//------------------------------// // The Prisoner of Prisoners // Story: In a Far Away Land // by TheReaderAndWriter //------------------------------// Despite freezing, shivering, panting for air, Twilight endured. She quickly got out of the water, making her way to the nearest wall. There were a few blocks of leaves tastefully placed to look like bushes under the windows. She hid behind the bush, still ice cold. With trembling hooves,she pulled out the clock. She was indeed running out of time. She needed to find the book at once. Stretching to reach the window, Twilight peeked into the building. She immediately leaned down. There was no mistaking that the pony in there was Sharp, he fit the description exactly. Scarred hoof, scarred eye, orange and red. He had been sitting at an angle, directed towards the window. The only reason he had not seen Twilight was because he was sitting in a chair made of wool near the fireplace, writing in a book. Twilight doubted it was the book she was searching for, as those books simply could not be written into. No, it was definitely somewhere else. Sharp had not been alone in the room. Just by the window, sitting in the couch, were two stallions. They were looking into the fireplace. "Hey, um, boss?" asked one of the guards. He was quite taller than Sharp, but spoke very carefully. "Yes?" Sharp asked. It was clear he seemed annoyed at the interruption. The guard fumbled. "I- I'm just wondering why you didn't, you know, send more to the cave, and why the pegasi?" asked the guard. "Because no matter the number they will have the element of surprise. They just scout the cave, find out the important spots, and then pour some lava when Applejack's are coming to settle in. They don't need more than that. And if they are pegasi, it should be easy for them to dig upwards, wait up above then let the lava flow," said Sharp. "Oh, okay," said the guard. "Are you done?" asked Sharp. "Yes. Yes, boss," said the guard. "Good. Now stop bothering me." Sharp promptly got back to writing, and then there was a knock on the door. "Oh, what now?" asked Sharp. "Changeling, get the door," said Sharp. "Yes, King," said a female voice. Twilight heard someone suddenly walk through the room. Timey, he must have been just outside my field of vision, Twilight thought. Knowing she had an ally close made it a bit easier to deal with the situation. She wasn't completely alone. Not only was Timey close, but Sharp had done them a favor, now he wouldn't have that many pegasi at Promise Peak, more than ten pegasi gone would be even better than half of the earth-ponies away. At an angle Twilight saw the changeling walk into the hallway and up to the door. She heard it open around the corner. "Yes?" "Gah! You're back?!" asked a random voice. "Yes. What is it? Our king is busy." "W-well, we wanted to report that one of us have spotted intruders in the town," said the guard. "Intruders?" asked Sharp, suddenly quite interested. "How about the alarm? I haven't heard that go off." "It's just four ponies, I think, what harm could they do? We're already after 'em," said the pony at the door. "But," Sharp started. "Why would they...? Guard, get me four pegasi. We will catch up with the others and get them back," Sharp's voice was suddenly filled with authority. "We need them back at town immediately, and get a couple of pegasi to patrol the surrounding mountains." "Y-yes, but, why?" "Because it wouldn't make sense for them to both infiltrate a town while they are also moving their base. Maybe those idiots finally realized that me beating them eight times in a row isn't likely. I think they found out about our changeling ahead of time. It's possible this new base of theirs is a trick," said Sharp. "Mr. Sharp? We would also like to inform you that, like you said, Runt Rascal returned to us fifteen minutes ago." "Did you do as I told you?" asked Sharp. Kill him? Put him in prison? Twilight thought. "Yes, we did," said the pony at the door. "And?" asked Sharp. "It was red," said the pony. Sharp sighed. "Well, that pretty much confirms it," said Sharp. Twilight peeked inside again, just to see Sharp swirl around in front of the fireplace, with a sword stuck to his hoof. He had pierced Timey through the gut. Green blood lined the edge of the blade. Without real control, Timey returned to his true changeling body. "It was a decent plan, but you shouldn't have told me about them having you and also about releasing Runt Rascal. It opens up all sorts of possibilities, and I'm good with those. Maybe I would have overlooked the intruders then if I hadn't been suspicious." With a