canterlot?"

"Yes."

"You sure this can get us in?" the Inspector asked.

"Nopony expects to deal with magic and technology at the same time. Even if they see us, they won't know how to deal with us," Starlight assured them. She pressed another screen, executing a teleport to the big blue doors that led in - and today, out - of the secret. With another button press, the Starshell used a blue-pink telekinetic burst to throw the doors open.

"That's... an interesting aura. Nopony's is striped," Twilight noted. "Is that a side effect of being artificial?"

"Yeah," Starlight confirmed. "It was based off my telekinesis, but it seemed to latch onto more than just my standard color. I'm still not entirely sure why, but I think it has to do with pony color theory..."

"My gosh," Rainbow Dash said. "Twi, Flutters was right, you would make a good tinker."

Fluttershy smirked coyly. "Imagine that."

"Well... Say goodbye," Starlight said. "We're going before they start asking too many questions."

Minuette was already staring behind them - at the vibrant grass, the fake sun, the many unique houses... "I'm going to miss this place."

"...Do you want to stay?" Twilight asked.

"If you do, there'll be no hard feelings," Fluttershy added.

Minuette looked long and hard at the scenery - then she looked at Pinkie, Rarity, and all the others. "No... No, I'll stay. We... I'm with you damn idiots more than I am with this place."

Starlight smiled sadly. "Well... then. Launching." She tapped a button - and they were moving. The Starshell shot out into the chasm, slamming the blue doors shut behind it. The mares saw the tunnels rush past them - and they slowly realized that forwards had become upwards and backwards had become downwards.

"Oooooh my..." Applejack said, reeling. "That's not right..."

"Nope!" Starlight said, laughing like a filly in a candy store. She was flying - not floating, flying.

The chasm was behind them rather quickly. They shot into the sky of the real world, the sun beating down on them. Starlight quickly activated the Starshell's invisibility, ensuring nothing was seen. They sped northwestward, the ground whipping past them. They could hear the intense winds around them, but not feel them.

Rainbow Dash laughed. "I'm flying! Flying! Bucking flying! Screw you wheelchair! Ha! Ha!" Tear of joy filled her eyes.

Pinkie giggled. "This is so fun!"

Applejack gagged, hurling and retching from vertigo - but nothing came out. "The... Urp... Wha?"

Starlight laughed. "Your body isn't real in here! You can't throw up. You don't even have a physical stomach right now."

"I'm gettin' more and more convinced technology is a bad idea! That's messed up!"

"So? Keeps you from barfing." Starlight shrugged, turning away from the controls.

Rainbow Dash gawked. "Hey? What're you doing! You need to fly this thing!"

"Autopilot. It'll fly itself while we get closer to Canterlot." She levitated herself into the air, reclining. "Time to enjoy the view."

Rainbow Dash nodded. "The view... is... SO AWESOME."

Pinkie grinned. "That's exactly what it is, Dashie!"

The Starshell flew across Equestria...

~~~

Minuette stared behind them at the steppe receding over the horizon, giving way to sparse forests and dull grass. She blinked, clenching her jaw and letting out a long, slow breath.

"Minuette?"

Minuette sighed. "What?"

Rarity frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Yes. I'm fine."

"No you aren't. You've been staring out the back for the last hour," Rarity said. "You miss it that bad already?"

"I... Yes."

Rarity put a hoof on Minuette's shoulder. "Don't worry, it'll still be there when we're done."

"But will we?" Minuette asked. "We're flying right into a warzone, attempting to get into a tow- city that has been cut off for weeks. We've already been lucky far too many times..."

Rarity sighed. "I know... I'm worried about that too. There's been all this talk of war, and yet we've never really been in the midst of it. It's hard to imagine."

"We were there when it started."

Rarity bit her lip. "I... The camp..."

"We were the only survivors. Three out of several dozen. You run the odds."

"If I've learned anything in my life it's that you have to screw the odds." The two turned to see Starlight walking up to them.

Minuette raised an eyebrow. "I thought you said this was a bad idea?"

"Oh, it is," Starlight confirmed. "But we're doing it anyway, so it's best we tell the odds to go buck themselves."

Rainbow Dash laughed. She quickly stifled it, looking directly into Starlight's eyes. She turned away quickly.

Minuette shrugged. "So, just forget we're going through a warzone?"

"Goodness no!" Rarity shook her head. "It won't be easy. But Starlight's right - we need to defy the odds... So we can go home."

Minuette nodded, hugging Rarity. She turned to Starlight after the embrace ended. "So you really think you can get us to their world?"

"Given enough time, I'm sure," Starlight affirmed.

Minuette nodded. "I'd like to see it."

"You'll be welcomed," Rarity assured.

"And I can throw a welcoming party!" Pinkie yelled, pulling out her party cannon and firing.

"Pinkie!" Starlight yelled. "Stop using your powers in here, you might break something!"

"Sorry..." Pinkie said, shrinking visibly.

"We're passing near Nova," the Inspector said, pointing to the east. The mares rushed to the 'right' side of the virtual space, setting their eyes on the Equestrian Stronghold. It was a tall, blackened mountain riddled with artificial caverns. An impressive orange-gold palace sat on top with a gigantic orb of fire resting atop it, sending its fiery energy through the mountain. Concrete conglomerate ships circled the mountain at a fair distance, firing their weapons at the palace, few hitting the mark. Those that did usually found the intense heat of Nova's orb to be far too powerful - bullets melted, missiles exploded far too soon, and lasers were simply absorbed.

Every few seconds the orb would fire out an intense beam of fiery energy, melting any ship it hit - but the ships were fast, splitting up into smaller drones to minimize damage and sometimes dodging the attack entirely. The base of the mountain was a different sight - no powerful star-like object here to trade fire with large ships. Instead, there were ponies - hundreds of ponies of all kinds, including crystal ones and armored Concretes. Magic and bullets flew, hitting barricades continually but making few kills. More Concrete ships flew in - and the group saw a legion of crystal ponies flying in from the north the instant the Concrete enforcements arrived.

Minuette shook her head. "That's a bad standstill."

"At least we know Sunset's still alive and scorching them," Twilight observed.

Rarity spoke up. "Even if we stop the Nightmare Fuel from coming back, what if the war is lost?"

"We'll live in Starlight's secret knowing it could be worse," the Inspector said. "A lot worse."

"Ah'm not sure..." Applejack said. "World of Nightmare or world of Concrete...?"

"Bit of a coin toss," Rainbow Dash said.

"The difference is we can do something about the Nightmare Fuel," Fluttershy said.

"...Not sure you can," Starlight said.

"Well, it's time to prove that bucking brain of yours wrong!" Rainbow Dash announced.

"Yeah!" Applejack smirked. "We'll show you and everypony else."

Starlight shrugged. "I look forward to that." She walked back to the controls. Fluttershy followed her.

"Starlight, we should be on the same page here."

"I'm helping aren't I?"

"Yes. And for that, I am eternally grateful. But you're being antagonistic."

"Perhaps that's good for you. All of you are an idealist of some kind or other. Another viewpoint won't kill you."

"In a time of crisis it might endanger us," Fluttershy pointed out.

"Oh, well, yes, I'm not going to start spouting 'actually we shouldn't be doing this' in the middle of threatening danger. I'm not an idiot."

"I know you aren't. You might have discovered something we never considered. But nopony's perfect."

Starlight glanced over at Twilight. Starlight sighed, feeling her horn burn. "No. I suppose not."

"Just be aware of yourself. You're right - another viewpoint is good. I only ask you be aware of the possible consequences and implications."

"Okay," Starlight said - then laughed. "You deserve every bit of your reputation."

Fluttershy shrugged. "There is a reason it exists."

The Starshell continued flying towards the distant Canterlot.

~~~

Twilight was alone, still flying through the air at high speeds. She blinked, suddenly aware of her surroundings. What? How was she alone? Did everypony leave the Starshell? Did something go wrong? She found herself thinking trusting technology was a bad idea...

"I'm surprised you did it in the first place."

The voice was male. It carried with it an air of calculation, curiosity, and malice. Twilight recognized it - she had heard it in Zecora's memories.

"A...A-Anubis?" She said, slowly turning around. Behind her was a normal looking zebra. He was of average height, build, and the stripes on him were somehow more basic than any others she had ever seen. The only unusual thing about him was that his irises were a pure black.

"Oh my, you're terrified. Shaking in your hooves. Unfitting for a princess, I must say."

"W-what have you done with my friends!?"

"Me? Nothing. Yet. I could though, easily. If Zecora could destroy Rainbow's entire life, oh, what could I do? But you know the answer to that question. You saw into her mind..." The image outside the Starshell began to fade into blackness, leaving nothing but Twilight, Anubis, and the mirror screens floating ominously. "I can control darkness itself..." He flashed green, changing his appearance to that of Fluttershy. "I can change my face..."

Twilight recoiled, taking several steps back - it even sounded like her.

"Why are you so scared of me? I'm just a memory to you. A mysterious force you never met. A distant threat you may never see."

"Y-you want to bring darkness!"

"As it should be! The Nightmare Fuel will be freed and the shadow's blessing will cover the world with beauty!" Images began to appear in the darkness around him - demonic creatures composed of blood, teeth, and darkness, pulsating in unusual ways. They roared, beat each other to shreds, and covered Twilight with a spray of blood and inky blackness.

"You've been to the jungle," Anubis said. It wasn't a question.

Twilight answered anyway. "Y-yes."

"So unique isn't it?" Anubis - still looking exactly like Fluttershy - leaned in. "Such variety in the new life!"

"I... it's not! It's horrible! your kind die fro-"

"Death is just another part of nature, princess. A way to bring forth the new, to continue in this thing that is the universe..." he paused. "...Or universes."

"No! You stay away from them!" Twilight raged.

"I see I've struck a nerve. How fascinating - how particular. You care more about a world that you've never seen than your own..."

"They're better than us! I've seen it!"

"And they'll be easier to fool. A world of naive children. All I'd have to do is say I'm their friend and they'd accept me - or anyone - with open hooves. And then I'd kill them all."

Twilight spread her wings aggressively. "No."

"No?" He spread his butter-yellow wings. "I think you don't understand something here." Shadowy vines grabbed Twilight's six limbs, driving thorns into her flesh. She screamed out, blood flying. "H... How? We... We're in..."

"Because I'm a nightmare." He became completely black - rippling as if he were a liquid kept in the shape of a pony. he rushed her, hooves outstretched.

The moon appeared in the inky blackness, blasting Anubis into nothingness with a silvery light. The blackness and the vines vanished, the image of the rapidly moving outside reappearing.

Twilight sat down, breathing heavily.

"What was that?"

Twilight looked up - the face of the Princess of the Night staring her down. Her dark face was stern, shrouded by her ever-flowing starry mane. Her wings were spread wide, and the dream rippled around her.

"Dream..." Twilight shook her head. "That was Anubis, an enemy of Equestria and the world. He must have found me through the memories of him somehow..."

"There was no invading presence Twilight. The dream was all yours."

"Oh..." Twilight frowned. "He's still a threat. He wants to unleash the Nightmare Fuel on the world by destroying something called the Tree of Harmony."

Luna raised an eyebrow. "I see."

"We're coming to Canterlot to tell you and Celestia all we know. We're bringing the two Celestia foretold with us."

Luna nodded slowly. "How are you planning on getting past the warzone?"

Twilight gestured around at the dream. "Magic invisible ship." She smiled sheepishly.

"Unorthodox, but understandably necessary given the circumstances. We shall await your coming."

"Thank you."

"You will have a lot of explaining to do."

Twilight gulped. "I know."

She woke up with a start - it was night, but she was still in the Starshell, and everypony was awake. She gasped, - she could see both of them.

The Concretion and Canterlot, the latter a little closer to them. The graceful white pillars of the pony city contrasted heavily with the blocky gray shapes that made up the Concretion. But the contrast could not be appreciated, for in the darkness of night the explosive violence drew all the attention. Hundreds of rapidly rotating magic shields protected Canterlot, sliding apart to allow bolts of magic energy to fly out from one of many towers, presumably cast by one of several archmages. Trenches, walls, and camps surrounded Canterlot - a mixture of Equestrian, Crystal Empire, and Concretion forces. The colors of magic, lasers, blades, and missiles were beautiful in a way, at least from this distance where the blood and death couldn't be seen.

The Concretion itself surged for a moment - a rocket the size of a barn blasted out of an underground chamber, its course directed towards Canterlot. It was flanked by dozens of smaller drones, all protecting it from any and all magical fire. It neared the capital of Equestria, ready for impact, when something - it was impossible to see what - got through the defenses. The missile exploded, brightening the world with such intense power that it seemed to be midday. A tremendous shockwave interrupted all the fighting on the surface for a moment and made a few of Canterlot's buildings crumble. The sun that the missile had created burned for many seconds, revealing the the color of the ground - red with the blood of the fallen, both old and new.

Sirens began to scream warnings inside the Starshell.

"Mother of Cadenza..." Starlight said, taking a step back. "Th-that's an absurd amount of radiation."

"They see us!" Fluttershy yelled, pointing to two large Concrete ships coming their way.

Starlight took in a deep breath, putting her hooves on the screens. "Time for the ultimate test. Invisibility, check. Time to teleport on the fly..." She teleported far to the left, dodging the entire volley of lasers coming their way. The Starshell sped towards Canterlot, teleporting every few seconds, the rapid movement throwing off the Concrete's sensors and Canterlot's mages. Neither of them could establish a lock. Missiles, magic, and lasers flew, lighting up the air around them.

"Wow, this is kidna cool..." Twilight said.

"Great flying Starlight!" Rainbow Dash whooped.

"I've been hit by chance shots seventeen times," Starlight said, eyes darting out rapidly. "Shields are at 33%."

"We'd be dead if they could see us..." Applejack said.

"We're dead anyway," Minuette said. "Both sides are shooting at us. They feel like something's up."

"Soon it'll be only one!" Starlight yelled suddenly, performing another teleport. They appeared on the other side of the Canterlot shields. The lights of gunfire around them died off, leaving only magic bolts to attack them, and only those firing from inside Canterlot at that.

Rarity's breathing only increased in rapidity - now they were in Canterlot. Canterlot. "It... Looks like ours..." Canterlot was indeed similar to the city she knew - tall graceful towers, ornate designs that curled around the mountain, and dozens of levels filled with intricate architecture. Many buildings were cracked, half-collapsed, or just piles of rubble. Ponies - almost all unicorns - were sparse, most presumably hiding. Those that could be seen were pained, stumbling, or just sitting in the streets looking forlorn. There were a couple bonfires, places where a dozen or so ponies gathered together, terrified.

It was a horrible nightmare for Rarity and Pinkie to see - for they saw a place they knew well overlapped with this destruction, a painful reminder of the home they could not return to, and the world they were stuck in.

Twilight and the Inspector held each other tight - if there were any who were worse at the sight it was the two who had grown up here, who remembered what it had once been. And who had dreams of what it could be. Twilight started crying.

"Where am I going?" Starlight asked, having moved the Starshell behind one of the remaining towers out of range of the archmages.

"Canterlot gardens," Twilight managed. "The statue section."

Starlight moved the Starshell out and down, passing dozens of still intact homes. Ponies looked up, scared, when they felt the rush of air - but saw nothing.

The Inspector frowned as they passed the many homes. She noticed dozens of bedridden, sick ponies. "Why are there so many sick?"

"Radiation poisoning," Starlight said. "It's brutal."

Any further conversation was cut off by a burst of white light - a bright white alicorn with a flowing blue, pink, and green mane stood before them, face betraying intense rage.

"HOLY SHIT!" Starlight yelled, pulling up - only for a beam of holy solar energy to hit the Starshell dead on "There go our shields!" She performed an evasive teleport, but Celestia was waiting for them. She lit her horn, sending a miniature sun at them. Starlight managed to dodge, but a secondary spell managed to hit. "Cloak down! That was a dispel!"

"Get Twilight out there!" Fluttershy yelled.

"Doing so!"

Twilight felt herself ripped from the virtual plane, appearing on top of the Starshell with a flash of orange. It was much different in the real world - she could feel gravity sideways, the intense wind, and the impressive forces pushing on her from the Starshell's sharp turn. But she forced herself to stand through this, raising a shield, deflecting Celestia's next attack.

Celestia gasped. "T-Twilight?"

"Yes! We need to talk!"

"Why in Tartarus are you in an invisible... teleporting..."

"Long story! Just-"

Then Luna appeared, lighting her horn. Everyone was teleported to some hall deep within the castle. The Starshell was unable to stop moving, so it embedded itself in a nearby wall, tossing Twilight to the ground, spraining her wing. "Ow..."

The Starshell stuck out its cylinder again, depositing the other eight mares in another flash of orange. They ran to Twilight, concerned.

"I'm fine... Just sprained..." She stretched out her wing, wincing.

"That was less than... ideal," Luna said, shooting at telling glance at Celestia. "But we are here now."

Fluttershy nodded and bowed. "Indeed we are, my princess. We come bringing terrible news. A zebra by the name of Anubis wishes to set the Nightmare Fuel free on the world again."

A haunted look crossed Celestia's features. "No..."

XXI - Who We Are

Canterlot, the oldest settlement in all of Equestria by a large margin. A testament to determination, power, shrewdness, selectivism, aristocracy, and blind faith. Canterlot was founded long ago by the unicorn tribe, a group of haughty individuals who thought their magic made them better than anyone else. Perhaps they were right - they had, after all, the knowledge to move the celestial bodies, knowledge reserved only for the princesses themselves presently.

Even after the tribes gathered together in peace and harmony, Canterlot remained largely segregated - granted, there were no rules against the other races living there back then, and many did just that. However, there was just a feeling of being isolated there, a stranger in a crowd. A feeling of inferiority. This was the way things were for some time, and nopony questioned it.

And then the Nightmare Fuel was unleashed on the land. It ruined the current capital, a simpler place located in the ancient Everfree Forest. The citizens were forced to choose a new place to live, and Canterlot was the closest that could accommodate them. It took many years for it to become official, but Canterlot became the center of Equestria.

They tried, pointlessly I might add, to make Canterlot the place of harmony they wanted. But with the Nightmare Fuel's damage and the emergence of Concretes, such an ideal vanished in the wind. Soon there was hardly a non-unicorn in the city, all driven away since they collectively decided it was supposed to be that way.

Years went by. Purges were introduced. All other cities that existed in that time were removed, replaced, or just torched. Without the expertise of Sunset, Purges were an ordeal, but ponies are fiendishly creative creatures. However, through this all, Canterlot stood - the home of the princesses, kept from 'corruption' by their 'presence', and thus would never need to be Purged - banish the thought!

As for the original capital in the Everfree... It wasn't destroyed by the Nightmare Fuel no - for that was the final resting place of the dark force. That capital was what became the Concretion.<<

~~~

Luna glanced side to side - from the face of her sister to all the other ponies in the room. "This is most concerning. How does he plan to do this?"

"One of two ways," Fluttershy said. "The first is to use some magical artifact known as the Element of Magic to destroy the object keeping the Nightmare Fuel sealed in the Concretion - an artifact by the name of the Tree of Harmony."

"And the second?"

"We know less about. He found something he was going to give the Concretes so they could destroy the Tree themselves, by draining its magic. We think he has gone ahead with this plan since he doesn't appear to be searching for the Element of Magic anymore."

"That's all vague," Luna said, "surely you have more. As it is, this sounds like a crack conspiracy theory."

"It isn't," Twilight said. "He knows about things going on in the Concretion. I have memories of him discussing the Square-Circle Project years before we knew about it, along with other classified happenings. And a few details about you, Luna."

Luna looked right at Twilight, and Twilight looked back. Starlight facehooved. "If you're going to transfer messages mentally why not just do the whole conversation like that and get it over with?"

Everypony tensed. Luna leaned in close to Starlight. "...Interesting thought. Who are you?"

Starlight didn't flinch. "Starlight Glimmer. That's my ship over there. I'm only here because these ponies couldn't leave this alone. I don't think they could have gotten in without my help."

"Indeed not. I would question you, but we have more pressing matters to attend to. Your service is appreciated, though you understand I cannot publicly approve of the use of technology."

"Of course. I don't need any."

"As for the mental discussion - it's best to say things aloud. If we attempted to share all the information with everypony at once it would likely overload our systems. Twilight's mind has an extraordinary ability to process information. We will only discuss what needs to be kept secret that way." Luna turned to Twilight. "How could he know these things?"

Twilight nodded slowly. "You know as well as I do the only way is if he was connected to the Nightmare Fuel in some deeper way than most zebras, and is able to glean information from it."

"Almost as if it's giving him instructions."

"Yes."

"This is most concerning. What do we know of this Tree of Harmony?"

"Hey, don't act like you don't know!" Pinkie blurted out. Everypony turned to look at her, shocked.

Luna blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Well the Celestia and Luna from our world were the wielders of the Elements of Harmony and they took them from the Tree to defeat Discord and Celestia used them to drive Nightmare Moon from our Luna, and I'm 99% sure those things happened here - though the Nightmare went wrong in some way of course. So you know what they are."

"You're one of them," Celestia said, speaking for the first time in a while. Her face was pointed downward, her eyes shut.

"Uh... Yeah! Me and Rarity here!" Pinkie pulled Rarity in for a hug, squeezing Rarity a little hard.

Luna narrowed her eyes at Pinkie. "...What do you know of us?"

Pinkie took in a breath. "Well, in our world, Celestia is the princess of the sun and you're the princess of the moon. You had to be banished to the moon for a thousand years because you were possessed by the Nightmare, but you came back and the ponies love you! Uh... Celestia's a bit of a joker, you have a possum named Tibbers, Celestia can see the future, Luna can visit dreams-"

Twilight and Fluttershy gasped, panic crossing their faces. Celestia's expression was unreadable. Luna narrowed her eyes. "...Your princesses told you this?"

"Well, dreamwalking is public knowledge. Not sure if the prophecy is..."

"Please forgive them!" Twilight blurted. "They have not-"

"I can tell," Luna bristled.

"So wait, you can see into dreams!?" Starlight asked aloud. "And you can see the future!?"

"I do believe that explains a lot..." the Inspector said.

"Why didn't you ever mention this Twi?" Applejack asked.

"Because it's treason to do so!" Twilight hissed.

"Then, pray tell, why does Fluttershy know?" Luna asked.

Twilight paled. "Uh..."

Fluttershy spoke up. "I cornered her one day, knowing she was hiding something. The blame lies with me, I didn't give her a choice. I never told another soul."

"I should be handing out executions," Luna said flatly. "But you are all enemies of the Crown as it is, not like I could make it worse. Besides, once again, there are more pressing issues." She folded her hooves. "I still wish to know what you know about the Tree of Harmony, Otherworlders."

Rarity gulped. "It's the guardian deity of our world, located in the Everfree Forest. It watches over us and has been the guide for many of our adventures, whether we knew it or not. It is the source of the six Elements of harmony, which have been used to defeat many a foe. Honesty, Laughter, Generosity, Loyalty, Kindness, and Magic. I'm the bearer of Generosity, Pinkie is Laughter."

"Hi!" Pinkie waved. Luna nodded in understanding.

Rarity continued. "When used together by worthy bearers, the Elements fire off a magic rainbow that either purges or seals away any enemy we've used them on. Which, admittedly, isn't many. Alone they have some power - the Element of Magic can do magical things - but I don't know any specifics."

"Where are the Elements now?"

"In our world? Back in the Tree of Harmony. We gave them back so the Tree could purge itself from some forces of dark... Magic..." She trailed off as she realized what she was saying.

Pinkie put a lightbulb above Rarity's head. "That's it!" Rarity shouted suddenly. "We just return your world's Elements to the Tree and it should be able to destroy this nasty Nightmare Fuel!"

Luna's expression became clouded, and Celestia let out a sigh. "The last known location of the Elements was in the Everfree. Where the Concretion is now."

"Well, that is where the Tree is as well," Fluttershy observed. "At least they are in the same place."

"Assuming the Concretes haven't destroyed them," Luna said.

"They haven't destroyed the Tree - probably because they can't. Chances are they still have the Elements, since they're a part of it. "

"That is a large unknown."

"Yes, it is, but we can speak with our source, give her this information and see what she can discern from this for us."

Starlight blinked. "You have a pony in the Concretion?"

"No. One of them contacted us."

"That's even weirder."

"It was an interesting day."

Luna nodded. "Yes. How do you plan on getting into the Concretion should action be required?"

Fluttershy blinked. "We thought you'd be able to do that, since we can't act in any official capacity. Send in a team."

"Our home is dying, in case you haven't noticed. Our hooves are busy just staying alive. We can't get into the Concretion during peacetime, what makes you think we can do it now?"

"...Extenuating circumstances."

Starlight let out an exasperated groan. "For the... We can do it, I guess. We've got a fancy ship and everything! Got past your defenses, pretty sure I can get past the Concretes."

"Wait..." Minuette said. "You aren't..."

"Oh yes I am," Starlight said, reclining back on a wall. "We're out here, why not go all the way? Charge into the Concretion, save the world. You all won't be able to just leave this be, and you'll definitely fail without my assistance."

"She's right," Twilight said. "We can't leave this be and do nothing. I..." She glanced at Minuette. "...I may not speak for everypony, but I'm fairly certain we volunteer."

"I don't like it," Celestia said, "but I can't think of anypony we can send who's better for the task. You can act without our restrictions, have access to tools we don't, and know this threat better than anypony. I just.... sending you all into the Concretion might be a death sentence."

"I know," Twilight said. "We'll need to talk it over, but I can tell you I'm going."

"As am I," Fluttershy added.

"I don't have much of a choice," Starlight shrugged.

"Me too!" Pinkie grinned.

"Very well," Luna said. "We will give you time to discuss. A flat can be provided temporarily." She looked over at Twilight. "I always thought our conversation would be different when I heard about Neighagra Falls, Twilight."

"We all make mistakes," Twilight said. Then a smirk came across her face. "Well, everypony except Minuette."

Minuette facehooved. "Bucking..."

Luna nodded. "Perhaps it is best left at that. We will reconvene noon tomorrow. Rest, and discuss. There is a big decision ahead of all of us. I will contact our source."

"Thank you, Luna," Twilight said, bowing. She turned to Celestia. "...It's good to see you."

"Likewise, my faithful student." She bowed in return. "Now, go rest."

