Twilight the Third

by MagnetBolt

Slippery Slope! - Blood Runs Downhill

Maud slowly walked through the scrub and brush of the highlands. She could feel the rock under her hooves, under the thin layer of soil and gravel that wasn't quite deep enough for any but the hardiest of trees, but provided plenty of purchase for the less demanding needs of tall grasses and bushes.

For an earth pony, the ground wasn't where the world started, it was a surface that they could see below, like a particularly solid and slow ocean. It had its own currents and flows, and Maud could feel the endless depth of it, just going down forever, layer after layer, until it faded into darkness at the edge of her senses.

Magic flowed through the rocks, like veins through a body. In most places, the magic was in geometrically straight lines from one nexus to another. Around the highlands, and especially around the rock farm that had been founded there, it was different. Maud could feel it in her hooves. The laylines curved back in on themselves, forming loops and rings and what unicorn researchers would have called impossible shapes if any of them had ever been of a mind to listen to an earth pony talking about a rock farm.

Maud got to the top of the next hill and stopped, looking down at the Pie Family Farm.

"I'm home," she said to herself. It had been a long time.

As she walked, Maud took in all the details of the farm. Things hadn't really changed much since she'd left. That was good. She'd sent her parents money specifically so things didn't have to change. The bottom had fallen out of the artisan rock market a decade ago, and times had been tough since.

Some ponies would have philosophical discussions about if they'd kill for their loved ones. Maud skipped the philosophy and focused the discussion on the number of bits to be paid.

She could see all the old sights. The canyon, Holder's Boulder, the farmhouse. The only thing that didn't fit was the cart in front of the house and the three ponies standing on the front porch. Maud walked silently towards them, her steps so quiet they were like a bubble of anti-sound around her, the same quiet that you heard in the middle of the night when you woke up in an empty room with the half-awake half-dreaming sense that there was a shadow watching you with unseen eyes.

The silence made by the boogeymare under the bed.

"Mister Irons is making you a fair offer," the lead pony of the three said. Maud could tell from his tone that fair, in this case, included a promise not to break anypony's legs - but not a lot of money. "You'd be wise to take it."

The other two were big, quiet, and had cutie marks that indicated they were either quite talented at sports or they'd found out at an early age that a baseball bat was a powerful tool for debate and discussion.

"We shall not be intimidated by thy words," her father said, glaring at the lead pony. "I command thou to leave my land and never return. Tell thy 'Mister Irons' that he is not welcome here and we shall not leave."

"Are these ponies bothering you, father?" Maud asked. She'd stepped into the middle of the group. They hadn't seen her until she spoke up. Ponies often didn't notice her, when she wasn't trying to be noticed.

One of the two thugs raised his hoof to strike her. She caught his elbow and twisted, gently. Something popped, and a few seconds later the pain reached the tiny bit of gristle that he used for a brain and he howled in agony, his forehoof dangling limp at the elbow.

"It's dislocated. You should probably have an expert pop it back in," Maud said. She stepped over and did so. "It's a useful first-aid trick to learn. If you'd like, I can dislocate it again so you can practice."

His eyes rolled up and he passed out, falling over heavily.

"Never mind," Maud said, shrugging.

"We'll be back," the lead pony muttered. "Slugger, get Louie up into the cart. We're going to tell Mister Irons that they ain't being reasonable."

Maud stepped aside to let the two thugs leave in relative peace.

"Maud," her father said, letting the thugs leave. "I told thou that thy violence is disgraceful."

"Sorry," Maud said.

There was a long pause, both of them looking at each other. Her father nodded. "Come inside. Thine sister has told me that thou hath taken a new path in life."

Maud nodded and followed him in. The farmhouse was a temple to memory. Some of it was hers, like the patch on the wall where she'd accidentally put her hoof through the plaster trying to swat a fly. But there as a sense of deep time, too. When she'd made that hole, they'd found a cigar box in the hollow behind it, with century-old newspaper clippings about steam-powered farming equipment (it had never caught on) and wooden toys carved from the branches of the hearty, twisted olive trees that clung stubbornly to the poor soil.

"Maud Pie," her mother said. Maud turned slowly to look at her. Her mother's expression was somewhere between angry and disappointed.

