Post Revolution

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22

Chapter 1

Rainbow shivered in the chilled evening air, the light drizzle of rain doing very little to raise her mood or body temperature. Her hooves continued to press forwards, even as small puddles of water formed on the dirt road. A strong gust of wind tossed her mane about, and served to chill her body further. She ruffled her wings, attempting to generate more warmth, yet failed, as any heat that had been trapped by her feathers was released into the air.

She continued onward, despite her saddlebags increasing weight, due to the rain, and weighing her down further. Time seemed to drone on for her as she got closer and closer to the forest where she was believed to be. The roll of thunder cracked in the distance, Rainbow's ears perked up at the sound, knowing that it would signal the storm's start in earnest. She clenched her teeth, the rainstorm was no different from the hundreds of other storms she had experienced, yet things had changed since then. It no longer felt the same. The entire world seemed to notice the difference too, ever since Celestia and Luna had been dethroned, the unicorns who had been moving the sun and moon... The days were shorter, and the nights were longer, and colder.

Things had been different... Before it happened... Rainbow pushed the thought aside, she needed to find Twilight- her friend... The Inquisitor made her a 'deal she couldn't refuse.' She snorted, his deal was more blackmail than the promise he claimed it was. The Inquisitor... he had changed... She wasn't sure when, but she knew he had changed... Things never seemed to go according to the plan when he became involved in something. Celestia and Luna could attest to that... She grimaced and forced the thought away, as it brought back memories of simpler times.

Rainbow paused when she reached the edge of the forest, and stared blankly down the beaten path. 'Twilight's not... Well, none of them were threats...' Yet the Inquisitor still wanted Princess Twilight Sparkle. Something to do with 'justice' as he called it. His promise to her, that Twilight would be safe and well cared for, should she succeed in bringing her back.

Many ponies had tried to locate Twilight after she fled all those years ago... None had succeeded, and few had come close to even finding her. He thought Rainbow, being one of her friends, and fellow bearer of an element of harmony would have a better chance of succeeding where others had failed... Whether he was right or not, she was not sure. Things... Things had changed, during the course of the Revolution... Rainbow hadn't hated the princesses or anything like that, but the Inquisitor... He made so many good points... One night, a panicking Twilight had said the Inquisitor was evil... Nopony believed her, of course... She had been distraught at that, and asked them not to go to that rally...

Everypony just ignored her warnings, and Rainbow could still remember the look on Twilight's face as she lit her horn and teleported away.

She blinked, and shivered as a slight breeze reminded her that she needed to find Twilight... She lifted a hoof, and started down the path into the forest. As she walked, her eyes constantly scanned her surroundings, it would be dark soon, and Equestria wasn't as peaceful as it had been before... Many animals that once wouldn't have batted an eye at a pony walking by would now flee or attack. Of course, she could handle anything the forest could throw at her.

...It would just slow her down, and that would prove detrimental to her search...

She found herself grateful for being inside the forest, the tree canopy blocked most of the rain out, but did little for the temperature. She shivered again, and ruffled her wings unconsciously. Her wet fur did little to keep in any heat, and her drenched mane made the back of her neck cold. She paused for a moment to shake herself off, throwing water droplets in every direction. It didn't completely dry her, but she felt a little better.

She resumed walking, and continued scanning her surroundings for any sign of danger, or any place an alicorn might hide. The dying light made her add a place to set up camp to her list of things to look for. A rustling sound came from the bushes to her right, her head shot towards the source of the noise only to see a pair of eyes staring at her. The sight unnerved her, and she cautiously backed away from the bush. The eyes blinked at her retreat, and then disappeared as soon as they appeared. Rainbow let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, and turned around to continue her search.

A few minutes later she came to a stop. A tree had fallen over and was blocking the path, something that wasn't a problem for pegasi like herself. She briefly wondered what had caused it as she flew over the tree, then landed on the other side. The path ahead was turning more rugged, and less traveled as it progressed, getting closer to the rocky dragon lands. She had seen dragons before, of course, and they didn't scare her.

Of course that was before. This was now. If relations with the dragons was cool before, they was freezing now. The Inquisitor had plans to attack the dragons, but Equestria hadn't recovered from the last conflict yet. it would take time before they had the strength to be victorious over the dragons. The only thing seemingly preventing the dragons from attacking was Spike.

Rainbow smiled briefly, then it disappeared as her thoughts turned to how distant they had all become.

She sighed, 'Why is this so hard? I'm a captain for pony's sake! Why am I having all these doubts recently...' She wondered if it was how the Inquisitor was acting... No, that wasn't it... He was acting slightly different... But... Maybe it was something he mentioned briefly?

Or maybe it was just taking years for her to come to realize it wasn't an accident.

She shook her head, "No. The Inquisitor said it was an accident..." A small part of her mind whispered, 'He's lied before... He'll lie again...'

Thunder cracked high above in the sky, reminding her where she was. She shook her head, and pressed forwards, carefully avoiding holes and sticks, lest she make any sound to attract a predator, or injure herself. Most of the animals in this forest were normal, not magical creatures. Some of the scout reports had indicated other, less mundane creatures had started taking up residence here, but not in numbers she would need to worry about. She let the silence, broken only by the sound of the rain calm her nerves. It was calm, and peaceful. If it wasn't for the cold, she would have been fooled into believing that the Revolution had been a dream. But that was-

It was too quiet. Rainbow froze mid-stride, all her senses suddenly told her something was wrong. Her eyes darted back and forth, left and right, looking for anything wrong. Nothing...

Even before she had crossed the tree, it had been eerily silent, the forest was still... Like it was holding its breath... She winced, 'I should have noticed this sooner...' She should have realized that something was wrong... But she hadn't. She had been too preoccupied, too unfocused... Too lulled into a sense of safety by the calm drizzle of rain...

She ruffled her wings, taking note of how wet they were, and realized it would slow her down significantly.

She grimaced, but her face froze when she felt she was being watched... By a predator. She remained perfectly still for several seconds, carefully listening for any sound to indicate the presence of something else.

Nothing.

She cautiously swiveled her ears about, carefully listening in each direction for any sound. She still heard nothing. The pegasus's senses still told her something was wrong, yet her ears and eyes told her there was no immediate threat. She slowly turned her head left, then right, carefully scanning for anything out of the ordinary. Nothing.

She looked behind her, carefully, and slowly.

Nothing.

She looked back forwards. Nothing but trees and bushes. She sighed, and shook her head. She took a step forwards, then paused to look up, then down. Nothing. She looked back behind her one last time, then continued along on her journey much more carefully.

The feeling of being watched never truly left her.

As seconds turned into minutes, she slowly became more sure of herself. Eventually the feeling of being watched became a background sensation, but it was still there. Eventually, the path disappeared completely, and she had to make her own way. During the course of this, she came across a clearing that was a perfect spot to set up camp for the night, though, ever cautious, she would need a fire to keep predators away.

By the time she had her camp set up, and fire blazing, the night had fallen in earnest. The evening had droned on, like it had for several years, due to incompetent unicorns moving the sun. She snorted in annoyance, it had been hard on everypony, in her mind however, pegasi had it the worst, though her heart knew it was untrue.

She sat down on her haunches by the fire, and rubbed her hooves together. The warmth of the fire felt wonderful to the still-damp pegasus. She sighed contently as the fire dried her fur out. She unfolded her wings and brought them forwards, so they would be closer to the fire and warm up quicker.

The soft glow of the fire banished any weariness concerning predators she had, and lulled her into a sense of security. Despite the sense of safety, she reached a wing over to one of her saddlebags, and opened it to make sure she still had everything. She smiled and closed it, safe in the knowledge she could defend herself should the need arise. She tossed another stick of wood onto the fire, and yawned. She slowly stood up and walked into her tent, she needed her rest, she had a big day tomorrow after all.

Rainbow opened her eyes, unsure of what had woken her. She squinted in the darkness, unable to make out anything. The wind caused the nearby bushes to rub against the tent, making scratching noises. "Uggh..." she groaned, and plopped her head back down on her pillow in annoyance. She shut her eyes, attempting to go back to sleep.

'Wait, there aren't any bushes near the tent-' Rainbow's eyes shot open, the pegasus now fully awake and aware of the potential danger she faced. She immediately reached over to her saddlebags- Only for her hoof to grasp at nothing, she looked where her saddlebag should have been, and remembered she had left it outside. She winced at realizing she had no weapons to defend herself from whatever was outside.

Other than herself, that is. She smiled in determination, 'Whatever you are... I'll kick your flank into next week for waking up Captain Rainbow Dash!' She pulled herself up, and rustled her wings, getting a feel for how they would respond to her. She smiled, and folded her wings back to her sides.

She slowly, and quietly, made her way to the front of the tent. She lifted the flap with a hoof, and stepped out. The blackness of the night was almost disorientating, she grimaced when she realized she let the fire die sometime during the night. She swiveled her ears around, searching for any sound. The scratching had stopped. Something seemed wrong, she could barely see, even with her pegasus eyesight.

She slowly made her way to the edge of the tent, and peered around. The growl she was greeted with made her duck back behind the edge. Another growl, this time from behind her. She turned to see another wolf, teeth blared, growling at her. She instinctually took a step back at the sight of the predator. Her eyes darted around the ground, searching for her saddlebags.

Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention to a third wolf, lunging at her. The same moment she spread her wings to take flight, another wolf hit her from behind, jaw latching around her wing. She clenched her jaw as the wolf tore out feathers and fur, and clamped down. She bucked out with her hind legs, they made solid contact with part of the wolf, it whimpered as it was thrown away. Rainbow bit her tongue as she folded her injured wing to her side, the pain telling her all she needed to know about flying away.

The first wolf impacted her, knocking her over into the tent. Rainbow kicked at the wolf's head to prevent it from sinking its teeth into her. Soon another wolf joined the first, and snapped at her neck. She waited for the first wolf to move to the side, then kicked its paws out from under it, sending it to the floor. She quickly jumped up, and swung around on two hooves, and kicked at the other wolf. The wolf yelped as one of her hooves made contact with its muzzle, drawing blood.

Rainbow Dash made like her name during the brief lull in battle, and dashed out of the tent. She looked to the sky just in time to see the clouds part just enough for the moon to shine down on the ground, the sight made her smile. She looked around on the ground for her saddlebags. Near a pile of burnt ashes, lying on the grass where she had left it, was her saddlebag. Her smile widened.

She stepped forwards, causing a wolf to impact her off center, throwing them both to the ground awkwardly. Rainbow stopped smiling as she landed on her injured wing. She ignored the pain, and shot back up almost immediately. She turned to face the wolf, and put her body closer to the ground, entering a combat stance. While she was focused on the wolf which was sizing her up, another wolf lunged at her from behind, aiming for one of her hooves. Rainbow felt the wolf's teeth sink into her, she immediately jerked her leg out, throwing the wolf away.

While Rainbow was distracted by the wolf biting her leg, the one that had tried to tackle her lunged at her again. The wolf impacted her and threw her to the ground. Using its paws, the wolf tried to hold her hooves down. The wolf had the advantage of being on top, one which the other two wolves immediately came to assist. Rainbow bucked out, managing to knock the first one off, and rolled over onto her stomach, then forced herself up.

She immediately flared out her wings, ignoring the pain coming from one, and flapped them at the wolves, attempting to frighten them away. The wolves at first seemed to back away, but they quickly realized it was a sign of desperation, and they took turns jumping towards her, then jumping back. Each time one would jump forwards, Rainbow would flap her wings threateningly at it, doing her best to ignore the pain coming from her wing and leg.

A sound from behind her drew her attention just in time to buck out her back legs, meeting the wolf that had tackled her square in the chest. The wolf yelped and fell to the side, Rainbow grunted and fell forwards slightly from the impact. The other two wolves saw their opportunity, and lunged forwards at her in unison, Rainbow, having been thrown off balance from defending against one wolf already, was unable to right herself in time. The two wolves tackled her and worked together to hold her down.

Her head hit the ground, and it hurt. She had experienced worse, however. She looked around desperately, frantically searching for her saddlebags as she struggled against the two wolves attempting to make a meal out of her. She caught sight of her bags, she disengaged one of her hooves to reach for it. The bag was so close... Yet so far out of reach... She looked back to the wolves.

Over the sound of the wolves, she thought she heard something... Something she couldn't quite place. A second later, there was a flash of purple light out of the corner of her eye. The wolf that hadn't been on top of her yelped, immediately the two wolves on her looked up and away from Rainbow in surprise. She used the opportunity wisely, and bucked out at the wolves, throwing them off of her. She reached for her saddlebags, but paused when the two wolves started rushing away from her, she followed their paths to where they lead.

She held back a gasp as she saw Twilight approaching the her, in rapid succession, two bolts of magic flew from her horn and impacted both wolves. They immediately and silently fell to the ground, whether dead or unconscious, Rainbow was unsure. The alicorn seemed to look at Rainbow for several seconds, then calmly approached her. Her horn was still lit, and as Twilight approached her, she could tell that the alicorn had grown, a lot. She was easily as tall as Princess Celestia...

Her train of thought was replaced by another when their eyes met, Twilight's eyes just screamed bloody murder. Rainbow froze momentarily. When she recovered, her head shot towards her saddlebags. She reached out with a hoof to grab at them.

"No." Twilight spoke. Rainbow grunted as a bolt of magic struck her, sending a tingly feeling down her spine. Slowly, she lost all feeling in her hooves, and watched as her hoof fell to the ground. She could still hear the alicorn approaching, but she couldn't move, or even speak.

"Rainbow Dash?" Twilight asked, her voice sounding more concerned now. Confusion filled the pegasus's mind. The next thing she knew, she was being lifted into the air. Unless her eyes were lying to her, Twilight wasn't using magic to do it.

Her head hung lightly towards the ground, she could see Twilight's legs. 'Is... Is she carrying me in her mouth!? How can she be that strong!? Wait... What... What is she-'

There was a flash of light, and the ground shifted beneath Twilight's hooves. The green, moonlit grass was replaced by hard, dull grey rock. A short ways away, she saw the mouth of a cave. Twilight started walking towards the cave, Rainbow's heart beat faster as they entered, the darkness, broken only by the glow from Twilight's horn.

Rainbow cracked open an eye and groaned, she winced as she stretched out her legs. Almost immediately she remembered what had happened the previous night, she grunted as she tried to pull herself to her hooves. After her second attempt, she slumped back down on the pillow she had been sleeping on. She immediately recognized it as the one she had brought with her, confusion flooded her mind as to what was going on. She looked towards her right, wincing as her neck muscles protested, the rock wall was illuminated by a soft purple glow coming from the other side. The glow seemed to grow brighter as she picked up the sound of approaching hoofsteps. She swallowed in fear, unsure of what would happen now.

After a few seconds, the hoofsteps stopped. She turned her head to her left, and caught sight of Twilight staring down at her, horn lit. The sight was intimidating, the alicorn before her was easily twice the height she remembered her as, her horn was easily twice as long as before, and more pointed too. Her wings, spread out wide, were massive, and sleek, graceful and menacing at the same time. Her face was unreadable, seeming to shift between concern and anger. After a few seconds of silence, Twilight slowly folded her wings and spoke, "Rainbow Dash."

The voice felt cold to the pegasus, she swallowed. "T-Twilight..." she winced at her stutter.

"Are... How are you feeling?" Twilight asked a few seconds later.

"Oh... You know... Been through... Worse..." Rainbow winced as she started to pull herself up.

"Stop moving." Twilight commanded. Rainbow immediately froze.

Neither of them spoke for several seconds, Rainbow regained her composure and spoke first, "What... What happened?"

"You were attacked by-" Twilight started, but Rainbow shook her head, wincing as she did so.

"No, I mean..." Rainbow slowly motioned one of her uninjured hooves around the cave.

"Ah..." Twilight nodded slowly. "I... I was watching you from the moment you entered the forest." Rainbow remembered the sensation of being watched and shivered, whether from the cold, or from Twilight's words, she was unsure. "When the wolves attacked you..." Twilight pursed her lips, "I wasn't sure... I had half the mind to not interfere... But... I... I couldn't..." Twilight sighed, "After I... Intervened... I carried you here."

"Yeah... I... I remember that... Why did you... You carried me in your mouth..." Rainbow mumbled. "You could have used your magic..."

Twilight nodded, "It was to make a point...." she responded coolly. Rainbow fidgeted beneath the blanket, "Stop moving." Twilight commanded, and again Rainbow immediately froze. Twilight opened her mouth to speak, then closed it.

Seconds passed, the only sound coming from Twilight's magic. Twilight broke the silence, "Why are you here?"

"I... I was looking for you..." Rainbow answered, looking away from her former friend.

"The Inquisitor." Twilight stated with a nod.

Rainbow swallowed, she didn't want to answer. "He... He said if I brought you back that he'd make sure you were kept safe... He promised..."

Twilight sighed, "Rainbow, he's using you. You... You have to see that... What happened to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna wasn't an accident."

Rainbow looked at her, "How would you know, you weren't there!"

Twilight's voice cooled further, "I tried to warn you all... You ignored me. I won't blame you for that..." She shook her head, "When I left you... I went straight to the princesses, and warned them... They didn't listen either... They did cast a spell, however... When they died... When they were murdered..." Twilight's voice was becoming agitated, "Their magic cried out to me... I felt it..."

Rainbow grew uneasy at Twilight's agitation, and with her horn still lit, she was concerned that she would do something... "Twilight..."

"And that's not all... My sister in law, my brother... My niece... I felt that too... How do you think that felt? Knowing that..." She shook her head and sighed. "Their magic cried out to me too. Do tell, was that an accident also?"

Rainbow's unease only grew under Twilight's gaze, "It... It wasn't... Supposed to happen... None of that was!"

Twilight's voice softened, "Nothing ever did go according to plan when he was involved, did it?"

Rainbow mulled over the question, Twilight had a point... But admitting it... She looked away from her, "No..." she reluctantly admitted, feeling as though she had just signed her own death warrant.

"His days are numbered." Twilight stated firmly.

Rainbow looked back to Twilight with fear, the Twilight she remembered would never say something like that. "Wh... What?"

"The Inquisitor will die by my hooves." She glared at Rainbow, "Now, about you..."

Rainbow's eyes darted around, looking for a path of escape. She ruffled her wings unconsciously, wincing as she felt pain from her injured wing. She slowly moved to sit up further.

"Stop moving." Twilight commanded. Rainbow stopped and gently lowered herself back down to the floor. Twilight could see the fear in Rainbow's eyes, and her expression softened.

Rainbow swallowed, "Wh... What happens now?"

"You were followed to the woods, there are other ponies here sent by the Inquisitor as well. I can't exactly let you leave, since you know my location." Rainbow's mouth went dry. Twilight shook her head and sighed, "It's... It has been so long... How are the others doing?"

Rainbow frowned, "They... They're doing... Okay..."

Twilight smiled lightly, "And... What... What about us? We're... We're good, right? Despite our differences?"

"What... You mean... You're... You're not going to..." Rainbow blinked.

Twilight frowned, "What do... Oh..." Twilight's eyes widened in realization, "Oh... No. No, I am not going to hurt you."

"Then... Why do you keep telling me to stop moving..?"

Twilight blinked, realizing how that must have looked for Rainbow Dash. "You're injured... Knowing you, you would have hurt yourself more... That's why I stunned you last night..." 'Mostly, anyway.'

Rainbow frowned, "Hey! It's been three years, I could have changed you know..." she huffed and crossed her arms.

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "Did you?"

"Well... Not really..." Rainbow mumbled.

Twilight chuckled lightly. "So we're good, right?"

"Yeah... I think so..." Rainbow replied absently.

Twilight nodded, "I still can't let you leave though." Rainbow grimaced. "It's for your own protection, as well as my own." 'Although, granted, I can defend myself.' Twilight frowned, "And there is the matter of the Inquisitor to deal with..." Twilight looked Rainbow in the eye, "I am going to kill him, Rainbow. Nothing will stand in my way. Nothing, nor any pony... Including you."

Rainbow shook her head, wincing as her muscles ached, "You can't! He's too powerful... Don't you think ponies have tried before!? You'll... You'll end up dead..." she ended softly, looking towards the ground.

Twilight sighed, "Rainbow, things have changed over the years... I... I'm not the same. Look at me." Rainbow obliged her command, taking in the alicorn's full height, in all her glory. Under Rainbow's gaze, she spread her wings out to their full extent, the pegasus's jaw opened slightly at the majestic sight. The combination of the large, majestic alicorn, and pale purple glow somehow reminded Rainbow of Princess Celestia, yet Twilight seemed to possess something Celestis hadn't, something she couldn't quite place. "I am more than capable of defending myself, and killing the Inquisitor. Once he is dead, Equestria. Is. Mine." she folded her wings to punctuate the statement.

Rainbow shivered, "Twilight..?" she asked, fearing her friends intentions.

"I'm not evil, Rainbow. The reason I haven't made my move yet, well, two reasons actually. One: I was getting... Acquainted... With my power, and, two: I need the time to be right, Equestria must be open to my return."

Rainbow hook her head, "They're no more open now than-"

"They are." Twilight stated. "I have not been idling away while here, Rainbow. I have friends in high places, enemies of the Inquisitor. Allies who will help me, if it is needed. Entire nations, species, really, who support me." Twilight paused, and shook her head, "None of that will be necessary. My plan-"

"You said it yourself, whenever the Inquisitor is involved, nothing goes to plan..."

Twilight turned her back to Rainbow, "He will not survive. I will. And that is all that matters..."

"What about us?" Rainbow asked softly.

Twilight turned her head back towards her, her expression softening, "Of course you matter. I just..." Rainbow winced as she started to pick herself up. Twilight sharply glared at her, "How many times am I going to have to tell you to stop moving?"

Rainbow smiled smugly as she rose to her hooves, despite the pain. "You're gonna have to force me."

Twilight's expression became flat, "That can be arranged, you know." she spoke flatly, and pointed a wing to her horn.

"You can't force me to stay still if you want me to stay here!" Rainbow shot back defensively.

Twilight sighed, "I will cast a healing spell on you, but please, give it a few hours to work before you..." 'Go and hurt yourself more.'

Rainbow huffed, "Fine." she sat back down as Twilight turned back towards her, and approached her. Twilight enveloped her within her magic, and she felt tingly all over for a few seconds, then the glow of her magic faded.

"We have some catching up to do." Twilight stated. Rainbow nodded in agreement. "So... Captain Rainbow Dash, now, who would've thought?"

Rainbow clenched her jaw, "You... You know about that?"

Twilight raised an eyebrow, "That you're an officer in Revolution's air force? Yes. I also know that as such, you are sworn to protect the Inquisitor, specifically, against alicorns."

Rainbow grit her teeth, "That's not true..."

Twilight nodded, then walked over to Rainbow and sat down beside her on her haunches. "Royalty, alicorn, what difference does it make... We both know what is actually implied there." Rainbow said nothing, Twilight sighed. "You do realize the Inquisitor is bad, right?"

Rainbow wanted to deny it, but she couldn't. She had believed- they had believed he could improve things... Some areas had improved, others hadn't. "I've been thinking a lot about that lately... More than... I should."

Twilight lightly draped a wing around Rainbow, covering her entire body, she winced as Twilight's feathers glanced over her wing. At first, she resisted Twilight's attempts to pull her closer, but eventually she gave up, and let the alicorn pull her to her side. "I believed in him at first too..." Twilight grimaced, "Of course, I did figure it out... But... That's in the past." Twilight looked down towards Rainbow, "I am going to kill him, Rainbow. And you're going to help me."

Rainbow knew that suggestion should have made her flinch and shoot away from Twilight, but she didn't. "I can't. I took an oath..."

Twilight nodded, "One which you're breaking right now."

"I don't care." Rainbow answered. "I couldn't... You're my friend, I don't want you to die..."

"You think that by not helping me, you will protect me? Rainbow, it won't. I know you took an oath, I know it means something to you... But remember who you are, who I am, and who we all are. Remember where your loyalty lies." Rainbow mulled the thought over in her head.

Chapter 2

Twilight Sparkle stood at the mouth of the cave, staring out at the horizon, watching as the sun started to disappear. A cool breeze from the south set her mane flowing to the other side of her neck, and brought a shiver to the pegasus standing beside her. The rays of light dimmed as time progressed, and the setting sun slowed its descent as it creept farther and farther beneath the horizon. Twilight slowly turned her head towards the moon, barely peeking over the horizon, opposite of the sun. "Once the sun sets we will leave here."

Rainbow turned to Twilight, frowning, "What?" She knew traveling at night was dangerous, made even more dangerous by the fact they were on the border of the dragon lands. The forests separating the mountains from the gentle plains of Equestria teemed with predators, both mundane and magical.

Twilight returned her gaze to the setting sun, and spoke with firm conviction, "I am not delaying my plans due to your arrival. In fact, I am accelerating them. We will travel by night until we arrive, so as to avoid being seen." Another gust of wind blew passed them, once more blowing their manes in the breeze.

"Twilight," Rainbow shook her head, "the animals are more hostile now than they were before, most of them will either flee or attack ponies, not caring whether unicorn, pegasus, or earth pony. I don't think they will care if you have both wings and a horn..." She followed Twilight's gaze to the sunset, and watched as the orb seemed to hang in the sky, unmoving.

"I am aware of this. I've been out here for a while, Rainbow Dash." Rainbow winced at Twilight's use of her full name. Twilight didn't seem to notice her unease, and continued, "I am more than capable of defending us against any animals or ponies we may encounter."

Rainbow frowned and looked back to Twilight, "Then why risk traveling at night? It's easier to see during the day, and less dangerous."

Twilight continued to stare at the sun for several seconds before answering, "If we travel during the night, there is less chance of encountering any ponies. That means less chance the Inquisitor would have any warning." Rainbow opened her mouth to ask another question, but Twilight cut her off, "And before you ask why I couldn't just take care of anypony we could meet, not hearing back from scouts is as good as a confirmation. The last thing I want to have to do is make my way through Equestria's army to get to him."

Rainbow looked down at her hooves and frowned in thought, considering Twilight's argument. "Yeah... I guess I didn't think of that..." She looked back towards Twilight, "Are... Are you even sure you could... Uh... Take care... Of anypony?" Rainbow shuffled her wings and fidgeted as Twilight's eyes shot towards her.

Twilight slowly turned her head towards Rainbow, "I am physically and magically capable enough to kill somepony, Rainbow. I have the magic of five alicorns, and my brother." Twilight slowly turned her head back towards the sun, inhaled, and slowly released it.

Rainbow once again looked towards the setting sun, then lowered her head with a grimace, "I... You... Have you, though?"

Twilight replied almost immediately, her voice was filled with distaste, and cold, "As I have said, things have changed. I have changed." She snorted, and shook her head. Rainbow shifted uncomfortably on her hooves during the silence after Twilight spoke.

Rainbow kept her head facing the sunset, but she kept finding her eyes drawn to Twilight. She knew when she found her that Twilight wouldn't be the same bookworm nerd she had been before the Revolution... But what she had found... Twilight wasn't what she had expected to find. Another gust of wind blew, and Rainbow shivered. She knew in her heart that the cold wasn't what caused her to shiver. Years had passed, they had grown apart... Twilight had grown, a lot. Each of them had changed... Things would never go back to how they were before...

Twilight also knew things would never go back to the way they were before, nor did she wish them too. As badly as she missed them, she couldn't bring them back, nor change what had happened. She knew lingering on what had been would have consumed her, and instead focused on something else. 'Once he is dead, Equestria is mine.' She mulled over the thought as the day came ever closer. Ruling an entire country... It was something she looked forwards to eagerly, and dreaded in equal amounts. She would make sure nothing like the Revolution ever happened again, too. "I will restore things to what they should be. As close to what they should be as I can, at least."

Rainbow turned towards Twilight, "You mean like before? Before the Inquisitor took over." Twilight nodded without looking away from the golden orb that was the sun. "He has improved some things, Twilight. He's not perfect, but neither were Princess Celestia and Princess Luna."

"I know. But that is irrelevant. It does not excuse his actions, what he has improved stands for naught." Twilight replied in a cold voice. Rainbow shifted uneasily, and Twilight sighed at the display. "Once he is dead, I am taking sole control of Equestria, her territories, and all subjugated states obtained since his rise to power. I will also have dominion over the sun and moon, not that he could stop me if I did so right this moment."

"You're going to reinstate the monarchy..." Rainbow said in a low voice. "There were so many problems with that though! So many abuses of power! Surely you realize there's a better way of-"

Twilight turned her head towards Rainbow, and looked down at the pegasus, "It is the way it is meant to be. I am the sole surviving heir of the princesses, I am the rightful ruler of Equestria, the sun, and the moon. Such is my birthright as alicorn." She shook her head and looked back to the star falling below the horizon, "Equestria would collapse without strong leadership."

Rainbow sighed, and her ears fell to the sides of her head, realizing the truth, "I guess that oath really was designed specifically for you... Being the last alicorn and all that..." A sense of having betrayed her friend welled up in her chest. She looked down at her hooves, feeling guilty, "I... I fought against them... I... I was in the battle that claimed your brother's life..."

"I already know this, Rainbow Dash. I know more about what you've done than just that, also..." Twilight lit her horn, and teleported Rainbow's and her own saddlebags to them. She placed Rainbow's saddlebags on her body, just in front of her wings, and levitated her own into a similar position.

Rainbow looked at Twilight's saddlebags, the pink star had faded, but they were otherwise in the same condition they had been when she left with them. The sight caused her some discomfort, being a reminder of ignoring Twilight's warnings, and how she must have felt about them ignoring her warnings. Another cool breeze tossed Twilight's mane and tail about, for a brief second, she thought she saw Twilight's mane become ethereal, but when she blinked, it was gone.

Twilight looked at Rainbow, "We leave soon." she stated. "Your wing should be healed enough for you to fly."

Rainbow looked at her left wing, extended it, and flexed it. "Should be?" she asked with concern. It hadn't felt any different, and you couldn't tell any difference, but she knew that didn't rule out problems if they were going to be flying for a while. She knew some problems would only become noticeable if one had been pushing themselves too hard.

"I am moving my schedule forwards, I am not postponing it for you. If something happens, then I will carry you." Twilight said, then turned back towards the sun. Rainbow ruffled her wings and fidgeted at that suggestion, being uncomfortable with the idea of somepony carrying her. Twilight narrowed her eyes as she watched the sun, watching as it seemed to hover just on the horizon, seeming to mock her desire to get started.

Seconds turned into minutes, which turned into hours, the setting sun mocking them the whole time, and serving as a reminder of how weak the unicorns moving it were compared to Princess Celestia. The two ponies sat in silence, only occasionally broken by a gust of cold wind, which only seemed to affect the pegasus. Twilight remained standing the whole time, as if she were a sentinel, standing watch over her post, making sure nothing was amiss, while Rainbow Dash sat down on her haunches after only a few minutes. Every few minutes, Twilight's expression would shift as different ideas ran through her mind, and played out their course. As much as she tried to deny it, she slowly came to a realization that she still felt resentment towards her former friends. At the same time, she still wanted to be friends with them, and bring them back together, like how she had first brought all of them together.

Eventually the orange rays of light faded to pink, and then to red before being replaced by the pale white light of the moon. Twilight smiled, and turned her head towards the moon, watching the orb as it slowly started to rise into the sky. She watched the moon for several seconds, then turned her head towards Rainbow Dash, "It's time." she stated. Rainbow uneasily got to her hooves, and looked at her wing as she flexed it. "We won't be flying long, we'd be too easily spotted from anypony on the ground. Once we reach the forest, we're hoofing it the rest of the way."

Rainbow grimaced, she was naturally much more inclined to fly than walk, being a pegasus. "Can't you just... Teleport us or something?"

Twilight shook her head, "While I could, long ranged blind teleportation is very risky, I haven't found a way to overcome that yet. And our sudden appearance could attract unwanted attention, especially with the flash it would create." Rainbow grimaced. Twilight looked towards the moon briefly, then turned towards Equestria, and spread her majestic wings. Rainbow found herself stunned in awe as Twilight spread her wings, seeing how each one was easily larger than her entire body. Rainbow was still stunned as Twilight beat her wings and hovered a few feet in the air, looking back at her. Once she realized that Twilight was looking at her, she blinked a few times, then flapped her wings, joining her in the sky.

The pair cut through the air with both speed and grace, far above the few clouds dotting the sky. Rainbow always loved flying, the feeling of the wind beneath her hooves, the air between her feathers, her mane and tail billowing in the breeze, and the unmatched feeling of freedom all combined to make it a wonderful, and enjoyable experience. She wasn't enjoying it. She had too much on her mind, and she still didn't trust Twilight completely, there was a sliver of doubt in the back of her mind. She knew that if Twilight wanted her dead, there was probably nothing she could to to stop her... And that thought scared her more than she would be willing to admit.

Rainbow had only been around her for less than a day, for all she knew, Twilight could have been faking the entire time, just waiting for the perfect time to strike... She clenched her jaw as she watched Twilight glide through the air. If she could carry Rainbow in her mouth, she was obviously strong. Very strong. And that was just physically, Rainbow realized. Twilight had never been the most physically fit pony, or unicorn for that matter, preferring to take a more academic approach to life. Rainbow shivered as she thought about just how much magic Twilight could have at her disposal, and then when she considered Twilight's skill with magic, and that magic was her special talent...

Twilight, though only stealing the occasional glance at Rainbow, could tell she was distressed. Her first concern was that she was pushing herself too hard, but she pushed that thought aside, she wasn't acting like she was in pain. At least not in physical pain, 'Something's bothering her...' she realized. She thought about her options, then looked towards the ground. The forest wasn't as dense as she wanted, but it would suffice. She slowed her wingbeats, and hovered, waiting for Rainbow to come closer to her. Rainbow slowed her flight as she approached Twilight, then hovered in mimicry of the alicorn. Twilight motioned towards the ground with a hoof, and began her descent.

Rainbow winced at Twilight's sharp expression, but the alicorn seemed to either not notice it, or ignore it. A few seconds later she realized Twilight was halfway to the ground. She looked between Twilight and the horizon, wondering if she could get away from her. She shook her head and pushed the thought away. She owed Twilight this at the very least. In all honesty, she knew she owed her a lot more than just this. But that didn't make it any easier. She started her descent, focusing on where Twilight had landed, and slowly descended. Once she was just a short distance from the ground, she folded her wings and let herself fall. She bent her knees when she landed, reducing the stress from the impact, and then stood up to her full height.

Twilight's eyes trailed over Rainbow for what seemed like several minutes, they seemed to be examining her, but for what she did not know. Rainbow fidgeted under her gaze, feeling like she was a predator sizing up her prey. She looked intently at Rainbow's wings, checking for any outward signs of physical injury of distress. "What's wrong?" she asked.

Rainbow looked away from Twilight, choosing instead to scan their surroundings. "Uh... Nothing's wrong." She ruffled her wings, punctuating her lie. "My wing's fine." she added.

Twilight frowned, "I know you're lying, Rainbow Dash." she said coldly, upset that Rainbow would lie to her. If she was willing to lie to her about one thing...

Rainbow's eyes shot towards Twilight, and her heart beat faster. She shifted on her hooves, "It's nothing..." she said carefully, afraid Twilight would do something... She didn't know what she might do, but Twilight still reminded her of a predator.

Twilight saw Rainbow tense up when she said her full name, the subtle change indicating her discomfort. She sighed, "Rainbow, I can't help you if you don't tell me what's wrong. I want to help you. Let me help you."

Rainbow looked up and met Twilight's gaze. The alicorn's expression had softened, but she still felt like a predator was watching her. "Do you, though?"

Twilight's expression hardened slightly, "Rainbow, I will admit I still have issues with all of you. I don't know if I consider myself friends with any of you anymore, but I do remember being your friend. I still care about all of you, and I am willing to give it a shot again. I do want to help you." She paused, and bobbled her head, grimacing. "That being said... There are things I need to do, things which I will not let anypony stand in my way. That includes you, Rainbow."

Rainbow grew uncomfortable under Twilight's gaze. She looked away from her as she spoke, unable to look at her and honestly say she made the right choice before. It pained her, hearing that she didn't consider them to be friends, but it brought a small smile to her muzzle to hear that she was willing to give it a shot. She... She believed Twilight wanted to help her, but she fidgeted at her final words. She looked back up at the tall alicorn, "Twilight I... I am sorry, that we ignored you... I am." her ears fell to the sides of her head as she spoke.

Twilight's expression softened and her muzzle drew into a line, she opened her mouth to say something, but thought better of it. They stood there in silence for several seconds, neither one of them knowing just what to say. Twilight decided to drop the matter of what was bugging Rainbow, and broke the silence, "We should get going..." She continued more softly, "Stay close to me, alright? I still can't let you run off, and if you do, I can't guarantee your safety."

The pair continued to stand there in silence for several seconds before Twilight started walking further into the forest. A few seconds later, Rainbow uneasily caught up to Twilight, and fell in sync beside her. They walked in silence, the only sound coming from Twilight's horn whenever she lit it for whatever reason. As they pushed farther into the forest, the foliage became denser, and the path became less rugged. Both alicorn and pegasus stayed alert, continually scanning their surroundings for any signs of danger, and making sure not to trip and injure themselves.

Once they were far enough inside the forest for the tree canopy to block out the moonlight, Twilight lit their way with her horn, casting their path in a pale lavender light. The continually moving source of light caused the shadows to dance, as if taunting them. Occasionally, off in the distance they would hear a wolf howl, or an owl hoot. Fortunately, the glow from her horn seemed to keep the predators away. Rainbow found herself yawning, not being used to being up so late at night, and the soft glow of Twilight's magic seemed to cause a calming effect to her, despite her unease about the alicorn.

When the foliage grew too dense for them to walk side by side, Twilight took the lead, while Rainbow trailed behind her a few steps. Their progress was slowed more as they pushed further into the forest, the deeper they went, the fewer ponies that had been there. As time progressed, and the underbrush refused to let up, Twilight found herself regretting her decision of walking through the forest. At the time she assumed it would be safer because the Inquisitor would have sent more ponies looking for her, including pegasi patrolling the sky.

After several minutes of walking they came to a familiar clearing. Twilight came to a stop at the treeline, and scanned the area for any sings of activity. She tentatively stepped out into the clearing, continually scanning the opposite side of the clearing for any signs of other ponies. Rainbow took a step forwards, Twilight immediately glanced towards her, then back to the opposite side of the clearing, and extended a wing, causing Rainbow to stop. Twilight's head swept from left to right, and right to left, continuing to make sure it was safe.

More sure this time, she took another step forwards, yet continued looking around. A few seconds later, she folded her wing and started walking towards the center of the clearing, where Rainbow had camped. Rainbow followed her out into the clearing. Rainbow's ears swiveled around, listening intently for any sign of danger. Twilight dimmed her horn, sending them into darkness broken only by the soft light of the moon, and walked forwards more surely. Rainbow almost jumped when the Twilight's horn dimmed, fearing something had happened. She looked towards Twilight, who was striding towards the center of the clearing.

"What are you doing!?" Rainbow asked when Twilight paused and lit her horn again. After a few seconds, the glow died down, once more leaving them in the soft glow of the moon.

Twilight turned to face Rainbow, "I was checking something. You were tracked here by somepony."

Rainbow blinked, "Yeah, I'm not surprised by that." she replied indifferently.

Twilight frowned, "My intervention here would have caused them to lose track of you, and with no bodies..." She looked down and exhaled sharply. A few seconds later she raised her head, and frowned in equal parts confusion and concern, "My spell just failed... That... That shouldn't have happened..."

Right before Twilight lifted her head, the feeling of being watched by a predator disappeared. The suddenness of it leaving unnerved her, it also unnerved her how much she had grown accustomed to it. She frowned, wondering if she would still feel so uneasy when Twilight looked at her. "Wait, what spell?" she asked.

Twilight looked to Rainbow, the feeling of being watched by a predator returned to her, and she shivered under the alicorn's gaze. "The spell I used to keep track of everything going on here. I combined several spells together to produce the desired effects... It should not have just... Failed..." She shook her head, "Gah, it's bound to have issues, it was only a prototype after all. Still, we should keep moving." Twilight started walking in the direction that Rainbow had first entered the clearing from, after a few seconds Rainbow joined her, and they continued along their way.

The pair left the clearing and reentered the forest, which seemed less dense than Rainbow remembered it being when she first found the clearing. She shook the thought away when Twilight lit her horn with magic. They continued walking for several minutes, the path progressively became easier to tread, but Rainbow also found herself getting progressively more tired as the silence droned on. Rainbow yawned, drawing a blank glance from Twilight. "So where exactly are we headed?" she asked a few seconds later, hoping that talking would help her stay awake.

"Equestria." Twilight stated flatly. "You will see specifically once we arrive."

"Ugh." Rainbow groaned, "Twilight..." she sighed. "Okay fine. Is there anything I need to know?"

Twilight stopped walking, pausing to think about it for a minute. She nodded her head, "No, not really."

Rainbow groaned again, and then quickly caught up with Twilight, and walked beside her. The two continued walking as the night progressed on, Rainbow found herself grateful for how well maintained the path was becoming, though it did concern her. If somepony saw her with Twilight, they would probably realize she wasn't bringing her back... They would assume she was a traitor. Rainbow grimaced at that thought. She didn't like thinking of herself as a traitor, or even the thought of somepony suggesting that. Talking to and seeing Twilight again seemed to bring those thoughts to the forefront of her mind, however. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she was a traitor. She had betrayed her friend, and the princesses... 'And for what?' part of her asked.

And she knew the punishment for treason... She shivered, not wanting to think about that. She glanced towards Twilight briefly, then looked back to the path. The Inquisitor considered Twilight a traitor... She knew that, but she still didn't want to believe he would kill her. He hadn't killed any of the princesses, but whether or not he had a hoof in their deaths... She wasn't sure anymore. She didn't want Twilight to die, that was the whole reason she set out to find her in the first place. She found herself wondering why, after all she had not seen nor heard from Twilight in years... And they hadn't parted ways on the best of terms...

The more she thought about it, the more she wondered if she had always known she was betraying the princesses, and Twilight in particular. She had so many questions, so much to think about... And it scared her. She didn't know what their future held, nor if Twilight would be successful... Or even if she wanted her to be successful. And then there was the fact that Twilight scared her, that almost every time Twilight looked at her she felt like a predator was watching her... It was unnerving.

A particularly strong gust of wind caused her to shiver, making her realize they had exited the forest. She looked around in confusion, unsure as to how they could have made it through the forest so quickly. It hadn't seemed like it took that long to her, but the thought immediately fled her mind, being replaced by a feeling of searing pain in her side. A second later, she found herself lying on the ground, not sure how she ended up there. She tried to stand to her hooves, but the pain from her side, along with a purple hoof, stopped her. She looked at Twilight in confusion, she looked... A combination of fear, anger and... Indifference, she decided, were plastered on her muzzle. She followed Twilight's gaze to her body, and saw an arrow sticking out of her. She blinked as realization dawned on her.

Twilight clenched her jaw and she looked towards the source of the arrow. Ignoring Rainbow's delayed scream, she lit her horn with magic and stepped forwards, putting herself between Rainbow and her attacker. 'Attackers.' she corrected upon seeing two unicorns and pegasi, and two earth ponies storm out of the treeline, gathering behind the pegasus with the bow. She looked between each of the nine ponies, sending them each a sharp glare in turn. One of them, a grey unicorn with a brilliant blue mane, caught her attention. She looked out of place compared to the rest. She appeared to be a young mare, about as old as Rarity's sister would be now judging from her stature. She moved on to the next pony, and eventually her gaze fell upon the pegasus who shot Rainbow.

That pony smiled back smugly, "Princess Twilight Sparkle... Imagine our luck." He grabbed another arrow with a wing and armed it in his bow, the sight looked somewhat disgraceful to Twilight.

"Misfortune." Twilight corrected coldly. "You are lucky she's still alive. I have use for her."

"She didn't look like a prisoner to me," he snorted in disgust, "traitors..."

Twilight nodded solemnly in agreement with the pegasus's statement, "Yes, all of you are traitors. Betraying the princesses... Betraying me... And then... This." she waved a hoof around, pointing out the current situation.

The conversation Twilight seemed to be having with another pony was lost on Rainbow, who was starting to have problems breathing. The arrow had went through her wing, into her chest, and pierced her lung. She could taste blood, and had the suspicion her lung, possibly both of them, were filling with blood. She frantically looked between Twilight and the group of ponies she was standing before. She could see that Twilight had her horn lit, and from the looks of things, the group of ponies were uncomfortable at the prospect of fighting an alicorn. She smiled, at the sight. She would have chuckled, but that would have hurt.

"Unfortunately for all of you, I cannot let you survive to inform the Inquisitor of my whereabouts." A lavender barrier formed around Twilight as the pegasus drew back the bow, and released it, sending the arrow flying. The arrow shot through the air and impacted the barrier, and immediately fell to the ground. Twilight felt herself starting to smile. In the back of her mind, she knew what she was contemplating was wrong, but she just so did not care. She knew Celestia nor Cadance would approve of killing them... She wasn't sure about Luna and her brother, but it was irrelevant. They were all dead now, after all.

The pegasus glanced left, then right, at the rest of his group, "Don't just stand there! Attack!" he shouted, fumbling with another arrow and firing again. The other ponies present quickly broke out of their inaction, and brought their weapons to bear. None of them, however, wanted to charge the alicorn they were facing off against. The one unicorn that Twilight had taken an interest in actually took a step backwards when she drew out a sword.

The second arrow impacted her barrier, and fell to the ground. She just stood there, barely holding back her smile, and looking impatiently at the ponies who were all trying to figure out who would lead the charge. A cough from Rainbow removed the smirk from her face, and she glanced at her, then glared at the pegasus who shot her. She wasn't sure if the pegasus realized his mistake, or realized her power, but for whatever reason, the pegasus took a step back.

She stepped forwards, and channeled more magic into her horn, then forged two swords from magic in the air. The first sword flared to life to the right side of her head, erupting into existence like a jet of flame. Half a second later, the second sword flared to life to the left of her head, the magic seeming to burn and warp the air around it. She crossed the swords in the air before her muzzle, and glanced at each blade in turn. The magic bleeding off the blades looked almost like a flame, while the lavender glow at the center of each blade, so bright as to almost be white boldly displayed her power.

She eyed each pony in tern, save for the grey unicorn, daring them to make a move. She would have been content to wait for somepony else to make the first move, but Rainbow coughed again, and that sealed the deal. She spun the two swords, then stopped them when they pointed towards the group, and pulled them back beside her body, so they they stuck out passed her chest, primed to strike anypony charging her, and strode forwards. The pegasi released a barrage of arrows, she narrowed her eyes and moved faster, rushing into the barrage. She took her left sword and cut right, intercepting an arrow and cleaving it in half, and went left with her right sword, cutting another arrow. The four pieces fell harmlessly to the side, away from her.

The three remaining arrows impacted her barrier and stopped immediately. She flared out her wings and switched to a full out gallop. As she expected, the five pegasi launched another volley, then pulled out swords or knives. The grey unicorn took another step back at her display, which went unnoticed by her comrades. The two earth ponies drew their swords into their mouths and charged at her, the other unicorn launched a spear at her. As she ran towards the oncoming spear, she shot a spell at it. The spell hit, and immediately the spear exploded apart.

A second later she launched herself towards the two oncoming earth ponies with her wings, the two ponies stopped and looked at her in awe, unable to realize the peril they were in. She shot through the air at a rate that would have impressed Rainbow Dash, aiming to impact between the two earth ponies, and readied her swords. As she landed, she stabbed her swords straight through the two ponies, neither of them made any sound, then she withdrew the swords from their sides, ignoring the ponies as they fell. She briefly looked between the two ponies, then returned her gaze to the seven ponies standing in shock. She looked at them indifferently, and continued to stride forwards.

Three of the five pegasi rushed towards her, she didn't even bat an eye. In rapid succession, she pointed her horn at each pegasus and released a spell. The bolts of magic rushed through the air and impacted the oncoming ponies, who immediately fell limply to the ground, paralyzed. She walked onward, even as their bodies rolled to a stop. She didn't even stop her stride as she shot her sword through each pony's heart, and immediately withdrew her swords. She looked towards the four remaining ponies, the grey unicorn was no longer holding a weapon, and she was quivering in fear.

The pegasus who shot Rainbow turned tail and tried to run away. He didn't get very far before she stunned him with a bolt of magic. A second later, she disappeared in a flash of light, and reappeared beside the other unicorn. The unicorn silently fell to the ground, followed shortly by the other pegasus, leaving the grey unicorn and the pony who shot Rainbow. She briefly looked over her work with disinterest, then turned her gaze to the grey unicorn. She immediately shrunk back in fear, eyes darting around, looking for a way to escape.

"Do not run." Twilight commanded firmly, yet with a softness that took the unicorn by surprise. Twilight stepped forwards, and the unicorn lowered herself to the ground, submissively. "Tell me, what is your name?" she asked.

The unicorn looked up at Twilight, her eyes filled with tears, and her lips quivered. "Z-Zenith S-St-Star." A second later, out of fear she added, "P-Princess."

Twilight's gaze softened and she nodded, "Rise, Zenith Star." Zenith Star looked terrified, but slowly, and uneasily rose to her hooves. Twilight looked over the terrified filly, barely old enough to be called a mare. "How old are you?" she asked out of curiosity.

"Six-sixteen, Pr-Princess..." she stuttered.

Twilight nodded, hiding her discomfort with knowing that the mare was just over half a decade younger than herself. "You will come with me. You will not try to run away." She paused smiled, "And you will stop calling me princess. My name is Twilight Sparkle, but my friends call me Twilight."

Zenith Star, still shivering in fear nodded, "Tw-Twilight?" she asked, afraid that the alicorn was just trying to trick her. Twilight nodded, and smiled. Zenith felt a little better at that, but still was unnerved by the alicorn and her display in dispatching her comrades.

"I won't hurt you, but I can't let you go either. You will come with me..." Twilight said in a calm, motherly tone, similar to what Celestia had used with her. Zenith nodded in agreement, whether out of fear or genuine interest... She suspected the former, but pushed it aside. 'It will take time, but you won't be afraid of me forever...' A groan from the pegasus she stunned reminded her of her unfinished business, she looked towards the source, and then back to Zenith and grimaced. "Go stay by Rainbow Dash. I will be right there."

The unicorn's eyes widened, "Rainbow D-Dash? You mean Captain Rainbow Dash?" Twilight nodded, and immediately the unicorn rushed over to where Rainbow laid. Twilight smiled, and teleported to the guilty pegasus.

She wrapped her magic around the pegasus's throat, and lifted him until he was muzzle height with herself. Despite the pegasus still being completely paralyzed, she could see the fear present in his eyes. She looked into his eyes, and slid her sword through his chest, and pulled it out in rapid succession. She averted her gaze from the pegasus's now lifeless eyes, and looked at the ground. After several seconds, she looked back to the pegasus, and sighed. The deed done, she released the pegasus from her grasp, letting him fall to the ground, and teleported back to Rainbow's side.

Zenith seemed to not know what to do in regards to Rainbow, she was just standing there, mouth opening and closing. It briefly reminded Twilight of a fish she had seen when spending time with Fluttershy. Twilight closed her eyes and concentrated her magic on Rainbow, examining her injury. Rainbow would live- if she acted fast enough. She cast a sleep spell on the pegasus, earning a worried glance from Zenith. Thankfully, Zenith remained silent. She continued her work, first using her magic to extract the arrow with extreme care so as to not cause more harm than good. Once she levitated the arrow out of Rainbow's chest, she split it in two and removed it from her wing. She cast two more spells, one to accelerate her body's natural healing, and another to help Rainbow's body function with the state her lung was in.

"Is... Is she going to make it?" Zenith asked with concern, eyes darting between Twilight and Rainbow.

Twilight nodded, "She will live, yes. We should vacate this area at once. I assume you were part of an advanced scouting patrol?"

Zenith Star coughed and looked away, "Y-yes, Pri-Twilight..." she winced. "What are... Where are we going to go now?"

Twilight thought about it for a moment. She glanced at Rainbow, then looked at the moon. She pursed her lips, not liking their available options. She could find a cave for them to stay in, lie low for a while and then strike at a later time when his guard would be down... Continue on to Equestria, and Canterlot, and risk him knowing that she is coming, thus putting many more lives in danger... Going back to her cave wasn't an option, she would not back down from this. She could contact one of her allies, or friends... One thing she liked about none of those plans was that regardless of the action she took, he would live longer because of what transpired.

And then of course there was the problem of getting wherever she chose to go. With an unconscious, injured pegasus and a unicorn, it severely limited her options even further. She knew she could carry both of them, but she wasn't too keen on flying that far and carrying them both the entire time. She could teleport them all part of the way, or the entire way. That could work, but it would draw a lot of attention. She grimaced. 'I wonder if Rarity would mind if I drop by for a little bit...' She thought about it. Rarity kept in touch with Spike, who kept in touch with Dragon Lord Ember. 'Ahhh... What was it she said again...' She grimaced, and regretted not paying more attention to her when she rambled on about what Spike said involving Rarity. It wasn't that she wasn't interested it was just...

Then again, Manehatton was probably the worst possible choice she could choose, and it was farther away than Canterlot was. She mulled it over, realizing that this decision, as hard as it was, would be nothing compared to what she could face when ruling Equestria. 'There was that one cave near Ponyville...' She thought it over. It would be a bit of a journey... "Alright." she nodded, and looked at Zenith Star, "It's a bit far in our current state, but I know where we can go."

Zenith shifted on her hooves, "Where?"

"There's a cave near Ponyville that should work until I am ready to make my move." Twilight responded.

Zenith frowned, "Make your move..?"

Twilight inwardly cringed, but maintained her outward composure. Twilight turned to Zenith, and started speaking slowly, "I'm going after the Inquisitor... And you're going to help me."

Zenith's face paled at that. "Oh... Okay... Um... Ponyville is still... A ways away..." She blinked, seeming to not understand the full meaning behind Twilight's words.

"We should be able to make it there within a couple days." Twilight replied. She looked towards the moon as a gust of cold wind hit her. She ignored the chill of the air, but grimaced when she thought about Rainbow and Zenith. "Stay close. It's as much for your protection as it is my own. I can carry you if you want."

"I'm not a little filly!" Zenith complained. "I can walk... Besides, you'll be carrying her." she pointed a hoof to Rainbow.

"I can carry you both, you know." Twilight replied evenly. She stepped closer to Rainbow, and leaned down to pick her up. She wrapped her jaw around her mane and neck and lightly bit down. Relying on her alicorn strength to assist her in lifting the pegasus without hurting either of them, she lifted Rainbow off the ground. She slowly looked to Zenith, who's mouth was hanging open at the sight. Twilight started walking, and motioned for Zenith to follow her with a wing. After taking a few seconds to recompose herself, Zenith quickly caught up to Twilight and started walking beside her, still not fully understanding what was happening.

Chapter 3

Zenith Star shifted nervously on her hooves as she glanced between Rainbow's still unconscious form and Twilight, who stood watch at the mouth of the cave. Two days had passed, they had reached the cave Twilight had suggested, traveling by night and resting by day, yet Rainbow Dash still slept. Even with Twilight's continued reassurance that Rainbow would wake up, she still found herself uneasy over it. It only took Twilight less than a second to cast that sleep spell on Rainbow... She shivered at the thought, which somehow reminded her of how easily she... She shifted her weight again, she was used to that... It still didn't make it any more comfortable, especially given how... Impassive Twilight was during the ordeal. And then the fact that she was keeping her close by at all times. And Twilight herself was intimidating.

Twilight stood sentinel at the cave entrance, knowing full well what dangers lurked in the Everfree Forest. She constantly kept alert, for any signs of danger, whether from animal, monster, or pony. All the while, she was preparing a spell that would keep them safe here, until she was ready. She found herself wondering why she was even delaying, if she wanted to, she could go straight to Canterlot and take the Inquisitor head on. But... Something felt wrong about that. Part of her, perhaps it wasn't actually part of her, told her that wouldn't work well. He likely was aware that something had happened by now. He was smart, he would put two and two together...

Then there was the spell that failed. Try to explain it away as she did, something seemed wrong about it. The fact they encountered a patrol did little to ease her worry over the matter. The Inquisitor had to have something to do with that... But what, and why... She had no idea. She turned her head to the left, and glanced at Zenith Star, her gaze met Twilight's for the briefest moment before she averted it. She felt her heart ache in regards to the filly, she was strong, but there was only so much anypony could take before they just... Snapped, like a twig... She still wasn't completely sure, but there was something... Different about that unicorn. She could feel it, and see it when she looked at her. She was special.

Thunder sounded in the distance, followed by a gust of wind that rushed through the cave, immediately lowering the temperature several degrees. The cold wouldn't do anypony with her any good, it would only serve to make them miserable. She ruffled her wings, turned, and stepped back inside the cave, then erected a barrier, blocking the mouth of the cave against the cold air. A few seconds later, she heard the telltale splatter of rain against the ground, the result of the result of the forest's unpredictable and unmanageable weather. She pursed her lips, perhaps, maybe, after she dealt with the Inquisitor she could do something about the Everfree Forest.

It would be difficult... And likely, she wouldn't have time or resources for something like that immediately following her takeover... But... She had time, she had plenty of time. Once the Inquisitor and his revolution were a thing of the past, there would be nothing standing in her way of restoring Equestria. Or guiding the direction of the world... She found herself wondering what it had been like for Princess Celestia... Guiding and nurturing Equestria from its founding, shaping it into something more... She pushed the thought aside, saving it for after he was dealt with.

Dealing with the revolution... She snorted, drawing a nervous glance from Zenith, she smiled apologetically. That would be... She was split about it. She would need to make sure nothing like it ever happened again, definitely. But on the other hoof... If she was too bold, not that she was planning on such, the ponies would feel like they were replacing one tyrant with another tyrant... She didn't want that. Equestria was rightfully hers, yes, but she wanted everypony to be happy, and enjoy peace and harmony, as she had as a young filly... Maybe one day she would follow in her mentor's steps, and take on another student of her own, not a friendship student like Starlight Glimmer, but... A successor... The thought made her shiver for some reason, or maybe it was the cold.

Twilight shook her head, and walked over to Zenith and Rainbow, the former turning to look at her. "How..." Zenith started softly, upon realizing this, she paused before continuing more firmly, "How is she doing?"

"She's fine. Should wake up anytime, really." Twilight stated. Zenith glanced passed Twilight and looked at the barrier blocking out the wind and rain, then looked back to Rainbow. Twilight looked down at Rainbow, the more she thought about it, the more unsure she was. Now seeing her again, she was forced to confront her memories about them. She could look back on the time they had spent together and smile, but the deep feeling of betrayal she felt in her heart was still there... It didn't seem to be as bad with the others, save for Rainbow Dash. She found it curious, though reasoned it was either because of seeing Rainbow again and not the rest of them, or because she... Supported the Revolution, whole heartily from what she had seen, after Celestia and Luna were... Murdered...

Rainbow was there... All of them were there, except for herself. Neither Fluttershy nor Pinkie Pie would have supported the Revolution after that happened. She was sure of it... Honestly, she wouldn't have expected any of them to support the Revolution after that... But... They did... For whatever reasons, whether believing his lies, or being ignorant... The Inquisitor... He just played it off, a rogue element was what he claimed did it... Of course she knew otherwise... Maybe... Maybe if she hadn't left his plans... If she had taken them as she fled... She sighed internally, knowing things would have went worse. They all would have died even if she had done that, she just... Didn't have time to get them... He was...

Rainbow shifted in her sleep, breaking Twilight's musings. Zenith turned to face me with a quizzical look, "Can't you just... Use magic to wake her or something?"

Twilight nodded, "I could, yes. But I will not. I have my reasons." she replied vaguely. Rainbow was almost already completely healed, but letting her rest longer would be better. It was the truth, but it was also an excuse. There were still things they needed to talk about, and sort out. Things she was not looking forward to.

"You... You said you would fill me in on what's going on?" Zenith asked with hesitation, not once looking away from Rainbow.

Twilight pursed her lips. She had kept her mostly in the dark, and she, for the most part, was patient in regards to that question. She had promised to answer it, and she would. "It will be simpler to talk to both of you at the same time."

Zenith sighed, "So we just wait then?" Twilight nodded her head in confirmation. Zenith's ears fell to the sides of her head. She shivered in the cold, the damp cave doing little to help. Twilight lit her horn and levitated a blanket over to Zenith, and draped it over her back. Twilight smiled at her, and Zenith smiled back in thanks. The soft blanket blocked out the cold, and soon she found herself warming up. The warmth, constant beat of the rain, and soft light brought the exhaustion she felt to the forefront of her mind.

Zenith... Wasn't entirely sure what to think of Twilight. On one hoof, she scared her to death, having killed eight ponies without flinching... Twilight didn't seem to have a problem with it, either. She shifted on her hooves as the memory swam through her mind. She had killed them so easily, so efficiently. She made it seem graceful, and beautiful. The sight had been terrifying, but not ruthless. Twilight did not prolong their suffering, ending them with one swift move... Zenith had heard of forging swords from magic before, but she had never seen it until that night. It was fascinating, with multiple methods to choose from, depending on the caster's preference...

Zenith glanced towards Twilight, who was staring at the barrier she had erected. She had never seen an alicorn before meeting Twilight. From the stories she had heard when she was a little filly, Princess Celestia was beautiful and regal, kind and merciful, yet always ready to rise to meet any challenge that threatened Equestria or herself... She had never seen Princess Celestia, but from the descriptions she had heard, Twilight looked a lot like her. She was beautiful... But also terrifying at the same time...

On the other hoof, Twilight had been merciful and kind towards her. And from what she had seen, she wasn't at all what the Inquisitor made her out to be. And then... Her carrying Rainbow Dash, and still offering to carry her... She shifted beneath the blanket, uncomfortable with that thought.

All in all, she liked Twilight, despite the fact she scared her. She just knew not to get on her bad side. That said, as they spent more time together, she did find herself growing more at ease around her, despite all her... Distress... About her. And at times, it was very easy to forget about what Twilight did, and how... Intimidating she could be.

Rainbow shifted in her sleep, and mumbled something inaudible. Twilight sighed and lit her horn, realizing postponing their conversation would only serve to extend his life. She stepped closer to Rainbow and lowered her horn to the pegasus's head, and lightly touched it. She didn't need contact for the spell to work, and didn't know why she was doing that, but pushed that aside and cast the spell. Rainbow groaned as Twilight pulled her head back, returning to her full height. A few seconds later, Rainbow blinked open an eye.

"Good morning, Rainbow Dash." Twilight greeted somewhat coolly. Zenith fidgeted at Twilight's voice, she had grown used to feeling the kindness in her voice when being talked to.

Rainbow shifted beneath the blankets wrapping her up, and grimaced. She looked around the cave, and looked passed Zenith to see the lavender barrier sealing off the cave. She stretched out her hooves, and looked back to Zenith, then to Twilight. "Where are-"

"We are in a cave outside of Ponyville." Twilight answered simply.

Rainbow shifted uncomfortably, and pushed back the covers. She shivered as the cold air hit her fur, but ignored it and rose to her hooves, despite Twilight's cold glare. She looked to her side, and extended her wing, then looked towards Twilight. "What... Happened?"

"Your memory might be a little fuzzy... An arrow hit you, went through your wing and punctured a lung. I healed you, and you have been asleep for two days." Twilight frowned, "I didn't realize they still used bows and arrows..." she mused.

Zenith perked up, "Oh they do... Just only because of cost, and well, why outfit a scout with heavy duty expensive weapons when..." she bobbled her head as she trailed off.

Rainbow looked blankly at Zenith, "Uh... Who are you?"

Zenith blushed, "Oh, uh sorry, Rainbow Dash, I'm Zenith Star..."

Rainbow nodded her head slowly, "Right... I... I think I remember seeing you... You... You were in that group right?" Zenith nodded, and glanced at Twilight, then back to Rainbow. Rainbow frowned and looked at Twilight, "I... I remember seeing you..." She shivered at the memory, now knowing what Twilight was capable of. The feeling that Twilight was a predator only intensified the more she remembered about that...

"I told you I could." Twilight replied coolly with a shake of her head. She turned around to face the barrier, "Now that we are in Equestria, I need to discuss certain things with you both." She paused, waiting to see if anypony was going to say anything. After a few seconds she continued, "I am going to kill the Inquisitor, you will both help me. We will be heading to Canterlot soon. Once we arrive in Canterlot, I will make preparations for my takeover, in which you will both assist me. It should be quick and rather nonviolent after he is out of the way. Popular opinion, despite his claims, side with me. After Equestria is mine, I am going to establish a monarchy. I will be Equestria's sole, undisputed ruler, and will move the sun and move."

Rainbow shook her head exasperatedly, "Twilight... The old monarchy had problems, you know that! The princesses, while yes, they were good and nice and all that, but they still abused the system! You know what mistakes they made, how things-"

"Rainbow, are you going to help me or not? You need to decide this, because once you do, I am not offering you any second chances to change your mind. You can either choose to help me, or..." Twilight shook her head. She wanted Rainbow to choose to help, but this wasn't helping make her look any better. Zenith... She grimaced, this display would not help Zenith to trust her. "Either way, I can't let either of you go. I have to keep you both close at hoof, and I would much rather have you as an ally than a prisoner, Rainbow Dash."

Rainbow ruffled her wings, hearing Twilight say 'ally' instead of 'friend' hurt. It hurt more than she would admit, but she pushed it aside. She had already made so many choices she found herself second guessing, especially now. With the position she was in, both choices could turn out to be the wrong one. She owed Twilight, a lot, not just because of what happened, but Twilight had saved her life twice now. How could she just refuse to help her? But on the other hoof, the Inquisitor wasn't evil... Right? She didn't know. It was confusing, and it hurt. The Inquisitor wasn't perfect, but neither were Celestia and Luna. Although Celestia and Luna always fought to prevent war, while the Inquisitor always pushed for war... And Equestria... It... It wasn't as good as it used to be.

But the Inquisitor had fixed some problems... But Twilight said those improvements were nothing. She... They had all ignored Twilight three years ago. They had done that several times before that, and each time they did... Problems arose. She was what held their group together, after she fled the Inquisitor, they fell apart. As she thought about it, she couldn't help but think it was inevitable without her. They might not ever all be friends again, maybe they would be, but three years was a long time. Ponies changed, she had changed, Twilight had changed... She didn't know if Twilight was right or wrong, but she did know that past experiences should have taught her to trust Twilight.

Could she trust Twilight, though? The alicorn claimed to have the magic of five alicorns and her brother, a powerful unicorn. On top of that, she had been gone for three years. And from what she remembered of that night, Twilight could kill without hesitation. Something her Twilight never would have been capable of even considering. It didn't help that as much as Twilight looked like Celestia or Luna, she couldn't help but see her in a darker light, more akin to Nightmare Moon. And then how Twilight reminded Rainbow of a predator didn't help that any, if anything, it reminded her further of Nightmare Moon.

If she helped her, the Inquisitor would find out, and if Twilight failed, she would die. If she didn't help her... She could still end up being accused of treason, and be killed regardless. And then what if Twilight was successful, and had been manipulating her all along? Only wanting the throne, and becoming a tyrant to put Nightmare Moon to shame. Would she try to stop her if that happened? Would she get a chance to stop her if that happened? Would she even live to see Twilight succeed?

There was so much uncertainty. She sighed. "I..." It was a big decision, and a tough one. Twilight would establish herself as sole ruler regardless of whether she helped or not, from what she had seen. She didn't know if that was a good thing or not, but there really was only one way to find out. She spoke with determination, but there was a hint of uncertainty, "I will help you, Twilight. I owe you that much. I may not be entirely convinced that you should rule... But I pledge my loyalty to you..." 'I just hope it's not misplaced.'

Twilight smiled, "I'm glad to have you as an ally, Rainbow." Rainbow cringed internally, once more hearing Twilight call her an ally, rather than friend. "Zenith, I know you're just a filly-"

"I am not a little filly! I can take care of myself, Princess." Zenith retorted instantly, completely forgetting her fear of Twilight.

Twilight chose to ignore Zenith's comment and continued after she finished, "-but I want you to help me. I won't force you to, that being said, I can't let you go regardless. I promise I will not hurt you, and that I will protect you. Once this is over, I'll return you to your parents-" Zenith flinched, something Twilight failed to notice because she was facing away from her, but Rainbow noticed and rested a hoof on her shoulder, "-and see if they'd be willing to let me take you on as a student."

"They... Won't care..." Zenith replied at length. Zenith thought it over, smile growing as she did, she looked up at Twilight, "You're really going to teach me magic?" The thought was exciting, riveting even. While magic had interested her as a filly, she never really had an opportunity to have a good teacher. The thought of having Princess Twilight Sparkle, who from what she remembered, was taught by Princess Celestia, teach her... She smiled, not caring about how intimidating the prospect was.

Twilight nodded, "That among other things, yes." 'Might as well start now.' she thought.

"What about Starlight?" Rainbow asked. "Is she still your student too?"

"I haven't had contact with her since I fled, but if she wants to, I'd be more than happy to continue where we left off." Twilight smiled as she remembered what she had heard about her, "I heard a rumor that she is one of the unicorns the Inquisitor has moving the sun and moon. If it's true, I'm impressed."

Rainbow nodded, but frowned. "She is... I don't get it, she's helping the Inquisitor, yet you..."

Twilight turned around, "She is helping everypony by helping to move the sun and moon. I have no quarrels with the unicorns he has maintaining the day night cycle, my quarrel is with him, and anypony standing in my way." she answered simply.

Rainbow sighed, "You know the council isn't going to like you for trying to seize control. They will resist, and try to stop you. Even after the Inquisitor's dead."

Twilight lightly chuckled and smiled, causing Rainbow slight discomfort. "That won't be a problem." Rainbow shivered from what that could mean. Twilight grimaced, mistaking Rainbow's shiver for being cold, "It is a little cold in here, isn't it?" She closed her eyes and lit her horn, "One moment..." Her horn became surrounded in a soft yellow aura, and tendrils of yellow magic flowed forth from her horn, and began to coalesce towards the top of the cave. As more and more magic flowed together, the color began to shift from yellow, to a reddish orange. The glow of the slowly expanding sphere bathed the cave in a dull light, but it grew more brightly as the orb became larger. Rainbow watched in awe, eventually she became aware that the temperature was starting to rise. A few seconds later, Twilight's magic turned light blue, and the sphere seemed to become solid, turning white as it did so. The light emitted by the sphere changed as well, now bathing the cave in a pale white light.

Zenith stood, mouth agape in awe at the sight, "What... What is that? How did... What?" she stammered, not able to comprehend what she just witnessed.

"I can't tell you." Twilight replied as she gazed at the white sphere. She could feel the temperature of the room rising, and once it hit a certain temperature, it would remain constant until the orb was exhausted, or she absorbed it. "It's not my secret to share." she added vaguely. Rainbow extended her wings out, soaking up the heat emitted by the orb, choosing to enjoy it rather than question it.

Rainbow closed her eyes, enjoying the feeling of warmth, "Mmm that feels nice..." It had been a while since she had been able to enjoy something that felt quite as reinvigorating as the heat the orb emitted.

Twilight suppressed a giggle at the sight, but couldn't hide her smirk. 'Pegasi...' she shook her head. She inhaled deeply, then exhaled. "After I kill the Inquisitor and get things sorted out, I will contact my allies to inform them of my success. They should be willing to assist me in rebuilding Equestria."

"Equestria doesn't need rebuilding..." Zenith mumbled.

"You keep mentioning your allies, but you're never specific as to who or what you're talking about?" Rainbow asked. She angled her wings back, allowing the heat to soak into the underside of her wings while she waited for Twilight's response.

Twilight smiled, "You will just have to wait to see."

Rainbow groaned and dropped her wings to the floor, "You really like being vague don't you?"

Twilight looked at her dispassionately, "Rainbow, there are things I won't tell you, and then there are things I can't tell you." Rainbow snorted, and Twilight frowned, but her voice became softer, "It's as much to keep you safe as it is to keep me safe."

Zenith frowned and turned to her, "Do you really need to be kept safe though? From what I've seen, well..."

"That falls under the category of I won't tell you." Twilight stated lightly. She shook her head, "I need to figure out a way to find out if he knows I'm coming..."

"Does that really matter though? Shouldn't you be able to get to him no matter what?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight glared at Rainbow, who shifted uncomfortably under her gaze, "I will be able to, yes, but I would rather get to him as quickly as possible. If I have to go through an entire army, it will slow me down, and he could get away."

Rainbow shook her head sadly, "Twilight look, I know you're powerful and all that, but you can't just take on an entire army by your self. That's suicide, you have to realize that!"

Twilight looked at Rainbow thoughtfully, "I have you two, don't I?"

Rainbow coughed, "Uh, Twilight... I know I'm awesome... But I'm not that awesome. Even with us-"

Twilight shook her head, "I was joking... If anything, I would use you two to just hold off the guard... A distraction, if you will."

Rainbow stared at Twilight blankly, not amused by her suggestion. "Gee, thanks for the load of confidence, Twilight."

Twilight impassively looked at her, "You're a high ranking officer, Rainbow Dash. I'm pretty sure you fighting against them would raise some eyebrows."

Rainbow looked away from Twilight and fidgeted on her hooves. She couldn't help but feel as if Twilight was condemning her by that statement. The way she looked at her, and the way she said it made it sound... She shivered, despite the warmth. She was trusting Twilight with her life despite her fears, and she hoped she hadn't misplaced that trust. If she had... She could be killed, and remembered as a traitor, rather than how awesome she was. That thought was very uncomfortable to her, being labeled a traitor, stripped of her rank, and then being put to death. She glanced back to Twilight, 'She won't let that happen... Right?' She knew Twilight didn't want her dead, she had ample opportunities to let that happen, or flat out kill her already. That being said, she had no guarantee Twilight would keep her alive after the Inquisitor was dead. Or even that Twilight would keep her alive before killing him...

