//------------------------------// // The Best Laid Plans // Story: Twilight Sparkle Is... Princess Under Fire // by PegasusMesa //------------------------------// Stumbling down the corridor, Trixie took a moment to lean against the wall and catch her breath. Her leg wrapped around her stomach as she winced in pain from the blow Twilight had landed just minutes earlier. “Twilight Sparkle,” she growled between pants. “We haven’t finished our fight, yet.” Gritting her teeth, Trixie pushed off from the wall and proceeded towards the boss’s room. “Yoooo, Trixie, you aren’t lookin’ so good.” She glanced up to see Gilda, leg still bandaged, walk out of a room to the right. “Did Sparkle mess you up, too?” “A lucky kick,” Trixie muttered. “She caught Trixie by surprise, that’s all. Now move aside!” She pushed past Gilda, who made no movement to stop her. “The dork went in to see the boss,” Gilda said with a chuckle. “You missed your chance.” Trixie glanced down the hallway to the last door. “The boss leaves everything to her underlings,” she said. “She’ll call for one of us to—” The door exploded outwards and Twilight hurtled through, slamming into the far wall. Celestia daintily stepped through the wreckage to approach her. “Oh, Twilight,” Celestia said, her serene smile never once faltering. She reached up to stroke her goatee. “I expected much more from you.” Twilight suddenly lunged forward, but her opponent grabbed her by the throat and slammed her against the wall. “I shall ask you once more: will you join me?” Celestia's one visible eye glinted, the other hidden behind an eyepatch. “Twilight!” Spike shouted from his cage. “Are you okay?!” Twilight could only choke in response as her hooves beat weakly against Celestia’s foreleg. Trixie limped forth and cleared her throat. “Um, Boss?” she stammered. “Would you like any help?” “Ah, Trixie,” Celestia said without glancing away from Twilight. “I thought I smelled inferiority complex.” Gilda laughed loudly as a blush spread across Trixie’s face. “No, I believe I have matters well in hoof.” Twilight tried to speak, but her words came out as an indecipherable gurgle. “I’m sorry, my faithful student, what was that?” Twilight gasped as Celestia released some of the pressure on her throat. “I said—” She paused to cough “—your beard looks stupid.” She slammed all of her hooves backwards against the wall. “What do you mean? My beard is—” Celestia’s eye widened as the weakened wood she held Twilight to crumbled. They both fell through the wall and into the room behind it. Trixie lurched forward and glanced through to find that Twilight had scrambled away and regained her footing. Wheezing, she held a hoof up to her bruised throat. The room, although large, had few features of note, other than the hard concrete floor and a roof that appeared ready to collapse at any moment. “Well played,” Celestia said as she slowly stood and straightened her eyepatch. “Perhaps you will present more of a challenge this time, hm?” She leaped high and came crashing down, wings flared and hindleg pointed straight at Twilight’s head. Birds chirped overhead as Fluttershy and Pinkie trudged through the Everfree Forest. “I’ve never been to an abandoned factory before!” Pinkie said, bouncing in circles. “This is going to be the best—field-trip—ever!” “I think this might be too dangerous to call a field-trip,” Fluttershy said. Her eyes darted around as she scanned the undergrowth. “And if the bad ponies are using the factory, then it isn’t abandoned, either.” Pinkie paused and put a hoof to her chin. “Hm, good point. That reminds me—how did you get Rainbow Dash to tell you where they were, anyway?” “Well, I, um…” “C’mon, Fluttershy, knock it off!” Rainbow cried as she stretched her leg between the bars as far as she could. “This probably counts as torture!” “Only after you tell me what you told Twilight,” Fluttershy answered. She dangled a cookie just barely out of reach. Rainbow sighed explosively. “Fine!” she said with a scowl. “She’s going to the abandoned factory in the Everfree Forest. Now, would you please give me the cookie?” “Thank you, Rainbow,” Fluttershy said. “Make sure you tell the nice police chief what she wants to know, and I’m sure everything will be all right.” She dropped the treat into Rainbow’s waiting grasp. “...I have my ways,” Fluttershy finished, adopting a nervous smile. “Anyway, we need to hurry, before Twilight gets hurt. I’ll fly ahead and see what I can find.” She spread her wings and took to the air. “Okie dokie!” Pinkie shouted with a wave. “I’ll just keep on keeping on!” Humming to herself, she forged deeper into the woods. Hoof leading the way, Celestia descended quickly, clearly intending