It took a few days worth of travel, but Delta eventually calmed down. However, you yourself didn't reemerge for a while. During the journey, Delta begrudgingly answered more of Lyra's questionnaire about humans. She explained the concept of things like animated television shows, smart phones, computers, cars, and other such marvels of human technology.

Nothing about Skaia, however, which you could tell she was still grumpy about. Inside, you hushed her, afraid that you already said too much when you explained that Homestuck was originally fictional in your universe.
Along the way, the group began to bond with one another over the more mundane aspects of life - Sunset and Starlight seemed to enjoy the fact that they both tried to take Twilight on, trying to figure out why the hell they lost. The answer was obviously friendship, but they didn't want to admit that.

Bon Bon and Lyra were of course already good friends, but Bon Bon was a lot more hesitant to open up to the other mares, much less yourself and your alter. However, the mare found a sudden spark of kinship in the strangest of places with Sunset - punk rock music. The two swapped their favorite bands together, and eventually considered the idea of going out to see a rock festival together, should all of this mess finally be resolved.
Lyra just seemed interested in the dubious actions of Starlight and Sunset, passing no judgement to either of them for their actions, which seemed to be a breath of fresh air for the both of them.
Delta was content was hanging off to the side, only really talking when asked to.

By the time that the group had arrived at Las Pegasus, the SNAFU had already began.
The Heart of Gold had attached itself to Prince Blueblood, who had gone on a gambling stint in Las Pegasus and lost a significant chunk of bits. In his desperation to regain his money, the heart of gold stole the magic of ponies around him and started turning everyone in a nearby radius into gold, each statue connected by liquid gold to the shining heart on his chest.
At some point, Starlight's magic had been taken to continue to this process, nearly turning the agents into golden statues. It resulted in Delta and Blueblood clashing in a mad race to stop the transformations.
Sunset, however, remembered that gold makes for one hell of an electric conductor, and Lyra was all too happy to cast a bolt of electricity on the parts of her body that were metal.

The defeated Blueblood had begged the group to join, seeing that the team consisted mostly of convicts, but everyone gave him the cold shoulder afterwards, mostly because he couldn't stop calling the group "peasants". Worse still for Blueblood, the recently restored workers of the casino were not happy with his Midas Touch in the slightest.

Now you board the train with two Dark Hearts in your inventory. The Heart of Lead, and the Heart of Gold.
You've dissociated heavily, and are barely coming back to your senses. Delta's still probably pissed at you, but she's been fronting for a while at least. You can tell because you feel buzzed from alcohol, and, devastatingly, she's put on a pair of pants. You quietly mourn the temporary retirement of your delightful skirts, and observe what's going on.

=>

Delta shoved herself into a seat where her back was turned to the gang. She figured she didn't have much to say, as usual.
"You know, it's weird to say, but my legs are still a little numb from that Heart turning my body to gold!" Lyra exclaimed as she sat back in her seat. "I'm glad you were able to remember that really specific niche fact."
"Mm." Sunset nodded, climbing onto the seat that had CD on the opposite side. The other mares took their respective places.
"I'm guessing you had to learn about the conductive properties of metal when making your anti-magic stuff?" Lyra asked, not meaning to offend, but offend she sorta did.
"Can we like, not talk about that?" Sunset glared.
"Sorry, I was curious! I just find it interesting that unicorns like us just use magic to amplify their talents, and you just seem so.. knowledgeable about magic interacting with the materials of the world!"
"Yeah, or like how I perfected the art of mind conditioning!" Starlight affirmed.

The other mares stared at her blankly. Delta looked over her shoulder.
"What?! I'm proud of that! Do you know how long it took to study and apply all of that?" Starlight exclaimed, "When I originally started, it took a few weeks to break ponies, but before Sparkle showed up, it only took a few days! It was hard work! I couldn't just magically alter everypony I met, I had to automate!"
"A few days?" Lyra asked, curious to prod further in case she needed to make a report.