Twilight could tell Rainbow was distressed, and she suspected she was the reason why. It... She didn't like it, thinking she made her uncomfortable. She didn't want Rainbow to be afraid of her... But yet, at the same time, she knew she wasn't being very nice to her, and wasn't sure she wanted to be. They weren't friends, she knew that, and she wasn't sure she wanted to be friends with her again, but... That being said, she didn't want Rainbow cowering in fear of her. She knew how proud Rainbow was, and she wasn't acting herself. Granted, she could assume that it had been their time apart, but she didn't think that wasn't the problem. "How... Are you feeling, Rainbow?"

Rainbow looked up from her musings, "Huh? Oh, uh... I'm fine." she answered simply. She realized her mood had soured significantly since she woke up, and she didn't know if she cared about that. She was enjoying the warmth the sphere provided, but Twilight's coldness concerning her... Made up for it. 'The sooner he is... Dead...' She still had a hard time believing Twilight had changed that much. She had seen her kill with her own eyes... And before that, she could tell she was capable of doing so, but she didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to believe that she could be responsible for Twilight ending up how she was, despite knowing otherwise...

Twilight sighed internally, she felt like she needed to give Rainbow some space. She also had to make preparations for moving on the Inquisitor. "I... Am going to go talk to one of my allies. I will be back shortly. Stay here and wait for me." She lit her horn with magic and teleported outside of the barrier blocking the mouth of the cave. Immediately the cold air hit her, followed by the even colder rain. She suppressed a shiver and started making her way through the forest, leaving the pair before they could ask any questions.

"She's a bit... Authoritative..." Zenith mused aloud.

Rainbow's muzzle drew into a line, "She always was a bit of a perfectionist... Ha, you should have seen her when she was late with a report to Princess Celestia..." She trailed off emptily. "We... We really screwed up, didn't we?" she asked nopony in particular. "We just... Completely ignored her again, and look at what happened..." She turned to Zenith, "The night before the Inquisitor took over, Twilight tried to warn us what was going to happen... We ignored her. And... She was right, it's taken me years to realize it, but she was right... He's just moving so slowly that you just... Don't notice it, until it's too late..." She lifted her head towards the white orb, "We shouldn't have supported him... I shouldn't have supported him... I should've went with Twilight..."

Zenith walked over beside Rainbow and then sat down. The height difference between them was just a few inches, but it was enough that she had to look up to meet her eyes, "Hey, it's not your fault. You couldn't have known."

Rainbow shook her head, "We ignored her warnings before, and bad things came of that too. We should have learned to listen to her... But we didn't... We... None of us really deserved to be her friends..."

Zenith didn't know how to respond. Seeing one of her idols so distraught, she just didn't know what to think.

Rainbow shook her head and sighed, then turned to Zenith. She looked over the smaller mare with curiosity, she frowned, "Are you... Are you even old enough to really be helping us?"

Zenith sighed exasperatedly. "Does my age really matter? I am capable of helping you, and I'm going to. While Twilight scared me, I know she doesn't mean to. And while I may not exactly like the idea of fighting the Inquisitor... I don't think either of us will be the ones doing that."

Rainbow shifted on her hooves, "Are you sure you want to help though? It's... This is the kind of thing that can get you killed... And you? You're... You're barely a mare, Zenith." Rainbow bobbled her head, "And..." she frowned, "You... I remember seeing how fearful you were of her... What changed?"

Zenith ignored Rainbow's unintentional insult about her barely being a mare. "There was just something about her... She's not always like that though. She says that I'm special too, but won't say how she knows or why she says so."

Rainbow furrowed her brow in contemplation, curious as to what Twilight could see in Zenith Star. When she looked at her, she saw a young unicorn, barely a mare. She had no idea what kind of magic talents or skills Zenith had, and had no idea how Twilight would just know that from looking at her. She pushed the thought aside, "You sure you actually want to help? Fighting can get pretty... Intense... It can be scary if it's your first time..." She spoke from second hoof experience, ponies she had led who had breakdowns mid battle. Most of them recovered...

"I'll be fine. It wouldn't be my first time." Zenith said with annoyance. "Besides, I would rather help Twilight than stand against her..."

Rainbow's gaze fell to her hooves.

Author's Note

Please give me feedback, comment below and tell me how I'm doing!

Chapter 4

Twilight eyed her ally carefully, scanning over her face for any signs of deception. She had known her for years, and she never lied to her. She could tell she was being honest, even if what she said made no sense. She mulled over her words, trying to figure out what the Inquisitor would have to gain from this. 'I don't...' "You're sure about this?" she asked. It didn't make sense to her, but the Inquisitor always had a plan, and his enemies' plans never went how they were supposed to. She could not see what he saw that made this give him an advantage.

"Yes, I am sure about this." her ally responded. "He doesn't seem to be phased by your return." Twilight opened her mouth, but she was cut off, "And yes, I am sure he knows you're back in Equestria. I don't know how he knows, but he does. They have doubled the bounty on you."

Twilight shook her head, and looked down in thought, "I don't... That doesn't make sense. Doubling my bounty indicates that he fears me, but if that's the case, why would he be reducing his forces in Canterlot?" It was almost like he wanted her to come to Canterlot as soon as possible, to spring a trap, but she knew there was no way he could spring a trap for her. She could overpower anything he throws at her, unless she was missing something. "I have to be missing something..." She looked up at her ally, "Thanks... I should get back to the cave, it took you longer to get here than I expected."

"Why did you want me to meet you here in person anyway? I could have told you all this in a letter." her ally asked.

"Easier to prove it's not a lie, being able to see your face when you tell me these things." Twilight paused briefly and lit her horn at the sound of a nearby bush rustling. She turned towards it and pointed her horn at the source of the disturbance. A second later, a rabbit hopped out, and looked at them quizzically before hopping away. "Plus this way I know things haven't gone south, you are still sovereign, and I know that they haven't done anything to you." she spoke simply. She glanced around the clearing, then nodded to her ally. She lit her horn with magic, and disappeared in a flash of light.

Rainbow paced impatiently, awaiting Twilight's return with equal amounts anxiety and dread. Even while she paced back and forth, she had her wings spread out, still enjoying the warmth the orb produced. It had been years since she had enjoyed something like it, and she wasn't going to pass up the opportunity to enjoy it, even if she was constantly shifting her wings about. "She's been gone for hours." she stated aloud, the second time she had done so within the past five minutes. Twilight had said to wait for her, and that she wouldn't be gone long. Either Twilight had a different definition of 'long' than Rainbow had, or something had happened.

Zenith sighed, Rainbow's patience was wearing thin, and if she was being honest, hers was too. Twilight could take care of herself though, she knew that much. "She will be back. She won't abandon us."

Rainbow's pacing slowed. 'Abandon us...' She and her friends had abandoned Twilight before... Maybe she was... Returning the favor... She turned around and stopped, looking at the lavender barrier blocking the mouth of the cave. Earlier she had tried to go through it. The barrier wouldn't let her pass, but it didn't hurt her any. The magic felt almost like a solid wall, with no give to it, which surprised her. 'No, she wouldn't do that...' she reasoned.

Zenith slowly stood up and walked over to Rainbow's side, "You never did answer my question before." she stated. Rainbow's eyes briefly glanced towards her, then returned to the barrier. "Why are you here? You're the Captain of the Wonderbolts, a living legend, the only pegasus known to have done a Sonic Rainboom." she paused for an answer which did not come, she sighed and looked away from Rainbow. "You... You were one of the Inquisitor's personal guards-" Rainbow winced, the action went unseen by Zenith, "-for a time before assuming command of the Wonderbolts, you obviously were very loyal to him and the Revolution... What happened?"

After several seconds of silence, Rainbow answered at length, "It's complicated..."

Zenith could tell Rainbow was uncomfortable talking about it, and decided not to push the matter. They sat there together for several minutes in silence, both thinking. Neither pony was completely sure about Twilight. Rainbow felt that she needed to stand with Twilight, despite how much she had changed. Zenith felt Twilight had been wronged, and wanted to help her. While she didn't exactly want to kill the Inquisitor, she didn't have any love for him either. If she could help Twilight, then she would.

A few seconds later, there was a flash of light and a popping sound signaling Twilight's arrival. Both Rainbow and Zenith turned around towards the source. Twilight glanced around the cave, then turned around and caught sight of the two, "That took longer than I expected." she stated simply, not apologizing. She briefly glanced up at the white sphere, making sure it was still functional. The cave had warmed up significantly since its creation, and even she would admit it felt nicer than the cold outside of the cave. She looked between the two a few times before her gaze rested on Rainbow. She still looked uneasy, tense... Afraid...

She had mixed feelings about it. She wasn't sure how she felt about that, and she wasn't sure how she felt about not being sure what she felt. The cold bite of betrayal was there, but so were the memories of the good times. She frowned, 'The good times are gone now... They will never return... After he is dead, I will be ruling a country... I won't have time for... Well... Celestia had time for me... Maybe I could make it work. But Rainbow..? She... She represented the Element of Loyalty, and then threw it away with the rest of them, ignoring my warning...' She sighed and shook her head. The cold bite of betrayal wasn't enough that she wanted to kill her, but it was enough that she didn't want to give them another chance to be friends, to give Rainbow another chance to betray her. Rainbow would be useful to keep around, at least for now. Perhaps in time her feelings would change, maybe she would give all of them a second chance, or maybe she wouldn't. Time would tell.

"What took so long?" Rainbow asked, breaking Twilight from her musings.

Twilight looked up from her hooves, which her gaze had somehow shifted to during her thinking, and looked at Rainbow, "It's nothing to worry about." Rainbow shifted uncomfortably, causing her to frown. 'She's still afraid of me...' Which, maybe that wasn't such a bad thing. It would help... Motivate her... She grimaced, 'Then again, fear isn't as good a motivator as...' the thought trailed off. "Rainbow Dash... I do not want you to be afraid of me, it is not my intention to scare you." Rainbow shifted uncomfortably and looked away from her. "I don't... After I have the throne, I do not want anypony to be afraid of me. I don't want them living in fear, especially not in fear of me. I... I have issues with you, yes, but I don't want you to be so..."

Rainbow remained looking to the side of the cave, not looking at Twilight, "I... I'm trusting you, Twilight. I'm trying to... It's... So much has changed..." 'Why does this hurt so much?' She turned back towards Twilight, "I'm trying to trust you but I..." She what? She was worried Twilight would kill her? That Twilight would betray her? That Twilight would let her die? That Twilight would seize the throne and take vengeance on her former friends? That Twilight was actually secretly evil?

Twilight clenched her jaw, Rainbow looked distraught. She didn't know what was going through her mind, but the fear and uncertainty were plain as day for all to see. She was caught off guard by it, and didn't know what to do. Whatever was bothering Rainbow was bothering her more than she realize. 'Am I... Do I really upset her that much?' She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped, 'If our not being friends really hurts her that much... She's not my friend, but if I am going to try to be as good a princess as Princess Celestia, I should try to... At the very least I should try to comfort her... What would you say, Celestia?' She sighed, 'You would want me to forgive them, and to remember that friendship is magic... But you... You're not here now, are you? None of you are....'

She stepped forwards and stopped in front of Rainbow, who did her best to avoid looking at her. Twilight looked to her side and stretched out a wing, then wrapped it around Rainbow's back, and pulled her into her chest. She felt Rainbow tense up as her wing fell around her back. Rainbow relaxed as Twilight pulled her into her chest. She looked to Zenith, and extended her right wing, and pulled her into a hug also. It felt strange, both of them were so much smaller than her, it made her feel the need to protect them, as if they were her own foals. The thought struck her as strange, the closest feeling she had in regards to being a mother was with Spike...

She remembered comforting Rainbow just a few days ago, yet... It hadn't felt so hard then as it did now. 'Stress maybe?' she thought, remembering that since she saved Rainbow, things had been more stressful for her. Both... All of them, really. 'Could have been shock at seeing her again too...' "When I take the throne, I intend to be like Celestia was... I will protect everypony... And... I promise I will at least give being your friend again a shot, if it really means that much to you." She knew Celestia and Cadance would want that... All of them would, really. 'I guess that's settled then... If we all become friends again, it won't be the same as before... But I know I could use some friends...'

Rainbow felt better at hearing that, she still had no way to know Twilight was being honest, but she wanted to believe that she was being honest. 'Well, Twilight is smart... And Celestia was her mentor for years... She would have taught her how to be a good ruler. If not... She... She will figure it out... Right?' Twilight would at least try to figure it out, she was sure. That was something about Twilight that could never change. As to whether or not Twilight would be a kind ruler... The Twilight she knew would have been, but this wasn't the same Twilight she knew... She shifted her weight and pushed the thought aside. Still, the thought of Twilight being like Celestia... She smirked, "So does that mean you're going to start calling everpony your 'little ponies'?" her voice came out muffled, but still held it's teasing edge to it.

"I... Don't... Know..." Twilight replied after a few seconds of silence, "I'm not sure if that's an alicorn thing or a Celestia thing." 'I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually though...'

Rainbow winced internally at how despondent Twilight sounded. Once again, she felt pained at the state Twilight was in, knowing that she caused it, yet again. She slowly looked up, purposefully nuzzling Twilight's chest in an attempted to cheer her up as she did so, "What is that supposed to mean?"

She inhaled deeply, and exhaled as she spoke, "It's complicated..." she said slowly. Zenith Star fidgeted beneath Twilight's wing, so she took that as her cue to withdraw her wings from both mares. Zenith pulled back slightly as Twilight's wing left, not quite separating them. She looked slightly uncomfortable, shifting her weight on her hooves ever so slightly, and avoiding eye contact with Twilight. "I hope I didn't make you uncomfortable, Zenith..." She hadn't even thought that doing that could make her uncomfortable, instead she just didn't want her to feel left out.

"No it's just that I wasn't expecting it..." Zenith trailed off. In truth, it did make her a little uncomfortable, for multiple reasons. It wasn't that she didn't like it, but both of her parents were unicorns, so she was unfamiliar with the sensation of wings wrapped around her, and then there was the fact that she wasn't a filly anymore.

Twilight nodded in understanding, though she had a suspicion Zenith wasn't being entirely truthful. She didn't press the issue. "Alright... Well, I talked to my ally. She says that he knows I'm back in Equestria, but that he doesn't know where. Also, my bounty has been doubled." 'Again.' she mentally deadpanned.

Zenith's eyes widened briefly. She inhaled, then exhaled, "He really dislikes you doesn't he."

"The only reason he isn't as bad as King Sombra is because I'm still alive." Twilight stated. She waited a brief second before adding, "Then again, even if he had managed to kill me he would probably still be similar to how he is now... He would probably change things slowly, so that nopony would notice."

Rainbow shook her head, "I don't know how many resources he has wasted on trying to... Capture you..." She still didn't want to believe the Inquisitor wanted her dead. But while she didn't want to believe it, she realized it was true. Nopony would waste as many resources on a single pony as he did on Twilight without wanting them dead. And then nothing worked, so he made her a deal... She shifted on her hooves, pushing the thought that he tried to use her to kill Twilight out of her mind.

Twilight shook her head, "Regardless, it won't stop me. I've been thinking... And I believe the best way to kill him and seize Equestria is to do so as quickly as possible, and with as simple a plan as possible." She looked between the two, "As such, we will be leaving for Canterlot tonight, if you two don't feel able to keep up, I will carry you. As soon as we arrive, I will obtain a safe place for you two to wait while I meet up with one of my allies, then enact my assault on the capital."

Rainbow breathed a sigh of relief, but frowned, "What... Exactly do you mean by assault the capital?" she asked curiously. The way Twilight had said that made it sound less of her going after the Inquisitor, and more attacking anything in her way. Twilight taking on an entire army... It was both something she wanted to see, and something she really wanted to never see. At least she knew she would never be on the side against Twilight. She hoped anyway.

"I will probably have to fight my way to the Inquisitor, unless I figure out a way to teleport long distances without seeing or knowing my destination's layout. I may be able to get to him without fighting, and that's what I'm hoping for. If I can minimize casualties, it would make me look better, and perhaps the Revolutionary Guard would be more inclined to follow my command." Twilight explained.

Rainbow nodded, what Twilight said made sense. At least a little. She doubted the military would be happy that a princess was back to ruling Equestria, but maybe they felt less loyalty to the Inquisitor than she realized. "Let us help you... Let me help you." While she didn't exactly love the idea of fighting against her comrades, she liked the idea of Twilight doing so by herself even less. Besides, there was only so much a single pony could do on their own.

"No, Rainbow." Twilight stated firmly. Rainbow opened her mouth to protest, but she cut her off, "I trust you enough to let you help me-" 'I can at least see how much you're hurting... You wouldn't purposefully betray me again, at least I don't think you would anyway, but... I still remember, I still feel the pain of betrayal... And while I promised to at least give a try to being your friend again, I don't want to be hurt like that again. And if you did hurt me like that again...' "-but this way is simpler, and I won't have to worry about either of you getting in the way." Rainbow winced, "Which is to say I don't want... Either of you to get... Hurt?" She mentally berated herself for her weak delivery. "You already know my plans for after killing the Inquisitor, so I don't think I need to go over that again."

"I still don't like the idea of you replacing the Council as sole ruler..." Rainbow admitted.

"You promised you would help me, and I promised I would give us a chance after this is over. If you're worried that I will go back on my promise, or that I will be too busy to fulfill my promise, I will make time." Twilight's reassurance did little to ease Rainbow's worries. Twilight knew that she would be busy after the Inquisitor was dead. Establishing her rule wouldn't be that difficult, but it would be time consuming, and ensuring the loyalty of the military, along with subjugated states would be necessary immediately after taking the throne. She pursed her lips, 'I will need to reestablish the Royal Guard as well...' She shook her head sadly, the Revolution's Honor Guard just wasn't the same. Balancing establishing her rule with keeping her promise could be a delicate task, but undoing four years of the Inquisitor's efforts wouldn't keep her occupied for that long. And since the ponies as a whole wanted to go back to how things were, it would be even quicker. The most difficult part from what she saw would be reestablishing the infrastructure for her sole rule, as it was with Princess Celestia for one thousand years, and bending the military to her will. Her reign would last longer than Princess Celestia, if she had anything to say about it.

Rainbow and Zenith both watched as Twilight spaced out in thought. Neither of them said anything, not wishing to interrupt her for varying reasons. A short while later, Twilight looked up and glanced between them, then looked passed them, towards the mouth of the cave. She lit her horn and glanced up towards the white sphere, "I know it's not night yet, but I would prefer to leave now, I do not believe he would expect me so soon." she spoke with authority, the glow from her horn serving to amplify the firmness of her command. A beam of lavender magic shot out of her horn towards the sphere, punctuating her statement. The beam of magic struck the sphere, and immediately the sphere started shifting from white, to blue, and then to a shade identical to Twilight's magic a few seconds later. As the color of the sphere changed, so did how it looked, shifting from looking solid to appearing fluid once it finished shifting colors. The heat emitted by the orb died away, but the soft glow remained, bathing the cave in the pale lavender light of Twilight's magic.

The ball of magic soon started shrinking, appearing to flow back into Twilight, her mane and tail seemed to shift and glow slightly the entire time, until finally the sphere was gone. She turned her head towards the mouth of the cave, and closed her eyes. For a brief second, her horn glowed brighter, then the glow died, causing the barrier to collapse as her horn's glow faded. A few seconds later, the cooler outside air started rushing inside, mixing with the warm air, and sapping the heat from the cave. The soft gust of wind it created sent everypony's mane flying for a brief second, and caused Rainbow to shiver. "Let's go." Twilight commanded as she took a step passed the two smaller ponies. She paused briefly to levitate each saddlebag to its owner, then continued on.

Rainbow and Zenith both hesitated a brief moment, then turned and fell in sync with Twilight, both choosing to remain behind the alicorn. Twilight glanced back at them, "Stay close." she commanded. Both Rainbow and Zenith nodded at Twilight command, and quickened their pace, until they were both walking beside her, Rainbow to Twilight's left, and Zenith on the other side of Twilight. As they stepped outside of the cave, Twilight glanced skyward. She estimated about three hours before night fell, enveloping the land in darkness. Until then, they would be easy to spot, and she stood out, and would draw attention.

Attention that she could handle. In the back of her mind, she went over the list of spells she had learned during her absence, but had yet to test in a situation necessitating their use. Some of them were rather benign, while others... Not so much. Many of the spells she contemplated now would have been forbidden under Celestia and Luna's reign, and long since forgotten by everypony. And other spells she had discovered in the dragon lands. She never would have imagined that so much knowledge about magic existed there before she saw it first hoof, but it did exist. If anypony asked her about the origin of her knowledge, she would lie. She couldn't afford to let anypony find what she had found, nopony could know.

Zenith found herself fascinated by the Everfree Forest, she could feel the magic in the air, it was almost tangible. Growing up as a filly she had heard the tales of the dark, mysterious Everfree Forest, where monsters lurked, and nopony dared to tread. She remembered hearing about how six young mares fought and defeated Nightmare Moon in this very forest, restoring Princess Luna in the process. She had heard stories about what monsters made their homes here, and what happens when night falls in the forest... Fortunately, they had encountered none of the foul monsters mentioned in the stories during their journey to, and subsequent stay in said forest.

Zenith had been in the Revolution's Guard long enough to see combat, she had been with her scouting squad for over a year. She had fought many different monsters before, and bandits, ranging from ponies, to gryphons, to zebras. And then she had seen Twilight, something which she would never forget... Even with her experience, she knew she wanted nothing to do with the creatures in the Everfree. Even the most mundane monsters of the Forest could easily outmatch a light scouting party, let alone a single pony. And that said nothing about the magical creatures... But Twilight? The monsters wouldn't stand a chance, she seemed to radiate power and authority.

Twilight easily stepped over a fallen tree, as if it wasn't even there. Rainbow beat her wings to jump over it, and Zenith almost tripped on it. She righted herself, brushing it off like nothing had happened, and then stepped onto the tree, then off of it, and the group continued their journey. Zenith's mishap with the fallen tree did not go unnoticed by the Rainbow and Twilight, the former choosing to ignore it, hoping to save Zenith from embarrassment. Twilight, on the other hoof made sure to keep a closer eye on Zenith, to make sure she didn't get hurt.

As the minutes passed by, Rainbow grew more and more anxious. She had been to the Everfree Forest many times before, but this time was different. She could feel it in the air, something had changed. She never really felt safe in the forest, and anypony who did was insane, but this time... It felt similar to the forest where she found... Were Twilight found her. She tried to brush the feeling away as being something Twilight had done, but it didn't make her feel any more at ease. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw glowing red eyes in a bush, tracking her movement, but they eventually faded away. She glanced to Twilight, who kept looking left and right, as if she was unsure about something. The sight did little to calm her nerves.

Eventually, minutes faded to hours, and as the sun set, the group reached the edge of the Everfree. The group stopped just shy of leaving the treeline, pausing to make sure nopony was around to see them. Twilight turned her head left and right, eyes scanning the land outside of the forest. Twilight paused mid sweep and lit her horn, drawing Rainbow's attention. She followed Twilight's gaze, attempting to find what she could see, to no avail. Twilight lowered her head, and her horn's glow grew brighter, then flashed. She immediately looked back up and stepped out of the forest. She motioned with her wing for Rainbow and Zenith to follow.

After a slight hesitation, both Zenith and Rainbow stepped out of the treeline, in that order, the latter hesitating from memory. As Rainbow stepped out, she couldn't help but remember the feeling of the arrow piercing her side. It was not pleasant. Granted, she knew it could have been a lot worse. She was lucky it was a pegasus that had shot her using a bow, rather than a unicorn using magic. She had fought alongside unicorns before, she distinctly remembered how formidable a well trained, powerful, or skilled unicorn was. And then there were so many options for them to use, making them very versatile if they had the magic for it. Granted, very few unicorns had enough magic to be that versatile, but the fact remained, the elite battlemages trained since they Revolution easily outmatched their Royal Guard counterpart from before.

Twilight paused and turned her head towards her companions, "There are two ponies up ahead. Unicorn and earth pony just behind that hill, heading our way." she nodded in their direction.

Rainbow squinted, attempting to see them. After several seconds, she could make our the silhouette of two ponies coming down a hill, approaching them at a rapid pace. "Why did we leave the treeline then?"

"I have my reasons." Twilight stated, brushing off Rainbow's concern.

Zenith turned to Twilight, "How did you know that? You couldn't have seen behind that hill."

Twilight turned to Zenith, "Life detection spell." she answered. "I'll teach it to you sometime." she smiled, gleeful with the prospect of sharing her knowledge of magic with a younger pony. She turned back towards the two oncoming ponies and scowled. They weren't soldiers, or even guards. They were either criminals or civilians, which made it more difficult to justify. Even if they tried to avoid them, the ponies had obviously seen them by now, which means they would probably follow them. The two poinies were quickly approaching, they slowed as they neared, and the unicorn lit his horn. Twilight stepped forwards without lighting her horn, and slowly looked back at Rainbow and Zenith, as if to say for them to stay put.

The two ponies seemed to slow even more as they approached, seeing Twilight's stature and becoming less sure of themselves. Eventually, they got over the initial shock and quickened their pace, before stopping a short distance away. Twilight looked indifferently between the two, who glanced at each other, trying to figure out who would talk. The unicorn finally relented, "Alright miss... Hand over your saddleb..." he trailed off as he saw Twilight ruffle her wings. A second later, his eyes widened in realization, "P-Princess Twilight Sparkle?" he asked in shock, the glow of his horn immediately dying. The earth pony's head shot towards him, then back to Twilight. A second later, he joined his friend in shock.

Twilight lit her horn, and flared her wings, "I have come to take what is mine." she stated, then took a step forwards. The two ponies took a step back, and cowered at the display. Both Rainbow and Zenith shifted uncomfortably at the sight, and waited anxiously to see what Twilight would do, both fearing they knew what would happen...

"What do you..." the earth pony's eyes widened in realization, "You... You're going after the Inquisitor?" he tentatively asked, glancing to the unicorn, then looking back to Twilight. His eyes held a certain gleam, a mixture of fear and respect.

Twilight lowered her wings to her sides and nodded, "Yes." She looked between the two stallions, they were cowering in fear of her. The sight would have pained Celestia and Cadance to their core, Luna... Under normal conditions, it would have pained Luna, but not under these conditions. She sighed at the sight. "You two are criminals." she stated indifferently, much to the pair's unease. "Enemies of the Revolution... But also enemies of Equestria, and me." The two ponies looked between each other nervously, looking as if they might try to run away.

Rainbow shifted on her hooves and ruffled her wings. She shivered as she pictured Twilight killing them, something which was a real possibility she realized. The thought of Twilight Sparkle, the bookworm nerd she once knew being a killer chilled her to the bone. But Twilight Sparkle already was a killer, she had seen it first hoof. And she had done so with ease, little hesitation, and indifference towards the loss of life. That was not the Twilight Sparkle she knew, but it was the one she had a hoof in making. She wasn't unused to violence or killing, having led ponies into battle, war, really. There was always the possibility she was leading them to their deaths. She learned to cope with the feeling, but Twilight being a killer? That was just too much... She couldn't cope with that for some reason.

Twilight thought for a few seconds before speaking again, "Answer truthfully and I may be lenient. I will know if you lie to me." She had encountered criminals before, while she was in hiding. She had learned to tell the difference between the ones who had no chance of redemption, and the ones who themselves had been wronged, and were lashing out. These two ponies, the way they carried themselves, they fell into the latter category. She looked the unicorn in the eye, "How many ponies have you hurt?"

The unicorn shifted on his hooves, "We-we've never actually hurt any-anypony. They ju-just hand it over without a fi-fight..."

Twilight nodded, they were telling the truth, or at the least being relatively honest. The fact they told the truth, and hadn't hurt anypony badly, at least physically, made her task of deciding their fate more difficult. She couldn't just let them go, they knew her whereabouts, and if she let them go, they might eventually hurt somepony. She couldn't trust them enough to take them with her, and it would slow her down. Killing them... It would be the easiest solution, but then it would be harder to convince Rainbow and Zenith to trust her, not to mention they didn't deserve that fate, and killing them was a slippery slope. Under different circumstances, they would be good ponies, she just knew it. In a way, they were similar to herself, both having been wronged by the Revolution, and both lashing out... She shook her head, she would be lying if she said she never once lashed out...

Putting them into a deep state of sleep, and erasing their memory of meeting her would work. And while she erased their memory of tonight, she could make them a little more... Friendly... They wouldn't hurt anypony again... Twilight made her decision, "I will spare you." she stated dispassionately.

Both ponies relaxed upon hearing her words, both blinked, and then breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank yo-" the unicorn was cut off by Twilight throwing her head down, and firing a spell at him, with less than a second of delay before she fired the same spell at the earth pony. Both immediately fell to the ground, alive but unconscious. Twilight smiled, while they were sleeping, she would at least make sure they had good dreams.

Rainbow tightened her jaw at the sight. Twilight had lied to them, lulled them into a sense of safety, and then killed them. What was to stop her from doing the same to her for revenge? Twilight wanting revenge... That was a scary thought... One that was true, she realized. Twilight wanted revenge on the Inquisitor, even if she didn't call it such... 'Twilight wants revenge on him... After he's dead, what's to stop her from...' she ended the thought, but the implications still made her shiver.

Twilight took a step forwards, and placed her horn against the unicorn's head. Her horn glowed brighter for several seconds, and after a minute, she pulled back, and repeated the process with the earth pony. The second time took only half as long as the first. She turned back to Rainbow and Zenith, both of them looking at her with confusion, shock, and disgust. "They will wake up in about twelve hours, with no memory of what happened here." she stated. She chose to leave out the details of her other changes while in their minds, her companions didn't need to know about that. Rainbow closed her eyes and seemed to relax upon hearing they were asleep, and Zenith just brushed it off and walked over to her. Twilight found Rainbow's reaction strange, but brushed it off as stress.

After a few seconds the group continued on. The rest of their journey that night was quiet and uneventful, leaving each pony to their thoughts.

Author's Note

This story might need a drama tag. Not sure.

Alright, so I had intended to publish this on Friday the thir-- Oh... Oh my. Anyway, that did not happen, obviously. Life happened instead, delaying this chapter.

I can't help but feel my characterization is all over the place for Twilight and Rainbow. Feedback?

Chapter 5

Twilight, Rainbow, and Zenith all walked through Canterlot, the former two disguised by a simple transfiguration spell, the work of Twilight, while Zenith remained undisguised. Princess Twilight Sparkle walking in Canterlot would have drawn too much attention, as would have Captain Rainbow Dash, so Twilight used her magic to change their appearance so they would not draw attention. Twilight had shrunk her body size to back when she was a unicorn, and hidden her wings. Her horn was still larger than normal, but only slightly. Her coat remained the same color, but she had made her mane and tail cyan blue. Rainbow Dash looked mostly the same, except her mane and tail were now purple, the same shade as originally in her mane.

Twilight did not like this spell. Using it to hide her wings physically hurt, and the body she was in was unfamiliar to her, and not designed to house her abilities. "I hate this." she mumbled.

Zenith glanced to Twilight, then returned to looking about the street they were walking on. The sides of the street were lined with shops and cafes, the sheer number was overwhelming for her. It was about half an hour after the sun broke the horizon, and everywhere she looked ponies, mostly unicorns, darted about, going about their business, and for the most part ignoring each other. Occasionally she would spot two ponies talking, but her attention was drawn to the guards patrolling the streets. There was easily a dozen guards on this street alone, their dull, light grey and black armor made them easy to spot among the brightly colored crowds.

Rainbow turned to Twilight, who was scowling. "You used this spell before and you didn't complain about it then?"

Twilight glanced to Rainbow, then returned her gaze to the nearest patrol, two ponies, both unicorns. She could easily spot the retractable blades mounted on their hooves, front and back, along with the blue, diamond shaped gem set in the breastplate, which was used to amplify a unicorn's abilities beyond normal. She watched the pair carefully, until they passed beyond her range of vision. "That was years ago, Rainbow. Things have changed since then." she growled under her breath. A nearby unicorn overheard her, and glanced towards her briefly. Twilight's eyes darted towards him, he continued to look at her for a second, then broke his gaze.

Rainbow wiggled her wings slightly. "I know that, but what changed that you don't like this? It would have made it easier for us to get around." She glanced around as they continued to walk, checking for anything amiss. Two weeks ago, there hadn't been as many patrols in the streets of Canterlot, the Inquisitor had increased security in the time she was absent. Two guards passed by to their left, neither of them gave Rainbow or her companions a second glance, and they continued unimpaired. From what she could tell, they were headed in the direction of the capital, which made her both nervous and anxious.

"This body was not designed to hold an alicorn. It's painful, not just having to lose my wings, but being trapped in a body so much smaller and weaker than I'm used to." she sharply answered under her breath as soon as the patrol was out of hearing range. At the start of their journey, she had been giddy. A few hours being trapped in a body similar to her old one had soured her mood, and had given her a dull throbbing pain at the base of her horn. It was also more taxing to maintain the form than she had expected, not magically, but it was certainly mentally taxing for her.

Zenith glanced to her left at Twilight, and walked a little closer to her as the crowd became more dense. Every so often a pair of guards would walk passed them, and glance at the trio, but nopony ever said anything. After about a minute of walking, the bustling crowd died down. "So where are we going? It looks like we're heading towards the capital, but you said you were going to leave us someplace safe while you went on."

Twilight turned to Zenith, "Yes, and I will. We're going to contact one of my allies. He knows that I will be coming, he just doesn't know when. He should be able to find a safe place for you two to stay while I..." she trailed off as they passed two more guards. 'Just how many patrols does he have in the streets? That's the tenth one we've passed in the last ten minutes...' She found the number of soldiers patrolling the streets slightly disconcerting. It made Canterlot look less like the capital and more like an occupied city, which it was, but the Inquisitor never let anypony realize that.

Rainbow glanced to Twilight. "Who exactly is this ally of yours, and how do you know you can trust him?"

"You will see when we get there." Twilight shot back.

Minutes passed as they walked on in silence, the only sounds coming from ponies other than themselves. Eventually, Twilight led them away from the center of Canterlot, down a street that was lined with manors belonging to the rich and elite. While the Inquisitor had done away with titles of nobility, they kept their wealth in exchange for their support, however a lot of the former nobles lost a lot of power during the transition. Rainbow grew anxious as Twilight led them to a manor which had two soldiers, both unicorns, guarding the door. Rainbow's heart pounded once it was clear that was her destination. 'Twilight... I have a bad feeling about this. I hope you know what you're doing...'

A few seconds later, Twilight came to a stop in front of one of the soldiers. She smiled at the soldier. "I'm here to see the Councillor." she stated, the kindness in her voice took Rainbow by surprise.

The soldier glanced to his partner, then looked back to Twilight. "Lots of ponies come here to see the Councillor. Do you have an appointment?"

"No, but I'm an old friend of his. Tell him Evening is here to see him." Twilight chirped in reply.

The soldier opened his mouth, then closed it with a sigh. He glanced to his partner. "You recognize the name?" he asked.

His partner nodded. "Yeah I heard him talking about getting a letter from an 'Evening' a few weeks ago. No clue what she looks like though."

The soldier pursed his lips. "Did he mention anything about her bringing friends?"

His partner shook his head. "No."

"Alright..." The soldier turned back to Twilight, and scrutinized her, then Rainbow and Zenith. "Wait here. I'll go check with the Councillor." The soldier looked between the three cautiously, then turned to his partner and nodded. He turned around and opened the door with his magic, then proceeded to enter and shut it behind him.

Rainbow's heart raced. 'Her ally is a Councillor!? No, that's just... No. This... This is a trap...' She clenched her jaw at the realization and ruffled her wings. Any minute now, guards were going to come storming out of that door, and they wouldn't have time to react. Twilight wouldn't have enough warning and wouldn't be able to defend herself... Maybe... Maybe they would take them alive... But Twilight was right, the Inquisitor wanted her dead. She glanced to Twilight, then back to the soldier and swallowed. Maybe the Inquisitor wouldn't kill her immediately... Maybe he would force Twilight to watch Rainbow's execution, or vice versa. That thought chilled her to the bone. She looked to Twilight. "Twilight..." she whispered under her breath.

Twilight turned to Rainbow. She saw the look of fear in her eyes, and it was painful. "Don't worry. The Councillor and I go way back..." she comforted. Rainbow saw the confidence in Twilight's eyes. Twilight was sure this would go well, Rainbow could see that. She didn't feel the same confidence. She closed her eyes for a second, then opened them. If Twilight was wrong, if it was a trap... She would buy her time, even if... Even if it cost her life. She abandoned her before, but she wouldn't make that mistake again, and she would make it up to Twilight... Somehow.

A few seconds later, the door started to open. Rainbow mentally prepared herself to jump in front of Twilight or push her aside if it was a trap. Her mental preparation proved unnecessary, as a single unicorn stepped back out, the same soldier from before.

"Yeah, he wants to see you immediately." he said. He smiled at Twilight, "Right this way, Evening." He stepped to the side of the door, giving room for Twilight, Zenith, and Rainbow to walk inside. After the three mares were inside, he stepped back inside and closed the door.

As soon as the soldier shut the door, Rainbow prepared herself for a potential ambush. The ambush never came, and the soldier quickly made his way to the head of the group, and motioned for them to follow him. Rainbow followed the others, but stayed back a little ways, to make sure nopony tried to jump them from behind. She kept her eyes open, and kept herself alert for any signs of danger. There were none, but as she looked around, she noticed the beautiful mahogany paneled walls, illuminated by lights anchored to the ceiling. They were in an interior hallway judging from the lack of windows.

A short while later, they turned a corner to the right, and proceeded up stairs, constructed from the same wood as the rest of the structure. The stairs made no noise as they made their way to the top. Once they reached the top, they continued towards the end of the hallway, punctuated by a large, window, made from several smaller windows, in the shape of a square. About halfway down the hall, they took a right, through a large wooden door, painted a rich brown color, and came to a stop. Inside the room were two guards, standing at either side of another solid mahogany door. The soldier that had been escorting them saluted the pair, then turned to Twilight. "The Councillor will be with you shortly." Immediately punctuating his statement, he left the room, and shut the door behind him.

"About time..." Twilight grumbled. She took a step towards the door, but the soldier on the left lifted his hoof, signaling her to stop.

"He will be out soon." the soldier stated firmly.

Twilight raised an eyebrow at the guard. "I'm here to see him. Now." she stated strongly.

The soldier shifted his weight. "Look, Miss-"

Twilight took a step forwards and lit her horn. In a flash of lavender light, her small body disappeared to be replaced by her true body. She smiled as the pain disappeared immediately. She closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation of being in her own body again. "Oh that feels... So much better." she purred.

The two soldiers looked panicked by the sudden change. "P-Princess Twilight Sparkle!?" the first one stuttered, still in shock. They looked between themselves and lit their horns.

Twilight nodded, then turned to Rainbow and cast the spell to give her back her real body. Rainbow felt nothing change, but could see her mane shift back into a rainbow.

"Ca-Captain Rainbow Dash!?" one guard shouted in surprise. Twilight looked back to the two soldiers. She looked between the two nervous unicorns dispassionately, then turned to the door as it started to open. "Councillor stay back!" the soldier on the right called out, warning him of the danger he was in.

The door continued to open, and out walked a white unicorn with a light blue, flowing mane. He wore a fine, black suit, and had a monocle placed over his right eye. "There's no need for that now." he said as he closed the door behind him. He looked to Twilight and smiled, then looked to his two soldiers which were looking between each other, Fancy Pants, and Princess Twilight Sparkle nervously. He frowned. "Oh stand down already, that's a direct order."

"B-But Councillor! She's Princess Twilight Sparkle! The Inquisitor-"

"The Inquisitor is going to die by my hoof today." Twilight said coldly, drawing the attention of the two soldiers. "You have two options. Swear fealty to me, or end up as stains on the Councillor's floor." she said with no hesitation. Fancy Pants frowned, but said nothing.

The two soldiers looked to Fancy Pants for guidance, he raised an eyebrow in response. "I'd do as she says if I were you."

The pair looked between each other, then at Twilight. The one on the left swallowed. They glanced at each other, and dimmed their horns, then bowed. "W-we swear allegiance t-to you, Princess Twilight Sparkle." The one on the left answered.

Twilight's horn dimmed. "Good."

"You've grown a lot since the last time I saw you Princess." Fancy Pants smiled. "You look as tall as Princess Celestia was!"

Twilight nodded absently. "Yeah..."

Fancy Pants smiled sadly. "Sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"No, it's fine..." Twilight replied.

A few seconds of silence later, Fancy Pants stepped forwards. "I wasn't expecting you to be here so soon, nor was I expecting you to have company."

Twilight glanced to Rainbow and Zenith, then looked back to Fancy Pants. She nodded. "Nor was I, but... You know the Inquisitor."

Fancy Pants nodded and walked over to Rainbow Dash. "Captain Rainbow Dash? I'm surprised to see you here."

Rainbow shifted on her hooves. "I wasn't expecting a Councillor to be one of Twilight's allies."

Fancy Pants smiled and nodded. "Undoubtedly." He stepped over to Zenith and scrutinized the unicorn. "You... You don't look familiar."

Zenith's body went rigid as she answered. "Private Zenith Star, Councillor." she responded.

"Good mare. At ease. It's not like that's necessary, here we're all friends." he responded with a smile. He walked back to Twilight. "Where did you find them?" he asked.

Twilight looked at Rainbow Dash. "Rainbow was sent by the Inquisitor to capture me and bring me back." Rainbow ruffled her wings at the mention of why she was looking for Twilight. "During the night she was attacked by wolves, I almost didn't intervene, but I did, and now she is..." Twilight bobbled her head, then turned to Zenith. "Zenith was in a scouting party that managed to find me and Rainbow. I spared her because she was different somehow."

Fancy Pants sighed and looked to Zenith. "Seeing Twilight kill your friends like that must have been hard."

Zenith shook her head. "Actually no, I had just been assigned to that scout squad a few days before that. I didn't know them that well." she answered, leaving out the part about how much seeing Twilight doing that scared her. In the time since then, she had come to see Twilight in a new light, and Twilight had done her best to make it up to Zenith, as much as she could while the Inquisitor was still alive at least.

Fancy Pants nodded and turned back to Twilight. "Am I to assume that you have plans for both of them after you kill him?"

Twilight pursed her lips but nodded. "I'm going to teach Zenith magic, and Rainbow... I'll keep her around, I promised to give her a chance."

Fancy Pants nodded, "I see. Well, when do you plan on making your move?"

"Now." Twilight stated firmly. She sighed and looked to Rainbow and Zenith. She smiled sadly, then looked back to Fancy Pants. "Look, I don't want either of them getting in my way, so I was hoping you had someplace safe they could stay."

Fancy Pants furrowed his brow and looked down. He nodded slowly. "Yes... They can stay here..." He frowned and looked back to Twilight. "You do know Captain Rainbow Dash would be able to help you with the Inquisitor, right?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes, but I want to do this alone." She leaned in closer to him, "And I don't completely trust her yet. She betrayed me before, and then swore loyalty to the Inquisitor, then promised to be loyal to me. She represented the Element of Loyalty, and broke that bond." She glanced to Rainbow, then looked back to Fancy Pants. "I can see the pain in her eyes about it, and I don't think she would betray me again, but I don't want to risk it. Not yet at least. Besides, I could be missing something. Whenever the Inquisitor is involved bad things happen." Twilight pulled her head back, and looked to the two soldiers.

Fancy Pants nodded sadly. "I understand..." he whispered back in a sad, soft voice. Fancy Pants sighed and joined Twilight in looking at the soldiers. "We will be fine here, Princess. I'll start preparations for establishing your reign after the Inquisitor is dead."

Twilight nodded. "Alright..." She inhaled slowly, then exhaled. "Whelp. I have a government to overthrow." She looked to the two soldiers and spoke in an icy voice, "If anything happens to either of them, I will hold you personally accountable." Both soldiers swallowed.

Fancy Pants walked over to Rainbow and Zenith. "Good luck, Princess."

Twilight nodded, then looked between Rainbow and Zenith. Her gaze lingered on each of them for a second, then she cast her spell. Her body shifted back to a less recognizable form, leaving a small lavender unicorn standing where the once tall Princess Twilight stood. She paused, and thought for a moment, then shook her head. She looked back up, then lit her horn, and teleported away.

Rainbow shifted on her hooves and turned to Fancy Pants. "Any idea how long this is going to take?"

Fancy Pants shook his head. "I'm afraid not, Captain."

"What if... What if she fails?" Rainbow asked. That question... Twilight failing at something was unthinkable. But with the Inquisitor involved, anything could happen. Plans would fail, and governments would fall whenever he was involved, almost like the universe was following his rules, rather than its own.

Fancy Pants raised an eyebrow at her question. "You don't believe in her? I would have thought that with once being her friend you would trust her?"

His words struck Rainbow's heart like a dagger. She knew he didn't know how she felt, and she couldn't blame him for hurting her since he didn't know. It still hurt though. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then opened her eyes and released it.

Twilight Sparkle reappeared just outside the door of Fancy Pant's manor. She immediately turned towards the two soldiers, who shifted on their hooves, startled by her sudden arrival. She smiled apologetically. "Sorry."

The soldier on the left nodded. "That's alright Miss Evening. Everything alright?"

"Yes." Twilight answered simply. "I just need to take care of something real quick."

"Alright." the soldier said. "Take care."

Twilight nodded, then turned and made her way down the street. She smiled as she turned onto the main street, leading to the capital building. As much as she enjoyed having company, she had grown accustomed to being alone, and she enjoyed the freedom that came with it, even if she was surrounded by ponies. At least none of them knew her, and she knew none of them. It gave her a sense of anonymity, something she would rarely have after the day ended. As minutes passed, the dull ache at the base of her horn returned, souring her mood.

Eventually, the spires of the Canterlot Castle rose above the houses, shops, and manors. As she neared it, the number of soldiers patrolling seemed to grow exponentially. Once she arrived at the courtyard she paused to catch her breath, reaffirm her plan, and prepare herself for the task at hoof. She closed her eyes, inhaled, then exhaled. She opened her eyes and glanced around. The courtyard was filled with ponies of all races, save for her own race, and a few gryphons all going about their business, blissfully unaware of what the day was about to turn in to. Soldiers minded their own business and patrolled, occasionally stopping to check a pony or gryphon for security reasons, though they were careful to be discrete and kind. The sight made her frown, and she looked elsewhere. Canterlot Castle, her home for nearly eight years. She knew the castle like the back of her hoof. Or at least she used to. The Revolution would have likely changed some things, but the castle was still Canterlot Castle. Former home to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, both deceased. Canterlot Castle was hers now.

The entrance to the castle itself was guarded by four guards, each an unicorn, which was not surprising. The Inquisitor himself would likely be in the throne room, and she had no idea how many soldiers were between him and her. Not that it mattered. She would cut through every soldier on the planet to reach him. She looked to the sky, and scanned for any pegasi soldiers flying overhead. There sky was clear, and it was a beautiful day. 'It's just like the day Princess Celestia and Luna died. How fitting.' she bitterly mused.

She broke her gaze from the sky, and started across the crowded courtyard, making her way to the castle door. She carefully maneuvered passed soldiers on patrol, slid between ponies and gryphons, and made it to the stairs without any problems. She stepped onto the first step of the stairs, then paused and turned around to look across the courtyard. It was tempting, very tempting to cast the spell to return to her real body, she would be free of the pain of the form she was in, and there would be no doubt who she was, and why she was here. 'Not now, but soon.' she told herself. She slowly turned back around, then made her way up to the top of the stairs.

A few ponies were going into and leaving the castle, and the lobby was mostly empty, save for the guards patrolling inside. The four soldiers outside stood guard at the door, keeping out anypony who obviously didn't belong, and keeping tabs on everypony that passed. They ignored her as she passed them and she smirked as she entered the lobby. A guard close to her eyed her wearily as he walked passed her and caught sight of her smirk, but said nothing, and went about his business.

She glanced around the lobby, noting all of the changes, most notably, the security checkpoint where the soldiers made sure anypony entering was not a threat. The scanner was a very sensitive instrument, and even she wouldn't be able to bypass it without sounding an alarm. Teleporting around it to avoid it would not only draw the attention of every soldier in Canterlot, but raise eyebrows that she was powerful enough to teleport, and that she teleported to avoid the scanner.

She prepared her spell and lit her horn with magic. Immediately all the soldier's eyes fell onto her. She glanced around, noting where each soldier was. After a few seconds, one of the soldiers started to approach her, then paused far enough away to give himself time to react if she did anything. "Excuse me miss, but you're not allowed to use magic until you go through the scanner."

Twilight nodded. "I know." she stated. The soldier frowned and glanced back to his comrades, then returned his gaze to her. "You have two choices." she started.

The soldier took a step back and powered up his horn, just in case something happened. "One. Leave immediately and I will spare you."

He snorted. "Miss, you should choose your words carefully. You're inside the Canterlot Castle, surrounded by elite soldiers."

Twilight glared at him. "You are nothing but a gnat to me. Your actions have forfeited the life of every soldier standing between me and the Inquisitor." She raised her head slightly as she finished.

He rolled his eyes. "Alright that's enough, you're under arrest." He took a step towards her. "Treason carries the death sentence." he stated.

Twilight nodded. "I am so glad you brought that up." Her horn glowed brighter, and a flash of pink light momentarily blinded everypony present, with the exception of Twilight.

The guard rubbed his eyes. "Alright miss, you just-" the words died in his mouth when he looked back to the alicorn. "Princess Twilight Sparkle..." he grunted in surprise. Hushed whispers filled the room, and for a time, nopony moved.

"If it is not obvious why I am here, allow me to clarify. The Inquisitor will die, and anypony standing in my way will join him. I stand by my earlier statements. Every soldier who stands against me has committed treason, and I will serve as judge, juror, and executioner, as I will it to be. I far outclass everypony here, bow or die." She slowly looked around the room for several seconds after she gave her ultimatum.

"Don't just stand there, kill her!" a soldier shouted. As soon as the command registered in the minds of the soldiers present, the room descended into chaos.

Twilight channeled magic into a barrier to protect herself as countless bolts of magic rained down upon her. The barrier flared under the bombardment as each pulse of magic impacted it, and spread out over the barrier, forming rings which expanded and dissipated. She glanced around, protected by her barrier, and made a special note of every soldier that had formed a blade of magic. Of the sixteen soldiers, all unicorns, present, only four of them had forged swords, the others were bombarding her barrier with magic. All of them kept their distance. "You're not going to break this barrier." she said loud enough to be heard over the sound of magic. Had this happened three years ago, she would already be dead, she wasn't even sure that her brother could have survived under the bombardment of twelve unicorns, all having their magic amplified.

As expected, the soldiers ignored her. She channeled more magic into her barrier, then flared her wings and exploded it outwards. The resultant wave of magic and force staggered and threw everypony in the room away from the epicenter. The unicorns that had forged swords lost focus on their magic, and their weapons evaporated. Perhaps they wouldn't have enough magic to be able to reforge their swords, but she wasn't going to let them have the chance. She turned around and lowered her horn, then created a barrier blocking the entrance to the lobby. Nopony would be able to get in or out through the door.

She turned around and glanced over the soldiers. Five of them, those closest to her when she exploded her barrier outwards, remained where they were thrown, unmoving. Some of the others were groaning as they picked themselves up, and others were standing on their hooves uneasily. She angled her wings so that she could push off at a moment's notice, then relit her horn. Magic rippled through the air to her left and right, and two bright flashes signaled the birth of her swords. The blades shimmered brightly, shifting and yet maintaining their form.

She regarded her magic briefly, then spun the swords around, and brought them close to herself. One of the unicorns closer to her spread his hooves to give himself more stability, then lowered his horn, and fired a pulse of magic at her. She swung the nearest blade at the pulse of magic and intercepted it. The bolt of magic was absorbed by the magic making up the sword, and the barrier flared brighter briefly, then returned to normal. Twilight took a step forwards, then launched herself towards the soldier. She beat her wings and propelled herself upwards, and angled her swords towards the soldier. She soared through the air with grace befitting Princess Celestia, then started falling towards her target, and the sight became terrifying, more befitting of Princess Luna or Nightmare Moon than Princess Celestia. Fear replaced awe as he regained his senses. The soldier stepped back in surprise, then jumped out of the way before she hit where he was standing.

Twilight kept her gaze focused on her target, and as soon as she landed she released a stun spell at him. He dived under the bolt of magic and rolled back to his hooves, and turned around to face her. She ran towards him, swords at her sides, and easily closed the distance due to her stamina and stature. The soldier jumped back, dodging a swipe from one of her swords, then raised a barrier to block a downwards cut from her left sword. The amber barrier flared, and a wave of force traveled through the barrier as her sword glanced off of it. The strike wasn't completely without effect, as he staggered briefly from the impact, and panted from exertion.

Twilight quickly glanced around, the other soldiers were starting to regroup, but they were still recovering from her first attack. There was a soldier just to her left, he was starting to get up. He locked eyes with her, and the moment was punctuated by her sword impaling his neck. The soldier looked at her in surprise, and tried to cry out, but nothing came. She withdrew her sword, and returned her gaze to her target, not bothering to watch as the soldier collapsed to the floor, lifeless.

She stepped closer to the soldier, and struck out with her left sword, it bounced harmlessly off his barrier, but the soldier took a step back. She struck out with her right while she recovered her hold on her other sword. She struck out a third, fourth, and then a fifth time, each time her swords switched sides and glanced harmlessly off his barrier. Each time, the soldier took a step back, but his barrier was holding. She struck out again, this time with both of her swords in a thrusting motion. They hit firmly, and the barrier flared brightly, but it held. The soldier smiled. 'Die already.' she thought as she swung her head down, angling her horn at the barrier. She charged a spell, then released it. A single bolt of magic shot forwards from her horn. The bolt of magic impacted the barrier and sundered it. Immediately the barrier collapsed, and the soldier stepped back from the strain. Wisps of amber magic quickly dissipated into the air as one of Twilight's swords shot through it and impacted the soldier.

She pulled her sword back and turned away as the soldier hit the ground. She turned her attention to the nine remaining soldiers, three of which had forged swords of magic. No single unicorn had more than one sword, and the three swords were held defensively. While fighting defensively was a wise idea, it wouldn't help them. She lowered her horn so that it pointed at the general center of the line of soldiers, then powered up a spell. The soldiers lowered their bodies to the ground in expectation of an attack. She cast her spell, and gravity inverted itself. Immediately the nine remaining soldiers found themselves quickly falling towards the ceiling. Half of them managed to spin their bodies around so that they landed on their feet, while the others landed on their sides or backs. None of them had expected such an attack, and even the ones that landed on their feet were caught unprepared.

She prepared another spell, and released it. Gravity righted itself before the soldiers had a chance to recover from the first attack, and they once again found themselves falling, this time to the ground. The soldiers hit the floor hard, and many of them grunted. Twilight regarded them dispassionately, and waited a few seconds for them to stand up. They all seemed content to stay on the floor. "Tsk." She sauntered over to them, and looked them over. Each soldier made an effort to look at her and glare. "I do not know how many of you were in the Royal Guard, but your betrayal will not be forgotten."

She ignored the fear in their eyes, and set to work dispatching them one by one. Killing the defenseless soldiers was quick and effortless, unlike when they weren't crippled. She walked back to the center of the lobby, and turned to the door. A dozen soldiers were attacking the barrier, firing beams of magic at it, trying to break in. She frowned. It wouldn't last as long under the sustained bombardment it was facing. She ignored it and turned around, then walked over to the scanner and paused momentarily. She shook her head and stepped through it, immediately an alarm sounded. She paused once she was through it, expecting a dozen more guards to come rushing in. Nopony did, and she started making her way away from the lobby. As she reached the hallway which would get her to the former throne room the fastest, she swiveled on her hind hoof and brought her magic to bear against the scanner. The alarm died instantly as the device exploded. Twilight smiled happily at the scene as she turned around and resumed walking.

Fancy Pants levitated his teacup to his mouth, and took a sip. He glanced to the clock, then looked to Rainbow Dash. "So what made you decide to help Princess Twilight, rather than continue to support the Inquisitor?"

Rainbow shifted her weight in the chair she sat in. "It's kind of complicated... I'm not sure I completely understand why. You remember the day he took control?" Fancy nodded. She sighed and looked to her hooves. "Right, well. The night before that she showed up, looking like she had run a marathon, and she said that the Inquisitor was going to kill the princesses and take over, and that he would sacrifice Equestria just for power..." She sighed and looked up. "I still remember what she looked like that night. She had never looked so scared in her life... We didn't listen to her. We didn't listen to her pleas to not go to..." She ruffled her wings and looked away. "She always had a habit of overreacting. I guess we all just assumed she was overreacting again. We... Each of us trusted him, we... We were close to him. Twilight even more so... We all betrayed her that night by not trusting her, instead we believed him... I don't hate him, and I still don't think he's evil. I don't want him dead, but... He... He wants Twilight dead. Twilight was still my first friend, and she did nothing to deserve that."

"Twilight was right of course, but none of us recognized it, even as the Princesses were killed. I... Twilight was right, he had to be responsible for their deaths... It's too coincidental. I know Twilight was a powerful unicorn before she ascended, maybe even the most powerful..." Rainbow shook her head. "There was no way she was strong enough to kill either Princess Celestia or Princess Luna alone, let alone both of them at the same time. I... I have only come to... Realize this within the past week."

Fancy Pants frowned but nodded. "You feel a debt to Twilight, like you have to make it up to her."

Rainbow thought about it for a moment, then slowly nodded. "Yeah... I guess..."

Fancy Pants sighed. "You know that the Twilight you know is gone, right? The new Twilight Sparkle is... She has changed."

Rainbow nodded and snorted. "Yeah. I've noticed. And we're to blame for that... I want to fix that, to bring her back. That's not the Twilight I knew, but maybe I can..."

Fancy nodded. "I hope you succeed." he stated. "She is in a tough place. You have no idea how hard it was to convince her to trust me. The first time I saw her after the Revolution, about, oh... A year and a half ago, she nearly killed me on sight." He smiled at the memory, and his eyes twinkled. "Quite a story to tell the grand foals one day..." he shook his head. "She doesn't trust easily. While I haven't been around her as much as I would have liked, I have seen her be cruel and unforgiving, but I have also seen her be benevolent to a fault. She will kill without hesitation, but I thoroughly believe her intentions are pure. Though she is a bit... Extreme..."

Rainbow frowned. "What does that mean?"

Fancy shifted in his chair and took another sip of tea before continuing. "Let's just say if anypony betrays her, that pony will have a very, very short life expectancy." He glanced to the clock, then looked back to her. "I would take that to heart if I were you. You were close to her before, and I'd imagine that goes doubly for you."

Rainbow looked down at her hooves. "I'm not going to betray her again. I can't..." she admitted.

Fancy frowned. "Yet you don't support her, nor trust her completely? The Inquisitor needs to die, Captain."

"I don't think he's as bad as Twilight makes him out to be. I know him... But he has changed... I hadn't realized it until Twilight pointed it out to me..." she admitted.

Fancy nodded. "He is very clever. Very deadly too."

They sat in silence for several minutes. It was broken when Zenith returned from the restroom. Zenith looked between them and paused for a moment, then shook her head and returned to her chair.

Fancy nodded his head to himself. "The Inquisitor is very smart, and secretive. I still don't understand why he ordered so many soldiers out of Canterlot when he heard that Twilight was back."

Rainbow bobbled her head. "Maybe he wanted to find her before she got to Canterlot, or maybe he knew she'd be able to get through all of them..."

Fancy squinted. "I'm not sure she could. Don't get me wrong, I know Twilight is very powerful. I know she could take on an army on her own, but-" he was cut off as the door exploded inwards, throwing splinters everywhere.

Twilight waited until the echo of hoofsteps were right around the corner, then jumped out and dispatched both soldiers before they could register anything had happened. She picked their corpses up in her magic, and threw them aside, out of her way. She looked up as she saw the flash of light signaling a teleport. Four unicorns appeared at the end of the hallway, two on each side of the door, horns already releasing barrages of magic. She stepped forwards, and a barrier formed around her. She ignored the flares of light as the spells impacted her shield, started walking forwards, and then fell into a run.

The group of unicorns parted out of her way as she approached, but it didn't help. She swung her swords wide in a slicing fashion, catching two of the unicorns in their unprotected necks. The two new corpses fell to the ground, drawing horrified looks from the two remaining soldiers. She poured more magic into her shield, then flared her wings, and the barrier exploded outwards. The two remaining soldiers were violently thrown to the walls. She heard two solid impacts, then grasped the doors before her in her magic. She lowered her barrier, released her hold on her magic forming the swords, and opened the door gently, not wanting to damage her future home.

She glanced around, then locked eyes on the pony sitting down at the opposite side of the room. It took all of her willpower to step inside the room slowly, rather than teleport beside him and tear him asunder. She closed the doors behind her, and put a barrier around them, blocking off access from the door. She slowly looked right, then left, checking for any soldiers lying in wait to ambush her. Nothing. She turned back to the pony sitting in Princess Celestia's former throne. Her future throne.

The Inquisitor smiled a sly, charming smile capable of defusing anypony, convincing them that everything was all right, despite what was happening right before their eyes. The unicorn's grey coat seemed to shimmer from the room's light, and his pale yellow mane reminded her of Fluttershy's coat. His vibrant blue eyes were deceptive, showing no hint of his true age. He sat up a little straighter, and his smile widened. "Princess Twilight Sparkle... It's so good to see you again." he chirped.

Author's Note

It's not over yet. The next chapter should be out in 1-2 weeks, depending on how things go. Stay tuned to find out what doesn't go wrong.

Feedback is appreciated.

Chapter 6

Rainbow Dash reacted to the exploding door faster than anypony else. She jumped out of her chair, knocking it over in the process. She landed on all four hooves, spread her wings, and lowered her body closer to the floor. In the time it took her to do all of this, Zenith had barely stood from her chair, lit her horn, and stepped back. She didn't drop into a combat stance. The two soldiers had been staggered from the explosion, and were moving to the door, whether to defend the ponies in the room, or aid the attackers nopony knew. Fancy Pants soon joined the two soldiers in moving to the door.

A second later a soldier stepped through what was the doorway, his head shot around, taking in the room. His horn was lit, and he aimed it at the closest soldier to him that had been in the room. A pulse of cyan magic shot out of his horn before anypony could react. The second soldier that had been in the room immediately formed a barrier around himself, blocking a blast from the same soldier. He retaliated, sending two bolts in quick succession at his attacker. The attacker's barrier flared, then broke. He jumped to his left to avoid a third pulse, and another soldier entered the room from behind him. That soldier's amber barrier held against the pulse, and then he retaliated against the second remaining soldier.

"What is the meaning of this!?" Fancy Pants shouted with exasperation. Despite the surprise, and grim situation, his voice held no edge of fear to it, only anger and contempt.

The first soldier turned to him. "You're under arrest for treason." He lowered his still glowing horn, and approached. A second soldier joined him in his approach, without pointing his horn at Fancy Pants.

"Do you know who I am!?" Fancy Pants shouted.

"You're Councillor-"

Rainbow took that as her queue to act. She jumped, using both her wings and legs, propelling herself into the air and over the chair. The ceiling wasn't high enough to give her the maneuverability she needed, but she could work with it. She straightened her wings, then angled them so that she would impact the soldier closest to her.

He saw the attack coming from a mile away. "Captain!"

The first guard turned his attention away from Fancy Pants, and to Rainbow and the soldier that spoke. "Her memories have been altered, restrain her, but keep her alive!" he ordered.

Both Rainbow and Fancy Pants frowned at that. The soldier waited for the last possible second, then ducked and rolled to the side. Rainbow impacted the ground just behind where the soldier previously occupied. She bent her legs as she landed to absorb the impact, then swiveled on her hind hoof to face him. He was already facing her, and she had to roll to the left to avoid his hoof.

The soldier she was facing off with kept his distance after that, and his gaze was locked on her eyes. "Captain, you need to calm down."

"Restrain the others." another soldier called. As if punctuating his statement, Rainbow heard several bolts of magic whiz through the air, both approaching and receding from her general vicinity.

She took a step to the right. "Stand down, soldier." she ordered. As expected, nopony obeyed her command. Instead, she heard two of the soldiers rushing across the room, after a second they entered her vision. They were rushing Zenith. She winced, but otherwise ignored it.

"I can't do that Captain, your memories were altered. You need to come with us, your mission is-"

Rainbow's face contorted in confusion, "My mission? What are you-" She ducked and rolled to the left, then stepped back to avoid the soldier's assault. Rainbow recognized the strategy, talking right now would play into it.

She forgot about the other soldiers who were also in the room. It costed her as one of the soldiers landed on her, knocking her over. As she fell she lashed out with her hooves, and managed to hit him in his chin. It was a solid hit, and even her hoof hurt from the impact. It wasn't enough force to stop his assault however, and he redoubled his efforts at suppressing her. She grunted as another soldier suppressed her arms and wings. She struggled to get free to no avail. The soldier who tackled her slowly started to stand up, and pressed his horn against her.

"Alright we need to sort this out... The Captain was supposed to be here, but who is she?" one of the soldiers- likely their own captain, asked.

"I don't recognize her, but she has had some training. Maybe a scout."

"Captain, please stop resisting or we'll be forced to restrain you further." The soldier with his horn to her neck said.

Rainbow grunted in effort again, attempting to break free. Finally she realized the futility and stopped.

"Right we'll check the registry." Another soldier commented.

One of the soldiers made his way over to Rainbow. "Right now we can't let you go, Captain. Not until after you speak to the Inquisitor and your memory is restored."

Rainbow glared at him. "My memory is fine."

He sighed. "You'll understand everything after your memory is restored and you talk to the Inquisitor."

Rainbow glanced around the room, then caught sight of Fancy Pants. He was lying against the wall, wincing. He didn't look injured, but there was a nice shiny metal ring around his horn, and a soldier standing beside him. Rainbow turned her gaze back to the soldier. "He's here?" she asked.

He shook his head. "No, Captain. He's currently engaging Princess Twilight Sparkle. Good job, by the way, she never suspected a thing."

Rainbow's blood went cold at the honesty and warmth in his voice.

"The feeling is not mutual." Twilight spat bitterly.

"I guess that means you're not here to surrender." he stated, "Tsk. I was looking forwards to the celebration that would bring."

"The celebration of my death." Twilight corrected with a vengeance filled glare.

The Inquisitor smiled. "You wound me, do-"

"When I am done with you, wounding you will be the understatement of my reign." Twilight replied sharply. The more she talked, the easier it was to suppress the urge to outright kill him, even if it would bring her a great deal of pleasure. A lot more than it should. It was a good thing that it was becoming easier to not teleport beside him and skew him on her horn, if she killed him too quickly she wouldn't gather any valuable intelligence that could prove useful in the future.

"I wonder what Princess Celestia would say if she saw you now..." he sighed contently. Twilight shifted her wings ever so slightly, and the Inquisitor smiled. "Perhaps you would like to see?"

"They're dead." Twilight stated. Her voice was grim, sad, and filled with hatred.

The Inquisitor raised an eyebrow. "Oh? I assure you they aren't. I am sure they would be very happy to see you again."

"They are dead. If they weren't I wouldn't have their magic." Twilight lit her horn, and it glowed with multiple colors.

The Inquisitor's smile widened. "So you do have their magic." Twilight grit her teeth when she realized her mistake. "That certainly explains a few things... You look lovely, by the way."

Twilight's magic flared to life in the air, and two blades of magic erupted from the air, one at each side of her. She opened her wings, flaring them only slightly, but kept them low, and angled so that she could launch herself into the air if needed. "If you don't resist, I promise it will be quick. Otherwise, I will make it very slow."

"Tsk. You're being a tad dramatic, wouldn't you say?" After he finished, he jumped off Celestia's throne, and made his way to Twilight. Halfway there, he lit his horn, it glowed with a bright violet aura. Twilight prepared to raise a barrier to defend herself, but didn't caste it. Three swords flared to life around him. Twilight eyed the three blades wryly. He moved them in the air, until one was at his left, right, and over his head, and all three angled so that they pointed at Twilight's heart.

Twilight spun her blades around, then angled them at his chest. For several seconds, it turned into a staring contest, to see who would make the first move. The Inquisitor smiled cheerfully the whole time, and Twilight scowled, as if she was attempting to master the stern look Princess Luna could give someone that would immediately cause them to freeze in fear. She wasn't quite there, but not for a lack of trying.

Twilight pushed herself forwards with her hind legs with enough force to crack the marble floor. She angled her wings so that she glided like a dart towards the Inquisitor, her swords kept firmly at her sides, sticking out past her chest ever so slightly. The Inquisitor smirked, and stepped to the side as Twilight neared. Twilight pushed her sword out in an attempt to cut alongside his body, but he rotated as he turned, and one of his swords deflected hers. Twilight landed a second later, and immediately swung around, sword first to intercept the Inquisitor's counterattack. Her sword intercepted the bolt of magic, and absorbed it with ease. Twilight let herself smile. "You cannot hope to match my magic!"

As if to test that theory, despite knowing it was true, the Inquisitor sent three pulses of magic at her in rapid succession. She intercepted one with the sword to her right, and another with her left sword. She switched the sword's positions with the strike, and used a barrier to block the third pulse. Twilight immediately recognized the spell that hit her barrier. It was a spell designed specifically for collapsing barriers, and staggering the target. Her barrier held, but she felt the start of a headache.

"How interesting..." The Inquisitor mused. He took a step forwards, then casually approached Twilight, who remained on guard the whole time. Once he was a little over halfway to Twilight, he broke out into a gallop towards her. Twilight matched his gallop, and then some, and they closed the distance at a rate that would have taken Rainbow Dash by surprise. Twilight swung her swords in a wide arc without hesitation, attempting to decapitate him. He intercepted both of her blades with his own, and then thrust the third blade at her, forcing her to jump back and recall her swords to defend herself.

The Inquisitor pushed her back, sword hit sword, and Twilight kept stepping back to avoid his thrusts, and slashes. Magic sparks flew whenever the swords met, they impacted with such force, but they held, neither pony's magic overwhelming the other, nor weakening. Every time Twilight was too slow to react to a swipe from one of his swords, a barrier flared to life and blocked the blade from piercing her body. After it became apparent that her current strategy wasn't working, she changed tactics.

Twilight stepped forwards into a thrust from the Inquisitor, the blade of magic hit her barrier, and both blade and shield flared brighter. As soon as it hit, she lowered the barrier, swiveled on her front hooves, and spun around with her hind legs extended. She felt them connect with his side, and he was thrown a short ways, and landed on the floor. As soon as he landed, he got back to his hooves, and recalled his swords to him. "That wasn't very princess like, Princess." he commented.

Twilight ignored him, and launched herself into the air, intending to land on him, swords first. He rolled his eyes, and his horn glowed brighter. There was a flash of violet light, and the Inquisitor disappeared. Twilight spun around in the air, she barely had time to react to the bolt of magic flying towards her. She intercepted it with one of her blades, and the bolt of magic was deflected towards the wall. Twilight spared a glance towards the wall as the spell hit, the spell detonated in a flash of light, and an arc of lightning shot out, blackening the wall.

Twilight landed and immediately raised a barrier, blocking out three more of the Inquisitor's spells. Her barrier flared at each impact, but held. Twilight made a quick calculation, then poured more magic into her horn. She channeled it into her barrier, and into a teleportation spell. There was a flash of light where she once was, then a flash of light to the left of the Inquisitor. He immediately threw a barrier around himself. A second later, Twilight's barrier erupted outwards. The magic washed over the Inquisitor's barrier, which glowed more brightly under the strain, but held.

"You don't seem very determined to win Princess." he commented. "You could have leveled this building at the start of this fight."

"I would prefer my capital city remain intact." Twilight venomously replied. "But perhaps I should reconsider and drop an asteroid on Canterlot?" she asked in such a way that was dead serious.

The Inquisitor's smile widened. "My, my, you sound like Nightmare Moon, Twilight. I always knew you had it in you." He jumped back and used his three blades to deflect dual thrusts from her swords.

"What can I say," Twilight began dryly, "there is something to be said for a dramatic victory at suppressing dissent. Nightmare Moon, Luna, and Rarity would have all agreed with me."

"You compare yourself with Nightmare Moon, the princess that became her, and a mare who helped defeat her in the same sentence. You're starting to sound like a tyrant with how dispassionately you spoke of all three."

"Irrelevant." Twilight stated sharply. She poured more magic into her horn, then threw it down, pointing it at him. She released a spell, but before it hit, he teleported away. "Equestria is MINE. Not yours." Twilight spun to the left and stepped back. She used her two blades to intercept all three of his.

He smiled slyly. "That is exactly the kind of thinking from the princesses that spawned my little revolution." he chirped sweetly. He split his three swords up so that they could attack separately. He swung one downwards, one at her left, and the other at her right. The speed of the attack took her by surprise. She intercepted the sword coming down, and the sword to her right, and forced them away, then jumped to the right, using her wing and legs to propel herself. His blade still made contact with her body, and left a nice long cut in her coat. It stung lightly and she could feel her side throbbing, but it wasn't a problem. Her accelerated healing would easily deal with such a shallow wound. It didn't stop her from grunting in distress, however.

Twilight glared at him, and he smiled. "I believe that is your cue to stop holding back?"

Twilight took a deep breath. "I will not be fooled by such measures. You have a greater chance of injuring me again if I rage at you."

"True, but as right now, we're evenly matched." he smirked.

