A cracking sound spread through the library, and soon Twilight and her friends teleported inside. They were battered and bruised but alive and kicking. Only Rainbow sustained a more serious injury that for now prevented her from flying, but it was minor.

However,the purple alicorn didn't have time to worry about them first. She closed all the blinds and checked the doors of her home. Next, she renewed her protection and privacy spell since they were destroyed in Discord's rampage, and she couldn't allow anypony else to know what was going on inside.

Only then did she direct her focus on the rest of the ponies inside. They were still a little dizzy after teleporting. She couldn't blame them; it was sudden and probably none of them had teleported before. She kept a large stash of medicine and bandages hidden in her home, spread through many stashes. I don't think I need to explain why.

She used them to apply first aid on her bruised friends while she thought about what to do next.

"I see stars!" Pinkie somehow was uninjured and hopping around without care in the world.

"I can see them too, sugarcube." Applejack was probably the most affected by teleport." I think I have a concussion since I see Twilight with wings."The farm pony said while lying on the floor.

"Not only you, darling" Admitted Rarity.

"I can see them too." Said Fluttershy first and then Rainbow Dash.

Twilight didn't hide her wings after teleporting, since she was too tired after that big teleport from Everfree and the damage was already done. Her friends saw her. Now she needed to minimize the damage.

"Is everypony alright now?" Alicorn asked after she finished taking care of them.

"I think we are ok." Murmured the butter-colored pegasus qiuetly.

"Good." After the confirmation, Twilight signed with relief. The speedster was already checking how far her wing was hurt and if she could fly with it bandaged. Pinkie was still hoping everywhere and the rest was starting to rise from the ground. Unfortunately, Twilight could not allow them a moment of rest. She lit her horn and soon unleashed a restraining spell on her friends.

"Twilight! Why can't we move?" Applejack was the first to voice her question of all ponies.

"Sorry girls, but you can't leave before you promise me that you won't tell anypony or any creature about what happened." She said seriously. "It is non-negotiable"

"We trusted you!" Screamed blue pegasus. "I thought you were our friends."

"I know, and I still think of all of you as my friends, but you must understand that what we did and what you all saw is very dangerous. " Twilight said sadly.

"What do you mean dangerous?" Only Fluttershy was still listening to her while others were more occupied trying to escape.

"There is a reason why I didn't tell anypony who or what I am. This knowledge could possibly get you killed..." She averted her eyes and finished "...or your family. " As soon the words left her mouth, the others stopped what they were doing.

"What?" Applejack had the strongest bonds with her family and losing them was not an option.

"I can't explain much or I risk getting you in an even bigger danger. "She sighed." Not like you aren't already since becoming Bearers of the Elements." She cast a glance at the necklaces on her friends' necks. "I should hide them too before anypony notices them missing. Back to the topic. While I appreciate that you consider me or considered me as a friend, knowing what you know is very dangerous. There are many ponies who, if they found out that you know an alicorn that isn't known wouldn't stop at anything to know more. And before any of you question why I wouldn't tell Celestia about it, let's say that she has more blood on her hooves than you know, and I don't want to add my blood too. So I beg you don't ask any more questions and never mention what happened." Begged Twilight."Even better, just forget that this day ever happened."

Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, and Applejack were visibly disturbed by this news. Their expression ranged from disbelief and shock to rage and fear. It was hard to guess what exactly they were thinking but one look at Twilight showed them that she was serious and there was no room for discussion.

"Very well, let's just Pinkie promise and be done with this." Conceded blue pegasus. Despite the tension, the alicorn smiled weakly.

"A Pinkie promise won't cut it here. While I know that it is a big and serious promise-"She added hastily, seeing Pinkie readying herself to say something." - my life and yours depend on it, so we will use Starswirls Promis."

"Starswirls Promis?" Questioned Rarity.

"Promis created by famous Starswirl to make sure that both sides will keep it. Only by consent from both sides, it is possible to nullify it. Furthermore, your own magic will keep you in check to make sure that you won't break the deal. "

"So are you ready?"

Her friends looked at each other and, one by one, repeated after Twilight the promise. After each promise, magic swirled around them, and they could feel that it was in effect.

"Thank you and I'm sorry that you had to do it. I will hide Elements and we will return to everyday life like nothing happened." She took necklaces from them and made them vanish, not even showing where she hid them." Once again, sorry ... for everything." As they were leaving, she bid the farewell.

But the trust was damaged, and Rainbow Dash smelled secrets.

After everything was done, Twilight collapsed where she stood. Her friends became bearers of the Elements, which meant they believed her, and she instantly betrayed them.

She wasn't feeling well.