to end the fight with a single blow. However, Twilight had managed to recover her bearings and, after deflecting the approaching leg, she lashed out with an uppercut of her own. Just before the attack landed, Celestia gave a powerful flap of her wings and floated over Twilight's head. Twilight’s hind leg kicked back, but Celestia caught and lifted it, flipping Twilight forwards. With a loud grunt, she landed on her back. “I taught you better than this,” Celestia chided as she raised a hoof and stomped down hard. Twilight opened her eyes just in time to see the danger, and a timely roll to the side delivered her from harm’s way just as Celestia’s hoof bashed a small crater into the concrete floor. Twilight hopped to her feet. “I don’t understand why you’re doing this,” she said, “and I don’t know why you kidnapped Spike, but it ends here.” “Now is not the time for explanations,” Celestia said. Her horn crackled, and a long board, encompassed by her magic’s aura, lifted into the air. “Perhaps later I shall give you the answers you seek—provided you're still alive, that is.” As the board swung towards her, Twilight’s eyes widened and she leaped straight upwards. Unfortunately, the board struck one of her legs, and she spun in mid-air before once more landing on her back. Just as her vision started to clear, she felt something grab onto her tail. “Care for a spin, Twilight?” Celestia’s hooves had a firm grip and refused to relinquish their prize, despite Twilight’s struggles. “Let go of me!” she started to say, but the end of her sentence became a scream as Celestia spun a circle. Twilight’s body left the ground. “Ceeeeleeeestiiiaaaa!” Her tail felt close to ripping off when Celestia finally let her go. Like a living bullet, Twilight collided head-first with the wall and punched through so that her rump and hind-legs dangled above the floor. “You disappoint me.” Celestia walked towards her at a steady pace. “I had hoped that you, of all ponies—” Suddenly, Twilight’s leg kicked up, catching Celestia under the chin. Head thrown back, she staggered backwards as Twilight pulled herself out of the wall. “Is that fulfilling enough for you?” Twilight asked with a scowl. “Or are you still disappointed?” A shallow wound on her forehead bled profusely, threatening to blind her right eye. Her legs wobbled underneath her. Celestia stabilized her footing and brought her head back down. “I admit, that was unexpected,” she said as she wiped a trickle of blood from her chin. “See if you can do it again.” She charged forward. Twilight dodged two quick jabs and deflected a third, but couldn't avoid the powerful left hook that punched through her defenses and struck her in the ribs. A crunching noise cracked through the air, and Twilight only barely managed to stay on her feet. She lashed out and landed a glancing hit, but Celestia shrugged the blow off like she would a puff of wind. Both of her front hooves came crashing down on Twilight’s back, laying her out sprawled on the ground. As Celestia stood over her, Twilight’s horn faintly glowed, and a large section of the rotting ceiling detached. Celestia’s gaze snapped up, but she couldn't get out of the way before the debris crashed down on her. A sidelong leap kept Twilight out of harm’s way, even as her injured ribs protested the movement. She pushed herself up on one leg, breathing heavily as she inspected the pile of wood under which her former mentor lay. “I-is it over?” she gasped. Her eyes widened as the detritus shifted. “Hardly.” Celestia stretched to her full height, shaking splinters from her flowing mane. “Again, you surprise me. I would expect nothing less from my faithful student.” She reared back and kicked Twilight viciously in the stomach. The blow sent her rolling, and she only stopped when she hit the far wall. Twilight fought to stand, but her legs would obey no longer. “Not—” Her side screamed as she gulped at the air “—not your student.” Celestia plodded towards her. “You make that abundantly clear,” she said. “A true student of mine wouldn't have abandoned me.” A brief spasm momentarily contorted her features. “I betrayed you?” Twilight said, ignoring the pain in her ribs that begged her to stop speaking. “I’m not the one in charge of some crazy evil organization that, so far, has done nothing but try to kill me!” “Remember, now is not the time for explanations.” A levitation spell caught hold of Twilight and lifted her into the air. “We’re still not quite done, here.” Celestia turned to the hole through which they had entered, and called, “Gilda? Would you come in here, please?” Gilda poked her head into the room. “Weeeell, look who it is,” she said, eyes fixing on the bloodied