Author's Note

To my fellow Americans, Happy Treason Day!

5: Meanwhile

Saturday, October 30, 1007 A.L., Equestria

Ponyville was no more.

In the wake of the brief but memorable and terrible rule of one Emperor Jason Wright, each and every building, save for the Castle of Friendship, had been reduced to rubble, leaving the once quaint and proud town a shadow, barely a whisp, of its former self. Not that the Castle of Friendship had escaped unscathed. It had been marred; the cutie mark of its former monarch having been destroyed in Jason’s fury.

Instead, in the place of the once proud town, temporary housing in the form of large tents, one near the sight of each burned house, and a few temporary wooden buildings such as a town hall and schoolhouse, had been erected. Ponyville now looked like a refugee camp, because that’s exactly what it was.

Jason Wright had been thorough in his destruction of the town. Nothing had remained after the devastation save for burned husks, ashes that had once been the belongings of every single pony in town.

However, with help from without, more specifically, from Crystalia and what little Canterlot could spare, all the rubble had been moved after every single part of Ponyville had been meticulously gone through, in the hopes that the changelings missed something. Alas, very little remained.

Reconstruction plans had already been formed, but with wintery weather scheduled to begin at the beginning of December, any construction would have to be delayed. Not even Cloudsdale could delay the regular snowfalls. Until that time came, rush orders for heaters for the tents and extra wood for fire pits had been leaving Ponyville ever since a few flurries fell here and there. When winter eventually did come, the plan was for everypony to relocate to the former Castle of Friendship along with the wooden buildings to those who might not fit in said castle.

It was in the middle of all this, right inside the temporary Town Hall, where Twilight Sparkle sat at a desk looking over the many request forms from the citizens of the decimated town. She had a haggard look on her face as she carefully read over the request from the Cakes once more. They had sent a request for thicker blankets for their foals along with some extra baking supplies in the hopes that they could use their temporary wood oven to bake more bread for the town. However, it seemed to be a losing battle with them. Since Pinkie had taken a temporary leave of absence from Ponyville, the mood of the ponies had only gotten lower and lower.

Especially now that trickles of the truth about Jason’s invasion had begun spreading around the town like wildfire.

Normally, nopony would even think twice about Roseluck’s words, especially since she and her two closest friends Daisy and Lily were known to be overdramatic more often than not. But when a few other citizens who had been taken from Ponyville to Canterlot during the invasion began corroborating her story, there was nothing stopping the rumors to start spreading.

Jason might have been a monster, but he had been a monster of their own creation. Without any hesitation, the strange creature, who they now knew to be called a human, had been shunned, ignored, and even beaten by the very ponies who he had come back and conquered.

This divided up the entire community, as there were many who still demanded that Jason Wright be hunted down and brought to justice. Others, however, argued that if they did such a thing, they would be no better than the so-called Emperor of the changeling hive. Still others, especially those who had seen Jason’s appearance up close and heard the stories about what had happened to him, remained silent either way, the guilt overwhelming them.

And it was this guilt from that group of ponies that turned to anger which was quickly redirected at the town’s local celebrities: the Elements of Harmony. They had been chief in their abuse towards the human in the three years he had lived near the town, if you could call that living. The other groups were also angry at the six mares, but for different reasons. In a sick and twisted way, it was one thing the destroyed town’s residents bonded together: agreeing that the six ponies who were meant to espouse everything good in the world had brought this calamity on them.

Beside Twilight, Mayor Mare looked equally as exhausted, her currently pink mane and tail a complete and utter mess since she had no time to tend to it or dye it as she normally did. She was looking over a few reports on the status of orders from Manehatten in regards to building materials to help reconstruct the town. The words on the pages began to dance around for the mayor, so she grabbed the cup of coffee next to her and drank a large swig of the now cool beverage, hoping against hope it would help keep her awake.

Twilight wasn’t faring any better. She might have been an alicorn, but that didn’t make her invulnerable to overworking herself. Still, she kept at it, mostly since she didn’t want to go back to the castle so she didn’t have to face the angry and mistrustful stares of the citizens which followed her everywhere she went. She could even see and feel them in her dreams, and not even Princess Luna could step in every time.

And rightly so. She had been the one who had started it despite what Discord had done to her, her friends, her old mentor, and…him. Jason Wright.

Jason had gone through literal Tartarus because of her. She allowing herself to be overwhelmed with her prejudices against humans. She should have known better. What she’d learned about humans from the brief mythical descriptions she had read had tainted her views of them. There wasn’t much on them, only that they were monstrous, not in appearance but in behavior. Warlike, omnivorous, and that they ate anything and everything they could. It had been that information that she’d acted on, not knowing until after Jason left that there was much more that she didn’t know. This was thanks in part to her former mentor showing her an ancient book called The Duality Of Man which showed that humans, while not perfect, were much more complex than she could ever hope to understand now.

Twilight shook her head quickly, trying to come back to the here and now. As of late, she’d been thinking more and more about the event of that terrible invasion. How could she have been so blind and stupid? Why was her kneejerk reaction to slam the door in Jason’s face? Of course, some of the other Elements had been quick to point out that Discord was the primary cause of this. However, it hadn’t even taken much of Discord’s nudging to push her towards abject hatred and abuse, and now she, Princess Celestia’s former magical apprentice, was heavily paying for it.

And not just in the piles and piles of paperwork. She’d all but lost all of her best friends.

Applejack had returned to her former home and had begun working on the rebuilding process. When the changelings took over Ponyville, they made Big Mac pull an entire cart full of apples to the temporary refugee camp to help feed the ponies that had been placed there. The townsfolk were decent enough to leave the cores alone, especially on the cores of the one barrel of zapp apples. Twilight had yet to go visit the orchard, but even from her room in her Castle of Friendship, she could sometimes see a small orange dot going to and fro on the farm. Applejack never came into town anymore. Big Mac would be the only member of the Apple family she saw, and even then, he spoke less than usual.

