//------------------------------//
// Chapter 10: Because It’s Plain To See~ That Evil Inside~ Is On The Rise 
// Story: Caverns & Cutie Marks: Our House Now 
// by TheColtTrio 
//------------------------------//

“So,” Twilight began, resting her hooves on the table in front of her, “did you make any friends like I suggested?” Across the table, Purple Heart blinked slowly at her. He rolled his neck, looking off at an empty corner of the room and scratched at the collar around his neck with a hoof. Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes.
    “I’m not taking that collar off until you can control yourself,” she reminded, her tone filled with exasperation. Purple Heart’s head jerked as he glared at her, face twisting into a scowl. It took no small amount of effort to keep herself from flinching under the colt’s gaze.
    “I made two friends,” the purple colt ground out. “Roam Mountague and Jewel Canterlet.”
    Twilight blinked and smiled happily. “Good!” she congratulated cheerily. “That’s excellent progress! I was hoping for more than just two, but you have to start somewhere!”
    She looked down at her notes, ignoring the grinding of teeth from the other side of the table. “Tell me about them,” she ordered, looking up at Purple Heart.
    The purple colt’s jaw twitched and he scratched at the collar again. “Canterlet is a very independent mare with a strong sense of self awareness and a great deal of pride,” he said stiffly. “She’s also very loud and demanding.” He paused. “And she wears the pants in the relationship.”
    Twilight’s eyebrows rose. “You got over Amber already?” she asked skeptically.
    Again, Purple Heart’s jaw twitched and his eyes narrowed. “I’m not going to deign that question with a response,” he growled. “Canterlet likes Mountague. Who, I might add, is an intelligent colt with a penchant for hiding behind his marefriend.”
    Twilight hummed, jotting down some notes. Without looking up from her papers, she asked, “You aren’t good enough friends with them to use their given names yet?”
    “Yes, I murdered their parents for them by shoving them into a pit,” Purple Heart snarled under his breath.
    “Pardon?” Twilight asked, looking up inquisitively at the colt.
    “No, I’m not good enough friends yet,” Purple Heart responded clearly.
    Twilight clicked her tongue and wrote down a few more notations.
    “Any more pink in here and she’ll be making me write lines in my own blood,” Purple Heart muttered softly.
    “What was that?”
    “Nothing.”


* * *


    Twilight Sparkle and Wits End sat at opposite ends of the table. They remained silent; not because they had nothing to say, but rather the silence was a dare for the other to start first. The Princess of Friendship filled her part of the silence by making notes, her horn glowing faintly as her magic moved the quill. The mint-colored stallion, on the other hoof, filled his time by tapping the tabletop rhythmically, and doing his best to ignore the hastily constructed circlet that sat on his head.
    “So,” Twilight said slowly. “Let’s talk about what happened over the last few days.”
    “Sure,” Wits replied. The two of them were silent again, interrupted only by the ticking of a clock elsewhere. “Some weather we’ve had, huh?”
    Twilight scowled. “Wits…”
    “It’s a joke, Twilight.” Wits kept his tone just as flat as the alicorn’s. “I do that sometimes.”
    With a sigh, Twilight continued. “How’s your magic training going?”
    Wits leaned back in his chair, scratching at the base of the circlet afixed to his head. “My magic study,” he said, emphasising his correction, “is going just fine. Worked my way up to 5th year magical theory last night.”
    Twilight smiled; an act that didn’t quite reach her eyes. “That’s good to hear.”
    “Would love to practice it someday.”
    “We’ve been over this-”
    “I know, I know.” Wits leaned back further in his chair, pushing it back on two legs. “Have they found that Underdog fellow yet?”
    The quill stopped scratching. “No.”
    “I’m sure he’ll turn up eventually. That seems to be how most villains-of-the-week work in this world, right?”
    “...Probably.”
    “What about that artifact? The helmet thing. Anything interesting turn up-”
    “Wits.” Twilight cut through the unicorn’s small-talk. “Let’s keep the focus on you for now, alright? Should be pretty easy, yeah?”
    The corner of Wits’ mouth twitched. “Sure. Let’s talk more about magical theory then.”