Maud waited silently for the judgement to come down on her. Just like the weather, she was powerless to do anything to stop it.

"Wash your hooves. Lunch will be on the table in ten minutes." Her mother said, finally, turning away to go back into the kitchen.

"Sir," Maud said, once her mother had left. "What were those ponies outside here for?"

"There have been several offers made to buy the farm," Igneous said, more quietly than usual. "I have refused them, as is my right. They are unfortunately becoming increasingly insistent."

"I could take care of the problem," Maud said.

"No," her father said, sternly. "This is not thy farm. Thou made that clear when thou left. Thy sister left to pursue her own path, and we are proud of her. We are not proud of what thou hath done."

"I know," Maud said.

"We will deal with this in our own way. Thou hath troubled thyself enough with our problems." In an uncharacteristic show of warmth, he briefly hugged her. But only briefly. "Thou art welcome to stay for the night."

"Thank you," Maud replied.

Maud's hooves were so clean you could eat with them by the time she sat down at the table with her family, though the look on her mother's face said that she not-so-privately was of the opinion that some things, like blood, didn't simply wash away.

"Why did you even come back?" Limestone asked, getting right to the point. That was something Maud liked about Limestone. You always knew where you stood with her. Usually it was on shaky ground, and she was always looking for reasons not to like a pony, but she was honest about it. Maud had dealt with a lot of ponies who were polite to each other's faces and then hired her to handle the less polite parts of life.

"I missed being here," Maud said, simply. "I missed all of you." She even missed the stone soup. Other ponies always did it wrong - they kept adding more and more to the soup until it was something like a vegetable soup that had a rock at the bottom instead of proper stone soup. You hardly got any of the healthy minerals when you adulterated it like that.

"How many ponies did you kill on your way from the train station?" Limestone spat.

"I do not want that sort of talk at my kitchen table!" Quartz said, not quite in a shout but using a tone that said that it could quite easily be a shout and not one that anypony would want to be on the other end of.

"None," Maud replied, once things had quieted down and she'd had a few calming spoonfuls of stone soup. Her mother had used the good granite from the south field. "I don't do that anymore."

"Good," her mother said. "Maybe you can go back to school and finish your rocktorate."

"And then when thou hath made a proper mare of yourself, the pairing stone will see fit to point thou towards a stallion," her father added.

"...I'm already seeing somepony," Maud said, looking down into her soup and not their eyes. Silence reigned at the table for a long minute.

"And you didn't think to bring him here?" Quartz frowned.

"I wasn't sure if you would approve of her," Maud admitted.

"A mare?" Marble asked, her voice squeaking. She blushed.

"And you didn't think to bring her here?" Quartz corrected, in the same disapproving tone she'd used when she'd thought it was a stallion.

"She's... different," Maud said. There were a great many things she could say about her marefriend. Different was the one that her family would understand best. "She's a showpony."

"Is she a criminal?" Quartz asked.

"No, Ma'am."

"And she makes you happy?"

"Yes, Ma'am."

"Fine," Quartz said. And that was that. Maud had expected that she'd have to defend herself, make a lot of explanations, she'd even made peace with the idea that she might have to choose between her family and her marefriend. She hadn't expected it to just be fine.

That worried her a little. Everything was too fine. It wasn't the kind of fine you got when things were at peace. It was the kind of fine you got when things were so bad that the problems you were bringing to the table just weren't important.

"Pinkie is doing well," Maud said, as they started eating again.

"We're very proud of your sister," Quartz said. "Even with her... unusual lifestyle." They weren't entirely sure that it was proper for her to be living with a married couple, especially since Pinkie Pie didn't seem to pay rent. They were still happy for her, even if the topic of grandfoals was as dangerous as a field of fire rubies after an earthquake.

"She's happy," Maud noted.

"And that is all any of us can hope for," Igneous said. "It hath pleased me to work here on our land, but I do not want any of thou to feel trapped by it. I would be satisfied if thou all left the farm as long as thou left it doing something that thou enjoyed."

Maud almost dropped her spoon. She'd never heard her father like this before. He was as solid as, well, a rock. Not like slate or pumice, either, but one of the really tough rocks, like flint.