Pinkie Pie had taken what she called a temporary leave of absence from Ponyville. When the date for Pinkie’s party for Jason, which had been set for a month after his departure just to be safe, came and went, and he hadn’t showed up, she’d become more depressed. She was seen less and less around town, but whenever she was, her mane was completely straight, her eyes were drained of whatever smile used to be in them, and her pink fur and mane had dimmed. Finally, she packed up and returned to her family’s rock farm but had said, using her signature promise, to return within at least four or so months, sooner if an emergency arose. In her own words, she needed time to be “…Aloney on her owny.”

Rainbow Dash, true to Jason’s threat, had not flown since that day. In fact, any time that Twilight had seen her, her wings were always by her side, almost tightly so as if they were strapped in some invisible bindings. Medically, there was nothing wrong with her, but Twilight suspected it was some sort of psychological trauma that kept her grounded. Since her house had not been destroyed during the burning of Ponyville, she could still live up there, and since she wasn’t flying, she’d made arrangements with Twilight so she could use a hot air balloon to get to her house. When she wasn’t up there, hiding away from the world, she spent time as an overnight town guard, protecting the town from the various Everfree monsters. However, the Everfree had been strangely silent as of late.

Fluttershy had been spending less and less time with the other five Elements of Harmony. Instead, she’d wandered close to the Everfree, forlorn and mournful. She took some comfort in that her bunny Angel was by her side, as were some her other animal friends, but from what Twilight had seen, the loss of Discord hit her the hardest. Twilight might not have been her old foalsitter, but she took a guess that Fluttershy had deeper feelings for the deceased draconnequus than just friendship. She’d been seen the least, always wandering around her home and talking quietly to her animal friends, what little remained.

Rarity had thrown herself into using her skills as a seamstress to help in the relief effort. The tent she had set up near the site of her own boutique was larger than most since she had promised to use it as a workspace to create warm winter clothes and blankets. Lately her mane didn’t have its normal styled appearance. Instead, it was just tied back in a ponytail. Twilight could tell, any time she caught a glimpse of the seamstress pony, that she was miserable. In fact, Twilight had heard that because of what had happened, and with her name being besmirched, she’d lost her business license, which only seemed to make her more bitter.

Spike had been completely horrified when Twilight had sat him down and, between tears, told the young dragon what had happened with Jason. When she had finished, he asked her if he was going to be treated like that someday, too. He knew nothing about humans, and even he’d said that he would have been open to meeting Jason back then. Since that conversation, the two had hardly said more than a few words to each other, and that was mostly in passing down the halls of the castle. It broke Twilight’s heart to have lost him, too, but deep down she felt that she deserved it.

Her old mentor, Princess Celestia, had not sent any messages to Twilight or anypony in Ponyville ever since that day as she had been dealing with the rebuilding of Canterlot. She’d spared as much help as she could for Ponyville, but her place was in the capital. Twilight didn’t blame her. The look of guilt and shame on Celestia’s face was enough to shatter Twilight’s heart. She had heard about Celestia’s attempt at pardoning Jason, but he had yet to set food on Equestrian soil. Not that she could blame him. It would have probably seemed to him like a useless gesture.

“Princess Twilight? Are you alright?”

Mayor Mare’s concerned voice broke through the young alicorn’s reverie. Twilight looked down at the page in front of her, and saw that a few tears had fallen onto the scroll. She wiped her eyes with her foreleg. “Just Twilight,” she said with a shaky voice, “and I’m fine. Just a bit tired.”

Mayor Mare was one of the few ponies in town who was somewhat tolerant of Twilight. In fact, she treated Twilight with enough of a friendly manner to keep the princess from totally collapsing into a full-on depression. The mayor herself had openly admitted to Twilight that she had been one of Jason’s tormentors, refusing him a job the moment he’d asked all those years ago. The guilt had begun to eat away at the earth pony so that she was starting to get natural gray streaks in her mane and tail. “Twilight, it’s past nine. The sun set hours ago. Go home. Get some sleep. You need it more than me.”

Twilight shook her head. “No…I’m alri…” she trailed off as the words on the page began to morph into a very familiar face. She went pale as Jason’s sneering form took shape, leaning down towards her with clear menace. She stared in mute horror as his gloved hand reached out, ready to grab her throat.

She closed her eyes, and when she opened them again a few seconds later, the page had returned to normal. She heard somepony breathing heavily, only to realize a moment later that it was her own ragged breathing she heard. She heard somepony calling out her name in fear, and when she looked up, she saw the pink maned mayor looking down at her with a worried expression on her face. “Princess?”

“Don’t…don’t call me Princess,” Twilight said. “I don’t deserve that title…” She’d almost stepped down from her role as a princess of Equestria, but realized that she could use that title until Ponyville was restored. Once that was over, she would officially step down as a princess and just go back to being Twilight. She stood, set the scroll from the Cakes aside, turned down the lantern she’d been using to read, and looked over at the mayor. “I’m heading home for the night. Talk to you later.”

Mayor Mare gave Twilight a sympathetic look, then nodded. “See you tomorrow, Princess-ah, I mean, Miss Sparkle.” And with that, she turned back to her work, pulling her own lantern closer to the pages.

Twilight grabbed her scarf, saddle and her boots, then headed out into the bleak wintery night. The sky was overcast, and a light snow was falling before her. The ground was cold and bare, with puddles of water in several holes. It was also wet, with tracks from dozens of other ponies in the damp streets. Some were fresh, others were at least a couple of hours old or more. There were a few hastily erected gas lanterns on the main thoroughfares, one for every five tents. The streets were, thankfully, empty, and Twilight began slowly walking home.

As she did so, she took in the town before her once again. The tents were all practically identical, making the town look more like an army camp than anything else. The uniqueness that had made Ponyville so charming was completely gone, giving way to sameness wherever she looked. In a way, the current state of Ponyville could have reflected the current state of affairs of Equestria’s mindset. The mindset that had pushed Jason away. Each former building in the town might have been older, but to Twilight, that’s what gave the town its rustic charm. She missed it all, but she also knew that no matter what, there was no going back to the past. If she could, she’d do it in a heartbeat, if only to attempt to undo what she and her fellow Elements had done.

Cold, wet, and deep in thought, she arrived back at the castle. Despite having many rooms inside, most ponies stayed away from the building. Most ponies associated the castle now with nothing but the failure of the six ponies who’d started it all. However, there were still a few holdouts, those who acted like they understood and who explained that it had all been a cruel trick by Discord. Of course, when winter officially fell, the castle would become crowded out of necessity.

