“Wait jussst a minute,” Apep called to the Aht ‘Hurz while glaring at Discord. “I may be paralyzed, but until those accurssssed poniesss finish me thissss battle issssn’t over.”

While her friends looked to each other with looks of confusion Twilight narrowed her eyes menacingly, though secretly she was a little unnerved by what Apep had said.

“You sound like you don’t care whether you live or die,” she said. “Just because we could finish you off right here doesn’t mean we want to.” Her menacing glare lifted a bit. “You may be evil—but, if there’s one thing every god of the multiverse believes in, it’s second chances.” She walked over to the downed serpent and held her hoof out in a friendly gesture. “I can’t speak for all of us, but this mortal shares that belief.”

“Me too,” Fluttershy said, drawing everyone’s gaze, which she shrunk under. “Um, if that’s alright with everyone, that is.”

“I may not approve of your attitude,” Rarity added, “but I’m also willing to share that belief.”

“Meh, Ah reckon Ah can, too,” Applejack added, shrugging.

“We can throw a we-totally-forgive-you-for-being-a-mean-McMeanie-pants party!” Pinkie Pie shouted, and conjured up a crapton of party supplies, letting off a burst of confetti.

Everyone turned to Rainbow Dash, who looked away with disdain. Eventually, the power of peer pressure got to her and she groaned in exasperation.

“Fine!” she shouted. “I forgive him.”

Nodding in satisfaction, Twilight returned her gaze to Apep. “Well, what do you say, Apep?” she asked him.

“All right,” he croaked. “I forgive me too.”

And he snatched them all with his tongue and swallowed them, with which the Spell-Binding Circle immediately vanished.

There was a heavy silence throughout the stadium as every single person’s brain digested what had just happened, just as the Mane 6 were to be digested in Apep’s stomach. With a mighty groan, Apep took a moment to stretch before flashing a cocky smile at the audience.

“Oldessst trick in the ssscr—urk!” Apep was about to praise the sun when he was cut off by a sudden heart attack. He collapsed dead on the ground, his tongue lolling out of his mouth and eyes glazing over.

Twilight’s calculator virus, it seemed, had finally caught up with poor Apep.

Everyone in the stands simultaneously blinked in confusion.

In the stands, Horatio Caine stood up and reached into his jacket, withdrawing his sunglasses. “It appears that Miss Sparkle—” he one-linered, sliding his shades over his eyes. “—has calculated all the variables.”

An anonymous mare with a platinum coat, silver mane and tail, and deep, turquoise eyes in the back row stood up on her hind legs, opened her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs.

“EeeeeYEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!”

The mare quickly sat back down at all the stares which came her way in response to her random outburst, blushing and silently cursing whatever intangible force had compelled her to do that.

Discord stood and held his mismatched hands up, shouting, “It’s a draw!”

And with that, the nonsense was finished. Praise the Sun!