Twilight Sparkle sat alone in the great hall of the Tower of Ibis, her small form dwarfed by its high ceiling, sweeping arches, and wide balconies that opened directly into the sky. The room was completely unfurnished except for a few cushions, magnifying the diminutive emotions the room evoked. The countryside was visible for miles at this height, which was part of the reason Twilight was focused on her quill and parchment. There were towns and cities nestled among the mountains and plateaus surrounding the tower, but there were also the beginnings of an army camp, full of the calls thousands of griffons. Her stomach nearly turned over when the smells wafted up to her snout--they were cooking meat. With a quick Parfum spell, Twilight was able to block most of the stench. She exhaled heavily, then focused her attention back to her work.

She had already taken all the architectural and cultural notes she could about what she had seen of the Western Gates of Griffrance, and she had now resorted to doodling to pass the time. She was working on a sketch of herself eating cake with Celestia when a loud clunk caused her to jump. A massive, metallic door at the far end of the hall had opened, and a griffon wearing armor and a thin, silver circlet entered.

Twilight looked the griffon over, staring, but trying not to, when she noticed that the armor was made of leather.

“So, your Princess has chosen to delay, has she?” Duchess Adelaide d’Anjou said, projecting her voice to fill the entire hall as she approached Twilight’s cushioned spot on the floor. She did not sit. “I thought my letter was clear about the situation.”

“Thank you for meeting with me, Your Grace,” Twilight replied, hastily moving her parchments around to cover her idle drawings. “I was hoping we could discuss that. I think we could work something out that would be beneficial to both of our nations.”

“I approve of your manners,” the Duchess said, “but manners alone will not be enough to resolve this conflict.”

“But what do you want? You really want Princess Luna to come here to duel you over one zebra?”

Adelaide laughed. “Of course not! I was hoping she would refuse to come, in fact. I hate them both, yes, but do you really think I’d be able to gather such an army if this were merely a personal vendetta?” Her wings stretched to their full span as she paced back and forth in front of Twilight. “The fact is, Ambassador Sparkle, your country is weaker than ever. One of your leaders is gone, and the other is dangerously unstable. So you conquered some Diamond Dogs? They are craven merchants, not warriors!” She stopped pacing, and her eyes narrowed as they gazed into the distance. “It is time your lands came under the stewardship of rulers who can properly exploit them.”

“That’s it?” Twilight could not keep the shortness from her voice. “You just want to conquer? What do you gain from conquest? Surely you agree that trade would be more profita—”

“To Tartarus with trade!” Adelaide shrieked, causing Twilight to wince and flatten her ears. “That statement only goes to show how weak you ponies have become.”

Twilight sighed and shook her head. “We only want peace, Your Grace. Will you at least talk to Luna? I know we can find some common ground!”

“You only want peace, huh?” One of Adelaide’s eyebrows lifted. “Is that why your army is marching east as we speak?”

“I’m sure they’re just moving back to Canterlot,” Twilight said, trying to cover the fact that her eyes widened momentarily. “Protecting the capital, or training exercises. I’m not a military commander.”

“I know aggression when I see it,” Adelaide said. “I don’t appreciate being toyed with, you know. But no matter. Your attempt at delay will accomplish nothing. I was waiting for a few more High Lords to assemble here anyway before I strike.”

Twilight stood very still for a few moments, looking into the griffon’s fierce countenance. Finally, she turned away and shut her eyes. “I don’t know what happened to you to make you think this way,” she said. “All I know is that things would be better for everypony if we could work together. Harmony keeps all of us safe, and it’s the best path to a full, happy life.”

“Even your language disgusts me.” Adelaide scoffed. “You have baked your own perceived racial supremacy into your very words!”

“If you’d prefer, I have studied Griffançais a little bit,” Twilight said, forcing herself to smile. “I’m sure we could have a conversation in that.”

“That will not be necessary.” The Duchess turned away. “It is clear that you have not come to surrender, so this conversation is pointless. I will not sully my honor by attacking a diplomat who has not wronged me, but you and your friends should watch yourselves on the roads.”

Twilight began placing her belongings back in her pack. “Please, can I at least see Zecora? I want to make sure she’s okay.”

A cruel smile formed on Adelaide’s beak. “Why, of course you can. Take a look outside.” She gestured with one claw toward one of the giant balconies, pointing toward another balcony on another section of the tower. There, an oversized golden birdcage had been hung on a chain, swinging widely with each turbulent gust of wind that blew past this high up in the mountains.

But the cage was empty.

Adelaide stared for a few seconds, then a horrific scratching sound filled the hall as her claws dug into the stone floor. “How.” Her voice was low and choked.

