Civil War of Harmony

by SC_Orion

Chapter 20

I parted my lips and slowly blew air out of my mouth. I glanced to my right, looking at the five ponies depending on me to successfully lead this mission, and get them all out alive. They all looked at me expectantly, just waiting for me to signal a command. A command they would follow, no matter what it was. I swallowed and inhaled deeply. I closed my eyes briefly, allowing myself to relax. I opened my eyes and peeked around the corner of the house we were hiding at.

Canterlot had never really been active at night, at least the richer areas. The nobles found the darkness of the night distasteful, spurred on by the nocturnal monsters and tales of Nightmare Moon wanting to bring eternal night. I glanced around the street, it was empty, there weren't even any patrols. 'Celestia... You... You can't be this stupid... You're at war and you're not even patrolling the streets of your capital?' It was madness, but it was also so like Celestia. I glanced up at the castle walls and caught sight of two ponies silhouetted by the moon. I couldn't make out whether they were unicorns, pegasi, or earth ponies, but they each held a spear.

I glanced towards the gate and felt my jaw part. I blinked several times rapidly, my eyes had to be lying to me. 'The gate is open... Celestia...' I wanted to groan at the sight. She never closed the main gate, and it seemed to remain true no matter what was happening. I found myself both equal amounts frustrated and gleeful. Frustrated at how bad she was when it came to defense, and gleeful at how easy it would prove to get in. I glanced to both sides of the gate, and could see two more ponies on each side, each holding a spear. I looked up passed the walls and scanned the sky, searching for any pegasi lying in wait to pounce on any intruders. The clear night sky displayed no signs of airborne pegasi. I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding.

I pulled my head back behind the house and turned to my ponies. It felt strange, thinking of them as mine... But that is what they were, my ponies. Each Wonderbolt was wearing steel armor, painted lavender and adorned with a six pointed pink star upon the breastplate, symbolizing my cutie mark, and the Wonderbolt's insignia upon their flank armor. Since this was an infiltration and rescue mission, armor was a better choice than wearing their flight suits. The tight corridors would offer little room to maneuver, and with the threat of encountering Royal Guards ever present, flight suits wouldn't offer any advantages.

"Alright, I counted six guards, two on the wall, and four at the gate. Which is open." I turned around and glanced back at the gate, then returned my gaze to my team. "We need to figure out how to get passed them. We can't fly over the walls, that has too high a risk of being seen, and I can't use my magic against them as long as the two guards on the wall are there, as it would be too visible." 'We'd have to disable the guards...' I realized. The idea wasn't entirely... Appealing to me, but... For my friends, I would do it.

"We could sneak up on them, take them by surprise before they could sound the alarm." Jagged Wing suggested.

"Yeah... That's what I was thinking. We need to disable the two on the wall first..." 'Alright who would be best for that... Jagged Wing would be a good choice, and...' I smiled. "Jagged, take the one on the left, Lightning Strike, you take the one on the right. After the guards on the wall are taken care of, I can take care of the ones by the gate easily enough with my magic." Both previously mentioned Wonderbolts saluted, and peaked around the corner, searching for their targets I assumed, then they stepped back and silently beat their wings, taking to the sky. I watched them briefly, then peeked around the corner again, and watched, waiting for the pair to complete their objectives.

I saw a dark blur shooting towards the pony on the right, 'Lightning Strike,' I realized. She was one of the fastest ponies in the Wonderbolts who wasn't on the main team, and like her namesake, she was fast, however, not as fast as Rainbow Dash. A second later, Lightning Strike landed just to the right of her target, I could make out the silhouette of her hoof wrapping around the guard's muzzle, and then there was a sharp jerk, and the guard disappeared from my sight. I couldn't help but wince at the display. A second later, I glanced to the guard on the right just in time to see Jagged Wing's hoof connect with the guard's muzzle. He quickly caught the guard before he hit the stone, and gently lowered him down, preventing him from making any sound.

'Alright... Here goes nothing...' My heart raced faster as I lit my horn with magic. For the first time ever, I lit my horn with the intent to kill another living being, another pony... I slowly inhaled, then exhaled. I stepped out from behind the house with my front left hoof, then propelled the rest of my body around swiveling on my hoof, and brought my horn to bear against the four guards at the gate. I hesitated slightly, none of them were looking in my direction... They would never see it coming... I pointed my horn at the closest one, and released a bolt of magic, then released three more bolts of magic at the others in rapid succession. The guards turned towards me, but they were too late to do anything. My magic struck true, killing each of the guards. I closed my eyes and exhaled.

'I... I killed them...' It... It was horrible, the feeling in my chest. My heart was beating faster than it ever had, my blood felt cold, and I felt sick. And yet... At the same time, I didn't. If I had to kill again, to save one of my friends... I knew I would do it, with or without hesitation. There was no way I was going to let any of them come to harm. I inhaled, bringing my hoof to my chest, then exhaled slowly, extending my hoof forwards. I felt... Calm. I had just killed four ponies, I was a murderer... And yet... I felt calm. Their lives, I took them almost without hesitation, and I felt calm. 'This isn't right...' I told myself.

I jumped slightly as a hoof fell on my shoulder, I turned to see Soarin looking at me with a solemn expression, one which seemed to say, 'You had no choice if you want to rescue your friend.' "You alright, Princess?" Soarin's voice was filled with concern, but not worry. He was concerned for my well-being, but not worried about...

"I'm fine... Just... Give me a minute." I answered as Lightning Strike, Jagged Wing, and the rest approached me, concern filling their eyes. They all knew that I had never done anything like this before, and they were all here to help me, and to keep me safe. Each one of them believed in me, they had faith that I would lead them to victory, and... Prosperity, if not for themselves, then for their families and friends.

"The first time is always the hardest..." Soarin's voice held a certain dullness to it, almost like he spoke from experience. I realized he probably did speak from experience, being a Wonderbolt...

I closed my eyes and breathed. I expanded and contracted my lungs several times during the next half minute, relaxing. As soon as my heart stopped feeling like it was going to jump out of my chest, I opened my eyes. "Alright... Let's go." I hesitated a moment, then forced my hooves to move, and made my way to the gate. The ponies with me fell in sync with me, and formed a pentagon around me, with Soarin and Lightning Strike in front of me, and the other three forming the tip of the pentagon. I slowed as we approached the bodies of the ponies I had killed. 'Don't look at them...' I told myself. Looking at them would only bring me pain.

I looked anyway. I slowed to a crawl as I passed one of them, his eyes were wide open, muzzle opened slightly as if gasping in shock. His head was pointing towards the gate, away from where I was when I killed him. My bolt of magic struck his armor and punched right through it, blackening the armor around where it hit, and leaving a wound in his chest which blood was flowing out of. The blood flowing out of his body was slowly forming a pool beneath him. I averted my gaze from his wound and looked at his features. He was a light blue pegasus with a light cyan mane, my magic had disrupted the enchantment on the armor, revealing his true appearance. I closed my eyes and looked ahead of me, and picked up my pace, attempting to ignore the sensation in my chest. 'For my friends.' I told myself.

I opened my eyes a second later and slowed, then pressed my body against the wall, the rest of the ponies followed my example. I was once again at the head of the group, so I peeked around the corner, making sure there was nopony in sight. I scanned from right to left, and then from left to right, double, and then triple checking. I pulled back behind the corner and exhaled slowly. "Alright, I don't see any guards this way." I shook my head, not understanding. "This is too easy..."

Soarin coughed. "Princess, don't tempt fate..."

I looked to him and smiled sheepishly. "Sorry." I peeked my head around the corner again and scanned the courtyard again. Still no guards or patrols in sight. I brought my head back behind the corner and used a wing to motion everypony to the other side. One by one, each pony, starting with the one in the very back, rushed across the stone floor to the other side of the gate and stopped at the wall before impacting it. When Soarin started running across, I glanced back around the corner one last time, carefully scanning again, then ran to the other side, and stopped before hitting the wall so I didn't make any noise.

I pressed my body firmly against the wall, then peaked around the corner, and searched left to right, and right to left, scanning for any guards or patrols. My gaze was drawn to the twin silhouettes of ponies standing guard at the entrance to the dungeon. Canterlot Castle was unique in the fact that it had two dungeons, one in the lower levels of the castle, and another building in the courtyard, a dedicated dungeon. I didn't really know which one Rainbow was being kept in, so we would have to search both, or maybe we would get lucky. I pulled my head back behind the corner and turned to the Wonderbolts. "Count two guards at the dungeon entrance."

Lightning Strike scoffed. "Where is everypony... This is ridiculous, the middle of a war and this place isn't crawling with guards."

"They probably don't expect something like this." Jagged Wing replied.

I looked back around the corner, and focused my gaze on the two guards, trying to identify what kind of pony they were, and the best way to eliminate them without drawing attention to ourselves. The dungeon door was about two hundred feet away, built into a large building, almost a smaller version of the castle. I had never personally been inside said dungeon, for obvious reasons, but I had visited the ones in the castle before when I was younger. Curiosity has given me the desire to explore every inch of that castle and explore I did. I pushed the thoughts aside and returned to the task at hoof.

"Still..." Lightning's voice trailed off.

"It's Princess Celestia, it shouldn't be that surprising..." Soarin stated.

I turned back to the Wonderbolts and looked between them. "Ideas?"

"If the wall is clear, we could get up there and use it to maneuver into a better position to make our move," Soarin suggested.

It wasn't a bad idea... But the walls could be very occupied with guards, lying in wait, despite what we had seen so far. "Alright, Lightning Strike, do a quick perimeter run of the wall, fly low, and then report back. Jagged Wing, go get on top of the wall and see if you can see anything amiss, report back when Lightning's back. Jagged wait for my command, Lightning, go." I felt my heart race as I issued the command, an order which could cost her life. It was... Almost exhilarating, intoxicating, and very terrifying, the thought of sending somepony to their death. She sharply saluted, then ran back out of the gate, and flew into the air. It would take her a few minutes to do a full perimeter run, with how massive the castle, courtyard, and surrounding walls were. "Alright, Jagged, you're up." He saluted, then ran back outside the gate, then flew upwards. I watched him until he left my line of sight.