One of the few ponies living in the castle, Derpy, was walking through the main foyer towards the bedroom section of the castle. In one of her wings, she held a roll of bread which she was snacking on while there were a couple others tucked under her other wing. When she heard Twilight enter, she turned and smiled politely at her. “Hi, Princess,” she said. Her tone was subdued, but it was definitely kinder than most other voices that she’d heard lately. “Long day? Need something to eat?” From her other wing, she produced another roll of bread, offering it to Twilight.

“It’s just Twilight,” the alicorn said, “and no thank you. I’m too tired to eat.”

“Are you sure? This one’s raisin,” Derpy said, holding up a bread roll with some raisins in it.

“No thanks, Derpy,” Twilight repeated. “I’m just going to bed.”

As Twilight headed down the hall, Derpy called after her, “Don’t let this get you down! We’ll be alright eventually!”

Eventually, huh? Twilight thought as she trudged down the long halls. The words rang through her head as she finally reached her room, crawling into bed. However, sleep was slow in coming despite her exhaustion from the day. She lay on her back, staring up at the canopy above her bed. She heard nothing but the sounds of her own breathing.

And the sound of somepony else in the room with her.

She quickly sat up, completely on alert. Looking around wildly, she saw a dark shadow standing directly at the bottom of her bed. It stood there, tall and menacing, a being shrouded in nothing but the blackest of black.

And she recognized the form. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to speak, but all that she got out was a croak that sounded vaguely like, “Ja…son…?”

The shadow didn’t move, just sat there, hanging there. Like a dead body hanging from a tree. Twilight quickly used her magic to light up the room, only to find that what she’d thought had been Jason was in fact an uneven curtain that she now remembered had been ripped during one of her night terrors.

Whimpering, she closed all three sides of her canopy bed curtains, grabbed the blankets with her teeth, and pulled them over her head, curling up and trembling with fear as the adrenaline rush began to subside. As she had for many nights, tears welled up in her eyes. She went to sleep with one thought on her mind: Will things ever really be okay…?

Applejack sat on one of the hills overlooking the desiccated remains of what had once been acres and acres of sweet and delicious apple trees. Now, all she saw were bare hills, barren plains and a few stumps that poked out through the snow. Jason did nothing half-heartedly. He completely destroyed every single plant and blade of grass on the farm. The barn had been destroyed and the farmhouse had been completely obliterated with every piece of family heirlooms and memories within now only ash. Currently, she knew it was too late to plant any of the seeds that the citizens had donated to the farm. The plan was to plant the seeds after the Winter Wrap Up the following spring. However, even earth pony magic couldn't guarantee that a tree from seed would be an apple tree, as it was a fifty-fifty chance, so the Apples were asking for seedlings to be brought in from all around Equestria, and paying a heavy price for it too.

Fortunately, many of her relatives had heard about what happened and came down to Ponyville to help restore the barn and the house in record time, which included the power, plumbing, and other necessities. They had even built a large greenhouse where plenty of small apple seedlings would be placed until they could be planted in the springtime. She was glad of that. At least the cows, chickens and other livestock that lived on the farm were going to be safe. A part of her did feel guilty that she had a house to stay in while the rest of the town was still living in tents, though.

She took it all in, soaking in the view before her. On the one hoof, she was relieved that the snow was covering what lay beneath: bare burned soil and stone. On the other hoof, she actually cursed the snow. She wanted to see what the damage was. She wanted to never forget what had happened. She wanted to punish herself for what she did to Jason. Even if Discord had been the architect, she’d always thought she had a stronger will than that. Even when she’d met Spike, she’d never once thought of him as some monster to hit without so much as a second thought. Seeing the snow covering the land felt wrong to her somehow.

The sky above was darkening quickly as the sun behind the clouds reached the horizon. She saw the distant lights that once shone with warmth and invitation. Now, they looked desolate and lonely, too organized to be a proper town. Looking down at the large hole beside her, she remembered the day when she’d carefully uprooted the apple tree that had been there. Bloomberg, the one she’d taken to Appleloosa during the events with the buffalo.

As she remembered that little adventure, she recalled that, even then, she’d never stooped as low as she had with Jason. She’d been stubborn as a mule, sure, but she’d finally seen reason with the help from her friends. Or rather, the ponies who’d used to be her friends.

“Gosh-dern it!” Applejack shouted, stamping her hoof into the ground, “Snap out of it!”

“So, here you are,” a deep voice said from behind her.

Applejack jumped up, completely surprised by the silent approaching stallion behind her. She stared into the level gaze of her older brother, Big Macintosh. “Oh…howdy, Big Mac.”

“Granny says dinner’s almost ready,” he said, turning to face the newly built lit house. “C’mon.”

“In a minute,” she said, turning away from the house and its undeserving warmth to stare out at the darkening landscape. “Ah just need tah think.”

There was silence from behind her. Then, Big Mac slowly walked over and sat next to Applejack. The two sat next to each other, not speaking. The snowfall began again, light and still. Finally, Big Mac said, “You’re still thinkin’ a lot about him, aren’t you?”

Applejack didn’t say anything for a while, but finally nodded. “Ah can’t help it,” she said. “Ah’ve tried tah git him out of mah head, but ah can’t.” She turned to her big brother, remembering the times when she looked up to him, thinking he was perfect. She knew he wasn’t now, but that never stopped her from looking to either him or Granny for advice if she ever needed some.

Big Mac didn’t look at her, his expression placid. Finally, he said, “Forgettin’ somethin’ like that isn’t somethin’ you should do. When you told us what happened, I remembered Zecora.” Applejack’s ears flattened when he mentioned the zebra. They hadn’t seen her since even before the burning of Ponyville. Nopony had even dared venture into the woods, ever since a rumor had spread that there were changelings in there that Jason had left behind. Big Mac continued, “There’s an old sayin’ dad taught me once: ‘Out of sight, out of mind.’ Zecora doesn’t live in Ponyville, so we don’t see her a lot. That lesson you said you learned with her didn’t stick as well as it should have. So don’t forget, little sister. Because if you do, you’re more likely to make the same mistake a third time.”

