//------------------------------//
// Chapter XIV 
// Story: An Unexpected Guest 
// by PropsValroa 
//------------------------------//

Cali had looked to what Twilight had said there with a confused, almost paranoid look on her face. "What do you me-" Cali growled as the blade struck through her there, since it was a dream there was no pain. At least this time. Cali would then turn to see Twilight in the dungeon, in her unicorn form. Cali had looked to her with a confused, yet still paranoid expression. It eventually turned to anger, almost although he had stayed silent.

Twilight rolled her eyes, "Not that quick on the uptake are you? I knew Blu was the brains of the operation. Look around! Even a foal could tell that we're still in a dream." She gestured to the crystal walls, which weren't showing correct reflections. "I assume you're not another fake, since I got here first. Maybe I'm finally getting to the top layer of this dreamscape."

She went to the door of the cell, "It's always the same each time. But surely it can't be going on forever. It's got to end somewhere."

Cali huffed and breathed deeply. "For a moment there...I thought you found some way of getting out and you were going to leave me trapped behind in the dream." she frowned and shook her head and got up. She stood infront of the cell door before looking at him. "Anyways, I assume you believe this dream is layered into various forms, and the more we do reality changing things or altering things, shocking things, the closer we get to being awake?" Cali asked her before with her hand slicing through the door, since it was a dream she could do anything.

"I propose we explore the castle, I don't know the layout of your castle. If we are trapped there, we need to plan an efficient escape route in case we are. Does that sound good?" 

Cali tried to cut through the door, but found it was just as solid as if it were real. Twilight rolled her eyes at that. "That would work, if it were our dream. We're held here by a specter, likely enthralled by Blu. It's his dream, just like all the other layers. He sets the rules, so we have to play by them until we find a gap in his plan."

Twilight finished investigating the lock, shifting a piece of it it slid open, "He's starting to repeat himself with the locks, I've already seen that one."

She opened the door, "If this is anything like the other layers, it's exactly the same layout as the real castle, just with far more stairs going everywhere." She led the way through the castle, entering a stairway that was a veritable mess of stairs going everywhere with a void around them, then into the map room, where instead of a map was a hole. "Every time I come in this room, I get pushed into the hole by you, then I wake up back in the cell."

"So if I am to understand correctly, you've woken up before independently of our shared dream and then you tried to find a way out of this room, only to be pushed into that hole by a clone of me? Huh. Well then. Perhaps we should stay out of the room with the hole. So how exactly are we supposed to get out of here? If we try to fight the Spector, it'd surely alert Blu of our activities, will it not?" Cali asked and looked down either side of the hall way.

"We need to be stealthy here, you know. Avoid being spotted by anything. Hell, even our awareness of the situation might alert attention to ourselves. I propose we try to escape the castle, and find aw ay to destroy this set up. Or maybe just get as far as possible from here. Either or." Cali said to Twilight quietly.

Twilight looked surprised, "Shared dream? What are you talking about? This is the first time we've interacted since you pinned me to the map!" She rubbed her forehead, "IT would be just like Blu to make another clone act stupid to throw me off my groove."

She walked around the room, pacing to think, "Every dream space has a weak point, something to escape through. The key is to find it to get to the next layer and eventually escape the dream. Specters are mostly passive creatures, easy enough to fend off when you know they're there. They typically leach off the fear in dreams, but these are well enthralled, they won't stick themselves out and risk breaking the dream. Who knows how many are out there tying us down?"

She seemed to get an idea, "Although... they aren't known for being very smart, we could maybe overload the dream to force them to give us control to let ourselves out. They're already strained by the reflections, it shouldn't take much to push them over the edge. If we could find the library, enough open books should do it."

"That is where you are wrong, Twilight. You shot a blade at me through a book you opened, I told you all about my past. Unless you have forgotten that? If you did, then you are nothing more than a creation of Blu. I can't trust you. I know for one thing is certain, there is obvious manipulation going on here. He is trying to make us not work together. That is, if you are even real. Do you think Blu has the creativity to tell a story like mine?" Cali asked, her eyes narrowing slightly.

