> Canterlot Bridge
>  by TheMysteryMuffin
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

> The Departure
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------


"There was once a crooked mare, who walked a crooked mile.
She found a crooked stallion, standing near a crooked stile.
They loved one another, and lived near a crooked ridge,
And then they hung themselves on Canterlot Bridge."


No one in Equestria ever knew why the Canterlot's longest bridge was ever built. There were two sides connected to the bridge; one was the border into Canterlot and the other was a dead end which never went anywhere, besides an empty and abandoned cottage. The bridge was lit up at night by candles and tiny lanterns, sometimes even using fireflies or glowworms. The bridge's body colour was dark green, with tiny yellow flowers as a pattern and for an extra decoration to it. Despite the bridge appearing to be stunning, no pony ever dared to cross it, especially at night. 

In the darkest of hours, a thick fog would cover the centre of the bridge and block the view of those who would dare to cross it. And it wasn't like any other fog that you would bump into, oh no. There would be a foul smell at night which could never be described. It was so strong, that it would put anypony off from walking over the bridge at night, and no animal would crawl, trot or fly across. It was like a warning to those, but in a way all too disturbing. Also, during the day, you could lean over and look down to see the rushing water of the river below, but at night, all you could see was the thick fog that swallowed the whole bridge. 

The construction of the bridge was under the orders of Celestia's niece, Princess Cadance, on her twenty-first birthday. The adopted alicorn had been creating a blueprint of the bridge from the day she had learnt how to create diagrams and measurements. Of course, as it was a special birthday for her niece, Celestia accepted the idea and put it into production. Only the best construction workers of Equestria got the job to build the bridge, however, they underestimated the timescale of how long it would take. It wasn't until her twenty-second birthday, that Cadance saw the completed project, and she accepted it with a whole heart.

However, of course, no pony dared to cross the bridge, for they feared for the worst to happen to them. There were many legends that those who attempted to cross were never seen again. Those who were seen again had terrible things happen to their bodies and minds. There wasn't really a certain possibility or known knowledge about why these things would happen, so almost every resident in Canterlot feared the legend of its famous bridge and for a long time, no pony dared to go anywhere near it. That was, until one day, when a purple alicorn and her friends went over to investigate. 

***

It had just turned midnight in Equestria and everypony were in bed, sleeping and dreaming away quietly. Well, almost everypony. Inside the Friendship Castle, Twilight Sparkle was finishing reading one of her books that Princess Celestia had offered her earlier on that day. Next to her was a very tall and thin candle stand, which glowed dimly against the oncoming darkness. But however bright the candle may be, it was weak and dinky and would flicker each time Twilight would turn a page over in her book. It was the only sound in the castle and perhaps even the whole of Ponyville. Spike, who was also awake, was carrying sheets of paper for Twilight to write on. He waddled over to Twilight and dumped the papers next to her. The pieces of paper landed on the desk with a thump, causing yet again the single candle to flicker.

"Here're the papers you wanted, Twilight."

Spike smiled nervously at the purple alicorn, who looked over and picked the pieces of paper with her magic. One by one, Twilight looked through every sheet of paper that Spike had given her, flipping them over onto their other side silently as she could. Whilst watching, Spike noticed that Twilight was tired and was losing her concentration. She had been working hours on end trying to complete her students' forms about their progress at her friendship school and of course trying to think of ways of giving extra tuition for her ex-pupil Starlight Glimmer. In fact, Starlight was already preparing to leave the friendship castle in a couple of weeks to live with her old friend, Sunburst, to continue studying magic in the Crystal Empire. A farewell party was being planned by her friends before she would leave with Sunburst for the late night express train to the Crystal Empire, which would to the average pony a simple task, but to the troubled and fantastic mind of the Princess of Friendship, it was a complete challenge. 

Twilight sighed loudly. Spike knew when Twilight had enough of what she was doing and this was indeed one of those moments.

"Thanks, Spike. Sorry about my attitude tonight. It's been a very busy and difficult day. The school paperwork itself is hard enough, and that isn't even including my princess duties! Oh, I just wish I had the magic to have somepony or something else do all of it for me. If only I read a book on it."

After he finished cleaning up the mess on Twilight's desk, Spike grabbed hold of a mop and bucket and started wiping the marble floor. He continued talking to Twilight whilst she was continuing to clean up her desk.

"So, Starlight's leaving, right?" Spike asked, "After everything she's been through? She's just going to leave with Sunburst?"

At first, Twilight ignored him. It was a question that she had been trying to avoid for as long as possible, but she knew that somepony, or some dragon, in this case, would eventually bring up the topic at some point.

"Yes, Spike, Starlight is moving into Sunburst's apartment in the Crystal Empire. She will, I'm sure, be doing many great things and become something positive that she wouldn't have thought of last year. Sunburst is the right pony for to continue teaching her until she is ready to work with the magic of friendship alone in the right way. I cannot afford to lose her to the dark magic that she was engulfed in for a second time, for she, as a pony, has come so far. But there is something doubting inside of me, that somehow regrets what I do."

Twilight leaned onto her desk, gazing off into space, whilst giving out another loud yawn, covering her mouth with her hoof in politeness towards her companion. Spike went up closer to Twilight and put his claw on her shoulder.

"I think that's enough reading for one night, Twilight," the baby dragon said, "you really should get some rest. I'm sure tomorrow will be fine. Besides, Starlight knows what she's doing. After all, she is currently staying with us in the friendship castle and had been for the past year or two, so she would understand what we're trying to do for her. Don't sweat the small stuff, Twi, it's just not worth it."

In response, Twilight put her head on her hooves and tried to cover up the tiny drops of tears that were appearing in her eyes. She was so tired, that she was crying at how much her eyes hurt from focusing on reading and writing sheet after sheet of paper. 

"You're right, Spike," Twilight replied, "there's no point in me trying to write something when I can't even focus."

Spike started picking up the remaining sheets of paper and placing them into a large pile on another table, where he stapled the sheets into different groups and put a stamp on each pile to remember which one was which. They didn't realise at first, but soon Twilight and Spike noticed how large the piles were and gulped at how much there actually was. However, it was far too late to send it off to those who required the papers and so instead, they went upstairs to sleep for the remainder of the night.

***
The Friendship Castle was completely coated with banners, decorations and colourful fairy lights. It was the afternoon now and the farewell party was well underway for Twilight, her friends and most importantly their special guest.

Starlight was standing near the Host's table, talking of course to Twilight and Spike about her upcoming adventures with Sunburst and also what his apartment would be filled with for them to use whilst in the Crystal Empire. Many of those things would be books and magical artefacts, which were currently being held in the empire's museum. It would be very exciting for Starlight, as this would be the last time that she would be staying with Twilight, but yet it would be a scary thing to do. This would also be the first time since she was a filly that she would not be staying with Twilight and know the magic of friendship. 

Her thoughts and worries, however, were interrupted when Twilight asked her something.

"So Starlight, you'll reply back to me when you arrive at Sunburst's place, right?"

For a moment, Starlight didn't respond but stared awkwardly into space. She was still thinking about her unnecessary worries. But after Spike waved an arm in front of her face, Starlight responded.

"Oh, huh? Oh yeah, of course! I'll tell you guys all about it when I get there. Trust me, it's about time that I get a paid job. It's not right for me to sit in your castle all day and do nothing but bum around until bed. It's unnecessary behaviour, I dare say, especially as you guys are solving friendship problems in Equestria. And you have your other apprentice, Tempest Shadow, to teach friendship to. I don't want to be in the way with that either!"

Twilight laughed, before patting Starlight on the back. Twilight still struggled to this day with her alicorn strength and so nearly knocked Starlight over with her arm when tapping her gently.

"That's not true, Starlight! I do wish that you could come back to Ponyville whenever. Just only come when you feel like you need me or the others again. Alright?"

Starlight nodded, beginning, at last, to smile and relax. Why should she be so worried at her own leaving party? All her friends were here and it was a time of celebration for her learning of magic. Wasn't that a positive thing? No? Why should she be worried? Must be catching onto Twilight's behaviour, Starlight thought, the constant worry of everything and having to think about it for twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week; it would be dissolving her health slowly, like acid on a pony's body, melting away everything until there was no flesh remaining. It was a thought that could kill, like a toxic drug that had entered the bloodstream. It seemed that nothing was safe anymore. But she was then distracted from her thinking after Spike waved a claw in her eye-view.

"Starlight? Are you okay?"

Starlight shook her head like a puppy shaking its body from water that had embedded itself into the creature's fur and then smiled nervously.

"Of course I'm okay, Spike! There's nothing wrong, I promise! Why... why should I be worried about anything. I know that everything's going to be fine whilst I'm heading over to the Crystal Empire. Thanks for checking on me, though."

Spike wasn't convinced. "Perhaps you should sit down or something."

"I don't need to sit down," Starlight replied, "do I, Twilight?"

Twilight didn't have time to reply, but instead gave a long "er", which was interrupted by her assistant.

"It's just that..." Spike whispered, in order for nopony to hear, "...you're acting a little strange-."

"Oh, will you look at that! It's the cinnamon rolls! I better grab some before they go, am I right?"

Before Spike could say anything else, Starlight trotted off to speak to another group of ponies somewhere else. The way she talked and walked made both Twilight and Spike become very curious about what Starlight was doing. They could only hope though, that it wasn't something wrong, or far worse than that.

***
The Next Day

"All aboard for the Crystal Empire!" 

The Station Guard was giving off the last few calls for the 9:15 train to the Crystal Empire from Ponyville. Suddenly, the whole station burst into life, with ponies running around like headless chickens, trying to catch the train in question. Packages and luggage were carried and placed into the freight waggon at the end of the train and the passengers began embarking on the carriages, squeezing past one another in order to grab their booked seats. This was chaos, of course, so Starlight waited with her friends for it to all die down before getting on. Twilight, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Pinkie, Fluttershy, Rarity and Spike were there to support her on the beginning of her epic adventure, and to give her a box of cupcakes for the journey ahead, of course. It was also extremely hot and all the windows of the carriages were open for cool air to get in. There were even fans placed around the train, turned on to help cool the apartments down. 

