Shining Armor sighed pensively as he glanced over the stacks of reports and figures before him, but his mind was elsewhere, 'Twily...' He had been in the castle for almost a month now, working on the hundreds of issues that had been raised since the last time he and the Princesses of Equestria had met to do just the same, barely a year ago. As things stood, they would probably be finished by the end of the week, but he didn't feel grateful. After hearing the news from his parents, Shining hadn't been able to get his sister and her plight to leave his thoughts for long, 'I'm visiting her before I go back.'

Cadence was able to run the Crystal Empire just fine in his absence last time, he was confident she wouldn't have any problems with him taking an extra day or two to return this time around, and knew for certain that even if she did, she would forgive him quickly enough after he told her why, 'Spike's gone. She attacked Princess Celestia. She left just before I arrived.' He rested his forehead against the desk slowly, "Twilight... I'll be there soon, I promise. Just wait a little longer."

"Thank you, Angel, you did a great job." Fluttershy nuzzled the rabbit before he hopped up onto her head.

Twilight felt the air grow slightly denser as it slowly filled with excess magic, accompanied by the occasional sound of stone cracking ever-so-slightly, "Well, girls, looks like we're almost ready." She looked away from the statue and turned to face her friends, "I have to say thank you, to both of you. You've both left so much behind to be here now, I just want you to know much it means to me. I don't doubt either of you, not a single bit. I trusted you as my closest friends before, but now..." she held up a forehoof towards them, "I trust you even more. I literally trust you both with my life, too."

Fluttershy stepped forwards after a moment and held her hoof to Twilight's, "M-Me too. We'll get through anything together, I know it."

Pinkie followed suit and pressed her hoof atop the others, "And me! Nopony's going to separate us!"

Twilight smiled warmly as they lowered their hooves, 'I'm so lucky to have friends like these two...' A wave of guilt hit her as she recalled those she would be leaving behind, but it passed quickly enough, 'It's one of many sacrifices I'll have to make. Better that I just get over it. Still, the three of us just disappearing without a trace... I hope the others don't spend too long dwelling on what happened to us. Perhaps if I'd had more time I could've faked-'

Her thoughts were disrupted by a loud 'SNAP' piercing the air, causing the three of them to jump slightly. She quickly looked around for any guardsponies, and was relieved when none could be seen. Two large cracks coiled around the statue now, multiple smaller ones forming miniature webs across the surface. They jumped again as small streams of energy were sucked from their Elements. The unmistakable sound of laughter leaked through, though it was quiet, for which Twilight was grateful.

Only a few moments later the fissures in the stone snaked up to Discord's head, causing the laughter to increase in volume slightly. The sound of the cracks forming intensified as they stopped spreading and began widening instead, light leaking out from inside. Twilight wished there was a quieter way to go about things, 'It doesn't do us any good if we're caught before we've even began! Hurry!'

As if in response to her thoughts, the din stopped abruptly, the light within dimmed considerably and the energy streams from the Elements vanished. For a moment the three wondered if something had gone wrong, but then a familiar voice whispered faintly.

"Showtime."

The statue discharged a tremendous glow of light, causing the ponies - and rabbit - to shield their eyes, followed by a sound best described as somepony breaking a jar with a pickaxe.

Discord kept the light shining for just a moment, nopony else had to see this. Carefully he lifted his paw and balanced his lonely tear upon it after it had fallen from his face. He stared at it sadly for a second before snapping his fingers and whisking it off to somewhere he could retrieve it from later. He shook himself and plastered on his best 'I got stoned by the Elements of Harmony three times, and lived' smirk.

When the light finally faded they saw the towering form of Discord looming over them, a triumphant grin spreading further than his face would allow, "Yes! Hahaha! Finally!" His face fell flat suddenly, "Now, I believe I have important business to attend to." With a snap of his fingers he vanished before reappearing behind Fluttershy and embracing her in a crushing hug, causing her to 'eep' and blush slightly. Angel glared at him from atop her head, "Oh, Angel, I didn't see you there!" He smiled smugly, "Coming along for the ride, are we?" The rabbit made what the others guessed was some sort of rude gesture before retreating into Fluttershy's saddlebags with a huff. Discord looked up at them and shrugged amusedly.

Twilight shook her head, "Okay, that's enough fooling around for now. We need to get out of here before somepony sees us."

The draconequus sighed, "She really is a slave-driver, isn't she?" His tail turned into a whip and lashed at the air with another snap of his fingers. Then he noted her expression and waved his claw casually, "Give me a break, I've been channelling magic for months! I need a few minutes to recuperate enough to teleport the four - five - of us far enough to be out of the way by the time they realise we're missing."

Twilight remained silent, she knew how exhausting teleporting long distances could be, even for her. Teleporting oneself and another was even harder. Teleporting four others, plus oneself, any large distance would result in complete hospital-grade exhaustion for any normal pony, at best, "Fine... You can release Fluttershy any time now, you know."

Discord just stared at her blankly for a moment, as if he had misunderstood, then he grinned widely and putting on his best 'theatre-hero voice', "NEVER!"

The patrol of two stood by the large ornate windows overlooking the sculpture gardens, petrified, "Is that...?"

"I-I'll get the Princesses, you get the Captain! Hurry!" he was already moving before his sentence was finished.

