Chapter Text
Her horn pulsing with stored energy, Twilight Sparkle galloped down the narrow mountainside trail, wishing more than anything that she had a pair of wings.
Her visibility was heavily obscured by snowfall, but every now and again a tiny ice blue glow would pierce through the haze. That, paired with making sure she didn’t lose her footing, was all that she could focus on.
The world would have to throw far more than a blizzard at Twilight to stop her from retrieving her friend’s cutie marks.
Tears were trying to tease their way out of the corners of her eyes, but she wouldn't let them out. Not when there was so much still at stake.
Twilight whispered a relieved thank you to the universe as the thin pathway began to widen out, the cyan glow growing clearer by the moment. It wasn’t long before Twilight could see the wide mouth of a frozen cave appearing before her. The inside seemed to lead down into a tunnel that twisted off to the right, most likely into a network of passages. If her target reached the tunnel, Twilight could kiss her hopes of restoring her friends’ vitalities goodbye.
She’d just have to stop her from reaching the passage, wouldn’t she?
She could see the silhouette of the escaping mare through the snow, giving her a place to aim. Thankful that the rebelling ponies of Our Town were able to smash the jar containing her own cutie mark, Twilight released the spell. She growled with exertion as she expelled the stored energy, a beam of energy erupting from her horn and flying straight past her target’s head. It hit the roof of the cave and briskly scored along its inner peak as Twilight carefully moved her head. The ground shook as the frigid rocks fell, collapsing most of the entrance, save for a tiny gap at the top.
This was enough for her charge to stop running, and turn to face her.
Her horn shimmering with its shining blue glow, Starlight Glimmer snarled as she levitated the jars containing the cutie marks of the remaining elements of harmony behind her.
Twilight took a firm step forward, her mane blowing in the wind.
“Release them, Starlight. I don’t want to hurt you,” warned Twilight, lighting her horn once more, readying herself, “but nothing becomes between me and my friends.”
Starlight grinned, flashing her teeth as her eyes narrowed.
“Do you really think you can take me on?” she growled, striking her hoof on the ground like a bull ready to charge, “I am the most powerful sorcerer in all Equestria. I can do far worse to you than steal your cutie mark.”
Twilight’s resolve only strengthened as she flashed a grin of her own.
“You really don't know who my teacher is, do you?”
“I'm not fighting your teacher, Sparkle. I'm fighting you!”
As Starlight taunted, Twilight watched the jars behind gently sink before settling firmly into the snow. Her eyebrow furrowed. Why would Starlight put them down? It would have made far more sense to keep them levitated and out of-
A high pitched warble brought Twilight back to the present. As per her training from the Princess, Twilight quickly slashed her horn to the side. A thick translucent barrier appeared in front of her, glancing the incoming laser off into the snowy sky.
Twilight was quick on the uptake, refusing to give Starlight another inch of advantage. She lit her horn to teleport, the noticeable tight corkscrew of magic shifting around the protrusion on her head. Starlight swung her horn, a simple spell throwing up a scattering of snow into Twilight's face just as she released the spell. Twilight flinched, her spell misfiring, appearing several meters behind her intended destination. As she twisted her head she was met with another blast of energy headed her way, which she was quick enough to duck under.
Starlight leapt over the cutie mark jars, shielding them from Twilight. Twilight fired several blasts in return, but Starlight expertly strutted forward, deflecting them like arrows off a cragodile. On her last blast she shifted the spell she cast, a spectral blade appearing around her horn. Desperately galloping forward, she dodged and weaved Starlight’s incoming blasts, and swung. Starlight was ready with a shield of her own. Just before Twilight’s blade collided, the shield vanished, Starlight’s lips sharpening into a wild smirk.
Twilight flinched, pushing her hooves up at the last moment, rearing up on her hind legs as she lost her balance. Starlight struck Twilight with her hoof, sending her crashing to the floor.
“I knew you didn’t have it in you,” leered Starlight, briskly swirling her horn to pool up magic before unleashing an unyielding tidal wave of energy.
