The Ash

by Raging Mouse

Unleashed

Chapter 23:

Unleashed

“Please! Don’t hurt Twilight! She’s done nothing wrong!”

Fluttershy was cowering at the silver-clad hooves of the Diarch of Night. Luna had advanced towards Twilight before Fluttershy had thrown herself in front of her.

Fluttershy flinched as she felt something touch her. Then she realised it was Luna’s nose that was gently touching her cheek and opened her eyes. The princess was looking down at her with a quite mild expression.

“Fear not, Fluttershy. I will not, how did it go again, let me think...”

A smile crept on Luna’s face and she raised a hoof.

“Aha! I remember. I will not ‘render Twilight’s magic inert, gag her, put her in irons and throw her into a dungeon while I figure out how to dispose of her permanently’. Twilight can be so exaggerating sometimes; it is honestly quite amusing!”

The smile faded.

“Though I fear my dear sister just might do that if she were to catch you.”

Twilight finally found her legs and she rose carefully, still caught between warring instincts.

“P... princess? You... don’t intend to... stop me?”

“No, my little pony. I do not. I do admit the urge to do so was strong. I was already preparing my assault before you said something that stopped me in my tracks. Silver Gavel. You paralysed me with a name, Twilight. I was lucky to be on the ground, watching you from behind the hedges, rather than hovering above you. It would have been a most undignified crash.”

Twilight bowed her head. “So you remember her.”

“I do now. I don’t know if I chose to forget her or if I was made to. I don’t remember the details surrounding her. But I do remember enough – I remember her doom. And I remember how mine followed.”

Twilight looked distraught.

“Will – will this mean problems for you?”

“Nightmare Moon-shaped problems? It might do – if you get caught quickly. I am currently allowed considerable leeway by Harmony. Rules have been loosened in order to deal with you, and my domain has always had a need for questionable tactics. Intrigue is my forte, and that requires... dangerous thinking. It’s possible that the mere mention of the name Silver Gavel would have cast me out of Harmony previously, but I can sense how it bends around you currently, ignoring me. I am... the lesser evil. Harmony will deal with me once it is finished with you.”

Twilight laid her hoof on Luna’s.

“Princess Luna, how much do you know?”

“I doubt I know anywhere close to everything. I know enough to see there’s a problem with Harmony. For this reason I am willing to give you the benefit of the doubt, but you have to understand I can only do so covertly – and probably only temporarily. I am ‘under the enchantment’ as you put it. With time I will most likely change my mind – or have it changed for me as it were – and hunt you down. My sister will start as soon as she finds out you have escaped. I intend to give you some advice.”

An eager look stole over Twilight's face. Advice was part and parcel of Twilight’s passions. Luna smiled at her and drew a deep breath.

“Twilight, you must hide from us. The day is my sister’s domain, and if she wills it then nowhere under the sun is hidden from her gaze. If you travel by day, stay in the shadows. Better yet, don’t travel during the day. Rest instead."

"The night, on the other hand, is my domain. I am benevolent now, but I will scarcely remain so for long. Do not trust the dark of midnight, Twilight. My gaze pierces it as easily as Celestia watches the world at noon. Further, there is the matter of dreams. You are outside Harmony now, and as such I will have difficulty finding and entering your dreams – but it is not an impossible task. Be awake but hidden during midnight, when I am strongest.”

Twilight frowned.

“But that leaves me with nothing!”

“Nothing will indeed be perfectly safe for you anymore. But there is much wisdom in your name, for you should let twilight be your domain. We – my sister and I – will be inattentive and unfocused during dawn and dusk, making it easier for you to act. Twilight is also the realm of magic. Magic has always thrived in transitional states and places, in dawn and dusk, thresholds and fulcrums, prophecies and half-truths. I suspect you will be most powerful then.”

Twilight considered this and nodded after a while.

“All right. Thank you, Princess. I guess it was fortunate that you spotted us.”

Luna laughed softly.

“It was no mere accident, Twilight Sparkle! Fluttershy’s rescue attempt was doomed before it even began. I am aware of the nightmares your friends have suffered from, so I have taken to guarding their sleep to grant them at least some rest every night. When I discovered that Fluttershy here was still not asleep at this late hour I became worried she was suffering from insomnia and intended to go to her, to see if I could help. Instead I saw her fly past below me in the opposite direction!”

Fluttershy squeaked and blushed. Twilight shuddered. Luna continued somberly.

“Say instead that you are fortunate you managed to stay my hoof before you even knew I was there. Twilight, do you have a plan? Only ‘yes’ or ‘no’, please. Tell it to nopony!”

“Y – yes.”

“Good.”

There was a pause as Luna seemed to hesitate.