The guard that had remained hastily glanced outside once more, noticing a few smaller figures surrounding the draconequus, 'Who the hell would release that... that thing!? Idiots!' He bolted to Shining Armor's temporary suite, repeatedly cursing the blatantly insane trespassers as he went.

Celestia hadn't raised her head for the full duration of the following three minutes of absolute silence. At first all three were absolutely gobsmacked, each turning to one another and the Princess without a word, their mouths hanging agape at the realisation that she was serious. Then, as Rainbow Dash spoke, the veil of shocked silence seemed to dissipate, and their reactions began to diversify.

"She WHAT!?" Rainbow barked, seething as she glanced around furiously, apparently scanning for Twilight as if she'd somehow made it inside the chamber with them.

Rarity stared up at the dejected alicorn, the object of so many of Twilight's aspirations and dreams, as well as her mentor and role-model, "N-No... She wouldn't... She couldn't..." The look on Celestia's face suggested otherwise.

Applejack pulled the brim of her hat down then began looking between the floor and the Princess, "No way. That can't be true. There has to be some kind of mistake! Why would Twilight ever do anythin' like that!?"

Celestia forced herself to look up slowly, meeting each of their gazes one-by-one. Rainbow Dash was furious, that much was obvious due to her shaking and grinding her teeth, Rarity seemed to be in denial, constantly shaking her head and muttering before staring up at her with wide eyes, Applejack just seemed perplexed. The Princess took a deep breath, preparing to tell them exactly why her most faithful student had turned on her, and hoped that they wouldn't do the same, 'No more lies.'

"It all started back when-"

A guard came barrelling through one of the doors off to the side, barely avoiding being impaled as the guards posted on either side of the doors withdrew their polearms at the last second upon identifying him, "Your majesty!" He paused and drew a ragged breath, "It's Discord!" He wheezed and inhaled sharply again, "He's escaping! Somepony released him!"

Celestia was on her hooves in an instant, gesturing to all the guards in the chamber, "Day court is cancelled, you there!" She pointed at one of the guards by the door, "Find my sister, tell her to meet us there!" Without another word the Princess vanished in a flash of light, accompanied by several smaller flashes as the unicorn guards followed suit, the rest darting past the guard who had delivered the message, who was leaning against the door frame and panting heavily.

The three Bearers just stood there in silence, still trying to take in what Celestia had said, and make sense of what had just conspired. Rarity gasped moments later as the realisation hit her, "The others are there! They could be in trouble!"

They gave each other horrified glances, but they quickly transformed into set ones as Applejack gave them a determined smile, "Ya'll thinkin' what Ah'm thinkin'?"

Rainbow Dash knocked a forehoof against her Element and nodded, "That it's time for victory number four?"

"Exactly."

They shot off in the direction the guards had gone.

The three ponies jumped back in alarm as flashes of light circled the area around the now vacant pedestal without warning. Discord simply folded his arms, watching dispassionately through his favourite shades as guards materialised all around them. Twilight turned to him reflexively, "How much longer!?"

He yawned, whispering in her direction without turning, "A few minutes, play it cool, we hold all the cards." A pack of cards appeared in his paw. He regarded them coolly then tossed them away, revealing fifty-two jokers which briefly disappeared with a resounding splash.

"Not a good time! Save your magic!"

Discord rolled his eyes at her as the last of the unicorns appeared. The sound of rapid hoofsteps reverberating through the castle was growing louder as a powerful voice boomed from behind them, "Discord!"

Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie whipped around in alarm, whilst Discord simply turned at a leisurely pace, twisting a talon into his ear and grimacing, "Celestia, please! Would it kill you to not bellow my name every time this happens!?"

Twilight glared up at the Princess with pure hellfire in her eyes, "YOU!" Already the air was crackling familiarly, and red was seeping into her eyes.

Discord smirked at the display, 'She certainly has the power, and the potential; she just lacks control.' With a snap of his fingers the changes reverted immediately. She glanced up at him in surprise, prompting him to make clear his intentions, "Keep a level head, or we fail." he stated simply.

Twilight took a deep breath and closed her eyes before staring balefully, but composedly, at Celestia. The Princess shifted her eyes from Discord to the ponies beside him, "Twilight! Fluttershy! Pinkamena! Get away from him quickly!" When the three in question just shared a determined glance her eyes widened, "Listen!" she focused specifically on Twilight, "Whatever we said and did doesn't matter here! You're in danger! Come to me quickly, all of you!" Again, none moved, Twilight and Fluttershy were now glaring at her, whilst Pinkie just regarded her passively. "What are you..." She seemed at a loss for words as she looked to Discord, "What did you do to them!?" The guards that had galloped through the castle now fanned out and filled the gaps in the wide circle as they arrived.

Discord's smirk widened, "Nothing, I just told them the truth." Celestia's scowl almost caused him to lose concentration on his teleportation spell as he laughed, "I told you, didn't I, Celestia?" He fell to his knees and clutched his arms to his chest, "Oh, stop before it's too late!" He chuckled before standing, "Well, guess what? It's too late now." He stepped towards her, but the guards drawing their weapons in response caused him to stop. He waved his talon casually, but didn't look anywhere else but Celestia, "Look, I'm sure plenty of you have adorable little families. If you don't relax, I'll force each individual here to fight themselves to the death. Which, when all is said and done, is a pretty pathetic way to go. Sure, it's interesting to watch, but it always ends in a draw; or a double-loss, depending on how you look at it."

