• Published 16th Sep 2022
  • 4,634 Views, 195 Comments

Libero - Discombobulated Soul



Darkest Knight is an eccentric young colt with a curious aversion to others. Behind the closed doors of reality and psyche, what could be plaguing him? And, more importantly, are the citizens of Ponyville at all prepared to deal with the revelation?

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Knight's Break, Pars Una

"Calling this Saturday's meeting of the Cutie Mark Crusaders to order! Let's start with a roll call!"

Scootaloo stood proudly behind the filly-sized podium, resting her forehooves on its surface as she began her club's proceedings. She was greatly pleased to see her two best friends sitting attentively in front of her, and made a show of looking about their clubhouse's single room.

"Sweetie Belle? Where are you?" The pale filly giggled and waved a hoof to gain Scootaloo's attention.

"Here! I'm here!" The fuchsia-maned filly acted surprised upon seeing her friend, startling in fake astonishment at her presence and causing the unicorn's giggling to increase in ferocity.

"Ah, there you are! And where's Apple Bloom?" The farm filly sighed good-naturedly and lazily waved a hoof. Scootaloo nodded at her yellow friend and pretended to scrutinize some nonexistent papers, smiling slightly at the ongoing guffaws of Sweetie Belle. "Good, good, they're both here! Now, where's Scootaloo?"

The pegasus filly finally managed to get a humored chuckle out of Apple Bloom as she glanced about the room, putting a hoof to her brow to aid in her search. "Wow, the nerve of that filly! Absent again?" Scootaloo could only keep up the charade for a few moments more before breaking to join in the chortling with her friends.

"Alright, alright, let's get started already." Apple Bloom's signature country accent betrayed her mirth with a slight lilt at the end, but Scootaloo nodded her assent to the command. She excitedly hopped over to sit in front of the two, her undersized wings abuzz with anticipation of the proposition she would shortly give.

"Okay, girls. I know just what we need to do to get our cutie marks today!" All three fillies' faces were alight in rapture by this point, and the pegasus' friends gestured frantically for her to continue, which she did just after she began pacing the room. "Well, you both know that all of Ponyville is really focused on helping out a pony. And our attempts at both learning more and getting detective cutie marks have turned out unsuccessful."

Scootaloo's friends nodded vigorously, and Apple Bloom rolled a hoof in a classic 'go on' gesture, causing the pegasus to nod and continue her energetic pacing. "Well, this pony, Darkest Knight, is also the nice one who gave us the material for our cape uniforms. Right, Sweetie Belle?" The unicorn in question averted her gaze for a split second at this, but nodded her head in affirmation.

"Um...yep! That's exactly what he did! He was very, very generous!" Sweetie swallowed nervously as she broke into a cold sweat, but Scootaloo paid that no mind, much too focused on her ongoing proposition than whatever silly crush her friend had this time. Seriously, it feels like every week there's a new one! Oh well.

"Well, I think it's high time we repaid the favor! And earn our cutie marks at the same time! And I know just how to do it!" The bright orange filly broke from her pacing to rummage around in her saddlebags, which were set leaning against the wall. "One of the things that Rainbow Dash told me about him was that he didn't have very much confidence in himself, or anything, really. So, I asked around for tips on how to give somepony confidence!"

Scootaloo grunted softly as she heaved an enormous book with a bubbling potion on the front cover out of her bags. She couldn't hold it up for long, and so carelessly dropped it to the wood-paneled floor before beginning to flip through its contents. "Nopony was really any help, and I got a buncha weird looks, but eventually I asked Zecora for what potions might be helpful."

Finding her desired page, Scootaloo confidently turned the enormous book around, gesturing vigorously at the potion description and instructions for brewing. Apple Bloom read with great interest, and began to nod along as her smile grew.

"She said it would be too hard for us, and wouldn't give it to me, but I managed to sneak it out from under her nose. With you on our side, Apple Bloom, I think we can do it! So, whaddya guys think?" The farm filly tore her gaze from the writing, beaming at her pegasus friend as she absently tapped at the page.

"Scoots, ah think this scheme of yours is gonna work for sure! We'll have to up the concentration, though. Somethin' tells me that this colt is gonna need a lot more'a this stuff than other ponies have." All three fillies nodded at this before deeply inhaling and belting out a phrase with all the volume their collected foal-sized lungs could produce.

"CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS, PONY HELPER-OUTERS! YAAAAYYY!!!"

