Archmage Chapter 17 - “Archmage’s Nightmare”

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Twilight cried out as magic and ponies began to pulse and move together, pouring off of the risers onto the middle of the floor. There couldn’t have been more than a dozen of the ponies who had incited the panic in the first place, but amidst the chaos that ensued, they were lost in the crowd. Bolts of magic flew overhead, and for each dark blast of shadow magic, there were two bright-colored shots to match it. Twilight was jostled and shoved, pushed and on more than one occasion attacked. It finally came down to the point that she had to shield herself just to avoid being trampled.

“Luna! Celestia!” She called out, trying to get their attention. The top of the circular dias was bare. The princesses were somewhere in the fray. Through the teeming mass of unicorn bodies, Twilight could catch glimpses of faces or marks she knew. Bastion, Night Dancer, and on one occasion she saw Luna’s wings flare out. But for each step she took in their direction, she was pushed back four feet. It seemed all of them were intent on an exodus from the courtroom, and Twilight couldn’t do anything to stop the inexorable tide of bodies intent on fleeing.

“Stop! Let me go!” Twilight cried out. She could have cut her way through the crowd to remain in the courtroom, but that would mean injuring innocent bystanders. Twilight wanted to avoid that if she could. Still, screams of panic and terror drowned her out and pushed her back towards the door. She was helpless to stop it as she was swept away and into the hall. From there, in the open corridor, ponies bolted left and right. Some of them burst through the windows, raining broken glass out onto the courtyard below, using featherfall spells or levitation to save themselves.

There were injuries. Bodies lay slumped in heaps, or cringed and moaned, clutching grievous injuries. Twilight saw one unicorn with his leg laying a few feet away. She ignored the blood and the horrible moans and screams, and fought her way back into the courtroom. Now that most of the room was gone, Twilight was able to tell what exactly was happening. Most of the council had fled, but Bastion, Night Dancer, Warden, and two others remained. They stood in a semicircle around Celestia and Luna, their horns glowing as they blocked the rapid-fire bolts of shadow energy arcing through the air towards them. Surrounding the small group was another larger one, at least twenty strong, all of them with their gazes intent on Celestia and Luna.

They couldn’t last forever. Bastion, for all of his fortitude and skill, couldn’t find the time to cast a proper barrier. He had to resort to rapid-fire, lesser-strength shielding spells, his horn blazing bright as he blocked dozens of incoming spells. Warden and Night dancer counter-attacked when they could, and the other two ponies from the council were doing admirably well… But they were outnumbered four to one at least. Twilight watched as Bastion planted his hooves with a scream, his horn burning bright enough to make everypony wince.

“He’s casting a barrier! Stop him!” Twilight glanced to the side and saw a group of four rush forward, intent on breaching the hastily-erected shields and interrupting Bastion. Night Dancer and Warden shot at the approaching group, but their spells were intercepted. The clashing magic resulted in a small explosion, and through the dust the four ponies charged. Twilight acted. In an instant, she was before them.

“Archmage!”

“Oh fu-“ The terror and fright in their eyes didn’t even faze Twilight. Her horn shot forth a thick wave of lavender light, the shockwave of energy lifting the four charging ponies off of their hooves and back into the wall, at least thirty yards away. They slumped to the floor with a groan. She had bought Bastion just enough time to finish the barrier spell. A solid sphere of blue-colored magic swirled in the middle of the courtroom. There would be no getting out of that sphere, and certainly no getting in. Not without some serious time and devotion…

“Damnit… It’s going to take us hours to get through that.” Twilight spread her hooves wide. As soon as the barrier had been cast, the group of ponies that had incited the panic seemed to relax a little. Magic stopped flying to and fro, and they slowly began to make a half-circle around Twilight. Who was alone against them.

“What do we do?”