I looked around the corner again and gazed at the twin guards. I still couldn't make out what kind of ponies they were, but I could see they had spears. I shifted my weight on my hooves, then turned back to the three remaining Wonderbolts with me.

"You doing okay?" Soarin asked. His voice held a kind concern, he asked not because he needed to know, but because he cared.

"I'm fine," I answered.

He smiled softly. "If you want me to take command of the mission, just give the word, Princess."

'I can do this... And I will do this, for my friend.' I would fight to protect my friends, I would... Kill to protect them. The question of if I could and would kill had already been answered earlier, the four dead guards could attest to that... Once again, I felt uncomfortable, uneasy at the memory, the sensation. My stomach churned every so slightly. I closed my eyes, then inhaled and exhaled, slowly. "I can do this... But thanks."

The minutes crawled on, leaving me with nothing better to do than to keep an eye out for any guards, but, unsurprisingly, it was quiet and still. It was eerie, how still everything was, and with nothing else to occupy my mind, it kept wandering back to what I did earlier... 'I killed them... They... They could have had families... They could have had foals and I... Killed them... I killed them for my friend... What if they had foals, and were an only parent?' The thought struck me with the force of a sledgehammer, but the precision of a dagger to my heart... I slowly felt my head go limp, and my gaze fell to the ground. 'I could have just orphaned foals... They... They don't deserve that... And what if... What if there's nopony to look out for them?'

A few seconds later, I felt the weight of a hoof resting on my back, I looked back to see Soarin, smiling reassuringly. The two others were smiling reassuringly also. 'They believe in me... And... It's for a good cause, killing them... It's a necessary evil in order to bring peace and harmony back to Equestria... For Equestria... For my friends... For the ponies who believe in me... I have to be strong.' It still felt wrong, and I still felt revolted by my actions... But I also knew it wouldn't be the last time I killed. 'In war, sacrifices have to be made to win... However, sometimes the cost of victory is worse than the price of defeat...' I would find a balance between the two. I had to. If I didn't... I didn't even want to think about what could happen then.

A couple of minutes later, I heard the sound of pegasi landing and turned to see Lightning Strike and Jagged Wing quickly making their way over to me. They crossed the distance in a few seconds, then came to a stop. "What do..." I swallowed a growing knot in my throat. "What do you have?" I asked.

"The castle walls are pretty much deserted." Lightning reported. "You would think that since it's Princess Luna, the Princess of the Night, that she's at war with, Princess Celestia would have more guards out at... Well, night," she added.

I frowned. She had a good point. A really good point. "I don't like this... Something's up, but we will continue with the mission, just be cautious." I paused, then looked around the corner again, no change, still two guards at the dungeon entrance. I turned to look to the left side of the courtyard, empty. "Alright, everypony get on the wall. We'll get as close to the guards as we can, then surprise them."

At my order, everypony quickly rushed back outside of the gate, then spread their wings to take flight. I joined them, and together we flew to the top of the wall, then silently landed, despite our armor weighing us down. I found myself very glad I had grown accustomed to the weight of my armor, because with how nervous I was, it made the weight of the armor even worse. Landing silently for me proved trickier than I imagined, but I managed to pull it off, even if it was just barely. As soon as I landed, I swiveled my head around, scanning the walls and courtyard for any sign we had been spotted. Thankfully, and unnervingly, I saw nothing. I couldn't help but find my gaze drawn towards the garden in the distance, even if it was just ever so briefly.

A tap on my shoulder broke my gaze, I turned to see Soarin jerking his head towards the rest of the team. I raised a wing and extended it forwards three times rapidly, and everypony present acknowledged my command and silently made their way down the wall. I followed closely behind and kept scanning for any sign of danger. I caught a glimpse of Soarin doing the same, and since he was more trained than I was, it was probably a good thing.

We slowed as we approached the closest point on the wall to the two guards, then came to a stop. The two guards were facing forwards, oblivious to our presence. I turned towards Jagged Wing and Lightning Strike, "Lighting, take the far one, Jagged, take the closest one. Make sure to take them at the same time, so they don't have time to realize something is happening." Both aforementioned Wonderbolts wasted no time, they saluted and in jumped into the air without hesitation.

I watched the pair fly towards their target, then split. They slowly lowered themselves until they were just out of reach for the two guards, then they folded their wings and fell onto the two guards. They quickly wrapped their hooves around their mouth, preventing them from calling out. The two guards seemed to fight back, but they were powerless to resist the attack. Two quick jerking motions, one from each pegasus, were punctuated by the end of the guards' resistance. I shivered slightly, but not from the chill of the night , which was made even cooler by being mountain air.

The pegasus closest to us, Jagged Wing, raised a hoof, then motioned for us to come. I turned to Soarin, who was looking at me expectantly. I nodded, and he spread his wings, then stepped onto the railing, and jumped off of the wall. He was followed by the other two after the last one jumped off, I joined them in gliding towards the entrance. In the middle of my glide, I could tell I was coming down too fast, so I beat my wings a couple of times to prevent myself from crashing into the ground. A few seconds later, I landed, stumbling only slightly.

"Alright, I have no idea what to expect inside, so everypony be ready..." I warned. I stepped closer to the door and examined it. 'If memory serves correctly, they only use a single key for every lock for the dungeons...' I slowly turned to the two dead guards and glanced over them for the key. The one further away from me had the key attached to a small hook on his shoulder. I lit my horn with magic, and carefully levitated the key chain off the hook, and brought it over to myself. I glanced over the key and ring it was on, then levitated it into the keyhole in the door, and twisted it left. I heard the door unlock, then pulled the key straight, and then out. I glanced at the key, then teleported it into my pocket dimension, then briefly channeled magic away from my horn. I turned to Soarin. "Everypony ready?" After receiving five nods of confirmation, I stepped in front of the door, lit my horn with magic, and took a deep breath. I closed my eyes and slowly exhaled.

"Form up," I ordered. At my command, everypony split into two groups and pushed themselves back up against the wall on either side of the door. Lightning Strike and Soaring were on the right, with the other three on the left. After giving everypony a second to ready themselves, I grasped the door with my magic, and quietly pushed it open. I halfway expected Princess Celestia to jump out at me with a battalion of guards, and then for all of them to try to kill me. Instead, I was greeted by the warm glow of a torch, and silence. I released the door from my magic, and carefully scrutinized the interior room. "Move in." I tentatively ordered.

Immediately, all five ponies rushed inside the room, one at a time. As soon as the last one was through, I ran through the door and used my magic to close it behind me. Seeing just how massive the wooden door was, it looked almost soundproof. I couldn't suppress a smile at that realization. I scanned the room, which was completely empty, save for the five ponies with myself. The room appeared to be just a buffer, between the outside world and the interior of the dungeon, but it also looked too spacious to fill that role. "Everypony spread out. Ace, stay here and make sure our way out remains clear."

"Da, Princess," Ace responded in a heavy accent I couldn't quite place.

I glanced to my left and looked over the wooden counter protruding from just beside the door. The solid half-wall was just big enough that all you could see of a pony would be her neck and head over the counter. As to what purpose it served, I assumed it was supposed to have a guard behind it, but alas, said guard was nowhere to be seen, which made our job easier.

"Clear," Soarin called out. "Nopony's here."

"We might not be so lucky in the next room," Jagged commented.

I glanced between Jagged and Soarin, then turned my attention to the door leading to the next room. I took a deep breath, then looked to Soarin, and nodded my head towards the door. Soarin made his way over to the door, I lowered my horn to point at the door, so that if anypony came out I could react quickly. Quicker, anyway. Maybe. A few seconds later, Soarin, and the others, with the exception of Ace, pressed their bodies against the wall. Each of them looked at me intently, waiting for my order. I looked between each of them, then nodded, more to myself than any of them.

Soarin reached out with a hoof and gently pressed against the door handle. He glanced at me and nodded, then gently pressed his weight against the door, and it slowly creaked open. Jagged Wing swiveled on his front hooves, then bucked out at the door, hitting the door solidly. The door flew open, and Soarin rushed in, followed by the other two while Jagged recovered.

"What th- Hostiles!" a voice frantically called out. It had to be one of the guards, I didn't recognize the voice.

'I'm supposed to be helping them, not standing here doing nothing.' I remembered. I blinked, then rushed into the room, horn first, ready to face whatever threats may lurk beyond. The first thing I noticed once I set hoof into the new room was the discolored gray stone, used primarily in the construction of the dungeon I assumed, and the dull, gloomy glow of torches lighting two hallways, at opposite sides of the room. I swept my head to the left. Soarin was engaging an earth pony in hoof-to-hoof combat, Jagged Wing was struggling to get his hooves around a unicorn's neck, but they could handle them. I swept my head to the right.

An unoccupied unicorn had his horn pointed right at me, and there was a bolt of magic rushing towards me. "Ahh!" I panicked, and ducked under the blast, narrowly avoiding the unicorn's spell as it passed over my head. If my heart was racing before, now it was trying to pull off a sonic rainboom, and doing it's very best to put Rainbow Dash to shame. 'If... If I was any bigger, that would have...' I shivered at the unpleasant thought.

I shook the thought away and rolled over. In the middle of the role, I made a point to aim my horn at the unicorn and fired a bolt of magic at him. The unicorn jumped back and raised a barrier, sky blue in color, which blocked my magic. I pushed myself up with my hooves, and flared my wings, and released another bolt of magic. His eyes widened at the sight of my wings, then his face twisted into firm determination as my magic rushed towards him. The bolt impacted his barrier, and it showed signs of cracking. I could almost see the sweat rolling down his face in exertion. I took a step forward and released another pulse.