“But how can ah work when all ah can think about is Jason?” Applejack asked. “Ah can’t just abandon the farm!”

“AJ, have you just taken the time to think about it, or did you just come back home that day and jump right into your work?” Big Mac asked, finally turning to her. She looked away, not able to look him in the eyes. He knew her better than most, because the latter is exactly what she’d done. It was what she’d always done. Having guessed her thoughts, Big Mac sighed. “Take a few days off, sis. Go for some walks, write in a journal, talk to somepony…”

“Nopony will wanna talk tah me,” she said, “They hate me.”

“Then write down your thoughts in a journal,” Big Mac said. “Didn’t you do somethin’ similar with that old Friendship Journal?”

Applejack looked down at the ground in front of her. That had been part of what Jason had burned along with their friendship letters to Princess Celestia. However, she had to admit that he had a good point. “Yer right,” she said, “but ah can’t just shirk mah chores.”

“I’ll pick up the slack,” he replied, “and I’ll explain to Apple Bloom what’s goin’ on. Just take some time, okay? It’s long past time for you to come to terms with it and learn from it.” He stood, looked down at her, and smiled for the first time since coming up the hill. “Come on now. Soup’s on.”

Applejack stood and followed her brother down the hill. Having a few days to myself might help. At least, I hope it does…

Pinkamena Diane Pie lay down in the cold ground near Holder’s Boulder, looking up at the late-night sky. There were a few stars poking out of the clouds, and while normally seeing how amazingly beautiful the stars were would cheer her up, tonight it was only another reminder of her failures. Shivering, she curled up in a ball to conserve warmth, not that it did any good. Winters on her childhood farm home were always bitingly cold and they always started earlier than in Ponyville, but she felt like she deserved it.

Especially since, for so many years, that poor human had lived in nothing but a cave, eating garbage like she had been forcing herself to eat ever since she’d gotten back.

Pinkamena didn’t look at all like the same happy filly who’d discovered her cutie mark by making her family smile for the first time. She had lost a lot of her normal pudge and her mane and tail were straighter than they’d ever been. She’d even begun to lose very small patches of her fur coat, exposing what was underneath. She’d been hiding it for a while by wearing a thick pink jacket, which now lay on the snowy ground by her side. Even if she’d completely avoided Jason Wright thanks to Discord’s influence, she still couldn’t properly come to a reason as to why she had that reaction in her to begin with.

I’m supposed to represent laughter, and I stole somepony-no, somecreature’s-laughter away from them forever, Pinkamena thought, and that thought only sent her deeper into a spiral of depression. Why…? Why did I do that?

Tears began pouring down her cheeks as the thoughts came flooding back to her. She had never once been acknowledged by Jason during his invasion, just like she’d hidden from him whenever her Pinkie Sense went off. But…even if that was Discord’s doing, as he’d said, she should have seen the despair in his eyes. The hurt, pain, suffering and loneliness. She covered her eyes with her hooves. “I’m so sorry…” she whimpered.

The wind started picking up, and she shivered even more. She curled up tighter and shed a few more tears which began to sting her cheeks. Just then, a shadow appeared over Pinkamena’s field of vision. A very familiar one. The shape of her little sister.

Pinkamena sat up and looked over at her. “Marble? What are you doing up so late? Don’t you have to get up early tomorrow?”

“Mmhmm,” she said, then she looked questioningly at Pinkamena. One the pink mare knew well. But what surprised her more was when the normally quiet earth pony spoke up. “Why are you out here, Pinkie?”

Pinkamena sighed, then looked up at the sky. “I couldn’t sleep.”

“How come?” Marble asked.

Pinkamena looked away from her sister. “Jason…”

There was silence between the two sisters for a number of seconds. Pinkamena felt Marble reach out and touch her back gently. “You’re cold. Come back inside near the fire and warm up before going to bed.”

Pinkamena shook her head. “No…I don’t deserve that. I don’t deserve a warm bed. Not when he…when he never had one…”

Pinkamena’s family knew the entire story about Jason Wright. She’d not been able to stop herself from blubbering it out. In their own way, each family member had tried their best to reassure the poor broken mare, but mostly in vain. Everypony, that is, except Marble. Marble had always been a mare of very few words.

However, she startled Pinkamena even more by speaking again. “Pinkie…you can’t keep doing this to yourself. You’re gonna get really sick.”

“I deserve worse…” Pinkamena said with finality.

Marble straightened up and looked at Pinkamena with a frown. “Put your jacket on and follow me. Now.”

Marble wasn’t like her sister Limestone. She more than likely couldn’t hadn’t shouted even if she’d tried, but she had said those words with such force that Pinkamena reacted instinctively, reaching down to grab her jacket before stopping herself. She pulled away. “Leave me alone, Marble…”

“Do you want me to get Limestone to drag you back in?” Marble said in a threatening tone, or at least, as threatening a tone as she could muster.

Even so, this sent shivers down Pinkamena’s spine. Slowly, she stood up, grabbed her jacket, and trudged back to the farmhouse. Marble pressed herself against her sister, then said in a softer, kinder tone, “Give it time, big sis. Time erodes all wounds, after all.”

As they walked slowly back towards the house, Pinkamena looked down at the ground. Will it, though? she thought. Will it really…How can I make this right…?

Fluttershy was curled up on her cot inside the large but warm tent that Rarity had made for her. The soft wool of her blanket had been sheered from some of the sheep on the Apple farm before Jason Wright’s invasion. It was one of the very few of her possessions that had survived being burned since she’d left it in Twilight’s castle before her house had been destroyed. Nearby, a small magical heater glowed red, filling the large tent with warmth.

A warmth which did little to soothe Fluttershy’s broken heart.

Not even the very few animals who she’d manage to find out in the Everfree who were sleeping near her or under the blanket with her could do much to mend her shattered emotions. Even her best animal friend Angel Bunny couldn’t help. Just when she’d thought she’d cried her last tear, she’d remember his final words and they began anew despite the fact that it now physically hurt to cry.

She had realized, too late, that she had grown to love Discord in a way she had never loved anypony else before. Or probably even since.

