The crystal portal opened into a brand-new world. From the other side, the ‘Mane Six’ and Spike emerged. When they walked through the portal, as always, they looked around their new surroundings as the portal closed behind them. From what they could see, they stood upon some courtyard of some building of sorts. The sound of dragged chains drew their attention to the sidelines, where some men walked down a hallway. They were all chained together, a chain gang, escorted by men with guns. The very sight concerned the entire group greatly.
“W-W-Where are we?” Fluttershy quaked with fear.
“My guess would be some sort of prison,” Twilight responded.
“Prison?!” Rainbow gasped in fear. “No! Nuh-uh! No way! I don’t think so! I’m too young to be doing hard time!”
Applejack quickly threw a hoof over her mare friend’s mouth, keeping her quiet.
“Will ya keep it together Dash?!” She scolded silently. “Last thing we need is tah draw unwanted attention to ourselves.”
“I think that may be a tad difficult considering we’re magical talking ponies,” Rarity pointed out.
“Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it,” Twilight assured. “Follow me.”
Twilight Sparkle proceeded to lead the group toward an isolated area of the courtyard, where no prisoners or guards were about. Once in the dark, the Alicorn princess ignited her horn to life and cast a spell upon them all. Soon hooves and claws shifted to hands as the magic transformed them into their human forms. As the spell dissipated, every pony emerged from the shadows and looked down at themselves, sighing with some measure of relief.
“Okay, now we should be able to blend in slightly more,” Twilight said relieved.
“Is it just me, or have we been taking on human forms more recently during these adventures?” Spike questioned. “Not that it’s a bad thing, but it’s become… frequent.”
“I blame the writing,” Pinkie shrugged.
Hey! We’re doing the best we can!
Besides, had we not turned you guys human, who knows what would happen to you in this world? Well, we do… and it’s not pretty.
“Touche!” Pinkie spoke to the sky.
“Pinkster, who’re you talking to?” Rainbow asked.
“No need to worry Dashie,” Pinkie giggled.
“Well, what do we have here?”
Everyone jumped and turned as a group of prisoners approached from behind them. Leading this dangerous lot was a big Asian man with very short dark hair. The like of which made him look almost bald, complete with a goatee to match.
“New meat boys,” The man grinned wickedly. “And such pretty faces too. We don’t see many pretty girls in here. And look… they even brought a sibling. Isn’t that cute?”
The men soon surrounded the girls and Spike like a pack of hungry hyenas ready to pounce.
“Please don’t hurt us,” Fluttershy whimpered. “T-T-This is all a big misunderstanding—”
“Oh, don’t worry little girl,” The man replied. “We’ll make this quick for you. But I must warn you… first times often get a little… messy.”
The men snickered as they began to advance toward them, until Spike stepped right in front of them.
“Touch any of us and I’ll roast you alive!” He threatened.
The men paused for just a split second before they burst out laughing, loudly. It took a moment for Spike to put the two-and-two together, that he stood before them as not his usual dragon self… but a human teenage boy. Eventually, the men stopped laughing and the big man looked down upon the teen dragon turned boy.
“What are you going to do boy?” He asked.
*WHAM!*
On instinct, Spike delivered a stiff punch across the man’s jaw and the Equestrians gasped at the sudden action. The man stood with his head reared back, but then a chuckle escaped his lips. Slowly, he turned to face Spike again smiling ever so sinisterly with a bit of blood dripping down his lip.
“O-O-Oh Faust, man! I don’t know what came over me; I was just—”
*WHAM!*
Before Spike had any time to reply, the big man threw a massive punch toward Spike’s face knocking him right toward the dirt.
“SPIKE!!!” The girls yelled.
The man merely laughed as he stood over Spike, who tried to pick himself off the ground while spitting out blood in the process. The man then delivered a stiff kick to the gut and Spike rolled over, clutching his stomach in agony as he gasped for air.
“Leave him alone you jerk!” Rainbow yelled.
The rainbow-haired girl leapt upon the guy’s back and wrapped her arms around his head with a chokehold, trying to choke him out. But soon a pair of criminals reached out to rip her off. Rainbow Dash struggled slightly in their grip as they tried to force her to the ground.
