It was as Starlight and I were making our way back northeast through the Ghastly Gorge that we saw it.

Even before I saw the pillar of light that seemed to swallow the distant forest of the Everfree, I could feel that something wasn't right. That was to say nothing of the warbling cry that had accompanied the light show. The sound itself seemed to ring out across all of Equestria for how loud it was, and while it was a sound I'd only heard once before, it was a sound I would never forget.

A minor quake had accompanied the pillar of light and unsettling cry, but none of it lasted very long before things settled back down. Still, I could tell Starlight was shaken and as the noise died down I could see renewed indecision in her eyes and clear hesitation in her steps. We'd made it a good way towards the Everfree by way of flight—me with my concealed wings and Starlight by self levitation. It was a skill I'd never thought to learn, and I couldn't help but be impressed by Starlight's magical feat, even as we battled through time.

Unfortunately the mare couldn't keep the feat up indefinitely and we had to trot the rest of the way to the forest. I was able to mitigate the time it took to travel through Ghastly Gorge by casting the occasional long range teleportation spell, but that took a good bit of magic and I didn't want to run out for fear of what we might find when we finally reached the others, so the spell was used sparingly. It was when we were about midway through the Gorge that we saw the light and heard the cry.

It took some convincing, but I managed to convince Starlight to push forward—all the while pushing down my own unease—and together we continued our way through the Gorge. That had been roughly two hours ago, and in the interim, both Starlight and I had time to regain our nerve. Then we felt something shift in the thaumic field—felt some powerful magic being cast somewhere far ahead of us. It was Starlight who spotted the source of the disturbance first.

"What in Celestia's name is that?" Starlight muttered in horrified disbelief, "I don't think it's the freak... it feels wrong, but... it's a different kind of wrong than what I felt before..."

I didn't reply right away, and ignored the insult to the other me entirely in the face of the bright arcane glow coming from the Everfree. It only lasted a few moments, but I could hear the distant roar of raw magic being unleashed all the way from where we stood frozen in shock. As we watched, another pillar of light flared into being, this time slamming down into the forest itself. I watched it fade away after a minute or so and as it did, a strange feeling came over me. I wasn't sure what it meant, but something felt off.

"I don't like this," I said, more to myself than Starlight, "something's not right, and I get the feeling things are only going to get worse if we don't hurry and meet up with the others."

"W-Whoa, hang on—wait a minute!" Starlight stuttered as I began to move again at a quicker pace. I heard the tell-tale pop of a short range teleportation spell behind me, and a split second later, Starlight appeared in front of me, her expression and tone both incredulous, "please don't tell me you're just gonna go rushing into whatever's waiting for us in that forest without a plan or something. We don't even know for sure if your friends are there or not!"

I stopped and blinked silently, then blushed slightly. I in fact, had no plan beyond seeing what had happened in the forest with my own eyes. I wanted to find the others, and rescue them if necessary, but I'd completely fail to consider what kind of situation they might've been in. That second pillar of light had only gotten me more worked up and worried. Still, Starlight had a point, and with how ominous this all felt, it was probably best to go in prepared.

"You're right," I conceded, "sorry, I'm just... worried about the others. That first pillar of light was almost definitely caused by my other self so we know that's where she'll probably be. You're right about Spike, though; I just have to hope that he's somewhere nearby," I shook my head and gave Starlight a nervous frown, "I have a bad feeling about all of this and I still think we should hurry, but yes, a plan might be necessary given what we've seen."

"I'm glad you agree," Starlight replied with visible relief, "because I am not going any further without some sort of way to escape if that thing goes on a rampage."

"Starlight," I sighed, "that's not—"

"I don't care what you say, Twilight," Starlight interjected with a set frown, "until it proves otherwise, that thing is a monster to me. Despite my many, many misgivings, I'm coming with you, but that doesn't mean I'm gonna put my life on the line on just your word alone," her frown faltered and she looked away, "I have... things I need to take care of back home, and I'm not planning on dying here."

What could I say to that?

