Ponyville (Three days prior to departure)
Ponyville, a small quaint little town. Nestled between Canterlot and the Everfree Forest, its
buildings were that of a medieval sort. A typical home consisted of timber-frames and
thatched roofs. Brisk yet cordial, as the rest of Equestria descended into chaos Ponyville
retained a lustrous glow of jubilance. Some believed it was due to not suffering a single
incident, while others said it was the Elements of Harmonies presence that kept the ponies
in high spirits, most believe the two were connected. Regardless of the reason, Ponyville was
in an especially joyous mood on this day.
The news spread through Equestria like wildfire. Once Celestia announced that the
murderers had finally been locked away, safe and sound in Canterlots dungeon. It only took a
matter of days for word to reach the furthest stretches of the land. From Apple Loosa to the
Crystal Empire, ponies all over rejoiced. They could finally leave their homes without the
ominous cloud of imminent death looming over them, replaced with the bright shining new
day. It seemed as if Equestria could finally go back to normal.
With such a cause for celebration, there had been an influx of orders at Sugarcube Corner,
Ponyvilles local bakery. A building that's outer appearance was reminiscent of the
confectionery treats it served. To meet these hefty demands, the frizzy-haired Pink pony
known as Pinkie Pie was darting about in preparation for the upcoming parties. Boxes stuffed
full of decorations and party supplies sat on tables and littered about the floor. At the sound
of the ovens buzzer, the peppy young earth pony removed its contents filling the air with the
sweet fragrance of freshly baked goods, before quickly replacing them with a fresh tray. It
seemed as if everypony in town was celebrating and Pinkie Pie was more than happy to
supply the festivities. Her labors continued from the time the sun rose until it was late in the
evening. It took nearly all day but she finally managed to finish her responsibilities. She was
just about ready to give herself a pat on the back for a job well done but there was still one
matter that needed tending too. However, before she could begin there was a knock at the
door.
"Coming!" She called inappropriately loud before making her way to the door. Choosing to
merrily bounce rather than plainly walking. Upon opening the door she found her friend
Fluttershy, a yellow pegasus waiting patiently on the other side. Currently accompanied by
her pet angel, the rabbit sat in a basket around her neck. His sagging eyes and faded
expression told Pinkie Pie he was feeling awfully under the weather.
"Hello Pinkie-" Fluttershy began but quickly stopped, tilting her head slightly too gaze into
the bakery. "Oh, I hope I'm not interrupting you."
"Of course not!" said Pinkie Pie happily. "You're right on time."
Pinkie Pie placed her hooves on Fluttershy's shoulders and before she knew it the earth
pony had drug her inside, sitting her down at the table before a towering white cake standing
before her. It stood in three circular layers sitting atop one another each one coated in white
frosting.
"It's lovely," Fluttershy commented.
"Yep." replied Pinkie Pie popping up next to her. "Mayor Mare insisted on going all out for
the party in the town hall, but it still needs decorating!" she announced cheerfully. "Wanna
help?"
"Gosh Pinkie, I'd love to, but it's angel." Fluttershy sorrowfully glanced down at the rabbit.
"Twilight was supposed to come with me to get some herbs for him, but I haven't seen her all
day." She couldn't stand watching Angel in such a state, he looked so pitiful as he wallowed
in his carrying basket. However all she could do was wait, as the herbs she needed could only
be found in the Everfree forest, but trekking through the enigmatic woods could be arduous
which is why Twilight had promised to accompany her along the way. "I was actually
wondering if you'd mind coming with me but, I can see you're really busy and-"
Pinkie Pie listened intently to Fluttershy speak, gathering some sprinkles, icing bottle and
everything else she'd need for decorating the cake all the while. She only took a pause when
she mentioned Twilight had missed out on helping her today.
"Wait a second!" she snapped. "Twilight had promised to help me organize the parties this
morning." She recalled mentioning the avalanche of orders to Twilight yesterday, and she
had promised to assist her. Despite her not showing, Pinkie Pie wasn't upset or even
hindered, she was versed in her job enough that she could handle it easily on her own.
"Twilight missed two appointments in one day!? Something seems fishy." she rubbed her
chin in deep thought.
"Well with everything that's going on, I'm sure she must be busy," Fluttershy assured but
Pinkie Pie wasn't so convinced. Twilight was far too organized, too coordinated to let two
appointments slip her mind in a single day. At least without saying anything to them.
"Maybe... or maybe Celestia's sent her out on a super secret mission, maybe she's out
battling a dragon or finding some ancient lost treasure or- " she listed off her outlandish
imaginings.
"I don't think-"
"Let's go find out." Pinkie Pie shouted, enthusiastically rising onto her hooves.
"Oh, uhm. I don't know if that's a good idea." Fluttershy lowered her gaze. "I'd hate to bother
her." her voice grew softer as she spoke. "Besides what about the cake?"
"I can handle it when I get back, won't take a second." As Pinkie Pie hopped over the boxes
of decorations littering the floor on her way out, Fluttershy glanced down to angel having a
coughing fit in the basket.
"It's ok, we'll get you feeling better soon." she comforted him. Just then Pinkie Pie appeared
behind her in a bright pink flash as she moved.
"Come on slow poke," she said practically pushing the yellow pegasus across the floor. "Let's go visit Twilight." The smile never left Pinkie Pies face but she was motivated by a genuine concern for her friend. While not as directly involved in Equestrian politics as the other Princesses, Twilight did play a key role and she wondered if the stress from recent events was beginning to take a toll on the young princesses mind.
Ponyville, Twilights Castle
Twilights Castle was only a short distance from Sugarcube corner. A purple stone keep that
sat atop a crystalline tree-like structure. Reaching higher than all other buildings, it silently
stood guard over the entire town. The two ponies ascended the golden stairs in their search
for their friend, only stopping to give Angel time for another fit of coughing.
"We'll get you some medicine, it's just going to be a little longer," Fluttershy told the rabbit.
She hoped this detour would have a swift end, at this point all she wanted was to get those
herbs for Angel even if she had to go herself.
"Twilight! Oh Twilight!" Pinkie Pie promptly knocked loudly upon the golden castle doors.
They stood patiently waiting for the doors to open, only to find themselves in anticipation for
minutes on end.
"Maybe she's not home?" Fluttershy suggested and Pinkie Pie prepared to knock again. Then
there was a slight twitch of the doorknob. Every few seconds the knob would twist ever so
slightly and seemingly as slow as it could. Once the knob turned as far as it could, the
rightmost door slide open about half an inch. In the space between them, a green slit eye
filled the slot.
"Phew." Spike, the young dragon who lived alongside Twilight blew a sigh of relief at seeing
the two familiar faces. "It's just you guys," he said happily opening the door to greet them.
The two ponies looked at each other puzzled before returning their attention to Spike.
"Uhm, is Twilight home?"
"Oh, uh, yeah." Spike almost seemed like the question took him off guard. "But uh, shes uh,
busy. With Princess stuff. You know how it is." Spike tried to seemed composed as he could
be but whatever his shaking voice was trying to hide his shivering scales gave away.
"Can we see her?" Pinkie Pie stuck her head in through the crack in the door while Spike did
his best to hold her back.