Delta suddenly stood up, walked around the seat, and plopped down next to Sunset, head resting in one hand, the elbow firmly planted on her leg, the other leg bent on the floor to accommodate for the lack of height in the seats. Her intensely curious and eager face made the mares stare back at her, Starlight clamping her mouth shut.

"What?" She said, "Keep going, this sounds interesting! You were talking about mind control stuff?"
Starlight looked side to side, caught off guard by the human. "Uhm, yeah, actually? Why, are you interested? Why are you interested?"
"Well, yeah. Forgive me for sounding probably extremely weird, but I personally have a thing for mindplay and hypnosis and the like. We used to study magic of the mind with a.. witch coven back on our planet."
"...I thought you said humans were not magical?" Lyra asked.
"Oh, well, I'm not human." Delta grinned.
The mares gawked at her. She burst into laughter and bowled over. "Oh, oh my god, you should've seen the look on your faces!" She kept laughing for a while, before recovering back into a normal posture and raising her hands in a placating gesture. "No, no, I'm fucking with you. Yes, humans are inherently non-magical, but it was still there, affecting our lives, weakly."

"People did study it, though the practice wasn't as prevalent in modern times as it is here. The most impactful career you could have that was even remotely close to magic was either a pastor or an electrical engineer."
"You.. harnessed electricity?!" Sunset asked. "Without the help of unicorn magic?" Starlight followed up.
"Mhm! Fossil fuels, steam engines, generators, solar panels - we had so many ways to get it!"
"Wait.. but you mentioned an electric chair back on the mountain when talking about death penalties.." Bon Bon remembered.
Everypony blanched as Delta's grim grin grew greater.
"No." One of the mares gasped.
"Yeah! And it was really bad at its job! Imagine the sight of someone having survived the initial shock, looking like charcoal and-"

"Hey! I just realized! I don't wanna talk about this anymore! You said you were into mind control magic?" Starlight interrupted.
Delta chuckled and relaxed. "Yeah. And dream magic. Before Skaia, C-Side was really interested in that stuff. When we... split," she gestured with a chopping motion atop her head, "Well, I picked up that aspect and ran with it. But she used to be able to whip up lucid dreams for herself."
"Why?" Lyra asked.
"She's.. well, not the happiest mare in the world. She grew up in a rough place and sorta.. dissociated, from reality. A few weeks after the Skaia session began, she was just going to off herself. That's when I came around and just.. started taking care of her. And we had to use that lucid dream magic to stave off the Horrorterrors whispering dark secrets to us when we slept."
The girls blinked, and none dared to ask what a horrorterror was. Not yet, anyway, but Lyra jotted that particular bit down in her notes.

Delta frowned a bit and looked past Sunset out of the train window, and sighed. ".. Do you girls think I was rough on her, earlier?"
Everypony was silent, save for Sunset, who bluntly answered, "Yeah."
Delta blew a raspberry. "Figures. I'm just so.. frustrated with her!" She growled, flexing her fingers. "I want to tell you everything we know, but she's convinced that it'll lead you all to existential crises at best. Rifts in the narrative timeline at worst."
Bon Bon tapped her hoof against her chin and then readjusted her tie.
"Does this have to do with.. that Homestuck thing?" she asked.
"Yeah, more or less." Delta replied.
"Does it have to do with the fact that it was originally a work of fiction for you all, before it suddenly took over your life?"
"Yeah."
"Does it have to do with the fact that she knows a lot of details about Equestrian society and history despite the fact that you two had never stepped hoof on Equestrian soil until very recently?"
"Yeah."

Bon Bon locked eyes with Delta for a bit.

