//------------------------------// // An Alicorn, and a Crystal Heart. // Story: A Star's Journey. // by Naren //------------------------------// Twilight groaned, her head fuzzy. The sudden shift in location had caused her to slam into a wall at speed. She looked up and saw that the dark crystal making up the wall had been cracked. She rubbed her head with a hoof and took a look around the room. It was obvious that she was in the castle’s throne room, considering the massive throne on one side of the room. It was made of more of those dark Crystals, but something was at the top of it. It was another crystal, but this one was glowing. It illuminated the hall in a shadow's green and purple mixture, and Twilight found that her gaze was drawn towards the crystal… She was ripped out of her trance when the castle shook, Cadence’s battle with the forces of evil below shaking everything. She needed to act quickly now because Cadance and- SPIKE! Twilight was near another panic attack, her number-one assistant was out down there, with Sombra. And his army. In danger, Twilight slammed the brakes on her train of thought. She was getting better at that. She needed to focus, find the Crystal Heart-and she didn't really know where to go from there. Deliver it to Cadance, who would use it to stop Sombra? It was her only hope now. She looked around the room and remembered her dream of the room. There had been a hole in the floor, with a spiral staircase descending into the depths. She paced the area, looking for anything that might open the way down.  While she found nothing, her eyes settled on the throne. More specifically, that glowing crystal at the top. Twilight swallowed, knowing what she would have to do. She had avoided magic, that which was her element, because of one main fear. She-she didn’t want to know if it had been tainted as well. She didn’t want to know how much Chrysalis's Corruption had changed her. That fear had been overridden by a new one. Spike, Cadence, Shiny, and her friends needed her. She wouldn't, couldn’t, fail them now. So with a deep breath, she poured magic into her twisted horn. She sat there, a purple glow collecting on the bony appendage, but nothing happened. Perhaps…Perhaps the corruption wasn’t as deep as feared? Regardless, she needed to press on. She didn’t know what she was doing, so she went for the simplest option.  She shot a beam of pure magic at the Crystal, creating a blinding light. Suddenly, her magic was swallowed by black shadows, which seemed to take the pure energy and use it to darken the whole room. Shadows grew, eclipsing all light beyond the purity that flowed from her horn. They were growing closer, twisting until all was darkness. Twilight felt something at the tip of its horn. It wasn’t physical contact, but something else. It felt like-It felt like her crown.With a start, she realized what it was. It was magic. A vast body of magic, larger than anything Twilight had-had ever heard of! She pulled on the magic and found that it flowed easily. It didn’t just flow, it seemed like it was being pushed into her horn, for her to use. With a thrust of her horn, she used it. The Shadows were gone in an instant, a pure light replacing them in an ever-shining brilliance. For a split second, Twilight felt like she had ascended to Alicornhood, so much was the power flowing through her horn. Then it was gone, revealing a dimly lit throne room. The normally black crystals now glowed softly, shining in every color of the rainbow. The crystal that had sat upon the throne was now changed, glowing with a soft white light. More than that, it had changed shape. It now resembled the star which was prominently featured in her cutie mark and the one in her element.  The entire room had changed, with the biggest being the large triangle-shaped hole in the floor. In it was the spiral staircase from her dreams. It contrasted against the room, which was now pure and harmonious. It descended into the shadows, and without any other option, Twilight started down them. They kept going down. They didn’t stop.  The stairs kept going.  On and on, step after step, Twilight went down. She started carefully at first, but after a couple of minutes she started to quicken her pace. Cadence was still out there, fighting Sombra and his army. And Spike…Twilight was worried for him, for her baby dragon. So, she started to run.  