"Have fun!" said Starlight, putting on her best fake smile. She waved to Twilight as the Princess left the castle to go help Pinkie bake pies. The moment the door was shut she teleported into her room, grabbed a cloak from her closet and then teleported right in front of Spike's door.
It had been two days since Starlight and Spike's conversation. The pair had agreed to act the next time that Twilight left the castle. It had taken a lot of effort on Starlight's part to be that patient, but she had reluctantly agreed that timing would be best, justifying it both from a logical perspective and by telling herself that a few days would not make much of a difference.
After knocking on Spike's door, it took a few moments for the dragon to emerge. When he did, he saw that Starlight carried a brown cloak on her back and wore a look of determination. He looked rather nervous, but that was not altogether unexpected considering what the pair was about to do.
"Okay, Spike," she said. "Twilight is on her way to Sugarcube Corner to help with some baking. She said she'll be gone for a few hours, so we should have plenty of time to break out the construct." Starlight then went over the plan once more.
"You'll stand guard in the hall while I break her chains. Then, we'll put her in this cloak and lead her to Trixie's wagon outside town. If we run into anypony who tries to talk to us, you can distract them while we keep going. And once we've explained everything to Trixie, you'll come back to tell Twilight that I went to the Crystal Empire to see Sunburst. That should buy us a few days to find a way to keep the construct hidden.
"You ready?"
Spike bit his lip. "Yeah, um... Starlight. I know I was on board when we talked, but I thought a lot about it over the last couple of days and..." he sighed. "I don't think freeing the construct is a good idea."
"What?!" Starlight's nostrils flared and she bared her teeth. "How can you say that now? We agreed on this!"
Cowering slightly, Spike put up his hands defensively. "Just think about it for a minute, okay? That construct wouldn't even exist if Twilight hadn't wanted a place to put her emotions. That means its whole purpose is to store Twilight's feelings and that it only exists because that's what Twilight needed it for. If Twilight hadn't made it, it wouldn't even be able to think or feel at all! I mean, is living a bad life really worse than not even existing?"
Starlight gaped. "Spike, she's being forced to deal with somepony else's pain, and nothing else. This isn't just 'a bad life,' it's an existence based on suffering!"
"I know, I know. It's really bad," Spike admitted. "And I feel bad for the construct and all, but Twilight is my best friend! Without that construct, she's going to go back to suffering under all of those emotions again. Somepony has to suffer for this, and I just can't do that to Twilight." Spike tapped together a pair of fingers nervously. "If you're really honest with yourself, could you actually tell your best friend that she had done something so bad that she deserved to suffer for it? While knowing that you're going to be the one who makes her suffer?"
Rolling her eyes, Starlight came back with, "Well, I hope I'd have the backbone and moral conviction to want justice, if that's what you mean."
Spike snorted. "Like you're one to talk about morals and justice."
Letting out a single laugh, Starlight shook her head. "Alright. If that's how you feel about me, whatever! Letting her go is the right thing to do." She then looked Spike dead in the eye. "And you wouldn't really think of trying to stop me, would you?"
Spike looked at the floor and thought for a moment. His claws clenched into fists, but when he exhaled they relaxed. "All I'm saying is, 'I won't help you.'" Spike looked back at Starlight. "You do what you think is right. And I'll do the same."
Starlight's limbs shook in anger. "Fine. I will do it myself." Turning away, she walked down the hall a few steps before turning back and saying, "I don't know how you'll be able to sleep at night after this, but I hear Twilight's library has some spell books that might help."
At that, Starlight teleported back to her room.
Starlight carefully watched the door to Twilight's bedroom from behind a pillar far down the hall. It was night and had been about fifteen minutes since Twilight had entered. Starlight planned on waiting thirty to make sure the Princess was actually asleep, but the adrenaline in her veins was pushing her to accelerate the timeline. Just give it a few more minutes. We don't want Twilight to come back out for a late night-- Starlight shuddered. Meditation session.
Without Spike to stand watch and help lead the pair through Ponyville, Starlight had changed the plan. The cover of night seemed like the most appropriate means of camouflage, although she had brought the cloak along. She certainly could not risk a pony looking out their window late at night and seeing a version of their Princess without wings. Besides, she did not want Spike to know enough of the details to be able to rat her out, if he decided to take that route.
