Twilight made her choice. She stepped through the door Discord had conjured. She found herself in her Canterlot quarters. Spike was sleeping right where she left him. However, almost nothing else in the room was how she left it. Her drawers and wardrobes were opened and rifled through, her books were thrown from their shelves in a pile on the floor, and the doors were wide open with a pair of guards laying unconscious on the floor.

Twilight shook Spike awake with her magic, "Spike, Spike wake up!"

The dragon groaned, "Twilight? What's going on?"

"Somepony got in-" Crash!

A voice cursed from inside her closet. Twilight dropped into a defensive stance. She lit her horn and opened the closet door. A brown earth pony with an hour glass cutie mark was searching through her clothes. "Come on. There has to be a bloody key in here some where..." Twilight cleared her throat and he looked up. "Oh its you," he said venomously.

Twilight blinked, "do I know you?" The pony did look familiar. She couldn't quite put her hoof on it.

The stallion held an accusing look, "No, but I certainly know who you are, Twilight Snootle. Your the one threw my wife in prison and forced little Dinky to grow up without her mother. Do you have any clue what I had to put up with just to get her some decent meals? Nooo, because you we're too busy arresting my bloody rescuer!"

It suddenly dawned on her, "Your that pony Applejack was helping the other night."

"Well whoop- dee doo Princess Snootle, you finally bothered to remembered one of us 'common ponies,''" he gave her a mocking bow, "now if you will stand aside I have a mare to save."

One day ago Twilight would have arrested him for that insult. Instead she hung her head in shame. How could she have been so blind? It wasn't the war or democracy that was threatening her subjects. It was her. Ten years of pushing Equestria toward the light and this was the result. A scared, desperate pony trying in vain to bring those he loves together again. How many more ponies had she and Celestia hurt all these years? She was too afraid to count.

"I'm sorry. I truly am." She stared at the at the angry stallion before her. Suddenly, she realized what she must do, "but I will make it up to you."

She went back into the bedroom and approached an unassuming section wall. She used her magic to open a secret drawer. The visitor raised his eyebrows when she took out her master key. "Why are you doing this," he asked.

"Yeah," Spike cut in, " On top of that, What's this about Applejack arrested? How did this pony get in here? Why is there a door in the middle of the room? And... have you been crying?"

"We don't have much time to explain Spike. Our friends need our help. Get the combat gear immediately... oh, and fetch me some ink and paper I have a letter to write." Spike obliged and Twilight started off her letter. She glanced at her guest who still wore a questioning look. The princess sighed and explained herself

[Twilight]
This pony is in need
He needs a second glance
If I want to change
This one could be my chance

Can I be forgiven?
How can I right these wrongs?
When my heart has been shut
unopened for so long

If I help, I am a condemned
If I don't change, I am damned

I am Celestia's faithful student
She's always looked to me
How can I abandon her?
How can she live?
If I'm not at her side

If I leave, she is condemned
If I stay, I am damned

Twilight rolled up her letter and placed it neatly on her bed. The three of them armed themselves and moved toward the mines. Thankfully most of the guards already left for Ponyville. Only a skeleton crew was left behind. They galloped unchallenged to the mine entrance.

Who am I?
Can I leave these ponies in agony?
Pretend I am fighting for harmony
And force them all to show us love
When they clearly have had enough
Who am I?
Can I ever live with myself again?
Are the wounds I have made too deep to mend?
This guilt I have consumes my soul
My own conscience has paid its toll
Will you hear?
Will you hear when I ask for forgiveness?
Even though I don't deserve such kindness
I've hurt so many of you I know
I should have realized long ago
I've done so much that I regret
There is no way I can forget

Who am I? Who am I?

[Spike]
Your Twilight Sparkle?

Twilight shed a single tear, "I'm not really sure anymore."

Spike scratched his head, "Well, How can you not be Twilight? You've got the same mane, same eyes, and same cutie mark."

"I'm talking about my actions Spike. Tell me honestly has anything I've done in the past decade been friendly."

