Imperishable Night

by nifboy

Stage 6b

After beating Imperishable Night through Stage 6A (previous chapter), a second playthrough with the same team will go to Stage 6B immediately following Stage 5.

---

Standing in front of the castle, Twilight Sparkle stopped to give another despondent look up at the night sky. She saw none of the familiar patterns she had grown so accustomed to, and could no longer tell any one star from another. A twinkle of a particular star caught her eye, and she watched with some mix of fascination and horror as it began to move amongst the other stars, displacing them as it went. The errant star eventually came to rest somewhere almost directly overhead, and Twilight got the sense that it might begin to fall directly on her head at any moment.

Twilight immediately resolved to spend less time around Pinkie Pie and her twitchy tail. Seconds later, she felt guilty about making such a resolution and decided to spend more time around Pinkie, some of which would be spent resurrecting the study of Pinkie Sense. After all, the study of something that defied study could yield some insight into the nature of studying and...

A tap on her shoulder brought Twilight back to the real world, where Trixie was. "Do not look so hard into the eyes of chaos," she intoned gravely, "lest they stare back at you."

Okay, maybe not the real real world, Twilight thought. "What does that even mean?"

"I have no idea." Trixie admitted. "It just seemed like the thing to say."

"Well, if you're looking for the 'eyes of chaos', Discord is over-"

"The Great and Powerful Trixie has no interest in your little trophy statue." Trixie rolled her eyes. "Can we just please get up to where Princess Luna is so we can get our proper night sky back?"

"Oh! Um," Twilight glanced up at the castle towers, then back down. "The first place to look is the Eastern Balcony, the traditional site where the Sun and Moon are raised."

Twilight led the other unicorn around to a side entrance, where an unassuming wooden door interrupted the marble exterior of the castle. Twilight lowered her head to peer through the keyhole, and disappeared in a flash of light. The door swung open afterwards, revealing Twilight on the other side, bashful at what she had just accomplished.

After a moment's thought, Trixie asked, "Was that door even locked?"

"I did it so many times as Princess Celestia's student that I don't even check anymore," Twilight admitted. "The guards once offered me a key to save me the trouble, but at the time I thought it was silly, 'why would I want a key when I have magic? Magic is its own key'."

"Ha, that it is," Trixie agreed, "Well then, Key, lead on."

"Um, right." Twilight began down the hallway at a brisk pace. A stairwell and a few more hallways later, the two ponies arrived at an opulent double-door framed by two gargoyle statues. After checking the statues to ensure they weren't animate, Twilight tried the latches on the doors. "Locked. No keyhole to see if I can teleport safely, either."

Low on other options, she tried knocking.

The doors burst open and a voice cried out from the other side, "ASSASSINS!" A blast of magic followed, sending the two ponies tumbling to the ground. Once upright again, the two ponies peered cautiously through the doorway to see Princess Luna hovering above the balcony, eyes glowing with power and her figure framed by the full moon behind her.

"We are pleased" the princess intoned, loudly, "To see that some of our old enemies have seen fit to send their agents against Us once more. Who sends ye, perhaps the titans We banished to Tartarus so long ago?" Princess Luna paused, to cast her pupilless gaze upon the two ponies, sending shivers down their spines. She blinked, returning her eyes to normal. "Twilight Sparkle?" Blink. White. "Ah ha, so 'tis a relatively new foe, Queen Chrysalis, who sends her changelings against Us."

"No! Princess!" Twilight tried to yell over the Royal Canterlot Voice, "It's me, the real Twilight Sparkle! And I just want to talk!"

Luna froze, glowing eyes unblinking. An unseen wave of magic washed over the two unicorns, ushering them out onto the balcony, and Twilight recognized it as a variant of her brother's anti-changeling shield. The Princess blinked once more, but even with her eyes returned to normal her expression was unreadable.

Trixie saw an opportunity, and pounced on it. "Princess Luna! I, the Great and Powerful Trixie, am here to demand that you return the stars to their rightful positions!"

The silence that followed Trixie's proclamation was deafening, an easy feat in the aftermath of the Royal Canterlot Voice.

Eventually Twilight got her jaw working again. "What? Oh no no no no no, that's not how I wanted this to go at all!" Twilight practically leapt at the stage magician, using both forehooves to clamp her muzzle shut. "Forgive her, Your Highness, it's been a trying evening for her, that's all! No demands being made here, nuh huh!"