Twilight. “What can I do for ya?” “Here.” Celestia dropped Twilight at Gilda’s feet. “Enjoy yourself, but try not to kill her.” Twilight groaned weakly. “Oh, gladly,” Gilda said as her beak curved into a wicked smile. A lightning bolt cracked through the air, striking the invisible barrier above Ponyville that stood between Luna and her goal. The air wavered for a moment before the unseen wall vanished once more. “Just—once—more,” Luna gasped, chest heaving. Like before, her horn sparked and sent a stream of electricity arcing towards Discord’s spell. A sound like shattering glass rang out and a translucent shield fractured and dissipated. The sun peeked over the horizon as Luna descended into Ponyville and landed in the town square. Aside from her, not a living thing could be seen. “Where would Twilight be?” she said softly, still breathing hard from the effort of breaking Discord’s barrier. “I should start at the police headquarters, which is…” She paused to organize her thoughts. “Which is in the orchard. Very well.” Despite her fatigue, Luna spread her wings and moved on. Twilight rebounded off the wall and hit the floor, landing on her more injured side. As she groaned and rolled over, Gilda approached, cracking her knuckles. “This was worth the wait,” the gryphon said with a grin. She kicked Twilight in the ribs, drawing forth a pained moan. Off to the side, Celestia pulled out a file and started to work on her hooves. “Trixie,” she said. “Would you be so kind as to inform the remaining Wonderbolts that we will evacuate this hideout within a few hours?” “Yes, Boss,” Trixie said from the hallway, bowing and nodding. “Right away!” She turned and ran to obey her orders. A loud “thump” resounded as Gilda kicked Twilight in the stomach. “You know,” Twilight said, “you might want to—” She paused to take a deep breath, making her ribs scream in protest “—might want to stop.” Gilda cocked her head. “And why’s that?” Twilight drew another shuddering breath. “Because if you don’t, you’ll just be beating a dead horse. Heh heh.” A cough wracked her body, and she spat out a mouthful of blood. “Ha.” “Yeah, freaking hilarious,” Gilda said as she kicked out again. “Every time you make a joke like that, a puppy drowns.” “Celestia,” Twilight croaked, coughing once more, “can it be time for explanations now?” Celestia sighed and threw the file over her shoulder. “I suppose, if you really wish.” “Um, Boss?” Gilda glanced at Celestia sidelong. “Should we really be telling her anything important?” “She won’t live long enough to do anything about it,” Celestia answered. She approached Twilight and loomed over her. “I suppose you want to know what our goals are, is that right?” Instead of speaking and tormenting her beaten body, Twilight merely nodded. “I deal in weapons,” Celestia said. “And nothing is better for business than a little strife, am I correct?” “You mean all of this is just to make money?” Twilight couldn't help but interject. “Yeah, pretty sweet, right?” Gilda said with a grin. She rolled Twilight onto her stomach and sat on her back. “My friend, Gilda, provides the merchandise, and I provide the situations in which business can boom,” Celestia continued as she paced a circle around Twilight. “However, I’m thinking of stepping up production, as it were.” With the weight on her back, the wide-eyed Twilight could barely breathe, let alone speak. “Huh?” Gilda glanced up. “How would you step up production? I’m the one in charge of the weapons!” “I know.” Celestia stopped pacing directly behind Gilda. “I want to spark something massive. These small-town turf-wars bore me.” “Oh, I see, I see,” Gilda said with a nod. She placed a claw to her chin. “A bigger conflict means more clients—I like it. So, what’d you have in mind?” “A war between Equestria and Gryphonia.” For a long moment, silence reigned in the dusty room. Gilda’s beak dropped open as she fought to find the words to express her thoughts. Finally, she swallowed hard and spoke. “D-did I hear you right? A war between Equestria and Gryphonia?” “Indeed, you did,” Celestia said, her serene smile firmly in place. “The opportunity for profit will be immense.” “N-n-no! No way!” Gilda stood and stomped the ground right next to Twilight’s head. Twilight couldn't help but flinch, despite her best efforts. “I’m fine with the little stuff, and maybe even a border skirmish or something, but a war? That’s too much.” “Oh?” Celestia’s eyes glinted, but Gilda had already turned to the door and didn’t notice. “Should I assume that you wish to terminate our partnership?” “You bet your ass!” Gilda snapped. She paused with her claw on the doorknob. “No way am I getting in that deep! Can you imagine