//------------------------------// // Sweetness, wait! // Story: The Elements of Salvation // by Slick Dash //------------------------------// "What did you say?" Seed cried in surprise, bolting to stand besides his two unicorn friends. Chrysalis glared up at him, obviously livid that she had to say it to spare her life. "Your parents are alive..." She mumbled, her eyes dropping to the tiled floor. "WHERE ARE THEY?!" Thor shouted happily, rushing to catch up with Seed. Leaving Angelica beside Sweetness. The changeling clearly hated giving the group this glimmer of hope, She refused to speak, resigning to staring at the ground. However, with an angry step forward from the still fuming Archimedes, the queen flinched and spat out. "The Draconequus has them!" Thor's heart plummeted. If that was true, than he could have taken them anywhere! How were they meant to even start. While the others crowded around Chrysalis, including Shining Armour, who at the news his sister was alive, had discovered newfound joy, Angy glanced over at Sweetness. She was amazed to see that the usually hyper pony wasn't bouncing at the thought of her parent's being alive, her mother and her... father. In the rush of the happy moment, Angy had forgotten. "S-Sweetness?" She asked slowly, coming up to the straight maned mare. "You ok?" Sweetness didn't turn she only stared at the small glimmer of green of mane that could be seen between the other's legs. "She's lying..." Sweetness whispered. Angy came closer. "What?" "My Pappa doesn't have them! He doesn't have anypony! Because he didn't do what she's saying he did!" Angy gave a nervous glance at the others, she wished Ruby were next to her, she'd know what to do. Angy wasn't so great at all the re-encouragement side of friendship. "But... Sweetness... Thor said he saw-" "Thor's wrong!" Sweetness spat as her eyes snapped to Angy's. "He didn't see my Pappa, he might have saw something, but it wasn't my pappa!" Angy's chest tightened, she understood where the pink mare was coming from, she herself would hate it if her father were accused of such a dreadful act, and she would defend him with every breath she had. This was what Sweetness was doing now, what every good daughter would. Defending her beloved Pappa. Slowly, the defiant expression on the pink pony's face began to fade, and melt into tired misery. "Angy... I don't like it here... can we go home?" Angy stared for a moment, then reached out to the pink pony. "We can't Sweety, home's gone!" Silently, she finished the sentence in her mind. 'Because of Discord.' Sweetness seamed tempted to take the hoof, but stopped as her own began to rise. She faltered a moment, then pulled it back, taking a few steps further back. "You don't think I'm right do you?" Angy gave another nervous look to the others, all of whom were still probing the silent Chrysalis for answers. "See!" Sweetness whispered hoarsely, staring incredulously at Angy. "You think that Thor's right! Just because you like him!" "No Sweetness!" Angy protested quickly, her heart almost breaking at the look of betrayal her friend's face. "It's not that, it's just..." "It's just you'd believe him more than me!" Sweetness said, hurt underlining every word she spoke. "So?!" Shining Armour asked demandingly of the queen. "Where are they?" The queen glowered up at him. "I don't know." "That's a loadah horse feathers!" Seed said calmly. "No it's not." Chrysalis, her rebuttal came back just as coldly. "I know where you can enter it, but not where it actually is!" "Then tell us! Please tell us!" Ruby begged kindly. The queen glanced up at the dragon/pony half-breed and frowned. Again she was struck by how odd it was, to have a pony treating her with respect, almost kindness, nothing like her comrades all around her. "There's..." She began, locking gazes with Ruby, then stopped. "You have no hope of getting to them, it would be far too difficult..." she smirked at Thor, staring at her with a mixture of curiosity and anger. "Especially for children!" "We got past all of your supposed 'children.'" Thor scoffed proudly. "So why don't you try us?!" Chrysalis's smirk was wiped from her face instantly. She glared back at the burgundy pegasus, then began to explain. "Just because I act silly doesn't mean I'm stupid Angy!" Sweetness cried, her eyes gleaming slightly. She wasn't sure, but Angelica thought Sweetness's hurt was slightly too overboard for what was happening between the two of them, maybe there was something else behind it, and judging by the way she was talking, Sweety wanted it off of her chest! "You all think I just go along with 'whatever' and don't even understand what's happening. But no, I know! I only stay the way I am, to keep everypony happy! To make sure my friends always had a reason not to be sad!" She took a few steps back