Her attempts to salvage the situation were interrupted when Princess Luna swept the two unicorns up into a chest-crushing hug. "You noticed!" She squealed with delight.

"It took months and months for me just to get up the nerve to go ahead and just do it, it was just this morning that I said 'tonight is the night' and Celestia was just so happy and supportive and - wait," She released her grip on the two ponies whose faces had turned blue and purple. "You said you wanted them back? The way they were before?"

"If it isn't-" Twilight coughed, regaining her breath, "-too much trouble."

"Oh, I see! You are thinking like I did, thinking that the starry night sky should stay the way it is," Looking directly into Twilight's eyes, Princess Luna's pupils narrowed, becoming draconic in appearance. "Forever."

Twilight went shock still in the face of the Nightmarish display.

Trixie was merely bewildered, saying, "Well, yes. The stories of Orion, Cassiopeia, and the other constellations could hardly be considered timeless if they could be wiped away with a thought. Even a Royal thought."

Luna smirked. "You have never had the pleasure of actually meeting vain Queen Cassiopeia or the boastful hunter Orion. If you did, you would want to wipe their smug visages from the heavens too. Only a lunatic would have thought it a good idea to immortalize them in an imperishable night." The Princess giggled following this declaration.

Twilight really wished Princess Luna would stop doing that thing with her eyes. Some part of her brain filed away a notion entitled "Dragon-eye contacts for Nightmare Night" as Luna was certainly putting the effect to good use...

...Wait, Nightmare Night? "So you're saying the night sky I've studied since I was a filly-"

"-Its arrangement was one of my final actions as Nightmare Moon." Luna spoke the name with no malice, only a small sadness. "I had spent months drawing and re-drawing the star charts, hoping to design the perfect night, one that would rouse ponies from their beds to relish in the night instead of the day. It was the... sixth, I think, attempt to do so. And also the last." She shook her head ruefully, scattering stars from her mane to the wind. "After my exile, my dear sister found and published my notes. She said it was the least she could do, to encourage ponies to love the night, even in my absence." She turned and stared at the moon. "Upon my return, I raised the moon for the first time, and saw the same stars in the same night sky that I had once declared eternal so long ago."

"But no more!" Luna roared, turning back to the two unicorns with fire in her eyes. "The Elements of Harmony have renewed me, and so I return a new Princess, with a glorious new night sky! This renewal shall be a joyous occasion, and your timely arrival has offered a way to rejoice in a most spectacular fashion! The Traditional Canterlot Duel!"

"What." Both ponies spoke in unison.

"Oh, do not be like that. it shall not be boring in the least! The very opposite of boredom, in truth. What is the word you used for it? Oh yes," Princess Luna leaned forward menacingly. "Fun."

The two unicorns took a step back, eyes wide.

Luna took a step forward. "No harm shall come of you, I swear, and it would be nigh-on impossible for you to cause me any lasting harm."

Twilight continued her retreat, unaware of the curious glance Trixie gave her.

"And I also promise you won't get in trouble even if my diplomat of a sister barges in and attempts to interrupt our duel." The Princess's advance continued unabated.

Twilight was backed up against the wall now, Luna still scant inches away from her. Unnoticed off to the side, Trixie began rummaging around in her hat, looking for an old spellcard her mentor had given her for just such an occasion.

"...Please?" Princess Luna pouted. The Royal Pout was a weapon developed by the younger sister in order to counter her elder sister's Reproachful Stare. Both weapons were a thousand years out of use by the Princesses, but they had been taken up by more normal ponies in the interim, carrying out a proxy war between elder and younger siblings across Equestria.

Even in its disused state, Luna's Royal Pout did its job, and Twilight folded. "I.. Alright, fine."

Before she could properly express her jubilation, a flash of light caught Luna's attention. "Lady Mima sends her regards!" was Trixie's battle cry, her horn flaring with light that spun out into small orbs. She posed dramatically, standing on her hind legs.

"You are an assassin!" Luna exclaimed, in the same tone of voice a young foal might exclaim, 'There is a tooth fairy!' upon finding a bit under her pillow.

"Light Blast: Shoot the Moon!" The orbs surrounding Trixie glowed brightly, then erupted in narrow beams of light aimed at the Princess.

