Night On The Sun (Ministry Of Harmony)

Chapters

Taming The Hen
Domestic Oppresion
Inflation
Decisions
The Dragon's Den
Ministry Of Harmony
Equestrian Inquisition
Diamonds, Feathers, and Lettuce
Sweet Apple Animosity
Eviction Notice
A New Challenge Approaches!
Rainbow Douche
Filly With The Bow
Element Of Patience.
Onward To Adventure!
Orange
Recovery
Miss Fluttershy Goes To Cloudsdale
Friendship Is Caustic
Prepare to Qualify...
Positive Slope (Part 1)
Positive Slope (Part 2)
Train Dodge, Dig it.
Grand Ole Op'ration
Welcome to Canterlot
Waiting Room
Little Fish, Big Fish, Swimming in the water...
Standards and Practices
The Road Less Traveled
Battle Royale
Another Castle
Unwilling Suspense Of Disbelief
Night On The Sun
This Is The End
Call to Action
A pissed off magenta-maned Pegasus beats the shit out of a dragon

Taming The Hen

It was early morning in Ponyville, the warm, golden blanket of subtle, soft light that trickled through the trees, illuminated the windows, and gave the grass a slight tint of brown, produced, at distance, a beautiful sight: it looks as if Ponyville was a real-life El Dorado, the gold-like shimmer could be seen for miles around.

Scootaloo wasn't much of a morning Pegasus but she had no real choice. She slowly lifted her head, which always seemed heavier than normal in the morning. Her futile attempt to open her eyes was impaired by the bright display of light that shined on the floor, courtesy a tall window that sat in front of her bed.

The middle of a large room, almost circular in shape with a high. Imposing ceiling that seemed to be missing out on the spectacle of illumination that sat on the floor, it of course mimicked the composition of the window.

Tired, irritated, and cursing the day she chose to be punctual about her still new morning routine, the flightless filly finally managed to navigate slowly through her room, keeping her eyes only open enough to discern obstacles impeding her path to an artful door that seemed much further away than it literally was.

She slowly opened it and poked her head out to check on two doors to her right, they were both closed which signaled an “all clear” for her to slink to the washroom and ready herself for the day ahead; as she exited the shower and finished brushing her mane from its nappy, tattered look, brought on by sleep, to its still messy but familiar style, she heard small hoofsteps approach, she knew them well enough by now and it brought a slight smile to her face: unlike herself, this pony was much more pleasant in the morning.

Sweetie Belle slowly opened the door, having learned the hard way that simply barging in could lead to a scarring sight. Knowing this wasn't the case today, she slowly trotted in and proceeded to the shower.

“Morning Scootaloo!” She chirped, exerting a vigor and vibrance that Scootaloo covetly envied.

“Hey Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo mumbled, her lack of any sort of energy left it nearly unintelligible.

“Still tired I see,” Sweetie Belle began with the same spurt of anticipatory happiness in her voice, not to the port where her infamous voice cracks came out to play, but still enthusiastic nonetheless.

“My sis said we've been very well behaved this week so we get some treats from Sugar Cube Corner!” she continued, pausing, anticipating a response from her feathered friend, receiving none, she continued:

“I was thinking, since she's busy this morning with that order that we could go to the club-house amd hang out.”

Again, no acknowledgement, curious she peered from behind the curtain to see that Scootaloo had left at some point, she shrugged and continued her morning regimen.

Scootaloo had already trudged downstairs, seated at the kitchen table awaiting her adoptive mother to come and make breakfast. After her restless night, spurred only by a rabid nightmare that took the cosolement and coddling from Sweetie Belle to calm her nerves and permit some sleep, she was worn out beyond words, much more than usual.

Scootaloo had grown very close to Sweetie Belle over the last year, prior to her life under Rarity, she had lived in various places throughout Ponyville following her escape from the boring and uninspiring orphanage when she was but a foal.

Her final residence before this was the Cutie Mark Crusaders clubhouse. Sweetie Belle found her only a few months ago after sneaking out late one night to go retrieve some fabric she had left behind. Celestia forbid Rarity found it was missing—as well as its purpose--”Cutie Mark Crusader Dry Cleaning” made the cheap establishments with the odd smelling, potentially hazardous fumes look like upper escalation establishments.

From that day on, Sweetie Belle would sneak out from her parents or the boutique depending on her predicament, and bring Scoots food, water, and extra blankets on colder evenings. Having enough of being alone and deprived, Scootaloo finally followed Sweetie Belle to the boutique and, after some reluctance by Sweetie (more out of fear of getting caught than the well being of her friend), they snuck inside and Scootaloo made house in the room that is now sanctioned as her own.

Still, her relationship with Rarity is less than stellar: while it isn't terrible per se, -Rarity has curbed all desire to “transform” the pegasus into some sort of pageant princess, being wise enough to never suggest or try it lest encourage Scootaloo to return to her sour conditions, their understanding of one another is still somewhat frayed, much due to Scootaloo instilling, in Rarity's mind, that her tomcolt persona to be her default state of mind and emotion, which it certainly is not, Sweetie Belle was the only pony who really knew this, having cradled her friend to sleep from fits of tears and bawling on several occasions.

The unicorn In question finally made her way downstairs, greeted by the site of a half-asleep filly, her presence clearly sending a message: “You're late, I'm hungry, look at how sad I am because I am malnourished you spineless drama queen!”, both knew this was untrue in every sense but both seemed to receive and accept the same internal prompt and played their parts accordingly.

“I'm sorry to keep you waiting Scootaloo,” Rarity began as she made her way to the cupboards, “Let's just say you weren't the only one having a fitful sleep last night.” As expected, there was no response, this was normal for her and she had adjusted her insecure side to be contempt with this, but after the little dramatic performance of the preceding evening, she was fed up: time to get this filly to talk—it simply wasn't natural—nay—it was unhealthy! Before this though, she figured the filly had to have enough energy to at least string some words together both in mind and in practice, so she prepared their meal first.

As Rarity was nearing completion of a simple array of eggs -kindly donated by Fluttershy, made possible only because of a lie that Rarity wanted to teach her sister how to care for an egg and the offspring--, hash-browns and apple juice, she could hear her younger sister make her way down as well, letting out a loud yawn as she did so.

Rarity turned and trotted into the kitchen, food on a platter hovering over her head in a light blue aura, to the sight of her upbeat, beaming sister who was happy as a dog to see her, contrasted to the still dull and downtrodden Scootaloo –something is obviously wrong here-- Sweetie Belle and Rarity had had a discussion following Scootaloo succumbing to sleep.

Rarity was tired of being just a provider, designated in the fillies head as a unrelatable authority figure that was to be respected but not understood. Sweetie imparted her experience with Scootaloo, her likes and dislikes and her means of conversation and comfort all of course was rather easy to achieve.

The one major barrier that Sweetie could not advise in, was breaking that shell, pushing past the protective layer of stunting and egoism. She wasn't Rainbow Dash or anyone else who needed to be impressed, if Scootaloo was going to live with her, they were going to talk things out just like she does with Sweetie, or Fluttershy, or the other girls. The sister made an agreement, Sweetie Belle was not going to come to Scootaloo's aid following last night, she now had to choose: rely on Rarity and learn to trust her, or cry it out.

“So,” Rarity wasn't sure how to get the ball rolling, “what do you girls have planned for today? Any crusading?”

Both sisters waited, hoping the orange coat, purple maned pegasus would pipe up, but nothing but the clanking of silverware and ambient chewing.

“Well for one,” Sweetie Belle began, pausing enough to invite Scootaloo's interjection at any point, “we were thinking of trying to get our cutie marks in directing. Isn't that right Scootaloo?”

Finally Scootaloo made some noise, not conversation as they'd hoped but it was a step, “mmhm” she mumbled,

Sweetie Belle shot a worried glance to her sister, she gave her a look that mentally indicated that she might was well shoot to kill at this point.

“Scootaloo, is something wrong?” Rarity stammered a bit, oddly finding herself intimidated by the conversation-impaired daughter of hers, “I know you had a bit of a scare last night....you know you can talk to me about anything.”

“I'm alright.” Mumbled Scoots, again in a borderline unintelligible spill of words.

Rarity pushed only slightly, “Sweet-heart, I know we're not the most—comparable of ponies, we had a bit of a tough start but I love you, and I know you at least appreciate what I'm doing here” She bit her tongue, way to sound condescending.

“I—I want you to know that I am here to listen, I'm not going to talk about it to anypony else, we're a family Scootaloo, that means I show you just as much respect and integrity as you do me.”

No response, though Scoots had raised her head and was now looking at her, face unreadable, a fork in the road at this point, Rarity blindly charged in a random direction, hoping reward would be her destination,

“Look, I am here to listen to you, to help you out if you need it, to comfort you when you are sad, you don't need to affront to me Scootaloo, we all have out vulnerabilities and it is nothing to be ashamed of,” She paused some to preemptively assemble the next sentence, weighing her words carefully.

“I am not here to judge you, I am here to care for you, love you and support you. If my sister can do it than I a am more than capable of it myself, you just have to—trust me.” She cursed herself for the hesitation, however to her satisfaction, her target didn't seem to notice, letting out a brief half-assed smile before shuffling her food a bit, finally speaking semi-audibly, the usual raspiness signifying her comfort despite how minute,

“Well—I---” Scootaloo sighed, “No, it's pretty stupid, I'm okay Rarity.”

Rarity mentally deflated, yet physically, she walked behind Scootaloo and wrapped her into a hug, her chin resting lightly on the fillys' rough mane.

“I'm not here to judge you Scootaloo,” A hint of desperation, again, unnoticed by Scootaloo who was now steady, craning hear head up slightly just to see Rarity smiling down at her, a sudden warmth and happiness previously only achieved at the gentle words and embrace of Sweetie Belle washed through her, affirming in her mind: “She is safe, she loves me—I love her too—I can talk.”

Rarity let go slowly, returning to her seat and her food as Scootaloo began to open up, victory was hers.

“It was really dark and cold,” the feathered filly recalled as if telling a story, head up now, looking directly at Rarity, a bit of tremor seen in her hooves, her pupils tracing from her mother to her food at times but she was comfortable and confident.

“I remember being afraid, I wasn't sure of what but I knew it wasn't good whatever it was,” Sweetie Belle quietly excused herself from the table, having finished eating and heard this tale only hours ago, she was going to find something else to do and let her sister take control.

“--All of the sudden the clubhouse somehow broke loose from the tree and it was flying high in the are, these weird noises,” she shivered at the last word, remembering the terror it brought to her subconscious being, “they were mean, and close, like when a bee flies by your ear, it was—scary.”

Mentally assessing whether to confirm her absolute trust and familial love for Rarity, she made her decision and chose to continue, “they were likes ghosts, they started laughing at me, calling me names and circling around the clubhouse. I couldn't move, I don't know why but I was stuck-- I couldn't talk or yell, I opened my mouth—I know I said something” A lump formed in her throat and a tear shed at the recollection, fear of the moment again rearing its ugly head.

Sensing this Rarity pulled Scootaloo into her lap and held her close, her trembling was almost startling, she knew this was the real Scootaloo, she had done it, now she just needed to not screw this up, first impressions are everything. She slowly stroked the filly's mane with one hoof and held her in the other.

“--But I couldn't, it was awful, then, it just stopped, the air stopped moving, the voices went away and I could move my head to look around, I did, and when I turned back to look at the door, Rainbow Dash was there, I felt happy, I thought she was going to rescue me, but she wasn't smiling, she was angry, her ears were flat. She didn't say anything, I still couldn't talk—or if I did she ignored me. She just righted me with her forehoof and bucked me into a wall. She didn't say anything she just kept hitting me and I kept screaming at her to stop—but I didn't scream--”

She was having trouble continuing, the fear finally boiling over, the emotions that claimed her dream state were now reprising their dominance in the real world, tears streaming down her face, she stuttered now as she began to choke up, but again, a part of her knew she was safe, that she was loved. Rarity wasn't going to let her go and she liked that, and while it wasn't enough to stop the crying, it pushed her enough to tell this hellish nightmare to the end.

Rarity now had borh hooves slowly swaying the filly to comfort her as much as she could, “she kept hitting me and kicking me, I could see blood, it hurt so bad, I couldn't do anything about it though, I just kept telling myself I was going to die, my idol was going to kill me and honestly, the pain was so bad I—i....I w-wanted her to.”

There was a pause as she let out a few heaves and sniffles, then resumed, a bit more relaxed now as she sank into Rarity's chest and embraced her protector, “She threw me out of the club-house, I started falling and it was all cold again, II couldn't move again either I was just falling—I felt sick, like when they drop you really fast on those roller coasters, but that feeling in my stomach wouldn't go away. I was falling into the Everfree, I could see all sorts of monsters, but I couldn't hear them, I couldn't hear anything, it was silent, I kept falling, I still had that sick feeling, then I hit the ground and that's when I woke up and screamed. I heard this weird noise for a few seconds, it was loud too--”

Stopping to see if she was missing anything she pulled back just enough to look at Rarity who still held her. New tears formed in her eyes but they weren’t a product of the sadness, anguish, betrayal, and fright of before, they were tears of joy and relief she hadn't fealt in as long as she could remember, she pulled her hooves from her side and turned the hug to Rarity.

“I'm safe now.” She wormed up so that her chin rested on Rarity's shoulder, not quite standing as that would put pressure on Rarity's back hooves and would hurt, but enough.

“I love you mom.”

That word, “Mom”. Rarity had never heard that before, not just from Scootaloo of course but ever, she had always framed what her reaction would be when her own baby, a product of procreation with one of the most dashing gentlecolts Equestria had ever witnessed, would be, but even the mist fanciful imagination couldn't correlate to the violent wash of happiness, pride, and appreciation that she was consumed with now, she had gone from “Rarity” to “Mom”, she had finally scaled the grand and harrowing ascent of obscurity and resentment.

All she could muster lest she look spastic was a simple “I love you too Scootaloo” before pulling the filly into another hug, this one had a strong aura of genuine, pure, and honest love, an undertow of understanding, compassion, and trust; tears matted the coats of both ponies as the sheer greatness that was this moment was realized and expressed.

After awhile the two released and silently went about finishing their food, smiling throughout, much to the surprise and joy of Sweetie Belle who had missed out on most of the dramatic production, taking preference in freshening up a little more and brainstorming on how to best attain their “directors” cutie marks.

“How's it going” Sweetie Belle sheepishly asked, subconsciously assure it all worked out but sill cautious on the surface.

“Well Scootaloo,” Rarity glanced over at the filly who was helping herself to seconds of food, her stomach apparently now hungry again, “What do you think?”

Scoots couldn't help from wearing a grin that if any larger could explode and lay waste to her face, despite that, she was slightly spent from the little episode and merely looked over to her unicorn friend with a face that indicated things had gone very well. After a few more minutes of eating, Rarity receded to the kitchen to clean up while Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle contemplated on how they were going to try—in vein of course-- to force the natural spontaneous event of acquiring a cutie mark, to occur at their terms.

“Maybe we could get a giant camera,” Scootaloo's usual pumped up vigor was on full display, her raspy, aggressive voice and demeanor were back in action as she stretched out her fore-hooves to emphasize her intentions, “and I could do some awesome action scenes with my scooter!” She bounced up and down as if she were on a bed, very anticipatory of what she assumed would be instant kingdom-wide acclaim, the lofty patrons of Canterlot would all know of her bad-assery in the most spectacular and well, amazing way fathomable by ponykind.

Sweetie Belle was excited that she was excited, but as per usual in the crusader's planning sessions, her desire for a fluffy, soft, and painless part in their adventures was left open for consideration—or not.

“Well that's cool and all Scoots but what do I get to do?” She squeaked, almost whining some.

“Well – we're gonna need a camera-mare aren't we?” A cocky grin still on Scootaloo's face, courtesy of her imagined glamor still playing a vivid scene in her head. “It's safe, and—you'll be famous too!”

Sweetie Belle liked this idea bit what mentally thirsty, she still failed to see how they would both get their directors cutie marks, and, arguably, Scootaloo's cutie mark would probably be much cooler, besides, she didn't want to sit behind a camera all day, she was a fashionista dammit and she was going to employ her self-recognized skills somehow!

“Maybe I could design you a costume! Ooh! And maybe I could style your mane too!” It was her turn to be bouncy and excited.

Scootaloo's smile however flattened some, she accepted Rarity as her mother, and Sweetie Belle as her—aunt? That's kinda weird but she seemed contempt with that was well so long as Sweetie didn't try to assume authority over her. She chuckled slightly at the thought of “Auntie Sweetie Belle” attempting to to control Scootaloo, she was clearly much stronger than Sweetie Belle ever would be, if anything, Sweetie Belle would be desperately requesting her uncles presence as Scootaloo overpowered her in some comical fashion.

No way in hell was Sweetie Belle going to touch her awesome mane, and using Rarity's flare for extravagance and—foo-foo frilly business as a prelude to whatever horror Sweetie Belle would bring forth, she internally rejected it with all the vulgarity her vocabulary permitted, and externally pushed to change her aunt's course,

“You're a great singer!” Scootaloo remembered several times hearing Sweetie Belle's angelic voice, while she was in no way disciplined in the art and form of music, as a listener, she could tell “good” from “crap”. To her chagrin though, like the rest of the crusader trio, including herself, Sweetie Belle wanted nothing to do with her natural talent:

“No I'm not Scootaloo,” she blushed some at the complement. “And besides, I've always had the desire to really show my stuff!” Her radiant smile returned.

Scootaloo, not wanting to crush her spirits but nor wanting to continue about this for now, hoping changing the subject would derail her momentum,

“Well, we're not really going to be able to do just one thing, especially when it's just us two—have you heard from Applebloom?” Sweetie Belle nodded, she had not, nobody had really.

It had been a good two weeks since Applebloom and the Apple family “disappeared” or at least, that's what the remaining crusaders and curious townsfolk were told, in reality, they were inside the homestead at Sweet Apple Acres. Granny Smith had passed away shortly before they entered reclusion everypony assumed they were grieving and out of respect, didn't bother them.

Rarity was one of the many ponies in the dark on this whole issue. The other four mares denied knowing anything, and they honestly did not, she found it odd as they all did, and at this particular point saw the concern and confusion in the two crusaders eyes and trotted over to them.

“Now don't you worry girls, I'm sure they're just not in the mood to come out right now, death is a very difficult thing to deal with and some ponies handle it worse than others.” She flashed a though on whether or not she should have phrased it that way but was satisfied, “I'm sure between Scootaloo's energy, and your—skills-- you'll get your film-making cutie marks for sure!”

While she was saying this, she had opened the door and motioned the fillies outside, best get them more willing to leave and go crusading than to have them in a place where they'd want to barrage her with questions and wild but well-intentioned speculation.

“Yeah!” Both of the fillies bounced up in down, re-energized by their sister/mother's words of encouragement.

Pleased she was getting somewhere, she continued, “now girls, I have quite the order today, I know I promised you treats but it will have to be later this evening”

A collective groan could be heard from the fillies below.

“--but,” she emphasized, “I promised so It will be done! Plus, this gives you girls plenty of time to get your movie ready!” She looked at them with a cheesy, toothy grin to try to shroud her slight fear of what trouble they were going to surely get into with a camera, and knowing them it would be a real camera, they may be somewhat thick when it comes to seeing their true talents glaring right under their muzzles, but they knew when they were being talked down to, and they didn't tolerate it.

“Oh, okay sis.” Sweetie Belle groaned, her grin returned though as she turned to her niece, “Come on Scootaloo! Let's go to the club-house and make a plan!” she raised a hoof as if declaring “land ho!” after a long and worn voyage at sea.

Rarity flinched somewhat at the idea of the two going to the club-house, the last thing a grieving family needed was trouble, and a sizable mess to accompany it.

“Now girls, I don't think that's too bright of an idea, remember what we talked about when we all met with Twilight?”

“Yes.” they both answered, ears flattening.

“You understand that it maybe not such a nice thing to disturb the Apple Family right now right?”

Scootaloo was desperate, “We won't bother them Ra—mom we promise!”

Not wanting to dig a whole of whining, pleading, and questions, Rarity budged, only a little, the last thing she wanted was to be responsible for anything awful, especially now that she was responsible for two of the three crusaders who were known to cause destruction and discontent wherever they went in their fruitless adventures.

“You will go the club-house, get your paper and crayons, and find somewhere else to conspire okay?”

The two, ears still lowered were happy with what they could get, both knowing Rarity was equal if not superior in her ability to be very stubborn

“Oh alright” Scootaloo groaned dejectively.

“Splendid!” Rarity finished excitedly more for her own sake than theirs, “If you two keep your word and stay out of trouble than I will see you both late at Sugar Cube corner!”

The fillies, reminded of their promised confections were happy again, seemingly contempt with the slight change in course, “YAY!”

Rarity flattened her ears to curb as much sound as possible, no use: “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER FILMMAKERS! YAY!” And with that, Sweetie Belle hopped into a red wagon attached to Scootaloo's scooter, Scootaloo then hopped onto the locomotion of her namesake and they sped off, destination: destructive adventure!

Rarity made a mental note to check on them, she trusted them, but....their antics were about as sporadic as all the other mishaps in Equestria; better safe than sorry.

The clubhouse was in the same state they had left it in during the last meeting there nearly half a month ago, to the unicorn and pegasus who entered ever so quietly, it seemed like a lifetime, every reminder of their last escapade seeming almost nostalgic, however, Sweetie Belle wasn't there to dawdle, her sister put her hoof down and she had to obey it lest she deal with the consequences, and while Scootaloo would normally be an antagonist in this situation, she was mindful as well, reminding herself they came here to get their things and then leave without a trace.

It was rather early in the morning still, when Scootaloo slept here she was almost never awake at this hour so the darkness that enveloped the small tree house was slightly displacing, regardless they collected some crayons, paper, and their crusader capes which somehow were in near-mint condition, despite the countless instances which should have destroyed them. They quietly mused about their friend as they made their way out of the clearing where the club-house resided and back into town.

“You think we'll see Applebloom anytime soon Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle asked, slightly worried as she shot a glance towards the farm through the trees,

“I sure hope so...” Scootaloo trailed off, not sure how to continue, she sure did miss the filly, considerably more than she expected, they argued constantly, but they were still friends, and they were still Cutie Mark Crusaders, and while Sweetie Belle was Scootaloo's first friend, and yes they played and created trouble before they became acquainted with the farm filly at Diamond Tiara's Tercentenarya, they still couldn't fully adjust to going about their schemes, let alone school without her.

“You think maybe we should check on her?” Scootaloo suggested, she had no real intent on doing it—or at least, if she was the only one.

“No!” Sweetie Belle panicked, almost yelled. She stopped and looked around, sweating some, when she assured herself nopony else had heard, she firmly continued, “No Scootaloo.”

Scootaloo stopped, that sounded almost like a command, “Why'd you say it like that?” Scootaloo glared at her.

“What do you mean 'why'?” Sweetie protested, “You know what Rarity said this morning and Twilight said a few days ago 'leave them alone girls, give them time to sort out their affairs'--whatever that means. We're not going over there.”

“Don't talk to me like that” Scootaloo growled, somewhat stutters, she was shocked that she found herself somewhat uncomfortable talking that way to Sweetie Belle, at any time before now she wouldn't have thought twice, but something odd came into her mind. Could she actually punish me? She is my aunt... Scootaloo dismissed that thought, Come on Scootaloo, what would she do? You could take her easily! You're way too strong for her, she tried to pin you down she'd be sent flying all the way to Cloudsdale! Her thoughts were interrupted upon her noticing Sweetie Belle hadn't said anything after, she looked sad, her ears flat and head hung low.

“I'm sorry Scootaloo,” she mumbled weakly as she barely looked at her, “I didn't mean to be all bossy, I just don't want to get in trouble...” her voice trailed off, like Scootaloo she understood very well that while Sweetie may have an authoritative title and have slight advancement in age to back it up, when it came down to it, there was no way she could ever control Scootaloo, outside of hurting her, and that simply wasn't an option. Sweetie was soon met with a comforting hoof around here

“No, I'm sorry Sweetie Belle, I shouldn't have been so rude, I knew you weren't trying to be bossy or mean...” Scootaloo found it difficult to converse as well and with that affirmation they continued silently into town, all the while a pair of binoculars had been following their trip as soon as they entered the vicinity of Sweet Apple Acres: Big Macintosh lowered them slowly, content that the fillies were gone and out of earshot.

“They gone Big Mac” quipped Apple Jack in a slightly off tone from her usual charismatic voice.

“Eeeyup” replied Big Mac heavily, he chuckled some as he put the binoculars into an empty apple basket beside him.

“M'kay, I'ma thinkin' it's about time to get our little filly up and movin'” A sinister smile crept onto AppleJack's face, her eyes filled with hate.

“Eeeyup” The stallion agreed, with an equally troubling grin.

Domestic Oppresion

The Apple Family hadn't been dealing to well with the sudden death of Granny Smith, after all, after their parents' passing shortly after Applebloom's birth, between AppleJack's running off the Manehatten and Big Mac's teenage turbulence, Granny somehow kept the family and the farm together well into their matured age, even though the mare and stallion were now in complete control of Sweet Apple Acres assets and production, the death of their grandmother fealt like a rug being pulled from under them. The usually stable and dependable AppleJack had crumbled to a depressed, sorrowful sap; the burly and reliable Big Mac had slummed to a similar state: over the last week their had been not much done, said, or thought other than the despair and sadness that this passing all dealt to them, this week however was a turn in mood, following the denial and pain stage in the grieving process, comes anger and displaced blame.

Applebloom wasn't sure what to do at this point. She lay weakly in her bed, warm and secure in her blankets and pillow, she was awake but she dare not get out of bed; the more time she spent snuggled up here, the less time she had to be hit, hollered at, and hated. She wasn't quite sure when, why or how her brother and sister decided she was the bringer of all terrible things, the fuel of all fire, buit indeed that is what she was, Celstia forbid an apple missed the basket when she was out helping buck apples, that would result in an array of directive vulgarity and a powerful hoof connected to her face, Luna be dammed if she was in the wrong place when they messed up, a mistake, mishap or misfire that would usually only warrant a light curse and nothing more now was the catalyst for Applebloom's abuse, she was hit, bucked into walls, spat on, and called terrible things, it wasn't to the point where she was near death, somewhere in their tornadic hearts, powered by their acidic cloud of anger and depression was a tinge of love for the filly that was the one thread separating her from a likely beat-down. Despite all of this the filly with the bow chose not to attempt fleeing her home, which resembled more of a reclusive compound than the joyous and colorful acreage she'd come to know and love, be it her own internal emotional forces that kept her isolate from everyone except her siblings, be it Stockholm syndrome, it wasn't too clear to her. Either way she wanted nothing to do with it, it was already halfway through the week; she hadn't seen her friends in who knows how long, what made this worse is that she still wasn't told that Granny Smith was dead, she put two and two together and permitted herself to conclude that something had happened, and for some reason she was to blame. She looked out the window to see that since her last bout with her internal clock, it seemed that the sun was on full display, Rainbow Dash's superior workmanship permitted the beautiful blue to expand as far as the eye can see, she was unable to see her friends from her view as she was on the opposite side of the rancher, but she knew they were playing, laughing, having fun without her that sent a sickly feeling in her tummy which jettisoned to her throat as she heard all to familiar and dreaded hoofsteps approach her door, she turned her head and closed her eyes, hoping that maybe, just maybe this time this morning could be different.

Her luck was terrible.

“Applebloom, get yer flank outta bed now before I drag yer ass out by the tail!” The cowpony snarled as she stamped her hooves madly in an attempt to startle the filly awake, Applebloom failed to move, she didn't want to, she was afraid. Her sister could see her shivering from a cold sensation of dread that had consumed her—as usual.

“Ah, so I see we're gonna be stubborn again huh? Y'all just don't learn do ya?” She slowly made her way to the bed, now towering over her sister who was curled in a ball, eyes forced shut, just wanting all of this to stop. “I ain't gon' tell you 'gain Applebloom, outta bed now 'fore I make yer mornin' a sour one.”

Again, the filly didn't respond, somewhere in her mind she kept pleading this was all just a morbid, dark nightmare, that somehow she would awaken to smiling faces and frolicking friends, not so.

Apple Jack then, without another word clamped her teeth on the filly's mane, permitting a slight squeal of pain from the filly, she was then sent a good ways to the other side of her room where she landed on her rump, as she tried to steady on her fours, a big red hoof pinned her back down, not crushingly, but enough to prohibit any mobility.

“Ah thought ah told you that bein' a pill ain't gonna git you anywhere, Ah guess you're too stupid to figure that out ain't ya?” Big Mac had a look that could only be interpreted as hateful, Applebloom simply looked at him, a pleading look in her eyes, her face shaped by sadness and fear. “If I gotta get the switch 'gain I ain't gonna be nice about it this time ya understand?”

Applebloom nodded hastily, not daring to say a word. The hoof slowly lifted off of her, implying once false move would bring it back down upon her tender tummy.

“Get up.” Demanded Apple Jack coldly, almost lifeless. Applebloom did as she was told and got up, still somewhat weak from sleep, she followed them downstairs into the living room, her head hung low, not wanting to make eye contact with the “wrong look” on her face.

“Listen here you ungrateful piece ah shit” Apple Jack spat, “Yer gonna clean house today, you're shit out on the fields, can't even buck an apple tree no more, can't afford to have a retard workin' the fields so yer gonna clean this place up real good, understand?”

Applebloom nodded, hoping that was sufficient.

“What was that?” Apple Jack said, now clearly irritated, “Didn't heat ya?”

“You too stupid to talk now” Big Mac snickered.

“I heard ya sis, I understand” Applebloom mumbled, on the verge of tears, she couldn't help it anymore, she could take it the last few days but this, this was just too much now.
“Quit yer cryin' you little bitch!” Apple Jack was suddenly yelling, “We done did that already, y'all need to grow the fuck up an' make yerself useful!” Applebloom shot into a protective ball, awaiting whatever brutality was coming her way, though, none came.

“That's what ah thought” Apple Jack hissed, now at eye level with the filly, the smell of alcohol and cigarettes very prominent, “Ah expect this place to be spotless by noon, if y'all mess up, yer gonna get fucked up, understand me?”

“Y-yes sister, ah understand.” Applebloom couldn't keep the shaking from her voice this time, she just wanted it all to end.

Not another word was said as the two senior ponies left the house and went outside to work, Applebloom, sure they were out of hearing, plunked to the floor and sobbed, years now gushing down her face like her splinters the day before, she had to get out, she couldn't take any more of this.

Inflation

The remainder of the day was, outside of the Apple Compound, uneventful and rather predictable, Rarity got her work done in time and of course, “pushed herself to excellence”, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle were unable to get their directing cutie marks, but they did managed to rack up an IOU with a camera vendor, piss off a few passerbys as Scootaloo swished by them at dangerous speeds on her scooter, and Sweetie Belle had grown irritated with Scootaloo's opaque attempts to derail her from dressmaking, regardless, they all now were en route to Sugar Cube corner to have a pleasant evening.

Rarity was first of the family to arrive, automatically stirring conversation as soon as she eyed Twilight, Rainbow, and Fluttershy; Pinkie was bustling and blabbering in the kitchen.

“Oh Rarity! We were just talking about you!” Twilight clapped her hooves excitedly, “So, your order is complete I would assume?”

Rarity sat down with the girls and took a sip of coffee that was waiting for her, “Ah yes, yes I did, call me cliché but I really think I've outdone myself with this line, no matter what the season, regardless of the setting it looks simply stunning!”

“I saw it, it's very beautiful Rarity” said Fluttershy humbly.

“Why thank you Shy I appreciate it, here's to hoping the client appreciates it as well, NDA so I can't quite tell who it is—but I can tell you, very top notch Canterlot types,” She was beaming now, obviously proud of herself.

“That's great Rarity!” Twilight said with genuine excitement for her friend, “As for me its been the usual, Spike has been off to Canterlot for a few days so it's been just me studying away.” She laughed some, more at herself than anything.

“Yeah well you know--” Rainbow began, posturing in a relaxed, chill manner, “keepin' the skies clear around here isn't a foal's job, kinda light though so I've had time to sleep.”

“Huh, I am jealous Rainbow, sleep is something I could really go for” Rarity sighed, “But I did promise to the girls that they would be treated for good behavior so—Here I am.”
“Oh, how are they by the way?” Twilight asked,

“The girls?” Rarity asked.

“Yes, it's been...what two weeks now since you've had Scootaloo?”

“Ah, I think a month now actually, it has gone quickly though-- It's been a rough start but we're beginning to adjust to each other, she's actually a very, very sweet filly once she opens up, her tomcolt attitude gives way to this gentle, loving little filly, Sweetie Belle has certainly grown close to her, we've learned a lot about her, good things of course.”

“Wow, really? I never figured,” Twilight was intrigued somewhat, she had, as the other girls had, seen Scoots as a 24/7 daredevil stunt junkie who wanted nothing less the speed, style, and awesomeness.

“Neither did I, it actually came about in a rather rude way, she had a terrible nightmare the night before and Sweetie Belle had gotten up to care for her, she'd been doing this for quite some time, I finally decided it was time that Scootaloo learned to trust somepony else, might as well be me all things considered. It went well.”

“Ooh, poor thing,” Fluttershy cooed, “hat was the nightmare about?”

“Actually--” Rarity turned to Rainbow Dash who looked up from her cupcake, “It was about you.”

Rainbow snorted, the idea of Scootaloo having a negative thought about her was certainly new, but welcome, while she hadn't seen the “kiddo” in some time, she really didn't want her be her starfish again. “Strange, what did I do?”

“Well--” she glanced around making sure he subject wasn't there, she may had been okay talking to Rarity but even that took some work, she would be mortified if she found out her idol knew anything about it, “you attacked her, beat her up and sent her plummeting to her death into the Everfree”

“Yikes, kinda morbid don't ya think? Rainbow was somewhat shocked by the fillys vivid and dark imagination.

“It's like stress induced, they've been getting curious about Applebloom, they were talking about her this morning—any word from Apple Jack?”

“I'm afraid not,” Twilight said after a slight pause, she had been actively listening up until now, “Now that you mention it I've been getting a little worried myself, I was this close to heading down with Spike and checking on them last night, I figured I shouldn't—It isn't my place.”

“Darling, I understand but it has been nearly a month! I get that they are upset but you can only hide like that for so long before something is very wrong.” Rarity flinched some as she noticed a white unicorn filly and an orange pegasus filly were looking up at her, their faces didn't show they quite understood or contextualized what she said, so she quickly derailed, “Oh well hello girls, so--” She noticed their flat expressions, “No cutie mark?”

“Nope.” Scootaloo grumbled as she hopped into the booth next to Rarity, Sweetie Belle squeezing in between, “I just couldn't land any jumps, of all the days for my scooter to suck, this was it.”

“It would have been way more fun if I actually got to do something!” Sweetie Belle hissed, “I'm pretty sure there isn't a cutie mark for getting yelled at, sitting with a camera for three hours, or getting my tail run over.” A pouting look came about.

“Now girls, at least you're in one piece, and from what I understand the camera was able to be replaced so, you did very good, I'm very proud of you both.”

The fillies, who had once again forgotten why they were here, suddenly had a shot of glee and warmth when they remembered their treat, “YAY!” The fillies rejoiced, zipping to the counter and eying confections that made their moths water. As Rarity managed her filies, Twilight turned to Fluttershy,

“I guess Rarity is right, there comes a point where you need to talk about things—you think we should at least check on them?”

“I-I don't know Twilight,” the cream-colored pegasus said meekly, “I just think maybe just a little mote time--”

“Oh stop it!” Rainbow was practically yelling, “We've given them plenty of time, when we were in a rotten mood they sure didn't wait, what they hay makes them so special?” Twilight could be seen signaling Rainbow Dash to calm down so the fillies wouldn't hear her, Rainbow continued anyway. “When somepony kicked the bucket in Cloudsdale, yeah it was sad, we had a funeral, Rainbow ceremony, the whole bit; but you know what? Next day we were over it, done, no time for crying when there's work that needs to be done!” She slammed her hooves on the table for emphasis. Fluttershy had practically melted under the table at this point Twilight had hear head in her hooves, a tinge of red on her cheeks as she knew that Rainbow was clearly missing her objections and was about to cause a stir. Rarity shot a dirty glare Rainbow's way as Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle had the misfortune of hearing every part of Dash's tirade, and were once again reminded of their absent friend.

“You think she's okay sis?” Sweetie Belle asked softly, Scootaloo kept her head low, not wanting to project vulnerability anywhere near her idol or anypony else, though a strong urge was there to run into Rarity's hooves and cry, it made her very uncomfortable and Rarity could see it.

“I know she is Sweetie—you too Scoots, she is fine, we'll talk later alright?” Her tone returned to it's positive curve, trying to cheer them up as much as she could, “in the meantime, why don't we enjoy this lovely--” She noticed the two contrasting deserts: Sweetie Belle chose a simple brownie with fudge and a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whereas Scootaloo went overboard with a gargantuan brownie volcano with all sorts of condiments ranging from liquid sugar to butterscotch, a good assortment of ice cream topped this mountain of chocolate with cherry, vanilla, cookie dough, and mint, and of course, to top it all off, a peanut butter cup sat on top. Rarity was sure as hell incapable of downing such a monster, how the little speedster expected to do so was beyond her rational train of thought.

“--er Scootaloo? Don't you think this is a bit—excessive? You don't want to get sick do you?”

Somewhat frustrated with her mother's perceived lack of confidence, Scootaloo glared up at her, “what do you mean excessive? I played hard today Rarity, I think I can handle it.” Rarity knew she wasn't backing down and didn't want to upset her to the point of reverting to thinking of Applebloom, so to save the moment she caved and simply paid Ms Cake and returned to the table, helping Scootaloo move her gargantuan feast of fun to the table.
“Oh my...” Fluttershy had seen no other pony sans Pinkie Pie attempt to consume such a feast.

Twilight lost it at the sight as Scootaloo plopped down in her spot, a look of abject determination on her face,

“Careful now Scootaloo, Spike once thought he could eat all the ice cream he wanted and paid the price.” She snickered slightly.

“Yeah squirt,” Rainbow Dash was on the verge of a serious laughing fit just at the sight of her number one fan, who was barely bigger than the prize before her, going down in a blaze of tummy aches and vomit, “Maybe I should give you a head start,” she reached for a spoon and went for the top pile of ice cream when a little orange hoof smacked it away.

“Ugh!” A very irritated Scootaloo pouted, “I'm a big pony I can handle this by myself!” Her forehooves were crossed over her chest as she scowled at her idol.

“Alright alright, easy pipsqueak--” she had to let out a chuckle, this was priceless, “good luck.”

An hour had passed now, Sweetie Belle had long finished her ice cream, Fluttershy had left to tend to her Angel Bunny; all that remained was Twilight, Rainbow, Ratify and the girls—and Scootaloo's partially demolished chocolate monstrosity; and while she did manage to eat a good deal of it, surprising even Rainbow herself, she was at the point now where this had grown into more of a punishment than a reward. Scootaloo's gut bloated as large as her small body would permit, it growled and rumbled, not from hunger, but from processing an ungodly amount of sweets in one go. She groaned in misery, slumping into her seat to try to set her stomach in just the right way where she wouldn't feel her new-found gut.

Rainbow Dash was loving this way too much, “Come on chubby wubby,” she cooed mischievously, “you're a big pony right? Well big ponies finish ALL of their ice cream,” she was now poking the filly's tummy, much to Scootaloo's irritation, “every—last—bite” she made sure to jab her stomach just a bit rougher with that last word, this was too much for Scoots, it was now down to the size of at least two of Sweetie Belle's treats combined, good enough for the average pony, hell for her.

“I'm afraid she's right Scootaloo,” Rarity lectured, “perhaps now maybe you will realize that sometimes your eyes are bigger than your stomach.” She looked at the slumped, bloated, and defeated filly who lay across from her, the filly was humiliated, her idol was teasing her, she made of fool of herself, and she clearly owed Rarity an apology for being some crass earlier. She then did something she never would've conceived before now, especially in public, she slugged across the booth seat over to Rarity's lap and curled into her hooves, she wrapped her in a semi hug and started crying.

“I'm sorry Rarity” She said between sniffles, “I shoud've listened to you! I'm such an idiot!”

While Scootaloo's disposition was rather cute, with the added weight and all, the plump little orange ball was now matting her coat with tears of shame, embarrassment, and rejection. Rarity scooped her in her hooves and pulled her close, akin to the manner she had done earlier that day, she shoosed the filly softly as she held her, slightly surprised Scootaloo was crumbling and falling apart in front of her idol, to whom anytime before this wore a thick disguise of strong will, bravery, and coolness. Rainbow Dash saw this as a perfect opportunity to attack at the remainder of the ice cream which was now melting rapidly. Sweetie Belle had fallen asleep some time ago and was leaning on Rarity's side, Rarity had to take her home to Mother and Father tonight as they had returned from their stay in Fillydelphia, she knew she couldn't be too late; she looked over at her sister, who was sleeping soundly, and at the expanded fluff of orange cradled in her hooves, now sniffling, sans any audible sobbing.

“Sweetie Belle,” Rarity whispered softly, “time to wake up sis, Mother and Father are waiting.” Sweetie awoke with a sizable yawn and stretch, and hopped down from the booth. Rarity did the same and motioned Scootaloo to climb onto her back, she did not want any whining during the trip and carrying around all that weight and guilt was not going to help any. The flubby filly managed so crawl on, wrapping her hooves softly around her neck and quickly giving into sleep.

“I had a wonderful evening girls,” Rarity turned to her friends who were readying to leave as well, she chuckled, “even if we had a bit of an unexpected incident.”

“Fine by me,” said Twilight with a smile, “You're right Rarity, she is adorable when she's like that.” She gazed, almost in envy of Ratify; sure she had her Spike who had repeated this scene several different times several different ways but it just wasn't the same.

Rainbow Dash was hovering now, looking down at her number one fan, deep in a fit of sleep, the events of the evening summoning a sort of nostalgic appreciation for her reckless days as a filly in Cloudsdale.

“Hehe, well, tell her thanks for the ice cream.“ she laughed before zipping off into the starry sky.

Luna's moon in many respects is far superior than Celstia's sun, if not for the recognition and welcoming by the tired and worn ponies of the daytime, it was very welcome for the occasional late night strolls through town. Sweetie Belle had been dropped off at home and now Rarity and her still sleeping passenger were just now entering the boutique. She carried Scootaloo to her room, slowly shifting her body as such that the filly would plop softly on her bed, she wasn't so successful so some magic was required to ease the transition, as well ass pull the blankets above her.

She looked so peaceful, the moon shining just enough through her expansive window sitting to the right of her bed, enough to illuminate her motionless face, mouth agape only slightly, Scootaloo didn't snore so it was a peaceful sight. Rarity gently kissed her on the forehead,

“Goodnight Scootaloo.”

She knew there would be no response, she stood just a little longer watching her adopted daughter, fast asleep, content in her mind that tomorrow would be another day and that while this would indeed be the butt of jokes for quite some time, the repercussions would be done and over. Satisfied that her day was done and confident that it had gone much better than expected, Rarity herself retired to her own room, cleaned up her workspace some, and went to sleep. It had been a long day, with a tense start, and a calm, beautiful end.

Decisions

A calm and beautiful end to the evening was the farthest thing from Applebloom's mind, her day had been horrible, tiring, endless, boring chores, missing a spot was met with an array of hostile and brutal tirades, “Moma shoulda killed you 'fore you was born!” or “Ya'll are a disgrace! The day you call yerself an Apple is the day I hang mahself fer tha hogs ta eat!” The only positive aspect of today was that aside from the rude awakening in the morning, the physical abuse was absent, they must've figured if they kept beating her too often, she'd get scars, scars would bring questions and that is the lest thing they wanted. The red-maned filly lay in her bed now, watching Luna's moon rise to full brilliance and prominence. She let out a heavy sigh, all day she daydreamed and mused upon what her friends were doing, what of they got their cutie marks and she missed out? What if they went on some really cool adventure with Twilight and the others and she missed that too? Why do my siblings hate me? What did I do?

In her numerous fits of sobbing and bawling, she had come to terms with Granny's death, they didn't tell her but she didn't need them too, she was able to put it together on her own: Granny is old, now granny is gone, Apple Jack and Big Macintosh were real sad, now they're real mad....made sense, didn't make it okay by any means but at least she knew the cause of her misery. She turned over so she was now lying on her stomach, the soft mattress felt good on her tummy which was unusually empty, Apple Jack and Big Mac didn't let her leave even the house to go onto the farm, nor did they feed her, she “didn't deserve the fruits of their labor, bein' the slacker she was.” All of this was truly ridiculous and initially unbelievable, prior to Granny's death, Apple Jack and Big Mac were the best siblings she'd ever known, they loved her infinitely, played with her, encouraged her to go out and be happy as herself, yeah they had their trials and tribulations but they were small, they were short, and they usually taught somepony something about themselves, something to improve, room to grow, not now; now it was the opposite, Applebloom was unwanted, a waste of space, time, and air. For not wanting a damn thing to do with her they sure put in the effort of keeping her there, why? Perhaps they were past the point of letting her go, she would talk if they did, and they would have to likely answer to the Princess, they weren't about to have their hard work torn from them over their whiny little sister.

All theses thoughts kept her awake and the longer she stayed awake, she knew the less sleep she would get, she dreaded waking up, she didn't want to go to sleep, but she didn't want to lay awake musing about misery either, she didn't want to be afraid, she didn't want to be hated. Then it hit her: it's night time, she could sneak out without much of a hassle, she just had to be real sneaky about it, she could find Sweetie Belle or Scootaloo—wherever she was, now that she thought about it, she had never been to Scootaloo's house, or met any of Scootaloo's family, what if she was an orphan? What if she never knew her family? Applebloom figured she's one lucky pegasus then, at least she doesn't have to deal with things like this.

Applebloom had a plan, and she was putting it in action, she really had nothing to loose, but everything to gain, she still felt a small tug of familial loyalty tugging at he conscience, but her stubborn nature ruled the moment and pushed it aside, she crept down the stairs ever so gingerly so as not to wake them, she snuck into the kitchen area, then into the foyer, her hoof was on the knob, freedom was just beyond this wooden slab, she turned it, slowly, then her hoof slipped, suddenly she felt two hooves, much bigger than hers, wrap briskly and forcefully around her waist, within a blink she was flat on her back, Apple Jack looking down at her with bloodshot, angry eyes.

“What the hell do you think yer doin' Applebloom? Thought we told ya ta stay inside—fer yer own good...”

Apple Jack grabbed the filly up by her mane with her teeth and launched her into the kitchen tabled, and all of the glassware on it, Applebloom felt sharp stinging and cold from the air entering these new cuts and splinters. She didn't have much time to react as she was then yanked by the mane again and tossed into a barren side of the foyer, slamming hard into the old, unfinished wood floor, slivers abound her chin and forehooves, just as she came to, loud, fast hooves came behind her and kicked her, she then was in transit from the middle of the room into the staircase, good for her she stuck it flank-first, head first and she likely would have been done for. Her vision was blurred she could see blood streaming down her face, likely from her forehead where she had just been bucked by her sister's renowned, powerful hooves, there was no point in crying now, do or die.

She chose the first option.

Applebloom made a mad dash for the kitchen, finding a fork, she hurled it madly as Applejack charged, it hit with accuracy, airtight into Apple Jack's muzzle, causing her to stumble back slightly, the chase continued quickly though as Applebloom hopped onto the counter and galloped to the other side of the room, Apple Jack, blinded by rage, topped the counter and was right behind her, but unlike Applebloom who had to doge and clear sink fossits, dish racks, and other things, Apple Jack simply smashed through them, she also smashed through the rickety old wall between the kitchen and the foyer as the filly scampered unknowingly into a corner. She was trapped, her sister menacingly inched closer,

“Shouldn't a done that, you're a dead fucker now.”

As Apple Jack inched closer, ready to destroy her own sister, she was met with a hoof to the face, and a respectable one at that, a strong tug on her mane followed and she was on the ground, Applebloom wasn't done yet, she put her karate skills to good use and sent a chair at a reasonable speed into Apple Jack's face as the mare attempted to get up. Apple Jack stumbled and tripped backwards, slamming into a grandfather clock that was recently placed near Granny's chair, she smashed into the glass, Apple Jack then tore out of the clock, not before of course ripping some fur off by shooting through glass, she winced some but was dead set on her target, however, her target was prepared as well. Apple Jack found herself lassoed around the forehooves—tightly, she plopped to the ground struggling violently to get to her back hooves, no use, the filly had the skill, and time to hogtie those as well.

Applebloom hopped onto Apple Jack's stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She stayed put and walked to the point where she was now looking down at her sister who had given up.

Appleblooms struggled to speak at first, fits of sound escaped her sporadically, she was trembling beyond measure, she finally glared down at her sister who lay there with a look of pure hatred.

“A-ah ain't gonna kill ya c-c—cause I love you..” she choked up some but she knew she had to continue, she was the big pony now and she had to teach her sister a lesson, “y'all hurtin' me—it ain't right! It ain't solvin' nothin an—a-and yer a damn fool if ya thought otherwise!” She threw up in her mouth, all the fear, the physical demands all catching up with her now as her emotions were in full swing, “Ah ain't gonna let ya do this Apple Jack, yet n-not gonna hurt me no more!--d-dammit!”

“Fine Applebloom” A defeated Apple Jack growled, “Y'all get, I don't ever wanna see you again, an I don't ever wanna hear from you again, I fucking hate you, so does Big Mac, you ain't never been good for nothin'! All we was doin' was tryin ta help you and y'all try ta kill me instead—fuck you you piece ah sh--”

“ENOUGH!!” Applebloom connected a impressive smash from her hoof into Apple Jack's face, blood and a tooth came sailing clear to the ceiling. Her sister was out, the bruise from the impact was already the size of her eye, Applebloom hurriedly scrambled for the door, leaving it open as she fled as fast as her little hooves would allow, she was covered in blood from her and her sister, she could feel stinging, throbbing pain, coldness both inside and out, she was sweating and panting, wheezing made its way ito her breaths as she kept pushing into town, the tears were flowing freely now, she knew where she needed to go, she wasn't stopping, not now, not ever.

Scootaloo wasn't sure why she had awoken abruptly from her blissful dream of earning her cutie mark jumping her scooter over six ursa majors and having everypony bow to her feet in praise of her awesomeness, really, it was pretty cool—despite that though the dream was escaping her, her subconscious scrambling to retain it—no luck. She groaned some as she remembered what had happened a few hours ago; as all of that flooded her mind again she started to hear the source of her departure from dream land, a faint knocking—no banging—on the front door the boutique. She shrugged, figuring Rarity would get it. She waited, listened, no hoofsteps from the room to her right, no light flooding under the door, and the banging persisted, growing louder it seemed. She finally mustered up the will to at least sit up to hear better, this turned out to be more of an exercise than usual, nature had yet to vacate her swollen belly and she snuggled to sit upright; that took long enough, she got down from bed and trotted out into the hallway.

She wasn't hearing things; somepony, or something was certainly slamming on the door, she thought she could hear words too, but she was too tired to strain her ears, instead she looked one more time to see if Rarity had been jostled from her “beauty sleep”, it appeared not. Either she had cotton in her ears or was doing an amazing job ignoring the persistent pounding. Scootaloo grumbled something and made her way downstairs towards the door. Much to her surprise, Opalescence wasn't in Rarity's room, instead it stood diagonal to the door, back arched, fur frayed, and hissing violently as it anticipated this unwelcome guest. The cat stopped at the sight of Scootaloo approaching the door, now watching as if it were a show.

Scootaloo was terrified by what she saw rush intro the house. Applebloom was—almost unrecognizable. Her signature bow was gone, her mane was tattered and the front portion that normally hung over her face had obvious signs of bite marks, blood was still trickling down her face, bruises both fresh and faded were opaque on her cream colored coat which was matted all around. Before Scootaloo could pose any kind of question, the bleeding earth pony was now pressed into her, in a tight hug, much like she had been earlier in the evening, she was sobbing heavily and wasn't showing any intention of letting go. Scootaloo simply watched in confusion and horror as fresh blood continued to stream down her friend's hooves and now staining her own coat.

“A-Applebloom, what happened!?”

The farm filly continued sobbing frantically for awhile, she didn't bother moving her head, which still was buried in Scootaloo's chest, Scootaloo could feel see this bleeding wasn't going to stop without bandaging, she figured there was only one thing she could do at this point:

“RARITY!” She screamed with all her might, countless times. Her voice cracking at the sheer force behind her hollering would make Sweetie Belle jealous for sure. Finally, her caretaker stumbled to the top of the stairs and stampeded down as soon as she saw Applebloom and her horrific state.

“Applebloom, what in Equestria—!” Rarity shrieked as she snatched the filly and whisked her into the washroom, Scootaloo was quick to follow.

Applebloom relayed her awful story as Rarity cleaned and bandaged her wounds, Applebloom didn't move, she didn't even flinch, not even when Rarity had to sew a gash shut with just a needle and spare thread, it was primitive but with a bandage over it, it would have to do until she could get her to the hospital. By this point Applebloom had calmed some, tears still flowing down her face as the pain was still fresh; Scootaloo sat in the doorway watching and listening, cursing herself inside for not following her instincts and checking on her when she was with Sweetie Belle, maybe they could have prevented this.

Rarity was overwhelmed, between the sight of blood and trauma, let alone having to address it first hand, coupled with the graphic and vulgar descriptions from Applebloom of her these last few days, she was close to fainting.

“I—I am so sorry Applebloom” Is all she could manage, “If we knew—We--” Applebloom placed a hoof on her muzzle,

“No sense in thinkin' like that Rare, Ahm okay now—I guess. Ahm still scared though, what if they find me?”

“That isn't going to happen.” Rarity said sternly, “You are going to stay here for the night, you will be safe—I promise.” She turned to Scootaloo who was staring at her friend “Scootaloo, please, I need you to go get Twilight for me.” Scootaloo shook her head to pull her from her fixed gaze and looked at Rarity for a second, as if that would help her in recalling what she just said,

“Scootaloo,” Rarity was irritated now, “Hurry, go get Twilight I said!”

Without another word the orange filly scampered out of the boutique and through the empty streets of Ponyville, it was still in the thick of the night and Luna's moon was very bright, almost lighting the streets completely. Finally she found Twilight's tree-house and knocked on the door. A few seconds later, Spike answered.

“Scootaloo?” He said wearily, obviously he was stirred from bed like she was, “What are you doing here? Isn't it a bit la--”

“I don't have time to chat Spike!” Scootaloo startled Spike a bit by the volume of her voice, “Applebloom is really hurt and we need Twilight to come to the boutique now!” Before Spike could turn around to fetch his friend, Twilight had already shoved past him and was galloping to the boutique, Scootaloo in tow.

Twilight was sitting with Rarity on one of her “fainting sofas” which was located in the parlor room of the boutique, Applebloom was lying comfortably on an adjacent sofa, Scootaloo had gone to bed, satisfied that her friend would be in good hooves, and was also very tired from the other series of draining events that came to define today. Applebloom was still awake, passively listening to the older mares converse, her injuries weren't too critical, or damaging but they sure were pronounced, though most of the bruises had either disappeared of faded to near transparency, the cuts and gashes were still covered with bandages, and it would take some time for the stitched one to fully heal. What bothered the filly the most, and arguably, what still caused an aching feeling through her whole being what that her sister had done this to her; Applejack, the pony she trusted, loved, and coveted ad an example of honesty, work ethic, and morality, all of this now smeared and strained, the very fabric of what she considered reality was falling apart as questions continued to unearth contradictions. Her body was comforted and at ease but her mind was miles away.

“...I should have listened to Rainbow Dash,” Twilight sighed, while she knew very well that hindsight was always 20/20 and really, would anyone had suspected, even in the extremes realms of speculation and conspiracy that the two most respected workers in Ponyville, whose family had provided for this community since its inception were even capable of conceiving, let alone executing such acts of verbal and physical abuse on such a trusting, impressionable filly?

“What could we have done Twilight?” Rarity had every intention of moving out of this phase of 'what ifs' and pitying as soon as possible, if she were sucked into that mode, they'd be there for weeks;

“I—You're right, you are absolutely right. I guess we have to just be thankful it wasn't any worse...” She trailed off as she looked over at Applebloom who seem uninterested in what they were saying, the filly let out a yawn and curled up into a ball, hoping sleep would soon come her way. Both mares were silent, Twilight fidgeting some as she distracted herself with the odd figures that the lighting of the moon and the shadows it inspired made on the various ornamental pieces that defined this room. With this a thought cane to her: it wouldn't be long before AJ and Big Mac came looking for her, nopony else other then herself, Scootaloo, Rarity and Spike knew anything of this and she was certain the farm mare had every intention of keeping it that way, no matter what the cost.

“She isn't safe here.” Twilight stated dryly.

Rarity was somewhat caught off guard, “What do you mean Twilight? I am perfectly capable of taking care of he--”

“Are you perfectly capable of staving off Applejack and Big Mac? She is lucky she only faced one of them, and look at what happened! I mean no offense Rarity but—I mean, I can cast a force field spell around my home, she'll be much safer there.”

Twilight paused some, trying to think of a way to sugarcoat this back-handed assessment,

“You already have Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle, with how busy you are the last thing you need is another mouth to feed, and all the emotional attention she is going to require.”

Rarity simply nodded in understanding, verbally admitting her friend was right was out of the question but she wasn't about to push back, at least, not this time however she did have one point to throw in,

“You mentioned emotional requirements—where I am deficient in practical magic you are most certainly inferior in—dealing with such things delicately, how do you intend to deal with, you know, questions? Hard moral questions? Night terrors? I mean this kid had a near death experience at the hooves of somepony she loved! This simply isn't just going to wash over overnight, this is going to scar her for life!”

Twilight had never considered that angle until now, she knew she was more than capable of combating the surface implications, the injuries, and caring for her provisional needs but her friend had a point, she wasn't the best when it came to dealing with deep, personal afflictions—if anyone knew this it was Spike, cold calculated logistical abstracts were not really the perfect remedy for a heartbroken dragon looking for a soft shoulder to cry on.

“Fluttershy could help I'm sure...we really don't have much of a choice and right now if we expect to keep her out of harms way I'm afraid that addressing emotional baggage is going to have to wait awhile, give us enough time to get her away from this.”

Rarity simply nodded and excused herself to her room, it had been a ridiculous turn of events and she about had it with everypony and everything; between the sickness incurred witnessing and tending to Applebloom, to the heaps of stress and worry that Scootaloo created, it was enough to make anypony go mad. Twilight turned to Applebloom who still seemed either oblivious to the mare's conversation or in not much of a mood to talk, she raised her head as Twilight came to her,

“Applebloom, how about you come stay with me and Spike for a few days? I'll be able to maintain a force field around my house so nopony can hurt you—not that Rarity wouldn't do her best—I'm sure you understand.” She smiled, hoping that the filly would at least come along without hassle, and she did.

The two made their way silently out of the boutique and into the thoroughfare of Ponyville towards Twilight's residence. Once inside, Twilight hollered for Spike to prepare cocoa and cookies for the filly. In the meantime, Applebloom, watching the magical force-field take form outside, went to where Twilight was studying; initially she simply sat on her haunches and watched quietly, not focusing on anything in particular, but watching nonetheless. After some time she spoke, her normal voice intact:

“Twi?, Why do ya think she did that ta me?” Applebloom shot her head down and was fidgeting, she wanted to ask but, it felt wrong for some odd reason.

Twilight took some time to process how to answer something like this, one false word and the filly's life could plunge further into despair and confusion. She trotted to where the filly sat and sat next to her, she put a comforting hoof around her which immediately cued Applebloom so snuggle up next to her. The big, beady eyes of the filly prompted Twilight to speak:

“Well—I don't know Applebloom....I know deep down, if not now, then eventually, she will feel terrible for what she did—she loves you Applebloom, it's just not a good time right now.”

She paused for a second, disappointed by her loss of balance on the tightrope of cautious counseling.

“When ponies go through hard times—or are in a desperate situation, they do things they later regret. They aren't thinking clearly.”

“Ya think she woulda really killed me?” The filly stammered a bit.

Twilight was taken aback somewhat, Applebloom was obviously very displaced by the whole thing, and while the purple unicorn was unsure of whether her friend was capable of coldly killing her sister, it didn't happen so, it wouldn't have.

“No.”

Applebloom was quiet now, seemingly satisfied with those answers, she scooted closer so now she was wrapped in Twilight's hoof and pressed into her soft fur, it was warm and comfortable, especially on the wounds there which itched excessively. Spike, who had been eavesdropping, figured now would be a good time to bring out the snacks. He did so and the three of them ate in silence, Applebloom never leaving Twilight's side. When they finally retired to bed—it was dawn by this time—Applebloom insisted on sleeping with Twilight, and while it was a slightly awkward fit, Twilight's bed being small enough just to suit her, they managed to make it work.

The Dragon's Den

Sweetie Belle was never one to look forward to school, save the time she was able to spend with her fellow crusaders, she trotted, saddlebag slung on her side as she made her way to Ponyville's schoolhouse. As the unicorn ascended a small hill, the school and its occupants revealed itself: she could see the usual cast of characters, Diamond Tiara, Snips and Snails, Scootaloo—still no Applebloom. Sweetie had grown used to Applebloom being gone but it still summoned a slight knot in her stomach, she wondered where she was, and why she wasn't around. She made her way to Scootaloo who sat in front of the fence-line just shy of the school's entrance, she seemed oddly downtrodden looking at her hooves that were dumbly pawing the grass below, something was certainly on her mind.

“Hey Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle began as she sat next to her friend, “what's the matter?”

Scootaloo was quiet for a moment, she looked up at Sweetie, and then wheeled around to do a scan of their surroundings. After a few minutes she signed, turned to face Sweetie again.

“Can we go over there and talk?” Scootaloo said quietly, gesturing a hoof to an enclave in between some high shrubbery behind the school, nice and private. “It's—was a rough night last night.”

Sweetie immediately followed her friend, a concerned look on her face. She had seen Scootaloo upset, and was pretty much considered a motherly figure in the regard that Scoots would confide and seek guidance and comfort from only her, even as the pegasus was comfortable with Rarity, it just wasn't the same. Besides, this news affected Sweetie Belle just as much as it did her, and frankly, the last thing she needed was Diamond Tiara making noise about it.

They climbed under the shrubs and into the small but secluded clearing, litter and love notes, as well as a recently discarded beer bottle were found up against the cement foundation of the schoolhouse. Scootaloo was silent initially, Sweetie realized she had to coax this out of her.

“What's wrong Scootaloo?” Sweetie asked, head cocked and face set in a concerned fashion.

The feathered filly opened her mouth to speak but retracted the effort. She was trembling some now, subtly but noticeable. Sweetie instinctively scooped her into a hug, Scootaloo had grown tired of being a sobby little cry baby, and indeed she kept that impulsion in check, she did let out a few sniffles though as the emotions crept up.

“Applebloom is really hurt.” Scootaloo began, voice normal, albeit a bit less raspy. “She came to the boutique late last night and----it was awful, she had bruises amd cuts and was—very hurt.”

Sweetie Belle tensed up some and was shaking herself, her voice cracked and shook,

“I—is she okay?”

“Yeah—well – kinda” Scootaloo continued, pulling from Sweetie's embrace and staring at her friend.

