Fireshade was just about to sit down to her evening meal, when a knock at the door announced the arrival of a guest at her apartment. The mare groaned, and stood just above her chair, waiting, hoping that whoever it was would go away. The knock came again, louder this time.

“Yeah, I’m coming!” she shouted at the door as she began to walk across her living quarters.

She approached the door, swinging it open with the soft orange glow of her magic. Standing in the hall, nervously fidgeting with his tail in his hands, was Spike. “Hey Fireshade, you haven’t seen Twilight, have you?”

“Uh... not since last night when I left the labs,” she answered with a smile. Her smile faltered after a moment when she noticed the concerned look on the dragon’s face. “What’s wrong, Spike?”

“I haven't seen her since yesterday, and I ran into Fleet earlier today, and he said that she left before he did last night, and everypony that I talked to today hasn't seen her since yesterday, either..." The dragon paused from his frantic rambling to take a breath, then continued, "So apparently, nopony knows where she is.”

“Oh... Well, just calm down and hold on. Let me put my dinner away and I’ll come help you find her," she said in a cheery tone, hoping that it might help placate Spike slightly. "Come on in.”

She turned away from the door and Spike entered, closing the door behind him. The first thing to strike him about Fireshade’s home was the size. It was dwarfed by the multi-room apartment that he shared with Twilight. This place was little more than a kitchen, dining room, bedroom, and living room all crammed together in a single space.

Fireshade busily picked up a plate, off of the dining table, that looked as though the food on it hadn’t been touched since it was placed there.

Spike spoke up when he noticed, “Hey, I can go by myself. I’m sorry I interrupted your—”

“Nonsense. She’s my friend too, and I want to help. I bet she went back to the lab after Fleet left.”

“Yeah, maybe... but I checked there, and it’s supposed to be her day off.”

The yellow mare smiled. “Maybe so, but when does that ever stop Twilight from working? Anyways, you could have easily missed her, it's a big castle. While you were wandering around, she may have been coming or going, too.”

“Heh—I suppose you’re right.”

After finishing up with putting her dinner away for later, Fireshade turned and started walking towards the door. “Let’s go. We’ll check the lab again first.”

The smell was the first thing Twilight was aware of; it reeked of vomit and sweat. She opened her eyes to find herself lying in a nearly dried pool of her own regurgitated stomach contents. Her head was pounding as she slowly made her way back to her hooves.

The unicorn came to a standing position in front of the medical cabinet and began to examine her surroundings. A small puddle of blood intermingled with the vomit on the floor—she lifted a hoof to the source of her headache and felt the sting of a severe contusion on her forehead. The contents of the cabinet were strewn on the floor around her; bandages, two empty metal containers, various syringes, bottles and ointment tubes.

And one used syringe... Twilight leaned down to look closer at the empty plastic tube, the blood rushing to her head, making the pain almost unbearable. She rolled the syringe over with her front hoof and saw the label.

Epinephrine...

The memories of the events leading up to her unconscious state flooded into her mind. The way everything had been moving, the colors, the sounds, and the near-paralyzing fear of death. She quickly ran to the workbench and attempted to take her journal in her magic. Her horn glowed for a split second before a searing pain made its way from the front of her skull, all the way down the length of her spine. Twilight moved a few steps to the left, pulled the journal down by hoof, and grabbed a quill in her mouth.

Year 8 of the 2nd Diarchy, Day ?? of the Southward Equinox
Personal Journal, entry 6

I’m not sure what day this is. I don’t know how long I was unconscious. According to the clock, it’s about 7 o’clock in the evening, but that’s really not important right now. I need to get this on paper as fast as I can. The memories of last night's experience are already fading quickly.

My subconscious voice tried to stop me. My subconscious voice saved my life. Our life. It knew what would happen, but I didn’t listen. I was so intent on being rid of it, that I was willing to risk anything to make that happen. My inner voice told me that the ability to hear it is a blessing, not a curse. I’m now beginning to believe that to be true.

I haven’t heard it since I woke up, so maybe the chemical compound I subjected myself to actually worked. I hope now, that that is not the case. Although, I have only been awake for several minutes and can’t be sure. If it was successful at stopping the voice, it would most likely require continued, smaller and more carefully administered, doses to maintain the effect. If I discontinue giving myself the compound, I believe the voice will likely return.

I suppose I’ll just have to wait and see. After this experience, I kind of hope it does come back.