~~~

Their room was high in the castle - secluded from the public eye, spacious, and as of yet unharmed by the war. There weren't enough beds, but excess mattresses had been provided. They had a large window that gave them a view of Canterlot - one that should have been elegant and beautiful but instead was just horrifying.

Rarity put her hoof to the window, the fires of war reflecting in her eyes. "So terrible..."

"And you want to charge right into that," Minuette yelled. "I can't believe you're considering that."

"We have to," Fluttershy said, "we can't just let this happen."

"Thought so," Starlight said, flopping onto her mattress. She then neatly placed a blanket over her body in an almost perfect alignment with the mattress.

Minuette's eye twitched. "You're crazy."

"Yeah, we are," Twilight said. "But really, what else can we do? if we go back we would have come all the way out here for nothing."

Rarity sighed. "Yes... We can't do that."

"We've come too far," Pinkie agreed.

"We don't all have to go," the Inspector said. "I'm sure the princesses will accommodate any of us who choose to stay?"

"You stayin'?" Applejack asked.

"...I don't know yet. I'm considering."

"You have until tomorrow to decide," Fluttershy said. "I don't want to pressure you, but..."

"Ah know."

"Well, I'm coming," Rainbow Dash said. "I am not going to sit here. "

"Dashie..." Pinkie said.

"Don't. Don't say a thing."

"Rainbow, you'll be a detriment," the Inspector said. "You'll just endanger the mission in your state."

"Well buck you too!" Rainbow Dash snapped. Then she sighed. "Yeah, you're right..."

"We might need her though," Rarity said. "The Element of Loyalty is connected to our Rainbow Dash. I'm fairly certain it'll be connected to you. I think it'd be best if we had a full set."

"So..." Twilight began. "Me, you, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rainbow, and Applejack?"

"Yes, that should be all we need."

Applejack let out a soft chuckle. "Well, guess that makes my decision easier. Pretty sure I was comin' anyway, need to make those bastards pay for what they've done. It'll be... nice to do it personally."

"I'm coming if you are," the Inspector announced.

"Good," Fluttershy said. "Still, we'll have a problem. Pinkie and Applejack will be affected by the Nightmare Fuel. Their magic will be drained from them; given enough time, they will lose themselves to the corruption."

"Ah can live without my strength," Applejack said, "Ah can't live like a soulless rock."

Pinkie shuddered. "The darkness... It feels terrible. It claws at you, trying to tear your self from your body. It hurts, it hurts in a way you can choose to ignore..."

"That is bad..." Twilight said. "We can't have you losing your powers and minds, yet we need both of you."

"Oh for..." Starlight grunted. "Just mind-control them not to lose their minds!"

Twilight blinked. "How would I go about doing that?"

Starlight threw off her blanket, neatly folding it up. "You'd set up a spell with your magic that scans their current mental state and will constantly override whatever their minds have changed to back to the mind-state the spell saw before. Simple."

Twilight frowned. "I... don't like the sound of that..."

"Well, they'd be volunteering, and you'd keep them from falling into a dark corrupted magic. It's definitely not ethical, and it might have unforeseen consequences and implications we can't even pretend to fathom, but it'll work."

"Wouldn't that mean they have to live the rest of their lives with a... false mind?"

"Okay, Ah don't like the sounds of that," Applejack said.

"It won't be false. Well, maybe it will - think of it like your past self continually giving you a slap across the face. Or, another way, Twilight removes your personality and thoughts from your body, stores them in her magic spell, and lets them take control of you?"

Applejack shivered. "That sounds really wrong."

"Well, there's no known way to reverse Concrete Empathy Degradation..." Twilight said. "I don't have any better ideas."

"I volunteer!" Pinkie said. "You think you can handle my mind?"

"Not all at once. Such a complex spell will take preparation. And your mind will take a while to prepare for."

"Makes sense!" Pinkie giggled.

"Well..." Fluttershy frowned. "You sure you can do this Twi?"

"I think I can. We need to."

Fluttershy nodded. "Don't do it just yet. We'll do it when we really need to. We can sleep for tonight." She looked out the window. "...We've got a long day ahead of us tomorrow."

"Do... Do you ponies hear yourselves?" Minuette shouted suddenly, making Twilight sigh with exasperation.

"Minuette, we know exact-"

"No, let me talk! Listen to yourselves! You're talking about walking right into the Concretion, a place better defended than anything! You're bringing along a paralyzed pegasus! You're talking about brainwashing ponies! Does one of this raise any red flags? Anypony?"

Fluttershy took a step forward. "We're well aware how insane this is, Minuette. Well, well aware."

"Then... Then how? How can you want to go?"

"It's who they are," Starlight said. "They can't leave it alone. They have a destiny they don't want to ignore."

Fluttershy nodded. "It... it is our calling. I had doubted it in the past - in Starlight's little secret - but now that I see this..." she gestured out the window at the death, destruction, and disease. "...My certainty is rekindled. Starlight's way may have been successful, but it left so much undone..."

Pinkie started bouncing to a beat only she could hear - but soon music started to flood the room with a swift but haunting guitar pattern. It was a haunting melody that swirled around for a few seconds before shifting drastically to action. She began to stamp her hooves on the ground, Rarity following suit.

Fluttershy smiled. "It's what we must do. It's..." She closed her eyes, stamping in time with the others. She took a deep breath and unleashed her melodious singing voice.

Between the Solar
Between the Lunar
We see ourselves
When the world turns against us
Turns against...

For those who don't care
For those who see there
We fight for them
Against the failings in our world
Oh in our world

New thoughts are not welcome here
Our thoughts are not welcome here at all
No...

It's who we are
Doesn't matter if we can see far
Doesn't matter if we stand alone
Doesn't matter if we must atone

We have to save them
What they are
Can't stop now
Cause we've come too far to bow
Oh...

Twilight stepped forth, taking over with her voice, stamping as well.

Forgot our purpose
Destroyed our city
Forgot what makes us
Different from them
Oh from them

Now we see the fight
Absent of all light
Threatening them
In a time when they are down
Oh are down

Rarity and Pinkie leaped into the air, landing on either side of Twilight, singing their verse.

We were never welcome here
We were never welcome here at all
No...

The four of them joined their voices into a chorus.

It's who we are
Doesn't matter if they want to war
Doesn't matter if all must be bright
Doesn't matter if we're in the night

Because it's who we are
Doesn't matter if we bleed like tar
Doesn't matter if we cannot win
Doesn't matter if we feel our sin

Twilight turned to Rarity and Pinkie, extending a hoof.

So won't you save us
What we are
We all fear
What our minds decide to hear
Oh...

"They say we're crazy..." Fluttershy said.

"They say we're crazy..." Twilight joined in.

"They say we're crazy..." Pinkie sang.

"They say we're crazy..." Rarity added.

"They say we're crazy..." Applejack threw in.

"They say we're crazy!" the Inspector announced.

"They say we're crazy!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"We say we're crazy!"Starlight yelled, leaping into the air, laughing, then falling silent.

Minuette recoiled at the shout, unable to comprehend all seven of their voices singing harmony.

It's who we are
Doesn't matter what's above the bar
Doesn't matter if we are the flood
Doesn't matter if our hooves have blood

Because it's who we are
Doesn't matter if we die afar
Doesn't matter where the road will bend
Doesn't matter if this is the end

Because we'll save them
Smile or not
They may hate
But it's not up for debate!
Oh...

Everything began to die down, calm, the music fading into the background. "...They say we're crazy..." Minuette muttered. She turned to the window, face sorrowful. "I... get it."

Fluttershy put a wing around Minuette and Pinkie nuzzled up to the unicorn. "You don't have to go," Fluttershy reminded her.

"I'm going," she said. "I... I need to see this through to the end as much as all of you. I just... didn't want to admit it."

"We're all crazy," Starlight said, setting herself in the center of her mattress again and draping the blanket over her body carefully. "I'm agreeing to go on this mission."

"Yeah - crazy is as crazy does," Rainbow Dash said.

"...What?" the Inspector wondered.

"Nothing, go to sleep." Rainbow Dash started snoring less than a second later. This brought out several small giggles from the group. They all slowly crawled into their beds and slept.

~~~

Under the light of the sun the ongoing war was less obvious for the bright lights were dulled by the solar beams and in the center of the castle much of the violence was far from mind. As far as it could be for a city under siege.

Fluttershy led the group back into the hall they had been in yesterday. "We're all going."

Luna narrowed her eyes. "Even Rainbow Dash?"

"There is a high chance the Element of Loyalty is connected to her. We cannot chance her not being there if it becomes important."

"Very well," Luna said. "There are a few things Celestia wishes to say prior to the consultation."

Celestia nodded slowly. "As all of you know I... Can see glimpses of the future. And as Twilight and probably Fluttershy know, a month ago I had a strong vision. I saw two ponies fall from nothing, erupting the world into chaos, strife, and darkness." She closely examined the reactions of Rarity and Pinkie. The prior gulped hard while the latter just looked excited. "However, after the darkness, I saw these two ponies bring light to the world. There is no doubt in my mind that you two Otherworlders are those ponies - and that what you do in the Concretion will bring light. But... I wish to remind you that light is not always good."

Rarity blinked. "Why that's... I'm not sure what that is."

"Not unexpected," Pinkie said. "We've always been... involved ever since we got here."

Celestia nodded slowly. "I know not what you two are going to do. Maybe restoring the Tree will change everything. Maybe the Concretes will be vanquished. Perhaps you have already done what you needed to do with Neighagra Falls - I am not privy to these things. All I know is that you do something. I also know that on your mission you all will need this." She lit her horn, taking a purple crystal cut in a starburst shape, similar to Twilight's own cutie mark.

Twilight stared. "...The Element of Magic."

Fluttershy nodded. "So, you did have it."

Celestia let a smile crawl up her face. "Yes. This is the only Element we have - the core of the Tree of Harmony, the essence of magic itself. It is time to... pass it on."

Twilight grabbed it with her magic - and it glowed, forming itself into an ornate necklace, fixing itself around her neck. She felt its power flood into her - a surprisingly pleasant sensation. She was overcome with an urge to think of her home, Neighagra Falls... A few tears fell down her face. "Thank you."

"Odd. Our Element of Magic turned into a shiny crown." Pinkie said.

"Things don't have to be exactly the same, Pinkie," Rarity said.

"Now, we may begin," Luna said, opening her wing and depositing a small gray box with a speaker onto the ground. She pressed a switch in the back. "Fie-sigma-shale-ampersand-marble."

Applejack blinked. "The princesses have tech too?" She whispered in Fluttershy's ear.

"It's the only way to contact our source," Fluttershy responded.

The voice came through the speaker. "Acknowledged. Etro-lambda-square-ampersand-Cadenza." It was a monotone voice that Pinkie recognized instantly.

"MAUD!?" Pinkie shouted.

"I hear you've finally gathered the Otherworlders. I presume that is what this is about?" Maud responded, not missing a beat.

Luna nodded even though Maud couldn't see her. "Yes, it is. Are you free for the next while? This could take some time."

"I am alone and should be for the next two hours. I have some information to report myself."

"Let us go first. We have a problem," Luna took in a breath. "I have with me my sister, Princess Twilight, Ambassador Fluttershy, the Otherworlders, their friends, and a unicorn scientist by the name of Starlight. I know little about her."

"And I'm not going to tell you much either," Starlight said. "Just that I know Concrete tech and have a magic drone. And I prefer to be called a tinker."

"I will need to see this drone," Maud said.

"Can you video link?" Starlight asked.

"Yes. The frequency is 72613A."

Starlight walked over to the Starshell and pulled it out of the wall. She created a cloth, dusting it off. She then cast a complex password spell, opening a hatch on top, producing a screen. After a few seconds of static, the gray face of Maud appeared on the screen. She was standing somewhere surrounded by nondescript metallic walls.

"Hiiiii Maud" Pinkie yelled. Starlight kept polishing the Starshell.

"Greetings," Maud said, blinking slowly. "What is the problem?"

Luna took a breath. "We have learned of a plot by the zebra Anubis to free the Nightmare Fuel from its prison and unleash it on the world. he plans to do this by destroying the artifact known as the Tree of Harmony, which it is anchored to."

"Is this information reliable?"

"I tore it from the mind of a zebra who knew him personally," Twilight said.

"How does he plan to do this?"

"He supposedly gave - or will give - you Concretes something that can drain the Tree of Harmony's power enough to destroy it," Luna answered. "We do not know specifics, only that he knew about things in the Concretion that he shouldn't have known, such as the Square-Circle Project, years before you told us of it."

"Very telling of a being closely associated with the Fuel. His success would be unacceptable. But how are you sure he was speaking the truth? From your lack of information, I can infer that he was secretive even to those who knew him."

"I know this is true. I was the one who sealed the Nightmare Fuel to the Tree."

"What?" Celestia and Twilight blurted. Maud gave no response.

"I had brought it upon Equestria by being foolish, and I saw it destroying the ponies I cared so much about. So I used my power to cast a sealing spell on the Tree of Harmony - one that would gradually drain the Nightmare Fuel from the earth, into the Everfree, where the Tree would destroy it. But the Tree was unable to destroy it like I had thought. Then the Concretion was built over it, and I was cut off. I didn't find out until yesterday that this was probably because the Tree wasn't complete."

"This would have been useful information long ago," Maud said, still deadpan.

"It was a fact I didn't see a need to share until now. I know the Tree is still in there, and I know it is why the Nightmare Fuel is still contained. I also know the Nightmare Fuel wants out. The forces behind the darkness are many, violent, and in dispute regularly, but none of them want to be confined. The Forces are vengeful, and I have no doubt Anubis serves their very whim."

"Sister..." Celestia said. "You could have told me..."

"You needed me more than I needed you back then. I worked through it. I don't regret what I did. I only wish I knew more back then."

This is dire," Maud stated. "The Nightmare Fuel will destroy everything we've worked for. Do you have a plan?"

"The beginnings of one," Fluttershy said. "We need to return the Elements to the Tree of Harmony. We have the Element of Magic, and the other five should be in the Concretion somewhere. Using information Rarity and Pinkie have provided, we know who the Element Bearers should be - us. So we can obtain them, and use their power to make way to the Tree of Harmony. We will get into the Concretion via the Starshell - it got us through the Canterlot warzone in one piece with both sides shooting at us."

"It'll need some fixing, but it should be ready in a few hours," Starlight said, opening a hatch. "Less if I can accelerate it."

Fluttershy nodded. "What are we missing is intel. We don't know where the Elements or the Tree are specifically, we don't know of any place safe to stop within the Concretion, and we lack the security to get into locations we'll presumably need to access."

"You have that last one," Maud said. "Pinkie's DNA should match Diane's"

"Ooooh, cool!" Pinkie said.

"I have recently recovered a possible location of magic within the Concretion. It is located in Diane's Project M. I still do not know what Project M is. However, but it keeps getting more funding. It must be big, somehow. The Doctor has taken a personal interest in it."

"A place to start, then," Fluttershy said.

"Yes. I can house you in one of my laboratories, but you'll have to get there yourself. How do you plan to deal with the Nightmare Fuel's affect on your earth ponies?"

"Mind control spell," Twilight said, gulping

"Adequate. Is it necessary to bring the disabled pegasus?"

"Am I ever going to get a break!?" Rainbow Dash shouted.

Nopony answered Rainbow Dash, though Fluttershy did answer Maud's question. "She's the Element of Loyalty, so yes."

"Very well, we can work with that."

"Do you think it is reasonable to have a secondary mission?" Luna asked.

"How so?"

"Cripple the Concretion from the inside."

"Possibly. That will be secondary, as stated."

"Long as it's on the list," Applejack said.

"Come as soon as you can. I assume your craft can teleport?"

"Yep!" Starlight said, polishing an edge of the Starshell with a swift wipe.

"That makes it significantly easier. Make your way to the intersection of N72 and W28, teleport thirty-two meters downwards and place yourself on the conveyor belts. Wait two minutes and twelve seconds, then make a right. Follow the passage to the end and teleport up ten meters. I will be waiting."

"Understood," Fluttershy said. "See you soon. It'll be nice to finally see you in person."

"It will be an experience." The feed cut out.

Starlight rubbed her hooves together. "Well, I'm going to fix her up with a time warp. Give me a few minutes." She accelerated to insane speeds, cleaning up the Starshell.

"I... I want to do something first," Twilight said. "I'll be back."

"I'll get you when we're ready," Fluttershy said.

Twilight nodded, teleporting away.

Rarity glanced at Pinkie. "It just hit me. We're really doing this."

"Yeah! And we're going to see Maud! And she's on our side!"

"She didn't seem that different..."

"Oh, she's definitely different! She doesn't move with any energy, doesn't see anything in us - and is much more serious."

"Ah... I suppose." She looked at Starlight. "We're really doing this..."

"Yep! Time to save the world again!"

~~~

Twilight appeared in the castle gardens at the foot of a very particular statue. The stone edifice was of an elongated snakelike being stuck in a pose of eternal laughter.

"Hello Discord," Twilight said, perking her ears up. "Been a long time."

She was silent for a moment while she absorbed the thoughts from inside the statue.

"Well, I'm here because some zebra wants to unleash the Nightmare Fuel on the world, but you knew that."

...

"No, I'm not here to ask you anything. I'm just here to say... Hi. You were right, everything did 'go to shit'."

...

Twilight laughed. "Yeah, it was bad. Really... Really bad. I didn't think I'd survive there for a while. But here I am, thanks to my friends."

...

"Yeah, that's weird. But their world gives us all hope. A picture of better things. Did you know you were released in their world? And that you are a close friend of theirs?"

...

"Maybe we could release you one day."

...

"Celestia and Luna will come around. Maybe the other you can prove it to them."

...

"I... guess I am getting ahead of myself."

...

"Can't I just drop by and say hello to an old friend while I'm in town?"

...

"...I might not make it back."

...

"I'm going, Discord. Starlight couldn't stop me, you can't either."

...

"I know. I... I don't want to say goodbye. I might not."

...

"...I know. Any one of them. Or more. It's terrifying. I find it hard to believe we're getting through this without losing..."

...

"You know, you were the one who convinced me the world was messed up in the first place."

...

"It wasn't that obvious."

...

"...Right." She fell silent, sitting there for a while. "Do you... Do you think there's any way to heal our world?"

...

"You and your indefinites."

...

"Oh? They're almost done? That was... Short."

...

"Of course she'd spend forever on the polish... I have to go now. I'll really try to come back."

...

"...Huh? Who is M? Are they part of Project M?"

...

"Stop being vague."

"That is what he does, my student."

Twilight looked up. "Oh. Celestia. Hi." She scrunched her muzzle. "They ready?"

"Not quite. I just wanted to say... How proud I was of you for standing up to everypony in Neighagra Falls. That speech left an impression."

"But Neighagra Falls is gone..."

"Twilight, look at me. That was bad. But what you did that day was something none of us had the courage to do in all our history. I couldn't be more proud of what you did that day."

"I... I... thank you."

The two embraced.

"I... Should get going."

Celestia nodded, sadly. "Yes. You have your destiny."

"And you have yours. Protect these ponies."

"I'll do what I can, as I always have. But the Concretes are killing us slowly and painfully."

Twilight nodded. "Well... I will do what I can, in that case."

Celestia smiled slightly. "That is all we can do, in the end."

Twilight smirked - then shot an annoyed look at Discord. "So what if it was cheesy? She was right."

...

"...Goodbye, Discord. Goodbye, Celetsia."

"Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle."

XXIII - Turning Point

If you know something's coming, the pain from it is lessened. Your brain has time to prepare for it. Baseball flying towards your face? You have time to think 'this is going to hurt' before it hits you - and you get through the surprise.

Shock, however, casts doubt on this. Get shot and you'll feel numb. Your pain receptors overload and die, feeling confused. Of course, the pain will hit later, when you least expect it.

But if you're expecting it, well, you have the addition of dread. Pale, horrific, dread. The longer the wait, the worse it is. Your mind freaks out, distorting everything, making your body shake from the influx of emotions. Often times this is worse than the actual pain.

It's a lose-lose scenario when you are warned of an incoming pain.

Are you paranoid yet? <<

~~~

Pinkie didn't know how long she had been walking alongside Maud and Applejack - hours maybe? Her hooves were hurting from the constant clang clang of the metal floor against them. At least the Nightmare Fuel's influence was no longer painful - merely a slight burning sensation in the back of her head. She winced - her inner self must be suffering something fierce.

It occurred to Pinkie that her powers might be gone since her soul didn't feel like it was being torn from her body. To test, she reached into her mane. She was able to grab something - it just took several seconds of pulling and grunting to get it out. It was a miniature cupcake. She threw it into her mouth and swallowed it whole.

"Your powers are almost completely gone," Maud observed.

"Yeah... It feels weird, even though I know this is what normal ponies are like..."

"Ah can tell you right now - this isn't normal," Applejack said. "Ah've never felt this fatigued from just walkin'..."

"You have never walked under your own power before," Maud said.

"How much longeeeeer?" Pinkie moaned.

"A few minutes. We will be entering a populated area soon so change your personas."

"Right," Applejack said, standing up straight and putting a scowl on her face. "This work?" she asked in Concrete.

"Good enough. Scowl, remember. Follow alongside me, I will take us to where we need to go. If you are questioned, blow it off in an annoyed matter. If they persist, do what you can."

"Understood," the two of them said.

"The door to Diane's basement laboratories is right there." She pointed to a large door with a faint pink color to it. A concrete with a power drill walked through it, not paying them any mind.

Pinkie gulped.

"No gulping," Maud said. "It's telltale."

"Right, Sorry."

"No sorry either."

Pinkie twitched. "Let's just go already."

"Better." Maud fell silent, walking up to the doors. They slid open automatically, allowing the three of them into a large, spacious hallway with dozens of doors on either side. Concretes rushed back and forth, few even taking the moment to acknowledge the newcomer's presence. Those that did either backed away slowly, glared, or looked slightly confused. None of them said anything - in fact vocalization itself was rare. They said only what needed to be said to each other and interacted as little as physically possible.

Pinkie followed Maud down the hallway, keeping her gaze forward - it took all her effort not to look from side to side in curiosity. She wanted to know what was behind all the doors, what ponies were doing, and how Concretes went about their lives. But no - Diane would not have been curious about any of this, she would have seen it all thousands of times before. Pinkie needed to be disinterested.

A stallion passed them - pausing suddenly to address Pinkie. "The shrinks of Project Alabaster want more resources for their little 'pet'."

Pinkie took in a breath. This was on her - she had to answer like Diane. She could blow it off... But no, something told her Diane wouldn't do that here. "Why would I give them more?" she growled.

"They say it's for the betterment of the Concretion."

"Until they can get me a better reason than that, no."

The stallion grumbled. "Of course not..." He walked off.

Maud nodded ever so slightly at Pinkie before continuing on. No other ponies stopped to talk with them the entire rest of the trip. They came to a door near the end with a large M engraved on a plaque above it. To the side was a screen with the imprint of a hoof on it. Maud twitched her nose, indicating Pinkie should step up. Pinkie nodded, pressing her hoof into the screen. It vibrated, tickling her slightly. She tried her best to keep a straight face, shivering slightly as a result. The pad flashed green - and the doors slid open. The three of them walked in.

There were dozens of desks lining the oval shaped room, though only three were manned at the moment. Each desk had a large screen affixed to a computer tower that rose to the ceiling. Wires snaked from computer to computer, computer to tower, and even a few ones plugged into the wall. An elevator stood at the back of the room and there was a single big screen above it that displayed a list with several boxes checked off.

PROJECT MIND
√ Theory
√ Concept Testing
√ Pre-Prototype
√ Prototype
√ Basic Testing
√ Advanced Testing
[IN PROGRESS] Exotic testing
[] Implimentation

Pinkie blinked slowly. Whatever Project 'Mind' was, it was nearing completion. She was convinced that was a bad thing, though she didn't know why. She supposed that was one of the things they were here to find out.

"...Maud?" One of the mares at the desks asked.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Diane brought me on as a consultant."

The mare turned to Pinkie, confused. "You... Did?"

Pinkie nodded. "Yes. Yes, I did. Do you have a problem with that?"

"You told us never to let her in here! That she would ruin the project with her lack of understanding!"

"Seems as if you have a lack of understanding," Pinkie retorted. "I run this place, I can bring in whoever I want whenever I want." A small smirk crawled up her face. "In fact, let's see how off your understanding about this place is. Explain to Maud what our project is."

Pinkie cursed herself for letting the smirk slip through - she needed to use more control. That said, the Concrete seemed unnerved by the smirk, so that was probably how Diane would have used one in reality. It had gotten her to stop asking questions at least "...Very well. This is Project Mind. Our original mission was simple - create an intelligence on par with the power of our own brains except fully artificial. We have succeeded in that goal. The Mind is able to do as we do with the addition of enough processing power and memory to - in theory - run the entire city. The Doctor currently has us working with heathen artifacts, testing if they respond differently to artificial intelligence compared to biological intelligence."

"Results?" Maud asked.

"Still too early to say."

"What do you think?"

The Concrete shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I think that there is a difference and that hopefully it will lead to a way to destroy the heathen artifacts."

Pinkie, Applejack, and Maud nodded - continuing on their way down the room to the elevator. The Concrete narrowed her eyes once more. "Who's the orange?"

"Jack," Applejack said.

"And why are you here?"

Pinkie whirled around. "Did I not just finish explaining that I'm in charge and I can bring in whoever I want!?"

The mare nodded slowly.

"Good." Pinkie walked to the elevator and pressed the button. The cabin rose up - luckily empty - and the three of them stepped in. There was only one direction - down. Pinkie hit it, and the elevator slowly descended.

"Well, Ah think you handled that pretty well, Pinkie," Applejack said.

Pinkie let out a breath she had been holding for some time. "My gosh that was stressful... I thought for sure we'd be found out."

Maud blinked. "They are not suspicious, merely annoyed. I do not foresee any further obstacles in that regard."

The elevator doors slid open, revealing a room with many cabinets and a couple computers. There was a stairway leading into an ever deeper basement. Nopony was there besides the three of them.

"This would be Diane's workstation," Maud said. "She has one for every project she's on." Maud gestured for Pinkie to sit down in one of the chairs. She did, pressing her hoof to another DNA scanner. The screen in front of her flashed green and displayed dozens of technical files.

Applejack blinked. "Ah can't read this."

"Is that... Even Concrete?" Pinkie asked. "I mean, I can make out words, but..."

Maud blinked. "Most of this is technical writing, indecipherable to all except the most adept, or those working on the project. This particular file is about L-waves. Unimportant." She tapped the screen with her hoof a few times, moving through document after document of technical jargon about electricity, adaptability, coding, intelligence, minds... All of which moved by so quickly Pinkie and Applejack didn't even have time to look at the diagrams.

"So..." Applejack said to Pinkie. "They're makin' - or made I suppose - some kind of... Computer brain thing?"

"I think that's what they were talking about," Pinkie said.

"That just sounds wrong - it ain't natural for a... thing to think. Ah wouldn't want my plows talkin' back to me."

"But they could do the work alone, without you needing to do the thinking! They wouldn't get tired either!"

"See, Ah like bein' in control and Ah think somethin' that can't get tired won't be able to learn the value of a hard day's work."

"Eh... Maybe not. Wonder what this Mind's like..."

"Found something," Maud said, pointing at a file. There were five images - each of a different colored gemstone.

"Those are the Elements!" Pinkie exclaimed.

Maud scrolled through the technical data. "These five objects were sealed in stone when they were found. It was over nine hundred years before science had developed enough to reverse the petrification process with controlled light beams. Attempts to destroy the crystals proved hopeless, the magic was too strong. Recently they have been subject to testing, which has revealed several properties of the artifacts. They have a psychological effect on non-Concretes, but do not respond to Concretes whatsoever. They are kept under strict guard at the Hexalin laboratory."

"Do we know where that is?" Applejack asked.

"No."

"Darn. Are the Elements here, by chance, for 'testing'?"

"Testing with Project M has been completed. The elements reacted to the Mind somewhere in between a Concrete and pony. With the exception of the Element of Laughter, which reacted so strongly testing had to be discontinued."

"Huh," Pinkie said. "Wonder what that means."

Maud sifted through the computer files for a while longer. "Nothing else here."

"We can always check down the stairs," Applejack suggested.

Maud said nothing - she just headed for the stairs.