"As if." Twilight scoffed. "I have the magic of five alicorns, and my brother. You cannot even begin to comprehend what I am capable of." she ended in a voice that could easily be mistaken as a threat. "And I'm not even at my full power yet."

He nodded and smiled. "You're still unlocking your full potential." Once again Twilight clenched her jaws. "Arrogance seems to be a normal trait of alicorns, I-" he jumped back just in time to avoid losing his horn. He shot Twilight a disapproving glance. "Tsk."

Twilight stepped forwards and intensified her assault. She swung her swords in a flurry that would have made Nightmare Moon proud. She barely paused each blade as it came into contact with his defenses. Sword met sword, and sparks of magic flew. She started to push him back, and her attacks came at a rate that would have impressed Rainbow Dash. The Inquisitor jumped back as the swords started hammering his barrier. Desperate for an opening, he lowered his horn and released three quick bursts of magic. Due to the close proximity of the pair, Twilight didn't have time to react. All three blasts of magic hit her squarely in her chest, and she was thrown back.

"Your arrogance is very unbecoming of a princess... Not to mention, it will cost you your life." The Inquisitor commented as Twilight staggered back up. She pressed her arm against her chest, clutching it and attempting to cover and protect as much of the wounds as she could. She spread her other hooves out more to make up for the loss of support, and glared at him.

"Perhaps it will," Twilight acknowledged, "but that will not be today, nor to you." Already she could feel her accelerated healing kick in. After a few seconds, she put her hoof back on the floor. The wounds were still bleeding, but her healing had numbed the pain. 'Perhaps that asteroid wouldn't be overkill.' she mused to herself. She stood to her full height, ignoring the pain from moving her wounds, and flared her wings. It was an intimidating sight, and she would use any fear it caused as a weapon, as Luna and Nightmare Moon had. The Inquisitor wasn't phased. "I have fought against evils you cannot begin to comprehend, and won. I am the single most powerful creature on this planet. You will not make a fool of me."

"You're doing a good enough job of that on your own, Princess." he commented. "You're starting to sound more like Nightmare Moon. I suppose going rogue runs in the alicorn family." he said with a sly smile.

Twilight clenched her jaw. He was starting to get on her nerves. "If abusing my power allows me to protect my ponies, and keep them happy and safe, then I will do so."

He smiled. "The road to Tartarus is paved with good intentions."

"You're one to talk." Twilight shot back. She had no idea why he wasn't attacking her. He had an advantage right now,and he wasn't pressing it. She knew he was smart, and that he had a plan. Whatever it was, the longer he waited to attack, the more anxious she became.

"Tsk." he jerked his head to the left, then returned to looking at Twilight. "If Rainbow Dash could see you now." he mused almost longingly. Twilight raised an eyebrow at that, and he smiled. "I suppose breaking you would give me a bit of pleasure... Since you're not getting out of here alive."

The Inquisitor sidestepped a pulse of magic aimed at his head. "You say I'm arrogant." Twilight commented.

He nodded over eagerly. "You are quite arrogant. You came here alone, into the heart of my domain, and attacked me. All on your own. You are outnumbered and outmatched."

Twilight snorted. "If anypony is outmatched, it is you. I could drop a sun on Canterlot." she chided.

"You are in desperate need of some humbling, Princess." he commented. "Allow me to teach you." he said evenly. He launched himself at her, all three blades aiming for her heart. She stepped back, and swatted all three swords away with one sword, then reforged the other into a lance and shot it towards the Inquisitor. He teleported out of the way, and the lance of magic impacted the wall opposite of Twilight, detonated, and left a hole large enough for a dragon to get inside. Chunks of rocks were thrown about, and debris were strewn across the throne room.

The dust was still lingering in the air when a dozen pegasi flew inside. Twilight grunted when she realized they had carried unicorns into the battle. She frowned as she saw another half dozen pegasi fly in carrying something she had never seen before. It was metal, and had three raised rings. The middle ring was larger than the outer ring, and smaller than the inner ring, but it had three prongs, equidistant from the center and each other. She looked the object over quizzically. The unicorns and pegasi all stood between her an the device, and she somehow suspected the device was less than benevolent.

A chill ran down her spine as two more pegasi flew into the room from the hole in the wall, each one carrying a unicorn, who were working together to carry a large crystal shaped like a spike with two points, one on each end. It was a rough oval shape, but pointier. The pegasi landed, and the unicorns hopped off, and levitated the crystal over to the device, then placed it in the central ring. She glanced at the Inquisitor.

"A remarkable device." he stated. His smile widened.

"Care to explain further?" Twilight asked impatiently in an attempt to get more information.

"You see," he smiled as he walked over to the device, "when Rainbow came up with this idea," his smile widened at Twilight's frown. "yes, that's right, she came up with this whole idea."

"You're lying." Twilight stated matter-of-factly. "She's helping me."

The Inquisitor smiled, and for a second Twilight thought she revealed too much information. "Of course she is." he acknowledged in a voice that sounded far too happy for hearing something that you didn't want to hear. Unless he wanted to hear that, or knew. "A spell to suppress her memories, along with another few changes in her mind, and the plan was set into motion. I ordered her, unknowing of the plan, to search for you. I knew one of you would succeed in finding the other, and knew that one way or another, even if she was killed by you immediately, it would speed up your plans."

"So she was helping you all along, without knowing it." Twilight summarized. She smiled. "I will deal with her after I have your head decorating my bedchambers."

He shook his head. "So violent..." he commented sadly.

Twilight frowned. "You started five wars in the past two years, and annexed three nations."

He seemed to lighten up at that mention. "Oh yes, that reminds me. The Dragon Lands will be mine within a week, by the way."

Twilight looked at him in disbelief. "You can't be stupid enough to think you could defeat the dragons in a single week." she said in exasperation.

"Tsk, but we're getting off point here."

"Yes," Twilight agreed, "please continue explaining your plan so I can undermine it because of your arrogance."

He nodded. "You certainly have changed in the past three years..." He rested a hoof on the metal and looked over the machine. After a few seconds, he turned back to Twilight. "It's a shame you became an alicorn." He looked back to one of the unicorns and nodded his head once. That unicorn stepped forwards and pulled out another small crystal, and set it on the metal, out of Twilight's sight.

Twilight channeled more magic into her horn. Whatever that device was, it wasn't good. She prepared several spells, spells that made the spells Nightmare Moon used look like foal's play. If it came down to her life or Canterlot... She could rebuild the city. She waited to strike, she already had valuable information, but he could let something even more valuable slip now. He was certain he would win. More than certain, much, much more than just certain.

The Inquisitor nodded at another unicorn. "Thank you." he said quietly. He turned around, and stepped forwards, passed the soldiers. Once he stood between the device and Twilight, the soldiers started withdrawing, even quicker than they arrived. Twilight felt a sinking feeling in her gut, one single unicorn remained by the device. His expression was even. "It was good to see you again, Twilight. But you've overstayed your welcome."

Twilight launched one of the weaker spells she had prepared. The spell was intercepted by one of the Inquisitor's blades. "The feeling is mutual." she stated as she turned her attention to him. She lurched forwards, swords leading the way, horn glowing brightly and pointing directly at him. She would try to destroy the device, but without knowing what it was, it could be even more dangerous than letting it be used.

The Inquisitor's blades disappeared, and the aura surrounding his horn shifted to something else. Something she didn't recognize. It wasn't dark magic, and it wasn't alicorn magic, but it felt somehow... Familiar. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the large crystal light up, started glowing with a dim blue-green light, and float into the air, then started spinning.

It took a second for the purpose of the device to become clear to her, but she understood immediately as the field activated.

Author's Note

Cliffhangers!

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, it is presented mostly unedited.

Chapter 7

Twilight's world became pain. The magic she had channeled into her horn interacted with the field to cause massive feedback. The backlash from it sent her sprawling to the floor, writhing in pain, and nearly killed her. As it was, her body was in shock from the exposure. To say nothing of the fact that the device was emitting a suppression field, blocking magic. Twilight clenched her eyes closed, and kept them that way for what seemed like an eternity to her.

After a few more eternities, or seconds, she started to regain sensation in her body, and the pain started to ebb away. She heard hoofsteps approaching from where the Inquisitor had been standing. She tentatively opened her eyes, and a pain shot through her mind as her eyes were flooded by light. She closed them, and waited another second, then opened them again. This time, the pain was manageable. She glanced to the floor in disgust, then slowly pushed herself up, nearly falling back down in the process.

The Inquisitor was standing three pony's lengths away from her, smiling. She glared at him, despite the act causing her discomfort. She glanced towards his horn, it was unaffected. She grit her teeth. The Inquisitor put on a fake surprised expression. "Oh no, it's affecting me just as much as it's affecting you, I assure you." He stepped off to the side, and gazed longingly at the device. "A marvel of engineering, isn't it?"

Twilight grunted in effort as she attempted to channel magic back into her horn. Sparks sputtered and shot out, but she was unable to produce a constant aura. She finally put her efforts on hold when the pain became nearly unbearable. "We will tear thou asunder for thine insolence."

The Inquisitor ignored her. "The device when activated releases a electro-maginetic pulse, similar to an E.M. pulse, and just as dangerous to magic, then creates a suppression field. Unfortunately, it's not completely capable of blocking all magic, or even all kinds of magic, and it's effectiveness drops off exponentially according to the inverse square law." He turned around to face her. "This room is shielded, of course." He glanced towards the hole in the wall, and grimaced. "Mostly."

Twilight was going to make a remark about being able to kill him even without magic, but chose not to. It would have been redundant. Instead, she lurched forwards, horn first, in an attempt to skew him. The Inquisitor sidestepped, and Twilight extended a wing. She scored a solid hit, and he was thrown to the ground. Twilight spun around, and reared back on her hind hooves, then slammed down. The Inquisitor teleported out of the way in a flash of white light, but the floor wasn't as lucky, and it had two three inch deep impressions, along with cracks radiating out across the entire floor now. Twilight looked up, and around, searching for him.

The Inquisitor appeared across the room behind her. He lowered his horn, and released a spell. The bolt of magic whizzed through the air. Seconds before hitting Twilight, she stepped to the left, horn aglow, and turned around to face him. A bolt of magic flew from her horn, lavender in color. It appeared to evaporate into the air as it flew through the suppression field. The Inquisitor raised a barrier around himself to stop the bolt of magic. The barrier consisted of magic of blue and violet colors, and Twilight couldn't help but think it looked familiar somehow. "You have grossly underestimated me, Silver." she said.

He smiled. "My my, it's been ages since you've used my first name..." he trailed off and released another bolt of magic at Twilight. Deciding to prove that the suppression field wasn't as effective as he had hoped, she teleported out of the way, then appeared directly beside him. He spun around and lowered his horn. Twilight intercepted his horn with a hoof, and the force of the blow staggered him and knocked him away. After a few seconds, Twilight made her way over to him, and he winced as he rose to his hooves.

"And I'm still holding back." Twilight goaded.

"Somehow I doubt that." he replied as he teleported away. Twilight turned around just in time to watch a bolt of blue and violet whiz past her. She frowned at the sight, but she made a note to think about it later. Twilight raised a barrier to block his next three assaults which came in rapid succession. The barrier held, but only just. The strain from maintaining it in a suppression field, and under the force of his attacks nearly staggered her.

"This device of yours is quite the nuisance." Twilight stated.

"I'm glad you like it." he countered with a sly smile.

Twilight beat her wings and jumped into the air, horn ablaze. She glided through the air, angling herself towards the Inquisitor. He took a step back, and formed another barrier around himself. Twilight released a beam of magic at him. The beam shot forth from her horn, and mostly ignored the suppression field's effect. The beam took a lot of effort from her, however. More than she would ever admit. She would also never admit just how much damage the electro-maginetic pulse did to her. A few modifications and it could have killed her and half the ponies in Canterlot, shielded room or not.

The beam hit his barrier, and had a draining effect. The beam continued to last for several seconds, and Twilight caught sight of a single bead of sweat rolling down his head. She exhaled with some effort, and cut the beam off. Her horn still glowed from the effort. She landed rather ungracefully, and kept her wings flared out.

"It's been fun but you're trying my patience." The Inquisitor stated firmly.

"The feeling is-" Twilight ducked under a pulse of magic. Something about it drew her attention, and she watched it fly through the air. It impacted the wall, and she clenched her jaw. Where the spell hit, the wall turned into water, and immediately collapsed under the force of gravity, leaving a nice hole in the wall, and a rough area surrounding it where some of the matter had been turned into water. She turned back to him, frowning. He smiled, and Twilight rolled to the left to avoid another pulse of magic. Where the pulse of magic hit, the wall melted into water.

It took her a second to put the pieces together. Her eyes widened in realization, the glow of her horn died, and she turned to Silver. In her shock, she failed to react to a bolt of magic. It impacted her chest off center to the right, and pushed her back. She lifted her left hoof to her chest and pressed against the wound. She didn't need magic to know it was worse and different from the other injuries she had sustained. She had nothing to say to him, and he sauntered over to her.

When he was but a pony length away from her, he spoke. "It only took you five years to figure it out, Princess Twilight Sparkle. You've been a worthy adversary, but, I. Always. Win." He glanced around the room briefly, then returned his gaze to Twilight. "A pity you damaged my room so much, but I suppose it can't be helped."

"I suppose it shouldn't surprise me." Twilight admitted softly, then her expression hardened.

"No, but you are oh so easy to manipulate. All of you are." He smiled arrogantly.

"So it was your plan then."

"Mmm, no. I was content to wait, but Captain Rainbow Dash had a better idea." He raised a hoof to his chin and stroked it. "I honestly didn't expect it to work, but you were just so easily manipulated. It's sad, really."

"You expect me to believe that Rainbow Dash is responsible for a plan as sophisticated as this?" Twilight asked skeptically.

Silver smiled and laughed. "That's the brilliance of it! You would never expect it! Such a betrayal from the element of loyalty is unthinkable! Ahahaha!"

"Why would you tell me this, unless to manipulate me more?" she asked skeptically.

He turned serious. "Die." he said, and a bolt of magic launched out of his horn and impacted her, throwing her away. She screamed in pain briefly, then silenced herself by clenching her jaw. She would not allow him the pleasure of hearing her screams of pain. Twilight struggled to stand to her hooves, and Silver sauntered over to her. Twilight was supporting the upper half of her body with her arms, but wasn't standing up. "Goodbye, Twilight Sparkle." he said and lowered his horn.

Twilight smiled, then teleported away.

The Inquisitor stopped smiling.

Twilight appeared in an alley, a few feet off the ground. As soon as she appeared, she started falling, and she spread her wings. She hit the ground standing on all four hooves, but winced from the impact. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, wincing the whole time, then exhaled. She opened her eyes and looked down at her chest. The two wounds she had received from the Inquisitor towards the end of the fight were still bleeding, and one had obviously been aimed at her heart. She sat down on her haunches, and took another deep breath. She lifted her left hoof and lightly touched the injury, and winced from the pain. She watched it for several minutes, but the blood flow hardly slowed.

The fact the wounds were still bleeding, coupled with her not feeling her healing kicking in meant one thing. The Inquisitor had somehow disabled her accelerated healing, perhaps all of her healing. The first injury showed some signs that it had healed, but only slightly. It had to have been the second spell he hit her with that disabled her accelerated healing. She sat there for a few minutes, working on formulating a new plan. An actual plan to kill him, instead of just winging it. Of course, she would need to factor in what she had discovered in the last few minutes of their battle. As she thought about that, she found her anger growing. Anger wasn't good for planning, so she pushed it aside, and resumed planning.

After she reformulated her plan, her thoughts turned to her companions. The two ponies who had accompanied her. Her student and... Her face hardened. She stood up, and despite looking like a mess, she stood with regality only matched by Princess Celestia before her. She ignored the pain coming from her injuries, and channeled magic into her horn. She failed to produce the teleportation spell, and her horn sent sparks flying as she tried. She changed tactics, and launched a pulse of magic at the nearby wall. The impact caused a sharp crack in the air, and left a nice hole in the wall.

She looked up as a filly peaked around the corner. The filly ducked back behind the wall, hoping she hadn't seen her. Twilight's expression softened at the sight. "It's alright." she called out. The filly tentatively peaked back around the corner, and looked at her. Her gaze was drawn to her chest, and the injuries she had sustained.

"Are... Are you alright, miss?" the filly asked. She was scared, her voice stuttered. Twilight realized the filly probably didn't know who she was.

"I will be fine." she said as she stood up. The filly cautiously stepped into the alley, allowing Twilight to get a better look at her. Her coat was orange, and her mane and tail were shades of light pink that reminded her of Fluttershy. Her eyes were blue, and she looked a little younger than Rarity's sister had been when she first met her. She was a pegasus, and her wings reminded her of Scootaloo. She briefly wondered if she could fly. "Where are your parents?"

"Oh! Um, right. Sorry, miss..?"

"Twilight." she answered.

"Twilight..." the filly rolled the name over on her tongue. She looked deep in thought as she said it, then she looked up and smiled brightly at her. "I like that name!" Twilight smiled back.

"Ugh, where did that filly run off to..." the voice of a mare mumbled from around the corner. After a few seconds, the mare stepped passed the corner, and when she was halfway passed it, she paused and looked to her right. She froze at the sight of her filly standing across from a bloodied pony.

"Hey mom! This is Twilight, she's my new friend!"

Twilight wanted to facehoof, but she resisted the urge. "Hello, miss..?"

"Breeze, you..! Wait..." the unicorn paused as she looked at Twilight again. She glanced between the horn and wings, and her eyes widened in realization. "Princess!" she shouted, and immediately fell into a respectful bow. "I'm sorry, I didn't know you were-"

Twilight shook her head. "It's fine, please rise. I don't want to make a scene." the mare tentatively rose from her bow, and the filly looked at her quizzically.

"You... You're hurt!" the mare said, stating the obvious.

"She said she's fine." Gentle Breeze chirped. The filly's mother shot her a short glare, then smiled apologetically.

"I... will-" 'Should' she mentally corrected, "-be fine." Twilight said.

"Please, let me help you..." the mare said.

"I'm afraid it will have to wait, Mrs...?"

"Iodine." she answered. "Iodine Drop." she said almost gleefully.

"Mrs. Iodine." Twilight repeated. "I need to go right now. It will heal on it's own..." her expression turned sarcastic, "Though it should already be healed..." she said with no small amount of annoyance.

"I'm a doctor, you should let me take a look at it..." Iodine trailed off.

Twilight was about to argue against it, but she stopped. It wasn't like she could teleport anywhere for the moment, and she didn't like the idea of running through Canterlot looking like she did. And she wasn't about to use that one spell again. "Five minutes." she said.

Iodine smiled. "Thank you, Princess." There was a small pop, and a small flash of light, and a white kit appeared. It had a red cross on it, and Iodine held it in her light green magic. She walked over to Twilight, and sat the kit down. Twilight sat down on her haunches, allowing the unicorn better access to her injuries. Iodine looked over her wounds, then frowned. She glanced to the kit and opened it, then drew out a vial of something, and a syringe.

Twilight eyed the syringe cautiously, but said nothing. Iodine levitated the needle over to the vial, stuck it through the cap, then filled it with the liquid about ten milligrams, if Twilight read the labeling correctly. Iodine levitated the syringe over to Twilight, and glanced to her face. "It should help with the bleeding." she stated. Twilight nodded, and Iodine proceeded to stick the needle into her forearm. A second later, she pulled it out, then sat the needle aside.

"Thank you, but I really need to be going." Twilight said immediately afterwards.

"You really should have those wounds properly cared for..." Iodine trailed off, then sighed. "But I suppose you're in trouble right now, and time probably is important for you."

"It is." Twilight answered. "It will heal eventually anyway."

Iodine nodded absently as she repacked her kit. Twilight stood up, and looked between them. She looked to the filly, "Breeze, was it?" The filly nodded excitedly. Twilight smiled. "Make sure to study hard, and one day you'll be doing great things like your mom." The filly smiled. Twilight looked to Iodine Drop. "Thank you... If you run into any trouble, just say I forced you to."

"Princess, I... Alright. It was an honor to meet you... Good luck." Iodine smiled as she took a step back.

Twilight nodded once, then channeled magic into her horn. This time it worked, and she managed to cast the teleportation spell. There was a flash of light, and she disappeared from the alley.

Twilight reappeared outside of Fancy Pant's mansion. Immediately, the half dozen soldiers standing at the door turned to her, but said nothing. For several seconds, nopony moved a muscle. The soldiers glanced between themselves, and Twilight eyed each one wryly. "Get out of my way, or I will remove you from it." Twilight said quietly. She didn't even try to mask the anger in her voice. The soldiers looked between themselves, then lit their horns.

"You're under arrest." one of them said.

Twilight's eyes shot to him. "So be it." she said with finality. "But this is your own fault, and I am not in the mood to play games." She knew she needed to win this battle quickly, the full extent of her battle with the Inquisitor was still affecting her. She was drained, tired, and in pain, but she would win. She had to.

She didn't want to push her luck on defense, wounded as she already was. She lit her horn with magic, and created a barrier around herself, them immediately overcharged it, and flared her wings outwards. The flaring of her wings was purely symbolic, but it added a little something to the sight, adding a fear factor. The barrier exploded outwards, throwing the six soldiers into the wall, and damaging the landscape. For whatever reason, the six soldiers standing guard at Fancy Pant's mansion were the only soldiers in sight.

She quickly dispatched each soldier with a single spell, then ripped the door from its hinges, and made her way into the building. She traversed the interior in under a minute, and came to the door where Fancy Pants had his study. Where the door had been. It was now nothing but a hole in the wall. From the other side she could hear voices, mostly voices she didn't recognize, but she did recognize Rainbow Dash's voice.

She stepped around the corner and into the room. Rainbow and Fancy Pants were lying against the wall, facing her. Their eyes lit up when she entered the doorway, then they both grimaced at how injured she was. She caught sight of two corpses, and Zenith Star. She appeared to be breathing, just unconscious. She stood there for a few seconds, the soldiers were blissfully unaware of her presence. "I am not in the mood to deal with you." she said aloud, immediately all six guards jumped and turned around. They all looked shocked, and fear was plastered over their faces. "You have once chance to surrender. That's all you get."

The soldiers looked between themselves. One of them looked unsure, but the remainder were arrogant. "There's six of us and only one of you. You're injured, and fighting the Inquisitor had to have taken a lot out of you."

A single blade of magic flared to life in the air beside Twilight. She looked at each one of them in turn, then threw her horn towards the last one on the left. He sidestepped, but it wasn't enough. The pulse of magic threw him against the wall, but he survived. Twilight noted that the pulse of magic didn't kill him, then stepped forwards and threw her sword at the center soldier. Unfortunately for her, they had all scattered, and her blade impacted the wall. She ripped the sword out of the wall, and turned to the right, where most of the soldiers were.

One of the soldiers forged a blade of magic in the air beside him, and intercepted Twilight's thrust, deflecting the blade. Twilight overextended in the attack, and rolled with it to avoid getting hit by the several pulses of magic fired at her. One of them hit her wing, causing pain and a tingling sensation, but she ignored it. She put more force into her blade as it was deflected, and shot it with the deflection towards another soldier. The mare raised a barrier to defend herself, but it popped as soon as the sword hit it. The blade continued unimpaired, and killed her. Twilight swiveled on her front hooves, then kicked out at another guard. He was sent flying through a window, breaking the glass as he went through it.

Twilight turned to then next guard, grabbed him in her magic, and applied more force to his body, preventing him from breathing until he passed out from lack of oxygen. She threw him to the wall, and continued on. The next soldier had already fled the room, leaving one who was cowering in fear, and the one who she had injured at the start of the engagement.

Twilight stepped towards the cowering soldier. "Please..." he begged.

Twilight glared at him. "You had your chance." she stated, then slit his throat. She turned to the remaining soldier, who watched her dispassionately. She glanced over him, then ignored him and glanced over to Fancy Pants, Zenith Star, and... She would get to her later. She released her hold of her blade, and it dissipated. "Fancy Pants, pray tell, what has happened?" she asked with agitation.

He opened his mouth to speak, only to be cut off by Rainbow. "Twilight..." Her voice had an edge of worry to it, whether for her own life or Twilight's, Twilight did not know.

Twilight turned to her and then back to Fancy Pants. "I... Have no idea, Twilight." he admitted. "I do not know how he could have... Known."

Twilight turned to Rainbow. "He said Rainbow is actually responsible for this." she said dispassionately. She was glad Zenith wasn't conscious for this. Rainbow's gaze turned fearful.

"The soldiers did mention something about Rainbow being in on this..." Fancy commented. Rainbow's head shot towards him. Fancy sighed. "I can't say if they were lying or telling the truth. I hadn't heard about anything like that."

"He said she was responsible for all this.." Twilight repeated, this time with a bit more anger.

"And you believe him! Twilight, come on! I wouldn't..." Rainbow trailed off under Twilight's gaze.

"Of course I didn't believe him. But there are other things to factor in. Including the fact that he told me when he was absolutely sure I was going to die. And there was a good chance he would have been right if I had not held back earlier." Twilight replied sharply. "I should kill you now and get this over with."

Rainbow swallowed. Twilight's horn was still lit from her earlier battle, if Twilight... Chose to kill her, she wouldn't stand a chance since she was tied up, against the wall, immobilized. Twilight grimaced and bobbled her head, as if debating her options. "Twilight, please... Let me... Let me help you! Let me make it up to you!" she all but begged her. "I am not responsible for this!"

Twilight glared sharply at her. "You've betrayed me before, on multiple occasions. I have no way of knowing if you will betray me again. Answer my question honestly. Is there even the slightest chance, that he is saying the truth? And don't just answer it, think about it first." Twilight commanded. Rainbow realized she hadn't made any promises not to kill her in that statement.

Rainbow looked away from Fancy Pants and Twilight. There was a chance, a slight chance, that he had told the truth. 'No! He's lying, I didn't do this! I didn't betray her...' Up until a few weeks ago, she never remembered questioning the Inquisitor. The more she thought about it, the more strange she found it that she couldn't remember thinking anything suspicious of him. It was so sudden, almost like-

Her heart sank, and her ears folded back. Twilight raised an eyebrow at the sight. Rainbow sighed and looked down. "Yes..." she said softly. "I... I don't remember thinking anything wrong about him up until a couple weeks ago..." She looked to Twilight. "But I don't remember anything about helping him with this!"

Twilight exhaled sharply. "You wouldn't need to remember anything. He could have altered your memories." Twilight looked away, then briefly grunted and clutched her wound at a sharp throb of pain. She looked back to Fancy Pants. "I need to go..."

"You can't take me with you." he said. "You're too injured."

Twilight scoffed at that. "You know that I-"

"Twilight." he said seriously. "Just go."

"If I leave you here..." Twilight trailed off, not wanting to think about that.

"Then untie me. I can take care of myself."

Twilight looked down but nodded. She grasped the ropes binding Fancy pants, and cut them away with her magic, freeing him. She looked at him sadly. "Take care of yourself."

"You too, Princess." Fancy said as he stood at the doorway. He bowed his head respectfully, then glanced to Rainbow Dash, hesitated, and then left.

Twilight nodded, then turned her attention to Zenith and Rainbow. She held her gaze on Rainbow. "I am going to check your mind for any signs of manipulation." she said. It wasn't a choice. She stepped closer to Rainbow, then pointed her horn at her head. Rainbow shrunk back, fearful of the alicorn. Twilight entered her mind, and quickly went to work searching for what she didn't want to find. She did her best to avoid any memories she knew wouldn't hide something, and she also tried to avoid anything too personal. Unfortunately, she still ran across a few of those memories. During the whole ordeal, Rainbow was unconscious. After a few minutes, she heard shouting coming closer, and pulled out of Rainbow's mind. Rainbow Dash immediately regained consciousness.

"We will finish this in a moment." she said sharply. She turned to Zenith, destroyed the ropes, then draped the unicorn over her back. She walked over to Rainbow, then put her mouth around her neck, and lifted her up with no effort, despite her injuries. Rainbow couldn't help but feel helpless, knowing that if Twilight wanted, right then and there, she could have bit hard enough to kill her. She could drop her from a great height, too, since her wings were bound, she wouldn't be able to fly, and she would fall to her death. Falling to her death... As a pegasus, that concept was completely foreign to her. To most pegasi, it was a foreign concept, and also a very scary one...

Twilight channeled more magic into her horn, preparing to teleport the three of them away, then paused as an idea came to her. She would have smiled, but her mouth was preoccupied. She gently angled her horn down, then shot at the wall with a spell. Where the spell hit, a vortex of magic formed a portal. She could see through it to the other side. Looking through the portal, she could see Canterlot off in the distance.

Rainbow looked at the portal wryly. Her curiosity was suppressed by her fear of Twilight. Twilight stepped forwards, taking the two ponies she carried with her. She stepped through the portal, and appeared on the other side, traveling perhaps eighty miles in a single second. Once her tail was clear, Twilight turned around, and did something to cause the portal to destabilize. As the portal shimmered and flashed, the vortex surrounding it became more and more chaotic, eventually resulting in it collapsing upon itself. Once the portal disappeared, a wave of magic exploded outwards from it. It wasn't dangerous, and only created a slight breeze as it disturbed the air.

The portal had not been against anything. It had been in the air, at ground level. Twilight took note of that, she would have to study it further when she had the time. 'That could prove useful in the future.' she noted.

Twilight glanced around. They weren't at the top of the mountain, but they were pretty high up. She didn't particularly camp at the top of the mountain, and it would be night in a few hours. She looked around and found a decent tree nearby, walked over to it, and set Zenith down against it, then walked over to the overhang from which Canterlot could be seen. The sight made her anger boil. She took a step back, turned around, and dropped Rainbow from her mouth, then turned back to Canterlot. She traced over the outline of the city with her eyes. The Inquisitor would pay for this. But first, she had something else to take care of. "Rainbow Dash, what am I going to do with you..."

Author's Note

I do not feel this story needs a gore tag, and, as I have planned, this is probably the most gore this story will have. If you feel otherwise, feel free to say so.

Cliffhangers!

Chapter 8

Twilight watched Canterlot for a few more seconds before turning around and looking at Rainbow Dash. She looked over the tied up pegasus, who was watching her with wide eyes. "I am going to finish searching your mind." Twilight stated firmly, then stepped closer to Rainbow, who struggled against the ropes tying her up. As Twilight lowered her head and put her horn on Rainbow's head, Rainbow stopped struggling and fell unconscious as Twilight entered her mind, searching for the truth.

This time, Twilight was more forceful with her search. She peeled back memory after memory, searching for any lingering hint of magic, evidencing manipulation. No memory was safe, not personal nor forgotten. As Twilight dug through Rainbow's memories, she made sure to prevent the pegasus from remembering the memories she brought up and she was careful not to damage her mind. Even if Rainbow had betrayed her, she would not break her in such a way. She did not want ponies to fear her, with the exception of the Inquisitor and his soldiers. Rainbow had been one of his soldiers, but she had promised several times to help Twilight. Twilight also remembered her own promise to Rainbow, and while she would rather keep it, she would kill her if it proved necessary. She hoped it didn't, despite the betrayal she felt when thinking about the possibility that he had told the truth, and her betrayal three years ago.

Twilight started to examine her emotions, searching for any deception, all the while she still sorted through Rainbow's memories. At present, Rainbow was afraid, confused, and worried... For her. Twilight paused at that, briefly, and thought about it. Rainbow was still worried for her, despite her invading the pegasus's mind. She shifted her weight, then delved back into Rainbow's mind. Twilight started to shift her focus onto Rainbow's memories between three and six weeks ago. She felt each memory with her magic, checking it for signs of tampering. It wasn't long before she found the memory she was looking for.

The memory had been modified by magic, replaced and altered. She examined the alterations with her magic, searching for any further changes to Rainbow's mind coming from them. She frowned as she found no trace that the magic was manipulating her emotions. At least not by magical means. She refocused her effort, and attempted to pierce the veil of the magic altering her memory. The magic pushed back against her, and she stopped. Forcing her way in would damage the magic suppressing the memory, which wasn't in her best interest... She returned to examining the memory, and found a well hidden link to another memory. She followed the trail of magic, then found another suppressed memory. There were several traces of magic extending out from it, linking several more memories.

Twilight grimaced as she examined the network of modified memories. While the first one wasn't changing how she felt, the sheer number of altered memories could. There were only a handful of major alterations, but there were numerous smaller alterations, just barely hints that magic had touched those memories in passing. She could not tell their purpose without either damaging Rainbow's mind, or possibly causing a chain reaction resulting in all the alterations failing. That in itself could injure her. She physically grimaced and changed tactics. She determined that the magic altering the memories would last until removed. Which was a good thing, for her. There was no ticking time bomb in Rainbow's mind that would suddenly cause her to betray Twilight. However, discovering what lay beneath the replaced memories would not be possible if she wanted to keep Rainbow on her side... Which, despite the signs pointing the the Inquisitor telling the truth, she wanted. Twilight pursed her lips, wondering if the Inquisitor wanted her to kill Rainbow Dash... She decided it was something to keep in mind.

Twilight pulled her head back from Rainbow, and the pegasus jerked awake. She looked around frantically then met Twilight's eyes. Rainbow clenched her jaw and swallowed, she hoped for good news... But she didn't expect it. Twilight looked over Rainbow, then met her eyes. "Your mind has been heavily altered by magic, Rainbow Dash." she said.

Rainbow struggled against the ropes again. Twilight used her full name, rather than calling her by her first name, warning bells rang in Rainbow's mind. She swallowed. Twilight grasped the ropes binding Rainbow in her magic and cut them away. Rainbow shifted her weight and tentatively rose to her hooves, cautiously watching Twilight as she did so. The sight reminded Twilight of Fluttershy... "However, the alterations should stay in place, unless removed by an outside source. There is still the chance that it could wear off eventually, or that somepony could break the magic at a... Poor time." Rainbow swallowed, and was glad Twilight was taller so she couldn't see her swallowing. Twilight glanced over Rainbow, then turned around.

Rainbow thought about making a break for it, but forced the idea away. If Twilight was going to... She didn't want to be remembered as being afraid and running away from something. Twilight tilted her head back and looked at Rainbow. "You realize that sparing you could come back to bite me in the flank?" Rainbow nodded and Twilight sighed. "I will not kill you, at least right now. You are not a threat to me currently, and... I may need the help, if not in the near future, after I kill him it would prove useful to have you on my side."

Rainbow closed her eyes and exhaled. She felt like a weight had been lifted from her. She kept her eyes closed and went over what had happened today... If anything, she was more worried for Twilight than herself. She felt feathers wrap around her left wing, and opened her eyes as Twilight pulled her closer to herself. Rainbow didn't resist and then rested against Twilight. "Are you okay?" Rainbow asked.

"No. I'm not okay." Twilight answered quickly. "Considering that I want to drop a star on Canterlot, regardless of the fact that hundreds of thousands would die to kill him, even if it might not kill him..." Twilight bobbled her head. "I'm managing the urge, however."

Rainbow shifted her weight. That was a scary thought, and if Twilight really was that powerful... "How did you lose to him?" she asked.

Twilight lifted a hoof to her head. She was going to massage her temple, but decided against it as her hoof had blood on it. She glanced down and looked at her chest and arms. Her right arm had a long crimson streak running down it. She pursed her lips and powered up a healing spell, then cast it. A wave of warmth washed over her, and her wounds healed. She still looked terrible, however. "That is something I need to talk to both of you about..." Twilight glanced over to Zenith, who was still unconscious, lying against a tree. Twilight levitated the unicorn over to her, and set her down to her right, then draped a wing over her.

"How much do you think it would tick him off if I took control of the sun and moon?" Twilight asked with a slight smile.

Rainbow didn't even need to think about that question. "A lot." she answered. In fact, the Inquisitor would probably go ballistic if Twilight stole the sun from him... She had only seen Celestia raise the sun once before, so seeing Twilight move the sun would be cool. She had never seen Twilight move the sun or moon before and it was an exciting thought to see her friend do it.

Twilight smiled. "Maybe today won't be a total loss then..." Twilight channeled magic into her horn, which glowed with a bright lavender aura, then she reached out to the sun, and took hold of it. After a few seconds to remember how to do it, she coaxed the sun lower and lower in the sky until the sun was setting. Several hours before it should have. And much faster than it should have. Twilight felt a tingling sensation where her mane and tail where.

Rainbow watched Twilight in awe as she moved the sun. As the sun reached the horizon, her mane started to shift and flow. She could see specks of light sparkling in it, and the pink highlight started to twist around itself, into a spiral. Her navy blue mane and tail started to look more like Princess Luna's mane and tail, filled with sparkling lights which reminded her of stars. The navy blue color seemed to become deeper as Twilight noticed what had happened. "Twilight... Your mane... It's beautiful..."

Twilight smiled, and for a brief second, she felt like it was several years ago, before the Inquisitor showed up or was even known. "I wonder what Rarity would think..." She thought about it, but really couldn't picture it. It had been years since she had seen Rarity, though they had kept in touch... Sort of, at least. "She would probably say how I looked the part of Princess of Equestria now." Rainbow pulled away from Twilight ever so slightly and looked her over, also contemplating Rarity's response. Twilight looked down at her arm and frowned. "Then again, I need a bath." Twilight slowly stood up and folded her wings as she did so. She looked to Rainbow. "I will be back within an hour, take care of Zenith." she commanded.

"Okay." Rainbow said simply as Twilight stepped away then beat her wings and jumped into the air. Rainbow watched Twilight fly off, then looked over to Zenith. She laughed to herself when she pictured Zenith's surprise about waking up and it being dark, then finding out she wasn't out that long, but that she missed Twilight moving the sun. Zenith would love to see that.

Twilight landed a few minutes later at a nearby stream of clean water. As soon as she landed she looked around to make sure she was alone, then took a deep breath and exhaled. She walked over to the river, then tentatively put a hoof in it. She winced and pulled her hoof back, the water was quite cold. Which was unsurprising, considering it was on a mountain, and likely from melted snow. She powered up her horn, then created a barrier around a small section of the river, then started heating the water with her magic. It took a few minutes, but soon the water was a pleasant eighty degrees Fahrenheit.

She looked around again, the river was well hidden, and there were trees overhead, though the river cut a path through the forest leaving a winding trail visible. She pursed her lips but put the worry aside, she was safe where she was. She glanced to the sky once more, then channeled more magic into her horn and started the moon on it's journey as the sun sank further below the horizon, basking the world in twilight. She smiled then tentatively put a hoof into the section of the stream that she had heated and sighed contently.

She walked, then waded, allowing the warmth of the water to melt her stress away. She hesitated when her tail was about to touch the water, curious as to what would happen. She pursed her lips and stepped further into the pool of water, and her tail seemed to melt into the water, and spread out much like a normal mane or tail when underwater. She smiled, then made her way to the deeper section, all the while keeping a close eye on her tail and her surroundings.

Once she reached the deep section, she took a deep breath, then dunked her head under the water. For several seconds she kept her head below water and watched her mane as it flowed about, despite there being no current. Her mane sparkled and shimmered even more in the water as the sun passed the horizon. It really was beautiful, but she could not study it or enjoy it as much as she wanted to. At least not until a certain pony was dead. Feeling the need to breath, she lifted her head above the water, exhaled, and then breathed normally.

Twilight rubbed her hoof against her arm, cleaning off the blood stain, then used her magic to remove the blood from her body elsewhere where she could not easily reach. It only took her a few minutes to clean herself so that she didn't just feel renewed, but looked renewed also. She looked up at the night sky, and wondered what the Inquisitor was doing right now. She hoped he was having a bad day... Night...

Twilight shook her head, then created an orb of light, and shot it above the pool of water she was in. The glow from her horn, coupled with the glow from the light orb allowed her to see her reflection in the dark water. She looked over the face in the reflection, her face. Her muzzle had changed in the previous three years. Instead of being curved, it was now more flat, like the other princesses. And her mane had now changed. She looked at the reflection of her mane, which constantly shifted. She wondered if she had stopped physically growing and changing yet, but she did not know. She sighed, then shook her head.

She shivered as a cold breeze blew across her wet coat. She turned towards the direction the wind blew from and stared off into space. After a few seconds she shook her head and realized that the water was starting to grow cold once more. She grimaced, then started making her way towards the shore. Once the water was no longer up to her knees, she dispelled the barrier protecting the pool of water, it and started flowing downstream once more. It took only a few seconds for the cold water to hit her. She staggered, but forced herself to continue on out of the water, into the chilly night air of the mountains.

Once on the bank, she turned back to the light orb, and drew it closer to herself, then absorbed it back into her horn. She shivered again as another chilly breeze blew through the clearing. She shook her head and spread her wings, then jumped into the air, and flew higher until she passed the tree canopy, and then leveled off a little ways above it. The cold air bit into her wet coat, but she ignored it as she flew back to where Rainbow and Zenith were using her memory, then circled the clearing a few times before landing.

She welcomed folding her wings back to her body, even if they were cold, they would help trap heat in. She shouldn't have been affected by the cold as much as she was. They must have been higher up on the mountain than Canterlot was, despite it not looking like it. She shook her head and forced the thought aside, then powered up her horn and created another, larger orb of light above the clearing. "Rainbow Dash, I'm back." she called out as she launched the orb into the sky.

"Oh. I didn't see you come in..." Rainbow admitted, calling from a nearby tree. Twilight turned towards the source and saw Rainbow sitting beside Zenith. Rainbow had moved Zenith and herself back over to the tree while Twilight was away. Rainbow had been looking at Twilight, but then she averted her gaze and looked at the orb of light hovering above the clearing when Twilight turned to her. "What's that?" Rainbow asked.

"A light orb." Twilight answered simply as she made her way over to the pair. "She's still not awake?" Twilight asked as she sat down beside Zenith.

Rainbow shook her head. "No. Should she be?" she asked with worry.

Twilight shook her head. "Not really. I would have been surprised if she was already awake, but it would have been nice."

Rainbow jerked her head up. "Ah." she said.

The trio sat in silence for a few seconds, then Twilight spoke again. "Is it just me or is it a little colder here than where we camped last time?"

Rainbow frowned and thought about it for a second. "Maybe a little." she answered, then she looked at the stars. "But if you're cold, it would've helped if you would've dried off before going flying."

"Yes, but the air would dry me off as I flew, making drying myself off redundant." Twilight said. "Besides, I felt like I was pushing that hour, and I did not wish to leave you two alone for that long."

Rainbow turned to Twilight. "Well... Thanks." she said. Twilight nodded. After a few seconds Rainbow turned away and looked back into the night sky. "So it's yours now?" she asked.

Twilight nodded to herself. "Yes." she said simply, then added, "Though it was my inheritance from Luna as soon as she was murdered."

Rainbow did not want to talk about that, so she spent a few seconds searching for something else to talk about. "Do you miss them and us and... How things were before?" Rainbow asked as she looked at a particularly bright star. For some reason, when she looked at it, she couldn't help but be reminded of Princess Celestia. She had no idea why, but it was what came to mind.

Twilight sat back and nodded slowly. "I do... At times, yes." she admitted. "As much as I have grown to enjoy being alone... I do miss having company, and I have enjoyed having you two around." She looked down to the ground. "For what it's worth... I am sorry that I scare you. I do not wish to... And yet, at the same time, I do."

Rainbow shifted her weight. "Are you okay? Not two hours ago you wanted to kill me, and now you're saying you're sorry that you scare me and at the same time you're not sorry."

"The Inquisitor used an electro-maginetic pulse against me." Twilight stated flatly. Rainbow immediately winced. While pegasi were immune to them, and she had never known any unicorn hit by one, she had heard how painful and jarring they could be. "And hit me with a couple spells that seem to have disabled my accelerated healing. Who knows what else they did to me, perhaps the only reason you are alive is because those spells are affecting me in such a way as to make me want to keep you alive." Twilight mused. Rainbow laughed nervously. Twilight sighed and looked back to the sky. "I miss them, and... I will admit, I do want revenge for their deaths." She shook her head. "He killed my sister in law, my brother, and my niece, Rainbow. He took my friends, my mentor, and my home away from me. I have no idea what has happened to my parents..."

"You have usss..." Zenith groggily said as she tried to push herself up. Both Rainbow and Twilight immediately looked to her, both with expressions of relief. "Ooohhh.... I waz out that long?" she asked as she opened her eyes and raised her eyebrows as if trying to open her eyes further.

Rainbow lent Zenith a hoof and helped her sit up. "Twilight took control of the sun and moon." Rainbow stated.

At hearing that, Zenith put on a pouting face that was exaggerated, whether from intention or because of whatever spell she was hit with, Rainbow did not know. Twilight smiled at the sight. Zenith turned to Twilight and looked at her. After several seconds, her mind processed the change in her mane and tail, and her mouth formed a little 'o.' "Y-your mane..." Zenith said in awe. "It's... So beautiful, I've never seen anything like it..."

Twilight nodded. "One of these days maybe I'll understand it myself..." she mused as she glanced at her tail. For some reason she couldn't quite place, the pink swirl made her think of a galaxy. She shook the thought off, it was silly, like something Pinkie Pie would have said. ...If she knew anything about science... 'What happened to Pinkie...' Twilight wondered. Twilight hadn't heard anything about Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy since the night before the Inquisitor took over. She knew for a fact that neither Pinkie nor Fluttershy would support him after what happened that day, and so she found herself curious as to where they went. She frowned as she found herself wanting to find them... While they hadn't believed her either, she took pity on them.

"You mean you don't understand it?" Zenith asked.

Twilight shook her head. "No, I just got this an hour ago." she answered.

Zenith frowned. "Huh."

"As nice as your night is, Twilight," Rainbow paused, thinking over what she had just said. For some reason, she liked the way that sounded. Though it would be a little strange getting used to the night, and day, being hers. "I would prefer to have shelter instead of sleeping exposed." she finished.

Twilight stood up and nodded. "In a few months, the nights will return to being as warm as they were before." she stated. "Now that I have control of the sun and moon, maintaining the day and night cycle will be an easy task."

"I wonder what those unicorns who moved the sun and moon are doing now..." Zenith mused as she stood up.

"Starlight is in that group." Twilight stated. She looked pained for half a second, then shook her head and looked around. "Right... Shelter..." Twilight channeled magic into her horn, then reached into one of her pocket dimensions and withdrew a single large tent from it. The tent immediately materialized in the clearing. As soon as the tent materialized, Twilight started walking towards it, followed by Rainbow and Zenith. Twilight, horn still lit, opened the tent with her magic, then allowed the other two to enter the tent before entering herself, and closing the tent door behind her. The tent was lit only by the pale glow from Twilight's horn, she pursed her lips and then channeled her magic into a light orb, and positioned it towards the center of the tent, at the top.

Twilight had created the tent herself using only her magic to fabricate it last week, and she had it stored in one of her pocket dimensions while it was not in use. The fabric itself was highly resistant to being damaged by magic, and even an amplified unicorn would have trouble damaging it. Several gravity spells prevented the structure from being moved outside of using magic, and a few other spells prevented anypony except Twilight from moving it with her magic.

Twilight made her way over to her large sleeping bag. Large being a relative term, as all three sleeping bags were large enough for Twilight to sleep in comfortably, with room to spare. She could have made all of them beds, but she did not. Once the Inquisitor was dead, she would allow herself to sleep peacefully then, but not before. "I do have something I need to talk to both of you about, but that can wait until... After I raise the sun." Twilight stated. Twilight lifted the cover with her magic, then laid down in it.

"Yeah... I'm not tired." Zenith said. Both she and Rainbow were standing side by side across from Twilight, who was looking at them blankly. "And you're powerful enough that you shouldn't need to recover from fighting the Inquisitor. We need to talk."

Twilight nodded and lifted herself up from the bed. "I suppose we do." she stated. "Long story short, I lost to him because I underestimated him, held back, and he's Discord."

Zenith and Rainbow both looked confused at that. "Twilight... Are you sure you're not hurt more badly than you realize? Or maybe you really do need to recover, thinking that Discord's the Inquisitor..." Rainbow said slowly with concern.

Twilight rolled her eyes. "He used chaos magic, Rainbow. "After I was hit by that electro-maginetic pulse-" Zenith's face paled, "-he was fighting me with chaos magic."

Zenith frowned. "You were hit by that and you still held your own... Well, I guess you still lost..." Zenith trailed off, slightly disappointed.

Twilight's eyes narrowed. "He... Took me by surprise..." she said carefully as she thought back to her battle with him. Had she recognized what the device was sooner... But, she had never seen one in person. "Regardless, it will not happen again."

Rainbow shook her head. "Okay, Twilight, the Inquisitor can use chaos magic, which explains a few things... I guess? But that doesn't make him Discord!" she said quickly. One could easily hear the annoyance in her voice.

"Rainbow, nopony in history has ever used chaos magic. Not Starswirled the Bearded, not Princess Celestia, and not Lord Tirek when he had Discord's magic. Not even I can use chaos magic, Rainbow. Discord is the only being who has ever used chaos magic." Twilight chided firmly.

"But it doesn't make sense that Discord would want to make himself a pony and then take over Equestria!" Rainbow retorted.

Twilight nodded her head. "Perhaps, but I know he used chaos magic, and Discord is the only one capable of using chaos magic. Unless he has a special talent for... I have no idea what... He has to be Discord. It may not make sense, but it's Discord we're talking about. The Spirit of Chaos himself."

"I thought he had changed... No, I know he changed." Rainbow stated firmly. "I was closer to Discord than you, and... I have known the Inquisitor these past three years... They're not the same."

"Discord disappeared six years ago, Rainbow. Nopony has heard or seen him since. He showed up a year later." Twilight said. "Regardless, he will die. If he is Discord, that makes my job easier, because I know a spell to immediately teleport him to me. Unfortunately, said spell requires the Elements of Harmony." Rainbow swallowed a growing discomfort in her throat.

Zenith frowned. She remembered hearing a story about how Princess Celestia's star pupil defeated Discord... She remembered his brief reign of chaos, but only just. Twilight was Princess Celestia's star pupil. "Didn't you defeat Discord before though?" she asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yes." she stated. "Though that was years ago, and I had help from five mares who were once my friends." Rainbow shifted her weight as Twilight looked at her. "Friendship is what allowed us to use the Elements of Harmony, but that friendship has been..." Twilight looked off to the side, searching for the right word to describe what happened to it. "Betrayed." she said bitterly. She looked back to Rainbow Dash.

"Well... How are we going to beat him then?" Zenith asked.

"If. He is Discord." Rainbow added, looking firmly at Twilight.

Twilight nodded her head once. "In the morning, I need to send a letter to Princess Ember. The Inquisitor is planning to invade the Dragon Lands." Rainbow grimaced. "Any warning is better than none." Twilight stated. "So far as killing the Inquisitor... And I will kill him, even if he is Discord. I will work on a spell to teleport him to me, without using the Elements. However, the process will be sped up if I had the Elements, and the former bearers."

"Are you going to give them the same offer you gave me?" Rainbow asked. Twilight tilted her head to the side, but didn't answer.

"Are you sure we can trust them?" Zenith asked.

Twilight bobbled her head. "That does not matter. Rarity and Spike are in Manehatton. I have kept in touch with them, somewhat. Not directly. I believe Applejack should still be in Ponyville... I have no idea where Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie are. Finding them may be difficult."

"Starlight might know where Fluttershy is." Rainbow said.

Twilight frowned. "I had not considered that..." She shook her head. "Unfortunately, we cannot return to Canterlot for the time being. It is too risky."

"So what's the plan?" Rainbow asked.

"I still need to recover from my battle with him, but tomorrow we will head for Ponyville and the Everfree forest." Twilight said.

"Which brings us to another problem, Twilight. Not once in the time I've been around you have you said you needed to recover from anything, or admitted to needing a break." Zenith stated.

Twilight eyed her carefully, then exhaled. "As I have said before, he somehow disabled my accelerated healing..." she said quickly, then slowed down. "A few... Other abilities of mine are tied into that... As to which abilities, I will not tell you." she said carefully.

Rainbow frowned. "You don't..." She was about to say 'trust us,' but she stopped, realizing that Twilight probably did not trust her.

Twilight looked at Rainbow and pursed her lips, looking for a way to explain it. "It is... Not so much a matter of trust, as it is a secret of my race..." She frowned, realizing that her answer probably only served to make them more curious. "Telling you would put all of us in danger." Both Rainbow and Zenith frowned at that.

"You're not in any danger of dying from that though right?" Zenith asked.

Twilight shook her head. "Not at present." she said. "It should wear off eventually, if it doesn't, then it could prove problematic." Rainbow grimaced, trying to imagine what Twilight meant by 'problematic.' Zenith frowned but nodded. "If that is all, I would like to rest. I have to get up in the morning to raise the sun, after all."

Zenith glanced to Rainbow, then looked back to Twilight. "You said he is going to invade the dragons?"

Twilight sighed. "Yes, he said the Dragon Lands would be his within a week."

Rainbow shook his head. "He always wanted to take over their land, they hold vast riches."

"Yes." Twilight agreed. "I have seen those riches in person. I was there for a while after all."

"Equestria would suffer innumerable losses during the opening invasion..." Zenith mused. She was no grand strategist, or general, but it didn't take a strategic genius to know that would be the case.

"That is probably why he has waited so long since the last war, to build up Equestria's military." Twilight said. "Since he failed to kill me, however, he may decide to wait, though I would not bet on it. The best course of action I can take is to kill him as soon as possible, though I need to recover and prepare first. Speaking of recovering and preparing, we can discuss this further in the morning." Twilight finished, then waited a second to see if any of them had any objections. Neither of them spoke up, and both of them lingered for a second before turning around and heading off to their sleeping bags.

As soon as they were settled in, Twilight pulled the light orb over to her and then absorbed it back into her horn, leaving them in darkness, the only light coming from her moon, as it's light seeped through the tent fabric.

Author's Note

It took me five tries to come up with an opening to this chapter that I liked. But eventually I got it, though there are a few minor things that I dislike.

The plot thickens. Twilight be rocking the alicorn princess look now, now all we need is for her to hand the Inquisitor his flank on a star matter platter! I've been sitting on that joke for a week now... :twilightblush:

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I know I did! Feel free to point out mistakes, errors, typos, etc, or just comment below! Did I handle the transition from last chapter to current chapter okay? That was one thing that bugged me, but I think I'm okay with how it turned out.

Chapter 9

Rainbow Dash awoke well rested and ready to start the day. She opened her eyes and looked around, taking in the light of the morning sun seeping through the tent fabric. She glanced around the tent as she pushed the cover to her sleeping bag off of herself, and she shivered as the chilly air hit her coat. The other two sleeping bags were empty, leaving Rainbow alone in the tent, being the last one to wake up. She pushed herself up, then stretched out her wings and body, hoping to remove any kinks in her body from sleeping. She regretted stretching her wings out, as any heat they had trapped was lost and replaced by the chilly air. She ignored the cold edge to the air and made her way to the tent flap, then opened it and stepped outside.

It was even cooler outside than inside the tent, which was unsurprising. Rainbow looked around and caught sight of Twilight and Zenith sitting together around a small glowing orb. Twilight had her wing draped over Zenith's back, and her mane and tail were no longer flowing. Rainbow frowned but started walking over to the pair. Twilight glanced back at her and smiled slightly. "I see you're finally awake," she stated. "Good morning."

"Good morning Rainbow!" Zenith chirped from under Twilight's wing.

"Morning," Rainbow replied as she came to a stop and sat down a little ways away from Twilight. She eyed the orb curiously, she could feel the heat radiating off of it, which felt nice, and it looked familiar. She broke her gaze from the orb and turned to Twilight. "Why is it so cold?"

"We are higher up on the mountain than I realized. The air is thinner and traps heat much more poorly. It cooled off during the night too, but it should start warming back up now that I've raised the sun." Twilight answered.

"Well, I guess that explains a few things..." Rainbow trailed off and glanced over Twilight's mane and tail again. "Your mane isn't..?"

Twilight nodded and blew air out of her mouth. "It went back to normal when I raised the sun and lowered the moon. It warrants further investigation."

"Maybe it's only a night thing," Zenith commented.

"Perhaps." Twilight nodded.

Rainbow sat up straighter. "So what's on the agenda for today?"

"I've already sent a warning to Princess Ember. Though I question the usefulness of it... More lives will be lost now." Twilight said evenly. "Besides, I will admit that ruling the dragon lands also is a very..." she tilted her head and paused, searching for the right way to describe it. "Tempting thought." she shook her head. "I will take us to the Tree of Harmony, and I will claim the Elements of Harmony as my own, then I will bring us to someplace more isolated..." she grimaced and bobbled her head. "And warmer," she added. "While I study the elements."

"We're not going after the rest of our friends?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight shook her head. "I would rather avoid that if at all possible. A larger group is easier to detect than a smaller one." She shifted her weight. "Besides, I still have issues with all of them, though I wouldn't go so far as to say I hate them."

"What about me?" Rainbow asked cautiously.

Twilight pursed her lips and looked off to the side. "I saw how badly you felt about abandoning me that night three years ago while I was in your mind. Granted, it could be a byproduct of how heavily altered your mind is." 'Though I doubt it is...' Rainbow ruffled her wings and Twilight shifted her weight. "However, I will keep the promise that I made to you, that I would give being your friend again a chance after this is over."

"You know you can start patching up your friendship before this is over, though, right?" Zenith asked.

Silence reigned for several seconds as Twilight contemplated how to respond to that. Rainbow looked at her expectantly, and eventually Twilight answered. "I have missed having friends," she said evenly. "I am not as stable as I was three years ago. You've both seen that. I would... Appreciate it if you would help keep me from doing something I would regret." 'Like hurting one of you or my other old friends...'

Rainbow's mind briefly went through a series of ideas about what Twilight meant by something she would regret. She quickly forced the thoughts away. "You got it, Twilight," she said simply. Twilight smiled. A few seconds later Rainbow shifted her weight and looked back to the orb. Twilight certainly was less stable than she remembered her being. Compared to even what she was like the day after Twilight... Rescued her... She was a lot less stable now. 'Stress. It's gotta be stress.' she reasoned. She turned back to Twilight. "How are you feeling today?"

"Better than yesterday." Twilight nodded.

"That's good," Rainbow said.

Twilight tilted her head to the side. "Though my healing is still..." She squinted her eyes. "Not adequate."

"Any idea when that spell will wear off?" Zenith asked.

Twilight bobbed her head. "Based on the rate of decay, the spell should wear off within a month, but likely sooner." She paused and looked over to Rainbow. "We were waiting for you to wake up before we had breakfast. I will go take care of that, and I will be back in a few minutes," she stated. After hesitating a few seconds, she lifted her wing from around Zenith then slowly stood up.

Zenith shifted her weight as Twilight walked away. Her back quickly grew cold since it was unprotected, but it was tolerable. She watched Twilight until she entered the tent, then turned back to face Rainbow, who was watching the orb as it flowed and shifted. She pursed her lips. "You know, Twilight shouldn't have needed to leave to prepare breakfast," she said, drawing Rainbow's attention. "She could have easily withdrawn it from her... pocket dimension..." she practically salivated at the thought of learning about that spell. She paused for a second to compose herself. "Even if it needed heating up, she could have used the heat coming from the orb."

Rainbow pursed her lips. "Has she been acting any different today? I mean, I know you've probably not been up that long, but..."

Zenith sat up straighter. "Oh, I've been up for a while. I woke up a little after she raised the sun. She said that I could go back to sleep if I wanted but I said I would keep her company." She chirped with a smile. After a short pause, she continued. "She seems okay... Maybe a little more... Mellow?" she pursed her lips as she contemplated her choice of words. After a few seconds, she shifted her weight. "What was she like before?" she asked.

Rainbow smiled briefly, then her expression fell. "She was... A good pony. A total egghead and a nerd, but she was pretty cool. I don't even think Princess Celestia and Princess Luna combined knew as many spells as she did... She was a good friend and a good leader. You could always go to her for help or advice... She could organize anything you could imagine. She could be a bit... Too serious with some things. She took studying way too seriously, and she could get stressed out at simple things. Heh," she smiled at the memory, "one time she brainwashed the whole town to fight over a doll because she was going to be late in sending a friendship report to Princess Celestia..." Over the next few seconds, the smile slowly faded from her face as she thought about what Twilight had done then.

"That's a little... Disturbing..." Zenith said slowly.

Rainbow shrugged. "In her defense... We kinda blew off her concerns..." She looked to the ground and her expression fell once more. "We didn't listen to her concerns then... We told her it was nothing and ignored her... We all saw how badly she was taking it..." she grimaced.

"She doesn't sound like she was all that stable before this all happened..." Zenith trailed off.

"Well... That wasn't that long after we met her... It feels like a lifetime ago." Rainbow shook her head. "She grew more stable the longer we were all friends... But she could still overreact... Heh, if it wasn't for her overreacting I wouldn't have made it into the Wonderbolts." She sighed at the now bittersweet memory.

Zenith frowned. "How close were you two?" she asked.

"Well," Rainbow bobbled her head and frowned, "she was one of my best friends, but we really weren't all that close. We all still had our own lives, you know?"

"She kept crashing into my house," Twilight said with a hint of annoyance as she walked back over to the pair. Both Zenith and Rainbow looked back to see her approaching. She carried three plates in her magic, along with three glasses of milk and silverware. She glanced over Rainbow, then looked at Zenith. "You would not believe how many times I had to reorganize the library because she crashed into it. After I had just reorganized it," she said in a dull voice, her face betraying no emotion.

"Hehe..." Rainbow chuckled sheepishly and rubbed the back of her head. "Sorry... Practicing..."

Twilight rolled her eyes but said nothing. A second later she distributed the plates of food, silverware, and glasses of milk. Zenith took her plate, silverware, and glass in her magic and looked over the plate of food. Scrambled eggs, two pancakes with butter and syrup, and a muffin. She glanced back to Twilight, who had sat down about halfway between herself and Rainbow. Twilight was already eating and paying the other two no mind. She turned back to her plate and then glanced to her silverware and then took a bite of the eggs. She closed her eyes and savored the flavor.

Twilight stepped through the portal, and immediately was transported to the cave which protected the Tree of Harmony. As soon as she stepped through she stepped to the side and looked around towards the mouth of the cave. A second later Zenith and then Rainbow followed her into the cave. Zenith cautiously looked over the portal as Twilight closed it. The magic destabilized and collapsed onto itself, then expanded outwards producing a light breeze inside the otherwise stagnate cave.

Twilight looked over the mouth of the cave carefully for several seconds. She had expected the Inquisitor to have soldiers to stall her from obtaining the Elements. She was quite pleased when it became apparent she was incorrect in her expectations. Still, as a precaution, she created a barrier at the mouth of the cave. The wall of lavender magic would block almost everything out as long as it stood, however, it would not prevent teleportation. To prevent that, she cast another spell, one which would not interfere with her newfound long ranged teleportation ability.

After a few seconds of thinking about her work, she nodded to herself. They wouldn't be there long enough to warrant such precautions, but it was better safe than sorry when dealing with the Inquisitor. Especially since the Elements of Harmony were irreplaceable. To her current knowledge, at least. It was possible that in time she would be able to learn enough about the Elements to create more of them, improve upon them, or even weaponize them further. The last option was very tempting to her, but she would never admit that.

Even with as powerful as she was now, Twilight knew the Elements were even more powerful than her. She had not touched the near infinite pool of magic for nearly a decade, but she remembered what it felt like. If she could not reverse engineer a spell to bring Discord to her without needing the Elements, she would force the Elements to work for her. If that did not work, then she would seek out their bearers. Former bearers. Her old friends.

She looked over the lavender wall again, then turned around and strode over to the tree. Zenith was standing before the tree, looking at it in awe. Rainbow was also looking over the tree, but she had seen it before and was less awe-struck than Zenith. Twilight ignored both of them and came to a stop at the base of the tree. She looked over the trunk, then lifted a hoof and gently pressed it against the glowing crystal tree. She lowered her head slightly. "It's been so long..." she said under her breath. She lifted her head and stroked her hoof down the tree once, then returned it to the ground and stepped back.

Not wasting any time, Twilight immediately powered up her horn with her signature lavender aura and turned her attention to the six gems contained in the tree. She gently coaxed the gems out with her magic, softly prying them until the tree released them to her. She was happy the tree did not fight her, but she knew the tree would recognize her, and that it would welcome her back.

She gently levitated the Elements of Harmony down to her, then orbited them around her head so that she could look at each one in turn. After she looked over each gem, she turned around and looked between Zenith and Rainbow. "Let's go," she said simply, breaking both Zenith and Rainbow's focus. Zenith had been looking over the tree, while Rainbow had been watching the Elements orbit around her head. Twilight walked passed them and went to the mouth of the cave. She glanced out passed the barrier, then stored the Elements in her pocket dimension for later use and study.

After she was sure they weren't going to be attacked as soon as she took the barrier down, she took the barrier down, then canceled the anti-teleportation field. Twilight once again found herself half expecting something bad to happen, but once again she was pleasantly surprised when nothing bad happened. 'For once things are going my way...' She prepared the spell to open a portal to Whitetail Woods, or more specifically, it's heart. She spun around on her hind hooves, lowering her horn as she did so, then released her spell as soon as she faced the Tree of Harmony. A pony's length in front of her, the spell coalesced in the air, then exploded outwards, forming a spherical ring of energy around a portal roughly twice her size. She looked over the portal, it's edges glowed white, and she walked to the right, keeping her eyes on the portal. No matter how far she walked around it, the edges were defined by glowing, white energy.

She pushed the thought aside as Zenith and Rainbow walked up to her. Rainbow approached the portal and looked to the other side. It was a clearing, that much she could tell. There were trees at the edge, but the forest wasn't very dense. After a second's hesitation, she stepped through the portal, then stepped away from it and looked back into it. She watched Zenith step through, followed closely behind by Twilight. As soon as Twilight stepped through, the glow died away from her horn, and the portal collapsed. Rainbow's gaze was drawn to the stream of water flowing through the clearing behind where the portal had been.

It was peaceful. And now that she noticed the stream, she could hear the distant rumbling of what she assumed to be a waterfall, along with more pronounced babbling of the water as it flowed downstream. The air was less stagnate than the cave had been, and it was warmer. Not oppressively warm, but definitely warmer than where they woke up earlier. She walked over to the stream, followed by Zenith. The stream was more of a small river. It was wide, but not wide enough to present a challenge to cross in their current state. She could only guess the depth, but the water looked inviting.

She tentatively stuck a hoof into the stream, and quickly pulled it back out. The icy water was a shock to her system, but she recovered in a few seconds, then turned her gaze skyward. In the opposite direction of the way the stream was flowing, there was a simply massive cliff face a few miles away. The sound of the waterfall came from the same direction, but she couldn't see the waterfall from this distance. She pushed her curiosity about it away and scanned the sky again. There were a few rather large, white and puffy clouds lazily blowing overhead, but other than that the sky was clear and nopony was in sight.

"It is beautiful, is it not?" Twilight asked as she silently approached Rainbow and Zenith. Both Rainbow and Zenith watched her approach. She stopped at the edge of the water, and looked at the stream for a moment, then turned her attention to the nearby cliff. "If I was not going to be ruling a nation after this was over, I would consider living here."

"It's peaceful," Zenith agreed. She looked around, then gazed into the water, staring at her reflection, which was distorted by the small ripples in the water caused by the wind and other disturbances. The river reminded her of the river that ran near her home when she was a filly, but she hadn't seen that river in years. She pushed the thought aside and turned away from the river.

"You know you still could, Twilight," Rainbow said. Twilight turned to her and raised an eyebrow. "Live here, I mean. You don't have to be in Canterlot, you could just... Let ponies rule themselves."

Twilight snorted at that notion. "No. I will be in Canterlot, and I am going to rule this nation," she said firmly. "Equestria would collapse without a strong leader, such as myself."

"Equestria hasn't collapsed under the Inquisitor's rule," Zenith commented.

"Equestria is mine. It is my right, and I will claim her as such," Twilight said sharply.

"We weren't saying that Equestria isn't your right!" Rainbow said quickly. She still wasn't completely sure how she felt about Twilight's claim, though she found herself not as concerned about it today as she had been. Perhaps it had something to do with seeing her mane and tail the way they were last night. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, the original rightful rulers of Equestria both had manes like that. "I just meant that... You could take a vacation."

"After he is dead, Equestria will need a strong leader to keep her from falling apart. I do not wish to be responsible for Equestria falling apart. I will need to act quickly to bend Equestria to my will, and that could take a few years. Perhaps I will take a vacation in a century or two," Twilight explained. "I will not be denied Equestria by anyone after he is dead." Twilight met Rainbow's eyes, and the two stared at each other for a moment before Rainbow broke contact and looked at the ground while rubbing her arm with her left hoof. Twilight stood up a little taller, "I will be back soon," she said, "do not venture far," she commanded. After a second to let her command sink in, she spread her wings and took flight. Rainbow cautiously glanced up at her as she flew away. Both Rainbow and Zenith watched her as she flew towards the nearby cliff until she disappeared from their sight.

"So..." Zenith blew air out of her mouth as she looked around. "What now?" she asked.

"We wait for her to get back I guess," Rainbow replied.

Zenith looked at Rainbow. "Anything you want to do then? Or talk about?"

Rainbow glanced at the river and shifted her weight. "Well... If the water was warmer, going for a swim could be nice. But with as cold as it is, I'm not particularly fond of the idea of going swimming."

Zenith turned around and dipped one of her hooves into the river and raised an eyebrow at Rainbow. "You call that cold?"

Rainbow looked at the water, then carefully dipped her hind hoof into it. Immediately, a shiver went through her body as her hoof hit the cold water, and she jerked her hoof back out of it. Rainbow looked back at Zenith. "Yes," she said simply, "that is cold. I don't want to get hypothermia."

Zenith frowned and her eyes darted about. "I think I have a spell that could help with that..."

Rainbow tilted her head. "You think? I am not getting in that river unless you're sure."

"Well. There's only one way to find out now isn't there?" Zenith lit her horn, then pointed it at Rainbow, who shifted her weight uncomfortably. She never really did like that only the unicorn pointing their horn at you knew what spell they were going to use. You could make a guess, based on context, but you could be wrong. Rainbow's body glowed dark blue for a second as Zenith's magic took hold of her. As the glow died down, her body felt tingly. "That should do it..." Zenith said as she cast the same spell on herself.

Rainbow tentatively stuck her hoof back into the cold water. She braced herself for the shock, but it didn't come. The water still held a bite to it, but it was tolerable. She watched as Zenith casually stepped into the water, which quickly rose to her encompass most of her body. Zenith swam to the center of the stream and smiled at Rainbow. She motioned her to join with a hoof. Rainbow slowly turned around and stepped into the water, and then waded out as far as she could before swimming the rest of the way. Rainbow still didn't think it was very pleasant. After she reached out where Zenith was, she took a deep breath, then dunked her head beneath the water. She stayed under the water for a few seconds, then brought her head back up. She shivered a little, the water still made the air feel cooler. She ignored it for the moment, and flung her head and restyled her wet mane so that the water wouldn't run down her face as much.

After a few minutes of flying, Twilight landed on the top of the nearby cliff, next to the river, but a ways away from the waterfall. She scanned the landscape, checking it against her memory for any signs of unnatural changes. The river was in a valley, as it had been the first time, and it cut a path through the forest. On either bank, there weren't trees for almost a hundred feet, being instead a clear meadow. She had found that strange the first time, but she had chosen not to question it. She pushed the minuscule detail aside and scanned the treeline.

Everything was the same. Well, except for the pack of about eight wolves watching her from the safety of the treeline. She almost missed them, they were hidden quite well in the underbrush, but their gray coats stood out, and one of them moved further back into the bush as her gaze trailed over the area. She looked at the group of wolves dispassionately. Their somewhat more intelligent, yet not more intelligent brethren, diamond dogs generally disliked ponies. Especially since the Inquisitor took over. The wild wolves were no different in that regard. But where the diamond dogs were stupid enough to try to attack an alicorn, the wolves weren't. They weren't a threat to her. To Rainbow Dash and Zenith, however, they were. The pack could easily overwhelm the pegasus and unicorn, and because wolves were predators, designed to kill, unlike the three lesser pony subspecies, the pair would be at a disadvantage with that also.

She tilted her head as she watched them, and one of them seemed to back further into the bush it was hiding in, sensing the dangerous alicorn not far from its position. After a few more seconds, Twilight averted her gaze from the curiosity and fear of the pack to scan the horizon. As she expected, there were no pegasi in sight, and the gentle breeze carried the clouds along on their own power, like in the Everfree forest. Unlike the Everfree, however, the weather was less chaotic and more predictable.

Twilight turned back towards the direction she came from and started walking towards the edge of the cliff. As she walked on, the wolves slowly followed her out of curiosity, but they kept their distance. They knew they were no match for the alicorn, who wielded powers beyond their comprehension. The grassy meadow eventually gave way to barren dirt and then hard rock and loose gravel. She stopped a few steps away from the sheer drop off. The sound of the waterfall beside her was almost deafening. The rock below her felt solid enough, so she pressed forwards until she was right on the edge, and gazed at the forest below.

It had to have been a mile high drop from where she was to the river bank. From her vantage point, she could see the clearing where they had arrived, but she could see neither Zenith nor Rainbow, not that she expected to. Still, the view was quite pleasant. She looked up at the sun as it slowly made its way across the sky, right to left from where she was. Her sun. Not anypony else's, but hers. She had been pleasantly surprised that none of the unicorns who had controlled the sun before she took it had tried to take the sun back, not that they stood a chance of succeeding.

She tilted her head back as she heard gravel being kicked around. One of the wolves was slowly approaching her, curiosity plastered over his face. The wolf froze as Twilight looked at it from the corner of her eye. For a second, neither of the moved, then Twilight relented and returned her gaze out across the forest below them. The wolf decided that it was close enough, and didn't want to risk getting any closer. Twilight took a deep breath and spread her wings wide, the action caused the wolf pack to retreat, afraid that Twilight was going to attack them.