“I hope you’re eventually able to see how important friendship is,” Twilight said as she gathered magic into her horn. “If not, you’ll see just how strong ponies really are.”

“You!” Adelaide screamed as she bared her claws and lunged for Twilight. She felt them dig into flesh, and she heard a brief shout of pain, but a second later, nothing was there. The Duchess looked down at the red blood dripping down her claws, then formed them into a fist and slammed the fist into a nearby pillar. Her anger thus channeled, she drew herself together and began calling for guards to lock down the tower and the surrounding area.

Miles away, Twilight appeared among the rest of her friends in a windy mountain pass. She stumbled and gasped, woozy from the exertion of teleporting so far. It had only been possibly for her at all because she could see the general area from her vantage point in the Ibis great hall.

Once she had righted herself with the assistance of a few steadying hooves, Twilight smiled at each of them and reassured them that the gashes on her flank were just surface wounds. Her smile faded away, however, when she noticed the unconscious, emaciated body over Applejack’s back. Zecora’s ribs were visible, but they were at least occasionally rising shakily with labored breathing.

“Good job, everypony,” Twilight said. “I know what you just did must have been very hard, but I have to ask a little more from you. We need to get back to the border and send a letter to Luna as soon as we can. How fast do you think we can go?”

“Not too fast,” Applejack replied. “Even if all of us were as good at runnin’ as me and Dash, Zecora ain’t doin’ so good. We gotta take the time to take care of ‘er.”

“Okay, just go as fast as you can everypony. This might take a few days, but we’ll be okay as long as we stick together.”

The darkness seemed to have shades, shades that swirled and blended together like condiments in coffee. Each of them were terrible and comforting in its own unique way. They embraced her like an old family member. It had become so familiar to her that she had come to resent the light for intruding, despite it being technically more pleasant. Comfort was more important than pleasure now.

The shapes she saw in the light made even less sense. Garish colors clashed against each other like brightly uniformed armies battling, and even the most innocuous sound they made felt like the clash of weapons. She tried to withdraw into the darkness, but it gradually became apparent that that was a fight she could not win. A pink shape demanded, in a frustratingly non-demanding way, that she join the world of light.

“Mufurha,” the shape seemed to say, as aggressive as a quiet, gentle whisper could be.

She tried to ignore the demand and fold herself back into the darkness, but it would not return, as if it sensed the danger it would be in if it approached now.

“Zecora,” the shape said. The sound was the same as before, but the one hearing it had changed. With the change came a painful clarity.

“No,” Zecora rasped, her voice even quieter than Fluttershy’s. “There is no Zecora. Only darkness, weakness, faithless, endless.”

“Um.” Fluttershy rested the back of her foot on Zecora’s head to test her temperature, then reached down to gather more blankets and tuck her patient into them. “I don’t really understand what you mean, but you’re safe here. This is my cottage. Do you want some water? I’ve been giving you some the past few weeks, but you weren’t really awake for it, so I couldn’t give a lot at once. I’m sorry.”

“S-Sorry?” Zecora licked her dry lips with her dry tongue, an instinct more than a solution. “Yes. Sorry. I never should have trusted them. I never should have trusted myself. I should have trusted her. Oh, beloved moon, I am so sorry, starry, sorry…”

“Wow, even when you’re tired or upset, you’ve always rhymed everything.” Fluttershy fetched a cup and gingerly held it up to Zecora’s mouth. “What happened to you?”

Zecora responded by simply staring at Fluttershy’s face with her bloodshot, unblinking eyes.

“Fluttershy!” There was a slightly panicked shout in the distance, coming from outside the cottage. Before she could respond, Rainbow Dash had already zoomed through one of the windows that opened into the cool, cloudless night. Zecora transferred her stare to Rainbow, who responded by forcing out a totally cool laugh.

“Oh, hey Zecora!” she said. “Looks like you’re doing better. Great, glad to hear it, but, uh, Fluttershy—we need you at the library. Can your animals take care of Zecora for a little bit or something?”

“I don’t know, Rainbow,” Fluttershy replied. “She just started talking again, so she could really use my help right now.”

“Yeah, yeah, I get that.” Rainbow Dash swooped closer to take a look at Zecora—and stopped looking very quickly. “You know I wouldn’t ask if it weren’t important. But the army just arrived in town, and they’re—well, you’ll see. The important part is that we might need the Elements.”