Twilight walked up to Starlight and gave her a hug.

"Are you sure that you're up to this, Starlight?" she asked. Starlight sighed, either in unsureness or annoyance, before answering back.

"I have to," she replied, "this is a job that I can finally get, Twilight. This means everything to me. Even if somepony gets in my way, I will simply push them out of my way and keep going. I promise you, that I will make it to Sunburst's place, even if it's the last thing I do."

Fluttershy gasped quietly, which managed to grab everypony's attention.

"Oh, don't say things like that, Starlight. It's a jinxed thing to say, you know."

Starlight rolled her eyes. Even though she had known her for months on end by this point, Starlight still envied Fluttershy's shyness and cowardliness. She was one of the few pegesi that wouldn't fight back or see the positive in darker situations but would hide away in the shadows in fear and disappear. Of course, she would never say that to her face, as it was something that Twilight had taught her since she became her pupil after she almost attempted to destroy the whole of Equestria.

"All passengers who are travelling to the Crystal Empire must board now. This train is ready to depart."

Starlight faced back to Twilight and her friends one last time.

"Well, that's me then," she said, "I guess this is goodbye for now."

Twilight smiled.

"Perhaps yes. Perhaps not."

Starlight then turned around and jumped into the nearest carriage. The station guard closed the door behind her, before blowing his whistle to alert the driver to leave. After giving off a loud whistle, the engine started to move forwards slowly, picking up speed as it started to travel.

The Mane Six and Spike waved Starlight goodbye, right until the train disappeared into the distance from view. Applejack stood next to Twilight. Unlike the others, she had an expression of worry on her freckled face.

"Are you sure that she's gonna be okay, Twi? She's leaving us now, ain't she?"

Applejack still continued looking at Twilight, until the purple alicorn eventually turned around.

"Of course she'll be alright!" Twilight replied, "Besides, what's the worst that could possibly happen?"
> 09:35 to the Empire
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

The sound of the clinking and clanking of the wheels of the carriage was strangely relaxing to Starlight, though it did seem to be an escape from hearing the many conversations that were going on from the other passengers in the carriage that she was in. Many were business ponies, who were writing lists and paperwork with their fellow companions whilst travelling. A mare and her filly were sitting together, reading a picture book, not too far away from where Starlight was sitting. A silver stallion was chatting to another pony four tables down from where she was sitting, who was eating a large bag full of doughnuts. The smell of sweet jam was strong and replaced the stuffy smell of the train carriage, which was getting to a point where it was beginning to make Starlight sick. She opened the window and peered out to watch the passing towns that the train sped past and waved at ponies who waved from their gardens. They sped past one of the stations and continued travelling towards the Crystal Empire, usually blowing its whistle to alert ponies who were too close to the platform edge. Starlight was soon distracted though when the ticket inspector came into her carriage.

"Tickets please."

Everypony quickly grabbed hold of their bags and purses and pulled out their train tickets, ready to present to the ticket inspector. Starlight pulled out hers and presented to the smartly dressed stallion, who had a pocket watch for a cutie mark and bright green eyes which carefully looked at Starlight's ticket in order not to miss out anything important. Using his magic, the stallion pulled out a clipper and snapped at the ticket, before handing it back to Starlight.

"Thank you, miss."

He walked on and inspected the rest of the passengers, whilst also trying not to trip up on the suitcases that were too big to be placed on the overhead rack above the heads of those who were sitting down. Starlight looked back out of the window and saw that they were about to reach Canterlot, the last international station before the Crystal Empire, and noticed that they would be pulling into Platform 1. Starlight felt the train change onto a different line before it crept up slowly into the station. There was already a gathering of potential passengers who were willing to get on, along with the odd Canterlot guard. 

Once the train stopped moving altogether, Starlight pressed her hooves against the window frame and looked out. She noticed a few of those who were waiting, but other than that, it seemed to be the odd Crystal Empire resident (judging by their crystal bodies), builders who were working on the railway and the Canterlot guards. However, something didn't seem right. 

None of the passengers attempted to get on.

There began to be murmuring between the passengers who were already on the train, as they all looked out. The expressions of those who were outside seemed to be a mix of fear and confusion. It was, to Starlight, that they didn't really want to get on the train. And there was another thing about the group of ponies that Starlight noticed; there was at least one pony near a carriage, all except for the one and the very rear of the train, which seemed to be empty.

"That's odd," Starlight said to herself, "what's wrong with that carriage? It's only the guard's apartment. And he did seem to be a lovely stallion. It's not like he was going to hurt anypony."

Starlight settled back into her seat and tried to get comfortable as she could, but frankly, it wasn't the most comfortable seat that she had sat on in whilst travelling on a train. Each time she moved, Starlight could feel the springs underneath the fabric, which poked into her skin. Then again, at least it was more comfortable than the bed she used to sleep in the town where she stole its residents' cutie marks, which used to be something that didn't even seem to class as a bed anymore. And to see colour, in general, was still something new to Starlight, as the houses in the town she ruled were all the same; bland, dull and grey. 

Ten minutes had passed and nothing had happened. As she looked around inside the compartment, Starlight noticed that some of the passengers were packing their saddlebags and suitcases, as if they had officially decided that they were going to step off and try to catch another train. More ponies began to do the same, before walking off to one of the doors and standing just before it, waiting in case the voice-com told them that they were going. However, to everypony's demise, that was not the case, as something that they didn't want to hear.

"Fillies and gentlecolts, may we have your attention, please?! We are sorry to announce, but the 09:35 Mainline Service to the Crystal Empire has officially been cancelled due to dangerous weather. It may have seemed that there is a storm brewing near the Empire. For your safety, we have cancelled this train and we recommend that you disembark and wait for further instructions. Thank you for your attention and on behalf of this train service, we wish you all a pleasant journey."

All of a sudden, the carriage that Starlight was in was lifted with the cries of moans and disappointment. Soon afterwards, the passengers grabbed hold of their things and stormed out onto the platform. Starlight herself was not impressed and couldn't hold back the urge to speak out her fury.

"Shit."

Starlight knew that there wasn't any point in staying on the train anymore and made the decision to get off with her things. She squeezed past the ponies who were blocking her way from disembarking and trotted onto the platform, where she moved out of everypony's way and stood near the crossing which connected the middle to the main platform. Before Starlight did anything, she thought about what she would do next. She had three options.

One: wait for the next train, however, that would be hours later and quite frankly, this was Canterlot International, so there would be hundreds of ponies waiting for that train.

Two: call a friend. But then, Starlight knew that she only had a few friends and not many were living in Canterlot.

Three: ask somepony who took passengers to youth hostels or hotels to take her somewhere to stay until the next train came along. 

Starlight picked up her things and went over to the main station. At first, it seemed that nothing was amiss, but when Starlight reached the platform, she noticed what looked like a pony in a long, black cloak.

The pony was clearly a stallion but was slightly taller and slender-shaped. His legs were thin, but not boney. There was still flesh around his body, but there were some patches where it looked like he had been beaten. His bruises were as black as plums and under his back hood, there was a pair of dimly lit yellow eyes, with a tiny red pupil appearing in the middle. Around the eyes, there were lines of scars crossing over his grey face, covering the lips and touching down to his neck. Those were the only features that Starlight could see, as it was painfully clear that the rest of his body was covered by the cloak that he was wearing. It was so long, that it traced on the floor behind him. 

After a while, Starlight reminded herself of what she was meant to be doing. Besides, she had to let Sunburst know that she was going to be late. Before Starlight walked off to find somepony to help, the stallion quietly trotted up behind her, giving Starlight a shock, making her fall on the ground and gasping at the dark figure. But for some reason, Starlight didn't dare crawl away. Instead, she remained lying on back, looking up at the stallion in awe of his slender shape, which looked like something out of a ghost story, rather than something that would exist in Equestria. Before Starlight could finish thinking, though, the stallion spoke.

"May I help you, miss?"

His voice was sinister and deep. More to the point, he sounded more like a snake than a pony. He ended his sentence with a short hiss before he stopped talking altogether. At the offering of kindness, Starlight simply smiled and accepted the hoof of the stallion, who pulled her up without a groan or strain in his character. It was as if Starlight weighed nothing more than a feather. In response, Starlight chuckled nervously and grinned.

"Oh, my! Thank you, kind sir. That was very noble of you."

The stallion stood up straight in order to meet with Starlight's eye level. 

"I didn't mean to scare you," he said, trying not to hiss like he did before, "I was just... one of the taxi drivers at Canterlot International. I heard all about the cancelled train to the Crystal Empire and so I decided to wait in case anypony wanted somewhere to stay overnight. I guess that you're..."

He trailed off, but thankfully, Starlight finished his sentence for him.

"A passenger from the train. Yeah, it's been a long and painful journey. I'm moving into one of my friends' apartment today. I study magic. I don't suppose that there are any hotels or youth hostels where I can stay for the night? I won't stay long though, I would need to catch the earliest train tomorrow."

The stallion smiled under his hood. He allowed Starlight to see his identification, letting her know that he was an actual taxi driver. He also pulled out his paper, which Starlight read very carefully. Knowing that there wasn't anything wrong, Starlight eventually agreed for the stallion to take her to somewhere where she could sleep peacefully. But she didn't want to rush in though; after all, it was still morning in this part of Equestria, so she would only go to the hotel to dump her things, go and explore Canterlot for the day, go back, sleep at the hotel and then catch the 05:00 train to the Crystal Empire. It all seemed realistic enough.

"You seem... very organised, miss-"

"Glimmer. Starlight Glimmer."

Starlight shook hooves with the stallion. As she did so, Starlight could feel how thin the stallion's arm was and how she could feel the bone inside. Anything sharp or heavy could easily damage his arms without putting in too much effort to leave a large scar. It was like touching a ghost; cold, uncomfortable and unpleasing. Starlight made eye-contact with the mysterious pony and saw the disgusting yellow colour inside his eyes.

"Mystery. Montgomery Mystery. Nothing more than a messenger and a taxi driver. You, on the other hand, seem to be a very important mare, I dare say. I also, during my free time, study magic. I'm surprised to meet a pony who has so much in common with me. I'm, you could say, very original."

