To the students of Canterlot High, what now lay before them was an all-too familiar sight. It was late in the evening, outside the front entrance to the school. Before them stood none other than Twilight Sparkle, Princess of Equestria, who had, for a second time, journeyed to their world to help them. Flanking her on either side were the friends she had made here in the school, Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Applejack, Rarity and Pinkie Pie. And there, on the ground before this group, being watched by the entire student body, were the ones that she and her friends had helped to defeat.

But that was where the similarities ended. For not only were Twilight and her friends decked out in the attire of their band, which only earlier had made quite an impression at the school's battle of the bands, but the ones lying in front of them were not Sunset Shimmer, but a trio of other girls. The one at the head of this small group was possessed of large orange hair, and was the leader of their trio, Adagio Dazzle. Beside her were her flunkies, Aria and Sonata. These three girls had, mere moments ago, attempted to ruler over this world of humans by way of their magic, but thanks to Twilight, their efforts had all been for naught.

Twilight looked upon her defeated foes, wondering for a brief moment exactly how hurt they were from their actions. However, little by little, she saw Adagio and the other two begin to get up. The three girls all seemed to be nursing what was most likely a very bad headache after all this. But Adagio’s eyes soon shot open with realization as she looked down, an expression of utter horror upon her face. Aria and Sonata soon followed suit, which lead to Twilight looking down to see what was concerning them so much. She was not left wondering for very long though.

For she now saw that all three of them had lost something that she knew was precious to them. Their three necklaces, which all once had magnificent red jewels, were now irrevocably broken, a result of their now-ended battle. The three girls looked at the ground, where tiny piles of red gem fragments remained. Those amulets had enabled those three to use their singing voices to foster mistrust and conflict amongst others, which produced a strange magic that they feed upon. Now though, with those necklaces now destroyed, they had most likely been stripped of that power. If there was any doubt in Twilight's mind that these three had been removed as a threat, they were long gone now.

Adagio, looking utterly despondent, reached down and gently gathered what remained of her amulet into her hands. As she looked down at them, a mixed look of both anger and despair crossed her face. Her eyes darted up towards Twilight, and or a moment, the Princess could have sworn that she saw tears forming in her. Her voice however bore nothing but anger and contempt as she addressed Twilight.

"Well, Princess...you won. Are you happy now?"

Twilight looked down at her, at all three of them, and something started in her. While it was true that this had been a victory, for all of them and not just her, she knew the feeling that Adagio and the others were going through. For it was not long ago that she too had been robbed of her own magic by one she considered a hated enemy. She knew what it was like to be brought down, defeated and humiliated. And though these girls had unquestionably done terrible things to her and the school, it was not something she would have ever outright wanted them to go through. Letting out a deep sigh, she looked down at the three of them.

"Adagio...what will happen now that you don't have your amulets?"

The defeated girl raised an eyebrow at that question, as if confused that Twilight would even care to know the answer. However, as she looked down at what was once the source of her power, her expression lost its anger, as though she'd been exhausted of it.

"We three fed upon the magic caused by strife, and the amulets helped us in that feeding. Without them..."

She didn't finish, but then she didn’t need to, for the grim look on her face made it all too clear to Twilight what she would have said. It was clear to her that these girls were dependent upon that magic, however foul it was. As much as she hated the divisions they had caused to gain that power, she could not deny that it was necessary for the three of them to survive. She turned over to her friends, all of whom had mixed expressions on their faces. Some, like Rainbow and Applejack, were still angry at these three for everything they'd done, for which she could not blame them. Others, like Fluttershy, looked upon them with the same kind of pity that she would feel for a wounded animal.

And it was here that Twilight noticed another. For there, among the crowd, also transfixed by the sight of the defeated Dazzlings, was Sunset Shimmer. It was through her that Twilight had first been made aware of this world of humans, and it was also because of her that she came to know these human versions of her Equestrian friends. Despite their starting out as enemies, they had grown to become friends, and Sunset had done much to atone for what she had done during Twilight's previous journey to this place. Suddenly, as she dwelt on that memory, a plan came to mind for her. She knew it would undoubtedly be controversial, given everything that had happened, but she knew it was the right thing to do.

"Adagio Dazzle! Aria! Sonata!"

The three girls looked up, somewhat taken aback at the now-commanding tone that Twilight was taking with them. In truth all of the students, even her friends, watched her with great interest now, as this was a side of her they had not known. It was only in moments like this, when she stood firm, that they remembered that she was a Princess, a figure of authority, even if she was still new to the job. They watched carefully as she stepped forward, approaching Adagio and the others, who were now nervously getting back to their feet, awaiting whatever fate the Princess of Friendship had in mind for them. There was a brief but uncomfortable silence as Twilight and Adagio stared at each other, before Twilight finally spoke.

"The three of you have done terrible things to this world. You tore friends apart and attempted to rule over not only this school, but everything beyond it. I doubt there is a single person here who hasn't been hurt by your actions."

Adagio and the others looked away from her, not wishing to look her in the eye after that. This was it, they told themselves. They had failed to achieve power and now they were going to pay for their crimes. They imagined to themselves that, no matter how difficult their exile in this world might have been, what they would now face would be far worse. What they were not expecting was what came next.

"So, what happens now...is that you all come back to Equestria, with me."

There was that silence again as Adagio and the others looked to her as if she'd just spoken in tongues. They were not alone in this, as virtually everyone there, even her friends, all looked to each other as if Twilight had just gone insane. Adagio, after fumbling her worlds a little, finally broke the silence.