towards the main door. Over their encounter with Chrysalis, the group had constantly been moving back, and they were now halfway between the thrones and the doors. Angy noticed, and reached out cautiously. "Sweety... calm down... I understand, I-" "No you don't!" Sweetness cried, getting louder. "How could you? You're the perfect good looking flyer! You've never been thought of as the weirdo!" Angy stopped, amazed at the scorn in Sweetness's voice. "I didn't mind that though!" Sweetness continued. "Because it meant my friends were happy! But now..." Tears began to roll off of Sweetnesses cheeks and down to the tiled floor. "Now there's no point! My home's gone... my mommy's gone..." her eyes twitched as they became the saddest they had been yet. "and my Pappa's being blamed for all of it... by the friends I always tried to keep happy." Angy felt herself becoming emotional, as though Sweetnesses sorrow was in the air, ready to be breathed in and absorbed. She took a few steps forward, but yet again, any ground she gained, was lost as Sweetness retreated further away. They were fast drawing away from the others now. "It's like..." Sweetness said again, her voice cracking loudly. "You don't want the same for me... like you don't care if I'm happy, just as long as I keep you all laughing." A single tear ran down Angy's cheek. "Sweetness..." She whispered. "In the outlands... there is a mountain, the tallest... it's where we fell when we were..." Chrysalis couldn't help but grin at the solar throne on the other side of the room. Relishing the fact that she had exacted revenge for her and her beloved children, but the thoughts of her traitorous children along with her terrible state made her cough hard as she clutched at her wound in her side. Now with no power, it was beginning to weep harder than before. "Banished!" She choked eventually. Ruby's heart bled for the suffering creature, Seed could see how troubled the young mare was, and took his hoof and drew her close. She accepted his embrace without question, and continued to listen to the suffering creature. "That is the place we then called home..." She continued. "We waited, but only a month after we were banished, there came a...visitor." "What visitor?" Thor asked, though he already knew the answer. "Disocrd." Chrysalis whispered, venom in every letter. "He came to us, saying he had finally been freed, and he wished to square the debt. By making us the rulers of Equestria." She spoke in sarcastic tones, as though the very thought of such promises were ridiculous to her now. "THAT SNAKE!" Archy cried, glancing to Ruby, Seed and Thor. "He went to them nearly as soon as he got out! He was planning this all along!" Thor's face was dark, his opinion on the chimera was fast deteriorating even further than he thought possible. Even Ruby looked mortified at the revelation. "My Pappa loves my mommy!" Sweetness said quietly. "I'm not saying he didn't Sweetness!" "DIDN'T!?!" Sweetness looked near homicidal at the word. "HE STILL DOES!" She shot an angry glance at Chrysalis or what she could see of her. "She's just lying! Trying to make you guys not believe me, that it's all over, THAT WE CAN GO HOME!" "WE CAN'T!" Angy cried, her voice pleading for Sweetness to understand. She knew she was the element of Leadership, but she was sure she wasn't able to help here, though she should! "Thor saw him Sweety!" "Maybe he didn't!" Sweetness grasped at the idea like her last life preserve. "You're saying Thor's a liar?" Angy asked. "Yes! I mean no! I mean..." Sweetness looked on through frosted eyes. "Maybe Chrysalis planted the idea in his head, like she tried with Archy! Did he ever tell you about my Pappa?" "N-no..." Angy mumbled. "B-but he doesn't tell me everything..." "YES HE DOES! HE LOVES YOU!" Sweetness panted glaring at Angy, but there was more than frustration behind the stare, hurt? Betrayal? Angy thought she understood, like a flood the details washed over her all far too easy to see. "Sweetness..." Angy began, edging closer as subtly as she could. "D...Do you like Thor?" "NO!" Sweetness shouted all too over the top. She realized it. Sweetness stood there, exposed, and her face bright red. "I-is that what's wrong? That Thor likes me?" Angy probed gently. Sweetness's face sunk even lower into misery. She shook her head, eyes flowing once more, her anger disapating slightly. "I... I... used to like him Angy... Then all this happens and you two get so close in a few days..." She sniffed, shooting a glimpse at the back of the burgundy pegasus, checking he wasn't listening in. Then she looked back. "But that's not even it... I know he'd never like me I got over that... it's... it's just my parents are all I have... and Thor... he... he's blaming my pappa! Him! When I used to... you know..." Angy nodded, trying to show