Starlight laughed, snorting as she did so, before using her magic to pull her luggage closer to her. Mystery just smiled back. He then picked up Starlight's luggage and gently placed it on the luggage rack. Mystery then politely held out a hoof and helped Starlight step into the cart, giving her a cushion and a blanket to keep her as comfortable as possible. Using his magic, Mystery pulled the removable roof of the cart over Starlight's head and then hooked himself to the cart. 

"You look like you know what you're doing, don't you?"

Mystery looked back and smiled at Starlight's complement.

"I do try to offer the best service to my passengers, Miss Glimmer. I may not have a first class cart, but it's all about the effort that goes into everything which matters greatly to me. It's a competitive business in Equestria, so there's no room for disappointment whatsoever."

The way that Mystery talked to Starlight was what made her uncomfortable. But then, what was there to worry about? Starlight reminded herself that part of friendship was not to judge other ponies and creatures, especially even if it was to do with their voice and their physical appearance. If this stallion was going to help her in any way, then she should take the offer. Besides, she really didn't want to do any more travelling today.

"Alright, I'll take the offer," Starlight replied, "how much are you taking from me?"

Mystery had a moment to think before responding to Starlight's question.

"Five bits. Nothing more than that, I promise."

Starlight pulled out her purse and handed over the currency to Mystery, who then placed the money into one of his pockets and then started trotting along the road to the nearest youth hostel. Starlight laid back and relaxed, knowing that she wouldn't have to do anything else. She started enjoying being dragged by Mystery, almost so that she began to feel tired and soon enough, she started yawning.

"Tired?"

Mystery smiled, looking back at his passenger. Starlight smiled back.

"Yeah, I certainly am. I do hope that where I'm staying is comfortable enough to just fall into a deep sleep. I would love a king-sized bed to lie down on!"

Mystery laughed, before looking forwards again.

"Oh, don't worry Miss Glimmer, I'll make sure that you find somewhere suitable enough to rest. I'll certainly make sure of that."

And with that, neither Starlight or Mystery spoke for the remainder of the journey. Instead, they made it a quiet, peaceful journey through the busy streets of Canterlot.





The Friendship Castle
Three Days Later

Fluttershy and Rarity noticed outside that the weather was getting worse. Over the past three days, there had been a huge storm spreading over certain parts of Equestria. Today, it was covering over Ponyville, making it feel to the residents that it had turned dark earlier, which didn't go well with Fluttershy, who sneaked along the corridor of the castle with Rarity at her side. The darkness had made the castle very black, engulfing all possible light inside. Rarity was using her horn to produce light so that she and Fluttershy could see where they stepped, but still, the darkness swept over them like a thick blanket. Fluttershy was whimpering quietly, which Rarity didn't find entertaining enough to listen to.

"Fluttershy, darling. Why do you have to make such a noise when you're afraid? You were just like this in the Castle of the Two Sisters a few years ago; don't tell me that you haven't learnt to stand up against your fears yet?"

It took a while for Fluttershy to reply, as she wasn't really listening to Rarity. She was busy looking behind her shoulder and out of the castle's windows, fearing for whatever could be stalking her from behind her. Rarity, of course, knew that there wasn't anything really there, so this whole drama was a complete waste of her time.

"Oh, Rarity! It's the weather outside; it's so... terrifying. I hope my animals have managed to find their shelters for the night. They could be cold, frightened or injured!"

Rarity rolled her eyes in disbelief, before continuing to walk down the corridor. She could clearly still remember the incident when she and Fluttershy were trapped in a tiny room, which was located next door to the hall of hooves, where they accidentally scared their friends Rainbow Dash and Applejack. But this was Twilight's castle, so there shouldn't really be anything to be afraid of.

"Look, we're just going to see Twilight and the rest of our friends," Rarity explained, "I wonder if Twilight will allow us to stay over tonight. I don't fancy going back home in the rain; oh, my mane will get ruined for sure!"

Fluttershy suddenly gave Rarity a hug, which came to Rarity unexpectedly, before continuing to walk on.

"Rarity... you're just the best friend a pony could have! We both hate something that is not so much as a problem compared to everything else in Equestria! You're a pony who I can fully understand!"

Rarity smiled back, returning the favour of Fluttershy's hug, before continuing on walking to where Twilight said that they should meet. They walked up to the door, before Rarrity used her magic to open it, and they went through to the other side, where they saw Twilight and the rest of their friends.

Twilight and the Mane Six were sitting around the Cutie Map in their chairs, waiting for the meeting to begin. Spike was in his usual space and the only two chairs that weren't ocupied were Fluttershy's and Rarity's. When the two ponies sat down, Twilight cleared her throat, before she started talking to her friends.

"As you may know, the weather has recently turned on us in the most extreme of ways. I am sorry to announce that this storm will be lasting throughout the remainder of the night, so the damage to Ponyville will be worse than it already is. With that said, Princess Celestia has given each of us a group of around four hundred helpers to clean up the damage that the storm has caused. Of course, I will be spliting you all into your species' groups. Rainbow Dash will go with Fluttershy and the Pegisi, Applejack and Pinkie Pie will help the earth ponies and Rarity will join me to help the unicorns. Hopefully, with amount of hooves that we have, we can clean up Ponyville in as little as two days. Any questions?"

Applejack raised a hoof, in which Twilight nodded for her to speak.

"Oh... er... problem with that, Twi. What abou' Starlight Glimmer? She's in the Crystal Empire, right? Wouldn't you want to ask her to come back to help us?"

Twilight nodded her head.

"You have a point there, Applejack. She's fine to continue studying with Sunburst. She'll make up for it, I'm sure. She's a very tallented pony, so I'm sure there is soemthing for her to do."

Applejack nodded back in response, before sitting back in her seat again. Rarity was the next to speak up.

"Is there another reason why you wanted us here, Twilight?"

"There is," Twilight replied, "I thought it would be acceptable to invite you all to join me during this storm, so that I know that none of you are hurt or whatever. I'm just worried."

Rainbow Dash scoffed.

"Well, we're here to stand your ground, Twilight. It's not like we're going to leave your side. That's not what friends do, you know that, right? Chill, Twilight. We can play a game or something to pass the time."

"Oh! Oh! Oh! I would love to play a game! What game is it? Is it hide-and-seek? Is it Cluedo? Is it Hoofball? What? What WHAT?!"

Pinkie Pie seemed very excited when Spike had surgested to play a game. Twilight knew that it was something that could perhaps distract them from the storm that was sweeping through Ponyville. However, before Twilight could grab a game from one of her cupboards, the Cutie Map flickered and started beeping loudly. Pinkie Pie gasped.

"WHAT. IS. THAT?"

Twilight backed away from the table, trying to get a better view of who would be calling her.

"I... I don't know. It's late at night. Who would call at this hour?"

The map's light then stretched up towards the ceiling, swifting and morphing into a different shape. After a while, the figure of a stallion appeared into view, later revealing himself to be Sunburst. Twilight then walked closer to the map, feeling a little relaxed after seeing it was just a friend.

"Oh, hello there, Sunburst. How are you doing, tonight? Why are you calling at this hour? It's late at night."

Sunburst was panicing and hyperventerlating. It was a while, until he brought in the energy to reply to Twilight's question.

"Princess Twilight! I'm so sorry to disturb you! I had to call you; this is urgent! I don't mean to make you panic but-!"

Twilight pulled a disgusted face. She couldn't understand what Sunburst was trying to say to her. It was all too much to listen to.

"Sunburst, calm down! What's going on?! Why are you panicing? This is an urgent message, you say? What could be the matter? Is it the storm?"

Sunburst shook his head hastly.

"No, it's nothing to do with the storm. It's Starlight! She's-!"

Twilight interupted.

"Oh boy, Starlight Glimmer, eh? Let me guess, she's gone OTT with her magic, has she?"

Sunburst shook his head again.

"Can I guess?!" Pinkie Pie asked, "She's escaped to Cupcake Land!"

Suburst shook his head for a third time.

"Nothing to do with that! It's about Starlight, yes, but nothing to do with her magic. I think. Twilight, she's... gone! STARLIGHT GLIMMER HAS VANISHED!"

There were gasps across the room. Twilight had completly frozen in place. Starlight Glimmer had vanished? No. It wasn't possible. Why would Starlight vanish like that? It didn't make sense. 

"GONE?!" Rarity asked, "WHERE?! Why would she vanish?" Sunburst shugged.

"I don't know! I don't know why she would have vanished. That's why I asked you."

Twilight had a moment's silence before saying anything back to Sunburst. But even she was clueless to what could have happened.

"Okay..." Twilight began, but struggled to find the words, "...we'll be at the place she vanished, where we'll meet you. Where did she vanish exactly?"

Sunburst thought for a moment, before replying back.

"She was last spotted at Canterlot International. Apparently, her train was cancelled, due to the bad weather. I don't know where exactly she is, but I'm guessing she's in Canterlot. Have you any ideas, Twilight?"

Twilight placed a hoof under her chin and thought for a moment, before replying back. She then thought of something, but it seemed to be risky.

"Alright. I have an idea. We'll travel to Canterlot tomorrow, meet up with Princess Celestia and Cadance and search for Starlight. I assure you, Sunburst, that she couldn't have gone too far. Thanks for alerting us this unfortunete news. We'll see you tomorrow; have a pleasent night."

Sunburst nodded in response before he vanished from the Cutie Map. Everyone in the room was left speechless. There was nothing more that could be said. All except, surprisingly, for Fluttershy.

"Where could she be, Twilight?"

Twilight looked back at her. 

"I don't know, Fluttershy. I don't know."
> Where is Starlight?
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Ponyville Train Station
Early Morning

Clickity-clack! Clickity-clack! Clickity-clack! Clickity-clack!

The earliest train was arriving into Ponyville as silently as it could possibly be. The only source of light that came from the Night Express was the front headlamp, which brightly lit up the track in front. It was clear that everypony on board was fast asleep, apart from the driver and the guard who was at the rear with an orange lamp, which he waved around in the air. The Night Express slowed down and eventually braked when it pulled into the station, allowing the guard to step off and walk onto the platform. The steam swept into the station like a thick fog and made the place feel very warm against the cold, fresh morning air.