The page fluttered from the force of their exclamation, but it settled so that the words atop it could still be read. The largest set of them, detailing the purpose of the potion described within, were especially noteworthy.

Personality Reversal Tonic:
Temporarily transforms shyness, insecurity, and reluctance into boldness, self-assurance, and eagerness!


A giggling cheer of deranged glee echoed throughout the sky itself as two ponies came out of yet another vicious, eye-watering, high-velocity loop-de-loop.

"Didja like that last one, kiddo?" Rainbow Dash turned her sleek neck about to gaze at the colt on her back with a cocksure grin, hovering in place several hundred feet above the ground. Darkest nodded vigorously, a lopsided smile adorning his features as the world spun around him.

"Ah, quite indeed, Rainbow Dash! Is there any chance we could go again?" Flying is perhaps the most incredible thing possible in the history of the universe itself! The colt wobbled in his spot on the pegasus' back as his eyes continued to twist around him. He could scarcely make out Rainbow's uneasy look as she began the return to terra firma.

"Uh, probably not, buddy. You're looking kinda winded, there." The statement could not be more true, and Darkest began taking deep breaths in attempts to fill up his long-depleted lungs.

"I am feeling quite discombobulated." The unicorn deliberately blinked several times in efforts to still his spinning head. "My, my, the world is much too vorticose and gyratory for my tastes. Does there lie any chance you might assist in that matter?" Rainbow lazily twisted her neck to gaze at him once more before her cerise eyes abruptly widened in shock.

"Hey, buddy, it feels like you're about to fall off..."

The rest of her sentence was entirely lost to Darkest, for his ears were filled with the sound of rushing wind as he tumbled lazily through the air. All told, the colt was not all that concerned, and in fact found a strange pleasure in the plummeting sensation, ponderously observing his well-brushed mane as it waved in the air. 'tis no matter, I am completely fine.

She'll catch you.

Yes, indeed, Knight! There lies no cause for vexation. And sure enough, only a few more seconds passed by before he was swept up in cyan forelegs and held under the frantically worried cerise gaze of his pegasus friend.

"Omigosh! Are you okay?! You're not scared, are you?! I didn't mean to drop you!" Rainbow began turning his limp, untensed, ragdoll-like form this way and that, though what she was looking for, Darkest had no clue of. He giggled easily at her nonsensical behavior before pressing her nose in a soft boop. The mare's entire face scrunched and she instinctively crossed her eyes to stare down the affronted body part. She did so for but a few seconds before squinting her eyes at the colt in what he recognized as her playful, nonthreatening, familiar glare.

"Oh, I see how it is!"

Several minutes of intense boop warfare later, the pair coasted back down into town square, both sporting slightly sore snouts and enormous, toothy smiles. They passed a few airborne pegasi during their descent, all of whom Darkest recognized from various meetings. That one is Flitter, whom Rainbow introduced me to but a few days ago. I liked her; she seemed rather kind, and her voice was pleasant enough.

She works for HIM.

Sadly, that is indeed a possibility. I must be wary of all those who are untrustworthy. Despite these thoughts, Darkest was able to summon up a nervous wave as the pegasus passed, tending to a group of unruly clouds. The mare visibly brightened at the gesture before excitedly returning it with a large grin.

The colt ducked down against Rainbow's withers at this, minimizing her potential angles of attack while mostly hiding himself from view. Now is most certainly an opportune time to be in Rainbow's forelegs. That would quite effectively dissuade any assailants, and I find myself missing the sensation. Darkest sighed, burying his face in the mare's withers to hide it from the surrounding townsponies.

It had been six days since Twilight had taken on her student, Starlight Glimmer, whom both Darkest and Knight collectively decided was in fact an amazing mare that they loved to interact with. Much of that conclusion was based on how Starlight had so mercifully taken him away from the Sisters, even despite their wishes to the contrary.

There had been only a few minutes of tension as she explained her actions to her new mentor before Starlight teleported him and herself back to Ponyville, saving Knight from his ridiculous and irrational fear of 'big ponies'. Darkest's admiration for the mare grew exponentially when she did so even with both Celestia and Luna practically ordering her not to, and also when she ceased asking unanswerable questions about any 'big ponies' he had met before.

Knight is a being of primal instinct and reactions, many of which I understand. Still, I cannot comprehend why tall ponies are such an issue, for he has not exactly been forthcoming with answers. It had been two days since the denizens of Ponyville began showing themselves around town.

