As the dust settled, it appeared that the only one left standing was Starlight. Alduin seemingly lay dead right behind her. Starlight looked around to see that the others had been knocked unconscious. And then she saw that several of them weren't moving at all. That meant one thing in her mind. They were dead. Starlight could barely contain the rage that was building within her now. She needed an outlet or else her anger was going to consume her at this point. She turned to Alduin and charged at him, sword unsheathed and ready for attack. She could hardly believe it as he brushed off the rubble and regained his composure.
"You cannot defeat me Jor, I will return stronger than before as i feed on the souls of your brethren in Sovngard", Alduin boasted. Starlight only stared at him as he kept talking. Alduin finally took notice of this and was taken aback by her defiance.
"Dont get so cocky," , Starlight snapped at the dragon. She wasnt going to put up with his bullshit any longer. She'd had enough of this and was ready to end it right then and there.
I'll send you back to whatever realm you crawled out of, she thought to herself. She had never faced a being quite like him before. She was going to learn later that she was descended from Royal blood. Blood that was also cursed. Not only would she learn of the connection she shared with a certain unicorn mage.
She'd learn that her Bloodline went further back then just being possibly related to Starswirl the Bearded. She learn of a family curse involving a Daedric Prince. Both her and Twilight would also discover a family secret of Twilight's that could spell disaster for the entire province of Equestria.
She focused all of her effort on the monster that was standing before her. Her rage becoming her only guide now. All she could do was commit to the attack, not bothering to look around and notice that one of the bodies of her friends was moving.
This battle had nearly cost her everything that she held dear, and almost everypony she cared about was now assumed dead. She could feel her heart beginning to break into a thousand pieces. That was when she heard his voice and turned to see him staring at her, his teeth ready to devour her.
"Kri'Shast kel Dovahkin," which roughly translated to,"Die now in Terror,", but before Alduin could muster the last ounce of strength he had, Starlight buried the Nightingale blade deeply into his forehead. At first Alduin shrugged it off. He was the first born of Akatosh after all. He had faced tougher opponents back on Nirn.
And yet for the first time in his life, he started to doubt himself when fighting against this "pony". There was something about her that started to remind him of the Last Dragonborn. He could feel the power flowing from her. An untapped potential that even she wasn't aware of. But he could feel it. And for once it frightened him.
Starlight jumped back as Alduin reared up, screaming to the sky. His scales began to crack and burn away as a divine energy engulfed him before he finally exploded for what seemed like the last time. She sheathed her sword and turned around to go check on the others. As she helped Celestia up off the ground she thought she heard something moving off to the side. She turned the corner to see what it was.
That was when Starlight heard a series of soft moans and turned to see Trixie and Twilight slowly lift themselves off the ground and stagger around for a moment. Both mares had been dazed, and knocked unconscious by the power of Alduin's Thuum. Twilight seemed more dazed then the others. Starlight surveyed the courtyard and was taken aback from the damage that was all around her.
Canterlot was in ruins and only a handful had managed to survive the battle. There was a lingering feeling of dread in the air. Like none of them truly felt that it was really over. The damage to the capitol was extensive, at least from what Starlight could see at the moment. The North side of Canterlot tower had been utterly destroyed, nothing of it remained but loose debris and rubble.
The tower and its base had crumbled under the brunt and force of Alduin's Thuum. Twilight had never felt a power like that before. The force of it was enough to render a pony of her stature unconscious and unable to help Starlight in her fight against the winged menace. It left her with a feeling of uneasiness that she hadn't felt in a very long time.
The Courtyard was in ruins, Pillars and other support beams of the castle scattered about like pebbles and twigs. Many of the stonework that had decorated the surrounding area of Canterlot castle had been destroyed during the battle with Alduin.
The devastation that had been incurred by his wrath permeated the landscape. None of the surrounding towns and villages had been able to escape the destruction that had been wrought upon the land. All they could do was rebuild what had been leveled during the fight. It sounded simpler then it looked.
As they were surveying the damage, Starlight took notice of something. She began to notice a change in Twilight, she was starting to act a bit out of character. She seemed cold and disconnected for some reason.
Starlight was completely unaware that Twilight was being contacted by a being that was on the level of an eldritch god. A being that corrupt those that were pure of heart with the lure of forbidden knowledge. At her core Twilight was still a nerd, and one that still loved her books. These traits were the kind that a certain Daedric Lord and Prince could manipulate to pull her into his service. Celestia and Luna were both well aware of this being's name, and were not willing to utter it out loud.
Old Herma Mora was well acquainted with capturing powerful warriors to his side, Twilight was no different from his point of view. Her curiosity was going to be the trap he would need to ensnare her into his service. Her thirst for knowledge only rivaled his own. There were times she was too curious for her own good and it got her into more trouble then it was worth.
In the past he had been so close to luring Princess Luna into his service when he had promised her the knowledge needed to overthrow her sister Celestia. As much as he wanted to control her, one of his siblings had gotten to the Princess of the Night first.
It was hard for Starlight to see Twilight in this condition. Whatever she thought Alduin had done to her friend would pale in comparison to what was actually transpiring. Twilight had found a very old book the day before. One that was hundreds if not thousands of years old. One that was of enormous power. It was also a book that Celestia was aware of and had warned her former pupil to never indulge in or read.
The Black Books were a source of forbidden knowledge that could easily tempt one down a much darker path then they sought in life. It had corrupted many adventurers and heroes of the past, including the Last Dragonborn. Equestria shared the same plane of existence as Nirn, and as such, it was possible for travel between the two. All it required was a precise map and a magic portal.
One could travel there by ship if needed but it was considered risky since Equestria was located near the edge of the known world. Only a few from Tamriel had ever been there and they weren't greeted with the best of reception during that time period. It was around the time of Mythic era, so most records of contact had been lost to time.
From one of these black books, Twilight would learn that her family lineage was wrought with themes like patricide and failed political coups. Not even her own mother was aware that Twilight was a descendant of the mare known as Potema Sparkle, The Wolf Queen of Equestria.
The only one that really knew more about Twilight's family was in fact Celestia herself. She wanted to avoid another Potema coming to power so she took Twilight under her wings to learn teach all she could and help the mare learn what friendship truly meant. The last thing she needed was another all powerful Necromancer Queen nearly usurping the throne. She had been there when Potema was captured during her last failed rebellion to seize the crown and throne of Equestria.
She had heard horror stories of what that mare did to those that opposed her. And to make it worse half of her own family had wanted her rule overthrown when they realized just how vile she was. When she was born her own father had described her as a "she-wolf" that looked ready to pounce.