A red mist swirled through the room in Twilight's castle, alerting the cowering purple drake to a perceived threat. He dove under the bed, peeking out to see none other than his adoptive sister and new princess. He quickly climbed out, looking around nervously as Twilight sped around the room grabbing things and shoving them into a pair of saddlebags, "Are they gone yet, Twilight?"

Twilight flinched, but kept frantically looking for things to fill her bags with, "Yes, Spike, they're gone. Now listen, I'm going to have to go away for a while, probably a long time, I need you to be brave and stay here, okay? There should be enough in the emergency stores for the next year, and then the money should last you a while after that, if you're responsible. If I'm not able to come back by then, go to one of the girls, I'm sure they'll help you. Remember to take care of Owlowicious and Peewee, don't forget to brush your teeth every night... and... There's something I'm forgetting, but I don't have time." Tears were forming in her eyes as she hugged the baby dragon, "Remember that, no matter what, I love you, Spike."

Spike had become increasingly worried as she had gone on her list, it wasn't very Twilight like, too disorganized, and not very long, "Twi? You are coming back, right?" He was answered with silence as he hugged the Alicorn back, just now noticing the liquid running down his arm from twilight's face, "Twi, you're bleeding."

Twilight pulled back, and wiped her eyes, "Don't worry about that, Spike. Now, you have to promise that you'll stay with the girls or with the princesses, if it comes to that. You belong where it's safe. Also, don't hate Celestia or anyone else because of what they're going to be doing, they're doing it because it's their duty, alright?" Spike gave her a skeptical look, "Promise me!"

"Al... alright... I promise."

Twilight visibly relaxed, "Now, I have to go." She charged her horn for a teleport, but it fizzled. She growled and ran out of the room, she was still out of magical energy. She looked back and forth, and jumped into a closet, squeezing at the gash on her leg. The tempting thing about blood magic was that it was completely outside of the arcane energy that normal magic used, and therefore increased the magical access that a caster had by however much life blood they had access to, and even a small amount would give them a large amount of energy. It was this alternate energy source that had allowed her beyond her limit, and it was that source that would allow her to escape.

Red energy formed around the cut and on her horn as it swirled around her in a thick mist, hiding the outside world from view momentarily before clearing to reveal the trees of the Everfree. She knew, however, that this would never be far enough. Only one place would accept somepony with Celestia's rare ax above their heads. She ran, using what little natural power she had left to cast a detection spell to keep a lookout against tracking spells, though it would do little if they got Pegasi or Earth Pony trackers. She wanted to hope to Celestia that they wouldn't send them in here, but felt that would be disrespectful in this case. The purple pony looked back towards the town she had grown to love so much, then began her long march, letting a single bright red tear fall from her eye.

Three hours later: Ponyville

Rainbow Dash lay on a mattress that had been pulled from one of the burning houses. It was mostly alright, save for a few burns and ash stains, the same could not be said for Rainbow. Her right wing and front hoof had been nearly bitten clean through, and would have had to come off, had it not been for Twilight's magic. As it was, she still had nasty gashes and a mangled wing that would be useless for flying for a few days at least.

Right then, however, she was more focused on her five visitors, "So she just took off? Just like that? That doesn't sound like Twi, she's not gonna just abandon her friends like that."

Spike shrugged his shoulders as he helped wrap Rarity's head. She had been hit when a building had collapsed on the group she was evacuating with, "I don't know, she seemed kinda nervous, and I'm sure she was hiding something."

"Do ya think it might have something to do with the squiggly red ribbons she used to be the dragons down?" Pinkie had more or less escaped unharmed, despite having directly fended off several of the serpents. She had only gotten some burns for her trouble, which she barely seemed to notice.

Applejack snorted, her splinted ankle held against her chest, "I reckon that might be it, considerin that she was bringin Tartarus out with em. Surprised none a ya'll recognized what she was doin, what with her pullin them ribbons from the bloody things. I saw her cut open her own leg afore she started, too."

Rarity turned to look at the farmer with her good eye, much to Spike's chagrin, "Now, dear, do be careful what you say. You wouldn't want to give the impression that you're… insinuating something that you shouldn't be about our newest princess; neighbor; and, most importantly, dear friend, now would you? It almost sounds like you're accusing her of being a Blood Mage, which would be preposterous." She gave a pointed glare, "right!"

"Wrong, that IS what I'm insinuatin. I saw it, and there ain't nothin you can do to convince me that I didn't. She KNOWS what it means. I mean, I know not EVERYPONY knows, but after we started facin off against ancient evils on a semi regular basis, I thought I'd do a bit a pokin around to see if'n I couldn't find some candidates to be on the watch for. And guess what I found. BLOOD MAGIC. It's pulled from blood, and the only picture I could find of it was a painting done of the last unicorn that got ahold of the stuff, and it looked like hazy red ribbons commin straight outta the hearts of ponies."

Fluttershy looked up from the injured rabbit in her legs, Angel had been the only one to stay with her to ensure that all the other animals made it out safely, and when the cottage had collapsed, he had been the one to somehow shove the frozen Pegasus out the window to relative safety, "I'm sure she had a good reason. Twilight would never hurt anything without a good reason, and you know how she is about rules, so I doubt she would have broken one if she had had a choice… right?"

Applejack rolled her eyes, "There ain't a good enough reason, Shy! She took Life, and turned it into Death! It's unnatural! She coulda found another way!"