“We stick to the plan. You three, form a rear guard. Barricade the entrances if you can. If it’s going to take us two hours to get into that, then I want every unicorn in Canterlot to take at least three to get in here.” The ringleader, a unicorn whom Twilight didn’t recognize, appeared to take the lead over the others. He began barking demands at them, urging all of the gathered ponies to rush and get to work. Meanwhile, a large group stayed around Twilight, their horns leveled towards her. She was backed up against Bastion’s barrier, surrounded by sixteen very dangerous ponies, and slowly getting locked in the envelope between barriers. Soon, she would be trapped.

Her mind raced. Plans and spells formulated in her mind, only to be shot down one way or another. Too much opposition, too much interference, too little time… Twilight felt utterly helpless. If she made a break for the door, she would likely be overpowered. If she tried to blast them all, she would be over stretched. And if she tried to barricade herself up against Bastion’s barrier, she would probably be stopped. For the first time in what felt like a long, long time, Twilight felt utterly helpless.

The barriers went up, locking the group of twenty ponies inside the courtroom along with Twilight. It would take hours for even a skilled unicorn to dispel the barriers, and just as long for these ponies to dispel the one protecting the five council members and the princesses. That left Twilight alone with twenty dangerous shadow-magic users for a minimum of about two hours. One of the group asked the same question she had on her mind.

“What do we do with her?” The ringleader turned his attention to Twilight the same time as all of the others. The four she had blasted against the far wall had picked themselves up, though they looked rather worn already. Still, that was four more ponies that Twilight didn’t want to have to deal with at that moment. As far as she could tell, none of the others had been injured in the brief, furious exchange. Sixteen healthy, dangerous, powerful unicorns and four moderately injured ones.

Against one measly unicorn.

“Knock her out for now. We’ll deal with her later.”

Twilight fought it, but her shield shattered under the force of a dozen stun spells. The black tide of shadow magic crashed into her.

Twilight saw nothing.

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“Mom… Dad…” Twilight muttered gently. She was cowering under her blankets, trying to hide from the monsters out in the scary world that wasn’t protected by her impervious shield of fabric. “Mom! Dad!” She called out, her words feeling hollow and quiet. She was just a young filly once more, without her mark and as gullible as ever. She could hear the panting breaths of the monsters just on the other side of her blankets, no doubt contemplating the best way to strip away her defenses and devour the delicious morsel of pony flesh beneath.

“MOMMY! DADDY!” Twilight cried out in fear, tears coursing from her eyes as she made one last plea for safety…

But it never came. What did come instead was the claws. Wicked and curved, the long, thin claws ripped through her blankets, tore into her flesh.

Twilight sat up with a gasp. She was in her library in Ponyville, her head resting on a book.

Oh… Okay… I fell asleep reading again… Rubbing a hoof over her face, Twilight sighed and closed the cover to ’Advanced Lunar Diagrams and Spell-Forms’

“Twi?” Spike’s soft voice made her pick her head up, a helpless smile washing over her lips.

“Spike!” She nearly cried as she scooped the juvenile dragon up off of his claws and into a crushing hug. “Oh, Spike! I’ve missed you!” Tears of joy streamed from her eyes as she hugged Spike close to her chest.

“Sheesh, Twilight… Calm down.” Spike gently extracted himself from the crushing embrace, coughing slightly as he landed back on his claws. “What’s gotten into you? You just saw me yesterday…”

“Huh?” Twilight blinked. “What day is it?”

“Wow. You’ve been hitting the books too hard, Twilight. Here.” Spike grabbed a paper from the nearby table, handing it off to her. Twilight grasped the periodical in her magic, flipping it open and reading the date at the top.

“But… This is impossible. This is before I was named Archmage…” Spike blinked at her a few times before bursting into laughter, dropping to the floor as he rolled around helplessly.

“Hahaha! Good one, Twilight! You, being Archmage!” He wiped tears of mirth from his eyes, rolling up to his claws once more. “Come on. Since you’re up, we might as well get started.” Twilight’s mind reeled. Why did the paper say the date it did? This wasn’t just a few days before her being named Archmage… It was several years! How? This all felt so real. The worn wood beneath her hooves, the smell of paper and dust all around, every minute detail all the way down to Spike’s scales and the calendar on the wall…

But her memory of what had happened was real as well. Vividly so. She remembered everything up until the moment she blacked out in the courtroom, subject to the stun spells from the other ponies. What was the dream, and what was the reality? She felt vertigo set in, her senses giving way to confusion and panic. The room spun around her as she fell over, landing with an audible grunt.