Despite the circumstances behind Discord’s death, she still couldn’t find it in herself to blame the instrument of his death, Jason Wright. He’d been through so much because of her, her friends, Ponyville, and Discord. Even now, she still couldn’t tell whether or not she should be feeling anger at what Discord had done or not. She’d yelled at him, yes, but upon thinking back they’d all forgiven him a bit too easily. Not even her own feelings for the draconequus could hide the fact that he had tortured and mutilated an innocent being for years and had never even bothered to check to see that what he’d done hadn’t done damage.

She remembered the shots fired suddenly, Discord’s final moments alive, and how Jason had reacted. She’d seen the look in the human’s eyes as he’d passed them in the cells when he left Canterlot. There was sorrow there as well as regret, but she’d only caught a glimpse of it and it didn’t register for her until much later.

“Duh…Discord…” she said as the tears ran anew and she curled up underneath her blankets. Angel and the other few animals who were with her snuggled closer, trying their best to warm her, but failing. “I’m…I’m so sorry…I’m sorry Discord…I’m sorry, Jason, I’m so sorry…”

“Thanks for dinner,” Sweetie Belle said to her older sister as she finished her a bowl of vegetable soup for a late dinner. They’d been eating more or less the same thing for about a week ever since they’d run out of other ingredients. Rarity knew that Sweetie Belle was likely getting sick of the soup, but was too polite to say anything about it.

Unlike most other tents, Rarity’s was larger and able to hold more than its fair share of supplies. However, winter was coming, and with that came less food coming in from all over Equestria. As such, their supplies had dwindled, but there was a scheduled supply train coming in the following morning. “Don’t worry, Sweetie Belle,” Rarity said reassuringly, brushing one of her stray hairs out of her face. “We’ll be getting some new food very soon. I made sure to special order a few things from Manehatten to eat, too.”

That brightened the young teenage filly’s spirits, and she cleaned her plate with a bit of pep. But while Rarity might have been outwardly smiling, on the inside, she was practically snarling. She hated every bit of this whole situation. She hated the fact that she and her sister were forced to live in nothing but a tent. She hated eating the same bland foods day after day. She hated the looks others in town gave her, accusing and angry. And she hated that they were pretty right in doing so.

But most importantly, she couldn’t decide whether she hated either herself and Jason more for what had happened. Yes, she had been cruel towards the human, and every memory of those past years had come back to haunt her with clear recollection. She might not have had a good memory of things other than fashion, but after Discord’s spell had lifted from her, the massive amount of guilt and self-loathing threatened to overwhelm her.

Still, she thought that the cruelty of all Ponyville directed against him didn’t excuse his retaliation. Maybe that’s just something humans do, she had sometimes thought to herself. Murdering, pillaging, razing villages to the ground…

Our of all the Elements, Rarity’s inner struggle was one of the most difficult to reconcile. She’d done Jason Wright wrong, but in return he had destroyed the lives of many ponies. She’d even overheard rumors of secret pony groups who were said to hate humans in general and Jason in particular.

“Rarity?”

The older mare looked over at Sweetie. “Yes?” she asked.

“Is it okay if I go see Spike?”

Rarity forced herself not to react. That was a major sore spot with her, not because she’d lost Spike’s affections, but because she felt incredibly guilt-ridden over what he had said to her following Jason’s departure and after Twilight had told him about their actions. Spike hadn’t been angry, which had been worse in hindsight. Instead, Spike had been severely disappointed and heartbroken. It was ironic that he’d had the courage to confess his former feelings for her in that time. She felt like she was a foal being scolded by an adult, only he was acting as the aforementioned adult in that situation. She knew that Spike had gotten close to her sister and her two friends in the two months since the attack. Possibly even more than friends, she wasn’t sure. She had seen the four of them going around helping or playing.

“Will you be staying over with him?” Rarity asked. Sweetie was a teenager by pony standards now, and that meant certain changes to her body were coming in quickly. She had seen how Spike and Sweetie had looked at each other in the more recent days, and while she trusted her sister as she’d become more mature, she was still only a child to Rarity who wanted to protect her family.

“Well, probably,” Sweetie replied, and a small blush crept up onto her face. “Me, Apple Bloom and Scootaloo will be going over. Probably Diamond and Silver, too.”

That gave Rarity some sense of relief. Nothing would happen if her friends were there. Not only that, but she knew that the castle had magically induced internal heat which would be beneficial for her health. She knew that the plan was for more ponies to begin migrating to the castle for the winter when it eventually fell. Twilight had continued to offer the many empty rooms for shelter, and while some ponies had accepted, many others hadn’t. At least, they hadn’t yet. As a matter of necessity, though, they would have to when the winter snowstorms came on them in a few weeks. Rarity hoped, at least, that Sweetie would be given permission to stay in the castle. “Sure, you can,” Rarity replied, “but just tell Mom and Dad-”

“I know the drill by now, Rarity,” Sweetie interrupted her.

“Right,” was all she could say, then she straightened. “Have a good time over there.”

Sweetie’s face brightened. “I will, thanks!” With that, the younger pony grabbed a bag and began stuffing it with things she would need, such as toiletries and her favorite blanket. “Love you, Rarity! Bye!” With that, she rushed out of the tent, leaving Rarity alone with her now cold soup.

Rarity sighed, then looked back down at her soup. She used her magic to move the broth around absent mindedly as her mind drifted back to Jason. One man caused so much sadness, Rarity thought as she took another spoonful of her soup. Sweet Celestia…what’s the right answer…?

Rainbow Dash walked around the edges of what had used to be Ponyville, a small lantern held in one of her hooves. Ever since the town had been destroyed, she’d volunteered to be a night watchpony, sleeping during the day and walking around with a few other ponies at night to make sure no bandits took advantage of the situation.

It was also a good excuse for her not to face the accusing faces of the town and those she’d once considered her friends.

Her wings were tightly folded against her sides. Ever since being freed all those months ago, she had not once moved them, save for the occasional preening. But she didn’t deserve to fly again. Not after what she, the so-called Element of Loyalty, had done to a completely innocent creature who had once been a fan of hers. She remembered what Jason Wright had said during their brief tour of Ponyville as it was being destroyed.

“You were my favorite.”