the shit I would be in if my government found out I was involved?” “Very well,” Celestia said. She glided forward and placed her forehooves on Gilda’s back. “Thank you for your time. I greatly appreciate your patience, and your continued assistance in my endeavours.” “What do you mean, ‘continued assistance’? I already told you I—” Celestia took hold of Gilda’s head and jerked it around, snapping her neck. “No!” Twilight shouted. “Why would you do that to her?!” Gilda’s lifeless body fell to the floor. Celestia opened the door and gestured a pair of ponies in. “Come in, come in,” she said graciously. When she saw who had entered, Twilight’s eyes widened even further. “What are…” The Cakes, huddling close to each other, stood before her. “What are you two still doing here?” “You know what you saw, right?” Celestia said before they could answer. “You saw Sergeant Twilight Sparkle of the Ponyville Police Department snap the neck of Gilda, ambassador from Gryphonia to Equestria.” “Y-yes,” Mr. Cake said as he put a leg around his wife. “We know.” “If I don’t see that story on the front page of tomorrow’s newspaper, you know what will happen.” Celestia towered over them. Tears welled in Mrs. Cake’s eyes. “Yes, we do,” she said with a sniffle. “But if we do this, you’ll—” “I am a mare of my word,”Celestia said as she placed a hoof over her heart. “Off you go, then.” “We’re sorry, Twilight,” Mr. Cake said before they turned and trudged back out. “Celestia, I didn’t kill Gilda,” Twilight growled. Her horn crackled, but she didn’t have the strength to cast a spell potent enough to accomplish anything meaningful. “Why would you pin it on me?” Her eyes kept straying to Gilda’s corpse. “Because it’s all part of the game, my faithful student,” Celestia said as she tousled her mane. “And that’s all that’s truly important—” From the ceiling, Fluttershy dropped, aiming to plant both of her hooves in Celestia’s back. However, her target hopped backwards and swatted aside as one would a bothersome fly. She hit the floor and lay still. “Fluttershy!” Twilight cried, reaching out. Celestia reached down and picked Fluttershy up by her hind leg. “Don’t hurt her, please!” Celestia glanced at Twilight sidelong. “Oh, she means something to you, does she?” Her serene smile widened as she prepared to swing Fluttershy into the wall. “Well, what if I just—” “And here’s where I must put my foot down,” someone said. Celestia frowned and spun in place to find herself facing an odd conglomeration of dragon, pony, goat, and other species, all rolled into one being. “Kindly release that mare, and I’ll take it easy on you.” “What are you doing here?” Twilight asked, frowning at Discord. Then, everything suddenly clicked into place in her mind. “You did this! You—” “Yes yes, we can play the blame game later,” Discord said with a dismissive wave, “but right now, the adults are talking.” He turned back to Celestia. “Now, as I said, let her go and this won’t get too ugly.” “And if I refuse?” she said. “What then?” Discord sighed and raised his hand. “Then I have to do this.” He snapped his fingers, but instead of whatever he meant to happen, a burst of energy exploded in his face and sent him reeling backwards. Celestia adopted a bemused expression. “Am I to be intimidated?” “Ha, um, I meant to do that,” he insisted. “Let’s try that again.” This time he clapped his hands together, but like before, a surge of magic detonated and knocked him back. “And I suppose you meant to do that, too,” Celestia said, stepping forward. “Huh,” Discord said. “Guess things have gotten worse than I thought. Well, I’ve done all I can, here.” He glanced at Twilight and shrugged. “Sorry, Princess, but you’re on your own.” “Discord, wait!” Her words were in vain, as he had already vanished from sight. “Well, I will admit,” Celestia said, “that was interesting, if a bit bizarre.” She suddenly slammed her hoof into Twilight’s head hard enough to make her sight grow dim. “Unfortunately for you, I think it’s time for us to move to the next stage.” Before Twilight’s vision completely blackened, she heard Celestia speak once more. “Remember: it’s all part of the game.” A powerful gust of wind rustled the tree branches in front of the Ponyville police station as Princess Luna came in for a landing. She took a moment to catch her breath, straighten her tiara, and smooth her mane before she marched to the front door and threw it open. “Ponies of the police department,” Luna shouted, voice shaking the building, “your princess has arrived! Attend me!” At the front desk, the attendant’s mouth hung open while she watched the dramatic entrance. When nothing further happened, Luna stormed up to the poor receptionist