//------------------------------// // Chapter 7 - Beginning of the End (Finale) // Story: Starlight Glimmer's Plan // by garatheauthor //------------------------------// Starlight stood at the train station, taking in a shallow breath of the late night air. It was crisp and tasted slightly of the impending fall that approached. She was waiting once again for a train to ferry her to Ponyville. This was going to be her last trip. The life she had put together in Canterlot was now nothing more than a memory. Yesterday she had left her job and today her apartment. There were a few good byes but not many. All that remained of her possessions were stored away in a saddlebag. It wasn’t much, a few articles of clothing, her notes, some pieces of lighter equipment, and of course Starswirl’s spell. Though, it was no longer solely his. She had modified it, adding in her own amendments. These were scribbled frantically into any empty space on the parchment not occupied by the work of the long dead wizard. Her additions would act as a bridge between his time travel spell and the unending source of magical energy that was Twilight’s map. The improvements had been ready for a while now but she held back on using them. She needed a target, a point in time where she could do the most damage to her enemies. Initially, she had thought about crashing Twilight’s ascension and stopping her from becoming an alicorn. While that would have been nice it would have left her friends unpunished. No, she needed to strike at something bigger, something that would wound them all. Then she attended a university lecture. One hosted by none other than Princess Twilight Sparkle herself. It had been the must see event of the academic year and she had been lucky to even find seats in the room. During the lecture Twilight let slip the details of an event which intrigued Starlight. Apparently there had been a kind of link forged in destiny between her and her friends. Something that bound them together before they had even encountered one another. It all began when a far younger Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash were in a racing camp sponsored by Cloudsdale. At this camp Fluttershy had been bullied, prompting Rainbow Dash to defend her honour in a race. During the race Rainbow Dash broke the sound barrier and created a massive rainbow coloured eruption of light. This light washed over Equestria with ponies as far away as Manehatten and Canterlot being able to see it. This had been the talk of the kingdom for a few weeks and it had also been witness by each of the elements of harmony. As they witnessed this “Sonic Rainboom” all of them had discovered their purpose in life and acquired their cutie marks. It was simple. If Starlight could interfere with the race she could stop the six mares from finding their purpose in life. Without their marks the chances of their friendship being formed would be slim to none. She couldn’t ask for a more deceives blow against her enemies. So here she was, back where her adventure began. At a train station in Canterlot with not a single bit to her name. She had spent the last of them on a late night train ticket to Ponyville. This was done so she could get there before Twilight. The princess’ Canterlot schedule had been posted in a local paper and according to it she’d be busy until tomorrow afternoon. This meant that if Starlight’s train wasn’t late she’d have more than enough time to properly plan her ambush. The sound of steel screeching upon steel got her attention. She looked up and saw her train pull into station. Its name was written on the engine in big red letters. Her chariot to go destroy Twilight was called the Friendship Express. The irony caused her to chuckle. It came to a shuddering stop before her and the doors opened. At this late of an hour not many ponies were waiting to get aboard. Besides her there were maybe a half-dozen others. So she ended up being seated in a car by herself. The train didn’t remain in station long. Just enough time to top up on whatever the engine and its conductor desperately needed. Being so late at night they opted not to start their journey by blowing the train’s whistle. Instead Starlight felt the whole machine lurch jarringly forward as they slowly crept along the tracks. They picked up speed rather quickly and she peered out the window, catching a final glimpse of the city that had taken her in. She would not miss it but it had defiantly been an interesting experience. Even at this hour the city was alive. Ponies walked through the streets, though in numbers far lesser than their day time counterparts. The lamp posts guaranteed them safety, bathing the streets in a nice yellowish glow. There were couples on dates, friends chatting, and strangers making awkward introductions. Then in a flash it was all blocked as they passed through the city gates. In a moment the apartments, factories, and businesses of Canterlot were replaced by the massive