This time, the barrier shattered when the pulse hit, and the unicorn was pushed back slightly. He panted heavily, and he looked into my eyes. My breath caught in my throat, the look in his eyes... Complete defeat, fear... Knowing there was nothing you could do to change what was about to happen. I felt the magic in my horn die away, and my heart pounded in my chest. I knew nothing about the unicorn looking into my eyes, save that he knew he had lost, and there was nothing he could do about it. The terror in his eyes slowly shifted into grim acceptance, he knew he would die. I felt a cold wave rush over my body, spreading out from my spine. I shivered.

'For Equestria and my friends...' I swallowed and re-lit my horn, then sent a surge of magic rushing out of my horn, towards the unicorn. The unicorn froze at the sight and closed his eyes, helpless to resist. The blast of magic rushed towards him and impacted his chest. It cut through the armor like it was nothing, and burrowed into his chest, pushing him back as he fell down. Almost as soon as he hit the floor, blood started rushing out of the wound and pooling on the floor beneath him. I blinked, slowly inhaled, and then slowly exhaled. After a few seconds, I felt my lip quivering. I took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, extending my leg out in the process. A breathing technique Cadance had taught me for reducing stress. It worked, and slowly the trembling ceased.

"Princess."

I jerked my head to the left, towards the source of the sound. Soarin had walked up beside me sometime, and I hadn't noticed. His expression was weary, and worried, most likely for me. I glanced back to the corpse with my eyes, then looked back to Soarin. "Let's-" my voice wavered, I paused to swallow and close my eyes. "Let's get moving," I spoke more firmly this time as I opened my eyes. It still hadn't come out as a command, but it was certainly better than my first attempt. Soarin started to turn back towards the other four, but his eyes lingered on me for a moment. I glanced back to the corpse, then returned my gaze to the Soarin, and joined him with the others.

I glanced around the floor, noting the three other corpses, heads lying at awkward angles. They said they didn't need weapons to kill, and that they would only slow them down. At the time, I wasn't sure, but I went with it. They were right about that. 'Maybe I can create a weapon to help them somehow, something that a pegasus could use efficiently...' In general, pegasi didn't use weapons to fight with, though you could occasionally see a pegasus carrying a ceremonial weapon. I would have to think about that for a while. I glanced between the four of them, then between the two hallways. I turned back to my ponies. "Soarin you're with me, we'll take the right side, the rest of you take left."

Four nods answered my order. I stepped to the right, and moved towards the hallway, Soarin was right behind me. I glanced down and carefully stepped around a body of one of the guards dispatched by one of the Wonderbolts. She was a unicorn mare, still young and beautiful, looking barely any older than myself. I clenched my jaw and looked back up. I paused at the start of the hallway, Soarin stepped beside me. We both stared at the steel door at the end of the gloomy hallway. I glanced towards one of the torches, it was still fresh, and burning brightly, though it could never hope to match electric or magic lights' brightness.

I tentatively stepped into the hallway. I glanced back at Soarin and took another step forwards. A few seconds later, a damp, musty smell permeated the air, filling my nostrils. There was a hint of something sharp in the air too, but I couldn't place it. I blinked the thought away and quickened my pace to the gate. I slowed, then stopped as I reached the gate. I listened intently. It was quiet, very, very quiet. It was eerie, and disturbing just how quiet it was. The silence was consuming. I heard the creak of a door coming from behind me, 'They must have entered.' I thought. I lifted a hoof and set it on the cold steel door. I gently pushed against it but it didn't give, it was locked. I channeled my magic and summoned the key back. It appeared in a flash of light, I caught it in my magic, then moved it to the keyhole and twisted it. The lock clicked.

I glanced to Soarin and nodded, then stepped back. Soarin stepped forward and pressed a hoof against the gate, it opened silently, which was a pleasant surprise. Soarin peaked inside, and his head turned left and right. After a second, he looked back to me. "One guard on the left." he mouthed.

I nodded, giving him permission to... "Take him out." I silently mouthed back. Soarin nodded, then slowly and carefully stepped inside. he paused for a second, and that second felt like an eternity. My heart raced, and then Soarin pounced onto the guard standing beside the door. He disappeared from my vision, but I heard the clang of metal hitting metal, even if it was dampened. I stepped forwards, into the room, intending to help if he needed it. I jumped in surprise as Soarin was thrown off of the earth pony, nearly hitting me. Soarin hit the open door and winced, clutching his wing. I looked back to the earth pony, who staggered, then swiftly recovered.

"Intruders!" he shouted. I winced as he locked eyes with me. "You shouldn't have come here, Princess," he said coldly.

"I'm not going to let you hurt my friends. I'm not leaving without her." I shot back. He charged at me. I forged my magic into a barrier around myself, and braced myself. The pony's eyes widened a split second before he crashed into my barrier at full speed, he staggered back. My barrier momentarily flared from the impact, but it held firm. As he fell backward, I heard armored hooves smacking stone at full speed. 'Not good...' I glanced to Soarin, who had righted himself. He nodded at me, flexing his wing in the process. He didn't appear to be in too much pain, which was a good thing. I turned back to the earth pony, he was starting to get back up.

"That's Princess Twilight Sparkle!" A mare shouted.

All three of us turned at the sound of the guard's voice. Three guards, all unicorns were looking between me and Soarin.

One of them glanced to the unicorn standing at the head of the group. "We're cut off from reinforcements." His voice was low, but it carried across the hall.

"It doesn't matter, get her." the lead guard, a mare, replied. The trio lowered their horns in unison. I closed my eyes, and reforged my magic into a barrier around Soarin and myself, then opened my eyes as the barrage of magic impacted my barrier.

The three pulses hit in rapid succession, causing the shield to flare once more, but it held. My attention was focused on the three unicorns, and I forgot about the earth pony. Until he slammed into my barrier hard enough to remind me that he was there. I took a deep breath and channeled more magic into the barrier.

Soarin glanced between me and the unicorns with worry. "You doing okay, Princess?"

The unicorns switched from firing in barrages to firing one at a time, keeping a constant bombardment up. My barrier held unyieldingly to their synchronized bombardment. "I can probably hold this for a while, but I can't go on the offensive while they are doing that." The earth pony slammed into my barrier as soon as I finished. "Ideas?"

Soarin's eyes darted back and forth for a second, then he looked back to me. "How good is that armor of yours?"

"It's-" the earth pony bucked the barrier with his hind legs, putting a lot more force behind it, and into less area than he had previously. The barrier flared brightly from the impact but otherwise stayed intact. "It's fairly good, Rarity made it resistant to magic."

Soarin might have smirked for a brief moment, but it was over before I could be sure. "Think it could handle their bombardment?"

I pursed my lips. I did not like where this was going. "Probably... Even if it didn't I would probably survive... My body is more resilient and heals very quickly..." I smiled slightly. "Perks of being an alicorn." I grimaced as the earth pony bucked out at the same time three bolts of magic hit the barrier. It wasn't much of a problem, but we needed to time it right. "You can handle him?" I pointed a wing towards the earth pony.

He nodded. "Yeah, piece of cake."

I took a deep breath, then slowly blew it out. I really didn't want to do this. I would survive... But getting hit by one of those spells would hurt unless my armor absorbed the entire spell and its kinetic force. 'I should probably train more with barriers... This wouldn't be a problem if I could phase it so my own magic could pass through, or-' My train of thought was broken as the earth pony bucked out again, hard enough to stagger himself.

'Right...' I glanced to the earth pony, then at Soarin, and nodded. I looked back to the trio of unicorns, and released my barrier. Less than a second later, a bolt of azure magic shot passed my head, missing it by mere inches. I lowered myself closer to the ground, and angled my wings, so that I could propel myself forwards. The trio of unicorns stopped firing in sequence, and started firing as quickly as they could. Another bolt of magic rushed by, missing me by a hoof length. I angled my horn down, aiming at the lead unicorn, and sent a pulse of magic through my horn. The unicorn to the right of him reacted, and a cream colored barrier formed around the trio. I heard a thud come from my left, and glanced back to see Soarin engaging the earth pony.

I glanced back just in time to see a bolt of magic impact off center of my chest. I jumped in surprise, and the force of the impact knocked me off balance. I flared my wings to stabilize myself, then beat them with as much force as I could muster, and launched myself towards the trio. I lowered my horn, and kept my focus on the unicorn in the center. I sent two surges of magic towards him in rapid succession. The unicorn to his left reacted, forming a barrier once more. It flared brightly as the first pulse hit it, then showed signs of cracking when the second bolt hit. I glanced to the unicorn, I could see him breathing heavily, and sweat tailing down his face.

He glanced towards the other two, then his barrier collapsed. The other two unicorns reacted immediately, launching their assault. A second later, the third joined in. A bolt of magic hit me dead center in my chest, the bolt didn't have much force behind it, and my armor absorbed the magic, but my chest tingled slightly. I bent my legs as I landed, and turned to the unicorn who had been protecting the other two and sent a surge of magic through my horn towards him. He winced as he raised his barrier, but the impact of my magic shattered it. The center unicorn quickly glanced to his left, then returned her gaze to me.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Soarin glide over me. The three unicorns staggered for some reason, and before they could recover, Soarin impacted the one on my left, knocking him down. The other two stepped away, and turned to help their ally. The momentary distraction was all I needed. I looked to the closest one, and sent a bolt of magic at her, quickly followed by a bolt of magic at the other one. Their ears perked up right before my magic him them. I saw the unicorn who had been creating the barriers look in horror as my spell impacted the other unicorn. My magic punched through her armor, and flew right out the other side. Pieces of metal, and flesh, along with droplets of blood flew towards the wall in its wake. The spell hit the wall, and exploded, sending shards of stone everywhere, and leaving a cloud of dust. The second unicorn's ears fell down right before the bolt of magic hit him. He let out a brief gasp that was cut off as my magic ripped through his armor and chest. The unicorn was sent flying into the wall, he impacted with a solid thud, and slumped to the floor.

