After having killed Cheerilee sixteen times, Colgate lit up her horn and cast the spell one more time, reviving her once more. When she came to she was clearly shaken and had begun to break psychologically. She cried, "Please Colgate, stop! Please stop, I'll admit everything to the princesses."

Colgate removed her from the chair and replied, "Good. Now I can haul you up there, justice can be served and the name of Twilight Sparkle can be cleared. She may have killed you for what you did but nopony is going to care about a rat like you. You are nothing more than a rodent whose name means nothing, absolutely nothing."

Cheerilee tried to stand up but fell to the ground in pain. Given that Colgate did not remove the hooks from her hooves until after she brought her back again, the wounds remained and thus, she could not walk. She cried out, "Colgate, if you're taking me away, I need to walk."

Colgate kicked her and yelled, "I'll heal you when I'm good and ready. For now I need to find a spell to get out of here."

Colgate noticed that there were a few books in the room and hoped that she could find the right spell because she had absolutely no desire to have to look in another room nor did she desire to have to write her own magic because that can take plenty of time. After a couple of hours of looking through the few books in there she groaned, "Ugh, I'm going to have to write my own magic for this!" She returned to Cheerilee and stated, "This is going to take a while, writing magic takes time."

Cheerilee's stomach growled and she begged, "Please don't take too long, I'm getting hungry."

Colgate replied, "Guess what, I'm hungry too but we aren't going anywhere until I can get a proper spell written."

Colgate began to think about everything she knew about the dark warlords and the spell that she had to use to get in. She stood there for at least a couple of hours trying to figure it out, kicking Cheerilee every time she made noise while she was trying to concentrate. After three hours Colgate grabbed her captive in her aura and began to drag her towards the exit. She ordered, "Now be quiet Cheerilee, I can not have any noises being made while I am trying to see if this spell works or not."

Once Colgate got up to the exit she put her horn in the hole, flared it up and recited,

"The enemies have paid the price, for in their torture they squealed like mice,
Now the hunt goes on, for more must disappear and be gone,
The princes of light are dying, which is most satisfying
Soon darkness will forever shroud the land and attacking us will not be in the outsiders' plan."

The moment she finished reciting the spell Colgate was shocked when the door slid open. She grabbed Cheerilee in her aura and yelled, "Come on, I don't know how long this thing will stay open or if the spell will work more than once."

Once Colgate had got her and Cheerilee out of the bunker, the door slid closed behind them. Much to Colgate's delight, it was after dark but she likely still had enough time to get back to Appaloosa, buy tickets for her and her captive and then get back to Canterlot. She knew that the conductor would likely ask her about Cheerilee's condition but figured that making up the excuse that she needed added medical attention would be more than enough for them to not question her.

It was probably around 11:30 when Colgate had finally got her and Cheerilee to the train station. She headed to the ticket window and said, "I need two tickets to Canterlot."

The pony at the window replied, "Very well."

Colgate paid for the tickets and then received them. Colgate had sat Cheerilee up against the wall of the depot and was whimpering, "Please heal me Colgate, please heal me."

Colgate sighed in frustration, "Like I said, I will heal you when I'm good and ready." She then began to snicker, "But let's face it, your remaining life will likely be short so I will have no reason to."

Cheerilee sat there feeling a true sense of despair. She knew that her fate was likely not going to be a good one. She knew that Colgate was one of Celestia's students and that the princess would be far more likely to believe her than she would her, the one who had spilled so much blood. She figured that the best she could do was admit her guilt and beg for mercy, mercy that she was not sure if she would receive or not.

Once the train arrived, Colgate had Cheerilee in her aura and carried her over to the train. Colgate handed the tickets to the conductor and he gasped, "Why are you holding her in your aura? Don't you know that is illegal?"

Colgate lied, "She suffered some serious injuries and I am transporting her to Canterlot where she can get medical attention she can not get anywhere else."

The conductor nodded and allowed them entry onto the train. With it being midnight the two were able to sit in their own car but Colgate knew that the two would not not have that solitude for long given that the train would have to circle most of Equestria before finally arriving in Canterlot late in the afternoon or early in the evening.