Fluttershy sighed and started softly singing a few sweet, melodic bars to gather together the most nurturing animals who stayed with her. Once the various chipmunks, birds, raccoons, dogs, and bears stood in front of her, she instructed them in exact detail how to care for the patient. A very impatient Rainbow Dash hovered in the air the whole time, forelegs crossed, but she said nothing. Once the task was complete, Fluttershy waved goodbye as she flew out of the window and toward town.

The moon loomed directly over the peak of the mountain of Canterlot, illuminating the entire city in soft silver light. All was still and calm on the nearly deserted streets; the residents now knew an army of griffons was gathering for war. Not even the Elements of Harmony could stop it, and the populace was still ambivalent about their new Queen and her army, despite their success in freeing Equestrian slaves from the Diamond Dogs. No one had seen Celestia in weeks, though they were at least relieved that Twilight Sparkle and her friends had managed to escape. Uncertainty was the dominant force in popular opinion.

One solitary figure disturbed the peaceful streets, a tall pony in a billowing cloak who dashed along the cobblestones. She occasionally glanced back and quickened her pace, despite there being no visible sign of pursuit. Even so, she ducked into alleyways and shortcuts frequently, and, whenever out of sight, used her bright sunlit magic to teleport short, random distances away.

Princess Celestia steadily made her way toward the castle in this manner, but not toward the keep. Her destination was the courtyard gardens.

“Maybe we should stay out of this completely,” Fluttershy suggested from her corner of the library. “It’s all so—not nice.”

“It ain’t nice either that I got soldiers crawlin’ all over mah farm,” Applejack said, slamming her hoof down on the table. Fluttershy flinched. “Oh, sorry darlin’. It just gets my goat that nopony even asked. They plopped down a bag o’ bits in front of us and said they were gonna stay in the fields for a couple days, and somehow that was that.”

“Surely it’s fair that they paid you, at least?” said Rarity as she gently patted Applejack’s hoof with her own.

“That ain’t the point,” she muttered. Her eyes dropped down to the table. “We leave town for a couple weeks and suddenly everything is up the creek without a paddle!”

Twilight Sparkle looked slowly around at each of her five closest friends. They had barely returned from their mission to Griffrance, and already they had to deal with another crisis. They sat around the main table of the Golden Oaks Library, their faces underlit by a single candle in the center. Judging from how much the candle had burnt down, they had been discussing the arrival of the vanguard of Princess—Queen?—Luna’s army for over an hour, but they were no closer to any kind of agreement. Mayor Mare had been heard arguing with the commanders of the advance battalion all day, but she had as yet made no announcement to Ponyville, so Twilight decided that the six of them needed to take some action on their own. What that action should be was a different matter.

Rainbow Dash and, to a lesser extent, Applejack, were advocating kicking the army out entirely. Rarity and Fluttershy said that they should just go along with what the soldiers said, welcoming them the same way they would welcome a visit by the Royal Guard. Pinkie Pie more or less agreed with the latter two, proposing throwing a big welcome party for them. The key problem, from Twilight’s perspective, was that they simply did not have enough information. Why were they here? They would not need to pass through Ponyville if they were heading toward Griffrance. Was Luna coming to Ponyville soon? Where was Princess Celestia?

“I think we should just ask them what their intentions are,” Twilight said, slightly louder than the others were speaking, though still somewhat hushed. “It doesn’t seem like they’re here to hurt us.”

“Yeah, that’s totally naive,” Rainbow Dash said as she rolled her eyes. “They might not have done anything super bad yet, but they’re definitely up to no good.” She started flying in place above her seat, crossing her forelegs over her chest.

“How can you say that, Dashie?” Pinkie Pie asked, her jaw dropping. “Some of them are good friends of mine!”

Rainbow Dash managed to roll her eyes even harder. “Everypony is a ‘good friend’ of yours, Pinkie. That doesn’t mean anything. Besides, these ponies have been fighting a war. How do you know they’re the same ponies you knew? Daring Do was never the same after her first battle.”

“They’re still good ponies,” Pinkie replied, but with slightly less bubble in her voice.

Dash simply shook her head.

Celestia moved somewhat more slowly through the Canterlot gardens. She needed to catch her breath, but she also felt less need to check behind herself as frequently here at this place, the seat of her power for so long. Now, she mostly stared down at her hooves as she dragged them across the cobblestones. Her brow was furrowed, and her ears stood straight up.

Her pace slowed down, then gradually came to a stop when she felt she had reached her destination. The dark presence of the statue of Discord was unmistakable.

