Obsidian stalagmites towering at the entrance of the fairly recently made cave. A hot breath of sour taste and odious decay linger in the air, the ambience of the gases and particles hovering around the usual spot for a pony to breathe was what one would describe as not very pleasant. In fact, one would call it awful, off putting, nasty, and downright repulsive. It is a testimony to the entrance that nopony really goes here unless they absolutely, necessarily have to. In fact the majority of the population of what was once called the city of Canterlot, remained down below, a a thousand feet drop below. The only path up to this dreadful cave was a narrow, rocky road with sharp borders and even sharper spears jutting out of its shoulders. For nearly every moment the road has always been barren with the exception of the lone traveler who journeys from the cave to the population below and back again. Nopony ever goes here on purpose. That would go against the self-appointed rules they have set for themselves. It is the social contract that they have all agreed to. It is something they register that they may have to tell their grandfoals and even their great-grandfoals about. Nopony should ever go to the cave above. Nopony should ever walk the path. That is always how it is and how it always will be.

At the bottom of the path lies the nearest concentration of ponies. There, a refugee camp and the skeletonial remains of the mighty city were forming into a hodgepodge of the desperate and the despicable. After the loss of their kingdom, of their rulers, and of any sense of normalcy, the ponies of this state were trying to reform themselves into a new society under a new kingdom with a new ruler. There are those who have accepted that they have loss and that they should all bow to the mighty conqueror. They remain in the rubble of the city. Most were now hard at work at rebuilding and remodeling into what they would be a new capital for the soon to be rising empire. That this would be a glorious day of the entire nation of Equestria and that everypony will be elevated from the bottom of the barrel and out of their meek environment. On the other side of the wall were the camps and makeshift homes. They were the ones that held out for hope. They didn’t want to admit defeat. They believe that the Princesses will return and escape from the horrible bowels of Tartarus. This place was filled of the helpers, the supporters. Whenever a wayward pony whose village was razed by the fires below or attacked by the imps, they would come here. Both areas glowed with the luminous yellow lights of the campfires and torches. Both would sing songs to each other. While the ones in the clutching walls of Canterlot would sing about the future and how the mighty would rise, the others on the other side of the wall would sing about the homes and families. Yes, there was tension between the two camps but that was to be expected. That despite the uneasiness of the area, they remain ponies at heart.

But nothing ever lasts forever and the temporary peace was broken. What was once a somewhat tenable situation that could be deescalated was now becoming a full blown riot. There was angry ailment spreading to every pony as the two camps gathered in the middle where the path began. The neutral place of dirt and pebbles were now being occupied by the thousands of yelling ponies. Words were being shouted. Threats were being made. Somepony had to do something. They may have to do the unthinkable. Tonight, that singular rule of going to the cave may become a broken one very soon.

A prism of movement came and everypony turned to a singular direction. A burst of rainbows as a pony landed right above the forming mob.
“What the hay is going on?!?” Rainbow Dash shouted to the suddenly silent crowd.

Nopony said anything at first. Then a grey unicorn stallion stepped forward.

“Pardon me my dear, but where is the Envoy Twilight Sparkle?” he asked, his Canterlot accent lingering in his throat.

“Twilight is not here right now.” Rainbow Dash answered. “Tirek sent her away to outside Equestria.”

“But, but, how are we supposed to have our true authority respected?” The grey unicorn said. “We demanded some justice and punishment for these riffraffs. They refused to listen to us.”

“Only because you betrayed the Princesses and surrendered to Tirek!” A pony shouted from the crowd.

“What, are you stupid?” Another pony replied. “We can’t fight back! Tirek has won!”

“He only wins if we submit to him right now!”

“We can’t do anything else! He controls the food, the weather, and all the magic!”

This devolved into more shouting. Soon everypony was yelling again.

“One at a time! One at a time!” Rainbow Dash said and then whistled loudly with her hooves.

Once again, silence has fallen upon them.