*BAM!*
Applejack slammed one criminal in the face with a stiff kick knocking him flat on his back. With only one criminal left to deal with, Rainbow Dash slammed her elbows against the sternum loosening his grip. She then leaned the man forward and delivered a stiff knee against his nose, knocking him down. The other criminal was preoccupied with Applejack, who forced him down on the dirt as he scratched and clawed to regain his footing.
A few other thugs were busy with their friends, trying to grab them in more ways than none. Fluttershy was scared stiff as Twilight, Pinkie, and Rarity surrounded her in defense, as they found themselves backing into a corner.
In the meantime, the big man saw the other two girls dealing with his cellmates when others swarmed toward them, locking them in tight holds. Their leader slowly stalked toward them… when suddenly, the man hissed in pain. Spike had used one ounce of strength to leap from behind him and sunk his teeth on the calf of his right leg. Spike pinched his jaws as tightly as he could, as the big man twisted around and proceeded to wrap one hand against the back of Spike’s neck forcing him loose and holding him up till their eyes met. The man smirked sinisterly as he proceeded to thrust a fist against the boy’s ribs, shoved him back to the ground, and delivered a kick against the boy’s head. The more Spike tried to get up, the more punishment he received.
“I’m the king of this place boy!” The man snarled, kicking the boy’s sides. “You… are nothing!”
“Spike!” Rarity cried out.
“HEY!!”
The man stopped his assault and turned toward the one who yelled out to him, along with everyone else. Walking towards the group was a tall young man with dark-brown messy hair and goatee, dressed in dirty clothes.
“Leave the kids alone!” The man warned.
The big man and the other criminals chuckled once more over the sight of the younger man walking towards them.
“Leave now boy before you end up like this little worm,” The big man gestured to an injured Spike.
“I make you the same offer,” The young man retorted.
Once again, the big guy laughed before making a mad dash for the young man. He went for a huge right hook, to which the young man expertly dodged and countered with a stiff knee to the gut. The impact knocked the air out of the big man’s lungs. All at once, all the other thugs ran toward the young man. An all-out brawl soon ignited before the eyes of the Equestrian Heroes.
They watched as the young man hurled expert punches toward everyone. The group stood amazed as the man dodged the incoming attacks. One moment he back body-dropped one guy over his head, and then body slammed another in rapid fashion. He kicked one guy so hard in the leg, the girls cringed over a *CRACK!* as the guy screamed out in pain. Eventually, the young man had taken each and every criminal down to the point where they were either bleeding, crying out in pain, or out cold.
“Whoa…” Rainbow gaped in awe.
The man looked over toward the remaining young girls, who were helping their friend off the ground. Spike clutched his stomach as he gasped for air, a black eye was caught in the light following that brutal assault.
“Are you alright Spike?” Twilight asked worriedly.
“Ugh—yeah—I’m alright,” Spike grunted in pain. “He really got me there… but I’m cool.”
“No, you’re not!” Rarity argued. “You need medical attention; is there a doctor here?!”
By that point, the young man approached and offered them his hand in aid. Everyone eyed him for a brief moment, contemplating if they could trust him. But then again, he ‘did’ lay out a whole bunch of criminals to save them. Spike slowly reached out and grabbed his hand, allowing the young man to throw Spike’s arm over his shoulder, hook his own arm around the boy’s waist, and escorted him across the grounds.
“Thank you so much mister,” Pinkie spoke gratefully. “I don’t know what those big meanie heads were going to do to us if you hadn’t stepped in.”
“No doubt it wouldn’t have been anything good,” Rarity cringed.
“I’d have taken them all if I wanted to,” Rainbow spoke up.
The young man said nothing, just proceeded to help lead them to an area within the prison that could only be described as a medical ward. In actuality, it was merely a large jail cell where an elderly Asian man sat in a chair reading an old book. He looked up and noticed the young man dragging Spike in. Quickly, he stood up from the chair and gestured to a filthy bed in the cell corner.
“Lay him there,” He instructed.
The young man laid Spike upon the bed as gently as he could, so as not to hurt him anymore than he already was. The old man proceeded to look over him. While doing this, in a moment of gratitude, Twilight Sparkle embraced the young man with a hug, much to his and everyone else’s confusion.
“Thank you,” She whispered harshly.
The young man merely stood there until Twilight finally let go and he gave her a small nod.
“No problem,” He responded casually.
“I didn’t catch your name by the way,” Twilight informed.
“I didn’t give it,” The young man retorted.