After administering the chemical orally, it took several minutes to take effect, but once it did, the hallucinations and disorientation I experienced came on very fast and very intense. My inner-voice is the only thing that saved me. Without the open line of communication between myself and my subconscious, I believe that I would have been, consciously, unaware of what was happening to me, and likely would have died here in the Canterlot Dungeon as a result of my carelessness.

Everything hurts. Every muscle aches, there is internal pain in my sides—likely minor damage done to my kidneys as they cleared the toxin from my body. My magic doesn’t seem to be functioning properly. The slightest magical exertion is extremely painful, and I certainly hope that my ability to use magic is not permanently affected.

I need to get back to my quarters to clean off. I smell awful and the fur on my left side, from my midsection to my face, is matted with vomit and blood. I don’t know how I’m going to get back without drawing any attention. I may have to wait until later when there will be fewer ponies wandering about the castle.

I’m truly lucky to have survived. I made a mistake. I went against my subconscious. No, I went against myself, and it nearly cost me my life. Perhaps it was right, I need to listen to it.

Considering what I’ve found about the rest of the censored journals, I now believe that research concerning GL-7658a was likely not discontinued. This drug may be more useful in a militaristic capacity, beyond what it was originally designed for. Further testing will be necessary, but not on myself. I will require a test subject.

Twilight set the quill down on the benchtop and looked to the clock: 7:21 pm. She would have to wait at least five hours before she tried to get back to her apartment, unless, by some miracle, her magic would become usable and she could teleport before then.

Maybe I could go sooner if I make three or four shorter jumps.

Observing the mess she had made of her small lab, she decided to work through the pain and start cleaning up while she waited. She was able to place several filled syringes back to their place in one of the white metal boxes before she succumbed to the stabbing pain in her side and gave up on tidying the space.

Twilight walked to a nearby cell where she kept her contraband books and had a small cot set up. She settled herself on the makeshift bed, placed her head on her forelegs, and closed her eyes to rest while she waited to leave.

“I just don’t get it... where could she have gotten to?” Fireshade asked rhetorically.

“We’ve looked everywhere that I can think of in the castle... Should we make a report to the Royal Guard?” asked Spike, his voice wavering with worry for his friend.

“Nah, it’s almost eleven, I bet she’s back by now. We’ll head back to your place and see if she showed up while we were gone. If she’s not there by the time we get there, we’ll go report her missing.”

Spike and Fireshade walked back to the castle suite; with the dragon leading at a brisk pace, anxious to locate Twilight. They approached the door leading into the residence of the Grand Magus-in-training. Spike threw the door open and entered, nearly at a full run.

“Twilight!?” the dragon called out.

There was no response. Fireshade slowly walked into the main room of the apartment, glancing around while Spike began running from room to room, searching the entire place for any signs that the lavender unicorn had been there during his absence.

Watching the floor in front of his feet, Spike came out of his own room last and sighed. “It doesn’t look like anypony’s been here since I left…” He looked at the unicorn, who had been waiting for him to finish his search. “I’m worried about her, Fire.”

“I’m sure she’s fine. Let’s go to the guard house and see if they know anything.”

“Yeah, that’s a good idea. I’m sure they’ll be able to find her,” the dragon replied, his voice saturated with uncertainty.

Just as Spike reached for the handle of the front door, a loud pop sounded off, accompanied by a flash of light. Him and Fireshade both spun around to see what had teleported into the room. Fireshade stopped and stared with her jaw hanging towards the floor.

“Twilight!” exclaimed Spike as he began to run towards the unicorn. He made it three steps before noticing what Fireshade had already seen. The dragon also stopped and stared, wide eyed, at what he saw before him.

Twilight stared back, unsure of what to do, her face covered with dried blood and a look of absolute shock. For nearly a minute, the trio stood looking, unblinking, at each other in silence.

Fireshade attempted to break the stalemate. “Twi, what the fu—”

The yellow unicorn quickly closed her eyes, as she was cut off by another pop and bright flash. When her eyes opened again, Twilight was gone and the sound of a door slamming shut echoed through the apartment.

“Where’d she go!?” Fireshade yelled out.

Spike continued to stare at the place where his friend had been standing only a moment ago. “She’s hurt… What happened?” he whispered to himself.

“Damn it. Come on, Spike, I think she’s in the bathroom.”

Fireshade approached the bathroom door, with Spike following closely behind. She reached up with a hoof to knock on the door, but stopped short. Something could be heard through the door: sobbing. Twilight was by herself, crying in the washroom.

“Twilight?” asked Fireshade in a soft tone.

