Esteem was not pleased.

He had slain half a dozen more loyalists on his way through the streets of inner Canterlot before he passed through Empyrean’s second barrier and found himself at the palace. He was covered in blood, though none of it was his own save for the tiny bead that had gathered on his lower lip where he had bit himself with a sharpened tooth. He did not cast a spell to clean himself off and he did not sheathe Carsomyr. The general was in a dark mood, and his appearance would deter any pampered aristocrats from approaching him with the intent of currying his favor.

Rarity had escaped him. Worse, she had insulted him. The insolent little girl still hated him for the way he treated her in childhood, despite the fact that it was the only reason she was alive. Clearly, there were still lessons that she needed to be taught.

His daughter had been rescued by the one called Rainbow Dash. How the other mare had managed such perfect timing was perplexing—Esteem himself couldn’t use mind magic, only war spells. How Rarity was able to share thoughts with another was a mystery. Rarity’s escape had come at the hoof of one of her friends, upon whom she had clearly grown too reliant. Dependencies were a weakness. This was a lesson the girl would need to have taught to her, and Esteem knew the perfect way to teach it. All of her friends would die.

“Sir!” Esteem did not stop his brisk strides as the Cadet called out to him. “Empyrean-”

“I know he does,” Esteem snapped back. “I will be with him directly.”

The Cadet slowed as he approached the general. “Is something wrong, sir?”

Esteem clicked his two sharpened teeth in irritation. “Take the field, Cadet.”

“Yes, sir!” The pale green unicorn gave a sharp salute before scurrying away from the fuming officer. Esteem hammered his way up a flight of stairs and practically blew a door off its hinges with telekinesis.

He was not ugly. Not inside or out. Not naked or robed, not pristine and certainly not when he was drenched in the blood of his fallen enemies. He was beautiful on the inside, too. His spiritual aesthetic was one that was elegant in its simplicity— every hindering vice or unseemly virtue cut away to leave a pony without weaknesses, without cumbersome attachments. Even the pride that was product to his icy rage was normally a driving force for him, a powerful motivator. Rarity had been disgusted by his love of death and conflict. What could his daughter possibly know about beauty when she called ambition and superiority ugly? What, to her, was so beautiful about compassion and reliance?

Esteem was gentler with the doors leading into the Court of the Sun, but they still made a loud clatter as they banged open and struck the walls. Empyrean rested across the room on a large pile of red cushions. Between him and Esteem was almost every noble currently housed at the palace. No doubt they had flocked to their god-prince in what they perceived as a time of crisis.

“Get out.” The general was stepping down into the court before he had their attention. The various nobles froze at his command, shocked by his appearance. Most of them looked to their prince, then back to Esteem, clearly indecisive.

Esteem helped them to decide. He split Carsomyr and shot its fourteen shards into the pillars lining the room, then ripped them out of the stone to reform the blade in front of him. “Out!” he screamed at the useless flock. “Before I carpet this room in your entrails!”

They left.

In the midst of the fleeing nobles—many of whom were stepping over one another to escape the court as quickly as possible—Esteem locked eyes with the prince. Empyrean looked furious, but where Esteem’s anger was born from pride, the general reasoned that Empyrean’s stemmed from fear. The Prince was a child and a coward.

“General,” the Prince cried accusingly, “the barrier is down!”

“It is,” Esteem said coolly.

Empyrean’s eyes were darting around frantically as he stood. “Why are you covered in blood?”

“Because,” the general said as if he explaining something simple to a toddler. “I have recently found myself proximate to a great deal of the fluid.”

“Do not mock me, unicorn! Why is the barrier down?”

Esteem met the Prince’s livid orange eyes. “I imagine, alicorn, that Twilight Sparkle had something to do with it. The unicorn is more capable than we had thought.”

“Impossible! My father said his spell was unbreakable!”

“Indeed he did,” Esteem breathed. “In that case I suppose we are mistaken and the barrier must still be intact. I shall carry on with my typical duties until—”

Empyrean stomped a hoof, and cracks ran outward along the marble floor where it struck. “This is no time for joking, general! I demand that you take this situation seriously!”

With a burst of magic, Esteem cast a spell to dry himself off, and every drop of blood in his robe and on his coat was flung away to pattern the nearby floors and pillars. “Then give me an order!” he bellowed. “Tell me to do something instead of summoning me to your little castle to ask me why I am covered in blood! I am covered in blood because I have spent the morning killing. What kind of asinine question is ‘Why are you covered in blood?’ What kind of fool are you to think that I need to be told the barrier is down? I know the barrier is down. I watched the barrier go down, by the hoof of Twilight Sparkle herself.”

Empyrean looked totally taken aback. Nopony spoke to the Prince that way other than his father. Esteem was past caring.

“Did you want me here so that I could recommend a course of action? Or perhaps you would like to give me a command for once? I daresay I can already guess what you will order me to do,” Esteem sneered. “You’ll want me to call everything I have back to the palace to protect you, leaving the city to descend into turmoil. Because despite the fact that you are the most powerful being in the world save for King Titan himself, you are afraid.”

The temperature in the room rose drastically as Empyrean stared at the General, aghast. He opened his mouth to speak, but only managed to splutter out something incoherent. Esteem wondered if maybe he had gone too far—he had said himself that Empyrean was second only to the King in terms of raw power. Though the Prince might have no combat experience whatsoever, he could likely still destroy Esteem with only a thought.

Esteem had readied a blitz in preparation to escape whatever attack Empyrean would throw at him when the unexpected happened. The Prince began to cry. The general watched in disgust as Empyrean sat on the floor and hid his face in hooves, sobbing. “I’m t-trying,” he whined. “I j-j-just want t-to be a good ruler.” The oversized pony wiped his eyes. “I-I-I just want to be like, like—”

“Me.”

Esteem knew who had spoken before he turned toward the King. Even in his avatar, Titan’s voice cut into the mind like a blade.

“An ambitious goal, if an unrealistic one.” The King had seized an earthpony, and was stepping slowly into the court. He turned to Esteem, and the general felt a fear that he had never known upon the battlefield. He had disrespected a god. Titan could kill him.

“Does it please you, Esteem? Bullying my infant son?”

Esteem remembered his courtesies too late, and dropped into a low bow.

Titan ignored him, instead facing Empyrean. He locked eyes with his son, and Empyrean’s face slowly slackened into an expressionless gaze. The younger god wordlessly left the court as Titan turned to speak once again to the general.

“Make no mistake,” Titan continued. “That is what he is. I matured him as much as I could, but his sensibilities are still those of a twelve-year-old.”

Esteem didn’t know if he was supposed to speak in his own defense or not. Somehow, he doubted it would help.

“I imagine your discontent stems from your recent reunion with your daughter. I understand you would often beat Rarity before my own daughter took her from you.” Esteem opened his mouth to speak, but could not come up with any words. How did Titan know about Rarity?

“Do not fear, Esteem. I am not so foolish as to destroy a valuable asset, and I do not feel rage. You are in no danger.”

Titan had known about Esteem’s plans for Rarity all along. This was not good at all. Esteem managed to speak. “Why did you—”

Titan silenced him with a raised hoof. “Allow me to educate you,” he said.

“I make it a habit to ensure that all ponies believe they have me fooled, or otherwise believe that they know something I do not. It makes the behaviour of both my enemies and my underlings entirely predictable. That your daughter is in this city and that you intend to convert her to the natural order has been known to me for some time. That you intended to do so without my knowledge or consent has also been known to me.

