The castle ballroom was silent as everypony kept their eyes on Cadence, the revelation of what she had just said slowly settling within their minds. Slowly turning away from her niece, Celestia stared with wide eyes at the rubble and fire where she had just unleashed her devastating blast of magic. Tears fell from her eyes lightly as she watched the small embers burn.

"What...? " The quiet question, carrying the weight of everyone's own thoughts, filled the air as Shining stared at his betrothed, his frame trembling and his eyes begging her. Cadence looked away, unable to meet his eyes and leaning back into him.

"I-it... was Twilight, what was left of her... after the caves..." A few gasps and sounds of disbelief followed after her voice, Celestia feeling her blood turn to ice.

"Cadence... are you certain that... that... was Twilight...?" Everypony looked to Celestia as she watched the small fires flicker. Nodding her head, Cadence slowly pushed away from her fiance and stood up on shaking hooves, wincing at the pain.

"Careful..." Shining was reluctant to let her stand on her own, standing next to her and letting her lean against him as she stabled herself with him. Nodding to him in thanks, she faced Celestia once more, her eyes stronger than before despite the fresh tears that trailed down her cheeks.

"I wouldn't be here in the first place if it wasn't for her. She found me in the caves where I was trapped. At first, she thought I was..." She glanced over towards the Changeling Queen who now peered over the back of the pews, watching them with apprehension, all the while trying to stop her own trembling.

"But I managed to prove who I was before she... before any real harm had been done... she proved to me that it was her in the same way." Celestia finally tore her eyes from the burning rubble and gave her a questioning look, she knew it wasn't the full story, but she would not interrupt.

"Our song, the one I taught her as a filly. It became a sort of greeting for us. Nopony but us knew it, it's how she knew that the fake Cadence was an imposter. She didn't know the song." Cadence nodded her head once more in Chrysalis' direction. After another moment of silence, Celestia closed her eyes and nodded in solemn acceptance.

"Then... she succumbed to dark mag-" She was cut off as the sound of hoof steps behind her caught her attention. Before she could look to find the source, there stood five mares before her, each in varying degrees of pain and anger, some physical and some emotional.

"No!" Rainbow Dash yelled, her disheveled mane bouncing as she struggled to stay aloft just at her eyesight, an injury to her wing making her struggle. Anger was prominent in her face as she outright denied what Celestia had been about to say.

"Twilight wouldn't do that! There's no way she'd give in to something like that!" She continued, her hover slightly rocking as she favored her right rear leg in the air, her injuries light, but nothing critical. Celestia sighed as she looked at the ponies before her who nodded in agreement with their friend.

"Listen my little ponies-" A loud snort cut her off again and she looked to see that now Applejack had stepped forward, her face like stone, cold and unreadable.

"No, you listen here princess. We know Twilight, all of us here do. Ain't no way, no how would that meek little mare ever use a magic like that. Ah've seen Twilight accomplish heaps of things without that little horn. She would nev-... what in tarnation?" She grumbled in annoyance as the sound of something sizzling had slowly begun to fill the air around them, growing in volume until it could no longer be ignored as the ponies in the room searched for its source. All eyes in the room slowly turned to face the burning rubble. They watched in silent worry as the fires began to fade, dark smoke taking their place until finally, even that was snuffed out.

The soft sound of a liquid dripping to the floor drew their gaze as they watched small rivers of a black fluid beginning to bleed from the rubble, pouring over the larger pieces and streaming out from under it. Celestia and those closest began to back away as Cadence stared, eyes wide. Steel Blitz and Maple Branch rushed to the front of their ruler, pushing the Bearers back behind them and taking on defensive stances.

"Sh-she's alive?" Cadence's shock at this realization overwhelmed her fear with joy. Twilight was alive!... Twilight is... alive... her moment of elation ebbed away as reality quickly came crashing back down. Cadence began to backpedal away from the dais, dragging Shining with her as he tried to stay in place to see what was happening.

Everypony watched in morbid fascination as the small rivers grew in size, before a proverbial flood of the liquid gushed forth from the rubble, coalescing into a single large puddle that stretched out across the marble floor. Cadence idly noted that there seemed to be more of it than before as it began to spill down the dais, pouring its way towards the pews. Chrysalis watched from behind the back of the first pew, her eyes wide and her body trembling.

'All forces... full retreat...' Her hive mind sent forth a message to her army that awaited on the outskirts of Canterlot's barrier. Her drones replied in confusion as they stilled in their attempts to break through, some unsure. She responded to their uncertainty with one memory. A single moment burned into her mind's eye that would haunt her for the rest of her days, the horrifying visage that had very nearly ended her existence. Most of her drones quickly complied at the sight, while a few decided they would stay behind as an extraction team to save their Queen from this creature that seemed out for her blood. The four remaining Changelings began to redouble their efforts to break through the shield, concentrating their attacks on a single point in tandem, beginning to chip through it at a more efficient rate.