Twilight looked taken aback, "I did no such thing! I've been in these looping rooms since you pinned me to the table. Who's to say that the Twilight you spoke to wasn't the figment? Or maybe you're just another figment sent to throw me off! Maybe I am finally getting close on the hole and just need to do it a few more times and you're just distracting me!"

Twilight aborted her course to head back to the map room, and would jump through the hole.

"But from what you say there, it sounds...logical. Logical enough. I do not scare one bit of dreams, as I have had my fair share of nightmares to the point where I don't quiver once at them. Could open books, but I have something else in mind that I have tried before."

Cali remembered a trick she would have used in nightmares. "If this works, I will see if you are telling the truth." she said boldly and stood still. She focused on the feeling of an extreme adrenaline rush going through her, thinking about something like, a really powerful rollercoaster, or something. Then, she mentally conveyed that feeling to the dream itself, but in a way one wouldn't think. She imagined that feeling being a sharp blade, ready to slice through the dream, and into the waking world. She intensified this feeling within herself, and hoped to wash away the dream with this feeling. 

There was certainly a reaction from the world, her mental attack coinciding with Twilight's exit through the hole, a number of fissures appeared in the walls around Cali and if she approached any of them she'd wake up in another room. While it felt more real than the last two, could she be sure she was really awake?

She and Twilight sat in opposing ends of a cell. Twilight in her alicorn form was asleep, her legs and wings bound. Cali herself was in a makeshift straight-jacket, and she could still feel the effects of the nullification rune, indicating she was still in or near the castle.

Blu of all things stood outside the cell, he looked surprised to see Cali stirring but didn't seem scared, he looked impressed even, "You're awake? Good. I'm surprised you made it out, I had to make it strong enough to keep Princess Sparkle in, leaving an easy way out for you would have meant she could also easily escape."

Cali looked to Twilight as she descended into the hole. Something clicked in her mind. She had to make her own plan. "Whether you were the real Twilight or not, you will never the truth until the real one stands before me." she said as she watched Twilight jump through the hole with an expression of sorrow. Cali stood there, upon watching the fissures grow in size. She did not step into any of them. Opting to stay put.

Upon Cali awakening in the other room she scanned her surroundings and saw Twilight to the side there and then heard Blu's voice. She did not respond to Blu. Words weren't worth the time. Instead, she attempted the same thing. If this was still a dream, then likely there would be fissures. If there weren't, then this was real. 

If it was real she would stay still and just mentally process what was going on, if not, she would stay put and not go into the fissures yet again. She would be intending on repeating this process until she was in the real world. No matter her emotions, she had to keep them in check. Use them as fuel, for what she was planning on mentally.

The fissures appeared again, but she woke up in an identical room, and Blu continued speaking as if nothing had happened, "I hope you'll forgive the precautions, I had to be sure after all."

"You did threaten to kill me."

"You threatened to harvest my fellow unicorns."

"I had hoped we could clear up any misunderstandings first?"

He would stand there patiently for a few cycles of the process if Cali didn't stop.

"I see you aren't used to this."

"While typically this would get you out of a layered dream,"

"I haven't put the two of you in a layered dream."

"I've put you in a circular dream."

"Round and round you go."

"You'll tire eventually, and then we'll talk."

After a few rounds Cali would seem to give up, she would remember his words before she would laugh. "I've been in this world for a long time, and if I wanted any of that, I would have already done so, you should know that first and foremost. I want one simple thing, and one simply thing only. To leave. I want to leave you behind. I want to leave everyone else in this fucking world behind? Understand? And if you doubt my words, you have access to that library, you can read my mind, and you will find exactly as I am saying is the truth." she spoke in a way that Blu had not heard before.

"I want nothing to do with you. I gave you access to that library. All your dreams. Boom. Now give me something in return for that. I was so gracious for allowing you to access that? Then why don't you do something for me? You have this ALL wrong, and look what situation you drug us into. I want nothing to do with it. I want to disappear over the fucking horizon, never to see your equine form ever again. Works for the both of us, doesn't it? Or, will you keep me here for all eternity? You will grow bored with that. You are far too...whats the word I don't know...I know you wouldn't satisfied with that." Cali huffed.

"And once you read my mind, you'll find out how much you have hurt me. So much for friendship...hah! I knew it would end this way..." Cali rolled her eyes. 

