• Published 25th Feb 2012
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Star Gazing - Konseiga

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Freed

“This is the fight I wanted to see in you!” Shadow Star exclaimed with glee. “This is perfect!”

Celestia gazed at the purple and black alicorn with nothing short of rage in her now-crimson eyes. Her mane and tail had fully transformed into roaring infernos, and fire would occasionally erupt violently from the white alicorn’s horn.

Shadow Star had responded in kind, effortlessly gathering energy around her. Her mane and tail had become pure, flowing darkness that occasionally sparked with purple energy. Her horn had become wreathed in her signature inky armor, and her eyes glowed with a sinister light.

Both alicorns looked terrifying and beautiful at the same time.

Celestia began to walk calmly in a circle. Shadow Star followed suit, mirroring her foe’s gait. They circled each other for a while, staring the other down, before Celestia broke the silence.

“Before we begin, I have some questions to ask you,” the white alicorn said with a deceptive calmness.

“And why should I allow such questions?”

“Humor me.”

Shadow Star snorted with amusement. “Fine. Ask away.”

“How did you end up inside of my student?” Celestia demanded.

“Ah, you have nopony but yourself to blame, dearest Celestia,” Shadow Star said mockingly. “When you employed your student and her five friends to be the conduit of my destruction while I was still Nightmare Moon, you armed them with the most powerful magical force in Equestria.” Shadow Star paused, thinking. “Of course, I might be stronger than even the Elements now, but I guess we’ll never be able to test that.”

“Regardless, when I was assaulted by that magic, it crushed my mind into multiple tiny fragments. I was, for all intents and purposes, defeated.”

“And yet here you stand.”

“Curious, isn’t it? You underestimated my will to live, dear leader. When the magic of the Elements receded back into Twilight Sparkle, it carried a piece of my mind with it.”

“So you’re a parasite,” Princess Celestia spat.

Such harsh words, Princess. I’d prefer to think of myself as an entrepreneur.” Shadow Star gave a quick laugh. “Anything else you’d like to ask?”

Celestia kept circling around Shadow Star. “How did you take control of Twilight?”

“Ah, that was probably the most fun I’ve had in centuries!” Shadow Star said giddily. “It was all too easy to lure Twilight into a false sense of security. Pose as her conscious, give her dreams that she wouldn’t remember, trick her into severing the bonds with her own friends, and to top it all off, trap her in her own mind! Glorious, isn’t it?”

Celestia stumbled slightly, absorbing this information. “Twilight still exists?”

“Who knows?” Shadow Star shrugged. “Perhaps my superior mind consumed her a long time ago.”

Celestia narrowed her eyes at the purple alicorn.

“I like that look,” Shadow whispered. “Finally, you cast off the facade of a benevolent ruler. This is the REAL you! Ruthless! Cruel! Full of hatred! Oh, it’s magnificent! You look like you’re ready to kill me!”

“I am.”

Celestia’s horn erupted with light as bright as the sun. Shadow Star stumbled as the light blinded her, and then the purple alicorn was engulfed in a bright flame.

The scream that came from the purple alicorn was unearthly. It made the caged captives recoil and clutch their hooves (or talons, in Spike’s case) over their ears. Princess Celestia simply watched as the bright spell fire consumed Shadow Star…

… Or so she thought. The scream turned into a maniacal laugh as Shadow Star simply stepped out of the blazing fire, horn glowing darkly. The fire disappeared with a soft whump.

“That was weak, Celestia,” Shadow Star goaded. “Surely you can do better!”

Celestia let loose a primal growl, hurling herself at the purple alicorn. Her sunfire-bathed weapon had reappeared, this time in the shape of a spear. Celestia hurled the blazing lance at Shadow Star, who fluidly dodged to the side, conjuring her own weapon. Her weapon of choice was a black, wicked-looking scythe. With a triumphant yell, Shadow Star swung the scythe down towards the white alicorn.

Celestia barely dodged the point of the wicked weapon, throwing herself to the side. Despite the agile move, the scythe still managed to graze Celestia’s wing, and she yelped with pain as Shadow Star’s weapon grazed her side. The wound it left was shallow, but Celestia felt overly weakened from the blow.

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Shadow Star said softly, floating the weapon up to her own eyes, appraising it with care. “It’s a crafty little augment that I found digging through your student’s memories. Did you know you can imbue magical weapons to inflict certain ailments upon its victims? For example, THIS little trick drains energy from the wounded with every strike.” The scythe began to glow with a white light, heavily contrasting the black color of the weapon. “And then it gives that energy to me.”

As Shadow Star spoke, the white glow slowly faded from the weapon. The purple alicorn sighed contentedly.