"Okay, yeah, I can see how that would make a less composed mare freak out." Bon Bon nodded. "That kind of knowledge would absolutely ruin anypony who wasn't ready for it."
"Are you gonna tell the rest of us what it is?" Lyra leaned forward in curiosity.
"No."
"Why not?!" The other three mares shouted in protest.
"Because of two reasons: One, I don't wish to jump to conclusions yet and I'd like to get the truth in detail before I report on it. And two, I hate to say it, but I think I understand C-Side's reasoning here, if I'm correct.. and if it doesn't cause existential maladies, the more curious ponies like Twilight, or.. Lyra..." she paused.
"Lyra, you'd start asking a lot of uncomfortable questions."
Lyra snickered. "Okay, you know what? Fair, that's totally fair. Hey! Speaking of questions.."
Delta's smile faded at the sight of the Paperwork Pile rearing it's ugly head once again.
"You wanna keep at it?"

Delta sighed and rumbled a groan. "Fine. Knock yourself out."
Lyra smiled and turned the pages to find her last stopping point.
"Questions 435 a and b: What was your economy like? Do you have any criticisms about it?"

Deltas grin returned.
"Ohhhh, boy. You're gonna regret this one, actually."
"Why?"
"Lemme open with this: Imagine if you lived in a world where you had to pay for the water."
Sunset and Starlight looked absolutely bewildered.
"And if you didn't?" Sunset asked.
"No water! Simple as that. Pay up or die."
"That sounds.. really cruel." Starlight said.

Her grin widened even further. "Honey. You're in for a wild ride. I haven't gotten to rant about capitalism in a looong time."
Lyra stared challengingly at the human, and pulled out writing tools and spare papers from her briefcase.
"I'm listening."

=> FOUR HOURS LATER.

"HOUSING! SCHOOLING! FOOD! HEALTHCARE! NOT A SINGLE ASPECT OF YOUR LIFE WAS SAFE FROM BECOMING A COMMODITY! EVERYTHING WAS A MARKET, AND PRICES CONTINUALLY RAISED AGAINST WAGES THAT DIDN'T."

Delta was pacing back and forth frantically, waving her arms around as she did, hunched over from the energy of the mood she found herself in, before she suddenly stopped in the middle of the train car and held her arms out wide. "And suddenly! Get this! Imagine, if you will, that no one can afford everything anymore, and business start to lose profits - not even struggle, just that they're not making as much as they *want* to make. What does the government do?!"

She began to slap the side of her hand against her other palm in a chopping motion. "Give the businesses economical bailouts instead of helping out the populace that has been living paycheck to paycheck for decades on end!! Because our shit ass government wanted to keep us poor so that we'd consider loans or joining the military!"

Starlight and Sunset looked on in grim fascination of this aspect of human society. Lyra had been in deep concentration, writing down everything that Delta has been ranting about, including an extensive section about their healthcare system, to which Delta had pulled out some sort of device from her captchalogue and made them watch a thirty minute educational video about insurance terms.

Incidentaly, the mares were intrigued by the mere prospect of video recording, something that had been barely achieved in Equestria, and here the humans had crisp video with sound. Bon Bon had used technology that was close, but used magically enchanted crystals instead of the circuitry that Delta had gone off on a minor tangent about.

"And you know what's the funniest fucking thing of it all?"
".. What?" Lyra asked after finishing the most recent observation of notes.
"None of it mattered! The world ended! And instead of spending their lives enriching themselves, loving each other in harmony, the system they lived in brewed hatred like beer makes marmite! And then, poof. It was all gone. All those profits, all the suffering and exploiting, every single aspect of capital DIED. And yet I remain! Me! And C-Side!"

Delta's eyes began to dilate, her breath rapidly quickening, a bit of drool dripping from her lips. "We are the only human left from our world in this timeline, and therefore we are the representative! The Ambassador! And I choose to paint the narrative of humanity from the eyes of a working class lady like us, because we were miserable! And every single playboy billionaire that ran our lives from the cream of the crop deserves nothing but to remembered as the MONSTERS THEY WERE!"

