The walk back to Ponyville took longer than expected, mostly due to the trepidation Lyra felt.
The pain from her attack by Twilight had passed. Berry had given her comfort in the quarter of an hour it took her to recover but there was nothing she could do to calm her nerves.
Her secret identity had been blown right open. A bit of misplaced paranoia on Twilight's part had revealed it all, and in the worst possible circumstances. Now the unicorn was more afraid of Celestia than ever.
The thing that had frightened Lyra most of all was the ferocity of her sudden assault. She had never seen that side of Twilight before – in fact, she wouldn't have believed she was capable of violence, if she hadn't been the victim of it.
And Rainbow Dash had been there to witness it all. There was no way she would keep a secret like that to herself, especially after the upset it caused for Twilight.
The town came into view. Lyra stopped walking, too nervous to go any further.
Berry nuzzled against her neck in a show of comfort and support. "Come on, hun. You have to keep moving. No matter what happens, I'll be here to back you up."
She took a deep breath and sighed, then moved forward. As they approached, they saw a large gathering of ponies in the town square who were locked in an animated discussion. Lyra steeled herself and headed towards them.
The two spies were soon noticed and the other ponies fell quiet. They watched the pair approach – Lyra was the target of accusatory glares and expressions of distrust as she came closer.
Rainbow Dash, her mouth locked in a permanent snarl, flew up and over the crowd to confront the unicorn head on.
"You! You've got a lot of nerve, showing your face around here!" she said, "Twilight's gone. You realise that, don't you? She's gone. Nopony can find her anywhere. And it's all because of you!"
She shoved Lyra hard, causing her to tumble backwards. None of the other ponies spoke – their angry expressions said it all.
The other Elements of Harmony walked through the crowd until they were right behind Dash. Applejack and Rarity looked at Lyra through narrowed eyes, their mouths curved into a scowl. Pinkie Pie's mane had de-poofed ever since the news broke of Twilight's disappearance and she was still slightly tearful. Even Fluttershy appeared outwardly hostile towards the unicorn spy.
"All this time," said Dash, jostling Lyra with every sentence. "All this time you've been spying on us. Watching us. Everything we've done, everything we've said, you've been noting it down haven't you? Well, we're not putting up with it any longer! You're not welcome here any more. Get your stuff together and get the heck outta town!"
"Will you at least give me a chance to explain?" she said, pushing Dash back. "I told you, I work for Princess Celestia! I'm not the bad guy here! She needs ponies like me to keep an eye on things for her, to help keep the peace in Equestria."
"Begging your pardon, girl, but I'd say you've failed in that respect," said Applejack, stepping forward. "From what Dash told us, she was on the verge of getting Twilight to agree to come home when you stepped in and fouled everything up. Because'a you, things have gotten a whole heap worse!"
"Hey, that's not true," said Berry, "Dash came to us for help. She'd already frightened the hell out of Twilight by trying to grab her and drag her home against her will."
The farm pony frowned. "That true, Dash?"
"Well, I, okay – maybe I didn't help matters much," said the pegasus, "But it was Heartstrings here who turned Twilight into a quivering wreck!"
"She's not Heartstrings," said Pinkie, "She's a liar. A fraud. Nothing that she said or did was true, it was all an act. She's a spying, lying, fraudifying Fakey McFakington!"
The pink pony's outburst caused her emotions to get the better of her and she dissolved into tears. Rarity and Fluttershy went to comfort her, all the while glaring at Lyra.
"Come on, guys," said Dash, addressing the crowd. "Let's show her what we think about ponies who hurt our friends. Let's kick her out. She doesn't belong here."
Lyra stepped back as the other ponies rounded in on her, led by the rainbow-maned pegasus. There didn't seem to be any way of reasoning with them.
Berry had had enough. She jumped in front of Lyra and reared up on her hind legs, spreading her front legs wide in a protective stance.
"Stop this," she said, "The only thing she's guilty of is trying to protect all of you. You have no idea of the things she may have done to help Equestria - the criminals she's helped to catch, the threats she's prevented. I know you're upset, but think about it: could anypony who works directly for Celestia have bad intentions at heart? All you're doing is looking for a scapegoat when we should be trying to find Twilight!"
The crowd hesitated, realising the truth in her words. Dash, however, was still riled up and wasn't willing to compromise her position.