Chrysalis was so distracted with calling her retreat, that she had not noticed when the puddle had begun to seep beneath the pew before her, it's edge creeping under and around her hooves.

Celestia stared at the growing lake of fluid, her heart in a turmoil of worry and fear as she fought to keep an unreadable expression.

'Twilight...'

Twilight's mind felt as though a heavy fog had settled over it as she felt her rage and hatred boil around and within her. She had her, She had her! Only for her vengeance to be denied by nopony other than her own mentor, her teacher, Celestia herself!

An echoing growl began to rise within the depths of her mind. Unbeknownst to the irate mare, however, a small part of her, a part that went ignored in her all-consuming rage, shimmered with a faint light.

In the darkness of her subconscious, the Entity glared at this light in disgust. It was this light that prevented it from fully consuming the host right now despite the mare's strong hatred overshadowing it. The light kept it at bay, but it would not last, the Entity knew. All things had a breaking point, it would simply have to wait and be patient.

Everypony jumped at the sound of a strong, pulsing, throb. It's suddenness startling everypony from the silence. After a moment, nothing more happened.

"What was tha-" Rarity began, only for a second throb to echo in the room. Everypony watched in horror as what looked like a blackened heart began to form on the top of the puddle, resting in its epicenter. Within moments, the mound of flesh began to rise along with blackened bones that quickly formed a protective cage around it. A skull took its place at the front of the bony structure and twisted its neck as it turned to look at them with empty sockets, it's frame snapping in its motion as the sound of bones rattling and creaking filled the air.

It stared at Celestia as she watched flesh begin to form in patches upon the twisted facsimile of a pony. The sound of somepony losing their lunch could be heard from somewhere behind her, but no pony else dared to look away.

As the flesh began to form around its throat and the right half of its skull, a single orb of flesh began to grow and form, before a black eye with three teal dots stared hard at Celestia, a strangled cry beginning to come from its half-formed lips that left its force sounding gargled and raspy.

"ceee... leeeeest... iiiiiiaaaaa!!!!" The room shook with the force of the cry as her form slowly became whole. She stood a little taller than Celestia, her body lanky and so thin her ribs could be clearly seen. Her head leaned forward with her large mouth, filled with razor-sharp teeth, wide open. Black saliva dripped around her teeth as her long twisted tongue stretched out. The puddle beneath her boiled and hissed around as two massive black serpents rose on either side of her, snapping and hissing as they watched the ponies with their haunting crimson eyes.

Many more tendrils slowly rose around her, some with claws, some with scythe-like blades, and others with mouths of gnashing teeth.

Trembling even more, Chrysalis began to back away, trying to make her way down the pew and out through the door before the demented creature noticed her. Only when she tried to lift her legs, they would not budge. Looking down in confusion, she yelped as she finally realized that she was standing within the puddle's radius, small tendrils having risen and now wrapped through the holes in her legs, rooting her in place. A single large tendril shot from the puddle beneath her and wrapped around her muzzle, clamping it shut. Everypony looked to her, hearing her voice, staring in shock at seeing her captured once again.

Celestia gulped nervously at the sight before her. If this truly was Twilight... oh mother help her...

Twilight stared at the princess in utter rage and contempt for the barest of moments, before her eyes caught the fearful faces of the bearers who trembled behind her... She grit her teeth in frustration. They were all here... all of those who had betrayed her... She squeezed her eyes shut, the dark stains beneath them dripping into the puddle below. Resolving herself, she opened them once more and bore her gaze into the mares.

"Why...?" The question was quiet but held so much weight behind it. The mares looked to her in fear and confusion, silence reigning between them as they processed her question.

"Look to me Twilight, not them." Twilight's burning eyes, along with that of her serpents, swapped to Celestia in an instant. releasing a distorted cry, two of her tendrils lashed out at the princess, whose eyes widened in shock at the sudden assault. The guards before her tried to intercept the attack but weren't fast enough and the shield she cast in front of her on reflex shattered with the impact of the first clawed tendril. Throwing herself to the side, a tendril with a scythe-like blade passed right where her head had been, grazing the side of her right cheek and leaving a bleeding gash.

"Never say that name!" Rising to her hooves, Celestia now stared at her former student with sorrow and more than a little fear as tears began to drip from her eyes.

Steel Blitz and Maple jumped at Twilight with cries of outrage, but the moment they set hoof within her puddle, they were defeated, one tendril grasping the pegasus around the barrel, while three more pinned the large earth stallion.