Delta panted, trying to catch her breath before she suddenly lost her footing from where she was standing, collapsed to the floor, and passed out. Lyra finished writing up her notes, looking exhausted, and put everything away. Her horn was slightly burnt from overuse, which Bon Bon pulled out some medication for.

"Soooo..." Sunset began, "I think it's safe to say that I'm very glad I don't live in that place."
"Oh, yeah, definitely." Starlight concurred.
They stared at Delta's prone body.
"Should we like, get her to a doctor?" Sunset asked.
"Ooh, I dunno.. she doesn't have insurance." Starlight joked. The mares giggled to one another. Sunset moved from her seat to check her breathing. Steady and stable, so there wasn't a problem. She just exhausted herself, it seemed.

"Okay, but, seriously," Bon Bon began, as she tended to Lyra's burnt horn. "What in Tartarus is wrong with her people? Now I understand why she told Celestia that Equestria looked like a way better place to live!"
"Yeah.. she seemed almost, excited, about the fact that everypony - every human? - she knew is dead. Like she's happy for them if only because their suffering is finally over." Sunset grunted as she lifted CD up into a seat to rest a bit more comfortably. "Sheesh, she's heavy."
"..Poor girls.." Lyra muttered sleepily, exhausted from the heavy writing.
"Well.. if we succeed and stop the end of the world.." Starlight said, "I wouldn't mind her sticking around."
"Why, are you interested in her?" Sunset teased.
"No!"
Sunset raised her eyebrows in disbelief.
"Maybe! Platonically!!" Starlight admitted. "Can you blame me? If she was able to talk about her home world's economy for hours on end like that, I wanna see what else is running around in her mind!"
"Ooorrr you just want to talk mind control with Delta." Sunset jabbed jokingly.
"I can do both!"
The girls laughed together, and Starlight blushed a bit before joining in and giggling along.

=>

Out in the southern depths of the Everfree forest, the guards that had been tasked with culling the legions of monsters that CD had brought stumbled upon a building. They began to excavate it, and eventually managed to pry their way inside. They found incomprehensible technology within, panels upon panels of maps and graphs that seemed to show analytical data of two planets. One that the guards immediately recognized, that being Equus, and the other one a mystery.
There was a panel in between them, with a timer, counting down.

=>

Lyra and Bon Bon moved into the next train car and flicked on their crystal transmitter.
Princess Celestia, Luna, and Twilight awaited contact on the other side, and Bon Bon was on time as usual.
"Agent Heartstrings. Agent Sweetie Drops." Twilight greeted, nodding in acknowledgement of their secret identities. She was trying her best to remain calm, and it was not working, as even through the magical feed, strands of her mane were disjointed and frayed, and her eye twitched. "A pleasure to see you reporting in."
"Tell us, how fares the humans' endeavors?" Luna asked.
"We're halfway there, your majesties." Bon Bon reported as neutrally as she could.
Lyra noticed Celestia wince.
"I see. We suppose it's only fair that you remain informed about the situation at hoof -" Luna began, "Scouting parties have found a construct in the Everfree. A building that was not there before, and within it contains a multitude of display panels, curious machineries, and.. a timer."
"A timer?" Bon Bon asked.
Celestia looked away momentarily. "Yes. A timer, that we believe to be a countdown to the end of the world."
"How.. how much time do we have left?"
"Approximately two days." Twilight said with a bit of weight on her heart.
"Two days?!" Lyra squawked, and Bon Bon took a deep, shuddering breath.
"Yes. We are not sure what will occur, but there are already reports of Windigo activity. It's possible they've been, as C-Side predicted, seeking out the remaining statues." Celestia followed up.
"We won't have the time to make it." Lyra groaned.
"We are aware of this. We have sent another team to attempt to capture the heart to the east, but we fear the efforts may prove to be in vain. Regardless, we can only hope to prevail." Luna said.
"..Shiiit.." Lyra muttered.
"Shit indeed." Celestia nodded, and gave a weak smile.
"Well, nothing left to it but to keep going." Bon Bon sighed.

