Twilight must have stared at the open door of the cell that had formerly contained the single greatest threat to Equestria, as well as the world, for more than ten minutes. During those minutes she'd sat, almost had a panic attack, and now did nothing as her mind just failed to comprehend the enormity of the situation.

She did eventually manage to pull herself together, and crept into the cell. As soon as she stepped onto the rune covered metal of the cell the room lit up with a pale blue glow as the magic nullifying runes were activated by the light coming from her horn. Apart from that though, the room was empty, with not even a source of water to be found, as Faust had said when Twilight first met her around a year prior. All there was, was the faintest hint of a breeze coming from the corridor beyond through the now opened cell door.

It wasn't missed by Twilight that inside that cell might well be the safest place in the world now that Faust was free.

Twilight's mind danced on the edge of panic as she repeatedly failed to think of what to do. A horrible fear had settled onto her mind, and again and again she failed to conjure up a response to any of this. The idea of Faust being free was something that had haunted her since she originally met the self-proclaimed first alicorn, and now that it had come to pass, Twilight had nothing. Well, she had panic attacks, but they weren't helpful, apart from to break her out of her dumbstruck stupor.

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" Twilight gasped between heavy breaths, a shaking hoof clasped to her trembling chest. "It's okay Twilight, just breathe, in and out." Following her own advice, Twilight tried to steady her breathing. "That's it, nice and steady. Everything's fine...except it isn't! How could this have happened?!" Twilight looked around the cell again, ignoring the shivers worming their way through her body. She knew what she needed to do, and that was to get back to Equestria, but not before doing a few other things.

Feeling that most of her wits had rattled back into place, Twilight left the cell, making her way back up the stairs and through the dungeons until she came to the Viscount's cell, where she stopped. "How long did you know?"

"About the alicorn?"

"Of course the alicorn!"

The Viscount smiled up at the ceiling, "Does it matter? I've known about her for a few years. My father showed me in the hopes I might realise how much of a burden our rule carried."

"Then why didn't you release her before now?"

"Do you really think she would've been any sort of ally? She despised us as much as she does you."

"Then why release her at all?" Twilight asked weakly. She already knew the answer, but still wanted to hear it anyway.

"Because, leading up to my trial and inevitable execution, I had absolutely nothing to lose, and a whole lot to gain."

"But this won't return you to power!"

"I know, but seeing Equestria knocked of its pedestal is well worth it."

Twilight shook her head in disgust, "You don't even realise what you've done, do you? You've damned the entire world just to get some petty revenge, and to save your slimy hide!"

"If I'm the kind of pony to have a slimy hide, why are you so surprised by my efforts to preserve it? And as for the world... It can burn for all it affects me." The Viscount pushed himself up onto his elbows, "Yours and Equestria's days are numbered Princess, I suggest you spend them wisely."

Twilight slammed her hooves up against the cell door, "I should kill you right now!"

"Except you won't, because you're a better pony than that."

Twilight laughed bitterly, "I used to be. Months of being haunted by the nightmares this place gave me hasn't exactly improved my attitude, and you just made one of those nightmares come true. Now give me one good reason I should let you live."

"I can tell you where both Faust and your pegasus are!" the Viscount said quickly.

"I'm listening."

"They're both here in the keep. For some reason Faust is keeping the pegasus close to her, which is probably why she isn't down here with me any more."

"What does she look like?"

"Like a pony with wings?" The Viscount flinched as Twilight slammed her hoof against the door. "What? There are probably only four ponies in this country with wings right now, and you, Faust, and my pet are three of them. I assume she's here since you are?"

"Her name," Twilight growled, 'is Summer."

"Of course it is."

"Now tell me what this pegasus looks like!"

"She was a dark purple-grey colour, with a dingy green mane. Or at least I think it was. Apart from that, the only thing I really remember was that she kept some sort of pink bow in her hair. Cried for a day when they took it off her. Or that might have been the torture..."

"They tortured her? Why?!"

"I couldn't tell you. Her screams were too loud for me to pick up anything useful."

Twilight slammed her hoof against the door again, then fell back onto all fours. There was only one pony Twilight knew with that colouration, and also wore a bow in her mane, and that was Flitter, a native of Ponyville. There was a chance it wasn't her, but knowing who the pegasus might be only made her feel worse.

"So are you still going to kill me?" The Viscount tried to sound confident, but it wasn't hard to hear the fear behind it.

Twilight shook her head dismissively. "I was never going to kill you," she said. She set off into a canter that carried her away from the Viscount, whom she really hoped she wouldn't be seeing again soon. Once she was far enough away she teleported, hoping nothing bad had happened to her friends while she was gone.

Twilight slammed the door open to Trixie's room, causing enough panic in the blue mare to throw herself off the side of her bed in a shrieking panic. "Wah-hah-hah-haaa! Twilight! You scared the crap out of me! And ow. That too," Trixie added, rubbing the back of her head after its collision with the floor.