It wasn't like she didn't have a reason to be skeptical of the other Twilight's intentions, even if I knew better. All she'd seen was a monster who'd nearly eaten her whole and had violated her mind. Spike and I were the only ones who'd seen that she was even capable of calm, rational thinking, and I was the only one who'd truly seen what she'd gone through. Thinking about it, I realized that what I'd seen in my other self's memories was probably clouding my judgement, and I wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

"I suppose that's fair," I finally replied before turning my attention back to the forest, "alright, we'll think of something... but I'd like to flesh out a plan on the way. We've still got a ways to cover, and it's better if we get there sooner rather than later..."

"Fine," Starlight agreed grudgingly, "but whatever you come up with, it better be good. Both our lives might be on the line here, Sparkle."

I was silent for another moment, staring out at the Everfree as I thought. I ran through several different scenarios of what we might've found once we reached the forest and cast a concerned glance at my lavender hooves, then the rest of my body. After a minute or two I nodded to myself and turned back to Starlight with a determined grimace.

"I think I might have the beginnings of an idea, but before that... do you know any transmogrification magic?"

Twilight had seen and experienced much in her years serving the Princess-turned-Queen, and liked to think she could stay on top of any situation, no matter how bizarre, unexpected or dangerous—it was why she'd been promoted to Captain of the Solar Guard. In most instances this would be the case, and to Twilight, this situation was no different, despite how bizarre, unexpected and dangerous it was. For one thing, it wasn't entirely unexpected—not by the Queen anyway. Ever since the horrific incident in Cloudsdale all those years ago, there'd been something off about Celestia.

Outwardly, she'd been the same caring and benevolent ruler to her ponies, but many could tell that their Princess wasn't all there; it wasn't that she'd gone mad or anything, but the Princess seemed far more worried and distracted during Day Court, like there was always something else on her mind—not that Twilight knew any of this at the time. Back then she'd been an embittered little filly whose dreams had been crushed beneath the hoof of her own ineptitude when it came to magic. She was a studious and intelligent filly all things considered, but she'd lacked the raw thaumic power needed to reach out and grasp true greatness.

Of course, she'd only found out much later that she'd simply been a late bloomer. It wasn't until after she'd followed her brother into the Royal Guard and gotten her first real combat experience that her magic blossomed into what it was meant to be, and what powerful magic it had been! Still, the damage had already been done years ago, and her cold and bitter persona had long since been cemented. She could no longer be the starry eyed and hopeful filly she once was before her horrible failure during that horrid exam. Things had only gotten worse when Nightmare Moon returned.

Much worse.

But that was in the past, and there were more important things to deal with now. Princess Celestia had become Queen Daybreaker, and while Twilight knew many feared and even despised the change, she herself knew Celestia had only done what was necessary to protect her kingdom. It didn't matter if the once benevolent ruler was a little more militaristic these days, it didn't matter if she now looked like a demon wreathed in the flames of Tartarus, it didn't even matter that she'd used her control over the sun to reduce the night to a mere third of the length it had been before.

If she could prevent tragedies like what happened in Cloudsdale and threats like Nightmare Moon from ever happening again, then it was well worth the change. Even now, it was thanks to the Queen's foresight that Twilight herself stood here before the thing wearing her own face—that she'd reached it before it had a chance to do harm to the citizens in the town not far from the Everfree. She'd already been stationed close by when she was summoned, and had in fact already been on her way to investigate the strange and unsettling phenomenon of the eerie cry and pillar of light.

Twilight had thought it was only a hunch on the part of the Queen, and Queen Daybreaker herself had hinted as much. At first, Twilight wasn't so sure, and had more than a few reservations about being stationed out near the backwater town of Ponyville. After all, there were far more important things she could've been doing with her time... like hunting the rogue thestrals rumored to have been hiding out near Hollow Shades. Once she'd seen the light and heard the cry, her attitude had changed drastically, as had her assessment of the Queen and her 'hunch'.