sickening sound, he pulled out the blade from Timey's body, letting the changeling fall to the ground. Timey lied completely still, and he wasn't breathing. "Whoever came up with this plan clearly didn't know you can check for changelings by the color of their blood," said Sharp. "Ponies, rally the forces. I expect that my wife has a surprise approaching us. Also, give my regards to Runt Rascal when you see him. It's good to have him home," said Sharp. "What about the intruders?" "If they haven't been slaughtered by now, then they are already gone. Forget about them." "Sharp, Sharp! All the prisoners are gone!" yelled a pony approaching the castle from outside. Twilight saw him run past the fence. He didn't spot her. She had pulled her head down just in time before ponies looked outside. "See? Like I told you, already gone. Now, come on, it's time I settle the score with my wife once and for all," said Sharp. Twilight heard all of them walk into the hallway, and out into the night. Suddenly it started to snow, far too late for it to be of any real use inside the city. Twilight waited as long as she could, which was incredibly hard, before she rushed into the castle through the front door. She saw his corpse, just lying there on the cold floor in front of the fireplace. She froze. "Oh, no, please no," said Twilight, eventually building up the courage to approach Timey. "I'm so sorry, Timey, I should have made a better plan, I should have known... I, I'm so... so sorry," said Twilight. The chill she had felt out in the cold pond had been nothing compared to this horrible sense of loss. The fireplace couldn't have warmed her up, all the hot coco in the world wouldn't have. She jumped in terror as Timey suddenly, desperately, drew breath. "Oh my Queen, that hurts like hell, ouch, son of a bitch" said Timey in his raspy natural voice. He struggled to get up, and when he turned around he noticed Twilight. "I mean, um, hello, Princess, I trust your mission is going well?" His voice seemed to be shifting awkwardly to reach the tone of Time Turner. Twilight almost started to cry. "You're alive!" she yelled in joy and relief. She hugged him as hard as she could. "Ou- ouch! Yes, I'm alive, but don't get so rough!" Twilight eased her grip, instead getting a good look at his face. "How? You were impaled," said Twilight, "Well, you might not have known about us bleeding green, but Sharp didn't know changelings can only be killed by trauma to the head," he groaned as he reached for the wound. "Still quite painful, though. But I'll live." "Thank goodness. I should have known, you didn't disappear. I haven't seen somepony die in years, I had almost forgotten about that. Timey, do you know where the book is?" asked Twilight. We need to act fast or Applejack's resistance is done for." "Sorry. I can only find things that are loved or feel love. I doubt Sharp feels love for the book. The only thing left in this castle that I can feel is the residual emotions in the crib. Though, I do detect something weak below us," said Timey. "Let's start there, lead the way," said Twilight. "Yes, Princess," said Timey. *** Timey brought Twilight to a flight of stairs, clearly going down in, what was a best attempt at, a circle. The staircase went deep. "Timey, you learned a lot from their changeling, right? Why is she following Sharp Edge?" asked Twilight as they hurried down. "Do you remember how I told you about a changeling needing a monarch? Well, he falsely introduced himself as the King of Criminals. From what I understand, their changeling was quite young, barely enough to have left her hive, so she didn't really know that much about royalty outside of changelings. She was fooled to latch onto Sharp. Fortunate, I say, for it saved her life." "I think I understand." "You should also be informed that since being told the truth by me, she essentially joined my 'hive', as I had a monarch. Her loyalties are with you now." "Really? Like having one changeling wasn't hard enough," said Twilight. "Talk about it being hard all you like, I was the one who was stabbed," said Timey. It was so oddly macabre that Twilight couldn't help but to laugh. "She was impressed by me, you know. She was still in this changeling mindset, no real personality to call her own. Me having so much of an identity and personality, even one I have gathered over the years, is very unique to her." "Isn't it technically a mask?" asked Twilight. "Certainly, but don't we all wear masks, our little personae? Many around you are bound to not really be who they appear. The only difference between them, along with other changelings, and me