“This duplicity on your part was expected and accounted for. It is a small thing, and your daughter’s presence only serves to drive you toward my own ends. I would rather a general with his own ambitions and motives than a simpering lapdog. I can reward ambitions and direct motives better than any other pony alive, and so your loyalty is guaranteed.”

Esteem wasn’t sure if he liked being spoken of as a puppet, but he was relieved at being alive. Besides, he thought, he was essentially another one of Titan’s tools.

“Celestia believes that she can play me in the immortal game. She believes that the actions of her underlings will bring her closer to victory, and ultimately to her renewed dominion over the entire world. She is mistaken. While I am speaking with you now I am also at the Dark Heart of the Everfree Forest, peeling away the enchantments she has used to alter this world. Simultaneously, I am subduing the oldest and most powerful dragon that exists. I do not say these things as boasts. It is very difficult for a being such as myself to boast. Any self-aggrandizement I commit falls within the bounds of truth. I am grand.

“I played the immortal game before Celestia’s creation, against foes that she would look upon with envy and awe. I earned this world and created this species, bought and paid for both with the blood of my kind and the the scars of a conflict so vast and terrible it lasted over a millennium. Only one of my foes remains, and even he fled this world rather than face me, then returned to scavenge my creation in my absence by wreaking havoc upon the two of my daughters who remained.

“I won the immortal game, general. No matter how many ponies resist, no matter how many of my underlings die, this fact cannot be changed. The positions of the pieces matter not, for I own the very board. No outcome exists that precludes my restoration of the natural order. Every time ponykind resists, they merely increase the magnitude of the eventual retribution.

“Hope that you succeed in your next task, Esteem, because if you fail, there will be no insulation between ponykind and their gods. Empyrean would be harsh. He does not love them the way Celestia did. Terra would be cruel. She enjoys causing her children to suffer. But I...” Titan closed his eyes and tilted his head skyward. “I brought their god to her knees in less than two minutes. I would not punish their transgressions so much as I would wipe disobedience from your species altogether.”

Esteem stood frozen, still wearing his bladecasting robe with Carsomyr drawn. Titan’s words were... unsettling, to say the least. Esteem wanted a world at war, not an ash-filled wasteland or an inherently docile race. Still, he had gotten off easy considering he had lied to his god-King and reduced the Prince to tears.

“Your Majesty,” he breathed. “What is my next task?”

“You will continue whatever projects you would normally undertake for the next two weeks and three days.”

“And then?”

“You made me a general.”

“I made thee the general, Twilight Sparkle. General of the Armies. Thou now leadest every unicorn, pegasus, and earthpony willing to fight.”

Luna stood with Twilight atop a building close to their main undercity entrance. Luna had requested to speak with the new general privately, and the inner city loyalists had not objected. Twilight’s parents had, but Twilight had assured them it would be okay.

Once Twilight had appeared, the loyalists had been set at ease. The loyalists were now hers, and with Twilight at their head, city ponies would flock to the cause. Luna had gotten a step closer to rescuing Celestia.

“I don’t know how to lead ponies into battle! I’m a student from Ponyville!”

“Where thou didst often coordinate large-scale events and lead the townsponies with great success.”

“This is completely different!”

“It is. As the only living pony other than Celestia or I who hath read Ponies Make War, thou art the only pony capable.”

“If you’ve read Ponies Make War, why don’t you do it?!”

“Because they loathe me, Twilight Sparkle. I am the shadow of evil and a sad reminder of the Princess they have lost.”

Twilight drew back, biting her lip. “I’m sorry, Princess. Maybe they’ll warm up to you now that they know you saved me.”

“Nay, Twilight Sparkle. They love thee like they did Celestia. Like a princess. Like a god.”

“I’m sorry Princess, but I can’t handle this.” Twilight sat down on the rooftop. “All of this— my parents, my friends, the fighting—it’s just too much. I can’t become the pony you need me to be.”

“And why not?” Luna was losing patience with the unicorn. Celestia had spent hours extolling Twilight’s capabilities. Now the young mare was turning her back on her mentor. “I am not asking thee to fight, Twilight Sparkle. I am asking thee to lead.”

“I don’t think I can be responsible for the lives of so many ponies, Princess.”

“Thou art the Element of Magic. Thou art responsible for the life of every pony, Twilight Sparkle.”

Twilight buried her face in a hoof. “You don’t understand,” she said softly.

Luna had heard enough. She dropped the royal Canterlot voice. “Of course I understand, Twilight Sparkle. Or did you forget that you freed me from Nightmare Moon?”

Twilight looked up, clearly surprised at Luna’s change in tone.

“Before Celestia banished her, she killed more ponies than you have met in your entire life. But her crimes were nothing compared to the ones that I have committed myself. You think that a week of Nihilus and a month of sleep compares to a war as Nightmare Moon and a thousand-year banishment?”

Twilight still hadn’t gotten over her initial shock. “Your voice,” she managed.

“I’ve been able to speak the typical Canterlot dialect for three weeks. My voice is just another tool I use to make myself impossible to relate to. I de-equinize myself because if others thought me capable of feeling emotions they might actually think I have flaws like everypony else. You think that after a life spent killing I want to be a monster? Equestria needs me to be a monster, so I do everything I can to keep up the appearance. I’m better at this than I ever was at being a princess.”

“I, I didn’t—”

“You are a far better pony than I, which means that Nihilus was a far worse parasite than Nightmare Moon. I know what it is like to feel the thoughts of the parasite for so long. Sometimes you forget that it’s some other pony thinking them. It starts to change you.”

Slowly, Twilight nodded.

“You don’t want to be Nihilus Nix Naught, so you’re too afraid to use your power to destroy. I am giving you a chance to make a difference without fighting. You just have to put on a uniform and give orders while keeping everypony organized. I hear it’s something you’re good at. I will give orders should conflict arise.”

Twilight looked up at the Princess. “I don’t—” she began softly. Luna frowned. “I don’t want a uniform,” Twilight finished.

“Very well, Twilight Sparkle,” Luna said, slipping back into her usual voice. “I expect that thine friends will help thee to find the strength to be a general.”

Twilight rubbed her temple with a hoof. “What makes you think that?”

“Because,” Luna said levelly, “they did so for me.”

Luna turned away from the unicorn and spread her wings to leave, but Twilight called out after her. “Princess?” Luna looked back, and for a moment Twilight appeared unsure as to whether or not she should continue. “I can think two things at once,” she said finally.

Luna tilted her head. “As in polycasting?”

Twilight shook her head. “As in playing twenty questions with myself.”

“Ah.”

“You know what this is? I’m not crazy?”

Luna sat across from Twilight. “The only other ponies I know of who are or were capable of such a feat are Celestia and Astor Coruscare.”

“My ancestor. The mare who wrote The Power to Destroy and Ponies Make War.”

“Indeed. She also had a journal that Celestia keeps hidden in her chambers. Astor was the first pony to split her mind. I am not sure if she taught Celestia or if Celestia learned on her own.”

“What was she like?”

Luna paused and considered the question. How could she tell Twilight Sparkle about Astor Coruscare? She could say that Astor was more a monster than any of them. That she had tried to overthrow and murder Luna and Celestia. That she was Celestia’s greatest regret. That she had, in the end, been right. That she had saved the world.

“I have not read her journal,” Luna lied. “And I only met her once. Suffice to say she was not very much like you. I would not dwell upon it, Twilight Sparkle.”

“So... you don’t know anything about mind splitting, either?”

Luna pondered this for a moment. “Thou shouldst avoid splitting thine mind when it can be helped. It creates unnecessary strain upon the consciousness. Do not attempt three minds until ye hath mastered two.”

“I can do more than two?”