"Trixie, listen to me. We are in serious trouble, and we need to get out of here."

"Trouble? What kind of trouble?"

"Possible evisceration by an ancient alicorn."

Trixie pursed her lips and unwrapped the sheets from around herself, "That's a new one. Are you sure though? Because I don't remember seeing a lot of ancient alicorns around here during our last visit. Apart from Luna anyway, but I'm guessing you don't mean her."

"Trust me Trixie, there is an ancient alicorn here, and she is not a fan of us."

"Why not? I'm sure we have many fine qualities that she might like."

"Because-" Twilight stopped, realising that she was going to have to explain the entire thing about Faust. She also realised that she didn't want to have to do it multiple times. "Look, it's complicated, and big, and might warp your view on a lot of things, and I'd rather explain it to you all at once. Go get Octavia and Summer, and bring them to Fleur's room."

"If she's even speaking to you at the moment. She said some very unkind things after you left earlier."

"Just...do as I asked. Please."

"Ugh, fine..." Trixie left, muttering under her breath too quietly for Twilight to hear over the sound of her own heart beating in her ears.

"Okay, I'm sure Fleur will be perfectly reasonable. And definitely won't shout at me. Straight away." Taking a deep breath, Twilight left Trixie's room and knocked on the door to the room Fleur was sharing with the filly. She didn't get a reply, but considering it was pretty late at night, that wasn't a surprise. "Fleur? Can you hear me?" she asked through the door.

"Wha' the fuph you wan'?" was the muffled reply she got.

"We're-" Twilight groaned and entered the room, "We're in trouble Fleur, big trouble, and I need you both to get up right now."

"What the hell did you go and do now?"

"I- What? What the hell is your issue with me Fleur?"

"My issue? My issue is that you're going around being such a damned... Equestrian about things!"

Twilight blinked blankly at Fleur's words, "Huh?"

"I don't know either," said the filly. "She's been like this ever since dinner. You'd almost think she was possessed or something."

"Possessed huh? Or enchanted..." Twilight jumped up onto Fleur's bed, and stood over the mare, using her weight to trap Fleur's legs under the sheets. "This is going to suck for you Fleur, and I'm sorry for that."

"What are you doing?! Hel-!" Fleur's call for help was cut off as Twilight clamped her mouth shut and focused her magic on Fleur. Twilight didn't know exactly what she was doing, but she needed her friends on her side if they were going to get out of there.

Twilight began by scanning through the magical frequencies around her. She was familiar enough with Fleur to know how her magic felt, so all she had to do was find an unfamiliar magical presence, and eliminate it. Twilight almost fainted when she found it, and the itching in her horn intensified until it felt like her horn was on fire. The magic affecting Fleur wasn't just in her. It was everywhere, permeating every inch of the air and building around them. Whatever spell was affecting Fleur was mean to affect everypony in the keep all the time.

"You're hurting her Twilight!" Twilight's attention snapped back into the here and now as the filly shouted at her. Beneath her, Fleur's eyes rolled back in her head as she struggled weakly against Twilight. Not wanting to prolong things, Twilight isolated the frequency, and placed a spell on Fleur that would hopefully block the effects of the magic around them, at least for a time. With the enchantment permanently surrounding them, her counter spell would possibly degrade after time, meaning she might have to recast it if they were here long enough. Sure that the spell was working for now, Twilight jumped off the bed and released Fleur, who immediately reached up and clutched her head in her hooves.

"Nnnnngh! What. Did. You. Do?!"

"I'm sorry Fleur, but there's a spell being cast in here, and it's affecting everypony in the keep. I had to stop it from affecting you too."

"It feels like you jammed a knife in my head! And why's my horn so fucking itchy?"

"It is?"

"Yes! Seriously Twilight, I know we told you about casting unwanted spells on ponies."

"Like you would have let her if she'd asked," said the filly.

"Oh yeah? And why aren't you taking a magical jackhammer to the skull?"

"I-" The filly frowned thoughtfully, "I don't know. Twilight?"

"Maybe the spell affects ponies through their own magic, or relies on a pony having an intact magical system in their bodies, and since you don't have your full wings yet, your innate magic might be too screwed up for it to work. That might also explain why it didn't affect Trixie either, because of the inhibitor she's wearing."

"But Summer and Octavia are probably under the spell too," said the filly. "Are you going to have to do to them what you did to Fleur?"

Twilight winced, "Yeeesss...but I know what I'm doing a bit better this time, so it should be a bit nicer for them."

"Lucky them," Fleur groaned bitterly.

Twilight swallowed nervously, "Are you with me Fleur?"

"Yeah, I'm with you. My head still fucking hurts though. And how come you're not affected by whatever this spell is?"