I turned to Soarin right as he snapped the remaining unicorn's neck. I blinked several times quickly. My mouth was dry. The feeling... It... It was horrible, terrible... I inhaled deeply, then slowly exhaled. I closed my eyes, then inhaled and exhaled again. My stomach felt queasy. It felt like I was going to vomit. I stood completely still for several seconds, only inhaling and exhaling until the feeling subsided. Right as I opened my eyes, the sharp smell I smelt earlier and couldn't place became stronger. My stomach churned again.

"Princess, you okay?"

I glanced towards Soarin, he had a busted lip, blood lightly trickled down his chin, tinting his fur crimson, and his armor was scorched along his shoulder blade. A few of his feathers looked out of place, but otherwise, he looked fine. "Just give me a minute."

"You shouldn't have come with us, Twilight," Soarin spoke softly, using my name rather than my title. To other ponies, it would have seemed disrespectful, but I could hear the concern and care in his voice.

"This... This was going to happen sooner of later, Soarin..." A cold sensation trailed down my spine, causing me to shiver.

"No, you could have stayed far away from this, Twilight. You're a princess, not a soldier. You're our leader, not somepony who should be on the front lines." Soarin said more firmly. He stepped closer to me, and placed a hoof on my back, reassuringly.

"I wasn't going to ask ponies to fight and die for me without knowing what they put themselves through..." I replied.

"We volunteered... But I understand." He sighed. "I just think you should have sat this one out."

"I wasn't just going to sit around doing nothing while my friend was in danger," I replied evenly. I glanced at the three corpses, then I looked down at my armor, where my chest had been hit by two spells. The armor was scorched lightly, but otherwise intact. I smiled. 'Rarity you did a good job with this armor.' I would have to thank her again when I saw her next. I looked to the stairwell, which went down, to what I assumed would be the dungeons. I nodded my head towards the stairs. "Let's go," I ordered. I walked passed Soarin, and he hesitated.

"Are you sure you're fine?" he asked.

I paused and looked downwards. I thought about it for a moment. It was terrible, what I had done... But it had to be done. They didn't deserve to die... But they were in my way, standing between me and my friend... Standing between Equestria and peace... My mind felt dull, probably attempting to save itself from focusing on what I had done... I would deal with what I had done later, and it could be worse than if I felt it now. As for now, I need to focus on the task at hoof. "For now... Yes." I answered at length. I looked back up and glanced to Soarin. "We don't have all night."

"Right." he answered as he approached me.

I waited for him to come to a stop, then I took the lead, and started making my way down the stairwell. The stairs were narrow and skinny, and I kept feeling like I was going to fall down, but eventually we came to the end of the stairs. I slowed, and came to a stop. I listened for any sound at all, whether it be a pony locked up, or the echo of metal on stone. It was quiet. Quiet enough that I could make out the soft and distant echo of hooves. 'Somepony is here...' I glanced back to Soarin, then peaked out of the stairwell. I glanced around, nopony was present. 'Which isn't surprising considering that...' I shifted my weight slightly, then turned back to Soarin. "I don't see anypony. Keep your eyes open and be careful." He nodded in acknowledgement.

I cautiously stepped forwards, into the room, Soarin followed closely behind. I glanced around the room, taking in the rows of cells, which seemed to stretch on to infinity, despite knowing it was finite. I shivered slightly at the sight, so many poorly maintained cells, each empty, void of life, awaiting the arrival of the pony they would hold for an unknown period of time. I shifted my weight and quickened my pace down the hall. I glanced right and left, checking each new pair of cells as I passed it. "I think these cells are all empty."

"Maybe the Sergeant is having more luck," Soarin commented.

Despite myself, I smiled. "Yeah, anypony unlucky enough to encounter Jagged is in for trouble." I glanced between the two cells at my sides once more, as they were the first time, they were still empty. I exhaled and continued trotting towards the end of the room. There had to be dozens, if not hundreds of rooms like this in this dungeon, and she could be in any one of them. Likely, she would be farther away from the entrance. And there wasn't any guarantee she was in this dungeon, she could have been in the castle's dungeon. I staggered at the thought.

"What's wrong?"

"What if she's being held in the castle dungeon..."

Soarin swore under his breath, I winced. "If she is being held in the castle's dungeon we don't have a hope of rescuing her... It'd be too risky. Sorry, Princess."

I looked back to him. "We've come this far, and we haven't had much trouble yet." I reasoned.

He ruffled his wings. "There's something to be said for not tempting fate..."

He had a point. I nodded. "True..." I looked forward again, towards the end of the room. I could see that it branched two ways, left and right. I frowned. 'Splitting up again is risky, and if we don't it would take too long...' I shook my head and continued to the end of the room. I looked left and then right. The sounds of hoofsteps were coming from the left, while the right was eerily silent. 'Left is probably a better idea then. If there's a guard, there has to be somepony in there...' "Alright, let's go left. If we don't find anything, we can sweep back and take the right." I kept the lead and started into the hallway leading to the left.

A few seconds passed before we reached the corner. I paused and pressed my back against the wall, then cautiously peaked around the corner. One lone unicorn guard immediately caught my attention. I ignored him for the moment, and scanned the room, then pulled back. "Single unicorn guard at the end of the room." I glanced back around the corner, then hid again as the guard turned around to march across the width of the room again. An idea came to me. I turned back to Soarin. "Why don't we ask him where she is?"

Soarin sighed. "If only it was that easy. He wouldn't tell us anything of use, though."

I bobbled my head. "We can make him tell us..." There was that one spell I used on... I shifted my weight uncomfortable. 'I almost killed her with that...' The guard, on the other hoof... He would have to die anyway... I shivered at the thought. Doing this, we would at least get something of use from his death.

"Twilight..." Soarin used my name, rather than my rank. "You don't want to start down the path of torturing ponies-"

I shook my head vigorously. "No, no, That's not what I meant. I... I have a spell which I can use to get what we need..."

"That sounds useful and dangerous." he commented.

I bobbled my head again. "It is... But I can do it." I glanced back around the corner and looked over the guard again. He-no, she, still had no idea that she was in danger. I pulled my head back and turned to Soarin. "We need to disable her, but keep her alive. I can't just stun her, the Royal Guard armor is resistant to stun spells, and if the spell was powerful enough to break through the resistance, it would just stop her heart."

"I didn't think unicorns were supposed to be powerful enough to make stun spells lethal." Soarin mused.

I shook my head. "Normally they're not, but if they practice enough with stun spells, they learn how to overcharge them to the point of being deadly."

"I didn't need to know that," Soarin admitted.

I smiled apologetically. "Alright, think you can restrain her while I work my magic?"

Soarin smiled brashly, the sight would have fit Rainbow better than him. "You kidding me? Pegasi are naturally stronger than unicorns, physically, and I've trained for years." He paused, then added, "Piece of cake."

"Alright," I said as I glanced back around the corner. 'No time like the present.' I thought. I channeled magic into my horn and jumped around the corner. The guard was startled by my sudden appearance and jumped back slightly. Soarin jumped out from behind the corner and flew towards her. She lit her horn, and I launched myself towards her as well. She looked between both of us, and I pumped my wings harder, attempting to make myself appear more threatening of a target. Soarin was still faster, and she seemed to prioritize him over me. A bolt of lime green magic shot out from her horn and flew passed Soarin, followed by another and another. The fourth bolt hit him off center, and graced lengthwise along his body armor, but he shrugged it off.

The unicorn braced herself for the impact, but she was still pushed back. I flared my wings out and bled my speed, then landed softly on the stone floor. Soarin and the guard were locked in hoof to hoof combat, the unicorn was clearly losing, as Soarin was able to prevent her from using magic, and had pinned her hind legs. I stepped closer and prepared the spell. "Restrain her," I commanded.

Soarin pressed his chest against hers and angled an arm to suppress her arm and head, while his other arm kept her left arm pinned. "Got her."

The unicorn continued to struggle, but she was running out of strength to resist with, and Soarin had the advantage of position. I stepped over to the unicorn and lit my horn with dark magic. I felt the familiar cold chill run down my spine as my magic was corrupted and twisted, the feeling was sickening, but also almost welcoming. That realization caused me to shiver once more, but I put it away to deal with later. I leaned my head down and pressed my horn to hers. The contact wasn't necessary, but it would make it easier for me. "Do not resist," I commanded to her. She ignored my command and continued to struggle, unsurprisingly.

I ignored her struggles and sent my dark magic into her mind. I could almost feel the tendrils of magic slithering from myself into her, slipping through her mental defenses, and then crushing them like they were nothing. Slowly, as the dark magic took hold and corrupted more of her mind, her struggles calmed, until finally she stopped struggling. After the spell firmly took hold, the only evidence she was alive was her gentle breathing. Soarin glanced at me, and I pulled back and nodded. Soarin slowly removed himself from the guard, cautiously. The guard didn't react. I took a moment to look at her eyes, both were glazed over, and seemed to have a faint green glow flowing off into the air.

In the state she was in, she would do anything I told her to, without resistance. Anything. I could tell her to jump off a cliff, and she wouldn't hesitate... I clenched my jaw. 'Having that kind of power over somepony...' I took a moment to calm down, and let the dark magic surrounding my horn die. I felt a wave of relief wash over my body as the corrupt magic fled. "Where is Rainbow Dash."

"I don't know," she answered calmly. Her voice reminded me of Pinkie's voice, but I ignored it.

"Maybe try with her title?" Soarin suggested.

"Where is Captain Rainbow Dash?" I asked again.

"I don't know." she answered again.