“Marvelous,” she whispered. “You alicorns are really something else.”

“You leech,” Celestia hissed, picking herself up off the ground. “You’re nothing but a worthless parasite, feeding off of everypony around you!”

“Brave words, coming from somepony in your position,” Shadow Star’s face lost all of its humor, and she looked coldly at Celestia. “If you give up now, I promise to kill you quickly.”

“Never.” Celestia spat at the purple alicorn.

Shadow Star’s face twisted in anger. “So be it.” The air hissed around her scythe as she twirled it expertly through the air. She began to walk towards Celestia, who was wobbling on her feet. “It’s a shame, really,” Shadow Star muttered with mock sadness. “You would have made a highly satisfying slave.”

With a yell, Celestia launched herself at the purple alicorn, abandoning all magical assaults in favor of physical contact. She never made it to her target, hitting the invisible barrier that surrounded Shadow Star and bouncing off, landing in an ungraceful heap at Shadow Star’s hooves.

“You’re a fool!” Shadow Star yelled, hurling the white alicorn against the wall with her magic. Celestia grunted in pain. “You knew it was hopeless, and yet you still fought me!” Picking Celestia up again, Shadow Star again hurled her towards the golden throne. Celestia’s body collided with the gleaming chair, twisting and contorting in strange ways.

“This was over before it began.”

Slowly, savoring the moment, Shadow Star walked up to Celestia, the scythe floating in front of her forebodingly.

“Say your final goodbyes, Princess,” the purple alicorn hissed cruelly. “I’m sure the Elements of Harmony will give you the audience you deserve.”

It was all the bloodied and battered alicorn could do to turn her head towards the captive ponies. A single tear flowed from Celestia’s eyes as she mouthed I’m sorry towards Twilight’s friends.

Shadow Star grinned and brought the scythe down through the air with a hiss, burying the blade in Celestia’s back.

~*~*~*~*~

Twilight teetered precipitously on the edge of the shimmering lake. I look lie that? She had thought, seeing her now-alien body gleaming with inky blackness, newly armed with a pair of wings and a long, tapered horn.

She had been watching in horror as the scene in the royal hall unfolded. She gasped when Luna and Celestia started fighting, screamed at the reflection of Celestia to spare Luna, and breathed a huge sigh of relief as the midnight blue alicorn survived.

And then she witnessed the fight between her mentor and her possessor. She watched, stunned, as the furious Celestia changed into the pure embodiment of fire, and gasped as Nightmare Moon-possessed body became some evil mockery of the same transformation. She gritted her teeth in fury as she listened to her possessor’s cool explanation of how she ended up in Twilight’s mind, and how she had assumed control of Twilight’s body and power.

“I’m still here! I’m not dead!” Twilight screamed vainly at the lake, even though she knew the two alicorns couldn’t hear her.

And then the scythe was buried in Celestia’s back.

“No!”

Twilight felt her knees wobble. She had thought her mentor to be infallible, powerful beyond measure. To see Celestia felled so easily shook her to her very core.

How could she – I – be so powerful? The thought of facing down that monster frightened her.

“Get a hold of yourself, girl. You have ponies to save, and you can’t do it shaking in your hooves!” Twilight drew herself up proudly, only to deflate a few seconds later. “But how do I save anypony if I can’t even control my own body?”

“Jump!” five voices chorused from behind her. Even though they all shouted at the same time, Twilight could easily identify her five friends’ voices.

So she jumped straight up into the air a few inches, not going anywhere.

“Oh, for the love of…” Rainbow Dash’s irritated voice sounded from behind her.

“Don’t worry, I’ll help!” Pinkie Pie’s voice rang out and Twilight felt a solid push from behind, sending her right into the lake.

“Pinkie Pie! How did you even do that?”

“Do what?”

Twilight crashed through the surface of the water. She opened her mouth to scream, but choked as she inhaled water. She began to thrash as she ran out of air. Panicked thoughts of filled her mind as she convinced herself that this was how she was going to die.

Don’t fight it. Even though she couldn’t hear a thing through the water, Twilight felt her friends’ presence against her conscious. Don’t struggle.

So Twilight went limp. As soon as she did, all panicked thoughts fled her mind. Despite being completely submerged, the unicorn found that she was able to breathe normally, as if the water was air itself.

Where do I go from here?

As if in answer, a light began to glow right beneath her. Twilight, seeing no other option, began to paddle as best she could towards the glow. She was no real athlete, so her progress was painstakingly slow. As she descended, she felt a small thread of light weave itself through her spirit.