Blu simply sighed and nodded, "As you wish. I had supposed that you would want that, so while you two were sleeping I had a friend of mine construct something that will do just that. With all the power I was able to absorb from the two of you I've been able to find no less than two dozen stable, hospitable worlds I could send you to. Would you like to pick where? Or do you have no preference?"

If Cali indicated a willingness to choose Blu would start showing some images of the worlds he had used the foresight glasses to point the dimensional gateway towards. "The gateway will be fully charged in about a day from now, which I can allow to pass instantaneously for you if you would like. Just choose where you want to go, and that is where you'll wake up."

Cali looked on in great disbelief. "How do I know what I am seeing is really what is there? You could be sending me to hell for all I know. You misunderstood. I want out. I want out in this world, I want you to release me from wherever the fuck I'm held at and I'll go, capiche? And if I am to exit through a portal, it will be one of my own construct. Not yours. Do you understand that?" Cali asked in disbelief, she was quite paranoid of where he might send her after all. So she chose none of the options. 

Blu shook his head with a sad expression, "You seem to be under the delusion that you have any say in this matter other than what I ask you. You leaving this world is non-negotiable. You've already proven yourself powerful as well as mentally unstable, prone to outbursts, lacking empathy, if not an outright psychopath. You are a clear and present danger to this world, and I've no doubt that if you had the chance you would eventually find someone who wouldn't stop you from committing the atrocities I am stopping you from committing today."

He sighed, "There's nothing more than my word that I can offer you that these images are true, as that is worth little if anything to you I can support that I have nothing to gain from lying to you about this. All these worlds present the same cost, and I think it is a fair alternative to forcibly stripping you of your powers, don't you? Make a choice please, if I am lying it won't change anything, if I'm not lying then you'll have had a say in where you go."

He looked over at the sleeping Twilight, "If you don't want to choose, maybe she'll choose for you? Do you think she'll have your best interest in mind?"

Cali huffed. "You don't get it, do you? Of course I do have empathy! Its just that I've been so alone all these years I've never gotten the chance to express it! If anything I've proved to you its that I trust others too easily, maybe its since I've been lost all these years! You don't know me, Blu. You have no idea what I have been through! And you whole entire plan here, and thought process is based off an assumption! That of which in itself is a lie. Who do you think you are to decide my fate? God? You are no god. Remember why you are here, its because I gave you the resources to even build this portal! You have the chance to perform your wildest dream, all because of what I've generously granted you!" Cali cracked an almost sly, but distasteful grin. It also bore a look of somberness too. 

Cali looked over to the sleeping Twilight and looked back to Blu. A strange look on her face showed as she spoke like that of an elder, or someone with something that Blu doesn't have.

"How about we kill 2 birds with one stone? Send me and Twilight to another world. You don't like her, you don't like me. Get rid of us both." she suggested. Maybe going to another world wouldn't be so bad after all. Yet deep down, she said that because she didn't want to be alone. 

Blu looked a bit taken aback, "My wildest dream? My wildest dream!?" His image shifted, allowing her to see his human form. He looked fairly average, somewhat lanky build and quite thin. His skin was pale and his eyes... they bore into her with such inner pain.

"All my life I've been abandoned, kept around out of obligation, passed back and forth among those who did not respect me or love me. My wildest dream was to have a family that loved me. To belong and be wanted somewhere. And YOU, you threatened to take it all away from me."

He reverted to his pony form, and looked away for a moment, moving as if speaking to someone else.

He sighed as he turned back to Cali, "Perhaps I was too harsh. My... she thinks you might deserve another chance, that perhaps we could make things right. Especially considering what you and Princess Sparkle discussed earlier."

He looked over at the sleeping form of Twilight and sighed, "I never wanted to hurt her, only to make her see. Make her understand what she did to me, help her not fall into the same trap that Celestia did. Princess Sparkle isn't perfect, but she's trying. I have never once referred to her by anything less than her title because I respect her despite everything."

He sighed again, "I'll leave the two of you to talk, maybe by the end you can convince me why I wouldn't be putting everyone I love at risk by allowing you to remain."

Blu would disappear from the dream, and Twilight would stir to wakefulness, "Wha- are we out? This is different than before."

