//------------------------------// // You Are Our Princess And We Need You // Story: Apart From The Pegasi // by KillerChainsaw //------------------------------// Twilight standing silent with her head still bowed to Celestia as the elder Princess was clearly confused at the moment, as was pretty much all the other ponies and pegasi as they all looked round to each other, unsure of just what was going on at the moment and wondered why their ruler had suddenly said that she had 'let everypony here down' including Celestia. "Twilight just what are you talking about?" Celestia asked as she leaned down to Twilight a little, and rested a hoof under her chin, lifting her head from its bowing position and giving her a slight look of concern now, while Twilight just looked back to her with an shamed expression still, brushing away Celestia's hoof a moment later. "I let you down...I let all of you down," Twilight repeated as she lowered her voice a little, turning away from Celestia, looking back to the two crowds of ponies and pegasi now as she sighed heavily and continued on, "I was sent here by Princess Celestia to be the Princess of both Ponyville and Cloudsdale, and since I've gotten here and learnt about this feud that has been going on for so long, I've wanted to find some way to fix it all. I thought I could do it, I thought I could bring both of you together again and make you all happy like you were before, but...I was wrong. All I've done is make things worse for you all since I got here, and I'm deeply sorry for that. Everything that's happened is my fault and I am willing to take fulll responsibility for it all," she stated as her head soon hung and she looked to the grass with a expression of guilt on her face, while all the other ponies and pegasi were clearly still confused about how exactly they should react to all this as they were all just as silent and taken aback by Twilight's apology as Princess Celestia was at the moment. "Truthfully..." Twilight paused as she sighed deeply and just shook her head before carrying on, "I feel like I don't deserve to be your ruler...not after I have failed you all like this," she seemed to have finished as she bit her bottom lip, somewhat fearing just what the ponies and pegasi would say in response to her, and also dreading how Princess Celestia would react to this sudden confession and apology from her. All the ponies and pegasi seeming to have gone silent as they stood looking to each other, and all of them being at a loss for words at the moment. Princess Celestia being the same as she gazed down to Twilight and was unsure of just what to say in reaction to all this suddenly happening, turning her head as she glanced over to Rainbow Dash while the cyan pegasus looked back to her and just shrugged her shoulders to show that she also was quite confused by all of this right now. The cyan mare glanced to Spike as he was just looked back to her with a concerned expression, also seeming like he was confused about all that was going on at the moment. Dash then looking over to Twilight who still had an ashamed look on her face right now, Twi thinks she's at fault for all of this, she blames herself when all she's been doing is trying to make things better for both Ponyville and Cloudsdale. And if it weren't for her...' Dash paused on her thought as she looked to all the ponies and pegasi, seeing that luckily none of them needed to be held back at all, and all of them were still looking taken aback right now, clearly unsure of just how they should respond to their Princess, 'I would still be just like those pegasi that are helping Lightning. I...I have to do something,' she thought to herself, as she knew she had to make her marefriend see sense and let her know that none of this was her fault like she thought it all was, but was a little uncertain of how she was going to just that. Dash seeming to be a little lost in thought as she wondered just what she could do at this point, Spike walking up to her and catching her attention a moment later, as he caused the cyan mare to look back to him now, "What do you think we should do?" he asked as it seemed like he was thinking similiarly to what Dash was, as the pegasus looked back to him, a little unsure of what to say, as she was still a bit lost on what to do in order to make Twilight realise that she wasn't at fault for what had happened at all. Fluttershy and Applejack also now looking to Dash as she wondered just what they should do, "I...I don't know..." Dash paused as she glanced over to the crowd of pegasi as it seemed like the mare in charge was starting to fight back against the guards that were still holding her back as Dash thought for a few more moments, before an idea entered her mind and she widened her eyes, while causing Spike and the other two mares to look to her with curious expressions. "I've got an idea, but...I'm going to need your help Fluttershy," the cyan mare stated as she gave the other pegasus a serious expression now, causing Fluttershy to just look back to her, still seeming a little confused in response. "What for, just what are you going to do Rainbow Dash?" "I'll explain on the way, just trust me on this, okay?" Dash gave a slight encouragiong look to Fluttershy, as she still looked a little uncertain, but sighed a moment later as she nodded back to the other pegasus and she just smiled in reply, before they