The guard wandered down the platform to the entrance of the station, where a gathering of multi-coloured ponies was walking towards him. He halted, allowing them to come closer. Twilight was in front, followed by her friends. As soon as he noticed that it was the Princess of Friendship, the guard put on a friendlier and more respectful expression on his face. Twilight stopped in front of him before the guard interacted with her.

"Good morning, Princess," the stallion began, "you catching this train tonight?"

Twilight nodded, before walking up to the guard and leaning in closer to him.

"Seven tickets to Canterlot, please?"

The guard nodded and pulled out a portable ticket machine which was hanging around his neck. He used his horn to fiddle with the machine, before pulling out seven tickets and handing them over to Twilight. After Twilight paid the unicorn, she led the rest of her friends into one of the carriages and they all crowded into one of the apartments. They all sat down on the empty beds and closed the door and blinds, giving them some privacy. Twilight was, of course, the first to start talking.

"Now remember, we're only going to Canterlot to find Starlight and see if she's okay. We're not going to be looking at attractions, friends or go shopping. Sorry, Rarity."

Rarity gave a loud huff, but then replaced her stroppy frown with a gentle smile.

"It's fine, Twilight. We can have a mares-out trip to Canterlot another time. Finding Starlight, though, is much more of a concern than my particular taste to fashion."

Apart from Twilight, the other ponies and Spike were extremely tired. They yawned themselves onto the train and they wandered down the carriage before they reached the compartment that they had been given. Twilight unlocked the door and walked in, followed by the rest of the gang.

Twilight laid down on one of the beds that were prepared for them. The rest of her friends did the same, throwing their belongings into the luggage compartment and then collapsing onto the beds. There was a sudden urge in their bodies, which made them extremely tired. The Mane Six and Spike looked at each other for a while, before they started tucking themselves under the covers.

"So, Twilight...?" Fluttershy began. Applejack poked Twilight over her shoulder to grab her attention, then pointing towards Fluttershy, who looked very sleepy. "Star... Starlight's going to be fine, is she?"

Twilight moved over to Fluttershy's bed, then moving in to give her a gentle hug. Fluttershy returned the favour and buried her head in Twilight shoulder, which she had never done before to her.

"I hope so, Fluttershy. I promise, though, we will find her and we will know what has happened to her."

They remained in hold whilst the others watched, but soon, it was just too early in the morning to stay up any longer and one by one, each of them collapsed into their beds and fell asleep.





Two miles from Canterlot International, 08:00

Morning came as a sudden shock to Twilight and her friends. It wasn't until the glare of the bright, shining sun came through the blinds that covered the window of the compartment that Twilight, who was the first to get up, opened her eyes and sat up in her bed. The air was crisp and cold; Twilight wrapped herself in the bed sheets to keep warm. She crawled over, keeping as quiet as she possibly could, and peered out of the window. It was obvious that it had been a cold night; frost had covered the farming fields. Not that many ponies were wandering around and those who were, had wrapped up themselves tightly in thick clothing. Every breath that came out of their muzzles was thick enough to see from a far distance, and as the train slowed down into Canterlot International, a large gathering of ponies were standing either outside or in the waiting rooms, waiting for the train that Twilight and her friends were travelling on.

The station guard appeared from behind the crowd, waving a red lamp in the air with his horn. He turned around and looked at the crowd again.

"Stand back, please! Let the passengers come off first!"

Twilight and the heroes of Equestria were the first to come off. They took their belongings along with them and then went into the station's building, where a hot breakfast was waiting for them. Pinkie Pie, who had not eaten anything in the last few hours, gasped at the sight of how much food was available in the cafeteria of the station. She raced over and placed herself in the queue to the canteen. The others followed slowly behind her and realised that they were also very hungry and hadn't eaten since dinner last night, which was hours ago. Pinkie was the one who suffered the most from not eating anything.

"So... hungry... food looks... so... tasty!"

Pinkie licked her lips with her long, pink tongue and panted loudly like a puppy on a hot day. Twilight was the pony behind her, making sure that her friend didn't get carried away with how much was cooked and prepared for those who were travelling (besides, she was the pony who was going to be paying for all of this). She used her magic to hold back Pinkie's mane; it was like holding an uncontrollable dog on a leash. The others remained standing behind Twilight and when they got to the canteen, Twilight was the one who did the talking.

Whilst she was doing that, Applejack started talking to the others.

"Do you guys have any idea where Starlight's gotten to?"

Rainbow Dash bit her lip and looked at Rarity, who simply shrugged back.

"We don't know. Then again, that's why we're on this trip, isn't it?" Rainbow Dash replied.

"Oh, she could be lost, or injured or worse...!" Fluttershy began. Everypony looked directly at her. "...dead!"

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes and groaned loudly. "I don't think Starlight's going to be dead, Fluttershy. Starlight managed to travel back in time, screw up the present and then manage to survive it all. If she had died, I'm sure it will be all over the press in Equestria. She was originally going to jail for her crimes, but Twilight and Princess Celestia forgave her, so I'm pretty sure she's... fine."

At first, Rainbow seemed confident that this statement was true, but stopped just before she finished her sentence with the word "fine". What did that even mean, exactly? Did fine mean that Starlight was perfectly okay, or did it mean that she wasn't too injured but a little hurt? Even though she was confident that Starlight could manage by herself, there was still the odd situation that even one of the most powerful unicorns to have ever lived, that she would find herself somewhere that even she needed a friend by her side.

"Well, Starlight is still a mare who knows when she stands her ground," Rarity added, "I'm sure, for a mare, that she can push away anypony who bothers her in any way. You have to stand your ground; stomp your hoof in the ground and go 'no, I don't wanna do it', and then everypony will know not to mess with you!"

Fluttershy raised an eyebrow but didn't respond. She couldn't quite grab the idea of what Rarity was trying to show to her; then again, Rarity was just simply a drama-queen at heart. But before she could continue, Fluttershy found herself being pushed along in the queue to the canteen and eventually she was standing next to her friends, reading to order from the ponies who were serving them.

A mare who had her mane tied up in a bun and wore a chef's uniform was standing in between two stallions who were both helping her serve the commutators who had stopped at the station.

"Welcome to Canterlot International's official restaurant," the mare said in a dull voice, "how may we be able to serve you?"

Twilight laughed nervously at the pony's question. She then replaced her face with a serious expression.

"We just want the basic English Breakfast, if that's okay, please?"

Pinkie Pie wined.

"Why can't we have everything, Twilight?!"

After Twilight finished paying the mare, she turned around and faced Pinkie directly in the eye.

"Because I don't have the time, money or patience, Pinkie! We need to find Starlight and see if she's okay. The longer we hang around, the less chance we have of finding her before it's too late. Look, we're just getting something to eat, and then we'll be on our way. Sunburst will be able to help us, as he's coming over from the Crystal Empire. He'll be here shortly."

The cooks delivered Twilight the food she ordered and she, Spike and the rest of the Mane Six went outside and sat at a picnic table, where they began eating. Luckily, the sun had appeared from the clouds, revealing bright sunlight, making it feel warmer than it would normally be. The hunger inside them made Twilight and her friends eat quickly, and once they finished, they cleared up and walked over to the edge of the platform.

"What train did Sunburst get in the end?" Twilight asked Rarity.

Rarity looked at her pocket watch and then back up to Twilight.

"The next train coming," Rarity replied, "he should be here in a minute or so."

Twilight nodded and then watched in the direction of the Crystal Empire, where Sunburst's train would be coming from. Rarity stood beside her, but the others stood back from the platform edge. Instead, they sat on a nearby bench. They, however, didn't need to wait for long, as Sunburst's train appeared on the horizon. Some of those who were on the same platform as the Mane Six began to make their way to the platform edge, carrying their suitcases and saddlebags with them. Just then, the intercom rang and a mare's voice started talking from it.

"The train now arriving at Platform 3 is the 08:15 to Mysterious South Terminal. Calling at Ponyville, Ghastly Gorge, Appleloosa and Mysterious South Terminal. Please stand back from the platform edge."

In the distance, the train started to become visible. It blew its whistle and continued at great speed into Canterlot, before slowing down when it got closer to the station. The train eventually came to a complete stop, allowing a familiar pony to burst out towards Twilight. Sunburst was hyperventilating and shaking madly. It was like he had seen a ghost or something terrible enough to scare him like this. Twilight walked up to him.

"Starlight... missing... she's nowhere...!"

"Sunburst, are you okay? What happened to you? Where is Starlight?"

In her last question, there was a hint of sternness in Twilight's voice. Sunburst eventually stopped breathing too quickly and started talking normally.

"Twilight, this is serious! I can't find Starlight anywhere. I asked those in the Crystal Empire who know her a little bit, but they have no idea where she could be. I checked the library, but nothing!"

Twilight frowned even more. She was now very worried about Starlight now. This was beyond serious; this was concerning. If Sunburst had no idea where Starlight could be, then there was only one pony who could now help them.

"We must ask Princess Cadance for help immediately. She needs to come here."

Rainbow Dash shook her head.

"No, Twilight. We need Princess Celestia for this."

"I'm afraid not, Rainbow," Twilight argued, "Both Princess Celestia and Luna are busy doing princess paperwork today. It has to be Cadance. After all, it was Sunburst who performed the Crystalling for her daughter and my niece, Flurry Heart."

Sunburst nodded in agreement. "You have a point there, Twilight. We must head over to Cadance's Canterlot's quarters at once! No more time must be wasted!"

And with that, they raced out of the station and ran all the way to Canterlot Castle, without a moment to lose.





Corridor after corridor, Twilight led her friends to where Cadance's guest room was in the castle. It was quite a trek though, as Cadance stayed on the third floor, and the lift that was meant to make their journey quicker was out of use, so Twilight and her friends had to climb all the way up to the top via the stairs. Each step was harder to walk up than the previous one; it was an epic workout for those who weren't as fit as others, but they soon reached a guard on the third floor and they stopped before him.

"Good morning, Princess Twilight," the guard said, "Princess Cadance is waiting for you. Allow me to take you there."