A wave of Dejau vu passed over Twilight, but it was quickly replaced by something else. The feeling of weightlessness. She had tripped. Then she slammed back into the stairs, rolling down them. Eventually, she rolled straight into a wall, stopping her. Rubbing her head for what had to be the fifth time today, she got to her hooves and inspected where she had landed. She was in a circular room, and in front of her was a closed door. It was dark and seemed to radiate Sombra’s dark magic. Twilight tried to open with her magic but refused to budge. With that approach failing, she decided on a new one. The door slammed open when hit with her back legs, mustering all the power she could. She hadn’t aimed for the door itself, but rather the crystals in which the lock had been placed. When it shattered, the door moved as well. As she stepped into the room beyond, she found herself in a strange place. The room was made out of a vaguely stone-like substance, and the wall was covered in holes. The room was egg-shaped, an object sitting in the center of the room. It was a throne. It was a dark, spikey horror, yet that wasn’t the worst thing about it. Something deep inside was being pulled on, trying to come out and into the light. Twilight struggled to keep it down, but she was holding on, even if just barely. Then the voice spoke. “Twilight Sparkle, my little drone.” The voice cooed, and Twilight felt the other part of her double its effort. It was all she could do to stop the side, so she wasn’t able to speak back. “You’ve come back. I feared that after my little accident with that cursed Knight, you had abandoned me. Your queen…” Chrysalis’s voice sounded heartbroken, and Twilight felt her heart shatter. It had control of her feelings.  “I…I-I…” Twilight stuttered, her mind crumbling under the mental assault of being in her queen’s presence. Then the queen walked into her sight. The force pushed even harder, just looking at Chrysalis seemed to amplify it. Twilight could barely function. “Your friends abandoned you, you know? Even your precious Princess, your mentor, abandoned you in your time of need. But I was there, right? I helped you find peace, right?” Twilight wanted to answer her queen, but a treacherous part of her wouldn’t let her. It was fighting her every movement, her every thought. It was wrong-her queen was the only reason she lived. Queen Chrysalis had shown her the wonders of being a changeling. So why did it still fight her?  “My-My-my…” Twilight tried to say but found she couldn't say it. That damned other-self! It was screaming, but Twilight wasn’t paying any attention to it. It didn’t deserve it. “Come on now-” Her queen teased, “Say it. Tell me the truth of what I am. Of what I am to you.” It was an order from her queen, and she ached to follow it. “You are my-my…You are my-” A wave of memories washed over Twilight. A small town, seen from above. Five other ponies, smiling at her. A dark Alicorn towering above her, before being hit by a rainbow beam. A tall princess hugging her sister. A tall abomination, turning to stone as friends came together once more.  Then the memories showed her things that had happened more recently. Twilight, being snapped out of a horrible vision by a blue Pegasus. Then, the same Pegasus saving her from that overpowering cold. A shy yellow Pegasus saving her from the dark's corruption, and then her friends giving up their freedom so that she may continue. They still cared about her, didn't they? They had never stopped. Twilight met Chrysalis’s gaze and spoke. Her voice was soft, but there was no denying the power behind it, “You…You are not my queen.”  The Bug balked, eyes going wide. “What?” “You are not my queen. You are not my Queen!”  “Stop this! STOP THIS AT ONCE!” “YOU ARE NOT MY QUEEN!” Twilight roared, a brilliant purple light leaping from her horn. The last thing that Chrysalis saw before her annihilation was the Purple Unicorn who denied her, with ethereal wings stretching into eternity. Twilight gasped, surging to her feet. She looked around frantically and found that she was still in the circular room. The Door she had gone into had now been replaced by a wall, with an open door on the other side of the room. She let out a deep breath, and saw her reflection in one of the crystals. She all but started weeping, for the sight that she saw was truly beautiful. Her horn was straight, Her teeth normal, and her eyes pure. She was no longer a monster. She had denied Chrysalis in that dream-like state, and it seemed that ehr body had rejected the monster’s touches. She was pure once more. The castle shook again, reminding Twilight that she was still under a horrific time crunch. She galloped to the open door, and found more stairs. She growled, she didn’t have time for this! Purple magic swirled around her, and with a clap she teleported. She appeared a couple of feet above the top of the Staircase, falling onto the platform.  