both turned to leave, Dash looking back to Applejack as she caused her to look to her in response. "You two see if you can keep a handle on things here until we get back," she intructed as Applejack just looked a little unsure of herself, Spike doing the same as he seemed more concerned now. "Wait a minute, just where are you going?" the young dragon asked as he tried to stop the two pegasi in their tracks, however Fluttershy and Dash quickly running off and were soon out of sight, as Spike and Applejack were left to wonder just what they were going to do at this moment, to 'keep a handle on things' as Dash had told them to while her and Fluttershy were gone. Spike and Applejack turning to each other and looking nervous, before they then glanced to the two crowds of poines and pegasi and could see that some of them were now whispering to one another, it looking like many of them were not so taken aback anymore and a few of the pegasi were starting to glare at Twilight once again, it seeming like things would begin returning to how they were a little while ago if they didn't do something about it soon. Meanwhile it seemed like Princess Celestia was still a little uncertain of what she should say, leaning down to Twilight once again, and resting a hoof on her shoulder as Twilight just slowly lifted her head and looked back to her with a bit of a uneasy expression now, as she waited to hear just what Celestia would say to her in response. "Twilight is this honestly how you feel?" the elder Princess asked with a slight concerned expression, Twilight just nodding slowly back to her in reply as she sighed and turned away from Celestia a moment later. "All I've done is cause more trouble for everypony, so I've been thinking that maybe...maybe things would have been better if I didn't come here at all," she stated in a lowered tone, looking down to the grass again as her head hung heavily and she felt like she just didn't know what else to do anymore, things just seemed be going from bad to worse each time she tried to make things 'better' for both the ponies of Ponyville and the pegasi of Cloudsdale, and she honestly felt like she had exhausted all of her options at this point. 'Maybe I should have just left back when my relationship with Dash was found out, maybe...things would have turned out differently then,' she thought as it seemed like she was getting too caught up in her own mind right now, as Celestia could easily tell that she was being much too hard on herself at the moment, and gave her a worried expression as she didn't believe what the younger Princess was confessing to her was competely true. However it seeming like she wasn't the only one who believed that as Pinkie Pie stepped forward from being amogest the crowd of town's ponies and caught Twilight's attention, "That's not true at all Twilight, because we're all really glad that you came here to us," she stated with a smile as she caused the Princess to lift her head a little and look back to her with a slightly questioning expression in reply. "Pinkie pie's right, Twilight you may think that all you've done is cause more trouble for us since you got here, but the truth is...we're the ones that have been causing you trouble," Rarity added as she also stepped forward from the crowd, giving a slight smile to Twilight while she just looked back at the unicorn in disbelief, and continuing to do so as one by one all of the ponies from Ponyville turned to each other and bowed their heads as they all started to seemly agree with Pinkie and Rarity. Twilight widened her eyes as she looked around to all of the town's ponies while they all just smiled back to her reassuringly, "Twilight you've always been trying so hard to make a change and find some way for things to be better for both us and for all the pegasi living up in Cloudsdale. However...we were the ones that haven't been willing to change, so everything that's happened is completely our fault, not yours...and we're the ones who have failed you as our Princess," Rairty stated as she lowered her tone a little and caused Twilight to just look back to her with a surprised expression, it seeming like she didn't know what to say as she looked over to where she thought Dash still was, but instead of seeing her she saw Applejack and Spike simply smiling and nodding back to her, as it was clear that they both felt the same way as all the other town's ponies did right now. The Princess still looking at a loss for words as she looked back to Rarity, and spoke in a very low tone, "But I'm your Princess and as such...I shoulde be able to fix any problems that you may have- she seemed to be thinking out loud as she was clearly still having trouble with how Rarity and the other town's ponies could be saying that she wasn't at fault for everything that had been happening lately, however she was soon cut off by the unicorn as she gave an encouraging smile to the Princess in response. "Maybe so...but you don't have to try so hard in order to do so," she simply said causing Twilight to widen her eyes again and seem taken aback, while Rarity continued on, "This stupid feud should have be solved long ago, and it shouldn't have to be your responsibility to put a stop to it all like we should have done long before now. So we're sorry for making you struggle through like this Twilight, and besides...isn't it also true that a Princess should care