The cars were silent as the hijacked train hurtled down the tracks. The masked woman had used her magic to close all of the curtains when she caught Applejack squinting out the window, trying to figure out where they were headed. As the train started to slow down, the Disharmonizer pulled ten blindfolds out of her bag and magically secured them over the eyes of all of her passengers.
Scootaloo, who refused to act scared, asked skeptically, "What's this for?"
"It will be much safer for you if you don't know how to get to where we're going."
Sweetie Belle whimpered.
"And where are we going?" Twilight asked calmly, keeping her eyes closed behind the blindfold.
"Where Twist will be safe."
"She's safe with us!" Applejack shouted.
The Disharmonizer tilted her head. "Until she gets to Canterlot, sure."
"She would have been safe there too!" Rainbow Dash countered.
The woman just chuckled. "Are you sure about that?"
"YES!"
"I'll let you discuss it with Discord when you meet him."
A collective gasp left all the blindfolded ponies. Tears soaked into Fluttershy's blindfold, and she choked, "We're meeting D-d-discord?"
"Yep. When he heard the Heroes of Equestria were coming, he just couldn't resist extending you an invitation."
Fluttershy whimpered silently.
The train came to a stop, and after a moment the doors to the cars slid open, with more Disharmonizers waiting to conduct everyone into the Everfree Forest. Once they were safely inside the treeline, they were loaded onto four jeeps that drove easily over the rough terrain of the forest trail and cut the trip to the castle from a few hours to just a few minutes.
When they reached the castle, more Disharmonizers helped the blindfolded women out of the jeeps and led everyone into the throne room. Then, with a swish of magic, the woman who had been with them on the train removed their blindfolds.
Everyone blinked and then stared around themselves in awe. From the inside, the throne room was completely restored to the way it had been when Discord had first arrived, with a few changes. The princesses' thrones had been replaced with a throne of Discord's own design, and the tapestries of Luna and Celestia now sported drawn-on mustaches and monocles. For the moment, the throne at the head of the room was empty.
"Welcome, everybody, to the Disharmony base," said the Disharmonizer that had stepped in front of them. She reached up as she spoke and pulled her mask off, shaking out her wild mess of chunky blue hair and grinning at them with red-irised eyes.
Rainbow Dash gasped. "Vinyl? You're a Disharmonizer?"
Vinyl Scratch grinned. "Oh yeah, man. I've been fighting for my freedom for years now."
"Freedom?" Applejack repeated.
"That's exactly what you're fighting against as a part of the Disharmony movement! You're helping an evil overlord to overthrow Celestia, which would end everybody's freedom!" Twilight started forward, but stepped back when she realized that at least six assault rifles surrounded the little group of captives.
Vinyl shook her head. "You really don't get it, do you?"
"Get what? How you betrayed Equestria?!" Rainbow's hands both clenched into angry fists.
"We betrayed Equestria?" One of the other Disharmonizers pulled off her mask, letting long black hair fall over her shoulders.
"Octavia? But...you disappeared last year!"
The cellist stood next to her DJ friend and smiled bitterly. "And Discord is the only reason I'm still alive."
"If anyone has betrayed Equestria, it's the Princess," Vinyl continued. "What kind of leader allows her subjects to be shot on the spot without even a trial?"
"She's protectin' us!" Applejack insisted.
"She has magic to detect traitors! They don't need a trial!"
"Do you really believe that?" asked a masculine voice, and everyone gasped as the lanky figure of a man materialized on the throne before them. Fluttershy screamed. He smiled. "It seems I don't need to introduce myself. And neither do you, my dears. Everyone knows the Heroes of Equestria, and who could forget their adorable sisters? And this one," he motioned to Octavia and she brought Twist forward, still simpering in fear. "You must be the accused."
"Don't hurt her!" Scootaloo shouted, fists clenched angrily by her sides.
Discord chuckled darkly as he slid off his throne and approached the young captive. "It seems I don't have to. Celestia's guards have already done a fair job of that." Placing a finger under her chin, he turned Twist's face this way and that, taking in the damage. Her left eye was dark purple by now, and her right cheek was red and swollen from where the guard had slapped her. He squinted at her nose, where a tiny cut caught his attention. "What's this one, child?"
Twist whimpered under his touch, and stuttered, "Th-they broke my glatheth..."
Without turning around, Discord called, "Derpy?"
"Yes, sir?"
"Do we have any spare glasses in the supply room?"
"Yes, sir."
"Bring me a pair."
The Heroes of Equestria watched in horror as the hand that he held Twist's chin with started to glow. Applejack had to restrain Rainbow Dash from rushing to stop him, but as quickly as it had come, his magic faded. Twilight frowned. It didn't seem like he had done anything. Then Twist reached up and brushed her hair away from her face, and they gasped. Discord had healed her injuries.
The redheaded girl stopped snivelling and stared at him in shock. "Th-thank you..."
Derpy returned with the glasses and Discord magically shrunk them to fit her head. She adjusted them on her nose and smiled.
The women watched in confusion, then whispered among themselves.
"What is he doin'?" Applejack asked. "Is he just tryin' to convince us he's kind to his followers?"
"I don't believe any of it!" Rainbow Dash insisted, loud enough for the room to hear. "Everybody knows what he does when he finds out that a Disharmonizer got caught!"
"A Disharmonizer?" Discord repeated, as if shock. "Did I say this girl was a Disharmonizer?"
"Well duh!" Rainbow retorted. "Why else would we be taking her to Canterlot?"