"Uh, no not right now. She's uh." Spike looked away seemingly scrambling for an excuse.
"She's too busy to see anyone right now."
"Well we were-" Fluttershy began but was cut off by Pinkie Pie.
"Ok, well if she's busy then we'll just be on our way." She wrapped a hoof around Fluttershy
and twisted around to leave. Spike closing the door behind them as they left the castle
doorstep
"But weren't we-"
"Did you see that!?"
"Uhh, see what?"
"The way Spike was acting?" Pinkie Pie twisted around to face the castle pulling Fluttershy
around with her. "Somethings going on in there," she stated looking at the castle through
squinted skeptical eyes. "And we're gonna find out what."
"Oh, I don't know if-" Fluttershy couldn't even get her point out before Pinkie Pie had drug
her back up the steps and knocked on the door.
"You keep Spike here," she said leaping over the right side of the railing, peaking her head
up, she moved her squinted eyes from side to side stealthily. "I'm going in." Pinkie Pie said
lowering herself to sleuth her way around the castle.
"Oh, uhm." Fluttershy thought aloud trying to think of what to say to distract Spike. Did she
even want to? Twilight and Spike are her friends and she didn't feel right deceiving them
while she let Pinkie Pie practically break into their home.
"Oh hey. Did you forget something?" Spike greeted her once again as he opened the door.
"Where'd Pinkie Pie go?" he asked. Fluttershy looked at him not sure what to say. She didn't
want to lie to him and say that Pinkie Pie was trying to slip inside the house with him
knowing but she also didn't want to upset Pinkie Pie by telling him. She didn't know what she
could say to him, leaving the conversation as nothing but awkward silence with Spike
standing in wait for her to speak as her eyes darted around while she tried to come up with
an answer.
As Fluttershy held Spikes attention at the front door. Pinkie Pie made her way around the
castle in search of a way inside. She redundantly had to sneak around the entire length of the
castle to find a window hanging open on the left side of the castle steps. Quietly as she could
she jumped up and grabbed hold of the window sill and pulled herself inside.
Managing to slip in unnoticed. The pink earth pony moved as a quick pink blur as she dashed
from object to object staying out of sight. She pressed on down the familiar halls of Twilights
castle only stopping when she took notice of an open door. Keeping herself low she tilted
her head letting one of her eyes take a glimpse inside.
What was strange about this particular door being open was that the castle only had three
occupants, so there was quite a bit of space left unused. This room, in particular, was mostly
left untouched. However, as Pinkie Pie inspected the room she could tell they had taken
sometime cleaning the room up. The walls and floors were blank but some furniture had
been added complete with a bed.
"Hm, is she expecting someone?" she asked herself placing a hoof to her chin. Before she
could ponder further she could hear a faint voice in the distance. Quiet as it was she could
instantly recognize it as her friend Twilights voice. She carefully followed the voice, noticing
some similarities. All of the excess rooms of Twilights castle had been turned into makeshift
bedrooms. "It's a slumber party!" Pinkie Pie threw her hoof up into the air in realization.
"Alright that should be the last of them." she heard Twilight say, her voice growing clearer as
Pinkie Pie got closer. She inspected the sixth room to find the purple Alicorn Princess putting
on the finishing touches of the last room.
"Twilight!" snapped Pinkie Pie. Twilight let out a surprised shriek before turning around. She
immediately noticed the run-down look on her friends face, especially in the bags under her
eyes.
"Oh hey Pinkie Pie," she said with an apprehensive look in her eyes. "When did you get
here?"
"Ok Twilight!" Pinkie Pie said accusingly, glaring at the Princess disapprovingly. Twilights
eyes fell, upset with herself as she was face to face with her friend's shameful look. "Why
didn't you tell me you were planning a slumber party!?" Pinkie Pie cheered leaping from the
ground with her hooves shaking in the air. "I totally woulda helped you clean up, and set up
the decorations, and plan the-"
"No Pinkie, it's not a slumber party," Twilight responded.
"Oh." Pinkie Pie came back down to the ground. "Well then, what is it?"
"Well, you see..." Twilight seemed to trail off as she searched for the words.
"You don't have somepony coming over you don't want us to know about do you?" Pinkie
leaned over Twilight with one eye widened as she prodded her for answers.
"No, it's nothing like that... it's just." Twilight assured. Pinkie Pie began to take note that
Twilight seemed to be acting rather nervous. She initially took it as her being tired, but her
words conveyed that it was something more.
"Hey, whats gotcha so down?" Pinkie Pie asked her voice taking on a less playful and more
comforting tone.
"You see it's just.." she couldn't bring herself to lie to her friend but she didn't want to reveal
the truth to her. She had locked herself away in the castle since getting the news from
Celestia. Partly to make preparations while also trying to find out a proper way to tell her
friends. Up until now, she had been trying to put it off until she knew exactly how to explain
the situation. In a way she was glad Pinkie Pie had shown up, it now forced her into revealing
it and deep down she knew the longer she put it off the harder it would be.
"Ok I'll tell you the truth, but not just yet," she said raising her head up. "Give me the rest of
today to prepare. Then let's get everypony together in the throne room in the morning. You
all need to hear this."
Twilights Castle, Throne Room(The next day)
It was a quiet morning in Ponyville, the suns light had only begun to peak over the horizon
and could barely be seen through the trees of the Everfree Forest, heating the white snowy
blanket that covered the ground. Normally a pony would be sleeping through these early
hours of the day however a certain group of five had to pull themselves from bed in order to
make it to their get together. They each recalled how late yesterday their friend Pinkie Pie
came to them informing them that Twilight was holding a meeting between the six of them
in the throne room first thing in the morning. It was a chore for most, all except for Applejack
whos upbringing had her waking at the crack of dawn since her youth.
"Good Mornin' everypony," she said as Spike opened the door for her. The rest of her
friends were each sitting on their designated thrones around the map that served as their
table. The other members of her group were still in the process of waking themselves up.
Rubbing their eyes or yawning while in wait for their host.
"Morning," grumbled Rainbow Dash as Applejack took a seat at the throne engraved with her
cutie mark.
"So anypony know what this is all about? Pinkie Pie?" She asked the pony who had delivered
the message to meet up in the first place. The pink earth pony sat with her head down on the
table snoozing away. She was especially drained of energy from a taxing day. After dealing
with work she then had to go and spread the word to each of her friends before helping
Fluttershy collect the herbs she needed. The poor pony was having trouble keeping herself
awake.
"Hm, Huh?" she suddenly snapped awake when Applejack questioned her.
"Well whatever it is I don't see why it couldn't wait until sunrise," said Rarity. The classy
white unicorn held a small mirror out in front of her to make sure her mane and makeup
was in order, worried she had overlooked something after waking up in such a drowsy state.
"Sudden changes in sleep is horrible for the complexion."
"Well If Twilight asked us to come it must be important," added Fluttershy.
The minutes rolled by until Twilight showed herself. She came into main room mustering a
smile as she saw her friends although the look in her eyes made it clear something had her
on edge. Every so often her eyelids would fall under the weight of her fatigue. Her mane and
tail were unkept which was out of place from the composed pony they knew her to be.
"Twilight, what happened? You look dreadful," asked Rarity who was ready to jump into
action with her mirror.