Twilight was far from a fool, and while she had her doubts initially, she knew now without a doubt that the Queen had to have known something of this magnitude would occur. Maybe not the exact situation as it stood now, but something similar at least. The thought went a long way towards keeping the mare grounded despite the impossibility of what she saw standing before her. If the Queen had known something like this would happen, then it must've meant she'd planned accordingly, but that left the question of what Twilight's role was in all of this.

Should she try to bring her look alike back to the Queen for questioning? Or did the Queen expect her to eliminate the possible threat altogether? For that matter, if Queen Daybreaker had indeed planned for this supposed eventuality, why hadn't Twilight herself been included in those plans? She'd been told nothing beyond her orders to keep an eye on Ponyville and the Everfree. Thankfully this hadn't been the first time she'd been left in the dark without specific orders, and generally during these times she was encouraged to make executive decisions.

Twilight was good at making executive decisions, which was another reason this situation, while unnerving, wasn't worth panicking over. She had complete confidence in herself and her leadership, and wasn't afraid of making the hard and sometimes downright brutal choices. That said, something didn't sit right with this pony, and it wasn't just the fact that she shared her looks or even that she was apparently an alicorn. No, that's not what bothered her the most; what bothered her the most was something she couldn't quite grasp—something immaterial.

Her first thought was that this look alike had been a changeling posing as her for some unknown and no doubt nefarious purpose, but upon closer inspection she dismissed the idea. Each race on Equus had a subtle and unique effect on the thaumic field, and a unicorn could train themselves to feel that unique 'aura'. It took years of tireless training and nigh impossible amounts of focus, but Twilight had in fact taught herself to do just this for just such an occasion. Sure there were spells that could reveal disguises and specific counter spells that could out a changeling for what it truly is, but if one could attune themselves to a creatures unique 'aura', spells like those weren't entirely necessary to reveal a façade.

This mare... this creature was dangerous, that much she could discern even ignoring the tumultuous shift of the thaumic field around her. She didn't know the extent of what the creature could do, but she wasn't about to take unnecessary risks if she could help it. There were still the civilians that had called her here, and ensuring their safety was a top priority. She could question the unregistered drakeling brazenly waltzing around Equestrian territory once all was said and done, but in the meantime, she had to tread carefully.

Even as the Captain stood there sizing her up and gauging her chances at a possible capture, the alicorn counterpart was doing some sizing up of her own. She hadn't expected to run into this timeline's Twilight—at least not so soon after her arrival, but here it was, and she'd simply have to deal with it one way or the other. She didn't need her ability to feel the grievances of others, living or otherwise, to know that the mare harbored a deep resentment. Of what, she wasn't certain just yet, but the emotion was terribly strong—almost as strong as that of the loudest Voice in her mind.

It wasn't strong enough to completely drown out the other Voices in her mind however—Voices that called out for her blood in payment for their suffering at her hooves. Judging by the sheer amount of raging Voices roiling within the false alicorn that were directed at the uniformed mare, this Twilight Sparkle had quite a lot to answer for.

"Well buck me... she wasn't lying after all..."

The disbelieving mutter snapped both Twilight's out of their musings and all eyes turned to Rainbow Dash, save the Captain, who only gave the mare a passing glance before fixing her cold gaze back on the alicorn. Realizing she'd inadvertently drawn the attention of nearly everypony in the vicinity, she looked between them all and took a hesitant step back, her wings twitching painfully. The pegasus wasn't exactly sure what she was expecting to happen when she used the scroll, but it certainly wasn't this.

She'd been hoping for the Solar Guard to swoop in and bring the creepy alicorn to justice—to do what she knew she was too weak to do herself, but things had quickly taken a turn for the strange and now she found herself on the backhoof, unsure of what to do or what to make of the situation. Looking at Fluttershy and Big Mac, she could tell they felt much the same. Rainbow felt she should give some kind of follow up—speak in her own defense—but the Captain was the first to break the tense and uncomfortable silence that followed her quiet outburst.