is that I like my role. I like being friends with you ponies," said Timey, giving a simple smile. "And I like having a name." "That's sweet. Timey, how much further?" "We're getting- we're here," he said as they almost ran straight into a door. Twilight opened it, looking inside. Thinking Timey had died had almost brought Twilight to tears, this easily topped that feeling, causing her to start to cry by the worry alone. "Shining Armor!" she yelled as she rushed in. With his head hanging low, Shining Armor was basically suspended in the air by several strings of rope pulling at him in different directions. He was essentially covered in scars, and he was missing most of his right ear. Just like Sharp, his hoof had long since been shattered to pieces. "Princess, wait," said Timey, grabbing hold of her. Twilight fell back on top of the changeling. "There's no floor." Barely hearing him, Twilight looked down ahead. There was indeed no floor below. It would have been hard to see even without the inability to focus on anything except how much she wanted to help her brother. The room, basically made up of walls of obsidian covered with wooden fences, had absolutely no light in it. Only part of Shining was visible because of the light shining on him through the door. Far, far below Shining Armor, Twilight was able to see an assortment of different monsters. There were several glowing eyes looking up them. The ropes suspending Shining Armor seemed so tense that he wouldn't have been able to move, not that he seemed to be able to try. "At least he's alive," said Twilight. "Just like you, he hasn't disappeared." "Actually, from what I've understood, ponies here don't usually disappear when they die. I forgot to mention it upstairs," said Timey. Twilight turned to look at her brother, almost unable to move due to the crushing fear, but, as horrible as it was to hear, there was a very faint wheezing in the dark. He was still breathing, barely. Twilight started to place some dirt blocks to walk on, and some lights to avoid monsters to appear right next to them. As soon as the light was placed, Shining Armor started to violently struggle. He was basically grunting in anger. Twilight finished with placing enough blocks to reach him, and she placed her hoof on his face. "Shining Armor, it's me, it's me." He shook his head, his eyes were unable to focus on her, or anything. "Shining Armor, it's me, it's Twily," said Twilight. He started to shake less. "It's me, it's your sister, it's just me. Everything will be alright." "T...Twi...Twily? Is... is it really... you?" "Yes! Yes, it is, everything will be alright. I promise." He seemed so weak, so malnourished. His once strong muscles half of what they had once been. It was with some effort that Twilight managed to remove the ropes and get her brother down onto the ground. When he tried to stand he instantly failed. Twilight let him lean on him as he sat. "Those bastards, how long did they keep you down here?" asked Twilight. "Too... too long, far too long," said Shining Armor. "I haven't moved in... in months, I think. My body is so... so useless, the light is hurting my eyes." "Well, you better get used to it, because you're going to see the sun again pretty soon," said Twilight, wiping away her tears, and his. "I'll carry him, Princess. I can change my strength if need be," said Timey. "Close your eyes, Sir." After doing just so, the room quickly lit up because of the green flames surrounding Timey's body. In a moment he had taken a large familiar form: Big Macintosh's. "How did you do that?" "I've mentioned I can take forms from pictures or memories, but it's easy with ponies you know well, and my strength returned to me a day ago," said Timey, still with his regular voice. It was a bit odd seeing Big Macintosh talk so eloquently with the wrong voice. He carefully brought Shining Armor onto his back, and then they quickly left. "This will make it difficult to leave, I think," said Timey. "Could you fly away with my brother if you knew how?" "Most likely." "Looks like finding the book became more important just now. It wasn't down below, so it must be up above," said Twilight. "We're still running out of time. We could have as little as ten minutes." "Book? I... I saw a book, Sharp had it once... gloated over it when they tortured me." "Did he say anything about it?" asked Twilight. "Just how it would make him defeat my guards... His 'victory', his 'ace in the hole'. The freak actually called it 'his second baby'," said Shining Armor. Twilight and Timey gave each other a look. Odd choice of words. "Did you say 'baby'?" *** As