He sat on a chair in the cell and began rubbing the dirt off his face. He looked back up seeing Twilight and the rest of the girls looking at him. With a heavy sigh, he threw his head back.
“It’s Wayne,” He introduced himself. “Bruce Wayne.”
“Well, we ow you much thanks for your help, Bruce,” Rarity smiled. “We’d have lost our friend if not for you.
“It’s fine, just don’t mention it… ever,” Bruce sighed.
At that moment, the old man looking over Spike finished his task and turned his attention toward the group.
“He has bruising of the ribs and a badly swollen eye,” He informed. “But a little rest and he’ll be fine.”
“Thank you so much,” Twilight thanked him. “Is there any way we can repay you mister…”
“Call me Seong,” The old man bowed his head. “You don’t need to repay me. Nothing like this should have happened to your friend or to all of you for that matter.”
“No kidding,” Rainbow agreed. “What’s with those guys anyway?”
The old man offered no reply, merely shrugged his shoulders.
“Where the hay are we anyway?” Applejack asked.
“This is Bhutan,” Seong responded. “We are in a prison in the Himalayas. How is it that a group of children such as yourselves end up here? What’re you even in here for?”
“We didn’t do anything illegal if that’s what you’re thinking,” Rainbow answered.
“You wouldn’t believe us if we told ya partner,” Applejack answered honestly.
“We’re just some victims of circumstance,” Pinkie added. “It’s not like we just escaped from a scaffold or anything!”
“Pinkie, please!” Rarity groaned.
“Well, it looks as though we’re stuck here for the time being,” Twilight spoke solemnly.
“But we can’t stay here,” Fluttershy squeaked. “Those men will just come back and try to hurt us.”
“We don’t have a choice Fluttershy,” Twilight responded. “We’re surrounded by armed guards and criminals with no idea how to get out… least not under our circumstances.”
“Well isn’t this a ‘great’ start to this adventure?” Rainbow said sarcastically.
“You can all stay here for the time being,” Seong told them. “We will keep you safe.”
“Thank you Mr. Seong,” Twilight thanked him. “I promise we won’t be a bother.”
Seong nodded before gazing out the cell and saw that in all this time, the sun had already set. The stars began to appear in the sky above.
“We must all sleep,” Seong said. “We have extra blankets for all of you, but sadly no extra beds.”
“Ain’t no problem for us,” Applejack replied. “We can rough it fer a bit.”
“Perhaps you can,” Rarity replied. “I for one have no desire to sleep on a dirty cold floor.”
“The only other option is to bunk out with those other criminals,” Bruce spoke up. “I don’t think they’ll be as accommodating as us.”
Rarity’s eyes quickly went wide before she quickly snatched a blanket and old pillow. In rapid fashion, she laid them out on the ground.
“On second thought, the ground sounds quite lovely,” She responded nervously.
“Good choice,” Bruce replied.
The rest of the girls proceeded to grab a blanket and pillow each. Casually, they laid them out on the ground before laying down. It may have been dirty, cold, and somewhat painful, but it was surely better than being surrounded by crazy prisoners out to hurt them. As they all closed their eyes for the night, they shared the same thought going through their heads.
What did we get ourselves into now?
<>
A pair of brilliant amethyst eyes opened up as Twilight Sparkle found herself standing outside what looked like a giant mansion. The mansion itself was absolutely marvelous with an elegantly formed foundation, a lush garden region, and a view that overlooked a giant city just on the outskirts of the mansion. She blinked her eyes a few times as she tried to understand what she was seeing.
“Where am I?” She asked herself.
Suddenly, the sound of giggling made her turn her attention to her side. Distant children’s laughter coming closer, as sunlight flickered through the trees running through the summer garden. Twilight saw a young girl with brown hair running across the yard of the mansion. Chasing after her was a young boy about ten years old.
“Catch me if you can Bruce!” The girl called over her shoulder.
“Rachel, let me see!” The boy called back.
The two children raced across the garden as Twilight watched after them.
“Bruce?” She asked herself. “Is this Bruce Wayne when he was younger? How am I seeing this?”
While these thoughts went on through her head, Twilight decided to follow the children to understand exactly what was going on. She ran after them through the garden while trying to keep herself hidden. She had no idea if they could even see her or not, but better to be safe than sorry. Eventually, she followed young Bruce into the greenhouse area where his little friend Rachel hid under one of the tables. Bruce knelt beside her as she held something behind her back.
