Cherilee muttered words of an ancient evil below her breath.  The ground below Eclipse began to tremble, shaking more and more violently until cracks formed.  Eclipse jumped to the side as tentacles of shadow burst forth from the ground, grabbing at air before returning to the ground, filling in the cracks.  It became obvious to Eclipse that Cherilee was very, very mad.  And she had no intent of stopping until one of them was dead.  More words beneath Cherilee’s breath, and a quick look down from her.  When she raised her head, her eyes were completely white, and her mane had changed color deep red color.  There was no avoiding it now.  This wasn’t going to end well for one of them.

Now, Eclipse needed to make her move, before an enraged Cherilee could do anything.  Horn glowing, Eclipse cast a spell of her own.  On the tip of her horn, a fireball began to form.  Mere meters away, Cherilee already had begun working on her next spell.  As an earth pony, she had to mutter an incantation for each spell to work.  Fortunately for her, she was capable of talking at an alarming pace.  Eclipse’s fireball had become as large as her, and she fired it towards Cherilee.  Cherilee jumped to the side, dodging the fireball.  It landed in the ground behind her, producing a sizable explosion.  It detonated a large section of the path, and a small spark landed on some leaves off to the side of the now non-existent path.

Cherilee finished her incantation, causing total darkness to fall upon the Everfree.  She used a teleportation spell, landing her behind Eclipse.  This would be it.  Another spell, this one for a lightning bolt, summoned from the clouds.  Light returned to the forest in an instant, just as quickly as it had gone away.  But it was not because of Cherilee.  Eclipse had dispelled the darkness using a spell of her own.  Cherilee’s spell had failed for some reason.  She looked up.  Not a cloud in the sky.  No wonder it didn’t work. Eclipse turned towards Cherilee, and her horn began glowing again.  A beam of pure energy was cast forth.  This spell surprised even Cherilee, who didn’t have enough time to dodge it entirely.  It hit her flank, searing her Cutie Mark clear off.  Trickles of blood began to flow from the burn.  Eclipse could see the pain in Cherilee’s eyes.

A flow of ancient words spewed from Cherilee’s mouth.  An explosive wave of energy emanated from the teacher pony.  Eclipse was flung several meters through the air, impacting a tree with significant force.  Eclipse slid down the tree, her back in severe pain.  She scraped herself off the ground as Cherilee finished casting another spell.  Several daggers were flying towards Eclipse’s face.  Thinking quickly, she cast a shielding spell she learned from Malicious Magics.  A green bubble formed around her, deflecting the daggers, then disappearing.  Another bolt of energy burst from Eclipse, barely missing Cherilee.

“Can we stop this nonsense?” Eclipse asked.  Cherilee cast another dagger throwing spell in response, this time creating a plethora of cuts across Eclipse’s body.  Blood dripped from her wounds, a few drops impacting the ground.  "I'll take that as a no."  Another spell from Cherilee, this one tearing through the ground in a line, destroying parts of the path.  Both ponies were becoming exhausted at this stage.  Magic, especially of this caliber would wear out anypony in a hurry.  Eclipse still had some fight left in her though.  Bloodied and tired, her horn began to glow again.  This was Eclipse's chance to use some of the most powerful magic she had.  The air began to move around Cherilee.  It started to pick dirt up off the ground, and spin it around her.  The winds grew more and more intense, and Eclipse's horn glowed brighter and brighter.  Cherilee started to be picked up off the ground, dust encircling her, blinding her to the outside.  She let out a scream as the tornado of dust carried the teacher pony towards Eclipse.  Eclipse remained stationary as it grew closer, mane waving furiously in the wind.  Eclipse stopped the spell.

The winds died down within seconds, dropping Cherilee to the ground.  She hit it with an alarming force.  For a few moments, Cherilee appeared to be knocked out. Her mane had returned to it's normal color.  Her eye's opened again, also back to normal.  The first thing she saw was Eclipse, standing over her.

"Well, isn't this interesting.  Somehow, a unicorn who knew how to use powerful magic has beaten an earth pony." Eclipse said, sarcastic tone present in voice, "Wonder how that works."

"Alright, you got me.  Now what?  You need me for the plan to work."

"You know what, I don't think I do.  I have a copy of the book, and your cellar with your notes is back there."  Cherilee hated to admit it, but she was right.  Eclipse had bested her.  Cherilee tried a last ditch effort to keep Eclipse, casting a final dagger spell, aimed towards her head.  It made an impact, slicing across the left side of her face.  The cut was fairly deep, but not enough to stop Eclipse.  Blood dripping down her face, her horn began to glow again.  This time, the glow was red, tinged with black.  Eclipse cast a dagger spell of her own, with a slight modification.  A blade appeared above Cherilee, significantly longer than a dagger.  Cherilee looked back at Eclipse.