“Twi? Hey! What’s wrong?” Spike was at her side, gently lifting her up. It didn’t help, as the room spun more violently. She shrugged away from him and lay back down, her eyes closed as she fought the urge to vomit.

“I’m… Woah.” She whimpered and clutched her head in her hooves, trying to wrap her mind around what was happening to her. Was she the Archmage? Was she the bookish librarian from Ponyville? Was Spike really there? Was it really all those years ago, close to the time Twilight had first arrived in Ponyville? What was going on?

“Twilight, I’m getting worried… I’m gonna go get the doctor…” Spike turned to leave, but Twilight stopped him by pinning his tail to the ground with a hoof.

“Don’t. I’m fine… Just a little light-headed… Probably from sleeping like I did.” Clarity returned along with a fresh wave of chills as Twilight offered a brave smile up at him. The room had stopped spinning, at least, and she wasn’t nauseous anymore. Just in time, too, since Spike looked ready to dash off in search of a doctor at any moment. “I-I just need some food, and maybe a shower…”

“Okay…” He said warily, slowly pulling his tail away from her. “I can make you some toast, if you’d like…”

“Yeah… Yeah, that’d be good…” Twilight said gently, smiling up at him. “I’ll go shower real quick. Just to wake myself up.” She rose on shaky hooves, watching Spike scamper off, though he looked over his shoulder at her with more concern than she would ever wanted to have seen on his adolescent face. He disappeared into the kitchen, where she heard rustling about. Twilight made her way up the stairs one at a time, slowly going faster as she became more and more confident in her strength. In the upstairs hall, she passed another calendar, this one reading the same year and day as the paper did. So strange…

As she cranked on the water, Twilight asked herself more questions, letting the dull drone of the water splattering to the floor drown out her more irrational fears.

Was I just dreaming, then? Were all those years just some spell or something? Some fanciful dream? Do other unicorns go through this? I mean, it’s all so real… My memories of everything. Spike leaving, that afternoon with Celestia, arranging Nocturnal Glow’s funeral, being named Archmage, the ceremony, learning new magic under…

“Luna…” Twilight said the last out loud, though it was hardly more than a whimper. Was that just a dream, as well? That amazing night, and all the memories of every wonderful kiss? Had she imagined the whole thing? Was it all fake? As she cranked off the water, it was like shutting the door on a hopeful young pony. She shut away all of her thoughts. Twilight was a scientist. A magician. A scholar. The only things that existed were observable. So she had to observe. Stepping out of the shower, Twilight dried off hastily and descended to the scent of toast.

“Hmm… I’m starved.” She smiled as Spike fished two slightly-burnt slices of bread from the toaster, blushing a little as he handed them off to her.

“Sorry about that… I always seem to burn it.”

“It’s fine.” Twilight happily started scraping butter and jam onto the bread, smiling at him. “I like it crunchy.”

“Aah. Alright. Well, I’ll go get started. I think I can find where we left off the other day…” Spike sighed and padded off towards the kitchen exit. He had a demeanor about him, a look that told Twilight he was ready to do some serious work.

“Uuh, Spike?” She stopped him with a word, setting her toast down as he turned to her. “I was actually hoping we could… I dunno, take a break?” She wasn’t sure what this work was, or what they had to do, but Twilight wanted to get out and see what was different, if anything was different. “Maybe go for a walk… See our friends?”

Spike looked at her like she was crazy. “Friends?” Twilight blinked at him.

“Yeah. Our friends.” Spike continued to look at her. “You know… Fluttershy? Rarity? Rainbow Dash?” The look intensified. “Our friends, Spike! Come on! The elements of harmony? Six ponies come together to defeat evil and triumph over good?”

“Twilight, you’re scaring me…” Spike said softly, backing away from her. “What are you talking about?”

“Oh come ON!” Twilight huffed, shooting to her hooves.