Still grinning, Luna made only a short leap, allowing just enough room for the lasers to pass her by and impact the castle walls harmlessly. As a second volley came, she continued to prance about like a newborn fawn, keeping her front legs together as well as her back legs. She even kept her grand wings open and upright as she bounced, making her a bigger target but no easier to hit. "Ha ha! You are quite good at this! Twilight!" Luna was between the two unicorns now, her back to the angry blue one firing lasers at her. "You should join us in our revelry!"

Suddenly, Luna's open wings flapped downward, propelling the Princess upward. Twilight realized too late what was happening, and took a ray of light to the face. She yelped and fell backwards onto her haunches, rubbing her muzzle, now sore and comically blackened as a side effect of the magic.

It wasn't until she heard the giggling above her that Twilight made her decision. Across from her, Trixie apparently either didn't notice or didn't care where her stray shots ended up, still focused intently on the gamboling Princess. Twilight cast her intended spell, creating a shimmer of light in the air in the path of Trixie's magic...

...And the ray of light bounced, redirecting itself. Luna's carefree movements were interrupted as she jerked her body to the side in order to avoid it. Watching carefully, she noticed a second shimmer in the air and moved to avoid the oncoming laser. She soon fell back into a rhythm prancing through the beams of light now coming from every direction. Trixie was absolutely furious; despite the whirlwind of light being created on the balcony, Luna seemed to always be in the eye of the storm.

After a few moments of this Twilight decided it was time to strike. Grabbing hold of a beam of light she redirected it once... twice... thrice.. and struck Trixie square on her flank.

Startled, Trixie dropped her spell, causing the lights to scatter in all directions, either impacting the castle walls harmlessly or flying off into the night sky. Realizing the pony responsible, she stomped over to a giggling Twilight. "And what was that for?!"

Twilight immediately stopped laughing, eyes wide with realization. "Wow, I suddenly understand; it is fun turning a pony's spells and talents against them! It's the easiest, most cost-effective prank in the world, and you even ask for volunteers!" Her eyes glazed over, lost in thought. "Wow. If I had known this sooner... I probably would have turned into a real jerk."

Princess Luna's voice above them stole the two unicorns' attention before Trixie could appropriately display her wrath. "We believe you two have forgotten who your opponent truly is. Allow Us to remind you: Moon Sign: Silent Selene!" Behind her, the moon began to shine more brilliantly than ever before, with the Princess casting her silhouette upon it. Moonbeams peeked through the gaps in her wings and outstretched legs, casting their light upon the balcony.

Twilight stepped forward, not caring for the spell's intended purpose, and knowing exactly what she wanted to do. Grabbing hold of the narrow rays of light with her magic, she gently lifted the ends of the shining bands of light away from the balcony, instead wrapping around the Princess. Soon she was fully cocooned within a shell of sparkling moonlight, no part of her visible through the prison.

Now all Twilight had to do was give it a tug and Luna would go spinning across the balcony, the same way Trixie had done to Rainbow Dash for her first trick.

...

...Give it a tug...

...

....It wasn't working. Twilight strained to move the roll of moonlight so much as an inch. Trixie rolled her eyes at Twilight's increased efforts to accomplish anything, and stepped forth to lend her efforts.

...

...Which didn't amount to anything either. The bands of light refused to budge.

"Dost thou need some help with that?"

"Yeah, that would be great, Lu-" Twilight's breath caught in her throat as Princess Luna walked past her towards the rolled-up light, sweeping it up in her magic and unfurling it in one graceful motion, showing it to be completely empty. With a flourish she cast it back up towards the sky, where it returned to its lunar origin.

"Bravo, Your Highness!" Trixie cheered, stomping her hooves in applause, as Luna took a theatrical bow. "The Great and Powerful Trixie has not seen a proper escape act in many years!" Twilight simply stared, jaw open.

"Thank ye, thank ye. I believe that shall suffice for my turn, and so I yield the ground to you, Twilight Sparkle. Whatever spell you decide to use, you may cast when ready." Although she chose not to paint a target on her chest, the resemblance to a previous encounter was uncanny. And how well had that turned out for her against Discord, with frustrations mounting on all sides and Spike acting in for Rainbow Dash in absentia?

With that thought in mind, Twilight forced her anger down so that she could think her way through the situation. It was a pop quiz administered by Princess Luna, certainly - Twilight had seen enough such questions under Celestia's tutelage to recognize it as such. Though she hadn't studied - she forced that panic down as well.