* * *


    Twilight levitated another stack of books off the table. “I’m happy to see that you’ve decided to grace my castle with your presence again. But, do I want to know why you’re going through unicorn magic books?” She asked, looking at Light Patch who was idly flipping through some books.
    “Figured I’d look into some time travel spells. There was an event back on my home world I’d love to see; an ‘Irrational Malicious Act of Cruelty That Could Barely Be Called A Sports Game’ as I’ve heard it,” Light described, casually tossing the book aside and selecting another.
    “Ah huh.” Twilight frowned, unsure how to reply. “So... why would you think I’d have time travel spells in my public library?” she asked, unable to stop herself.
    “Well, there was that one episode with the Time Loop. And you’re the princess of magic now. And I thought this was your private library, not the public one,” he replied with a shrug, his eyes never leaving the book he was scanning through.
    “Right… Light Patch, there’s a couple of things I was hoping we could talk about,” Twilight said, trying to hold her frustration in.
    “Yeah, sure, go ahead. I’ll reply...” He sort of trailed off like he had more to say but simply lacked reason to say it.
    “I was sort of hoping you could tell me more about when you tried to help the farmers deal with the bandits?” Twilight asked.
    “That was a disaster and a half,” he half heartedly said. Twilight furrowed, raising an eyebrow at his reply.
    “So you are ready to talk about it?” She replied earnestly.
    “What's left to say? It went poorly and I got the tar and stuffing beat out of me.”
    “Okay, but what did you do to try to help them?”
    “Nothing successful, that’s for sure,” Light Patch scoffed, closing the book and sweeping it off the table as he turned to select more from the shelves. Twilight frowned at the pegasus’ evasiveness over the topic.
    “Will you tell me why you tried to help them then?” she asked, looking intently at the stallion.
    “Because of my greatest strength and my greatest weakness,” Light Patch said, turning to look at Twilight from the ladder he was on. “I cared.”


* * *


    A few minutes of silence passed. Twilight looked over her notes and went about ruminating on what to do with the errant colt across from her. Purple Heart settled for materializing some threads near the ceiling, articulating them into a myriad of shapes. He started simple. A circle became rigid to form a triangle. The triangle broke only to gain a fourth side to become a rhombus. The rhombus peeled apart and shifted into a trapezoid which flattened into a rectangle. Then it became complicated.
    A circle grew around the rectangle as said rectangle split to become a hexagon. Six smaller circles popped into existence along with four lines that now intersected each other at the hexagon’s center and spread out to four points. The circles settled halfway along each line. More strings spiralled around…
    Twilight looked up from her notes to see the purple earth pony starting at the ceiling.
    “What are you looking at?”
    “Hmm… Hmm-hmmmm...”
    The purple alicorn squinted and raised her voice. “Purple Heart!”
    Purple Heart’s head jerked down, looking away from his construct on the ceiling. “Hmm… Oh? Pardon me. I was absorbed in thought.”
    Twilight frowned, glancing up at the ceiling. Purple Heart followed her gaze to see the threads frozen in place. His eyes flicked down to Twilight’s face, watching for a reaction. The princess pursed her lips and looked at him again.
    “A blank ceiling must be more interesting than talking to me,” she said sarcastically.
    “It is if you aren’t talking,” Purple Heart bit back, pulling the threads back into his body. Twilight gave an exasperated sigh and put down her pen, focusing her attention on the purple colt.
    “How has your magic been treating you?” she asked.
    “...Wat?” Purple Heart looked around in confusion. “My magic?”
    “Yes, your magic,” Twilight repeated. “Have you had any trouble controlling your magic?”
    “Uhhh… Define ‘trouble’.”
    “Has it been going off unexpectedly, not doing what you want it to, misbehaving in any way?” she listed off.
    “...No?”
    “Hmm.” Twilight tapped her mouth with a hoof. “I may have to get you a new collar.”
    Purple Heart’s eyes widened. “WHAT?!” he roared, slamming his hooves on the table. “WHY?!”
    “Please calm down, Purple Heart, it’s nothing bad,” Twilight soothed, hooves raised in front of her.
    “NOTHING BAD?!” the irate colt boomed, rocking Twilight back in her seat. “YOU WANT TO GIVE ME A NEW COLLAR?! WHY?!”
    “Well, it seems that the one you have on now isn’t functioning properly,” Twilight explained.
    “How, praytell, is this blasted hunk of metal supposed to function then?!” Purple Heart snarled.
    “It’s supposed to limit the amount of magic you expel so that you can focus on quality of quantity in your spells,” the Princess of Friendship explained, falling into Lecture Mode™. “When a young unicorn is using too much magic in their spells, they’re fitted with a Restraining Ring to prevent useless waste of magic. It helps train them to use a smaller amount of magic for their spells.”
    Purple Heart stared at the alicorn in shocked silence. Twilight blinked at him several times, wondering if her words got through to him.
    “Do I look like a unicorn?!” he hissed.
    “No, but-”
    “THEN WHY YOKE ME WITH THIS THING IN THE FIRST PLACE?!”
    “Not all magic is made only by unicorns,” Twilight reprimanded, a cross expression on her face. “Pegasi and Earth Ponies both have a brand of magic specific to them. The thing is, this is the first time an earth pony has been found that can use telekinesis. You are a magically scientific marvel that must be studied further.”
    Twilight smiled gently at Purple Heart, proud of her argument. Her smile shrunk tooth by tooth when she saw the furious look in the purple colt’s green eyes.