There she met by a beautiful sight. The Crystal Heart. It was floating on top of the pedestal, gently rotating. As she stepped close to it, she felt the ground click. It lit up with dark magic, and Twilight watched as the tower she was in became a cage. Dark Crystals formed bars, trapping her and the heart. Twilight’s eyes widened, and she threw a kick at one of the crystal bars. Her hoofs bounced off the crystal, not even smudging it. She was trapped, truly trapped. An idea popped into her head, one that just might work. A few weeks before the wedding, Twilight had been working on a firework spell. While it had certain problems- a tendency to explode at unpredictable times-it would have to do here. Twilight readied the spell, and shot it out of the tower. It sparked and jumped, before exploding outwards. Hopefully, it would have attracted Cadance’s attention. If she hadn’t lost, that was. Twilight found her hopes vindicated when a pink shape rose off the ground. Even from up here, Twilight could see that Cadance was in bad shape. But regardless, she rose upwards, blue magic collecting around her. It was quick, but brutal. Blue magic morphed into a massive beam, shooting upwards. At the tower, at Twilight.  It barely missed her by a few inches, but it still hit the tower. The dark crystals had been vaporized, but to her horror, they were growing back. Making a decision that had no other choice, Twilight grabbed the heart, and lept. She jumped through the gap, her heart soaring. She slammed down onto the crystal surfaces, sliding perilously down the slope. As she slid, she could see an exhausted Cadance hover in the sky, watching her.  Cadence had made a mistake. Her actions had opened herself up to attack from below, and her enemy seized it. It felt like time froze as dark tendrils stabbed upwards, piercing Cadance in the stomach. The tendrils of dark magic then burst off her back, before throwing her downwards. Twilight couldn't even scream, it had happened too fast. Regardless, she was still hurtling down the side of the castle. She saw dark crystals grow out the side of the corrupted tower, but she was going to fast for them to prove a problem. No, the problem was the fact that she was hurtling towards the edge-now she flew past the edge, body beginning to enter freefall. She looked down, and saw that she was only a few hundred feet up. Fortunately, Twilight’s mind had been moving quickly as she slid down the tower. Acting quickly, she made sure she had a good grasp on the heart, and teleported again. She teleported so that she would lose all momentum in the movement, and would land safely. To her surprise, it worked. She then felt a sharp pain in her horn, and realized that had used up most of her magic reserves. Now she is effectively magicless, holding a crystal, and surrounded by an army of corrupted ponies. “Thank you for delivering my property, Twilight Sparkle. It shall look excellent next to the body of a princess.” Sombra spoke, his voice mocking and arrogant. However, his words alerted Twilight to Cadance's situation.  The pony that had once been her foal sitter was laying on the ground, bleeding from four wounds in her chest and back. Her coat was covered in other scratches and burns, but even her alicorn healing seemed to be struggling to heal those wounds. Cadence wouldn’t be fighting anymore. Then she saw Spike. The baby dragon was the same  black crystal-plate armor as the rest of Sombra’s army. Twilight’s mind was filled with fury, they had touched him! And yet, Twilight’s anger wouldn’t accomplish anything here, considering the odds layed out against her. It seems that Sombra has reached a similar conclusion. Unless the Crystal Heart could do some sort of magic to instantly make everything better, she had lost. The fact hit her hard. She had failed. Despite everything, all of their sacrifices, she had failed. Equestria was going to fall to the Dark King, the one she had failed to stop. Luna, Celestia- Harmony! Please, Twilight mentally begged, let there be a way to save them. They sacrificed everything for me, their freedoms and futures. Even after what I said. Please, let there be a way out-let there be a way to save them. A tear, followed by another, then a few more, began to rain down. They rained from Twilight's eyes, onto the glowing crystal below. Twilight blinked, quickly trying to clear the tears from her eyes. The crystal heart was glowing now, and small ribbons of light had begun to grow out of it. The ribbons grew longer, stretching towards the slumped figure of the princess of love on the Ground. They wrapped around her, bathing the dying alicorn in a soft white light. The Light grew in strength, blinding Twilight- Celestia sat on her throne, ignoring the noble who was speaking in front of her. It wasn’t the pony’s fault, rather that Celestia was too stressed to really focus on the minor problems of Canterlot.  