Celestia raised her head up, causing the hood of her cloak to drop back, revealing her drawn, pale, deeply lined face. There was another difference as well—no crown rested atop her head anymore. She narrowed her eyes at the imprisoned draconequus, deepening the lines on her face even further. Her horn began to glow as the Princess summoned every last bit of magical strength that remained in her. As the glow spread around both her body and Discord’s, she removed her cloak and threw it over him, obscuring the statue completely. The glow reached the brightness of a star, and as the otherworldly pursuers that her enemies had summoned from the darkness howled in the distance, both Celestia and Discord vanished.

Twilight Sparkle sighed as Pinkie Pie’s and Rainbow Dash’s argument about the soldiers spread to the others around the table. Except for Fluttershy, who retreated further and further behind her mane. It had gotten to the point where Spike was lazily throwing pillows at them as he tried to sleep upstairs. He missed entirely, but it succeeded in drawing Twilight’s attention.

“Listen everypony!” she said for the third time. She disappeared in a burst of teleportation magic and appeared standing on the table, surprising the others enough to get them to stop talking. “Maybe Luna didn’t get our letters for some reason. We need to let her know that Zecora is safe. Once she hears that, I’m sure she’ll stop doing—whatever it is she’s doing. You can come with me, or you can stay here, but I’m going to go talk to the commanders right now!”

Twilight jumped off the table and began taking long strides toward the door, trying not to look back to see who was moving to follow her yet. Several of them had started to when the dimly lit room suddenly filled with sunlight, along with the cries of a startled Spike. The entire group turned their eyes to the second floor, where the dragon was staring dumbfounded at the sudden appearance of Princess Celestia and a tall, narrow object draped in cloth.

The light burned for less than a second, but its intensity made it impossible to look directly at Princess Celestia’s face, where her eyes burned brightest of all. Then the light disappeared as quickly as it came, draining from Celestia’s body like blood from a gaping wound. Only the single candle remained as Celestia slumped to the floor and sighed raggedly. Twilight Sparkle immediately dashed up to help her mentor. The other ponies followed after a few seconds of silence, but Celestia was already supporting herself with one leg on Twilight’s shoulders by the time they arrived.

“Thank you, Twilight,” Celestia said, the edge of her lip curling up into a tiny smile. “I’m glad to see you.”

“What happened to you, Princess?” Twilight said as she struggled to hold Celestia up. The Princess was severely weaker and skinnier than the last time they had seen each other, but she was still over twice Twilight’s size.

“I’ll get to that in a moment,” Celestia replied as the smile disappeared from her face. “First, have any of you been hurt?” Her deep purple eyes met each pony’s, and the dragon’s, eyes in turn. Only Twilight managed to hold the gaze for longer than a fraction of a second.

“No, of course not,” Twilight replied, to an array of confirmations from the others. “You’re the one we should be worried about! Please, sit down on the bed here.” Twilight started trying to lead Celestia toward the bed, but Celestia did not budge.

“Thank you, but I’m fine,” the Princess said. “It is Equestria that is in danger. Luna has taken over everything and I—I wasn’t able to stop her. I only barely escaped with my life, thanks to some timely aid.”

“Taken over everything?” Twilight asked. “What do you mean?”

Celestia closed her eyes. “The sun, the moon, the stars. The army, the very hearts of so many ponies.” Her voice cracked for a second before she could swallow and bring it under control. “And she’s using them to start a war she can’t win.”

“Good thing you came to us then!” Rainbow dash did a quick loop in the air and struck a pose. “We’ll just zap her with the Elements of Harmony and everything will be back to normal.”

“I’m afraid it isn’t that simple, Rainbow Dash,” Celestia said as she slowly shook her head. “That may work on some of her new allies, but all of this is truly Luna’s choice, and the choice of those who follow her. The Elements won’t have any effect on her.”

“They did last time,” Applejack said. “What’s so different about this time?”

“That was peeling away the stain of thousands of years of darkness and hatred. Now, all of that is gone, and she—she is still making the same choices.” Tears appeared around Celestia’s closed eyelids. “This is who she truly is, who she truly was all along! I was simply too blinded by love to see it.”

“Love isn’t blinding, Princess,” Fluttershy put in quietly but firmly as a couple tears came to her own eyes at the sight of Celestia’s.

“That may be, Fluttershy,” said Celestia, gracing her with a strained yet tender smile, “but either way, I see the situation clearly now. It was hard not to, when she had me imprisoned and threatened my subjects if I did not relinquish my crown. She fought and tried to kill me. My own sister tried to take my life, Fluttershy.”

Fluttershy stammered and took a couple steps back. “But—but she must have had a good reason. Or maybe she was tricked. Maybe it was a changeling. I don’t know. She’s scary sometimes, but she wouldn’t do something like that.” A pause. “Right?”

Silence fell for a few moments amid awkward looks and averted eyes.