"Have you been up all night?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I'm ok. Really." Twilight assured. "But there is something I need to tell all of you, and I've
been putting it off too long," she said taking her seat.
"Is something wrong?" asked Fluttershy worried after seeing just how distraught Twilight
seemed to be.
"Well... It's just." Twilight started before looking at Spike for some support. He didn't seem
to have any answers as he only averted his gaze from her and scratched the back of his head
nervously.
"Twilight, whatever it is we promise we'll understand," said Rarity.
"Yeah so come on, spill it." Rainbow Dash insisted.
Twilight breathed heavily as she retrieved a letter and sat it on the table. She realized she
would have to come out with it. It's what she should have done from the beginning but
couldn't bring herself to do it.
"There is no easy way to say this so I'll come right out with it. I received this letter from
Celestia yesterday." Twilight then began to read the letter aloud for everypony to hear.
Deciding there wasn't better words to describe the situation than Celestia's own.
-Dear Twilight
I hope this letter finds you well, and I am sorry I cannot come and see you but I cannot leave
the castle in light of recent events. As I'm sure you have heard the enigmatic organization
that has been terrorizing Equestria has been defeated. The mastermind behind the attacks
has been dealt with but there is still a matter that needs tending too. A group of stallions
serving as his followers have been apprehended and are currently being kept in the Canterlot
dungeon undergoing subconscious interrogations by my sister. After much interrogation and
much more deliberation, we've come to the conclusion that they are not inherently to blame
for their actions. While we cannot ignore their involvement in carrying out these actions we
believe that they have a chance of rejoining our society and becoming normal citizens. That is
why I have decided to send them to stay in Ponyville under your care. Given the nature of
this matter, I ask that you try to keep it between only your closest friends. I realize this is a
heavy burden but if anypony is capable of undoing the damage their master has done and
teach them the ways of harmony it would be you. I understand that this sounds dangerous
but we are currently working on a solution to keep them under control, it should be ready
within the next few days and we will send them to Ponyville as soon as its ready. Even so, I
ask that you be on your guard while dealing with them. I know this sounds like a daunting
task but with your record for reformation, I have no doubt that you will succeed.
-Princess Celestia.
As Twilight read over the letter each of their spirits sank and they instantly understood why
Twilight had been so out of sorts. All the ponies sat silent for a moment looking to the others
uncertain of what to say until Pinkie Pie finally spoke up.
"Do you all know what this means?" she said softly. "We get to have a welcoming party!" she
shouted jumping up in excitement. Inappropriate as the idea sounded her friends knew she
was only trying to keep their spirits up. Yet Applejack still felt the need to sternly interject.
"We ain't throwing a party for a buncha criminal." She responded. "Twilight, she can't be
serious about this."
"She is," Twilight responded. "I'm sorry for missing all my appointments yesterday, but as
soon as I received this letter I got so busy cleaning the castle, scheduling and thinking of what
to do that everything just got away from me."
"Wow hold on." Rainbow Dash interrupted. "So you're telling me that Celestia's got a bunch
of ponies whose been going around tearing down buildings and cutting ponies limbs off and instead
of locking them up she's decided to send them here to live with you?" She asked out of
disbelief.
Twilights eyes rolled away as the rest of the ponies looked to her for an answer.
"Well, when you say it like that..."
"A group of stallions no less, honestly how does Celestia expect us to deal with a group of
such, savages?" asked Rarity.
"Twilight, I know Princess Celestia is just tryin' to do the right thing, givin' these ponies a
second chance but don't yah think this might be a tad bit much?"
"I know it sounds bad but Celestia wouldn't send them here unless she was certain that they
were capable of changing. So I think we need to give them a chance. " while her words
seemed certain there was dismay hidden behind them. She seemed to be battling with
herself. She trusted Celestia, almost to a fault but her own instincts had been sent into a
panic. These aren't normal criminals but murderers. Spending their days ripping ponies lives
away, reveling in the destruction they left behind as they tore the peaceful land of Equestria
apart.
"Even if Celestia believes that, I think we need to sit down an think about this," said
Applejack.
"Whats there to think about? Can't you just tell Celestia you don't want a bunch of psychos
living in your house?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I agree, there is no need to put you and every other pony in Ponyville in such a perilous
position," said Rarity.
Fluttershy had been sitting quietly, taking time to listen to each ponies thought on the issue.
She shared the same concerns as her friends did, they knew nothing of these strangers
beyond that they had committed the most heinous crimes imaginable and now they're being
sent to live in their town. At the same time, however, it didn't seem unfair to forsake these
ponies when they had never turned away a pony in need of reformation.
"I uhm." she started before nervously retracting her words, concerned about how her
friends would react. "I think, we should do it," she uttered. The statement drew her friends
attention as they looked at her. "Well, its just nopony believed in Discord and he changed, so
did Starlight and the Changelings."
"Well they never killed anypony," stated Rainbow Dash.
"Maybe not, but even after all they did Celestia thinks there's hope for them. That makes me
think theres more to them than just being criminals."
The others paused thinking it over once again.
"I suppose it isn't fair to judge them so harshly before we've even met," said Rarity.
"Well if its a request from the Princess, then I guess yah can't just turn it down anyways,"
Applejack added.
"Are you guys serious?" asked Rainbow Dash putting her hooves up on the table. "You all saw
those headlines from Canterlot, these ponies are obviously out of their minds, they're
dangerous," she stated.
"Well, the letter did say something about keeping them under control," said Fluttershy.
Twilight nodded.
"And if anything gets out of hand we can always use the elements of harmony." She added.
Rainbow Dash huffed realizing they had decided to go through with this. She was ready to
pack up and wait it out in Cloudsdale if it didn't mean leaving her friends to deal with it on
their own.
"Fine." she rested her head on her right hoof as her tail whipped back and forth irritably.
"Well Twi, we still think this plan might be one straw short of a haystack but if you're going
through with it, we're with yah."
"Thank you," said Twilight looking to each of them. "This may seem more extreme than
before but we just have to treat it like it was any other case and I'm sure we'll get through
this," she said reassuringly. Deafly silence fell over the room once again as nopony was sure
what to say next. The future seemed so uncertain. All they knew was that some of Equestria's
most infamous criminals, the ones that stalked the streets at night, the ones they feared
would climb in their window as they slept would now be welcomed right into their own
homes. It was an absolutely dreadful thought but they had to face this. No other ponies in
Equestria were capable of a reformation like this. They sat quietly until Pinkie Pie began to
look to each of them intent to lift their distressed spirits.
"So, I guess that is a no on the welcome party?" she asked.
"Something tells me these ponies aren't the partying type," said Rainbow Dash.
"Actually." Twilight thought deeply for a moment with a hoof to her chin. "I think that might
be exactly what we need." she smiled as the rest of them looked at her puzzled.
Ponyville(Present)
It took only a matter of hours for the zeppelin to reach Ponyville. A white arrow like ship
suspended in the air from an armored blue and purple balloon. It soared high in the sky,
casting a shadow over the small town before finally descending to touch down just off the
town proper.