The guards all looked to the Princess, who nodded to them to sheath their weapons. As they did so, Discord smiled, "Much better. Now th-"

A flash of light caused him to stop as Luna appeared beside her sister. Though she looked the same as usual, there were noticeable dark bags beneath her eyes, clearly on show even despite her naturally deep blue hue, "I came as soon as I heard." She turned to Discord and the ponies with him, "What's going on?"

Celestia sighed and shook her head, "I don't know. I thought he'd corrupted them, but now I'm not so sure."

Twilight squinted and spoke with a level tone, "Oh, look at 'Princess' Celestia talking about corrupt. How ironic."

Luna faced her, "Twilight, what is the meaning of this!?"

Discord smiled wryly, "I think I can expl-"

A commotion from somewhere behind the Princesses interrupted him abruptly.

"No civilians!"

"They're not civilians, you fool! Those are the Element Bearers!"

"Who?"

"Where?"

"Element Bearers?"

Discord looked to his companions, each of whom seemed apprehensive now. With a sigh and a snap of his fingers the three Bearers in question appeared by the Princesses, appearing slightly dazed. "There, now we have a reunion, happy?" he looked flatly at each of them before shrugging at their apparently doubled nervousness.

When they regained their bearings, each wheeled around to face their friends. Rainbow Dash was the first to react as she pieced the scene together, "Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie! What's going on!? What is he doing loose!?" She jumped up and began hovering, pointing a hoof at the draconequus in disgust, "Not that it matters! Come on, girls, we can take him!" She tapped her Element then bashed her forehooves together in anticipation. When the three closest to Discord didn't react she raised her voice further, "Hello!? Twilight? Pinkie? Fluttershy? Anypony home!? Situation here!"

Twilight sighed, "It's not happening, Rainbow Dash."

The pegasus just stared at her in bewilderment, "W-What? What're you talking about!?" She turned to Discord, "Whatever you did, stop it! Now!" she kicked her forehooves out towards him with each word.

Discord frowned at her and spoke tiredly, "Assumptions... So many assumptions."

The pegasus growled and lowered her head as if to charge, "I'll give you an assumption!"

Applejack stepped forwards too, kicking up a cloud of dirt as she did the same, "Ah've been lookin' for an excuse to give ya the hurtin' ya deserve, ya monster! Let 'em go, or else!"

Rarity just stood back, having noticed something the others had obviously missed, 'They're different to the last time he toyed with us. They look... normal.' She shivered at the many sinister implications of her thoughts.

"Listen carefully, Rainbow Dash." Discord's tone was low, and surprisingly serious to everypony except the three that visited him in the mindscape. "Come another inch closer and I'll take your wings, deep-fry them, and eat them with a side of gravy. You know I can, and will. Don't. Tempt. Me." Rainbow gritted her teeth and glanced to the Princesses for support, but they shook their heads to signal her to stay put.

Discord turned to Applejack, "And you, Applejack, don't threaten me. There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, and you've just leapt across it and tumbled over the cliff on the other side. Oh, and for the Element of Honesty, you haven't really given me much of a chance to explain things truthfully, have you?"

The farmer stood firm, "Ah don't want nothin' to do with your explanations! Everythin' that comes outta' your mouth is vile!" she spat.

Discord just brushed it off and glanced at the final of the new arrivals, "And, of course, the beautiful Rarity." He bowed and smirked, "Thank you kindly for not jumping to any conclusions, my dear. Those ponies are so... uncivilised."

"W-What's going on? What are you d-doing free? Why are they with y-you?" she stammered in response, already fearing the answers.

"Ah, now those, my dear seamstress, are the right questions. Allow me to answer them in order. One, I'm escaping. Two, they freed me." He waved his arms at the ponies with him, who shrank away slightly at how he made it sound, "And three, they're coming with me. And before any of you ask - or rather, accuse - me again, all three are here of their own free will."

Twilight, Fluttershy and Pinkie could feel every set of eyes descend upon them, and Fluttershy looked around hastily before shuffling towards Discord embarrassedly as if trying to shelter herself, causing him to grin at the other Elements, and the Princesses behind. Celestia narrowed her eyes at him, "I don't believe a word of it."

Discord turned to those with him and shrugged. Twilight glowered at Celestia, "It's true. Are you really that surprised?"

Pinkie smiled and tilted her head as if she wasn't surrounded by dozens of armed guards, "Twilight's right, guys. And you aren't being very fair, are you?"

Fluttershy met Celestia's disbelieving gaze, causing her own timidness to fade momentarily as she stepped away from Discord and towards her, "Don't look at us like that! This is our choice, not yours! We're here because we chose to be!" She frowned at the Princess, and all that knew her well - on both sides - were slightly stunned when she held her ground and continued to glare at Celestia.

Rarity was trembling now, dreading the answers to the upcoming questions, "W-Why Fluttershy? All of you? I don't understand... Why?"

Discord glanced to those beside him, "Well, in short it's-"

Shining Armor flashed into existence beside the Princesses, "Twilight!"