Twilight and Timey entered Rosy's room, Twilight instantly saw the crib, made from soft wool and several wooden fences. She examined it closely, noticing that the wool seemed a bit off. It was a carpet covering the bottom. She removed the layer of white carpet to reveal a chest. Inside: there it was. Twilight grabbed the book and quickly opened it, starting to read the strange language as best as she could. To her surprise, there was only a single page of writing, and all it said was: "For those bound by the land, those who wish to experience the freedom that comes with the feathers of flight, this is their salvation," Twilight read. "Is that it?" "These strange tomes get their effect from the mere knowledge, at least that's the basic idea. Just like when we accidentally introduced winter, except this is probably going to be a lot more useful," said Twilight.She took a deep breath. Having barely learned and used the skill in Eqeustria, she was a bit nervous and unused to the sensation. All she needed was a short time to brave herself. For the first time in a long time she spread out her wings. With a single movement, a simple little flap, she felt the most wonderful sensation, one she hadn't realized had been longed for. She felt lift. Her wings, stronger than Twilight had remembered, managed to carry her for just a moment. She gently landed, finding the solid surface both comforting and familiar. She preferred having her hooves on the ground, but the experience had been just as exciting as over four years ago. "You can fly!" said Timey. "You can too, as you heard me read it out loud. Come on, we need to get this to Rainbow Dash," said Twilight, rushing out to break the nearest window. "I've missed this," said Timey as his large form added his own shimmering wings. *** "Awesome!" yelled Rainbow Dash, as she saw Twilight and Timey fly down towards her. "Fantastic! It's about time! I've been having snowball fights with myself out of boredom!" Her wings were already flapping in anticipation. Twilight opened up the book and quoted what she had memorized. "For those bound by the land, those who wish to experience the freedom that comes with the feathers of flight, this is their salvation." "What are you talking about- whoa! I can fly! Yes! Finally! Yes! Yes!" Rainbow Dash screamed in joy as she accidentally rose from the ground. She spent just a few seconds zooming by the area, before her attention was caught by something more significant. "Wait, is that Shining Armor?" "There's no time, Rainbow Dash! Take this book and say what I said." "Um, got it, 'For those bound by the land, those who wish to experience the freedom that comes with the feathers of flight, this is their salvation'." "You already have it memorized?" asked Timey. "If it allows me to fly, then hay yeah!" said Rainbow Dash. Quicker than anything else in the world, Rainbow Dash flew away. Within seconds she was already out of sight. "Impressive, she's the fastest thing I've ever seen," said Timey. "Can you believe she's out of practice?" *** Quite some distance away, Applejack was hiding inside a crevice with at least twenty other ponies. From her vantage point, she could clearly see the other caverns hiding her other troops. The falling snow could be to their benefit for a little while. It hid them, made targets on land hard to aim at. They were not too far from an open field, one that reached almost all the way over to Promise Peak. It would be easier to for those on the ground to fire their arrows upwards, while their own pegasi would get the criminals from the side... assuming the book was actually on its way. Applejack glanced at her clock. Twilight Sparkle's group was out of time. The almost palpable sense of ponies wanting to fight had started to become something more akin to disappointment and a wish to return to their hideout. "Chief, the plan failed, we should return to the base," said Clear Cut. "Let's... No. Let's wait just a bit longer." "But if we stay here any longer we will get spotted," said Thunderlane. "Thunderlane, Clear Cut, please, just trust Twilight Sparkle," said Applejack as it suddenly stopped snowing. Short bursts of rainfall was a bit unusual, but not unheard of. They waited two whole minutes before anything happened. Applejack had instead expected to hear a familiar voice shout out 'Here I am!' or 'Now, who wants to fly again?' but instead all she got was most unwelcome. "I found them!" yelled a voice from above. Applejack glanced upwards, to see a pegasi aim a bow right at her. She instantly jumped out into the open. "So much for trust," said Clear Cut. "Ponies, move out! We'll