“Hey! Twilight, calm down!” Spike scrambled backwards, tripping over the edge of a rug and falling on his rear. “I don’t know what you’re talking about!” Twilight stopped, her heart hammering in her ears.

“Twilight, you don’t have any friends.”

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“I can’t see past this bloody thing… Bastion, why did you skip on the transparency arch?”

“Pardon me,” Bastion grunted. “Who knows how many ponies shooting shadow bolts at us, and I forget to make the damned thing see-through. Fuckall if I didn’t just cast a barrier in record time.”

“Arguing will get us nowhere.” Celestia’s calm and even voice cut them off. Night Dancer huffed impatiently, but bowed her head as Celestia continued. “We’re here now, let’s do the best we can with what we can. Does anypony have any suggestions?” Silence reigned for a few moments as the seven bodies shuffled around uncomfortably. As impressive as summoning a full-fledged barrier in the middle of a fight was, the whole thing was rather cramped. With seven ponies stacked tight inside of it, space was in high demand.

“Can’t you dispel the barrier?” Warden asked, the first words he had spoken in a while.

“I could,” Luna said softly, looking around at the shifting blue walls keeping them safe. “But dispelling such a young barrier so quickly would undoubtedly make it explode… The spell would keep us safe, but what about Twilight?”

“That’s right,” Bastion grunted. “She jumped in there at the end. Probably saved us all by stopping that charge… If we dispel it now, we might hurt her…”

“Assuming she isn’t already dead…” Warden’s dour statement sobered every one of them, expressions turning cold as they all looked at the ground beneath their hooves.

“There is still hope…” Celestia said softly. Everypony inside the barrier looked up at Celestia. The solar princess’ smile bolstered the hopes of every single one of them, making them lift their heads high with hope. “We may be trapped behind this barrier, but Twilight is out there with them.” She smiled smugly, almost as if enjoying a personal joke.

“Woe to the pony who thinks they can defeat the Archmage.”

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Twilight huffed as she urged her burning muscles to run faster. The trees and leaves blasted past as quick as can be, the sound of the wind rushing through her ears the only thing she could hear at all. Ponyville lay behind her, and Sweet Apple Acres was before her. As the signature red barn broke over the horizon, Twilight poured on the power, running faster than she ever had.

“Applejack!” She screamed, bursting through the barn doors. Silence. “Applejack!” She hollered out to the fields. “APPLEJACK!”

“What’re you doin’ here?” The scathing tone of a young filly’s voice caught Twilight off guard. She wheeled around, spotting a very angry-looking Applebloom glaring up at her.

“I’m looking for Applejack,” Twilight panted. “Where is she?!”

“Yer joking, right?” Twilight blinked. Applebloom was normally such a sweet and happy young pony; full of adventure and curiosity. At that moment, Twilight had never seen anypony look so angry.

“I’m not!” Twilight pressed on, despite the nagging fear in the back of her mind. “Where is Applejack?”

“Wow. You must have lost it.” Applebloom swallowed hard, tears brimming in her eyes as she looked up at Twilight. “Maybe you’ve finally gone off th’ deep end. C’mon.” Applebloom jerked her head to the side as she turned around.

“Are you going to take me to Applejack?”

“Yeh,” Applebloom sighed. “Ah’m gonna take you to her…” Applebloom turned the corner of the barn, to a section of the yard Twilight hadn’t visited just yet. What she saw almost made her heart stop.

Here lies Applejack,

Beloved Sister, Granddaughter. An honest pony through and through.

“No…” Twilight’s back legs gave out, the tears falling from her eyes as she stared in disbelief at the headstone.

“An’ it was all thanks to you.” Applebloom said quietly, standing before Applejack’s grave. Her tears darkened the dirt at her hooves, and she shook visibly. “Now leave… B’fore I do somethin’ granny told me I should never do…” Twilight didn’t need the encouragement. She left Sweet Apple Acres just as fast as she could, fighting the urge to vomit the entire way. Her next stop wasn’t far away. She followed the edge of the Everfree Forest, skirting the border between Equestria and the unknown. But she never came upon it. There it was, the creek flowing out of the forest, the bridge over it… But just on the other side, there was nothing but a large, wide stump in the ground.

