/Hey, guys! See, I told you this one would come fast./

"Get over here." Lightning Dust orders.

She only orders me around when it's serious, or when I've done something wrong. I get the feeling I've done something wrong this time. It probably had something to do with those traitors I was supposed to kill. But I heard that one's name... Fluttershy. And something inside me just couldn't do it. I mean, I know they're traitors and they can't be trusted. They're trying to destroy us from the inside out. This is the only home I've ever known, but there was something I recognized about them. Like something was screaming inside of me not to hurt them. I don't know what it was, or why, but it hurt. And now I'm going to be punished for it.

"Yes, ma'am." I say, joining Lightning Dust by the door.

"What in Equestria was that?!" She demands.

"I don't know..." I admit.

"Well, whatever it was, I'm sure General Gilda is going to have my head for it unless I can fix the problem permanently. Speaking of, where is that unicorn? I called her to meet me down here five minutes ago!"

*Third Person*

If only they could feel it now. If only they knew it was still here. Nopony dares to think of it anymore. Not as an escape from this dreadful war. Not as anything. As far as they're concerned, since the deaths of the Princesses, it doesn't exist anymore. There is doubt they remember it at all. But one pony does. And this one pony has been using it as an exit and an entrance for two long years. The item, you ask? Well, you'll just have to find out.

*Rainbow's POV*

Minutes pass. Minutes that feel like hours. But suddenly there's a flash of light, and there she is. To fix me.

"I'm here, ma'am."

I glance at the unicorn mare I've come to know as my sort of... Mental doctor. Any time something hurts, or I do something wrong, there she is to make it better. I don't know how she does it, all I know is that I'm put to sleep and when I wake up I feel completely different. I hardly see her and she doesn't speak to me, but I feel safe with her for whatever reason.

"Good. She's remembering things again." Lightning Dust says.

"I'll get right on it, ma'am." The medic fires up her horn. It's an x-ray spell. She uses it to see the magnitude my problem is each time. "Oh, wow. Lightning Dust, ma'am? I'm going to need to use a really strong spell. There can't be any other energies besides mine and Rainbow Dash's in the room. Would you mind...?"

"Oh, yeah. Sure. Bring her back once you're done."

Lightning Dust leaves us, trotting down the hall back out to the throne room. The medic stands staring down the hall for a minute before Lightning Dust's shadow disappears.

"Are you going to fix me, or not? Tick tock, tick tock!" I say. Before I can say anything else, the medic tackles me. "HEY!"

"Hush!" She hisses. "Do you want to get us both killed?" She clamps my mouth shut with her magic so I can't make a sound.

I watch her peer around each corner before dragging me in a mad dash through the hall.

"Hey! The medic is kidnapping Rainbow Dash!" Lightspeed shouts.

Suddenly, we're being pursued. She nearly flies down the hall. Another unicorn teleports himself in front of us. The medic's eyes narrow and she teleports past him, continuing onwards. I somehow feel as though I've seen this before...

"Do you get motion sickness?" The medic asks. I shake my head as we're surrounded by guards. Gilda glides in overhead.

"Get her!" Gilda shouts.

"Sorry it had to be this way." The medic fires up her horn. "General."

A flash of light consumes my vision, followed quickly by speeding darkness. The darkness fades in favor of the violently spinning backdrop of where ever we've transported to. The medic hits the ground first and I'm flung into a wall.

"What in Equestria was all of that?" I demand.

The medic gets on her hooves and shakes herself off. She immediately goes into panic mode, ravaging the room for something. Do I know what it is? Nope. But I know it's important to her. She mutters something under her breath and runs off to another room. I get up and chase after her. I'd better get some answers soon or this unicorn is going to be wishing she hadn't taken me from home at all. There has to be some reason I've been kidnapped. Maybe it has something to do with that Fluttershy pony I got in trouble because of. The medic mutters angrily under her breath until she finds what I presume she was looking for. She pulls a tarp off a mesmerizingly shiny mirror.

"Here it is!" She exclaims.

"Here what is? Explain yourself right now or I'll... I'll kill you!" I shout.

"You're not going to kill me, Rainbow Dash. As long as I don't replenish that stupid spell any more, you won't have the heart to kill me. You're too soft."

Too soft? Yeah, right! I lunge at the medic, fury consuming me. How dare she insult my strength! Without flinching, however, she uses her magic to throw me at the wall and conjure a shield around herself. She approaches the mirror and places her hoof on it.

"Not ready yet... How much longer now?" She mumbles to herself. "I have to get you somewhere safe..."

"Somewhere *Cough* safe? What do you mean, somewhere safe?" I demand.

"This is all her fault. If she had ever taken a second to speak to me here, she'd know. But of course she doesn't trust me, so I can't blame this all on her..."

"Blame what on who? Are you talking about that dirty traitor, Wicked Trickster?"

This medic had better start explaining herself right now... Just because she blocked me last time doesn't mean I can't find another way to kill her.

"That's right... You think she's a traitor still. I guess in your eyes I'm a traitor, as well. Rainbow Dash, I have to apologize to you about this. I'm the one who's made a monster out of you. I've only done it to keep you safe, though, and I hope you'll be able to forgive me once you've learned what this is all about."

"Who are you?"

"Oh yes, where are my manners? My name is Sunset Shimmer. Goodnight."

And with that, I feel a hard impact on the side of my head and everything goes black.

Sunset... Shimmer? Even in this dream void it gives me that same painful head-throbbing as Fluttershy. I know this one, but I don't think I know Sunset Shimmer as well as I seem to have known Fluttershy. I feel numb in my own mind, wandering through my subconscious. I know there's something else going on here. I've known since we gained power. I just don't know what. My only sign is this constant pain in my head. This constant ache in my heart. How I always feel sick. But no explanation whatsoever. All I know is that Princess Celestia was an evil tyrant until Gilda's armies rose up and overthrew her. Freedom stands is what they always tell me. What I'm doing is moral and right. We're the good guys in this story, right?

But I can't get what Sunset Shimmer said out of my mind. 'You still think she's a traitor. I guess in your eyes I'm a traitor, as well.'

In my eyes? What does that mean? If I only think Wicked Trickster was a traitor, does that mean I must be wrong? And if I'm wrong, does that mean that in reality, what I've been doing all my life isn't morally right? Am I the bad guy?

/Okay, okay, two short chapters in one day. But that's better than one longish chapter after two months, right? Also, Sunset Shimmer is not fanservice. Although I did get a suggestion to put her in this story, I have been planning to add her this whole time. She is here of my own accord, not because of the request I got. Thank you for the request anyway, though, I do try to listen to my reviewers, so if there is anyone you'd like to appear or something you'd like to happen, review and I'll see if it works with what I've got planned./