"Get-" Steel Blitz didn't get to finish, as like Chrysalis, another tendril quickly wrapped around both her muzzle and Maple's, silencing them both.

Taking a few steps towards her, Celestia stopped just outside the puddle's edge, her eyes watching it warily, before looking back to the puddle's origin. This magic, if one could call it that, was nothing she had ever encountered. It was obviously dark magic, but it wasn't the same as what she was used to seeing. Twilight didn't have the telltale signs that were associated with its use either, the green and red eyes. whatever this was... it was darker... and far more malevolent.

"Twi-" She froze as she the bubbles in the liquid boiled more violently, tendrils raising to strike again. Twilight's gaze never left her, nor did she seem opposed to the idea of striking at the princess a second time. Celestia nervously bit her bottom lip before proceeding with extreme caution.

"I... I know you are angry... but this isn't you. You don't have to do this, your friends and family are here for you..." Twilight snarled, her serpents hissing and snapping their fangs in response, but otherwise, she remained silent.

"I don't know what happened to you in those caves, but we can help you if you let us. Don't let this magic rule you." Silence met her, the hissing and bubbling of the puddle slowly seeming to subside. Celestia let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding. Only to freeze, a cold chill going down her spine, as she heard a small, distorted chuckle. She watched as Twilight's frame trembled with her restrained laughter, fresh tears pouring from her dark eyes.

"Help me? Help me? Now you want to help me!? Where were you? Where were my friends? Where were any of you? When I confronted that insect alone, when she sent me to those damned caverns, when she tormented me, taunted me, drove me to the point of exhaustion and despair! Where the fuck were you, Celestia!? Where were you when I became THIS!?" The pool beneath her boiled full force now, hissing as a dark mist rose around her. Her fur, once a dark purple, now almost looked black as it glistened with the damn air, making it hard to see her tears as they dripped freely into the puddle beneath her. Her eyes burned with unbridled rage and resentment, the serpents coiling around Twilight's frame, snapping their fangs and glaring at Celestia who took a step back, her mouth open slightly and her form trembling, tears finally gracing her features.

"Wh-what... what happened...?" Cadence's trembling voice was almost lost in the sounds of the boiling liquid and hissing serpents. The ponies in the room aside from the guards, Twilight, Shining, and Chrysalis, looked around nervously.

"What did you do... ?" Cadence asked again, leaning off of Shining and limping forwards once more, her eyes burning holes into the bearers and Celestia, who flinched from the gaze of her adopted niece.

"She... She tried to tell us..." Everypony turned to see Fluttershy, sitting with her mane in front of her face and tears pouring from her eyes as she kept them clenched shut.

"She tried to tell us that the Cadence we knew... that something wasn't right..." She sobbed as she shook, Rarity walking up and putting her hooves around her friend, her own tears running her mascara down her face.

"We... We thought it was simple foolishness, that she was merely afraid that you... that she, would steal her brother away from her. We dismissed her concerns... and her along with them..." Her eyes shook as she stared down into Fluttershy's mane while stroking the mare's back. Her normally perfectly styled mane had begun to stick out in places, stress overriding her fashion sense.

"After we left the room, leaving Twilight there, we looked fer the fake Cadence, but never found er'." Applejack stood rigidly, rubbing her right foreleg, a large bruise on it. Her pleading eyes never leaving Twilight, tears threatening to fall.

"W-we never went ba-back to check on her... we thought that m-maybe, she'd come around and ev-everything would be happy again..." Pinkie's mane and tail had deflated, her eyes watery and red as tears streamed from them. She looked to the floor and fiddled with her hooves, scrunching her eyes shut. Rainbow Dash silently nodded, not saying a word as she stared at the floor, a small puddle of tears at her hooves and her wings drooping from her sides.

Twilight growled at their confessions, a shadow overtaking her face as she trembled. Slowly, a strange sound began to rise within the room.

Recognizing their own voices, the bearers looked in shock at Twilight and her tendrils. The few with gnashing teeth were now whispering loud enough for all to hear what they echoed in their stolen voices.

"Dear Princess Celestia..." It started with Applejack's voice, who felt cold chills run down her spine as she stared in shock.

"Today, we all learned a little somethin' about friendship..." It continued as they slowly began to remember the lesson, each of them bowing their heads as more tears flooded forth, evidence of their shame.

"We learned that you should take your friend's worries seriously..." Fluttershy hiccuped and cried harder into Rarity as the shadow of her voice taunted her.

"Even if you don't think she has anything to worry about." Rainbow Dash stared with wide, shaking eyes, her tears silently dripping down her face.

"And that you shouldn't let your worries turn a small problem..." Rarity clenched her eyes tight, her ears laying back as she tried to drown out the mockery of her own voice.