“Aye. Do not attempt to have two minds share faculties or split control of something that should not be split. In other words, do not give your forelegs to one mind and your hind to another—coordination will be impossible. Instead give the body to one mind and the magic to another.”

“I could cast with the focus of two Twilight Sparkles.”

“Yes. Most importantly, do not store the unwanted in another consciousness.”

“What do you mean?”

“Thou couldst easily dump pain and anger and pride into the back of thine mind, in an effort to prevent thineself from succumbing to these emotions. But our flaws are a part of us, Twilight Sparkle, and by doing this thou wouldst only be cutting away thine own identity. Only a full and complete Twilight Sparkle shouldst make decisions for herself. A fractured consciousness in control wilt almost always attempt to rationalize keeping the remainder of the self at bay. Who among us wishes to embrace our flaws and fears?”

“I...” Twilight looked troubled. “Thank you, Princess.”

Luna gave her a meaningful look. “I hope, Twilight, that thou wilt give what I have said serious consideration.”

“I-I will,” Twilight assured her. Then the unicorn vanished.

Luna looked at a point just below the horizon, where the moon was currently drifting skyward to usher in the night. Was Twilight burying every emotion that reminded her of Nihilus Nix Naught? If so, it would explain her absurd pacifism and indecisiveness. What had changed about the mare when she was occupied by the parasite that she was so desperate to deny?

The Princess sighed as she glided off of the rooftop to an alleyway below. Twilight would be her general, at least, which was something. If the mare could not handle the responsibility, her friends would have to help her find the strength. Celestia might be able to inspire greatness and trust in her pupil, but Luna had needed to guilt the poor girl into becoming her general.

It was no matter. Luna would save Celestia no matter the means she needed to employ.

“So,” the mare named Buttercup stated in an obvious effort to break the silence. “You’re one of the five.”

Applejack answered her with a wide grin. “Ah sure am! Though,” she said thoughtfully, “we don’t actually call ourselves that.”

“No? That’s what the royals call you. Scared half to death of you, they are, from what we can tell. You too, Princess.” Buttercup nodded to Princess Luna, who sat motionless in a corner. Applejack had thought that the princess incapable of becoming even more anti-social, but Luna had risen to the challenge by sitting motionless in the corner and not speaking for two hours, staring down any loyalist who so much as looked at her.

They were once again in the loyalists’ war room, the heart of the sprawling network of labyrinth tunnels that made up their new home and housed several hundred other ponies. Luna and “the five” plus Twilight had settled in, and now it was time for their first meeting.

Applejack had arrived early. She didn’t have much else to do underground anyway. Buttercup was the only loyalist with her, evidently having also come early.

“We’re here!” Pinkie Pie burst through one of the metal doors with Rarity in tow, then did a series of acrobatic cartwheels before settling on the ground in front of Applejack and beating her tail against the floor the way a dog might.

Buttercup seemed less surprised at the earthpony’s appearance than Applejack would have expected. “I suppose,” she said with a warm smile, “that we should wait until everypony arrives before doing introductions.”

Pinkie Pie grinned. “Sounds good to me!” she declared. Then, she leaned in toward Buttercup and spoke in a hoarse “whisper” that was louder by far than her usual speaking voice. “But on the D-L,” she said, “I’m Pinkie Pie.” She winked.

“Strictest confidence?” Buttercup answered her. Pinkie Pie nodded vigorously. “Buttercup.” She returned Pinkie’s wink.

“Applejack,” Rarity whined as she sauntered over. “Pinkie Pie got us lost four times.”

Pinkie Pie perked up. “I wasn’t lost. You just never said you wanted to come straight here.”

Rarity gave Pinkie Pie the most dejected look Applejack had ever seen. “You had me rappel down an artificial canyon wall.”

“We were exploring!”

“Uh, Rares?” Applejack cut in. “Why are you wearing your armor?”

“I am a knight commander, Applejack,” she said, as though that explained everything.

“Really?” said a new voice. An orange unicorn strode into the room. “Knight commander? That means you outrank me.” Applejack recognized him; it was the pony who had escorted Twilight earlier.

“Since when did you care about rank?” A grey-coated pegasus who looked old enough to be Applejack’s grandfather came in behind the unicorn. “You hate giving orders.”

“Since she’s somehow higher up on the knightly ladder than I am.” The unicorn jerked his head toward Rarity. He examined Rarity. “What are you, like, thirteen? Are you even a magic talent? Guess the Order Nocturnus and the Knights Solarion have different standards.”

Rarity gave him an arch look. “I dueled General Esteem yesterday,” she said airily.

The orange pony snorted. “In what? A beauty pageant? You and he both look like you’d fit the program.” The unicorn chuckled, and the pegasus rolled his eyes.

Rarity did not change her tone of voice. “My resemblance to my father is not a point of pride, I assure you.”

At this, every head in the room snapped toward Rarity. Applejack had not been expecting to hear that. It made sense, though—Rarity had acted strangely after returning from the conflict yesterday.

Rarity continued to speak in a casual voice. “Yes, I am knight commander, and if you would like to duel the only pony alive who has been trained by both the strongest mortal bladecaster and the god-princess sitting behind me, you will find out why. As a non-magical talent a decade your junior, I will happily embarrass you in front of your friends. And I will look positively fabulous doing it.”

The orange unicorn was wearing a bladecasting harness, and Rarity plucked a metal flask from it with her magic. She brought the flask to hover in front of her face as she unscrewed the cap. Then, she gave it a sniff and and wrinkled her nose disdainfully. “Different standards indeed,” she said before contemptuously tossing the flask back to him.

“Back in Cloudsdale that’s referred to as being schooled.” Rainbow Dash glided down from the upper balcony. Fluttershy followed. She landed beside Applejack and looked at the orange unicorn. “Who is this guy, anyway?”

The unicorn ignored her. “I don’t know if I like you or not,” he said to Rarity, “though I suppose you did give the alcohol back.”

“So every one of us is here before Twilight,” Dash said after looking around for the unicorn. “How does that happen?”

“Rainbow my dear, Twilight is busy with all her new duties! In any case, we’re all early; Twilight will be here on time. She always is.”

“Just like Midnight!” Buttercup chirped.

“Well,” the orange unicorn said, examining the face of his pocket watch. “‘On time’ is in twenty-two seconds.”

Rarity spoke. “If Midnight is like Twilight, and he isn’t here within twenty-two seconds—”

“Then your watch is broken,” Buttercup finished.

As if on cue, Twilight’s blue-coated father strode in through the door that Pinkie Pie had used. He took the room in at a glance. “I had a bigger table brought in for everypony so we’d all have room,” he said. “Why are you all standing over there?”

“Where’s the dragon mare and the purple pipsqueak?” the orange unicorn asked. Applejack was beginning to dislike him.

“Not walking,” Midnight said briskly, “and you don’t get to nickname my daughter.”

Twilight’s father sat, and the two chairs to his right filled with his daughter and wife in two bursts of purple light.

“Fascinating,” Twilight’s mother said as Twilight pulled a stack of papers out of thin air. “Tethered null-space. You can store and recall anything you like in a magical pocket. How did you manage it?”

“It’s nothing, really,” Twilight said, clearly flattered. “The retrieval system was the hard part.”

“Would a puppet survive in it?”

Applejack doubted many, if any, of the other ponies present caught the look of mortified horror that came oven Twilight’s face for only a fraction of a second. Applejack cleared her throat loudly, and Twilight and her mother both looked up.

“Ah, right,” Twilight said, looking around. “By my count, we’re waiting on one more, is that right?”