* * *


    “What I’m saying,” Twilight said, “is that you need to stop trying to get out of the restraining circlets I build for you.”
    “And what I’m saying,” Wits replied, “is that I’m not trying to get out of them. All I want is to be able to use magic when my life is on the line. Like when the Underdog was threatening the town, and not one of you six showed up to stop him.”
    “We were on the way! Rainbow Dash was two minutes away, coming from Cloudsdale as fast as she could! Rarity was in town, making sure that the ponies who’d escaped the marketplace were safe!”
    “And who was already there, Twilight?” Wits slammed his forehoof on the table, rattling the now forgotten quill. “When ponies are in danger, you don’t just sit and wait for the heroes to show up. When you can do the things that I can but you don’t and bad things happen, then they happen because of you.”
    Twilight’s eyes narrowed. “You’re making a reference, aren’t you?”
    “I’m paraphrasing. It’s not the same thing.” Wits leaned away from the table, holding his forehooves out to either side in an extended shrug. “I was there, ready to save the day—which I did, by the way, and not in the ‘knock a thief through twenty brick walls’ way this time—and the only thing in my way with this thing-” he tapped the side of the circlet “-that you decided I needed to keep my powers under check.”
    “It was to keep you from brainwashing people, Wits,” Twilight growled. “You agreed that you needed it.”
    “And did I during that fight?” Wits waited a beat for Twilight to respond. “Did I brainwash anypony, Twilight? Did I brainwash anypony when the first magic incontinence band you slapped on me broke?” He waited for another beat. “Did I, Twilight?”
    Twilight sighed. “No.” Wits held his forehoof up in a universal ‘there you go’ motion. “But,” Twilight continued, “you were responsible for several thousand bits worth of property damage. Twice.”
    “Second one wasn’t my fault. That was the Underdog and his magical helmet malarky.”
    “Which you instigated.” Now it was Twilight’s turn to put her hooves on the table. “You wanna know what turned up when we were investigating the Underdog? When we checked with the rest of the Diamond Dogs? Your magic stole one of their magical artifacts when you were training with the Cutie Mark Crusaders. The Diamond Dog calling himself the Underdog was harmless until you gave him a reason to attack the surface. He was a villain, yes,” she pointed a forehoof at Wits End, “but he was one that you created.”
    Wits paused. “And one that I took care of,” he said eventually. “That sounds like a complete story arc to me.” He shifted, leaning his elbow against the table. “By the way; I wouldn’t have had that initial magic problem with the CMC if you hadn’t pawned me off on them at the first opportunity. So as long as we’re blaming each other for damages caused, tag you’re it.”
    “I’m not blaming you for- Hrrrmm…” Twilight’s response devolved into grumbling as she realized how far off base the former conversation had gone. “Let’s just bring this back on topic. The circlets-”
    “Are dumb,” Wits cut in. “And pointless. We’ve proven that I don’t need them.”
    “You need restraint.”
    “I need practice.” He jabbed a forehoof at the power limiter on his head. “I’m not learning how to control my magic with this thing on. It’s like trying to prepare for a marathon without leaving your bed, Twilight. Unless I start putting all of that magical theory into practice, then all this is doing is giving you a reason to...”
    Twilight waited for Wits to finish his sentence. “A reason to what, Wits?”
    Wits’ eyes had drifted down to the tabletop, his eyebrows furrowed. “A reason to be afraid of me, Twilight.”
    The two ponies sat back in their respective seats. The silence made the space between them feel so much further than the table ever could.


