One month had passed. In that month, change had became the norm around Ponyville, and it was anypony's guess as to which direction said change would lead. The more perceptive of the inhabitants, however, had seen the changes in the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony, and had prepared for the worst.

The Carousel Boutique now spent more time closed than open, its owner always found at the memorial, staring blankly at the earth beneath the proud, shining statue - almost comatose - for hours on end. Many had tried to snap her out of her trance, or prevent her from reaching the memorial, but each time these ponies were simply levitated aside gently by Rarity's magic, seemingly ignored.

Applejack's efforts on the farm weren't productive in the slightest, her thoughts too preoccupied with images of her friends. All were suffering, causing her to suffer too which, in turn, made the farm suffer as a whole; profits dropping to half as much as usual at best, even with Big Mac working overtime. Despite his almost superpony strength and stamina, four weeks of near non-stop apple bucking had began to take their toll; his gradual exhaustion becoming more apparent with each passing day.

Rainbow Dash had almost been fired three times in four weeks, often seen taking her aggression out on any 'offending' clouds nearby, which wouldn't usually be a problem, if not for the fact that she attacked all of them, including the ones that were supposed to be there - and threatening anypony who tried to intervene - setting the other weather pegasi back days. She was now rarely seen outside of work. Nopony knew exactly where she went, or what she did - though several rumours were beginning to spread - only that she would return to work the next day with sunken eyes, a frazzled mane and the prominent stench of alcohol drifting on the wind around her.

The amount of parties that were held in Ponyville had crashed, the Element of Laughter seemingly uninterested any more, devoting almost all of her time to working. Though it was great for business, the Cake's had begun to worry for Pinkie. She seemed all too happy to perform the same menial tasks over and over again. She had always performed the same tasks when she baked, but in the past she would try to entertain herself. She would sing, dance, hum tunes and jump around the bakery's kitchen, even having pretend 'sword fights' on occasion; brandishing two rolling pins and clashing them together mightily until one would inevitably disarm the other, sound effects and all. Now she worked in silence, and made it clear that she didn't want to be disturbed while she worked, a distant look in her eyes all the while.

Twilight and Fluttershy were nowhere to be found, and the only indication that they were even in Ponyville at all was the disappearance of food that the town's ponies had been leaving on their doorsteps, the plates appearing in their place an hour or so later. That, and the occasional sob that could be heard from within if one listened closely enough.

Not everything had changed for the worse though. Some things had actually improved, or at least healed. The scarred landscape outside Ponyville had began to rejuvenate, the rain eroding the pillar of earth away, albeit rather slowly - due to a certain rainbow-maned pegasus - so that it was now only three quarters of the size it was originally. The colossal bones were being sawed into pieces by construction crews each day before being carted off for disposal. The blood stains had all but washed away, the earth returning to its natural colour. Both the Everfree forest and the trees at Sweet Apple Acres were healing, and the stream by Fluttershy's cottage now ran clear once again.

Pinkie's looks had returned to normal, her mane at its usual puffiness, but although she still bounced around and tried to spread cheerfulness outside of her solemn working hours as she had always done, she seemed to have lost her spark, often giving up on her efforts almost as quickly as she started; always returning to the bakery and becoming cold and silent the instant she entered. She had sent a letter to the Princesses, asking them both for forgiveness for her actions at Spike's memorial, claiming that she was upset and couldn't think straight at the time. She received a reply the next day informing her that all was forgiven, and that Celestia's offer still stood; though Pinkie had never asked for it in her letter. Celestia's letter also asked her to remind the others of said offer, and so she had. The replies she received, however, were less than encouraging...

"Ah'm too busy for that, Pinkie..." Applejack replied half-heartedly

"I'm fine. Go away! I'll do my job just fine! Just you watch!" Rainbow Dash growled before taking off.

"I simply don't have the time dear, I'll be rather busy later. I have to... visit a friend." Rarity trailed off as she glanced at the ground sadly and made her way towards the boutique.

"I-I'm fine..." called Fluttershy through the ever-so-slightly ajar front door.

The only reply Twilight gave was a loud 'thump' as she slammed a hoof against the door, indicating she had heard.

"The Princess wants you to know that you can still ask her for help if you need it you know!" Pinkie had called in a cheerful sing-song voice from outside, and it grated on Twilight's nerves. She slammed a hoof against the door again, reminded of how easy it would have been to send a letter to the Princess, if only Spike were with her. She heard Pinkie sigh and trot away from the library. Twilight frowned as she stared blankly across the library, unable to clear the thoughts of her late brother from her mind. She had to talk to somepony she could trust in order to lift some of the heavy emotional load she had been carrying ever since the incident, somepony who wouldn't judge her, who would give her the answers she so desperately needed.