“She's with Twilight now, Rarity told me she has a force field around her house so AppleJack or Big Mac can't get her.”

Sweetie was still a bit confused. “Wait—her own brother and sister did that to her? Why?!” That last one was a bit louder then she intended, she darted a look around to make sure nopony heard her. Contempt nopony did, she listened further.

“Applebloom said they were being mean to her after their grandma died—Granny Smith—they were calling her names and being bullies. She tried to leave the house and Apple Jack attacked her and I guess threatened to kill her if she tried to leave.”

Sweetie Belle's mouth fell agape, her memories of AppleJack were scarce, her older sister wasn't too fond of her etiquette, and she spoke with a funny accent like Applebloom. One memory that stuck out though and played in her head as she put the story together was the Sisterhooves Social only a few months ago: Sweetie and Rarity had been feuding, Sweetie felt her sister didn't love her. Applebloom had suggested they participate in the Social, Sweetie refused until finally realizing that, through seeing how AJ and Applebloom worked together and got along, all sisters have their moments of disagreement and disappointment. She had a grand time, especially when she learned Rarity violated ever dictate of her code of conduct just to have fun with her and see her happy. The same AppleJack that encouraged Sweetie and her own sister to make amends and learn to love one another despite their contrasts and conflicts was now responsible for imprisoning and attempting to murder her own baby sister? It hurt her head thinking about it.

Scootaloo only watched her friend enter the same state of disbelief as she did the night before.

“Can we go see her after school?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“I don't see why not.” Scootaloo said, “Your sister is super-busy again so she wants me to be out and about anyway.”

Sweetie Belle chuckled some, she knew exactly how that conversation went, word for word. Her smile faded again though as her mind traveled back to the present. The school bell and the faint hollering of Cheerilee jarred them from their peaceful acquaintance and drew them into the schoolhouse.

Meanwhile on the other side of town, Spike was finishing the dusting of the first floor of the Ponyville Library. Applebloom had busied herself with a book about zebras and witchcraft, Twilight had gone to fetch some food and playthings for her temporary guest. Spike finally climbed down the ladder and put away his cleaning tools, he then proceeded to sit on the stairs leading to their bedroom and longingly looked at the red-maned filly in the center of the room. Spike had come to admire the fame-filly after quiet a few adventures together, and while he didn't think of her liked he did Rarity, it was certainly close. He got up and went to the kitchen, opening the refrigerator to see what was inside. It had been a long day already, he decided to relax with what appears to be a petite bottle of juice, Unknown to him, this was actually an alcoholic beverage. Twilight had meant to return them to Rarity who was kind enough to give her some for her recent studies which had been anything but relaxing, also, Rainbow had suggested that she “lighten up” if she was expected to be taken seriously—at least by her. Spike chugged the entire drink and discarded the bottle in the trash, he then went to the basement to do some much needed organizing. After awhile he began to feel a little heavy in the head. As he finished his duties he came across a picture of the mane six, smiling and happy—it must've been some time ago. He focused on Rarity—she never payed attention to him like he wanted—Twilight always treated him like a child—he wasn't a baby, he was s dragon some pony out there loves him, he just has to get them to say it, A small thought entered his mind, why was he thinking about this right now and why did it seem....so painful? He put the picture down and a wicked smile crept on his face . Applebloom likes him—she just doesn't know how to say it. Spike mused about the filly, his memories of her simply trotting around town were transformed and amplified in his intoxicated mind, resembling more of a slow motion scene from a romance film, all the light in the world shined on the filly's cream coat, she glowed, her mane, her bow, everything was so amazing about her. She was a goddess in Spikes mind, they were alone now, it was time to make his dreams come true.

Applebloom had put the book away and was now examining the kitchen herself, her stomach growled, Twilight was supposed to have come back some time ago and have Spike make sandwiches. She grumbled, where was that dragon anyway? Her question was answered as his voice slowly swept from the other side of the house,

“Applebloom?” he said in a sing-song voice. “pssssssst! Come here, I want to show you something really neat I found!”

“Ahm hopin' its food.” Applebloom said dryly as she trotted in the direction of his voice, she was excited though as any filly, something neat, in a room she'd never been in before. She finally saw the door to the basement open, a purple clawed hand beckoning her to come. She made her way to and down the stairs. Spike had gone already was was waiting for her near a messy pile of books and picture frames, a sincere smile on his face now.

“Hiya Spike, ah was lookin' fer ya—what'd ya find?” The filly was slightly nervous for some reason. The room seemed dimly lit and the dragon seemed awfully happy. She shook it off and trotted next to him.

“There.” Spike pointed toward the pile of books, behind it was blackness, whether this was a room or just a poorly lit part of the wall she couldn't tell. She initially skimmed the books and then looked back at Spike somewhat confused.

“Ah see some books—and that's it.”

“Look closer, at the wall” Spike mused.

“Why don't ya get a flashlight? It's awful dark over here and ah can't see that well.” The filly strained her eyes and bent forward some to look closely at the way, she squealed as the suddenly was pinned to the wall and a dragon had started kissing her.

“Hey!” Apple Boom was startled and stumbled on her words, “S-stop it Spike!”

The dragon didn't listen, he had his arms around the filly as he looked at her longingly.

“Don't you love me Applebloom you beautiful, beautiful girl?” The dragon crawled onto her back and was stroking her with his claws. The filly winced and tried to buck him off, she didn't want this, not at all. The dragon then dug one of his claws into her side, a slight hint of anger and annoyance crept into his voice, his hot, smelly breath emminated a smell all too familiar to the filly, it reminded her of her sister on that horrible night, though she was frozen this time, confused, scared, but feeling completely helpless. She flinched as the dragon's sick paw stroked her flank and tail.

“You really need to be a good girl Applebloom, you can be naughty all you like but—but--” the drunk, scaly pervert found it hard to string words together at this point, “you need to be a good girl too.” he kissed her on the cheek, tears were starting to form on the filly's face. She did nothing as the dragon hopped down from his previous perch and he now forced the filly down own her back, she was shaking now, crying, somepony else she trusted was going to hurt her, she wasn't sure how, all she knew is she didn't want this, she wanted him to snap out of it and go away.

Spike crawled onto her stomach, he didn't do what his frantic instinctual impulses demanded he do, he figured his goddess would panic and escape, he didn't want that. Instead, her simply lie on top of her face to face, kissing her again, this time forcing one on her mouth, she turned her head and tried to avoid him but his claws pulled her back towards him.

“Please Spike! Stop! I don--” her muzzle was silenced as a paw went over her face,

“Shhhh,” said the dragon, “you do want this, and I want you, and now I'm going to show you how much I love you—you beautiful girl.”

Applebloom was scared, but she had a thought—she was bigger than he was, she could most certainly put this punk our of her misery and that's just what she was about to do, she just had to wait. As the dragon slid to where he was sitting on her tail, she went for it. Both of he back hooves knocked the dragon clear into the wall with a loud slam. She scampered up, still shaking madly, not wasting any time she bolted up the stairs. She slammed the door shut and looked for a way to block it shut, she managed to find a few chairs and pushed them in such a way that the handle of the door would not move. She ran for the door leading outside, just as the was to open it, it flew open, knocking her on her haunches.

“Oh my gosh Applebloom I'm so sorry!” Twilight gasped as she dropped her bags and went to the injured filly, she noticed some claw marks, the way this filly clung to her and was sobbing uncontrollably couldn't be from the door alone.

“P-pla-please Twilight! Don't let him out!--don't let him out!” The filly pleaded as she wrapped tightly around Twilight.

“Wh-what do you mean Applebloom? What are you talking about?” Twilight began to panic...was it a monster? A thief? What in Equestria was going on? Instinctively, she called for her assistant.

“Spike?--Spike!” she hollered, just then the trembling hooves shook even more and an ear piercing wail came from behind her.

“NO TWILIGHT P-LEASE NO!” Applebloom was screaming now, she was growing ill, she vomited in her mouth some, she was horrified, violated, and scared for her life.

“Applebloom!” Twilight was certainly scared now, She cradled the filly in her hooves, “What happened? What's wrong? What did--” the thought hit her—Spike did something, she wasn't sure what but she knew that at least. A lump formed in her throat, whatever her did, it was awful. “What did he do to you?”

“He--” the filly stammered between hysterical fits, “Ah—Ah don' know!”

She piece by piece, as her state of mind would allow, recited the events, her naivety was clear in her description of it all and for that Twilight was relieved, had she known his intentions, this likely would have been much worse, however, an unfathomable wash of rage took hold in the unicorn, she gently put the filly back down.

“Wait out here.” Twilight said coldly, “I'll deal with him.”

Applebloom watched as the door shut. Through her hazy vision she could see the semi-transparent pink tint of the force-field that sat just in front of the mailbox, it's massive dome shape arched high above the tree-house. She plopped down onto her stomach and buried her face into her hooves and cried. She felt used, useless, and a myriad of other horrid things, why was everypony trying to hurt her? Who would it be next? Her friends? She didn't want to know.

Twilight used her magic to simply incinerate the chairs and door that stood between her and a dragon that was about to have his ass handed. She found her assistant, passed out against a wall in the basement. She could see clearly where it all went down, she was sick, literally ill as Applebloom's descriptions now played out in a sadistic, horrific vision that seemed to appear as if a holographic recording was being presented. She marched toward the dragon, grabbed his tail with her mouth and dragged it up the stairs and into the main room.

This dragon was about to have a very rude awakening.

Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle made their way out of the schoolhouse and towards Twilight's Library. They noticed the force-field, and then they noticed their friend, face still covered and heaving sine vomit could be seem as well. They rushed to wards the giant bubble and stared shocked for a moment before Scootaloo attempted to penetrate the wall, only to be zapped and thrown back like a rag doll.

“Ow!” the pegasus groaned. It got Applebloom's attention. She shot up and looked at her friends, bags under her eyes which were bloodshot and shown the look of pain and betrayal. It was Sweetie Belle's turn to take a trip backwards as she tried to push inside. She then used her limited skill of magic, and while it started a small fire she had to stamp out, it did nothing else.

“Applebloom!” Scootaloo shouted, thinking that this wall was a sound barrier as well. “How do we get in?!”

“AH—don't know girls. AH don't know, Ah don't know--” her voice trailed off, she felt guilty for some reason, she wanted to see them so badly, she wanted a hug, but even she didn't have the means to go through the force-field and so she sat as close to the perimeter as she could, her friends did as well.

“Spike attacked me.” Applebloom mumbled as new tears manifested, “He had the same awful breath AppleJack did an—he tried to hurt me, he was kissin' me and being all weird—AH asked him to stop and--” she stopped, the lump in her throat prohibiting any more from being said.

Sweetie Belle was unaware of what she was hearing but Scootaloo knew very well what the dragon did to her, she was furious and apparently had forgotten about the force-field.

“That son-of-a-bitch!” Scootaloo screamed as she was sent backwards again, “The minute I get my hooves on that stupid dragon he is DEAD!”

“Twilight told me to stay out here.” Applebloom continued, “Ahm tired of being--” she choked up as her friends looked pityingly at her, at a loss as of what to do. “Ah want someone who—won't hurt me.” she whisped, head sunk low, ears flat. She put her hoof to the bubble, it wasn't rejected. The other filly did the same and were shocked to find that worked for them too, they couldn't go through but they could touch it as if it were a glass pane. Silence ruled for very long time.

Spike was suddenly awakens by a cold splash of water, the alcohol out of him now (much to Twilight's further dismay as she cleaned it up) he had no memory of what had happened. Twilight did though, and he was going to know it.

“So you're awake huh?” Sneered Twilight, a look of disgust on her face. “Of all the things I thought you would do this, this wasn't it!” Twilight was fuming, Spike knew this was serious.

“What did I--” was all he could let out before a powerful hoof clocked him in the jaw, sending him on his back.

“You sick piece of shit! I-I can't believe you would be so brazen as to try to take advantage of her like that! She's a filly you monster!” An aura of purple surrounded the dragon and he was sent sailing into a shelf of books. Blood now started to trickle down over his eyes, pain was everywhere, he tried to open his mouth but couldn't, somehow Twilight cast a spell to make him unable to use it, he knew how, but for some reason the commands from his brain to speak misfired and produced nothing. He looked up at his mentor, the same look of hared in her eyes.

“You are going to pay for this Spike, I swear to Luna you will pay for what you did to her.” She turned around and bucked him in the gut, knocking the wind out of him and cracking some of his back spines, some splinters from the shelf pushed into his skin as well, his eyed widened in pain. He still had no idea who she was talking about until it hit him, the one memory he did have prior to blacking out. He was scared now, he knew exactly who she was talking about. He wanted to tell her he had no idea, he would have never done it, he drank something funny and he couldn't remember a thing shortly after, it was all a big mistake, he felt awful but again, he was unable to speak. If Twilight kept this up he would certainly be crippled, if not dead, there was one thing he could still do, his fire breath was still operable, when Twilight charged at him again he frantically sent a distress signal, a specially encoded magical message that only Canterlot royally could decode and detect. He sent it to the princess. He was now on the other side of the Library, a magical ascent, followed by another buck sent him there, her was in serious pain, unable to move. He was facing the wall and frankly, he was fine with that, the less he needed to see the hare in her eyes, the less painful this would be. As he braced for another attack, a bright light overwhelmed his sense and a booming voice brought a splash of relief.

“Twilight Sparkle!” Princess Celestia boomed. She was clearly upset and had seen most of this assault.

“Princess! Spike--” Twilight was desperate to have this dragon banished.

“Silence!” Demanded the Princess, “You have violated one of the most sacred rules as my student--”

“Princess! You have to listen to me please! Spike--” Twilight was scared by her lack of usual warmth and patience.

“Enough!” The princess was clearly angry now. “One more outburst and I will subject you to a less than linnet punishment. Your treatment of Spike is unacceptable, I don't know what has gotten into you but I will not have one of Equestria's dragons being abused like this!”

The Princess paused, anticipating a frantic response, Twilight had given up however, head low and ears flat.

“Now please, explain your reasoning for such malevolence.” The Princess attempted to calm herself some.

“Your highness—Spike has done a very horrible thing, he took advantage of a filly and attempted to have his way with her. I wasn't simply going to let him do that!”

“Did you witness the act?”

“No Princess, I was away at the--”

“Until I have sufficient proof that such an act occurred, I am not going to pass judgment. I trust you Twilight but I cannot persecute this dragon based on hearsay, that is unjust and immoral--”

“She's outside! I can go get her ri—”

“Twilight.” The princess patience was waring thin. “Spike is a baby dragon, he is the equivalent of a filly in our species, I doubt he would do any such thing. You read into things far too much”

“But--”

“I will address this some other time, for the time being I am taking Spike with me. I have a very important meeting to attend and so I must go now.” The princess enveloped Spike in an aura and levitated him above her head. “This is not how we treat of fellow ponies, or dragons. If somepony has done an act of immorally, you do not respond with an immoral act yourself. “

With that, the princess once again dissipated in a brilliant display of light, Spike went along with her.

Twilight sad on her haunches, silent. She stared blankly into space, her thoughts racing now. Spike had done something awful, was she to blame? Where did she go wrong in raising the dragon to encourage such rancid thoughts? Spike. The dragon she hatched, promised to care for and protect. She never envisioned the day where her endgame would be to end the very life she brought into the world, she was her child in a way—her baby—Applebloom. She snapped from her barrage of “what ifs” and remembered that Applebloom was still outside/ She scurried out the door to find Applebloom sitting, staring down at her hooves. On the opposite side of the force-field were the other two crusaders. Bored. Scootaloo lay on he back, hooves behind her head and staring up into the sky, Sweetie Belle lay on her tummy, a bored look on her face, a small grove in the ground indicated she had been pacing—no—scooting back and forth for mote than awhile.

Twilight knew as soon as she parted the field, the crusaders would smother her endlessly, she took some time to walk up to Applebloom who was startled by her sudden company. Twilight placed a soft hood of the filly's shoulder, tears escaping the unicorn's eyes,

“Applebloom--” her voice trailed off and she found it hard to speak, “I—I'm so sorry. That should have never happened.--I failed—I failed you.”

Applebloom simply looked up at her, a flat look on her face. “It's alright Twi, did ya give him what for an how come?”

Twilight smiled some, she was soldiering through this pretty well. “Yeah, I beat the shi—stuffing out of him.”

Applebloom let out a bit of a chuckle, both their smiles faded though. Applebloom looked over to her friends and back at Twilight. The pleading look in her eyes was enough to know she wanted them to come in. Twilight's horn glowed brilliantly as a small gap parted in the field, enough fro the two fillies to run through, in an instant they had Applebloom trapped in a group hug, Scootaloo being especially embracing.

“Well girls,” Twilight was going to make this a pleasant evening for Applebloom, this filly had been through more than most ponies could handle in a lifetime, “does hot chocolate and cupcakes sound good to you?”

“YEAH!” The three fillies seemed to forget for a moment the travesty that brought them here and they rushed into the tree-house, bouncing in anticipation.

Ministry Of Harmony

Throughout the evening the events of the last few days were discussed, explained, and questioned, however the majority of the time was spent playing board games, mindless fun, and a wide assortment of treats, Needless to say, everypony was in a rather spirited mood. Remarkable considering it all.

Rainbow Dash had now joined them. Rainbow had only intended to quickly check out a book. However, the lure of some relaxed, wholesome fun was too much for her after a very stressful day.

Following the incident with Spike, courtesy also of some much needed explanation and an untold precession of hugs and tissue, Applebloom's altercation with her sister seemed pathetic, still, nopony was willing to leave Applebloom alone or out of sight, the filly had had enough trouble and didn't need anymore. The crusaders were happily playing on the balcony of the tree-house, various books and toys scattered about Twilight's bedroom. The older mares were downstairs in the main room. Rainbow Dash took this as an opportunity to probe Twilight on a promise that everypony but Rainbow Dash had forgotten:

“So...” The Rainbow-maned pegasus began, “Remember that promise you made about those papers I got for ya?”

Twilight glanced over at her bedroom door. It was closed and she could hear all three fillies babbling on about something.

“Alright, Rainbow. Same condition as last time: nopony but me can hear about this, understand?”

The mare nodded and followed her to her desk. Twilight made one last glance to the door to make sure the fillies were occupied and away.

“Now,” she began, shuffling the papers in order, “none of what I am about to share with you has been verified or confirmed so, take it with a grain of salt.”

Seeing that her friend was still interested, she cleared her throat and began:

“You remember the history of Equestria, how there was discord and disharmony among Earth Ponies, Pegasus, and Unicorns? And how following an age of discord, the extermination of the Alicorn civilization, the war between Order and Chaos, the three remaining three predominant races became more integrated following the return of Luna and Celestia, thus leading to modern history?

“Yeah....Sorta. So, after Discord and the Fae took over, Luna and Celestia survived and kicked their flanks and....yeah I think so.” Rainbow didn't quite know the meat of the story but that synopsis was enough to bring forth what she did.

“Well, if these stories I have here are true, then all of that is completely false.” Twilight had a very affirmative look on her face, twitching some. There was no going back now.

“So....the princess is a liar?”--What do you mean it's all wrong?” Much to Twilight's relief, Rainbow was surprisingly accepting of at least considering the idea. Though there was more to be explained.

“Well—yes. I'm finding it hard to believe myself! I mean, I was practically raised by Princess Celestia! I regard her as my best friend, mentor—it's hard for me to believe too.”

“So if it is all a bunch of fluff then....what really happened?”

“Well, according to this, or at least what I've obtained thus far, the Age Of Discord was more prosperous and peaceful than we've been lead to believe. According to this, all the races, from Allicorns to Earth Ponies lived in harmony in a massive megalopolis, where Manehatten sits today. They had advanced technology beyond our imagination, they somehow harnessed the power of electricity for lighting, electric powered trains and carriages that didn't need stallions or magic; their homes were made of granite and something called 'steel', with all sorts of strange amenities. Their food was grown without the need of Earth Ponies, it was all produced and shipped to massive markets where machines would sell it to them.”

“This is....kinda crazy Twi. Not gonna lie here.”

“I know but just bear with me here: the weather in those times was like the Everfree forest, it was unpredictable and uncontrolled. It says pegasus didn't even have the means to alter the weather in any way. Cutie marks didn't exist either.”

“Okay okay, get to the good stuff.” Rainbow was growing bored. “What about the war of Chaos and Order?”

“Alright, well I'm not sure of all of it but based on what I have it states that all the magic of the world was located on a large floating city ruled by alicorns, which were a genetic mutation of sorts, brought on by—inbreeding.” The unicorn stuck our her tongue in disgust. “The alicorns never traveled to the surface and the surface ponies never traveled there either. A massive force-field protected the alicorns. Until one day when the unicorns below, coupled with Earth Pony and Pegasus scientists learned how to possibly break the force-field. They knew of the magic above through folk lore and urban legends and wanted to capture and use it for themselves. They constructed this machine--”

Rainbow let out a loud yawn, a look of absolute boredom now apparent.

“I'm getting there!” Twilight was annoyed.

“Anyway, the had this machine, called a--” she shuffled through some notes until she found the one she was looking for, “An Ariel, a ship capable of carrying many ponies at once with a tool capable of destroying the alicorns force-field. Just as they were preparing to finish this machine, the alicorns, anticipating their arrival, took control of the weather over the city and created a massive rainstorm which induced flooding. They produced horrific other disasters which lead to the ponies unable to grow food and most of their machines destroyed; there was massive hunger and homelessness. The Ariel was sent to the alicorn island with a team of soldiers and diplomats from below to negotiate a truce.”

Twilight paused for a second, sorting some things out, noticing that the door was still closed, she assumed the fillies were still inside. Rainbow was sitting now, eyes wide with anticipation.

“They managed to break the force-field and enter the alicorns kingdom....” Twilight paused. This is the part of the story that still opened a black hole of denial and disbelief in her mind.

“Then?” Rainbow was bouncing much as a filly would. Excited no less.

“The alicorns responded with force. They destroyed the ship, killing all who were inside, they sent it crashing into the ground, causing massive damage to the already weakened city. Many ponies fled into the wilderness where they perished of starvation most likely. The remaining ponies used whatever they could to attack the alicorns who now descended into the city and were destroying it and killing whoever stood in their way. The leader of the alicorns, whose name isn't mentioned here, ordered that a filly from each race be abducted and taken to a new, uninhabited location of Equestria to be raised by alicorns and bred into subordinate citizens. The remainder of the city was eviscerated and sunk into the ocean. The alicorns lowered their city slightly above where it sat and founded the initial capital of Equestria--”

“So wait....where is Discord in all of this?”
“Well, apparently Discord was a dragon. The dragons were summoned all throughout Equestria to finish off the remainder of the ponies from the Old Equestria. They initially showed some of the more valiant and acclaimed dragons how to use magic. However, the dragons learned of what the alicorns had done and feared for their own future. They put up a rather short-lived and fruitless revolt, lead by Discord. They encased him in stone for all the dragons to see prior to their demise. They released a small portion of baby dragons into remote wilderness where they continue to live to this day.”

“Oh....this is really, really intense. All that in those few pages?”

“Well...no. I managed to find an old book in the basement that was allegedly penned as fiction, it's really old. However, there are references and other things relating to it in these pages, which is how most of this began to make sense anyway.”

Rainbow nodded. She sat silent again, awaiting further details.

“We now reach the modern age and starts to correlate with some of what we've been taught: the three races, still in a remote end of Equestria, headed east in search of food and fresh water, they had drained their supply and corrupted the soil of the old land. What they found is where Canterlot sits today. Their Cornwallis leader established the city, according to this that leader is Princess Celestia. Luna lived on the eastern shore, where the Old Pony Megalopolis was, the two leaders declared themselves Eternal Princesses and overthrew the parliamentary monarchy that had ruled the alicorns for years, using the magic they acquired to make themselves immortal. The remaining alicorns perished as well though the specificities of this I have yet to find...one of the many things missing. Regardless, the unicorns were given Cloudsdale as sort of a 'gag order', and after a century following these events, we have the founding of Ponyville, and...that's pretty much it. “

Rainbow was silent. Mouth agape, she wasn't to the point of accepting it as fact, after all even Twilight was skeptical of it all. It seemed so sensational and so....contrasted to what they had been told their whole lives. It was a lot to take in, that realization was clear on both of their faces.

“I wanna hear the part about the war again!” Both mares were startled. They had no idea the crusaders had been there. Listening almost the entire time. Scootaloo however, was more than pleased by the looks on their faces.

“G-Girls!” Twilight was mortified, nopony was supposed to know about this...especially them.

“So...the princess is evil then?” Applebloom asked, genuinely curious.

“W-well...” Twilight was in panic mode. There was no way these fillies were going to forget it, and no way they were going to let her lie to them too.

“Maybe—But we don't know if this is true or not. For all we know this could be just silly fiction.”

“Then why can't we tell anypony?” Sweetie Belle was somewhat confused by Twilight's repeated insistence that this be kept secret.

“Yeah!” Scootaloo stood up now, a determined look on her face. “If Celestia really did do that then we should—uh....we should....do something!”

“Take back the magic and bring peace to all of Ponykind!” Sweetie Belle knew where her friend was headed, and liked the sounds of it. Twilight stood there, unsure of what to do or say.

“Yeah! We could have Sweet Apple Cider for everypony with one of them fancy machines ah reckon!” Applebloom mused.

“CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS FREEDOM FIGHTERS—YAY!”

“Girls, Girls!” Twilight was worried now. “N-No! We will be doing no such thing!--a—and nopony is going to hear about this!”

“They kinda have a point Twilight...” Rainbow Dash was silent until now, the declarations of the crusaders helped simplify the sum of this story for her. “I mean this is all pretty messed up, and honestly, the idea that my hometown, everything I know and love is just some—some appeasement?”

“Again, girls, and Rainbow too, we have to approach this as literature, fictional ponytales--” Twilight backed into her desk, she felt threatened by the foursome who seemed now dead set on overthrowing the monarchy, and in her mind, ushering in an era of chaos and turmoil.

“I just have one question.” Rainbow asked, Twilight looked eager to get them out of her mane. “Why did Luna become Nightmare Moon and try to bring eternal night? By the sounds of it she should be pretty happy.”

Twilight sighed. There was no use now, they all knew it and heard everything. “Well, whenever this was written it was clearly before Nightmare Moon's banishment. It ends shortly before she is banished to the moon, it states at the end that there was a feud between the Eternal Princesses, the least liked, I would presume Luna as they refer to her as: 'Bringer of the Night', had plunged Equestria into perpetual darkness. The writer writes this in such a manner one would gather her or she didn't think they had much time to spare...That is it. I promise. And please--”

“Don't tell anypony else.” The crusader groaned in unison. “We know.”

“Good.” Twilight wasn't too happy about any of this but she figured given all that has happened lately they wouldn't be in much of a trouble making mood....or at least she hoped, for her own sake more than anything. After what happened with Spike, she did not need rumors swirling about that she was an 'extremist' or some other damming accusation.

“Now if you'll excuse me, I actually have to get some sleep. The princess wishes to see me in Canterlot tomorrow to—deal with some personal things. Rainbow would you care to take them home? Applebloom can stay with Rarity.”

“But!--” Applebloom wasn't too sure about leaving her safe place.

“Applebloom you will be fine. Rarity is a very feisty unicorn when she wants to be.” She obviously thought otherwise, AJ and Big Mac would most certainly decimate her without a second thought, but the idea of being subjected to more inquiry from a stubborn filly was something she didn't want on the eve of such a stressful trip.

“You can say that again.” Sweetie Belle groaned. “But, we get to have a sleep-over!”

“YAY!” The crusaders happily bounced along behind Rainbow Dash as they left the library. Applebloom sticking by Rainbow's side.

Once they were gone. Twilight let out a massive sigh. Tonight was inconvenient. Tomorrow? She was worried to find out.

Equestrian Inquisition

The train ride was agonizing for Twilight. A million thoughts raced through her head at a million miles, “Have the fillies kept their word? Or will I be greeted back home with pitch forks and torches, worse yet, Celestia will have heard by the time of my arrival?”, “What of these stories are correct? What if my whole life, my whole purpose was all based upon wretched lies?”....”Of all the ponies I would loved to be with right now, it's the one I hurt—based on hearsay! What have I become?”

She pondered these troubling questions, distracting herself from the commotion around her. When she finally could see Canterlot as the train began to slow, her heart sank and her stomach churned. It felt different for some reason. Part of her was trying to squash the seemingly absurd conspiracy theories she had so recently obsessed over, and the other was fidgeting about her head, throwing question upon question at her uneasy mind at a relentless pace. Sweat could be seen collecting at the base of her mane. She made her way through the streets, simply waving to the guards as she made her way to Canterlot Castle.

The halls seemed hollow, the ceilings seemed higher, the whole journey from the main doors to Celstia's throne room seemed so long and so imposing, the unicorn's heart pounding faster still as she approached the door.

“You may enter now Ms Sparkle,” one of the guards addressed in a husky voice, “Her highness wishes to speak to you.”

Twilight found it incredibly difficult to push the door open, her hoof trembled wildly, a lump shot up in her throat and she found it difficult to breathe. She made her way into the throne room where Celestia awaited. It was dimly lit, windows shuttered. The only real source of light were fair sized torches that lined the sides of the room. Celestia sat on her throne, an unreadable look on her face. Spike was not there. This couldn't be good.

“Twilight.” She began, passing the formal introductions, her voice flat, another bad sign. “I have taken some time to asses our—recent incident. I have reviewed it with the royal council and we have reached a verdict.”

She paused for a moment, unsure herself if she wanted to do this. She had to, she commuted to the decision of the council upon hearing Spike's plea (a complete lie). They were all overcome and blinded by emotion, there decision was made without the consent of the accused.

“The council demanded banishment, what you did was unacceptable Twilight. It would be one thing if this were somepony else--” The princess acquired a hint of anger as her voice started to rise, disappointment building. “He was your child Twilight....you had a duty—no, an obligation to care for him! Not only did you fail, not only did you cause immeasurable emotional and physical harm to such a helpless and dependent baby dragon—You lied. You lied to me Twilight, my most faithful student has become a heartless, cold, liar.”

Every impulse in her brain was demanding she object, make her case known, plead for a hearing, have her voice heard. She could get Applebloom here. She had it all planned out. However, her heart and her body were paralyzed, brought on by the stinging, painful words.

“All of this considered, I do not have the heart to banish you, you have done immeasurable good for the ponies of Equestria, however, this cannot go unpunished. I was able to negotiate something all parties, including the victim found appropriate.”

Celstia's horn began to shimmer, only slightly as she stood up and took a few paces forward.

“The council has ordered that you be stripped of your magic and your contributions to Equestria erased. “She choked up on the last bit, all the memories together, the defeat of Discord, Nightmare Moon, and a host of others. This was going to hurt her more than anypony, this decision was going to haunt her conscience forever.

“From my heart, I do not wish to do this Twilight, all things considered I wish we could hear your side, I insisted we have a fair trial, the emotion was too strong, including myself. It only took the calls of blasphemy, among other things. From my mind however, it is my duty to maintain law, order, harmony in this land. A violent act such as this, regardless of it's cause is immoral and inexcusable.”

Twilight bowed her head. The last internal assertion to counter, to deny this fallacy was silenced by the knowledge that her punishment could have been and could be much worse. “I understand.”

Celestia stalled one last time, a small tear escaped her eye as her horn began to glow brilliantly now.

“I, Princess Celestia, hereby declare Twilight Sparkle, to be defaced from the articles of history, to be stripped of her magical power, and to be dejected from her title as the 'Element of Magic'.”

As she said this, Twilight's horn began to glow, the same spark that once initiated the bondage and release of the great power that was summoned by the Elements Of Harmony. She could feel her horn, it grew cold and felt heavier than normal, her mane frayed some, and she felt a tinge of emptiness inside her being.

When it was all said and done she had collapsed. She felt drained, weak, and powerless. She barley noticed the guards who escorted her out rather briskly, she didn't seem to take much account of how she was herded onto the train bound for Ponyville, she cared not for the sights or sounds that composed the ride home. She felt nothing now, nothing but pain.

The crusaders sat in Scootaloo's room, busying themselves with a variety of board games and books. They had promised Twilight they wouldn't speak to anypony about what they had heard, thought she hadn't explicitly forbade them from discussing it amongst themselves. Or so they assumed.

“Ah wonder what kind a cutie marks we'd get fer saving Equestria!” Applebloom pondered aloud,

“I'm sure mine would be something awesome! Like maybe a sword and shield, symbol of the fearless filly who would topple the empire and bring peace to all--”

“Wait a minute! How come you get a cool cutie mark and we don't?” Sweetie Belle interjected.

“Come one Sweetie Belle, let's face it.” Scootaloo snorted, “You're not really much of a fighter—or really anything. You'd just cower in the corner while I kick flank and save the day!” Scootaloo wasn't really thinking, the splendor of envisioned glory taking pace ahead of consideration at the moment.

“I am too—a fighter!” Sweetie Belle wasn't sure how to prove this but she wasn't one to be pushed around, by her niece no less.

“Ah think Scoot's got a point Sweetie Belle.” Applebloom stated matter of fact, “Ya ain't never been much of a brave filly, ya don't like gettin' dirty, or hurt, or anythin' that isn't fluffy an' boring.”

Sweetie Belle's heart sank, here she was being downsized by her two best friends. Her ears fell flat as she pondered a defense,

“Yeah and you're not really one to come up with any cool ideas,” Scootaloo added, “It's always me and Applebloom that have to come up with the cool stuff. We want awesome cutie marks not lame girly ones.”

Sweetie Belle again was saddened, why were her friends doing this? They teased her every now and again and she could take it but this felt different.

“I am too tough!” Sweetie Belle thought out loud. A mistake.

“Oh yeah?” Scootaloo glared at her, “Prove it.”

She pounced on the feathered filly, bringing her to the ground, swinging wildly, missing half the time, and hitting the other, her hooves equated to rabbit paws in Scootaloo's mind, the only hurting she endured was from fits of laughter as the whit filly giving it her all—which wasn't much.

Sweetie Belle was flung on her back, Scootaloo was on top of her now looking down with that same smirk, her mouth deforming as bursts of uncontrollable laughter threatened to bust her muzzle open. The pinned white filly began to cry, this was humiliating. Scootaloo was supposed to be her friend—no, family. Family didn't do this to each-other, but she figured she did have one advantage on the orange filly who was living it up with her facade of power and dominance.

Applebloom sat and watched, unsure of whether to stop this whole thing or stick out till the end. In pursuit of entertainment, she chose the later.

“Look at you, acting all big and strong Scootaloo.” Hissed Sweetie Belle through tears, “Y-You think you're so tough now huh? How many times have I had to coddle you like a baby because you couldn't handle being lonely! You needed me, you couldn't last a night without me! You act all powerful now, it's all a joke, you were scared of my sister!--Rarity! It took Auntie Sweetie Belle cuddling you like a whiny little foal for you to even think straight!--”

Scootaloo got off her friend and backed up, she was stunned. All her secrets were pouring out, her dirty laundry was being shown in all their glory. Sweetie Belle's chest swelled with pride as she stood up and smiled,

“You're gonna be in big trouble Scootaloo.” Sweetie hissed. “When I tell Rarity what you did, she's gonna let me take all your toys, and then you're gonna be grounded!”

Part of Sweetie was slightly shocked at this nagging, assertive side of her, the other was damn proud of herself. She was finally sticking up for herself and putting Scootaloo in her place.

Scootaloo's gaze of disbelief became a glare of anger. Sweetie had gone too far, making out for a foal was one thing, but going so far as to get her in trouble over nothing? Talking down to her? She wasn't going to take it, and Sweetie Belle wasn't saying anymore.

The filly leapt at Sweetie with all her might and had her on her back again, this time though her hooves were anything but at her side, they were bombarding Sweetie Belle's face, one of her forehooves jabbed into the unicorn's stomach. She pulled her up by the name and winded the unicorn who stumbled back into Scootaloo's bed-frame. Blood was trickling from the fillies nose as her attacker approached for another swing.

“Scoots! Stop!” Applebloom dared not move but she feared her friend was out of control, she had snapped.

The assault continued, Sweetie Belle held her hooves in front of her face as Scootaloo continued to beat her. The pegasus eventually grew tired of the punching bag and converted it to a rag doll, holding the feeble filly by her forehooves and spinning around before tossing her into a pile of toys on the other side of the room.

Scootaloo didn't have a chance to pounce again, a large white hoof stood in her way, Said hoof belonged to a very, very upset unicorn.

“Scootaloo!” Rarity growled, she had seen the last bit, she had seen the blood on her sister's face and was this close to knocking the orange filly unconsciousness.

“That is enough! What in Equestria would justify you—hurting my sister! After all she has done for you! There is simply no excuse for this young lady!”

Scootaloo sat on her haunches, she kept her head low as the high came down and she began to realize what she just did. Behind the fuming mare was a bleeding, defenseless filly, tears freely flowing down her white coat as she lay in the mess, sobbing fiercely,

“You so much as move and you are out of this house do you understand?!” Rarity roared as she went to tend to her sister, she whisked her away to to washroom, shooting an angry glare at Scootaloo before leaving the room.

Scootaloo kept her gaze to the ground, a trace of blood remained on her hooves. She began to shake uncontrollably as tears of her own began to take form. Applebloom slowly walked to her and had a look of disgust on her face.

“Ah can't believe you'd do that—why you ain't any better than Diamond Tiara!”

“Applebloom, I—I didn't mean to, I didn't know...” The filly was mumbling, her head remained low.

“Didn't mean nothin'?” Applebloom lectured, “Horseapples! Ya still did it an' that's all that matters! Ah thought you'd know better after what ah said 'bout mah sister but obviously ya don't listen!” With that the farm filly stomped out of the room to go check on her friend.

After what seemed like an eternity, Scootaloo left her room. Nopony had come to see her following the incident, she wanted to apologize, she wanted to do whatever she could to make things right, she felt like a monster and she hated it. As she made her way down the stairs, she could hear them, talking. Rarity was the first to acknowledge her presence.

“What do you want Scootaloo? I don't believe I told you you could come out.”

Scootaloo simply ignored her and set her eyes to Sweetie Belle who was now facing her. There were no bandages, and the only bruise resided on her right cheek, glaring on her white coat.

“I'm sorry.” Scootaloo said dejectedly, “I-I didn't mean to hurt you. I--”

She fell silent for a few seconds, looking at her hooves before facing Sweetie again.

“I love you. You were right. If it wasn't for you I'd be a sad sappy mess still living in the club-house. I had no reason to do this to you I just—you just really hurt my feelings. I was just kidding around and you had to belittle me.”

She wasn't too pleased with that last line, it was more of a complementing thought that wasn't supposed to come out. As she looked down at her hooves expecting coarse words from Rarity, she was instead wrapped in a tight hug, two little white hooves were the culprit.

“I'm sorry too Scootaloo.” Sweetie Belle sniffled a bit, her bruise was still throbbing. “I shouldn't have said those things in front of Applebloom. We both messed up.” They both faced each-other since their altercation, one face had a look of shame, the other a look of understanding. Sweetie Belle stood up high on her hooves and lightly kissed Scootaloo on the forehead.

“I love you too.”

Rarity's heart simply melted at the sight, what was once resentment and total anger had morphed into a mixture of bittersweet happiness and satisfaction. This certainly was a better ending than she had planned for.

Applebloom looked at this scene before her and she thought of her own sister, the damage she had done to her. For the first time since the whole thing, she pondered that her own sister may be feeling the same way Scootaloo did, ashamed. She wondered if she was maybe too scared to come out and say it, perhaps she figured all of Ponyville knew of what she did and didn't want to face it. A ping of guilt hit her which prompted her to shift those thoughts aside and live in the here and now.

Scootaloo's face was beet red, she still stood, face to face with “Auntie Sweetie Belle” who forgave her for quite possibly the worst thing she had ever done. She was a true friend indeed.

“I wonder if the princess would apologize, you know, for the things she did.” Sweetie Belle mused out loud, forgetting her sister's presence. She froze when she did. If the fur on her face were not white, it would've been so then.

“What do you mean Sweetie Belle? What ever did Celestia do?” Rarity was curious now.

Scootaloo, if nothing more than to score a few more appeasement points, stepped in front of Sweetie Belle, hoping to stop this before it started.

“N-nothing, totally nothing Rarity. It's—uh not Princess Celestia, we're uh... were making up a story!”

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle agreed, “A story about a...uh...”

“A different princess!” Applebloom interjected, trying to save flank. It didn't work however, the mare's suspicions were piqued, and her still unsettled mood was not letting this go.

“Girls, why do I have the feeling you're not telling me something?”

“Twilight told us not to—dammit!” Scootaloo face-hoofed at her stupidity.

“Twilight what? Girls! I don't like secrets, not at all, now speak up! What is it that you were referring to? Must I go to Twilight?”

“NO!” The three fillies shouted, the sheer force of the sound pushed Rarity back an inch or two. She knew something was afoul now, and she was going to find out.

“Well then one of you ought to spill the beans, spreading nasty rumors about her highness is simply unspeakable! Of all ponies, Twilight no less!” Rarity now loomed over the three fillies who were huddled together, unsure of what to do now. They were cornered.

“Can we go up to my room?” Sweetie Belle asked, Rarity had a stream of customers that started around this time of day and they didn't want this to leak more than it was already about to, they were going to feel enough shame from this.

They made their way to Sweetie's room, glancing into her room to the large window by her bed, Scootaloo could see the sun starting to set, it was getting late and she was certainly growing tired.

The door was shit behind them, and Rarity took a seat at the door, assuring the fillies wouldn't make a break for it.

“Now girls, let's start with what if anything the Princess herself would be so inclined to apologize to us, her subjects for. And how you know about it.”

“Well....it's kind of a long story sis,” Sweetie Belle started.

“Please Sweetie Belle, we have all the time in the world.” Rarity wasn't going anywhere.

Diamonds, Feathers, and Lettuce

Fluttershy had awoken rather early today, her animals had no real needs to attend to, but she had made a habit of getting up to make herself and Angel Bunny some breakfast and tea before she went into her morning routine.

The cream colored pegasus was completely unaware of the drama that had gone on since Scootaloo's little show back at Sugar Cube corner. She found it odd Rarity had not invited her to the spa—nor was she there when Fluttershy went on her own invitation. She had not heard from any of her friends in the better part of a week, however she was somewhat happy about this, it gave her ample time with her animal friends, tending to her cottage and garden among other things she enjoyed doing. It had been a tranquil week for the pristine pegasus.

“Ahh,” Fluttershy relaxed as she sipped her tea, “Isn't this such a lovely morning Angel Bunny?”

The abusive, self centered rabbit didn't acknowledge her friendly caretaker's question, as he was busy eating an unnecessarily nice salad with special trimmings just for his spoiled little flank.

“I do wish my friends would stop by soon, I do miss them—oh but I'm sure they're enjoying the sunshine too. I know I most certainly am!”

Again, no response from Bunnicula, but the animal-over didn't seem to mind. She blissfully exited her cottage and began her array of housekeeping tasks which consisted of many things, from feeding the birds, squirrels, and everything in between, to repairing the dens and burrows of the underground critters, to keeping her own house pristine and beautiful, humming a sweet song to herself all the while.

She decided that she would go into town and get some food from the market as her feed and fruit were in low supply, and given that mating season was closing for most of her creatures, there would be plenty of new mouths to feed. Fluttershy made her way into the center of town, taking an alternate route that passed Twilight's library. The giant force-field seemed rather odd to her.

'Well that's strange, I wonder why Twilight has a force-field around her home?' The Pegasus thought to herself as she continued through the main road into the Ponyville market. As she made her way to each stall, seeing the wares for sale and purchasing what she needed as she saw it, she noticed a familiar filly walking oddly through the market.

Applebloom was mortified to be here, though she was the one who wanted to “get some fresh air” while Twilight did her shopping. Her curiosity lured her to a candy stand, but her paranoia compelled her to keep returning to where Twilight stood. To any passing pony it looked as if she was trotting in circles. This last trot back to Twilight did not end successfully though. Twilight was nowhere to be found, she must have left, to busy to notice the filly was gone. Applebloom instantly ran to Fluttershy.

“Why thank you so very much sir.” Fluttershy thanked the less than enthusiastic vendor who was selling lettuce. She really felt the price her had set of thirteen bits for one head was a but much, though she figured the stallion wasn't in much of a bartering mood. She squealed as a filly appeared right behind her.

“Hi Fluttershy! Sorry ta scare ya like that.” The filly said, nervous for some reason as she fidgeted with her hooves.

“Oh it's okay—Applebloom.” It took Fluttershy some time to remember her name, after all she hadn't seen anypony she really knew for quite some time. “What brings you out here? Aren't you supposed to be in school?”

Applebloom raised her gaze from her hooves to Fluttershy, “Well—Ahm lost actually. Twi an' ah were just getting' some errands done an' ah went to go look at some candy an' she done left me.”

“Oh dear, well, come with me. We'll find that silly unicorn.” Fluttershy was surprised somewhat by how quickly Applebloom took clung to Fluttershy, all the times she had seen the Applebloom she'd been a stubborn, independent, and awfully whiny filly.

Fluttershy decided to take this time searching for Twilight to see if the filly could fill her in on what her friends were up to. Naturally of course, this being AppleJack's sister...

“SO, how's AppleJack?”

Applebloom pondered for a second, she was having an awfully fun day—well, up until getting left behind at least, she still was somewhat confused that Fluttershy didn't know about what had happened. She figured Twilight would be the best mare to explain everything.

“Uh...she's—uh—just fine ah reckon.” She lied.

“Aw, that's nice. What about your little friends?”

Finally, a cozy, safe subject. “Well, mah friends are great! Scootaloo lives with Rarity ya know?”

“M hm, I sure do.”

“Yeah well—uh, she's great. And Sweetie Belle is doin'..... alright too.” Applebloom's voiced trailed off.

Now that she thought about it they hadn't really done anything noteworthy for nearly a month. Certainty no crusading, the club-house was in a very unhappy place and with what had happened, all three fillies were under constant supervision.

Fluttershy was put off by this as well, this filly usually had a million things to say, no crusades? No mishaps? Weird. She wasn't sure what to do at this point, they had walked through most of the market. No sign of Twilight.

“Where do ya think she went?” Applebloom asked. At this point she had climbed on Fluttershy's back and was surveying the view from above. “Ah don't see her anywhere.”

“Don't worry Applebloom, we'll find her.” Fluttershy assured with a determined look on her face. They left the market now and were headed back to Twilight's house when somepony—or something smacked into them, sending Fluttershy on her back and Applebloom on her flank not too far behind her.

“Oh my gosh I'm so sorry I—Applebloom!” Twilight squealed. “There you are, thank goodness you're okay!” She wrapped the filly in a hug. “Thank you Fluttershy, I was so worried! One minute she was with me buying some bread and the next minute—poof!”

“Oh it's no problem Twilight, I had just come in town looking for one of you anyway, it's been an awful long time since I've seen anypony. I was starting to get worried.”

Twilight let out a groan, “Let me tell you, it has been one hell of a week. You have time for tea? I'm taking these groceries home anyway.”

“Sure, I finished my morning chores, tea sounds lovely.” Fluttershy helped Twilight with her things and they made their way to the tree-house.

The day seemed to drag painfully for the unicorn and pegasus filly that sat in the back of Cheeriliee's classroom. Their recent shift in world-view had made school a grueling, agonizing snore-fest. They did their best to act like they cared, but really there was nothing there. Cheeriliee's lesson of the day pertained to the war between Chaos and Order. The two fillies had remained incognito, save the times Scootaloo couldn't help but snicker at the obvious nonsense the school-teacher presented as fact. Good for them nopony seemed to care much so they remained unnoticed.

It was finally time for recess The fillies stampeded out into the playground, Again, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo really didn't find much fun in any of the activities, and certainly none of the fillies would be worth wasting time with. Especially the one who seemed to take the most pleasure in seeing the dejected and empty looks on their faces as they sat under a tree.

“Well, well well if it isn't Sweetie Fail and Scoota-looser!” Diamond Tiara crowed mockingly as she approached the two fillies, her side-kick Silver Spoon at her side, providing the mandatory courtesy laugh.

“Go away Diamond Tiara!” Sweetie Belle hissed. She wanted nothing to do with this brat.

“So you're inbred redneck friend hasn't been around for awhile?” The snarky filly began, “They finally figured out how stupid she is and show her the door? Pssh, we don't need trash like that anyway.”

“I said go away Diamond Tiara!” Sweetie Belle was offended by this careless slander against her friend, not enough to do anything aside from hope she'd get the hint and leave.

“D'aww what is it Sweetie Belle? You should be happy! Now you have that dirt eating doofus to drag you down, you can hang with the cool kids now!”

“Shut up Diamond Tiara.” Scootaloo growled.

“Wha? You think I'm going to listen to you Scoota-looser? Ha! Why don't you Cutie Mark-less crusaders just go die and do us all a fav--”

Diamond Tiara didn't have a chance to finish that sentence, she was on the ground, one hoof pushing her down by her face, and the other one firmly planted on her tail.

Scootaloo stared at this scene in amazement.

“Say one more thing you brat!” Sweetie Belle was fuming.

Scootaloo feared for the worst. Diamond Tiara was a very tough pony, despite her dapper demeanor and seemingly feeble appearance, Scootaloo herself likely wouldn't start anything with her unless it was last resort.

And, her fears were confirmed, Sweetie Belle's next location was in a pit of mud, nearly body slammed into it. The pink filly on top of her glared at her.

“You think a puny little unicorn like you is going to take me down? I don't think so!”

Sweetie Belle was audibly crying, that impact must have hurt considering there was a tree nearby and she likely smacked into a raised root somewhere. Diamond Tiara wasn't letting up, she began to punch the unicorn filly brutally, making Scootaloo's assault seem like foal's work. The sound of the unicorn being beaten was loud enough to summon the school fillies in a circle around the scene.

“Get off of her!” Scootaloo yelled.

“Make me!” Diamond Tiara roared. She yanked up the unicorn and slammed her into the ground again, a squeal of pain let out of the white filly, tears mixing with the blood, mud, and dirt that caked her matted face. Suddenly though, Diamond's vice grip on the filly was ended. It was her turn to be the target of precise and painful bombardment. Scootaloo had her on the ground and was relentlessly letting her have it.

Hoof by hoof Diamond's face became an inflated, bruised and bloody wasteland. As the pink filly struggled to free herself from this physically superior pegasus who was going to damn near end her at this rate, was met with sharp teeth to her mane. Scootaloo tore at it as if it were cotton candy. Loud screams from the filly could be heard as her mane was literally being ripped off, with hooves still bearing down upon her, now on her stomach.

“Okay Okay! I give up! I give up! Please stop!” Diamond Tiara was beyond tears now, her pride didn't matter. For the first time in a long time she was scared. This filly was going to kill her.

Scootaloo obviously had no intent in doing this, though she did want to make something very clear to her. Scoots picked up the pink filly by the sides and slammed her to the base of a tree and held her there.

“I want to make something very clear to you Diamond Tiara.” Scootaloo spat, a look of unmistakable hatred on her face. “Don't you ever lay a hoof on my friend again you got me?”

Diamond nodded desperately, she wanted to get away.

“I'm not done with you. You have no idea what Applebloom has gone through, and you never will. My advice to you would be to shut up. Talk about her again and I won't think twice.”

Diamond was sobbing now. “Okay, Okay! I'm sorry!”

“GIRLS!” Cheerilee pushed through the gathering of fillies to see a horrid sight. “Scootaloo put her down NOW!”

Scootaloo abruptly dropped Diamond Tiara into the same puddle of mud that she had shoved Sweetie Belle into. Scootaloo turned around and walked past Ms Cheerilee. She wasn't going to deal with this.

“Scootaloo get back here this instant!” The teacher hollered while tending to the two injured fillies, however the orange pegasus ignored her and continued through the back door of the school-house and out the front. She made her way down the road to Ponyville. She wasn't returning to that place ever again.

Sweet Apple Animosity

Sweetie Belle looked around, she had been listening to Cheerilee for quite some time, however she looked over when she noticed Scootaloo asleep. She had glanced over nearly an hour ago, her face was flat and unreadable, now however it had morphed into a smile, obviously whatever this dream was about she was enjoying it. It appears Cheerilee had been hoping the filly would wake up at some point, she never liked sleepers, however this did not happen.

The class had been pretty mellow, Sweetie and Scoots were in no mood to be there following their recent discoveries, and Scootaloo frankly didn't see a point in any of it so off the dream-land she went.

“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle whispered, nudging her friend with a pencil, “Scootaloo! Pssssst!”

The pegasus slowly opened her eyes at first, then they shot open like a deer in headlights. Her eyes darted around scanning for two ponies in particular. She could see Diamond Tiara in normal condition, not a scratch on her....yet. Sweetie Belle was of course fine and well and had a worried look on her face.

“You okay Scoots?” Sweetie asked.

“Yeah....” Scootaloo began slowly, “I think we should stay inside for recess today.”

“Oh my, Twilight this is awful!” Fluttershy had said this several times by now. Twilight was now wrapping up her explanation of the interesting findings she had the last few days, as well as updating her friend on all the mishaps of the week.

“That's pretty much all of it.” Twilight ended dryly, “Kinda wish I was you...or anypony else at the moment.”

Fluttershy quickly pulled Twilight into a hug. “Don't you say those things Twilight, even without your magic you're still my friend. And I think that can be said for the rest of us.”

“Aw, thanks Fluttershy—really, it means a lot.” Twilight smiled, that sincere comment warmed her heart which had been cold for some time. She always knew she could count on the gentle animal-lover for nothing short of uplifting and lofty complements.

“I do have....uhm, one question though.” Fluttershy began, “If the princess did all these nasty, awful things, what are we supposed to do about it? I mean, no offense but I don't really think we stand a chance against Celestia...or her guards.”

“Very true, though I think the crusaders made a good point.” She chuckled some as she remembered their quick rush to leave it all behind and 'liberate equestria' under the banner of 'freedom fighters'. That trio was always thinking of absurdly adorable, occasionally destructive yet whimsical things.

“We can't just sit here and wait for what happened to the Discordian ponies to happen again.” Twilight had come to label the inhabitants of the pre-Celestia society, 'Discordian Ponies' for the mere fact that they lives in the alleged 'Age Of Discord'.

“Though you are right Fluttershy, without my magic, we really don't have much of a hoof up on this whole thing—But I think it would be better to address this when everypony else comes by tonight.”

“Hey Twi?” Applebloom piped up; she had been reading the book that Twilight had been studying, upon promising multiple times that she'd be super-extra-ultra-very-careful with it. Though now she was a bit hungry. “Can we have a snack? Ahm kinda hungry.”

“Oh yes, sure thing Applebloom!” Twilight answered as she made her way to the kitchen, Fluttershy behind her.

“Who's all coming tonight?” Fluttershy was curious.

“Well...” Twilight remembered as she assembled some sandwiches, “Rainbow and Rarity for sure, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo too, That's it though I'm afraid, really those are the only ones I've been comfortable taking about this with, Pinkie is just—Pinkie will tell ponies she's not supposed to, we don't need that.” Fluttershy nodded in agreement and took one of the completed sandwiches to Applebloom.

Rarity looked at her progress thus far and was pleased. Her orders from Canterlot had gone very well, so well in fact that they already commissioned a season-long fashion line, with her name on it! Slightly overwhelmed but all in all very pleased. The day had gone pretty well for her. No customers to force her away from her project, no chaos from the two fillies she had to care for, despite everything on her mind things had gone very well today.

She glanced at the clock and noticed it was time to meet the fillies at school. Normally they would come home on their own, but today Twilight wanted to see them. Rarity figured it was about her recent findings. The snow-colored unicorn was still airing on the side of caution when it came to fully embracing these things, she certainly didn't deny them but with where she was business wise it made no sense to “go primal” as she put it. She did some modest tidying of her workroom and headed for Ponyville's schoolhouse.

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo managed to get through the day, dodging Cheeriliee's questions about their quietness, Scootaloo's sleepiness, and every other out of place thing they did. The mare wasn't aware of any of the recent incidents, which likely was good for them, if it had been otherwise, they would've never gotten away from her curiosity.

Scootaloo let out a sign of relief. “I am so glad this boring day is over with!” She waved a hoof for emphasis, “If Cheerilee asked any more questions I would've lost it for sure.”

“Aw she's just concerned Scoots.” Sweetie smiled. It had been a pretty normal day, or at least as normal and uneventful as it could possibly be. She was taking this with a glass-half-full mindset.

“Didn't Rarity say to wait for her?” The orange pegasus asked, straining her eyes to see if Rarity made her way over the obtuse hill that arched in front of the school on the way to Ponyville.

“She seemed busy too Scoots.” Sweetie Belle added, “Maybe we should meet her halfway, you know, to be nice.”

Scootaloo nodded and they made their way up the hill and down. They trotted into Ponyville, slowing some as they when. Rarity finally came into view, she seemed in a good mood herself, much to the filly's relief.

“Ah, hello girls! My apologies for running a little late—well, you know how it is, I got pretty busy—a good kind of busy today.”

“Great news sis!” Sweetie grinned. Scootaloo smiled but not much else.

“We're going to drop your bags off at home and then we're headed straight for Twilight's, she wants us there as soon as possible.”

Scootaloo's ears perked up a bit. Finally, something exciting.

Sweetie Belle then remembered something she failed to ask until now, “Hey Scoots, what was that dream about?”

Scootaloo stopped, forgetting for a moment. “What dream?”

“I dunno.” Sweetie shrugged, “You seemed pretty happy about it whatever it was.”

Scootaloo's faced burned red, “Oh...that. Heh, uh, well, let's just say that it wasn't really that great—until the end.”

Scootaloo was being evasive again, Rarity never liked this. “Do tell Scootaloo, what was it about?”

“Well—Diamond Tiara was picking on us about stupid stuff and you--” she started laughing as she looked at Sweetie Belle, “You of all ponies tried to pin her down and make her shut her trap.”

Sweetie Belle laughed as well. She wasn't one to do something like that. If Scootaloo taught her anything, never mess with a fuming filly.

“She beat you pretty bad, you didn't really do anything either—so I jumped in and took care of her.” Scootaloo let off a wicked grin, the memory of letting that brat have it was still just a vibrant and just as satisfying as it was hours ago.

“Well that sound quite unpleasant Scootaloo.” Rarity dead-panned.

“Yeah, good thing it was all a dream huh?” Sweetie added.

The trio shared a laugh as they made their way now to Twilight's tree-house.

Rainbow Dash had already arrived and was finishing off the uneaten food Twilight had made, much to her chagrin. She hoped Rarity and the girls weren't hungry. Making food without magic proved to be pretty laborious.

“Let's save one for Rarity and the girls Dash.” Twilight said, “It took me way too long to get these simple sandwiches done. How do you Earth Ponies do it?”

Applebloom was happy to be apart of the conversation at the big ponies table, all day she was pretty much left to her own devices, which she spent reading and drawing.

“Well, there's a few things Granny taught me when we made zap-apple jam and pie. It's pretty easy once ya figure it out. “

“Well then it looks like I'll have to have you teach me one of these days.” Twilight laughed.

“Yeah me too, I can't cook to save my life.” Rainbow added, now plopped on the bottom step of the main staircase.

Rarity and the other fillies entered, Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle instantly ran to Applebloom for a hug. It had only been a little over a day but felt like it was forever since they were last together.

“Good evening Twilight,” Rarity began without invitation, “Work was simply marvelous, how are you today?--and hello Ms Fluttershy! It has been some time since we last saw each other hasn't it been?” She went to hug her feathered friend.

“Fair enough, there is some food--” she glanced to make sure it was still there. “I made some sandwiches, you and the girls can divvy up that one and help yourselves, heh, It looks like Applebloom is going to have to re-teach me how to make food. It's funny how you take things for granted.”

“Oh you poor thing, I forgot all about that! I would've prepared something along the way if I would've known.”

“No biggie Rarity, we already ate.” Rainbow interjected.

“You can certainly say that can't you?” Twilight scolded softly.

“Hey! I had a crazy day today, I had to eat something.” Rainbow pouted.

The three fillies were marveling at Applebloom's rather elaborate drawings, she had more than enough time on her hands to produce some refined renditions of Ponyville, apples, and the crusader clubhouse.

“Man I miss that place.” Scootaloo recalled, “How long has it been since we hung out there?”

“Awhile..” Sweetie Belle remembered,

“Even longer for me, shoot ah can't even recall the last time we were there together.” Applebloom looked at the picture longingly.

This exchange reminded Rarity of something, she motioned Twilight for a quick word in a far corner of the room so the fillies wouldn't hear.

“Speaking of Sweet Apple Acres,” Rarity's voice was but a whisper, “has anyone set hoof there since the whole incident? Has anyone heard from Apple Jack at all?”

Twilight hadn't thought of this for a long time, or at least it felt that way. “I'm afraid not now that you mention it. Despite what she did I hope they're okay. Why do you ask?”

“I don't know Twilight, as I saw Scootaloo make up with Sweetie after that ghastly brawl they had, I saw a far away look in Applebloom's eyes—somethings telling me she wants to know if her sister is sorry. I think we'd all like an explanation at the very least.”

“Huh...” Twilight pondered the idea, it has been about a week since it all went down, though neither AJ or Big Mac had emerged from the farm since Granny's funeral in Apple Loosa.

“I figured a little diplomatic mission is not too much to ask, though should we really bring Applebloom until we know what we're getting into?”

“Too true.” Rarity looked back at the fillies who were laughing and play-fighting. “I suppose we should head down ourselves and see.”

“I think maybe--” Twilight thought, “Rainbow and I will head down there, you and Fluttershy can look after the girls.”

“Now?” Rarity slightly whined, though Twilight didn't seem to notice.

“Might as well. We'll both forget otherwise.” Rarity nodded in agreement.

They brought Rainbow to their corner and explained their plan, the cyan pegasus was all for it. A little adventure in a pretty dull day was fine by her.

“Yeah, I suppose you are going to need some muscle huh?” Rainbow boasted.

“Mmhm sure.” Twilight panned, unimpressed. “Let's go now before it gets too late.”

The two made it out of Twilight's house, and decided to take a detoured route so as to appear to the fillies in case they were watching, to be headed into town for business.

It was an odd feeling approaching the farm. Usually they wouldn't think twice but both mares found themselves somewhat intimidated by the sight of it. Regardless they pushed on. Making their way under the sign and down the dirt road to the homestead. They looked around to see if the mare and stallion were out in the orchards but didn't see them. What they did see what as rather neglected orchard. Rotten apples were submitting to the forces of nature, fungus had made a campaign to reclaim the trees, and the weeds were beginning to dominate the grass below and protrude into the road itself.

“You can tell they haven't been out much—if at all.” Twilight whispered.

“Or they aren't even here.” Rainbow mused.

They approached the porch of the home. Unsure as to who was going to take that massive initiative to knock on the door, Twilight took charge and weakly wrapped on the wooden door. At first they heard nothing. The windows were curtained so there was no way of seeing inside. Then, the door opened.

Apple Jack was in a horrid state. Bags under her eyes, her mane was ratty and dirty, one could tell by her slight weight gain and limp that they had been making good use of the heavy cider lately.

There was an awkward silence for a few moments. Rainbow lowered to her hooves, and they looked blankly at one another.

“Come on girls.” Apple Jack croaked. Her voice was raspy, almost on par with Scootaloo.