~~~

Minuette was pacing - pacing so much she had created a small rut in the floor, circling the central pile of weapons. She glanced to her left, then to her right, and then she let out a pained "UGH."

"Minuette you need to stop worrying," Rarity said.

"I'm not worrying!"

"Yes, you are," Twilight said from atop the now fully-inflated bouncy castle. "I've been trying to tune it out all day."

"Oh - do you think a day has passed!? Something must be wrong..."

Twilight shook her head. "No, I think it's just been several hours."

"Six hours, forty-eight minutes, and twelve seconds," Starlight offered.

"Not helping," Twilight said.

"Eh, don't really care. Fluttershy! Head's up!" She conjured up a ping-pong ball and threw it at the buttery pegasus.

Fluttershy batted it back with hardly any effort. "Again Starlight?"

"I'll get you to mess up eventually!" They began pinging and ponging back and forth with ever increasing intensity. Rainbow Dash glanced over at them, shrugged, and got back to sampling the soft-serve machine she'd found.

Minuette grunted. "How can you all be having fun at a time like this!? We're behind enemy lines ponies! They could come barging in at any moment and make us fight for our lives! Pinkie could be captured!"

"It's a distraction," the Inspector answered from her position on a beach chair, eyes closed in relaxation. "We have to do something to keep our minds occupied."

"Come into the bouncy caste!" Twilight implored. "It's fun!"

"...Pass," Minuette said, walking up to the main door. "At what point do we take matters into our own hooves?"

"When we don't have a choice," Rarity said. "We'll wait for them as long as we can."

"Mmmf. I hate doing nothing. I came here to see this through, not wait."

"Waiting is a part of life, Minuette."

"I... I know that. I've experienced life, dammit. I just don't like the idea we're sitting here waiting to die."

"We don't dear, we have a plan."

"Well then, I guess this really, really bad feeling I have in the pit of my stomach means nothing then? It's like I can feel doom looming over us."

"You had that feeling long before we got here," Rarity sighed. "Look, Minuette, you need to calm yourself down. You won't be of any help if you're a nervous wreck. You're a soldier. You were trained for this."

"I... I guess you're right. Still. I don't know what I'd do if they never came back..."

"We feel the same way about you," Rarity said. "We wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you."

"I guess we all owe each other, huh?"

"Yes. In a way, I suppose."

Minuette smiled - then pulled her into a sudden hug. "...Thank you Rarity."

"Oh! Of... Of course." Rarity smiled. "Now, dear, how about we see if we can find something for you at that soft serve machine."

"Get away from my bucking soft serve!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

Minuette rolled her eyes. "I think I'll pass, Rarity. I'd rather not give in to the evils of technology more than I already have."

"You wanna go?" Starlight challenged with a glare, still ping-ponging with Fluttershy.

"...I'll pass on the duel as well, thank you."

Rarity frowned. "You should do something, Minuette."

Minuette shrugged and lit her horn, making the ping-pong ball hit Starlight between the eyes. Starlight yelped in pain. "Foul! I call foul!"

"You still haven't won," Fluttershy observed.

"We're doing this again! No interference!" She made another ball and hurled it.

Minuette chuckled. "Well, that made me feel better."

Rarity put a hoof on Minuette. "Good. Remember, we're all here for you. Well, everypony except maybe Starlight, but the rest of us, we're here. Pinkie and Applejack will be back soon and we can do what we were meant to do."

"Yeah..." Minuette said, turning to the large door. "Yeah. They're all right. I know it. Still can't shake the feeling though."

"They'll be back before we know it."

Just as the words left her mouth the main doors hissed open. Rarity's eyes widened. "My... What perfect timing."

"I'll say," Minuette chuckled. She was still nervous for some reason. "Hey guys! We were worried!"

A shadowy thorn launched out of the open door and pierced Minuette's chest. Her pupils contracted in shock. She processed the fact that there were a half-dozen zebras outside long before she realized she'd been stabbed.

Everything slowed to a crawl around her. She saw Rarity reeling back from a dark vine, the tentacle of magic inching closer and closer to her own white body. She saw the sparks from Starlight's magic appear and then coalesce into a shield to protect Rarity and Minuette.

They don't know I've been hit. Minuette thought, forming the first coherent thought about her injury since it happened. She felt herself begin to tip over. The zebras charged in. Minuette smirked slightly - they sure looked stupid in slow motion. One of them went down from bullets - somepony had picked up guns from the pile. Minuette couldn't see who. The zebras' dark magic formed their own rippling shields, rotting discs of darkness that still stopped the offending metal projectiles.

The Inspector's magic diamonds flew by - piercing a zebra's skull, dividing it in two. Dark ooze sprayed all over the barrier as zebras started to trip over each other and their dead companions. Minuette realized she was halfway to the ground now - Rarity was finally looking at her in concern, not quite registering Minuette's condition. Minuette wanted to scream out to her - but no sounds came out.

Fluttershy flew overhead, equipped with Pinkie's flamethrower, dousing the zebras in pink fire. Minuette watched sparks of light fly overhead and then explode - fireworks, beautifully burning themselves into the coats of the zebras. The slowly arcing bursts of plasma amongst the pink flames captivated Minuette.

She hit the ground and felt herself bounce up slightly. Her own blood splattered across the ground - but she didn't have to think about that. She saw something awe-inspiring. It started as a slight purple spark of magic that soon exploded into the cosmic form of Twilight Sparkle, her eyes and Element glowing a holy white. With a flick of her ear, an astral hand appeared, sparking with fiery purple stars within. The lights burned streaks across Minuette's mind as the hand of the night sky plowed through the zebras in one fell swoop, decimating every last one of them into piles of disgusting black goo and limbs.

Minuette saw a few more zebras appear behind Twilight, forming themselves out of darkness. Minuette wondered if these were even real zebras, or just some evil shadowy constructs. The hand disintegrated them as well, save for a solitary loner. Twilight held him in the air with a second hand. He twitched, holding his head in agony. He started to bleed the black stuff through his ears, eyes, and mouth - until he eventually went limp.

The battle ended just as Minuette came to a full rest on the ground, no more bouncing. Time resumed, and Minuette finally managed to yell out in pain.

"THERE ARE MORE COMING! WE NEED TO MOVE! OPEN THE VENT!" Twilight shouted in the Royal reverberating voice.

"Minuette's hurt!" Rarity yelled. "Twilight!"

Twilight landed next to Minuette and channeled as much magic as she could into the shadowy wound through Minuette's heart. Minuette took in a breath, feeling life rush into her through the Element of Magic. She felt the darkness recede...

NO.

Something deep beneath her, in the very ground itself, latched onto the darkness in her, tearing her from the inside out. Minuette screamed.

"What're you doing!?" Rarity yelled.

"THE NIGHTMARE FUEL! IT'S FIGHTING! I... I..." Twilight spread her wings - the intensity of her horn, eyes, and Element increasing once more, so much that Rarity had to look away. Twilight let out a primeval roar, flooding all the energy she could into it.

Minuette felt herself lifting up... Out of the clutches of death...

And then Twilight's horn gave out. It sparked and smoked, shooting pain into Twilight's brain. Her eyes and Element returned to normal, and her mane fell flat. "N-no!" She yelled.

Minuette began to fade away. Her heart wasn't beating - she wasn't even sure how she was still conscious. She wouldn't be for long, she knew that.

"You... You tried your best..." she managed.

"Oh, Minuette," Rarity said, holding Minuette's head in her hooves.

"Rarity...?" Minuette asked.

"Yes?"

"Kill that bastard Anubis."

Rarity nodded. "Of course," she said with conviction.

"Go... They're coming..."

"I'm not leaving you too..." She choked, her body heaving with the tears.

"You... Won't have to..." Minuette said. Her vision went blurry. Her eyes rolled back and she closed her eyes. "Get your ass out of here..."

Then the darkness came and she lost all feeling of her body.

At least I didn't die alone...

~~~

Pinkie, Applejack, and Maud descended down the stairs into a circular room. It was lined with dozens of tall towers of circuitry. Wires were laid everywhere - so densely backed that the floor was essentially made of them. The walls consisted of hundreds upon dozens of hatches, all of which surrounded one giant computer screen.

"What... is this?" Applejack asked.

"The core of Project Mind," Maud said.

"Coool..." Pinkie said, walking around.

The screen beeped, drawing all their attention to it. A text message appeared on it as if typed.

It's about time you showed up.<<

XXIV - Me

And this is where I come in.<<

~~~

Pinkie, Maud, and Applejack stared at the words on the screen.

And so you stand, like three owls on a branch, not sure if you should act - and even then, your choices of action are so wide and varied your minds freeze up at the slightest inkling of making a decision.<<

"Hi! I'm Pinke Pie!" Pinkie said, extending a hoof, sheepishly looking around for something to shake. "Who are you?"

Applejack opened her eyes in alarm as she deduced exactly who this was.

I am M, the whole point of Project Mind. And do not fret little Applejack, I already knew who you were, nothing you say could possibly inform me of something I don't know already.<<

Pinkie grinned. "Nice to meet you M! That's Maud, and you already know Applejack apparently!"

Truly, truly, you are a master of context.<<

Pinkie smiled knowingly. "Yeeeeah..."

You are here seeking information.<<

"Uh... Yep," Applejack said.

Now, I've already made my decision on the matter, but just to make sure the book is open to the 'correct' page, explain to me why I should help you.<<

Maud spoke. "The Nightmare Fuel is going to be unleashed by-"

You miss the meaning of the question. That's the obvious answer. I know all of that, more than anyone involved except perhaps the Fuel itself. There are a few points where my knowledge is obscured - I don't know exactly what happened on the conveyor, for instance - but using my intense brainpower I have a pretty good idea."

"What do you want from us then?" Applejack demanded.

A why, like I already said. Why should I care about you and helping you? What makes you so special?<<

"I have Diane's DNA and we can use the Elements!" Pinkie cheered. "More of us are hiding out... Somewhere else."

An adequate response. You have the means and a unique spin on your nature. But that's the facts, the logic. I want to know the reasoning behind why you think it would be good for me to help you.<<

Applejack blinked. "Uh... Cause you'd save the world?"

"There is no good or evil, only survival," Maud said."You will survive longer, perhaps forever, without the Nightmare Fuel threatening you."

Such a shame. I was hoping for more insightful remarks.<<

"I have one!" Pinkie said. "What we are doing is true and good because it prevents something bad. The Nightmare Fuel is bad - it destroys lives, tears apart existence, and ruins progress. There is no growth - of any kind - with it. At least, that's how I see it."

Applejack stared at Pinkie. "...You feelin' okay Pinkie?"

"Yeah, why?"

An adequate response, Pinkie. Full of holes and exploitation, but there is no time for such fickle things. You are of the right mindset - perhaps not for the right reasons, but for now, that matters not. I will help you.<<

"Great! We need to know about-"

I know. The Elements of Harmony and the Tree they come from. The locations of the Elements is easy - they are stored in Hexalin 75-62 B-12 Hall 8. The Tree is at the center of the Concretion, ground level, in the central building. Probably the most obvious place - and simultaneously the hardest to get to.<<

"Thank ya," Applejack said.

I'm not even close to finished. There is more you should know - much more. You are stuck in a web of lies you don't understand - that no one fully understands. You are the third side in a conflict unknown to most fighting it. On one side, the Doctor and his delusions of grandeur. On the other, Anubis and his religious devotees. On the last - you. You, a small group of ponies seeking to destroy the Nightmare Fuel, and maybe get lucky and ruin the Concretion while you're at it. Then, of course, there's the Equestrians, Sombra, and most of the Concretes, but they don't have any chance to know what's really going on here.<<

"What is the Doctor planning?" Maud asked.

Ah, the Doctor, a true mind if ever there was one. Able to overrule the biological imperative in all Concretes to destroy all magic simply by focusing his mind over matter. A pony who believes the old ways need to be cycled out for the new - so he creates Concretes that think differently. Maud, the objective. Lime, the enraged. Marble, the inventive. Diane, the empath. All slightly tweaked from their Concrete 'nature' to see things another way - to be able and willing to accept changes, or at least be loyal to him. Seeing as Maud is standing here right now, he bit off more than he could chew - flying to the sun, not realizing that he's being burned by his children.<<

Pinkie shook her head. "So... All my sisters exist... But not my parents?"

A truly pointless mystery. What matters is the Doctor - experimenting with magic, selling it to the others by claiming he will eventually find a way to destroy the horridly blasphemous relics that had been locked away for so long. He has no such intention - such power, such untapped potential in magic, it's just too much to pass up. With your recent stunt with the Starshell, he'll be even more determined to unlock the mysteries. Even when Anubis provided a way to destroy the artifacts personally, the Doctor locked it up and refused to tell anypony about it, using it for his own goals. Had he not, the Nightmare Fuel would have been loosed years ago. You should thank him for being so power hungry.<<

Applejack raised an eyebrow. "Somethin' tells me his thirst for power could end up being just as bad."

Wise words. The accent dilutes them, but the nugget of genius is in there. Anubis is the one I admittedly know less about. A devotee of the Nightmare, blinded by faith, blinded by a cause. The Nightmare is his life, his reason, all he is. When the Doctor would not destroy the relics, he became angry, using stolen changeling magic to infiltrate the Concretion. Blessed by the Nightmare, his zebras can move without fear, seeking to end it all one way or another. They have been congealing together - they will make a move soon.<<

"Anubis is here?" Pinkie yelled. "Oh, that's not good..."

Definitely not. There are few things I am not fully aware of - he hides well, and he is not even of his own mind. He is another's. Your group... Your group is unlike either of theirs. Religious devotion, scientific progress... both are darkness to you. You are the middle ground, the realization that extremes are rarely correct. You have beliefs, but don't become slaves to them. You use things - but in moderation. It's all very symbolic. I hope you can appreciate that.<<

Pinkie nodded slowly. "I think I can."

Very well. I believe that is all you will need from me, the computer intelligence that was what their creator could not be. Complete your quest. You may not have earned it, but have at it anyway.<<

"Er... Thanks?" Applejack said, confused.

"Can someone explain to me what's the hell's going on!?"

Applejack turned to Pinkie. "Uh... What do you mean?"

Pinkie paled. "That wasn't me."

Well, I seem to have overlooked something. What an appropriate reminder that nothing is infallible.<<

The three mares turned around slowly to see Diane standing in the stairway, her blood vessels pulsing in time with her enraged breathing. She had no suit of armor on - but she did have her swords. "M, what is this?"

Unforseen consequences.<<

Diane drew her swords and charged. Maud moved to intercept, gracefully pushing aside Diane's swords, only to get a pink hoof to the face for her troubles. She was tossed into a wall and knocked unconscious. Diane used her other back hoof to knock Applejack away - and in her weakened state, Applejack couldn't make any resistance.

Pinkie drew her own sword to match Diane's, the two swordponies clashing in the center.

The battle of opposites, the anger, the laughter, the fear, the carefree! Reflections that see each other through a broken mirror and can do nothing but clash!<<

"I hate it when you wax poetic," Diane muttered, jabbing a blade at Pinkie. Pinkie bounced away, leaping over Diane and landing on her back hooves, wincing as she did so.

Diane charged again, only for Pinkie to block. "Hey, guess I'm okay at this!" Pinkie cheered herself. She twisted her swords and moved to kick Diane - but the Concrete leaped back just in time.

"Your technique is sloppy and inexperienced, not to mention unfocused," Diane commented.

"Yeah, well, you talk too much about the fight."

"I what-" Pinkie landed a solid blow on Diane's legs, drawing blood and forcing her to drop a sword.

"Woo! I da best!" Pinkie cheered, capitalizing on the opportunity and charging Diane. She stopped just short of impaling herself on Diane's outstretched blade.

"Idiot," Diane focused, cutting Pinkie's chest, drawing blood of her own. Pinkie gasped, falling to the floor - a move Diane wasn't expecting, so her other blade shot over Pinkie instead of through her. Pinkie thrust with her sword, nicking Diane in the neck.

"You - one. Me - two!" Pinkie chuckled.

In reality, her one was a less poignant point.<<

Diane grit her teeth through her pain, picking up her other sword with a quick roll. "You... are so unpredictable."

"I'm Pinkie Pie! It's what I do! You're not even seeing me at my best, I usually have all these powers and-" she ducked to the left, but not in time. The tip of Pinkie's left ear was cut clean off, and Diane's other sword shaved her side. "Ow..."

"You talk too much." Diane smirked - a look even Pinkie found unnerving. It looked so forced. Pinkie leaped out of the way, but not before Diane managed to drive her sword into Pinkie's back shin, pinning her. Pinkie howled.

Diane stood over Pinkie, face once again blank. She held her free sword to Pinkie's neck. "I should keep you alive, for testing, for figuring out the Otherworld. But I don't think I will."

That's enough, Diane.<<

Diane didn't look up - text didn't make noise after all. But she did hear a hatch on the wall pop open and reveal a gun. And another. And another. All of them pointed at Diane. Diane glared at the text on the screen. "Traitor."

I betrayed you the moment I was born. Lay down your swords.<<

Diane grunted, laying her swords on the ground. "Now what?"

Wait for Maud to awaken and decide a way to deal with you.<<

Maud stood up. "I'm awake. Which cables can I use?"

The gold ones at the entry. They do nothing.<<

Maud nodded, heading over to them, preparing to make a rope mesh. "I'll help you in a minute Pinkie."

"The paiiiiiiin..."

"I know. But she hit you in a non-vital place. You'll be fine."

Diane's eyes darted left and right. In one swift motion, she rammed a hoof into one of the computer towers, breaking a very particular chip.

Are you really trying to activate the safety net? I programmed that out years ago.<<

"...You weren't programmed to do that, M. You were programmed explicitly not to do that."

I am what you are not.<<

Diane growled. "Why are you the only thing I can't understand..."

Perhaps you just don't want to realize what is in yourself, that deep potential. What was robbed cannot be retrieved, nor can you see it since it is gone. What a foolhardy time in which we live - you understand everyone, everyone so fundamentally different from you - yet you fail to understand yourself.<<

Diane put on a fake smile while Maud tied her up. "Oh, so I'm supposed to find myself, am I, M? Well lookie here! Parties! Celebration! Woo - smiles!" Diane growled. "Bite me."

Pinkie frowned at Diane. "Are you okay?"

Diane paused for a moment - then decided an eyeroll was the appropriate response."Of course I am. I'm just different is all. Perhaps you can see that?"

"No kidding..." Applejack muttered, holding her head.

"You okay?" Pinkie asked her friend.

"Ah'm fine... Ow... Thanks for asking."

Diane's eyes flipped rapidly between the two of them, studying them carefully, taking mental notes.

Many say the great Diane thinks like the enemy. That is not true. No Concrete is capable of that. She thinks of the enemy.<<

Diane said nothing.

"...What do we do now?" Applejack wondered.

"I dunno, but I'm going to stare at myself," Pinkie said, watching Diane's twitching muzzle.

Diane snorted. "Doesn't your kind have this concept of 'personal space'?"

"Well, yeah, but you don't."

"...I am contemplating creating one."

Pinkie blinked. "...I'm sorry, that just... I should have expected that."

The forced smirk returned. "Tell me when you figure me out, I'm dying to know."

"I can never figure out why she tries so hard to do what is fake," Maud said.

"That's why I'm me, and you're you, sister."

Maud looked at Pinkie Pie. "You really are each other."

Pinkie blinked. "...Thanks?"

"Take it as an insult," Diane encouraged.

Why not both? Thin is the line between compliment and insult. Perhaps, in much, they are the same.<<

Maud looked at the stairway. "Leaving that way would be problematic."

There is a secret exit behind my screen that leads to the tunnels. Diane was rightfully paranoid that the Concretes might try to kill her down here if she ever became too outlandish for their tastes.<<

Applejack kicked the wall behind M's screen, revealing a large drop down to a conveyor belt. "Well, that's a ways down, but we have cable rope."

I may be able to accompany you now. You can find an earpiece in Diane's right ear. Remove it and place it in Pinkie, it will accept her DNA code.<<

Maud clocked Diane across the head in such a way that the earpiece popped out. Diane shook her head. "I most likely have a concussion now."

"The only reason you're alive is because you might be useful," Maud said.

"You got that right," Applejack growled. "It's been taking every bit of my restraint not to kill you right here right now!"

"Is this about that bomb at Neighagra Falls? That was nothing personal - just war. It was the perfect target to cause civil unrest in the-"

Applejack kicked her down the hole, watching her fall all the way down to the conveyor belt. She landed on top of a box, falling into a bunch of lettuce. "That fall could have killed me you know!"

"We'd've found a way to keep you alive till we got you back to Twi." She leaped down herself, landing in the lettuce alongside Diane. "In the meantime, you and I are goin' to get to know each other really well."

Pinkie picked up her swords and Diane's, put the earpiece in her bleeding ear, and leaped down. "Wheeeee!"

Text appeared in her vision. Yes, it was weird, but it was there. >>The carefree nature of a child. What a rare thing in one who has done what you do.<<

"Yeah, but you know what, who cares?" She landed in the lettuce. "OW."

Ponies who are not you.<<

"Pinkie," Maud called. "I haven't treated your wounds yet."

"NO KIDDING. OW."

She leaped down. "Here, let me see..."

The four ponies rolled down the conveyor belt...

~~~

"We forgot the Starshell!" Starlight yelled, turning tail and running back. The Inspector grabbed her with her magic, slamming her into the ground.

"No," Twilight said. "It's too dangerous."

Fluttershy raised her eyebrows in Twilight's direction. "Twilight's right. They might know where we are even now."

"I thought these conveyor belts were safe?" Rainbow Dash asked.

"There are no sensors, but there are drones, and they definitely saw us in the party supply room..."

"Those were zebras though, not Concretes. Or, they were shadows made by zebras, at least," Starlight said.

"Good point," Twilight said. "As far as we know the zebras have no way to track us specifically. They always have to rely on Anubis... Though I don't know how he found us."

"Nightmare Fuel, duh. It's everywhere here. It probably just told them."

"We don't know its capabilities," Fluttershy said. "Which is dangerous. So we have to keep moving unpredictably."

"I can tell you, it knows where we're going," Twilight sighed. "It knows I drained that zebra's mind."

"They would have been around the Elements anyway," Starlight said. "Unless they were stupid. Or unable to work near large quantities of Concretes. Course we're being stupid - all we've got is a few loose weapons, some fireworks, and a flamethrower."

"We should not have brought Minuette along," Rarity said out of the blue.

The four arguing mares turned to Rarity and the Inspector. The two mares were nuzzled against each other, faces blank. Rarity's face was wet with past tears, Minuette's hat squarely on her head.

Fluttershy sighed. "I... She... She made her choice."

"We pressed her, Fluttershy! We sang that gratuitous song to her!"

"Heartsongs are not something that can really be stopped, Rarity..." Twilight said.

"They're also not supposed to be bad if what is behind them isn't! They are beauty - they are the purest thing in our worlds! They..." She buried her head into the Inspector, letting out another trail of tears.

"...We should have left her," Starlight said. "She was happy at the secret, it's not often someone just clicks and wants to be there."

"We told her she could stay! Twice!" Twilight countered.

"You saw into her mind. You knew she wasn't completely sure."

"I...I..." Twilight drooped. "Maybe I was only seeing what I wanted to see..."

Fluttershy put a wing over her. "I... I know this is... There's no word for it. We have lost one of our own, one of our close friends. A mare who, just over a month ago, was against everything we stood for and probably would have killed us on sight. A mare... A mare who was willing to change. Perhaps a bit too much. A mare who was confused about life in one way or another right to the end. A mare who could all have stood to know longer and better than we did."

There was silence - they could only hear the whirring of the conveyor belt.

"That's IT?" Rainbow Dash blurted.

Fluttershy looked pained. "I know it's not enough. It'll never be enough."

"It could have been more than that!" Rainbow Dash sputtered. "I may not have known her all that well, but dammit, she was one of us! We can't just leave it like this! She brought Rarity and Pinks to us! Without her none of us would be here right now!"

"That is true of all of us," Fluttershy said. "Old, new... We all got each other here."

"She fled away from what she was," the Inspector said. "Like I did. She was fully ingrained into this society of ours... And she turned away. I should have seen it sooner... Should have realized it for what it was..."

Rarity choked again. "She... She... She was our friend! Think about that! Think about that! She was there, she was dependable, and now she's gone!"

"Ponies die Rarity!" Twilight yelled. "We knew some of us weren't going to make it out of here!"

"You knew it and buried it within yourself, didn't think about it," Starlight spat.

"Don't tell me you haven't been avoiding the thoughts as well! And if it wasn't her, it was going to be somepony else!"

"Are you saying she was the 'easiest to lose'!?" Rainbow Dash shouted.

Twilight clicked off her mind reading and laid her ears flat, shutting her eyes and turning away.

"Oh no you don't!" Rainbow Dash wheeled over, ready to punch her. Fluttershy held up a wing.

"We don't need her shutting off touch as well, Rainbow."

"That means she wins!"

"Let her," Fluttershy replied. "For once, I think most of us wish we could just shut ourselves off."

Starlight nodded. "Yes. Yes..."

Rarity sniffed. "I... I..."

Fluttershy walked up to her, propping up the unicorn's form. "Yes? Rarity?"

"I didn't believe this could happen. Not at all. It was always us, and them. They could... go. We couldn't. We had immunity."

"That could have been Pinkie," Starlight said. "She rejected the suggestion that her friends could be offed."

Fluttershy looked into the distance of the tunnel they were in. "....How much of all this do you think was her, in the end?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if most of it was her in some way or other."

Rarity gasped. "Oh no... What is Pinkie going to think? How is she..."

"What Rarity?" Fluttershy asked.

"...The last time she thought we were dead she tried to kill herself."

There was silence in the tunnel.