Discord roared, shaking the foundations of the castle despite it actually being no louder than a regular shout of irritation, "For the love of- Anypony else!? Seriously! Is there anypony else waiting to interrupt me again out there!? Speak now or forever hold your damned peace! No? Good!" With a snap of his fingers a large dome of magic thumped onto the ground all around them and screwed tight, preventing anypony else from entering, or leaving.

Shining appeared not to notice, "Twilight, what are you doing? Get away from that... monster!"

Discord scowled, "I am right here, you know."

"Shining!" Twilight darted towards him instinctively, before halting herself after barely a few steps and slowly retreating with a dismayed expression.

Before her big brother could enquire further a suppressed sob emanated from Rarity, who was now visibly shaking and convulsing in time with her sobs, "Why? Tell me why you're leaving us, all of you! With him no less!"

Discord was about to respond, but Twilight cut him off, "Rarity, please..." Her voice sounded pained, mirroring her expression. Fluttershy and Pinkie weren't doing any better as they noticed Rarity's tears, "It's not as if we're leaving you all just like that. We don't want to leave the rest of you behind, but we have to, for our own reasons." She paused for a moment as an idea came to her, "But you're free to join us, all of you." she gestured to the other Elements, "And personally, I'd prefer if you did."

Shining was staring with his jaw agape, "You're what? You're leaving? With him!? Where? Why!?"

Applejack stomped a hoof, "Yeah, Twilight, why!? Seems to me that ya'll were plannin' this for a while. Seems to me that ya lied that day in the barn to try an' get me here!" Applejack squinted at her, "Say it ain't so."

Twilight shook her head in shame, "I'm sorry, Applejack. I didn't know about the reason you don't trust Discord before that day in the barn, otherwise I'd never have asked. Either way, I still lied to you." She looked apologetically to Rarity and Rainbow Dash, "And both of you, too. I'm sorry."

Rainbow Dash frowned at her, "We don't want apologies, Twilight, we want answers! Why are you doing this, all of you!?"

Twilight drew up her composure and spoke flatly, almost objectively, "Because he's the only one who can help me, and because he's still less evil than that bitch on a set of scales." She levelled a hoof at Celestia, and the guards who had heard reached for their weapons in disgust. As she saw Celestia's hurt show clearly on her face, Twilight noticed that Luna stood silently, just to the side, hidden slightly behind her sister. While she was frowning, like almost every other pony present, she didn't move, or speak, she just stood and watched in silence, as she had been doing since she arrived.

'What's she up to?'

"Twilight!" Her brother was shocked at the insult, but she ignored him.

Rarity pointed at Fluttershy, "I thought we were b-best friends? You're l-leaving and you didn't even t-tell me."

The pegasus smiled weakly, "We are best friends, Rarity, but my other friends need me more than you do right now, and they made me promise not to tell you. I can't just let them do everything alone." She paused then glanced at Princess Celestia, "Especially not if what I've heard about you is true, Princess! How could you!?" Tears were prickling her eyes as she shifted her gaze to the ground.

Pinkie put a comforting hoof on her friend's shoulder as Rainbow Dash spoke again, "Pinkie?"

She shrugged, "Discy can help me out a lot with something important. Can't say what, there's too many ponies here, sorry, Dashie."

"Twilight!" Shining was looking increasingly agitated as he tried to get his sister's attention.

"I'm not going to argue about this, Shining, especially not in front of all these ponies." She met Celestia's gaze, "And especially not with her here."

Rainbow Dash snarled at her, "What's gotten into all of you!? Why are you saying those horrible things about Princess Celestia!?" she remembered the brief discussion in the throne chamber only minutes ago, "And why the hell did you try and KILL her!?" she growled.

Twilight seemed taken aback for a moment, but quickly allowed a smile to creep up onto her face, "Oh, so she told you about that, did she? Looks like she didn't tell you everything." She grinned sadistically at the Princess, "Alright, Celestia, I'm feeling generous, I'll give you a choice. Either you tell them about that spell, or I will. Personally, I'd fess up if I were you, but don't leave out any details, I'll be listening closely." Her smile distended to almost grotesque proportions as the Princess in question recoiled, "You have three seconds, or I speak for you. Make your choice, monster."

The collective shuffle of the guards around them didn't go unnoticed by anypony. By now even the guards who had decided to give Twilight another chance after her previous visit were giving her death glares. Discord's smirk almost mirrored Twilight's, 'She's already playing games with her. This is excellent! Plus it buys us time. Never mind how entertaining all this is!' He snapped his fingers and conjured a bucket of popcorn promptly.

Celestia defended herself, "I was about to tell them before you released him!"

"So telling them now should be no different. Don't mind me, it's just, the clock is ticking. One..."

"Enough!" Celestia stomped a hoof and exhaled deeply. She composed herself sufficiently before lowering her voice and turning to the Elements that stood beside her, "The... The spell that I had Luna use on Spike, it was... a double-edged sword."

Rarity nodded, her tears threatening to return as she thought back, "I remember. He was... in agony because of it."

"I don't just mean that." She gulped and stared intensely at the grass beneath her, "If Spike had survived up to the point where the spell faded, the side-effects would have been disastrous."

"W-What do ya mean, Princess?" Applejack asked nervously, already considering the meaning behind her words.