"You're...letting us go back home? But...why?"

Twilight narrowed her eyes a little before answering.

"I can't guarantee that you won't receive some kind of punishment back in Equestria. But it's better than letting you starve to death here."

Adagio considered that carefully. Twilight spoke truly. If she and the other two stayed here, their lack of power meant that they would be unable to feed off the magic that they'd become so dependent on. She cringed as her mind conjured images of her and her followers slowly fading away with a lack of magic. But in Equestria, there was hope for them, or at the very least a chance to keep on surviving. But even so, one thought was burning on Adagio's mind, and as she looked towards Twilight once more, her expression became a stern one as she voiced it.

"Why? After everything we've done here, done to you...why would you offer us mercy like this?"

Twilight stayed in silence for a few moments before her expression softened.

"Because...I have forgiven far worse than you in the past."

Adagio gained a look of confusion on her face as she heard that, but Twilight did not expect her to understand what she meant. For much like her loss of magic, it was not so long ago that she and her friends in Equestria had been betrayed by one they all considered close. But much like before, she spirit of chaos and disharmony had been forgiven for his actions, and welcomed back among them. Not only that, but Adagio's actions, and those of the other two girls, were not all too dissimilar to what Sunset had tried to achieve during Twilight's last visit. If she could forgive her for her attempted conquest, then she could forgive these three too. Glancing to her right, she saw Sunset there, and the latter looked away slightly, having apparently heard what Twilight had said, and was, as usual, feeling great shame for her past actions.

However, Twilight's attention was then drawn to Adagio and the others, as the three of them all huddled together and started whispering, no doubt to discuss Twilight's offer. It was here that Twilight's other friends also walked forward to join her, where she saw that a lot of them had looks of "I hope you know what you're doing" on their faces. After a tense silence, the three girls parted from one another and walked forward towards Twilight, before Adagio cleared her throat a little.

"Princess...it seems we have no choice...but to accept your offer."

Twilight breathed a sigh of relief, as if worried that the three of them might put up some kind of resistance to this offer. But that was clearly not the case. They would no doubt continue to dislike her, resent her, maybe even hate her for having defeated them, but even so, Twilight knew that leaving them here to fade away was wrong, and that it was her duty, her responsibility, to try and help them in some way. Her attention was then drawn to her right, where Rainbow had slapped her hand down on her shoulder, with a big smirk on her face, making it clear that she was pleased that this whole ordeal was over. Looking to her other friends, it was clear that all of them were happy with how things had turned out, as was she. Even Spike, despite being frustrated at being a dog again this whole time, couldn't help but yap happily.

And so, with this great conflict over and done with, the night proceeded in much the same way as the Fall Formal had a year earlier, with the other students going about their plans to just kick back and enjoy the evening. There had been music, dancing, and even Twilight and her friends had been given the chance to perform in front of the school again, to much fanfare. In fact, Twilight couldn’t help but notice a certain blue-haired boy smiling at her among the crowd, for which she couldn't help but blush. But, much like all good things, this night too had come to an end. When the music had died down and the damage had been repaired from the battle with Adagio, which she, Aria and Sonata had the most work towards, the time had finally come for Twilight to say her goodbyes once more.

She joined in with all of her friends in a massive group hug, started by Pinkie Pie of course, before parting them and looking very content with how things had turned out. However, she soon looked past them to the lone figure of Sunset Shimmer, who was looking awkward and uncomfortable throughout this whole thing. Smiling, Twilight gestured to her to come over, and after some hesitancy on her part, Sunset walked towards her former rival. The two stood together in silence for a bit before Sunset finally spoke.

"So...I guess this is goodbye...again?"

Twilight chuckled a bit before answering.

"Yeah. I just wanted to say thank you...for everything."

Sunset looked up at her, looking more than a little confused at this unexpected praise. Seeing this, Twilight explained herself.

"You've come so far since the mare who tried to steal my crown. You really have become a better person, and I don't think I'd have come through this one without your help. So...thank you."

The former rival looked upon Twilight, her face one of utter shock, clearly not believing what she'd just heard. However, that expression soon changed as it became one of sheer joy, with a few tears even forming in her eyes. Twilight, smiling, walked over and embraced the girl in a hug, which the latter promptly returned. The other girls, seeing this, all smiled at each other before Sunset broke away from Twilight. They walked over to her and patted her in the back, the bad blood between them now very much ended. Sunset smiled at her newfound friends, as did Twilight, before the latter's expression soured a bit as she saw Adagio, Aria and Sonata approach her.

The mood became tense amongst the collection of girls as Adagio gave a somewhat scornful look to Twilight, which the latter returned, before the three girls made their way over to the nearby statue, the gateway between this world and Equestria. Twilight and Spike walked over to join them, but before passing through, her attention was drawn to Adagio as she made one final remark.

"I suppose we should be grateful for this."

After a few moments of silence, Twilight gained an uncharacteristic smirk on her face before replying.

"Don't worry, I'll just pretend you said thank you."

In spite of everything that had happened between them, Adagio couldn't help but gain a smirk of her own and let out a dry chuckle at the unexpected snarky comment by the Princess. With that done, she took a step forward, passing through the gateway, with Aria and Sonata in tow. Twilight, before joining them, cast one final look back towards her friends, all of whom were waving goodbye and smiling, even Sunset. Looking back on them all, Twilight gained a look of contentment and joy on her face before waving her own goodbye to them, before stepping through the portal herself, hoping deep down that this would not be the last time she would see these dear new friends.