The grey pegasus stepped forward. “Wing commander Spitfire is still in the field, ma’am.”

Rainbow Dash’s head snapped up immediately. “Spitfire?!”

The grey pegasus looked at her. “She is the captain of the—”

“I know who she is! They’re here?”

He tilted his head. “Of course.”

“I suppose we ought to get started,” Twilight said loudly. She opened her mouth to speak, but seemed to hesitate. After shooting a quick glance at Luna, she said, “You may all sit.”

Hearing Twilight give the order was strange to Applejack—while Twilight was no stranger to being in charge, normally giving ponies orders was something that Luna would do. Twilight had just been promoted, though. Twilight’s parents took seats next to their daughter, and Buttercup, the orange unicorn, and the grey pegasus all took seats next to them. That left the other side of the table to Applejack and the gang. Luna remained motionless.

Applejack wondered briefly if the seating positions were intentional on Twilight’s part. She had placed herself in the midst of the loyalist commanders, flanked by the two who were pretty much guaranteed to support her in anything she did or said.

“While you’ve all encountered my team before, I think we ought to start by doing introductions.” As Twilight spoke, her father scribbled notes down on the paper that she had brought. “I’m Twilight Sparkle, General of the Armies of Equestria. My team and I are responsible for the defeat of the draconequus Discord and the alicorn Nightmare Moon. Who I must stress,” Twilight added, “is an entirely different pony from the alicorn sitting over there.” Everypony turned to the princess, whose demeanor remained unchanged.

“Five weeks ago General Esteem imprisoned me in a construct of alicorn magic. I was trapped within Nihilus Nix Naught until I was rescued by Princess Luna. I slept for almost a month before coming to Canterlot to help resolve this conflict.”

The grey pegasus cleared his throat. “You mean to say, general, that you can resolve this conflict? Not just Esteem, but Titan and Terra as well?”

“Yes.” Twilight said matter-of-factly. “But more on that once introductions are finished.”

“Of course, ma’am. Forgive my rudeness. My name is Noble.”

“Not just Noble,” added the irritating orange unicorn. “Noble Steed.”

Noble shot him a glare. “While my friend here is speaking the truth, I would much prefer you just call me Noble. I still have not the slightest idea what I could have done to my parents when I was only one day old to make them attempt to ruin my life by naming me Noble Steed. I used to be a captain in the Royal Air Force. When Titan arrived, I came out of retirement.”

The orange pony grinned. “I’m Sir Unimpressive,” he said.

Twilight’s mother snorted. “You don’t tell us your name for over a month and it turns out to be Unimpressive? Why am I not surprised?”

“It’s not actually Unimpressive, that’s just what your daughter here nicknamed me. Some ponies—” he shot Midnight a look, “—think nicknames are fun.”

When nopony reacted, he carried on. “I teach bladecasting to the ponies with the skill to learn, which mostly means Starlight and Midnight here, plus a couple of others who aren’t magical talents. When I’m not doing that, I’m out causing trouble or drinking. Although truthfully, the two aren’t mutually exclusive. I’m a bit of an abrasive jackass, but everypony puts up with me because of how useful and good-looking I am.”

Starlight laughed. “Nopony thinks you’re good-looking just because you’re shaped like a mare, Unimpressive.” She turned to face the table again. “I’m Starlight Sparkle,” she said, “And this is my husband, Midnight Sparkle. We worked as researchers before Titan’s arrival. As magical talents, we don’t really have the option of sitting out.” She nodded to Buttercup. “That leaves you, hon.”

“Oh,” said Buttercup. “Um, I’m Buttercup. I used to work in a dairy. That’s all there is to know, really.”

There was a short silence, which Unimpressive broke. “Okay, so what do all of you do? Twilight’s supposed to be the most powerful unicorn in the world. That’s going to be difficult to top.”

Neither Applejack nor any of her friends spoke up. Midnight’s quill hung in the air above his parchment. Finally, Rarity sighed. “I am Dame Rarity, Knight Commander of the Order Nocturnus. As I said earlier, I also happen to be General Esteem’s daughter.”

Starlight inhaled sharply through her teeth. “What?”

“She’s been one of my best friends since before Nightmare Moon, mom.”

Starlight’s eyes narrowed, and Rarity carried on. “I used to have a house and a small business, and now I have a weapon. That’s about it. Rainbow?” she turned to Dash who sat next to her.

Dash did not look alright. She bit her lip as her eyes darted from one pony to another, and the pegasus seemed to hesitate. “I, uh...” Her wings shifted. “I don’t—”

Rarity cut her off. “Rainbow Dash is the fastest pegasus alive,” she said simply.

“What? I never said—”

Applejack clapped her on the back. “Come on now, Dash! You’re faster than Luna!”

“And she knows kung-fu!” Pinkie Pie chirped.

“Fastest pegasus alive, eh?” said Noble. “How come I’ve never heard of you?”

“Because I was a weather pony.”

“And why were you a weather pony?”

Dash looked down, and for a moment Applejack thought she wouldn’t answer. “Because there’s something wrong with me,” she said quietly.

Noble appeared flabbergasted, and clearly was not going to respond. Applejack decided she needed to draw attention away from Dash. “Ah’m Applejack,” she declared.

“An earthpony,” Unimpressive mused. “This should be good. What do you do?”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “Near invincibility. Instantaneous regeneration, for when the ‘near’ part kicks in. Super strength. Lie detector. Good with a lasso. Always show up when somepony needs rescuin’.”

Unimpressive narrowed his eyes. “Well that’s just ridiculous. Does the pink one shoot lasers out of her eyes?”

Out of the corner of her eye, Applejack saw Twilight smile faintly.

“I make a delicious triple-iced rainbow-layer banana cake!” Pinkie Pie said. “And sometimes I exhibit precognizance. I know everypony—and I mean everypony, in Ponyville, as well as kung-fu. I can tie a balloon octopus wearing a top hat in three point three seconds, and can vault over eight feet into the air. I can mix up the perfect spicy chocolate tomato milkshake, and a near perfect assortment of explosives and combat lubricants. Oh, and my name’s Pinkie Pie.”

“But no lasers?”

Pinkie Pie leaned forward and began to stare at the knight intently. Her tone became dead serious. “Not yet.”

Unimpressive rolled his eyes. “That leaves butter-yellow butterflies. Name?”

Fluttershy sank visibly in her seat. Her voice became incredibly quiet and squeaky. “I’m, um—”

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said loudly. “And she always comes through for you when you need her.”

Unimpressive opened his mouth to speak, but Noble spoke over him. “If all of this is true, you certainly are an impressive group of ponies. It’s no wonder we’ve heard the stories we have about you. But the six of you would still stand no chance against a pony as powerful as Empyrean, let alone Titan and Terra.”

“I said before that we could resolve this conflict,” Twilight said, “but I didn’t mean with fighting. Though, certainly, there will be fighting involved. If we can get myself and the five in a room alone with Prince Empyrean...” She swallowed. “He dies. The same goes for Titan and Terra.”

The loyalist ponies all exchanged glances. “Twilight,” Midnight said, setting down his papers. “You can do that? You can just kill one of the gods?

“I can’t tell you the method. Suffice to say that Celestia armed me with exactly the tools I need to rid her of any of her enemies.”

Midnight’s mouth became a thin line. “I see.”

“So that’s it?” Unimpressive said. “We’re just supposed to go along with whatever you say because Celestia left you with the tools to save the world? And you aren’t even going to tell us how you intend to win us this war? I’m going to go ahead and vote no on this one, you guys.”

