Twilight lay down next to the sleeping Princess Celestia, and looked over her shoulder at Princess Luna, “Princess, I don't really know how this goes, or even what'll happen once I'm in there.”

“Wait,” Luna said, holding up a hoof, “You're actually going to enter her dreams? Physically?”

Twilight blinked, “Well yes. I enter her dream, dispel the dream-poison then come back out. It's fairly straightforward really, that's how I escaped from the dungeons.” At Princess Luna's blank look Twilight added, “Walking through dreams is something I learned in my captivity, while the false Twilight was here. I couldn't go anywhere otherwise, and when I escaped I realized I could do it physically as well as mentally. It's... Very hard to articulate how I do it, it's just kind of an instinct.”

“Very well, Twilight Sparkle,” Princess Luna said after a moment of consideration, “But be cautious, my sister's mind is very potent, laced with ancient power and thousands of years of knowledge. Also...” And Princess Luna stepped closer to Twilight, leaning in to fix her with an intense glare, “If you harm my sister, Sparkle, or if this is some sort of trick, things will go very harsh for you. Are we clear?” Twilight nodded mutely, eyes wide, “Good,” the Princess said, nodding as well. She relaxed and lay down on the couch nearby to observe, “Now proceed.”

Twilight swallowed and stepped up to Celestia, watching her mentor struggle with whatever vision tormented her for several moments. She noticed, not for the first time, that Princess Celestia was very beautiful: a perfect picture of a princess, which gave her the rather strange image of herself as the knight saving Celestia, the damsel in distress. She smiled at the thought, and closed her eyes. She listened to her mentor's breathing and matched it with her own, gradually falling into a rhythm as she gently eased herself from consciousness. She felt her way towards her mentor by the whispering of the darkness, the little voices urging her this way and that, until she felt a great heat pressing against her head and back. She opened her eyes, and found herself in the tortured mind of the Princess of the Sun.

Celestia's mind was unlike anything Twilight had ever seen, it was a vast city made of sparkling white marble in an endless desert under a permanent noon-day sun. Well, she assumed it was a city, she couldn't find her way in through the brilliant white wall, but she saw spires over the wall and what seemed to be a large castle in the middle. It was unbearably hot, the sun beat down on Twilight like a hoof pushing her into the sand, but she kept moving, walking around the wall until she could find a doorway or something.

After what seemed like hours, she found a slight imperfection in the wall, a crack that ran from the ground to the top of the white polished surface. She whispered to the shadows in it, and convinced the wall to part for her, grinding aside like a hidden doorway in one of the fantasy novels Twilight secretly liked to read. She found herself thinking like her favorite heroine, descending into a nest of evil to save the princess from an evil fate. As a consequence, when she stepped through the shadows of her impromptu doorway, Twilight found herself encased in brilliant silver armor that, rather than making her even more miserably hot, seemed to cool her. Somehow it didn't seem all that surprising, in that dreamscape, but she made a note of it all the same.

Now that she was through the wall, the majesty of her mentor's dreamscape was laid bare. Graceful towers reached towards the sun, shining with silver, gold and white marble, while sturdy stone buildings lined the white cobbled streets, their practical metal roofs shining in the omnipresent sunlight. What really got Twilight though was the sheer age of everything; most of the building styles and architecture she'd only seen in archaeological journals, and some small part of her was dancing with glee at getting to see these buildings first-hoof. Had she not been there to cleanse her mentor's mind of unnatural taint, she might've lingered.

As it was, she began searching for some sign of the faeries, some clue that would lead her to the source of Celestia's torment. Her ears pricked at the sound of sobbing when she passed the castle in the middle of the city, and she rushed inside, over the narrow bridge connecting to the massive structure. After running through corridors and hallways of elegantly crafted white marble and solid granite, Twilight realized she'd been here before. This was the fabled Castle of the Pony Sisters at its height, before Princess Celestia, grieving for the madness of her sister, had moved the capitol to Canterlot. Yet, something was subtly wrong, she noticed.

After a while she figured out what was bothering her: Every single sculpture, from the marble busts in the hallways to the elegant carvings around the doors, windows and pillars all depicted ponies in extreme pain or anguish. It was decidedly unsettling for Twilight, who crept beneath the carved lintels of begging, pleading ponies and past busts of agonized, grieving pony faces. She heard the crying again, and started running towards the source, only to find her way barred by a door bearing a nastily familiar asymmetrical face: Discord.