The royal guard took Twilight and her fellow companions to the next set of stairs, where they began the ascent to the top, which began to tire them out quickly. Still, the good news was that Cadance's room was placed in the centre of the third floor, so at least they didn't have to cross rooms or go in zig-zags as if they were wondering in a never-ending maze. However, they eventually found themselves just outside of Cadance's room. The guard then knocked on the door lightly and the sound of rustling came from behind. 

"Who is it?!"

Princess Cadance sounded very distressed and exhausted, which made Twilight put off from coming to visit her at all. The guard ignored the princess' moaning and answered her question.

"It's Princess Twilight of Ponyville, your highness. She has come to see you on the disappearance of the mare Starlight Glimmer. And she has come with her friends and Sunburst."

There was a brief silence, but eventually, the sound of hooves trotting over to the door alerted Twilight that her former foal sitter was coming. Slowly, the door opened, to reveal Cadance in a silk, pink dress and fluffy slippers. It was like she was wearing a mix of her posh princess overalls and her pyjamas; she looked like she had just come out of bed. By the time, however, Twilight noticed the red under her eyes, the swollen nose and the dripping snot that poured out from her nostrils and either into her mouth or down her chin. Cadance was clearly sick, but seeing Twilight immediately made her smile.

"Twilight! Oh, I'm so gla... gla... achoo! I'm so glad to see you!"

Twilight gave Cadance a semi-hug, before walking into her room, followed by the rest of the group. Cadance allowed Twilight and her friends to sit on her bed.

"Sorry to see ya so sick, Cadance," Applejack said, "cold, I'm guessing?"

Cadance nodded. She grabbed a tissue and blew hard into it, before throwing it into a bin full of other dirty tissues.

"Yes, Applejack. I'm afraid I caught it from poor Flurry Heart. She's better now, but I've been suffering for the past two days now. Now, down to business, Twilight. You were here to talk about Starlight, weren't you?"

Twilight nodded and so did the rest of her friends, however, neither of them spoke. They allowed Twilight to talk to Cadance without any distractions.

"I'm afraid so, Cadance. You were the pony princess I could go to. Princess Celestia and Luna are busy at the moment, so you are our last option at the moment."

Cadance sighed. She, for a while, looked away from Twilight, eyes closed. It was clear that Cadance was in serious pain, as her eyes were bright red, her breathing was deep and she shook frantically every moment or so. Twilight began to think that this wasn't such a good idea anymore.

"I think we should leave-"

"NO! DON'T GO!" Cadance stretched her hoof to Twilight, drawing her in for another hug. "Please. You've only just arrived."

"But you're ill, Cadance."

Cadance lay down on her bed and looked up at the ceiling. She still held Twilight's hoof, like she didn't want to let go of her. Twilight looked down into her eyes and started to breathe deeply. Her stomach churned and twisted, making her feel sick with fear. Cadance then coughed and continued talking.

"I... need you to stay, Twilight. There's something very important that I need to explain to you. Somthing about your friend, Starlight. I don't know where exactly she is, but I do know somepony who may be responsable for her disappearance."

The ponies and Spike gasped loudly. There was a long pause; everyone held their breath and didn't make a sound for a moment. Twilight leaned in closer to Cadance.

"Who, Cadance? WHO?!" Twilight was almost screaming out, desprate to know what had happened to one of her best friends. She needed to know. She had to know. She couldn't give up on Starlight Glimmer. She couldn't give up. No. No. No. Twilight had to know what Cadance was trying to say, but she was just too ill. She coughed each time she tried to breathe in deeply and the obvious signs of pain grew bigger and became more disturbing by the minute. Twilight needed an answer now, otherwise Cadance would go into another cougthing fit again and it would another conversation to get what she wanted. But this was an answer that perhaps she didn't want to hear.

"On Canterlot Bridge."
> Hanging On
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dusk

The temperature was still mild and very warm, even high up in the mountains of Canterlot. There was a nasty taste in the mucky air that rose around the buildings, that tasted like sweat and old smoke from the chimneys of houses and cottages in the city. Even with the sunset, it was still fairly light enough to see without a torch or lantern. In fact, the bright sunlight travelled through the gaps of the walls of the bridge that prevented ponies from falling over the edge, turning into rays of light that bounced off buildings and the natural environment around the bridge. The light reflected on the glass lanterns, making them sparkle and shine.

The fog was coming from the distance. An ugly, grey colour that consumed all the brightness from where it was covering. Even the ray of the sunset struggled against it, as it prepared to head over to the other side of the world. Still, it shone a beautiful, large orange colour over the river that ran underneath Canterlot Bridge and the light bounced back up into the air again. It was clearly a beautiful sight. The fog wasn't even that frightening, especially with the orange colours dancing around like the Northen Lights at the very top of Equestria. But it was still difficult to see, especially when trying to cross the bridge ahead of you, as the fog blocked your view. The only way that you could cross, was to follow the light of the hanging lanterns.

Starlight trotted down the last street before the entrance of the bridge, followed behind by Mystery. The two ponies walked slowly towards the very edge of the cliff that would show a massive drop to the river below on a clear day. However, the fog had covered the bottom of the bridge, so Starlight couldn't see what was down there at all. She kept walking until she was no further than a metre from the beginning of the bridge. Mystery stopped beside of her, not attempting to walk onto the bridge until he knew that Starlight wasn't going to turn back.

"So... you're the pony who lives there? In that tiny cottage?"

Starlight pointed her hoof towards the cottage on the other side. She could just see the light from the window of the building and the black outline that could just be seen in the thickness of the fog. Mystery nodded.

"It is only I who lives there, Starlight Glimmer. I live with no pony. I live in the darkness and the shadows. There is no room for me in the light."

Mystery then started walking onto the bridge. The wooden floor beneath his hooves creaked and groaned as he trotted along slowly. His cloak dragged behind him, but it didn't make a sound as it did. It was like that it wasn't touching the floor, but rather hovering, like something enchanted or more sinister than that. Starlight didn't dare to look back, though, in case Mystery would forcefully turn her head around and make sure that she kept looking forward. She kept trotting down the bridge, hearing the creaking of the wood and the rush of water underneath. When looking ahead, Starlight could still only see the tiny light from the cottage. It was still a trek to go until they reached Mystery's cottage.

"Do you like it there?" Starlight asked. Mystery simply turned around to look at her. His sinister looking eyes stabbed Starlight, making her feel very uncomfortable. She was beginning to think that this wasn't a good idea. This wasn't a hotel and Mystery was certainly not a taxi pony. He didn't even have a cart to collect anypony from the station. Starlight was starting to think of a way out.

"It's... private enough for me," Mystery explained, "Princess Cadance built it for me."

Starlight stopped walking. Mystery turned back to look at her again, knowing that perhaps he had given too much away. The look on Starlight's face was the face of fear. She had turned a shade of white as if she had seen a ghost, the life and blood on her face had completely gone. She suddenly felt sick and thought that she was going to throw up. This wasn't right, one bit. The stallion had to be lying.

"What... what do you mean that Cadance built it for you? Princess Celestia built it for Cadance's twenty-first birthday, as a special gift. No... you're lying."

The words became very dry in Starlight's mouth as she finished her sentence. Mystery frowned, narrowing his eyes until they were tiny slits. His nostrils flared up and he showed his teeth, which looked too sharp to belong to a pony's.

"Cadance and I... we were both found in the forest. Alone, frightened and scared, Princess Celestia took us both in. But one day, I was cast aside, after Celestia felt that my powers were too dangerous, and so I was thrown out of her home. I am now merely a shadow. See, Starlight. I'm not lying. See what I have become!"

Starlight's breathing grew faster and faster, soon becoming sicker with every breath. Soon, finding herself vomiting onto the floor, but then stopped as she noticed Mystery taking off his cloak, revealing the rest of his body. And then, Starlight noticed the pair of black, fluffy wings that were sitting to the side of the stallion. That was when all sense and logic had left Starlight's mind, causing her to scream and shout at the creature.

"YOU'RE AN ALICORN!"

Mystery rolled his eyes in annoyance. He stepped away from the cloak on the floor and started walking towards Starlight, who was now beginning to back up. Now that Mystery revealed himself to be another creature, he looked even more menacing than before. There were white stripes stretching down his wings and neck, which showed up against his dark body. 

"Princess Cadance and I can never be... separated. Even Celestia herself knows that she was wrong to leave me alone, cold, hungry and angry in the woods when she went to save Cadance. Nopony saved me from it all; it was I who saved myself. No friends, no family and no... sister."

It was at that moment when Starlight began to turn back, slowly walking, then into a trot and before she knew it, she was running down the bridge back to the city of Canterlot. Mystery remained standing in the same spot that he was before, watching Starlight scream and cry as she ran on ahead. Then suddenly, without warning, Mystery lit up his horn and ejected a long, magical rope that clasped onto Starlight's back leg, making her fall to the ground. Gasping, Starlight struggled against the magical rope and shot sparks of magic at it, only to cause the rope to tighten around her leg even more. Starlight screamed again.

"Scream all you want," Mystery sneered, "no pony comes near here. They won't hear you."

Starlight wrestled against Mystery, by punching him in the face. Mystery turned his head the other way, blood shooting out of his nostrils. He gasped and groaned in anger. Still, they wrestled. It was turning dark by now and Starlight needed to find her friends again. It wasn't until Mystery spun around and threw his hoof straight into her face, that Starlight fell down onto her back and looked at what seemed to be a mare walking towards her slowly. Starlight tried to ask for help, but her voice had turned croaky and there was little energy left inside of her body. She began to cry, tears pouring over her face and onto the wooden floor that she was lying on. It wasn't until Mystery threw back his hoof one last time and threw the strongest punch into her face, that everything went dark for Starlight.
> Canterlot Bridge
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Twilight felt the cold air blow into her face whilst standing on the balcony or Cadance's bedroom, along with Spike. The last of the sunset had gone and it was now very dark, with only the stars in the sky making the atmosphere beautiful and calm. She smiled at all the beautiful colours in the trees that just appeared from the blackness of the night. The wind had picked up, but it was a cool breeze still. Twilight enjoyed listening to the leaves in the trees rustle in the wind as if they were playing a tune for her like it was a private performance for her to only watch. No other pony, but her. Oh, and Cadance sleeping in her bed. Oh, and Spike, even though he was a dragon.

