Twilight
Twilight hit Eve with everything she had.
She had gone quiet, after it became clear that she was never going to persuade her clone to do the right thing, or at least to not do the wrong thing. She had gone quiet, and let quietness persuade Eve and Raven that she was quiescent. She had stopped trying to reach out to her friends because it was too late to do any good, and would only alert Eve. She had gone quiet, and she had gathered her strength: all her magic, all her will, all her love of her friends, all of her determination not to let this happen and then, at the final moment, when it was least expected, when her friends needed her the most, she struck.
She struck with everything.
Magic was a subtle art. Twilight had learned that from the hooves of Princess Celestia herself. Having power was nothing if you didn’t have the skill or finesse to use it. Most spells were more in the way of metaphorically threading a needle than they were hammering a nail.
But they were times when kicking subtlety out and wielding power with all the finesse of a ten-ton hammer was exactly what was called for and this was one of them.
“I won’t let you do this!” Twilight yelled, as she threw her power and her will right back at Eve through the connection they shared. “I won’t let you hurt my friends!”
What are you doing? Eve demanded.
What do you think I’m doing? I’m taking over!
Eve was right about one thing: she wasn’t Twilight. The soul of Twilight Sparkle was (thankfully) yet her own, even if it was confined and trapped and seemingly helpless before those who wanted to use her power to destroy everyone and everything that she held dear. She wasn’t sure exactly how long she had been trapped in here, isolated, used, tormented. But no more. Eve was not her, but Eve was of her flesh and of her blood and that created a link between them. A link that Twilight would exploit to the full if it would help her friends.
No! NO! I won’t let you do this to me!
I’m not giving you a choice!
Twilight and Eve stood on either end of a magical conduit, power and blood and ancient magic binding the two of them together.At rest that conduit was as a gentle stream, a babbling brook that made some noise but moved little water. But when either of the two of them wished it that brook could become a raging torrent. Raven and Eve, in their arrogance, had thought of this conduit as flowing one way, drawing power of Twilight to strengthen them. But Twilight had gotten her hooves on the controls and she was turning the flow to maximum in reverse. Eve screamed wordlessly inside her head, and the mental shout echoed through Twilight’s soul but she didn’t stop, she didn’t hesitate, she drew and drew upon Eve’s power, drawing it into herself.
Of course. Yes, there is a way. If sufficient energy were poured into the gem then it would give Twilight enough power to escape her confinement and reconstitute her physical form.
That was what Raven had said, and as much as Twilight wouldn’t trust Raven as far as she could throw her the assassin’s words matched Twilight’s own research upon the subject of soul gems. If she could keep on drawing on Eve’s power, if she could draw enough of it into herself, then she could break free and…
And see her friends again.
If Twilight had still possessed eyes they would have been crying. If she’d still possessed any kind of body then her chest would have been heaving with anticipation. She was so close. She could feel it. She could feel Eve’s power being subsumed into hers. Twilight’s assault had staggered her, and the need to keep Twilight’s friends from interfering meant that she didn’t have the energy to really resist Twilight. All she could do was howl in impotent fury as Twilight inched closer and closer to a true rebirth.
She was almost there. She was so close. She could…she could almost feel it. She could almost taste freedom. She could…as she pulled and pulled as though she were tugging an enormous sheet towards her, or engaged in a tug-of-war with Eve, Twilight couldn’t help herself but to think of all that she would do once she was…once she was free.
Hold on, girls, I’ll see you soon.
A shadow fell over her, over the gem in which her soul was bound: Raven’s hand, claws extended, snapping the chain around Eve’s neck and squeezing Twilight’s soul gem in her grasp.
“I’m beginning to think that you’re more trouble than your worth, princess,” Raven snarled. “You won’t let us hurt your friends? What makes you think I’ll let you hurt mine?”
No, Twilight thought, in the lonely echo of her gem. No, it can’t end like this. She was still connected to Eve, still close enough to draw on her power…but she didn’t have enough, not yet…and it seemed like Raven wasn’t going to wait around for her to finish.
Not like this. Twilight lashed out mentally, but Raven was better prepared for her and Twilight’s attack sloughed off of her mind like shells splintering upon the armour of a battleship.
“I’ve never killed anybody twice before,” Raven crowed. “This is going to be a new experience for me.”
Not like this. It can’t end like this!
“Say hello to the void, princess!”
Twilight tried to speed up the rate at which she drew on Eve’s power, she tried to…she tried to do anything, but she knew that it wouldn’t be enough.
“GET YOUR HAND OFF MY SISTER!”
Twilight heard Raven cry out, felt the shadow hovering over her soul depart and all its pressure with it, and suddenly she was in a new hand, an embrace warm with love.
Twilight…Twilight, is that really you?
Spike?
Yeah. Yeah, it’s me.
How did you-
I could feel that other you’s hold on me getting weaker, so I turned on my dragon knight powers to break free.
Spike-
Look, I know that you don’t like me transforming and I get it, I really do. But I could see that you were in trouble and I didn’t know what else to do so I just did the best I could at the time and I-
Spike!
Huh?
I was just going to say thank you.
Oh. Right. So…what do I do now?
If I can just get enough energy that I can…I can come back from here. But it’s taking longer than I’d hoped.
Spike was mentally silent for a moment. Come back? Like back back? With a body and everything?
Yes.
What kind of energy do you need?
I’ve been taking it from Eve, but-
Does it have to be hers?
No, it’s just-
Then take mine. I’ll give it to you, that’ll be faster won’t it?
Probably, Twilight conceded. But-
I don’t care, Twilight. Take it. Take my dragon knight, take anything you need. I’m your assistant, so let me help you when you need it most.
“That’s mine,” Raven growled. “Give it back, you reptile brat.”
We don’t have time for this, Twilight!
…Okay. Do it, Spike!
Twilight opened herself to Spike’s power and felt it rush into her like a river in spate flooding a valley. The power of the dragon knight, the paragon of all dragons, the strength of that mighty race deluging her, pouring into her, flooding her soul…giving her everything she needed.
Raven lunged for Spike, clawed hands outstretched, fangs bared…but as she leapt for him, as she got halfway there, the lavender gem that he held in his hand shattered into fragments.
A cloud of lavender smoke rose from his hands. Raven howled. Spike, now shrunk back into his normal, child-sized form, cried out in triumph. Eve’s eyes widened in disbelief. Twilight’s friends stared in amazement. From the back of the cave Lightning, Artie and Snowflame, who had rushed to the sound of the shouting, halted in shock as the lavender smoke gathered and gradually resolved itself into the form of an alicorn, a true alicorn with four hooves, free of the modifications done to her by Starfleet’s science.
Her horn flared, and a shield enclosed her friends and gently lowered to the floor, protected from Eve’s magic.
Twilight herself descended. Her hooves clicked upon the ground.
She opened her eyes and glared at her enemies.
“You won’t hurt them any more,” she declared.
“T-Twilight?” Pinkie murmured.
Twilight smiled. “Yes. I’m back. And I’m never going to go away again.”