The inside of the house was about as objectionable as the orchards. The windows, all of them on the main floor anyway were shut tight, small paths of light flooded in but seemed to only serve as a reminder of how much dust and micro-sized debris was swimming through the air. Dishes were stained, caked in mush that was likely food at one point. The whole of the home was coated in at least an inch of dust, dirt, and grime. A single candle that was on its last centimeter of usable wax sat dimly lit at the center of the kitchen table. Apple Jack motioned them to sit on a couch in the foyer.

Silence reigned again for some time as each collected their thoughts and prepared for whatever was to come. To the relief of Twilight and Rainbow both, Apple Jack spoke first.

“So ah suppose yer hear about mah sister.” She said dryly, no emotion indicated on her face.

“Well....” Twilight began.

“How is she?” Applejack asked.

“Oh, she's...she's fine. She's staying with me at the moment.”

“Hm.” The orange mare answered, almost a grunt. Silence persisted once again. The ticking and swinging of a rusty pendulum from a nearby grandfather clock was the only conductor of sound.

Apple Jack sniffled some, from likely a cold of some kind as opposed to emotion, the same dry expression shown.

“Ahm a terrible sister Twi. Here ah went teachin' the filly about values and family--” A crease could be seen forming along her mouth as she spoke, it appeared as if this was the first she'd spoken in a while.

“An' ah go drinkin' like a fool and damn near end her. Damn it the fuck was I thinkin'.”

“Apple Jack--” Twilight started, only to be interrupted.

“Twi, ah can't bare seeing her again, after what we did to her she deserves better. We ain't got a clue what ta do now that Granny's pushin' up daisies. Shoot, me an' Big Mac were thinkin' a puttin' up this place and headin' down to the family in Apple Loosa-- an' we most likely will. But ah want her to stay here.” She shed a tear now. “I want to know ain't nopony's gonna do her like we did.”

“She missed you Applejack.” Twilight pushed, “She at least deserves an apology...” Her voice trailed as an angry look took form on the farm mare's face.

“Dammit Twi I said no!” Apple Jack yelled, she then ran into a fit of coughing, once again indicating she had yet to do much aside from sanitation and sleep in this dilapidated home.

“Big Mac ain't much of a speakin' man--” Applejack continued, “We both agreed it'd be best, honestly Twi, the filly was born at a bad time, we was jealous when she came and we hate her now.”

“H-how could you say such a thing! She's your sister!” Twilight was taken aback by this stark and cold statement that seemed to shove a dagger to the heart of her very idea of who Applejack was.

“Twi-- mah father was an alcoholic, he beat ma more than ah few times. We hated him, we grew close to Ma—it's hard ta explain really. He treated us all like dirt. Granny even says he wasn't out real father so Applebloom ain't even our kin—point is when she was born, Ma was at death's door, and bringin' that foal into the world pushed her the final stretch.” She paused some, sniffling and wiping some fresh tears, “The piece a shit done did her in”

Twilight and Rainbow figured at this point she was talking about Applebloom. They both remained silent, completely unsure as to how to approach this.

“We tried Twi, Rainbow, we did. Granny never liked her, only when she had to. Me an; Big Mac tried to play the part of a big brother an' sister who ave two shits, damn filly made it hard though, always bitchin' 'boout her damn cutie mark.” A undertow of anger began to take form in her voice and posture.

“Ah tried to get her outta our mane with that stupid tree-house, Celestia knows that's the only way we didn't do her in ourselves.”

There was a sudden drop in pressure, at least in their minds, silence again.

“I—If she wouldn't have done anythin' Twi—Ima be honest with you, ah would've fuckin' killed her, we woulda dumped her with Granny and wouldn't a care d dime a difference. Ah know, its awful but—Ah could never truly love the filly, none of us could.”

Twilight made a sound as if she were to speak bu hastily retreated into silence. Rainbow was sitting now, looking down at her hooves. It was all so much, so messed up, so...unexpected. So wrong.

“All ahm askin' Twi is that ya'll leave us alone. We're gonna git soon an' we don't need nopony seein' us like this. And we sure as hell don't need ta see her.” She hissed on the last word. This hate was genuine, clear, it was deep seeded and wasn't going anywhere. Apple Jack got up from her seat and the other two mares followed. The directed them out the door.

“Ah had some swell times Twi, Rainbow too—it's a shame—really, but that's just the way things are ahm afraid.” She turned to close the door behind her. “Goodbye”

The two mares outside were silent. Twilight merely nodded. The door shut and the sound of hooves retreated from hearing. Twilight and Rainbow stood on the porch, staring down at the splintered planks below. Did that just happen? Was this one sick, twisted, dream? No.

“Whoa.” Rainbow said under her breath.

They made their way out, much slower now than even before. The pertinent question in their mids was what morbid secrets their other friends held, they looked at each other, mentally concluded this was an exception and continued without another word.

Upon returning to Twilight's house, it was almost a relief to be in the company of their rational, genuine, friends. Thought the felt a cold tinge of guilt inexplicable apathy for a red-maned filly with a bow who seemed very happy, they made their way to the center of the room without much suspicion as to their sudden shift in mood. The looks they gave Rarity and Fluttershy were more than enough to affirm things had not gone well at all.

Rainbow had had about enough this evening and decided to head out.

The remaining mares made their way to the upstairs balcony to discuss things in private. Twilight unraveled the still unbelievable story she had to endure. Rarity and Fluttershy were speechless throughout.

“Well...” Rarity said once Twilight had finished, mouth agape, “I suppose this is all for the best then.”

“What pisses me off the most is that—they didn't say anything until it was too late!” Twilight was mad now, the rage and disgust she subdued back at the farm was now making its presence known. “This poor filly—how are we going to tell her?”

“Not anytime soon that's for sure.” Rarity declared, “We have enough on our hooves right now, we don't need another basket case, Scootaloo is enough at the moment.”

She sighed some, that filly had been evading her again. Now that Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle seemed even closer following the fight, the pegasus filly seemed to be going back to her sister, Rarity's place as “mother”, at least in figure and practice was slipping.

“So...when are Apple Jack and Big Mac moving?” Fluttershy asked.

“She said soon,” Twilight recalled, “and frankly I could care less anymore.”

“I think you speak for us all dear.” Rarity assured her, her own look of distaste appeared.

They were silent for a moment as they looked up at the sky, they figured the girls would get curious and so they chose to change the subject.

“On to more....tangible affairs.” Rarity began, “Fluttershy and I have been talking, and if we're actually going to do something about—this whole Celestia mess than we might as well do it now. Rainbow said this fall was going to be short lived and winter was going to be a long one. I sure don't want to be facing the forces of Equestria in a foot of snow.”

Twilight's mind took some time to transcend from the troubles of a filly to the subject at hand, silence proclaiming this more than anything.

“You make a good point. But...do we even have a plan? To charge in their blind would certainly be suicide. And besides, I doubt any subsequent visits to Canterlot will be pleasant for me, that's even if it's permitted.”

“We could ask around Ponyville to see who could help.” Fluttershy suggested.

“We could...but then we'd run the risk of raising some alarm bells, we'd be reported for sure.” Twilight said, “But I guess that's really our only hope isn't it?”

Rarity let out a very large, very unladylike yawn, it was very late. Especially for when she wasn't working.

“I'm so sorry Twilight but, I am much to tired, the girls need some sleep anyway, judging by today they aren't quite used to going back to school. I'm afraid we'll have to finish this tomorrow.”

“I-i have to go too, I'm sure Angel Bunny is very unhappy, why, he hasn't had dinner.” Fluttershy panicked some as she simply flew off the balcony towards her cottage. Rarity and Twilight watched her trail off and then they made their way inside.

The crusaders were still busying themselves on the main floor, play-fighting again.

“Sweetie Belle! Scootaloo!” Rarity called out tiredly, “I'm afraid we are heading home now.”

“Awww!” The three fillies groaned.

“Just a few more minutes?” Sweetie Belle pleaded.

“No Sweetie Belle, it is much too late, you looked far too tired today for you to stay up any later than you already have, come now. I'm not in the mood for negotiation.”

The two girls gave Applebloom a hug and trailed Rarity out the door and back to the Boutique. Twilight sat in the middle of the room. Applebloom came up to her and sat with her. Just when she was in hooves reach, Twilight pulled her into a tight hug, chin resting on the filly's head.

“Applebloom,” she began with a shaky voice, “I-I want you to know no matter what happens, I'm here for you, okay?”

Applebloom was a little startled and weirded out by the while thing but smiled at the reassurance. “Okay Twi, thanks—uhm, ah appreciate it.”

Without thought, Twilight kissed the filly on the head. The moment she realized what she did she feared violent squirming and retaliation, instead she felt two hooves around her and Applebloom's head buried in her chest. A look of happiness and love on her face.

“Thank ya Twi, It...Thank you.”

With the filly cradled in her hooves, the sat there for some time, embracing one another in a spur-the-moment familial love that it seemed both had been wanting for some time now. Applebloom felt pretty happy at this moment, blissfully unaware that Twilight's tears of joy that were matting her mane were in fact, tears of sympathy for a filly whom, until now was regarded as a burden, murderer, no good whining waste of space. She looked down at the cream colored filly who was now pursuing sleep. Applebloom was curled up into a little ball of fur with a bow on top. Twilight wished this moment could last a lifetime.

Meanwhile at the boutique, a similar event was unfolding, Sweetie Belle had opted to sleep with Scootaloo this evening, the darkness she wasn't all that used to frightened her. Thought she still cradled Scootaloo, subconsciously playing the role of a surrogate mother, she clung to the pegasus for safety, she could comfort the filly but only Scootaloo could protect her. She had a bad feeling in her stomach, be it from the food or roughhousing she wasn't too sure but it didn't feel good at all, save the warm orange fur that made the sickly feeling retreat only a moment.

Eviction Notice

Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo couldn't quite place a grounded estimate on how long they'd been asleep but it couldn't have been too long, Rarity was screaming about something and essentially dragging them out onto the street.

As their vision began to adjust to these abrupt and unwelcome conditions they noticed they were moving very quickly, they were galloping—toward the exit of Ponyville. They could see debris missing them by mere inches, and if they glanced back, they could see a crowd of very unhappy ponies with torches and pitchforks, hollering obscenities.

It turns out that Spike had recalled seeing Twilight pouting over her conspicuous documents, he wasn't sure what but his vague description of their appearance was more than enough for Celestia to devise a plan: have her weakened, give it time, and then destroy the documents. Twilight wasn't too keen on the idea and therefore was chased down by a spontaneous mob of angry ponies. How they or Rarity were implicated in any of this was beyond the filliy's understanding, and frankly they didn't have the energy to try to figure it out, the running—no sprinting was taking its toll on their tired, aching bodies. They grew scared as the mob drew closer.

“Rarity! What's happening!” Sweetie cried between gasps for air.

“No time! Keep running!” Rarity huffed as she charged forward, seeing her sister was lagging, she magicked her onto her back, Scootaloo managed to keep a decent lead so she continued on her own.

“They tried to torch my library!” Twilight gasped as she galloped like she never galloped before. “They were trying to destroy the papers!”

“TRAITORS!” The crowed roared as they inches even closer. Rarity could feel her hooves growing weaker, she wasn't going on too much longer.

Sweetie Belle, panting madly had a brilliant idea. They were coming onto the entrance of Ponyville, a small bridge that sat over a moat. She smiled as she prepared for her next move. The mob drew closer still, what was a mere fifty yards ahead seemed like an eternity, just a little more. Just as Twilight's back hooves passed the bridge, Sweetie went for it, and sure enough it didn't take long for the bridge to damn near explode from the blaze which was set. The mob stopped dead in their tracks, some hurling their torches and pitchforks at the five who dodged them wildly.

They sedge subsided as Mayor Mare took to the front of the mob.

“We the citizens of Ponyville, upon the orders of the Princess, hereby declare you BANISHED from our village! You have betrayed this kingdom, you have betrayed this town, and are no longer welcome here!”

“YEAH!” The mob chanted.

“Wha-what did we do?!” Applebloom asked, clearly afraid and confused.

The mob simply continued to throw things at them.

“Please! Can't we at least discuss this? Is such a spontaneous act of collective punishment a bit drastic? The fillies at least?”

“No!” The mayor barked, “You have tainted their minds with such horrible traitorous blasphemy there is no hope for their future!”

“This is simply ridiculous!” Rarity lectured, “Why to drag us out of bed, chase us down the street without hearing of our crimes? Did you intend to kill us? What in Equestria has--” She squealed as a flaming torch brushed her coat.

“If you know what is good for you, you will take our show of mercy and will leave at once!” Cheerilee had stepped forward now, she wore a hood.

“Ms Cheerilee?” The crusaders stood stunned and bug-eyed.

“I'm sorry girls.” The teacher stated reluctantly, “It is a shame you have been brainwashed to think such awful things of her highness, but that is no fault of our own. You all have done immeasurable good for this town and that is why we are letting you go.”

“But only if you make haste! Leave the perimeter of Ponyville at once!” The mayor jockeyed for the soapbox again.

“Good my ass! That little shit burnt the bridge!” hollered a random stallion.

“YEAH!” The mob boomed.

“Go! Now!” Cheerilee urged them, Twilight and company made their way into the Everfree Forest. The fillies were beyond crying, once they assumed safety, they plopped to the ground and were bawling.

Twilight and Rarity watched the fillies who had devolved to foals at this point, they looked at each other, than back at the small horizon of orange light that resembled the assembly of pitchforks, it began to dim every so slowly.

They were unable to think of anything to say, it seemed that just moments ago they departed from a beautiful day into a wonderful sleep, that everything was finally on the upswing. Apparently not.

“Well so much for taking Fluttershy's advice.” Twilight said sarcastically.

“What do we do Twilight? I've never been on the run? A Lady must never put herself in such harrowing circumstances! What ever will we eat? Make shelter? Ho--”

“Don't you worry about that Rarity, we'll be fine. We'll just find a place around here—maybe we can find Zecora and she can help us.”

They turned their attention to the fillies who had calmed down and were now staring off towards their former home. If it was jarring and confounding to the mares, it was doing a number and then some on them. The three sat side by side, tails inanimate and faces blank, all gazing at what to them was still just a terrible nightmare that just needed to end. Sweetie Belle finally turned to the other mares and trotted over to them.

“What are we going to do sis? What's a 'traitor'?” She was doing her best to keep her composure.

“Well Sweetie Belle—a traitor is somepony who....somepony who....” Rarity was having difficulty with this, as even she didn't really want to know what it was, though she did, the idea of confirming it would be less than comforting.

“A traitor is someone who goes against the ideals of their society or country.” Twilight assisted, “In our case, we saw things we weren't supposed to see and I would assume whoever saw what we were doing, they saw it as a threat to Equestria itself.”

The unicorn filly looked as if that was decent enough, the other fillies had turned to listen as well though they still sat overlooking the now completely dark horizon that rested over Ponyville.

“So...we're banished?” Sweetie Belle asked, “Ms Cheerilee always told us that that meant you can't go home—that you did something so bad that--” The unicorn filly chocked up again, between the thought of her teacher from moments ago and the realization that this indeed was her fate, she ran into her sister's coat and began to cry again. Rarity held her, shushed her, stroked the sobbing filly's mane, anything to comfort her, though in a way she was trying to comfort herself too. Applebloom had cuddled up to Scootaloo and was crying into her shoulder.

Twilight stood there and observed her friends. She had done this. Had she not ever taken those stupid things so seriously and had them involved, she wouldn't be--

Her thoughts were interrupted by a loud rustling from a distance. The second time all the ponies froze in fear. All except for Sweetie Belle who completely lost it.

“I thought they would leave us alone!” Sweetie Belle howled as she trembled violently, clinging to her sister's coat for dear life.

Soon though, the sounds revealed their source, one cyan and one light yellow pegasus came swooping down into the clearing they had found. Fluttershy had obviously shed some tears herself, they must've seen this all play out, helpless as to what to do.

“Oh my goodness, I'm so glad you're all okay!” Fluttershy was still shaken somewhat,

“I guess they were merciful...” Twilight acknowledged, “They could have very easily--” She decided to stop as the fillies were close by and didn't need anything else burdening their heads and their hearts at the moment.

“Merciful?!” Rarity almost snapped, “Are you kidding me? They nearly killed us! If that barbaric, senseless, appalling behavior is what you consider 'merciful' than I'd die before I see what 'justice' is!”

“Probably would have you stupid cunt.” Rainbow muttered,

“Wha—Excuse me? You want to go and call me names you blow-hard! What do you have to loose? Oh that's right—nothing! You live in the clouds for heavens sake! You can just move your pretty little estate wherever you'd like! Me? I have but the fur on my back and my mane! My business? My home? My own parents? Hell for all we know they were part of the mob! And may I add one more thing you self curiousus whore, don't you ever talk to me like that again!”

“Girls! Enough!” Twilight did not was this to escalate.

“Oh buck off!” Rainbow retorted, on her feet now and in Rarity's face, “You of all ponies to call someone else a whore! Ha! Why don't you tell Sweetie Belle about your fantastic little adventure in the back of a rusty carriage huh? All the stallions that slammed you because they knew they could? Little prissy pussy is what they called you and you lived up to it pretty damn well.”

Rarity was just about ready to destroy that smug pegasus then and there and was poising too, when a white unicorn filly stood between them.

“STOP!” The filly was bawling, her voice was cracking at every sound, she hated fighting, and of all times right now. “Both of you please stop!” She broke down again and curled up into a quivering mass on the ground.

Rainbow and Rarity looked at each other shamefully, Rarity leveled down to her sister.

“We're sorry Sweetie Belle, we—it just happens sometimes--”

“Well it doesn't need to happen now dammit!” Scootaloo trotted to her friends side, wings out in full ready to fight whoever got in her way. “Quit acting like foals and let's try to at least make it through tonight!”

The two mares wanted to chastise her on her vulgarity but that would be a opaque act of hypocrisy so they opted otherwise. Rarity took her sister and found a tree to lay next to. She plopped down and pulled her sister beside her. Rainbow Dash on the other hand was glaring at the offensive orange filly who still stood firmly where she was before, now glaring at her with nothing short of a look of disappointment. After awhile Scoots muzzled Rainbow’s hoof.

“I'm sorry.” She said softly, “I-I just don't like seeing Sweetie Belle hurt....i don't like seeing anypony hurt.” Scootaloo herself felt some tears escape her eyes. The older pegasus recoiled her hoof in disgust, this parasite that just told her off is trying to suck up. Scootaloo noticed this and looked up to see the same look of disgust on the cyan pegasus' face.

Fluttershy, sensing trouble gestured Scootaloo to come to where she was. She scooped up the orange filly in her hooves and lay with her as Rarity did with her sister. Rainbow simply pouted and floated up to a high, thick branch of a tree and opted to sleep there.

Twilight cast her gaze to Applebloom who was still sitting at the vantage point, her head lowered now she was obviously crying as well. The mare trotted to her and put a comforting hoof around her.

“Hey.” Twilight began soothingly,

The filly looked up at her, her eyes were gleaming from a fresh stream of tears threatening to surge down her face any moment now.

“We'll be alright.” Twilight brought the filly into a hug where she too let herself succumb to her angst, anger, and depression.

They all eventually found sleep in this happenstanced clearing, none of them wanted to wake up, their lives, their love, their friends, had just been pulled from under them and it seemed that their loose bonds were already being torn at the seams. Still, they managed to find sleep.

A New Challenge Approaches!

Waking up wasn't something anypony wanted to do, and with the way things had went, Applebloom wanted nothing to do with anything. Her sister and brother who once loved her with every fiber of their being now disowned her, the town she grew up in banished her, and the few friends she had looked as if they wanted to be anywhere but together. The farm filly groggily attempted to stand up but noticed a two lavender hooves kept her down, one under her own hoof, and the other around her stomach, it was comfy last night but now she wanted to get moving.

Somehow the filly with the bow managed to move the hooves to free herself without disturbing their owner. She stretched some and then made her way to the center of the clearing. Looking around everypony else was still asleep thought it was easily mid-day. She wasn't sure what to do, where she wanted to go, or why she even cared, however she did not want to be up and around by herself.

She went to where Sweetie Belle was, at some point she broke free of her sister's grip in the night, and nudged her gently. The white unicorn filly rolled the other direction, not wanting anything to do with whomever was impeding on her peaceful sleep. Applebloom, being the stubborn one wasn't having this. She nudged the filly again, this time a little harder. Sweetie Belle finally came to and opened her eyes fully, making a mental note to curse whoever this was. She got up, repeated the same initial routine as Applebloom and sat by her friend. They didn't speak for some time.

“So...” Sweetie Belle began, “What's up?”

“Ah dunno.” The farm filly sighed, “Ah just hate bein' all by mahself in the mornin'.”

“Well, you could've gone back to sleep.” The unicorn said matter-of-fact.

“Ah can't go back ta sleep once I've woken up. Ah've tried, jus' doesn't work.”

They were silent again, shuffling their hooves about, stretching them some to try to feel as awake as possible.

“Ahm bored.” Apple Bloom sighed.

“Me too.” Sweetie Belle groaned. She beamed then at the sudden thought of potential fun. “Let's wake up Scootaloo.”

“Ah woulda but, she's with Fluttershy, and Shy's got her pretty good, you know how scared that pegasus can git, and Scoot's ain't the prettiest patch on the pasture in the mornin'.”

Sweetie Belle could care less, she made had already made her way to where Fluttershy and Scootaloo were nestled by the tree, Scootaloo wrapped in two hooves and a pair of wings, contempt as could be. Sweetie Belle had an idea. Scootaloo liked food, and would most certainly rouse into the day with some snack in hoofs' reach.

Only problem is they didn't have any food. Sweetie felt her tummy rumble itself, she was hungry too.

Applebloom heard her stomach's discontent and hers sang to the same tune, they looked at each other for a second, then Applebloom remembered something. She gestured Sweetie to follow her into the forest.

Sweetie wasn't too sure about leaving the safety of the clearing but Applebloom had surged ahead and so she was left to trot after her.

“Where are we going Applebloom? I don't think we should be out her like this, what if somepony is looking for us?” Sweetie whined.

“Aw don't be such a foal Sweetie.” Applebloom jeered, “Ah remember Twi said somethin' bout' Zecura.”

“The Zebra witch?” Sweetie barely remembered her.

“Sure.” Applebloom said somewhat annoyed, “Ah remember she showed me what ah could eat if ah was ever lost in the forest, ahm sure we can find plenty of stuff ta eat 'round here. She says thick bushes and wild brush means that ain't any ponies been 'round for awhile so there's sure to be somethin'.”

Applebloom and Sweetie Belle continued a bit deeper, Sweetie Belle making a guide in her head as to how to navigate back to the clearing, though she was more interested in food at the moment. She bumped into Applebloom who had stopped.

“What do you see?” Sweetie Belle tried to poke her head over the filly and decided to come to her side instead. What she saw was a very thick scraggly bush with berries of many kinds. She reached out a hoof to take one, though a cream colored hoof smacked it away.

“Now ya can't jus' go an' pick whatever ya see on these here bushes.” Applebloom lectured, “Ya'll hafta know the right ones.”

“So...what are they?” Sweetie Belle was shaking from excitement but deflated some at the idea this wasn't going to be easy.

“Ya can't eat tha black ones 'cause they give ya a tummy ache,” Applebloom went through, explaining the ailments and alleviations each particular berry produced, giving the occasional “safe one” for Sweetie to try, one was rather bitter but the others were sweet and flavorful.

“Wow Applebloom, these are really good!” Sweetie Belle was happy as could be now that she was finally eating something.

“Yeah well, you know...” Applebloom blushed, proud of herself for being the 'big pony' for once.
“It's always good to know what's around these parts just in case.”

The two fillies then worked on detaching the senior branch of the bushel to bring it back in its entirety to the clearing. Sweetie Belle had already weeded out the “bad ones” and so they began assaulting the branch with their teeth until it came loose, then hoisted it on one anther’s back and trotted back to the clearing. Stumbling some trying to stay close but they did it nonetheless.

Sweetie took a hooffull of berries and trotted to Scootaloo, she wasn't that grand with cooking but she could so some basic levitation, she was able to magick the berries up to Scootaloo's nose that automatically detected them. She stirred a bit and lazily opened her eyes to see. She looked up at her pink-manded protector and grimaced. Unlike Applebloom and Sweetie Belle this was going to take some work if she wanted to not wake her.

She looked around for options but she was far too snug. She gently tapped Fluttershy's hooves to wake her up. Much to their surprise Fluttershy woke up rather calmly, she must be too tired to be startled. She got up on her hooves and Scootaloo shot out from her now empty plot and dove into the pile of berries. Making a mess of herself.

“Mm! These are awesome!” Scootaloo grinned, “Where'd you girls find these?”

“Applebloom knew a thing or two about how to find them.” Sweetie gestured a hoof to a grinning Applebloom whose cheeks burned red with embarrassment.

“Now girls, this is very nice and all but you really shouldn't be heading out into the forest by yourselves. Remember what happened when I was foalsitting you girls at my cottage?”

Sweetie and Applebloom nodded, shot down a bit by this. Scootaloo was rather displeased.

“So? I don't see you going out there and bringing us food!” The smaller pegasus growled stamping a hoof for emphasis. “Lay off them we're not even awake yet!”

Fluttershy meekly retreated to the base of the tree and looked on as the fillies gorged on their find. Scootaloo, feeling bad pushed a decent pile in Fluttershy's direction. She silently accepted her apology and ate daintily.

It was some time that the remaining three mares woke from their slumber, Twilight had heard some of the exchange between Scoots and Fluttershy and refused the temptation to wake up then. Rainbow Dash was the only one who had the fortune of waking up on her own terms. By then however, the berries were gone. The ponies below were contempt and simply sat around charring and playing.

“Nice to know you left some for me.” Rainbow Dash grumbled as she plopped on the ground.

Nopony else was in too good of a mood to deal with her grogginess, Scootaloo lead her into the forest to scavenge her own food.

“What do you want brat?” Rainbow hissed, she assumed this was some kind of appeasement.

Scootaloo was put off as well, “Maybe for you to be a little less cranky. Look, here's a bush of berries, don't eat the black ones and you'll be fine.” The filly then made her way back when a cyan hoof tapped her back. She wheeled around to see Rainbow Dash looking at her with a look of shame.

“Ah, sorry kiddo, this whole thing hasn't been too grand for any of us. Besides, I'm not too fun in the morning so for future reference, its best to let me do my thing.”

Scootaloo simply nodded and trotted off back to where the ponies were.

Rarity had eaten with the initial haul as well and was in the process of tediously magicking her mane back into its pristine form, aiding Sweetie Belle as well who in her ill-fated attempts managed to set her own mane on fire. They had managed to find a stream to where they could see their reflection.

“You doing alright Sweetie Belle?” Rarity casually asked,

“I guess.” Sweetie Belle sighed, “I guess things could be worse.”

Her sister simply nodded and put a hoof on her when she had finished her mane, “Twilight will find a way out of this I'm sure, she usually does.” The mare smiled and they both made their way back out.

“Wait, why just Twilight and not us?” Sweetie was curious.

“Well...I'm not really the most resourceful mare this side of the Everfree Sweetie, you of all ponies should know that. I am repulsed by the most mundane things.”

“Yeah but Applebloom found food, and it turns out Scootaloo is great and getting through thick brush and branches, I'm sure we can all work together and make some good come out of all of this.” She smiled at the thought.

Rarity smiled as well, her sister seemed rather confident and optimistic, A far cry from last night where life itself seemed futile and without merit.

Now that they were all fed, awake, and In as pristine form as their conditions allowed, they all sat in a circle around the now fruitless bush and discussed the long term matter at hand.

“I don't suppose anyponmy has any real ideas.” Rainbow Dash began, she wanted to start this conversation assuring her friends she didn't want any part in the planning process.

“Ooh!” Applebloom was excited, this could be her second contribution to the their plight, “We could build our own little house an' live off the land! Ah could help! Ahm really good with buildin' and fixin' things!”

Rainbow Dash couldn't help but snort at the idea of the three fillies micromanaging a home construction project, especially with the scant materials they had. Applebloom deflated some. The silence that followed being a polite rejection.

Twilight looked to Rarity who nodded, much to Sweetie Belle's dismay. Twilight let out a sigh. She opened a saddlebag she mad managed to take with her though the chase and up to this place. Inside were the scrolls and even the book that she had been scrutinizing all this time. There was no going back so why not?

“Or, we could do something great, we may be a meek team but—we could travel to someplace like Manehatten, publish these findings in a book and disperse it throughout--”

Rainbow Dash yawned. “Lame! We're not going all the way to Manehatten just to write a stupid book. We already had one mob too many.”

Scootaloo remembered their excitement from when they had first seen these papers and heard of their taboo accounts.

“Or, we could do what we were gonna do anyway!”

Everypony looked her direction for her to elaborate.

“Well, remember when we said we should be 'Cutie Mark Crusader Freedom Fighters'? Why not go down in history doing the most awesome thing imaginable! Kicking Celestia's flank and saving Equestria!”

“Yeah!” The other two fillies squealed in excitement.

“OK squirt listen.” Rainbow Dash said, suppressing a fit of laughter. “You expect us—just us five to just trot on over to Canterlot, over-throw the crown and everything to go smooth in between?”

Scootaloo deflated, her ears dropped. “Well—it's an idea isn't it! Better than nothing!” She pouted.

“She has a point.” Twilight said, “We really have nothing to loose at this point.”

Rainbow was baffled, “Twi come on, you can't possibly be serious!” Twilight simply nodded.

“I concur.” Rarity stood up, head held high, “If they have the audacity to have us ousted by a band of ignorant cowards than by the heavens we can give them a taste of their own medicine!”

“YEAH!” The three fillies bounced with excitement.

“But uh, just us?” Fluttershy asked.

The excitement deflated back into reality as they realized, there was no way they were going to pull this off alone.

“We are going to need reinforcement.” Twilight acknowledged. “Fluttershy, you're not banished, perhaps you and Rainbow can go to Cloudsdale and recruit some assistance, if any other place in Equestria ought to bare a grudge against all of this it must be them.”

Rainbow busted out laughing, “Oh this is rich! You actually thing the council would take this seriously? I don't think so!”

“Well, what's your alternative then?” Rarity snapped.

“Yeah Rainbow Crash, you seem scared,” Scootaloo mocked.

Being cornered by Rarity was one thing, being called her least favorite name by her former 'number one fan' was the straw that broke the ponies back. “I got nothin'.” She shot a glare of hate Scootaloo's way who shrunk back into the other two fillies.

“I guess it's worth a shot.” Fluttershy said.

“There's the attitude!” Twilight beamed, “Now all we have to do now is figure out how we're going to make this work! We all need to comb over these pages and brainstorm some ideas, then we can come up with the most effective way forward.”

“YAY!” the fillies squealed. “CUTIE MAR--” they stopped some, cutie marks were kinda lame now but they shrugged, it worked. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER FREEDOM FIGHTERS—ya!”

Rainbow Douche

The plan was this: Twilight, the crusaders, and Rarity would slowly inch their way through the Everfree to the base of Canterlot mountain, where, assuming Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy had done their job, an armada of pissed of Cloudsdalians would be ready and waiting to aid them in their sacking of Canterlot. Everypony had the aura of intimidation by the whole thing, one slip and the whole plan could be in shambles and their flanks obliterated, however, at this point, sans the two pegasai, they had nothing to loose, except each-other.

Rainbow Dash, with a squeamish and absurdly paranoid Fluttershy were well on their way to Cloudsdale, considering this was the time of year it floated near Ponyville. Rainbow was somewhat concerned as well, the last thing they needed was to have all of Equestria hunting them down, guilty by association. They made their way down to the landing area at the edge of the downtown portion of the floating city. A majestic array of cloud-carved buildings, boasting a vast variety of shapes, deformities, dispositions, and decorations populated the skyline with color, lights, and a general feeling of superiority to the rest of Equestria, certainly Ponyville.

“So Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy began meekly as the trotted into the street, bustling with pegasai, “What should we do first?” Twilight’s initial plan required the two go on a diplomatic mission of sorts. With Rainbow's reputation and Fluttershy's charisma among other things, the unicorn was certain they could get the job done and amass a gathering of support. Though that was the farthest from Dash's mind at the present.

“Yeah, I dunno—But I do know one thing!” She said, detouring towards a renowned and revered diner at the center of the city, “I'm hungry!”

“Oh but Rainbow, Twilight said we need to--” Fluttershy panicked. Rainbow stopped a hoof on her mouth.

“Relax.” Rainbow smiled reassuringly, “We can get this boring stuff done soon, besides, at the rate they were going today, it's going to be awhile before they even get to the south end of Rambling Ridge.”

“Oh—I guess you're right.” Fluttershy surrendered.

They entered the sparsely packed diner, the prominent sounds were the busywork in the kitchen and some light music playing from a jukebox on the opposite side of the restaurant, tucked between two booths. Rainbow picked the one with a window facing the street outside, it was furthest from any other ponies, and was right next to the phonograph—she could use some relaxing tunes.

To Rainbow's chagrin, the only staffer who seem to recognize her, at least enough to proclaim her presence to his staff as a euphemistic order of encouragement, was the manager, Brice.

“Ah Dash! Been awhile kiddo.” Brice had a rather husky voice, not old by any means but was at least a decade senior of Rainbow and Fluttershy.

“Heh, you can say that again.” Rainbow chuckled, “How's business?”

“Oh, you know—the usual. About this time everypony who can scoots out of here for a vacation.” He laughed, “I'll get one of my stallions to come take your order. See ya around!” Brice disappeared into the kitchen and, within minutes, a pimply faced youthy stallion emerged. This was obviously a rookie. Rainbow Dash was going to have some fun.

“W-wel-welcome to Poseidon’s Perch, today's special is--” Rainbow shushed him with a delicate hoof.

“Whoa there stud, slow down a bit, I was busy admiring a handsome young stallion and didn't quite catch what you said.” The stallion turned beat red, trembling some now.

“Than—Are you ready to order?” The stallion was still trembling.

“No need to rush, I was kind enjoying your company.” Rainbow Dash was playing this for some reason, Fluttershy wasn't sure why but she had some kind of endgame.

“The boss doesn't like me idling too long--” He jerked his head back to see the door to the kitchen was closed. “--I'm almost off son so I guess I can chat a bit.” He cleared is throat and did his best to straighten out.

“Ooh, almost off hm?” Rainbow seductively ran a hoof through his mane. Neither of the mares bothered to look down slightly, they knew enough by the look on his half petrified, half dreamy face.

“You cut me some slack and I'll give you something in return.”

What in Equestria are you doing Rainbow Dash?! Fluttershy thought frantically, she wasn't about to entertain a stallion who was likely a teenager, she knew Rainbow Dash would sidestep the kid and make Fluttershy responsible for doing whatever she wanted the stallion to think Dash herself was going to do. Fortunate though, she abstained from further teasing, at least for now.

“Yeah I'd like one of your deluxe bacon burgers, a large order of hay fries, and a smoothie.” Rainbow then turned her gaze to Fluttershy.

“And you ma'm?” The stallion asked, a crack in his voice.

“Oh—uh, well..” Fluttershy had been fixated on Rainbow's strange ploy and hadn't glanced at the menu. The stallion panicked, worried he had upset her, and therefore killed whatever chance he allegedly had with this wonderful cyan pegasus he had heard so much of. Rainbow saw it in his eyes and gave him a look of slight disdain.

“Well, don't worry ma'm, take your time—I'll go get your order ready Ms.” The stallion stumbled into the kitchen as Fluttershy looked up from her menu. She wanted to know what her friend was up to.

“Oh relax Fluttershy, I don't have any bits and neither do you. We play it cool, score some free grub, a hotel, and then we do all the egghead mumbo jumbo Twilight was yacking about.”

“It seems awfully mean Rainbow Dash, taking advantage of a teenager.” Fluttershy was of no mood to scold or scowl, but she did have a look of disappointment.

“Well do you have any food? How about a place to crash? Didn't think so so let me do the work here and you can do all the work there okay?” Rainbow was frustrated by her friend's natural apathetic slant.

“Speaking of which,” Fluttershy began, “You and Scootaloo don't seem to be getting along.” She didn't intend to broach something like this but anything to take her mind off of Dash's little game and onto their pertinent and important matters at hoof was welcome.

“Pssh, that whiny little brat?” Rainbow huffed, “She's the most annoying filly I've ever met! I can see why she's an orphan, if I were her parents I woulda bailed to.” She didn't mean any of this of course bit she was on a roll. Might as well have some fun with Flutters too.

“Rainbow Dash!” Fluttershy hissed, “How could you say such a thing! She thinks the world of you! You are to her what the Wonderbolts are to you!”

“Yeah well at least I have a shot at the Wonderbolts—that squirt? She can't even fly!” Rainbow shook from suppressed laughter, “The little flank-face can't even hover for more than a minute! When I was her age I was doing laps around Cloudsdale at wicked speeds, even you were all over the place. Her? She's a lost cause.” There was a hint of truth there.

“You don't mean that.”

“Why do you care about her so much? I don't. All we need to worry about is us Fluttershy, this whole thing goes down, I don't want to be stuck with three blanks flanks, a librarian, and—whatever the hell Rarity is.”

Fluttershy was appalled, Rainbow was amused. Neither of them spoke as they were served their food and ate, Fluttershy was disgusted at what she had heard.

They then left the diner, with Rainbow's new “date”. They were able to push their tab his way and were now en-route to a hotel. Rainbow's play was that they needed a place to stay and would “meet him there later” Reality being of course that they were going to depart ways at the wrong hotel, and of course, would never see him again—or that was the plan anyway.

Fluttershy looked out the window of their room, it was getting dark, the sun was descending, now below Cloudsdale, producing a pink glow on the horizon, a pleasant view. Though Fluttershy worried about her friends more than anything.

Filly With The Bow

Back on land, the sunset was still high enough to paint a frayed but striking gradient of gentle blue fading into a dreamy orange-pink blend, complemented by the bright, golden sun that sat behind the shadowed trees and mountains on the horizon.

Twilight and company had managed to find a cave, vacant, and near a clearing no less. This of course following a few hours of pouting, whining, and grumpy fillies, more than anxious to catch some shut-eye.

Twilight had constructed a small fire-pit in the center of the clearing, with some assistance from Applebloom; Rarity and Sweetie Belle were tracing the edges of the clearing to find some leaves and straw to make hasty little mattresses for their damp little cave. Scootaloo was sitting in between it all, musing over one thing and one thing only.

What did I do to Rainbow Dash? The pegasus thought. She knew enough that the mare didn't hate her, though she certainly confided in the safety of her head that she could be persistent and annoying, she failed still to grasp what horrible, inexplicable thing she did to make her idol her antagonist.

Applebloom watched her feathered friend, whist monitoring the slowly evolving fire in the center of a small dirt enclave she and Twilight had created.

“Ya think she's alright?” Applebloom looked to her unicorn guardian, “She looks awful worried about somethin'”

Twilight had yet to see Scootaloo's internal struggle...shown clearly by her cold face, and her eyes gleaming in concentration. “Hmmmm” The unicorn thought, “Perhaps you should go ask her?”

Applebloom simple chuckled, How did ah not think a that? She asked herself as she gingerly trotted to her friend's side.

Twilight looked on and smiled gently as she knew Applebloom cared deeply for her friends, it was likely just foalish business anyway. She turned back to the fire that had grown, Sweetie Belle had gone to the cave with Rarity who looked ready to call it a night as well. Twilight was busying her thoughts as well, amongst the pollution of determination, resentment, fear, and elaboration that swirled around, one more sentimental thing managed to claim the top tier of her thoughts.

When should she know?

Applebloom had yet to be told of her senior sisters' putrid portrayal of her, not did she have the slightest inclination that her siblings had held an awful undertow of hate and disdain for all of her life, for all the filly knew, they were just going through hard times and things would get better. Even after their eviction from town, she was sure her sister and Big Mac were looking for her.

She still loved them, and believed that they felt the same. Twilight could tell as she had not heard one syllable of lament or disappointment about the Apple Family from the filly with a bow, in fact she had managed to tangle herself in the notion that the drunken assault was “just an accident.”

The lavender unicorn's flurry of conscience concern was halted as Rarity sat beside her. Sweetie Belle was nowhere to be seen—likely asleep in the cave.

“This is quite the impressive ember Twilight I must say.” The white unicorn complemented.

“Oh well, don't rush to credit me for all of it.” Twilight laughed, “Applebloom had a hoof in a lot of this.” Both mares turned to watch the cream and orange filly, side by side discussing something. Though their hushed voices, distance, and the crackling of the embers made it unintelligible.

A look of concern came about Rarity's face. “Do you know what they are talking about?”

“I'm afraid not.” Twilight sighed, turning back to the fire. “Applebloom was initially concerned and I suggested she go talk with her—try to see what's up.”

“I feel like a terrible mother.” Rarity said, “I've been with my sister all evening and have hardly given her any attention....perhaps that is it?”

“I don't think so Rarity, it has been pretty crazy after all, maybe she's just deep in thought—I think we've all had our fair share of that.”

“Too true.” Rarity admitted, “I hope Fluttershy and Rainbow are alright.”

“I'm sure they'll do fine.” Twilight concluded as she inched back from the ever warming fire.

The two fillies had parted from their talk and were now sitting by their respective chaperones. Applebloom sat next to Twilight, in awe of the blaze before them, while Scootaloo was tucked into Rarity's hooves, silent, but her look suggested that she wasn't too contempt with the day's events.

Rarity gave the filly some time to cradle into her hooves and rest her head into her fur, she too was now looking at the fire, Rarity turned her gaze down to a purple mane.

“Scootaloo dear is something wrong? You see....You don't seem to happy.”

Scootaloo let out a sigh before turning to face Rarity, “I am, but it's okay now.” She put on a weak smile, hoping to evade inquiry but that wasn't happening.

“Sweetie, you just seem downtrodden and sad...you know you can talk to mommy about anything that's troubling you.” Rarity bit her tongue, 'Mommy'. Yes Rarity, let us embarrass her and make her to be a fail in front of our friends, what an effective means to an end.

Scootaloo didn't seem to mind, “I'm sacred Rari—Mom. We aren't going to make it are we?”

“Darling what makes you think that? I certainly have never gotten the impression...despite everything that has happened...I thought you were eager to embark on this adventure?” Rarity put on a warm smile and pulled the filly to her chest, stroking her mane.

Scootaloo surrendered to her coddling for a few moments, it was nice to have some positive, comforting attention from Rarity. Though the words of her adoptive mother weren't putting her concerns to rest.

“But what if we fail? What if we get caught and are banished from Equestria?” Scootaloo whined, these last few days had proven not so great between the idol and her number one fan.

“Scootaloo, I won't let that happen to you. We won't get 'caught' but in the chance we are less than successful, you and Sweetie Belle, and Applebloom will be safe from harm.” The unicorn ran out of words, she wasn't really sure how to make the filly happy with this, It seemed a rather rough and bold thing for her to say, especially considering her own druthers.

“Are you sure?” Scootaloo asked, her eyes large and beady with concern.

“I know so Scootaloo. I am your mother, it is my duty to protect you, you and Sweetie Belle, I won't let anypony hurt you.” Rarity lifted the filly to her back hooves so she was eye level with a sitting Rarity, she pulled Scootaloo into a tight hug.

Twilight could hear a slight sniffling sound emanating from her left. She turned from the scene before her to see Applebloom, tears trickling down her face. Her head turned slightly to avoid making eye contact and ruining this moment. Rarity and Scootaloo must have noticed as well as they had concluded their embrace and were looking at her as well.

“What's wrong Applebloom?” Scootaloo asked innocently.

The farm filly was stunned to have summoned their attention, she looked over at her friend, revealing the extent of her sobbing, but attempted to supplant the notion she was fine.

“Ah—Ahm fine Scoots, d-don't worry 'bout me.” She lied.

Scootaloo took her friends' word and returned to being wrapped in her mothers' embrace, though Rarity kept an eye in the cream colored fillys' direction.

Applebloom shivered from her suppressed sobbing, finally blurting out her tremulous torment,

“AH MISS MAH SISTER!” She whaled as she melted into Twilight's hooves, bawling like a foal.

“Ah miss her, ah miss her, ah miss her!” She screamed, muffled by Twilight's fur. A chill ran down Twilight's spine. It was do or die, and this was going to be a pretty dangerous ride. She looked to Rarity, affirming that she was going for it. Rarity decided to get Scootaloo to bed while this unfolded as to prevent the filly from innocently injecting her bias into the issue.

Twilight waited until the two were well into the cave and lifter Applebloom's head so her soggy face was staring at her.

“Applebloom...” Twilight chocked some, “We need to talk about something....” She was already slipping. The whole monologue she had assembled in her head vanished, never to be reclaimed again.

The filly simply sniffled and looked at her, “What is it?”

Twilight let out a heavy sigh, she wasn't sure how to go about this, and frankly she didn't want to—though there was no turning back, if she didn't say it now, she wouldn't have the courage to say it again.

“Well, your sister and your brother....they....wanted you gone.” Twilight cursed herself. So, I see we're just going to throw the frigid water right from the get-go? Smooth Twilight. real smooth.

Much to her surprise, the filly was sitting now, listening.

“...When she hurt you that night, it wasn't an accident...Well....I talked to her shortly before we...left. The things she said to me, well they were just terrible.”

Applebloom was worried, but not for the reasons that Twilight had hoped, she didn't want to have to spell it out for her. The filly panicked, a million things met her mind at once.

“Wha? Is she sick too? Is Big Mac dead? Sweet Apple Acres gonna close down? Wha-” The filly's barrage of questions was hushed by a lavender hoof.

“There are times when....there is a pony in your life you don't like, that has done you ill and you don't like them at all, but you....pretend, you pretend to because deep down inside you don't want to hurt them—not because you love them, but because—well—because it wouldn't look good otherwise.”

Silence ruled for a few moments, Applebloom trying to understand what she heard and Twilight trying to understand what she just said.

“Applejack hates you?” Applebloom asked, “All of you? Fer that stuff y'all found?”

Well shit. Twilight thought, she was suddenly very tired. I really, really didn't want to have to say it.
Her mind tripped and her mouth trampled it and left it in the dust, courtesy of an unknown burst of desperation:

“They hate you.” Twilight went cold realizing she just said that aloud.

Applebloom sat there for a moment, no real emotion present on her face, however, Twilight didn't have muich time to really gauge her response for she was on her back, a furious filly on top of her.

“You're a LIAR!” Applebloom growled, “Mah sister don't hate me you..you monster!”

The filly was surprisingly strong, not Scootaloo's level by any means but it surprised Twilight for sure.

“Ah can't believe you'd say somethin' like that! Ah thought you cared 'bout me!” A blind fury was boiling, bursting at the seams and threatened to pulverize the lavender unicorn below that had just delivered the ultimate shock to her conscience, her very sense of self.

“Applebloom get off me!” The unicorn demanded, the filly didn't listen instead she punched the unicorn in the face, now crying and attacking the unicorn. This of course came to an abrupt end when a white filly dove from out of nowhere and tackled the cream filly to the ground. An orange filly quickly scampered to the toppled filly's side, aiding in her restraint.

“Yer a LIAR Twilight! I hate you!” The red-maned filly screamed violently as she thrashed about, trying to free herself from her friends' hold.

“Oh really?” Twilight was equally furious, “Someone who loves you lets you starve? Beats you? Nearly kills you? All because they're depressed? You think a pony does that for no reason? Applebloom listen to me! They had resentment for you since you we--”

“SHUT UP!” the filly kept screaming, still not free from the two fillies straining to pin her down, Scootaloo now on to of her stomach with Sweetie on her back hooves.

“--since you were born...” Twilight continued as if nothing happened, “Your mother died giving birth to you—they blamed you for it and hated you for taking their mother away. She said it herself: 'The only reason I didn't kill her is because I wasn't drunk enough to do it'” Paraphrasing and tossing a salad of quotes for sure but it did sum up the conversation at the farm pretty well...or as well as her tepid rage would allow. They were all tired, all irritated, and had zero tolerance for anything at this point.

Applebloom stopped her resistance, she stopped screaming. It hit her. It took being tackled, screamed at, and making a total foal of herself but it hit her. She was by no means stupid, though her ignorance and blissful aspiration for a perfect life with her perfect family was prior to now, violently evading any remote recognition or even acknowledgment of what Twilight was saying.

In her mind it came down to this: They did treat her horribly, for weeks, neither of them did anything about it. When she fled the house, they never sent her an apology, never asked about her. She had never heard anything suggesting that they even cared she had left. Then, a cold, stinging string of words rattled in her mind, every reverb was another chisel at her shield of denial,

“Y'all get, I don't ever wanna see you again, an I don't ever wanna hear from you again, I fucking hate you, so does Big Mac, you ain't never been good for nothin'!.....”

This string of hatred, rejection, a confirmation of all the unbelievable things Twilight had said, collaged with the memories of a dark room, blood, mercy—on her part. The switch.... her defense was gone. This was real, it was true, and there was not a thing in the world she could do about it. Pure shock took control, she lay, mentally paralyzed on the ground, quivering with tears streaming down her face again. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle eased off slowly and looked at her with concern.

“Come now girls, let Twilight handle this now.” Rarity whisked the two back into the cave.

Applebloom still lay right where she was, spitting out an occasional crying sound, still too rattled to open her mouth, move, anything. Twilight slowly approached her, lifted her, and pulled her into a hug, wrapped tightly in her hooves, the filly released, screaming, sobbing, whaling. All the pent up confusion, horror, pain came barreling out in one hostile marathon of tears.

After what seemed like an eternity, still shaken, Applebloom looked up at Twilight, her voice trembled as she cautiously posed her question.

“You still love me don't you Twi?”

Twilight had tears in her eyes as well. She smiled as did the filly. “Yes.”

“Thank you.....Ah love you too.”

Element Of Patience.

Twilight and Applebloom, now alone sat around the crackling fire, the silence of the woodland surrounding them was calming; a well deserved interlude before the next surge of dramatic events. Applebloom was, simply put; in a strange state of mind at the present: she was displaced by the revelations of earlier, yet it felt as if a massive weight had been hoisted from her, it was almost as if she had known of these things all her life and the confirmation of it was the release of these burdensome thoughts.

The filly decided that there was no sense in wallowing in such things, not now anyway. They had a job to do—and frankly she didn't have the slightest as to what exactly it was.

“Twilight?” Applebloom asked, using her full name as a sort of subconscious protest to her upbringing.

“Yes Applebloom?” Twilight replied.

“Is all this stuff you been sayin' about the Princess true? She really a no-good lyin' hooligan like mah sister?”

“Well....yes.” Twilight said unsure of whether this was a safe subject so soon after their confrontation.

“So, why did everypony chase us out of town? Why didn't they believe you like we did?”

“Good question Applebloom,” The library put a hoof to her chin, thinking of how to explain this to her.

“Remember that word Scootaloo had trouble saying?”

“Propo-something?”

Twilight laughed, “Yes, it's 'propaganda'. It is stories rulers will tell their subjects is true when they really aren't—they do this so their subjects think they are noble and good when they really aren't. Then, nopony will have any reason to question them.--Does that make sense?”

“So they lie to make themselves look good so people forget about all the bad stuff they did?”

“Well, that's part of it—there will still be ponies who know what happened so you have to make them as comfortable as possible under your rule to make it so they don't care and eventually forget.”

“So, Ms Cheerilee was one of those ponies that knew?”

“I can't be too sure on that one, likely more her own teacher than anything. Like us, she likely believes all of these stories and had never heard anything else.” Twilight noticed the filly trying to mask a yawn, they were both spent for sure.

“We'll chat some more tomorrow; we all need to have a bit of a discussion it seems.” Twilight got up and smothered the fire with some dirt. “Let's head off to bed kid.”

Applebloom conjured a grin and followed her into the cave. They could see, illuminated by the moon that Sweetie Belle and Rarity had done quite the job: four make-shift beds were scattered at the rear wall of the cave. Rarity was sprawled and on her stomach on one, Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo were snuggled up on the other, which left a separate one for both of them though the filly wasn't too keen on that.

As Twilight was preparing to crawl onto her bed and get some sleep, a cream colored filly joined her, clinging to her sides in a firm hug. Twilight wanted to get some sleep; she knew the filly was one to wake up early and wasn't one to stay quiet when others were asleep. The unicorn gambled crashing this whole evening for the sake of her own sleep.

“Applebloom?” Twilight asked, slowly removing the fillys hooves which caused Applebloom to look at her. “I'd really like to sleep by myself tonight, I need all the rest I can get—this whole week has left me pretty tired. Nothing against you—I promise.”

Applebloom thought about crying and making a scene, she felt like she was being pushed away, neglected, her face slumped and her lip quivered. Twilight hugged the filly.

“Don't be upset Applebloom,” she whispered, “I'm right here if you need anything. Remember what Rarity said to Scootaloo when she was afraid?”

Twilight could feel the filly nodding her head, though reluctant to leave the unicorn's grip.

“The same goes for me. You'll be safe here.” She removed her hooves once again and Applebloom sat there for a moment, looking at the ground, whimpered something unintelligible and sulked over to the vacant bed opposite side of Twilight near Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo.

It wasn't too long before the both surrendered to a deep, peaceful sleep.

Fluttershy took her time waking up. The idea that Rainbow's rejected plaything had found them, forcing her to wake up to something less than pleasant promoted her procrastination. The curtains to the deck were shuttered so it was rather dark inside despite the sun being out in full force. The pink-maned pegasus turned her head lazily to see the outline of her friend sound asleep on a bed next to hers. A small sigh of relief passed from the cream unicorn's mouth as she slowly sat up and stretched. Her wings were apparently sore, it had been quite some time since she'd flown that far—or perhaps it had something to do with the hair-raising stress and embarrassment of the night before.

Fluttersy made her way to the washroom where she recreated her morning routine; sans the animals and the chores. She wondered about her creatures, critters, those she tended to and cared for religiously. It bothered her for a moment: what if nopony was watching them? What if they are lost without her? She acknowledged that by her own caring and protective nature she had coddled them into being as far flung from self-sufficiency as naturally possible, though she never meant to.

These thoughts made way of course for a much more pressing one: her friends below. They didn't have the leisure of retreating to a friendly metropolis above, nor did they seem to be doing well amongst themselves. She sighed again, figuring they would be fine so long as she and Rainbow did as they were asked. Fluttershy missed Ponyville, the quaint uneventful weeks of spa dates with Rarity, dinner with the girls, and usually some crazy adventure with her fellow Elements. Even the crusaders' antics roused a stir of nostalgia for her life as it were but only three days ago.

“You're gonna take up all the hot water huh?” Rainbow moaned, stumbling into the washroom.

“No—well—I—sorry Rainbow Dash, I was just about to finish up.” Fluttershy apologized. She quickly dried herself off and returned to the main room as Rainbow Dash let her own morning rituals run their course.

Fluttershy opened the curtain to see a bright and initially powerful view of Cloudsdale, busy as ever with the exception of the Colosseum. She could see all of the prominent locations throughout the city: from Flight Camp, to the large recreational and shopping center which towered over the diner they ate at last night, to the Council Of Cloudsdale. That is where they were headed soon, to make their steep case for assisting in a coup of the Equestrian Monarchy with the rosy promises of a free society. She had never studied much in the way of politics, or anything pertaining to that—nopony did for it was considered unnecessary. Now however she was wishing she had strayed from her cottage a few days earlier, she would have have the time to properly absorb this wash of information that Twilight had dumped onto her. She also wished that Rainbow Dash was a bit more supportive in the effort: between, in her mind, defaming and slandering one of their friends, combined with her general lack of interest in the “egghead” portion of this whole affair gave her the impression Rainbow Dash wanted nothing to do with this “Diplomatic Mission” and everything to do with the guaranteed skirmish or possibly all out war that would take place at some point.

Rainbow Dash didn't take too long to get clean and ready for the day's events. Though she didn't require—at least in her mind—the kind of upkeep that her friends seem to achieve.

“Ready to go Fluttershy?” She asked.

“I guess so.” Fluttershy sighed. She wasn't ready for anything—but she didn't have much of a choice.

“Alright then lets blow this joint and do all that crazy junk Twilight was talkin' about.”

The two made their way down the hall and descended a massive spiraling tunnel of sorts. As a majority of Cloudsdale's permanent residents were airborne, there was no need for stairs, escalators, or other things, though organization and efficiency were still in mind, otherwise the hotel would likely be more like a bee-hive than an enclosed building.

Once they were on the street, Rainbow prepared to offload all of these daunting responsibilities to her friend.

“So, how do you expect to win these grumps over?” Rainbow jabbed her elbow into Fluttershy's side playfully. “Ain't gonna be easy talking to these old stallions you know.”

“We don't know until we try Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy tried to thrust some confidence in her voice and her posture.

“Well alright then, you lead the way—we got some persuading to do!”

Fluttershy froze. It came to her that she still had no idea what to do or how to go about any of this.

“Come on Fluttershy....you do know what we're supposed to do right? I didn't understand a word Twilight said!”

“Uh.....well.....I......oh dear.”

“Oh great.” Rainbow facehoofed, “So we both know nothing. We flew all the way up her to do something we know nothing about?”

“Well I kinda know why we're here but I don't know what to say.”

“Well then figure it out!” Rainbow boomed, sending Fluttershy back a few feet.

Fluttershy's patience was at an end, Rainbow had been nothing but a prick to everypony since this all began and frankly, she wasn't about to do this alone. No way.

“I'm not the only one who has to do some work around here.” She hissed.

“Oh? What do you expect me to do? I don't know any of the egghead nonsense you girls were talking about! Don't expect me to be making any speeches, ain't happening.”

“Yes it is.”

“Pfft, you think you're in charge?”

“I might as well be you don't know what to do.”

“And you do?!”

“A heck of a lot more than you do.” The pegasus froze, Rainbow was in her face and beyond irritated that her reclusive, dainty little friend stood her up as an idiot.

“You call me an idiot Fluttercry?” Rainbow mocked,

“No!” Fluttershy said sternly, “I'm calling you lazy—an—and ignorant. Now please, we need to go to the library and figure out some things before we go and make a foal of ourselves in front of the Council.” Fluttershy briskly flew towards the library and noticed Rainbow wasn't moving. Pouting.

“I'm not going!” Rainbow protested. “Everypony this week has called me an idiot, scaredy-pony, whore, you name it, they've said it! I'm tired of being bossed around by ponies who think they know everything. You're gonna need all the luck you can get.”

Fluttershy hovered for a moment, with a look on her face that could only be described as surprise. She declined to argue with her though and decided she was going to have to muster up whatever courage she had and go about this alone. She made her way to the library, determined to make this work and to get her life back to normal. Whether her immature friend wanted to help or not.

Onward To Adventure!

Fluttershy's first destination was Cloudsdale's expansive library. She vaguely recalled Rainbow herself having to come here to get some of the literature that Twilight had requested, so perhaps there may be more she could find. Fluttershy made her way through the towering shelves of books, articles, slides, and film but to no avail; she simply found the same stale story. Nothing controversial, nothing contradictory.

“You having trouble finding something?” The voice startled Fkuttershy. She turned to see it was just the librarian, an old mare, who looked a good deal like the Mayor of Ponyville. She trotted over to Fluttershy who currently was in the “Historical Reference and Data Compilation” section.

Fluttershy fidgeted some, she was certainly nervous; her request god pique the librarians' suspicions and she could be hauled off to a cage, she had to try though, for her friends if anypony else.

“Uhm...well, no I'm afraid not.” She began, “I-I'm looking for some books on the Discordian period.”

The librarian smiled warmly, “Oh well you are certainly in the right place!” She thrust her tired, wrinkled wings and ascended to a high point of the shelf and fetched a hefty, aged book which resembled more of an encyclopedia than a simple non-fiction piece, but if this is what it took than so be it.

“Oh why thank you.” Fluttershy responded kindly, trembling as she skimmed the pages. Much to her dismay it was a “Canterlot Authorized” edition. Like all of the others. She figured she'd have to be a bit more specific—though she had hoped she didn't.

“I'm so very sorry but—you see, I'm looking for a different version of this story.”

“Whar-ever do you mean? This is the only version of the--” The librarian realized what she meant. She glanced around to see if anypony else was around. The silence at this moment sent a sharp chill down Fluttershy's spine. Much to her relief, the librarian smiled again, a twinkle in her eye.

“I think we have what you're looking for; though some librarian in Ponyville had checked-out quite a few a few weeks ago, we may have some materials available. Right this way.”

The mention of Twilight worried her and failed to curb the chilling feeling or dread that lapped through her body. The two mares made their way past a re-enforced door that lead to what appeared to be a much older section of the library. As opposed to the marble, granite, and modern fixtures that defined the main library, this one had narrow wood-paneled corridors, dimly lit by old lamps that hung on the sides of the walls. A green, artful yet dark carpet sat at the base of this hallway.

“We keep conspiracy theories, much more fragile texts and...well....age-restricted material back here.” The librarian explained as they made their way back into a room. This one with a plain white wall which appeared to simply be painted drywall with a black plastic trim on the bottom. This room had no internal lighting sans a small, square frosted window on the side lined with a old wooden pane.

The librarian opened a large drawer that sat at the end, a large row of manilla folders with mult-colored tabs were crammed inside and seemed too tall to come out without bending through the hole in the drawer. It took but a few minutes for the librarian to pull from this crammed mess another hefty volume, this one in much better condition than the one they saw before, the binding look pristine and the cover, despite the age, looked to be in mint condition; sans a decent layer of dust.

Fluttershy followed the librarian to another, smaller room next door. It was of the same wooden paneling as the hall and had a smaller window, resembling a privacy window. The door to the room had a small window as well and a padlock. A small green office lamp with a bronze base sat in the middle. The librarian pulled the chain to turn the lamp on and placed the book on the table. She turned to Fluttershy with the same smile as before.

“Take as much time as you need. I'll come check on you—well more the book than anything,” she laughed, “If you need anything, let me know.”

“Thank you very much.” Fluttershy stumbled as she sat in the chair under the table.

“Not a problem at all.” The librarian sang as she entered the hall to return to the main room, “It's nice to see this old partition get some use these days.”

With that the door closed and Fluttershy was all alone. Now all that could be heard was a small buzzing sound from the lamp before her. She sat there for a moment, simply staring at the book. She was nervous, this seemed a tad too easy. Fluttershy figured it best not to dwell any further and get to reading. She blew off some excess dust, took some paper and a quill that also sat on the desk and began her research.

It was Scootaloo's turn to be the early riser. She had pondered getting back at Apple Bloom for breaking her sleep the day before but given what went down the night previous she didn't want a fight—at least not when she was groggy and tired.

To her pleasure however, she had managed to stir her alleged protector—Sweetie Belle—awake. Scootaloo had been wrapped in Sweetie's hooves, the unicorns' chin resting on Scootaloo's mane. Had it been any other pony this would have been too close for comfort though, this was different for some reason.

They didn't have feelings for each-other in the romantic sense, though that initially awkward and displacing mother-daughter like bond seemed to persist. They each found safety in one another and thus, they had decided to sleep together “To keep warm.” as Scootaloo had sold it to Rarity who seemed a bit confused by the whole thing.

Regardless both were stumbling out into the clearing, their faces resembled more of zombies than the fillies they were. Their eyes were blood-shot, their faces were emotionless, and they were just plain tired, sore, and hungry—again.