After a few seconds, Twilight turned around to make sure she was alone. The wolves had run back to the treeline and were nowhere in sight. She nodded to herself and then turned back to look over the forest. She channeled magic into her horn and prepared a spell. As soon as it was ready, she cast the spell, which encompassed a very large area, nearly the entire forest, extending out from the spot where she stood. Both Zenith and Rainbow immediately felt the effects of the spell, and the sensation of being watched by a predator returned, making them both uneasy.

Twilight quickly went over the information the spell provided her. Her party was not alone in the forest, there were other ponies present, but less than a dozen and spread out over a large area. They weren't a threat, they were innocent ponies, relaxing, walking through the forest, or camping. None of them were anywhere near her or her group. She had chosen the clearing for its isolation and remoteness, but should the need arise, she could easily move them elsewhere. The mountain she was on was a good option to move them if the need arose.

She concentrated further on the spell, and analyzed the information more closely, looking for any discrepancies, or anypony she knew. It took her several minutes to be sure, but nopony in the forest outside of her group was familiar to her. And there were no signs of any danger, though the forest was teeming with wolves and other mostly mundane predators.

After a few more seconds she stepped off the cliff and spread her wings wide, catching the rushing air as she fell towards the river bank. She enjoyed the sensation, perhaps more than she should have. After a few seconds of freefalling, she angled used her wings to slow herself down, and then flew back into the sky. As she flew higher, she looked off in the distance at the approaching storm she had spotted on her flight to the mountain. The dark thunderheads were slowly rolling towards them. It would be at least a day before they arrived, but she would keep an eye on it. Getting caught in the storm wouldn't be fun.

She hovered in the air for a few seconds, then shook her head, and turned to make her way back to the clearing. She slowed as she approached and noticed both Rainbow and Zenith were in the river. She pursed her lips and flew over to the bank and then landed, both Zenith and Rainbow watched her land.

"Twilight! You're back!" Zenith said joyfully as she started to swim over to the shore.

Twilight nodded slowly as she looked over Zenith's wet features. Twilight knew that the water was cold, but she dipped a hoof into it to reaffirm it to herself. "This water is cold, you two should be careful," she chided as a mother would chide her own foal for doing something dangerous.

"She used a spell," Rainbow explained.

Twilight nodded cautiously to herself as she looked at Rainbow. "I... See..." she said slowly. She glanced up at the sun, then looked back at Zenith who had stopped a short distance away from her. She was smiling, almost like she was begging Twilight to join them. Twilight tilted her head as she debated on joining them or not to join them. "I am assuming you two are taking a bath, but for some reason, I doubt that is the case," she said at length. "It is lunch time, we should eat." With a quick spell, she teleported three plates and silverware to herself and held them in her magic, then teleported a generous helping broccoli and carrots onto each plate, and then heated them up with her magic until they were steaming. Both Rainbow and Zenith glanced at each other and shrugged under the water, then made their way to the shore. Both of them shivered as the air hit their wet coats, despite the air being a pleasant temperature, it felt cold because of the water.

Twilight turned around and walked over to the grass and then sat down. Rainbow and Zenith made their way over to her, and she levitated their plates for them until they sat down, one on either side of her. She was slightly irked that neither of them had tried to dry themselves off and that they were leaning against her and getting her wet, but pushed it aside and ignored it as she gave them their plates and silverware. Zenith, sitting to her right, shivered slightly as she took a bite of warm broccoli. Twilight scowled as she draped a wing over her, pressing the filly against her side, and felt how cold she was. "You need to work on your technique," she commented as she draped her other wing over Rainbow, who was just as cold as Zenith. "You're both freezing... If I did not know better, I would say you two slept outside at night on a mountain."

"It's not that bad..." Rainbow said as she subconsciously pressed herself against Twilight's warm body. The pegasus sighed contently internally and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth.

Twilight wanted to groan and hit her head with a hoof, but she ignored the desire to. 'At least Zenith is trying,' she told herself. She levitated a carrot over to herself and put the whole thing into her mouth and started chewing it up. Using her magic to heat it up had softened it considerably, but it wasn't mushy, much to her pleasure. It wasn't long before she found herself growing cold from the two wet ponies pressed up against her side. "I don't think you two should go swimming in that river again with as cold as it is," Twilight said evenly. She could have easily heated it up if they had asked her. At least a portion of it so that they could go swimming, but they both needed time to recover from how cold they were. She did not want them getting sick, it would slow her down, along with putting them both in danger, maybe even put herself in danger.

"Sorry..." Zenith apologized. She shifted her weight and pressed herself closer to Twilight, enjoying the warmth coming from her coat and the feeling of her wing over her body. If she had to describe how it felt in one word, she would have chosen 'safe.' "The spell did what it was supposed to..." she trailed off.

Twilight sighed, "You're both freezing," she said, taking on a softer, more understanding approach. "I will teach you a better spell for that, along with a better technique. Perhaps I will even teach you my technique..." Twilight found a smile tugging at her lip as she said that, and she could almost feel Zenith's excitement. Twilight felt a shiver run down her back as Rainbow shifted and air hit her damp coat. She poured more magic into her horn, then channeled it into the air, where it started to form into a small sphere. The orb slowly grew as more of Twilight's magic flowed into it, and as it grew they started to feel the heat radiating off of it. Once the orb was about the same size as herself, she stopped feeding magic into it and levitated it a little farther up above them. Zenith and Rainbow watched the glowing lavender orb with curiosity, but both of them enjoyed the heat it was producing. "After we are done eating I will set up camp," she paused before adding, "I feel I should inform you that there is a storm approaching. I would not want you to be surprised when it arrives..."

"How big of a storm?" Rainbow asked after she swallowed a bite of broccoli.

"Fairly big," Twilight replied as she bobbed her head. "Though, I would be fine without shelter, you two would need the protection of one." Twilight tilted her head to the side, "Putting up a barrier around the clearing and part of the river would be easiest."

Rainbow turned to look at Twilight, "You still doing okay today?" she asked. Twilight met her gaze and nodded. "Anymore... Bad effects from what he hit you with? You're not sick or anything?"

"Alicorns don't get sick, and we're immune to... Most poisons." Twilight shifted her weight at that. There were only a few poisons that could affect alicorns, and she did not want to discuss those poisons. Of those few, most of them were very deadly to her species. She would need to take precautions against that once Equestria was hers, even with as rare as those poisons were. Even with her superior alicorn physiology, she did not want to put her immortality to the test. She had the power of five alicorns and a skilled unicorn, and while she did not truly know her limits, she did not intend to find out anytime soon.

"Even with the state you're in?" Zenith asked.

Twilight nodded slowly. "Yes..." she said, though both Zenith and Rainbow could hear the unsureness in her voice. Twilight sharply shook her head, "But that is irrelevant. I will recover in time. Hopefully, by the time I have recovered, I will have the spell ready to bring him to me."

"If you don't?" Zenith asked.

"Then I will continue to work on it until I can use the spell without the Elements. If I am unable to make the spell work without the Elements, then I will force the Elements to work for me and me alone," Twilight said firmly.

"What if the Inquisitor finds us?" Rainbow asked as she finished the last of her meal. "And are you sure trying to force the Elements to work for you is a good idea? What if you break them or what if they hurt you?"

"He will not be an issue," Twilight replied bitterly. "So far as the Elements go... I will not damage or destroy them. As much as a threat to me as they are, they are invaluable tools and weapons I can also use. I will just have to be careful about who I trust with them."

"What do you mean, they are a threat to you?" Rainbow asked, and Twilight averted her gaze and looked into her orb. After a minute of silence, Rainbow finally accepted that Twilight was not going to answer that question.

Author's Note

I apologize for the wait time. Tactical writer's block hit me.

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter as much as I did.

Chapter 10

Canterlot was dark and quiet in the dead of night, broken only by streetlamps and guards on patrol. The courtyard of the Canterlot Castle lit up with a flash of lavender light, signaling a teleportation spell. The soldiers, prepared for such an attack immediately rushed to greet the would-be assassins. The soldiers were not prepared to deal with an alicorn. Twilight's lavender barrier flared to life around herself, Rainbow Dash, and Zenith Star, blocking innumerable spell bolts that the guards released in their uncoordinated volley. She didn't even feel the spell impacts against her barrier, and she quickly looked around the courtyard, marking the position of each soldier in her mind, aided by the light of her moon. The soldiers released another volley of spells, lighting up their positions like flares.

Twilight wasn't in the mood to offer mercy. She reared up on her hind legs and then slammed her hooves into the stone, flaring her wings in the process. The minute her hooves connected with the cold marble, a massive shockwave erupted outwards from her barrier, catching even the most prepared soldiers by surprise. The sound, like an explosion, would have awoken anypony within several blocks, not to mention the light which would undoubtedly attract the entire Equestrian Army.

Twilight stepped forwards and her two swords flared to life in front of her, their glow offering the barest hint of illumination, allowing anypony who looked upon her the chance to see her expression. A second later, Rainbow Dash and Zenith stepped forwards with her. They did not hurry as they strode to the castle's mighty doors. They walked patiently and with focus.

A squadron of pegasi soldiers landed to her right, they were quickly dispatched by Zenith Star, the most skilled unicorn warrior to grace Equestria in over two thousand years.

To her left, another squad of pegasi was about to land, but Rainbow Dash was having none of that. Faster than a lightning bolt, she shot off into the air, her enchanted flight suit amplifying her remarkable natural abilities. Her twin hoof blades dug into each pegasus before he could react, bringing them down much quicker than they had planned.

Twilight didn't bat an eye as the soldiers were dispatched, her gaze was focused solely on the enchanted door she was approaching. With but a thought, she ripped it from its hinges and compressed the wood and steel until it was but a single atom, and then exploded it outwards.

Dust filled the air, obscuring their vision. When it cleared, a dozen unicorns opened fire on them. Twilight's magic flared to life, and each unicorn was sent to the floor writhing in pain.

Twilight and her two companions casually walked passed the soldiers and walked to the end of the hallway, where Twilight once more ripped the door off its hinges, revealing the former throne room, and the Inquisitor resting upon Twilight's throne. Her eyes narrowed as the Inquisitor leaned forward and smiled.

"Twilight!" Fluttershy's voice called, "Help us!"

Twilight's focus was broken by Fluttershy's scream of panic, she turned towards the source and her mouth fell open in shock. Fluttershy, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Princess Cadance, her brother, Zenith, Rainbow Dash, her niece, and her parents were all tied up. The flashing red light coming from the pale gray blocks attached to their chest caused her heart to skip a beat.

She looked back to the Inquisitor, who was now holding a sword to Rainbow's throat. He smiled a mouth splitting grin, it unnerved her to her core.

"Twiley, save us!" Shining Armor pleaded.

Twilight ignored them and leaped forwards, swords at the ready.

The Inquisitor stepped to the side, sliding his sword against Rainbow's throat in the process. Rainbow Dash fell to the floor, blood freely flowing from her neck. Twilight lost focus at the sight of her friend writhing in pain, grasping her neck in a futile attempt to stop the blood flow and save her life.

Twilight landed hard on the floor and lost her balance, causing her to fall over.

She rolled onto her back and brought a sword to bare, barely managing to block the Inquisitor's strike before his sword cut into her body.

Twilight lowered her horn and pointed it at his face, and released a spell. The Inquisitor was sent flying through the air, before teleporting behind Twilight and crashing into her as she stood to her hooves.

She felt a warm substance leaking from her body but ignored it as she spun around and slashed at him again, this time managing to glance across his chest and draw blood before cauterizing the cut.

He stepped back and grimaced in pain before teleporting a small block of gray metal with an antenna and big red button on it to himself. He smirked in arrogance, feeling his victory close at hoof.

Twilight jumped forwards, leading with her horn, swords trailing beside her, in an attempt to skew him. He stepped back and pressed the button down with his magic.

A large explosion rocketed the building, sending smoke and debris everywhere. Twilight shook and was forced to spread her hooves apart to keep from losing her balance and falling over. The dull aching rumble of the stone and marble echoed across Canterlot as the castle was put under more stress than it was designed to.

Twilight took a step back on uneasy hooves and coughed as she inhaled the finely powdered stone. She cast a quick spell and searched the room for the Inquisitor. He was nowhere to be found.

She slowly made her way over to where Rainbow Dash lay and felt her heart stutter. She looked over where the rest of her friends had been, and say only a gaping hole in the floor and wall, causing a gaping hole to form in her heart.

She swallowed back the knot growing in her throat and ran over to the hole, hoping and searching for any sign of her friends. Her search was futile. They were dead.

She felt tears forming in the corner of her eyes, and as they fell down her muzzle she heard the sound of hoofsteps coming from behind her.

She turned around, hoping beyond hope that somehow, one of her friends had survived.

The Inquisitor smiled maniacally at her. She felt rage boil over in her whole being and channeled more magic into her horn than she thought possible. It was enough magic to rend space and time, enough magic to destroy galaxies and universes, and ample magic to kill a single unicorn. She flared her wings and ran towards him.

The floor gave out beneath Twilight.

Twilight bolted awake, breathing heavily and feeling wetness on her cheeks. She clenched her teeth as the nightmare haunted her memory, each and every detail. Both Zenith and Rainbow groaned and shifted their weights beneath her wings, stirring awake from the sudden disturbance caused by Twilight jerking awake. Twilight squinted her eyes and stared at a nearby tree, attempting to refocus her thoughts away from the nightmare.

Rainbow groaned and pushed her head up and blinked several times as her vision adjusted. She frowned, seeing Twilight was awake. It took her a few seconds, but eventually she noticed how tense her wings were. She followed her gaze to the tree she was looking at, thinking they were in danger. She couldn't make out anything amiss, save for the alicorn beside her. She squinted her eyes and doubled her effort to see what Twilight saw, but to no avail. Reluctantly, she turned towards the alicorn, "Twilight? What's wrong?"

Twilight jerked her head towards her, startled, not knowing she had awoken her. Rainbow felt uncomfortable meeting her eyes, she looked more afraid than she had seen her in the past two weeks. There was also a hint of something else she couldn't quite place, an emotion or feeling she didn't recognize. After a few seconds, Twilight seemed to calm down and she closed her eyed and bowed her head. "I'm..." Twilight's voice came out breaking up from emotional distress, catching Rainbow by surprise. She took a second to compose herself and swallowed before trying again, "I'm fine." she said evenly.

Rainbow frowned. "No, you're not. What's wrong?"

Twilight opened her mouth to say something but promptly closed it. For a few seconds, she just watched Rainbow watching her. She was a little distracted by Zenith shifting closer to her, but she didn't feel awake. After a few seconds for Zenith to fall back asleep, she spoke again, "Just a nightmare," she answered.

Rainbow looked at her solemnly. "Do you want to talk about it?"

Twilight looked back at the tree she had been looking at and sighed. "No, I don't. I shouldn't even have to deal with Nightmares, I have Princess Luna's magic..." She squinted and felt a shiver run down her spine, 'Though, she was corrupted for a period of time... And she dealt with the Tantibus.' She forced the thought aside. "All of you were there." She turned her head back to Rainbow. "I shouldn't say anything. It could put all of you and myself at risk."

"Oh come on, Twilight!" Rainbow groaned. She sighed and met Twilight's gaze, "You can trust us. You can trust me, I don't care how screwed up my mind is, I'm not going to hurt you again."

Twilight snorted, looked away and shook her head. "If only it was that simple..." she trailed off gravely. She looked back to Rainbow and pulled her closer with her wing, "Go back to sleep," she chided.

"I'll go back to sleep after you tell me what happened," Rainbow grumbled.

Twilight sighed in defeat, not wanting to argue or fight at the moment, "Fine. We, you, Zenith and myself that is, were launching our assault against the Inquisitor. When we arrived, the soldiers surrounded us, I killed them all easily enough. We made our way into the castle, you and Zenith both took out a squadron of pegasi by yourselves-"

"That must've been impressive to watch," Rainbow said absently.

Twilight didn't immediately respond. "I was preoccupied with reaching the castle... You... both of you... you were nothing more than weapons then..." she trailed off and shook her head. " I killed another group to get inside, and then we were in the throne room. They were... All of them, they were tied up together by the wall. All of them..."

Rainbow frowned, "All of who?"

Twilight ignored her. "And then Fluttershy cried out for me to help her. To save them... I ignored her pleas, and then I ignored my brother's pleas." Twilight frowned, "He, the Inquisitor, was standing in front of Celestia's throne, holding a sword to your throat. I... charged at him. He sidestepped and killed you in one motion. We fought, and then he detonated explosives that were on them..."

Rainbow grimaced and forced herself not to think about Twilight's dream too much, or what details she might have left out. "You okay?"

Twilight snorted and waited a few seconds before answering, "I don't know." She shifted her weight. "Not really. But I've not been okay for years, so it doesn't matter," Twilight said absently. She shook her head and took a deep breath before exhaling. "It hurt. In the dream, seeing you all die. I... don't want that. At one point, I did. Or at least I thought I did..." Rainbow felt a shiver run down her spine, despite being warm and well insulated from the chill of the night air. "But... I want everypony to be happy, not afraid of me."

"You're still worried about ruling Equestria, aren't you?"

Twilight bobbed her head from side to side. "It's... I don't know how to explain it. I almost feel like I have a personality disorder," she snorted in disgust. 'Which... may be accurate...' She realized with a frown. Thinking back on her life, especially the past three years and what had happened, she couldn't help but wonder. "As much as I want everypony to be safe and happy, as much as I want to be as good of a pony, as good of a leader as Celestia was... Part of me doesn't want that. That part wants revenge. The Inquisitor, Equestria," she met Rainbow's gaze, "each of you. That part of me, it's willing to sacrifice anything to win, to kill the Inquisitor. And I don't think it would just stop at killing him, either."

Rainbow mulled over what Twilight said for several seconds before speaking again. "Twilight, you never really were the most stable pony around, but you're not going to sacrifice anything to kill him. You've already proved that when fighting him before."

Twilight smiled. "I regret letting him live," she said. "The information gained was pitiful... I wonder how many lives that decision will cost," she said absently. "And then I told Princess Ember that he was going to invade the Dragon Lands..."

Rainbow squinted at her, "You... just need to relax..." she said at length.

"Perhaps," Twilight nodded, "but I can't until he's dead. Relaxing could cost more than I'm willing to pay." They laid in silence for a few seconds, giving Twilight time to think. "Yes, I suppose I am worried about ruling Equestria..."

"Twilight, nopony expects you to be perfect. Princess Celestia wasn't perfect, nor was Princess Luna, they-"

"Princess Celestia-" Twilight snapped. She closed her eyes to regain control of herself. "I used to believe Princess Celestia was perfect. I know they weren't, but they both tried. Equestria was better off under the rule of the princesses than the Inquisitor."

Rainbow nodded, nuzzling Twilight's side in the process. "I don't know if I can agree with you on that, but I know you have it in you to do a better job than all of them."

Twilight smiled at that. She looked up at the dark night sky. Her moon was almost directly overhead. "We should try to go back to sleep," she said.

Rainbow looked up at the moon. "How do you do it?"

"Move the sun and moon?" Twilight asked.

"Yeah..."

"It doesn't take much effort or concentration. I can literally do it in my sleep, just like the princesses," she explained. "Princess Celestia's special talent was moving the sun, and Princess Luna's was moving the moon. My special talent is magic, and Cadance's..." she frowned. "I have their magic and their special talents too. I can move the sun and moon with as much ease as Celestia and Luna, and with my own talent being magic, it's almost effortless."

"You have their talents too?" Rainbow asked. Twilight nodded absently. Rainbow tilted her head over Twilight's wing and looked at her flank. She couldn't see Twilight's cutie mark, but she remembered what her flank had looked like earlier. She didn't have their cutie marks, just her own. She looked back at Twilight, who was still watching her moon. "You don't have their cutie marks?"

"It's..." Twilight looked down at the blanket they laid on, "complicated." Rainbow Dash frowned wryly. She pursed her lips, "The best example I can give you to help explain it is when Tirek took everypony's magic, they lost their cutie marks, but he didn't gain them... That probably doesn't help, though, does it?"

Rainbow shook her head. "Not really."

Twilight sighed and shook her head sadly. "We should try to get back to sleep... There's still several hours before I have to get up... and I don't exactly want to stay up all night in my..." she trailed off, searching for the right word, "condition."

"Just... try to relax a little, alright Twilight?"

Twilight laid her head down on her hooves and pulled Zenith and Rainbow closer to herself with her wings. "It may surprise you, but I am enjoying this somewhat."

Twilight looked in the direction of her sun that was breaking the horizon. She couldn't watch it rise for the trees, but she could see the effects of it as it flew higher into the sky, shading the sky with rich reds, pinks, and oranges. Her mane and tail were already back to normal, having set the moon on its journey across the night sky of the other side of the planet. She sat in silence as the sun slowly made its way further into the sky. Eventually, the singing of birds broke the silence, and she smiled at the beautiful chirps and songs of the small birds that made their home in the forest.

'Fluttershy would love it here...' she found her expression strained with the thought. She stood up from sitting on the grass and briefly looked over the nearby river bank, eyes glazing over the coarse sand which looked almost soft in the gently light of her morning sun. She pushed the thought aside and turned around. She looked over the still-sleeping forms of Rainbow and Zenith, still covered with the blanket she had put over them to keep the chill of the morning air away from them. She watched them for a few seconds and let her mind wonder.

With a shake of her head, she turned around to face her rising sun and teleported the Elements of Harmony to herself. She held each gem still in her magic for several seconds as she looked over them. She was surprised how little Princess Celestia actually knew about the Elements of Harmony, and she was disappointed by it. Princess Celestia had used the Elements twice before, once with her sister, Princess Luna, to defeat Discord, and once to banish her sister to the moon. She shivered at the memory.

And then there was her former friends and herself. Together they had wielded the Elements several times, faced down insurmountable odds, and won each time. She found it curious, how the Elements were stronger with more bearers than with a single bearer. Princess Celestia hadn't been able to purify Princess Luna with the Elements, only banish her. Her five friends and herself managed to accomplish what Celestia had not.

Her eyes glazed off as she went over the memory of their triumph against the fallen alicorn. It had been easy. Nightmare Moon's insanity made her weak and vulnerable. In one of the realities she entered when fighting Starlight Glimmer, Nightmare Moon had won. At the time, she ran to escape and set things right. Staying to fight wouldn't have ended well, she didn't have the power to match Nightmare Moon then. She did now. But now there was a different threat, one more dangerous than the insane alicorn Nightmare Moon.

Her expression hardened as she refocused on the present. 'You will pay for what you did, Inquisitor.' She would make him pay dearly, with his life. It still wouldn't atone for his sins, and her judgement upon him would be harsh. It was only a matter of time, and her only question was what she was willing to sacrifice to get the justice she demanded and revenge she would take. She glanced back at the two sleeping mares and held her gaze on them for a few seconds before looking back at the Elements of Harmony.

She turned the gems over in her magic and scrutinized them with her magic and eyes. While looking over the Element of Magic, her former element, she thought back to the feeling of power she felt when using it. It easily outmatched anything she had experienced before or after. The power felt so pure and right, too. It wasn't the kind of power that had a corrupting influence on somepony, but the kind that made them want to be the best they could be. Still, it was a good thing not just anypony could use the Elements. If the wrong pony got her hooves on it and used them with malicious intent, it would be disastrous. The Elements' power might purify the pony wielding them, or kill them, or perhaps do her bidding.

She tilted her head to the side and looked at the crystals quizzically. "Will you work for me?" she quietly asked. "Or are you against me?" She didn't know the answer, but she did know how to find out. However, in her current state, she wasn't in a hurry to find out. "Will you help me, or will you try to kill me?" She doubted the Elements would hurt her, but she knew in the back of her mind they might not like her now, so there was a chance they might try to hurt her. She knew they could be used against her if someone managed to acquire them and wanted to use them against her, but the Elements would have to accept that pony as their bearer.

She sat down on her haunches and eyed over the Elements. "It wouldn't be the first time I've been betrayed..." she said evenly. She glanced back at Rainbow. The once proud, arrogant, daredevil pegasus that had been loyal to a fault had changed a lot in three years, and so had she. Equestria had changed a lot too. Her gaze slowly trailed away from Rainbow Dash and back to the Elements, "And I'm sure it won't be the last time..." She shook her head and snorted. "And here I am, talking to myself. Or maybe inanimate objects. I don't know." She shook her head again and sighed, "I guess insanity runs in my family, doesn't it? Or maybe it comes with the position. Carrying the power of five alicorns for several years might not have been the best idea, especially considering my age... And that's not even factoring in I was unstable before, and that Princess Luna went insane... And now I carry her magic..." She took a deep breath and then exhaled, "I'm going to have an interesting life, aren't I?" She teleported the Elements of Harmony back into her pocket dimension and sat down on her haunches.

She sat there in silence, broken only by the chirping of birds and babbling of the river, watching the treeline. The trees swayed slightly in the cool, gentle breeze that flowed through the forest. The sky slowly grew brighter, and the darkness was replaced by more pinks and oranges until the colors were burnt away by the early morning light as she pushed the sun further above the horizon. She found herself lost in her thoughts, and was surprised when Zenith sat down beside her. "You seem preoccupied," Zenith stated.

"Good morning to you, too," Twilight replied dryly.

Zenith tilted her head to look at her and smiled softly. "It's beautiful, you know," Twilight looked at her curiously. "The sunrise," she clarified. Twilight smiled a little and looked above the trees. "Even if you can't see it that well from here, it's still beautiful."

"Yes..." Twilight nodded in agreement. "I used to watch the sunrise when I was a little filly. When I was Princess Celestia's most faithful student. Over a decade ago..." She paused and her face scrunched up. "Time..." she trailed off and looked at Zenith, "has a way of getting away from you..." she shook her head and looked back towards her rising sun. "I was younger than you are now when Celestia took me on as her student. I was ten, actually. I can remember watching the sun rise from my tower in the castle. Canterlot Castle, that is. I always enjoyed it, and I found it comforting knowing Princess Celestia, my mentor, was the one doing it. I never imagined I would do it myself, and eight years later I did. Five years later, and the sun is mine..." She shook her head. "Perhaps one day..." she trailed off. "Years ago, I never would have admitted it, but she was like a mother to me. My own biological mother was still around, of course, but I was around Princess Celestia quite a bit too. It's... strange. In retrospect, I wasn't all that close with her, and she wasn't that much of a mother figure, but I just... felt close to her. Not that I was comfortable around her..." She smiled at a memory.

"Thank you for teaching me magic, Twilight," Zenith said. Twilight nodded. "I'm sorry that I'm not that good..."

Twilight sighed and turned to face her, "You have great potential, Zenith. Maybe you won't be the next Starswirl the Bearded, or the next Twilight Sparkle, but you have the potential to be a great unicorn. I can feel it in you." Zenith blushed lightly at her compliment and looked away. Twilight opened her mouth to say something but closed it before she did. She frowned and pursed her lips. After a few seconds, she powered up her horn and teleported the Element of Magic to herself and held it in her magic in front of her. She looked away from the gem and looked over Zenith with curiosity.

She levitated the gem closer to Zenith, "Take this," she said.

Zenith quickly turned back to her and frowned at the gem. "Isn't that..."

Twilight nodded quickly, "Yes, it is the Element of Magic. My Element."

Zenith looked cautiously at the gem as she gently took it in her magic and Twilight released it from her own magic. She looked over the six pointed star shaped pink crystal curiously. "What am I supposed to do with this..?"

"You know what it is. You know what it's for. Use it," Twilight said simply.

Zenith looked at Twilight. "How am I supposed to use it? Don't I need the other five and... five more bearers?"

"I have no idea," Twilight said absently. "That gem was part of my crown once. I never tried to use it on its own, so I cannot say."

Zenith looked at her blankly. "You were its bearer, and you don't know how it's supposed to work?"

Twilight looked back at her sun. "Oh... I have a general idea of how it works..."

Zenith looked over the crystal again. "I think it would be best if you keep it, Twilight." She levitated it back to Twilight, who sighed but took the gem in her magic and teleported it away.

"Perhaps it is for the best..." Twilight reluctantly agreed. The pair sat in silence again for several minutes, and she found her mind wandering back to her earlier thoughts, and thoughts of her nightmare. She shivered, thinking about it. She took a deep breath and turned to Zenith, "Am I..." she exhaled. Zenith looked at her, patiently awaiting her question. "Are you still afraid of me?" she finally asked.

Zenith shook her head, but there was a hesitation to it. Twilight grimaced. "Not... well... A little. I know you don't want to hurt me, but I also know what you're capable of, Twilight, and that scares me." Zenith paused and shifted her weight. "Those orbs you make, they're miniature stars, aren't they?"

Twilight swallowed and took a deep breath before hesitantly responding, "No..." she said at length. Zenith looked at her with an expression that made it clear she didn't believe what Twilight said. "It's complicated and beyond your abilities... or the abilities of anypony alive with the exception of myself and possibly... the Inquisitor..." She frowned. "Even with chaos magic, I doubt he can do what I can do..." Twilight frowned, stood up, and spread her wings wide before Zenith could respond to her. "I have matters to attend to. Remain here with Rainbow Dash. I will be back in a few hours," she rambled off quickly, hoping Zenith understood what she said. She beat her wings and flew into the air before casting a teleportation spell, leaving a confused Zenith Star and sleeping Rainbow Dash behind.

Author's Note

Once more I find myself thinking this needs a drama tag...

Chapter 11

Twilight stared into the center of the Element of Magic. She still felt the same draw to it, even after not having held it for years, even having used it only a few times. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She could almost feel the power of the Element coursing through her veins as it had so many years ago. She opened her eyes and sighed. "Am I going to have to find a new bearer for you?" she asked aloud. The thought was almost painful. The Element of magic was her Element, not anypony else's.

The Element didn't react in any way. Silence filled the air, broken only by the rushing water as it fell over the waterfall. She lowered the Element of Magic and looked out across the forest. Her gaze was directed towards the clearing Rainbow Dash and Zenith occupied. "If I have to find new bearers for you, I will. Celestia alone couldn't access your full power. I know I'm not Celestia... I'm not as..." she trailed off. She wanted to say 'perfect,' but Celestia hadn't been perfect. She had tried to be perfect, or at least she tried to be the best she could be for Equestria. She looked down at the Element and trailed over its sharp outline. "I have issues. Perhaps I could wield all of you to your full potential. Or maybe I could only wield part of your power, and just one time like Celestia had? Or maybe I cannot wield a single Element now?"

She knew the Element of Magic wasn't sentient, but she felt better talking to it. It just reminded her of Princess Celestia. Celestia had once wielded three of the Elements of Harmony, including the Element of Magic. The thought turned bitter. "I miss them," she said simply. She stood up and carefully walked away from the rocky outcropping. She teleported the other five Elements to herself and held them in her magic. She wanted so badly to use them. To bring the Inquisitor to her, and then to slay him.

The Elements were far more powerful than her, and that scared her. That fear kept her from trying. As comforting as the Elements were to her, she still had Luna's memories. Luna had been on the receiving end of the Elements twice. She understood why Luna never talked about what it felt like. She shifted her weight and held the Element of Magic close to her, then tentatively attempted to access the gem's power. She closed her eyes.

She could feel it in there, just waiting for her- or somepony- to take it and use it. It was almost overwhelming. The last time she used the Elements she was an alicorn, but she didn't know what she now knew. She still couldn't tell if the Element's power was infinite. It scared her, not knowing how much power the Elements actually had. As much as the Elements could be tools for her, if somepony was able to use them against her, it would be over. Just like that. She knew she couldn't defend against the Elements even with all of her power. She didn't understand how Discord wasn't afraid at least a little when he faced them the second time. Even if he knew that it wouldn't work, she thought he should have been afraid. He must not have known how powerful they truly were, or perhaps he did but didn't care. She could outmatch Discord now, and the Elements outmatched her.

She pushed the thought aside. She was in control. Complete control. She wasn't going to attempt to use the Elements, just analyze them. She focused on scanning the Element of Magic. Her own Element had been the obvious choice, and she liked to think she understood it better than anypony, with the exception of Princess Celestia. She found herself wondering if she actually knew more about the Elements than Celestia.

It wouldn't have surprised her.

She pushed the thought aside and refocused on her task.

Twilight glided through the air until she gently landed on the ground. Rainbow Dash and Zenith approached her, happy to see her again. "I see you're finally back!" Zenith chirped.

Twilight nodded. "I figured out the spell," she said simply.

"That quickly?" Rainbow asked, surprised. She knew Twilight was a quick learner, and that Twilight was one of the smartest ponies alive. It still surprised her, Twilight herself said it might take her a while to recreate the spell.

Twilight nodded, "It was simpler than I anticipated... Now I'm left with the decision... Do I use it now, or do I wait to recover?"

Zenith and Rainbow exchanged a glance. "Maybe you should wait?" Rainbow suggested. Zenith vigorously nodded in agreement.

Twilight mulled over her predicament. "The longer I wait, the more I will recover, but the greater chance of something bad happening... Teleporting him here will take him by surprise, and I should be able to kill him before he realizes what's happening..."

"Assuming the Inquisitor is actually Discord," Rainbow reminded.

Twilight looked at her evenly but nodded in agreement. After a few seconds, she looked away, "Honestly, I'm surprised I was able to get the Elements at all. I expected the Inquisitor to have them..." she shook her head. "Arrogance... But... I suppose I'm arrogant also." She shook her head and pushed the question away.

"So what's the plan, then?" Zenith asked eagerly.

Twilight mulled over the question for a few seconds. "There is no chance that he knows I will be able to teleport him to myself. Because of this, I need to prepare for him waiting on me to teleport him to my location."

Rainbow and Zenith looked at her with frowns. Rainbow slowly shook her head, "That doesn't..."

"Make sense?" Twilight asked. Rainbow tentatively nodded. "Of course not. We're talking about Discord. I do not believe he would ignore the possibility of me figuring out how to teleport him to my location, which means he probably has a plan in case that happens." Twilight paused to think. Over the next few seconds, she found her gaze drawn to the grass beneath her hooves. "Perhaps it would be best if both of you were a very long ways away from me when I teleport him." She looked up and looked at both of them in turn. "It will be safer for you, especially if I decide... or am forced... to use my full force of my magic."

"No," Rainbow said firmly. "I'm not leaving you to fight him alone." She walked over to Twilight and faced her with as much determination as she could. "I owe it to you to stay with you."

Twilight grimaced, "Rainbow Dash, with the manipulation your mind has undergone-"

"I won't betray you."

Twilight clenched her jaw, "Rainbow Dash, you cannot know that."

Rainbow groaned and flared out her wings before letting them hang loosely at her sides. "You need to trust me, Twilight. I am sorry that I betrayed you. I am sorry that I swore to protect the Inquisitor and Equestria from you. I am sorry that you were alone for three years. Let me make it up to you!" Twilight thought it over but didn't reply. "Please, Twilight. Trust me, I promise I will not hurt you, ever again."

"If you don't trust us, or if you don't want our help, why do you keep us around?" Zenith asked as she walked over to her.

Twilight blinked and looked at Zenith. She had a point. She kept them around to help her. To both protect her and so she could protect them. Both of them were important, not just to her, but she still felt Rainbow was important to Equestria. She knew she would need them after Equestria was hers. Having ponies she could trust-

She did trust them. As much as she tried to convince herself she didn't, she did trust them. She swallowed, knowing it could come back to bite her in the flank. She took a deep breath and then exhaled. She didn't care. She wanted to protect them. She also needed them to protect her. The whole reason the Royal Guard existed under Princess Celestia's rule was because not all threats were visible. Alicorns, while very powerful and possessing unrivaled magic and strength, could still be easily taken down if the attacker had the element of surprise. She still wondered why Princess Celestia and Luna let the Inquisitor have them killed. They could have prevented it, but they didn't. She shook the thought aside. She went through the emotions she felt, wondering if any of them were influencing her decision. She felt calm, at ease, like she was safe. She smiled, "I trust you," she said.

Rainbow closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She felt relief, hearing Twilight say she trusted her. She wasn't going to break that trust ever again. She promised Twilight and herself not to break it. "Let us help you," she said.

Twilight slowly nodded. "I have enough magic and physical strength to destroy entire nations, but I'm not..." she pursed her lips, unsure of the best way to put it. "I can only do so much at a time, I'm still a pony. I cannot be everywhere at once, I cannot defend myself all the time, I cannot see every threat every second of every day." She paused before summarizing, "I still have vulnerabilities and I can still be killed. Granted, it would be very hard, but it can be done. Right now, for example, because my regeneration is... diminished... it would be easier than say... in another three years. I'm still growing, perhaps not physically, but my magic is continuing to increase. Even then, I'll still be vulnerable."

Twilight took a deep breath, "I do need you, even if it's just to protect me. I will admit, however, I do desire to protect both of you too. I do not wish harm to come to either of you." Her head fell to the side in thought, "I think that's Celestia's influence..."

"I think it's just you," Zenith said as she walked over to Twilight and hugged her. It felt awkward because of how tall the alicorn was, but Twilight quickly bent down and returned the hug with a nuzzle. Zenith's neck tingled at the sensation, feeling her teacher's soft fur rub along her neck. It was comforting, it made her think of the kind of nuzzle a mother would give their foal. She pushed the thought aside, it was silly, Twilight wasn't a mother, and they weren't related.

After a few seconds, Twilight pulled back, followed shortly by Zenith. Twilight looked to Rainbow Dash, "I do trust you, and... I should..." she sighed. "Last night, you said that I wasn't the most stable of ponies, you're right. I have issues, outside of trust issues. I have not been completely honest with both of you." She looked between them and took a deep breath. "I have told you that I have their power, their magic, and... their talents. But I have more than that, and it has led to... some... interesting... consequences..." She frowned at the memories. "I also possess their memories. Not all of them. But as I grow, I can access more of their memories."

"Wait, you have their memories?" Zenith asked. Rainbow's brow furrowed in thought.

Twilight nodded, "I am carrying six separate sets of memories, some less... potent... than others. My niece... for example..." she swallowed. "She wasn't very old, so she didn't have a lot of memories... Princess Celestia, on the other hoof... She lived for thousands of years. I'm only twenty-three, and when I was given their magic and memories, I was twenty. I was not prepared for that in the slightest, not physically nor mentally, nor emotionally. It's taken a toll on me. On a related note, I also possess Princess Luna's memories. That in itself is..." she bobbed her head. "Well," she snorted, "you know what happened to her."

Rainbow and Zenith both shivered. "You... carry her memories from her time as Nightmare Moon?" Rainbow Dash asked. She felt a tinge of fear at that. She couldn't imagine having to deal with what Twilight had to deal with for three years, and that was without carrying six sets of memories. And one of those sets of memories was corrupted.

Twilight nodded gravely. "It is... not something I wish to talk about. And I ask you say nothing about my carrying six sets of memories to anypony..." she tilted her head away from them, "Promise you will never say anything of this to anypony. If you do, it could put my life at greater risk than before... And... it could put you both at greater risk. If anypony finds out how much I actually care about you, they could use you against me."

Rainbow ruffled her wings, "Twilight, neither of us will say a word of this to anypony. I promise." Zenith nodded vigorously in agreement.

Twilight nodded gravely, "Thank you... I... needed to say that." She felt like a weight had been lifted from her chest. After a few seconds, she frowned, "And as you can see, I seem to have some mental disorder. Just look at my behavior or mood swings..." she trailed off. She looked at Rainbow Dash thoughtfully, "Tomorrow I'll probably wake up and be back to wanting to kill you," she mused.

Rainbow laughed nervously, "I uh... You're... not going to do that... right?"

Twilight nodded absently and sighed sadly. "I do not want that," she replied in a sad and soft voice. "For all I know, the Inquisitor's spell is affecting my mood. I would not be surprised if it was, but even if it is, I do not wish harm to come to either of you."

Zenith frowned, "Isn't there a way that you could check if it is or isn't affecting your mood?"

Twilight internally winced, then nodded exaggeratedly, "Ah. Yes. Well. There is... I... forgot."

"You... forgot?" Rainbow asked incredulously. "How can you-"

Twilight sighed, "Rainbow Dash... You have to remember what I've been through and what I'm still dealing with," she said quickly. Rainbow sighed and looked away from her. Twilight hesitated briefly before walking over to her and hugging her. "I should probably check to see if it is affecting my mind," she said as she pulled back. Rainbow stepped back as she lit her horn, and her body was enveloped in a lavender aura. After a few seconds, the aura and glow surrounding her horn died.

Both Zenith and Rainbow looked at her expectantly. Twilight's eyes darted left and right as she went over the results. Rainbow opened her mouth to speak, but Twilight cut her off. "I'm just that unstable," she answered evenly.

"Twilight, anypony dealing with what you are would be unstable. But, I think you're holding it together better than most ponies would," Rainbow said with a smile. Twilight smiled back at her briefly. "Just remember, we're here for you." Twilight looked away from her and sighed. She let her eyes wander over the tree line across the river.

Twilight looked out across the storm-ravaged valley. Night had fallen, and the dark clouds obscured the light from her moon, blanketing the world in darkness. The crack of thunder from high above echoed through the valley. "What a splendid storm," she commented. She was glad she had a barrier around herself, Zenith, and Rainbow. It would be very unpleasant and dangerous without it, standing as close to the cliff as the three of them were. Zenith was in the most danger, being unable to fly. If she slipped and fell, she would catch her. She still didn't want to risk it. She turned around and walked along the river bank. Zenith and Rainbow started walking beside her.

The stream was swelling from the torrential downpour, and Twilight found herself surprised at how much she enjoyed listening to the rushing river and rain. It was almost relaxing. "So... are you going to tell us why you brought us up here?" Zenith asked.

Twilight paused and looked back at her, "I will," she said simply. She looked forwards again and started walking. A few seconds later, Twilight came to a stop again, then released her barrier. Immediately they were buffeted by wind and rain. "It's amazing how quickly the wild weather can change..." she mused. "When I was up here this morning, it was a beautiful day. Now? Not so much."

Rainbow closed her eyes as the rain fell from the clouds and drenched her body. It had been far too long since she last enjoyed a good rainstorm, and she had forgotten how nice it felt. She was in her element in the sky, even more so when it was storming. The darkness, on the other hoof... It was almost blinding. As much as she hated to admit it, her eyesight wasn't as good as it had been years ago. It seemed even more pronounced recently, which felt odd, wrong even. She didn't like the idea of being so close to the edge of the cliff in a storm when it was night. One wrong step, and if she were to hit her head, it could knock her unconscious. She trusted Twilight, though. She trusted her with her life. Besides, they were walking away from the cliff.

Zenith fought back a shiver. She never did like the cold, nor the rain. Being a light scout meant she had dealt with some bad weather before, but it wasn't often. And she hadn't had the rigorous discipline of the Equestrian Army for a few weeks. It showed. It still felt colder than normal storms, though, and the cold rain bit into her coat. "It's freezing..."

Twilight looked at Zenith and nodded. She wasn't feeling the effects of the cold storm. At least not yet, but she was sure she would before the night was over. "It's an intense system," she explained, "no pegasi made it, therefore it is uncontrolled. Altitude also contributes to the cold, along with it being night."

Zenith stepped closer to Twilight, seeking shelter. Twilight smiled, it reminded her a little of herself and Princess Celestia. She let the memory run its course before continuing. "Tonight. You two will attempt to defeat me."

"What!?" they both exclaimed at the same time.

Twilight slid her wing across Zenith's back as she stepped forwards and then turned to face them. She smiled genuinely, "I want to see what you're capable of. I need you two to be capable of working together. Go all out on me, do not hold back."

Zenith and Rainbow exchanged a weary look. "Uh... Twilight... You do realize we're not going to be able to... You know... win... Right?"

Twilight bobbed her head, "That is beside the point, I want to see how well you two work together. However, I will handicap myself so you have a chance. Do you want to face me as a unicorn, pegasus, or an earth pony?" She paused before adding, "I won't use any of my alicorn attributes. No alicorn magic, no alicorn agility, no alicorn strength."

"Uh..." Rainbow looked at Zenith. "What do you think? I mean... the obvious choice is earth pony but..."

Zenith frowned, "She is physically weaker right now, but alicorns are still really strong... And even if she doesn't use her alicorn strength..."

Rainbow shifted her weight and shook water from her wings. She had the feeling she was going to end up using her wings a lot, no matter what race they chose. "Um... pegasus?" she asked Zenith.

Zenith mulled it over in her mind. Rainbow could practically see her thinking about the scenario and how it went. "I don't know... With the storm as potent as it is, she could use that to her advantage..."

"I could probably outfly her and catch her if she were a pegasus..." Rainbow trailed off. Could she actually do that? She knew she was fast. Although, she wasn't sure if she was as fast as she was three years ago. She was twenty-seven now. She was still technically in her prime, but she didn't have the same youth on her side as back when Twilight first ascended. Twilight wasn't a natural born pegasus or alicorn, so Rainbow Dash had the advantage there.

"Unicorn?" Zenith suggested. Both of them shivered at that thought. Leaving Twilight as a unicorn, regardless of whether or not she actually used her alicorn magic, was a scary thought to both of them. "Maybe that's not such a good idea..."

"Yeah..." Rainbow agreed. Both of them thought for a few seconds, "So... pegasus or earth pony..?"

Zenith took a deep breath. The cold air was almost refreshing. "If she's a pegasus, she can fly. If she flies into the storm, I can't help you with her then, and if she beats you, well..."

Rainbow grimaced at that. She wasn't sure exactly what Twilight would do to Zenith or herself to win, but it didn't sound pleasant. She wouldn't hurt them too bad, though, she trusted her. "Earth pony then?"

Zenith mulled it over briefly. She grimaced and tentatively nodded, "I think that's all we can really handle..." she said gravely.

Rainbow nodded uneasily and turned to face Twilight, who was waiting patiently. She was smiling. Rainbow knew the smile wasn't meant to be unnerving, but from where she stood, it unnerved her. Once more, she couldn't help but see her as a predator. "Earth... pony?"

Twilight nodded her head, "Very well," she said. "I will use neither my wings, nor my magic, nor superior strength." Her horn glowed brighter, and then there was a flash of light. Rainbow Dash rubbed her eyes with the backs of her hoof, to keep any dirt of rocks on her hooves from coming into contact with her eyes. When her vision righted itself, Twilight stood where she was standing before, but she looked more familiar. She looked three years younger, but she was still an alicorn. She lacked the growth she had experienced in the previous three years.

Twilight looked at the two of them in turn. Her gaze settled on Rainbow Dash, who she assumed would likely rush her. She knew she needed to be careful, not just on the defensive, but on the offensive as well. She did not wish to injure either of them. She might not be using her magic or her ability to fly, but she was still stronger than both of them combined. "Ready?" she asked.

Rainbow and Zenith exchanged a worried look, then looked back to Twilight and hesitantly nodded. Twilight braced herself. To her surprise, neither of them immediately engaged her. She couldn't blame them, they knew what she was capable of, but that fear caused her a pang of guilt, and it would hamper their ability to fight her. "Don't be afraid," she said, attempting to comfort them. They looked at each other wryly before looking back at Twilight.

Rainbow spread her wings out and watched Twilight intently, searching for any signs of impending attack.

Zenith lit her horn and lowered it to point at Twilight. Twilight smiled and nodded. Zenith bit her lip and launched her spell towards Twilight.

Twilight jumped to the left, dodging the spell. Rainbow jumped at Twilight. Zenith prepared another spell and locked on to Twilight again. Twilight braced herself for Rainbow's impact. Rainbow grunted as she almost tackled Twilight to the ground. Twilight was surprised by the force in the tackle, but the lack of follow through disappointed her. Zenith released her spell. Twilight reached a hoof around Rainbow's neck and then pulled her closer to herself and pushed her into the path of the spell. Rainbow bit her lip as a familiar tingling sensation spread throughout her chest.

Zenith winced, "Sorry!"

Twilight sighed and sat down on her haunches, letting Rainbow rest against her. Twilight frowned at her, "Almost," she said. "Put your heart into it. You have to mean it. Remember to follow through."

"I don't want to hurt you," Rainbow replied with a sheepish smile.

"Don't worry about that," Twilight said, "I can heal myself." She stood back up and cast a spell to remove the numbness from Rainbow. Rainbow tentatively wiggled her wing and legs to make sure they were fine, then she walked back over to Zenith. "Let's try this again, I will start farther back from you, giving you a greater advantage."

Twilight came to a stop about twice as far away from them as she had been the first time, then turned around. Zenith once more lit her horn and Rainbow readied her wings.

Zenith fired her spell. Twilight jumped to the right. Rainbow took off into the air. Zenith prepared another spell and locked on to Twilight again. Twilight charged at Zenith. Zenith lost focus. Rainbow flew towards Twilight, hooves outstretched. Zenith jumped out of the way from Twilight, who slid to a stop. Rainbow hit Twilight and pinned her to the ground.

For all of one second. Twilight jumped up, easily throwing Rainbow off of her. The pegasus didn't have time to right herself, and she found herself pinned to the ground by Twilight, who had a hoof painfully pressed against her wing. Zenith stood back up and blinked in surprise. Rainbow struggled for a few seconds until Twilight put more force on her wing. Twilight turned her attention to Zenith, "Your hesitation just cost her life," she said blankly. She put a little more pressure into her hoof and then let Rainbow go. Twilight helped Rainbow up, "And you..." She sighed.

"I can understand Zenith not being very good at this, but Rainbow... That's just..." she shook her head. "You're supposed to be the most talented flier in Equestria, a living legend." Rainbow met Twilight's gaze with a half-glare as she massaged her wing. Twilight sighed and touched her horn to Rainbow's wing and cast a spell. The pain immediately left, and Rainbow tentatively lowered her hoof back to the ground.

"You two need to work together. If you had pinned me and Zenith used her spell against me, you would have had me," Twilight said.

Rainbow mumbled something under her breath and walked back over to Zenith. They stood with the stream directly behind them and facing the forest. Rainbow met Twilight's gaze and waited.

Zenith powered up her horn and prepared a spell. Twilight glanced at Zenith. Rainbow took off towards her. Twilight spared Rainbow a glance and jumped forwards before charging at Zenith. Zenith's heart beat faster. She released her spell, Twilight jumped over it. Zenith walked to the right and prepared another spell as Twilight ran through the area she previously stood.

Twilight found herself stumbling into the raging river, and losing speed. She turned around and dived under the water to avoid Zenith's spell. She broke the surface and fought the violent water until she stepped onto the bank. She charged at Zenith, dodging a spell in the process.

Rainbow Dash hit her left side, throwing her off course. They tumbled onto the bank of the river, Rainbow smugly staring down at Twilight. "So-"

With one swift move, Twilight switched positions with Rainbow and had her hooves pinned against her chest, and her arm pressed against her throat. Rainbow squeaked in surprise and smiled nervously. Twilight turned to look at Zenith. She frowned, she wasn't there. She quickly rolled to her left, releasing Rainbow in the process, avoiding Zenith's stun spell. "Not bad," Twilight commented as she stood up. She extended a wing to help Rainbow up. Rainbow brushed herself off with her wings, but only managed in smearing dirt and mud over her back. Twilight looked around and gauged their position, "We should head back to the starting point... I do not want you to fall off the cliff, Zenith." Zenith shifted her weight at that.

The trio made their way back towards the point where they started and then separated again. Twilight met Zenith's gaze, with a predatory smile, unnerving the unicorn. She forced the unease away and prepared her spell. She glanced at Rainbow Dash, who was staring down Twilight, and then looked back at Twilight and launched her spell.

Twilight slid to her left and then charged at her. Rainbow once more took to the sky. Twilight split her focus, partially watching Rainbow Dash and partially watching Zenith. Zenith jumped out of her way, and Rainbow flew towards her from behind her. She spun around and met Rainbow head on, catching her by surprise. Rainbow found herself pinned on the ground by Twilight before she knew what happened. She had the feeling she was going to be sore in the morning. Twilight stood up and helped her up again.

Two hours later all three of them were sore, tired, and cold. Twilight wrapped her wings around the two mares sitting next to her and expanded her barrier to encompass a much larger area, then tied the barrier to the spot where she was and put enough magic into it to last a few days. She intently focused her magic to a point in the air and created a barrier around a larger area of the air. She compressed it and heated it until it was barely the size of her head. She poured more magic into the air as she heated it and compressed it. Eventually, the orb glowed brightly and radiated soothing warmth, helping to banish the chill from their bodies.

Twilight suppressed a yawn. "I think it would be beneficial to take a bath tonight, rather than sleeping like this all night," she said.

Neither Zenith nor Rainbow objected to the idea, but neither of them wanted to submerse themselves in the freezing water of the stream. "Not with it being this cold," Zenith said sharply.

Twilight giggled and tentatively retracted her wings from around the two ponies sheltered beneath them, drawing shivers from both of them as the cold air hit their coats. Both of them looked at her pleadingly. "I will heat it up," she said. She stood up and calmly walked over to the section of the river that was inside of her barrier. A few quick spells later, and the water was warm, almost oppressively so. Rainbow stood up, followed shortly by Zenith. They walked over to Twilight as she slid into the water, her ethereal mane and tail almost appearing to become one with the dark water. The sight was almost mesmerizing. Twilight closed her eyes and let herself sink below the water.

Rainbow tentatively put a hoof in the water and sighed contently, then quickly made her way further into the stream. Each time she stepped further in, more of the warm water covered her coat. The heat seeped into her muscles and relaxed them, it felt wonderful to her. She could tolerate the cold, but she didn't like it. She missed the days when she could just nap in the warmth of the sun. She sighed at that, knowing those days were gone, forever banished to years prior when they didn't constantly worry about the next day.

Zenith strode into the water and cooed in delight as she felt the tension melt away. her mind went blank and she sank below the water. A few seconds later, she lifted her head back above the water and looked at Twilight. She had her eyes closed, and she looked relaxed. There was a hint of a smile on her face. She just looked content, not tense, but at ease.

They soaked in the warm water for half an hour before eventually leaving. Twilight dried the water off of all of them with her magic and then teleported a blanket to cover the ground, which had mostly dried from the orb's heat, then laid down in the center, beneath the warm orb hovering in the air. Zenith quickly made her way to Twilight's right side and laid down beside her, laying her head on her hooves. Twilight looked at her and laid her wing on top of her, then pulled her close. "Goodnight, my little pony," she softly whispered into Zenith's ear. Zenith barely heard it, and the only sign that she was still awake was her lips curling up into a smile. In the morning, she wouldn't remember it, but it would comfort her in her dreams.

Rainbow hesitated a few seconds, watching both of them, then joined them. She hated to admit it, but she was exhausted. Whatever the reason was, Twilight, for the most part, focused on taking her down. She figured it was because Zenith had the advantage of being able to engage from a distance, while she had to be in hoof-to-hoof range of Twilight since she was a pegasus. Sometimes Twilight's blows hurt worse than others, and despite Twilight's constant healing, she still felt some dull aches from it. She wasn't going to complain about it, though. Twilight laid a wing across her back and she laid her head down on her hooves. Rainbow turned to Twilight, "Twilight, if you ever need to talk again... just say so, alright?"

Twilight pulled her close with her wing and held her against her firmly for a second before loosening her grip, "I will," she said. "I wish thee well in thy dreams tonight," she said with a smile.

Rainbow smiled and nudged her side, "Hey, I mean it. We're here for you..." Twilight nodded in acknowledgment. Rainbow rested her head against the blanket and closed her eyes, "Goodnight..." she said. In a few minutes, she was fast asleep.

Twilight tilted her head to the right and then to the left, watching both of them as they fell asleep. Years ago, she never would have pictured herself in the position she was now. Her height, as tall as Princess Celestia. Her mane, gracefully flowing, as if it was a cloud of magic. Her large wings, easily able to cover the two sleeping mares beside her. As natural as it felt, a part of her mind still refused to accept it. Years ago she wouldn't be sleeping outside, during a storm, on a plateau, protected only by her own magic. Years ago, she would not have been protecting two of her friends' lives and literally sheltering them beneath her wings. Even just a few months ago, she wouldn't have been able to picture herself in the position she was in. 'Time changes ponies...' She remembered saying that to Rainbow Dash.

Years ago she didn't have the feeling of needing to protect them like she did now. She mulled the feeling over in her mind and let her thoughts freely wonder. No matter how much she pondered it, she couldn't place when she started feeling that way. The obvious answer was a few weeks ago once she wasn't alone, but that didn't account for other feelings she had acquired in the previous three years. Normally she would have brushed it off as just the influence of Princess Celestia, her magic, or her memories, but Zenith's words repeated in her mind, 'I think it's just you.'

She still didn't buy all of the feelings being natural. Both Rainbow and Zenith trusted her, so she would trust them. She would keep a close eye on both of them, to protect them and make sure they would not betray her. She did not want to be betrayed again. If she was, she wasn't sure how she would handle it, or if she would even care. She didn't have a lot left to lose. Two friends, a former friend and a new student. And her former friend's mind was a mess. After the Inquisitor was dead, she would fix Rainbow's mind and deal with the consequences. It would be a good way to put her promises and loyalty to the test.

She pushed the thoughts aside and laid her head down. She would deal with one problem at a time, and for the moment, nothing demanded her immediate attention more than sleep.

Author's Note

Progress! Backstory! I think?

Chapter 12

Zenith's sword nearly shattered from the solid impact of Twilight's blade. Zenith was forced to take a step back as Twilight stepped forwards and put more magic into her blade. Twilight's second blade slid through the air, aiming for her neck. A quick adjustment and movement later, and her own blade was reangled to deflect the blow. Or it would have, had the strain not been too much for her to handle. Her sole blade shattered from the impact, and Twilight's second blade continued unimpaired. The unicorn jumped and yelped as the second blade connected with her neck, sending an electric shock through her body.

Twilight sighed and dispersed her two blades. "Zenith..." She watched the unicorn shift her weight onto three hooves and rub her neck with her spare hoof. "You're better than this. You're more capable than this. You can do this, I know you can," Twilight said meaningfully, displaying her confidence in the young unicorn. Zenith grimaced at her, and Twilight looked back at her the way a mother would look at her own foal for doing something she shouldn't have. Zenith took a deep breath and brushed it aside, then spread her legs out in a defensive stance. Twilight smiled and reforged her twin blades.

Zenith grunted in effort and focused her magic into a single sword. With great effort, the blade flared to life in a similar manner to Twilight's own blade but blue in color. Twilight stepped forward and the dark gray unicorn stepped back. She parried Twilight's thrust, then deflected another strike from Twilight's other blade in a single swift motion. Zenith met Twilight's eyes and the pair watched each other intently. Twilight stepped to the left, causing Zenith to angle her blade to block a strike that never came. At the last second, Twilight propelled herself to the right and jumped at Zenith using her wings. Zenith took a short breath and jumped back, she felt a breeze run through her mane as the blade came within inches of her neck.

Unfortunately, she fell right into Twilight's trap. Twilight pulled her swords back to herself and charged forwards as Zenith hit the ground. She immediately fell into another combat stance and braced herself, then poured more magic into her blade in preparation to defend. Zenith met Twilight's blade time and time again, each strike took a little more out of her than the last, and each time she blocked a strike she felt her blade buckle from the power of Twilight's blade. She felt sweat rolling down her forehead and her breaths were short and quick, never having the time to fully fill her lungs because of Twilight's assault.

Twilight went high with one of her blades and low with the other, intending to bring them down on Zenith like a pair of scissors. Zenith deflected the sword rising towards her chest and stepped out of the way of the blade racing towards her head. She took a deep breath and winced as she stumbled and was rewarded with Twilight's blades hovering inches away from her neck. She groaned and fell onto her back, the soft grass didn't cushion her fall to the hard ground, and she grunted. She was barely able to fight Twilight for half a minute, and the alicorn was holding back. She could tell from how her blades behaved. If she hadn't been holding back, she would have died a hundred times over sparring with her. As it was, each time the blade came into contact with her body, she was rewarded with a painful electric shock. While it wasn't lethal, it was a strong motivation for her to do better, according to Twilight.

Twilight sighed and walked closer to her as she dispersed her twin blades. Zenith watched her, breathing heavily, laying sprawled out on the ground. "You need to work on endurance and conserving your strength..." Twilight mused as she bent down and nudged the unicorn over onto her stomach.

"Yeah, that's actually doable when I'm fighting you," Zenith responded with dry sarcasm.

"You're my student, it's my job to help you improve." She smiled warmly at the unicorn. "If I never challenged you, you'd never improve. Although I could use the method Celestia used with me, and that I used with Starlight..." She grimaced "Although, given the circumstances, I do not believe that method would work well."

Zenith pushed herself up and looked at Twilight quizzically. "And what method was that?"

Twilight took a deep breath and shook her head. "The method of letting your student learn on their own with no intervention, giving them room to grow on their own... Although, Celestia did teach me for several years before using that method..." She squinted and tilted her head to the side. "I don't think that method would work with everypony... Is that even a method?" She shook her head again. "Regardless, I said I would teach you magic, and I am. Besides, given the circumstances I need to keep both of you close at hoof..." she trailed off, looking across ths river and gazing at the treeline.

"You're going to teach me more than just battle magic, right?" Zenith asked cautiously.

Twilight nodded, "After this is over, yes... I have plans for you, Zenith..." she said with a warm smile and a gleam in her eye.

"What about me?" Rainbow asked as she slid off a nearby cloud and glided to the ground. Twilight tilted her head back towards the pegasus as she landed. "Anything particular in mind?"

Twilight bobbed her head. "There is some... Well, there are a few things I'm considering. I will keep you around, I will need ponies I can count on and trust, and both of you fall into that category. For one, I could make you the Captain of the Guard. I'm not sure that would be a good position for you, considering..." she trailed off with a grimace. She took a deep breath and smiled, "But it would give me somepony who I could trust in that position," she chirped. "Another option is as my bodyguard, I-"

"You'd need a bodyguard? You'd want me as your bodyguard?" Rainbow asked incredulously in rapid succession.

Twilight parted her mouth and held it like that for several seconds while she considered it. She slowly nodded, "As I have said, I'm not... unkillable... Or at least, I don't think I am. I do not want to put that to the test. If I die, Equestria..." She shook her head. "I'm willing to trust you with that..."

"You'd trust me with your life?" Rainbow asked still reeling from the shock of hearing Twilight say that. It was a stark contrast from four weeks ago when Twilight admitted to wanting to kill her for revenge.

Twilight looked her over and nodded. "I... would. You represented the Element of Loyalty... you may still, I'm not sure..." 'I probably should investigate that soon...' After a few seconds, she blinked and looked away, then shook her head. "And that's not even considering a few of the more... exotic options..." She shifted her weight.

Both Rainbow and Zenith raised an eyebrow at that. "What uh... do you mean by exotic options... exactly?" Rainbow tentatively asked as she shifted her weight on her hooves.

"Well..." Twilight trailed off as she ran through some of her memories, along with the memories she carried. "For one, I have Celestia's memories. It's possible that in time I would figure out how she managed to turn me into an alicorn, and I could replicate the process in you..."

Rainbow blinked twice at hearing that. She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. "Did you jus... what?" she asked.

Twilight looked back at her with an even expression. "Celestia is more... ceremonial than I am. She said it required some great feat, I... do not know if I believe that or not. I believe it was a test with me... and Cadance? Well... she proved herself on her own..." she trailed off with a frown and looked at the grass. "Being an alicorn gives you a lot of power, strength, and influence. I think it was to see if I was ready... but, considering what the test was, that doesn't really make sense... Or maybe it does..." She frowned in thought for several seconds before shaking her head. "It's quite fascinating to ponder... Unfortunately, the memories I have of Celestia don't include that currently."

"What period of time do you remember then?" Zenith asked.

"It's... very mixed. There doesn't seem to be any reason or correlation between the memories I have or the memories I don't have. I suppose that it's possible in time I would remember everything they knew, but I get the feeling that won't be the case..." she trailed off and pursed her lips. "I remember the day... night... when Nightmare Moon was born, from four different perspectives. My own, Celestia's, Luna's, and then Nightmare Moon's own perspective if you consider her a separate entity from Princess Luna... I remember Fighting Discord and turning him to stone with my sister... I remember all the tears Celestia shed over Luna being banished to the moon and her knowing that it would be a thousand years before she saw her again."

Zenith and Rainbow shared a worried look. "Are you okay?" Rainbow asked as she flew over to Twilight.

Twilight blinked and looked at her curiously. "Yes, why?"

Rainbow bit her lip. "You just called Princess Luna your sister?"

Twilight swallowed and squinted at her. "Uh... I did?" Rainbow nodded slowly. "Oh..." she frowned. Her eyes shot back and forth as she considered the development. "It's... just... It's easy to get caught up in the memories," she said with a light chuckle, blowing off their concern, along with a speck of fear resting in the back of her mind. Rainbow still looked uneasy, despite her explanation. "I'm fine," she said more surely. She frowned and looked at her hooves, "Although, after this is over, I should probably look into separating their memories from my mind and storing them somehow. It would make it easier to access their memories, and it wouldn't be as... detrimental... to my mental health," she finished dryly.

"That... sounds like a good idea," Zenith agreed, nodding her head slowly.

Twilight grimaced and looked at the rushing stream. Rainbow walked over to her and sat down beside her, "So... Princess Rainbow Dash?" She asked with a sly smile. Twilight looked at her and rolled her eyes. "But seriously... You think you could do that? And you would consider doing that, even after I abandoned you and everything..?"

"I am more than capable of doing it, it is just a matter of figuring out how to ascend you," she explained. "As far as my considering it, well... It could prove... useful... to ascend you..." Twilight replied at length in an uneasy voice. "For several reasons," she added.

"You don't sound very sure about that," Zenith noted.

Twilight shifted her weight. "That... well... it's... a big deal..." she mumbled. "I... do not believe you truly understand what the significance of ascending her would be... I don't think either of you truly comprehend it..."

"You'd be ascending her to be an alicorn. You'd be giving her immortality, unicorn magic, earth pony magic, and alicorn magic, of course," Zenith chirped.

"It goes deeper than that..." Twilight said under her breath before shaking her head. "This... is a conversation for another time... After the Inquisitor is dead and I have had... time... to think about it." After a few seconds, she stood up and looked at Zenith. "Are you ready to continue?"

"More... sparring?" Zenith cautiously asked. Twilight nodded. "Ugh... When are you going to teach me more complicated spells, I mean-"

"Zenith," Twilight sighed. "Trust me." Twilight smiled sadly. "You're learning focus and balance, while at the same time pushing your limits and strengthening your magic. You may not see changes overnight, but surely you've noticed you're doing better than when we first started a week ago?"

Zenith wanted to disagree with her, but she had to admit, she was doing better at their sparring matches than when she first started. "I don't feel any stronger..." She sighed and ignited her horn before dropping into a defensive stance.

Twilight formed her twin blades. Rainbow watched Zenith. She was standing there, uneasy, still breathing heavily. Twilight was definitely pushing the unicorn to her limits. "Twilight, maybe you should go easier on her... She looks exhausted."

Twilight hesitated to consider it. She had to agree that Rainbow was right about Zenith looking exhausted. She was pushing her hard, perhaps too hard. It wouldn't be good if something happened to Zenith, although she was sure Zenith could handle what she was throwing at her, and a bit more. "Very well," she said. "But I still need to challenge her."

Twilight stared at the red lightning bolt-shaped crystal that was the Element of Loyalty. Her eyes trailed over its outline before settling on the sharp tip where the bolt ended. The gem, like most of the Elements, had a form similar to the cutie mark of their bearer. Rainbow Dash's cutie mark was a white cloud with a bolt of rainbow colored lightning coming out of it, the Element of Loyalty was a red lightning bolt shaped gem. The Element of Magic was a six-pointed star-shaped gem, almost identical to her own cutie mark.

Twilight's head fell to the side in thought, pondering the choice of herself and her friends as the Elements' bearers. "You know... hmm..." she trailed off and frowned. "We six were united to defeat Nightmare Moon... But... we weren't united, we were friends, standing beside each other..." She licked her lips and briefly glanced up at the starry night sky. She had long since set her sun, and the moon hovered at its apex in the sky, gazing downwards upon her and all of Equestria.

She looked back at the simple crystal she held within her lavender magic. "Friendship..." She squinted at the gem and then shook her head. "Rainbow Dash... All six of us got our cutie mark because of her. If she had not pulled off her Sonic Rainboom, well, we both know how things would have ended up... Although, you probably know that better than I do, don't you?"

She scowled. "And here I am, still talking to an inanimate object," she scoffed. She growled and refocused her magic on the gem, and began analyzing it. Everything that she learned, she filed away in the back of her mind, with the exception of what she was looking for, and anything that looked relevant to her situation. As she prodded further, her scowl deepened. "Rainbow Dash still represents you... Even..." Her scowl softened as she accepted that truth that Rainbow Dash was still linked to the Element of Loyalty. "Even after what she did?" She mulled the results over in her head, not quite sure how to take that. "I could study you for a lifetime, and I wouldn't have even scratched the surface of what you six are, would I?" She rolled the gem over and scrutinized it further.

"You're still linked to Rainbow Dash," she said. She felt her lips slowly curl into a smile. "You're still linked to her, even after all this time... How did I not think of this... before..." she cautiously trailed off and frowned, then glared sharply at the Element, "Don't answer that..."

She spun around and teleported the other five Elements to herself, then levitated the Element of Loyalty back over to the group. "And does this mean what I think it does?" She sat down on her haunches and rubbed her hooves together, then sat them back on the ground. She levitated the Element of Magic closer to herself and prepared to repeat the spell she used on the Element of Loyalty on it. She hesitated and the smile slowly left her face. She sighed and levitated it back, then levitated the Element of Kindness closer to her.

She looked over the pristine pink butterfly-shaped gem. It reminded her of Fluttershy, and the memory brought a smile to her face. She didn't hate Fluttershy. Even for those three years while she hated all of them, she would have at least spared Fluttershy and Pinkie Pie's life. They were so naive and innocent and they didn't deserve to die, even for betraying her, unlike the other three. She frowned and tilted her head. Of the three of them she had wanted to kill, Rainbow Dash was at the top of the list. 'Loyalty and betrayal...' She shook her head and cast the spell.

"Okay, I already knew Fluttershy was alive... And you're still linked to her, I suspected that..." her eyes darted back and forth as she worked on combining the spell with another, even more complicated spell. By the time she had finished the spell, her moon had fallen along its descent and was about one-fourth of the way to the horizon. She grimaced at the sight. "I'm out of shape with this..." she noted with a sigh. "I suppose I should have expected that..." She was glad neither Zenith nor Rainbow Dash had watched her craft the spell, it embarrassed her with how long it took. It should have been far simpler and taken only a fraction of the time that it had, but it took longer because of the state she was in.

She shook her head sharply and licked her lips in anticipation. She cast her spell, and immediately the result was clear. She took a deep breath and sighed contently. She closed her eyes and lowered her head. For a few seconds, she just listened to the silent forest. The dead of night was when many of the deadly predators should have been out, and many were out, but all of them kept their distance from her. The resulting silence was relaxing, and her exhaustion caught up with her.

She forced her eyes opened and lifted her head. "You know, for somepony who supposedly is the most powerful pony alive, you really don't seem that powerful."

She opened her eyes and turned towards Zenith, who somehow had managed to sit down beside her without her knowing. She frowned at that but pushed the thought aside for later. "You know I'm powerful. You've seen how powerful I am," she replied dismissingly. "I have issues, though... The fact that the Inquisitor is still alive is proof of that..."

"With as much as you hate him, why did you hold back?" Zenith asked. Twilight turned to face her. "I know you should have won that battle with him. You could have crushed him in an instant, but you didn't. I know you brushed it off as trying to get information, but I don't buy that."

Twilight chuckled. Over several seconds, the chuckle grew emptier until it stopped, then she looked at her hooves emotionlessly. "I was hoping that he would say something... reveal something that I didn't know. I guess I wanted a kind of closure. I wasn't there when Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were murdered, and those final moments of their life are removed from my memories... I'm both grateful for that and..." She took a deep breath. "The same applies to my brother and sister... And my niece? I..." she shook her head and closed her eyes. "She was so... so young..." Her voice was barely a whisper.

Zenith lifted a hoof but hesitated. She couldn't quite reach Twilight's shoulder, so she settled for putting it just above her wing and rubbing gently, hoping to reassure her. "I'm twenty-three, Zenith," Twilight said evenly. "I shouldn't have to deal with... with any of this. My best friends betraying me, my mentor and her sister dead, my parents... I have no idea what happened to them. My brother, sister, and niece are all dead. I never... said goodbye. I was an aunt, Zenith... I'll probably never have foals of my own..." Twilight shook her head. "I so badly wanted him dead, and I still do... I want to kill him a thousand times over, and then..." she trailed off and looked guiltily at Zenith. "I wanted to know..." she jerked her head to the side, "but that didn't happen and won't happen, and I delayed too long, and I was an idiot!" she shouted venomously. She took a deep breath before continuing. "And I let him use that stupid weapon against me, and nearly died..." She trailed off and looked towards her moon. "I could have demolished the castle and killed him beneath the rubble of it and spared myself from... this, but... that castle is... everything that I have left of Princess Celestia. Other than her memories, but... It's not the same. I could have killed him so many different ways, and I didn't. I'm not perfect, the fact he still lives is a testimony to that. I regret sparing him, and it wasn't my intention to spare him. I wanted to know why he did it, and how he did it. I was hoping he would gloat and tell me something that I had missed, but he didn't. I was going to kill him. I could have killed him. I should have killed him." She met Zenith's gaze, "I screwed up," she said simply. "But the next time I see him, he will die, whether I find out anything of value or not."