That had broken her completely. She’d always promised herself that she would be loyal to her fans and give them shows and demonstrations of her awesome talents, but upon learning that Jason not only was a fan, but knew about her sonic rainbooms, something inside of her just snapped. She’d betrayed not only him, but herself and her other fans.

Discord’s magic be damned, she thought. I can’t call myself an Element of Loyalty. Or an element of anything! Just a fucking bitch! She kicked some snow up angrily, watching by lantern light as the soft white powder fell softly back to the ground.

“Hey!” a voice called out, “eyes up!”

Rainbow winced. The voice belonged to another member of the watch, one of her least favorite mares in Ponyville. Lightning Dust, a turquoise pegasus with a need for speed that rivaled the old Rainbow Dash’s own. She’d become a member of the watch as well, and Rainbow suspected it was because she wanted an excuse to harass Rainbow. She looked up at the young pegasus. “This isn’t your area,” Rainbow said in an attempt to sound angry, but when Jason had left Ponyville, he’d taken all of the spark out of her attitude, leaving a husk of a mare in its place.

“Your point being, Crash?” Lighting sneered.

In another life, she would have thrown down with the upstart pegasus mare, but Rainbow was a different pony now. She felt older, weaker than she ever had been before. It had never occurred to her that she would eventually lose her bite. She’d always felt indestructible. She’d always been strong and loyal. Now? She was nothing but another body. Rainbow sighed deeply. “Never mind…”

“That’s what I thought, bitch,” Lighting said as Rainbow walked past her, heading towards the end of her beat. The snow had picked up now, but Rainbow didn’t care. She took a look up at the overcast sky, the thick clouds pushed in by other pegasi barely visible in the light of the now dimly lit temporary torches around the tent town. She ignored the other various insults Lighting was throwing at her as beside her, her wings rustled slightly, but eventually snapped back into position.

“You better run, you traitor,” Lightning growled. “Everypony knows it’s not just that monstrous human who’s at fault! It’s yours too! Yours and your friends! Or are they even friends anymore? Not that it matters. Now the world will see you for how you really are. Hypocrites.”

Rainbow continued walking, letting the insults wash over her. Because they weren’t insults.

They were the complete truth.

Spike looked up as he held the two dice in his claw. “Hope you ladies are ready to lose,” he smirked.

The others around him, Sweetie Belle, Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon, sat around the Free Market board. They had their starting fake metal bits in front of them, fifteen hundred each, and they each had their metal pieces on the board. Sweetie Belle was the carriage, the preferred board piece. Apple Bloom was the wheelbarrow, Scootaloo was the clipper ship, Diamond Tiara was the top hat, Silver Spoon was the thimble, and Spike was the train engine.

“You know this game lasts forever, right?” Diamond said with a smirk as Spike threw the dice onto the board, one nearly hitting the Community Chest card pile.

Spike picked up his piece and moved it nine places onto Coltnecticut Avenue. “Hey, it’ll keep us entertained at least, Dimey,” Spike chuckled as he dished out the hundred and twenty bits needed to buy the property.

“Buying already, huh?” Silver Spoon said with a raised eyebrow. “Bold move, Spike. Not even my dad does that on his first move.”

Spike chuckled a bit, knowing that Silver Spoon’s father was a rich real estate owner. “Well, I can’t sit around and just play it safe like I did last time,” he said as he put the title card down before picking up the dice and giving them to Sweetie Belle. “There you are.”

Sweetie took them, then placed them on her frogs before holding them up to Spike. “You know the drill,” she said with a teasing chuckle.

Rolling his eyes and blushing, Spike blew on them before Sweetie put them in between her hooves and shook them around. “Lookin’ for Donut Joe! Momma’s gonna buy a new set of shoes from the store!” she chanted as she let go and the dice. She landed on Chance and picked up a card. “Hah! Proceed to nearest railroad!” She picked up her piece and advanced it to Hennsylvania Railroad before turning and sticking her tongue out at Spike. “Take that, babe!”

“They’re flirting again,” Scootaloo grumbled as she picked up the dice.

“I think it’s kinda cute,” Apple Bloom said with a wide grin.

Sweetie Belle bought the railroad then Scootaloo rolled her dice. As she moved, Silver Spoon looked at the young couple. “Hey, um…Spike…can I…ask a question? It might get a bit uncomfortable, so you don’t have to answer.”

“Go ahead,” Spike said as Sweetie Belle leaned her head on Spike’s shoulder.

“Well, it’s just…everypony knew about how…you felt about your feelings for…” she trailed off, clearly unsure of how to proceed.

Spike saw where this was going and decided to give her an out. “My former feelings for Rarity? Yeah, I did like her, and I’ve gotten over her. What’s your question?”

Sweetie gave Silver a bit of a glare, causing the gray teen filly to wince, but she still pressed forward. “Well, you and Sweetie got together a month ago, and…gosh, this is hard to ask,” she said, clearly frustrated.

Spike’s eyes widened in realization. “Oooh, you think I’m replacing my crush for Rarity with my love for Sweetie?” When he saw Silver flinch, he knew he’d hit the mark. “No way, that’s not it at all.”

“We’ve actually talked about that,” Sweetie said as she sat up and looked at Silver with a serious expression.

“I came up with all sorts of excuses to explain my crush on Rarity,” Spike said, “but in the end, I was just attracted to her looks. And that’s not what a good relationship entails.”

“Oh? What do you mean?” Scootaloo asked as she placed her token on Reading Railroad.

“Well, you guys know that I know the Princess of Love, right?” Spike asked. When everyone nodded, he continued. “I’ve been writing to her regularly. She’s one of the few who I trust to not abuse my fire’s abilities. Sweetie and I both wrote her letters asking about what makes a good relationship. One of the things she said was that while physical attraction is important, it’s also important to be friends with your partner and to love them for who they are and not just how they appear.”

“That’s the general gist of it, anyway,” Sweetie said.

“That’s actually really sweet,” Diamond said with a smile before it fell. “I wish my parents were like that. Sometimes I feel like they’re only together because of me.”

Silver rubbed Diamond’s back as Apple Bloom, who held the dice in her hoof, spoke up. “Hey, yer dad’s a good stallion. I’m sure he’s just worried ‘bout you.”