“Why'd you have to get up so early Scoots?” Sweetie Belle complained, stretching her hooves, a popping sound relieved some tense joints.

“I was just--” Scootaloo let out a massive yawn, “Ready to get up I guess. You can go back to bed if you want.”

“No sense in doing that.” Sweetie said dryly, “You'll just wake me up anyway.”

They sat for awhile, letting themselves adjust to the daylight.

“I guess we should go into the forest and get some food for everypony.” Scootaloo groaned. “I don't know about you but I'm starving.” She placed a hoof on her stomach as if that would silence its relentless rumbling.

“No need to worry girls, I already have something planned.” The two fillies whirled around to see Rarity had woken up as well.

Sweetie's ears flattened as she feared the worst, “Sorry sis, we didn't mean to wake you up. Maybe if Scootaloo learned how to sleep like every other pony I'd still be warm and comfy.” She shot a stern glance at Scootaloo who retreated a few paces, ears now flat as well.

“I said I was sorry.” Scootaloo mumbled.

“Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo you're both fine. I couldn't sleep all night.” Rarity began, “It was simply awful. A lady needs her beauty sleep and I got—none. I always had the fear that some monster was going to discover some ragged ponies were squatting in his cave.”

“Speaking of monsters...” Scootaloo mused, “We haven't really seen any. So much for the Everfree forest huh?”

“Now Scootaloo, this technically is not the Everfree Forest.” Rarity began, “This is simplu vast woodland east of Ponyville....to be honest I haven't the slightest idea to what it is properly called.”

“So why are we out here? I thought we were going to Canterlot?” Sweetie Belle found herself a little confused.

“Twilight says this is the only way we can enter the capital undetected.” Rarity wasn't to sure but this was likely good enough to tide the fillies over until they got a real answer. “We apparently will be stopping in Dodge City prior to our trek to Foal Mountain.”

Sweetie Belle panicked, “But don't all the ponies in Equestria know what we did?”

“Won't we get caught?” Scootaloo added.

“Not likely.” Rarity said assuringly, “It was only Twilight who was effectively banished from Ponyville--”

“Then why the hay are we here?” Scootaloo burst, a bit annoyed.

“Because we support our friends Scootaloo.” Rarity replied.

“Yeah well...that's not fair!” Sweetie Belle complained, equally annoyed. “Why did we have to leave because of Twilight's mistake?”

Rarity knew the answer but she wasn't too sure if she wanted to come clean, “We'll discuss this later. I need to get breakfast in order. You two calm down and go play.”

Scoots and Sweetie looked at their barren surroundings. Empty grass and dirt, with towering forst surrounding them.

“Go play what?” Scootaloo asked.

“..I don't know something other than bothering me. I am busy.” Rarity demanded.

The two fillies chose to head on into the forest. There were no monsters supposedly so what's the danger? They could make a little game out of it as well. They decided to drag Apple Bloom with them.

“Ah don't see why we have ta go to the forest, we're 'sposed ta stay in the cave.” Apple Bloom complained.

“Oh stop being such a foal.” Scootaloo groaned. “Rarity's in a rotten mood and there's nothing fun to do anyway.”

“Besides,” Sweetie Belle added, “Maybe we can find some tasty brttird to help my sister!” She was excited now. Maybe helping Rarity would get her to talk.

“Ahm not sure 'bout this girls, seems awful dangerous.” Apple Bloom continued.

“Since when are you one to be all scared?” Scootaloo asked.

“Well....Ah....Ah ain't scared!” Apple Bloom pouted.

“Fine!” Scootaloo hissed. “Then let's go and quit whining!”

They ventured through the brush and were silent for the most part. The crusaders took ther time admiring the foliage and the vast wildlife around them. Nothing pony-sized but still large enough to earn their attention and admiration. They rarely saw the forest during the day, and without the hazards the Everfree contained, they figured it would be a harmless scavenger hunt.

Apple Bloom was still very uncertain and Sweetie Belle was growing worried as well. “Scootaloo, I think Apple Bloom was right, we shou--”

“No!” Scootaloo barked. “I thought we were crusaders not foals! Now quit being such babies and let's go!”

“Why? For what?” Sweetie Belle growled, “We have been walking through this forest for almost an hour and have found nothing!”

“Our food's probably getting' cold.” Apple Bloom protested.

“Ugh! I can't believe you girls.” Scootaloo groaned, “You two crybabies can go back to your cozy little cave. I am going to have some fun, and if it doesn't include two ponies I THOUGHT were my friends than I guess that's the way it is!”

Sweetie Belle wasn't having this. She stepped in front of Scootaloo, “Scootaloo, we....all three of us...are going back to the cave. You are not going out here by yourself.”

“Oh yeah? And what are you going to do?” Scootaloo was apparently ready to pummel her again.

“W-Well I don't know but it's best we just not find out!” Sweetie Belle hissed, “Let's...go...NOW.”

“Pssh, you think you're going to tell me what to do?” Scootaloo pushed past the unicorn. “Fat chance Auntie Sweetie Belle.”

“Scootaloo yer bein' stupid now c'mon before we get lost or hurt!” Apple Bloom urged.

“Give me one good reason how we could possibly get--”

A loud, deep roar bellowed from within the woods, not too far from where the three fillies were bickering. The three froze, eyes widened in fear of what it could possibly be.

Neither of them moved, that sound was close, too close.

“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle whispered, “Is that g-good enough?!”

Before Scoots could say anything a tree fell right behind her. A pair of glowing red angry eyes came into view of the Earth Pony and unicorn opposite of her. Scootaloo could feel hot breath at the back of her mane.

“RUN!!” Apple Bloom screamed as she and Sweetie Belle stampeded in the opposite direction of that horrid creature.

Or at least she thought Sweetie Belle was with her. Scootaloo was right behind her yet the unicorn was nowhere to be found. Another farce, loud roar brought prickly, ice cold chills down the two fillies spines. Sweetie Belle wasn't with them.

“SWEETIE BELLE!” The two ponies hollered, hoping she was a bit behind, no luck.

“OH NO!” Scootaloo screamed, “We have to save her!”

“Scootaloo are you crazy?!” Apple Bloom was crying, “It probably already got her, bes' thing we can do is save ourselves!”

“Well fuck you then I'm going in!” Scootaloo charged back in the direction they came. After some delay, Apple Bloom frantically stumbled to catch up.

It took them some time to follow the sound, the increasingly strong vibrations in the ground from the slow-paced, ever-menacing movement of the Manticore/ Part of them figured they'd be toast trying to save their friend, but to not at least attempt it—would haunt them for life.

They soon approached a clearing—more a thatch of downed trees the manticore was perched upon. Sweetie Belle could be seen, pinned to a tree, bound by sap and intricately woven rope of some sort, likely constructed of fibers from the wood.

Scootallo figured the best way to get her friend was through distracting the beast. Without any forethought, she scurried behind the Manticore and began hollering at it.

“Hey you big dumb Manticore! Why don't you pick on somepony your own size?” Scootaloo taunted. Some shakiness in her voice but she was determined nonetheless.

Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle looked on in horror as the beast noticed its taunter and gave chase. Apple Bloom took this time to attempt to free Sweetie Belle. She was much too high for her to reach so she tried to buck the tree with all her might.

The first few thwacks didn't seem to do anything other than to hurt her hooves, though it carried enough vibration to disturb the sap that was bonding Sweetie's primitive trap. She began to slip.

“You're doing it Apple Bloom!” Sweetie Belle cheered. Darting her eyes down and in the direction of the beast as Apple Bloom continued to slam her backhooves into the base of the tree as bark and the shaking began to loosen the bondage to the point where Sweetie Belle could drop off. She landed with a rough thud.

Once she was sure Sweetie was safe, Apple Bloom set her sights on Scootaloo.

“We gotta go save her!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed,

“Way ahead a ya!” Apple Bloom declared. “Follow me!”

The two hurried through the woods again. Following the clear path made by trees that had cracked and tumbled at the mercy of the Manticore. They stumbled, slipped, and smacked into several raised and lowered trees but they made decent pace.

After awhile they made their way to where the monster sat. Scootaloo was nowhere to be seen. The fillies feared the worst. The manticore was hunched over, the sound of tearing meat and cracking bone made the fillies cringe at every sound. Their blood ran cold.

“Y......ya think that's Scoots?” Apple Bloom began to tear up at the thought the beast was laying waster to her friend.

Sweetie Belle said nothing. She sat, as if she were at a loss, nothing in her eyes, her mouth agape. Her mind flashed to memories of a time not too long ago:

______________________________

“How did you find me?” Scootaloo asked as she shivered under a tattered blanket.

Sweetie Belle had made a trip to the Cutie Mark Crusader clubhouse after forgetting some fabric she had “borrowed” from Rarity's work-room to make an art project for Ms Cheerilee. Until this point she, well everypony assumed Scootaloo lived with her parents or at the orphanige.

“What are you doing here Scootaloo? It's cold!” Sweetie Belle was shivering.

“I....I'm fine Sweetie Belle. Don't worry about me.” Scootaloo was determined to put on tough face. She genuinely didn't want her friend to worry.

Sweetie Belle wasn't convinced. She had some snacks and juice left over in a thermist from that day in a saddle bag she had brought with her to carry the fabric home. She dug it out and offered it to Scootaloo who rejected it.

“Sweetie Belle, I said I'm fine.” Scootaloo was cracking, but still determined to be self reliant.

“Scootaloo, I'm not going anywhere until you eat this.”

“Why? I had lunch t-today with you girls!” Scootaloo protested.

“Yeah! Like hours ago!” Sweetie Belle pushed the food and drink to her friend again.

“Please Scootaloo, no friend of mine deserves to go hungry—well nopony does but espescially you!”

The pegasus simply stared at it. After a while she looked up at her friend and began crying.

“Thank you Sweetie Belle.....You're a true friend.”

Sweetie Belle ran and hugged her sobbing friend. Their embrace lasted longer than anypony could count.

…...

“You had another bad dream Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle whispered as she opened the door to the bedroom. Scootaloo's screaming had woken her up. She figured she might as well deal with it.

“Yeah but....I'm okay.” Scootaloo lied.

Sweetie Belle shut the door and hopped onto Scootaloo's bed. Without another word she pulled the orange filly close and hugged her. Stroking the fillies mane as Scootaloo let her facade fall to pieces.

“It's okay Scootaloo. You don't have to be scared.” The unicorn shoosed her friend affectionately.

“I...I'm n-not scared, I was just...startled. I'm fine.” Scootaloo lied. She didn't break Sweetie's embrace.

After a few minutes a weak whisper came from the crying filly. “Please don't leave me...it's dark.”

Sweetie Belle didn't respond. With time they sniffling and shaking stopped and Scootaloo was asleep in her hooves. Sweetie lowered herself so she was laying on the pillow. She pulled Scootaloo close, put the blanket over them both and cuddled her friend.

“I'm here Scootaloo. I love you. Nopony is ever going to hurt you. I won't let them.”

….....

“I'm sorry.” Scootaloo said dejectedly, “I-I didn't mean to hurt you. I--”

Scootaloo had indeed hurt her, and it seemed at the moment that she had every intention of doing so. Regardless, Sweetie Belle couldn't hate her. She too had done wrong and apologized as well. Scootaloo was upset, felt guilty among other things.

Sweetie Bell propped herself up and gently kissed Scootaloo whose face turned aflame with embarrassment, with a side of relief.

“I love you too.” Sweetie Belle replied gingerly.

_______________________________

Her mind snapped back to the present. Her hearing and sight returned and the scene was still before her. The Manticore was still feasting on the carcase before her. A sudden wash of determination and blind rage crept up inside of here. A sudden burst of adrenaline she never knew she had made its presence known.

“GET AWAY FROM HER YOU MONSTER!” Sweetie Belle yelled as she charged at the beast with all the speed her little hooves could muster.

“Sweetie Belle NO!” Apple Bloom screamed after her. Too late. The unicorn smashed into the side of the beast. Not leaving a mark but certainly distracting the creature.

As the beast made its move to lunge at the filly, Sweetie hooped over its head and onto it's back and held onto its mane. It attempted madly to buck the filly off but to no avail. It roared in frustration. Apple Bloom mad a mad dash back to the clearing they were in before. Sweetie Belle somehow hung on to the beast and was practically riding it.

She glanced back at the site of flesh and bone and realized it was much too big to be Scootaloo. A relief maybe—she was still out there.

Apple Bloom was losing ground, the Manticore was hot on her heels and she wasn't sure where to go. She saw a weak tree, an opportunity. She pushed herself to gain enough space to make this work. She quickly darted to the other side of this teetering tree and bucked it feircely. Much to her satisfaction it came down and smacked the manticore in the head. Unlike their previous attempts it had now fallen to the ground. Grimmacing.

Apple Bloom kept running, she had no idea where she was going but she was getting out of there. She then smelled an odd burning smell. She looked back to see smoke rising from the tree she had just brought down. She saw no movement so she slowly returned, it smelled of burning fur. She could hear a subtle groaning noise.

The Manticore was somehow on fire. Just as Apple Bloom crept closer, Sweetie Belle bolted from behind the tree and brought her friend with her as they resumed Apple Bloom's original route.

“Ya set the thing on fire?” Apple Bloom asked, panting.

“Had to do something with my magic.” Sweetie Belle smiled, only briefly though as she remembered her friend was still not there. After some time of dashing through thick brush they approached a cliff. While it was clear and they could see again, they were trapped. They presumed the Manticore was hot on their trail.

The two fillies looked at each-other in desperation.

“We're dead.” Apple Bloom said dryly.

“I wouldn't be so sure.” Came a very familiar voice.

“SCOOTALOO!” Sweetie Belle screamed happily as she ran to hug her friend a little too tightly.

“Yeah...I....Okay Sweetie Belle, a little too tight.” Scootaloo gasped.

“I'm so glad your okay!” Sweetie Belle continued. She was now bouncing happily. She gave Scootaloo another kiss on the forehead which more than embarrassed the filly.

“Ah hate ta interrupt our little reunion but....” Apple Bloom said coldly. “We gotta get outta here somehow!”

Scootaloo's face faded to its normal orange and she now wore a look of determination.

“I think I have a plan girls!” She boasted as she peeked over the cliff. She could see a decently wide ridge just below them that seemed to lead to the end of this canyon they were at.

“Follow me!” Scootaloo declared as she cautiously hung from the cliff and dropped to the ridge. The other fillies followed suit and made their way leisurely down the ridge path and towards what appeared to be a lowered part of the forest which would allow them to climb back in.

“How do you know this is going to take us back to the cave?” Sweetie Belle complained.

“You have any better ideas?” Scootaloo barked.

“Sweetie's right.” Apple Bloom said sternly, “Last time we listened to you we all almost got killed!”

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle added.

“Well....uh....I....” Scootaloo wasn't too sure on how to go forward. Good for her, she didn't have to.

“GIRLS!” Rarity growled. The fillies scampered onto the forest hill and up to a path where some angry mares stood. Rarity and Twilight were both furious. Shaking with anger.

Orange

Fluttershy had gone through several manuscripts of several times from several perspectives of the real Discordian Era. Each adding a bevvy of equally intriguing and terrifying tales. I was getting late now and the pegasus had finally left the comfortable and desolate confines of the small reading room in the retired portion of the Cloudsdale Library.

She also brushed up on modern law and Council etiquette. Fluttershy figured she was going alone so she needed all the preparation she could get. Learning was easy, it was mustering up the copurage to put one hoof in front of the other that was the most distant and daunting.

“I can't let my friends down.” She continued to say to herself as she made her way from the library and to her hotel room.

Downtown Cloudsdale was not the place to be at night. The main thoroughfare was well lit and teaming with well meaning mares and stallions, however the back-roads, the only route the Library open at night were teaming with an opposite class of pony.

Fluttershy had always recalled as a foal being wanted to never going back this way, it was a bragging right and social badge of honor to “survive” there, let alone stroll through alone. Thoguh the thoughts of the trip, her friends, and other things seemed to obscure any fear or caution she would normally have.

“And just where do you think you're goin' sweet thing?” Came a gravely voice. The stallion dawned a hood and a crooked smile that screamed deviancy.

Fluttershy tried to ignore the stallion and continue on he way though that was impeded son ennough. The stallion's hot, stinky breath was in her face. He licked his lips longingly.

“Damn youse a pretty little thing. Why don't you come with me and I'll get you all sorts of comfortable.”

“No, really...I'm fine I just need to be on my way now please.” Fluttershy did her best to not become frantic as she tried to go around her tormentor but no luck.

“Hey now I wasn't askin' for an attitude little Ms, as a matter of fact, I wasn't askin' you anything...I'm tellin' you...”

A posse of stallions with equally wicked demeanors surrounded her.

“You're commin' with me, and I ain't takin' 'No' for an answer.”

The stallions closed in on her and the lead one grabbed her. Flutterhsy squealed and kicked with all of her might but it was no use. Her attempts to scream were...well...pathetic. She was soon blinded by a burlap sack or tarp she was covered in.

When she could see again she was sprawled on a bed. They had yet to do anything but given the surroundings and their crooked laughter in the next room, they had every intention to do something.

Syringes, condom wrappers, some guns and ammo, pornographic literature, all tossed about in a tattered, dilapidated room caked in cigarette deposits, grime, dirt, and who knows what else. The room reeked of rather unfortunate aromas, it was humid and far too warm for comfort.

Fluttershy had to escape. Her eyes darted around to try and mentally map out an esvape route. She found one and noticed a door to the outside. Just as she was prepping to bolt for it, the gang of goons entered the room.

“Heyy rise n shine sleepin' beauty!” The lead stallion cackled, “We was gonna do you in earlier but you know, we think you'd be a fun one when you're up and movin'”

The gang of stallions laughed.

“Please..Please let me go! I won't tell anypony about any of this...please just let me go!” Fluttershy was shushed with a dirty hoof.

“Now, now princess, no need to be like dis, we can be gentlecolts and have a gay old time, or we can be jerks and mess up your pretty little face. And for a doll like you that'd be a damn shame.”

The stallions continued laughing and saying various slanderous things. The were clearly intoxicated at this juncture and had no intent of doing as she wished. Fluttershy was apparently going to have to fight her way out.

The first stallion hopped on the bed and lay beside her. Fluttershy flinched as he bgan to stroke her seductively.

“Mmmmm damn fine little diamond we got here boys, she's a gentle one too. She's a keepa!”

“Yeeeeaaaaah!” The gang roared in unison.

Fluttershy was unsure as what to do, her thoughts raced back to Twilight's Treehouse following Spike's attack. Applebloom's face, the tears and the pain in the fillys eyes. She could only imagine what the filly had to endure and compared to what she herself was dealing with it was tame.

This wasn't happening.

“No.” Fluttershy hissed.

“Excuse me Ms? You say somethin'?” They cocky stallion was oblivious to what she had said.

“I....said...NO!” Fluttershy growled as the found the strength to throw the stallion off the bed. She quickly scampered into the kitchen as the ghouls were right behind her. One managed to grab her tail bt she merely bucked him in the face sending him like a bowling ball into the group though they were quick to recover.

Out on the street now it was very dark, the moon was obviously below the city now. She couldn't see, she made her way blindly out of the fenced compound and, aside from having to slam trash-can lids into hooded faces or send a hoof into their stomach, she managed to make it into the main street.

She kept running with all her might, she heard no pursuit but she continued with all the speed she had in her to the safety of her hotel room. Stumbling some and easily bruising herself in the process she finally made it inside and locked the door behind her.

She flopped onto the bed and sobbed hysterically.

What began as a disappointing and frustrating day could have easily been a complete nightmare.

Rainbow Dash sat high above the forest upon a simple cloud. She lay on her stomach, arms crossed beneath her chin. Ears flat, tail the same she was less than pleased with the days events. Between belittlement and everything else she wasn't sure what to do. What she did know is that she didn't want to deal with anypony at the moment. She felt that everypony had a grudge against her for no good reason.

“Who do these foals think they are?” Rainbow pouted to herself, “After all the things I've done for them!”

She had a scowl on her face as she surveyed the area within her view: Canterlot was clear, high in the sky, as was Cloudsdale.

“Stupid Fluttershy.”

Turning around so as not to face that, she could then see a thin colum of smoke from the endless reign of foliage, likely a campfire at the cave where Twilight and company were.

“Stupid...all of them.”

She was tired of looking at this. Every landmark she spotted was another reminded or all the ponies she hated.

“If I catch any of these pricks they're as good as dead.” She growled. She pushed the cloud down under the tops of the trees and near the ground. Enough to give her ample time to escape whatever adversary might interrupt her sleep. She then surrendered to a fitful, angry sleep.

Back at the settlement the exact opposite was taking place. Twilight and Rarity were asleep. As were Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle who had now made comfortable with Twilight and Rarity respectively.

Scootaloo however was by herself in the center of the cave and did not like that one bit. Her injuries were pretty much a thing of the past, her eye was still swollen a bit but her fur didn't show any signs of the madness from earlier that day. One of the benefits of being a filly.

She trotted out to a smoldering campfire and tried to light it, no luck. She looked up at the clouds and the stars as the sound of crickets drowned the silence of before.

Scootaloo had recalled that Rainbow Dash had been here but she had left. She still had no clear answer as to why her idol hated her so. She wanted to make amends, maybe she had forgotten about it and they could be friends again?

Another thing had wracked around the fillies brain. During the Manticore attack, she thought of the million ways her wings, had she known how to use the things, could have made the whole ordeal that much less of a problem. She envisioned a fully airborne Scootaloo soaring into the sky and diving into the beast, creating a Scootaloo-Rainboom of sorts, incinerating the monster in its tracks and being the hero of the day.

She had thought of all the times her wings could have made a whole host of things easier and deasable.

She wanted to fly.

Frankly though she had no idea how if she could, and nopony there was capable of teaching her. It wasn't as if Twilight could perform the same spell she did when they went to see the Best Flyer Competition a few months back, she was a pegasus already and had to learn herself.

Or maybe somepony could help her. But who? Fluttershy was in Cloudsdale and Rainbow Dash....

She couldn't be that far. Scootaloo concluded, she's the element of loyalty! She wouldn't leave her friends behind! Completely forgetting, or placing ignorance upon the fact that Fluttershy was by herself, Scootaloo decided to go look for the pegasus.

The filly checked to make sure everypony else was asleep as to not get in her way. When that was taken care of, she made her way into the forest. She looked up through the tree-tops to try and spot Rainbow. She then noticed a lone piece of a cloud floating up in the sky, a good mile from where she was.

“That must be her!” The filly said to herself with excitement, a smile growing on her face. She'd like to be up in a cloud right now, with Rainbow Dash no less, sure would beat the worn and insect-laden excuse for beds they were sleeping on now.

Though she was bouncing with anticipatory excitement a part of her remained vigilant. She took great care to make a mental note of landmarks to help aide her way out if danger arose. She didn't seem to worry though. Rainbow Dash saved her before and she'd do it again.

Scootaloo's thoughts raced around of all the fun things that could happen. She'd find Rainbow Dash, they'd apologize, then she'd be up in the safety of a fluffy cloud with the most awesome pegasus—on pony in all of Equestria. She'd go through rough and tumble flying drills but would ace it because she's Scootaloo and that's how things happen.

She began to somewhat struggle now in her journey, the brush was getting thick and mud was beginning to cake her hooves but she could care less, the cloud was getting closer! Close enough to where she thought the following would be a grand idea:

“Rainbow Dash!” The filly hollered enthusiastically. “Hey Rainbow Dash!”

She kept trudging on for awhile, listening for her mentor, but no response. She tried again.

“Hey Rainbow Dash! It's me, Scootaloo!” Still nothing. She continued on for a few more minutes. Looking from the ground to the cloud to track her progress. There was no way her idol couldn't hear her now.

“Sorry about what I said earlier! I still think you're the coolest pony in Equestria!”

No response still. Though she could've swore she heard some foliage disturbance. She paused to confirm, heard nothing more and moved on.

“I was wondering if you could teach me some of your tricks! I think it'd be pretty neat if we had more than two pegusai on this trip, 'cause you know..Fluttershy is kind of a whump. Hehe.”

She was kind of nervous at this point. That last bit was more appeasment than anything. Still though, nothing.

The cloud was right above her...or at least a peace of it. It now glowed lightly as the moon struck it directly. She was fixated on it. Sure that Rainbow Dash was up there.

Scootaloo decided this time she was going to be a bit louder. Maybe she's just so high up she can't hear?

“Hey Rainbow Das--”

She had started to announce her presence once again but a hoof had stopped her. Rather briskly at that. Scootaloo saw the color of it some and was relived. She looked up at Rainbow Dash and her smile quickly faded as she noticed her friend was less than pleased about something.

“I was jus--” She tried again.

“Shut up.” Rainbow Dash hissed. “Shut the fuck up!”

Scootaloo fell cold, her warmth and happiness drained out of her. She just wanted to apologize, maybe then things would be okay.

“I'm sorry Rainbow Dash, I--” Again she was interrupted, this time a bit more harshly. Out of somewhere a hoof slammed into her stomach sending the filly on her back a few feet. There was no restraint, it hurt pretty bad.

“Ow! Hey what'd you do that for!?” Scootaloo was half-whining though the last thing she wanted to do was project vulnerability. Rainbow has seen enough of that from her.

The filly didn't get it however, she figured maybe Rainbow was rough-housing. No other ponies were around so the profanity made sense in her mind.

“That kind of hurt.” Scootaloo grimaced, “Could you--”

Scootaloo was rather tired of being interrupted like this. This time she was roughly yanked up by a hoof and slammed into a tree. This managed to hurt even worse than the previous hit. A slight fear was finally creeping into her mind: She might have picked the wrong time to “find” her.

“Rainbow Dash, why are you hurting me? I came her to ap--”

“I said, Shut up you little brat!” Rainbow Dash hissed.

She was up against a tree, the pressure was painful and there were splinters of bark and wood pressing into her back, she was sore and in pain and scared. Against her will tears began to swell in her eyes.

“Please don't hurt me.” The filly whined. Her eyes were wide and fogged.

“Aw look, the little bitch finally gets it!” Rainbow howled, “I have no intent on listening to you you little shit.”

Scootaloo received another brutal smash, this time in the face. She was righted and her already swollen eye was throbbing. Some cuts from earlier in the say were opened and began bleeding freely.

“Please, please stop! I'm sorry!” The filly bawled, barely able to speak.

“Please stop?..PLEASE STOP?” Rainbow was furious, she yanked the filly and threw her into another tree, head-first. Fortunately this didn't fracture or split anything however it did hurt and the filly wad disoriented and nauseous for a few seconds. Given her hazy vision she could've swore she coughed up blood as well.

Before she could move though she was pinned again. An angry, haeteful face lorded over her.

“All the times you would bug me about ehe STUPIDEST SHIT!” Rainbow continued, “All those times I tried to put up with you and your crap!”

Scootaloo was sobbing uncontrollably, its all she knew how to do at this point.

“'Hey look, Rainbow Dash is asleep!'” Rainbow said mockingly, that tinge of fury and hatred still very sharp. “'I bet she had a long day working, but I don't know what that's like because I'm a spoiled little brat!'” She took her knee and slammed it into the filly's stomach, summoning a loud squeal and amplified whailing from her victim.

She responded to this by smacking Scootaloo upside the face.

“Shut up you little foal! You foal!” The pegasus barked. “After a long day I try to get some god damn sleep, and of course, who might show up and wreck it for me? With all her stupid questions?!”

“I..I didn't mean too...” The filly whimpered.

“Oh you didn't?” Rainbow mocked, “Oh well that makes it all better than doesn't it!”

The picked up the filly and tossed her to the ground like she was but a toy. She then pinned her up to a tree again and used one hoof to align her bleeding, tear matted face with its quivering lips to hers.

“'Teach me to fly Rainbow Dash!' 'You're the best pony ever Rainbow Dash!'” The mocking continued. And as far as Scootaloo was concerned, this hurt more than the pain she was enduring in the physical realm.

“It's always ass-kissing and demands from you isn't it? Didn't you parents ever-- Oh wait, that's right, you don't HAVE ANY!” The mare mockingly laughed at her, which made the filly's crying worse.

Rainbow pushed that much harder on the filly.

“You better stop the crying you little punk. It's very rude to interrupt me. And I'm not in the mood to put up with a crying little bitch.”

Scootaloo did her best to suppress the whimpering, the coughing, tears, and shaking. It didn't work too well. She was overwhelmed with untold amounts of emotion.

“You wanna know why your family is gone Scootaloo?” Rainbow asked rhetorically, “Because, nopony wants a stupid, useless pile of fur and shit like you.” The delivery was cold, and it struck the filly to the core. It literally hurt her to suppress her feelings in order to avoid physical retaliation. Scootaloo closed her eyes tight and clenched her teeth, she shook violently.

“Awww did I hurt your wittle feewings? Rainbow Dash mocked again. “What did you expect to do when you came here? Wait, Wait—don't tell me: You wanted something from me right? Flying lessons? Forget about it! Teaching you would be a waste of time!” Rainbow places a hoof to prop up one of Scootaloo's wings.

“Look at these tiny things! I've never seen such puny wings in my whole life!” She howled with laughter. “Might was well take these off and call you an Earth pony!”

Rainbow Dash wasn't quite done here. She took the wing she had propped over her hoof and began to bend it against its normal direction. As once could image this hurt very, very badly.

Scootaloo couldn't keep it in any longer she was in serious pain. All of her pent up fear and dread let out in a violent fit of howling and sobbing.

“PLEASE STOP! PLEASE STOP!” She cried desperately. “I'LL LEAVE YOU ALONE FOREVER JUST PLEASE STOP HURTING ME!” She deflated to another fit of sobbing. Rainbow released her wing and propped the filly back up to face-level.

“Alright, I'll let you off, but....” A sly smile crept on the mare's face. “You have to do a little favor for me first.”

“ANYTHING! PLEASE LET ME GO!” The filly was at the mercy of her emotions which were exploding from all sides.

“Now see squirt? Wasn't that hard to listen to me for once huh?” Rainbow continued her hateful tirade. “I want you to repeat what I say, nice and loud so everpony can hear you.”

The filly nodded frantically.

“Good. Alright... 'I am useless, I am nothing. Nopony loves me because I a waste of a life and not worth a damn thing.'” Rainbow Dash was going to enjoy this.

While Scootaloo's facade had been broken long beforehand she still wasn't fully willing to say those things, as in her immature mind that only made them true. Though a hoof started bending her wing again and she had no choice.

“I am....useless..” she began.

“LOUDER.” Rainbow Dash barked.

Scootaloo chocked up, “I am useless, I am nothing..n—nopony loves me...be—because I am a waste of life and not worth a....damn thing!” She began sobbing again. She was let go and dropped with a thud face-first into the ground. Rainbow bent down and whispered into the filly's exposed right ear.

“You're never going to fly, you will always be a stupid Earth pony, a disgrace to your kind..... I never want to see your stupid face again understand? I do, and next time I won't be so merciful. Now BEAT IT!”

With that the filly scrambled to her feet, loosing her balance initially, drawing cruel laughter from Rainbow Dash as the filly stumbled and staggered through the woods at insane speeds.

Rainbow Dash simply hovered and stared in the direction the filly had gone. She waited until the sound of the scampering and the sobbing faded into the distance. Her high wore down, her adrenaline depleted and her brain began functioning again.

She then realized what she just did.

She lost her control and fell to the ground. She was shaking with fear. The memories of what just took place were now clear and free of the proponetive bias that has ruled before.

“You don't mean those things..” Flutterhy's voice echoed through her head.

“PLEASE! LET ME GO!” The screaming filly, her eyes, the pain in her heart and her mind.

These thoughts echoed through her head as she stared blankly into the forest.

“Oh god....what have I done?” The pegasus herself broke down, never in a million years did she ever see herself capable of even conceiving of doing such a thing to anypony—espescially the one that always had her back, nativity or not Scootaloo was always on her side. The little filly's infectious smile, thrill for adventure, love of everything—love of her.

She smacked herself. Maybe this was just a sick nightmare, a random dumping of her angst piling to create a sadistic scene of horror. She could wake up, she'd be on the cloud and everything would be fine.

This was real. There was no going back.

Rainbow Dash let herself fall to the ground and began to whail. Shame is too light of a word to describe how she felt.

Recovery

Sweetie Belle and Rarity were in the best sleep they've had in awhile. Rarity was lopsided like a dog in its bed and Sweetie Belle was snuggled up in between her hooves. This peaceful sleep came to a rather abrupt and brutal end however as an orange mass plowed into them at full speed.

The two unicorns fell back and were startled awake, both rather unhappy with whoever did this. Rarity looked over to notice a ball of orange and purple was nearly strangling her, holding on for dear life,

“Scootaloo!--W-what happened darling?” Rarity was still half asleep though she sat up against the cave wall and cradled the terrified filly in her hooves.

Scootaloo didn't move at all, save the powerful shaking and crying that caused her to move involuntarily.

Sweetie Belle was behind them and could see some blood truckling down Scootaloo's back, quite a few splinters that were either bloody or simply protruding, as well as a huge sweeling of some sort on her right side.

“R-rarity!” Sweetie Belle whispered, pointing in Scootaloo's general direction, Rarity raised her head to see over Scootaloo's mane to see the damage. She then attempted to lift Scootaloo which would normally be done by pushing her wings up which would prompt the filly to move.

Instead, as soon as her hoof made contact with her left wing, Scootaloo jettisoned back into the center of the cave with a blood curdling scream.

“DON'T TOUCH THAT!” She cried between sobs, now collapsed into a heaving pile of misery at the center of the cave though now Rarity could see the full extent of Scootaloo's injuries, as well a s tear between the left wig and the body.

Sweetie Belle and Rarity both were frozen in horror. They had no real idea what to do. Seeing Apple Bloom was one thing. Compared to this however, it was child's play. There was blood everywhere, splinters, missing patches of fur, bruises, swelling, her black eye was now much more prominent than before and was visibly throbbing, as was the rest of her face. She had a bloody nose.

Scootaloo was a complete mess.

“Scootaloo—what happened to you?” Sweetie Belle could barely speak. She rushed to her friend's side but dared not touch her. Scootaloo instantly leap into her hooves and continued her violent sobbing. She was making herself ill from the sheer force of it all.

“Scootaloo, calm down!” Twilight proclaimed. “Rarity....Rarity!”

Rarity had fainted. The unicorn couldn't handle the sight before her.

________________________________________________________

Rarity came to in a completely unknown place. At least to her anyway.

All she knew as of now was that she was in a bed, inside what appeared to be a lodge of some sort. A calm, crackling fire illuminated the fireplace and lit up the surrounding logs that formed the structure. It was warm, quiet, and not another pony was inside.

She grogilly rose up and noticed her hooves were sore as was the right side of her neck. She massaged her forehead with her hoof to try to comfort her pounding headache. Looking around now she could see some things on the floor near the wooden door: A saddle bag, another saddlebag that had Twilight’s cutie mark on it, and two crusader capes hanging from the hat rack.

Then it hit her.

“Scootaloo!” She yelled. Panic set in immediately. The last thing she could remember was the poor filly bznged up and scared for her life. The recollection made her nauseous. She darted from the bed and into the hallway of the lounge. A large window sat to her right with a row of rooms in front of her. Behind her was a staircase she nearly tumbled down given the speed the descended.

Unknown to Rarity she wasn't much of a sight. The ponies who were relaxing in the lobby looked on in fascination at this mare with a tattered mane and wide eyes. The unicorn made her way frantically to the reception desk.

“Where's the hospital? I need to get to the hospital?!” She was spastic, panting heavily.

“Are you hurt?” The receptionist asked reaching for an aid kit.

“No!” Rarity boomed, “My filly is! I don't know where she is—I don't even know where I am!”

“That figures. You were brought in by another unicorn—If I have you right. The hospital is just down the road near the hot springs. Can't miss it.”

“Oh thank you, thank you thank you!” Rarity panted as she scampered for the exit and bounded for the hospital.

“...and so with that, Daring Do once again had defeated the three-headed Ursa Major and recovered the saphire of unity.” Sweetie Belle finished characterfuly as she closed a decent-sized book.

She sat beside Scootaloo on her medical bed. Scootaloo was in much better shape now. It had been quite the journey getting here but they weren’t too far, which according to the doctor who treated the filly, was a contributing factor to her rapid recovery. The only reminder of her assault was a large sling that held her right wing in placed and some elastic stitches that sat under it.

Sweetie Belle had been reading to Scootaloo since morning and was growing tired herself. Both of tending to her friend and from the insane series of unfortunate events that had happened. Scootaloo was half-asleep as well.

“Thanks Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo smiled. “I know you must be tired of dealing with all my....stupid stuff. I owe you big time.”

Sweetie Belle was relieved she didn't have to say it herself. “It's okay Scoots, that's what friends are for right?”

Scootaloo then shot up some her ears fully erect.

“What's wrong?” Sweetie Belle asked.

She was answered by her sister blasting through the door. Scaring them both.

“Scootaloo! Thank goodness you're okay!” Rarity was bawling as she rushed to smother the filly who was still startled from her mother's dramatic entry.

“Uh....yeah....you too.” Scootaloo was too tired to really relay anywhere near the same reception as Rarity was.

“I was kinda worried sis.” Sweetie added, “You usually aren't out for so long.”

Rarity backed off and blushed vibrantly. “You do have a point—how long was I unconscious?”

Sweetie Belle put a hoof to her chin in thought, “Well it took us about twenty minutes to get here. Five hours for Scootaloo's treatment, two hours since then so.....awhile.”

“How in Equestria did they manage to clean you up so well Scootaloo?” Rarity was rather puzzled as from what she could remember the filly was a wreck.

“Meh it wasn't as bad as it looked.” Scootaloo bragged, her facade was obviously back in action. “Most of the blood was head trauma and the splinters were an easy fix. Only lame thing is this stupid cast here.” Scootaloo pointed to her injured wing.

“She has to wear that for a whole week!” Sweetie Belle complained.

“Better safe than sorry I guess.” Rarity began. Then she became emotional again. The fillies were silent so as not to stoke anything.

“I'm sorry Scootaloo.” Rarity hung her head, “I promised you I would protect you and look at what's happened. You and my sister nearly get ravaged by some forest-dwelling monster and then you get demoralized and defaced by somepony I thought was my friend....I'm an awful mother. And an even worse sister.”

“Rarity...” Sweetie Belle started.

“No Sweetie Belle it isn't alright!” Rarity was furious. “You two deserve better than this.”

“You tried your best mom.” Scootaloo said reassuringly, perhaps calling her by her title might help? “Besides the manticore and....the Rainbow Dash thing were all my fault anyway. If anyone's sorry it's me.”

“Yeah.” Sweetie Belle added as she hopped down from the bed and went to hug her distraught sister. “Look at how you came in here.” She laughed, “I don't think a terrible mother would do that. I think Mother and Father would be proud.”

Rarity sniffled some. “You really think they would?”

“Of course!” Sweetie Belle smiled, this smile soon faded though as she was reminded of her life with their parents. “I kind of miss them lately though...”

“I do too Sweetie. I'm afraid there isn't much we can do at this point. I need to be more involved with your girls, we need to stick together if we expect to make it through this ordeal....speaking of which where’s Twilight and Applebloom?”

Both fillies had puzzled looks on their faces.

“You didn't see them at the lodge?” Sweetie asked.

“They said they were bringing you here when you came to.” Scootaloo added.

“Huh...No not a sign of them.” Rarity said.

“They must still be walking around town.” Sweetie said, “Twilight said something about gathering some supplies for some reason.”

“Oh...well, that's nice.” On one hoof, Rarity could care less about anything other than the fact her sister and adopted daughter were safe an intact.

One less burden on her conscience.

Miss Fluttershy Goes To Cloudsdale

The streets of Cloudsdale were as busy as normal, the shops, homes, and administrative buildings were catering the various business and functions they provided.

Fluttershy was on her way to a special place: The Council Of Cloudsdale. The Council is the supreme authority of Cloudsdale. A panel of prominent pegasus made up this oligarchy; Fluttershy's mission was to present her case that Celestia's ascent to power was immoral and that there is imminent danger to the city that warrants offensive action.

Easier said than done, especially for a pony who is occasionally scared of her own shadow.

In her saddle-bag, she had her notes, some books, all the material she figured she needed.

The corridor of the Council alone was imposing and intimidating: expansive marble flooring, various elegant balconies were strewn about the walls leading to various rooms. The door she was heade for was massive and imposing. She had made an appointment with the Council and she was let in.

The Council room itself was dark with little light filtering through windows at the top of the rounded room. A large desk was raised on a platform above rows of chairs below. Seated at the desk were seven aged pegasus' including a former wonderbolt.

Fluttershy took her place in front of a podium and sorted her articles.

“And what are you here to present to us miss?” Boomed one of the councilmen.,

Fluttershy froze, the noise of it all startled her and she grew nervous.

“Uh....well.....I'm sorry, just one second.” She attempted to compose herself. Cleared her throat and continued.

“I am here to present to you an urgent message regarding the future of our City.”

The council was unmoved but curious.

“Do go one young lady.” Another councilmen urged.

“Recently I have come upon some—information that I feel may pose a threat to our way of life. It appears that the very history of Equestria's founding is...wrong.” She trailed as she began to sweat. These ponies were intimidating.

They did not motion for her to leave so she continued.

“It is commonly believed that Celestia's rise to power was uneventful and unopposed, however that is not the case. Contrary to popular belief, it seems the Discordian period was prosperous and peaceful—for all races of pony.”

“Do you have....proof of this ma'm? These are rather obtuse and alarmist statements you are making.” Much to Fluttershy''s surprise, the Council seemed very receptive and interested in what she had to say.

“Uhm..well...yes, I do.” She shuffled her papers to get in place. It appears she was going to skip the introduction. “..okay...Prior to what we now know as the Age Of Celestia, there existed another empire of ponies: they are simply known as Discordian Ponies. They had advanced technology and society far beyond anything we can imagine. Electric food delivery, self-propelled chariots, there was no such thing as hunger or poverty...”

For nearly an hour she recited the fable to the Council, who the entire time seems to be taking this seriously, or at least had the appearance of doing so.

“....and while simply knowing and being aware of such injustice is noble enough, myself and....others feel that we need to take a bit more decisive action. If we do not want Cloudsdale and the rest of Equestria to be drowned in a century or more of mean, oppressive, enslavement, then it is crucial that something be done.....That is all.”

Fluttershy had worked on this speech of hers all day, studying high-brow persuasive language, and picking some decent phrases from what she could remember of Twilight's lectures. She figured it sounded pretty convincing.

Not quite.

“This is all very interesting and very entertaining....but it seems to me that you are the only one in support of such things. We simply can't go to war with Canterlot based on hearsay! Not saying you are lying, you seem like a sweet and well-meaning mare, however, we need support from seopony of prominence and decorum, I'm afraid you lack this.

...am I making sense miss?”

Fluttershy hung her head, She failed, “Yes sir...I'm sorry for wasting your time.”

“Return to us with a decorated Cloudsdalian who supports your assertion and we will consider your request,” The ex-wonderbolt instructed.

“I don't think that will be necessary.” Came a voice at the door.

Rainbow Dash glided to Fluttershys podium. “I support her.”

“Rainbow Dash?” The council seemed somewhat astonished, this mare wasn't one for literature and political discourse. “Well then Mrs Fluttershy, it appears we will be reviewing your request. This is by no means a guarantee, after all we have other things to attend to however, you've met the requirements. Thank you for your time.”

“Than you” Fluttershy responded. She and Rainbow Dash made their way out.

Once they were on the street again, Fluttershy asked the inevitable, “How did you know? When did you come back?”

Rainbow was still a bit frayed in appearance, it was clear something had happened but Fluttershy chose not to press any. “Let's just say I had no reason to be down there... I saw you walking up here and followed you. That council can be a pretty cranky bunch, I'm surprised you scored like that. Nice job egghead!”

Rainbow rustled Fluttershy's mane as the cream colored mare blushed with embarrassment. She had done it, despite all odds she managed to potentially convince Cloudsdale that Twilight's “treasonous” cause was worth considering.

“I guess we should go inform Twilight.” Fluttershy began towards the edge of the city.

“Oh....uh...right.” Rainbow didn't move.

“Is something wrong? You so seem awful worried about something, or somepony.”

Instead of arousing any further suspicion, Rainbow Dash chose to simply go with Fluttershy. Her plan was to somehow hide once they arrived at Dodge City. The last thing she wanted was a confrontation with Rarity.

“No, everything's fine. Let's go. I think I know where they went.”

Fluttershy was less than convinced.

“Why don't we go back to the hotel first, I think we need to discuss something.”

The two mares were inside the room now and Rainbow was pacing, debating on whether she could trust her friend with this.

“Rainbow...we've known each-other since Flight Academy, I won't think of you any differently whatever it is....I promise.”

Rainbow stopped. Sat on the bed next to her but dared not make eye contact.

“I...I did a really bad thing last night.” The mare chocked up some.

“I was angry..I didn't mean to hurt her really!” Rainbow started panicking which promoted a gentle hoof on her shoulder, yet a stern look from Fluttershy,

“Who? What did you do Rainbow Dash?”

There was silence, this brief silence was accompanied by a rare but revealing sight, tears were escaping the cyan pegasus' eyes. It took her a great deal to say one word.

“Scootaloo.”

Fluttershy shook some, her voice did the same.. “W-what did you do to Scootaloo Rainbow Dash?”

Now she was crying. The pegasus couldn't take it anymore. She might as well spill it now.

“She came to find me—apologize about something I do-don't remember! I....I beat her, nearly broke her wing off...I....I'm a monster.” Rainbow fell to the floor and was bawling.

“Please don't hate me! I didn't mean to hurt her, honest!”

“Why would you do such a thing? To a filly no less! I-I thought you were just frustrated when you told me those things, when you said those horrible things......My goodness you didn't say those to--”

“I did...I did!”

“Rainbow Dash.....Of all the things you have done this, this is beyond awful. A filly who trusted you, who believed you were the very meaning of loyalty and......she looked up to you! I can only imagine how she feels right now...if she's even alive.”

“I didn't kill her. I let her go.”

“Out in the forest alone?” Fluttershy was at a loss for words. She sat back down as her friend was sobbing hysterically.

After nearly an hour of silence between the two, Fluttershy spoke.

“You are going to apologize to her.”

Rainbow panicked, “I can't do that! Rarity will kill me!”

“I'm sorry Rainbow Dash but if that is what happens then it is....I would understand.”

The cream colored mare grabbed her friend gently by the hoof and wrapped her in a soft hug.

“If you are honest, sincere, if you mean what you say than she may not forgive you, but at least she'll know.”

They made their way out the hotel and over the forest.

It was going to be a long evening.

Friendship Is Caustic

Rarity had gone home for the day, Twilight had visited and now it was sleeping time for the patients of the Dodge City hospital. However, Sweetie Belle and Applebloom had demanded to stay. Scootaloo seemed visibly upset to be alone in the hospital for the first time and threw quite the tantrum when Sweetie was to leave with Rarity. It wasn’t directed at either in particular, she just didn't want to be by herself.

Besides, tomorrow she was to be released. Rarity and Twilight had found a spa located not too far from the hospital. They figured they could go and relax as soon as the filly was out and about. They also found a quaint diner next to aforementioned spa.

The bits for both things had been acquired by Applebloom and Twilight who had done innocent favors for various ponies in the town. Re-shelving libraries, apple picking, small repair projects were among some of the things they did....for a price of course.

Sweetie Belle was laying stomach first on the side of Scootaloo's recovery bed, anxious to fall asleep though it was barely past mid-day. Scootaloo was still tired as well despite her sleep as she was still sore in places from Rainbow Dash's attack.

“I can't wait to blow this dump.” Scootaloo groaned.

“Don't worry Scoots, tomorrow will come soon enough.” Sweetie Belle replied, she was beginning to sound like her sister.

“I just don't get it...” Scootaloo mused, “I just can't put a hoof on why the pony I trusted the most would hurt me like that...I can deal with the injuries—nothing unusual...aside the wing. But I can't really get why she said those things.”

The filly felt a lump in her throat, an all to common sensation at this point. “Am I really that annoying?”

Applebloom scooted over to Scootaloo and put a hoof around her. “Naw Scootaloo, you ain't annoyin'...though to be honest you did bug Rainbow Dash a good deal..but that still doesn't make it right what she did.”

She paused for a second to put together the next sentence: “Ah know what it feels like Scootaloo, Mah own sister, drunker than an alcoholic drownin' in moonshine, tried ta do me in, kill me......Ah'm gonna be honest with ya Scoots, ah still haven't really 'come to terms' with it as Twi' says. Ah'm still scared, and wouldn't you believe it, part a me still misses her, an' Big Mac, an' Granny, an' the farm. Ah know they all though ah was dirt, ah know ah shouldn't, but ah do.....once a pony becomes more to you than just another pony...it hurts a little more than it should.”

“I guess you have a point..” Scootaloo conceded, “I was a bit obsessive, I had a hat just like her mane and everything.” She smiled slightly, pitying her past nave worship of the pegasus. “I never really had anypony who loved me or cared for me for a really long time...until I met Sweetie Belle, than awhile after you, and then Rarity adopted me and....until all of that and even after, Rainbow Dash was the 'coolest pony in all of equestria'. She had everything I didn't, she could do everything I couldn't. I don't know if I admired her because I thought good of her, or that I just wanted to be her.”

“What do you mean?” Sweetie Belle asked, intrigued by this very forthcoming conversation.

“Well....I can't fly, and probably never will now.” Scootaloo began, “Nopony ever wanted me around and everypony couldn't get enough of her. She did all these cool tricks and stunts and was just....everything I wanted to be. Or at least I thought.” Her nostalgic face turned to a scowl.

“That bitch is a monster. I hate her.”

“Ah guess ah hate mah sister too...” Applebloom added, “Because ah guess she hated me.” Tears started streaming down her face, she didn't expect putting those thoughts into words would stike the chord it did. “....Mah whole life was a....damn lie!”

Applebloom slumped into a sobbing fit. Scootaloo propped her up beside her and hugged her. Sweetie Belle came over and hugged her as well.

“We always have been and always will be your friend Applebloom.” Sweetie Belle assured the filly, “You've been nothing but a friend to us, you can expect the same from me.”

“And me.” Scootaloo added with a smile.

“Thanks girls..” Applebloom sniffled, “Sorry for bein' the downer when we're suppose' ta be makin' y'all feel bright Scoots.”

“Don't worry about it, we've had a pretty crappy week.” Scootaloo muzzled her friend affectionately.

“Yeah and besides, everypony needs to cry every once in awhile—or at least that’s what Rarity says, she says its healthy for your....your con-something.” Sweetie Belle, usually the repository of lingual proficiency found herself unable to put that one together.

“Ah've always wondered somethin'” Applebloom decided to change the subject, “Twi and our sisters became friends 'cause they were the Elements of Harmony....we became friends 'cause we're 'blank flanks'....”

“Well...us three did.” Sweetie Belle corrected. “Scootaloo and I were friends before anypony at school even had their cutie marks.”

“Oh, well...will ya still be mah friend when we get our cutie marks? Ah mean, all we do is crusade or talk about crusadin', once we have our cutie marks we won't really need to go crusadin' anymore...we won't have any reason ta hang out an' then we'll just go our separate ways.”

“What makes you think that?” Scootaloo asked.

“Yeah remember what Twilight said?” Sweetie Belle added, “Cutie marks are pointless. We aren't the 'Cutie Mark Crusaders' anymore, and haven't been since we left.”

“Last time I checked, we're still friends.” Scootaloo smiled.

Applebloom had never really thought about this before but indeed they were right. Following Twilight's lecture back in Ponyville, all three disposed of their aspirations for the much-revered ass tattoo that turned out to be nothing more than a vehicle of social control. Despite all of that they still played, hung out, and were side by side through some crazy moments, still just as much friends as they were when they conspired in the Crusader Clubhouse.

The three fillies stayed locked in a warm, happy hug for quite some time as they fell asleep right where they were. In the loving hoofs of eternal friends.

A contrasting scene played out a mile away back at the lodge where Twilight and Rarity were discussing far more putrid subject matter.

“I still can't believe she would do something like this Twilight....” Rarity would not stop repeating this same line. She could not let go of her confusion and simmering hatred for the cyan pegasus that did a number on 'her baby'.

“Rarity as I said, its behind us now. Scootaloo is beyond recovered and we need to just do what we came here to do.” Twilight was getting slightly annoyed at her friend's repetitiveness.

“You're right Twilight.” Rarity spat, “I shouldn't begrudge Rainbow Dash....” She turned to Twilight with a look indescribable as anything other then fury.

“I should be mad at YOU!” Rarity pushed Twilight to the ground. “If it wasn't for you finding those STUPID stories, telling those poor fillies and scaring them out of their manes than we wouldn't even BE in this mess! I would be asleep right now, with my sister and my daughter and I would be happy!”

The white unicorn stomped around the room. Letting out a few angry grunts along the way.

“You think I like being on the run like this Rarity?” Twilight had gotten up. “Do you honestly think for one second I wanted this to happen?”

“What in the world did you expect to happen?! You broke every sacred tenant of Equestrian Law and had our lives upended for your own selfish ends!” Rarity was face-to-face with Twilight but something inside prohibited her from lifting a hoof sans the accusatory jab.

“What? The thing that got this whole thing all bent out of shape was the incident with Spike! If it wasn't for him doing what he did--” The lavender unicorn felt her emotions seeping too, these of sadness and regret.

“You think you're the only one who's lost what you loved?”

Rarity softened some and took a few paces back.

“I lost my Spike, my baby. I not only had to deal with the acceptance that he was even capable of doing an unimagionable, unethical act of aggression, I had to be stripped of everything I ever accomplished by my mentor, and I had to loose my baby....”

The tears flowed freely now... Rarity rushed to comfort her.

“...at least you have your sister, your daughter. At least the mos timportant pones in your life get to kiss you goodnight, you get to tell them t—that everything will be okay.”

Twilight couldn't speak anymore. She hadn't succumb to her persistent, bubbling emotions since her sentancing in Canterlot. After an endless parade of matted fur, dried eyes, and a soar throat, the two mares finally released and looked at each-other.

“I'm so sorry Twilight...” Rarity said weakly, “I had forgotten.”

“So did I.” Twilight replied, “And...when all is said and done I guess I have Applebloom. We're by no means as close as Spike and I but...at least she loves me as much as he did. I just wish I could have my cake and eat it too you know?”

A small wrapping at the door interrupted their conversation and Twilight went to answer it. Rarity stay idle.

It was Fluttershy. Rainbow Dash was out of sight, afraid a white unicorn would lunge at her and take her for all she was worth.

“Any good news Fluttershy?” Twilight was eager to ditch the previous subject.

“Sort of...” Fluttershy said almost at a whisper, she had heard most of their exchange and felt intrusive.

“The city of Cloudsdale will consider our case.”

Twilight smiled, finally some genuine, good news for once in a long time. Without thought she dtre Fluttershy into an excited hug.

“That's my girl Fluttershy!” Twilight congratulated her friend.

“Well...it wasn't just me.” Fluttershy stepped back.

“Oh?” Twilight was curious.

“May I come in?....I would like to talk to you—and Rarity for a moment.” Fluttershy made her way in and closed the door behind her.

“What is is darling? This all sounds very positive! And yikes, we sure needed it.” Rarity was oblivious to Fluttershy's concern.

Fluttershy shuffled her hooves, staring at them. She wanted anything but to broach it but it had to be done. She wanted as much harmony between her friends as possible.

“I heard about what happened to Scootaloo. I hope she's okay.”

“Oh...” Rarity panned, still messing it. “Yes she has recovered almost entirely. Aside from a wing that will need a sling and stitches for a week or so she is in her normal state......who told you?”

“Well....Rainbow Dash did.” Fluttershy barely said this, it was too quiet to hear yet Rarity could read her lips fine.

“I see...” Rarity tried to keep herself calm at the thought that her child's attacker could be nearby. “What brought this about?”

Fluttershy could sense the unicorn's unease. “I....she was the one who helped me convince the Council to hear us out...if it wasn't for her they wouldn't have taken me seriously....Rarity, I know this is going to sound—absurd but, she wants to apologize.”

Rarity blew her stack and was shaking with anger. “Absolutely NOT. THAT SORRY EXCUSE FOR A CARCASS WILL NOT BE ANYWHERE NEAR HER IS THAT CLEAR?!” Rarity was yelling. She didn't notice, but everypony else did. Fluttershy was in a ball trembling by the door and Twilight had backed up considerably, ears flat.

“I—I'm so sorry Rarity, I..” Fluttershy was visibly scared.

“I don't care!” Rarity boomed, “How DARE you even have the slightest idea I would want that pathetic hooligan anywhere near my daughter—or me for that matter! If she is anywhere around here my advice to you is to have her leave at once. Otherwise I won't restrain myself from whatever I might do at the sight of that trash.”

Rarity made a charge for the door but Twilight stopped her.

“Enough Rarity!” Twilight scowled. “I personally think it would at least be good for Scootaloo's conscience to at least know that Rainbow Dash feels some remorse.”

“She is not your child Twilight...I am responsible for her safety.” Rarity had calmed some. “I do not want her around Scootaloo, nor for Scootaloo to even see her....please. I am sorry Fluttershy I just---I just don't want to risk her being hurt again.”

She calmly trotted to Fluttershy and lifted her up.

“You mean well but...I just can't allow this. Once was too much in and of itself.”

“I understand Rarity.” Fluttershy hung her head. “Excise me for a moment....I need to go take care of some things.”

Fluttershy left the room and Rarity returned tom pacing. Her head hurt and she decided to flop onto a nearby bed and get some much needed rest.

“I'm going to go check on the girls Rarity.” Twilight said.

“Please do. I'm afraid I am in no condition to do such a thing.” Rarity said, muffled by a pillow.

Twilight made her way out the door slowly. It appeared Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash had already gone. The unicorn let out a heavy sigh as she made her way to the hospital. She needed Rainbow Dash, Scootaloo can't fly and Fluttershy couldn't possibly do what she planned. She had to find a way to make this work.

Prepare to Qualify...

The inside of the restaurant was rather regal considering the simple Lincoln-log-like appearance of all the other buildings. Rarity certainly appreciated the upscale decor and appearance.

“Oh this is simply lavish Twilight!” The unicorn exclaimed.

“Sure is.” Said Twilight, “Here's to hoping the food is as good as their taste for design.”

“You said it,” Applebloom agreed. They were all rather hungry, including Scootaloo who wasn't one to enjoy hospital food thus she hadn't eaten much during her stay.

The reservations had been made during the crusaders' quarrel with Spike and they were being seated at a corner booth. Isolated and far from most of the other patrons which is just what Twilight wanted, 'for privacy' she said.

They sat down; Spike being next to Twilight on the far right, then Rarity, Sweetie Belle, Applebloom, and Scootaloo. Each with at least three feat of 'elbow room'.

“Now girls,” Rarity lectured, not wanting a repeat of their last visit to Sugarcube Corner, “This appears to be a rather upper escalation establishment so, please, abstain from letting your eyes order for your stomach.....Scootaloo.” The pegasus perked up at her name and sighed. She was in the mood where she just wanted to be left alone.

“So...aside from our little incident, how have you been?” Twilight casually asked her assitant. A smile on her face.

“Well...not much, I missed you guys, I missed home really. I spent most of my time helping around the castle and the rest of the time either asleep or staring out a giant window towards Ponyville.” Spike rolled his eyes at his own pity party.

“I'm just glad to have you back.” Twilight beamed, pulling the dragon into a hug.

They ordered their food and it was prepared and served rather quickly. Despite their inner deviant wishing otherwise, the crusaders were reasonable about their picks, implying the strained fillys' menu provided much working room to begin with. Sweetie Belle opted for a grilled cheese with tuna, Applebloom hungered for a bacon burger, and Scootaloo being herself requested an onion ring tower and mozzarella sticks she promised to share with the other crusaders as Rarity complained she was being 'piggish'.

The mares were a bit more refined, Twilight ordered steak with a side of clams and oysters for Spike, while Rarity opted for some simple fettuccine Alfredo. She shared the garlic bread with Sweetie Belle.

“I just can't put a claw on it...” Spike mused as they ate, “The Princess never said a darn thing about doing all of those things to you—I asked her to lecture you not ruin your life!”

“Spike, it's alright.” Twilight laughed, “I was a mess at first—Rarity can tell you that first hoof, but it's all behind me now, as I said earlier. The only thing I was truly missed is right beside me doing a number on those clams.”

Spikes faced reddened with embarrassment as Twilight patted him on the head.

“What's the matter Scootaloo?” Applebloom asked. Scootaloo hadn't touched a thing. The only reason some of her platter had lost some items was the other two fillies picking away at the cheese sticks.

“I'm fine.” Scootaloo pouted.

“Scootaloo dear you can't possibly be still pouting about the little escapade from earlier right?” Rarity looked at the filly with somewhat of a 'You have got to be kidding me' face.

Scootaloo mumbled something unintelligible and crossed her hooves, assuring everypony that indeed she was pouting, and had every intention of doing so until her unknown demands were met.

“Scoots ah'm fine if that's what yer worried about.” Applebloom smiled. “No sense in holdin' a grudge, if ah don't then you shouldn't.”

“She's right Scootaloo, please eat your food before it gets cold. We're not wasting our spare bits on a pouty pegasus.” Rarity pushed the platter closer to the filly whose stomach took control and she reluctantly began eating her food.

“Hey Twilight,” Spike asked after awhile of relative calm aside from ambient chewing and the movement of silverware, “You mentioned something about 'having a job to do', what was that about again?”

“Oh!” Twilight had almost missed the main reason she came here to begin with. “Well....you see, that literature Celestia didn't want me to posses, contains some rather incriminating perspectives on the history of Equestria, and given our banishment among other things, we have decided to....take matters into our own hooves.”

Twilight had been reciting the stories earlier to Spike but he still didn't seem fully on board with the while plan, as a matter of fact, the morale of the remaining ponies wasn't to secure either.

“I'm curious as well,” Rarity added, “I recall the rundown back in the forest but....I don't believe you were too specific on the more minor details, you know—little things help.”

“Well I haven't quite sorted it all out, and it depends highly on....the other pegasus being successful in their task, but we need three key things prior to confronting Celestia: Distractions, Diversity, and Discord. Distractions being to distract the guards and Canterlotians while we do some ground work. I figured the crusaders are fit to this task—I'll explain your assignments as we arrive, it's easier that way. The Diversity and in number—so long as we have Cloudsdale's armada on out side we should be fine in that regard. If it is just us, they'll pin us all for sure...”

“Discord?” Applebloom asked, “Ya mean tha dragon that's a statue?”

“Yes Applebloom, we'll need Discord if we expect to have anu chance of making this a reallity, otherwise we might as well surrender pre-emptively for treason.”

“And how do you expect to go about releasing him? I don't have the magic capacity ro do such a thing—and how do we know he won't turn on us?” Rarity was very suspscious of the whole thing.

“Leave it to me Rarity, I have it all planned out and so long as we have no more drama en route we should be fine.”

“I don't know Twilight, I don't think I can bare any more stress, this month has been one absurd series of mellow-dramatic nerve-wracking train-wrecks and frankly, it gets old with time.” Rarity looked at her skeptically but formed a smile.

“I trust you.”

“Thank you Rarity, we've had a good share of slip-ups, but none of us can afford this to be one of them.” Twilight was slightly surprised but pleased.