"Yeah right," Limestone snorted. "I'm not leaving. This is going to be my farm someday."

"Igneous, what's wrong?" Quartz asked. "This isn't like you."

"We hath had dangerous visitors to the farm. I fear for thy safety."

Limestone looked at Maud.

"I am not referring to thy sister. She drove them away. While I do not approve of her methods, her heart is in the right place."

"Whatever," Limestone grumbled. "I'm going to go work on the south field. The rocks need to be turned. Come on, Marble."

"Maud, go with thy sisters," Igneous said. "Keep them safe."

Maud nodded and got up, leaving her parents to clean up and discuss, quietly, the future.

"I don't need your help," Limestone said.

"I know," Maud replied. She flipped over a boulder anyway. There was an understanding between them. Limestone didn't need help, so she'd never ask for it. Maud didn't offer help and just did things on her own, even if coincidentally they made things easier for her sister. Limestone didn't complain, much, and didn't thank her either.

"Mm." Marble hummed, as she worked on the smaller stones, making sure they were all turned. It was a very detail-oriented job and it took a keen eye to make sure that the right stones were turned. Marble was the best at it. She never seemed to make a mistake, and moved at what seemed like a slow pace until you left her alone for a while and came back to find that she'd worked an entire field when you weren't looking.

Maud found the work relaxing. The repetition let her work without having to think too much. A rock farm was easier to manage than a more traditional plot, as long as you didn't mind the heavy lifting.

There was a crack of thunder. Maud looked up. It didn't look like a storm. The sky above was filled with clouds, slowly circling in a lazy spiral. The twisted laylines trapped them, though it rarely actually rained. They were just loose, wild scraps of cloud that covered up the blue in a quilted shroud.

Limestone screamed.

Maud was on her in seconds. Limestone was clutching her leg, and there was already blood dripping from a wound going right through her right hind leg, like she'd been shot with a crossbow - with no sign of the bolt. Had she already torn it out?

Marble looked between Maud and Limestone, breathing heavily and about to faint.

Maud tore a strip from her dress and tied it tightly around Limestone's leg like a bandage, trying to keep pressure on it.

"We need to get her back to the house," Maud said. "Did you see what happened?"

Marble shook her head.

There was another crack of thunder, and sparks flew from the rock next to Maud's hooves. Maud froze and looked up. There was a pony walking towards them, carrying something like a hand crossbow crossed with a clock. She didn't know what it was, except that it was a weapon. Even if Limestone wasn't hurt, the way he was carrying it spoke volumes.

"Run," Maud said. She put Limestone on Marble's back. "Back to the house. Don't look back."

Marble opened her mouth to say something, then nodded and bolted, only slightly slowed by Limestone's weight.

Maud saw the weapon rise, pointing towards the fleeing ponies, and moved with the speed of a snake, raising her hoof with the same precise motion she used to deflect crossbow bolts.

Something hit her shoe and she felt the metal bend. There was a sharp pain as her hoof cracked, and she stumbled. She hadn't even seen the bolt. It had been pure luck that she'd managed to block it.

There was another crack, less than a second later. Marble gasped and fell, Limestone tumbling from her back. Marble curled up around her stomach, shaking hooves wrapped around her body.

Maud charged the armed pony. She had to remove the threat before she could help. A fifth crack, and she felt something slam into her chest, spinning her around and sending her to the ground.

"Mister Irons sends his regards," the pony said. The same stupid thug from before. If she'd followed her instincts and twisted his head off, her family wouldn't have gotten hurt. She tried to get up, her breath ragged and painful.

The weapon tilted down to point at her head. There was a click.

"A dud?" The thug asked. "Well, guess it's your lucky day. Tell your parents that they're evicted. If they ain't out of here by tomorrow, they'll be here permanently, in neat little holes."

He kicked her and left. Maud crawled towards Marble and Limestone. Her vision had turned into a tunnel, focused only on her sisters. She had to get to them, and make sure they were safe.

Somepony grabbed her shoulder. She tried to fight them off.

"Lie still," her father said. "I have thou."

Maud looked up, and in the sudden relief of knowing that somepony was there to help, she let go, passing out.