"Alright, I'll try something else..." I mumbled. "How many pegasi are being kept here in this dungeon?"

"None." she answered.

Soarin swore under his breath again. I agreed with his sentiment. "So this was a waste of time and resources then," he said aloud.

"Lieutenant." I took a breath, then exhaled. "I did not come here only to go back without succeeding."

"I don't know how we're going to find her and retrieve her then, because the only other place she could be is the castle's dungeon, and the only way to get in there is through the front door."

I glared at him, then looked back to the unicorn mare, and pursed my lips. "How heavily guarded is the castle?" I asked.

The mare did not answer immediately, instead, she seemed to pause to think about my question, and how to best answer it. "Most of the guards have been deployed elsewhere, or are resting during the night, and not close enough to assist if the castle is assaulted."

I glanced to Soarin and smirked. "We should be able to sneak in then."

"Maybe." he admitted.

I turned back to the guard. "Where is Princess Celestia?"

"She is in her chambers resting." she answered without hesitation.

"Right now we're not in a position to fight Celestia. I don't have the power to match her with me." I admitted

"Right." Soarin agreed.

"Let's go. We'll meet up with Ace, then go and get the others." I turned around and took a step away.

"What about her?"

I paused mid-stride. I turned around to look at her. I pursed my lips, and blew air out of my mouth. I quickly stepped over to the unicorn, she looked at me expectantly. "Stand." I commanded. The unicorn immediately moved to stand up, then faced me. I lit my horn, and looked into her eyes. They were empty, so, so empty... Part of me wondered if she knew what I was about to do... Or even if she cared... I took a deep breath, then swallowed. I lowered my horn, and kept my gaze on her eyes. Her eyes betrayed no feeling. I sent a surge of magic through my horn, and the pulse of magic tore through her unprotected neck. She fell down and was thrown back at the same time, and the sharp smell of blood strengthened. I took a deep breath, then exhaled, extending my hoof in the process. I truly owed Cadance a lot.

I turned around, ignored the bile rising in my throat, and stepped away. I paused as I felt something warm role down my muzzle. I didn't need to see it to know what it was. I lifted a hoof and wiped the blood away, then immediately returned my hoof to the floor.

"You didn't have to do that, Twilight." Soarin's voice came out almost condemningly.

I took another deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "We couldn't take her with us, and leaving her alive wasn't an option." I reasoned. 'Am I trying to convince him, or myself?' I wondered. "Regardless, I need to be able to do this without hesitation..."

"No, you don't, Twilight. You're not a soldier. I am."

"I'm the only pony other than Princess Luna capable of fighting Princess Celestia and winning." I shot back.

There was a long pause before Soarin replied. "Do you plan to kill them then?"

I clenched my jaw. "I... I don't want to." I admitted. "I really don't. Princess Celestia was my mentor... Without her guidance, I never would have become an alicorn princess myself..." I slowly inhaled and exhaled. "I just... I don't know if it will be avoidable... I could beat them, but what if they refuse to relent? You can't exactly... Lock up an alicorn, they're too powerful..." 'What would happen if I were captured?' I shifted my weight at the question. I did not know, and I certainly did not want to find out.

"You really think they would fight you after you win?"

I looked at my hooves. "I don't know." I answered. "Not really, but... I just don't know." I swallowed, and found my mouth dry. "I can't deal with this right now... We still need to rescue Rainbow." I started forwards again, then glanced back to Soarin. "Come on... Let's go meet up with the others." After a few seconds hesitation, Soarin started trotting forwards. He smiled sadly at me. I licked my dry lips, and tasted something warm, salty, and with a hint of something metallic. I paused and closed my eyes, realizing what it was. I felt my stomach churn again, but I fought it back. I took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. After a minute, the sensation died down, and I opened my eyes to see Soarin patiently waiting for me. I smiled weakly at him, and started trotting out of the room, and into the hallway.

We made our way through the hallway in silence, and entered the first room without saying a word. As we passed the cells, I couldn't help but check them again, thinking that perhaps we had missed something. It was for naught, and we made our way up the stairwell. I hesitated at the exit, seeing the three corpses of the unicorns we had... I pushed the thought aside, and quickened my pace. We walked into the second room we had entered when first arriving. I quickly glanced around, noting the single pool of blood, coming from the unicorn I... "I'll go get the others, tell Ace what we're-"

"Maybe you should stay with him... I'll go get the others." Soarin offered. I opened my mouth to protest, but he cut me off. "I'm faster than you." he smiled weakly. I relented and nodded. He hesitated for a moment, then made his way down the other hallway.

I remained standing alone, in that room, with several bodies of dead ponies for what seemed like an eternity, while in reality, only a few minutes had passed. I shook myself out of it, and forced myself to leave the room. I gently pushed open the door to the entrance and walked into the room. Ace was in a combat position, but immediately relaxed when he saw it was me.

"Princess?"

"Soarin is getting the others. Rainbow isn't here, she's in the castle's dungeon."

Ace winced at that. "I see. That is not good."

I smirked. "No." I shook my head and sighed. "Anything to report?"

"Net, Princess. Nopony has come through."

I nodded. "That's good."

"Da," he answered with a nod of his head. He glanced over my body and expression. He seemed discontent. "You do not look so good, Princess."

"I... I've just never killed anypony before today..." I admitted.

He nodded gravely. "The first time is always the hardest... But it good that it hits you so hard, it shows you are good pony."

I bobbled my head. I wasn't sure I believed him. At one point in time, yes. But now? I smiled weakly at him. "Thanks." He nodded in reply. The next several minutes passed in relative silence, leaving me to my thoughts, which wasn't such a good thing. My mind still felt dull, and numb, despite the sharp, vivid memories. We had only started the mission a couple hours ago, and already I was exhausted. Not physically, or magically, but mentally. The stress weighed heavily upon my mind, and... I don't normally react well to stress... There was that one time when... I shifted my weight and forced myself to think about something else.

I would never have imagined I would kill anypony... Yet here I was, killing... Murdering, to rescue my friend, and protect Equestria. The thought should have made me sick to my stomach, but it didn't. I had had time to prepare myself mentally, but it was still hard... And it still should have been worse. I felt uncertain about the future, and about myself. Before this had happened, I had faith in Celestia that it would all be okay, and I had only ever feared failing... But now, I had bigger fears, and failure could cost ponies' lives. Already thousands of ponies would follow me into battle, maybe even their deaths... It was all so uncertain, but there was one thing of which I was absolutely certain. I would have a breakdown sometime, just not now, and hopefully, not anywhere in the near future. It was the only thing that could explain why I wasn't breaking down now. It was a delayed reaction.

I took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. I closed my eyes, and sat down on my haunches, taking a short break.

"Tiring so soon Princess?" Ace asked.

I frowned lightly. "Not physically, just mentally. I feel drained."

He nodded. "Da, it happens to the best of us. Generally takes more, but you are not used to this." He stepped over to me, and sat down beside me. "Now is good time to get used to it. Big battles offer few chances for rest, take them when you can."

I looked to him. "You say that like you know I will be fighting in big battles."

He nodded. "Da. I can see it in your eyes. You will go to battle if only to protect ponies. You will not like it, and you will find it emotionally and mentally draining, but that is because you care. You will fight, you will kill to protect your ponies, your friends. Each one of them that falls in battle beside you will scar you worse than blade but you will recover, and grow stronger from it."

I smiled, despite the grim prediction. "We fight for peace, to protect our friends and family."

He smiled and nodded. "Da."

"Even if they don't realize it, refuse to realize it, or hate you for it, and fight back..." I looked down to my hooves. My parents... They didn't understand. They wanted me to be safe. I told them I was doing what my heart told me to do, to protect ponies... For the greater good... They were worried about me and wanted me to stop... But only because they cared. I sighed.

"You look like you could use a drink. When we get back, we go drinking. I buy." Ace smiled.

I smiled back. "Thanks for the offer, but I think I'll pass for now. Maybe in the future."

He shrugged. "Very well Princess. But you will miss seeing Soarin drunk." He smiled and nodded. He chuckled to himself. "Good times."

I couldn't picture Soarin drunk. He was generally fairly reserved. 'Maybe I will take you up on that offer sometime.' "How long have you known Soarin?" I asked.

"I have known him for long time but that is conversation for other time." He nodded his head towards the door as the other four walked in. "Lieutenant." he acknowledged.

Soarin nodded to him, then turned to me. "They-" he nodded towards the three Wonderbolts behind him. "-had fewer problems than we did, so they were further along."

I nodded. It was good that they had it easier than us, but I still frowned at that. I shifted my weight and rose to my hooves, Ace followed shortly behind me. "I assume you told them about the new plan?"

Soarin nodded. "Yes, but I still don't like it. Even if what that guard-" I shifted my weight, "-said is true."

"It is," I said.

"Right..." Soarin trailed off. He looked around the room and took a second to look over everypony. He turned to me. "Everypony's accounted for," he stated.

I nodded. "Right. Let's get going." I looked to the door to the courtyard, then to Soarin. "Follow me," I commanded. I hesitated for a second, then turned and made my way to the door. I paused briefly to inspect the door and listen for any sign of trouble. I channeled magic into my horn, and gently grasped the door in my magic, and slowly parted it. I peaked around the door, half expecting a dozen guards to be staring me down, led by Princess Celestia. Instead, it was clear, the only ponies present were the two corpses of the guards who had been killed.

I pulled the door open the rest of the way and scanned the courtyard. It was still quiet, and unoccupied. I stepped forwards, leaving the building. I took a deep breath, and enjoyed the clean mountain air, even if it held a slight chill from the night. It was still more preferable to inside that building. I momentarily paused to glance skywards, checking for any pegasi patrols. I shook my head, and continued out of the door, then paused for the others to leave. As soon as they all gathered tightly behind me, I looked them over for a minute. It had been a few hours, and while they looked a little tired, they still seemed to be doing okay.