“I know he’s a good stallion,” Diamond said sadly, “but some days I wonder why he married my mom.”

“Arranged marriage?” Scootaloo suggested.

Diamond shook her head as Apple Bloom paid the banker, Silver Spoon, for her new property, Marevin Gardens. “No, dad told me that much when I asked.”

“Hey, we wanted to play this game to have some fun,” Spike interjected, not liking the depressing turn that the conversation was going, “so let’s try and do that?”

Diamond gave him an apologetic look. “Sorry, didn’t mean to bring the mood down.”

“Same here,” Silver said.

“Don’t worry, I can’t fault you for being curious,” Spike said as Diamond took the dice and rolled for her turn. “Hah! You owe me money, Dimey!”

Hours later, with the game not finished, the group were all scattered around the room. Aside from Spike, everypony else was lying in cots with sleeping bags on top. The fireplace in Spike’s room was still well-lit thanks to his flames lasting longer than the average fire, so the fire was still going and would keep going for a few more hours.

Spike was still awake, lying on his side as he looked at Sweetie Belle, who was asleep in the cot that was so close to his bed it might as well be touching. She was so beautiful to him even when sleeping. Her face looked so peaceful.

He took in a deep breath, then closed his eyes. He started trying to fall asleep, until a stray memory came to him. The memory of one Emperor Jason Wright, the human responsible for the destruction of Ponyville.

No, he mused, that’s not entirely accurate. While it was true that he had ordered its destruction, Spike knew that it wouldn’t have happened if it hadn’t been for Twilight and her former friends. He hadn’t even known the human was there when he first arrived in Ponyville five years ago. He’d been in Canterlot visiting Shining Armor who was visiting his own parents. Of course, since Spike didn’t really leave the library and then the castle, he never saw the mobs of ponies who chased the human out of town. Most days he was too exhausted to do anything. He didn’t even know what a human was.

“Spike? You okay?” Sweetie’s melodious and soothing voice asked in a tired tone as he heard her stirring in her cot.

“No,” he admitted as he opened his eyes to face the now sitting up teen filly. He knew better than to lie to his new marefriend. She had a way of knowing when he was lying ever since the two began hanging out with the other CMC members along with Diamond and Silver.

Sweetie frowned and moved closer, putting a hoof around his shoulder. “What’s wrong? Still thinking about what Silver Spoon asked?”

“No, not that,” he said, “I was thinking about Jason Wright.” When he saw Sweetie Belle’s ears lower at the mention of the name, he immediately added, “Sorry, Sweetie…”

Sweetie Belle shook her head, giving him a reassuring smile. “After what you told me, I’m not surprised he’s been on your mind. I can’t imagine anypony doing that to anycreature, especially not my sister,” she said. “But it happened, and now we’re paying for it.”

Spike put an arm around Sweetie Belle, pulling her closer into his bed and burying his face in her soft barrel. Sweetie allowed this, wrapping her forelegs around him comfortingly. “I’m scared,” he admitted with his face still in her barrel. “What if the town does the same to me?”

“That won’t ever happen,” Sweetie Belle said reassuringly, tightening her grip around him. “It shouldn’t have happened to the human, and it sure as tartarus won’t happen to you. If they do turn on you or even throw you out, I’ll come with you.”

Spike moved away from the hug, slowly shaking his head. “What about Rarity? What about your parents?”

“They were part of the problem,” Sweetie said with a slightly bitter tone, before her voice softened again. “Rarity chased him out, and I know for a fact my parents threw garbage at them. They’re thinking of moving to another town.”

Spike felt a lump forming in his throat. “Does that mean you’re going with them?” he asked worriedly. He didn’t want to lose her so soon.

Sweetie shook her head. “No, I’ll still be with Rarity. When everypony moves in for the winter, I’ll be here.”

Spike automatically once more wrapped his arms around her, and she did the same to him. That reassurance was enough for him to at least temporarily forget his fears and troubles as the two sat in a comfortable silence for a while. That’s how they fell asleep, wrapped up under the blankets.

Sunday, October 31, 1007 A.L., Equestria

Celestia was running. Running down a corridor with doors on either side. She was running towards something. Or was it away from something? She couldn’t tell, mostly because not even her magic could light up the dark passage too far back, only wide enough to see the doors on either side. Each door was unique in appearance, with different colors, designs and knobs. But one thing about them was constant. There were pictures of ponies hanging from them. Ponies who were glaring at her, following her with their gazes. And from all of them, she could hear their tormenting words:

“You murderer!”

“You abandoned us!”

“You betrayed us!”

“You left that human in your pets’ worthless hooves!”

“You turned that human into the monster he became!”

“You did this to Equestria!”

“You are unworthy!”

“Traitor!”

“Monster!”

Celestia sobbed as she galloped harder, unable to spread her wings even to stop her ears. The corridor was only narrow enough to give her a couple of feet on either side. The floor was made of carpet, so she couldn’t make enough noise to drown the accusations out. The same accusations she’d heard in her head for three months. The same ones that were in her dreams night after night. The same accusations she couldn’t stop seeing on the faces of her advisors or the other nobles.

She heard something else now, the sound of heavy boots on thick carpet and a raspy breathing. Both very familiar to her. Both belonging to one of her greatest failures since Nightmare Moon. She didn’t need to glance behind her to know that the human Jason Wright was running up close behind her. She could feel his breath somehow on the nape of her neck, could sense his malevolent grin. A grin she had put on his face from her lack of care for any nonponies. Even during Discord’s first release, she hadn’t even thought about how the dragon in her former student’s care. It must have been immensely painful to cough up those scrolls one after the other.

She cursed herself. She always thought she was a caring pony, but the more she thought about it, the more she realized just how she wouldn’t have checked in too much on Jason even without Discord’s spell. The boot falls only increased in volume. There was the smell of death in the air, of blood. And of tears.

She cried out for help. “Somepony! Anypony! HELP!” She screamed-

-And woke up screaming, clutching her bedding close to her as she had done nearly every night for the past months. Not even her sister’s intervention could stave off the nightmares, at least, what little time Luna had to come to save her sister.

