As Daybreaker entered the room, Twilight's head perked up from the table with a smile. "Princess!" She exclaimed, her eyes darting over her mentor's armor that gleamed under the light above, but did not comment on it.

You followed right behind Daybreaker, giving Twilight a hesitant look as you knew what could happen during this little meeting. Daybreaker simply smiled at Twilight, taking a seat across from her at the large table. You took a seat next to her, thinking to yourself all the while of how this might go down. "Twilight, it's great to see you. I'm very sorry to intrude on your busy schedule on this matter, but I'm afraid it is very important."

"It's fine, I didn't have much to do anyways. It was either this, or go back home and deal with another headache. I haven't been up here as often as I would have liked, so I'm glad I was able to take a long trip here." She said with a smile, letting both her hooves splay out onto the wooden table. "I hope I wasn't too much of a bother..."

Daybreaker shook her head. "You could never be a bother to me, dear Twilight, though this matter is of the utmost importance, so I'm afraid we will have to cut pleasantries short. This involves a very serious situation involving your friend and fellow Element Bearer: Miss Applejack."

"Applejack?" Twilight asked, her face a little confused. "Why? What happened to her?" She asked, giving Daybreaker and you a quizzical look. You couldn't help but stare back at her, your lips tightening even more in knowledge of what Daybreaker was to say next. Daybreaker let out a long and deep sigh, her head looking down for but a moment before shooting back up to meet Twilight's eyes.

"Applejack has been found guilty of illegally selling her goods and services to other kingdoms without reporting it to the crown, and not reporting any money earned from it. She said this herself, and is now being convicted of being a black-market dealer and of violating the trade agreement between all kingdoms."

Twilight sat there, her eyes shrinking as she heard the news, and her fur stiffening like a wooden board. What was her response going to be, you wondered. You didn't have to wonder for long, as her brows furrowed. "I'm sure that she can stop doing the trade and avoid this big mess entirely. She'll listen to whatever you say, I know she will."

"I'm afraid it's not that simple, Twilight." Daybreaker said, her tone as neutral as could be. "We have to be forthcoming with this, and we must assert that just because you and the others are Elements, does not make you exempt from the laws. She has broken a serious, international one at that, and not only has she broken it; she broke it with the Griffon Kingdom—one that is not lenient in its punishments."

"T-That seems a bit over-the-top, Princess..."

"It's not." She said with a nod. "In fact, its exactly what the law would require of her punishment. For her crimes her entire family would be purged of its income from the farms, and have a steady eye kept on them. Applejack herself would spend twenty years in the dungeon."

"You can't be serious!" Twilight said, getting up and out of her seat, her horn sparking ever-so-slightly in panic. "S-She's a good pony! She doesn't lie a-a-and if she does, it's not because she wants to! She's saved my life, Princess! She's saved many ponies' lives because that's how much she cares! She runs head-on into problems, and takes in ponies who are less fortunate and have nowhere to stay, because she feels it's her duty! S-She's not a bucking criminal!"

Daybreaker simply nodded, her expressions neutral. "That may be so. But this is still a severe problem, and we cannot skirt past judgement so easily."

"Screw the judgement!" Twilight yelled. "I know her! I know her– I won't just let her get thrown into the dungeons like some... criminal! Like a thief! No– No I'm not doing that, never– she would stand up for me, so that's what I'm going to do!" Twilight continued to yell, her mouth opening again as she was about to continue, but Daybreaker instead stood up.

"And I agree with you, Twilight." She said sternly, her gaze tearing through Twilight like butter. "That is why I will try to fight for her during our meeting with the Griffons, to see if we can find common ground. They will use this situation, as minor as it may seem, to their advantage. If they can siphon as much as they can from us, the better for them. I can promise you that she will not be spending much time in punishment and I shall try to make it as lenient as possible. Me and my Assistant here will see to that."

Twilight looked at you. You gave a gulp and a nod. "Yeah. I'll fight for her, Twilight. I was there when she admitted it all to Daybreaker and she seemed pretty upset at herself for it. I think if we can uh..." You turn to Daybreaker. "Convince them that she can atone for what she's done, and maybe give them something in return, we'd be able to skirt past this as easily as possible. I-I mean, these Griffons are prideful, right? But their resources, atleast important ones, are scarce. M-maybe we can use that to convince them?"

Daybreaker nodded at you and then to Twilight. "Do you see, Twilight? You have two healthy and careful individuals who are going to try and help Miss Applejack, but we cannot get her off completely unscathed. She must pay somehow, and the Griffons will see to that. I thought that I should inform you, seeing as you are her friend, and that she is one of the Elements. I shall leave it up to you as to whether you will tell the others this information."

Twilight looked down at the table, drawing a circle with her hoof. "I just... This doesn't seem real– this happened too quickly. I-I... This..."