She hadn’t heard from Shining Armor or Cadance for almost a day now, which only increased the worry in her heart. She knew that neither of them had forgiven her for her actions, or lack of, during the wedding. It was only their pure hearts that had convinced them to go up north, and for that she was thankful. The stallion had stopped talking, and was staring at something. He was staring at one of the windows, the one of Twilight and her crown. Celestia looked at it as well, and noticed something odd.  The crown was glowing. More specifically, the six-pointed star in the crown had begun to glow, a mix of white and purple light. Celestia’s eyes moved from the window, looking at the glowing stars. Every star, that six-pointed one, was glowing. The entire room had become illuminated, yet that wasn’t all. Celestia could feel it, a hum in the air. It was the same feeling, the same power that was in the air anytime the Elements of Harmony were used.  A smile crossed the Solar Princess’s face.  Deep in the Everfree forest, was a ruined castle. Once the capital of Equestria, it was now overgrown ruins. Off to the side was the entrance to a cave, one that excluded peace and tranquility. A dark blue Alicorn walked the familiar steps, heading to what many would call a holy site. Since the banishment of the Nightmare, Luna had tried to make the journey at least once a week. She walked the path to the Tree of Harmony, so that she may reflect on the actions that had taken millenia ago. The world she had put in danger, and those that she killed in her battle with her sister deserved that at the very least. The sight that greeted her was different from the times from her previous trips. The crystal tree at the back of the tree was radiating light. The entire tree bathing the cave in light, a complete mixture of the rainbow. Luna paused, and it felt like a weight had been taken off her back.  The light shone with all the colors of the rainbow, and it was growing in strength. The tree had become a blazing beacon, one the Luna knew could be seen from canterlot. Infact… She raised her wings, and felt magic fill the air beneath them. With a single flap, she shot out the cave, higher and higher into the sky. The view was gorgeous, as Equestria always was, but that wasn’t what was bringing a tear to her eye.  The Land was glowing. Every star, that six pointed one, had begun to glow. Regardless if it was a gem, carved into stone, or engraved in clothes. They were all shining with that same light. Princess Luna turned her gaze northward, and saw a pillar of Light stretching high into the sky. It went higher and higher, a spear of light in the night sky. What's more, she could feel magic radiate off of it. Even from here, an entire kingdom away, Luna could feel the Magic of Harmony. Cadance’s body began to rise, the pure ribbons circling around the broken alicorn. The light grew brighter, blinding every pony. Then, the blinding light surged with a flash, causing Twilight to have to close her eyes. When she opened them, Cadance was gone. In her place, falling gently towards the ground, was a new Alicorn. She was taller, taller than even Celestia. Pure white wings, matching her coat, splayed outwards. Her mane seemed to be made of pure magic, rippling with light and purity. The Alicorn’s horn was long and sharp, magic already crackling around it. The Alicorn had a cutie mark as well, a simple one. It was the outline of the six-pointed star that was in mark as well. The one that her crown, the Element of Magic, was built around. The Purple outline seemed to glow softly, yet Twilight could easily feel the magic coursing around her.  As her hoofs touched the ground, the Alicorn’s eyes opened. Twilight gasped, it was like looking into the night sky. She saw a thousand stars, and then her eyes seemed to focus. They became normal, even if the iris was glowing all the colors of the rainbow. The Alicorn took a deep breath, like it was their first one in a century, then looked at Twilight. Her gaze was almost motherly, kind and wise. It filled Twilight with hope, instantly calming the rampant emotions that had been raging through her earlier.  “Twilight Sparkle.” It said her name, sounding like a thousand voices harmonizing together. “You have suffered so much, and yet you are still willing to give. There is a reason you bear the Element of Magic.” The Alicorn's voice solidified into one, beautiful and wise. Yet Twilight found herself slightly confused, until she felt an-oh-so familiar weight rest upon her head. The crown, the Element of Magic, was on her head. It should have been in canterlot- an emergency item for the sisters to try to use if they had failed. Now it was on her head-teleported without light or sound. That should have been impossible.  