"Alright everypony line up." the guard ordered. The brothers were forced into a single file
line as they stood in wait for the ramp to descend, forming their exit. "Move it!" he
commanded managing to usher them forward without the need for a persuasive shock. War
had to admit, he was thankful that the earth pony guard was much more lenient than his
unicorn counterpart. It seemed as if the unicorn used every word or action as an excuse to
give them a harsh punishment. Under the care of the earth pony, they were given room to
move and speak as long as they didn't get too out of line.
A cold rush passed over them as they stepped outside into the chilling winter air. The
unicorn guard led the group down the steps as the earth pony following close behind to keep
the brothers stuck between them. Everything moved smoothly until it was finally Deaths turn
to leave the ramp. The instant Death reached the bottom of the ramp, his entire body tensed
locking him in place.
"C'mon whats the holdup!?" barked Disaster as him, Madness and their guard were halted
behind him. Death didn't answer. He stood in place, eyes as wide as they could be fixated on
the ground before him.
"What are you waiting for? Get him moving." said the unicorn.
"Give him a second." his partner responded.
War seized the moment the guard granted him. Bending down onto his front hooves to
Deaths level.
"You're ok Death, nothings gonna hurt you," he said but it seemed to be of no use. Death was
stuck in a lock, staring at the ground as if entranced by some horrific sight. Pestilence rolled
his eyes, it was an annoying roadblock but on the other hoof, he didn't cherish the thought of
reaching their destination. He turned his attention away from that and took note of his other
brother Despair. He had wondered off a decent distance and seemed to be in a world all his
own. His eyes wandering in every direction as he took in his new surroundings.
It took Pestilence a moment to realize that this was a completely new experience for
Despair. Standing in the light of day with the feeling of the wind blowing against him. It must
be like stepping into an entirely new world.
"Havin' fun?" Pestilence asked taking a step towards him. His younger brother began to rake
away the soft white blanket on the ground until quickly retracting it after experiencing the
freezing touch of snow.
"Something like that," he commented. Despair placed a hoof on a nearby tree trunk taking in the
sensation of the bark rubbing against his hoof. "So this is a tree," he said to himself as he
turned his gaze up to the leaves above. "I imagined they'd be taller." He took his hoof down
and placed it firmly on the ground. Turning his attention to the town of Ponyville nearby.
"And those are buildings, I definitely imagined them bigger." he chuckled. The homes
seemed so small compared to the compound he had spent his life in. They were so small he
couldn't imagine more than four or five rooms per house. A far cry from the numerous
chambers and rooms he was used to. "I never realized the compound was so roomy" He
looked upon the town with hesitant vigor. Ponies could barely be seen slipping past
buildings as they wondered about their business. "I must admit, even if we're still prisoners
I'm excited to see what the world has in store for us." he smiled but Pestilence just looked on
apathetically. "Well that's enough of that, I shouldn't be contemplating existence while
Deaths in distress."
"Whatever you say." Pestilence shrugged not even sure what he meant by that.
"How's he doing?" he asked. "In need of another sedative?" he suggested even though
Canterlot had relieved him of his medical supplies.
It seemed that in those moments Death had snapped from his stupor but still wasn't any
closer to moving.
"I-I can't," he said nervously.
"Five seconds and I'm pushing." Disaster grunted from behind.
"Just don't look at the ground, can't be scared of it if you can't see it right!" Suggested
Madness.
"You don't want him to shock you again do you?" War asked, extending a supportive hoof. "If
you don't hurry then they'll shock you again," he said bluntly. Death took some time to
compose himself before grabbing onto War who helped him along.
"Finally." Disaster growled quietly. With Death out of the way, the group could all reconvene
on the ground. The brothers got their first look of Ponyville, the town that would be serving
as their home. Most of them had traveled all across Equestria in order to perform their duties
to Cross but this was their first time in the pleasant little town. It wasn't quite as impressive
as Manehatten, or as rural as Dodge City. It found itself somewhere in between.
"So now where are we off to?" asked Despair.
"Give ya one guess." Pestilence said eyeing the castle that peaked up over the other town
buildings. With its staggering height and beautifully crystalline design, it appeared as if the
building had been plucked from the crystal empire and dropped into town.
They remained information as the guards escorted them through town. It was filled with
ponies of all races, colors and sizes. Roaming the streets happily, each going about their
business. Filling the cold air with laughter and conversation.
"So who exactly is this Princess we're being assigned to?" asked Despair.
"Keep your voice down." said the unicorn leading them. "We're trying to remain
inconspicuous.
"I think you threw that out the window when you landed an airship next door." Pestilence
remarked.
"You weren't the only ponies on the zepellin who were coming to Ponyville, with luck we'll
just blend into the crowd."
Their plan didn't seem to be working. Everypony in Ponyville dropped whatever they were
doing to inspect them as they passed. Even amongst the crowd, the brothers stood out. From
Wars imposing stature, to Despairs sunken black eyes, Madnesses razor teeth or Deaths
expressive flowing mane, they each stood out. Their armored escorts only making them more
obvious.
"Anyways, if you must know the Princess of Friendship has become a prominent figure in
Equestria as of late." the unicorn said in a hushed tone trying his best not to make eye contact
with any of the ponies around them.
"Can't be too important, or we'd of killed her." Pestilence snickered earning him one a shock,
a weak quick one. The earth pony didn't want him making a scene in the town square.
"You'd be wise to think carefully when talking about royalty," he warned him.
"Yeah, yeah." Pestilence shook it off.
Once they reached their destination the earth pony guard joined the unicorn at the top of
the steps to face the brothers below them.
"Alright listen up." the earth pony addressed them, his eyes narrowed harshly and voice as
serious as it could be. "You're about to be turned over to Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of
Friendship. She's a civil and understanding Princess but make no mistake. She takes her
position seriously so don't go expecting any leniency. You will be just as much a prisoner
under her as you were with Celestia. Your stay in Ponyville will be a long trek of discipline,
this will not be an enjoyable experience, its a very serious undertaking so prepare yourselves
for an arduous road to reformation."
After the small speech, the brothers ascended the stairwell to follow them inside. Upon
opening the door they were meet with an unexpected greeting.
The blaring sound of cannon fire erupted, sending confetti to every inch of the floor. The
smell of snacks and freshly baked pastries rolled over them like a wave. The castles main hall
was festively decorated with a large banner hanging overhead with a sparkling "WELCOME!"
written across hit.
"Welcome!" the castles seven occupants recited, some much less cheerful than others.
The unicorn guard was overcome with a mix of irritation and confusion. He looked to his
partner who stood stiff and straight-faced as if everything he had said didn't just fizzle away.
The brothers were behind them in the doorway each looking as confused as the guards apart
from Death who scurried behind War for protection as soon as the canons went off.
"I love this place already!" laughed Madness throwing his hooves up, giving them a large
razor-sharp smile.
"You can't be serious." snapped the unicorn stepping forward but his partner held out a hoof
to stop him.
"Princess Twilight," he said. "I do hope you understand the gravity of the situation."
"Yes, I do." Twilight stepped forward. Smiling with confidence in her decision despite the
guards showing they were clearly displeased. "Regardless, we wanted to make sure they felt
welcomed to Ponyville just as we would any other pony."
"That's noble of you but-"
"But these aren't normal ponies." interrupted the unicorn. "They're cold, heartless, cutthroat
criminals," he grunted.