and do what she thinks is best for all her subjects? Because that's what you have always done for both Ponyville and Cloudsdale, no matter what," she explained as she came over to Twilight and rested a caring hoof on her shoulder, while the Princess looked back to her with an unsure expression still. "But...you all weren't fighting like this before I came here," she stated as she was obviously still blaming herself for all that had happened lately, but Rarity just shaking her head in response. "That may be true, but it most likely would have happened anyway," she simply replied with a slight shrug of her shoulders, "You see the thing is before you came here, we didn't know what to do. We knew we didn't want to keep living the way we were, and we used to always think that 'what if us and the pegasi in Cloudsdale were always going to hate each other?' We wanted things to change, we just had no idea how to do just that. Then you came along and you...you kept trying so hard to make things better for us all, we...we were lost without you Twilight," she finished as she gave a comforting smile to Twilight and caused her to look around at all the other town's ponies as they were all simply smiling and nodding back to her, showing that they were agreeing with all that Rarity was saying at the moment, and they had clearly stopped focusing on the crowd of pegasi opposite, as none of them needed to be held back at all anymore it seemed. "Do you all feel this way?" Twilight asked as the town's ponies all came to crowd around her, and they just nodded happily in reply to her, Pinkie speaking up again as she caught Twilight's attention and caused her to look back to her now. "We love you Twilight, so please don't blame yourself for our mistakes," She said with a reassuring smile to Twilight as the Princess still looked a little taken aback by all of this, while Pinkie and Rarity quickly came up to hug Twilight tightly, as she glanced to Celestia, who just smiled back to her with a nod, before Twilight finally let her lips slowly form into a small smile, as she hugged the two other mares back and nuzzled into them. Both of them nuzzling her back as the other town's ponies all just smiled happily to their Princess. Meanwhile Applejack glanced over to the crowd of pegasi, seeing that pretty much all of them had also stopped fighting to get to the ponies as they were all looking to one another, and wondering how to react to this situation still. The farm pony looking to the mare in charge of all the pegasi as she still glared towards Twilight, and would try and fight against the two pegasus guards that were currently still holding her back at the moment. Applejack taking a deep breath as she nodded to herself, walking over to the crowd of pegasi and gave them all a serious expression, catching their attention a moment later, "Don't you all have something to say as well? After all you know we aren't the only ones at fault here for everything that's happened," she stated, causing the pegasi to all look back to her some of them raising their eyebrows, while others just glared. The mare in charge of them all being one of the latter it seemed. "We have nothing to say, the Princess said it herself 'things would have been fine if she never came at all', after all we didn't even want or need her in Cloudsdale," she said in a angered tone, as she looked to Twilight with a glare, while the Princess looked back to her with a nervous expression, the town's ponies all taking notice to the crowd of pegasi again, and soon they began to stand around Twilight, guarding her so that none of them could attack her at all right now. The mare in charge of the pegasi still trying to fight back even though she could see that she definitely couldn't get to Twilight at all right now, seeming like she was intent on attacking the Princess no matter who stood in her way, while some of the other pegasi looked a bit uneasy as it was clear to see that some of them weren't agreeing with their leader anymore. While others looked kind of unsure and only a few were also still glaring to Twilight and the town's ponies along with the mare in charge of them all. "That's not true!" They all heard a voice call out to them, as every town's pony and pegasi looked around to see where the sudden voice had come from, Twilight doing the same and immediately recognising the voice as she widened her lavender eyes and quickly pulled away from Pinkie and Rarity, pushing herself out of the crowd of ponies as her lips formed in to a smile upon seeing her marefriend walking to stand opposite the crowd of pegasi and noticed Fluttershy following along behind her. The Princess rushing over to Dash as she was starting to wonder just where she had suddenly disappeared off to. "Dash, where did you suddenly go to?" she asked as she came running over to Dash and quickly hugged her. Dash hugged her back as she gave her a smile and winked to her a little, causing her to look slightly confused now in response. "I guess you could say I went to get someponies who all would like to speak with you," she simply answered as she gestured to Fluttershy behind her causing Twilight to just look even more puzzled, the yellow mare just smiling as she moved aside so that Twilight could now see the large crowd of pegasi all walking over to her. Her eyes widening as she recognised the pegasi as being pretty much all of the ones