"Ideas to get into the castle?" I asked.

The five Wonderbolts looked between themselves. Ace bobbled his head, then spoke. "We could use front door. They would not expect enemy to use main way of getting into castle."

I nodded. He had a point, but it would still be guarded. "We would need to eliminate the guards before they could sound an alarm or get reinforcements. If Princess Celestia shows up, I won't be able to fight her right now." Soarin grimaced but said nothing.

"Taking out guards will be easy. Doing so before they overwhelm us is problem," Ace said.

'Right...' I inhaled, then blew air out of my mouth. Getting into the castle could prove- 'Wait, I know this castle. I practically lived there for six years...' My mouth went slack, and my closed my eyes. I twitched my head to the left and inhaled. I lifted my right hoof to my head, metal clanked on metal. 'I'm going to have a headache before this night is over.' I realized as I felt a dull throbbing at the base of my horn. "I'll teleport us into one of the hallways. The chance that I'll teleport us anywhere near guards is really low based on the information from that guard." I ignored the looks everypony gave me.

"The light and sound could alert guards farther away," Soarin stated.

"I think we can handle any patrols alerted by it... I mean, it's not like I don't know where I'll be teleporting us to. I practically lived there for six years. It's not like I'll be teleporting us in front of a barracks or something." I said with a slight laugh. 'I hope.' "I'll teleport us as close to the dungeon as I can, but I'll keep a safe distance from the door, so any guards wouldn't be alerted." I looked between them, nopony said anything in complaint, but nopony said anything in approval either. "Right, well, let's go, shall we?" I channeled more magic into my horn, and prepared the spell. I locked onto my destination from memory, a hallway a few rooms away from the dungeon entrance, and grabbed the five Wonderbolts, applying relative locks for them also, then released the spell.

The spell finished instantaneously, and we were teleported to our destination. After the flash of light died down, I turned around and looked everypony over to make sure they had arrived safely, and in one piece. Nopony was missing any limbs, and they all appeared to not suffer any side effects, which was a good thing, because I heard four pair of hooves rushing towards us, coming from behind me. I swiveled on a hoof, tilted my head down, and channeled magic back into my horn. I prepared the spell in my mind, and prepared myself mentally for battle. I waited anxiously as the hoofsteps drew closer, and I ruffled my wings, bleeding off some of the anxiety.

A Royal Guard, a unicorn, rounded the corner, he frantically looked left and then right, then locked eyes on us. I sent a surge of magic through my horn and launched a bolt of magic at him. He fell into a battle stance and lit his own horn. A light blue barrier formed around him but shattered as soon as my spell impacted it. He staggered back as a second unicorn rounded the corner with his horn already lit. The other unicorn shot a bolt of magic towards me. I raised a barrier to block it, but I acted too slow. Half of the bolt made it through and impacted the armor covering my shoulder. I felt a light tingling sensation but was otherwise fine. I spared a second to glance back to the other five ponies accompanying me.

All five of them had sprung into action, and bolted passed me as I turned to look at them. I returned my gaze to the pair of unicorns. Both of them were gone, but I heard frantic hoofsteps running away. "They can't get away," I ordered, "stop them." I paused for a second, then shook my head. I darted forwards, around the corner. Soarin and Lightning Strike were nearly upon one of them, but the other unicorn was fast. I came to a stop, lowered my horn, and released a spell at him. My aim was off, and the bolt of lavender magic went high. I fired again, this time I hit him. The bolt of magic punched through his armor, and tore through his body, and he fell forwards from his own momentum combined the the force of the spell.

Ace was right. It wasn't as hard this time. Or maybe I was too mentally drained to fell anything... Regardless, neither boded well for me. Soarin walked over to me and looked at me with concern and expectation. I looked him over, he was handling it well. It shouldn't have surprised me, he was a soldier, yet it did. I never really though of the Wonderbolts as a military group... But they were. "Let's go." I ordered. I glanced around to get my bearings, then turned around and headed back towards the room we arrived in. I strode into the room, and made my way across it, into the hallway on the opposite side. The guards had fled away from the dungeon, so we backtracked slightly.

A few minutes and several corners later, we arrived at the last hallway until you reached the entrance to the dungeon. I glanced around the corner. The two unicorn guards saw me, and lit their horns. I pulled my head back behind the corner and looked to Soarin. Hoofsteps falling on the floor grew in intensity, and he grimaced. I took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. I waited until the hoofsteps were practically on top of us, then I jumped into the hallway, swiveled to face the oncoming unicorns, lowered my horn, and prepared my spells. Both unicorns briefly staggered at the sight, realizing who I was. They recovered before I could take advantage of it, and twin bursts of magic impacted my armor. My armor stopped the spells from harming me, but the tingling sensation grew stronger.

My heart raced as I three surges of magic in rapid succession towards the closest one. The unicorn reacted quick, and a barrier flared to life around him. The barrier held against the first bolt, though it showed sings of stress, then cracked when the second bolt slammed into it. The third bolt hit him, his armor held, but cracked heavily. I sidestepped a bolt of magic as the second unicorn covered the first. The bolt of magic raced passed me and hit the wall. I heard a sharp crack, and glanced back to see part of the wall explode. An area roughly the size of my head had been shattered, but it wasn't very deep. My heart skipped a beat. 'They're not trained for this sort of thing...' If they were, the unicorn would have used a different spell to different results. A sharp pain struck me in the chest, and I thought for sure a bolt of magic had pierced my armor. I looked down to my chest, but my armor was intact.

I looked up as Soarin raced passed me, and rushed the closest unicorn. The other four followed close behind. The unicorn stepped back, and shot a bolt of magic towards Soarin. It impacted him in the chest, he gasped and staggered briefly, but then doubled his pace and tackled the unicorn. Ace and Jagged Wing ran to Soarin's aid, while the other three rushed the second unicorn. The two guards grunted and fought back against their aggressors, but they were outmatched. I just stood there and watched. It took several seconds, but eventually Jagged Wing and Lightning Strike got their arms in a position to- I heard two sharp snapping sounds in quick succession. I blinked twice rapidly.

Soarin grunted as he pulled away, then sat down against the wall, and pulled off his left boot with a wing, then pressed his hoof into his chest. I could see crimson streaking down his armor, and his hoof was starting to get soaked in blood. I swallowed at the sight, it somehow reminded me of... I forced the memory away, and stepped over to him. Ace and Jagged were both looking him over, Jagged sounded like he was berating him, and I couldn't make out what Ace was saying, as it was in a foreign language.

Jagged grabbed Soarin's hoof and pried it away, both of them grunted in the process. "Stop complaining you big baby..." Jagged mumbled.

I stepped closer and channeled magic into my horn. I went over every inch of Soarin's body with my magic. His fur was burned away where the spell hit, his skin was cracked and ruptured, and shards of metal were embedded within his wound. Fortunately for him, adrenaline was flooding his system. "How are you feeling?" I asked, and immediately winced. 'Stupid question.'

Soarin looked at me with a clenched jaw. "Sorry..." I shifted my weight and ruffled my wings. He would survive, but that had to be painful. he was fortunate that- I looked away from him, reminded of my earlier realization. I stepped over to one of the corpses of the unicorns. I looked him over, it was hard to tell, but... I took his helmet in my magic and lifted. His head jiggled as I tried to remove the helmet, the sight made me quite uncomfortable. After a few seconds, the helmet came off. I closed my eyes. 'I was right.' "They're... They're barely stallions..."

"Soarin stop mov- fine." I heard Jagged sigh sharply, followed closely by the sound of metal hitting the marble floor.

I heard hoofsteps approaching from behind, and I glanced back to see Soarin approaching. He winced with every movement, and blood trickled from his wound, but he crossed the distance and stood beside me. I looked back to the corpse and closed my eyes.

"They're young," Soarin stated, then swore under his breath. "They must be fresh from the academy..."

"They were not prepared for this. It is no wonder this was easy." Ace mused. I could almost feel his gaze shift to me. "Princess, you couldn't have known."

"No, no. I know... They're adults, they knew what they were... What they were getting into... They chose this..." I took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "We'll sort this out... Later..." A cold chill ran down my spine and I shivered. I looked to the door to the dungeon, then glanced between each of the five ponies with me. Their expressions ranged in intensity, but they were all grim. "Let's-" I swallowed. "Let's go."

Ace looked at me with worry. "You are sure you are fine?" I nodded. He looked at me skeptically but relented. "I will stay here and keep an eye on Lieutenant."

"That's-" Soarin started, but I glared at him, and he changed his mind. "Probably for the best..." he said at length.

I trotted over to the door, three of the followed me, then I turned and looked back. "Be careful," I ordered.

Ace nodded, and both of them smiled back. "You too," Soarin replied.

I smiled, if briefly. "Thanks." I turned back around, and faced the door. I inhaled deeply, then blew air out of my mouth. I had no idea what lurked beyond this door, and I hoped that it was just my friend. I lit my horn and took hold of the door, then parted it open, and peaked inside. The dull glow of torches greeted me, but it was nicer than the other dungeon. The air smelt about the same as the rest of the castle, which surprised me. I wasn't sure what I had been expecting, but it wasn't that. I pulled the door open the rest of the way, and stepped inside. I glanced around, scanning my surroundings. Like the other dungeon, the room came to a T, with hallways at the end on opposite sides of the room. 'Nopony inside guarding the entrance..?' "Lightning Strike, you're with me, Jagged, Storm, take the left."

We split into two groups, Lightning Strike followed close behind me, while the other two made their way to the left hallway. As we approached the hallway going right, I had a nostalgic feeling, I was reminded of the other dungeon, and what happened on the other side of the gate at the end of the hallway. I glanced back to Lightning Strike, then made my way across the hallway. I slowed as I approached the door, then stopped and grimaced. I channeled my magic into my horn but hesitated before opening it.