"Let us move on to lighter topics." Luna shook her head, "Agent Heartstrings, hast thou gathered any information about human society?"
"Boy, have I!" Lyra proudly declared, producing the hastily bound book about Delta's critical teardown of her home country. "This is just about their economy alone!"
Twilight's eyes shone even through the crystal display. Celestia and Luna just looked intimidated.
"That.. much..?" Luna gasped. "Verily, she fulfills her role as a Seer of Blood!"
"As a warning, it's extremely biased and spoken from her personal point of view." Lyra admitted. "Still, it was interesting watching her ramble about privatized healthcare for an hour."
"Privatized Healthcare? Like what some nobles have been trying to push for ever since its inception in Manehattan?"
"Eeyup. It looks like a pretty bad idea!" Lyra added. "Delta hated it with the burning passion of a dragon!"
"Hah, she really is a weird case, huh?" Twilight chuckled.

"That actually reminds me.." Celestia tilted her head. "Agent Sweetie Drops.. what say you in your judgement of C-Side's behavior?"

Bon Bon had to simmer on that one.
"I will admit - her behavior has remained consistent in regards to caring for others. She has risked herself multiple times in order to assure the safety of everypony else on the team, and even went so far as to perform impromptu CPR on known convict Starlight Glimmer."
"We sense an interjection.." Luna said.
"But.. it is obvious she's not well. She's more or less admitted it, and, she drinks. A lot. Her alter, Delta Carol, is a concerningly intensive alcoholic, and has been drinking.. ever since she arrived in Equestria, as far as I'm aware. Sobriety is.. rare for her. And furthermore.. she just knows too much! You all would agree with me when I say that Starlight Glimmer's actions are hidden behind royal discretion, right?"
"We should hope so!" Luna protested.
"And yet, C-Side was insistent that Glimmer earn her redemption alongside herself and Sunset. She even said, for reasons she can't explain, that 'Starlight being on our side was important'."

"No, no, that's definitely a Seer of Blood thing." Celestia hummed to herself, before returning to the conversation. "Actually.. what do you two think of her involvement with.. Skaia?"
"Hm... well, whenever we mentioned it," Lyra mused, "She grew quiet and upset. Especially when we speculated on it's uh.. role, around the universe, as you briefed me in beforehoof."
Celestia braced herself for the big question. "Do you think.. she came here, as an envoy for it?"
"... No." Agent Sweetie Drops said matter-of-factly. "Skaia, as far as we are aware, has not had any influence on Disco and Carol since their arrival, beyond it haunting her. In fact, they seem to be much more influenced by.. Equus and- Lyra, what's her home planet again?"
"Earth."
"What, just Earth? That's it?"
"Yup. Just Earth!"
"I could've sworn it.. okay, Earth."