currently living up in Cloudsdale at the moment. (aside from the ones who had been helping Lightning Dust of course) The pegasi all coming over to Twilight as they all seemed to have ashamed looks on their faces, many handing their heads low, while others bowed to the Princess, as she just looked back to them all with a wondering expression, "Princess Twilight, Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy told us all that has happened with Lighting Dust and these pegasi who have been working for her...and let us just say that we...are terribly sorry for all the trouble we have caused you. We should've realised what was going on long before now, but...I'm afraid Lighting Dust had us all fooled as well and we didn't notice the fact that she had been trying to turn us all against you and the ponies of this town until now," one of the pegasi from Cloudsdale explained as they caused Twilight to look taken aback in response, the Princess glancing to Dash and Fluttershy, who both just smiled to her, while she turned back to the crowd of pegasi as they continued on to explain more to her. "You see Lightning Dust...she made us all think that the ponies of this town hated us all, and they were the ones at fault for the feud starting, but many of us always felt that wasn't completely true, and when she told us that you didn't want anything to do with Cloudsdale or us at all, we weren't sure what to believe anymore. But after you came to us yesterday it caused us to think about all that you had said, and start to doubt Lightning Dust's words. Then when Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy came to tell us about everything we knew she had just been lying to us all this time," another pegasus explained further about what they had realised after Dash and Fluttershy had talked to them all. Twilight looking a little lost for words as she was surprised to hear that Lightning Dust even had most of Cloudsdale fooled, but she guessed she should have probably expected something like that from that manipulative mare. "We just wanted to say sorry for the way we treated both you and Rainbow Dash, and the truth is...we have always hated this feud, and wished it would end sometime soon, but every time we've thought of trying to fix things between us and the ponies of this town, as well as seeing if we could reconnect with the pegasi that chose to leave Cloudsdale, we... we lost our courage and just didn't know how to make things better anymore," the same pegasus that talked first stated as many of the pegasi were looking to Twilight with saddened expressions as the Princess looked around to them all and felt kind of glad as it seemed like she had successfully gotten through to the pegasi of Cloudsdale with all that she had told them yesterday, and felt very thankful towards Dash and Fluttershy right now, as she didn't look as surprised anymore. "So we've come here to ask you...could you help us all with it?" one pegasus asked. "After all you did say that you would help us with any problems that we may have right?" Another added as all the rest looked to Twilight with pleading expressions, asking for her help, while she didn't know what to say in reply at first, glancing to her marefriend again, as she just nodded back to her with an encouraging smile, showing her that this was her chance to finally start being the Princess that she wanted to be, and the one that both Ponyville and Cloudsdale would need. Twilight taking a deep breath as she let her lips slowly form into a small smile, looking back to all the pegasi from Cloudsdale now, "Of course, I'd be happy to help you all," she stated as she nodded to them all, causing all the pegasi to breathe sighs of relief, and most of them smiling as they were all clearly glad that their Princess had agreed to help them to find a way to make things better for not only them, but for all of Ponyville as well. While the pegasi from Cloudsdale all seemed happy and not so nervous anymore, Dash now looked over to the pegasi who had all been working with Lightning Dust and saw how many of them seemed to be a little uneasy, and were whispering to one another right now, probably questioning how they should react to everything that was happening at the moment. "And what about all of you?" the cyan mare asked she caused the crowd of pegasi to all look back to her in response, pretty much all of them looking nervous and staying silent, as they clearly didn't know what to say, however the mare in charge of them all soon answering Dash. "What are you talking about?" she still spoke in quite the angered tone, seeming like she had stopped fighting back against the two guards that were currently holding her back, but she was still glaring to Twilight, while Dash walked over to her and lowered her tone a little. "Well don't you want this all to end finally? After all nothing's going to change if you continue seeking out revenge like this, and this might be your only chance to reconnect with the ones that left Cloudsdale again. Besides aren't you tired of all this fighting by now?" she asked as she gave an understanding look to the mare in charge as well as all the other pegasi, while they all just looked back to her seeming like they were thinking for a few moments, as their leader bit her bottom lip and beared her teeth at Dash. "Of...of course we are! But it's the only thing we can do, that's what Lightning