Certainly there was no small number of spells she could rely on - but what good were they in a duel? What little she had seen of Luna's prowess, both physical and magical, suggested no weakness. Trixie had, in some bizarre show of foresight, cast a spell whose name suggested it was custom-made for use specifically against the embodiment of the Moon, but it had done her no good. Thinking even further back, she had successfully feinted with a teleport against, then, Nightmare Moon, but a feint is no good if you have no followup, and it wasn't like she could be excused to go get the Elements of Harmony, fetch her friends, and then convince her friends to unite in purpose for a stupid duel. Luna seemed unbeatable....

And yet, the Sisters were very much beatable, weren't they? Princess Celestia had shown as much in the utter disaster that was the lead-up to Shining Armor's wedding. The eldest Princess had quietly vanished during the after-party, along with an entire layer of the wedding cake, which was Twilight's only clue that she had shut herself into her room for a Rarity-level wallow in misery and sweets. Fortunately, lessons in friendship were just as applicable to Princesses as they were to her friends, and the night had ended with a resolution by the Princess to better herself for the nation's defense.

-And she was getting off-track again. Right. Princess Celestia versus Changeling Queen (did she ever mention her name?) seemed to come down to simple brute force. It wasn't much to go by, but was brute force really the best option?

"If I may, Twilight Sparkle?" Luna's voice knocked Twilight out of her thoughts. Twilight's ears perked up attentively. "There are no things superior to beauty and thought. That was the creed of the ancient unicorn duelists. The spell you saw Miss Trixie Lulamoon cast is an artifact from that era - a spell which is inherently flawed for use in combat, because it can be dodged. It would be simple enough to modify the spell such that it could not be avoided, but in the minds of the ancient unicorns such an attack would be.. inelegant."

"What, you want me to come up with a dance routine on the spot?"

"Nothing so elaborate. However, whatever you do should be a reflection of yourself, even better if it is a challenge to overcome."

Twilight lapsed back into silent thought, while Trixie made herself comfortable some distance away on the balcony's tiled floor. After a moment, she raised her head. "I've decided on a course of action, Princess Luna."

The Princess said nothing, merely nodding her head and smiling.

Closing her eyes, Twilight began to channel magic into her horn, causing it to glow brightly. Her chosen reagents for the spell appeared in front of her - parchment, quill, and ink. Adding another layer of brightness to her aura, Twilight opened her eyes, now glowing with power. Trixie was suddenly struck with recognition - it was the same spell she had been casting outside Ponyville when Twilight first found her.

It was a spell that did nothing except look like the unicorn casting it was casting a very large spell.

Twilight called out the name of her 'spell':

"Friendship Report: Letter to Princess Celestia."

The quill dipped into the ink and was put to parchment.

Eyes still aglow, Twilight began dictating as the quill wrote:

Dear Princess Celestia,

As your student it is my duty to inform you opportunities as they arise. As regards the discussion we had following the Royal Wedding, I would inform you that Her Royal Highness Princess Luna has declared tonight as fitting for a Traditional Canterlot Duel. She's up here on the Eastern Balcony.

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle.

In a final burst of Twilight's magic, the letter was enveloped in the green flame of dragon magic and sent on its way into the castle by way of a chimney flute on the roof just above where she stood. Clearing her eyes of glow, Twilight cantered over to the doorway leading into the castle and gestured grandly.

The doors promptly burst open in a shower of coherent light, the yellow beams twisting and curving through the air before scorched the ground where Luna had just been standing. "Luna!" Came the sound of the Royal Canterlot Voice, one very rarely heard because it was not Luna's. "You should have told me you were itching for a fight!" A blur of white and pastels sped past Twilight, impacting the in-flight Luna head on. Twilight thought she saw the Princess of the Night wink before the two forms went over the edge of the balcony, falling out of sight.

Twilight and Trixie both galloped to the railing edge of the balcony, just in time to see the two fighting sisters swoop back up far into the sky, their magic acting as an extension of their selves. The waning night sky lit up in warring gold and silver, the moon and stars themselves seeming determined to make themselves heard before the encroaching dawn. At a distance the fight looked more like an intricate dance that would put the Wonderbolts to shame. The two students of magic looked upon in awe, both feeling like they did as foals, one at her first fireworks show, and the other at her first Summer Sun Celebration.

Without taking her eyes off the sky, Twilight conjured a pair of beach chairs and lay back in one, completely overwhelmed by the sight of the two in their full glory. A small magical nudge tipped Trixie back into her own chair. And so the two unicorns had front row seats to what could only be described as the greatest show in Equestria.