"It doesn't change what she did to Twilight, whether she meant to or not," she said, "Stand aside. I always knew there was something off about her – never going out that much, always playing that weird harp thing by herself. It's always the quiet ones, isn't it?"
"I won't let you talk about her like that!" said Berry, "She's a good mare with a kind heart! If you want to get to her, you'll have to come through me!"
Dash snorted. "What are you, her marefriend? If you think I'm going to let her get away with…" she trailed off, noticing a cluster of white sparks in the air above them. "What the heck is that?"
There was a bright flash. When the ponies reopened their eyes, Princess Celestia was coming down to land beside Berry and Dash.
The crowd gasped as one and moved back to make room for her. Dash's bravado left her and she joined the others in bowing before their ruler. The goddess of the Sun regarded the gathered ponies grimly – she had come immediately after receiving a message from Noteworthy.
"I suppose you want an explanation," she said impassively. The ponies remained in a bowing position, with only a couple daring to look up. Dash was among those brave few, though she quickly averted her gaze when she caught Celestia's eye.
"Rainbow Dash," she said, "For a pony who is supposed to represent the Element of Loyalty, you are disappointingly quick to turn on a fellow resident of Ponyville."
"But she's been spying on us! She…" She stopped as she realised she was speaking to the one responsible for giving Lyra her mission.
"Yes, she has. Under my command. Everything that she told Twilight was true and everything she has done has been aimed at protecting Equestria. Your behaviour towards her is not acceptable, Dash – and that goes for everypony here."
The crowd remained silent, downhearted after their admonishment. Berry stepped aside as Celestia walked towards Lyra.
"As for you, Lyra," she said, "There's not much more I can say. You are well aware of the severity of your failure. The finer details of how much blame can be laid on your head will be worked out later, as will the level of your punishment. All that matters now is finding Twilight before something terrible happens. As much as it grieves me to say it, my student has become highly dangerous."
"Dangerous?" said Lyra, "Your highness, please – she's lost, tired, confused. She doesn't mean harm to anypony, the situation just got out of hoof…"
"She launched a violent mental assault on you that, if sustained, would have resulted in brain damage or death. How can you possibly stand there and tell me that she's not dangerous?"
Lyra was unable to respond. There was a murmuring of worried conversation among the crowd, which stopped immediately with one glare from Celestia.
"We need to find her this instant. From this point on, I will be joining your search," she said, "I have ordered a contingent of the royal guard to go to the other districts of Equestria but the hunt will be co-ordinated from here, led by the other spies I have planted in your midst."
Berry held her hoof to her mouth in shock as Celestia walked up to her.
"Berry Punch, get Golden Harvest and Noteworthy and meet me back here as soon as possible. The three of you know this area better than anypony in town."
The purple earth pony felt her legs buckle but she managed to stay upright. After recovering, she ran off towards Noteworthy's house, trying to avoid meeting the astonished gazes from the crowd.
****
Minutes later, Celestia and her spies were gathering teams to effectively search the area around Ponyville.
The ponies were shocked to learn that Berry Punch, Carrot Top and Noteworthy had been keeping tabs on them, but the impact had been lessened by the earlier revelation about Lyra. They were much more willing to forgive them, especially with the princess there to call the shots.
This left Lyra as very much the outsider. She had been outed first, making her the target of Ponyville's ire – not to mention the fact she was, in part, responsible for Twilight's current distress.
The other spies were put in charge of three separate search parties.
Carrot Top, with her in-depth knowledge of the Everfree forest, was made the leader of the largest team. They would hunt through the undergrowth for any sign of the princess's errant ex-pupil. The pegasi were ordered to take care of the areas that were known to be dangerous, as they would be more able to escape at the first sign of trouble.
Berry Punch had the second largest squad, which would visit the neighbouring towns. She had friends all over and knew the right ponies to ask for information.
That left Noteworthy's team, which would remain in Ponyville and only check the immediate outskirts. As he was less mobile, he would stay at home just in case Twilight returned.
Princess Celestia stood outside the town library, in front of the gathered search parties.
"You have your orders," she said, "I shall be scouring Equestria by myself, but should any of you find her I want you to contact me immediately. Spike will send me a message. Now go."
Twilight's assistant stood beside Noteworthy as they watched the teams depart.
The young dragon sighed sadly. He felt completely helpless – all he could do was wait and hope for somepony to find her.