"I think I remember you," the mare said, her tone cool and her eyes still locked on the alicorn in front of her, even as she spoke to the crippled pegasus, "Rainbow Dash, wasn't it? You lost your parents in the Cloudsdale incident fourteen years ago and were left permanently grounded as I recall."

A furious retort caught in Rainbow's throat at the callous observation, but with no small amount of effort she bit it back. Facts were facts, and she was above lashing out at others for pointing out what happened—at least, that's what she told herself. Besides that, the Captain wasn't the real target of her ire anyway.

"Yeah, that's me," she replied through gritted teeth instead, then jabbed a hoof in the alicorn's direction, "and for the record, you're looking at the thing responsible for that clusterbuck."

"Is that right?" the Captain replied, her eyes narrowing and her frown deepening just a fraction. Hearing this, the two pegasi behind her tensed, but a glare from the unicorn put them back at ease. She eyed them for another second before turning back to her alicorn self, "you've been awfully quiet. Do you have anything to say about her claims?"

The alicorn blinked, but her face remained otherwise impassive.

"She's not wrong," she replied, turning to glance towards Rainbow Dash who glared right back, "I'm not supposed to be here, nor was I supposed to run into you specifically," she turned back to the other Twilight, "I am—or rather was—a Twilight Sparkle that came here from another timeline, but this Equestria was not meant to be my final destination."

The Captain's immediate response was to deny the creature's claims. Research into time travel had reached a dead end back in Star Swirl's age. The only thing that had come of the ancient stallion's research was a spell to send a pony a week into the past and nothing more. Lauded as a breakthrough at first, it was quickly revealed that the spell was ultimately useless, and every thaumatologist who'd studied time magic since then was in full agreement:

No matter what you do, you can't change the future.

More than one pony had tried, and each time they'd failed to cause any kind of effect other than what was meant to happen. Thankfully Star Swirl had created the spell with several fail-safes which prevented things like the predestination paradox. A casual loop would only happen once before the spell broke and the timeline reasserted itself.

The wizard had begun work on another time spell, but was never able to figure out how to complete it. Both spells were documented, but had been restricted to the heavily guarded Star Swirl wing of the public Canterlot Library. Once the Princess had risen to her position as Queen, she'd moved those spells, along with several others, to the forbidden section of the Royal Archives where they would never see the light of day if the Queen could help it. With all this knowledge well in mind, Twilight had every reason to doubt the words of her strange alicorn counterpart... and yet she found herself unable to fully rule out the possibility.

The alicorn may have been right in that she didn't belong here—that is, if the abnormal disturbance of the field was anything to go by. Adding to that was the fact that she could also feel the same disturbance from the drake now that she was focusing on their aura, though to a much lesser extent. If the creature wearing her face was telling the truth, did that mean she and the baby dragon had come here together? Whatever the case may have been, there were dozens of questions that needed answering, and for the sake of her Queen she was going to get those answers, no matter how ludicrous they may have been.

"For the sake of the argument I'll take your word for it," the Captain finally replied, "now how exactly does this connect to the Cloudsdale incident?"

"I believe the event you state happened fourteen years ago was the result of an..." the alicorn paused, trying to find an explanation for what could've happened, "...adverse reaction caused by the mental strain of so many Voices flooding my mind at once upon exiting the time warp."

The Captain's frown deepened another inch. Perhaps she was dealing with a changeling; perhaps a Queen of some as of yet unheard of breed with a more expansive hive mind network? Apparently the two pegasi guards were of the same mind, because they tensed again, subtly priming their blades and shift their stance in such a way that they'd be on the creature in an instant if necessary. Twilight not only allowed it, but raised her own guard as well, several combat ready spells coming to the forefront of her mind.

"Voices?" she replied carefully, "what do you mean 'Voices'?"

Rather than give an immediate explanation, the alicorn turned to Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, and Big Mac. Both Fluttershy and Big Mac seemed to be content to hang back, stay silent and let events play out. Rainbow looked as furious as ever, but there was also impatience and a hint of something else. Confusion? Curiosity? Intrigue? The former Princess couldn't tell for certain, but it was clear the pegasus was expecting some kind of fight to break out, and depending on the next words spoken, that was still a possibility.

