Everypony was at a loss for words. They were all too shocked to say anything upon figuring who the host of the Corruption was.

“What’s the matter, everypony? Aren’t you all happy to see me again? I know the whole party’s a bit much, but I wanted to show you how much I’ve grown, how far we have split apart. But most of all… I wanted to show you what I could do now after acquiring all this power.” Spike taunted.

“I- I don’t understand…” Cadance said, trying to process what she has learned.

“Of course. Of course, you don’t understand. It was all building up and you didn’t know who to expect. But the fact of the matter is that I am here now… and so are you.” Spike said, now shifting to a more sinister tone.

“I can’t believe you…” Applejack said, starting to get angry.

“Oh? Then what do you have to say?” Spike asked, turning to Applejack.

“After everything we did for you… after helping you when there was nopony else to turn to… after letting you into our friendship… this is how you repay us?!” Applejack shouted.

“Yeah! You better explain yourself, reptile!” Rainbow Dash shouted, agreeing with Applejack.

Just then, the Creature came out of Spike and wrapped itself in his right arm like a snake.

“Hmm. The Pony of Honesty and the Pony of Loyalty. How utterly rich to hear such words spew out of the holes of traitors.” the Creature said, chuckling with an evil grin.

“Shut it, slimeball! When we get out of here-”

“What then? What will you do? You have already lost your home. You have lost your family. What reason do you have to keep fighting? Oh wait…” the Creature said as it turned around.

Out of the ground formed the ooze and something was coming out of it. But what came out of it was even more horrifying than they could hope to swallow. When they saw who it was, they were now driven with fear.

“The CMC?! No! Not them! Anypony but them!” Fluttershy cried.

“Do what you will with us, but please don’t harm precious Sweetie Bell!” Rarity cried.

“You have known what would happen next and the outcome is here! But now… I will tell you the truth about what really happened.” Spike said, turning to the CMC.

“What does he mean, big sis?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Apple Bloom, whatever he says, don’t listen to him!” Applejack warned.

“Oh? I’m shocked at you, Applejack. Aren’t you the Element of Honesty? You may as well come clean with your families since you’re all going to be given a choice pretty soon.” Spike taunted once more.

Before they could speak any further, the Creature manifested the ooze and wrapped it around their mouths. Walking towards them, he got down and knelt closer to the CMC.

“Do you know how I have my own kingdom now? These ponies over there helped me. And do you know how…? I became a scapegoat. When Twilight ordered me to take care of a statue that was meant to be a symbol of friendship between the dragons and the griffins. I was getting something to eat before I saw the statue. I touched it to feel the gems, but it was destroyed when I was going back to my room. I tried to fix it, but I passed out before I could get the chance to fix it even further. Do you girls wish to tell them how it happened?” Spike said, turning to the girls.

The CMC were shocked and wanted to know more. Seeing this, the Creature undid the ooze on their mouths, the girls were able to talk.

“Sis… is this true?” Apple Bloom asked with tears starting to pour out.

“Apple Bloom… I…” Applejack said before being interrupted by Spike.

“What’s the matter, Applejack? You’re supposed to be the Element of Honesty. And you’re supposed to be honest with your family. Tell her the truth.” Spike ordered.

Taking deep breaths and she knew that she had no other choice, Applejack said,

“It’s true, Sugarcube. I participated in Spike’s banishment.”

Hearing this shocked Apple Bloom down to her very core. She had always known that Applejack would do questionable things, but she never would have thought she would go so far as to banish Spike from their lives. Sweetie Belle and Scootaloo shared the same sentiment.

“How… How could you-”

“Trust me. I felt the same way when I was told this. Especially after learning that Discord was mixed into this little conspiracy of theirs. But there was one lesson I took from that experience: it was the truth. And that truth did not come from the Power of Friendship, but from the Power of Hate. And he showed the truth in more ways than one when I was blessed with this beautiful gift.”

“And this was what you planned with this gift?! By attacking cities and killing everypony that stands in your way?!” Shining Armor shouted.

“That’s right, pony captain. And I plan on exterminating anything in my quest for power. Which includes your daughter.” the Creature said with sheer venom in its voice.

“If you lay one claw on her-”

“Your threats are meaningless to us. But now… I have something to show you.” Spike said, watching the ooze cover their eyes.

“W-What are you doing to us?” Fluttershy whimpered.

“Showing you something beautiful.” Spike said before looking outside to watch the carnage.

After the ooze finished covering their eyes, they appeared to be augmented into what was the destruction of the Crystal Empire. Watching every last one of their citizens get killed one by one, building structures collapsing one after the other, and every last bit of their armies losing their morale to their demise. They screamed while watching their loved ones get slaughtered and Spike did nothing but watch as the Crystal Empire was razed into oblivion. It was all a spectacle for him to watch, but he knew that he had much more to tell them. Signalling the Creature to remove the blinds, it did so accordingly. Their eyes were covered in tears and they were now afraid of what was going to come next.

“What are you going to do now?” Applejack asked, being reduced to tears.

“I’m going to give you girls a choice. And you will choose.” Spike said before another pool of ooze appeared in the floor.

Watching another pony come out of it, Applejack was shocked to discover that it was none other than Big Mac.

“Big Mac… what happened to Granny Smith?” Applejack asked, clearly afraid.

But he said nothing and just scowled at her.

“Big Mac…?” Applejack asked.

“We made sure he heard the whole thing. I wanted him to know the truth about what happened to me.” Spike explained.

“Spike… whatever we did to you… we can work this out. Just tell-”

“WE ALREADY WORKED THIS OUT!!!! Now it is your turn. You are going to choose who will live. Between your little sister and your big brother.”

This stunned the girls to a high and painful degree.

“No! Please! Not this!” Applejack begged.

“You have made your choice! Now choose! And whoever you choose, you will be hated for moons to come.” Spike said as Applejack looked at her siblings in a scared manner.