"Standing right here," mumbled Pestilence.
"While I agree with my comrade on this, I shall stand by your decision." the earth pony
bowed his head slightly as the unicorn could only turn away with a huff. "Now then, onto the
matter of the prisoners." The guards stepped out of the doorway giving them a full view of
the restrained ponies. "As you can see they are each wearing a collar. Not only do they keep
their powers in check but they'll keep their actions in check."
"Powers?" asked Twilight. The two guards averted their gaze from her as they recalled the
awful memories from the compound.
"While attempting capture, they displayed abilities beyond their races. They're certainly
dangerous but don't worry. It's nothing to worry about now." he assured. The earth pony held
out his hoof equipped with the rings that gave him control over the brothers. "The collars
prevent them from taking any action their controller deems unnecessary, so even if they
could use their powers the collars would stop them before they have a chance to hurt
somepony. And so, I will now turn them over to you Princess." The top ring snapped off his
hoof, drifting through the air until finally reattaching on the front hoof of the Princess.
She brought her arm up to inspect the brace. It was cold to the touch and just tight enough to
be uncomfortable, but obviously, efficiency came first.
"Should any of them act out of line or wander out of a certain range, the collar will
administer a paralyzing shock. However, you can also command it to do so manually. Would
you like try it out?" offered the earth pony.
"That won't be necessary," Twilight responded.
"Don't let your guard down." Warned the unicorn. "They're crafty and will do anything to get
out."
"Don't worry, we'll be careful." She assured him. The guards glared to one another, still
unconvinced that this was the right thing to do. Either way, it was up to Princess Twilight
now.
"Since you have everything you need, we best report back to Canterlot." said the earth pony
pulling away as he returned to the door with his partner following behind. "We wish you the
best of luck Princess, be careful," he said.
"Thank you," Twilight replied as they shut the door behind them leaving the two groups
alone inside. The brothers were a bizarre sight, while some more otherworldly than others
there was something about each of them that wasn't quite right. Initially, after the guards
departed the room fell into a rather awkward silence. It seemed nopony was eager to step up
and initiate the conversation. Seeing as nopony wanted to speak, War naturally took it upon
himself to take charge and at least introduce them. He prepared to step forth however it
seemed the Princess had decided to take the initiative.
"So uhm, you're the uh..." she paused trying to find the right words.
"The murderers." Rainbow Dash finished. Her statement returned the room to its state of
silence. It wasn't until Pestilence, surprising stepped forward to speak.
"Yeah. Guess that's our bad," he said it so casually it might have been humorous if it didn't
feel so insulting. "Look I'm sure you have all kinds of 'fun' things planned for us but,"
Pestilence took a deep breath, still in deep pain even though he was doing his best not to
show it. A painful heat still lingered in his muscles from the terrible shock he had endured
earlier. "I've had a really long day, so I'm just gonna call it a night. If somepony could show me
where I'll be sleeping that'd be great." Wars let his ears down, relieved. He was worried
Pestilence was about to say something to antagonize them and just make the situation
worse.
Twilight took a moment to think. She could tell by looking at him how fatigued he was. He
appeared to be struggling to hold his eyes open and his legs were shaking. She had no qualms
with letting the pegasus rest. Spending all that time in a dungeon, going on trial, and possibly
suffering from any of the shocks. She could understand him needing some rest. But then she
had to remind herself she was dealing with a murderer. A murderer who had spent the last
few years slaughtering and kidnapping Equestrian citizens. As much as she didn't like the idea
of leaving him alone after only a few minutes, she realized she had to eventually and forcing
him to stay when he seemed to be on the verge of collapsing wasn't a good impression. She
told herself it would be fine. As long as the collar was around his neck it wouldn't allow him
to escape, even if she wasn't there to witness it.
"Ok." Twilight agreed. "We have some bedrooms made up for each of you upstairs, I'll show
you the way." She turned her head to look at her friends. "While I'm gone, you all should try
and get acquainted," she instructed.
"Do we have to?" groaned Rainbow Dash. Applejack gave her a quick nudge, reminding her
they needed to at least try and make this work.
"After you." Said Pestilence. Twilight took her leave, Pestilence dragging himself behind her
as she showed him to his new quarters and within seconds the group was out of sight.
"She seems nice." commented Despair. Then in seemingly a blink of an eye, the blue
pegasus mare was in the air and mere inches from their face.
"Ok listen here." she started. "If any of you do anything, anything! To hurt Twilight or
anypony else. I'll-"
"Alright Alright, that's enough." Applejack interrupted. "I don't think that's what Twilight
meant by 'get acquainted'." Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes as she descended to the floor.
"Don't worry," said War. "We realize we are in no position to fight back, you have nothing to
fear from us." He bowed his head slightly trying to hold onto the respectful diplomatic
persona he had been displaying.
"Pft speak for yourself..." Disaster huffed. He turned away, isolating himself in a lonely space
away on one side of the room.
"If anything we're thankful for you showing us such hospitality." War continued. "We
certainly weren't expecting a welcoming party."
"Indeed, so what are we suppose to do at one of these parties?" asked Despair rubbing his
hooves through the colorful stringy bits of paper on the ground. Confetti maybe a normal
celebratory tradition, he found it quite odd that a pony would willingly pollute their own
floor.
His question gave Pinkie Pie the chance she needed to leap into action. With such an
argumentative atmosphere she had been waiting for a good chance to jump in and lighten
the mood. This was a party after all.
"Oh we do lots of stuff, like dance, eat cupcakes and play all sorts of games." she zipped up
to the group, jumping up and down as she spoke.
"Games!" Madness snapped. "I like games! What kind of games do you play?" He seemed to
be the only one in the room able to match her excitement.
"I'll show you pin the tail on the pony, it's my favorite." She hastily pranced off with Madness
giddily following behind.
From there they each seemed to break off, neither group seemed interested in mingling
with the other. Despair and War went off one way, the younger pegasus inquiring about the
fancy decorations and all the colorful foods, as the group of mares gathered around the
punch bowl.
Madness followed Pinkie Pie across the room where she had set up a game station. A
clumsily drawn image of a yellow pony was stuck up on the wall, a needle sat nearby with
long strands of hair straying from one end reminiscent of a ponies tail.
"Hmm, never played a game like this before." Madness scratched his head with his hoof. His
eyes scanning the drawing.
"It's easy," stated Pinkie Pie. She passed the pointed tail to Madness who grasped it in his
mouth. "Just put this on," she said tying a thick cloth around his eyes, blocking his vision.
"Now all you gotta do is try to pin the tail on the pony."
Madnesses teeth widened in a smile. Stabbing ponies with sharp objects was a skill of his
and if he treated this game like a battle than it would be child's play. Even without the use of
his sight his combat trained mind and body easily worked around it. He remembered the
picture hanging on the wall just slightly lower than his head. The sheet of paper was much
taller than it was wide and he remembered staring directly at it before the blindfold took
away his sight. Using this information he quickly pinpointed his target and thrust the needle.
"You nailed it!" Pinkie Pie announced, confirming his victory. He peeled off the blindfold to
see the nail drove right at the edge of the ponies flank.