her friend she was there, but Sweetness didn't seem that consoled. She bit back for a moment then whispered. "I don't know why I'm here." Angy gasped at the uncharacteristically selfish statement. "He came to us..." Chrysalis breathed. "And brought a... mirror... of silver. He placed it in our lair, and left through it..." "Through it?" Thor frowned, "A mirror?" "I've read about that sort of thing..." Archy said quietly. The others glanced his way. "There are these devices, mostly windows and mirrors, from centuries ago, that could be used with magic to create a portal to another one of those mirrors... almost like a tunnel..." Archy grunted and rubbed his head thinking hard. "Uuurrggghhhh! There was barely anything about them! I remember because they really interested me, and my mum told me there'd be more maybe in the Canterlot archives if I asked Celestia..." He frowned. "I...never got a response from her about those books." He looked to Seed. "You don't think she knew something about these mirrors she didn't want us all to know?" The orange pony shrugged. "It's poss'ble buddy, I aint never heard 'bout Celestia denying anypony 'bout books before..." With a cough from below, Chrysalis caught their attentions once more. "After we attacked... Ponyville..." It took everything Thor had not to strike the creature at the mention of their home's destruction in such an off topic way. "My children returned... with......" She wheezed, unable to finish with her fading strength. "With our paren's." Seed ended the explanation. Chrysalis nodded. And plucking up her last few saps of strength, she ensured they had the best chance to defeat the one who ended her... "He took them... through the window... they were... still alive!" The group turned animatedly to the only two not with them. All were elated by the wondrous news of their parent’s survival, and ready to share the happy feeling as the group they had set out as. However, as he turned, Thor was the first to see that all was not well. Sweetness and Angy were very far away, and it looked as though Sweetness was preparing to run through the gaping gap that was once the grand doors of the throne room. A sharp worried gasp to his side proved that Ruby had also noticed Sweetness's edging away. Behind them, unseen by any of the distracted ponies, Chrysalis smiled. If she was going to die, at least she was causing the chimera’s only child as much pain as possible before she did. It was a small victory, but still was satisfying to see. She winced again, this time though it wasn’t due to pain I her side. Her hoof was fast growing cold, and stung her as she felt all its warmth fade. She glanced down, and saw that her hoof had turned an almost pure shade of white. Blotches of black and dark green remained, but even those were ebbing away, absorbed by the cold clinical white of her dying limb. “Why should I even be here?” Sweetness screamed, her eyes now streaming, her voice loud enough to carry to the others. “Sweety?” Ruby asked cautiously unsure of what was going on. “You a’ight?” Seed asked, taking a step forward. Sweetness didn’t seem to hear them, too lost was she in her own anger and sadness. “What’s the point? We don’t even know if I’m one of these stupid ‘Elements of salvation’ and if I’m not, then that just means you won’t trust me even more!” “What the hay are you talking about?!” Angelica cried, looking over beseechingly at the others for help. Thor saw the tears in her eyes and shivered at the unusual sight. “Why wouldn’t we trust you?” Angy continued, returning to look at the miserable pink pony. “Because!” Sweetness cried, taking yet another step towards the exit. “You all think my papa is the bad guy! So you won’t trust me ‘cos you think I’ll betray you! I’ve seen the movies!” “Sweetness… we’d never…” Archy said hoarsely, watching on in horror at his usually happy and excitable friend. “Then again, it’ll never be any different than usual! You guys never treat me like any of the others!” Sweety continued. She was almost at the door. “You all just think that I’ll always be there, and you can just talk to me whenever there isn’t anything better to do! I’M NOT A TOOL FOR YOU GUYS! I’M SUPPOSED TO BE YOUR FRIEND!” Chrysalis stared as the whitest tip of her hoof began to darken once more, this time into a dark deadly grey. The outermost layer of the appendage began to wilt, and crumble away. She watched in sheer horror as the part of her floated in the air before being taken in the breeze from the smashed windows. It floated out and into the sunlight, where it seemed to simply vanish absorbed by the light of the infernal sun. Then the layer below began to do the same. Her power was fading fast now, no love, no life! “You are our friend Sweetness!” Seed shouted, taking yet another step towards the distant two mares. He