take back Promise Peak tonight!" yelled Applejack. Ponies rushed out of their hiding places, galloping towards the open field. All with conviction, some with doubts. We're going to need that book, Rainbow Dash, so where are you? Applejack thought, dodging the arrows raining down at them. She suddenly saw something run towards them in the open field, but it wasn't Sharp's grounded ponies. It was Spike, followed by Big Macintosh and Rarity. "Reporting for duty, chief!" yelled Spike. Applejack and Spike's forces stopped as they collided, finally out in a proper place. "Not everyone's here," said Applejack, her back towards Spike as they started to be surrounded by Sharp's unicorns and earth-ponies. Their entire side was basically surrounded by approaching pegasi and others approaching. "We left some of the less capable ponies safely in a nearby cave. These are all that are capable of fighting," said Spike, his sword held out towards the approaching enemy. His voice was calm and collected, but his look fierce and filled with determination. "I was talking about Twilight and Rainbow Dash," said Applejack. "We are so doomed," said Clear Cut. Though he was not even remotely willing to run away. He stayed, ready to fight to his last breath. "You should cheer up," said Applejack. "They'll come, I believe in them and so should you. We're almost at step seven," said Spike. The enemy struck. Applejack and Spike both launched out in opposite directions with swords held high. The fight was on. *** "Faster, faster!" Rainbow Dash said as she flew through the air. It wasn't so far, she was almost there. Just this one book, and she was sure they would win. "Sharp! Look!" yelled a voice from the side. Rainbow Dash turned her head, seeing five pegasi spotting her. The pony at the front, red and orange, shot out towards her. "She has the book!" he yelled when he saw her clutching it tightly to her chest. "Kill her!" Rainbow Dash had to start dodging projectiles. "Oh uh!" "We can't let her reach Applejack! Stop her no matter what it takes!" During most of her life in Equestria, Rainbow Dash had practiced making loop de loops, turning, rotating, dropping and basically all sorts of maneuvers. This night had been the first time she had needed to do everything and more just to survive. And she loved it. Arrow flying, ponies trying to stop, grab, kick her in the air. She felt the pure adrenaline, the wind flowing through her mane. It had been a long time, but she was finally, finally, back in her comfort zone. "Catch me if you can!" Rainbow Dash yelled, diving sharply down towards the ground. Ponies followed immediately, the only reason they could catch up to her was her wings being a little underused in the past years. She was still more than capable of using her old tricks, however. Just before hitting the ground, she swerved to be able to fly along the snow, just in time. One of the other ponies were not so lucky, basically crashing down into the soft snow, unable to continue. "Get her, you idiots! Get her!" Rainbow Dash saw some trees ahead of her, tightly packed. She smiled. Flying among the trees was a feat made easy by years of using them as a safer way to travel across the land. Going through the forest was as simple as soaring through the air. At least it was for her, considering two other ponies collided with the trees. The rest were quite capable. The red and orange one shot an arrow at her. It scratched her face, almost making her lose her balance. A few inches to the right and she would have had a new hole in her head. Rainbow Dash needed a way to retaliate, and she knew just how to do it once she spotted a group of Creepers just ahead. She flied around, making it difficult for her pursuers to focus on the monsters. She was spiraling towards the Creepers, and she went right past them, close enough to reach out and touch them. Only the red and orange one was able to avoid the ensuing blast. The other stallion caught in the blast just barely managed to avoid a lethal injury. "I'll get you for this," said her lone chaser. "I bet you will. Hey, catch!" she yelled, turned around mid-flight and tossed a snowball right in his face. He lost his balance, tumbling down to land with a large thud. Rainbow Dash smirked and turned forward again, not losing her momentum. Ahead she could see pegasi flying above grounded ponies, some running to avoid arrows, others trying to return fire. She flew upwards, opening the book and then, as loudly as she could, quoted what she had learned. *** Making their way to Applejack's ponies, a travel that was much quicker and safer than if they would have