//------------------------------//
// Hijacked 
// Story: The Disharmonizers 
// by ApplauseJunkie 
//------------------------------//

The train was empty except for the last two cars, the first of which held the six women, their sisters, and Spike, all of them agitated and nervous, and the final car, which held the prisoner and six heavily armed guardsmen, all watching her every move. The last car of the train had been specially designed as a prison car, and was used to transport traitors and criminals who were either too young or too old to receive the standard punishment, or those who were considered special threats and would be taken to Canterlot for questioning.

Rainbow Dash was still furious. "This is ridiculous. Twist is harmless."

"Celestia doesn't accuse people for no reason, Dashie." Fluttershy kept her eyes on her hands, which were folded in her lap. She hated seeing people dragged away for treason, but the fear of Discord and the Disharmony movement silenced any protest she might have. The shy young woman lived her life in a perpetual state of paranoia, forever fearful that she might fall victim to the invisible threat that stalked their streets. Dangers she could see were bad enough. One that was unseeable, but always there, breathing down her neck...it gave her nightmares.

"Ah think there's just been some kind of mistake. Twist ain't done nothin' wrong, and once we clear it up with the Princess, we'll all be able to go home." Applejack comfortingly ruffled her little sister's red hair, which Apple Bloom immediately reached up to straighten and adjust the red bow that always adorned her ponytail.

Even Pinkie Pie was less bubbly than usual. She had seen Twist frequently at Sugarcube Corner, where the little girl had asked for ingredients to make her own candies.  Now the pink-haired woman stared out the window, absently playing with the hem of her sky-blue t-shirt. She was running through every conversation she had ever had with Twist in her head, trying to figure out if she had accidentally revealed anything incriminating to the child. If Twist informed on her...well, no one knew what happened to somebody once the Disharmonizers got ahold of them. Stories told of people cut apart and their pieces scattered all over their city like some kind of sick Easter egg hunt. Some people said that Discord drank the blood of his victims, others that he hung them from the ceiling by hooks in their skin until they rotted and fell out. None of the stories were pleasant, and Pinkie's vivid imagination did nothing to help the matter.

Rarity was brushing Sweetie Belle's pink and purple hair with obsessive precision, keeping her mind occupied with making sure every curl was perfect instead of thinking about the current situation. It was terrifying, really, to think that such young children might be pulled into the Disharmony Movement. Twist was no older than Sweetie Belle and her friends. What would she do if her little sister joined the rebels? It was a horrifying thought. Her darling sister, whom she loved more than anything, could possibly be secretly plotting the downfall of all Equestria? It just didn't seem possible.

Twilight hadn't stopped pacing the length of the car since they had boarded. She was worried what seeing Twist would do to Princess Celestia. The ruler had been stressed already, and now she was about to be presented with a seven-year-old girl who had been swayed by the Disharmonizers. The usual sentence for the crime of disloyalty was immediate execution by a shot in the head, but when someone was exceptionally young or old and they were found to be traitorous, they were taken to Canterlot for individual judgement. Twilight had never been present for these trials, and did not know the outcome, but none of those accused had ever returned to their homes, so she assumed it was some kind of imprisonment. No matter who they were, traitors couldn't just be set free. Discord would find them, and their punishment for being caught wouldn't be nearly as merciful as a swift bullet to the head.

Twilight groaned. The last thing the Princess needed right now was to have the heroes of Equestria show up in defense of a young traitor. It would have been better if they had just sent Twist by herself. Celestia would be just, as always. It was highly unlikely that they would be able to alter her sentence in any way.

In the last car of the train, the little girl sat in a chair in the center of the car, her hands cuffed to the arms. The world was blurry since the guards had broken her glasses, and her wildly curly red hair kept falling in her face. She had to toss her head or blow on it to try and move it because her hands were secured, and the guards didn't care. Under her falling bangs, the skin around her left eye was turning purple.

When she whimpered, one of the guards growled. "Quiet, you."

Her nerves snapped. "I didn't do anything!" she wailed, bursting into noisy sobs.

Her wails turned to screams when one of the guards slapped her. "Shut up!"

Twist fought to contain her crying, and the men surrounding her restrained their abuse.

A heavy thud on the roof of the car made them all look up. In the preceding car, everyone jumped up and pressed their faces to the window. They gasped in unison. 

The train was surrounded on both sides by masked people on motorcycles. Some of them were carrying two passengers, and these were pulling close to the train, the backseat riders standing on their toes on the seats. When they were close enough, they jumped from the bikes to the roof of the train with more thuds.

"It's the Disharmonizers!" Sweetie Belle screamed.

Footsteps on the roof indicated that the boarders were headed to the engine of the train. Rainbow Dash spun and bolted to the door of the car, forcing it open and jumping up to follow the Disharmonizers. They were several cars ahead of her by the time she got to her feet, and she gritted her teeth, sprinting after them.

The black figures jumped into the cabin of the engine car and disappeared. By the time Rainbow caught up with them and swung into the window of the car, she was confronted with the barrels of three pistols.