“Well, we may not be able to use the Elements,” Rainbow Dash finally said, “but we can still fight! Where is she?”

“Against Luna alone, fighting may have worked.” Celestia shook her head. “But her army has been brainwashed to support her to their death, and she is backed by three ancient, powerful unicorns. I utterly failed to defeat them on my own, but I witnessed their strength myself. They are so powerful that fighting them together would only get all of you killed.”

“Then what do we do?” Rarity groaned, throwing her hooves up.

“I do have a plan, Rarity,” Celestia said evenly. “It does involve the Elements of Harmony, and thus I must ask you all for your assistance once again. We may not be able to defeat Luna from the lofty position she holds now, but there is one being who can.”

Very little of her magic had recovered from the teleportation spell, so Celestia used her hooves to remove the cloak from the statue of Discord. Celestia ignored the line of bewildered faces and continued speaking.

“I know Discord cannot be trusted, but we don’t need to trust him. We only need to explain that if he does not help us, then he will be turned back into stone. I assume you’ve cast that spell I mentioned that will prevent him from hiding the Elements again, right, Twilight?" Twilight nodded. "Then I believe his desire for freedom will outweigh his pride in this case. It is a desperate plan, but Equestria’s fate hangs in the balance.”

“Have you forgotten what happened last time he was free?” Twilight asked, mouth still agape.

“Yeah, it was amazing!” Pinkie Pie said, beginning to vibrate slightly. “So delicious.” Then, against the combined glares of everyone else, “I mean, bad too, but also delicious. Things can be both!”

“I have not forgotten.” Celestia’s voice was distant, colder for a brief instant. “Which is exactly how I know that Luna and her army will not be able to stand against his power. Once he has taken care of them, we can simply seal him away again. It is not without risks, but risks are preferable to the certain suffering of war.”

“But what will we do if we get rid of Luna’s army and the griffons attack?” Twilight asked. “The Duchess told me that they only want to conquer us.”

“They are only responding in kind to a neighboring nation raising armed forces,” Celestia explained calmly. “If those forces are disbanded, then we can negotiate. Please, trust me, everypony. I have been ruling this land for a long time. I have known this Duchess and her entire family line since they were eggs.”

“I trust you, Princess,” Twilight said, completely without hesitation. Once Twilight said so, the others readily agreed.

“Well, assuming Discord is the best solution here,” Twilight continued, “I really don’t know how we’d convince him to do this.” Twilight chewed on her lip for a moment, then her eyes suddenly widened. “Unless we use a Reform spell! He is a spirit, isn’t he? So the right spell, with enough power behind it, could make him good. If he’s good, then he’ll want to help us!”

“There—there are spells that can do that?” Applejack said, one eyebrow raised high. “Just turn somepony evil, good? That don’t seem right.”

“No, not somepony,” Twilight said as she began scanning her bookshelves for the right magic book. “It only works on spirits. And how can making a spirit be good not be right? Especially one as dangerous as Discord? I think—I think this might actually work.”

“That does sound a bit—beyond the pale, even for unicorn magic,” Rarity said with a slight frown.

“Better to just keep him in stone,” Rainbow Dash said, “but if we gotta release him for this, then this Reform spell thing sounds like the way to go. If you go around hurting ponies as much as Discord has, you don’t get to decide to keep being bad.”

“All the wonderful things of having Discord around, with none of the terrible things?” Pinkie Pie drooled. “Where do I sign?”

Twilight found the book she was searching for, a heavy grey-covered tome bound with thick, sturdy string. She let out a barely contained squeal, then flipped through the stiff pages of parchment to find the right spell. Twilight began reading through it a couple of times as everyone else gathered around her.

“Whatever you ladies decide,” Spike said as he crawled into his bed and covered himself back up with his blanket, “I’ll be here. Hiding—provhiding—providing moral support.”

“Alright, once we—”

"No!"

They all turned to stare at Fluttershy, the source of the sudden shout.

“Never,” she continued, unblinking. “I will never, ever be part of something so evil, and I can’t believe you girls are even considering it!”

Tears streaming down her face, Fluttershy turned and ran completely out of the library, vanishing into the darkness of the night. They all called after her, but she did not reply, or even slow down.

Celestia gave Twilight an even, controlled look. “Go speak to her, Twilight. We can’t do this without her, but more importantly, we’ll all be in danger if Luna’s army finds out I’m here.”

Twilight nodded, then raced after her friend. It did not take long to catch up, especially since Fluttershy had stopped only a little farther down the street, next to the town’s fountain, standing stock-still as she stared at the water inside. As Twilight approached, she saw in the reflection cast on the water that Fluttershy’s face was twitching slightly.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight said as she slowly walked a couple steps closer, “I know this is a lot to take in at once. My mind is still reeling. But please, can we talk about this?”