Celestia drew her mouth into a thin line, but forced herself to meet the eyes of each of the three in turn, "When the spell eventually wore off." She drew a deep breath, "Spike would have died."

"Wrong!" Twilight barked. Several guards jumped slightly at the sudden exclamation, but Rarity, Applejack, Rainbow Dash and Pinkie were now almost catatonic and failed to react as they tried to process what Celestia had just said, "He wouldn't just have died, he would've been crushed from the inside out first! Don't you dare try and make it sound any less worse than what it is! You KNEW what would happen. YOU MADE IT HAPPEN!"

Applejack looked between the Princess in question, and her friends who were planning to leave, their expressions confirming her fears, "You... knew?" When Celestia didn't respond, the farmer fell backwards onto her haunches.

Rarity was crying again, trying to speak between sobs, though only a few words were audible, "Spike... dead... trusted... why?"

Rainbow Dash took a step back, "No. No, there must be more to it than that. There has to be!" her voice shook uncertainly as she spoke.

Twilight stomped a hoof, "No, there isn't, don't be so naive! She condemned him to death! Regardless of how it happened..." She glared at the Princess with the scorching fires of hell building behind her eyes, "She was the one that MURDERED MY LITTLE BROTHER!"

Discord snapped his fingers pre-emptively, causing the growing red in Twilight's eyes to fade like before, just as the faint sound of crackling filled the air. He whispered to her, "You're not helping anypony out here. As fun as it is to watch you lose your temper, you need to calm down."

An 'eep' from Fluttershy caused them to whirl around. The pegasus was staring, wide-eyed, at Pinkie, who's mane was now rail-straight as she focused solely on Celestia. Twilight's eyes widened too, the sight terrified her, even if it was still her friend's body. Knowing the forces behind the change just served to make it all the more terrifying. Pinkie lowered her head, keeping her eyes locked on the Princess through her flat mane, before speaking in a low tone, "Remember that day, after the funeral? Remember when I called you a liar? I meant what I said, Celestia." She squinted and frowned, "I remember other things too, things from a long time ago, things I'm sure you haven't forgotten either." Now it was Celestia's turn to be shocked, her breath hitching in her throat as the memories of her past resurfaced. Pinkie advanced towards the Princess, "That's it, you do remember, don't you? Has it haunted you ever since? Oh, I hope it has. I so dearly hope i-"

Discord snapped his fingers, silencing Pinkie and causing her to groan and clutch at her head as her mane rapidly began inflating once again. Then he was by Twilight, "You didn't tell her about all that spell business beforehand!?"

"I didn't think it was important at the time! Speaking of important, how much longer!?"

He sighed, "A couple more minutes. Keep stalling."

Celestia caught wind of their conversation and shook herself, "Formation two, the same as last time!" Almost immediately a huge, shimmering cube of magic surrounded all present, almost touching the inside of the massive dome that Discord had already placed." Twilight grimaced up at Discord, but he simply winked back at her and grinned confidently.

Shining Armor shook his head, "What is actually going on with everypony!?" he glanced sideways to Celestia, "And is this true, Celestia? Are you really the one responsible for Spike's death?"

Celestia met Twilight's baleful gaze momentarily before facing her brother. She noted his disbelieving expression as she croaked out the simplest response, "Yes." Shining just allowed his head to droop as he attempted to gather his now shattered thoughts.

"Why!?" Rarity's voice was louder now, though it still shook as her sobs slowly receded, "Just tell me why! That's all I want to know!" Applejack and Rainbow Dash stepped up beside her, both attempting to comfort her whilst shooting the Princess a look that demanded her explanation.

Celestia's expression was filled with regret, as was her voice, "I didn't think I had a choice. That monster, it killed so many ponies all that time ago. Imagine, tens of thousands of innocents just trying to survive the anarchy that HE put them through, all dead within a day. An entire continent, all but obliterated." She was snapped from her memories by her rising anger, "All because HE wanted to prove a point!" she levelled a hoof at Discord.

Discord just examined the back of his paw and yawned. Though Pinkie was staring at the same spot she had been since she started returning back to normal, both Twilight and Fluttershy had unknowingly moved away from him slightly at the Princess's words. Celestia calmed herself quickly and continued, "I know what I did was terrible, I don't deny it; but it was necessary. Yes, I sealed Spike's awful fate, but by doing so, hundreds of thousands more survived. I know how cruel and heartless it sounds, but as a Princess it falls to me to ensure the safety of Equestria's inhabitants. If Spike had never entered the fray Calamity could have escaped and murdered countless thousands before we reached him! Ponyville, Canterlot, Manehatten, even Cloudsdale! Nowhere would have been safe! You have to understand, it was the only way to prevent any further bloodshed!"

Rainbow Dash seemed convinced, turning to Twilight and those beside her, "See? It's not like she wanted to do it! Can't you just talk about things?"

Twilight shook her head, "No. I don't expect you to understand, Rainbow Dash, you're the Element of Loyalty, I get what that means now; you'll never see things our way. No matter what she does, no matter how monstrous her actions, you'll still follow her, because it's hard-wired into who you are. Just be ready for the day she casts you aside like she did to Spike." Rainbow Dash snarled in response at the suggestion, but Twilight paid her no heed and turned to Applejack, who was still seated with a distant look in her eyes, "What about you, Applejack? Can you really stay here, knowing that her lies cost Spike his life?"