Cali growled in response to what Blu had said, and at his human appearance. "While I have a...profound sympathy for what you have gone though, it does not give you the same right to do the exact same thing to others! I am not taking anything away from you, Blu. You are taking away my chance to see my friends again! Not that I care anymore at this point since that is a lost cause! I told you everything about what I have gone through, and still, you fucking backstab me! You are a damn liar! Your own pain is not an excuse to blind yourself from others pain! It just makes you look like a god damn hypocrite! Even if you let me remain, I would never ever work with you considering what you have done to me!" she said in a boiling, scathing rage that would be sure to leave a mark on Blu. Her look bore one of extreme rage, and hate, but also betrayal and pain. She was quite hurt by what had happened there, and she wasn't going to let it go. 

Then she'd smirk wildly at this situation. It was an almost insane look on her face, its as if her cares almost were gone and replaced by a newfound almost...enjoyment? Whatever it was, it felt very strange for Cali. "You have access to my mind, and you will see for yourself that all I said was true. We had a friendship you know, until you ruined it out of a probability, you were one of the few ones I ever truly trusted and cared for...but look what you have done! I was never going to do anything to you! My plan is to get out of here, to where you won't be able to control my life! You backstabbed me, took my abilities, and left me trapped in a dream realm! If that isn't a betrayal I don't know what is! how do you expect me to FORGIVE THAT?!" her rage seemed to multiply by tenfold but she would simply just sit there silently, fuming in absolute rage. Then her eyes took more of a saddened character. "I made that plan so we could work together...and you just...threw it all away! Hmph!" she rolls her eyes in dismission of her previous plan. All she secretly wanted was just to make a friend through some haphazard plan that would never really work. She was not one for power after all. Power was just a lie. The lack of having power over others is what made it all fun, at least for her. 


She would then look to Twilight when everything shifted with her arms crossed. As everything shifted she were rather desensitized to how it all changed.

"Hah, we aren't out yet! I wouldn't be surprised if your yet another creation of his to torture and fry my damn mind! Ugh! Fuck me! Fuck my life..." she sighed in defeat and sat down by Twilight, her mind was all over the place in several directions. She almost couldn't handle it. "You know, I think he might be right. Maybe it is better if I just leave this dimension and go somewhere else...but then I'd be back at square one...alone..." she would look up to Twilight sadly. 

Blu was gone long before Cali finished speaking, though given the passion of her words she likely wouldn't have noticed.

Twilight didn't have the most impressed expression as she looked at Cali, "You're a bit quick to flu off the handle aren't you? You get caught in a trap meant to contain me, he even apologized to you for it when you first woke up. I know he did because I heard it too. He told you he had to be certain that it would work the first time, because if it didn't, I would step back in time and warm myself about the trap so as not to fall for it. He told you, correctly, that he can't let you out without letting me out too."

She rolled her eyes, "Then you had to go and threaten him. One misunderstanding and you're ready to burn down the whole world? No wonder he wants you gone. Has he done anything, anything at all before this moment to make you think he might not be on your side? Then why think now that he's betrayed you when the far simpler scenario is that he was telling the truth?"

She sighed, "Now, I meant what I said earlier when I said I would talk to him about allowing you to stay, about convincing him to help you find your friends and send you there. However, you're going to need to work on your temper too. You threatening to kill people at the first sign of downturn will not make things easy for you."

"Also, while he may control the dream world, he does not have any access to our minds. He wouldn't stoop to mind reading anyway, the very concept is revolting to him. So then, what are we going to do? Or are you going to wish death on me as well?"

Cali would sit there thinking about what Twilight had said there. She huffed inwardly and looked to her with pure confusion. "I-I guess what you are saying makes sense...he never seemed to do anything against me until now. I just literally can't handle this! I can't think straight at all!" she huffed at that more and tried to breathe to calm herself down. "Why did he need to put me in this trap, then? He betrayed me by doing so? What the hell was I supposed to think about that, especially considering that he had never done anything against me prior?" she'd stand there silently at that, her hands on her hips.