Twilight looked back at her former foal sitter and smiled. She noticed her snoozing away in her bed. Cadance had wrapped herself in bright pink sheets and was wearing a blindfold. The alicorn was happily sleeping away and wasn't the slightest bit disturbed. Spike tried to grab Twilight's attention, drawing her eyesight from looking at Cadance, and made her look out from the balcony. She smiled and drew Spike closer.

"It's a beautiful night, Spike."

Spike tried to break himself free from Twilight's grip, but he was no match for the strength of an alicorn. Instead, he leaned in closer to Twilight and looked up at the sky as well. The brightness of the stars was bright enough to not have any other forms of light around the city, making it look beautiful and charmingly good. Spike, who was a baby dragon, after all, was very tired and struggling to stay awake. He yawned but didn't fall asleep.

"It truly is, Twilight."

But then, Twilight frowned and her peacefulness had left her. She was continually thinking about Starlight, who had been missing for the past twenty-four hours now in Canterlot, and the only place that she could think her ex-pupil could go was where Princess Cadance said, which was the mysterious Canterlot Bridge. But that was just too strange for that to be true, surely? Why would Starlight go to a bridge? What would she want to do with a bridge that no pony dared to cross?

What would Starlight Glimmer be doing on a bridge that no pony dared to cross?

"We will find her, Twilight. We will." Spike tried to cheer up Twilight, but he knew that Cadance meant a lot to Twilight. Being her old foal-sitter, Cadance was an icon to Twilight, an inspiration to a small filly who used to read alongside a princess, whilst cuddling her Smarty-Pants doll. Spike knew that Cadance could never be replaced; not even Celestia herself could do the same as what Cadance could do for Twilight. A teardrop poured down Twilight's cheek 

Twilight bit her lip. There was a sudden urge that she had to go over and see for herself. She walked off the balcony and back into the room but stopped for a second.

"What is it, Twilight?" Spike asked. Twilight didn't move, but she did physically show that she had seen something in front of her that made her uncomfortable. Spike looked in the direction that Twilight was looking at and pulled a confused face. "What are you staring at, Twilight?"

Twilight walked over to the sleeping body of Cadance and stopped just centimetres from her body. She narrowed her eyes tightly, squeezing them until they hurt. Twilight placed a purple hoof on the sleeping body of Cadance and began to notice that there was something certainly wrong. The body underneath the covers was not the same shape as Cadance's body. After knowing who it certainly wasn't to be, Twilight used her magic to lift off the covers from the pony underneath and found a couple of large pillows. The eye mask was covering a large, pink ball, and on the top of the ball was a long, pink wig. Twilight and Spike gasped together at what they had just discovered.

"Sweet Celestia!" Spike cried. He looked up at Twilight.

"I... I don't understand. Where could she possibly be?! Cadance is sick! Cadance... was faking it. Oh my..."

Twilight suddenly turned a shade of white, looking as if someone had sucked all the blood from her body like a vampire. 

"So, what's going to happen, Twilight?"

Twilight looked down at her favourite dragon.

"We find Starlight and Cadance. Now."





Canterlot Bridge
Night

One by one, each of the members of the Mane Six arrived at the meeting spot that Twilight had arranged. It was completely dark now, so Twilight and Rarity lit up their horns. Still, they soon realised that their magic would be no match for the hideous fog that would block their eyesight whilst walking along the bridge. They would have to walk on blind and try to find Cadance and Starlight. However, Fluttershy wasn't too keen to walk onto the bridge late at night, nor was Applejack, Rarity, Spike, Pinkie Pie and even Rainbow Dash. Twilight was very close to walking onto the bridge, but then refused and stopped just in front of the edge.

"The air..." Twilight began, "...it smells, foul. It's not right. Spike, when is Princess Celestia coming here? I thought you sent a letter, didn't you?"

Spike suddenly nodded his head back and forth very quickly.

"I did, yes. Celestia wrote back saying that she's bringing Luna along, too. Says that it's best if there's two of them, especially if Cadance is missing."

Twilight turned back to the bridge and tried to look down into the thick depth of the darkness. Using only her horn, she put one hoof on the bridge and heard a loud creak from underneath. Twilight gulped but then continued walking down the sinister looking bridge for the very first time, followed by Celestia, Luna, her friends, Sunburst and a few royal guards who were just behind them holding long, sharp spears in their arms. The darkness was bad enough, but the fog was what made it painfully difficult to see for Twilight. After all, she was the one leading the patrol and she was walking blind.

The only thing that kept her walking on was just to keep going in a straight line. Twilight knew that she mustn't be distracted by the strange sounds of the bridge and hearing the sounds of the floor giving way to rotten sections of the wooden floorboards. She walked on slowly, trying to brighten her horn more and more until it was the brightest that it could go. The lanterns on the bridge were either very dim or not lit at all, which made it extremely difficult for Twilight to see what she was doing. It wasn't until she saw the light of a unicorn's horn in the distance that she stopped and gasped in either joy or fear.

She could see two ponies standing next to each other. One was a mare and the other was a stallion. Both were wearing cloaks, covering their heads and faces. But they were certainly ponies and a mare and stallion. The two ponies remained looking directly back at Twilight and those behind her, not moving a muscle whatsoever. Celestia was the first to talk.

"Who are you?! Where is Princess Cadance and Starlight Glimmer?!"

The stallion removed his hood, revealing the face of none other than Mystery himself. Mystery walked down the bridge slowly, making the floorboards creek underneath his hooves and snapping under the pressure of his weight, but the stallion didn't flinch at the sounds, as if he wasn't afraid of falling off and into the depths of the cold water on the ground. Each step he took made Celestia feel uneasy until her left front leg was shaking slightly. The royal guards, who were surrounding Celestia, stood their ground and protected her, pointing their sharp spears towards the approaching pony. 

"This is your last warning! Where is Princess Cadance and Starlight Glimmer?!"

The stallion stopped walking along the bridge and centred himself in the middle. The mare behind him walked up just behind but didn't stand next to him. Mystery decided that it would be best to answer Celestia's question before she would throw the full force of her power upon him. After all, he wasn't in the mood for doing anything messy and would resolve in cleaning up a lot of mess, especially on Cadance's bridge. He wrapped himself around in his black cloak, keeping his body hidden from view. He then chuckled evilly and placed a hoof on the bannister of the bridge.

"Well, I never thought that this day would come, Celestia. You and your "heroes of Equestria" coming to face me on your niece's favourite bridge. I was going to suggest meeting you peacefully in the castle, however, I then thought that having to face you on a bridge would be more exciting, wouldn't it?"

Celestia raised a hoof immediately after Mystery had finished, in which the stallion stopped, including the mare behind him.

"That's close enough!" Celestia shouted over to Mystery. The guards pointed their spears directly at Mystery, however, very little change of expression appeared on his face. The figure next to him, however, flinched in fear and stepped a hoof backwards from Celestia's group of guards. Twilight, who had been watching all the action from a distance with her friends, noticed that the other pony was certainly a mare, judging the head shape underneath the hood that the pony was wearing.

Twilight then left her friends' side and walked onto the bridge, ignoring her friends' cries for her to stop walking on. She walked past Celestia, who didn't interfere with her walking past the wall that the guards had made, and then walked a few paces forward until she stopped. She noticed Mystery and his companion walk closer as well, trotting slowly towards the middle of the bridge. Pretty soon enough, they were heading towards each other, like some sort of Mexican Standoff. Nowhere to run, nowhere to hide, but one way to fall.

Down.

Twilight and Celestia were only a few metres now from Mystery and the hooded pony. They soon stopped when they noted that if they got too close to each other, one would take the risk to attack the pony directly in front of them or the other way, so they decided to stop walking on. They were now facing each other, with nowhere to go. Celestia hoped that Mystery would eventually give up and turn back, after seeing her army behind her. But she was wrong.

Very wrong.

"Princess Celestia, Princess Luna and Princess Twilight," Mystery replied, "I know that I can't go anywhere near you. Why would I? I'm sure that one of your soldiers would've taken care of me by now."

Celestia growled loudly like a fierce dog selecting its prey at Mystery. She had clearly enough with the stallion and also with trying to find Cadance and Starlight in mind made her even the more fed up and tired of this silly game.

"WHERE IS MY NIECE?!" Celestia roared, before continuing at a normal volume, "And where is Starlight Glimmer?! I demand you tell us, coward!"

All of a sudden, the pony behind Mystery walked up to his side and used her magic to lift off the hood covering her head. Her mane collapsed to her side, revealing its bright, pink colours and at the top of her mane was a tiny crown in which belonged to a pony who Twilight and practically everypony else knew. Along with the pink coat, were the beautiful horseshoes that belonged to the ruler of the legendary Crystal Empire, and of course, there were those stunning eyes that only belonged to Cadance and no pony else. Cadance removed the rest of the hood to reveal her body all covered with red veins and infected patches. She was still very ill, but she obviously had enough strength to stand outside, especially on a bridge suspended high up, with rotting wooden floorboards and concrete walls suffocated with vines and ivory. Celestia could only gasp, leaving her jaw open in shock.

"C... Cadance?!"

Princess Cadance could only look back at her aunt directly in the eye. They twitched awkwardly as if what was controlling them had malfunctioned and was going haywire. The alicorn's legs were all red and had red cuts all over them, looking as if they had been whipped by a long piece of leather. Her wings had been clipped and there were bandages wrapped around them, not being tied up properly. 

"Auntie... you, came?" Cadance called over from her side of the bridge. Celestia looked back at the ponies who were shadowing away behind her back and then looked back at the alicorn.

"Yes, Cadance. I have come to take you back home. You look awful! You need to rest at the castle."

Celestia suddenly stepped on a rotten piece of wood, making her hoof go through the floor. She gasped, but Twilight grabbed her tail and pulled her back up. Celestia looked straight down towards the bottom of the bridge, seeing that the fog was now beginning to fade, but then also saw something else that almost made her vomit.