Meanwhile, in a Canterlot, the repairs were already in full swing. The damage was substantial, and whole streets were unrecognized with many buildings too dangerous to live in again. Thankfully, no pony lost their life, but the experience of this day would haunt them for the rest of their life. Especially since they never experienced something like this. They were normal, peaceful ponies, unprepared for this.

Celestia oversaw the work from her balcony, while her mind was busy reviewing the day. After the fight ended abruptly with an unexpected rainbow wave, she wanted to see who caused it, because she knew what it was. For others, it was a nice rainbow, and that was it, but for her, it was a signal that Elements were back. Unfortunately, she was swarmed with work to rebuild the destroyed capital. Next, the nobility crept out from their hiding spots to demand explanations and assurance from her.

Sometimes I regret that we decided to establish nobility.

"Celestia, do you have a moment?" Said the familiar voice behind the door to her room. Without waiting for a replay, Cadence peeked inside.

"Sure, what's the matter?"

"I need to talk to you about the last few weeks." Celestia, sensing bigger talk, showed the younger alicorn to sit beside her. "I presume it is about your investigation into where Nightmare Monn could be hiding. " She brought her tea and shared it with her. "So, what have you found."

"Well, it's not so much what I found as what found me."She said awkwardly, while Celestia raised an eyebrow. "Nightmare took me as a prisoner."

Celestia spat her tea.

"What?! But you look just fine and even participated in the fight with Discord!" Shouted Sun Alicorn.

"You can believe me or not, but she somehow... wanted it? Or at least, wanted me fighting with Discord"

It was something big to take it without doubt for Celestia. "Can you please start from the beginning?"

So, she started, explaining how she heard a rumor that Nightmare Moon was seen inside the Everfree forest by little fillies. Without better leads, she found herself traveling through it. However, when she tried to return, she discovered that she didn't know how, and then she was attacked by a pack of Timberwolves. They chased after her for hours and when finally thought that she lost them she fell off a cliff. She lost consciousness, and when she woke up, she was a prisoner of her.

"It had to be a shock to be awakened like that" Commented Celestia.

"Yeah, it was." Admitted Cadence."I had no idea what she was going to do with me since my disguise was off when I woke up, so I thought she was going to interrogate me."

"It was a fair assumption"

"But she didn't, she even bandaged my body, gave me something to eat, and then left."

"She left?" Asked a surprised Celestia.

"She left." Confirmed Cadence."The next few weeks it was the same routine: wake up, eat, and pass the time. Sometimes she would bring to my cell some furniture since it was barren at the beginning. No question, no threats, no nothing. To be honest I was going crazy from boredom. " Celestia couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Finally I snapped and asked her what she was going to do with me." There she stopped, trying to remember all the details.

"And?"

"She answered: nothing. I was a bargaining chip, a safety measure in case something happened."

"What exactly could happen?" Delved Celestia.

"I don't know, she didn't say. Days passed and nothing else was said, until today. She came visibly in a rush, and after a quick thought she freed me. Only after we left the cave I did understand that something big was happening."

"Do you have an idea where this cave could be?" Questioned Celestia.

"Probably in Everfree forest, but I don't know where exactly, Discord disordered the terrain too much to recognize."

"And Everfree is too big to just discover it by chance." She sighed." Now we need to focus on repairing and calming the ponies, they will want to know what happened. And Nightmare..."

"She didn't seem like an evil tyrant." Declared Cadence.

"You are right, but she did kill many ponies before her banishment." She massaged her head. "I'm starting to get a headache. Let's reschedule our meeting for later." Cadence looked at her, deep in thought. Is Nightmare really evil? What is her goal? Was she telling the truth? So many questions and no answer.

"Very well."She stood up, and after wishing goodnight, she left.

"Everything will be alright, Twilight" Said Luna, while comforting her daughter.

As she returned from Canterlot, she spotted her daughter lying on the floor in their home. She immediately came to her, worrying that something terrible had happened. She wasn't far from the truth.

Twilight together with five other ponies, defeated Discord and became the bearers of Elements of Harmony, and it was ok. Unfortunately, after the battle, she was forced to release her seal on her magic to save her friends from dying. While she was successful, she needed to make sure that they would not tell anypony about what happened, so she went against them and forced them to promise it.

They didn't like it at all.

After it was done and they were gone the full impact of what happened finally hit her. She made true friends and immediately betrayed them. They probably won't trust her like before.

And it hurt her a lot.

After a few hours, Twilight finally fell asleep. Today's day wasn't the best but they were alive.

She hoped that the future would be better.

Author's Note

Grammar checked with grammarly and chatgp.
Let me know if something is wrong.