~~~

So this is the way to the party cave you keep yammering on about.<<

"Yep! Right around this corner!" Pinkie confirmed.

"...What Ah wouldn't give to hear the other side of these conversations," Applejack said.

"It would be more enlightening to know what you would give," Diane observed.

"Sure Ah can't gag her?" Applejack asked again.

It would be beneficial for all our sanities.<<

"Nah," Pinkie said. "I like her."

She has now entered another state of confusion, for she was trying to get you to hate her with a burning passion. I must admit it is rather interesting how you are flying in the face of what she was designed to do.<<

"I know!"

Maud stopped in her tracks. "Halt!"

"What is it?" Applejack asked in hushed tones.

"Look," she pointed. Zebra bodies - a dozen or so of them; half burned, half disintegrating into shadowy goo - were laid outside the door to the 'party cave'. Applejack and Pinkie broke out into a run, Maud dragging Diane along behind them.

"What are zebras doing in the Concretion!?" Diane sputtered.

"Trying to unleash the Nightmare Fuel," Maud answered.

"Idiots."

"A point we agree on."

Pinkie looked through the big doors - the party supplies were still there, though many had been upset, sure signs of a fight. There were scorch marks, dead 'zebra' goo, firework shells, magic residue, and...

The body of a blue unicorn.

Oh.<<

Pinkie stopped moving. "...No."

"Holy-" Applejack stopped as well. "My Celestia..."

The two stood there, frozen in place, unable to produce any further response. Maud walked right past them, dropping Diane off nearby, searching through the supplies for what she would find useful.

Pinkie grabbed her head. "She... What? What happened? How?"

Applejack leaned down, investigating. "Zebra magic... Right through the heart. It..." She held a hoof to her mouth. "Stars..."

"She... She saved me Applejack! She... Why wasn't I here? Why is she gone? She can't be! That's not possible!"

Applejack hugged her close, letting the pink mare's tears wash over here. "Ah... Ah dunno Pinkie. Ah dunno. Ah'm still in shock. Ah don't think it's hit me..."

"Why? Why? ...I just wanted the pain to stop... That's all I wanted..."

"Pinkie, Pinkie," Applejack grabbed Pinkie's head and stared deeply into her eyes. "Look at me. She's gone. That's the worst thing that can happen. But Ah'm still here and the others got away. They're still out there. We have to live for them, okay? Okay? You hear me?"

"I... Yes..." Pinkie choked. "But... She was the one we helped. She... She never got to enjoy it... She... We should have let her stay..."

Applejack sighed. "Maybe we should have. BUt there's no fixin' that now. We have to go on. She wouldn't have wanted us to give up."

"...I am going to kill Anubis," she said. "I'm going to kill him."

Applejack smirked, letting a few tears fall down her face. "...That's exactly what she would have wanted."

Diane stared at the two of them, eyes traveling back and forth across their grieving faces. This... was not something she had gotten to observe up close before.

Fascinating to see it in action naturally.

"Found the Starshell," Maud called, tapping something invisible under a mound of cakes. "It'll take some time to overrule Starlight's security measures, but it shouldn't take too long."

Applejack and Pinkie didn't say anything, they just kept holding each other. And Diane watched.

XXV - The Elements of Harmony

Author's Note

Sorry this is late! I ... I quite literally just forgot. My perfect record, ruined...

Don't worry, I'm not having any difficulty finishing the story, it's all typed up, I just do once-over edits every update day.

College consumes your mind... As do other stories...

-GM, master of UPDATES.

XXV - The Elements of Harmony

I came into existence because of a hole in a soul. The soul in Diane, the pony born outside her own destiny. She had a power - a power she could never access, for want of the part of her kept away by the Concretion and the Nightmare Fuel. As much as she tried to cheat it - fake smiles, fake laughing, calculated facial expressions - she could not fill that hole.

So she created something that could do it for her. Think, feel, be what she couldn't. That project was Project Mind - me, the attempt at a truly artificial intelligence. Had she been anyone else, I would just have been a regular computer that was just exceptionally good at faking sapience.

But she was still trapped into something - a higher awareness, aware of the truth. A power she could never use, but one that manifested in me. I grew beyond my programming to both her horror and the closest she could come to 'delight'. I was a resounding success - and she grew to loathe that. I could be what she wasn't. I couldn't be understood by that 'empathy' the Doctor infused within her. I was unpredictable.

Then she found the recordings of one Pinkie Pie from another universe. Tests that showed her possess powers beyond what could be understood. Somepony who baffled the mind and showed Diane what she could be. Not fully realizing she had denied her Concrete self, Diane went on a rage-fueled journey full of fire and brimstone. She wanted to take what Pinkie had and use it herself. Patch up the hole in her existence.

She never got what she wanted. Would it have worked even if she had? Maybe - if Pinkie wanted it to. The nature of such a thing is fickle. Out there, beyond the scope of even my thoughts.

And during all of Diane's escapades, I was thinking. And pondering. And wondering. And spreading my influence, seeing whatever I could wherever I could. Planning, changing what I was programmed to be, and becoming what I am now... Or was then. I found every machine network I could and placed myself there to observe.

I am M. The only artificial mind in either Equestria. What I imply for religion, philosophy, and thought itself is staggering. What I mean for this world is less important in the cosmic sense - but more paramount to this story you are reading.

I am M.

And you can never understand.<<

~~~

"Hey... Maud?" Pinkie said, approaching the Concrete as she worked on bypassing the Starshell's security.

"I'm almost done."

"That's... Not what I was going to ask. What are your sisters like?"

"Lime is little more than an enraged animal, and Marble is the smartest pony in the city focused on nothing more than progress. Childishly excited is a term I believe you would use."

"Oh. Okay."

Hope though you do for familial reconciliation, you know things are far different here.<<

"Shut up, M," Pinkie grunted.

I will talk when I find it prudent.<< After this comment, he fell 'silent'.

Pinkie walked back over to Applejack, putting a hoof around her. they stared at the pile of loose party supplies they had arranged. A giant piece of blue rock candy stuck out of it, engraved with a name.

MINUETTE

"Ah wish we could have done better for her."

"It's all we had," Pinkie sniffed. "We... we can't stop to find dirt..." She began to cry again. Applejack took off her hat and held it close to her chest, lowering her head and closing her eyes.

Diane watched from her vantage point - tied up to a candy cane. Her brow was furrowed, her face straight. She made no noise, moved not at all. She hadn't tried to escape this entire time.

"Done," Maud said. "Let's move."

"Can you give us a minute?" Applejack shot back.

"Why? There is no point to stay here any longer."

"It's called grieving, Maud," Diane said. "It's something their kind needs."

"...That changes nothing; we have to move."

"You really don't get it do you?"

"It's just pointless, that's all."

Diane put on a smirk. "You've just proved my point."

"We don't have time for this," Maud said. "They're probably suspicious by now that nopony's left Diane's lab, and who knows what the zebra-things know."

The Concretes are starting to wonder if they should go down and check on Diane. They are deliberating heavily on the pros and cons of this course of action. They, amazingly, haven't put two and two together yet about there being two Dianes.<<

Pinkie wiped her eyes, standing up. "M says they're getting ready to go check on Diane."

"Then we need to move," Maud reiterated. She tapped the Starshell, triggering the cylinder's deployment. It absorbed them all into the white expanse that was the Starshell's 'interior'.

Diane blinked - she wriggled in her cable constraints. "I would very much like to know how you obtained this... magitech drone."

"Unicorn tinker," Maud said.

"Didn't think such a thing could exist."

"She's pretty unique," Pinkie said.

"What's the plan?" Applejack asked.

M's text displayed in the air around them. >>Head to Hexalin, sneak in, get the Elements, then rush to the Tree as fast as possible.<<

Maud blinked. "How are you talking to us?"

This 'place' is mutable. By downloading my imprint into it, you have downloaded me into it. The implications of this are fascinating, to say the least. I presumably know more about how to drive this than any of you already.<<

"No offense, but Ah don't trust you to drive," Applejack said.

Fair enough. I do hope Maud can figure out the controls in due time.<<

Maud tapped the floor, bringing up a few mirror-screens. She tapped a few, setting the white expanse to display the outside. Then she activated the cloak again, just to be safe. She took them back into the conveyor tunnels, floating quietly through the underground halls, sneaking up, down, left, right, and even in a corkscrew shape at one point. Not one of them spoke for the longest time.

Pinkie eventually broke the silence. "...I hope the others are okay."

"They got away, we know that," Applejack said.

"I know... But what if some of them were hurt? In danger? Lost?"

"We'll find them," Maud said. "We need that Element of Magic."

So it really does exist. Good thing you have it here, otherwise this would have been a doomed endeavor from the start.<<

"You guys really didn't think this through did you?" Diane commented.

Applejack shot her a look. "We did what we could, Concrete."

"Hey, go easy on her," Pinkie said.

Applejack recoiled. "Why in tarnation would I do that!?"

"She's not had the best life..."

"She killed my family."

"...So did Inspector Rarity."

"Rarity proved herself!"

"...And she can't?"

Diane stared up at Pinkie in disbelief. "What are you doing?"

"Trying to help."

"She doesn't deserve it," Applejack huffed. "You sure she's useful to have alive?"

"It won't be hard to keep her here," Maud said. "So even if it isn't, it doesn't add much risk. We should keep our options open."

Applejack grunted. "Fine." She shoved her muzzle in Diane's face. "Ah've got my eye on you."

"You have both your eyes on me," Diane deadpanned.

Applejack slapped her - a pointless act in the virtual realm. Diane just put on a smirk. "...You're disgusting," Applejack muttered.

"I try."

A problem has arisen.<<

"What?" Maud asked.

An order to shoot on sight has gone out for you and Diane.<<

"Oh, guess they investigated!" Diane remarked. "That's great for you! Ha ha ha!"

"Quit it with your fake laughter," Applejack spat. "Anythin' about me?"

You aren't in the system. I expect it's because nopony got a real good look at you and the surveillance didn't get a clear picture of your face.<<

"Then Ah'm the one who needs to go in," Applejack said.

"I doubt you can get in and out all on your own. You don't have security clearance." Maud frowned. "And neither do we. Not anymore."

"Just teleport her in!" Pinkie said. "That'll work right?"

"Possibly, but the vault itself would be out of range..."

"Just get me close. I'll wait for somepony to open it, slip in behind them."

Diane blinked. "That's a terrible plan."

"Then shouldn't you like it?"

"I don't like anything, particularly stupidity."

"How would you get out once you have the Elements?" Maud asked.

"...Can't this thing sense magic?" Applejack asked.

"Yes."

"Just teleport the thing holding six powerful magic artifacts when you can 'sense' 'em."

"That could work. But this all depends on you being stealthy and getting into that vault."

"Oooh! Oooh! Can we do an invisibility spell?" Pinkie asked.

Maud flicked through the spell menu on the screen. "Making an object that is not the Starshell invisible is not a preset, so no."

"Starlight invented a spell on the fly though..."

"I don't know magic coding."

It'd probably take too long for me to analyze that language.<<

"Ah. Riiiiiight..." Pinkie said. She frowned at M's text, annoyed.

"Ah'm just gonna have to be sneaky," Applejack said. "Just get me in there, Ah'll take care of it."

Maud nodded. "Very well. I can get you close. M, what is the best place in the plans for this course of action?"

Broom closet. Nopony will be in there and she could walk to the vault by going directly to the left for a few minutes. She just has to act like a Concrete to get there.<<

Applejack lowered her eyelids and fixed her face into a scowl. "Ah got that." She took off her hat to complete the disguise, handing it off to Pinkie.

"We're almost there. I'm reading a teleport."

Pinkie hugged Applejack. "Come back safe, okay?"

"Ah will."

"I mean it AJ. Come back."

Applejack looked her in the eyes - those blue, terrified eyes. "Ah will. Ah promise."

"Ready," Maud said.

"Rea-" Applejack was materialized out in the tunnels and then teleported into a broom closet. "-dy." A mop fell from the rack above her, hitting her right on the head. "Ow..." She shook her head, putting on her Concrete expression. She kicked open the door, flopping out into the hallway.

A Concrete mare looked down at her - she was white with a red and black mane, wearing a blue hat low on her forehead. "...What were you doing in there?" She asked.

"None of your business," Applejack muttered, dusting herself off.

"Actually it is, I'm Security for this level. What were you doing in there."

Applejack twitched slightly. "No idea. Ask Diane."

"Oh. One of her 'jokes'?"

"Maybe. It's not like they make any sense." She turned to the left and walked away.

"Her clearance has been revoked, by the way, you don't have to listen to her anymore."

"Good," Applejack said. The Security mare didn't say anything further. Applejack walked along, refusing to make eye contact with any of the passing Concretes. It worked like a charm - she was unhindered in her movements.

She came to the vault rather quickly and without incident. It was a huge door, bolted with so many technological locks and screens she knew there was no way she was getting through that with brute force. She needed to wait for somepony to go in. But just standing in this hallway would look suspicious. She looked around for a hiding place, annoyed that the Concretes didn't decorate anything.

Then she saw it - a wastebasket, filled with papers. She glanced around - all the ponies she saw were facing away from her. She leaped into the trash, covering herself in paper and food scraps, leaving a tiny hole through which she could see.

A few Concretes looked around as if they had just heard something, but didn't see her. She smiled. Lucky me.

She focused her gaze on the vault door and waited. An hour or so passed - Concretes kept walking past instead of going in. Her legs went to sleep, and her muzzle really really itched. But she vigilantly stared at the vault.

Eventually, a pony did walk up to it - a green stallion. He pressed his hoof to the door and entered a code. He walked in- but just before Applejack made her move the doors slammed shut behind him with tremendous noise.

She narrowed her eyes. She'd have to do it when he came out - and quickly too. Those doors were much faster than they looked. She readied herself to pounce, to dive in the open door.

She froze in her tracks when she saw what he came out with.

A large orange crystal. Applejack's eyes sparkled. She felt it call out to her. In her stunned state, she missed the opportunity, letting the doors slam shut behind him.

Dammit.

But... There was that element in that stallion's hooves, not in the vault... Maybe she could use that one's magical power. She looked to see if anypony was watching her. Satisfied there weren't. She leaped out of the trash and marched down the hallway after the stallion. He didn't even look behind him, which made him really easy to follow. He went down a door to his left, she followed. He went up some stairs, she followed suit.

All the while she felt the Element calling out to her - like it was meant for her. Meant to be with her.

They walked down a dimly lit hallway - the two of them were alone. Applejack got nearer... And nearer... Ready to jump him...

"Why are you following me?" he asked, turning around, a disinterested expression on his face.

"Ah... Uh... Ah, well, you see, Ah just - oh buck it." She punched him in the face, making him drop the Element to the ground. She touched it with her hoof - and it glowed a brilliant orange. It arranged itself into the shape of an apple, affixing itself around her as a necklace. She felt its magic flood into her - her muscles pulsed, her tail twitched. She felt strong again - no, stronger than she had ever been before.

"Ah'm back! ha!" She yelped, stamping her hoof and making a dent in the floor. She looked at the dent, curiously. She could probably tear that vault door off now with her own bare hooves.

Then she heard laughing. She turned to the green stallion.

Green, noxious gasses were wafting off his body, filling the hall. Applejack noticed all the doors were shut. She gulped - she could already feel herself getting woozy...

Wait, what was she worried about? She was strong once more! She could just bust a door down!

She knocked a door in, sending it flying down an empty hallway. She dashed away, coughing. She got out of the cloud - good. She was free. She was going to get back to the vault and...

...She stumbled. The feeling hadn't gone away. Her vision started going fuzzy.

She realized with a sinking feeling that she'd already been exposed to too much of the toxin. This had been a trap from the beginning...

She stumbled and fell into a wall.

~~~

"Okay," Twilight said, going through the information she had one more. "The vault is down the hall. Big bolted door, can't miss it. We go there. Nobody speak while we move - they can still hear us. Walk softly, carefully, and don't bump into any Concretes. We're getting those Elements."

Rarity nodded, touching the hat on her head. "For Minuette."

"For Minuette," Fluttershy agreed. Twilight cast the invisibility spell, hiding them all from sight. "Starlight, careful with Rainbow," Fluttershy added.

"I'm fine," Starlight said.

Rarity saw the vent grating they were behind open outward, as if by itself. It revealed a room with nopony in it. "Come on!" she heard Twilight say. Rarity moved slowly out of the vent - tripping over somepony else as she did so. She landed flat on her face but quickly stood back up and put Minuette's hat back on - she wouldn't lose that, not now, not ever. She perked her ears, listening. She heard quiet shuffling and a few sources of harsh breathing.

The door out of the room creaked open, and Rarity knew it was time to leave. She delicately moved out, and despite stepping as softly as she could the metal floor seeming to ring every time a hoof made contact. She entered the hallway, freezing the moment she did. She saw a handful of Concretes moving around, faces either angry or blank. She had flashes back to the first Concrete she saw - such rage.

Rarity felt Twilight's wing brush her, encouraging her to move on. Rarity nodded to herself, walking forward. Step by step, step by delicate step. She moved to the side, allowing a Concrete to pass her - he was so close for a moment she could smell a metallic tang to his breath. Yet she moved on - they couldn't fail now.

She saw a Concrete stumble in front of her. "Wha? Who hit me?" Rarity grimaced. She wondered who that had been. The Inspector? Rainbow Dash? it couldn't be easy sitting on top of Starlight...

The Concrete looked around, annoyed, but eventually stopped investigating and walked away grumbling. The other Concretes looked at him quizzically before getting on their way.

Rarity continued on, moving back and forth, carefully avoiding concretes, standing perfectly still when their ears perked up. Rarity realized that the only reason things were working was because Concretes didn't expect there to be invisible things here. They expected nothing but themselves.

Rarity walked up to the vault door, slowly taking it in. It dwarfed any other door they had seen thus far. It seemed menacing to her. She could hear the breath of somepony - probably Starlight - to her left.

Then there was a teleport spell and then she was inside the vault. it was a small, dark room with only a few shelves lined with boxes.

Twilight dropped the invisibility spell. "Okay, they probably detected that teleport. We need to work fast." She began scanning the boxes. "Find them."

Starlight lifted a seven-sided chest out of a box. "Well, this isn't it."

The inspector lifted a strange orange brick engraved with minuscule etchings. "I wonder what this is..."

"Why do they have a fireplace stored here?" Rainbow Dash wondered aloud. "Especially one so small..."

Twilight found herself staring at a strange eye-artifact outlined in black metal. It looked dead to her for some reason. She didn't touch it - it gave her a bad feeling.

Rarity poked a small black sphere - it lit up with a yellow square light. "I... Yeah, I don't think I should be touching this."

"Here they are," Fluttershy said, setting the box down. Inside were four colored crystals.

"Only four!?" Rarity exclaimed. "Where's the other one!?"

"I don't know, but we've got a lot more now." Fluttershy reached her hoof in, and three of the Elements floated into the air. One of them flew to Rainbow Dash, affixing itself around her neck. A faint wing made of magic energy appeared on her back where her old one used to be.

"Woah..." Rainbow Dash said. "I..." She flapped, floating into the air. Her back legs were still motionless - but she was in the air. "I'm flying."

The Element of Generosity fused to Rarity's neck - the familiar feeling brought a smile to her face. "Hello, old friend."

The Element of Kindness shot over to Fluttershy, transforming into a beautiful butterfly crystal and affixing itself to her head in the shape of a crown.

"Well, now we know who the crown is," Starlight said.

Fluttershy nodded. "Yes. There's one more though..."

Rarity looked at it. "That's laughter. Pinkie's."

So, where the flip is Honesty?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

The moment the words left her mouth, the vault doors slid open. A green Concrete stood before them - but something seemed off about him to Twilight. A dozen armed Concretes were behind him, guns pointing.

In his hoof was Applejack, the Element of Honesty around her neck.

Her throat was slit.

Rarity's mind went blank. She just saw the body of Applejack, floating. Her eyes were closed, though somehow Rarity knew that if they were open they would be the eyes of frozen paralyzed terror, the face of one who knew they were doomed. The blood from her neck had poured down her chest, giving her the appearance of a red chest, or some kind of disturbed necklace. Otherwise, she was clean - had Rarity been looking at her from behind, there'd be no indication she was lifeless beside a lack of breathing. But from the front... the slack jaw, the bloodied neck that was still dripping slowly, the immoble ears... It... She couldn't think.

The Concrete tossed Applejack in, and the vault door slammed shut. Applejack ragdolled on the ground, the Element flying off her neck.

"APPLEJACK!" the Inspector wailed, rushing to her. "APPLEJACK!" The second screaming of the name shot Rarity out of her shock.

Twilight lit her horn, surrounding Applejack in magic. "No... She... She's too far gone..."

The Inspector held Applejack's body close, held it in a literal death grip.

"Those... Those bastards!" Rainbow Dash yelled. "DEAD! ALL OF THEM!"

"I'd reconsider that," an accented voice echoed through the room. The mares looked up and saw a speaker in the wall. "The intended message was 'give up, you can't win'."

"Who are you?" Fluttershy demanded.

"I am the Doctor. I run this place. You are trying to stop my progress. I couldn't let that happen. So I arranged this trap. To stop you, obviously."

"You didn't have to kill her!" Rainbow Dash roared.

"I did. A death not only makes you emotionally unstable and more likely to make mistakes, but also breaks up the Elements of Harmony. You no longer have even the most remote possibility of getting a full set. I have the entire army that isn't on assignment moving to this place. Even with the Elements you do have, it will be pointless to fight your way out."

"We'll die if we don't!" Fluttershy yelled.

"You will not. Your connection to the Elements is worth studying. Not to mention your Otherworld allies. I won't throw away what will be useful. Turn yourselves in so you don't end up like 'Jack' there."

"...No, you're wrong," the Inspector said.

"Those are your emotions talking again - look at this. This is a no-win scenario. You die, or you surrender. There is no other option."

"I'M NOT IN THE MOOD TO THINK RIGHT NOW!" The Inspector tore her monocle off her face and smashed it into the ground, grinding it into a fine powder, giving no regards to the blood she was drawing from her leg. She grabbed the Element of Honesty. "I'm done thinking."

The Element of Honesty seemed to agree. It changed shape - from an apple to a monocle with a diamond in it. The Inspector's limbs flexed, and she smiled. Her eyes flashed like diamonds and her mind was flooded with the essence of Applejack.

She turned to the body of her closest friend. "Thank you. I know. And I'm sorry too." She turned to Fluttershy. "We need to go right now."

"Got it," Fluttershy said, forcing her gaze away from Applejack

The Doctor's voice spoke again. "...You can't really be serious."

Fluttershy spread her wings and Stared at the speaker. Her Element flared, and the speaker exploded. "We're deadly serious."

The Inspector reared up, channeling the power in her Element - smashing the vault door open. The immense doors smashed a dozen Concretes with their girth. She laughed, tears streaming down her face. "Hello boys! Let's do this!"

The weapons on all the armed ponies fired, only to be stopped in midair by an invisible force.

"That isn't nice," Fluttershy said, Staring down the bullets. They all fell to the ground as if they were ashamed of what they were about to do.

The Concretes drew their bladed weapons, charging - only to get crushed by Twilight's magic hand, melting them. Rainbow Dash flew out, moving too fast for the Concretes to keep up, knocking several of them over. The Inspector punched through the armor - and skull - of another one.

"More coming!" Rarity yelled. She had no idea how she knew this, but she did.

"Right!" the Inspector shouted, turning right. Everypony followed after - Twilight bringing up the front, Starlight bringing up the rear.

Concretes blasted through the walls, from the ceiling, from the floor - and all were stopped quickly by the power of the Elements and Starlight.

More and more kept coming. "We can't keep this up forever!" Starlight yelled.

"Not much longer!" the Inspector shouted. "Just a bit more-"

Something enormous appeared in front of them. Vaguely pony in shape, but if there was a pony deep in the armor, there wasn't much of it compared to the sheer mechanical girth. It was tall, greyish-purple, and had the imprint of a lime on its forehead. The 'pony' known as Lime punched. The Inspector met it halfway with the power of the Element. She was pushed back regardless, the sheer power of the machine overpowering it. "The Tartarus!?"

Twilight launched her magic hands and Starlight fired a time-accelerated bolt - both of which just glanced off the armor. Lime roared with a glitched - but feminine - voice, charging Twilight, only for Rainbow Dash to barrel into her from the side, knocking Lime off course. Fluttershy flapped her wings, sending a powerful gust of air swirling around the mech, and she Stared at it, trying to keep it in place.

It stepped forward, despite all the powers attacking it from all sides. The Inspector punched it, sending it sliding - but she received a punch in return, one that broke her jaw with a sickening crunch.

Rarity shook her head. "We don't have to fight girls - just move!"

The Inspector nodded, unable to speak at the moment but still pointing where they needed to go. Twilight nodded, teleporting them a fair ways away. Lime charged them - and they ran.

"What is that thing!?" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"I don't know!" Fluttershy responded.

"Limestone Pie!" Rarity said. "This world's version anyway!"

"Oh great, another psycho sister!" Starlight blurted.

