It took us some time, but we finally made it down to the castle’s lowest floor and the entrance to the dungeons.
Two guards were standing in front of a large iron door, snapping to attention the moment they see us approaching. "Princess Luna, Princess Silent Wing, what can we do for you?"
"We would like to see your newest guests." Princess Luna states matter of factly, making it clear that this isn’t something they can stop her from.
"Of course, Princess," one of the two guards replies before he turns around and unlocks the door. "If you would please follow me."
He led us down a long corridor, with only a few occupied cells before we arrived at yet another steel door. Behind this door is another checkpoint from where a different Guard escorts us to the high security cells.
After a few moments I realize that this corridor is different from that one earlier. The walls are decorated with many crystals that I doubt are there for decorative purposes only, so I ask what exactly they are for. "You are correct Princess, while those crystals look nice, we are more interested in their ability to nullify every magic cast in a six meter radius."
"Must be fun to watch some of the unicorns imprisoned here struggle with their food, when they have to eat like an earth pony for the first time." The grin I get in return from him is all the answer I need.
After he answered my question, it only takes a few more moments until we arrive at our destination. I easily make out a large purple lump, and a smaller pink lump in two different cells, telling me easily just who those ponies are.
This leaves Sweetie Belle and Apple Bloom sharing a cell, and I can only wonder why, since there are more than enough empty cells available to seperate them. Maybe I could ask the guards to do just that, should I not like their answers.
While the guard wakes them up, I get down from Princess Luna's back and cross the short distance remaining until I stand right in front of the bars. Just as agreed earlier, Princess Luna hid herself under an illusion, giving the impression that I would be alone once the guard left.
"Get up, you have a visitor," he yells at the two sleeping fillies. When that proves to be a fruitless endeavor, he pokes them with his spear until he gets the desired response.
While they get to their hooves, I take a closer look at them. The first thing I notice is that Apple Bloom is missing her bow. In general, you could describe their manes easily as a tangled mess. In addition, their coats are in need of a good brushing, and dirt is clinging to them, from where they laid on the ground.
When they are finally up, I wait for them to make the first move, wondering how they will react to seeing me here. "Who are you?" Apple Bloom asks much to my surprise, not recognizing me anymore. Come on, I haven't changed that much.
"You seriously have no idea who I am?" I reply after a minute, hoping they only need a bit more time. Sadly, both of them shake their heads in denial.
"Somepony that thought of you as friends, only to be proven wrong." I answer cryptically. Giving them one last chance to figure it out on their own. Already considering what I should do if they fail. After all, I didn’t expect them to be that clueless.
However, they are still as clueless as at the beginning and I decide that I gave them more than enough chances.
"Honestly, I have trouble believing that. After all, it's YOUR fault that Princess Luna transformed me into a Thestral, much earlier than planned. Just like it's YOUR fault that I got chased into the everfree forest where a Manticore ripped my wing off. Would it not be for Twilight's stasis spell, I wouldn't have survived that day," I exploded at them, being done with playing nice. The only thing I regret right now, is that unlike Luna, I am unable to use the Royal Canterlot Voice.
"Wingy, is that you?" Sweetie Belle replies stunned, once she has recovered from my outburst. Apple Bloom however just stares at me, having temporarily lost her ability to speak.
“Took you long enough. Now, tell me how in Tartarus could you think it to be a good idea to write such crap about me.” I reply coldly, causing both of them to flinch in discomfort.
"Wingy, I am sorry for what happened to you. We didn't think…. “ Sweetie Belle continues before I cut her off before I voice my anger once more.
"Exactly, you didn't think! You never think about what could go wrong, or how dangerous something could be! Especially when you go crusading."
"That isn't fair now, you went crusading with us too." Apple Bloom protests vehemently, opening her muzzle for the second time since I came down here.
"True, I occasionally went crusading with you, but more than half of the time I stayed at home, because I considered what you planned to be too dangerous." I reply much calmer trying to get my emotions back under control.
“Anyway, I can’t come around noticing that you haven’t answered my question yet.” I continue with a heavy sigh before I repeat what I asked earlier, only to receive the answer I feared.
I have trouble believing that they really did this, only to ruin my credibility so that nopony would have believed me, when I told them just who behind Gabby Gums is. Whoever, the thing they end their statement with, makes me explode once more. “Please Wingy, we are sorry. You are our friend…,” Apple Bloom begins but I never give her the chance to finish.
“FRIENDS??? Did you really just say we are friends? No, the moment you came up with that crap, you backstabbers threw my friendship away.” I yell at them before walking off, ignoring everything they are shouting towards me.
I make it back into the corridor outside the dungeons, and out of sight of any guards before everything becomes too much and I break down into tears, crying for all of it’s worth. I am so focused on myself that I only notice that somepony brought me elsewhere when I am laid down on a soft surface and a soft blanket is pulled over me.
“What happened?” I ask the midnight blue alicorn as I pull my daughter closer to me, dropping a wing over her, trying to shield her from this cruel world.
It takes Princess Luna several moments until she gives a very detailed description of what happened earlier. Starting with the conference, over the events in the dungeons, and how Wingy let Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle know how she feels about this.
While I don’t like what I hear, I can understand Wingy. If that would have been my friends, I also would have asked them to tell me the truth. Still there's one thing that bugs me, just why didn’t she interfere? Would those two acted differently, if Luna would have revealed her presence earlier? Or why didn’t they at least wait for me, I would have loved to ask them a few questions of my own. Still, the damage is done and now we can only make sure that it doesn’t get any worse. "Luna, how soon could we leave for Hollow Shades?”
“A carriage could be prepared in under an hour and three more hours to retrieve whatever you want to take with you from your home. If Doctor Fine Stitch is able to make a final exam of her wounds during that time, you could be on your way in four and a half hours.”
“While that sounds great, I think it would be better to wait for that until tomorrow.” I replied after hearing this news, surprised that everything could get arranged that quickly.
“Flitter, you are aware that you would miss the trial, if you leave for the month you had planned to stay there?”
“That’s the plan, Luna.” I reply instantly, knowing that she doesn’t approve of this. Still, I stopped caring what others think about me, if it helps me to keep my filly safe.
“Not even for the proclamation of their sentence?” Princess Luna asks hopefully, but I can only shake my head in denial. Fearing what could happen, if she has to meet an upset Rarity or Applejack. While I believe that Rainbow could keep her friends somehow in check, the risk of Wingy getting hurt is just too high.
“Especially on that day. Maybe Dash or Mango will be there, but certainly not the two of us.” While I would love to be there, I don’t want to leave Wingy alone for too long, fully aware that these events caused a lot of new problems for her, and that so soon after she was starting to come to terms with the fallout from the last major incident.
“I fully understand, Flitter.” She is quick to reply before she pauses for several moments. “I assume that you don’t plan to return to Ponyville either?”
While I haven’t thought that far yet, Luna has a very good point, what is the point of avoiding the trial when she is forced to see them only weeks later on a daily basis, when she returns to school. “While I still have to run this with Rainbow and Mango, it seems like a good idea."