Maud woke up. It wasn't a slow awakening. She wasn't disturbed by odd dreams. Her parents didn't have the kind of painkillers and medicines needed to turn agony into psychedelic delirium while a pony healed. Instead, the moment she started to wake, the pain forced her to full alertness.

"Thou art awake?" Her father asked. He must have heard her stirring.

"Yes," Maud said, her throat dry.

"I am sorry for involving thou in this," her father said. "We art leaving tonight. Thy sisters need to go to the hospital lest their wounds prove fatal."

Maud nodded.

"I am not a dishonorable stallion," her father continued. "But I feel as though I am running away and letting the ponies that tried to end my family do what they want. Can there be any greater shame?"

Maud listened, not saying anything yet.

"Maud, these ponies hurt thou and thy sisters and there is nothing I can do about it."

"Have you gone to the Guard?" Maud asked. She felt stupid for saying it. Somepony with her long list of crimes should never tell somepony to run to the authorities. It might give them ideas, like about turning in an assassin for her own good.

"I believe thou hath already met the local guards, though they were out of uniform at the time." Igneous said. "Corporal Slugger and Private Louie. Brothers."

"...They're working as muscle on the side," Maud noted. So the locals wouldn't be any help, and there was no easy way to get word to anypony higher up, not that her father would know who to trust. Who could say how high up the ladder the corruption went? Trying to get help could be more dangerous than the trouble you were already in.

Well, there was one pony she knew wasn't corrupt. She wasn't sure if she was quite willing to go to Shining Armor and ask for his help, though. He'd want to do something stupid like arrest the ponies who had hurt Marble and Limestone.

"Get out of town for a few days," Maud said. "Go to Ponyville. Visit Pinkie. They have a good hospital there." She'd used it herself a few times. They were very keen on doctor-patient confidentiality.

Igneous nodded. "Maud, remember that killing is a stain on thy soul. There is always a better way. Finding that better way has eluded me so far, but I hope that thou proveth wiser than I."

"I'll let you know when you can come back," Maud replied. "Can you bring me some water and something to eat? I need to keep my strength up."

Her family had left quickly after that, leaving the ancient farmhouse empty and silent. Maud ate the beans her mother had made for a dinner that wouldn't be served and sipped at a cup of lukewarm tea. While she worked her way through the meal, she evaluated her wounds.

Her hoof was wrapped up in bandages, and it was a little sore, but she could ignore that. If it came to fighting she'd probably regret it later, but if she was careful not to aggravate it too much it would heal on its own in a few days.

The chest wound was more concerning. She'd been lucky. Very lucky. The shot had hit her ribs instead of going right through her. She could feel something lodged in there, irritating and painful with every breath. She unwrapped the bandages and used a clean knife from the kitchen to carefully remove it, changing the bandages afterwards.

It was a little lead slug, the size of a marble. With how much damage it had done, it had to have been going incredibly quickly. It explained why she hadn't been able to stop it with her hoof.

He'd fired five times, then left when the sixth hadn't worked. Since he'd left, the weapon must take a long time to reload, longer than a crossbow. And it wasn't completely reliable. Incredibly loud, too. A weapon for terror, not for a professional.

Maud waited for night to fall before she left the house, a plan forming as she walked into the small hamlet near the train station.

"I'm telling you, it still hurts," Louie complained, as he limped around the small Guard post. "I swear that mule put it back wrong."

"Well she got hers. Bronze went out there today with the gun and put the fear of Mister Irons in them," Slugger said. "She's in worse shape than you are, if she ain't dead."

"That gun thing gives me the creeps," Louie muttered. "It's gotta be some kind of magic."

"Mister Irons says it's just alchemy."

"So was that stuff you bought from those two unicorn brothers and that did not work as advertised. Bigger in three days or your money back my ass. It did the bloody opposite of what it was supposed to!"

"You were a pretty cute mare until it wore off, though."

"I told you not to talk about that!"

"You brought it up!" Slugger said, raising his hooves defensively. Before Louie could yell at him again, there was a knock on the door. Slugger got up and walked over to it, and the moment he touched the doorknob, it was blown inwards by a kick that sent the doorknob into his forehead and knocked him to the ground with a concussion.

"Knock, knock," Maud said, flatly.