“Is there anything I absolutely should know?”

Twilight thought this over.

“Um. I’d need to use your library again, but I fear Libram won’t let me even though the damage has been done, so to speak.”

“Ha! There are more dangers in that library than that, Twilight Sparkle. Nevertheless, you have my permission – in secret. I cannot tell Libram to let you read his books: it is up to you to find a way.”

“Good enough for me. Thank you, princess.”

“Don’t thank me yet. Anything else?”

Twilight looked first at Fluttershy and then down at the snowy ground.

“Um. I promise... I promise that I have everypony’s best interests at heart. No matter what.”

Princess Luna turned away and spread her wings. She glanced back over her shoulder at Twilight.

“Do not let that be your epitaph, Twilight Sparkle. Only survivors get to explain their actions.”

A burst of her wings took her into the air. Then she was gone, impossible to see against the dark sky. Twilight watched her leave with a heavy sigh before turning to Fluttershy.

“You should get back to the inn. If you like, I could make you forget freeing me. That way you’d not feel guilty if someone brings it up.”

Fluttershy blushed. She knew herself.

“Um. That might be a good idea.”

Twilight nodded and her eyes flared while a glowing mote of purple light collected at the tip of her horn. Then she gently touched Fluttershy’s forehead with her horn, making the glow jump over to Fluttershy in a short arc and disappear. Fluttershy blinked furiously.

“But – but I still remember?”

Twilight smiled sadly and hugged Fluttershy.

“You’ll forget once you sleep. Fluttershy, thank you for giving me this chance. It could be that you’ve done something very important for all of Equestria, and I won’t let you down. We – we won’t probably meet again for a while... Take care.”

There was a weak sniff.

“I will. Goodbye, Twilight.”

Twilight watched the skies for a while after she’d lost sight of Fluttershy. Then she set her jaw and looked down. A brief flash of purple illuminated the gardens, but went unseen by any guard.

Twilight appeared outside the doors to Luna’s library. She raised a hoof... and put it back down while glaring at the double doors. She remembered that they were warded. Technically, she still had permission to enter. Technically, she had Luna’s permission to be there. In practice she’d rather not rely upon permissions – they tended not to work so well for those who were fugitives otherwise.

She cast several spells, draining or isolating the wards cast on the door. Then she focused on the space behind the door, likewise neutralising several spells there. Only then did she grip the doors in her magic and swing them open. She threw her mind forward into the gloom as she stepped undeterred over the threshold. Somewhere ahead, sensed by her magic, was a monstrosity. Oh, and Libram of course.

To say Libram was enchanted wasn’t even close to doing justice to the spells, hexes, runes and other magic that maintained and confined him. She could see the divinations that let him sense the world around him: he knew he was being observed, but she could tell by the way his divination spells moved about that he was unable to sense far enough to spot her. She could also see the spells that let him exist in the first place, bound to his phylactery.

She cast the spirit vision spell. Ghostly outlines of books filled every shelf where actual physical books should be, were it not for some serious messing with potentialities. One spirit was very different. Even after all these years Libram’s spirit was pony-shaped, though it was filled with gray smoke and blue lightning. There was also a spirit for his book. Twilight reached out to that with a spell.

Soon enough, in her mind’s eye, she was leafing through pages of ghostly light, reading text looking like the after-images of lights on your eye when you turn your head in the dark. She made a mental note about which sections possibly needed changing as she read. Once she reached the end of the book she considered for a moment before flipping the spirit of the book over and opening the front cover again. There wasn’t much written there, on the first page, but she erased it all with her magic. Then she added a line of her own.

She walked forward, hoofsteps echoing on the flagstones. A spell assaulted her almost immediately: dark magic, by the looks of it. Black lightning arced through the air around her but never touched her. The nearest shelves sprouted small crystals which crumbled into dust after a while. Then came a whoomp as the air around Twilight ignited. Her fur remained unsinged as her protective enchantments cooled her. She snorted and spoke out loud.

“Libram, a wise spellcaster does not try another frontal attack after a failed one.”

She was answered in a fashion. Gray magic created barriers ahead and behind of Twilight. Then she heard the bookcase to her left groan as it was being pushed in her direction. She rolled her eyes, even though the gesture was lost behind the purple fire billowing from them, and stopped, watching the structure lean more and more. It fell... and the top of the falling bookcase crashed into the bookcase on the other side of Twilight, quite far above her head. The other bookcase swayed but didn’t fall. She tilted her head and raised an eyebrow.

“Libram, that was very poorly planne—”

The mental attack had wormed its way past her defenses and proceeded to destroy her ability to think. Her eyes rolled up into the back of her head and she tipped forward, falling onto her face.