and glared at her. “I require information,” she stated. The attendant could only nod in response. “Where might I find the one known as Twilight Sparkle?” “Alright, who the hell’s doin’ the quakin’?” said a voice that gradually grew louder. “Knocked mah favorite mug onto the floor.” A door opened and Applejack stomped through, face contorted with rage. “When Ah catch the shithead responsible, Ah’m gonna—Madame President!” As her eyes fell upon Luna, an unconvincing smile spread across her features. “This’s a right surprise!” For a long moment, Luna stood stock-still. “Madame who-now?” she finally said. “Er…” Applejack’s smile faltered momentarily. “Right. It ain’t often that we get a visit from somepony so important. What can mah humble department do for ya today?” “Very well. Your, um, president?” Luna paused to consider her new title. “Yes, your president demands an audience with Twilight Sparkle. Pray tell, where is she?” A scowl replaced Applejack’s smile. “That piece-of-shit, no good—” With what appeared to be sheer willpower, she forced the rictus grin back into place. “Madame President, Ah’m afraid Sergeant Sparkle’s gone rogue on us. Against mah express orders, she managed to wring some info out of a suspect, and is in the process of actin’ on it.” “And where has she gone to do so?” Luna said with a frown. “Surely you, too, can obtain the same information, can you not?” “It’s what Ah was goin’ to do when ya showed up outta the blue,” Applejack said through gritted teeth. “I see! Well, let us go and see what we can learn!” Luna stood, gesturing towards the door. “Lead the way!” As Applejack nodded and turned, Luna heard her grumble. “I apologize, but I did not hear that,” Luna said. “Would you please repeat yourself?” Applejack froze in place. “Er, Ah said, miss mah glass, bit-dead,” she said slowly. “I fail to see the relevance, but it is of no concern.” Luckily for Applejack, Luna failed to hear her sigh of relief as they moved towards the holding cells. Floating in murky darkness, only one thought echoed in the depths of Twilight’s mind— Thank harmony, it was all just a dream. Why that was a good thing, or even what it meant, eluded her comprehension, but her relief was palpable. “Twilight!” said a voice that ghosted through the void. “Twilight, wake up!” There’s Spike, trying to get me out of bed, she thought. Something lightly tickled her nose. “Just a few more minutes,” she grumbled. “She’s coming to,” said someone else, whose words for some strange reason made Twilight’s hackles rise. “C’mon, Twi, you need to wake up!” Spike said, voice cracking. Whatever had tickled her nose intensified, and the sensation became an itch. “I’ll be down soon,” Twilight mumbled as she reached up to scratch her snout. Or, at least, she tried to reach up. “I think she figured it out,” the unknown voice said with a light chuckle. Twilight opened her eyes to find Celestia, beard and eyepatch still in place, an inch from her face. “What the hay?” she shouted. She tried to push Celestia away, but found that her legs wouldn't budge. As she regained her wits, she realized that she lay, splayed out, on a nearly vertical slab of concrete. Metal cuffs, embedded in the table, held her legs out wide in four directions. “Why am I like this?” A putrid scent, disgustingly familiar, wafted into her nostrils. “And what smells like a sewer?” “Why, that would be you, my faithful student,” Celestia said as she held up a lidded container. “Your lover had this salve on her, so I took the liberty of treating your wounds.” At the word lover, Twilight’s eyes widened. “She’s not—w-we didn’t—we aren’t—” Actually, she is, you did, and you are, her traitorous thoughts whispered. Twilight sighed and blushed. “Where is Fluttershy?” “Safe,” Celestia said with a light chuckle. “At least, safer than you. Speaking of that, you have yet to thank me for my medical aid.” “Why would you bother healing me?” “Because of the game!” Celestia exclaimed, lifting her legs expansively. “All of this is part of the game, you see.” “Yeah,” Spike said. Twilight glanced over to the side, where he sat locked in a bird cage. “Obviously.” He rolled his eyes. “A game?” Twilight said. “This isn’t a game! What happened to you? Where’s the Celestia who was my friend?” Celestia’s eyes flared. “I cannot reasonably expect you to know, but it still infuriates me that you remain ignorant of the role you played.” “Hooray,” Twilight said, trying to twirl her hoof in the air. “More backstory that I don’t know about.” “I raised you as my own, took you under my wing,” Celestia said as though Twilight hadn’t spoken. “I taught you how to be the best cop I could. Everypony said it was a waste of my