“G-Go away,” Twilight’s voice said from the bathroom, muffled by the door.

“Hey, we’re just worried about you. What happened?”

“Nothing! Just go away.”

Spike stepped beside Fireshade and spoke at the door. “Twilight, you looked like you were hurt… Did—did somepony hurt you?”

“No… I-I hurt myself. You weren’t supposed to see me… please, just leave me alone.”

Fireshade can help us.

You’re back! Twilight smiled slightly as tears continued to trickle down her face.

You can’t be rid of your subconscious without ending yourself.

“I want to talk to Fireshade… alone,” the lavender unicorn said through the door.

“But Twilight, I want to know what’s going on!” Spike protested.

"Uh… mare stuff. I’m opening the door, and I want Fireshade to come in.”

Fireshade looked to Spike and motioned her head, signaling for him to back away from the door. The dragon held his hands out to his sides and shook his head, with a pleading look in his eyes. The unicorn glared at him and motioned again for him to go. This time he relented, throwing his hands up and walking away.

She turned back to the door. “Alright, Twilight, I’m ready.”

The door slowly opened, but Fireshade didn’t immediately see anypony as she walked through the entry. As soon as the yellow unicorn was clear of the door, it slammed loudly behind her, causing her to jump slightly. She turned around to see Twilight, leaned up against the door, in as just a horrifying condition as when Fireshade had seen her several minutes prior.

“Oh, Twilight… what happened to you?” the yellow mare breathed.

“I—uh… I had an accident. But it’s okay! I’m okay...” The disheveled unicorn glanced towards the floor. “I... I think I’m okay.” She looked back up to Fireshade and continued speaking, “I need to ask you something, though.”

“First, you tell me what happened. Then, you can ask me whatever you want.”

Twilight hesitated to answer. She knew that if Fireshade was going to help, the assistant head mage would need to know everything, but it was a huge risk to allow anypony knowledge of the things she had discovered. If her friend, that was entrusted with the information, were to go to Arcana with it, Twilight’s life would be over. Thoughts of executions and trials for high treason danced through her head before she made her decision.

“I’ve discovered things that could change Equestria forever, possibly the world. Princess Celestia is hiding knowledge that could possibly undermine the entire foundation of her rule. I found a book that I believe details the secrets of how the Royal Pony Sisters came about and how they are able to harness such vast power. If I’m right, they may be no more goddesses than you or I.”

Fireshade’s eyes grew wide as she listened. “Woah. Stop right there. You do realize what you just told me could get you killed if certain groups found out you’re talking like this. Have you lost your mind? This is heretical, not to mention no pony would ever believe you.”

“Hear me out. Have you ever wondered about the censored documents in the abandoned research section of the Section 5 library?”

“I guess, but Arcana told me that they’re dangerous and not to worry about it. So I don’t worry about it.”

“Of course they’re dangerous. Every one of them deals with weapons research, and I don’t think Section 5 is the only clandestine research operation in the Equestrian Government.”

Fireshade arched an eyebrow and now seemed much more interested in what Twilight had to say. “I… I guess I never really looked at them that closely. But that still doesn’t explain all this!” she said while waving a hoof up and down at Twilight.

“Oh, right. I tested a chemical compound from one of the censored research papers on myself.” Twilight looked to the side. “It, uh… It didn’t go quite as planned. I think the dosage was too high.”

The yellow unicorn began to slowly shake her head side-to-side, as she loudly voiced her concern, “You did what? Didn’t you just tell me that all that research has to do with weaponry? It could’ve been a neurotoxin or some sort of chemical weap—” Fireshade’s lecture was cut-off by a purple hoof pressed firmly against her mouth.

“Shhh—he might hear.” Twilight nodded towards the door, indicating that Spike should not be allowed to hear what they were saying. “It’s not like that, I read the document. Well, as much of it as I could. It was supposed to be an antipsychotic drug, but apparently it was better suited for some other use. I think they may be using it as an interrogation drug, or maybe as a way to control ponies.”

“Okay, but what about this thing about the Princesses? That’s pretty far-fetched...” Fireshade paused to glance around, like she was expecting someone to be listening. “Not to mention dangerous.”

“I know it’s dangerous, but you understand just as well as I do the disparate nature of what we do versus the technological capabilities of everything outside of this place. Celestia is impeding the progress of the entire world... i-it... it’s...” Twilight’s speech trailed off as she realized what she was saying. To go against the Princess in this manner was more than heretical or treasonous; it was personally betraying to her mentor. Betraying to a friendship that she has held longer than any other. Betraying to herself and her own firmly held beliefs.