“Do we have a choice?” Buttercup said. Everyone turned toward her. “Honestly, this is Twilight Sparkle. If she walked into the mess right now and asked everypony to mutiny, what do you think would happen? You think we’d still be in charge at the end of the day?”

“A fair point,” conceded Noble.

Twilight looked appalled at the prospect. “I wouldn’t—”

“You won’t need to, General,” Buttercup assured. “The entire reason this outfit exists is to cause trouble waiting for your arrival. Am I really the only pony who’s realized that we’re just Princess Celestia’s smoke-screen? Everything is coming together, and it’s up to us to be ready when it does. To that end we should be giving Twilight Sparkle everything we have.”

Starlight gritted her teeth. “I do not like the idea of my daughter being used as another one of Celestia’s tools.”

“I wasn’t just a tool, mom. I was her prized pupil.”

“Prized enough to be targeted by Titan, but not prized enough for her to rescue.”

“Mom!”

“In any case,” Noble said loudly. “Buttercup has a point. And as two of our five votes belong to your parents, I doubt joint decision-making would bring us to a different conclusion. It would appear Twilight Sparkle is now in charge. Her presence will no doubt be good for morale. Any objections?”

Everypony looked at Unimpressive. “You all realize that you’re putting a kid in charge, right? I suppose I’m going to have to be the one to follow her around and make sure she doesn’t screw anything up.”

“Follow her around?” Starlight asked with a smile. “We can throw ourselves through space with a thought. Good luck.”

Unimpressive muttered something uncharitable about teleporting mares. Everypony ignored him.

Twilight cleared her throat. “Well now that all of that’s out of the way,” she said, “I think we should move on to the labyrinth.” A thin film of translucent purple energy coated Twilight’s horn, and the area above the table was filled with purple lines. The ghostly lines traced an enormous, three-dimensional maze above them, and Twilight frowned. “Green would be easier to see, wouldn’t it?” she said, and the image of the maze immediately became green.

“We are here.” A red mark appeared on the ghostly map. “And you’ve spread ponies all throughout these passageways.” Twilight took several sheets of paper from her father and spread them in the air before her. She appeared to read them as the map continued to draw itself. “There are a couple of things that we need to go over.”

It was then that Applejack noticed that every unicorn in the room was looking at Twilight with wide eyes—even her parents. Applejack didn’t understand what Twilight was doing that was so impressive.

“Feeding so many ponies must be difficult—I imagine most of your food comes from the raids that Noble here organizes.”

Noble rested his chin on a hoof. “How do you know I organize the raids?”

“Objective analysis and deductive reasoning,” Twilight said dismissively. “Also, it’s clear by your maps here that your knowledge of even the proximate sections of the labyrinth is limited. The same complexity that makes the labyrinth such a perfect hiding place is working against you. I’d like you to hoof-pick some trustworthy ponies that I can teach the immediate subsections to. Enough that any operation we undertake can involve a pony capable of navigating the labyrinth.

“I’d also like to restructure several of your accommodations and storage for greater efficiency, but we can go over the details of that later. With the outer barrier down, new options for getting food and supplies have arisen.”

“Twilight,” said Starlight, “did you really take the barrier down on your own?”

Twilight shifted uncomfortably. “It was nothing, really.”

“We got everypony we could together and tried when it first came up,” Midnight said, “but it was—”

“It was,” Twilight emphasized.

“I’m no unicorn,” Buttercup said, “but what’s to stop Titan and Empyrean from just putting up another one?”

“Nothing,” said Twilight. “But there’s nothing to stop me from taking it down again, either. Empyrean had to expend a massive amount of energy keeping that barrier up. I doubt he’ll spend so much effort to replace something he knows I can take down.”

“We now have access to the outer city,” Midnight breathed. “To all of Equestria. With full knowledge of the labyrinth we can get refugees out with impunity. We can get supplies in, we can—”

“Recruit,” stated Twilight. “That will be the focus of the next several weeks. We are going to expand and recruit as many ponies as we possibly can. The emergence of Princess Luna and I, as well as the breaking of the barrier, should inspire more ponies to join the resistance.” The image of the labyrinth dissolved, and was immediately replaced with a series of lines that began to trace out a facsimile of the palace. “And we’re going to need them,” Twilight said. “The palace is a fortress filled with Prince Empyrean, General Esteem, over two hundred truepony soldiers and over seven hundred puppets, by my estimate.”

Midnight blanched. “Estimate? How did you come up with those numbers?”

“Objective analysis and deductive reasoning,” Twilight said once again. “In any case, while I don’t intend to have us assault it head-on, we will need numbers. To that end I also intend to organize some recruitment initiatives. Which means...”

The rest of the meeting ended up being mostly just details that Applejack was not concerned with whatsoever. They went over minutiae and planned additional meetings, and she wondered why she had even been needed at this one at all.

When the meeting concluded, Twilight had taken more tasks upon herself Applejack thought was wise.Twilight had woken up days ago—she should be taking things easy. While she was certainly a capable mare, she could do with some rest considering what she had just woken up from. Applejack decided to stay behind and tell the unicorn that she ought to slow down a bit, and waited until only Twilight and Luna were left in the room.

When they were, Twilight let out a heavy sigh and rested her head on the table. “Well,” she said, sounding exhausted. “How did I do?”

Luna moved for the first time in hours. “Thou didst moderately well,” she said. “While ye recalled to give permission as though ye are in charge, ye were perhaps too permissive. Remember, Twilight Sparkle, thou art supposed to be the hero to these ponies. While thou may allow thineself to appear flawed, it must ultimately serve the purpose of making thineself relatable, and thus likable. Ye must appear as a lovable saviour possessed of mysterious powers. Ye must appear righteous and wise. The use of the polycast maze made thee appear powerful. Thou must doest things like that again in the future. Remember to express humility only when it serves to make thee appear even more grandiose—acting as thought the destruction of Empyrean’s barrier was easy didst accomplish this.”

“Yes, Princess Luna.”

“I will begin to suggest outlandish and brutal courses of action in the presence of the others. Thou must oppose me. Thine opposition and my submission will solidify thee in their minds as the righteous general who hath replaced their beloved princess. When one of my planned excursion succeeds, I will credit thee with the success. Thou must set aside thine humility and accept this credit.”

“Yes, Princess Luna.”

“Thou shalt not argue with thine lieutenants in the eye of the loyalists. Thou shalt not admit fault was thine for anything, instead placing the blame on myself or a lieutenant. Thou shalt stand tall and proud, and use thine magic to impress at every opportunity that presents itself. Thou shalt present thyself publicly as often as possible. Thou must appear to live up to thine reputation, and they will love thee, as planned.”

“They’ll love me,” Twilight echoed emotionlessly.

“They will love thee, Twilight Sparkle. Celestia did this for a thousand years. She was the greatest of ponies, and believed thee to be the same.”

“The greatest of ponies,” Twilight said faintly.

“Applejack,” Luna called out. Applejack looked up at the princess as Luna made for the door. “The burden I have placed upon Twilight Sparkle is a heavy one. Thou and thine must comfort and support her in all things. She needs thee.”

“The greatest of ponies,” Twilight said again after she had left. She sighed and looked at Applejack. “I don’t think I’m cut out for this general thing.”

Applejack smiled weakly. “Nonsense, Twi. Luna is just being... forceful. Ah don’t think you should worry too much about doing everything she was talking about. You just do the job the way you want to do it and ponies will love you just fine. Ah’m just worried your biting off more than you can chew, so to speak.”

“Tell me about it. The amount of restructuring that will have to be done now that we’re here is staggering. And I’m supposed to give orders and become their new deity while I’m at it. Plus I already have half a dozen meetings to attend. And all of that is in addition to the things we need to cover.”