Underneath the bridge were randomly placed pieces of rope hanging from the bottom of the complex, and each one was holding a body of a pony by the neck. All the hanging bodies were all different types of ponies; mares and stallions, unicorns, pegasi and earth ponies, unknown ponies and famous criminals of Equestria who had been on Canterlot's hit list for years.

Including the body of Starlight Glimmer.

The unicorn mare's mane was a mess. It was entangled with the rope that hung the mare's body from the bridge and it wrapped around Starlight's neck and face. There were rope burns around Starlight's neck and large gashes across her chest and face. The rope had embedded itself into the skin of Starlight's neck and on her face was a terrified expression, with her eyes partially open and her mouth frowning, with a slight gap between the top and bottom lips, which were as white as snow. Rarity screamed, and Twilight gasped.

"What? Why did...? WHY DID YOU KILL HER?!"

Princess Cadance suddenly pulled a disgusted expression on her scarred face. She trotted slightly closer to Twilight, knowing that Mystery would probably be punched in the face by this point by Twilight's own hooves. Cadance went up to Twilight and looked down directly into her beautiful violet eyes, making her back up slightly over to her side of the bridge. Suddenly, Cadance didn't look like a beautiful princess and Twilight's old favourite foal-sitter, but more of a sinister creature, with wrinkled skin and red veins inside her eyes. Cadance's make-up had been stained and the injuries all over her face and body looked as if they would open wider for more blood to pour out.

"Twilight..." Cadance replied, "...Starlight is a well-known criminal of Equestria, who should have been punished years ago. The same goes for all of these other ponies and creatures that are hanging on Canterlot Bridge as well. They have all chosen their fate. We wanted somewhere to put them without ponies or residents of Canterlot knowing where they could be. The spray of the water and the fog helps cover up the bodies, so it was the perfect place to put them."

Cadance placed her hoof on Twilight's cheek, in which Twilight looked up at her still with a frown on her face.

"It was better to let them feel no pain, rather than to let them suffer in prison."

Celestia stamped her hoof loudly, grabbing everypony's attention. "This has gone on for too long, Cadance! This idea of yours is mad! Surrender at once, for the sake of Equestria!" 

Cadance immediately turned away from Twilight by pushing her to the side in the chest, before walking over to face Celestia, her once-beloved-aunt. Cadance's cloak waved in the strong breeze that flowed through the architecture of the bridge, which made a peaceful tune as it did so, however that wasn't enough to lighten the situation for those standing on the bridge itself. Cadance remained standing her ground, along with Mystery who was still next to her, threatening anypony who came too close.

"Sorry, auntie, but it's about time that I took care of Equestria's trouble-makers, and this is the way that I feel will be most effective. Mystery will make sure that neither you stop me. Now, if you don't mind, I have some bodies of ponies to deal with."

When Cadance finished and turned around to head in the opposite direction, Mystery walked closer towards Celestia, Twilight and the rest of the group of ponies against him. Celestia, by this point, had lost her patience and turned to look at her guards before walking off the bridge.

"Guards, seize the pair of them and get them off this blasted bridge!"

The white stallions responded to Celestia and then made their way down the bridge. The unicorn guards began lightening up their horns, whilst the pegasi and earth ponies grabbed hold of their spears and started forcing their way down the bridge. Seeing what they were up against, Cadance once again walked back behind Mystery, who lit up his horn and shot out large yellow electrical bolts of magic up into the air. He then swung his lasso of magical energy straight into the path of the guards, all of which were shot back, all of which were either thrown back or thrown over the side of the bridge, falling to their death in the cold depths of the water underneath. Cadance then produced a protective force field, which bounced off any of the guard's magic or spears thrown at her. She covered Mystery with the magic, blocking all attacks that targeted him whilst fighting Celestia, the Mane Six and her army. Nothing managed to get past them. Twilight, who was standing next to Celestia and producing her own force field, was holding back the shots from Mystery, which were twice as powerful as hers.

"They're too strong, Celestia!" Twilight cried.

"Don't worry, Twi," Applejack said, "we'll help you!"

Applejack pulled out her own lasso and swung it round in the air, trying to force Cadance and Mystery back, but very little effect was caused by it. Mystery dodged out of the way of the lasso, turning and twisting in the air and on the bridge floor. He then stood upright and shot a very powerful lightning-blot-shaped bundle of magic from his horn, which went straight into Applejack's chest, causing her to fall back and balance on the bridge's bannister.

"APPLEJACK!" Pinkie Pie cried.

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie trotted over to Applejack and grabbed her bottom hooves. Applejack tried to use her front hooves to grab hold of the two other mares, straining and grunting as she tried to use all her strength to pull herself up. Rainbow and Pinkie groaned and gasped in agony in the weight of pulling up a very strong earth pony, but suddenly, the situation became worse.

Mystery had summoned a storm using his magic and dragged the gathering of clouds around where Applejack was being suspended. Her grip was becoming slippery and sweaty, causing her friends to struggle getting Applejack back onto the bridge. A thin, but deadly lightning-bolt suddenly zapped the piece of bridge where Applejack was hanging onto. The blast from the bolt made the concrete fencing explode into pieces of rubble and lit up Applejack's body, causing her to light up and in doing so, showing her skeleton underneath her skin. Pinkie gasped and she let go, but Rainbow Dash grabbed her tail using her teeth and held her on the very edge of the bridge itself, and then watched as Applejack screamed whilst falling down into the foggy depths below. The last thing that they heard from her was the intended splash of when she landed in the river below.

"No! Applejack!"

Pinkie Pie remained hanging on the edge for a while, until eventually Rainbow Dash, now having less weight to hold, dragged Pinkie back onto the bridge and pulled her away from the edge. As they did so, more guards went charging up towards Cadance and Mystery, but they were also shot with magical bolts of energy, either shooting them away, disintegrating them into dust or getting swallowed into the bridge itself.

Rarity came up next to face Cadance. She teleported herself in front of Celestia and then started running towards the two alicorns in front, lighting up her horn and preparing to produce the deadliest magic that she could produce. Cadance then looked directly into Rarity's eyes and cast a curse on her mane, making it extremely long and causing Rarity to trip up and fall face-first on the floor. Rarity gasped and cried out in pain.

"My legs! My mane! Ow!"

Cadance then saw Fluttershy attempting to run up towards her slowly and very nervously. Knowing that it wouldn't be much to stop her, Cadance simply shot at the wooden floorboards just underneath Fluttershy, creating a series of sparks and flames erecting from the floor. Suddenly, just as Fluttershy ran back behind Celestia and Twilight, a large hole appeared where the flames were eating up the wood on the bridge. The pieces of wood fell down the floor and were brought down by gravity into the cold depths of the water underneath. The bridge suddenly felt as if it was snapping and falling. There was a loud creaking sound, along with the sound of crashing from the concrete bannisters cracking and coming apart. Fluttershy drove herself back before the section of the bridge gave way. The pieces of the bridge also fell down into the fog-infested river below. Rarity, who was now coming round, noticed that she would soon be falling in as well and decided to do something about it.

There was a rope not holding a body of a pony and thinking that would be the option, Rarity leapt from where she was hanging onto and grabbed hold of the rope with her mouth, then wrapping her arms in the noose. She was right next to the deceased body of Starlight, but there was no time to moan; she had to hang on without Cadance or Mystery attempting to get a hold of her.

"Hold on, Rarity!" Twilight shouted from her side of the bridge, "I'll get you!"

Twilight flew up into the air, before swooping down and flying right into Rarity, picking her up in her hooves. Rarity spat out some blood from her mouth, before clinging to Twilight for dear life. Twilight took Rarity back to their side of the bridge, far away as possible from Cadance's and Mystery's shooting range. After handing Rarity over to some of the guards, Twilight flew back to help her friends, but then soon realised that actually, it would be almost impossible. 

Mystery then spread out his wings and leapt into the air, where he swooped down and crashed into Twilight. They both fell to where the bridge had split in two and clung onto the edge. Cadance watched from above, gasping at the horror that she was seeing. Mystery was pressing both hooves right into Twilight's neck, causing her to choke and struggle to breathe. Appalled by this, Cadance shouted at Mystery.

"Don't hurt her!"

Mystery looked back up at Cadance and let out a loud and sinister laugh, which crackled along with the flash of lightning and crash of the thunder in the background. The atmosphere had become just the stuff of nightmares and was no longer purposeful.

"Do you really think that I will let her go?! After everything's she seen?! You don't need ponies like this pathetic mare here! We are good enough to be together; we don't need friends or stupid oafs like all of these ponies watching us now! Time to wake up Cadance; who's side are you on?"

The rain had become stronger over time and was now a fierce storm blowing in everypony's faces. Cadance's make up had become stained and ruined, with it all running down her face. Her beauty on the outside had completely vanished... but on the inside, it hadn't. Cadance suddenly stretched out her wings and flew down to Mystery, landing on his back, causing him to let go of Twilight. Twilight gasped for air, before rolling onto her front. Cadance grabbed hold of Mystery and wrestled with him frantically, moving from side to side, before grabbing one of the ropes with her magic and wrapping it around his neck. They were balancing off the very edge of the hanging piece of bridge, trying not to trip up or fall. But eventually, after miss-stepping, Mystery slipped and fell back off the bridge. Now Cadance and Mystery were both falling. In his last moment, Mystery looked deeply into Cadance's stunning eyes, before being thrown back by the rope holding him around the neck and getting hanged from the hanging debris of the bridge.

Cadance, however, continued falling down towards the ground, before landing on a shallow part of water. All Twilight could hear from above was a loud "crack", followed by a deadly silence. A very long and deadly silence.

"CAAAAAAAADANCE!!!
> Hospital
> --------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hospital Wing
Next Morning

"No! Gah! Get away! Get away from me!"

"Twilight, calm down! It's okay; you're with me now. No pony's going to hurt you, I promise."