The Alicorn winked at her gaping expression, and spoke once more. “In any other situation, this would have been impossible. But with enough magic, and a deep enough wish, anything can become reality.” The Alicorn fixed her gaze onto Twilight, opening her mouth to speak again-but a voice interrupted her. “You! Who are you to interrupt my moment of Triumph!” Sombra snarled. The Alicorn simply gave him a tired look, before looking back to Twilight. “You know who I am, Twilight?” She asked her, and Twilight froze. “You…You’re Harmony, right?” Twilight asked, her voice shaky and hesitant. She answered with a smile. It crossed the Alicorn’s face, and she looked back to the dark Unicorn. “Do you know what you’ve done?” She asked the king, her voice laced with  a strange sadness. She continued before Sombra could speak. “You would have conquered, enslaved, and shattered this world. Your victory would cause so much unnecessary pain. The Universe already is in so much agony, and you would add to it. My champions can only do so much.” Sombra seemed to be taken aback by Harmony’s words, and a sneer crossed his face. “HARMONY? Don’t make me laugh. Harmony is a concept followed by weaklings-those who deserve to be crushed underfoot. Your magic and body will be added to my army, but I don’t need your mind. Now…kneel, or be knelt.” Harmony let out a sigh. Then her horn flashed with magic. For a second, Twilight was in a white void, surrounded by a light that extended into infinity.  Then she was back in the city, but the sight was considerably different. The buildings were now swirling with color, like they had in her first vision. The road was glowing vibrantly with a blue light, and the tower… Twilight gasped softly, as she saw a pillar of light stretch into the sky. The top of the castle had become a beam of light, spearing straight upwards. Her gaze drifted downwards, and she found herself crying. There were ponies, coats covered in a crystal sheen, looking around in confusion. The dark crystals and metal that had previously controlled them were gone, erased by a pure power.  Then she saw them, her friends. They were free, no longer enslaved by the mad tyrant. Speaking of Sombra-Twilight couldn’t find him. Instead, she found Harmony standing over a black mark in the glowing crystal. Harmony wore an expression that Twilight could only think of as…grief? “This is what always happens, you know? So many worlds, and yet on nearly every one he’s a tyrant.” Harmony looked at Twilight, and she could see that the Alicorn was tired. Her eyes were exhausted, but Twilight was certain it wasn’t from freeing the kingdom.  Twilight approached the god-like being in front of her, preparing to ask a question. Harmony answered before she even spoke. “You want to know what I am, what I’m doing here, and how I’m here.” Twilight simply nodded. “The first question is hard to answer, the second is simple, and the third is complicated. I am here because you called me Twilight. You have suffered in this world, more than you ever should have. It is only fitting that you get a good end to your story.” She had called a god to Equestria? She was the reason that Harmony was here. Twilight found herself in a state of shock. “Your third question…I shouldn't be able to be here. My powers are vast, but I cannot manifest them directly. It is why the Elements of Harmony exist, why the Tree of Harmony, and the Crystal Heart exist. They are all conduits of my power, to make the world better.” Harmony took a breath, despite not needing one. “What you did, Twilight, should have been impossible. Your plea, made out of true love, connected to the Crystal Heart and Cadance. I was able to draw upon your wish, and allow my power to flow into Cadance. It appears that something else happened, as I only meant to supercharge the Princess, not turn her into my avatar. This…is wrong.” Twilight saw Harmony's eyes narrow, and the Alicorn stumbled. It was like something had pushed her, some weight had slammed into Harmony. Twilight instinctively leapt forward, despite the protest of her exhausted legs, trying to support the alicorn. Her hood made contact with the Alicorn and- Twilight was floating in a void, but slowly things seemed to focus into existence. Worlds, she was surrounded by thousands of spheres. They were blue and green, complete with clouds and moons. Then she saw the Tree, extending into infinity. Made of Crystal that flowed with different lights, the Tree seemed to be attached to every world. It wasn’t parasitic, as Twilight could see light flowing from the Tree into the planets. This was the True form of Harmony, then. Yet she could see something else, a branch of Harmony that seemed to move back and forth, swaying in the void. Twilight moved, following the branch. She didn’t know how she moved, only that she could. So she did. The branch became thinner and thinner, until it was little more than a wire. A wire that blazed with magical strength, so strong that is nigh-incomprehensible.  