Twilight didn’t remember much. She remembered… losing control of her magic, and feeling insanely powerful. She remembered intense pain as her mind fought itself. She remembered… Fluttershy. There was so much to remember about that mare. Merging with Magic had given her an avalanche of the original Twilight’s memories, most of them very recent and including the yellow pegasus. Twilight-

Ugh, it was going to get confusing, referring to both herself and the original as Twilight. She’d have to think of a name for herself later. Right now, her thoughts were too muddled.

Anyway, Twilight had to wonder why Fluttershy had that effect on her. She had just looked into her eyes and suddenly ceased to function, even as Magic. And yet, the more she thought about it, the greater the pain in her head.

Midnight.

Where did that come from? Was that her? Magic? Fluttershy? No… why would Fluttershy be talking to her? Actually… she remembered being thrown around. And then the yellow pegasus appeared. And then the black crystals- no! That was one of the old Twilight’s memories.

No. Fluttershy had come to her… her cell. And she had been scared. But why? And then she’d left. Ugh, this was so confusing! Was the memory of rage-shifting from her or the original?

Midnight.

Okay who said that?

Twilight tried to scream as a pony popped into existence beside her. She stared at the pony fearfully, recognising the translucent alicorn.

“Midnight.” Magic sighed mournfully. “That’s what Luna wanted to call you. But Sombra was determined.”

Twilight gulped and stood up again, unable to recall sitting down. “Why are you telling me this? Wait, why are you here?”

“I’m telling you because you deserve to know before you die. And I’m here because I’m stuck here.” Magic explained. “You weren’t able to find Twilight, so now I’m trapped in your head.”

“Great.” Twilight groaned. “I should’ve just listened to you the first time. I should’ve found the original. Ugh, I don’t deserve her name. She was way more organised… How do I know this?”

“You should never listen to me.” Magic frowned guiltily. “And if you feel you don’t want her name, then stop using it. As for why you suddenly know things about her…” the Element looked uncertain, as if not sure where to start. “I’m linked to Twilight and her magic. I have most of her memories, at least from after she found me. So when we… fused? When we fused, you saw a lot of those memories.”

“Well I don’t want them! I don’t want you! I don’t want anything to do with Twilight!” Twilight exclaimed suddenly. “I want to be my own pony! And if that means turning back into a foal just so that I can grow up for real, then so be it!”

“Don’t say that. It would take at least two alicorns worth of magic to undo the spells Luna and Sombra cast!” Magic warned her.

“Well then I just need to find one more alicorn willing to help me!” Twi… Midnight yelled, eyes wide and pleading. “There has to be somepony willing!”

Magic stared at her, eyes brimming with emotion. The Element sighed and looked away before muttering, “There is one pony who might be willing. They’re not an alicorn, but they once held their own against Twilight.”

“Where can I find her?” Midnight asked desperately.

Magic hesitated before giving in. “You will find her in Twilight’s old castle in Ponyville. Granted, you’ll have to escape the dungeon first.”

“Done.” Midnight smirked.

Fluttershy didn’t remember much. She just been in the dungeons, about to open the door to Luna’s cell, when something crashed into her back and sent her sprawling on the ground. The pegasus assumed it was magic, but who could use it? The imposter had a magic restrictor, the other prisoners were much further down the hallway and she had been watching Luna, so it couldn’t have been her.

Right now she was laying spread-eagle on the ground while her assailant trotted calmly away. Part of her short pink mane covered her right eye and one of her wings was trapped beneath her. She tried to move and stand up, only to find her legs and wings unresponsive. Bucking stun spells!

Midnight waited patiently in the dark corner of the dungeons while her magic recharged. She may have been powerful, but destroying a magic restrictor was taxing. The tip of her horn was charred slightly, betraying her burnout to anypony lucky enough to spot her. Which was nopony. For some reason her coat blended well with the shadows.

So how do I teleport to the castle if I’ve never been there? Midnight asked Magic, concerned as to whether the spell would work.

Hold on… here. This memory is from when Twilight first saw the castle. Magic explained, bringing an image of a tall, tree-like crystal castle to the front of her bearer’s mind.

Midnight was still unsure it would work, but obliged anyway. The second she could channel magic again, she was gone.