Twilight had wrapped herself in her hospital bed sheets, her body tightly contained underneath the blankets that were placed on top of her. The sheets had been tucked into the sides of the bed, which held Twilight down, preventing her from shooting out of bed. Princess Celestia, who had been Twilight since she had been put in on of the EHS' hospitals, put her hooves on Twilight's chest, trying to calm her breathing down. Twilight then looked up at Celestia and immediately embraced herself into a hug, allowing the tears which had been brewing in her eyes to pour out and drip down her face, later landing on the bed sheets. A nurse and doctor also rushed through a double set of doors from one side of the room and ran over to where Twilight was lying.

When she tried to get up, Twilight noticed that she was attached to some machines and couldn't move too far. There were wires that went into her front left leg and both her nostrils. She was wearing a hospital gown and underneath were stitching and large gashes that were still throbbing and red. Her wings were also wrapped up with wires and bandages and there were tiny stitches in places where the wing had split in two or dislocated itself. Twilight flapped her wings slightly, but that resulted in causing more pain to her body. There were supports holding her wings in place, but still, this was very unconformable to Twilight. She also noticed that around her neck was a supporter, which meant she couldn't move her head at all, but only use her eyes to look around.

"What the...? What happened to me?!"

Twilight looked back at Celestia, who waved a hoof at the nurse and doctor, ordering them to give her some privacy. After the ponies left, Celestia settled back down to Twilight's side and held onto her hoof.

"Twilight, listen to me very carefully. You and your friends were on Canterlot Bridge, along with a few other ponies. Cadance and her companion, Mystery, attacked us and killed two of your friends; Starlight Glimmer and Applejack. Cadance then tried to drag Mystery off of you when he strangled you with his own hooves, shockingly enough, but that resulted in both of them falling off the edge of the bridge. Mystery was hanged by a rope that caught him while he fell and Cadance fell all the way to the bottom and landed in a shallow part of the river. The fall killed her instantly; she wouldn't have felt any pain."

The tears pouring from Twilight's eyes were dirty and salty. They dripped down her face, ruining her princess makeup, and then slipping into her mouth. The scars on her face stung when she cried quietly; it was like torture to Twilight. All that she could remember from last night were the screams of her friends when they were killed. She could remember exactly seeing Applejack falling off the ledge and Cadance smacking against the ground at such force that certainly killed her.

"Cadance is... dead?"

Celestia nodded back. "I'm so sorry, Twilight. There was nothing I could do. Bringing the dead back to life is forbidden magic. It was best to leave her be in peace. Her body has been recovered from the water and most of her bones have been smashed, but other than that, she's still intact. She will be buried in the royal cemetery, somewhere I can stand and see her from a distance. As for your friends Starlight and Applejack, I will find them a place so that they can rest peacefully. Same with them, I'm afraid; Starlight had already died from strangulation and Applejack's body had consumed a huge amount of electrical magic, which, of course, conducted with the water that she fell into."

Twilight flinched at the thought of it. Celestia knew that she had said enough and decided to change the subject.

"Twilight, there are some friends here to see you, if that's okay? They may be slightly injured, but nothing too serious. I will leave you to have some time with them. If you need me, I'll just be outside."

After a nod from Twilight, Celestia turned away and made her way out of Twilight's room. The double-set of doors opened to allow Celestia to leave and then they remained open to allow Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity, who all were clearly injured in one way or another. Rainbow Dash had her wings wrapped around her body, including a head bandage around her head, Fluttershy had stitches across her face, Pinkie Pie's back legs both had support poles down to keep them in place and Rarity was in a wheelchair, with her legs locked in place and bandages wrapped around them. Her eyes had thick red veins twisting and turning around like snakes inside. Rarity had her from arms held close to her chest and she bobbled her body up and down constantly.

"Is Rarity okay?" Twilight asked her friends. Fluttershy gulped before replying.

"She's in shock... ever since the incident. I think it'll be a while before she's able to walk again. Even talking's a challenge; give her something soft to hold."

Twilight used her magic, whilst struggling to hold its weight with very little strength, passed a stitched doll that her parents had given her as a "get-well-soon" gift over to Rarity, who shakily reached out a hoof clasped the doll, pulling it close into her chest. Fluttershy placed a blood-stained hoof on Rarity's shoulder, who in response flinched and continued to twitch her eyes at almost every sound and action. Rainbow Dash trotted over to Twilight's bed-table and saw a tiny glass of water with a straw in it, bobbing up and down as it floated softly inside it. She watched the straw for a moment, before turning her attention back to Twilight, trying not to appear rude towards her friends.

Lying her head back, Twilight pointed her eyes down, so that she could still see her visitors. She breathed in through her nose and out through her mouth loudly, and did so for the next thirty seconds or so. Each breath was painful and needed to use a lot of energy from her body, making Twilight feel weak, loose and floppy. Although, it did feel relaxing enough for Twilight to cope, as practically doing anything or moving any limb would cause pain to strike her body like an arrow going straight into her chest at full speed. The company of her friends was enough to make her get out of bed and walk on all four hooves. But realistically, that wasn't going to happen, at least for a very long time.

Rarity, the only pony who was in the same condition as Twilight was, continued bobbing up and down, now slowly, still clutching the doll. She didn't smile and continued humming quietly.

"Are you feeling... okay, Rarity?" Twilight asked quietly. Rarity looked up, pointing her crooked eyes back to her friends. They weren't glaring in anger though; only in fear and loneliness. Everypony looked back at Rarity and would occasionally stroke a hoof on her back or along her purple mane.

"She said that she was going to kill me..." Rarity whispered, crying silently, "...she said she was going to kill me, Twilight. I thought she loved you... I thought she loved all of us. Why would she want to kill us?" As she cried, tears dripped into her lap, but for the very first time, Rarity didn't flinch at getting stained or dirty. "She said she wanted to kill me. Why would Cadance say that?"

This was even a mystery that Twilight couldn't understand. It was starting to go through her head like a nightmare, except this nightmare actually happened to her and her friends. Cadance managed to get away with this all for years; killing criminals of Equestria and this was all behind Princess Celestia's back without anypony coming up and questioning on why this existed; a bridge to hang ponies. And for Cadance to be known as a princess who spreads love and peace across the Crystal Empire and practically the whole of Equestria, it was a shock to see her doing all of this.

"I think it's really that stallion's fault," Twilight replied, "perhaps he offered something that Cadance couldn't turn down. I don't actually know and I don't think we'll ever know the answer. After all, he was the one to drag ponies like Starlight to go over to Canterlot Bridge and attack them. You saw those bodies, right? They were attacked, they just didn't hang themselves or just jump into the river below. Mystery must have used some form of illegal magic to harm, torture and then kill them."

Rainbow Dash rolled her eyes, before groaning loudly.

"Of course it's Mystery's fault! He was the one who made Cadance build the bridge and then forced her to help him collect ponies and kill them. He brainwashed her until she couldn't stand against him any longer. Cadance thought that she was doing the right thing, without knowing who Mystery actually was. It wasn't until she attacked you, Twilight, that Cadance eventually stood up against him and then fell to her death into the water, while he got caught up in the ropes that were hanging from the bridge."

Twilight pulled the bed sheets closer to her chest and then lifted up her tiny mirror using her magic to have a look at the state of her mane. It was scruffy but clean. Obviously, the nurse ponies had cleaned her up while she was unconscious, before laying her in bed, and stitched up her wounds. She inspected her injuries before turning back to look at her friends again.

"Mystery was indeed hung."

Everypony turned to see Princess Celestia standing in the doorway. She had clearly decided that she wanted to come back in, after only being out for a few minutes.

"Sorry for interfering, my little ponies. I just wanted to clarify some things with you lot; yes, Mystery was hung by the ropes that held him back and yes, Cadance was indeed killed by the fall from the bridge. As it may seem upsetting, both will receive a proper burial and there will be a plaque made of gold placed on our side of the bridge. I have also made the decision to close the bridge for good and have the tiny cottage destroyed, but the bridge will stay, as a monument to remember those who were killed or committed suicide on it. This has come to a final decision, so nopony can campaign against this."

There was a long silence in the room. There was nothing to say. Twilight was especially quiet while listening to Celestia say everything that she had to say. She had no words remaining in her mouth; just the sound of gagging. Celestia then turned around and begun her way out.

"I will leave you all in peace now. I can't stay for too long, I'm afraid. Princess duties await me."

Celestia walked out and the nurses closed the doors behind her. The attention was later turned back to Twilight, who was still looking at her friends. It remained quiet for a while, until Spike, who had been standing mostly out of this all, walked over to Twilight and grabbed hold of her right hoof. Twilight looked at him and smiled back.

"At least you're here now, Twilight," Spike said, "we're so thankful that you're still alive and well. That's all we wish for."

Twilight allowed herself to cry; it was almost like a relief from it all. Crying never felt so good before, but at that moment in time, it did. She had her friends, she was happy and most of all, she was alive. But she now knew that she would never see her beloved Cadance ever again; she was gone for good, along with Mystery. All Twilight could do was hug her friends and bring them closer to her, so that she could never let them go ever again.

"We love you Twilight" Pinkie Pie said. Everypony agreed, including Spike.

"I love you too, guys. So much."





Canterlot Bridge

It was completely pitch black on the border of Canterlot. No light shone beyond the last building in the city, nor there was any colour but black. It was like walking around in a world of shadows. There was no life, except for the two guards that were patrolling at the very bottom of the gorge that split up Canterlot from the forest on the other side. The guards, who were unicorns, were trotting along, searching through the mud and swampy water that they were walking through.

The guards were ordered to collect the body of Princess Cadance and drag her out of the water. It was easier said than done, as the mud was thick and was easy to get stuck in. However, with great strength, the stallions eventually found what they were looking for after the first guard shone his horn at the body.

"There she is!" he said.

The two guards quickly trotted over to the still body and started to clean off the mud from Cadance's chest, face and mane, before they both used their horns to lift her out of the river. Just before they used their magic to help her out of the thick mud, Cadance's horn gave a little flicker of magic. The guards jumped back, throwing Cadance's body back into the water. Just soon after, Cadance's eyes slightly opened, revealing a pair of grey-coloured eyeballs. The second guard stepped back, before soon turning away and running off back to Canterlot, but the first still stood there in awe of what he was seeing.

"Sweet Celestia..."


The End?