---

Dawn came, and went. It was not until midday when the two forms in the sky, movements flagging, returned to the castle balcony, declaring the fight a draw. The four ponies had all taken a nap there on the balcony - the Princesses recuperating from their exertions, the unicorns having stayed up all night but unable to achieve a full night's rest at noon. The four awoke just in time for afternoon tea, held inside the castle.

Twilight Sparkle was the first to speak up after sipping her tea, "Princess Luna, I'm really sorry. I didn't realize what changing the night sky meant to you."

"It's quite all right, Twilight." Luna sipped at her tea with all the grace of a Princess, ignoring the bandages dotting her form. "You know, manipulation of the stars is something of a lost art among unicorns. I could teach you, and you could organize the heavens the way you wanted to."

Twilight went wide-eyed. "Really? But... That seems like a lot of responsibility, creating something that everypony will be able to see like that."

"That's actually why it became a lost art in the first place, Twilight." Celestia stretched lazily on her cushion, a sight bewildering to the onlooking Trixie. "The unicorn nobility used to all know the spell, but after one too many fights over its use Luna became the sole arbiter of the night."

Trixie's eyes sparkled with hope. "I can just see it now! The Great and Powerful Trixie, master of the heavens, weaving the stars themselves into her story, for all of Equestria to see!"

Twilight glanced over at her companion. "What? No, we should do things exactly by the book! That way all those poor books on astronomy won't be discarded!"

"Yes, exactly like that." Celestia put in. Luna laughed, and soon all the ponies around the table were laughing.

"But no, honestly," Twilight began, "At the very least there needs to be some consistency - I saw Rainbow Dash miles outside of Canterlot because Polaris was pointing south instead of north."

The two Royal Sisters shared a quick glance - Luna's a mix of shock and inquiry, Celestia's more bashful than anything. "I did not realize the stars could be useful for such a purpose," Luna said. "Navigation was traditionally done by daylight. Very well." Luna's horn gained a magical sheen as she pointed it up at the ceiling.

Upon completing her spell, Luna announced, "It is complete. Scribe," A servant leapt into action, presenting quill, ink, and parchment to the Princess, which she gladly took and began to draw "Henceforth, this shall be the constellation which marks North. Regardless of whom may learn to move the heavens, none may change this." The other ponies at the table stared at the new constellation.

Trixie was the first to react, her face twisting in jealousy before breaking out into giggles shortly after. Princess Celestia presented a far more controlled response, just smiling pleasantly. Twilight Sparkle just stared, and it wasn't until she rotated it so that it was facing her that she realized what it was.

"My cutie mark!?"

Good Ending #2

Comments

[ForSpite]

This line alone would have been enough to make this worth reading:

"You are an assassin!" Luna exclaimed, in the same tone of voice a young foal might exclaim, 'There is a tooth fairy!' upon finding a bit under her pillow.

Of course, it's not alone.

[lordalexander74]

Aww, no extra stage?
Still, great story otherwise. Gotta love them Touhou crossovers.

[Dan-heron]

1700231

remember this is inspired by IN. First you find Eirin, and in the next playthrough you go beyond Eirin

Anyway! Pretty nice fic! I enjoyed it all, sorry for not reviewing before. Any plans for other adaptations?

[lordalexander74]

1700989

And then Kaguya sends you into the middle of the bamboo forest for a "Trial of Guts", which involves killing a certain immortal extra boss...
Also the author did mention an extra stage/chapter planned. Hopefully,.

[nifboy]

1703333
I currently don't know what I want to do with the Extra Stage. If I come up with something, I'll write it and it will be an Extra, but for now I'm okay with the completion of the main story.

[zel]

An actually good Touhou crossover?
dl.dropbox.com/u/93510029/reaction/dowant2.jpg

[RK_Striker_JK_5]

Okay, finished this. And rather loved it, too. Good ending? No, great ending.

[L4]

1703515 how about an extra stage about the Doctor/Tim Turner or Sunset Shimmers?

Maybe about Cadance/Shinning Armor?

[Jumpitydude]

1703515

For an Ex. boss, I'm thinking either Mima or Chrysalis. Either seems appropriate.

[TheSumirekoFan]

Is Mima human in this story?
Or as I should say, A Ghost?

[Starlight Nova]

a story told in six stages

But doesn't Touhou shoot 'em up games usually have seven stages?

[Starlight Nova]

6901275
What's a "Flutter Kick"?