"Then I'd be dead." The room went silent as all good eyes were drawn to the Pegasus in the bed. She had a furious glare on her face and a tear in each eye that she was clearly refusing to let fall. She swallowed loudly before continuing on in a hoarse whisper, "Is that what you'd rather have happened, AJ? That I get eaten alive? I don't like to admit it much, but I do get scared sometimes. You wanna know the only time I got scared today? When I got smacked in the face with a giant tail and the next thing I see is theinside of a throat!" She punched the mattress with her good foreleg, "When I got ripped out of the snake's stomache, I asked her why she didn't pull that trick earlier, and she broke down crying. So, AJ, is 'saving a friend's life' a good enough reason? Am I a good enough reason?"

Applejack took a step back, her conviction wavering, "Well… she coulda found another way to-"

"Before she lost track of which one of them ate me?! Besides, you saw her shields flickering, that's why I went to help her to begin with! She was about out of juice, so anything else she could'a done would'a probably made the whole thing go to pot! What did you do to stop those things?!"

"Now wait just a-"

"No you wait! Was that you that held off fifty of the dragons at the school when they first showed up?! Was that you that jumped at the opportunity to get everypony out under a sheild you made?! No!" She coughed as her voice cracked on the last word, but she continued on with her fading voice, "And where were you when I was convinced I was dead? Huh? Or would you have even decided to help? As far as I can see, Twilight deserves a medal! Heck, she deserves as many of em as we can stick on her, maybe a few million bits, and our eternal gratitude! But no, you're over here content to send her to her death, aren't you? You know that's the penalty for what she did, right?"

"Wait, how did you-?"

"Silverblade book seven, 'The Blood Mage of Equestria' I didn't connect the dots at first, cause that wasn't the best one, so I kinda don't remember a lot about it. But when you brought up that word, it reminded me. So, are you gonna say she's just as bad as Crimson River when she killed the town of innocents, or are you gonna maybe admit that she had to do what she had to do?"

"Dang it, Rainbow! I know, and I'm just a bit upset that she basically had to kill herself to save us!" The quiet of the room was beginning to become a habit, but this one didn't last long, as it was filled with a tearful whisper, "I thought maybe, if I was angry at her for doin it, it wouldn't hurt so much, but… And besides, there ain't nothin we can do bout it. She's gonna get the noose for sure as soon as they find her. So, yeah, I'm mighty glad she saved you, but I just wish she coulda found a way to save herself, too…"

Rarity dantily cleared her throat, "Well, Darlings, if you two are done bickering, I say those of us that can, try to make arrangements for our upcoming travel plans."

Rainbow looked up skeptically, "Travel plans? How, where, and why would we be going anywhere right now?"

"Why, to help Twilight, of course."

Canterlot castle, five hours after the Ponyville Incident.

Celestia lay in her bed, the letter that Twilight's guard had sent laying beside her. She had read it over at least a dozen times, and her tears had joined the ones that had already stained it when it arrived. She prayed to her father, her mother, anyone that might hear her that there had been a mistake somewhere. That the guard had not seen what he thought he had seen, but Solid was no fool. He had been hoof picked to help Twilight, and now he had held witness to a most terrible day.

Luna stood steady by her sister's side, "You Know what you must do, sister. We have no choice." She dodged a teacup as it flew at her from the tray on the table.

"Why?! Why must I do it?! Twice now I have been confronted with somepony as close to me as family who has done something everypony else has deemed unforgivable, and twice now I have found another way! I hurled them into another era, whether it be in stone or trapped on the moon, and both of you have returned to me whole and largely unharmed! Why must this time be so different?!"

Luna licked her lips, dreading the side she had to take in this debate. She silently begged Twilight's forgiveness, hoping that she had somehow developed the ability to hear prayers, "Because, sister, there was no law on eternal night, and our Father did not foresee Discord's actions to put a sentence down for them. You know we cannot just cast the laws of our parents aside."

Celestia buried her face in the bed, "Why, Luna? Why did I teach her that spell? Why was I so short sighted? This is all my fault. All-"

She was silence by a slap to the head from a lion's paw, she looked up into Discord's mismatched eyes and beheld a serious frown, "Celestia, you know Twilight too well for this. I've only been her friend for a very short time, but you have been more than that. She never would have done it if it there was another way. You most likely saved quite a few of your little ponies, even if it WAS at the cost of Twilight. But, really, it was Twilight that saved them at the cost of herself. Really, I'm just getting back into this friendship thing, and I'm already better at it than you, it seems." His face softened, then returned to its usual smirk, "So, why don't you just get off your royal toosh and do your job?"

Celestia dried her eyes for a moment as she looked into Discord's. Then she saw it, deep beneath that smirk. A spark of a plan was hatching, but what was it? "Very well." She stood slowly, leaning lightly on her sister, "I shall have the guards search for her, as the law requires, Twilight Sparkle is now Equestria's Public Enemy Number One. Discord, you are to-"

The chimera held up his hands, "Whoa whoa whoa! You goody goodies may be bound to the frivolous whims of your daddy dearest, but I'm my own me! I do as I please."

Luna looked at him carefully, "And you are aware of the penalties should you be caught assisting Equestria's greatest foe?"

"Is it death?"

"No, actually, it's prison. For a very long time, though."

"Excellent, I'll have a matching trio of prison sentences. Do try to get a better pose for it than the girls did, would you? That one gave me terrible cramps." He brushed his talons on his chest as he walked outside.

Celestia held up a hoof, "Discord…" He turned to look at her questioningly, "Thank you. And good luck."