This carving quirked an eyebrow at Twilight's approach and said smoothly, mockingly, “Oh dear, the Element of Magic has come to clear me away again, but where are the other elements?” He grinned, and the carving uncoiled from the door, causing Twilight to step back, her armor clanking softly. Discord towered over Twilight here, like a stone giant carved of uncaring marble, “You're out of your depth, Twilight, and you know what that means?” He snapped his claws, and Twilight felt herself starting to sink into the marble floor, which had acquired the consistency of pudding. “Now then, how about we play a little game, Twilight? If you win, I'll-”

“You'll leave. Now. No games, Discord, just leave, leave Celestia alone and never return, or I'll force you out.”

Discord looked mildly impressed, “My my, how the student has grown. You should have more patience my dear, you're in my territory now. Your precious Sun Princess is nothing more than a playground, her mind is my canvas and I can sculpt what I like.”

“Paint,” Twilight corrected absently, “You paint on a canvas,”

“Sculpt,” Discord insisted primly, obviously enjoying taunting the trapped Twilight, “But in all seriousness Twilight, it was foolish of you to come here alone. Without your precious friends, even you are reduced to nothing more than a boring diversion, just like that nag, Celestia, but without the level of satisfaction. Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle.” With that, he grinned even wider, and sat down to watch Twilight sink, pulling out a bag of popcorn that also seemed to be made of marble.

Twilight, however, smiled back, her mane flaring under her armor as she gently rose out of the marble pudding and floated above it. She snorted at Discord's rather surprised expression, and without giving him so much as a chance to say a word, she sent a psychic attack of sufficient force to pulverize Discord, the floor beneath him and the marble door leading to the throne room into dust and pebbles. She landed in the rubble of the doorway and said fiercely to the room in general, “Don't you ever insult Celestia in front of me, you warped sack of flesh and madness.” Twilight kicked the rubble derisively and continued into the main hall of the castle.

Inside, sculptures of Discord sneered down at the purple unicorn, and she was debating about pulling them down when she heard the sobbing again, coming from the center of the hall. There, on the dais, illuminated by a skylight lay Celestia, on a throne sculpted to look like Discord arched over the grieving princess. She was curled around something purple, the only color Twilight had seen in this strange city besides herself, and sobbing uncontrollably. The broken, fragile sound of her mentor's sorrow stymied Twilight's anger considerably. She approached Celestia slowly, until she was just outside the circle of sunlight.

This close, she could see that Celestia was curled around a rag-doll of sorts, colored like Twilight, with a noose around its neck that snaked up to the claw of Discord above. Twilight called out softly, “Celestia? Princess?” She stepped closer when her mentor gave no response, entering the circle of sunlight and wincing a little at the sudden brightness. “Princess, it's me, Twilight.”

Princess Celestia shook her head fiercely, murmuring, “They killed her, they killed her for me, she was misguided and they killed her for it,” She looked up at Twilight with red-rimmed eyes, “She hurt me, yes but... But I must've done something, she hadn't been herself, hadn't sent me a letter in weeks but I just couldn't make time to find out why,” The white alicorn buried her face in the rag-doll again, sobbing, “I let her down and they killed her for it! Her, Twilight Sparkle, my personal protege and... Oh Twilight I'm so sorry...” She trailed off, sobbing, and Twilight found herself blinking back tears of her own.

Twilight tried to get the Princess' attention again, but the marble claw of the throne pulled up on the rag-doll's noose, pulling it slowly away from the princess, who screamed, clinging to it, sobbing too loudly for her to hear her student's words. Twilight glared at the carved sculpture of Discord, then looked up into the sunlight, the purest expression of the Princess' power. Twilight closed her eyes and reached deep inside herself, to the core of her being in which the Element of Magic resided. She felt the strands that connected her to her friends, and gently tugged on them, calling for help.

Rainbow Dash, Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy woke up suddenly in the hospital. They looked to each other, nodded, and got a stretcher ready to carry Pinkie Pie, whose fever had broken only minutes before. They were about to head out of the lobby when Rarity burst in carrying Spike, who just looked confused and sleepy. The white unicorn looked to the others, “Twilight,” they all said simultaneously, then dashed out, with Spike complaining about not being informed. When they told him, en route to Canterlot via pegasus-drawn carriage, Spike spent the rest of the trip shouting at Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash to go faster.

They arrived at the front gate at the same time as Applejack, who was climbing shakily out of Ditzy Doo's mail carriage, looking sick. When they asked her about it, Applejack just shook her head, looking like she was going to throw up, then started staggering across the bridge to the castle with the others, the guards nodding respectfully as they parted to let the Bearers of the Elements pass.

