Happy Thanksgiving, everypony! God bless and enjoy this new chapter!

I hit the dungeon floor hard as Sombra flung me in. To my surprise, he didn't chain me up. I guess he wanted me to be able to struggle as my "so-called friends" tore me apart.

"Your friend Swift here has come to my side and wielded dark magic!" boomed Sombra into the darkness. "Unfortunately her conversion to sanity did not last long. I bring her here for you to punish unhindered by me." The door slammed shut.

Pinkie Pie spoke up. "Tara, is that really you? Because I don't think that you would ever join King Sombra even if he offered you chocolate cake—of course that'd be a really hard offer to turn down but I'm sure you would because you're such a good friend and all and—"

"What's the big idea, Tara?!" Rainbow demanded and cut Pinkie off. "I bear the Element of Loyalty and I know whatever you did out there to get Sombra so riled up couldn't have been loyalty to your friendship with us!"

"No, it's not like that!" I insisted. "Please let me explain."

"We're listening," Applejack said dryly.

"I had to find some way to get in! I used the alicorn magic to make myself look evil and I got real close to the dungeon. But I saw my reflection and got so scared I transformed back. That's when Sombra captured me. Applejack, Element of Honesty, am I lying?"

"Well…sure don't seem like it," the Earth pony conceded reluctantly.

"I was also able to use the magic to speak to the princesses. They told me who Armonia is."

By now my eyes had adjusted and I could see the ponies I was speaking to. All of them seemed riveted now. But as I was about to tell them that I was Armonia, my eyes fell on Twilight.

I'm not exaggerating when I say I thought she was dead.

I ran to her side and knelt by her. "Twilight…no…" I moaned. Remorse welled up in me. All that time I had wasted being afraid, twisting the princesses' pure magic into darkness and rage—all that time, Sombra had had full control of my best friend. She probably only had moments left to live.

And it was my fault.

I stroked Twilight's coat gently and realized there were tears in my eyes. Twilight had used every last bit of her strength to power the earlier spell and try to reveal Princess Armonia. Now she was dying. I knew I could not conjure alicorn magic from the amulet to save her.

I bowed my head. "Goodbye, Twilight," I whispered. A single tear dropped from my eye to Twilight's cheek. Silently the tear struck a scrape and mingled with the lavender alicorn's blood.

And then something unbelievable happened.

Before my eyes, the wound that my tear had struck began to close up. The blood flowed back into Twilight in a soft golden glow that seeped through her veins. As the magic spread through her body her other wounds began to heal. Her broken wings stretched out completely healed as the magic reached them. A gentle shudder and sigh passed through Twilight; the magic was reviving her! Even her mane and tail turned beautiful and smooth again!

She opened her eyes. "What just happened?..."

"The tears that heal!" Applejack exclaimed in awe. "Another prophecy!"

Twilight sat up. "You remembered that?"

"Yes!" Applejack cried in excitement. "Starswirl the Bearded also wrote that when Armonia weeps from compassion and a desire to heal, her tears draw her alicorn magic and heal the wounded." She froze and her eyes widened. "But those were Tara's tears!"

"That means that…" Rarity gasped. "Oh my!"

"You're Princess Armonia," Twilight whispered in awe. "Wow!"

"That's what the other princesses told me. But I thought Armonia had to prove herself worthy of the title!"

Applejack placed a chained hoof on my shoulder. "What better way to prove yourself worthy than to shed healing tears, sugar cube?"

I couldn't help but smile.

"Alright, everypony," Twilight announced. "There's no time to waste. Now that we know Tara is Armonia, we've got to help her gain her alicorn powers. The only way I can think of to do that is through the Elements of Harmony." She straightened her crown.

"YAY!" Pinkie squealed. "Let's do it!"

"Oh yeah!" Rainbow joined in.

"Wait." I held up my hands. "This place is full of dark magic. Are you sure we all have the strength to overcome it?"

Twilight smiled up at me peacefully. "With the Elements on our side, I know we do." She stood up straight and spread her wings. "Everypony ready?"

The Mane Six gathered in a circle around me and closed their eyes in concentration. Once again, the rainbow began in Rarity's necklace and spread slowly to each of the others. The rainbows twisted loosely around Twilight and intersected the Element in her crown—but all the ponies remained oblivious to what was happening. All were putting all their focus into the spell. One by one they began to chant a line from the spell Twilight had spoken earlier.

Rainbow Dash: "The Element inside is strong…"

Rarity: "For she has borne it all along."

Fluttershy: "And if she be worthy of thy flame…"

Applejack: "Give her hooves and a new name…"

Pinkie Pie: "Wings to fly, a magic horn…"

Twilight Sparkle: "And LET RISE A NEW ALICORN!"

As Twilight practically shouted the final line, I felt the Elements' rainbow curling tightly around me, changing me, sinking into my body. My vision turned totally blinding with the colors of all six Elements. I could hear the whoosh of Equestria's most powerful magic as the final prophecy began to come true.

The last thing I remember hearing was Princess Twilight's voice. "Armonia, be revealed!"

And then all was dark and quiet.