Fluttershy’s home had been chopped down. Her animals were gone. She was nowhere to be found. Twilight turned tail and ran fast and hard back to town. Rarity’s boutique was boarded through and through, the ‘closed’ sign hanging loosely in the barren window. Mr. and Mrs. Cake just glared at her when she asked where Pinkie Pie was. Her only hope left was-

“Twilight? Is that you?” She froze in the middle of the street, shaking as the haunting voice came to her. Sure enough, as she turned around, she saw her old friend.

“Dash…” She whispered, sagging with relief. But caution and fear returned as she saw the state of the cyan pegasus. Dash’s left wing was missing, and her right was bandaged tight. She wore an eyepatch over her right eye, but Twilight could see the jagged edge of a scar, still red and raw, cut from her skull down to her cheek. She approached Twilight with a very pronounced limp, and she could see the scars from a major surgery cutting through the coat on her chest. She wheezed audibly, and all of those things attributed to the angry, cold glare she had fixed on Twilight.

“Oof!” Twilight grunted as Dash’s hoof buried in her chest, driving the wind from her lungs and lifting her from her hooves. She tumbled backwards, kicking up clouds of dirt as Dash followed after her.

“You bitch!” She roared, looming over Twilight. She could clearly hear Dash’s curses over the sound of her blows, each one catching Twilight and propelling her further along the ground. “How dare you show your face again! I’ll fucking kill you! Just like you killed them! YOU KILLED THEM ALL!” Twilight shivered in a ball as some bystanders intervened, pulling the raging pony off of her. Twilight saw blood. Half of it was hers, half of it was Dash’s. Shaking, she rose to her hooves, tears brimming in her eyes as she looked over at Dash.

“What… What did I do?” She whimpered.

“Well, you left your prison for one.” An anonymous pony said to the side. “This is the first time anypony has seen you in a year. But if you left, that means she’s undoubtedly on her way here to punish you. You ought to go back as soon as you can.” Twilight swallowed, tasting bile and blood in her mouth.

“Prison? She? Who? What’s happening?” Twilight spun in a circle, noting the scared and horrified expressions all around.

“Her!” Somepony’s hoof shot into the sky, pointing towards the horizon. “Here she comes!”

“Run!”

“Get away!”

“AAUGH!” Ponies scrambled and ran, bolting every which way to get out of the street. Even Dash hobbled off, though she did pause to shoot Twilight a glare over her shoulder. If looks could kill, Twilight would have died on the spot. But the look wasn’t what had her choked up just then. It was the pony soaring out of the sky towards her.

”TWILIGHT SPARKLE!” The booming effect of the Royal Canterlot Voice nearly swept Twilight off of her hooves. Princess Celestia landed before her, wings flared wide, her horn already glowing brightly. This was not the benevolent mentor Twilight knew and loved. This was a frightening and intimidating despot, a tyrannical ruler of a sad land. She glared down at Twilight with bright eyes. ”You have left your prison voluntarily. Do you understand the gravity of your crime?”

“Crime?” Twilight panted, looking around. Nopony was in the street. They didn’t even peek out of the windows. “What crime? What have I done?”

”YOU KNOW FULL WELL WHAT YOU HAVE DONE!” Celestia roared, sweeping Twilight off of her hooves. She tumbled several times backwards, grunting and wincing at each lancing jolt of pain. ”You misused the Elements of Harmony! You betrayed my trust! You hurt hundreds of ponies! You KILLED your only friends!” The next she spoke in a whisper, so full of the promise of more pain and suffering that Twilight felt like she was going to die then and there.

”But worst of all… You killed my sister.”

“What? No! No! I didn’t! I didn’t kill Princess Luna! I didn’t kill anypony!”

”TWILIGHT SPARKLE! For you lies and your crimes, I have no choice!” Celestia’s wings flared wide, flapping several times to carry her into the air. Twilight looked up at her with fearful eyes.