"It should pass. As for the other thing, I have no idea why I'm immune."

"I call alicorn shenanigans," said the filly, eliciting a shrug from Twilight.

"Perhaps. It doesn't matter right now. All we have to do now is wait for Trixie to get the other two, and hopefully fix them. Although, if you two could get ready to grab Summer in case they aren't cooperative, that might be good."

"And why aren't you grabbing Summer?" Fleur asked sullenly.

"I'll be grabbing Octavia. You know, the big- Okay, not big, but definitely strong earth pony. I should probably only cast this spell on one pony at a time, so it's probably best I do Octavia first."

Thankfully they didn't have to wait long for Trixie to return with Octavia and Summer. They walked into the middle of the room, and Fleur and the filly walked around them back to the door, blocking it as Fleur whispered something into Trixie's ear.

"What do you want Twilight?" Octavia asked coldly. "I don't appreciate being woken up like this."

"How do you feel about Equestria?" Twilight asked cryptically.

"Equestria? Equestria's a- Equestria's- Octavia rubbed her head and grimaced, "Why are you asking me that?"

"Would you say you're a fan of Equestria?"

"What? No, of course not... Wait. What am I saying? What's going on Twilight? Why are you asking me this?"

"You're under a spell," Twilight explained calmly. "One meant to twist your views against Equestria, or something like that. I can stop it if you let me."

"It's for the best Octavia," Fleur added.

Octavia seemed to consider it for a moment, then backed off, her eyes darting about wildly. "No! I'm not letting you mess with my head! Get away from me!"

Twilight sighed, "Grab them." Fleur and Trixie pounced on Summer, pinning her to the ground. Octavia jumped to her aid, but found herself unable as Twilight grabbed her head with magic, and forced Octavia to look at her. A flash of magic, and Octavia collapsed to the ground, holding her head and groaning.

"Octavia!" Summer shouted, wriggling a leg free to try and crawl towards the fallen mare. "What did you do to her?"

"You can find out in a moment," Fleur grunted. "Twilight, a little assistance please?"

"Yeah yeah, hold your horses."

"What do you think we're doing?" Trixie hissed. Twilight cast the spell on Summer, and motioned for the other two to get off her while she groaned and clutched her head. "You're not going to do that to me are you?" Trixie asked as she watched the two stricken mares.

"No, you seem to be protected by your inhibitor."

"Really? For once I'm actually happy to be wearing it then." Trixie poked Octavia on the ribs, "Y' alright there?"

"Why am I so blasted itchy?" Octavia asked back. "And what in the world was that about?"

"There's a spell being cast throughout the keep," Twilight explained. "I'm not sure what it does specifically, but it seems to twist a ponies thoughts into hating Equestria. Or something like that anyway. I think it's at least partly responsible for what's happening around here."

"What do mean 'partly?' What else do we have to blame this on?"

Twilight bit her bottom lip, and her chest convulsed with words that fought to not be said out loud. It took her a moment, but she did eventually say it. "The Lady of the North." The blank stares everypony gave her did not encourage her.

Fleur was the first to speak. "Please tell me you're joking, because this is a really bad time to lose your mind."

"I wish I was, and I hope you're ready for this, because I'm about to do some serious damage to what you thought you knew." Twilight took a deep breath to steady herself before attempting to explain. "When we came here to rescue you Fleur, I found a lower set of dungeons, and in the one occupied cell I found her, an alicorn, the Lady of the North, except she calls herself Faust. She'd been locked up down there by Princess Platinum not long before the exodus."

"So she's real?" the filly asked, not really sure what Twilight was saying.

Twilight nodded, "She is."

"And you left her locked up down there? Why would you do that?!"

"I was going to release her, but when she confessed a desire to see Equestria destroyed for what Platinum did to her, I rather changed my mind. I thought I'd let Celestia and Luna know first, and see what they thought."

"Why would Princess Platinum lock this Faust up like that?" Octavia asked. "It doesn't seem like something she'd do."

"And how'd she do it?" Trixie asked as well. "I don't imagine Princess Platinum as having the power to defeat an alicorn."

"She didn't," said Twilight. "As Faust put it, Platinum used her father's 'attack dog' Sombra to subdue Faust."

"Sombra," Fleur said flatly. "As in King Sombra? The mad, dark king of the Crystal Empire?"

"The very same," Twilight said with false cheer.

"He would at least be a match for an alicorn," said Trixie. She looked down at the floor, "I should know."

"Actually, he wouldn't have stood a chance. Faust is... Well, she's a lot more powerful than me, Luna, and even Celestia. In fact, even if Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and I combined our powers, we'd still probably not compare to her. She's in a league of her own, and the only comparison I can think of in terms of power is Discord, but even then..."

Trixie cocked her head in confusion, "Then how the hell did Sombra beat her?"