"What the hell?" Rainbow looked from the guns to those holding them, all of them glaring at her out of black masks, to behind them, where conductor was sprawled on the floor, either unconscious or dead.

One of the masked faces shook their head at her, and put a finger to their lips. Another one of them spoke, as the third went back to the controls of the train. "We have everything under control up here," an oddly familiar voice drawled sarcastically. "You may return to your seat, ma'am."

Rainbow Dash glared at them. "I'm not going--"

"Perhaps you misunderstood, ma'am," the Disharmonizer's tone didn't change as she took a step forward, her gun aimed directly between Rainbow Dash's eyes. "It will be my pleasure to escort you back to your seat." She grabbed Rainbow by the arm and, still keeping her gun trained on her head, led her to the back of the car, through the door, and down the train to the car where her friends were waiting in mute terror.

When the door opened, everyone started up, but a quick shout of "Everyone hold still or this one's pretty rainbow will be all red!" froze them all in their place. The Disharmonizer thrust Rainbow Dash through the door and released her arm, shoving her towards her friends.

"Now then, welcome everybody to the Disharmony Express. I will be your stewardess for the evening, and we hope you have a pleasant ride. We will be directing your journey from this point forward, so if you have any questions you may direct them to me."

General confusion erupted in the car, some shouting protests and threats at the Disharmonizer and most of the younger ones screaming in terror. A gunshot through the ceiling silenced everyone.

"There is no need for alarm. None of you will be hurt if you cooperate."

"There are six guards in the next car!" Twilight screamed.

As if on cue, six gunshots erupted behind them. The Disharmonizer nodded. "Not anymore."

Apple Bloom started crying.

"Oh, don't worry, honey, Twist is fine."

"So she IS a Disharmonizer!" Rarity gasped in horror.

The masked face seemed to smile. "We couldn't let you ladies send her to her death, now could we?"

Twilight wanted to scream that they were trying to save her life, not take it, but she knew it wouldn't change anything. So instead she asked something that might help them. "Where are you taking us?"

From behind her gun, the black figure shook her head. "All I can tell you is that you'll have plenty of company."

Just a mile ahead, more dark figures were switching the tracks, guiding the train away from Canterlot and straight into the Everfree Forest. The tracks didn't go straight into the forest, of course, but passed close enough to the treeline that it was safe enough to stop the train and dash to the safety of the forest. After that, it was a few hours' walk to the center of the forest, where, in the crumbling ruins of the ancient castle of the royal sisters, Discord was pacing in his throne room.

He was a tall, lanky man, with glossy black hair pulled back in a ponytail. His pointed chin was decorated with a salt-and-pepper goatee, and when he pulled his lips back in a grimace it showed one grossly overgrown canine tooth. He clenched his left hand into a fist, his knuckles protruding from underneath the tattooed eagle claw that overlaid his own hand, the talons extending on his own fingers. On the opposite bicep, a tattooed lion paw tore painted holes in his skin with its claws. Under his filthy black t-shirt, his back bore two mismatched wings, one a light blue feathered wing, and one a purple bat wing. His left calf sported a horned goat's head, and on his right foot, an iguana wrapped its tail around his ankle. He had one other tattoo, one that practically no one had ever seen, a red tail beginning directly at his tailbone and coiling around his right thigh.

Around him, people scurried busily to and fro, organizing weapons and papers, yelling questions and instructions at each other from across the rooms and hallways of the old castle. Discord had been using the old castle for centuries, ever since Celestia moved to Canterlot. He had cast a spell around it so that it looked abandoned to outsiders, and even though the Princess had sent search parties to comb through the ruins several times, his lair had remained undetected. Most of it existed underneath the castle, in the catacombs and in tunnels below that Discord had dug with his magic. Not many Disharmonizers actually lived at the castle; they stayed in their own homes in cities across Equestria. Only high-ranking officers of the Disharmony Movement, those most wanted by Celestia, stayed in the rebel base.

"How many of them are there?" Discord called without looking up from his pacing.

"Eleven, sir," answered a blonde woman that stood nearby.

The Disharmony leader cursed under his breath. "There was only one accused! Who are the others?"

The woman blinked, her golden eyes vaguely off-center. "Princess Twilight and her friends intended to defend the accused at her trial."

Discord's pacing stopped, and he turned to stare at her. "What did you say?"

"Princess Twilight and her friends--"

"PRINCESS TWILIGHT SPARKLE IS ON THAT TRAIN?!" Discord roared, grabbing the woman by the front of her shirt.

"Y-yes sir."

He dropped her. "We're bringing a PRINCESS and the HEROES OF EQUESTRIA straight to the CASTLE?!" His eyes flashed red in anger. "Why don't we just set off fireworks from the tower that say 'Rebels, inquire within!'? What kind of hairbrained--" Suddenly, he paused, thinking. "Wait a second. Did you say they were on their way to defend the one accused?"

Derpy stood up and brushed herself off. "Yes, sir."'

Discord started pacing again, this time energetically in eager thought as he hatched an idea.