“You still have your smarts Twilight.” Spike complemented, “I'm sure we'll be fine!”

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle agreed.

Applebloom nodded in agreement.

“Well good, good. We head for Canterlot tomorrow evening.” Twilight proclaimed triumphantly.

Scootaloo nearly chocked on an onion ring. “T-Tomorrow? Why so soon?”

“Fluttershy says Cloudsdale is planning for an early winter so we need to get to this before the weather becomes an impediment.”

“Oh...” Scootaloo resumed eating.

“Speaking of which, where did the other two go?” Rarity asked.

“They went back to Cloudsdale to finish things up I believe.” Twilight wasn't too sure but figured that much.

The waiters cane around to clean the plates and other mess with Scootaloo piggishly wrapping her hooves around her food to emphasize her intent to finish it whole.

“So I see we have quite the appetite huh little filly?” The waiter joked. Scootaloo's disapproving scowl prompted him to move on. “Would you mares be interested in desert perhaps?”

Before either could object, three hooves and a hand shot up to answer for them.

“Well I guess we are.” Twilight chuckled at their eagerness as they had eaten quite a bit already though they did have quite the trip ahead so why not?

The mares picked the treat, much to the bemoan of the recipients, though once they layed eyes on it, they were far from displeased. What sat before them was a massive mountain shaped confectiona,, consisting of brownies, hot fudge sauce with cookie dough ice cream, mint chocolates scattered along the sides, colored chocolate candies rung around the base of the treat. It was beautiful.

“Oooh!” Sweetie Belle squealed exictedly, “What is this?”

“Why this is 'The Summit'” The waiter presented, “More than enough for you hungry tykes.” He smiled and was on his way.

Applebloom shot for the first bite but the wonderful treat was hastily snatched by Rarity.

“Ah, ah ah...” she began, “Before you can enjoy this, I believe Scootaloo has something to do.”

“Huh?” Scootaloo was confused.

“I believe you owe Spike an apology young lady.” Rarity said sternly.

“Oh...” Scootaloo hung her head some. She didn't want to, she'd look weak but at the same time, she'd have to be responsible for everypony, including herself not being able to lavish in the awesomeness that now sat restricted until she met Rarity's request.

Scootaloo was quiet. Applebloom cleared her throat to get the fillys' attention whist Sweetie cast an irritated glare Scootaloo's direction. She caved.

“I'm sorry Spike.” She nearly mumbled.

“For?” Rarity pushed.

“Awww sis!” Sweetie protested.

“Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo needs to learn to keep her emotions and behavior in check”

Scootaloo let out a heavy sigh, she hated this so much. “I'm sorry for hurting you. I shouldn't have.”

Then at her own will, she confided. “I don't hate you.”

“Thanks Scootaloo.” Spike said rather briskly, he was eying this treat too.

“Very good Scootaloo.” Rarity released the confection to the three watering fillies. Spike inched in between Sweetie and Applebloom. The foursome attacked 'The Summit' and given little time, shrunk it to more of an ant-hill.

Finally done, the group exited the restaurant and was out on the street again. Their spirits rather high, supported by the relief shared by the majority that their major emotional weights were at least downsized to something they could live with if not erased. Full of food, and full of nervous anticipation they admired the golden sky awash with pink as the glistening sun lowered to the horizon. They were headed to the lodge for some rest before they were to embark for Canterlot tomorrow.

Twilight had two companions at her side this evening. One was laying up against her back, and the other, a purple dragon with green spikes was wrapped in ever-loving hooves snuggled up nice and secure. Though, the lavender mare did have a notch in her stomach, she really hoped the final pieces of this plan came together as they were supposed to.

She also hoped those involved would cooperate as they assured her they would.

Positive Slope (Part 1)

Morning came almost too quickly, at least as far as Rarity was concerned. For the first time in awhile she had woken up in a bed she had all to herself; No purple maned pegasus nestled between her hooves and her stomach, no miniature version of herself had her hooves wrapped around her chest. It confused her, almost worried her for a moment.

“Twilight...” Rarity whispered to her sleeping friend.

“Pssssst! Twilight!” A little louder this time, stirring the purple mare from sleep.

“What is it?” Twilight yawned. Not moving from her comfy position but her eyes were half-open.

“Where are the girls?”

Much to Twilight's surprise, Applebloom was nowhere to be found either. Twilight could have sworn she was right by her side when she went to sleep.

“They couldn't have gone too far Rarity.” Twilight smiled, still not moving. “They know better by now. Just go look around, I'm sure they're just playing somewhere.

Rarity was a bit peeved Twilight was making her look for the fillies alone but she opted to skirt the whining and get to it. She went through her morning ritual of cleaning, fumigating, and perfecting her mane, then made her way through the hallway and out onto the street.

It must have been the weekend as the constant trickle of ponies wasn't happening. Instead, it was empty. Nopony was to be seen on the road.

“Scootaloo! Sweetie Belle! Applebloom!” Rarity called for them as she made her way down the road. “Girls?!”

_______________________

“So, what cool things do you think we're going to do when we get to Canterlot?” Scootaloo asked casually.

“I dunno.” Sweetie Belle answered, “I still don't get how we're going to defeat the Princess, I mean my magic is....not good and Rarity can't do much aside from house-work and fashion-related spells.”

“Maybe it'll be like the weddin'!” Applebloom exclaimed excitedly.

“What a bunch of weird black things will try to wipe out Canterlot? Wouldn't that kind of ruin the whole plan?” Sweetie Belle wondered.

“No dictionary, Twi said somethin' about Cloudsdale helpin' us out, there's got to be a lot of pegasususes in Cloudsdale! Maybe Rainbow Dash will be--”

Applebloom was a bit late to stop herself. Scootaloo never liked hearing that name following her incident.

“Sorry Scootaloo—ah meant....”

Applebloom trailed as the pegasus was quiet. Awkward silence came into play for a few minutes, until that is Sweetie couldn't take any more of it.

“What about Cadence and Shining Armor? They're there too!” Sweetie Belle worried, “Twilight said something about freeing Discord, and that doesn't sound like a great idea, you girls remember what happened last time.”

In fact they did: The streets of Ponyville were but sheets of ice, various homes floated upside down. The crusaders found it fun...that is of course until they fell onto the roads and couldn't go anywhere. They also remembered it was themselves that freed him through their fighting, though they never told anypony.

“You think Twilight's going to have us fight again?” Scootaloo wondered.

“Ah don't think so, we'd have to be really mad about somethin' for it to even work.” Applebloom replied.

“I just hope we get to do something.” Scootaloo said, “Twilight and Rarity aren't hogging the title od 'Awesome ponies who saved ponykind's flank'!”

“No way!” Applebloom agreed.

“What can we do though? We're just fillies.” Sweetie Belle said.

“Just fillies?” Scootaloo stood up. “Just fillies? Sweetie Belle what kind of attitude is that? We aren't just fillies, look at what we've accomplished!”

“Anythin' other than falling down and usually getting' tree sap all over us ah can't think of anything we've...accomplished.” Apple Bloom looked at her blank flank. “Poof is in the puddin' if you ask me.”

Scootaloo let her wings fall to the side as she sat down again. Her friend was right.

Sweetie Belle's ears suddenly shot up indicating she had heard something.

“What is it Swe--” Scootaloo began only to be shushed by Sweetie. The fillies darted their eyes around to see where that rustling some was coming from. Suddenly, a cyan and butter colored streak darted between the three causing them to scream in terror.

“W-what was that??” Sweetie Belle panicked.

Scootaloo however sat back down, deflated and had a look of irritation. She knew.

“Her.” Scootaloo panned.

“Who?” Apple Bloom asked.

“The worst pony in all of Equestria,” Scootaloo spat, “That jerk with the ego bigger than Celestia's sun, that no-good scatter-brained--”

“WHO?!” Sweetie and Apple Bloom didn't want a lead.

“Me.” Rainbow Dash stood a good distance from the fillies. Fluttershy was beside her.

“What the hell do you want you freak?” Scootaloo hissed. Wings flared, ready to attack.

“I cam to apologize actually...” Rainbow didn't like that being her only reason, “And to find Rarity and Twilight.”

Scootaloo muttered something to herself and crossed her hooves as she looked daggerrs at Rainbow Dash.

“What ya say Scoots?” Apple Bloom asked. No answer.

“Look—All I need to know is where Rarity and Twi are, I'll be out of your mane and--” Rainbow began, only to be startled by two back hooves smashing into her face. She stumbled back a bit.

Scootaloo was now in a hostile position. Tail swooshing in anticipation.

“Scootaloo stop!” Sweetie Belle whined.

“No!” Scootaloo growled, “This piece of crap deserves it!”

“Look kid, I said I was sorry now knock it off.” Rainbow wasn't sure how to handle this.

“Shut the buck up!” Scootaloo yelled as she charged for the pegasus only to strike wind and fall to her face.

Rainbow Dash landed on the other side of the fillies now as Scootaloo got up and made a mad sprint bearing her teeth like some rabid attack dog.

Sweetie Belle wasn't having this. She stood in the way hoping Scootaloo would stop.

“Scootaloo! Sto--” Sweetie Belle was brought to the ground with a thud as an orange pegasus lorded over her.

“Stay out of my way Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo growled as she turned her attention back to her target who now simply hovered in the air.

“Scootaloo please! Stop!” Sweetie Belle was on the verge of tears. “Remember what happened with me? With Spike? This isn't the answer Scootaloo!”

Scootaloo stopped and turned to Sweetie with the same look of disgust. “Not the answer? Why dont you tell that to Mrs. Bucking perfect up there? You think she listened to me? No! She beat me, belittled me and destroyed every dream that I had!”

Sweetie's ears flattened as she heard this. Tears were escaping Scootaloo's eyes as well though she didn't show emotion anyplace else.

“Scootaloo...I--” Rainbow Dash started. Seeing now interruption in sight, she contunyed softly. “I'm sorry. There's no excuse for what I did and what I said....I was just—I just wasn't thinking straight. I was angry and—I'm so, so sorry.”

Scootaloo turned to look up at her former idol. Face unchanged. She then looked back to Sweetie Belle who was now looking down at her hooves.

“Just leave me alone.” Scootaloo whispered. “Please, just leave me alo--” She couldn't finish that sentence as she broke down crying. Sweetie Belle didn't move however, she remembered what Rarity had told her and she was sticking to it.

Rainbow Dash at that moment mad a balsy decision at best, she swopped down and pulled the filly into a hug. Surprisingly to everypony there, she didn't resist. Instead she surrendered to the embrace and put her hooves around the cyan pegasus.

It took some time for Scootaloo to compose herself but she did and looked up at who was holding her. She apparently hadn't had a clue. Though again she simply buried her head further into Rainbow Dash's protective fur.

“I'm sorry.” She mumbled.

“No.” Rainbow Dash replied softly, stroking the fillies mane, “I'm sorry. I shouldn't have hurt you—I would have never killed you but—I just should've ignored you. I was selfish and ungreatful. All te times I've been at my worst you were always there for me—because I was all you had. I abused that respect, that loyalty....it was as if you were my—sister.”

Scootaloo raised her head from its buried position, tears freely flowing down her cheeks.

“Sister?” Scootaloo whimpered.

Rainbow Dash simply nodded. Hugging the filly a little tighter. “I fuc—bucked up, I did a terrible thing—but I'm glad you're okay. I couldn't stand to be without you.” She recoiled a bit from how that sounded but she figured the filly in question wouldn't think of it the way she did.

“I won't ask you to forgive me but, will you at least give me a second try? We're going to need to be at peace with each-other if we expect to do this job right.....also, you've grown on me quite a but over these last few months.” The cyan pegasus let out a weak, trembling smile.

Scootaloo looked up at Rainbow Dash, unsure of what to say. Two arguments played in her head, one for ditching this sappy loser and ending it then and there, or, taking the Element Of Loyalty at her word and taking another chance at friendship. There would be some work, it would take time, but it was possible.

Scootaloo then craned her head to look at Sweetie Belle, who essentially served as her ponified conscience. Sweetie did nothing but stare back. This was Scootaloo's decision to make on her own. The orange pegasus rested back into cyan fur to think for a moment, she then looked back at Rainbow Dash, this time with a smile.

“Yeah.” She grinned. “Just don't screw up this time.”

Rainbow Dash put the filly down and glided back to where Fluttershy sat. Incapable of saing a thng without letting out some emotional barrage.

“Thank you Scootaloo.” Fluttershy said on her friend's behalf. They then wandered into town.

The three fillies sat there looking at the dirt. Scootaloo included. Sweetie Belle trotted up to her friend and hugged her. Apple Bloom came around and did the same.

Things were finally beginning to look up.

Positive Slope (Part 2)

The posse of mares and fillies were finally closing in on their destination, nervous but eager to see this great dead of liberation done. No matter how harrowing and daunting this obscure task seemed. All were in high spirits; for what seemed like an eternity there had been one melodramatic sob-story, confrontation, or bombshell after another and, as Rarity said herself, it was getting stale.

Rainbow and Fluttershy hovered above the two other mares while the fillies trailed behind a bit, deviating from the paved path and romping through the open fields on their way to the thick and saturated woodlands ahead. Rarity and Fluttershy had prepared some food for them to eat once the reached the perimeter of the forest, a sort of lunch-supper kind of affair considering the next few hours would be almost exclusively devoted to hiking, evasion, and who knows what else.

The ponies said nothing to each-other, if for any other reason to preserve the subline aura of relief and general happiness they all fealt, not for the situation before them of course, but considering all of the ridiculous things they had endured, they managed to stick together. This resolve alone pushed them to assume the unthinkable and undoable to be anything but that.

Once they arrived to the point where the trees began to cluster into sizable partitions, the mares assembled the fillies and prepared to eat. It wasn't much, a spread of sandwiches, pie, and some chocolate delicacies as well. Most of this feast was for the fillies who would need it the most considering the four mares were more than capable of handling the trip ahead, whereas Scootaloo, Sweetie Belle, and Apple Bloom could only attest to a failure while zip-lining to be their most harrowing, hardening experience.

Following this food, Twilight decided it would be best to rest while they could now so as to stave off any kind of excess tiredness on their “journey”. While Canterlot certainly wasn't as far as it was when they had to detour to Dodge City, the roundabout ascent they had to make was going to more than make up for the lack of horizontal distance.

Tents were pitched, said tents had been purchased with the remaining bits they had. Enough for the four mare apiece and one for the fillies.

Sweetie Belle made herself comfortable in her sleeping bag as her companions had already lay claim to their part of the tent and she could now peacefully plop down somewhere. The unicorn was beyond exhausted. The food and drink was nice but she had a headache. All of the nonsense they had endured over the last few weeks was catching up with her head.

Add to this that Sweetie Belle was somehow roped in to being Scootaloo's conscience, guardian, and who knows what else. It certainly didn't fit her personality, abilities, or temper. Scootaloo was supposed to be the fearless kamikaze of the trio, with Apple Bloom as the stubborn yet cautious adventurer, leaving Sweetie Belle to be the quiet, resourceful one. These general roles had taken quite the shift some time ago and the filly couldn't quite grasp why.

These behavioral changes began to form long before Twilight introduced them to the revolutionary doctrines that set them on a course of no return. Her and Scootaloo's axis shift came into bering in an odd series of events. Sweetie Belle slipped into dreaming, re-hashing the stories that lead to this point.

***********************

The Crusaders previous attempt at being 'Cutie Mark Crusader Storm Chasers' hadn't gone so well...not only was the no tornadic activity ever scheduled for the Ponyville region, the only storm they managhed to run into was they one they caused when they set up a “lightning rod” on top of their clubhouse which set it on fire. Scootaloo seemed incredibly desperate to put the flames out, which along with Apple Bloom's quick witted use of a watering machine from Sweet Apple Acres managed to put the fire out without raising suspicion from the ponies of Ponyville—which of course was their main concern.

“That was close!” Apple Bloom said, still bouncing in excitement as they headed to Twilight's Library to return some books on meteorology they had check out.

“You could say that again!” Sweetie Belle replied. “I thought for sure the club-house was toast! Good thing you thought to use the hoses!”

“Ah know right? Ah remember when Apple Jack told me how ta make 'em go far out into the orchard to water some new saplin's we had. Figured Ah could use it here too.”

“I don't think I've ever seen you panic like that before Scoots.” Sweetie noted. Scootaloo, one who was normally one to boast her achievements and triumphs, was visibly silent.

“You alright Scoots?” Apple Bloom asked, concerned by her friends' odd behavior.

Finally realizing she was the center of attention she snapped from her own issues and stepped into her ego-drenched persona. “Yeah! Heh, I thought we were pretty toast too. But hey, there's nothing we can't solve right?” Scoots shot a cheesy grin.

“Yeeaaah.” Sweetie Belle was still a but offed by Scootaloo's mood but Apple Bloom didn't seem to notice.

“Ah know! But ah think Storm Chasin' aught ta be left to the pros.” Apple Bloom laughed.

“So what are we doing next?” Sweetie Belle asked.

Scootaloo, not wanting to draw any more attention, snapped into action: “Ooh! We could be Cutie Mark Crusader......uh.......Musical producers!”

Musical producer? That sounded frilly and artsy, not Scootaloo's expertise or preference. Again, Apple Bloom remained ignorant of Scoots' odd behavior following the fire, though Sweetie Belle was still on to something.

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom agreed, “We could have costumes, an' props, an'--”

“Didn't we already do this kinda?” Sweetie Belle asked. “Remember the talent show?”

“That...oh yeah.” Scootaloo remembered. “Well maybe we could be......Cutie Mark Crusader....uhh..”

“Clothes washers!” Sweetie Belle chimed in, “Rarity always goes to Canterlot to have her dresses and things cleaned, I'm sure we could do that for Ponyvillle!”

“That sounds like a stupid cutie mark.” Scootaloo said. “What would they even look like, washboards?”

Sweetie Belle, her idea shot down, again looked to Apple Bloom for the day-saving pitch.

“Or, we could be ghost hunters!” Apple Bloom suggested.

“Ghost hunters?” Sweetie and Scoots asked, eyes lighting up. This made both their half-baked ideas sound like complete shit.

“Yeah!” Apple Bloom added, “Mah granny has this weird thing called a Wigi Board. Says y'all can talk to the dead with it. Applejack says that's just foals tales but ah think we can try!”

“YEAH!” The three fillies slapped hooves, “CUTIE MARK CRUSADER GHOST HUNERS...YAY!”

Upon returning their previous weather-related books to Twilight, they then scared her that much more requesting books on night-vision, monster trapping, and mythical creatures. Despite her persistent warning they could have nightmares, Scootaloo especially was equally persistent in insisting they weren’t “foals” and could handle this just fine.

After about three hours, several burnt marshmallows, and Sweetie Belle cowering under a blanket for most of the duration, the fillies strained patience wore thin and they abandoned their pursuit. Which consisted of initially going into the Everfree Forest but were stopped by Fluttershy. They then retreated to the clubhouse and played with Granny Smith's wigi board...well Scootaloo and Apple Bloom did. Sweetie Belle watched. From a safe distance, under a mountain of blankets, pillows, shivering like an ice cold dog.

Apple Bloom had gone to the homestead at Sweet Apple Acres leaving Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle to clean up their mess. Sweetie fealt this was the perfect time.

“You okay Scoots? You seemed weird earlier.” Sweetie said mattrer-of-factly.

Scootaloo was alarmed by this. “What? Me? Of course I'm fone!” The filly boasted. “What makes you think different?”

“You just seemed....depressed.” Sweetie answered.

“Well I wasn't.” Scootaloo asserted.

“Are you sure?” Sweetie pushed.

Scootaloo wasn't doing this. “I wouldn't be the one asking about being a scaredy pony, you didn't even play with the wigi board, you just hid like a little foal.”

“But it didn't work.” Sweetie Belle added.

“How do you know? You weren’t out here!” Scootaloo barked.

“Oh yeah? Show me proof you talked to a ghost.”

“Can't.”

“Exactly.”

Scootaloo had a look of frustration on her face. She didn't like arguing, or being wrong. If she continued, borh were going to happen.

“Whatever Sweetie Belle. We're still not trying your lame dry-cleaning idea.” Scootaloo huffed as she helped Sweetie with her things and made for the Boutique where Sweetie would be staying with Rarity for a week or so.

“It's not lame!” Sweetie defended, “We could make some bits doing it!”

Scootaloo simply said nothing as they made their way to the Boutique. She said her goodbyes and made her way “home”. Or at least that's what Sweetie Belle and others were lead to beliuve.

Aside from a lecture from Rarity about tampering with spirites and dealing with such unladylike subjects as death, ghosts, and scary things, Sweetie's evening was rather uneventful. Wathing with admiration as her sister wove yet another masterful creation was the rest of her evening.

She finally made off to bed. Since she had arrived she had this elusive nagging feeling about her. Like she forgot something. Rarity retired to bed a few minutes after and night took complete control of the sky. The ambient lights in Ponyville one by one went dark as they sleepy village gave in to the will of the night.

Sweetie however, shot awake.

One of the fabrics they had used to attract spirits was a very bright white fabric. More specifically a very delicate silk that Rarity was looking for earlier. To her fortune, Sweetie was not a suspect..yet.

Sweetie had left it at the club-house. She had to go get it. Sweetie Belle was not one to facoe veing out and about at night, especially on her own. Though, it was illuminated, and was preferable to the scolding and punishment that would take place if the fabric was found to be “lost” at Sweetie Belle's careless hooves. She quietly made down the stairs and out the front door and towards the clubhouse.

The tree and the wooden structure seemed oddly intimidating at this hour. The moon shining on it just right as it looked like a large, black, colorless silhouette of evil. Sweetie gulped and trotted to the ramp. She slowly approached the door, which was closed. An unusual thing when the trio wasn't there. This heightened her anxiety. Her hoof trembled as she pushed the door open.

Initially she couldn't see a thing save the back window which was illuminated by the moonlight behind it. The light on the floor shaped by the shadow of the trees behind the clubhouse. Then, as her eyes adjusted, she could see something she wasn't used to. The table in the center was open, something she never knew could be done. On the other side was a large lump, a tad larger than she was. And it was breathing.

If Sweetie's coat were another color, it would have put her own to shame. She stood, frozen in the doorway. The eerie lighting, this unknown thing in the room. Was it a monster? A ghost? Was Scootaloo right about them summoning an otherworldly creature?

Sweetie cautiously approached the breathing thing which was covered with cloths but appeard to be the shape of a filly. Sweetie stood there for a bit longer.

“H—hello?” The filly asked timidly, backing up some.

At first, the pile did not move. Though it began to stir some. Making some groaningh noises.

“A—are you a ghost?” Sweetie asked.

The pile then shot up into a sitting position. Sweetie let our a blood curdling scream and stumbled over the table and into its open hole, causing her to panic further. An orange hoof grabbed onto her and pulled her up. She saw Scootaloo's tired face. Bloodshot eyes.

“Scootaloo?” Sweetie Belle was shocked. “What are you doing at the club-house?”

“I decided I was going to hang out here to----se if any ghosts showed up.” Scootaloo lied.

Sweetie seemed convinced however.

“Besides Sweetie, what are you doing out here anyway?”

“Well....have you seen my sister's white silk? I'm ruined if I can't find it.”

Turns out Scootaloo had been sleeping on it. “This soft thing?” She presented it to Sweetie.

“Yeah! Thanks.” Sweetie blushed.

“No problem, it's a lot more comfortable than what I usually sleep on up here.” Scootalooo bit her tongue and recoiled. She wasn't supposed to know that.

“I thought you said you were just staying here tonight.” Sweetie Belle was on the hunt now.

“W—Yeah that's what I meant. Hehe, just a slip of the tongue.”

“No it wasn't.” Sweetie Belle panned, seeing a thermistor, a stockpile of apples, and Scootaloo's saddle-bag, helmet, and scooter inside.

Scootaloo said nothing as she attempted to clean up her little area. Sweetie knew what this was and wasn't going to wait for her friend to fold.

“How come you never told anypony?” Sweetie Belle went right for it.

“Told anypony what?” Scootaloo wasn't going that easy.

“That you're homeless. I'm sure Applejack would let you stay with them.” Sweetie said concerned.

Scootaloo took every inch of this as an insult to her image. She got in Sweetie Belle's face.

“I'm not homeless Sweetie Belle! Take you stupid little silk home and leave me alone!”

“Then come with me.” Sweetie challenged. “I don't think I've ever met your parents—I don't think Rarity has either.”

Scootaloo froze. She was caught. Though she tried one more maneuver.

“You wouldn't want to.”

“Why not? Are they mean?”

“Well---No.”

“Than why not? I'll just say 'Hi!' and then be on my way. I'm sure they'd like to know who you're friends are...we're friends right?”

“Yeah but—just leave me alone!” Scootaloo pouted.

“Not until you tell me the truth Scootaloo.” Sweetie was surprised at the firmness in her voice as she stared down her pegasus friend. She did not like being lied to, and she knew this was happening.

Scootaloo said nothing. She moved her paw upon the wooden floor and stared at it as if she were entranced. She finally looked up and her bravado was shattered.

“I'm homeless! I have no family! There happy Sweetie Belle? I said it, you're right. Now bug off!”

Scootaloo stamped her hooves though Sweetie Belle wasn’t going anywhere. She pulled Scootaloo inot a hug which the pegasus initially squirmed, though with time she gave in and silently surrendered to the embrace.

“There's no reason to be ashamed Scootaloo, we're all you're friends.” Sweetie assured the filly.

“I'm fine.” Scootaloo lied. “Can we please talk about this some other time? I'm really tired.”

“Fine.” Sweetie Belle surrendered. She had to get home as to not cause suspicion. She certainly couldn't bring Scootaloo as that would lead to questions of its own. She left the clubhouse and went back home. Fabric in hoof.

The concerned unicorn could not shake that night out of her head, to the point where it began to bother her. She never brought it up at school or during crusades as she didn't want to lose Scootaloo as a friend, though it was more than obvious something was on her mind. Rarity had noticed this as well and when it had been a whole week of unusual mopiness, she opened the can of worms:

“Sweetie Belle, is something troubling you dear?”

Sweetie Belle was sitting slumped on her bed at Rarity's boutique. She hadn't moved for some time, staring out the window and sighing occasionally. She was startled by her sister's sudden presence and let out a weak squeal before turning around.

“Can I talk to you about something?” Sweetie asked.

“Of course dear, of course!” Rarity cooed as she made her way to sit on the bed beside her sister.

“If you wish to keep this confidential I can certainly do so.” Rarity smiled.

“Confidential?”

“Nopony else has to know of what we talk about.”

“Cool.” Sweetie sighed again. Readying her story. She knew she'd have to explain some things, things like sneaking out at night, the fabric, but at this point she didn't like being melancholy and bothered.

“Uh...well, remember that night your silk went missing?” Sweetie played with the comforter and stared at her hooves, this was going to be tough.

“Go on...” Rarity was slightly concerned.

“Well...you didn't misplace it—I took it. We we trying to get our cutie marks in ghost hunting and so...we needed fabric that looked like a ghost, to try to lure them.”

“And I assume that was less than successful.” Rarity sighed.

“Yeah. Sorry. “

“Is that all Sweetie? The silk was fine, made the order and the client was very please--”

“No.”

“Oh....then continue darling.”

“Well...I went back to get it after you started looking for it—I was scared . I had to sneak out and go to the club-house at night and...when I got there I found Scootaloo all by herself, living there.”

“In the club-house?” Rarity was interested now.

“Yeah. I tried to ask her why she stayed there and not with the Apples and she got mad. She told me she has no parents or a family.” Sweetie Belle grew sad thinking of this.

“I never would have guessed..” Rarity whispered to herself.

“I'm really, really worried about her.” Sweetie Belle said, “Remember what Rainbow Dash said when we were at Twilights giving her that weird book you brought from Trottingham?”

“A rather harsh and long winter if I can recall.” It hit Rarity soon after. “Oh...”

Sweetie wasn't crying but was upset. “What can we do? I don't want her to be miserable, she
s my friend!”

“It seems she isn't quite ready to accept help. I'm afraid forcing her will just make her even more unhappy. I hate to say it but we just have to give it time. Surely now that she knows she has a concerned friend she will come out of the woodwork and take the opportunity when she sees it.”

“Can she stay here?”

Rarity thought about that. This was likely the last place that Pegasus would want to be and the last pony she would want to answer to. They had nothing in common, hardly knew each-other, and were the polar opposites at almost every level. Though as the 'Element Of Generosity' it was her obligation to help a friend in need—Scootaloo was a friend....right? Besides, seeing her sister like this was nothing short of painful. How could she say no?

“That is her choice to make Sweetie Belle. Perhaps you should find Rainbow Dash, does she know of this? Honestly if Scootaloo would want to be with anypony it would be her.”

Sweetie had never thought of that. “That's a great idea sis!” The filly hopped off the bed and made a mad dash out the door to find Rainbow. Not of course before thanking her sister.

She was out on the main road of Ponyville which was busy but by no means crowded. N ever was save the occasional special events and attractions that came through. She scanned the skies above homes and shops for any sign of Rainbow Dash. Scootaloo seemed to have the sight of a hawk and then some when it came to spotting the famous wonderbolt-wannabe, sadly for Sweetie Belle, she could not claim the same ability and found herself growing more disappointed with each cloud she passed. There weren’t many.

She came to a small cafe near 'Quills and Sofas'. Twilight and Applejack were sitting at an outdoor table. Applejack wasn't wearing her famed stetson, and both mare looked to be deep in a rather unpleasant conversation—or at least not one that would warrant a smile or two. Sweetie initially hesitated but figured a quick question wouldn't be too rude.

“Twilight?” Sweetie Belle had made it to the table.

“Oh—Hi Sweetie Belle, what do you need?” Twilight was caught off guard. Hopefully she wasn't asking anything too specific.

“Do you know where Rainbow Dash is? I need to ask her a really important question.”

“I'm sorry Sweetie Belle, she is in Cloudsdale fetching me some academic literature.” Twilight looked to Applejack who nodded.

“But, whatever it is, I will be sure to let her know when she comes into town tomorrow morning....Or perhaps I could be of some help?”

Applejack look interested as well, anything to deviate from the morbid subject the mares were discussing. Sweetie Belle grew nervous. She didn't want anymore ponies involved in this as to avoid embarrassing Scootaloo or worse.

“N—No thanks it's okay. Thank you though.” Sweetie Belle turned to go back to the boutique.

Sweetie gave up and went to sleep later that night—or at least tried to. The wind this evening was rather noisy, she had heard some ponies in town talking about some early snow to help with some excess snowflake supply in Cloudsdale. Ponyville had a reservoir that was running dry as well. An early snowpack to melt in and produce surplus water made this a perfect time to offload the excess.

Though what this meant for anypony unlucky enough to be unable to evade the near-freezing temperatures and the harsh elements was something Sweetie Belle couldn't stand to think—especially since one of her best friends was among those unfortunate few.

Rarity was unaware of this weather though she did not like the idea of her sister sneaking off into the night again as it was getting colder. She poked in through the door to bring Sweetie some cocoa.

“Now sis I know you likely have plans to leave later this evening and tend to Scootaloo but--” She had to think of something other than 'I don't want you out there'. Got it. “If you keep bringing her things she will assume she can stay in that rickety club-house for who knows how long. You need her to become...how shall we say, wary of the scant resources and the degrading conditions. Create an incentive. Am I understood?”

“Understood sis.” Sweetie sighed.

“Your heart is in the right place Sweetie, the last thing you want is for her to take advantage of your kindness.” Rarity kissed her sister on the forehead and made her way to the hallway.

Sweetie Belle finished her cocoa and lie in her bed, staring out the window to se the wild branches flying about and listening to the howling wind. Frost was slowly covering the window as well. Sweetie herself was shivering from the cold air that seeped in through the thin glass. She tried her darndest to sleep but the cold and the constant worry prhobbited any such thing from happening until her mission was complete.

She gave some time to let Rarity convince herself Sweetie had heeded her words—not to say she didn't, she just didn't feel she was right. Once she felt it was safe to leave, she slowly opened her door, having stuffed a pillow under the blanket to make it appear as if she was there. She made her way to the front door and slowly made her way out.

She was shivering beyond belief, it was absurdly cold. Nopony in their right mind was going to be wandering about at this time in these conditions. Exactly what she wanted. She hoped this would be a waste of time, that Scootaloo had come to her senses, threw in the towel, swallowed her pride and was nice and snug in the Apple Family homestead. No such luck. She arrived to a familiar scene, or at least it was for the most part.

Scootaloo was wide awake, wet, shivering, sneezing, the whole gambit.

“Scootaloo?” Sweetie hollered over the wind that had now grown even more brutal.

Scootaloo jumped at the unexpected visit, spurring a violent coughing fit afterwards.

Sweetie's eyes of concern changed to that of determination.

“You're coming with me Scootaoo.”

“No.” Scootaloo replied.

“I'm not about to let my friend freeze to death!”

“Pssh, relax Sweetie Belle.” Scootaloo did her best to project invincibility when in reality she wanted nothing short of a warm bed to sleep in. “I'm fine. I'll just ride this out.”

“No.” Sweetie growled. She took a few steps towards the pegasus. She wasn't sure how she was going to corral this stubborn pegasus but if it came to it, she would.

“I'm not a foal Sweetie Belle! I'm fine!” The following coughing was hoarse and wheezy.

“Scootaloo you're being stupid! Not even Rainbow Dash would be caught dead out here! She isn't even in Ponyville—who would want to be in weather like this?”

“Shut up Sweetie Belle I'm fine.” Scootaloo curled into a sleeping position and made the pathetic appearance of sleep. Faux snoring and all.

“Fine....Fine!” Sweetie barked. “I tried to help you—don't say I didn't.” With a huff, she stomped out of the club-house and made her way down the hill. She looked back a few times to see if her friend was following. Not so. She sighed and made her way back to the boutique. She opened the door and had made the motion that would normally shut it, however, something was in the way. She whirled back to see Scootaloo.

A small smile crept on her face as she shut the door behind her and put a hoof around her friend.

“Come one Scoots, I can make some cocoa real quick—Rarity has a guest room you can sleep in.”

“Thanks.” Scootaloo muttered. She looked disappointed in herself for cracking. This wasn't how she wanted to be seen.

Scootaloo followed Sweetie around as she made the drink and then guided Scootaloo to the guest room which was next to her own room. She left Scootaloo to settle herself as the filly seemed to want nothing more than to be left alone. Sweetie retired to bed. Happy that she had finally taken care of her little problem.

********************

Sweetie woke up. It was still late at night but the tent wass already incredibly warm, courtesy of the body heat the three fillies produced. She looked to her right where an orange filly lay, in a peaceful sleep herself. She scooted to the filly and put her hooves around her. The more body heat the better.

Meanwhile in the other tents, the mares were restless. They had managed to all move to Twilight;s tent with a lantern lighting the inside.

“....and so, that is the plan at large.” Twilight concluded. She had spent a good hour going over the specifics of the entire voyage and 'attack' at hand. The underlying hope of course is that they would have some wind at their sails—Cloudsdale reinforcement.

Rainbow Dash loved it, finally some action that didn't contribute some lame drama as well. Some ass kicking was for sure up her alley. Rarity was beyond wary at this point, she had come to accept her new life goal—at least a short-term one. Fluttershy was, well quiet the duration of the speech, she still wanted nothing to do with this and was worried they were taking way too much onto themselves. Pessimism summarized her train of thought. Spike was confident it would work, after all simply because Celestia demoted her student as the 'Element Of Magic', didn't mean there was a possibility, with some assistance, that the element could re-assign itself to its natural bearer. He knew where they were as well, which took a good piece of work out of their whole game-plan.

The crusaders had a part to play as well. Though, Twilight was going to save that for when the time was right. They had it all figured out, mapped, and mentally exercised. It was now time for some sleep.

Tomorrow was going to be a hell of a trip.

Train Dodge, Dig it.

The journey through this much less daunting patch of woodlands was relatively easy when compared with their adventures before. The foliage and overgrowth proved to be anything but a hindrance, and the terrain was more of an advantage than an obstacle. Despite this of course there was the unavoidable invariable fact that three fillies were part of this group; and despite all wishes of the senior ponies, these fillies would grow tired much quicker than the learned and experienced mares leading them forward.

This tiredness, soreness, and boredom lead to the inevitable.

“My hooves hurt!”

“Ah'm tired!”

“I'm hungry!”

“Scootaloo dear we ate not but a few hours ago.” Rarity complained, “And Sweetie Belle there Is no way your hooves can hurt! This path has been far more hospitable and permissive than our last voyage through the woods so be thankful instead of complaining.”

“But sis!” Sweetie Belle insisted. “We're tired.” The two other fillies nodded in agreement.

“Sorry girls but we had our rest.” Twilight wasn't as much annoyed as she was determined to get them thinking about something else. “We need to arrive at the base of the summit before sundown. The rains here get pretty vicious.”

“Yeah.” Rainbow Dash added, “It's an odd mixture of Pegasus-controlled weather and that weird nonsense like the Everfree. It's hell to fly in and I'm sure its a ton worse to walk in.”

“But....But..” Apple Bloom began.

“No 'buts' Apple Bloom.” Twilight scolded, “We are making it to the base within two hours if your girls just pick up the pace a little.”

“No.” Scootaloo hissed.

“Excuse me?” Twilight asked, somewhat annoyed now.

“Would you like me to say it again?--No.” Scootaloo crossed her hooves and plopped down on her flank defiantly.

“Scootaoo you get up this instant! The last thing we need is some cranky foal making a mountain out of a mole-hill.”

“You really aught to quite trying to tell me what to do.” The filly growled. “Not like you can.”

Rarity gasped at these words. It reminded her of...earlier times.

“I don't know what has gotten into you young lady but this is simply--”

The other two fillies plopped down as well.

Spike let out a sigh. “Great, just great. Looks like we're going to be out here even longer....thanks to you three.”

“Spike!” Twilight scolded, “Language!”

“Well?” Spike defended, “They're being annoying little brats.”

“You wanna say that to my face dragon?” Scootaloo taunted.

“Scootaloo enough!” Rarity barked.

“Shut up.” Scootaloo shot back. This managed to even gather a gasp from the two fillies beside her.

“I.....you....” Rarity was at a loss for words. Rainbow Dash was quick to intervene. She got in the fillies face who was now scooting away from the cyan mare.

“First of all, DON'T talk to Rarity like that. Second of all, you and your little friends are going to get off your flanks and get going. We didn't want you tagging along to begin with so don't think you run things, got it Scoots?”

Scootaloo shrank as the other two fillies had gotten up and joined their senior companions.

“But I'm--” Scootaloo whined,

“If you are tired then please, get on my back and I'll carry you for a little while. But you ARE getting up and we are NOT doing this again!” Rainbow sat down as to allow Scootaloo to hop on and the filly did so. A defeated look on her face.

With no further conversation, then group marched on. They still had plenty of time to make it before the adverse weather. Scootaloo indeed was tired as within minutes her hooves dangled around the sides of the cyan pegasus and she was quietly snoring.

“That's not fair, why does she get to sleep and we don't?” Sweetie Belle complained.

Rarity didn't even hesitate. She briskly, and rather roughly magicked her sister onto her back leaving Apple Bloom to ride on Fluttershy as Spike was already with Twilight.

“So....why exactly did you bring them along?” Spike asked.

“It wasn't our intent Spike.” Twilight began, “They were eavesdropping, they heard too much and we didn't really have a choice.”

“Dammed if we did dammed if we didn't” Rainbow muttered.

“Exactly.” Twilight agreed. “Besides, their whining aside they have become rather important to making this all work, as I explained last night so its not like we can just leave them in Dodge City and go about out business.”

“Well if you didn't want us than why are we here?” Sweetie Belle inquired.

“She already said it dear.” Rarity said, “You fillies weren't supposed to know of any of this. It seems I wasn't supposed to either.”

“Well....not quite.” Twilight answered the odd look from her unicorn friend, “I was waiting for the right time.”

The journey continued without a hitch. It also managed to progress without much discussion. The fillies were fast asleep and the mares were deep in retrospective thought. Given the calm of the forest as well, it certainly helped them make their way through.

As the crystal-blue of they day began to morph into the dark black of night, the orange, warm gradient that sat between marked the day as coming to a near close. Fortunately, this wasn't an indicator of hindered progress.

Twilight halted the group once they reached a clearing at the base of Canterlor Mountain with a rail track leading to Cantelot, likely from Baltamare given their location.

“Alright, this is where the going gets a bit easier. It turns out that there are no trains headed to or from Canterlot over the next day or so so, we are going to make this much easier than it should be. We are walking on the tracks.”

Rarity paused and wore a look that could only be described as dumbfounded.

“You're....joking right Twilght?” She snorted haughty, “You don't honestly expect us to just walk on these railroad tracks—I mean, there's no shoulder! What if there is a locomotive, we'll be crippled!”

“Remember when we had to go stop that snoring dragon?” Twilight asked coldly, already making her way up the ascent, “Either we do this, or we get to endure.....that, on a scale you can't even imagine.”

Rarity looked about, hoping for support but found none.

“Oh alright fine, I guess we really haven't a thing to loose.”

“We don't have to walk with you guys this time right?” Rainbow jeered.

“Of course you do.” Twilight smiled, “You and Fluttershy need to be our lookouts. If something or somepony is coming, it's be nice to have a heads up.”

“Rarity has magic. Can't we just teleport up there?” Rainbow was whining.

“Oh Pa-lease, my magic is...well, marvelous in every way but by no means is it...shall we say, adapted for such drastic and burdensome things.” Rarity admitted.

“Also, Rainbow teleporting only works with your destination in your line of sight. If any unicorn could simply teleport into Canterlot, we wouldn't have a train.” Twilight explained matter-of-factly as she hastened her pace hoping to force her friends to cave and follow.
“Let's go you guys, the longer we stay here the less time we'll have to do what we came to do.” Spike encouraged as he caught up with Twilight.” The other ponies reluctantly followed.

“Which is?” Rainbow asked.

“To dethrone the princess and bring peace and freedom to Equestria, that's what!” Twilight replied triumphantly.

“Okay but we can fly, Why don't we just meet you up there?” Rainbow really didn't want to be stuck behind in such cold weather.

“Rainbow Dash.” Fluttershy scolded, “We can't just leave them behind!”

“Oh yes I am!” Rainbow charged upward.

The cream colored pegasus hung her head in disappointment.

“So much for the 'Element Of Loyalty'.” Rarity huffed.

“Fluttershy, she's right.” Twilight conceded. “We'll need to know if they are expecting us—or sme other dangers....just go with her to make sure she doesn't do anything regrettable.”

“But—but--the girls--” Fluttershy protested weakly.

“We'll be fine, and so will they.” Twilight looked back at the trailing fillies. “You've done plenty for us already, no need to waste time you don't have to.”

Fluttershy froze. Part wanted to stay for her friends, but the other did want to leave.

“Perhaps if you can get inside you can bring us some nourishment!” Rarity suggested.

“Yeah.” Twilight agreed. “We better get a move on if we expect to make it by dusk.”

“Oh.....okay.” Fluttershy made her way up the summit as well.

The trip was slow at first, the lack of a real end in sight as the mountain became progressively steeper wasn't much encouragement to push themselves too hard. After more than a few....”necessary stops” on Rarity's part, they finally made it a quarter of the way up as night gave way to dawn.

Twilight was still ahead of the group with Spike now on her back. The crusaders had awoken, only to find the voyage that caused their hooves to ache was nothing compared to what they were doing now. Despite their wishes, their rides did not continue. They had to walk as well.

“Well this is stupid.” Scootaloo grumbled.

“Ugh, I can't believe we have to do this.” Sweetie Belle groaned.

“Ah stop yer whinin' It ain't that bad...” Apple Bloom replied.

“Oh yeah?” Scootaloo snarled.

“Mm hm! Ah think we're getten' close ta halfway there!”

“I don't wanna hear anything until were close to done.” Sweetie Belle pouted.

“Well prepared to be bored girls.” Twilight heard their little exchange. “We have at least another two hours assuming we all keep at this pace.”

“Why don't you try to make this into a game somehow?” Twilight suggested..

“Easy for you to say.” Scootaloo growled.

“Ah stop it Scoots!” Apple Bloom was in a rather spirited mood, “Ah'm sure we could think of somethin'!”

“Like?” Sweetie Belle was curious.

Applebloom grew silent to let her brain do its work...and it's output was less than stellar. They were walking single file, on cold railroad tracks, with no rest if they expected to make it on time.

“Uh....” The filly wondered aloud. “We could.....we....”

“Nothing.” Scootaloo interrupted.

“Oh come on Scootaloo it isn't that bad,” Rarity said, “Perhaps if you focus your thoughts on more positive things than we'll be done with this trek in no time at all.”

“Says the one who was whining for the first half-hour” Sweetie Belle retorted.

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity scolded, “Where did you learn such disrespectful discourse!”

“Probably from one of the most self-centered unicorns in Ponyville” Scootaloo muttered.

“I heard that.” Rarity growled.

“And?” Scootaloo challenged, “What are you going to do about it?”

“Stop it Scoots...” Applebloom said annoyed. Her friend had an awfully short fuse lately and she wasn't liking it at all.

“Seriously though! We would’ve covered more ground if we didn't have to wait for little-Ms high maintenance to take care of her stupid foo foo crap.” Scootaloo hissed.

“Young lady that is enough!” Rarity barked.

“You're not the boss of me.” Scootaloo barked back.

“Scootaloo!” Sweetie Belle whined, “Stop being mean to my sister!--Please?”

“Yeah Scoots, y'all don't need to be makin' this any harder than it already is.”

The group continued onward for awhile, silently. Scootaloo had fallen the the back of the group, well behind everypony else. Muttering various things to herself as she glared at the ponies ahead.

She took this time to admire the little scenery they had. The thick woodlands and sparse trees on the mountain had given way to bare rocks, scattered waterfalls, and some snow as they ventured higher. Though one thing remained constant, the rail had no shoulder to it. If any train deviated off the tracks, it was done for. There were cliffs of course but no train would be able to utilize them in any fashion.

The orange filly then noticed an interesting waterfall that was straight and viscous; likely a mixture of snow and water—slush. She could see herself in this mirror of sorts and stopped to take a look. Her purple mane was tattered some with fraying swooshes all about. She still had some scars from her attack, and her mane was matted in most places from the damp cold of this mountain. Her eyes were bloodshot and dull in terms of color. Around her neck was her Cutie Mark Crusader cape. She examined it lazily, it was in awfully nice condition considering......

They were gone. She snapped out of her dawdling and whirred to see the group had moved well ahead. She cursed herself and bounded up the tracks only to be frozen by a sight she did not want to see.

A train. The sound of the locomotive scaling the track below. Then, a small trickle of light began to rapidly make its way towards her.

She wasn't to sure she could move this fast but she was. With all her might, using her wings as propulsion she leapt and sprinted towards the group who seemed unaware of what was approaching.

“TRAIN!!” Scootaloo screamed hoarsely.

The other ponies didn't respond, they likely didn't hear her as she was still a bit behind.

“TRRRAAAAAIIIINNNN!” She strained again. She was panting wildly as the train was getting even closer. She pushed herself even harder.

Scootaloo was now only a few meters behind, she screamed at the top of her lungs.

“I'M NOT KIDDING! THERE IS A BUCKING TRAIN RIGHT BEHIND US!”

“Scootaloo!” Rarity scoffed, “We--” She stopped as she saw it too.

“What do we do!?” Sweetie Belle panicked.

Twilight darted her eyes around. She saw, ahead a series of ledges they could cling to as the train passed.

“Quick! Follow me!” Twilight began as the mares and filly sprinted towards the distant hillside.

The train's hi-beam was on them now. They could see it. The mares were bounding ahead as the fillies were behind. Twilight and Rarity leapt to the ledge nearby which was far enough to jump to but too far to return only to realize their fillies did not follow suit.

“SHIT!” Rarity screamed. “SWEETIE BELLE!”

The fillies increased their pace, not even looking where they were headed.

Applebloom let out a blood-curdling scream as she lost her footing and went tumbling off the side. Scootaloo lept for the filly only to go off the side as well. She grabbed on to Applebloom's tail as the topmost filly hung on for dear life. The mares could only watch this hell unfold.

Sweetie Belle panicked, the mares couldn't reach them, the train was headed their way and her friends were likely dead if she didn't do something. As the train turned the corner and shined right at her she skimmed through what little magic she knew. She knew levitation but had never dealt with anything of this weight.

Regardless she tried and for the first few attempts her horn shot a pathetic spark. She strained and was trembling wildly as she tried to get it right. The train let out a loud whistle. Scootaloo was losing her grip as she began to sweat to the point where it acted as a lubricant.

Both fillies couldn't speak, they were simply crying at this point Then, a green aura surrounded them both, initially struggling to pull them up, though the began to float and move upwards ever so slowly, then they were shot up to rail-level and fell hard on the tracks but were up and running with the train just meters away. They ran like made down the tracks with no idea what to do. The train seemed to get closer as the ledge the mares were on wasn't any closer.

They closed their eyes anticipating the worst.

“I love you girls!” Sweetie Belle cried.

“We love you too!” The other two fillies replied.

The light grew brighter still as it closed in, their hooves were giving way as the heat of the engine behind them began to warm their back hooves. Applebloom then flattened herself in the center of the tracks and the other fillies followed. Closing their eyes and expecting the worst.

As the train past, Rarity began weeping. Her sister was sure as dead. Twilight's lip quivered but she remained firm for her friends' sake. Spike was without words as his eyes fogged up as well. The locomotive was a long one. Several passenger and freight cars made each pass an agonizing one. What only took mere minutes felt like hours for the three on the ledge.

The train past and there was not a sound. All seemed still for a few hear-pounding seconds for everypony. Each unsure of their fate.

“Did we make it?” A meek whimper came from a white unicorn.

“Sweetie Belle!” Rarity hollered. “Are you hurt?” Stupid question.

“Uh....no?” The filly got up anc checked herself as the other two followed suit. Applebloom was breathing heavily and coughing whist Scootaloo was still trembling from the whole experience. They were covered in soot, dirt, and has some splinters but were alive and in one piece. They didn't hesitate to hop to the ledge, with Rarity using what limited magic she had to guide them over.

Sweetie Belle was instantly in a tight hug as her sister embraced her, weeping as she did before. Apple Bloom and Scootaloo sat on the ledge and watched.

“Thank goodness you girls are okay..” Twilight began. “That was too close.”

“You could say that again.” Scootaloo replied. “Stupid train.”

“Ah can't believe nopony on the train didn't see us?” Apple Bloom questioned, “Ya'll would figure with them fancy lights they'da seen at least one of us.”

“Most of these trains are run by magic in terms of guidance. The only stallions up front were likely manning the coal burner....either way, somehow you girls cheated fate.”

Sweetie Belle began to squirm a little as she wanted to be in the open air. Rarity reluctantly let go and Sweetie embraced the cold. A sigh of relief.

The all sat silent, ingesting the whole of what could've been and what was, though the frigid temperatures eventually eased them back to their present task.

“Well, shouldn't we be goin'?” Applebloom asked.

“I guess...” Twilight began, “But I'm not so sure we should return to our initial course—“

“But how else are we gunna get there?” Applebloom asked,

“That's a good question.” Twilight said mostly to herself.

“I certainly don't want to be along those tracks again—This was enough thank you!” Rarity was calmed now but a bit stubborn.

“I'm afraid that's really our only option.” Twilight replied reluctantly.

“But--” Rarity began,

“How much longer do we have?” Spike asked.

“I'd say a good hour and a half if we keep a steady pace.” Twilight responded.

“What just happened Twilight! We can't possibly--” Rarity began again.

“Oh well that shouldn't be so bad!” Scootaloo jumped in excitement.

“Yeah!” Applebloom agreed.

“But--” Rarity was getting rather annoyed.

“Yeah!” Sweetie Belle interrupted. “And now we know what to do if another trai--”

“NO.” Rarity boomed. “No way in HELL are me and my sister being put in harms way again!” She was breathing heavily, it was unlike her to ever raise her voice like this but, this situation called for it.

“Well than I suppose you have a better idea.” Twilight asked. Head askew.

“Well....I......We....” Rarity didn't.

“We could just starve here and call it a life.” Spike panned sarcastically. A giggle came from the three fillies.

“This isn't funny you little bastard!” Rarity growled.

“Ooh!” Sweetie bounced again, “Spike could use his fire breath as a signal for any trains! That'll stop them for sure!”

“Yeah! An' ah reckon there should be some landin' spots like this all over this mountain!” Apple Bloom added.

“Besides,” Scootaloo added, “I'm sure Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy will come back soon enough. They could be lookouts!”

“YEAH!” The three fillies high hooved.

“You girls aren't the least bit worried?” Rarity was using a tablespoon to raise a sinking ship.

“Nope!” Scootaloo boasted. “Not at all!”

Sighing, the two mares formed a means to get the fillies up first. Rarity reluctantly levitated them back onto the tracks and then she and Twilight managed to jump, hang, and scamper over the ledge with Spike following suit.

The fillies were in front this time.--On orders from Rarity. All of them would check behind them, raise their ears a bit, any advance warning was best. Though they began into a part of the mountain where there were barren woodlands on each side of them. More than enough to leap behind some trees on some rough ground should another train make its presence known.

“I just don't understand...” Rarity mused, “If I were to have been in their predicament I would likely have died by my own fright than the train itself.”

“Twilight laughed, “Those girls have been battered and bruised quite a bit. They;re young, they're headstrong, and they are optimistic. Frankly I see it as a good thing. The more motivation the better.”

“Yeah.” Spike added. “If we can get through this, then Canterlot will be a piece of cake!”

“I sure hope so.” Twilight said, looking up at the stars as she thought about what she hoped was waiting for them when they arrived.

It wouldn't be too long now.

Grand Ole Op'ration

Fortunate for Twilight and company, their trip did not include any more close calls or near-death-experiences. They reached the Canterlot gates....or at least an area nearby. Twilight didn't dare attempt to simply “stroll on in” as she feared she wasn't supposed to be there. The game plan as run through in the tents earlier was that Twilight would sneak in through some underground sewage pipes whist the others tried to find an Inn to rest at. This all seemed fine in theory, but in practice things weren't going to be so easy:

“Ah wanna come with!” Apple Bloom protested.

“No Apple Bloom, if I get caught....you wouldn't want to be with me.” Twilight had never intended for the filly to be so attached to her, but at this point in time she might as well had been her surrogate sister; Apple Bloom refused to allow Twilight to go without her.

“Apple Bloom we'll be fine.” Spike said reassuringly, “We'll just find a place to crash and she'll be there not much later.”

“Exactly.” Twilight enjoyed the assistance in this.

“But—What...what if ya don't?” The filly wasn't letting this go without an effort.

“Apple Bloom..” Twilight pulled the filly into a hug, “I'll be fine. Think of it as a precautionary detour.”

“A precauti—what now?”

“I don't know if I'm allowed to be in Canterlot—they won't do anything to you guys if you are caught; myself however, for all I know I could be banished in a fiat sense. You'd be best to go with everypony else.”

“But--”

“Please? Do it for me Apple Bloom. I'm going to be worried about Spike and you the whole way there, that will be stressful enough.” Twilight said this last line sternly but kept a gentle smile on her face.

“Don't worry Apple Bloom, we'll be fine!” Scootaloo playfully nudged her friend,

“Yeah, the sooner we get to the—wherever we're going, the sooner this will all be over.” Sweetie Belle added.

The filly knew she was defeated. She let out a sigh, drooped her ears and sulked over to the group.

“Promise me you'll make it Twi.” Apple Bloom asked weakly.

“I promise.” Twilight smiled as she motioned Spike to follow her down a bluff that lead to the main septic gate.

The remaining ponies stood and watched them until they were out of sight. Rainbow Dash cleared her throat to get the groups' attention and restated the task at hand:

“Alright so this is what we're going to do: I will be waiting over at where Twilight and Spike will be coming from, and the rest of you can find a place to stay---uh---Fluttershy can be the lookout and find us when it's time.”

“Hey!” Scootaloo barked, “I wanna go too!”

“Ugh—really kid?” Rainbow face-hoofed, “We just dealt with your friends' little thing we don't need you being a wimp.” She glared at the filly who shrunk back in embarrassment.

“Sounds fine by me—nice and safe.” Rarity smiled. “Come along girls, let's find some comfortable accommodations.”

Rarity, Fluttershy, and two of the Cutie Mark Crusaders headed for the gate. One orange filly however sat back and pouted.

“Come on Scoots, we don't have time for this.” Rainbow growled, “Go with them.”

“No.” Scootaloo pouted, “I wanna go with you.”

Rarity stalled to see if Scootaloo was coming with. Rainbow looked between the two a few times and resigned.

“Fine. You can come. BUT, you need to stick with me got it?”

Scootaloo bounced with anticipation. “Yay! Thank you Rainbow Dash!”

“Uh-huh sure.” Rainbow muttered, mood unchanged as they forked in a different direction after they passed through the gates. The guards didn't alert to anything, nor did they seem suspicious of their presence, which was good for them at least.

Anyone who has been within the vicinity of a portable lavatory, sewage drain knows the horrific, static smell that seems to dwell within and around it. A compound of waste, dirty water, and a plethora of other unpleasant aromas. Twilight and Spike were not as fortunate as most as their plan of action mandated that they traverse the very corridors of offensive nasal assaults in order to avoid a potential banishment.

“Yeesh!” Spike groaned, “You'd think with the dainty food these Canterlot types eat their....stink wouldn't pack such a punch.” He had his nose plugged as they went along.

Twilight couldn't help but giggle at her assistant's discontent, “Well nopony said this was going to be an enjoyable trip now did they?”

They met their first obstacle, an intersection between two lines of sewage. They were to head forward which meant they had to somehow get over this river of filth. Twilight could have very easily teleported across the way, but that luxury among several others was not available to them so they had to improvise.

“Hmmm” Twilight put a hoof to her chin. “You got any ideas on how we're going to cross this thing?”

“You got me.” Spike shrugged. “Dragon magic isn't capable of levitation or anything...All I can really do is burn stuff.”

That gave Twilight a rather odd idea. “I see some loose bricks over on the other side...If I could just somehow get over there I could lay out a path for you to scurry over.”

“That's great but I think we still don't have the whole...getting you across part.” Spike quipped.

“True....but I think I might now.” Twilight winced.

“What is it?” Spike was curious as there was no visible sign of traps or mechanisms that would aid them at all.

“Torch my flank.”

“W—what?” Spike was stunned for a moment.

“My involuntary reaction will give me the lift I need to jettison to the other side....a few blisters and a bruise is well worth it—this is the only way to Canterlot covertly.”

“I don't think I've said this too many times Twilight but....that sound incredibly stupid.”

“You have any better ideas? Without my magic we're going to have to be a little rustic in our problem-solving department.”

“There has to be some other way!”

For the sake of entertaining the dragons' insistence, Twilight trotted to and fro looking for any loose masonry on their side of the aisle. No such luck. Spike attempted to melt the stones but it was far too cold and hardened.

“Damn.....okay Twilight. You can't say I didn't warn you.” Spike said.

“I know what I'm getting myself into Spike.” Twilight smiled, “Best we get moving so the girls don't have to worry.”

Twilight stood in front of the dragon and lifted her tail to avoid it being singed. Spike trembled and tweedled nervously before finally inhaling and letting our a meek flame. Enough to cause the unicorn to sling forward in a bodily reaction to being scorched. She didn't make it across but enough to scramble up the ledge. The current was incredibly vicious as she figured. They wouldn't have been able to cross that.

Covered almost to the neck in unsavory liquid with a throbbing, burning flank, Twilight turned her attention to the loose stones and pulled the out one by one. They were somewhat stubborn at first. But a few hard bucks at the wall was more than enough to loosen most of them.

The unicorn analyzed the current and calculated the placement required to make this a stable and reliable crossing despite the limited time. She placed them askew at various distances apart and motioned Spike to hop over. The dragon hopped as if one were playing hopscotch, not the best idea. The first stone skewed into the current with him nearly falling, the second one wobbled as well, the third however, he lost his footing and fell in. Scrambling to the ledge and being pulled up.

“That....was gross.” Spike looked back at the stones that had now washed into the main stream. Glaring at them with a look of hate.

“I'm afraid there's plenty more where that came from.” Twilight laughed, “Let's go.”

*******************

Back on the surface things were far more sanitized and far more forgiving. At any rate they would likely be settled by now had it not been for Rarity's ridiculous selectiveness. “Too small”, “Too dark”, “Too claustrophobic” were among the many failing grades she assigned each Inn they reviewed.

Sweetie Belle was less than pleased.

“Sis, we're just staying for one night, Do you really need to be this picky?”

“Picky...Picky? Why I--” Rarity lectured, “One of these days you will learn to appreciate my fine-tuned preferences. A lady is not to be in desolate, deplorable, and downtrodden conditions!”

Apple Bloom and Fluttershy looked on in disbelief; this fashionista was getting in the way and they weren't quite sure what to do....until Apple Bloom got an idea:

“Ah think ah know a way ta get us done with this whole thing.” The filly whispered.

“What were you thinking?” Fluttershy asked,

“Well~ seeing as she is goin' be takin' her sweet time stoppin' at every Inn in Cloudsdale, ah think that gives us more than enough time ta find a room, book it, an' give her no choice.”

“Oh but...Apple Bloom...” Fluttershy worried, “She will be very, very upset...and trust me, you won't like her when she is upset.”

“Well ah wanna be in a room so when mom—er ah meant Twilight gets here we ain't stuck out here window shoppin' with Miss Indecisive!” Apple Bloom wasn't too sure why she slipped on the “m-word” though in her head she liked it a lot, and if anything it served to strengthen her resolve.v

“Psssst!” The filly was trying to get Sweetie Belle's attention. “PSSSST!”

Sweetie Belle whirled around and looked at the filly who simpled motioned her to follow.

“What for? Rarity isn't--”

Sweetie Belle looked up at her sister who had not noticed their exchange, she was chastising yet another receptionist regarding the “demeaning” conditions of their “shameless establishment”. Sweetie Belle needed no further prodding. She trotted their way and with a little nudging of Fluttershy, they were on their way to finishing their task.....without the paperweight.

Rainbow Dash sat perched on a stud that held a clothesline between two buildings in a alleyway. The buildings, as well as the ground beneath them were covered in moss, mud, and dirt. On one side however, was a manhole with a large grille. It lead to the subterranean system that Twilight and Spike were in and this would be their exit point. After some strange looks from some ponies who were asked of its location, they had finally found it.

Scootaloo was on this filthy ground. She had pawed a small enclave of cleanliness to sit on. She looked up at Rainbow Dash who made no effort to have the filly join her. They hadn't talked much since they left the group earlier, both were still in an awkward stance against each-other. Scootaloo wanted very much to be with her but Rainbow Dash seemed very evasive of this “foal's business”.

“Rainbow Dash?” Scootaloo asked in her signature rasp,

“What is it kid?” Rainbow asked,

“Why can't I be up there with you?” Scootaloo almost whined.

The cyan pegasus let out a sigh, “This isn't time for mushy stuff Squirt, this is important. I'm here to watch out for my friend, not foal-sit a whining pegasus.”

“But--”

“But if you'd like to keep whining about everything then why don't you go find your friends? I
m sure they're in a nice, cozy hotel room by now. Much nicer than sitting out here in the cold....in dirt.”

“I wouldn't be sitting in dirt if somepony decided to be cool for a change.”