The colt still had no clue as to why they had started to do so, or indeed why they left in the first place__any and all inquiries he had made to his various friends regarding the matter were met with either awkward silence or a swift change in subject. It is not desirable for them to withhold information from me. Still, I trust that they possess no malicious intentions, for they could never bring harm to me.

While it was deeply unnerving to have so many potential workers roaming about, Darkest found some deep, primitive, idiotic part of him pleased at their presence. His inner herd animal celebrated the death of its prior loneliness and was glad to see so many others around it. Safety in numbers and all that, even if those selfsame numbers are all potential assailants. I had hoped that socializing with my friends was enough to satisfy that innate desire, but it seems not. I suppose it is nice to see Ponyville cease being a ghost town, and even more so to recognize the residents.

Rainbow Dash gently touched down in town square, immediately setting off towards a distinctly familiar sweet shoppe in the distance. Darkest could just barely see the sign from where he sat between her raised wings, shivering with excitement as the large words took place in his mind.

Bon Bon's Bon Bons

I just read that! And it brought the colt no small measure of ecstasy to do so. The cleverly-named store was as delicious to gaze at as the treats within were to consume; altogether nothing like the horrendous offence that was Sugarcube Corner or the intimidating spires of Canterlot.

Darkest began hopping in place so as to express his gleeful anticipation, both of meeting the cream-colored earth pony mare inside and partaking of her wondrous creations. Rainbow increased her pace at this, and the townsponies were swiftly reduced to mere blurs due to her speeding gallop. The unicorn ceased his jumping in favor of propping his forehooves on top of her head, rapidly blinking from the newfound breeze as he alternated between scanning for threats and hungrily eyeing their destination.

Suddenly, Rainbow's gallop screeched to a halt and Darkest was very nearly sent soaring over her head. The pegasus' neck tensed under his hooves as she withstood the force of his inertia, likely to keep exactly that from occurring. One in righteous indignation and the other in wary unease, the both of them observed as three fillies wearing helmets came to a stop before them, swiftly dismounting their scooter and attaching wagon respectively. The orange pegasus in front gave a cheery wave before prancing right up to the two of them, beaming as her accomplices took up positions to either side.

"Hey, Rainbow Dash! Hey, Darkest! I saw you guys doing some tricks just now! Aren't her stunts just the coolest things ever?!" Darkest's ears pinned at the filly's obstreperous speech, and his eyes widened with recognition when the familiar curly-maned unicorn to her left nudged her barrel. Sweetie Belle!

Hide. Get away.

The colt ducked down behind Rainbow's head before taking several hasty steps across her back and jumping to the ground. He nervously glanced around, but was relieved to see the surrounding townsponies pointedly not taking notice at the moment. Peeking around his friend's hind legs, he shivered with anxiety as the third filly eyed him curiously and took a step forwards, holding a bottle of some purple liquid in her mouth.

"Scootaloo! Now's not the time! Can't you girls go play or something while I drop him off at Bon Bon's?" Darkest instinctively shrank away from the mare's incensed tone__an action that she immediately felt and regretted if her worried frown was anything to go by.

Rainbow swiftly turned to offer him a placating forehoof, simultaneously removing his safe shelter and causing him to cringe away. "Oh, jeez! Hey...I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Look, I'm slow, see?" Darkest blinked rapidly as the hoof approached once more, and his muzzle twitched sporadically as it pressed on his nose, but he was able to remain in place. "It's me, Rainbow Dash. Okay?"

Darkest nodded, slightly ashamed at his unreasonable behavior. I trust her not to hurt me. If only my impulses agreed.

You've been charmed.

Will you not shut up about the silly charm idea?! It's entirely foolish, Knight! They would never do such an exceedingly unethical thing! It was at that moment that the unicorn filly abruptly materialized in his vision, frenetically waving the bottled purple liquid as she wore an eager grin. In response, Darkest took several rapid steps backward, further away from Rainbow and deeper into potential danger. She is attempting to herd me away from safety!

"Enough of that, you gotta drink this potion we made for you! It'll make everything better!" The colt's posture tightened and he shrank down as the filly, many years his junior, towered over him. She gripped the cork in her mouth and, with one pointed twist of her neck, opened the bottle.

Darkest cast a pleading glance at Rainbow Dash, who by now was too many feet away and looking severely indecisive as to what to do. "Come on, then. You wouldn't wanna be a bad colt, would you?" The anger held within the filly's voice was clearly faked, but it elicited the trained submissive response from Darkest all the same. Their noses were nearly touching by this point, their gazes locked together in a battle of wills.