”I sentence you to death!”

Twilight screamed.

Her world broke.

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“I think she’s coming around…”

“What? Really? Put her out again, then. We’re not done over here.”

“She already took, what, a dozen? More? One more stun spell, and we’ll risk brain damage. We need some sort of bargaining chip if this goes sour; we should keep her alive... For now.”

“Ugh. Fine, move you idiot. I’ll do it myself.” The words came through a haze, making Twilight groan as she began to emerge through the blackness. Her eyes fluttered slightly, feeding her the fuzzy image of a pair of hooves coming closer.

“B-but, she could die!”

“You know what they say… Can’t make an omelet without breaking a few eggs.” The scintillating sound of a shadow spell being cast snapped her to attention. She gasped, looking up at the smug expression of the ringleader. In a flash, quick as can be, the space between the two of them erupted. Twilight was flattened against the barrier behind her, but the ringleader was thrown backwards. He crashed into the risers at the far edge of the room, collapsing in a heap of splintered wood and bent metal.

“Woah!”

“She’s up! Get her!”

“Attack!”

“Over here! Focus, you idiots!”

“Forget the barriers! Get her!” Twilight was very suddenly the target of a dozen spells, each hissing with lethal intent as they shot through the air towards her. Each one of them shattered into a million glimmering lights as she thrust her head into the air, her horn blazing as bright as the day itself. Her shield gleamed with a brilliant light, casting radiant rays of energy down and around her. The follow-up spells bounced off harmlessly, and she stood in the middle, commanding tremendous force. She rose her head, looking out at the group of usurpers.

Twilight’s eyes lit with an ephemeral power. While her horn blazed with a golden light, her eyes began to shift... To grow more narrow. From the edges of her mane, a darkness crept along it. Darker than the night sky, her coat began to change as well. But at the same time, the glow intensified. Tendrils of shadow-like energy crept over the bubble of her shield, empowering it. The two powers mixed and mingled. In her eyes and across her body, Twilight was the perfect embodiment of balance. Night and day came together, their powers at her disposal.

”Stop this madness,” Twilight’s voice reverberated with power, echoing through the chamber. She slowly settled on her hooves, the carpet lighting beneath her weight. The smoke curled up over her body, wreathing her in flame and shadow. ”Enough have died this day. We need no more bloodshed.” The usurpers were shocked. All of them watched the mysterious mare before them as she took several slow steps forward.

”I understand your pain and anger. This world is not ideal for you... It is fraught with imperfection and ignorance. You seek to change the views of others by forcing them to see the majesty of night, and the shadow you hold so dear.” She stopped in the middle of them all, looking over each of their shocked faces with her piercing gaze. ”You fight and plot, wait for the perfect moment to strike so you may overthrow that which so many hold dear.” Twilight’s horn blazed once more, shooting a wave of darkness and light over the heads of everypony there. It crashed against the barriers, sparking and trembling with it’s awesome force.

”But it’s wrong! They cowered under the terrifying display of power. ”It’s imbalanced! It’s improper! It’s hurtful!” She calmed slightly. The glow died down, her radiance dimming and the shadow fading as well. In a slow wave, it slipped off of her coat. Inch by inch, Twilight returned to herself. As she stood in the midst of over a dozen advanced magicians, Twilight wore a sad smile.

“You want to see Nightmare Moon return to Equestria, to see the night shroud all the land, so ponies can bathe in its majesty and understand the beauty you all hold so dear to your hearts. Do you not?” She took their silence for acquiescence. “I can identify... I myself have looked into the night, and seen the muted beauty there. How many ponies know that nightshade only blooms in moonlight? Or that on a full moon, the creeks running through Canterlot appear to be molten silver?” She heaved a sigh.

“A life under a dark sky would be beautiful indeed... But it’s better than a life of darkness and anger. What you have been trying to accomplish is not only wrong, it’s hurtful. It’s painful. And it’s imbalanced. Where is the happiness in your eternal night? Where is the sunshine to your sacred shadow? Where is the happiness to the despair and corruption you seek?” Twilight shook her head slowly, frowning at the group of ponies before her.