After what seemed like hours, Twilight finally reached the source of the glow. It was a small sun emblem, much like the one emblazoned on Princess Celestia’s flank. Twilight reached a hoof out in a now-familiar motion and gently touched the emblem. The glow expanded, surrounding Twilight and momentarily blinding her.

When she recovered her vision, she was standing in the middle of a large, circular room. The single wall that spanned the entire room was decorated in a beautiful mural. Curiously, Twilight wandered over to inspect it, and gasped as she realized that she was the subject of the painting.

She saw herself as a little filly, glowing with power as she trashed the room when she took the test for gifted unicorns. She saw herself barricaded in a room with books, her only friends through those early years. She saw herself fraught with worry over the return of Nightmare Moon.

A smile spread across her face as she saw the artist’s depiction of her friends. She had been through a lot with them, and if she could go back and do it all over again, she’d find herself with the same five ponies that she started with.

Skipping ahead, Twilight’s eyes settled upon a rendition of Nightmare Night. She was there, of course, as were all of her friends, but they were circled around a larger figure. Princess Luna stood, in all of her artistic glory, amid a ring of ponies. While most of them were fleeing, Twilight realized, a lone purple unicorn was moving towards her.

In every scene after that, the artist’s Twilight always had a faint crescent moon background. The real Twilight put a hoof against the wall.

“Who made this?” Twilight wondered. As if answering her voice, the floor began to glow with a soft white light.

When Twilight first appeared in the room, she had not paid much attention to the floor. Now, she realized that the floor was carved into the semblance of a crescent moon, and had now begun to glow.

“Luna.” Twilight felt warmth wash over her as she thought of the kind, gorgeous Princess that she had fallen for so long ago. “Luna, I love you.” As the words left her mouth, the glow expanded to cover the entire floor, turning it into glass and revealing the royal hall.

~*~*~*~*~

“Pathetic.”

Shadow Star lazily tossed Celestia’s unmoving body away from the throne. It landed in the middle of the hallway with a thump, and Shadow Star settled herself on the golden chair.

“Now I’m bored,” she complained to nopony in particular. “What will be my next source of amusement?” Her gaze fell to the shell-shocked looking ponies trapped in their cages. “Should I play around with these insects? No, I don’t think they’ll be able to stand it for very long…”

A raspy breath came from Luna as she twitched slightly.

“Oh! You’re still alive? I had forgotten about you!” Gleefully, Shadow Star used her magic to once again pick up Luna by her back leg. This time, Luna couldn’t find the strength to protest, and she just hung limply as Shadow Star floated the midnight blue alicorn to the base of the throne.

“Now, how am I going to make this fun…?” the purple alicorn thought quietly.

“Of co-“

Her exclamation of enlightenment was suddenly cut off by a loud rattling sound. Looking around in confusion, Shadow Star’s gaze settled on a gyrating Pinkie Pie.

“Is that pony having a seizure?” Shadow Star asked Applejack roughly. The orange pony shook her head in response.

“Well, what’s going on with her, then?” Shadow Star demanded. Applejack just grunted. “Oh, right, I guess I should remove the gag… I swear to the moon, earth pony, if you start yelling, you’ll be dead before you hit the floor.”

Applejack’s gag vanished. “Instead o’ askin’ me, yer highness,” Applejack’s words dripped with sarcasm, “maybe ya should ask Pinkie Pie herself.”

Shadow Star’s horn glowed darkly as Pinkie’s gag vanished too.

“Tail twitch, eye twitch, ear flip, tail twitch!” Pinkie Pie blurted.

“What is she talking about?”

“Twilight!” Pinkie Pie shouted at the purple alicorn. “Twilight is coming, and oh pony, is she pissed off!”

Luna opened one of her eyes slightly. “Twilight?” Her voice was extremely weak.

Pinkie Pie bounced around her cage, which was strange considering her legs were still tied together. “Yup! Twilight is gonna be here really soon! I can’t wait!”

“Twilight…” Princess Luna’s eye closed as she sighed. “If you can hear me… I love you…”

“ENOUGH!”

The gags around the two captive ponies’ mouths reappeared, and Shadow Star flung Luna against the wall with a snarl.

“Twilight Sparkle is NEVER COMING BACK, UNDERSTAND?!”

~*~*~*~*~

Twilight could feel her fury building.

She had seen the entire ordeal. She watched as her friends were mistreated by her possessor, and she had seen her love hurled against the wall like some discarded plaything.

And she was furious.

“You…” Twilight’s horn began to spark, and she felt the strand of light woven into her soul thicken. “I won’t… let you…”

Twilight’s hoof slammed against the glass, causing a spider web fracture to race across its surface.