That concoction is most certainly some manner of sedative; I simply cannot partake of it! From the corner of his vision, the colt saw Rainbow finally gather her wits and stomp angrily towards them, his pupils consequentially shrinking as his quivering increased in ferocity.

"Sweetie Belle! I don't know what the hay you're doing, but you need to leave. Now! The mare's anger was indisputably genuine, and Darkest recoiled away, feeling what little hold he had on his actions slip from his grasp as his anxiety increased.

The unicorn filly chose that exact moment to stuff the potion directly in his mouth, shoving it forward so as to knock him off balance. Darkest's shock and fear combined, rendering him unable to resist ingesting the surprisingly tasty beverage. Only half of it found its way into his body before he wrenched himself away, taking another few steps back and gasping for air as he studied the ground.

Silence reigned throughout the area--even the surrounding townponies had ceased their movements, likely finally taking notice of the encounter and standing to gawk like the pitiful simpletons they were.

Where on Equus did that thought emerge from? Cyan hooves entered the top of Darkest's vision before Rainbow cleared her throat awkwardly.

"So...uh...Darkest? Are you okay?" Suddenly, a realization entered the colt's mind: The area had not, in fact, been silent. He had simply zoned out entirely. Likely because the pathetic world around him was entirely too undeserving of his attention.

Something else occurred to the colt, and it was greatly humorous. Amusing to such a degree that he found himself beginning to laugh.

It was a small laugh, at first. Tentative and unsure, just as he had been for far too many years.

Slowly, it grew. It snowballed in intensity and volume as more and more things clicked into place within the colt's mind. He laughed, for what Rainbow Dash had asked him was just. So. Funny.

Abruptly, the by-then maniacal laughing ceased, and Knight slowly raised his head to smile at the pegasus, wearing an expression that could only be described as completely unhinged.

"YES!" Knight shouted with all the volume his undersized lungs could offer. Rainbow Dash jumped in shock before warily twisting her head back and forth in a confused shake. The fool. What kind of pony asks that sort of question? Can't she see that I'm better than ever? "Why, yes, Rainbow Dash. I'm feeling simply...peachy." The mare raised both eyebrows and took a step back, blinking unsurely at his uncharacteristic behavior.

"Well, uh, that's good! I hope I didn't scare you too much." This statement was greatly amusing to Knight, so he accordingly barked out a harsh laugh, causing the mare to jump once more, her wings spread and twitching slightly. This reaction brought great pleasure to Knight, and his deranged grin grew wider by the second.

"Please! You, scare me? As if you could ever hope to accomplish such a thing!" This confused the moron even more, and she opened her dimwitted mouth to spew out more idiocy, but Knight decided that he'd had enough of her foolishness. The colt lit his horn, imprisoning the dolt in a carelessly-undersized sphere that nearly clipped her wings before maliciously turning to face the little brat that was Rarity's sister.

The three fillies were celebrating, clapping their hooves together before expectantly eyeing their flanks, seeming disappointed upon observing their still-blank quality. Knight approached the other unicorn, standing tall so as to let his shadow drape over her insufferable form. She shortly took notice of this, rapidly twisting her neck to gaze at him with slowly-widening green eyes.

"Heh. Now who's towering over who?" The nuisance opened her impudent muzzle, presumably to speak some demeaning order or another to his obviously-superior being. Knight decided not to listen to whatever she had to say, preferring instead to intercept with a wicked punch to her cranium, propelled with all the strength his body could offer. The brat caught some air--though not as much as he'd like, and his hoof stung like all Tartarus from the blow, so he'd definitely have to change tactics.

Knight cast a dismissive glance at the inferior animals around him, each of whom had their jaws agape and seemed completely stunned by his actions. Actions in which the colt reveled, feeling free for the first time in his short life as he lit his horn once more. Sweetie Belle was roughly lifted in his aura and viciously brought nose-to-nose with Knight--a position that she seemed altogether too comfortable with a few minutes ago, though she looked utterly terrified at present.

"You know, Sweetie Belle, I must thank you." Knight studied his aching hoof for a few moments before casually placing it back on the ground, indifferent to the pain such an action brought. "If not for your blatant force-feeding me, I would never have realized my full potential." Knight noticed several blithering idiots known as townsponies finally gather their wits and approach with his peripheral vision.