"Twilight, you..." Zenith swallowed. "I'm... so, so sorry for what you've gone through."

Twilight tilted her head to the side and looked at Zenith sadly. She extended her wing around the young unicorn and pulled her closer to herself. "Do not feel sorry for me, my issues are my own, and I can... and have... dealt with them..."

Twilight felt another warm body press against her but on the other side of her body. She slowly pulled her gaze away from Zenith and looked at Rainbow Dash, who smiled at her reassuringly. "You seem to be forgetting that you have us now. We promised to stand by your side and help you, okay? We're your friends, that means your problems are our problems."

"My problems..." Twilight trailed off and shook her head, deciding to not to elaborate further.

After a few seconds, it became apparent Twilight wasn't going to continue. "So... um..." Rainbow turned her attention to the Elements of Harmony. "What were you doing?"

Twilight levitated the Element of Loyalty over to Rainbow Dash. "You still represent Loyalty... It's... curious. This entire time, I had thought... I believed... no, I knew that those bonds were broken, except they weren't."

Rainbow licked her lips. "So... we can use the Elements of Harmony?" she asked. Twilight nodded her head absently, looking off at the Element of Magic. "Does that mean-"

"I don't know... I..." Twilight clenched her jaw. "I can kill him without using the Elements. I just... I'm... not ready to face him again. I'm not... emotionally prepared. I'm not stable enough right now... And he would use that against me." Sher licked her lips, noticing that her mouth felt dry. "If I were to face him now, I would likely succeed in killing him, but in the process... I could..." 'And I can't let that happen...'

"Is there anything we can do to help?" Zenith asked.

"Yeah, come on, there's gotta be something we can do to help you with this!" Rainbow added, nuzzling Twilight's side.

Twilight's lips curled into a smile at the sensation of Rainbow nuzzling her. For a few seconds, she stared at her moon, pondering their assurances. She felt happy that both of them were there for her. Both of them cared about her, they were her friends. She nodded to herself and took a deep breath. "Okay," she said. "I need to take control of the situation..." She stood up. "I know that holding six separate sets of memories is taxing, and I need to do something about it. I should have done something about it years ago, but I didn't." She stepped forwards and turned around, then looked over each of them in turn. "I couldn't take care of it back then, but that's just an excuse. I could have purged the memories from my mind, but I didn't."

"What are you going to do?" Zenith asked.

Twilight took a deep breath. "I have six separate sets of memories, seven if you include Nightmare Moon as a separate entity... So I need to create five... or six... crystals to house the memories. That won't take that long, but what will take long is... separating the memories and storing them, making the crystals indestructible, and making them accessible so that I can view the memories when I need to..." She paused and paced to her right. "But I can't do that right now. I... have the capability, but I can't do that right now, and no, I can't tell you why I can't do that right now." She shook her head and teleported the Elements of Harmony, with the exception of the Element of Kindness, away.

"Twilight, you can trust us..." Rainbow said.

Twilight's expression softened. "I know, Rainbow Dash... but... I can't tell you. I'm sorry." She looked up at her moon for a few seconds and then she took a deep breath and spun around on her hooves to face Rainbow and Zenith. "I analyzed the Element of Kindness, and I know where Fluttershy is." She levitated the pink butterfly-shaped gem closer to herself. She looked over it for a few seconds before looking away from it. Rainbow stood to her hooves and looked at Twilight with surprise and expectation. "I'm going after her," she said. "I may be a few days..." she looked at the ground. "You two should be safe here, but just in case, I can give each of you some of my magic to protect you..."

"You... aren't taking us with you?" Zenith asked sadly. "But, Twilight... We're your friends, we-"

"Zenith," Twilight teleported the Element of Kindness away and powered up her horn with more magic. "I know, and thank you, but... I need to do this alone, along with a few other things..." she frowned, then shook her head.

"Twilight, you need to bring us with you. You keep saying you need to keep us close at hoof, both so that we can protect you and that you can protect us, and then you pull a one-eighty and say that you have to go and do something on your own. We can't help you or protect you if you don't take us with you," Rainbow all but pleaded.

"Rainbow, this is something I need to do on my own," Twilight said evenly. "I... can give you both enough of my magic that will keep you safe, but have no noticeable side effects for myself, even in my weakened state," she explained.

"Twilight, if you can do that, why haven't you done that before?" Rainbow asked firmly, demanding an answer. "You keep us close, and you've trained us so that we can work together better, and now you're saying you can give us some of your magic. Why didn't you do that before and save yourself some of the trouble?" Rainbow asked in an accusatory voice, taking Twilight, Zenith, and herself in surprise.

For several seconds, silence reigned as all three of them processed what Rainbow Dash had said. Twilight opened her mouth to reply, then closed it. She licked her lips and looked at her hooves. "Alicorns, in general, have... strong maternal instincts, Rainbow Dash..." Twilight lifted her head slightly. "Those instincts do not just... apply to... I..." she snorted, smiled, and shook her head, "How do I say this..?" she asked. "I... cannot help but view both of you as my own..." she said quietly, feeling awkward with each word that passed her lips. "Princess Celestia calling everypony her 'little ponies' is an example of... that. I uh... didn't... have... I... want to protect both of you... I would rather protect you than have you protect yourselves, I feel like I need to, but I... am still... teaching you... I know that if I don't, you can't help me, and something bad could happen to one of you, and I don't want that..." she trailed off. "Another... thing... related to this, is that I... wrap my wings around both of you..."

Rainbow and Zenith stared at Twilight blankly. "You..." Rainbow trailed off, not knowing what to say, or even comprehend what Twilight had said. In a way, what she said made her feel good, but at the same time, it was confusing and so beyond her. She tilted her head to the side as a thought passed through her mind, "Did you have these feelings three years ago?" she asked.

Twilight shifted her weight on her hooves and shuffled her wings. "They... weren't as strong as they are now, but yes... I still don't know if what I feel is actually natural, it feels too strong to be natural... I think it's partially Celestia's influence..." she trailed off and shook her head. "These feelings have grown stronger than before since I fought the Inquisitor, and I'm partially concerned he did something to me, but... I can't honestly say I think that's the case." She shook her head. "I want to find Fluttershy myself and bring her back, okay? Did I answer your questions?"

Rainbow swallowed and nodded quickly, then paused. "Wait, if that's the case... Then why did you want to kill me, or any of us for that matter, if you wanted to protect us before?"

Twilight grimaced. "Alicorns... in general, are also very... emotional..." she said slowly and methodically, choosing her words with great care and precision. "And... let's leave it at that..." she trailed off.

Rainbow could tell that Twilight didn't like talking about what she was talking about, and she didn't blame her. A heavy awkward silence hung in the air, or at least it felt that way to her. "So... where is Fluttershy?" she asked.

Twilight sighed and looked at Rainbow, but she didn't quite meet her gaze. "To the east, a very long ways away. She somehow managed to cross the ocean or at least part of it," she answered.

Rainbow blinked. "What? How did Fluttershy manage to do that, I mean, not that I don't think she could, but..."

"I intend to find out..." Twilight trailed off and poured more magic into her horn, then cast her portal spell. Immediately the portal flared to life to her right. She glanced at it, it came out in the middle of a clearing in what looked like a jungle, and it was light outside. She averted her gaze and looked over Zenith and Rainbow before walking over to the former and touching her horn to her head and transferring a small amount of magic to her, then she walked over to Rainbow, who looked at her solemnly. "Stay safe," she commanded as she touched her horn to her head and transferred a small amount of magic to her.

Twilight stepped back and looked over both of them. "Take care of yourself, Twilight," Rainbow said firmly.

Twilight smirked. "You're kidding, right?" she said in a perfect imitation of Nightmare Moon. Rainbow Dash hadn't been there at the time, but she still felt a shiver run down her spine at the way Twilight said it. "I am the Princess of Magic, do you think I can't protect myself?"

"You shouldn't go alone..." Zenith trailed off, still reeling from what Twilight had said.

"I can protect myself," Twilight repeated.

"And that's another thing, Twilight," Rainbow shook her head exasperatedly. "You say that you're vulnerable and that you want and need us to protect you, and now you're saying you can protect yourself. Do you actually need us or not?"

"I do!" Twilight replied. "I... As I explained before, it would be very hard to kill me, but it can be done. I'm not worried about getting killed when looking for Fluttershy. Sure, it's a situation I know next to nothing about, but I'll find out more when I get there, but there isn't going to be an organized effort to try to kill me like there is here in Equestria. Whereas here, there is an organized effort to kill me. I can take on an entire army, perhaps more than one, at once, but all it would take is for somepony to get lucky or for me to lose control. I can heal my body, not just my accelerated healing, but with my magic, and I could protect myself while healing. If I'm dead, I can't revive myself, though. So yes, I need you because I'm scared, okay!" she shouted. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath to recompose herself. "Princess Celestia and Princess Luna, were the two most powerful alicorns alive until they were murdered. I wasn't there, I didn't see what happened. I have no idea how they were killed, and I have no idea if he would be able to use the same method on me, and I don't know what that method was!"

Rainbow winced. "Twilight... I'm sorry..."

"I..." Twilight took a deep breath and then sighed. "I know... And it's not your fault..." she replied. Rainbow didn't believe that it wasn't her fault for a second, she knew that if she, if they had listened to her three years ago, they wouldn't be in the position they were in now. "It's hard, Rainbow Dash..." Twilight shook her head, "I'm immortal, and yet I don't have time to have a breakdown... I have to find Fluttershy." She paused and ran over how she felt. "I feel better, now," she chirped. "Well... I guess I'll be off, then. The sooner I find her the sooner I can come back..."

Rainbow looked at her friend solemnly. Twilight's quick change in demeanor took her off guard, but she felt that Twilight was okay, although it did concern her. "Be careful, Twilight, and remember that we're both here for you, alright?"

"You better come back. You promised to teach me magic," Zenith said with a smile.

Twilight met their gazes in turn, "I will." She stood in silence for a few seconds before she turned around and walked into the portal. After her whole body was through to the other side, she turned around and smiled at them reassuringly, and then the portal collapsed.

Twilight watched solemnly as the portal destabilized and Zenith and Rainbow disappeared from her sight. She took a deep breath, letting the humid air fill her lungs. She mulled over the unfamiliar smells and sounds for several seconds before looking up at the sky. Her sun had already broken the horizon, and her mane once more returned to its daytime state. She frowned at that, "Interesting..." She pushed the thought aside and took in her surroundings in more detail, expanding her senses and magic outward, searching for anything of interest. "Note to self; improve the accuracy of the portal spell when dealing with distances ranging over one thousand miles..." she mumbled under her breath as she scanned the treeline. She frowned, "And don't use that spell to attempt to travel to the moon..." She sighed at that, then shook her head and turned around and scanned the treeline further.

The leaves were a lighter shade of green than the ones from the forest she had left and the grass was lighter too, but the trees themselves looked the same, other than vines running down from the branches of the trees. Some of the vines made it to the ground, while others only hung in the air, supported by only the branches they fell from. She double checked to make sure she had a lock on her original coordinates so that she could open the portal to get back, then nodded to herself.

She focused her magic into a spell and cast it. Immediately, the entire forest became silent.

Her mouth parted as she felt something familiar, "Fluttershy..." She felt a sense of dread at what she sensed next.

Author's Note

I want to apologize profusely for taking so long with this chapter. This should have been out a while ago, but everything I wrote felt wrong, and... Well, I could give you a whole list of reasons, but they're just excuses. I apologize for the wait. The short and detailless list follows; Life, gaming, college, lack of planning, family, other stories (what did I get myself into...), reading, lack of motivation...

Yes, I know this story has some issues, such as the discrepancies with Twilight's power and abilities and her intelligence, or somewhat lack thereof. I attempted to address that in this chapter. Please give me feedback on that...

Cliffhanger! :trollestia:

Next chapter has Fluttershy! :yay: Yay! But wait... there's more...

Chapter 13

Twilight multitasked. She channeled magic into a blade which erupted to life in the air a hoof away from her right side, and she channeled magic into a barrier in the air and then inside of the barrier until an orb burst to life, burning intently from the raw magic she poured into it. She strode forwards with purpose, and in a few hoofsteps, she walked out of the clearing and into the jungle.

She kept part of her mind focused on the task at hoof, and another part was dedicated to staying aware of what her spell was telling her, while a third part went over what she knew and what her spell was saying could mean.

Of course, there was only one thing that the presence of chaos magic could indicate, but she didn't understand why she would be detecting it, nor why she would be detecting it within Fluttershy's proximity. She slashed through a vine, burning through it and causing the unsupported segment to collapse to the ground. She proceeded forward unimpeded.

She skillfully navigated the dense foliage and underbrush, making her own path as she strode along, never once pausing for a second, nor pausing for anything that impeded her movement. She made quick progress, and she scrutinized the cave where Fluttershy and the chaos magic were. 'If you lay a hoof on her...' The Inquisitor would pay one trillion fold for any harm he caused her. She would make sure of that.

She came to a stop and switched tactics. Getting there by hoof would take too long, teleporting would be faster, even if it meant she could be teleporting into a trap. She poured magic into a teleportation spell, then appeared near the mouth of the cave, in a clearing. Twilight immediately scanned her surroundings intently and focused on each detail her spell told her about. There was chaos magic in the vicinity, but Fluttershy was the only other pony in the region covered by her spell. After she was sure that nothing was going to surprise attack her, she redirected her magic into an intense scan of the small clearing.

She wasn't going to relax, no matter what her spell told her. After a few more seconds, she lowered her horn and swept across the treeline, daring anything hidden from her magic to attack her. Nothing happened. She slowly lifted her head back up and squinted at the trees. Eventually, she pulled her gaze away from the forest and directed it at the mountain itself.

The grayed rock was crumbling from weather and erosion, but somehow still managed to look like it shot straight up from the earth below it. She shook her head and pushed the thought aside, then took a deep breath and walked towards the mouth of the cave. She slowed as she peered inside the cave. The stone inside the cave was a dull gray and the tunnel was egg shaped, with a relatively smooth floor. She could see that the cave hit a dead end, then sharply turned to the left. She could see light coming from the tunnel, and she thought she could make out a voice, but she wasn't sure who it was or what it was saying.

She took a deep breath and prepared her magic further. The Inquisitor wouldn't be expecting her. She had the element of surprise. She smiled and stepped forwards, then paused mid-stride. 'I could level the mountain... he wouldn't survive that.' The thought made her clench her jaw. It was tempting. She wouldn't have to fight him and risk him winning. Even with chaos magic, she doubted he could survive what she was considering. There were a dozen different things she could have done. Collapse the mountain on him. Compress the mountain until it exploded. Melt the mountain.

'No!' She grunted and gritted her teeth. 'I'm not sacrificing her to kill him... Even... Even if...' Fluttershy wouldn't help him. She knew that for a fact, but part of her mind betrayed her, suggesting that maybe Fluttershy was helping him. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. 'No. She wouldn't do that.' She told herself.

She opened her eyes, then refocused on the task at hoof. She levitated her blade closer to her head and scrutinized the blade. 'Maybe it's a good time to put my alicorn senses and instincts to the test... Although that may be dangerous,' she thought. She turned her attention to her orb. A quick spell later, and the magic flowed away from the orb and back into her horn.

Twilight took a deep breath as a warm breeze blew through the clearing. She looked into the cave and hesitated. A few seconds later, she lifted a hoof and set it down onto the stone of the cave. As expected, the stone was cold, but it wasn't wet like she expected. She frowned at that but pushed it aside as she walked into the cave.

She extended her magic, scanning the cave as she walked deeper into it. Nothing other than the chaos magic was amiss. She found it curious. She had expected there to be spells in place that would react to her presence, but there were none. Despite the lack of spells attempting to kill her, she still didn't let her guard down.

The further into the cave she walked, the more anxious she grew. Each hoofstep felt like an eternity, but if she rushed it, she might lose her advantage of surprise. Or worse, trip and make a fool of herself.

She forced the thoughts back with an iron hoof as she reached the edge of the turn. She pushed her body against the cave. The rough stone pushed back against her and bit into her coat. The rock was by no means sharp, but it wasn't pleasant either. The unevenness of the rock caused it to push harder against her in some areas, while other areas were indented, leaving a pocket of air between her body and the cave wall.

She slowly exhaled, then peeked around the corner. The cave snaked to the right, blocking her view. The light grew brighter at the end. She grunted and sharply shook her head, then pushed away from the stone wall and spread her wings out as she walked into the cave. She paused as she reached the bend, stopping to listen for any voices to reveal something she didn't know. Silence greeted her. She briefly contemplated waiting there, hoping that the Inquisitor would say something about Celestia or Luna, or any one of her family.

She suppressed the boiling storm of emotion she felt and pushed forwards. She pulled her blade close to her body as she slid around the corner so that she could defend her open side from attack if the need arose. She prepared herself so that she could create another blade of magic in a split second as soon as the need arose. At the same time, she prepared a barrier spell to defend herself, along with several offensive spells she had learned in the past three years.

The first thing she could tell was that the room was a circular room, one that almost looked artificial in nature. The walls were rough but far smoother than she imagined possible by natural means. The second thing she saw was that the room was illuminated like it was daylight, but there was no visible source of light. The concept perplexed her, but after a second of thought, she wasn't as impressed as she had been. As she slid around more, she saw two more things that drew her attention, ire, and confusion.

"Fluttershy..." she said, still not believing what her eyes told her. Three years. It had been three years since she had seen the mare, and she looked almost identical to the night when she was betrayed. She was a little more ragged and looked tired, but it was the same pony. The yellow pegasus's head shot back towards her, sending her flowing pink mane flying aside, only for it to resettle on the other side of her neck. Fluttershy's mouth fell open in shock. Fluttershy stared at her, unable to process what she was seeing. She knew it was Twilight, beyond a shadow of a doubt, but she couldn't believe the alicorn was her, nor that she was there. Twilight took in her expression, shock, surprise, and fear.

Twilight averted her gaze from the pegasus and fell into a combative stance as her eyes fell on Discord. "Discord..." she growled threateningly. She poured more magic into her horn, debating on just crushing the statue to dust, or collapsing it until it ceased to exist. It wouldn't have been a percent as fulfilling as cutting his body to pieces, however.

"T-Twilight!?" Fluttershy finally spoke, nearly screaming. The scream broke Twilight's focus and she looked at Fluttershy, startled by the mare's scream. It reminded her of her dream, and she felt a cold chill run down her back. Her heart skipped a beat, Fluttershy's look of horror brought back unpleasant memories from her nightmare.

Twilight steeled her resolve and glared back at the statue, then paused. 'Why... are you a statue?' she wondered. It didn't make sense. There was no way that he was that stupid. Or perhaps she was just out of the loop. Maybe the Inquisitor finally slipped up and ran into a cockatrice, or something. She slowly rose from the combative stance and sauntered into the room, not breaking contact from the statue. He looked unamused. She averted her gaze to his eyes. They held a hint of something. It took her a few seconds to realize it was a hint of fear. She snorted, "Serves you right..." she grumbled. She threw her horn down and prepared to cast her spell that would free him from his stone prison.

"Twilight, wh-what are you doing!?" Fluttershy asked, jumping to her hooves. Her wings shot out as she jumped between Twilight and Discord, then she propelled herself into the air and hovered at the same height as Twilight held her head. She shivered under Twilight's firm glare but didn't back down.

Torturing him to death was well worth the risk that he would manage to kill her and Fluttershy. It would be a slow, drawn out death, one that he certainly deserved. She would be the judge, juror, and executioner. She welcomed all three roles and found it fitting. The Inquisitor had taken so much from her, so she would return the favor, but not before taking every scrap of information he had about how he killed her family and their last minutes. Even though she knew it would hurt her to find out what happened, she felt she needed to know. It would have been easier to simply break through his mental defenses and take what she needed, but she knew that wouldn't be easy. Even before learning that he had chaos magic, she knew his mental defenses were strong. She knew from personal experience, years prior. She would rip the information from him, but not through mind magic, she would force him to divulge it and make him beg for mercy. She wouldn't hesitate now, not like last time. She was in control, complete control of the situation.

"Fluttershy," Twilight started coldly. "Move aside. Now," she commanded.

"N-no!" Fluttershy shot back firmly.

Twilight held her firm gaze on Fluttershy for several seconds. Both of them were locked in a war of wills. Neither of them blinked, and despite Fluttershy's fear, she held her ground. Twilight held back her magic, she wasn't about to be responsible for Fluttershy's death. Fluttershy may have betrayed her, but she was innocent in her eyes. She didn't deserve to die. Eventually, Twilight relented and lifted her horn away from Fluttershy and Discord.

"Th-thank you..." Fluttershy said softly, still hovering in the air between them.

Twilight looked at her sternly. "You had better explain what is going on, Fluttershy," she quipped.

Fluttershy winced, then slowly flew to the ground. "U-um... well... It-it's kind of... a long story..."

Twilight tilted her head and looked at her sideways. "He's not going to escape, correct?" she asked bitterly.

Fluttershy sighed despondently and looked at the ground, "No..." she said softly.

Twilight tilted her head to the other side, pondering Fluttershy's reaction. She looked passed her and at Discord. She squinted. It felt wrong. Discord was the Inquisitor. But it was wrong. Her senses told her it was wrong. Her senses told her Discord wasn't the Inquisitor. She pulled her head back slightly at that thought. 'You're the only being who can use chaos magic! You have to be the Inquisitor...' She gritted her teeth and met Discord's stone gaze once more. 'You... a victim?' She opened her mouth to say something but thought better of it. 'Tirek... you were a victim, once...' She swallowed and turned her attention back to Fluttershy, then released her hold on her twin blades, which promptly dissipated. "What happened?"

"W-well... you... you remember when Discord disappeared?" Fluttershy looked up from the ground and at Twilight with big, pleading eyes. She was on the verge of tears. Twilight felt her tide of rage dwindle at the sight. Fluttershy truly believed Discord's innocence, unlike her. Twilight nodded but remained silent. "The Inquisitor... he was responsible for it," she said in a whisper.

Twilight squinted at Fluttershy and furrowed her brow. "Fluttershy, that doesn't make sense. I fought the Inquisitor two weeks ago. He wielded chaos magic against me, Fluttershy. Only Discord has that kind of magic! Not even Lord Tirek could use chaos magic when he had Discord's magic. Chaos magic is strictly Discord's magic."

Fluttershy recoiled like Twilight had struck her. The look of betrayal on her face stung Twilight, and it showed. Over the next few seconds, Twilight's expression softened. "Give him a chance, Twilight... please..." Fluttershy meekly asked. Twilight met her gaze and slowly nodded. "The Inquisitor... he... did something to him. He took some of his magic, most of it, and left him here like this..." She swallowed. "I-I've tried to... to get him free, b-but I c-can't..." she sobbed, hanging her head forward. Her gentle pink mane fell forward and hid her face, but Twilight could picture it all the same.

Twilight swallowed. "You want to set him free?" she asked. After a few seconds, Fluttershy slowly lifted her head and looked at her pleadingly while nodding her head and trying to smile. "Do you have proof that he isn't the Inquisitor?" she asked.

"H-he's been here f-for five years, Twilight... I've been here with him for almost three years... never once has he..." her sentence died as more sobs escaped Fluttershy's mouth.

Twilight sighed, then straightened her stance and looked at Discord. 'Well, I guess I was wrong, then, now wasn't I?' she rhetorically asked herself. 'I guess I should not have jumped to conclusions...' It was a bitter pill to swallow, but she forced herself to recognize her error. 'Wait...' She squinted at Fluttershy and scrutinized her. She was Fluttershy, and not an imitation. Her magic told her that much, and she wasn't a threat to her. "How do you know any of this? If Discord is imprisoned in stone again, you shouldn't be able to-"

"H-he... told me..." Fluttershy whispered. She lifted her head and stifled her sobs long enough to continue, "He.. he called out to me, when... when they were killed, Twilight... He told me where he was, and... he gave me some of his magic."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at her story.

"I'm... I'm so, so sorry, Twilight..." Fluttershy said as she lowered her head once more, this time lying down and resting her head on the cave floor. She clenched her eyes shut, but tears still flowed from them like a river. "I-I know how much they meant to you..."

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Fluttershy, it..." She wanted to say it was fine. She wanted to berate her for not listening to her. She wanted to hug her. She wanted to yell at her for betraying her. She sat down on her haunches, lit her horn and pulled Fluttershy over to her, then wrapped her arms and wings around her, holding her gently in her embrace. "Shh..." she coaxed, "It'll be alright..." Fluttershy wrapped her arms around her barrel and pressed her head into her chest, then her sobbing intensified, despite it being muffled.

For the next hour, the two sat like that, Fluttershy sobbing into Twilight's chest, and Twilight attempting to comfort her and calm her. Eventually Twilight was successful, and Fluttershy's sobs died, but the pain was still there. It took another fifteen minutes for Fluttershy to pull herself away.

"H-how do you do it?" Fluttershy asked. She lifted her head up and looked away from Twilight's chest and met her eyes.

Twilight looked at her quizzically. "Do what?" she asked.

"H-handle... it. Princess Celestia and Pr-Princess Luna are... they're..." Fluttershy swallowed, she couldn't bring herself to say it. It brought on too much pain. Both princesses were her friends, but Twilight had been closer to them than she had ever been. Twilight had known Celestia most of her life, and Fluttershy knew how much Celestia meant to her.

Twilight nodded her head and sighed. "I can't answer that, Fluttershy," she said somberly. "Even if I could, I don't think you would like my answer... I've changed a lot in three years..." she trailed off, grimacing. Some of the changes were for the better, but most weren't.

Fluttershy cracked a smile and let her eyes wonder over Twilight's body. The mare had matured well, and she reminded her of Princess Celestia. She wanted to break down again at the thought, but she tried to look on the bright side of it. "You... look beautiful, Twilight... not that you didn't look beautiful before, I just mean that-"

Twilight smiled, "Thank you, Fluttershy..."

"You look... like her," Fluttershy trailed off, once more lowering her gaze to the floor.

"I've grown and changed a lot, yes... Rainbow Dash says I look like her too," she replied.

Fluttershy perked up at the mention of her long time friend's name. "You... you've talked to Rainbow Dash?" she asked.

Twilight smiled and nodded. "Yes... She's... helping me. I am... currently... Well, It's..." she trailed off, groaning and shaking her head. "You remember that night, correct?" Fluttershy's smile faded. "I teleported to Canterlot immediately after I left. I talked to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna... they didn't believe me either... or maybe they did, I don't know..." she shook her head. "Celestia cast a spell on me, though. As soon as... she and Luna were killed, their magic sought me out. When my brother, sister, and niece were killed-"

Fluttershy looked at her in horror and wrapped her arms around Twilight again. "H-he killed them all!?" she asked, shocked and afraid. Fluttershy's ears fell to the sides of her heads and she clenched her eyes shut as another wave of emotion overtook her.

Twilight wrapped her wings around Fluttershy as the mare held her tighter than before. "Yes..." she said absently. It took two hours for her to calm Fluttershy's sobbing, and to get her to stop apologizing for something that wasn't her fault. Eventually, Fluttershy's cries died down and the mare fell asleep emotionally exhausted. Twilight ran a hoof through Fluttershy's mane and pondered why she fell asleep. After a few seconds, she looked around the room again. There was no sign of a bed or anything, and she sighed at the thought that she had been sleeping on the ground for as long as she had been there. She had no idea how tired Fluttershy was, but she knew that emotions could be very draining, from personal experience. She shifted her weight so that Fluttershy was in a more comfortable position. Twilight was content to sit there with Fluttershy sleeping on her, but she still needed answers. She thought about how to get those answers, 'I could wait for Fluttershy to wake up again, but that could be hours... I could...' she trailed off and looked at Discord's statue. 'Am I going to regret this?' she wondered. She mulled it over for a few seconds, 'No, I'm capable of dealing with this...'

She lit her horn again, then gently levitated Fluttershy off of her. She used her magic to create a plush mattress for the pegasus to lay on, and then gently laid her down on it. She watched Fluttershy sleep for a few minutes before she turned her attention to Discord. "What happened?" she asked. As she expected, there was no response. She re-prepared her spell, then pointed her horn at Discord, and released it.

A bright lavender light filled the room. When it died down, Discord lay in a heap on the floor, with his eyes spinning and his tongue sticking out of his mouth. "Discord?" she asked. While still not entirely trusting him, her senses, the time she had been there in the room with him, and Fluttershy had managed to temper her wrath towards the Spirit of Chaos.

At the sound of his name, Discord blinked, then groaned as he pushed himself up. He rubbed his eyes and looked at Twilight in surprise. For a few seconds, both of them stared at each other, unblinkingly. Discord broke it first, he averted his gaze from her and then searched for Fluttershy. "She's sleeping," Twilight said. Discord smiled and turned back to her. Twilight stepped forwards, "What happened?" she implored.

Discord looked at the ground and sighed. For a few seconds, he looked despondent, then he lifted his head and looked at Twilight with a sharp expression. "That nuisance of a unicorn that you call the Inquisitor stole my magic and trapped me here," he said in disgust.

"I fought him two weeks ago. He used chaos magic. Care to explain that?" she snapped.

"I just told you he stole my magic," he scoffed.

"We both know that you're the only being capable of using chaos magic, Discord," Twilight said threateningly.

Discord's expression softened. "If I could explain it, I would. But I can't."

"You can't?" Twilight questioned, annoyed by Discord's answer. Discord nodded. Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled and finally opened her eyes again. "Fluttershy said you told her how to find you and that you gave her some of your magic."

Discord grimaced and nodded. "I felt it, you know... When it happened. Celestia and Luna..." he closed his eyes and clenched his fists. He opened his eyes, and Twilight was surprised to see that he looked like he was fighting back tears. "I... I am so sorry, Twilight. If... If I had known, I would have... prevented this," he ended in a bitter but soft voice. "I... also felt what happened with... Cadance and..." he trailed off and averted his gaze from Twilight.

"I'd rather not talk about that," Twilight said gently.

Discord turned back towards her and flashed her a smile. "If it's any consolation, you do look good now."

"Thank-"

"So how does it feel? Having enough magic to rip reality apart?" Discord asked as he slithered through the air and curled around her neck, then looked her in the eye, pressing his head against hers. "Not that you could rip it apart like I could, but you have potential."

"-you." Twilight shook her head, then levitated him off of her with his magic. She looked him in the eye, "You know what they did?" she asked.

"Oh of course I do," Discord chirped. "I am quite sensitive to things of that nature, remember?"

"Regardless..." Twilight shook her head, then looked around the room again. "How is it light in here?" she asked.

Discord looked towards Fluttershy, and his expression became solemn. "It's her will. She still has some of my magic, and she's been using it to keep it light inside this room ever since she found me..."

Twilight looked at Fluttershy. She furrowed her brow in thought. "Is that how she managed to come... here?" she asked.

Discord nodded. "I... was able to send her some of my magic, so that she could make the journey."

Twilight nodded absently. "The Inquisitor didn't take all of your magic, did he?" Discord shook his head. "How much do you have left?"

Discord looked at her sideways and grinned. "Right now, Fluttershy has more chaos magic than I do."

"Why her?" Twilight asked.

"You know why," Discord answered.

Twilight smiled at him. Discord rolled his eyes and looked back at Fluttershy. "Rainbow Dash was surprised when I told her Fluttershy was able to cross the ocean... and so was I, quite frankly. I guess the chaos magic explains that."

Discord nodded absently. "You didn't answer my question," he stated.

Twilight licked her lips and looked at the ground. After a few seconds, she shook her head. "Having as many issues as I do makes me less capable than you seem to think I am..." She looked up at him. "What am I supposed to do?" she asked. "I'm broken, and I'm sure you can tell that."

"You don't look broken, and you're doing a good job at keeping yourself under control," Discord replied with a smile.

"I lose control all the time. I just... I haven't snapped. I could have killed the Inquisitor. I had the chance, and I should have taken it... but I didn't. I lost control. I let my emotions get the better of me, and I failed."

Discord shook his head and chuckled. "I think you worry too much, Princess."

Twilight looked away from Discord. "I'm not Celestia, and I'm not Luna..." she trailed off, not knowing what else to say.

"You'll do fine, Twilight. Surely Celestia told you that she intended for you to be her successor, right?" Discord asked as he walked over to her and leaned against her.

Twilight watched him and nodded. "She did... But I'm not the same pony that I was three years ago..." She sighed. "I... I wanted to kill Rainbow Dash when I saw her again. I... I almost did kill her. Part of me still wants to, I think. But... I'm so glad I didn't." She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

"You didn't, and that's what counts. You controlled yourself," Discord replied.

"I wanted to kill you," Twilight said, smiling at the thought. After a few seconds, the smile left a frown in its wake. "I... I thought you were the Inquisitor... I... knew, that you were him... But I was wrong," she admitted, nodding her head. "I was wrong," she repeated.

"Oh, Twilight," Discord shook his head dismissively. "Everypony makes mistakes, and you will too."

"I can't... afford to, though," Twilight replied through clenched teeth. "If I do, I could die. And if I died, the Inquisitor would win, and..." she trailed off. "So many would die..." She swallowed, then continued, "And what if I snap? How many would I kill?"

"Princess Celestia has complete faith in you, Twilight," Discord stated.

"And look where that got her. She's dead now," Twilight replied gravely.

"You're her legacy," Discord countered. "You will live up to her, and then some." Discord smiled, then stood up and walked over to Fluttershy. "I could feel how much you wanted to kill me, Twilight. Despite that, you didn't," he said nonchalantly. Twilight looked away from him. "I think you'll do fine," he said happily. Twilight looked back at him, only to find him lying with Fluttershy, curled around the mare, stifling a yawn.

Twilight regarded the sight suspiciously. "You're tired?" she asked.

Discord lifted his head from Fluttershy and looked at Twilight evenly. "I haven't slept for five years, you'll have to forgive me if I want to take a short nap before continuing our conversation."

Twilight raised an eyebrow at him, not buying his explanation. "You were sealed in a stone prison for how many thousands of years before?"

"I don't have a lot of strength right now, Twilight," Discord finally admitted. Twilight's expression softened and she nodded in understanding. Discord hesitated for a second, then laid his head down beside Fluttershy's head and closed his eyes as he pulled Fluttershy close to him.

Twilight smiled and shook her head. "Sleep well, my little ponies..." she trailed off and turned around.

"I'm a draconequus, not a pony. Ugh..." Discord groaned.

Twilight didn't reply. Instead, she walked back out of the cave.

Fluttershy stifled a yawn as she started to wake. She nestled back into the comfort of the bed and Discord's embrace, unaware of either, but knowing that she was content. It took her a few seconds to grow curious about why she felt so comfortable. She remembered Twilight showing up, talking to her for a while, and... crying into her. She tentatively opened an eye and looked across the room. She felt panic as her eyes scanned the room for Discord. She didn't see him anywhere.

Fluttershy struggled out of whatever was holding her, eliciting a familiar groan from it. She paid it no mind and shot up, looking around the room, trying to find Discord. He had to be there, Twilight wouldn't have abused her trust like that. The statue was gone, and there wasn't even dust or debris left where it had been standing. Her heart ached, and she felt like she was going to breakdown. "N-no..." she whispered. Her wingbeats slowed down and she found herself on the cave floor, lifting a hoof to cover her mouth. "T-Twilight... wh-why?" she asked.

"Fluttershy..?" Discord mumbled as he pushed himself up.

Fluttershy turned around at a speed that put Pinkie Pie to shame, then tackled Discord quicker than Rainbow could have imagined. "Discord!" Fluttershy all but screamed in joy. Discord reeled from the shock of her embrace and found himself almost gasping for air. It felt like Fluttershy was trying to squeeze him into two pieces, but he found that he enjoyed it, if only for being able to hold Fluttershy again. "I-I missed you s-so much..." she sobbed as she pressed her head into his chest.

Discord pushed himself back up off of the bed and held Fluttershy tightly to his chest. "I missed you too, Fluttershy..." he trailed off, closing his eyes and resting his head against Fluttershy's head.

"H-how?" Fluttershy sobbed out.

"Twilight freed me," he answered, unable to contain a smile. Fluttershy nuzzled his chest, and he returned the gesture, nuzzling her neck.

"I-I thought... she was going t-to.." Fluttershy trailed off, clenching her eyes shut.

"Shh..." Discord cooed. "It's fine... She's a smart mare..."

"W-where... where is she?" Fluttershy asked.

Discord opened his eyes and scanned the room for any sign of Twilight, but found none. "I don't know... but I imagine she is close by," he answered.

As if on cue, Twilight calmly walked into the room, smiling at them. That didn't draw Discord's attention as much as the state of her mane and tail did. "Sleep well?" she asked.

Fluttershy pried her head away from Discord at the sound of Twilight's voice. She met Twilight's gaze and smiled. "Thank you..." she said, then laid her head back against Discord's chest. Twilight nodded, and Fluttershy sighed. It took her a few seconds to remember what Twilight looked like. Fluttershy turned back towards Twilight and her jaw parted. "T-Twilight... y-your mane..." she said in a hushed voice, entranced by the beauty of her flowing mane.

Twilight nodded. "It's... a long story... But... I think I can shorten it if you'd like?" she asked. Fluttershy nodded. "Well," Twilight started. Discord sat down but still held on to Fluttershy, like he was afraid to let her go. Twilight mulled over the sight for a few seconds. It made her smile, and it reminded her of herself. 'I know why you're doing that, but...' She shook her head. "I suppose the shortest version I can give you is that I now have the magic of six ponies, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, my sister, my brother, my niece, and my own magic. I recently took control of the sun and moon from the Inquisitor's council, and since then, whenever it is night, my mane and tail are like... this..." she motioned at her mane with a hoof. "I also have some of their memories, and I have their special talents," she added. "And I've grown. A lot..." she shifted her weight. "Questions?" she asked.

Fluttershy didn't know where to start. After a few seconds, she finally spoke, "Why... are you here?" she asked. "How did... you know where I was?"

Twilight lit her horn. There was a flash of lavender magic, and when the light died down, the Elements of Harmony were held in Twilight's magic, and she was smiling. "I tracked you down with your Element," Twilight answered as she levitated the gem out to Fluttershy. "Though..." she looked at Discord, "I did not expect to find you... here." Discord looked at her wryly. "As to why... I am here, I was looking for you, Fluttershy." Twilight looked back at her and smiled warmly.

"You were looking for me? W-why?" Fluttershy asked.

Twilight sighed. "That... is another long story..." she trailed off. "You're my friend... When you all... betrayed me, it... it hurt. I... wanted to..." she trailed off and shook her head, she didn't need to tell Fluttershy that. "I found Rainbow Dash a little over four weeks ago. The Inquisitor wanted her to find me and convince me to surrender. Needless to say, I didn't. I saved her life from some wolves, then... sort of took her prisoner. Of course, after that happened, I knew it was a matter of time until more of his soldiers found me, so I decided to speed up my plans to..." Twilight paused and steeled her resolve. "To kill him, and make Equestria my own..." She gauged Fluttershy's reaction, and to her surprise, Fluttershy didn't seem horrified. She pushed it aside and continued, "Along the way, I ran into some scouts, and took one of the unicorns with me... Then two weeks later, we went to Canterlot and I tried to kill the Inquisitor. I lost control and failed, and he almost killed me in the process." Fluttershy closed her eyes at that. "Afterward, I... teleported... the three of us away, and since then I've been recovering and... realizing that I'm not as sane as I was three years ago and that I need help."

Discord looked at her quizzically. "Not as sane as you were three years ago?" he asked. Twilight sighed and met his gaze, expecting him to scoff at that. "I'm assuming that has something to do with the spell Celestia used on you, considering that I know what it did."

Twilight nodded. "Yes," she said simply.

"And you want... us to help you?" Fluttershy asked.

"I just... want you to be close. I needed to know that you were okay, Fluttershy... I had no idea where you were, or what had happened to you. I wanted you to be safe, and I want to keep you safe..." Twilight answered. She looked down at the floor. "So far as the help goes... Having friends seems to help me." She looked back up. "I want to bring you back with me," she said. "I can protect you both. Once I deal with the Inquisitor, Equestria will be mine, and... while I will be... very, very busy for... several years, I would appreciate it if you were there for me."

Fluttershy smiled brightly, then looked at Discord pleadingly. Discord smiled at her. Fluttershy turned back towards Twilight and nodded, "We'll... come back with you. It's... it's been so long since... I've talked to anypony other than Discord... I... want to see them again. How.. are they doing?" she asked.

Twilight swallowed. "Well, Rainbow is... she's... she's... okay... Rarity is... in Manehatoon, and I've heard she's doing good. Spike is with Rarity, and he's doing good. He used to communicate with Princess Ember regularly, but I don't know if that's the case now... Applejack... I don't really know how she's doing... I have no idea what happened to Pinkie... so I need to find her... Starlight's in Canterlot, she's on the council that used to move the sun and moon... I... don't know if she's still in Canterlot now, though..." she furrowed her brow in thought. "I kind of put them out of a job... but I would think they'd still be in Canterlot."

"O-oh..." was all Fluttershy could say.

Twilight shook her head, then glanced around the room again. "Either of you... know what this place is?" she asked.

Discord and Fluttershy shared a curious glance, then looked at Twilight. "What do you mean?" Fluttershy asked.

Twilight walked over to a wall and put her hoof on it, then slowly dragged it down, noting the texture of the stone. "This cave has to be artificial in nature, it's too smooth to be natural..."

"The cave was already here when I got here," Discord commented dissmissively.

Twilight brought her hoof back to the ground, then turned towards Discord. "Speaking of that... what were you doing here?" she asked quizzically.

"Well, I was investigating a magical imbalance. When I got here, I found that infernal unicorn... He was using dark magic. Some spell I hadn't seen before. When I inquired about the nature of the spell, he attacked me. I, being me, of course, used my magic to defeat the spell. But it didn't affect the spell, and then it hit me and... you know the rest," Discord explained casually.

Twilight squinted at him and pulled away from the wall. "A dark magic spell that... resisted chaos magic and turned you into stone?" she asked. "That... that spell doesn't exist," Twilight said. "I studied every dark magic spellbook I could get my hooves on while I was in exile, never once did I find a spell that would resist chaos magic."

Discord shrugged. "I didn't think that was possible either, but I distinctly remember that being how it happened."

Twilight frowned in thought, then lit her horn and walked over to Discord. "If I may?" she asked.

Discord looked at her wearily. "What?" he asked.

"I want to check your memories," Twilight stated. "Rainbow's memories had been manipulated..."

Discord batted a claw at her and broke out into laughter. "Oh, Twilight! Good one, a unicorn managing to manipulate my memories!" His laughter stopped, and his amused expression was replaced by a cold glare. "What a laugh," he said dryly.

"Humor me," Twilight commanded.

"Bah! Fine. But no snooping around, okay?" Discord turned away from her and folded his arms while lowering his head so that it was level with her own head.

"You have my word that I will not look around anywhere but that event five years ago... But it will go easier if you think about it and open your mind to me," she replied.

Discord groaned. "Fine, fine... But, don't say I didn't warn you... You know who I am, and you're risking your sanity by looking into my mind..." He smiled at her.

Twilight tilted her head away from his and squinted at him. "I just want to see your memory, not..." She shook her head. Twilight took a deep breath, then lowered her head and cast her spell on Discord. Immediately she recoiled, then fought through vertigo and managed to focus on her task. After a few minutes of searching that felt like several eternities, of which each was more confusing than the last, she finally found the memory she was looking for. Instead of viewing the memory, she scrutinized it with her magic and examined it.

The feedback was overwhelming, and she had to shut her eyes to process the sheer number of links. There had to have been thousands of them, and each one made less sense than the last. She grunted, knowing it would take her years, if not centuries to try to understand Discord. After a few minutes, she realized the hopelessness of her situation, then switched tactics, looking for links that weren't chaotic, links that made sense.

She found less than twenty links that made sense, and each one was linked to a memory that made no sense. It gave her a headache. She couldn't even tell if the memory was accurate or if it had been manipulated. She tried examining one of the links itself. It took her several minutes to decide that the link was natural, then she went on to the next link. It felt completely different from the last. After a few minutes, she grimaced and moved on to another, which again felt completely different from the previous two. She cut the magic to the spell and depowered her horn, then opened her eyes and sharply inhaled.

"Well?" Discord asked expectantly. He wasn't even trying to hide his smirk.

Twilight closed her eyes and let her breathing stabilize over the next minute. Finally, she opened her eyes and met Discord's gaze. "If I ever suggest doing that again... don't let me."

Discord smiled sheepishly and chuckled.

"What did you find?" Fluttershy asked.

Twilight looked at her, opened her mouth to speak, and then shook her head. "Just..." she shook her head more intensely. "Can we leave?" she asked. "Originally I had planned to visit Rarity and Applejack, and then find Pinkie Pie... but now I'm... concerned." She turned to Discord. "You're not the Inquisitor, and he managed to imprison you in stone. He nearly killed me once before, and I'm worried. I'm probably being rash, but I think I need to talk to Starlight Glimmer about this development. Maybe she'll know more about it." She frowned as she considered her options.

"Um... are you sure that's a good idea?" Fluttershy asked, drawing Twilight's gaze back to her. "I mean... you said she was on the council that used to move the sun and moon, and that you put her out of a job..."

Twilight smiled. "She'll help me," she said simply. "A lot can happen in three years, but I know she will help me..."

Fluttershy tentatively nodded. "You're probably right, but... what if she doesn't?"

Twilight stopped smiling. "Well... if she doesn't, there's a reason I'm going alone..." she trailed off, letting the words hang in the air. After a few seconds, she shook her head sharply. "Come on, Rainbow will be happy to see you... and I think you'll like my new student... Her name's Zenith Star..." she trailed off and turned around while channeling more magic into her horn.

"U-um..." Fluttershy started, glancing at Discord. "Twilight, d-do you think we can... stay here for another day? I-I mean, if that's okay..." she trailed off softly. The aura surrounding Twilight's horn died, and she turned around and looked at her quizzically. "I-I mean... I... you just freed Discord... And... well, maybe it'd be better if we rest for another day before leaving?"

Twilight pursed her lips and thought it over. "I... I can allow this," she said gently. "Rainbow and Zenith should be fine... and I could use some rest... I am still recovering from my battle with... with him."

Author's Note

Yay! Fluttershy is back and alive! And Discord is... well, Discord. I don't know what to say about that.

Also, when you're used to writing "Elements of Harmony" or "Element of something" with capitalization, writing "Element of Surprise" habitually (without realizing you capitalize it) happens. Or at least it did to me when writing this. :twilightsheepish:

Chapter 14

Discord idly stroked his goatee while staring unblinkingly at the smooth stone wall across from him. Fluttershy laid against him, and neither of them had said anything since they awoke, both of them were content to sit there in silence, just enjoying each other's company. Both of their minds were filled with thoughts, each one struggling for dominance. Joy, happiness, regret, shame, concern, worry, confusion, tiredness, and shock.

They hadn't seen Twilight since they woke up, although if Discord focused, he could feel her presence just outside of the cave. If he focused more, he could tell that she was deep in thought, if he had more magic, he could tell what she was thinking about. Even without his magic, though, he could make a few guesses. While he normally enjoyed guessing games, he wasn't in the mood for them.

"Being trapped in stone for five years really isn't very pleasant, although it pales in comparison to being trapped in stone for millennia..." Discord mused aloud, finally breaking the silence.

Fluttershy blinked, then looked up at him. "Discord, I'm sorry that I couldn't save you... I tried, but-"

Discord turned away from the wall and looked down at the timid yellow pegasus. Despite the happiness of seeing him released, she was still upset. "Hush now," he said. "I know you tried. Thank you for finding me and... thank you for staying with me. I didn't think you would actually stay... and... it means a lot to me, Fluttershy."

Fluttershy smiled and hugged him. Discord stroked her mane with his paw and returned the hug. They broke apart after a few seconds. "Well..." she trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"Twilight is waiting on us," Discord replied in a strained voice.

After a few seconds, both of them stood up, then slowly made their way to the exit of the cave. Fluttershy couldn't help but look back a few times as they left. The cave had been her home for years, and while she was sad to know that she was leaving it behind, likely permanently, she knew it was for the better. It was time to move on.

Twilight didn't even acknowledge them as they stepped out of the cave and shielded their eyes from the bright morning sun. Both of them frowned at the alicorn's perplexed expression, and Discord could sense her unease. After a few seconds, they noticed her scanning the treeline. "What is it?" Discord asked, annoyed at his lack of magic to figure out what was disturbing the alicorn.

"This place feels wrong," Twilight stated firmly without looking away from the jungle. "And that feeling that something is wrong has only intensified ever since I got here," she explained. Her horn glowed and she cast a spell. She grunted and shook her head. "It's unnerving."

"M-maybe we should go then," Fluttershy suggested.

"Right," Twilight agreed. She looked over the edge of the jungle once more, then summoned her magic and cast her spell. The air distorted and rippled as the portal formed. She looked intently at the portal and extended both her magic and senses, making sure that nothing was wrong. She retracted her magic and senses back to the immediate area and pursed her lips. "Let's go," she commanded and motioned a hoof at the portal.

Both Fluttershy and Discord walked over to it and eyed it curiously. It was nighttime where the portal led to, and they could see a forest, one that was less lush than the jungle surrounding them. Discord licked his talon and touched the edge of the portal, then laughed. "Oooh that tickles!" he chuckled as he withdrew his talon. After a few seconds, he calmed down, and Fluttershy stepped forwards. Discord immediately impaired her movement and his expression became solemn. "I'll go first," he said. Fluttershy opened her mouth to argue, but it was too late. The draconequus darted through the portal, then turned around and motioned her through. Fluttershy didn't know what to expect, but she trusted Twilight. She stepped through and arrived on the other side.

Both Fluttershy and Discord immediately looked around, trying to place where they were. All they were able to surmise was that they were in the middle of a forest, in a clearing, with a stream running nearby. Twilight stepped through the portal, and the portal dispersed behind her. The alicorn immediately glanced around and smiled, then started walking off to her right. Fluttershy and Discord followed her with her eyes watching her ethereal mane and tail. After a few seconds, their sight was drawn to two ponies lying on a blanket. In hindsight, Twilight realized she should have left them with the tent. Fortunately, neither pony appeared worse for wear because of it.

Fluttershy and Discord watched Twilight approach the two ponies, but their gazes were focused more on the two ponies than Twilight. The pony lying on the left had a gray coat and deep mane. She looked young, and neither of them recognized her. The pony sleeping on the right was a different story. There was only one pony they knew who had that rainbow-colored mane, and the immediately recognized her sky-blue coat, even in the darkness.

Fluttershy felt better than she had in years, with the exception of seeing Discord free again. She smiled, then flew over and landed beside Twilight, falling in sync with the alicorn. Discord was more reserved, quickly walking over to the alicorn and pegasus. Twilight came to a stop just off of the blanket, then she tilted her head to Fluttershy. The pegasus looked at her questioningly, and her eyes twinkled. Twilight smiled and nodded. Fluttershy stepped onto the blanket, then lowered her head closer to the sleeping pegasus' ear. "Rainbow Dash?" she whispered.

Rainbow Dash jerked awake and was immediately on her hooves, startled. She looked around quickly and found her gaze drawn to Fluttershy. Her vision was clouded by sleep, and it took her a few seconds to recognize her. As recognition flashed through her eyes, Zenith groaned and shifted her weight. "Fluttershy!" Rainbow exclaimed joyfully. Zenith lifted her head from the blanket and blinked a couple of times.

"I'm back," Twilight said nonchalantly as Discord came to a stop beside her. Rainbow averted her gaze from Fluttershy and looked at Twilight, then frowned at Discord. "You were right," she said evenly. "Discord isn't the Inquisitor, despite it not making sense."

Discord closed his eyes and pointed his nose in the air indignantly. "As I said before, that infernal unicorn stole my magic and trapped me in stone." He folded his arms, then looked at the starry night sky. He had missed that sight, even when he was imprisoned in stone by Celestia and Luna, he could still see the sky, but the Inquisitor had stolen even that from him.

"And as I said before, that's not possible," Twilight said sharply. She winced and closed her eyes, then took a deep breath and exhaled. She turned to Discord, who looked at her patiently. "There's no way he can use chaos magic if he's not you, and yet he's using chaos magic. I can't use chaos magic, and I'm the most powerful being alive right now."

Zenith found her vision drawn to the tall figure that was a mismatch of parts. It gave her a headache just looking at him, although tiredness played a role in it. After a few seconds, she pushed herself up and yawned. She studied Discord again, then turned to Twilight. "We thought you were going to be gone longer..." she trailed off with a hint of worry.

Twilight turned her attention to the young mare. "Is something wrong?" she asked tenderly. Fluttershy and Discord both glanced at Twilight, looking at her with curiosity and wonder.

"No," Zenith answered quietly. She shifted her weight and looked at the grass. "It just... wasn't the same without you."

"We missed you," Rainbow surmised solemnly.

"I was only gone for a day," Twilight said with a frown. After a few seconds, she shook her head and smiled at them. "Well, I'm back. For now... Anything interesting happen in my absence?"

Rainbow shook her head. "Not really. Didn't really do much."

Twilight shrugged, then walked off to the side and lit her horn.

Rainbow turned her attention back to Fluttershy. Fluttershy looked back at her with a small and sweet smile, one which made Rainbow smile back at her friend. "It's been a while, huh?"

Fluttershy's smile became uneasy, and the pegasus nodded. She trailed a hoof in a circle in the grass, then walked over and laid down on the blanket beside Rainbow, laying slightly against the younger pegasus. "I-I'm sorry that I didn't tell you what happened, and that I disappeared without telling anypony, but it... it was important..." she trailed off, looking at Discord who sat idly beside Zenith, much to the filly's perplexion.

Rainbow smiled forgivingly. Fluttershy wasn't the only pony who had made mistakes, she knew that she had made big mistakes herself. "That's alright. You're okay, and that's what matters."

Fluttershy looked up at the sky. "How long have you been with her?" she asked.

"A month or so," Rainbow replied, following Fluttershy's gaze to the sky.

"Does she really control it all?" Fluttershy asked with wonder.

Rainbow tilted her head to the side and stared at the moon. "I don't know about all of it, but she controls the sun and moon now... With what happened to Celestia and Luna..." Rainbow trailed off, grimacing uncomfortably. She shot a glance towards Twilight. Finding the alicorn setting up a familiar tent, she smiled, then frowned. 'She forgot to set that up before she left... Well, neither of us thought about it either...'

"And you... you..." Fluttershy trailed off, lowering her gaze to the treeline. "You supported the Inquisitor, even after... after that happened?" She mustered her strength and turned to face Rainbow.

Rainbow was distraught and looking at the blanket. "I... did," she admitted sadly. "I... I look back now, and I don't know why I did. I feel so... so stupid!" After a few seconds, she sighed. "I... we should have trusted Twilight," she said firmly.

Fluttershy nodded in agreement.

"So..." Discord commented idly. "You're Twilight's new student," he said as he glanced at the filly sitting beside him.

Zenith glanced at him. "Yes," she answered.

Discord turned to her and looked at her thoughtfully. "Zenith Star, was it?"

She nodded. "And you're... Discord... the Spirit of Chaos..."

"And Disharmony," Discord added with a light chuckle. He looked away from Zenith. "Although that's more in the past, now..."

"Twilight thought you were the Inquisitor," Zenith commented uneasily.

Discord nodded. "She said as much, and oh the pain it caused me!" He lifted his paw to his head and fell down, lying on his back. He stared at Zenith, the mare looking back at him uncomfortably.

"The tent is ready," Twilight said loud enough for her voice to carry. She looked away and towards the ground, looking embarrassed. "I... forgot to set it up before I left... sorry," she said sheepishly. "I was... preoccupied."

Rainbow stood up, followed by Zenith, then Fluttershy and Discord. "You can't think of everything all the time, Twilight," Rainbow commented as they all made their way over to the tent. Twilight lifted the flap open for them as they proceeded inside.

"It doesn't help that..." Twilight muttered, trailing off as Rainbow walked passed, eyeing the alicorn quizzically. After the three ponies and draconequus entered the tent, she looked around cautiously, then stepped inside and sealed the tent up. Twilight looked at Discord and Fluttershy, "I know you two likely won't sleep because of just coming from halfway around the world, and having just woke up, but... you should try to rest again." She walked over to her sleeping bag and parted it with her magic, then glanced at Fluttershy and Discord. "I have a spell that can help you if you'd like."

Fluttershy and Discord both looked uneasy. "Did you sleep at all last night, Twilight?" Fluttershy asked, biting her lip as she finished.

Twilight grimaced. "No. I haven't gotten much sleep in the past couple days," she admitted. "Or years, really, although it's been worse in the past few weeks," she added dryly. "And I'm still recovering from my battle with the Inquisitor."

Discord perked up at that and walked over to Twilight. "How exactly did you lose to him? I know you're powerful, even more powerful than I was before the whole-" his face became an expression of disgust, "-'Inquisitor' incident." He looked at Twilight seriously. "You have the magic of five alicorns and a competent unicorn. Your special talent is magic, and you have five more special talents, now. The Inquisitor should be dead!"

Twilight sighed as all eyes fell on her. "Yes," she said absently, "he should be. I told you that I failed. I've had this conversation before-"

"Then why not have it again?" Discord asked. "It would be better hearing it from you, than from say... Rainbow's perspective." Rainbow eyed him evenly. He waved his talon at her dismissively.

Twilight swallowed, sat down on her haunches and tilted her head. "He hit me with an electro-maginetic pulse. I didn't recognize it until it was too late. I... knew of the existence of such a weapon, but I hadn't encountered one before. It almost killed me. After that, there was a suppression field in place," she said with annoyance.

"So, the second you encountered him, he used that weapon against you? And how did it not affect him?" Discord inquired as he stroked his goatee.

Twilight bobbed her head. "No... I fought him with..." She threw her head to the side and activated her horn, forging her magic into a blade which ignited to life in the air. "This."

Discord frowned and looked at her with surprise. "Twilight, that's... so beneath you! I know that your little blade thingy is powerful, but it's not a match for what you're capable of! You held back."

Twilight dispersed her magic and shook her head dismissively. "Yes I did," she said lightly. "And I regret that, but I would probably regret attacking him with the full force of my magic even more."

Discord looked up at the top of the tent deep in thought. "Considering that the full force of your magic would have leveled Canterlot mountain, I'm inclined to agree with you. That's no excuse for not toning your magic down and using it more effectively than how you did."

Twilight blinked. "You're not acting like the Discord I remember."

Discord smiled wryly. "A lot happened in the past few years," he said bitterly.

Twilight tentatively nodded in agreement. After a few seconds, she shook her head. "Regardless... I didn't want to damage the castle. Even if I toned it back, I likely would have damaged the castle more than I wanted. And then there is the part about me potentially losing control and accidently leveling the castle. I didn't want that to happen. And after the pulse, well, the field dispersed my magic when I used spells, and combined with being seriously drained by it..."

"Why did you go out of your way to protect the castle?" Discord asked. "The castle can be rebuilt. If you die, then you're dead. Was it really worth it?"

Twilight flexed her jaw muscles several times. "It's all I have left of Celestia and Luna. And considering that I grew up in the castle, it holds significant sentimental value to me."

Discord gawked at her. "You... sentimental value?" he asked in exasperation. "You could have crushed him! You have Celestia's magic, you could have made him into a star for pony's sake!"

Twilight said nothing and looked at him evenly for several moments. Silence filled the tent as the three other mares present stared at her. Twilight eventually broke the staring contest with Discord and glanced at the three other ponies, then sat up straighter. "I could have, yes," she said quickly and condescendingly as she looked away from Discord. She clenched her jaw. "It... did not cross my mind," she said defensively.

Discord's eyes narrowed. "It didn't cross your mind? Is that the whole truth?"

Twilight looked at him warily, and for a few seconds, she met his gaze, then she relented. "When did you become Applejack," she mumbled. She sat up straighter and took a deep breath. "No, that's not the whole truth. I did forget, but having six sets of memories, along with being isolated from everypony I once called a friend for three years and being betrayed by those same ponies... Well, it tends to make one less stable than normal... No. I did not think of doing that. And quite frankly, I still don't want to. I wanted to know why he did what he did, and how he did what he did." She paused and closed her eyes. "He took... everything from me. Turning him into a star is too good for him, I want to bleed him dry and revive him until he knows a fraction of the pain I endured."

"You wanted to torture him," Discord surmised.

"Yes... I did..." Twilight said soberly. She wasn't sure if she could honestly say that she could stop herself from torturing him even now. She blinked a couple times and looked at Fluttershy. She was surprised that the timid pegasus hadn't backed up in fear. The sight made her feel a little better, but worse at the same time. She felt condemned, despite Fluttershy looking at her with only concern, compassion, and forgiveness. "You know, when I fought him, he more or less said that insanity ran in my family, being an alicorn...." she trailed off looking at the floor.

"Twilight," Rainbow said seriously. "Out of five alicorns, only one went insane."

Twilight snorted and shook her head sadly. "Out of two alicorns several thousand years old, one of them went insane." She turned to Rainbow and looked at her thoughtfully. "He said I have a lot in common with Princess Luna and Nightmare Moon." She bobbed her head thoughtfully, "And I have her memories, and I know that having their memories influences me. The fact that I have called you my little ponies is evidence of Celestia's influence... It's... very taxing having their memories. Nopony was meant to hold six separate sets of memories, seven if you count Nightmare Moon's memories as separate from Luna's memories. And considering that..." she swallowed and looked at her hooves, "that my niece was the only one of them younger than me, and that Celestia and Luna were each several thousand years old..." Twilight lifted her gaze and saw Rainbow, Zenith, and Fluttershy all looking at her with heavy expressions. Even Discord wasn't unaffected by her tale.

Discord waved his paw at Twilight. "So what if you have six or seven different sets of memories. You're holding yourself together quite nicely. If anypony can handle it, Twilight, it's you. Celestia wouldn't have chosen you as her successor, let alone putting all of her faith in you if she didn't believe you could rise to the challenge." He smiled confidently.

"I... don't know," Twilight said in a strained voice. She shook her head. "I'm not a good pony..."

"Twilight," Rainbow said with an annoyed shake of her head, "you're a good pony. You're trying to be a good pony. You just have... problems..." She paused, searching for what to say. Her eyes lit up and she smiled, then winced. "You're a good pony, one who's doing the best they can udner the circumstances!"

Twilight groaned. "Good ponies don't want to torture other ponies to death. Repeatedly," she said dryly, then she sighed.

Rainbow shook her head. "Twilight, the Elements of Harmony let you use them. The Element of Kindness didn't try to stop you from finding Fluttershy! If they trust you, then I trust you!"

Twilight smiled weakly. "I don't know for a fact that I can use the Element of Magic... And I don't know for a fact that not just anypony can use the Elements..."

"We believe in you," Rainbow said, walking over to Twilight and hugging her. Zenith followed a second later, then Discord and Fluttershy. Twilight was taken aback and wasn't sure how to respond. After several seconds, she closed her eyes and leaned into the hug, returning it, wrapping her wings around all of them. Their action was so simple, yet it meant so much to her. It brought back memories of years prior, and with those memories came happiness and strength. The memories weren't all good, but they were reassuring. The time she spent with her five friends, the time she spent with Celestia, first as her student, then as fellow princess. Twilight smiled. "Thank you," she said sweetly.

"You're under a lot of stress," Fluttershy cooed. Twilight's mouth fell open, she was shocked that Fluttershy would so easily reason it off after not seeing her for three years.

"You're a bit of a mess, but who isn't?" Discord asked with a sly smile.

"You were betrayed by ponies you trusted, and you've been alone for three years," Rainbow added solemnly.

"You're our friend, and you're my teacher," Zenith said eagerly. "I look up to you," she chirped.

A few seconds, later, they pulled apart but stayed close. Twilight brought a hoof to her eye and wiped away a tear, smiling and snickering at herself. "Well..." she said lightly. "Alicorns are... very emotional," she responded. "And... I... was easily stressed before Celestia ascended me, but..." Her expression darkened. "When I rule Equestria, along with three other nations... I'm going to be under a lot more stress."

"We'll be right there beside you, Twilight!" Rainbow assured, leaping into the air a little and hovering there. A chorus rang out in agreement with her.

Twilight stifled a yawn. "I... need all of you, if not to protect me, at the very least to keep me sane." She bit her lip and turned to Discord, who smirked at her. "Even... you..." she said tentatively, feeling like she was going to regret saying that every day for the rest of her life.

"Well, considering that of everypony in this tent, I'll be around as long as you... I promise that I'll do my best to not make you insane," Discord chirped.

"Uh..." Rainbow's voice creaked. "Speaking of the whole long life thing..." she trailed off as everypony looked at her.

Twilight flashed her a smile, one that was halfway apologetic. "I haven't decided yet, sorry."

Fluttershy blinked and looked between them. "Decided..? Decided... what?"

"Twilight was considering ascending Rainbow to be an alicorn along with her so that she wouldn't be alone for the rest of her life," Zenith answered absently.

"You... you can do that?" Fluttershy asked, eyes widening in shock.

Twilight winced. "I... should be able to... once I figure out how..." she said hesitantly. "It's... very complicated..." she trailed off with a yawn. "Can we..." She shook her head. "Talk about this tomorrow? I'm still recovering from fighting the Inquisitor, dealing with six separate sets of memories, possibly being insane, having enough magic that I could accidently destroy a mountain, moving the sun and moon, dealing with emotional distress from being betrayed, having my mentor murdered, along with my niece, sister in law, and brother, and dealing with alicorn emotions and instincts," she listed at length, drawing blank stares from the other ponies present. She ignored them and levitated them all away at the same time, then laid down on her back, resting her head on the pillow and closing her eyes. "Sweet dreams, my little ponies," she cooed.

"I'm um... not really tired, Twilight..." Fluttershy said softly.

"Nor am I," Discord added.

Twilight pushed herself back up into a sitting position, sighing and looking at them sadly. "Do you want me to cast a spell on you to help you fall asleep?" she asked thoughtfully.

Fluttershy pursed her lips. "N-no..." she replied. She glanced at Discord, he shrugged. "I... Discord and I can go... keep watch or something..."

Twilight eyed Fluttershy curiously. "Doesn't that idea... scare you?"

Fluttershy nodded slowly. "A little, but I was on my own for three years, and Discord will be with me."

Twilight wanted to argue that she didn't need to keep watch, but she didn't. "Don't stray too far. I don't want anything to happen to either of you."

Fluttershy smiled weakly. "We'll stay in the clearing." She silently walked over to the tent exit, then left, followed by Discord, who watched Twilight for a second before stepping outside. Fluttershy walked over to the blanket on the grass, then laid down and looked up at the sky.

The stars were different from what she was used to, but it was comforting to know that she was home, even if things weren't the same as before. She closed her eyes and sighed, then felt a paw wrap around her withers. She opened her eyes and looked up at Discord. "Twilight... she's... changed so much..." she said sadly, dropping her gaze to the pale grass. "The Twilight I knew would never want to... to..." she couldn't bring herself to say it. She had changed in three years too, but not nearly as much as the alicorn had. She didn't hate Twilight, of course. The alicorn still scared her, although not as much as she startled her when she suddenly appeared yesterday, but she could still see her friend, even if she had changed a lot.

Discord looked up at the sky, frowning. "She is more unstable than I remember... And definitely more violent... But considering what she's been through, I can't say I blame her." He stroked his goatee as he looked at a particularly bright star with a pinkish hue, "She'll be fine, I have faith in her."

"How could we have been so blind?" Fluttershy asked crestfallen, turning to look at Discord. "H-he seemed like such a nice pony... I-I know that he wasn't now, but... And for Twilight to want to kill him... She's hurting badly... They were close before... that night. We should have realized that she wouldn't have claimed he was planning on taking over Equestria unless she knew for a fact... She wouldn't have said that about him unless she knew it was true, and even then... It would have taken some convincing... And now she wants to... to kill him."

Discord mulled it over. If he had his magic, he could have simply fixed almost everything. He couldn't bring back Celestia and Luna, nor the others, but he could make the Inquisitor pay. It seemed like Twilight was going to do that for him, though.

"Even Rainbow's... different," Fluttershy said softly. "She changed so much too... She's not as... her... as she was."

"If you ask me, it's an improvement," Discord chuckled softly. "If there's one constant in the universe, it's change. Believe me, I should know. I didn't think chaos could change. Chaos is the force that drives change, yet look at me..." He shook his head with a smile. "We've all changed." He grimaced sadly, "A lot of it for the worse."

"Twilight scares me... I... I know she's my friend, and I trust her, but..." Fluttershy trailed off, ashamed that she was afraid of her friend.

Discord thought it over, the need to comfort Fluttershy compelling him. "How did Twilight act before she met all of you?"

"She was... She wasn't very social, she kept to herself, and she was smart... All she really cared about was her studies and pleasing Princess Celestia..." Fluttershy looked at Discord questioningly.

"And after she became friends with all of you?" Discord continued.

"She was... well, as different as night was from day. Spike told us about how much Twilight had changed, and..." Fluttershy smiled. "She was completely different. She was still her, but she was..."

"Better," Discord answered. Fluttershy nodded. Discord smiled. "I think you see where I'm going with this, Fluttershy?"

Fluttershy thought about it for a few seconds, then nodded. It was a slow nod at first, but it became more energetic as time went on. "I... I think I do. You're saying that we're good for her and that we can help her change again?" Discord nodded. Fluttershy sighed sadly. "I don't know, Discord..." A few seconds passed and she thought about it, then she smiled. "I trust her," she said. "She wouldn't hurt anypony without a reason."

Author's Note

The first take of this chapter I did not like. Also originally I had Twilight immediately leaving to go to Canterlot to pay somepony a visit. I ended up scrapping that. The second take of this chapter bothered me, and for a while I wasn't sure why. It just felt off, felt wrong... Then I realized why. It was Twilight and Discord's interaction, and now that I've changed it, it feels better.

The problem? I made Twilight too aggressive. The solution? I toned it down to a more somber and emotional interaction on Twilight's part. It probably doesn't help that it's been over a month since I've worked on this, so I may be a tad rusty... But, progress.

Also, it's December. Which means Winter break from college and all that good stuff. This is good news and bad news, but mostly good news. The good news is that since I'll have more free time, maybe I'll finally be able to fix my sleep schedule to some semblance of normal. Waking up at 9AM every morning is fine, but I never get around to writing until... later in the day... I plan on catching up on my reading and why am I even putting this here, you all likely just... okay, I really don't know. If you're reading this, yay I guess?

I do plan to finish this story sometime in the next few months, and depending on how Winter Break goes, I may get a lot of updates out soonish.

Chapter 15

Twiligth stared intently at her moon as it disappeared below the tree line. The further it sunk, the more the edges of her ethereal mane became corporeal, taking with it the sense of curiosity it brought. She sighed as her sun started to warm the sky and bring light to the world, dispelling the darkness with its brilliance even though it was still hidden from her sight by the trees. She enjoyed controlling the sun and the moon and bringing forth the day, although she disliked her mane returning to its daytime state. The daytime state, despite being how she used to be, felt almost condemning. During the night, her mane was ethereal, while during the day it was normal. Princess Luna controlled the moon and Princess Celestia had controlled the sun. Princess Luna had turned into Nightmare Moon, too. It left her with a lot to ponder, how during the night her mane was ethereal, and yet during the day, it was not.

She pushed the thoughts aside and cast a glance towards a sleeping Fluttershy and Discord. She wasn't sure when they fell asleep during the night, but they had fallen asleep. She was grateful for that, it meant that maybe they wouldn't have as hard of a time adjusting to the new time zone as she expected. It wasn't of great benefit to her, but it was a benefit to both Fluttershy and Discord, it would be easier on them. She took comfort in hoping they would adapt more easily than she had expected.

She sighed and closed her eyes, then she bowed her head and lit her horn with her magic. A brilliant lavender aura lit the clearing as she reached out to her sun and took hold of it. The sun welcomed her. She greeted the sun the way she would have greeted a friend from long ago, she greeted the sun with a warm hug from her magic, then coaxed it further its journey into the sky. The act was so simple and effortless to her, yet in the back of her mind, she knew that it took several ponies to perform the same action as her, and they couldn't do half as good a job as she could. She smiled as warm sunlight started breaking the hold the night held, basking the world in the dawn of a new day.

Her task completed, she lifted her head back up and opened her eyes. Although the world still wasn't as warm as it had been three years ago, it was warming up gradually because of her keeping the sun on a schedule that even the most talented unicorns working together couldn't match. The cold wasn't a threat to her, but it was uncomfortable. She missed the warm summer days that filled her foalhood and the years she spent in Ponyville, but she knew it was only a matter of time before she brought them back. That knowledge gave her something to look forward to and hold on to.

She pushed her musings aside and stood up to her full height. She gazed around the clearing and let her gaze fall on Fluttershy and Discord. She watched them for several seconds, pondering the past three years before turning her attention to the tent. Both Zenith and Rainbow were still asleep. She wasn't sure how long it would last. Everypony with her was asleep. While they rested peacefully, Twilight stood guard, protecting and watching over her ponies that she loved. And yet, in the back of her mind, she knew that while she stood sentinel, ponies elsewhere were in danger and suffered, and evil roamed free.

Her thoughts turned to the Inquisitor. She frowned and her brow furrowed. Her salvation came several seconds later when she heard the zipper on the tent. She extended her senses and magic. Determining Rainbow had awoken, she smiled. "Good morning, Rainbow," she greeted as light hoofsteps approached her. Her greeting caused the sound to stop. Several seconds passed before they resumed.

"Morning..." Rainbow mumbled as she sat down beside Twilight, stifling a yawn.

Twilight glanced at her. "You're up... rather early."

Rainbow grimaced. "I... had trouble sleeping," she said at length.