couldn’t believe what he was hearing! The most loyal of them all, SWEETNESS, was acting as though she resented them all! “Then why don’t you believe me?!” Sweetness begged turning and locking gazes with Seed. Her usually happy eyes, grey and dead with sorrow. The tears in them glistened in the light, making her eyes sparkle brightly. “Please Seed!” She beseeched, trying to find at least one ally in her argument. “You don’t have a dad! I do! And you’re all trying to take that away from me! Please.” Her voice cracked again as she kept on gazing at him. The words plucked at Seed’s heart strings, his stomach clenched as he realised the dreadful way this news had come out. And how inconsiderate to Sweetness they had all been to do with her father. “Please…” She repeated. “He didn’t do it!” Her hoof was gone; the limb itself was now beginning to wilt. A new pain shot through Chrysalis's body, making her look to her other hooves. All of which now were a deadly white. They decayed as fast as the other one had, and as she watched, her thin beautiful wings began to dry and crumble into dust. Though the pain was worse than anything she had ever felt. With it came a sense of serenity, though it hurt she could stand not to scream, to cry out for her children. Chrysalis was at peace for the first time that she could remember, and all from this lack of love! In the time Sweetness had been talking to her cousin, Angy had closed the gap between them. “Sweetness…” She said, reaching out again and resting her hoof on her shoulder, trying to pull her hysterical friend into a tight hug. Sweetness looked back to her, reaching out for her, wanting to be close, to be proven that all she had said about her relationship with them to be wrong, but first she had to know! “Just tell me Angy, tell me that you don’t believe it! My papa loves me, and my mommy! All of us! He’d never do this!” Angy stared at her, wanting to lie, to say she didn’t think it true. Only with Thor’s evidence, and Chrysalises knowledge of them all… it seemed so likely! Her thoughts must have registered on her face, because Sweety’s eyes glistened over, going an even darker shade of sadness. The eyes of a pony completely betrayed. “You don’t…” She said, her voice suddenly calm, cold, devoid of affection or pleading. With one movement, she threw Angy’s hoof from her shoulder, and in another, rushed through the open doorway beside her, over the bodies of the palace guards, and around the corner out of sight. “Sweetness!” Seed shouted after her, rushing before any of the others could think to. He shot past his cousin, his wind making her braided ponytail flail wildly as he passed. Soon Thor was behind him, followed closely by Ruby and Archy. As the last one passed her, Angy followed suit, her eyes brimming with empathetic tears, her legs numb with horror at what had just happened. Shining Armour tried to follow suit, but was stopped halfway to the door by a call from behind. “Just me and you now, huh my beloved?” He turned, and gasped. Chrysalis was fading fast, like pieces of burnt paper; her body was wilting and fading away on the wind. Her legs were almost gone, and the bases of her wings vanished as he turned, and slowly the place where they met her back began to fade as well. “Never call me that.” He said coldly, watching the dying Changeling. “Oh come now Shining Armour, can’t you allow a dying girl her last wish?” “And that is?” “To talk. To make a request.” .... "Sweetness!" The group cried, stumbling over the debris in the hallway in their pursuit of the rushing mare. She seemed to almost float over the rocks and bodies, never stumbling, like her friends behind her. Either by some unnatural power of her father's, or odd physics defying ability of her mother's. Either way, she quickly gained distance, and soon she rounded a corner and out of sight. By the time the rest got there, no sign of her could be seen, only several hallways to chose from. "SWEETNESS!!!" Archy shouted, trying to hear some response from his close friend, but none came back. In a rush he spun around and shouted to the others. "There could still be changelings here! We need to find her!" "Ok." Angy nodded, assuming control again, in spite of her feelings at the time. "Archy! Do you know this castle well?" "Like the back of my hoof yes!" "Where could she get to from here fast?" Archy glanced around fast, trying to get his bearings. "Uhhh...the archives... Gardens... kitchens...ummm and the worker's quaters...those are the closest ones." "Right! Seed!" The orange stallion looked ready to move, his foreleg was twitching ready to put strong legs to the test in catching the running mare. "You take Ruby, check the kitchens!" "Got it!" Ruby and Seed said together before turning down the indicated hallway from Archy. "Thor, take the gardens!" Thor