Discord raised one eyebrow, then looked down at Twist. "Tell them the truth, child. Have you ever seen my face before?"
Twist shook her head vehemently.
"I knew it," Pinkie whispered.
"He might have told her to say that..." Fluttershy mumbled.
"Who knows how much you torture your followers to maintain their loyalty!"
"She's probably afraid for her life if she tells the truth!"
Discord scowled at the indignant women, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. But Twist spoke up in her own defense. "It'th true! I didn't even know Dithcord until jutht now!"
"Then why are you accused?"
"I thaid thomething mean to Diamond Tiara. She wouldn't leave me alone, and tho I thaid..." She looked around at all the confused faces, and took a deep breath. "I thaid that 'if the Dithharmonizers come to Ponyville, I hope they get you firtht'..." She finished in a rush and buried her face in her hands when she finished.
The women gasped. Even Discord frowned.
"Then when I got home the guardth were waiting for me."
There was a long silence.
"And they were gonna SHOOT YOU for that?!" Rainbow Dash shouted.
"That Diamond Tiara," Rarity growled. "I always suspected her father was an informer." Her grip subtly tightened on Sweetie Belle's shoulder.
"Are you trying to tell us that you've never been a part of the Disharmony movement, Twist?" Twilight asked, looking at the girl seriously.
Twist nodded. "I never meant anything, I jutht wanted Diamond Tiara to leave me alone..."
"If she wasn't a Disharmonizer, why did ya bother bringin' us here, Discord?" Applejack demanded.
Pinkie Pie gasped. "It's because we were on the train! He wanted to kidnap us!"
Fluttershy whimpered.
Discord shook his head. "On the contrary, I didn't want to have you brought here. But we couldn't let you send Twist to her death, so we hijacked the train to keep her safe."
"If she's not a Disharmonizer, why do you care?" Twilight demanded.
Discord waved a tattooed hand. "Oh, call me a sentimentalist, but I don't particularly enjoy seeing children shot."
"They weren't going to shoot her!" Pinkie screamed.
"We were taking her to a trial!"
"We were trying to get her acquitted!"
Discord crossed his arms. "Do you know of anyone who has ever been acquitted of treason?"
There was silence as all of the women hesitated. Finally, Applejack answered, "No."
"Would you like to know why that is?" Discord asked.
"I have a feeling you're going to tell us anyway," Twilight said.
"Those 'trials' that you think the special cases get are nothing more than a private execution," Octavia said. "Taking them to Canterlot is just to get them out of the public eye, so that there won't be a scandal when they're shot. Celestia never even sees them."
"WHAT?!" all of them screamed at once.
Twist started crying.
"Celestia would never allow that!" Twilight insisted.
"She doesn't know about it!" Vinyl replied. "The guards do it all behind her back! We think they're getting payoffs from some third party, but we can't figure out who."
"Who could possibly have convinced the guards to go against Celestia's orders?" Rarity wondered aloud.
"We don't know," answered Octavia. "And we don't have anyone in Canterlot who's close enough to find out. We need someone on the inside."
"I don't suppose you ladies would be interested in taking a look around for us when you arrive in Canterlot?" Discord asked.
Fluttershy squealed in terror at the idea.
"Are you serious?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Spy on Princess Celestia for you?"
"Not on the Princess," Discord replied smoothly, "On her staff and those around her. See if you can find out who is pulling the strings with the guards. You'd be doing her a favor if you could identify a threat so close to her."
"He actually has a point," Pinkie mused.
"You'd just let us go?" Twilight asked skeptically. "What about Twist?"
"We'll take good care of her, don't you worry," Vinyl Scratch said.
Apple Bloom, Scootaloo, and Sweetie Belle all objected. Applejack piped up, "No way are we leavin' her alone here with you! She goes with us!"
Discord groaned. "If you're so eager to see this one executed, very well, take her." He pushed Twist back toward the group of women, and her friends rushed to embrace her.
"I'm afraid, however..." Discord continued, holding up one finger. "That we will need some form of security to ensure that you don't just run to Celestia and tell her where we're hiding."
"Security?" Rainbow repeated.
"One of you must remain here with us until the rest of you return." He grinned a dragon-toothed grin at them, and clasped his hands behind his back. "Any volunteers?"
There was dead silence in the room. Then, from the back of the little group, a soft voice said, "I'll stay."
Everyone spun to see Fluttershy staring at her feet, with one hand lifted timidly into the air.
"No, Fluttershy, you don't have to. I'll stay," said Applejack. Apple Bloom instantly squealed and clamped her arms around her sister's waist.
"No, I will." Rainbow Dash offered, but Scootaloo screamed in protest.
"I think I should remain here," Rarity announced, but Sweetie Belle was already in tears holding onto her sister's hand.
"No." Fluttershy said firmly, and looked up at them. "All of you have other people who depend on you. I don't have anyone who will need me while I'm gone. Besides, you girls will be back for me soon. I--I'm not afraid." She did her best to hold her head high as she walked past them to face Discord. "I volunteer to stay behind."
Discord grinned. "Excellent." He put an arm around her shoulders casually, and snapped his fingers. Blindfolds reappeared on all of the women's faces. "Escort the Heroes of Equestria back to the train and set it back on its original course. Let them see for themselves how Celestia's justice is done."
As they were led away, Twilight called back, "Don't worry, Fluttershy, we'll be back for you before you know it!"
Fluttershy tried to hold in her tears until her friends were out of earshot.