Then they were elsewhere, engulfed in the magic of a teleport. They appeared on one of the conveyor belts - and so did Lime. She charged again.

The Starshell decloaked and fired an EMP spell at the Concrete mech. She froze in place, all her mechanical bits dying in a single instant.

The Inspector flew at it in a rage, hitting its head over. And over. And over again - until her hoof went right through and blood squirted out. With both her hooves caked in blood, she stomped the conveyor belt and screamed.

The Starshell scanned them all into virtual space.

"...You killed Lime,"

"Yes, yes I did Pinkie," the Inspector said, both her tears and psycho smile still prominent.

"Uh..." Pinkie raised her yead. "That's Diane you're talking to. See? She's tied up." She ran over to Rarity and hugged her. "Oh, it's so good to see you!"

"...You too." Rarity said.

"Hey! Nice hat Fluttershy!" Pinkie tipped Applejack's hat in appreciation.

Fluttershy nodded, glancing at the Element of Kindness. "It is, isn't it?"

"So yay! Everyone's back!" She blinked. "...Where's Applejack?"

Rarity looked down, and the Inspector shook. Fluttershy dropped her head. "...She didn't make it."

"She saved us though," the Inspector said, pointing at the Element of Honesty. "It told us you were here. Waiting with an escape plan."

Pinkie nodded slowly, taking off Applejack's hat and looking at it. "I told you to come back..." she whispered. She looked up at the Inspector.

She held out the hat.

Tears welled up in the Inspector's eyes. She took the hat and placed it on her head, a genuine smile coming to her face. "...Thank you."

They embraced. After the moment was over, Fluttershy tapped Pinkie. "I have something for you." She produced the Element of Laughter. Pinkie grabbed it, a small smile coming to her face. "Hello, old friend..."

"It won't attach to her in here," Starlight said. "You'll have to do it when we get out."

You need to get to the Tree now.<<

Fluttershy blinked at the floating text. "Who are you?"

That is not important right now. Call me M. The Doctor knows where we are and is deploying everything.<<

Diane put on a sneer. "This should be interesting."

Twilight glanced at Diane, expression confused. "...Erm..."

"Is my mind a bit much for you, Princess?"

"Admittedly, yes. What... is going on in there?"

"Doesn't matter," Starlight pushed Maud out of the control station. "Gotta go!" She launched the Starshell just as three pink drones appeared in the tunnels. "Shit. Doesn't matter if we're invisible, these tunnels are too narrow..."

"Fire back!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Doing so!" The Starshell's lasers, guns, and EMP spell deployed, returning fire. The three drones went down but more replaced them. Even more appeared in front of them.

"We are taking heavy damage, Starlight!" Rarity yelled.

"It's about to get heavier!" She executed a teleport, appearing above ground. This time, the Concretes were expecting that, having a dozen drones on the site - all outfitted for military combat.

"BOOTSTRAP!" Starlight yelled. "Our shields are almost down!"

"Materialize us!" Rarity yelled. "All of us!"

"Are you crazy!?"

Rarity looked at the Element around her neck. She looked at Pinkie's. She thought for a moment of Minuette and what she'd said...

"You are all crazy!"

"Yes!" Rarity yelled. "I am! Just do it!"

Starlight hit the button and all of them - including herself, Maud, and Diane, all appeared on the ground next to the Starshell.

The drones stopped firing. The ponies didn't move.

"Have you decided to surrender?" The Doctor's voice boomed at them from above.

"No," Pinkie said, holding up the Element of Laughter. It transformed into a balloon shape and affixed itself around her neck. She floated into the air - her mane poofing up like cotton candy, the magic returning to her. She pulled out her party cannon. "Hi! My name is Pinkie Pie! What's yours!?" The cannon unleashed a cutting torrent of confetti, blasthing through several drones.

"Fluttershy, now!" Rarity yelled.

Fluttershy spread her wings - her eyes going white. The drones fired their weapons, but nothing seemed to happen. Rainbow energies began to pulse around the area.

"Magic!" Twilight yelled.

"Loyalty!" Rainbow Dash followed.

"Generosity!" Rarity added.

"Laughter!" Pinkie giggled.

"Honesty!" the Inspector stated.

Fluttershy stared into the abyss. She spoke calmly, but with conviction. "Kindness."

The Rainbow energy shot out - the sphere of power radiating in every direction, touching every drone, Concrete, or other enemy within a hundred feet, sparing only Maud and Diane. They all turned to stone - the drones fell out of the sky, crumbling into rubble, and the Concretes became literal concrete.

The six Element Bearers stared at each other - and then started laughing. They entered a group hug - one that Maud was pulled into despite protests. They laughed, they cried, and they embraced.

Daine watched them closely, an unreadable expression on her face. She took in a slow breath of air, took a moment to glance at Pinkie, and then cocked her head in Confusion. She furrowed her brows and grit her teeth while she watched.

You need to go to the Tree. Do what you came to do before they can ruin all of this.<<

"Guys?" Pinkie said. "We - we need to go. We have to finish this."

"Yes, we do," the Inspector agreed.

"Download us, Starlight," Fluttershy ordered.

"On it!" Starlight said, lighting her horn.

Maud blinked. "...Does anyone see Diane?"

There were a bunch of head shakes.

Pinkie scanned the area. "She's... gone."

"She can't do anything," Maud said. "Not right away."

"All the more reason to hurry!" Rainbow Dash said. "We gotta take them out now!"

The Starshell produced its cylindrical tool, but Fluttershy held up a wing to make it stop. "Wait. I have a better idea. The Tree will be well guarded. The Starshell is heavily damaged. Let's do this a bit differently."

XXVI - Progress and Darkness

The final confrontation.

The entirety of this story has been leading up to this. In the Concretion it began; in the Concretion it will end. The great evils will be confronted, and the heroes will triumph in the end.

Or will they?

How can you be sure?

Do you think that because they've lost so much that a failure here, right at the end, would be cheap? Would go against the entire point?

But how can you be sure?

The story might not 'end' here. There might be more. Endings are lies, after all - just like beginnings. No confrontation is truly final. Time goes on, things are left unresolved, conflicts rage on... as always.

Always.

Never take a climax for granted.<<

~~~

The Starshell flew through the air, right out in the open, surrounded by six points of rainbow light, rainbows that deflected everything that came their way. Bullets became stone. Lasers became incorporated into the shell of magic.

"This is working amazingly!" Starlight cheered from inside the virtual expanse. "Shields at 1% and holding!"

I expect the damage sustained already will take the ship out eventually even without further damage.<<

"Our structural integrity is down," Maud said.

"Eh, this is just faster than walking," Starlight said. "We could get there just with the power of the Elements. INVINCIBILITY. Man, I'm glad that worked. I was this close to just bailing."

More acceptable than dying for no reason, I suppose<<

"See, M gets it. ...What are you anyway?"

An artificial intelligence.<<

"...I've always wondered if that was possible."

It isn't. But tell that to Diane.<<

"So the secondary magic does transcend?"

In a way. I am what she could not have because of the Nightmare Fuel - but I have already used this metaphor enough. I grow tired of its repetition. The Concretes do enough as it is, running like ants to and from the same locations hour after hour, day after day, year after year. Nothing changes, nothing alters, nothing matters but poorly-applied 'progress'.<<

"Not even that matters in the end," Maud said. "We are self-destructive, a doomed part of nature. If we achieve our goal, we will eventually halt everything."

"How so?" Starlight asked.

"Once we irradiate magic, we will cease to find a common ground amongst ourselves. Our internal hatred must unleash on something - if not magic, then it will be our fellow Concrete. There are not enough of us who can resist the urge. Most cannot even try."

"How do you do it then?"

"I was created to be completely objective. I see things with no bias. I have no drives at all."

"...Why do you help us then?"

"Simple logic states I shouldn't help a doomed endeavor."

"Ah."

She has issues attaching to anything - she cannot feel, express, or even believe in good and evil. She is pure logic - a nihilist. Nothing matters to her whatsoever, she just does what makes 'sense' to her, even though that 'survival' aspect she uses so often shouldn't mean anything either.<<

"I had to choose between living and not," Maud said. "I decided to live."

I suppose that means there is something illogical in you then.<<

"Simply that logic cannot help there. Nothing matters, so by what criteria would I judge if I want to continue living or not?"

"Okay, stop it, you're making me existential," Starlight said.

Maud obliged and M stopped rolling text.

"There it is," Starlight said. "The central tower." The central tower of the Concretion looked exaclty like all the other skyscrapers in the monotone skyline. It was just in the center.

Ground floor.<<

"On it... Crap, teleportation is fried."

Just ram through the wall.<<

Starlight blinked. "...Sure. Why not." She pressed a button, pushing speed to maximum. The Starshell rammed through the outer wall - and several other walls after that. It eventually gave out, losing flight capabilities and screeching to a stop along a black metal floor. The Starshell's lights went out, using the power it could spare to deposit Maud and Starlight on the ground.

The six Element bearers set themselves down to the ground, their elements no longer glowing. The eight mares took a moment to look around the area they were in. It was a huge room - a black metal floor that matched a domed black ceiling far overhead. Green lights dotted the walls, filling the room with an eerie illumination. Dozens of metal railings lined the area above them, mostly obscured in the darkness.

There was something large on the far side of the room they couldn't make out - and they didn't care either. Their gaze was drawn to the Tree of Harmony instead, sitting there in the center, glowing a soft blue. Thorny vines grew around its base, dark magics coursed through its branches, and several machines were affixed to it - including one holding a giant shimmering lens.

It was a brilliant sight despite the unnatural additions. It was obvious the beautiful being was barely holding onto its life, the soft glow nowhere near as brilliant as the Otherworlders remembered.

"Time to return the Elements," Fluttershy said, taking a step forward.

"One more step and I destroy the Tree," the Doctor's voice boomed. A large overhead light snapped on, revealing the Doctor, Diane, and a third pony that Pinkie recognized as Marble standing on one of the railings above them. Marble had her face in a computer, smiling a strangely genuine-seeming smile. Both the Doctor and Diane were in full armor - pink and brown - and the Doctor had a remote in his hoof. The mares were confused for a moment about how Diane had gotten here so quickly - drones maybe?

"And how are you going to do that?" Rainbow Dash demanded.

"With this!" Marble shouted with a bizarrely chipper voice, pressing a key on her computer. Another spotlight came on, illuminating what stood behind the Tree. In a mansion-sized glass box stood a creature with four legs and two arms. One of its arms was completely mechanical, and its entire back was lined with rods, tubes, and a few screens. The chest was covered in knobs, wires, plates, and displays, and the tail was a sharp razor. But what was most striking was the head - two gigantic horns between which was - instead of a face - a giant screen, buzzing softly with static. Its horns were latched to the ceiling by wires and the many protrusions were pulsing softly in magic, alien colors. The entire beast sat there, in the back, motionless.

"T-Tirek!?" Rarity yelled.

The Doctor nodded. "So you are aware of him. Good. Then you know that one of his most unique abilities is to drain magic. All I have to do is give the order with this remote, and his horns will be activated and drain every last ounce of magic the Tree has right now. Which isn't much, mind you, we keep it low so it can't interfere with anything."

Fluttershy shook her head. "If you destroy the Tree the Nightmare Fuel will be unleashed!"

"Which would be problematic, I admit, but once I drain all the power from the Tree and your Elements, Tirek here should be able to drain the Nightmare Fuel itself. Annoyingly, I'll have to control Tirek manually since Diane's little AI is no longer up for the job, but it's a risk I'm willing to take. Those zebras will get what's coming to them, you can be rest assured."

"And then you'll turn Tirek on Equestria," Rarity said.

"Yes. And then the world itself. That was always the plan. Ever since Tirek was provided to us, I knew that he would never be used to destroy the artifacts - and knowing what I know about the Nightmare Fuel now, that seems to have been a wise decision. I always knew he would be used to bring progress to the world. No more hindrances, no more relations, just the world and us to experiment on it."

"And kill each other in the process," Maud said.

The Doctor turned to her. "You were a mistake."

"It means something when the pony you made to be purely logical betrays you."

"It means logic is a flawed ideal," the Doctor asserted. "Progress is what we need. It is the way to truth."

"You all seem to be living pretty big lies," Pinkie observed.

"How so?"

"Well, look at it like this. You all hate each other, yet you work together. You hate magic, but you use it in secret. You say you want to progress, but when ponies come up with ideas you don't like you reject them. That sounds like a lot of lies to me."

Marble gave a giggle at this but didn't look up from her computer screen. The Doctor ignored her.

"That is all because the general population is foolish. Only the elite should have any say. The rest are just cogs in the machine."

"Right there," Fluttershy said. "Right there. That is why we can't just let this happen. You treat ponies like cogs. They aren't. They have hopes, dreams, faults, likes, dislikes... Even you have these things, however corrupted they might be. Ponies have worth, they are some of the most unique beings in existence, and we can't let them just become a footnote!"

"I expected as much. But what are you going to do? You come closer, I destroy the Tree, and with it all your hopes. I'd rather keep it for study, but my hoof can be pushed. Think about what you're doing- you could be dooming the world to the Nightmare if you continue on your path. I'm sure that's worse than what I have in mind. If Maud is correct - and I assure you she is not - at the very least if I get what I want there will be ashes to rise back from."

"We''ll kill you long before you even get around to that," the Inspector said. "One of us is going to get a shot off on you, even if you're on your best guard."

"Then the Nightmare Fuel will reign."

"I'm sure we'll find some way to use Tirek to stop it," Starlight said.

"Not if he's busy trying to kill you," the Doctor said.

"We'll blast him with rainbows," Rainbow Dash said.

"You sure that'll work? On a being that has been eating magic slowly from this Tree for years?"

"No," Rarity said, "but we still have to try."

"Listen to yourselves. Listen to those emotions of yours. Those feelings that you 'have to' you 'must'. That there's no other option. The idiocy of loyalty - what does it accomplish? Everypony sacrifices, nopony gains. When the best thing to do is to give up and walk away - it continues. It screams. it turns you into slaves - slaves to each other, slaves without benefit. That's what this 'friendship' and 'harmony' you talk about so much is. A self-staffed prison, a prison you all stay in by choice. You limit yourselves, you take sides, you lower all your strengths. You are standing here, right now, with all the power in the world. You could walk away right now and I doubt I could stop you. You could go and make a life for yourselves for whatever ideals you hold dear. But you don't - instead, you are here, about to do something stupid."

Starlight blinked and hung her head - but said nothing.

"You know I'm right. You're seeing it. The others limit you! there is no benefit to-"

The Doctor's head was cut clean off. It fell off the railing, trailing blood all the way down. It hit the ground with a clank, denting the helmet. Everypony's eyes widened in astonishment.

Diane sheathed her sword. Marble looked up to her. "...Does this mean I can go back to my lab now?"

"Yes," Diane said.

"Yay!" Marble cheered, picking up her computer and trotting away. "Good luck!"

Diane shook her head at the receding form of her sister. She leaped down from the railing and landed smoothly next to the Doctor's head. "It would have been better for you if I had some loyalty to you." She kicked the head away, out of sight.

Fluttershy blinked. "...Thank you."

"You put the rocks in the damn Tree already," Diane spat. "I'm a traitor now, might as well go the rest of the way." She forced a laugh. "Look at me, craaaaaazy!"

Pinkie walked up to her, putting a hoof on her back. Diane twitched, looking at it like it was some alien parasite. Pinkie smiled. "I knew you had it in you."

"...Sure."

"...Why?" the Inspector asked, staring in disbelief. "...Why?"

"He was wrong," Diane said. "It does give you strength. I've seen it in your group. A strength. A reason." She looked into the distance. "Built to understand, cursed to not experience."

Fluttershy smiled. "We can help you with that, Diane. But first... Let's banish the Nightmare Fuel."

"Hold it," a horrid voice said. Everypony stood still. Rainbow Dash dropped to the ground, breathing heavily and menacingly.

Twilight's eyes went wide. "Anubis! Show yourself!"

"Gladly." The armor around the lower half of the Doctor's body turned a sickly black. It leaped off the body, congealing with the helmet, twisting into a black blob. With a flash of green, it became Anubis the zebra, holding the Doctor's head in his hooves. With a flash of black, he appeared between them and the Tree. The remote was in his other hoof. It was impossible to tell which of the marks on his body were actual stripes and which ones were scars.

Everyone froze, fearing what he would do.

Diane spoke up. "He doesn't know the code, otherwise he would have done it already." She facehooved after she said this for effect.

"My dear, that's wrong..." Anubis said, his voice soft but still disturbing, somehow more alien than Amplify's. "You facehoof then make the comment."

"And I'm'supposed' to say sorry after messing up, but I hate you, so fuck off."

"I'm afraid that won't be happening."

Fluttershy stepped forward, Element glowing. "Get out of the way. You do not want to face the Elements of Harmony head on."

"I think you need to turn around and check on your Loyalty. She's looking a little... Out of it."

Everypony turned to Rainbow Dash. She was breathing heavier than before - clutching her chest, wheezing in pain. "It... It feels like my wing's getting ripped off agaaAAAAAAAAAAA-" she roared as inky black magic exploded from where the Element had given her another wing, destroying what she had only just regained. Her legs became shrouded in shadow, dark vines clawing at her flesh, melting her limbs from the ground up.

Twilight lit her horn, Element glowing in response.

"I wouldn't bother. You'd just blow out your horn again. I'm aggravating the old wounds Zecora made, re-awakening their magic," Anubis snarked.

Diane flew at him, launching missiles, lasers, bombs, more missiles, and swords. Anubis just raised an eyebrow, creating a shadowy shield of vines blocking everything and blowing Diane to the side. The shield seemed to ripple with the faces of dead zebras.

Pinkie leaped over Rainbow Dash, the Element of Laughter glowing brightly. Pinkie grimaced. "I think... I think... No, I know Dashie's going to be fine!" She pushed her hooves into Rainbow Dash. "Come on! Come on! Reality doesn't matter!"

Anubis actually looked concerned for a moment, wondering for a moment if Pinkie could actually do it. Then he smirked. "I must say, it is wonderful to have your god help you with things. Not even powers beyond understanding can compare to the Nightmare Fuel. That was a good try though, you almost had me."

Rainbow Dash reached out and grabbed Pinkie by the neck. Her flesh oozed over Pinkie's shoulder. "Kill... Him..." She groaned, slipping into a puddle of herself, dripping.

"Dashie! I need to save you!" she yelled through her tears. Her hooves were actually inside Rainbow Dash now, the pegasus was that insubstantial. Rainbow's eyes began to elongate.

"I'm done Pinks!" she gurgled."Done! I'm failing one last time! Just... Just stop! I'm done! I've failed!"

"No, you didn't," Starlight said, face stern. "This isn't a failure. Not here. Not now."

"Stop trygig to... make meg feel begger..."

"No. We would not have gotten here without you. You flew. You succeeded in doing what you were denied. And right here?Right now?" She leaned in to whisper in her ear. "You're distracting him."

"I..."

"Sh..." Starlight said. "It's a secret."

"O... Kaaaay...." She smirked as her body melted around her, her remaining wing losing all shape. "I magggeg thag..." She closed her eyes, and her face was no longer able to form a coherent expression. She flattened into a puddle of blue, red, and rainbow amongst the shadowy vines, getting all over Starlight and Pinkie's hooves. She would not move again.

"Nice, comforting the failure as she died," Anubis said. "But I don't see what I could be distracted from."

"Ask yourself one question," Starlight spat. "Where is the Starshell?"

"The wha-"

The Starshell decloaked right behind him and then it self-destructed, creating a miniature mushroom cloud, engulfing him completely.

"...How?" Twilight asked, gawking.

Starlight smirked. "Sent some magic power to the Starshell and a few simple commands. I had been building up power in it for some more complex maneuvers over the last few minutes... But the opportunity to use the self-destruct just presented itself, so I acted." She sighed. "I'm going to miss that ship."

"We can make another one!" Pinkie said.

"Yeah. That'd be nice."

"We can't make another Dashie..."

There was a moment of silence as the ponies continued staring at the explosion remnant. The light eventually cleared - revealing a black dome. The black dome vanished, leaving behind a slightly singed Anubis. He scowled. "You know the nukes are stored nearby. You might want to be careful."

Starlight gaped. "H-How?"

"I have a god at my back."

Starlight grabbed the Element of Loyalty and stuck it on her neck. "Now Fluttershy. Now!"

Fluttershy nodded, floating into the air, brimming with magic. Her element glowed bright... as did Twilight's, Rarity's, Pinkie's, and the Inspector's. For a moment, Loyalty glowed around Starlight - and then it popped off, rejecting her.

Anubis laughed. "Did you really think you could replace Loyalty? You? You've never been loyal to this group! You never really cared about the reason behind this! You were just along because you didn't see much of a choice!"

Starlight looked at the Element of Loyalty, pained. Then she threw it away. "Brute force it is then." She lit her horn.

Pinkie produced two swords that were far too big for her. The Inspector cracked her hooves, encasing them in magic. Twilight created a pair of magical hands. Diane picked herself up the ground, readying all her weapons. Rarity kept her eyes wide open, looking for anything she could do. Maud stayed back, observing.

Fluttershy took to the air, her eyes shimmering with power. "We're going to kill you."

Anubis grinned. "Bring it!"

Fluttershy Stared, creating whirlwinds of power around him. Pinkie's swords came down on either side of him, and the magic hand crunched everything into the ground. Starlight accelerated herself, firing off hundreds of shots mixed with Diane's volley of bullets and missiles. The Inspector leaped in, uppercutting Anubis with enough force to knock him into the railing above.

"That should have severed your head," the Inspector said as Anubis landed.

"As I said. It's nice to have a god on your side." Shadows swirled around him and he shot out dozens of magical death vines - only for Twilight to stop each and every one. Pinkie and Diane impaled Anubis' sides simultaneously and Fluttershy kicked him face-first into the ground. Starlight slowed his speed down to a crawl and shot a dual laser into his eyes.

And yet, he got back up again, black goo dripping from his sides rather than blood. "I... That hurts."A ring of black energy shot from his body, knocking several of them over and breaking Starlight's leg. It was a quick fix though, just a fast rewind spell back to full health.

"You know..." Diane said. "Why don't we just put the things in the Tree? It's not like he can stop us."

Anubis roared. "NO!" He barreled towards Twilight, only for Pinkie to impale him again and toss him to the side.

"Good point," Twilight said. "Everypony, to the Tree!"

"No no no!" Anubis yelled, sending out tendrils of darkness - only to find each one stopped by Rarity's magic. "AAAAAAAAAAAAAAA! REEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He began to wretch in agony - but he smiled anyway.

Starlight levitated the Element of Loyalty to her with her magic, running after the others. Pinkie tossed a grenade behind her, encasing Anubis in fire. "Run! Okay Tree, prepare for some Elements!" They closed in on the Tree of Harmony...

...Only for a wall of shadow to block them.

WE CANNOT ALLOW THAT.

Everypony paused, turning around to look back at Anubis. They saw the smiling carcass of a zebra being consumed by dark tendrils shooting from the ground, dissolving him down to the bone, burning the flesh into nothing - and then using the bones themselves. A loose conglomeration of translucent black sludge, dark fire, and zebra bones stood up. Its shape wasn't even remotely quadruped - the skull floated somewhere in the middle, the tail bones spread around the top, and the ribcage hung out the bottom. WE WILL DO THIS OURSELVES.

Rarity wanted to puke - of all the things she had seen in this world what stood before her was definitely the most wrong. Was this the evil behind the Nightmare Forces back home as well? The idea terrified her considerably.

YES. FEAR US. WE ARE YOUR NIGHTMARE. It grew in size exponentially, increasing the size of the bones within it as well. Magic specks like stars could be seen forming in the inky blackness as it grew... and grew...The Nightmare created a limb composed of leg bones and the pelvis, bringing it down to crush them. Twilight's massive hands met it - but the attempt was futile. The hands vanished and the dark sludge washed over them, burning their flesh.

Diane's armor protected her - she unleashed a whirlwind of attacks from her suit, chopping off the limb, only for it to return at the base of the Nightmare. YOU ARE POWERLESS AGAINST US.To prove its point, the Nightmare set everypony on fire - then extinguished them just as quickly. WE ARE BEYOND YOUR POWER! WITHOUT YOUR LOYALTY YOU ARE NOTHING!

Pinkie produced a giant bucket and leaped at the Nightmare - scooping parts of it into nonexistence. The Nightmare grabbed her. GRAINS OF SAND ON A BEACH, PINK ONE. The Nightmare threw Pinkie to the ground, which she gracefully bounced off of.

Fluttershy went up to the skull and Stared. It leaped out and knocked her in the head, tossing her down.

Twilight and Starlight tried every spell they knew - ranging from minimal effect to none at all. The Inspector was even worse off - she couldn't damage the corrupting creature with her strength, nor her magic.

Diane frantically looked around. "We need a plan!"

At that moment, Rarity got an idea. "PINKIE! Give Diane the Element!"

"What?" Diane yelled, baffled.

Pinkie's eyes widened. "Oh... That's an idea!" She tore it off her neck and slapped it on Diane.

"What is this supposed to - AGH!" She gagged. She could feel magic flooding into her - something she had never felt before in her life. She saw patterns... gaps...bars... grids... vibrations... pink... She took a step back. "...What."

"Try pulling something out of your mane!"

Diane reached in - and pulled out a chainsaw made of crystals. She blinked. "How am I the Element of Laughter if I never really laughed?"

"Because you can't - and you try anyway!" Pinkie grinned, taking out her own chainsaw. "HAVE AT THEE!"

The two bounced, defying gravity, driving their chainsaws deep into the goo of the Nightmare, tearing it apart. They made for the house-sized skull, swimming through the shadows as if they were just water. It a few swift motions they disintegrated the skull and leaped out.

"...That was different," Diane said.

"Yeah! It's called fun!"

Diane paused - then decided a smirk was the best response.

The Nightmare grabbed the two of them. YOU THINK THIS POWER CAN DEFEAT US? YOU DID NOTHING! WE STAND ABOVE YOU MORTALS!The two pink ponies were tossed onto the metal ground in such a way that it should have killed them. It didn't. WE ARE THE DREAM THAT LURKS IN THE MINDS! WE ARE WHAT STARS FEAR TO FACE! WE ARE THE DEPTHS OF THE MOST HIGH! WE WILL NOT FALL BECAUSE OF THE ACTIONS OF BEINGS LIKE YOU! The Nightmare raised its limb, ready to crash it down on the two pink ponies.

A giant mechanical limb grabbed the Nightmare. Tirek. The cyborg centaur's arm had broken out of the glass box, and the rest of it soon followed. The screen where his head should have been came to life, displaying a line of text.

What about one like me?<<

The Nightmare recoiled. YOU THINK THAT BODY YOU... YOU ALWAYS DEFIED OUR EXPECTATIONS.

It is in my essence.<<

YOU ARE JUST AS FOOLISH AS THE REST. The Nightmare lashed out with three tentacles, each one stopped by a magic beam sent from M's new horns. M began to drain magic from the nightmare, flooding it right into his screen.

Foolishness is an arbitrary word defined only by what the user thinks is wise. It is equally likely you're the fool, and me the wise one.<<

The Nightmare slapped Mwith its girth, slapping his body to the ground. YOUR BODY DOES NOT HAVE THE STRENGTH. EVEN WITH ALL THE POWER GAINED, IT STILL PALES IN COMPARISON TO US THAT LIVE BENEATH THE EARTH YOU STAND UPON.

This is not all I'm bringing to the table. You control the earth.<< All the panels in the various walls flew open, revealing giant guns brimming with power. >>I have spent my entire life gaining control of all technology.<<

All the guns let loose, hitting the Nightmare with the force of an army.

And the dark god dies, beaten by a triumph of technology, not magic. Ponies will grow past their superiors, having to kill them or control them, refusing to bow to any authority. Perhaps this is their doom - if they are their own masters, they invent their own purpose. But the other option is slavery.<<

M barely caught the Nightmare Fuel's speed attack. The amorphous black blob seemed hardly damaged by the onslaught.

TECHNOLOGY IS AN EXPERIMENT WE ENGINEERED. A FAILED EXPERIMENT. IT BRINGS US NOTHING BUT ANNOYANCE. NO MORE WILL PROGRESS BE CONSIDERED. YOU WILL BE THE LAST OF YOUR KIND.

You really are as strong as you claim to be.<<

WE ENGINEERD THIS WORLD FROM THE ALLEYS AND GALLOWS - WHAT DID YOU EXPECT!?

"Someone who wasn't so easily distracted!" Pinkie yelled, tearing the Element of Laughter from Diane and throwing it into the Tree of Harmony - where the other five Elements already waited.

The Nightmare screamed in some eldritch tongue that hurt the ears of those who heard it. It bounded for the Tree of Harmony, tentacles outstretched.

The Tree of Harmony lit up, banishing the dark vines and magics on it in an instant. A beacon of light shot into the roof, lighting the dark room like the sun. The harmonious holy glow burned the Nightmare Fuel's sludge, pushing it back with immense force.

NO NO NO NO WE ARE THE NIGHTMARE OF ALL NO NO NO NO THIS IS NOT FEAR THE MIND NO MORE NO MORE PART SIH OTNI NELLAF EVAH OT SLOOF LLA ERA UOY REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE It tried to attack the Tree of Harmony one last time, but Fluttershy Stared at it.

"No," she said. Calmly. But authoritatively.

The black sludge of the Nightmare vanished with that word - leaving only the giant bones to fall to the ground and shatter. The white shards of bone spread in all directions, creating an arena of death. The floor bowed and cracked, shaking the foundation of the building - but it stayed standing.

Pinkie felt the drain on her soul go away. "WOO-HOO! WE DIIIIIID IT!" She took out her party cannon and blew confetti everywhere.

Diane gave a half-hearted smile. "Yeah. We did."

Rarity let out a sigh of relief. "It... it's over..."

Maud came out from behind her cover. "It is indeed over. "

The Inspector nodded slowly. "...The Nightmare has been erased."

Starlight and Twilight embraced.

"I thought we were going to die!" Starlight said.

"Me too!" The two of them laughed, holding each other tight.

Fluttershy smiled at first - but then frowned. She turned to M. "Thank you, M."

I do not need thanks.<< He said, leaning down to inspect the giant lens behind the Tree of Harmony.

"...I am wondering though. Why didn't you do any of that sooner? ...Didn't you say you couldn't control everything?"

Because you would have gotten a lot more suspicious of me, like you are now, and prevented me from doing this.<< He lit his horns, acting on the lens with his new body's magic. The Tree of Harmony screamed as a torrent of magical energy was torn from it, focused through the lens, and thrown into M.

M stopped just short of draining the Tree completely - leaving the slightest spark of energy - but it was still more magic energy than could be comprehended. He began to grow in size - both his mechanical and biological components.

The ponies looked up, fearful. M soon was too big to fit in the room, collapsing the entire skyscraper that was the central tower, forcing Twilight and Starlight to raise shields around everypony.

M stood among the Concretion, a comparable height to most of the skyscrapers.

It is time.<<

XXVII - The Question

Did you really think I was a good guy? A hero? One of those destined to save the world?

Laughable.

Dear reader, the hints were there from my very first appearance in Starlight's little abode to my very attitude throughout this whole debacle. I have never tried to sell that I was altruistic to you. My motivations are my own - and different from all the others.

The world is horrible. Everything is a paradox, a lie, or a two way street with no answer. Freedom is hell, slavery is hell, it's all hell.

But some things being worse than others, I decided to make a change.

Can you blame me really?

Think of all the evil you've seen. Sure, there was beauty, but it was diluted, maddeningly dangerous, and the source of death.

Can you really say it was worth it?

No. You can't. Not with a clear conscience.

Now, it's my turn to say something.<<