"He didn't; she surrendered. She was pregnant, and she surrendered in case their battle harmed her foal. Of course, if she'd known that it was her child that Platinum wanted, she might not have given up so easily."

Fleur shook her head, "This is ridiculous Twilight! How are we supposed to take any of this seriously? Platinum wouldn't do any of that!"

"Maybe you can ask Faust herself when we go and find her," Twilight said coldly. "Ask her about her one thousand five hundred year imprisonment, and about her vendetta against Platinum and Equestria, and about her daughters Celestia and Luna! I know how ridiculous this sounds, but I'm not lying!"

"Celestia and Luna were her daughters?" Fleur said back weakly.

"Celestia is what Platinum wanted. She knew the time was coming for the three tribes to unite, and since Faust was responsible for holding the Windigoes back, capturing Faust released them and triggered the exodus that led to that, which was a rather happy-ish accident. Platinum wanted Celestia to raise to become the ruler of the united tribes, which I know sounds altruistic, but isn't when you consider that Celestia was raised for that position by Platinum herself."

Octavia gasped as she worked it out, "She wanted to maintain her line of power, and what better way than to put your immortal daughters on the throne. So she stole them from Faust..."

"Actually, Luna was born later and given away." Twilight looked each of them in the eyes, "You speak nothing of this to anypony, you got it?" Twilight waited until she had at least a nod off all of them. "Good. Celestia's father was Starswirl the Bearded. I don't know how that union really came to be, but there we are. Luna though, was conceived later, while Faust was in prison, and it wasn't willingly. Faust took Luna away as an act of mercy, but never had any intentions of letting her rule. It was Celestia that insisted they rule together, much to Platinum's annoyance I might add."

Fleur had to clear her throat before speaking, and even then her voice was weak. "You mean to tell us that Luna was conceived through...rape?" Twilight nodded weakly. "Who? Who was it?"

"Sombra." Twilight shut her eyes as they all expressed their disgust.

"At the same time though," Trixie said thoughtfully, "I can't help but feel like that makes a certain kind of sense. And just how old are Starswirl and Sombra? If what you're saying is true, then Starswirl had to have been at least seven hundred and fifty-ish, when he was last seen."

Twilight shrugged, "Something like that. Dark magic might have sustained Sombra's life, but how Starswirl did it I have no idea."

Octavia sat hard and hugged herself, "I can't believe the entirety of the Hearthswarming story is a lie."

"It's still true," Twilight said to her. "It's only the motivations of some of the characters that have changed."

"This is insane," Fleur muttered.

"It doesn't matter how insane it is! The fact is that Faust hates Platinum, and wants to see Equestria destroyed in revenge. And it gets worse, because she hates Luna, and because she was raised by Platinum, hates Celestia too. Well, probably. She also wants to enact something called 'the plan,' whatever that is. I'm guessing it's nothing good, and she wants to do it to the entire world. Do you see why I left her locked up down there now?"

Trixie frowned at Twilight, "Why didn't you tell us?"

"Because we were in the middle of rescuing Fleur, then we had to get her back, only to find Puddingarde under siege. Oh, and I died, lest I forget. We all had enough going on without me adding that to the list, and after I told Celestia and Luna about it they asked me to keep it a secret. There was also the thing where the Church of the Lady might have found out and released her. Seems I was looking at the wrong ponies though, because it was the Viscount that told the council about her in exchange for his life. Basically he's damned the world just to keep himself alive."

"And you think this Faust's behind all that's going on here?" Octavia asked as Fleur slumped onto her bed.

"I know it. The missing pegasus is with her too, according to the Viscount."

"Why the hell did you leave her down there where she could be found?" Fleur groaned.

"Because we had nowhere where we could contain her power. The cell she was in was lined with the same runes that the anti-magic armour was made of, and they restrained her with metal bands covered in those runes. Even with all that, and over a millenia of starvation, I could still feel how powerful she was. Until we had somewhere to put her we had to keep her here, although I have the feeling Celestia might not have been as honest about that as I thought she was."

The filly held up a hoof, "I have a question."

"Yes filly?"

"What the fuck are we supposed to do now?"

"That...is an excellent question." Twilight absent-mindedly rubbed her itching horn. "The only thing we can do is try and save the pegasus, then use my beacon to teleport back to Equestria. The problem is, is that the pegasus is with Faust, so we're going to have to go see her, which I doubt they want us to do."

"Is the pegasus that important?" Trixie asked. "I mean, is it worth risking all of us just to save her?"

"Yes," Fleur answered quickly, raising her head off the bed. "You all did it for me, so why should she be any different?"

"Fleur's right," Twilight said in agreement. "There's also the fact that this pegasus might have a lot of useful information we could use."

Trixie held her hooves up in surrender, "Okay, I was just checking. Trixie wasn't about to tell you not to save them. What I do want to know is how we get to this Faust pony."