She stopped, and saw the scene ahead. A planet, covered in the darkest of clouds. She couldn’t see the surface, but she knew that whatever was happening down there was truly horrific. In the Void around the planet, Twilight saw something that could not be. A shattered moon, its surface covered in what appeared to be flesh. On one of the shards of the moon was a massive eye, pupil in death throes.  There were flashes of light inside the shattered moon, so Twilight flew closer, to get a better look. In it she found things that seemed to weigh upon her mind, things that should not exist.  The first thing she saw was a snake the size of continents, made of the pure absence of light. Twilight could hear the whispers on the edge of mind, telling her that the God of Death was here. It was fighting something, a figure that was much, much smaller. A two legged figure, covered in armor and wielding a sword and spear. He flew through the void with massive white wings, and it seemed that only his magic was keeping him alive out in the void of space. The wire that Twilight had been following was connected to his sword, and she could see it blaze with a pink light.  A pink beam slammed into the god, forcing it back. Twilight could see that both of the fighters were exhausted, yet neither held the upper hand. The God lashed out, driving the warrior back. This fight was as conceptual as it was physical. Twilight, connected to Harmony, could see that.  The Champion of Harmony waged war against the Tyrant Lord of Death, as Twilight could hear a voice faintly whisper something. There are no Gods, only Tyrants. The champion, this Knight, flew back from the tyrant, and she could see them prepare for one last clash. The two charged, and Twilight watched as the Knight through his sword, cutting across the void in a flash of pink. It embedded itself in the snake, which let a roar as the pure might of Harmony coursed through it, trying to unmake it.  As the Tyrant was distracted by the blade, the Knight dived with the Spear. It slammed into the snake's head, and Twilight witnessed the impossible. She could see it both in physical and conceptual, and it shouldn’t have been impossible. Physically, the Spear seemed to consume the snake. The Tyrant was eaten by the Spear, being completely unmade.  Conceptually, it was so much more. The Spear was the Hunger for all Magic, weaponized and purified by the purity of an Alicorn’s ascension. It wove through the God of Death’s essacne, splitting parts off and absorbing them. Unlike the moon in which the battle was taking place, which Twilight had realized was another Tyrant, the Lord of Death wasn’t simply being shattered. The Spear had killed it, truly killed it. A God, a Tyrant, had been slain.  A wave power was unleashed from God's death, and as Twilight felt herself be thrown out of this vision like state, she heard a single sentence. Zushakon…is…Dead. Twilight gasped, eyes snapping open. She was greeted by the warmth of a nice bed, blanket covering her snuggly. The walls were a calming blue, and there were a couple picture frames on the wall. One of Cloudsdale, Ponlville, and Canterlot. There was a new painting of a crystal city.  On one side of the room was a mirror and a sink, along with a closed off bathroom. Twilight blinked, and she realized where she was. As she slipped out of the bed, she crept towards the mirror. She could feel panic beginning to rise in the back of her mind. What if it had simply been a dream? What if she was still in that nightmare? As Twilight laid eyes upon her reflection, she began to cry. A pony looked back at her, with nightmarish elements. She was free of Chrysalis’s curse. As Twilight felt tears stream down her cheeks, the lights flipped on.  Twilight spun around, and Rarity. She had frozen in the middle of a yawn, one hoof having flicked the switch into the on position.  “Twilight?” Rarity’s voice was hesitant, unsure how the Unicorn would react. Twilight answered her question with a hug, wrapping her legs around the white Unicron. Within seconds, all of her friends were crowding in her room, exchanging hugs. They must have all been waiting outside her door. Outside, the sun had begun its ascent upwards, pulled by Princess Celestia’s magic. The Sun was rising on a new day, one full of hope and happiness. Her mind flickered with the vision she had seen, but it didn’t matter. There were other heroes who would help them. No, Twilight was going to enjoy the day, having fun with her friends.