Alicornae: The Legend of Starlit Sky

by PortalJumper


Part V - Chapter 6: A Witness To Ruin

Alicornae: The Legend of Starlit Sky

Part V - Chapter 6: A Witness To Ruin

* * *

Starlit gently tucked the cracked stone of the necklace into her collar after it had come dislodged during her flight, her chest still heaving as she lay in the blood puddle and stared towards the creaking, ancient gate. It sounded far older than it looked, like every inch it moved was an agonizing effort for its old, glimmering hinges. With a final groan of metal, the gates stopped moving, leaving the path forward clear for her.

With a grunt, Starlit flipped onto her stomach and slowly, agonizingly rose to her hooves. Her entire body ached, her horn felt like somepony was trying to snap it off, and she could barely even lift her head enough to see where she was going. Taking a moment to pick up her sword from where it had landed when she went off the cliff and sheathe it, Starlit struggled forward through the gate.

As she crossed the threshold there was an immediate change in scenery; the formerly omnipresent wind howling this high up the mountain ceased blowing entirely, replaced instead with a warm, gentle breeze. The chill that had gotten worse and worse the further up she climbed was gone as well, and the air was as pleasant as a balmy spring day. Finally, where there had once been worn out cobblestones and ruined homes and buildings as the only signs that anypony had once lived here, there now wasn't even that.

As Starlit crested the last ascent before the road evened out, all she saw was sheer devastation. For miles and miles in every direction there was nothing but desolate buildings that were barely more than piles of rubble. The roads and thoroughfares that had once cross-crossed through this city had been blasted into rubble and the rubble ground into dirt by the sheer progression of time. And as a final macabre touch, there were skeletons of ponies littered everywhere, left to rot where they had died in that grand final battle all those centuries ago.

The thing that drew the most of Starlit's attention, though, was the thing she knew was her final goal. Several miles away, carved out of the sheer rock face that formed the remains of the peak of the mountain, was a palace, and unlike the palaces Starlit had borne witness to in Sunspire, New Selene, and the Crystal Empire, this one was truly majestic. Made from polished white marble richly engraved with purple and golden carvings that swirled and contorted in perfectly symmetrical patterns, and with five massive spires that rose high above the massive castle grounds. Topping each spire was a large flag; one was bright orange, with a pair of wings folded over a large horn that was backed by a red circle. Another was a deep, rich blue, with a crescent moon on the underside flanked by an outstretched pair of blue wings and capped with a large five-pointed star. The third was in deep pinks, with a glittering blue crystal heart surrounded by a six-pointed star and several crystalline shapes in the center, while the fourth was black and dark teal, with a pair of thin, pale blue wings and twisted black horn in the center.

The central spire, however, had two flags, one ascending the other. The lower flag was a bright magenta, with an inverted crescent moon shape from the blue one's in the center. A pair of magenta wings were flanking the moon, which had five small white stars underneath it and one large, deep magenta, six-pointed star over the moon. Atop that flag was one that looked like a combination of all of the flags save for the black and teal one; it had the red and golden circle from the orange flag, the crescent moon and wings from the blue one, the blue heart and crystals from the pink one, and the stars from the magenta one. Each flag fluttered in the light breeze, flying high and proud atop their spires, and Starlit couldn't help but stare at them until a blinding flash of magenta from the central spire forced her to cover her eyes.

As her sight returned to her Starlit heard small thrum of magic sounded behind her, and she turned her aching neck to see that where there had once been an open gate leading down the mountain there was now a shimmering, slate grey wall of fog covering the way back down.

"Figures she'd trap me here," Starlit said, recognizing one of Twilight's fog wall spells when she saw it. "No turning back now unless I want to dive off the mountain again."

"I wouldn't recommend that, Starlit Sky," said a familiar voice in her mind. The necklace tugged and pulled out of Starlit's armor, and the stone hovered in front of her before once again projecting Twilight's regally-adorned image. However, what had once been a neat and perfect simulacrum of the Princess was now jittery and riven with streaks of silver light.

"Come to congratulate me on making it up your mountain, or to deride me for making it past all of the thestrals you put in my way?" Starlit asked, taking the moment to sit down and rest her legs.

"The thestrals were a test of your abilities, one that I am both happy and somewhat miffed you were able to overcome, so perhaps a mixture of both," Twilight answered.

"I've been dealing with far worse than that for a month now, what really makes you think that a few packs of thestrals was going to be what killed me?" Starlit asked, rolling her shoulders to relieve some of the tension.

"Firstly, they did kill you, several times in fact. Secondly, if I had wanted you dead, you would be, Starlit," Twilight countered with a cock of the eyebrow. "I have the sort of power that if I even think too hard about you, you would probably suffer an aneurysm. It would be utterly trivial for me to kill you."