Acting as quickly as she could, she made another shield, this one a sharp cone to protect her front. The overwhelming force of the magic diverted around her like she was a rock jutting out of the ocean but the energy was still forceful enough to cause big cracks in the shield. Luckily, Starlight seemed to run out of energy just as the shield shattered, leaving the two mares glaring at each other, panting.
Twilight bit her lip. Starlight was good.
Twilight decided to stall for time.
“You’ve got no reason to keep their marks! What’s in this for you?” she growled, glaring at Starlight, watching her neatly cut mane blow in the wind, momentarily wondering how long it took to maintain a hairstyle like that.
“What- what’s in this for me? Are you serious!?” Starlight replied, her eyes flashing with anger, “You turned my village against me! You ruined their lives! You ruined my life!”
“No I didn’t! I saved their lives from your twisted future of- wait, me?” Twilight held her hoof up in the air in surprise.
An unstable energy started to shiver over Starlight’s horn. Twilight’s eyes widened. Whatever that spell was, it was taking a lot of energy to form!
“Everything was going perfectly! They weren’t going to leave! YOU made them leave!”
Starlight’s whole body jolted backwards from the recoil as the ferocious white orb shot through the air like a bullet. The spell slammed into Twilight’s chest before she could even register its trajectory. She was knocked backwards, skidding in the snow, already feeling the spell take hold. As she stumbled to her hooves, she felt the spell’s effect crawling up her hooves and into her lower legs, the muscles seizing up. The feeling quickly spread up her legs to her flank and chest, causing Twilight to cry out in pain; every heartbeat sent a dull ache through her body. She lit her horn to try and counter the magical effect, but the discomfort was clouding her mind. The sensation seemed to stop at her neck which was making breathing a far more difficult task.
It was for sure a paralysis spell, but this was not like one she had ever seen before; most merely held a target in place via a telekinesis-like effect. This spell was something far more biological, and as she was discovering, uncomfortable.
Starlight was strutting towards her now, a cruel, exhausted smile etched onto her muzzle. The jars remained buried in the snow. Sparks flew out of Twilight’s horn as she tried to smash them open with a laser, but without the use of her neck she couldn’t aim the energy properly.
“There we go,” Starlight spat, “Now you’ll stay… You aren’t going anywhere…”
“What… spell?” Twilight choked.
“Oh, are you a fan? One of my own little creations! Helps me when certain members of the town get a little unruly…” Starlight noted as she reached Twilight. She was a fraction taller than Twilight, and for a few moments the pair glared into each other's eyes. Twilight’s eyes flicked up to Straight's horn, being able to see the faint blue light swirling around it. Her stomach twisted.
She had an opening. She would have to aim precisely, but-
Twilight felt her breathing quicken as Starlight placed her hoof on her cheek, each laboured breath causing pain to shoot through her cramping body.
“It really is a shame, you know? You would have fit right into Our Town. A librarian, perhaps? Or maybe I could have just put you in a window, looking all pretty… although we would have had to do something about this mane… far too long…” she remarked, lifting a big section of Twilight’s hair with a hoof. Twilight did her best to move her head away, but it felt like someone was holding her head firmly in place.
As she looked up at Starlight, a tiny voice whispered something in her ear. Twilight quickly ignored what the voice had to say. It was not the time for thoughts like that. Not when she was so afraid.
“Please…” breathed Twilight as she managed to cast a spell. It was nothing more than a simple shield, but it was enough to gently push Starlight's hoof backwards. Starlight chuckled at the act of resistance, and continued on her train of thought.
“Of course, I can’t do that now, can I? You poisoned their minds against me. It was finally going so well! Everypony in the town stayed; knew their place; worshiped me like the powerful leader I am!”
Twilight gulped in some air as she studied Starlight’s expression. Past the anger, she could hear a tangible wobble in her voice.
“Why do you feel the need- ? Did you even- t-try to be their friend first?” Twilight spluttered out.
“Friends leave,” Starlight snapped, “Friends break promises.”
Twilight inhaled.
Behind all of that rage, there was a sad, lonely mare; one who hadn’t felt the joys of friendship.