Fluttershy’s only response was to dip one hoof in the water and slowly stir it, fracturing and distorting her reflection in the fountain.

“I’m scared too, believe me.” Twilight came up next to her friend and draped one foreleg over her shoulders. “But just like anything else we’ve done, we can do this if we stick together.”

“You don’t understand.” The voice was barely above a whisper.

“Huh?”

Fluttershy swallowed as her expression slowly turned into a scowl. “You don’t understand. The rest of you, Discord tempted and tricked into going against who you were. Not me. When I refused, he made me turn bad. He used his magic to completely violate my mind, and it was the most awful thing that has ever happened to me. I can’t do that to somepony else! Not even Discord himself.”

Her voice had been becoming more and more broken as she spoke, but now, a full torrent of tears fell from her eyes and splashed into the dark, cool water of Ponyville’s fountain.

Twilight was stunned into silence for several minutes, only having the presence of mind to hug Fluttershy closer to her. The sound of her friend’s gasping, pained sobs made Twilight’s eyes well up too, and soon they were both crying into the coat of the other as they held each other close.

“I never knew,” Twilight said, gently stroking her hoof through Fluttershy’s mane. “I’m so sorry.”

“It-it’s not your fault.” Fluttershy swallowed hard to keep her voice from cracking again. “I never told you.”

“Listen, we can think of something else,” said Twilight. “I won’t use the spell, okay?”

“But I don’t want anypony to be hurt because of me,” Fluttershy said. “They shouldn’t have to suffer because I’m weak and pathetic.”

“Hey.” Twilight frowned as she took Fluttershy’s face in her hooves and looked into her eyes. “Don’t ever say that. You’re not weak. It takes a lot of guts to stand up for something like you just did.”

“But I…” Fluttershy was interrupted by a commotion coming from farther down the street. The door to the Mayor’s House had opened, and two silhouettes appeared in the light coming from inside.

“For the last time,” a cool, clipped female voice said, echoing down the street. “This is not a discussion, Bru. If you won’t make the announcement, then we will. We’d prefer to do things with your cooperation, but we don’t have to. Simple as that.”

Twilight and Fluttershy heard Mayor Mare respond, louder than the other pony. “Gumball—sorry, Captain Gumball, I don’t know what happened to you out there, but you’re not the pony I knew. She never would have simply gone along with a coup.”

“‘What happened to me’?” Captain Gumball repeated, shaking her head. “Well, isn’t that just the icing on the cake. The instant I do something you don’t like, suddenly I’m a broken, messed up stranger. Fine, Bru. Stay on your high pegasus, same as always.” She turned her head to look at several more figures inside the building. “Soldiers, take Miss Mare to the farm. I’m assuming command of this settlement until the current crisis is resolved.”

The now-former Mayor Mare’s shouts of protest were cut short by a gag being tied into her mouth. As the Mayor struggled against her captors, Captain Gumball silently walked away from the house. Fluttershy and Twilight realized with a start that she was coming straight toward the fountain, her hard eyes scanning the homes along the way from beneath her gleaming, decorated helmet. The Captain did not seem to have noticed the two yet, but nonetheless they both bolted back to the library.

They returned to tense silence, broken only by the clattering of dishes as Rarity cleaned up after preparing tea for everyone. The group inside the library stared at the panicked looks on the faces of Twilight and Fluttershy.

Celestia, still standing despite the clear strain in her legs, finally spoke up. “What happened, Twilight?”

“Somepony from the army just had Mayor Mare kidnapped.” Twilight replied. “She said she was ‘assuming command’ of Ponyville.”

“Then things are more dire than I thought.” Celestia began walking slowly down the steps to the first floor. She forced her legs not to wobble along the way. “Fluttershy.” Celestia’s gaze was firm as she stood before her. “Are you truly not going to use your Element?”

Fluttershy flinched, but only slightly, at Celestia’s tone. “I’m sorry, Princess, but I don’t think I can.”

Twilight instantly recognized the subtle look on Celestia’s face—it was the exact same look she had when Twilight nearly sparked a riot with the Want-It Need-It spell.

“And why—” Celestia began.

“Fluttershy,” Twilight cut in quickly, “what if we use the Elements to free Discord, but don’t use the Reform spell? Could we do it then?”

“Letting Discord loose without using the Reform spell?” Rainbow Dash said. “Are you crazy?”

“I don’t know,” Fluttershy said, stare locked firmly on the floor. “That still seems really dangerous.”