Noteworthy had other ideas. He took grip of the wheels on his wheelchair and moved away, heading for his house.
"Hey, where are you going?" asked Spike, "Celestia said we were supposed to stay here."
The stallion paused, holding his chin as he thought something over. He turned to Spike. "Can you keep a secret?"
"What? What's this about?"
"You promise me that you'll keep this to yourself, okay?" he said, "Leave a note on the library door to tell anypony that comes by that we've gone to my house. I'm not willing to just wait around. I have something that can help us find Twilight Sparkle."
****
Time was passing by so slowly. It had been days since her last attack. Days since the last bloodshed, and even that had been unsatisfying.
She needed something more. There were only two days to wait now, two days until this was all over, but her thirst for vengeance was making her impatient.
The little voice inside her that had told her to wait so far was being drowned out by the others – make them suffer, make them pay, imagine the release you'll feel, the pleasure of seeing them broken at your hooves, begging.
She didn't know how much longer she could hold it off. She was already marking out potential victims. Ponies who wouldn't be missed if they suddenly disappeared. Ponies who had enemies in town.
The prime candidate was clear, especially after recent events. Heartstrings – or to give her her true name, Lyra. If she was killed, there would be a huge number of suspects.
Nopony would suspect. The plan could still go ahead as scheduled.
But no, she had to wait. Just a little longer. Just a little longer.
****
"Twilight? Twilight, come out. We just want to help you."
The purple unicorn nestled herself within the forest undergrowth, trying to make herself as small as possible while the other ponies passed by, their torches shining in the night. Evening had fallen a few hours ago and the forest was turning pitch dark.
She could cast an invisibility spell for reassurance but she was tired, drained. No, if she was to defend herself against Celestia, then she had to conserve her strength. Now she knew the truth - that the princess thought she was dangerous - a confrontation seemed inevitable. With all of Ponyville out searching for her and heaven knew who else, escape seemed impossible.
There was no way she could protect herself on her own. She needed allies. Her friends were out of the question, as was the rest of ponykind. They were too loyal to the princess and would never turn against her.
What she needed was someone who was an outsider. That was why she had returned to the Everfree forest. If there was anyone who could help her, it was Zecora.
The search party had moved on, their voices distant. Twilight pulled herself forward on her stomach to the edge of the undergrowth she had been hiding in, then peered out to see if the coast was clear. There was nopony in view.
Moving as quickly and quietly as she could, she lifted herself up from the muddy ground and extricated herself from the prickly branches. The dead tree in which Zecora had made her home was nearby.
She kept low, staying on high alert for any traps or other surprises. She didn't believe the area would be left unguarded, they had to know that she might try to contact Zecora.
Soon the tree hut came into view. It lay in a clearing and the only sign that anyone was here was the candlelight flickering from within the window.
Twilight tentatively walked up to the front door that was built into the trunk, gingerly raising her hoof and knocking twice.
There was no response for a short while and she was hit by a sudden instinct to run.
Before her nerves could get the better of her, the door opened slightly and a familiar face showed itself through the gap.
"Twilight, my dear – why are you here?" It was Zecora – her expression showed concern, so there was a strong chance she already knew the answer to her question. But, more importantly, she appeared to be alone.
The unicorn felt an overwhelming sense of relief to see a friendly face at last, someone she was certain she could trust. She pushed her way into the zebra's hut and wrapped her hooves around her neck, inadvertently pulling her to the ground.
"Zecora, you have to help me," she said, her voice strained. "I've made a terrible mistake and now Celestia and all of Ponyville is after me."
"I would like to help you, but first you will have to let me up," she said, gently pushing the upset and muddy mare away. "Now tell me, Twilight, what have you done to anger the goddess of the Sun?"
The unicorn grimaced, then finally realised she would have to tell somebody what had happened if she was going to find a way out of this.
"The princess has several statues in her courtyard," she said, "Discord is kept prisoner there and… and something he said got me thinking, what if the other statues used to be alive as well? What if they were ponies who Celestia turned to stone as well?"
She felt herself beginning to tear up and coughed in a vain attempt to clear her throat. "I cast a cockatrice remedy on one of the statues. I didn't expect anything to happen, but it did, it… oh, Zecora. Celestia's been turning ponies into stone and now she's going to do the same to me!"