* * *


    “Light,” Twilight said after she’d finished reviewing her notes. Her magic automatically cleared the books from the table. “Could you please sit down? There were a couple of other things I’d like to talk about.”
    “Like how you’ve been interviewing us like we’re criminals or some kind of contained aliens?” Light Patch gave a small bark of amusement as he popped into existence across the table from Twilight. “I guess we are aliens though, aren’t we? You do seem to have us contained and under watch. I hope you don’t go all Doctor Vahlen on us.” He gave a fake shudder and sat down.
    “Doctor Valhen?” Twilight asked curiously. She immediately shook her head, forcing herself to focus. “Never mind that. Since you don’t seem keen on talking about the farm thing, how about when you were helping Spike in the library.”
    “I tried to help and it didn’t go very well. I was talked into trying something I wasn’t ready to do,” Light Patch recounted idly, one hoof supporting his head as he watched his other trace the whorls of the wood grain of the table.
    Sensing he wasn’t going to elaborate further, Twilight changed tracks. “Okay, how about that morning with Applejack and Carrot Top.”
    “What’s to say? They worked it out on their own,” Light Patch replied with a half hearted shrug, adjusting a couple of the stacks of books within his reach. “Mind if I try a question… or two?” Light Patch asked, finally looking at Twilight for the first time since she’d entered the library.
    “Sure,” she replied, eyes narrowing.
    “Why are you interrogating us? What's got you so worked up about us that you can’t just talk to us straight?” He asked. His eyes darted back to the table once his question was done.
    “Because you’re all acting weird. Your new powers; where did they come from? Nothing seems like it’s adding up. Like how you suddenly don’t care that I’m not leaving you alone.”


* * *


    Twilight shifted uncomfortably in her seat, trying not to break eye contact with Purple Heart. The colt in question was standing now, his hooves on the table as he stared at the alicorn princess. Twilight opened her mouth to speak but Purple Heart beat her to the punch. He plopped back in his seat and looked at the ceiling again.
    “‘A magically scientific marvel that must be studied’,” he echoed softly. He let out a derisive snort. “Last time I heard something like that was from Canterlot High’s Twilight when she was under an illusion made by the Hydra.” He shook his head, lips twisted in a grimace. “Pretty sure this ain’t an illusion.” Twilight frowned.
    “This isn’t-” Her mouth closed against her will.
    “You don’t get to talk right now,” Purple Heart snarled. Twilight’s wide-eyed gaze was fixed on the purple earth pony now.
    “Ever since I got here, you’ve been trying to keep me reined in,” he continued. “You set me up with friendship lessons, you put a limiter collar on me, you ordered me to make friends.” Patches of green spread out across his body, covering any cobalt blue colored hide.
    “After all I’ve gone through recently, one would think you’d be more understanding,” Purple Heart seethed. “I was yanked from my own world to ‘play’ in Discord’s game. I was pulled out again by a creature Discord made to be a boss for you and the rest of the Mane Six. And now I’m here, in Equestria proper, being subjected to your less than tender care because I can do something that hasn’t ever been seen before. An earth pony with ‘telekinesis’.” He raised his hooves to frame the last word. Then he fell silent for a moment, staring at nothing while Twilight tried to free her mouth by pawing at it with her hooves. But to no avail. She started casting spells at her face, trying to open her lips somehow. Her shifting brough Purple Heart’s attention back to her and she slowly went still under his poisonous green gaze.
    “A Princess should know better,” he accused. “Being controlled is not my idea of fun. Not by Discord, not by the Hydra, and most certainly not by you.”
Twilight tried to get out of her seat. She wanted to deny all the things that Purple Heart was saying and promise that the collar wasn’t needed any longer. But her mouth was still sealed and she couldn’t get out of her chair. She closed her eyes, praying that what she was about to do would work.
A dim shroud of magic covered her horn as she slowly powered up a spell. She knew he was responsible for whatever was keeping her trapped in her seat. All she needed to do was scare him into releasing her. She briefly considered the fact that casting a spell at him would bring about negative progress in this situation, but she had to make a bluff. The last thing she wanted to do was hurt Purple Heart.
As her magic grew in brightness from a dull candlelight to a blazing corona, Purple Heart blinked, noticing the harsh shadow he cast against the wall. He turned to face Twilight and promptly balked. The blazing disc of magic above her head looked anything but hospitable. He saw the raw panic flash across Twilight’s face at being found out. Surprisingly, she didn’t cast the spell. Purple Heart’s mouth hardened into a grim line and he looked down at the table.