For a long time, nothing happened, Twilight stood there in the shadowy hall with her eyes closed, feeling the sun beat down on her. Then, in a flash, she felt the familiar glow of her Element beginning to activate. She opened her eyes, and saw the world for what it was. Beyond the marble walls and sneering statues lay another dream, in which Celestia is the laughing host of a party, in a brightly colored version of the same hall, with playful ponies dancing and laughing with each other, and Princess Luna joking easily with her sister. The cold marble and scorching sun were an illusion forced onto the happy vision by some other power, which she saw as snaking vines and brambles, writhing over the hall like nightmarish serpents. They even crawled over Celestia herself, the thorns scratching her coat and making her bleed invisibly onto the cold marble floor.

They were the reason her mentor couldn't wake up, Twilight realized in a flash; the vines and brambles were holding Celestia's consciousness here. She could remove it, she thought, but unless she found the source, the vines would be back in a moment or two. She traced the paths of the vines with her eyes, and found her gaze eventually brought back to the skylight. High above, the laughing face of Discord was mocking her from the sun, pointing and laughing as if she were the butt of the joke of the universe. Twilight smiled a little, directly at Discord, who appeared to notice her regard for the first time. His eyes widened, then the concentrated power of Harmony ripped out of Twilight like a spear of coruscating color, shattering the sun into billions of fragments, that seamlessly became the stars.

Discord's illusion slowly faded. The day became night, the silence became song and the sculptures once more became the elegant carvings of a bygone age. Twilight found herself in the middle of a roaring party filled with colorful ponies speaking wildly different languages, beside Princess Luna, who was looking at her sister with alarm and Princess Celestia, who was staring at the rag-doll of Twilight in her hooves as if she had never seen it before. She looked up at Twilight, confused and disoriented, “Twilight, my faithful student, what are you doing here? I was dreaming that... That you were...”

Twilight hugged her teacher firmly and nuzzled her neck, crying gently into her neck, “I'm not, Princess, I'm right here.” She buried her face in her teacher's neck, sobbing gently.

Princess Celestia wrapped her hooves around her student tenderly, “There now Twilight, don't worry, you can tell me all about it. It's alright.” Celestia looked around at the concerned expressions of her sister and other party guests, and waved them on with a reassuring smile that very gently faded, “Twilight,” she said softly, “I'm still dreaming, aren't I?”

Twilight coughed, “Yes, Princess, you are,”

Celestia looked down at her protege, worried, “Will you be there when I wake up? Or will you be dead, my student?”

Twilight smiled and nuzzled her mentor's cheek, “I'm alive, Princess, and I'll be there when you wake, I promise.” With that, the two ponies, alicorn and student, hugged each other and very smoothly woke up.

Twilight awoke to find all her friends hugging her. They were wearing their Element necklaces, while Twilight was somehow wearing her tiara. As she stirred, they clung to her tighter, and all started babbling at once, “Twilight, what were you-”

“I was so worried abo-”

“Ah came as soon as ah-”

“I think I made the chariot break the so-”

“I'm just glad you-”

Twilight just started laughing, and crying, but mostly laughing. It dissolved back into tears as she held her friends to her and felt their support, she had missed being together with them like this so much, but something didn't quite feel right. She looked around once the penny dropped and asked urgently, sniffing back more tears to make herself heard, “Where's Spike?”

The whole of Canterlot celebrated the return of Celestia from convalescence or, if you weren't a member of the Royal Guard or one of the Bearers of the Elements and knew about it, her reconciliation with her younger sister following the return of the real Twilight Sparkle. Hurried invitations had been passed out, and an official party of sorts was being planned for the following day. Only one figure seemed to have nothing to celebrate, and it was the little dragon sitting on one of the balconies, just watching the city with a sort of blank stare. Twilight Sparkle stepped out onto the balcony alone, still wearing her Element tiara. “Spike? Spike, it's me,” Twilight said softly, her iron horseshoes dragging a little on the stone of the balcony. She was tremendously tired, but more worried about Spike, who didn't immediately react.

“Why didn't you tell me, when you'd come back?” Spike said after a moment, still staring over the city. His tone was dull, almost lifeless, “I mean, I'm your number one assistant, right?”

“Spike... I-”

“They questioned me, you know, the Guards, back when they thought you had attacked the Princess.” Spike interrupted, his volume rising steadily, “For days they asked if you had been part of a larger conspiracy, if there were any others like you, and then Rarity came and told them to buzz off.” Twilight fell to her knees, then over onto her side, clutching her head while Spike's fury let loose, “Then three years later she tells me you've been back for three weeks, but only visited her because Pinkie Pie had gotten sick! What about me, Twilight, did you forget about me?! WHY DIDN'T YO-” Spike broke off, because he had just turned around and found Twilight coughing and sobbing behind him, blood pouring from her eyes, nose and mouth. He ran to her side, and in an instant Twilight pulled him into a hug.

