As Starlight was running to the castle, she was wondering why Twilight wasn’t around. Ever since she left the Crystal Empire after exiting the castle, she was nowhere to be seen. She didn’t know where Pinkie Pie was either since she is usually by Twilight’s side during their missions.

“Princess Cadance has to know something. Who else would know where Twilight and Pinkie gallivanted off to?” Starlight said to herself as she ran.

After entering the castle, she immediately ran straight towards the throne room. Every step she took as she moved, she started to have this twisted feeling move into her stomach. She didn’t know if it was her mind that was playing tricks on her, but she hasn’t heard anything from Twilight since she left the Crystal Empire nor when she had last seen her return. Desperate for a lead, Starlight would stop at nothing until she found out what Twilight was up to. But by the time she made it to the throne room, Twilight was already there.

“Twilight?” Starlight asked in confusion.

“Hello, Starlight. I didn’t notice you come in.” Twilight said, turning her head towards the stunned unicorn.

“Uh, yeah but… I haven’t heard anything about an update or when you have decided to return to the castle.”

“I was busy.”

“Of course you were.”

“Was there something you needed, Starlight?” Cadance asked in a tired manner.

Starlight looked forward and saw an exhausted Cadance, sitting on her throne. She was completely worn out, eyes were baggy, and her mane was severely tangled in a mess. The latter stood up from her throne and groggily walked towards the two, all the while trying to keep herself from passing out. Struggling to make it towards them, she started to stagger. But Starlight and Twilight walk towards Cadance and hold her steady.

“It won’t be long until the barrier breaks. If this keeps going…”

Starlight went outside and looked at the barrier. It had had the appearance of a mirror ready to break into shards on the floor of the bathroom. The barrier could only take so much until it decided to crack and unveil their species to their own demise.

“What will we do now? At this rate, we may as well reach out to Ahuizotl for help! We’re on our last legs against the Corruption! Just-”

“Will you shut up long enough for me to think, Starlight!!!” Twilight yelled.

Twilight herself was confused by what she just said.

“Twilight?” Cadance asked, feeling afraid for Twilight.

***

As Twilight and Pinkie came back to the source of the light, it was already shining. Like a star in the sky during a meteor shower.

“T-Twilight, I’m not sure if this a good idea. What if-” Pinkie’s concern was in vain as she saw the look in Twilight’s eyes, filled with some form of emptiness. “What exactly are you going to do…? Maybe Luna could help us or maybe we can get Starlight-”

“I know how to get her back…” Twilight said with firmness in her voice.

The way she said it sent shivers down Pinkie’s spine. She even felt uneasy as she looked at Twilight’s scythe. Pinkie’s fears soon started to kick in as she realized what she was going to do with it. “Wait, Twilight… are you sure this is a good idea? We shouldn’t just bring back the princess. What if she turns into a zombie or worse, she turns into another Nightmare Moon?”

Twilight’s main focus was to bring her back. She knew that the risk was worth it despite the repercussions she would face. “She needs to be around some form of life. Flowers, trees, anything that can be absorbed. However, that may pose a problem since most of them are either gone or corrupted. Wait…” She remembered her scythe and realize she had live souls with her. “This could work.”

Pinkie noticed what she was talking about she looked at her scythe. “Your scythe? You don’t-” Before she could object, Twilight smashed the weapon in two, releasing all the previous souls she had obtained. “Twilight, what are you doing?! As she said that, the light reacted to the souls around her and slowly, it started to form.

Pinkie was shocked at the sight before her. Light surrounded the entire room as it shined brighter in the process of her revival.

“Welcome back… Princess Celestia,” Twilight said as she smiled.

Slowly, the light was growing. It was small but it grew brighter as a tall being appeared in it.

“It’s working?! At this rate, we could turn the tables against the Corruption!” Pinkie yelled, beginning to brim with hope.

A few moments went by as the light grew bigger and bigger to where a being started to form. After several minutes, the light was gone and before them laid the fallen Princess of the Sun. She slowly opened her eyes and saw Twilight in front of her.

“It’s been awhile.”

Celestia looked around her, both confused and somewhat afraid. She looked at her stomach and saw that the injuries once present are now completely healed. She looked over to Twilight, who had tears in her eyes. “Twilight…? Am I…?”

Twilight nodded. “Yea. We’re in the center of the Crystal Empire. It was the only place where you would remain safe while we tried to find a way to bring you back,” She said as she walked over to her former mentor.

She couldn’t believe what she was seeing and hearing. She already knew that Twilight had fallen far below her graces, but she never would have used her powers to resurrect her. For all she knew, it could have been a trap. She found it hard to believe that Twilight and Pinkie would.

“...I sense a dark force surrounding us…”

“I placed a barrier around this place so the corruption wouldn’t find their way here.”

Celestia attempted to get up but was weakened from just being resurrected. Twilight helped her up off the ground after the effort she made. PInkie was too shocked to say anything, let alone make a small smile. After a few more minutes, Princess Celestia spoke.

“I’m glad you brought me back. Thank you for saving me,” She said, lowering her head towards Twilight’s in a loving manner.

Twilight became a little flustered when she said that. It was even more embarrassing for her after fending off the darkness for far too long. “...Of course, Princess. Now we just have to get you up to the throne room and form a plan to fight off the Corruptinon.”

She went silent again after hearing her statement. The air around them became hot. To the point where it felt like being trapped in the sun. Her eyes became more sharp when she heard Twilight’s intentions.

“Twilight… I have but one question for you…” She looked up to see her eyes take a different color. “Why did you lie to me?”

Author's Notes:

Hello, everybody. I know it's been awhile, but this will be the first chapter of this new arc. I've been too busy with other stuff like writing other stories or work. But I've slacked off long enough. I will be working on more of this along with my new Spider-Man x Power Ponies crossover that I will show in the future. I have the characters for it along with the first two chapters, but I don't have a story yet. There's also another story MLP-related and not on this site. If you wish to check out, click the link in the description down below. This is Ghoul and I'll see you on the other side.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/GhoulDash97/pseuds/GhoulDash97