Twilight frowned and turned to her. "If you'd like, I can cast a spell to-"

"No," Rainbow replied quickly. "Thanks, but... I think I'd rather stay up now. I'll keep you company."

Twilight scrutinized Rainbow's expression for a few seconds before turning away from her. "Alright."

Rainbow shifted her weight and turned towards Twilight. She took a deep breath and opened her mouth, only to pause. Several seconds passed and she slowly looked away from Twilight, her gaze falling to the ground. "Are you okay?" she asked.

Twilight turned back towards her. "Other than being on the verge of being insane and suffering from a whole host of mental issues? Yes." Rainbow winced and glanced at her. "I'm okay as I can be..." Twilight restated. She frowned in thought. A few seconds passed, each one bringing her more concern than the last. "Are you okay?" she asked.

"Yeah... I just..." Rainbow trailed off. She turned back towards Twilight and gave her a wry smile. "I'm worried about you."

For a few seconds, Twilight's expression was unreadable, then she slowly looked away from Rainbow and sat down on her haunches. She unfurled a wing and laid it over Rainbow. "I'm still managing it. You don't need to worry about me."

Rainbow turned away from Twilight and looked at her wing. "It's my fault you're in the state you're in, though."

Twilight smiled, snorted, and shook her head. "It's not entirely your fault, Rainbow." She turned towards the pegasus. "Besides, I forgave you."

"I'm still partially responsible for it..." Rainbow said under her breath. She turned back towards Twilight and smiled wryly. "What do you plan to do now that you found Fluttershy and Discord?"

Twilight sighed and cast her gaze onto the bubbling stream. "My end goal is still the same, kill the Inquisitor and regain control of Equestria." She pursed her lips. "I have more questions than what I did before finding Discord trapped in stone, though. It's..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "I don't understand it. I have no idea how he could be using chaos magic if he's not Discord, and yet, he is."

Rainbow grimaced. "Maybe it wasn't chaos magic?"

Twilight turned to Rainbow and looked at her seriously. "I know what I saw, Rainbow. It was chaos magic."

"Then how?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight shook her head. "I have no idea. Neither Celestia nor Luna know anything about... something other than Discord being able to use chaos magic. The only thing I can figure out is he somehow absorbed some of Discord's magic and took on attributes of it. Lord Tirek absorbed Discord's magic, but he couldn't use chaos magic. He only had access to the power of it, he couldn't bend reality by actually using chaos magic. It's infuriating."

"And you can't use chaos magic?" Rainbow asked.

"No. I can't use chaos magic," Twilight answered. She tilted her head to the side and looked at Rainbow thoughtfully. "I'm surprised you're actually having this conversation with me."

Rainbow frowned. "What do you mean?"

"We're talking about magic. You never really showed much interest in it years ago... Whenever I tried to explain it to you before, you mostly ignored me..." Twilight trailed off, expression mixed between curiosity and annoyance.

Rainbow shifted her weight and smiled sheepishly. "Well... I mean, you... you did say that you'd consider ascending me. I figured that I should... pay attention now."

Twilight smiled. "As much as the idea of teaching you magic excites me, at the same time I know that you're you. That..." She nodded. "That makes me cautious about it."

"I'll pay attention," Rainbow said.

Twilight nodded to herself. "You would be one of the most powerful ponies alive after I ascended you. Not at first, of course. You would likely be weaker than I was when I was a unicorn at first, but you would grow over time."

"Have you decided yet?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight turned away from Rainbow and looked over the treeline. "I'm still thinking about it," she said softly. "I don't want to be alone forever. I can't just ascend anypony... It has to be somepony I can trust, somepony who won't turn on me... I trust you, but I'm worried that you wouldn't be able to help me run Equestria."

Rainbow shifted her weight and looked at Twilight curiously. "Do you actually want me to help you run Equestria? Or would you rather I just be there for you?"

Twilight pursed her lips. "I need you," she said. "Perhaps not on a political level... But as a friend, somepony to keep me sane..." She bit her lip and looked at her hooves. "Somepony to keep me in check," she said in a low voice. Rainbow clenched her jaw. Twilight took a deep breath and looked back at the pegasus. "You could be useful as a commander, too."

Rainbow took a deep breath. "Do you really think you need somepony to keep you in check? You're not evil or crazy or anything like that. I trust you and I know you. You may be a bit..." she trailed off, bobbing her head as she searched for the right word. "You're hurt and a bit unstable, but you're worrying too much."

Twilight bobbed her head. She chose to ignore Rainbow's justification and instead focused on her question. "I don't know. On one hoof, I'm not sure anypony short of Discord could keep me in check, and I'm not sure even he could. On the other hoof, anypony able to keep me in check is a threat to me..." She sighed. "The problem... my... internal argument concerning that has a lot more to it, but I won't bore you with the details since they relate to my frayed mental state and..." she trailed off grimacing. "And telling you would put both of us at risk."

Rainbow turned away from Twilight and took a deep breath, letting the morning air invigorate her body with strength. Twilight averted her gaze from her friend and watched the treeline, scanning it for any potential threats, despite knowing that they were safe. "Why can't you use chaos magic?" Rainbow asked.

"It's complicated..." Twilight said at length, obviously uncomfortable with the question. "I'm going after him soon... I don't know whether or not I should go after the rest of our friends first or not..." She looked down at the grass and scrutinized it. "If I kill the Inquisitor first, then I don't have to worry about them being in as much danger, but I will be too busy to go after them... Leaving to go after them could cause everything to fall apart. If I go after them before I kill him, they will be in danger, and he will be in power longer, which means more ponies could die. And then I have another dilemma," she turned to face Rainbow, "when I go after the Inquisitor, you will all be safer away from me since I'll be fighting him, and yet if you're not with me, I can't protect you. If I take you with me, you'll all be in danger."

"I'm going with you when you fight him," Rainbow said firmly. "I can help you."

Twilight nodded reluctantly. "I trained you and Zenith... You two will probably be safe... If something happens to either of you, however..." she trailed off, not wanting to think about the possibility. She took a deep breath and exhaled. "If something happens to me, you will both likely be killed. I will try my hardest to protect both of you if that happens, but I cannot guarantee your safety."

"That's why I'm going with you." Rainbow said. "To make sure that doesn't happen to you." Twilight glanced at Rainbow. At Twilight's confusion, she continued, "I owe it to you," she said. "To make sure you don't get hurt or... get killed."

Twilight grimaced and bobbed her head. "I'm not sure you could actually help me when I'm fighting the Inquisitor, but you could prove a useful distraction, or perhaps you could make sure that I only have to deal with the Inquisitor."

"I've got your back," Rainbow replied.

"We will see," Twilight answered.

Everypony looked at ease as they sat around in a circle, talking to one another. Some of them were getting to know old friends again, while others were making new acquaintances. None of them looked worried in the slightest. It bothered Twilight, they acted almost like they had three years ago. As much as it bothered her, watching it play out gave her a sense of calm and left her smiling at how right it was, it was the way things were supposed to be. They weren't supposed to be afraid, they were supposed to be happy, Celestia had made sure of that for a thousand years by herself, and several thousand with her sister before that.

Unfortunately, while they were safe and oblivious, Twilight's mind wandered. It was her burden to keep them safe. She had been watching them for at least ten minutes, devoting only a small portion of her mind to watching them. The rest of her mind was in overdrive, thinking about the problems that faced her and the best solutions. From what she could tell, she was faced with three major problems. She wasn't sure which one was the biggest. She wanted to say the Inquisitor was the biggest, but she wasn't sure she could say that. She didn't like that, it made her feel selfish, but she crushed the feeling, although not as easily as she would have liked. With what she had been through, she felt that deserved to give more attention to her own personal problems than the problems of Equestria.

But it was a fragile balance. She walked a fine line, and she knew it. Everypony said they trusted her, that they trusted her not to do something she would regret. She didn't trust herself, however. After talking with Rainbow, despite her best efforts, the thoughts about what would happen to her if something happened to Rainbow or Zenith plagued her mind. It was the main reason she wasn't with the others.

She hated it so much. It felt perverted and twisted. The choice she was faced with was one she wouldn't wish on anypony, and if she had her way, nopony would ever be faced with the same choice she was ever again. It was the burden of a leader. If she let herself have friends again, she knew she would grow attached to them, she had already grown close to them. She didn't want to be alone anymore.

But, she knew that with having friends, with having connections, there was a price. Connections can be severed. Close friends can be used against her. She hated knowing that. Celestia and Luna's memories only further served to reinforce that idea. Three years ago, her friends betraying her had devastated her. Now, she knew it would be worse if something happened, she wasn't as stable as she had been back then. She didn't want to give the thought any purchase, but it demanded attention and would not be refused.

Twilight was a mess and she knew it. Everypony around her knew it. She was healing, she knew that, but as with any injury, aggravating it while healing will make things worse. Despite her best efforts, she feared that if something were to happen to one of them, it wouldn't simply make things worse. It wouldn't simply hurt her.

She knew she couldn't handle the pain that would come with that. It made her vulnerable, which weakened her and gave the Inquisitor an advantage. It was simple, and she wondered if he realized just how simple it was. They had fought before, she hated the outcome, she hated herself for failing, but she would not fail again. But unfortunately, that left her with a choice. It was simple, really. All he had to do to win would be kill one of them, one of the ponies she watched.

She wasn't sure she'd have the will to stop herself or keep herself going. If he killed one of them, there were only two possible outcomes. Neither of which would benefit anypony. Under the circumstances that he did kill one of them, the better outcome was that she lose her will to fight. She worried that it would be better if the Inquisitor killed her and established a fascist regime worse than King Sombra's than the alternative of her surviving. She feared the alternative was far worse.

And yet, the choice wasn't simple. While if she pushed them away she might be able to handle their deaths, she could lose herself. The first time after three years when she laid eyes on Rainbow, she had wanted to kill her. She stopped herself and she had not regretted that decision for a second. She knew that killing her might have given her a moment's pleasure, but she would have had a lifetime of regret, and what was worse was where that action could have led. If she had killed her, she would have killed one of her closest friends, soempony who her destiny had been intertwined with for years, perhaps her entire lifetime. Killing her could have put her in a very dark place, one which she knew she wouldn't recover from.

The thought made her sick to her stomach. She had Nightmare Moon's memories, she knew she could have ended up worse than her. The thought scared her. She didn't want that. As much as she wanted revenge on the Inquisitor, she didn't want everypony to be too afraid of her to live their lives.

Of course, there were still three more options available to her. She could go ahead with her plan to separate the memories and knowledge she had, and she could go a bit further to take steps to ensure that losing one of them wouldn't break her any more than she already was. Unfortunately, that was also a slippery slope that could still lead to a dark place. Another option was weathering it out, trusting that they would be okay with her. She knew that being unable to decide which course of action in regards to taking them with her or leaving them somewhere was a problem with her mind. She could not decide whether it was better to keep them close, even when confronting the Inquisitor or to leave them someplace safe. If they were out of sight, she had no way to know they were safe or keep them safe, although she could give them some more of her magic. That idea gave her pause, it was worth investigating.

It boiled down to decisions she couldn't make, decisions she couldn't process. If she made a wrong decision, the results would be disastrous, and she knew it, and yet, the longer she delayed, the more ponies would suffer, and the longer the Inquisitor had to prepare. It did give her time to recover and prepare, but she didn't know how to analyze the benefits against the drawbacks. The Inquisitor had more resources and more options to use against her, but she had power which he couldn't match if she let herself use it.

She shifted her weight and pressed her hooves against her temples. She closed her eyes, trying her best to ignore the pain surging through her mind caused from the decisions she couldn't make. She logically knew that the problem was her indecision, her best option was to make a choice and stick with it, to stop thinking and take action, but the weight of the consequences of her actions were just too much, if she made a mistake, everything could be lost. She opened her eyes and glanced at her friends.

Perhaps one day in the future, she would look back at this moment and regret it. Perhaps one day in the future, she would look back and smile. Despite knowing that she should, she didn't. She didn't decide to walk over to them and join them. She took a deep breath and stood up. None of them noticed her movement. Their obliviousness to her actions left her feeling calm despite the battle raging in her mind. She lit her horn and teleported away to the nearby plateau. The second she appeared, she regretted not telling them and felt as if someone had wounded her, leaving her with a hole in her chest.

She glanced at the rocks beneath her hooves, then closed her eyes and looked up into the sky. When she opened her eyes, the cloudless blue sky greeted her absently. 'You must do this on your own,' Celestia's voice echoed in her mind. The memory followed shortly thereafter, from Celestia's perspective. As it played out, she found her gaze drawn back to the ground.

"This is a mistake, isn't it?" she asked aloud. "I should be with them instead of doing this." She stood still for half a minute, waiting in silence for an answer which never came. Despite nothing answering her, she knew the answer in her heart. She sighed and casually started walking forward, with no set destination in mind. As she walked, she lit her horn. After several minutes of aimless wandering, she found herself in the forest. The tall trees blocked out the sun and provided protection from anypony flying overhead, her friends wouldn't be able to find her.

She channeled her magic into the air, six points of magic formed, each one growing as she slowly channeled more magic into the air, careful not to make any mistakes. As the points grew into orbs, they started to take on shapes, an image of the sun, a crescent moon, a crystal heart, a shield, a six pointed star, and an blank pink orb. The sight of the blank orb was physically painful. She closed her eyes so she wouldn't have to look at it, but she could still see it in her mind, it was forever burned into her memories. She fought passed it and surged more magic into her horn and the air, causing the magic to quickly reach its apex. Once the first part of the spell was ready, she cast the second part of her spell. The magic became corporeal, replaced with six crystals.

She opened her eyes and caught the crystals in her magic, holding them suspended in the air. The six perfect crystals could have been sold at very high prices, but she had something more important in mind. She levitated the crystals around in a circle around their center, then stopped when the sun crystal was in front of her. It was a spitting image of Celestia's cutie mark. She swallowed at the sight and found her mouth dry. She licked her lips and then took a deep breath.

Creating the crystals was the easy part, the next part, separating her memories and knowledge, then ensuring that they were protected and would be preserved for eternity would be the challenge. She closed her eyes and delved into her own mind with her magic. She wasn't surprised at the state of chaos and disarray she found herself in, she felt absolutely nothing when she looked at it. In another life, it would have horrified her to no end. Now, it just left her feeling dull, bland, and empty.

She began weaving her magic through her mind, searching out Celestia's memories and knowledge. As time progressed, it became easier, like the memories and knowledge were coming to her, wanting her to find them and use them. She collected the memories and knowledge, along with the remnants of the spell that gave them to her, then took a deep breath. She needed to do it, she needed to remove them from her mind.

Her magic refused to obey her. She clenched her jaw and tried harder, only to succeed in giving herself a headache. She poured more magic into the spell, a wave of nausea and dizziness overtook her. She spread out her front hooves to prevsent herself from falling forward from the dizziness and pain. Something warm rolled down her muzzle. She grunted, fear slowing gripping her being. It wasn't that she didn't have the power to remove it, she didn't want to, and because of that, her magic wouldn't obey her. She didn't have the willpower to follow through with it.

She didn't want to lose it. She dispelled the magic, immediately she felt like the pressure inside of her head had halved, sending a wave of relief flooding through her body. She slowly opened her eyes and stared at the crystal in front of her. A sense of calm overtook her, then she closed her eyes as she felt an oncoming onslaught. Her eyelids were unable to stop it, and soon her fur was matted by her tears.

She had failed again. There was nopony alive who would be able to remove the memories from her mind since she couldn't do it herself. She sat down on her haunches and wiped the blood from her muzzle with the back of her hoof. "This is..." she trailed off. She smiled and snorted at how ridiculous the situation was. "I don't want to let go of their memories, despite how detrimental it is to my health... I'm going to drive myself insane, aren't I?" She took a deep breath and then exhaled sharply. "I can't fix myself," she said. "Of course I can't..." she said grimly.

She bobbed her head as disgust filled her. "And I know the solution, but I can't bring myself to take it," she said bitterly. She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. She lit her horn again and teleported the Elements of Harmony to her, replacing the six crystals she had created. "I need you, don't I? I need my friends. Perhaps this bears some strange twisted resemblance to when we faced down my... to when we faced down Nightmare Moon?"

"What would have happened if I had killed Rainbow Dash?" she asked the Elements aloud. She revolved them around and stared intently at the Element of Magic. "What would have happened if I had killed her?" she demanded. "How would things have turned out by now?" She paused to take another deep breath. "Would I be dead, or would the Inquisitor be dead? Would we both be dead? Would I be in power, or would I rule over a dead world?"

She clenched her jaw at that thought, then replaced the Element of Magic with the Element of Loyalty. "You betrayed me. I forgave you. I needed to forgive you. If I didn't... well, I can take a guess at where we'd be right now, but you know for a fact, don't you?" She tore her gaze away from the artifact and glanced at each Element in turn. With each time her gaze passed over one of the gems, a part of her broke, the memories hurting her. She clenched her eyes shut. "Help me, please..." she pleaded in a low voice.

As she expected, no help came from the inert gems. She opened her eyes and teleported them away. She swallowed and delved into her memories, making sure she still had access to Celestia's memories and knowledge. The thought of losing that knowledge, of being the one responsible for destroying all of that knowledge, horrified her. Much to her surprise, the memories came back to her with less effort and they were sharper and clearer than before. She breathed a sigh of relief, the sense of calm returning along with knowing that she hadn't inadvertantly destroyed Princess Celestia's memories. Just to make sure she didn't make anything worse or damage the memories or her power, she checked herself with magic.

She nodded to herself, then she focused her magic into the air once more. The magic flowed from her horn like a fluid and coalesced into an orb which burned with energy. She let the orb grow for several seconds until its radius was as long as her body was. She watched the orb as it rippled and churned with raw power, distorting the air around it with heat and energy.

She tilted her head to the side and formed a barrier around it, then compressed it. The lavender orb quickly collapsed in on itself under the control and coaxing of Twilight's magic. As it grew smaller, the lavender and pink hue gradually shifted to blue, and then to white, until the miniature star was the size of her hoof. She glanced back behind her and took several steps back, then relaxed her hold on the orb.

Almost immediately, the orb flared to life, expanding back to its original size, and then doubling in size. It's color shifted from white, to blue, to lavender, to pink, and then to red in the span of a few seconds. Twilight was mesmerized by it, and she continued to be impressed by her control of such magic. After a few seconds, she collapsed her barrier and then reabsorbed the magic through her horn.

For several seconds after the orb dissipated, she stared into the empty space it once occupied. Her mind wandered, going over Celestia's memories. She was disappointed to find that like before, not all of her memories were available to her, but she shook it off. Over the next few minutes, her head gradually fell downward, bringing her gaze to her hooves. She had still failed to accomplish her goals. Even if the momentary distraction had helped make the pain more tolerable, it did nothing to make it easier for her to accept that she couldn't fix herself.

She slowly stood up, then lifted her head back up, although she didn't have the will to carry it as high as normal, and started walking out of the forest. It was a slow walk, every step felt like it took an eternity to pass, but eventually, the clear blue sky greeted her. Twilight wasn't sure how much time had passed, but she knew she needed to get back to the others. Even if she didn't want to talk about it, she needed to. If not to tell them, then to help herself. She glanced up at the clear blue sky and watched it closely for several seconds, looking at it with a threatening expression.

Eventually, she pulled her gaze away from the bright sky and shook her head, then she channeled her magic into her horn and teleported back to the others.

She wasn't sure what she had expected. She knew that not very long has passed since she left, but they were all still surrounding the orb. Unlike before, however, they were all looking at her. At first, they had looked at her expectantly, like they had expected her to comment on what she was doing, but their expectancy quickly faded to worry. As if they were a wave, they all stood up and turned around, then rushed over to her.

"What happened?" Rainbow asked quickly.

The others shared a look of concern, although Rainbow and Fluttershy had the deepest expressions of worry. Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it and shook her head. 'My nose was bleeding,' she remembered. "I tried to separate their memories," she answered. Her answer only caused their worry to deepen. Her lips drew into a straight line, and she sat down on her haunches. "It didn't work," she snorted derisively. "Of course it didn't work. Of course I can't fix myself..." she grumbled.

"But I thought that-"

Twilight looked at Rainbow and lifted her hoof up ever so slightly, motioning for the pegasus to stop. "I would be capable of removing them, but I don't have the will to. It's either that or I'm missing something." She shook her head. "So, you know, I'm just kind of stuck like this, on the brink of insanity, for the rest of my life," she said harshly. Rainbow winced and stepped back from her. Twilight sighed.

"Are you okay?" Fluttershy asked, gaze directed at her nose.

Twilight took a deep breath. She waited a few seconds to think about it, then pursed her lips. "I don't know. Theoretically, yes, I am fine. Physically? Probably. Mentally?" she paused and grimaced. "Not so much," she said at length in a strained voice.

"What about emotionally?" Zenith asked.

Twilight glanced at her and bobbed her head. "Not really," she answered. Zenith wrapped her arms around her as best she could, the other three quickly followed, although Discord was much more reserved about it. Twilight swallowed and closed her eyes. "I... I don't know what to do," she admitted. She extended her wings, then pulled everypony closer to her and held them against her.

"Then we'll help you figure it out!" Rainbow said enthusiastically.

"But I can't separate their memories from my mind. I can't fix that... I won't be able to..." Twilight bowed her head. 'I really am going to have an interesting life, aren't I?' She snorted at the thought which was accompanied by a memory.

Rainbow grimaced and bit her lips. 'Is this my fault?' she asked herself. It felt like it. She blamed herself. If she had chosen a different course then maybe Twilight wouldn't be suffering so much. She didn't understand it though, 'Why would Princess Celestia do that to you?' While she never really knew Princess Celestia as well as Twilight, but she could tell that Celestia would never intentionally hurt Twilight. "What if.... What if you're not supposed to separate the memories from your mind?" she asked, then pulled back and looked up at Twilight.

Twilight tilted her head to the side and looked at the treeline thoughtfully. "I'm an alicorn, and by far the most powerful one to ever have lived, and carrying six sets of memories is still detrimental to my health," she answered.

"Why would Princess Celestia cast such a spell on you if it would hurt you?" Rainbow challenged.

Discord frowned and pulled back. "She would never cast a spell on you with the intention of hurting you, and I know for a fact she wouldn't cast a spell on you if there was a chance of it hurting you," he answered. He stroked his goatee as he thought more about it.

Twilight snorted derisively at herself. "Then I guess she overestimated my capabilities... Because I've failed."

"Princess Celestia would never hurt you, Twilight..." Fluttershy added, holding Twilight tighter. "You know that, don't you?"

Twilight clenched her jaw shut. "I-I know that," she said. "I just... what if she is dead because she thought that I could save her, and then I failed? What if she thought that I could handle this power and their knowledge and memories, but I can't? I'm already a mess, and it could get worse!"

"What if your only being hurt by the spell and carrying six different sets of memories because you're trying to deny or reject them?" Zenith asked.

Twilight grimaced. "Fighting against mind magic can be... detrimental," she admitted. "But this is different..."

"They put their faith in you, Twilight. I know they trusted you with their lives, and I know that you won't let them down," Discord said. "You said that Celestia cast that spell on you. When she died, when Luna died, when Cadance, Shining Armor, and-"

"Don't," Twilight said firmly.

Discord paused and scrutinized Twilight, who was staring intently at the grass in front of her hooves. "When they died, their magic, their memories, and their special talents saught you out." He paused to let it sink in. After several seconds, Twilight looked up at him. "Now, normally that doesn't happen," he said matter-of-factly. "But they chose you, Twilight. Princess Celestia chose you to be her student because you demonstrated high aptitude for magic. She didn't just teach you, she practically raised you from what I've heard..." Twilight closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "She chose you to be her successor. They chose you to be their successor. You clearly have neither recognized nor accepted that."

Twilight tentatively opened her eyes and met Discord's gaze. Discord held all of her attention. "They. Chose. You," he said firmly. "They knew you could handle it. I know you can handle it. You can do this."

"Yeah!" Rainbow agreed. "We all know you can do this, Twilight! If anypony can, you can."

"I'm not stable," Twilight stated. She swallowed and licked her lips. "If I snap-"

"You won't," Fluttershy said in a soft voice.

Twilight turned and looked at Fluttershy. "I've snapped before... you saw what happened then."

Fluttershy wanted to take a step back from Twilight, but she didn't. "You didn't hurt anypony," she said.

Twilight sighed. "I'm not the same pony I was back then, Fluttershy..." She shook her head and glanced up at her sun. "I... I'm just going to have to deal with this until I have more time and resources I can devote to fixing this, I guess." She sighed and looked down at the ground. "Which means I'm going to have to fight him again, in the state of mind that I'm in..." she grumbled. Her lips curled into a neutral line, and she looked up. "I want you all as far away from me as possible when I fight him," she said. "It's too risky to have you nearby."

"I'm staying with you!" Rainbow said firmly. Twilight turned and opened her mouth. "You could use the help," she said. "You've said it yourself, you can only do so much." Twilight closed her mouth.

"I'm coming too," Zenith said.

"Zenith..." Twilight said as she turned to face the young unicorn. "You should-"

"You trained me for this, didn't you?" Zenith asked.

Twilight sighed and relented. "I guess I kind of did, didn't I?" she asked. "But I don't want either of you to get hurt." She tilted her head to the side. "I have plans for both of you after Equestria is mine."

"We'll be fine," Rainbow said.

"Thank you," Twilight said. "This... talking does help. I just... I need to set my mind on a course and stick with it... but I can't decide... but... this has helped." She took a deep breath and nodded to herself. "I'm going after the rest of the girls and Spike, then I'm going after the Inquisitor... After he's dead, I'll bring you all back to Canterlot and... I'll figure something out."

Author's Note

Phew... Finally, finally, finally... finally finished this chapter. I had the first part of it sitting around for... a while, then... I have no idea what happened. I just couldn't figure out how to continue it, writer's block, life, et cetera, and now this chapter is finally done. It was a hard chapter to write and decide on, and it still feels... redundant and repetitive, but I have addressed more of Twilight's state of mind.

This chapter also serves as a transition. Not many chapters left, can't say how many either, but the band's getting back together over the next few chapters... and then... well... then it's judgement time...

Chapter 16

Twilight glanced up at the moon. The bright white orb dominated the night sky and despite the dark craters which served as scars from past events, her moon looked eager. She smiled as her ethereal mane blew in an astral breeze across the edge of her vision. She took a deep breath, then glanced at the tent. Her magic and her senses told her that Zenith and Rainbow were asleep, although she wasn't sure how much longer they would be asleep. With any luck, it wouldn't take long.

She glanced down at Fluttershy. The timid, pale yellow pegasus looked up at her expectantly, awaiting her to say or do something. "Thank you for offering to come with me," Twilight said calmly.

"Well... I figured it would be better to keep you company since we're not tired," Fluttershy replied with a gentle smile.

Twilight smiled back. "I appreciate that..." She looked away from them and scanned the treeline. The dark forest, though hidden from the sight of normal ponies, was well known to her. She had mapped it with her magic, and she knew everything in the forest. Three years ago, knowing just how much life flourished in that forest would have surprised her, but not anymore. Plants, animals, insects, the occasional pony she didn't recognize, and a few varying other life forms inhabited the forest. The forest was also teeming with predators, but they could all sense her and her magic. Her presence was more than enough to keep them at bay, and they knew to stay clear of the clearing she inhabited, even while she was temporarily away.

"I'm sure you're looking forward to seeing Pinkie Pie again," Twilight said idly as she lit her horn. As soon as the pink glow filled the air, a blue, balloon shaped crystal flashed into existence, held in Twilight's powerful magic.

"I really am," Fluttershy answered eagerly. "Even if she is a bit excitable..." she trailed off more reserved, looking at the ground and idly running her hoof through the moonlit grass. Discord laid his hand on her shoulder and smiled at her reassuringly. Fluttershy looked over at him and smiled her thanks.

Twilight smiled at the display which she saw out of the corner of her eye. She sat down on her haunches and took a deep breath, then closed her eyes. She levitated the Element of Laughter closer to herself, then cast the same spell she had cast on the Element of Kindness. Whether it was because she had used the spell before or the Element of Laughter was more receptive to her, she didn't know, but the result was clear almost immediately. The gem pulsed with a soft, inner light-blue light, one which Twilight could see through her closed eyelids. The crystal radiated warmth and happiness, almost as if it sought to comfort her. She opened her eyes, smiling at the gem. She snorted lightly and stood up. "I should have known that," she said, shaking her head.

"What?" Fluttershy asked curiously, stepping closer to Twilight.

Twilight teleported the gem away and looked down at Fluttershy with a warm smile. "She went back home, to her family," she answered. She tilted her head to the side. "While it may not be as fun as being with us... it's still her home," she added. She shook her head, then leveled her horn forward and cast another spell. Her magic shot forth into the air, then coalesced into a portal, rippling with magic and distorting the air. "I really like that spell," Twilight said idly. She stepped forward and looked through the portal. While she had never visited the rock farm where Pinkie had grown up, she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that the portal lead to that rock farm.

Twilight glanced back at Fluttershy and then at Discord. "Let's go," she said. She turned back to the portal, then stepped through it. Once on the other side, she carefully looked around. The portal was in a wide open barren field, sparsely populated by special rocks which were slowly absorbing minerals and growing. She glanced back at the portal and stepped out of the way, allowing Fluttershy and Discord to walk through, side by side. Both the mare and the draconequus looked around.

Twilight stepped around the portal and gazed upon a lone house set atop a hill. Near a sheer cliff face, there was a large, egg-shaped rock, precariously standing up, looking as if it was ready to roll over the edge of the cliff and crush anything in its path. She eyed the boulder cautiously, then turned around to face the portal. She pointed her horn at it, then collapsed it. In the wake of the collapsing portal, Fluttershy's mane and tail blew in the wind, causing her to turn around, looking back with fear. Discord stood right there beside her, hand still on her back.

Twilight extended her senses and magic, examining the area, making sure it was safe and that they hadn't walked into a trap. While she knew it was next to impossible, she had learned to be cautious over the past three years. She smiled once more as she felt a familiar mare's presence. She immediately teleported her companions and herself up the cliff.

No sooner had they appeared than something pulled Twilight into a hug and nearly strangled her to death. Twilight wheezed under the unexpected assault and barely avoided using her magic. "P-Pinkie..." she squeaked out.

Pinkie loosened her grip on Twilight but kept her in a firm hug. "Twilight! I'm so happy to see you again! You have no idea how excited I was when my tail told me that you were coming! After what happened three years ago I didn't think I was ever going to see you again but then my tail was all shaky and my legs were itchy and I just knew that you were going to come back and show up and I'm so happy to see you! I missed you and the rest of the girls so much, and my Pinkie Sense also told me that you're getting the gang back together again!"

Twilight already had a headache. She shook her head slowly, then sat down on her haunches and pulled Pinkie close to her, then nuzzled her. Pinkie giggled and returned the nuzzle. "I've missed your antics, Pinkie... I really could use a good laugh after what I've been through..." After a few more seconds, Pinkie pulled back from Twilight. Twilight smiled down at the earth pony, even though she had nearly driven her insane on multiple occasions. She frowned and filed that thought away, it wasn't the same kind of insanity she was dealing with.

"Don't worry about that, Twilight. You'll be fine!" Pinkie replied.

Twilight opened her mouth, "How did-" she promptly shut her mouth. "Nevermind," she said, remembering that sometimes it was better not to ask Pinkie how she knew something. She sat up, then stepped aside, letting Fluttershy walk over to Pinkie.

Discord looked leery about the pink pony, and Fluttershy's well-known timidness was on display in her slow walk toward them, as if she was afraid of Pinkie. Pinkie Pie bounced forward and pulled Fluttershy into another firm hug. Fluttershy squeaked and winced, but returned the hug. "It's... good to see you too, Pinkie..." she wheezed out. Pinkie tightened her grip, then let go after nuzzling her.

Discord eyed Pinkie cautiously, as if he was unsure about her, while she walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around his body, then nuzzled him, drawing a confused look from the draconequus. Fluttershy glared at Discord, causing him to smile eagerly and quickly return the hug. Twilight suppressed a giggle, then looked back at the house. "How's your family doing?"

"They're doing great!" Pinkie answered from beside Twilight. Twilight glanced over at her, then wrapped her wing around the earth pony. Pinkie sighed happily and nuzzled her. "You're really soft and cuddly now!" Pinkie exclaimed, rubbing her side against Twilight.

Twilight opened her mouth, then closed it, although her disgruntled expression remained. Fluttershy smiled softly and walked over to them. Twilight shot a glance at Fluttershy that said 'help me.' Fluttershy laughed lightly, then sat down beside pinkie, under Twilight's wing.

Eventually, Pinkie settled down, still smiling happily. Twilight glanced at Discord and motioned him over to her with a nod of her head.

Discord sighed. "Well, I suppose I could join you I guess," he said casually. He made his way over to them, then sat down beside Twilight. There was barely enough room for him under Twilight's wings, but he managed to fit.

"How have you been, Pinkie?" Twilight asked idly.

"Oh, I've been okay," Pinkie answered. "Other than... well... you know," she trailed off looking at the barren ground.

Twilight grimaced and looked at her. Even in the soft moonlight, she could see that her mane wasn't as poofy as she remembered. She felt a stab of guilt in her chest at the sight. "I'll make things right, I promise," she said.

Pinkie looked up at her, smiling weakly. "I know you will."

"I'm going to kill him," Twilight said heavily.

Pinkie's smile wavered and she slowly looked down at her hooves. "I... I know." The thought of anypony dying was enough to cripple her, and yet, she knew that either the Inquisitor would die, or Twilight would die. She didn't like that, but she knew that as long as one of them lived, the other wouldn't rest. One of them had to die. It weighed heavily on her, even with all the Inquisitor had done, she didn't believe killing him was the right thing to do, but the alternatives were either more ponies suffering and dying, or Twilight dying, which would mean more ponies suffering and dying because of the Inquisitor.

She didn't like it one bit, but she knew that it came down to Twilight or the Inquisitor, and she missed her friend. "He... he deserves it," she whimpered. "S-so much... pain and suffering... all be-because of him," her soft, pain-filled voice was unrecognizable to everypony beside her, and even Discord was taken aback. She turned to Twilight and buried her head into her side. She struggled to stifle her cries, but despite herself, she broke down sobbing into Twilight's coat. Fluttershy buried her head into Pinkie's side and pulled her into a hug, though both of them leaned on Twilight.

Twilight closed her eyes and lowered her head. She pulled everypony closer to her and pulled Pinkie against her with her arm. "It..." she trailed off. "It will be okay," she reassured. Her own reassurance, while directed entirely at Pinkie, somehow made herself feel better. "I promise," she added.

Even without looking at Pinkie, her alicorn senses alone told Twilight just how much pain Pinkie was really in, to say nothing of what her ears heard, and what she felt from Pinkie burying her head into her side. Fluttershy had been lucky in comparison, she hadn't been in Equestria for the past three years, Pinkie, on the other hoof, had. The earth pony tentatively pulled her head back from Twilight's side and looked up at her. Twilight knew that if she looked at her, it would hurt, but she braced herself and looked down at her anyway. "P-pinkie promise?" Pinkie asked through tear-filled eyes, accented by matted fur along her muzzle where her tears had flown down her face. With Pinkie having pulled back, the fur that she had cried into grew cold.

Twilight struggled to give her a smile but managed to pull one off and smiled warmly. She raised her hoof and made a motion of crossing her chest, "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye," she said in a soft voice, covering her left eye with her hoof as she finished.

A little of the puffiness of Pinkie's mane returned, and a small, subtle smile grew out of a twitch of her lips. Pinkie grabbed Twilight again and held onto her as if her life depended on Twilight. She clung desperately to Twilight, putting her trust, faith, and hope in her friend.

Twilight leaned down and nuzzled Pinkie's neck, then glanced at the door of the house. Four ponies stood watching them, and although she hadn't seen them before, she immediately recognized Pinkie's father, mother, and two of her three sisters. The two older ponies met Twilight's gaze, and without saying anything, they reached an understanding, which led to an unspoken agreement. The lighter of the two younger ponies looked mournful, yet content, while the darker one looked unhappy and apprehensive.

Twilight looked away from the rest of Pinkie's family and pulled her head back from Pinkie. "We should get going."

Pinkie pulled back from Twilight and nodded sadly. She slowly stood up and made her way back over to her family, then hugged each one of them in turn, each hug lasted a few seconds longer than the last. Eventually, she turned back around and walked back over to Twilight, Fluttershy, and Discord, her walk was still slow and heavy, but it was a little cheerier than before.

Twilight stood up and beckoned Pinkie over to her with her wing, then gave her another quick hug, then she folded her wing back to her side, releasing Pinkie. She turned around, then cast her portal spell. She watched the air ripple from her magic, then distort. The barren field beyond where the portal lay was replaced with a soft meadow filled with the sounds of a babbling river gently flowing by.

"Oooh! What's that?" Pinkie asked, excitement replacing anguish.

Twilight smiled and let her eyes scan the other side of the portal for a few seconds. "It's a new spell I created. It is essentially an efficient method for long range teleportation, although it uses a lot of magic, making it inefficient for short range teleportation. It more or less links two... and I lost you didn't I?"

"Yup!" Pinkie said enthusiastically, giggling. She bounced through the portal to the other side, then turned around and eagerly awaited the others. Fluttershy and Discord followed her through, but Twilight hesitated. She tilted her head to the side and looked at Twilight, curious as to why she wasn't coming yet.

"I will be right there," Twilight said. "You don't have to wait for me to start the party." She smirked and turned around. The smirk faded as her gaze fell on the four present members of Pinkie's family. She subtly shifted her head to her right and glanced back at the portal, making sure nopony was watching, then she faced them again. She took a deep breath, then casually strode over to them.

"Princess," the stallion greeted, bowing his head in a reserved gesture of respect. It was clear to her that Pinkie hadn't been joking when she said her parents were very reserved, both of them were dressed very conservatively, in a way so as to not draw attention to themselves, yet by dressing in such a manner, they drew more attention to themselves. Twilight found it strange.

Twilight nodded, acknowledging him. "You're Pinkie's Father, right?"

The stallion nodded. "Take care of her," he said, his voice neither threatening nor overbearing, but respectful.

Twilight bowed her head in affirmation. "You have my word," she said in a heavy, yet regal voice. "And I'll fix this all, I promise," she added.

Pinkie's father lifted his head up a little, then nodded. Twilight glanced at the rest of them, then turned around and made her way back to the portal.

"Hiya Dashie!" Pinkie exclaimed.

One rainbow maned pegasus bolted out of her sleeping bag, wings fully extending out, feathers flying, eyes nearly popping out of her head, and heart sent into overdrive. Any thoughts of sleep were immediately banished from her mind at the sound of Pinkie's high-pitched, jubilant voice. For several seconds, feathers fluttered down from Rainbow's new position near the top of the tent. Zenith groaned and looked between the pink earth pony and Rainbow Dash. She squinted, unsure about the situation. Rainbow's lips slowly pulled up into a smile, and she slowly returned to the ground, smiling at a beaming Pinkie Pie. "Pinkie..." Rainbow said, overwhelmed. It had been so long, and she had missed her. She had so much she wanted to say, she wasn't sure what to say first. "You shouldn't sneak up on ponies like that."

Discord pulled the tent flap open, then Fluttershy walked in, followed by Discord. "We tried to stop her... but she was just too excited to see you again," Fluttershy apologized.

"Yup!" Pinkie exclaimed cheerily, then pulled Rainbow into a hug. Rainbow gasped as the air was stolen from her lungs. Pinkie smiled sheepishly and lightened her grip, giving Rainbow an opportunity to breathe, one which she quickly took.

"It's good to see you again too, Pinkie," Rainbow chuckled, returning the hug.

Zenith blinked, then rubbed her eyes with her hooves. She watched Pinkie and Rainbow for a few seconds, then blinked again and turned to Fluttershy. The pegasus caught her curious glance, she shrugged and smiled sheepishly in reply. Zenith tentatively stood from her sleeping bag and looked passed Fluttershy and Discord. "Where's Twilight?" she asked when the sight of the alicorn eluded her.

"She'll be here shortly," Fluttershy answered.

Pinkie released Rainbow, then bounced over to the unfamiliar unicorn. "Hi! I don't recognize you, so you must be one of Twilight's new friends! What's your name?"

"Uh..." Zenith stammered, uncomfortable with how friendly and excited the pink earth pony was, even more so since she had been sleeping up until her arrival. "Zenith Star," she answered, frowning at the mare's mane, which reminded her of cotton candy for some reason. She pushed the thought aside and stifled a yawn. "I'm Twilight's student," she added with more than a hint of pride.

"Ooooh!" Pinkie pulled Zenith into a hug, one which was more reserved than the one she gave Rainbow, though still warm and friendly. After a couple of seconds, she pulled back, leaving an unnerved unicorn watching her carefully. "I'm Pinkie Pie!" Pinkie said. "Twilight's one of my best friends, and you're her student! Does she teach you really cool magic tricks? What about spells that can turn rocks into cupcakes? Eggs into baby chickens?" Pinkie frowned in thought and sat down on her haunches. "Although I guess you really wouldn't need magic to do that since you'd just need a chicken to sit on one. Although knowing Twilight, she probably knows several spells to do that..."

Zenith tilted her head away from Pinkie and looked at Rainbow disconcertedly. "Is she... always like that?"

Rainbow smirked. "Normally, she's worse."

Pinkie bounced back up and frowned at Rainbow. "Hey! That wasn't very nice Dashie!"

Rainbow smiled apologetically. "Sorry, Pinkie... You can just get a bit... too excitable at times."

Pinkie smiled sheepishly.

"I see you're all getting acquainted," Twilight greeted evenly, standing just outside of the tent, absently scrutinizing the ponies within. "I'm going to have to make this tent larger at this rate," she commented idly, then stepped inside and closed the tent flap behind her.

Rainbow turned to face Twilight and shot her a firm look. "You didn't tell us that you were going after Pinkie."

Twilight bobbed her head to the right. "I didn't think it warranted telling you. It wasn't like I was going to be gone for a while or have..." she trailed off, squinting at the tent wall, searching for the right word, "issues." She shook her head and smiled. "Besides, you know I'm going after Rarity, Spike, and Applejack. I wanted to get Pinkie first because..." she trailed off, bobbing her head. "Nopony knew where she was."

"You were worried about me?" Pinkie asked quietly.

Twilight grimaced and met her gaze, then nodded. She could only look at Pinkie for a few seconds before looking away. "I... was worried, yes," she answered simply, choosing not to go into detail. "I am glad that you are safe, Pinkie."

Pinkie bounced over to Twilight and hugged her. "Silly! You didn't need to worry about me!" she giggled.

Twilight smiled and shook her head, even though she disagreed with what the mare said. After a few seconds, Pinkie pulled back from Twilight and bounced back over to Rainbow. Twilight looked over everypony, then nodded to herself. "I'm going for a walk. I'll be back soon." She turned around and pulled the tent flap open, then stepped outside.

Zenith glanced around, then hurriedly walked across the tent. She caught the tent flap in her magic as Twilight lowered it back down, causing the alicorn to glance back at her. "You want some company?" Zenith asked with a warm, yet tired smile.

Twilight smiled and lifted the tent flap back up. "I would like that," she said. She beckoned Zenith with her wing, the young mare happily walked over beside her, then she draped her wing over Zenith's back and closed the tent opening. Zenith stayed close to Twilight, beneath her wing, while they walked. Twilight kept Zenith close and lead her through the clearing, and then into the forest.

The stillness of the forest took Zenith by surprise. It was as if the whole forest was asleep, and the thought weighed heavily upon her tired mind. The only sounds came from the babbling stream, which grew quieter as they walked further away from it, the wind occasionally rustling the leaves and branches of the trees, and their hoofsteps falling on the ground. She was surprised by how well Twilight was navigating the almost non-existent path, but her skill and alicorn status were well on display, never once tripping or letting Zenith fall. Although the forest was dark, soft and pale moonlight occasionally broke through, illuminating the forest with a gentle white light. Twilight occasionally cast her gaze upwards at the moon, her moon.

Zenith stifled a yawn, drawing Twilight's gaze back to her, and coaxing her to slow down, though she didn't come to a stop. "You are tired," Twilight surmised.

Zenith smiled sheepishly. "Well, you did kind of just wake us up."

Twilight bobbed her head and grimaced. "That I did... I am sorry for interrupting your sleep."

Zenith frowned. "It's fine... besides, I offered to come with you, didn't I?"

Twilight bit her lip and tentatively nodded. "You did," she said simply. "I appreciate the company, but... perhaps it would have been better if you had stayed and rested. You are still growing."

"So are you," Zenith countered.

Twilight looked at her blankly before turning back around. "I can carry you if you wish it."

"I'm fine," Zenith answered. A few seconds passed in silence and she stifled another yawn. "For now," she added. Twilight glanced back at her and smiled at her the way a mother would smile at a newborn foal. It caught Zenith off guard, but she quickly recovered. "Are you okay?"

Twilight nodded. "At the moment, yes. I believe I am fine," she answered.

Zenith squinted and scrutinized Twilight. "You seem a bit... off?"

Twilight bobbed her head. "Perhaps. I think Luna and Celestia's memories are influencing me right now. Moreso Luna's. And on top of that, I am on the verge of going insane."

Zenith grimaced. "You're so... frank about that. It's a bit unnerving."

Twilight winced. "Sorry."

Zenith sighed and leaned against Twilight. "Besides, you're not going insane, you're just dealing with a lot. I can't imagine what it's like to have six sets of memories affecting me. I'm sure it would drive anypony crazy..." she trailed off. "Especially if they had their brother and sister-in-law's memories..." she mumbled.

Twilight nodded absently. "It's... strange." She paused and came to a stop. She glanced around, then sat down on her haunches. "You know, I'm fascinated by my own power. My special talent is magic, and I think that... my niece's talent might have related to magic somehow... It seems that having both of them has an exponentially multiplicative effect on the strength of my magic. And of course Princess Celestia and Princess Luna had very strong magic, which I now possess..." she trailed off and lit her horn, a faint pink aura surrounded it, combined with light blue and pale yellow. "And I took on some of their traits." She shook her head, then pointed her horn in the air and channeled her magic out into a point. Zenith watched in wonder as Twilight's magic coalesced into a small multi-colored orb about the size of a hoof, flowing with pink, blue, and yellow magic. Despite the orbs small size, heat radiated off of it in waves, distorting the air, and it's light illuminated the surrounding forest almost as if it was the evening. Even with as much light as the orb gave off, it didn't hurt to look at, nor did it blind them after looking at it for several seconds, instead, it left both of them with a deep feeling of peace and calm.

"It's beautiful," Zenith said. Twilight smiled and bobbed her head. Zenith averted her gaze from the small, wondrous orb and looked at Twilight. "Do you think you could teach me to do that?"

Twilight frowned in thought. "I... I don't know. I might be able to teach you how to do it, but I don't think you're strong enough to attempt to make something like this. I'm not even sure you could make one the size of a bit without exhausting yourself... although I suppose with enough practice, your magic would grow a lot stronger from this..." Twilight licked her lips. "I'm not sure that I should, though."

"I'd like to know how to do that, even if I couldn't make one very big..." Zenith trailed off, nuzzling Twilight's side.

Twilight glanced back at Zenith. The filly's eyes were closed, and she looked on the verge of falling asleep. Twilight let her eyes wonder over Zenith for a few seconds, then looked back at her orb. Zenith's breathing and heartbeat gradually slowed as she drifted back into sleep. Twilight glanced back at Zenith and lifted her wing from around her, then ran it over her side before wrapping it back around her, covering her body protectively. She pointed her horn at the orb, then drew the magic away from it and back into herself. The orb shrank in size as the magic left it until all the magic was gone and it blinked out of existence, casting their area in darkness, illuminated only by Twilight's magic and the soft light of her moon.

Twilight glanced at Zenith and cast a quick spell. Immediately, a small smile crossed her lips. "Sleep well, my little pony," Twilight whispered as she looked away from Zenith.

Rainbow and Fluttershy were both happy to see Pinkie Pie again. Discord was also, but to a much lesser extent than both pegasi. Still, something weighed heavily on Rainbow's mind. Despite the cheery voice of Pinkie and the soft laugh of Fluttershy, or perhaps because of it. "Twilight told you what she's going to do, right?" Rainbow asked. Almost immediately, a silence fell over the tent. Pinkie, Fluttershy, and Discord all turned to Rainbow. Rainbow looked at each of them in turn until her gaze settled on Pinkie. None of them were fighters, Discord might have been an exception if he had his magic, but it was stolen from him.

"She's going after him," Pinkie replied quietly. "I... know," she said. "She's going to kill him... he deserves it."

Rainbow frowned. Behind Pinkie's cheery smile, she could see the pain, although now, that cheery smile had faded. "You're... okay with that?" Pinkie slowly nodded. Rainbow said nothing for several seconds, Pinkie's answers sinking in. Eventually, she set them aside to deal with later. "You know being with us puts you in danger."

"I've been in danger before! All of us have..." Pinkie replied, a strained smile crossing her lips, her mind traveling back to warmer days.

"It's different now," Rainbow said gravely.

"You're right," Pinkie agreed. "It is... Applejack and Rarity aren't with us."

"Nor are Celestia and Luna," Rainbow added. "They're gone... So is Cadance and Shining Armor, and... Flurry Heart."

Pinkie put up a valiant fight, attempting to hold back the surge of emotion she felt, but her best efforts weren't enough. She took a deep, shuddering breath and closed her eyes. "She was... so... so young... How could he..." her voice faded.

"Pinkie..." Rainbow said softly. Fluttershy shot her a firm look and pulled Pinkie into a hug. Rainbow glanced at the floor, then walked over to Pinkie and hugged her.

"An-and that's... that's why he des-deserves it..." Pinkie said softly.

Rainbow squeezed Pinkie and Fluttershy and held them comfortingly for several seconds, then she stepped back. "It's also why I don't know if you should really be with us... if something happens and he manages to catch us off-guard or find us, you could be in danger." Rainbow grimaced. "You're not... you couldn't handle this." She glanced at Fluttershy and smiled wryly. "And neither could you..."

Fluttershy smiled sadly but nodded.

"Twilight will keep us safe!" Pinkie countered, frowning deeply.

Rainbow wasn't sure what to reply to that. She knew for a fact that Pinkie was right, though she still worried about it. "Yeah, but at greater risk to herself," she said cautiously.

Pinkie squinted and rubbed her chin with a hoof as she thought about it. "Well... I guess that's kiiiiiiiiind of true..." she reluctantly agreed. A few seconds passed, and her crestfallen expression returned in force as she looked up at Rainbow. "You don't... want me to leave, do you?"

"What? No!" Rainbow answered quickly. "We just got you back! I don't want you to leave." Pinkie's smile returned and she pulled Rainbow into a hug.

"I would hope that you don't want her to leave considering I just went through all of the effort to go and bring her back," Twilight said dryly as she opened the tent flap up, then stepped inside. Everypony looked at her and frowned, noticing the lack of a gray unicorn beside Twilight. After closer inspection and Twilight stepping inside, however, their fears were alleviated at the sight of the sleeping unicorn resting on her back.

Rainbow frowned at the sight. "Is she okay?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes. We stopped for a bit and she fell asleep beside me, so I carried her back."

"It's really nice of you to carry her back on your back, rather than in your magic," Fluttershy commented with a soft smile.

Twilight looked at Fluttershy curiously. "What? What's wrong with using my magic to carry her back?"

"Nothing, I just think it shows how much you care for her... and for us. That you'd be willing to carry her on your back, rather than in your magic. You went through the trouble of carrying her weight," Fluttershy answered.

Twilight shifted her weight. "I... had not thought of it that way..." she trailed off. "That... might be Celestia's influence?"

"You used to carry Spike around on your back all the time," Rainbow commented off-hoof. "So maybe it's just you?"

Twilight bobbed her head and walked in passed them, making her way over to Zenith's sleeping bag. She glanced back at her, then lit her horn and slowly lifted her from her back and gently laid her down in the sleeping bag. "I suppose that could be the case..." she agreed, "but you make it sound like I'm his mother," she said sarcastically.

"Princess Celestia was kind of a mother figure to Equestria," Pinkie commented happily. "And you were her student, and then she turned you into an alicorn and coronated you and taught you to be a princess..."

Twilight turned around and walked over to her sleeping bag. It looked so inviting. As she walked passed Pinkie, she teleported another sleeping bag and laid it down beside Fluttershy's sleeping bag. "It's probably just the fact that I'm an alicorn," she muttered absently under her breath while walking passed Rainbow.

Rainbow followed Twilight for a few seconds. "Why would that have something to do with you being an alicorn?"

Twilight paused, then stood up straighter and turned around. "Alicorns have somewhat strong emotions. We can get quite emotional and attached to ponies. Celestia treated most ponies like they were her own foals, and called ponies her 'little ponies.' Luna, on the other hoof, tried to kill her sister out of jealousy." She paused and looked at the floor. "You remember how attached Flurry was to Pinkie..." she trailed off, a wave of pain flowing through her entire being. For a few seconds, she stood completely still in the silent tent, then she shook her head and continued on to her sleeping bag. As she slid into it, she glanced at the pink orb hovering near the top of the tent. "Goodnight, everypony," she said and closed her eyes.

Rainbow looked at her incredulously. "You're going to bed now? Now that you just brought Pinkie back? We haven't even had a party."

"Yeah!" Pinkie eagerly agreed. "You need to lighten up a little!"

Twilight opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, sighing. "I... guess you have a point," she agreed.

"Unfortunately, I kind of exhausted my party supplies and haven't been able to restock them..." Pinkie said with a nervous smile.

Twilight stood up and lit her horn. "What do you need?" she asked with a smirk.

Author's Note

I said this chapter wasn't going to take months like the last chapter, and I was right!

Pinkie Pie's back. Celestia have mercy... I have good days and bad days for writing Pinkie Pie. Most of the time, it involves run on sentences, lots of ands, and enough words to make you run out of breath. I'm not sure where this ranks. I really don't think I write Pinkie well. I've not really practiced, either, however.

Two more ponies and one dragon left to bring back, then the mane 6 are back together again. Except this time, Twilight's on the brink of insanity... which really isn't that different from normal, is it?

Chapter 17

"Manehatton is, of course, well guarded and heavily defended. It is a subjugated city, but the Inquisitor makes sure that the ponies living there don't realize that fact, as is the case with every Equestrian city... and some cities in other nations," Twilight spoke aloud as she scrutinized the projection of Manehatton. Every single detail of the city was displayed through her magic, although it all had a heavy pink hue to it since it was a projection of her magic and it was based off her memories. She wasn't sure how accurate the projection was since it was based on her outdated memories, but the ponies surrounding her seemed more fascinated with the spell than what she was saying or the details.

"Manehatton is renowned for being indifferent towards the government, even back when Celestia ruled on her own. Even after my ascension, they were mostly indifferent toward me..." Twilight trailed off indignantly and squinted at the city. "However, they generally dislike the Inquisitor. Though it's not easy to see, they're in fear of him." She paused. "They will welcome my reign once he is out of the way." She manipulated the projection with her magic, then slowly everything shrunk and more buildings flowed in towards the center as the focus zoomed out. Eventually, she cut her magic and released the spell.

"Going alone and during the day seems like a bad idea, though..." Rainbow trailed off in a low tone. She did not like the idea of Twilight going to Manehatton, one of the most populous cities in Equestria, by herself. The Inquisitor would have her dead as quickly as possible, and Twilight wanted to walk into one of the largest, most densely populated cities in Equestria. There was such a great chance that something could go wrong, which meant something could happen to her. It didn't sit well with her.

If she made a mistake, and the Inquisitor or his soldiers discovered her, she would be in trouble. Rainbow knew how powerful Twilight was, or at least claimed to be. She trusted Twilight, but she still thought it was too risky. Twilight had issues which made her vulnerable, even if she claimed to be able to fight an army, she had explicitly stated that she wasn't sure she could defend herself. She took a deep breath and steeled her resolve, she wasn't about to let the Inquisitor or any of his soldiers get to Twilight. "You shouldn't go alone! Let me come with you!"

"Maybe we should all go?" Zenith suggested lightly.

Twilight pursed her lips at the suggestion, then turned to Zenith. "I... would say that a large group would attract too much attention, but that's not a valid argument since it's Manehatton..." she trailed off shaking her head. She frowned. "Or maybe it would be a valid argument..." she trailed off in thought. "Still, it would be simpler and quicker for me to go by myself."

"You might run into trouble," Rainbow countered. "You could use our help."

Twilight frowned and shook her head. "It's not likely that I will run into... trouble..." she trailed off, tilting her head to the side. "Then again... It is the Inquisitor we're dealing with." She sighed. "Fluttershy, Pinkie, Discord..." All three aforementioned ponies looked at Twilight with expressions ranging from indifferent to excited. "You are staying here, where you will be out of harm's way should the impossibly small chance that's pretty much impossible for something to go wrong, inevitably goes wrong since the Inquisitor is involved." Rainbow and Zenith grimaced at Twilight. Discord and Fluttershy's expression lightened a little but remained wary. Pinkie's lips twitched downward subtly before returning to their normal smiling state. "Zenith, I want you to stay here and keep them safe."

Zenith took a deep breath and stood up a little straighter. Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, and Discord meant a lot to Twilight, they were her friends. And Twilight Sparkle, the sole alicorn to survive the Inquisitor's purge, the Princess of Friendship, the future ruler of Equestria, the bearer of the Element of Magic, her teacher, had entrusted their safety to her. She was giddy at how much trust Twilight put into her, especially considering that she was the youngest of them and not even an adult. She smiled and nodded.

"Rainbow," Twilight started, turning to the pegasus and smiling lightly. Rainbow puffed out her chest in eager anticipation of what Twilight was going to say. "You will accompany me. Stay close," she commanded firmly.

A little of Rainbow's eagerness faded, but her seriousness remained. She was disappointed by Twilight's lack of enthusiasm. She wasn't sure what she had expected Twilight to say, but it stung a little. She forced the disappointment away. "Right," she agreed, nodding. "I won't let you down."

Twilight flashed Rainbow a smile, then turned to the ponies who would be staying behind. "Well, wish us luck," Twilight said as she cast the spell disguising herself and Rainbow in the same bodies she had disguised them with in Canterlot. She suppressed a growl at the discomfort the spell caused her. Twilight grunted from the smaller body, then she turned back to Rainbow, only to pause. She wasn't used to looking straight ahead at the pegasus, and it took her in surprise. She squinted at Rainbow for several seconds, pondering how unique it was. Rainbow watched her curiously, though cautiously tilting her head away from her, uneasy under the alicorn's scrutiny.

After a few seconds, Twilight turned back away from Rainbow, then glanced up at her cyan mane and looked back at her body to make sure that the spell had worked on her. She knew it had worked since it had worked on Rainbow, but it was better to double check. "I hate this spell," she muttered, glaring at her barren back.

"Um... Twilight?" Fluttershy asked softly, walking over to her.

Twilight clenched her jaw then looked up at her. She squinted at Fluttershy, having to look up at her was foreign to her. She was taken in shock by it, she didn't remember Fluttershy being taller than her when she was just a unicorn, and yet looking at her now, she was so much taller than her, it was something she had no idea how she could have missed. Upon closer examination, and a glance at Rainbow, she realized that Fluttershy was the same height as Rainbow, and Rainbow was as tall as herself. It perplexed her, but she shook it off. 'Maybe I've just grown used to looking down at them,' she realized, her brow creasing. A second passed, she let the thought fade, then looked over at the pegasus. "Yes, Fluttershy?"

"Um... what... what don't you like about that spell? You-"

Twilight sighed deeply and shook her head. "It hurts. I already know I'm going to have a headache later..." she trailed off, eyes widening in horror. Her head shot around to face Pinkie. "Don't you dare throw a party when we get... back..." she said quickly, then winced at the quiver in Pinkie's lip. "Just..." she shook her head and groaned. "Fine, you can throw a par-"

Before she could finish her sentence, Pinkie Pie bounced over to her and pulled her into a big, warm hug, one which made Twilight wheeze. "Thanks, Twilight! I think I saved enough stuff that we'll be able to-"

"P-Pinkie..." Twilight coughed.

"Oops, sorry!" Pinkie quickly apologized, pulling back from Twilight.

Rainbow chuckled a little as Twilight fell to the ground, clutching her chest. "Oh come on, Twilight, you're an alicorn! Surely you can take Pinkie's hugs."

Twilight shot Rainbow a glare. "As I've said, I can be caught off-guard," she quipped defensively. She slowly stood to her hooves and huffed. "As I was saying..." she trailing off, squinting at Pinkie. She exhaled sharply, then turned to Fluttershy. She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "I don't like this spell. It hurts. I'm not hiding my wings, I literally do not have wings right now. I'm an alicorn in a body not meant to house an alicorn, let alone myself."

Fluttershy looked down at the ground, a little distressed. "I... I can't imagine what that's like..." Discord curled himself around Fluttershy, then laid his head on her shoulder. Fluttershy glanced at him, then smiled a little and nuzzled him. Discord glanced at Fluttershy and smiled, then looked back up at Twilight.

Twilight nodded to herself, then turned away from them. "We'll be back." Not a second later, Rainbow was landing beside her. Twilight glanced at her and smiled, then ignited her horn. The two disappeared in a flash of lavender light.

Zenith frowned at their departure, having expected Twilight to use her portal spell, though she said nothing. Off to her side, Fluttershy and Discord also frowned, though Pinkie seemed oblivious to it.

Rainbow blinked in confusion, seeing that they were surrounded by trees, rather than a clearing, that there was no portal in front of them, instead Twilight had teleported them somewhere, and that somewhere clearly was not Manehatton. "Twilight?" she asked, quickly turning to face the alicorn.

"Manehatton is heavily guarded," Twilight said, glancing at Rainbow. "The portal spell would draw too much attention, and I'm not accurate enough with it to ensure that we wouldn't draw attention to ourselves by suddenly appearing in the middle of a street. Plus, I wanted to speak with you alone for a moment before we get there."

Rainbow frowned and shifted her weight. "What is it?"

Twilight turned around to face Rainbow. "You seem..." she trailed off, not knowing how to put it. She paused for several seconds, looking over Rainbow's worried expression. "What's wrong, Rainbow?"

Rainbow frowned at her. "What?" she asked. "There's... nothing wrong?" she asked obliviously.

Twilight sighed and shook her head. "Yes, there is. You... you're always worried about me. It... concerns me."

Rainbow squinted at Twilight. "Why would it bother you if I'm worried about you?"

Twilight took a deep breath, then slowly looked down at the ground. "You've changed... well, we've all changed over the years... But... you, you've been with me for over two months. I used to scare you, and now you seem to panic at the thought of something happening to me."

"Twilight, you did admit that you wanted me dead at one point in time. I mean, I'm not... worried about that..." Rainbow trailed off, looking at the ground, idly shuffling her hoof through the leaves on the forest floor. "If... you wanted me dead," she tilted her head to the side absently, "I'd... be dead. There wouldn't be anything that could stop that."

Twilight sighed, then sat down on her haunches. "I'm sorry," she said. Rainbow glanced over at her. "I... you know I don't want you dead now, correct?"

"Well... I mean-"

"Rainbow Dash," Twilight started seriously, only to tone it down at Rainbow's wince. "That still bothers you?"

"Yeah, it does," Rainbow answered a little guiltily.

Twilight grimaced. For a few seconds, they sat there in silence, Twilight pondering Rainbow's answer, and Rainbow pondering Twilight's questions. "So, why are you so concerned for my... well-being? Other than the obvious," she asked. "Is it because you feel like it's your fault that I am how I am now?"

Rainbow sighed. "Twilight, you were alone for three years. We betrayed you! Your closest friends. I betrayed you. We..." she trailed off, shaking her head.

Twilight smiled wryly and looked away from her. "It's not your fault. I... could have handled that better myself."

"But we should have known to listen to you!" Rainbow replied, stepping closer to Twilight and looking her dead in the eye. "After everything we've been through, we should have trusted you! But... we didn't. And now you're hurt. I hurt my friend, Twilight. And then I helped the Inquisitor for so, so long after I hurt you. He was even going to use me to bring you back so he could kill you!" Rainbow closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "I shouldn't be your friend, you should still want me dead for what we put you through. We're... traitors, and yet... you still want us."

Twilight pursed her lips, then tentatively wrapped her arms around Rainbow's neck. "You still represent the Element of Loyalty," she said calmly. "And while yes, you hurt me, I forgave you. Everypony makes mistakes, and holding that one mistake against all of you... not only would that be wrong, but... I cannot do that without destroying myself. You're all a part of me, no matter what." She lowered her gaze to the ground. "Perhaps that is why it hurt me so much," she mused aloud in a soft voice.

Rainbow slowly returned Twilight's hug. "I... I'll make it up to you, however I have to, Twilight. I'm not going to let you get hurt again, I promise."

Twilight laughed softly. "This is..." she trailed off, shaking her head and letting go of Rainbow. "Here I am, the most powerful being in existence, yet you're the one promising to protect me." She smiled warmly at Rainbow. "Thanks. I promise that I'll protect you all, too."

Rainbow stepped back from Twilight, halfway smiling. "You're really doing a lot better than you were two months ago," she commented.

Twilight nodded. "I am doing better than I was a week ago." She raised her eyebrows and tossed her head to the side. "I'm the Princess of Friendship, not solitude." She glanced up at Rainbow. "I... did decide, by the way. About ascending you..."

"You... did?" Rainbow asked hesitantly, not sure that she wanted to know the answer.

Twilight nodded cheerfully. "After this is over and I figure out the spell, I'm going to ascend you. I trust you with that kind of power. I trust you not to betray me. I don't want you all to die and I don't want to be alone for the rest of my life. I have a suspicion you all have extended lifespans because of the Elements... however, I would still outlive you even then. I... don't want that." Rainbow looked at her blankly. Twilight took a deep breath, then stood back up. "You would think that with Celestia and Luna's memories I would be better able to handle this... but of course I can't..." she trailed off shaking her head.

"It's... a lot for anypony to deal with," Rainbow said in a low voice.

"Well, we should get going. We've delayed long enough, don't you think?" Twilight asked.

Rainbow nodded absently. Twilight's change in demeanor concerned her, but she pushed it aside, knowing that Twilight could handle it and that she was doing much better than months ago. She licked her lips and met Twilight's gaze. "You're... really going to make me an alicorn like you?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes." She pursed her lips and tilted her head. "I suppose since I'm going to do that, I should start... talking to you more openly about being an alicorn. To prepare you," she said inquisitively.

Rainbow blinked, then licked her lips and frowned. "Just don't expect me to play dress up or anything like that."

Twilight closed her eyes, her lips turning upward, and she giggled. "Oh don't worry, you'll be a princess but I won't call on you for anything like that."

"Good," Rainbow replied, beating her wings and hovering in the air.

When dealing with somepony who rose from relative obscurity to being one of the most powerful ponies in the world in the span of less than two years, somepony who gathered enough support to overthrow two ponies who had held the throne for thousands of years and had been loved the whole time, with the exception of Princess Luna, someone who then used his power to annex several more nations within three years, one tends to stay on the side of caution. As such, Twilight kept both of her eyes opened and constantly scanned the crowd of ponies darting about seemingly aimlessly around her and Rainbow. As she had expected, there were soldiers everywhere, and as such, she kept her magic to herself. She could mask a scanning spell, but she had no way to mask the light from her horn and no reasonable excuse to be using her magic. It would draw attention to herself. Although she had real power, she was still concerned by and cautious about all of the soldiers. Even though she could probably take them all on with ease, being surrounded by innocent ponies put more lives at risk.

Twilight took a deep breath and glanced at Rainbow, who was walking right beside her with barely a hair's width between them. Sure, they took up more room that way, but it removed the chance of them getting separated, which was another of Twilight's fears.

Rainbow caught Twilight glancing at her out of the corner of her eye. She turned to her left, then back to her right to look at Twilight. "How much further is it?"

"Not too much farther," Twilight said, casting her gaze to her right and glancing over a pair of soldiers. The two soldiers were oblivious to her watching them, both of them scanning the crowd. Twilight averted her gaze on them before it lingered too long. Rainbow turned away from Twilight, scanning the crowd as innocently as she could. Twilight glanced back at Rainbow before resuming looking around. She identified another dozen soldiers on the block they were walking by alone. "I'll be honest," she said. "I'm not entirely sure what to expect..."

"What do you mean?" Rainbow asked in a low voice, not wanting her words to carry to anypony around, let alone anypony who might have been trying to listen in on them.

"I... kind of didn't stay in touch with Rarity and Spike as much as I probably should have..." Twilight trailed off sheepishly. "I mostly stared in the sidelines and kept tabs on them through Spike's letters to Princess Ember... I'm not completely sure they'll come with us..." she trailed off.

"Really?" Rainbow asked, concerned and confused. "I thought you had this all planned out and-"

"Well..." Twilight trailed off, muzzle pointed straight ahead, though her eyes following a soldier clad in gray armor walking past them. "No," she answered warmly. "Not really. No," she added dryly. "I've had other things on my mind, lately. I'm sure you can imagine what," she said lightly.

"You... you do have a plan, though, right?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight nodded. "Of course I have a plan..." she trailed off.

"And if it doesn't work?" Rainbow asked in a low voice.

Twilight glanced at Rainbow sheepishly. "Improvise?"

Rainbow groaned and shook her head. "You're really just winging this, aren't you?"

"No," Twilight said defensively, looking away from the pegasus. If she had her wings, she would have ruffled them. Finding herself trying to ruffle her wings without having them made her grunt. "I have a general plan, and I've come to realize that, as of right now, the best plans are simple with lots of room to improvise. The Inquisitor is..." She trailed off as a soldier's gaze passed over her, then lingered a second too long. She turned her attention to the soldier. The soldier's gaze slowly lifted from her and trailed over the rest of the crowd. Twilight clenched her jaw and scrutinized the soldier. Several more seconds passed without incident, though she filed it away, it stayed with her.

'I'm just being paranoid...' she told herself, shaking her head. "Although looking at him probably didn't help..."

Rainbow quickly cast her gaze over to Twilight, "Huh?" Twilight blinked and turned to Twilight with a curious look. "Looking at who didn't help?"

Twilight grimaced. "I... did not mean to say that out loud..." she said tentatively and defensively.

Rainbow matched her grimace and studied Twilight's features for a few seconds, then went back to scouring the crowd for any signs of danger. "You doing okay?"

Twilight nodded once. "Yes. Just... this form is starting to get to me," she replied. "I look forward to never having to use this form again." She cast a glance behind her, looking where the soldier had been. "Or perhaps I can improve the spell..." she trailed off, squinting. She was unsurprised to find him gone, though she felt uneasy about it. She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "I'm not sure if this is more stressful than back when we had to face the likes of Lord Tirek or not, but I really, really miss the relative peace and quiet of Ponyville..." she admitted with a wry smile.

Rainbow gawked at Twilight. "But you were so awesome back then! You totally could have beat him on your own..." she replied.

Twilight glanced down at the concrete sidewalk. "I couldn't risk losing any one of you," she said. "If I was faced with the same choice again, I would make the same decision I did back then."

Rainbow's brow furrowed in thought, and she shivered. "Even... if it was the Inquisitor?"

Twilight's steps slowed. Rainbow glanced around and matched her pace. A few soldiers' gazes passed over them, but they were looking over the crowd, rather than at them. Twilight frowned at the concrete. She had no easy answer to say. Both answers were wrong. Both answers could have been a lie. She hated it. "I... I can't answer that," she finally said after several seconds of silence. "I would effectively be sentencing myself to death if I agreed to anything like that... I... would... be... willing to... but... Equestria..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "Three years ago, I would have in a heartbeat..." she admitted. "But... I can't afford to sacrifice myself for you now." She clenched her jaw. "I'm not going to let something like that happen. Next time I face him, I... well, I'll still be holding back, I don't want to turn Canterlot into a crater, but I do want him dead. I suppose I should take a more aggressive route... though it won't be quite as..." she trailed off, tilting her head to the side, "enjoyable... as stabbing him. Repeatedly," she said with complete seriousness in an even voice. "It would be more prudent to hold off on torturing hi..." she quickly shut her mouth and glanced at Rainbow.

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at Twilight. "You... you're not actually going to... to torture him, are you?"

"I'm not sure..." Twilight answered cautiously, bobbing her head side to side, looking away from Rainbow. Her gaze was drawn to a pair of guards, both of whom seemed to be watching her. She frowned. "I would still very much like to," she admitted joyfully. "But let's face it... it would be arrogant of me to do that, and doing so would give him an unnecessary opportunity to kill me..." she added in a low voice. Both soldiers turned their gaze away from her and resumed scanning the crowd.

"Twilight... what he did was wrong... but... and I'm not going against you on this! But... torturing him... would be wrong," Rainbow said warningly.

Twilight threw her head about and tossed her mane to the left side of her neck. "I know that," she said condescendingly. "It's... easier in theory than practice, though. Nopony could stop me if I wanted to... And... he did murder..." she trailed off, swallowing. "And... he took you all away from me..." She took a deep breath to calm her nerves. "He will definitely find out what happens when you invoke the wrath of the Princess of Friendship." A pegasus stallion walking passed her paused and looked at her curiously. Twilight glanced at him and smiled gently. As they walked on passed him, the pegasus continued to watch her curiously, even as more ponies walked by him. Twilight shook her head.

"What if you fail?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight bit her lip. "I have a few contingencies in mind," she answered quickly. Another guard glanced at her, a frown crossing over his lips at her sight. Twilight frowned but didn't look at him. For a few seconds, she kept him in her peripheral vision, watching him. His gaze followed her. She glanced back at him. His gaze lingered on her for a few more seconds, then broke away. Twilight looked forward.