white walls that kept them safe. Starlight turned her gaze, settling it upon the rest of Equestria. It all hung out before her. An endless abyss of wilderness that seemed to go on infinitely. The only evidence of any ponies living out there was the sparse sparkle of lights that labelled the few rural communities. She thought about trying to get some sleep. Though there was no way that would ever happen. Her plan was now hours away from being fulfilled and she was far too excited. The problem with being excited was that time slowed to a crawl when you weren’t engaged with the active that put you in that state. She had nothing to distract herself, no books, games, or music were in her possession. Instead she stared out at the landscape which passed by in a dark blur. With only the occasional stop in some tiny hamlet to briefly break up the tedium. Night eventually began to fade into day as they approached Ponyville. By the time the town appeared on the horizon it was early dawn. As they began to slow, Starlight could see a clock tower upon one of the town’s hills. It read that it was six in the morning. The train continued to slowly chug along before coming to a complete stop outside of the town’s train station. She was the first off the train, being followed by a slow flow of exhausted ponies. Immediately she turned and headed towards the castle on the horizon. There was not a second to waste. She wasn’t going at a full blown gallop but took a rather quick canter to get to Twilight’s tower. It was so early that very few ponies were around to give her funny looks as she blitzed through the town. As Twilight’s doors came into view she bound up the castle’s steps and pressed upon them They flew open and she spilled in, nearly falling upon her rump. Twilight seemed to have adapted the small town mentality of never locking your doors. Starlight didn’t care, in fact she applauded her nemesis’ sense of security. It just made her job easier. Starlight made her way into the castle, scanning the various door frames for any sign of Twilight’s owl. The creature’s nest was still there but the feathered scoundrel in question was missing. She shrugged to herself before moving on. Even if the owl was a nuisance it wasn’t like he could stop her. The castle was still a maze and her previous trip here had done little to acclimate her to the internal layout. She wandered around in confusion trying her best to find the one set of doors that led into the map room. She began to open doors at random, hoping to stumble upon a landmark from her last trip. One of them led into a kitchen and immediately her stomach began to growl. She decided that since Twilight wouldn’t be back for at least another six hours there was more than enough time to sneak a meal. Starlight entered the room and began to throw open cupboards, trying to find herself a quick breakfast. A box of cereal came flying out, followed by a bowl. She then opened the fridge and pulled out a bottle of milk, adding it to the mix. Twilight had a single serve coffee machine so Starlight decided to indulge herself. She grabbed a cartridge of hazelnut coffee and popped it into the machine. It took a few moments but once it was brewed she took a sip and let out a satisfied sigh. It might not have been a full night’s sleep but it would keep her awake until Twilight got back. She grabbed her breakfast and hauled it into the hallway. Instantly, she lost her bearings and began to wander around aimlessly. The castle was a big place and it all looked the same. Could any one honestly blame her for getting a bit turned around? Starlight brought forth a spoonful of bland tasting cereal. She took a big bite before washing it down with some coffee. All the interesting looking flavours in Twilight’s pantry contained massive hunks of gemstone. Clearly those brands were not meant for an equine audience. So she was stuck with the boring cereal of possibly the least interesting alicorn in Equestria. She could feel time moving slowly forward. Every second she wasted finding the map room was one less moment she’d have to actually configure her spell. Experimental arcane arts were already dangerous enough. To rush them was just asking for something to go wrong. The last thing she needed was for Twilight to find her embedded in a wall. Finally, after what seemed like the millionth corner, the massive doors that led to the map room were before her. As she approached she dumped her coffee and the bowl into a nearby broom closet. It was best not to bring unneeded objects in with her. She then went over and stood before the two massive doors, peering up at them. They loomed over her. Behind them was the final piece of the puzzle, the map. She could remember her last encounter with it in vivid detail. When it had latched onto her and nearly shorted her out like an overwhelmed fuse. The memory alone was enough to make her body ache. “Nothing ventured, nothing gained,” she mumbled before pushing on