"So, how come I've never heard of these 'Corrupters' or 'Corrupted' before?" Twilight asked Princess Celestia as they sat in a small living room inside Canterlot Castle, about a week after the destruction of Dark Twilight.

Celestia sipped from a cup of tea, then, carefully setting it down, answered.

"You have encountered a corrupted personality before, although not by that name."

Twilight thought for a moment. Her eyes widened slightly as she realized what Celestia was referring to.

"The Nightmare?"

Celestia nodded gravely. "Indeed. While walking in the dreamscape, Luna was attacked by a Corrupter that literally fused with the dark side of her personality. Thus was the Nightmare born."

Twilight queried, "But then why wasn't the alternate personality destroyed when we used the Elements on Nightmare Moon?", thinking of how the Nightmare had returned later and possessed Rarity.

Celestia replied, "Because it was the product of a fusion of the two, instead of simply a release of the second. The Corrupter's free will was incorporated by the alternate personality, which therefore meant that it was a separate entity, and not merely the dark desires and urges of the primary personality."

Twilight thought for a moment, then stated, "And the fused nature allowed it to corrupt other personalities, creating the Nightmare forces?"

Celestia nodded, this time with a hint of a smile at Twilight's demonstration of her high aptitude in logic. "Correct."

Twilight smiled briefly, then asked, "How are my human friends and human self doing?"

Celestia smiled in reply. "Although I do not know for certain, my impression is that they're doing just fine..."

"Are we ready to rock?"

Twilight looked up and smiled at Rainbow Dash's question. "I certainly am."

"Then let's get this show on the road!!" Applejack hollered, and all of the Rainboom's seven members - Twilight, Sunset, Applejack, Pinkie, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash - began a stirring rendition of 'Shine Like Rainbows'.

As they played, Human Sunset, hidden behind a row of seats in the auditorium, watched them practice, her prosthetic hands clenching so hard that the leg of the seat that she was gripping was irreparably mangled. "You may be united for now, but I'll still rule this school. Just you wait and see", she hissed through clenched teeth.

Author's Notes:

And thus does this story come to a close. I hope all of you enjoyed the ride.

I may write a sequel, but then again, I may not. It all depends on 'Friendship Games'.

So, this is 'See you later', not goodbye.

Bon Voyage!!!