* * *


    “Why don’t I care about being left alone?” Light Patch parroted the question back.
    “Yes! I thought I’d have to work hard to get you to talk with me, but you seem to just accept that it’s happening. Sort of, anyway,” she grumbled as he carried a couple of books back to the shelf and seemed to study the other volumes the shelf it held on offer.
    “I did what I said I’d do and got myself a little me time, and during that, I did some thinking, enough to figure something out.” The stallion was paging through a book on uncommon teleportation methods.
    “And wha-”
    “I was collecting my thoughts. I wanted to make sure I didn’t trip over my own words. As I said, I figured something out. Well, decided anyway.” He slipped another book into place as he paused in speech again. “Every time my friends and I got caught up in something, we just tried to help, even as we got blamed for stuff out of our control. And despite that, it would all blow up in our faces at the end anyway.” He slipped a third book home on the shelf. “I’ve decided to change my place in the narrative structure of the moment in Time and Space I’ve found myself in.” Twilight stared at Light Patch, blinking owlishly for a few moments before fixing her expression to minor annoyance.
    “Did you use a thesaurus just to phrase all of that?” She was still trying to figure her way around what he’d said.
    “No, I just enjoy writing, philosophy, and space,” he replied, looking at a book on origami.
    “So, you’re what, going to be evil now?” She asked, charging her horn.
    “You’ve gone a little too far in the other direction. I’ve decided to just be a spectator this time, to watch from the sidelines. I’ll not care about this, not any more or less than when I’m watching a book or reading a movie.” He looked up from the book on origami, a puzzled look on his face. “No, wait. Reverse those last two.”
Twilight sighed as she rubbed a hoof on her head.
    “Well, I guess if you need a little bit of time to relax before you join in, I understand.” Twilight sighed as the tension left her body. “Anyway, I’ve got your inhibit-” She froze as Light Patch locked eyes with her, an unusually serious expression on his face.
    “No, Twilight. I think you’ve misread my intentions. Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear enough: I’m sitting this out. I’m just a spectator in this little adventure,” Light Patch reaffirmed. The relaxed nature of his tone of voice was gone, leaving just an emotionally even monotone.
“I’m sitting this adventure out. You and your friends can deal with my friends. I’m gonna be one of the unwashed masses and watch from the side lines. Go see some sights, maybe have tea with the princesses. Maybe I’ll even go and figure out my own way of getting home.”
Light Patch paused with a thoughtful hum at his last thought. “Well, in any case, for this little adventure, I’m just going to be a viewer, waiting to be entertained.” He started to gather up the books he’d picked out into a single stack.
    