It’s true. It’s all true.

Of course it’s true... that doesn’t make it easy, though.

Sometimes difficult decisions and personal sacrifices must be made to serve the greater good.

Serve the greater good... I’m doing this for everypony. Nopony else will do it, so I have to, or it will never change.

Now tell her what we think. She will help, she just needs a small push in the right direction.

“It’s almost tyrannical,” whispered the distraught unicorn.

Fireshade shifted uncomfortably on her hooves. “Well... if she is suppressing the general population for her own gain, I guess it would be. But why would she do that? The ponies love her. Besides, there’s a civilian government, too. The only time she directly involves herself with the governance of Equestria is when it’s absolutely necessary.”

“We don’t even know when the civilian government was established, or under what circumstances. For all we know, it’s nothing more than a puppet government there to placate the general population.” Twilight spoke forcefully now, trying to convince Fireshade that something was very wrong with the way things were.

She continued to attempt chiseling away at everything the pyromancer had been taught her entire life. “Think about how long her and Luna have been in power. A couple thousand years? Give or take a few centuries. How did they come to be in that position? They certainly don’t teach that in history class. For that matter, how did they come to be?”

“Probably the same way Princess Cadence came to be... that’s no big mystery,” Fireshade said flatly.

“No, an alicorn being born is no mystery, but Cadence isn’t the same as them. She can’t move celestial bodies, and as far as I can tell, she ages just like any other pony.”

Fireshade had no real answer for this, and replied with the base knowledge that had been bestowed upon her since she was a foal. “But... they’re goddesses,” she mumbled, looking down to the floor.

It’s working. Keep going, she will help us.

“Would a goddess keep you locked away because she’s afraid of you?” Twilight asked in a soothing voice.

Tears began to form in the corners of the yellow unicorn’s eyes while Twilight silently waited for a response. Several minutes passed, as Fireshade stared towards her hooves and cried without making a sound.

Suddenly, she looked up towards Twilight, and through heavy sobs began speaking very fast. “Th-they took me. They took me from everything I knew and they kept me away from everypony. They haven’t allowed me to leave the castle grounds since I was brought here, and they wouldn’t let me leave the school the entire time I was there...” Fireshade sniffed hard, and continued, slower and quieter now, “What kind of benevolent goddess does that to a pony?”

She’s ours now.

“Truthfully, after learning what you’ve been put through, I’m surprised that she didn’t decide to deal with me in the same manner,” Twilight said, trying to console the crying mare in front of her. “Maybe she already knew, all that time ago, that I was destined to be the Element of Magic... Regardless, she’s hiding things from everypony, Fireshade, and I think I’ve found the key to unlocking the secrets that she’s keeping.” The lavender mare took a step closer. “But I need your help to retrieve that key.”

“What can I do? I’m just good at burning things,” Fireshade said while tracing a circle on the floor with a hoof.

“We need to get into one of the archive vaults.”

“Well, you should be able to that easy enough, you are only one of the most powerful unicorns ever.”

“Vault Four.”

“Oh... that one.” Fireshade looked finally looked away from the floor, towards Twilight and furrowed her brow. “I-I don’t think I would be able to help with that. I mean, I might be able to pull the guards away for a minute, but I wouldn’t have a clue about how to break the barrier.”

“Breaking the barrier isn’t the problem... we need to get through without breaking it,” Twilight corrected.

“Yeah, definitely can’t help with that.”

“That’s okay, I still need your help with other... things.”

A moment passed while the two mares looked at each other in silence.

“I want to see it...” Fireshade whispered.

“See what?”

“The book you mentioned... and the place where you did this to yourself,” the yellow mare once again gestured a hoof up and down Twilight as she spoke.

“I’ll show you everything... tomorrow. It’s late, and I still need to get clea—”

A loud knocking at the door interrupted the conversation, and a voice could be heard calling from the other side. “Hey! What’s going on in there?”

Twilight turned her head toward the door and shouted, “Hold on, Spike. Fireshade is coming out now.” Turning back to Fireshade, the lavender unicorn spoke in a hushed tone, “Not a word to Spike. He can’t know about this, yet... Not until I can be sure of how he’ll react.”

Fireshade nodded in response, and walked around Twilight to open the door and leave the bathroom.

As soon as she was out of the room, Spike quickly advanced on her. “Well, what happened?”

“She just had a bit of an accident and cut her head. Everything's fine, though. She’s just going to get cleaned up and go to bed.”