"Into an enormously huge, entire town in total chaos, princess has to come and save the day problem!" Pinkie now lay her head in her hooves, bawling her eyes out as the voices continued. They echoed the lesson repeatedly into the air of the room.

"That is enough!" Celestia's voice cut through the echoes, her hoof stamping hard enough that the marble floor beneath her cracked and splintered.

"You have made your point, don't torment your friends..." Her gaze softened on Twilight, who stared at her, her own eyes hard. The voices slowly subsided, until only the sound of her snakes' hissing and snapping could be heard. Cadence looked to Twilight, who stared back at Celestia, but something far more important was happening in her eyes. Twilight's form wasn't as twisted as before. She had shrunk, now half of Celestia's size, she wasn't as lanky and her face and come back together. Her serpents had shrunk as well, but the puddle beneath her had not. Many of the tendrils that had been lashing about her had gone or shrunk in some way.

'Is... is she calming down...?' Looking to the other mares, the answer became clear. Their regret and sorrow at their own actions had planted the seeds for forgiveness in the mare that stood before them.

'Then maybe...' Turning to Shining, she watched him carefully as he stared at his younger sister, his eyes wide and tears pouring down his face.

"Do... you remember?" Cadence's voice caught his attention and he looked to her, at a loss for words.

"I... I remember... bits and pieces... putting the wedding together, meeting with Twilight and her friends, parts of briefings, but the rest is..." He trailed off, uncertain and she nodded in understanding, looking to Twilight she saw that though her head was facing Celestia, the three dots in her left eye that she guessed where now her pupils, were looking towards them, her form was shaking slightly and her fur had returned to it's dark purple, instead of its near black. Cadence looked back to Celestia, who no doubt had noticed the changes and realized what was happening. Closing her eyes and lowing her head, Celestia let her tears fall as she spoke.

"Shining, you left her in here as well, barring her from the wedding entirely... and I... I left her too... and it was a mistake that I swore I would never do again..." Shining stared in shock at the princess, his form shaking as she told him what he had done, what he could never do willingly. Celestia thought back to how she had once left another pony in the dark, and what had become of it. How could she have done the same thing twice? She trembled as she looked up to her former student.

Twilight now stood at her normal height, her frame trembling as tears flowed from her eyes, her face twisting between a snarl and wanting to openly cry. The fog of anger struggling to maintain itself in her mind as her heart ached. The guards behind her, now freed from the tendrils that held them captive, kept silent as they retreated from the puddle, shaking off the foul-smelling liquid and grimacing.

Chrysalis slowly backed away towards one of the large windowed doors on the sidewall behind her. The tendrils that had been holding her had slowly melted away while Twilight struggled with her emotions. Opening the window as silently as she could, she looked back towards Twilight and snarled.

'I'll be back you little monster, and when I do...' With a final quiet growl, she slipped out through the window and took to the skies towards the barrier where her four drones had managed to create a sizable hole. Not even registering them, she flew out the hole and they followed obediently.

"I'm sorry... I'm so, so sorry." Celestia's frame shook and her voice trembled. With that, the scene shifted and Twilight fell to her knees within her puddle as it shrank in size, soaking into her hooves until it was only large enough to encompass her shaking frame. The serpents and tendrils that had surrounded her had shrunk away and vanished within it as her cries filled the air. Her distorted voice carrying with it the anger, the sorrow, the hate, and the grief that she carried within. Ignoring everypony else and even his own exhausted state, Shining Armor sprinted past them all and dove into the pool of dark liquid, giving no care to the stains it left upon his fur as he pulled his baby sister into a hug, holding her close as she screamed and cried while the rest of the room's occupants looked on. Shame, sorrow, and regret prominent on many of their faces.

"I'm sorry Twily, I'm so sorry..." Shining cried into his sister's mane...

Author's Notes:

Shaded: Is hanging from a rope upside down over a vat of what looks like water with electric eels snapping at me "I Don't suppose anything I say is going to make this situation any better?"

Twilight: "You're posting this far too late for my taste. You're already over five fucking years late."

Shaded: "Hey I couldn't help it! my acc-" Is muffled with magic

Twilight: "I don't care, now you're gonna stay there and keep quiet or I'll drop you faster than you can blink."

Shaded: Strains to not blink

Twilight: "Good, may as well do the disclaimer this once. Shaded Blood does not own either MLP: FiM or the Equinox Ponies, he also does not own any music that may be posted in the story to set the mood of some situations."

Dimmed Star: Walks in an see's Shaded hanging over the vat and see's Twilight reading a book on medieval torture methods while doing the disclaimer. "Oh, can I have a look at that when you're finished?"