“As the Archmage of Canterlot, I cannot allow you to follow through with this plan. I will not allow you.”

“Wh… What are you going to do to us?” One frightened pony asked softly. Twilight glanced up at him.

“Me? I won’t do anything to you. I can’t. It’s against our laws.” She nodded behind them, her horn sparking for just a moment. “But they can.” With frightened expressions, they all turned around. The doors burst open, and in only a few seconds, close to a hundred guard ponies filed into the room. Spears leveled at the huddled group of usurpers, and horns glowed at the ready. The barriers that close to twenty advanced shadow magic users had dissipated in an instant, with no repercussions.

“What?” One of them whispered in disbelief. “The barriers… How did she do that?”

“Archmage!” An officer approached Twilight, his expression haggard and drawn with concern. “Is everything okay?” He looked just as shocked as the others. Twilight could tell that he was just as surprised to see the barriers dropped so suddenly.

“No, it is not.” Twilight said softly. “We have wounded. Get the medical corps in here immediately. You there,” She fixed one of the usurpers with a mean glare. “What did you do with the wounded?”

“O-over there,” He pointed with a shaking hoof. Twilight followed his hoof to a section of the risers filled with prone bodies of ponies. Immediately, a dozen unicorns laden with bags and wearing white aprons set in on the survivors, their horns glowing as they immediately began to heal what they could.

“What about them?” The guard asked, nodding towards the surrounded usurpers. “What do we do with them?”

“Hmm…” Twilight looked down at them for several long moments. “I don’t know… But I’m sure they know what to do.” Twilight’s horn sparked once more, and the last barrier dropped.

“Woah! What the-“

“Archmage!”

“Twilight!”

“Huhn?” Bastion blinked in confusion as the barrier protecting himself and the princesses suddenly vanished. “How did you… I don’t… What?”

“Princesses,” Twilight said, drawing everypony’s attention as she approached the two sisters. “The usurpers have been subdued. They have injured quite a few ponies, and killed a few as well…” Twilight slowly looked to the section of risers, noting several bodies were covered with thin, white sheets.

“Goodness,” Celestia said softly. Her expression was sad as she looked over the wounded and dead, as well as the group of ponies ringed by guards. “Was this your plan?” She asked. There was no answer. “Who is the leader among you?”

“H-he was…” One pony pointed with a shaking hoof at the collapsed section of risers. In the shadows of the wreckage was one more mangled body, unmoving. “I guess… I am now.”

“Hmm. How long have you planned this?” Celestia asked coolly.

“F-four years, princess. Ever since Nocturnal Glow’s health began to fade… We had hoped to launch our assault while he was sickly, but the chance never came before he passed… Nor did it come while Twilight Sparkle was training… We thought we had the opportunity at one of the council meetings. Especially since the council doubted Twilight’s power… We thought we could accomplish it in one fell swoop…” He hung his head. “We hadn’t counted on the Archmage’s skill… We thought she would still be developing… We had no idea that she would be so…” He looked up at Twilight, with fear in his eyes. “Powerful.”

“I see. Guard, take them away. Imprison them all for further questioning. Archmage, a word if you please.” Celestia and Luna turned and swept away. The bustle of activity that followed was strange and difficult to follow. The guards cast spells on the usurpers, carrying their bound bodies away. Healers continued to work on the wounded, but the dead were carried away. Twilight fought tears of sadness, that ponies had to die for this foolishness. Such a waste of life… She followed after Luna and Celestia, meeting them in the adjoining conference room. Gone was the cold, professional expression. Instead, both princesses looked at her with concern.

“Twilight,” Luna said softly, drawing her attention. “Tell us what really happened.”

Twilight shared everything with them. After the barrier went up and she was alone with the usurpers, they stunned her and she had nightmares. She explained in detail all that was wrong with the dream world, how it had seemed so vivid and real to her. She went on to explain the dreams she had afterwards, how it was so close to the reality they already had. She told both princesses how happiness and sadness together waited for them all, but they would be stronger for it in the end. Luna seemed to pale when she described the part of Twilight’s crime, how her friends had died, how she had killed Luna using the power of the Elements of Harmony, how doing so had also killed her friends, and nearly killed Rainbow Dash and herself. At the end, Twilight was in tears and shaking.