"This isn't a mere misunderstand, Twilight! He trapped me in a dream, and took my ability, making me virtually powerless. You can't expect that to be a simple misunderstanding, can you? If so that is one hell of a misunderstanding. I was the one that came up with this plan to begin with! How am I possibly so blind sighted? Probably from all those years of relying on brawn instead of brains, you know? Or maybe I'm just plain stupid." she would bury her head in her hands for a few moments in utter shame.

Twilight thought a moment, "Well, the trap was designed for me right? My two strongest attributes are my magic and my intelligence, and this trap directly countered both of them, the draining field disabled my magic, and the dream trap kept me from forming a plan to escape. If I understood the trap correctly I needed to be in the middle to maximize the effect, and were you not there to pin me in place I may have moved out from the middle and evaded the trap, and the two of you would not get a second chance to spring it. IF he left a way for you to escape I could just as easily escape by the same way. Maybe he should have warned you about the nature of the trap, but he may have feared I could have gleaned some way to escape the trap from you if you knew about how it worked."

Cali sighed deeply at that and just huffed. "This whole plan was just really stupid, not only that but I probably wouldn't have gone along with it if he actually told me of that needed...step if you will. I am never planning things with him or doing things like this ever again. I am just done with it. I told you where your friends are, they are safe, unharmed, and I am sure Blu would just return them and we can wash our hands of this. But, I will be reading from that library...more if I should ever get out of this...clearly I didn't use my time wisely enough...if I was actually smart I would have mastered all forms of magic...but I was blind sighted by my pure hubris..." she said rather shamefully.

She then would look to Twilight in genuine curiosity. "What should I do then? Kiss ass to him in hopes to escape? Surrender my will to him? I don't know what I can do. I am literally powerless here. And so are you. I am sorry I got you caught up in my stupid jaunts. This should have never happened. And its all my damn fault! I am my own worst enemy in most cases...god! Why did I have to do this...I am never planning things with people ever again since I'll just fuck it up!" she sat down and flailed her arms, feeling quite defeated.

Twilight shook her head, "Of course not, Blu doesn't respect those who give up. Further he also messed up here, and if I know Dinky she'll get Blu back here to apologize himself before long. Neither of you are perfect, and the two of you have a lot more in common than you think. If you both look to mend this bridge you could both get what you want without hurting each other further. You're only restrained now because you threatened to kill him, if you explain why you felt betrayed I'm sure he'll understand."

Cali thought about what Twilight had said there for a few passing moments. She were still angered. "What is there he doesn't understand? He literally threw me under the bus here! He didn't tell me a damn thing about this. Whats Dinky? I am not sure what you are talking about...but anyways what is it of you speak of having a lot in common? What is it I have in common with him? I have nothing in common with him...but I guess we are both from other worlds...with knowledge of unusual magic. I guess? But still, he threw me under the bus here and there is no way I am going to forget this." she would huff, her eyes narrowed.

"How the hell am I supposed to make this up? I can't trust Blu. He's literally wanting to send me into another dimension and he put me in here with you, without my consent or foreknowledge! If by some chance I manage to get us out of this I am running for the damn hills and I am never being seen again by either of you, do you understand that? I can probably find some other method on my own to get what I want, should I desire to do so. Working with people only ends so badly for me! This was one of the few times to do it...but the last time Twilight is something I want to tell you about..." she said and pulled out what seemed to be 3 metallic rods with horizontal slots in them. With blinking lights. She waved them in the air.

"Oil from the trees...dirt from the ground...water from a stream and a magic infused crystal...combined in a beacon. A dimensional beacon, with 3 of these I managed to escape the previous world...albeit they are not my invention, I believe I could...repurpose this idea with study and with luck, I believe I could escape this realm on my own if I needed...yet I never thought of this before! I don't really think they'd work...but its just a thought...first I have to get you and me out of something that I started...I'll fix your lawn after this I swear!" Cali said and sort of bowed before Twilight in a weird motion. After that she stood up and walked to the 3 rods.

With a weird hand motion over the rods, tripod legs extended from then. With a twist of the top part, there was weird click sound in each. Then a blue line formed between the 2 of them, a ray of light shooting up from the ground of them into a blue portal formed a bit above the 3 beacons. Cali would look to Twilight, then shaking her head.