Twilight shrugged her shoulders to loosen them. She hadn't realised how tense she'd become as she told them about Faust. "I think we need to go have a chat with Daybreak."

"What kind of chat?" Fleur asked suspiciously.

"A not very nice one."

"Couldn't you just use your spell on him?"

"Hmm..." Twilight considered it for a moment, but shook her head as she decided against it. "Not yet. Apart from being unsure how he'll be affected by my spell after prolonged exposure to Faust's, I also don't want him acting suspicious to the others here, mostly for his own protection."

"But you can't let her control him! Or any of them!"

"Look," Twilight said sharply, her aggravation spilling into her words, "I wish I had some way to fix this, but I don't. We need to save the pegasus and get back to Equestria where we can hopefully think of a plan. Saving Daybreak and the others might have to wait." Twilight stopped, expecting an argument back, but got none. "Let's go find Daybreak and hope this doesn't end with us dead or captured."

"This'd be easier if we knew where Daybreak's room was!" Trixie whispered harshly into Twilight's ear. "Maybe if you thought of that before making us wanted mares."

Twilight smacked Trixie across the chest with the back of her hoof, then pushed the unicorn up against the wall. "Firstly, we are not wanted for anything. Secondly, I am trying my very best to not have a freak out, panic attack, or some other kind of episode right now, and I would appreciate it if you didn't keep yammering on at me!"

"What's going on here?" Both of them turned guiltily towards Fleur, who had just come around the corner with the others in tow.

"Twilight's being a bitch!"

"Said the pot to the kettle."

Fleur rolled her eyes, not really caring. "Whatever. We found Daybreak's room."

"You did?" Twilight and Trixie looked at each other. "How?"

"We asked a guard," said Octavia.

"And he told you without asking why you needed Daybreak in the middle of the night?"

"Uh..." Fleur grinned uneasily, "That does seem a little suspicious now you mention it."

Twilight nodded emphatically, "Ya think?" Twilight sucked in a deep breath and exhaled it slowly, "Nevermind. It doesn't matter if the vipers know we're about to walk into their nest. Lead on," she said to Fleur.

It turned out that they hadn't been far from Daybreak's room at all, and it took barely thirty seconds for them to reach it. Twilight hesitated with her magic on the latch, then released it. "You guys should go back to your room for now."

"What?" Trixie burst out, annoyed that after dragging them all together, Twilight wanted to split up again. "Why?"

"Because Daybreak might react better if he thinks you're not working against him, that it's all just me. He might see it as less of a threat to Faust if there's only one of us confronting him over it too. Don't worry, I'll still come and get you before we go see Faust."

Fleur covered Trixie's mouth before she could refuse outright. "Are you sure? You're not going to get violent are you?"

"Mildly threatening at most."

After a moment Fleur nodded, "Okay, but you better come and get us."

"I will, and not just because I might need to know where you all are to make a swift getaway."

"Alright then. See you in a bit."

Twilight waited until they were gone before making a move. She retook the latch in her magical grip and prepared herself for whatever came next. "Alright," she said to herself, "time to make some friends into enemies." She pushed the door open, and let a gentle light spring to life on her horn as she entered the room. Daybreak was sound asleep, so she shut the door again and unceremoniously poked him on the chest. "Wake up."

"Whassat? Wha's going on? Agh, bright." Daybreak cracked an eye open to glare balefully at Twilight. "What are you doing in here?"

"Where is she Daybreak?"

"What? Where's who?"

"You know exactly who I mean. Where. Is. She?"

"And I'm telling you I don't know who she is! What the hell is this Twilight? You come in here in the middle of the night, and-"

"Shut up!" Twilight stood up against the bed so she towered over Daybreak. "You know exactly what I'm talking about, so stop fucking with me and tell me where Faust is!"

Daybreak sighed and gave Twilight a long, cool stare. "You know, she was right about you Equestrians. You're all nice and friendly as long as you're getting what you want, but as soon as somepony says no, you get vicious."

"She's just trying to turn you all against us! We've done nothing but help you ever since me and my friends set hoof in this country."

"Oh? And was it helping when you tried to hide our Lady from us? Huh? Was it?"

"She is dangerous Daybreak!" Twilight shouted, stamping a hoof on the side of Daybreak's bed in frustration. "I know she hates Equestria, and while I can't really fault her reasoning, the pony she blames for all this has been dead for centuries! Are you really willing to let your country be dragged into a war with Equestria just because she hates us?"

"This is about more than that," Daybreak growled. "This is about protecting our identity as a country, and you're trying to change us. And at what point did I say we were going to attack Equestria? Now you're saying I'm delusional too?"

"B-but that's what Faust wants... She wants to destroy Equestria, and force the world to change into what she thinks it should be."