“You two sure were in there a long time for everything being fine.”

Fireshade thought fast about what she could say to stop Spike’s line of questioning. “It’s—uh... it’s mare stuff. Just like she said before... you wouldn’t understand.”

“Well, where was she all this time, though?” the dragon demanded.

The unicorn slowly rolled her eyes. “Oh, you know... she was at the labs, she went to eat, she, uh... fell down some stairs?”

Spike squinted and looked at Fireshade with suspicion. “Uh-huh... Well, I’m going to sleep. Are you staying?”

“Yeah, I’ll probably stay until Twilight gets to bed.”

“Whatever... Goodnight.” Spike turned and walked towards his room.

Fireshade sat at the large table in the middle of the room to wait for Twilight to finish tidying herself. She began to tap out a beat with her hooves on the tabletop, and then crossed her forelegs and laid her head down. It was late, and searching the castle for her friend had been exhausting. Then, there was the mental exhaustion from being informed that many things that she once knew to be true, with no uncertainty, were nothing more than intricate lies.

It wasn’t long before Fireshade’s eyelids grew heavy and closed, sending her into a deep slumber.

The statues and topiaries of the Royal Gardens were bathed in dim, soft moonlight. The gardens were eerily quiet at this hour. Everything was still, with the exception of a lone pony-shaped figure moving quickly along one of the gravel paths towards a small group of statues.

As the pony approached the stone effigy of a particular grotesque creature, she heard a voice in her head as clear as though the creature speaking was standing next to her.

“Well well well... if it isn’t my favorite Element of Harmony, Twilight Sparkle... or is it Mage Sparkle, now? Wait, you haven’t been promoted to Grand Magus yet, have you? …Meh— whatever, it really makes no difference. To what do I owe this pleasure?”

“Cut it, Discord. This isn’t a social visit,” the unicorn retorted, using a very basic telepathy spell.

“Oh? Well, that is rather disappointing. You know, Celestia visits once in awhile, but I’m pretty sure she’s just checking up on me to make sure I’m not being naughty.”

“Well, she would have good reason to check up on you,” Twilight deadpanned.

“Not just me, though,” said Discord through a small chuckle. “What exactly are you doing out here in the dead of night, my dear, Miss Sparkle?”

“I-I need help,” the unicorn whispered through her mind.

“Help? The great Twilight Sparkle, hero of Equestria and the most powerful unicorn on the face of the planet, needs help? And from me, no less? Now, what in the world could you possibly need my help for?” he asked tauntingly.

“I need to know how you stole the Elements.”

His voice suddenly became very serious. “Oh? Well now, we are treading on dangerous ground, aren’t we?”

“Save me the patronization, I know what I’m doing,” Twilight stated equally as serious.

“Do you? What would you possibly want with the Elements of Harmony? They’re nothing more than worthless stones without all the wielders.”

"I don’t want them. I need access to an archive vault that uses the same type of barrier.”

“Oh, Vault Four... I should have known that! You always did have an insatiable thirst for knowledge.” Discord was now laughing at full force.

“So can you help me or not?”

The laughter stopped as fast as it had started. “Well, I suppose that depends on you. What do I get out of it? Other than the joy of knowing that I helped out one of my very favorite ponies.”

Twilight hesitated before answering.

Go on, we need his help.

“I’ll... I-I’ll free you,” she choked the words out.

“Oh, really? You don’t sound so sure of that.”

“Doesn’t matter, I need what’s in that safe, and you’re the only one that I know of that can get past that type of barrier.”

“Well, I’ll tell you right now, defeating that barrier is not something that I can teach you bu—”

“What do you mean you can’t teach me!? Stop messing with me, Discord!” Twilight yelled through the telepathic link.

“Now, settle down... This isn’t just knocking down a foal’s personal protective barrier. This barrier was built by Celestia herself. Now, if you would allow me to finish. I can’t teach you how, but I can open it for you, and you can pull out whatever you like with a teleportation spell.”

“But I won’t be able to see what I’m reaching for.”

“Well, yes... that is part of what makes it interesting for me! What would be the fun in letting you just grab whatever you want? And you’ll only have a few seconds to do it, so you had better act fast! Ready?” The statue began to put off a dim white glow. “Go!”

“Wait, wha—” the unicorn stammered out loud. As soon as Twilight realized what was happening, she quickly closed her eyes and concentrated on the inside of the vault as best she could. She was just about to attempt to start teleporting books out of the vault, when she was interrupted.

Stop. Don’t panic. You need to have some idea of what you’re teleporting before you do it.