With a sigh she looked to Twilight almost guiltfully. "Or...I can start a new life here...with you and the others. But I don't know if you would even accept that...w-would that be better? It'd be more realistic..." she said somewhat nervously. For once, Cali seemed nervous.

Twilight watched with an appraising eye, "Those look similar to something Blu dreamed about once, I think they were related to what first sent him here, maybe one of your friends ending up in his world? Still, if you want to pursue this idea, you'd need to interact with Blu in some capacity. On the other hoof, if you want to just live here, peacefully, I would be happy to accommodate that request. We could find you a place to live either close or far from others based on your preference, put you far from Blu if it suits you, though I imagine he'd avoid you as well if you wanted that."

"Absolutely not. I am not interacting with him. Not after this! Do you not understand how much he has hurt me here? But in a way...this is almost a good thing...since I probably would have started a war in my original plan. But still he is not entirely innocent either, he instigated and planned with me. Plotted this out with me. If it wasn't for him, I would have done a brute force attempt and gotten banished from this dimension. Don't forget that. It was only due to him something so...unique was able to occur. And as for living here, I have no idea. I don't really care honestly. But I assume...you'd want me to stay in pony form to avoid scaring ponies...which is fine. But I don't know what to do...as for the dimensional beacons...I can probably work something like that on my own eventually. After things have...settled...I don't know how you are going to explain this shit to your leaders...and the public..." Cali would conclude, seeming satisfied with that newfound plan. She had hoped to get out of this situation soon enough. 

Twilight had a bit of a sad smile as she listened to Cali's responses, "Well, they got used to Discord well enough, so I think they'd be able to adjust to your human form as well if that is what you would prefer. I won't require you to be something you're not. As it pertains to what I'll tell everyone else... I think telling them you're a confused and lost creature from another world might work, the ponies here tend to move on and forget when enough time has passed, though it might be best if you didn't live here or in Stratusberg to minimize contact with those you've already affected."

It wasn't long before Blu appeared again, looking a bit subdued but still resolved, "The rest of the council feels it hasty to have you exiled without trial, especially since what you've done is far from the worst these towns have suffered. So I'll release you into their custody. And for what it's worth, I'm sorry for my actions. I should have had enough trust in you to tell you the whole plan."

Blu closed his eyes, and their surroundings fell away like so many leaves blowing in the wind, revealing that they were sitting on the map table, neither of them were bound, but there were a good number of guards around them, plus the elements of harmony. Blu nodded to a magenta unicorn who erased part of the rune, disabling the nullification field.

Cali would have awkwardly smiled back to Twilight. "I guess thats our plan then...I don't have any problems with that. I can assume any form I want so nothing is too bad...I guess." Cali simply sighed as everything faded away with the dream. And much to her surprise, she was on the map table. Unbound. She was more confused, but also relieved. Her eyes scanned the surroundings. 

She locked eyes with the elements. They had been freed and there was also tons of guards and other ponies about. With a pleasured look, she felt her magic return. In a red shifting form, Cali would transform into her Unicorn mare form. But also adorning alicorn wings. She saw no reason not to have them. Maybe she wanted to gain reactions out of the other ponies in the room. She then would sit up and stretch. "Ugh...GOD how long has it been? Weeks? Years...centuries?!" to emphasize her point Cali had stretched her legs and wings out to more than what would be possible. Her eyes turned into large iron rods that extended into wild angles above the crowd. Eyeballs overlooking the crowd.

"Whew! It feels so good to have this back you know, after it was...wrongfully stolen from who I thought was my friend..." the iron rods with the eyeballs would look down onto Blu and sprout several more of their form. At least a dozen eyes looked down to him in a disapproving nature. As soon as that all had happened, the iron rods and eyes retracted back down into Cali's pony eyes which blinked.

"...As I was saying, for all of your knowledge he was the one that encouraged and helped me with my plan. If it wasn't for this massive misunderstanding I would probably have done...I don't know? Bad things? But even so, I could never have the heart to rule over others. Thats not my...style...why rule at all? Thats really stupid if you ask me...you get all that life grants you...whats the funin that! I have all these powers, I could do...so much damage if I really wanted..." then with a red flash, Cali would be standing on the table in her human form. "But like I said, ain't my style. Whats the fun in getting it all at once? Whats the fun without triumph, victory, by your own hand rather than some weird ass powers granted to you?" she'd grin slyly. 