“I wouldn't be distracted from my duty if I didn't have some filly complaining to me about stupid things!”

Scootaloo was silent. She didn't want to really go anywhere except up there. Every since the apology her fan-girlish obsession and sisterly love for Rainbow Dash had resurfaced after attempting to suppress it in order to maintain an image of independence. That wasn't working too well.

Rainbow looked down at the filly who was herself staring at the dirt below. Her hoof dancing about it, ears dropped and a sullen look on her face. She could've swore she hears sniffling too, though Scoots would never admit that—not to her anyway.

“Oh alright. I'll be down in a sec, Yeesh!” The cyan mare said defeated.

Scootaloo inflated and bounced happily as she way scooped up and brought on Rainbow Dashs' lap. Two hooves were wrapped around the filly as they gazed at the view before them at this elevation. Canterlot was like a gleaming diamond at night. The various lights from homes, offices, the floodlights of carious hues that lined the streets against a dark night sky with only a scant turnout of starts. It was a pleasant sight. Enough to stir some conversation at least.

“This is really—uh--neat isn't it?” Scootaloo mused, selecting her words carefully. “beautiful” seemed a bit...soft.

“Yup.” The cyan pegasus replied briskly, She didn't want to really talk to the kid, not out of any resentment, that was never really there to begin with, the can of worms it would release however was something she didn't want to deal with.

Scootaloo had other plans.

“I wish I lived in Canterlot.” Scootaloo added, “...or anywhere really.”

Rainbow Dash bit her lip, into the spiral she plunged: “I thought you were with Rarity?”

“I was but....I didn't feel like I belonged there. Rarity was nice and all but....that just wasn't for me.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah.” Scootaloo made swirling motions nervously on her legs with her hoof.

“Can't say I know what that's like.” Rainbow blurted, “Must be rough.” That seemed a tad cold. Oh well, she had done worse to the filly so she doubted Scoots would really notice.

“It is.” Scootaloo sighed. This wasn't working.

“Do you even know where you're from?” Rainbow Dash asked casually.

“No...no actually.” Scootaloo answered. “All I can remember is being in the Ponyville orphanage and running away when I was little.”

“So....what did you do between that and Rarity?”

“I found this beat up tree-house near Sweet Apple Acres. I would sneak in there at night and sleep there...it got a little more comfortable once it became the 'Cutie Mark Crusader Clubhouse' but not much.”

“Hmm.” Rainbow wasn't sure how to respond to that. She had never figured all those times that filly had trailed her were likely out of wanting comfort and companionship than some obsessed fan.

“Do you know your parents?”

“Yeah. They live in Cloudsdale.” Rainbow replied, “No siblings though—only child. Probably explains a lot about me.” She chucked a bit.

The two grew silent again as they were pulled in by the view, it had changed and neither was too sure why. Both squinted a bit to make out whatever change had demanded their attention.

“You see something?” Scootaloo asked, still looking forward,.

“I....don't know.” Rainbow Dash struggled to make out anything. Then she heard something, a low growling or rattling sound. She jerked her head to the right to look at the manhole to see if that was indeed the source. It didn't seem to be.

“Weird.” Rainbow muttered to herself.

Not too far from where the two pegasus were, Twilight and Spike were making filthy, smelly, wonderful progress. No real obstacles sans the usual impediment that summoned a variety of innovative ways to go over them. From flank-torching to throwing a dragon with your tail. All in all the whole trip had gone well. They had even found a large stick that served as a horribly odorous torch.

“Think we're almost there?” Spike asked aloud.

“I would think so...” Twilight was getting somewhat tired. “I never figured Canterlot was this large.”

“Yeah it does look pretty small from far away—you know, aside from the giant towers and stuff.”

“Yeah...” Twilight perked her ears up. She apparently heard something.

“What's up Twilight?” Spike asked.

“I...thought I heard something.” She said slowly as they continued walking.

“Probably just all the leaking pipes and stuff.” Spike panned, “The dripping noise is going to drive me crazy!”

“Hm.” Twilight laughed, “I guess my ears are a bit less sensitive...a good thing?”

“I guess.” The dragon replied.

They came around a corner to another stream. This one was a bit different though, to the right, not too far from where they were there was a large circular grille that, due to the darkness behind it, likely lead to more sewage.

“I don't think that's our exit.” Spike said.

Twilight froze. She heard it again, but so did Spike.

“W—what was that?” Spike shivered. Twilight shushed him and waited for the sound again.

It was a roaring sound, made by a pack of very hungry subterranean hounds. They weren't diamond dogs, they seemed incapable of speech, but as they emerged from the darkness and leered from behind the grille, they looked more than capable of feasting on their two new targets,

“What do we do?” Spike whispered fearfully.

Twilight was a bit scared as well... “Well..let's just try to do the usual—I toss you across and then we--”

No time for that, the beasts broke the grille and went charging for them.

Twilight bucked one of them into a wall though another lunged at her. Spike attempted to burn the thing but his fire breath did not reach.Twilight lept into the current of filth to avoid certainly being decapitated. Spike managed to dodge most of them while he also managed to burn one of the beasts sending it retreating back into the darkness.

Though he joined his unicorn friend after taking a gruesome swiped to the cheek.

“Spike!” Twilight cried,

Spike was jumping into the river when one of the dogs snapped his tail with their teeth, summoning a scream of outright pain from the dragon who desperately attempted to burn the captor and break free. No use. Two of the beasts, including the one who held Spike bounded triumphantly into the darkness.

“SPIKE!” Twilight screamed as she pushed against the current and made it back onto the walkway. She went postal. Grabbing the still lit torch she swung it at one of the beasts, and while it hurt it by no means stalled him. She then bucked the animal with all her might into the wall and managed to strike the second beast as well. This gave her the all clear to head after Spike.

To say it was dark was a gross insult to the situation as a whole. Twilight could not see a thing and without her magic she could not illuminate this dark and scary place, though she could hear—and feel where she was going. She tripped several times into several ditches and walls. She felt blood tricking down her face but that was the least of her concerns. Her heart raced at a dangerous speed when she heard the dogs—and Spike.

Light gave way to a rather unwelcoming scene. Spike was not dead, or mauled surprisingly, though he was surrounded by a pack of furry killers who were feasting on other captured carcases as they licked their chops.

Spike took some time to notice Twilight. He lit up and made the horrific mistake or running for her. The dogs pinned his tail and me slammed into the concrete. Twilight blindly charged for them only to be met with a similar pain.

It was hopeless at this point. Both were pinned under the warm, grimy, furry paws of carnivorous monsters who were hellbent on making a meal of them.

Twilight thought to herself as her eyes were obscured by tears of what she would be leaving behind—her friends would fail, her death would be about as anti-climatic as ever, nopony would likely find them anyway—assuming the animals left anything behind.

“Apple Bloom.” She whispered to herself. She choked up. She had promised that filly, and that filly was on thin ice in more ways than one. Her death would likely prompt the unthinkable.

Her stream of thoughts were briskly interrupted by her captor being flung to an opposite wall. All Twilight could see through her blurred vision was a streak of many colors....

Rainbow Dash wasn't though just yet, gliding over the snapping teeth and gaping, hungry mouths of the beasts she plucked an unconscious Spike from his trap. Twilight mustered what she had and got up to see Rainbow and the remaining beats s charging towards their original path.

“Come on you stupid dogs! Come get me!” A balsy orange filly taunted the ravaging monsters at they came barreling towards her. Scootaloo simply hopped like a feeble rabbit from one side of the sewage to another causing much confusion and collision. Using her wings to propel herself across, she was only brushed one with some teeth taking a piece of her tail.

“Is that all you got mutts?” Scootaloo let out a nice raspberry before heading back and forth again.

There will still two beasts that were mobile and they were pissed. Scootaloo had turned to move again when she was smacked by a paw and sent sailing into the concrete. She landed on her injured hoof. She tried to move but the pain overwhelmed any control of her limbs. She let out a blood-curdling scream as they beast who stuck her looked longingly at this new prize.

Twilight had bucked the other monster only to see this horror before her.

The eyes of the monster and the magenta eyes of the filly before it met. One with a look of victory and satisfaction, the other with abject fear and resignment. Just then the look of the beast turned to dilated pupils. Blood rapidly obscured the formerly hungry eyes as a brick kept slamming into the dogs' head.

It eventually was out and being swept down the current. Rainbow Dash scooped up the crying filly and held her close.

Twilight had Spike on her back, he was still unconscious.

“We have to get out of here and get him some help!” Twilight pleaded.

Rainbow snapped back to the situation at hand and puffed up her chest.

“Right!” She barked, “You go ahead, it's not too far from here.”

They hurried to the opening where Rainbow and Scootaloo had been before, The bright lights if the city were blinding to all of them. Though Twilight had a good memory of where the hospital was. She disregarded all of her fears and and was bolting through the street, with a cyan pegasus above her.

She could not hear the disgruntled remarks of ponies who were knocked over, pushed, or narrowly evaded hrr incredible speed, she could not her Rainbow asking her something about capture. The only thing on her mind was the dragon on her back.

Rainbow was equally worried, though she didn't know they way so she had to keep pace with the unicorn below. Scootaloo was dizzy and sick from the whole experience. The impact in and of itself was enough to scare anypony. All of the were covered in sewage fir, dirt, and blood. A ghastly sight for anypony who might happen by them.

Neither could care less though. Whatever druthers they had did not exist, As the lights of the ER grew closer, the sight of the filly grew dim. Scootaloo was losing conciseness as well.

Welcome to Canterlot

Applebloom was in an absurd state of panic. It had been well over six hours since they had arrived and she had yet to see Twilight, or Scootaloo for that matter. Despite Sweetie Belle and company making every effort to assure her they are fine, the filly couldn't help but feel otherwise.

It had since lapsed midnight and the moon was high in the sky. The mares in the room were fast asleep, Applebloom was slouched by the door, anticipitorily keeping lookout for her praternal gaurdian to arrive. Sweetie Belle was on the bed she shared with the occupied filly. She was awake though she didn't dare make Applebloom aware of that. Here eyes were wide open as she worried about Scootaloo. Part of her questioned why she worried so much. Applebloom never was the subject of such worry, nor was her own sister. This orange filly was for some reason at the forefront of her mind and she could not shake it.

Sweetie could see Applebloom reflected in the window. The filly blocked a slim strip of light that bled under the door into the hallway, the fillys' contours received a light blue glow from the moonlight as did her own bed courtesy of the window. Sweetie Belle let out a heavy sigh as she hopped off the bed and made for the door slowly.

Applebloom noticed this, was startled, and nearly fell making all sorts of noise.

“Shhh!” Sweetie Belle shushed.

“Wherre are ya goin'? AH don't need to be worried 'bout anypony else!”

“I'm going to fo take a short walk.” Sweetie Belle lied.....terribly.

“A walk? At midnight? You ain't the kinda filly ta do that!”

“Yeah huh.” Sweetie Belle retorted. She trotted forward but Apple Bloom got in her way.

“No!” The filly protested, “Ya ain't goin' anywhere!”

Sweetie Belle wasn't having this crap. A minty colored aura took form around the striken farm filly who was magically suspended in the air. Sweetie Belle triumphantly trotted under Applebloom and gently let her down as she was well into the hallway.

By the time Sweetie was entering the stairwell, Apple Bloom came bounding behind her.

“Ahm commin too!” She panted.

“I thought you didn't want me to leave.” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Ah don't, but ahm tired of waitin' fer Twi and Scoots ta come back!” The filly whined.

The two fillys were tired and tattered, and the blinding lights and vicious sounds of a bustling imperial city did not help their state much.

“Are your eyes watering too?” Sweetie Belle asked.

“Yeah! Ah can't see nothin'!” The filly complained.

They eventually had some form of sight and stuck close together as the crowds of ponies shufflinf about surprised them. Ponyville didn't have a “night-scene” as it didn't warrant one. Young mares and stallions, some sober and lovey, some drunk and ridiculous were everywhere, even some older colts and fillies were mingling about.

“My sister says that Canterlot is the place to be for clubs and 'upper-class' dating.” Sweetie Belle mentioned.

“Mah sister always told me ta stay away from the 'big pony' cider...” Apple Bloom added as she watched a plastered stallion fall off of a balcony and get in a brawl with a mare trying to help hum up.

“...ah think ah know why now.”

“Get out of my way you little cunts!” A brash and rude stallion barked at them. Sweetie Belle at least leaped nine feet in the air. Applebloom shot a glare at the intoxicated stallion.

“Now don't you talk to me like that you son-of-a-bitch!” She regretted that utterance when a nearby assembly of ponies turned to her,

One of the mares, well beyond wasted had a sly smirk on her face. “Oooh!” She taunted, a heavy slur intact, “Those are some big words for a little filly don't you think?” The group laughed.

“Come one Applebloom, we don't have time for these losers.” Sweetie Belle attempted to pass the group but the wouldn't let her.

“Hey! Where do you think you foul mouth......foul mouth.....fuck....uh......WHERE DO YOU THINK YOU'RE GOING?”

“Away from you creeps!” Applebloom barked. Again, their attempt to circumvent the blockade was unsuccseful.

“You wanna talk to my mare like that you little hick!” A gruff stallion puffed his chest and stared down at Applebloom.

“Ah wasn't talkin' to yer marefriend you no-good waste of air.” Applebloom spat.

“Applebloom stop!” Sweetie Belle pleaded.

“Holy shit guys!” One boistrous pony belched, “The cotton candy can talk!” Hysterical laugher ensued.

“I—I'm not--” Sweetie Belle didn't like this. They wouldn't move, she wanted to find Scootaloo, and ftankly being called 'cotton candy' wasn't something to write home about.

Applebloom was pissed. She leapt into the air and landed a nice hoof to that loud stallions face. Though, it didn't do much.

“You little FUCKER!” The stallion grabbed the filly and pinned her to the roadway wiff his powertful hooves.

“N—no! Stop! Let us go!” Applebloom cried.

“Awwww, the trash talking psycho filly is gonna cwy?” the initial mare cooed, “Too bad you little brat!” The group proceeded to spit on her spill their drinks on her, and launch various horrific insults. They closed in, further adding to the filly's panic.

Sweetie Belle was shaking as she saw this before her. She scanned around for anything she could throw at them and spotted them. A fireworks stand. She backed into an alleyway nearby and focused her magic on a few large fireworks. This would be enough to clear the street.

They lit up, fuses set by her magic and then....an unimaginably loud explosion. Doing exactly what she wanted....kind of. While Applebloom was free from the hooligans harassing her, she now had to dodge various frightened ponies who were galloping haphazardly in a state of panic. She eventually saw where her friend was and bolted into the alley.

“What did you do?” Applebloom asked.

“Lit some fireworks.” Sweetie Belle smiled deviously. “Are you okay?”

“No.”

Sweetie Belle pulled the filly into a hug. “Some ponies can just be real jerks sometimes.”

“No foolin'?”

The good news was that Scootaloo didn't need any medical treatment of any kind. She was simply knocked unconscious and protested a trip to the ER. The bad news was, Spike did. He was gravely wounded, battered, and torn in various places. Twilight was a mess, cursing the day she got any of them involved in this “Fruitless pursuit of fairy-tales.”

Figuring Scootaloo didn't want to sit in a room the whole evening while they waited to be found by their concerned friends, Rainbow Dash and the filly made their way back into town, looking for any sign of the others. As they turned a corner of a rather tall building, a column of smoke could be seen from what appeared to be a recent explosion.

“I wonder what happened?” Scootaloo wondered aloud. She then got excited, “Let's go check it out!”

“I dunno kid...” Rainbow shocked even herself. It wasn't like her to have a cautious attitude. Then again, this filly had brought out several things about her she never expected to see.

“Awwww c'mon Dash! I'm bored!” The filly whined.

“Ugh, fine.” Rainbow wasn't about to put up with Scootaloo's temper, which she had learned by now could be rather vicious if provoked. “But stick by me got it?”

Scootaloo agreed and they trotted towards the scene. Once the pile of debris and embers were in view, Scootaloo voided her previous agreement and galloped to the remains. She then of course smacked into a passing shopper stallion who was less than happy about the reckless filly.

“Watch where you're going you little brat!” The stallion barked as he grabbed Scoots by her tail.

“Hey! Let go of me!” Scootaloo demanded as she squirmed.

Rainbow Dash zipped over to meet the two.

“I'm sorry—Sir,” She began, unsure of how to do this, “She's my filly—she's just being a little rowdy, It won't happen again.”

“Well it better not dammit!” The stallion huffed as he picked up his dropped items. “Damn fillies these days don't know respect from the mane on their head!”

“SCOOTALOO!” Two more fillies cried joyously as they bolted from the alley they were in. Once again, knocking over the disgruntled stallion.

“Why you little fucking br--” the stallion spat,

“Oh come now Larson, we need to get the milk home before it spoils!” An older mare hissed.

The stallion mumbled something nasty and went into the direction of some homes.

“What are you two doing out here?” Rainbow asked, still glaring at Scootaloo.

Sweetie was the first to answer. “We fought off some gangsters!” Sweetie was rather proud of herself.

“Ah wouldn't really say they was gangsters Sweetie, just some mares and stallions who woke up on the wrong side of the bed er somethin'” Applebloom was anything but pleased with the days events.

“Where's Twi?” She asked.

Applebloom was ignored.

“Gangsters huh?” Rainbow Dash inquired, “You shouldn't be out her by yourselves—where's Rarity and Fluttershy?”

“Where's Twilight; Rainbow...Scoots?” Applebloom asked again.

“Rarity is back at the hotel...I hope,” Sweetie began, “Fluttershy? Not sure.”

Applebloom jumped in front of Scootaloo and Sweetie, a desperate look on her face. “Where—Is—Twilight?”

“Well let's get back to the hotel then!” Scootaloo declared, “I'm hungry.”

“Me too!” Sweetie Belle whined, “We haven't had anything since we got here!”

“AH WANNA KNOW WHERE TWI IS!” Applebloom yelled.

“Hey!” Rainbow Dash started, “There's a pretty cool place on the other side of town—me and your sisters went there a few times, We can grab something there.”

“Yay!” Sweetie and Scoots answered.

“Where's Twilight?” Sweetie asked.

“Oh she's at the hospital.” Rainbow stated.

Applebloom widened her eyes in fear. “H—Hospital? W-why?”

“She's fine.” Rainbow said assuringly, “Spike.....is anything but.” She frowned. “We'll check on them once we get something to eat and meet the others OK?”

They ate at a small yet revered establishment. The food was plentiful, filling, and fantastic. The three fillies and Rainbow Dash then returned to the hotel where they were staying. The foursome made their way up the stairs and down the halls leading to their room. Sweetie Belle was shaky, nervous at the least to what her sister would say; surely she was worried out of her mind.

Much to their surprise, Rarity nor Fluttershy were there. A note was sitting on a night-stand beside one of the beds; Rainbow Dash read it aloud:

“My dear sister Sweetie Belle,

I am rather disappointed in your decision to once again abandon the room and leave without permission or prompt; however, as you likely know, Spikey-Wik— Spike was horribly attacked by those subterranean ghouls. Twilight sent a nurse to fetch us and we are at the hospital as a result. Assuming you are to return to the suite prior to my return or accompaniment, I expect you to stay there until then!

If you find Rainbow Dash and Scootaloo, inform them that it is past the visitor's arrival window and that Twilight would prefer we all be in the same place so she can coordinate our continuing efforts.

Do respect my word and her wishes and stay put. Next time, I will not be so eloquent and will not heed the call of urgency and be sure to let you have it you little shi- silly filly.

~ Rarity. “

Sweetie Belle breathed a sigh of relief. She was in the clear....this time.

“Well, you hear her!” Rainbow Dash laughed, “Stay put. All of you.” She cast a stern glare at Scootaloo who flinched slightly.

“I'm gonna hit the sack so you fillies keep it down okay?” Rainbow Dash yawned as she hovered in the air and stretched her limbs. The cyan mare than plunked down on one of the beds, in the middle so as not to allow any feasible companionship. Loud, obnoxious snoring followed suit.

The three crusaders sat in front of the center bed, backs against the headboard.

“Well great.” Scootaloo groaned. “Now what are we gonna do?”

“We could go get some snacks in the lobby.” Sweetie Belle suggested.

“We ain't doin' nothin' and ain't goin' nowhere.” Applebloom mumbled.

“That sounds like a great idea!” Scootaloo whispered loudly clapping her hooves in excitement.

“We just ate!” Applebloom protested. She was beyond tired, sore, and the agonizing absence of Twilight only amplified her discomfort.

“I think they have free cookies at the reception desk!” Sweetie Belle was excited as well. They shot up and gleefully trotted for the door.

“Girls!” Applebloom hissed only to be ignored.

She didn't want them to leave; It would mean she would have to follow them to make sure they didn't get hurt, or she could just stay, but that could be a problem too. She could hear it now: 'You should have stopped them!' A frantic and disappointed Twilight crowed in her mind.

Sweetie was about to put hoof to doorknob when a cream colored filly slipped in front of them.

“No,” She growled.

“What's your deal?” Scootaloo asked. “If you don't want anything then just stay, we'll be right back.”

“Ah said, NO.” Applebloom barked.

An audible snort let out of a pegasus who apparently thought this was funny. “Since when are you the boss of me?”

“When ahm tired of havin' mah friends lost, hurt, and who knows what else! Can't we just this once be good an' listen to somepony? Ah've had enough trouble for one day.”

Glowers were present on the white and orange fillies.

“Please?” Applebloom begged, eyes moistening. “Ah'm scared about Twilight, I miss her and ah wanna see her—real bad!”

Scootaloo let out a sigh, “Then stay here.” She was slow and deliberate with the next sentence as if she were coaching Applebloom on the English language: “We, will, be, right, back.”

“No.” Applebloom growled. “Ya ain't goin' anywhere! Please!”

Scootaloo simply pushed the filly to the side and nuzzled the door open. She pushed through the small opening without a word and Sweetie Belle followed. Applebloom shut the door and slumped down to her hanches. The only thing she could hear was the loud snoring of a cyan pegasus a few feet away, the only thing she could see were various memories with Twilight. Her friend, mentor,

Her mother.

The filly began weeping.

Waiting Room

Night fell again as Twilight paced an all to familiar setting, a hospital room. This was the last place she wanted to be, and she could only imagine what Spike was going through.

Twilight spent this time pacing primarily to berate and chastise herself for the situation she and her friends were in. She effortlessly shouldered the blame in her mind for what she considered a horrible mistake.

Each and every time a nurse or the doctor came in to check on Spike's vitals or do some sort of inaudible assessment, Twilight once again visited the same sharp regretful chant: “If only I kept my mouth shut, if only I had never learned of those stupid books!” She felt thus was a pointless plight from the beginning; an irrational escape from an impossible nightmare.

Finally, as the hall lights began to dim, signaling the closing of all but the ER's reception lobby, Twilight compelled herself to plop onto a cot near Spike's bed and try to let her bloodshot, dry, and tired eyes get some rest. Though she procrastinated, the ticking of the clock, the breathing of the oxygen tank, the paced beeping of the heart monitor, all spurred her brain to whirl around in doubt, angst, and self-loathing again.

In the meantime, a good distance away in the more suburban precinct of Canterlot, sat a modest Inn where Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and the crusaders slept...or at least were getting there.

Rainbow Dash was pulled from her deep sleep by the noise of the fillies coming in and out of the hotel room. She was half-asleep and agitated at the younger ponies who seemed to care less about whether she got some decent sleep or not. She recounted the days events which were anything but stellar, this certainly did nothing to help her find sleep.

Rarity was lying on the bed next to Rainbow's; sprawled out in such a fashion as to prohibit any companionship. The next and final bed over was empty and still in its default condition. Presumably this was to be for Twilight though the unicorn opted to stay by her assistant's side for the night.

Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo, and Applebloom were situated in a semi-circle in a corner of the room. The backs to the wall and their faces towards the beds. They were getting sleepy too, especially Scootaloo who was beyond sore and worn from her unexpected adventure earlier that evening. She and Sweetie Belle had gone and fetched some cookies and juice from the lobby, put on the adult's tab of course. Applebloom staunchly refused repeated offers to enjoy some snacks with the excuse being that she wasn't in the mood. Eventually though, she caved. They now sat quietly, tiredly listening to the sounds of passing ponies in the hallway or the occasional chimes ringing outside due to a light breeze.

Scootaloo finished her juice box and dropped it in a nearby trash bin. Seeing Rainbow Dash on a comfy bed made her yawn; stretching her hooves and popping some tense joints.

“I think I'm gonna call it a night girls.” Scootaloo said drearily.

“I think I am too.” Sweetie Belle followed. Naturally, she yawned as well but was subtle about it as opposed to Scootaloo simply opening up the hatchet nice and loud.

Sweetie Belle hopped onto Rarity's bed and plopped down by her sister. It didn't take long for her to succumb to her weariness.

Scootaloo on the other hand was hesitant to get near Rainbow Dash. She didn't want to sleep in the empty bed, she might get in trouble. She eventually made the leap and curled up in between Dash's forehooves and back hooves, snuggling up to her stomach.

“No.” Rainbow drearily groaned.

Scootaloo reluctantly scooted to the edge of the bed given she didn't have much room. With the lack of body heat beside her she attempted to turn to lay on her stomach but wound up falling off the edge of the bed instead. Surprisingly, nopony was jostled from their sleep by the considerable thud. Rainbow grimaced and peeked over the bed where Scootaloo sulked, curled up in a ball with a look of defeat.

Rainbow wasn't having it. Scootaloo looked down at the carpet as stray tears fell on it. She didn't audiably cry but she certainly showed it every other way. She didn't move, lest she be scowled again for some absurd reason.

Applebloom still sat in the corner. Unable to sleep or even think about such a thing. Twilight was still at the hospital. She hadn't seen the unicorn since they arrived at Canterlot. That sense of worry and angst still plaguing her being. Again, she began to whimper and sniffle. She wanted to see Twilight. Everypony else was asleep however and did not wake despite her fit. Applebloom than simply began to cry. Nothing awful but enough to bring Rainbow Dash back into the waking world.

The pegasus sighed and got off the bed.

“Let me guess,” Rainbow began softly as she approached the filly. “You want to go see her don't you?”

“Mmhm” Applebloom whimpered.

“Alright, hop on.” Rainbow sat down so the filly could mount her back. Once this was done they quietly made their way out of the hotel and towards the hospital.

Canterlot was surprisingly quiet and on some streets, empty during the late hours of the night. The trip from their hotel to the hospital took far less than Rainbow could remember. They came upon the building to find the general visitors entrance was dark and locked.

“Well shit kid—I guess you'll have to wait until tomorrow; we'll all go.” Rainbow resigned.

“But—But, Ah wanna--” Applebloom stammered.

“Hey, It'll be fine alright? Let's just get back to our room and get some sleep.”

“No.” Applebloom dismounted and sat in front of the entrance with no intention of leaving.

“Ugh, kid, you're being ridiculous. What would Twilight say?”

“Ah don't know 'cause she ain't here, she's in there! Ah wanna be in there with her!”

“I get that but we can't. See the lock? Are any lights on? No. So that means you can't.”

“We can let her in.” Came a female voice. Rainbow turned to see a nurse with a smile on her face.

“I can take her where she needs to go.” The nurse smiled.

“Really?!” Applebloom practically leapt into the air with excitement.

“But you'll have to be quiet. Most of our patients are asleep. Is that okay with you Ms?” The nurse looked to Rainbow who looked herself relieved.

“Yeah. She's here to see Spike. Her—mom is in there.” Rainbow said.

“Okay, we'll go up there okay?” The nurse said to Applebloom who immediately took to the nurse's side.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you ma'm!” Applebloom chanted happily.

The nurse and Rainbow chuckled. “No problem sweetheart, and what is your name?” The nurse inquired playfully as they made their way into the hospital.

“It's Applebloom!” Applebloom answered.

Rainbow could no longer make out what they were saying as they walked in and she walked back towards their room. She was absurdly tired now and was not letting a thing get between her and sleep now.

Now that Dash was gone Scootaloo needed a new place to crash. Twilight's bed was unoccupied but she didn't want trouble. Dash's bed was not an option as the pegasus seemed to revert to disliking her, so it left either the floor, or Sweetie Belle and Rarity.

The orange filly opted the latter and hopped onto Rarity's bed. She again propped herself into a comfy position and was surprised to feel two tired but loving hooves pull her close. Scootaloo turned to see the pony in question; she was met with half-open emerald eyes and a cotton candy mane. Scootaloo couldn't help but smile back as she began to grow tired.

Scootaloo stared out the window on the other side of the room. As the furnace and the baseboard kicked on with a gentle hum, the shimmering bokeh that was her view outside prompted a flash of memories: watching the rainbow pegasus artfully swim in the skies over Ponyville, the attack in the forest and the apology, their platonic bonding from that point to now. A weird feeling filled the filly. A smile grew on her face and she trembled nervously.

Scootaloo was soon nice and snug between two hooves and a maternal kiss was planted on her cheek. The pegasus filly surprised herself and returned the familial kiss to her unicorn companion. Neither needed to say a thing. Both were scared of what was to come, they both were tired and just wanted to be safe, and home. But, they knew that so long as they stuck by the other, they would have some semblance of happiness.

Finally, they gave in to the will of the sandman.

Applebloom found Twilight once again pacing the hospital room. The filly bounded towards her unicorn guardian and squeezed Twilight in an unusually tight hug.

“Applebloom!” The unicorn gasped, “What are you doing here?”

“Ah wanted to see ya Twi....” The filly whimpered.

Twilight sighed as she got back on the cot, another attempt to sleep.

“Fair enough.” She smiled as she motioned for the filly to join her.

“What happened ta Spike?” Applebloom asked.

Twilight shivered some at the thought of what went down. About the same time it dawned on her: Applebloom likely had no idea what happened yet....at all. This was going to take awhile. .

To say that Applebloom was impressed with Scootaloo, amazed by Twilight and terrified for Spike is a bit of a dodge but it was safe to say her mouth was agape and eyes were wide as Twilight finished recounting the fur-raising encounter.

"Wow.." Applebloom said, "Ah'm surprised Scoots' or Dash didn't say anythin'."

"Knowing Dash that does come as a surprise," Twilight mused, "I guess there's a first time for everything."

The pair was quiet as they looked over at Spike's bed and the equipment around it. Any sign of life aside from the breathing was not available to them so they tried to converse again.

"What are we gonna do now?" Applebloom asked.

"What do you mean?" Twilight asked, genuinely confused.

"Ah mean, bout' that who librarian Equestria thing?"

Once Twilight internally replaced "Librarian" with "Liberate" her mind began to slowly recollect that train of thought that had brought them here. Honestly, Twilight had negated and shelved it considering all of the much more important things that were happening in the present.

Twilight really didn't want to think about that. She knew she'd have to discuss it with the other mares before anypony else. She simply lie down on the cot and pulled Applebloom beside her, hoping this affection would silence the filly. It did.

"We'll discuss those things when we get together with everypony else okay?" The unicorn whispered.

"Kay Twi'." Applebloom yawned. "Ah love you."

"I love you too Applebloom, I'm glad you're at least okay." Twilight wondered for a moment why she chose those words, they seemed a bit pessimistic. Regardless she let the stillness of the room around her and the peaceful fitly beside her draw her into sleep.

Rainbow came back to a quiet room. She was pleased to see her bed was clear, though that selfish warmth came to an abrupt end when she remembered why. They glided to her bed and lay there. Instead of looking out of the window which sported a lovely series of blurred colors and shimmering city lights, she looked at an orange filly who was at peace.

She couldn't place why she was so bothered by the sight of her. This odd feeling that seeing that filly now reminded her of herself in more ways than one. A chill crept up her spine as a thought occurred to her. One of those memories you suppress as time goes on, to the point that you fail to even acknowledge its occurrence.

As she continued to look at the filly, that horrid thought came back to her. It was so potent because if it was indeed true what she was thinking, there would be no forgiving herself for anything she had ever done to that filly.

Rainbow Dash managed to push that aside and find some sleep herself. She needed it, she had a feeling tomorrow was not going to be the best of days for more reasons than one.

The dream came to Rainbow, that pesky memory triggered by the tormented filly apparently was going to giver her a vivid flashback of depressing proportions.

It was Dash's senior year in flight camp. She already staked out her home in the sleepy town of Ponyville, now she just needed to finish some endurance tests among other things. For herself and the other students it was a cause for celebration. A large party was underway at a residence which, in the memory bore no name with ponies that shared the same anonymity.

The atmosphere was fun, gleeful, and reckless. Stallions and mares were frisky and frivolous in their rampant and often short-lived pursuits of a special pony to "make some magic" with. Though for Rainbow Dash, she was an exception. For the life of her the stallion she was with, she could not remember his name; even the day after she could never place his face to a name, nor could she confirm the face in her mind was the one before her eyes the night prior.

Regardless, they danced, they drank, and then they were off to a private room at an inn in South Cloudsdale. Following the inevitable intercourse, they went their separate ways, too in the moment of their own achievements and raw bravado to consider the possible implications of their actions.

Flash forward a few months to the Ponyville Hospital. Rainbow was having an examination as was required for new residents of Ponyville. All seemed fine. Vitals were perfect, no signs of any illness, however the doctor took slightly longer than was normal for such minor checkups and physicals. He came in with a straight face and a manilla envelope.

"Ms Dash, the good news is you are as healthy as anypony can be." The doctor stated.

"So...what's wrong then?" Rainbow asked, anxious.

"Well..we checked, and checked again just to be sure," he began,

"For what?" Dash was scared now, this did not sound good.

"Rainbow Dash...you're two weeks pregnant."

Silence ruled for a long time. The adventurous pegasus was beyond stunned.

"T-there must be some kind of mistake." Rainbow stammered.

"I'm afraid not Ms Dash." The doctor replied coldly. "There are some options available- but it is entirely up to you."

Rainbow knew what he was saying. It wasn't too late, and quite honestly, she was far from ready from dealing with the responsibility of a child.

"I'll do it." Rainbow said. "I'm not ready for a kid doc."

"Very well then," The doctor began, "We will need the father's consent first."

"But..I don't know who the father is." Rainbow pleaded. "Please! I'm training to be a Wonderbolt someday, I can't be tied down by some foal!"

"I'm sorry ma'm but without the father's consent we cannot go through with an abortion."

"Aw come on doc! I'm the one that has to put up with this, not him!" Rainbow was desperate.

"The law is the law Ms." The doctor seemed unmoved. "We can however do what is called a "blind birth"."

"And that is?" Rainbow inquired.

Turns out a 'blind birth' is the process of blindfolding the mother and magically disrupting their hearing during the final phases of delivery. Thus the mother does not see the foal and therefore will not recall its appearance. It is a very controversial method that was permitted throughout Canterlot decades before. Dash went through with it. She never saw the foal she gave birth too and it was handed off to the Ponyville orphanage.

Following this, Rainbow honed in her dream of becoming a Wonderbolt, anything to distract her from what she had done. Eventually, years went by, Twilight came into her life, and all the adventures that followed successfully pushed this cold memory into the banks of darkness and silence.

The only possible way Rainbow Dash could identify her child is by a magically revealed pattern present in the pegasus' feathers. Much like a fingerprint, it identifies the mother by similarity. Rainbow wondered if Twilight was capable of such a thing. Though the thought of confirming her worst fear was more than enough to silence that desire.

Dash awoke again, abruptly from this dream. And before her again was Scootaloo. That dreaded feeling came about her again as she watched the filly sleep.

Author's Note

Alright so this is the last "slow" chapter. We finally arrive at the point where things begin to move a little quicker and get interesting. Again, comments are...well...encouraged. Thanks for reading!

Little Fish, Big Fish, Swimming in the water...

The countdown inside Twilight's head began as soon as Spike regained conscienceless and was, to her surprise, released shortly after; though the massive bandages on both his side and his forehead were anything less than attractive, they were both glad he was alright, a bit traumatized but alright nonetheless.

They did not have long until the Celebration of Solstice was to take place, handing over the Spring to Winter. If they were going to depose Celestia, this was going to be the time to do it. Twilight doubted she or her friends could take being exiled for much longer.

Everypony had already went about their business according to Twilight's planning: Rarity and Flutershy were watching the crusaders who were practicing their stealthiness. Their mission was to eavesdrop on a private assembly held between Celestia and the Council Of Canterlot in order to know the working of the ceremony.

Twilight initially wanted to go to the Archives with just Spike to refresh her memory on some spells she was going to need to make this whole thing work; though Rainbow Dash seemed awfully willing to go with and Twilight caved. Rainbow acted as if she needed to discuss something. As they entered the archives Twilight had had it with waiting.

"What's wrong with you Dash?" Twilight asked with a look of concern. "It's unlike you to want to come to a place like this."

"Well~" Rainbow began timidly, "There's something I need to find out--It's messing with my head and--could you please help me?"

"I can't really say until I know what it is." Twilight was getting worried.

"Well, I had...a kid when I was in my senior year of Flight Camp. Long story short, I never knew the dad and had a blind birth."

"Okay well as I understand it, the whole purpose of that is to not know who the filly is." Twilight said. She was partially stunned, she had never known this about Rainbow. "W-why is it only now you're mentioning this?"

"I kind forgot about it." Rainbow conceded, "I focused on becoming a Wonderbolt and then you came along, the elements, Ponyville in general, I just forgot about it."

"But why would you want to know?" Twilight asked.

"I just do okay!" Rainbow spat. "Sorry. I just- I just need to know."

"Well I'm sure I can perform the spell in question but, we need the feather of a foal of interest." Twilight stated.

"I have one." Rainbow mumbled.

"Oh?" Twilight was suspicious now. "How did you manage that?"

Rainbow wasn't going to say though it was as simple as plucking one off of Scootaloo while she was asleep. The filly initially found it odd that one of her feathers was missing but figured it was related to the incident from a few days ago.

Rainbow pulled the lone feather out of her saddlebag.

Twilight paused for a moment and stared at her with a cold face.

"Scootaloo?"

"N-No." Rainbow stuttered. "I just found it lying around and was curious."

"You're a terrible liar." Twilight deadpanned, "Give me the feather. And one of yours."

Rainbow did as she was told and Twilight placed the two items on a coffee table. Her horn glowed lightly and soon the two feathers glowed as well.

"This will take some time." Twilight said.

"Well it better not be too long!" Scootaloo whined.

"Oh you girls are fine." Rarity said, "Fluttershy and I simply must have some means of unwinding! It's only fair."

"Why can't we go play while you two do boring spa stuff?" Applebloom whined.

"Because!" Rarity lectured, "You three should know better by now. It is much too dangerous for you girls to be out and about on your own."

"We'll stay really close!" Sweetie pipped.

"No." Rarity said. "Absolutely not!"

"Dammit." Scootaloo muttered.

"Language young lady!" Rarity hissed, "I swear for being a filly you have quite the potty mouth."

The crusaders had already "practiced" their stealth skills throughout various alleys of Canterlot. While they spent most of that time scaring Rarity and Fluttershy, for fun of course, they did manage to figure out how to navigate an air shaft, or at least Applebloom did. Sweetie Belle was crying not even two minutes into it and Scootaloo was busy half laughing, half berating her friend for being a foal.

As the two mares turned to each-other to sink into some conversation, the three fillies made their escape. Applebloom was first: she crept over to the door and opened it every so slowly. The other two bolted out in a blur and Applebloom followed.

"So, what should we practice now?" Scootaloo was excited.

"I dunno girls," Sweetie Belle worried, "We could get in big trouble if they catch us."

"Pssh, Rarity and Fluttershy?" Scootaloo boasted. "They may nab you slowpokes but they're no match for me!"

"Yeah, yeah whatever." Applebloom didn't want to sit and wait for the to bicker again.

"Ooh!" Sweetie Belle snapped into thought, "Let's go check out some spy books!"

"Reading?" Scootaloo whined, "Sounds lame."

"Sounds like a plan ta me!" Applebloom smiled.

"Well that sounds boring to me. I wouldnt've left if I knew you two eggheads were going to do something like that!"

"Aw hush it Scootaloo, it'll be fun! Maybe we can learn how to make fancy gadgets and booby traps!" Applebloom was really looking forward to this. Something peaceful.

"hmph. Whatever." Scootaloo huffed, "I'm going to go do something fun!" And with that the three went different ways. Sweetie and Applebloom went towards the Archives whist Scootaloo went in some unknown direction into town.

"Scootaloo wait!" Sweetie protested, "If you get lost, we'll be in super-duper-ultra trouble!"

"Sucks to be you!" Scootaloo called to them.

"Well ah'm fine if she decides to be stupid." Applebloom said, "Better than listening to her whine tha whole time."

"I guess so." Sweetie hung her head.

Scootaloo wasn't too sure where she was headed, and now that the feeling of rebelliousness was depleted she wasn't too sure if leaving her fellow crusaders was such a grand idea. She scanned the signs and advertisements of various shops, schools, and art houses looking for something to kill time. Then she found one:

"SIR RISQUE'S BIG PONY PICTURE SHOW"
"MATURE PONIES ONLY"

"Well that sounds like fun!" Scootaloo beamed as she dashed into the picture house.

Rainbow Dash looked on as Twilight continued her tedious spell. She had seen no visual indication anything was happening save for Twilight;s glowing horn and the glowing feathers.

"Does it really take this long?" Dash asked.

"Yes." Said an annoyed Twilight, "Until I figure out where each pattern begins, we won't be getting anywhere in decoding them."

As she said those words her horn lost its glow and the feathers began circling each-other, both retaining their aura.

"What's happening now?" Rainbow asked.

"If I'm not mistaken, this is the part we--you have been waiting for." Twilight responded.

They watched the small patterns, too small to see, suddenly come into view as a glowing beam of magic slowly traced their contours. Both mares eyes grew wide as it began to finish its course.

They were a perfect match.

It was pin-drop quiet in the second floor of the archives, both mares stared before them in complete disbelief at what they were seeing.

"A-are you sure about this Twilight?" Rainbow asked, voice tremoring.

The mare took some time to pull herself from her trance. "Y-yes...I am very sure."

"This can't mean-" Rainbow began.

"It does." Twilight answered.

Scootaloo was bounding like a mad filly back towards the intersection where she left her friends. The things she saw being performed on screen and in person by the patrons in the parlor were beyond pornographic.

The filly was making good pace all things considered as she catching up wit her friends as they were passing to the archive building.

"Shoot Scoots, you look like a deer in headlights, what happened?" Applebloom asked.

"Nothing, totally nothing." Scootaloo rattled, "Ew!"

"What?" Sweetie Belle asked. Normally she'd be considerably concerned for the filly's well being but with how she was treated today, she could care less.

"Mare and stallions doing some pretty nasty things. Can we go inside now?"

"To you? Applebloom asked.

"NO!" Scootaloo boomed. "You're sick Applebloom!"

"What? I was jus-" Applebloom began though Sweetie shushed her. Best not get their friend worked up again.

The three walked into the first floor and were amazed by the various historical artifacts inside. The towering shelves filled end to end with new and old books, and a wall of manuscripts and historical factoids.

"Wow, there's a lot of cool stuff in here!" Sweetie Belle admired the aged books and the sense of antiquity that radiated in the room.

"Hey girls, lookie here!" Applebloom was bouncing excitedly. The other two trotted over to see a large grayscale photograph of what appeared to be a valley with a large plot of apple trees.

It was Ponyville.

"Wow," Sweetie Belle said, "That must've been when your great grandparents moved there!"

"I reckon so." Applebloom smiled, "Can't make out anypony though."

"Of course not, it's old." Scootaloo panned. Sweetie glared at her.

"B-but cool" Scootaloo added.

Sweetie let out a loud gasp and darted to a large painting on the opposite wall.

"Look! Look!" She shouted. Before the three was a dated painting of Princess Luna, dressed in an elegant dress made of crystals and some very pretty semi-trasnparent silver cloth.

"She's so pretty!" Applebloom mused.

"Pfft. Lame." Scootaloo yawned.

"Oh will you stop it Scoots?" Applebloom complained, "This is why ah didn't want ya here, yer ruinin' all the fun!"

"Well so-rry I can't be interested in this boring old junk. I thought we were looking up spy stuff?"

"Girls?" Twilight asked, causing the three fillies to jump in surprise. They didn't hear anypony else.

"Oh...hey Twi..." Applebloom turned crimson int he cheeks, "How are..things?"

"I thought you girls were with Rarity and Fluttershy." Twilight said sternly, "I told you girls to stay put."

"I told you!" Sweetie Belle shouted, "What did I say!?"

"Oh shut up." Scootaloo grimaced.

Twilight suddenly noticed the filly. "It's fine...I guess. But- Scootaloo, can you come with me for a minute?"

"What did I do?" Scootaloo protested.

"Nothing. I just need to show you something." Twilight motioned to filly to follow. The other two followed too.

"Alone." Twilight sighed. Applebllom and Sweetie Belle reluctantly returned to looking through books and art.

"What did I do?" Scootaloo asked again. No answer.

The two came to the second floor and saw Rainbow Dash, back turned looking out a window.

"I knew I heard them downstairs." Twilight said to Rainbow Dash who didn't respond.

"What are you guys doing here?" Scootaloo asked. "Why are you ignoring me Twilight?"

"Rainbow Dash needs to talk to you." Twilight said, "This is between you two."

Twilight then returned downstairs and closed the doors behind her. Likely to keep the other two fillies out of trouble. Scootaloo sat silently watching Rainbow Dash staring out the window. The silence was eerie as the only light in the room came from a few large ceramic windows on one side leaving most of the room dark.

"What do you need to talk to me about?" Scootaloo didn't like this. it reminded her of the night she went to find Dash in the forest.

Rainbow Dash said nothing though Scootaloo could see she winced at the filly's words. Scootaloo slowly trotted over to Rainbow's side, staring out the window with her.

"I don't see anything." Scootaloo said as she tried to figure out what the mare was so fixated on.

There was silence once again.

"You're kinda scaring me Dash, what's up?" Scootaloo muzzled the mare in the side to try to get her attention.

Suddenly, the filly was scooped up in Dash's hooves as Rainbow stroked her mane gently. Tears fell from the mare's eye onto the filly's stomach and hooves.

"What's wrong?" Scootaloo asked. "Are you okay?"

Silence again as the crying increased. It wasn't audible though Scootaloo could clearly see in her eyes that something was wrong.

"I hurt you." Rainbow whimpered, almost too quiet for Scootaloo to hear.

"I hurt my baby."

Scootaloo was unsure of what to say. She wasn't putting two and two together, not as if she had any real way to do so regardless.

"What are you talking about? You have a kid?" Scootaloo was half nervous and half excited. It'd be cool to meet Dash's filly. "How come I've never seen her?" Scootaloo bit her tongue, that sounded accusatory.

"Is she hurt?" Scootaloo asked.

Suddenly, her grip on he filly tightened as she was pulled closer to the mare's chest. Rainbow stroked the fillys back and wings. Scootaloo was very weirded out but dared not move.

"Never again." Rainbow mumbled. "Never again, I promise."

"W-what do you mean Rainbow Dash?" Scootaloo was scared now, the mare was acting weird and she didn't seem to want to let go of her.

Scootaloo looked to see Twilight and the two fillies cautiously enter the room.

"What's up with Dash?" Scootaloo asked bluntly.

Twilight sighed, she figured Rainbow couldn't do it. She slowly walked over to Rainbow and put a comforting hoof on her shoulder. Scootaloo was let go and shook herself to loosen up her fur and wings.

"She keeps saying something about her kid being hurt or something. I'm kind of worried."

"It's you." Twilight said simply. She didn't want to spell it out for her.

"Who is me?" Scootaloo asked. "What's going on here?"

"Rainbow Dash is Scootaloo's mom?!" Sweetie Belle pipped from ot of nowhere.

Twilight sighed, "Yes."

Scootaloo's eyes went wide and dilated as her brain went into a tailspin. Had she just heard what she think she did? She looked over at Rainbow who seemed composed now and was looking down at the filly.

"I...I don't believe it." Scootaloo said out loud. She went over to Rainbow Dash and sat with her.

"Is that true Rainbow Dash?"

Scootaloo sat silently, her face flat and unreadable. That awkward embrace earlier, the words Rainbow Dash said to her... all the fillies and colts in school teasing her for being without parents, mothers and fathers days spent alone, doing everything she could to evade and forget the notion of having parents altogether, all of that pain and emptiness eviscerated as she looked into the magenta eyes of a smiling pegasus.

Mommy.

Scootaloo got on her feet. Her lip was quivering, she wanted to say the word but she found it hard, she found it imposable. It was as if her mind was using all the pent up denial and acceptance it had to reject it. Though finally, tears welled up in her eyes and a smile crept on her face.

"MOMMY!" Scootaloo dove into the loving hooves of her mother, sobbing a steady stream of joyful tears.

Normally she would be a bit embarrassed using such a foalish word but nothing mattered in that moment, nothing save the knowledge that the cyan peagsus stroking her mane and holding her close was her mother, flesh and blood.

Rainbow Dash simply looked at Twilight who herself couldn't help crack a wide grin.

"Congratulations Rainbow Dash." Twilight said softly.

"Congratulations?" Applebloom whispered, "Scootaloo was born a long time ago..."

"She's being polite you dipstick." Sweetie Belle spat.

The two pegasus finally left eachother's embrace and turned to their friends. Scootaloo slowly reverted to her normal self, she realized her friends had seen the whole thing and grew red in the face.

"I hate to cut things short," Twilight began, "But we ought to get going. I'm sure Rarity and Fluttershy-"

"AW SHIT!" A collective blast of profanity erupted from all three of the crusaders.

"Excuse me?" Twilight asked, a bit shocked.

"Yeah what was that about?" Rainbow cast a worried look Scootaloo's direction. Scootaloo avoided eye contact.

"We...sorta ditched them at the spa back downtown." Sweetie Belle said sheepishly.

"Ah have a feelin' they're lookin' fer us." Applebloom laughed nervously.

"It isn't going to be pretty when we find them that's for sure." Scootaloo cringed.

"It'll be fine once we explain what happened." Twilight said as she opened the door to go downstairs, "So long as you girls keep your potty-mouths in check."

"Got it!" Applebloom replied. Speeding out the door.

Sweetie Belle, Rainbow, and Scootaloo took their time. Rainbow Dash had a hoof around Scootaloo as Sweetie walked beside them.

They made their way back into the bright streets of Canterlot. It wasn't even noon yet.

They finally made their way to the spa, Rarity and Fluttershy were not present.

"Uh oh." Sweetie Belle said meekly, "They're looking for us."

"Relax," Rainbow Dash assured the filly, "Like Twilight said, Rarity might blow her top but once we explain everything you'll be fine."

"I hope so." Sweetie Belle groaned. "I already ticked her off once."

"How bad could it possibly be?" Scootaloo asked.

Apparently it could be terrible. One good thing is that Rarity no longer had to deal with Scootaloo, one bad thing though is that this meant all of her anger could now be directed at her sister. Sweetie Belle had never seen Rarity this furious, and it seemed Fluttershy hadn't either as she was hiding under a bed in the hotel room.

"...And one more thing!" Rarity screamed. Yes, screamed. "Do you have any idea what could have happened to you?! This is the largest city in Equestria! The fact that you three made a stupid decision to trot along by yourselves is simply unacceptable!"

Sweetie Belle all but cowered in the corner of the room, ears flat and eyes shut. It had been an hour of this. One straight hour of Rarity screaming and lecturing. With a few tearful intermissions.

Apparently Rarity was expecting something.

"Well?! Have you anything to say for your...your..inexplicable behavior?!"

Sweetie kept her eyes shut. "I'm really sorry sis." It was but a whisper. Sweetie was genuinely scared.

Rarity finally seemed to calm herself down.

"I don't want to hear a word from you for the remainder of the evening understood?"

"But-"

"NOT A WORD!"

Sweetie Belle simply nodded and bolted out the door into the hall where Applebloom was laughing hysterically. Everypony else didn't seem to share in her humor.

"You okay Sweetie Belle?" Asked a concerned Scootaloo.

Sweetie Belle simply nodded and Scootaloo pulled her into a hug.

"You think we can go inside now?" Rainbow Dash joked.

"Well we have no choice now." An annoyed Twilight said, "We need to finish sorting out some things before we attend the parade tonight. We need to be well rehearsed because timing will be crucial."

They slowly returned inside and went over the grand plan.

Twilight had spent some time in the archives prior to the confrontation examining the princesses, the layout of Canterlot castle among other things. She knew the place by heart as she had lived their while studying under the princess and had been there on countless occasions, however the other ponies were not as fortunate in her expansive knowledge of the area thus she felt the need to be sure of every detail.

The crusaders had, despite their antics, acrewd considerable skill in stealth tactics. Odd considering they liked to be anything but, however, this was serious and, they still had that bad taste in their mouths about the origin of the cutie marks. They had an axe to grind.

Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy were to command the aerial portion of this plan. The Wonderbolts were to be performing at this parade, they were Canterlot's only means of aerial defense outside of Cloudsdale which unbeknownst to the politicos of Canterlot, were anything but on their side.

Rarity? Well Rarity was to follow Twilight and provide as "backup". Rarity objected to this numerous times as she felt unused but when provided alternatives such as aiding the crusaders (involved crawling through sewage and furnace shafts) or, being a distraction which implied being alone while all hell broke loose, she was contempt with her initial assignment.

"...all of the gaurds including my brother will be in the parade itself, the only shield will be around the city itself." Twilight was pointing to various points on a map sprawled upon a bed while the other ponies stood by and around her watching and listening intently.

"What about Caedence?" Rarity asked.

"Crystal Empire." Twilight answered, "From what my brother told me there seems to be a bit of a localized celebration there as well so she opted to manage that instead."

Rainbow of all the ponies looked the most uneasy. Scootaloo noticed this and muzzled her mom gently.

"What's up?" Scootaloo asked, concerned.

Rainbow let out a sigh, "I never thought in all my life I'd have to go against the Wonderbolts; I never thought they would be my enemies."

"I never thought I'd have to sabotage one of my brother's favorite occasions, let alone dismantle everything he's worked for." Twilight said, "It's hard for all of us but it must be done."

Rarity made one last attempt to back out. "I honestly have never seen any reason to believe the princess is evil or sinister save the literature we reviewed back in Ponyville, honestly this seems to be a personal endeavor."

"I wouldn't bring you all here, completely uproot our lives if it was just a grudge between myself and Celestia," Twilight said, "Irony is she always taught me to live for the best for myself and for everypony around me. Evil does not have to be opaque, injustice does not have to be swift; it can be deliberate, discrete, and paced. If we simply think on the surface and let this extortion continue, things will come crashing and we'll have nopony to blame but ourselves."

The mares nodded in agreement. The fillies seemed bored and antsy. Twilight noticed this.

"You three are going to act as bugs, meaning you will be listening in on some very important discussions, which requires each and every one of you to play a part: Applebloom you will take notes, Sweetie Belle you will relay what you hear to Applebloom to assist her task and Scootaloo, you will be the lookout.

"Lookout! Why me?" Scootaloo pouted.

"Aw come on kid, it's a lot better than having to listen to a bunch of old ponies talk." Rainbow rustled the fillies mane.

"I guess." Scootaloo conceded.

"So, if you don't mind me asking." Fluttershy asked. It had been some time since she talked when everypony was around. "How will we all know the others have made it in their duty?"

An immature trio of snickers could be heard.

"Great question Fluttershy." Twilight smiled. "We will all meet at the castle gardens. Nopony will be there during the ceremony and given the route won't be there after the first part is complete."

"Alright so can we go now?" Applebloom was bouncing anxiously.

"Yes, we should probably get you girls where you need to go." Twilight sighed. She looked at her friends with a look of sheer determination.

"Are we ready girls?" Twilight grinned.

"We sure are!" Said Rainbow Dash. The others nodded in agreement.

"Alright then, we'll meet Spike at the Council Building, let's go."

Standards and Practices

Sweetie Belle was never one for heights, no was she one for small spaces, so the idea of crawling up a duct, in the second tallest building in Canterlot wasn't really her idea of "fun". The filly had a job to do: first as an interpreter, second using her horn to act as a sort of lamp so the fillies could see where they were going.

Scootaloo was fantastic with hearing so she was behind Sweetie, listening carefully to the voices in the council room they were to be eavesdropping on and giving Sweetie Belle directions.

Applebloom...well Applebloom was used to being ignored at this point. Despite having been assigned as the note-taker, she somehow was in the back of the triage and was subject to Scootaloo's careless acts of flatulence.

"Scootaloo that's nasty!" Applebloom hissed. "Of all the times you had to eat a heap 'fore we do somethin' like this!"

"Oh hush Applebloom." Scootaloo laughed, "The less we have to listen to you whine, the quicker we can get this done!"

"Speaking of listening," Sweetie Belle said sternly, shooting a dissociating glare to Scootaloo, "Perhaps you should be listening to where we're supposed to go!"

Scootaloo said nothing, Applebloom let out a raspberry only to be kicked in the face by a wild hind-hoof.

"Stop it both of you!" Sweetie Belle commanded. "I'm already miserable up here, let's not make things worse alright?"

"Fine." The two fillies responded.

They were quiet for awhile while Scootaloo listened for the direction of the murmuring below and told Sweetie which turn to take next. The route of course didn't consist of perfect intersections, there were even some dead ends, where Scootaloo of course squeezed over Applebloom to get in front with Sweetie eventually doing the same.

"What exactly are we doin' once this is over with?" Scootaloo asked.

"We take these notes to Spike remember?" Sweetie sighed.

"Why?" Scootaloo asked.

"So they know the route of the parade and stuff." Sweetie answered.

"Yeah stupid." Applebloom smirked. Another blunt hoof to the face and a nice release of gas along with it.

"Try not to breathe you little shit." Scootaloo cackled.

Sweetie shot a very angry glare towards Scootaloo who flinched at the sight. The unicorn filly stopped.

"What's goin' on?" Applebloom asked.

"Apologize" Sweetie Belle growled.

"What? No!" Scootaloo pouted.

"Now." Sweetie Belle hissed.

"But I don't wanna! She's being a jerk too!"

"Ugh, fine! Both of you!" Sweetie was very tired of this.

"I'm sorry." They both halfed to each-other. Their progress continued. Sweetie could see what appeared to be an open vent with light trickling through.

"We made it!" Sweetie whispered.

"Cool. Now I can relax, my hooves our killing me!" Scootaloo groaned.

The good news is that over this vent, like the others, there was enough headroom for each of them to sit upright as opposed to the mere crawling space they had everywhere else. Each took some time to stench their tired and strained hooves as they prepared to do their job.

Inside the council room the elder ponies of Canterlot were slowly filling in the few seats that were in this room. The room itself was in now was artificially lit and the sepa-tone upon the walls and other interior furnishings, coupled with the light from the large windows made it seem as if this room was unchanged since before the days of Equestria itself.

Once these seats were filled, Celestia herself entered along with Shining Armor and various other guards. Soon after, something else was brought it, though whatever it was was enclosed under a big black tarp. Scootaloo swore she could hear some rattling of metal from the tarp but wasn't sure.

"Good day prestigious gentlemen." Came the booming of the Princess. "I assume the schedule and route for the Celebration Of Solstice is in order?"

"Indeed Your Highness." One of the councistallions affirmed with a gruff voice: "The marshals and Guard are all privy to our final arrangements."

"My men are also aware of the changes and are ready for duty." Shinning added.

"Very well," Celestia smiled, "Let us begin by first going over the review of graveness..."

Twilight, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy were seated at a cafe not too far from the council building, outside they could see Spike and Rarity of all mares waiting anxiously by the exit.

Dash had been unusually quiet, busying herself by looking out a window. The other two mares had been conversing and reminiscing for some time though they now were curious as to what was bothering their friend.

"Rainbow, are you alright dear?" Rarity worked a soft smile.

After a few quiet seconds, Twilight followed.

"Does it have to do with Scootaloo?"

Rainbow pulled her attention back to her two friends and sighed.

"Yeah." Was all she said.

"What about her?" Rarity cocked an eyebrow, "She'll be fine if that's what you're worried about."

"That's part of it..." Rainbow trailed, she looked down at the table.

"Rainbow, she seems to have forgiven you for what you've done." Twilight assured her. "I've made plenty of mistakes with Spike, it's all part of figuring out what works between you two."

"Agreed." Rarity added. "I don't feel a need to reiterate that it wasn't until recently that Sweetie Belle and I had a workable bond; prior to that I always negated her and was evasive, now we're fine."

"But see, you've always been with them." Rainbow said. "It wasn't that long ago I took out my anger on her in blind rage, I could've killed her. On top of how much of a jerk I've been to her since we met.."

"We all make mistakes darling." Rarity interrupted, "As Twilight says she seems fine now, yes she'll have some questions but in the meantime you ought to just make the best of things."

"The questions are what scare me the most." Rainbow shivered. "How do I explain that I wanted nothing to do with her? She already knows in a way."

"Rainbow you didn't know it was her." Twilight said, "If it wasn't for me you would still be just an acquaintance to her."

"Now I'm kind of wishing I never asked." The cyan pegasus looked out the window towards the council building. Rarity and Twilight exchanged concerned glances, they needed to get Rainbow out of this funk and back to her old self, they sure were going to need it sooner than later.

Applebloom was now in charge of watching the proceedings as Sweetie Belle grew bored of doing so. Sweetie Belle was yawning a bit.

"Yeesh Scootaloo, I don't know about you but we-" Scootaloo was nowhere to be found.

"Scootaloo?" Sweetie Belle whispered.

Applebloom looked over and noticed she was gone too.

"Dagnabbit where did she go?!" Applebloom hissed.

"I dunno, she's supposed to be our lookout." Sweetie Belle facehoofed.

"Well go find her." Applebloom ordered.

"No! It's scary in here I don't wanna go by myself!"

"Somepony's gotta watch this borin' stuff an' take notes fer Twi." Applebloom complained.

"You're her little starfish, you do it!" Sweetie Belle growled.

"Then go look fer Scoots!" Applebloom spat.

"Fine." Sweetie Belle sighed. Her hooves trembled wildly as she got back down on her stomach and prepared to crawl through the tunnels again.

She hesitated for the longest time until finally she mustered up the will to find Scootaloo. The filly did her best to figure out where she went. Her horn glowed as she retraced her route to the last opening they found. She indeed found Scootaloo there, asleep.

"Scootaloo!" She said in a normal voice as there appeared to be nopony below.

Scootaloo stirred some but fought the temptation to wake up. Sweetie Belle poked Scootaloo with her hoof. This poking became pushing and then Scootaloo awoke.

"Stop Sweetie Belle." Scootaloo growled.

"You're supposed to be the lookout!" Sweetie whined.

"I am!" Scootaloo shot back, "I was just resting a little."

"No fair we don't get to!" Sweetie complained.

"That's your problem, not mine." Scootaloo moved back into her sleeping position only to be grabbed by the tail as Sweetie Belle tried to pull. Much to Scootaloo's surprise, she was moving rather quickly. The stubborn pegasus pushed her body to the ground to increase the force required by Sweetie Belle to move her, as well as scooting back towards the clearing.

"Come on Scootaloo! Please!" Sweetie Belle whined. "We're all in this together, you gotta play your part!"

"I already told you Sweetie Belle I am now back off!" Scootaloo was already back in her corned with her tail tucked under her. She stuck her tongue out for good measure.

Sweetie Belle teared up. "I haven't liked the way you've been treating me lately Scootaloo!" She sniffled, "You've been nothing but mean to me!"