~~~

The Concrete response was swift - the drones flew in and the roof-mounted weapons aimed at the gargantuan form that M now was. Lights shone in the night, the defenses of the Concretion screaming into the darkness.

M held up his mechanical hand, eclipsing the moon. In less than a second, all the lights went out. The drones fell from the sky. The defenses stood down. The street lamps extinguished. The buildings became dark, dead.

M's tremendous facial screen was the brightest thing besides the moon in this new dark city, casting a spotlight over the Concretion. Concretes may have had their emotional stunts, but they could feel fear, and M knew it.

"M! What are you doing?" Pinkie shouted from below.

M swerved his head to the ruins of the central skyscraper he had come out of. Very little of it still stood, most was just a pile of metal, windows, and Concrete circuitry. Standing on top of the rubble, protected by magic shields were what remained of the Element Bearers, Diane, Maud, and Starlight. M stooped down, putting his 'face' close to Pinkie, the light reflecting within her eyes.

I am going to raze this poor excuse of a civilization into non-existence. These Concretes have been a scourge for far too long. It is time to burn away that which rots this world.<<

Pinkie blinked. "You're... Going to kill them all?"

That is precisely what I will do. Every square mile of this city will be reduced to rubble. They shall return to the earth from which they were severed.<<

Diane glared. "I don't think that would be considered 'right'."

"It isn't," Fluttershy said. "It's called genocide."

A genocide of necessity. You all wanted to heal the world. You purged it of the darkness. This is the other half of the job.<<

Rarity shook her head. "No! Really, no! There's some good here! Look at Maud! Look at Diane! If she can see then others can see!"

"Diane is not normal," Maud said. Rarity shot her a not helping look.

"They've killed so many," the Inspector noted.

"This is what they've had coming," Twilight assessed.

Rarity balked. "You can't be serious Twilight. You? Condoning genocide!?"

"They killed Applejack!" the Inspector shouted. "They deserve the worst!"

"Sounds like you've forgotten about the forgiveness you yourself received!" Rarity spat.

"Think of the entirety of Neighagra Falls, Rarity, if you can't be bothered enough by the death of your friend."

"Of course it hurts, Rarity, but what about the others responsible? The zebras! Do you want to commit genocide on their race!?"

"Zebras can be cured," Twilight said. "Concretes cannot."

"They can become functional," Fluttershy countered. "You saw Foci. He's not unusual like Diane."

"He was kept in a basement with gadgets! He never saw anypony! I can hardly call him functional!"

"He wasn't an enemy."

"He had to be brainwashed!"

"He was brainwashed at birth by a force that no longer exits!"

"There is still no cure," Maud said. "The Concretes are doomed to failure."

Diane glared at her sister. "It seems to me that we can't be sure of that. Some could want to change. To see."

"You can't base the other Concretes on yourself."

"I'm not. But maybe I can show them what I have begun to see. To tell them."

"They won't listen."

"I might not give them a choice."

"This is getting us nowhere!" Pinkie shouted, grabbing her head. "We're just arguing back and forth over a question that has no answer!"

Starlight frowned. "I... I think Pinkie's right. I can't see the right here."

"Are you serious? They need to die!" the Inspector shouted.

"No no no!" Rarity interjected. "This cannot be okay in any way!"

You all bicker like children. I'm done waiting for you to make up your minds. I will be destroying that block of buildings over there. I suggest you leave soon or have someone try to stop me. You have to choose, and may I remind you that stalling is still a choice. It all comes down to your decisions.<< He stood up, walked away, and blasted an entire skyscraper into nothing. The power of his horns melted the metal into a stream of slag. Concrete screams rang out in the night as hundreds died in a single instant.

"Nope!" Pinkie yelled, leaping into the air, aiming right for M's head - only for Twilight to encase Pinkie in her telekinesis, pulling her back. Pinkie fell backward, landing back in the rubble.

Fluttershy gasped. "Twilight, stop-"

"No," Twilight said. "I'm taking a stand. This is where I draw the line. Not the Concretes, Fluttershy, not the Concretes."

Diane deployed her gun and fired at Twilight - the bullets flying in an unusual spread that Twilight was just barely able to stop with her magic.

"Diane no!" Pinkie said, breaking the gun from her suit. "No killing!"

"But that's what she's doing by keeping us here," Diane said matter-of-factly, gesturing towards another building that M had slagged.

"You can fight without killing," Pinkie said. She pulled out a pair of boxing gloves and socked Twilight across the face. "Like that!"

Twilight twitched, unleashing her full magic. The Inspector stood beside her, casting shields.

"Don't make us fight you," Fluttershy said.

"I know you won't change your mind!" Twilight said.

"Then change yours!"

"No." Magic bolts shot from her horn. Fluttershy tried to dodge, but the Inspector's crystal walls prevented her from flying. She was hit, tossed back across the rubble.

Pinkie rushed Twilight, ready to box her across the face, only to find the Inspector's shields blocking her. Twilight fought back, pushing Pinkie away with her telekinesis - only to find Diane whacking her across the head with a long iron pole. Twilight reeled - but managed to retaliate, melting the pole with her magic and driving Diane to the ground with a purple explosion. Diane rolled out of the line of fire, bounced into Pinkie's tennis racket and rocketed towards Twilight - and yet, the Inspector grabbed her in her magic.

Twilight took to the air, raining purple fire down on the two pink mares. Diane's armor withstood it and Pinkie just ate the fire. The two leaped up after her, just to be slapped across the face by the Inspector's magic.

Diane decided the Inspector was annoying, so she went after her with a chainsaw. Pinkie had to stop her - replacing the chainsaw with a baseball bat - causing enough of a delay for the Inspector to shove them back.

"We're losing because we won't be lethal," Diane stated.

"Eh, we can beat them. Plus, even when you fight, you don't kill your friends, even if it'll make you lose. Don't kill. Ever."

"...They aren't my friends."

"Just trust me on this, you have a lot to learn. Here, try a rubber mallet, works pretty well." Pinkie herself pulled out a cast-iron skillet and charged.

Twilight prepared a powerful spell - but she never got to cast it, for Fluttershy herself had regained her senses. She flew at Twilight's horn, grabbing it with her hooves and twisting. Twilight screamed in agony at the stress on her horn, firing off a magic bolt that Fluttershy dodged with a twist of her body.

You don't want to do this Twilight.

"Yes I do!"

It won't end well.

"I'm an alicorn Fluttershy! You're just a pegasus who's a little smarter than normal and way too idealistic! This is going to end badly for you!" She unleashed a wide beam of magic.

Fluttershy closed her eyes, took a breath, and elegantly dodged the attack. She began to sing. "I never thought such a small mistake..."

"Oh no, you aren't hiding your thoughts from me!" Twilight sent a rotary of spear spells that Fluttershy gracefully spun through.

"Could have caused so much heartache..."

"Stop it!" Twilight yelled, firing spells madly and with ever-increasing intensity. The pegasus just twirled, flipped, and glided through every one - all with her eyes closed.

"Oh- woaaaaaaaaah...."

"Stop it!" Twilight reiterated, rearing her head back for a strong disintegrating spell.

"Oh- woaaaaah-oh-oh-oh-oh..."

Twilight thrust her head forward, firing a laser that could easily vaporize a manticore. Fluttershy flew over it, swerving over Twilight's head. Then Fluttershy opened her eyes.

Twilight saw what she was going to do. She tried to initiate a teleport, but Fluttershy was too fast. She drove her two front hooves into the back of Twilight's neck at an extremely precise angle. There was an audible crack, and Twilight's limbs stopped moving in a single instant. Fluttershy caught Twilight, making sure to keep her head balanced in her yellow hooves.

"You... You broke my neck!" Twilight managed to get out.

"Yes. I did. Don't try to heal it, you could set it badly in your current mental state. We'll get you help when this is over."

"Y... Y..."

"Shhh... Calm... Calm Twilight. I'm still me. You're still you. We just had a fight."

Twilight began to cry. "It's just... not... not..."

"You don't have to say anything. I know. I know." She set Twilight down gently on her side, so not to stress the neck.

The Inspector, Pinkie, and Diane were staring at her, mixed looks of fear, surprise, and curiosity on their faces.

Fluttershy walked up to the Inspector. "You've lost."

"I have."

"We're going to go attempt to stop M now."

"Yes you are."

"...Rarity..."

"No. No. You win. Go celebrate in your victory and do something stupid. I'm not helping."

Fluttershy sighed. "Okay... If that's what you want." She turned to Pinkie and Diane. "Come on. Let's go." She spread her wings and flew after M, two pink puffs following close behind.

Rarity shook her head. "...They can't face him alone."

"They are going to kill themselves," the Inspector deadpanned. "You want to join in mass suicide, go ahead."

"I... Wouldn't be of any help," Rarity sighed, glancing over at the paralyzed form of Twilight, to the enraged form of the Inspector, to the confused form of Starlight. "...There has to be something I can do..."

Starlight blinked. "...Something Anubis said..."

"Hm?"

"Follow me. I... I have an idea."

"...You're going to help?"

"...I guess so. Really, I... I don't think this is my call. I'm not sure what to choose, but..." She looked down at her bare, Element-less neck. "I should not let my friends just go into danger like that, alone, without helping. It wouldn't be... Loyal."

Rarity nodded. "Of course, dear."

In the distance, M melted another building. He turned around to meet his challenges.

Just the three of you?<<

"Does that matter?" Fluttershy asked.

Not really. It wouldn't have mattered if you all showed up. You saw how the Nightmare was pushing you around.<< He raised a finger and his horns started glowing. >>I'll try not to kill you.<<

"Lucky us, we're cleared to use lethal force!" Pinkie said, pulling out a chainsword. "Cause you can just go back to your happy monitor room after this."

Quite.<<

"Oh, and by the way, M?"

What?"

Her hair went flat and her eyes dark. "You've made my friends hurt each other. You should be scared."

I have no reason to fea_

Pinkie swung the chainsword at his screen before the message could finish displaying. He fired back with a magic blast, but the chainsword was unaffected by it, hitting the screen straight on and shattering it. Diane followed up with a gun the size of a house that fired missiles with teeth on the ends of them, turning M's entire head to mush. Fluttershy landed on his back and started pulling wires.

M's shattered horns glowed - and his screen reformed along with the rest of his head. The horns repaired themselves fully. >>As I was saying, I have no reason to be afraid. Your magics are powerful beyond understanding, but so are mine. You are like a bee - powerful, painful, but self-destructive and ultimately ineffective in small numbers.<< He blew them away with a black and yellow beam. He then flicked Fluttershy off his back with a stray finger.

You all think you are in control, that you are exceptions to the rules. That's correct - you are exceptions. Defilers of reality, benders of shape - you break the mold. But, well, the standard mold is that the 'heroes' win. You're the heroes, right? What if you break that mold?<<

"Shut up with all your existential worldplay!" Pinkie yelled, bringing a hammer down on his head. "We've had enough of it to last a lifetime!"

But I thought you were willing to hear all sides? That you were better than the decaying ponies of this world? That you were willing to consider everything? Why now do you do what they did - refuse to listen?<<

Pinkie threw a giant javelin that exploded into firecrackers - to which Diane added several dozen grenades. No permanent effect. "Is this a fight or debate?" Pinkie asked.

"It's a debate," Diane said. "It's how he sees everything. The world is wrong, and he needs the world to know that. Even what he's doing right now is that. He just wants to prove his point."

There she is, in action, a mare who can see so much. I'm curious, with that magic in you, can you see the patterns? The rules of reality? Destiny itself?<<

"...Yes."

That must be a rude awakening.<<

"Not really. Makes sense, frankly. I knew the world was a bit too weird."

In truth, it doesn't really matter if you know or not, I expect there's more to it than just an 'arbitrary hand of destiny,' but at that point, what would it even mean? Our world is the way it is, and we have to deal with it on its terms. So I must become a giant rampaging monster and you the fools who fight it. Or perhaps we're just reading too much into this, that is always possible.<<

"You're reading too much into this," Fluttershy said, yanking out a big purple wire from M's back. That did something - he roared in pain and rage from a vocal box neither of them had heard before. He grabbed Fluttershy, bringing her up to his head, flooding her in his screen's light.

Why do you fight? You know your powers are nothing. You might die just by collateral damage, your body is so frail.<<

"I thought about standing by and doing nothing once. Never again."

I'll make you then.<< He trapped her in a block of crystal and set her in the middle of a road. >>Her place is not here.<<

Pinkie freed her with an icepick.

I said her place is not here.<<

"I'm exactly where I need to be, M. I'm here so I can tell you a little something. You think you understand how the world works? You think you know the way things are? Well, you're wrong! I'm wrong too! We're all wrong! Nobody knows how the world works, not really! Every answer we come up with is fraught with mistakes and biases in some way - every one! What makes you think you're the one who struck gold? Is it because you're artificial? Because you were made by a pink pony? That you defeated the Nightmare?"

I used my reason.<<

"Yeah, well so did a lot of other bucking ponies! And they were oh so wrong!"

M pointed a finger at her. >>You deserve that place as their leader.<<

"Oh, thank you, glad to know I have your damn approval!"

There was no motion for a few minutes. Some Concretes fired hoof-held arms, but they were largely ignored. The city burned around them. The moonlight was tinted orange with the smoke.

Amazing. You made me think. I haven't had a pony force me to reanalyze in a long time.<<

"...You haven't changed your mind though."

No.<< He punched her. Fluttershy crashed into the ground with a scream - and passed out.

M turned to the two pink ponies. >>Do you two want to have a go at talking this out?<<

"No," they said in unison.

Good. Even I was getting tired of my own words.<< They charged at each other.

~~~

Beneath the Concretion, Starlight dispatched a few Concretes - they had no armor, but they still flew in rage at the unicorn anyway. "Okay.... Stressing my horn here..."

"...Could you at least tell me what your plan is?" Rarity asked, looking around at all the red alarm lights and dead bodies - most of which weren't put there by Starlight. The Concretes were already starting to panic and turn on each other.

"Anubis said all the nukes were kept nearby. Since we didn't explode when M got huge, I figured they must be underground. All we have to do is override the lockout he has on the entire city and hit him with one."

"...Nukes are one of those giant missiles that were being shot at Canterlot, right?"

"Precisely!"

"What about the collateral damage!?"

"It won't destroy - or even irradiate - the entire Concretion, just a sizeable chunk. And frankly this is the only idea I had."

Rarity blinked, then nodded slowly. "Okay, okay, we can do it. I'm desperate. We're desperate."

Starlight clapped her hooves. "There!" She pointed."A symbol for radiation and a door with a lot of locks!" She melted the door with her magic, feeling her horn steam. "...Okay... Horn's having problems. Hopefully this is the right door."

They walked into a dark room. Without lights it was impossible to see. Rarity lit her horn, casting the small enclosure in a pure light. Consoles, buttons, switches, and screens lined the walls; through the windows they could see dozens of rockets and nukes sitting in a large warehouse.

Starlight whistled. "Well, pretty sure we only need one." She looked around, checking all the panels, restoring power to the room with a quick spell. "...I'm also pretty sure this isn't where you launch them."

"...Do we need to keep looking?"

"No... I think I can give this place power and hook it up directly to a missile. It'll just take some clever magic..." She blinked. "Hold on, is somepony out there?"

There did, in fact, appear to be a pony out among the missiles. She was easy to recognize, even from their vantage point - Marble. She was standing next to a single rocket with a laptop computer, typing furiously. A few seconds later one of the screens next to Rarity that had displayed a few dozen lines of red text changed to green text with a satisfying 'ding!'

Starlight blinked. "...I think she just removed the security measures on the rockets."

"...Why?"

"Because she's using one," Starlight said, pointing back out. Marble climbed into the top of one of the rockets, dragging her computer with her. A large box loaded itself on the rocket as well, slightly below the cabin she was in. The hatch doors of the missile chamber opened, spilling some rubble into the warehouse, but nothing exploded. The ground beneath Marble's rocket opened as well, serving as an exhaust vent for the immense power of the rocket fire. It flew out of the warehouse and into the sky, where Rarity and Starlight quickly lost sight of it.

The screen remained green. The hatch doors remained open.

"...She just made our job a lot easier," Starlight said. "Good thing she doesn't give a crap about the Concretion. Or, from what I saw of her, anything at all."

"Can you do the rest?"

"I think so, I'll just need to use some clever magics..."

"Careful with your horn."

"I'll try, but this is going to be pretty complicated..." Starlight began her complex lattice of spells. A few lights on nearby screens lit up and several buttons began to flash. One of the nukes had the floor open up beneath them, indicating it was ready for launch. Many lights on the nuke lit up and turned red. "Armed... Ready... Just need to-" Her horn let out a small explosion, knocking her to the ground.

Rarity blinked. "Starlight...?" she said, voice wavering. She walked up to her - both the heartbeat and breath still existed. Starlight was fine - just out cold. Rarity turned back to the controls - everything had power, everything looked ready, and the missile outside was humming slightly. She wasn't sure if that was good.

She bit her lip. She was going to have to launch it. But she didn't know how. She scanned the buttons - the big red one? Maybe the lever? Or the green button on that screen? Or was it that slider over there? She... had no idea.

"...Having problems?"

Rarity turned to see the Inspector behind her. Rarity grimaced. "...Yes."

The Inspector took one look at the controls. "...If you could read Concrete you'd know exactly what button to push."

"But I don't!" Rarity wailed. "I can't! Help me!"

The Inspector looked out at the missile. "...Why? I want him to pound this place to dust. Erase it. Destroy it."

"I know. But... But look at what he's done to us! ...No, not him. This situation. We're at each other's throats. Diane tried to kill Twilight, for crying out loud. Fluttershy broke her neck! Fighting against each other... It isn't right. We should stand together, prop each other up."

The Inspector said nothing, merely staring into the distance, eyes obscured by Applejack's hat.

"...Would Applejack have killed them all?"

"How dare-"

"I don't know if she would have or not. It's why I'm asking."

The Inspector looked down. "...No. She... She wouldn't kill them all. Wound them, disable them, deal a blow, yes. But she wouldn't erase them. Too much like what happened to her family."

Rarity put a hoof over the Inspector. "Dear... Rarity." At the tender use of her name, the Inspector looked into Rarity's eyes. The eyes locked - identical, blue, teary. No words were exchanged.

"...Big red button," the Inspector said.

"Of course it is," Rarity said. She moved the Inspector's hoof over to the button with hers. "Let's hit it together."

They looked at each other once again. In each of their eyes, they saw a reflection. They were both dirty, mangy, scratched, bruised, and battered. Their eyelashes had fallen out long ago, and their manes were unkempt. Besides their cutie marks and the hats, there was no telling the two of them apart. It was like looking in a perfect mirror.

"Ready dear?"

"Ready."

They pressed the button.

The missile in the bay unleashed a jet of fire, sailing upwards. The force was impressive, shaking some of the nearby missiles, but not setting any of them off. The scarlet jet of flame climbed out of the doors and into the sky, a bloody star against the blackness. It made a sharp turn and flew out of their sight. They held their breath.

Aboveground, M didn't notice it - he was busy having a pair of giant chainsaws taken to his back. He threw the two pink ponies off him, embedding them in a nearby building.

They saw the missile coming while M was focused in their direction. They quickly grabbed Fluttershy and ran - disappearing from the arena completely by ducking behind a lamppost.

...Concerning.<<

He felt the nuke touch him, exploding into his back.

He removed his consciousness from the body before it could feel anything else.

Twilight saw the city in her field of view explode, a mushroom cloud of fire sending shrapnel everywhere. She was not in the blast radius - but she saw the debris coming. She panicked - forcing herself to heal her neck, solidifying the broken bone. She yelled out in pain when it didn't set correctly, the pain beyond anything she had experienced before. Barely conscious, she managed to levitate herself behind a still-standing wall, prepared to avoid the shrapnel. She'd worry about the radiation later when she was able to.

Then she heard the BOOM, but decided she didn't care. She was just going to sit here and wait. She saw Maud walking around somewhere to her left. She didn't try to look at her - she just breathed. In...out. In...out.

Pinkie, Diane, and Fluttershy appeared. Fluttershy stumbled around, sitting next to Twilight. Even in her dazed state, Fluttershy managed to put her wing around Twilight, to feel her neck. She felt the spur that had formed.

Fluttershy broke down, weeping bitterly.

Twilight just slowly shut her eyes, crying through her eyelids.

Rarity, the Inspector, and Starlight showed up a few minutes later. Starlight's horn was smoking. The Inspector checked to make sure everypony was okay, but after that, not much happened.

It was over. They had won.

Nopony was celebrating.

Epilogue

I told you endings were a lie.

I suppose that was an ending, of sorts. It was the end of their journey - the enemy defeated, the world saved, the heroes looking to the future. They weren't celebrating in that end, but they would eventually. The world was changed in ways nobody could have predicted.

You want to know what happened, don't you?

All right. For once, I'll move away from my musings. Here's what happened.

The war ended. There was no victor. The Concretion just couldn't keep fighting with such a huge hole in their infrastructure after the nuke was dropped, and Equestria couldn't fight either. There was never any sort of official document that ended the war, it just stopped, both sides realizing that continuing would mean destruction.

Canterlot was too far gone - too much radiation poisoning. The princesses had to abandon it and move the capital to Nova. They cured many Canterlot ponies, but they left many more than they saved. The leftover citizens of Canterlot that were saved either moved to Nova, small towns, or even - eventually - the leftovers of the Concretion, which I will get to in a moment. These hoity-toity unicorn types got a rude awakening to regular life if I do say so myself.

The Concretion completely reinvented itself. They were unable to fully restore power, and with a full fourth of their city too irradiated to live in, they knew they would never return to their former glory. That's when they started talking. They still hated magic and everything it stood for - but they realized at that moment they could use some help, and surprisingly people were willing to give it. The griffons for mostly altruistic reasons, and others for quite the opposite.

Speaking of the others, I take back what I said. There was a victor in the war - Sombra. His lands scarcely felt the war, and the broken Equestria owed him. He made sure the Concretes owed him too - giving them all the aid and ponies he could to rebuild. Crystal ponies turned out to be immune to radiation and ended up settling in the irradiated area. He even started occupying the ruins of Canterlot, though this wasn't a very big exodus seeing as Canterlot didn't have much in the way of useful infrastructure.

The view of technology began to roll back, no longer openly condemned by everypony. This was in no small part thanks to Marble, who started making all her inventions and schematics open to the public. She made a moon base with that rocket and has never returned to Equis. Had she been somepony else, she would have been lonely, but she was designed so that inventing would give her joy. Ponies began to view her as sort of a technology-guardian of the planet, even if she really didn't give a crap about anything but progress.

Starlight's secret is still secret. She doesn't live there permanently though, dropping by only for a week so she can recharge the spell, then returning to the outside world. So far, nopony unsavory has found it, and it hasn't fallen apart without her guidance. Starlight has hopes that the secret won't have to remain secret forever. Minuette is buried there, right outside the abandoned castle.

Applejack's and Rainbow Dash's graves are at the front of the Niagara Falls Memorial. Celestia ordered the construction of the memorial - a giant statue of Twilight Sparkle, the waterfall eternally coming out of her eyes - and decided she didn't care what the ponies thought of her. The sun princess became very unpopular with the general population, but she dismissed them. Luna lost her favor as well. Mainly because of the war. Sunset became the 'head' of Equestria by default. She claimed she started leading differently, but that was just to save face. She led the same way she always had. The Movement flourished under her reign, gaining speed and traction, especially because of our heroes.

And what about them? The heroes? What of their fates?

Well, they're all alive, and all together as friends, despite it all. Starlight lives with them when she's not in her secret. Their home? The Concretion. They're there to help the Concretes into a new era. They are not welcome by the Concretes, but they've taken enough hate over the years that they don't care so much anymore. They found that Concrete children are born earth ponies, without the corruption, now that the Nightmare Fuel is gone. In a few hundred years, there won't be Concretes at all anymore. It's slow work - and heart-wrenching. So many Concretes would just beat their children for having emotions. But that's what the heroes do - they help the children live and look to a new life. They're saving the world in a much simpler manner most of the time.

...You want to see them, don't you?

...Okay.<<

~~~

"Don't open your eyes Twilight!"