"Cool! That's pretty fun." he chuckled.
"Yeah! It's one of my favorites!"
"Ooh, ooh ya know what would make it more fun! You should like, fill a sack or something
with blood and put it behind the drawing. So when you stab the pony it looks like it's blood
bleeding down the wall." Madnesses words made Pinkie Pie stop bouncing as she was at a
loss for words.
"Oh, uh. Ok." she put her smile back on as she tried to tried to regain her pep. "I'll try that
next time," she said throwing in a fake laugh.
"Oh or even better, we could use a real pony. We could cut its tail off and try to pin it back
on. So when they miss they'll stab the other pony, it'll really encourage the player to think
before making a jab at it." he chuckled pulling the needle from the wall. He swung it like a
dagger using the pointed end to cut the drawing, like hacking away at the fake pony. "It's not
very exciting when the players got nothing on the line, stabbing an unresponsive drawings
doesn't really inspire any emotions." he shrugged.
Looking upon Madnesses twisted eyes and jagged smile. It was then it really hit her just who
she was dealing with. This pony was a psychopath, one who didn't just enjoy excessive
violence but saw it as his form of entertainment. For a second she saw herself dying on the
floor with that twisted look on his face as the last thing she would ever see. He tilted his
head, gazing at her with those hypnotic yet spine-chilling eyes that seemed to cut through
her like a knife.
"Got any other games?"
"Oh, uhm." Pinkie Pie sprang back to life. She tried to maintain the cheerful attitude she was
known for but her spirits had quickly faded. "No, but you can keep playing. I'm just gonna go
see what the others are up to." she quickly walked away leaving Madness to continue
sending her drawing to tatters.
She wondered over to her friends gathered around the punch bowl sipping from goblets and
partaking in small conversations. Concern overcoming them as they could tell there was a
dime sense horror in her eyes.
"Are you ok?" Fluttershy was the first to ask.
"What did he say to you?" Rainbow Dash jumped in. "He didn't threaten you did he?"
"No, not really. He's just got a different idea of fun." She said heavy heartedly. The offbeat
look of dread never faded as Pinkie Pie poured herself some punch. "I think I'm all partied
out." the words sounded foreign coming from her.
"Yeah, I dunno bout that one," said Applejack glaring at the purple pony who seemed to be
growing bored tearing the picture to tatters.
"Oh I agree, you can tell a lot about a pony by the way they carry themselves." inserted Rarity
as she set her sights on the rambunctious young unicorn, taking note of his insane features
and lanky structure, paying close attention to his cutie mark. A circular symbol that was black
in color with arrows jutting out in every direction. "Clearly he isn't in the right mind." She
then turned her eyes upon Disaster standing off in the corner. He had his eyes narrowed and
teeth gritted making it clear he didn't want to be there. "And let's not forget that one, his
posture and mannerisms show he's clearly a brute."
"Yeah, that about sums it up." chuckled a nearby voice. A glance over showed the pale blue
pegasus with solid black eyes. He seemed to be glancing around the snack table overhearing
their conversation.
"Do you want something?" Rainbow Dash asked in a harsh tone.
Even with limited knowledge of any forms of socialization, he could tell they had been put
on guard and were a bit standoffish to his presence.
"Oh sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop but your assessment was pretty spot on." he chuckled.
His voice rattling as his nerves began to get the best of him. "So this is regular pony food." he
looked at the spread of snacks on the table before him. The cutie map was covered in a thin
tarp with the assorted food forming a ring outlining the rim of the table. He eyed the
collection of cupcakes, chips and the other kinds of snacks they had assembled. "A lot more
colorful than anything we had at the compound." he chuckled. "I honestly wasn't expecting
you all to go through so much effort to make us feel welcomed."
"Yeeeah, just don't go around trying to cut other ponies limbs off," warned Rainbow Dash.
"Oh that's not really my thing." he brushed it off. "Actually up until now, I've never set hoof
outside the compound. I have to say Equestria seems like a very nice place, I hope we
manage to get along well with everypony." he smiled.
They weren't sure what to make of this one. He seemed nice enough even coming up to try
and make conversation with them. Could it be an act? A ruse to lure them into a false sense
of security? That is what Rainbow Dash believed and she wasn't going to stand for it.
"Ok, you can drop the nice guy act. noponies falling for it," she growled.
"That's not." He paused as his heart began to sink dragging his gaze down to the floor along
with it. "Right, my bad. I suppose somepony in my position shouldn't be trying to join in," he
muttered before turning away to wander off on his own.
His finals words resonated with Applejack, who shared Rainbow Dash's view but realized this
was exactly what Twilight was trying to prevent. This entire party was put together to help
bridge the gap between them and now the cold-hearted criminals had made more of an
effort to connect then they had.
"Now hold it there." she hollered taking a few steps towards the rejected pegasus. "Sorry
bout that, we're all just kinda on edge on account of ya'lls... reputation. So hows about we
start over," she said putting on a big smile for him and extending a hoof as a greeting. "Nice
to meet yah, names Applejack," she stated. He examined her outstretched hoof. Moving his
head to get a clear view from all angles as he tried to decipher what he was supposed to do.
"You're suppose to shake it." Applejack instructed as he nodded before following her
commands.
"Despair," he replied.
"Despair? That's your name?" she asked raising an eyebrow.
"Well we don't exactly have names, we just go by what out master called us," he replied.
"What do ya mean master?"
"The one who created us."
"So you mean, like your dad?" asked Rainbow Dash.
"I suppose... oh that's right, most ponies are created through more organic means," he
smirked as they looked at each other not sure what he meant by that.
"Anyways. This is Rainbow Dash." she motioned to the blue pegasus with rainbow colored
hair, who only rolled her eyes as a response. "Fluttershy." the yellow pegasus hide her face
behind her pink hair, choosing to remain quiet. "Pinkie Pie." The earth pony remained
strangely quiet as she was introduced. "and Rarity."
"Charmed." The white unicorn added.
"Well it's nice to meet you all," he said. "That's my older brother War." he gestured to the tall
red pegasus. "Our eldest brother Pestilence left with the Princess, the one off brooding in his
lonesome is Disaster."
"And I'm Madness." the young purple unicorn practically leaped over him to get at the snack
table. Making the mares jump at his sudden approach as Pinkie Pie even took a step back
away from him. "So we get to just eat all this? As much as we want?" he didn't hesitate to
begin stuffing his face with all the mysterious food he could find. "Hey Disaster!" he shouted
with a stuffed mouth. "Come over here and try this stuff."
"Shove off." Disaster barked as loud as he could from across the room. He wasn't in the mood
to be talked to but his aggressive nature seemed to prompt War to march over to give him a
talking too.
"Ya'lls quite colorful bunch." Applejack smiled awkwardly.
"Likewise." Despair laughed. "Death should be around here somewhere." he glanced around
their room, as the pale earth pony seemed to have vanished from sight. His absence was no
cause for alarm, the collar wouldn't allow him to get far but Despair did wonder where he
was. It wasn't like him to wander off unless something had him shook up. However the room
was too large and open for hiding, the only place suitable would be to hide under the table
with the tarp concealing him.
Curious Despair skimmed the cloth hovering just above the ground to see the bright off
green tail of his brother barely poking out.