"See you in Hell." She said, accepting of her fate.  Cherilee kept her eyes open, but hung her head low. Eclipse used her magic to plunge the blade into Cherilee.  A burst of blood came forth.  Cherilee screamed in pain for a few seconds, and then there was silence.  The sound of forgiveness.  Cherilee's eyes became lifeless as death crept over her.  Eclipse stood in disbelief as blood pooled around the lifeless body.  She couldn't believe she had done it.  She had killed another pony.  Not only that, but her leader, and the teacher of all in Ponyville.  Eclipse remembered being in Cherliee's class as a filly.  She sat at the back of the classroom, always in her own fantasy world.  When Eclipse showed some potential for magic, Cherilee had approached her about it, and offered to teach her more advanced magic, which eventually lead to her presence in the Shades.  After reading Malicious Magics, Eclipse could see that Cherilee was trying to hold her back, only teaching her basic spells.  She had to teach herself the more powerful spells.

Eclipse was still in shock, blood dripping down her face.  She felt something begin to touch her hoof.  Looking down, the pool of Cherilee's blood had reached her, and was now surrounding her hoof.  Eclipse needed to get away from all of this, and fast.  Thinking quickly, she decided on going to the cellar, and collecting the notes, before going back into town.  She wiped her hoof on some leaves to the side of the path, and ran towards the cellar.  It would only be a matter of time before someone found Cherilee, so she needed to move quickly.  She cast a teleportation spell, arriving in the cellar.  She grabbed Cherilee's old saddlebags, and used more magic to gather all of her notes, and her binder, which included her master plan.  Tucking them safely into the saddlebags, she used another teleportation spell to go home.  She found herself in her bedroom, just as planned.  Low on energy, Eclipse ran for the door, and slammed it shut.  She locked it, and calmly walked away.  The blood on her hoof was leaving tracks in the room, but it didn't matter.  That could be cleaned off easily.  It was the scar on her face that needed to be dealt with.  

It was dripping blood at an alarming rate, leaving her with three options; get to the local hospital, fix it herself, or die trying.  She elected for option number 1.  She cleaned the blood off of her hoof using a cloth she had in her room, and used a final teleportation spell to get to the front door of the hospital.  That was it for her though.  Her continued use of magic had run her ragged.  She tried to move forward, to walk through the hospital doors.  She couldn't find enough energy to do it though.  She fell flat on the ground in front of the doors, blood still streaming down her face.  Her eyes closed, and she thought to herself, 'This is it'.  She slipped out of consciousness, laying there bleeding on the sidewalk.

===============

Celestia had landed in Town Square to thunderous applause and cheering from the residents of Ponyville.  Celestia hadn't been to Ponyville for a visit in a while, and was pleasantly surprised at the amount of time and effort had gone into the decorations around town.  She was always happy with the work ethic of the residents of Ponyville.  She gently walked off the chariot that had brought her, and her guards jumped to her side.  Twilight Sparkle was excited to see her mentor again, and couldn't wait to be able to sit and talk with her again, like she had in Canterlot.  After the usual hellos at the square, Celestia would go for a tour throughout Ponyville, before finally stopping at the Ponyville Library to talk with Twilight Sparkle.  Twilight couldn't wait for everything.  The Princess was called up to the platform in the middle of the square to say a few words before going on the tour of Ponyville.

"Thank you, everypony for coming to welcome me here today." She started, "You, as residents of Ponyville, have certainly done a lot for this visit, and I just want to personally thank you all."  More applause and cheering.  "Ponyville has always been one of my favorite towns, and ponies like you are the reason why.  You have created so much here, building your businesses from scratch.  You have certainly flourished here, and are home to all types of ponies as well.  I just want to say thank you to everyone, for using your special talents to make Ponyville, and Equestria, a better place through your works."  An unprecedented amount of cheering came from the crowd.  Everypony loved hearing the Princess, ruler of all Equestria, congratulate them.  Celestia stepped down from the platform, and the mayor rose up in her place.

"Thank you all very much everypony, for making the Princess feel welcome.  I will be giving her a tour of the town now, so if everypony would please clear the square, and resume their normal business, it will become a lot easier for me to give her the tour."  Everypony applauded again, and began to slowly filter out of the square.  Twilight Sparkle left as well, still excited about seeing the Princess.  But that would come later, for now, she would just have to wait.  She decided to go to Rarity's Boutique for a visit to fill the time.  She figured that an entire tour of Ponyville would take a couple of hours anyway.

As she entered the boutique, she shouted "Hello Rarity!"  Rarity was running around in her store, frantically organizing it.

"Hello Twilight!" She shouted back, still running.  "I'm busy getting ready for the Princess.  Can I help you with something?"

"No, I just decided to stop in for a visit.  Would you like some help getting ready?"

"It would be much appreciated." Rarity slowed down, and stopped in front of Twilight.  "Would you mind helping me straighten out the outfits, and make everything look neat?"

"I'd be happy to."  Twilight happily approached the dress rack, and carefully repositioned the outfits to make them look as good as she could.  Rarity was still in panic mode, unsure if the Princess was going to like the outfits she had made.  What would she do if she didn't like them?  What would she do if she didn't like the shop?  She was deeply concerned, and Twilight could tell. "Don't worry about it, Rarity." Twilight reassured,  "Hoity Toity and Sapphire Shores liked your outfits, so why wouldn't Celestia?"

"You're right, Twilight.  If two of Equestria's biggest fashion stars liked my outfits, surely they must be ready for the princess!"  Rarity stopped stressing. "Thank you Twilight."