The farmer looked up at her, "Ah... Ah don't know." She scrunched her eyes shut for a moment then scowled at Twilight, "But Ah do know that, no matter what happens, Ah'm not goin' anywhere with him, and neither should y'all!"

Twilight sighed, expecting as much, "That's fine, I understand, Applejack." she spoke sincerely, "And I'm sorry, but it's the only way things will ever work."

Applejack stared off into the middle-distance again, "Ah just... Ah can't... This ain't happenin'..." she trailed off.

Twilight looked towards the last of the trio, who was still struggling to bring her sobs under control, "Rarity?"

The unicorn in question didn't speak, but nodded slowly. Then, to the absolute horror of the others with her, she hung her head low and trotted slowly towards the group in the centre. Everypony behind her watched in shocked silence as she willingly joined the others. Rainbow Dash stomped a hoof when she was around half way, "Rarity! What do you think you're doing!?"

She didn't turn, but stopped as she spoke, "I'm sorry, I truly am sorry. But if the Princess hadn't gotten Spike involved, he would never have died saving us." Her tears flowed once again, "I should be dead! I deserve to be dead instead! He sacrificed his life to save mine, and that never would have happened if Princess Celestia hadn't done what she did. There hasn't been a single day that's gone by where I haven't thought about how weak I was! I thought it was all my fault!" She visibly shook as a mighty heave overcame her, "But sending him to help, at the cost of his life? Knowing now that he would have died, even if I had been stronger? It just makes me feel worse!" Her voice was quiet and laden with sorrow as she finished, "I don't know if I can ever truly forgive you, Princess Celestia. But I do know I'll never forgive myself if I abandon them when they need me. When I actually have another chance to protect the ponies that are precious to me." After a moment of silence, she began her slow trot once again.

Only to stop a mere few hoofsteps from Twilight. 'But I can't... I can't just leave them behind.' She met Twilight's genuinely sympathetic expression and fought off the urge to cry again, "T-Twilight... I can't do it. I-I'm sorry." She shook her head, "I can't leave my family behind. Sweetie Belle needs me, she wouldn't understand if I left."

Twilight gave her a weak smile and closed the gap between them, resting a hoof on her shoulder, "We understand, Rarity, it's fine."

Rarity hugged her friend tightly for several seconds, "Can't you just stay here with us? You wouldn't ever have to see her again, if that isn't what you want. We could move on, like you told me to at the memorial..." her voice was brimming with hope as she let go and stepped back.

Twilight shook her head, "I'm sorry, Rarity. I can't move on from something like this. I need justice, if not for myself then for him."

Rarity nodded solemnly in response, and gave Twilight a final glance before embracing her other two friends in turn. Although Pinkie seemed to remain unaffected either way, still trying to shake the after-effects of her 'transformation', Fluttershy was almost moved to tears as she squeezed her best friend into a crushing hug. After whispering something to Fluttershy, she turned and hesitantly retreated back to her original position with a heavy heart and a lump in her throat.

Discord lowered his head down to the three below him and whispered, "I'll be just about ready to blow this joint any second now, is everypony ready?"

Twilight shook her head and whispered back, "Not yet, I have a few more things to take care of." He raised an eyebrow incredulously, "Don't worry, it won't take long." she assured him.

"... Fine, but make it quick. This is probably my least favourite place in the world."

Twilight nodded in thanks and turned to face her brother, "Shining." Her tone was pleading as she spoke, "Please, I don't want to leave you like this. Is there any way I can convi-"

He scowled as he cut her off, "No! Don't you understand what you're doing here? This is insane! You've released one of the most dangerous monsters in history!"

Discord's expression literally fell flat as he muttered "Still here." to himself.

"I love you, Twilight, but I can't just stand by and allow you to do this, regardless of why you're doing it, it's wrong! And I'm certainly not going to help!" He softened his expression slightly, "Just stop this now, before it gets out of control. We can still fix this, I promise."

Twilight shook her head, "No, we can't. I'm sorry, Shining, but it looks like this is it." She felt a lump in her throat as she looked at her brother's fearful expression, "Tell mum and dad I'm sorry, and tell them it's not their fault, okay?"

"Twilight, you aren't going anywhere, there's a huge barrier surrounding us! Please just stop and think for a minute!"

She shook her head and swallowed her sadness, turning to Celestia as she did so, "And then there's you." she spat her words venomously, but her tone was threateningly level, "You sick, scheming, disgusting whore of a 'Princess'."

Celestia's expression was one of a pony resigned to her suffering as each of Twilight's words cut deep. Luna lurched several steps forward at Twilight's final insult, "ENOUGH!" She stomped a hoof, causing the earth beneath to tremor slightly, "You will NOT speak to my sister this way, Twilight! After everything you did, I gave you another chance. I trusted you! I suffered your nightmares for you, and gave you your magic back so that you could recover, not scheme and become worse! You betrayed my trust, Twilight. I had faith in you, I thought you were my friend! Then you stabbed me in the back. How is what you've done to me any different from what Celestia did to you?"