"That's easy you..." Spike paused. He desprately searched his memory for an example, "I know! You released Applejack."

"Yeah, I released her with the mark of a traitor and forced her to beg on the streets," Twilight said sarcastically, "not to mention I just tried to kill her a few hours ago."

"What!? So you tried to kill Applejack, tried to arrest Applejack, Luna has apparently been released from the moon, your helping an earth pony bust his revolutionary wife out of jail, and Celestia has taken the entire Royal Guard to Ponyville to squash the Republic once and for all. Is there anything else I should know?"

Twilight nodded, "Luna's been executed, I threw Rarity in prison, and... shot Fluttershy."

Spike's jaw dropped, "how long was I asleep?"

"Ahem," interrupted their third party member, "I don't mean to interrupt, but we're here." Twilight used her key to open the iron gate. The earth pony rushed in to be met met with a pair of bayonets.

"Halt! Who goes there?" one of the guards asked.

Twilight stepped in,"stand down. Now take us to the warden. I have something to discuss with her." They went down to the warden's office. Twilight noticed that nopony was working below. The prisoners were all packed into their barred sleeping cells. The few remaining guards patrolled the main chamber keeping them all quiet.

They found the warden snoozing at her desk. Twilight coughed and the warden shot out of her chair, "Princess Twilight what are you doing here? If it's about the gemstones I'm working on it. It's just some of the prisoners are... well, whining."

"Madame Warden, I need you to give me your keys. I am releasing the prisoners."

"What! But your highness they're Republicans. Why do you want to free them?"

"I made a mistake and now I'm fixing it. Now give me your keys and if you know what's good for you, you and your guards will get out immediately." Twilight lit her horn to make her point. The warden gave her the keys and scrambled out the door followed by the pair who escorted them there.

Twilight grabbed the keys in her magic, "which ones do you want Mr... uh"

"Doctor, Doctor Whooves. Um, are the cell doors deadlocked?"

"No, only the entrance is."

"Fantastic!" The doctor whipped out a small metal wand and charged out of the office yelling, "Avante!"

"That was weird," commented Spike, "Does this mean we didn't need the warden's keys at all?"

Twilight shrugged and galloped out after him. She and Spike saw to telling the remaining guards to leave while Doctor Whooves released the prisoners with his wand or screwdriver as he called it. At every cell the stallion asked, "Is Derpy in there? Has anypony seen Derpy?"

After about a dozen attempts he was finally given an answer, "Doctor?"

"Derpy? Derpy is that you?" The couple embraced each other through the bars. "Oh Derpy, I thought I would never see you again. I missed you so much. Lets get you out of here." He opened the door and they embraced a second time. Derpy buried her face in her husband's shoulder and cried tears of joy.

Twilight had just warned the last guard to leave when Rarity approached her. "What are you doing Twilight?"

"I'm freeing you."

"That wasn't what I meant," Rarity responded. Her fellow prisoners formed a circle around the princess. Hatred and pain burned in their eyes. They wanted an explanation. The whole explanation

"We don't have time for this," Twilight offered, "Rainbow Dash is in trouble. She needs our help."

Rarity shook her head, "We can't just forgive you like that. Explain yourself, then we will decide if your trustworthy."

Twilight sighed. She told them everything. Everything she did over the past few days came pouring out of her. Her talk with Celestia, the trap she set for Rainbow, her fight with AJ, and above all the painful realization of how wrong she was. She had no idea if her confession was meant to help her case or diminish it. She didn't know if anypony would believe a word she said, but she didn't care. For the first time in forever, she was going to be honest.

[Twilight]
You see everypony
You you know it's true
I bear much more guilt than you
Who am I?
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Author's Note

Wow. Now I know how the show writers feel about writing Spike. It was almost impossible to fit him into the parts he was present in and sometimes I just forgot him entirely. Yes, Dr. Whooves is a character in this. No, there will not be any show references aside from his sonic screw driver. BTW, the voices I imagine for him and Derpy are from the Dr Whooves and Assistant series. Hope you enjoyed it. Only two chapters to go.