I brushed the concern aside, and opened the door. I didn't even pause to make sure it was safe, then stepped inside. I quickly scanned the room, looking for any sign of danger, but saw nothing. I walked inside the room and looked around again. A second later Lightning Strike stepped beside me, she too was looking around. My gaze was drawn to another stairwell, like the other one, towards the end of the room. I made my way over to it, then down the stairs. We both paused at the exit of the stairs. I glanced out and around. I blinked.

"I thought this was a dungeon?" Lightning said. She stepped out of the stairwell and glanced around the well maintained, rather exquisite room. It looked nothing like the other dungeon. Where stone was the primary building material for the other, here it was marble. It was strange, I had expected the marble to shift into stone once we entered the area with cells, but it didn't.

"It is, though... I'm sure of it?" I glanced around. true, I had never been here before, but I knew this was supposed to be a dungeon. It looked more like the castle guest rooms, save for the steel bars blocking the entrance to the cells.

"Okay..." Lightning stated. "I'll start on the left, you take the right?" I glanced at her and nodded.

I strode up and down the room, carefully looking over each cell multiple times, just to be sure I hadn't missed anything. The room was lit well enough, but it never hurt to triple check something. I made another pass, this time checking both sides. "Anything?" I asked.

"No, she's not here," she answered. "Maybe the next section."

"Right." I nodded, more so to myself. I turned around and made my way to the end of the room, this time I didn't bother checking the cells again. I slowed to a stop when I reached the end of the room. I glanced to the left, then to the right. I turned to Lightning Strike. "We'll check the right side first." She nodded in acknowledgement.

I stepped into the hallway, and trotted to the end, then paused at the corner. I glanced around the corner, searching for any guards, and once more found nopony. I glanced across the room to the other hallway, then stepped into the room. I took to searching the side closest to me, and assumed Lighting would search the other side. I made my way passed the second cell, and glanced over to make sure Lighting was checking her side. She was, and I returned my gaze to search the third cell. I continued along, carefully searching each cell, each time expecting nothing, and expecting to see her at the same time. It was a strange duality, but about halfway to the end I was used to it.

Eventually I quickened my pace, and barely glanced at each cell. 'She has to be here somewhere...' I huffed as I passed another empty cell. 'Empty, empty, oh look, empty again. Ugh.' The stress was starting to get to me. 'Empty. Empty. Empty.' I passed a cell with a blue ball, with a rainbow mane and tail. 'Empty. Empty. Em-wait...' I paused, then spun around and ran two cells down, and stopped at the cell door. I smiled, then frowned. She wasn't mov-she inhaled. 'She's sleeping... I realized.'

"Find something?" Lightning asked.

"Found her," I replied. I heard hooves rush over from across the room. "She's sleeping." I channeled magic into my horn, then recalled the key from the other dungeon. There was a small flash of light, and slight pop as it appeared in the air.

Rainbow jerked up, she frantically looked around. "Wazztha-" Her gaze landed on me. "Twilight?" She almost jumped up, and I smiled as she ran to the door. "What are you doing here?"

I smiled. "I'm here to bring you home. You didn't think I'd just leave you here did you?"

Her smile grew strained, and I realized I must have said something wrong. A second later, her smile returned. "No..." she answered. I levitated the key in my magic and inserted it into the lock. "Who is your friend?"

Lightning Strike stood at attention. "Corporal Lightning Strike, ma'am," she answered almost mechanically. I briefly lost concentration, but then regained it.

"Hold on, I'll get you out in a second..." I twisted the key left, and attempted to open the gate. Nothing. I felt my heart skip a beat. 'Okay don't panic, maybe it needs to go the other way...' I reasoned.

"Lightning Strike?" Rainbow repeated skeptically. Her expression grew strained. "Are you by any chance related to a Lightning Dust?"

I heard Lightning Strike's feathers ruffle. "She's my sister." she answered flatly.

It sounded like there was bad blood between Lightning Strike and Lightning Dust to me, but I filed that away for later, and twisted the key to the right, then back to the middle. I took hold of the cell door with my magic and tried to open it. Nothing again. I winced. "They key doesn't work..."

Rainbow looked at me blankly. "You'll... You'll get me out of here, though, right? You're not going to leave me here right?"

It sounded like her voice had a desperate edge to it. I staggered at that realization and winced. "Yeah... Um, stand back. I'm going to..." 'Destroy the gate.' I finished in my mind. Rainbow obliged, she stepped back and pressed her body to the opposite wall. I stepped back, and Lightning strode back, determined to keep her distance. I glanced to her wearily. "What?"

She said nothing, and I returned my gaze to the cell door. I inhaled, then exhaled. 'Piece of cake... Just... Destroy the locking mechanism... or blow the door open... Or rip it from its hinges.' I prepared a spell in my mind, then lowered my horn so that it pointed at the locking mechanism of the door. I sent a surge of magic through my horn, and a bolt of magic rushed forth to greet the cold steel. The bolt of magic met the lock, and the magic overwhelmed the steel, obliterating the locking mechanism in a bright flash of light. I blinked twice to restore my sight. Rainbow had her wing over her head, and tentatively lowered it, she peaked out from one eye to see if it was safe. Once she realized it was safe, she returned her wing to her side, shifted her weight, and rushed to the cell door as I opened it with my magic.

Rainbow rushed over to me and almost tackled me to the floor. If I wasn't an alicorn, I was sure I would have been on the floor. She wrapped her arms around my neck, and used me as support while she hugged me. 'That can't be that comfortable with my armor.' I thought. I ignored the thought, and returned the hug. We stayed like that for several seconds, then she pulled back. I smiled at her. "Let's go." She ruffled her wings and nodded. I turned to Lightning Strike. "Go get the others. We're going to wait with Soarin and Ace. Once we're all together, I'll teleport us to the station." 'Hopfully the train is still there and the conductor hasn't changed his mind...'

We all hesitated for a few seconds, then I took the lead, the other two kept close behind me as we made our way back to the others. I kept glancing back at Rainbow and Lightning, to make sure they were still with me. I knew they would be, and they were, but I just... I forced the thought away and continued down the hallway. I slowed as we approached the other room, then peaked around the corner, making sure we were alone, before proceeding. We made our way through the room, up the stairs, and beyond with no problems. I paused as Lightning raced off to gather the others. I watched her go, and hesitated for a few seconds, then turned and opened the door with my magic.

At the sound of the door opening, Soarin and Ace turned towards us and smiled. "Found her?" Soarin asked as he rose to his hooves. He had removed his armor, and a white tunic had been placed on his chest where the spell punched through his armor, but that tunic had mostly turned crimson.

The sight was worrying and unnerving, but I ignored it. I nodded, and stepped to the side, revealing Rainbow Dash. "Yes. Lightning is getting the others, then I'm getting us out of here."

"Soarin?" Rainbow said in disbelief. She stepped forwards. "What... Happened to you?"

Soarin grimaced. "Guard managed to... Yeah." he trailed off, not wanting to talk about it.

"Anything to report?" I asked.

Ace shook his head. "Net, Princess," he answered.

Rainbow glanced at me with a questioning look. "It means no," I answered.

Rainbow shook her head in understanding. "Oh." She turned back to Ace and scrutinized him. "You don't look familiar?"

Ace nodded his head. "Da. I would not. I am not in premier Wonderbolt team. Less fame, but still good flyer."

Rainbow shook her head absently. I turned around to look at the door. "It could take her a while to find them and get them back." I commented. I turned around, paused for a second, then walked over to the wall and sat down. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, extending my hoof in the process. Now that we rescued her, we were almost home safe. It was the last leg of the mission, escape the castle and get home safely. 'Unless things happen in the next five to ten minutes, we're in the clear...' I smiled at the thought.

Then frowned. I was looking forwards to the peace and relaxation that would accompany the train ride back, but at the same time I was dreading it. It would undoubtedly leave me with my thoughts... Maybe I would be able to sleep peacefully, knocked out from the exertion, or maybe I wouldn't be able to close my eyes without seeing a pony who I had killed... Maybe I wouldn't breakdown yet, maybe it was further away, or maybe it would happen in the next five minutes... Maybe it would be better if I broke down right here, so the stress wouldn't build up. I waited patiently, but no breakdown came. I took another deep breath, then exhaled and opened my eyes.

Rainbow had sat down beside me while I had my eyes closed. I was surprised I hadn't heard her or something, but I hadn't. I looked her body over, looking for any signs of injury or stress. While the lighting in the dungeon was decent, the lighting out here was better. She looked mostly fine, but more unkempt than normal for her. Some of her feathers were misaligned, and she might have lost a little weight, but she didn't seem to have any injuries.

Rainbow turned to me and looked at me quizzically. "Twilight?"

I looked up to her. "Hm?"

"You okay? You were staring at me."

"Oh, sorry! I must have spaced out... I'm a little tired." I admitted. Okay, I was more than a little tired, I felt mentally exhausted, but I didn't want to admit that.

Rainbow nodded. "I can understand that."

After that, we sat in silence for several minutes. The sound of hoofsteps approaching from the dungeon caught my attention. I rose to my hooves, and looked towards the door. After several painful seconds, which seemed like an eternity, Lightning Strike and the others strode out of the door. I smiled.

"Princess." Jagged acknowledged. He glanced between me, Soarin, and then Rainbow. "I guess that means we're ready whenever you are," he stated.

I nodded. "Right." I looked around for Soarin's armor, I spotted it by the wall, and I grabbed it with my magic, and levitated it closer to myself, then set it down on the floor. I looked around as everypony gathered around me, then turned to Rainbow. "You ready to come home?"

"Yeah, being locked up down there was driving me crazy." She ruffled her wings. "And I couldn't fly."