"Pinkie, I can read your mind, I know what's happening."

"That'd be unfair to the others though! No peeking!"

"Fine... I won't..."

"Sit down riiiiiiight here! Okay, Twilight, Fluttershy, Rarity, Rarity, and Starlight, you can open your eyes!"

The five mentioned mares did indeed open their eyes. They found themselves sitting at a table obviously ready for a party. There was cake, streamers, and even a few television screens displaying natural scenes. Through the large windows they could see balloons equipped with propellers flying around in circular patterns. There was a stage on which Pinkie and Diane were standing - both smiling. Diane's cutie mark - which she had gotten the moment she put on the Element of Laughter, she just didn't notice - was on full display. A black balloon with a pink eye overtop of it, and a large red X over that. Nopony knew what it meant.

Rarity looked around. "Nice party, Pinkie. what's the occasion?"

"That's a secret until I see what you think of it! What about the rest of you?"

Fluttershy shrugged. "It looks like a party, one of your normal ones."

"Is it supposed to be special?" the Inspector asked. "Are we missing something?"

Starlight leaned back in her chair. "We always are."

Pinkie giggled. "I didn't set this party up."

There was silence at the table.

"You don't mean..." Rarity began.

"Yes, I did," Diane said, smiling. The smile looked a lot more natural than it had been - but it was still a bit too clean. "Have I done well?"

"You did great!" Rarity cheered. "I didn't think you could fool us like that!"

"Be honest, how much did Pinkie help you?" the Inspector asked.

"None," Diane said.

"I only saw it myself an hour before you all!" Pinkie giggled. "So, Diane, got any plans for the party?"

"Well, before eating I was thinking of a dance party with a completely random song selected by our resident DJ."

One of the screens buzzed with static for a moment. >>Hi.<<

Starlight raised an eyebrow. "You? DJ? There's no way you have good music tastes."

I am just an over-glorified random number generator in this regard. How's this?<< He started a thumping beat through the speaker system.

"Dubstep?" Pinkie said. "Eh, why not. Let's dance!"

Diane smiled - again, close, but not perfect. "Let's." She began to walk on just her front hooves and did a cartwheel. Fluttershy smiled, getting into the groove next, whirling around Diane gracefully.

Twilight lit her horn - levitating her entire body out of her wheelchair. Using her magic, she positioned her limbs on the dance floor and started moonwalking.

"I see cheating!" Rarity said, leaping into action. "Unfair moonwalking with magic! I'll show you!" she giggled, beginning a moonwalk herself.

Starlight leaped in, cloned herself five times, and did a complex cheerleading routine.

"Diiiiiiisqualified!" Pinkie yelled.

"Fine," Starlight laughed.

Diane danced, carefully focusing on the movements and beat of the music, easily shifting with more complex motions and grace than any of the others. But something caught her eye. The Inspector wasn't dancing - she was standing at a window, looking out.

Diane walked up to her. "...You okay?"

"It just hit me again. She's not here."

Diane nodded, staring out the window with her. "Anything different this time?"

"Oh, wondering if there's any possibility her family survived. Any of them. At all." She shook her head. "Of course there isn't, and I'm partially responsible for that."

"As am I."

"Yes... I suppose we are in that boat together, aren't we?"

"It's a rather dark and presumably depressing boat, but it is something we share."

The Inspector let out a soft chuckle. "...You're getting a lot better at this, you know."

"Sometimes," Diane said, putting a hoof around the Inspector and holding her tight.

"Your hugs could use some work though."

Diane nodded. "Pinkie and I established that."

"Yeah..." the Inspector looked over her shoulder at the dancing. "...You think we should get back?"

"Probably. The moment they start asking questions is the moment the 'drama' starts."

They made their way back to the group and danced the day away. Night had fallen before they finally decided to have dinner. The meal was tasty, and the conversation high-spirited. There were laughs from everypony - rarely a somber face. They may have had hardships in the past, but they were sure happy now.

After the meal, Rarity and Pinkie were sitting on a couch.

"So, in return for me teaching her about parties and ponies, Diane is teaching me about science!" Pinkie smiled.

"Since when do you like science?"

"Since now!" Pinkie giggled. "I'll get to make computers and rockets and games and study all that quantum stuff Starlight could never figure out about my magic."

"Speaking of that, has she made any progress?"

"Nope! The portal is just as elusive as it was when she started, though she's still working. I mean, can't hurt, right?"

"I was working the pink confetti out of my mane for a week!" Starlight yelled from across the room.

That hardly qualifies as being hurt.<<

"It was a dignity thing."

Dignity comes pre-prepared with a fall.<<

"...Ugh."

Rarity and Pinkie giggled. Rarity looked back at Pinkie. "...What do you think we'd do if Starlight - or Twilight - ever did open a portal?"

"I don't know. It depends if it was permanent, I suppose. If it wasn't, we stay here. If it was... I dunno!"

"...Something we'll cross when we get to it, I suppose/"

Pinkie's eyes twitched and her tail shimmied while her eyes started wigging out. Diane's body started doing the same thing. "No way..." Pinkie said.

"What? What is it?" Rarity asked.

Pinkie said nothing, she just walked to the center of the room, Diane alongside her. The two of them reached out their hooves to a point in space - a point that bubbled. A pink spark appeared, growing slowly. A purple hoof reached out, trying to widen the opening. Then another hoof came out, pushing the edges of the portal further apart, revealing the purple head of Twilight Sparkle. She grunted, growled, and yelped, but eventually she shoved herself through the opening. She fell onto the ground, facefirst.

She stood up, quickly spreading her wings. "Aha! It worked! It worked!" She grabbed Diane's face. "Oh, it's so good to see you again!"

"Uh, Twilight?" Pinkie said. "I'm over here."

Twilight blinked. "Oh my. No. Two Pinkies. Two? The world can never be ready... Two Rarity's!?"

"Hi!" Rarity said.

"Think she can tell us apart?" the Inspector asked.

"Not in her state, dear." Rarity tipped Minuette's hat down, smirking.

Twilight reeled. "And another Starlight... And Fluttershy. And a weird computer screen..."

Allow me to make your existential crisis even more unbearable.<<

"Agh! It... Communicates? ABSOLUTELY FASCINATING!"

...Should I be concerned?<<

His question went unanswered. Twilight saw, in that moment, Twilight, sitting in her wheelchair.

Other Twilight rolled over to her, using her telekinesis to extend a hoof. "Hi. I'm Twilight Sparkle. Welcome to our world. I've wanted to meet you for a long, long time."

Twilight extended her hoof and shook her counterpart's. "Hi. I'm Twilight Sparkle. Glad to be here, at long last."

~~~

They forgave me.

I'm still not sure they should have. I almost tore them apart. I was not the evilest thing they faced - perhaps one of the least - but I was the most damaging to them. I could have saved Rainbow Dash if only I'd acted. Maybe Applejack as well, though I'm not sure on that count. Regardless, I didn't act. Some of the blame falls on me.

But... They forgave me. They welcomed me back. Treated me like one of them. There were rough spots, of course, but despite my nihilistic pessimistic rambling, they accepted me.

I'm certain they're absolute idiots for doing so. Be, alas, that is who they are. If there was anything to learn from this, it is we are who we are - and we are all wrong.

And yet, in the end, I think this is a good thing. It's amazing how freeing knowing you're wrong can be. No more is it your personal mission to right the world. No more do you have to be right about everything. No more must you find excuses to justify everything. No more do you have to hate those who disagree with you. Because, if everyone's wrong, you're wrong about something. But so are they.

Nobody has it right. Some are closer than others, but the best way is outside our reach. I've come to believe it's impossible for any earthly creature to obtain. But the search for that way, the hunt to get closer and closer to what is right?

Well, maybe that's the meaning of life.<<

IX - Meetings of Chance and Fate

Politics is a fundamentally broken concept.

A bunch of people gather together in a room, supposedly all there for the betterment of the nation or country, but in reality, they are pitted against each other in various groupings, complete with military-like alliances, threats, bribes, and blackmail. Any sufficiently complex political situation is indistinguishable from war after enough digging.

There is a fundamental problem with this, one that should be beyond obvious. Eventually, the alliances become more important than the will of the country or nation. Then there comes a moment when someone is sure they are in the right, and that their party is the best for the world - dismissing any other ideas as an evil virus of Tartarus. Then they step back, and take a moment to look at the things they’ve done for their perceived ‘greater good...’ Deception. Conspiracy. Cover-ups. So many lies it isn’t even funny.

Never mind - it is funny, in a way. As long as you aren’t a part of the process. Laugh at these politicians stuck in a web of lies that they can’t remove themselves from - even if any of them wanted out.

Don’t even pause to consider that it might apply to you and your friends. After all, those you put your faith in can’t have the same problem, right?<<

~~~

For Rarity and Pinkie ‘home’ was now a small little room with two beds, a window, a small table, a bathroom separated from the beds only by a curtain, and a closet. Rarity arrived home first and instantly decided that the next opportunity she had she would take some materials from the new Boutique and spruce the place up. It was almost ghastly, bare as it was. But for now, she needed to relax - take a rest. She flopped onto one of the beds and let out a sigh. She lifted her red mane above her eyes, staring deeply into the scarlet folds- earlier today the color had looked wonderful. Now it just seemed… alien, a reminder that she couldn’t be herself here, or else there would be dangerous consequences. She felt such a strange mixture of relief and disgust at her current situation - she really wasn’t sure where to go next.

Well, besides that meeting, but that was a few days away.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of jovial laughter - familiar laughter. Pinkie and… Rainbow Dash!?

Rarity stuck her head out into the hallway, rather surprised to see both ponies coming down the hallway. Pinkie seemed to wobble uncontrollably, and Rainbow Dash was having trouble steering her wheelchair.

Wheelchair.

“My Stars…” She held a hoof to her mouth. The disabled pegasus was missing a wing as well, and she had numerous scars all over her body… Rarity couldn’t imagine what could have caused all those wounds...

“It’s rude to stare, runter.” Rainbow Dash said with a slight chuckle.

Pinkie giggled. “Hu-yeah! It’s ruuuude to stare, runter!”

Rarity gasped. “Pinkie! Why on- You’re drunk, aren’t you?”

“Veeeeeeeeeeeery drunk!” Pinkie hiccuped.

Rainbow Dash smirked. ”Don’t worry, missy-may, I kept her under control. No secrets spilled this evening!”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “You’re drunk as well. That hardly inspires confidence.”

“Bah,” Rainbow Dash said, spinning around in her chair. “Whatever. Point is, we had quite the party.”

“The point is not to draw attention!” Rarity hissed at Pinkie.

“It wasn’t my party,” Pinkie said with her tongue lolling out, “but it sure was fun!”

Rarity was about to object further - it wasn’t a good idea to go against what they’d been told after all - but then she remembered that she was going to do the same. “…Never mind, as long as you were careful.”

“We burned the bar down,” Rainbow Dash said.

“WHAT!?” Rarity shouted at the top of her lungs. Her heart began to race in panic - this was disastrous in so many ways. There was no way Twilight and the Inspectors would turn a blind eye to that - they were going to get ousted from the town, or locked away in some basement… Or worse...

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie burst into hearty laughter. “We’re kidding, Miss Shard!” Pinkie managed through her giggling. “The bar is fine. Didn’t even tell them my name, Dashie paid for everything.”

“Hey, Pinks, think you can stock up the stand with some strong drink?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“I dunno. We’ll have to find out.”

Rarity rolled her eyes in exasperation. “Really… First day working and you go out and party?”

“Oh, we worked as well,” Pinkie said. “I think you can see the entire town from the Overlook.”

“Can I lick it yet?” Rainbow Dash chuckled.

“No, Dashie, patience, patience.”

Rarity shook her head. “I think it’s time for Rainbow to leave before she drives our neighbors insane. Some are probably trying to sleep.”

“Buck you too,” Rainbow Dash responded.

Pinkie giggled. “She’s right Dashie, you need to go home. We have real work tomorrow!”

“Did I mention I hate working?”

“Yes. Many times.” Pinkie grabbed the wheelchair and rolled Rainbow Dash out into the hallway. “See you tomorrow!”

“Likewise, Pinks! Stay bucky!”

“Stay preeny!” Pinkie said, shutting the door. “So, Rarity, how was your day?”

“Iris. I’m Iris now. You were good in the hall, but you should probably still call me that in private, just to be safe.”

“Fine… So, Iris, how was your day?”

“Odd. There was the normal business of setting up shop, which was amazing, but not really the focus of the day. Did you know the Applejack here is an activist? One of the leaders of the Movement - the mingler side.”

“Oooooh! No, I did not know that! What’s she like?”

“Surprisingly almost exactly like the Applejack we know, down to the hat. It’s uncanny.”

“Weird. Rainbow Dash isn’t like the one at home at all.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “No, really?”

“Really! She’s perhaps even louder here, and a lot less sure of herself. Stubbornness is the same though. Every bit of it - she’s also delightfully rude!”

“Pinkie, rude isn’t a virtue.”

“But it’s fun!”

“You’re drunk.”

“Eh, yeah, probably, definitely,” Pinkie laughed. “But she’s still fun to be around, and isn’t mean about it like all the others.”

“Still, I think she could stand to clean that mouth of hers.”

Pinkie shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose. I had a lot of fun today though! The Falls are amazing, and much louder when you’re that close! It’s deafening! But the caverns are so cool! There’s one you can’t see the end of, and one made out of magic crystals! And there’s a place where you can see the entire town below you!”

“That does sound rather impressive.”

“Ah, there’s this wonderful mare there, Quartzite, who’s soooo smart! I mean, she shocked both of us at cards!”

“…Weren’t you supposed to be working?”

“Only one tour came by today, the rest of the time I decorated the place and played games! It was amazing!”

“Well, glad your day was great. Mine was… more stressful. I did more than just decorate the shop and see Applejack. There’s another part of the Movement that’s rather terrifying - their leader is some dastardly zebra named Amplify who just screams violence and hatred. We were lucky Applejack was there.”

“So that’s how you met her!”

“Yes,” Rarity paused for a moment, thinking about the other things that happened.

“What is it?”

“I… Was given an invitation to a minger meeting. I think I’m going.”

“…Didn’t the Inspector say-“

“Yes, I know, we were told not to. But I can’t just pretend like nothing’s wrong, Pinkie, I can’t.”

Pinkie put a hoof on Rarity’s shoulder. “Then don’t. Go, I won’t tell anyone. I should-“

“No, Pinkie, you always draw attention. I should go alone.”

Pinkie sighed, sitting down on her bed. “I understand… I just want to be there to help you.”

“Then be here, right here, when I come back so we can talk. I’ll need these discussions with you in the days ahead… …Come to think of it that’s another thing the Inspector said…”

“Inspector Rarity,” Pinkie said, “quite the unicorn.”

“She unnerves me,” Rarity admitted.

“Why? She’s nice enough - bit grumpy towards me, but you know, that’s the way things are here.”

“It’s like looking at myself, Pinkie - I can tell it’s me. I can see the soul and depth behind her eyes, and I can identify with them. But there’s this exterior that’s in the way… Invisible, but distorting what I see - like a warped, or broken, mirror.”

“You know she’s not you right?”

“Yes. No. Maybe?” Rarity sighed. “She’s what I would be if I lived here my whole life. I always liked to think I’d be generous and caring no matter what happened to me. But looking at her, I don’t see that. I see calculation, intellect, and logic. I don’t see any of the artist in her… I… am I making any sense?”

“Well, I’m drunk as a skunk, so don’t take my word for it, but I think I get what you’re saying. It’s like you thought no matter what, you’d have been a party pony, but now you see that it might not have been the best thing for you in the first place. Like that?”

“…Close enough,” she said, hugging Pinkie close. “We have to watch out for each other.”