silently shot into the air and out of the window into the outside air. "Archy you take the Archives, I'll go to the quarters. We meat back in the entrance hall when we find er got it?!" "Got it!" And the final two split apart. .... "Sweety!" Ruby cried as her and Seed slowed to take in the area, there was so much broken castle surrounding them, the pink mare could be hiding beneath any of them. Their hooves echoed around them bouncing off of the uneven surfaces as they passed. "Sweety!?" She repeated, but no response came. "Where is she?" She asked desperately, glancing beneath a large outcropping of stone wall. "We haven't reached the kitchens yet..." Seed said slowly, hoping the mare was somewhere close, he didn't like the cold quiet of this destroyed city... it was too different from the usually happy bustling castle he was used to. "Hehh, you never know with Sweetness... she could be in there cooking up a batch of apology cookies!" Seed laughed hollowly at his feeble joke, Ruby did as well. "Yeah, that sounds like her." "I still don't understand what's the matter though? She should know we'd never try to hurt her!" Seed said, voicing his incredulity at Sweetness's lack of trust in them all. "Well think about it Seed..." Ruby said slowly, catching a glimpse of the door to the kitchens up ahead. "What if your friends started accusing your dad of something like this!" Ruby continued forward towards the door. She noticed something was different, quieter, then she realised the second pair of hoofsteps had stopped. She glanced back and saw Seed watching her in slight surprise. After a second she realised. "Oh my goodness! Seed I'm so sorry! I didn't mean-" "It's ok Ruby, you just surprised me is all." Seed said, resuming his way towards the door. Ruby rushed to him, blocking his way. "No Seed, I'm really sorry, please I was just worried about Sweetness, I didn't think so I just said-" "It's ok Ruby!" Seed encouraged, taking hold of her shoulders with his forelegs and smiling. The unicorn/dragon hybrid breathed a sigh of releif. "C'mon!" Seed said happily. "Let's find her!" .... "Ooooohhh Sweetness?" Angelica said lowly, trying not to be too loud in the dark hallway. She'd reached the entrance of the quarters about five minutes ago, and with it she had passed the last form of light, the quarters was in the centre of the castle, meaning no windows let sun in due to the other walls. Any torches that had been working obviously had been knocked out in the attack. She now wandered ahead in semi darkness, only just able to see her way forward. This was far too easy for an ambush, so Angy was trying her best to be quiet. "Sweeeetneeesss?" No response. "It's ok, it's just me Angelica!" Still nothing. Just ahead of her, there was a turn, she only knew it because there was some form of light around the corner, highlighting it against the dark surroundings. She edged closer, cautious if any changeling shot out and attacked, she prepared her wings, ready to fly up into the spacious air around her if needed. She rounded the corner... and her jaw dropped. ... "Sweety? It's Archy! You hear?" Archy cried out through the cavernous archive chamber. The steel gates that should have been locked, were smashed open, still smoking. Archy couldn't be sure if it had been done recently, as in Sweetness did it. Or Earlier, like the changelings. Either way, the way to the cavernous ancient library was open. Archy, even in his current situation, couldn't resist staring in amazement at all the tombs around him. Brought up in a library and raised with a love of books, it was a know-it-all's paradise! No! Look later! Find Sweetness. He passed the central table, giving it a once over. His gaze passed over, then snapped back. His attention stolen, Archy stared at the open book facing him. He came over to it, gazing at the picture inside. Amazed at what was inside. but sure enough there it was: Sweetness... as a filly, held by her slim father Discord, who in turn, stood beside his wife Pinkie Pie. The three smiled up from the page, their eyes gleaming with happiness at Archy. Beneath the illustration read a simple caption; "The great god 'Discord' now immortalized as the spirit of redemption after his saving of his wife." Archy knew the story. Discord had been given honours for saving Miss Pinkie when he escaped for the second time! His saving of her, and 18 years of peaceful attitude (Which Archy now knew to be false) had awarded him the title of 'Spirit of redemption' instead of 'God of Chaos.' He even had a statue in the gardens! Changed, and sat where his old one stood. In fact the statue was exactly like this picture... him and his... 