* * *


    Silence hung around Twilight and Wits like a shroud. Neither one had spoken for what felt like an hour, and unlike their previous silence, this one was full of everything they wished they could say outright. 
    Finally, Wits broke the silence. “So, what’s the plan now?”
    Twilight waited for a moment before responding. “I don’t know.”
    “I mean, the possibilities are really limitless.” Wits leaned a hoof against the arm of his chair. “Banishment to the moon, transformation into a statue. You could go with just freakin’ exploding; that’d be a pretty cool way to go.”
    “What are you talking about?” Twilight asked.
    Wits looked sidelong at her. “How you’re gonna get rid of the three of us, of course. What else?”
    “Wits-”
    “I can put two and two together, Twilight. It’s been days since you found us, and I haven’t seen hide nor hair of Purple Heart or Patchy. No-pony’s talking about them when I’m around, which means either they’ve been exceptionally well behaved,” he scoffed at the thought, “or they’re in it as bad as I am, if not worse. Something’s happening, and it’s not good, so you’re trying to keep Equestria safe.” Wits raised an eyebrow. “Am I wrong?”
    Twilight fell silent again. “I’m trying to keep you guys safe too.”
    “And I appreciate that. I really do. But you’re a princess first and a reluctant adventurer in a mad god’s game second.” Wits leaned back in his seat. “So, do we get shipped off to Tartarus? If we’re getting sequential rooms, I’d prefer a corner-”
    “Why are you so set on being treated like a villain?” Twilight asked, cutting through Wits’ speech. “Why aren’t you defending yourself anymore?”
    “Why not? Twilight, you and the rest of the girls have been waiting for one of us to turn Ponyville into a reenactment of Megaton post-Tenpenny Tower. Either we get better or we don’t, and if you’re putting these,” Wits tapped the restraining circlet on his head, “on those other two, then none of us are getting better.”
    Twilight felt a wave of disappointment wash over her, which quickly turned to anger. “So you’re just giving up on the possibility of getting over whatever’s happening, then?”
    “I’m calling it like I’m seeing it,” Wits said flatly. “I’m the other strategist, remember? It’s my job to see what’s coming, not to make your job easier.”
    “Why not try for once?” Twilight shot back. “If you’re so smart, why not think up some way to make things a little easier for once?”
    “By doing what?” Wits’ voice raised to match the alicorn’s. “By picking myself up by the seat of my pants and flying to the moon myself? Save you the trouble?” He growled. “Or do you mean make it easier for you to get rid of us without feeling sorry for us?”
    “You could try doing something other than being self-serving!” Twilight snarled. “This whole time, all you’ve done is deflect the blame for what you’ve done and blamed me for holding you back. I told you to try being a normal pony for a while, and all you did was spend the day looking for trouble to throw yourself at!” She stood, pushing her chair out of the way as she stepped around the table. “You’re not trying to get better. You’re just trying to be a hero without going through the boring part of your backstory.”
    Wits shoved his chair back, knocking it onto its back legs as he walked towards Twilight. “I did my backstory already! Now I’m trying to get back to where I was in the story when Discord’s game ended!”
    “You weren’t anywhere before Discord’s game!” Twilight’s words seemed to echo in the room, but she wasn’t finished there. “You’re not some legendary hero who got summoned to another world to right all of its wrongs, Wits. You’re just some guy who got chosen at random by the literal personification of chaos. You got lucky, and now you’re desperately trying to hold on to that little bit of specialness so you don’t have to go back to being normal!”
    “And what if I am?!” Wits shouted back. “I certainly don’t have my normal life to go back to! Even if you found a way to send me back to Earth, all I’d do is try to find a way back, or spend the rest of my life wondering if I had an elaborate coma dream. There is no going back to normal for me, Twilight. So if I’m not a hero and I’m not a normal pony, what else is there for me?”
    “And now you’re back to this! If you’re so obsessed with seeing yourself as the villain, maybe you should go be one.” The two ponies were inches away from each other, glaring into each other's eyes. “That would make it easier for me!”
    The corners of Wits’ mouth twitched. “Maybe I should! If everypony’s gonna treat me like a villain, and I’m sooooo obsessed with being one, it’s not like it’d change anything if I actually was one, right? So maybe I will!”
    Twilight and Wits were butting heads now. “Fine then!” Twilight growled.    
    “Fine!” The circlet on Wits’ head sparked, the intense emotions from its creator and its wearer shorting it out for a split second. In that moment, a pair of magical hands formed, pulling the band of metal apart in a shower of sparks. Twilight pulled back, forming a shield to protect her from attacks, both magical and mental.