"I didn't murder any children doing it, did I? I didn't toy with a pony's emotions for YEARS, JUST so I could discard her feelings and lie to her face at a whim, did I? I didn't lie to my own sister, and have her bear the weight of killing her friend, did I!? That's three off the top of my head!"

Discord shook the now empty bucket of popcorn, before subconsciously snapping his fingers and refilling it from the top down, without looking away from the increasingly heated argument. He was surprised when Pinkie - now apparently back to normal - suddenly jumped up and jammed a hoof into the bucket, withdrawing a huge portion before moving back to her original position nonchalantly.

Luna was grinding her teeth together audibly, "After all we've done for you over the years, you'd treat us like this? You'd leave everything behind on a whim? You'd divide your friendships?"

Twilight hesitated then nodded curtly in response, prompting Celestia to speak up once more, "W-Why? What could you possibly want to achieve from all of this, Twilight?" She stared with tears brimming in her eyes, "Whatever punishment you see fit, I'll accept it, I deserve as much. Just stop this! Please!"

"No." She squinted at the Princess, "You won't have it that easy. I'm going to be there to watch as everything you've ever loved crumbles before your eyes. I'm going to make you suffer, the way you've made me suffer. I'm going to make you truly regret what you did, Celestia, and it's going to be far from painless."

Although Discord was smirking at Celestia's distraught expression as he finished his third bucket of popcorn and had it disappear, he still gave Twilight an impatient nudge, causing her to raise a hoof quickly at him. She turned to her friends, whom Twilight knew she would be leaving behind. Pinkie and Fluttershy followed suit and stepped up beside her, forming a row of forlorn figures. Twilight turned to those on either side of her, "Do either of you want to say anything before we go?" Fluttershy nodded in response, causing Discord to roll his eyes. From Fluttershy's saddlebags, Angel brought his head up slightly, lifting the top off just enough so that Discord could briefly see him stick his tongue out before he sank back into the depths of the bag again, trying the patience of the draconequus even further.

Fluttershy cleared her throat softly, "I'm r-really sorry about this, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, Rarity. I don't w-want us to be separated like this, b-but I can't stay here and do n-nothing when my friends need my help."

Rarity swallowed and nodded understandingly, wishing that she could go with them. Fluttershy met Rarity's gaze, "R-Rarity, we're still best friends, r-right?" Again, Rarity nodded, causing Fluttershy to smile slightly, "Thank you, Rarity. Applejack? Rainbow Dash?"

Rainbow Dash just stared at her in silence as Applejack lowered the brim of her hat to cast a shadow over her face, "Fluttershy... All three of ya, please don't do this. There has to be another way we can figure this out. Ya'll can't just leave us!" Her expression fell as she spoke, "Why would you choose him over us? We're your friends!"

Fluttershy felt tears brimming in her eyes as she saw her friend's defeated expression, "A-Applejack... I-I'm sorry..."

The farmer looked up at her pleadingly, "Please, ya can't go with him. He's evil! Ah'm beggin' ya, don't!" Fluttershy fought the tears back and shook her head slowly, averting her eyes as she did so. Twilight and Rarity were both regarding Applejack sadly as she hung her head low and remained silent.

Fluttershy's gaze slowly turned to Rainbow Dash, who frowned at her in response, "I won't let you do this, any of you! You don't just get to go away, leave your friends behind and scheme against Princess Celestia! It's wrong! Evil even! And I know it's not your fault, it's him!" She nodded towards Discord, "He's deceiving you!"

Fluttershy shook her head vigorously, "T-That's not true!"

Rainbow Dash bellowed across the space between them, "Listen to yourself! You're the only one who ever trusted him, and now he's manipulating you! I bet he really has messed with your heads and you don't even know it!"

"N-No!"

"Yes!" She scowled and stomped a hoof, "There's no way the Fluttershy I know would do something so cowardly! Sure, she's quiet, but she's brave and loyal when she needs to be. And you're not her! He's turned you all into scheming traitors with his magic! You have to fight it, it's all just a bunch of lies! I know the real Fluttershy is in there somewhere, behind that false, pathetic mask!"

Fluttershy couldn't hold her tears back any longer at her friend's accusations, instead she sobbed and turned to those beside her. Pinkie wrapped a hoof around her neck, allowing her to cry into her once-again bouncy mane.

Rainbow Dash scowled, not towards them, but the creature behind them. Miniature flames danced within the eyes of the draconequus as he glared at Rainbow after noticing Fluttershy's tears. Without any visible input from himself, a noose appeared around his neck, and proceeded to constrict until it was no wider than a pencil. He held his stare the entire time, apparently unaffected as he raised his paw and pointed once between the rope and Rainbow Dash before it disappeared, though the pegasus' expression didn't waver in the slightest at the display.

Twilight tenderly put a hoof on Fluttershy's shoulder, gently encouraging her to release Pinkie. Once she did, instead opting to nuzzle against Twilight, the unicorn turned her head to Pinkie, "Anything?"

Pinkie held a passive expression and shrugged, "We'll all see each other again." she stated matter-of-factly, "So there really isn't any need for any of this ultra-mega river-crying right now."