After what seemed like an age, she came to a decision, "I guess I have no choice then..." she spoke to herself, her voice quiet, almost a whisper.

Thirty minutes later, Twilight was sticking a small note to the library door, 'Gone to Canterlot. Don't know when I'll be back. Door is unlocked, withdraw books if required. Usual rules apply. - Twilight Sparkle.' She turned and headed for the train station, taking care to keep herself out of sight as much as possible. There was only one pony - one princess - that she desired to speak with now.

The journey seemed a lot longer than it usually did, leaving her alone with her thoughts. If not for the fact that a certain dragon was at the forefront of her mind, as he had been since the incident, she might have been grateful for it. When the train finally stopped Twilight's body seemed to move independent of her thoughts, her mind elsewhere. She navigated her way to the castle almost subconsciously as she thought her affairs over yet again.

Celestia had always regarded day court as something of a gamble. Ponies came in droves from all over Equestria almost every day to request an audience, each petitioning the Princess for something they regarded as crucially important, be it to themselves, the Princess or even Equestria as a whole on some occasions; as well as everything in between. From the poorest to the richest, all were allowed to speak equally under the Princess. But the gamble wasn't on whom she would be speaking with. No, the gamble was whether or not the day would be filled with meaningful proposals, helpful suggestions, and sensible questions that she could answer. These days were common, and the majority of courts were filled with such. However, on this particular day, it seemed that the odds were stacked against her. Already she had dealt with the same inter-family feud she had settled no less than thirteen times in the past decade, informed the majority of Canterlot's nobility that the 0.7% tax increase for households with a net income of over 90,000 bits a year was not "Extortionate beyond any reasonable limit of proportionality!", and had denied several other ludicrous requests from razing the Everfree Forest to the ground to opening trade with the migrating dragons.

'Honestly...' Celestia raised a hoof to her face as the huge doors to the chamber closed for the last time that day, 'Let's burn down the Everfree Forest, Your Majesty! Pay no heed to the magical backlash that could absolutely annihilate Ponyville and everypony in it, Your Majesty!' Celestia thought to herself in a mocking tone. This wasn't her normal post-court mindset, even on a bad day, but the stress of worrying about the Bearers had been getting to her; none of them had replied to her offer for help, even after she had been in direct contact with Pinkie. She was on the verge of making a visit Ponyville just to check that things were okay. She shook her head slightly, remembering to dismiss the guards before making her way into the halls of the castle. She was expecting some peace and quiet as she made her way back to her chambers, and wanted nothing more than to rest, her head was pounding and she felt emotionally exhausted having had to keep a straight face throughout the entirety of the court. However, as she rounded one of the final corners she was met with something - or rather, somepony - completely unexpected.

There stood her Faithful Student, Twilight Sparkle, dark rims around her eyes, her features held passive as if expecting to be met with something terrible at any moment. When she spoke, her words were clipped and to-the-point, "You said we could ask for your help, Princess Celestia, so I will. I have some questions that I hope you have the answers to."

Celestia examined her grimly, 'I knew I should have gone to them before now. She's tired, very tired. Oh, Twilight...' She stepped towards her pupil but kept her worries hidden, "That's right, Twilight, but not here. Follow me to my chambers, we'll speak there." she said, turning. The unicorn simply followed silently, plodding along behind her master.

With every step, the feeling grew. Twilight watched her mentor as they drew closer and closer to their destination. It was gnawing away at her, it felt horrible. She had to ask, but she couldn't find the words. 'What is this feeling!?' Twilight repeated to herself yet again, the question spinning through her distorted thoughts as it had been since she had set eyes on her teacher only a minute ago.

Celestia glanced at the unicorn behind her, then nodded to the guards at her door, indicating that she wished to be left alone. The guards obliged and trotted away obediently. As the two stepped inside, Celestia trotted slowly towards her bed and sank into it lazily, though with practised grace, and indicated with a wing that Twilight do the same. The unicorn in question simply stood by the door and shook her head, "If it's all the same to you, Princess, I'll stand."

Celestia was now visibly confused, but relented asking why; electing to address the problem at hoof as quickly as possible, "So then... What's on your mind, Twilight?"

The words stirred Twilight's emotions further, causing her to feel as if bitter bile was rising from the depths of her stomach. She forced it down, suppressing her emotions in the way she had become accustomed to over the past few weeks. She would ask later, but first she needed the answers that mattered, "How did it come to this, Princess? Discord is sealed in stone, he shouldn't have been able to summon any of his minions here, so how?" she trailed off, awaiting Celestia's answer.