"So what do you mean by Equus being an influence on Disco?" Celestia asked curiously.
Lyra gave a thoughtful hum, rolling her eyes and scrunching up her face in thought. "C-Side seems intent on respecting equine culture, going so far as to say things like 'everypony' and 'foalhood'."
"And Delta seems to be a dichotomous opposite, using human terminology where she can." Bon Bon followed up. "Everyone or everybody, childhood, on hand, footsteps.."
"Interesting..!" Twilight started. "Fluttershy recently told me that C-Side was somehow able to see into Equestria as a child.. it's possible that C-Side is something of a foreign dignitary, almost!"
Bon Bon blinked.
"Honestly, she feels more like an asylum seeker." Lyra joked, then paused in realization of what she just said.
Everyone was lost in thoughtful contemplation for a moment.
"But that doesn't make sense.." Bon Bon chewed her lip. "She tried to explain her Seer powers to us, and mentioned she didn't develop them until the start of her session.. and she was an adult by then."
"So she is actually hiding a specific truth from us." Lyra nodded.
"Her alter, Delta, is upset about that, though. She's stated that she wishes to tell us everything, but is being held back by C-Side." Bon Bon muttered.. "Do you think..?"
Lyra looked at her quizzically.
"No, nevermind. As for my judgment of C-Side and Delta.." Bon Bon sighed. "I suppose they could be worse, considering the hostilities of their home planet."
Celestia nodded darkly. "I see. Very well, i will keep that in mind should she succeed. Please keep us updated if you can."
Suddenly, she yawned wide enough to pop her jawbone a bit, and looked a thousand years older. "I am up far too late. I'm turning in for the night. Goodnight everypony."
She got up without much decorum and left the scene.
"Uh.. Goodnight, Princess." Lyra had to hold back a giggle.
"I must return to the night court, unpopulated though it may be. Fare thee well, Agents.. and good luck." Luna declared before disappearing in a magical flourish.
This left Twilight all by herself in the room, and she fidgeted a bit before fully focusing on Lyra.
"If you girls don't mind.. Lyra, I'd love to hear everything you've gathered on human society so far!" Twilight eagerly requested, ruffling her wings.
"Sure! I'll see you in the morning, Bonnie." Lyra nodded to her partner, who left the train car to rest.

A few minutes into the report, Lyra heard a scream come from the other car.

=> Minutes in the past, but not many..

C-Side stared out the window as the landscape rattled on by. The train would occasionally jostle a bit as they traveled through the night, but it was never of a concern. She actually felt nostalgic for a time she'd never lived in, and here she was, living it. Music danced around her as she listened to one of her favorite albums, passively mourning every great artist that she knew she'd never hear from again - not in this timeline, anyway.

She idly sat back in her seat, and felt somewhat chilly, if anything. She wasn't sure why, as they were moving south in pursuit of another Heart, which meant warmer weather. Either way, she got up from her seat and shook herself to warm her limbs, hoping that a faster bloodflow would help fight the cool air. And then, one of her favorite songs came on her phone, and she couldn't help but feel the need to dance.

She kicked her way down the aisles silently as the mares slept soundly next to her, losing herself to music and letting the shine of the Disco Ball light up the train car. She smiled, and she felt a strange accumulation in her limbs as she moved, but didn't think to question it as she let it flow through her bloodstream. She spun in place, and suddenly struck a pose as the song reached a crescendo. She opened her eyes and saw Bon Bon passively observing her from the train car door. C-Side immediately caged her heart back up and ripped down her headphones, shoving everything back into her inventory.

"Why are you awake??" C-Side whispered.
Bon Bon furrowed a brow. "Why are you?"
"Agh - what, a girl can't be a bit of a night owl?"
"Not this late. It's almost, what, two in the morning?"
"Oh. Didn't realize it got that late. I'm not used to sleeping consistently."
"Why?"
"Eh.." CD scratched the back of her head. "Skaia kinda made it so that you had to be on both sides of consciousness."
"Okay, I'm not gonna let you vaguely gesture your way out of that one. What does that mean?"
The human sighed.

"So, back out in my session, there were two.. moons. Derse and Prospit. On those moons were perfect copies of our bodies that, when we fell asleep, they'd wake up and we'd be conscious in that body. There were a lot of shenanigans you had to get up to in it - messing with the queen and agents of your respective moon, getting information from less than reputable sources.. and.. In worst case scenarios, making it to the Sacrificial Slab before that body died, so you could ascend to God Tier."
"..'God tier'?"
"Yeah. God Tier."
"..Like an immortal being?"
"Yeah."