She did not like it. The more she thought about it, the more uneasy she grew. Her line of thought regarding it was, 'It's impossible for them to know who we are. Then again, it is the Inquisitor...' She briefly closed her eyes and focused on her alicorn senses. Although they were diluted by the chaotic nature of the large crowd and the body she was in, she could feel it. They were being watched, and it was directed at them, unlike with the rest of the crowd being monitored. Several sets of eyes were following them and from several different directions. Three guards half a block back were casually following them. 'How subtle,' she mused, snorting.

'It probably would have helped if I used different bodies for both of us, rather than the same ones we used in Canterlot.' Twilight paused in midstride, blinking at the realization. She slowly lowered her hoof to the ground as she considered the ramifications of her mistake.

It took Rainbow only a second to realize Twilight had stopped. She turned back around to face Twilight. Seeing Twilight's blank expression, she shifted her weight and rubbed her wings against her sides. "What's wrong?"

"Ah, yes," Twilight said, nodding exaggeratedly. She extended her alicorn senses further out, feeling out the guard's magic. They were scanning her with their magic. "I may have inadvertently completely screwed up this mission," she admitted. Rainbow felt dread, hearing those words proceeding out of Twilight's mouth. She kept silent but swallowed and looked back at some soldiers walking in their general direction. 'Stupid... why didn't I think about that?' Twilight sighed at the thought. "We're being watched, and I'm pretty sure they suspect who we are. The three soldiers approaching are following us. I don't know if they're going to try something, though."

Rainbow squinted at Twilight. "How do you even know that there's three soldiers following us? You haven't even looked back at them..."

Twilight bobbed her head to the side. "Alicorn," she answered evenly, drawing a few sideways, curious glances from ponies passing by.

"Right," Rainbow answered, sighing a little. "What's the plan?"

Twilight shifted her weight. "Rarity's boutique is a couple blocks away. I... would rather not be followed there, if only to protect Rarity and Spike." She pursed her lips. "It's possible that they know why we're here... in which case Rarity and Spike may already be in danger..." she said in a low voice. "We should keep going... follow me and stay close."

Rainbow nodded and turned around, then fell in sync with Twilight as she walked passed her. The disguised alicorn glanced back at Rainbow, then looked forward again. Rainbow ruffled her wings in nervous anticipation, it wasn't exactly what she had been afraid was going to happen, but it was close enough. 'I'm glad I'm here...' she thought to herself, glancing over at Twilight's weaker body.

The pair casually walked the rest of the block, but despite their casual stride, both of them were alert and constantly looking about for danger. Twilight turned to the right at the end of the block. Much to her relief, she saw fewer soldiers there than there had been. She glanced back at Rainbow. The pegasus was following her close behind her, looking back over her shoulder. Twilight looked back ahead and scanned the immediate vicinity. Her earlier relief faded with a grunt as she spotted two soldiers casually walking toward them. Both of the unicorns clearly were focused on them, even if their pace was unhurried like they were trying to avoid drawing attention.

Rainbow turned back to Twilight at her grunt, immediately fearing that something was wrong or she had been injured. She quickly looked over Twilight, searching for any sign of injury before finally catching sight of the two soldiers approaching them. They stood out, not only because of their gray armor but also because everypony kept away from them, leaving a hole where no ponies were present, with the two soldiers at the center. Rainbow grimaced, then came to a stop beside Twilight. "Okay, what do we do now?"

"Maybe I'm just being paranoid," Twilight answered in a low voice. "Let's see how this goes... However, I'd prefer not to make a scene... Just follow my lead, alright?"

"Uh, okay..." Rainbow replied, shifting her weight as the two soldiers drew closer.

Twilight licked her lips, though retained her composure. It wouldn't do to attract more attention to herself than she already had. As the two soldiers approached, ponies did their best to avoid all four of them. Twilight glanced around an counted how many ponies were around. As the soldiers neared, she stepped to the side, offering them a chance to walk on passed Rainbow and her without any trouble.

"Excuse me, miss?" The soldier on the right said, gaze directed at Twilight. The unicorn had a light brown coat, and a dark brown mane, while the other soldier, another unicorn, had a light gray coat and a light yellow mane. The first soldier glanced at Rainbow, his expression cold and hard like stone. "Both of you will have to come with us for questioning."

Twilight glanced at Rainbow briefly. Rainbow looked at her but said nothing, letting Twilight handle it. Twilight took a deep breath, then smiled and turned back to the soldier. "What's this about?" she asked delicately.

Both soldiers seemed a little off-put by her reaction. "You both match descriptions of two ponies who were seen visiting former Councillor Fancy Pants several weeks ago when Twilight Sparkle attacked Canterlot," the one on the right said cautiously.

'Well... Of course I screwed that up,' Twilight thought to herself, musing about her failure and mentally berating herself. It left a little indignant sting to know that she could have avoided drawing attention to them. "Is this really necessary? I'm sure there must be dozens of other ponies who match their description," Twilight replied nonchalantly. "We do have somewhere to be, gentlecolts."

Both soldiers lit their horns. "You don't have a choice," the second unicorn said, levitating a ring out from a concealed location inside his armor.

Twilight clenched her jaw and eyed the ring wryly, already making a new plan. The soldier levitated the ring over to Twilight and kept his gaze focused on her, watching her closely for any sign of resistance. Rainbow looked between Twilight and the ring, even she knew what it was. "Tw-uh..." she stuttered, drawing the gaze of the first guard.

"If you think you can just put that on me, or that I'll let you do that, you're sorely mistaken," Twilight said threateningly, igniting her horn. Both soldiers took a cautious step back, and the ring went back with them.

Both soldiers glanced up behind Twilight. Rainbow looked over her shoulder to see three more soldiers approaching. A quick glance around told her that they were making a scene. Ponies were avoiding them, and watching them, a little fear evident in their eyes. "If you resist, we will use force," the first soldier warned.

"What's the plan?" Rainbow asked under her breath, wings bristling with anticipation.

Twilight took a deep breath and leveled her gaze on the two soldiers. She could sense three more soldiers approaching them from behind, and there were a dozen soldiers across the street, watching them closely, though making no moves to intervene. She had gone up against better, she knew she could beat them in a straight-up fight. It would be laughably easy to kill them all without breaking a sweat. She had the element of surprise on her side, plus they still weren't a match for her.

Unfortunately, it would make a scene, which was something she would prefer not to do. Even if she stayed in her unicorn body, to keep her identity a secret, ponies other than the soldiers could die, if not by her actions than by the soldiers' actions. Although, if they knew to look for her and Rainbow's disguised forms, then they likely had a suspicion as to their real identities, in which case, Rarity and Spike were in imminent danger, as it was the most logical conclusion for them to reach, that she was there for them.

Letting the soldier put the ring on her horn was an option. It would immediately de-escalate tensions, prevent a scene from being made, and could provide her with useful information. It wouldn't have been a challenge to defeat the anti-magic enchantments on the ring. Unless they were improved. That thought gave her pause. She knew she could defeat any improvements made, but it did raise the question of whether or not she would defeat them before it was too late. If they had more advanced equipment nearby, they could do actual damage to her, too.

Twilight grunted and slowly tilted her head side to side, debating her options.

"Something wrong?" another soldier asked from behind. Twilight could practically hear the smirk in his voice. The soldier, whoever he was, was marginally more important than the others.

Twilight turned around and leveled her horn on the unicorn. "Yes, as a matter of fact, there is, Captain," she hissed. As expected, all three soldiers had their horns lit. Also as expected, the trio took a step back and fell into a combative stance after a brief moment of surprise.

"You cannot defeat us. Any resistance you put up is futile, unicorn," the captain warned with a steely gaze as if he was trying to pierce into Twilight's soul. It was about as effective as cutting steel with a bee's stinger.

The five soldiers were so, so pathetic compared to her. Twilight had trouble stopping herself from arrogantly gloating about how she was their superior in every way. They may have been enhanced, but they would never match her. As much as she wanted to deny it, she was eagerly looking forward to fighting them. Years ago, she would have dreaded fighting anypony or anything. Now, she welcomed it. It was thrilling, even if it was going to be a pathetically short battle, one that wouldn't last but a couple minutes, if that.

While Twilight's attention was focused on the newly arrived captain, the first two soldiers stepped closer and levitated the ring over to Twilight. Rainbow jumped over behind Twilight, then spread her wings and fell into a defensive stance, glaring at the soldier levitating the ring. "Don't even try it," she warned.

"You're just a pegasus! You have an impressive stance, but it's for not. You're not a match for us," the soldier rebuked her. "Rest assured, your resistance will be noted."

Rainbow snorted but made no more aggressive moves. She tilted her head to the right, then glanced back at Twilight.

"This will be easier if you surrender," the captain said. "Nopony has to get hurt."

Twilight snorted. "And yet the princesses lie dead at the Inquisitor's hooves," she said venomously.

The captain's gaze sharpened on her as he squinted, focusing solely on her. "That's enough, miss. Take them," he ordered, not once looking away from Twilight.

Before the four soldiers could act, Twilight's horn grew brighter as she cast a spell. A flash of light and a popping sound accompanied the spell.

"What?" Rainbow asked, looking around. The sudden teleportation left her confused, even more since all the tall buildings had disappeared. Closer examination, however, revealed that the tall buildings had no disappeared, they were simply on the roof of one of the taller buildings.

Twilight grunted and shook her head. "Of course, I should have known not to use the same exact disguises... Stupid!" She snarled, then closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She slowly exhaled, then opened her eyes.

Twilight felt a hoof on her shoulder. Her first instinct was to turn around and kill whoever was foolish enough to lay a hoof on her, but the voice accompanying the gesture was enough to extinguish any thoughts of retaliation. "Are you okay?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight took a calm breath, then turned around and nodded. "Yes, I am fine. Are you alright?" Rainbow nodded and lowered her hoof back to the roof. "Why didn't I realize that this..." Twilight trailed off, shaking her head and groaning.

Rainbow glanced around, examining the sky for any signs of pegasi. There were no pegasi clad in gray armor present, it was both comforting and a little concerning. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, just give me a minute," Twilight answered. She closed her eyes, then cast a quick spell undoing their useless disguises. She spread out her wings and stretched out her back, moaning contently. She opened her eyes and then looked back at Rainbow. "I am kind of regretting bringing you with me," she said simply.

Rainbow frowned. "Why?"

"Because of my incompetence," Twilight quipped. "Sorry... I... shouldn't take it out on you. It's not your fault..." She sat down on her haunches and pressed a hoof to her temple, huffing at the headache she now had as a result of the spell.

Rainbow stepped over to Twilight, then awkwardly wrapped her arms around Twilight. Because of her stature, it made it much more difficult for Rainbow to hug her, but she tried. Twilight smiled a little, then returned the hug. "Thanks," Twilight said.

Rainbow smiled, then stepped back. "So, what now?"

"Well, the soldiers will likely look for us, and they may be after Rarity and Spike now too," Twilight answered. "So not a lot of time," she added, lighting her horn again. "I will teleport us directly there, but I cannot guarantee that it will be safe," she warned.

Rainbow took a deep breath and nodded. "I trust you. Do it."

Twilight nodded, then enveloped Rainbow and herself in her magic and cast the teleportation spell.

Rarity hummed a cheery tune to herself as she walked across the ground floor of her boutique, levitating a pristine yet simple dark purple dress alongside with her. It was a slow day, but a good day for her. While since the Inquisitor took over, there had been significantly fewer higher-end sales, she had still met ends need, and then some, from other customers. It also helped that the day-night cycle was going back to normal, although since ponies had adjusted to shorter days and longer nights, the normal day-night cycle was wreaking havoc on everything in general, though ponies were adapting.

Rarity, however, took the stable day-night cycle, the same one had they had missed for the past three years, as a good sign. It meant that her friend was still alive, even if she had failed in her first attempt to overthrow the wretched Inquisitor. She glared at the dress rack she approached at the thought of the stallion. 'Those aren't very ladylike thoughts, Rarity,' she berated herself. 'But considering it's him...' she added. She shook her head, then opened her mouth and stuck her tongue out as she found the perfect spot for the dress amongst the other dresses.

She smiled a little to herself, then turned around. While the day-night cycle being thrown into disarray by Princess Celestia and Princess Luna's untimely demise had left everypony running around panicking like it was the end of the world, the Inquisitor quickly stepped in. He found the strongest, most powerful, and most knowledgeable unicorns he could, put them into a team, then got the sun and moon under control, for the most part. They had never been able to get it right, and performing the task always left them drained. They weren't half as good or reliable as Celestia and Luna had been, but they managed it to an extent.

It still hadn't been the same, shorter days and longer nights had wrecked havoc on everything. She sighed and pushed the thoughts aside, she was just happy things were going back to normal, even if that normal was still abnormal. She could see the change in everypony she saw, their eyes were a little brighter, and their walk was a little happier and relaxed, despite the stress of the unexpected change in day length. There was only one pony who could be responsible for the fixed day-night cycle, Twilight. She hoped the mare was doing okay after how long had passed, even more so after hearing about her failed attack.

She perked up at the chime from the bell above the door. She took a second to compose herself, then smiled and turned around, "Welcome to-"

"Miss Rarity, I presume?"

Rarity grimaced at the group of five soldiers making their way into the shop. Four of the five spread out, looking around, though they were careful not to touch anything. The fifth, however, kept his gaze solely on Rarity. Rarity shifted her weight uncomfortably. "Er... uh, yes, well... What can I do... for you?"

"We just want to ask you a few questions," the soldier stated, pulling out a pad of paper and a pen.

Rarity grimaced and held back a wince as one of the soldiers ran his hoof over the sleeve of one of her dresses. He looked impressed, though he said nothing, nor did it alleviate any of her fears. "Yes, yes... I... will try to answer what I can," she responded, looking back at the commander. "But I don't know how much help I can be of, gentlecolts."

The commander nodded and smiled. "That's alright. You were once close friends with Princess Twilight Sparkle, correct?"

Rarity internally cringed, and she felt a deep-seated feeling of dread rising up in her chest. "Well... yes. Yes, I was... a long, long time ago," she answered, frowning. "It... feels like a lifetime ago," she added heavily.

"How long has it been since you were last in contact with Twilight Sparkle?" the commander asked, looking over a notebook and levitating a pen just above the pages.

Rarity shifted her weight. "I... believe it has been three years," she said at length, hoping that drawing out the response would mask the lie. "I have not seen her, nor heard from her, since the night before the... revolution," she clarified in a low tone.

The commander nodded to himself and wrote something down. Rarity stood up a little straighter, hoping to peek over the top of the pad and see what he was writing, but it didn't help. "And there is a... young dragon on the premise currently, correct?"

"Well, yes... Spike is here right now..." Rarity answered slowly in a low tone. "What does... Spike... have to do with anything?"

"Spike was used by Twilight Sparkle to send and receive letters from Celestia," the commander answered idly.

Rarity frowned. "Yes, but that was years ago, and only between Celestia and Twilight. I don't see what that has to do with anything."

"Celestia could send letters to Spike using her magic, and Spike could send letters to Celestia. Twilight Sparkle is believed to be capable of performing the same spell Celestia did," the commander clarified.

Out of the corner of her eye, Rarity saw two of the soldiers walk over to the stairway, then glance at the commander, who nodded subtly. If she hadn't had a keen eye for details, she would have missed the gesture. Even without asking, she knew that the soldiers were going to go get Spike. She shifted her weight and forced a smile. "What is all of this about, anyway?" she asked in a polite yet forceful way.

"Two mares were spotted in the city, a few blocks away from here. A pegasus and a unicorn. They're being apprehended as we speak. They were both seen arriving at former councilor Fancy Pants' residence, along with an older filly, on the day when Twilight attacked the Inquisitor. His residence was raided shortly thereafter, and no sign of the two mares and filly were found, and they were not seen leaving the residence either," the commander patiently explained.

Rarity slowly grimaced and turned her head away from the soldier. Suddenly, his charged horn seemed that much more menacing than before. "You... believe that the unicorn in question... is Twilight??" Rarity asked.

The commander nodded. "You were friends with her. We're just making sure to cover our bases."

Rarity shook her head. "Yes, well... one flaw with that theory is that Twilight's an alicorn, not a unicorn."

"Twilight Sparkle has the ability to disguise herself." The commander shook his head and shifted his weight impatiently.

"Well, if that's true, why would she use the same disguise twice?" Rarity asked.

The commander said nothing for several seconds, then he licked his lips. "You almost sound like you're defending her."

Rarity looked at the stallion indignantly. "She was my friend," she quipped. The commander sighed and looked at Rarity like she was an old cow. "I don't see what this nonsense has to do with me."

"Miss, you were friends with Twilight Sparkle, and the dragon Spike has the means to communicate with her. On top of that, the unicorn believed to be Twilight Sparkle was spotted just a block away from your boutique." The commander looked up the stairs as the two soldiers escorted a dragon down the stairs. The small dragon had an unamused look on his face, and his arms were folded across his chest, but he said nothing. "We're just-"

"Covering your bases. Yes, I know," Rarity said dryly. She turned back to Spike, then motioned the dragon over to her. Spike looked away from the commander to glance at Rarity, then turned back to the commander and glared at him. He calmly walked over beside Rarity, his escort staying in place. "Commander, I assure you, Spike has done nothing-"

Rarity was cut off by another jingle coming from the door. Unlike the first time, she wasn't happy to hear it. Whoever it was would have to wait until the soldiers left, and she was growing impatient with them. Their commander's rather pointed questions were stinging her, to say nothing of the worry and stress they caused her. The stress she was under further worried her since she knew just how bad stress was for her complexion.

"Commander," another soldier acknowledged as she walked into the boutique.

At the sound of the mare's voice, the commander's expression lightened, and he turned around. "Ah, yes Lieutenant?"

"There's been an incident. The two suspects escaped via teleportation. There was a communications breakdown, somepony failed to notify the soldiers not to intercept her, let alone warn them about who she was."

The commander grunted. "We had them, and they escaped?" The mare nodded. The commander took a deep breath, then exhaled calmly. "Alright. Find out what happened and find them. Do not confront them, but keep an eye on them."

"Yes, sir." The mare saluted, then turned around and walked out the door, sending another cheery ring from the lone bell.

"I swear, it's better on the front lines than here," the commander said under his breath. He shook his head again, then looked over at the two soldiers standing by the stairway. "Search the premises. Let me know if you find anything." Both soldiers saluted.

"Now wait just a minute!" Rarity jumped in, "This is an invasion of privacy! You can't just-"

The commander turned around. "Miss Rarity, we have the full authority and backing of the Inquisitor, and we have reason to believe you may be in contact with an enemy of the state, Twilight Sparkle, to be more specific."

Spike threw his head about angrily. He couldn't stand it, the way they thought about Twilight just burnt him up inside. "Twilight didn't do anything wrong!" he shouted, drawing the attention of the commander. Now that he had the commander's attention he balled his fists together and stepped forward. Although he wasn't quite as tall as the stallion, he had grown significantly in three years. He now stood shoulder height to Rarity, excluding his spines. As such, he was more of an intimidating sight than three years ago. That gave the commander pause, though he did not back down from the young dragon. "All she did was finish a spell and get ascended into an alicorn princess by Princess Celestia, and now you all hate her just because she's a princess! She didn't even have a choice in the matter!"

Rarity bit her lip. Spike's outburst drew the attention of the two soldiers at the door, though neither of them said anything nor made any aggressive moves.

"She is a threat to Equestrian democracy. While she is free, former elements still have power which they could use to ruin everything," the commander replied cautiously.

Rarity scoffed at his response but kept her mouth shut. "Everything was doing just fine before the Inquisitor showed up and killed the princesses," Spike replied venomously.

The commander huffed and shook his head derisively. "That's enough," he said harshly. "Any further outbursts will not be tolerated." Spike snorted, clouds of dark smoke billowed out of his nostrils from the action, drawing an uncomfortable look from the commander and making him double down on watching the young dragon. Despite Spike's youth and the commander preparedness to take on the small dragon, Spike was still a dragon, which was enough to make him wary. It didn't help the commander feel any more comfortable that during the past three years, Spike's spines had become more jagged, sharp, and pointy.

It was only a flash of light and a popping sound that drew his attention away from the dragon.

Twilight blinked, then looked around, noting the three soldiers. She grimaced, then smiled as her gaze fell on Rarity and Spike. "Hi Rarity, hi Spike! It's been a while, hasn't it?"

Rarity and Spike did a double take, then gawked at the alicorn. "Twilight!?" they shouted in unison with surprise, eagerness, and horror.

"You!" the commander shouted. "Kill her!" He swiveled on his hooves to face Twilight, only for Rainbow to pounce on him. He wasn't prepared for the sudden assault, and he found himself thrown to the floor. Rainbow glared at him and wrapped her hooves around his neck. The unicorn struggled, then regained enough control and threw Rainbow off of him.

The two guards by the door took a few steps away from the door, spreading out, then lowered their horns at Twilight. Twilight unfurled her wings ever so slightly and glanced back. Before either unicorn knew what happened, they found their bodies sprawled out on the floor as the force of gravity suddenly increased several times for them. Both of them grunted as they registered the pain from the impact, then the magic surrounding their horns went out as their muzzles hit the floor.

Both of them tried to pick themselves up off the floor, but fighting the intense localized gravity proved impossible. As soon as they realized that, they leveled their horns on Twilight and lashed out with their magic from the floor.

Twilight swiveled around to face them, falling into a combat stance and flaring her wings out, nearly knocking over a ponyquin in the process. Two blades of lavender magic violently erupted to life in the air, and with two swift motions, both spells were intercepted by her blades.

Rarity and Spike jumped out of the way as the commander jumped onto Rainbow, then pressed her down against the floor. "Captain Dash, stand down!" he ordered.

Rainbow lashed out with a hoof and hit him square in the jaw. He cried out in pain as he felt something break. Rainbow smiled smugly. "Yeah, not happening." He pressed a hoof against his jaw and winced in pain, then he turned his gaze on Rainbow. He acted quickly, slamming his arm into Rainbow's neck. Rainbow kicked him in the abdomen as his arm slammed into her throat. She winced and gagged from the impact, but fought through it and kicked the commander off of her. She quickly rolled over and fell into a combat stance and spread her wings out the second she was free, though she nursed her injured neck with a hoof.

The commander hit the ground hard, grunting. His recovery was slower than Rainbow's, but he made up for it with his magic. He threw his head down, leveling his horn on Rainbow and fighting through the pain, then launched a spell at Rainbow.

Rainbow effortlessly dodged his attack and charged at him. The commander took a step back and sent another spell at her. The spell missed. Rainbow closed the distance before he could send another spell and slammed her hoof into his muzzle, drawing blood. The commander groaned and staggered back.

Twilight casually strolled over to the two soldiers she trapped with gravity, then dispatched both of them with swift strikes to the base of their necks from her blades. The blades easily pierced their armor and their necks, severing their spinal cords and killing them instantly. She felt the blades dig into the floor, then pulled them out, leaving two cleanly cauterized injuries in the unicorns.

She was not caught off-guard by the two soldiers rushing down the stairs. She sidestepped a spell and turned around, aiming her horn at the one on the right. Her spell missed and impacted the wall, causing a sharp crack, followed by a rain of shattered brick and drywall pelting the two soldiers' armor. Twilight grabbed the soldier on the left with her magic, then violently threw him towards the left. The soldier grunted in surprise, then his instincts kicked in. He teleported behind Twilight, arresting his momentum, then lashed out with his magic.

Twilight grunted as she turned to the right to engage the unicorn. A lavender wall of magic solidified around Twilight almost too late to block out a lime-green bolt of magic. Twilight brought her right blade to bear against the unicorn. He immediately reacted, hoping to the left and intercepting Twilight's blade with one of his own. The force of the blades colliding sent magical sparks shooting across the air followed a second later by his green sword shattering and dissipating into the air. He winced as Twilight's sword continued unabated. While jumping out of the way took him out of the direct path of the blade, the magic still caught him in the shoulder. He cried out in pain and collapsed to the ground, unable to stand.

Twilight twirled the sword around, then pointed it at the fallen unicorn and thrust it straight down on him. A lime green barrier formed around him and he clenched his eyes shut. The barrier popped as soon as the blade hit it. A second later, Twilight pulled the blade out of the deceased soldier and leveled her gaze on the last soldier engaging her.

Rainbow's hoof slammed into the commander's horn, causing a wince from the unicorn as the jarring impact disrupted his concentration and magic. He recovered and swiveled to the right, extending his legs and slamming them into Rainbow's legs. Rainbow's legs went out from under her, and her quick reflexes saved her from falling on her outstretched wing, but she still hit the ground hard. She grunted and pushed herself back up, only for the commander's hind legs to buck out against her chest. The impact knocked the wind out of her lungs. She clutched her chest and fell to the floor, wheezing in pain.

The commander glared at her but wasted no time in forging a blade of magic in the air, then throwing it down at the pegasus. He smiled as Rainbow stood back up far too slow. His blade shattered as soon as it came into contact with a lavender blade of magic, erasing the smile from his face. He looked up and over at the other recent arrival. The look of sheer anger on her face was enough to give him pause, which Rainbow immediately took advantage of. She slammed into the unicorn, then rammed him into the wall.

Seeing that Rainbow had the commander under control, Twilight turned her attention back to the remaining soldier. With his three allies dead, and his commander preoccupied, he seemed to realize that he was in a bad situation. Although his expression had ghosts of fear written all over it, he remained steadfast, holding his ground and staring down Twilight, although he made no attempts to engage her. He seemingly knew that engaging Twilight would only result in a quicker death.

Twilight smiled, then launched herself at the unicorn. The unicorn stepped back in fear and fired a spell at her, a spell which she easily intercepted with one of her blades. Before he could send another bolt of magic at her, Twilight landed and thrust her blade into the unicorn's chest. Twilight took a deep, victorious breath as the life drained from the unicorn's eyes, then she calmly exhaled and dispersed her two blades of magic. The unicorn's body slumped down to the floor without anything holding it up.

Rainbow breathed heavily as she walked over to Twilight. Her attention was split between the alicorn and Rarity and Spike. Rarity and Spike looked in shock, although the shock was much more prevalent on Rarity's features. Her wide eyes and opened mouth were focused solely on Twilight, it was as if she didn't even notice Rainbow or the dead soldiers.

"We need to go," Twilight stated. She blinked and turned away from the corpse to look at Rarity and Spike. She greeted them with a smile. "It's good to see you two again," she greeted.

Rarity blinked a couple times, then looked down at the bodies littering the floor of her shop. She grimaced, then looked back up at Twilight. "Twilight... you've grown... You look beautiful," she said, still in shock.

Spike took a deep breath, then ran over to Twilight. Twilight turned to him, then sat down on her haunches. As soon as Spike hit her, she wrapped her arms around him, holding him in an affectionate hug. Spike wrapped his arms around her barrel and held onto her tightly. "Twilight... I was so, so worried!"

Twilight smiled and nuzzled his cheek. "I'm... alright," she replied tentatively. "It's good to see you again, Spike. I... I'm sorry that I left you."

"I'm sorry that I didn't listen to you!" Spike apologized.

"Spike, it wasn't your fault... I did kind of run in there like a madmare..." Twilight trailed off, glad that Spike was unable to see her pained expression. "We have some catching up to do now, don't we?" Twilight asked. Spike pulled back and nodded. "Even though we kind of kept in touch..." Twilight shook her head, then nuzzled Spike again. "It feels like it's been a lifetime since we've seen each other..."

Spike nodded. "Yeah," he agreed. A few seconds of silence passed between them. "I should have gone after you."

Twilight shook her head. "It wouldn't have changed anything." She squeezed him, then let him go. He stepped back, then walked around to her side. Twilight smiled at him, then enveloped him in her wing. Spike closed his eyes and leaned into Twilight, welcoming her embrace.

Rarity walked over to Rainbow. Rainbow glanced at her and watched her curiously. Rarity pursed her lips. "Rainbow Dash."

"Rarity," Rainbow acknowledged evenly, her body tensing up as she turned to face her old friend.

Rarity kept her gaze even for a few seconds, then shook her head. "I never thought I would see you again, especially not with Twilight," Rarity said. "You sided with him, even after Princess Celestia and Princess Luna died." Rarity glared at Rainbow threateningly, "If you're planning on hurting Twilight-"

"N-no!" Rainbow quickly answered, eyes widening. "I-I'm not going to hurt her. I'm helping her!" She lowered her gaze to the floor and grimaced. "He... he was going to use me to kill her. I... I didn't... know." She looked back up at Rarity. "I... I don't want Twilight dead or... or hurt. I just thought that... that she would be safe if I helped him..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "I'm protecting her now! I'll die for her if I have to to make it up to her..."

Rarity squinted at Rainbow and studied her expression. Under her gaze, Rainbow looked at her hooves guiltily. "Look, Rarity... I know I messed up. I really, really screwed up... He sent me to go find Twilight and bring her back. He told me that she'd be safe..."

Rarity's face distorted in anger. "And you believed him? After everything he's done? I can't believe you!"

"Rarity... I know... I just..." Rainbow trailed off, shaking her head about in distress. "I should have realized... I should have known... but... I didn't. I'm trying to make up for it!"

"She is," Twilight piped up, drawing Rarity and Rainbow's attention to her. Rarity's expression warmed slightly but remained cold. "Hating her for what she did won't change anything or make anything better, Rarity." Her smile faded and her expression fell. "I know from experience. I was alone for three years after all, and let me say I was very upset with her... All of you, actually..." She trailed off, then turned to Rainbow and smiled. "A year ago, or even four months ago, I would have killed her on sight. I only spared her life out of pity when I found her... I knew why she was there, but..." she trailed off, turning away from them and frowning in thought. "You were so weak and defenseless... As much as I wanted you dead, I still remembered our friendship. You had thrown it away, but I wouldn't really have been any better if I had just killed you... Even though I would have enjoyed it a lot..."

Rarity shifted her weight and looked at Twilight in concern. Twilight would never have said she would have enjoyed killing anypony or anything. The fact that she just said that, and that she remained rather happy and calm about it was disconcerting. "You were alone for three years? Darling that sounds... terrible."

Twilight snorted. "Yes. It left me rather... well, I'm still dealing with the issues it's caused me. It didn't help that I had to deal with losing Celestia, Luna, my sister-in-law, my brother, and of course, my niece... It also didn't help that when they died, I received their magic and some of their memories. I wasn't ready for that..." She cast her gaze down at the floor. Rarity turned back to Rainbow with a cold glare but said nothing.

Twilight shook her head, then levitated Spike up onto her back and smiled, even if it was strained. "We have a lot to talk about," Twilight stated evenly, then looked out the glass door. She frowned at it and shook her head. "But we really can't talk about it here." She turned to Rarity and then glanced around. She smiled wryly. "Sorry about the mess..."

Rarity raised her eyebrows at Twilight in mock seriousness, "When you get back in power, you're paying for damages," she said with a lighthearted smile. After a few seconds, she tossed her head about, then quickly walked over to Twilight and hugged her. Twilight returned the hug. "I'm just glad to see you again. When I heard about your..." she trailed off, searching for the right word, "valiant attempt to overthrow the Inquisitor, which had failed, I was dreadfully worried!"

"You really had us worried Twilight," Spike said, wrapping his arms around Twilight's neck.

Twilight smiled wryly. "Sorry... I... I had a lot on my mind when I fought him... I still do, but I won't let him live next time." The smile faded into a frown and she shook her head. "I'm sure the others will be happy to see you... and I'll have to introduce you to my new student."

Author's Note

Trust...

This chapter was longer than I expected. Probably something to do with the unplanned battle scene.

...Rarity and Spike are back! Rarity seems to have issues with Rainbow, though. How fortunate that they'll be able to talk about it in a safe and secure environment!

Yeah, that scene was kind of short... At least their reunion. But hey, the next few chapters will (should) address this.

[Late night editing in a nutshell:]

"You are staying here, where you will be out of harm's way should the slight chance that's pretty much impossible for something to go wrong, inevitably have a one hundred percent chance of going wrong since the Inquisitor is involved, yet will probably something goes inevitibly wrong because the Inquisitor is involved, goes wrong. something go wrong."

The first take of this had a different battle, this one was when they were confronted by the five soldiers on the street. Just to clarify, they're not the same five. I didn't like that, it was too... visible, I guess. A combination of that and it was kind of leading to Twilight and Rainbow splitting up to complete the mission. Didn't like that either.

~~Something about this chapter doesn't feel right to me, and I'm not sure what it is, but I have a suspicion it's the last scene- more specifically, the last scene from the part where Twilight and Rainbow arrive forward. I kind of feel like I'm forgetting something, too...~~ Mostly fixed with edits.

And with this chapter, this story passes the 100k word count mark! While it's an accomplishment, it's not as much of an accomplishment for me since this is the fourth story of mine to pass 100k. What can I say, I like long stories.

Chapter 18

The warm sun lazily drifted through the sky, guided and moved by Twilight's ever present magic as if fell lower across the sky, casting ever growing shadows from the rows upon rows of apple trees. One orange earth pony wiped her brow with her hoof then squinted up at the sun. The brief moment she glanced up at the sky was more than enough to alert her to the drawing close to the day's work but wasn't enough to temporarily blind her. She closed her eyes and let out a happy sigh, then opened her eyes and grimaced as she looked around.

"Alright, y'all, I think it's probably about time we get headin' back for supper," she called out. Immediately, a yellow mare with a red mane and tail scurried over to her, greeting her words with a big smile and bright eyes. A few seconds later, a large red stallion with a messy mane joined the group. "I think we got a good amount of work done today..." Applejack trailed off, looking around proudly at the state of their orchard.

Because of the harsher conditions of the past three years, their apple orchard wasn't as impressive as it had been. The easy expansion and fruitful growth had been replaced with stagnation, brought on by fewer weather pegasi and shorter, colder days. The apple trees were impressive and hardy, but there was still only so much they could take before failing. It was through their stubborn determination that they had managed to keep the orchard in as good a shape as it was. All around, green, leafy trees filled the expanse, pillars proudly displaying their work, contrasted with light green grass, suffering from a limited drought.

"Eyup," Big Mac agreed, surveying the section they had watered. Damp ground and mud rested at the bases of many of the trees surrounding them, and there were three wagons in the surrounding pathways, each one filled to the brim with empty barrels of water. Big Mac grimaced, then headed back to his barrel of water.

"This'd be a lot easier if the weather ponies would get a hang on the situation," Applebloom commented in disdain.

Applejack glared at her threateningly. "They've got a lot on their plate, Applebloom. Jus' be glad that the days are longer now. The trees are really showing improvement from that alone."

"Ah guess you still haven't heard nothin' from Twilight?" Applebloom asked.

Applejack's glare vanished to be replaced by a disappointed neutral line, which was replaced by a disappointed frown. "Yeah... Ah don't know what she'd be doing... But she's still got the sun an' all that, so she's still out there somewhere..."

"Ah hope she's alright," Applebloom said, glancing down at the grass. "We really need her back..."

Big Mac glanced back at them and smiled. "Eyup." He turned back around, then turned his attention to the partially filled drum of water. He bent down, then bit down on the lid and picked it up, then deposited it on the drum. He reared up on his hind legs, then slammed his front hooves down on the lid. A dull sound accompanied the lid getting pushed into its proper position. He smiled briefly, then flipped the latches into a secured position, then he pushed the steel drum over onto its side. Inertia lifted the bottom of the drum up as the water collided with the top, then it settled back down and twitched a couple times before coming to a rest. He walked around it, then leaned down and met the steel with his head. Because the drum was still half full, it had considerable weight to it, but it was still nothing for him. He easily pushed the drum down the beaten path back to the wagon.

"Well, ah guess ah should get the bucket's then," Applebloom commented before setting off to gather the three buckets they had been using.

"Alright... You two finish up here an' ah'll go back and get supper started," Applejack called out.

"Eyup," Big Mac said.

Applebloom said nothing as she trotted toward the second bucket, the first one hung from her mouth by its rope.

Applejack started out at a casual trot. She quickly left the grass and found her hooves striking the hard dirt road. She ignored the dust that rose up from her pace and surveyed the trees as she walked along. The leaves swayed about, rustling in the wind, but the sound was far too crisp for her liking, but there was only so much they could do about that- they had a large orchard, and there was only three of them to work it. The good news was that the longer days offered more time to work them, and they had made good use of that time, especially since they had no guarantee that the days would continue to be lengthened.

She sighed and found herself grimacing. "Ah hope you're doing alright, Twilight..." she said under her breath. She cast her gaze upward. The clear blue sky looked down at her happily, almost as if it was mocking her. There was not a cloud in sight, not even a fluffy white one, let alone a darker one which would offer temporary relief from the dryness.

"Stupid Inquisitor and yer wars... ya just had ta go an draft every pegasus ya could, didn't ya?" She snorted and shook her head. She looked back ahead of her. The rows of trees stretched on for at least a mile, and at the end, a single red farmhouse and a silo. She aimlessly kicked a small rock on the path. She glanced down at it, then idly kicked it away from the path without slowing her pace.

Minutes drifted on as she walked the same path she had so many times before. The sun idly sank lower in the sky. She slowed to a walk as she reached the wooden stairs at the farmhouse's porch. She sighed, then turned around and looked at the fields of trees. She smiled with pride, knowing that her orchard was still intact despite three years of hardship. "Ma an' Pa would be proud," she commented idly. Her expression fell. "An' so would Gran..."

She shook her head, then turned around. She tried her best to ignore the empty rocking chair, but she still glimpsed it. She fought through it, then reached up for the door, only to pause. "Wait..." she lowered her hoof back to the floor and squinted. "Ah know ah closed the door..." she trailed off, scrutinizing the slight crack where she could see inside the house.

She looked back behind her, then carefully looked around for any signs of danger. Off in the distance, she saw Applebloom and Big Mac making their way back toward the barn. She frowned and looked back at the door. "Maybe ah'm just imaginin' it..." she muttered, shaking her head. She casually reached for the door with her hoof, then tentatively pulled on it. The door creaked from the disturbance, earning a wince from Applejack.

She scanned the living room, then after seeing nothing out of place stepped inside and pulled the door shut behind her. She cautiously made her way into the kitchen and looked around. Once again, nothing looked out of place, but she still felt uneasy. She paused as she came to a stop in front of the corner cabinet, then leaned down and pulled out a large pot and place it on the counter. She looked up and glanced out the window, then made her way to the refrigerator. She pulled open the door, then pulled out some carrots, potatoes, and green beans, which she deposited on the counter beside the pot.

She took the pot over to the faucet, then filled it three-fourths full of water and put it on top of the stove. After turning the stove on, the front door creaked as it was pulled open. She glanced out into the living room. "Applejack! You're not gonna guess who just showed up!" Applebloom yelled as she ran into the house.

"Eyup," Big Mac agreed, smiling and walking inside. He glanced back behind himself, then turned back around and walked inside.

Applejack raised an eyebrow and made her way into the living room. "Well, are ya gonna keep me in the dark or are ya gonna tell me already?" she asked, looking behind Big Mac. The wall prevented her from seeing whoever was accompanying them, but she found her answer quick enough. A lavender hoof set foot into the living room. She glanced down at the hoof and looked on in disbelief. She recognized that shade of lavender, but looking up, she could barely recognize the mare.

A cracking sound disturbed the mostly still air, drawing Big Mac and Applebloom's attention to the right. "What wus that?" Applebloom asked, glancing at Big Mac. The bulky stallion had already unhooked himself from the wagon and was moving toward the fence to investigate. He glanced at Applebloom.

"Ah don't know," he answered.

Applebloom frowned. Thinking about the sound, she thought it sounded familiar, but she couldn't quite place it. She felt like she should have, but she just couldn't put her hoof on it. She glanced back, then unhooked herself from her wagon and trotted over to the fence, where she came to a stop beside her brother. "That kinda sounded familiar, didn't it?"

Big Mac glanced at Applebloom. "Eyup."

Applebloom frowned. "It... kinda sounded like... magic?" She frowned. "What would somepony be doin' 'round here with magic?"

The cracking sound came again, this time louder and from behind them. Applebloom swiveled around and frowned, then her face lit up in recognition. Big Mac glanced back and went wide-eyed.

Twilight glanced around curiously and frowned. "This place is bigger than I remember..." she mumbled.

"Twilight!" Applebloom shouted.

Twilight barely retained her composure, then turned around to greet them with a happy smile. "Applebloom!" She paused at the sight of the young mare. "Wow, you grew a lot."

Applebloom laughed warmly. "Ah could say the same about you, Twilight."

"Eyup."

"It's good to see you two again... It's been a while, hasn't it?" Twilight glanced around at the trees. "The orchard seems to be doing well. That's good to know, considering the past three years..."

"Yeah," Applebloom said. She walked over to Twilight, then hugged her. Twilight looked down and smile, she returned the hug and nuzzled the young mare. Applebloom pulled back a couple seconds later. "It hasn't been easy, but we've managed to keep up with everything. Of course, it hasn't helped that the weather ponies are understaffed an' all that."

Twilight grimaced as she held her head back up. "Yes... that... I promise that I'll fix that as soon as I can."

"That'd be awfully kind of ya, Twilight," Big Mac said.

Twilight turned to the bulky stallion. In years passed, he was far taller, larger, and stronger than Twilight. Even with her enhanced strength, Twilight still didn't want to know just how much strength he could put into a hug. But now, unlike before, Twilight put his size to shame. She looked down at him but smiled all the same. "Big Mac," she acknowledged. "I hope everypony's doing well," she said.

Big Mac turned away and grimaced. Twilight frowned, immediately seeing the problem. "Well... Granny Smith..." Applebloom trailed off.

Twilight's smile faded. "I... I'm sorry, Applebloom..." 'She was a good mare... she was old, though, I don't think anypony in Ponyville was older than her.' she smiled wryly at the thought. "If... you don't mind my asking... how?"

"Wolves," Big Mac answered simply.

Twilight shivered. A pregnant silence filled the air for several minutes. "But that's in the past, and we're doing okay," Applebloom said, patting Big Mac on the shoulder.

Twilight smiled at the display. She found it ironic that Applebloom would be comforting her big brother, rather than it being the other way around. She felt a little guilty at the sight, too. "How's... Applejack?"

Applebloom turned back to Twilight. "She's about as stubborn as a mule, like normal."

"Well, no surprise there," Twilight said with wry smile.

"Ah take it you're here ta see her?" Applebloom asked.

Twilight nodded. "Yes... I'm actually hoping that I can take her back with me..." She smiled apologetically at Applebloom.

"Don't you worry none," Big Mac said. "We can handle the farm without her."

Twilight smiled. "I'll... try to get her back to you as soon as I can."

"Ya going after the Inquisitor again?" Applebloom asked, smiling.

Twilight nodded. "Yes, I will be shortly. I will not be bringing her with me for her safety, but after he is... gone... I will return to power and... we'll see where it goes from there."

"Good luck," Applebloom said.

"Thank you, Applebloom," Twilight replied. She looked around briefly and glanced at the two wagons. "I take it the lack of weather resources are adversely affecting your crop?" She asked, blinking. She looked down at the dirt road, then at the grass. She frowned. "The grass doesn't look that bad..."

"Yeah, there's just not enough for good crops from the trees," Applebloom replied. "So we have ta water them manually."

Twilight grimaced. "That seems like a lot of work for you..."

Applebloom shrugged. "We're used to it by now. It's kinda easier ta manage now that the days are longer."

Twilight smiled at Applebloom. "I'm glad I can be of assistance."

"What's it like?" Applebloom asked, tilting her head and studying Twilight's form. "Movin' the sun an' all that."

Twilight squinted. "It's... hard to explain. It's not very draining. It feels natural and it feels right. I don't even have to think about it to keep it in motion."

"Really?" Applebloom asked, her gaze going up to Twilight's horn. "Yer horn ain't glowing?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes. In the mornings I use the proper spell which sets it along its course for the day, and at night I use a similar spell on the moon."

"Fancy," Applebloom commented.

Twilight took a deep breath, then turned her attention back to the wagons. "Would you like some help moving these?"

"No need ta strain yerself, Twilight. We can-" Applebloom was cut off by Twilight's horn glowing and both wagons casually lifting into the air.

"It's really no trouble," Twilight replied.

"That's... kinda impressive for a unicorn..." Applebloom said warily, walking toward the hovering wagon which she had been pulling.

"Well, most unicorns could lift one of them with proper training, but of course most unicorns don't have proper training," Twilight replied, casually pulling the wagons forward. "And it helps that I'm not a unicorn," she casually flared out her wings.

Applebloom glanced at her and nodded absently. "Yeah, ah can imagine... Since ya can move the sun, this must be a piece of cake for ya."

Twilight shrugged. "Anything else I can do for you?"

"Well, there's another wagon back there, but we can-"

"Ah, one second," Twilight interrupted. She squinted, then smiled. Another cracking sound filled the air, followed by a flash of light. When the light subsided, the third wagon hovered in the air beside Twilight.

"Twilight..?" Applejack asked quietly, not quite believing what she was seeing. The alicorn glanced at her and smiled, then calmly walked inside with regalness befitting Princess Celestia.

"It's good to see you again, Applejack," Twilight greeted. She glanced around and saw an empty chair at the far corner of the room. her smile fell at the sight. "I... see some things have changed..." she said in a low, disappointed voice. She shook it off, then turned back to Applejack just in time for the earth pony to wrap her arms around her barrel. Twilight winced a little, then returned the hug, wrapping one of her arms around Applejack's neck. She leaned down and nuzzled Applejack, then pulled back and let go of her. Applejack let go of her a second later and stepped back.

"Well, girl... you sure have grown a bit!" Applejack commented warmly as she looked up and down Twilight's body. "Yur just as big as Princess Celestia!"

Twilight's smile wavered but she nodded. "Yes... well... can we not talk about that?" she asked, glancing around, unable to meet anypony's gaze.

Applejack winced. "Uh... right, sorry..." she said in a grim tone.

Twilight shifted her weight, then lit her horn and closed the door behind her. "I... do hope I'm not causing any trouble by being here..."

Applejack frowned. "Nonsense, Twilight! It's great to see you again." She looked away from Twilight and shifted her weight. "Especially after... well... ya know," she said.

"Yes... that..." Twilight trailed off.

Applebloom and Big Mac shared a glance, then casually made their way into the kitchen. Twilight glanced at them and watched them leave, then turned back to Applejack. Applejack looked down at her hooves guiltily, "Listen, Twilight... Ah'm real sorry about... well... everything."

"Do you have any idea how much that hurt?" Twilight asked. "You took his side instead of mine. You of all ponies should have known I was telling the truth, and you just..." she trailed off, closing her eyes. "And then I spent the next three years of my life alone. I was scared. He was trying to kill me. I lost everything, Applejack. My home, my friends, my family... He took them away." She opened her eyes.

Applejack continued to look down at the floor, unable to meet her gaze. "Ah'm sorry. Ah just didn't believe that he could be as bad as ya said he was. He seemed so... genuine an' kind."

"It's not all your fault," Twilight said discontentedly. "Besides, you're not the only pony at fault there, now, are you? You all sided with him over me. Do you have any idea how much that hurt? To say nothing of how much it hurt to find out how much he had lied to me... The fact that I... That I would say he was planning on killing me, Celestia, Luna, and who knew who else, in order to take the Equestrian throne? That alone should have made you know I wasn't wrong!" She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Did you not see the state I was in?"

"Ah just thought that ya were overreacting or somethin'..." Applejack trailed off.

"And then I was alone for three years. Solitude. No friends. Constantly chased by ponies wanting me dead, simply because of who I was," Twilight added. "And then lo and behold, Rainbow Dash shows up a few months ago. It wasn't hard to know what was going on. He was going to use her to kill me. As if being betrayed by my five closest friends wasn't bad enough, my friend who represents the Element of Loyalty betrayed me and then voluntarily went to try to bring me back to the very pony who wanted me dead."

"Twilight-"

"I'm not finished. I need to say this, Applejack," Twilight said swiftly, blocking any protest from the earth pony. "I wanted her dead. I wanted all of you dead. Well, not all of you. Not Fluttershy, nor Pinkie... Rarity, well I kind of wanted her dead for a while. It mellowed out..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "I came this close to killing Rainbow, Applejack. She was being attacked by wolves. I chose to intervene. I saved her life and spared her despite what she did and was going to do. All of you choosing to side with him instead of me hurt so very, very badly. It still hurts, and I'm still dealing with it. I do not want to go through that pain again, Applejack, but... I forgive you. Holding onto my hatred for you does not benefit me. Killing Rainbow Dash would have made me happy for a moment, but she was still my friend..." she trailed off shaking her head. "I would have been killing a part of myself." Twilight waited for a second, then pulled Applejack into her body and hugged her. Applejack resisted at first, but Twilight easily overcame her strength and then Applejack returned the hug.

Several seconds passed before Applejack pulled away, and a couple more passed before Twilight let her go. Applejack had trouble meeting Twilight's gaze, but she fought through it. Twilight's eyes felt like they were piercing into her soul, they were so sharp with pain, yet she could see and feel the forgiveness in them. She rubbed her eyes with the back of her hoof. "What... what are ya here for, anyway... Did ya just come all this way ta... ta say all that?"

"Well... no," Twilight admitted. "That was a major part of it, but as you may be aware, I've gathered the rest of you... and you're the only one not currently under my protection. I was hoping you would come back with me to the others. I know Pinkie will throw a big party since we'll all be together again."

Applejack smiled warily. "Twilight... ah've got responsibilities here-"

"I can always drag you back with me," Twilight commented with a smile befitting Celestia's lips.

Applejack shifted her weight uncomfortably. "Ah didn't finish. I was gonna say that while ah have responsibilities here an' ta my family, ah have a responsibility ta you too. Especially with everything ya've been through." She paused. "Ah'll still need ta talk with them about this..."

Twilight nodded. "Of course," she said. "I would prefer to return as soon as possible, but I do have time. The others will be safe and can wait for us."

Applejack hesitantly nodded, then slowly turned around. "You uh... wanna join us for supper?"

Twilight pursed her lips. "I already ate, however, I can assist you with preparing it if you would like."

"Ah'd appreciate that, Twilight..." Applejack said as she started heading for the kitchen. As she passed through the doorway, her gaze fell on Applebloom and Big Mac, who were patiently sitting at the table. Applejack glared at them. "Y'all can't be done yet."

"I lent them my assistance," Twilight said as she walked on in passed Applejack. She glanced around, then made her way over to the pot on the stove. Applejack watched Twilight curiously. Twilight's horn glowed and a lavender glow emanated from the pot of water. Almost immediately, the water broke out into a vigorous boil. Twilight casually glanced back at the counter and levitated the ingredients over, then scrutinized them.

"Ya sure you don't want somethin', Twilight?" Applejack asked after depositing the pot into the refrigerator.

"Yes," Twilight answered with a short nod. "I already ate with the others." For the umpteenth time, Twilight looked over the kitchen. The quaint, rustic farmhouse had a nice, homely appeal to it, although it wasn't something she was used to. She could see the appeal in it, but it did not have the same appeal her library had, nor her castle, nor the Canterlot Castle. The wooden floor seemed like a hassle to clean, and while the wooden cabinets did not demand attention with their simplicity, they added to the homely feel.

Applejack closed the refrigerator, then walked back to the table and sat down. Despite their attempts to ignore it, the empty seat at the head of the table loomed over all of them, though nopony mentioned it. "Thanks for helping an' all that. It was mighty nice of ya."

"It was really good, too!" Applebloom added.

"Eyup," Big Mac agreed.

Twilight smiled. "While I normally fix food using... alternate means, I am capable of doing it in a more traditional sense. I kind of had to learn to do that since Spike wasn't with me."

"Ah offered ta let him stay with us, but he said he wanted to stay with Rarity..." Applejack commented wryly.

Twilight nodded. "Yes, I know. I brought both of them back earlier. I decided to come for you last." Applejack raised an eyebrow at Twilight. "I had no idea where Fluttershy was, I was worried she was in danger, so I brought her back first. Discord... was with her... After that, I found Pinkie since she had disappeared... And then I went for Rarity since both her and Spike were there."

"Ah see," Applejack said. "Ya mentioned Discord?"

Twilight sighed and shifted her weight in the chair, causing it to groan. She squinted at the sound. 'I... don't weigh that much... do I?' She took a slow, uncomfortable breath, then nodded. "Yes... the Inquisitor got to him before all of us," she answered. "He... stripped him of his magic, and then when I first battled him he used chaos magic against me."

Applejack leaned forward and looked dumbfounded. "The Inquisitor ain't that Tirek fella, is he?"

Twilight shook her head. "No... I don't know how he can use chaos magic- I'm the most powerful being in existence and I can't use chaos magic, but somehow he can after stripping it from Discord..." she trailed off shaking her head and sighing. "Needless to say that threw me off..."

"Twilight, how did ya even manage to lose ta the likes of him? He's just a unicorn, even if he does have Discord's magic." Applejack shook her head.

"I... have issues..." Twilight replied defensively. "Issues, problems, vulnerabilities... I... am not still... me, but at the same time... I am. It's... complicated."

"Ya doing alright?" Applejack asked.

Twilight grimaced and bobbed her head. "Yes and no, and that's part of the reason I came here." She looked up and met Applejack's gaze. "I need you to come back with me. I need you five in order to keep myself stable... I'm already insane, I just... would rather not go off the deep end."

"Ya don't... seem crazy, Twilight..." Applejack said cautiously.

Twilight pursed her lips. "It's... well... It's complicated. I am, but at the same time, I am not." She tilted her head to the side, then looked down at the table.

Applejack took a deep breath, then scooted back from the table and stood up. "Well, ah'll go with ya." She turned to Applebloom and Big Mac. "If these two here can-"

"We'll be fine, sis," Applebloom said preemptively.

"Eyup," Big Mac agreed. "Ya need to go, Applejack."

Applejack smiled at them, then turned back to Twilight. "Well... Ah guess Ah'm ready whenever ya are."

Twilight smiled, then slipped out of her chair. She turned to Applebloom and Big Mac. "I will keep her safe, I promise."

Big Mac nodded. Applebloom smiled. Both of them stood from their chairs, then walked over to Applejack. Applejack met them halfway and pulled each of them into a big hug. "Stay safe you two," Applejack said.

"We will, sis," Applebloom said.

"Now take care of her, ya hear?" Applejack said to Big Mac.

"Eyup," Big Mac said with a nod.

Applejack took a deep breath, then walked over to Twilight and nodded.

Author's Note

When starting to write this chapter, I found that I really, really wasn't motivated to write it. I'm looking forward to the last couple chapters and finishing this, but I wasn't eager to write this chapter... It... may show. I hope not.

I really hate writing accents, or at least in the case of Applejack and her family... I want to scream at the improper grammar and all that... :pinkiecrazy: Where's the emoticon of Twilight on fire when you need it... *sigh*

Well. Originally this chapter was going to include a scene with Twilight sitting down with the girls and having a nice long chat and maybe a breakdown, but since I was unable to motivate myself to write that I'm moving that scene to the next chapter.

Overall? I did not enjoy writing this chapter, maybe it was because of my timetable, maybe it was because of midterms week being this past week.

But hey, there is good news, I enjoyed reading this chapter while checking for corrections, so while I wasn't motivated to write it, I didn't completely hate it when proofreading. Or maybe it's just because I am feeling much, much better today and not upset.

Well, the end is in sight. I may have said that last time, and I may have said that before... I think there should be about 3-5 more chapters. Estimated ending word count is around 130k. Watch it end up being 140k or more... The timetable for completion: Within 2 months. Chance of meeting that deadline? I have no idea.

Chapter 19

Twilight smiled warmly. Her friends, all of them, sat around a luminous purple orb hovering in the air. Even from across the river, she could see their smiles and hear them talking and laughing. She could also hear sighs see sadness as they discussed difficult subjects. That made her smile waver, then disappear. She spread out her wings, then beat them and gracefully flew over the river. She silently landed on the other side in the grass, then started toward them.

Each silent step brought her closer to them. Each step slowed down as she approached them. Her mind wandered a mile a minute, anxious and uncertain. Before she started gathering them, before she gave being Rainbow's friend again a chance, she hadn't been so anxious. Five of the six mares surrounding the orb deeply hurt her. She was giving them another chance, she was their friend, she would protect them, she knew she should not be anxious about it- they were not going to repeat their mistake again, and yet, her heart still raced, and every muscle in her body tensed as she walked.

She closed her eyes and came to a stop, then lifted her head toward the sky and opened her eyes. She let the stillness of the dark night sky clear away her worries and concerns. She let herself go, giving herself over to freedom as she looked at the specs of light cast by thousands of stars spanning across the cold, dark night sky. She took strength from the sight of her moon, her inheritance from Princess Luna. Despite the strength and support her moon gave her, she felt agony in her stomach at the sight and memories that accompanied it.

She closed her eyes again and took a deep breath, then lowered her head and slowly let the breath out. She hesitantly picked her hoof up, then paused for a second. Nopony surrounding the orb had noticed her approach, save for Discord who was glancing at her from the corner of his eye. Twilight met his gaze for a brief moment, then glanced up at her mane. It calmly flowed in an ethereal breeze, as if it was a nebula in the vast expanse of space, with her pink highlight turned into a swirl reminiscent of a galaxy. She lowered her hoof back to the grass. Her mane and tail, despite how anxious she felt, were still calmly flowing, almost as if they were seperate entities from herself, not experiencing the stress she did. She watched her mane idly flow for several seconds, letting her heartbeat calm down, then she started walking toward them at a gentle pace. The steps came easier, and her body didn't tense as much as it had, but she still wanted to pin her wings against her sides and never let go.

She forced the distress away as she neared them, then she slowed down and came to a stop behind them. She looked at each one of them in turn, briefly reminiscing on their past. She lingered over them, her eyes stung slightly, and her chest pounded. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes, then slowly exhaled. For a few seconds, she stood there in silence, letting her friends' voices calm her. "Girls," she acknowledged, opening her eyes. The group fell silent and turned around to face her, still smiling. Their smiles slowly wavered, then dispersed, being replaced by furrowed brows and concern. Twilight took a deep breath and twitched her head up. She cast her gaze on Zenith. "Zenith, Discord, Spike... can... can you give us a few minutes?" she asked.

Zenith opened her mouth, then slowly closed it. She nodded, then slowly stood up. Discord uncurled himself from Fluttershy, then walked over passed Zenith, heading toward the river. Fluttershy's lips curled downward, then twitched back up into a neutral line as Discord left her. Spike balled up his fists. For a few seconds, he stood his ground, then relented under a single look from Twilight. No words passed between them, but Spike understood what went unsaid. He sighed, then hung his head and walked over to Zenith. Zenith wrapped an arm around him and smiled reassuringly, then started making her way over to Discord.

Twilight watched them leave absently, too preoccupied with her thoughts to give any thought to them leaving. For several seconds after Zenith and Spike joined Discord by the river, she remained still and unmoving, save for her breathing and the flowing of her mane. She blinked, then glanced at the grass. Her lips grew into a wide, empty line, then they went blank. She lifted her head back up and turned to the five mares and blinked.

All five of them were sitting quietly, facing her and looking up to her, almost expectantly. They had formed a half circle around Twilight. Twilight glanced at the grass, then tentatively lifted a hoof. She turned around to face them, then looked up from the grass. She sat down on her haunches at length, then ruffled her wings. "We need to talk," she said calmly. She opened her mouth, then held it open for several seconds before slowly closing it. She licked her lips. "You all hurt me," she said evenly. She took a second to meet each of their gazes.

Applejack immediately looked down at her hooves, unable to meet Twilight's gaze. She reached up to her stetson with a hoof and pulled it down, hiding her face from sight.

Rarity bit her lip and shifted her weight. Her deep blue eyes looking slightly misty.

Pinkie didn't meet Twilight's gaze, she kept her eyes focused on Twilight's hooves.

Fluttershy shied back from Twilight's gaze and lowered her head toward the grass, but she kept her gaze on the alicorn. Twilight slowly twitched her head down and grimaced at Fluttershy. Fluttershy lifted her head back up slightly, drawing her head out from behind her mane. Twilight gave Fluttershy a half-smile, trying to reassure her, then turned to Rainbow.

Rainbow shifted her weight and looked everywhere except Twilight as the alicorn's gaze met her own. She hung her head a little and looked at her hooves under Twilight's empty gaze. She shivered a little as Twilight continued to scrutinize her. Eventually, Twilight slowly looked away from her. She closed her eyes and breathed deeply.

Twilight looked down at her hooves. She took a calm breath, then exhaled. "You... you're all a part of me. You made me into... who I am. I... would not be who I am without you..." she said calmly. "And... you all betrayed me." She looked up, haunted. "I was alone, on my own for three years... granted, I had not been the most... social pony back when I was Celestia's student..." She sighed. "But... those three years were by far the worst I have ever experienced. I... none of you know how much that hurt..." She looked down at her hooves and closed her eyes.

"Twilight, we're sorry," Applejack said softly.

Twilight nodded slowly. "I... know." She looked back up and opened her eyes, then tilted her head to the right and brushed away tears with the back of her hoof. "I... I had convinced myself that... you weren't sorry, that... you did it on purpose or something." She grimaced and shook her head. "I... hated you because of what you did. I..." she trailed off, letting her head hang limply. "I wanted to kill you," she said softly.

Pinkie teared up and clenched her eyes shut. Fluttershy stood up, then all but jumped on Twilight and wrapped her arms around the alicorn. Twilight looked up at Fluttershy. For half a second, confusion passed through Twilight's eyes, then it melted away. A small smile crossed Twilight's lips, and she wrapped an arm around Fluttershy's withers. "He... took everything from me... everything I knew... even though I was still alive, he... took my life from me," Twilight said, closing her eyes again. Another pair of hooves wrapped around her body. She lifted her wing from her side, then draped it around Rainbow and Fluttershy. A second later, Twilight's body jerked, then she sniffled. Pinkie, Rarity, and Applejack immediately joined the others and wrapped their arms around Twilight.

Twilight's lips flashed into a smile, then shrunk, but her smile remained. She closed her eyes and pulled her friends close with her wings, then held them against her large body. She lowered her head and pulled everypony around in front of her, then wrapped her arms around them and laid her head on top of theirs. She squeezed them and shuddered as more tears leaked out of her closed eyes.

"We're here for you now, Twilight... it's going to be okay," Fluttershy cooed, holding onto the alicorn tighter.

"Yeah, we're not gonna let anything like that happen again!" Pinkie agreed.

"Twilight, dear, I speak for all of us when I say that not listening to you that night was by far the biggest mistake of our lives," Rarity added, shifting her weight uncomfortably. She glanced up at her mane and bit her lip.

"The Inquisitor lied ta us and we didn't listen to ya. We made a mistake, and we're sorry," Applejack said.

"I'm sorry that I... helped him, Twilight. I don't want to be responsible for hurting my friend, and that was exactly what I did," Rainbow said at length, shying away from the large alicorn's embrace. Twilight felt it and reacted by pulling her closer. Rainbow resisted, then relented at Twilight's insistence, letting her pull her closer.

Twilight opened her eyes and smiled. "I-I know..." she trailed off. "I love you all," she said softly. "You're all a part of me... I-I need you all..."

"We're here for you," Fluttershy said softly.

"I-" Twilight fell silent as a pair of claws wrapped around her.

"Don't forget about us!" Spike shouted in a heavy, pained voice. Twilight pressed her eyes closed and lowered her head at his touch. Try as she did, she could not fight back the growing discomfort coming from her eyes.

"Mmm, yes," Discord agreed as he wrapped his body around Twilight, then laid his head on her shoulder. Twilight opened her eyes and squinted at Discord through tear stained eyes. Discord smiled at her gently. "Believe it or not, Twilight, you do matter to me. All of you do. If it wasn't for all of you, well..." he trailed off chuckling slightly. "I wouldn't know the magic of friendship." Twilight snorted and smiled.

Zenith wrapped her arms around Twilight, then nuzzled her. Twilight turned to Zenith, then levitated her, Discord, and Spike around in front of her. She spread her wings out, then welcomed them into her embrace. "Th-thank you," she said as tears spilled over her eyelids, then streamed down her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled and pulled them closer. Holding them close, she could feel their warmth and love radiating into her, and hers radiating into them.

Seconds passed and faded into minutes, and Twilight lost track of time. When she finally lifted her wings from them, they stayed there for a few seconds before reluctantly pulling away. Their warm smiles fought back her fears and lent her strength, and she welcomed it. She brought a hoof up to her head and wiped her eyes dry. "I've missed you all s-so much..." she croaked. She averted her gaze from them and bit her lip. She breathed in and out a few times to calm herself, then continued, "I... even with all the memories and magic that I have... Even knowing how much you all mean and meant to me..." she trailed off, shaking her head. "You never... truly know what you have, until you've lost it..." she trailed off, grimacing. She swallowed and rubbed her eye with the back of her hoof. "Y-you would think I would have known that from Celestia's memories..." She half-smiled and turned back toward them.

"Twilight, you're not perfect. You're still just a pony," Fluttershy said softly, smiling gently despite moisture having gathered in the corners of her eyes.

Discord turned away from Twilight and reclined against Zenith, drawing a wary glance from the mare. Discord turned his claw around toward him and idly looked it over. "Even Celestia and Luna made mistakes, Twilight. She didn't see what was happening to Luna, and Luna... well, you know the rest of that story."

Twilight turned away from them again, her ears folding back against her head. She slowly closed her eyes, then reluctantly opened her mouth. "I... have Luna's memories. And Nightmare Moon's memories... I... have that same potential, if not worse, than what Luna had before..." she trailed off uneasily. "Just like her... I'm emotional... We felt betrayed, alone, and abandoned..."

"Ya didn't turn into Nightmare Moon, though," Applejack stated flatly.

Twilight nodded slowly. "It's getting better," she said with a brief smile. The smile quickly faded. "Still... While I may be out of the woods, for the most part, I have that potential..." she trailed off, shaking her head. She sighed and turned back to them, grimacing. She took a deep breath and sat up a straighter, putting on an air of regality. She opened her mouth to speak but hesitated as her gaze drifted downward. The air of royalty surrounding her dissipated to be replaced with guilt. "I wanted to take out my revenge on you and make Equestria suffer for betraying us, even though I knew that wasn't what they would have wanted," she lowered her muzzle toward the ground, "They had all turned their backs on us, so I was going to turn my back on them," she said calmly. She glanced up at them, then her gaze fell on Rainbow. Rainbow shifted her weight and glanced at Fluttershy and Zenith, trying to see if Twilight's gaze was directed at one of them rather than herself. It wasn't, and Rainbow grimaced but met Twilight's gaze. "I..." Twilight sighed, then looked at her hooves. "Originally I only intervened when the wolves were attacking you because I wanted to kill you myself," she admitted, then snorted. "But... when I saw you there, and the way you looked at me... I remembered what we had been through. Even if you had thrown it away. In that split second, I made a decision not to kill you, even though it would have been easy to kill you and justify it in my mind... He was using you, and you were helping him. You were my enemy..."

Rainbow stared at Twilight for a few seconds, forcing herself to not shy away from the alicorn. "For the longest time after that, I was afraid that you were going to do something to me. The more time I spent with you, the more I realized just how badly hurt you were... And I knew that we were responsible for that." She glanced at the others and forced a smile, it came out warily. She sighed and hung her head, then turned back to Twilight. "And... he was using me. I didn't want to believe it, but... you were right. He was just going to kill you like Celestia and Luna, and he was going to use me to get you. That... isn't what I wanted. I actually believed him, believed in him, I guess, rather than my friend. I'm sorry."

Twilight smiled and nodded slowly. "I forgave you. It was hard, but I have forgiven all of you."

Rainbow smiled a little. "You did originally want us close by to keep you safe as much as for you to keep us safe, and I haven't forgotten about the first part."

"I haven't forgotten the second part," Twilight replied, still smiling. She slowly stood up, then stepped forward and hugged Rainbow. Rainbow returned the hug. When Twilight pulled back, Rainbow sat up a littler straighter, and a little more of her confidence had returned. She turned her gaze to Zenith. Zenith looked at her quizzically. She waited a few seconds before speaking, "Zenith, when I first saw you, I saw your potential, and how different you were from the others. You are not my first student, nor are you my youngest, but I have enjoyed having you around. You remind me a little of myself. I am proud to call you my friend."

While Zenith had been unsure at first, her shifting ceased to be replaced with a growing smile. Zenith sat up, then stepped over to Twilight and eagerly hugged her. Twilight smiled and nuzzled her as she returned the hug. "Thank you for taking me with you. It hasn't always been easy, but... I never dreamed that I would have a princess as a teacher."

Twilight chuckled warmly. A few seconds later, Zenith pulled back, still smiling contently. Twilight turned to Fluttershy, still smiling calmly. Fluttershy looked up at Twilight with a subtle smile, and she did not back down from Twilight focusing on her. Twilight flashed a wider smile and tilted her head to the side. "Fluttershy, what can I really say? I could never hate you, even after that night. You and Pinkie had both betrayed me, but I couldn't hate you for it, you didn't do it on purpose. I would never be able to convince myself that you did it to hurt me, you're both too kind and caring. I missed our friendship during those three years. I'm hoping that we'll still be able to have tea together once the Inquisitor's gone?"

Fluttershy closed her eyes and nodded happily. "I'd like that, Twilight. I missed you too, but..." she trailed off, opening her eyes and looking at Discord. "He needed me." She looked around at the rest of the girls and smiled apologetically. "I'm sorry that I ran off without telling anypony, but... After Celestia and Luna... I was..." She closed her eyes as her smile fell, and she took a deep breath.

Twilight quickly held Fluttershy in a comforting embrace, fighting off her pain for her. It took a few seconds, but Fluttershy eventually returned the hug. Zenith tentatively patted Fluttershy on the back. Several seconds passed in a still silence before Fluttershy pulled back. She cautiously wiped her eyes with her hooves but smiled. Discord wrapped an arm around Fluttershy and pulled her against him. Fluttershy glanced at Discord, then nuzzled his side.

Twilight smiled at the display, then turned her attention to Discord. She hesitated because of Fluttershy, but a glance at the pegasus reassured her. Discord looked at her with idle expectation, disinterested, yet caring. "When I found you, imprisoned in stone, with Fluttershy... guarding you..." She shook her head at the thought. "I was going to kill you," she stated flatly. Discord remained impassive. "When I fought the Inquisitor, he had chaos magic. I still don't understand that, and I'm not sure I ever will. The only thing I can conceive of is him being some kind of parasite or having a special talent for leeching magic, but that still doesn't make sense..." she shook her head slowly and exhaled heavily. "I was convinced that you had disappeared because you were the Inquisitor. Fluttershy stopped me from destroying you while you were trapped in stone, and I am glad she did. I do consider you my friend, even if you can annoy me to no end."

Discord grinned toothily. "I hope I've not been too intolerable for you since your valiant rescue of us," he said.

Twilight smiled. "You've made an effort to be my friend unlike all those years ago. You really have changed, and I am happy to have you as a friend." She squinted and opened her mouth before thinking better of it. She tentatively stepped closer to him, then laid an arm around his back and hugged him. She blinked several times and scrutinized the forest while Discord reciprocated the hug. She wasn't surprised to feel Fluttershy's hooves wrap around her during the hug, and that brought a smile to her lips. Eventually, she pulled back. "I appreciate that you'll be there for me, Discord."

Discord bowed exaggeratedly, then looked up at her. "Happy to be of service, Princess."

Twilight rolled her eyes, then walked away from him. Discord rose from the bow, then turned his attention back to Fluttershy. Twilight came to a stop in front of Pinkie, then looked her over. While she was smiling, it wasn't as energetic as it had been, but her mane was poofy like it should be. Her smile was gentle, soft and laidback, almost calm. It was a stark contrast to how she normally was, and Twilight found it a little offputting, even if it was a welcome change. She smiled at Pinkie. "Like Fluttershy, nopony knew where you went. You had just disappeared." Pinkie smiled apologetically. "Like Fluttershy, you are so innocent. I could not hate you if I wanted to, even if you can be overenthusiastic at times," she said with a slight giggle. "But it just makes you all the more special." Pinkie leaned in and hugged Twilight. Twilight tensed and braced herself, then relaxed as Pinkie's hug wasn't as fierce as usual.

Twilight returned the hug and nuzzled the earth pony before stepping back and turning to Rarity. She grimaced slightly. "You ignored me. I was hurt by that. I felt like you were too caught up with everything and that you were too busy for me. That hurt. But, he played us both..." she trailed off, looking at the ground and sighing. "I could have handled telling you better, that's for sure, but you still didn't listen to me... We were close, yet you and Applejack both thought I was overreacting. Since I was close with him, I felt even more betrayed by what he did. Of course, I did panic. That tends to happen when somepony chases you out of their house after you find out that they're planning to overthrow the government," she said dryly. "Still, because I was close to him, you should have known that I wouldn't have made those accusations unless I was completely sure. And I was right." She paused. Rarity's gaze had not left Twilight's hooves since she started talking to her, and she stood quite still. "I don't hold that against you, at least not now. For a while, I did. I should have kept in touch with you better than what I did..." she trailed off, grimacing. Rarity continued to remain silent. Twilight sighed, then stepped up to Rarity and hugged her firmly. Rarity returned the hug. When they parted, Rarity smiled sadly.

Twilight turned to Spike, only to feel him wrap his arms around her. She looked down at him and wrapped her arms around him. "I missed you so much, Spike," she whispered. "I'm sorry that I left you..."

"It's okay, Twilight," Spike replied.

Twilight leaned down and tenderly nuzzled him, prompting him to squeeze her tighter. They parted at length, and Twilight looked at Applejack. "He lied to all of us. We all believed him. I can't fault you for that since even I believed him." She tilted her head to the side and grimaced. "But... you of all ponies, even more than Rarity, should have known I wasn't lying. I suppose being so frantic about it didn't help, but..." she trailed off and sighed.