Applejack was confused. “We as in you and I?”

“As in the Elements of Harmony. Our meeting is tomorrow.”

“You sure you’re gunna be alright, Twilight?”

“I’ll be fine, Applejack, I’m sure of it,” Twilight lied. “I just need to work out a proper schedule.” She lifted a stack of papers and a quill.

“Listen to me, Twilight,” Applejack said. “If there’s anything Ah can do, don’t hesitate to ask, ya hear? You’re no use to anypony with your brains frazzled by all this stress.”

Twilight treated Applejack to a level stare. “I’m just doing my part like everypony else, Applejack. I can’t possibly do any less. Besides, it isn’t like you could host the meetings or study the Elements anyway.”

Applejack sighed. “Well at least come and spend some time with us, will you? We’ve hardly spoken at all since you woke up.”

Twilight was busy scribbling away on the parchment. “I will, just not right now. We’ll talk about penciling you in after tomorrow’s meeting, alright?”

Applejack opened her mouth to protest, but Twilight had vanished before she could speak. She hung her head.

Twilight was one of the most capable mares Applejack had ever met. Even still, the unicorn was clearly under a lot of pressure. That she needed her friends was as plain as day to Applejack. But how to get her to slow down?

“Is everypony here?”

Twilight stood before the extra-big table at the center of the loyalist “war room”, her horn and eyes burning with magical energy. Suspended by her magic were the six Elements of Harmony, lazily rotating in the air above the table.

“Um, yes, Twilight, everypony is here. You can’t, um,” Fluttershy gulped. “See us?”

“Of course not,” Twilight said. “Aren’t my eyes closed?”

Applejack waved a hoof in front of Twilight’s face. The unicorn gave no reaction. “Nope.”

“Oh.” Twilight squeezed her eyes shut. “Sorry, that must look weird. It’s a unicorn thing.”

Rarity winced. “Er...”

“Okay, it isn’t a unicorn thing. More like a Twilight Sparkle-Princess Celestia-Astor Coruscare thing. I’m really deep in magic right now. This is incredible. I knew the Elements of Harmony were different, but this is almost alien. They make expert-level enchantments look like something I’d draw with a crayon.”

“You can draw enchantments with a crayon?” Pinkie Pie chirped. “That sounds pretty skillful to me.”

“No, I can’t. That’s my point: trying to emulate this kind of craftsponyship is, to my knowledge, impossible to do with unicorn magic. Like trying to start a fire with a stick of bubble gum and some saran-wrap. Luckily I don’t have to emulate them.” Twilight lowered the Elements to the table. “Just understand them.” Her horn stopped glowing and she opened her eyes.

Fluttershy smiled. “So do you?”

Twilight sighed and hung her head. “Not in the slightest.”

Applejack patted her on the back. “Aw, cheer up, Twi! It isn’t like we need to know how they work to use them.”

“But it is, Applejack! Think of how many questions we have that still need answering. Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie have magic from outside their species! Rainbow Dash can instantaneously locate Rarity when she’s in danger, and Rarity knew exactly when to throw herself off a bridge. You burst through a wall at just the right moment, and you think that’s just luck? Pinkie Pie knows exactly where to step to land on Vorpal’s diamonds! None of this can be coincidence! At least some of it has to be related to the Elements of Harmony!

“The elder gods showed up and overthrew Princess Celestia. We have the only things that can stop them, and we barely know how they work or where they came from. The Elements had to have had an architect, which means they probably also have a purpose. Am I the only pony who cares about this?”

Applejack shrugged. “Ah haven’t had much time to think about it, with all the fighting, but Ah just thought we’d do the rainbow thing and be done with it.”

“Wait,” Fluttershy said loudly. Or rather, relatively loudly. Everypony heard her, which was atypical. She looked at them all. “If we don’t know how they work...” She let the sentence hang in the air.

“Then how do we know they will work,” Rarity finished. “What if they can only destroy the Slivers and Discord?”

“Then we lose,” Twilight said simply. “And Titan rules the world.”

Applejack scoffed. “Now hold on just a minute, Twi—”

“I’ve felt his magic,” Twilight said. “I can safely say that Titan did not create the Elements of Harmony, but I’ve seen first-hoof what he is capable of. Ask Luna if fighting him is an option. If the Elements of Harmony can’t—” she stopped, chewing on her next word. “—kill an uncorrupted alicorn, then it’s over.”

Applejack narrowed her eyes. “Well that makes this really simple, doesn’t it?”

“They’ll work,” Fluttershy let out softly. “They have to.”

“Well now that we’ve got that out of the way,” Twilight smiled. “Who wants to wear the blindfold?”

Fluttershy gulped once more. “Um, blindf—”

“Me!” Pinkie shouted. “Me! I do! I want to wear the blindfold!”

Twilight tossed her a strip of cloth. “Thought you might, so I grabbed something pink.” Pinkie Pie began to tie the blindfold around her face as Twilight spoke to the rest of the group. “We need to do some experimentation,” she said. “I can examine the ties that bond the Elements of Harmony all day, but experimental data is imperative! To that end, we’re all going to attack Pinkie Pie.”

“Wait, what?” Pinkie Pie looked around despite that fact that her eyes were covered.

“Think fast, Pinkie!” Twilight pulled a tiny cushion from midair and sent it flying at the earthpony.

It struck Pinkie Pie head-on, and the pink pony was sent to the floor. “No fair!” she cried. “I thought we were going to play pin the tail on the pony!”

“I need you to focus, Pinkie Pie.”

Applejack barked out a laugh. “Twilight, you just told Pinkie Pie to focus.”

“Point taken.” Another cushion bounced off of Pinkie’s chest. “What do you guys usually do before you get cognizance of the others?”

“Nothing,” Pinkie said. “It just happens.”

Twilight was clearly becoming irritated. “I don’t suppose you could try to make it just happen now, could you?”

“Sure thing, Twi! Fire away!” Pinkie Pie spun in place, and ended up with her back to Twilight. Twilight threw one of her cushions, and it bounced off of the back of Pinkie’s head. “Keep going!” She brought it around again.

Applejack spoke. “Wait, Pinkie. Can’t you just use your Pinkie sense to dodge them?”

“Of course I could. But that would cheating. Nopony likes a cheater.”

It happened on the fifth pass. Twilight brought a cushion towards her, and Pinkie Pie ducked out of the way at the last moment. The cushion continued along its trajectory, and Twilight seemed so shocked that she didn’t stop it from striking her in the face.

“Pinkie Pie, did you just...”

“I got it, alright!”

Twilight seemed amazed. But then, Fluttershy thought to herself, it was quite amazing.

“I have to take notes!” Twilight cried. She looked around, panicked. “Why haven’t I been taking notes?! Experimental procedure is imperative!” She pulled a notepad and quill from empty space, then tossed another cushion at Pinkie Pie, which was skillfully evaded.

“So you can feel them coming, Pinkie? You aren’t using your Pinkie sense?”

“Nope!” Pinkie Pie back-flipped over a cushion. “It’s you, Twilight. I can feel you.”

Twilight put a hoof to her chin, then threw another cushion. Pinkie didn’t move at all, and Fluttershy thought that she would fail to dodge it, but then it stopped mid-flight before Pinkie’s face. Twilight began to furiously scribble down notes. “Fascinating,” she said. “You knew I was going to stop the cushion. Let’s try it with Rarity.”

Pinkie Pie evaded all of Rarity’s cushions, then evaded cushions thrown by Twilight and Rarity simultaneously. It was then that Twilight produced another blindfold and tossed it to Rainbow Dash.