“Come on Rachel, can I see?” Bruce asked.
“Finders keepers and I found it,” Rachel bragged.
“In MY garden!” Bruce reminded Rachel.
Rachel smiled as she pulled her arms out from behind her and opened her palm to reveal what resembled an arrowhead. Bruce smirked before quickly snatching the object off her hand and bolted from the greenhouse.
“Finders keepers!” He shouted loudly.
Rachel proceeded to pursue him, and Twilight followed closely behind the children though the greenhouse. The whole time she tried to determine just exactly what she was even seeing.
“This is obviously some kind of memory,” She informed herself. “But why am I seeing it? What purpose does it serve?”
Eventually, she followed Bruce to a region within the greenhouse where he hid behind a stone wall just as Rachel came in looking for him.
“Bruce?” She called out.
Bruce poked his head out from behind the wall he hid behind and then…
*CRACK!!!*
The wooden floor he knelt upon gave way under the boy’s weight. He tumbled down a storm well before landing at the bottom of what looked like a cave of sorts. Rachel noticed this and ran over to check if he was alright.
“Bruce?!” She called out.
But she heard no response. Worried, she proceeded to race out of the greenhouse calling for help.
“MOM! MR. ALFRED!”
Twilight, meanwhile, rushed over toward the well and cautiously looked down. She saw Bruce lying on the ground at the mouth of the cave itself. She considered using her magic to bring the boy back up, except… what would that accomplish? If this was all just a memory, nothing Twilight would do could change what has already taken place.
All of a sudden, her ears flicked as she recognized what sounded like fluttering heard inside the cave. The young Bruce looked toward the darkness with fear in his eyes. All at once, a giant swarm of bats burst from the cave and made their way up the well. Twilight fell to the ground as the bats started to overwhelm her.
Then eventually… all went black.
<>
Twilight’s eyes shot open, as she sat up quickly with a heavy gasp. Soon she found herself breathing heavily, clutching her chest as her eyes darted around herself. All her friends had just emerged from their own sleep. The princess soon looked over and noticed Bruce laying on his own bed, his eyes wide open as well. She soon noticed Seong sitting on his bed and merely looked at the two.
“Did you have a dream?” He asked Bruce.
“Nightmare,” Bruce corrected.
“Worse than this?” Seong gestured to the prison.
Bruce sat up in bed, looking across the other cell where the big guy from yesterday eyed him with murderous intent. Bruce merely sighed and leaned back against the wall of the cell. Meanwhile, the Mane Six collective emerged from their slumber, groaning while doing so.
“Man, my back feels like it got hit by a boulder!” Rainbow groaned in pain.
“My ‘face’ feels like it got struck by a boulder!” Spike muttered, rubbing his eye.
“I’ll never complain about another bed ever again,” Rarity whined, massaging her back.
Just then, a loud rumbling sound had them all looking over Pinkie Pie, who merely giggled in response.
“Oops, sorry about that ladies,” She smiled. “My tummy is feeling rumbly. I was so excited for Nightmare Night; I didn’t even have dinner.”
“Luckily, it’s time for breakfast,” Seong declared, standing up.
No sooner did he say that than Spike leapt from the other cot.
“Someone say breakfast?” He asked eagerly, then grimaced. “Ow…”
Twilight got up from the floor and approached her number one assistant. Upon a quick inspection, Spike’s eye was much more swollen today following the beating he took the other day.
“Are you feeling okay?” She asked worriedly.
“A little,” Spike groaned. “Still sore, but at least I can stand up. Besides, I could use a little grub.”
“Then let’s quit yapping and get snacking!” Rainbow spoke.
The group proceeded to depart from the cell and worked their way out to the courtyard. The yard was now filled with more prisoners than the day before. Guards stood all around with machine guns keeping a sharp eye out on everyone. Prisoners lined the yard, either doing prison work or waiting to eat. The Equestrian heroes got in line for breakfast and noticed a few prisoners walking away with bowls of what looked like white liquid and lumps of stuff in it.
“What kind of breakfast do they serve here?” Spike asked.
“Gruel,” Seong replied casually.
“I’d rather eat rock soup, thank you,” Rainbow said disgusted.
“Trust me hun, you don’t,” Applejack shook her head.