Dust told us, we've got no other option than this!" she raised her voice as she felt her breath hitch in her throat a little, not willing to except what pretty much all of the other pegasi had considered accepting as they all looked unsure of theselves and seemed like they no longer were going along with what their leader was saying anymore. "That's not true," Dash simply shook her head in response, as the mare's yells had caught the attention of Twilight and all the other pegasi from Cloudsdale, the Princess walking over to the mare in charge and all the other pegasi that had been working for Lightning, as she smiled to them all and gestured for the guards to let go of the pegasi that they were currently still holding back at the moment as they all quickly obyed and moved away from the crowd of pegasi now. "Lightning Dust lied to you all, revenge isn't the only option that you have, I promise I can help you to find a way to make things better from how they are now, but you have to let me help you," Twilight stated with an encouraging smile to the mare in charge as she hoped the mare would agree to let her help, but like she expected the mare shook her head and turned away from her in return. "But...how...how can we move on from here after everything that we've done?" she asked in a low tone, seeming like she was questioning herself rather than Twilight as she was clearly a bit at war with herself, and was unsure of what she should do at this point, her glare and angered expression forming into an uneasy one as she glanced back to the Princess now, while she just smiled back to her in return "Don't worry I know it's gong to be difficult, but you can always start anew," She simply reassured the mare as she caused her to just look nervous again, before the Princess turned and left the mare to think for a few minutes, as she looked to Celestia who at the moment was seemly keeping the town's ponies entertained while Twilight talked with the pegasi from Cloudsdale, Twilight catching the elder Princess's attention as she called over to her and gestured for her to come up to her. Celestia walking over to Twilight as she looked down to her and gave her a wondering expression, "Is there something that you need Twilight, because you seem to have about everything covered here now?" she asked as Twilight just nodded to her and smiled in response. "Well yes, but you see these pegasi are the ones that were helping Lightning Dust with her plans," Twilight simply stated, gesturing to the crowd of pegasi and their leader, Princess Celestia just nodding as she expected Twilight to ask her to take them into custody like Lightning Dust right now, however Twilight seemed to surprise Celestia with what she said next. "However I want to tell you that I will be dealing with them and their punshiment," she said causing Princess Celestia to look taken aback, as Twilight just looked back to her with a confident expression. "Twilight...are you sure about this?" Celestia asked after a short pause, as she seemed a little uneasy and nervous, but Twilight simply just nodded back to her in reply. "They need my help, and I can tell they aren't like Lighting Dust, so they shouldn't end up in the same place where she is," she explained as she lowered her voice a little, and caused Celestia to look over to the uneasy looking leader and all the other pegasi who seemed unsure of themselves at the moment. Celestia looking like she was thinking for a moment or two, before she looked to Twilight's determined expression and just sighed with a smile, "Very well, they are your subjects after all, so you should decide how to deal with them" she stated as she nodded to Twilight and she smiled back to her, before she walked back over to the leader of the pegasi and caused her to look back to her now. "So now you've had a little time to think...will you let me help you?" she asked with an unstanding expression to the mare, as she looked around at all the other pegasi, while they just all looked back to her seeming like they were waiting for her to make a decision that they could just all go along with as it was clear that they were still very unsure of what to do right now. The mare in charge soon just sighing heavily as she hung her head and nodded in reply to Twilight, causing her to smile and rest a comforting hoof on the mare's shoulder, as all the other pegasi looked to one another and smiled a little as they seemed to be kind of glad by the fact that they had agreed to accept their Princess's help after all. However the mare in charge suddenly widening her eyes as she seemed to have remembered something and lifted her head, looking back to Twilight now,"Wait I have to tell you something," she stated causing Twilight to look back to her with a wondering expression. "What is it?" she asked as she could see that the mare was now clearly worried about something, and hoped she could help her out with whatever it was. "Lighting Dust's plans...her plan was to have us start a disturbance in Ponyville, and once things had escalated to a certain point a couple of us would sneak away and break her free from her holding cell in Canterlot, so that she could come and lead us all away while the uproar was still going on in the town," she explained as she remembered Lightning Dust's plans and what they had been instructed to do, causing Twilight to widen her eyes in response. "She's probably waiting for us right now," another pegasus stated as they all seemed to be a little worried now, as they looked to Twilight for help, and she looked to Dash with a bit of a nervous expression, Dash just looking back to her uncertainly, before Twilight glanced over to Princess Celestia instead. 