To them she'd probably look like a weird ape or something. "Its funny how you all...think of this a certain way. Tell you what, you all have access to knowledge of another world. I'll give you all books about it, or just Twilight here. And what did you say about a council or a trial...hmmm? I don't believe thats needed...just return the stolen crap I put in that room in the library...or should I teleport all of it here? Maybe some gold bars from the fabled Fort Knox?  Or maybe some German made Reichsmarks...whatever you wish, it shall be yours..." Cali would bow in an almost weird way.

Yet Blu and Twilight could tell this was probably more of an act to hide the hurt inside of her. She then glared at Blu in an expression of extreme disappointment. Almost contempt. "Perhaps maybe if you had the desire, will or interest to actually...communicate with me none of this would have ever happened! I feared for my life that you would keep me like that forever and that you were going to feed me to the wolves or something! Do you not know how much you hurt me, Blu? Betrayed by the ONLY...friend that I had in a very very very long time? You do not know how much that fucking hurts..." she'd start to have a few tears drip down her eyes, but would wipe them away and just look at him with sorrow. She were also, a bit angry.

Blu rolled his eyes, and while some of the others gave him the occasional glance they didn't seem too impressed.

Blu waved a hoof dismissively as he turned away, "Given Princess Sparkle is no longer incapacitated I hereby relinquish my title and power back to her, and all that jazz. Now if you'll  excuse me, Dinky would rather this town remain on the map, so I've got some work to do."

With that he would stalk out of the room while the elements came over to Twilight, Fluttershy gave Cali a decent bearth, but the others paid her no mind, with the exception of RD, who fixed her with a straight glare, "Abducting me in my sleep, not cool. Don't forget you had us trapped in a dream too, so I think your punishment fits the crime." She waved forward another guard who held a scroll, "You've several counts of theft and vandalism leveled against you, as well as two cases of abduction, and high treason. With Prince Baseplate's approval, you've been cleared of the latter charges. You are still responsible for the counts of vandalism and theft, though it is up to Princess Sparkle how you are to repay that debt."

Twilight stood up from the care of her comrades, "As you claim to still have these stolen goods with you, or in your power, we will ask that you personally return them to their rightful owners. Per the vandalism, you've proven yourself quite capable with magic, I'm sure you'll be able to find a way to undo the damage you've done. After which you'll be a free citizen of Equestria, if you so desire."

Cali would simply narrow her eyes at Blu as he left. She were still angry at him and it seemed that his mind were set on the matter. She didn't really care . She had no idea what 'Dinky' was though and proceeded to just ignore that. Upon Rainbow Dash's speaking up she would seem to stand up straight as if irritated by her remark. "Guess he gets off scot free for working, conspiring, and plotting with me. Unfair!" she would speak rather harshly and in a dismissive manner.

Then she'd look to the guard who read off the charges, and then to Twilight. "All that, I can easily do. No problem. But prey I tell, you, Rainbow Dash, do not speak to me in that manner ever again. Or better yet, I never want to see you again." she would look to Fluttershy. "I am sorry you had to be a part of mine and Blu's planning, however, rest assured...I am never working with him again." she huffed, though her inner anger was directed at Blu and not Fluttershy of course.

Cali would step off the table looking at them. "Now if you please, I have work to do. If you want to watch over me, feel free. Maybe you will learn a thing or 2. But now that I have taken this path of fixing what I have done, do not talk down to me or bother me with it. I could have easily been more dangerous if I had wanted. But I didn't choose that path." Cali said.

Provided that if Cali had been allowed to walk out, she would have walked on over to the damaged grass around Twilight's castle. Damaged from the battle. She would turn her arm into a large scythe. In her human form, she would swing the scythe's blade across the damaged areas in a certain way that would hide the damaged dirt. And would put the dirt where it would came from. She would remain silent and distasteful as this act would continue. It would take a little while, perhaps half an hour or so to fix the damage around the castle. But after she were done it mostly would look as it was. 


Then she would look to the ponies that would likely still be watching. "Off to Stratusburg, are we?" she would ask as her scythe arm seemed to retract.