Louie went for a weapon, and then things went poorly for him.

"Slugger said they left on the evening train to Ponyville," Bronze said. "So there you go, Dad. I told you I'd get them out of there."

Mister Irons was the second-largest landowner in the area. The largest, if one didn't count the Pie family. He was a big pony, built like a train and just about as strong. He also tended to run in straight lines right over anything in his path.

His mansion was the only house in a hundred miles in any direction that didn't have a thatched roof. It wouldn't have been out of place in Canterlot. It was his own little castle, and just about as well protected.

"Good," Irons said, looking over the map. "We'll get the surveyors out there in a couple days. Then we can lay th' foundations for the biggest casino outside of Los Pegasus."

"And it's legal?"

"Sure. The farm was the key to the whole place. Used to be where the local lord lives, and the deed says whoever owns the land gets to pass local laws. We'll write up a title change with my lawyers, send the family some bits, and it'll look all nice and legal. If they don't like it, they can always disappear. Ponies do that, sometimes."

"It's just a good thing we had the gun, boss," Bronze said, patting the weapon in its holster, slung under one foreleg. "That one mare was crazy."

Irons frowned. "Whattaya mean?"

"Boss!" yelled a pony, rushing into the room in a panic. "We got trouble. Something happened down at the guard post in town. You gotta see it."

"Buck me," Irons swore, as he looked in the door. He wasn't going inside. He could see well enough from out on the front porch. Slugger and Louie weren't going to be taking bribes again anytime soon. Somepony had bound them with their own hoofcuffs and hung them by their tails from the roof. They weren't dead, but they'd probably be in traction for a while.

"Get us down from here," Louie said, weakly. "I'm gonna throw up..."

"It had to be that crazy mare," Bronze muttered. "Leave 'em. Snooker, Cueball, keep an eye out. She might still be hanging around." The two thugs nodded and got into good spots for watching the streets around the building. At this time of night it was mostly dead outside. A owl hooted from one of the twisted scrubland trees and made Bronze almost jump out of his skin.

"What was her name?" Irons asked, quietly, getting a sinking feeling.

"How in Tartarus should I know, Dad?" Bronze thought for a few long moments. "I think I heard her dad call her Maud when we were leaving after the first time."

"Maud?" Irons asked. "Maud Pie? They're that Pie family?!"

"What's the big deal?" Bronze asked, shrugging.

"You idiot! Maud Pie is a professional assassin! She's killed more ponies than some wars!" Irons started pacing. "You coltcuddling idiot! You shot her family and then didn't even have the sense to finish her off!"

"We've still got the gun," Bronze said. "I'll just get her next time."

"You'd better," Irons hissed. "Otherwise we're all dead."

"She can't be that bad, Dad," Bronze assured his father. "She's just one mare."

"Just one mare," Irons muttered. "Snooker, Cueball, we're heading back to the house-" he stopped. "Where's Snooker?"

Cueball and Bronze turned to where Irons was looking. The spot that Snooker had been standing in was vacant. Bronze drew the gun and carefully made his way over, staying well out in the open where nopony could get the drop on him.

"There's no sign of him," Bronze said, after a moment. "He's just gone."

"So are we," Irons stated. "We're going back to the house, then in the morning we're hunting her down."

"Right," Bronze agreed. "We'll just stick together and keep an eye out. She can't ambush all of us."

The three moved as a group, Bronze in front with the gun, Cueball in back, and Irons wisely in the middle where Maud would have to kill somepony else before getting to him.

Bronze spotted movement out of the corner of his eye. He spun and took a wild shot, the bullet vanishing into darkness.

"Buck!" Irons yelled. "You idiot! You gotta save it for when we can see the mule!"

"I thought I did see her!" Bronze protested. Irons shoved him forwards. He grumbled and took a few more steps before somepony moved in the darkness right in front of him. Bronze fired twice, and at this range he could hardly miss. Both shots struck true, and his target fell to the ground.

"Did you get her?" Cueball asked.

"I plugged that-" Bronze's smirk fled as he got closer to what he'd been shooting and got a look through the gloom at just what it was.

A log rolled slowly in a circle, two holes punched through it, the hot lead still smoking.