walked, Twilight saw something she hadn't expected. It was Sharp's pegasi, all of them forced to the ground, as well as placed in impromptu obsidian prisons. Twilight had arrived expecting to fight to her last breath to ensure Promise Peak would be safe, but it had already been done. The travel couldn't have been more than ten minutes. We might have gotten a bit lost on the way, but not that far! Twilight landed once she spotted Applejack on the ground. "Applejack! This is, I mean, what is this? How did you-?" "I told you, Twilight, if our few pegasi could fly too, then this would be no big deal," said Applejack. "We've already sent ponies to clean up in Promise Peak, and we're currently baiting the rest of his pegasi over in the cave." Twilight was struggling to come up with words. Shining Armor had something to add, though. "I expect nothing less from my ponies." "Shining Armor!" yelled a voice in the group. "He's here! Shining Armor is back!" yelled the voice. A pony, malnourished but not wounded rushed up to Timey. It was the pony Sharp's changeling had imitated. "Hey, Honor Badge, are you alright?" "Am I-? Am I-? What about you? You look terrible!" she said. "It's not so bad," said Shining Armor, managing to open his eyes to look at Twilight. "At least my sister is here." Applejack walked over and put her hoof around Twilight's neck. "Twilight, you did good. Your plan worked, by the time most ponies wake up tomorrow, they will be free again, all thanks to you." "That's not true. It's thanks to you and your ponies who fought against these creeps. I'm just happy to have my brother back. You'll take good care of him until he's better, right?" "The best care we can give. Don't worry, he's a strong one. He'll recover," said Applejack. Sighing in pure relief, Twilight looked at all the ponies working diligently to make sure everything would go back to normal. There was this atmosphere of calm, pride, and even closure. It seemed like their nightmare had finally come to an end. Some few lose ends still existed, though. "What are you going to do about the prisoners?" asked Twilight. "I just don't know. A part of me is so... angry, furious, this little part of me wants to make them suffer... but it doesn't feel right," said Applejack. "Right, that seems good, chief. It's good you still have a sense of decency after all these trying times," said Shining Armor, trying to get off Timey. "Shining Armor, you need to relax," said Twilight. "Don't try to stand." "I'm impressed he doesn't seem to want revenge," said Timey. "Everyone else here seems quite inclined to give the criminals a severe punishment." Twilight looked around, in front of cages some of the guards were brandishing swords, intimidating the ponies behind bars. When the prisoners were pushed into the cages, it was with great force. Some guards talked about wanting revenge. Twilight could certainly understand, even relate, but she just wasn't comfortable with it. "The things I want to do to them," she heard somewhere. "If I was the leader, these assholes wouldn't last the night," another one said. "They might not anyway." Twilight was not the only one who had noticed it. Shining Armor had as well. "Could you please, support me while I stand?" he asked Timey. "Of course, if you so wish," Timey said, helping Shining Armor get off him, making sure to support him fully. Shining Armor took a deep breath. "Attention, guards and warriors," he struggled with raising his voice, as well as trying to stand tall and proud. Everyone directed their attention to him. "I am a guard of the royal family, prince of the crystal empire, a warrior of Promise Peak. And I don't take revenge. I fulfill my duty to the ponies of Equestria. As reprehensible as they are, these are still of Equestria. We don't do executions, we don't do torture. I expect you to treat these ponies as well as you would have had this travesty never happened. Yes, we have lost a lot, some have died, but we can't become another form of tyranny. We will respect these prisoners and treat them well, not because it's what they deserve, but because it is what we owe ourselves. We owe ourselves to be better. We owe ourselves to overcome petty things as a need for vengeance. I might despise Sharp Edge for what he... what he has done for me," said Shining Armor, pausing as he couldn't help but to glance at his multiple deep scars. "But I will never lay as much as a hoof on him to hurt him, because I am Shining Armor, and I am a pony of Equestria! For now we'll have to keep them in prison, maybe for the rest of their lives, but we will make sure they are comfortable. We