"..Are you?" Bon Bon asked, moving to her bed.
C-Side shuddered a bit violently. She grunted in discomfort, and quickly reached into her inventory to grab a bottle of water. She muttered the lyrics on her captchalogue card, and took a long drink of her water, before finally answering after a quick gargle and a cough - "Not in this timeline."
Bon Bon raised her eyebrows. "This timeline? There's other times where you showed up here as a god?"
"Just one, put those eyebrows back down.." C-Side made some kinda placating gesture. "It's weak, so much so that I can actually see where it stops. It's you, Lyra, and Us in the desert south of Appleloosa hunting down one of the Dark Hearts.. We died by an unknown force. Whoever they were, they had a gun, and they were with other humans from my Earth. That's all I can really see. And it's fading fast because this timeline is overtaking its place."

"Some god you were." Bon Bon scoffed lightly, half joking.
"Hey, she was new to the job. Cut her some slack, she died trying to save your flank."
"Well.. I don't know that me. So.. eh." Bon Bon shrugged. "I guess I appreciate that?"
"..You take time shenanigans like that really well." C-Side observed.
Bon Bon shrugged. "I've had.. similar experiences with time travel. Comes with the job."
"I won't pry." C-Side said as she nursed her water.

A silence hung in the air as C-Side continued to somberly stare at the landscape.
"I uh.. I guess you guys have been wondering why I'm not telling you everything."
Bon Bon raised an eyebrow and cocked her ear.
"I.. It's mostly because there's.. SO much. To being in a Skaia session. I feel like if I told you every single detail, you'd lose the important bits. Like I could ramble for hours about Derse and Prospit alone, much less God Tiers or the ways that our session differed from others. And, I'mma be real, you don't need to know everything, not unless.. The newest Skaia session does start soon."
Bon Bon rolled her eyes. "That's why I want to know. Knowing is half the battle, Disco, and you deliberately withholding information that could save lives - or at least prolong them - is infuriating me."
"Well-"
"And!" Bon Bon hoisted an accusatory hoof at CD, "Not to mention the fact that you really haven't explained yourself, properly! You've been deliberately hiding the truth about how you know about Equestria! I just learned from Princess Twilight that you mentioned you *saw* Equestria to Fluttershy, when you were a kid, which.. that doesn't add up, Disco. You said you were an adult with a roommate when your Skaian session began, so how does that work? And why did you come here, really?"
C-Side stammered a bit. "Well, uhm, I feel like I can't tell y'all that. Like you'd find it weird if I did."

Bon Bon sighed. "Please, C-Side. The least you can do is help me figure you out a little more. Why were you capable of seeing Equestria long before you developed those abilities..? Whatever makes you shudder violently and portend?"

C-Side suddenly shuddered violently.
"Like that!" Bon Bon said.
"Somethin' major just happened."
"What do you mea-?"
Before Bon Bon could finish her question, C-Side suddenly looked out the window and pressed her hand to it.
"Hey, what season is it?"
"Huh? Spring, why?"
"It's snowing out there. Really heavily."

Suddenly, she screamed, which woke up everyone else, and made Lyra burst into the train car, with the feed still active, showing everything to the Princess.
A silvery heart was floating right outside the window. This heart was quite possibly the most "normal" looking out of all of the ones seen thus far, save for the fact that it sported a pair of lips, and a shit-eating grin.
"Ah! If it isn't Chelsea and Dolores." It spoke, though the motion of its lips didn't match the sounds it was making. The mares looked confused, giving each other looks, save for Lyra, who stood defiantly in front of the human, and yelled, "Their names are C-Side and Delta now!"
"Ah.. yes.. CD, for short. I am amused to see you kept the moniker-play of Compact Disc, because it means that I can play with it, too! I shall call you.. Cowardly Defector. How does that sound, hmm?" The heart tittered.
CD's eyes shrank to raging pinpricks.
The mares grouped up to prepare for a fight, the word "STRIFE!" momentarily appearing above everyone.
Before they could even begin, however, The Heart of Silver swept up most of the magic around the ponies, which immediately drained them down to just their last reserves.
"Now, now, that would hardly be sporting. This human has simply used you all for her own gains, don't you know? You shouldn't fight her battles for her. I had seen the envoy your precious princesses had sent, and I am not to be detained by anyone other than the correct player. Hence why I am here, now - to make an offer that may satisfy everyone.." The Heart chastised.