"You're welcome Rarity.  Now, let's get back to cleaning."

"Of course, my dear!"  Rarity and Twilight kept cleaning, and reorganizing the outfits, and miscellaneous bits and pieces until the boutique looked spotless.  Even Rarity was impressed with the level of cleanliness. "Oh, thank you Twilight Sparkle! I think I owe you one."

"Don't worry about it, Rarity.  I have to be on my way.  Good luck with the princess!" Twilight turned tail, and started to leave the boutique.

"Thank you again Twilight!" Rarity shouted as Twilight left the boutique.  The door shut behind her, and she walked on her way back to the library.

===============

Eclipse awoke to a bright light shining in her eyes.  She was in a bed, inside the hospital she had collapsed in front of.  She felt her face where Cherilee had cut her.  No more blood.  Everything was fixed up by stitches.  She still felt sore in multiple locations though. Eclipse presumed that the doctors had done this while she was out.  A nurse came around the corner, and then entered the room.

"Good to see that you're up.  How are you feeling?"

"Alright, I guess.  Pain here and there, nothing too bad."

"Good to hear.  I have a couple questions to ask, just for our records.  I'll be right back."  The nurse left the room, leaving Eclipse by herself.  She sat there, wondering if she had actually killed Cherilee in that forest.  The whole thing felt like a bad dream, and she was still in shock by it all.  She looked to the right, and noticed that she was having blood put back into her via an IV.  

'I lost that much, eh? Wow.' She thought to herself.  The nurse re-entered the room with a cart.  It carried some antibiotics, as well as a clipboard and pen.

"Are you feeling up to answering these few questions right now?  If not, I can come back later."

"No, I'm fine.  Ask away."

"Alright then.  First, can I get your name?"

"Starry Night." Eclipse lied.  The nurse scribbled this down on the clipboard.

"Birthday?"

"February 25."

"And finally, what was the cause of your injuries?" Eclipse needed a good lie to get out of this one.  And she might have just had it up her sleeves.

"Cooking mishap.  Fell off balance near a knife I was working with."

"Wow. That must have been painful.  You should be thankful it didn't stay in there."

"It was.  Very much so.  I'm just glad I'm going to be okay after all that."

"I am too.  I'll leave now, and let you rest.  You lost a lot of blood."

"Thank you." Eclipse kindly replied.  The nurse left the room, taking the cart with her.  Eclipse looked up at the ceiling.  She was just happy to be still alive.  Passing out on the sidewalk was horrible.  She thought that death had come for her as well, but instead, it just left a large cut on her face.  A scar on both her and her mind that would last forever.

==============

Celestia and Twilight were enjoying lunch at the Daisy.  Twilight was enjoying a dandelion salad, and Celestia was eating the restaurants famous Daisy Sandwich.  They had been talking about all kinds of things, from Twilight's friends, to books that they had both read.  They both were very much enjoying themselves.  It had been so long since they had been able to do something like this.  As their lunches came closer to finishing, the topic of discussion changed to Twilight's studies of magic.

"So, what magic have you been studying lately?" Celestia asked.  Twilight froze.  She had only studied one thing lately.  Dark magic.  How could she explain this to Celestia, if she could at all?  There was no way that she would lie to her teacher, whether or not she was royalty.  She needed to come right out and say it somehow.  She had been afraid it would come to this.

"I studied dark magic." Twilight said.  Celestia looked shocked. "I got curious about it, and more specifically it's potential effects on other ponies.  So I started to look into it.  I found a book on the subject, and took in-depth notes on it.  I learned every single spell in that book, but never once used any.  I'm sorry to have studied this.  I know it's bad and all, but curiosity got the best of me." Twilight looked downcast, avoiding eye contact with the princess, fearing punishment.  Celestia's look of shock disappeared, replaced with a smile.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Twilight."  Twilight looked up at Celestia.

"Really?"

"Really.  You wanted to expand your knowledge.  While it was on a very dangerous topic, you studied it safely, and wouldn't use it on another pony." Twilight smiled.

"I was so worried.  I thought you were going to punish me for studying this."

"No need to fear, Twilight.  As long as you don't lie to me, I'll be forgiving of you.  Providing you don't commit any crimes, of course."  Celestia laughed a little.

"Of course." Twilight laughed as well.  The two ponies simply laughed the matter off.  At that moment, one of Celestia's guards approached her, and whispered in her ear.  Twilight picked up small portions of the conversation.

"...dead...Everfree...assassin...here..."

"Yes, of course."  Celestia turned back to Twilight.  "I'm sorry Twilight, but I'm afraid I will have to leave.  Royal duty calls!"

"Of course, Celestia.  Thanks for taking the time to have a little chat with me."

"It was my pleasure, Twilight Sparkle." Celestia's chariot pulled up, with a noticeable modification.  It was encased in full metal, and had 4 of Celestia's guards pulling instead of two.

"Celestia, what's going on?"

"Don't worry Twilight Sparkle.  You'll be alright."  With that, Celestia made her exit into the chariot, and flew off into the sky, back to Canterlot.  Royal duty, and safety, called.

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