Daybreaker reached over the table and let a hoof rest underneath Twilight's chin. Her tone lowered, silky and smooth. "Twilight, do not fret. I did not come here to argue about your friend, but rather to let you know that we will fight for her innocence as much as possible. You do not need to worry your head about anything, do you hear? Go, and get something to eat. I can sense that you haven't eaten yet."

"I... I was getting ready for this meeting..."

"Well, this meeting is going to be cut short. Very short. I think me and my Assistant have some discussing to do, and you must tend to yourself with a healthy meal and possibly take a nap. Do not let this stress get to you. Now please, go, and do not wait. The sooner you get to eating, the better."

"Y-Yes, Princess." Twilight said, obviously a bit confused as to how short the meeting was, and to being 'kicked' out of the room. She kept her head low, and sighed as she exited the room. Daybreaker then turned to you with a big smile on her face.

"I told you things would turn out perfectly."

What? How was that perfect? "That didn't seem like it turned out perfectly."

"Don't you see, Anon?" She said, taking the seat across from you. "Getting her to panic is quite easy, and in doing so, it will cause her to be in a sort of loop. I understand how she gets, and this stress will keep her at bay while we decide on how to do things. Yes, I lied to her a little bit, but what of it? We do what we must in order to accomplish our goals."

"So, you caused her to become stressed so she would leave the meeting super early, and not be in the right state of mind to meddle with anything we're going to do?" You asked, to which she nodded. "I mean... That's smart, but... yeah, a bit messed up."

"Perhaps, but that's neither here nor there. In the end, she's gone for now."

"What about Applejack?" You questioned. "You said she wouldn't have any serious punishments."

Daybreaker shrugged. "I'm not sure what's going to happen to her. That was the lie I told Twilight. I'm not so sure that she could handle me telling her that her friend could be in the dungeon for a year."

You nodded your head. "What do we have to offer the Griffons in return for this... transgression?"

Daybreaker looked at the ceiling in thought, a hoof tapping her chin. "I was thinking of ensuring that she has been stripped of her privilege's to sell any items, and that she will have a careful eye looking upon her until the day she passes. And that, she will spend four months in the Dungeon in order to have an 'Equestrian Etiquette' instilled into her. They will think of that as torture, so it will most likely bode well with them."

"Seems a bit..." You watch your words carefully. "It seems like we'd be banking on something we can't ensure. What if instead, we have the Apple family give their next dozen or so shipments of apples to the Griffons for free, and ensure that they will be forcefully attached to the Crown in order to ensure that they have no other... problems. Like, instead of the Apple family owning the company, the government will own it. I know that wouldn't make Applejack or their family happy, but... That seems better than throwing her in the dungeon. Also, that'd keep the public eye out of the way too."

Daybreaker raised her eyebrows, her mouth opening into a smile. "I'm impressed, Anonymous. You truly are smart, and I'm glad I picked you for this job. We shall go about it your way then, but in order to ensure that it goes flawlessly..." She leaned over the table, getting right in your face with a devious smile. "You'll be the one talking."

Oh, fuck.

Author's Note

Editor's Note: Kept you waiting, huh?

Hello everyone, it's me, the editor. Sorry for the long delay between chapters. As Incandescent told you all, he has had an unfortunate series of events that prevented him from writing and putting out chapters. Well, as it happens, pretty much right after he was finishing up with nearly killing himself repeatedly, I also was put in a position where I was unable to spend time editing the chapters I recieved, as well.

Around August 21st, I began my education at a trade school, for HVACR (Heating, Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration). This just so happened to coincide with an unfortunate recent family event (nobody died, don't worry), that made it necessary for me to take up extra time working. I work two jobs (as well as a third "job" mowing a friend's lawn every two weeks, but that's irrelevant); one job is working at my father and uncle's roofing company (I am much safer around ledges than Incandescent), and the other is on a horse board taking care of horses (funny, considering my horse-word editing career).

Before, I would usually do one job a day, and have plenty of time to do editing. I would usually get Incandescent an edited chapter back to him the day he sent it to me, or the day after. However, now, I'm doing work at the trade school, and afterwards heading off to another job, and on the days I don't have class, I'm working both jobs, leaving me pretty damn drained (It's not fun working on 6-story building rooftops in 95° weather, especially when you need to use propane torches to melt roofing material together), and with not much time afterwards for editing. And, because these are manual labor jobs, I don't have time or access to a computer to edit chapters on the side like someone working an office job might.

However, as we move into winter, my workload will decrease heavily, due to the nature of my jobs requiring me to work outside, and at most I'll only have to do work at the horse board and school, leaving me with time to edit. So, once it gets cold out, you'll start seeing many more chapters coming out, assuming Incandescent doesn't fall off another roof or something.

Anyway, I just wanted to get that all out there, and thank you for reading these stories. Both me and Incandescent were blown away when we saw that this story got featured, even after the unfortunate hiatus. We really can't thank you all enough, and we hope to keep putting out content you enjoy. We have no plans to stop writing if we can help it. Until next time!