Fluttershy watched Rainbow Dash carefully. The pegasus was obviously not comfortable being in the same room as Twilight. In fact, Dash was rarely comfortable anymore. She was still Rainbow Dash, but she had come back from Nihilus’s spell a little more grim than before. She rarely followed orders she disagreed with, and she never talked about anything that had happened before the coming of Titan.

If Dash resented Twilight, however, she did a good job of hiding her feelings. She silently tied the blindfold over her eyes, then stood up on the table. Pinkie climbed up after her.

“Let’s start Dash off with the cushions,” said Twilight.

It took longer for Rainbow Dash to find it than it had for Pinkie Pie. Fluttershy noticed that Twilight didn’t throw any cushions at Dash, instead letting Rarity throw them all. After almost two dozen strikes, Dash moved the perfect amount of distance to evade one of the cushions. Her head snapped toward Rarity’s exact position. “Woah,” she breathed.

Twilight looked up from her notepad. “Okay,” she said. “Something a little more complicated. You two are going to try to hit each other as hard as you can while making sure the other pony doesn’t hit you. Get the feel first before you start.”

Pinkie Pie and Rainbow Dash both stood motionless atop the table, and every other pony watched in silence. Finally, they both started to move very slowly. They each took several deep breaths, and then Dash moved forward and very slowly extended a hoof. It almost appeared as though she was fighting in slow motion. Pinkie Pie moved out of the way, drawing the motion out with the same excruciating slowness. Then, she threw her own punch, this time slightly faster.

Dash stepped back to avoid it, then slowly reared up on her forelegs in an act of supreme balance and kicked out with her hind leg. Pinkie Pie started ducking before Dash even threw the kick.

Twilight spoke quietly as the two fighters began to quicken their pace. “This is harmony,” she said breathlessly. “If you can learn to control this the benefits would be... astronomical, to say the least. A team of perfectly synchronized fighters who always know where each other are. Individual weaknesses would be abolished.”

Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie began to fight at an alarming speed, and still neither one of them could touch the other. Pinkie Pie giggled, and Dash grinned. They flipped and rolled, punched and kicked, and executed moves that were ridiculously elaborate. Fluttershy could barely track their movements.

“Also, you two know kung-fu. That’s pretty neat.” Twilight tossed some cushions into the fray, but they were effortlessly evaded.

“Alright,” she said. “That’s enough of that. You’ll all need to teach one another the technique later. And I suppose I ought to learn too. For purely academic reasons, of course, since it isn’t like I’m going to be fighting,” she added.

“Next on the itinerary.” Twilight drew a colorful sheet of parchment from thin air. “Enchantments.” She nodded once. “All of you have become extremely capable, but I’d like a greater feeling of security. As the Elements of Harmony, none of us are expendable. Since I doubt I can convince any of you not to take the field, I’d like to place protective spells on all your armor. Interestingly enough, the physical manifestation of the Elements themselves are more conducive to enchantments than any other material known to ponykind— even meteoric platinum. An enchantable enchantment is supposed to be impossible, but why not, right? They already break every other rule in the book. Still, I think with some fiddling I’ll be able to work them into your armor.”

Dash took off her blindfold. “What kind of spells are we talking about?” Fluttershy noticed that Dash was still not looking Twilight in the eye.

“Protective ones,” Twilight said. “I can make your skin as hard as sheet steel. In Pinkie Pie’s case, I’d like to do about a dozen other things. In Applejack’s case, I’d like to create something that stores mass. For Rarity, a spatial sheath for Vorpal. In your case, I’d like to forge a weapon. I still haven’t seen what Fluttershy wears, so we’ll have to work from there.

“Try to remember that no matter how strong the Elements or my enchantments might help you become, it’s all just a means to a greater end. None of this matters if all of us can’t get to Empyrean and use the Elements of Harmony. We’re going to beat him with friendship, not fighting. The armor enchantments are just to help us get through his defenses.”

“Like General Esteem,” Rarity said stiffly.

Twilight nodded. “I’ll need access to all of your armor.”

“So what do we do until then?” Applejack said.

“Oh, I’m sure Luna can find a use for you. She’s organizing supply raids now with Unimpressive.”

“Sir Unimpressive, Twilight. Titles are important.” Everypony looked at Rarity, and she shrugged. “What? I might not like him, but he’s still a knight.”

“But I’m a general.”

“Different ranking systems entirely, darling. I outrank him and I still call him by his honorific.”

Twilight let out an exasperated sigh. “I don’t have time to learn all the formalities. Here,” she said, pulling more papers out of thin air. “I drew you all simplified maps that you should memorize.”

Applejack groaned. “Homework?”

“Essentially, yes. You should be able to find your way to the training hall from here. Luna will want to see you all. I’ll call another meeting once I learn more about the Elements.”

Everypony left except for Twilight, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash.

“A weapon?” Dash asked with a touch of venom.

The tone of her voice was lost on Twilight, who was a reading a book and levitating the Elements of Harmony at the same time. “Uh-huh,” she said absent-mindedly. “Coruscare has designs and enchantments for something in Ponies Make War. It wouldn’t make sense for her to have put pegasine weapons or armor in The Power to Destroy.”

“My hooves work just fine, thanks.”

“I remember,” Twilight said without any change in tone. “But I’d like you to have the extra defenses against unicorns.”

Dash shook her head. “Whatever,” she muttered loudly before storming off.

Fluttershy was torn between chasing after Rainbow Dash and staying with Twilight. It was clear that both of them could use somepony to talk to. As far as Fluttershy could tell, Twilight and Dash were overcome with guilt. But then why didn’t they just talk to one another about it?

In the end, she stayed with Twilight— not because she chose to, but because she took too long to come to a decision. Twilight stood in front of the table looking after the door that Dash had exited through, head cocked to one side. Slowly she seemed to realize that Dash had been angry with her.

“I don’t get it,” she said. “What did I say?”

Fluttershy didn’t know if the question had been directed at her, or at nopony in particular. “I don’t know.”

“I tried talking to her and she told me ‘later.’ Am I just supposed to ignore her until then? I can’t ignore somepony who’s supposed to be my friend! Do I try to force the subject? But then I’d be going against her wishes and that would mean I’m a terrible friend! I have no idea what I’m doing!”

“Why doesn’t she want to talk to you in the first place?”

Twilight looked at her as though she had just asked an extremely stupid question. “Are you kidding me?”

Fluttershy ground a hoof against the floor. “Well... you’re both better now.”

“I’m not,” Twilight said matter-of-factly.

“W-w-what do you mean?”

Twilight sighed. “I’m not myself, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy was confused. “Don’t say that, Twilight. You’re still the unicorn we all became friends with.”

“That’s just it,” Twilight said. “I don’t... I don’t think I should be.”

“W-w-what do you mean?”

“I don’t really want to go into the details, but I hated Nihilus. More than I have ever hated anything in my entire life. I spent a week living with the thoughts of somepony whose only source of pleasure was destroying the things I cared about. When I saw the chance to—” Twilight choked on the words, then took a deep breath. “I killed Nihilus Nix Naught. And when she begged me for her life, I gloated. I smiled not just because I knew you were all going to be safe, but because I knew that I had destroyed everything she cared about. Just like her.”

Fluttershy bit her lip. “Twilight! You aren’t anything like her!”