Starlight stared sadly down at the picture between her hooves. It was an image of her with her closest friends. She had gone with them when they moved to Canterlot to help with the war. When Twilight disappeared, she moved back to take care of the castle. But then Spike grew wings and went to help with the war, leaving her alone.

She had continued to practice magic even after that, just in case the need for her to use it would eventually arrive. But for four years, it didn’t. And it probably wouldn’t. I mean, what were the chances that Twilight would teleport to the castle and ask her to cast some crazy alicorn spell? Pretty high apparently.

Starlight stared through the window of her room down to the ground outside. Standing just outside the door was a tall purple alicorn was a dark blue streaked mane. From this height she could only just see the alicorn’s narrowed pupils and fangs.

“T-Twilight?” Starlight murmured, eyes brimming with emotion.

As if she had heard the unicorn, Twilight’s head turned to the window, which Starlight quickly ducked below. The unicorn let out a squeak as the room filled with a burst of stars, fading to reveal the purple alicorn.

“Starlight, right?” Twilight asked, reaching out a hoof to the fallen unicorn.

“R-right.” Starlight smiled a little and took the hoof in hers, ready to pull the alicorn into a giant hug. Until she fully took in the dragon eyes and gleaming fangs. “W-wait. Why don’t you know my name? And what’s wrong with your eyes?”

Twilight sighed and pulled the unicorn firmly to her hooves. “My eyes have been like this since I was born. And I don’t know your name because I’ve never met.”

“Twilight, what are you talking about?” Starlight questioned, lighting her horn in case she needed to defend herself.

“I’m not Twilight!” the alicorn growled with a sudden anger, wings flaring. After a moment of silence she took a deep breath, stepped back and folded her wings. “My name is Midnight Sparkle. I am the daughter of Sombra and Nightmare Moon. I am not Twilight Sparkle, although I bear her image.”

“What are you doing here?” Starlight narrowed her eyes warily, pointing her horn at the alicorn. “And if you’re not Twilight, then why do you look like her?”

“So many questions.” Midnight muttered before raising her voice again. “I look like her because of some spells my parents cast on me when I was born, which leads into my next point: I want you to help me undo them.”

“Wh-what? What would you get out of it?” Starlight asked, voice cracking in her fear. “Wouldn’t killing us all be more effective like this?”

“You make too many assumptions.” Midnight hissed. “I’m not like my parents. I just wish to be a normal pony, not a copy of another.”

“A-and why should I help you? You could be lying!” Starlight argued, desperate for some way to get out of this.

“I can help you find Twilight. And I will. You just have to promise that, afterwards, you’ll help undo the spells around me.” Midnight explained, a tiny smile gracing her lips and revealing her fangs.

Starlight froze. This ‘copy’ could help her find the real Twilight? After everything she’d been through the unicorn didn’t want to get her hopes up prematurely, but…

“I’ll do it.” Starlight answered before she even knew what she was saying. Inside her mind, her left brain gave her right brain a big slap for ignoring the ‘stranger danger’ rule.

“Thank you.” Midnight sighed in what appeared to be relief, her smile growing and her eyes lighting up a little; her wings fluttered slightly.

Starlight returned the smile nervously, stopping the flow of magic in her horn. If Midnight saw her as a threat… Starlight may have been powerful, but she doubted she could outdo an alicorn.

“So, how exactly can you help me find Twilight?” the unicorn asked, wanting to make sure she was making a good deal.

“I don’t know her exact location, but I know for a fact that she is somewhere within my c- my parents’ castle.” Midnight told her, frowning as she paused.

“Oh. So, do we teleport, or-” before Starlight could finish, Midnight’s horn lit up and her world disappeared.

“Sorry about that.” Midnight apologised, lifting Starlight to her hooves once again. The unicorn grumbled and nodded in acknowledgement, eyes wary.

The two horned ponies were standing before a large castle of dark crystal, with jagged windows and blood red spires rising from each corner of the cracked roofs. Nearly half of the castle was actually buried beneath rubble, crushed beneath its own weight.

“Did you get attacked by a dragon?” Starlight exclaimed, staring at the collapsed portion of the gloomy castle.

“Actually, that was me.” Midnight admitted coolly. “I get really strong when I rage-shift.”

“Rage-shift?” Starlight repeated, cocking her head to the side.

“Haven’t you ever rage-shifted before?” Midnight questioned, surprised.

