“Twilight!” John woke with a start, breathing heavily, looking around and finding himself in a familiar setting. “Wait… this place looks familiar,” struggling, he stumbled on his feet, looking around as he did and finally recognizing the room.

-This is Pinkie Pie's room,- Crystal commented, catching John by surprise.

“Crystal? What's going on? Why am I here?” John quickly asked, holding his suddenly aching head. “A-and Twilight! What happened?”

-Last thing I remember was a barrage of magical energy… I reacted and prevented us from being swallowed by it,- she explained. -But the impact must have tossed us and knocked you out, because I can't recall anything else.-

“Twilight wasn't close to us… oh no!” he rushed through the door, running in bounds, his feet stretching as far as he could to aid in his speed. He ran down the stairs and stopped when his sight was filled with familiar pony faces.

“John!” many of them exclaimed with excitement, some of them with relief, and a pair nearly in tears, nearly rushing him down as they huddled around him, unleashing a barrage of questions that he could barely make up in the multitude of voices.

“Enough!” Applejack and Guard's voices echoed together, making the group of ponies back away embarrassed.

“John,” Rough Patch's voice called him calmly, walking up to him. “How are you feeling?”

He took a deep breath, lazily looking over himself for anything that would be broken, but finding nothing. “I-I'm okay, I had a bit of a headache, but that's passing.”

“Good. Now, I'll get to the point; what in Celestia's name happened back there?” she asked, giving him a glare. “Golden Oaks has been reduced to smithereens, and nopony knows why.”

“Hey! Don't be so forceful, you jerk!” Ditzy spoke up.

Quickly, John raised his palm, making Ditzy reluctantly back up before he turned to Patch again. “There was a magical explosion, and I was pushed away, hitting my head in something before passing out. I'm not quite sure what happened,” he looked over to where Spike sat, seeing him curled up by the wall, his face hidden from sight.

Patch continued staring, her face remaining as neutral as it had been before, until finally, she asked: “What happened with you and Twilight? I want all of it.”

His answer was reluctant as he spoke. “… If I have to,” he relayed the events as he remembered them, Crystal aided in spots he didn't quite recall, and he was able to finish it up relatively soon, turning silent once he was done.

“I understand…” Patch answered, nodding thoughtfully. She looked over to the group who whispered to each other with similar looks on their faces.

“Patch?” John called out, and he gulped as the question left his thoughts. “W-where is Twilight?”

“Recon wrote up a report,” Guard spoke up, pulling out a notepad. “He states that multiple witnesses saw a pony shaped figure standing in the wreckage, but it apparently teleported away before anypony could identify them,” he explained, his eyes never leaving the page he stared at. “That being said, we all suspect it was Ms. Twilight.”

John shook his head slowly, increasingly more confused. “If that was Twilight, then… where did she go?”

“Ah!” Celestia yelped, looking up from the scroll in front of her, and into the emptiness of the throne room. “What was that?” she wondered out loud, a feeling of dread having suddenly overcome her.

“No!” a voice shouted faintly, but loudly enough that Celestia was able to hear.

“What was th-”

Her thoughts were then cut short, the sound of multiple horrified voices reaching her ears. She was momentarily stunned by the cries, but before she was able to react, they came to a stop, leaving behind only an eerie silence.

She wasted no time and teleported right outside the room. “Guards!” she called out to no avail. “What is going on?” she thought as she walked down the hall, her senses in full alert and expecting something—anything—to attack at any moment.

'Whatever it is I'm going against, I mustn't let my guard down.'

Her mind played with the thought of calling Luna, only to be reminded of her trip to Manehattan. She regretted having let her go, but she had agreed that she would be allowed to deal with matters of Equestria on her own, and so, she relented. Her thoughts were pushed aside when she was welcomed by the sight of a pony running through the hallway, and Celestia was quickly relieved as she identified the features of a worried Twilight Sparkle, who briefly smiled before coming to a full stop, taking gulps of air to catch her wind..

“Princess!” she called out with a look of relief. “I'm sorry, but we need your help! There was, I just...”

“Twilight, gather your thoughts. What is going on?” Celestia asked, remaining calm while her student seemed to have a difficult time uttering a word.

Taking her mentor's advice, Twilight nodded and thought of her words as she spoke. “The guards! T-they are hurt! I don't know what happened to them…”

“What has happened to the guards?” Celestia asked, remaining composed as Twilight continued explaining.

“I-I don't know! They were unconscious, and I didn't know what to do, so I decided to come get you! If only…

“No,” Celestia uttered, interrupting Twilight before taking a leap back and away from her. “Who are you?” she demanded to know, staring fiercely at the pony, her horn glowing, ready to strike at a moment's notice.

Twilight stared blankly, shaking her head in apparent confusion. “P-Princess? What's wrong? You know it's Twilight!”

Celestia's gaze hardened, and a beam of magic shot out of her horn, hitting the carpet near Twilight’s hoof. “The real Twilight Sparkle wouldn't have left those guards unattended. Now, reveal yourself impostor!”

Twilight said nothing, slowly backing up, before suddenly starting into a run. Celestia wasted no time, unfurling her wings and taking flight, ready to act against the pony who had just then turned into the first room in her sight, slamming the door shut behind them.