With each stop as time passed, the cars began to get more full. It was not until probably five in the morning when ponies finally started getting into the car that Colgate was in. Many ponies saw her along with a severely injured earth pony leaning up against the window. Multiple ponies began asking her what was wrong with Cheerilee and in a completely neutral voice she told the same lie that she told the conductor. She knew that she could not show an ounce of emotion one way or the other if she was to avoid being suspected of what she did.

It was five in the afternoon when the train finally pulled into Canterlot. Given that she had to carry Cheerilee with her, Colgate was the last to disembark. Many ponies looked on in shock seeing the unicorn having another pony completely immobilized with her magic, carrying her towards the palace. Numerous ponies wanted to approach her over what she was doing but when they saw the injuries to Cheerilee's hooves and that Colgate was taking her towards the palace, they figured that the earth pony could not walk and that Colgate was transporting her in the only way possible.

When Colgate arrived at the palace, she headed in and immediately took her towards the throne room. Celestia was sitting on her throne the same way she had for over the past year, with a look of sadness. Colgate headed in and threw Cheerilee right to the base of the throne and stated, "Princess Celestia, I have captured the true murderer."

Princess Celestia looked at the pony laying there in shock and then turned to Colgate. She gasped, "But how can this be, she was blown to bits by" Celestia's voice began to break, "Twilight."

Cheerilee was moaning in pain when Colgate approached her, kicked her and snapped, "Shut up rat!" She then turned her attention to the princess and added, "I know but I have my ways of bringing ponies back, I brought her back so that she could face justice for the vile deeds that she committed."

Celestia was initially angry, "Colgate, you used resurrection magic? Do you not know how illegal that is?"

Colgate could tell that Celestia was not pleased and that she could face criminal charges herself but then decided to bring something up that could allow her to escape any legal problems. "Princess Celestia," Colgate stated, "I know the death of Twilight was very hard on you and as you know, whenever her name is mentioned ponies think of the most vile pony in Equestrian history." She saw the look of anger on Celestia's face lessen and continued, "Cheerilee already admitted her guilt to me so all we need to do is drag her out on your balcony, get her to admit her guilt" she then saw Luna coming into the throne room and finished, "and get her to fully exonerate Twilight Sparkle. This nation must know she was innocent."

When Luna saw Cheerilee laying on the floor badly injured and heard Colgate bringing up exonerating Twilight she gasped, "Wait a minute, how can this be? How is it that Cheerilee is alive and what is this about exonerating Twilight?"

Colgate knew that Luna would be far more likely to cause problems but hoped that by her telling Celestia what she did, that Luna may not be able to do anything to her. Colgate addressed Luna, "Luna, you must know that you are responsible for a grave injustice." She kicked Cheerilee and yelled, "Tell her rat, tell her."

Before Cheerilee could say anything Luna flared up her horn and reverted to the ancient way of speaking, "How dare thee Colgate, how dare thee use resurrection magic. Dost thou not know how illegal that....."

Celestia cut her off, "Sister, let Cheerilee speak." She glared at the teacher and ordered, "Speak. Tell us what you told Colgate."

Cheerilee whimpered, "I-I killed them, I killed them all." Celestia's eyes grew wide before becoming full of anger as Cheerilee continued, "You must understand, they were all weeds, they had to go!"

Celestia became angrier but it was not towards Cheerilee, it was towards Luna. She flared up her horn, struck her sister with a powerful bolt of energy and angrily cried, "You took her from me, you took her from me! Twilight was innocent but you took her from me!"

Luna had never seen her sister in this kind of rage before but knew that she couldn't cower down, "But sister, everypony else thought she was guilty! We couldn't not just go against their desires for her punishment."

Celestia turned around, grabbed Cheerilee in her aura and ordered, "Sister, go out and have the whole city gather around my balcony." She held Cheerilee higher and continued, "She shall admit her guilt and you will exonerate Twilight Sparkle entirely. Now that I know the truth, nopony will put up with your miscarriage of justice, nopony!"