"Then why haven't you? You know why I'm here, you know what I want, and you know that that means whatever you're doing is going to be stopped. Why keep me around knowing that I might just be the one thing that could throw all of this into utter disarray?"

"Because I need a witness, and you just so happen to fit the bill," Twilight answered.

"A witness to what?" Starlit asked back. "What could you possibly have to show me that it would be so important as to risk letting me tear down your whole scheme just to show it to me?"

Twilight, or at least the projection of her that the stone was manifesting, turned to face the palace in the distance, letting out a low, breathy sigh as she looked upon its majesty.

"Nothing less than the revival of my kingdom, and the securing of Equestria's future in perpetuity," Twilight answered. "You may not agree with my methods, Starlit Sky, but do not doubt that my motives are anything other than the salvation of you and this nation."

A large, shimmering field of magenta encapsulated Twilight's horn, and off in the distance Starlit could see a similar pinprick of magenta light at the very top of the central spire.

"Sacrifices have been made, Starlit Sky, and not just by you. Know that if you continue to interfere, you will be rendering centuries worth of planning and the lives of countless innocents meaningless, all for something as petty as revenge for one lie. This is the only warning you will receive from me."

The pinprick of light in the distance grew brighter and brighter, until it released into a five-pointed burst of magic. Each beam drew a straight, sure line to one of five flags, completely engulfing the orange, blue, pink, black, and combined flags in a blast of magenta fire. The sole one that remained was the magenta flag on the central spire, and Starlit had a fairly good idea of who that flag belonged to.

"Witness my ascension as Equestria's sole monarch," Twilight intoned, turning back to face her wayward servant, "and then go home."

The jittering, silver-streaked image of Twilight Sparkle faded away, and Starlit caught the black stone in her magic before it could hit the dirt. The pair of cracks along its surface glowed with a faint magenta light before fading back into the grey that they had been leaking before as Starlit put it back around her neck.

Her muscles ached, her head swam, and she had just received a stark, terrifying reminder of what exactly she was up against, but as Starlit pressed forward into the ruins of Canterlot, marching to what could very well be her doom and looking upon the burning flags at the tops of their spires, Starlit knew that she had to see what Twilight had done.

She had to see what Twilight had done that could possibly be worth all of this.

* * *

Night fell swiftly, faster than it should, though Starlit couldn't tell if it was from some latent magic or just her own weariness making the time pass faster. The gentle breeze blew over piles of rubble, creaked the skeletons of long dead trees, and ruffled Starlit's hair as she marched onward. Her hooves had lost all feeling, idly sliding through the dirt as they were, and one caught a piece of masonry she hadn't noticed and sent her sprawling to the ground with a dull thud.

The landing wasn't hard, not by a long shot, but to Starlit the world felt like it was swirling and swimming past her. Her body ached and her brain cried out for rest, more than it had in days, and for once Starlit felt like indulging it. Slowly her heavy eyelids fell closed, and as a flash of magenta illuminated the world she let unconsciousness take her away from the pain.

The blackness, pierced every so often by the dull red of light shining through her eyelids, was soothing to her battered body, but the guilt still gnawed at her heart as she slept. There was no stirring in her legs, no tossing and turning in nerves, just the deep, dreamless sleep of sheer exhaustion punctuated by the cloying knowledge that every minute spent resting was a minute closer to the summation of Twilight's plans.

Starlit wasn't sure how long she'd slept when she cracked her eyes open, but the moon was still high in the sky when she rolled over and stared up at the stars. With a heavy groan Starlit flipped over and got back up, her muscles screaming at her in protest and her brain crying out for more rest. Starlit quickly pulled the black stone out of her armor and held it aloft.

"I can rest when I'm home," Starlit thought as she began to worm her magic into the stone again. As she did the soft grey light emanating from its two cracks turned the same color of her magic, a soft, light teal, and before too long she felt that same tingling, prickly feeling overtake her body before she collapsed to the dirt.

In short time the blackness resolved into an image, not of Twilight, but of just her horn. The way Starlit's perspective was positioned she appeared to be sitting on top of Twilight's head, just behind her horn where a few errant sparks of magenta magic were dissipating. Starlit's perspective was quickly subsumed by magenta light before it vanished and her viewpoint had changed; she could see Twilight now, resplendent in her royal regalia and looking at Starlit with astonishment.

Twilight quickly picked whatever Starlit was viewing this scene from up in her magic, holding it at eye level and saying things to it that Starlit couldn't hear. By the furrowing of her brow and the speed of her words she seemed genuinely upset, and when nothing responded to her Twilight swiftly threw the object to the floor, severing the connection.