“Twilight,” Luna said gently, drawing her into a hug. “It’s okay, relax.” She stroked Twilight’s mane soothingly, letting the distraught unicorn weep into her coat. “It’s over now. You beat it.”

“Luna,” Celestia said quietly. “We need to speak privately. I think Twilight could use some rest after all of that…”

“Okay.” Luna nodded, stroking Twilight softly. “I’ll handle it.” Celestia left them, and Twilight cried for a long while. When she finally calmed down enough, Luna took her to her quarters, using back halls and passageways not used normally. They arrived without anypony seeing Twilight, and Luna guided her to bed. Twilight collapsed on the covers, gone to the world before Luna could even tuck her in.

-------------

“She’s advancing quickly… I dare say she’s prepared for the rest of her responsibilities.” Luna said quietly, sitting opposite her sister.

“I’m more concerned about this nightmare she had,” Celestia muttered. “She said I sentenced her to death. And you know the power behind the elements of harmony… What she dreamt very well could have happened, if Twilight had had half a mind to accomplish it…”

“I think we can both be glad she chose not to… It scares me, Tia…”

“Hmm? What, having a counter to our immortality?” Celestia sighed, hanging her head. “All things must have balance, Luna… But I think we can trust our lives to the bearers of harmony.”

“Do you think they’ll ever understand the true power of the elements?”

“I doubt it… Twilight is intuitive, but the elements are as old as you or I. She’d just as soon discover how to raise and lower the sun and moon herself before she discovers the true purpose behind the elements of harmony…” Celestia looked out of the nearby window, down into the gardens. The statue of Discord still stood where it always had, save for the one fiasco involving Twilight and the other elements long ago.

“Then again…”

“Indeed. She’s nearly done it before…”

“Does she even realize how close she came to taking Discord’s immortality?” Luna’s whispered question made both princesses squirm.

“I don’t think so… I think that secret is still safe…” Celestia sighed again, drawing the blinds on a dying day. “Is she asleep, then?”

“Yes… Slumbering like a newborn foal.” Luna smiled, despite the grave circumstances. This was a dark day in Equestrian history… Blood had been shed in the capitol, and it wasn’t thanks to some invading force of changelings or chaos wrought by the god Discord himself… This was something else entirely. Unrest. Uprising. Usurpers. The fact that ponies would kill others in an attempt to bring about their own selfish means was a sad sign indeed.

“We’ll get Night Dancer and Warden to help us again. I think they’ll understand, given the circumstances…” Celestia glanced at the low-hanging sun. It was time for them to cycle.

“They’ve had their fair share of strife this evening,” Luna shook her head slowly. “Let them rest. We can handle it ourselves.”

“Hmm… You’re right. Come on, then.” Celestia and Luna flew to the observatory balcony, going through the motions silently. Afterwards, Celestia yawned widely. “Will you be alright this evening?”

“I should think so… Nothing ever happens at night around here, anyways… I’ll watch the night as always, sister. Get some rest. Tomorrow, we obviously have much to do.”

“Too true, Luna…” Celestia smiled and nuzzled her sister for a moment, making both of them smile brightly. “Goodnight.”

“Goodnight, Tia.” When Celestia was gone inside, Luna stood on the balcony for a while, watching the stars and the moon in the sky before making her way to Twilight’s chambers. Quiet as a shadow, she slipped inside, standing over Twilight’s bed as the purple unicorn slumbered peacefully. She watched Twilight’s chest rise and fall slowly, the peaceful rhythm calming to her. Slowly, she slipped into bed.

“Mmn…” Twilight moaned and automatically curled up against her, nuzzling closer against Luna’s warmth. The princess smiled as she held Twilight close to her chest, running a hoof through the slumbering pony’s mane.

“I’m so glad you’re safe, Twilight…”

Twilight’s dreams were peaceful that night.