Daybreak stared blankly at Twilight, "What are you even talking about? All she wants is Mareitania to be safe, and even though she told us what happened to her, she hasn't once suggested attacking Equestria. She wouldn't be able to either since she doesn't rule this country. I really think you ought to check your facts before making accusations Twilight."

"Wha'?" Twilight felt as though the carpet had been pulled from under her. In her mind Faust had already declared herself as supreme ruler of Mareitania, and was building up to her war against Equestria and the world. Apparently that wasn't true, and it actually bothered her more. "What about the military build-up? What's that about?"

"I told you, it's for national security. The griffons are a threat, and we'll be ready for them should they try anything."

"And sending the pegasi back? There's no way you can get that irrigation network up and running anywhere near in time."

"And we won't need to. Our Lady has proven herself capable of controlling the weather all over the country. We didn't need your pegasi any longer, so we sent them back."

Twilight dropped back onto all fours and backed off muttering to herself. "This is all wrong..."

"Maybe it's wrong because you're trying to make it wrong," Daybreak said back.

"She is dangerous!" Twilight insisted.

"And to her, you're dangerous. And yet she wants to see you, and I can't for the life of me think why when you wilfully left her locked up to rot, and even sealed over the entrance to where she was kept."

"She does?" Twilight wasn't going to say it out loud, but she thought this had trap written all over it. Then she thought about the other thing Daybreak said. "What do you mean sealed over?"

Daybreak shrugged, "It is what it sounds like. Either you, or Luna, or even Celestia completely sealed over the entrance, and tried to make it look like it wasn't even there. Since you seem surprised, I guess it wasn't you."

"No," Twilight replied in a tiny voice. While she knew Faust was still here, she hadn't been aware of the lengths Celestia had gone to hide the entrance. It made it sound a lot more permanent than Celestia had said it would be.

"At any rate," Daybreak continued, unaware of what was going through Twilight's head, "she wants to see you and your friends. Can't imagine why though."

"When?"

Daybreak shrugged again, "Now, if you want? She doesn't seem to sleep much lately, always working on something. Nothing malicious, if that's what you're thinking."

"O-okay," said Twilight. After all her aplomb in trying to force Daybreak into talking, to hear that Faust not only knew they were here, but wanted to see them, was supremely unnerving. The desire to flee was building in Twilight quite rapidly. "None of this explains why you kept one of the pegasi."

"Faust merely wanted to ask one a few questions."

"So you tortured her?"

Daybreak was stunned for a few seconds, "We did not torture anypony!"

"That's not what the Viscount said."

"And you'd believe him of all ponies? Really? Besides the fact that we would never do anything like that?" The incredulous look Daybreak gave her told Twilight that he might have had a point.

"Okay, so maybe you didn't do that, but she is still a citizen of Equestria, and is being held here unlawfully, and she will be returning with us."

Daybreak rolled his eyes but nodded, "I suppose that can be done. I'm sure our Lady has all the information she desires anyway. Now, are you going to see her, or do I have to have you escorted up to her?"

"We'll go."

"Excellent. Follow me."

Dread was turning Twilight's stomach into smorgasbord of unpleasant sensations as Daybreak led her and her friends up into the higher reaches of High Rock keep. While she wasn't quite convinced they were being led to their deaths, it still felt like they were being led into a manticore's den.

Eventually Daybreak stopped outside a door that didn't seem any more distinguishable from any of the others, and turned to face all of them, his expression serious. "I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt here, letting you see her like this, so you even think about harming a hair on her head..." Daybreak left the threat open ended, which was fine in Twilight's opinion as it didn't need an end.

"Are you kidding?" Fleur said happily. A little too happily in Twilight's opinion. "I can't believe we're going to meet the actual Lady of the North! This is so exciting." The wink she gave Twilight was enough reassurance for the alicorn that she wasn't being serious.

"At least some of you are excited," Daybreak said darkly, directing a dark glare at Twilight. He pushed open the door and led them into the room beyond where, lay upon a large padded dais at the rear of the room, was Faust herself, smiling kindly at them. "My Lady, sorry to disturb you at such a late hour, but the ponies you wanted to see wished to meet you now."

"It's quite alright Daybreak," Faust replied in a warm voice, quite unlike the one Twilight remembered from their first meeting. "I've been looking forwards to this. You can leave us."

"But-"

"Please."

Daybreak bowed deeply, "As you wish my Lady. I shall be outside if you need me."

Faust held her smile until Daybreak was out of the room, then let it slip a little. "I must say I was surprised when I learnt all of you had arrived here. I was certainly expecting a diplomat, but all of you? The heroes of the liberation?" Faust smiled again, "At the very least I should thank you all for your part in freeing Mareitania from the Duke and his ilk, as it led to my freedom as well, so, thank you."

"You're welcome!" The filly said cheerfully.