Flying meant the world to Rainbow, depriving her of it was an unspeakable crime. I grimaced but nodded. I glanced around one last time, making sure everypony was present, then looked at the door leading away from the hall to the dungeon. I half expected a dozen ponies and Celestia to show up, but nopony did. I closed my eyes and lowered my head, then channeled magic into my horn for the teleportation spell. I made sure I had a lock on everypony, and Soarin's armor, then I cast the spell.

A second later, we appeared in the old Canterlot Train Station's boarding area. The sound of a single pony running towards us drew my attention to the conductor. "You ready to go Princess Twilight?" he asked as he glanced around the group. Despite the darkness flooding the station, he caught sight of Soarin, and his gaze was drawn to the bloodied tunic. He winced, then returned his gaze to me.

"Yes," I answered with a nod.

The conductor nodded to himself. "Good, I was starting to get worried, and I wasn't sure that nopony else was going to show up and start asking questions."

I grimaced at the thought of that. "Thank you again. We couldn't have done this without your help." 'More or less,' I thought. We could have done it without his help, but it would have been harder and taken longer. It was easier this way, and he was certainly going to enjoy the donation I gave him. "Alright... Let's go," I ordered, and immediately everypony present made their way to the train. The started to board one at a time, with the exception of Soarin, he was having trouble boarding, especially since he was carrying his armor awkwardly. Ace helped him on, and Jagged Wing got on last. Rainbow had stayed beside me, like she was waiting on me. I glanced at her, and nodded my head towards the train. I started forwards, I glanced back at Rainbow. She hesitated a moment, then caught up with me, and we walked to the train, then boarded. I let her on first, then I got on myself.

As soon as we stepped hoof on the train, a wave of exhaustion hit me, and I almost fell over. Rainbow caught me with a wing on reflex. I smiled my thanks and closed the door with my magic. I looked around, the car was deserted. Everypony had already left to go to their own room on the train. I had told them to do that before the mission started. If I had needed anything, I would talk to them after we got back. They would have deserved the rest after we rescued her. "Your room's the last one on the left, across from mine," I tried to mask my tiredness, but the words came out absently. Rainbow said nothing in reply. I looked around, then made my way to the nearest bench. I sat down and closed my eyes, then inhaled and exhaled. I heard Rainbow make her way over to the bench and sit down beside me. I ignored it for the moment, choosing to rest instead. A few seconds later, I opened my eyes as I heard a clicking sound. Soarin walked out of his room and made his way towards us. I looked at him wearily.

He opened his mouth, but paused before he said anything. After a few seconds, he finally spoke. "I know that was hard, Twilight, but you did good. You did what you had to do, we all did. Nopony can blame you for that."

His attempt to lessen the burden I felt failed miserably. 'Nopony can blame me for that? That's not true, and you know it.' I bit my tongue and held in my response. Snapping at somepony, especially Soarin, would do me no good. Instead, I just looked at him without blinking. Soarin sighed, and turned away. He slowly made his way to his room. I heard a click as the door shut.

Rainbow turned to me. "What was that about?"

I opened my mouth to answer, but hesitated as the train lurched forwards. I shook my head and stood up. I felt like I should say something, she deserved an answer, after all I just risked my life along with five other ponies to rescue her, but my mouth and hooves conspired against me. I said nothing and made my way back to my room. I was supposed to be happy to have her back, and I was, but the feeling was... Tainted by what I did to get her back... I paused at my door and press a hoof against it, and rested my head on it. After a moment I pulled back, opened the door and stepped inside. I channeled my magic into my horn, and grasped my helmet, and pulled it off.

The cool air hitting the back of my neck and mane felt wonderful. While the armor did its job well, and Rarity did an amazing at making the armor more comfortable, it was still heavy armor. I levitated the helmet in from of my head and looked it over. Dried blood stained the top of my helmet, around the base of my horn. It must have splattered there when I... I closed my eyes and levitated the helmet away, the took the door in my magic and closed it. The door resisted my magic at first, so I applied more magic to close it. I heard a grunt. 'Doors don't... Wait...' I depowered my horn, and turned around. Rainbow forced the door open, and stepped inside. I stepped back to make room for her, then she shut the door, and the lock clicked.

She looked at me with a combination of concern and anger. Her face seemed to shift between the two emotions, unable to decide on which to show. Eventually it settled on concern. "Twilight, are you okay?"

I took the straps holding my armor in place in my magic and started to undo them as I looked her over. "No," I answered lifelessly. I pulled the plate of armor protecting my stomach and chest off and sat it aside, then started working on the straps for the armor protecting the rest of my body. "No I'm not," I repeated.

Rainbow shifted her weight. "What happened?"

"I... I killed..." I couldn't finish the sentence, the feeling in my throat wouldn't let me. I shut my eyes tightly as my stomach started to churn again. I fought back to ignore the sensation, but it didn't work. I refocused myself to removing my armor, hoping that would help. I undid my body armor, then removed it. The air felt like it rushed over my back, it almost felt like ice. I took a deep breath to calm my nerves, the smell of sweat from my body permeated the air.

"Twilight."

I opened my eyes at the sound of Rainbow's voice. I could tell from the look in her eyes she wanted to say something, anything, to cheer me up. But I could also tell she didn't know what to say, she just stood there, looking at me, concern covering every inch of her features. I lifted my right arm, and pulled off my boot, then repeated the process with my left arm and back legs, then set the boots aside.

"You did what you had to..." Rainbow finally said.

'You're wrong.' I bit back the response, she didn't know that I killed somepony who couldn't defend herself. 'I... Oh Celestia... I killed a defenseless mare... She... She could have had foals...' The thought staggered me. 'I could have just orphaned foals... I could have killed a mother...' My stomach suddenly felt much more queasy, and the headache I had earlier returned with a vengeance. "So now I'm going to have that breakdown..." I scoffed. I closed my eyes, took a deep breath, and extended my arm as I exhaled. I didn't expect it to help. It didn't.

I heard feathers rustling, and I hadn't moved mine. It had to have been Rainbow. "Look, you rescued me, alright? You did what you came to do right?" I nodded without opening my eyes. "So just... Sit down and relax for a bit. I can't imagine how stressful that was for you, but you're holding it together really well..."

I wanted to smile at her, but I couldn't. I opened my eyes, and made my way over to my bed, then sat down. I closed my eyes again, took a deep breath, then exhaled. I felt a cold chill run down my spine, and my stomach lurched again. Slowly, the feeling of needing to puke died away, only to be replaced with exhaustion. I felt something warm press against my coat, followed a moment later by feathers pressing against my wing. I opened my eyes and looked at Rainbow quizzically. "I'm sorry I let you get captured."

She frowned at me. "It wasn't your fault, besides-" she smiled brashly, "-not everypony can say a princess has come to their rescue."

I wanted to laugh at that, but I was just too tired, and it came out as a sigh. "I didn't know where you were, or if you were even still... Alive..." I shook my head and looked down to the covers of the bed. It looked so inviting, I could almost hear it calling my name, but if I tried to sleep, what would I see? Would I be able to sleep, or would I lie awake at night, unable to find peace because of what I had done? "I was so worried... Worried that I had failed, worried that I let my friend get hurt or... Or worse, that you weren't even still alive..."

"Look, Twilight. I'm fine, you can see that. I may be a little out of shape, and dying to fly again, but other than that, I'm okay," She sounded annoyed at me. I winced.

I sighed. 'That breakdown still hasn't happened, but it sure feels like i'm sitting on the edge, only moments away from falling...' "Maybe it's a good thing I'm not falling apart right now. Maybe I'm stronger than I realized. Or maybe it's a bad thing, and I'm bottling it up inside me, only for it to eventually break out in force, and turn me into Nightmare Moon or something," I felt Rainbow tense up, but she said nothing. I bobbled my head. "Or maybe it'll slowly drive me crazy and I-"

"Enough, okay? You're not going crazy, Twilight," Rainbow countered. Her voice sounded harsh, harsher than I think she meant, but maybe that was because I was so tired. I picked my head up and looked her in the eye. "You look terrible," she said flatly.

"I feel terrible," I replied. "I'm exhausted... The stress and tension of sneaking around, avoiding ponies, or having to... To kill them when you encounter them... Never knowing what lies around the next corner, nor if everypony will get out alive... The weight of their lives resting on my shoulder, and the physical weight of wearing heavy armor..." I trailed off. I wanted to say more, but... It would have been pointless, she had the picture.

Rainbow started to pull away from me. Immediately I missed the feeling of warmth at my side. "Then I'll leave so you can get some sleep."

I whimpered at that. If I was left alone, I would break down. I was sure of that. "Please stay..." I said weakly.

She slowed, then stopped. She looked me over for a few seconds, and for a moment I thought she would ignore my plea. "Fine. I'll stay, but try to sleep... You look like you need it," She looked around the room and went over to the corner.

I nodded and laid back. I grabbed the rest of my armor in my magic and undid it as quickly as I could. My magic was sluggish from my exhaustion, but I managed to pull it off, and I tossed my armor into the pile. It felt so good to be out of it, and the bed was so comfortable. I closed my eyes, expecting the embrace of sleep. Nothing came, I opened them and looked at Rainbow, who was sitting in the corner, eyes closed. She was trying to sleep... It didn't look very comfortable to me, but she would stay... I felt bad about her trying to sleep on the floor. I thought it over for a minute. "Rainbow, come here."

She opened an eye and looked at me blankly. "What."

"I'm not just going to let you sleep on the floor," I replied.

"Twilight, I'll be fine," she said.

I groggily glared at her. "You have been in a dungeon for a month, and you think I'm going to let you sleep on the floor? Get over here before I order you to sleep with me," Rainbow blushed at that for some reason, I had no idea why. I didn't really care either, I was too tired to care. After a moment's hesitation she slowly rose up and made her way over to the bed, then laid down and curled up into a ball as far away from me as possible. I couldn't blame her for that. I laid my head back against the pillow and closed my eyes.