Sunset slunk into the shadows, not noticed by the talking statue.
"What the fuck do you want?!" CD shouted.

"I am simply here to give you an ultimatum. You can still repent, sinner. All you must do is end your miserable life. After all, you are the only reason we all are here - and if you die, then Skaia will have no use for us being in this universe. We will leave this planet alone, and allow these miserable horses to live in what they call peace."

Starlight looked up at CD. Something grimdark was hidden behind her heterochromatic eyes, and Starlight began to fear that maybe, just maybe, CD would take up that offer.
"Delta.." she whispered.

"After all, you know you weren't supposed to come here. And yet you did, and in the process, killed all of your precious friends. And what is a Blood player without their friends, hmm? Nothing. And that's what you are. Nothing. And it's alllll your fault."
The Heart opened its mouth wide, and deep within the maw of the Heart were visions of CD's friends. Troll and Human alike, each one begging her to stop.

"CD?! What are you doing, man?!" A human, raising his arms in a defending gesture.
"Dolores, Chelsea, co^^e on! You're better than this! Stop-!!" A troll, an alien creature with gray skin, yellowed eyes, and candy corn colored horns, who pronounced their M's strangely, before a brutally violent end.
"chelsea! please!" another human, fruitlessly raising a shield.
"Fumi! Get down, I'll protecct you!" Another troll, before both the human named Fumi and the troll were obliterated.
"(<∅>) i could have prevented this. i could have stopped Her." Lamented a troll with a third eye, which had been cut open as they bled out.

The entire car was forced to be subjected to CD's past, and suddenly, everyone saw why she was so tight-lipped.
That was the last straw, as CD suddenly charged at the heart, screaming profanities, and throwing herself through the window toward the Heart of Silver. The glass shattered, and CD, blind with rage, fell to the rapidly passing dirt below her. Magic enveloped her body, pulling her up just in time as she was mere inches from the ground and deadly train tracks. Starlight and Lyra pulled her back in through the glass, and promptly passed out, the last of their magic spent.

"Oh, and look at that. You just put two more of your friends out of commission." The Heart of Silver floated in through the window, grinning, "How many more of your friends will you lay to waste before you're finally aware that you deserve to be alone, hmm?"

CD tried her best to ignore the Heart's remarks and grabbed at it with a captchalogue card, but the Heart ABJURED capture.
"Did you forget I still play by Skaian rules? As do you! All is fair in Strife and Grief! You are, after all, nothing but a player of the Game!" The heart laughed. "Honestly, my idiot brethren would've fared so much better if they just thought for once in their existence, but no, they are all consumption, all the time."

Sunset emerged from the darkness and spun a roundhouse kick right into the teeth of the statue.
"ARGH! WHAT THE DEVIL?!" The Heart turned to face Sunset, who jumped up and threw another punch into the Heart's quicksilver flesh. "You!" It hissed. "How are you still standing?!"
"I don't have any magic to lose right now, dumbass!" Sunset roared, throwing punches, kicks, and bucks, forcing the Heart to retreat from the train car. Its grimace cracked back into a smug grin.
"Gracious, I'd never think to see a magically impaired unicorn. Curious, amusing even! Perhaps this is how you've made it this far, but it will not save you. I shall leave you to my last sibling, the Heart of Iron. If I'm lucky, I need not raise an artery to finish your pathetic existence. Ta-ta, Cowardly Defector!"

The Heart flew further down the train tracks, outpacing the engine, out into the Appleloosan desert.
CD cracked open another can of booze, and chugged, before crushing the empty can against her head, and throwing it out the window in her anger.

Author's Note

what's good. welcome back to this mess
probably one of my bigger chapters I've ever written, and I'm hoping it's not a case of too much broth and not enough veggies.
anyways. hope y'all enjoyed