“Oh what I’d give for an omelet with egg whites and scallions,” Rarity said hungrily.
“Great, now you got me thinking about it!” Rainbow groaned.
“This feels just like the adult version of a British period musical drama based on a famous 1830’s novel,” Pinkie added, then gasped. “Say… any pony care for a light-hearted musical number on the joy of food?!”
“NOOOO!!!” The group objected.
“… Party poopers!” Pinkie frowned childishly.
Finally, Bruce made it to the front of the line as the cook dumped a scoopful of gruel into a bowl for him. He looked over, noticing the big guy and his gang walking in his direction. Of course, the young man merely acted as though he didn’t notice.
“They are going to fight you,” Seong whispered to him.
“Again?” Bruce rolled his eyes.
“Until they kill you.”
“Can’t they kill me before breakfast?”
“Perhaps if we just offer our meals peacefully, they’ll leave us alone?” Fluttershy asked hopefully.
Suddenly, the big guy swatted his bowl to the ground. His eyes stared upon Bruce with a malicious smile spread across his face.
“You are in hell, little boy!” He grinned.
*WHAM!!!*
A sudden right hook had Bruce leaning against the counter until the guy grabbed his hair and forced him to look directly in the eyes.
“And I am the devil,” The guy finished.
The big guy delivered yet another punch, causing Bruce to stagger back. But the young man merely shook it off.
“You’re not the devil,” He spoke defiantly. “You’re practice.”
The guy aimed another punch, but Bruce deflected it and elbowed the man square in the face before delivering a massive headbutt. Another guy attempted to intervene, but Bruce grabbed him and slammed him through the counter. All the other prisoners jumped in attempting to attack. Bruce simply used his momentum to kick himself off the counter and sent them crashing to the muddy ground. The whole time, Spike and the girls watched beside Seong.
“We need to do something!” Rainbow said. “He may be holding his own now, but who knows how long that’ll last?”
“What are we supposed to do?” Rarity asked.
“What do you think? Shut up and fight!”
Before anyone else could throw their two bits, Rainbow leapt upon one of the guys and took him down with a massive head scissor.
“Aww yeah! That’s how we do it in Equestria!” Rainbow bragged.
She proceeded to jump another guy, as Bruce dragged another through the mud. Not wanting to just stand on the sidelines, the others shrugged before leaping into the fray. Applejack delivered one guy a stiff kick to the groin, the prisoner’s eyes bulged out and he fell onto the ground wincing in pain. Spike raked another guy across the face with his nails and hit a stiff uppercut under the chin. Rarity locked a guy in a headlock as Fluttershy swept a leg under him and knocked him flat. Twilight proceeded to roundhouse kick three guys in the back of the heads causing them to flip themselves back-first onto the mud. Pinkie Pie merely took two bowls of gruel from some random prisoners and slammed them against one prisoner’s head like cymbals, and the man fell backwards, his face dripping with hot gruel and broken bowl pieces.
Suddenly, the guards started firing warning shots into the air, before jumping in and prying Bruce (And the Equestrians) away.
“Solitary!” One guard yelled, dragging them off.
“For what?!” Bruce yelled.
“Protection!” The guard responded.
“I don’t need protection.”
“Protection for them!” The guard corrected, gesturing to the fallen goons.
“Oh come on, they started it!” Rainbow yelled.
The guards dragged the group down to the Solitary Confinement unit of the prison. One by one, they were tossed into a large stone cell with a big iron door.
“Get in!” The guard demanded, shoving them inside.
Once everyone was inside, the guards locked the door behind them. They picked themselves off the ground, as their eyes adjusted to the dark.
“Well that’s just great!” Rainbow said sarcastically. “We’re stuck here because of those jerk-heads!”
“The only one that should be blamed here is you!” Rarity pointed out. “Had you just stayed out of it, we wouldn’t be here right now. Classic Rainbow Dash, always making a scene.”
“Classic Rarity, never letting things go!” Rainbow countered.
“It just happened!” Rarity exclaimed loudly.
“Please don’t fight!” Fluttershy squeaked.
“I for one am glad to give that jerk a good punch!” Spike spoke proudly. “Nobody makes a punching bag out of this guy!”
While they were talking, Twilight walked over and helped Bruce back to his feet.
“Sorry about getting you into this mess,” She apologized.