didn't fight for revenge, we fought for peace! AND NOW IS THE TIME FOR PEACE! NOW IS THE TIME TO CELEBRATE!" he yelled, his voice finally just giving in and becoming silent. Silence was not the reaction of the surrounding ponies, however. They cheered loudly, filled with pride. His dedication to his cause, his conviction of doing the right thing. It inspired them, turned it all around. They were content, as they had been reminded of this being their true victory. Twilight had always been proud of her brother, but never to this extent. His words had swept over his ponies, washing away their hate with the force of a tidal wave. Twilight directed her attention to Applejack. "If you see a pony named Harry O'Hooligan, I wan't him to not be imprisoned with the others. He helped us succeed, and if the others find that out while right next to him...." "I suppose I can arrange something," said Applejack. "Applejack... do, do you know how many ponies that have died?" asked Twilight. "Twilight, don't dare blame yourself for a few ponies dying. If not for your plan, a lot more would have," said Applejack. "You're a hero tonight, don't forget that." "But I keep wondering if I shouldn't have done this or that and-" "Hey, if not for you we would still be underground with a traitor learning everything about us. Sometimes it's better to act, and considering how things have been going until you came along, I think you acted the right way. I'm proud of you, Twilight. You should be too. Me and Shining Armor could both lead ponies so they survived, but, it was you who lead us to victory." "I... I... Have you seen Sharp Edge?" asked Twilight, desperate to change the subject. "He's right over there, they are taking him into a cage right now," said Applejack, less than amused having to see her husband again. Twilight had to just focus past Applejack to spot him. Three ponies were struggling to keep control of Sharp. He was fighting back like a madmare. Twilight started to approach him, but Rainbow Dash suddenly appeared right in front of her. "Hey, Twilight! The fight was pretty awesome, short though, it's a shame you missed it," she said. Rainbow had brought out the book and gave it back to Twilight. "You better have this. It's something to put in your library." "You did this!" yelled Sharp. He started to push towards Rainbow Dash. Finding an opening, he kicked one of his captors in the leg, and that was all he needed to rush towards her. He struck towards her, but Rainbow Dash was too quick and moved away. Sharp followed suit, bringing out an arrow to pierce her, through the neck if possible. It had all happened very quickly. Suddenly someone, like shot out of a cannon, came rushing and tackled Sharp down onto the ground. It was Soarin. His front leg hit Sharp right on his muzzle. "STAY AWAY FROM HER!" he roared with anger nopony had ever seen him have. He was panting and giving Sharp a look that made any criminal Twilight had seen that night look tame. The others were already there to get a proper hold of Sharp. "Wow, Soarin, you saved my life," said Rainbow Dash. "Just... I was just doing my duty," Soarin said, getting back his composure. "Thank you, Soarin," said Twilight, taken aback by the sheer effort he put into protecting Rainbow Dash. She saw the book Rainbow Dash was holding, and she took it. Then she walked over to Sharp. There was something she had to settle. She looked at Sharp through the holes in a steel door. He was alone in there. "Who the hell are you?" asked Sharp. "I'm the pony who came up with the plan to overthrow you, Sharp. I'm Princess Twilight Sparkle. It wasn't her, it was me," said Twilight. She had to remind herself to keep breathing, because this was the pony. This was the monster who had imprisoned her brother, who had forced the citizens of Promise Peak through hell, who had lied to her best friend and used her. This was the pony, who had destroyed the home of the natives. "Twilight Sparkle? I've never even heard of you." "He's lying. I can tell," said Timey, having returned to his true form. He had left Shining Armor with ponies to treat him. "I thought I killed you." "Try harder next time," said Timey. "Sharp, you've done a lot of bad things, you've hurt a lot of ponies I care about, and you should count yourself very lucky if you get to spend the rest of your life in prison." "Why are you here? To gloat in my face? To ask me why I did what I did? To find out that I've never had a good thing given to me no matter how hard I tried and finally just decided to take it?" "I don't care-" "Of course you don't care. You became a princess for no reason whatsoever. It