'family.' Then it struck Archy. Why was this book open? Who had opened it? With new found excitement, Archy rushed forward deeper into the Archives. Snatching up the book with his magic as he went. "SWEETNESS?!?! SWEETNESS!!!!" .... "Maybe she's in here?" Ruby speculated, opening a cellar door that had been left ajar. It had been moving slightly, but that could easily be the draft from the outside rushing inwards. Seed came over and looked down the steps, indeed the dust on them had been moved and shifted somewhat, but had that been Sweetness? Or just some worker before the attack struck? "Maybe..." Seed echoed, glancing back over the kitchen they had all ready turned upside down in their search. Sweetness hadn't been in any of the cupboards, she hadn't been napping in an oven like she would back in Ponnyville, or trying to swim in the sink. "I'm going to look." Ruby said in what she hoped was a confident voice, but sounded more like a squeak. She took a step down, and regretted it immediately. The wooden step tilted, as though not fastened right to the wall. and sent the platinum and purple mare tumbling forwards. "RUBY!" Sweetness yelled, reaching out and grabbing her hoof. He caught it. Unfortunately before he could catch any kind of footing, Ruby's momentum took him and sent him flying forward with her. With Ruby crying out in fear, Seed only had a few seconds. If they went like this, Ruby would fall on her back on either a step or the floor somewhere below. That would be fine, but with his extra weight falling on top of her, she would be crushed! Turning in the air with much difficulty, Seed held Ruby tight to his chest, and away from the steps soaring up to meet Seed's back. SLAM! With the luck of the gods, the momentum was just enough to send them over the steps. Seed felt his hoof connect with the last step that he thought he was about to hit. Their angle of descent meant only a minor bump, and a slide across the dusty floored room. The dust billowed up around them, causing both mare and stallion to cough and splutter. As the cloud cleared, the room came more into view. A few torches in brackets allowed a dim minimal light to be cast across the circular room. Filed with crates, jars, bottles and bags. After the two stopped coughing after what seemed like an hour. Seed looked up. He was lying on his back, and if he looked up, he saw a small pointed horn just a few inches lower than his nose. Beneath it lay a few long tight purple curls, and beneath them, panted a terrified Ruby. After a moment, she looked up to Seed and her eyes met his. "T-thanks Seed." "N-No worries!" Seed grunted lifting his back of the floor slightly, testing that it wasn't hurt too badly. "Y-you stopped me getting hurt..." Ruby said quietly, still looking into his eyes. "It's fine Ruby..." Seed began casually, but as he said her name, her thought he noticed her face change slightly, she smiled gently. Was what he thought was about to happen... ABOUT TO HAPPEN?! Suddenly, Ruby pushed her face up pressing her ready lips against Seed's unsuspecting ones! Seed's eyes shot open in surprise, not only at the fact she kissed him, but also the sheer force of the kiss! Ruby's hooves shot up and grabbed the sides of Seed's face tilting it, pointedly yet gently to the side. At which she adjusted her own angle before returning to kissing Seed again. No matter how much he loved it though... Seed only responded half heartedly, soon Ruby stopped, backing up slightly to take in his expression. "Y-you don't like it?" Ruby asked, genuine worry spread across her face. "No-Yes! I mean, I love it!" Ruby sighed in relief and tried to return, but was stopped at a movement from Seed as he pulled his head away to fight temptation. "But, this isn't the time! We... we need to find Sweetness..." Ruby looked at him for a moment, gulped, then nodded somewhat abashedly. She stood up, then helped her saviour as well before pushing on without another word. Leaving Seed to watch her move away fast. Worried he'd made the biggest mistake of his life, which was confirmed when he saw a single drip of something from Ruby's face. Was it a tear? .... The light was sunlight, pouring through an enormous gaping hole in the wall. In fact the hole was from floor to ceiling, wall to wall. It was the entire hallway. The worker's quarters was completely gone. Blast away by some spell... Angelica remembered the force of the blasts that they'd used on Ponyville, she'd thought back then that they were unbelievable, but now she was truly seeing the power of the Changeling horde. With her eyes wide open in horror as well as her mouth, she took a step back knowing that Sweety couldn't be here. As she did, she felt something soft squeak underneath her hoof. She jumped, glancing down quick praying it wasn't Sweetness. It wasn't. Lying on the floor, looking tarnished and tattered, was a small filly's doll. It's mane styled in a braided ponytail, so similar to Angy's herself. Even the doll's