"No no no..." Bronze muttered, looking around. "Come out here and fight fair, you bucking mule!"

"Look at this bucking genius son of mine," Irons growled. "Demands that an assassin he personally wronged comes out and fights him. Cueball, keep an eye out in case she tries sneaking up behind us."

"No problem, boss. I got eyes in the back of my-" Cueball had been about to say head, but he was cut off when a rock hit him between the eyes and he responded by hitting the ground. The ground didn't seem to notice, nor would Cueball be noticing anything for a few minutes.

Bronze fired again. The bullet hit something in the darkness and sprayed sparks, like flint against steel.

"You hurt my family," Maud said, from somewhere in the shadows. Her voice seemed to be coming from all around them.

"Keep the damn farm!" Irons yelled. He knew how much a life was worth. His, in particular, was worth whatever it took to avoid the reaper. "Just walk away and we'll forget this whole bucking mess!"

"Do you know what it's like when somepony hurts your family?"

Bronze took careful aim and shot. The bullet rebounded again, like he was shooting at a wall of iron.

"You will," Maud promised. A plow was thrown out of the darkness, two dents visible on the iron surface where it had deflected bullets. Bronze screamed as it hit him and knocked him over, the gun falling from his hoof and sliding along the ground, stopping right in front of grey hooves.

"Oh no," Bronze whispered. Maud picked up the gun and trotted over to him, limping slightly.

She raised the gun, pointed it between his eyes- and pointed it to the side, firing into the air.

"Six shots," she noted. "It's just a toy now." Bronze looked relieved, until Maud flipped the gun around so she was holding the barrel and slammed the butt down on his knee.

The gun broke. So did the leg it hit. Maud tossed the remains aside, the gun falling apart. Gears and springs tinkled as they scattered across the street. Bronze fell to his side, almost passing out from the pain.

"Stop it!" Bronze yelled. He looked at his father.

Irons glared into Maud's eyes, ignoring his son.

"You dumb-" Irons used a word which is difficult to translate from the original Prench, but if there was a proper translation, the power of the swear would have been enough to make flowers wilt. "If they'd just taken the money and left none of this would have happened!"

"There are things more important than money," Maud said.

"Like what? A farm that can't even turn a profit?" Irons demanded. "Rock farms are pointless! A decent Diamond Dog mine can shift ten times the volume!"

"I'm not here to debate," Maud said, calmly. She put a hoof on Bronze's head. "My father wanted me to stop killing, but I don't know if there's another way out of this situation."

"Dad, make her stop!" Bronze yelled, as the pressure slowly increased.

"The thing about killing is that it's incredibly difficult. The first time. You look into a pony's eyes and watch the light just fade away, and something inside you dies, too."

"Dad!" Bronze squeaked.

"It gets easier every time, though," Maud continued.

"Let him go," Irons whispered, his voice catching in his throat, stuck in a tug-of-war between fury and fear.

"I could probably put my hoof right through him until I hit the cobblestones," Maud noted. "How important is family to you, Mister Irons? It's important to me."

"You made your point. Let him go," Irons took a half step forwards.

"Royal guards are on the way," Maud said. "I sent a message to Captain Shining Armor. He doesn't take bribes, and threats don't work."

"So what?" Irons snapped, fury finally winning. "My lawyers will have me out by lunchtime, and if you don't get away from my son right now, I'm gonna make sure that you ain't around to see it happen!"

"That's what worries me," Maud said. "I don't think you're smart enough to stop on your own."

Irons charged her. She'd seen it coming from miles away. Maud raised her hoof and punched Irons in the chest. The sound was like a shovel hitting wet concrete. He fell next to his son, blood streaming from his mouth.

Bronze screamed. Maud dragged him up to his hooves.

"My sisters are in the hospital because of you," Maud said, meeting his terrified gaze with her blank, empty stare. She tossed him back to the ground, on top of his father. "I'd start running if I was you. I'll give you a head start since you hurt your leg."

"Knock knock," Maud said, tapping on the doorframe to the hospital room. Marble and Limestone were resting safely. Pinkie had been smart about things - there was a big stallion standing guard outside the room, just in case.

"It's well that you're in health," her father said, stiffly.

"The farm is safe," Maud said. "You won't be bothered again. I made sure."