“I won’t let you go on…”

Her hoof slammed against the glass again, the cracks becoming longer and more numerous.

“I won’t let you get away…”

One final time, Twilight brought her hoof down against the glass, shattering it completely.

“I WON’T LET YOU HURT HER AGAIN!”

~*~*~*~*~

The air inside the throne room exploded. The captive ponies cried out and tried to shield their eyes from the bright light that suddenly erupted from Shadow Star. They heard the purple alicorn cry out in agony as the light became brighter and brighter.

And then it stopped. The light vanished, and the ponies slowly opened their eyes.

Shadow Star was slumped in the seat of the throne, looking at the hall with disbelief written all over her face. Her inky armor no longer moved as if it was alive, and her arrogance had disappeared.

Following her gaze, the captive ponies soon found out why. There, standing in the middle of the hall, was another purple alicorn. Its wings were spread wide, and they were a mirror image of Shadow Star’s angular pair. Its horn was a long and tapered, and its entire body screamed ‘elegance’.

“Wh-who are you?” Shadow Star demanded. When the newcomer remained silent, Shadow Star screamed, “Answer me!”

“I thought you’d recognize me,” the new alicorn said in a soft female voice that sent bells of recognition ringing in all the captive ponies’ ears.

Except for one.

“Tw-ght!” Pinkie tried to yell around her gag. The new purple alicorn’s ears flicked and her horn glowed with soft lavender light. The cages around the five ponies and one dragon disappeared, along with the restraints placed upon them.

“Oh mah stars! Twi’, is that really you?”

“Twilight, you’re simply GORGEOUS!”

“But scary at the same time…”

“Fluttershy, that’s our friend! And she’s here to kick some serious tyrant butt!”

“Yay!” Pinkie Pie bounced around. “Twilight’s back!”

“Jeez, Twi’, it’s about time,” Spike grumbled.

“Girls,” Twilight’s stern tone caused them all to quiet down and listen. “Take Spike and get behind me, please.”

“I don’t THINK so!” Shadow Star’s horn cackled as she shot five quick bolts of energy at the newly freed ponies.

They never reached their target. The five bolts vanished mid-flight, and were instead replaced by five small fireflies.

“Wh-what?”

Twilight shot an annoyed glance at her foe. “You don’t hurt my friends.” Shadow Star visibly recoiled at the power in Twilight’s voice, giving the five ponies enough time to rush behind Twilight.

“Now stand there and be silent.”

Shadow Star’s jaw clamped shut, oddly reminiscent of the spell Shadow herself had used on Celestia. The dark alicorn worked furiously to free her jaw, to no avail. Anger flared in her eyes, along with the slightest hint of fear.

Twilight walked over to her unmoving mentor, a sad look in her eyes. “Oh, Princess…” Her horn glowed with the same soft lavender light as she leaned her head down and nuzzled the white alicorn. “I’m sorry I was late,” Twilight whispered.

Celestia gasped, her eyes flying open. “Wh- Twilight?”

Twilight smiled. “Yes, Princess Celestia?”

“But, but, I was…”

“Dead?” Twilight filled in. The white alicorn nodded slowly. “Well, you don’t look dead to me.”

“B-but…”

“Princess Celestia,” Twilight said firmly, “while I have no right to tell you what to do, as your student I advise you to save your questions until all loose ends are tied up.” The lavender alicorn glared at Shadow Star.

Celestia sighed and nodded.

“Good. Girls, take care of her please.”

“O-of course, Twilight.”

Twilight proceeded to the limp body of Princess Luna. The blue alicorn’s breath was ragged, but she opened an eye and smiled as she saw Twilight approaching.

“T-twilight…”

“Shh, save your energy,” Twilight whispered, leaning her head down to the weakened princess.

Luna shook her head. “I knew you’d come back,” she whispered happily. “Did you hear what I said?”

Twilight nodded. “You said you loved me.”

Luna’s smile grew. “Good… I didn’t stutter, then…”

Twilight laughed quietly. “I love you too, Luna. And I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

Luna snorted. “I forgave you for that a long time ago.”

“I’m glad.” And Twilight was. She felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off of her heart. “I’m going to move you now, okay?”

“Be gentle,” Luna whispered weakly.

The blue alicorn’s body was wrapped in the lavender glow of Twilight’s magic as she gingerly lifted the Lunar Princess up, floating her over and setting her down next to her sister. “Take care of her too,” Twilight called to her friends.

Rainbow Dash gave Twilight a stout salute. “Will do, boss! Now go kick some evil ass!”

Twilight smiled at her friend, then turned to face a very angry-looking Shadow Star.

“You can count on it.”