His neck tensed, causing his head to vibrate in place as he slightly squinted in concentration, allowing a second overglow to emerge around his horn. Soon after, a giant sphere materialized around the advancing adults. The colt maliciously watched them mutely cry out, silenced by the bubble as it was lifted into the air, bringing a sizable chunk of the ground with them.

"I would never have realized what you pitiful morons really are." Knight continued to raise the sphere until all that was visible from below was the underside of the dirty floor which the captured ponies stood on. The other two fillies--who he'd left on the ground--glanced frantically between the floating orb, the sizable crater in the middle of town square, and Knight himself, who only grinned at their distress. "Pathetic playthings suitable only for my entertainment."

And with that, he carelessly tossed the bleeding nuisance into the crater before indifferently beginning to trot towards a certain crystal castle in the near distance. "Now then, I have business with a certain...charming princess."

Scrambling hoofsteps were the only sound in his ears as the two fillies rushed down the crater to help their friend.

Scrabbling, screaming prisoners were the only sight to greet his dismissive glance behind as the dolts__Rainbow included__uselessly pawed against the inside of his indestructible barriers. A dull grey aura surrounded the fallen potion bottle as the colt levitated it with him before storing it securely in his mane for safe-keeping. I'll need this glorious concoction for later.

Knight strode forth on his righteous path to put a certain purple 'noble' in her place, hooves stony, head tall, and with only the most sadistic, enlightened, insane expression adorning his face.

This oughta be fun.


Princess Twilight Sparkle was contentedly reading in her new, larger crystal library when a shuddering crash rocked her castle to its very roots, causing the floor beneath her laying form to tremble slightly.

Instantly shooting to her hooves, the alicorn dashed to the nearby stairwell, her books completely forgotten and a panicked expression on her face. That didn't sound good!

After gliding straight down the stairs and flying directly to her castle's foyer, her purple eyes bugged out and she dropped to the floor in a display of pure, concentrated, unadulterated stupefaction. That doesn't look good!

The front doors__and entire connecting wall__lay in ruins, with a light grey transparent sphere being moved around inside the building. Twilight watched in awe as the barrier pushed aside any matter it encountered in its journey, completely unaffected by the contact while the physical material was shoved aside to make room for it. It was as though reality itself offered no resistance to its movements, allowing the shield to travel anywhere it was directed completely unopposed.

And trapped within the sphere, pounding desperately at its inner surface, was none other than Rarity, Element of Generosity and one of Twilight's best friends.

"Ah, there you are, Princess Twilight Sparkle. We have much to discuss, you and I." Intoned the white stranger standing confidently in the middle of the room with his horn aglow and a malicious grin on his muzzle. The colt's coloration and size was achingly familiar, but it took the princess several moments to fully identify the unicorn before her.

Is that really Darkest? He's so...different! Darkest's posture was completely alien to his form, and the downright evil expression on his face was equally out of place. What on Equus happened?! And why did he capture Rarity like that?! It was at that moment that Twilight happened to gaze past the colt, and did a double-take upon observing the complete and utter disaster that was her domain.

Entire buildings had been crushed and run through with barriers, and what looked like every civilian that populated Ponyville was contained within a floating sphere, high above the earth. Every last one of them appeared to either be furiously attacking the inside of their bubble or crying profusely, sometimes both.

Twilight even caught sight of Fluttershy and Starlight Glimmer, though they were too far away to make out what actions they were taking. The poor alicorn's heartrate increased dramatically as her eyes darted all across her vision, while her expression seemed conflicted between utter surprise or complete disbelief.

"So, do you like my work? It didn't take much effort, I'm afraid: Your friends' meager defenses were simply inadequate compared to my might." Darkest mercilessly swung Rarity's orb up and down for emphasis, viciously slamming the poor mare into the curved walls and likely leaving some nasty bruising.

It was much like a small filly might shake a newly-won goldfish in innocent excitement. The only difference was, the colt's ecstasy was clearly not innocent, and in fact seemed downright vengeful.

"D-Darkest? W-what's going on? What're you doing??" The alicorn had finally found her voice, and accordingly said the first thing that came to mind. She watched, still frozen in disbelief, as her dress-making friend was suddenly sent straight down into the floor, leaving only a round pit left.

"That's Knight to you, you pathetic charmer!" Twilight flinched back, both from his spontaneous anger and accurate accusation. Knight's malevolent grin only increased in size at this, and he took several intimidating steps toward the staircase, leaving the princess suddenly feeling quite small. "That's right. You didn't think you could charm somepony like me for long without my notice, did you? You silly, silly little pony."