Her horn glowed violet as she probed the vault with telekinesis. With the distance between her and the vault it was difficult to get a good feel for what was within. The vault felt like there was nothing but rows of books within, but which ones would be most useful? She made the decision to target what seemed to be a set of tomes towards the back of vault. The glow of her horn dissipated for a brief moment, and then shone brightly once again, as she discontinued the telekinesis spell and began casting the matter transference spell to retrieve the books. Within a split second a pile of nearly a dozen books flashed into existence between her and Discord’s stone prison. She began to cast another teleportation spell, but was interrupted before she could complete it. Three broken pieces of smoldering books appeared, and quickly dissolved into the air as a result of the incomplete transfer.

“What did you that for, Discord!? I could have gotten more if I had been ready.” If Twilight had been using her voice she would have been screaming loud enough to rival the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Discord’s laughter again echoed through Twilight’s mind. “Now, Twilight, you shouldn’t complain. I got you what you were after... mostly. Now, about your end of our arrangement.”

“How do I free you? Do I just break the stone encasing you?”

"Oh, no no no... nothing that simple. I’m not encased in stone; I am the stone.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow. “Oh? In that case...” A nearby statue of two ponies dancing began to glow in a violet aura and lifted off of its pedestal.

“What are you doing, Twilight?” sang Discord.

“You can’t be trusted to not tell the Princess what happened here,” Twilight stated, as the statue began quickly accelerating towards the draconequus. “I’m ending this.”

Just before the flying statue made contact with Discord, it shattered into an innumerable amount of small pieces of stone. As the shards of the statue fell to the ground, the glimmering golden aura of a powerful barrier spell sparkled around the creature’s prison.

“Oh-ho-ho! My goodness, Mage Sparkle! I knew that you weren’t about to let me out, but attempting to kill me and actually murdering ponies to do it? All to protect your silly little secret. This is above and beyond any of my expectations... Bravo, Twilight Sparkle, brav-o.”

Twilight's brow furrowed and her eyes narrowed, as she thought about what was just said. “I didn’t murder anypony. What are you talking about?”

“Take a look around, kiddo. Out of all these ‘lawn ornaments’, do you really think that mine is the only prison?” he asked in a manner dripping with condescendence.

Twilight’s eyes opened wide and her jaw dropped open as she processed the information that had just been unceremoniously bestowed unto her.

No... no, that can’t be true.

Of course it’s not true.

I couldn’t have killed anypony... Right?

We did what needed to be done. We failed, but we had to try. Now we need to find another way to keep him quiet.

“And the only crime of the two that you just shattered to a million pieces? They were born to the previous royal family at the wrong time... the two that you just killed, were the successors to the throne—that is, until a certain pair of sisters decided they could do better.”

“You’re lying!” Twilight yelled out loud.

Discord gasped. “Oh, dear, Twilight, you had better watch that temper of yours... wouldn’t want to be found out here with all these books.”

The draconequus paused, carefully pondering how to word his next statement. He laughed again in the same sickening manner that he had when he escaped and was toying with Twilight and her friends seven years ago. “Now then, Miss Mage. What would I gain by lying to you about such things? Besides, if I recall correctly, I’m pretty sure that you are the one who lied to me just now in order to get what you wanted.”

Don’t listen to him. He’s just toying with us.

What if he’s not, though... what if we killed somepony. And what about the Princesses?

We have part of the vault collection, we’ll get what we need from the books. Don’t listen to him, he’s only trying to get in our head.

“I’m not the bad guy here, Twilight, there is so much more to your dear princess than meets the eye. You could always just ask her. I’m sure she would be more than forthcoming, considering her recent track record of being truthful and open with you... And don’t worry, your secret is safe with me. Why would I want to spoil a chance for some much needed chaos around this place? I’ll just watch this unfold from here.” Discord then erupted into laughter.

He allowed the guffaw to die down, then continued his drawn out monologue, “What a lovely thing power is; how it so easily corrupts others... wouldn't you agree, my dear?”

“I don’t want power. I want the truth.”

“Oh? But are you really sure it isn't you who is after power? I mean, such shady business, sneaking around behind Celestia's back like this.”

We got what we came for. It's time to go.

Twilight’s horn began to glow, and she and the pile of books snapped out of existence from the garden, reappearing instantaneously in the dungeon laboratory.

“I’ve got my eye on you, Twilight Sparkle. Don’t disappoint,” the voice of Discord echoed through her head, before the telepathic link was severed.