“I never, ever forgot you, Spike.” Twilight said thickly, her head still pounding, her vision darkening at the corners until she pushed it back by force of will, “I was... Ashamed, and frightened. I came back to find that I'd been accused of murder and treason, and... I... I didn't want to see you afraid of me. I'm so sorry Spike,” She sobbed, clinging to the little dragon, who was both terrified now for Twilight's health with the whole bleeding from the face thing, and somewhat assuaged by her heartfelt apology. She kept apologizing, holding him close, trailing off into a whisper, “I love you Spike, you're like my little brother and my only son all in one, and I shouldn't have hidden from you. I was so ashamed and afraid, I let my fear get the better of me... I'm so, so sorry...” Twilight held the little dragon, who was also crying now, in a tight hug until she very quietly succumbed to her exhaustion, passing out on the now blood-stained balcony.

The rest of the castle, oblivious, continued to party until Spike came running in, calling for help and covered in blood. Twilight slept in Princess Luna's own room, at the Princess' insistence, while the very best medical ponies minded her. After all, they'd already been there caring for Princess Celestia, and most of them had already moved into the castle.

“It looks like exhaustion, but the bleeding...” Doctor Goodheart, a unicorn specialist in magical maladies, looked the part of a brilliant doctor. His white mane refused to be tamed, standing out wildly from his grey-coated body. His lab-coat was crisp and precise, but with pockets and pockets full of writing utensils and notebooks. His glasses were thick and heavily distorted his ice-blue eyes that seemed to analyze whatever he looked at. Currently, he frowned, “It looks like feedback,” at the patient expressions of the non-magical Bearers of the Elements around him he added, “When a particularly emotional unicorn loses control of her magic and tries to contain it rather than letting it loose, it can cause hemorrhaging of the blood vessels around the horn, which can sometimes leak into the sinuses and cause symptoms like this. Still, you say she wasn't casting anything?” He addressed the last bit to Spike, who shook his head, looking at Twilight anxiously.

“No, she... I was shouting at her,” He looked down, clenching his fist slowly, “I... I was pretty angry with her for not contacting me sooner, but...” He trailed off, lifting his gaze once more to Twilight's sleeping form. She looked peaceful, oddly, the tension that usually filled her body since she'd returned was gone, replaced by a sort of serenity that made her look not entirely equine anymore. She had changed, Spike realized, and whatever had changed her had somehow made this happen. When she had collapsed, he had run for help, and found himself pushed into a little hospital room with the other Bearers of the Elements, including Pinkie Pie who had to be carried in, as she was still too weak to walk on her own, and Princess Luna herself, all piled around Twilight's bed. If Princess Celestia hadn't been recovering from her near-starvation she probably would've been in there too.

Dr. Goodheart nodded at Spike's words thoughtfully, “Then perhaps...”

“Emotional feedback,” Said a new voice, from the door. The guards outside slumped to the floor, asleep, while in the doorway stood a small red fox. Princess Luna eyed it warily, while the other Bearers and the Doctor just looked stunned at the fact that a fox was talking. The fox seemed to take no notice, “Twilight has had a great deal taken from her, and now one of the few things that keeps her stable is the love of her friends,” the little fox said casually, “So, if one of her friends, say Spike there,” Spike blinked, “Is angry towards her, it rebounds that bond, causing magical feedback that injures her as if she'd tried to contain a wild spell.” The fox tilted its head and smiled sadly, “In layman's terms: Twilight is hurt by her friends and loved ones being angry with her. Very romantic, but possibly lethal.”

“Lethal?” Spike blurted out, horrified.

The little fox nodded solemnly, “Yes, lethal, so please, for the sake of Twilight's health, talk out your problems with her before somepony gets angry. It could cost her her life.”

The little fox turned to leave in the ensuing shocked silence, but Princess Luna said softly, “Who are you, and why do you care?”

The fox turned and smiled at Princess Luna enigmatically, “There's power in names, so call me Blackboard if you like, but as to why I care? That's my business. Suffice to say that I do, and I am no friend to anyone who would intentionally do harm to Twilight there.” With that the little fox bowed, and dashed off down the corridor, vanishing once he hit a dark shadow, leaving the Bearers and the Princess alone with their injured friend and a very confused doctor.

“Blackboard?” Dr. Goodheart said bemusedly, “But he was red!”