She stepped back and looked over everypony. She swallowed back a growing knot in her throat. "Whether you agree with me or not." She glanced at Rainbow before looking away from her. Rainbow shifted on her hooves and her wings twitched. "I am going to kill him," she said firmly, "I would say that justice demands his death... I don't know whether that is true or not, but he will die by my hoof. I demand that." She swallowed. "And then, Equestria is mine."

She sighed and slumped down. "I am dreading it just as much as I am looking forward to it. It will take me years to get everything settled back down after him, and I'll have to rebuild some portions of the government from scratch." She bobbed her head to the side. "I'll probably have to rebuild the Guard from scratch, too..." She grimaced and looked back down. "I am going to be very busy after I take over Equestria." She pursed her lips and turned to Rainbow. "However, I did make a promise that I would find and or make time to spend with all of you to be your friends, and I will keep that promise. I will also protect all of you and keep you safe..." She turned to Zenith. Zenith sat up straighter, although Twilight could see the heaviness in her eyes and the tiredness in how her back slouched forward. "I promised I would teach you magic other than combat magic, and I will." Zenith lit up a little and smiled giddily, her tail twitched from left to right. Twilight turned to Discord and squinted unsurely. "I will... get your magic back for you..." she trailed off as Discord grinned lopsidedly. Twilight inhaled slowly and leaned away from him. For a few seconds, she watched him, then she broke away and looked over the rest of her friends. "I want you... I need you all to be there for me," Twilight implored.

"Well, of course we'll be there, silly!" Pinkie exclaimed, bounding over to Twilight. "Being in charge can be fun but I don't think ruling Equestria sounds very fun which means you'll probably be sad which means we need to be there for you to make you happy and since you're our friend, of course we'll help you!"

Twilight giggled a little. "Thank you, Pinkie."

"Ah reckon we owe it to ya," Applejack added.

"Yeah, it's not like anypony can just replace your number one assistant!" Spike added, jumping at Twilight.

Twilight braced herself, then caught the young dragon and pulled him against her chest with her hoof. She leaned down and nuzzled him. "Of course not, Spike... Do you have any idea how hard it was to keep track of anything while I didn't have you around!" She giggled lightly, then lowered Spike back to the ground. "I can't imagine trying to rule Equestria without you." She smiled reassuringly at Spike. Spike smiled back, then fought back a yawn. "It is kind of late, isn't it?"

"Well..." Spike sheepishly rubbed the back of his head.

Twilight lit her horn, then levitated herself and Spike up off the ground, then teleported a large blanket under them. She set herself back down, then unfurled her right wing and slowly levitated Spike over to her side and placed him at her side, just under her wing. Spike tentatively laid against Twilight's side and smiled gratefully. Twilight returned his smile, then laid down and folded her hooves under her chest. She turned back to her friends. "You're all welcome to join him," she said in a gentle, warm voice, in mimicry of Celestia's motherlike voice. She lifted her right wing up and unfurled her left.

Rainbow and Zenith slowly made their way over to Twilight, then laid down beside Spike. Twilight flashed them a smile, then looked at the others expectantly. Rarity was off-put by the idea, squinting sharply, although she looked like she was considering the offer. Pinkie just smiled and walked over and laid down beside Zenith. Twilight stretched out her wing, then wrapped it around them and pulled them a little closer.

"Darling, don't you think that this is a bit... strange?" Rarity asked cautiously.

Twilight smiled sheepishly. "Maybe it is," she admitted. "But it'd be just like old times when we'd have a sleepover. Except that this time we're outside. And you'd be sleeping under my wings."

"Which is why it seems a bit strange," Rarity said evenly.

"You don't have to," Twilight replied. "But it is a nice night to do something like this, and... we'll probably never get another chance to ever do anything like this..." she trailed off with a wry smile. "I... kind of want to do this, since... it just..." she trailed off, looking away from Rarity and trying to hide her embarrassment.

"I think it sounds nice," Fluttershy said softly. She walked over beside Twilight, then laid down under her left wing. Discord watched Fluttershy and Twilight warily before cautiously walking over, then pausing and squinting at Twilight. Twilight nodded and smiled.

"Well, this is something I never imagined I would be doing," he idly commented as he lifted Twilight's wing up, then stood up straighter and glance back at Applejack and Rarity. He blinked, then let go of Twilight's wing and slide in between Fluttershy and Twilight, then rolled over onto his side and wrapped his arms around Fluttershy, then laid his tail over her.

"Ah guess it would be kinda like that one time when ya had Rarity and myself over at the library for a sleepover because of that storm." Applejack relented and shuffled over to Twilight, then laid down to the left of Fluttershy. She watched Discord cautiously, even more so after his tail twitched slightly. She leaned away from Fluttershy and Discord, wary of his tail.

Rarity grimaced, then threw her head about. She bit her lip, then shook her head and trotted over to Twilight, then laid down beside Applejack.

Twilight smiled, then laid her wing over them, enveloping them. She pulled them a little closer to herself, then glanced at the ponies to her right. "Comfortable?" she asked. Her question was met with a murmur of agreements, although a couple of them were more reserved than the others. She smiled at her replies, then pointed her horn at the luminescent orb and slowly absorbed the magic back into her body, leaving them in the darkness of her night, softened only by the glow of her horn, her stars, and her moon. She smiled contentedly. "Good night, my little ponies," she softly whispered.

Author's Note

The long awaited/needed talk and the comforting scene where Twilight says some things that she has needed to say to all of them... Things are rightish once more, and soon, everything will "be the way it was meant to be." With her friends beside and behind her, the Inquisitor's end draws near...

And so ends (for the most part) the "emotional" part of the story.

So, just... imagine how awkward that scene with Twilight's friends sleeping under her wings is/could be. If this was a comedy story... just imagine it.

I can't really think of anything else to say here. The chapter is really short. Originally, there was something about the chapter that felt wrong. I was going to publish it last Saturday(3/25/17) but as I was editing, what felt wrong hit me like a... yeah I have no idea how to make a good joke here about this... Basically, the whole chapter was one-sided, Twilight talking and her friends just passively being there. Sure, they said some comforting things, but they didn't really talk. I am not sure how that happened.

Upon further edits, I present you this chapter. It's still kinda one-sided, but it feels better than the other take.

Good news and bad news. The good news is that since this chapter was late, I was able to work ahead on the next chapter after the revisions to this one! The bad news is I didn't like what I ended up writing. It was okay, but it didn't feel right, so I've made no progress at all toward the next chapter! :twilightsmile: :twilightangry2:

Two to three more chapters to go. It depends on the focus of chapter 20 and whether or not it gets dedicated to not Twilight and the Inquisitor. After that, we get to see what happens when you get on the bad side of a partially insane alicorn princess who feels protective of her friends and what happens when the Inquisitor does some Inquisiting...

I hope to be surprised by that chapter. That chapter may take a while to come out. I want it to be the best that it can be... So many plans/ideas that I can throw in. So many different ways I can go... but they all lead to about the same outcome.

Chapter 20

"I hate this spell so much," Twilight grunted. The biting headache she felt contributed absolutely nothing to making her feel any better, nor did it add anything to the experience of using her magic to suppress her true self. She half-huffed, half-grunted and paused midstride. She pressed her eyes closed and lifted a cyan hoof, then massaged her temple with it. It did little to alleviate her discomfort, and only served to draw further ire from the antagonized alicorn. "I swear, if there was a way to destroy spells, and this spell wasn't so useful, I would erase all traces of this spell from existence," she hissed. She shook her head, then suppressed a snarl at the silvery mane falling over her eyes. She brushed it aside with her hoof.

A purple pegasus casually glanced around, then sat down beside the disguised alicorn. "You always complain about that spell whenever you use it. It doesn't seem that bad to me..."

Twilight lowered her hoof back to the concrete sidewalk and shot a glare at Rainbow. "You're not an alicorn princess stuck in a body not designed for you," she quipped.

Rainbow grimaced and looked around. The dark, moonlit streets of Canterlot were deserted, save for the occasional patrol of soldiers. It was a sharp contrast with the bustling activity of the city at day. She shifted her weight and carefully scanned their surroundings. A patrol of two soldiers calmly walked along across the street from them. Rainbow watched them out of the corner of her eye. While the soldiers took note of the trio, they mostly ignored them and continued along their patrol. Eventually, they turned the corner and disappeared from sight. Rainbow shivered.

"We're almost there," a pinkish-white unicorn commented idly. She laid her hoof on Twilight's shoulder and smiled reassuringly. "And once we get there, you won't have to stay like that."

Twilight snorted. She grunted and shook her head, then stood back up. After a quick look around, she started walking forward at a leisurely pace, only to pause a few strides later. "What am I going to do if I ever have to... or want... to fit in without being an alicorn?" she asked, blinking a couple times. She opened her mouth only to close it, then she tilted her head to the side. "This spell is the only one I know of that can do that, and it hurts to use it. I would have to use this spell if I wanted to go around in disguise as a unicorn..."

Zenith and Rainbow walked back over to her. Before they walked around Twilight, they shared an uncomfortable look. "This sucks," Twilight said flatly.

"Can't you just... shrink yourself or something?" Rainbow asked, her muzzle scrunching up.

Twilight's eyebrows flicked upwards and she bobbed her head to the right. "Yes, but it's more complicated than that," she answered. After a second, she groaned again and started forward. Rainbow and Zenith fell in sync with her. As they left their conversation behind, the silence was broken only by their hoofsteps. Every time they passed an alleyway, Zenith would cautiously peer into it and carefully scan it, even if Twilight wasn't phased by the potential for an ambush, she wanted to be sure. Rainbow subtly watched the soldiers on patrol, never once drawing attention to herself, let alone Twilight or Zenith. She always kept herself close beside Twilight, matching her pace.

"Any idea how long you'll be?" Zenith asked.

"I won't be talking to Starlight very long," Twilight answered leisurely. "I'm mostly just planning on asking her to assist me with reaffirming control of the government, taking care of that council of his, and seeing if she has any ideas about why he is able to use Chaos Magic. After that, well, we all know what I am going to do..." she trailed off and licked her lip. Her words hung in the air. Rainbow cast a glance at Twilight and rubbed her wings against her sides, then held them firmly. Zenith remained silent.

Twilight sped up a little, taking the lead of the group and walking ahead of them a by a few steps. She slowed as she approached an intersection, then turned right without missing a beat. As they walked on, she continued analyzing what her senses and magic told her to ensure their safety and success, but her thoughts wandered and drifted. There were soldiers patrolling Canterlot, but nothing like she expected if they expected an attack or a threat. It made her frown.

The Inquisitor was smarter than that. 'Maybe his forces are tied up in another war,' she mused. She squinted and slowed at the thought. On one hoof, she welcomed that idea, anything that weakened him was something she approved of, but on the other, she dreaded it since it meant more lives would be lost. Her distaste for the thought was mellowed out by the knowledge that they were soldiers loyal to the Inquisitor, ponies who had chosen to serve him. She forced the thought aside and pressed on. They walked in silence for several minutes, occasionally coming across a patrol, however, none of the patrols seemed interested in them.

Twilight couldn't help but feel suspicious because none of the patrols tried to stop them- it was the dead of night, and she was surrounded by a pegasus and a young unicorn. Even with the changed disguise, she had expected more scrutiny than they had received. She shivered and pushed the thought to the back of her mind, other matters required her direct attention.

She turned left. Large, extravagant two-story mansions stood on both sides of the street. One mansion stood out in particular, however. The two soldiers standing guard easily gave it away. The mansion stood halfway down the street across from them. Twilight came to a stop and eyed the two soldiers warily. Rainbow and Zenith paused beside Twilight and looked at her questioningly.

The soldiers had, of course, taken notice of them. Three mares walking around the mostly deserted streets of Canterlot at night did draw attention to themselves, even if across the street a mare and a stallion were leisurely strolling along. Twilight hesitantly turned away from the soldiers and started down the sidewalk, though she kept her gaze on them. Rainbow and Zenith followed close behind them. As Twilight made her way closer to the middle of the street directly across from the mansion, she turned her head to watch the twin soldiers. Both of them shifted their weight as they watched her watching them, but neither of them made any aggressive postures.

Twilight tore her gaze away from the two soldiers and stepped away from Rainbow and Zenith. She looked left, then right, then glanced back at the two mares. "Wait here," she commanded. "I will not be long." She took a deep breath, then started across the street.

"Be careful," Zenith said.

Twilight glanced back at her and nodded, then turned her attention back to the two soldiers. As she walked across the street, she fought against her headache and forced a pleasant smile out. "Good evening, gentlecolts," she greeted. As she expected, both soldiers regarded her warily and shifted their weight.

The one on the right took a deep breath, then gazed out past Twilight. "Miss," he acknowledged disinterestedly.

"This is the residence of Councilor Starlight, correct?" Twilight asked.

The soldier on the right nodded rigidly. "That is correct."

"I thought so," Twilight said, nodding. "I know the counselor personally. I have been meaning to stop by and pay her a visit, but... I've just not found the time." She smiled sheepishly.

The soldier on the right glanced at Twilight. His muscles tensed up and he held himself a little more cautiously. "And you just happened to find the time in the middle of the night? Miss, I think you should leave," he said dryly.

Twilight bobbed her head. "It is a bit of an unorthodox hour to visit, yes," she agreed. She smiled once more. "But surely, you can make an exception?"

The soldier huffed. "The counselor is asleep by now. If you had come by earlier, then maybe, but I don't recognize you, and you haven't even given us your name, Miss."

Twilight pursed her lips. "Trixie," she answered, smiling wider. "The great and powerful Trixie, surely, Starlight has mentioned me before? Or perhaps you've heard of me?" She batted her eyes at the soldiers and brushed back her silvery mane with her hoof.

The two soldiers looked at each other, shifting their weight. "Maybe," the one on the right answered. "But that does not change the fact that it is night. We have orders to ensure that nopony can visit the counselor after nightfall."

"I could make it worth your while," Twilight replied.

The soldier met her response with a blank stare. "Are you trying to bribe us?"

Twilight looked at him indignantly. "Of course not!" She huffed. "I'm simply saying that my two friends and I would be very appreciative if I could speak to Starlight now."

"You and your friends need to get lost, Miss. You have no place here," the soldier responded.

"Suit yourselves," Twilight replied. Without skipping a beat, she lit her horn and threw the soldiers to the ground. They impacted the concrete with a dull thud. Both soldiers groaned and grunted, but before either soldier realized what had happened, Twilight leveled her horn on the right soldier, then shot a paralysis spell out at him. The spell easily overcame his armor and it's enchantments, and for a second, she was worried the spell stopped his heart, but a quick check with her magic confirmed otherwise. Without pausing, she swung her horn around to the other soldier, then released the same spell on him before her head even came to a stop.

She glared at them, then stepped back. She bent down slightly and glanced to her right and then her left, ensuring that nopony was around that her senses and magic had missed. After several seconds, she cautiously stood back up, then glanced back at Rainbow and Zenith. After affirming their safety, she nodded to herself and motioned them over with her wing, then leisurely walked over to the door, then calmly knocked on it.

A loud crack reverberated throughout the mansion, breaking the silent night air. Starlight Glimmer bolted upright, clutching at her chest with her hooves. Her heart raced and her barrel expanded and contracted erratically with her breathing. "W-what was that?" She blinked a couple of times and listened intently. The only sound she could hear was frantic hoofsteps rapidly approaching the bedroom door.

She pushed the blankets off of herself, then quickly slid out of bed and landed on the soft, carpeted floor. She lit her horn and spread her legs out, slightly angling her glowing horn downward at the door in preparation to defend herself.

No sooner had the hoofsteps fallen silent that the door swung inward. "Starlight, are you okay!?" a yellow and white stallion with an unkempt orange mane called. He blinked a couple times, then pushed his glasses back up.

Starlight stood back up and nodded. "I'm fine," she answered. She glanced around the room, squinting, then slowly made her way over to the door. "But what was that sound? It sounded like it came from downstairs."

Sunburst grimaced and nodded. "I'll go check," he said, then pulled away from the door and lit his horn.

Starlight hastened her pace and joined him in the hallway. "I'll go with you," she said.

Sunburst hesitated and glanced back at her. "You should stay here, you're-"

"Still stronger than you magically," Starlight replied evenly.

A second passed, and Sunburst's lips twitched up into a smile. "At least let me go first?"

Starlight smiled warmly but walked on passed him, much to his distress. "It's probably nothing," she said.

"Well, something made that noise!" Sunburst countered. "And it was quite loud. I was in the study and I had the door closed and still heard it," he commented idly.

Starlight bobbed her head as she continued down the hallway. Sunburst matched her pace and caught up to her, then walked close beside her. She glanced at the stallion and smiled. She slowed as they approached the stairwell, then came to a complete stop. She lifted a hoof, then placed it on the first step, only to pause, hearing another set of approaching hoofsteps. She poured more magic into her horn, illuminating the base of the stairwell and then stepped back up to the top. She spread her legs out, bracing her body and angled her horn toward the door.

The hoofsteps grew in volume, then paused. Starlight and Sunburst waited with baited breath. The hoofsteps returned at an increased pace. Starlight grimaced as she considered the possibilities. Her grimace disappeared as the door at the bottom opened, pushed out by a lavender hoof. The lavender hoof found purchase on the floor, then another lavender hoof followed beside it, bringing with it the face of a mare Starlight would recognize anywhere, even if she was much, much taller than she remembered. Starlight and Sunburst gawked at Twilight.

"Starlight!" Twilight greeted, smiling warmly as she turned to face her friend at the top of the stairs. Her smile wavered at the sight of the stallion beside her. "Sunburst," she said more cautiously. Sunburst winced and looked at his hooves guiltily before closing his eyes. "It's good to see you again. Sorry about the intrusion." She paused and the smile faded, "And your front door. I'll fix that," she said evenly. She shook her head.

Starlight blinked and recomposed herself. "Twilight..." She scrutinized the tall alicorn, then started down the stairs, smiling slightly. "You look... good."

Twilight flashed Starlight a smile. As Starlight reached the bottom of the stairs, Twilight stepped over to the unicorn and embraced her in a hug. She nuzzled the unicorn, then recoiled in shock. She gasped and gawked at the unicorn. She took a step back, her smile leaving her face. A ghost of fear swept over her expression.

"What's wrong?" Starlight asked.

Twilight swallowed. 'She... she..!' Her eyes lit up and she squeaked in excitement. "You're pregnant!?" she shouted. "Oooh, this is so exciting! Congratulations!" Twilight smiled giddily and bounced back over to Starlight, wrapping her arms around her withers. She sat down on her haunches, then pulled Starlight into her with her wings.

Starlight tentatively returned the hug. She looked back at Sunburst warily as he walked down the stairs. Starlight opened her mouth then closed it. She pursed her lips and frowned. "How... can you tell? I'm not... showing yet."

Twilight giggled and pulled back from Starlight. She spread her wings out and glanced up at her horn. "Alicorn. It's very easy to tell. I'm surprised I didn't realize sooner! Oh, everypony's going to be so excited and happy for you!"

Starlight laughed nervously. "R-right. Um... Twilight... what are you doing here? I haven't heard from you in years!"

Twilight smiled apologetically. "Sorry. Most of that time I was outside of Equestria." Her expression fell. "You know, dealing with what happened. That's why I'm here. You know about what happened last time I was in Canterlot."

Starlight grimaced. Sunburst watched them quietly. "Yes. That..." Starlight trailed off, nodding. "That was a rather... interesting report to read... And disappointing." Twilight smiled apologetically. She squinted at Twilight. "You're... going after him again, aren't you?"

Twilight nodded. "Yes. I would like your help." She paused and pursed her lips. Starlight and Sunburst both grimaced.

"I don't think she should get involved, Twilight... This is dangerous!" Sunburst said. "You know what he's done better than any of us!"

Twilight turned to him and nodded slowly."I know and don't worry. I just... I need to talk to her and discuss a few things with her. After I kill the Inquisitor, it'll be useful to have your support. I'm not going to put her in harm's way, I promise."

Sunburst sighed and reluctantly relented. "I... I'll go fix some tea. I have a feeling we're going to be here for a while."

Twilight smiled warily and nodded.

"I still can't believe you're pregnant," Twilight said with a smile. She lifted the cup of tea to her lips and took a small sip. She closed her eyes and savored the taste. She swallowed, then hummed contently as she mulled over the taste. After a few seconds, she shook her head and set the teacup down on the end table beside her.

"It came as a surprise to us, too," Starlight commented.

Twilight smiled and giggled. "I'm so happy for you two." Her smile fell. "I'm sorry that I wasn't there for the wedding and that I didn't keep in touch, but..." she trailed off, sighing.

"It's not your fault, Twilight," Starlight replied. "You didn't really have a choice," she added gravely.

Twilight sat up straighter. "Yes, well... I still could have tried." She shook her head. "I don't know how much free time I'll have after I kill the Inquisitor and reclaim Equestria, but I'll try to make time for the both of you and your foal. I should mention that I took on a new student recently."

Starlight perked up a little. "Really? Well, whoever that is must be lucky to have you as their teacher."

"She's a young unicorn. She has a lot of potential, I just need time to bring it out. I've mostly been focused on teaching her combat magic and how to fight because of current circumstances, but after the Inquisitor is gone, I won't need to worry about that as much," Twilight said conversationally.

"Make sure you're careful when you're going after him. He's... slippery," Sunburst warned.

Twilight grimaced lopsidedly and looked down at the wooden floor. "Yes, well... I have first-hoof experience with that. That's part of the reason I'm here." She looked back up and met Starlight's gaze. "He stripped Discord of his Chaos Magic, and somehow he is able to use Chaos Magic."

Starlight gawked at her. "What?"

Sunburst frowned. "That's not possible, though. Only Discord can use Chaos Magic, and we haven't seen Discord for years!"

"I found him in a cave when I was searching for Fluttershy. Apparently, he sensed what happened to Celestia and Luna, even though he was imprisoned in stone-"

"He was trapped in stone?" Starlight asked, her brow creasing.

Twilight nodded. "Yes. It was simple to reverse the effects. He and Fluttershy are in a safe place, currently, along with the other girls and Spike. Well, Rainbow and Zenith are waiting outside." Twilight paused and blinked. "I probably should have had them come inside with me."

"I can go get them if you'd like?" Sunburst offered.

Twilight smiled and nodded at him. Sunburst stood from the couch and made his way over to the door, then left the room. Twilight watched him leave, then turned back to Starlight. After a few seconds, her expression darkened and her smile fled. "I thought Sunburst was dead?"

Starlight sighed and looked away from Twilight. "He wasn't there when the Inquisitor..." she trailed off, struggling to find the right way to say what he had done, only to fail. Twilight watched on as the unicorn's expression fell. Eventually, Starlight looked back up at Twilight, her expression grave. "I don't think that a single night goes by that he doesn't have nightmares about it..."

Twilight grimaced. "He was supposed to protect Flurry Heart, but he wasn't there..." she said in a hollow, cold voice. "And now... she's..." she trailed off. A few seconds passed and she sighed. "I... guess I should help him with the nightmares, then... I... would have nightmares about... what happened, but..." she trailed off and bit her lip. "If it wasn't for having Princess Luna's magic, I would have nightmares..."

"You have Princess Luna's magic?" Starlight asked disbelievingly.

Twilight smiled wryly and nodded. "All of their magic, and some of their memories... it's... taken a toll on me." Starlight clenched her jaw. "It does have its uses, but I am less stable than I was three years ago... but I guess that's to be expected." Twilight sighed and lifted the teacup back to her mouth and took another sip. She mulled over the pleasant warmth as it rolled down her throat. "I am worried about myself. Getting the girls back together has... helped, but... at the same time, I can't help but feel..." She sighed. "I just... I don't know."

Starlight slid off the couch and walked over to Twilight, then hugged her. "Twilight, if there's one thing I remember about you, it's that you like to be in control and that when you're not in control, you worry too much. Being alone for three years couldn't have been easy, but it'll be okay. I'll help you deal with the Inquisitor and then I'll help you get things back in order."

Twilight smiled and returned the hug. After a few seconds, she let go of the mare and she stepped back, then sat down on her haunches. "Thank you, Starlight. But I can't ask you to help with the Inquisitor. It would put your foal in danger."

Starlight said nothing, but she did place a hoof on her stomach and looked down. "I... guess... it... wouldn't be right to put her in danger, but... You can't go against him alone."

"Rainbow and Zenith will be accompanying me, however, I should be able to take him on my own. His Chaos Magic, however, may prove problematic. It was a problem the first time, but it didn't help that he hit me with an electromaginetic pulse." Starlight winced and shifted her weight. "I... am concerned, though." Twilight's smile vanished. She pursed her lips and looked down at the floor. "If something happens to one of them, I don't know how I'll handle that." She bobbed her head to the right. "And... Rainbow's mind has been altered. It's something that may bite me in the flank, but I don't feel like it would be safe to fix that until after the Inquisitor is gone."

Starlight grimaced. "What kind of alterations?"

"Her memories... it's a mess. It'll take some time to fix without hurting her... I'm... worried about what will happen if I succeed, however." Twilight sighed. "I trust her, though. Despite what she, what they all did, I trust her. I can see just how much she regrets what happened. It... almost hurts to see her feeling that way. I know she won't do that again, and I need her. All of them, really, to keep myself sane."

"You don't seem like you're going crazy," Starlight said calmly.

Twilight flashed her a weak smile. "I'm going to keep all of them around after I deal with the Inquisitor. I'm going to ascend Rainbow too. I'll have to deal with the mind alterations, first, but..."

Starlight raised an eyebrow. "You're going to make her an alicorn?"

Twilight nodded slowly. "I have made my mind up on the matter. She is a capable warrior, and... she is loyal. But of course, since she's a pegasus, she isn't at her full potential." She pursed her lips and turned toward the door. "We'll have to discuss these matters after I deal with the Inquisitor." She stopped as the sound of hoofsteps pierced the air. After a few seconds, Sunburst calmly walked back into the room, followed by Rainbow and Zenith. Starlight stood up and looked at the two mares quizzically. "One moment," Twilight said. She stood from the chair and lit her horn. A second later, Rainbow and Zenith's coat and mane colors returned to normal in a flash of lavender light. "There."

"Rainbow, it's been a while. I think the last time I saw you was... five months ago?" Starlight asked.

Rainbow grimaced and nodded slowly. She looked down at the floor and studied it carefully, avoiding drawing attention to herself.

"Zenith, meet Starlight," Twilight said with a smile. She turned to Starlight. "Starlight, this is my new student, Zenith."

Starlight approached the gray mare and studied her. Zenith shifted her weight. "You're Twilight's former student?" Zenith asked.

Starlight nodded and smiled warmly. "It's been a while ago, but yes. She really made a difference in my life, and I'm grateful to her for that." She glanced back at Twilight, who smiled calmly, almost like Princess Celestia.

Sunburst broke away from the three mares and walked over to the couch, then hopped up onto it and sat down on his haunches. He watched his wife for a second, then turned back to Twilight. "You said Discord was trapped in stone and that the Inquisitor was responsible?"

Twilight turned away from Starlight and nodded. "Yes. The Inquisitor also stripped Discord of his Chaos Magic, and he had been trapped in stone for the past five years."

Sunburst frowned and rubbed his chin with a hoof. "You said Fluttershy was there with him too, right? How did Fluttershy manage to find him? And where exactly were they?"

"When... Princess Celestia and Princess Luna were... murdered, Discord sensed it. Apparently, the Inquisitor did not completely strip him of all of his magic, and when he felt that, he reached out to Fluttershy." Twilight paused and pursed her lips. "He says he gave Fluttershy Chaos Magic. She doesn't have a lot left, but she was able to traverse the ocean and head to the east on her own. I found them in a cave, and I'm not convinced the cave was natural, but I found no traces of civilization when I searched with my magic. It was in a jungle."

"And the Inquisitor trapped him in stone?" Starlight asked, turning her attention away from Zenith. Twilight nodded. Starlight tentatively walked back to the couch, then sat down to the right of Sunburst. Rainbow and Zenith tentatively walked over and sat down on the floor near Twilight. "And... he stripped him of his magic?"

Twilight grimaced and nodded. "Yes. He says Fluttershy has more Chaos Magic than him." She paused and bobbed her head. "That's not true, but it's... fairly accurate..." she said tentatively. "When I fought the Inquisitor, after he hit me with the electromaginetic pulse, there was a magic dampening field in place. He was able to bypass its effects by using Chaos Magic, and that's driving me crazy since there's no possible way for anyone except Discord to use Chaos Magic!" she huffed and scowled in disgust.

Starlight and Sunburst slowly looked at each other, then turned back to face Twilight. "You... said Discord gave Fluttershy Chaos Magic, right?"

Twilight pursed her lips and nodded. "Yes."

"And she used it to find Discord and cross the ocean?" Sunburst asked quizzically.

Twilight nodded. "That is different, however. Discord gave her Chaos Magic and the magic enhanced and directed her. She wasn't able to cast spells or use it to alter reality like the Inquisitor. The Inquisitor stripped Discord of his magic. Lord Tirek didn't even use Chaos Magic when he stripped Discord of his magic!"

"Maybe that's because he couldn't?" Sunburst suggested. "Lord Tirek stole Equestrian magic with ease, and then he stole Discord's magic. He had the power of the magic, but I don't recall him being able to use complicated spells. He was able to use the power of the magic he had to fuel his destructive spells."

Twilight's brow creased. "While that's true, Lord Tirek still used a variety of spells other than just destructive ones. He had levitation, low-level teleportation, and barrier spells." She paused, pursing her lips. "I... remember him snapping his... claws like Discord does, then my friends all being teleported to him. They were trapped inside barriers..." she trailed off. "Discord uses the same means to alter reality with his Chaos Magic, but the Inquisitor's horn was surrounded by Chaos Magic, and I would have sensed if that was Lord Tirek using Chaos Magic."

"That doesn't make any sense," Starlight groaned and leaned back against the backrest.

"If it wasn't for him having Chaos Magic, killing him would be easy," Twilight quipped. "It may be easier to kill him in his sleep," she said with a bob of her head, "but... Maybe that is a good idea. He shouldn't be awake right now, but it would be so much less fulfilling than him knowing it's coming and being unable to stop it..." Her eyes glazed over, and a malicious smile tugged at her lips.

Rainbow squinted uneasily at Twilight. "Aren't you the one who's always saying that nothing ever goes according to plan when the Inquisitor's involved?" she asked.

Twilight nodded slowly. "Yes, which is why I'm leery of challenging him directly again. He knows that I know he has Chaos Magic, so I don't really know what to expect in fighting him, which is what makes it dangerous for me."

"We'll be there right beside you, Twilight!" Rainbow affirmed seriously.

Twilight glanced at the pegasus and nodded. "I know. I appreciate that, but I still have my reservations about that. As much help as you two will offer, your presence will also make me more vulnerable since I will have to defend you against him." She paused and turned her attention to Starlight. "I should be able to strip the Chaos Magic from the Inquisitor and send it back to Discord before I kill him, otherwise it will return to Discord upon his death. I suspect he will probably immediately teleport the girls and himself to the castle, but I could be wrong."

"Assuming that he doesn't do something with it first," Sunburst said warningly.

Twilight grimaced. "I should be able to defend myself against any attacks he can come up with. He doesn't have the raw power to match me, even with Chaos Magic."

"He is smart, Twilight. He wouldn't have been able to rule as long as he has and expanded his rule into other nations if he wasn't," Starlight said.

Twilight slowly looked around the room, ignoring the occupants. "Yes, yes, I know from first-hoof experience." She bared her teeth, "I was close to him, after all," she said under her breath, grunting. She took a deep breath and sat up straight. "Starlight, can I speak with you alone for a few minutes?"

Starlight frowned and slowly nodded. "Sure?" she said cautiously.

Twilight glanced around, then slid out of her chair and walked over to the door. Starlight cautiously followed her. Twilight opened the door with her magic and motioned Starlight out, then stepped out as well. She shut the door behind her.

"What's this about, Twilight?" Starlight asked.

Twilight glanced back at the door, then cast a quick sound dampening spell.

"My apologizes," Twilight said as she walked back into the room. Starlight calmly and quietly followed her, then walked over to the couch and sat down beside Sunburst. Twilight casually glanced over Rainbow and Zenith, then pursed her lips. "The night is waning. We should be going lest we lose the advantage of the night." She lit her horn, then turned to Sunburst. "Sunburst, it has been good to see you again, and I look forward to seeing you again soon. Starlight."

"Twilight," Starlight acknowledged quietly.

Twilight met her gaze. The unicorn matched her calm gaze and said nothing. Twilight bowed her head shallowly, nodding once. She turned back to Rainbow and Zenith. "Let us make haste."

Rainbow cautiously stood up and stretched. She cocked her head left, then right, then bent down and stretched out her wings. Never once did her gaze leave Twilight. She shivered as she stood back up.

Zenith took a deep breath, then calmly walked over to Twilight's side. Twilight smiled down at her and lifted her wing, then laid it on Zenith's back. As Rainbow took her place on the other side of Twilight, she was met with the same response.

Twilight glanced around again, then her horn glowed brighter. There was a flash of light and a crack of magic, and they disappeared.

Author's Note

First, a joke begging to be made...

"I could make it worth your while," Twilight replied.

The soldier met her response with a blank stare. "Are you trying to bribe us?"

Twilight looked at him indignantly. "Of course not!" She huffed. "I'm simply saying that my two friends and I would be very appreciative if I could speak to Starlight now."

:duck:

This chapter took what seems like forever to write. I just couldn't find motivation, and I just could not figure out how to start it off! It took me 7 tries to figure out how to start the chapter! And now you're left with this. Next chapter is the final confrontation, and then we've got the epilogue-ish chapter.

I guess I should start deciding exactly how I want this battle to go. I mean, I know how it'll go, but it's the finer details... who else dies, how they die, whether I throw in Twilight having a breakdown... etc. I still kind of want to include one of my original ideas for the final battle, and I think I will! Which kind of works perfectly in line with what I've got in mind.

Who is ready for some assassination? :pinkiecrazy: What about some inquisiting? :duck: A lesson in why you don't get between the Princess of Friendship and those she calls her friends? :rainbowdetermined2:

As normal/always, point out mistakes, etc. I don't always catch every mistake.

Chapter 21

A flash of lavender light broke the dark night, and the crack of magic disrupted the silence. Two soldiers immediately jumped into action, turning to face the intruders. They staggered at the realization of just who had appeared but fought through the shock, leveling their horns on the group.

Twilight reacted before the soldiers could cast their spells, her own magic erupting to life. She leveled her horn on the first soldier and released a bolt of magic. The soldier grunted and threw up a barrier around himself. Twilight's spell impacted the barrier with a short, sharp crack, popping the shield like a bubble. The soldier staggered back in pain while his ally retaliated with a spell of his own.

Twilight turned her attention to the second soldier and shifted her weight, spreading her hooves out and stabilizing herself, a barrier surged to life around her. The soldier's spell harmlessly collided with her barrier, the only evidence of its impact was a rippling wave rolling over the otherwise untouched sphere of magic.

Rainbow Dash collided with the staggered soldier, knocking him to the ground. Twilight cast a glance at them for a split second, then leveled her gaze on the second soldier in time for his next spell to collide with her barrier. She shrugged off the attack and jumped at him. In midflight, after several spells impacted her barrier. She dispersed dispersed her barrier, then landed a swift, firm strike on her target. The soldier grunted and jumped back, only for Twilight to throw him to the ground with her magic, then pin him there. The soldier lashed out at Twilight with his hooves, only to find them enveloped in a lavender aura.

The only thing preventing a shrill scream from breaking the silence was Twilight's magic surrounding the stallion's muzzle as she compressed his hooves and the armor surrounding them, crushing them beneath the force of her magic. She tilted her head and watched the pain rolling through the stallion's features, then silenced his cries with her magic.

Twilight turned her attention to the other soldier just in time to see Rainbow hit the floor hard. Twilight stood back up to her full height and leveled her gaze on the other soldier as she turned to face him. Rainbow grunted and rolled over onto her stomach, then pounced on the soldier. A spell went wide, then struck the wall. Twilight winced at the spray of fine dust and small pebbles pelting their coats, and she bit her lip at the loud crack, and extended her senses out, making sure nopony else heard it.

Rainbow whacked the soldier with her wings, bewildering him from the flutter of fury before slamming her hoof into his throat. The soldier grunted and jumped back. He pressed his hoof into his unarmored throat and wheezed, wobbling ever so subtly from the jarring impact. Rainbow pressed her advantage, jumping forward and swiveling on her hooves, then slamming her hind legs into him, sending him flying back into the wall. The dull thud accompanying the clash of steel on stone made her wince, but she recovered and bucked out at the soldier's chest before he fell to the floor, leaving two sizable dents in his armor and making the stallion pale a few shades lighter than white.

Twilight picked the stallion up in her magic, then levitated him over in front of her. The soldier cowered under her harsh gaze but remained silent. She briefly averted her gaze and looked over the pegasus, making sure her friend was unscathed. She nodded to herself, then sharply looked back at the soldier. In the blink of an eye, she sunk her sword into his chest, piercing his armor and body in one single fluid-like motion. She dispersed her magic and unceremoniously dropped the corpse to the floor, then looked both ways down the hallway.

She pursed her lips as she turned to face the lone door. She licked her lips, feeling the rising excitement, eagerness, and anticipation of the confrontation. She took a deep breath and spread her wings out. A malicious smile grew upon her lips, and her eyes glistened with joy. She briefly looked away from the door and glanced back at Zenith and Rainbow. "According to my magic, he is still sleeping..." She paused and her voice dropped a few octaves, "I am going to enjoy this..." she growled harshly. She snapped back to the door, then gently prodded it open in her magic.

She gazed inside the room, frowning in disgust. She glanced to her right then surged her magic into the air. Lavender magic erupted to life beside her, coalescing into a bright lavender sword. The magic flowed and rippled, distorting the air around it by its very presence.

She silently slid into the room, cautiously scanning the interior, all the while, making her way to the right, toward the door which kept her from the focus of her thirst for vengeance. With every step, her nostrils flared. Every second passing only stoked the deep hatred she felt, fanning the flames of the passionate fire that burned within her, demanding his death.

She had trouble stopping herself from ripping the door off its hinges as she threw it open, as it was, the door whined and suddered, it would never be able to be shut properly again. Her heart leaped inside her chest, screaming out for her to kill the pony lying in the bed, demanding his blood flow out from countless thousands of wounds, and pleading for her to leave no evidence behind that there had ever been a pony lying in the bed.

With great effort, she maintained her composure and took a step into the room. The darkness did little to mask the pony from her vision, and the sight of him made her bare her teeth in disgust. Another step, she scowled, remembering every single slight the pony had done to her. She shivered in anticipation as she drew close to the bed, then slid up beside it. She pictured all the things she could do to the stallion, the countless thousands of deaths she wanted, needed to inflict on him, even knowing he only had one life to take.

She shook with barely contained rage and excitement as she stepped away from the bed. A second passed, silence reigned for what felt like an eternity.

She grabbed onto the stallion with her magic, putting as much force into it as she could. She ripped the stallion out of the bed, and thrust her sword forward. Before the stallion even had a chance to open his eyes, his chest was impaled by her sword.

She smiled, tilted her head, and twisted the sword within him. "How does it feel?" she demanded. "To know all you have done is for naught, that despite all you've done, it's been undone. To know your mortality, your pathetic life is at an end?" she hissed.

She violently ripped her sword back and threw the corpse onto the bed. She stood up to her full height, standing triumphantly over the corpse. She grunted and fought back a scream, the peaceful expression adorning his lips made her furious beyond reason.

There was a soft beep coming from the corner.

Twilight's head shot around to face the source of the beep.

The wall exploded outwards. Rainbow and Zenith turned to face what used to be the wall. The force of the explosion threw them into the opposite wall of the hallway. Rainbow cried out in shock and pain as small, sharp shards of rock pelted her coat, some pieces cutting her, and some embedding themselves into her. Zenith faired better, but her barrier still cracked.

Rainbow's ears rang, and other than the ringing, there was no sound. She grunted and pushed herself up, ignoring every single tiny bite of pain throughout her body as a result of the explosion. The wall and the room were gone. The wall they had slammed into was thoroughly cracked, but still stood standing. She shivered and pressed her eyes closed. She winced and shuffled over to Zenith. The unicorn was dazed, staring up at the ceiling, slack-jawed, her eyes ever so subtly twitching as she looked over the ceiling.

Rainbow grunted and extended a hoof to Zenith. The filly blinked a couple times and closed, then opened her mouth. Rainbow frowned, the ringing still dominating the silence. Zenith tentatively grabbed Rainbow's hoof, then pulled herself up into a sitting position, wincing the whole time. She still stared on in disbelief, then her body heaved a couple times. Zenith covered her mouth with a hoof and winced, she leaned forward and clutched her chest.

Rainbow shivered as Zenith pulled her hoof away, noticing a few specks of red. She swallowed and turned around. Dust and debris fell from what used to be the ceiling, which had been replaced with a giant, gaping hole. Moonlight streamed into the area, offering the slightest hints of illumination. Rainbow's breathing quickened, fear gripped her being, the entire room was gone, desolated, as if it was never there- the only evidence anything had been there was the dust and debris.

She scurried over to the debris, looking about frantically, searching for the pony she knew had been in the room. Not a trace of anypony remained, not a feather, nor hair, nor a body. She felt like somepony had encased her in concrete, or had trapped her in a small room with no windows and the room had been sealed. She looked around, continuing her frantic search, despite the feeling in the pit of her stomach. She extended her wings out. She winced a little as she flapped them, then hovered in the air. She fought through the pain and soared over to the center of the room. Below, a large hole lead straight down, from what she could tell, the floor below them faired little better than the one she was one.

The sinking feeling in her gut doubled, then tripled in intensity. She fought back the bile rising in her throat and turned around. Zenith's mouth was moving, and she looked frantic. The incessant ringing remained dominant. 'No!' The thought commanded all of her attention, and suddenly she found breathing impossible. 'S-she's... NO!'

She gritted her teeth and clenched her eyes, then opened her mouth and screamed at the top of her lungs. She felt herself screaming, but was greeted by silence, broken only by the ringing. Zenith took a step back in bewilderment. She screamed for several seconds, then finally, she could scream no more. She desperately sucked in air, then coughed from the dust filling her lungs. Her whole body ached with the cough, and the cough was followed by another, then another.

"Rainbow!" Zenith screamed. Rainbow shot around to look at Zenith. A wave of blue flashed across her vision, then everything went dark.

Twilight grunted. A wave of pain rolled over her body. She inhaled and recoiled, breathing hurt. Everything hurt. She cracked open an eye. The vast, empty expanse of space greeted her, looking down at her. The lavender hue the night sky held slowly faded. Cold air quickly rushed in over her body. She shivered.

Off in the distance, a faint sound she couldn't quite make out broke the silence. She closed her eyes and groaned. She shifted her weight, bringing a throb of sharp pain to the forefront of her mind. She pulled her arm around and nursed her temple with her hoof. More of the faint, distant sounds rang out, accompanying the prior noises. A few seconds passed before silence returned.

She opened her eyes, then blinked a couple times. Her moon dominated the sky, staring down at her. The soft light drew a smile to her lips, and the cold night air sapped her energy. She closed her eyes again. The sound returned. She squinted and groaned, the hard stone against her back was familiar, but still uncomfortable. She inhaled.

"Twilight."

Her breath caught in her throat. She recognized that voice, and many memories rolled through her mind. Warm, sunny days, tea, late night studying, her coronation. She closed her eyes again and slowly shifted her hoof away from her head, then slowly slid it down beside her. She took a deep breath and tried to push herself up, only to wince and groan. She slumped back down against the stone after having barely pushed herself an inch up. She exhaled heavily, then coughed. She opened her eyes and looked up at the white figure standing above her warily.

"Twilight..." the figure acknowledged.

Twilight snorted and winced, then closed her eyes. "I'm hallucinating... visual and auditory..." she mused. "What else am I hallucinating?" she idly asked, opening her eyes. She scowled up at the white figure and the moon above her. A few seconds passed, and her scowl faded into despair. "I miss you..."

The white figure smiled gently, pained. "I am so sorry," she whispered.

Twilight grimaced. A few seconds later, another sound, one she recognized, filled the air. Her grimace fell into a neutral line, then her lips reaffirmed her scowl. The sound grew in volume, then a pony clad in dull gray armor appeared in the edge of her vision, followed by several more, close behind him. The white figure glanced back at a soldier, grimaced, then looked back down at Twilight before disappearing, a soldier taking her place, his horn lit threateningly.

"Take her," a soldier to her left ordered.

Twilight's eyes shot toward him, and she glared at him. The soldier pointedly ignored her. Twilight grunted and shifted her weight. Several of the ponies jumped back, more than one yelping. More ponies took their place, earth ponies, their hooves pressed down painfully hard on her chest, ripping the air from her lungs. Something cold slid down her horn. She shivered and tore her gaze away from the soldier, glancing up at the dull metal around her horn.

The large, reinforced doors to the Throne Room opened with deceptive ease, glowing from the magic of the twin soldiers pushing them open. "Move," a soldier commanded. Rainbow's harsh glare shot toward him. She snorted threateningly. His expression hardened.

"Ah, there's no need for that treatment, now is there?" a calm, collected voice asked.

Rainbow's glare faded, her expression becoming unreadable. She clenched her jaw and turned forward. An all too familiar pony walked down from the throne centered at the end of the room, smiling a deceptively warm smile and wearing a velvety, redish purple robe. To his left stood a large device which she immediately recognized from the massive crystal in its center. Her face paled as her thoughts turned back to Twilight.

He studied Rainbow's expression, then glanced at the device. His lips twitched even further upward, then he looked back at Rainbow. "Please do enter," he coaxed.

Rainbow glared at him and stood her ground unflinchingly.

"Rainbow..."

Zenith's voice drew Rainbow's gaze over toward her. The filly looked at her, almost petrified with fear, her eyes constantly shifting between her, the crystal, and the soldiers. Her eyelids drooped, and the bags under her eyes spoke of her exhaustion. She stood close enough that Rainbow could have wrapped her wing around the filly. Rainbow swallowed and glanced at the guards, then tentatively started forward. Zenith scampered along with her, drawing so close to her that their coats touched before the doors were shut behind them.

The Inquisitor came to a stop in front of them, his eager eyes looking over Rainbow with a youthful curiosity unbefitting the stallion. He squinted, then tore his gaze away to the filly. "And... who might you be?"

Zenith scrunched up her muzzle at him.

The Inquisitor rolled his eyes. "Ah, no matter..." he trailed off, turning to the left and walking a few steps before pausing and turning back to face the two ponies. "It certainly took you longer than expected to yield results, but... here we are," he commented. Two soldiers walked in through a back door. He briefly scowled, then turned around to face them. One of them nodded at him, and his smile grew larger than before. He nodded, and the soldiers saluted, then swiveled around and walked back the same way they came from.

"It didn't yield results," Rainbow growled.

The Inquisitor turned back to Rainbow with a raised eyebrow. "You're here, and Twilight is on her way here as we speak. Disabled..." he trailed off, jumping a little in excitement. He hummed and sighed. "I'll admit, it didn't go completely according to plan, but we were able to salvage it... I do believe that a promotion is in, Captain Dash..." He smirked as Rainbow glared at him. "I suppose I should say General Dash, though, shouldn't I?"

"I am NOT helping you!" Rainbow yelled.

The Inquisitor remained silent for a few seconds. "Your efforts truly have been invaluable to me. Thanks to you, you brought Twilight out of hiding, and thanks to you, soon, the last alicorn will no longer be a threat."

Rainbow bared her teeth and leaped at him, ignoring the chains keeping her hooves together, and the soldier on the other end. The soldier beside her flinched a little, but reacted fast and slammed her to the ground. She grunted and flinched as her jaw hit the marble floor, then wheezed as he threw himself on top of her, knocking the air out of her lungs and pressing her chest into the floor.

The Inquisitor frowned. "General Dash, you really shouldn't fight us. We're on the same team..." he trailed off, grimacing. "Though I suppose you wouldn't remember that, would you..." he sighed and shook his head.

The double doors behind them squeaked slightly as they swung open. The Inquisitor pursed his lips and turned to look out of the room. His smile slowly returned. "Ah, how nice of you to finally join us..." he greeted.

Rainbow's stomach churned with unease at his smile. A second passed, and what sounded like a small army marched into the Throne Room. She tilted her head to the left and looked back, only to immediately regret it. Her heart skipped a beat, and her stomach sunk. She swallowed a quickly growing knot in her throat.

"Don't be shy, now, I distinctly remember how friendly and outgoing you were a few years ago," the Inquisitor commented absently, looking off idly in thought. After a few seconds, he turned back to the new arrivals. "I hope she didn't prove to be too much trouble. The last time I dealt with her... she was quite... determined."

"She barely resisted," one of the soldiers answered.

Rainbow clenched her jaw and looked straight at Twilight. The alicorn's gaze slid over to her and lingered a few seconds, then slowly turned back to the Inquisitor. Her muscles flexed beneath her skin, and for a second, Rainbow didn't think that the chains around her hooves were going to be enough to stop her, however, she never made an attempt to lunge at him.

"Well, how pleasant," the Inquisitor acknowledged. He smiled and casually made his way over to Twilight. "Finally decide to surrender? It's far easier on the both of us if you don't resist, but the outcome is the same regardless..." he trailed off, absently looking over Twilight's body. The alicorn glared at him, but remained silent. "Tsk." He slowly turned away and let his gaze fall on Rainbow. He walked a few steps toward her, then turned back toward Twilight. "You really should thank her for you being in this position. She served her purpose of drawing you out... you were just so stubborn, refusing to come out of hiding to be captured... you were such a pain in my side." He slowly shook his head.

Twilight's gaze drifted back to Rainbow, and her expression remained hardened. Rainbow shied back from her and bit her lip, hard. The pain from her mouth did little to draw her mind away from the storm raging in her mind, condemning her for the possibility that it was her fault.

"You know, I was surprised by how... upset, you were when we fought those few short weeks ago," the Inquisitor said with a short nod. He turned back around to face Twilight. "You were nothing like I had remembered, but I suppose that's to be expected considering that I killed your mentors and your family." Twilight's eyes shot back toward him, her nostrils flared, and her gaze would have pierced through the darkest night, finding her prey, no matter where it would have hidden. "Such hatred... truly, you are Nightmare Moon..." he trailed off, chuckling a little to himself.

"You know, having Chaos Magic is one thing, but it... doesn't quite match the feeling of having power over another pony's life..." he mused. "But, I'm sure you're somewhat familiar with that, considering that you're an alicorn, and what you've done over the past three years."

"Release Rainbow and Zenith," Twilight commanded in a cold, calculated voice, "and I will be merciful and grant you a swift death."

He tilted his head to the side in mock thought. "Well, hmm... I suppose I could release Zenith, but she has committed the crime of treason... And as for Rainbow?" he asked, turning back toward Twilight and smiling. "Not a chance." He paused and paced a few steps back toward Twilight, then passed her before stopping. "Normally, I would say a public execution would be warranted in this case, however, considering just how dangerous you are..."

Rainbow's breath caught in her throat. 'Twilight... you were right...' She bared her teeth and fumed. "You said you wouldn't kill her if I helped you bring her back!" The Inquisitor waited a couple seconds, then turned around to face Rainbow. "I did exactly what you wanted!"

Twilight's gaze slowly crawled back over to Rainbow, and the pegasus felt the familiar feeling of being stalked by a predator, one who could kill her before she realized she was in danger. She shivered and glanced back at Twilight. The cold, empty look she met made her wince and avert her gaze from the alicorn.

The Inquisitor sighed. "I did, didn't I? But... she is too dangerous to let live. She would kill us all if given the chance..." he mused sadly. He strode over in front of Twilight and paused a single hoof away. "The only thing keeping us alive right now is that ring around her horn," he said, turning toward Rainbow.

Twilight's expression twisted in a split second, her cold, empty glare being replaced by a malicious smile and ecstasy in her eyes. She channeled magic into her horn, the ring glowed red, then split into two and exploded off from her horn. The two pieces launched across the room, or they would have had two soldiers necks' not stopped them. The soldiers' grunted in shock and fell to their knees, clutching their necks in desperation.

A bright lavender glow overwhelmed the soft lighting of the Throne Room, Twilight threw her head down, pointing her horn at the Inquisitor, still looking at Rainbow. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the Inquisitor's lips twitch downward. She bared her teeth and lashed out with her magic, at practically point blank range. A pillar of lavender light erupted from her horn and surged forth, then collided with the Inquisitor's body before he had a chance to react. A gasp came from the stallion before it was cut short, and his body was sent flying, tumbling across the floor before rolling to a stop at the base of the stairs to the throne.

Twilight wasted no time, swiveling around on her hooves, despite the chains, which shattered apart from her next spell. She glanced down, then back up. The dozen or so soldiers surrounding her were backing up and had lowered their charged horns at her. She smiled and took a deep, victorious breath, then glared at the soldiers surrounding her. A lavender barrier rippled to life around her, then she glanced at the Inquisitor. She delighted in watching him writhe around on the ground, but she had other matters to attend to first.

One of the soldiers coughed. Twilight swiveled around to face him, one of the soldiers guarding Rainbow and Zenith. He held a blade of magic to the base of Rainbow's neck, and another soldier stood beside him, holding a blade of magic to the base of Zenith's neck. "You will surrender. Now," the closer one with the blade of magic to Rainbow's neck commanded.

Twilight stood up straighter and flared her wings out. "There are two flaws with your plan there." She glanced at Rainbow, then Zenith. Both of them were deadly silent, looking at her pleadingly, both knowing their lives were at stake, and completely at Twilight's mercy. She glanced back at Rainbow and clenched her jaw, then turned back to the soldier as the pegasus shuddered. "One, you're assuming I would let you get that far. Two, what do you think will happen if you follow through with your idle threat? Your lives are forfeit." she hissed. Both soldiers remained steadfast. "Nopony else has to die," she said, turning around to the other group of soldiers in the room. "The Inquisitor will die, and even though all of you committed treason against the princesses and Equestria, I am willing to forgive that, but this is my only offer for you. Equestria is mine."

"Do you... really... think that... it would be... that easy?"

Twilight glanced back at the Inquisitor and watched him struggle to rise to his hooves. She smiled at his distress, and more than a few times, he stumbled, nearly collapsing back to the floor. He stood up straight despite his shaking legs. "You're in no position to stop me," Twilight warned, turning to face him. "So why don't you lay back down, and die," she growled.

The Inquisitor grunted and levitated a small dagger out from his robe. He glanced at the dagger, then brought it closer to his muzzle, pointing it straight at Twilight. He took a shaky breath, and then clenched his eyes, baring his teeth. The aura surrounding his horn warped and twisted, darkening as he summoned his Chaos Magic. He opened his eyes and scowled at Twilight, though remained still.

Twilight slowly glanced at the two soldiers in place behind Zenith and Rainbow, shooting them glares. "You outnumber me, but do you really want to challenge an alicorn?" she growled. "Your leader was able to kill four alicorns. Two of them were thousands of years old, one of them was a foal who happened to be my niece. I am going to say two things, one: none of them were me. I've survived his every attempt to kill me, and I just defeated your magic suppression ring with hardly any effort. Do you really think that you pose a threat to me? Two: do you really want to keep that stallion in power?" The two soldiers exchanged an uneasy look, but both remained silent. "You know, I'm the Princess of Friendship. Do you want to find out what happens to ponies who hurt or kill my friends? On top of that, he has told everypony that I am a threat, and he is not wrong, I am a threat to him, but look at what he has done to Equestria. I will undo what he has done, but if you wish to support a tyrant, then I have no problem with killing all of you, however, if you actually care about Equestria, if you actually meant the oath you took to defend Equestria, then you will stand down, and swear fealty to me."

The two soldiers' gazes drifted passed Twilight, surveying the other soldiers, all of whom were just as unsure as they, before eventually settling back on Twilight. "You know what he is responsible for." The soldier with the blade to Zenith's neck grimaced and shifted his weight, standing up straighter. A couple seconds passed, and he released his sword, then stepped back. The soldier over Rainbow watched him out of the corner of his eye and scowled, then stepped back from Rainbow and released his blade. Zenith and Rainbow slowly, cautiously stood up, eyes darting about, scanning the soldiers, and occasionally glancing back at the two soldiers nearest to them.

Twilight smiled slightly and nodded her head. "Thank you." She turned back toward the base of stairs to the throne, where the Inquisitor stood. Her smile widened and she started off toward him, sauntering across the room at a slow, relaxed pace. "It's over, you've lost. How does it feel, to know everything you've done has amounted to nothing? That you failed?"

As she approached him, she wrapped her magic into the air beside her until the air burned brightly, forming a blade of magic glowing bright lavender, with the center glowing almost pure white. She held the magic close, and her smile widened with every step as she drew closer, yet the Inquisitor held his ground undauntedly.

"And yet, I've already won," the Inquisitor's calm and even voice spoke.

Twilight paused, her gaze sweeping over toward the source of the sound. Her smile faded. Her eyes darted back over toward the pony standing at the base of the stairs, then back to the Inquisitor, holding his hoof over a large, prominent button on the metal casing surrounding the base of the large crystal. "Nice speech, but did you really think I was just going to stand there and let you finish it?"

Twilight bared her teeth, then teleported. Without missing a beat, as soon as she appeared beside the Inquisitor, she swung her blade in a wide arc, cutting through the crystal. A dull hum rang out through the room. The Inquisitor grunted and jumped back. A second later, Twilight pounced at him, jumping into the air and flaring her wings out. The Inquisitor readied two blades of Chaos Magic and braced himself, scurrying back to prevent Twilight from landing directly on top of him.

In midflight, the crystal behind Twilight exploded behind her, sending sharp shards of crystal outward, pelting her coat. She ignored it, and as soon as she landed, she pressed the attack, swinging her blade at the Inquisitor furiously. He matched her swipe for swipe with his two blades, effectively parrying her attacks and deflecting her thrusts.

Magic clashed against magic, sending sparks flying through the air each time their blades met one another. Twilight steadily advanced and forged another blade. The Inquisitor soon found himself protecting himself with a blue-violet barrier which screeched every time one of Twilight's strikes penetrated his blades' defense. His barrier shuddered with every strike, then buckled before shattering. He gasped in surprise, Twilight's blade passing through what used to be his barrier, then sliding cleanly through his horn, lobbing it off. A haunting, primal screem was torn from his throat as he recoiled with pain.

The Chaos Magic surrounding his horn immediately faded, and his blades disappeared. A shockwave of Chaos Magic erupted out from the base of his horn, and a pillar of magic shot into the air, then started coalescing into a familiar shape, which soon took on familiar shades. Twilight smiled then grabbed the Inquisitor with her magic by the throat as soon as his scream faded. Without wasting any time, she lifted him into the air and held him at eye height. She levitated one of her swords around, then drew it back. She cocked her head to the side, then bared her teeth and plunged her blade into his chest. His jaw fell open in shock and his head slumped forward, his eyes growing dull.

Twilight felt a wave of calmness roll over her. She closed her eyes and dispelled her blades, then dropped the Inquisitor's body to the floor. She idly lifted her left hoof back to her neck, then pulled it back and looked it over. She grimaced and shook her head, then took a deep breath and surveyed the Throne Room.

"I had halfway expected you to make it slow and painful, Princess," Discord mused.

Twilight's expression faltered, slowly falling from elation to sorrowful. "I... would have liked to, but... I am not a monster." She turned to the Spirit of Chaos. He offered her a reassuring smile. Twilight shook her head and started off, walking back over toward the two ponies which had originally accompanied her. She cast her gaze about at the soldiers standing around, watching her uncomfortably. "See to it that the Council is assembled and that the garrison is informed that the Inquisitor is dead. Equestria and her subjugated states are now mine. Recall any soldiers currently participating in any invasions of foreign nations, and make sure they are informed that I have returned. Right now there is a lot of work to be done, and I expect your fealty. If you do not want to remain in the guard, I will not force you to, however, if any attempt it made on the life of one of the ponies under my protection, or myself, I will not be happy. Dismissed," she rambled off absently, her voice even and lacking energy.

The soldiers glanced around at each other unsurely. After a few seconds, they slowly started to file out of the Throne Room. After they all left, Twilight turned her attention to the two remaining pony occupants beside herself. She slowly walked over to them. "Girls," she acknowledged.

"Twilight..." they both acknowledged.

Twilight smiled weakly, then closed the gap between them and enveloped them in her wings. She sat down on her haunches and pulled them close, then nuzzled the both of them. "I-I feel... like I should say something, important... but..." she trailed off, snorting and shaking her head.

Rainbow wrapped her arms around Twilight and nuzzled her. "Hey, it's okay, you did it, you don't need to do anything more than that."

Twilight grimaced and lifted her head back up. "Well... I need to get things back in order... and..." shetrailed off. "Thank you, for everything. Both of you... I..." she trailed off, swallowing and licking her lips. Zenith and Rainbow looked up at her patiently. "Thank you for being here for me, if... you weren't..." she trailed off, grimacing.

Rainbow slowly looked away from Twilight, then lowered her head and let her forehead fall against Twilight's chest. "I... I'm sorry that... he used me, Twilight..."

Twilight snorted and smiled, wrapping an arm around Rainbow's withers. "I've already forgiven you for that, Rainbow. I can't hold that against you, he fooled all of us, just... some of us more than others."

Rainbow pulled back, looking up at Twilight unsurely and just barely retaining her composure. "But... you almost died at least twice because of me!" She closed her eyes and hung her head once more. "And... what if he wasn't lying, and... it actually w-was... my idea, t-to... do this..."

"Rainbow, his power came from his ability to manipulate," Twilight stated firmly. "He tried to manipulate me when he called me Nightmare Moon, when he admitted to being responsible... for their... deaths..." she trailed off. Rainbow hesitantly nodded. Twilight smiled as Rainbow pulled back from her, then she looked over at Zenith, scrutinizing her body, then looking back at Rainbow and looking her over. "It's... been a long night, and... an even longer three years. I... have things I need to take care of, but... they can wait for another day... In the mean time, it is my duty as princess to take care of you." She paused and pursed her lips, then sighed. "Would... you rather stay with me, or would you rather go back to be with the rest of the girls? Either way, I promise that you will be safe. I... would appreciate it if you would both stay with me, but... if you want to go back, I understand. I do have a lot to do, but I'd really rather rest for right no, getting blown up isn't very fun."

"I'll stay," Rainbow answered. "You could probably use the company after all that..." Zenith nodded in agreement.

Twilight smiled. "I would appreciate the company."

Author's Note

When I first went to add a new chapter, my fingers were inaccurate, and the original chapter title ended up being "Chapter 321." :pinkiecrazy:

Do you have any idea how hard of a chapter to write this was? It took me 10 attempts! 10! That's a new record for me! Some of those attempts were as long as this final version, and a few were over twice as long!

Well... I don't know what to really say, other than I hope this feels solid. I struggle with solid endings. There's still one more chapter, though, it's more or less the epilogue. I'll be honest, I am nervous about publishing this chapter, but, at the very least, I can learn from my mistakes.

Special thanks to KeyChain for listening to my ranting about this chapter and prereading this chapter.

Chapter 22

One month later...

Twilight idly looked over the reflection in the mirror. A tall, regal, lavender alicorn looked back at her, studying her form. Her mane and tail flowed gracefully, billowing in an nonexistant breeze, while the bulk of her form was covered by a light lavender and light blue dress, similar to her Gala dress, yet flowing more gracefully and appearing more regal and feminine, befitting her status. She idly looked down at the small white unicorn in front of her. Rarity's lips were pursed, and her tongue idly stuck out of her mouth as she arranged Twilight's regalia on her chest. Looking further down, she thought it was already perfect, but the unicorn continued her work.

Her regalia was similar to Princess Celestia's regalia, with the one exception being the gem set in the center. Where Princess Celestia's gem had been a simple, yet elegant, deep purple gem, her gem was shaped like the Element of Magic, while the real Element of Magic, along with the rest of the Elements remained close at hoof, and out of reach from potential threats.

Rarity stepped back and squinted at her. "I... think that is acceptable..." she said tentatively, then took a deep breath and looked up at Twilight.

Twilight smiled and nodded. "Thanks, Rarity..." she trailed off, looking at herself in the mirror. Unlike before, this time she actually looked all over herself and her dress. "It's... beautiful, like always..." she added.

"Yes, well, nothing but the absolute best for you, Twilight," Rarity replied proudly. "I... just wish you would wear your tiara... You're a princess... well, you're the princess..." She sighed a little. "And your mane, it's such a shame that you don't want me to work with it... I could do wonders with that..."

Twilight giggled a little. "I don't think it would hold, anyway," she replied. She turned to her left and looked over at Rainbow Dash. She stifled a smirk, the pegasus had fallen asleep on the couch. Rarity frowned at the sight. Twilight shook her head and glanced at Rarity. "You really shouldn't hold it against her. This isn't her type of thing, and she was up late last night."

Rarity flashed Twilight a half-smile. "Is she still sorting the guard out?"

Twilight nodded. "There's a lot of soldiers to go through, and I don't have time to do it all on my own..." she grimaced. "Especially considering everything else I have to take care of... it's... a full-time job."

"I... suppose that is to be expected, but at least things are going well," Rarity commented.

Twilight nodded in agreement. "Yes, there's only been two attempts on my life so far, so I would say that's a success. I'm glad that the vast majority of the guard seem... willing... to obey my command," she paused, blinking, "and willing to not try to kill me. That would be detrimental..." She turned back to Rainbow, then walked over to the couch. "Hey, Rainbow?" The pegasus groaned a little and brought one of her hooves over her eyes. Twilight looked at her sternly. "I know you're awake now, come on. We have something to do."

Rainbow sighed loudly, then rolled over onto her back. She blinked open her eyes and stared up at the ceiling for a few seconds, then looked over at Twilight. "Yeah, yeah, just give me a minute." She closed her eyes and stretched out her arms and legs, holding them out for several seconds, then she released them, letting them fall back down onto the couch. She took a deep breath, then rolled over and stood up from the couch. She stretched her wings out and bent down, sighing contently, then stood back up.

"Rainbow, dear, you shouldn't be up so late. Honestly, you need a solid night's rest to be in top shape," Rarity quipped.

Rainbow looked at Rarity indignantly. "Yeah, maybe," she said sarcastically, "but I have things I need to do. Do you really want some soldiers guarding Twilight to try to kill her?" she asked. "Again?" she added dryly.

"Oh, well, no, but..." Rarity trailed off, grimacing sadly.

"Well, to be fair, things are going a lot smoother than I expected. I had planned to be spending years getting things sorted out, but at this rate, I'll probably finish inside of one year, maybe even months..." Twilight trailed off, smiling warmly and gazing off into space. "It's nice, things actually going better than planned for once..." she admitted.

"I can hardly believe it's going to be that quick, things had gotten pretty bad..." Rarity mused timidly.

"Well, he had the Crystal Heart after he captured the Crystal Empire, so... that probably helped him quite a bit..." Twilight commented.

Rainbow shrugged. "Besides, I've been through worse than staying up late."

The door opposite of Twilight opened, drawing the three mares' gazes. Spike blinked several times in shock, then shook his head. "Wow, Rarity, you outdid yourself... Twilight, you look beautiful!"

Twilight smiled and held back a blush. "Thank you, Spike." She swallowed. "Is... everything ready?"

Spike nodded eagerly. "Yeah, everypony's waiting on you."

Twilight nodded to herself. "Right... Thank you, Spike... you can go join the rest of the girls."

Spike hesitated in the doorway, unsurely looking at Twilight. "Are... you sure you don't need anything else?"

Twilight smiled at him, almost in a motherly fashion, then she slowly walked over to him. She bent down and wrapped an arm around him. Spike returned her hug eagerly. "I just need you to be there," she said with a light giggle, then nuzzled him before releasing him and pulling back.

Spike nodded hesitantly. "Okay... and good luck, Twilight!"

"Thanks, Spike," Twilight replied. Spike scurried off, the door closing behind him. She took a deep breath, then calmly exhaled. "My first major direct public address since I reclaimed Equestria..." she grimaced, her gaze falling to the floor. "I... wish Celestia was here..."

Rainbow hastily walked over to Twilight's side. "Hey, you'll do fine!"

"I... know I will, but... I still wish they were here, but... I can't bring them back..." Twilight trailed off, sighing. She closed her eyes, then sucked in a deep breath and stood back up to her full height. "Well... the sooner I get this over with, the sooner I have the rest of the day to myself..."

"It'll be the first time in... such a long time that we'll just... spend the day together, not having to worry about anything. I'm quite looking forward to it, darling," Rarity commented cheerfully.

Twilight nodded in agreement, then lit her horn and pulled open the door. She sauntered out of the room, Rarity and Rainbow easily keeping pace with her leisurely walk. Two guards, one on each side of the doorway, quickly fell in sync with them, walking behind them and off to the sides without so much as a word from any of them. Twilight smiled a little, glancing back. The cold, dull gray armor had been replaced with a bright, warm lavender. The sight of the guards no longer felt oppressive, nor did they draw as much fear from everyday ponies.

"Hey, uh... Twilight?" Rainbow asked.

Twilight glanced over to Rainbow, who walked close beside her to her right. "Yes?"

Rainbow shuffled her wings. "I'm not going to have to wear clothes like that after I'm an alicorn, right?" she asked, her muzzle scrunching up in disgust. Rarity shot Rainbow an indignant glare out of the corner of her eye.

Twilight giggled and rolled her eyes. "Only for your coronation, and I'm sure Rarity would be delighted to make your coronation dress..." she trailed off, smirking as Rarity lit up with glee.

As they walked down the hallway, they passed a few more guards, whose armor remained the cold, lifeless gray steel. She forced back a scowl, knowing that, despite their unchanged armor, they were loyal to her, and her alone. They stood up straighter in respect as she strode passed them. She turned her gaze back forward and continued along her journey. "How many times did Celestia walk this same path that I am walking now, in order to give a public address?" she idly wondered aloud.

"Wouldn't you know?" Rainbow asked conversationally.

Twilight tilted her head subtly to the right. "I... suppose I would, or at least, I should eventually... still, that doesn't seem like something she would have remembered..."

Rainbow frowned. "I... guess that's true."

For a few seconds, Twilight pondered the question, though eventually, her mind wandered. Every step made her feel heavier, and every passing second left her more nervous than the last. She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "This... shouldn't be so daunting..." she mused with a bob of her head.

"Well... a lot of ponies... well uh, everypony's life depends on you now..." Rainbow commented carefully. "They're all looking to you to lead them... But don't worry, we're all here to help you, and if anypony can do this, you can, Twilight! We all trust you."

A smile slowly grew on Twilight's lips, and she nodded. They continued on in silence for several minutes, her fears being alleviated. Eventually, she slowed down as she approached the balcony. She came to a stop and idly gazed over the six ponies, young dragon, and draconequus sitting on the balcony, waiting for her, then she cast a glance at the two soldiers standing stoically outside the door. Both regarded her respectfully, straightening as her gaze fell on them.

One of the ponies on the balcony noticed her, and a second later, several smiles greeted her. Twilight looked back at them and nodded with a smile, then she casually strode forward. She took a deep breath as she stepped out onto the balcony and into the morning sunlight. Everypony sitting stood up and watched her as she calmly approached the railing while smiling a warm, motherly smile.

Author's Note

Well. I have a bit to say, I think. I'm writing this Author's Notes two days after "finishing" this chapter, so bear with me.

I ~~seem to~~ struggle with solid endings. I had planned to make this chapter longer an address more things, tying them up, etc., but if I did that, it would have lost something, possibly even the "solid" ending feeling. The only other things I had ideas for to include in this were a scene with Twilight and the rest of her friends just hanging out like old times, Twilight teaching Zenith more about magic, Twilight ascending Rainbow, and Twilight having a cryptic conversation with Starlight/mentioning Starlight having returned from a trip/vacation. I kind of wanted to add that, but it just felt like the perfect place to end it.

Hopefully, it's a good ending. If it's a bad ending, well, I need to improve. I think I've improved over the course of writing this, but this story also has a couple issues.

Would you believe me if I told you that this story was basically originally just me wanting an excuse to write a fight scene between Twilight and Rainbow? As you may have noticed, that did not exactly happen. After I decided to make this into something more, I had an idea of how I could weave that into the story. But, once more, that didn't happen. I actually wrote that, though. Chapter 21, one of the longer takes. The Inquisitor used his magic to screw around with Rainbow's head and get her to attack Twilight. Twilight fought Rainbow and summarily won. Had I followed through with my original intent, it would have had a scene with Rainbow laying against a wall, dying, and Twilight walking over to her with a neutral expression. Rainbow was going to deliver a one liner, "Finish it," and then Twilight was going to have a break down, since one of her friends thought she was going to kill her. After that would be the final chapter, where Rainbow would wake up in a bed and Twilight in the other room at a desk, then walking in and talking to her a bit before ending it with Rainbow's ascension.

I really hope you enjoyed this story- I know I have, but of course, at times it was a struggle. Regardless, the story has a rather open end to it, but it's a happy ending- Twilight is reunited with her friends, Equestria and the world are at peace, and the Inquisitor is no more. Of course, things aren't the same as they were before, there were losses, although some of them will live on through Twilight.

Of course, there are still questions which linger. What was the cave where Discord found the Inquisitor? What did Twilight tell Starlight? What becomes of Equestria under Twilight's leadership? What becomes of Twilight and the memories she holds? What becomes of Rainbow Dash? What becomes of the rest of the girls? What did he mean when he said he had already won?