"I understand," her father said. He wouldn't thank her. Not for what she'd done in the end.

"The Royal Guard are going to be staying around for a while, so I don't know if I can visit again," Maud continued. "Most of the ponies who were involved are going to prison, and without a leader they won't come back together-"

"Maud," Her father said quietly, cutting her off. "It's unnecessary to go into detail." He meant that he didn't want to hear about what she'd had to do. Especially not in front of Maud's sisters.

Maud nodded.

"Have the doctor take a look at those wounds," he said, after a moment of silence. "It would be wise to make use of the hospital while thou are in it."

Maud nodded again. She looked at her sleeping sisters. "They'll be okay?"

Her father was quiet for a worryingly long moment. "Limestone will likely always walk with a limp. She almost lost her leg."

"And Marble?"

"She will recover. Her wounds were more severe, but the doctors here saved her. It may be months before she can eat solid food again."

"That's-" Maud wasn't sure what the right word was. It wasn't good. Nothing that had happened had been good. But it could have been worse. They were alive, and that had to be enough for today. She settled for nodding, not finishing the sentence when a word hadn't presented itself.

"Your mother is visiting Pinkie Pie and the Cake family," her father noted. "Thou should see her before thou leave." And that was that. A dismissal. Very polite, just a suggestion of what to do next, but also as firm as the rock that they worked.

"I will. Be well." She left to find a doctor. Her father was right. She would be unwise not to have her wounds examined by a professional. He was also right that she couldn't stay in town.

Later, Maud walked out of town, along a path that went through the Whitetail Woods and skirted the Everfree. Compared to the infertile scrubland around her family's farm, the land here did its best to cover the rock. A thick layer of loam covered the bedrock below. The water table was near the surface here, and she could feel it below her, a cold sensation like damp clothing.

The laylines here were straight and firm, like a spider web stretching to infinity. Maud could feel it in her hooves. A tranquil, calm web below her, the sea of rock and dirt at peace here. It would have been a terrible place for a rock farm, without the tension and energy of the twisted laylines of home.

Maud got to the crest of the next hill, one of the many foothills on the path away from Canterlot, and looked over the plains before her, stretching all the way to the horizon. The path split here, one way going out into the wide plains, the other continuing at the edge of the woods. It was impossible to see where either would end up, from here. They might even, despite appearances, end up joining back together.

Maud stood for a long time, deciding between the shadowy path near the woods and the open, exposed way through the fields. Neither one was well-traveled, and there weren't signs to guide her on the way.

After a while, she made her choice.

"...Most of the ponies suffered varying degrees of blunt-force trauma," Shining Armor continued. Celestia listened intently, her tea cooling and untouched. "Several have confessed, but they've been coerced, so it might not stand up in court."

"Convene a special session and I'll deal with it personally, Captain," Princess Celestia said.

"A special session? But they have the right to-"

She raised a hoof, cutting him off. "I am the absolute ruler of this country, Captain Armor. I could order them imprisoned for no reason at all. But I won't. This will be a special session due to the circumstances, not the secret trial and obulette that you are imagining."

Shining Armor sighed and put the file he'd been reading on her desk.

"And what about the Pie family?" He asked.

"They're victims, as one can plainly see."

"Your highness, four ponies are in the hospital and two are missing, presumed dead. Revenge killing is still murder."

Celestia picked up her teacup, spinning it around and looking into it. "You know, Captain, you're an interesting pony. You're worried about my personally intervening in a trial, but you want to arrest the victims of attempted murder."

"They need to be brought in for questioning, at least. Maud Pie is a killer."

"Ah, I understand," Celestia said. "It's a sentiment that I haven't heard in some time, Captain, so you'll have to forgive me. I try to live in the present, a skill an immortal has to cultivate to stay part of society, and the notion that a family carried the burden of each other's sins didn't occur to me for a few moments."

"I'm not saying they're killers too," Shining Armor said, quickly. "But they had to know what was going on. We'd arrest a pony if they had a vicious animal that mauled somepony."

"Family members aren't dogs, Captain Armor. Sometimes they do things you disagree with, things you can't condone or forgive. They're still your family, and you love them despite that." She sighed. "Even when no one else does."