“I've got you now!” Celestia thought, pushing her way into the room, recognizing her study inside. She walked a few feet inside before a thought had just occurred to her. “Wait a second... I locked this door!” she had reacted too late, the door slamming shut right behind her, watching as a wave of magic surrounded the room, causing an incredibly loud locking sound. “This spell… I know it.”

“It was one of many spells found in the Canterlot Archives, is it not?” came the unwelcome reply from 'Twilight' who trickled with sweat, still keeping an uncharacteristic smile that Celestia had never seen her student with before. “Maybe next time you shouldn't make it so easy to get into your castle, don't you think?”

Furious, Celestia aimed her horn again. “I won't ask again—who are you!?” despite herself, she was angered. Not only for having being caught, but her mind wondered to the fate of the real Twilight and the guards that were likely injured… she would need to attend to them as soon as she could muster.

Still smiling, 'Twilight' replied. “Well, I would be lying if I said I was Twilight… but I would also be telling you the truth, my dear princess,” she exclaimed, turning sideways to reveal her flank.

“What are you… wait!” the gears in Celestia's mind worked fast, looking at Twilight's now darkened cutie mark, and it suddenly clicked. “Of course. Never thought I'd see you again, Sombra.”

“Ah, good guess! But you are only half-right,” 'Twilight' replied, looking over her hoof. “Sombra is what I was known as before, but the pony by that name is no longer alive, you could say I am but a 'shade' of that corrupting this body… wait, yes, Shade. I say that's a perfect new name for my new form, don't you think?”

Celestia said nothing, disappearing in a flurry of sparks and reappearing in front of 'Shade' who fell back on the floor, taken aback by the sudden appearance. “The magic you are using to control Twilight is weak, not to mention the body you are using isn't powerful enough to defeat me. Now; either you leave my student's body, or I will be forced to take drastic measures!”

“S-so you know how to cast me out, don't you?” Shade noted, barely able to speak. “C-curse you, Celestia…” she growled, staring at her briefly before closing her eyes and taking a deep breath, opening them again to a calm look that Celestia was quick to recognize. “P-Princess? What's going on? What am I doing here?”

Celestia smiled, recognizing her student instantly. “I will explain later, maybe you should put this magic shield down, I'm certain you are able to now,” shesaid confidently.

“I… right! I have my magic again!” Twilight laughed, slowly lowering the shield around them. “And we are in your study? Is this Canterlot? I thought I was in Ponyville talking to John! And I think I was going somewhere, a-and… o-oh dear.”

“What's the matter, Twilight?” Celestia asked, noticing the sweat still tricking from her face.

“I-I don't know why, but I'm feeling really tired for some reason,” she explained, barely able to stand on her hooves. “I feel… I feel…”

“Wait a minute…” Celestia gasped, looking around the room to the now broken shield, pieces of it still intact on the floor. "Twilight, what are you doing?” she attempted to take into the air, only to find out she was unable to move, her hooves having somehow gotten stuck to the floor. “How!? This magic…”

“I imagine you would recognize it, princess!” Twilight said, donning Shade's menacing look once again. “You didn't think I would give up that easily, did you?”

Celestia continued struggling, doing her best to move. “B-but how? I sensed your presence disappearing!”

Shade laughed, circling around Celestia, her horn slowly glowing brighter by the second. “Oh Celestia, if you hadn't been worrying about your Twilight, you would have noticed that I've been casting this spell using only this body's magic… I may not have full control, but that doesn't mean her magic reserves are out of the equation.”

“Then when you ran up to me…” Celestia mumbled quietly. “The reason you were so agitated was this, wasn't it!?”

“Yes. A spell that my Sombra counterpart studied long before, and one that will give me strength that he was never able to achieve!” Shade explained as she walked up to the podium in the room, giving Celestia a hungry look. “And your magic will provide just what I need.”

A glowing circle shrank around Celestia, enveloping her fully in a show of bright lights. She watched in horror as Shade laughed. She called out Twilight's name in the hopes to reach who she was inside.

But it was all in vain.

The light became unbearably bright, and a beam of magic shot up from where Celestia stood, piercing the ceiling and going through the castle's roof, going higher and higher, then finally, losing momentum and speeding back down to where Shade stood.

Shade then closed her eyes, and as the magic enveloped her, she smugly said. “Thanks for the help, 'teacher'.”

Author's Notes:

I am SO sorry... That's literally all I can say at this point.

Truth be told, I was planning to complete this before posting it. Almost a year has passed since then, and I could not let that continue with excuses. Just know that I still do care.

Expect significantly faster updates for sure.

Preface Notes: I'M SUCH A LIAAAAAAR
Spoiler Notes 39 - 06/15/18
And just like that, I have caught up to my own story once again. Honestly, as I type this final bit of notes, I wonder why I even did it. Maybe just for myself? Probably. If you've made it this far, I thank you for reading this hidden crap.

This was cringy, yet fun. I saw how my writing improved in the two years that all of this has been written, and I have since written MUCH more even though I've slowed down in general. I've become far too critical of my own work, which in turn, makes updates much more difficult, though I'm actually getting faster at writing one-shots.

But hey, time to get back to it! Time to finally put this story to rest at last!