talents, but I ignored them. Then, just when everything was going perfectly, you were offered a promotion.” Twilight pulled at her bonds. “Is this going anywhere?” she asked. “I suggest you have patience.” Celestia ran a hoof along Twilight’s cheek. “The longer I talk, the longer you live. You wouldn’t want me to skip to the part where you die, would you?” With a gulp, Twilight shook her head. “I thought not,” Celestia said. “As I was saying, you were offered a position in Ponyville’s police department, and despite the love and attention I had given you, despite any feelings I might have held for you, I approved of your decision to move on. In fact, I encouraged you to do so!” She turned and paced around the table. “And then, I heard nothing from you afterwards. You got what you wanted, and so left me and Canterlot behind.” “Wait,” Twilight said with a frown, “let me get this straight. You became a criminal—a murderer—because you had a crush on me and I didn’t return your love letters?” Celestia spun around and slammed a hoof down right beside Twilight’s head. “Do not think me so petty,” she snarled. Her usual smile had vanished, replaced by an almost feral scowl. “And any feelings I may have once harbored for you have long since vanished, believe you me.” “Then what is your motivation for this?” Twilight asked. Stepping back, Celestia took a deep breath and forced her face into a more neutral expression. “After you left, I continued my work at the Canterlot department. Some of my fellow policemares said that I wasn’t the same—and perhaps there is a kernel of truth to those words—but I was still the best cop in Canterlot!” Her eyes narrowed. “At least, until you took that away from me, too.” “If I was in Ponyville,” Twilight said with a raised eyebrow, “then what could I have done to ruin your career?” “You let a suspect escape!” Celestia shouted. The wild look returned to her face. “You let him get away, and he fled straight to Canterlot, where he became my problem! Then, when I finally had the murdering bastard cornered, he got in a lucky shot and took my eye!” She pointed emphatically to her eyepatch. “After that, my chief took me off active duty. She said I’d ‘lost my touch’.” Twilight snorted. “And so you’re taking it out on the world?” she said. “Celestia, the only thing you’ve lost touch with is reality. Look, I’m sorry for leaving you—” Even though I never did that “—and for indirectly causing your injury, but—” “The time for apologies is past,” Celestia said as she turned and picked something up from a nearby table. “You broke my heart, stole my eye, and ruined my reputation, and now it’s time for you to pay.” “What do you mean by that?” Twilight asked, craning her head to see what Celestia held. “Everypony will think you’re a murderer.” As Celestia fiddled with the object, it began to emit a regular tick noise. “That you started a war. However, I need to make sure that Equestria is equally committed to the fight, so further sacrifice is necessary.” Twilight’s eyes widened as she noticed the digital timer in Celestia’s grip. It had started to count down from twenty minutes. “I’ll wait long enough for news to get out about poor Gilda’s tragic passing, and then I will destroy Ponyville.” She placed the timer, and the bomb it was attached to, on the floor. “And now I must depart. You know how it is—places to go, ponies to see, and missiles to prime.” She turned to leave. “I’m sure your dear Fluttershy is growing lonely without anypony to keep her company. Oh, and feel free to try to disarm the bomb—I may or may not have built it to explode early if somepony were to tamper with it.” “Wait!” Twilight cried, halting Celestia in her tracks. “If all this is because I wronged you, then your problem’s with me! I’ll do whatever you want, but please don’t hurt anypony else!” “Oh, Twilight,” Celestia said. She returned to Twilight’s side and stroked her stomach. “My faithful student. You would like that, would you not?” She leaned in close and pressed her lips against Twilight’s. After a moment, Twilight grunted and wrenched her head away, and a scowl crossed Celestia’s features. “But the point is to cause you mental anguish, and destroying Ponyville accomplishes just that.” She spun back to the door and stalked out. “Farewell, my faithful student. Maybe if you try hard enough, we will see each other again.” “Celestia, at least take Spike with you!” Twilight yelled, to no avail. “He’s just a baby!” “Just think of it as motivation!” Celestia shouted back over her shoulder. “Do you escape and save poor Spike, or do you let him die?” “I…” Twilight's ear drooped. “I don’t know what to do.” The entire building rang with Celestia’s wild laughter.