Celestia turned away from the rest of the ponies, walking to the window to stare out at the dark sky. Her eyes were locked on the moon.

“Holding the threat of being turned to stone again over him would still be effective,” she said. “It is not ideal, but it’s a better plan than doing nothing, especially if the army is already seizing Ponyville. We are running out of time, my little ponies. You must do something quickly.”

Twilight looked back and forth between Fluttershy and Princess Celestia, biting her lip as her ears flattened. Everyone was silent as they thought over the implications, too focused on them to even argue.

“Here’s what we’re going to do,” Twilight finally said. “We’re going to go talk to Gumball. Including you, Princess, if you’ll come with us. We won’t let them capture you again, no matter what.”

“I will not,” Celestia pronounced, her head jerking back to glare at Twilight, “and neither should you. That is beyond foolish.”

Twilight clenched her throat to hold back a sob, then set her face hard. “Maybe it is, but we have to try. I’m sorry for letting you down.”

Without waiting for Celestia to respond, Twilight marched out of the library. Her friends stared at the Princess for a moment in stunned silence, then began to file out after her. Only Spike remained behind to see the tear fall down Celestia’s cheek.

“Captain Gumball! This is Twilight Sparkle and her friends. We would like to speak with you, please.” Her voice echoed through the deserted streets, starting from her position by the town’s fountain.

Gumball was down a side street, preparing to knock on one of the shop doors when she heard the call. Before she could even walk all the way to the fountain, armed pegasi had swooped out of the night sky and were forming a perimeter around the plaza. The six friends huddled together, facing outward so no one’s back was to the soldiers. Only Fluttershy was shaking, but a steady hoof on her shoulders from Applejack got her to stop.

“Twilight Sparkle,” Gumball said as she approached slowly. She took the time to wave one hoof at the soldiers to make sure they would not unholster their spears, though they had not yet made any move to do so. “I’m glad we found you. Hello to the rest of you too.”

“Hey Gumball,” Pinkie Pie said after swallowing the lump in her throat. “How have you been?”

“Pinkie!” Gumball smiled, stepping through the perimeter of pegasi so she could converse more directly. “I’ve been well enough. A depressing lack of cake on the march, but such is the life I’ve chosen. How about yourself?”

Pinkie chewed on a stray lock of her mane even while she was speaking, causing her words to get jumbled slightly. “Great! But, also a little weirded out. By, uh, all this.”

“I understand,” Gumball said. Her eyes moved from Pinkie Pie over to Ponyville’s fountain. “This is a weird situation. I assume that’s what you all wanted to talk to me about?”

“Yes,” Twilight said as she stepped out of the huddle to stand face to face with Gumball. Her eyes widened when she noticed that the guards subtly loosened the weapons on their flanks in response, but she kept moving forward regardless. “We’ve heard a lot of troubling things recently, and we need to know what’s going on. Did Princess Luna not get our letters?”

“The Queen did receive your letters, yes,” said Gumball. “She is very grateful to you for securing the foreign national, but she has been a bit too busy to reply personally. I don’t know the details, but something major has happened. Her Majesty has been very—very focused of late. That’s part of the reason she sent us here to secure Ponyville.”

“Secure it? Against what?” The Captain met Twilight’s gentle, almost pleading voice and stare bravely.

“Threats!” Gumball said. “I’m sure you know about the army the griffons are putting together. Nopony knows where Equestria’s other enemies might strike next, either. Doesn’t it make sense to make sure the Elements of Harmony are safe?”

“We’re just fine, thank you,” Rarity said from behind them. “Now, please be a dear and tell us why you’re really here.”

Gumball sighed. “This doesn’t have to be difficult, everypony. All I want is for you to come with me peacefully to a secure location. The Queen will keep you safe there.”

“Equestria doesn’t have a queen,” Rainbow Dash shouted as her wings began to unfold. “It has Princesses, and maybe only one now.”

“Come on, please! Equestria is at war. We can’t afford to lose you, now more than ever!” Gumball reached out to the circle of friends, but they just eyed her outstretched hoof warily. She sighed again, stamped her foot down, and closed her eyes. “Fine. If you won’t come, then give me the Elements. Those, we absolutely must keep from the enemy.”

Twilight looked toward her library, tears forming around her eyes. “I’m sorry, everypony,” she said. “I got us into this mess.” Then she looked at Fluttershy. “Will you use your Element now? Ponyville, maybe all of Equestria, is at stake.”

Fluttershy was on the verge of crying as well. “Okay,” she whispered.