* * *


“I see,” he drawled. “So that’s how it is, huh?” He lifted his eyes back to meet Twilight’s.
And he grinned.
“Well then,” he chortled, a manic gleam in his eyes, “let’s see how you like dancing to someone’s tune.” Purple Heart’s strings flashed and the collar shattered. With a roll of his neck, he sighed with relief, grinning widely at Twilight. “And another thing...”


* * *


“Do you really plan to just sit on the sidelines while something is going on with your friends?” Twilight pleaded.
    “Yes. Like I said; they’re your problem. I have full faith you’ll be able to deal with it. I just don’t want it to be my problem. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some light,” Light Patch smiled at his joke, “reading to do. And I can only imagine it’s going to be all kinds of noisy here before too long so... TTFN.” He gave a wave of his wing before he seemed to remember something, “Oh right, I also meant to tell you...”


* * *


    Wits, however, only turned away. He stalked to the door, pulling it open with one of the hands. As he stood in the doorframe, he paused. “Heh. Never thought I’d be using this one like this.” He cricked his neck, still facing away from the mare. “You know, all I wanted to do is be the hero. But to you?” He looked over his shoulder, a grin on his face. “I’m the bad guy.”
    He was one hoof out the door when he stopped and turned back to Twilight. “Hey. Guess what...”


* * *


    Twilight shuddered as all three voices layered over each other in her memories in the exact... same... way...
‘Looks like it's our house now.’
She walked into the map room, having used a multitude of spells to check for any sign of the colts in the castle. After everything turned up with the colts being absent, she finally gave up and staggered, exhausted emotionally and physically, towards her chair by the map. She poured herself into the seat and looked at the map. Seeing the three colts’ Cutie Marks caused her to groan in frustration and cover her face in her hooves.
    She wasn’t sure how long she’d sat there, face against the table and wildy swapping between tears, cries of frustration, and general panic. But, she slowly became aware of something hugging her head. Twilight shifted slightly, recognizing the scratchy nature of scales on her coat.
    “Spike?” she croaked out.
    “Yeah, it’s me.”
    “What are you doing?”
    “Trying to get you to calm down. I got back a bit ago and found you like this... screaming. So I thought I’d try something I read about in a book on calming ponies down.” 
Twilight realized she could just make out the sound of a beating of a heart. She took a couple of deep breaths and wiped the remaining tears from her face. “Did it work?” She asked, trying a little joke.
    “I dunknow, you tell me,” he replied with a small smile. “What happened?”
    “Everything.” Twilight replied, trying to get her breath back to a steady pace. “Something really bad. I think all three of the stallions… Well, at least two of them went… I.” She froze and groaned slightly. “I don’t know. I wanna say evil, but...” Spike shifted to sit on the edge of the map, now that Twilight was sitting upright in her chair.
    “You think they followed Mane-iac into the war?” Spike offered helpfully. Twilight gave a small laugh.
    “Yes, thank you, Spike… I’m sure one of them would have had some cheesy reference they could have made, no problem.” Twilight rubbed her forehead. “And now I don’t know what to do.”
    “Might I recommend the usual? Gather your friends and hash out a plan between all of you,” Spike suggested. “And you seem to have something of an advantage in this.” Spike pointed at the map. “I think it’s still tracking them. I watched their Cutie Marks move for a while... Not sure it’s following Light correctly, though. His cutie mark has been popping wildly everywhere.” 
Twilight looked up and saw that Spike was right; the three stallion’s cutie marks were moving. She blinked and suddenly the oddly familiar pattern of Light Patch’s was in Ponyville again. “Great.”