"What do you care?" Scootaloo wasn't too fantastic at thinking before speaking.

"I thought we were friends, I thought we had something Scootaloo!" Sweetie couldn't help crying now, "When you needed somepony to be there for you I was, remember the clubhouse? I remember when you needed me Scootaloo. Now we need you. Please, Please help us?"

Scootaloo looked away, lest she show Sweetie was getting to her.

"I-I love you Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle's voice cracked with every syllable as she continued to sob, "You're like my other sister, we're family, Applebloom too. I know you two don't get along but everypony is counting on us to work together..."

Scootaloo continued her evasive silence.

"Please...Sis?" Sweetie Belle calmed some but her voice still shook.

Scootaloo sighed, "Okay." Scootaloo said. "I'm sorry Sweetie Belle. Ever since I found out Rainbow Dash was my mom I've been- well I don't know what I've been. On one hand I hate her for all the things she did to me, but on the other I-- I don't know.."

"When we get through this I will help you." Sweetie Belle smiled as the two got back into the cramped shafts, "Rarity and I had some rough times and my parents and I don't get along one hundred percent."

"You think she loves me Sweetie Belle?"

"Of course. Why would she go through all that trouble if she didn't?"

Sweetie wasn't too sure but anything to cheer the pegasus up was worth it.

Scootaloo simply smiled in response and they continued towards their listening post.

When they returned, Applebloom had gone through several notes and was slightly annoyed it took them so long; though they both seemed happy so she kept her mouth shut. All three decided to watch the goings on below as the meeting appeared to be coming to a close.

"I wonder what's under that tarp?" Scootaloo wondered aloud.

As if they had heard her, one of the guards pushed the tarp-covered box to the stage of the room.

"For our final act of the evening, we present a disloyal subject who made threats to our princess." The guard pulled the tarp to reveal a tattered and malnourished looking stallion. The mouth was covered as were the eyes. The sight horrified the fillies, they had no idea what was going on. This seemingly weak and impoverished pony was in a cage. What was a dissident?

They could hear her was attempting desperately to say something though it was hopelessly muffled.

"SILENCE!" Once of the guards jabbed the captive violently with a spear. An agonizing muffled scream came from the captive and blood was seen trickling from the wound.

The Princess then rose from her seat and trotted slowly to the front of the cage.

"My sister and I have worked for centuries to ensure harmony and happiness for all of my subjects." She boomed, though the crusaders had never heard her voice like this before. It wasn't commanding, or charismatic, it was sinister, and it was full of hate.

"You have been charged with the crime of providing fictitious libel to my student, Twilight Sparkle. Such dangerous literature was to be destroyed and forbidden; you refused to reveal where you obtained it, therefore obstructing justice." The princess now circled the cage menacingly.

"For centuries we have ruled with absolute unquestionable power." She smirked, "The massacre of the alicorns was the end to any formidable dissent, we thought we had destroyed all historical accounts of that event, however, that does not appear to be the case."

The crusaders looked at each other in shock, the stories were true!

"So, you traitorous son of a bitch, are you going to tell us what we want to know? We can erase your memories and send you home with riches and property..." She leaned down to be face-level with the trembling captive. "Or, we can end you."

That last line sent a violent chill down the spines of the fillies. Sweetie mad melted into Scootaloo's hooves and was weeping and shaking. Scootaloo and Applebloom looked on, speechless, horrified at what they were seeing.

The mouth guard was removed. The captive took some time to breathe, he coughed as well.

"Tell us what we want to know." One of the councilstallions crowed, "Who provided you with this forbidden text?"

The captive was silent and hung his head. Tears began to stream down his face. He appeared to be in a mental toss, either decision would weigh on his conscience.

"Make haste you fool." A guard bellowed, "Her highness does not like to be kept waiting."

The councilstallions leaned forward and the guards were attentive as the captive looked forward again, facing Celstia directly.

"Never." He spat. "Never will I bring harm onto somepony who had the nerve to do bring peace to our world, NEVER!"

Celestia smiled. "Final answer?"

The captive only gave her a look of disgust.

"Very well then." Celestia stood back up and motioned the guards to open the cage. A group hustled to the door to ensure the captive did not escape. Though that was highly unlikely. As soon as the cage opened, a magic aura enveloped the stallion as he was ascended into the air, well above the stage, a tad too close to the fillies who quickly bolted away from the opening so they could not see what was to happen and covered their ears. They knew it was going to be bad.

Then, agonizing screams of pain came from the captive as his body expanded, contracted, burned violently. His insides were turned like soil under a plow and flames exploded from his eyes, nose, and mouth. It was slow, painful, and horrible.

"You chose your fate." Celestia howled, "You dare to depose the most powerful monarchy this world will ever see!"

The stallion then was surrounded by a glowing sphere, soon after, he exploded. In the most graphic way imaginable. The guards bowed their heads and the councilponies cheered the execution.

Unphased and unmoved, the ponies in the room left into the hallway, about their business as if nothing had happened. As soon as it was clear. Sweetie Belle cried, mostly of fear.

The fillies were silent as they made their way out. They were beyond shaken by what they had seen. Applebloom's articulate notes had turned to torn paper and frantic scribbling. They were greeted by Spike who saw their tortured faces.

The Road Less Traveled

Fortunate for the crusaders they did not see or hear the horrific execution, but the implied image their mind's eyes made for them was more than enough to scare them. They were quick to scoot through and shimmy down the various tunnels and shafts that made up the internal ventilation system of the Council building.

Spike and Fluttershy came to the exit as they heard them sliding down.

"So, what did you girls find out?" Spike asked, claws out anticipating a stack of notes, instead they were greeted with two trembling filies and one cowering Sweetie Belle.

"Oh my goodness! Are you girls okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"I gues..." Scootaloo said, obviously shaken. "Where's Rainbow Dash?"

"Right over there Scootaloo." Fluttershy pointed a hoof with Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo bolting in that direction. Applebloom gave Spike the notes and followed her fellow crusaders.

"They...they did what?!" Twilight gasped as Applebloom recounted their observations.

"Ah was scared Twi! We didn' see nothin'; we closed our eyes and covered our ears but..It was still too scary!"

"The way Celestia was talking to that stallion.." Scootaloo shivered, "That sca- was a little weird."

Sweetie Belle was cradled in her sisters' hooves, unable to speak.

"Damn." Rainbow Dash said, "I guess you were right Twilight, she's about as evil as evil gets, makes Discord look like a foal."

"Meaning we need to be that much more careful about this." Twilight said, mostly to herself. "You girls are at least okay right? You didn't actually...see it did you?"

"Nope." Applebloom nodded vigurously. "Didn't see notin' did we Scoots'?"

"Didn't hear anything either." Scootaloo added.

"Well that's good, I guess." Twilight murmured. Now though she needed to get these fillies back on track and they deserved some kind of reward anyway as they did get her the intel she needed.

"Welll for your fantastic service, you three get to pick out a desert." Twilight smiled. "And before you ask Scootaloo, you can do whatever but remember what happened last time."

Rainbow Dash let out a snort, suppressing laughter as she remembered the inflated filly grimacing from her overeating.

"I know, I know." Scootaloo shot a glare at Rainbow Dash.

Sweetie Belle and the others seemed more than happy to indulge on sweets, they seemed to be normalizing as they shoveled chocolate, ice cream, and other confections at a disturbing pace.

"Easy now Sweetie Belle, you must retain a plausible figure." Rarity nagged.

"Really?" Rainbow Dash smirked, "Let the filly be a filly will ya?"

"And I see that's working out fine for you isn't it? Rarity pointed a hoof towards Scootaloo who was once again diving into another helping of sugary sweets, and a large one at that.

"Meh, she'll learn." Rainbow Dash shrugged.

"How much will it cost Rainbow Dash?" Rarity said playfully.

"Well, I don't know actually-" Rainbow trailed as she read the menu. Shortly after she rushed over and pulled the bowl from under the filly.

"Hey!" Scootaloo whined, "I was eating that!"

"Not on my bits you aren't." Rainbow huffed.

"No fair!" Scootaloo pouted.

"Life ain't always fair squrt, deal with it."

"I hate to add to the interruption but we need to take our places soon so, let's wrap this up." Twilight commanded. Rarity and Twilight both relieved their fillies of their own comfort food and were out the door.

"Hey wait," Sweetie Belle asked as they were going along, "I don't remember us having anything to do after our spy thing?"

"You don't here." Twilight replied,

_______________________

A brilliant, shining sun cast a bright mood over the whole of Equetria. The alicorn princess responsible for its religious ascent was praised and fawned over by the enormous queue of ponies that crowded the sidewalks of the parade route. In tow of her highness was a decorated assembly of Canterlot's finest soldiers; Shining Armor at the front carrying a unfurled flag with the defining seal of Equestria's capital.

Behind the soldiers and princess were the Manehatten marching band, a float advertising the newfound prosperity of the Crystal Empire; with Caedence at the helm waving to her admirers.

The whole of the parade was a vibrant and optimistic display of Canterlot's royalty and their subjects; the intent was, as it was every decade, to exemplify the peacetime accomplishments and living under the alicorn sisters Luna and Celestia. The whole of the crowd was ecstatic and enveloped in a powerful sense of euphoria and enthusiasm.

As the assembly maneuvered down the elegant and artful granite road that hosted the parade, it seemed the density of observers gradually increased for at the end, the finale of this grand demonstration was a cheery and adoring speech from Celestia on the state of the Empire and positive highlights of recent times.

Though, that speech was not going to take place. The adoring ponies were not going to be drenched in the happy and gratifying words of their leader. Instead they were sent scurrying wildly, fearfully, in an astonishing array of directions and at an impressive pace.

A large explosion of what appeared to be some magical fire created a gargantuan crater in the road injuring many soldiers in the assembly and causing further injuries to the citizens who fled the unprecedented interruption of their joyous occasion.

"What the hell?" Shinning frantically scanned for the perpetrator but he was to have no luck in this task. The unscathed soldiers were ordered to their defensive positions as they combed the area looking for their suspect.

Unknown to them, their suspect was in the gardens, headed to the castle. His little purple legs taking him as fast and far as he could possibly go. Waiting for him in one of the towers was an anxious Twilight who knew nothing of her assistants' progress with the exception of the small earthquake and booming explosion. Much to the unicorn's relief he zipped through the doorway soon enough slamming it behind him and panting heavily.

Twilight looked to Rarity who was preoccupied with the only window in the room which just now was provided a view of a colum of smoke that was slowly rising into the sky. The screams and terrified clamor of the ponies could also be faintly heard.

"Are you sure we can make it in time Twilight?" Rarity asked as she turned to her friend.

"I'm certain." Twilight smiled. "The guards have left the clearing we need to cross so we should be more than capable of getting underground if we go now; did you happen to see if Dash and Fluttershy got into place?"

Rarity went into thought as they briskly trotted down the stairs, into the courtyard and towards the large grille that lead to a subterranean level of the castle grounds.

"I believe I saw Rainbow, I can't be too certain darling." The white unicorn replied.

"Fair enough." Twilight panted, "I'm impressed Spike," she continued, "That was a pretty generous display from what I felt and heard."

"Much bigger than I had planned." The dragon grimaced, a tinge of guilt stung him since the initial blast, "I hope I didn't seriously injure anypony--It was supposed to just be a diversion right?"

"Exactly Spike." Twilight assured him as the arrived at the grille. Twilight's mood soured when she figured something she should have planned for: the entrance was magically fortified and locked.

"Shit." The unicorn uttered.

"Excuse?" Rarity shot a worried glance.

"There's a magical coating on this gate." Twilight focused on the make of the protection. "Spike, Rarity, you're going to have to open this."

"Wha--And how am I supposed to do that?" Rarity gasped.

"Trial and error." Twilight sighed.

A cyan and cream colored pegasus sat aloff in a cloud looking down at the scene below. The smoke was much closer to them and Rainbow strained to see past it.

"Spike made one hell of a blast don't ya think?" Rainbow laughed. Being away from Scootaloo and in the thick of the action seemed to reinvigorate her self-serving ego and resolve.

"I don't know." Fluttershy sighed, "I just wish none of this was necessary."

"Oh will you stop it!" Rainbow was not willing to let the timid pegasus dampen her spirits, "We haven't even killed anypony yet!"

"Y--yet?" Fluttershy's ears dropped.

Rainbow laughed. "You think they're going down without a fight? Nope. We're gonna have to give it all we got!"

"If you say so.." Fluttershy cowered behind the cloud. They weren't up for anything just yet, they had to wait for the fight to come to them and the anxiety was heavy on the normally reclusive animal-lover.

Much to the delight of Twilight Spike and Rarity had managed to magic the gate open and were now replacing it as Twilight edged into the underground tunnels, attempting to remember the route to the throne room.

Rarity was more than ready to get to wherever they needed to go. The anxiety involved in removing and replacing the grille was more than she would have preferred. She was relieved that the tunnels were at least illuminated by torches that lined the walls.

"Well at least it is lit." Rarity commented. "Where exactly are we headed again dear?" She asked Twilight.

"Celestia's personal chambers." Twilight replied. "If I can retrieve my element necklace and if you can reproduce that spell we've been practicing, I should be able to harness the power of magic again."

Rarity stalled for a moment. Her mind had blanked. "Right....practice..."

Twilight whipped around with a look of disbelief. "Please tell me you remember!"

"I likely do darling I--I'm just having a rough time forging it to the forefront of my mi-"

"Well hurry up with that!" Spike barked as they continued along.

"Spike!" Rarity chastised, "That is no way to speak to a lady! You two should be at the very worst appreciative that I'm even tagging along for this suicidal mission."

"Should we be?" Spike snickered, only to be silenced by a glare from her mentor.

As they went down through the damp and dim tunnels the sounds of the choas outside slowly began to fade; an eerie sense of calm came over the trio.

"I'm not liking this Twilight." Spike worried, "Seems too easy."

"How would she suspect us?" Rarity asked.

"Remember what the girls said?" Spike said, referring to the cutie mark crusaders.

Rarity shuddered remembering the fillies' account of the execution. "Well, if they were to do such things to us I would reasonably believe it would arouse suspicion would it not?"

"I wouldn't be too sure of that." Twilight deadpanned.

They had been wading through some standing water for some time now, the caverns were resembling more of a shallow sewer than some escape route or covert trafficking passage. It was cold as everything else.

Then suddenly the once damp and clear water began bubbling as if it were at a boil. Around the three certain clumps of bubbles began to ascend and were forming the shape of spider looking creatures.

Twilight, Rarity and Spike backed towards one another and formed a circle.

"W-what are they?" Rarity shivered.

The forms then assumed mass, and a shell; their glowing red eyes pierced brightly through the dim surroundings, their sickly hissing broke the silence of before. They looked anything but inviting.

"What do we do?!" Rarity screamed. Twilight wasted no time as one of the water-born arachnids leapt towards he, bucking the creature. Though this had no effect other than deflecting it a few meters.

Responding, two more lunged for Spike who spat green fire as one would spit watermelon seeds. Again, to the same affect. They were not harmed only deflected. As Twilight was assisting Spike in fending off these over-sized insects one of them latched onto her saddle and began biting into her back, drawing blood.

"EEK!" Twilight squealed as blood began to pour from the punctured area as the monster continued to draw.

Spike desperately attempted to burn and claw at it frantically but no luck. He too was pinned. This one suctioning his entire face.

Rarity managed to dodge these creatures so far, looking back at her friends who were bucking and flailing helplessly as a mob of spiders surrounded them. The adrenaline rushed in the unicorn and a sensation unknown to her took over. Her horn began to glow as she levitated in the air and shot a concentrated beam which upon contact with these pests, dismounted them from their leeching perch.

Spike brazenly let out a torrent of magical fire on these dismounted spiders and, to his surprise the evaporated.

"That's it!" Twilight exclaimed, slowly recovering. "Fall back! I have an idea."

Rarity and Spike retreated a distance while Twilight stood her ground.

"Twilight!" Spike worried.

"Trust me!" Twilight shouted. "On my signal, you and Rarity combine her magic and your fire. I'll lure them into a clusrer."

"Go! Now!" Twilight shouted.

One of the spiders leapt in anticipation only to have Twilight zip away at the last second. It had expanded its mouth and stuck to the moldy concrete below. She zig-zagged around as the other creatures failed in the same way. Once a good score of them were trapped, Twilight galloped toward Spike and Rarity.

Spike mounted Rarity who lowered her head to avoid being scorched. She charged foward shooting a large beam of magic at the cluster of foolish creatures with Spike unleashing a stream of embers, systematically evaporating and destroying the herd of predators.

Both Rarity and Spike were exhausted. The magic they both used was taxing to say the least.

"Well..." Rarity said triumphantly, "That was trivial."

____________________________

The crusaders had said little on the way down the summit seated together on the train. Scootaloo said nothing as she had her face turned to the window, looking anything but happy. Having both dealt with Scoots' temper, Applebloom and Sweetie Belle opted to not bother her and thus made small talk to try to pass the time.

Scootaloo however saw the blur of trees, clouds, and the occasional villages; the only noises she heard was the occasional whistle of the train and the chugging of the engine. Her mind's eye was preoccupied with the revelation from earlier. Not even a day afteer discovering her mother who she'd never thought she would see and she was torn away and plopped onto a train headed to the last place she wanted to be -- Ponyville.

The discussion leading up to their departure was anything but unanimous. Rarity and even Rainbow Dash initially worried that the Apples may be there and could result in the crusaders being attacked. Twilight assured the other mares that the townsfolk would not be hostile to the fillies but this did little to calm Rarity, in the end though it was deicded: the crusaders did not need to be in Canterlot as they would be both a mental and literal distraction, worse yet they could be killed if Twilight's grand plan went awry,

Applebloom had gone to the dining car to treat herself to some food whist Sweetie Belle remained by Scootaloo, watching her stare into the window. The unicorn filly trembled as she risked placing a comforting hoof on Scootaloo's shoulder. The orange filly returned with a hug, burying her head in the unicorn's chest. Sweetie brought the filly into a loving embrace as she shushed her distraught friend.

On the outside Sweetie showed composure and compassion, she was more than willing to do for her friends what they would do for her in her times of distress, though she hoped Scootaloo would snap out of this funk she had been in for several months, since she was discovered to be homeless. Sweetie Belle was used to cowering behind the pegasus in sticky situations, following her timidly as the pegasus charged into another bold and wild scheme. Scootaloo never cried, not with her friends anyway, she was the face of determination and perseverance, of vivid aspirations and insane objectives; now with time Scootaloo had become the opposite: A needy, sulking, dependent little foal. She was weak, not physically, the few times Scootaloo was herself they were reminded she had her tough demeanor intact with the physical fortitude to back it up but emotionally and mentally she was a mess, her ego had long since died and she was a shell of the filly she once was.

Regardless of this floating through the unicorns mind, the nurturing side of her could not stand to see her friend trudge through her sadness alone, and the defensive side of her did not want Scootaloo's wild hooves striking her....again.

"APPROACHING PONYVILLE!" Hollered the conductor as the trains' whistle went into a blaring fit. Jostling Sweetie and Scootaloo from their calm embrace. The two scrambled off their seat and made their way to the exit with Scootaloo talking the lead.

"What about Applebloom?" Sweetie Belle asked as she looked back to see if their other friend was behind.

"She's fine." Scootaloo replied as they hopped onto the platform at the train station. Scootaloo was already making her way towards the town proper, not waiting for their cream colorerd companion to join them.

"Scootaloo!" Sweetie Belle complained, "Come on, knock it off!"

Scootaloo stopped. She did not bother to turn around and face Sweetie Belle but instead sat down on her flank and waited. No sooner did Applebloom hop on that platform and meet Sweetie Belle,

"She okay?" Applebloom whispered.

"No." Sweetie Belle answered. "And neither am I."

"Why not?"

"Because..." Sweetie sighed, she had never had the nerve to say it aloud, "Scootaloo's changed, big time and it's starting to really bother me." She peeked towards the pegasus to ensure she wasn't looking. "I don't hate her or anything but -- she needs to get back to being her old self."

Applebloom nodded. "Ah would like to know why she hates me so much. "

"Well..." Sweetie Belle began only to be cut off by an intentionally loud groan.

"UGH." Scootaloo groaned, "Can we go already?!"

"Yeah!" Sweetie Belle replied. Scootaloo began trotting again and the other two followed a good distance behind.

"You were sayin'?" Applebloom said.

"She doesn't hate you...I don't think anyway, she's just in a rotten mood." Sweetie Belle watched the pegasus lead them through town.

The three were silent as they went through Ponyville. Much to their shock, all of the citizenry seemed either unaffected or happy to have them back. Cheerilee was the first to acknowledge them:

"Hello girls." Cheerilee said, "How was your trip?"

Scootaloo and the others were a bit put off, she seemed too happy and they honestly wondered if anypony remembered the reason for their departure.

"Good?" Scootaloo said, a tone of confusion in her voice.

"Great! I can't wait to have you all in class tomorrow! See you soon!" Cheerilee was off, smiling as usual. The three looked at each other with equal looks of uncertainty. They continued their trip through town and were damn near scared to death when confetti rained upon them following a loud boom. The inevitable gasp followed.

"Omigosh!" Pinkie Pie screeched, "Nopony told me you were coming back! We all missed you girls so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so," She inhaled loudly, "so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so so much!" They were brought into a tight hug.

Part of them was happy to see that the whole of Ponyville seemed forgiving and welcoming, but the other part was being suffocated by the pink party pony. They squirmed out of the embrace and were panting from the release.

"I'd love to stay and chat girls but I have a 'Welcome back because we missed you so so so so so so so so...."

The follies quickly trotted away as the babbling pony continued.

"Well that happened." Applebloom smiled. "Looks like everypony feels bad fer what happened."

Applebloom was admiring the scenes of her old hometown; ponies going about their business, the crisp, clear air and the clear blue sky was enough to make her sing, though she didn't nor couldn't courtesy of bumping into her two friends who had stopped. They were looking at the Ponyville Library. Last time they had seen it it was aflame and charred to a state of no return - or so they thought. The whole treehouse had been reconstructed and the books that could be restored were replaced.

"Wow." Sweetie Belle admired, "They fixed the tree and everything!"

"So that means they've forgiven her." Applebloom added. Smiling widely only to have that smile die in an instant as they true owner of the library barged from the door with his snarky daughter by his side.

"What are you traitors doing here?" Diamond growled. "Aren't you supposed to be dead? I thought you were dead! You good for nothing blank flanks! If you ever get your cutie marks, they're going to be, they going to be.....something that worthless traitors would have for a cutie mark! My daddy bought this library that hag used to live in with her retarded dragon and has turned it into a coffee shop but you punks aren't allowed because you're no, good, lying. criminals."

The three sat their with glowers. Scootaloo placed a gentle hoof on DIamond's shoulder.

"Diamond." Scootaloo said as if to be comforting her. "Shut up."

The bully was shocked. Even she refrained form words like that. She said nothing and stomped away as the other two snickered at the fillys defeat. The trio continued past the treehouse and to the outskirts of town and passed their school they continued on the road towards their old clubhouse. Neither of them had been there for who knows how long.

Applebloom became nervous and uncomfortable as they reached the perimeter of the Sweet Apple Acres plantation.

"Uh... girls?" Applebloom stopped. "Ah don't think we should be here....Ah don't think it's safe."

"She's right." Sweetie Belle added. "We don't want to get in trouble the first day home."

Scootaloo snorted haughtily, "Oh will you two grow up? I just want to go relax at the clubhouse for awhile. Besides, Dash said those two jerks were gonna move anyway!"

Sweetie looked to Applebloom who didn't seem the least bit offended by what Scootaloo had said. Had this been prior to her talk with Twilight, Scootaloo would be in for some trouble. The filly was quiet, clearly trembling in fear of who could be watching them.

"Scootaloo be nice!" Sweetie Belle barked. "If Applebllom is scared then we need to respect that!"

"Shut up Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo growled. "You both have done nothing but piss me off lately!"

"What?!" Sweetie Belle squeaked, "Pissing YOU off? Don't even get me started on how I have to baby you all tie time! Ever since I found you in the clubhouse that one night you've changed, And we don't like it!" She looked to Applebloom who nodded.
"When you can quit being a big baby yourself then you can talk! You know what? I don't want to hear another word out of you until you bring back the old Scootaloo, the new Scootaloo sucks!"

"Yeah!" Applebloom added.

Scootyaloo's mouth fell open. Her eyes were wide with shock. Everything Sweetie said was true. She quickly turned away and saw her scooter in view, leaned up by the treehouse, untouched all this time. Memories flashed about her head of her ;old self' the adventurous, courageous voice of courage and strength that guided the fillies through thick and thin. She had her flaws and she had her fears but she kept them at bay and kept them in check.

The pegasus silently continued down the road, not facing her friends as she walked up the ramp to the clubhouse and shut the door behind her. Inside she opened the table to find her blankets still inside. She pulled them out and made herself a bed in the corner as she had done so many times in the past. She curled up nice and snug and drifted into a fitful sleep.

Sweetie and Applebloom sat at the edged of the road, it was somewhat depressing that their friendship was so strained that the littlest thing set off a massive shouting match, with acidic words to boot.

Applebloom let out a large sigh. "Let's go." She got up and made her way to the left, onto another road that only lead to one place.

"Applebloom are you sure?" Sweetie asked with concern. As much as she hated Scootaloo at the moment she couldn't help but wish she was with them if the farm filly was serious about her intent.

"Yup." Applebloom panned. "Ah gotta face mah fear Sweetie Belle. Ah'm not gonna let this place scare me." She raised her head high and with a look of absolute iron will she trotted briskly towards the plantation. They soon saw the whole of the farm come into view. The normal scene of lush, clean, and nurtured orchards, gardens, and equipment had deteriorated, even more so than when Twilight and Rainbow Dash had visited. The apples of before were all but gone and the trees were bare and dry. Those that had not caught fire and burned to the ground were fragile and gray, the bark chipping like old paint. Weeds, insects, fungi, and other forces of nature had claimed the soil below, the only navicable part of the area was the road to the homestead and even this was being infested with weeds and littered with old, deep puddles of gray murky groundwater.

Applebloom strained to see the barn which was in the same state as the trees. Most of the paint had given way to thin, rotting wood and the shingles on the roof were either covered in moss or had fallen off, leaving a newly rusted and brittle metal roof.The homestead was in less than superior shape. The exterior, like the barn was missing shingles, the upper floor windows were gone, likely busted in a windstorm due to the weakened wood around them. The bottom floor was intact but neglected: The windows were fogged with dust, dirt, and caked both inside and out with debris, the curtains, at least from the outside were tattered and dirty.

As the fillies ascended the two steps and onto the port the creaking of the old wood startled them both. Applebloom never remembered it being like this. Sweetie could have sworn a rusty nail popped out of one of the boards and grazed her mane. Applebllom began shaking violently, she was clearly afraid of what could be lurking behind the door. She gulped and tapped on the door. The silence was terrible. Nopony answered. Applebloom knocked a little more forcefully, no answer still. She finally opened the door and went inside. Much to their surprise it wasn't infested with vermin or natural decay, though it was dusty, messy, and beyond uninhabitable. Seeing that the lower floor was clear, Applebllom climbed the stairs with Sweetie Belle in tow.

They first checked Apple Jack's old room and found it empty save the bed and chifforobe. Her stetson and other personal affects were gone, indicating she indeed had left. Big Mac and Granny's rooms were the same. Applebloom then pushed her own door open. Much to her surprise all of her toys, clothes, and things were still there undisturbed from the last time she could recall being there.

Applebloom sat at the doorway, eyes fixed to her bed and the end-table beside it with a picture of what was a happy family - albeit fake but her memories refused to acknowledge the cold reality. Tears slowly began falling from her eyes yet not a sound came from her. Her head lowered and her bow deflated. Sweetie Belle rushed to comfort her.

"They musta figured I would come back..." Applebloom said, mostly to herself. "...they at least cared enough to...."

Silence again, The ambient ticking of the clock downstairs slowly dominated the incredible silence. Without another word, Applebloom turned to go back down the stairs and out of the house, She now proceeded to go towards the barn. This trip required some effort as the thick and thorny weeds were not assisting their efforts in any way. Once they made it though they could see the extent of the buildings ruin. They both sat in awe at the level of delapidation, never in their lives had they seen such a broken structure. The doors were closed, something that piqued Applebloom's interest. She muzzled the door open and they went inside.

The barn was dark, and the light from outside was mostly obstructed by the tall weeds. They could not see inside as they slowly made their way of sporadic bails and piles of hay and pig feed. Only when Sweetie Belle bumped into a giant...mass did she stop.

"Can't ya light up yer horn?" Applebloom asked.

"Oh yeah..." Sweetie Belle remembered she could. Though upon seeing what they saw upon looking up, she had wished she didn't.

Above was Applejack, stetson covering her face, rope around her neck. She had hung herself, her fur was firty and grimey and the maggots were having a free for all. Sweetie shrieked in terror and launched herself backwards a good ten yards upon seeing her obstacle, a equally perished Big Mac. Rope around his neck, apparently too heavy to hang for too long, the beam was attacked to the rope and was broken in half.

There was no note, no means of communicating their final wishes to the outside world. They had obviously done the deed somer time ago. Applebloom oddly enough was unaffected. She stared blankly at the two carcases. That unaffected nature came to a grinding halt when she saw something. Below where Applejack was suspended from the ceiling, was a photograph, a photograph, once dusted revealed a picture of the three of them. Happy. Big Mac sat on his hanches with Applejack beside him and Applebloom between them both. An emerald hill of orchards and a cyan sky was behind them, smiles on their faces. Tears began to stain the photo as it trembled in the hands of a broken filly. She began sobbing uncontrollably as she collapsed to the ground.

Battle Royale

The good news is that there were no more unwelcome guests underground, the bad news was however that their unexpected delay gave royalty enough time to return to the castle and for the guards to return to their posts. Shining had rebuffed the shield and shrank it to where it was only covering palace grounds. A controversial decision to say the least but it was done.

"Well just great!" Rarity complained, "Now they will most certainly come down here and we will be captured and, who knows what else!"

"You're right." Twilight went into thinking, "They will come down but they won't come down in large numbers."

"What are you insisting we take them on?" Rarity panicked.

"You got any other ideas?" Spike barked.

"Well...I...erm....no." Rarity lowered her head. She had no choice to but to go along with this, the idea of capture was far more terrifying.

Twilight paced about to find a nook in the tunnel to which they could hide. She motioned them into a small slot that would give them both the ability to see who entered yet hide them from their predators. Their first test came. Two guards armed with bayonets came trotting through the sewage.

"I don't gather why anypony would cower in a place of this nature." One of the guards huffed.

"I'd much rather be on hoof-patrol right now." The other complained.

Twilight moved into position, the guards heard the motion.

"Did you hear that?" The torch bearing guard mentioned.

Both were on high alert and in defensive positions. They slowly made their way down, now inspecting each slot for hidden attackers - Just what Twilight wanted. Spike slithered to the ceiling just above their place and waited patiently for the guards to walk under him. When they did so he let out a shot of ember which startled the guards causing them to look up.

This of course would be a fatal mistake. One guard suddenly felt a horn stab through his chin and jaw. An unbearable pain shot through his head disabling him just enough for Twilight to buck him violently. Rarity then took this opportunity to magic his spear from his clutches and snap it in half,. The other guard lunged for Rarity and tackled her to the ground.

"Ew! You brute, get off me this instant!" Rarity squirmed but to no avail. Much to her appreciation, a set of claws dug briskly into the guards eyes causing him to scream in agony. Twilight grabbed the guard by the tail and dragged him to a deep point in the sewage. There his head was held down until it no longer moved.

They had thought the duo was finished, however the first guard had risen to his hooves and bucked Twilight into the wall. Spike was also tossed roughly, a sickening crack could be heard as the dragon slammed into the ground.

Rarity was cornered. She darted around to her now disabled friends. As she contemplated her demise a flash of memories blast through her conscience: Her sister had seen enough horror in her little life. Rarity could not bear to think what the filly would do if she were to be alone.

In this moment Rarity got to her forehooves and recalled watching Scootaloo's aggressive antics. She didn't think about it, her subconsciousness was directing the blows to the guards face, both accurate and damaging. Her back-hooves came into play as well as the royal guard was stumbling from the initial assault, he was bucked in his side. He did not attempt to move again.

The blood was rushing through the unicorn, a sensation she had never felt before, However, instead of scaring her, it propelled her, an inhuman burst of careless offense. The next guard her galloped to his fallen comrades was met with an equally swift hoof to the face. While in mid-air Rarity then pivoted to allow her hind hooves to kick the guard sending him back.

A spear then pierced his neck and another set of hooves met his face as he was pinned to his back by a very angry lavender unicorn. The finishing touches came in the form of driving the other end of the broken spear through the gaurd's chest. Ending him.

The three decided they could not keep this up and made their way towards the entrance to the upper levels of the castle.

__________________________

Rainbow Dash let out a yawn, more of boredom than anything. It had been well over an hour since the explosion and as far as their mission was concerned, nothing happened.

"I do hope Twilight and the others are okay," Fluttershy sighed.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure those jerks are having way more fun than we are!" The cyan pegasus pouted.

"I just hope the crusaders made it home alright." The yellow pegasus sighed again.

"I'm sure she did." Rainbow Dash said. She caught her self and corrected it: "I mean, they did. They not she."

"Something wrong Rainbow Dash?" Fluttershy looked concerned.

"No." Rainbow lied, "Other than being bored!"

"You're worried about her aren't you?"

"Well...I guess. But I can't think about that now! I have a some ass to kick."

Fluttershy was initially put off by the comment but understood when she saw that six pegasai, dawning blue and gold uniforms were soaring in defensive formation above.

"Two against six, you ready Shy?" Rainbow tensed up and prepared for attack. Fluttershy on the other hand trembled in fear and hid.

"Well forget you then!" Rainbow hissed as she blasted into the air and went after the squadron. Initially they did not seem to notice her presence, though the certainly did when a Sonic Rainbow exploded a little too close for comfort. Soarin' was the first to respond as the others continued to their destination. He caught Rainbow off guard and kicked her violently sending her spiraling into a nearby building. He then soared down and slammed her in the stomach the force nearly breaking the brick wall behind her.

"You piece of shit." Rainbow Dash spat as blood trickled out of her nose. "You're dead."

With that, the wonderbolt was grabbed by the mane and slammed into the wall, splitting his head open. Rainbow was sent to the ground now in the same fashion she had been pinned to the building. A crowd of ponies watched in horror as the fight continued. Rainbow mustered up the strength she had and lead Soarin' on a obstacle course of sorts, passing between market stalls and outdoor dining tables. Her aim was to trick her attacker into slamming into something to give her some time to finish him off. She found that opportunity in the form of the statue in the Canterlot Gardens. She accelerated as much as she possibly could to get distance, she then dove under and over the statue zipping behind Soarin' just as he struggled to align himself to follow her course.

The next thing the wonderbolt felt was her hind hooves being snapped in a violent force of a irritated pegasus. She then pinned him to the ground and gave him all she was worth, Hoof after ruthless hoof pummeled the face with the hind hooves bombarding the torso. She then remembered something she wished not to. She dealt a powerful blow to disorient the pegasus and then took to dislocating his wings. She bit into them as the pulled on them in the similar way she had done to her daughter. This time though, the cries to stop were not heeded. The adrenaline and rage coursing through her being prohibited her hearing those words.

Just as she was about to fully snap the wings off she was rushed from the side and into some bushes. Spitfire then began attacking Rainbow in the same one-two manner than Rainbow had dealt on Soarin'. Spirfire was relentless and was not willing to be knocked off like Soarin' had been.

"You think you can just fuck with us like that you little whore?" The pegasus spat.

Rainbow said nothing, nor could she really considering the pummeling to her face.

Rainbow struggled to get free but it was no use. Her mind went into thinking of her new-found daughter Scootaloo. What she had been through, most of which was Rainbow's own doing. She though how the filly didn't deserve to lose her. Not after all that had been done to her.

Scootaloo was never going to be an orphan again.

Spitfire retreated some, she was preparing to send one fatal, final blow to the cyan mare who was tangled in shrubbery, blood covering her face, the only thing showing were her eyes, her angry, hating eyes. As Spitfire came charging down at an impressive speed Rainbow dodged it. As Spitfire slammed through the bushes to the ground, Rainbow grabbed her tail with her mouth and pulled. The differing forces at the speed she was going caused the tail to tear from the flank. Rainbow wasted no time and got her own clearance above the grimacing pegaus who assumed Rainbow was all but dead. She was fatally mistaken as a pair of hooves barraged into her at the speed of light. They did not stop, the punching continued until the wonderbolt was not recognizable.

Rainbow Dash lie on the ground next to the deceased wonderbolt. Beyond taxed and tired. Every breath was painful and she was wheezing and coughing sporadically. It was much relief to see Fluttershy land beside her and come to her aid.

She knew she was going to be alright.

_______________________________

Scootaloo remained in the clubhouse. She had woken up now but didn't bother leaving the small wooden treehouse. She didn't want to. It reminded her far too much of happier times. When she and her friends would laugh, play and conspire. She remembered harsh times as well. Playing and plotting here was one thing, living here was another. Hiding it from everypony who loved her, braving the cold and the damp nights to keep her reputation in check. All silly things to her now. The pegasus peered out the front window over the trees and into Sweet Apple Acres. She could see the desolate, depressing condition of the place from there. The dead trees, the shanty home, the crumbling barn, all was an opaque and glaring reminder that things were far from alright.

Apple Bloom needed her. Scootaloo pushed open the door slowly, as if expecting an attack if she charged out blindly. She made her way down to the scooter, propped up on the tree with the purple helmet beside it. It had been too long since she had given this scooter a ride, longer still since a wagon carrying her two best friends was haphazardly barreling through Ponyville.

Soon, she was scooting, the wheels seemed stuck at first from being idle for so long but they eventually began turning as they had before. The pegasus shifted her body to increase her speed as the air around her began to whiz by and push through her mane. She left the helmet behind, as if to fulfill some kind of internal desire to be reckless, fearless, and accepting the reality that grave injury could come her way if she didn't do it right the first time. It felt good, it felt liberating to fly past the citizens of this quiet village, to see the homes and shops be but a blur and the horizon before her motivation.

She met a ramp,. Well, more of a tipped cart courtesy of a pony fleeing the oncoming filly. The scooter did as it was silently commanded and scaled the side and sent the filly into the air. She lifted her hind hooves and held on to the handlebars. The world around her slowed down and time retreated pace. The crisp breeze flowing through her mane as it was sent forwards, up, down and everywhere else. A smile crept across her face, her eyes were wide with pride and joy.

After all she had been through her friends still loved her.

Despite all the retched things done to her, she loved her mother as well. Just filling that void in her life was enough to compensate.

The ponies that cared for her the most needed her help, they were about to confront the most oppressive dictator in Equestria's history.

And by Luna's grace she was going to do whatever she could to help them, if not for the grand philosophical aim of bringing true peace to the world, to bring her mother home, to make amends, to finally have a place called home with the mare who brought her into this world, to finally be genuinely loved and wanted.

To be home.

She landed gracefully, skidding to a stop and whipping her newly produced bangs from her face. She had some things to attend to before she went back.

Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom left the barn and were passing the schoolhouse. They sat and looked at the red building for a moment. A collective sigh between the two as they realized they would be returning there. Their stare was cut short as they head buzzing, a plume of kicked up dirt was coming towards them. Scootaloo stopped in front of them.

"Hey girls." She saw the look on Apple Bloom's face. The pegasus dismounted her scooter and gave the filly a hug,

"Hey Scoots." Sweetie Belle replied meekly. "Sorry about what I said earlier..."

"No, you were right." Scootaloo released Apple Bloom and returned to her scooter. "I've been a wuss this whole time and if I'm going to save my mom than I need to snap out of it and be me again."

"Yeah that---what? Scootaloo! You can't go back to Canterlot!" Sweetie's mouth fell open. Her friend was clearly insane.

"To hell I can't!" Scootaloo said triumphantly, "Nopony is going to stop me. I am going to make my mother proud and I am going to come home the Scootaloo you knew and loved."

"But Scootaloo, They said-" Sweetie protested.

"Who cares what they said girls? There's no way they can take on Canterlot on their own!"

"And we three are supposed to help...how?" Apple Bloom asked.

"We'll find out when we get there." Scootaloo answered. "We never stopped trying to get our cutie marks, we never gave up when some angry mares tried to put us down, and I for one am not about to back down now!"

Scootaloo was smiling at herself, those words were brave and edgy, bold and fearless. They were Scootaloo. Though given the look on her friends faces her smile turned upside down. She soon heard why,

"You sure about that you little runt?" The hot breath of a wonderbolt brushed across her back mane. Keeping her facade in line the filly spun around and glared daggers at this unwelcome mare.

"And who the hay are you?" Scootaloo hissed. She answered her own question in her mind when she recognized the uniforms of the four ponies who were before her. The Wonderbolts.

"You got quite the potty mouth. I wouldn't expect less from the useless daughter of a wanna-be." The wonderbolt spat, The other four snickered.

"Don't you talk about my mother that way you bitch!" Scootaloo lunged at the mare only to be smacked down. Hard.

"Scootaloo!" Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle were beyond scared.

Bleeding and trembling with rage the Wonderbolt towered over Scootaloo who still lie on the ground.

"You wanna say that again you little shit?" the mare heckled, "I'll end your pathetic little flank here and now!"

Scootaloo said nothing as the other three Wonderbolts cackled at the crippled filly.

Scootaloo turned to her friends and mouthed the word "run."

The two stood there, too scared to move.

"What was that you little fucker?" The Wonderbolt leaned in muzzle to muzzle with the orange pegasus.

She was met with a sharp bite to the muzzle. Scootaloo snapped her sharp teeth onto the mare. Her wincing giving Scootaloo enough time to get up and haul flank with her friends back into Sweet Apple Acres with the pissed mares in pursuit.

Apple Bloom scrambled to get the door to the homestead open slamming it behind her frantic friends. They bounded down to the cellar and hid behind some rusty cider tanks. Each not making a sound, sans Sweetie Belle who was crying softly.

"Shhhh! They'll hear us!" Apple Bloom shushed the unicorn. Scootaloo came over to where Sweetie was cowering and embraced her.

The sound of a window busting open startled the trio whose trembling became tremor. It was only a matter of time before they were found.

Apple Bloom remembered the lone window into the cellar was usually unlocked and was accesable by some crates situated nearby. Without a word she made her way to them and pushed the window open. Sweetie Belle refused to move. Fearing they were being coaxed.

"Come on Sweetie Belle!" Scootaloo tugged on the filly's tail but to no use.

"No!" Sweetie Belle bawled. "I don't wanna run anymore!"

"You're being stupid!" Scootaloo hissed. "We need to go now!"

Scootaloo had not heard the mares behind her, nor did she see them until it was too late. A poweful hoof slammed into her face sending her into a wall and slid to the floor. Sweetie Belle was now hysterical as she was swooshed from her cowering spot and now in the clutches of a pissed off mare. From what Scoots could hear, Apple Bloom had suffered a similar fate.

"Now that's no way to talk to your friends." The mare said as she looked down at Scootaloo. The stubborn filly had given her more than enough trouble. "Try and bit me again and I'll knock your teeth straight from your filthy muzzle got it?" She sent a poerful kick into Scootaloo's stomach, knocking the wind out of her.

Satisfied the filly wasn't going to be trouble, Scootaloo was also snatched up and they were blaring up and over Pontville at speeds Scootaloo had never seen before. All the more terrifying.

"What are you gonna do ta us!" Apple Bloom cried.

"Oh don't worry." The wonderbolt cooed, "The Princess has some lovely plans laid out for trators like you,."

_____________________________

The dissemblance of four guards and the death of two Wonderbolts was already a puncture in the morale of the citizens of Canterlot, even more worrying to the monarchy. Celestia sat in her throne room and had just received word the bodies of Soarin' and Spitfire were found and that they were in fact dead.

"Who do you suppose is behind this?" A worried Cadence asked.

"I cannot be sure." Celestia said, "They know our tactics, they know our defenses; here's to hopping the other four Wonderbolts have completed their mission and return soon."

"What mission? They left Canterlot?" Cadence panicked.

"As I said." Celesita sighed. "I am not sure who is behind this, but that does not mean I do not have my suspiscions."

The alicorn looked out the window over the walls of the castle where the tower of smoke from earlier was still stretching into the sky. The sun was now slowly resting, an orange and pink hue cast throughout the sky.

"This will end soon." The Princess said. "And I will not take pleasure in any of it."

Shining Armor barged into the throne room. "Your Highness!"

"What is it Shining?" Celestia asked.

"Bad news. Six more of my men are dead. They were apparently trapped in one of the towers in the south wing and were burned alive."

Celesita's eyes grew wide. The southern wing of the castle was where Twilight once studied.

"What do you suppose we do? My generals are demanding we engage the threat full on. We sent a diplomat to Cloudsdale for support."

Celestia paced the throne room, contemplating what to do. She came to the realization she had to say it before it was too late.

"Shinning." Celesita sighed.

"Yes your majesty." Shining asked.

"I'm afraid I do know who is behind this horrific attack on our fair empire. I feel you may be the only pony capable of ending this before I have to commence regrettable actions to defend our kingdom..."

"Who?" Shining's eyes went wide. He had not heard of Twilight's banishment and anything leading to it.

"I am afraid it is my most faithful student." Celestia faced Shining, "Twilight Sparkle is responsible for these atrocities, she believes that my sister and I represent tyranny and oppression and will stop at nothing until I myself am gone."

"T....Twilly? No! There must be some mistake!" Shining was beyond stunned.

"I'm sorry, I should have told you before this became an issue, you could've saver her from herself."

"M-Maybe there is still a chance! I'll do whatever it takes to stop her!"

"I would much prefer that over what I would have to do. Order your men to stand down and return to the grounds, we are going to surround the city." Celestia sighed.

With that Shining was off with two guards in tow.

__________________________________

Twilight, Spike, and Rarity emerged from the wreckage of the tower. Indeed it was quite a feat. Good olf fashioned maneuvering and some occasional fire of hooves to the face resulted in the entrapment of ten gaurds. The tower was set ablaze and Rarity expelled a good sum of magic to keep the door shut as the embers overcame their adverseries.

They hurried back ti to the castle grounds to see two dead Wondebolts before them.

"Well it looks like Rainbow and Fluttershy got their part done." Rarity panned.

"There they are!" Twilight called, Rainbow and Fluttershy glided over to them.

"Thank goodness you're all okay!" Fluttershy said, "We saw the fire and were worried!"

"We're fine...for now." Twilight answered. "We need to get into the castle."

"But how? I can't be the only one who saw a ton of guards coming out just now. She's got a billion of them!" Rainbow waved her hooves for emphasis.

"Nah, Canterlot's troop strength is roughly One hundred fifty-thousand, ninety-eight." Twilight corrected. "Still, we've run into more than I had expected. We need to hurry."

They made their way through the maze of shrubbery leading out to the street towards the city proper. Twilight and company were moving at impressive speed considering their various injuries. That progress was stopped abruptly.

"HALT!" Barked the lone troop with his spear at the ready. "You are under arrest by order of the Princess!"

"Oh yeah?" Rainbow Dash laughed, "You want what army?"

As if to answer the whole of Canterlot's army now surrounded them. Stretching as far as the eye could see.

"Well shoot, I guess it's that one." Rainbow glared at their provocateur.

The tropps charged in, ready to kill the five of them. Twilight and Spike held their own on one side with hooves whist Rarity had acrewd some magical prowess throughout this journey and was maintaining a shield around Herself and Fluttershy whist firing beams of magic at her approaching hostiles. Rainbow Dash was busying her hooves with hoof to hoof combat with the troops who found it impossible to spear her given her speed. It was a dicey, rapid mix of her pinning and knocking them out and them damn near ending her. Regardless, they were holding their own but they could not do it for long. As five went down, another hundred seemed to flow in from over the horizon.

"Where the hell did they come from?" Rarity panted, "Twilight dear I think your estimate is straying a bit."

"No kidding?" Spike exhaled, "We can't keep this up Twilight!"

Twilight began getting tired, they just kept coming it was as if they were somehow being re-spawned.

Then, a sign of hope. Well...first the carcass of Canterlot's diplomat to Cloudsdale went flying into the window. Then, above was a mass of armored and armed pegasus. Warriors of Cloudsdale. Some provisions were sent Dash's way from above.

"Aw yeah!" Dash hollered as the armada of pegasus began dive-bombing and sending a torrent of arrows down at the dumbfounded guards who now began to flee. Mostly trampling themselves and others. All except Fluttershy and Rainbow hurried into Rarity's shield as it deflected the scattering guards. As time crept on, it became thin enough in volume for Twilight to contemplate their next move.

As the cobblestone streets exploded into granular forms and the soldier were split, squished, and sent flying and flailing into buildings and each other in a comical display of failure, Rarity and the others moved back towards the castle at Twilight;s command.

"We need to get the Elements!" Twilight hollered over the sounds of screaming and battle cries.

"Why?" Spike asked.

"If we expect to finish off Celestia, we sure as hell are going to need my magic to do it!"

They were confident with the troops distracted the remainder would be covering the Princess. Thus they went into the chamber, through the window of course, to where Spike last saw the Elements being stored. Bounding down the hall they made it to the door to which to their surprise was open, to their dismay, nothing was within.

"Shit!" Rainbow Dash grimaced. "Now we have to--"

"Twiliy!"

The five turned to see Shining and Cadence.

"What....what are you doing Twily?" Shining asked.

Twilight was unable to speak. Something about her brother's sense of fear gripped at her throat. Rainbow was somewhat impatient and answered on her behalf.

"We are here because we're tired of being Celestia's tools that's what!" The cyan pegasys proclaimed.

Shining was silent for a moment. "After all she's done for you... This is how you repay her."

Those words set off the unicorn. "After all she has done for me?! She attempted to withhold me from discovering what a horrible alicorn she is, she did not want the most powerful unicorn in Equestria to find out her filthy little scheme. Therefore she stripped me of my magic and banished me from my home!"

"You knew that literature was forbidden Twilight. You should have just handed it over." Shining insisted.

"What so we could all live in a world with false magic that that tyrant could control at will? Do with us what she wishes? To live ina world where we are controlled socially by some mark on a flank? To let us all live a lie? I don't think so! You of all ponies to attack me instead of defend me, you're my brother!"

Shining stiffened his pose. He was emotionally struck but had to do the deed if it came to it. "You have two options Twilight. The first is for you to surrender and let this all pass on, or, I will have to do the unthinkable. I don't want to do that Twilight, but I am not turning my back on the Princess who has given us peace for millennia! If ignorance is what drives Equestria than ignorance is strength!"

Twilight stood, honestly contemplating this. She was tired, tattered and sore. She knew her friends were too. She could return to Ponyville, the Princess could erase their memories with some exotic spell, in the mind's eye of the lavender unicorn, this sounded pleasant, and preferable. She turned to her friends and looked for any indication of what they wanted, they looked hat her with a hint of disbelief. But also of willingness to resign as well. They all had their scars, some fresh, they all wanted nothing more than to return to their broing, simple lives in Ponyville.

"Five seconds." Shining announced.

Twilight closed her eyes as the last few months moved by. Apple Bloom's assault, Spike's attack, The tremultuous lives of the crusaders, and their trials in the wilderness. All the pain, heartache, and the bitter taste of betrayl. She opened her eyes, the words that followed carried a tone of outright determination.

"No."

Shining let out a sigh. "Okay Twilight, you give me no choice."

The fillies had had about enough of their predicament. They finally saw Canterlot come into view.

"Well you little shit, you wanted to go to Canterlot?" Scootaloo's captor howled, "Here you are!"

"Fuck you." Scootaloo hissed.

"Ooh, I figured you had learned to keep that potty mouth of yours in check the last time we spoke." He shifted the filly in one hoof and used the free one to strike the filly bluntly in the face, a squeal of pain resulted.

"When my mom finds me, you're dead meat!" Scootaloo shrieked.

"Oh, Rainbow Crash?" The wonderbolt cackled, "Fat chance! We'll waste that bitch and then do you in the same way! The only reason you;re still wasting precious air is because we were instructed not to kill you. Keep running your fucking mouth and I'll have no regrets going a-wall."

Scootaloo glanced to her friends. Apple Bloom was sniffling, eyes shut and Sweetie Belle was stil hysterical though her voice was beyond gone.

"What the hell happened?" The lead wonderbolt gasped as they came upon the Canterlot Castle grounds, seeing the demolished tower and the dead troops littering the streets.

"Looks like things got ugly." Sweetie's captor replied.

"Doesn't matter they tower these little shits go in is still intact so let's get this job over with. This filly is just askin' to die."

They glided down into the tower and passed the guards but still did not release their captives. They went up the agonizing flight of stairs spiraling to a dark and secluded room with barred windows and a door that locked from the outside. The three were tossed inside - Scootaloo was practically body slammed - and the door was slammed shut. Slowly, the laughing and chatter faded away.

Sweetie Belle was beyond crying. It seemed that she had exhausted the abilaty to do so and could only look at her two friends who were beaten and berated. Neither of them said a thing as they slowly got up and observed their surroundings. There wasn't much here save for a lone cot and a sanitation bucket. The whole circular room was made of exposed bricks with the cone shaped roof above.

Scootaloo made her way to the window to see what she could see. The sight was beyond encouraging: dead pegasus and Canterlot guards everywhere. The tower across from them was but rubble, fire, and smoke.

She looked down at her hooves. As the adrenaline began to subside, she began to trembled.

"I'm sorry girls." She croaked. "I'm.....so sorry."

None of the fillies responded. Apple Bloom was asleep and Sweetie Belle was in a state of total hopelessness. Never had the crusaders felt so mortal.

"It's not your fault," Sweetie Belle stammered. "Come here."

Scootaloo knew what she was being invited to, Sweetie Belle would cradle and embrace her. Make her feel better. But that wasn't the 'old Scootaloo'. She wasn't about to turn back now. What remaining stamana and willpower she had compelled her to resist.

"No," Scootaloo said.

Sweetie finally looked up and toward her friend. "Why? Why can't-"

"I said NO!" Scootaloo screamed. Her lip quivering, holding back tears. She couldn't cry, she wouldn't; That wasn't what she did.

Sweetie Belle walked up to Scootaloo and tried to put her hooves around her. Sweetie Belle wanted somepony to hold on to.

Scootaloo pushed the filly back. "I don't want it!" She barked.

"I do!" Sweetie Belle cried. "I don't want to be alone..." The filly began sobbing. "I...want..." The filly could not finish her sentence. She let emotion take hold.

Scootaloo galloped to the door and began bucking and hitting it with her hooves. She did not stop. Her hooves blistered and began bleeding from the sheer force she was applying. Splinters shot into her hooves though she persisted until her hooves refused to lift anymore.

"I hate her." Scootaloo growled.

"Who? I'm sorry okay!" Sweetie Belle sobbed.

"Not you, Twilight!" Scootaloo barked, "That stupid bookworm had to get in troube and your stupid suster had to drag us along!"

Much to her surprise, Scootaloo was pinned to the door by a very upset unicorn.

"Don't you DARE call my sister stupid!"

"Pfft why not? Are they looking for us right now? No! They sent us back to Ponyville so they didn't have to deal with us, they don't care about us. They never have!"

"Scootaloo shut up!" Sweetie Belle hissed. "They do too care about us! Who expected us to be foalnapped by the Wonderbolts!"

Scootaloo slumped to the floor and let her composure slip. She cried. She wanted her mother, she wanted to go home, she wanted to stop yelling at her friends, she just wanted her life back. The fact that they were so close, only to be snatched up, attacked, and caged was more than she could accept.

The once livid unicorn calmed herself down and sat beside her. Sweetie leaned onto her friends shoulder and she was met wirh a comforting hoof around her. They cried it out for some time before Scootaloo spoke up again.

"We have to do something. We can't just sit in here and rot!"

"What are we going to do Scootaloo? We're stuck! What if they're out there? You heard them, they'd kill us!"

"I don't know about you but I think we're dead either way."

Sweetie Belle looked towards Apple Bloom who was asleep.

"How are we getting out of here?" Sweetie Belle asked aloud.

Scootaloo wiped her eyes and took initiative. She looked around the room for anything that could permit their escape. She found it. Only problem was, it was going to take some impossible feat to get there. A piece of the roof seemed to have a weak point, nonviolently next to a beam they could walk on. Issue was, they were down low and it was high up. Scootaloo's eyes gleamed with excitement.

"I know how we're getting out of here." She proudly declared, but it's going to require some teamwork to make it happen. You with my Belle?"

Sweetie Belle smiled. She liked seeing her friend in her normal state. "Let's do this!"

Author's Note

Chapter was split because 13k words in one chapter is ridiculous.

Another Castle

Shining had been procrastinating, at the charge his horn was at he could more than easily eliminate Twilight and her partners but, the all too powerful heart was screaming mad at his brain. This was his sister! His little 'Twilly'. The blue aura still glowed and shimmered.

Rainbow was tracing a plan of attack. She floated down to Rarity.

"Rare, I need you to do something with that magic of yours." The pegasus whispered.

"What? And instigate this stallion further?"

"Nope. Distract him. Give me some time to blast out of here."

"What and leave us here? "

"Rarity. Either you help me out or we're dead." The pegasus panned.

Rarity sighed. "I suppose something is better than nothing. What did you have in mind?"

Rainbow got into position. Fluttering up to the ceiling and hovering in place, eyes set on the door. Rarity was hesitant, perfusing much more than she would prefer. Twilight looked to her with concern as she had no idea what was going to happen next. A brilliant flash of light and a woosh of air blasted all but Rainbow as she sped to the exit and out. Nopony could see a thing. Though they could her a loud thud as a large pony had collided with the wall, a sickening stabbing sound, and then, the cries of a Princess as she and her injured husband sit alone in the room as the brilliance faded.

Blood was freely flowing from the stallion, contrasting with his white coat. The gash had come from none other than her sisters' own horn. The hooves were hers as well. Shining struggled to his hooves and gave chase down the hallway while his wife summoned a tracing spell to follow the two unicorns and a dragon who had escaped.

Twilight galloped into another chamber of the castle, this one was similar to the one earlier with the exception that this door was indeed fortified. Rarity could detect, courtesy of her natural ability that the elements or at least one, was inside.

"They're right behind us Twilight!" Spike panicked. "What do we do?"

Rarity had the answer on this occasion. She focused her magic as her horn glowed. Twilight and Spike assumed defensive positions as they could hear Shining approaching the corridor.

Spike lit the carpet before them ablaze, figuring it would stall them. Sadly, a blue aura parted the wall of fire like a certain ancient fairy tale. As Shinning approached Rarity had done it. The elements brust through the fortified structure. Shining was not having this as he body slammed the white unicorn to the wall. He came for Twilight who dodged his advance. Shining shot beams of magic at his sister who managed to out-maneuver all of them in a burst of speed the have never known to posses before. Spike followed her wildly trying to find a way to snatch one element in particular.

Spike hadn't noticed that Twilight was sent slamming into a wall as well with a beam of magic bombarding her being. Spike made the move to bolt over to the scattered jewelry when her was pinned down by a guard. Rarity was still out cold. Shining prepared his finishing spell. The stallion was cold in heart and mind. He was devoted wholly to the Empire and was more than willing to waste his sister then and there.

The three fillies had managed to try, and fail several times at climbing atop one another to reach the elusive patch in the ceiling. Scootaloo buzzing her wings frantically to try to get as much altitude as she could but it was a pathetic pursuit.

The three sat defeated.

"We can't!" Sweetie Belle cried. "We're doomed!"

Scootaloo didn't say anything. She simply got atop the cot and tried again furiously to get high enough to at least reach something to aid her ascent but no luck. She came down on the mattress with a thud. She lay face down. Not making a sound. She was truly at a loss.

Apple Bloom approached the bed and inspected its design and make. "Get off the bed Scoots." She said.

"Why?" The pegasus was interested.

"Ah go an' idea." Apple Bloom smiled. "Might as well try it."

Scootaloo hopped off watched the farm filly examine the distance from the floor to their destination. Sweetie Belle came over to see what was going on. Apple Bloom then put her hooves to work, using brute force to push the bed over to its side. Scootaloo joined to help and with time the two were able to tip the bed over.

"Ya sssein' mah idea?" Apple Bloom smiled.

"Kinda." Scootaloo thought, "Still, I can't even get high enough to get on this bed."

Sweetie Belle gazed up at the beam they needed to get to. An idea formed in her little mind as well.

"I got it!" Sweetie Belle bounced with anticipation. "We'll burn it!"

"What?" The two other fillies looked puzzled.

"We'll get Scootaloo on top of the bed and then we'll make the beam fall down!"

"How the hay is that gonna help?" Apple Bloom glared.

"Trust me! If we get this right we'll be out of here in no time!"

"But," Scootaloo added, "If we get this wrong, We're really screwed."

The three fillies at in deep thought.

Scootaloo cast a sly grin towards Sweetie. "Nothing to lose I guess."

Apple Bloom got to the side of the bed with Sweetie climbing on top. Scootaloo struggled to the top of Sweetie Belle and stood on her trembling back.

"Hurry up will ya!" Apple Bloom complained as her hooves wobbled from the weight.

Scootaloo took a deep breath and buzzed her wings with all her might and grabbed on and pulled up to the edged of the bed.

"Yes!" Apple Bloom cheered as Sweetie got down. "Now what were you sayin' about burnin' somethin'?"

"Stand back Apple Bloom. Scootaloo, get ready." Sweetie Belle's horn started glowing.

"For what?" Scooraloo asked puzzled.

"You'll know." Sweetie smiled.

Scootaloo watched as smoke started to seep from the edge of the beam above her head. It began to turn black as small embers started forming along it. Scootaloo knew what to do. She readied her wings and had her eyes set on the end. As she heard the beam crack she jumped to the side and the rest moved in slow motion.

The wooden support fell to 45 degree angle and slammed into the mattress which fell with the rest of the cot. Though Scootaloo was well into the air and landed atop the beam. In the same, state of impaired time she charged up the beam and towards the patch, lowering her head preparing for direct impact. She burst through, only to find time return to its normal speed and her flailing to grab hold of the edge of the rim of the tower. Below was a sickening and fatal drop to the ground. She managed to scramble to the top. She was pleased to see her friends cheering from inside. Now came the issue of getting them out. She climbed to the point of the roof and clung to the flag staff as she observed her surroundings. They were very high up either way she went, though she settled on the closest route to the ground.

The little filly prepared her little wings again as she dropped down like dead weight towards the bridge below. The final few meters she buzzed her wings to bring her to a gentle landing. Looking back she could see the height of their tower as it sat well past the cliff that the castle was situated on. Her stomach did not react well to the realization of how close she was from plummeting to the valleys below. Regardless she continued over the bridge and saw smoke coming from the tower directly in front of her. Noting this she headed to the door of the original tower which was carelessly unlocked. Muzzling it open she charged up the spiral stairs, straining her little hooves for what they were worth. She reached the door and slammed it open. Her friends galloped out to greet her.

"Ya did it Scoots!" Apple Bloom cheered as she hugged her friend.

"We...We did it." Scootaloo smiled as she was panting heavily. Her wings and hooves were beyond throbbing and aching.