Starlit woke up with a start, like she had just had a nightmare about falling, but felt fit and awake again. A cracking sound rung out from the stone, and Starlit could see the last traces of her teal magic dissipating into grey as a third fracture appeared on the stone's black surface. The three cracks were now connected at a single point, and the original one was beginning to spread around to the other side of the stone.

Before Starlit could string the necklace back around her neck it was pulled out of her grasp, magenta light emanating from the cracks as a hazy, flickering image of Twilight manifested in front of her. She did not look pleased, to put it mildly.

"What are you doing?" Twilight demanded.

"Coming to stop your dastardly scheme, what does it look like?" Starlit curtly answered.

"Don't get smart with me, Starlit Sky, you know exactly what I'm talking about," Twilight countered back. "You did something just now, and I want to know what it was."

"Your Majesty, I can say in full confidence that I have no clue about what you're talking about," Starlit replied. "What happened to you, maybe that would clear things up a bit?"

"Wouldn't you just love to know," Twilight spat. "If you're just going to be coy with me then fine, keep your secrets, but know that I will figure out what you know sooner or later."

Without another word Twilight's image vanished, and the stone fell to the ground before Starlit quickly caught it in her magic. In its fragile state she couldn't afford to have it hit the ground any more. She quickly tucked the stone into a secure pocket of her armor, taking in what little information she had just gleaned.

"Whatever power is letting me spy on Twilight, it is something she's aware of but can't figure out," Starlit muttered to herself. "I have leverage on her now, but she's probably just going to redouble her efforts to bring me in by force if she really wants me to witness her rise to power."

Starlit quickly levitated her sword from its sheathe, testing the balance as she stretched her legs out. With a quick flourish she reseated the blade and started walking again, heading towards the palace once more.

The thrum in the necklace had grown softer again, and Starlit had to get to Twilight before she destroyed her only lifeline.

* * *

The closer Starlit got to the walls surrounding the palace, the more and more devastated the entire city looked. What would've been rubble near the Gate of Antiquities was now nothing more the flat, blasted rock and dust; where there had been the odd skeleton laying along the thoroughfare there were now piles of bones, skulls, and rusted armor, enough that Starlit was having to climb over them in some places. For all of the other lies Twilight had fed her, the scale of the sheer destruction that wracked Canterlot was living up to the stories.

Everywhere she looked, Starlit saw the ruination of what must have been a magnificent and exquisite civilization, all laid to waste by betrayal, jealousy, and mistrust. Every skull bleached by the sun, every sword rusted into ferrous dust by centuries of rain and wind, every life lost fighting for the ideals of a dead kingdom. If she had had the time, Starlit would've cried for the lost, but as she approached the gate she was forced to steel herself for what lay ahead.

Standing in front of a pair of massive, solid metal doors that were gilded and festooned with art and gems, was an equally titanic figure. It was in the general shape of a pony, but appeared to be more in line with one of Luna's constructs on closer inspection. The silver-and-gold clad behemoth was easily thrice her size and twice her width; it had a massive iron horn protruding from the chamfron on its forehead, a quiver of iron spears as tall as trees slung to its side, and across its back and down its legs and face were streaks of tarnish and grime accumulated over what must have been centuries of ceaseless vigil.

Starlit drew her sword from the sheathe, holding it low in her magic as she cautiously approached the guardian. As she got closer, avoiding the odd bit of bone and stone, it's massive head creaked and groaned with the shriek of long rusted hinges and joints as it turned its hollow, eyeless face to track her passage. The void in its eye sockets was disconcerting, to say the least, but Starlit kept a close watch on it as it kept a closer watch on her.

Starlit slowly, hesitantly, approached the massive doors to find that there were a series of smaller doors built into the larger doors to allow for ponies to come through without having the waste the time pulling open the gates. A thunderous cracking and booming of hooves sounded as the behemoth slowly rotated around, watching Starlit as she laid a hoof upon the door in front of her.

With a thin creak, the smaller door opened up with just a slight push. The guardian did nothing, just watched as Starlit moved through and entered the courtyard of the palace itself. With another thin creak Starlit shut the door behind her before letting out a deep sigh of relief at what was either her luck or Twilight's poor planning.

"What is the point of having a guardian that size if it just lets a trespasser go by without trying to stop her?" Starlit asked to the air as she pressed forward. She quickly sheathed her sword, before realizing that she would definitely still need it.