Time to put the other side of the Princess’s training to the test.
“Starlight… I’m so sorry… What happened?” she asked earnestly.
“Y…” Starlight squinted, “What?”
Twilight smiled sympathetically. “It sounds like you had a…. A really bad experience… I’m sorry that ponies ….haven’t been treating you well… would you like to talk ab-”
“SHUT IT!”
Starlight slapped Twilight sharply, the sound of the impact echoing through the mountains. The stiffness of Twilight’s neck made it hurt all the more.
“Don’t try your sentimental flowers and puppy dogs bullshit with me! I’m not four!” she hissed as she got right up in Twilight’s face, her muzzle inches away. Twilight’s eyes grew wide, feeling her adrenaline infused bravery starting to fizzle away.
“I’m going to take your friend’s cutie marks, and I'm going to destroy them. Your friends will be broken. Forever. You’ll try and try and try, but they’ll never go how they were before. All because you couldn’t save them.”
Twilight gulped again, her horn lighting up. With all the energy she could muster, she shook her head. Starlight glanced at the glowing horn as a few little purple sparks flew out. A harmless spell?
“T-That’s where you’re wrong. Even i-if they don’t get their cutie marks back, I’ll be there for them every single day, helping them until they feel better, even if their new “better” is different.”
Starlight scoffed. “That’s stupid! Why? Why would you bother?”
Twilight smiled sadly, a tear rolling down her cheek as she did her best to hide her nerves, her horn still gently sparking.
“Because I know they’d do the same for me.”
Starlight looked her up and down, a wary smile crossing her face.
“You really are far dumber than you look, aren’t you? I actually almost fell for your little sparkler trick,” she chuckled, shaking her head. Keeping the same unsettling smile, she moved out of Twilight’s view. Twilight didn’t expect to feel Starlight shove her.
“The snow is too dense, dummy. You can’t goad me into thinking your friends are secretly on the way.”
To Twilight’s surprise, she could feel herself starting to skid across the snowy ground. Starlight was pushing her towards one of the cliff edges. A fall from that height, even if she regained her mobility…
Twilight did all she could to not let panic grip her heart and squeeze.
Her horn still sparkling, she would have to distract Starlight for a few moments longer.
Time for her to play her final gambit.
“I-If you’re so powerful,” Twilight managed to splutter, “Then why aren’t you levitating me with magic?”
Starlight laughed, ready to give a snarky response, but seemed to replay Twilight’s question in her head.
“What are you trying to say?” she growled.
Twilight’s pained smile broadened as the sparks got ever brighter.
“You don't know how to cast two spells at the same time, do you?” she teased.
Starlight stopped pushing for a few seconds. Twilight heard her gasp in shock, but she was moments too late.
Smash.
Starlight jolted, her head twisting around in shock.
One of the jars had shattered, the prismatic cutie mark shooting off like a fast flying insect into the distance, the remnants of Twilight’s telekinesis fizzling in the air.
She jolted her head back to see Twilight side eyeing her, a sickly smug smirk on her muzzle.
“Shame you haven’t got anyone who’s able to help you out, huh?”
Starlight began to shake, and in a sudden burst of relief, Twilight found that she could move again. The momentary disorientation left her unequipped to fully block Starlight’s next attack.
A fireball.
Twilight raised a shield, but the flames still burst around it. A searing pain flashed against the side of her head, the smell of burnt hair and sulfur filling her nostrils. The pain, at least, gave her a jolt of alertness, and whilst keeping the barrier in front of her, swirled her horn. Teleporting behind Starlight, she leapt on the jars and quickly smashed all of them, the remaining four cutie marks swarming out like a flock of birds through the clouds. She raised a barrier behind her before she even turned, the chime of magic hitting magic ringing as she successfully blocked the attack.
Any precision that Starlight might have had was thrown to the side as she flung blast after blast of energy at Twilight, the overwhelming power being thwarted by Twilight’s skillful shields and hoofwork.
The rampage was only stopped when the duo heard a loud boom echoing through the valley. They both looked up to see the source; Twilight in relief, Starlight in dismay.