Twilight studied Faust, and while the alabaster alicorn was still painfully thin, she did seem to be filling out a little. Her coat and hair was smoother and cleaner apart from the short patches where the rune laden bands she was forced to wear had rubbed her coat away. Her ribs were showing less, and her legs seemed to have a bit of meat to them, but she was still a long way from being fully recovered. Twilight doubted that any of that really affected Faust's magical ability. She could feel the power radiating off Faust, and magically speaking, it was like looking at the sun.

"You're looking well," Twilight said after a moment.

"Freedom agrees with me."

"Does it agree with the pegasus you're keeping here?"

"Ah, you speak of dear Flitter. I dare say she must be wanting to spread her wings and fly by now."

Twilight lowered her stance and flared her wings. "Give. Her. Back."

"Gladly." Faust cleared her throat, "Guard? Could I have your assistance please?"

Barely seconds later a guard burst into the room, "Is everything alright my Lady?"

"Certainly. I was hoping you might bring Flitter here so we might talk with her?"

The guard bowed deeply, "At once my Lady."

Twilight scowled at the departing guard, then turned it on Faust. "I know what you're doing, and I know about the spell you're casting on everypony here, trying to make them think what you think."

"What I think?" Faust laughed pleasantly, making Twilight scowl deeper. "Not quite. You can actually attribute the way everypony is thinking to your good friend Snowbright. Not that he's aware of it of course. It's his belligerence towards Equestria that I'm using to turn everypony against you. Interestingly, if I use the spell on him it only reaffirms what he thinks, making it even stronger, which I can then use again. It's a vicious circle, and eventually the only catharsis these ponies will have is to destroy Equestria in my name."

"You're not even going to deny it?" Fleur asked, shocked.

Faust gestured towards Twilight, "One of the reasons I'm doing this is sat right in front of you, so why should I bother."

"Trixie's wondering how she plans to do all that just by making the ponies in here crazy."

They were surprised when Faust tutted in disgust, "As loath as I am to even associate myself with them, the Church of 'the Lady' shall be doing more than spreading my good word."

"The spell," said Twilight. "You're going to use it to spread your influence. But how?"

Faust shrugged, her skin shifting horribly over her bony frame. "Excuse me if I don't tell you all my plans."

"Why are you telling us this much?" Octavia asked, echoing what the rest of them was thinking.

"Just so you realise how helpless you are. You can't stop what's coming, and I hope that thought comforts you in the weeks and months to come." Faust looked up as the guard re-entered the room with a pony cowering behind him. "Ah, thank you kindly."

"My Lady," the guard said back before leaving again.

At first glance Twilight couldn't see anything much wrong with Flitter, save for the bags under her eyes from sleep deprivation. A closer look revealed more. Faint bruises covered her body, barely visible through her coat, and her mane looked like it had been torn out in places. Her wings were almost threadbare, showing signs of feathers having been pulled out. The most telling sign was when Flitter opened her mouth to speak, revealing that the front teeth on both her upper and lower jaw had been removed. Likely painfully so.

"Princess Twilight," whimpered Flitter, her ears falling lower than they already were. She lisped slightly from the loss of her teeth. "I-I'm sorry! I d-didn't want to tell her!"

"You tortured her!" Twilight shouted, her anger reaching a new high. "You fucking tortured her!" Twilight teleported Flitter behind her, as the mare seemed too afraid to move herself in Faust's presence.

"I'm afraid so," Faust sighed. "I assure you that if she'd been more forthcoming with what she knew, we wouldn't have had to do a thing to harm her, but she was remarkably resilient. More so than her appearance would suggest."

"I really didn't want to," Flitter cried. "I'm so sorry Princess!"

"It's okay Flitter, it's not your fault." Twilight shushed the tearful mare and let Fleur and the others comfort her while Summer checked Flitter's injuries. Twilight faced Faust and spread her wings in a protective wall between Faust and her friends. "Why would you do that to her? What could she possibly know that required you to torture her?"

"I didn't lay a hoof on her myself if that's what you were thinking."

"You might as well have! And why her? Is it because I know her? Are you trying to get under my skin by hurting the ponies I know?"

"Nothing so perverse, I assure you. After having ponies ask around the other pegasi here, I discovered I needed a pony from Ponyville, and Flitter here was one of only four from there that took part in the weather program. It was simply her misfortune that she was the one we decided to question."

"Question about what?!" Twilight's wings twitched irritably, her desire to attack growing each time Faust dodged the question. "Tell me!"

"About you, actually."

"What?" Twilight's wings drooped slightly as she stopped putting any thought into what she was doing with them. "About me?"

"Not just you, but you're certainly a pony of interest. I didn't really realise you were an ascended alicorn until dear Flitter told me, but I should have suspected as much since the magic of the Tree of Harmony flows through you." Faust smiled amusedly, "Seems the tree has chosen its own champions."

"You know about the Tree of Harmony?"