"That, Twilight, is a good question. And one I'm afraid I simply don't have the answer to at the moment. We've been looking into everything, but there's no evidence to suggest that Calamity was even summoned by Discord at all."

"I see." Twilight responded mechanically, her voice devoid of emotion as she continued, "Why did Calamity attack Ponyville then? What was he - it - after?"

The Princess struggled with herself now, 'Should I tell her? No. Now is not the time, it would break her completely...' Once again she had to lie to protect the ponies she held dearest, "I don't know, though it would stand to reason that it sought to destroy the Bearers of the Elements of Harmony for sealing its master." Twilight was having more and more trouble suppressing the venom building up inside her with each word the Princess spoke, and it was starting to show.

Celestia stood now, and took a single step towards her pupil, who was now wearing what could only be described as an agonised expression, "Twilight... Are you alright?" she asked worriedly as she quickly approached her trembling student.

Twilight looked up and saw her teacher advancing. Despite her best attempts at withholding whatever toxic thoughts had been festering within her, the simple, caring words Celestia had spoken proved enough to break her resolve, "NO! NO I'M NOT ALRIGHT CELESTIA! I'VE HARDLY SLEPT IN FOUR WEEKS! MY BROTHER IS DEAD BECAUSE I WAS TOO WEAK TO SAVE HIM! I TORTURED HUNDREDS OF INNOCENT CREATURES JUST TO HURT ONE! HOW THE HELL DO YOU THINK I FEEL!?" Weeks of subdued emotions exploded all at once, the anger, the sadness, the hurt, all of it directed at Celestia. The Princess visibly reeled at this, her pupil was shaking with rage, tears streaming down her face, her expression a mixture of hate, shame and fear.

Twilight had collapsed, sobbing into her hooves loudly before the Princess came to her senses and tentatively stepped over to her beloved pupil, "Twilight..." Her tone was not one of shock or anger, it was one of hurt and concern. Celestia sat by her pupil and patiently awaited her response.

When Twilight did speak, her voice was filled with remorse and shame, "Princess, I-I'm so, so sorry... I d-don't know w-why I feel this w-way..." Celestia reached out with her hoof and gently lifted Twilight's head until their eyes met. As Twilight realised that her teacher bade her no ill will despite the verbal assault she had just delivered, a fresh bout of tears streamed down her face.

"Twilight... It's time you ask me what's really on your mind..." she said gently, wearing a soft, encouraging smile.

Several minutes passed, as Twilight took several deep breaths, trying to find the right way to start. In the end, she sniffled heavily and settled with the simplest, "Why, Princess? Why d-did this have to happen to us? To those poor ponies? T-To Spike?"

Celestia looked Twilight in the eyes and spoke soothingly, "Even I do not know the answer to that question, Twilight..." she nuzzled her student gently, "Only that we should live on in the hope of seeing them again, one day."

"You r-really believe that, P-Princess?"

"I do."

At this, Twilight stood up and backed away from her mentor slightly. Her next question would be difficult enough without looking her idol in the eyes. Though it was no longer mixing with the other pent up emotions that now flowed freely, she still felt it, that awful feeling in her stomach. Every time she looked at the princess she adored, or heard her voice, it was there, and she needed to know what it was, "P-Princess..." Twilight's eyes were now downcast, particularly interested in the carpet beneath her all of a sudden, "Ever since the m-memorial I've had this feeling..." she traced a hoof ashamedly through the carpet that had transfixed her so, "And I'm still feeling it, even now..." she trailed off, expecting Celestia to say something, but the Princess remained silent, "Every time I see you, or hear you, or even think of you, I get this horrible feeling..." she tried to find the right words, "I-It's almost as if I... resent you, but I don't know why... I-It's tearing me apart..." more tears streamed from the unicorn's eyes before she scrunched them shut, awaiting the Princess's response.

"I think I understand..." Celestia began, "You're hurting inside, and after the events of that day, when I... shouted at you like that, then effectively forced Spike to undergo that horrible procedure..." Twilight couldn't decide what was more shocking, the fact that, for the first time in her life, she was hearing the Princess speak as if she was ashamed, or that the venom in her own stomach was replaced by sadistic joy as she did so, "You subconsciously blame me for everything that happened, and rightly so." That was too much. Even if it did satiate the cruel desire within her, it wasn't what Twilight wanted. The Princess was speaking as if she was solely to blame for all the hardships they had endured, as if she was the only one guilty of doing any wrong that day.