It was just before dawn; the fire in her hearth having since gone out. However, she was still drenched in swear as was her orange comforter. She flung it away from her, taking in deep breaths to try and calm her frazzled nerves. She’d had nightmares nearly identical to the one she’d just had for months. But the dream she’d just had was new. Completely unexpected.

In a flash of dark blue light, a tired but worried Luna appeared in Celestia’s bedroom. She looked at Celestia and her frown deepened. “It happened again, didn’t it?” she asked, coming to the futon where Celestia slept and putting a comforting wing around her.

Celestia lowered her head, nodding as the tears came. “It…he almost got me this time,” Celestia said.

“We apologize, dear sister,” Luna said sincerely. “We were dealing with a larger influx of nightmares than normal.”

Celestia shook her head. “I told you to focus your attention on the common pony before me,” she said, “I’m not angry at you.”

Luna’s ears flattened and she moved closer to her older sister. “You need a better night’s rest if we are to continue rebuilding Equestria,” she said, slipping into a more informal speech than she used with others, “You can’t keep going on like this. You’re going to collapse one day, and then what? Sister, as much as we are loathe to admit it, we cannot do this on our own for long, especially with the nobility on our tails.”

Celestia stiffened, then turned to face her sister, a look of bitter anger on her face. “Our little ponies are more important than me right now!” she shouted. “They make the kingdom, not buildings or borders!” She was nearly in Luna’s face before she realized what she was doing. Slowly, she pulled away and looked down at the blanket in front of her. “Forgive me, Lulu…I didn’t mean it…”

“Cellie, you’re my sister…” Luna said softly, lifting Celestia to face her with her hoof, “I love you deeply, but you need to let somepony help you. You’re falling apart.”

Celestia curled up, pulling her thin sheet closer to her. “I’ll be fine.”

“No, you won’t,” Luna said stalwartly. “You’re at your limit! Please, you need a break!”

“Not yet,” Celestia said as she slowly removed the sheet covering the rest of her. Slowly, she got up and went to her vanity dresser where she began to put on her royal regalia. As she did so, her eyes wandered and soon she saw something on a nearby table. There, sitting in a thick clear magically sealed jar, sat some inert changeling goop which she had taken from her wings after Jason had released her. She’d placed another jar of it in her throne room, in her private dining room, even in her private privy. She didn’t want to forget what she had wrought.

Luna’s eyes followed her sister’s, and her frown returned. “You should get rid of those,” she said. “They’re nothing but a reminder to you. They could also be causing some of your nightmares. We don’t know what that fluid does.”

“Do not touch them,” Celestia said firmly, “None of them. I need that reminder. I failed miserably, Luna.”

“Don’t say that, it was Discord-”

“Discord be damned!” Celestia shouted angrily, stamping her hoof on the ground, “All that cretin did was ever so slightly enhance the feelings I have about other creatures that are not my ponies! I would have forgotten about him regardless!” She was panting heavily when she was finished with her tirade, looking wildly at a stunned Luna.

The lunar Princess, however, cleared her throat, walked over, and put a comforting wing on Celestia’s withers. “You can’t keep punishing yourself for this,” Luna said. “Yes, you have your faults, but your compassion isn’t one of them. Remember what you told me about the moment when you confronted the Elements of Harmony in jail before Discord’s death? You called them out. That shows that you do care deeply.”

“But only for ponies,” Celestia said. “I’ve done things that I regret not only to Jason, but to other non-ponies as well. Young Spike, for example.”

“What about him?” Luna asked.

So, Celestia told her. She told Luna about how the egg that had been found floating in Horseshoe Bay had been found by her more than thirteen years ago. How she had taken it and used it as a mere means to test students. How she had assigned the young Spike to become Twilight Sparkle’s assistant. Not friend, but lowly assistant. How she had used him as only a messenger once she discovered his ability to send messages with his flames. Then she went on to describe the incident with how Discord was first released, the way that even other ponies had apparently used him from reports she’d received from one of her ex-agents of S.M.I.L.E. who now lived in Ponyville, and other incidents she’d heard about. “My little ponies have been sheltered from other races,” she finished with tears in her eyes, “they are afraid and suspicious of anycreature not their own. They were even afraid of a zebra, and they look so much like a pony that we’re practically kindred.”

Luna took this all in stride, her face stony with no reaction to all she’d just heard. She walked up to Celestia and asked, “Have you apologized to young Spike for this? Or to miss Zecora? Have you offered amnesty to no one other than Jason? What about his changeling army? To me, what the reports say is that they seemed very uncomfortable in burning Ponyville down. Some did it mostly out of fear.”

Celestia’s ears lowered. More guilt was piled up on the preexisting guilt she already felt. “I…I never thought to…oh Maker above…I haven’t learned.”

“Anypony can forgive you for making such an oversight in these trying times,” Luna said softly.

“I shouldn’t have forgotten that!” Celestia said with tears now streaming down her cheeks. Tears of self-loathing. Tears of inner hatred. “I’m no worse than those foal abusers I’ve had to execute in my rule!”

“Then do something about it now!” Luna bellowed, startling Celestia. The lunar diarch had used her Royal Canterlot Voice. Taking a deep breath, Luna softened her tone and continued, “What was it father said? There’s no time like the present to right a wrong?”

Celestia swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat, and with a slow nod, turned and put on her crown, peytral, golden shoes and her other royal accoutrements. She quickly got them on, brushed her mane and tail, then walked over to the window. She opened it, raised her head, and began raising the sun at its proper time. The sky was partly cloudy this morning, with patches of fog covering the valley floor below, especially around where Ponyville had once lay. It was both a blessing and a curse to not be able to see the land below. A blessing since she could at least pretend for a moment that things were back to normal, and a curse because the fog reminded her of the thick billowing smoke clouds that had surrounded Ponyville when she’d first gotten a glimpse of what Jason had done to it.

When she turned back, she found that Luna was holding out her hoof. Celestia took said hoof in and nodded gratefully at her. “Come with me, Luna,” she said, walking towards the door, holding her head high as a ruler should even if parts of her felt that she didn’t truly deserve to do so, “We’re going to continue helping to rebuild Equestria together.”

“Together, dear sister,” Luna said as she used her magic to open the door. The two stepped out into the hallway, ready to face the day.