"Certainly. I did create it after all, from a heavily modified seed of the Tree of Life. Or the golden tree as the legend here would call it. I planted it far away where I hoped the greed and foolishness of ponies wouldn't cause it to wither like its parent. Apparently I didn't go anywhere near far enough."

Rather than be shocked that Faust had created the Tree of Harmony, Twilight actually found herself relieved. "If you know about the Tree of Harmony, then you know we have the power to stop you." Her confidence didn't last long though as Faust started to laugh.

"Oh my, you are vastly mistaken. I put a lot of myself into that tree, and I'm sure I don't need to tell you what that means."

Twilight's heart sank. Magic cannot be turned on itself, and if there was a lot of Faust's magic in the Tree of Harmony, "The tree won't harm you..."

Faust rolled her eyes and scoffed, "The Tree of Harmony doesn't 'harm' anything, Twilight Sparkle, but it will go to great lengths to restore the balance of the world. The Tree of Life failed because it tried to maintain order rather than harmony, but unfortunately chaos is far too prevalent in everything for that to work. The Tree of Harmony takes a much broader view. Broader than even my own. You are correct that it wouldn't 'harm' its mother though."

"Then what is this all about? You tortured Flitter just to be told what you already know?"

"Just because the powers of the Tree won't affect me doesn't mean it isn't a threat to my plans. What I hope to achieve will be the pinnacle of Order and Harmony, but the road to that destination is wrought with chaos. The Tree is likely to oppose the things I must do, and so I had to learn how to counter it, and to do that, I had to learn about you. Then it turned out it wasn't just you I had to learn about."

"Please," Flitter cried softly from behind Twilight, "I'm so, so sorry."

Twilight felt her chest seize as she figured out where this was going. Faust wanted to stop the Tree of Harmony, and the Tree of Harmony acted through herself and her friends. Even the loss of one of her friends might break the chain. "Don't you dare hurt my friends!" she wheezed through a throat that had become almost too tight to speak.

"I'm not a monster Twilight; your friends will be perfectly safe and well cared for. But don't be mistaken in thinking you can protect them from this. Honestly, while I was concerned at first, you being here was actually a blessing in disguise." Faust raised her head, the beginnings of a spell forming on her horn. "Don't worry, you'll be seeing them soon enough."

Twilight acted before Faust could finish her spell, and in her mind was already swinging her enchanted blade Swordy before she'd even fully materialised it inches above Faust's head. The blade appeared and whistled through the air, barely even slowing as the fantastically sharp blade sliced through Faust's horn, cutting it off cleanly a few inches above her forehead.

Faust's scream of agony almost shook the walls, and a second later her guards scrambled into the room, a unicorn and an earth pony, pausing with their weapons ready as they saw Twilight standing over a dehorned Lady, a thin sliver of blood dripping from her sword. Their hesitation didn't last for long, and Twilight quickly teleported between them and her friends, Swordy flashing from side to side as she destroyed their weapons.

"What did you do?!" Daybreak shouted in horror as he followed the guards in and saw the bleeding and weeping form of a now hornless Faust.

"She tried to attack me!" Twilight shouted back. "Daybreak, she is not what you think she is! She tortured Flitter!" Daybreak glanced fleetingly at Flitter, but didn't seem to really see her. Instead he started shouting for guards as loud as he could.

"Twilight!" Trixie half shouted, half whispered. "Cast the spell on him and get us out of here!"

It took Twilight a moment to work out what Trixie was talking about. As soon as she did she fired the spell she used to free her friends from the influence of Faust's magic right at him. He howled in pain and fell to the floor clutching his head, but Twilight had no way to really tell right at that moment if what she'd done had actually worked. Instead she used the short moment of confusion to knock the guards back, and slam open the nearest window.

She jumped out and took flight, hovering outside the window. She could hear the shouts of ponies getting closer, and urgently waved for her friends to follow her. "Come on, come on, come on!" she urged, catching them in her magic as the filly and Summer jumped out, followed by Trixie.

"Stop right there!"

Twilight erected a shield, catching the blast of magic that sizzled through the air towards Octavia and Flitter. Seeing that their time had run out she dragged the rest of her friends out through the window and flew away as fast as she could, out of range of the anti-teleportation field around the keep. She looked back as blasts of magic and arrows followed them into the dark, and as she prepared to teleport them back to Canterlot, she was surprised to see the top half of High Rock keep was lit up like a beacon in the night as every anti-magic rune glowed with power, trying to contain Faust's magic.

"Twilight!" Fleur cried, a flash of magic from the keep narrowly missing her. "Get us out of here!"

Twilight refocused herself and concentrated on the thread of magic that connected to her teleport beacon in Canterlot. She gave the keep one last look, then released the spell, leaving but the merest sparkle of magic behind as she and her friends vanished into nothing.

Author's Notes:

Again, none of this is totally predictable.