Twilight Sparkle and her friends galloped into this village at their own risk. Upon reaching the village, these six ponies had already begun to regret their decision upon being surrounded by several fraudulent smiles emanating from the drab ponies who appeared to be inhabiting the village. Once the comparatively vibrant unicorn Starlight Glimmer had introduced herself as their leader, it was clear that this village adhered by corrupted ideals: Cutie Marks were the enemy, and talent was a menace.

Having lost her cutie mark, as well as her five companions to the influence of Starlight, Twilight was sentenced to decide upon the method of her own execution.

[hr]

"Please come in, Starlight, and thanks so much for coming." Twilight revealed no discernible malice for her executioner in her tone.

"How unexpectedly friendly, Twilight. Well, of course I came; you invited me! I would never be so unimaginably cruel as to not adhere to a dying pony's final wish." The dictator quickly pranced into Twilight's final residence, eager to witness the condemned pony's groveling for salvation.

However, Twilight had no intentions of losing her composure. "Yes, and I am grateful for your visit. I have very much wanted to speak with you before I'm gone." Twilight anxiously scans the walls surrounding them. "How much time exactly do I have left?"

"Oh, how silly of me! I must have forgotten to provide you a clock. It is currently 11:38 p.m., so your long wait will soon be over. Midnight is the time you requested for your execution, that's correct?"

"Yes, indeed it was."

A smile made it's way onto Starlight's face. "Wonderful! Then there are only twenty-two more minutes to go. Have you also made all the preparations for your execution?"

Twilight allowed a sigh to slip out, not completely ruining her confident demeanor, but still showing her reluctance to comply with Starlight. "Of course."

"Perfect! Then everything is in order! Then I shall take my leave. I wouldn't want to miss out on getting the perfect view of your execution!" She motions with her hoof towards the large window, revealing the audience of villagers.

"Starlight..." Twilight stops her in her tracks.

Starlight jerks herself around, staring impatiently at Twilight. "I really must be going, Twilight. Make it brief!"

"I just figured you of all ponies would want to know exactly what methods I have chosen for my death."

"Actually, I would much rather it be a surprise."

Starlight rushed to open the door, but the door refused to budge.

The color in Starlight's face had begun to drain away. "How d-did you---"

"Really now, it doesn't take that much magic to construct a simple lock spell, even if you did steal my cutie mark." What seemed to be the same smug grin that Starlight wore as she first entered the room was now shining on Twilight's face. "However, it would still take a remarkably noticeable amount of magic to unlock it."

Twilight gestures back to the crowd of villagers, confirming her goal to reveal Starlight's talent to the masses.

While Starlight could infer Twilight's ultimate goal, she couldn't help but ask, "What is the meaning of this?!"

"Well, if you must know, I've chosen Pinkie's once cherished Party Cannon as my execution method. While normally a tool used to promote celebration, its next shot will not be quite so inviting."

Twilight passed Starlight one of Sugar Belle's muffins.

It was now clear to Starlight what exactly Twilight had plotted. If the Party Cannon had been armed full of Sugar Belle's stale muffins and positioned just outside one of the room's walls, the impact would surely be lethal.

"You must be mad! Let me out, this instant!" Starlight desperately pulled at the door.

Twilight did not budge. She ignored Starlight's pleas for escape while pretending to be engrossed in one of the numerous "Equality" books that filled the shelves of the room.

Starlight continued to panic and beg Twilight to undo the lock spell, but to no avail. After several minutes, Starlight finally snapped. Lacking the stubbornness to accept her own death, Starlight quickly deactivated the lock spell, flinging the door open. As she galloped out the door and away from the room, a clock that had been positioned outside the room had just struck midnight, and a loud explosion of stale muffins flooded the room.

Starlight didn't have enough time to celebrate the execution before her once loyal villagers had begun rioting against their deceitful leader.