“It has nothing to do with you,” Bruce replied. “I’ve been fighting those guys since the day I got thrown in here.”
“But why?” Twilight asked.
“Guess you can say I have a punchable face,” Bruce joked.
“I often wonder at the riches to be found in dark places.”
A new voice caused everyone to cease speaking and they looked over toward the darkness of the cell corner. From out of the shadows, a middle-aged man stepped out. He had dark hair, a forked beard, and even wore a rather nice three-piece suit. A tad weird for the Equestrians seeing as though they were in a prison.
“Are you so desperate to fight criminals that you lock yourself in to take them on one at a time?” The man asked Bruce.
“Actually, there were seven of them,” Bruce informed.
“I thought it was nine,” Rainbow corrected.
“I counted ‘six’, Mr. Wayne,” The man responded.
Bruce froze and slowly turned back to look the man in the eyes.
“How do you know my name?” He asked curiously.
The man gave a small smirk before responding.
“The world is too small for a man like Bruce Wayne to disappear, no matter how deep he chooses to sink.”
The man then looked over toward the Mane Six and Spike.
“Though I must admit, I was not counting on the Elements of Harmony to drop into this prison.”
All eyes, from Spike and the girls, went wide upon hearing that.
“You know who we are?” Twilight questioned.
“Indeed,” The man nodded. “I have a vast knowledge of worlds beyond this one. Nothing happens that I do not know about. I believe you can show us your ‘true selves’ now.”
The Mane Six and Spike looked back and forth between on other, then to Bruce and the man who seemed to know who they were. With a reluctant sigh, Twilight closed her eyes as her magic began to envelop them all. Once cleared, they once more assumed their equine and dragon forms respectively, and the man smiled with satisfaction.
“Much better,” He said.
Bruce, meanwhile, stood shocked and confused.
“Just when you think you’ve seen it all,” He mumbled.
“So you know about us, but we know nothing about you,” Twilight told the man.
“Who are you?” Bruce asked.
“My name is merely ‘Ducard’, but I speak on behalf of Ra’s Al Ghul,” The man responded. “I trust you’ve heard the name?”
The Mane Six and Spike merely shook their heads, yet Bruce looked as though he in fact knew something.
“I’ve heard the legends,” He responded. “Master warrior, international mercenary, feared by all the criminal underworld, some even say he’s immortal.”
“You know your history Mr. Wayne,” Ducard smirked. “But he is also a man who can offer you a path. He can offer all of you a path.”
This caused Bruce to chuckle and lean back against a wall.
“What makes you think I need a path?” He asked skeptically.
“Or us for that matter?” Twilight asked. “We already have a destined path set before us.”
“A path that has landed you right here and now,” Ducard reminded her. “Someone like Mr. Wayne is only here by choice. You have been exploring the criminal fraternity, but whatever your original intentions you have become truly lost.”
This caused Bruce to look back at Ducard, only this time he actually looked like he was listening.
“And what path can Ra’s Al Ghul offer?” He asked.
“The path of a man who shares his hatred of evil and wishes to serve true justice,” Ducard responded. “The path of the League of Shadows.”
Once again, Bruce delivered a sarcastic chuckle.
“You’re vigilantes,” He chuckled.
“No, no, no,” Ducard shook his head. “A vigilante is just a man lost in the scramble for his own gratification. He can be destroyed or locked up. But if you make yourself more than just a man, if you devote yourself to an ideal, and if they can’t stop you, then you become something else entirely.”
“Which is?”
“Legend, Mr. Wayne.”
Ducard soon turned back toward the ‘Mane Six’ and Spike.
“You all were always meant to be much more than mere agents of peace and harmony,” He told them. “Celestia always knew it, but never told you how much more you were meant for.”
He started to make his way for the door before turning back once again.
“Tomorrow, you will all be released. If you are bored of brawling with thieves and want to achieve something, there is a rare blue flower that grows on the eastern slopes. Pick one of these flowers. If you can carry it to the top of the mountain… you may find what you were looking for in the first place.”
“And what was I looking for?” Bruce asked.
“Only you can know that…” Ducard smirked.
The man left the cell and the guards sealed (and locked) the door behind them again. This left Bruce and the Equestrians pondering in the darkness of the cell, wondering just what happened. One thing was certain: Things had gotten more complicated than they had been before.