Libram’s gray magic surrounded Twilight’s unresisting form and lifted it into the air. Then it floated to his bookcase and came to rest in front of his book.

He sighed inwardly. Twilight had been such a nice acquaintance. A brilliant mind, really. So organized and full of energy! But the lure of knowledge had damned her. He could tell that she was no longer a pony of Harmony. Her eyes were the obvious sign, of course. Her life was forfeit now. Libram had instructions... written instructions... though oddly enough he couldn’t feel their compulsion now. No matter; Twilight’s punishment for trying to steal the Embargoed Texts would at the same time be Libram’s reward for diligent servitude... for as long as her body withstood his possession before dying.

His book hovered into the air, letting both covers open and reveal their diagrams. Twilight’s unresisting head was raised and her eyes were aimed at them.

He didn’t explain his actions, taunt or berate her. The spell he had cast left her insensate anyway. He merely moved his consciousness across the conduit and let it flow into his new limbs. His spirit flowed into its new housing with insignificant resistance. Libram wondered about that for a moment: the body felt oddly vacant. He assumed his spell had effectively wiped out Twilight, leaving her body a living husk. He hadn’t expected that, but on the other hoof he’d never used the spell before either. He’d have to make a note of it once he’d gotten used to this body.

Granted, the body was a mare, but he’d adjust with time. Adjusting the body was an option, but one which he dismissed: it would shorten its lifespan and he wanted to preserve it for as long as possible. The necromantic energies swirling through him would inevitably cause it to fail long before what was normal for a body this healthy.

Libram grinned. Finally a bit of freedom! He’d have to be humble and generally stay out of the princesses’ way, of course; he understood they’d been rather fond of Twilight Sparkle. Seeing her possessed body would likely rouse bad memories and unpleasant emotions. All that remained now was to tuck away his phylactery and report the ‘tragic’ event to Princess Luna. His book still hovered in the air with both covers opened, gripped in his magic. He inspected it, noting it was in quite good shape.

However... Was that a streak of purple in his oculic diagrams? He looked closer; if the ink was scratched or stained then the diagrams might stop working. He had to determine the problem and fix it carefully.

Then he saw another purple line. It appeared right as he was watching! Then a third! His grin faded as his eyes darted over the pages. Both diagrams were changing... into purple. He gaped.

“T – Twilight?”

Libram’s book was seized by a purple aura. Libram tried to pull away and flee, but found that his – Twilight’s – body was similarly enveloped. He tried to pry himself loose with his own telekinesis but it found no purchase against the purple glow – Twilight’s aura was frighteningly strong.

“What are you doing? How are you doing this?!”

Twilight’s voice whispered into his mind.

You are a lich without a proper body, prevented from forming one but gifted with the ability to possess others. It’s logical to assume it is your ultimate weapon as well. I left myself open to mental attacks on purpose, preparing a refuge for my mind on the spiritual plane. I also enchanted myself with spells that would trigger when my body became possessed. To put it simply: You are trapped. I am turning the tables on you.

His eyes were forced forward and he couldn’t blink. The plague of purple had by now completely overrun his own black and gold lines in the diagram. He whimpered.

“Wh – why?”

I am going to borrow some books, Libram. Starting with you.

The purple eyes filled his mind. Twilight’s body was enveloped in purple flame. And from the bookcase next to her there came a gentle thump as a book suddenly appeared next to where Libram’s book would stand. Then another one appeared. Then two more... soon the thumps became a single sound as the books appeared on the shelves. The sound intensified further, until a final crescendo turned it into a deafening boom that suddenly stopped, leaving only fading echoes ringing through the library.

Twilight opened her eyes and let her body float to the ground. Then she looked up at Libram’s book. She grunted, and purple fire coruscated along her horn and past it. There was a metallic groan as the bolts anchoring the chain shackling Libram’s book to the bookcase were torn to pieces. The chain fell away from the bookcase and dangled in the air.

There was a purple flash, and both Twilight and the book were gone.

Comments

[Ozymandias]

1808615
Multiple events are happening simultaneously, and this one is the focus of this chapter.

[Scarves]

Never listen to orchistraical dramatic music when reading something like this.
It is beyond intense! The Doctor Who sound track is a perfect example. Or the Halo theme song or the Assassin's creed soundtrack!
The moods created from the combination is amazing! Truly incredible! Awe-inspiring!
But this is amazing! True and false harmony? A Human? Corrupted ponies?
I am most interested in your story now! I want this in a hard cover book when it is completed.
I am just blown away by this! Your talent with words is spectacular!
Another chapter please!

[Neratur]

1819734

It's maybe a little late but try this with the story.