Twilight staggered forwards and leapt into an embrace with the Princess, "It's n-not all your fault P-Princess! Don't m-make it seem like that..." she sobbed. Both wept into each other's manes now, each upset over the guilt and suffering of the other.

Several minutes passed before Celestia gained enough of her composure to speak again, "You still blame me a little, don't you?"

Twilight nodded, "Y-Yes, but it's nowhere near as bad as before... I-I feel like I can t-trust you again, Princess."

"Then we can only hope it will fade completely, given time." Celestia nuzzled her student gently once again before casting a glance over the the balcony, "Speaking of time, it is almost time I set the sun for the day, you should probably make your way home. Which reminds me, you're not planning on going back to Ponyville, are you?" At this Twilight seemed confused, "I think it would be best if you spent a while here in Canterlot."

Twilight managed an inquisitive glance, "What makes you say that, Princess?"

At this, Celestia smiled, "I'm expecting a certain Prince of the Crystal Empire to be here on official business in a few days time."

Twilight took a second to register what the Princess had said, then smiled for what felt like the first time in years, "Shining!" Twilight embraced Celestia once more, "Thank you, Princess!"

Celestia looked as though she were about to respond, but both were interrupted by a loud cough coming from the balcony. Both wheeled round to see Luna leaning against the archway, wearing a playful smirk, "I trust I'm not interrupting anything too intimate?" Celestia rolled her eyes and Twilight blushed deeply at the insinuations of the statement. Luna laughed, though abruptly stopped as she noticed the large rings around Twilight's eyes. She glanced to her Celestia worriedly, who in turn gave her a look that she had come to interpret as, 'We'll talk about it later'.

Celestia turned to Twilight, "If that is all, I think it is about time you got some sleep, Twilight. I expect you would have stayed with your parents tonight, but I would advise against it. Not that I wish to sound... harsh, but you look exhausted, it might startle them."

"To put it mildly." Luna added with another smirk, earning a slight glare from her sister, causing her to chuckle once more.

"You may sleep in your room here in the castle if you wish." Celestia finished. Twilight nodded gratefully, but wore a solemn expression. Even though a large weight had been lifted from her emotionally, she knew that the nightmares would be back, as they were every night.

Celestia whispered something to her sister, who nodded and stepped up to Twilight, "Twilight, I need you to relax for a moment, okay?" The unicorn looked puzzled but obeyed, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath before exhaling it slowly. As she did so, Luna pressed the tip of her horn against Twilight's, a soft blue aura slowly flowing from Luna's down into the unicorn's. Twilight was embraced by a soothing feeling momentarily, then it was over. She opened her eyes and looked at Luna questioningly, who smiled back knowingly, "No more nightmares, at least for a while. You've suffered too much already."

"How did you-" Twilight glanced at Celestia, who smiled back knowingly. Twilight smiled and hugged Luna tightly, tears threatening to find their way to her eyes once again, "Thank you so much, Princess!"

When Twilight eventually relinquished the embrace, she finally realised just how tired she really was. Luna spoke with mock annoyance, "Now, off to bed with you! I've seen quite enough tears of late!" All present smiled before Twilight bowed slightly and promptly left the room.

As the door closed, the two turned and stepped out onto the balcony. Luna spoke as Celestia began to lower the sun over the horizon, "The nightmares she is having are horrifying." Luna grimaced, "Even by my experience of a 'Nightmare' they are bad. No wonder she's being avoiding sleep for so long."

"Yes, I can imagine they are, but you have taken care of them?" Celestia asked sadly.

"For the time being. Though she will only truly be rid of them in time..." Luna replied.

Both looked out over the sunset now, and both wore a troubled expression. Luna's, over the graphic images of what Twilight had done that day that had flashed before her eyes as she had channelled the spell. Celestia's, over the fact that she had lied to her student, again. Even if it was to make Twilight feel better, lying still didn't sit right with her. 'All will be revealed in time...' she thought to herself, 'Just be patient, my Faithful Student...'

The two then looked at each other wearily before Luna spoke, "At least things can only get better from here on in, right, Sister?"

Celestia was never one to tempt fate, but found herself too exhausted to care, "Yes, Luna, I suppose you're right..." The regal sisters shared a final weak smile, then Luna turned to the horizon, and began to raise the moon.

Twilight sank onto her bed contentedly, even if the sun had set only minutes ago, she was far more tired than she ever thought possible. She closed her eyes and thought through the events of the day, 'I'll have to make sure I get somepony to check on the library...' was the last thing that crossed her mind before she drifted off into the realm of dreams.