Rainbow Dash and a rather reluctant Fluttershy were scanning the skies above the castle grounds. As the approached the city proper they saw some familiar colors approaching them. Four to be exact.

"Time to finish these faggots." Rainbow teethed as she tensed up and prepared to kill. Fluttershy hovered idly, scared for her life.

"So it looks like we do get to murder a stubborn pony after all!" The foremost mare chirped. "Your lucky that daughter of yours knew her place or you'd have to settle for second place."

Rainbow's eyes widened. "Scootaloo!? What did you do to her?"

"Oh don't worry Rainbow Crash, she's jus-" The mare was cut off by a hoof to the face. Before she could react she was on the ground. The sound of her spine snapping was fairly audible.

"She's dead you cunt." The mare smiled devilishly. "And you're about to join her."

Rainbow was sent into a stray cart. Three Wonderbolts surrounded her.

"Any last words bitch?" The Wonderbolts hissed. They then pounced. Beating Rainbow relentlessly. She was pinned and could go nowhere. Her vision became blurred and bloody.

"Make it quick." Rainbow whispered, "I miss her."

Fluttershy watched as her friend was being annihilated. She wanted to help but she was mortified. Her mind gave her a grim picture, Scootaloo sitting over a grave, clinging to the stone tightly. 'Why didn't she do something?' The filly wept, 'Why didshe let mommy die?' She imagined the outcast, her friends would disown her for her failure. All because she stood back and let some bullies kill her friend.

Meanies.

"Nobody....hurts my friends and gets away with it!" Fluttershy suddenly was awash with a burst of anger and perserverance. She swooped down at impressive speeds and charged towards Rainbow's attackers. Tackling one to the ground.

"You little bitch!" The Wonderbolt howled, Fluttershy did not listen, she wailed on the mare like her life depended on it.

"Hey, Fleetfoot!" one of the Wonderbolts hollered. "Go check on the little brats, make sure they're still there and give that orange one a little punishment for her dumb shit of a mother!" The mentioned Wonderbolt was off. Though no sooner was the hollering mare being choked. She squirmed to free herself, slamming her hooves back to try to hit the cyan pegasus that was holding her down. She felt teeth baring into the back of her mane.

Fluttershy was holding her own against Blaze. She took some good hits and, given her fragile nature she took it worse than most but she did not accept defeat. She kept swinging at the bastard.

"You just don't quit do you?" Blaze mused,

Fluttershy said nothing as she continued keeping Blaze busy dodging her futile attempts to strike him.

"Where is my daughter." Rainbow demanded as she continued to slowly kill the wonderbolt on top of her.

"I'm not telling you shit you trator." The wonderbolt spat. She broke free and hovered in the air triumphantly. "As I said Rainbow Crash, ain't telling you-" She was cut off by an a large splinter being shoved into her throat. She was again pinned by a broken and bloody pegasus.

Rainbow said nothing as the mare below her slowly faded from life to death. She turned her attention to Fluttershy who was in a similar condition, but holding up fairly well.

Blaze had not seen what went down with her comrade, but looked on in horror as a rainbow colored streak came bounding for him. He was in the air at inexpressive speeds.

"This ....This is for my foal." Rainbow teethed as the wonderbolt was sent flying into a explosion of color. The sheet force of the rainboom sheered his body in half.

The explosion rocked the room as Shining towered over his sister whom her had just impaled.

"You have given me no choice Twiliy." Shining said sternly. He prepared his finishing spell, fatal to anypony, and, likely Twilight as well. Just as he was to finish her off, a pink beam of magic shot him from behind. Breaking the spell. He was startled to see Cadence.

"I can't do this Shining! I can't let you kill her!"

"Cadence now is not the time for your antics, She is a threat to the empire and must be nuetralized!"

"She is your sister!"

"She had caused reprehensible harm to our city, I will not tolerate it!"

"If you're going to kill her, you're going to have to go through me first." The princess was stern with her words as she fired another beam towards her startled husband. Shining wasted no time charging at her. The two exchanged blows from their hooves and misfired shots of concentrated magic as the rolled around the room. Spike took this chance. He lept to the elements and tossed it to Twilight. She scrambled to her feet and placed the element of magic upon her head. A coursing heat filled her body as her horn animated with color and vibrancy. Soon, it began to glow. The feeling was back.

The element was promptly discarded as Twilight charged her horn.

"Shining?" Twilight crowed.

The two royals froze as they saw a very pissed off unicorn with a glowing horn and fur that was going pale.

"Time's up." Twilight shot a beam of magic as she burst ito flames, spiraling towards them. Without warning they were sent through the wall of the structure. Lifeless, motionless, both the Princess and the prince plummeted to the ground thousands of meters below. There was but silence as Twilight tended to Rarity.

Spike looked through the new hole and down to the ground seeing but trees, rivers, and clouds. No sign of their agressor.

"They're dead." Spike confirmed.

Twilight helped Rarity to her hooves. "So they are." Twilight answered. Motioning Spike to follow the two unicorns into the hallway towards the throne room.

They were startled to see Rainbow and Fluttershy both on their hooves and trotting towards them. Their battle scars were clear as day.

"Thank goodness you're okay!" Rarity squealed as she went to hug her animal-loving friend.

"We're not." Rainbow panned. Her face and body was pale and her eyes were full of hate.

"They killed her." Rainbow spat. "They killed my foal."

Twilight's eyes widened. "...No...how did they?"

"What of my sister?!" Rarity panicked.

"I don't know about the other two." Rainbow added. "But I know that bitch is going to pay for this." It came out cold, whatever life the pegasus had didn't matter anymore. It was clear any objection would be met with unthinkable force.

It was Rarity's turn to join Rainbow in her plight. She assumed the worst. She knew that Sweetie Belle would do anything for the orange filly and as a result she likely was gone as well.

"I'll be right behind you." She said. Standing by Rainbow's side. "I owe Sweetie to give it my best."

The four turned to hear the sound ot three galloping fillies.

"Mommy!" Scootaloo squealed as she galloped at full speed towards Rainbow Dash who scooped her up in a tight embrace, kissing the filly on the forehead. Sweetie Belle was with Rarity. Muzzling her sister's coat whist crying tears of joy. Apple Bloom was with Twilight.

"What happened to you girls!" Rarity asked her sister.'

"We were foalnapped by them Wonderbolts." Apple Bloom answered.

"They tried to look us in a tower!" Sweetie Belle squealed.

"But, we worked together and managed to escape." Scootaloo grinned. "I knew you weren't going to give up!"

Rainbow Dash looked at her filly holding her close.

Her filly.

I'm afraid we're not out of the woods yet." Twilight said. A frown returned to her face.

"Right!" Rainbow recalled. Gently setting Scootlaoo down.

"What are we going to do with the girls?" Rarity asked. Still holding on to her sister.

The three mares looked to Fluttershy. She already knew what they asked of her.

"Of course I will girls. They will be safe with me." The cream colored pegasus said.

Scootaloo suddenly lept towards Rainbow Dash again. "You're not going anywhere without me!" The filly demanded.

"Scootaloo, no." Rainbow barked, "I already came this close to losing you, that is NOT going to happen again now stay with Fluttershy while we take care of this old hag."

Scootaloo's eyes watered. She refused to let go. "NO. You are not leaving me anymore!"

"Scootaloo, please. I promise I will come out of this alive, we will go home and we'll set things right. Okay?"

Scootaloo looked up Rainbow Dash. Trembling wildly. "You promise?" Her voice was weak. She was tired among other things and just wanted to be with Rainbow Dash more than anything.

Rainbow pulled her filly back into an embrace and kissed her on the cheek. "I promise." Scootaloo finally squirmed free and went with the other fillies who were by Fluttershy.

As if on cue a large bright sphere of light flashed in the room. It took the shape of Princess Celstia who looked anything but pleased. She hovered above the four mares who stood ready to attack.

"So this is how it is going to be." Celstia boomed with a cold, chilling voice. "My most faithful student had become my most mortal enemy. Very well then."

With that the lights of the room were extinguished and the floor below them buckled and dropped as if it were an elevator. The fillies screamed in terror. Though the ground below appeared to give way, they were still standing in mid-air. The sky outside shifted from blue to red, casint an all but terrifying shade on everyone and everything. Celestia's eyes turned to an all familiar green as her flowing mane turned a liquid-looking black with purple highlights.

"You have one final chance to surrender Twilight Sparkle" The same cold voice boomed, now echoing violently through the seemingly endless space. Twilight looked to the fillies and Fluttershy who cowered in their corned. Sobbing and wailing. She looked to Rarity and Rainbow Dash who stood beside her. Determined to end this once and for all. She looked the princes straight in the eye.

"We will not surrender." Twilight replied.

"As you wish..." Celestia began as another series of horrific displays came into view. Fluttershy screamed with terror as the fillies were levitated against their will in a red aura and swirled around the princess as if they were in orbit of a celestial body.

"PUT HER DOWN!" Rainbow cried as she charged at the princess, only to strike an invisible electric barrier sending untold voltage through her body, her fur and mane being distorted with a wave of odd black and red bubbles. She eventually was flung into the wall.

"You didn't possibly think I was going to make this easy." Celstia cackled. A sinister voice that would make Nightmare Moon tremble with fear.

With that the fillies disappeared. With a poof. It was Twilight's turn to make a mistake. She charged her horn and fired a series of magical beams at the princess only to have them deflected and strike her back. A sickening feeling came over the mares as again, they felt as if they were dropping in an elevator, through they were not moving at all, the feeling was there and it was strong. Celestia laughed maniacally.

Unwilling Suspense Of Disbelief

Apple Bloom opened her eyes and was horrified. Her friends were gone. Worse yet she was home. In her room. Though it seemed different. The home itself seemed normal but there was but blackness outside. No acres, not sky, nothing. The filly felt very cold, on top of the same sickly feeling the others had. Her bedroom door slammed open as an all too familiar face barged in.

"Ah thought ah told ya to get out to the orchard!" Applejack barked.

Apple Bloom backed into a corner, unsure as of what to do. To her horror, Applejack evaporated into some red and black substance that shifted in front of her. It then reformed into Applejack who was not right in her face. No sooner than this did Applejack began punching the filly. Apple Bloom was not prepared nor in any condition to fight. She took hit after hit as blood began to obscure her vision. She managed to squirm from the hold she was in and made her way out of the room only to have Applejack mutate into that substance which went easily through the wall as a ghost would and tackled her to the ground.

Apple Bloom swung and kicked with all of her might but to her terror, her strikes went through Applejack, they only caused ripples as a rock in a pond. The waves were black and red in color and did not stop the mare from striking her. Apple Bloom kept running, unsure as of what to do or where to go. Every time her sister would catch up with her and send her crashing into a wall.

"Applejack, stop! Please!" Apple Bloom wailed.

"Stop? I ain't gonna stop, y'all but nothin; but a vermin', AIN'T NOTHIN; BUT A VERMIN!" Again the filly was knocked down and tossed around the room like a rag doll. Apple Bloom shook uncontrollably as the pain was too much to handle. She struggled to get up, only to be uppercut and sent flying again. It all felt so real, it all looked so real though it was not.

"Y'all killed Ma and ah'm a do her right!" Applejack growled as she pounced the filly and began beating her again.

Apple Bloom had given up. She lay in the room as hit after hit kept dealing more and more damage and pain to her face and body. If this is how she was to go then so be it. Her vision gave way, her breathing slowed.

Then it ceased. And it was all over.

....

Sweetie Belle was in her room with the same outward view as Apple Bloom. She was in her room and the other cusaders were with her. Seemingly playing. She had a weird feeling come about her, like this had happened before.

“I am too—a fighter!” Sweetie Belle wasn't sure how to prove this but she wasn't one to be pushed around, by her niece no less. This seemed eerily familiar. One part of her brain told her to back down as this wasn't going to lead to anything positive though for some reason she continued.

Sweetie Belle's heart sank, here she was being downsized by her two best friends. Her ears fell flat as she pondered a defense,

Sweetie Belle again was saddened, why were her friends doing this? They teased her every now and again and she could take it but this felt different.

“I am too tough!” Sweetie Belle thought out loud. A mistake.

“Oh yeah?” Scootaloo glared at her, “Prove it.”

Sweetie Belle darted her eyes around, she needed something to attack, something that she could take out her pent up anger on. Then she saw it. It had a purple mane, an orange coat, tiny wings, and a stupid smirk plastered on its face.
She pounced on the feathered filly, bringing her to the ground, swinging wildly, missing half the time, and hitting the other, her hooves equated to rabbit paws in Scootaloo's mind, the only hurting she endured was from fits of laughter as the whit filly giving it her all—which wasn't much.

That feeling of déjà vu flowed through Sweetie again. Though she also had a chill go down her spine as Scootaloo's eyes changed from there purple color to a full on red. They glowed like predators of the night. The filly rose in the air, she was flying. Her wings had grown to an impressive size, normal for a pegasus her age but impressive for Scootaloo. Before she could react. Scootaloo dove from her position in perfect formation slamming into Sweetie Belle and holding her in the air by her throat.

"You shouldn't have done that Sweetie Belle." Scootaloo hissed. A smile crept on her face.

"Scootaloo stop! Okay I'm sorry I'm weak! Don't kill me!" Sweetie Belle was genuinely afraid of whatever this was. Scootaloo would not let go. The filly's vision grew hazy as she struggled to breath.

Sweetie Belle then remembered something. She had magic. Whatever this thing was seemed to be controlled by it. Her horn glowed and Scootaloo began to glow too. Sweetie had a smile grow on her face as Scootaloo was sent into the wall. Unlike Apple Bloom's attacker, Scootaloo slammed into the solid wall and fell to the floor. Though she got up instantly and charged the filly sending her into a window and out into blackness.

Despite nothing being there she landed on solid space. Sweetie looked around fearfully. The boutique all but dissapeared. And then, a assembly of black and red bubbling substance emerged before here and took the shape of Scootaloo. It smacked Sweetie Belle sending her flying. Sweetie struggled to get up and as she did, something began happening to Scootaloo. She began to grow. Her hooves, body and wings began to increase in size drastically. They were not maturing or evolving but they were becoming monstrous. A black and red bubbling substance randomly bubbled through her fur and mane as this transformation continued. Finally it ceased. Scootaloo was gargantuan. Twice the size of a normal stallion. She roared as any monster would. Ready to destroy her prey,

To say Sweetie Belle pissed herself would be fairly accurate as she fled the pursuing Scootabeast. It's thundering hooves rocked the ground as it chased her.

"GIVE UP SWEETIE BELLE!" it boomed, with the normal voice of Scootaloo oddly enough.

Sweetie Belle kept running. There was nothing to stop her but nothing to protect her either. Her hooves became weak as she could not longer gallop, let alone trot. She pushed herself to keep going but the Scootaloo was getting closer. Licking its chops as apparently it was to devour her. It clutched her in it hooves and soared into the sky, its powerful wings flapping with all it its might.

Sweetie Belle was bawling. "Scootaloo please!" She cried, "I thought you loved me!" The Scootaloo seemed un-phased as it continued to fly to an unknown destination. It then stopped. And licked its chops again as Sweetie Belle was being moved closer to The Scootaloo's massive, sharp teeth.

"Scootaloo! I love you, you love me too. I took care of you when you were sick, you took care of me when I was weak and needed help! We're friends, we don't do this to each-other!" The filly was desperate. "Of all the ponies in the world, you have always been my best friend and always stuck by my side when things got rough."

A light-bulb lit in the unicorns mind.

"You're not real." Sweetie panned. The monster halted, it appeared shocked.

"You're not real because Scootaloo would never do this to me!" Sweetie continued. She started to notice the grip was loosening. "If the real Scootaloo were here she would be right on your flank and kicking it too!" They began to fall but Sweetie Belle pressed on, "None of my friends would hurt me like this. They wouldn't want me to give up and I won't!"

Night On The Sun

....Those words seemed to cause an adverse effect. In the blink of an eye the monster was back to Scootaloo's normal form. Sweetie Belle slammed into the ground as she and The Scootaloo dropped to the invisible floor, The Scootaloo did not move. It was apparently dead. Sweetie Belle cautiously approached it as it began to squirm.

Scootaloo's eyes shot open as she saw Sweetie Belle standing before her.

"Wha...what happened?" The orange filly got up slowly with Sweetie Belle striking her. "Ow! Sweetie Belle! What did you do that for?"

It was Scootaloo. Sweetie galloped over to her and hugged her. "I'm so sorry! I thought you were still that monster!"

"Wait...so it wasn;' a dream? Where are we?"

"I don't know..." Sweetie Belle said. "Have you seen Apple Bloom?"

"No." Scootaloo answered. "Just you."

"Well if Apple Bloom is in the same weird place we are then she has to be out there somewhere!" Sweetie Belle squealed.

"But where?" Scootaloo was confused. "There's nothing here."

Twilight and company had been primarily dodging Celestia's attacks for the duration of this battle. None of them of course striking her either. The odd thing about her sheild seemed to be the fact that it drew from a power outside the control of magic. Twilight tried several magical reclamation spells and they did not work on the sheild, Though it did work on her when it deflected back onto her.

Celestia said nothing as she grew bored of playing 'whack-a-mole' with these pests. Her horn now glowed with a silver color. With this, Scootaloo appeared. Or at least it looked like her. It was enough for Rainbow Dash.

"Scootaloo!" The pegasus cried as she charged for her.

"Rainbow NO!" Twilight cried. She knew this was but an illusion but sadly for Rainbow it was too late. The form of Scootaloo shifted into a aura that surrounded Rainbow Dash and turned her into crystal. She shattered as she fell to the ground.

Celestia laughed manically.

Twilight and Rarity both combined their magic to form a massive beam themselves. It fired and seemed to penetrate the shield, only to be caught in the same silver glow as their friend. It exploded with the shrapnel sticking both Twilight and Rarity. Unknown to them, that shield was not supposed to have been penetrated. It appeared to have weakened somehow.

Apple Bloom's eyes opened again as she was now in another location. And to he surprise, she was a differnt pony. Her fur was orange and her mane was purple. Her small wings sat at her side. The feeling of having these appendages was odd and uncomfortable. It is as if she literally stepped into a new body and called it home.

She was in the playground of Ponyville Elementary. She noticed she herself was not there. She figures this was around the time she was still at the farm or with Twilight.

"Say one more thing you brat!" A familiar voice cried. Sweetie Belle had Diamond Tiara on the ground and was swinging wildly at her. This did not last for Sweetie was herself brutally slammed into a puddle of mud and one could see, and hear that it hurt badly.

"Get off her!" Scootalbloom yelled. Now that she had DIamond's attention she needed to do something. Somehow, though she was Scootaloo, she maintained the injuries she had sustained in the previous episode, she also had some scars and marks she did not remember having.

"Okay Scootaloser." Diamond cackled. "Do your worst." Scootabloom charged for the bully but was stonewalled when she was brought to her back and on the ground. She never remembered Diamond Tiara being this strong, through she was never this weak either. The hooves began pummeling her in the face. All too familiar. Scootabloom could not move, this bully with a tiara was amazingly powerful, pinning her down and beating her simultaneously. Worse yet she did not cease. Cheerilee came to mitigate the mess.

"Girls!" She hollered. That is enou--" She too was now on the ground as Diamond towered over her.

"I'm not done with her yet." Diamond hissed. "And you're not stopping me!" Diamond's tiara began to glow and a wicked smile crept across her face. As this occurred, Cheerilee began to literally deflate as she screamed in pain. It appeared the literal life was being sucked out of her. Diamond stood there, laughing with glee as the teacher was but a pile of fur and skin, flat as a deflated ball. Diamond's eyes glowed a sinister red for a few seconds as she grew slightly. Her hooves expanded and her size was nearly doubled. She turned her attention back to Scootabloom.

"Now where were we?" Diamond grinned as she charged for Scootabloom who dodged. Though it wasn't long before Scootabloom was smashed into a tether-ball pole. Diamond yanked the pole out effortlessly with her mouth and snapped it in half with her teeth, She pinned Scootabloom down, this time the pressure was unbearable. Then, the feeling came, of her life literally being drained out of her. As the bully laughed, Apple Bloom resigned, once again she was unable to prevent her worst fears from being realized.

Then it stopped. Sweetie Belle had mounted the bully and was now riding it like...well....a pony. The unicorn bit the bully in the neck and pushed her down again. Sweetie's movements were odd. It appeared as if she was but a costume being worked by two foals inside. One had no idea what the other was doing but soon enough they figured it out.

Sweetie Belle took one half of the pole and tossed the other to Scootabloom.

Without words, Sweetie Belle took the pole and shoved it into DImaond's side. Instead of blood, an odd black and red substance emerged from the punctured area. The Diamond Tiara squirmed wildly. Scootabloom followed suit and punctured the over-sized filly it began spewing the same odd black and red substance as all the other monsters had. Within minutes everything was black again.

Celestia looked on as two unicorns attempted to desperately attack her. The shield had suffered one intrusion but she was swift to crystallize it. Her horn was still acrewing power. She was preparing quite the spell. Not only would it end these miserable traitors, but it would erase the memories of everypony in the Empire effectively, making the last few months never exist. She was just about at full power when a stinging feeling pierced her coat.

She had been hit.

Her shield was rapidly deteriorating and shrinking to an odd red blob-like shape. Celestia continued firing at the uncorn's keeping them at bay. The red shape floated back towards Fluttershy and formed the shape of three fillies who came falling to the ground.

"Girls!" Rarity screamed. She went to see her sister and had forgotten she was a target. Celestia aimed precisley and struck her the same way Rainbow was. The former unicorn solidified and exploded. Sweetie Belle and the fillies lost it.

Twilight was now on her own.

Celestia smiled. "Not the way I wanted this to end but it's better than nothing!" Her beams became one large force of magic bearing down on Twilight who used all the power she had to deflect it. Though she was losing, quickly. The large ball of magic slowly pushed towards her.

Sweetie Belle looked on in horror. Twilight was alone, and nopony else could help her. Or so she initially thought. She focused her own magic to try and form a shield around her and her friends for the inevitable when something else happened. The shards of Rainbow Dash and Rarity glowed the same color as her horn. A feeling of power came over the filly as her eyes widened.

"Sweetie Belle what are you doing?" Scootaloo yelled.

"I don't know...": The filly whimpered. She saw Twilight cornered. This concentrated energy was a mere inches away, She looked to Apple Bloom.

"I'm sorry." The lavender unicorn cried. Apple Bloom began sobbing as she ran for Twilight. Sweetie Belle gave chase to try to retrain her. No luck. Apple Bloom was now holding on for dear life to her doomed guardian.

"If yer gonna die, I'm coming with you!" The filly wailed. Twilight brought her close and held her. This was the end.

Sweetie Belle concentrated her horn once more and the shards lit up. Her horn now disobeyed her commands to stop as the shards started floating in the air. She rose as well nearly to the ceiling. The crystal shards of her fallen friends begans circling around her, glowing brightly. And much to everypony's shock, Celestia's concentrated sphere of magic was stalled and brought in front of the floating filly.'

"Wha---what the hell..." Celestia muttered. "No."

The shards began spinning wildly now as they came closer, ringing around the filly whose eyes were glowing white and her body was surrounded by a green hue. The shards then formed the shape of a spear tip and moved to the front of Celestia's magical force.

Sweetie Belle grinned as she heard Scootaloo's words.

"Give her hell Sweetie Belle!"

"Okie dokie!" The filly grinned devilishly as the spear solidified into a glowing green mass, the val of magic that was once Celestia's turned green as well. It then fired. Celestia could not dodge this. As it passed into her body, a brilliant white light burst through her eyes, mouth, and....plot. Her wings turned to flames and her jewelry fell to the ground as it appeared she was being destroyed form within.

Sweetie Belle continued concentrating her magic as slowly but surely, Celestia was dying.

"NO! NO YOU FOOL!" Celestia roared.

Twilight watched in awe as she saw the unthinkable take place.

"You hurt my friends." Sweetie Belle recited, "You killed my sister," The magic's potency seemed to increase as the tyrant now screamed in pain.

"You're a bully Celestia." The filly continued. "And I'm not going to let you bully us anymore."

Sweetie threw up her hooves, her emerald eyes glistened with a new look of conquering nature. A series of colors then formed a beam and swirled around the princess as the final act of Sweetie's trick came into play.

With that the energy of whatever was in Celestia imploded. It was loud, violent, and bright. The vision of everypony in the room was obscured as the brightness began to fade.

Her eyes revealed a crater. A crater in the side of the throne room in the Canterlot Castle. The princess once stood there but was no more. Her headdress was the only remains of her existence. Wearily she got to her hooves. Focusing her vision enough to see what was around. She gasped and galloped to a sight she dreaded.

Her sister was unconscious, lying face first on the floor.

"Sweetie Belle!" Rarity cried. "Sweetie Belle please say something, anything!"

The others, including Rainbow Dash came to their senses and rushed to the motionless filly.

Scootaloo shook Sweetie Belle in an attempt to wake her but to no use.

"Sweetie Belle?" The filly chocked up.

Tweilight backed away and looked at the massive hole before them. "She saved us..." Twilight said to herself though the others could hear. "Of all the things in the world it was her." She walked to the edged of the remaining floor and looked down to the valley below.

"She's breathing!"

Twilight rushed back to Sweetie Belle who was now stirring. Smoke was bellowing from her horn.

"Oh Sweetie Belle!" Rarity pleaded, "Are you alright dear?"

Sweetie stuggled to her hooves. Scootaloo muzzled her in an effort to assist her.

Sweetie's eyes shot open when she realized what had happened.

"Did I do that?" She asked. Still a little disoriented. She was instantly scooped into her sisters hooves.

"Yes Sweetie, yes you did." Rarity replied.

"Yeah it was fucking awesome!" Scootaloo buzzed happily.

Rainbow shot a glare at Scootaloo but chose to address it later. She decided to fly down the cliff and see if anything was done there. What she saw instead made her shoot back into the room. A large crack was spiraling up the mountain and towards Canterlot.

"Girls? I hate to interrupt and all but we might want to haul flank out of here!" Rainbow Dash grabbed Scootaloo and went out through the hole. Fluttershy grabbed Apple Bloom and followed suit. The crack began severing the castle as the whole structure began to quake violently.

"Come on!" Rainbow Dash hollered.

"Eep!" Sweetie Belle screamed.

"Hold on girls!" Twilight focused her horn and soon sprouted wings as did Rarity. Without haste Sweetie Belle was on Rarity's back as they too soared out of the castle and followed their friends.

As Twilight looked back she saw a horrifying scene.

The whole of Canterlot was sliding down the mountainside. Terrified ponies scrambled about but it was futile. The once prominent city slit in half like the SMS Titanic and the outermost portion fell rapidly down into the forest below with the other half sliding menacingly slowly. Some ponies jumping from the collapsing city in vein. As Ponyville came into view they saw but a immense tower of smoke behind them. Canterlot was gone. Whatever force Sweetie Belle had evoked, it had taken the city with it.,

The landing in Ponyville was quiet. The group decided to land int he forest and trot into town as to not cause too much of a stir. They weren't sure what to expect all things considered. They were certain the citizens of Ponyville had seen the collapse of Canterlot, the explosion of Princess Celestia, and they damn well knew that they had something to do with it.

The fillies walked behind the mares, for protection more than anything. Despite the fillies assuring them that they had a warm reception, they weren't too certain considering what just happened that that would happen again.

They arrived to empty streets. Nopony was to be found.

"Huh." Twilight wondered aloud. "Must've hid during the collapse."

They made their way through town inspecting windows and alleyways but nopony was to be found. They decided to check Sugarcube Corner. The first landmark of sorts that was on their path. It was pitch black as they all went in.

To say that Sweetie Belle....again pissed herself would be proper.

The lights flipped on and they were nearly sacred to death.

"SURPRISE!" The mares and stallions cheered. Confetti and cake was everywhere.

"What?" Twilight was confused.

"Well DUH haven't you heard?!" The pink party pony bounced towards them.

"No?" Apple Bloom answered.

"Well it would be so wrong of me not to throw an 'We're sorry for not listening to you earlier thank you for what you did we cannot wait to go on with our new lease on life' party!"

"...Kay." Rainbow Dash was damn near confused. "So you don't want us killed?"

"Psssh No!" Pinkie said excitedly.

"I do believe a certain somepony deserves a certain treat to herself?" Ms Cake hoisted a very rare and very prestigious cupcake with a candle in it. It was given to Sweetie Belle who was about as confused as everypony else.

"How did they-" Sweetie Belle asked.

"Just go with it." Twilight smiled.

The confusion was negated as the ponies being celebrated realized that they were home. They were in their happy, peaceful, likely far too forgiving village with everypony they loved.

Scootaloo plopped to the floor. Exhausted.

"I take it somepony want's to go home?" Rainbow Dash looked down at the tuckered filly.

Scootaloo hesitated. Parties were always fun but again, she was beyond tired. And had the feeling there would be plenty to come.

"Yeah." She grinned. "I'd like that a lot."

Author's Note

End.

This Is The End

Twilight's library was in its usual state of “organized chaos”. The Unicorn had embarked on quite the scholastic pursuit following the discovery of some loose pages from some unknown book that seemed to chronicle an alternative history to the founding of Equestria. The mare was deep in thought sitting in the center of the room with a quill and paper levitating above her head as the strung together her request she would have Spike send to the Canterlot Archives. She already had AppleJack relay a message while she was seeing family in Manehatten for some sudden and unexplained reason, and Rainbow Dash had received some papers from Cloudsdale that their own librarian had found. It was quite the collection and certain pieces were coming together but there were still some very large holes in the whole story.

Under normal circumstances this would be fun, driving, and enlightening for Twilight, and while the latter was certainly true, the information she was amassing was less than fun, in fact it was terrifying: if the collection of pages she had before her were indeed true, not only would it mean that the history of Equestria that had been passed down through the generations was wrong, it would be a complete lie. Her internal conscience was taking issue to these alleged revelations as well. Again, of said pages were found to be credible, Celestia and Luna would be regarded as one of the most ruthless and oppressive rulers of Equestria ponykind have yet to witness!

There was just one problem though, Twilight, nor did any other pony she knew, ever see any actions or behavior that would suggest otherwise. It was all a bit much to take in so it was almost a relief to the Librarian when a loud knocking broke her philosophical dueling. It was Rainbow Dash.

“Oh, hello Rainbow Dash!” Said Twilight in her usual, happy tone.

“Hey Twi” Replied the rainbow-maned pegasus who oddly enough, was on her hooves. She trotted into the tree-house as if she had not gotten the gist of how her wings worked.

“What's up?” Twilight went about putting the scattered papers on her desk and sitting with her friend.

“I dunno, I was—I guess I'm curious as to what these papers you've had us getting were about.”

Twilight grew somewhat nervous. She never really explained to her friends what these were for, and for good reason. If she couldn't fully accept the accounts of these odd documents, then for sure her friends would meet it with even more vulgar opposition, to the point of ignorance.

“Well—It's kind of a wordy thing, nothing you'd be interested in.” The unicorn watched her friend's expression hoping that back-handed excuse would work. It didn't.

“Aw come on Twilight, I may be a bit thick but I'm no fool!” The pegasus boasted, hovering now for emphasis. “Besides,” she continued as she dropped back down. “I'm not gonna run any more errands for you until I know what is is!”

Rainbow Dash was a stubborn mare and Twilight knew she was going to have to talk, but, a wonderful delay had just presented itself. It would give her time to simplify all of this in her head anyway.

“Have you spoken to Rarity today?” Twilight changed the subject.

“No. And what does that have to do with any of--”

“She invited us all to the spa, you should come again, it was fun!”

Rainbow glared at her, after the Foal-free press tabloid incident, she wasn't to privy on returning to that place. It was as if she expected the crusaders to print another expose the minute she was caught doing another “uncool” thing. She had an image to maintain.

“Pa-leeeeease?” Twilight pleaded. “We have to go now though so...” She trailed, waiting for an answer.

Rainbow simply rolled her eyes, “Oh alright.” she groaned. “I'm still not letting you off the hook though.”

“I know, I know. After the spa we can come back and I can explain every little detail. It's—rather fascinating for sure.”

The two mares strolled through Ponyville on their way to the spa. Rarity was always punctual, as was Fluttersy...assuming her animals weren't giving her trouble. They were guided to the bath where Rarity and Fluttershy were waiting.

“Ah Twilight, Rainbow! What a splendid surprise.” Greeted the fashionista.

“Um...hi girls.” said Fluttershy meekly.

“Hello Ms Rarity, Fluttershy.” Twilight replied with a slight accent as she slowly sank into the nice warm bath. “Ah, this is so nice. After a day of vigorous study and inquiry it's nice to sit back and relax for a bit.”

“My thoughts as well darling,” Rarity said, “It has been quite the week for me, a whole avalanche of orders came in over the weekend, and of course Sweetie Belle is staying all week—Mother and Father are off the Manehatten. Say, speaking of which, any word from AppleJack?”

“I'm afraid not.” Twilight replied, “I was hoping you knew something.”

“No, according to Scootaloo, Granny Smith has become ill and they are visiting family--” Rarity quieted to a whisper, “you know, In case 'this is it'.”

“Oh my, that's...that's terrible.” Twilight said sorrowfully. “Wait, Scootaloo? The crusader?”

“Rainbow Dash wanna-be” quipped Rainbow Dash.

The girls laughed at this. All it seems the filly was capable of thinking, let alone talking about was her inflated praise and admiration of the pegasus.

“Mhm” Rarity replied. She had ordered some tea and was drinking it in her normal, delicate fashion. “She lives with me now—it's quite the story really”

Rainbow Dash lost it. If anyponmy in this foursome knew that filly, it was her.

“And how's that going for ya? I'm sure she loves being your personal ponyquin.” Rainbow continued to snicker at the thought of Scootaloo resisting Rarity's demands of “ladylike” appearance and mannerisms.

“Well for one thing Rainbow no such thing has occurred. Thought it would be nice, her mane is....messy to say the least.--She's awfully quiet, isn't really one for conversation, It's rather odd actually, she hardly speaks unless spoken to; unless it's Sweetie Belle of course.” She rolled her eyes, a hint of jealousy in her voice. “She isn't a troublemaker, she's very tidy and polite which I like but—she seems to take me more as a caretaker than the adoptive mother I am.”

Rainbow Dash was still snickering on the other side of the bath. Twilight shot a glare at her. “I'm sure she'll adapt, I think we all know I wasn't the most comfortable when I first moved here but, after awhile, like anything it got much better!”

“I sure hope so, this is only her second week but the silent treatment is driving me up a wall.” Rarity sank further in the tub. “But enough of my drama, how's Ms Fluttershy?” She turned to her friend.

“Oh well, uhm....not much just—you know, the usual.” Fluttershy wasn't really wanting to talk, after having to deal with a bunny fight, a cannibalistic squirrel, and an unwelcome insect infestation, musing about her predicament wasn't really something she wanted to do.

“Rainbow?” Rarity was dying for conversation.

“Not much actually” a smirk still wide on her face, “We're getting close to summer so we're moving from weather management to cloud control. It's easy once we get there but they always throw in these rookies from Trottingham and Cloudsdale who have no idea what they hay they're doing, but of course, they know everything.” She was getting slightly irritated just talking about it.

“Ah yes summer.” Rarity quipped with just about as much enthusiasm. The first month is busy and profitable but an absolute hell—the work of it all, everypony wants to have their summer line ready to go but instead of doing it ahead of time they all decide to do it at once.” she glared as tome nonexistent pony who likely represented her clients.

The rest of the spa time involved more conversing and gossip. All in all it was a good time seeing everypony and touching base as indeed the summer months introduced a new period of busy ponies. Get-togethers like this were going to be rare soon.

Twilight had forgotten her promise to Rainbow Dash as she made her way home, she was startled, much to Rainbow's delight, when she caught up with her.

“Remember out deal?” Rainbow said.

Twilight looked at her with tired eyes, it was late in the evening and she was tired, in a good way.

“You really are wanting to know about this aren't you?” Twilight asked, somewhat unsure of the pegasus' intentions-she wasn't usually this pushy about such an “egghead” subject.

“Well yeah, as I said. I ain't doing anymore of these little trips for you if I can't know what it's for.”

“Why do I have the feeling there is more to this than just that?” Twilight asked as they went up the stairs into the main library,

“Nope. That's it.” Rainbow said dryly. Suddenly, she felt tired herself. “On second thought, you know what? I have a long shift tomorrow so—I'll bug you later.”

“Okay, bye Rainbow Dash.” Twilight said as she let out a sign of relief. She found it odd that Rainbow changed her mind so quickly but she was known to take sleep over, well, anything. She peeked out one of the windows to see Rainbow flying in the direction of her cloud home. Twilight decided a few more hours of cross-referencing and scrutiny would wrap up a pretty decent day.

Call to Action

Twilight entered the tree-house, as she made her way to her bedroom she didn't bother to light any candles, or clean up the mess that last night's comradely produced, she didn't care that a dozen ponies in town asked why she was so glum, she didn't care. She wanted silence, she wanted darkness, ignorance of her punishment. She had no thoughts, she had no emotion, she had nothing. In her mind she was just a carcass with fur and a mane on top, a horn that was nothing more than a paperweight. She collapsed on her bed and stared out of the only source of light in her dark, desolate room; the window. Said window didn't show much, she could see Sweet Apple Acres if she craned her neck to the left, the top of the crusader club-house peeked from behind an endless score of apple trees, further still, but out of view, was the homestead itself, where Apple Jack and Big Mac likely were, doing Celstia knows what.

'At least they have something.' Twilight thought to herself, 'At least despite what they've done, they'll be of use to somepony. Who am I? Without my magic I'm....capable of nothing, I have nothing to contribute to the world.'

Twilight let out a heavy sigh and sank into her bed, a grim look on her face. She thought back to all the times she had spent in Ponyville, from her first encounter with Pinkie, to Applebloom's escape from her despotic assistant. The light was bothering her, it represented Celstia's sun, and frankly, any reminder of that thick-skulked snob was the last thing the unicorn needed. She traveled down to the one room devoid of natural light—the basement. Not much ever happened here, sans the recent events of course. She hardly ever came down here since she moved in. She spotted the toppled pile of books, 'likely where Applebloom was pinned down.' The unicorn dismally thought. She made her way to that spot, a scattered pile of books pertaining to a wide swatch of subjects from 'Equestrian Phonetics' to 'Techniques on enhanced procreation for mares and stallions'.

Her skimming brought her to a picture, it appeared to be rather dated—due more to the messy state of this room than the age of the photo itself. It was Twilight and her friends: this had to have been taken not too long after her arrival. Twilight sat down and looked into it, all smiling faces, all had their own trials and tribulations. They were so close, their bond was held together by some unknown force, they had been through their highs and lows, confronted their worst fears, and yet they all stuck around. Dependable, reliable, loving friends.

Twilight put the picture down, she smiled. She still had her friends, and they would have her back no matter what. For the first time in days she had a reason to be happy, considering all there was to be miserable about, Rarity respected her, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Pinkie Pie was—well—yeah.

The unicorn went upstairs and lit some candles, she opened the curtains, tidied up her mess and examined what sat before her on her desk. Those stories, fables, damming accusations of the Equestrian Monarchy. Any other day she would have looked the other way and labeled these as an engaging work of fiction, though, unlike yesterday and the days before, she had seen nothing but kindness, understanding, and good will from Celestia, they had a bond and a mutual respect for one another. That was gone now, and so was her cautious skepticism of these controversial rags before her.

As she examined the words, scrutinized the dusty, fragile book that complemented them, she began to form correlations and confirmations, both in these text and long running folklore deemed unfit and uncivil. She played these tragic and awful scenes in her mind. The vivid, graphic scenes of famine, slaughter, fear, and an unquenchable lust for immeasurable power. As the pieces of this puzzle began to align and connect, the shackles of propaganda from her youth and her studies began to crack and crumble.

As day became night, the scholastic endeavor continued, only amplifying in reward as she came across new revelations and theories. Coupled with the fresh memories of her encounter with Celestia, one of the crusaders' uttered a phrase that plagued her mind repetitiously,

'..take the magic back.'

The princess was more than capable of removing her of her magical prowess, Discord was turned into stone, deprived of any substance, it seemed everything under Celstia's hooves had limits. There would have been countless times her magic would have come in handy, there are many times it failed when it shouldn't have, why was this? Her studies guided her to the answer, and she didn't like it one bit. A particular passage in another rustic book she uncovered made it all very clear:

'...and once the monstrous duet of oppressors ascended to the highest order, they depleted the magic of all unicorns and alicorns alike, they brought forth an elixir, said tonic held a farce magic. Enough to substantively work, and meet the needs of the magically inclined, however, never enough to pose a threat to the oligharchy. Never again would anypony turn the soils of power....for this farce magic was limited, rationed, and never constant in strength.....'

Many years of damage to this text required here to re-assemble these torn pages by hoof. Agonizing but well worth it,

'...this magic, dare we call it this, is fiat magic, its power and dispersion is controlled by the princesses, only the Elements Of Harmony are immune to this rationed, debased magic hence their fierce protection of the elements, hence they are entrusted to their highness most loyal, submissive subjects...'

Twilight paused, and read this final line a multitude of times. Her disgust building with each new pass, if the Canterlot royal family wished to remove all magic from Equestria they could most certainly do so. Most of their world ran off of magic. They did not have the machines of old to free themselves from this system of control and—enslavement. She couldn't think of a time in which it was ever used malevolently but that didn't matter. In Twilight's mind, she already had enough of a reason to be disgusted and horrified by what was being made clear to her: They knew of this amazing technology, they have the reigns over an untold some of unused magical force that could in one fell swoop bring the standards of living nation-wide to an unprecedented level. And they knew this, and with this knowledge they kept it away—to keep their subjects at their mercy, to ensure nopony pose a threat to their unquestioned eternal reign.

She thought about the Everfree Forest, and its real purpose. It wasn't always there, the world they lived in once was ruled by natural forces, unregulated weather, spontaneous life-forms. Without magic, these confined, coddled, and powerless ponies had no means of defense as their ancestors did.--The fury began building in the unicorn's heart and mind.

A world without cutie marks? Cutie marks, a form of social hierarchy, these stamps of perpetual occupation were pointless. She had always wondered where they came from, and what magical force dictated their existence, and she found it. It was taught to young school-ponies that cutie marks were simply happenstance, they were just an effect of natural order. As Twilight discovered they are anything but. The Ministry Of Marks, a cloaked bureaucracy determined, guided by the census and other information at their disposal, who was assigned what cutie mark. Those who posed a threat to the monarchy were given insignificant, materialistic cutie marks, whereas those who were presumed loyal enough to serve the monarchy would attain something at the very least enviable. And of course, as she had expected at this juncture, the magic that powered MiniMark was the very same fiat magic that was thrust upon the plebeians, the servants, the slaves.

A knock at the door interrupted her stream of impressive findings. She could see from the window that it was Rarity and the crusaders. She must be returning Applebloom. She smiled as she approached the door, she could finally spend some time with somepony who appreciated her. Though she was a filly, Applebloom was far from stupid, and while the same couldn't be said for her siblings, she and Twilight share a stubborn pursuit of knowledge and adventure that she had yet to really see in anypony outside of the mane six.

Sadly though, Rarity's face was far from anything positive.

“May I have a word with you Twilight?” The unicorn seemed rather peeved about something. The evasive looks of the fillies made it clear what it was.

They croaked.

“Do you mind explaining to me why you are burdening my sister and my daughter with such inexplicably tasteless filth?” Rarity was yelling now. “Why if you weren't a friend I would let you have it! What possessed you to even think that such ridiculous nonsensical garbage was something these fillies ought to be subjected to? Have you lost your mind?”

Twilight took this torrent of ludicrous babbling and simply looked at her friend with pity in her eyes.

“Rarity, allow me to tell you what happened to me this morning.”

She strolled to a window at the opposite of the room and took a look outside, turned around and sat on her haunches.

“I am no longer the Element Of Magic, nay, I am incapable of magic. My horn is nothing but an ornament at this point. Everything I have ever accomplished has been defaced and everything I ever hoped to accomplish has been destroyed—at the hands of your beloved princess. Why you might ask? Why I had the audacity, the nerve to commit one of the most unthinkable acts in Equestrian history.”

She paused for dramatic effect.

“I stopped a filly from being raped.”

Rarity was going to speak, she hadn't even heard of what happened to Applebloom.

“Yes Rarity, for future reference so you don't make a fool of yourself, I, Twilight Sparkle, the greatest disgrace to the royalty of Canterlot, did what I felt was necessary to protect a filly from harm. And for this, I have been deprived of most everything that made me who I was, my countless hours of tenure, trials, and travels, were all for nothing.”

“But Twilight--”

“Shut up. Everything I had ever worked and lived for was mercilessly stripped from me at the hands of a heartless, spineless, totalitarian monarch! Did she hear my side of the incident? No! Did she even bother to see what the victim herself had to say? I don't think so! No, instead she saw me as a threat to her eternal reign of oppression and absolute power, and so instead of acting in the name of justice, she acted in the name of self-serving vigilantism. Like any low living savage.”

“Twilight...what on Earth are you talking about?” Rarity sat baffled at what she heard. She could tell there was something different about Twilight, something seemed off or missing.

“They didn't tell you?” Twilight cast her gaze at the crusaders who were reminded of the last time she had 'snapped'. They feared the return of the potion induced doll.

“Spike attempted to rape Applebloom Rarity. He pillaged the alcohol in the fridge, became intoxicated beyond reason, and attempted to rape a filly. I ask you one thing, would you have acted by your facade of lady-like conduct if he had done the same to Sweetie Belle? Would you have been understanding and cautious about your conduct? No. and don't tell me you would be.”

“I—is this true?” Rarity asked no-one in particular, though Applebloom was in her view and she hung her head low and let some tears fall as she remembered.

“I--” The purple maned unicorn was speechless. “I didn't know.”

“There's plenty more where that came from Rarity.” Twilight hissed as she made her way to her desk, “And if you have the time to barge in here and call me a heartless liar for telling these girls the inconvenient truth then you have the time for me to show otherwise.”

As the night wore on, and Rarity's queue of objections began to shrivel into acceptance of this initially blasphemous series of assertions, Twilight’s mood have improved significantly. She remembered if there is one thing she could do that nopony else could, its simplify a vast and harrowing quantity of information. The crusaders knew most of the story, but were further impressed by the newer details that Twilight shared, especially the one regarding cutie marks.

The fillies had remained silent and attentive up until this point. They were of course, the Cutie Mark Crusaders, their misadventures, their misery, even their very friendship was originally based on their pursuit of something that, they were told to believe had weight and meaning in not just society, but in the very nature of existence itself. A cutie mark was supposed to be your special talent, it was supposed to represent who you were and what you contributed to ponykind. And while indeed cutie marks tended to correlate with one's talent, the fact that it was all artificially conceived and contrived was nothing less than devastating to their whole cause.

“So...” Sweetie Belle began cautiously once Twilight finished her rant, “we've been going through all sorts of trouble, tree sap, and teasing for....nothing?”

“I'm afraid so girls.” Twilight gave them an apologetic look. “We all fell for it. Heh, of all the things Celestia took from me, I'm kinda now wishing this thing was one of them.” She glanced at her flank, her cutie mark was still there.

“I still—this is simply morbid Twilight.” Rarity said, somewhat deflated. “If this is all true then....what could we possibly do? I mean by your very words it sounds like any resistance would be futile.” She had a point.

“But...if anything, what yourself, these girls, and Rainbow have proven, we can spread this message—perhaps we can get at the very least all of Ponyville to hear of these autocracies and get Celestia to act!” Twilight was slightly excited.

“Darling, if she managed to exterminate an entire species of alicorns, wipe out nearly all of ponykind and reign for a thousand years following without question than I doubt our quaint little village would have any effect, at worst it would cease to exist.”

Twilight deflated once more. She was right.

“We gotta do somethin'!” Applebloom stood up and leapt onto a table as if it were her soapbox, “Ahm right tired of these ponies gettin' away with these awful things! Mah own sister ain't been punished fer what she did ta me! How fair is that?”

“Well, Applebloom we already discussed--”

“She's right!” Scootaloo proclaimed, joining her red-maned friend atop the table, hoof held high, “We can't just sit here while she makes our lives even more lame than they already are!”

“Yeah!” cried Sweetie Belle.

“Okay then girls,” Rarity said, apparently unamused by any of this, “What do you suppose we do then?”

The fillies sat for a moment, thinking vigorously on an idea, only to be met with nothing. They simply shrugged. Sweetie Belle then came up with something,

“If-If we could get the Elements Of Harmony than we could take down Celestia for sure!”

“That's all fine and good but...I'm no longer the element of magic, we have no idea who bears that title now.” Twilight was delighted that the fillies were engaging in this discourse, but was wary of this idea.

“Yeah an' mah sister ain't gonna help any.” Applebloom groaned, “Element of Honesty mah ass!”

“Applebloom!” Twilight gasped. “Language!”

“Sorry.” Mumbled the dejected filly.

There was silence for a moment, save some snickering from Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle.

“Well, perhaps we should get Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy, the more minds the better.” Twilight suggested.

“This late in the evening?” Rarity was almost whining, it was getting awful later. The girls had school tomorrow.

“Hm, I guess you're right.” Twilight said, “We'll convene tomorrow night. I'll get Fluttershy, Rainbow will likely come on her own...she needs to re-new a copy of daring due she's had out for a disturbing amount of time.”

“Awwww!” The fillies groaned, they were having fun in the excitement of it all.

“Come now Sweetie Belle, Scootaloo.” Rarity crowed, “It is well beyond your bed times and you musn't be late for school.”

“Isn't school run by the government?” Sweetie Belle asked,

“Yeah! All a bunch of prop-propa—malarkey!” Scootaloo wasn't too pleased with her phonetic impairment.

“Girls, it's Cheerilee.” Twilight couldn't help but giggle at Scootaloo's slip-up. “We'll all see each-other tomorrow, now remember—”

“We--” the fillies began.

“No, it is obvious I have to remind you. Do not tell anypony else about this understood?” She gave a stern look to the three fillies. They simply nodded. Scootaloo and Sweetie Belle followed Rarity out the door. Applebloom remained sitting on the table.

“Can ah stay here Twi?” The filly asked, those big beady pleading eyes playing their part.

“I don't see why not, but as Rarity said, you must get some sleep. Don't go thinking we're off to adventure just yet, not even close.” Twilight had a small smile as she escorted the filly to the bedroom. Once again, Applebloom opted to cuddle with her. The filly felt oddly deprived last night. Scootaloo wasn't the touchy-freely type, and Sweetie Belle was on the other side of the squished bed.

A pissed off magenta-maned Pegasus beats the shit out of a dragon

Spike paced around his room that occupied Twilight's former home. Since his less than stellar predicament a week prior, he had spent most of his time staring out the large, artfully paned window that dominated the south-facing face of his wall. This view of course showed Ponyville.

While his eyes stared longingly at the tiny congregation of houses and shops in the sleepy village, his mind wandered the aisles of regret, remorse, and worry. He still loved Twilight, he never wanted what had happened to her to happen. Once Spike had heard of his friend's punishment, his heart sank to a depth he had known only now. The dragon was also dealing with a taboo affection that still managed to maintain a fierce grip on his conscience: Applebloom.

He knew they day would never come that his dreams presented: He and the farm-filly, together. The festivities, the fanfare, the special of their wedding. Spike wasn't sure what made him think so much of a simple-minded filly, but he could care less at this point as he would likely never see her again.

Aside from the fact that he knew nothing of what had happened since “the incident”, and that he really knew nothing before it either. When he informed Celestia of Twilight's findings, he figured it was something the Princess would be interested in. It was the distress signal, the fight, it all brought it crashing together and his life went with it.

He hated being in Canterlot. Other preferred circumstances, he would be here with his best-friend, mentor, mother: Twilight Sparkle. Though that was not the case and the Princess likely wouldn't let that happen. Spike worried about his friends. From the mane six, to the Crusaders, to everypony in Ponyville he had come to know.

The dragon managed to bring himself to turn away from the memory hole and make his way out into the main hall of the house. He had a meeting with Celstia today, something involving a trip to Ponyville. He made his way through the empty streets of Canterlot and inside the throne room of Princess Celestia.

“Oh Spike! Good, I was expecting you.” Celstia began warmly, “I have a favor to ask of you.”

“What might that be?” The dragon asked. Still tired and worn.

“The Ponyville library has been re-built and they need help re-organizing the books. Seeing as....Twilight is not available, we figured you would be the next best candidate.”

Spike was stunned. Twilight not available for a book signing? “Where's Twilight? Sounds like her kind of thing.”

Celestia was hesitant as she knew this wasn't going to end well. “You see Spike....Twilight came into the possession of some very dangerous literature—if it got into the wrong hooves....it could spell doom for my kingdom. We sent an envoy to retrieve the books and when she refused....”

Celestia paused, which made the dragon snap.

“T—they killed her?! Why would they kill her over some stupi--”

“No Spike, she is likely alive and well.” Celestia hurried.

“Then what happened?! Where is she?” Spike was beyond concerned. “When I sent out that distress call, and sat in that hearing, I didn't want Twilight's whole life to be ruined! I did a bad thing and she was upset, the wounds healed!”

“Spike.” Celestia said calmly, “Twilight disobeyed a high-order and under Equestrian Law she commuted an act of treason. There is no need to go into detail, however we gave her and her accomplishes a light sentence: We banished them from Ponyville, however they are free to stay elsewhere. As I said to Twilight, she and her friends have done far too much good for this land to permit such cold punishment.”

“A-accomplishes? Who? Why would you banish her?” The dragon was misty-eyed and afraid. He did not want any of this, not at all.

“Spike!” Celestia was getting frustrated. “You have been asked to assist my subjects in Ponyville. Now make haste, we will discuss this another time.”

Spike deflated. He made his way out of the throne room and to his designated charriot.

“Where to sir?” One of the pulling stallions asked.

“Ponyville.” Spike dead-panned.

The chariot lifted into the sky and soared elegantly above the forest below. Spike looked over the side of the vehicle, as if he expected to see her. Nothing but evergreen trees, crystal-clear streams, and colorful wildlife, playing happily amongst one-another.

“I'm so, so sorry Twilight.” Spike said to himself softly as he curled into a ball and slept.

The sun was now starting its slow descent into the horizon. The crusaders had been asleep, practically on top of one-another for at least five hours. Rarity had finally composed herself and had managed to trot over to see them. On her way there she was met with fantastic news from one of the nurses who oversaw Scootaloo's initial operations: If Rarity saw fit, Scootaloo could leave this evening. Rarity was beyond excited but did remind herself to be calm so as not to scare the fillies as she did her last visit.

Her heart melted at the sight before her: the curtains were closed so the only light in the room was the overhead above the bed which gave off a brownish-gold glow. That glow fell upon a trioge of fillies. One in the middle, head back, mouth agape and drooling, with the other two slumped to either side with their heads resting on her shoulder. Sweetie Belle was facing stomach first and had her hooves lightly wrapped around Scootaloo's torso.

She really didn't want to ruin this, yet it would be better if they left now so they could eat and relax for the rest of the evening. They all deserved it.

Rarity made her way to Scootaloo and craned her head to hers and nuzzled her lightly. Scootaloo slowly opened her eyes and noticed she was unable to wipe her face. Courtesy of the fillies who had her hooves pinned. Her attempt to move them had woken up Applebloom, yet Sweetie Belle was still fast asleep. Snoring even.

“Scootaloo.” Rarity couldn't help but smile. “I just spoke with the nurse and, well, we can leave now.”

Scootaloo's eyes widened and Applebloom shot up from her lazy slump.

“REALLY?!” Scootaloo practically yelled. Jarring Sweetie Belle from her sleep.

“Yes darling now be--” Rarity was going to remind the girls to keep their voices down. Too little, too late.

“YAAAAYYYY!” A ear-shattering cry came from the three fillies who scampered off the bed and down the hall. Dodging medical equipment, staff, and even a patient on crutches. With Rarity briskly apologizing to each one as she passed them while trying to keep pace with the girls.

Scootaloo went head-first and slammed the doors open,

“YAAHOOOOO!” The filly howled, as she took a whiff of fresh air.

Not only could the commotion of the fillies be heard to all the displeased patrons below, it also could be heard well into the sky, Attracting the attention of a now half-asleep Spike.

He recognized that voice: That raspy, tom-colt. That was Scootaloo. Spike examined the spectale down below and could make out another features as well. A white unicorn with a purple mane. Rarity.

This could only mean one thing: Twilight was down there.

Spike wasn't sure what to do. A million causes and effects were balanced, assesed, and measured a million miles per hour. He kept glancing over the chariot to make sure his eyes and ears wern't deceiving him. Then he smelled it. Rarity's rather potent perfume.

It was all but confirmed at this point.

“Hey uh...excuse me?” He asked the stallions pulling the charriot.

“Yes sir!” They hastily replied.

“Whyyy don't we take a short rest....wherever we are.”

“Ponyville is only two hours away now sir. We are more than capable of getting you there on time.” They began to speed up. Causing Spike to panic.

“N-No! I am really, really tired and I think you guys could use some relaxing yourseves huh?” He attempted to work the stallions to his will.

“Negative. Princess Celestia needs us to return and transport another diplomat this evening!”

“Well....uh...” Dodge City was slowly leaving his view. “I can walk the rest of the way. I would really like to stop here.”

The stallions hesitated. “That is not what the princess asked...”

“But the 150 bits I have here are on my side.”

The stallions looked at one another. A little white lie never hurt anypony. They would rest as well, only enough to fake the trip's duration, and then make it back in brighter spirits. (And far better pay.)

“Whatever you wish Spike.” The stallions agreed.

“Now we're talkin'” Spike grinned.

The drivers landed in a clearing just outside of town so as not to stir interest and risk Celestia finding out about this little deal.

They made there separate routes and Spike headed cautiously into town. He wasn't sure about how this meeting was going to go. He just wanted to find Twilight, but figured he'd have to confront somepony. As soon as he came close to where he saw the crusaders, he hid behind the wall of a neaby building and peeked around the corner. He could hear Rarity say something about waiting and servations. The unicorn then entered a nearby restaurant while the fillies waited. Bouncing in anticipation.

Spike figured Twilight was in there. The fillies were distracted so he might as well make a run for the door before they spotted him.

He sent himself with all the speed he could muster across the wide street, he did not look to the side while doing so. If he did, he would have likely been able to doge a certain orange pegasus that tackled him to the ground.

“What they buck are YOU doing here?” Scootaloo growled as she pinned the dragon down.

“Ow! Scootaloo! I'm just here to see Twi--” Scootaloo smacked him in the face. “Hey! What's that for?”

“That's for what you did to Applebloom you sick freak!” Sweetie Belle was now standing overt him as well. Screaming in his face. Applebloom stayed behind, watching from a distance. Unsure of what to think.

“I was intoxicated! I couldn't think straight! I never meant to--” Spike plead, but the pegasus wasn't hearing it.

“Shut the buck up you monster!” The orange filly roared as she sent a relentless torent of hooves, right and left at corresponding sides of the dragons' face. The filly's powerful back hooves kep Spike pinned with no way of freeing himself. Sweetie Belle was slightly disheartened by her friends' agression yet instead of suggesting she stop, Sweetie busied herself with a fanciful store display.

Spike was bleeding pretty bad now. Scootaloo had proceeded to pinning the dragon to the wall of a building with her hoof planted firmly on her throat.

“You think you were going to get her again you pig?” The pegasus fumed, she was practically foaming at the mouth.

“N-No! I swear! I wasn't! Please just let me go!”

Applebloom sat and watched this play out as the memories of what happened passed through her mind. Compared to what had taken place with her sister and brother, Spike's menevelance was petty. Though she wasn't privvy on being his friend anytime soon, she was rather disgusted by Scootaloo's aggression.

“Scootaloo, that's enough!” Applebloom barked.

Sweetie Belle had turned to see what was happening.

“Scootaloo!” Applebloom hollered but didn't move. No use.

“Please, just let me go! I-I'm not here to hurt her I promise!” Spike continued to beg as he was again on the ground at the mercy of a rather angry pegasus.

Scootaloo was essentially in a state of rage. It wasn't simply Spike's attempt to allegedly assault her friend, pent up anger from a many instances before was contributing to this wild behavior. She couldn't stop, she wouldn't, she would make him pay. If Rainbow Dash couldn't be punished, if all the fillies who had teased and bullied her couldn't be punished, then he would pay if forward.

Sweetie Belle saw the look of desperation on Applebloom's face.

“Scootaloo, Enough!” Sweetie Belle barked. She stormed over to where Scootaloo was.

“Scootaloo! I said stop!” Sweetie Belle ordered. A firm look on her face.

The pegasus let up her attack and sat idle.

“Get off of him....Now.” Sweetie Belle growled.

Scootaloo slowly got off of the injured dragon. Sweetie gestured a hoof to a bench nearby and Scootaloo reluctantly went and sat on it.

Spike slowly got up on his two legs. The filly's sporadic nature gave him the fortune of the misses outnumbering the strikes. However, the hooves that did hit, they hit very hard.

Spike turned around to face Sweetie Belle and was surprised to see Applebloom walking over to them. She sat a good few feet away and stared blankly at him Her face unable to be read.

Sweetie looked over the injured dragon and shot a scowl at Scootaloo with every ghastly bruise she left behind.

“I--” Spike began tearfully. “I'm so sorry Applebloom....I—didn't mean to do what I did. Thank Celestia you stopped me...I don't expect you to forgive me for any of it, as long as you know I would never in a million years hurt you...I was--” The words stopped and he hung his head. The silence affirmed rejection in his mind. Instead, a yellow hoof lifted his chin to see an apathetic face.

“Ah accept your apology Spike.” Applebloom said, voice shaky. “What you did was wrong, very wrong but you wern't thinkin' straight, jus' like mah sister. But at least you care enough to know you did wrong and to apologize.” She let her hoof back down to the ground. “Ah can't forgive ya, Ah'm still a bit scared but...Ah don't hate you.”

Spike was somewhat shocked, Sweetie was stunned, and Scootaloo was still pouting and could give two shits and a shake about what just happened.

It took some time for the dragon to place his wordfs and say them. “Thank you.” He began to head towards the restaurant doors when Twilight came out to see what the crusaders were up to. She galloped to spike and scooped him up in a tight hug.

“Spike! You came back! I--” Twilight backed off and looked at his pummled state. “What in Equestria happened to you?!”

Sweetie Belle cleared her throat and aimed a hoof in the direction of the pouting pegasus.

Twilight chose to let Rarity handle that as she was far too excited with Spike's return. Though her skeptical side was still in check.

“What made you come back? I thought you....hated me.” Twilight's ears dropped as she wondered if this was just some kind of smite-ladened joke.

“Twilight. I did a terrible thing, I deserved what happened. To be honest, I had no idea you guys were banished!”

“...and everything else?” Twilight added.

“What do you mean...'everything else'?” Spike was worried.

“Celestia retired my place as the 'Element Of Friendship', she also...stripped me of my magic.”

Spike was speechless. The idea that Twilight Sparkle, quite possibly the greatest unicorn in tecent history, attributed to an unthinkable amount of contributions to Equestria, who had done so much and had studied tirelessly....to just loose the very thing she cherished, was sickening.

“That....that....monster!” Spike was incapable of saying anything else, he was shaking with fury.

“Now Spike, It's past now. We have a job to do and we are going to do it. Let's go inside and just try to relax.” Twilight turned to Scootaloo. “And please...no fighting.”