“Exactly,” Twilight whispered. She turned and looked at Fluttershy with a terrible expression of foreboding. “I buried every last piece of violence and rage I had in a deep, dark place inside me. I thought I let it go and made myself whole when I broke the barrier, but now I’m not so sure. What if I’ve been pushing it away all of this time without realizing it? What if I’m really an even worse pony than I imagined? I could become the next Coruscare. I’d be everything Celestia wanted me to be. I’d be a monster and tool.”

Fluttershy didn’t know what to say. “You aren’t a monster, Twilight. You never could be.”

“Do you remember what Nihilus said when you told her she could do good?”

Fluttershy had only a vague recollection. “That she didn’t want to.”

“That not a part of her was capable of good. And what did you tell her?”

This Fluttershy remembered with perfect clarity. “That you could do evil.”

“I don’t know what keeping part of myself locked away could do to me. But I have to try to be the pony everypony needs me to be, and I certainly can’t do that if all I care about is... well, you know.”

“Twilight... I meant that everypony could do evil. Nopony is perfect, everypony makes mistakes.”

“I’m General Twilight Sparkle now, Fluttershy. I can’t afford to make mistakes.”

“Twilight?”

“Mhm?”

“I don’t think—” Fluttershy struggled with the words. How could she say this to a friend? “I don’t think you’re dealing with this properly.”

Twilight’s expression darkened. “And how should I handle it? Step down as General and let ponykind down? Stay on as General and destroy myself? Go looking for the monster inside me? Keep it away and slowly go crazy? I’d rather be a broken coward than a creature like Nihilus!” Twilight was shouting by now. “Should we all just go back to Ponyville, minus a dragon, and try to live in his new world? Leave the rebellion to Luna?”

“Twilight, I didn’t—”

“No matter what I do, ponies will get hurt. Myself included. We don’t live in Celestia’s world anymore. There is no perfect solution. I can’t send two tickets in and get six tickets out. Not this time. I’m doing the best I can, Fluttershy, and I’m sorry if it isn’t meeting yours or Luna’s standards. I agreed to be the student of the Princess, not the god-slayer General of the Armies of Equestria. If you find a better way to do things, let me know.”

With that, Twilight vanished, leaving Fluttershy alone to wipe the tears from her eyes.

They came for her in the night, of course.

Celestia didn’t know where she went wrong. She had covered her tracks and hidden the body in the on the side of the ruined castle closest to Ponyville. She had made hours of ground before Terra had returned. She had run towards the Dark Heart of the Everfree Forest, and made sure not to run afoul of any native creatures. She had covered her tracks. For Calamity’s sake, Celestia was magicless. There was nothing about her that they could look for, let alone track. She had covered every angle, preemptively worked against every measure that Terra might employ to find her.

None of it mattered. They had found her.

She learned of their presence by the noise they made. They crashed through underbrush, breaking branches and tripping over roots. She didn’t see them until they were very close, as it was night and the puppets were black. In fact, she only saw them once the bright blue pegasus that led the puppets landed amongst their pack.

Celestia cursed her white coat—undoubtedly the pegasus had spotted her through a break in the trees from above and called his puppets to come and capture her. It meant that Terra knew where to look, but it also meant that Celestia still had a chance.

She saw no unicorns, which meant that Terra would not know they had found her. She would need to take out the pegasus first and quickly so as to prevent him from fleeing and finding her mother. The earthpony puppets would follow. There were barely a dozen of them.

Unlike her enemies, Celestia had no magic to quicken her reflexes, heighten her senses, or strengthen her blows. And while she was certainly much more rested and well-fed than she had been during her escape, she was not in peak physical condition. She did not have any weapons of any kind.

What she did have was a mind of steel tempered by over a thousand years of ruling the greatest civilization the world had ever seen. A mind that had broken dynasties and defeated gods with weighted words and seemingly innocuous laws. A mind that could see all ends in a situation as basic and primitive as this one. A mind that would have forgotten more about bringing ruin to your enemies than Terra had ever known, if it ever forgot anything. The mind of a god.

Times three.

She distracted the pegasus by throwing a stick at his face. He turned and raised his forelegs to deflect it, and Celestia stepped inside his neglectful guard and struck him the jaw, then broke the dazed pony’s neck. She wondered briefly which of them had possessed more hubris, then decided it didn’t matter—she was the one left alive.

The earthponies were a different case entirely. They were tougher than the average pegasus, and Celestia had to take her time. It didn’t matter—nopony knew where she was but these. She had all the time in the world.

She was patient and calculating, putting down the creatures with a broken stick through specific points on their equine anatomy. She did not fight them head on, but rather led them into lunges or trips that would bring them down long enough for her to slay. She was careful not to become surrounded, but in that regard her other minds had her covered.

It was no easy task. Constant combat was a rigorous exercise, and even conserving energy as she was it began to take its toll on her. It didn’t matter though—she had measured out her physical energy and knew she had enough. It became easier as she progressed, as there were less puppets to keep track of.

It was only when she drove the stick through the final puppet’s eye, exhausted, that she heard the music.

Celestia would remember later that the melody was nothing extremely complex or even original. That the forest provided terrible acoustics. That the sound was thrown off by the fact that one of her ears had been eaten. She would remember those things later, because at that moment she was enraptured by the most beautiful sound she had ever heard in her life. In a life of one thousand, one hundred and eleven years, nothing she had ever experienced could even compare.

It was more than just music. It was infused with love and joy and all the beauty in the world that went unseen. It spoke to her of longing and loss and the folly of equinity. It moved her, like nothing else could, and she let the tears stream down her face, unashamed. It was alicorn magic, and she wanted it, wanted her godhood back with an intensity that that made her stomach tighten and her legs shake.

The trees around Celestia bowed away from the god-Queen of the world as she descended to the ground without a single flap of her wings. Celestia went to her, and Terra smiled at her with a radiance that made the worries of the immortal game melt away from Celestia’s mind. Her ethereal mane reached out and brushed her daughter’s face, and Celestia smiled back at her mother when she felt its warm touch.

Then the singing stopped.

Celestia looked at her grinning mother with horror. “No,” she said softly. The statement did not adequately encapsulate her denial.

“Hey, Sunshine.”

A series of loud cracks rang out through the surrounding forest as Terra broke each of Celestia’s legs with her magic. “I admit I’m not all that smart, but how arrogant are you that you think you can escape Titan? To him you will always be entirely predictable.”

Tears burned against Celestia’s face. They had nothing to do with her broken legs. “Doesn’t it bother you,” she said through gritted teeth, “that you need him to—”

Terra shut her up with a jarring strike to her jaw. “Quit trying to get me to kill my husband for you. There at least your manipulations have been childishly overt. Why would I ever abandon Titan to join my crippled daughters? Do you not recall that over a thousand years ago you locked me beneath the earth with him?”

Terra rolled Celestia over so that she was belly-up. “I had waged war against him for decades, and you never asked if I would help you take back the world. You didn’t want an ally then, and you don’t want one now. You only want a tool. So no, Celestia, I am not going to join you against Titan. I have known him for almost a thousand years. Our relationship is more complex than just love or hate. You disrespect the bond between us when you treat it as a string to pull on. Perhaps it is because you and your sister have never shared such a bond that you understand so little about ours.”

Celestia spat blood into the dirt, and Terra continued. “I’m also supposed to bring up the fact that you killed two ponies for nothing, Sunshine. He said that would break you. This is all his play, you see.”

Celestia flattened her humiliation, then her guilt. Then, she had to flatten her humiliation again. Then, she sobbed uncontrollably, letting out a piteous series of moans as she did so.

Terra smiled once more. “Come on, now, Sunshine,” she said, leaning down and letting her tendrils of her warm mane lick the tears from her daughter’s face. “It isn’t that bad. Let’s go home.”