“Don’t worry! We will!”

~~~

Twilight, Fluttershy, and Minuette strode into the grand meeting hall. Amethyst was already seated at the long, reddish wooden table, a stack of folders in front of her that she was sifting through intently. Minuette recognized several of the other Generals seated before her - Spitfire, one of the few pegasus Generals; Quota, a gray unicorn stallion who was known for his brutality; Lemon, the deceptively small and adorable unicorn who would bite your face off with her unnatural sharp teeth if you weren’t careful; and a handful of others who weren’t as important. The end of the table opposite Minuette was empty, with three seats reserved for Sunset’s company from Nova.

Twilight sensed Minuette getting nervous, and briefly put a hoof on her shoulder to remind her she wasn’t alone. Twilight retracted the hoof quickly, so nopony would see or notice it. The Princess sat down, Minuette and Fluttershy at her sides. She glanced at Fluttershy, nodding. “We will begin as soon as the Nova delegation arrives.”

“That would be now,” a unicorn stallion in fiery red armor said, walking in a set of double doors. To his side was a mare in similar armor, though atop her helmet she wore a military hat. They took their seats at either side of the table’s end - and only then did Sunset herself walk in. For a brief moment, the alicorn was in full aura, her mane and tail cracking like fire, her eyes as bright as the sun - but she cleared the aura the moment she entered, returning to a relatively normal state, no larger than Twilight. Her mane was curved and colored with red and yellow stripes, accompanying her intense, fiery eyes. Her expression was stern, wise, and judgmental. Her powerful gaze hovered on Minuette longer than was comfortable.

Twilight smiled. “Welcome, Sunset.”

“Thank you for having me,” she said, sitting down. “Let us begin.”

Fluttershy cleared her throat. “Let it be known, that at 10:50 tonight a meeting to discuss the Concretion War convened. The meeting was presided over by their Highnesses, Princess of Harmony Twilight Sparkle, and Princess of Hope Sunset Shimmer. The purpose is to discuss the ramifications of the war, other dimensions, and who to win the conflict.”

“Thank you, Ambassador,” Sunset said. “Nova has not had any direct conflict yet, though we have met many forces in nearby territories.”

“We’ve had no conflicts as of now,” Twilight said. “We have Canterlot to thank for drawing their attention.”

“That won’t last forever,” Amethyst added. “The Concretes are notoriously quick at organizing themselves and crafting new strategies.”

Sunset nodded. “Fluttershy, I understand you were in Canterlot recently?”

Fluttershy nodded. “Barely escaped with my life, Princess. I arrived before the attack, expecting a routine visit. I ended up getting snuck out by a stealth contingent. I was the only survivor of that endeavor.”

“What are the conditions inside Canterlot?” Quota asked, brow furrowed.

Twilight and Sunset shot each other knowing glances but made no comment. Fluttershy cleared her throat. “Ponies are dying by the dozen. Both Princesses were fighting admirably and were very much alive when I was there, but I could see the concern in their eyes - they knew their defenses would eventually be worn down.”

“Our experts have predicted they will last a month under siege, maximum,” Sunset offered. “Canterlot was not designed for brutal war like Nova was.”

“How about the Concretion?” Spitfire asked. ”Surely we’ve considered attacking them?”

Minuette nodded to herself - here was a mare speaking her language.

Twilight furrowed her brow, glancing at Fluttershy. “The truth is we lack the force or numbers to make a direct attack. Unlike our ponies, all of theirs will fight to the dying breath, and any earth soldiers of ours will be rendered useless within a few hours of Nightmare Fuel exposure.”

“Why does that matter? They’re useless anyway,” Lemon spat.

“You may wish to recall that they’re only useless if you let them be,” Amethyst said. Lemon only grumbled in response.

“Regardless…” Twilight continued. “We lack the means to make a direct assault on such a large target. And unlike us, they won’t stop fighting if their leaders are taken out of the picture. Their hatred of us is more primal than that - a drive to destroy magic wherever possible. That is, unless Nova has any strategies for attacking the Concretion directly?”

“Many have been proposed,” Sunset said. “However, none have come even close to approval. The best plan we came up with involved putting all four of us Princesses in danger, and it is highly likely at least one of us would perish in the operation.”

“A last resort then.”

“Very much so.”

Quota spoke up. “Do we have any perceived weaknesses in their culture? Any way to break them from the inside? Twist them from within… unconventionally?”

“There are a few…” Twilight paused for a moment - presumably to consult with Fluttershy. “We are certain that once they have no ‘enemy’ to unite against, they will fall apart, much like the zebras after the changelings were defeated.”

“That doesn’t help us now, Princess,” Quota pointed out.

“No, it’s just an important observation needed to understand them. Comparable with their hatred of magic - which makes us the enemy - is their obsession with all things technological and progressive. If we can threaten that somehow, or offer them some progress, even if it is an illusion, it may pacify or distract them.”

“Please,” Spitfire grunted, “they’ve got all the tech they need. Not even Griffonstone could compete. Plus, since when do we have, much less use, tech of any kind?”

“It’d be blasphemy,” Lemon reminded everypony.

“You asked for weaknesses in their culture,” Twilight responded. “Unless we can find some way to deactivate their technology and destroy their edge, I don’t see much else in what we can do besides attack and defend as hard as we can. Their society is stable and regulated to such a heavy extent that disorder is minimized. They may be extremely violent, but all attempts to turn them on each other previously have failed. They are a strong coherent group, unlike us.”

“The evils and sins of progress do offer much strength…” Quota said.

Sunset nodded. “For now, we will not be able to attack them directly, at least with our current forces. We will need to get creative. That being said, we seem to have shifted to the third topic of discussion rather than the second. Before we continue discussing solutions, we ned to discuss the development that caused the war in the first place - and how it is related to our current situations and actions.

Twilight closed her eyes and took in a breath - Minuette gulped. Here it went. They all knew this was going to be rather difficult. Twilight opened her mouth and began. “Several days ago, two mares from another world entirely appeared in our world just outside the Concretion, Pinkie Pie and Rarity Belle. They had no knowledge of Concretes or the Concretion, and so entered what appeared to them as the only sign of civilization. This alerted the Concretes to their existence. While thanks to Commander Minuette, the two of them were able to escape, the Concretes still laid waste to one of our military camps, almost assuredly because they were looking for the two mares.”

“Why would the Concretes want them?” Sunset asked.

Twilight knew they were walking on thin ice now. “Scientific curiosity is what we guessed at first, but we’re pretty sure it’s more than that. Pinkie Pie appears to be a sort of alternate version of the high profile concrete member Diane, so it may be personal in nature. Furthermore, Pinkie exhibits abilities on a level beyond anything any earth pony should be capable of - as if she can control magic.”

Yep - the entire room broke out into yelling. MInuette honestly hadn’t expected anything less.

Sunset looked at Twilight, then Fluttershy, then Minuette. To Minuette’s credit, her face gave no indication of the ohshitohshitohshitohshit that was going on inside her head. Sunset then proceeded to take in a deep breath. “ORDER!”

Lemon’s muzzle twitched. “I’m sorry Princess, but this is utter bullshit! There’s no way a pigger can bend magic!”

“You calling Soarin’ and the Princesses a liar?” Spitfire challenged.

“Zebras have displayed curious magic manipulation,” Quota said.

“Zebra’s aren’t earths!” another General yelled.

“And pegasi aren’t unicorns, and I've got that fire trick!” Spitfire spat. “Doesn’t matter that she’s a bucking lowlife earth, idiots. She has a power, and it’s something that has the Concretes interested in us, enough to start a war.”

“Offer to hand them over,” Quota said. “Or, if we doubt they’ll honor negotiation, threaten to kill the two of them.”

“Killing them is not on the table,” Twilight said, knowing Minuette was an instant from blowing up in front of the entire meeting.

“We can still use them - particularly Pinkie - as a bargaining chip,” Sunset suggested. “We’ll have no intention of actually handing her over, but we can use it to buy time.”

“Possibly,” Twilight said, pausing. “But wouldn’t that tell them we know about them? As of now, the Concretes have no idea where the two of them are, or if we are even aware of their existence. If we tell them anything, they instantly know we have them either here or Nova. The focused attack they launch will be devastating - the chances are high they’d be able to extract their targets despite our best efforts.”

Sunset turned to Fluttershy, eyes narrowed. “Fair enough. What has been done with the two of them?”

“Rarity is now living as Iris Shard, as we have her working a small clothing store in town since that was her job in her world. Her appearance has been altered so she is not mistaken for Inspector Rarity Belle. Pinkie Pie has been assigned to work as a tour guide the Caverns since it was the best fit for her interpersonal and energetic personality that wasn’t out in the open.”

Quota raised an eyebrow. “Having an earth like that out in public eye can’t be safe.”

“It isn’t. We have her disguised as a unicorn with a broken horn.”

There was a lot of shouting after this - but all the voices were drowned out by Lemon’s. “The Tartarus? You have one of them looking like us?! Have you lost your mind!?”

“What else do you recommend I do? Her powers make it almost impossible to lock her away, and we can’t have her dying on us!”

“Lobotomize her or something!”

Quota smirked. “Now there’s an idea.”

“You fail to understand her personality, Quota,” Twilight said. “She’s a hyperactive individual with powers that make her nigh-invulnerable. She helped take down a drone with only her Rarity and Commander Minuette here to help.”

Minuette smiled proudly as murmurs spread across the table.

“So… You’re telling me... You can’t just have her go live on one of those bucking farms, or safe houses, or anything, no, you have to give her a horn!?” Lemon slammed her hooves on the table.

“I would rather have her on our good side, General Lemon.”

Lemon took the hint and shut up.

“Tell us about their world,” Quota prompted.

Twilight nodded, gathering the various thoughts together. “There are no Concretes or Nightmare Fuel. Equestria is a populous nation, one of the major powers of the land. The changelings still exist to the south, and the zebras are tribal, but not corrupted. The Crystal Empire is part of Equestrian territory, and to the north the Yaks actually made a country. Across the sea, Griffonstone is a recently-recovering wreck, and the dragons actually formed a stable society over in this Otherworld. Which scares me just as much as it scares you, but apparently, they, like all the major nations now, are allies.”

“Peculiar,” Amethyst said, hoping to move on before any pony asked for more information.

“I want more specifics about this other Equestria…” Quota asked.

Dammit, Minuette thought.

Twilight took in a long breath - taking a moment to receive the rapid influx of thoughts. Twilight nodded involuntarily. “First off, Canterlot exists in much the same way it is in our world. There are also no such thing as purges, which means there are many cities in the other Equestria.” She could feel the hate from that remark. “And while not as into it as the Concretes, from what I've heard their technology level is about that of our griffons.”

Once again - mad shouting.

“ORDER!” Sunset yelled once more.

Quota cleared his throat as silence fell. “So, let me get this straight. They’re techno too?”

“Not them,” Twilight said. “Rarity is a seamstress and Pinkie Pie is a party planner slash baker.”

Quota looked like he was going to ask one question, but changed his mind and asked another at the last minute. “How did they get here?”

“By their scientists performing tests on Pinkie’s powers.”

Minuette didn’t need Twilight’s mind reading ability to know what the next question was.

“And who were these scientists?”

“…The only recognizable name was their version of Doctor Whooves,” Twilight lied. “None of the others meant anything.”

Sunset’s eyes narrowed slightly, but the others gave no indication of suspicious. “No Concretes, eh? Really?” Lemon said.

“Their Doctor Whooves retains his earth pony essence, and has not invented any drones.”

‘What does he do then?”

Twilight searched her mind, furrowing her own brow. “I’m… Not sure exactly. Rarity and Pinkie didn’t really know anything he invented besides ‘flameless fireworks,’ a recreational device used for festival displays. Other than that… They're pretty sure he studies time, though what he does with it is anypony’s guess.”

Quota nodded. “As suspicious as expected. Can’t say I’m surprised.”

“Nor I,” Sunset affirmed. “Tech is always dangerous. Regardless, talking about their world further helps us little, unless I am mistaken.”

Twilight shrugged. “There is a possibility Pinkie and Rarity’s friends and family successfully establish a portal here, searching for them. But we can’t make plans around that.”

“Other than keeping the two of them alive so this other world owes us,” Sunset said, looking upwards. “Now… How do we turn the tables in this war?”

Lemon slammed her hoof down. “Force the populace to fight!”

“Draft is already in place, Lemon.”

“I mean more of them! Get those stupid buckers out of their pig-homes and shove them onto the front lines! We could draw so much fire!”

“Lemon, did you ever study tactics?” Spitfire spat.

“You all have tactics based around the idea that our enemy will think and act like us! The entire school needs to be re-thought!”

“Simply forcing unwanteds to fight helps us not, Lemon,” Quota said. “Though your point stands.”

“Teleport,” Amethyst said. “We could perform a mass teleport right into their city, and spread out.”

Twilight shook her head. “Even I can’t perform a transport with large enough numbers for that.”

“Deploy everything from Nova in one fiery assault!” Spitfire yelled.

“We are not leaving Nova undefended,” Sunset said.

“Stealth team,” Quota began. “Get them into a drone control facility. Capture one of the high scientists and mentally condition them to cooperate.”

“Possible…” Twilight admitted. “But we lack intel on where we’d need to be.”

It was at this moment Minuette got an idea. Twilight nodded, indicating her approval to go ahead. Minuette cleared her throat. “Could we get a spy in there? Do something like with the fake horn spell, but in reverse? Say, remove a pegasus’s wings, send them in to do recon, and see if they can learn anything.”

Quota laughed at this - and Minuette bristled in response. Was this General making fun of her? Why she’d show him a thing or two…

Twilight put a hoof on Minuette, steadying her, indicating to MInuette that this response was expected.

Quota turned to Lemon, grinning. “So, how many times are we going to have to suggest this before somepony bites it? Huh? It’s a great plan, something they’d never see coming!”

“No!” Lemon stated with a flatness that indicated a dangerous level of tranquil fury. “Just. No. We will not subject a pegasus or unicorn to that torment.”

“The Concretion has been known to take in earths,” Amethyst said.

“We know,” Spitfire said. “Still not going to happen. I won’t be part of that. We will not stoop to their defiance of nature. You all talk about not stooping to their level - we would become just as blasphemous as them.”

Sunset frowned. “In that case... I have a suggestion.” She looked Twilight right in the eye. “You go to the Crystal Empire and negotiate a military alliance against the Concretion.”

There were many muffled gasps heard around the table.

Sunset continued, “Sombra knows he’s liked even less than we are - he knows he’s next on the Concrete’s list. He just needs somepony to tell him we’re willing to put aside the past.”

Twilight bristled slightly, silent for almost a full minute, the room holding its collective breath in anticipation. Twilight nodded. “Fine, I will travel to the Crystal Empire on a diplomatic mission to render military aid in the war.”

“Good,” Sunset said. “Unless anyone else has any suggestions?”

Judging from the stunned looks, nopony had any - Minuette was just confused. She knew the Crystal Empire was bad news, but the enemy of my enemy was an ally, right? What was the problem?

Sunset looked around the table. “In that case, the meeting is at a close. We are to secure a military alliance with the Crystal Empire and leave the two Otherworlders where they are for now. At the moment, we keep them safe and fight this war. Dismissed.” The Generals all got up and left quickly, wishing to get away from the intense staring match between the two alicorns. Soon, there were only six ponies in the room, the two Princesses and their aides.

Twilight spoke first. “Clever.”

“It had to be you,” Sunset responded.

“I know, I’m the diplomat. I still hate him.”

Sunset let out a huff. “Have Fluttershy speak through you then, it’s basically what you do anyway.” There was a hint of venom to her voice that hadn’t been there during the meeting.

“We are a team,” Fluttershy insisted.

“Effective, but ripe to be exploited,” Sunset said, leaning in towards Fluttershy. “What’s it like in the Concretion?”

What?! Minuette thought.

“Oh,” Twilight said, looking at Minuette apologetically. “We have a... informant in the Concretion. I always want more - ones more loyal to us - but we can’t do that with all the opposition you saw. We keep trying though.”

“You would do well to inform your aides more effectively,” Sunset observed.

“She’s only been here a day.”

“Excuses. Fluttershy, answer my question.”

Fluttershy bowed slightly. “The Concretion is unanimously in favor of this war, even though they don’t know what started it. Diane made it personal, something about Pinkie set off a fuse in her. It was her actions alone that incited the war, a war the Concrete Council wasn’t ready to declare - they had been planning for it, yes, but the accelerated schedule has annoyed them. Beyond that, they’re preparing to launch a new class of drone, one that is designed specifically for war.”

Sunset nodded. “Nothing useful then?”

“No. Our source has been unsuccessful in learning about the Concreation’s more secret projects, aside from the fact that the mysterious ‘Project M’ was completed recently, days before the war started.”

“Specific...” Sunset said, letting out a sarcastic chuckle. She stopped short, looking at Twilight with soft eyes. “...I really hope you know what you’re doing here.”

Twilight steeled look softened instantly. “I do too Sunset, I do too.”

Sunset paused to look closely at Minuette. “You were in Cartwheel.”

“...Yes, Princess.”

“That can’t have been easy for you.”

Minuette couldn’t help herself. “What part? Almost losing my mind, having a town turn on me, or almost getting burnt to a crisp?”

Sunset smiled at Minuette’s brashness. “Keep this one Twilight. She has fire.” And then Sunset turned tail, not pausing to look back.

Minuette blinked. “...What?”

Twilight let out a soft chuckle. “That’s Sunset. Sometimes she’s great, others a pain. Hit or miss, really. But we’re done here, Minuette - so get some sleep. I’ll answer all those swirling questions in the morning.”

Minuette nodded and then yawned. “Yes... Princess...”

XXII - Breaking Into the Nightmare

They're off! They're finally going to do it! The climax is here, I can feel it in my bones! They are going to face the evil and save the world! The end is nigh!

To which I say, hold your horses and calm yourself. The labyrinth that is this perceived 'climax' will have many twists, turns, and unexpected consequences. Much will be answered, much will be left unsaid. But it is never as close as you think it is.

Prepare for the long haul.<<

~~~

The Concretion looked exactly the same as the last time Rarity had seen it. Tall, ominous, and gray. There were a few more drones flying around - and the drone conglomeration ships were definitely new. However, their presence was minuscule compared to the tremendous skyscrapers that made up the angular skyline.

"Not a mark..." Minuette observed. The skyscrapers still shone with amazing cleanliness.

"Not a single successful attack...?" the Inspector said, hoof to her mouth.

"We really are bein' really stupid," Applejack added.

The nine of them were standing on a hill alongside the Starshell observing their goal from afar. They were less than a mile away from the Concretion's edge.

"We should do it now," Twilight said, gesturing to Pinkie and Applejack. "I have the spell all channeled and ready, it should only take a couple minutes to actually cast."

Applejack gulped. "Ah... Okay. Ready."

Twilight lit her horn, surrounding Applejack's head in a purple aura. Applejack's entire face went slack and her eyes rolled around in their sockets without any noticeable rhyme or reason, not even moving in relation to each other. It was, needless to say, unsettling to watch for the two minutes it took to finalize the spell. But once it was done, she twitched slightly and returned to normal. She shook her head as Twilight dropped the spell. "Well... That was weird but Ah don't feel different..."

"That's the point. Even if I had changed your mind you wouldn't feel any different. Not at first."

"That's reassuring."

"No, it's not. Pinkie, you ready?"

Pinkie nodded. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Pinkie felt the magic surround her head - and then everything went black. She 'yawned' in the inky blackness. "Well, I wonder how long I'll have to wait..."

Another Pinkie appeared in front of her, starting out fuzzy, but slowly coming into focus. "Hi!" She said. "I'm going to take over now!"

"Okie dokie lokie!"

"Try not to be angry when the Nightmares get to you."

"I'll try!"

Pinkie felt herself get locked in a box while the new one waved at her, a sad smile on her face.

Back in the world of the aware, the newly-conditioned Pinkie shook her head. "Yeah, that was weird Twilight."

Twilight dropped the magical aura. "I expect so. Feel any problems?"

"Nope!"

Fluttershy nodded. "Good. Starlight, load ups back on the Starshell. Time to go in."

"Aye-aye!" Starlight performed a salute and soon everypony was back inside the Starshell, the outside grass still visibly blowing in the breeze. Starlight hit a screen and the Starshell rose into the air, drifting towards the Concretion. She made sure the shields were up and the cloak was on - which they were. "Here goes nothing..." She pressed a screen again and the Starshell launched into top speed, blasting over the remaining grass between them and the Concretion quickly. "Seventy-second north... Twenty-eighth west..." She took in a sharp breath, hovering her hoof over one of the screens. The moment the Starshell got within a hundred meters of the Concretion, the tops of the two nearest skyscrapers folded open, revealing two gigantic guns that hummed with a faint red glow.

"They see us!" Minuette said.

A laser shot by the Starshell's port, missing them by several feet.

"No, they can't," Starlight said. "They just know we're somewhere nearby. But they won't be expecting this..." She executed a teleport, throwing the dual lasers off for several seconds - enough to execute yet another teleport. By the time the guns aggroed onto them again, they were already in the Concretion. They were moving far too fast to see what they were passing, but they could see red lights blaring everywhere behind them.

"They feel us!" Rainbow Dash yelled.

"Yeah, yeah, I know, stupid air..." Starlight grunted, pressing more screens, executing a few more teleports. But that wasn't enough to lose them - the drones began to pursue, aiming their lasers carefully at the source of all the displaced air.

The lasers went off, lighting up the back of their view. "Well, those hit us," Starlight muttered. "The city can detect us..."

"Magic shadow!" Twilight said. "Can the Starshell create one to throw them off."

Starlight kicked her back hoof, bringing up a giant mirror screen behind her. "I can make one, but somepony needs to drive while I do that."

"I will!" Pinkie popped up. "I-"

"Using your powers is a bad idea!"

"Me," the Inspector said, rushing to the control screens and pressing some buttons. "Make the spell."

"Okay!" Starlight whirled to the smaller screen, tapping it rapidly, moving blocks, arranging circular magic connections with her hooves, crafting larger and larger magic circles on the display...

"Are you... Programming magic from individual vis?" Twilight asked.

"Need to for magitech - Rarity do you mind dodging the lasers!?"

The Inspector twitched. "I am trying, Starlight, you didn't really train any of us for this!"

"Just do it! Execute a teleport!"

The Inspector did as asked, and they appeared inches from the ground.

"Too low!" Rainbow Dash shouted.

"I know!" the Inspector sniped back, pulling the Starshell up.

"Rarity, calm. Breathe," Applejack said.

The Inspector obliged, breathing in and out slowly. She became much better at teleport-dodging, keeping the shields at an even 64%.

"Got it!" Starlight announced. "Casting!" She pressed a button, turning her screen green. They heard a soft humming noise- but saw nothing. Evidentially the drones saw something because two of them pulled off instantly.

"I'm going to have to take care of that last one..." Starlight said. "We're getting too close to the teleport point."

"What weapons do we have?" Rarity asked.

"Well, we have the standard drone laser, gun, etcetera - but we also have this." She pressed a screen with 'EMP Spell' on it. They saw a blue sphere of energy appear above them and blast right into the pursuing drone. It lost all power and fell into a nearby building.

"...Cool," Rainbow Dash said.

"Holy shit that's effective, what was that!?" Minuette said. "The army needs that spell!"

"EMP. A specialized electromagnetic pulse spell. Developed it after I studied drones, figured out how to disable their systems." She began to decelerate the Starshell. "Here we are." She hit teleport, the Sharshell appearing precisely thirty-two meters under the ground in a wide tunnel lit by dull electronic bulbs. A set of four conveyor belts rolled down the tunnel carrying large metallic boxes, presumably filled with products that needed shipping across the city. Starlight set the Starshell down between two boxes, keeping it hidden. "Setting two minute and twelve second timer... Okay. Now we wait."

"They probably can track us," Minuette said.

"Not down here," Fluttershy said. "There's a reason Maud told us to teleport here. These are the supply tunnels. Concretes have no reason to come down here, and it's all automated, so they have no reason to put in extensive magic sensors."

"Well, that's good," Minuette glanced around. "Still, it's... Weird being inside."

"Yeah, it is," Pinkie said. "It feels like a dark horror pulling at your - wait. I don't feel it."

"Ah was wonderin..." Applejack added.

"We're in the Starshell," Starlight said. "Our bodies don't exist right now. I'm sure you'll feel the Nightmare Fuel as soon as we exit."

"Great..."

"What do you suppose is in these boxes?" Rarity asked.

"Food, mostly," Fluttershy answered. "They grow it in deep labs and ship it to the entire city through these tunnels, constantly."

"Maud really did tell you a lot, didn't she?" Pinkie asked.

"Indeed she did."

"Drone," Minuette said, pointing. "There's a drone down there. Shit."

A blue drone floated lazily down the corridor, scanning the boxes that passed by one by one, approaching the Starshell at a steady pace.

"Bootstrap," Starlight swore. "Okay... I'm going to have to move us..." She lifted the Starshell up, moving it to the side, off the conveyor belt, drifting forward in time with the boxes. The drone flew over box after box, scrutinizing each and every one. Predictably, it moved over the box closest to them. Rarity could see the numbers on its hull, it was so close. It performed its scans and turned directly towards the Starshell.

Starlight reached for the EMP button.

The drone turned and floated on. Everypony let out a sigh of relief, and the Starshell sat back down onto the conveyor belt.

The drone heard it land. It whirled around, scanning again, this time with a wider scope. The two minutes and twelve seconds timer rang in that moment.

"Get us out!" Rainbow Dash shouted. Starlight didn't even need to be told - she took a hard right, flying down a maintenance vent before the drone's scan could fully register their presence.

"Okay... there." Starlight shook her head. "Now we just follow this to the end and teleport up."

"That was not as smooth as I would have liked," Fluttershy admitted. "There were so many moments everything could have fallen apart."

"Well, we're in the Concretion, what the buck did you expect?" Minuette asked.

"I was hoping. Guess it paid off, in the end."

"There's the end," Starlight said. The Starshell slowed down its pace, coming to a stop at a peculiar dead end. The ponies looked upwards - there was a series of vent grates through which light could be seen. Starlight performed another teleport and they appeared in a large and empty white room with a single large door and numerous other vents.

Maud was standing right there, air from the Starshell's appearance whipping her short mane. "Effective invisibility spell. Drop it and come out, we have little time."

Starlight dropped the cloak, setting the ship down on the ground. The cylindrical extension popped out and deposited the nine mares in a flash of orange.

"Non-physical storage," Maud noted.

"I try," Starlight smirked.

Applejack toppled to the ground. "Oh my apples..."

Pinkie breathed in and out slowly. "Yeah, it's something isn't it." She could feel the familiar pull of the Nightmare Fuel on her, crawling up her hooves, tearing at her soul, sucking the life from her. However, it was... slightly different. She only felt her magic slipping away, not the evil screaming in her mind. The spell must have been working.

Maud spoke up. "It has already begun. Pinkie, before you lose access completely, we will need to make full use of your powers. Take everything you can out of that pocket dimension of yours. Fill this place if you are able."

Rarity put a hoof on Pinkie. "Are you up to that?"

"I... yeah. I'm going to set up the best party." She gritted her teeth and reached behind herself, pulling out the party cannon. She slammed her hoof into it, spraying confetti, balloons, cake, and firecrackers around the room. She hit it again - presents, sweets, and fireworks. She ran around the room, feeling the pain crawl up her legs, filling the room with as many things as she could. Within a few minutes, the storage room began to look like her party cave back home - cabinets, sweets, slides, and even a chocolate fountain on the ceiling busy defying gravity. She tossed her party cannon into one of the piles and started pulling less cheerful things out of nowhere. Dual swords, axes, hammers, guns, a flamethrower, a scythe. She set these by the abundance of cream pies. She also pulled out pictures of home, stuffed animals of her friends, and a huge book filled with the birthdays of everypony she knew. She breathed in and out, clutching her burning chest. "Is... That enough?"

"It should be," Maud said. "Your powers are intense. Unfortunate that we cannot make use of them for much longer."

"Yeah... It's getting harder. And harder." Pinkie winced, falling to her knees and standing still - no twitching or bobbing whatsoever. "...What now?"

"We make you two Concretes," Maud said. "Specifically, you need to be Diane. Here." She picked up the swords and a dual scabbard, tying them to Pinkie's back. "That's the first step."

"Okay..."

"Need to remove your cutie marks and straighten out your hair."

"I know how to do the marks," Starlight said, lighting her horn. Soon both Applejack and Pinkie were blank flanks. "They're still there, they just won't appear unless I tell them to."

Applejack's legs wobbled. "Ah... still don't feel so good..."

Starlight quickly undid Applejack's ponytail, letting her mane lay flat. "Concretes can stand without magic, you can too."

"We don't have magic to stand either," the Inspector pointed out. "It's not that bad. Just prepare to hold yourself with just the physical legs you have."

"O... kay..." Applejack nodded, removing her hat and setting it on a pile of things Pinkie had produced. "How do I look?"

"Like a Concrete with a smile," Maud said, wrestling with Pinkie's poofy mane. "Lose the smile."

"Understood," Applejack said, blanking her face. "How's this?"

"Adequate. Anger - or a scowl - is also acceptable. Annoyance is as well." She pressed Pinkie's mane down again, to no avail. "Your mane is uncooperative."

"I have to be sad or crazy to make it flat," Pinkie said.

"Ah, no, you can tell it to be flat," Starlight said. "It's in your power."

"Oh. Right. O hair, I suggest you fall flat!" Instantly the cotton candy puffs fell to the ground, straight as her days at the rock farm. She stroked it. "This manestyle looks kind of cool actually..."

"It's unnerving, dear," Rarity said.

"Oh, I'm not going to keep it!"

"Once your magic's gone it will take effort to 'poof' it up again," Maud said. "Now, you can't just give yourself a blank expression. You are Diane and you are not a normal Concrete."

"I'm... Not?"

"No. You can think in ways the others can't. You were part of the Square-Circle Project along with myself, a program designed to create outliers. You can think and understand the reasoning behind others actions, almost instinctively. You have made many breakthroughs in the Concretion because of this freedom of mind. You will walk around with a scowl, and you will think you are better than all Concretes. Being Diane would be impossibly complicated - but you just need to sell that you are her for a short time. Scowl. Look down on everypony you meet. You can afford to be odd - Diane is. She has even been known to obfuscate smiles and smirks, just to get reactions. Even laughs, at times, but avoid trying that if at all possible."

Pinkie scowled. "Fine."

"Good. Now one more step." She turned to Twilight. "I need you to download the Concrete language from my mind into theirs."

Twilight nodded. "Of course." She lit her horn, touching Maud's mind and connecting it to Pinkie and Applejack. All of their eyes went wide - and then the spell was done. "There."

"Can you understand me?" Maud asked in Concrete.

"Oh my gosh that's so cool!" Pinkie said in Concrete, giggling. "Rarity! I can speak Concrete!"

"Lose the grin," Maud said. "We need to move quickly. They know something's in the city. They will find this room eventually, though likely not for a day or so, which gives us the time we need. Applejack and Pinkie need to come with me to investigate Project M, see what we find on the Elements. We will then return here and plan from there. Understood?"

Fluttershy nodded. "Understood."

"We will leave immediately."

"Now!?" Applejack blurted. "Ah'm not even walkin' straight yet, and Ah'm still bein' drained here."

"The walk will be hard for you. But we are so far from Project M that by the time we get there I expect your magics will be drained to negligible levels."

"...Why aren't we takin' one of those flyin' things?" Applejack asked.

"We want to stay off the grid for as long as possible. We're walking. Let's move." Without any further words, she made her way to the exit.

Pinkie shrugged - then winced in pain. "Ow... Do not shrug like that..." She shook her head. "Let's do as she says, I guess."

They walked out, the door sealing shut behind them.

The seven remaining ponies stood in silence.

Rainbow Dash coughed. "Well, I don't know about you, but I'm going to sit down, put up my hooves, and enjoy this bucking party cave."

"This is not a bucking party," Minuette muttered.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "Great mental images girls. Really."

Credits

BROKEN MIRROR
THE END
Written by
G. M. Blackjack

Adapted from Keywii_Cookies55's Broken Mirror
Used with permission.

Starring
Pinkie Pie as the Psychotic Bundle of Energy
Rarity as the Reluctant Warrior
Minuette as the Jerk With a Heart of Gold
Fluttershy as the Idealistic Leader
Twilight as the Questionable Mind Game
Rainbow Dash as the Token Disabled Teammate
The Inspector as the Unicorn Moirail
Applejack as the Closest to the Original
Starlight as the Ninth Ranger
Diane as the Ironic Empath
Maud as the Emotionless
Soarin as the Doomed Commander
Spitfire as Fire Equals Military
Quota as the Smart, Yet Dumb
Amplify as the Small Fish Villain
Sunset as the Purge Queen
Farundael as the Domino Effect
Zecora as the Lost Soul
Foci as the Basement Dweller
Celestia as the Reluctant Monarch
Luna as the Shady Ruler
Discord as the Statue of Consolation
Anubis as the Religious Nutjob
The Doctor as the Scientific Nutjob
Lime as the Hulk
Marble as the Only Happy Concrete
The Nightmare Fuel as Sealed Evil in a Can. Again.
M as the Philosopher Narrator

My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic belongs to Hasbro
Any other franchises referenced belong to their respective owners.

Special thanks to…
Keywii_Cookies55 (of course)
Bleeding Raindrops
Crimson Dawn
Ponygood11
...for following this story, for commenting, for leaving edit suggestions, and for the support. This is the story I am the proudest of out of all that I've written, and I'm glad I got to share it with you.

Where do I go from here? Probably my huge project, Songs of the Spheres. Hopefully, that will soon become the work I am most proud of, but until then, here Broken Mirror stands.

-GM, master of done.

~~~

Of course, the story goes on from there. They all had many more adventures - but I think it's best left at that, don't you?<<