Spike looked like he wanted to say something, but nothing came of it and all he could do was stand with the others. No doubt he was having trouble reconciling the cold, business-like captain with the mother/sister figure that was his own version of Twilight. Come to think of it, he probably hadn't gotten used to the blank eyed mare that had become a pony in outward appearance only, and barely even that. While the mare in question was making silent observations and deliberating over how she should proceed, she was all too aware of the Captain's eyes on her back and the fact that she was waiting for answers.

Unfortunately the relatively new Avatar of Retribution was also aware of how insistent the Voices were getting, and that it had been some time since she had fulfilled her role. On one hoof, the alicorn would've liked to resolve the situation peacefully—some minute leftover slice of her equinity demanding she hold off her new instincts and at least try the civil route of negotiation and understanding. On the other hoof she did have somewhere else to be, some other ponies to find. Not only that, but every moment she resisted the Voices, she felt something shift uncomfortably within her—some squirming sense of unease that could be ignored, but not shaken.

The feeling hadn't plagued her while she'd been wandering the black and desolate world that was her Equestria alone for who knows how long. It was only now that she hadn't been listening to those Voices for an extended period of time that she felt it. It was like a bad itch; ultimately harmless, but the more she ignored it, the more aware of it she became, and the more she wanted to scratch it.

"I'm not certain of what it all means just yet, nor do I fully understand the nature of what's become of me," the alicorn continued, turning to stare the Captain full in the face, "but I've become an entity that can hear the 'Voices' of those who hold grudges—both minor and powerful."

Something in the air changed, putting every single pony in the vicinity on edge. Hackles were raised, hoofblades were drawn, and the Captain's horn suddenly blazed to life with a barely contained spell, the mare ready to obliterate the threat where it stood. It didn't matter how many questions went unanswered, it didn't matter if she was an actual doppelgänger from another time or some strange new breed of changeling—any sudden movements and it died.

The only thing keeping Fluttershy from fleeing the forest entirely was Rainbow Dash, who'd felt the ominous shift in the atmosphere, but disregarded her fear and stubbornly refused to budge an inch. Big Mac was unwilling to leave either behind and Spike was rooted to the spot, images of what had occurred in that bleak and barren timeline flashing through his mind.

The Avatar of Retribution ignored all of this and continued speaking, her blank eyes staring into and through the Captain, burning a hole in her cool façade and sending a chill down her spine. In fact, they could all feel a chill—literally and prominently. It fell over each and every one of them, making even the pegasi in insulated armor shiver despite themselves.

"I can sense their thirst for vengeance, feel their need for justice, taste their desire for retribution upon those that have wronged them," she took a single step towards her look alike, "I can hear the Voices of both the living... and the dead. I can hear yours... and I can hear those of the ones whose lives you've personally snuffed out."

With a painful slowness she moved closer and closer, but the Captain found she couldn't move under the empty white gaze of the thing wearing the flesh of an alicorn. Twilight had trained her mind and body to their limits in order to get where she was today, and it was the first time in a long time that her mental fortitude had been tested like this. The only other pony who'd manage to overpower her mental defenses was the Queen herself, which meant only one thing in the Captain's mind...

This creature's threat level was at least on par with that of the Queen.

She couldn't move, she couldn't look away, and it took all she had just to stop the unreleased spell from fizzling out. Now that she knew for certain that she wasn't dealing with any kind of minor threat, all bets were off. As powerful a mare as she was, Twilight knew she wouldn't be able to match the thing in terms of raw power—not if it had managed to render her immobile with just a look. With that in mind, a change of tactics was in order.

She didn't know what the creature was planning to do, but she didn't want to find out. With a mountainous effort and a shameful bit of desperation, the Captain forced herself to shut everything out and focused her scattered thoughts inward. After a few seconds, the magenta glow of her horn shifted to a brilliant gold and she could feel the thing stop in its tracks.