Twilight sat in the library now, surrounded by her closest friends. Princess Luna laughed mirthfully, a few stray tears streaming down her face as she desperately tried to finish the story of one of Celestia's greatest exploits. The reactions of the mares assembled differed greatly. Fluttershy and Rarity had turned beet red, simply the idea of Princess Celestia behaving in such a way making the two feel embarrassed on her behalf. On the other hoof, Applejack, Pinkie and Rainbow Dash were laughing just as hard as Luna was, desperately trying to keep their laughter under control so that they could hear the end of the story, "She had absolutely no idea what was happening! She was all over the place, and she'd only had half a glass!"

Spike stepped through from the kitchen, carrying a tray full of refreshments, laughing heartily as he placed it on the table in the centre. Twilight had expected this, and braced herself. But nothing felt wrong, they were happy again, this was the way things should have been. There was no room for sadness here, only laughter, and happiness, and joy, "And the next day she didn't remember a thing!" Luna continued. All were laughing now, even Twilight. Come to think of it, she didn't know why, after all, she had only caught half the story, not that it mattered. Everypony leaned in closer, each loudly whispering their questions as if they were afraid of being discovered. All went silent as the sound of the door opening filled the room, and through it stepped Celestia looking radiant and beautiful as always. Twilight thought she heard another whisper, but none of the others were speaking; all were staring at Celestia, trying their utmost not to burst out laughing at her timing.

Celestia glanced nervously around the room, realisation slowly dawning upon her face, "Luna! If I find out you have been telling those stories again, I swear I will-" she was cut off there, each of the room's inhabitants exploding into a chorus of laughter at Celestia's expression. Even through the laughter, Twilight swore she still heard the whisper from earlier, it was strange. Not unnerving, just... out of place.

After a minute or so, Spike wiped a tear from his face and took a cautious step forwards, "We're sorry Princess Celestia, but your timing couldn't have been any better!"

The Princess in question smiled amusedly, even as she scowled playfully at her sister, "Yes, I'm sure... I trust you have been well, Spike?"

"Oh you have NO idea! Everything's been awesome!"

Twilight stood back a little and looked at Spike and Celestia conversing merrily. As she did so, the whisper from earlier grew louder. She could hear it now. It was distinctly male, and she was sure she had heard it somewhere before... "When all the truth does..." Yes, she had heard it before, somewhere... "Is make your heart ache..." The room was distorting slightly now, the dream ending. Twilight cast one final glance to the Princess and Spike, who smiled back at her.

Everything began to turn to darkness, but the voice was still there. She recognised it now, "Discord!" she shouted into the nothingness.

To her surprise, there was no malicious laugh in response. Instead, his tone of voice changed, to the point where it almost seemed sorrowful. An image of Celestia appeared from the darkness as he spoke again, "Sometimes a lie..." the image faded and was replaced by one of Discord in his stone prison, "Is easier to take..."

Twilight awoke, but didn't jolt upwards as she had expected herself to, she simply lay there and thought things over, 'What was that all about? I don't think that was a nightmare, was it? It was just... weird.' She rubbed her eyes with her hooves and looked at the window, rays of sunlight were streaming through the gap in the curtains now, 'At least I got a decent night's sleep for once...' Twilight got out of bed and went to brush her hair. As hard as she tried, she couldn't shake the image of Discord from her mind, or the cryptic words he had spoken, 'And why the emphasis on Princess Celestia? This is getting really weird...' Twilight mused. She considered asking Princess Luna about it, perhaps the spell hadn't worked properly? 'No, not yet at least, the Princesses will be busy...' An idea occurred to her, 'I suppose I could do that, I'm not going to find any answers just sat here anyways.' Ten minutes later, Twilight was trotting off towards the castle's statue garden. As she walked, she mulled it over in her head, 'When all the truth does is make your heart ache, sometimes a lie is easier to take? That was what he said to AJ in the maze...' She was sceptical as to whether or not her visit would actually turn up anything, it seemed silly really, it was probably just an abstract dream. Still, she couldn't shake the feeling that she would find something, almost as if she was drawn to the statue prison of the draconequus by some unseen force. Twilight shook her head and continued on.

Down in the statue garden stood a lone statue of Discord, Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. His pose was one of defeat and resignation. His head hung low, and if one looked carefully enough they might see the faint raised outline of a tear just below his eye. The sound of the wind passing through the garden seemed to change, resembling a long, drawn out sigh for just a heartbeat, 'She will be here soon...' he thought to himself sadly, and prepared.

Author's Notes:

Edited as of 27/4/14. Quality, grammar, and wording of sentencing is now vastly better than it was. Titles changed to names where possible.