The clouds cleared as a chromatic streak pelted towards them, leaving a sonic rainboom in its wake.
Starlight didn’t have time to growl a retort before the unstoppable force collided into her, sweeping her off her hooves as Rainbow Dash pinned her down onto the ground, snarling like a wolf.
“HA! Not so strong now, are you!” she gloated. Starlight hissed, and with a flash of her horn, teleported out from underneath her a few meters into the air. Twilight saw her twist mid air, head flung backwards, and teleport again, landing at the mouth of the cave in a catlike manner. She flicked her mane back, her steely glare directed at Twilight.
Impressive.
Twilight galloped towards her, but stopped as Starlight shot one final beam at the ground before her.
“HEY!”
Twilight held a quivering hoof to her side to stop Rainbow Dash charging.
“Starlight! I’m sorry I ruined your plans, but they were hurting others! Please! Let’s talk! I know you are lonely! We can make things better!” Twilight pleaded.
After that? You humiliate me, and then think I’m just going to stand here and talk? You really are an idiot, aren’t you? You’re going to regret this. I’m going to make sure you are thinking about me for every last day of your pathetic life,” Starlight spat.
Twilight frowned.
“You’ve already managed that. Believe me.”
Starlight stared at Twilight in disbelief. She gave a hollow laugh.
She turned tail and sprinted, clambering up the rubble in the entrance to the small gap at the top of the pile, and vanished in a flash.
Twilight took a few moments to breathe as the aches and pains wracking her body took hold. She swayed, flinched, and collapsed into Rainbow Dash. Her friend was there to catch her, and wrapped a wing around her supportively as she continued to growl.
“Did she hurt you?” she hissed. Twilight nodded into her as the tears started to flow, taking big gulping breaths of air..
“If I ever get my hooves on her…” grumbled Rainbow Dash, who put her attention onto Twilight. She hissed as she saw the side of her neck.
“Jeez, she burned you pretty good! I'm going to put on some snow, ok? Old pegasus trick for dealing with lightning strikes!”
Twilight was too dazed to show any resistance.
It wasn't long before she heard the voices of other ponies approaching. Her ear flicked up and she could see the rest of her friends appearing through the haze.
Pinkie Pie was immediately on top of her, kissing her on the forehead and asking her a hundred different questions, most of them pertaining to how awesome her defeat of Starlight was. Applejack reeled her back, and started carefully examining any injuries that Twilight had sustained (whilst arguing with Rainbow Dash about the correct method of treatment). Fluttershy just held her hoof, stroking it gently whilst keeping back tears of her own. Rarity stood back, frowning at Twilight while tilting her head.
Through all of this, Twilight didn’t react more than small movements of her head, her mind stuck on the mare that got away. The amount of power in her horn was terrifying, yet she lacked much of the technical skill that Celestia had taught her in her training. Still, her ability to craft spells of her own could become dangerous; the one she had used to separate a pony from their cutie mark is one that could be very destructive in the wrong hooves.
What worried Twilight was that it was certainly in the wrong hooves.
Starlight’s energies would now most likely be targeted directly towards her, but as she sat surrounded by her friends all fussing over her, a smile snuck it’s way onto her face and wouldn’t leave.
No matter what she did, Twilight’s friends would be there to support her. No matter what.
Of that she was certain.
“Darling…”
Rarity’s voice pierced through the haze, catching Twilight’s ear.
“Hmm? What” she mumbled in reply.
“It’s your mane… you poor thing…” Rarity sighed, holding up the charred tips of Twilight’s long hair, now noticeably shortened on the right side, “I hope you know some spells to accelerate hair growth… I will source the finest conditioners to tend to the burnt ends, of course!”
Twilight stared at the burnt ends, taking them into her hoof. They crinkled and disintegrated at her touch, the charred mane falling onto the snow.
Twilight got a brief image of Starlight standing before her, brushing her mane to the side, her piercing eyes glaring at her like a prize.
“Actually… I think I might try having it short. F-For a while.”
It was as Starlight said; Twilight would be thinking about that mare for a while.