"There he is." Despair made his way over to the spot and lifted the tarp up, revealing Death
curled up below it. The faces in his mane and tail seemed to wince as the light shined upon
them. "Death, what are you doing down there?" he asked but speaking with him seemed to
only make it worse, as he scooted away as close to the table as he could get.
"Parties up here Death, get up here and try some of this stuff." Madness laughed shoving a
cupcake into his mouth.
"Is he ok?" asked Applejack as she and the others gathered around to see what was going on
beneath the cloth. Death was a mysterious sight, to say the least. His body was ordinary
enough on its own but what made him such an oddity was his mane and tail. They flowed
through the air much like a Princesses, however, black splotches lingered inside them that
resembled faces. Even stranger they changed. One moment a face might be silently laughing
before changing into a face of rage. However, each of them gave a threatening hiss as the
mares looked upon them.
"He'll be fine, I'd say all the commotion just has him spooked."
"Dang, and I thought Fluttershy had a shyness problem." inserted Rainbow Dash.
"Well he isn't really shy, he suffers from severe anxiety." explained Despair dropping the
cloth allowing it to cover Death in the darkness he desires. "If I had my medical bag then I'd
administer a sedative to calm his nerves, but I don't have it. So I guess we'll be relying on War
to coax him out." he looked for the larger red pegasus.
Across the room, War had joined Disaster in his lonely space. The brutish earth pony not
even offering him a glance as he stood beside him, he kept his eyes on Despair fraternizing
with the group of mares.
"Look at him acting all friendly with them, pathetic." Disaster growled through gritted teeth.
"He at least seems to be making progress, where has all your pouting got you?" War asked.
"Quit acting so ok about all this!" he turned to his brother with narrowed eyes. "We've got all
this power inside us. I could level this whole castle in a minute if I wanted to. We should be
the ones in charge but instead were stuck here sipping tea and eating cake with a Princess
and her friends. Buck this." he growled.
"We're not in a position to fight back, believe me, if I could get us out of this situation I
would."
"Yeah, well you're always acting all high and mighty. If you're so tough and so smart then
how did we get in this mess in the first place!?"
"We got careless and made some mistakes." claimed War, although he had already begun to
come to a different conclusion as to how they were found out. "regardless, we're stuck here
under their control. Shouting and throwing insults around isn't going to get you anywhere."
"Buck you!" he growled. "I'm not wasting my time sitting here like some caged dog. I'm
gonna get this collar off and when I do." his mouth pulled back in a smile, both joyous and
fierce. Thinking about moment back at Canterlot cause the blood in his body to boil with
rage. He remembered the embarrassment he felt as the guards brought him to his knees, so
easily and in front of not only the Princess but his brothers. He would never forgive them for
that. He imagined the rush of satisfaction of smashing their skulls beneath his heels. "I'll
make everypony in Canterlot pay for making me look like a weakling," he said with twisted
glee.
"War." called Despair as he strolled over. "There seems to be a problem. Deaths holed up
under the table, we need you to get him out."
War sighed as he began to follow Despair over to the crowd at the punch bowl.
"Just tread carefully Disaster," he warned but his brother only scoffed and turned away from
him. He could already tell Disasters attitude was going to be a problem for all of them during
this reformation process, he could only hope Pestilence wasn't giving the Princess any
trouble.
Twilights Castle, Hallway
"Nice castle you got here." Pestilence whistled to show his faint amazement as he followed
the Princess down the hall. His eyes darted back and forth looking at his surroundings, not
interested in admiring the perfect craftsmanship that went into the architecture but rather
checking for any escape routes. Still intending to escape no matter how tight of a grip they
had on him. "Must have cost a fortune."
"Actually, it grew out of the ground."
Pestilence took a pause, genuinely taken off guard.
"Well that's convenient," he said before picking up the pace. "So, you're the Princess of
Friendship?"
"Yes. I am."
"So being a Princess and all, guess that makes you a pretty big deal?"
"I suppose." Twilight couldn't help but feel at odds with herself. Her better judgment told
her to speak with him as little as possible. She also knew that it was her duty, to get to know
him, to understand him so that he may come to understand her. How else could he and the
other prisoners be accepted into society? "I mostly just help the ponies of Equestria with
their friendship problems." she continued.
"Friendship problems huh? Is that why you decided to take us in?"
"Well, no."
"You did volunteer for the job didn't you?"
"No I didn't, but I'm happy to help you and your friends on your friends on the path to
learning the ways of Equestria."
"Well you were at least at the meeting weren't you?"
"That doesn't matter. What matters is getting you all settled in."
Pestilence smirked. He'd weaseled his way around enough conversations to know an indirect
answer was the best way to confirm a hunch. It seemed the Princess had as much of a say in
this as he did. Knowing this he now had an angle.
"Gotta say, seems kinda selfish of Celestia to just dump a bunch of dangerous criminals on ya
without so much as asking first. I mean you're a Princess just like she is right?" Pestilence
shrugged.
Twilight halted in her tracks before twisting to face the pegasus, eyes slightly narrowed.
"I am a Princess but not like Celestia," she assured him, her voice just as calm as before even
though she did seem put off by him insulting her mentor. "And you shouldn't talk about
Princess Celestia like that." Persistence stopped noticing he had clearly struck a nerve even if
she was good at hiding it.
It seemed that the young Alicorn had far too much respect for Celestia, it would be
impossible for him to convince her to disobey her. He'd need to go for a softer approach.
"Yeah, I guess you're right," he said taking a hoof to whip the hair from his eyes. "After all,
she was nice enough to send us here instead of keeping us locked up in the dungeon, oh
thanks by the way."
"Thanks? For what?" she asked to which Pestilence promptly pointed to the rings around her
front hoof.
"Well its been about ten minutes and you haven't shocked me, back when the guards were
controlling them seemed like it happened every time I took a breath," he stated. "Fact that
you haven't shows you're a lot more reasonable than they were. So thanks."
"Oh, you're welcome."
"Well guess there's still someponies out there that believe in us. Guards sure didn't."
'Well, you are a criminal." Twilight reminded.
"Am I?" Pestilence asked casually strolling up to her. "Celestia didn't see it that way."
Twilight raised an eyebrow as she kept pace with him as they traveled.
"But you have committed crimes."
"I was just following orders." He corrected putting on a presumptuous smile. "What would
you do if Celestia asked you to kill somepony?"
"Celestia would never ask for something like that." Twilight sped up. Her voice was a good
indicator she had been offended by his question. Pestilence smirked once again, her
ambiguous answer telling him everything he wanted to know.
"Plus you got all those soldiers and police, they kill ponies too. Don't see why they get off
free."
"That's different." Twilight corrected. "They protect Equestria, you attack innocent ponies."
"If you say so." he chuckled. He followed her around one more corner until they came to a
stop before a closed door.
"Here it is," she said. "I had to use the spare rooms around the castle so you and your friends
maybe in different parts of the castle." He was impressed by how well Twilight was managing
her composure. He had clearly upset her with his comments but she maintained a friendly
front.
"Doesn't bother me any."
Twilight slide the door open allowing Pestilence to take his first steps into his new room. It
was plain small space, yet still a massive upgrade from his holdings at the compound. Holding
only the simplest of accommodations. A shelf, nightstand, and bed with little much more to
offer.