Twilight didn't enquire as to how Pinkie knew this, instead she simply shrugged and faced in the direction of those who would not be joining them, "Rarity, Rainbow Dash, Applejack." Her voice sounded much weaker than she would have liked, "It doesn't matter to me that you're staying here rather than coming with us. It's a difficult decision, and I don't consider any one of you any less of a friend for making that choice. But listen carefully." Even formulating the next words in her head was difficult enough as she continued, "I-If any of you get in our way, or try to s-stop us, I'll do whatever I have t-to." Twilight was appalled further by the words when she actually spoke them. She noted their expressions and looked pleadingly at them, "Please, j-just stay out of our w-way and everything will b-be alright." She looked to her brother, "That goes for you t-too, big b-brother."

Almighty silence reigned over the statue garden as Twilight's stammered demands slowly sank in. Twilight noted their expressions: Rainbow Dash was frowning at her in apparent disbelief, Applejack seemed to be crying, but it was impossible to tell beneath her heavily tilted stetson, and Rarity looked tearfully between her, Fluttershy and Pinkie every few seconds. Shining stared wide-eyed, shocked at what his little sister had just suggested, and the Princesses were both scowling at her, though Celestia's didn't seem to hold anywhere near as much malice as it did regret. Twilight stifled a sob and turned to Discord, her voice barely a whisper, "Let's go."

Pinkie turned to face Discord and jumped, "Alright! Let's get this party started!"

He chuckled, "I couldn't have said it better myself. Everypony gather rou-"

"Aren't you forgetting something, Discord?" Celestia cut him off, "There's a top level barrier spell keeping you here. Just like last time, there's no way any of you are getting out of here, no matter what you do. Even together Luna and I would struggle with so many unicorns sustaining it. Any magic that tries to leave, won't. Plain and simple." She frowned at him, "You lose. Give up."

Discord grinned maniacally, "Oh, Celestia, you really are adorable when you're angry. Not a patch on your sister though, she's adorable all the time." His grin intensified as both of the royal sisters' eyes widened in horror and embarrassment, as did the eyes of almost everypony else in the vicinity. He cleared his throat, "Seriously though, don't judge my power as if it's on a level playing field with yours, Celestia. How do you raise the sun again? You go to the highest point you can find, and focus intensely. What does Luna do to raise the moon? Same thing. What do I do?" He chuckled and snapped his fingers.

Nothing happened.

He stared in total shock at his paw for a moment before sighing amusedly, "Ahh, sorry about that everypony, buttery popcorn fingers." he chuckled as he vigorously scrubbed his paw against a towel that hadn't been there a moment earlier, and wasn't there a moment later. He grinned and snapped his fingers again.

The barrier smashed into shimmering smithereens, which quickly disintegrated before they fell to the ground. The noise of shattering was horrendous, not too dissimilar to being in a window factory during an earthquake. Discord just grinned smugly at the horrified expressions of the Princesses and the guards, especially those who had previously been outside the barrier, safely maintaining it.

"S-Stop them!" Celestia barked immediately.

A spell shot from Luna's horn the instant Celestia had began speaking. Though to the surprise of everypony present the spell rocketed towards Twilight, not the draconequus. Discord snapped his fingers one final time, a flash of white enveloping the area around him and his companions instantaneously.

Luna's spell disappeared into the blinding light, causing her to lose sight of it.

The familiar feeling of teleporting washed over Twilight. She braced herself slightly in response, but recoiled at the last second as a beam of deep blue collided with her head-on. Strangely, all that followed was a brief tingling sensation. Then the teleportation took effect.

Various spells from the surrounding guards flew towards the flickering light, and Rainbow Dash and Shining Armor had instinctively lunged forwards upon realising what was happening. With a final bright flash, the light dissipated, and their fears were confirmed.

Nopony, nor draconequus, stood in the centre.

Rainbow came to an abrupt stop, cursing loudly as she lowered herself to the ground and kicked at it repeatedly. Apart from her and Applejack - who still had her stetson pulled too far across her face for her eyes to be seen - everypony watched in sympathetic silence as Shining Armor bolted to his sister's previous position.

Shining slowed his gallop to a trot as he approached the epicentre, tears blurring his vision as he stared at the spot where Twilight had stood moments before, only to vanish in the company of a monster, "Twilight!" He fell to his knees, "This can't be happening... It just cant..."

Whether Discord had heard him or not was unclear, but as his sinister laugh rang through the statue garden it served as an adequate response to Shining's statement.

'It is.'

Author's Notes:

Hey all! I'm really, really sorry about the long wait. My exams start next week, and continue into next month, so I seriously need to keep hitting the books. Unfortunately - as you've probably noticed - this is slowing down my chapter production considerably, as I'm too tired to write afterwards. Sure, I could just write something easy for myself and post it to tide you all over, but it's my firm belief that you guys deserve the best I can offer, and I can't function at my very best as much when I'm stressing over exams, so hopefully that explains why in case you guys are wondering.

On a seperate note, I've checked this chapter like 9 times already, and I feel that I've missed some key detail out. I'd ask my pre-readers to check, but both go to my school and are revising too :( So please, if anyone spots a serious error that contradicts the plot in here, please let me know ASAP (It might just be that I'm acting paranoid though, so don't go out of your way to look for one, just in case there really isn't one).

As always, thank you for your continued patience and support with my various projects, moreso as my final exams approach - Mikemarksman (still bringing you the scope of what's going on. No, I won't drop that pun until I find something even cheesier.)