through. The room looked exactly like she remembered it. The six thrones still surrounded the map which was under the glow of the tree root chandelier. She walked over, placing her bag upon Twilight’s throne. The map didn’t seem to recognize her. Either that or it just didn’t care that she was here. She thought that her fears were both ridiculous and justified. On one hoof the map had nearly vaporized her and on the other it was a giant hunk of sparkling stone. She levitated the scroll out of her bag and opened it. The words were right before her. Though, they were already well established in her mind. She had helped to write them after all. The bear had been poked and suddenly a wave of energy radiated off of the map’s surface. She gasped in horror and scrambled away from Twilight’s throne. A glow continued to build until there was a ball of energy hanging in between the map and the roof. A jagged bolt of lightning erupted from the ball and struck the ground beside her. Starlight jumped to the side. The ball flexed, drawing back before lurching forward and casting another bolt. She put up a shield which caught the spell. It pressed down upon her defense causing it to contract and shrink. The bolt fragmented turning into a dozen smaller blasts which peppered her shield in many different locations. She was losing this battle. Just like before. The shield continued to constrict growing closer and closer to her body. Her brow sweat as the sound of electricity arcing through the air came from every angle. Her shield waivered and wobbled under the bombardment. If she didn’t act soon then Twilight would find nothing but a pile of ashes when she came home. Thankfully she had a plan. At the cost of her already depleted shield she reached out and grabbed the spell. She needed to be quick as there was already strain beginning to mount upon her. A headache had started to form, creeping across the front of her brain and blurring her vision. She clumsily thrusted the scroll upwards. It collided with the underside of the orb and was absorbed into its massless body. It twitched and fluxed, its colour rapidly shifting through a spectrum. The strands of electricity the orb threw at her retracted, orbiting around it in rings. It finally settled on a blue hue before popping out of existence and leaving her scroll levitating in its place. Only it had been further changed. The text coursed with electricity and took on a strange arcane glow. The map’s core, its source of power had been trapped inside the spell. She had tamed the beast. Her shield cracked and shattered as she powered it down. She then advanced towards the map, ignoring the scroll for a moment. A shaky breath came forth as she touched the surface. Nothing happened, no attacks, no defenses, no tricks or surprises. The image simply fluttered and fluxed around her hoof. Finally, she felt secure. Her horn glowed and she grabbed the scroll forcefully out of the air. She brought it to the bridge of her snout and looked at the words closely. It would seem that the strange glow only afflicted her words, leaving Starswirl’s a weathered black. “Not so powerful now are you?” she said taunting the piece of paper. It didn’t reply. Now all she had to do was set a time and location. With a little luck the spell would drag her to wherever she wanted to go. She pulled out her folder, laying it out upon the now defunct map. Inside was the last bit of research she had done before leaving Canterlot. This included a series of coordinate and a date. These would lead her to that faithful race all those years ago. The location had been easy enough to find. Cloudsdale’s formation was always on public record and every year they would release a volume telling the city’s place in the kingdom, to the hour. Scribbled on the bottom of the note was a series of coordinates. She “plugged” them into the spell though the process took a fair amount of time. Time was a bit trickier to find out. Trickier but not impossible. For this Starlight had to skim the contents of ten Cloudsdale Flight Camp yearbooks. In them she found a common theme of awards. Best flier, fastest flier, most aerodynamic flier. There turned out to be a lot of flying awards in a flight camp, go figure. In one of the books she managed to find Rainbow Dash, who had been awarded quite a few accolades. Also in the yearbook was a calendar which posted all the major events of that year including one simply labelled “Rainbow Anomaly”. So that date was the one she factored into the spell, taking about as much time as the location. When both had been completed several hours had slipped away from her. The spell was primed and ready to be activated at Starlight’s beckon. She waited however, it wouldn’t be right to cast it without rubbing her victory in Twilight’s face. So she waited, throwing her hind legs up onto the table and crossing them. A victorious and smug smile was plastered onto her muzzle. Her season of infamy was coming to a finale.