"This it?" he turned to her disappointedly. "You got this big nice castle and I get shoved in a
broom closet."
"It's not like that, It's just the castle doesn't have six spare bedrooms so we had to clean out
some storage space."
"Dang, you got a crappy castle, not a single servant and don't even call the shots. You sure
you're actually a Princess?" he scoffed.
"Yes I'm sure," she replied swiftly, seemingly to be running out of patience with Pestilences
attitude. "Anyways you should get some rest. I'll show you around Ponyville in the morning.
"Can't wait."
Once Twilight shut the door Pestilence didn't hesitate to throw himself onto the bed. He lied
still giving his body a much-needed break. As his body settled the heat in his muscles finally
began to fade away. He laid there motionless, only moving his eyes around the room to
inspect his new quarters.
"All moved in..." he moaned aloud. Pestilence knew he needed to think of his next move. He
had to get out of this one way or another. For now, though, he was content to just get some
rest.
He still considered himself as much a prisoner now as he had been his whole life. Yet lying in
an actual bed in a room he could call his own, rather than cold hay in a stable. He had to admit
despite all his criticisms, it was a nice change of pace.
Twilights Castle, Throne Room
Exhaustion was beginning to take hold of Twilight, the lack of sleep mixed with her irritating
time with Pestilence was starting to drag the young Alicorn down. Despite this, she
persevered to rejoin the party in the throne room. To her surprise as she entered she saw her
friends gathered around with a good number of the prisoners.
"Twilight." called spike. He rushed to her side upon seeing her. "How'd it go with that other
pony?"
"Not to bad all things considered." she mustered a smile. "How are things going here?"
Spike shrugged.
"Well I think one of them did something that's really freaked Pinkie Pie out, One of them is
hiding under the table and then there's, uh, him." Spike peaked over to Disaster continuing
to shoot them death glares.
"Maybe this party wasn't such a good idea." Twilight mentally kicked herself for ever
thinking this was the smart thing to do. She had hoped when seeing them bunched up
together that they were all getting along but Spikes report told a different story.
"Well on the upside, that one seems kinda friendly." he motioned to Despair who was still
with most of the others gathered at the table.
"Did you say one of them was hiding under the table?" she asked as she made her way over
to join the group. "Whats going on?"
"Death ain't coming out from under the table." Applejack informed.
"Death?"
"That's his name." she shrugged.
"Whats he doing down there?"
"He's just very skittish." Despair clarified. "Back home whenever he'd get scared he'd curl up
in his stable. I assume he has psychologically associated small dark spaces with safety."
Fortunately by the time Twilight arrived War had managed to get Death to take a few steps
out into the light.
Things didn't seem to be going well. The room was still coated in a thick tense atmosphere
and now one of their guests seemed to be having a breakdown. Even Pinkie Pie seemed to
be ready to call it quits.
"Well I think that's enough for today, would you all like to see your rooms?" she asked.
Nopony seemed to complain about ending the party early as the group quickly split apart as
the prisoners went to retrieve Disaster and Twilight was joined by her friends.
"Everything go ok?" Twilight asked.
"Much better than expected," said Applejack. 'We may be able to pull this off."
"I still don't trust them," argued Rainbow Dash.
"I agree with Applejack. While I can't speak for all of them I think there might be hope for
some of them." inserted Rarity.
"Some of them did seem nice," said Fluttershy while Pinkie Pie strangely remained silent on
the issue.
"Well, I guess we'll just have to wait and see," Twilight replied. "I'm sure your all tired after
all the preparations, I won't keep you all any longer."
"Are you sure you want us to leave? I dread the thought of leaving you to deal with this on
your own," asked Rarity.
"Yeah, sure you don't want somepony to stick around?" asked Applejack.
"Thank you but I'll be fine. I couldn't ask any of you-"
"Yeah right, Twilight you're crazy if you think I'm gonna leave you alone with them." Rainbow
Dash protested before sternly rushing to her side. "I'd love to see them try something while
I'm here." she boasted confidently
Twilight didn't argue with her. Deep down she was glad to have one of her friends nearby
while she tried to finally get some much-deserved rest. After the rest of her friends
departed, her and Rainbow Dash guided the castles new occupants to their rooms.
Despair gladly took the first room they came upon. It was closest to the throne room,
therefore closest to the entrance. Madness was assigned the next one. He spent a good while
jumping from corner to corner looking over every square foot of the space, forcing Twilight to
answer a series of questions about the functionality of even the simplest of aspects of the
small blank space. Adverse to Madnesses reaction, Disaster stormed into his room without a
word before promptly slamming the door behind him.
"And here we are." Said Twilight as they came to the fourth room which was roughly
identical to the others.
"I guess this will be yours," War said to his last brother. Death held his head low as he took a
few steps inside. He took a moment looking the room over before turning to War, his gaze
still set on the floor.
"W-War..... I-I wanna go home," he uttered under his breath.
War couldn't think of a proper response. He knew he should have been honest with him.
They were never going home, regardless of what happened now War was certain they'd
never walk through the compound walls again. Though he knew if he did, learning that would
only throw his brother into a fit of tears and he refused to let that happen.
"Don't worry," he said smiling at his distressed brother. "We'll be home before you know it,"
he said sparked a light in his younger brother who promptly smiled back.
"Well, I guess that means you'll be getting the room on the top floor." Twilight interrupted.
"I guess so, but if it's not to much trouble I'd like to make a request," said War. "I'd like to
stay with Death at least for tonight, in case he was to have another breakdown."
"Not a problem, but there's only one bed in there." Twilight reminded.
"Don't worry. I've slept on a pile of cold hay my whole life. A castle floor shouldn't be any
worse."
"Well as long as you're ok with it," said Twilight. War gave a nod as he began to pull the door
closed behind him, but came to an abrupt stop.
"Princess." he started. "That was a nice thing you did for my brothers, throwing a party for
them. It's more than our master ever did. I don't know if you'll believe me or if it would
matter to you if you did but.... thank you." he said rather somberly.
His words felt more honest and heartfelt than anything Pestilence had said to her during
their entire conversation earlier.
"Oh it was no big deal, happy to do it." she insisted as War finally pulled the door closed.
"'Thank you' yeah right." scoffed Rainbow Dash.
"I don't know, he sounded genuine to me."
"He's just trying to make you feel sorry for him so it'll be easier for him to sneak away." she
insisted as she began her march down the hall. "Now if you need me I'll be on patrol,
someponies gotta make sure they don't try anything."
"You know that's what the collars are for?"
"Yeah, but I still say they're gonna try something and I'm gonna catch them when they do."
"Well I think I'm going to bed, I'm beat," said Spike with a stretch and a yawn.
"Right there with you Spike," Twilight said as they went one way with Rainbow Dash going
off in the other direction.
She understood Rainbow Dashes skepticism but there was something in that moment. The
moment War had reassured his younger brother and thanked her for the party. It felt
genuinely kind and compassionate, something she didn't expect to see from a murderer. She
knew this wasn't going to be an easy task but in that instant, she began to think Rarity might
have been right. They aren't hopeless. Some of them at least.