The zebra didn't respond for a moment. Carrot Top had visited her earlier that day to inform her of the situation. Zecora had been the only other creature apart from Noi whom she had shared her secret job and identity with, and they had been working together for some time to ensure the Everfree forest remained safe for the surrounding ponyfolk.
Her mission was clear. She now appeared to be the only one left who Twilight trusted – she had to either encourage her that she was not in any danger, or find a way to inform the princess she was here.
"So let me see… you thought this meant you would face the same punishment?" she said, "Princess Celestia is just and kind – do you not think your troubled mind has amplified your darkest fears, while your friends all sit at home, in tears?"
"There's more to it than that. I was already in Celestia's bad books. She was planning to send me away to the Griffon Kingdom, for goodness' sake! And I found out just recently, she… she's been spying on me."
She gasped. Carrot Top had not informed her about this. No wonder the poor mare was acting so paranoid – though she wondered how much she really knew.
"A spy? Well then, something's amiss – tell me how you learned of this."
"It was Heartstrings. I thought she was my friend, but… Zecora, Celestia's been spying on me because she thinks I'm dangerous," said Twilight, starting to cry. "Now she's coming to make sure I'll never be a threat again, and I'm tired, I'm confused and I don't know what to do!"
She began to sob and pressed her head against the zebra's neck, letting out all of the emotions that had built up over the course of the past day. Zecora stroked her mane gently, trying to soothe her.
Eventually the tears subsided. They had helped – Twilight felt relieved, somehow, as if she had lessened some of her burden by sharing it with her friend.
Zecora's concern had deepened, however. It was clear that Twilight was too out of it, too lost in her fear, to be reasoned with effectively. It would be far better to encourage her to sleep, so the royal guard could pick her up without any trouble.
She passed the unicorn a towel so she could clean herself up, then led her to a corner of her hut.
"I can understand your fear. You are welcome to stay here," she said, "You are exhausted – perhaps it's best if you take this time to get some rest."
She indicated towards the blankets on the floor that she normally slept in. Twilight sniffled, then nodded her head.
"Y – yes. I'm so tired. You're probably right," she said, then held a hoof to her forehead. "I don't know how I'm going to fall asleep when I'm feeling like this, though."
"My dear friend, I quite agree. Let me find a remedy." Zecora scanned through the various potions, pills and concoctions on her workbench to find something suitable. She lifted up a plant root that was used in medicines to help to calm the nerves – in its untreated form, it was quite potent.
"Chew this root and you will sleep for a few hours – nice and deep."
Twilight took the plant from her and placed it in her mouth, then wrapped herself up in the blankets. Zecora smiled with relief and watched over her friend for a while, to ensure she fell asleep. Soon, her nightmare would be over.
But Twilight had no intention of drifting off just yet. Once she was completely covered up, she spat out the root and waited until Zecora was certain she was unconscious. As the zebra walked away, Twilight made a gap in the blanket so she could keep watch and see what she did next.
Zecora opened a drawer and pulled out a sheet of paper, then picked up a featherless quill with her mouth and began writing. Her message was finished quickly – it couldn't have been more than a sentence long.
She let out a whistle and, after a short wait, an exotically-coloured bird appeared at her window. She rolled up her message and attached it to the bird's leg.
She spoke in a low whisper: "Take this missive and do not stop…"
Twilight leapt to her hooves, still covered by her blanket, halting the zebra mid-rhyme.
"What are you doing? What are you – agh!" The unicorn's hoof got caught in one of the folds, causing her to trip. She growled in frustration and, instead of simply untangling herself, used her magic to tear the blanket apart.
When she looked up, the bird was gone. Seething with rage, she advanced on a worried-looking Zecora.
"Who did you send that to?" Twilight shook her head. "No, don't answer – I know already. How could you betray me like this? You were the last one I could trust! How could you do this?"
Zecora held up a foreleg in self-defence. "I'm only trying to do what's best. You really should just try…"
"No!" she shouted, "You think I'm just going to wait for Celestia to catch me? You think I'm just going to lie down and die? I'm not giving up!"
She ground her teeth together as she marched up to Zecora, getting so close their faces were almost touching. "There's still hope. I'm not finished yet! If I can't rely on my friends, then I'll just have to find someone else to help me! And I'm not going to let you stand in my way!"
The zebra pressed herself up against the wall, flinching away from the spittle flying from the enraged mare's mouth.
"Twilight," she said, so shaken that she broke her normal speech pattern. "Twilight, what are you going to do?"