Admittedly, she was less sure of how she would be able to handle the construct on her own. While her skills in dealing with ponies had improved, Starlight was still not the best company to most. She had been counting on Spike to help keep the construct calm during their trip. She seemed rather emotional. Not that that was not understandable, but Starlight also did not want to have to stop in the middle of town while the construct had a break-down. This mission would definitely push the limits on what Starlight had learned from Twilight. And she grinned a bit at that.
It seemed appropriate that she would be using Twilight's training in some fashion to undermine what the Princess had done.
Having waited about twenty-two minutes, Starlight now stood outside of the chamber on the third floor of the castle. Before unlocking it again, she took three deep breaths. In and out.
I can do this. I have to do this.
Her horn and the knob shone turquoise for a moment, and then the door gently swung inward. Wasting no time, Starlight pushed the door open widely enough to slide inside and went in, closing it behind her.
The Twilight in the room was on the floor, apparently asleep this time. However, upon hearing the door close, her eyes opened. "Huh? Twilight?" When she saw that the pony in the room was Starlight, she quickly jumped up from her sleeping position. She shook her head and planted her hooves in a wide stance. "You? Why are you back? What do you want this time?"
"I'm here to set you free." Starlight said with confidence. Dropping the brown cloak onto the floor, she galloped forward and looked defiantly at the chains. Her horn flared and she shot a bolt of magic at the one around Twilight's left forehoof, shattering one of the links instantly.
Twilight gasped. "What?! No! Stop!"
"Stay calm. I'm pretty accurate with my horn. I won't hurt you." She looked to the next chain.
"Don't break them!"
The teeth of the gears in Starlight's mind slipped. She can't mean that. Shaking herself, Starlight lit up her horn again.
"Please don't."
The defeat infused into those words brought Starlight to a halt. She looked up and saw that Twilight was staring at the ground, her head swaying slightly in a wide, slow shake. The unicorn let her horn go dim. After a few more seconds, Twilight stopped and looked back at Starlight.
"You listened to me?" Looking at the broken chain, Twilight lifted that hoof and, in several jerking motions, brought it up until it was reaching behind her back. Her eyes went wide. "Oh dear Celestia. I've never been able to do that before." She looked back at Starlight. "You're actually here, aren't you?"
Starlight nodded. "I'm real. And I'm breaking you out of this room."
Putting that same hoof to her forehead, Twilight's eyes scanned back and forth. "This doesn't make any sense. Why aren't you attacking me or opening a time portal or trying to brainwash my friends?"
For a moment, Starlight was confused, then she recognized the problem. "Right, you probably don't have memories about my turning good. Those are nice memories." She thought for a moment. "But you remember when I helped you the other day, right? When I untangled you from those chains?"
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "You're good now?"
"Yes, I am," Starlight said. "And I can explain all that later. Princess Twilight just went to bed, so she shouldn't be awake until morning, but I don't want to take any more chances than we have to. Let's get yo--"
"You have to fix that chain before I wake up!"
Starlight blinked. Before I wake up? She means before she wakes up, right? "You... you don't need to worry about Twilight's reaction. You won't be here when she gets up. You're safe now. I'm going to take you away from this place."
Shutting her eyes tight and shaking her head, Twilight shouted, "No! No! No!" She pounded her front hooves onto the ground with each "no" she said. "I can't leave here. Where can I go that's more important than being where I am right now?"
Exasperated, Starlight said, "What are you even saying?"
Twilight lifted a chained hoof and gestured around at the chamber. "From this room, I serve all of Equestria. I'm making the whole world a better place. And isn't that the most important thing a pony can do? Use her life to make the world a better place?"
Mouth agape, it took a moment for Starlight to understand how to respond. She grasped at straws until she found one attached to a relevant thought. "But you're miserable here!" she shouted. "And I heard you begging Twilight not to give you more emotions to shoulder. You even said you're starting to hallucinate because of this. It's destroying you!"
"Then I have to be stronger," Twilight said. "I was just weak the other day. I let myself believe that I could have a break because of my vacation. I won't make the same mistake again. I'll be ready next time! I can do it for my friends. And for Equestria."
Starlight's breathing had accelerated and she put a hoof to her chest, feeling her heart pounding furiously. She blinked erratically and shook her head, trying to clear away the words she had just heard. Of all the possible reactions to being liberated, Starlight had never even considered this one.