colour was similar to hers, if not a little darker, or was that just the smoke and ash that did that? Angy looked up, looking for a possible owner for the small doll. Nopony was there. "Hello?" Angy cried, hoping she heard something, her heart becoming heavy with misery at knowing what this ownerless doll meant. "Anypony?" Nothing. "Please?" She whispered. Still no answer came. Angy raised the two to her nose and sniffed, beneath the stench of destruction there lay a faint other aroma. The smell of a small filly. With a gut wrenching churn, Angy realised this must have been one of her favourite toys. The tears that had been so close to coming back after chasing after Sweety, came now. Angy let out everything, her knees buckled and she fell to the floor. She cried for the unknown child, likely buried somewhere in the rubble, or blast apart by the same force that had taken the quarters. She cried for all Sweetness said, for her inconsiderate nature towards her friend's feelings, the truth that she hadn't treated Sweety fairly over the years. Mostly though, Angy cried over the one thing she hadn't told anypony. The fact that she was sure she couldn't take her friends to victory. Through her tears she looked at the gaping hole in the building. How were they supposed to fight that sort of power? She couldn't even keep the group together and happy! Some leader she turned out to be! She held the doll tight, her tears rolling onto its face, they cleaned way the dirt, leaving thin trails through the grime and dirt covered toy. When she was smaller, the little filly loved the story's of her mother's adventures with her friends. She envisioned herself as the wondrous and mighty Angelica, defeater of monsters and vanquisher of foes. Now that she was in her own adventure however, she fund far different from her dream world. Just like Sweetness, Angelica wanted to go home. .... "No...no!...NO!" Thor was scanning the gardens below him grunting his frustration the further he went without spotting the distressed mare. He also kept a wary eye out for anything small and green, the Changelings had seemed to have left, but he couldn't be too sure! He glided over the maze, nope not here, her pink fur would have easily stuck out against the dark green of the shrubbery. He was getting worried, and was considering heading back to the castle, maybe one of the others had found her all ready! He even tilted his weight, and began to turn back when he heard it on the wind. Gentle, slow, and miserable. Somepony was crying. He glanced down, nopony there... then he passed a high tree, and caught a glimpse of the statue gardens. And there he saw her. In the centre of the statue filled clearing, lay a small pink mass. Though so far away, her sobs easily travelled across the dead area. Slowly, Thor turned back on himself, and began to decend quietly. .... "Pappa... please... tell me it's not true!" Sweety cried bitterly. She lay at the foot of her father's statue. The smiling Draconequus held a small infant Sweetness with paw, while reaching down and holding his wife's back with his talons. Sweety didn't even remember being there for this sculpture, maybe she had been too young. Then again, her pappa may have just conjured it out of thin air. He was good at that kind of stuff. If the statue did hold some connection with her father however, it didn't respond. The stone face remained frozen in that kind smile. Sweety gave in once again to tears. "They keep saying you did it! But you didn't! Did you?" Still nothing. Sweety scooted as close to the stone as possible, hoping it felt in some way like her father. She lay at the feet of the pedestal and looked up at the tall slim figure. Though not real, she felt better, just to see his likeness staring down at her. "Pappa where are you?" Sweety asked in a whisper, curling into a ball at the statue's feet. She shook slightly with each sob that escaped her lips, but when she heard the approaching sounds of wings, all movement froze. Changeling? She peeked out from behind her bushy tail, and saw that is wasn't a changeling, but Thor. Just as worse in her opinion! "Leave me alone!" Sweety cried, jumping to her hooves and running around so the statue separated the two. "Sweety!" Thor moaned quietly as he touched down on the soft damp grass. "Please." "NO! No 'please' just leave me alone Thor!" the burgundy pegasus sighed, and looked up at the statue. His stomach felt odd, it churned at the sight of the chimera, but at the happy faces of the two ponies at his side, it warmed. "You look happy." Thor said simply. "I was! That was before all this!" Sweety yelled, peering between the legs of the stone chimera, flailing an arm at the smoking castle. "Hmm..." Thor sounded quietly, before chuckling slightly. "W-what? What are you laughing at?" Asked Sweety, unable