As soon as a hint of magic appeared on Twilight Sparkle’s horn, the pegasus soldiers dashed in with the assistance of a boost from their wings to grab the other ponies. Simultaneously, Gumball leaped onto Twilight’s back and tried to tackle her to the ground. The others were all preparing to fight, hoof-to-hoof, but just before the pegasi could close the short distance, the group of friends disappeared in a flare of violet magic. Captain Gumball disappeared too, caught in the area of Twilight’s spell.

Moments later, Gumball was being pinned down by Rainbow Dash and Applejack on the floor of the Golden Oaks Library. Even for athletes like them, it was a struggle to keep the seasoned veteran down. Meanwhile, Twilight was casting a spell to summon the Elements of Harmony to them as Celestia looked on, haggard but not frowning.

The artifacts shimmered into existence on each pony just as Gumball noticed the statue on the second level. Her eyes went wide and she started to tremble; she had been in Ponyville the last time Discord was loose. Visions of that time had featured prominently in her deep-dream army training, so she was not completely paralyzed with fear, but she was still beginning to sweat.

“Wh-What are you doing?” Captain Gumball screamed. “Have you already been lost to the enemy?”

Twilight ignored her pleas, instead turning to Fluttershy as she started to gather the energy of the group’s love into her crown. “You’re really brave, Fluttershy. I’m proud of you.”

“As am I,” said Celestia, smiling gently as she watched the Elements being used.

Scintillating rainbows of energy radiated out of each of the six friends, enveloping the whole building in a vibrant glow. They were levitating in the air now, freeing Gumball, but at this point she could do nothing but stare slack-jawed at the scene. She could hear the shouts and hoofbeats of her troops converging on the location, but she already knew it would be too late. The bright swirls of color collected into a whirling pool of radiance around Twilight Sparkle’s crown, causing a loud, deep, bone-rattling sound to permeate through Ponyville. Then the pool shot out a ray of magic that blasted the statue of Discord apart, shattering it.

The air filled with the sweet smell of chocolate and the sound of cracking joints as Discord flexed his stiff limbs.

“Now, Twilight,” Celestia commanded before the dust had even settled.

“I’m sorry, Fluttershy,” Twilight said, eyes downcast. Then her horn lit up again, and she recited the rhyme of the Reform spell she had memorized.

“In silence be bound,

Your dark heart be still.

You will not make a sound,

And never again do ill.”

Discord’s exaggerated stretching and yawning was interrupted by a pained gagging sound. A tearful Fluttershy looked on, mouth hanging open. The draconequus recovered from his brief fit of gagging, which was soon replaced with harsh, cold laughter. Fluttershy took to her wings and fled out of the nearest window.

“I have to say,” Discord said, watching her go with a broad smile, “I didn’t think you had it in you, Twilight. Well done!” He began clapping his paw and claw together, and a chorus of conjured applause joined him.

“Did it not work?” Rarity asked as her horn lit up with magical energy, preparing to cast what limited defensive spells she knew.

Rainbow Dash finally shook herself out of her shock and took off after Fluttershy.

“Just let her go, Rainbow,” Discord said, but she was already out of earshot. “You all got what you wanted, in a manner of speaking. Yes, it did work. Though in the future, dear Miss Sparkle may want to check the fine print on her spells. I have to do what you want me to, which is quite annoying, but I certainly don’t have to be nice about it. That part I like.”

“Oh, great,” Applejack said, stomping a hoof on the wooden floor. “I told ya’ll this was a bad idea!”

“It is the best idea we have available,” Celestia said. She stepped forward slowly, then with great effort, drew herself up to her full height in front of Discord. “I assume you heard our conversation. As long as you stop Luna and her army without killing her, you are free. That sounds like a fair deal to me.”

“It would sound like that to you, wouldn’t it?” Discord rolled his eyes as he floated lazily into the air. He folded his arms behind his head and crossed his legs, as if relaxing on an invisible hammock. “But really, it only matters what Twilight wants, since she’s the one who cast the spell. Also because she’s just so precious. Well, Twilight? Is that what you want me to do?” He grinned at her.

Twilight closed her eyes and reflected. She breathed in and out slowly, while everyone else remained completely silent, including Discord.

“Yes,” she said at last, with careful control of her voice. “Please capture Luna, so she doesn’t endanger Equestria anymore.”

“Wonderful,” Discord exclaimed, disappearing in a flash, then reappearing kneeling in a suit of shining plate armor. “Your wish, my command, and all that rot. Don’t worry though, we will absolutely be discussing the delicious rift that you just created in your little group when I return. It’s going to be magical.”

Author's Notes:

Huge thanks to Stryke and RockstarRaccoon for helping me get this chapter together, finally.