The colt stopped just in front of Twilight, who by that point had shrunk down so far that he was able to tower over her prone form. "Well, you succeeded! For some inexplicable reason, I trust certain ponies completely and without hesitation. But you know what?"

Knight leaned in close, roughly stroking Twilight's tear-ridden cheek with a small hoof before whispering directly to her madly twitching ears.

"That doesn't mean you dimwits can trust me."

The princess cried out as she was sent crashing through the crystal banister to her left by an unbelievably hard impact to her right side, which turned out to be the sphere Rarity was trapped inside of. She landed, badly, on the shard-filled floor beneath as Knight let out a wicked cackle the likes of which she'd only heard from Discord, Tirek, or Sombra. The noise was awful in and of itself, but sounded yet more horrific due to the colt's high-pitched voice.

Twilight was left panting and clutching her barrel in surprised pain as the orb arced up, then down, destroying a part of the ceiling and causing Rarity to offer a horrified and remorseful expression in the process. The alicorn barely dodged out of the way in time, frantically flapping her wings as the transparent prison dove back into the crystal ground with an earsplitting crash! and no resistance whatsoever.

This is crazy!

Twilight gave a few more powerful flaps, ascending to the top of the near-unrecognizable foyer in a desperate attempt to gain a better perspective on the situation, but soon encountered resistance in the form of a flat, light grey slab of Thaunon. She winced in pain, speedily attempting to fly away from the obstacle but was too late to avoid its sweeping blow, which slapped her straight out of the air and through an adjacent wall.

"I'LL SHOW YOU TO CHARM PONIES! HOW DARE YOU!?! AND YOU CALL YOURSELF A RESPECTABLE INDIVIDUAL! YOU'RE A MONSTER!"

The next few minutes became a haze of pain, confusion, and abject horror for Twilight. She was given no time to rest, no room to react, and no space for retaliation. The barrage of brutal bashing was as indefensible as it was completely unexpected, and the mare's mind was left utterly empty save for the pain that filled its formidable depths.

The alicorn's immense mana supply and earth pony-like magic was likely the only reason she hadn't been knocked unconscious by the time Knight was finished, let alone completely slain. She lay in a defeated heap on the cracked ground, her once glorious castle in ruins around her. The sadistic colt marched triumphantly over, his hoofsteps stony as they pattered across the jagged floor.

"Well, now, that was quite freeing, wasn't it?" Knight's illuminated head popped into the corner of Twilight's vision, and she had the presence of mind to turn her head to face the ceiling, making eye contact with her attacker. "I must admit, you didn't quite deserve all of that, but I had to let my frustration out upon somepony, and this punk here is simply too fragile."

He gestured to the weeping form of Rarity, who by now was laying in a shallow puddle of her own tears as she weakly pawed at the inside of her prison. "I didn't quite want to kill the wretch quite yet, but rest assured, I have no qualms about doing so, here and now."

Twilight's eyes went wide at this, and she shot to attention, wiping away a bloody smear on her forehead as her mind cleared of all fog. Knight flinched back at her sudden movement, and appeared greatly incensed because of it, his features shifting from a relaxed smirk to an angry scowl.

"Now, you listen here, dolt, and you listen well. I have business in Canterlot, especially with the royal Sisters and one stallion in particular. You are going to teleport me there, so I can put them in their place before I run out of time." Another overglow appeared around the colt's horn, and Twilight noticed a half-filled bottle of some purple substance being carefully shifted, tied tightly and mostly hidden by a few locks of his longish mane. "If you do, I'll let this prissy, inconsiderate, wannabe noble out of her cage. But if you don't..."

The sphere moved ever-so-slightly, causing Rarity to begin flailing madly about as the inner walls started slowly closing in, leaving the mare with a rapidly-lessening amount of space.

"...I'll crush this insufferable menace like the garbage she is." Twilight glanced between the self-satisfied colt and her silently screaming friend with mounting panic, hoping, praying that this was some sort of sick joke. "Go on, then. Either option is perfectly acceptable to me, but something tells me that you'd like to keep your friend in the realm of the living."

Knight was right, and so, with a heavy heart, Princess Twilight Sparkle lit her horn and, with a flare of powerful magic, the victim-turned-villain was transported to the heart of her country.

Soon after, the light grey prison faded away, and two heartbroken mares cried desperately in each other's embrace, wondering where it all went wrong.