to help herself asking. Thor glanced over to her. "Oh, I was just thinking, it seems to be becoming a thing huh? Me finding you and trying to bring you back to the others." He smiled, but Sweety scowled. "Yeah! But I never asked you to!" Thor shrugged and began to move around the statue, his odd behaviour made Sweety stay stood where she was. "I guess..." The pegasus said slowly. "But... that's what friends do anyway, they make sure they're safe!" "Don't call yourself my friend Thor!" Sweety shouted, hurt from their accusations still obvious in her voice. "A friend wouldn't do what you're doing." "Sweetness!" Thor said, coming to a stop just before her. He lowered his head, never breaking eye contact with her, showing how genuine he was. "I AM your friend!" Sweetness watched him for a moment, and a chink in her armour seemed to appear. "T-Then... why do you keep saying my pappa's the bad guy?" "I never actually said that... Chrysalis said that, all that I said was that I saw your dad in Ponyville!" Thor urged his pink friend. "Sweetness... why do you think I didn't tell you? I wanted to be sure before I started saying anything!" Sweetness stared at him, slightly amazed at the calm way the usually energetic stallion was explaining the situation. "Y-you mean... you don't think it was him?" She asked tentatively, her hopes raising slightly for the first time that day. "I'm not saying that." Thor said simply, before rushing into his next point before Sweetness fell into sorrow once more. "But! I'm saying there's a chance why he was back home and not helping, there's a chance that we all have this all wrong, and you're the only one who's got it right!" That made Sweetness feel better, in fact, the long straight mane on her head began to twitch slightly, as did the corners of her mouth as they dared a smile. "You... you really mean that?" Thor nodded flashing the mare a kind smile as he did. "But we need you Sweetness, like you said, we need you to keep us all happy, to keep us all remembering what we're doing this for." Sweetness frowned at Thor not sure how she embodied such a thing. "Freedom." Thor said simply. "You're the most free pony we know, and we need you, to keep us going!" His expression faltered and he glanced down at the dirt, scuffing his hoof. "Even if we take advantage of that a lot..." It took Sweetness to place where Thor had gotten that idea, and with a gasp she realized. "Thor! Please, don't be mad at me, it's just that I was upset, and I was angry, so I started to shout, and a lot of things came out that I didn't really mean, I don't think those things I really really really really don't!" She was rambling, Thor tried not to smile at the familiar sound, at least she was acting somewhat normal again! Finally when she had finished Thor smiled at her and put a foreleg around her, slowly guiding her back towards the castle to find the others. "Come on sweetness, let's go." They were just turning the corner when Sweetness stopped. "Hold on a sec' Thor!" She trotted back to the statue, and stretching hard, she craned her neck upwards and kissed her father's statue's chest. The sight made Thor smirk, though he didn't trust the chimera, at least the site reminded him of his own love for his parents, who he now knew were alive, and how much he missed them! Sweetness then pecked her mother's statue on the cheek and came back to the ground. "Love you pappa, mamma!" She chimed, and before she could turn a gust of gentle wind rolled past, flicking her mane back. Thor watched as she sat there smiling up at the statue, and when the wind died. Sweetness turned, smiled at him, and her mane exploded back into its usual poofy self. The mare trotted back to Thor and the two left together. .... "Hold on a sec' Thor!" She ran back to the statue. She wasn't leaving without it, she needed to have some form of contact with her pappa and mamma. So she kissed their statues and smiled up at them. "Love you pappa, mamma!" She chimed, and a gust of wind met her in response. She knew it different from a natural wind, but kept calm as to not alarm Thor. Sure enough on the breeze there was a voice, deep, calming and wonderful. "I love you to my dearest." The sound of his voice made Sweetness's heart soar, so elated was she, when she turned back to Thor, her mane popped back into its normal self as she trotted back into Canterlot Castle. As she left the gardens she heard the voice again, still only heard by her. "Don't believe them Sweetness, I'm here, I always will be. Your pappa loves you!" 'Don't worry pappa!' Sweetness thought in her head, hoping that Discord could hear her. 'I don't, I know you'd never do it! I love you too!' And with that, their secret message went unknown by the burgundy pegasus, as he took the daughter of Discord back to the elements of Salvation.