"That spell," the alicorn began, an icy blue mist pouring from her mouth as she spoke, "that's... Celestia's magic... how did you—"

That's as far as she got before all Tartarus broke loose.

With a flash of golden light, the Captain sapped the will from her two guards and replaced it with her own. The two stunned pegasi shuddered and groaned in discomfort, then screamed in agony as their minds were broken down and reconstructed in an instant. The shuddering stopped abruptly a second later, and behind their goggles, their eyes flashed bright with that same golden glow—two pairs of bright orbs that locked onto the approaching alicorn.

Before anypony else could react, the two guards wordlessly shot off like a pair of cannons, hoofblades out and ready to slice the alicorn to ribbons. The pegasi were a blur as they raced towards their target, but the Avatar didn't move; she didn't need to. She did nothing as they struck, one pair of hoofblades digging into the soft flesh of her neck and the other pair sliding in-between her ribcage. The poor residents from Ponyville barely had any time to be horrified before each guard was flash-frozen—turned to lifeless chunks of finely sculpted ice in the blink of an eye.

There was no visible flash of the alicorn's horn, no sudden movements, seemingly no reaction of any kind whatsoever from the punctured alicorn. She didn't even pay them any mind, her attention still stuck on whatever her other self was trying to accomplish with the sudden and futile assault. The guards were dead, but the golden magic surrounding the Captain's horn hadn't faded. The mare's mouth was set in a grim line as she witnessed the fall of her comrades; there was no hint of grief for the dreadful waste of life—only disappointment and frustration... but then her expression changed. Unable to hide her shock any longer, the Captain watched as the air began to ripple and waver around the false alicorn.

The thaumic field around the creature looked as though it was being pulled inward towards it, and it wasn't just the field. The two frozen guards with their hoofblades still lodged in the alicorn, were slowly drawn into her body, twisting, warping and stretching as though they were being sucked past the event horizon of a black hole. Somewhere nearby, the horrified scream of a yellow pegasus reached the Captain's ears, but it went unheeded in the face of what she was seeing.

Even as the guards were pulled in, the creature itself began to change, its form blackening until it was little more than a pony shaped hole in the universe. The pony shaped void began to grow until it was almost as large as the Queen, and eventually it solidified into something that looked like somepony had carved a large swathe out of the cosmos and used that to make an alicorn. Within the black silhouette, there were no features save for twinkling stars and swirling galaxies that flared and sparkled brightly, and yet the outline was vaguely familiar to the Captain.

"No... she killed you..." she whispered, her face changing from shock, to horror, and finally settling on rage as she realized what—or rather who—she was seeing. The golden blaze about her horn seemed to flare right along with her turbulent emotions, but still she kept the as of yet unleashed spell in check even as she shrieked in fear and outrage, "she killed you... she killed you!"

If the creature understood her, it didn't show it. The only response it gave was to resume its slow, almost casual trot towards the Captain. Any more conversation was pointless as far as it was concerned. Justice would be served and a great many Voices would be appeased and silenced. It had been curious about how the Captain was able to wield Celestia's magic, but no more. Gone was the last shred of the Avatar's equinity for the time being and in its place was the Will of the Slighted.

Twilight Sparkle, Captain of Queen Daybreaker's Solar Guard and cold, unflappable leader among her retinue, had completely lost any kind of composure in the face of the monster that had caused so much despair and destruction before the Queen had put her down. She didn't know how or why; perhaps she'd come back as some horrible specter from beyond the grave, she wasn't sure, but despite her eerie—almost alien appearance, one thing was clear to the Captain:

Nightmare Moon had somehow returned to terrorize Equestria once again, and Twilight was the only pony standing between it and the rest of the kingdom.

Had to split this chapter into two parts as it was gonna be too long. The chapter itself went through a few rewrites as I wasn't satisfied with it, and even now I'm still not completely satisfied, but in the end I just decided to flesh it out in two parts instead.

Also I'm aware of how awkward my attempts are at referring to the two different Twilights, but that should be fixed soon, just asking for a bit of patience on that one.