The unicorn took a step back, looking down at her former friend with contempt. "I'm just trying to defend myself. That's all. Don't follow me."
With that, she turned her back on Zecora and left the hut, being careful to avoid the attention of any search parties.
Zecora breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment there, she had believed Twilight was actually going to attack her.
At least she would be able to pass on a clue to Celestia, when she got here. Twilight said she intended to go to someone else for help, someone who wasn't a friend. It was just a case of working out who that could be.
****
Several hours had passed. It was past midnight and although it was still pitch dark, the sky was starting to grow lighter.
Twilight had a short time left to do this – it would be morning soon. It had been a tough journey, made slightly easier by limited use of her teleportation spell. Once she had left the Everfree forest there had been fewer search parties but it had been harder for her to hide herself.
But hopefully it had all been worth it, even though she still couldn't believe she was actually about to go though with this.
She had racked her brain to come up with someone, anyone who she could definitely trust to help her, but no-one had come to mind. That left one other possibility – was there anyone who would be willing to fight Celestia, even if they couldn't be fully trusted as an ally?
She hesitated at the edge of the lawn – she had engaged her invisibility spell several minutes ago to protect herself from prying eyes. This was massively risky but she was desperate. There was no-one else she felt she could turn to.
She looked up – ahead of her lay Canterlot Castle. Most of its lights were dimmed. Only the night guard would be up at this time but she had to be careful. One false move and she would be discovered.
Her heart pulsing, she stepped forward into the courtyard where her nightmare had begun. Celestia's victims remained frozen in place, held in stone forever – unless somepony could free them. There was one statue that Twilight was interested in. The being who had alerted her to the truth about her mentor.
Discord.
Nothing he had done could be classed as evil, she told herself. It was just mischief, really. Sure, he took sociopathic pleasure in making ponies' lives miserable, but was he dangerous?
No. If Celestia could class her own student as dangerous, then her judgement couldn't be trusted. Discord was just misunderstood.
Twilight, still cloaked by her magic, looked up at the draconequus with determination.
"Discord," she whispered, "I don't know if you can hear me, but going by what you said earlier I have a feeling that you can. I'm here to… oh, this is going to sound crazy, but I'm here to ask for your help.
"What you said before, about the princess turning ponies into stone. I didn't even consider it at the time, but then the thought took root. It grew. I had to find out the truth and, and…"
She sighed heavily, trying to keep her emotions in check. "You were right. Now the princess is after me. You're the only one who can stop her. I know you won't help me without a price, so I'm going to offer a deal. You save my life, and I'll let you roam free. I won't make a move to stop you, you can do whatever you want. Just… just make sure that nopony else suffers your horrible fate."
Twilight stared up at Discord's face, still frozen in the fearful expression he had when he was hit by the Elements of Harmony. There was no way of telling whether her message had gotten through but she couldn't delay it any longer.
Concentrating hard, she cast the cockatrice remedy on Discord's statue. She maintained her invisibility spell but she couldn't hide the glow of her magic. She had to work fast.
Her spell had no effect but she wasn't concerned yet. Like before, she would have to increase the power before it worked.
Digging deep into her reserves, she pushed harder, keeping a keen eye for the first signs of the draconequus coming to life.
Still nothing. The enchantment placed on Discord felt different to the one on the pony she almost freed that morning, but there was no reason why that should be the case. Surely they were both under the same spell.
It was a subtle difference but Twilight could tell that something wasn't quite right. The stone curse on Discord wasn't just resistant to her spell, it was actually fighting back. There was something else keeping him as a statue, something much more powerful than Twilight could deal with.
She stopped her spell. There was nothing she could do. Her last hope had been exhausted.
She fought the urge to cry. It seemed hopeless, but giving up was not an option. She would have to think again – perhaps there was another way she could save herself.
"Twilight Sparkle, what are you doing?"
A stab of horror spiked her in the chest and she froze. She recognised that voice – its majestic quality, with a tone of shocked disappointment.
She turned around, her movement slowed by her almost primal fear of being caught.
There they stood in the light of the castle doorway, their silhouettes instantly recognisable.
Princess Luna, the goddess of the Moon.
Her brother Shining Armour, commander of the Canterlot royal guard.
And behind them were about a dozen of the castle's elite guards, their weapons gleaming in the moonlight.