Standing before her, guarding the way up a set of massive marble stairs into the palace itself, were a sextet of smaller guardians very similar to the one that Starlit had just sneaked past. These constructs were roughly her size, and each and every one of them turned to stare at her with perfect, creaking precision, the rising light of the sun glinting and gleaming off of their tarnished and patinated bodies.

As Starlit pulled her sword out, the six constructs all illuminated their own iron horns with a very familiar sheen of grey magic and pulled spears out from the holsters slung to their sides. Each spear turned and pointed at Starlit as the guardians began to march in lockstep towards her. Their hooves clanked against the dirt, their joints creaked and squealed with centuries of decay, and nothing but their hollowed, empty visors stared back at Starlit.

Starlit quickly manifested a body ward around herself, the shimmering teal light encasing her form like a blanket. The foremost guardian lunged with its spear, an attack Starlit was able to expertly deflect into the ground before stepping on the iron spear to hold it in place and throwing the sword forward to its helmet. A screech of metal greeted Starlit as the sword found purchase and dug into the helmet perpendicular to the visor, but when she withdrew the sword there was no squelch of gore or spurt of blood. Whatever these things were, they were not at all like the constructs in New Selene, especially when Starlit felt the guardian she had just stabbed through the face pull its spear back to it.

Starlit quickly feinted right as the spear flew out over her head again and narrowly dodging a second spear from one of its cohorts by flopping onto her stomach. Starlit could feel her heart race as she tried to figure out a way to end these things, and noticed the sheer level of rust on its horseshoes and greaves.

Thinking quickly, Starlit whipped her sword downward to strike at the hooves of the guardian that was upon her, rolling out of the way of a spear strike as she did. The deafening clatter of metal striking the ground made Starlit whip her head around, where she saw the construct flailing in the ground and missing its front hooves.

Getting up and readying her sword again, Starlit kept aiming low at each of these beasts; while it would sometimes take two or three strikes to get the desired results, eventually she had each and every construct on the ground and failing to stand back up on hooves they no longer had. Dodging spears that sailed over, under, and around her from her prone assailants, Starlit started the arduous process of tearing them apart piece by piece. Barding, chamfron, greaves, tassets; she had to rend, cut, and pull every piece of these monsters apart before they finally stopped moving, and Starlit had taken more than a few spears to her ward before she could finally get the last one to fall still.

Breathing heavily, Starlit looked to her sword, now battered and chipped with having to cleave through metal, and tossed it aside. With a spurt of magic Starlit tore one of the spear holsters off of the ruined armor and carefully wound it through the straps of her own armor. She then took up one of the iron spears, gently testing its balance in her magic before sliding it into the holster.

"There's going to be more of them inside, that much is certain," Starlit said to herself. "And if I run into one of those huge ones that wants me dead, I might just have to sneak around it rather than engage it."

A soft clink against a piece of rock drew Starlit's attention, where she saw her black stone necklace laying. The light from its cracks pulsed slowly, and it was slowly dragging itself towards the remnants of the metal guardians.

Starlit eyed the rock curiously, seeing where it was going, before it nestled itself into one of the helmets. Taking the helmet up in her magic, seeing it as the one she had stabbed through, Starlit saw the stone hanging off of the inside, near the back, where next to it was another piece of the Heart of Fate.

The stone could be nothing else, and Starlit felt her heart start to beat faster as she carefully tore the front of the helmet apart to get a better look at it. It was a more rounded shape than her own shard-like crystal, and it appeared to be attached to the back of the helmet by some sort of filmy, organic substance that fell away as soon as Starlit took hold of the stone with her magic. She felt no pulse, no thrumming beat from this one the way she had felt from her own so many times, but she knew that there was power within it, and that power could possibly be tapped.

Starlit took her own fragment in her magic, holding the pair aloft as she concentrated on them both with all of her mental fortitude. Starlit knew that she could take energy from her own stone, but if she could possibly give some from another to her own, it might help repair the damage she had done to her own.

Starlit's face screwed up in focus as she concentrated on the magic within herself and the stones, and after what felt like an hour of trying to forge the connection Starlit saw what she was looking for; a thin stream of grey light connecting the two stones. Her heart was beating more rapidly now as sweat beaded down her forehead, but what had initially been anticipation swiftly turned to shock.

The process was almost too quick for her to notice; at one moment there were two stones, and then suddenly there was just her own. The other fragment had just ceased to be, and the cracks in her own stone had shrunk ever so slightly. The grey light pulsing out from within the cracks was brighter for a moment, before gently receding back to its usual state.

As Starlit put the stone back into the pocket on her armor she felt the pulse from it quicken and pull towards the shattered and torn to pieces armor around her, where she saw, ever so faintly, five more grey lights pulsating from inside five more helmets.

* * *