“Now, can one of you explain to me what is going on?” Rainbow Dash told them in a calm voice. She turned in a particular to the grey stallion “And I mean one of you!”

“Well, yes,” The grey stallion cleared his throat. “You see, Envoy Rainbow Dash, we had a number of thefts and missing items. Food, jewelry, clothes. When I finally caught the bastard, he fled to the camps. The ponies there however would not turn him, so I pleaded my issue to Envoy Applejack. She refused to hear my case, so I went to Envoy Rarity. But she wasn’t able to get any agreement with these refugees, so we decided to take matters in our own hooves. These camp dwellers responded in kind. So that is the situation we’re in and we need Lord Tirek’s judgement to help solve this right now.”

Rainbow Dash rubbed her head in frustration. “So you guys were to fight each other over a few stolen items?”

The stallion bristled. “Beg your pardon, Rainbow Dash,” He said in a sour tone. “But I don’t think a few stolen items is something to scoff at. Besides, it is the principle of the matter! If we allow one thief to get away, then we might as well invite the whole camp to take what they need. We are trying to rebuild a government here. We are trying to make a fresh start.”

“Okay, Okay,” Rainbow Dash left herself to the air. “Where is this thief?”

A small figure came out of the crowd. Rainbow Dash looked down at the pony. She saw that she was just a small filly. Her grey fur was matted and grimy. Her grey mane stood out on all ends with red-orange strains of hair dusted in dirt. The notable feature that Rainbow Dash instantly spotted other than her mane was the velvety wings that was the signature feature of a batpony. A swell of pity and remorse filled Rainbow Dash. No doubt this was an orphan of the war against Tirek last year.

Rainbow Dash flew to the batpony.

“Hello little one,” Rainbow Dash whispered softly. “What is your name?”

“P-Poppy” the bat filly replied meekly.

Rainbow Dash glances down in what she was carrying. She saw that it was a tin filled with lemon cake that was partly eaten.

A fresh bout of anger rose in Rainbow Dash as the mare herself did.

“Let me get this straight,” She said to the crowd below. “You were about to start some mob violence over a small piece of freaking cake?!?”

“Well, you’re behaving like our reaction to this cake thief is being stupid-” The grey stallion said but Rainbow Dash interrupted.

“That’s because it is stupid!”

Rainbow Dash did a few breathing exercises to calm herself before looking at the two sides until she spotted the two ponies she wanted help from.

“Applejack! Rarity!” She shouted and pointed to her former friends. “You take Poppy and meet me at the Threshold. I’m going to fly ahead and see Lord Tirek and see if wants to even resolve this issue. This entire situation has been escalating for too long and I’m going to be putting an end to this. The rest of you remain here and do not try to kill each other while I’m gone.”

The sky-blue mare zip down, bank and then burst forward to the cave where Lord Tirek resides. A part of her feels bad to have been regifted her freedom and ability to fly but she can’t let this bring her down. She has to bid her time like Twilight said. She had to make sure that they keep Tirek appeased until they can find the time to strike. Now was not the time to be self loathing and be wallowing in regrets and hatred. It was time to be patient and to be on her hooves.
The journey to the cave literally took two seconds. Rainbow Dash never really went this way, preferring to take the exit that was at the summit of the mountain where Tirek has mostly exiled her to. Still, it wasn’t as bad as most ponies believe it to be. Yes, the smell was horrible and the bones and decay was a sight Rainbow Dash rather not see. She prefers to close her eyes for most of the journey. Except she had to keep them open in order to avoid the dangerous stalactites that were hanging off the cave’s ceiling. Lord Tirek probably set it up this way so that Rainbow Dash could see her greatest failure.

Speaking of which, there on his throne was Lord Tirek. He sat there as he always does. His body rarely moves off the stone seat. Despite his might and nearly unlimited power, he rarely leaves his cave. He prefers to stay here. He wants to gloat over her victory.

“Hello, Rainbow Dash.” he growled.

Rainbow Dash gulped and set herself down readying herself to deliver the message.