I’m not sure that’s even possible. From what Twilight knew of her, she had a bad past. Magic informed her.

“Well, once when I was a filly… I never caused anything like this, though!” Starlight cried, her pupils shrinking.

“Calm down.” Midnight sighed, horn lighting with magic.

“What are you doing?” the unicorn asked worriedly, turning her gaze to the raspberry aura around Midnight’s horn.

“Just grabbing a few things.” Midnight explained vaguely as a hole appeared in space beside her. From within it she took the folder of Twilight’s pictures and Twilight’s sword.

Once both items were in her magic, she began to trot towards the castle, forcing a confused Starlight to follow after her. The alicorn sifted through the images, pausing every now and then to examine one more thoroughly. None truly caught her interest, even those containing Starlight or the ‘new’ version of Fluttershy. Magic instantly answered any question she had, so she felt no need to mention them.

After inspecting each image, she came across a large bunch of texts. She skimmed through each of them, turning to Magic if she had questions, before taking a drawing from the very back and tossing the folder to Starlight. The unicorn squeaked in surprise, catching the folder in her magic just in time.

“How do you have all these?” Starlight asked, eyes wide as she checked the contents. “Especially Twilight’s letters to Celestia!”

“My mother collected them before she fled to the Badlands.” Midnight explained, stopping and looking up at the half-broken doors of the castle. She couldn’t help but feel a little remorseful at the damage she’d caused to her childhood home. She’d spent those three precious, real, years of fillyhood at this place.

“Wow.” Starlight breathed, staring up at the doors and standing on the tips of her hooves as if to see the tops. Then she turned her attention to the side of one of the doors, which was bent and seemingly collapsing. “Are you sure you weren’t attacked by something?”

“Hundred percent.” Midnight assured her, glancing down at the final sheet. It was a detailed sketch of the castle’s blueprints, which she had seen multiple times before in both her real and fake memories. However, this version had an extra scribble leading from the dungeon further down into the ground. All Midnight could really make out was a hidden tunnel, but she was pretty sure she knew where Twilight was. Of course, having never seen it before, she couldn’t actually teleport there. In fact, she’d never even been to that part of the dungeon before. Which meant that they’d have to wade through an ocean of guards armed to the teeth with magic, weapons and fangs. And she wasn’t going to kill a single one of them.

“I’m pretty sure this is a bad idea.” Starlight voiced her concern, turning her gaze back to Midnight.

“That’s because it is. But it’s the only one we’ve got.” Midnight reminded her, to which the unicorn groaned audibly. The folder disappeared in a flash of turquoise magic as Starlight summoned a solid magic shield.

“I’m assuming we’re not killing anypony?” The unicorn asked, genuinely worried.

“Of course not!” Midnight asserted, running her magic along the blade of her sword. The spell would block the sharp edge without actually dulling it, protecting whoever she hit without damaging the sword.

“So we’re just going in alone?”

So many questions! I swear she wasn’t like this with Twilight. Magic sighed. Midnight nodded her agreement, although the Element probably couldn’t see it.

“Yes we are. But when we come back, no.”

“Come back?” Starlight gasped. “No, no, no! I’m just here to get Twilight, get rid of the spells on you and then leave!”

“Fine.” Midnight shrugged, wrapping the damaged door in a raspberry aura. "Four alicorns should be enough.”

“Wait, what?”

“Do you want Twilight back or not?” Midnight snapped, tired of the unicorn’s constant interrogation. Starlight froze before giving a small nod. “Then stop asking me questions and get a weapon!”

The unicorn rushed to obey, drawing a sword from her own magical pocket. The blade was longer than the average sword, betraying Starlight’s preference for long range weapons. The grip was customised, patterned with swirls similar to those on her cutie mark.

Midnight felt an odd wave of sorrow. The only customised blades she’d seen were her father’s, which was tinted like his horn; Rainbow’s, who she had been battling too hard against to pay attention to; and hers, with its star-shaped gems, which was actually Twilight’s. She suddenly wished that those fake memories of her creating her own sword were real. When she was turned back into a blank flank, she was fairly sure she knew what she was going to look into.

“You ready?” she asked Starlight, tightening her grip on the door.

“Not really…” the unicorn laughed nervously, holding her sword close to her chest and covering her front with the shield.

Midnight smiled. The door exploded. Blood covered the ground below.