Luna headed out to the balcony and flew off to notify the city and Celestia turned towards Colgate and said, "Colgate, I know how you did this was wrong but thank you." She leaned down, embraced the unicorn and began to cry, "But now Twilight's name can be exonerated, her honor can be restored." She then turned to Cheerilee and threw her into the wall before yelling, "And it shall be you who will be the scum of the land, your name will be forever tied to pure evil!"

Cheerilee cried out in pain as she hit the wall before continuing to whimper. Colgate turned to Celestia and asked, "So when should we take her out there, once your sister rounds up the whole city."

Celestia replied, "I think that would be for the best."

Ten minutes had passed before Luna returned to the throne room. She had an annoyed look on her face as she stated, "Well sister, I have done as you requested. The city has gathered under your balcony."

Celestia pointed her wing towards the balcony and ordered, "You go first and admit your wrongs and exonerate Twilight, then we shall bring the the true murderer out."

Luna sighed in frustration and headed out. Once she reached the balcony she began,

"Citizens of Equestria, as all of you know that it was a bit over one year ago that Twilight Sparkle" the crowd began to boo loudly upon hearing her name. Luna then continued, "While I know ever since then that name has been associated with nothing short of pure evil but evidence has been uncovered that has proven otherwise. Because of this, I am granting Twilight Sparkle a complete and absolute pardon."

The crowd again began to boo until Luna motioned for Celestia and Colgate to bring Cheerilee out to the balcony. When the crowd saw Cheerilee, they gasped in shock before falling silent. Celestia could tell that they were all stunned to see the pony that was believed to have been destroyed by Twilight's magic. Celestia first turned to Colgate and ordered, "Tell them, tell them how it is that she is alive."

Colgate cast a spell on herself to amplify her voice and began, "Citizens of Equestria, as you all know it has been a bit over a year since Princess Luna unjustly sentenced Twilight Sparkle to death. I knew Twilight would never kill her friends and eight school foals but I did know who did. I knew it was the rat leaning next to me. During an appointment with me prior to that theater fire, I knew something wasn't right with her. I could sense the darkness coming from her." She then cast a spell on Cheerilee to amplify her voice, smacked her and yelled, 'Speak rat, speak!"

Cheerilee was having trouble speaking but figured that maybe if she admitted everything, that she could receive mercy. She began, "Ci-citizens of Equestria, the accusations are true. Twilight did not kill everypony" *cough, cough* "I did."

That was all the more the crowd needed to hear to start screaming, "Murderer, murderer! Kill her, execute her, put her to death!"

Celestia figured that her confession was all the more she needed to hear. She turned to the crowd and announced, "Citizens of Equestria, because of the crimes of murdering fourteen ponies, eight of which had yet to reach adulthood, I hereby sentence Cheerilee to death IMMEDIATELY." The crowd began to cheer loudly knowing that the true killer was going to be put to death. Celestia had a bit of a smile on her face as she asked, "Colgate, would you do the honors?"

Colgate gave her a smile, "Absolutely!"

Celestia grabbed Cheerilee in her aura and suggested, "Shall we? Shall we take her to the courtyard so this can be done?"

Colgate replied, "Yes, let's do this."

Celestia grabbed the two in her aura and carried them to the courtyard. Upon landing Celestia cast a protection bubble around the two so that the execution could be carried out with no problems. Once Celestia flew back up the balcony she began her address, "Citizens of Equestria, today is a very bittersweet day for me. A bit over a year ago my protege, Twilight Sparkle, was unjustly sentenced to death by my sister but today, justice will finally be served as the true killer shall be put to death." She paused before continuing, "Colgate, you may begin."

Colgate gave Celestia a smile before pulling out her knife and beginning the process of dissecting Cheerilee. Cheerilee's cries of agony could be heard by the crowd which brought out a lot of cheering from them. Soon they began to chant, "Kill, kill, kill!"

Once Colgate had her dissected sufficiently, she began to eat the meat off of her victim. Cheerilee's cries got louder and the cheers from the crowd got louder and more jovial. Once Colgate had ate a sufficient amount of meat on her, she clamped down on her and bit her rib cage open, causing Cheerilee to convulse. Colgate snapped at her, "Not yeah rat, not yet! I'm not letting you go this easily and this crowd doesn't want this ending so soon!"