'So turning herself in was a part of her plan. I knew she was lying through her teeth to us,' Twilight thought as she was wondering what they should do, before she saw Celestia just smile to her slightly, as the younger Princess looked a little confused for a moment, then widening her eyes as she seemed to catch onto what Celestia was hinting at her, as she smiled and looked back to the mare and the other pegasi that she had been in charge of. "Well...let's go see her then," She simply said as she caused the mare and the other pegasi to all look to her a little confused, as she just continued to smile to them all. Twilight and Dash soon telling Spike and the others just what was going on at the moment and that they had to quickly leave for Canterlot along with Princess Celestia and all the pegasi that had been working with Lightning Dust, while asking them to 'keep the peace' until they returned back to Ponyville. .... Twilight, Dash, Celestia and the group of pegasi who had been helping Lightning Dust quickly made their way to Canterlot castle, and walking down to the holding cells where Lightning was currently being kept at the moment. Once arriving there Twilight told the group of pegasi to all go up to the turquoise mare's cell, and then they would come over to join them in a moment. The pegasi following Twilight's instrctions as they nodded to her and walked over to Lighting's cell, and called out her name to catch her attention. Lighting jumping up from the bed as she came over to the bars and looked to the group of pegasi, seeming like she had been impatiently waiting for them to come. "It's about time that you guys got here, I was actually starting to get afraid that I would get tranferred before you showed up," she stated as she looked to the other pegasi with a bit of an annoyed expression, while they just looked back to her nervously seeming like they were all unsure of what to say back to her, looking to each other uneasily. "Did any guards see you?" Lightning asked as she could see that the other pegasi were all seeming a little uneasy at the moment, and hoped that the plan was still going smoothly for them all, while the group still just stood in silence, looking like they were all at a loss for words and were clearly unsure of just how they should reply to their former leader who they had been following until now. "Well no...but..." the mare who Lightning had left in charge spoke as her tone was awfully low at the moment, it being clear that she was still nervous as were all the other pegasi, while they glanced back over to where they had left Rainbow Dash and Twilight a few minutes ago, only to see them both now walking over to them all with slight stern looks on their faces. "But they didn't come alone," Dash stated as she and Twilight now came walking up to the cell, and a gave slight glares to Lightning Dust, while she widened her eyes and looked taken aback, clearly not expecting to see the two mares here along with the group of pegasi. "W-what are you two doing here?" Lighting questioned as she backed up a little from the bars of her cell door, and glared to Twilight and Dash a moment later, as they just stared back to her sternly. "We just came here to tell you that all of the pegasi from Cloudsdale know that you lied to them and tried to trick them, and well...it seems like the only one not willing to change amongest them was you," Twilight explained as she caused Lightning to look slightly confused for a moment looking back to the other pegasi as she saw how they all still had nervous expressions on their faces right now. "What are you talking about, did they rat me out?" the turquoise mare raised her voice a little, not seeming to put on any kind of innocent act anymore as she suddenly glared to the other pegasi, while they all looked a little taken aback at the anger she showed to them all. Dash however catching Lightning's attention a moment later as she caused her to look back to her and Twilight again. "No they didn't, however they did agree to let us help them to make things better, which was something you clearly weren't able to do," Dash stated as she caused Lightning to just raise her eyebrow in response. "Help them to make things better? Are you forgetting that these were the pegasi that all helped me to trash Pinkie Pie's house, as well as to stop Rainbow Dash from flying and returning to Cloudsdale again," Lightning asked as she didn't think the other pegasi would be forgiven so easily when she definitely wasn't, however Dash just nodding her head in reply simply. "Yes and we intend to punish them soon enough for all that, but unlike you...they won't be left to rot in a cell for the rest of their lives," she said, lowering her voice a little and narrowing her eyes, as Lightning Dust looked slightly taken aback for a moment, before she glared to Dash once again and beared her teeth in anger. "no....NO! YOU CAN'T DO THIS! Those damn ponies in that vile town...this is all their fault, and they need to pay for all that they took from us...Y-YOU CAN'T JUST LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT LIKE THIS!" Lighting yelled as she hammered on the bars with both of her front hooves causing the other pegasi to all step back a little, them looking taken aback at how angry their former leader was right now, not only at Dash and Twilight, but also at all of them. "You can't...you can't do this," Lighting repeated as her voice lowered to almost a whisper, Dash and Twilight both still giving her stern expressions, as the Princess caught her attention and caused the turquoise mare to look back to her now. "It's all over Lighting Dust," Twilight simply stated as she caused Lighting to look back to her with a glare, knowing she had been defeated, but not willing to give in it still seemed as she just bit her lip and rested her head against the bars of her cell door, cursing under her breath while Twilight and Dash turned away from her. Princess Celestia coming over to the cell as she looked to Lighting and nodded to two of the royal guards by the door, as she gestured for them keep an eye on the locked up mare while she showed Twilight, Dash and the group of pegasi out of where the holding cells were. However it seeming like Lighting Dust still hade some fight left in her as she banged on the the bars of her cell again, "Hey come back here, I'm not finished talking with you all yet!" they all heard her yell as they left, the group of pegasi all giving one last glance to their former leader before they followed Twilight and Dash out of the door and soon were all making their way through the halls of Canterlot castle once again. "Lighting Dust will be moved to the prison here in Canterlot later this evening, where she will be kept a heavy watch over, so you can be sure she won't be getting out of there for a very long time," Celestia stated as Dash and Twilight just nodded back to her in reply. "Thank you Princess Celestia," Twilight said as she bowed to Celestia, while she just simply smiled back to her, and gestured towards the group of pegasi a moment later, causing Twilight to look over to them and nod her head slightly with a sigh, smiling back to Celestia, before she gave her a quick hug, and then turned to walk off and go back to tend to her Princess duties, clearly seeing that Twilight no longer required her help anymore. Twilight watching Celestia go as she smiled and now turned back to Dash and the group of pegasi, "Well then, we should probably head back to Ponyville and see how things are getting on there," she stated as Dash just nodded back to her with a smile, while the group of pegasi nodded as well, but they all still looked a little nervous at the moment. The Princess going to start walking and leading the way, however the mare that had been in charge of the pegasi until now stopping her as she called out to her, and spoke in a low tone, "Wait...before we go back, we want...to tell you something," she stated causing Twilight and Dash to look back to her with wondering expressions, as they simply waited for the mare to continue. The mare looked round to all of the others as they all nodded to her, seeming to have the same thing on their minds as they all bowed their heads to Twilight a moment later, "We're so sorry...for everything, and will accept any punishment that you give to us," they all said in unison, causing both Twilight and Dash to look surprised in response as they glanced to each other not knowing how to react at first, before the Princess soon looked back to the group of bowing pegasi and smiled slightly to them all. "Well you do all have to face consequences for the crimes you committed, but...as long as you promise not to cause anymore trouble for Dash and I, then...we won't be as harsh on you all," she explained as all of the pegasi just nodded quickly back to her in reply, before she nodded back to them and watched as they all lifted their heads back up again. Twilight about to turn and start leading the way again, but another voice stopping her in her tracks as a different pegasus spoke up and causd her to turn back around now. "Princess Twilight?" "Yes?" "Do you think..." the pegasus paused as they hesitated for a moment, looking nervous while they carried on, "Do you think that things really will change for the better with us and the ponies from Ponyville?" they asked in a low tone, causing Twilight to widen her eyes a little in reply, before her lips formed into a reassuring smile. "Of course I do," she simly replied with a confident expression, causing the pegasi to all look back to her with widened eyes, before she turned and getured for them all to follow her, all of them doing so as they whispered and smiled to one another slightly. "Well if I can do it, then so can all of you," Dash stated as she smiled to the group of pegasi, coming to walk beside Twilight as she just smiled to her marefriend slightly. "Yep although I'm kind of hoping it will be a little easier this time around," she said letting a small smirk form onto her lips, as Dash nodded to her before widening her eyes and raising an eyebrow back to her marefriend. "Hey what's that supposed to mean?" She asked with a playful stern stare, as Twilight just shrugged her shoulders simply in response, while the group of pegasi all gave small smiles to the couple as Dash just rolled her eyes before smiling back to the Princess again. All of them soon leaving Canterlot castle together and heading back to their homes once again.