doesn't matter if you were 'destined', or 'are right for the job'. The truth is that you were given something you had never worked for. I've never been that lucky. You make me sick, ponies like you are the reason I became a criminal, because the world isn't fair!" He was losing composure as he spoke. "The world might not always be-" "No! It isn't 'not always' fair, it just always isn't. Your lackey is right, I know a lot about you. And every single part of me despises you. You were born into high society in Canterlot, had everything you ever wanted, and could even satisfy your endless need to learn just from your parent's library. You became a protégé of Princess Celestia by natural talent alone, growing up and getting that lizard over there as your personal servant. You got a home filled with ponies who loved you! You had a brother who married a princess, giving you a sister too! Then you became a princess!" he was eventually spitting every word he could. "And me? I was literally born in a puddle of mud in the lowest class of a place nopony knew about. Despite a loving mother I could never get anything I needed, educating me meant that my family starved! Despite natural talent I could never even get a job. I had to work in a mine even before coming to this place! My little sister died when she was six! I started with nothing, and when I finally managed to get the resources to make something, it was taken away from me! And when I fought back and retook what was mine everyone called me a criminal! I was put in a prison where everyone else but me were murderers and hated me!" He paused, taking a deep, unsteady breath, looking down at the ground. "And then I came here. And you know what? My life has never been better, because I've realized the world isn't fair. Same for the rest of us. Some are fathers, have been eating well and get all the mares, or stallions, they want. Before being a criminal, I've had nothing, and look at what we've accomplished by taking everything for ourselves. Just look at me: I've been treated like a king. Everypony knows my name. I've been ruling over a whole town by myself. I've had a beautiful little girl. The world is never fair, and once I realized that I got to be the happiest I've been in years. " He refocused his eyes on Twilight Sparkle. "So you have nothing to say to me," said Sharp. It was quiet for a little moment. "I'm actually here to ask you why you killed the natives," said Twilight, not caring about his story. He was not a pony she considered worth listening to, and she didn't exactly feel highly about his argument. At one point he probably had needed having someone to talk to, but that had long since passed. "What? The natives? They're dead?" he asked, just like his outburst had never happened, like their conversation had been perfectly pleasant up to their current point. "Your ponies killed them," said Twilight. "No. Not possible. I told them not to. Those natives are great at trading goods, and I couldn't risk letting that resource disappear," said Sharp. "There was an explosion! A large one! How did you managed to do that?" asked Twilight. Sharp just gave her a dull look. "And ponies say I'm crazy. It was probably just a Creeper." "It wasn't a Creeper, it was more-" "Listen, I don't know anything about that! Stop talking to me!" "But the destruction, your ponies were-" "If they were there, then that doesn't mean anything! They are mostly idiots. They probably assumed it was failed construction project. Now leave me alone, and if you see Applejack, tell her I want a divorce," said Sharp, turning away from Twilight. The conversation was over, that much was clear. Twilight and Timey walked away. "I'm fairly sure he was telling the truth. I, I also noticed something strange. For someone who supposedly only see his daughter as a possession, there was a surprisingly strong fatherly love when he mentioned her, similar to when he mentioned his mother and sister. He's either lying to himself, or just everypony else," said Timey. "I never expected him to be able to love, after everything that horrible stallion has done." "I'm not sure he recognizes love anymore. Don't try to understand him, Princess. It is impossible to truly get into the head of another pony, I know that better than anyone. Instead I advice you to focus on what has happened and what you have accomplished. Let tomorrow be a day of celebration. Mourn the loses over these past times, then cherish the victory and look towards the future... after all," he said, turning to the side, looking at the first few rays of the rising morning sun. "It's a brand new day."