Colgate then took a syringe and poked a hole in one of her lungs, causing it to begin to collapse. Colgate stood to the side so the crowd could see the earth pony's lung collapse and see her struggling to breathe. The crowd continued to cheer and once the lung had collapsed, Colgate leaned down to finish the job. She pulled Cheerilee's heart out of her chest cavity and asked, "Shall I do it? Shall I end this pathetic rat's life?"

The entire crowd began chanting, "KILL THE RAT, KILL THE RAT, KILL THE RAT!" Colgate gave the crowd a smile and placed the heart in her mouth before ripping it out with her teeth and eating it. As Cheerilee lay there dead and blood was pouring out of Colgate's mouth, the crowd began cheering louder and a couple of unicorns in the crowd lit up their horns, causing there to be a fireworks show. As she stood there over the dead villain Colgate felt a sense of triumph. There she was, covered in blood, receiving cheers for finally wiping out who she considered the ultimate rat.

After about ten minutes of non-stop cheering, Celestia flew down, lowered the protection shield and escorted Colgate up into the throne room. Once they arrived Celestia thanked her, "Thank you Colgate, thank you. Finally, justice is served."

Colgate gave her a slight smile and replied, "For the most part but there is one thing you must know." Celestia developed a look of curiosity on her face as she continued, "I know that saving Twilight's life took a lot out of you but while you were recovering, your sister decided to take on the role of judge rather than contacting Balanced Scales for her kangaroo court of Twilight."

Celestia turned towards Luna and snapped, "Is what she is telling me true?"

Luna was at a loss of words as Colgate continued, "From what Sherlock Hooves told me while I was purging that rat from this world, not only did she oversee the court case but she also openly accused Twilight of the murders while she was on the bench." Luna began to become nervous as Colgate finished, "Princess Luna, in doing that you broke two laws. For starters, Equestrian court law forbids the judge from personally knowing the defendant and also judges must be impartial, which from what I was told you were not."

Before Luna could say anything Celestia flared up her horn and yelled, "You took her from me, you illegally took her from me!" Celestia began to cry angrily, "You knew this, you knew all this but still, you took her away from me!"

Luna stood there with not only a look of shock but a feeling of fear. She knew that her sister was hurt and angry but also wondered what else Colgate might know. Colgate turned to Luna and ordered, "Tell your sister about how you always worked with Hooves to get convictions. Tell her how you paid him to falsify evidence, evidence in that bank robbery case." She paused before becoming more snide, "To be honest, I wouldn't be one bit surprised if you did that with Twilight too."

When Colgate said that Celestia felt a much larger amount of fury flowing through her. She struck Luna with energy and screamed, "You monster, you convinced Hooves to falsify evidence so you could kill my student, so you could kill Twilight!"

Luna countered, "But sister everypony thought she killed them. They saw her destroy Cheerilee, this had to be done."

Celestia gave her a glare and stated, "Luna, that does not matter. As far as I'm concerned, I have no sister." She pointed towards the royal bedroom and ordered, "Now go. I have no desire to even look at you."

Luna departed the throne room and sighed, "You know Colgate, I never once thought this would happen. I never imagined that Luna would do this but at least justice has finally been served." She sighed before adding, "I just wish that Twilight hadn't been wronged like that."

Colgate gave Celestia a smile and suggested, "Follow me. I know the spell so if you want me to right that wrong, I shall do so."

Celestia got a huge smile on her face and hugged the still blood stained Colgate, "Really! You'll bring Twilight back to me?"

Colgate replied, "I will." She paused before looking at Celestia's stained coat and added, "Although I think that both of us probably need to wash our coats clean. If she sees you with blood stains she will be concerned and if she saw me covered in blood, it would likely freak her out!"

Celestia agreed and the two headed off to get showered. While she was in the shower, Celestia felt a sense of hope. She knew that what Colgate was using was forbidden magic but if it meant bringing her beloved protege, Twilight Sparkle, back to her that it would be well worth it.

Author's Note

"The enemies have paid the price, for in their torture they squealed like mice,
Now the hunt goes on, for more must disappear and be gone,
The princes of light are dying, which is most satisfying
Soon darkness will forever shroud the land and attacking us will not be in the outsiders' plan."